Photo taken on Dec. 23, 2016, shows the UN Security Council voting on a draft resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank, at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

CAIRO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Egypt said on Saturday it had decided to postpone a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements to avoid veto.

Egypt requested on Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements to be postponed, which raised argument and questions.

"Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry was quoted by official news agency MENA as saying.

"But Egypt has decided to withdraw the resolution to give more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution," the spokesman added.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced that he asked the incumbent U.S. administration to veto the resolution, Abu Zeid noted.

On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela, urging Israel to cease all settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territory.

Egypt is a key partner in sponsoring Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in coordination with the coming U.S. administration in order to reach an all-out, just and final settlement to the Palestinian issue, Abu Zeid said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a call on Thursday had agreed with U.S. President-elect Trump on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive and final settlement.

Related:

UN Security Council adopts resolution urging end to Israeli settlement activities

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
LAGOS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Health authority had placed 396 people under surveillance following the death of a nursing officer reported to have died of Lassa fever in southwest Nigeria's Ogun State, an official said Saturday.

The people under surveillance had primary and secondary contacts with the late nurse, Babatunde Ipaye, the Ogun State commissioner for Health said in a statement made available to Xinhua.

Abolanle Adewuyi, an Assistant Chief Nursing Officer of the Federal Medical Center in the state capital, died on Monday night at the hospital.

The primary contacts were mainly members of the victim's family, while the secondary contacts are the co-workers in the hospital, especially those in the same unit as the deceased, the health official added.

According to him, none of the contacts had shown abnormal temperature since they have been on monitoring schedule.

He said the medical officers attached to each of the contacts would continue to monitor until the expiration of the specified period in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) standard.

He said this period had to be exceeded before they could be medically adjudged to be free of the disease.

The commissioner urged members of the public not to panic, just as he assured that government is on top of the situation.

He advised the people to cultivate high level of hygiene and keep their food away from rats.

Ipaye also advised members of the public to report any case of malaria symptoms that may have exceeded three days to the nearest General Hospital.

Lassa fever is a zoonotic virus, transmitted when a human comes into contact with an infected rat's feces, urine, or the bodily fluids of an infected human.

It was first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa located in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno. In some cases, Lassa fever has similar symptoms with malaria.
TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's natural gas can be exported to Europe via a route linking Armenia to Georgia and the Black Sea, Iran's Petro-Energy Information Network quoted an Iranian trade official as saying on Saturday.

Cooperation between Iran and Armenia is of crucial importance in energy security as Iran's natural gas could be transited via Georgia and Black Sea to Europe in near future, head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Gholam-Hossein, Shafeie said.

Shafeie made the remarks in an address to the Iran-Armenia Trade Seminar in which economic officials as well as private sectors from both countries participated.

Iran and Armenia have over recent years been strategic partners in the region, he said, adding that both sides could further boost cooperation in diverse areas including energy, industry, agriculture and tourism sectors.

He also suggested transportation of Armenian goods to other countries, particularly to Southeast Asia, via Iran's Persian Gulf ports.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 20, 2016. (XinhuaUN Photo)

CAIRO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Egypt said on Saturday it had decided to postpone a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements to avoid veto.

Egypt requested on Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements to be postponed, which raised argument and questions.

"Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry was quoted by official news agency MENA as saying.

"But Egypt has decided to withdraw the resolution to give more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution," the spokesman added.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced that he asked the incumbent U.S. administration to veto the resolution, Abu Zeid noted.

On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela, urging Israel to cease all settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territory.

Egypt is a key partner in sponsoring Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in coordination with the coming U.S. administration in order to reach an all-out, just and final settlement to the Palestinian issue, Abu Zeid said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a call on Thursday had agreed with U.S. President-elect Trump on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive and final settlement.
DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian conservationists and wildlife experts in the Ngorongoro crater said on Saturday they are thinking of releasing into the wild, Fausta, a 63-year-old female black rhino, believed to be the oldest in the world.

Freddy Manongi, Chief Conservator for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), said the aged female rhino was sent into a cage after being wounded by hyenas and eventually being perched by Oxpeckers.

"The rhino has stayed inside the cage for a month now," said Manongi, adding that the rhino which has never given birth to any calves in its entire life is among more than 50 rhinos found inside the crater.

He said they are now thinking over releasing the rhino into the wild after its gaping wounds caused by the hyenas had started healing.

"Those hyenas must have taken advantage of her frailty which is why they attacked it, but we are determined to let it live for many more years," Manongi said.

"This forced us to put it in a cage to protect it from further attacks as it was on record for being the oldest black rhino in the world," he said.

The rhino's thrust into the limelight comes three weeks after wildlife enthusiasts in Kenya mourned the death of Solio, the country's oldest rhino which died at the age of 42 years, surpassing the average wild black rhino lifespan of 30-35 years.

Early this week, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa formed an investigative team to probe the mysterious disappearance of a male black rhino called John after it was moved from the Ngorongoro crater to the Sasakawa Black Rhino Sanctuary in the Grumeti-Serengeti game reserve where it reportedly died.

Rhinos are among the most poached animals in East Africa with their population dwindling, forcing authorities to keep them in protected areas.

The Tanzanian rhino management plan developed in 1998 set a goal of increasing the current population of black rhinos of 60 individuals to 100 individuals by 2018 through active metapopulation management.

Save the Rhino, a UK-based conservation charity, estimates that there were 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the charity says there are 29,000 rhinos in the wild.
CAIRO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) welcomed in a statement Saturday a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that demands immediate and complete halt of all Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit congratulated the Palestinian people and government on the "pivotal" resolution that was endorsed by a large majority and after more than 35 years of attempts to issue a similar resolution.

"The resolution reflects massive international support for the historical struggle of the Palestinian people to get their legitimate rights, atop of which is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," said the AL chief in the statement.

The resolution was endorsed Friday by 14 out of the council's 15 member states, while the United States, Israel's biggest ally, abstained but did not veto despite attempts of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Egypt tried to delay the whole vote on the resolution, which was seen as response to pressure from Trump, yet the Egyptian foreign ministry later explained that the requested delay was only meant to avoid the exercise of veto right against the resolution.

Aboul-Gheit expected the resolution to build momentum that would pressure Israel to abide by its content as well as other relevant international resolutions.

Earlier in December, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, has initially approved a couple of controversial pro-settlement bills that are meant to retroactively legalize about 4,000 settlement homes as well as unauthorized Israeli outposts and to allow expropriation of more Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

Over 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and at least 200,000 others live in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital city of their future state.

Israel has always been blamed by the international community for the deadlock of the Middle East peace process due to its settlement expansion policy that is rejected even by its closest ally, the United States.

France has been preparing for an international peace conference to be held in Paris, which is delayed from December to January, in attempt to revive the stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, yet the bid has officially been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aboul-Gheit said that the conference could serve as an important step toward reaching a comprehensive and just solution for the Palestinian issue.
by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two newspapers in Greece with a history of over eight decades, "Ta Nea" (The News) and "Ethnos" (Nation), returned to newsstands by Christmas eve after the end of a journalists' strike earlier this week over back pay.

About 1,000 journalists, technicians and administrative personnel had walked off the job to protest against long delays in payment of salaries. Most have not been paid since August, as the two media groups controlling the two dailies are struggling with multi-million euro debts.

After receiving Christmas bonus, journalists returned to work and the newspapers were printed again with all sides expressing hope that with the New Year the situation will improve and normality will be restored.

The Lambrakis Press Group (DOL), which prints "Ta Nea", faces a more difficult situation, according to unionists, since the publisher Stavros Psycharis faces criminal charges of tax evasion and money-laundering.

A court in Athens announced it will prosecute him after an audit of his income since 2000 revealed a gap of 45 million euros(47.05 million U.S. dollars) which had not been declared to the Tax office.

Besides mismanagement of media groups and the impact of the Internet cited by unionists as a key factor behind the crisis, the sector has suffered also from the debt crisis which has hit Greece since 2009.

In their peak Ethnos, Nea and other major newspapers used to sell on average 200,000 copies per day. In recent years their average circulation has dropped to 12,000 copies daily.
LAGOS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops combating Boko Haram terrorists in restive northeast region have crushed Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa forest, President Muhammadu Buhari said Saturday.

In a statement made available to Xinhua, the Nigerian leader lauded the troops on the successful capture of the Boko Haram enclave in Sambisa forest.

Buhari who expressed delight, said he was proud of the troops.

"I am delighted at, and most proud of the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army, on receipt of the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa forest," he added.

"I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa forest," he said.

"I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the Camp fell at about 1:35 p.m, local time on Thursday, Dec. 22, and that the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide," the Nigerian leader said.

He urged the troops to maintain the tempo by pursuing the terrorists and bringing them to justice.

The president called on all Nigerians to cooperate and support the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies by providing useful information that would expose all the terrorists hiding among the populace.

He urged the troops to further intensify their efforts toward liberating the remaining Chibok girls still in captivity.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's Chief of Army staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai also commended the efforts and sacrifices of gallant officers and men of the Nigerian Army currently engaged in the counter insurgency operations in the North East and other operations across the country and abroad.

"I congratulate you for your bravery, doggedness and loyalty in these endeavours. I want to urge you all to maintain the momentum and remain steadfast as we continue to professionally and responsively carry out our constitutional roles," Buratai said in a Christmas and New Year message to the troops.

"On my part, I will continue to ensure that troops' welfare and that of their families, remains my utmost priority," he said.

The Nigerian government said in December 2015 that Boko Haram had been "technically" defeated and was no longer capable of conventional warfare, instead resorting to guerrilla attacks on soft targets.

The Sambisa forest, especially the mountainous region of Gwoza near the Cameroon border, was used as a shelter of the jihadist Boko Haram group.

The Boko Haram seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the Constitution of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and biggest oil producer in the continent.

Nigeria, with approximately 180 million population, shares land borders with Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east and Niger in the north.

The northern part of the country is plagued by violence, including attacks by the Boko Haram sect.
TUNIS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian security forces have arrested the nephew of Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri and two other jihadist suspects, the interior ministry said on Saturday in a statement.

Amri convinced his nephew to swear allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization, the statement said.

Amri's nephew said he had been in contact with his uncle through telegram, it said.

The Tunisian public prosecutor has ordered the three to be taken into custody over suspicion of being involved in terrorist crimes.

Monday's truck attack in Berlin left 12 dead and 48 others injured.

The Italian government said earlier on Friday that Amri was shot and killed by police during a routine patrol in Milan.
Protesters rally in front of the European Union (EU) headquarters during a demonstration against the EU-U.S. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, in Brussels, capital of Belgium, Sept. 20, 2016. A total of 9,000 protesters paraded in the heart of Brussels around the EU institutions to demonstrate against the bloc's trade deals with the United States and Canada late Tuesday, fearing those agreements would harm Europe's industries and social benefits. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

by Zheng Jianghua

BRUSSELS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The European Union(EU) is facing thorny foreign policy challenges as the United States, Russia and the 28-nation bloc are now in a state of "frozen conflict", a Brussels-based expert told Xinhua in an exclusive interview recently.

"It is hard to recall when relations between the major poles of power have been so difficult," said Prof. David Fouquet, vice-president of European Center for International and Strategic Research (CERIS).

"Between three of the parties, the U.S., Russia and the EU, they have almost entered a phase of 'frozen conflict'," he said.

He underlined that there seem to be a deep division between the values projected by the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and much of Western Europe's leadership.

"This could seriously test the heritage and sustainability of the traditional transatlantic partnership and even its institutions," warned Fouquet.

"Europeans should be prepared for little or no assistance or reliable partnership from Washington in economic, foreign, security, social or environmental policy areas," he added.

Indications of difficulties to come have already shaken the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, the professor noted.

Moreover, the multilateral trade and economic systems, the U.S. system of military alliances and the international cooperation against climate change were thrown into doubt as the incoming U.S. leader seems to have little or no interest in pursuing, he argued.

"The EU might also be so cautious and indecisive about its status with Washington, so that it should take considerable time to normalize," he said.

He noted that the EU should also make preparation for the impact of a new U.S. foreign policy on third-party relationships that are crucial to Europe.

Taking Africa as an example, Fouqet said U.S. interest and engagement is expected to decline or even disappear, but for the EU, the continent is the key to solving migration crisis and security problems.

Another major test and uncertainty will be the U.S. and European relationships with Moscow and President Vladimir Putin, Fuquet said, stressing that it could profoundly affect both the NATO and EU in internal and external dimensions.

He opined that even if Donald Trump seeks his own version of President Obama's unsuccessful attempt to "reset" relations with Moscow and President Putin, there might still be a strong residue of U.S. opposition and hostility in numerous circles to undermine such a top-down leadership initiative.

Lamenting "a weakened, divided and transitioning European Union", he said the 28-nation bloc would be unlikely to take any initiative or even accompany others' possible efforts to overcome the recent worsening of relations with Russia.

Just days after this interview, the EU decided on December 19 to extend the sanctions against Russia for another six months, until July 31, 2017.

The sanctions have been in place since 2014 in response to an alleged role that Russia had played in conflicts in east Ukraine.

"We have witnessed the weakening in European unity and solidarity for more than a generation of leaders and the trend is even accelerating, "he said, "this probably in the short or medium term makes Europe the weakest link in this constellation, reducing its leverage and relegating it to a pawn status to the others."

He opined that it might be a role for China to seek to help normalize the strained relationships between the others.

"Despite some trade tensions, it appears that China and the West largely seek stability and the status quo whereas Russia believes in a different approach or at least restoring the status quo ante," he said.

"But any stronger alignment of Chinese and Russian policies and strategies could be counter-productive and provoke a defensive backlash in the Western side and drive Europe more into the U.S. alliance." he said.
LONDON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- A woman from London and a man from Derby appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court in London Saturday on terrorism charges.

Munir Hassan Mohammed, aged 36 of Derby and Rowaida El Hassan, aged 32 of Willeston Lane, London were remanded in custody by the court.

Both were charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and possessing a record of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Mohammed was also charged with belonging to a proscribed organisation and dissemination of terrorist material.

Mohammed and El Hassan were among six people arrested on December 12 in Derby, Burton on Trent and London. The remaining four individuals have since been released without charge.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani smiles during an official welcoming ceremony at the airport of Manas some 30 km outside Bishkek on December 22, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)

TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the current situation in the region necessitates closer relations among regional countries, particularly those of Iran with Central Asian and Caucasian states, Press TV reported on Saturday.

Rouhani noted the importance of Countries in Central Asia and Caucasus as they are "in the same region as Iran, are our neighbors," highlighting one of Iran's principles of foreign policy is "close ties with friends and neighbors."

Amicable relations will make regional states better prepared against crises, Rouhani said as he was home from his tour to Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

"Under the current circumstances in the region, the closer ties and the more consultations with friends...the better we can tackle problems," the Iranian president was quoted as saying.

During his trip, Iran signed a total of 15 cooperation agreements with the three countries in different areas, including visa regimes, banking, technical and engineering services, agriculture, transportation and security issues.

Iran and Armenia agreed to revoke their visa regimes, and plans were made toward the same end with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Rouhani said.

Iran and Armenia signed Wednesday five memorandums of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in tourism, museum, sports, emergencies and border security, official IRNA news agency reported.

Also, Iran and Kazakhstan signed five agreements for cooperation on Thursday aimed at expanding economic relations.

The agreements cover such areas as livestock quarantine, tourism, social welfare and cooperation between the central banks of the two countries to facilitate mutual business, Press TV reported.

And the two sides signed an agreement to establish a joint dual-modal transportation company that could lead to the creation of a new transport corridor connecting Iran's southern ports to the upper parts of Central Asia.

The agreement is meant to facilitate sea transportation in the Caspian Sea, cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan in ports and terminals issues, and connect Iran's southern ports to Kazakhstan as well as other Central Asian countries.

The last stop of the tour took Rouhani to Kyrgyzstan where the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Rouhani said in a joint statement that the two countries strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and will not allow any attempt to equate terrorism with any nation, culture or religion.

Meanwhile, they expressed concern about the spread of terrorist and extremist groups like the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and others in the Middle East region, and condemned their inhuman crimes in Syria and Iraq.

The statement would intensified contacts of the two countries in fighting terrorism, extremism, organized crime, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

Other agreements include cooperation between Iran's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Kyrgyzstan's State Committee of Information Technologies and Communications, Tasnim news agency reported.
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa (C), apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, takes part in the Christmas Eve celebrations on December 24, 2016 outside the Church of the Nativity, revered as the site of Jesus Christ's birth, in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem. (AFP/Xinhua)

by Keren Setton

JERUSALEM, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- On a bright but chilly morning in Jerusalem, a shopkeeper in the Old City arranges the Christmas decorations in her empty shop. She stood at the entrance, waiting for customers. She refused to speak or identify herself.

With Christmas decorations hung by the Jerusalem municipality decorating the streets, tens of Christians came to receive free Christmas trees the municipality was distributing. This has become an annual event in the city.

Jerusalem, the place where Christians believe Jesus is buried, is trying to be festive days before the holiday. The Christians are a minority in Israel, about two percent of its population.

The role of Jerusalem in Christianity's faith and history is paramount -- making it a potential tourist attraction for believers from around the world.

But tensions and violence throughout the years have hampered that potential.

David Koren, the Jerusalem mayor's senior adviser for East Jerusalem and Arab Affairs, says the Jerusalem municipality is making great efforts to make it a merry Christmas.

"We are doing a lot of actions in order to make the Christmas as happiest and as best as we can. We are cleaning the roads, we are putting the lights in the Christian areas, we are giving Christmas trees to the Christian citizens of Jerusalem and we are doing whatever we can in order that this Christmas will be the happiest ever," he said.

Renewed violence began in September last year. There have been clashes and attacks all over Israel and the West Bank, but the focal point has been Jerusalem. Two U.S. citizens and 36 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinian assailants. Over 220 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces -- some were attackers and others died during clashes.

Mutual blame is handed out for the violence, but it has decreased in recent weeks. So has the media coverage of it -- making Christmas celebrations easier.

"Jerusalem nowadays is very secure," said Koren. "We have declined dramatically the amount of vandalism attacks in the city."

In what has become an annual tradition in Jerusalem, the municipality handed out free Christmas trees to its Christian residents. A Santa riding on a camel greeted those who came to get trees at the entrance to the Old City's Christian quarter.

Verena Sturm, a 23-year old German citizen studying environmental engineering in Jerusalem, came to get her tree.

"It will be really interesting to celebrate Christmas here because there are a lot of different churches here," she says with a big smile on her face, "I feel completely safe here," she added.

She came hours after a driver rammed into a crowded Berlin Christmas market killing over ten people and injuring dozens.

At the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, the quiet lobby hosts a recreation of Jesus' birth scene.

Tourists sit in the warm lobby before venturing out to tour the city's holy sites.

"Tourism has been picking up since last year," says Eliane Abdinnour from the marketing and development department of the center. "We keep always hoping for peace," she said with optimism.

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, there was a decline in incoming tourism in 2015, perhaps a result of the upsurge in violence.

The statistics for 2016 have yet to come out, but there is hope for better numbers.

Israel's tourism ministry is expecting 120,000 Christian pilgrims to arrive throughout December and the coming January.

"It's safe, and there have been no worries. Everything is under control," said Victor Portugal, a resident of Jerusalem from the Philippines. He came with his wife to get a Christmas tree.

In an attempt to streamline things for tourists, the Israeli Tourism ministry offers free shuttle transportation for pilgrims from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

Bethlehem is located in the West Bank and is under Palestinian control. Tourists crossing between the two cities will cross Israel's controversial barrier wall that was built in 2002 in attempt to thwart Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

This contrast and ever-present reminder of the political situation is perhaps the weakest link of the tourism industry. Even if there is a lull in the violence, the conflict can simply not be avoided.

Security alone cannot be blamed for Israel's inability to fulfill its potential as a tourist hotspot.

Public transportation needs great improvement. The high cost of hotel rooms and dining in the country makes it an expensive destination.

In Nazareth, the city that is considered Jesus' hometown, an annual Christmas market is underway.

Locals and tourists come to get into the holiday mood.

"Spending New Years and Christmas in this land is just an incredible experience, just to be in the land where Jesus walked, where he lived -- this is very special to me," said Jennifer at the market.

It is this sentiment that Israeli tourism officials hope to capitalize on.

But hope is not enough and Israel must do more in order to improve its touristic appeal, with the country's fragile international image, its main weak spot.
This file photo taken on December 09, 2016 shows a Palestinian protestor in front of the Israeli settlement of Qadumim (Kedumim) during clashes with Israeli security forces following a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. (AFP/Xinhua)

CAIRO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) welcomed in a statement Saturday a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that demands immediate and complete halt of all Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit congratulated the Palestinian people and government on the "pivotal" resolution that was endorsed by a large majority and after more than 35 years of attempts to issue a similar resolution.

"The resolution reflects massive international support for the historical struggle of the Palestinian people to get their legitimate rights, atop of which is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," said the AL chief in the statement.

The resolution was endorsed Friday by 14 out of the council's 15 member states, while the United States, Israel's biggest ally, abstained but did not veto despite attempts of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Egypt tried to delay the whole vote on the resolution, which was seen as response to pressure from Trump, yet the Egyptian foreign ministry later explained that the requested delay was only meant to avoid the exercise of veto right against the resolution.

Aboul-Gheit expected the resolution to build momentum that would pressure Israel to abide by its content as well as other relevant international resolutions.

Earlier in December, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, has initially approved a couple of controversial pro-settlement bills that are meant to retroactively legalize about 4,000 settlement homes as well as unauthorized Israeli outposts and to allow expropriation of more Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

Over 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and at least 200,000 others live in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital city of their future state.

Israel has always been blamed by the international community for the deadlock of the Middle East peace process due to its settlement expansion policy that is rejected even by its closest ally, the United States.

France has been preparing for an international peace conference to be held in Paris, which is delayed from December to January, in attempt to revive the stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, yet the bid has officially been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aboul-Gheit said that the conference could serve as an important step toward reaching a comprehensive and just solution for the Palestinian issue.
TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Saturday that it welcomed the UN Security Council resolution that demands an end to the Israeli settlement building in occupied Palestinian territories, Tehran Times daily reported.

"The move is a sign of international community's determination to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and restoring the rights of the Palestinian people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran would welcome any measure that supports the legitimate demands of Palestinians, strengthens the international status of Palestine and opposes the Zionist regime's occupation and its expansionist policies," Qasemi said in a statement.

The spokesman said Iran has repeatedly called the Israeli settlement expansion a "flagrant" violation of international laws.

Qasemi also expressed satisfaction with growing international awareness of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

"As far as we are concerned, the resolution of the Palestinian issue requires serious and decisive measures by the international community to fulfill the rights of the innocent Palestinian people and to fight the Zionist regime's expansionist policies," he said.

The UN resolution passed Friday demands Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."
Pervert nabbed

According to reports, the girl was seated in the front passenger seat of her fathers vehicle outside the St Helena branch of the fast food outlet at about 8.35 pm, while her father left to purchase KFC.

Police reports revealed that a security guard employed at a nearby hotel allegedly placed a knife to the girls throat and demanded her cellphone.

He then unfastened one of her shirt buttons and proceeded to fondle the girls breast. The victim began screaming, resulting in her father and other KFC customers rushing to her assistance. The suspect fled to the nearby hotel where he was employed and proceeded to hide.

He but eventually cornered and handed over to the Cunupia police.

The suspect remained in custody yesterday and is expected to be placed on identification parade. Several charges are expected to be laid against the man.

Police also believe they may be able to solve a series of larcenies in the St Helena district as a result of the arrest of the La Horquetta guard
Munroe supermarket break in

Not only are businessmen in danger, but they are being put in expense, because we have to spend money to take out extra security measures. Crime is really getting out of hand, said Mohammed, in a conversation with Newsday.

Mohammed told Newsday yesterday that at about 4.10 am, relatives living above the supermarket heard a loud crashing noise. When they checked, they saw men running out of the building with electronics, televisions and surround sound systems.

The police were immediately contacted and a party of officers responded, but not before unknown persons made off with tens of thousands of dollars in items and cash.

Newsday understands that CCTV footage has been handed over to investigators for review, in an attempt to get further clues as to the culprits of the early morning burglary.

Mohammed said that his supermarket had been in the area for more than 26 years.

He said it was the first time in recent times that his business had been broken into. His supermarket opened an hour later than it would usually open because of the break in, but he said that he would continue business, because persons in the area depend on him to supply foodstuffs, which they would definitely need during the holiday season.

Investigations are continuing.
File for DPP in Jenices death

Little Jenice of Morocoy Extension Road in Whiteland on the outskirts of Gasparillo, died on November 24, following a beating in which she sustained multiple blows to the head and stomach area. She was a pupil of the Whiteland Early Childhood Learning Centre. An autopsy performed by forensic pathologist Dr Eslyn Mc Donald-Burris, days after the death, revealed that the child died as a result of blunt force trauma.

Police were initially told that a female relative found Jenice unresponsive on a mattress at her home at about 9 pm on November 24.

The child was rushed to San Fernando General Hospital where she died.
Husband in court for assaulting wife

Jadoo appeared in the Second San Fernando Magistrates Court before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay yesterday morning and pleaded guilty to the charge that yesterday morning, he assaulted his wife. The court police prosecutor Sgt Sylvan, told the magistrate that at about 1 am yesterday, police officers arrested Jadoo at his 27 Christian Street, San Fernando home.

He had dealt Candice Mohammed several blows to her body. The court heard that upon his arrest, Jadoo said, Officer, I really beat she because she tell me she wanted to leave. Jadoo accepted the facts as presented.

Representing Jadoo was attorney-at-law Ainsley Lucky who said that Jadoo left home to collect car parts and ended up in a lime with friends. After drinking one beer, Lucky said, Jadoo returned home and got into an argument with his commonlaw- wife. He lost his temper and struck her. In Jadoos defence, however, Lucky said Jadoo came from a broken home and his parents had divorced when he was eight months old.

He described his client as a semi-reclusive who prefers to do things for himself.

Lucky said that his clients behaviour was out of character for him, even though smatterings of arguments pepper his relationship with Mohammed.

Lucky said that Jadoo was willing to apologise to Mohammed with whom he has a one-year-old girl. Mohammed, however, did not show up to court yesterday.

Dubay withheld sentence pending Mohammeds appearance on January 20.
Christmas meals around the world

_Iceland In Iceland the main meal, which they refer to as the Yule meal, is traditionally a leg of roast lamb presented in the middle of the table on Christmas Day. Another speciality includes leaf bread which is made out of thin sheets of dough. The dough is cut into delicate patterns and fried before serving.

Denmark Love rice pudding? Well, youre going to love this tradition in Denmark. Most families whip up a Ris ? la mande, a special rice pudding (traditionally made with milk, rice, almonds, vanilla and whipped cream) served for dessert on Christmas Day. What makes this tradition so special? A whole almond is hidden in the rice pudding and whoever finds it gets a present!

Germany A stollen is a German fruit cake packed with dried fruit and marzipan. Dusted with icing, this impressive bake is usually eaten during the Christmas season in Germany when it is called Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen.

The Stollen dates back from the 15th century when it was given as a gift at Christmas.

Mexico In Mexico, Christmas isnt celebrated officially until January 6 which is known as Epiphany or El Dia de los Reyes meaning the day of The Three Kings.

During this day, families will feast on a special cake called Three Kings cake or Twelfth Night cake which has a figure of the Baby Jesus is hidden inside.

The lucky finder of the Jesus figure becomes the Godparen of Jesus for that year.

New Zealand Other than barbecue_for dinner, dessert is the main focus on Christmas Day in New Zealand.

Hot fruit pudding, fruit salad and ice cream are only a few of the desserts families feast on.

Another favourite is a classic pavlova topped with cream and heaps of fresh berries. Its the showstopper often proudly displayed in the centre of the table - who could blame them?

Italy Panettone is the heart of Italy around Christmas time.

Packed with candied peel, sultanas, raisins and many more, this sweet bread is usually about 12-15 cm high and should roughly weigh about 1kg. Its a tear and share bread for the whole family to feast on throughout the Christmas celebrations.

Sweden The main feast in Sweden happens on Christmas Eve. This feast is called a Julbord which is a buffet including cold fish, cold meats, cheese, pickles and more. One of the stars of the show is the Christmas ham also known as Julskinka which is made by boiling the cut and roasting in the oven until crisp. This is usually left to cool and then served cold with the rest of the buffet food.

Greece Roast lamb or pork are often the main meats served at Christmas in Greece.

This is followed by a sweet, filo pastry dish called baklava. This delicious bake combines chopped nuts with a sweet honey or syrup sauce - its a must-have in most Greek homes around the festive season.

France In France its a tradition to have Christmas lunch on Christmas Eve or early Christmas morning after the midnight church service. Roast turkey, chestnut and venison are a few of the dishes served at the feast. When it comes to dessert a chocolate log, Yule log or B?che de No?l is traditional served with fresh cream - this favourite usually disappears in minutes, we can see why!

Poland Beetroot soup or Borscht is served as a traditional starter around Christmas time in Poland. It can be served hot or cold and is usually served on Christmas Eve, which is the day most Polish people have their main feast.

Japan Christmas is all about food, and in Japan, this food is associated with three letters: KFC. People flock to the American fast-food chain KFC to eat  get your drumsticks out  Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii! aka Kentucky For Christmas! The tradition of eating (Fried) Christmas chicken goes back to a marketing campaign in 1974  and to this day, KFC records the highest sales volume each year on Christmas Eve. Historically the Japanese didnt celebrate Christmas, as less than one percent of the population is Christian.
Ten festive facts to impress your family this Christmas

If youre spending time with friends and family during the holidays, why not impress them with some fun, festive facts?

 Many people dont like the word Christmas being shortened to Xmas. But what they might not realise is that X actually represents the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, .

 In 1843, a man called Sir Henry Cole was behind the first printed Christmas card, like the ones we buy in shops and send to each other today.

He asked someone called John Callcott Horsley to design it. It had the words A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year To You printed on it. About 1,000 cards were made and it cost a shilling, which was actually a lot of money at the time (about 12p).

 The Christmas story about how Jesus was born is actually pieced together from two different versions - one written in the gospel by Matthew and one by Luke. The two stories are slightly different. For example, while Matthew said the angel visited Joseph, Luke says that the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she was pregnant.

 Advent - the period leading up to Christmas - starts on the Sunday nearest to November 30. It ends on the Sunday before December 25. The word advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning arrival or coming.

 Jingle Bells wasnt originally written as a Christmas song. It doesnt even mention Christmas, Advent or Jesus! Thats because it was actually written for Thanksgiving.

 During early Victorian times, mince pies used to be made from actual meat! It is thought this dated back to Tudor times. However, throughout the 19th century, the traditional mince pie recipe started to develop to the one we know today, with fruit and spices.

 The gospels in the Bible dont actually mention what date Christmas falls on. It wasnt until the fourth century that the Roman church decided December 25 was when Christians should celebrate Jesuss birth. Some historians even think he might have actually been born during the spring.

One of the reasons for this is that the shepherds who visited baby Jesus were said to have been tending to their flock in the fields at the time they heard of his birth, which they would have been doing in the spring when lambs were being born.

 In the 1640s,the British parliament banned celebrating Christmas! People called puritans - who believed in a more modest life led by stricter, religious rules - decided there should be no decorations and parties, like there had been.

They thought Christmas had become too indulgent and that people had forgotten the religious significance of it. Many people kept celebrating in secret though until it became allowed again.

 Epiphany is the name given to the day 12 days after Christmas on January 6, when the wise men are said to have visited the new baby and Jesus was shown to the world for the first time. The word epiphany comes from the Greek word meaning show or reveal.

 The majority of Orthodox Christians mark Christmas on January 7. This is because they actually use a different calendar, called the Julian Calendar, which is 13 days behind the usual calendar, called the Gregorian calendar.
Another businessplace fire-bombed

The latest attack took place shortly before 2 am at Stackhouse Company Limited, a wholesale outlet located at the corner of Pointe-a-Pierre and Circular Roads in San Fernando. Police investigations said that business owner Truman Lochan Dass, closed the business at about 11 pm on Thursday after securing the building.

Stackhouse is a whole liquor and dry goods store. At about 2 am yesterday, security officers on duty at the compound heard an explosion and on checking, saw the front of the building on fire.

Two men dressed in dark clothing were also seen running away, according to police investigators. Within minutes, officers from the Mon Repos Fire Station responded and contained the fire.

There were no reports of items missing, however there was visual structural damage caused by the fire.

Dass yesterday told Newsday that he received news of the fire while on his way home and immediately returned to his businessplace.

The businessman said he was still assessing his losses.

He added that a newly purchased motorcycle which cost $150,000 was destroyed by the fire. Only on Monday last, at about 1. 45 am, arsonists maliciously set fire at Sookhoos Supermarket Limited and Liquor Store located along Union Road in Marabella. Upon checking, the owner Dave Sookhoo who lives with relatives behind the businessplace, discovered three vehicles on fire. The vehicles, together value $750,000, were parked in front of the building and belonged to the Sookhoo family.

The concrete walls at the front of the supermarket were damaged by the fire.

Similar arson attacks have taken place in north Trinidad where in at least one instance, a grocery in Barataria was looted in broad daylight after it was set on fire.
Fire guts Curepe house

God is good we will survive, said 82-yearold Bassie Teeka, owner of the house. The house and what was in it is material things. We have to be thankful for our lives.

We would have been worse off if someone died in that fire. I am just thanking God that everyone is safe. Newsday understands that Tunapuna Fire officers responded to a report of a fire at #5 Rapsey Street, Curepe at about 7.40 pm on Thursday, but when they arrived on the scene the house was already engulfed in flames. Fire officers could only contain the fire and stop it from spreading to neighbouring homes, as the blaze burned the two storey building to the ground.

Teeka told Newsday yesterday that when the fire started, she was tending to one of her sons, Anthony, who was bed-ridden after a fall crippled him seven years ago. Along with the bed-ridden man, six children and two other adults were at the house when the fire ignited. All ten of the occupants of the house safely escaped the blaze, but lost everything that they owned.

By the time the fire trucks came everything was burnt down. Not a single thing was saved.

Everything burned to ashes, said Teeka. The woman and her family - now homeless - had to depend on the kindness of two neighbours, the Mohip and Jashwah families, to shelter them on the night of the fire.

Teeka expressed concern for her bed-ridden son, who is being cared for, while staying at one of the neighbours houses.

To tell you the truth it would be easy for me, because I could go by one of my nephews, but I have to see about my son and he is bed-ridden.

I have to take care of him on the bed. So it is hard for me to go anywhere, Teeka said.

Up to press time yesterday, the Fire Prevention Unit were still trying to ascertain the origin of the fire.
IDB fulfills its obligations to Govt

Staff at the unit have been complaining that they have been unpaid for months with some of them going without salaries for as many as three months.

They say that they have held several meetings with the project manager of the project, which is funded by the IDB and the bank has paid all the money it was due to pay for the support of the project so they cannot understand why they are having problems to get paid their salaries.

A spokesman said some of the workers do not even have current contracts although every week they are promised that they will get new contracts.

The spokesman said that in the case of some of the workers, their contracts expired on November 1 and they have been promised renewals every week since then but nothing has been done. In addition, some thirty to forty workers are on three month contracts but have not yet been paid for the first part of the contract.

With Christmas just a day away, the workers say they are in a pitiful situation with some of then not even having food in their homes and unable to send their children to school.

Some of them are students themselves.

We have bills to pay, rent to pay. And now we face Christmas without pay. There will be no joy in many homes in this season of goodwill, said one employee in a statement to Newsday.

Efforts to contact Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young, on the issue yesterday were unsuccessful as calls to his cellphone went directly to voicemail and there was no response to text messages.
Coco Reef hotelier wins award

The awards are voted on by the readers of the award-winning Caribbean World Magazine.

Jefferis, who developed and owns the Coco Reef property in Tobago, said, I am exceedingly honoured to have been voted the Premier Hotelier of the Year at the International Caribbean World Awards. I am living my dream of developing and owning hotels in the Caribbean.

My success is due in part to the incredible team at Coco Reef - Tobago, whose professionalism, hospitality and efficiency have ensured that guests from all over the world have the time of their lives when they stay with us. Jefferis has won countless accolades and awards throughout his career, including: Bermuda Hotel Associations first Bermuda Hotelier of the Year in 1989; The Caribbean Hotel Associations Caribbean Hotelier of the Year in 1991; EYs Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000; Caribbean Worlds Lifetime Achievement Award in Tourism and Travel in 2008; and International Caribbean Lifes Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014.

In 2015, Jefferis celebrated 50 years in the hospitality industry and was inducted by the Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association into the Tourism Hall of Fame  one of only two people to be inducted.

For the past 13 years, Jefferis Coco Reef  Tobago resort has won the World Travel Award for the Caribbeans Leading Hotel.

Jefferis is a past President of the Bermuda Hotel Association and a past member of the Bermuda governments Tourism Board and Marketing Committee.

Other previous recipients of the award were Butch Stewart from Jamaica and Professor Kevin Morley from Barbados.
Cuffie: Be considerate at Christmas

On behalf of my own family and myself, I urge you to enjoy the festivities but to do so responsibly, Cuffie advised.

If you must drink, then designate a responsible and sober driver.

If you are too tired to drive, pull into a Police Station or Fire Station and ask to remain in the parking lot for a while or call someone to get you.

Remember too, firecrackers are illegal and have the potential to cause serious injury to others.

Dont let your enjoyment spoil the fun for others. Cuffie also urged citizens to heed the lessons of the Christmas story, of the birth of Jesus Christ, even as we busy ourselves with the cleaning, the shopping, and all the other preparations.

The birth of Jesus Christ to the previously unknown Mary who came from an even more obscure village called Galilee, should remind us of how often we ignore those who, because of accidents of geography, do not satisfy our own notions of acceptability, of class, of education, of social standing, and are therefore relegated to the peripheries of society, Cuffie remarked.

Mary and Josephs inability to secure a proper or acceptable place to give birth to Jesus should not only cause us to be grateful for the roof over our heads, but to be even more mindful of those who have no such luxury, who will spend this Christmas homeless and with not even a garage open to them. Cuffie said King Herods willingness to kill Baby Jesus should cause us, particularly those in public life, to reflect on our own willingness to remain in power at any cost, even by constructing a morality of our own.

In our country today, there are as many Jesus waiting to bring salvation to this country, as there are Marys and Josephs and Innkeepers and Herods, said Cuffie.

As we go about this task of building our country, we have the opportunity to choose which one of these characters we are going to be. Will we choose the path of least resistance or will we choose the road less travelled, the one that will cause our country to achieve the heights that we all know are indeed possible?
Old Education Ministry Bldg now being used by GEB

Around the time, when the Ministry of Education vacated this compound there was a change in the provision of security services to the Office of the Prime Minister across the road, with the Guard and Emergency Branch of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service being mandated to provide the security for the Office of the Prime Minister, said the statement.

Accordingly, one of the buildings on the compound was temporarily provided to the Guard and Emergency Branch whilst another appropriate building is being located to house these officers and the necessary support services. This arrangement is a temporary one. Cuffie has noted the various claims to the property. He said the property has not yet been handed over to his Ministry, even as the Ministry of Education is still evacuating the buildings there.

The settled policy for the allocation of the States limited property resources is that a request is made by the line Ministry to the Property and Real Estate Services Division (PRESD), through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Communications, said Cuffies statement.

After considering the request, PRESD makes a recommendation to the Minister which, if he supports, it is taken before Cabinet for approval. Cuffie met Education Minister, Anthony Garcia, and the duo will meet officials from Queens Royal College (QRC) early in the New Year regarding their interest in the property.
Sombre Christmas mood at kidnapped Rias home

In many Christmases of the past, children who were off from school would long to decorate their Christmas trees and help their parents hang curtains and wrap toys in gift paper.

But for the past days, there is a sombre mood at Ragoo Extension Trace leading to the home of missing hairdresser and mother of two Ria Sookdeo.

The 32-year-old woman was kidnapped at the corner of Papourie Road and the Picton Estate Drive, at about 8.30 am on September 22, shortly after dropping off her two children at the Picton Presbyterian Primary School.

Yesterday, Sookdeos husband, Mark, was at home with his mother and his daughter, Ellena.

The girl who is nine years old, seemed oblivious that Christmas without her mother would not be special like childen of her age who look forward to their mommy giving them dolls as Christmas gifts.

When Mark emerged from the living room, he said, We are trying to cope with this situation, but it is obviously very difficult for us. He said that he is not feeling the Christmas spirit.

Three months have passed and according to the husband, he has not gotten any positive feedback as to his wife whereabouts.

Mark sat with his legs crossed and gave short answers to questions by Newsday about how he intends to treat his two children for Christmas.

He declined to be photographed.

In one corner of the living room, there was a box with toys and Ellena walked about quietly. Her brother who is five years old, was not at home. Mark said, I have no clue what happened to my wife. I pray each day that she would return home. I have little to say to the media. The husband said that members of various churches and temples visit his family and have consoled them.
Petrotrin acted on its own

In a statement, Imbert said Petrotrin did not inform the Government, that it had commenced negotiations for the collective bargaining period 2014 to 2017. Imbert, who is also Acting Energy Minister, further indicated, Petrotrin acted unilaterally without informing the Government or seeking a remit from the Public Sector Negotiating Committee (PSNC).He said it is well known by all concerned that State Enterprises must seek and obtain guidelines from the PSNC, which is a committee of Cabinet ministers, which is chaired by the Finance Minister.

This procedure has been in place for over 20 years, Imbert added.

The minister also said Petrotrin received no authorisation from the Chief Personnel Officer on this matter.

He said only when media reports appeared indicating there was disagreement between the OWTU and Petrotrin over the collective agreement for the 2014 to 2017 period, did the Government become aware that these negotiations had, commenced without authorisation. Imbert said the matter is now being addressed by Government and will be considered by the PSNC at its next meeting.

Imbert also said he has sought an explanation from Petrotrin and it was only on Wednesday that the company first sought guidance from him on this matter.

He said in Petrotrins letter to him, the company advised him that any increase in manpower costs at this time will result in increased losses and further exacerbate its cash flow, thus exposing Petrotrin to the risk of funds not being available to meet its operational expenses.

Referring to statements made by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Stuart Young at the post-Cabinet news conference at the OPM on Thursday, Imbert said, The Government has not authorised Petrotrin to make any offer of any kind for thr 2014-2017 period simply because the collective agreement for the previous period 2011 to 2014 is currently before the Industrial Court and has not been settled or determined. Imbert further stated that as a result, it is impossible to quantify the cost of an agreement for the subsequent 2014- 2017 period.
Khan smiling and in good spirits

He indicated that there is no indication as yet as to when Khan will be returning home. At the post-Cabinet news conference at the OPM in St Clair, Young said certain media reports which claimed Khan suffered a heart attack were incorrect, Young explained, It is a complication to do with his heart and brought on by a viral infection.

They found fluid in his lungs and they are treating that situation now. Indicating that it was Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who advised the Cabinet about Khans situation, Young said, There has been conversation directly with Minister Khan and Mrs Khan.

Young told reporters that before attending the briefing, he saw a photograph of Khan in his hospital gown with a Frankie Khan smile on his face. He said preparations are being made to have Khan return to Trinidad as soon as he is in a proper state to travel.

Indicating that Government is monitoring the medical treatment which Khan is receiving in Thailand, Young said, Our understanding is that the facilities in Thailand, and especially where he is receiving medical attention, are world class facilities. On Khans Facebook page yesterday, people continued posting their good wishes to him for a speedy recovery and urging him to keep on smiling.
Man killed in Tripura BSF firing

Tripura,National,Defence/Security, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Agartala, Dec 24 (IANS) A Muslim man was killed when BSF troopers, while on patrol along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, opened fire suspecting him to be a smuggler police said here on Saturday.

"Araber Rahman, 38, was killed in Border Security Force firing at Balerdepha village (under Sipahijala district) late Friday night," police spokesman Uttam Kumar Bhowmik said.

Bhowmik said that the BSF told the police that during patrolling against cattle smuggling, they opened fire killing the man on the spot.

"Family members of the victim have denied the BSF allegations and lodged a complaint with the police against the para-military troopers. They said he was innocent," the police official said.

--IANS

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Demonetisation firebomb on cash economy: Rahul Gandhi

Himachal Pradesh,National,Politics, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Dharamsala, Dec 24 (IANS) Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the central government's decision on demonetisation of high-value currency notes, saying the decision is "anti-poor" and favours 50 corporate families. He said demonetisation "is a firebomb on country's cash economy".

Addressing a public rally here, he said "it's the colour of the note that decides whether it's in the hands of an honest or an unscrupulous person".

"There is an honest person on one side while an unscrupulous person on the other. If the note goes into the hands of unscrupulous people, it becomes black as if under a spell of magic."

Donning a Himachali cap with dry followers atop, Gandhi, in his 40-minute speech in Hindi, said the Congress was not against a cashless system but it should not be imposed and it should not be an "excuse".

"The note ban is a step taken against the poor, farmers and the middle class Indians," he said in the rally marking the completion of four years of the state government led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said: "PM Modi you have divided India into two parts. On one side is one per cent rich and on other there are middle class, poor people."

He said Modi is saying the situation after demonetisation would improve in 50 days but "it will not improve for six to seven months".

"There is only six per cent black money in cash in India. Rest 94 per cent is in the form of real estate, gold and in foreign banks. Those, who stashed huge sum of black money, don't do it only in cash but in real estate, jewellery and other forms."

He said the currency ban has hit this hill state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors adversely.

--IANS

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Vidya Balan's eternal moment with Rekha (Movie Snippets)

Maharashtra,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) Actress Vidya Balan had an "eternal" moment with veteran actress Rekha.

Vidya shared an image of herself with Rekha on her Instagram account on Saturday. Rekha can be seen wrapping her arms around Vidya while both are looking up with vibrant smiles.

"With the eternal 'Madam Re'," Vidya captioned the image.

While the veteran actress is clad in a monochrome ensemble with a beanie and funky shades, Vidya is in a simple peach hued kurta and a pearl necklace.

-*-

Priyanka Chopra is 'discovering Assam'

Actress Priyanka Chopra, who is in Assam to promote the northeastern state as its brand ambassador, says she is currently discovering it.

Priyanka posted a selfie on social media in which she can bee seen wearing Mekhela chador, the traditional dress of Assam in hues of red and cream shades.

"Magical visit at Kamakhya temple in Guwahati... something so powerful in belief. Discovering Assam," she captioned the image.

--IANS

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AAP accuses centre of harassing its donors

Delhi,National,Politics, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday accused the central government of "misusing" institutional machinery to harass its donors and challenged both the Congress and the BJP to disclose details of the donations received by them at Jantar Mantar along with the AAP.

Party leader Raghav Chadha told reporters here that many AAP donors, whose names were earlier displayed on the party website, complained of being summoned by the Income Tax Department.

"They told us that the Income Tax Department asked them one question and issued one threat. They were asked why they gave donations to the AAP. Then they were threatened if they do so in future, they won't be spared," Chadha said.

He added that due to this harassment of AAP's donors, the party had now temporarily removed the list of donors from its website.

The AAP leader also challenged the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) presidents to publicly disclose details of their donations at Jantar Mantar.

"Let people decide which political party contests elections with clean money and which party contests with black money," he said.

Chadha added that 70 to 80 per cent of the donations received by the Congress and the BJP come in cash from undisclosed sources while all of AAP's donations come through banking channels.

--IANS

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Body of missing Bengal youth found

West Bengal,National,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Kolkata, Dec 24 (IANS) The decomposed body of a youth, who was missing for the last 22 days, was recovered from a railway godown here, police said on Saturday, adding he had been kidnapped and murdered.

"The body of M. Junaid was recovered in a decomposed state from a railway godown in North Kolkata's Kashipur area late on Friday," said inspector-in charge Monirul Mollah.

According to police, Junaid was kidnapped on December 2 by two acquaintances and murdered a day later.

"Two youth named Sultan Alam and Seikh Dilawar, who were detained in relation to the kidnapping, have confessed to murdering Junaid. Both the accused have been arrested," the officer said, adding that apart from kidnapping, charges of murder and causing disappearance of evidence have been slapped on them.

--IANS

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One person killed, 10 injured in Yamuna Expressway accident

Uttar Pradesh,National,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Greater Noida, Dec 24 (IANS) One person was killed and 10 others received minor injuries during a vehicular pile-up on the Yamuna Expressway due to dense fog on Saturday morning, police said.

Deceased Pankaj was driving in a Swift Dezire car from his hometown Vrindavan in Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh towards Delhi when his car collided with a tractor-trolley near Kasana area around 8.30 a.m., Greater Noida-II Circle Officer Abhinandan told IANS.

The injured included Brij Bihari, Anurag Sharma, Gaurav Mani Tripathi, Suresh Mandal and Omkar, who were travelling in different cars.

They were rushed to hospitals in Greater Noida, the police officer said.

--IANS

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UN Security Council adopts resolution to end Israeli settlements

United States,Diplomacy, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

United Nations, Dec 24 (IANS) The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The 15-nation council reaffirms the Israeli settlement activities have "no legal validity" and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.

While 14 council members voted in favor, the United States abstained.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard".

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast War. About a decade later, right-wing Israelis started to establish settlements on these lands.

The US sees the settlements, which are illegal by the international laws, as an obstacle to peace.

The Palestinians have vowed not to return to the negotiating table unless Israel freezes its settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the adoption of the resolution in a statement released by his spokesperson.

"The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work with the international community to create a conducive environment for a return to meaningful negotiations," it said.

Israel on the other hand, slammed the resolution and said it will not obey it.

Condemning the "despicable" resolution, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel "will not subordinate itself" to "this absurd" resolution.

--IANS

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Union Minister Manoj Sinha injured in road mishap

Uttar Pradesh,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Lucknow, Dec 24 (IANS) Union Minister Manoj Sinha was injured in a road mishap while he was on his way from Barabanki to Gorakhpur, police said.

He has fractured his left arm and sustained some minor injuries.

The Minister of State for Railways was rushed to Apollo hospital in Gorakhpur late on Friday and after receiving first aid has been admitted to the Lalit Narayan Mishra railway hospital.

Senior railway, district and police officials were camping at the hospital where Sinha, MP from Ghazipur is admitted.

Officials say the minister was headed for an event in Kushinagar and was slated for a night halt at the Gorakhpur's Railway VVIP guest house. But on the way, in an attempt to save a biker, the escort car in his cavalcade pressed emergency brakes and the minister's car hit it from behind.

A senior official of North-Eastern Railways (NER) Sanjay Yadav said Sinha had a fracture between his left shoulder and elbow. He will will be flown to Delhi on Saturday for a surgery.

--IANS

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N.Korea preparing for new n-test: Seoul

South Korea,Defence/Security, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Seoul, Dec 24 (IANS) Pyongyang is preparing for another nuclear test in the coming months, South Korean authorities said on Saturday following the detection of activity in North Korean atomic installations.

Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has observed ongoing movement of humans and vehicles at the Punggye-ri base, where the Kim Jong-un regime carried out their last two atomic tests in January and September, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Pyongyang is preparing to conduct another nuclear test at any moment and is only waiting for an appropriate political situation regarding South Korea and the US, NIS head Lee Byoung-ho said before a parliamentary committee.

North Korea defector Thae Yong-ho, the former number two in Pyongyang's delegation in London, told the committee on Saturday that the Kim regime is preparing to conduct another nuclear test around the South Korean presidential elections, which will take place in 2017.

The fresh atomic test is intended to showcase the regime's power amid the political crisis in neighbouring South Korea due to the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. Efe news reported.

Thae defected to South Korea in August, becoming the highest ranking officer until now to cross over from the North, and has been described as a criminal by Pyongyang.

In 2016, North Korea conducted its fourth and fifth nuclear tests - after previous ones in 2006, 2009 and 2013 - besides launching some 20 missiles, including some launched from submarines, and medium-range ballistic missiles.

--IANS

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Carrie Fisher on ventilator after massive heart attack

United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood,Health/Medicine, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Los Angeles, Dec 24 (IANS) "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher suffered a massive heart attack while on a plane on Friday and was put on a ventilator, reports said on Saturday.

Fisher, 60, who famously plays 'Princess Leia' in the sci-fi saga, was flying from London to Los Angeles to promote her new book, the BBC reported.

Reports said she suddenly went into a cardiac arrest just 15 minutes before the flight was scheduled to land.

A frantic flight attendant asked if there were any medical personnel on board, and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who was sitting in the back of the plane rushed up to the first class to administer Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

When the plane landed, paramedics were waiting on the tarmac to rush Fisher to UCLA Medica Center.

The actress was unresponsive at the time, and an EMS crew had to work on her for 15 minutes before they got a pulse.

Her brother Todd said she was in intensive care in Los Angeles.

"If everyone could just pray for her that would be good," he said. The doctors are doing their thing and we don't want to bug them. We are waiting by patiently."

--IANS

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Army chief visits Assam, Manipur

Delhi,National,Defence/Security,Business/Economy, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh is on a visit to Manipur and Assam to review security situation, an official said.

"General Dalbir Singh visits Manipur and Assam to review security situation (in the states)," the Indian Army said in a tweet on Saturday.

The United Naga Council has imposed an economic blockade in the state since November 1 to denounce the creation of seven new districts from areas inhabited by Nagas in Manipur.

Singh is set to retire on December 31 and will be succeeded by Lt. General Bipin Rawat.

--IANS

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Politically damaging for Modi if BJP loses in UP (Column: Political Circus)

Delhi,National,Politics, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may hope to ride out the demonetisation storm because his opponents' lack credibility at the national level, apart from being divided, and because of the extraordinary patience of the ordinary people in accepting their inconvenience.

Furthermore, the fact that the people have retained their faith in the Prime Minister -- till now -- is evident from the series of election victories notched up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the municipal polls in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chandigarh.

True, the Trinamool Congress, which is perhaps Modi's most trenchant critic, has also won several elections in its political hinterland, showing how the areas of influence of the various parties have become firmly demarcated. But Modi's political clout is undoubtedly spread over a larger area.

Modi's real test, however, will be in the Uttar Pradesh elections next year. More than the polls in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, which are likely to be held at the same time, the outcome in Uttar Pradesh will demonstrate how the BJP's vikas purush (man of development) is faring half-way through his tenure.

The test is all the more important because demonetisation is a part of the kind of economic reforms which Modi wants to introduce. Since his "sabka saath, sabka vikas" project of development for all hasn't quite taken off, at least where employment generation is concerned, he is depending on his ability to curb the parallel economy and introduce a cashless system to help him cross the Rubicon of the next general election.

In this respect, Uttar Pradesh has always played a major part in indicating the popular mood if only because it is a heartland state. Having lost Bihar, which is also in the Hindi-speaking "cow belt", Modi cannot afford to lose Uttar Pradesh as well.

Even if he cannot replicate his sterling performance of 2014 when the BJP won 71 of the 80 parliamentary seats in the state, and its partner, the Apna Dal won two, the two allies have to remain well ahead of its two major competitors -- the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Some time ago, the family feud in the SP between Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle, Shivpal Singh Yadav, appeared to give the BJP the edge. But the fratricidal squabbles have subsided for the time being, presumably because the SP supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav (the Chief Minister's father and Shivpal's elder brother) realised that the party was shooting itself in the foot because of the internal row.

Having first sided with Shivpal, Mulayam has since been playing a largely neutral role with a tilt towards Akhilesh, probably because of the realisation that the personable, 43-year-old Chief Minister has a far better image than his uncle with his suspected patronage of the rowdies who constitute the party's cadres.

Being pro-development like most present-day young political leaders, Akhilesh has been vigorously rolling out various growth-oriented schemes to make up for the lost time when he was involved in his tiffs with the elders in the family.

Modi, therefore, will be wary of the fact that the SP is no longer a pushover as he thought during its internecine battles and when he was being lauded for the army's surgical strikes on the bases of the terrorists across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Moreover, if there is an alliance between the SP and the Congress, then the challenge for the BJP will become more formidable because of a rerun of the Muslim-Yadav (MY) combination for which Bihar was once known.

The BJP's disadvantage is that it doesn't have an ally apart from the tiny Apna Dal. Nor does it have a chief ministerial candidate. Its only asset is Modi, but he is no longer what he was in 2014. To make the BJP's presence felt in Uttar Pradesh, his demonetisation gambit has to take off, especially after the 50-day time limit set by him ends towards the end of December.

But if the queues remain long, Modi will have a major challenge on his hands. As it is, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that he will take a relook at his pro-Modi position after the 50-day deadline is over. Laloo Prasad has already said that he will side with Modi's opponents even before the end of December. That will leave only Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Modi's side.

There is little doubt that where the aspirational younger generation is concerned, Modi has greater traction than either the two Bihar stalwarts or Mamata Banerjee because of the continuing belief in the Prime Minister's ability to boost the economy.

But the problem for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is that unlike the Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal or the Trinamool Congress leaders, Akhilesh Yadav has a greater appeal for the youth because of his forward-looking image.

If it is going to be a Modi vs Akhilesh battle, then it will be hugely politically damaging for the Prime Minister if the BJP loses.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com)

--IANS

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Hollywood celebs pray for Carrie Fisher's speedy recovery

United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Los Angeles, Dec 24 (IANS) Celebrities and public figures are rushing to Twitter to wish "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher a speedy recovery after she went into full cardiac arrest while aboard a plane on Friday.

The "Star Wars" actress is now in stable condition after suffering a massive heart attack while in transit from London to Los Angeles.

L.A. County Fire Department paramedics performed Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Fisher upon landing and rushed her to a local hospital, reports variety.com.

Her "Star Wars" co-stars took to social media to send wishes.

"Sending all our love" to Fisher," Mark Hamill tweeted.

Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the "Star Wars" franchise, wrote on Twitter: "Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favourite princess right now."

Many sent Fisher words of comfort and encouragement, including "Stranger Things" actor Gaten Matarazzo, who wrote "May the force be with you Carrie Fisher".

Others expressed dismay at the turn of events, even blaming 2016 for the incident.

Patton Oswalt tweeted: "Goddamit 2016 enough already."

Comedian Billy Eichner wrote: "We are not losing Carrie Fisher. Do you hear me? We are not losing Carrie Fisher. Love you."

"Send love prayers and the kitchen sink to my sister Carrie Fisher F**k no. F**k no", Courtney Love Cobain posted.

"No. No. No. Praying for Carrie Fisher," Josh Gad posted.

--IANS

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Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Former Illinois state representative John Anthony was fired Friday from his job at the Illinois Department of Corrections after numerous women reported being groped and harassed by him at a Christmas party. He was the executive assistant to the director of the organization and made approximately $120,000 a year.

One instance of Anthonys inappropriate behavior, which ranged from unwanted comments to touching and even grinding on people on the dance floor, was caught on a surveillance video. The video was obtained by the Chicago Sun Times under the Freedom of Information Act and is available online. According to the report, He pressed himself onto [the womans] left thigh and licked her neck.

Catherine Kelly, the spokeswoman for Illinois Office of the Governor, said, Our administration does not tolerate this type of behavior. The Department of Corrections did the right thing by taking immediate action.
Thanks for the great post op!

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maybe some people dont wanna talk about it or just ignore it or doesn't phase them what an actor did in his or her past?



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Maybe some people do

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Those people are part of the problem. Ignoring what he has done, knowing about it and making the choice not to discuss it - remaining silent and passive is to be complicit.

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i mean outside of ontd i dont think many people who are going to the movies are thinking should i google casey anthony's past ? maybe that's just me.



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Keep mentioning his name.

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The article calls or Sexism harassment, right?

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the article doesn't call him a rapist though

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I agree that accuracy is important but I'm frustrated by people who use that distinction to minimize the severity of what he did.

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agreed

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I cant imagine what women go through in this business, bc like you are constantly prob having to put yourself in bad situations trying not to make someone mad to not give you a role etc



I Would never get a job bc I would be like I am not going in a room alone with you, I saw this in an episode of Dateline!! I am a very cautious and paranoid person when it comes to shit like that.

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I honestly think it's just as bad as what women go through in non-hollywoood jobs.

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i had a low level producer tell me he liked me and knew i was underaged so we could just make out a little bit which caused me to freak out and stop working in that production circle. other people in it have gone on to pen huge movies, premiere films at sxsw, etc. i'm just now starting to reconnect with some and it's like, damn, imagine what could have been if i wasn't a frightened teenager who quit because a grown man made an inappropriate pass at me.



it would be nice to know others with aspirations don't have to go through the same thing. unfortunately, they way i see it, i had it easy. but still. :(



Edited at 2016-12-24 11:45 pm (UTC)

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We should make daily posts about him

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Some of us on twitter have and tbh no one cares



Edit: should say people in general don't care, ONTD has expressed a lot of concern



Edited at 2016-12-25 12:07 am (UTC)

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here's my piece on the complex reasons, most privilege-related, that separate Casey Affleck from Nate Parker: https://t.co/Gdu6hAEEuM  Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) 20. Dezember 2016



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Parker was accused of raping a girl, his co-writer was convicted of the crime, Parker on record harassed the girl afterwards and the girl later committed suicide.



Affleck's story isn't great but in comparison Parker's is way worse.

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IA Afflecks alleged crime isn't anywhere near as bad as Parker's in a court of law but imagine how those women feel, kwim?



The other problem is that regardless of who's is worse Parker wasn't able to control media and have stories pulled like Afflecks PR is doing and that's fucked up. This is as much about white privilege as it is about the alleged crimes.

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great article, can't believe it's on buzzfeed tbh

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1. Casey Afflack is a POS but he's a white guy so nothing will ever come of it. People are still licking Woody Allen's and Polanski's assholes, so I doubt he'll ever see any negative effects from this.



2. I work in a different industry but the struggle as a WOC wanting to be successful in a male dominated work place is real. I get along with my white male higher ups b/c I go out to drink with them and talk shit while cringing/raging on the inside about what they say/think about women and POC. They do refrain from some topics "out of respect for me being a woman" but yea, it's not a lot. I most definitely clap back at them a lot and call them out on shit so I'd like to think I'm educating them a little? Probably not tho.

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i have experienced sexual harassment in EVERY job i've had.

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YUP. I worked at an airport in college and a TSA guy grabbed my ass and pinched it. I filed reports and nada. I don't know a single woman out there that doesn't have a similar story of comments, touching, or worse

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mostly same

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I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in a proper world where sexual assault would actually be charged and the assailant shunned as such, or better yet, it not happen at all.

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the world feels like it is changing at a snail place in many ways and too fast for my liking in other ways.



this part of the world is moving too slow

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Sometimes I think about what women experience when it comes to rape/sexually assault/etc and then I apply it to my gay male experience or the experience of my friends and it just makes me think there is a fundamental disconnect. Like my friends and myself all have a more blase attitude about the instances we've experienced for the most part.

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And SNL still let this piece of shit host

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Also, the concept of locker-room talk terrifies me. This is what men think of us when we're not there.

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Seriously! And the whole bro culture. I refuse to date a guy with too many friends. No good can come from a large pack of men together at once.

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Right? Why is that a "good excuse" for men saying disgusting things about women?

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It's terrifying. I try not to think about it in my every day life but the truth is, this concept and what men say to each other in privacy has put me off of them even more than I already was. I have a younger brother who, for the most part, was almost strictly raised among women and by a strong woman, and on the surface he seems okay, but I don't know what he says to his male friends when we're not around. It's all scary.

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Mte. Even reading through comments on reddit scares the hell out of me sometimes. Some of the things guys say about women (or sex or porn) when they're in general subreddits about neutral topics are really vile... idk it creeps me tf out and makes me not trust any guy because I keep thinking "Do they all think like that when they assume we're not around to hear it?"

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i read an awesome article about SNL normalizing sexual abusers (this guy, trump, etc)

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I'm one of the older women in the office, and already known as "her" when it comes to sexism and racism. I literally had to explain to a colleague that "grammar nazi" is always completely stupid, but using it towards a woman with Jewish heritage (which he knew about) just being completely vile.



I wish there was a break from speaking up, but shit won't change if we do.

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This. I feel like we sound crazy constantly speaking up but JFC I don't want the young girls I know and in general experience what so many of us have

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Stop watching movies produced, starring or directed by terrible men. If enough people did this they'd be seen as a financial risk by studios. It would take their power away from them. Please stop watching their shit.

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ontd was exactly like that 5/6 years ago. No one wanted to call out Woody and Polanski was given a pass by a lot of people. And look at us now. Some people eventually see the light.

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Here's my argument: Quit casting shitty people and we won't need to have the discussion. If you cast a harasser, guess what narrative is going to come alongside your film? It's not like there aren't hundreds of great actors out there to choose from. smh.

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ugh I wish more people would. I know so many people excited to see this movie and completely ignorant to the sexual harassment claims.

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BCN Contributor Austin Gross

With the Democrats losing the presidency, after winning the popular vote by over 2 million votes more than the victor, Donald J. Trump: Should the constitutional provision of the Electoral College be scrapped? Yes, the votes for president should be concentrated in the population centers. No, the Electoral College provides for better representation from the less populated states. I rarely vote because I have little knowledge of the issues. 103 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



The Trump phenomenon, and the aftermath of one of the most tumultuous elections in American history, has shown that hypocrisy runs wild not only on the left side of the aisle like we already knew, but the right as well.The best example of this to me since the election was and is, former Texas governor Rick Perry. As a disclaimer, I must say that I consider myself to be in favor of Rick Perry in many almost every other way. He was one of the most successful governors in the history of the state of Texas in many different regards, whether it be on energy, his implementation of fiscal and social conservatism, amongst other things. Throughout the primary, Governor Perry was a Ted Cruz supporter, a not so surprising choice for the native Texan and Constitutional Conservative. Furthermore, Governor Perry was a vocal and common critic of Donald Trump as the primary rolled along, after he had dropped out of the race.Fast forward to essentially any point after the Indiana primary. Governor Perry, has been a vocal supporter for Donald Trump. For Perry, it became more than just a tweet or two. It was a regular appearance on Fox, or whatever network should present him with the opportunity to appear. For Perry, it was more than the common and easily comprehensible "Trump is better than Hillary so I will vote for him." This was a shill job.Governor Perry's behaviors moving forward since that point have made it clear to me what he and many other politicians who I often find myself agreeing with are - career politicians who are just looking for that opening. America is electing celebrities now? There is Rick Perry on Dancing with The Stars. Trump needs a Secretary for the Department of Energy? There is Rick Perry, accepting an offer for a job, in a department which in previous presidential campaigns, he had promised to abolish.This is not a hit piece on Rick Perry. This is only an example to show that someone who seems as a good a man as Rick Perry, are prone to fall into the trap of bureaucratic politicking, if we, as Americans, do not hold them accountable. The same has happened just in this election to the likes of Mitt Romney, another seemingly good man, who interviewed with a job in the cabinet of President Trump, the same man he delivered fiery rebuttal speech of mere months ago.The Trump phenomenon has brought out the worst of this, from Ryan to Carson to Christie to Priebus to Pence, much of the Republican Party has abandoned its core tenets for what has won the day. Time and time again, we have seen politician after politician abandoned a principle which often seems to go unsaid; consistency. Of course, consistency in politics is in large part started on the merit of voting record, legislation supported, amongst other things. There are some things that the official yes or no column, or legislative record will not catch, that we as citizens of a free country should take responsibility for.It is our job, as American citizens, to draw attention to Rick Perry becoming the head of a department he once called to be abolished. It is our job to call out Mike Pence for moving away from his support of free trade in order to win an election. It is our job to call out Mitt Romney for nearly accepting a position of a cabinet for a man whom he claimed to be "temperamentally unfit" for the presidency.Moving forward, it is in our best interests and the interest of our Republic, whatever the political party is, to seek out candidates who are consistent, and to call out those who are not. If we fall into the trap of electing officials who will simply follow the guide of the majority, or of the coattails of the politician who furthers their political careers, than our elections become nothing more than a pick your poison, surface level choice.
With Donald Trump set to enter the White House and OPEC having agreed to production cuts, analysts are focused on how the global oil industry and prices will be impacted in 2017. The new U.S. President-elect and his cabinet, along with their pro-drilling policies, are increasing hopes of a bright future for the U.S. oil industry, but it remains to be seen whether these hopes will translate into any practical outcomes. The most important of Trumps energy appointments, it would seem, is the ex-CEO of ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. This and the recent deal struck in Vienna among the OPEC and NOPEC producers has caused global oil markets to rally. The benchmark Brent crude price has crossed the $55 mark and WTI is not far behind. Analysts are predicting that Trumps team  unlike the outgoing Obama administration  will approve many of the halted North American pipeline projects and will make more land available for drilling, greatly benefitting the U.S. oil and gas industry.

But Michael Lynch, an energy analyst with a decade of experience in the industry, describes in a recent article how president-elect Donald Trump may cause damage to the industry instead of helping it to grow. Trumps acrimony towards China has been widely reported on, evidenced by his threats to stop Chinese imports in order to boost U.S. domestic industry. But the approximately $500 million per annum of U.S oil and drilling equipment imported from China will certainly be more expensive if it is imported from elsewhere or made in the U.S. Lynch argues that onshore operations could be made more expensive by tariffs on Chinese steel pipes in an effort to bolster U.S. steelmaking and coal mining, adding that if Trump ends federal support for renewables there may be a loss of jobs in the energy sector. Such an outcome would be antithetical to his promises.

With regard to the availability of U.S. federal lands, one can easily see that land is not the major issue that oil majors and independents face  it is the price. Analysts have seen how the rig count has continued to climb as the prospect of a tighter oil supply in 2017 has increased the likelihood of higher prices. But the future of this rally hinges on the sensitive OPEC deal agreed in Vienna on November 30th and, as this reporter has noted before, the first six months of the planned reduction in output by OPEC and NOPEC are extremely significant. If the producers do not see any difference in oil price then members may eventually back off.

And, there is another catch. As Tillerson is perceived to be a reliable ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, next year might see the lifting of sanctions on Russia by the U.S, which may consequently encourage the Russians to produce more oil as they would be unhindered by any Western sanctions. "While Russia is expected to substantially raise its mineral-extraction tax for next year, the crude export duty is set to decrease, making crude exports in January more attractive vs. this month, said JBC Energy in a research note.

Related: Libyan Supply Fears Dampen Oil Price Optimism

Another question yet to be answered is whether, after Tillersons appointment, Saudi Aramco  considered to be the largest company in the world by valuation  will be undermined by Tillersons ExxonMobil ties. Most of Tillersons Exxon shares will not vest for a decade and would stand to increase in value from political decisions made in favour of Exxons interests. It seems unlikely that Tillerson would shun the shares to walk away with just $57m and a conflict-free bill of health. But keeping the shares would open the door to unrelenting scrutiny of his actions. Tillerson has been outspoken in his disapproval of sanctions against Russia, which reportedly cost Exxon $1bn in lost revenue from its projects in the hydrocarbon-rich country reports the U.K. Telegraph.

But recently, the U.S. oil majors once called before Congress to explain their windfall profits  have suffered from lay-offs and falling share values. BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil and many more have posted billions of dollars in losses last year. Tillerson's exit from Exxon would come after a tumultuous period for his company, punctuated by a $1.7 billion loss in the second quarter and the loss of its AAA credit rating following the crushing global slide in oil prices USA Today reported.

On the other hand, not much is known about Saudi Aramco. The Saudi oil giants facts and figures have long been shrouded in mystery as the oil kingdom does not release reliable data regarding its operations and financials. The recent plan to make a 5 percent share of Aramco public will create the largest sovereign fund in history, with a valuation conservatively estimated at $1 trillion. The recent increase in oil price may help the public offering further. Also, as the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, embarks on a plan to wean the country off oil, industry observers expect to see significant diversification in the Saudi energy sector. Few of these developments have been initiated, but recently Saudi Aramco announced two contracts: one for a wind turbine facility and another for a gas plant. A $900 million contract signed with South Koreas Doosan Heavy Industry and Construction for establishing a power plant of 1.5GW is another development. Additionally, SoftBank and KSA are launching a technology fund which will see 100 billion dollars in investment. This marks Saudi Arabias entrance into the global technology sector.

Related: Libyan Supply Fears Dampen Oil Price Optimism

Notwithstanding the fact that Exxons former CEO will sit in the worlds most powerful diplomatic position, the fact remains that he  or for that matter Mr. Trump  do not have much power over the global oil industry, especially as to the oil and gas majors ability to generate profits and increase crude oil prices commensurate to the levels seen before 2014. Its clear that hes talked about relaxing environmental regulations, and that would obviously bode well for the drillers and what not, and that would include opening up some federal lands that have been restricted, both onshore and offshore, Thomas Watters, an energy analyst, was quoted as saying by USA Today. But just to be clear, the drilling activity... that we have seen in the U.S. wasnt due to regulation, it was due to economics. So, at the end of the day, its going to be about where oil prices are and how producers react to that.

In fact, Saudi Aramco, is doing very well as it appears to be moving towards a path of future diversity and adaptability. ExxonMobil and other majors should do the same. As far as oil prices are concerned, it seems that the strength of the U.S. dollar, U.S. wells being expected to produce prolifically given the regulatory support of Trump administration, and the Putin factor may not prove as beneficial to the oil industry as they seem on the surface. As noted above, it remains to be seen whether the hopes of a new energy re-emergence will translate into any practical outcomes.

By Osama Rizvi for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
There are distressed energy investors, investors who are distressed about energy, and then there are investors who will buy distressed properties that no one else would touch with a ten-foot pole. Of late that last group is starting to become interested in an area of the world that is radioactive to every other investor out there; Iraq.

Iraq is a war-torn mess where the prospect of earning a profit is almost unimaginable to many investors. Yet a select few investors are starting to look for opportunities in the country, and in the process are giving literal truth to the old adage about investing when blood is running in the streets.

Investing in Iraq is notable for a few reasons.

First, the country itself may present a long-term opportunity. The U.S. State Department cites Iraq as having long term potential based on its status as the worlds fifth largest repository of oil reserves, as well as massive reconstruction and infrastructure needs. A State Department report notes "U.S. companies have opportunities to invest in security, energy, environment, construction, healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors".

In other words, U.S. investors do not have to literally go to Iraq and take their life in their hands to buy and oil rig. Instead they can invest in U.S. firms that will benefit over the long term from any Iraqi stability and rebuilding. This could include construction and development firms like KBR and Fluor, oil majors like Exxon and BP, and financial firms with a large swath of international experience like Citi. Of course, defense stocks are a good way to hedge these bets in the event of renewed fighting where additional equipment like helicopters from Lockheed Martin or missiles from Raytheon may be needed.

Iraqi-investing is also significant to investors for a second reason though; it epitomizes the need to look outside traditional investing circles for new opportunities. Despite the fact that the stock market as a whole has returned about 11 percent on average annually over the last 30 years, many investors have returns far lower than that. In fact, even sophisticated millionaire investors only expect returns of 4-6 percent on average.

Related: Oil Traders See Market Balance By Mid-2017

In order to break out of that type of low returns environment, investors need to think outside the box and look for new opportunities. That could mean opportunities where they can use personal expertise to understand a business that the rest of the market does not, or it could mean participating in investments that the market is not yet willing to consider. Iraq is one example of the latter.

Beyond Iraq though, there are plenty of other markets and market segments that the broader swath of investors do not want to participate in right now. For example, Russian stocks or healthcare stocks might qualify under these criteria.

Investors buying into Iraq or other distressed under-appreciated sectors of the investing world need to have patience and a long time horizon, but if they do, they should profit handsomely. Thats not to say that a situation like Iraq will always work out well  it may not , but thats a risk that investors can take if they have a broad enough portfolio. Moreover, taking on that type of risk is likely to lead to higher returns on average over time. A situation like Iraq is not right for many or perhaps even most investors, but the broader lesson about keeping ones eyes open for new opportunities anywhere they may appear is universally true.

By Michael McDonald of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
From Reader Supported News

I can sum it up in one word: Trust. For many of us, there is a trust issue at the DNC. I have no doubt that Tom Perez is a great guy and is qualified to lead the Democratic Party. What I don't know is where his loyalties lie. Would Perez have condoned the actions of the past two chairs to favor the establishment candidate over the more progressive choice?

We cannot afford to take that risk. Debbie Wasserman Shultz and Donna Brazile have created an environment where progressives don't feel welcome in the Democratic Party. For us to bring many back into the fold we need a meaningful first step. Electing Keith Ellison chair of the party is the first step to healing the division in our party.

Too many in our party dismiss the significance of what was revealed by Wikileaks. So many Americans were energized by the campaign of Senator Sanders, only to learn that party officials were favoring his opponent. It is clear that shuffling a few chairs will not be enough. The leadership of the DNC must be completely revamped. For progressives to feel welcome again in the party, we need to choose the next leader.

Congressman Ellison was the first member of Congress to endorse Senator Sanders. He has our trust. With Ellison at the helm, we will be able to convince many who felt betrayed that a transformation is taking place in the Democratic Party and we can expect a fair nominating process in the future.

In state after state, the party chair race is pitting the establishment against progressives who want to transform the party. The battle lines couldn't be clearer on the national level.

No candidate is perfect. There will be disagreements on issues. The smear campaign has already begun. But let us make no mistake about it. This campaign is not about Keith Ellison's policy towards Israel or any other issue.

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Nobody likes taxes, but roughly nine out of 10 Americans want income from investments to be taxed at least as much as other income. Republican leaders, tone-deaf, push endlessly for investment breaks. They close their eyes to a reform enacted under President Ronald Reagan: equal taxes on capital gains, dividends, and ordinary income such as wages. It's one policy the country would love to have back, yugely.

The nine-to-one margin came from a nationally representative sample of 1,040 individuals; they were polled in August in a broad-ranging tax survey conducted by WalletHub, a personal finance website. About a third of the sample wanted higher taxes on investments, not just equal taxes. WalletHub said there were "no significant differences by income or age ... cross all groups, there appears to be strong support for higher taxes on investment income, relative to current policy."

The landslide national preference for at least equal taxes on investments--for tax fairness, not tax breaks--meshes perfectly with the populist belief that the system is rigged in favor of the rich. That's who profits, grossly and disproportionately, from preferential rates on investment income. According to an analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, the top 1 percent of Americans receives over 62 percent of the benefits from lower rates on capital gains, dividends and related tax preferences; for the top 10 percent, the total benefit share is just short of 80 percent.

That's more than alright with Republicans, whose tax plans will likely drive those percentages even higher--in exactly the opposite direction of the reform ushered in a generation ago by President Reagan. He took Main Street's side on taxing Wall Street gains, but the GOP likes to pretend it never happened.

Example: the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), wrote an October op-ed touting Reagan's landmark Tax Reform Act of 1986. The piece urged Congress to follow suit and pass "Reaganesque" reforms. Not too Reaganesque though; equal taxes on investment income were a key element of that bill.

Preferential rates returned under President Clinton and increased sharply under President George W. Bush. President Obama did bump up the capital gains rate and add an Obamacare surcharge for higher-income Americans--but even for them the levy is still far short of the 39.6% top rate on earned income.

The current Republican blueprint for tax reform, rolled out this summer by Chairman Brady and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), taxes capital gains, dividends and interest at half the rate of ordinary income. For most Americans, the final tax plan floated by president-elect Trump contained no investment income changes (though he would, of course, repeal the Obamacare surcharge). Both the blueprint and Trump's plan call for eliminating the estate tax, putting a golden cherry on top for the super-rich.

Proponents of lower taxes on capital gains often claim that investors simply won't invest without a tax incentive. The billionaire Warren Buffett, an investment guru, long ago dismantled that argument: "I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone"shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and the potential taxes have never scared them off."

The election results may have stunned the pundits and the pollsters, but the signs were there from the start. A populist anger has taken root in America, a lashing out by wounded whites against a system they see as rigged against them. In this case, true: there's no clearer rigging than a tax code that favors investment income over wages and salaries.

Donald Trump rode the populist tide all the way to the White House. Let's see if President Trump listens to the populist yearning--the yuge populist yearning--for equal taxes on income from wealth and income from work.


32 Years Before Marriage Equality, Bernie Sanders Fought For Gay ...

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There are many folks struggling financially in America. There are many folks struggling financially in America that live in blighted communities. There are many folks struggling financially in America that live in blighted communities that have been terribly disadvantaged by neoliberalism. There are many folks struggling financially in America that live in blighted communities that have been terribly disadvantaged by neoliberalism and have not had the wherewithal or ability to get a good education. There are many folks struggling financially in America that live in blighted communities that have been terribly disadvantaged by neoliberalism and have not had the wherewithal or ability to get a good education and voted for Donald Trump.

And now we are asked to accept this as the natural, inevitable outcome -- what else could they do? There was no one out there speaking for them. Well, that is a self-serving argument disconnected from the truth. Bernie was absolutely speaking for them. They were not about to vote for Bernie. Bernie was a Jew and "a Communist." Bernie didn't play well in White blighted America. Bernie didn't give them the false hope that one day they too could be rich and famous. Bernie didn't race bait or threaten women or hammer fear into his message. Bernie didn't play to the cheap seats. Yes, they had a choice but thirty-plus years of Conservative Republican enabling and validation of the lesser angels of their natures had finally paid off in spades. White struggling America finally, absolutely and with gusto, embraced a fascist demagogue built in Conservative think tanks, cynical Republican campaigns, Right Wing talk radio and the Fox news room.

There is great danger in accepting the failure of neoliberal policies as somehow validating the outcome of the election. This is the disingenuous ploy of liberals that have issues with and animus towards the Democratic Party. Neoliberalism certainly has failed America but blaming Neoliberalism for the Trump phenomenon is like blaming the Treaty of Versailles for the horrors of Nazi Germany. Hate, prejudice and people murdered over fifty million individuals in Europe.

One man quickened and enabled the slaughter. He rendered citizens tools. Tools of hate, racism, fear -- tools readily and excitedly sacrificing themselves in an orgy of unfathomable destruction and horror.



We are there. We are standing on the precipice with our new President-- looking down into the familiar abyss. There is nothing positive or good about the man. He has ignited the angry masses. He has no hope. He has no evident humanity. We, that have hope, that love our neighbors, that believe that a bright future is still possible, that simply aspire to living compassionate lives -- we need to resist him with every fibre of our being.

I do not understand how anyone voted for him. However, I deeply believe in forgiveness and empathy. Now is a time for truth and introspection for all of us. Truth is and always will be. The truth will set us free.
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Edward Snowden, like me and others, take one oath, and one oath only, and that is to protect and defend the Constitution of the US against all enemies -- foreign and domestic, Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, told RT.

Edward Snowden has responded to a damning House Intelligence report analyzing his life and possible motives for revealing NSA surveillance.

The 37-page review provides some details of the NSA whistleblower, discussing Snowden's focus on his incompetencies and disagreements with supervisors.

According to the report, Snowden has been in contact with Russian intelligence agencies since his arrival in Moscow.

The whistleblower "has had, and continues to have, contact with Russian intelligence services," and that he "remains a guest of the Kremlin to this day," the report says.



Snowden denied the accusation, saying in a Tweet "they claim without evidence I'm in cahoots with Russian intel. Everyone knows this is false, but let's examine their basis:

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From Consortium News



Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona. October 4, 2016.

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Americans and the world have valid reasons to worry about Donald Trump's presidency, given his lack of experience and his refusal to recognize that his loss of the popular vote should moderate his emerging domestic policies. But Trump also could do some good things.

Particularly, Trump could break the death grip that neoconservatives and their "liberal interventionist" tag-team partners now have locked around the throat of U.S. foreign policy.

Trump owes little to these "regime change" advocates since nearly all of them supported either other Republicans or his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. And the few who backed Trump, such as John Bolton and James Woolsey, have been largely passed over as Trump assembles his foreign policy and national security teams by relying mostly on a combination of outsiders and outcasts.

Obviously, there remains much uncertainty about what foreign policy direction a President Trump will take and the neocons/liberal-hawks in Congress are sure to mount a fierce battle to defeat or intimidate some of his nominees, particularly Exxon-Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State because of his past working relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, assuming that the neocon/liberal-hawk establishment fails to stop Trump from escaping Official Washington's foreign policy "group thinks," the new president could radically reorder the way the U.S. government approaches the world.

Lost Opportunity

Eight years ago, President Barack Obama had a similar opportunity but chose to accommodate the Establishment and empower the neocons and liberal hawks by appointing his infamous "team of rivals": Republican Robert Gates as Defense Secretary, liberal-hawk Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and leaving in place President George W. Bush's military high command, including neocon-favorite Gen. David Petraeus.



Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on May 1, 2011, watching developments in the Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Neither played a particularly prominent role in the operation.

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For doing so, Obama won applause from the editorial and op-ed writers but he doomed his presidency to a foreign policy of continuity, rather than his promised change. Only on the edges did Obama resist the neocon/liberal-hawk pressures for war and more war, such as his decision not to bomb Syria in 2013 and his negotiations with Iran to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon in 2014.

But Obama bowed down more than he stood up. He let Secretary Clinton push a neoliberal economic agenda by supporting oligarchic interests in Latin America, such as the 2009 Honduran coup, and extend the neocon "regime change" strategy in the Middle East, with the brutal overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and covert support for rebels in Syria.

Even after the original "team of rivals" was gone at the start of his second term, Obama continued his pathetic efforts to appease the powerful, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by undertaking a submissive three-day tour of Israel in early 2013 and cozying up to the Saudi royals with trips to the kingdom despite intelligence that they and their Gulf state allies were financing Al Qaeda and Islamic State terrorists.

Though Obama would eventually boast about the rare moments when he defied what he called the Washington "playbook" of relying on military options rather than diplomatic ones, it was a case of the exception proving the rule. The rule was that Obama so wanted to be accepted by Washington's well-dressed and well-heeled establishment that he never ventured too far from what the editorialists at The Washington Post and The New York Times deemed permissible.

Still, the neocon/liberal-hawk establishment continued to scold America's first African-American president for not doing everything that the "smart people" demanded, such as escalating the U.S. role in the "regime change" war in Syria or fully arming Ukraine's military so it could more efficiently slaughter ethnic Russian rebels on Russia's border.

Power Consolidated

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In the course of the election, Donald Trump was clear about his views on climate disruption, the Paris agreement, and most specifically the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Now that Trump is President-elect, he is wasting no time in putting his ideas into play. To start the ball rolling, he has appointed Scott Pruitt to head the EPA.

Reaction has been swift and overwhelming negative.

Pruitt is part of a cabal that promotes the concept that clean energy is antithetical to a robust economy.

Unsurprisingly, Pruitt fits in perfectly with the other cabinet picks, who have glaring conflicts of interest. (No surprise that Kellyanne Conway told reporters, "Attorney General Pruitt has great qualifications.").

Is Pruitt's nomination a crisis? You bet it is!

Let's go over some of what the EPA does and why Pruitt should not be anywhere near the reins.

What the EPA Does:

The EPA has a plainly stated mission: "To protect human health and the environment." Its job is "to reduce environmental risk based on the best available scientific information." This includes creating and implementing federal laws "fairly and effectively."

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MISSOULA  By most any measure, the Lil' Smokies had a big year in 2016.

Members of the Missoula progressive bluegrass band estimate they played at least 170 shows.

"This is definitely the most shows we've played by far," said vocalist and dobro player Andy Dunnigan, who formed the band in 2009 with some friends.

They're traveling outside Montana more than they used to. During their fall tour, they hit both coasts, including opening gigs for the Infamous Stringdusters and Greensky Bluegrass.

"Those come to mind as full-circle moments," Dunnigan said. They played a Halloween show with the Stringdusters at Denver's Fillmore Auditorium for a crowd of around 3,000 people.

"There's this really cool moment with all of us back by the control board all dressed up like the Village People," getting ready to play an encore with musicians they consider heroes.

They have a new booking agent, Monterery International, whose other clients include Leftover Salmon and the Stringdusters.

At the International Bluegrass Music Association's Momentum Awards in September, they were named a Momentum Band of the Year.

Next year, they'll release a new album and likely play more than 200 gigs, a feat for bands based in a remote state like Montana, where geography is a hindrance in gaining a local fan base and touring nonstop is the only way to make music a full-time job.

Over the past several decades, only a few roots acts born and based in the Treasure State built a sizable national audience. Big Sky Mudflaps and the Mission Mountain Wood Band were the two most recent.

New year, new album

The Smokies plan to release a new album in 2017, a follow-up to their 2013 studio debut and a live recording from New Year's Eve 2013 at the Top Hat Lounge.

"There's some stuff we've only been playing live for a couple of years now, in addition to newer stuff we haven't played at all," Dunnigan said.

"Feathers" and "Might As Well" have been staples for awhile. "The City" and "Hitchcock" were written during the last few months. Dunnigan has written most of the songs, while guitarist Matt "Rev" Rieger contributed one.

Some of the songs have evolved over the last year, and the live album isn't an accurate representation of the way they sound now. Like any band, they've had some turnover. Dunnigan, bassist Scott Parker and banjo player Matt Cornette have stayed on.

Jesse Brown, their fiddle player, has moved on. Cameron Wilson, their mandolin player, and Pete Barrett, their guitarist, both parted ways amicably this year.

"Families and work and other hobbies and passions came into play, so we completely understood," Dunnigan said.

Rieger and fiddle player Jake Simpson joined earlier this year and are eager to sell a CD they've played on at their merch tables.

"For me, coming into this so fresh and listening to their music, it's a completely different sound now in my opinion," Simpson said. "The old record is good, and this one is going to be good, but they're going to be completely different."

Simpson, an Oklahoma native, was living in Colorado when he met them at the Winter Wondergrass festival. He moved to Missoula to join the group in April.

Rieger was playing with bands in Seattle and met them at Chinook Fest outside Yakima. They stayed up until the early hours playing with headliner Lukas Nelson, the son of country legend Willie Nelson.

"He had to leave at 4:30 in the morning or something and sat around the fire and played music with us until 3:30, 4 o'clock," Rieger said.

They kept talking about it, and he moved to Missoula and played his first official gig with them on Jan. 6.

'A huge boost to our self-confidence'

Two wins at band competitions set the Smokies on their current course.

In 2013, they entered and won the band competition at the Northwest String Summit, a music festival in Oregon.

"That was a huge catalyst, especially competing against national acts," Dunnigan said. The surprise win "was a huge boost to our self-confidence, so to speak."

As part of the win, they were given a slot on the main stage the following year. Both helped them make connections and book tours of the Northwest, first on their own and then with a booking agent.

Then in 2015, they won an even bigger title: the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's Band Contest.

The band was originally on the waiting list for the competition, which only accepts 12 bands. About two weeks before the festival, a band dropped out and the Smokies were contacted. However, Cornette was leaving the next day for a two-week vacation in the Bahamas. So he brought a banjo with him and practiced on the beach, although being separated from his bandmates with a career-making gig ahead didn't sound all that relaxing.

"I would fall asleep on the beach and have dreams of me playing a solo and my fingerpicks shooting off and strings breaking and me running off the stage at Telluride crying," he said.

The competition has notoriously strict rules. All musicians have to play around a single mic. There are two rounds, each requiring a slow song, a fast song and an instrumental. The songs need to be cut to three minutes, a tight time in a genre known for stretching out.

The rest of the band sent Cornette voice memos and videos as they rearranged the songs to pare them down. The schedule was tight enough that they didn't have time to practice together until they arrived in Colorado.

All of them described it as the most stress they've ever experienced.

In the final round, they played "Tooth Fairy," "Might as Well" and "California," and took first place, putting them on a list that includes names like the Dixie Chicks and Greensky.

As part of the prize, they were awarded a main-stage slot this year.

"It felt good, it felt right. I wasn't nearly as nervous as the competition. I don't think I'll ever be that nervous again," Dunnigan said. They were given an 11 a.m. slot and filled the lawn over the course of an hour.

"People said that was the largest crowd they'd seen that early on a Saturday," Cornette said.

There's a certain amount of self-questioning that goes with pursuing music full-time, but Dunnigan said that particular win "kind of convinced us we're not delusional after all."

Simpson, the 20-something who moved all the way to Montana for this gig, said whatever level of success you can find is tenuous.

"It can all fall apart at any moment, at any second. You can just lose everything you've gained in this business," Simpson said. Band members can leave. A business relationship can go sour.

Dunnigan said it's self-defeating to even think too far ahead.

"It's almost the ultimate test of trying to live in the moment, so to speak. If you think about it too much, you will drive yourself crazy. Or you think about what you could've done, but I think thinking ahead is where you get into the dangerous territory."

***

In a few more full-circle moments, the band was picked as the opening-night headliner for the River City Roots Festival in August.

The line-up is selected personally by Ellen Buchanan, a roots music aficionado who ran a similar event in Johnson City, Tennessee. "It's their town and, boy, they've earned it," she said. She imagines the band could go just as far as Mission Mountain Wood Band or the Mudflaps if they try.

While the longtime members of the group had played the street festival before, it was Rieger's first.

"I saw how much Missoula loves the Lil' Smokies. I knew it was there, but playing downtown for all those people, it very much demonstrated how much the town loves and supports the Lil' Smokies," he said.

Cornette said they were fresh off another tour and had a "true, professional product" that showed how far they've come, how much they'd tightened up and evolved since their first gigs at the Top Hat, when they didn't even own pickups for their instruments.

In October, they played at the Wilma Theatre, a place familiar to Dunnigan from his formative years.

"My first concert was there. We got to see all the music I ever liked, all my heroes graced that stage so it's cool to come back and play that frequently," he said.
*T*his is yet another example of the corruption of the mainstream media. If you like this blog's content please subscribe to our mailing at upper right c...
Meteorologist Paul Douglas writes about Minnesota weather daily, trying to go beyond the "highs" and "lows" of the weather story to discuss current trends and some of the how's and why's of meteorology. Rarely is our weather dull - every day is a new forecast challenge. Why is the weather doing what it's doing? Is climate change a real concern, and if so, how will my family be affected? Climate is flavoring all weather now, and I'll include links to timely stories that resonate with me.
With only a day left for the sixth Parliament of the fourth republic to rise, the relationship between the Minority and the Speaker of Parliament appears to be getting sour.



Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu after engaging the Speaker in a feisty banter on the floor on Wednesday told Joy News on Thursday the Speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho does not have the power to set his own agenda for discussion on the floor.



"It doesn't lie in the Speaker's mouth to determine what Parliament will do," the Minority Leader fired, and accused the Speaker of spearheading a "patapaa" [bullish] administration.



He explained the leader of government businesses has that power to table issues for discussion on the floor, not the Speaker.



The House is saddled with a number bills to pass before it rises but disagreement between the Minority and Majority on one hand and the Speaker on the other hand, meant Parliament sat for only 15 minutes Joy FM's Joseph Gakpo reported.



Much of what has happened on Thursday is a desperate meeting between the leadership of the house to find an amicable way to settle the growing impasse.

The Minority was insisting that until the Executive submits its handing over notes to the Legislature in accord with the Transition Act, it will not be part of the business of the House.



Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu said if the Executive had followed the law, the Minority would have known what projections the government has made between the time the handing over notes was submitted and the time the administration hands over power.



The Transition Act mandates an outgoing government to submit its handing over notes to Parliament and the Administrator General 30 days to an election.

More than two weeks after election, Kyei-Mensah Bonsu is alleging the Executive has still not submitted the notes.



Rather, it is engaging in latter day appointments to undeserving party loyalists in key state institutions like the police, military and immigration service, the Minority Leader jabbed.



He said no budget has been set aside to pay for the new recruits and hinted an Akufo-Addo administration will review these appointment when he takes over.



Joseph Opoku Gakpo reported that activities in the House stalled for several hours with key businesses including the passage of the Karpower deal, RTI Bill, loan agreements etc all begging to be passed.



After several hours, the House returned without the Speaker, but with his Deputy Ebo Barton Oduro sitting in.



Gakpo reported the House has decided to step down the passage of the Karpower purchasing deal until tomorrow.



The RTI Bill was part of the business to be considered before the misunderstanding arose in the morning but when the MPs returned the Bill was no longer part of the business to be considered.



It is not clear when the Bill which has delayed for almost 13 years will be passed.

Source: Myjoyonline.com









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The public has been urged to discard news making round that the Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Richard Anaamo, has undertaken dubious contracts estimated to have led to the country losing over GHC 5 billion.



The Daily Statesman newspaper reported that over the last four years, the Director General of GPHA has "impudently and arrogantly" awarded contracts through sole-sourcing to his cronies.



This, the newspaper claims was achieved through connivance with the Chief Executive Officer of Public Procurement Authority.



But Mr. Eric Arthur, a special aide to Mr. Richard Anaamo tells Okay FM that the Director General of GPHA has worked with the institution for more than 35 years and knows how dangerous it is to engage in activities that would bring the name of GPHA into disrepute.



If the daily Statesman is reporting that activities under him (Anaamo) have led to debt, then it is a liar. The institution (GPHA) is a big one and anything done there is being monitored by all political activists. Aside this, there are both internal and external auditors ensuring that everything done is legit, he said.



He continued that all GPHA contracts are advertised in the papers and dared the New Statesman to boldly state one contract that Mr. Richard Anaamo gave out through sole-sourcing.



About 400 workers, according to the paper have been employed to work at the new Maritime Hospital since Nana Akufo-Addo won the general elections of December 7, with their appointed letters also backdated.



But this claim was also refuted by Mr. Anaamo. Under the watch of Mr. Richard Anaamo, Eric Arthur believes the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has seen a positive development stressing that the Maritme Hospital has been established to help the nation.



He further stressed that it was also a lie that Mr. Richard Anaamo has used his authority to employ 400 people to work in the newly built hospital.



All the lies are being peddled by certain disgruntled people and we know all those behind the news he noted.



He ended by advising the public to desist from the act of disgracing people who have worked harder by publishing their photos on frontpages and calling them thieves.

Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ email: [email protected]









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Utah State University entomologist Zach Portman reports nine, newly identified species of desert bees of the genus Perdita, including two species of ant-like males (pictured), which are completely different in appearance from their mates. Credit: Zach Portman, Utah State University

Though declines in bee populations have heightened awareness of the importance of pollinating insects to the world's food supply, numerous bee species remain undescribed or poorly understood.

Utah State University entomologist Zach Portman studies a diverse group of solitary, desert bees that aren't major pollinators of agricultural crops, but fill an important role in natural ecosystems of the American Southwest, including the sizzling sand dunes of California's Death Valley.

With Terry Griswold of the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit at Utah State and John Neff of the Central Texas Melittological Institute in Austin, Portman reports nine, newly identified species of the genus Perdita in the December 23, 2016, issue of Zootaxa. His research was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship awarded in 2011 and a Desert Legacy Grant from the Community Foundation.

Unexpected finds include the curious ant-like males of two of the species, which are completely different in appearance from their mates.

"It's unclear why these males have this unique form, but it could indicate they spend a lot of time in the nest," Portman says. "We may find more information as we learn more about their nesting biology."

Some of these bees, found exclusively in North America, sport scientific names inspired by Shakespearean characters, such as Perdita titania, named for the fairy queen from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Elusive and tiny, Portman tracks the bees by watching for their buzzing shadows in the blinding, midday sunlight the diminutive insects tend to favor.

Utah State University entomologist Zach Portman reports nine, newly identified species of desert bees of the genus Perdita. The tiny desert bees sport an adaptation called a hair basket, which enables the bees to collect pollen as they dunk their heads into crinklemat blossoms. Pictured left (A) is the underside view of a Perdita coldeniae female collected in Riverside County, California, showing a head basket full of crinklemat (Tequilia) pollen and left, a Perdita coldeniae female, collected in Imperial County, California, with an empty head basket. Credit: Zach Portman/Utah State University

"Their activity during the hottest part of the day may be a way of avoiding predators," says the doctoral candidate in USU's Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center. "They appear to be important pollinators of desert plants commonly known as 'Crinklemats.'"

Crinklemats, flowering plants of the genus Tiquilia, grow low to the ground and feature ridged, hairy leaves and small, trumpet-shaped blue blossoms.

"Like the bees, Tiquilia flowers are very small," Portman says. "The bees must squeeze into the long, narrow corollas and dunk their heads into the flowers to extract the pollen."

The scientists report the female bees use pollen collected from the flowers to build up a supply to nourish their young. Once they have completed a pollen provision, the bees lay their eggs on the stash and leave their offspring to fend for themselves.

Perdita rhodogastra is gathering pollen from Tiquilia latior. Desert bee of the Perdita genus collecting pollen from a matted crinklemat plant near southern California's Salton Sea. Utah State University entomologist Zach Portman reports new, newly identified species of the bee genus in the Dec. 23, 2016, issue of 'Zootaxa.' Credit: Zach Portman/Utah State University

Portman says the bees have developed a special adaptation called a "hair basket," with inward-facing, hooked hairs, that allows them to collect pollen as they dive into a flower.

"We don't yet know if the bees use their legs to scoop pollen into the basket or if they simply collect it using their heads," he says. "There's still a lot of unknowns."

Utah State University entomologist Zach Portman, a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, reports nine, newly identified species of the desert bee genus Perdita in the Dec. 23, 2016, issue of Zootaxa. Credit: Mary-Ann Muffoletto/Utah State University

Portman says understanding more about these adaptations between the bees and the flowers they pollinate may be critical to the preservation of their surrounding environment.

Beyond their role as pollinators, he says the bees are interesting from an ecological and evolutionary standpoint due to their adaptations to arid habitats and high contrast color patterns.

"Some of the bees feature stripes and others have spots, which could be patterns for camouflage or a form of mimicry," Portman says. "These are characteristics we're still exploring."

Perdita scutellaris is gathering pollen from Tiquilia flower. Desert bees of the Perdita genus collecting pollen from a crinklemat plant near southern California's Salton Sea. Utah State University entomologist Zach Portman reports nine, newly identified species of the genus in the Dec. 23, 2016, issue of 'Zootaxa.' Credit: Zach Portman/Utah State University

Much of what Portman and his colleagues know about bees of the Perdita genus is built upon the work of the late University of California, Riverside entomologist Phillip Hunter Timberlake. Born in 1883, Timberlake described and named more than 800 bee species during his astounding 70-year career.

"Timberlake was considered eccentric, but his scholarship is to be admired," Portman says. "Although identifying Perdita and finding the bees' nests is challenging, these bees have a lot to tell us about adaptation to a harsh and inhospitable environment."

More information: Portman, Zachary M., John L. Neff and Terry Griswold. "Taxonomic revision of Perdita subgenus Heteroperdita Timberlake (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), with descriptions of two ant-like males," Zootaxa, 23 Dec 2016. dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4214.1.1 Journal information: Zootaxa
HELENA  The troubled Montana agency charged with protecting children needs to decrease the record number of kids in foster care while making smart hires and providing better training for its caseworkers, the new director of the state Division of Child and Family Services said.

Maurita Johnson addressed those issues in a recent interview with The Associated Press about a month after beginning her job. Johnson, former deputy director of Child Welfare Programs in Oregon, visited all six of her division's regional offices and all seven of the state's Native American reservations as she got acquainted with the child protection system.

Agency officials "have the ability to solve a lot of problems for families," she said. "Having a kid home with a parent is what we want."

Johnson is taking over an agency that has been heavily criticized in recent years. It has faced allegations of children dying after workers failed to remove them from dangerous situations, others wrongly removed from homes and workers failing to communicate with families.

A panel created by Gov. Steve Bullock last year investigated the agency and found the child protection system in crisis. The Protect Montana Kids Commission cited the agency's enormous growth in cases, its high level of caseworker turnover and the inability to hire and retain enough caseworkers.

The commission suggested caseworkers need more training and adequate supervision and that the agency needs to update its outdated computer system.

Johnson said she plans to address those issues, including more training. She also said the agency needs to get more foster children into permanent homes.

Montana has a record 3,300 children in foster care, compared with Idaho's 1,300 children, for example.

Johnson said she plans to make caseworkers more aware of community services available to families so children can be returned home sooner.

"I hate to delay sending a child home because a parent isn't gainfully employed," she said.

Another priority is hiring people who can handle the difficult work of a caseworker and creating an environment so they are satisfied with their jobs.

The state is seeking six child protection specialists, down from 17 openings in March. The current worker training class is full, Johnson said.

The agency also needs to better follow its system of evaluating whether a child is in danger and what threats exist to a child's safety, Johnson said. The system also aims to set conditions under which the child could go home if their care and safety needs are met.

"We got very comfortable with the first part," Johnson said, but giving parents clear and reasonable conditions for the return of their child and assessing their ability to protect them "kind of fell by the wayside."

One of the agency's strongest critics is a group of grandparents who picketed several Child and Family Services offices and testified before the Legislature about their struggles with the agency. Their activity in part prompted Bullock to create the Protect Montana Kids Commission.

Jay Walton of Great Falls, a member of the grandparents' group, said he spoke with Johnson and believes she has some good ideas. But he said he's concerned about having previous mistakes addressed.

Members of the grandparents' group "are of the opinion that we should see what she has in mind," he said.

"We will help if we can. But if we can't get along, then it's back to the demonstrations, it's back to the phone calls, the emails," Walton said.
Now there's no more doubt about it: Wallis the rhino was shot. A trail of clues that started more than a year ago with a wound on the left side of Wallis' chest, right over her heart, led the 3,000-pound mammal's caretakers to suspect that someone tried to kill the rhinoceros before she came to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in November 2015.

The decisive clue surfaced Saturday.

While getting Wallis ready for a presurgical examination, Jill Hampson, a mammal keeper at the park's Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center, spotted a black object about the size of a ballpoint pen's tip poking out of the animal's wound. She immediately called over Dr. Jim Oosterhuis, a veterinarian at the park, to take a look.

Right away, Oosterhuis knew he was dealing with a bullet fragment. With only his trusty Leatherman tool at the ready, he reached in, grabbed onto the black speck and pulled on it. Out came a larger metal ring with jagged edges.

"I jerked it through the hole, pulled it out, and I had the bullet in my hand. It was an unbelievable feeling," Oosterhuis recalled Tuesday. "I've been here 41 years now, and it never ceases to amaze me the stuff that happens."

Technically, that metal ring appears to be a bullet jacket, the soft brass or copper coating often applied to the outside of lead bullets to increase penetration power. In this case, the veterinarian said, the casing seems to have peeled away from the bullet once inside the rhino's inch-thick skin, lodging under one of her ribs but not puncturing her left lung or the thoracic cavity that holds her vital organs.

The lead bullet itself is probably still somewhere inside the rhino's body, but there have been no signs of it causing additional injury, Oosterhuis said.

Wallis' caretakers have been playing the role of patient detectives for more than a year. After her arrival, they began flushing the wound with a saline solution and treating it with antibiotic ointments, but the lesion wouldn't heal.

Given the wound's location on Wallis' body and the fact that she was taken from an area where poachers had shot several other southern white rhinos, her team surmised that it was looking at a gunshot wound. Still, confirming that theory wouldn't be easy.

While Wallis was anesthetized, caretakers explored the wound site to make sure the rhino didn't have reproductive-system problems. During this procedure, they discovered that the wound ran deeper than anticipated - about nine inches along her rib cage before dipping below a rib.

Swiping a metal detector over the site, the safari park's staffers detected a strong signal that a metal object was present. When veterinarians followed up with an X-ray, though, their equipment wasn't powerful enough to penetrate Wallis' nearly three-foot-thick chest. Undeterred, the team called in the San Diego Fire-Rescue Bomb Squad, which confirmed the presence of metal with extra-powerful equipment it uses to conduct investigations of explosive devices.

"We were able to confirm that there was a metal fragment in her side, but because this wasn't medical equipment, we weren't able to pinpoint the exact location," Oosterhuis said.

With noninvasive options exhausted and the wound still refusing to heal, the caretakers chose exploratory surgery. Before giving the go-ahead to the surgical team, Oosterhuis decided to check the wound site one more time with a metal detector. That's why he was at the park Saturday.

With the bullet jacket in hand, the park staff was able to make its confirmation: Similar to what happens with many other animals, the shell had worked its way back through the path of its original entrance. The vets believe this casing's ragged contours scraped along the edges of Wallis' wound, preventing it from healing until the foreign object was expelled.

Oosterhuis said since the extraction, the change in Wallis' injury has been dramatic.

"In the four days, it has healed up quickly. I just palpated it today, and it's only about a half-inch deep," he said.

The rhino's caretakers are now left to estimate the mechanics and motives for the shooting.

The reason for the gunshot seems clear: African rhinos are regularly killed due to the tragically mistaken notion that their horns have medicinal properties. Some cultures also prize the horns as status symbols. According to Save the Rhino, an international nonprofit conservation group, poachers killed 1,175 South African rhinos in the wild last year. That was more than three per day on average.

As to how Wallis survived the likely poaching attempt, it appears that the bullet didn't hit her side at a perpendicular angle - which probably would have allowed it to enter her chest cavity and cause life-threatening damage.

"It was definitely a heart or lung shot that somebody was going for. My guess is she turned toward them and the shot came in at a shallow angle and bounced off a rib," Oosterhuis said.

The zoo plans to have its key piece of evidence examined by an as-yet-unspecified local forensics lab before putting it on exhibit as compelling proof of the perils that rhinos face in the wild. The goal is to identify the caliber of the bullet it came from and the type of gun that fired the bullet. Such information would then be communicated to the South African reserve where Wallis came from.

The reserve had reported suffering several rhinoceros poaching incidents right around the time that Wallis was collected for transfer, the safari park's officials said.

Modern forensics labs can learn a lot from bullet fragments.

Lt. Scott Wahl, a spokesman for the San Diego Police Department, said if there's enough material to work with, a professional lab can use recovered bullet casings to determine caliber and even which gun fired the round. The barrel of each gun leaves a distinct pattern of grooves, similar to a fingerprint, on the outside of each bullet fired.

Wallis came to the park to be part of an ambitious breeding program that seeks to bring the northern white rhino back from the brink of extinction.

Currently, there are only three northern whites left in the world. The number was four until November 2015, when a bacterial infection forced the park to euthanize Nola, a 41-year-old park veteran, after repeated treatments couldn't eliminate the pathogens.

Because the world's remaining northern whites are too old for active breeding, a collaborative program that includes the San Diego Zoo seeks to use the southern-white branch of the genetic tree as a surrogate. That's how Wallis, a 5-year-old southern white, joined the initiative.

The first step will be to perfect the zoo's ability to transfer embryos grown in labs to the six recently arrived female southern whites at the safari park. Once that technique is refined, the next step could be to create hybrid northern-southern offspring using sperm collected from male northern whites. Finally, if those steps go well, advanced genetic techniques could help turn cell samples collected from 12 northern whites into stem cells that could then be used to produce northern white rhino sperm and eggs.

Those would then be combined to generate a northern white embryo. Researchers would transfer that embryo to a southern white female rhino, which would nurture it all the way through birth.

The zoo's staff estimates it could take at least five years to achieve this milestone.

2016 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Although frigid weather pushed the event back a week, volunteers turned out Friday to place wreaths at the gravestones of U.S. service members.

Wreaths Across America had to be postponed due to snow and frigid temperatures. When volunteers reconvened at the Yellowstone National Cemetery this week, it was a pleasant winter day.

"Across this country, at more than 1,100 sites like this, people have been gathering last week or this week," said Bill Kennedy, chairman of Friends of the National Cemetery.

The event began with a color guard presentation and a prayer. Then one by one, representatives of military branches laid the first batch of wreaths at the foot of flagpoles representing the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and MIA/POW service members.

The latter represents those who were last known as missing in action or prisoners of war.

Volunteers were then encouraged to lay wreaths at the graves in the Laurel cemetery. More than 700 were delivered in truckloads to the site.

Dana Lariviere helped bring the ceremony to the cemetery five years ago. She said it felt like the right thing to do, so she launched fundraising efforts to make it happen.

"It's just something that Montana never did and something I'm very passionate about," Lariviere said.

Speakers talked about remembrance of those service members who have died, as well as those who are currently alive or serving. Those with family buried at the cemetery were invited to place their wreaths first.

The volunteers then began filling the rows of headstones in a showing of respect, especially for those family members who couldn't attend.

"Remember that that place is precious to some," said Skip Vernard, before offering a prayer.
Not everyone is heading home for Christmas. Even with a longer-than-usual break, there's still not enough time to be worth a trip to Europe.

So, some of the European Thunder players are going exploring this Christmas. Russian Alexander Fedoseyev and Belorussian Stepan Falkovsky were both considering trips to New York City. Belorussian Roman Dyukov is headed to warmer climes in Miami.

Dane Mikkel Aagaard is visiting his girlfriend's family in Ontario and his brother was planning to fly in from Australia.

It's not only the Europeans that aren't heading home though. Some North Americans, like James Henry, aren't making the trip either. Then there are Patch Alber and Pete MacArthur, who grew up in Clifton Park and don't have to go far.
Daughters to meet

in January

SARATOGA SPRINGS  The Catholic Daughters of America, Court No. 422, will hold its monthly meeting Jan. 3 at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 50 Pine Road. Members will gather at 6 p.m. for refreshments and social time, with the meeting starting at 6:30 p.m. New members are always welcome to attend.

For more information about the Catholic Daughters or events, contact Regent Aileen Thomas at 583-2905.

Nativities display can still be seen

SOUTH GLENS FALLS  The World of Nativities display at the Parks-Bentley House, 53 Ferry Boulevard, will be open from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Church to host

First Night meal

SARATOGA  The Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church is sponsoring a baked ziti and meatballs dinner from 4-8 p.m. Dec. 31 at 24 Circular St. The pasta meal includes salad, garlic bread, beverage and dessert that costs $8 adults, $4 children ages 5-12, 50 cents children 4 and younger. Proceeds benefit church youth work programs.

For more information, call 584-6091 or go to office@pnecchurch.org.

4-H Cloverbuds spread cheer

WARRENSBURG  Warren County 4-H Cloverbuds spread holiday cheer to the residents of the Countryside Adult Home in Warrensburg recently. The Cloverbuds made fresh evergreen swags from fresh greens, ribbons and decorations for each residents door at the facility.

Cloverbuds are the youngest members of 4-H and range in age from 5 to 8 years old.

All 4-H members commit to help others by taking the 4-H pledge and pledging their hands to larger service.

Glens Falls native wins fellowship

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Glens Falls native Sarah Barclay Hoffman has been selected for the prestigious 18-month ZERO TO THREE Fellowship. Founded in 1981, the fellowship program brings together multidisciplinary, cross-sector leaders that work across the country and around the world to positively impact the lives of infants and young children through research, practice, advocacy and policy.

Sarah has an impressive background in early childhood mental health, said Matthew Melmed, ZERO TO THREE executive director. She brings a unique perspective to the fellowship, and will help us transform and advance programs, systems and policies that help give all children a strong start in life.

Hoffman is assistant director of the Early Childhood Innovation Network. She provides strategic direction, policy visioning and operational management to ECIN, which is a joint initiative between Childrens National Health System and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Hoffman is also program manager at Childrens National, overseeing an early childhood mental health portfolio. She serves as a partner on other hospital-based mental health initiatives, such as the D.C. Collaborative for Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care, a public-private partnership that improves the integration of mental health and pediatric primary care.

Tai Chi offered

to ease arthritis

Washington County Public Health is now taking registrations for the Tai Chi for Arthritis classes in Greenwich and Hudson Falls. Tai Chi for Arthritis is an evidenced-based program that has been proven to help reduce the risk of falls by movement control, weight transference and integration of mind and body. Tai Chi has been shown to increase strength, flexibility, sense of well-being and balance, while decreasing pain in joints, stress, high blood pressure, falls and fall risks.

Classes are held two times a week, for eight weeks. All ability levels are welcome. Classes must have at least 20 participants to hold class, but can have no more than 30.

Register by calling public health at 746-2400, ext. 2415.

Theater group

to hold auditions

GLENS FALLS  Glens Falls Community Theatre will hold a general meeting and auditions for Murder: Stage Right  or Who Killed Hamlet? an original interactive murder mystery play by Philip Lester, in January at the Queensbury Hotel. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 11 while the auditions will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 12, both at the hotel.

In addition to casting the show, the group is seeking volunteers to work on the shows various production crews, including costumes, props, program, promotion and tickets. The production is produced in association with Artistry Matters and the Queensbury Hotel and is scheduled to run March 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at the hotel.

There are six male roles and four female roles available. Actors need not be age-appropriate.

In mid-1940s Chicago, a troupe of players is rehearsing the final act of William Shakespeares masterpiece Hamlet. There are tensions among the players. During the course of the rehearsal, one of the lead actors is murdered. And the audience is tasked with the job of finding out who did it.

Parts to be cast include members of the troupe who play Hamlet, Claudius, Laertes, Horatio, Osric and Gertude; a French police inspector; a Chicago police officer; a young stage manager; and a flamboyant German director. Actors auditioning for the roles of the inspector, the police officer and the director should be able to perform the appropriate accents. The play will be directed by Bob Myers.

Auditions are open auditions and actors will be given parts to read. Scripts are available by calling Bob Myers at 320-2886 or contacting him by email at robert.myers1959@gmail.com.

Occupancy tax grants available

THURMAN  The Thurman Station Association announces that applications are now available for those in Thurman planning a project or event to increase tourism, putting heads in beds in Thurman and the rest of Warren County. Request the form and guidelines by contacting Perky Granger at PersisGranger@aol.com or (352) 463-3089, or Wini Martin at MartinsLumber@hotmail.com or 623-9595. Forms can be emailed or picked up in the entryway of Thurman Town Hall.

TSA representatives are happy to answer questions and help applicants complete the forms, which should be returned to TSA by Jan. 5. A committee of five will review applications during the first or second week of January, date and time to be announced, and all applicants and the public are welcome to attend.

Program has

literacy volunteer

GLENS FALLS  Literacy New York Greater Capital Region welcomes new Glens Falls area Program Coordinator Courtney Maher. After more than a year gap in having a permanent office staff in the North Country, Maher is on board as the Literacy Volunteers local coordinator with an office in Crandall Public Library. A meet-and-greet was held Thursday afternoon at Crandall Library, where volunteers and community supporters welcomed Maher to the position.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.  When Kacie Mormance was born in May, she weighed just 14 ounces  slightly more than three sticks of butter  but the smallest surviving preemie to be born at Northwest Community Hospital already has found a way to give her parents a present for the holidays.

Its the best Christmas gift ever, said Chris Mormance, Kacies father, thanking hospital staff, many of whom wiped away tears, as he and his wife, Randa Mormance, bundled up Kacie and her twin sister, Naomi, to head home.

Dozens of nurses and doctors gathered Thursday afternoon to wish the family well as they left, for the first time as a quartet, through the Arlington Heights hospitals doors. Naomi and Kacie Mormance were born at 25 weeks gestation  roughly 15 weeks early  with Kacie being what hospital officials described as the smallest preemie born at the hospital to ever survive.

We have had other preemies born at a similar gestational age, but they were not that small, said Dr. Joel Fisher, a neonatologist at the hospital who oversaw the twins care during their stays.

Kacie weighed less than a pound and measured 11 inches long when she was born, but on Thursday, she left the hospital weighing 10 pounds, said Don Houchins, the executive director of the suburban Chicago hospitals Women and Childrens Services.

When Kacie was born, she could easily fit into your hand, which is really on the low end of weight for preemies that survive, Houchins said. Her twin, Naomi, was only 800 grams at birth, but she was twice as big.

After spending nearly three months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, known as the NICU, Kacies sister Naomi was released from the hospital, and has been home with her parents since August, where she is thriving, said Fisher.

Its been a real roller-coaster ride, but the nurses and doctors here have made it a great journey, Randa Mormance said.

The ride began in May, when Randa Mormance gave birth to the two girls nearly four months shy of full term. Randa Mormance, who had a high-risk pregnancy, was being treated by a maternal fetal medicine specialist when it was discovered that one of the twins was growing more than the other, Houchins said.

If they wanted to save both babies, the doctors decided they had to do a C-section early, Houchins said, adding that doctors gave her steroids to help mature the babies lungs as much as possible prior to the girls birth. He said the hospital has treated preemies born at 24 weeks gestation.

Once the babies arrived, doctors had a slew of risks to manage.

When theyre so small, there are so many things that can go wrong, Houchins said. Obviously, the first thing we have to do after theyre born is stabilize them. But after that, we have to constantly monitor them to ensure theyre getting enough oxygen, that they are properly hydrated, and we try to protect them from intra-ventricular hemorrhages in the brain.

Houchins said among the medical issues facing premature babies is their lungs are not as developed as they would be if the pregnancy had gone to full term, typically around 40 weeks.

They cant be too cold or too hot, Houchins said, and (they) have to have just the right glucose, sodium and potassium levels.

A common cold could end up developing into pneumonia in a premature infant, Houchins said. Vision problems also are common among premature babies, he said, and many are at risk for cognitive developmental delays.

The family said they were thankful for the team of physicians, nurses and hospital employees who took care of the girls during their stays.

If it wasnt for you guys, I dont know what would have happened, Chris Mormance told the hospital staff members.
YWCA Billings proposed Gateway Vista affordable housing project got a boost this week with approval for a $500,000 loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.

The agency still plans to seek about $3.8 million in low-income housing tax credits from the Montana Board of Housing to construct the 24 units on property it owns at 909 Wyoming Ave., said Merry Lee Olson, YWCA CEO.

The project is a finalist for the 2017 tax credits funding.

The YWCA continues to seek private donations and foundation grants to cover funding gaps, Olson said in a news release.

We are very excited about the FHLB award and are encouraged that we are one step closer to funding this much-needed affordable housing project for Billings, she said. Because there are so many compelling needs for affordable housing across the country and because our states Board of Housing has limited funding, the hunt for financial support is highly competitive.

The Gateway Vista project she said, goes beyond offering a roof over peoples heads to providing numerous wraparound services to help them truly get on their feet and become financially independent and break away from the cycles of violence and poverty.

Olson credited the YWCAs development partner, Mountain Plains Equity Group, and its financial sponsor, First Interstate Bank, with playing significant roles in helping to get the applications prepared.

YWCA Billings has been serving people throughout central and Eastern Montana for more than a century. It operates the Gateway Shelter and transitional services programs.

During the 2015-16 fiscal year, YWCA Billings provided 7,900 nights of shelter and respite from violence to 133 women and 96 children and answered nearly 1,500 calls to its 24-hour Help Line.

To learn more or to volunteer, visit www.ywcabillings.org or call 252-6303.
CAMBRIDGE  Its a gentle 1,743-foot climb up Two-Top mountain toward the monastery of the Monks of New Skete. And on Thursday, the steadily falling snow blanketed the surrounding evergreen forest, filling in tire tracks almost as quickly as they imprinted the otherwise serene setting.

In the snow, the going is slow up the winding mountain road, even in a Jeep. Along the route up, a lone monk walking with a companion German shepherd is a surprise on each bend in the road.

Were nourished by our relationships with the dogs, said Brother Stavros, one of the monastery founders. They are integrated into our life and help focus our extension of hospitality.

Just two days before Christmas Eve, visiting the Nuns and Monks of New Skete and their canine companions is a bit like finding an unexpected treat under the Christmas tree. The air is filled with the lingering and luxurious scents of kitchen herbs and spices and cathedral incense. There are loads of girl dog kisses from Verna, Panja and Jessie; and the visit is comfortably wrapped in the kindness of the women and men who have dedicated their lives to their monastic beliefs and the sensuality of the earth and animals.

Welcoming visitors has been a monastic tradition since the third century  The first rule is love, said Brother Stavros. God is a sensual God. God is not an abstraction or a man in a long white beard. We learn the truth about God with our senses and we understand the beauty as a gift of God.

This year, the monks are celebrating their 50th anniversary. The Nuns of New Skete found their way to Cambridge three years after the monks. Both are Eastern Orthodox with Franciscan roots.

And for both, a pioneering spirit, perseverance and an unyielding belief that they could carry out their monastic mission have guided them to where they are today.

Now globally famous for their dogs and their cheesecakes, the nuns and monks started with nothing more than a seed of an idea. And it was a long journey trying to find ways to support their monastic life and best use their hidden gifts.

We started out with $2,000. We bought an $800 Ford with a stick shift and only two of the Nuns had ever driven a stick shift, said Sister Cecelia, one of the founders during an interview at the nuns monastery. We cleaned houses, worked in the hospital, and some even learned custom tailoring to make suits  we started selling the cheesecakes commercially in 1977.

Since that time, they have gained international acclaim for their works. A dog-training seminar this summer was attended by two women from Switzerland. The monks dog-training books have topped best seller lists for years, and there are long waiting lists for their German shepherds. Maurice Sendak, author of the childrens book Where the Wild Things Are, and actor Jake Gyllenhaal have New Skete dogs.

The nuns sell thousands of cheesecakes each year and with their large oven, on baking days, they bake 200. Usually, they bake a few times a week.

There are 30 pounds of cream cheese in one cheesecake mixing, we do 15 mixings a day, said Sister Cecelia, adding that four days after the Dec. 8 Rachel Ray show, they had to stop taking orders until after Christmas because they had so many.

All month the monks have been working on a major restoration to their gold-domed small church and attending to the birth of 22 puppies.

But now, during this Holy Week, such pursuits have stopped  although puppies still need lots of love and attention  and this monastic community is preparing for the liturgical services and celebrations of the Christmas holiday.

I just finished decorating the church, said Brother Stavros, a bit disappointed that most of the poinsettias were already picked over in area shops.

The nuns and monks have separate monasteries; the nuns are situated just off Route 22 and the monks are about four miles down the road, closer to the Vermont border, and up the mountain road.

Right now, each monastery is festive with poinsettias and large fresh Christmas trees decorated with handmade ornaments that each carry a story about how they were made or who gifted the decoration.

Brother Stavros points out his favorites. There are the animals cut from metal, representing the various animals they have cared for, and the pickle he said the children love. Sister Cecelia tells the story of a woman who came to visit and, while on her plane, carefully turned paper spirals that became her Christmas ornament gift to the nuns.

Oh, where is that one? she asks, looking for an ornament that an employee who is also a jewelry-maker created for the nuns.

For 40 days, as part of their teachings, they have been fasting, and certain foods, like meat, are not permitted.

Year-round, the nuns and monks worship with Matins (morning service) and Vespers (at sunset) and the public is always welcome to visit. Brother Stavros said anyone who comes to Vespers is invited to share a meal at the monastery.

And today, Christmas Eve, those who attend Vespers and plan to stay for the evening vigil are invited to the Holy Supper of borscht and bread. On Christmas Day, following the 10 a.m. divine liturgy, there will be a coffee hour with baked treats.

The Christmas holiday begins with a Friday noon service called Tersext.

On Christmas Eve, there is a Sunset Service that includes a cappella chants and readings from scripture. Brother Stavros said it is beautiful as they illuminate the room with candles.

The Sunset Service is followed by what they call the Holy Supper.

It is a Slavic family tradition. Bread is dunked into honey and given to everyone by the head of the household along with Merry Christmas, he said. Then we sit down to a meal that can include smelts, cabbage, pirogue, dumplings, all fasting foods.

Brother Stavros added that anyone who worships with them is invited to their meal. We have borscht with good, robust bread, he said. This is a time of bright sadness.

On Christmas, there is a morning service followed by shared coffee. On this day, the monks will have a brunch and open presents. Later in the day, there is a formal sit-down dinner with the nuns who are preparing this years Christmas meal.

We will have chicken, said Sister Cecelia. Maybe twice-baked potatoes, creme brulee.

For several years, the nuns did not give each other gifts. But Sister Cecelia said Sister Patricia has purchased gifts for everyone.

As the visit ends, two of the dogs run around in the nuns living room, excited to see a friend, and Sister Cecelia offers a Christmas hug.

Earlier in the morning, Brother Stavros talked about planting a seed in rich soil, about smiling at each other. A little kindness goes a long way, he said.

By late morning, the sun was out, the mountain road was sanded and plowed and the taste of holiday kindness lingered.
Criminal arrests listed on the State Police public information website between Dec. 21-23. All charges are misdemeanors unless otherwise noted.

* Justin R. Wolken, 21, of Gansevoort, charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest Dec. 22 on Palmer Terrace in Wilton.

* Eric L. Prosser, 25, of Queensbury, charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle Dec. 21 on Glendale Drive in Queensbury.

* Price E. Gibbs, 36, of Queensbury, charged with criminal impersonation and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle Dec. 19 in Fort Edward.

* Nathan M. Brennan, 40, of Malta, charged with criminal mischief and non-criminal harassment Dec. 21 in Malta.

* Janel L. Worboys, 40, of Greenwich, charged with resisting arrest and non-criminal harassment Dec. 20 on Academy Street in Greenwich.

* William P. Van Brunt, 22, of Warrensburg, charged with criminal possession of marijuana Dec. 22 on River Street in Warrensburg.
For well over a quarter century, the Institute for Peace Studies has worked within a mission of "seeking alternatives to violence through education, managing a vital and challenging program year, beginning with a January women's conference and including the Bross Peace Lectures, Jeannette Rankin Peace Award, Gronhovd Peace Essay Competition, Festival of Cultures, Cultural Diversity Outreach visits, and summer Peace Camp.

Since 1999, our 34 student staff members have come to us from 19 different countries around our world, adding depth and interest to an already dynamic organization. Although officially part of Rocky Mountain College, the institute "will operate under an auxiliary board of advisors entrusted with policy-making and fund-raising for the institute subject to the approval of the Rocky Mountain College Board of Trustees." Without the support of our community, we would not be in a position to offer these exciting opportunities. Thank you.
Gov. Steve Bullock says Montana residents need to reject hate and intimidation after white supremacists targeted several Jewish families in Whitefish with anti-Semitic calls and emails.

The Democratic governor on Friday issued an open letter urging Montanans to "act like our kids are watching and learning from the actions we take and the language we use."

He wrote that hate based on religion, skin color or gender won't be tolerated.

A white supremacist website last week called for a "troll war" against members of the Whitefish Jewish community and their supporters.

Bullock did not explicitly mention the events in the town just west of Glacier National Park.

But spokeswoman Ronja Abel told The Associated Press the governor was concerned about the events in Whitefish and believed it important to confront the issue.




Who gave this land to Israel? The U.S.? The UN? The Security Council?

Not to mention - have any of these people read Genesis 12:3?













Allowing anti-settlement resolution to pass, US also shifts to branding settlements illegal









In a speech to the Security Council explaining why the US had changed its longstanding policy Friday and abstained in a vote demanding a halt to all Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem  thus enabling the motion to pass  US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power signaled another significant shift by saying America recognized the Security Councils consensus that settlements have no legal validity.





The US did not agree with every word of the resolution, Power said, and therefore had not voted in favor. But, she stressed, we cannot stand in the way of this resolution in the quest for two states living side by side in peace and security.





The settlement problem has gotten so much worse, she said, that it was now endangering that solution.





Continued settlement building seriously undermines Israels security, Power said. The United States has been sending a message that the settlements must stop privately and publicly for nearly five decades.























Israeli officials on Friday reacted with disappointment and anger at Washingtons failure to veto an anti-settlement resolution at the UN Security Council.





Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Channel 2 News that the US abstention was not how friends behave while cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi said the US vote also spits in the face of incoming president Donald Trump.









Likud Knesset member Yoav Kisch was quoted by Hebrew language website Ynet as saying that just as US President Barack Obama betrayed other allies around the world, so he has done to Israel.









Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said that neither the Security Council nor UNESCO will succeed in rewriting history and disconnecting the bond between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel, referring to UNESCO resolutions earlier this year that ignored Judaisms connection with the Temple Mount, the Jewish religions holiest site.





Danon slammed the US abstention during the vote  an unprecedented move from Israels closest ally that has historically vetoed such resolutions.





He added: The Palestinian efforts to hurt Israel through the UN will not be fruitful and will not advance any solution. The Palestinian will gain nothing until they stop incitement and terrorism and return to direct negotiations with Israel.





Shortly before the vote, an Israeli official used unprecedentedly harsh language to accuse the Obama administration of scheming with the Palestinians to harm Israel with the resolution. The US administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israels back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts and effectively make the Western Wall occupied Palestinian territory, the official said. (The draft resolution refers to East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory.)

This is an abandonment of Israel which breaks decades of US policy of protecting Israel at the UN and undermines the prospects of working with the next administration of advancing peace, the official added.

































Major US Jewish organizations declared that US President Barack Obama had undermined his legacy on Israel and bitterly criticized the administrations decision to allow a resolution calling for a halt to all Israeli settlement activity to pass in the United Nations Security Council.





The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which had tussled in recent weeks with President-elect Donald Trumps pick for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, offered a full-throated condemnation of the Security Council resolution and of the Obama administrations decision to abstain from voting.





ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt stated that the organization was outraged over the US failure to veto this biased and unconstructive UNSC resolution on Israel.





Greenblatt bemoaned that the resolution will only encourage further Palestinian intransigence vis-a-vis direct negotiations with Israel in favor of unilateral, one-sided initiatives.









The Obama Administration repeatedly stated that a solution to the conflict cannot be imposed on the parties but must be achieved directly by the parties themselves, Greenblatt concluded. It is deeply troubling that this biased resolution appears to be the final word of the Administration on this issue.





The ADL was far from the only Jewish organization to assert that Obamas legacy was changed by this decision conducted in the last month of an eight-year administration.

It is tragic that the Administration chose to mar its legacy of support for the Jewish State and set back the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, wrote the Jewish Federations of North America in a rare critique of a US administration...

The Orthodox Union issued a similar admonishment. The Orthodox Union is gravely disappointed with this decision by President Obama, the organization complained. Over the course of his presidency, Mr. Obama repeatedly reassured American Jews, and others who care for the security and welfare of Israel, that his commitment to American support for Israels security was unshakable.

By allowing this resolution to pass in the waning weeks of his Administration, President Obama has undermined his legacy in that regard, the organization added, describing the US action as an unprecedented and deeply disturbing break from the past.





The American Jewish Committees CEO David Harris also noted that the Administrations decision, for the first time in eight years, not to block an anti-Israel measure at the UN Security Council is profoundly disturbing.





























Israels ambassador to the United Nations on Friday condemned the UN Security Council for voting through a resolution demanding a halt to all settlement activity, branding the motion an evil decree that would merely provide further excuses for the Palestinians to continue to reject Israels right to exist.





Speaking after the Council voted 14-0 in favor of Resolution 2334, which brands settlements illegal, Danny Danon told the packed chamber that this was a dark day for this council. The UN body wasted its time, in a peak of hypocrisy, to condemn Israel for building homes in the historic homeland of the Jewish people even as thousands were being massacred in neighboring Syria, he said.





Israel, said Danon, had implored the council not to believe the lies in this resolution. By approving it, you have in fact voted no to negotiations, you have voted no to progress and a chance for better lives for Israelis and Palestinians, and you have voted no to the possibility of peace.









Danon called the resolution the latest in the long and shameful list of anti-Israel UN resolutions and said it would encourage Palestinian incitement. Todays vote will be a victory for terror, he said, a victory for hatred and violence.





Expressing hope that the UN would turn a new page under its next secretary-general, Danon castigated the Security Council for a resolution that he said denied Israel the right to build in its own capital. What right did its members have, he asked, to try to prevent the Jewish people from building homes in their own land?





We will overcome this evil decree, he vowed, holding up a Bible and citing thousands of years of Jewish history in the Holy Land. We have full confidence in the justice of our cause We will continue to be a Jewish state proudly reclaiming the land of our forefathers where King David ruled from Jerusalem.

































Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at US President Barack Obama Friday, accusing him of actively working against Israel at the UN  seemingly abandoning all pretense of diplomatic cautiousness after a US abstention at the Security Council led to the passage of a resolution against settlements.





Israel categorically rejects the despicable anti-Israeli resolution at the UN, and will not adhere to it, the Prime Ministers Office said in a seething statement after the council voted in favor of the motion 14-0.





While the Security Council does nothing to prevent the massacre of half a million people in Syria, it is shamefully singling out Israel  the only democracy in the Middle East, the PMO said.





The Obama administration not only failed to defend Israel from this harassment at the UN, it cooperated with it behind the scenes.





In a barely-veiled final repudiation of the administration with which Netanyahu has clashed so often, his office said Israel was looking forward to working with President-elect [Donald] Trump and with out friends in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, to undo the damage of this absurd resolution.









Netanyahu said he would immediately call back Israels ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal  two sponsors of Friday evenings resolution  for consultations. He also said a planned official visit by Senegals foreign minister next month would be cancelled and all Israeli aid programs in Senegal would be halted.




























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BOZEMAN  Montana State University's police department chief will retire.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports Robert Putzke's last day will be March 31 after 13 years as the university's police chief and 33 years in law enforcement.

Putzke said in his announcement that he enjoyed his career.

He said he hasn't decided what to do next, but that he's looking forward to a new challenge.

MSU spokesman Tracy Ellig said the university is grateful for Putzke's work.

He said the university wishes him the best in his retirement.
The past year has been a stunning reminder of how vital the energy industry is to Wyomings economy, in particular the states traditional, though not necessarily its most lucrative, commodity: crude oil.

The sharp decline in the price of oil, first in 2014 and again after a brief rebound in late 2015, dammed one of Wyomings most important revenue streams. Unfortunately, oil wasnt alone. Natural gas and coal experienced sharp declines as well.

The fallout in the Cowboy State was all-encompassing. The myriad businesses involved in the oil fields felt the pressure of a rapidly deteriorating state economy. The struggle for oil to rebound made 2016 a year to remember. Despite hopeful signs, many say there is a long way to go before recovery.

The commodity cycle is familiar to anyone in the industry: Booms are as common as busts. But 2016 was far from routine. The onset of the downturn was rapid and dramatic.

The trouble actually began in the good days, as commodity cycles do. In 2014, U.S. oil experienced its highest growth rate since 1940 and its highest volume increase in more than 100 years, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The hum of production and investment reverberated across Wyoming, and that echoed throughout the country.

But producers can be their own worst enemy. Increased drilling and expansion, additional assets and new wells contributed to a record stockpile of fuel worldwide. Production outpaced global demand.

The price of oil went from bullish to bearish in a matter of months. Despite a rebound in 2015, the price fell once again.

By the spring of 2016, the price was down 50 percent from 2014 highs.

The effect swept across the state. It wasnt only the oil producers who felt the clutch of a desperate market.

Construction businesses and manufacturers, truckers and metal workers all depend on the oil and gas fields as well.

Unemployment rose as companies cut staff, announced layoffs and scaled back production.

The hemorrhage of workers in the industry and related fields did not slow until August.

As the year progressed, signs of stabilization in the price of oil emboldened some producers to go back to drilling.

A November deal with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cap production encouraged the price of crude to breach the $50 mark. It has held at about that level to finish out the year.

As bad as things have been, Wyoming has been through busts before.

The most infamous downturn in living memory, that of the mid-80s, had a long-term effect on the region. In contrast, many in the business today hesitate to even call 2015-2016 a bust.

If there is one thing that the 80s taught Wyoming, its that the aftershocks of a downturn may continue for some time. The economy as a whole has yet to feel the full effect of stabilizing prices.

The problem, some say, is that companies hunker down during a low price trend. Production, drilling and exploration can then be slow to restart.

Producers are watching the price of crude, hoping not only for an increase but for stability in 2017.
Sam Lincoln posted the photos on Instagram with the caption: "When you're trying to swing up some holiday steel and you don't catch any fish but you catch a 16 foot constrictor instead."

Lincoln said he and another guy were "fishing a run and looked up and saw it wrapped around a log, half frozen in the water. " They said it took them awhile to get it free and pull it onto the bank.

Despite a snake being used to warmer conditions and the frost being lethal to them, Cleveland Metroparks aquatic biologist Mike Durkalec told Fox 8 it's not the first time he has come across a dead constrictor.

"Over the years, I've had two incidents where I've personally seen constrictors dead along our rivers this time of year. One was a 7-foot animal snagged by a fisherman; the other one, I found myself just along the side of the river. That was about a four to five foot boa," Durkalec said.

He said this might happen when someone decides to get the snake as a pet, but then releases it into the wild when it gets too big.

Durkalec recommends finding an animal rescue shelter to take it in.
In return, president Mahama, who is due to hand over on January 7, will approve that of parliamentarians.

The practice has been severely criticised as lacking transparency by anti-corruption groups.

It has also generated a barrage of criticisms against Article 71 office holders as some accused them of taking home unreasonable amount of money.

Details of what the president is entitled are scanty and it is also unclear when the president will approve the ex-gratia for parliamentarians.

President Mahama is however scheduled to give his last State of the Nation address on January 5, 2017 after losing the December election to Nana Akufo-Addo.
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He said: The president has indicated clearly that all the costs of the burn victims from this incident will be covered by the state, so weve made it clear to the management and the Brigadier General-in-charge, the commandant, that they should quickly put together all the logistics and costs of caring for these patients.

"As you know with burn victims, there is the need to constantly wash, constantly change dressing, and put them on antibiotics and very strong pain killers, so there is for each patient a cost.

"You have to bring in extra staff to actually deal with it and this has been done in a very military-type fashion in this hospital."

Accra on Thursday was hit by yet another major fire at a gas station near the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre which claimed five lives and injured many.

Forty-two people according to the police have sustained various degrees of injury and are receiving treatment.

"We have 27 at the 37 Military Hospital, three at the police hospital, six at the La Polyclinic and six at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Five have also passed on and have been deposited at the Police Hospital morgue, ASP Afia Tenge, Greater Accra Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service.

--Cause of explosion--

The National Petroleum Authority says the explosion was caused by 'irresponsible human error'.

READ MORE:COPECGH lambasts authorities for relaxing safety standards

Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Mr. Moses Asaga, explained that two bolts which should have tightened the lid on the gas tanker were missing.
It said:His Excellency the President, John Dramani Mahama, acting in consultation with the Council of State, accordance with Article 70 of the 1992 Constitution, has appointed you as Auditor-General with effect from 23rd December 2016.

Until the approval of the Report of the Prof. Boandoh Committee on Emoluments, the salary and allowances payable to the facilities and privileges available to you shall be indicated in the Prof. Ewurama Addy Committee Report.

The provisions of the Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution relating to the removal of from Office of a Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature Shall apply to you.

President Mahama has been roundly condemned for his 'last minute' appointments.

Former Attorney General Martin Amidu said the president is acting with "impunity" and that the incoming government of president-elect Nana Akufo-Addo must reverse the last minute appointments.

READ MORE:President Mahama swears in new bosses for CHRAJ and NCCE
I am counting on you for your continued support, prayers and advice to make sure that we walk in the right direction, and do the right things for our country, the president-elect said.

In addition, he also requested for prayers for the vice president-elect, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, son of the Nayiri, explaining that he is going to be the key figure in the reconstruction of the economy of our country.

He is going to be the Chairman of the Economic Management Committee, so he is going to need your special prayers to make sure that he acts with wisdom and be successful in the discharge of his duties.

Nana Akufo-Addo continued: The people of Nalerigu, not only voted for me, but, also voted for their daughter, Hajia Alima Mahama, to represent them in parliament. It is a very good choice, and I want you, Nayiri, to know that shes going to be a part of the Akufo-Addo government from 2017.

"So you have a double burden. Two of your children are going to play a big role in my government. So were going to need your wisdom and guidance to succeed.

President-elect Akufo-Addo also added that he will restructure the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), so that it becomes a genuine instrument of prosperity of the Northern Regions of our country.

The other commitments he made during the course of the campaign  irrigating the farm lands of the northern regions, bringing in basic amenities and infrastructural developments to the constituencies, amongst others  he said, will be fulfilled.

I want it to be said, when the history of our country is being written, that it was in Akufo-Addos time that Ghanaians began to enjoy widespread prosperity across the length and breadth of the country. And for that to happen, I am taking your advice that I have to bring everybody together, all the peoples of Ghana, without discrimination, as one united body to go forward and make Ghana the country of the dreams of our ancestors.
President Mahama has been involved in a series of controversial 'last minute' appointments in the twilight of his presidency.

READ MORE:Nana Addo confirms Alan Kyeremateng as Trade Minister

Mr Domelovo, who is an accountant in Zimbabwe, rejected the offer to avoid controversies, the Editor-In-Chief of the Ghanaian Observer, Egbert Faibille Jnr, has claimed.

Speaking on Newsfile Saturday, he noted that Mr Domevolo might have thought to himself, "I am better off doing my work and not to invite all this brouhaha [to myself]."

He added: "And so he leaves town and the swearing-in that was supposed to have taken off yesterday hasn't come on. I believe that is the end of the road."

He asserted that his claim is on authority and without equivocation

"I am telling you on authority that the swearing in was to take place yesterday...he has rejected this appointment..without equivocation, that is what I can tell you," he stressed.

Mr Domelovo was appointed to serve as the Auditor General by president Mahama in a letter signed by the Chief-of-Staff.

His appointment takes effect on December 23 and that he must confirm his acceptance of the appointment by Wednesday, 28th December 2016.
JACKSON, Wyo.  "What do you think, Anna?" John Faicco asked his 1-year-old daughter as they searched for the perfect Christmas tree.

When she looked over at her dad with her big blue eyes, he took that as a yes.

He started chopping the 20-foot-tall spruce on Jackson Hole Police Chief Todd Smith's property near Bondurant.

A crowd of Smith's family, friends and fellow officers looked on, cheering and heckling as Faicco swung an ax repeatedly at the large conifer. With each swing snow shook off the tree until it came crashing down, the Jackson Hole News and Guide reports.

"We had a Charlie Brown tree last year," said John's wife, Katie Faicco. The new tree will definitely be an upgrade.

It's the time of year when you want to be around friends and family for the holidays, Smith said. And what better way to do so than to cut down a Christmas tree. He gathered a group to celebrate the holidays at his house in Hoback Ranches southwest of Bondurant, which is only accessible by snow machine. It's a 10-minute snow machine ride from the plowed parking area 5 miles off Highway 191.

"You want to spread some cheer and have a good time and let people have the opportunity to get a tree and have a good memory," he said.

People trudged through knee-deep snow to find their trees and chose from a cluster of conifers that was just a little too close to Smith's house on the hillside, creating a potential summer fire hazard.

The trees need to be felled to create a defensible space around the building in case of wildfire. Instead of doing it all in the summer, Smith had another idea.

"I would rather these trees go to somebody and serve a purpose than just get cut down in the summer," he said.

The snow steadily fell and families posed together with their freshly cut trees.

"It's almost the ideal weather," Smith said.

People warmed up inside with cups of hot chocolate and bowls of chili. Others gathered outside to catch up and watch the kids play on snowmobiles.

Heidi Schultz and her husband, Roger, usually get a tree with their children, but they're all off at college this year. They decided to spend the time with friends instead.

"You know it when you see it," Schultz said of finding her perfect Christmas tree.

Friends and family had cut down about six trees behind Smith's house, and there were more people showing up to his remote house in the forest.

The only person who didn't cut down a tree was Smith. He laughed, pointing to a 6-inch-tall sprig festively decorated with lights on a barrel outside.

"It's our Charlie Brown tree," he said.

He's heard horror stories about houses burning down and doesn't want to take the chance this year, especially because there is no way for the fire department to get to his house.

"Just because our house is so remote we would rather just look out and enjoy the trees that are here," he said. "Living up here you have to live smart."

But that didn't stop him from trying to fill up everyone else's homes with trees.

"Putting a smile on somebody's face while getting a Christmas tree," Smith said, "that's the best part."
He also added that he expects the Pwalugu tomato factory, which is in his traditional area, to resume operation under Akufo-Addo's one-district-one-factory policy.

Tong-Rana Kugblinsong made the comments when the President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call oh him.

He said: Nana Addo during his campaigns was very emphatic on what he and the NPP want to do for Ghanaians and all of us were convinced that knowing who he is, he will surely deliver.

"I know with your able vice president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Ghana in four years time will be smiling I am not sure we(Ghanaians) will need to vote again because I know Nana Addo will deliver.

"The Talensi traditional council is ready to work with you as the president of the republic of Ghana. Indeed we are prepared to work with you excessively to satisfy the needs of people in accordance with your vision. I know that, your promise for dams will not evade us as am sure of a number of dams in the Talensi area.

"I already know that you have plans for the Pwalugu tomato factory which is within my traditional area and am sure by the end of the 4 years that factory will be up and running to create jobs for the youth.

President-elect Akufo-Addo also reiterated his commitment to honour his promises to Ghanaians.
In an official statement posted Tuesday, the Ministry noted that observers from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States have recognised the election results as credible, as no serious violations that could have affected the expression of the peoples will were reported.

The Electoral Commission has declared Nana Akufo-Addo as elected President whose New Patriotic Party (NPP) earned about 54 percent of votes, while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) got 44 percent. The NPP is a liberal democratic party and is one of the dominant parties in the national politics of the Republic of Ghana.

In the 7 December 2008 presidential election, Akufo-Addo received more votes than John Atta-Mills amassing 4,159,439 votes representing 49.13% of the total votes cast, placing him first, but not enough for the 50 per cent plus one needed for an outright victory.

It was the best-ever performance for a first-time presidential candidate since the beginning of Ghana's 4th republic in 1992. In the run-off elections, however, Mills ultimately received 4,521,032 votes, representing 50.23%, thus beating Nana Akufo-Addo.

Russian authorities have known the NPP for about a decade and have interacted with leading party officials previously. John Kufuor, a leading NPP member and then President of the Republic of Ghana met with President Vladimir Putin at the 33rd Group of Eight (G8) summit held 6-8 June 2007 at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Moscow.

That was followed by an official working visit to Moscow by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, on 12 July 2007 on the invitation by Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov.

During their diplomatic discussion, both Ministers reached an understanding to raise trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. They further agreed on developing direct business contacts between Russia and Ghana.

Towards realising this goal, Nana Akufo-Addo and Lavrov agreed to facilitate direct contacts between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of both countries. Akufo-Addo said that the Ghanaian side was preparing proposals concerning new projects which may become the object of joint development by companies in Ghana.

Currently, the United Russia Party, Federation Council (Upper House) and State Duma (Lower Chamber) told GNA in separate interviews in Moscow that they were ready to establish political and parliamentary relations with the new government and the New Patriotic Party.

Russia and Ghana have accumulated a valuable experience of mutual respect and trust from nearly 60 years of cooperation in their diplomatic relations that have been described as very friendly and close.

The relations here refers to the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Russia has an embassy in Accra and Ghana has an embassy in Moscow. Russia and Ghana will celebrate 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2017.
Since the death of his third wife, Henrietta Kosoko, in June 2016, the ace Nollywood actor has been faced with allegations that he had a hand in not only the death of the actress but his other two wives.

Olunloyo fondly known as Snitchlady, took to social media to accuse him of using his late wives for money rituals.

Although Olunloyo has since apologised to Kosoko, the stigma seems have settled around the actor who noted that people are counting his losses.

Speaking with Punch in a recent interview, Kosoko finally broke his silence on the allegations, stating that Olunloyo only expressed her opinion, of which she had a right to.

He said: I do not want to go to Kemi Olunloyos issue because the chapter is closed.

I do not want to dwell much on it because when people approached me and informed me of what she was saying, I said she was entitled to her opinion. She was voicing out, what about those that would not say anything but in their mind, they would say that I have lost about three wives?

They are only being human but the truth is that for Olunloyo, that is her opinion no matter how hurt I might have been with her utterances. By my nature, there was nothing I could do. But I appreciate her father who called me and apologised. He said some other things that I may not be able to share with the public."

Kosoko went on to explain his silence following the allegations, saying, When she said all those things, I really did not reply because it is not in my nature and that time, I was mourning so her case was secondary. I am still mourning so there are very little things I want to say.

Addressing rumours that he had not paid the late Henrietta's brideprice, Kosoko said:

I did not pay her bride price and she stayed with me for 22 years, does that not mean that something is wrong somewhere?

The burial ceremony plans did not change suddenly. The plan since the day she died was that she would be buried in her hometown. I told them that I wanted her to be buried in Lagos, it was a case of give and take and my family being a deeply cultured one said that we should give them an opportunity for them to bury her at home.

You may not know, there may be someone in the family who may think there is a foul play and would want to do anything to confirm one or two things, so I could not really stop them. She belonged to all of us but more to me. I embrace peace and nothing happened at her hometown, it was a normal catholic burial, he said.

Throwing some more light on the cause of Henrietta's death, the grieving actor said, Forget about what people said. My late wife was ill and she died of complications which arose from diabetes. My friends, family and colleagues stood by me and I appreciate it.

Of course, you will always have one or two persons that would say one or two negative things but in my life, I have fought so many wars and I have won all of them; so it is only someone who wants to be crushed that would confront me in war because almighty God has His plan for me. It is quite unfortunate that all these things are happening to me but I still thank almighty God because there are reasons for everything.

ALSO READ: Saidi Balogun mourns late actress

I miss everything about her, yes, she was human and she had her flaws but I must confess I would miss her for so many things. She was my companion because we were in the same profession. She was not only my wife but we were in the same industry together.

I still dream about her but it is mostly based on my imagination. How I hope she was still alive. I would miss her food because she was a fantastic cook.

Henrietta who was Kosoko's third wife is reported to have slumped at home and was rushed to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
The couple who are yet to be identified were reportedly shot multiple times by the assailants who tied up their corpses and dumped them in a well, Daily Post reports.

According to the reports, the corpses were discovered in the well by neighbours, who followed the blood trail left behind by the gunmen.

Confirming the attack, the Kwara Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Ajayi Okasanmi, said the corpses of the victims have been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.

It is true. We still dont know who did it and whether they were armed robbers or assassins because it was a man that came to the police to report that they had an aged couple living within the premises but they could not be found but after seeing the traces of blood from their section of the house, it led to a well.

The police came and after searching the area, the corpses were found inside the well so we called the fire service department and they came to recover the corpses which have now been deposited at the mortuary at UITH.

We dont know whether they were robbers or assassins but they went away with a Toyota Camry belonging to the couple. We are still investigating to unravel the mystery but we would like to assure the public that the criminals would not escape the long arms of the law.
The Snitchlady took to her Facebook page writing:

NOBODY SHOULD FEAR MUSLIMS! MUSLIMS SHOULD DESTROY THEIR QUARANS OR ALLAH WILL DISOWN YOU.

Just like the bible, the Koran is a tool of destruction. No reasonable Muslim should ever touch it.

Because of the Koran, Yahya Jammeh of #Gambia who always holds one visibly everywhere he goes and islamized his country has refused to step down.

Because of the Koran #ISIS is cutting prisoners heads off like slaughtered goats.

Jihad all over the world, because of the Koran, Muslim men are marrying up to 4 women and we have 94,000 pregnant women WITH HIV in #Zamfara state #Nigeria with polygamous homes spreading the disease."

Olunloyo quickly switched to denouncing paedophilia, which according to her, is also encouraged by the Quran.

Why is there pedophilia in the Koran? Pedophilia is highly unacceptable. Fucking kids is insanity, something many of you joke and laugh about.

Remember earlier this year that disgusting filthy elephant #TokunboAboderin made a video saying my father raped me at 13yo when he came home drunk fathering my own son. I didnt even have kids till 22yo and the brainwashed illiterates believed her.

Silence is never the best answer for a fool. You reply or u accept their lies as truth. Many Muslims have been caught defiling young teens. Why is this in the Koran? Who are the infidels the Koran is asking others to kill?

Tear up these nonentity religious books of doom which are tools of death. Many killed in terrorist attacks simply because they could not RECITE the Quran.

A way of screening Muslim hostages, free them and kill the brainwashed Christians.

It happened at #Westgate mall in #Kenya. My grandmother died at 102 in 2013 and was the most famous Muslim woman in #Ibadan #Nigeria.

Alhaja Bintu Tejumola Olunloyo will tell you #Islam is a religion of peace and I will say AMEN to that but to that Koran, I would like to bury it on my shit when Im about to FLUSH the toilet.

Spiritual Muslims is what the world needs now not Koran addicts. My former moronic neighbor once slammed his Koran on the ground to swear.
The militant group in Ondo state claimed that the Minister, Uguru Useni and his counterpart, Prof. Claudius Daramola, have been ineffective in their duties since they were appointed to represent the region.

Led by General Kaka Dudu, the ACGND accused the Minister and his colleague of highhandedness for not doing enough for the region. The ACGND claimed that they may not have attacked pipelines in their state, but are always part of operations in other states.

The militants threatened that they would be forced to act if their complaints are not looked into. They further slammed the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs of frustrating the good gesture of President Muhammadu Buhari to returning peace and development to the region.

The federal government has disbursed some money for capital projects in the region and the ministry that had done their advertorial on it has not issued a single letter of contract in respect of the projects.

Our findings indicated that there are internal wrangling within the ministry due to contract racketeering, General Kaka Dudu alleged.

Vandalism of pipelines and other oil installations have stopped for some months now after the Federal government opened doors of negotiation to the militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
He stated this on Saturday, December 24, in his Christmas message to Nigerians.

He said the Federal Government is doing its best to make life easier for all citizens.

The statement reads:

I heartily rejoice with all Nigerians, particularly our Christian brothers and sisters, on this years celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

As we celebrate this years Christmas, I believe that it is very appropriate for us to reflect on the love of God aptly espoused in the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ.

During his earthly sojourn, Jesus Christ repeatedly reminded his disciples and followers of peace that comes in the midst of trials and tribulations on earth.

There is no better time than now in our nations history to pray for divine guidance to get over our current challenges.

We can have peace in Nigeria if we all learn to tolerate and appreciate one another, respect constituted authority; and be our brothers keepers in word and deed.

ALSO READ: Buhari begs Nigerians to be patient

During this period, we should remember to offer special prayers to God for all our heroic citizens who paid the supreme price to restore peace and security in the North East and other flash points in the country. Let us also remember in our prayers the security forces in the frontline in the continuing battle to rid our nation of terrorism and violence.

We must not forget the Internally Displaced Persons in our midst and those who have suffered untold hardship as a result of activities of insurgents and terrorists.

Our immediate priority is to alleviate the poverty of Nigerians by quickly stimulating the economy. I assure Nigerians that our government is doing its best to make life easier for all.

Let us therefore, renew our hope in the God-ordained unity, progress and prosperity of our great nation.
The report, which cited a government source, said the president is not likely to further push the Senate for Magu's confirmation as the substantive EFCC Chairman.

It was learnt that Buhari is uncomfortable with allowing someone that has been indicted in questionable dealings to lead his anti-corruption war.

According to the source, a replacement may be named in January.

"Anyone who knows PMB knows he highly regards DG of the DSS (Lawal Daura) and he is not likely to overlook a report prepared by his confidant," the source said.

"Magu himself did not help his case. How could someone awaiting confirmation make comment like he will never lobby the Senate for confirmation?

"Lobbying happens everywhere in the world. It is a recognized as a legitimate channel of communication. Perhaps Magu thought he was doing so well that PMB will fight the Senate for him. But have proven otherwise.

"The budget is at stake; PMB is trying to take loan and needs approval; these and other pending issues will not make the presidency fight the Senate over one person.

"Again, you will recall that an anti-corruption award was given to Ike Ekweremadu by EFCC, Magu authorized a statement that said something like EFCC doesnt give award corrupt people.

"How could Magu openly attack the second in command of the Nigerian Senate and thinks that person and his colleagues will confirm him.

"People should stop thinking they are the only ones who can do a particular job. Many better hands are out there.

"On the other hand, the impending probe of former governors in the Senate played a role in the rejection. Although Magu could not have stopped them, he could have spoken less of going after them. They actually formed a block against the confirmation.

"This is a lesson to people. When your work is the type that put you against people, watch your tongue, at least until you get power. Magu said many things ordinary Nigerians wanted to hear, not what powerful Nigerians wanted to hear", the source added.

ALSO READ: Presidential aides block EFCC boss from seeing Buhari over Senate rejection

The Senate had last week rejected Magu's nomination based on a security report submitted against him by the DSS.
Its constitutional to hate or deride Buhari in several parts of the South East. He's persona non grata in these parts.

South East States are Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia. It is not uncommon to hear people from these States refer to the Presidents political party, APC, as Hausa party.

In the last presidential contest, only a few persons in the South East turned up for Buhari.

Buhari received a paltry 198,248 votes from the South East. In contrast, Goodluck Jonathan harvested 2,464,906 votes from the region.

ALSO READ: IPOB says President has incurable hatred for Igbos

Even Jonathans South South base handed Buhari more votes. 418,590 people voted for Buhari in the South South. Jonathan had the most votes in the region, polling 4,714,725 votes.

The South East has always been wary of any politician from the North of Nigeria. That fear of the Northern politician in the Igbo speaking States stem from the ills visited on Biafra by Nigeria during the civil war.

The Head of State at the time of the civil war was a northerner and majority of the rank and file in the Nigerian Army hailed from the northern geopolitical zone of the country.

Buhari was in the top echelon of the Army at the time of the civil war. He was never going to get love from the South East during the 2015 presidential election. The grudge from the South East for Buhari for fighting against them during the war, was evident in the eventual outcome from the 2015 polling.

The civil war scars have yet to heal in Igbo-land.

Buhari was flatly rejected in the region.

After winning the general election thanks to the votes from the South West and the northern geopolitical zones, Buharis first job was to unite a fractured country. Its what decent leaders do.

He didnt.

At an event in Washington DC in July 2015, Buhari said people from the region who gave him 5% of the vote shouldnt expect to be treated the same way as those who gave him 97% of the vote.

I hope you have a copy of the election results, Buhari said at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP). The constituents, for example, that gave me 97% [of the vote] cannot in all honesty be treated on some issues with constituencies that gave me 5%. I think these are political realities, the newly elected President said.

It was a careless and flippant thing to say.

Where the South East was looking for inclusive governance cues from the new leader, Buhari handed them one more reason to believe that he isnt their friend.

With one careless remark, the President had marginalized sections of the country even further.

In the months that followed, groups like the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) became more vocal and destructive; and a certain riff-raff called Nnamdi Kanu gained more sympathizers for his misguided Biafra cause.

Still, Buhari didnt read the signs.

In his first set of federal appointments, he made sure to ostracize the South East and South South regions some more, handing critics who say he is clannish, more arrows for their bows.

Buhari is yet to visit a State in the South East region of Nigeria since he assumed the reins.

When the security summit recently held in Enugu, it was perfectly normal for the entire country to wonder why Buhari was nowhere near the venue of the event, especially because the government he heads holds up security as one of its cardinal objectives.

For the South East, this was one more reason not to trust Buhari.

What a difference his visit would have made!

Imagine what a charm offensive to this region during the visit would have done for his ratings.

In his defense, the President said he shunned the security summit because he yielded to counsel from South East elders.

The President was presented with a request to attend the Economic and Security Summit by the , The President happily accepted, a statement from the Presidency read.

The visit to Enugu was scheduled for Thursday 22nd as can be found on the weekly programme.

After this was done, some other stakeholders from the South East came and advised him to not go in view of the closeness of the date to that given the sensitivity of the period to the people, a presidential visit may come with over-exertion and possibly, be disruptive of Christmas.

In view of this, President Buhari requested that the event be pushed forward to January, 2017. Given his nature, he did not insist. He said if the change of date is not possible, then the event can go on without him. That is what the organisers chose to do.

The President did not, and he absolutely has no reason to snub anyone.

Tell that to the birds!

It was a lame excuse from the nations number one citizen.

A Commander-In-Chief should be able to show up in any part of the country whenever he chooseswhether at Christmas, Yam Festivals, Ogboni rituals, Cultists initiation, hailstones, earthquakes, flooding, Boko Haram warwhenever.

Hes the C-In-C for a reason. A packed Christmas schedule in the host State shouldn't prevent the President from making a most important trip to any part of this nation.

Citing closeness to Christmas as reason for not making the trip to Enugu was rather hollow and infantile. It was pure, unfiltered baloney. It made little sense.

It would have been better to shut it.

Buhari has to do more to unite a fractured country. He has to assure persons of other regions who didnt vote for him that they are part of his plans for a better Nigeria.

Hes got to be the unifier in Chief. Thus far, he hasnt.

Not making the trip to Enugu and canceling an earlier trip to Rivers to flag off the Ogonicleanup, were missed opportunities.
Extra security put in place during this months three-day organizational session will be reinstated next month when lawmakers return to Bismarck for their regular session.

It went real well, Lt. Tom Iverson, of the North Dakota Highway Patrol, said of the measures put in place during the organizational session. There were a lot of people that were appreciative of the enhanced security effort.

The north and west entrances to the Capitol as well as the mail room door will be locked and unavailable for public entry. State employees and lawmakers will be able to use these entrances using key cards.

The south entrance and the judicial wing door on the east side of the building will be open to the public, but metal detectors will be in place. Employees will be able to bypass the metal detectors by showing valid key cards.

Its going to take some getting used to, Iverson said of the changes.

The security was increased in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests of recent months. Opponents of the multi-billion dollar pipeline have been camping in southern Morton County for months; more than 570 arrests and millions in law enforcement costs have occurred since August.

Work ongoing

Despite a string of winter storms blanketing the region and a recent bone-chilling cold snap, the steady sounds of construction equipment at the site of the new governors residence on the North Dakota Capitol grounds has continued unabated.

It hasnt slowed them down at all. Its unbelievable, said John Boyle, the state's facility management director.

The foundation work is essentially done and the stick-built frame of the 13,600-square-foot residence has begun to go up in recent days.

A lot will change in the next four to eight weeks, Boyle said.

Work began at the residence site in the fall and quickly moved a few weeks ahead of schedule. Then the North Dakota winter belatedly arrived.

Despite the blizzard earlier in the month and the recent cold spell, Boyle said the construction crews took it in stride and could be seen daily maintaining the pace theyd set.

Boyle said the residence is expected to be finished on schedule so the governor can move in by Thanksgiving.

The general contract was awarded to Northwest Contracting Inc. while the mechanical contract went to Northern Plains Heating, Cooling and Air. Both are Bismarck-based companies. The electrical contract went to Fargo-based Magnum Electric Inc., which also has an office in Bismarck.

Boyle reported the transition earlier this month from outgoing Gov. Jack Dalrymple to new Gov. Doug Burgum went smoothly. He said Dalrymple was able to have breakfast there in the morning, while Burgum was settled in and was able to spend the night following his first day in office.
Buratai gave the commendation in a Christmas and New Year message to the the personnel.

I congratulate you for your bravery, doggedness and loyalty in these endeavours. I want to urge you all to maintain the momentum and remain steadfast as we continue to professionally and responsively carryout our constitutional roles.

On my part, I will continue to ensure that troops welfare and that of their families, remains my utmost priority.

Let me reassure you of the Federal Governments commitment to providing the Nigerian Army with the requisite support for us to perform our duties.

The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, has pledged his total support to the Armed Forces to bring all ongoing operations to an end in favour of our dear country.

This festive season heralds peace as well as a time for merriment, sober reflection and introspection. I enjoin us all to continue to pray to the Almighty God for the repose of the souls of our fallen comrades and the wellbeing of the families of our brave fallen heroes, the army said.

ALSO READ: Troops crush last Boko Haram camp in sambisa forest

While thanking the officers and men for the good job they had done in 2016, he said they should look forward to making greater progress in 2017.
According to reports from Daily Trust, Governor El Rufai claimed that investigations have revealed that some Niger Delta militants disguised as Fulani herdsmen are planning to attack people in Kaduna.

The governor alleged that some ruthless politicians were sponsoring the miscreants and were benefitting from the crisis in Kaduna. El Rufai vowed to arrest and prosecute the culprits and their syndicate in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

In the meantime, the governor said that security operatives have beefed up security in the state to curtail violence and other criminal activities. Kaura, Jemaa and Zangon Kataf local governments are already under 12 hours curfew due to restiveness in Southern Kaduna over clashes with Fulani herdsmen.

After a meeting with President Buhari, Gov El Rufai announced thus: We have curfew even on Christmas day, but it is for 12 hours.

People will be able to get out in the morning at 6am and be back at 6pm. It is because of the security situation.

I dont think the state government should be blamed, those responsible for the violence that broke out in those parts of the state should be held responsible for that.

We have not imposed curfew in other parts of the state. We had to impose curfew here (Southern Kaduna) because of the situation that was caused by irresponsible behaviour by certain people.

I came to brief the president about the situation in Southern Kaduna; what happened in the last few days and outlined to him, the measures weve been taking as state government with the support of the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Security.

The governor said President Buhari had given him unqualified support to stabilise the state and bring all those responsible for the violation of laws to justice.

So, we have the full support of the president to move on and we are quite confident that things will return to normal very soon.
The Departments Operations Controller in Sokoto, Mr Mohammed Makera, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Saturday.

Makera said that, the axed station which belonged to an independent petroleum marketer was also fined N100, 000, per pump.

"The action was sequel to the raids we have sustained on both independent and major marketers filling stations in Sokoto and Kebbi states.

"In Kebbi alone, our officials had visited no fewer than 40 filling stations, and same was done in Sokoto," he said.

Makera stated that, the departments personnel would sustain their surveillance activities and raids to the filling stations in the bid to ensure that no unsuspecting motorist is cheated.

ALSO READ: Marketers want petrol to sell above N145 per litre

The controller vowed to ensure that motorists get value for their money, even as he advised them against panic buying during the yuletide.
Ribadu had in an affidavit accused Ibori of giving him $15m in 2007 in a bid to dissuade the former EFCC boss from initiating any case against him. However, after receiving the cash, Ribadu had entered it into evidence after which it was kept in the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to Saturday PUNCH, Ribadu had said, Ibori approached me with $15m to stop his investigation. The money was brought in sacks. I called my people because the money was in big bags, which two people could not carry and we deposited it in the CBN as evidence against him.

In July 2012, the EFCC approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, requesting for a final order forfeiting the $15m Ibori bribe which had been in the vaults of the CBN for more than five years to the Federal Government as unclaimed proceeds of crime. Justice Gabriel Kolawole on October 25, 2013, awarded the Federal government ownership of the $15m Ibori bribe which was the subject of legal tussle between the EFCC and the Delta State Government.

When asked to react to information that the Attorney General of the Federation had listed him among the Federal Governments list of witnesses against Ibori, Ribadu said, I am not aware. But if I am asked to testify, I will. But like I told you, nobody has contacted me, according to Saturday PUNCH.

However, after the ex-governor was released on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 from a UK prison, EFCC is expected to amend the charges brought against him in order to avoid a case of double jeopardy.
He claimed that 2017 was going to be a tough year for both President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Apostle Suleman delivered the prophecies at a church event titled  revival, which took place at the new Lagos headquarters of Omega Fire Ministries, OFM. In the prophecies the man of God admonished Africans to sit up as God was going move mightily in the continent come 2017, especially in Nigeria and Ghana.

I see presidents being removed in Africa, I see presidents being installed, the cleric said.

The cleric claimed that there will be many attempts to remove Vice President Yemi Osinbajo from office and that God would humble President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017. He likewise prophesied a strained relationship between the church and government in Nigeria in 2017.

Two times, Nigerias vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, will face removal from office. They will alienate him and they will make attempts to remove him. But God will humble Buhari in 2017. And the New Year is when the Nigerian government will fight the Church like never before, he said.

Apostle Suleman came into spotlight when he prophesied that a governor in Nigeria was going to die in 2016. He also clashed with Kaduna State Governor El - Rufai over the religious bill in the state. Apostle Suleman was also one of those who denounced the popular ponzi scheme MMM as demonic and fraudulent.
The Registrar for the institution, Dorcas D-Otto, confirmed the expulsion in a statement obtained by Daily Post.

She noted that the affected students were found to have been engaged in various misconducts including cultism, assault on lecturers and open threat to law and order in the university.

A part of the statement read:

Eight of the expelled students were discovered to be members of cult groups; two assaulted a female lecturer and disrupted a congress meeting; while twelve others were former presidents of faculty associations.

In the same vein, the varsity's Senate also fingered a body known as Faculty Presidents Forum for allegedly hijacking the functions of the elected Students Union Executive as well as threatening the peace on campus.

The closure of the University of Port Harcourt for the Christmas and New Year holidays with effect from Thursday, December 22, was also announced in the statement.

ALSO READ: Students protest increase in tuition

Daily Post reports that the statement also indicated that the school would resume for the 2016-2017 Academic Session on January 3, 2017.
Nearly three decades ago, a local doctor saw palm trees wrapped with festive lights to commemorate the holidays in Hawaii. The tradition Steven Hamar brought back to North Dakota has only expanded over the years to become Candy Cane Lane.

Mike and Sandy Kienzle, of 1601 Northview Lane (as it is called the rest of the year), have been there since the beginning.

"The first year there were maybe five or six houses that decorated, then seven or eight, then the next year, everyone," Mike Kienzle said. "All the people chip in with the boulevard trees. The trees give this tunnel effect and at the top, all the lights blend together ... it's very nice."

Though there's no requirement on a house purchase that requires outdoor decorating, Sandy Kienzle says the neighbors inspire each other to do so regardless.

"We've got some new neighbors," Sandy Kienzle said. "It's their first winter in North Dakota. I think the snow caught them by surprise. But they still have their boulevard tree lit up."

With the mild winters of the past few years, the Kienzles haven't had a problem with weather and the lights. This year has been a little different.

"Luckily, we had all our lights up before Thanksgiving, but a lot of the lights hanging on shrubs look like they're falling off," Mike Kienzle said. "They are falling off from the weight of the snow, but they're going to stay there the rest of the winter."

Outside the Kienzles' house and along the street, candles and yard lamps are buried, with a few candles glowing under a blanket of white.

"There's been a lot less traffic the last two weeks as it's been so cold and snowy," Mike Kienzle admits.

Still, the limos, buses and cars have been bringing their watchful passengers to view lights every evening, says Sandy Kienzle, and she's been recognized for her decorating even when it's not strung up.

"This summer, I had a couple people stop me and just thank me for the lights. They remembered," said Sandy Kienzle. "They bring the kids and the elderly out, and it's so cute to see them watching .... It's worth it."

The lighting takes about 12 hours to put up, and it's usually done prior to Thanksgiving when the weather's still hospitable.

"We try to mix (the display) up from year to year," said Steve Kienzle. "The lights are all done with extension poles  and no, we don't climb trees. There's no fancy design: My goal is to keep it simple and colorful."

The past few years, decorations have come down street-wide a few days after January, when the festivities usually cease.

"We typically try to take it down still in the middle of winter," said Steve Kienzle. "This year, they aren't coming down until the snow melts."

As the years have passed, however, the decorating certainly hasn't gotten any easier, Sandy Kienzle says.

"People used to do porches and all, but they're getting older and it's getting harder," said Sandy Kienzle. "The trees are getting taller every year, and the city comes and trims the lower branches away, so it gets higher and more difficult, too."

But the Kienzles are optimistic for the future and for new residents who come to their street.

"I keep (Mike) pumped up, I say 'you can do it another year,' just so everyone can enjoy it," said Sandy Kienzle. "It's a Thanksgiving night tradition from some people, I've heard, where they come up here  or parents will stop on their way home from work because the kids are begging .... I mean, we can't just stop now. And our kids, when they were young, would love it."

As for the name of Candy Cane Lane, Sandy Kienzle points to an old tradition, started when their boulevard tree was a mere six feet tall.

"Perhaps (the name) came from how we would hand out candy canes years ago, and our caroling .... That was when everyone knew everyone and their kids," said Sandy Kienzle. "It's changed, over the years, but we're still Candy Cane Lane."

Though driving may be difficult on the steep hill and decorations are a day's struggle to carry out from storage, the Kienzles do enjoy the street-wide tradition.

"It really is sad coming home after everyone has taken them down," said Sandy Kienzle. "You pull into the garage and it just seems so dark .... The decorations really do light up the street."
"They were found to be in possession of a hand grenade and a pistol" when asked to surrender their weapons, Muscat told reporters after the two who took over the Afriqiyah Airways flight were arrested.

"The armed forces of Malta are conducting a full search of the aircraft and a second pistol has been found so far," he said.

Muscat outlined negotiations between the Maltese military and the hijackers after he said the plane landed in Malta at 11:34 am (1032 GMT) with 117 people on board, including six crew members.

Officials had initially said there were seven crew.

"Upon landing in Malta at 11:34 CET, contact started with the captain of the aircraft and the two hijackers -- both male and probably of Libyan nationality.

"The hijackers were told that in order for any discussions to be entertained they should release all passengers first," Muscat said.

"This request was negotiated and eventually accepted and passengers were released in consecutive groups.

"Two crew members were also released while another four were detained for a period of time," he added.

Following further negotiations "the hijackers agreed to free the remaining members of the crew and to surrender," he continued.
The hijackers who diverted the plane on Friday to Malta released everyone onboard and surrendered. A Libyan official claimed the men had sought asylum, but Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said they had not.

Other recent hijackings have been carried out by individuals for reasons ranging from personal to political, and almost all ended swiftly and safely.

Here are examples from the past 10 years:

Wanted to see ex-wife

A man hijacks an EgyptAir flight on March 29, 2016 from Alexandria to Cairo with 55 passengers and crew onboard, and forces it to land in Cyprus so he can see his ex-wife.

Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58, is described as "psychologically unstable" and claims to have explosives strapped to his waist, but gives himself up after releasing fellow travellers.

Asylum seeker

An Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 202 people on board is diverted on February 17, 2014 by its unarmed copilot to Geneva where he asks for asylum.

Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn is arrested, but Switzerland refuses an Ethiopian request for his extradition.

Drunk hijacker

A reportedly drunk man hijacks a flight on February 7, 2014 with 110 people on board from Ukraine's second city Kharkov to Istanbul.

He brandishes what he claims is a detonator and shouts "Let's go to Sochi," Russia, where the Winter Olympics opening ceremony is under way.

The plane is escorted by Turkish F-16 jets to Istanbul where anti-terrorist commandos end the incident without any casualties.

Divine mission to warn Mexico

A Bolivian preacher and former drug addict hijacks on September 9, 2009 an Aeromexico airliner from Cancun to Mexico City with 104 people on board, saying he is on a divine mission.

Presenting sand-filled juice cans with coloured lights as a bomb, Jose Marc Flores Pereira surrenders after the plane lands, with most passengers unaware they had been taken hostage.

The hijacker says he had to warn Mexico it was threatened by an earthquake.

Low on fuel

A Sun Air flight carrying 95 people from Nyala in Sudan to Khartoum is hijacked on August 26, 2008 by two men and lands in Kufra, southern Libya after running low on fuel. Almost a day later, the men surrender and the passengers are freed.

Escape out the back

An Egyptian and a Turk who claim to be Al-Qaeda members hijack on August 18, 2007 an Istanbul-bound Atlasjet flight from the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with 142 people on board and demand to fly to Iran or Syria.

The pilots land in Antalya, Turkey to refuel, and while women and children are being freed by the front door, most of the other passengers escape through the rear. The rest are released several hours later when the hijackers surrender.

Message to the pope

An unarmed Turkish army deserter, Hakan Ekinci, seizes on October 3, 2006 a Turkish Airlines flight carrying 113 people from Tirana to Istanbul. The plane is forced by Greek and Italian jets to land in Brindisi, Italy.

Ekinci had forced his way into the cockpit with a parcel that he said was a bomb, and wanted to send a message to Pope Benedict XVI.
Crowds of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem's Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, ahead of midnight mass at the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Some snapped selfies near a giant Christmas tree and watched the annual Scouts parade in the city, a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"This is Christ's land, the land of peace," said Ramzi Abu Khalil, wearing a Santa hat.

Violence put a damper on celebrations in Bethlehem last year, as a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeted Israelis and reduced sharply the number of Christmas visitors.

The unrest has subsided in recent months and, with major Bethlehem hotels booked up, many in the city were optimistic this year's holiday season would bring more visitors.

Candles, flowers in Berlin

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from Monday's truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

German authorities were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed Friday in a shootout with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Tunisia said Saturday it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."

Security was also tight at Milan's cathedral, where Italian police were out in force and concrete barricades were erected around the historic Piazza del Duomo.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers were deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

Icy swim, meat auction

Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional markets and other festivities.

Among them some 30 hardy Slovaks participated in a winter swim at Bratislava's Zlate Piesky lake, some drinking beer in the nearly freezing water.

In London, meat-lovers converged on Smithfield Market for the traditional Christmas Eve auction at butcher Harts, waving banknotes in the air as they bid on turkeys, pork cuts and rump steaks.

In debt-ridden Greece, Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos sent Christmas cards featuring the tight-fisted Dickensian protagonist of "A Christmas Carol", Ebnezer Scrooge, in a jibe to the country's creditors.

First Aleppo mass in years

Christians in Syria's Aleppo were looking forward to celebrations after President Bashar al-Assad's forces retook full control of the city following a rebel withdrawal this week.

Members of Aleppo's Catholic minority have been preparing for the first Christmas mass in five years at the Old City's Saint Elias Cathedral, whose roof collapsed under a salvo of rocket fire.

"All our memories are here -- this is where we celebrated all our feast days, our joys," said Bashir Badawi, rummaging through rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene.

"We want to transform all this destruction into something beautiful."

In Bartalla, near the Iraqi city of Mosul, Christians filled the pews of the fire-scarred Mar Shimoni church for the first service since the town was retaken from IS who seized it in 2014.

The jihadists destroyed crosses at the church but volunteers worked for days to ready it for the service and a new cross was erected for the ceremony.

"I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned," said Nada Yaqub. "We felt that our cross is still around our necks. No one could take it from us."

The patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael Sako, urged international protection for Christians displaced by war so they could return to their homes.

Blast in Philippines

In the mostly Catholic Philippines, a blast ripped through a police car outside a church as worshippers were arriving for a Christmas Eve mass south of Manila, wounding 13 people.

On the east coast, authorities evacuated thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the area on Christmas Day before moving to the main island of Luzon.

In Manila, gay and transgender inmates held a mock beauty pageant in one of the country's most overcrowded Manila prisons to cheers from other detainees.
"No to freedom for terrorist groups!" protestors chanted.

Some held placards calling for "political will against terrorist groups".

Organisers said 1,500 people attended the rally.

It was held on the same day authorities said they had arrested three alleged jihadists connected to the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker, Tunisian Anis Amri.

Protestors slammed Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist Ennahda party, who has in the past supported the idea of allowing Tunisian jihadists who "repent" and renounce violence to return home.

President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier this month that Tunisia would refuse to pardon Tunisians who fight for jihadist organisations.

"Many of them want to return, and we can't prevent a Tunisian from returning to his country," he told AFP, "but we will be vigilant."

Following a storm of criticism in the press and on social media, on December 15 he told Tunisian local television that "we will not be indulgent with the terrorists".

More than 5,000 Tunisians are fighting for jihadist groups abroad, mainly in Iraq, Syria or neighbouring Libya, according to a UN working group on mercenaries.

On Friday evening, the country's Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub told parliament 800 Tunisian nationals who had fought for extremist groups abroad had since returned to the country.
"Libyan authorities should ensure the safety of and urgently provide medical care for more than 120 women and children being held in a Misrata prison" on suspicion of jihadist links, it said.

Forces allied with Libya's unity government said on December 5 that they had ousted IS from the coastal city, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, after seven months of fighting.

The jihadists had seized Sirte, the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, in June 2015 amid the chaos following Kadhafi's downfall in 2011.

After evacuating the city, Libyan authorities detained a number of civilians suspected of IS links, fears heightened by cases where women blew themselves up after leaving the city.

HRW said authorities have "an obligation to ensure the well-being and security of the women and children" and should not detain them on the basis of suspected relationships to IS fighters.

It cited a prison official who said none of the women had identification documents and another who said some of the women appeared to have been abducted by IS.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a statement issued on Friday, said that the U.S. action was predicated on preserving the possibility of a two-State solution to the protracted Israeli-Palestine conflict.

The Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, reports that Trump had on Thursday, pressured the U.S. to veto the Security Councils Resolution initially sponsored by Egypt.

Following the pressure that Trump also reportedly put on the sponsor of the resolution, Egypt withdrew it and the vote was consequently delayed till Friday.

However, the resolution was put forward on Friday by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela and the 15-member Council adopted the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour and with one abstention  the U.S., which abstained from voting rather than veto the resolution.

Today, the U.S. acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every U.S. administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Two states is the only way to ensure Israels future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors, and freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people.

That future is now in jeopardy, with terrorism, violence and incitement continuing and unprecedented steps to expand settlements being advanced by avowed opponents of the two state solution.

That is why we cannot in good conscience stand in the way of a resolution at the United Nations that makes clear that both sides must act now to preserve the possibility of peace,

The statement said further, While we do not agree with every aspect of this Resolution, it rightly condemns violence and incitement and settlement activity and calls on both sides to take constructive steps to reverse current trends and advance the prospects for a two state solution.

And it does not seek to impose on the parties a solution to the conflict. It preserves the ability for the parties to negotiate the end of conflict.

The U.S. however, restated U.S. the age-old friendship with Israel, stressing the administrations unparalleled record of support to the country.

As a lifelong friend of Israel, I have taken every opportunity to speak out, or cast a vote, to protect its security and the chance for a peaceful future.

This Administration is proud of what Israels leaders have called its unparalleled record of support for Israels security.

This includes the largest military assistance package in history, defending Israel against any efforts to undermine its security or legitimacy in international fora, and steadfastly opposing boycotts, divestment campaigns and sanctions targeting the State of Israel.

It is that very commitment to Israels long term security that we are standing up for today.

We hope the parties will see this as a moment to urgently advance the peaceful and prosperous future they each deserve.

It, however, noted that in spite of the resolution, dialogue between the two warring sides remained the lasting option.

We all understand that reversing these disturbing trends on the ground will not itself bring an end to the conflict.

That is why, over the past four years, I have spent countless hours engaged with the Israelis and Palestinians, countries in the region, and key stakeholders around the world, to explore and advance the prospects for peace.
Many city and county crews may be spending Christmas on snow removal equipment. A blizzard watch has been issued for 6 a.m. Christmas Day through noon Monday, with as much as a foot of snow and wind gusts as high as 60 mph expected.

Rick Krolak, meteorologist technician with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, said 8 inches of snow is forecast for western North Dakota. The central area is expected to get 12 inches, he said, and the eastern side of the state could see a range of 12 to 18 inches.

"We'll treat it like it's any other storm, said Dennis Wetzel, who has operated snowplows in Bismarck for 14 years. I'm supposed to be in Jamestown this weekend. ... We're hoping New Year's we'll make it with my mother-in-law."

Missing the holiday is disappointing, but the sacrifice is necessary, he said.

"They've been through this before with me. You do what you have to do. This is what we've got to do.  The town would be shut down if we wouldn't be out plowing, he said.

The high winds will cause drifting, and crews were out Friday reducing many of the the high banks formed from the previous two storms, according to Wetzel. "Then, we'll have room to put the next snowfall that we have, he said.

"When it's snowing at its worst time, we're going to be out," Wetzel said. "We're going to be keeping the main roads open for the fire trucks, the ambulance, police department. They have to be out regardless. If we aren't out, they aren't going to make it."

He rests between 12-hour shifts and refuels with a lot of Coca-Cola.

In past serious storms, crews have been placed near fire stations in case of calls.

"We had to go and blaze a trail for them. If there is a snow emergency, someone in town is going to be close to where they need to go. Dispatch will call us. Whoever is closest will get the equipment to where it needs to be, Wetzel said.

Ross Reinbold, a plow operator for the city of Bismarck for 10 years, was also out Friday and will be on standby for the holiday storm.

"We've been told to stay close to home. Maybe in a week or so, we can travel to see the relatives. We will be in place to do the emergency routes, make sure all of the emergency vehicles can get around town, he said.

"I just watch people through the picture windows as they are having their hot toddies and wave at them," he jokes about the multiple sweeps.

Reinbold, who has missed a few family Christmases in his time, said crew members don't take a lot of breaks; they keep going for 12 hours, with the exception of using bathroom facilities.

"Usually, the adrenaline is pretty high. You don't get tired until the end of the shift. You are always in traffic. You always have to be moving with your eyes, said Reinbold, adding that he plays music, but switches stations often to keep alert.

Occasionally, somebody will bring the crews cookies or arrange catered food, which can take the edge off not being home for the holiday.

"It's part of the job, Reinbold said. "I'll just call the daughter in Moorhead. Maybe it will be a Happy New Year visit instead of a Christmas visit."

The North Dakota Transportation Department asks travelers to keep informed about weather and traveling conditions throughout the region, as some roads may be blocked and impassable. Motorists should carry an emergency survival kit if they travel.

Visit a travel map at http://www.dot.nd.gov/travel-info-v2/ or download the NDRoads smartphone app. Road condition information is also available through text or email alerts by signing up on our website at: http://www.dot.nd.gov/govdelivery/landing.htm. Call 511 for road condition reports.
Firefighters outnumbered pediatric patients on Christmas Eve morning at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport.

There are only two children here and thats a great thing, said Ryan Hanghian, president of the Davenport Association of Professional Firefighters Local 17.

Davenport Fire Department personnel, led by Fire Santa  also known as District Chief Mike Carlsten  made their annual visit on Saturday to the hospital bearing gifts and smiles.

Fire Santa, Mrs. Claus, aka Davenport restaurateur Jan Tappa, and Sparky, the departments mascot, sported red helmets as they greeted sick children in the pediatric ward and newborns in the birth center.

In one room, Monique Redd of Milan gently rocked her 1-year-old daughter, Alaysia Smith, who was battling a high fever.

"This is a surprise," said Redd, who arrived at the hospital about 2 a.m. "Shes not as hot as she was when she came in."

Before exiting, Mrs. Claus/Tappa turned to the young mother and consoled her.

"Just know we're all praying for you," she said.

The firefighters' union donated the presents, a longstanding tradition that goes back more than 15 years.

If your childs in the hospital over the holidays, its the least we can do to help ease the situation, Hanghian said.

For more than a decade, the late Davenport Fire Lt. Mark Kakert organized the effort.

Caitlin Kakert, who began volunteering with her father 12 years ago, participated on Saturday to "keep his spirit alive." It marked the 24-year-old's first time at the hospital since her father died there in May from traumatic brain injuries he sustained during a heart attack.

"I still wanted to be part of it even though my dad isnt here," Kakert said. "It was one thing my dad and I did together. This is our special thing."

Davenport Fire Lt. Zach Soliz proudly took over the reins this year. His day began about 6 a.m. when he went shopping for toys.

I already know what big shoes I have to fill, said Soliz, who brought his son and daughter along for the experience. He (Mark) made such an impact on this community.

After their visit to Genesis, the group headed to the Kahl Home, Davenport, where the project began many years ago.

Every year, Fire Santa/Carlsten said the time he spends at both places helps him, and others, get into the Christmas spirit.

"Whether they're 6 months or 60 years old, it's good to see the smiles on people's faces," he said.
A native of Cordova is on a team of engineers working to make history with the world's first solar-powered SUV  a vehicle that would reliably carry four people.

In October, the Iowa Staters will compete in the World Solar Challenge in southern Australia, an 1,800-mile race across Australia of team-engineered solar cars from all over the world.

Called the Penumbra, it is the 14th solar car design from Iowa State University's PrISUm team. This student-run organization has more than 100 members, many of them engineering students.

One of the team leaders  responsible for the car's charging port  is Sean Robinson, 20, a 2015 graduate of Riverdale High School in Port Byron.

Robinson got involved as a beginning engineering student who was invited to a Team PrISUm meeting. "They are all great people, and they actually can help me, academically, as well as be friends," he said.

Robinson sees his involvement in Team PrISUm as possibly leading to a job in the future.

The director of Team PrISUm is Matt Goode of Coggen, Iowa. Goode was in elementary school when he helped his neighbor rebuild the V8 engine for a Ford Mustang. In high school, he had his own engine-rebuilding business. He and his dad also converted a Jeep CJ5 into a fully electric car.

By the time Goode got to the Iowa State campus in Ames, he was an easy choice for the solar car team. Now 21, he was elected project director of the team that aims to make history in the solar vehicle world.

Team PrISUm was founded at Iowa State in 1989. Over the years, the students have designed more than a dozen cars to drive in national solar competitions. To date, the cars were essentially for a single person, the driver.

For the event in Australia, they will take the Penumbra, a vehicle currently under construction. Goode was interviewed as he watched the molds the students had designed return in a semi-truck after they were treated by Plastics Unlimited, of Preston, Iowa.

Assistant project director Dylan Neal, 22, of Webster Groves, Missouri, said the car is an ergonomic design, with a usable trunk, dashboard, and headlights  like the Tesla vehicles.

"It's the same look as a Tesla but it will be very light, and strong, and run off of solar power," Neal said.

The students are in the process of raising $250,000 for Team PrISUm; this will help to fund the world challenge trip. The club is student-governed and student-operated, funded by donations and supported by sponsors.

Once team members finish building the Penumbra, they plan to bring it to all 99 counties of Iowa, including the Davenport area.

The students are trying to build a vehicle that people, some day, you can just buy. "We've never done something of this scale, but it will be incredible once it's done," Goode said.
 III  2022         ,            8      ,    - 2,2  .
"We've been pretty spoiled the last couple of years. It's a pretty classic North Dakota cold outbreak."

 Meteorologist Zack Hargrove with the National Weather Service's Bismarck office, on last weekends cold spell that saw the temperature drop to 31 below. Some wind chills reached 53 below.

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"I think it's in everyone's interest to have some kind of regulatory authority."

 Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II, on the possibility of creating a utilities commission on the reservation.

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"This rule infringes on a state's ability to manage their own successful coal reclamation programs. In fact, just two weeks ago the OSM reported that North Dakota has an effective program with no issues.'"

 Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., criticizing the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's finalized Stream Protection Rule.

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"It's a small community but also kind of a big community. It's a little bit more of a vibrant community  slightly faster paced but not crazy."

 Daniel Stenberg, McKenzie County economic developer, describing Watford City.

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"The annual number of new births in Williams County is staggering and it continues to grow. Even if half of these families choose to call Williston home, we are looking at some serious child care shortages in the future. It will definitely affect the workforce dynamics."

 Shawn Wenko, executive director of Williston Economic Development, on the need for child care in Williston and Williams County.

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"We've set up a number of heated huts throughout the work area and allow a lot more frequent breaks. We can take snow, and we can take wind, and we can take cold; but the combination of all three is pretty tough."

 Jim Greer, project manager for Basin Electric Power Cooperative's $500 million urea fertilizer plant in Mercer County, on precautions taken due to the bad weather.

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"People now want more amenities and a place that's a little more upscale."

 John Phillips, who directs real estate development for Fargo-based Lutheran Social Services Housing Inc., on what people are looking for in housing in Coal Country.

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"As old as they are ... they have fewer years to learn English, (and) they're coming right into the high school environment, where they are expected to be in six or seven different content-area classes. Their course load is very difficult, and they are expected to get those credits just like any other student in order to be on track for graduation."

 Teresa Lindemann, an English language instructor for the Mandan School District, on the challenges facing English language learners in the district.

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"We're trying to do some creative solutions, but you can only get so creative, especially when you're trying to give the kids the best possible education. It's not fair that you have to be creative all the time and, Oh, you're just going to have to do this because we don't have the space.'"

 Tabetha Rabenberg, principal at Horizon Middle School, on the challenges created by overcrowding at the school. The Bismarck School Board has set a March 7, 2017, special election to allow voters to chose whether to approve a $57.5 million bond issue for middle school space, as well as some renovations and additions at Bismarck High School and Century High School.

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"The volume of what is happening here is quite large. It doesn't seem to anybody that he was trying to hide things."

 Sandra Freeman, criminal case coordinator for the Water Protector Legal Collective, after a delay in a trial for Dakota Access Pipeline protesters because not all attorneys had received the prosecution evidence. Ladd Erickson, who is prosecuting the case for Morton County, said after court that part of the problem was that some of the defense attorneys had been appointed in the past week.

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"Democracy works when we've got engaged citizens."

 Gov. Doug Burgum, during the vote by the states three presidential electors.
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ROSEBUD | A judge has sentenced five people for robbing the DaVita Dialysis Center in Rosebud in January. All five were indicted for third-degree burglary.

According to a Department of Justice statement, the five burglars broke into the dialysis center in January and stole multiple items, including star quilts and dream catchers. They then sold some of the star quilts to third parties and used the money from the sales to buy marijuana and methamphetamine.

Seryl Leroy Pomani Jr., 28, of Rosebud, was sentenced on Sept. 6 to spend up to nine months in custody, followed by two years of supervised release.

Michelle Iron Cloud, 30, of Mission, was sentenced on Dec. 6 to six months time served in tribal custody, followed by 18 months supervised release.

Jonathan Anthony D.J. Jones, 36, of Rosebud, was sentenced on Dec. 12 to three months in custody, followed by three months home confinement, followed by two years of supervised release.

Robert Pomani, 24, of Rosebud, pleaded guilty to larceny in September and was sentenced on Dec. 19 to four months in custody, followed by three years of supervised release.

Alicia Good Shield, 30, of Rosebud, was placed on probation for 18 months.

The five were ordered to pay restitution of at least $5,615 between them, and $100 each to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of profiles of United Way-backed agencies and the people they help.

The holiday season had just begun. Jack Sutton stood outside his apartment building one morning, helplessly watching his home burn down.

Just minutes earlier, he was jolted by his neighbor, yelling for him to wake up and get out.

"My neighbor lady had the fire start in her apartment," Sutton said. "And she screamed and hollered, 'Get out, get out! There's a fire!'"

As the glowing flames shot through the windows, his belongings were consumed by fire and smoke. Then the ceiling collapsed. Sutton said he felt lost and even a little embarrassed.

"Theres nothing more humiliating than standing outside the building in your pajamas, watching your apartment burn at 6 oclock in the morning," he said.

Suddenly, the reality of his situation set in. Sutton, 73, said he just had no idea what to do. His retirement and Social Security checks had come two weeks prior. He wondered whom to call, where to stay and, as his stomach rumbled for breakfast, how he was going to eat.

"I couldn't even buy breakfast," he said. "It was that bad."

And without any close relatives nearby, Sutton also felt very alone. One brother lives in Kansas and the other in Michigan. "So it's not like I can just call them up and say, 'Come over. I need some help,'" he said.

He called a friend from church, who drove from Box Elder. More help soon came as a representative from the American Red Cross arrived just after the fire department began fighting the fire.

The people with the Red Cross, an agency that gets partial funding from the United Way, have been busy this week providing assistance to families affected by four fires in western South Dakota in just the past five days. The latest occurred Wednesday on Dunsmore Road in Rapid City.

Were deeply saddened for those who were impacted by these fires, said Richard Smith, executive director of the Red Cross. As we continue to help the families, we urge everyone to take steps to minimize the risk of a fire occurring in their home.

The Red Cross is calling on everyone to take three simple steps that can save lives:

 Install smoke alarms. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Local building codes vary, and there may be additional requirements.

 Test smoke alarms. If the batteries don't work, replace them.

 Make sure everyone in the family knows how to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes. Practice that plan and note the escape time.

Sutton said he can't thank the Red Cross enough for helping him navigate through what could have been even more of a devastating loss and for making it so easy.

Sutton said the man from the Red Cross who showed up right away took down his information while they watched the firefighters put out the flames. He then handed Sutton a pre-loaded credit card with $500 dollars to spend on things he needed to get through the next couple of weeks.

"I was surprised that it was so soon," he said. "I knew the Red Cross helps, but I thought maybe I had to call them and start the process. But they were right there, and it was an immediate help."

Sutton said he knew a motel manager who helped him with a place to stay for two weeks while he found a new apartment and worked to put his life back together.

"I didnt lose everything, but there was a lot of smoke damage," he said. "Mostly I lost my recliner and my bed, and they couldn't fix my microwave, so I had to buy a new one."

A cleaning company that specializes in an ionization process to remove the smell of smoke saved most of Sutton's clothing, as well, he said.

And even now that he is settled in a new place and feeling so grateful this Christmas, Sutton said someone from the Red Cross still calls to check on him.

"Theyve been keeping up with me and asking how I'm doing," he said. "It's really great that we have people like that who can come help in a storm or a flood or fire."
When voters approved Initiated Measure 22 last month, their attitude was quite clear. They want a more accountable, more transparent government.

The pair of scandals that have unfolded in the last five years or so  EB-5 and GEAR UP  were just too big to sweep under the rug. As much as South Dakotans trust their Republican-led government, they just couldn't ignore the fact that four children were apparently murdered in September of 2015 by their father after he stole millions of taxpayer dollars. The theft was made possible, at least in part, by lax oversight of the money on behalf of state officials.

A few years before that tragic incident, a former economic development official, Richard Benda, took his own life after investigators say he improperly used money generated by the EB-5 foreign investor program to secure himself a job in the private sector. Benda was going to be indicted before he died.

Long before either of these scandals came to light, the South Dakota government had been rated as one of the least transparent state governments in the union. Government transparency groups have long decried the state's poor open records laws and lack of institutionalized accountability, such as an ethics commission.

Last year, for example, South Dakota was given an "F'' by the Center for Public Integrity in its 2015 State Integrity Investigation. The state was ranked 47th when it comes to government accountability.

We don't believe that low rankings and poor grades in studies that look at the existence or non-existence of laws mean that South Dakota is rife with corruption. The vast majority of our civil servants and elected leaders are good people who want to do good work on our behalf.

We do, however, believe in the old maxim "Trust but Verify." And until IM 22 was approved, South Dakotans have had little ability to verify that their elected officials are in fact working in the best interests of the state or are instead working for special interests.

Legislators have repeatedly refused to update and strengthen the laws regarding public disclosure of government activities and the benefits legislators receive from lobbyists as well as just about anything else that threatens to give regular people more access to government. That's why voters were forced to make the changes themselves.

But direct democracy isn't the best way to get anything done. It often leads to poorly written legislation that can create more problems than it solves. Such is the case with IM 22.

All the good stuff in IM 22 such as an ethics commission and forcing legislators to report who gives them free stuff has been overshadowed by the law's failings. Public financing of elections is a bad idea, for example. So is restricting a person's first amendment right to speak through their wallets.

The problems with the law are what led to the lawsuit that caused Circuit Judge Mark Barnett to issue an injunction against the law. It now seems unlikely that IM 22 will survive the courts intact.

Hopefully, the good portions of the bill will survive. If not, the Legislature needs to learn from this episode and start making real progress toward giving South Dakotans a more transparent and accountable government. The people have spoken.

We say no matter the outcome of the IM 22 lawsuit, legislators need to improve government transparency during the next legislative session.
For critters that hardly ever get seen, moose get around.

One 5-year-old female even took an ambitious wander through the Bob Marshall Wilderness that would make a good extreme trail race, if only there was a trail. She left her home range near Choteau, crossed the Continental Divide, spent the summer along the Clark Fork around Deer Lodge and Anaconda, and then moseyed back north near Rogers Pass to Fairfield, past Choteau and was last seen near Conrad.

As Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4 spokesman Bruce Auchly noted, AAA couldnt have come up with a more scenic trip.

We know this because biologist Nick DeCesare of FWP Region 2 has completed four years of a 10-year study looking at Montanas moose population across the Rocky Mountains. The study now includes 105 moose with radio collars. Most never travel outside a few square miles of home range. But a few demonstrate just how well those long legs ramble.

But anyone whos encountered a moose moving through deep snow understands the value of those stilts. They can sprint through chest-deep powder while a pursuing wolf flounders.

DeCesare cited an Albertan study which found that moose breathing rates and metabolism improve as the temperature drops, even when the mercury reaches 40 below zero.

When the temperatures got above 20 Farenheit in winter, they breathe harder and metabolize harder, DeCesare said. That speaks to how they really are adapted to cold, snowy places.

Biologist and wildlife guidebook author Kerry Foresman noted a mooses forelegs are so long, it must get down on its elbows to drink unless its standing in a lake. DeCesare added that while they show up everywhere from valley bottoms to high mountain plateaus, the spots they pick tend to be surprisingly wet.

All of which leads up to the fact we dont know as many facts about moose as we do with deer or elk  their nearest relations in the wild ungulate family. DeCesare said the historical record indicates moose werent even a regular resident of Montana until around 200 years ago. Lewis and Clark only reported seeing two moose during their Voyage of Discovery through Montana in 1805-06.

The FWP study looks at moose in three major landscapes: the Rocky Mountain Front, the Cabinet Mountains and the Big Hole Valley. Each has important differences in forage, predator composition, agricultural use and even weather patterns.

Each also shows different population dynamics. The Rocky Mountain Front moose appear healthiest, despite being most affected by a winter tick infestation that makes many scratch off significant amounts of fur. This problem has become widespread in New England moose populations. But both adult and calf survival rates are strong, which may explain why that 5-year-old took such a hike. DeCesare said the landscape may be nearing full occupancy, encouraging younger members to seek out new grazing grounds.

Adult moose in the Cabinets near Libby do well, but their calves lag. DeCesare suspects predation by wolves and black bears may be taking out the youngsters. Nevertheless, the population holds fairly stable there.

In the Big Hole of Montanas southwestern edge, disease drives the numbers.

Calf production is good, but the cows are dying at a higher rate than youd like to see, DeCesare said. We think the mortality is health-related, particularly from some parasite, disease. Theyre dying at times of the year when nutrition shouldnt be a problem. Were still trying to figure whats going on.

Biologists have run previous studies on moose populations in the Yaak Valley in the 1980s and the Ruby and Tobacco Root mountains in the 1960s and 70s. But no statewide comprehensive study has been mounted until now.

Were at a population level thats below what we were at 20 years ago, DeCesare said. There have been a few rises and falls in between. But were not looking at crash like in Minnesota, where theyre disappearing from the landscape.
Bill LaCroix braved a blizzard and miles of desolate roads to bring supplies to a happening that hes certain will become part of this countrys history.

The Bitterroot Valley activist was one of thousands who gathered at Standing Rock to protest the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline in early December.

After hearing a call for supplies, LaCroix reached out to local residents for donations of warm clothing and blankets. He found a receptive audience.

I could have taken five pickup loads of supplies, he said. I could of taken a semi. There were a lot of people in the Bitterroot who wanted to help. This event really hit a nerve. It was history happening right now in our own time.

He made the decision to go in part because he wanted to be a participant of that history. He also wanted to witness and to bring back his observations to share with his community. And he wanted to offer whatever support he could muster.

So LaCroix loaded his Toyota Tacoma with Carhartt insulated overalls, snowmobile suits, heavy blankets, hand warmers, warm socks, gloves and his own tepee.

His truck was so heavily loaded that it bottomed out when it bounced over the cattle guard at the front of his lane.

Ive been an activist for quite awhile now, he said. Ive watched the corporate-right getting stronger and stronger. I knew that I needed to go.

He made it as far as Wibaux the first day.

By then, LaCroix had heard rumors that the state of North Dakota was fining people transporting supplies to the camp $1,000.

Like a lot of the information coming out the camp, that wasnt correct, he said. I decided to go the back way.

While traveling through that beautiful blank spot on the map, LaCroix encountered a crazy blizzard that would eventually land his truck in a snow bank and cost him $200 to get it pulled out in the middle of the night.

But that image isnt the one that LaCroix will carry with him to the grave.

That came just a short time after when he pulled into the Oceti Sakowin Camp to the sound of a wailing wind, drums beating and singing broadcast over a series of speakers.

The snow was sideways and it was so cold, he remembered. The first thing I saw was the silhouettes of tepee poles in the light of the police floodlights. I was standing there in a vertical blizzard and I could see all these tepee poles and flags all over the place.

He had arrived at the main encampment on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation following a 10-hour drive. The flags represented all the Indian nations who had gathered there.

He had arrived just before a large contingent of veterans came onto the scene to offer their support for what tribal leaders were calling a protection action.

I have to give it the elders and the tribes for being able to hold it all together, LaCroix said. There were so many different kinds of people therethrough it all, they worked to get their story out through a prayerful, non-violent spiritual protection action.

The only thing that I can compare it to was the civil rights action in the 1960s, he said.

He believes it could provide the template for what he believes is sure to come over the next few years.

LaCroix was there for the jubilant moment on Dec. 4th when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied Energy Transfer Partners an easement under the Missouri River. That day was followed by the bite of a Dakota blizzard unlike anything he had ever experienced in Montana.

I have to give full credit to North Dakota for having the harshest weather in the lower 48 states, he said.

While he didnt see any of the direct confrontations between protestors and police, LaCroix did take part in an event that involved members of the camp walking around the camps edge.

Before that happened, LaCroix said elders urged participants to remain peaceful and non-violent.

My hunch is there were a lot of people there who ready to tangle, he said.

LaCroix grabbed a backpack that contained a water bottle with a hole poked in the cap that could be used to wash out his eyes if he encountered tear gas. And he pulled on his ski helmet to protect against rubber bullets.

Nothing happened that day.

A second blizzard sent many in the camp scrambling for home. Many werent ready for the bone-chilling temperatures and blowing snow that came that day.

Looking back, LaCroix said he still doesnt understand why authorities chose to block the main route out of the camp.

There were all these people who had to get out of there, he said. They blocked the safest route out. That spoke volumes to me. These were all citizens of the United States. Many were citizens of North Dakota. They paid thd taxes that paid for the people who blocked that route. They put those peoples safety at risk for a pipeline.

Now safely back home in Victor, LaCroix said the experience has left him filled with questions that arent being answered by the mainstream media.

Any other time, that lonely stretch of Highway 1806 between Cannonball and Bismarck would be considered the middle of nowhere.

For months now, the site has been lit up by dozens of high-powered spotlights that burned all night long, with militarized police vehicles that come and go all times of night and day. Contracted helicopters flew over the camps with no clear purpose other than to harass the people gathered for a prayer ceremony, LaCroix said.

Hed read that the North Dakota Legislature had dedicated $10 million to this effort of protecting nowhere.

Considering that fact, he wonders if the money would be better spent on schools and healthcare. He wonders who was really paying for the police action. And he wonders if a police action to counter a non-violent, prayerful gathering would be considered egregious in a sane world.

What the hell is really going on out there in the North Dakota prairie? LaCroix asks. Its historic just on the face of it, but I think when the right questions are asked and answered, when the public learns the whole truth, this has the potential to be epochal. I think the media  including the progressive ones  are missing the boat.

LaCroix plans to return to Standing Rock this spring to gather his tepee and help do what he can to clean up the area.

For people interested in learning more about Standing Rock, a panel of witnesses will gather at the Bitterroot Public Library in Hamilton on Jan. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. for a behind-the-scenes exploration of what really happened (and is happening) there, and why.
The Montanan Office of Public Instruction announced that the Hamilton School District has been listed in the national 7th annual Advanced Placement District Honor Roll.

Montana has five schools recognized for outstanding AP programs. There were 433 school districts were honored across the nation.

The 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2014 to 2016, for increased participation access to AP classes, increased percentage of exams by minorities and improved performances by all students. This is the second time the Hamilton school district has been included in the listing.

Hamilton High School Principal Dan Kimzey said, The listing was a pretty sweet recognition for all teachers across the district.

This is a huge honor not just for the teachers who teach AP courses, but for all faculty, K-12, who work so hard to prepare our students for success in academically rigorous coursework like Advanced Placement classes from the time they enter the Hamilton School District, Kimzey said.

Hamilton Advance Placement teachers are Kasey Arceniega  AP Studio Art (added 2015-2016); Jen Carmody  AP English Language and Composition; Don Faris  AP US History, AP US Government and Politics (added 2015-2016); Tony Favero  AP Chemistry; Birch Fett  AP Calculus; Neil Massey  AP English Literature and Composition; Lance Turner  AP German Language and Culture; and Ginger Zieglowsky  AP Statistics (added 2016-2017).

Other schools across the state listed on the 7th annual AP District Honor Roll are Great Falls Public Schools, Helena School District, Polson School District and Sweet Grass County High School District.

Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau praised the efforts of the schools.

Congratulations to the Montana school districts that are expanding access to high-quality classes that often result in college credit for students, Juneau said. Students who complete AP coursework get a head-start on their college education, setting them up for continued success.

In a press release, Montana OPI said that during school year last year, students completed 4,661 AP exams in 30 different subjects.

Montana OPI has an AP Summer Institute with training workshops for educators in chemistry, calculus, English language and composition, Spanish language and culture, and U.S. history. For more information visit online opi.mt.gov/Programs/Gifted_AP/.
Overseeing 12 years of work on such controversial and passionately debated issues as grizzly bears, wolves and bison has worn Jeff Hagener down.

Last month, Hagener told Gov. Steve Bullock that he was retiring as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks director, having served under three governors. His last day in office was Monday.

Jeff will certainly be missed, Bullock said. Hes been great.

Next to the governor, his is the most difficult job in the state, said Bruce Farling, executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited. Montanans are passionate about this stuff.

Bullock praised Hagener's work on sage grouse, expanding hunting and working on delisting of grizzly bears.

Were currently in the process of trying to fill Jeffs extremely large shoes, Bullock said.

Montana-born

Hagener, a 62-year-old Havre native, was first appointed to the FWP directors position by Republican Gov. Judy Martz in 2001. He had been working at what was then the state lands department. When Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, took office in 2005, he kept Hagener on for four years before replacing him with Joe Maurier, the governors college roommate.

Maurier reorganized the department and, with Schweitzers guidance, moved to acquire more land as public access to private property declined. The large land purchases  some of which were clouded by accusations of favoritism  led to sour relations with Eastern Montana legislators and landowners.

Maurier was a disaster, said Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey, a frequent critic of FWP. They were running FWP out of the governors office.

Brenden said FWPs relations with some landowners was so bad during the Maurier era that many were considering locking out public hunters in protest.

Greedy, minority sporting groups were screwing it up for general hunters, Brenden said, but Hagener has helped rebuild some trust.

When I would differ with Jeff, it was in a professional way, Brenden said. I have a lot of admiration for Jeff Hagener.

Hagener acknowledged that sportsmen and women are much more divided than when he was a youngster growing up on the Hi-Line.

Now there are so many competing groups, he said.

That division among sporting interests can make it more difficult for the Fish and Wildlife Commission to rule, Hagener said.

Interlude

After his ouster from the Schweitzer administration, Hagener worked for various nonprofit groups including the American Prairie Foundation and the Montana Wildlife Federation.

When Steve Bullock won the governors race in 2012, Hagener was brought back to the directors office to try and rebuild trust with landowners as well as increase morale within the agency.

"Jeff returned to FWP to pretty much patch together a reorganization project that may have had good intentions but in the end didnt work," said Tom Palmer, retired FWP information manager, in an email. "He aimed first to rebuild relationships and he maintained an open-door policy with his employees and the public like no other Ive seen."

Even though hed only been gone for four years, Hagener said the department was fundamentally different.

What was really obvious to me when I came back was that two thirds of the employees were new, he said.

With so many new folks working for the agency, Hagener and his staff initiated a new effort called 15 & Forward. The resulting document is meant to be the foundation on which the agency establishes priorities, programs and services for the next 10-plus years.

"People dont really care how smart you are in that kind of position," Palmer said. "They want to know that you care  and Jeff Hageners concern for Montana, these unique resources, the folks who managed them and the folks who depended on making a living off the land  was palpable. Hes good man who I was proud to work for."

Lifespan

Those who know Hagener credit his open-door policy, fairness and willingness to hear opposing views as his strengths  all traits that likely helped him survive 12 years as director.

On a national level, 3.2 years is the lifespan of directors, Hagener said. And there are a few people in other states that were 25-year veterans, so they are holding the average up.

Such experience likely helped him get fee increases passed to shore up FWPs budget, as well as push the state toward a sage grouse management plan to avoid the birds listing as an endangered species.

If Montana hadnt come on board it would have shifted the tide, Hagener said of the controversial sage grouse issue.

Although his diplomacy didnt work when trying to align Montana with Idaho and Wyoming on wolf management when the big canines were delisted from the Endangered Species Act, he said the states have been able to stand together on grizzly bears, which are in the process of being delisted.

The future

Looking ahead, Hagener said although changes to management of Yellowstone bison have been made he doesnt know if that controversial issue, which draws national attention, will ever be fully resolved. Tribes may drive that discussion more as they work to build bison herds, the most recent being the Blackfeet Indians along the northern Rocky Mountain Front.

I wouldnt mind seeing the grizzly bear being totally delisted, Hagener said, but he added that, because of litigation, it will be a long time before it occurs.

His successor is likely to be challenged by invasive species and wildlife diseases, Hagener predicted  everything from zebra and quagga mussels to chronic wasting disease. Another area that will test the next director is finding funding for animals that arent game species, a problem that many states face. Locating money to keep state parks adequately financed will also be a challenge, he said.

Where funding will come from, your guess is as good as mine, Hagener said. Montanans like to think residents shouldnt pay that much.

He noted Montana State Parks got no traction at all when it showed that surrounding states pay more for park management.

So there are a lot of trials a new director will face. Hagener, on the other hand, is looking forward to having some time off to visit his son in New Mexico. After 33 years in state employment he has no plans to seek another job anytime soon, although hes been contacted about consulting.

Im mulling those things over, he said. But maybe Ill just want to stay in Montana and hunt and fish.
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So fight nice, kids.


The man so many thought would become the first gentleman of the United States, former President Bill Clinton, is fond of reminding us to focus on trendlines, not headlines. Its sound advice, even if especially hard to follow these days. The analysis goes like this: headlines highlight terrorism, political conflict, every-man-for-himself corruption in business and government, and vacuous celebrity, consumerism and stereotypes. But look at the trendlines and youll see people getting healthier, societies turning freer and more inclusive, more kids going to school, and serious people  including many reading this now  rolling-up their sleeves to design social enterprises, advocacy campaigns and development initiatives that are improving lives.

Its worth noting that were now closer to gender parity in education than at any time in modern history. Countries including Botswana, Nicaragua and Costa Rica have fully closed their enrollment gender gaps, and Nepal, Rwanda and Zimbabwe are 90 percent of the way there. This year alone, Chad, Mozambique and Zambia launched plans to end child marriage, and Tanzania and Gambia outlawed the practice. While some countries have slid backwards politically, Myanmar elected its first civilian leader in five decades in a peaceful transfer of power. And world hunger is at its lowest point in 25 years.

Embedded in that analysis is a choice, a personal choice we must all make. Its something Ill be thinking about over this holiday break (Devex closes its offices every year between Christmas Day and New Years Day) and Ill come back to you with a question on this point in a moment.

But lets not dismiss everything about those headlines. Amid the grim news, they also revealed deeper truths. Because in 2016 they showed more definitively than ever that the world is truly interconnected. News of a Tunisian street vendor self-immolating six years ago led to news of uprisings across the Arab world, including in Syria, which led to three years of news about refugees making the dangerous trek to Europe  which led this year to news of British voters choosing to leave the European Union and, at least in part, to news of American voters electing a candidate who promised strong borders, tough vetting of refugees and a law-and-order presidency. An oft-quoted axiom from a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is "all politics is local. The headlines suggest its now the reverse: today, all politics is global.

For the global development community, this backlash to a more interconnected world has meant that the two single largest funders of our work  the U.S. and U.K.  will be led by inward-oriented conservative governments skeptical of international cooperation. As I write this, the worlds largest bilateral aid donor, USAID, has no nominee to lead it and not even a so-called landing team appointed to guide its transition, and DfID is led by longtime skeptic of foreign assistance, Priti Patel. Across Europe similar forces are at work. Many development leaders I meet these days look shellshocked.

But if we linger on the headlines a little longer, we also see some good news. 2016 saw the official declaration that malaria was eliminated in Sri Lanka, and the WHO announced malaria deaths are now down 60 percent since 2000 globally. This year saw an unlikely, limping peace deal stumble across the finish line, ending a five decade civil war in Colombia and giving hope to over 1 million displaced people that they might yet make it home. This was also the year we awoke to learn that the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative  a philanthropic endeavor that will likely grow to the scale of the Gates Foundation  aims to end disease this century. The World Bank took a big step forward in supporting refugees with its new financing facility. And millions more people, including many women in poor societies, now have access to banking services via their cell phones, enabling them to borrow and save for education and health care investments.

Looking across our coverage this year, its clear to me that those trendlines I mentioned at the outset are real and happening now. At Devex World, our first global conference this past June, we heard from Hello Tractor, an Uber-like service bringing tractor-sharing to Nigerian smallholder farmers; we learned how even big corporations such as Cargill are becoming global development players in their own right, helping farmers improve their yields and sell to a global market; and we saw up close how NGOs such as PATH are saving lives with low-tech innovations, including one that uses a car battery and just a handful of salt to make chlorine that cleans drinking water.

You can see the same progression in the more than 82,000 job, grant, and tender opportunities we published this year  16 percent more opportunities than last year. The diversity of funding organizations is growing: We published our first opportunities from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Tent Foundation. More than ever development agencies are seeking partners who understand how to build sustainable models that will outlive a project timeline. You can see the same currents in the fast-growing requests our recruitment team gets for talent that can operate in an increasingly data-driven, results-oriented global development community, and in the many new graduate programs for development professionals advertised on our pages.

Those trendlines point to one crucial thing: global development is working. We know this and have the data to prove it. Investing in healthier people and societies, in a cleaner more stable planet, in more open and inclusive democracies pays off. Thats why global development is a growing field, why billionaire philanthropists, crowdfunded social enterprises, major corporations, and emerging economic powers are all piling in. Thats why students and young professionals around the world are lining up for a career that makes an impact. So heres the question: in an environment of political headwinds, of British tabloids questioning the fundamentals of what we do, should we duck our heads and go about our work quietly? Should we, as many in Washington, D.C., have suggested of late, try to fly under the radar of a new administration?

Its something to think about during the holiday season as we gather with family and friends and take stock of all we have accomplished this year  all the thousands of NGOs large and small, the private sector initiatives, the government and donor agencies, the foundations and institutions that make up the Devex community. If you focus on the big picture, its clear that this community  made up of over 1 million professionals that we have the pleasure to serve at Devex  is on the right side of history. So, and this might sound strange coming from an editor-in-chief, ignore the headlines this holiday season and take the time to recommit to the important work you do. If you havent already, take the time to join your community on Devex. And, when you come back in 2017, remember that you have every reason to stand tall and to proudly and firmly make your case. We dont duck. Happy holidays.

_________

Raj Kumar is the founding president and editor-in-chief of Devex, the media platform for the global development community. A social entrepreneur and digital media executive, he chairs the Humanitarian Council of the World Economic Forum and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has led him to more than 50 countries where he has had the honor to meet many of the aid workers and development professionals who make up the Devex community.
Guwahati, December 24 : Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra who also the brand ambassador of Assam Tourism on Saturday said that she want to be able to showcase Assam to the world.*

During an interaction with media, Priyanka said that, I am not born in Assam, but be an Indian and Assam is a huge part of the country and also an incredible part.

'Assam is known in India and also abroad with its rich culture, unity among the various tribes and beautiful nature, diversity. Assam always attracts me and thanks to give me an opportunity to promote Assam to globally,' Priyanka Chopra said.

Earlier, the bollywwod actress wearing an assamese traditional attaire had offered her prayer at Maa Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.

So incredible to have blessings of MaKamakhya and I am happy my year ends with this and will begin with it as well,aA Priyanka said.

On the other hand Assam tourism minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that, we wish to showcase the rich culture and heritage of Assam and priyankachopra is the best person to take Assam story to global landscape.

We welcome priyankachopra as Brand Ambassador of AssamTourism,' the Assam minister said.

Earlier, adding to the festivities of Christmas, the Assam tourism minister on Saturday had unveiled key elements of the state government's roadmap towards transforming Assam into a global sustainable tourism hotspot.

The Assam minister made key state policy announcements at the Assam Travel Trade Conclave 2016 in presence of newly appointed brand ambassador bollywood star Priyanka Chopra.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, December 23 : Union MOS Home Kiren Rijiju on Friday had took stock the situation of trouble torn Manipur and said that centre wouldn't tolerate economic blockade in the north eastern Indian state.

The Union minister assured that the centre will provide adequate security and assistance to Manipur affected by month-long economic blockade.

Rijiju further said that already 150 companies of security forces had rushed to the state and another 7 companies will reach short period.

The MOS Home made his remarks shortly after reaching Imphal to take stock of the situation.

During his day long visit to Manipur, Rijiju also met Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and other top government officials.

He also took part in a high level review meeting in presence of CM Ibobi and other officials.

The MOS Home asked the Manipur government to bring back normalcy in the state by removing the economic blockade imposed by United Naga Council since November 1 last.

Rijiju also appealed UNC and other Naga and Meitei groups to maintain peace and bring back normalcy in the valley.

Meanwhile, miscreants torched three government offices in the newly formed Kamjong district on Friday morning few hours ahead of Union MOS Home visit to the state.

Manipur police said that, miscreants had torched the government establishments on Friday morning.

On the other hand, curfew has been relaxed in parts of Imphal East district till 9 pm on Friday.

Imphal East district administration said that, curfew will continue in the area from Lamlong Bazar to Yaingangpokpi.

Manipur faced crisis of essential commodities, peotrol, diesel following economic blockade imposed by UNC and NSCN (IM) since November 1.

NSCN(IM) and UNC had called economic blockade following the state government's announcement of formation of seven new districts.

Following the state government's announcement of formation of the new districts, suspected NSCN(IM) militants had attacked on Manipur police in four times in last week.

In the militant attacks, at least four policemen were killed and eight others injured.

Nearly 70 suspected militants of NSCN(IM) attacked the two post of Manipur Rifles and 7th Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) of Manipur police in Manipur's newly created district Noney on December 17.

The incident took place at Nungkao near Jiribam at around 11 am and the militant group also snatched at least 20 loaded weapons of the security personnel.

Recently the NSF had imposed total blockade on all Manipur bound vehicles.

On December 18 and December 19, angry protesters torched at least 30 vehicles including several passenger buses in different places of the state.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
SEOUL: A South Korean special prosecutor probing a corruption scandal engulfing impeached President Park Geun-hye summoned a friend of hers at the centre of the crisis for questioning on Saturday on charges including bribery and embezzlement, an official said.

The questioning of Choi Soon-sil, whom Park has described as a life-long friend, came ahead of a ninth straight weekend rally in central Seoul demanding the immediate ouster of Park.

Choi and other former presidential aides were charged in November with abuse of power and fraud, but Park has immunity from prosecution as long as she is in office even though her powers are suspended.

The charges in the indictment are but a very small part of the 14 points under investigation by the special prosecutor, said Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the team of investigators probing the scandal.

Choi will be questioned on charges of bribery and transferring embezzled assets abroad, Lee told a briefing.

Choi, wearing a grey prison uniform and a surgical mask, was taken to the special prosecutors office from detention, pushed by a throng of correctional officers through a media scrum.

She did not answer journalists questions about the charges.

The special prosecutor has up to 100 days to investigate allegations that Park colluded with Choi and her aides to pressure big conglomerates to contribute 77 billion won ($64 million) to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives.

Park has denied wrongdoing but apologised for carelessness in her ties with Choi.

The friendship dates back to the 1970s when Park served as acting first lady after her mother was killed by an assassins bullet intended for her father, then-president Park Chung-hee.

Five years later, in 1979, Parks father was murdered by his disgruntled spy chief.

Parks impeachment is being reviewed by the Constitutional Court which has up to 180 days from the day of the Dec. 9 impeachment to decide whether to uphold it or reinstate Park.
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Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 72F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 72F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%.




This is my mother-in-law, Phyllis Jennings Sapp. Today would have been her 94th birthday, I _think_ (I'm not absolutely sure what year she was born in:). She passed away some years ago now. I quite admired her - she was a woman of many talents. The photo above shows her modeling an outfit she designed and made as part of her student work at the Chicago Fashion Institute (now called something else).

This would have been sometime in the late 1930's to early 1940's. My father-in-law was away in the south Pacific at war (he was a combat engineer) and she went home to attend school (she was born and grew up in Evanston, Illinois). Over the years, she worked as a temporary book keeper and accountant (after her kids went off to grade school), as the volunteer sewist for an opera company, and as a gemstone creater.

She was wildly intelligent and had a sharp wit. She also had, as far as I could tell as an observer, Aspberger's Syndrome. She could be difficult - but I knew her in her late years, from about age 60 until she died in her early 80's. We had our run-ins ... but I admired and respected her quite a bit.

I say today would be her birthday - she celebrated it every year on December 24th - but she told me several times that this was the date on her baptismal certificate, that her exact birthday was unknown. Shrug. :)

It is cold and gray and wet outside today. Unpleasant weather without sunshine. I spent most of my day cleaning and then sewing. My friend and neighbor Patty S. came up in the midafternoon to gift us with some yummy holiday cooking goodies. :) Maybe next year I will get to cook and bake some, after my kitchen is back in working order? I've been saving recipes as I come across them. At one time, when my children were little, I loved making bread from scratch and baking goodies. :)

Other than that, here is my sole result for the day:





This a pile of 60 Four Patch units for Clue #3 of En Provence. When I was at Barbara's house cutting last week I obviously mis-heard her say I needed 68 of these. In fact, when I consult Bonnie Hunter's website, I need ONE HUNDRED and sixty-eight of them. :) Needless to say, there will be more of these made at a later date. Grin.

In the interest of catching up with the clues, I am going to move on to Clue #4 with my next sewing bouts.

:) Linda
 Reviewing the unique issues and challenges for sentencing ISIS sympathizers | Main | Holiday pitch from NY Times editorial board for "Cutting Prison Sentences, and Costs" 

December 24, 2016

Louisiana appeals court find LWOP sentence unconstitutionally excessive for fourth minor offense

As reported in this lengthy local article, headlined "Appeals court vacates 'unconscionable' life sentence for New Orleans man over theft of $15 from 'bait vehicle'," this past week brought a notable state constitutional ruling from the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. Here are the basics from the press report:

Walter Johnson was walking down a street in Uptown New Orleans a week before Thanksgiving in 2013 when he noticed a Jeep Cherokee with the driver's side window down. He glanced inside and saw a laptop and $15 in cash -- a $10 bill and a $5. Johnson snatched the bills. He left the computer. As it turns out, the Jeep was a law enforcement "bait vehicle," and Johnson was the catch of the day. He was found guilty of simple burglary and illegal possession of stolen things at a trial in April 2015, and Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office promptly invoked the state's habitual-offender law. Johnson, who had prior convictions for simple burglary, heroin possession and cocaine distribution, was deemed a four-time felon. Criminal District Court Judge Karen Herman sentenced him in October 2015 to a mandatory life prison term with no parole. But on Wednesday, an appeals court panel threw out Johnson's life sentence, finding his street heist "shockingly minor in nature," the amount "extraordinary in its triviality" and Johnson's life sentence an "unconscionable" punishment that "shocks our sense of justice." The appeals court sent the case back to Herman, telling her to resentence Johnson "to a term that is not unconstitutionally excessive." The 10-page opinion, written by 4th Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Paul Bonin, marks the latest bid to limit the discretion that state law grants prosecutors to ratchet up sentences for low-level drug offenders and other nonviolent criminals with multiple convictions. Judges have little control over such decisions, and the Louisiana Supreme Court has been loath to step on the Legislature's toes by overriding one of the nation's stiffest habitual-offender laws. The state's high court has ruled that departures below the law's mandatory minimum sentences must be limited to "exceedingly rare" cases. But occasionally it has seen fit to do so. Last year, for instance, the Supreme Court found a 30-year sentence "unconscionable" for Doreatha Mosby, a 73-year-old New Orleans woman who was found with a crack pipe tucked in her bra. Yet in the case of Bernard Noble, a father of seven who was found with the equivalent of two joints of marijuana, the court found he wasn't unusual enough to allow a sentence below the mandatory 13-year minimum under the statute. Both of those cases, as well as Johnson's, came out of Orleans Parish, where Cannizzaro employs the habitual-offender law far more than any other prosecutor in the state. In 2015, Cannizzaro's office sent 154 convicts off to long prison sentences under the statute  almost one of every four offenders who were shipped to state prisons from New Orleans that year, according to state data analyzed by the Pew Charitable Trusts. "You're dealing with different crime problems, socioeconomic levels, and you're dealing with different judges, different sentencing dispositions," Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for Cannizzaro's office, said in explaining the office's penchant for deploying the statute. "If you were dealing with a situation where a prosecutor feels probation is being given too freely, then the district attorney is required to use the habitual-offender law."

The full majority ruling in Louisiana v. Johnson is available at this link. Notably, the rule s based on the Louisiana state constitutional provision prohibiting "cruel, excessive, or unusual punishment." La. Const. art. 1,  20. Here is one notable passage (with some cites removed) from the Johnson decision:

Despite its legality, however, we find the life-without-parole sentence imposed upon Mr. Johnson unconstitutionally excessive. Mr. Johnson reached into the open window of a bait-vehicle and took fifteen dollars. He is now condemned to die in prison for that crime. We acknowledge that Mr. Johnson's life sentence, under the habitual offender law, is intended as punishment not only the current conviction, but all prior convictions as well. Legitimate sentencing goals notwithstanding, Mr. Johnson's status as a fourth felony offender "cannot be considered in the abstract." Solem, 463 U.S. at 296. As previously noted, the trial judge found that all his prior felonies were for nonviolent crimes. And the instant offense, the one which set in motion the habitual offender proceedings, is shockingly minor in nature. No person was harmed, nor any property damaged. Had Mr. Johnson taken the fifteen dollars but not by entry into a vehicle or other structure listed in the simple burglary statute, he would have been convicted of misdemeanor theft.

December 24, 2016 at 12:45 PM | Permalink

Comments

The sentencing should depend on the person, not on the crime. Because criminals commit hundreds of crimes a year, because criminals do not specialize, because the system addresses one in 10 crimes, the conviction is an opportunity to incapacitate a busy criminal. The specific crime is nearly irrelevant.

Some murderers should be sent home. Some shoplifters should be executed. Catch a mass murdering drug lord littering. The death penalty is appropriate.

The doctrine of unconvicted conduct is a form of denial, as in denier conduct, as in 9/11 Truther, and should not be tolerated. Zero tolerance for denier lawyer doctrines. Repetitive conduct is a safety measure to prevent injustice and false positive errors. Claims of violations of the Sentencing Reform Act, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, and the constitution are false lawyer excuse making. The primary conviction has justified individualized sentencing, and not ones based on robotic arithmetic formulas.

Posted by: David Behar | Dec 24, 2016 4:51:21 PM

This is the sort of case that makes me wish we could give corporal punishment another try. I agree that LWOP is excessive in this instance, but I am also not convinced that any amount of confinement will make an appropriate impression. I could see a vigorous enough lashing however being something such offenders would very much work to avoid experiencing on a repeat basis.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Dec 24, 2016 9:14:17 PM

SH. You are correct. Cheap, immediate, can repeated as often as necessary. It would quickly end petty crime. No matter the prison sentence, it should be mandatory for all hackers and identity thieves.

Once the lash makes it back into the statutes, the first to get its benefit should be appellate judges who might find it unconstitutional. To deter.

Posted by: David Behar | Dec 24, 2016 9:59:32 PM

Supremacy Claus returns!

It's a Christmas Miracle!

Posted by: USPO | Dec 25, 2016 1:26:59 AM

Post a comment
 Seeing the state of criminal justice reform through the lens of state reforms | Main | Louisiana appeals court find LWOP sentence unconstitutionally excessive for fourth minor offense 

A helpful colleague made sure I did not miss this interesting new Wall Street Journal article headlined "ISIS Sentences Pose Challenge for Judges." The subheadline highlights the main theme of the piece, "U.S. judges grapple with how to punish young Islamic State sympathizers who could become more dangerous after decades in prison," and here are excerpts:

Federal judges this year faced the unprecedented challenge of sentencing dozens of Islamic State supporters across the country, with punishments ranging from no prison time to decades behind bars.

In Minnesota, 20-year-old Khaalid Abdulkadir received three years probation for tweeting threats to kill federal law-enforcement officers after one of his friends had been arrested for providing support to Islamic State. In Ohio, 22-year-old Christopher Cornell received 30 years in prison for plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington on the terrorist groups behalf.

The wide range reflects the difficult question at sentencing in many of these cases: Should judges give young Americans who support Islamic State a chance to turn their lives around, or a lengthy prison sentence to ensure public safety?

For the most part, judges are choosing to be cautious, although some have begun considering alternatives to prison. Of the 39 Islamic State defendants who have been sentenced so far, the average prison sentence has been 13 years, according to Fordham Universitys Center on National Security.

Since 2014, more than 110 suspected Islamic State sympathizers have been prosecuted in the U.S. for a broad array of criminal activities, including making false statements to the government and traveling overseas to fight with terrorists. Roughly half of these cases have resulted in convictions, while the other half are pending, according to Fordham. Several sentencings are scheduled to happen next year, including one in Brooklyn, N.Y., for Tairod Pugh, who was the first Islamic State sympathizer in the U.S. to be convicted at trial.

No Islamic State supporter in the U.S. has received a life sentence yet. Most defendants are arrested before they commit violence and charged with providing material support to terrorists, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence....

More than a quarter of the sentences have occurred in Minneapolis, whose large Somali population has been a target in recent years for terrorist recruitment. In an unprecedented move, one federal judge there, Michael J. Davis, last summer asked six defendants to undergo an evaluation before sentencing to see if they could be good candidates for a deradicalization program.

Judge Davis ultimately allowed only one defendant, 20-year-old Abdullahi Yusuf, to be released to a halfway house, where he could receive counseling and family group therapy. For another defendant, 22-year-old Guled Omar, who was convicted at trial of conspiring to commit murder in Syria, Judge Davis imposed 35 years in prison, the harshest sentence so far in an Islamic State case.

The deradicalization effort has caught the attention of judges around the country. In Anaheim, Calif., a federal judge in October raised the possibility of assigning such a program to 26-year-old Muhanad Badawi, who was convicted at trial for helping a friend who wanted to join Islamic State overseas. Mr. Badawi ultimately received 30 years in prison.

Most Islamic State defendants are between the ages of 18 and 26 at the time of their arrest, which means many of them dont have a criminal history and could become more dangerous after decades in prison, some lawyers say. On average, Islamic State supporters under the age of 21 have been receiving lighter sentences, according to Fordham.

Still, most judges tend to impose the harshest sentence possible under the law for terrorist defendants. Terrorism, unlike other types of violent offenses, is a crime in which law-enforcement officials feel there can be no room for error. No judge wants to be the one who gave a lenient sentence to someone who ends up committing a terrorist attack.
Over a year and a half after his shocking arrest on child pornography charges, local politico Enrique Pearce has pleaded guilty to four counts, and is likely to get a six-month sentence, possibly to be served in home detention. The news broke late Friday before the holiday weekend, and the Chronicle reports that Pearce made his guilty plea Friday morning in SF Superior Court.

Also, the paper reports, Pearce "may" have to register as a sex offender.

Pearce has been involved in the political campaigns of Mayor Ed Lee, Rep. Barbara Lee, and Supervisors Jane Kim and Norman Yee. Pearce, who ran a local consultancy firm called Left Coast Communications, is partly credited with helping "convince" Lee to run for his first elected term, and the famed "Run, Ed, Run" campaign.

Following his May 2015 arrest, SFPD spokesperson Grace Gatpandan said that he was found in possession of "over 600 images related to child pornography," with many "involving sexual sadism or sexual masochism." And if it couldn't get creepier, it also later was revealed that Pearce had 115 cell phone photos of 11 different fully clothed boys aged 8 to 12, all shot across San Francisco apparently without the kids' knowledge, including at least one shot on the steps of City Hall.

Pearce pleaded guilty to one count of possession of those images, but also to two counts of distributing child pornography, one count of buying or receiving stolen property  the latter probably relating to a stolen parking meter that was found in his apartment at McAllister and Leavenworth when it was raided.

All previous Enrique Pearce coverage on SFist.
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Eating on Christmas means stuffing yourself stupid, regardless of your religion, lack thereof, or place on the socioeconomic hierarchy. So we here at SFist broke down San Francisco/Bay Area restaurants open on Christmas Day by price range, culinary genre, and delivery status so you can order food for celebrating Hannukah, feed tourists a fancy meal, or call for delivery so you can lay around in your underwear watching the Warriors game.

To help you find the type of restaurant whose cuisine you crave on Christmas Day, weve grouped restaurants by the following categories arranged in this order so you can just scroll right to the section you want:





Chinese Food on Christmas



Fine Dining on Christmas



Casual Eats on Christmas



Movies and Shows Serving Christmas Dinner



East Bay Restaurants Open on Christmas



Delivery Available on Christmas







CHINESE FOOD ON CHRISTMAS

Its not a given that your favorite Chinese restaurant will be open on Christmas. Mission Chinese Food will be closed December 25, as will Chinatowns Mister Jius and the East Bays iconic Shan Dong. R&G Lounge is already fully booked up for December 25 and Kung Pao Kosher Comedy is sold out, but there are still some excellent Christmas Day Chinese food options available for Jews and gents alike.

San Tung

We should note that San Tung is a very well-reviewed Chinese restaurant open 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. We should also note San Tung has received a Poor Safety Score on Yelp recently.

1033 Irving Street between 11rh Avenue and 12th Avenue, and 1031 Irving Street between 11rh Avenue and 12th Avenue,

Z&Y Restaurant

At the North Beach / Chinatown border, Z&Y Restaurant is open and serving during normal hours on Christmas Day.

655 Jackson St between Grant Street and Kearny Street

Chinatown Restaurant

Janky on the outside and gorgeous on the inside, Chinatown Restaurant is open their normal 10 a.m.-10 p.m. hours on Christmas Day with Cantonese, Szechuan, and fixed menus for $16.95 or $20.95.

744 Washington Street between Kearny Street and Grant Street

Koi Palace

This is the only Daly City restaurant on this list, but Koi Palace merits inclusion thanks to its Christmas Day hours and transcendently tacky interior.

365 Gellert Boulevard between Serramonte Boulevard and Hickey Boulevard, Daly City

Yank Sing

There are two Yank Sings in San Francisco, but theyre both open 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Christmas Day. One is near the Embarcadero, the other in the Financial District.

49 Stevenson Street between First Street and Second Street, and 101 Spear Street between Mission Street and Howard Street

Terra Cotta Warrior

Also operating with the mid-day break of many Chinese restaurants, the Outer Sunsets Terra Cotta Warrior is open 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Day.

2555 Judah Street between 30th Avenue and 31st Avenue

Hunans Home

No frills and usually packed, Hunans Home will open at 11:30 on Christmas Day and remain open until 9:30 p.m.

622 Jackson Street between Kearny Street and Grant Avenue

Just Go To Chinatown

People, there are dozens Chinese restaurants all over Chinatown that are open on Christmas Day.

Between Kearny Street and Powell Street



TRACE (Image: Ken H via Flickr)

FINE DINING ON CHRISTMAS

Many fine dining establishments are open to style you out on Christmas Day, especially hotel restaurants, and oh were their publicists happy to alert SFist of their executive chefs Christmas Day specials.

TRACE

Get your Christmas Dungeness crab fix in elegant style at the W Hotels TRACE, who are also serving grilled ribeye with oxtail marmalade, seared Black Cod with charred Cipollini and a chocolate mousse bar with sea salt caramel for dessert.

181 Third Street between Mission Street and Howard Street

Ruths Chris Steak House

More like Ruths Christmas Steak House, ammirite? Theyre open Noon to 8 p.m. on Christmas Day.

1601 Van Ness Avenue between Sacramento Street and California Street



Americano Restaurant & Bar

In the Embarcaderos Hotel Vitale, Americano is offering a special Christmas Day three-course prix-fixe menu at $70 per person, featuring Crispy Curry Potato Pancakes, Roasted Duck Breast and Cranberry Brown Butter Tart.

8 Mission Street between Steuart and The Embarcadero

The Grill at The St. Regis San Francisco

A pop-up thats gone permanent, The Grill in St. Regis San Francisco grills up an opulent four-course Christmas Day menu featuring roasted half Maine lobster with braised manila clams, sweet potato fritter and sorrel leaves and Snake River Farm ribeye of beef with yellow beans, celery root puree, hazelnuts and veal jus. Its $115, with an additional wine pairing at $55.

125 Third Street between Mission Street and Howard Street

Campton Place

For a two-Michelin star Christmas dinner, Campton Place has a five-course meal at $158 per person.

340 Stockton Street between Sutter Street and Post Street

Big 4 Restaurant

The fellow at the piano will presumably be playing some Christmas tunes, and Chef Miguel Garcia will definitely be serving a three-course tasting menu from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Its $125.00 per person and they say seating is very limited!

1075 California Street between Taylor Street and Mason Street

Mortons The Steakhouse

Limited hours on Christmas Day (4 p.m. - 9 p.m.), but Mortons The Steakhouse will still be sizzling.

400 Post Street between Powell Street and Mason Street

The Cavalier

They will probably not have the Cavaliers-Warriors game on at The Cavalier, but the Hotel Zetta restaurant will have a prix fixe holiday menu. Reservations are required.

360 Jessie Street between Mission Street and Market Street

Roys

The three-course holiday menu for $59.95 is a pretty good deal for food of this quality, though the normal Hawaiian fusion menu will be otherwise limited on Christmas Day.

101 Second Street between Mission Street and Howard Street.

Hornblower Cruise

Christmas dinner on a yacht! Is that classy or tacky? Either way, its a Churrasco feast with an accompanying seasonal menu. On a boat, motherf******!

Pier 3 at The Embarcadero

LOlivier (CAUTION! OBNOXIOUS AUTOPLAY MUSIC ON LINK!)

Theres a special Christmas menu and you can totally click on that link without the obnoxious music autoplaying as it does on the homepage of LOlivier.

465 Davis Street between Jackson Street and Washington Street

Cliff House

Both The Bistro and Sutros are open Christmas Day at the Cliff House, though The Bistro only takes walk-ins so you are probably looking at a lengthy wait. Still, the view!

1090 Point Lobos Avenue between Seal Rock Drive and Balboa Street



1300 on Fillmore

You will probably require reservations for Christmas Day at 1300 on Fillmore, as theyre only doing three seatings (2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.).

1300 Fillmore Street between Eddy Street and Ellis Street

Zingari

Inside the Donatello Hotel, Zingari is doing a three-course prix fixe for Christmas except they call it a prezzo fisso.

501 Post Street between Taylor Street and Mason Street

Brasserie S&P

The Christmas menu is $75 a pop and served from 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. at this Loews Regency Hotel restaurant.

22 Sansome Street between Pine Street and California Street

Albona Ristorante Istriano

How about a Croatian or Slovenian Christmas dinner? Cause thats whats happening from 5 p.m. -10 p.m. at Albona Ristorante Istriano.

545 Francisco Street between Taylor Street and Mason Street

Beso Bistronomia

For brunch (11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) and dinner (3-10 p.m.) there is a four-course prix fixe offered on Christmas Day.

4058 18th Street between Hartford and Castro Street

Scalas Bistro

Italian and seafood hot spot Scalas Bistro is just doing breakfast (8 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.) and brunch (11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.) on Christmas Day.

432 Powell Street between Sutter Street and Post Street

Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse

Churrasco feast is in effect from 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. at Fogo de Chao.

201 Third Street between Howard Street and Folsom Street



Finn Town (Image: Lesley M.C. via Yelp)

CASUAL EATS ON CHRISTMAS



Finn Town

The hot new Finn Town in the Castro is serving Short Rib and Sloppy Joe specials on Christmas Day (5 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.), but the important thing here is that on Christmas Eve from 5 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. anyone wearing anything red gets a free shot of homemade Fireball! They do not want to run that promotion during SantaCon.

2251 Market Street between Sanchez Street and Noe Street

Bisou Bistronomy

For fine dining flair on a gig economy budget, Bisou Bistronomy is doing an excellent Christmas Day prix fixe thats seven courses for just $70.

2367 Market Street between Noe Street and Castro Street

Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessesn

Of course these guys are open on Christmas Day! But their Ferry Building location is not. Check their three other locations for Christmas Day hours.

3150 24th Street between Shotwell Street and South Van Ness Avenue, 1520 Fillmore between Geary Street and OFarrell Street, and 736 Mission Street between Third Street and Fourth Street

Fior DItalia

Pig out Italian style at the classy but moderately priced San Remo Hotel restaurant open Christmas Day from 1-9 p.m.

2237 Mason Street between Chestnut Street and Francisco Street

Mission Beach Cafe

Pie and mimosas, people! Theyre open til 6 p.m.

198 Guerrero Street between 14th Street and Duboce Avenue

Pinecrest Diner

This fabulous and notorious greasy spoon is always open, including the full 24 hours of Christmas Day.

410 Geary Street between Mason Street and Taylor Street

Cafe Mason

The slightly less greasy spoon at Cafe Mason is also doing 24-hour duty for Christmas.

320 Mason Street between Geary Street and OFarrell Street

Mangia Tutti

Theyre only open for dinner (5-10 p.m.), but the FiDis Mangia Tutti is serving their Italian fare on Christmas Day.

635 Clay Street between Montgomery Street and Kearny Street



Jane

Your healthy, fair-trade vegetarian and salad options, should you want those, are on hand at both Jane cafe locations on Christmas Day.

2123 Fillmore between California Street and Sacramento Street, and 925 Larkin Street between Geary Street and Post Street



Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers (Image: Dennis Hearne via Facebook)

MOVIES AND SHOWS SERVING CHRISTMAS DINNER

Biscuits and Blues

Whoa, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are doing a Christmas show with dinner served? Actually, theyre doing two shows (7 p.m. and 9 p.m.)

410 Mason Street between Geary Street and Post Street

Alamo Drafthouse Theater

They deliver great food to your seat, and on Christmas Day the Alamo Drafthouse is screening Rogue One, La La Land, Fences, and Manchester by the Sea.

2550 Mission Street between 21st Street and 22nd Street

Sundance Kabuki

The Sundance Kabuki serves really excellent dinner dishes, along with a space-age beeper that lets you know when your is ready, which is perfect for watching Rogue One.

1881 Post Street between Geary Street and Post Street





Lungomare (Image: Martin W via Yelp)

EAST BAY RESTAURANTS OPEN ON CHRISTMAS

HS Lordships

Its a big ol Christmas Day Champagne Buffet with crab legs, ham, and a carving station going from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Santa will allegedly show up at this Berkeley bayside restaurant to visit with the kids.

199 Seawall Drive in the Berkeley Marina

Lungomare

Ham, swordfish, prime rib and all the high-calorie Christmas dishes are served from Noon to 8 p.m. at Oaklands Lungomare.

1 Broadway at Jack London Square

Spengers Fresh Fish Grotto

Berkeley seafood favorite Spengers has two non-seafood prix fixe options on Christmas, with a roasted turkey or a prime beef.

1919 Fourth Street between Hearst Avenue and University Avenue



FIVE

Bottomless mimosas are going throughout brunch on Christmas Day (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.) along with a $70 full buffet at the Berkeley bistro. Reservations are recommended.

2086 Allston Way between Shattuck Avenue and Milvia Way

Cafe Colucci

Do they know its Christmas at the Ethiopian Cafe Colucci in Oakland? They do, because theyre closing early at 6 p.m. but still available for lunch and dinner until then.

6427 Telegraph Avenue between Alcatraz Avenue and 65th Street

Sauls Restaurant & Deli

Sauls in Berkeley is happily open from 8 a.m. (!) to 9 p.m. on Christmas Day.

1475 Shattuck Avenue between Rose Street and Vine Street

Ba Le Sandwich Shop

Even earlier than that, Oaklands cult hit, no-frills Vietnamese sandwich shop is open all day, beginning at 7 a.m.

1909 International Boulevard between 19th Avenue and 20th Avenue



Crazy Pepper (Image : Silky S via Yelp)

DELIVERY AVAILABLE ON CHRISTMAS

Crazy Pepper

The Crazy Pepper restaurant is seating on Christmas Day, but Im guessing none of you are going to hike out to its unfashionable backwoods Excelsior location. Call for delivery, theres a game on.

2257 San Jose Avenue between Geneva Avenue and Seneca Avenue

Pizza Zone N Grill

Despite the trashy name, I would argue that Pizza Zone N Grill delivers the very finest chicken wings in San Francisco. Of course Brock Keeling would disagree. Theyre open Christmas til 2 a.m.

178 Valencia Street between Duboce Avenue and Market Street

Seniores Pizza

There are actually six Bay Area locations delivering on Christmas Day (including Berkeley, San Mateo, San Bruno, and Santa Clara), but the Seniores Pizza shops in the Western Addition and the Sunset are both delivering too.

559 Divisadero Street between Fell Street and Hayes Street, and 2415 19th Avenue between Taraval Street and Ulloa Street

AllStar Donuts

You would need to use Postmates, GrubHub or some delivery service to get AllStar Donuts and their signature garbage burgers delivered on Christmas Day, as the establishments do not deliver. But all four AllStar Donuts locations are open on Christmas, which is just hilarious.

399 Fifth Street between Folsom Street and Harrison Street, 98 Ninth Street between Market Street and Mission Street, 901 Clement Street between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue, 290 Golden Gate Avenue between Leavenworth Street and Hyde Street



RELATED: San Francisco Might Actually (Maybe) Get Snow On Christmas Eve


Following are the East Sac County - Sac City second-grade Letters to Santa.

Mrs. Bruxvoorts 2nd Grade Class:

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my dad a cute, supper man sute that when she runs it looks likes she is runing. I want her to have it because dad and mom will not let me hav it. We live in Sac City, and our address is 816. I would be so cute if you get her it on Christmas.

Sincerely,

Dayton J.

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my mom a new cool car. I would like it so she dusint have a slow car.

Sincely,

Alden L.

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my teacher a good clase. I would like for her so she could have a good day. She lives at Sac Cindy. It would be great for her to have this on Christmas Eve.

Sincerely,

Paige Dierefeld

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my dad a bow because he needs one.

Sincerely,

Carson

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my grandma and grandpa a new puppy because their old dog died. I want to give the puppy a chewy bone. They live in minasota glenwood.

Sincerely,

Paysli W.

Dear Santa,

I would like to give my mom a curler. I would like this so she can curl her hair. She lives in Sac City on the street morning side drive.

Sincerly,

Reef

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my mom, dad a now phone, mom a nexis pluse. I would like them to have them pluse. Thay do not live to gether mom lives in Sac City, dad lives out of woul Lack.

Makylee

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my mom a cute shirt and shous. Why because she wishis she could have them. She lives in Early. It could be a good Chrismas Eve.

From

Tryniti

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my dog a tuarop for Christmas, a rug so he can sleep on. For him.

Sincerely,

Brooke Burns

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my dog a cute hallowen coustoum. So my dog can have somthing to whalk on the stret. I live in the Caurnchre.

Sinserily,

Lyla E.

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my sister a present because we barly have any toys. We live on ingersaul street Sac City Iowa 1410. and give her a present for her late birthday. Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Marissa R.

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my dog a prmit to go in the haws. so i can have sumboty to sleep with in the dog cag. it would be his to give him this.

Sincerely,

Carter R.

Dear Santa,

I would like you to give my dad a labtop, a new fishing rod, and a phone. he lives in Criss Street in Sac City at cristmas eve.

Sincerely,

Dillon

Dear Santa,

I want Ruby my dog, to love me when I get home. Please bring a toy

Sincerely,

Quinten

Dear Santa,

Please bring my pet cat a nice toy in heaven. I miss him a lot. I wish he was still alive.

Sincerely,

Tony

Mrs. Kies 2nd Grade Class:

Dear Santa,

I would like a cubs hat and gta 5 and a sniper nerf gun and a pocketnife. Is it cold? Am I on the good list? I would like a xbox is and a mega nerf gun and a remote controlled race car.

Sincerely,

Gage

Dear Santa,

I have been good this year. I would like the American girl doll Lea Clark and all of her stuff. I wish for the American girl doll Kit and all of her stuff too and Rabeca and all of her stuff too and Samtha stuff and all of it and the American girl doll grace and all of her stuff. I wish for the American doll Maryellen and all of her stuff. Please and the our generation camper and the treat set too. Please I really want the our generation camper and the set too so I rilly want that please.

Sincerely,

Emma Sue Kischer

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa I was very good this yer. Santa I want lots of legos. I wunt Avingrs legos and also how is Rudolph. The Red noes reindeer? I hoop Rudolph is good.

Sincerely,

Harold

Dear Santa,

Santa I allwas wented to see you on Cresmes evye. Santa I went a smart fown ples, santa can I ples have a bass guitar. Santa can I ples have a ukulele. can I ples have logs. Santa can I ples have star wars logs.

Sincerely,

Hadley

Dear Santa, I want to know how you are doing this year. I want a power rangers dino charge toy, megazord the rapter the parazord, and all the gold paint zords, rapter Zord Stagozols, parazord tvisaratops, t-rex zord zord

Sincerely,

Jakob

Dear Santa,

Am I on the notey list? I want a remote control helecopter. I want anew be be gun. Is the wether nice in the north pole?

Sincerely,

Evan

Dear Santa,

I would like some barbies, stuffed animals, a my life doll, and a laptop. How are you doing? Are Mrs. Clauss cookies good? Is Rudolph sad are the raindeer tesing him?

Sincerely

Sophie Roseberry

Dear Santa,

I love my elfs. I would like a horse new saddle. How does your reindeer do. Am I on the good list or the bad list? Do you have a reindeer named Rudolph. I love christmas. I would like a all of the horse dressing and all the riding stuff. I love my two elfs. My family is sad because we dont get to see are hole family. Love Santa

Sincerely,

Lauren Rea Kraus

Dear Santa,

I want a Hachamole. I want a remot conterl kitty. I want a Elf on the shelf. I want a American Girl doll. Are you used to training reideer? Do you have fun? I hope you have a good Christmas.

Sincerely,

Shelby Renze

Dear Santa,

I would like a toy wich is roodof. I want tunsof cande and a playfone. How is it going at the North pole? Love Dystiny

Sincerely,

Dystiny

Dear Santa,

I hope I am on the good list. Can I please have a American girl doll and some doll accessories. Can I please have a I-phone to. I would also like a piano coming with a piano chair. How is Rudolph and the other reindeer? How is Mrs. Claus. How are you doing? We might leave out cokies.

Sincerely,

Lily Hildreth

Dear Santa,

I would like the American girl doll Lea Clark, Lea Clarks accessories, Karoke mashean and shopkins. Are you ready for christmas night? I have my key ready for you. I want a candy mashean.

Sincerely,

Makenzie Friedmann

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would like legos, science MC Squared, kit, jewelry, Justyce legings and a phone. How are you doing. Are the reindeer redy. Is Mrs Claus doing good. I also want a build a bear accessories. And a American girl doll.

Sincerely,

Melodee Rench

Dear Santa,

I been realy goodish/badish this yaer. Because when i get mad my ager just berst out. I dont know how to kontrole it. I get if you whant to put me on the nody list? So yeah, have a nice holiday.

Sincerely, Tristyn Allen Tate

Dear Santa,

I have bin ril good. Santa I want a phone and a blind to go hunting. Are the raindeer practicing flying? Are Mrs. Closeis cookes good? I want some race cars rims. Black rims. I love you Santa you are the best. I will see you this winter

Sincerely,

Kellen Meyer
SEATTLE  Ishea Brown grew up in a huge family that celebrated Christmas like nobodys business.

Her mother, who is one of 15 siblings, and her father, who is one of 12, love having their home be their clans social center during the holidays, spending untold hours from Thanksgiving on running around, decorating, cooking, shopping and getting ready for the festive climax.

Growing up, I had no choice but to be surrounded by all the people who were always at our house, Brown said.

But when the 32-year-old Capitol Hill resident moved out of her parents home about 10 years ago, she realized she could opt out and spend Thanksgiving and Christmas alone.

Its honestly so awesome, said the Meredith Corp. senior campaign manager. I could cook what I wanted when I wanted. I could stay in my pajamas all day. I could nap on the couch with my dog. I didnt feel obligated to go anywhere or do anything. It was so freeing.

Brown is among a growing number of people who are talking about, and owning, their decision to withdraw from the holiday frenzy. In addition to avoiding the anxiety, stress and financial strain of Christmas, some people find the pressure to be merry and happy difficult.

Others find that spending holidays alone, with pets or select friends, is a healthy alternative to time with dysfunctional, abusive or alcoholic family members, said Nancy Goldov, public education coordinator for the Washington State Psychological Association.

Goldov said another possible trigger for some people this year is the highly fraught political situation thats polarized some families.

Some people may choose to set aside the same days to stay home alone that others set aside to be with others as a way to circumvent experiences of conflict during the holidays, Goldov said.

Its important to recognize that taking care of yourself is your first priority and not taking care of yourself isnt an option.

That annual reprieve is something that Jim Thomsen looks forward to all year long.

As a freelance editor who also cares for disabled relatives, Thomsen is used to being on call the rest of the time.

I love being a part of a community and a society, he said. But this is my day to pull the curtains on the rest of the world and be good to myself.

Thomsen, who is self-employed, says Christmas is the lone day he gives himself permission to do nothing.

If I want to read three books, Im going to do that. If I want to go for a five-hour walk, Im going to do that. If I want to do nothing but heat up spaghetti, thats what Im going to do. I give myself permission not to be part of society for one day, and its a great luxury.

For Dena Landon, an accountant and writer from Seattle who now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, it was a few pity invites she endured while attending college in Massachusetts that led her to her tradition of solo holidays.

In an essay published in The Washington Post, Landon described being at the house of a school friend during her first Thanksgiving away from home and finding herself in the middle of battling strangers after her friend declared she was changing her major.

The second year, she was seated next to a young man who made an awkward play for her while explaining that a would-be pastor needed a wife to land a job.

I found myself thinking, Man, I would rather be eating stale pizza.

The third year, she said no to a well-intentioned friends overture and her introverts tradition was born, she said in a recent telephone interview.

I spent three or four days by myself and it was really nice. I went for walks, sat on Newbury Street (in Boston) and watched people, drank cider and read books for fun which I never got to do during school.

After Landons piece appeared last month, a number of people contacted her to thank her.

A lot of people retweeted it and said Oh my God, you get me, she said. Others said, I wish I could do this but I told someone I would do this thing and now I have three different things to do and I have to bake cookies. Theyre called social obligations for a reason.
NEW YORK  Pregnancy affects not only a woman's body: It changes parts of her brain too, a new study says.

When researchers compared brain scans of women before and after pregnancy, they spotted some differences in 11 locations. They also found hints that the alterations help women prepare for motherhood.

For example, they might help a mother understand the needs of her infant, Elseline Hoekzema, a study author at Leiden University in the Netherlands, explained via email.

The women were also given memory tests, and they showed no signs of decline.

Hoekzema, a neuroscientist, began working on the study while at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. She and colleagues present the results in a paper released by the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The study includes data on 25 Spanish women scanned before and after their first pregnancies, along with 20 women who didn't get pregnant during the study. The brain changes in the pregnancy group emerged from comparisons of those two groups.

The results were consistent: A computer program could tell which women had gotten pregnant just by looking at results of the MRI scans.

And the changes, first documented an average of 10 weeks after giving birth, were mostly still present two years after childbirth. That's based on follow-up with 11 study participants.

Further work showed they're a motherhood thing: No brain changes were seen in first-time fathers.

Based on prior research findings, the researchers think the brain changes happened during pregnancy rather than after childbirth.

What's going on? Hoekzema and colleagues think the differences result from sex hormones that flood the brain of a pregnant woman. In the 11 places, the MRI data indicate reductions in volume of the brain's gray matter, but it's not clear what that means. For example, it could reflect loss of brain cells or a pruning of the places where brain cells communicate, called synapses.

Losing some synapses is not necessarily a bad thing. It happens during a hormonal surge in adolescence, producing more specialized and efficient brain circuits. The researchers suspect that could be happening in the pregnant women.

Some study results hint that such upgrades may prepare a woman for motherhood. One analysis linked brain changes to how strongly a woman felt emotionally attached to her infant. And when women viewed pictures of their babies, several brain regions that reacted the most were ones that showed pregnancy-related change.

In addition, the affected brain areas overlapped with circuitry that's involved in figuring out what another person is thinking and feeling. That's a handy ability for a mother tending to an infant.

The idea of synapses being pruned in pregnancy makes a lot of sense, commented Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University in New York, who studies hormonal effects on the brain but didn't participate in what he called a terrific study.

"The brain is being shaped all the time," he said, and "sex hormones are part of the whole orchestra of processes that change the brain structurally."
SOUTH SIOUX CITY | Christmas at Kirk and Angela Campbell's home is typically a festive occasion. Each year, the South Sioux City couple and their three children decorate their residence on Redbird Circle with seven to nine Christmas trees.

"It depends on the year and how much help I get," Angela Campbell said.

On Christmas Eve, several family members usually visit for a holiday meal and gift exchange. Angela usually bakes a Christmas breakfast in the oven for the family on Christmas morning.

But this year, Christmas will be much different for the Campbells, along with a handful of other South Sioux City families.

For the past eight weeks, the Campbells and their children, whose ages range from 9 to 18, have been staying at the Marina Inn in South Sioux City as city officials and representatives of Big Ox Energy, a local renewable energy plant, work to quell strong sewer odors tied to hydrogen sulfide gas at several homes in the five-block area of Red Bird Lane and Lemasa Drive.

At their height, the odors displaced two dozen households from their homes. Some families have since returned in the weeks since. City officials say the number staying at either the Marina Inn or Candlewood Suites, an extended-stay hotel in Sioux City, is now around 10.

The Campbells' accommodations, for which Big Ox has been supplying money to the city to cover the costs, have already affected their Thanksgiving Day plans, as the family was forced to cook their entire traditional Thanksgiving dinner in their hotel room using roasters and crock pots to make up for their lack of a stove top or oven.

Now, the Campbells are doing their best to save Christmas, too.

Earlier this week, Angela Campbell sat down on her couch in her family's hotel room while cradling the family's playful Teacup Yorkie, Charlie, and pointed to the decorations around the room: four gingerbread houses sitting in a row on a nearby coffee table, stockings and paper snowflakes hanging on the window and two Christmas trees flanking the room's television.

"Usually Im always cooking and baking, but I cant really do that here," Campbell said. "So Im making the best of it and finding as many pre-made items or things that you can do that you do not have to bake so we can still do some of that together."

The family is still planning on having about 12 people in the hotel room on Christmas Eve, she said, to continue the tradition.

Campbell said the move over the holidays initially sparked some concern from her son, Andrew, that Santa Claus wouldn't know where to find them on Christmas. But those fears have subsided since the Campbells "adopted" two Elf on the Shelf dolls, Buddy and Jingle, who are said to keep watch on the children during the day and move around each night.

"He's feeling pretty well that the elves go back to Santa each night so Santa knows where he is," Campbell said.

The Campbell family moved out of their home Oct. 27, the day after the city notified them that it would be conducting a plumbing smoke test in their home, which the Campbells have owned for about four years.

Campbell said the odors had begun about a month prior to the notice, but she hadn't known what it was.

"I would smell it on and off, and then attribute it to, you know, if my daughter left wet towels or wet clothes on the floor in the bathroom, or whatever the case may be," she said. "It just never went away."

The first week in the hotel was fun for the kids, she said, but the newness quickly wore off. The children don't have many of their own toys or belongings, and the family finds itself doing laundry nearly every day since they only have about three sets of clothes apiece that were either salvaged from the home or purchased afterward.

"All three of my kids are all in one room with two beds, so they have to take turns of sleeping arrangements, or a lot of the times I sleep here (on the couch) so that my son can sleep in bed with my husband," Campbell said. "And you know its just very close quarters and nobody has their own personal space."

Other displaced families are having to alter their Christmas plans, as well. Mike Klassen, who moved to South Sioux City with his wife, Jackie, in 1992 and raised their four children at the house, said a family tradition dating back to the 1960s is to have dozens of friends and relatives over on the holidays.

"Traditionally we have everyone at our home, 30 to 40 people for Christmas Eve and then 10 to 12 on Christmas Day," Klassen said.

But this year, they are traveling to Omaha to visit their oldest daughter. Their two youngest children, who are in college, will spend New Year's Day in the hotel.

Campbell and Klassen said others, including another family with three young daughters, are having to make the best of it in hotels this Christmas.

Pointing to a tree decorated with plush elves and topped with a stocking cap with attached pointy ears, Campbell said co-workers at Westwood Specialty Care in Sioux City, where she works as a director of nursing, pitched in to help her decorate.

"They know that trees are a big deal to me, and one of my co-workers donated me this tree to borrow," Campbell said. "And then they all donated money for the kids and I to be able to go and pick out a theme to decorate a tree, so we bought new decorations."

Campbell bid on another tree at this year's Festival of Trees, so a "Grinch-ified" tree -- complete with two skinny green legs sticking out from one side -- now sits to the left of the room's television set.

Campbell said some households have moved back, deciding to brave the smell because they need to be back in their homes. But on a visit earlier in the week to their home, she was met again with a raw sewage smell. Though different than before, she said the odor was still overpowering.

I could not take my son back there, she said. He has asthma, and he gets very sick."

For the Campbells, the solution still seems far of, as city officials have acknowledged they're still trying to figure out the source of the stench.

Campbell said her goal isnt for the city to buy or replace her family's house, which she describes as her dream home." She just wants to get to a place where it can be fixed, and they can move back, she said.

Despite the inconveniences, Angela said, the family plans to begin a new tradition next year. She said she plans to buy a new tree and decorate it with the elf decorations her co-workers pitched in to buy her. Then, the family plans to donate the tree to next year's Festival of Trees.

It will be a way for them to give back next holiday season, similar to the way many others have made their unique holiday season still feel at least a little bit like Christmas.
SIOUX CITY | It would seem that Kara Martini, 3, has a bit of a sweet tooth.

The Sioux City girl said she had asked Santa Claus to bring her a toy ice cream scoop for Christmas. Also, she was wearing a sweater with a big mug of hot chocolate emblazoned on it.

But the one thing Kara liked better than sweet stuff was listening to stories. She was one of the preschoolers who attended a holiday edition of family story time at the Morningside Branch Library, 4005 Morningside Ave.

Such kid-friendly events take place at 11 a.m. every Tuesday at the Perry Creek Branch library, 2912 Hamilton Blvd.; at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Morningside Branch; and 11 a.m. the first Saturday of the month at the Wilbur Aalfs Main Library, 529 Pierce St.

"Even before they can read, kids pick up vocabulary skills, narrative skills and listening skills," library children's service director Adrienne Jansen said of the early literacy initiative. "More than that, we want children to discover a love for literature."

Assistant children's librarian Brenda Lussier said she grew up loving to read. That's one of the reasons she enjoyed being the story time's "story lady."

"The kids have such a good time," she said, placing such Christmas-themed books as Jan Brett's "The Mitten" and Nicola Smee's Jingle-Jingle" in front of her. "That makes it so much fun."

Abbie Miller, 6, is a regular at the program. In fact, she always brings along her own entourage: a collection of dolls she keeps in a backpack.

"This one is called is 'Big Baby,'" Abbie said, introducing her dolls in order of their size. "And this is 'Silly Baby,' while the littlest one is named 'Itsy Bitsy Baby.'"

As Lussier read from Doreen Cronin's "Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho!" -- a book about an accident-prone duck getting stuck in Farmer Brown's chimney on Christmas Eve -- Andrew Miller, 3, helpfully distributed the carpet squares that served as seats for the kids.

Then he got bored and started heaving the random squares into a pile.

This doesn't mean Andrew isn't excited about Christmas.

"I asked Santa for a toy police car," he said.

On the other hand, Finn Derochie, 2, would really like a stuffed elephant for Christmas, his mom Amy Derochie said.

And what does eight-month-old Ian Derochie wants for Christmas? Pretty much the same thing as big brother Finn.

"Ian's at that age where he wants whatever Finn has," Amy Derochie said.

Still, she said she hopes her sons will learn to love books.

"I know both of them like putting books in their mouths," Amy Derochie said, smiling. "I'd like to think that they will also eventually start reading them."
SAC COUNTY, Iowa | The Sac County Sheriffs Office, Iowa State Patrol and Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement are investigating a four-vehicle accident that claimed the life of a woman on Saturday morning.

The accident occurred about 1  mile west of Lake View on Highway 175 and was reported at 8:24 a.m.

According to a press release, a semi-tractor trailer was traveling west on Highway 175, when it attempted to pass a car in front of it. During the pass, the semi collided head-on with a pickup that was traveling east. A passenger car following the pickup rear-ended the pickup. The driver of the pickup and the two occupants from the car along with the driver and passenger in the semi were transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City.

Two of the five transported to Loring were transferred to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City with critical injuries. A female passenger in the pickup was pronounced dead at the scene. The car that has been passed by the semi received damage subsequent to the collision, but the driver was not injured. At the time of the crash, visibility was reported as being near zero because of fog.

The names of those involved are being withheld pending notification of family members.

Lake View Police, Lake View Fire, Wall Lake Fire and ambulances from Lake View and Sac City all responded.
Bella Hadids Dinner & Underwear Dress Codes in This Weeks Best Parties

Before the holiday sleepiness settled into Manhattan, and most expats retreated to their respective family homes outside of the city, there was a last burst of celebration for a myriad of causes, beginning with a rollicking Friday night.

It started with Paper Magazine & Tidals two-part, bi-level blowout held at Kola House in The Meatpacking. Model Bella Hadid held court as hostess for the festivities marking the release of Papers Outspoken issue where Hadid stars as the months cover girl. Later, guest like Luka Sabbat, Ellen von Unwerth, Hari Nef, and Andreja Pejic traipsed down to the basement for a post-dinner dance party under the pulsing chandelier at Gilded Lily where Justine Skye and K$ace both performed, and later Hadid herself, who took over the DJ booth with her own playlist.

For late night, perhaps more elicit revelry, Diesel held one of their notoriously over-the-top parties that rivaled their miniature music festival. Held last February in a sprawling private residence on the Upper East Side, many guests found their way to the homes forbidden dark rooms, some ending up on the roof. This time around, Diesel Creative Director Nicola Formichetti teamed up with artist Maurizio Cattelan and nightlife mainstay Ladyfag for a party referred to as Flush and Repeat. The name was given in homage to Cattelans infamous gold toilet creation currently on display at The Guggenheim Museum, which was recreated for the party. Inquisitive guests found it sitting inside a faux fireplace filled with ice and Stella Artois tallboy cans (pictured above).

The invitation to the sex shop-themed revelry, held at in an unassuming building near Stuyvesant Town, had a simply stated dress code of underwear which was interpreted in many forms from the scantily clad like Formichetti himself to the more modest Richard Chai and Marisa Tomei, pictured above straddling Cattelan. By 3 AM all guess spilled out into the street with a gift bag full of Diesel underwear and other adults only prizes.

On Saturday night, young rocker and nephew of John Cougar Mellencamp, Ian Mellencamp took over Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side with the newly launched, Brooklyn-made menswear brand Standard Deviation. Creators Manuel Gonzales-Luna and Stephanie Park joined forces with Mellencamp on a series of sweatshirts and t-shirts, later tossed into the crowd as he performed on stage in his soon-to-be-signature wacky regalia which manifested itself this time as a wire and feather headdress. Looking on in the crowd were his new flame Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, and sister TK Wonder and Cipriana Quann.

It finished off with a Sunday night screening at The Crosby Street Hotel. The film? Likely Oscar contender Manchester by The Sea, starring Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, the latter of whom took on hosting duties with President and CEO of Louis Vuitton Americas, Anthony Ledru. Williams arrived dressed to the nines in Vuitton with pal Busy Phillips, stopping to admire the hotels Christmas tree before posing for red carpet photos until she heard a champagne cork pop at the nearby bar. Oh! she joked. Thats my favorite sound in the world.

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WASHINGTON -- It's time for the presidential transition team's daily news teleconference.

"Let's go ahead and open it up to a couple of questions," Donald Trump spokesman Jason Miller announces at Monday's installment.

Will the president-elect be staying at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida through the new year?

"Wouldn't want to go and forecast next week's schedule," Miller replies.

Will Trump keep the Internal Revenue Service commissioner until his term ends?

"No decision yet on that front."

Will Trump keep the D.C. "Taxation Without Representation" license plates on the presidential limousine?

"Don't want to speculate on that."

Will he name businessman Toby Neugebauer ambassador to Mexico?

"I don't know if I'll have an answer for you."

Will Trump make any more public appearances while in Florida?

"Don't want to speculate on that," Miller says.

The Q&A is six minutes and 17 seconds old. "And that," the operator says, "is all the time we have for questions."

Trump hasn't had a news conference in 145 days. But that's OK: His able spokesmen, on a daily basis, are very capable of saying nothing in his stead.

It's really not the fault of Miller and Trump's other mouthpieces. Their boss communicates largely via incendiary messages of 140 characters or fewer that spark and fan international disputes, and nobody seems to know what he's up to -- not even those who work for him, apparently. The result is a presidency-in-waiting that is alternately alarming and opaque: If the Trump transition is a dumpster fire, those in charge of containing the blaze are armed with squirt guns.

Trump has held a series of campaign-style rallies for his supporters in states that he won, using the occasions to attack the media and to crow about his victory. He has dismissed the notion that Russia meddled in the U.S. election to boost his candidacy -- in the process disparaging the American intelligence community and putting himself at odds with congressional Republicans. He's appointed a squadron of billionaires and business leaders to serve in his administration after campaigning to help the forgotten little man. He's blown off national security briefings. He's using Twitter to infuriate China, and to bicker with Vanity Fair because he didn't like the magazine's review of a Trump Tower restaurant.

But while Trump was willing to pose with reporters for photos at an off-the-record holiday party at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, he hasn't been willing to explain his thinking beyond tweets and campaign-style speeches. And his aides are struggling to do the 'splaining. On CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway attacked President Obama and his administration -- only days after she lavishly praised them for their handling of the transition. And on "Fox News Sunday," incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus dismissed the allegations of Russian interference in the election as the product of "third parties," even though the CIA director made the allegations himself.

Then there's Miller's daily teleconference briefing, at which he's often joined by the Republican National Committee's Sean Spicer. The sessions begin with a preamble about the truly huge and amazing things Trump does. Miller's Monday briefing portrayed the various people and happenings involving the president-elect as great, beautiful, world class, visionary, rigorous, very impressive, outstanding, exceptional, big, strong, very fun and deep.

But when it comes to explaining what Trump is actually thinking or planning, the answers are rather less rigorous, impressive or deep. A sampling from last week:

On Monday, a reporter sought a description of the vetting process.

"We're not going to get into the exact procedures and tactics," was the reply.

On Tuesday, a questioner asked whether Trump will have any Democrats in his Cabinet.

"I wouldn't speculate at this point," Miller answered.

On Wednesday came a question about how Trump would deal with conflicts of interest.

"This will be something that comes up at the press conference the president-elect will now be holding in January," Miller offered.

Thursday brought a question about Trump's dispute with the CIA over Russia's hacking.

"I'd let the president-elect's tweets speak for themselves," Miller ventured.

On Friday there was an inquiry about Trump's vow to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The reply: "I do not have at this time a schedule that I'm going to be able to share about timing on that."

Another reporter asked about the choice of an agriculture secretary.

Miller cautioned against "writing that decisions have or have not been made on that front until we hear directly from the president-elect."

Hear directly from the president-elect? Now that would be news.
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.
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Community Bank System, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits. It also provides loans, including consumer mortgages; general purpose commercial and industrial loans, and mortgages on commercial properties; paycheck protection program loans; installment loans that are originated through selected dealerships and are secured by automobiles, marine, and other recreational vehicles; personal installment loans and lines of credit for consumers; and home equity products. In addition, the company offers broker-dealer and investment advisory; cash management, investment, and treasury services; asset management; and employee benefit services, as well as operates as a full-service insurance agency that offers personal and commercial lines of insurance, and other risk management products and services. Further, it provides contribution plan administration, employee benefit trust, collective investment fund, retirement plan administration, fund administration, transfer agency, actuarial and benefit consulting, VEBA/HRA, and health and welfare consulting services. Additionally, the company offers wealth management, retirement planning, higher educational planning, fiduciary, risk management, trust, and personal financial planning services; and investment alternatives, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and advisory products, as well as master recordkeeping services. As of January 24, 2022, it operated approximately 215 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. Community Bank System, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in DeWitt, New York.
General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Note Threatening to 'Shoot Up the School' Gets Student Arrested

As everyone should know by now, school shooting threats, even if intended as jokes, are not cool and can get you arrested. For those still unaware, look no further than a 17-year-old high school student in California who allegedly left a "very crude" note in the school's office that included a specific threat to "shoot up the school and kill staff and students."

The student was promptly identified and arrested, and the school was shut down for a day.

Empty Threats

El Molino high school personnel contacted the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department after finding the note Tuesday afternoon. By the next day, the teen was in custody. (The boy's name is being withheld due to his age.) "It was a collaboration between El Molino, the school district and the Sheriff's Office," El Molino Principal Matt Dunkle told the Sonoma West Times. "Everyone worked well together to quickly resolve this."

Classes at El Molino resumed on Wednesday, and law enforcement appears confident that the student never intended to harm anyone. "The threats he made in the letter put the staff in sustained fear that he would follow through with the threats," said Sgt. Spencer Crum. "However, after interviewing him, we believe he was not sincere in his intent. He had no weapons. He had no plan. I'm not sure why he would do such a thing."

Full Punishment

Whether in on paper or online, you can absolutely get arrested for death threats. And that's true regardless of whether the person making the threat intends to carry it out. Even if the threat is only a joke, what matters is whether the person making the communication intended it to be taken as a threat and whether the target was in reasonable fear for their safety. So this student may never have intended to shoot up his school, but he's going to be punished as if he were.

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The following companies are subsidiares of PPG Industries: AIPCF V Texstars Blocker Inc., AkzoNobel, Alpha Coating Technologies LLC, Alpha Coatings Inc., Broad Range Development Limited, CG Holdings Manufacturing Co., Centro de Investigacion en Polimeros S.A. de C.V., Chemfil Canada Limited, Chorlton Trade Paints Limited, Comercial Mexicana de Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Comex, Comex Industrial Coatings S.A. de C.V., Consorcio Comex S.A. de C.V., Cristacol S.A., Cuming Microwave Corporation, Deutek SA, Dexmet Corporation, Dexmet Holding Corporation, Distribuidora Kroma S.A. de C.V., EPIC Insurance Co. Ltd., Eberle Design Inc., Empresa Aga S.A. de C.V., Ennis Canadian Holding Company, Ennis Paint Canada ULC, Ennis Paint Netherlands Holdings LLC, Ennis Paint U.K. Holding Company Limited, Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions Pty Ltd, Ennis-Flint, Ennis-Flint Inc., Foshan Bairun Chemicals Co. Ltd., Fpu Industrial S.A. de C.V., Grupo Comex S.A. de C.V., Hemmelrath Automotive Coatings (Jilin) Co. Ltd., Hemmelrath International Trade (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hodij Coatings B.V., Homax Products, Industria Chimica Reggiana I.C.R. SPA, Johnstones Paints Limited, Kalon Investment Company Limited, Kalon South Africa Proprietary Limited, Karl Woerwag Lack-und Farbenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Masterwork Paint, MetoKote Corporation, MetoKote Mexico Holdings Inc., MetoKote UK Limited, MetoKote de Mexico S. de RL de CV, Milamar Coatings LLC, OOO Tikkurila, PPG A P Resinas S.A. de C.V., PPG AC - France SA, PPG ALESCO Automotive Finishes Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PPG Aerospace Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Architectural Coatings (Puerto Rico) Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc./PPG Revetements Architecturaux Canada Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Ireland Limited, PPG Architectural Coatings Italy S.r.l, PPG Architectural Coatings UK Limited, PPG Architectural Finishes Inc., PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., PPG Business Services S.A. de C.V., PPG COATINGS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., PPG Canada Inc., PPG Cetelon Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Cieszyn S.A., PPG Coatings (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, PPG Coatings (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., PPG Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Thailand) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Wuhu) Company Ltd., PPG Coatings (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings B.V., PPG Coatings Belgium BV, PPG Coatings Danmark A/S, PPG Coatings Deutschland GmbH, PPG Coatings Europe B.V., PPG Coatings Nederland BV, PPG Coatings S.A., PPG Coatings South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PPG DYRUP S.A., PPG Deco Czech a.s., PPG Deco Polska sp. z.o.o., PPG Deco Slovakia s.r.o., PPG Deutschland Business Support GmbH, PPG Deutschland Sales & Services GmbH, PPG Distribution S.A.S., PPG Europe B.V., PPG Finance B.V., PPG Finland Oy, PPG France Business Support S.A.S., PPG France Manufacturing S.A.S., PPG Guadeloupe SAS, PPG Hemmelrath Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Holdco SAS, PPG Holdings (U.K.) Limited, PPG Holdings Argentina USA LLC, PPG Holdings Latin America USA LLC, PPG Iberica S.A., PPG Iberica Sales & Services S.L., PPG Industrial Coatings B.V., PPG Industrial do Brasil - Tintas E. Vernizes - Ltda., PPG Industries (Korea) Ltd., PPG Industries (Singapore) Pte. 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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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Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. The company's deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, office buildings, and retail and industrial properties; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, marine loans, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. The company also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, it provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, tax compliance and planning, and private banking. Further, the company sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; operates as a real estate investment trust for acquiring mortgage loans and other real estate related assets; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 96 full-service branch offices in northern and central New Jersey, as well as in Pennsylvania and New York counties. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Among the neatly arranged foreign policy status quos that the incoming President Donald Trump is expected to ransack through is Americas China policy. I do not use status quos as a disparagement but merely as a device that does not cause frequent disruptions.

Experts have pointed out that the latest and the clearest indication yet that a Trump administration will have no compunctions pulling the rug from under the carefully arranged diplomatic niceties is the appointment of a strident China critic Peter Navarro to the newly created National Trade Council. Another appointment signaling this disruptive approach is that of Wilbur Ross as his commerce secretary. Both Navarro and Ross are known for their hard-line stance on China.

The president-elect signaled a dramatic shift in his China policy early on when he spoke to Taiwans President President Tsai Ing-wen much Beijings annoyance. Taken together these are strong enough indications that the new president will radically depart from the Obama administration on China and just about everything else in foreign policy.

I will be curious to see if in his endeavor to take on China, Trump courts India even more aggressively than what President Obama did. As part of that approach Obama, barely a month away from his departure, signed a $618 billion defense policy bill which when in place, will enhance security cooperation with India. He did that while on vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to Arizona Senator and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain "enhances security cooperation between the United States and India", under the 'Supporting Allies and Partners' section.

One significant part of the NDAA relates to how it makes aid to Pakistan conditional. It will "refocus security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support US national security interests and conditions a significant portion of funding on a certification from the Secretary of Defense that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network in Pakistani territory."

In a limited context, Chinas continuing support to Pakistan disregarding all the latters follies and purely out of strategic expediencies could also add a dimension to US-India relations under Trump. This is notwithstanding Pakistans disclosure of the content of the president-elects call with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif where the former reportedly used remarkable sanguine language to describe Pakistan.

As I mentioned just a couple of days ago, Despite its obvious economic and demographic heft India still remains peripheral to the jostling between America and China over global domination. It might be (Prime Minister Narendra) Modis wish to change that but there are inherent limitations that come with being a democracy unlike for Xi Jinping who can still do things without being encumbered by its domestic consequences. I personally think it is in Indias interests not to get mired in global affairs too much at the cost of compromising the destinies of its 1.311 billion people. An economically powerful and culturally cohesive country of 1.311 billion people will automatically have its natural gravity that none can deny or resist.

Although one can never say with any certainty about Trump and his policies, as of now evidence suggests that China will be the focus of his disruptive ire that brought him to power. The strategy seems to be to keep Russia in his corner even though it is nowhere in the same league as China in terms of its global consequence. The Sino-Russian bonhomie could be a factor here but in the end China is always about China. It also helps a great deal to keep India in good humor as he goes about needling China.
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.




This blog is looking for wisdom, to have and to share. It is also looking for other rare character traits like good humor, courage, and honor. It is not an easy road, because all of us fall short. But God is love, forgiveness and grace. Those who believe in Him and repent of their sins have the promise of His Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the Way.
BY OLIVIA ROSE

THE NEW Government has pledged to tackle the incessant crime rate in a bid to restore the country to its former state of peace and tranquility.





During an interview with Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control, Sean Astwood, shortly after the party`s win, he told the media that work has now begun in that direction.





He reminded that the party on its campaign trail promised to work assiduously to address the crime issue facing the country.





He said: "We campaigned hard on a message that people of this country have had enough of what has been going on -- whether its crime, labor market, job opportunity, education and the likes thereof, and we will bring about change.





He noted that the party has put forward a bold platform and intends to use its manifesto as a guide to implement the policies promised to the people.





He noted that the party had a number of challenges to address simultaneously.





"But I will tell you that crime obviously stands out as one of those things that persons during the campaign have repeatedly told us; we have to make sure that our people and everyone who lives here feel safe at home at minimum. You must feel safe in your own environment.





A few months ago, Madame Premier and Leader of the People`s Democratic Movement (PDM) Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson said her party will endeavor to effectively curb the worrying crime rate during its first 100 days in office.





She said: "I think if we polled any citizen in this country, immediately we would perhaps get crime as the number one issue, people want to work, people want to access health care, people want to live in an environment that is healthy and all of that but people want to feel safe in their homes.





"These are issues that are affecting this country, that we can`t say 1-2-3; we have to treat them simultaneously.





"We have to look at getting our people to work, even as we address the crime situation.





"We would find that a lot of the crimes that the police are reporting are crimes of opportunity.





"We find that a lot of persons are unemployed, so we see that as one of the main reasons, and of course, we have to see what other reasons there are that people are committing crime, and (that) would, of course, be in a comprehensive national security plan.





Earlier in the year the party had crafted a 12-point crime plan in an effort to provide solutions to the countrys crime problem.





The plan incorporates every component necessary to prevent and/or reduce crime in communities throughout the TCI.





Cartwright Robinson said then, the Government cannot continue to underfund the police force.





She noted that the leadership of the force must produce a plan that all can buy into, and officers need to recommit, as well as the people, to joining the fight against crime.





"The truth is todays criminals are younger, colder, braver and even more desperate, and are altogether of a different kind.





"We as a country can no longer fight the crime and criminal of yesteryear.





"This country continues to take a weak stance and a lukewarm response to crime. This country needs a strong Government that will take this issue head-on, with plans and resources.





In this vein the Opposition leader outlined her partys plans to tackle crime at its root and create a safer country for both locals and tourists.





She said: "The PDM government will ensure that the UK, who maintains responsibility for internal security, meets its obligations.





"PDM government will support the infusion of credible Turks and Caicos Islanders into the force and we will support all efforts to engender a trust that is so visibly missing within the force and also the relationship between the police force and the people of these Islands.





She said that a PDM government within the first 100 days will meet with law enforcement and seek a comprehensive review of the police force.





"We will create a substantive national security strategy; the TCI has seen tremendous changes in recent years in its political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal and governance structures.





"As a political organization it is imperative that going forward a clear path is identified debated, developed and agreed as a platform for our national security strategy.





"We need to be conscious of the fact that we are living in a more globalised world bearing in mind that while many incidents may be global in origin, they can end up becoming local in effect.





"One, we will ensure that a compressive training policy is formulated; two, that there is a proper succession plan; three, that there is capacity building within the police force.





"Four, that there is a review of the resources and equipment programme; five, that there are comprehensive crime prevention initiatives; six, that there are comprehensive border protection initiatives.





Cartwright Robinson also highlighted that a PDM government would strengthen border patrol and protection through the creation of a Border Patrol Unit.





"Seven, that there are comprehensive community partnership initiatives.





A PDM government will support and resource an aggressive beat patrol school and after school programmes, especially for single parent homes and support the establishment of neighbor watch programmes.





"Eight, that there is an offender management programme. A PDM government will ensure that the correction facilities are funded to ensure that the persons in custody receive the best care and rehabilitative programmes to ensure that they have the best opportunity to reintegrate into a society to reduce the rate of recidivism.








While it was dark and cold out on the streets of North Kelso Tuesday, Christmas cheer warmed the home of Ron and Sierra Olsen.

Monster and Minnie, two black Labrador puppies, tussled on the living room floor while the couples children, Dallas, 2, and Carson, 7, sat on a queen bed and watched television.

In the corner of the room, a tall Christmas tree glowed with multicolored lights and ornaments. A few carefully wrapped presents sat under the tree.

Were a new family, so this is something new for us, said Ron Olsen, looking at the tree. I think it gives us the opportunity to (be) more family oriented and have that symbolism of family togetherness during the holidays that we can share with the kids.

The Olsens were the recipients of a fully decorated Christmas tree courtesy of the Associated Students of Lower Columbia College, where the couple both attend school. The student government group distributed 22 decorated Christmas this year to students who the group thought might need a little extra holiday cheer.

Student government received applications from staff, faculty members and students, who can either nominate themselves or nominate another student who they feel is really in need of an Christmas tree at Christmas time, said student government president Jacob Roes

First, trees were distributed to departments within the college, with staff competing to create the best decorated tree.

It makes the campus look really, really cool, Roes said. And its obviously for a great cause.

For the Olsen family, having a tree is just icing on the cake of their LCC experience.

Theres a lot of people (at LCC) that made a lot of things really possible for us, not just the tree, Ron said. The people there went out of their way to help us make it to school. Theyve paved the way, given us a road map almost to show us the best ways to reach certain goals.

Ron is pursuing a degree through LCCs automotive technician program, while Sierra hopes to graduate with an associates degree in medical administration that will enable her to transfer to a four-year program down the road.

Just over a year ago, the couple didnt know where they would get their next shower, let alone what they would be studying.

When we first started school we were living in the back of a truck, Ron said. We would kind of bridge between that and try to stay in a motel every few days so we could shower.

The couple had come to Cowlitz County looking to further their education. They met in North Dakota where Ron was working as a millwright, Sierra as a bartender.

I lived in (Cowlitz County) for most of my life, Ron said. When she mentioned wanting to go to school I was kind of familiar with this area and I thought it would be a little easier transition for both of us to go to school (here) rather than an area we werent familiar with.

But college was foreign territory. We werent even aware of what kind of options or opportunities there were for attending college, Ron said. And thats where help came in. Admissions staff, career counselors and financial aid advisers helped the Olsens every step of the way, from picking which programs to enroll in to submitting financial aid paperwork.

The Olsens have also accessed the Student Success Fund, a grant program that has distributed over $150,000 to over 500 LCC students to help pay for textbooks, testing fees, tuition and emergency family expenses. At one point, the fund helped the Olsens make rent during a tough month. Another time, it helped them pay for their course textbooks.

This year, the student government received more nominations for Christmas tree recipients than the number of trees they actually had.

We decided to get more trees so that everyone (who was nominated) could get a tree, student government president Roes said.

I helped one student take her tree to the car. She was a mom who was going back to school, Roes said. The amount of joy she had on her face  you could see tears starting to come. She knew she was going to have a tree for her family. That was just surreal.

The Olsens are both on track to graduate with their respective degrees by the summer of 2018, but they say the college feels like a second home.

You look forward to going there, Sierra said. You feel very welcome.

Ron nodded, looking at his wife across the table. After a beat, he added: You feel like youre a part of something, like youre supposed to be there.
Beneath the surface of the controversy over Russias efforts to help Donald Trump become president is a dramatic reconfiguration of opinion on foreign policy.

Many Republicans who had long been critical of Vladimir Putins despotic rule are adjusting their positions to accord with Trumps more sympathetic views. Others are hanging back, fearful of picking a fight with their partys incoming president or undermining the legitimacy of his election.

At the same time, Putins fiercest Republican critics, including leading neoconservatives, find themselves allied with Hillary Clintons supporters. They are calling out the Kremlins interference with the election and demanding a full accounting of what happened. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham have been among the most outspoken.

While some on the left worry about starting a new Cold War, there has been a broad toughening of liberal and Democratic opinion toward Russia. This shift owes in part to outrage over Putins efforts to sabotage Clinton, but the roots of the mistrust of Putin can be traced back several years.

Putins hostility toward Clinton is widely seen as a response to her criticism of the 2011 Russian elections, a point she underscored herself last week. Mass protests broke out against what the opposition saw as Putins vote rigging. At the time, he blamed Clinton and the American government for the uprising.

Putin fumed that Clinton had said the elections were dishonest and unfair and that she had given a signal to demonstrators who, he claimed, enjoyed the support of the U.S. State Department.

In words that now carry an ironic ring, Putin added: We need to safeguard ourselves from this interference in our internal affairs.

According to the CIA, Russia struck back hard at Clinton through the hacks and was determined to help elect Trump who, for his part, has issued one encomium after another to Putin.

More embarrassing for Republicans, Russia also seemed determined to help GOP candidates for the House of Representatives and to defeat Democrats. According to the New York Times, Russian hacking sought to tilt House races in states that included Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico and North Carolina. Republicans will not be eager to explore why Putin might have wanted to help their party as a whole. This only deepens their problems in dealing with the hacking story.

While McCain and Graham were vociferous in denouncing Russia, other Republicans are clearly frustrated that a story with great potential for blowback against the party is getting so much attention. Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) charged that certain elements of the media, certain elements of the intelligence community and certain politicians are really doing the work of the Russians by creating uncertainty over the election.

Republicans are also split over how to grapple with the issue going forward. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was slow to respond to The Posts report of CIA conclusions about Russian interference. He eventually endorsed a congressional investigation but said it should be conducted by the usually secretive Intelligence Committee. McCain, on the other hand, called for a select committee that would raise the investigations profile. McCains approach is endorsed by many Democrats.

And Trumps nomination of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state  the ExxonMobil chief executive received an award of friendship from Putin  is dividing Republicans along multiple lines. Trumps supporters want to back his choice. Some in the party are fearful of Tillersons ties to Russia. And many Republican establishment figures not particularly close to Trump (including some with ExxonMobil ties) are praising Tillerson as a moderate internationalist.

One political leader who has noticed the GOPs newfound camaraderie with Putin is President Obama. In a pointed comment during an NPR interview, Obama noted that a big chunk of the Republican Party, which prided itself during the Reagan era and for decades that followed as being the bulwark against Russian influence, now suddenly is embracing him.

At a news conference on Friday, Obama said he found it a little curious that everybody is suddenly acting surprised that this looked like it was disadvantaging Hillary Clinton. . . . This was an obsession that dominated the news.

During the Republican primaries, Jeb Bush referred to Trump as the chaos candidate, and Trump is already sowing chaos in his party over Russia. Many Republicans are horrified by the idea that the GOP will come to be seen as the pro-Putin party. Trump seems to have no such qualms, and he is forcing Republicans to take sides on a Russian autocrat who is no friend of the United States.
About me I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best. My profile

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Kindness counts : Teaching empathy

Merry Gordon :

Bullying. Hazing. Ostracizing. No parent wants her child to go through these pitfalls of adolescent life, much less perpetrate them. One of the most important parts of a child's education is her social education-and teaching kids empathy can go a long way towards eliminating anti-social behaviors like these. Empathy is pro-social; it teaches kids to take into account the thoughts and feelings of others and to act in accordance with principles of peace, tolerance and respect. While compassion takes a lifetime to nurture, these activities will help you teach your children the virtue of caring.

Name that mood: Feelings flashcards

The first step to creating emotionally aware children is to help them recognize facial cues and body language. Studies show that even babies have an acute awareness of expression and infants as young as 18 months of age can recognize "happy", "sad", "mad," etc. Create a set of feelings flashcards to help your children master this important skill.

What you need:

Index cards

Markers

Tape or glue

Pictures of people from magazines who represent feelings

What you do:

Cut out pictures of people from magazines that represent the emotions you want your child to learn. Very young children should stick to basic human emotions: happy, sad, angry, afraid, etc. For older children, you can represent more nuanced emotions-surprise, confusion, confidence or shyness, for example, and use more body language prompts than facial features. Glue or tape these pictures to index cards, and on the other side write the emotion represented by that picture. Use the cards as you would any flash cards-hold the card up and have your child guess the emotion and perhaps try to replicate it: "Good! Now how would you show through your body that you were happy about something?"

For older kids, you might vary the flashcard game by giving the cards to the kids and allowing them to apply the emotions to different scenarios like this: "If your friend Sam broke his ankle and had to miss coming to your birthday party, how do you think he would feel? What if you saved him a slice of cake and stopped by his house later that day? Then how would he feel?"

Make a talking stick

Often, one of the hardest parts of empathy for children is respectfully listening to another's point of view-especially if it is a point of view they find disagreeable. Native American tribes have a long tradition of using a talking stick as an aid in courteous communication and governing. The concept behind it is simple: the person holding the talking stick speaks his or her mind, and the other people make respectful and sincere efforts to understand that person's point of view until they get the stick and are thus enabled to speak. In his book The 8th Habit, author Stephen Covey champions the way in which the talking stick "represents how people with differences can come to understand one another through mutual respect."

What you need:

A tree branch or large-circumference wooden dowel (or, if your children are younger and could injure themselves with these items, simply use an empty paper towel roll)

Markers, paints, findings (beads, ribbon, feathers, etc.)

Glue

What you do:

Help your child to decorate the tree branch, dowel or paper towel roll with markers, paints, findings, etc. If you have more than one child, even decorating the talking stick can be a lesson in empathetic communication as you encourage your children to take turns and collaborate on designs.

At the next sign of a disagreement, or if an important family decision needs to be made that involves input from all members, break out the talking stick and see how much it improves your children's ability to listen to each other and treat others' opinions as important. When children feel that their own views are valuable, they are more likely to be considerate of others' views.

Opportunities abound for showing kids that kindness counts. Look for the teaching moment in everyday activities, like going to the playground or picking up toys. Children learn by mimicking adult behaviors; the surest way to teach empathy is to model it yourself.
Newly- elected office-bearers of Bangladesh Medical Association, Chittagong being greeted by CCC Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin at his residence on Friday.
Colombia passes tax reform in win for Santos

AFP, Bogota :

Colombia's Congress passed a tax reform bill Friday in a victory for President Juan Manuel Santos, who is fighting the threat of a credit downgrade amid a slump in oil revenues.

The win in Congress comes at a delicate time for Santos, who is seeking to implement a controversial and costly peace deal with the FARC rebel group just as the Colombian economy is feeling the pain of the global plunge in prices for its top export.

The core of the tax reform is an increase in the sales tax rate from 16 to 19 percent, an unpopular measure that Santos insists is the best way to shore up the government's increasingly shaky accounts.

The Senate passed the measure in the early hours of Friday, a day after it cleared the lower house.

Differences between the two versions of the bill must still be worked out in committee before it goes to Santos to be signed. The administration praised lawmakers for getting on board.

"These decisions aren't easy. They are unpopular on the first reading. But behind that is the greater interest of the nation," said Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas.
Cox's Bazar abuzz with tourists

UNB, Dhaka :

The beach town of Cox's Bazar, the country's hottest tourist spot, is now overcrowded with tourists, mostly the local ones, forcing posh hotels to turn away many guests. The tourist city has been witnessing an increased flow of tourists from different parts of the country since December 16 but the flow reached its peak on December 23.

"All the top raking hotels are now fully booked. This trend will continue till December 31 but there might be fluctuations (tourists flow) from December 26-28," Mohammed Abdul Kauiam Chowdhury, General Secretary, Cox's Bazar Hotel, Motel Owners Association, told UNB. Chowdhury, also Managing Director of Hotel The Cox Today, said weekly holidays, Christmas Day (Dec 23, 24, 25 and Dec 30, 31) contributed to the huge jump in the tourist inflow.

The newly built posh hotels are also doing brisk business as tourists keep flocking Cox's Bazar. "We're fully booked except a few suites.I think this trend will continue until early January," Mahbub Hossain, Sales Executive at Sayeman Beach Resort, told UNB mentioning that they have 228 guestrooms, including 16 Panorama Ocean Suites. Talking to this correspondent, Mohammed Munir Hossain, Operation and Finance Manager at Royal Beach Resort, said the beach town witnessed a grand opening of their hotel on December 20. "The feedback we're getting is more than what we had expected. Since December 23, tourists' inflow has reached its peak," Hossain said. Though Cox's Bazar is now overflowed with tourists from different parts of the country, the UNB correspondent saw very few foreign tourists.

Talking to the news agency, senior French journalist Bruno Philip said it was a small place with a very few people and few hotels when he had visited Cox's Bazar in 1992.

"Now the changes are absolutely amazing. It's tremendous. I think it shows how Bangladesh has changed a lot over the past 25 years," Bruno told UNB while walking on the sandy beach.

"I could hardly find any roomeverything is booked. I think Cox's Bazar symbolises the booming terrorism (in Bangladesh)," said the 57-year-old French journalist who landed in Cox's Bazar on December 21.

Responding to a question, Bruno said he visited Teknaf and other parts of the beach which is much more beautiful with trees and quiet environment.

"I've to say it's not my favorite place. I prefers that place (Teknaf) compared to Cox's Bazar, which I find noisy and too modern for me," he said. Bruno, however, said Cox's Bazar is still a nice place for the people of Dhaka and other parts of the country to relax. There are some tourists who are extremely unhappy with the attitude of many hotels authorities except five star hotels. "Many of the general hotels cheat with tourists. Their restaurants charge unnecessarily high prices.

Even you'll even be cheated by Tomtom (battery-run three-wheelers," Ferdous Hasan came here with his school friends from Dhaka. However, the tourists expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements in hotels. "Our hotel is fully covered by CCTVs," said Munir Hossain at Royal Beach Resort. Munir, however, said there are many things to do from the administration's side to fully tap the tourism potential in Cox's Bazar.

"There should be a bypass road to divert busses outside from main roads close to the beach to avoid vexing noise. There should be footpaths and overpasses, too." Cox's Bazar now has combined the capacity to accommodate over 80,000 tourists at around 400 hotels, motels and guesthouses, industry insiders say. Of the hotel, motels, 25 hotels claimed to be five star and three star standards. Of the total 80,000 accommodation, five percent tourists come every year from different countries.
Christmas - Joy to the world

Rev. Shourabh Pholia :

Today the whole world is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christian community believes that on this day the Almighty showed His love for the whole world by sending Himself to earth through Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christmas is a time to receive and share the Divine love of God with Him and with one another. It includes everyone in this world. In the Holy Scriptures, in John chapter 1 it says,

"14 So the Word [Jesus Christ] became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.16 From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us."

Christmas is a time of joy. In the Holy Scriptures it is written, "But the angel said to them, do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."(Luke 2:10).

It's a time of great joy because we are blessed to receive and have the tangible, concrete Person of God among us, born as a baby. In the Holy Scriptures, it says, "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God with us'" (Mathew 1:23). The broken relationship between the Almighty and humanity, which was caused by Adam and Eve's disobedience, became restored and healed through Jesus Christ. From Jesus Christ's life on earth, we have received the opportunity to be in close relationship with the Almighty once again as Adam and Eve had that privilege in the beginning. By Jesus Christ's incarnation we can receive freedom from our broken relationship with the Almighty. The Holy Scriptures say, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free." (Luke 4:18).

On 16th December we celebrated Victory Day and on 26th March we celebrated Independence Day - these days remind us as Bengali people the source of our freedom, and so we celebrate. So also during Christmas we remember the source of our freedom from all bondage. He has freed us from injustice, sins, weakness, bondage, torture etc., which are evil in us and in our society. The Almighty is just and holy. He wants us to be holy so that all can have a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Christmas is a time to receive a gift. During Christmas God gave us His special gift, the sacrificial gift of love by God Himself coming to earth through Jesus Christ. It is a mystery, a divine relationship of heart and mind, which goes beyond blood relationship. It is a divine-human relationship where oneness, with-ness can be tangibly experienced. To sacrifice someone's son or daughter for another person or a country is not easy unless he or she has love for that person or country. Being Bengali we know this very well, as we experienced it in 1971. Many loved the country and so they laid down their lives for it. Also, many parents sent their children to fight for our country's freedom. Therefore, we human beings can understand God's love for us in our limited way which He has showed to us by sending Jesus into our world.

Therefore, Christmas is a time to receive the gift of love from God and to share that gift with many through our lives. It should not be limited only to distributing cards and decorating Christmas trees with artificial gifts, but it should be a sacrificial love from our hearts. This love should be shared with the world, especially where there is no love and sacrifice for one another. God's love shown to humanity by sending Jesus Christ should be visible in a loveless world where people are suffering under the unjust structures of our society and systems. It should be visible where the poor and downtrodden are suffering, where adivasis are homeless, where refugees are crying for shelter, where children and innocent people are dying in ceaseless wars and terrorist activities, where fundamentalism is suppressing minorities, where women and children are abused and tortured, and where consumerism depletes the earth's resources and pollutes God's beautiful nature. Let the message of Christmas help us to share His love with all those who are in need so there will be joy throughout the whole world.



(The writer is Secretary, Bangladesh Bible Society and Priest, Church of Bangladesh.)
US hopeful of inclusive polls

Her country not concerned about China's economic role in BD, says Bernicat

Staff Reporter :

The United States of America is hopeful that the National Elections in 2019 in Bangladesh would be inclusive.

"We are hopeful that the elections would be inclusive. Much more important is that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself, at the end of Awami League Party Council, had said she intended to see elections in 2019," US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat, who recently visited Kolkata, said in an interview with The Hindu.

Replying to a query about dialogue between the two parties is too limiting, she said these [AL and Bangladesh Nationalist Party] are the two main political parties by every account... but there are lots of other parties in Bangladesh.

"I think, holding credible elections will be dependent on having a countrywide discussion, not just among parties but also with the citizens.The very first tangible sign to have a good election will be how the new Election Commission is formed," the US envoy said.

Replying to another question, she said the US is not concerned about China's growing economic role in Bangladesh as infrastructure development is a "good thing."

"I say and the US says, if China wants to be part of that solution, it's a good thing. What we ask of every player around the world, whether we are talking of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or the Chinese government, please be a responsible player. Recognise that over the time the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other banks have built up a system that meant to be transparent, meant to be efficient, meant to be inclusive and that if you offer opportunities - respect those international norms - everyone would be stronger as a result, " she said.

When asked whether the US concerned about India's growing influence in Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat said their interests are really well-aligned. "We define our interest and our well-being based on security and prosperity of Bangladesh. I think we both suffer from various historical memories that at times have made the Bangladeshis - if not the government, although different governments have behaved in different ways - skeptical about our influence and our interests," she said.

The US Ambassador said Bangladeshis are fiercely independent and any time either of our countries, the government, the businesses or the key individual players appeared to be trying to unduly influence their ability to make their own decisions we do it to our own peril.

About Bangladesh government action following the July Gulshan attack, she said, Prime Minister [Sheikh Hasina] has acted on her policy of zero tolerance towards terrorists from the time she came to office.

"She has worked very closely with the government of India and we are finding her and her government excellent partners in the fight against terror," she said. Marcia Bernicat said Bangladesh was threatened by al-Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State) who publicly declared that they want to attack foreigners, government officials and bloggers.

"Bangladesh has responded to those earlier killings and now... there were strong actions, a new city unit has come up, various services ordered to work closely... and Bangladesh's friends -India and the US - and many countries stepped forward [to help]. There is a team arriving soon in Bangladesh [from US] to look into what more we can do... in terms of training and material," he said.


X-mas today

Christmas, the biggest religious festival of the Christian community, will be celebrated across the country on Sunday. The day is the celebration of rebirth, new beginning, forgiveness and peace, and renewing relationship with God and human beings. The Christian community chalked out different programmes, including decoration of Christmas trees with colourful lights, special prayers, distributions of gifts among children and exchange of pleasantries, to mark the day. The day is a public holiday. President Abdul Hamid will accord a reception to the members of the Christian community at 11:45 am on the day at Bangabhaban on the occasion. Law enforcers will remain alert at different strategic points in the capital and many other places of the country at different strategic points to ensure peaceful celebration of Christmas. Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar along with private TV channels and radio stations will broadcast special programmes while national dailies publish supplements highlighting the significance of the day. President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia issued separate messages on the occasion. In a message, the President said, "Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. All will have to build resistance together against those who want to destroy this tradition to gratify their evil interest." In her message, Sheikh Hasina said," In our constitution, the equal rights of people of all religions have been ensured. The people of different religions and community have full freedom to practise their own religious rituals here." She urged all, including the people of Christian community, to come forward for the country's development.
70,000 stoves distributed to curb indoor pollution

UNB, Dhaka :

As part of government target to distribute 30 million improved cook stoves by 2030, some 70,000 improved stoves have been installed in the country's coastal region, aiming to reduce household air pollution and cope with climate change impacts. "These cook stoves have been distributed under a project - Installation of 70,000 Improved Cook stoves in Selected Areas of Bangladesh," said Dr Animesh Sarkar, the chief executive director of Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation.

The Department of Environment (DoE) took the project with financial support from the Indian government and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation implemented the project in eight upazilas in the coastal region-Sandwip, Moheshkhali, Ukhia, Rangunia, Char Fasson, Bhandaria, Tungipara and Kotalipara-during September 2015 - November 2016.

The government set a target to distribute clean cook stoves among five million households by 2017 and 30 million by 2030. DoE additional director general Quazi Sarwar Imtiaz Hashmi said steps will be taken to distribute more improved and green cook stoves among rural women to check indoor air pollution and protect their health. He said the DoE is now distributing single burner cook stove at Tk 800 while double burner

stove at Tk 1200 but it is also giving incentives to rural households so that they feel encouraged to use green stoves.

According to DoE officials, about 90 percent of households burn traditional fuels like wood, jute sticks, agricultural waste, cow-dung for cooking, and use inefficient and poorly ventilated clay stoves that produce smoke, carbon monoxide, and carcinogens. And the particulate pollution level of traditional cook stoves may be 20 times higher than accepted guidelines. The women who cook using these stoves and their small children are exposed to these high levels of toxins for three to seven hours a day.

A new Unicef report - 'Clear the air for children: The impact of air pollution on children' - that released on October 31, 2016, reveals that over 8,500 children die every year in the country from diseases caused by household air pollution. Bangladesh has one of the largest burdens of child mortality associated with indoor air pollution. The reasons for relatively limited uptake of improved cook stoves to date include a lack of awareness of health risks associated with the household air pollution, higher costs compared to traditional cook stoves and competing development priorities, the report says. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that 46,000 women and children die each year in Bangladesh as a direct result of exposure to indoor air pollution, while millions more suffer from respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, eye problems, and lung cancer.

A WHO expert says children suffer most from the respiratory diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma due to indoor air pollution, but their brain development is also hit hard by inhaling the polluted air. "Moving to a higher energy ladder, using cleaner and more efficient fuel will reduce indoor air pollution. However, it is more costly," said Bidya Banmali Pradhan, an associate coordinator (Atmosphere Initiative) of Katmandu-based think tank International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Biomass fuel is still considered free fuel in many rural areas and by far the most utilised primary energy source in developing countries, she said, adding that thus improving the existing cook stoves by burning biomass more efficiently and reducing smoke will be the immediate solution to limit negative health effects.

The ICIMOD scientist said fan-assisted biomass stove is found to be efficient both in terms of fuel consumption and pollutant emitted. "Keeping the health and environment factors in view, the high cost of the fan-assisted stoves requires subsidy from government and access to technology and after-sale services to disseminate them among poor rural people," Bidya said.
State organs busy to establish supremacy over others: CJ

Staff Reporter :

The Chief Justice (CJ), Surendra Kumar Sinha, on Saturday said that every institution of the State is busy with a competition to establish its supremacy over the others. Not only that, even main organs of the State are not free of this competition. But the Judiciary is exception.

"Those people who are closer to the power have been trended most to establish supremacy over others. But the Judiciary never contested in this competition and never will do. Rather, we always tried to check and balance among the organs and institutions of the state, he said while speaking as the chief guest in the inaugural session of the conference.

The two-day 'National Judicial Conference 2016' was held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.

He added: "We will perform the duties as much as the Constitution gives on us. We hope that other organs and institutions of the State will also support the Judiciary in the same way."

Senior Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah presided over the inaugural function. Former Chief Justice Mahmudul Amin Choudhury, Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sherif, State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Policy Adviser of 'A-to-I' Programme of the Prime Minister Office Aneer Chowdhury, Senior District Judge Golam Mortuza Majumder addressed the session.

Judges of the both division of the Supreme Court, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, Inspector General of Police A K M Shahidul Hoque, Judges from across the country attended the programme.

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha said the Supreme Court has scrapped the Caretaker Government system to keep the Judiciary neutral. "A democratically elected government runs the country for five years. If it cannot hold a neutral and fair election, it will be the political bankruptcy of the politicians," the CJ said.

"When a former chief justice becomes the chief of the caretaker government, discussions about him take place on whether he was neutral or not. Therefore, the judgments given by the judge become questionable," he said.

Considering this thing, the SC cancelled the Caretaker Government system and now the politicians will see whether they can hold the election in a fair and neutral manner, he said.

Citing several activities of the judiciary, the CJ said that judiciary has played an important role to ensure the rule of law in a democratic country.

Regarding the digitalization of the judiciary, the CJ said that there is no alternative but to develop the case management system under the digitalization system of the Judiciary.

The CJ also said that the backlogs of the cases were not reduced due to the lack of sufficient judicial officers. If the number of the judges would be raised in double, the backlog of cases would be reduced quickly, he noted.

Surendra Kumar Sinha, however, said that the existing judicial officers could not discharge their duties properly due to the lack of sufficient courtrooms as a total of 170 judges are now conducting judicial function after dividing the courtrooms as they have no separate courtrooms.

Former Chief Justice Mahmudul Amin Choudhury said that he remembered the people of the Judiciary though he had been left the organ 14 years ago. But he got upset when he remembered them. "Justice is not only to be done, but it must be seen to have been done. If it is forgotten the Judiciary does not have anything else," he said.

He questioned, "What we are doing now, what happening now? If there any court pass a bail order, then the upper court stays this. Why this is happening? Getting bail is a right of an accused. He has constitutional rights. This right cannot be suspended by the demand of police or any other force."

He said, "A judge should have courage. Otherwise, one should not have the choice to be a judge. If one has no courage, he should leave the job. So show your courage. You have the constitutional bindings to do justice. Law is blind but not a judge. So you have the right to see everything. You will pass an order after seeing all sides."

Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah in his speech said that the Judiciary is the last hope ground of the people. So, quick disposal of cases is necessary to establish justice. Judges should be cent percent neutral to proceed with a case. Otherwise, wrong concept would grow among the people about the Judiciary.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak said that the government has taken initiative to fully digitalize the judiciary by 2021.
Suicide blast

Woman along with teenaged boy blew themselves up to evade raid: Two female militants surrender

A woman accompanied with a minor boy blew themselves up (Top) to avoid arrest as police raided (bottom) a building in city\'s Askona area opposite HSIA on Saturday.

Staff Reporter :

A woman and a teenaged boy blew themselves up during a police raid in a militant den at a three-storied house 'Suriya Villa' in the city's Ashkona on Saturday.

The suspected female militant died when she detonated a suicide vest, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists while visiting the spot yesterday.

The deceased boy has been identified as Abir alias Adar alias Afif Kaderi, 15, son of Tanvir Kaderi, who was killed in Azimpur raid on September 10, while the woman identified as militant Sumon's wife Shakira, the minister said.

He said that the bodies of the woman and Afif were found unconscious lying on a pool of blood on the floor.

The teenaged Afif also blasted several grenades and opened fire at police after they lobbed gas canisters, the minister said.

The minister claimed that Musa, a most wanted militant co-coordinator of neo-JMB had escaped from the building a few hours before the raid.

Police had conducted the 'Operation Ripple 24' around 9:00am and declare the conclusion around 3:30pm, he added.

In the meantime, two alleged female militants surrendered with their two children to the police in response to relatives for the first time, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Chief Monirul Islam told The New Nation on Saturday evening.

The surrendered women are Jebunnesa Shila, wife of ex- Major Zahid, who was killed in 'gunfight' with law enforcers in the capital's Roopnagar area on September 2, and Trishna, wife of absconding JMB leader Sumon Musa, the police official said.

A seven-year-old girl Sabina, daughter of slain militant Iqbal also injured critically in the blast, the CTTC unit chief said.

Shafi Ahmmed, Inspector of the bomb disposal unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), was injured as the militants hurled a bomb towards the law enforcers at that time, he said.

After the blast, police broke into the apartment where the militants were staying and rescued Sabina. The girl was rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), the police official said.

"We were trying to cajole them into surrendering but they were refusing to come out and threatening to attack us with the bombs," he added, adding the JMB members were staying on the ground floor of the building with huge powerful grenades and suicide vests.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of the CTTC unit Sanowar Hossain, who is leading the raid, said, "A team of law enforcers came to the house around 12.30am and inquired about the inmates of the apartments in the building. Later, the team entered the building and encircled the area around 1.30am.

Hours later, the CTTC unit gave the rest inside the building a two-minute ultimatum to lay down their arms. At that moment, a woman, clad in burqa, came out with her 7-year-old girl Sabina and blew herself up while chanting 'We will go to heaven."

Sanowar said they had laid siege on the house early Saturday acting on a tip off that fugitive militant Musa was inside the building. However, they have found others.

"Those inside have been repeatedly asked to surrender. But they were threatening to detonate grenades tied to their bodies," he said.

The CTTC unit officer said, the two other females, who surrendered with Jahid's wife and child, might have the spouse and daughter of one of Neo JMB's current leader 'Musa.'

"Sabina identified herself as the daughter of Iqbal and Sakira. However, details about Iqbal and Sakira could not be known immediately," he added.

The bomb disposal team and CID crime scene unit entered the flat and took the scene of crimes and ended the operation around 3:30pm, he said.

Junaki Rasel, daughter of the house owner told The New Nation, "A man named Imtiaz, introducing himself as an online businessman, rented the house in September and said he would live here with his wife and a kid, and his sister may visit sometimes."

"Their movement was not suspicious. And they also filled up the tenant information form provided by the DMP and we gave it police," she said, adding that her father Jamal Uddin, is an expatriate currently living in Kuwait.

The militants, who rented a flat of Surija Villa in Dhaka's Dakkhin Khan area five months back, always kept the doors and windows of their flat shut, Md Ali Rubel, a resident of the first floor of the three-story building.

Being asked about the raid, Rubel said, "Before the police started the raid around 12:30am, they asked me about the suspected militants. But I couldn't say as I never saw them. I requested them to ask the building owner, who lives on the second floor".

"We kept our doors and windows closed since the raid began. In the morning, we heard a saddened voice over police microphone saying "Jebunnesa, please come out, I want to see you alive. You will face no torture," said Rubel, a senior bank officer who lived on the second floor of the house.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque said, "Bangladesh's policy is to show zero tolerance towards terrorism and militancy. The CTTC members laid siege to the building at 2:00am acting on tip off, and urged the militants to surrender."

"Four surrendered with a pistol, six rounds bullets and some explosives. They have been taken to the DB office for interrogation," the IGP said.

DMP Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Miah said that a team of CTTC started their drive around 2:00am and the residents of the building had already been shifted due to security measure.

The raid on a militant hideout in Dhaka ended with two killed in suicide blast, the DMP boss said.

"The four surrendered to the police along with a pistol and several bullets when the law enforcers, using a loudspeaker, asked the "militants" to surrender, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

They were taken to the headquarters of Detective Branch of police, a police official said.

"We called up Jebunnesa's mother and his brother to the spot for convincing her to surrender in the morning," CTTC sources said.
191216 MASIUS MEET KOIKE

FOLLOWERS of the self-styled Meekamui Government will now be able to cast their vote in the 2017 national general elections after almost 20 years in hibernation.

Meekamui front man Damien Koike has given the green light for hardliners to vote in 2017 during his first ever contact with government authorities since the end of the crisis in 1998.

Koike, a feared BRA commander met with the Member for South Bougainville, Hon. Timothy Masiu and ABG Minister for Police and Member for Konnou Constituency, Hon. Willie Masiu on Sunday and also gave the orders for the lifting of the no go zone restrictions paving way for government services to flow into Meekamui controlled regions especially in South Bougainville.

The meeting with Koike and his subsequent announcement is a major breakthrough for the government after years of failed attempts by political

leaders and government officials to meet and establish contact with Koike and the Meekamui faction.

Sundays successful meeting is yet another milestone in efforts by Member Masiu to unite and ensure the people in all corners of his electorate have equal access to government services.

It also accomplishes the members mission to establish dialogue and understanding with the Meekamui faction. Mr Masiu raised eye brows and attracted criticisms when he met with the leader of the Meekamui faction, Noah Musingku.

Sundays meeting is the outcome of constant consultation and dialogue between Koike and the two leaders.

Emerging from a private meeting with the two political leaders that lasted almost forty minutes, Koike made his announcement witnessed by the two leaders and a small group of his loyal followers.

Koike also declared total support for Mr Masiu expressing satisfaction and confidence in Mr Masius leadership.

He said: Starting from when you became elected, I see that you are the true chosen leader. You are doing what was never done before by those leaders at that time. I therefore give you the clearance to begin (maintenance) work on the Piriraro to Pariro road as well the Tabago to Mogoroi and Ororoi road and the erection of the Konnou Peace Center at Mogoroi village.

Of course next year is election time and I ask my people to return member Masiu for another term so that we can continue to see changes and development in South Bougainville, Mr Koike appealed, adding Sundays meeting was the beginning of more meetings with the two leaders to come.

Both Koike and ABG Police Minister Wille Masiu said the South Bougainville leadership was now in the hands of Konnou people who must stand together to ensure the leadership stays to answer development issues.

Meanwhile, Member Masiu thanked Koike for recognising his leadership and extended the invitation for him to visit him in his office in Buin town. He said the leadership belongs to the people who will decide again come 2017.

He told Koike that the visit was most heartening because he valued him (Koike) as an important partner in the development of South Bougainville and the peace process in Bougainville,

Mr Masiu said he was happy because he has achieved his dream to meet with Musingku and now Koike, to try and involve them as development partners.

Member Masiu told Koike his electoral office in Buin belongs to the people of South Bougainville and the door was open for Koike to visit and discuss development and other important issues regarding the progress of Konnou and South Bouagaiville.

The two leaders stressed the meeting with Koike was also important in the continuing peace building
It`s a conspiracy

Minister justifies crackdown on labour leaders

Kazi Zahidul Hasan :

Terming the sudden labour unrest in Ashulia garment industrial zone a 'local and international conspiracy,' State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu on Saturday said the authorities concerned have already started investigation to find out the conspirators behind the unrest.

"The labour movement in Ashulia is nothing but a 'conspiracy' because it was started without notifying the concerned authorities," he told The New Nation on Saturday night in a telephonic interview.

"Even if I am the relevant Minister, none of the trade union leader came to me with a formal demand of wage hike for apparel workers in Ashulia factories," he added.

He added: "At least 500 registered trade unions are working to establish rights of the apparel workers. But no leader of these trade unions came to me to raise the demand".

The State Minister further said it is an 'illogical movement' and so the government is smelling conspiracy behind it. "Local and foreign hands might be involved in the conspiracy," he added.

Citing the legal provisions behind any wage hike wage movement, Chunnu said the protesters have started it violating rules and procedures. The existing wages structure came to force in 2013 last. They cannot demand a new wage structure within three years," he claimed.

As per Labour Law, the government will review workers wages after five years.

He also said that the readymade garment factory owners have the rights to 'lay off' their factories without any notice.

When asked, Chunnu claimed that his Ministry is actively working along with other stakeholders of the sector to resolve the Ashulia labour unrest.

"We have already formed five probe bodies to investigate into the sudden labour unrest in Ashulia. The probe bodies have been asked to submit their reports within shortest possible time," he said, adding, "Besides, we are in touch with the factory owners and labour leaders so that current deadlock in Ashilia factories can be solved as soon as possible".

Justifying the ongoing crackdown on labour right activists and labour leaders by law enforcing agencies, Chunnu said, "They are doing so to maintain law and order in the industrial zone and industrial harmony. On top of this, several security agencies are working there to watch activities of labour leaders and other elements.

"They have already arrested some people from Ashulia for their alleged involvement in the instigation of the workers for creating unrest in garment industry," he added.

A total of 11 cases were filed with Ashulia Police Station over the labour unrest. Eleven people have shown arrested in these cases, police sources said.

The State Minister also urged the protesters to return to work postponing their movement.
HSIA worst than int`l bus terminal

Sagar Biswas :

Many airports in Asia lead the world in terms of amenities and service, whereas the concerned authorities failed to uphold the 'standard' level of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport [HSIA] for the reasons best known to them.



Minister comes and Minister goes, and the crises deepen day by day due to their incessant incapability and inexperience. In the course of time, the HSIA has become a major headache not only for the government, but also to the general people.



In terms of service and facility, the HSIA is now less standard than some 'international bus terminals' in the world. Corrupt officials make one's travelling expensive and unpleasant at the HSIA, sources said.



It is to be noted that, the SleepingInAirports.net last year graded HSIA as ninth worst airport in Asia based on travellers votes. The situation is still not changed a bit despite a number of aesthetic and technical improvements over the last few years!



If anyone enters the HSIA, his pain would be exacerbated seeing long pushy line-ups, broken baggage carousels, broken trolleys, pile of wastes, dirty washrooms with lack of toilet paper and soap. Not only that, mosquitoes are seemed the official welcoming party at the airport.



Although the government is working hard to make the country digitalized, getting Wi-Fi signal inside the terminal is harder even after paying fees.



Anyone who comes to Bangladesh for the first time will have to face brokers if he wants to exchange foreign currency into local currency inside the airport. There are several currency exchange booths both of private agencies and local banks in the terminal, but the brokers control the business due to the relaxed mood of law enforcement agencies.

There is a restaurant at the first floor of the airport for departure passengers just after the immigration zone which is too expensive. Besides, there are a couple of cafes near the departure enclosure area for light refreshments where visitors coming for bidding farewell to their near ones often face awkward situation due to the high price of food.



If any passenger, especially elderly person, needs special support like in carrying the baggage, most of the time he does not get any help from the 'Helpline' services.



Even the passengers who want their baggage to be protected from pilferage or scratches by wrapping with polythene, they have to face severe problem due to lack of service by the airport authorities. A private organization provides the wrapping service, but they take high payment of Taka 500-1000 per baggage.



A single visitor needs to pay Tk 250 to enter the airport terminal. In fact, the visitors are discouraged to enter the terminal. Every year a private company takes lease of the gates [entry and exit] paying several crores of taka to the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh [CAAB]. So, from the first day they remain busy to get return of their invested money.



According to the sources, inefficient air cargo and parcel handling at HSIA along with lack of a secure warehouse to keep inbound-outbound goods is adversely affecting the country's foreign trade too.



Businessmen have alleged that after unloading from the aircraft, the cargo, parcel or documents sometimes go missing due to insecurity in movement. The HSIA has been suffering from inadequate manpower and other logistics to clear parcels and documents timely.



The worst thing in the HSIA is its security affairs where the scanner machine is a tool of harassment to common passengers.



On the other hand, the airport is used for smuggling of goods, especially gold, worth billions of taka by the international crime syndicate.



Apart from airport's 12 gates, there are some small points through which smuggled goods enter and exit frequently. Particularly, lack of skilled manpower to operate some security equipment like 'in-built heavy luggage scanners' in conveyor belts, vehicle scanners in the exit gates and 'mega body scanners' have made the smuggling easier.



The HSIA is now openly used for trans-national crime where Bangladesh has become a transit destination for international smuggling syndicates.



Against this backdrop, the UK banned air cargo directly from Dhaka in the second week of March this year as HSIA failed to meet international security requirements. In the same way, Australia had also imposed ban on air cargo [heavier than 500kgs] from Bangladesh from December 19 last year.



Both the ban had hit hard the country's business sector. The UK stopped importing several perishable items, including vegetate. Australia also stopped taking apparel items. Bangladesh last year exported products worth $606.88 million to Australia where apparel items were 88 percent of the total export.



Aviation security experts from the UK and the US had inspected the HSIA twice in November and December in 2015 and found "serious security lapses and risks". Particularly, they were concerned about cargo screening and management at HSIA that is handled by the Biman, which is now widely criticized for mismanagement.
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
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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

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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.

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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  Cities all over the country have had a difficult time regulating short-term vacation rentals associated with websites like Airbnb and VRBO, which let people rent out their own properties, but a proposed amendment to the Carbondale city code could provide some oversight and clarity.

The text amendment regulation, recommended by the Carbondale Planning Commission in October, provides policies and regulations regarding the licensure and taxation of short-term rental units, which have previously eluded classification by the city.

A staff report provided to the Planning Commission concluded that short-term rentals are a commercial use, as theyre in competition with hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts.

City staff are currently reviewing comments related to the amendment, and a draft ordinance will be presented to the council in early January.

That amendment would require buildings to meet several criteria to qualify as vacation rental units. First, short-term vacation rentals are limited to owner-occupied residences. The unit must comply with the occupancy standards of the zoning district in which it is located.

Second, vacation rentals can't be used for less than 24 hours or longer than 29 days. Any advertisement for the rentals must include the permit number in its listing, and the homeowner must maintain a vacation rental unit license.

The owner of the rental must have fire, hazard and liability insurance on the property, and must have minimum liability insurance with limits not less than $500,000 for each individual and $1 million per occurrence.

Additionally, two parking spaces must be available for each rental. A property owner may count one on-street parking space toward the number of parking spaces required.

A rental unit that does not meet all the criteria would require a special use permit issued by the Planning Commission.

At a regular City Council meeting on Dec. 6, Councilman Tom Grant said that Carbondale has about 550 hotel rooms, including bed and breakfasts. The city expects as many as 50,000 people to visit the region for the August 2017 total solar eclipse.

Im wondering where were going to accommodate all these people, or if were going to force them to go somewhere else. I think we want them here. I think we want the revenues that will be generated, he said.

Councilman Adam Loos raised concerns about absentee homeowners requesting special use permits to rent out their units, which could create a safety problem. Those concerns were echoed in public comments by former Carbondale Mayor Don Monty and Sandy Litecky, a member of the Planning Commission.

Loos also suggested that the special use be open to lessees, with written permission from their landlords.

City Manager Gary Williams told The Southern that the amendment has been on the table for the last couple of years, and the eclipse has created more urgency in addressing it.

There is a lot of tourism in Southern Illinois, and thats certainly a focus that we have in terms of economic development and bringing people to community, so in a larger sense, it could help us long-term, Williams said.
Entertainment / Music

by Future Moyo aka Jamelah

Johannesburg: The popular Tsholotsho- born and South African based Maskandi musician Mxolisi Khulekani Nkomo aka Zinjaziyamluma successfully launched his new DVD entitled 'Zinjaziyamluma Ezemagic' at Bulawayo Theatre on the 23rd of December 2016.The new dvd is an amalgamation of two audio albums 'Competition of Jealous' and 'iCelebrity lomgunyathi'Reports coming from the Bulawayo are that the event was well attended despite its delayed kick-off.Speaking to Southern Express News , the manager Mlungisi 'Madabudabu' Tshabalala said: "we would like to thank everyone who attended, this was one of our memorable shows. We apologise for starting late. Nonetheless the performance was excellent. We hope to be in Bulawayo very soon."Madabudabu further told Southern Express News that due to the limited time frame artists were given few minutes on set, however within those three hours fans were treated to thriller worthy every cent they paid.Amongst the supporting artists were: The poet Victress Mathuthu (The Madam speaker), Amajongosi and Impumelelo Shining stars.One of the number one fan of Ezemagic known as Knowledge 'Mfenezimhleka' Mathambo added by saying: "I thank all who attended the show, I was also impressed by that lady who gave a powerful poem, she is talented! The way people dived on stage and showered Zinja with cash reminded me of those typical Nigerian wedding."Zinjaziyamluma is currently in Plumtree-Matabeleland South Province- to complete the missing piece of the 'Injiva Home Coming' contingent. There he is expected to give it all as he is mixed with stage wizards and guitar specialists coming from the tricky rhumba side.The show organisers, through Promise Sibanda aka Mapressa, confirmed in the early hours of Saturday that the event will be covered by ZBC and will be live on Television."I trust that fans will be happy to meet Zinjaziyamluma, more so we are carrying a special Christmas present in form of this new DVD. After the Plumtree show we will go to Tsholotsho for a free show as we are giving back to our fans," concluded Madabudabu.Zinjaziyamluma's DVD can be purchased via his manager using : +27 731688046
Johnny Louis/FilmMagicAfter 27 years as a recording artist, Kenny Lattimore finally decided to release his first holiday album, Kenny Lattimore Christmas.

The veteran crooner performed on the 2016 Holiday Run concert tour with jazz saxophonist David Koz, Jonathan Butler and Valerie Simpson, and the experience inspired him to record the album.

This tour was the catalyst for my album, Lattimore tells Billboard. The 11-track set is a combination of traditional and original holiday songs blending R&B, jazz and gospel. I didnt want it all over the place, he says. But its enough outside of the box that people dont expect it.

The classic tracks include Lattimores versions of The Christmas Song, O Holy Night" and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Lattimore is looking forward to performing next year on the Capital Jazz Soul Cruise. It sails from Miami to Cuba from February 19-26, 2017 featuring Eric Roberson, Lalah Hathaway, Kem, Mint Condition and Avery Sunshine.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
News / National

by Clemence Tauya Tabatapashi Nhliziyo

Once again, Zimbabweans, Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF regime have robbed us of the festive season. Another year of suffering under the ruthless and tyrant regime has come to an end. Zimbabweans everywhere and from all walks of life have their Christmas and the festive season postponed and or stolen by the authoritarian regime. Hope under the Zanu PF regime is oblique! Zimbabwe is once again condemned and faces a miserable future whilst it's so called "leader" is adoring his holiday in Singapore! Mugabe and family is enjoying the affluence of Asia whilst his country is scorching! What a callous dictator!The country is characterized by long winding ques with citizens trying to access their hard-earned bond notes, yes bond notes and Zimbabweans are really in bondage! The banks are only giving out 40 bond dollars a day and after a hard struggle, some sleeping in bank ques and the dictator and his regime are not moved. This is yet another vilest festive season we have experienced as a nation whilst Mugabe and his cronies are enjoying the fruits of their dosh. Sons and daughters of Chihuri are terrorizing the few who will have made it to be with their loved ones! Travelling has become a criminal offence in this country, all in the name of corruption.Corruption has reached unprecedented levels in this country and they only pay lip service. Service delivery has ceased to exist! Prices of basic commodities have gone up. Many families cannot afford the very basic commodities and festivities have been robbed from us even during these festive seasons. There is nothing to be proud of anymore. Our country has been turned upside and down by these blood morons. The founding values of our nation have been eroded by this heartless and power hungry regime. Zimbabweans, even those in the diaspora have suffered and the regime remains arrogant and think they are entitled to leadership forever.Let me warn Mugabe and Zanu PF that things will never remain like this. The Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment will humble Zanu PF come 2017. We will invoke upon the revolutionary spirit of Hebert Chitepo, Jason "Ziyapapa" Moyo, Josiah "Magamha" Tongogara and many more gallant sons of Zimbabwe who died for this country. We will never allow Zanu PF to continue stealing from us and continue to plunder the precious resources that endows this great nation whilst we, the rightful heirs continue to suffer. We warn Zanu PF today that the end is nigh! We shall defeat Zanu PF on all angles. Whilst they are empowered by the loot they have stolen from us, we are more forceful by the will and zeal to make Zimbabwe work again. Zimbabwe shall be really free!At DARE we believe in a free Zimbabwe and we shall work for it just like our fathers and grandfathers did during Chimurenga times. We declare today that Chasvika Chimurenga and Zimbabwe shall be free again. We believe in a democratic and empowered Zimbabwe! We are an antithesis of the Zanu PF regime! To those who can by accident enjoy the festive season, we say have a "Merry Chistmas and a Prosperous New Year"! To those who can't, do not despair "for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see them again", the pains and afflictions you suffer today under the bloody Zanu PF regime shall be turned into testimonies! A free Zimbabwe is around the corner and we shall deliver it to you! In 2017, we are declaring war on Zanu PF! Chasvika Chimurenga indeed, and in 2018 we are finishing it off!Join the commitment and restore Zimbabwe's statusWe wish you happy holidays and a prosperous new year!
A retired firefighter was rescued from his burning home early Friday morning.

Larry W. Shuler of Santee suffered second- and third-degree burns on the lower part of his body as well as burns to his hands, Orangeburg County Fire System Coordinator Gene Ball said. Shuler was airlifted to the Augusta Burn Center.

This is a story of a Christmas gift and a life saved, Ball said. If Providence Fire Department Assistant Chief Carl Thompson Jr. had not been nearby, Larry would be dead today.

We would be looking at a funeral, but because of the quick response and the expertise, he was able to find that man. It was a difference between life and death.

The Ibis Point Road home caught fire about 1 a.m. Thompson responded to the alarm as he returned from a fire in Bowman.

I pulled up at the roadway and stopped, Thompson said. I called it normal conditions since I only saw smoke coming out from the chimney.

I got out to investigate, he continued. I could hear the fire alarm going off and also his home alarm.

It was not until he got to houses rear door that Thompson, smelled something funny.

I beat on the door and I hollered for the gentleman, Thompson said. When he pushed on the door, he could see the smoke.

He broke the pane of the doors glass with his flashlight, reached inside, unlocked the door and got it open.

He was immediately greeted by heavy smoke.

I hollered for him some more and never got an answer, he said.

Thompson went back to the fire engine, got his air pack and an air mask and proceeded to enter the house.

I saw him in the middle of the kitchen, which is the second room from the rear door, Thompson said. I grabbed him and told him he was coming out of the house.

Thompson, who has been a firefighter for 20 years, said Shuler was the third person he has rescued from a burning structure.

Shuler's 12-year-old pet dog, appropriately named Miss Lucky, was also rescued from the house and given oxygen on the scene. The dog is expected to make a full recovery.

Providence Fire Chief Carl Thompson Sr. says the response to the fire was exceptional.

"It was not a total loss," he said, noting fire hoses were turned on the house immediately and helped prevent further damage.

As for the canine, it was struggling shortly after the fire, but by late Friday morning it was moving around, fed and given water, Thompson Sr. said.

Larry loves that dog, he said.

In addition to Providence, the Four Holes, Elloree, Santee, Holly Hill and Vance departments responded to the blaze.

Ball said the fire response was seamless due to the countys newly implemented active 911 system. The system was installed just three days ago.

It gives us a really good direction, Ball said. It is especially helpful for departments outside the coverage area that may not know the local roads.

By looking at the active 911, it will give an address and pinpoint where the fire is at, Ball said.

Officials believe the fire was started by an item left on the stove.

While the exterior of the house came out relatively unscathed, about half the interior was destroyed.

When asked how the rescue makes him feel, Thompson Jr. said being a firefighter is what we do.

I did not second guess or question myself, he said. I know the gentleman, I know he lived by himself and there was no doubting. I knew I got to get him out. That was all I had on my mind.

Shuler served as a volunteer with the Providence Fire Department for a number of years before he retired.

He is active with the Orangeburg County Republican Party, having served as the former treasurer of the party for years. Shuler has also served as a poll worker during elections.

A long-time banker, Shuler retired from First National Bank, where he worked both at the Orangeburg and Santee branches. Shuler has also been an active member of Providence Methodist Church.

Orangeburg County Republican Party Chairman Jim Ulmer called Shuler, a very sweet and nice guy.

Our prayers are definitely with him and the family."
Opinion / Columnist

I write to quiz all Zimbabweans about what constitutes a country name. Our country appears to be lost in the course of making history as all empires in it, seem to have disappeared. The Mapungugwe empire, that is known for its vast Kalanga and Venda also disappeared. The Monomotapa empire also disappeared without anyone claiming the heritance. The Lozwi or Rozwi empire, and the Mambo empires are all without heritance. Ndebele empire leading to the colonial period of the just gone British empire grandeur also vanished. This is interesting because most empires seem to have tried to maintain presence in this land or call it a plateau, which is between two rivers running to the Indian ocean.How important was it that empires changed hands in this mesa in every hundred years or so who prevented it from rise and progress as one significant historical culture. Does this land of no significance mean a thing to anyone who would have wanted to keep their empires going? What water sources could have kept an empire strong if ever there was. Understanding it from the Mapungugwe Empire perspective, being near Limpopo river made sense, for supplying water resources, but what of the other Empires that followed. What was the reasons for creating them, if there was no water resources.There were no dams before the white British Empire with its adventurists like Cecil John Rhodes. Monomotapa Empire systems were better placed as it's history seems to be known by the Phoenicians as they seemed to trade in Gold up to Mozambique coast. Then came the other Empires that came, that are not known to have stood a purpose for an Empire. The point I am trying to make is about the real name of this land. The Monomotapa Empire was named and called in the Emperors name. The other one the Mambo does not seem to have stuck.Questions then arise as to who the land really belongs to. The Rhozwi have been for a long time been able to claim a stack in it the longest, so who are the Barozwi. I have a section of the Kalanga claiming to be Barozwi,and the Karanga making the same claim. Of those claims, was there a name to this piece of land? There is no imperial evidence to suggest this land had a name. Usually places are named because the areas are popular for something. For instance Matombo which was corrupted to Matopo, meant rocky hills in the Kalanga language. Others named after a group of people such as Congo a country of the BaKongo and so forth. How then did these empires survive without a country their own and name.Zimbabwe, has since 1200 hundred been changing names from Monomotapa, Mambo, Matebeleland, Mashonaland, Rhodesia, South Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia, Zimbabwe. What of the other populations that lived there before. This opens up a theory that, it was no man's land therefore no one can make a claim of it as theirs. It is a choice of those who are in it at the time who can influence the outcome of the next century. However, I will not accept the encroachment by others in regions they were not living in to carry out the dominance of the country by using Zanu politics to starve and strangle other tribes from existence by settlement in so called farming areas. This will be a conduit of polluting the society there after, dominate them for ever more.The reason why this subject is interesting every one is because of new evidence that government uses an employment leverage of teachers who can not speak the language and are posted to areas that they have never ever heard. The teachers language is important to the children who they teach. How is he/she ever going to teach pupils he will not understand. This has also something to do with heritance of empires in the next coming century after we are gone. Mugabe's program to graduate as many students is that he wants to replace as many Ndebele, Kalanga, Venda, Suthu, Namibia and Tonga teachers, with Shona teachers. This goes to say, what he has strategically vowed to do is changing the name to "Mashonaland".. Since the country does not have those who claim it. Is the answer to say it is Mthwakazi?What the Mthwakazi theorists don't realise is that what they are doing is fuelling the rhetoric by getting Mugabe, to quickly take initiatives to equally name it after what he feels it's good for him. The proponents of such theories must understand the background of creating Zimbabwe and compare it to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The likely-wood of Zimbabwe changing names by anyone in control is high. For now it is not in Mugabe's mind but given another ten years and the unthought pressures from mindless Mthwakazi proponents, that it would speedy the process of Naming it Mashonaland.After all this is a country that does not have a name. No tribe in Zimbabwe has shone that they are the rightful owners as there is no empirical evidence to suggest that and above that it is known that the Nguni migrated from South Africa. Therefore, the Nguni can't claim it either. Those before them seem to Lake authority to make a sound claim. The Kalanga, Manyika, Venda and Tongas, don't seem to raise a voice at all; as they are blinded by the division fostered by the Ngunis and Shonas. By the way who in the middle ages named this country called Zimbabwe and what is Zimbabwe? If it was as how the rest of us understand it, to mean what Great Zimbabwe is such as "Dzimbadzemabwe". Who then shortened it to Zimbabwe, a name that has no meaning. Could there be any one tribe, which could have named it as such, if so who had that authority or who has seen that imperial evidence.For example when the British, were peddling their colonialist mentality they used the "Rudd Concession" as evidence of the rights to the country's minerals and land. We all know that Rudd was a trickster who had been sent to carry out robbery by Cecil John Rhodes. However, let's look at our own challenges that face us all, a country that has been named many times over.Lastly the synopsis that Zimbabwe is what it is because it bares the true name is not enough evidence since it's clear that the name it bares is not a true name. If not we would be giving the ammunitions of greed, similar to those of the past century in which others with ambitions of adventure; could name it too. Thank Heavens, it would not be disappointing next time around to change the name to a contested one.
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Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group said it has repaid the entire $300 million, which was originally drawn in 2006, to its debt syndicates, nearly two years ahead of schedule.



The facility, which was payable on a yearly installment basis with final maturity in July 2018, has now been settled with a recent payment of an outstanding amount of $29 million.



On the successful repayment, Group CEO Hisham Alrayes said: "We are pleased to continue to strengthen our balance sheet with this prepayment. The facility had participation from a mix of GCC and international banks, who were very pleased by GFHs excellent repayment capability throughout the repayment period despite market challenges."



GFH is one of the most recognised financial groups in the Gulf region dealing in asset management, wealth management, commercial banking and real estate development.



"As we deleverage and repay our liabilities, we free up our assets pledged under these financing facilities and are able to generate positive cash flows thereof, which are being deployed to expand GFHs businesses," noted Al Rayes.



"We have been able to significantly deleverage over the past few years, having had consolidated financing liabilities in excess of $1 billion in 2008 compared to $112 million currently; with a low debt to equity ratio of 16 per cent only," he stated.



According to him, this low ratio provides GFH with a solid platform to grow the business in future.



"Today, GFH is a stronger, more liquid and highly capitalized Group and through our sound commercial and investment banking activities, we are set for a brighter future," he added.



Its operations are focused in the GCC, North Africa and India and is listed in Bahrain Bourse, Kuwait Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market.-TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) said it has started discussion with its members on the creation of what could be the first banking court or jury in the region with a primary mission to resolve disputes that arise from financial and banking transactions taking place in the kingdom with speed and efficiency.



The entity will possess the expertise required to resolve these cases and the speed to preside over them and implementing their rulings take into account the specialised nature of financial and banking cases, said a top official at the meeting organised by the banks of the BAB.



Leading experts and officials of legal departments from a number of banks and financial institutions and law firms, attended in order to exact their views and expertise, and take advantage of local, regional and international experiences in the field of processing of banking disputes.



BAB chief executive Dr Waheed Al Qassim lauded the huge effort exerted by the Central Bank of Bahrain and the banking sector to create a comprehensive judicial system specialising in financial and banking cases.



He drew attention to the keenness of the BAB to come out with a vision of the court to present to the board members, who have inveterate experience in the banking business. The vision will also be presented to the CBB.



Dr Qassim also thanked CBB governor Rasheed Al Maraj, for his efforts in proceeding with the project of establishing a comprehensive judicial system specialised in financial and banking cases, and his effective communication with stakeholders in the country in this regard to ensure its implementation in the near future, so as to reinforce the pioneering of the financial and banking sector in Bahrain.



At the meeting, Marina Al Ashqar, the head of legal matters in Al Ahli United Bank, stressed on the importance of strengthening the judicial body in Bahrain with more expertise that is capable of presiding on financial and banking cases professionally, especially given the precise and constantly evolving nature of financial cases.



Noora Janahi, a partner in the Hassan Radhi &Associates Law Firm, pointed out that the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Settlement has been playing a major role in settling banking disputes.



"However, it only looks into cases worth more than half a million dinars. Hence there is an urgent need to apply chamber expertise to banking cases, no matter what their financial value," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap) recently hosted a workshop for healthcare professionals to discuss key industry issues including ways to create an improved unified national database of patient records.



The event was organized in co-ordination with the Abu Dhabi Health Authority (Adha), the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida), Medical Services of the Armed Forces and Pure Health with the chief aim of creating and facilitating a better patient transfer process and a smoother flow of exchanging a patient's medical information between public and private hospitals as well as health clinics.



The move is expected to ensure advanced patient care while also saving on time and costs and improve the level and quality of health care throughout the country.



One of the recommendations made is the proposal to use a patient's national or emirates ID number as a unified reference for a central database containing all health and medical data, said a statement from Mohap.



The adoption of this recommendation, along with the creation of the template of the necessary forms will be applied and implemented in the next four years and is expected to be fully adopted by all of UAE's health and medical facilities in 2021.



Awad Sagher Al Ketbi, the assistant undersecretary, support services sector at Mohap, said: "The proposed unified national medical record project is aimed at developing a unified database of patients that can help in effecting improved health care, wider patients engagement and secure key details of each patients medical records--all in accordance with the highest international standards and best practices."



Ali Juma Al Ajme, the director, IT department at Mohap, pointed out that it is being positioned as a digital health platform that provides updated data for patient records like medical history, the period of hospitalisation and the type of medication that has been prescribed to the patient, which can help avoid medical errors that may occur.



The initiative falls in line with the strategic objectives being run by the Ministry.



Mubaraka Mubarak Ali Ibrahim, the director for Health Information Systems, said the project will contribute in unifying all medical records across all health facilities in the country and also play a great role in improving the quality of health care and patient safety.



"The database can help in assessing performance, better automate the health care system, ensure a smoother flow of digital information and save previous medical history for the patientcreating a way to make better clinical decisions by providing the correct records and ensuring quick access to it while saving time and cost, which will result in better health outcomes through the involvement of individuals, families and health care," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (ZonesCorp), a leading developer and operator of purpose-built industrial zones in the UAE, has joined the Abu Dhabi Food Security Alliance at the recent SIAL ME food expo in Dubai.



ZonesCorp is planning to support the Alliance by encouraging local agriculture and livestock farming with a series of initiatives that will be announced in 2017. This comes alongside the announcement that ZonesCorp has created an enlarged and specialised Food Zone designed to cater to the needs of a wide range of food producers.



Saeed Eisa Mohammed Al Khyeli, director general of ZonesCorp said: We believe that food security is an important issue, with a growing population and dependence on imports, we need to ensure that we do everything we can to enhance the security of the emirate and our nation. As a result we will be taking positive steps to support the Abu Dhabi Food Security Alliance with a number of initiatives designed to advance local food production and agriculture. 



Khalifa Ahmed Al Ali, managing director, Food Security Center-Abu Dhabi commented: As the largest operator of specialised economic zones in Abu Dhabi, ZonesCorp will be a valuable partner in helping us to achieve more sustainable food production across the emirate of Abu Dhabi which will in turn help to bolster food security. This agreement is an important step in implementing our food security strategy and we look forward to working closely with ZonesCorp to achieve our aims.  TradeArabia News Service
UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and GE Power today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together on a 100-day programme to reduce EGAs NOx emissions under the UAE Government Accelerators programme.



The signing was witnessed by Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment and took place at the Government Accelerators headquarters in Emirates Towers in Dubai.



EGA, with GE, is working in partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment to secure tangible goals relating to the environment, said a statement.



The project is one of the first five under the Government Accelerators programme launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.



EGAs goal is to reduce its NOx emissions by 10 per cent by the end of February. NOx is also emitted by motor vehicles and contributes to poor air quality. Success in the project will improve air quality by the equivalent of removing 280,000 cars and their emissions from the UAEs roads, it said.



Improving the air quality index to have clean air 90 per cent of the time is one of the national objectives set in UAE Vision 2021, with NOx one of four main air pollutants measured, it added.



NOx is emitted by EGAs power plants which produce electricity for use in aluminium smelting, an energy intensive industry. EGA is the third largest electricity generator in the UAE after Dewa and Adwea. EGAs newer power plant, Al Taweelah, has amongst the lowest NOx emissions of any power plant in the Middle East.



The MoU was signed by Abdulla Kalban, managing director and chief executive officer of EGA, and Joseph Anis, president and CEO, Power Services for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), GE Power.



Under the agreement, GE will work with EGA to implement an accelerated programme to minimise NOx emissions at EGAs power plants in Al Taweelah and Jebel Ali, while also contributing to improving further the operational efficiency of the two plants and reduce fuel usage.



Kalban said: This MoU is an important step in meeting our companys ambitious goal under the Government Accelerators programme.



With the advanced digital solutions that GE Power will introduce in our plants, we can contribute to improved air quality and help achieve a 100 per cent completion rate for the National Agenda goals, he added.



Anis said: This agreement with EGA, a world-leader in the aluminium industry, underlines GEs technological strengths in supporting the industry in achieving not just enhanced levels of productivity and efficiency but also contributing to a greener future.



With the MoU, we are partnering in the UAEs National Agenda goals to meet its sustainable development ambitions. To be chosen as a partner in the UAE Accelerator Programme with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment and EGA is a great honour, and we will deliver on the targets by leveraging the strength of our digital and high-tech solutions, he said.



GE technologies used will include the supply of water injection packages for the gas turbines deployed at the Jebel Ali plant.



At the Al Taweelah plant, GE will deploy its Fin-Fan software logic modification for up to two units to optimise cooler operation, thereby reducing auxiliary load consumption. Pressure wave cleaning will be provided to improve operational efficiency and reduce emissions.



After completion of the initial Government Accelerators goal, GE will implement a new liquid fuel changeover regime at both the plants to decrease fuel change over frequency, and also implement the fuel savings solutions.



GE will also investigate additional outage optimization plans taking into consideration current outage performance.



GE is a long-term partner of EGA and has signed contractual services agreements to ensure the seamless operations of GEs installed base of turbines at EGA Al Taweelah, one of the largest single-site aluminium smelters in the world. GE has also introduced Advanced Gas Path upgrades at EGAs Jebel Ali site, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
MINE SURVEYOR Point Of Rocks, WY Bridger Coal Company, a PacifiCorp subsidiary, is seeking a qualified Surveyor for its underground and surface coal mines located near Rock Springs, Wyoming. Duties & Qualifications: Responsible for performing, but not limited to, setting daily underground survey control, performing calculations and traversing for an underground coal mining operation. In addition, working knowledge and experience with total station and other conventional surveying equipment is required. Also, knowledge of GPS, boundary controls, staking and topographic surveying for surface applications will be required. Basic computer knowledge (AutoCAD, Word and Excel). Proficient math skills including trigonometry preferred. Underground mine surveying experience preferred. High school diploma or GED. Bridger Coal Company offers not only a professional challenge, but rewarding wage and benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision and life insurance; 401(k) plan with company match; retirement; paid holidays/vacations. For a complete job description and requirements PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PACIFICORP.COM Refer to position number Job Search # 161099 - Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer  A SUBSIDIARY OF PACIFICORP
Wyoming has become a sort of haven for acupuncturists who have lost their licenses in other states, and that hits a nerve for professional acupuncturists such as Jude Sandoval who take the profession seriously.

One acupuncture practitioner has lost his license in three states but has set up shop in Wyoming, she said.

Another was accused of sexual assault. A jury acquitted him.

It is like the wild West here, said Sandoval, who owns Sunlight Acupuncture and Wellness in Casper.

Sandoval is pushing  along with nearly 20 other acupuncturists who belong to a group called the Wyoming Acupuncture Society  for the Legislature to pass a law that would regulate the profession. The group has hired a lobbyist to guide them through the legislative process.

While past attempts to convince lawmakers to adopt a bill have failed, the group hopes it will succeed in the next legislative session. The 2017 session begins Jan. 10.

The group wants the state to create a board that would establish a minimum set of requirements to practice acupuncture and oriental medicine in Wyoming. The board would be able to sanction bad actors. About 30 acupuncturists operate practices in Wyoming, and they would pay the expenses to regulate themselves, Sandoval said. The professions board would be structured similarly as other medical professions such as the Wyoming Board of Medicine for physicians.

Wyoming is one of four states  along with Alabama, South Dakota and Oklahoma  in which acupuncture is not regulated. Other states, such as New York, Massachusetts and Oregon have had rules since the 1970s, she said.

Acupuncture is used to treat pain, musculoskeletal disorders, autoimmune diseases among other ailments. Practitioners use needles, sometimes called pins, massage, heat therapy and gua sha, which is a scraping technique on the skin.

Acupuncture practitioners say theyre balancing the bodys energy. Sandoval believes it works well in harmony with Western medicine.

It still surprises me how it does work, she said.

Typically an acupuncturist has a masters degree, which takes three to four years to complete after a bachelors. Sandoval received her degree at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, she said.

Professional standards would better ensure the health and safety of the states residents, since right now anyone can call himself an acupuncturist  whether he has the training or not.

Sandoval plans to travel to Cheyenne to talk to lawmakers during the session about the need for the bill. She will tell them standards would benefit the profession, which is why so many practitioners want to be regulated. They believe it would entice other practitioners to Wyoming because it would provide the air of legitimacy, Sandoval said.

Some insurance companies cover acupuncture in Wyoming. Other insurers do not  although their policies for people outside the state do pay for traditional Chinese medicine  because the business in Wyoming is unregulated, Sandoval said.

That could help Wyomingites who suffer from pain. Acupuncture can increase their quality of life and reduce opiate use, Sandoval said.

It seems as though there are people who really get a lot of benefit from it, she said.
Monthly vets ceremony Dec. 30

The Natrona County United Veterans Council and the staff of the Oregon Trail Wyoming State Veterans Cemetery conduct a monthly memorial service for those known Wyoming veterans who have died since our last memorial service which was held on November 30, when we honored 86 Wyoming veterans.

This months memorial service will be held at noon, Friday, Dec. 30, in the Tom Walsh Chapel at The Oregon Trail Veterans Cemetery. All are welcome to attend.

This memorial service is provided on behalf of a grateful state and nation as an expression of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service rendered by each of these veterans.

The veterans name, Wyoming community and branch of service is read at roll call. There is a rifle salute, taps, and the folding of a flag.

Creches at senior center

Central Wyoming Senior Services, 1831 E. 4th St., is once again featuring creches collected by Ruth Ann and Marv Mitich. These wonderful nativities were gathered in trips with the Civic Chorale and various personal trips in the United States and Europe. We hope you will enjoy their unique collection from December through January.

Casper Chronicles II arrives

Just in time for a stocking stuffer, the newly published Casper Chronicles II is available at the Historic Bishop Home, Wind City Books, Fort Caspar, from DAR members, and by internet at www.cadomafoundation.org.

Following in the spirit of the 1964 Casper Chronicles, the new volume is a series of biographical articles that document families who have been in Casper and Natrona County for the past 100 years, and still have descendants living here that are contributing to our community life. The new book is a joint venture between the Cadoma Foundation, owner of the Historic Bishop Home, and the Fort Caspar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The core of the book is possible because of the generosity of the Casper Journal in allowing these organization to republish the stories that were a part of a 2014 series of biographical articles on several of pioneer families that continue to be part of our community.

With the assistance of Rebecca Hunt, author of Natrona County, People Place and Time, the original group of articles was expanded to include additional families.

Casper Chronicles II will be available at Wind City Books, Fort Caspar, the Historic Bishop Home located at 818 East 2nd Street, or by internet at www.cadomafoundation.org. The cost is $15 plus tax, shipping, and handling if appropriate. For additional information, call 235-5277 or write info@cadomafoundation.org.

Masquerade Ball New Years Eve

Stage III Community Theatre presents a Masquerade Ball on New Years Eve at the Black Gold Grille, 1650 English Ave. Enjoy dinner and dancing for $30 per person, $45 per couple, or $15 per person for the dance only. The ticket includes dinner, dancing, raffles, midnight munchies, and two special numbers performed by the Keyhole Peepshow Cuties. Dinner is served from 7 to 9 p.m., dancing from 8 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are available at the Black Gold Grille.

New Years Eve senior dance

SwingSounds Band has scheduled a New Years Eve Senior Dance style dance at the Eagles Hall, 306 N. Durbin St., on Saturday, Dec. 31. Admission is $10 per person. Dance starts at 7:30 p.m., and lasts until 12:30 a.m. Usual potluck is changed somewhat to bring salads and desserts. Sandwiches and finger food will be provided. Party favors will be available. Join in on the festivities and welcome in the new year. Entry at north parking lot door, additional parking across the street and the entire parking lot located at A and Durbin streets. Reservations are not needed but calling 235-5130 and registering can give an estimated head count to prepare for the party.

Robbie Daniels  235-5130

Symphony Jan. 21

The WSO Presents: Signs of Life, An Evening of Strings and Woodwinds, to wake up your senses and warm your heart at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

January is a perfect time to join The Wyoming Symphony Orchestra for an exuberant chamber music concert designed to warm our spirits on a winters night. Woodwinds and strings highlight the evening, beginning with 20th century composer Russell Pecks lush and lively Signs of Life II. A native of Detroit, Peck grew up listening to both Mozart and Motown, and celebrates Americas unique musical traditions, in a jazzy allegro work that sparkles with modern flair.

Cherished classical favorites continue the evening, beginning with Mozarts soothing and popular Serenade in C Minor, performed by the WSOs superb wind section. The pace then quickly picks up with the Dance of the Furies, from Glucks Orfeo and Euridice, and we end the evening with Haydns famous Farewell Symphony.

Tickets are on sale for the remaining three concerts of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestras 67th season bundled in our discounted Pick 3 package. All concerts are on Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., at the John F. Welsh Auditorium at NCHS. We also continue to offer the Family Pass; which gives access to dress rehearsals on the Saturday of each concert weekend starting at noon, $10 for the entire family.

Reserve your preferred seats by calling 266-1478 or in person at the office, 225 S. David St. However, the symphony office is closed the week between Christmas and New Years. Tickets are also available at Wind City Books, and Hill Music. Discounts are available for students and seniors (65+). Visit www.wyomingsymphony.org for more information.
For those who just refuse to stop mountain biking, even when most Central Oregon singletrack is covered in snow  fatbikes are an option.

And soon, they will be able to ride those fatbikes on groomed singletrack snow.

Again this winter, Bends Gary Meyer will groom singletrack trails for fatbikers at Wanoga Sno-park, where they can ride starting Jan. 1.

He estimates at least 3 feet of snow has accumulated at Wanoga, about 12 miles west of Bend, where he plans to groom trails via a temporary permit with the Deschutes National Forest. The past two winters, Meyer groomed about 9 miles of 2-foot-wide trail (a 3-mile loop and a 6-mile loop), using a snowmobile with a metal roller attached behind.

Meyer, the winter trails steward for the Central Oregon Trail Alliance, says he plans to begin grooming on Monday.

With all the snow on the ground lately in Central Oregon, more and more fatbikers are taking to the streets. Global Fatbike Day was Dec. 3, and numerous groups held outings in Central Oregon to commemorate the occasion.

There was 35 of us that rode out to Tumalo Falls, Meyer says. Then on Facebook I started looking, and I counted at least five other groups that had 20 or more people. There was a group of 25 that took off at Wanoga, another big group at Dutchman Flat Sno-park, another at the Phils Trail network. Its amazing how fast its grown. Yeah, you see a few people riding around town, but out on the trails, now its big groups of people 

Some fatbikers are not even waiting for Meyers grooming to ride snowy singletrack. Several have been working along singletrack in the Phils Trail network west of Bend to pack down the snow on the trails with snowshoes so the trails are ridable on fatbikes.

Theres people saying, OK, I wanna try to keep this loop in the Phils Trail network packed as long as we have snow all winter, Meyer says. As long as you keep riding it, if theres just a little snow, its easy to keep packed. Even though were grooming trails, other people are doing man-powered grooming.

Fatbikes wider tires (typically 3.8 inches wide versus 2.25 inches for mountain bike tires) allow for better traction in snow or sand. Central Oregonians primarily use them for riding in the snow.

Tire pressure can be as low as 5 or 6 pounds per square inch on fatbikes  mountain bikes are usually between 30 and 50 psi  to provide even more traction on challenging terrain.

Groomed trails give fatbike riders a firmer surface to avoid sinking into the snow.

Fatbikes are capable of ripping through about 2 to 3 inches of fresh snow. Anything deeper than that becomes extremely difficult, Meyer says.

Fatbikes are also allowed on groomed snowmobile trails in Central Oregon, but they are prohibited at nordic ski areas such as Virginia Meissner Sno-park and the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center.

You can go on the snowmobile trail, you can go on the snowshoe trails, but stay off the ski trails, Meyer says of fatbikers. With snowmobile trails, when you hear them coming, get off to the side, because they cannot see you very well. You can hear them way before theyre near you.

While riding snowmobile trails on fatbikes can be fun, groomed singletrack is much more enjoyable, Meyer notes. It is similar to riding regular dirt singletrack, but on snow.

A snowmobile trail is like youre riding down a big, wide street, Meyer explains. Theres not the twisty, turny, flowy singletrack experience, and thats the biggest difference. Its equivalent to riding your bike on a forest road in the summer, versus riding your bike on dirt singletrack. It gives you more of that flying-through-the-forest feel.

For Meyer and many other mountain bikers in Central Oregon, fatbiking on snowy singletrack provides a chance to truly make their sport a year-round activity, even when snow blankets the entire region.

And fatbiking is an even better workout than mountain biking.

For me, I just like riding bikes so much that its hard to give up riding bikes in the winter, Meyer says. Its a good workout. If I go on a 12-mile fatbike ride, I equate it more to a 24-mile dirt mountain bike ride. Its about double.
In 2016, Wyomings education funding slid into full crisis. With the state in an energy slump stretching into its second year, schools face shortfalls of roughly $700 million in the next two-year budget cycle.

Roughly 70 percent of Wyomings tax base comes from minerals. When oil, gas and coal prices fell, local and state funding for education fell with them. Officials call it the double whammy: Local and state revenue streams are intertwined, which means when the former falls, the latter isnt strong enough to top off districts who need more funding.

In good years, districts like Campbell County No. 1, which produces more in tax revenue than it needs, send money to Cheyenne. The state then distributes that money to areas that need it, like Natrona County and the majority of Wyomings districts.

In those good years, Wyoming has been able to fund its education above the level required. Education committee chairman Hank Coe, R-Cody, has described it as putting ornaments atop a Christmas tree. State superintendent Jillian Balow said the state was paying for a Cadillac instead of the Chevy.

But 2016 was not one of those good years. Here are the top stories about the education funding crisis from 2016.

Facing a $1.8 billion hole

A report to the Joint Education Interim Committee in mid-November projected the education funding crisis could reach roughly $1.8 billion by the end of the 2022 fiscal year. The Legislature effectively drained the states education rainy day fund, taking out $570 million to fund schools through the current two-year budget cycle.

For 2019 and 2020, the shortfall was expected to be about $720 million. On top of that, the committee heard that the capital construction account would effectively be empty by mid-2018.

UW cuts

UW is restructuring parts of its organization, especially the Outreach School, to build on its relationship with state community colleges, and its set to offer another round of buy-outs to faculty. Officials told lawmakers that increasing enrollment is the universitys primary strategic priority going forward.

The re-organization of the Outreach School wont negatively affect UW-Casper, officials have said. In May, while programs in Casper were being reviewed because of budget issues, university spokesman Chad Baldwin scoffed at the idea of closing the branch.

Were all in budget-cut mode, but the idea of closing (UW-Casper) is preposterous, he said.

A crisis years in the making

Balow has said that Wyoming has been overfunding education and that its going to need to think about funding education as a Chevy rather than a Cadillac in the future. The states main funding model, called the evidence-based model, can be traced back to the landmark court case Campbell County vs. Wyoming, in which the state Supreme Court ruled that the state is required to provide the best education possible to all students.

In the years that followed that decision, lawmakers hammered out a way to fund education and then found money to fund above that level. Now, as funding hits a crisis point, educators and officials spoke starkly about the need to spend less and pay for the Chevy.

Moving forward

As legislators weighed bills to address the crisis, superintendents expressed anxiety about any more reductions. Gov. Matt Mead and lawmakers have said the state cant cut its way out of the funding crisis, and educators warned that any more cuts could have dire consequences on programs, staffing levels and academic success.

Im very concerned and not feeling very good about (cuts) at all, said Laramie County School District No. 1 Superintendent John Lytte. Were getting some fantastic results (from education programs), and it feels like the rug is being pulled out from underneath us.
Veteran Dean Welch placed the wreath beside the flat, gray stone and then stood in salute.

Rest in peace, he said quietly above the grave of Wyoming National Guard Capt. Robert L. Lucero, who was killed while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Welch and other volunteers placed 208 wreaths Thursday at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Evansville as part of Wreaths Across America. Each time they stopped to place the fragrant pine rings at a grave, they said the name of the veteran.

The event was part of coordinated wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as more than 1,100 other locations in each state, at sea and abroad, according to the group behind the effort.

The Casper squadron of the Civil Air Patrol organized the local event, which was led by its cadets. The middle and high school students opened the ceremony with a marching drill followed by laying wreaths representing each branch of the U.S. military.

The wreaths are a gift of gratitude to honor veterans for their service and sacrifices as well as their families, squadron commander Lt. Joe Feiler told those gathered on the chilly afternoon.

Were here today not to decorate graves, he said. Were here to remember not their deaths but their lives.

The volunteers included several other veterans, including Welch, a U.S. Navy and Wyoming Army National Guard veteran whod befriended Lucero while they served together. Welch also deployed to Iraq in 2004.

Joining them were members of the Wyoming Patriot Guard and Daughters of the American Revolution, along with families and individuals.

Carsten Harley, 13, stepped through the cemetery with his two older siblings, mother and father, Chad Harley, who served for nine years in the Wyoming National Guard.

Carsten placed a wreath at the headstone of U.S. Army World War II veteran Lee Bill Williamson, who died in 2003, the year the boy was born.

I was just kind of drawn to it, Carsten said.

I think its pretty neat that youre able to remember people that served, he said. Especially people that didnt have a chance to come back to their families.

Carstens mother, Lisa Harley, noticed her children becoming emotional during the ceremony when a speaker mentioned military members missing in action.

Its just remembering those people that went and fought for our freedoms and they werent able to come back here and what those families had to go through for that, and for my kids to see the great sacrifice, she said.

Civil Air Patrol cadet Adam Carey, 14, also found the ceremony meaningful.

I feel that we did the veterans proud, he said. I feel like I was honoring our veterans and thanking them for all the service they have given us.
Outgoing Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen will lead the Wyoming Association of Municipalities after he hands over his position to Mayor-elect Marian Orr Jan. 3.

Kaysen will become the association's interim executive director on Jan. 4. The move comes after the group's executive director, Shelley Simonton, announced earlier this week she's resigning due to personal reasons.

Kaysen said he was tapped for the interim position during the association's Wednesday board meeting.

The mayor has been a member of the municipalities group for eight years and has served on its board most of his time in office.

Kaysen will serve in his new role through June 30, when the board is expected to name a permanent replacement for Simonton.
GILLETTE  Ximena Molina isnt your average Harry Potter fan.

She has seen all the movies, knows all the characters and can tell you every fact.

The 16-year-olds eyes light up when she talks about the characters in the books and the movies.

Molinas love for Harry Potter was one of the reasons she signed up when she heard that Gear Up Wyoming was sponsoring a Harry Potter-themed day of chemistry in a lab at Gillette College.

Twelve students in all took part in an afternoon of experiments, which created magical-looking reactions.

Were going to do a lot of magical stuff, Sherri Adams said at the beginning of the class with the students in seventh to 12th grade. Adams is professor and head of the chemistry department at the college.

Adams told the students they were going to make their own sparklers  or wands, if you prefer.

From there, the students started mixing their solutions into beakers. They mixed dextrin and water, waiting for it to get goopy and hard. Sisters Danica and Shawna Howland, 14 and 13, remarked that it smelled like a farm.

Eventually, they smeared the gray solution over a thin metal wire and stuck them in an oven.

At the end of their afternoon in the lab, they lighted their handmade wands and watched them flare.

Adams said the wands were the first things she had thought of when Kristin Young, the Gear Up Wyoming site coordinator for Campbell, Sheridan and Johnson counties, contacted her, wanting to host the event and have it be Harry Potter-themed.

That idea came from the most recent Harry Potter book. Young noticed that sparked students interests.

Then she realized that she could use it as a learning adventure. She could have them create things that look like magic but use science. Those reactions would expose them to a college classroom environment and maybe get them thinking about careers in a science-related field.

Im always looking for fun ways that students can be exposed to careers that maybe they havent thought of, Young said.

She also wanted to plan a memorable experience.

We wanted to do something chemistry-related to create something magical.

While their wands were baking, students learned how to write with electricity, using a copper wire as a pen that was run through a pipette and attached to a battery.

The Howland sisters were curious about being able to see the reaction that was taking place between the silver nitrate, ammonium nitrate, dextrose and sodium hydroxide in the ornaments they were making for their Christmas tree.

Im scared, Danica said as she swirled her solution in the clear glass ornament.

Thats when the magic happened. The brown and black solution in the bottom of the ornament started to coat the sides of the bulb.

Eventually, it turned a blackish color and then, students were admiring their reflections in the ornaments. The entire reaction only took about three minutes, if that. And that reaction is actually a smaller version of how silver mirrors are made.

The afternoon ended with the students finally igniting their wands. One by one, they lit the wands and watched as they flared up, creating sparks.

All eyes  and cellphone cameras  were on the spectacle of light and fire.

After all that, the students hadnt decided if they wanted to do something science-related as a career, but it may have sparked an interest.
BILLINGS, Mont.  Over the objections of prosecutors, a defense attorney is seeking to delay the trial of a Wyoming man in the slaying of a couple on Montana's Crow Indian Reservation.

Jesus Deniz Mendoza, of Worland, is scheduled to face trial Jan. 9 in federal courts.

Mendoza is accused of killing Jason and Tana Shane and wounding their daughter in July 2015. The family had stopped to help Mendoza on a roadside near Pryor.

He's charged with two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder and other counts.

Federal Defender David Merchant II said experts needed for testimony are not available on January 9.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek objected to further delay. She said the case has been pending 16 months and that's been difficult for the victims' families.
Without a solution to the inherent problems with Wyomings tax structure, the state may lurch from one budget crisis to another.

Revenue projections for the future from minerals indicate little or no growth at the same time the states faulty tax structure limits economic growth.

Those glum conclusions are from the final report of the Tax Reform 2000 Committee.

Shelved for years until the latest recession, the report is prophetic and amazingly timely.

The structural flaw referenced often in the report is the states reliance on sales taxes, property taxes and mineral taxes for most of its income.

The committee members made a darned good case for a state income tax, personal and corporate, even while conceding it was the most controversial recommendation in its report.

Wyoming voters in 1974 amended the Wyoming Constitution to provide that no tax can be imposed on income without allowing full credit against such tax liability for all sales, use and ad valorem taxes paid in the same taxable year.

The author of the amendment in the 1973 Legislature, former House Speaker Nels Smith of Crook County, described the amendment as preventive medicine in a telephone interview recently.

Without the protections of the constitutional amendment an income tax would only compound the existing inequities in the states tax system.

As an example, he said, the property owners pay for a school bond issue but not the non-property owners.

If an income tax ever were to be passed, Smith said, it would be a desperation move triggered by a real crisis.

It also would be political suicide for any legislators who supported the income tax.

Smith said he did not agree with the tax reform committees recommendation.

Legislators who have looked at the income tax say the constitutional restraint makes a tax essentially not worth the trouble, given the cost of setting up an agency to administer it.

The tax reform report estimated a state income tax could produce $50 to $150 million per year in 1999 dollars, depending upon the rates.

The credits for state taxes paid would be entered as deductions on a residents federal income tax return.

Under that simplified system, the cost of administering the tax would about $4 million a year, the report said.

The income tax, the report said, could also equalize the tax burden among income groups.

Under the current structure of excise and property taxes, lower-income families pay a greater percent of their income than those in the higher income brackets.

If the tax were rolled into the mix along with sales use and property taxes, the tax burden could be proportionately the same across all income levels.

Phillip Noble, a retired Cheyenne businessman and state agency director, was vice chairman of the committee.

The group met for two days every month for a year and a half and traveled to every hamlet in the state for hearings.

He commended the legislators on the committee in particular for their courage in recommending the tax in the face of so much opposition.

One of the downsides was that the governor who appointed the committee, Jim Geringer, slammed the group afterward for the income tax recommendation, Noble said.

The only option in Wyoming for longtime growth is an income tax  corporate and personal, Noble said last week in a phone interview. Otherwise were not going to have enough money for services  ever.

The reason Wyoming will never prosper without an income tax is because the state is too small to attract major businesses, he added.

A new report from Bloomberg News takes the same tack.

Wyomings economy is lagging behind the nation and the Rocky Mountain region because it is built around the stumbling energy business.

Another reason is the states small population and absence of any large metropolitan areas. And economic growth, the Bloomberg article said, has become more and more concentrated in large metropolitan areas.

Yet metro Cheyenne is getting close, Bloomberg says, with an estimated 97,121 residents as of July 2015.

Its pretty clear that Wyoming will not have a state income tax, individual or corporate in the near future or as long as any other revenue options are open.

Other non-income-tax states, meanwhile, have alternates. Texas has a hefty corporate franchise tax; Nevada has gambling.

Its all in the report.
It wouldnt be a stretch to think that Dave Dosh might have a little Claus family blood in him.

Simply consider that the retired dentist is a self-taught woodworker who hides away in a makeshift workshop in his garage every year to make a little Christmas magic.

His work doesnt come with near the fanfare of the work of the man in the red suit, but its no less treasured when it hangs from a family Christmas tree, or from a wreath or other decoration at the holidays.

Dosh crafts wooden Christmas ornaments with a meticulous process that makes his work as much art as decoration. He only makes a dozen or so a year  a single pattern each year  but its a labor of love that keeps him busy and rewards him with gratitude from those who hang the ornaments in their homes during the holidays.

Originally I just gave them away as gifts to friends and family, Dosh said, adding that in the current internet age, he was eventually encouraged by his daughter to make them available online to spread the joy.

My daughter said I should sell these online, so she set up a store and she sells them, Dosh said. One lady buys one every year for her husband. Shes done it every year for about six years.

With a background of 30 years as a dentist working with his hands in tight quarters, precise woodworking is a natural for Dosh. It began as a hobby and evolved into a passion while he was still in business in Tucson with an office on Wilmot Road north of Broadway. But when he retired in 2005, his hobby became much more as demonstrated by a home full of elaborate bowls, vases and other woodwork, some which has been displayed in art galleries.

Ive been doing this pretty much full-time since I retired, Dosh said. I was doing this as a stress release from the office. The wood never complains. It was a way to creatively do something with my hands.

Dosh said the whole thing was triggered by an innocent comment he made to his wife, Kathie, while on a side trip to Tombstone 30 years ago.

My wife wanted to buy some wooden flowers and I said, I can make some for you. For what that costs I can make a dozen for you, he recalled. So she said, Do it. So I did it and I made some two-dimensional flowers.

Then came the bowls and vases, when, as he said, I got bored with two-dimensional pieces. He said he read a magazine that described a woodturning process by renowned expert Ray Allen, and he got serious about his craft.

From that, I went ahead and modified (Allens process) to fit what I wanted to do and what I wanted to show within the pieces that I make, Dosh said.

As Dosh describes the process it is difficult to envision how the pieces of wood from his inventory come out on the other end looking like they do. But to see the process simplifies it, although it clearly requires a level of skill beyond high-school wood shop.

Step into Doshs workshop and you find a space only about eight or 10 feet wide with shelving on the walls all around stuffed full of tools, wood and other materials for his craft so that more than one person in the space is a crowd. A lathe on the workbench dominates the space. Drawings of his current work are pinned to the shelf above.

The wood inventory, which he buys locally and cuts to size in his shop, is sorted by size and colors and sits neatly on shelves.

Theres no air conditioning, but it doesnt stop him from being in there for hours at a time, even during the summer.

Im just amazed at what he keeps coming up with, said Kathie. I enjoy every year seeing what he comes up with. Its a passion of his and I enjoy it.

She adds that theres never any tension over the amount of time Dosh spends in his workshop because the couple makes sure to get their quality time throughout the year, in particular on an annual 40-day driving trip and other travels where she can see his creative mind churning at the sight of possible designs at locations they visit.

Why would it bother me that he would be out there working? she asks. When were home thats what he wants to do. Im not a creative person and I cant relate to that. But I appreciate it.

Dosh said he started making the ornaments about 10 years ago using the same artistic thought process and woodworking skills that went into his other work. Delving into making Christmas ornaments was unexpected, at least to his family.

The first year was a complete and utter surprise, said Doshs daughter, Kirsten Bittel. But hes always been a creative problem-solver and I think it goes back to his working career. He had people come into his dentist office with bizarre issues with their teeth and they couldnt afford to have a standard root canal or crown so he would come up with a creative solution that would fix the tooth and would work with a patients budget. That flexibility and that creativity, he uses all of that with the ornaments.

The designs for all his work come from keeping an eye out on the couples world travels where Dosh said he might see a design in a tile floor or a ceiling or a wall. His first Christmas ornaments are of a style he picked up in New Zealand.

One of the things I found in our travels, thanks to a tour guide in France, is that Europeans, to show how wealthy they were, didnt put traditional slate roofs on their houses or businesses, Dosh said. They put ceramic tiles and so they started putting patterns within the ceramic tiles. A lot of these are still around Europe and maintained.

Dosh said hes incorporated designs from buildings and museums hes seen in those faraway places and as close as downtown Tucson. He once made a vase incorporating the design on the Arizona state government office building on Congress, later giving the vase as a gift to the buildings designer, James Gresham. Another bowl is from a design he saw at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.

Sometimes in the middle of the night it just comes to me and then I make some notes in the morning if I can remember.

And now others have come to anticipate his work as the holidays approach.

It really varies, Kirsten said of the online sales. Some years hell sell just five or six online. Our school did a craft fair so he sold a handful here. He only makes about 12 or 15 each year and he sells maybe half of those.

Its more of a passion for him. He just loves the process of creating. He loves the smell of the wood. He loves all the aspects of it and creating something from nothing.

And even though it probably doesnt always make good business sense, Dosh has a soft spot for just putting his work in someones hands.

Giving something away like this makes you feel good.
The Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road, will host the traveling exhibit This Is Hunger Thursday, Jan. 5 to Sunday, Jan. 8.

The national exhibit showcases the stories of hungry Americans through digital and interactive components, and black and white photographs.

The community center partnered with the national nonprofit MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger to bring the exhibit to Tucson.

The exhibit is meant to challenge stereotypes about hunger, according to press materials.
PHOENIX  Two men serving life terms for Tucson killings committed as juveniles will get a chance to convince a judge they should eventually be let out of prison, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The justices did not say that Gregory Valencia Jr. and Joey Healer should ever be allowed out of prison. Both were previously sentenced by Pima County judges to terms of natural life, meaning no possibility of parole.

But Chief Justice Scott Bales, writing for the unanimous court, said he and his colleagues are bound by a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that such sentences for juveniles should be reserved only for the worst of the worst. The nations high court also said that decision has to be applied retroactively.

Bales said that means Valencia and Healer are entitled to have a judge reconsider the sentence and, if appropriate, reduce it to where they would have a chance to get out some day.

In those rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that appropriate occasions for sentencing juveniles to the harshest possible penalty will be uncommon.

Such sentences can be imposed only on the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption versus transient immaturity.

That language bothers Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick.

 Transient immaturity is when my adolescent daughter slugs her big brother, he wrote for himself and Justice John Pelander, criticizing the logic of the U.S. rulings. It may even describe peer pressures that influence reckless behavior, Bolick continued. But it is not an apt rationalization for cold-blooded murder.

Bolick said the facts in these two Pima County cases from the 1990s suggest the sentences were appropriate. The murders in these cases were brutal, he said.

Bolick said Healer borrowed a sawed-off rifle and entered the home of Chester Iserman, an elderly man who had given Healer odd jobs so he could earn money. Healer, 16 at the time, shot Iserman through the eye, killing him, and then stole his truck.

Valencia, 17 in 1995, entered a condominium complex with a younger accomplice, took a bicycle from an enclosed patio and then tried to get into the patio of another unit. When homeowner Fred George came out to investigate, the other teen threw the stolen bicycle at George and Valencia shot him in the head.

Bolick said the sentencing judges in both cases determined the defendants should never be released, even after considering all evidence including their youth.

Bales stressed that Fridays rulings dont mean either Healer or Valencia will ever get out of prison. All they do is give them a day in court.

At these hearings, they will have an opportunity to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that their crimes did not reflect irreparable corruption but instead transient immaturity, he wrote. Only if they meet this burden will they establish that their natural life sentences are unconstitutional, thus entitling them to resentencing.
Christopher Altizer, 17, has wanted to go to Harvard University since he was in fourth grade.

A family friend brought back a Harvard hoodie from a trip to Boston and told him stories about the universitys campus. Altizer said he was immediately intrigued.

I didnt really know much about it at the time, but then junior high came around and I really locked down, the Tanque Verde High School senior said.

It was all seriousness from there. He said he made deliberate academic choices with the goal of attending Harvard one day.

About a week and a half ago, Altizer was sitting in a coffee shop when he logged into his application account, which said, Congratulations. The teen from a small Tucson high school was accepted early into Harvard University and will be heading to Boston next fall to attend on a full scholarship.

All of the feelings flooded in when he got the news, he said. I got super grateful and emotional about what Ive done at the high school and the people who have gotten me here.

His mother, Carol Altizer, said she taught him to set high goals for himself, but other than that, he didnt need help staying motivated, though the senior credits the people around him, including family, friends and teachers, for supporting him.

He is a highly motivated leader, she said of her son.

When the soon-to-be Harvard student was in junior high and choosing a high school, he worried that going to his home school, Tanque Verde High, instead of a bigger school with more advanced placement offerings would hurt his chances at getting into Harvard.

Hed gone to Tanque Verde schools since preschool and had many friends there, but for a little while, highly renowned schools such as University High School enticed him, she said. So he took the matter into his own hands and wrote to the Harvard admissions office seeking advice.

Someone wrote back and told him no matter the size of school, he should take advantage of every opportunity the school has to offer and participate in extracurricular activities, she said.

Altizer took that advice to heart. He is a drum major in the schools marching band, student body president for two years in a row and participates in various school clubs.

My passion is school, student council and student government, he said. I was really motivated to help others and create school functions, get people involved.

At the school, Altizer is basically Mr. Tanque Verde, said A.J. Malis, the principal.

Obviously the seniors got the grades, but above all, he is deeply involved in the school and its community, he said. The part that makes Chris so unique is that he can get along with anyone.
PHOENIX  Forty workers let go by the now-fired head of Arizonas Department of Economic Security got an early holiday gift Friday: Theyre going to get their jobs back or be considered for comparable jobs.

But they arent getting the pay they missed.

The Department of Administration, which runs the states personnel system, received 267 requests from former DES workers to review their firings, said spokeswoman Megan Rose.

Gov. Doug Ducey set up the review procedure on the heels of reports that Tim Jeffries had let go about 500 workers out of more than 7,000 at the DES since the governor appointed him last year.

Rose said after each of the 267 were carefully evaluated, it was determined there were 40 who were separated in a manner that did not follow the best practices of (the agencys) Human Resources Division.

These individuals will be contacted over the next week, before the end of the year, with an offer to rehire at DES into their previous positions, if available, she said.

If that position is filled or no longer exists, we will work to place them in a comparable position for which they are qualified. At a minimum, they will receive their previous salary, Rose said.

The workers also will come back with the sick time they had accumulated before they were fired. But Rose said they will not get the money they would have been paid had they not been fired.

Ducey hired Jeffries shortly after taking office, saying he would help streamline the huge agency that oversees a host of programs, from food stamps and welfare benefits to unemployment insurance. The DES also is responsible for investigating cases of adult abuse; its child-abuse investigation function had previously been taken from the agency, then under a different director, because of mismanagement.

Jeffries began weeding people out almost immediately.

We have already exited scores of legacy bullies in our great agency, and we will not relent until we have finished this task to honor, protect, and care for you, he wrote last year in a memo to employees.

He generated headlines with emails to all DES staffers that he would take their messages on a trip he planned to the Catholic holy shrine of Lourdes, and other emails promoting opposition to Proposition 205 on the Nov. 8 ballot, which would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana.

The scrutiny intensified after it was revealed that Jeffries had fired close to 500 workers, including many who previously received high evaluations and even raises. That raised allegations that the director was targeting women, minorities, older workers and gays.

It got to the point that Ducey removed Jeffries power to fire workers and set up the review process for those already let go.

The apparent last straw for the governor came last month on reports Jeffries had flown to Nogales on a state plane to take several staffers out drinking during business hours.
University of Arizona researchers, buoyed by support from dog lovers and a California pharmaceutical startup, say a canine vaccine against valley fever could be available within 10 years.

The live vaccine, a mutant spore invented by UA fungal geneticist Marc Orbach, is called delta-CPS1. It has already protected mice from valley fever.

Researchers at the UAs Valley Fever Center for Excellence in Tucson are optimistic, yet not certain, it will work in both humans and dogs.

But dogs are likely to get a vaccine against valley fever before humans.

There is no prevention or cure for valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis. An estimated 30,000 people and 60,000 dogs in Arizona get sick from valley fever every year. The disease is found mainly in dusty areas of Arizona and California. State health officials say it caused the deaths of 50 people in Arizona last year.

We think the dog is the path to the human (vaccine), said Dr. Lisa Shubitz, a veterinarian and associate research professor in the UAs School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, and part of the team working on a vaccine.

For one thing, theres been more widespread community support in Arizona for a dog vaccine than for a human vaccine.

Over 20 years a total of $400,000 earmarked for the UAs canine vaccine has been donated, all of it from dog lovers who have seen the toll the disease can take.

The UAs Valley Fever Center for Excellence receives $350,000 in non-earmarked donations every year. Most of it comes from one donor: the Manhattan-based J.T. Tai & Co. Foundation, which donates $300,000 annually.

The canine vaccine funds are smaller but show broader backing. The donations frequently come in amounts of $20 or $30, from concerned and grieving pet owners who give what they can afford. Larger donations have come in from kennel clubs and owners of dog-related businesses.

These add up and I am endlessly grateful for the support, big and small, of those who have given to this project over years, giving to a hope that we could accomplish this, Shubitz said.

Regulatory process more condensed

A canine vaccine would go through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Veterinary Biologics to get to market, while a human vaccine would need to go through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.

The regulatory process is very similar to humans, but it is a lot more condensed for animals, said Kwansun Ahn, CEO of Anivive Lifesciences, a veterinary pharmaceutical startup based in Irvine, California.

The UA has made some progress in moving delta-CPS1 past the development stage by partnering with Anivive. Anivive also recently acquired the license to a canine cancer drug developed at the UA.

We are not like Big Pharma. We are not solely focused on a big opportunity of millions of dollars. For us, its about solving both the big and small problems, Anivive co-founder Dylan Balsz said. The work will not only advance it to canines but is a driving force to get it to humans. As a veterinary company its good to be able to play that role.

At least two previous serious attempts at creating a valley fever vaccine failed. The first resulted in sore arms but no conclusive proof it worked. The second was a laboratory-created hybrid protein vaccine made in a yeast strain using DNA from the valley fever fungus. It looked promising but stalled because of its cost.

Politics and funding are problems for getting any valley fever vaccine to market because it is a regional, not national, disease. In humans it affects fewer than 200,000 people per year, which gives it orphan status. That also means its harder to get drug companies interested.

But since delta-CPS1 is a spore, theres no expensive protein purification step as there was with other vaccine attempts.

I think it has a lot of promise and potential, said Dr. George R. Thompson, a valley fever expert who is an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the University of California at Davis.

Thompson, who has been researching valley fever for about a decade, said there are numerous challenges to getting a vaccine against the disease. Among other things, theres no global market for it.

The researchers will have to show the efficacy in clinical trials and there could be genetic factors that make some dogs respond better than others to a vaccine, he said.

The same is true for humans. A 2016 CDC study found increased mortality from valley fever in non-white racial groups, The study found African-Americans had the highest coccidioidomycosis-associated mortality rate. Those genetic variances are not yet fully understood.

But eventually there will be a vaccine against valley fever, Thompson predicted, and right now delta-CPS1 is the one to watch.

Well undoubtedly learn a lot from this process and I hope it works, he said.

The delta-CPS1 researchers are hopeful about getting approved for grant applications theyve submitted to further the vaccine development  $6 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health and $250,000 from the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission.

The UA team was heartened to see the request for proposals on the NIH grant specifically encouraged vaccines with small-market potential, and its wording cited as examples valley fever, Lyme disease and Zika virus.

The UA and Anivive are not shoo-ins for the NIH award. Dr. John Galgiani, director of the UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence, places their chances at about 20 percent.

If they dont get the money it doesnt mean the canine vaccine wont move forward, but it will be a hurdle to overcome, Galgiani said.

The UA research team has in the past estimated it will be less than $40 million to get a delta-CPS1 vaccine to market. But Galgiani said its almost impossible to know an exact price at this stage. He said its like estimating how much it will cost to build a fighter plane without having a list of parts or suppliers.

I dont think it will be $40 million to get into dogs. It might be in the order of $20 million, maybe as low as $10 million, he said.

Trials to include Dogs from Pima county

Anivive officials say they are aiming to get the canine vaccine to market in three to five years, though Shubitz has a more conservative view.

If we get that grant, I think six to seven years from right now is more realistic as it will take some time to do studies, she said.

The vaccine has not been put into dogs yet. The research team, which includes Orbach, Shubitz and Galgiani, was advised to get more regulatory input from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before starting introductory safety and immunology studies in dogs.

Still, a timeline of three to five years is possible, USDA spokeswoman Donna L. Karlsons said. It depends on how fast the firm develops the required data and gets manufacturing methods and facilities in place, she said. The UA team will need to prove to the USDA that the vaccine is safe and effective.

Shubitz anticipates clinical trials for the vaccine will mostly include Arizona dogs in Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties, along with some California dogs.

Vaccine fundraising

A recent Howliday Party at the Sit Stay Play dog day-care center in central Tucson was a fundraiser, held annually for more than a decade, for the UA Foundations Valley Fever Companion Animal Care Fund, money earmarked to directly fund research into the vaccine.

Many of my client dogs have valley fever. The emotional and economic costs are enormous, said Janet Galante, the owner of Sit Stay Play.

She holds the event, which brings in $2,000 to $4,000 each year, in memory of a former client, Tyler Ford, a vizsla who died of valley fever in 2005.

What they are doing over there is remarkable, Galante said of the UA researchers.

Some dogs with valley fever are euthanized because their owners cannot afford to treat them. The anti-fungal medication that is often necessary to keep the valley fever at bay for the rest of their pets life costs $4 to $6 per day, and blood tests and associated veterinary costs can run into the thousands. Also, blood tests can give false negatives and require additional testing and money.

Dogs will often lose large amounts of weight and the disease causes lameness and pain, or paralysis if the infection moves into the bones of the back. Things people complain about the most to me are lack of appetite, lack of energy, and pain. They hate that the most. And severe coughing, Shubitz said. They really hate seeing their dogs feeling sick.

The risk factor for acquiring valley fever is the same for dogs as for humans  breathing  and in parts of California and Arizona, impossible to avoid. It takes inhaling just one spore to become infected, though like humans, most dogs who acquire valley fever will not get sick from it. For the ones that do, the disease can result in amputations and worse.

Randy Ford had never heard of valley fever when he moved to Tucson from Salinas, California, with his dog Tyler in 2001. In the fall of 2005, Tyler became ill. A few days before Tyler died he was raising hell  chasing toys in the pool. Then all of a sudden he quit eating, and hed stand outside his doggie door and shake like it was cold, Ford said. Tylers valley fever had disseminated into his bloodstream and his kidneys started to shut down.

Ford spent more than $5,000 trying to save his beloved dog, but Tyler was too sick. He died shortly after Thanksgiving.

A vaccine sure would save a lot of heartache, said Ford, an aircraft mechanic who attends the holiday party at Galantes business every year. Tyler was beautiful. The fungus is bad stuff.

Six percent get ill

A 2005 UA study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association found that dogs in Pima and Maricopa counties had a 28 percent chance of becoming infected with valley fever in the first two years of life. During that time, the chance of a dog becoming ill was 6 percent.

The risk of infection was nearly five times greater for dogs that spent more than 80 percent of their time outdoors compared with predominantly indoor dogs. Dogs with more than an acre of land to roam were found to have a risk of infection 6.2 times greater than dogs with a smaller roaming area.

No relationship was found between infection and breed, age of home, yard cover, digging behavior or proximity to construction.

I remain confident that delta-CPS1 will effectively prevent valley fever in dogs. Whether it becomes a routine vaccine in Arizona may depend on consumer acceptance of the product, Shubitz said.

Company officials who are raising money from investors would not divulge a price point for the vaccine, but the intent is to create a vaccine that is affordable, said Dr. Dave Bruyette, chief veterinary officer at Anivive.

Shubitz  who herself has three dogs suffering from valley fever  said that even if the vaccine costs $100 per animal, thats a bargain compared to what many people spend on treating the disease in their dogs. Its still unclear how often the vaccine would be needed.

Id vaccinate instantly if it was available, said Sherry Botos, a Raytheon employee who attended Galantes holiday party this year with her 2-year-old Yorkie, named Barney Fife, diagnosed with valley fever in September.

We need to seize this moment in time, said Shubitz, who, like Galgiani, has spent more than two decades devoted to valley fever research. No one is going to pay for this (research effort) twice. We need to be right.
Help India!

By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net

Demonetisation may not have been the best news this year, but nevertheless, this has been a time when all have suffered, cutting across caste, class and religion.

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When foreigners landing at various international airports, especially in the immediate post-demonetization days were left high and dry as there was no scope for money exchange; when pilgrims and tourists from all over the world visiting Bodh Gaya or Amritsar, Puri or Agra, had to line up for hours to get Rs 2,000 or 4,000; when migrant labourers and women domestic helps cutting across all caste, genders and community lines had to literally starve for days in unfamiliar territory; when 60 crore people live in villages which have no bank branches; when all Gramin Banks in Lucknow and its vicinitysaid to be more than one hundredwere without a penny on the day Narendra Modi visited Kanpur (Dec 19) and when people of all communities died while withdrawing or depositing their hard earned money, the supremo of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen, Asaduddin Owaisi, came out with another outlandish and absurd statement.

He proclaimed that the ATMs and bank branches situated in the Muslim localities of Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Delhi or anywhere in the country are deliberately being ignored and have no money. These days he is seen in television channels and BBC radio to allege how banks have adopted discriminatory attitude towards Muslims. He would in between meekly take the name of Dalits toobut that was more to moderate his rhetoric.

With the help of half-baked data and half truths, it is very easy to whip up passion and create subjective impression. Some Muslim youths addicted to social media may get carried away by these figure. No doubt, it may be true that only 50 per cent Muslims have bank account in India while the national figure is 68 per cent. But is this the issue today?

It is not the case that Muslims are not lagging behind in many sectors, and that the issue merits serious debate and discussion on from all aspects. At the same time, it should also be seen whether Muslims themselves are, to some extent, also responsible for the present plight.

But this trivialisation of the issue for narrow political gain deserves strongest condemnation.

Owaisi cites figures from certain reports to suggest that less number of Muslims have bank accounts. But he has no answer to the question as to how 60 crore Indians are living in villages with no bank branches? Are all 60 crores Muslims?

Mr Owaisi, only people from Muslim-dominated Jama Masjid in Delhias he argued in BBC intervieware not flocking to banks and ATMs in Connaught Place. What you also forgot to mention is that equally large number of general people from Saket, Malviya Nagar, Karol Bagh etc are also coming to Janpath or Barakhamba Road.

Mr Owaisi pretends that he keeps tabs on figures and data. But quoting them in silly way is not going to serve the purpose. He will have to substantiate the charge that banks and ATMs in Muslim localities are deliberately being kept cashless. If not he should just keep quiet. After all, why is he reminded of the cashless-ness 40 days after demonetisation when the crisis has to some extent subsided? Is it because UP election is round the corner?

It seems that he speaks more than listen and read. It appears that he just browse through some figures and cites them as it suits his argument.

Has not he watched a TV programme which said that there is only one bank branch in population of 12 lakh in the vicinity of Delhi. And one of the women who was standing in the queue for hours was a cancer patient. Neither was she a Muslim nor the whole area a Muslim-dominated one.

There is one criterion to judge what can be called the communal angle in the whole post-demonetization development. That is the break up in death toll.

In the first 30 days 89 demonetization deaths were reportednot to speak of unreported ones. Save a handful of them the name of all the 89 are available. Out of this 14 are Muslims, which is something around 16 per cent. This is more or less near to their population in the country.

Had Muslims been more harassedand deprived of the moneyit should have been at least reflected in the figure? Making sweeping generalization and unnecessary whipping up subjective feeling of discrimination is dangerous and should be avoided.

Following are the 14 Muslims, who reportedly died due to demonetization in the first one month. A dispassionate study would suggest that Muslims, Hindus and others died in the same way.

Razia Husain, a 45-year-old mother of four, died days after she allegedly self-immolated herself on November 20 when she failed to exchange six demonetised notes of Rs 500 after repeatedly standing in queues outside banks. She is from Shahjamal area of Aligarh.

A 32-day-old girl died in the arms of her mother, Arguna Khatoon, while she was waiting in a crowded room at a branch of the United Bank of India in Balrampur in Bihar.

Akbar, 27, a rickshaw-puller, allegedly committed suicide at Khujra, near Bulandhahr after he failed to exchange four Rs 500 notes.

Haider Ali, a tailor and a resident of Shafichak village of Sherghati sub-division of Gaya died after he suffered a heart attack that had been reportedly brought about because he failed to withdraw money.

S K Sherrif, a 46-year-old deputy manager at a Nellore State Bank of India branch allegedly died of stress following the cash rush.

Mohammed Idrees, 45, died of a heart attack after he failed to exchange old notes. He had reportedly made the rounds of a number of banks as he did not have a bank account.

Saud-ur-Rehman, a resident of Old Delhi, reportedly fell ill after he stood in a queue outside a bank in Lal Kuan for over eight hours. The 48-year-old was taken to a hospital where he died.

A tempo driver, Khaleek Hasan Khan, 45, died at a bank in Bareilly after waiting for three days. He collapsed after he managed to exchange his older notes. Ishteyaq Ahmad, 70, a retired teacher, died in Azamgarh, UP, after he collapsed while in a bank queue.

Aziz Ansari, 60, an employee at a power loom factory, died in Meerut after he fainted while standing in a queue at a bank.

Sheikh Chanda Khatun, a 50-year-old mother of three, allegedly committed suicide in Surat after she failed to buy groceries for her family with the demonetised notes. While her children claimed she consumed insecticide because of demonetisation, the police said that the death may have been brought about by a family issue.

Barkat Sheikh died due to a heart attack when he was standing in a queue at the Corporation Bank branch to exchange his demonetized notes.

Shabana, 20, a resident of Shamli, UP, alleged that she committed suicide after she could not get her hands on valid currency to pay for her treatment.

Rizwana, 21, allegedly committed suicide in Khajoori Khas, Delhi. While her relative said that she was upset because she could not exchange currencydespite having tried for three daysthe police have not been able to confirm the link.
Trump, as President Elect sat through only two of the scheduled daily security briefings in two weeks.

Trump said in August that Russia isnt invading any country

President Elect Donald Trump told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on July 31 that Vladimir Putin is "Not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want," Reminded by Stephanopoulos, "Well, he's already there [in the Crimea], isn't he?" The candidate Trump said: "OK -- well, he's there in a certain way.

But I'm not there. You have Obama there. Mr.Trump spent days tweeting explanations and corrections of his point-blank statements, but many presidential decisions simply cant wait a day or two for the President to learn last week's headline news.

Trumps willful foreign policy ignorance

Candidate Trump when asked said on MSNBC in March about who his foreign policy advisors were, I listen to lots of people ... at the appropriate time Ill tell you who the people are, but my primary consultant is myself and I have a good instinct for this stuff." Other times he has said, I have a very good brain and I know more about ISIS than the Generals, believe me. In his defense businessman Trump has had indirect business dealings with many foreign governments perhaps thinks that international relations between governments with armies are just an extension of simple business deals between banks.

Everything suggests he is uninterested in learning.

Trump - Ill be unpredictable

Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. has been stupid saying what it would do and that his administration would strive to be unpredictable. Many historians believe that unpredictability has been and continues to be the most dangerous possible international position, having led to North Korea feeling it could invade South Korea because it wasnt clear the U.S.

would choose to defend. The Cuban missile crisis happened risked nuclear war in part because it wasnt clear how the new, young, President would react. Lastly, when Austria-Hungary declared war on tiny Serbia did it expect WWI and 17 million dead?

This unpredictability scares foreign leaders about Trump. In April reporters with "The Guardian" wrote, Dangerous, foolish, irrational, scary, terrifying, irresponsible, a clown, a disaster.

These are just some of the words used to describe the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency by politicians, diplomats and analysts around the world.

Trump blows off security briefings

The reliance on himself as his own top advisor is really scary when you combine his ignorance with President Elect Trump skipping almost all opportunities to learn the most secret details of domestic and international security situations and become aware of potential danger zones.

Former CIA employee Beth G. told "Blasting News" "The CIA spends months preparing background papers on various international threats for a new president." Presidents also get The Presidents Daily Brief papers at 7:45 every morning and personal briefings about current threats which are so numerous and fluid that the briefings usually last an hour or more.

Trump's explanation for skipping security briefings over the weekend was that he was trying to keep Carrier (an air conditioning company) from moving a factory to Mexico. This is willful ignorance.

Trump's dangerous ignorance

At 4 a.m. in The White House Situation Room willful ignorance is dangerous if an aircraft has wandered off course or an army has invaded another country - such as India moving into the disputed Kashmir region. When nuclear war threatens anywhere its too late to learn that Kashmir it is a highly disputed territory between two nuclear-armed countries, not a luxury cloth. Or that Osama Bin Laden was located and killed while living comfortably in a massive compound two kilometers from the Pakistani Military Academy so Pakistani Intelligence may not be reliable.
Over the course of the entire presidential campaign, Donald Trump would often get accused of being a sexist and a misogynist. Despite Trump denying these allegations, his daughter, Ivanka Trump, wasn't always willing to bite her tongue about her father's behavior.

Ivanka Trump on dad

Donald Trump has long had a reputation of being womanizer, known for throwing lavish parties where women, young and old, would tend to the needs of the current president-elect. Married three times, Trump has even been caught making controversial comments since being married to his current wife Melania, which was evident in the now infamous leaked Access Hollywood tape.

In the last month of the election, following the release of the audio tape, a dozen women came forward to claim that they were sexually assaulted by Trump, though he denied any wrongdoing. As reported by Mediaite, via journalist Sarah Kendzior, on November 24, Ivanka Trump is on the record expressing her disgust for some the future president's comments.

Never saw much reporting on Ivanka's response to Trump saying he wanted to date her: "If he wasn't my father, I would spray him with Mace." pic.twitter.com/RVlP4DdIc1  Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 24, 2016

Freelance writer Sarah Kendzior was able to dig up a quote from Ivanka Trump back in 2004. In response to Donald Trump telling radio show host Howard Stern that he would date her if he wasn't her father, Ivanka responded back.

"If he wasn't my father, I would spray him with mace," Ivanka said, which was sourced through the "Quoteables" section of the Chicago Tribune back in 2004.

If He Wasnt My Father, I Would Mace Him: Ivankas Response to Fathers Jokes About Wanting to Date Her https://t.co/PkBAVz5l0U pic.twitter.com/p6xSa6VWYe  Mediaite (@Mediaite) November 24, 2016

Controversial history

The last month of the election appeared to be the death nail for the Trump campaign.

In addition to the Access Hollywood tape and the 12 allegations of sexual assault, Trump was also getting ready for a child rape case. The victim, known as "Jane Doe" in the legal documents, accused Trump and convicted pedophile, Jeffery Epstein, of rapping her on more than one occasion when she was just 13-years-old during the summer of 1994.

After receiving death threats, "Jane Doe" canceled a planned press conference, and then decided to drop the lawsuit altogether just days later.

Moving forward

With the sexual assault allegations and surprise audio tapes behind him, Donald Trump is less than two months away from being sworn in as the next commander in chief. Despite her previous comments, Ivanka Trump has been one of her father's biggest supporters and is expected to help run his businesses through an alleged blind trust along with his other children over the next four to eight years.
"Days Of Our Lives" has had a lot of good drama lately. This week will not disappoint fans! The residents of Salem are busy getting things straightened out between Christmas and New Year's Day. Don't continue to read if you don't want to know!

Abigail, Chad, and Gabi triangle

Abigail is threatened by the relationship she sees Gabi developing with her husband, and confronts her. No worries, though, Chad is feeling betrayed by his wife, but the bottom line is that they still love each other, and he asks Abigail to come back home to him and Thomas.

Was this his decision or because of Jennifer begging him to believe in her daughter?

Kate is busy discovering dirt. She is on to Eduardo and his schemes. In the meantime, they plan a romantic New Year's Eve together. Kate thinks she has found a corporate thief and it is Andre.

Things are moving on in the investigation into Stefano's death. Shane finds something on him. Rafe needs the help of Kate and Andre so that he can have Stefano's body exhumed.

JJ is let in on a little secret by Lani on New Year's Eve. He finally knows that she was the one night stand from Florida. All of this after Rafe told him not to give up on Gabi. What to do, what to do?

Chloe's secret won't remain secret

Deimos and Brady work together to expose Chloe's secret.

Of course Nancy was in on it with her! Chloe learns that some secrets aren't meant to be, and faces the fact that it will all come to light.

Adrienne still has two men on the hook. They are both supporting her through the cancer and chemo. Will she ever make a decision?

Anne decides it is time to go for her dream job. She wants to work at The Spectator.

Jennifer will be her editor. Good thing Jennifer doesn't hold grudges or Miss Anne would be in a world of hurt.

As Joey and Jade come together on common ground for parenting, Jade's dad is livid! Also happening in the Johnson household is a huge revelation of Steve and Kayla from Shane. Is this the same information that has Marlena, Roman, and Rafe shocked as well?

With New Year's Eve coming, some relationships will change forever in Salem.
A Chinese worker processes steel at a factory in Qingdao city, East China's Shandong province, July 1, 2016. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - Through high-level meetings in late 2016, the Chinese leadership has signaled a clear orientation for the nation's policy stance for next year: to hold the economy steady, press ahead with reforms and improve the well-being of ordinary people.

Economic stability

"Stability" was the theme that emerged for 2017's economic work at last week's Central Economic Work Conference.

China will maintain its proactive fiscal and prudent monetary policies, according to a statement released after the meeting. Specifically, monetary policy was described as "prudent and neutral," and fiscal policy will be "more proactive and effective."

"Neutral" means neither stimulating nor contractionary, said Zeng Gang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "When implementing monetary policy, a balance has to be achieved between propping up growth and fending off risks, and now it is more pressing to control risks."

Given rising corporate leverage and global uncertainties, regulators have turned more cautious toward monetary easing, but have more frequently resorted to fiscal measures.

Fiscal support is necessary to push forward economic restructuring, stabilize the economy and improve people's livelihood, said Bai Jingming, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.

Public spending will continue to bolster infrastructure improvement amid a prolonged economic slowdown, while more funds will be channeled to areas including re-employment of laid-off workers, industrial technological upgrades, health care, and education.

Analysts also expect continued tax breaks to relieve business burdens.

Despite volatility in the stock market and real estate sector, the Chinese economy is ending 2016 on a firm footing, with encouraging signs ranging from industrial profits to railway freight.

In the first three quarters, GDP expanded 6.7 percent year on year, within the government's target range of between 6.5 and 7 percent.

Further reform

Reform remained on the front burner as the economy urgently needs to address entrenched structural imbalance and find sustainable growth momentum.

"Next year's major economic task can be summarized as deepening supply-side structural reform," said Yang Weimin, deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs.

The reform was proposed at the end of 2015 and briskly carried out this year, with five major tasks: cutting industrial capacity, bringing down housing inventory, reducing leverage levels, lowering corporate costs and improving weak economic links.

Last week's meeting agreed to strengthen efforts and expand reform to more areas, including overhauling the supply side of agriculture, reviving the real economy and stabilizing the property sector.

Yang expects the reform to be a main theme of the country's economic work in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

President Xi Jinping highlighted curbing property bubbles at a meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs on Wednesday, the fourth time asset bubbles were mentioned by Chinese leaders in the second half of the year.

China will take a varied approach to regulating the property market, adopting financial, fiscal, tax, land and regulation measures to build a long-term housing mechanism that provides housing for all people, according to Xi.

Thanks to policies introduced by local authorities in October, the property market in big cities continued to stabilize in the last month, gradually retreating from sky-high prices.

"Houses are built for living, not for speculation," policymakers have agreed.

China will also introduce private funds into more sectors dominated by state-owned companies, push forward legislation on a civil code, better protect property rights, and improve the old-age insurance system, as well as steadily and properly promote fiscal, taxation and financial reforms.

People-centered development

China should stick to its people-centered development philosophy and address people's common concerns in promoting economic growth, Xi said during Wednesday's meeting.

"The fundamental goal of maintaining the growth pace and promoting economic development is to seek proper solutions to prominent issues of people's common concern," Xi said.

Xi's remarks added to China's ambitious plans to substantially improve the lives of common people.

By 2020, the last year of the current five-year plan, the country will build an all-round moderately prosperous society, double the average annual incomes of both urban and rural residents from 2010 levels, and completely eliminate poverty.

A two-day central rural work conference ending Tuesday targeted improving farmers' incomes, partly by enhancing agricultural productivity and competitiveness.

The meeting demanded more targeted efforts to lift another 10 million rural people out of poverty in 2017, as growth of per capita disposable rural income in the first three quarters slipped to its lowest level in almost 13 years.

The government will work on several fronts to reduce poverty: promoting industrial development in poor regions, improving access to employment services for the poor, improving health care and education, and improving infrastructure in poor regions.

China has lifted 700 million people out of poverty through more than 30 years of reform and opening-up.

Policymakers also agreed to promote clean energy, regulate the housing rental market, improve garbage sorting, improve nursing homes for the aged, and reinforce food safety supervision.
Workers on a motor vehicle production line at a factory in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said that more efforts should be made to implement "Made in China 2025," a plan released last year to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power.

In his instruction to a Friday meeting on China's manufacturing development, Li said China will continue to streamline administrative approvals and delegate power to lower levels, improve government services and push forward taxation and financial reforms.

The country will create a sound environment for the development of advanced manufacturing sectors in the aspects of market access, distribution of essential productive factors and lowering costs, Li said.

The Made in China 2025 plan should be combined with the country's Internet Plus action plan and promotion of mass entrepreneurship and innovation to promote the positive interaction between new growth impetus and traditional sectors, the premier said.

China should also seek a higher level of smart and green manufacturing to promote medium-high level of growth, Li said.

Vice Premier Ma Kai said at the meeting that China has made headway in upgrading the manufacturing sector after the plan was unveiled last year, contributing to the sector's steady growth and profit recovery.

As manufacturing is a major part of real economy and a major field of China's supply-side structural reform, the country should continue to push forward the implementation of the Made in China 2025 plan, Ma said.

China should enhance coordination of central and local government efforts, build national manufacturing innovation centers, consolidate industrial foundation and optimize the market environment, Ma said.
China's importance as a strategic partner and the need to improve the lives of the people of Sao Tome and Principe made breaking relations with Taiwan the right decision, Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada said on Thursday.

It was the first official comment after the African island nation announced on Tuesday that it had severed ties with Taiwan that had been established in 1997.

"We have our program and we have a commitment to the people to improve their living conditions," he was quoted by Reuters as saying, adding that China is "a very important strategic relationship".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday that Trovoada's statement voiced a profound truth in clear language - the one-China principle has increasingly been endorsed.

"We believe that China's win-win and open-minded cooperation with other countries will be conducive to their economic and social development," she said.

When asked whether China has a strategy for encouraging other countries to cut relations with Taiwan, Hua said: "You (the journalist) used a lot of interesting words. ... If China does have a strategy, it is that we always insist on developing friendly partnerships with countries around the world, on the basis of the one-China principle and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence."

Those five principles are: mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty; mutual non-aggression; mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs; equality and cooperation for mutual benefit; and peaceful co-existence.

Earlier, Hua dismissed accusations that China engaged in "dollar diplomacy" to get Sao Tome and Principe to cut ties with Taiwan.

"How can the recognition of the one-China principle be bought with money? The Chinese government never trades on its principles," she said.

Lin Gang, a professor of Taiwan Studies with the School of International and Public Affairs at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said the global community has a broad consensus over the one-China principle, and "Sao Tome and Principe's decision simply conforms to such a trend".

According to Lin, there is no need at all for China to play the "money game", because the large Chinese market can provide a lot of commercial opportunities for other countries that outweigh any money that Taiwan could provide.

Wang Hailiang, a researcher of Taiwan studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the breaking of ties also sent a warning to Taiwan authorities not to challenge the one-China principle. "This is only a beginning, and there will be more countries that choose to cut their 'diplomatic ties' with Taiwan," he said.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/24/2016 page3)
Despite of the tense cross-Straits relations, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are still maintaining exchanges through political party communications.

The Communist Party of China and Taiwan's Kuomintang held a dialogue on Friday in Beijing. Zhang Zhijun, the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, met with the KMT delegation, led by the party's Vice-Chairman Chen Chen-hsiang.

They discussed party communication at the grassroots level, the protection of people's welfare and communication between youths on both sides.

The dialogue aims to set the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations back on track, uphold the one-China principle and oppose "Taiwan independence", promote social and economic cooperation and improve people's welfare, said Zhang, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

"The goal was to carry out the common understanding between President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's KMT leader Hung Hsui-chu," Zhang said.

Xi met with Hung in early November in Beijing and made a six-point proposal on cross-Straits relations, including adhering to the 1992 Consensus, resolutely opposing forces that support "Taiwan independence" and promoting social and economic cooperation between the two sides.

Zheng Zhenqing, an associate professor of Taiwan studies at Tsinghua University, said that because the official communication channel between the mainland and Taiwan has been cut off, dialogue between the CPC and KMT and people-to-people communication are the main forms of exchange between the two sides.

The KMT is not the ruling party, Zheng said, so the communication between the political parties is a non-official channel.

Since the Democratic Progressive Party took over leadership in Taiwan in May, cross-Straits relations have worsened and official communication has been suspended.

"Dialogue has brought warmth to the cold winter when official communication stalled," said Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies at Beijing Union University.

"The dialogue between the two parties becomes an important platform for seeking peaceful development, promoting people-to-people communication and economic exchanges and improving people's welfare on both sides," he said.

In Washington on Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States has a deep and abiding interest in cross-Straits stability. "We believe that dialogue between the two sides has enabled peace, stability, and development in recent years," he said.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/24/2016 page3)
A black woman and her two daughters were arrested in Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday by a white officer. The actions during the arrest, caught on video, has sparked a dispute about the actions of the arresting officer.

A small dispute over littering rapidly escalated leading to the arrest of the three women. The incident was caught on video and has sparked an internal affairs inquiry. The video shows the white police officer forcefully arresting the women.

The familys lawyer says racism is all over the incident, said Christopher Connelly, a member of station KERA. In a statement, the department acknowledged that the video looks bad, but urged calm until an investigation is completed. Protesters called for the officers dismissal, he continued.

The events began when Jacqueline Craig called police to say that a man had grabbed and choked her 7-year-old son, accusing the child of littering. When the responding officer arrived, the two engaged in a heated argument.

The encounter was recorded by Porsha Craver, Craigs niece, using her smartphone to film the encounter. Craver also offers her own comments about the encounter.

The video, that is nearly 6 minutes long, has been viewed about 2.5 million times on Facebook. The video shows the officer questioning Craig while she says the man should have spoken to her about her son.

In the video, Craig can be heard saying to the officer, He cant prove to me that my son littered. But it doesnt matter if he did or didnt. It doesnt give him the right to put his hands on him. The officer responded to this statement with, Why not?

The situation continued to escalate from that point on. The officer stated, If you keep yelling at me, youre going to piss me off, Im going to take you to jail.

A little while later, one of Craigs daughters tries to step between her mother and the officer. The officer shoves her out of the way and later handcuffs her.

At the end of the video, Craver and the officer struggle over the phone before she is also arrested.

The original video was streamed live by one of Craigs daughters, Brea Hymond, 19.

Craig said justice was not served. It made me feel less of a parent that I couldnt protect him when he needed it, she said.

The Fort Worth Police Department said that The involved officer has been placed on restricted duty status by the Chief of Police.
'While people complain of the difficulties they are experiencing because of the lack of currency, they remain supportive so far of Mr Modi's initiative.'

'What the country should be concerned about is the prospect of a prime minister who is willing to sacrifice economic gain and risk large-scale job losses in exchange for personal popularity,' says T N Ninan.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

A sure way to win politically in the country is to project yourself as someone untouched by corruption, or as someone who will clean the Augean stables of Indian politics.

Rajiv Gandhi was projected as Mr Clean in 1984, in a country that was getting jaded by corruption charges; partly because of that, he swept the elections at the end of that year.

Then, even as the Bofors scandal destroyed that image, V P Singh had grabbed the mantle of Mr Clean by launching tax raids on businessmen, arresting some high-profile ones, and ordering a probe into a defence deal.

Additionally, this product of a minor princeling family who used to be addressed as 'Raja-saab' took on the 'fakir' imagery that today has a new claimant (the election slogan in 1989 was 'Raja nahin, fakir hain').

A quarter of a century later, Arvind Kejriwal exploited the India Against Corruption movement that was a reaction to the scandals engulfing the Manmohan Singh government, and catapulted his Aam Aadmi Party to power in Delhi.

Other state politicians too have got repeated traction with voters by projecting an image that is free (or mostly free) of the corruption taint -- Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.

Manmohan Singh got initial credit for being personally clean, and his government's re-election in 2009 may have had something to do with that.

Now we have Narendra Modi.

During a dozen years as chief minister of Gujarat, Mr Modi managed to avoid any hint of government scandal though he was known to be close to a couple of businessmen who themselves did not have the cleanest reputations.

He has maintained that record during two-and-a-half years as prime minister, and frequently drawn attention to the contrast with what went before.

So even though the BJP must be getting funded no differently from the other political parties, Mr Modi has a level of credibility on the corruption issue that no other politician on the national stage can claim.

This would explain why, despite the notebandi gambit coming unstuck in every way imaginable, and backfiring economically, Mr Modi is able to carry conviction with people across the country -- and thereby avoid the backlash of anger that otherwise should have been inevitable by now.

Reporters who have travelled through Bihar, western UP, Maharashtra and elsewhere report uniformly that, while people complain of the difficulties that they are experiencing because of the lack of currency, they remain supportive so far of Mr Modi's initiative.

They have bought the narrative that the prime minister has taken a bold step to root out corruption.

Unless the economic disruption continues unabated, the BJP's pay-off could come in the UP state elections early in 2017.

What is more, Mr Modi shows every intention of continuing down this road.

As an anti-corruption crusader, Mr Modi could successfully divert attention from an indifferent economic track record.

There are two dangers. The first is that any image contrary to the underlying reality could come unstuck.

If the BJP government gets caught in any fund-raising scandal, or Mr Modi in a crony capitalist deal, then Mr Modi would be vulnerable to the old charge of being a 'feku' (fake).

Second, if any further anti-corruption gambits, such as one that attacks benami property holdings or which gets seen as a return of 'tax terrorism,' causes further economic chaos, then a suffering populace might stop caring that much about whether Mr Modi is clean or not; they would focus on other, more pressing concerns.

These are the issues that should worry Mr Modi.

On its part, what the country should be concerned about is the prospect of a prime minister who is willing to sacrifice economic gain and risk large-scale job losses in exchange for personal popularity -- as he has already done with notebandi.

So, contrary to the title of the movie, once is enough.
The US Department of Defence has awarded a $284.6 million contract to Lockheed Martin to produce infrared target sight systems for the US Navy and Pakistan, a media report said on Saturday.

The system will be used for the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters, which have proved very effective in combats against militants, particularly in difficult terrains. In the US, the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter is used by US Marine Corps expeditionary forces, the Dawn reported.

The TSS incorporates a third-generation forward-looking infrared sensor that provides target sighting in day, night, or adverse weather conditions.

A Pentagon press release describes the TSS system as a large-aperture mid-wave forward-looking infrared sensor with a laser designator/rangefinder turret. It provides the capability to identify and laser-designate targets at maximum weapon range, significantly enhancing platform survivability and lethality.

The company's Orlando-based missile and fire control unit will produce the sight system in Orlando and Ocala, Florida, through January 2022 for the US Navy and Pakistan under the foreign military sales portion of the award, the paper said, citing the Pentagon release.

The contract has a base value of $150.96 million but its accumulative cost would go up to $284.6 million. The government of Pakistan will pay about 12 per cent of the total cost through an arrangement with the US under the Foreign Military Sales programme.

In January, Lockheed Martin received a smaller contract of $14 million to provide the same target system for Pakistan.

The contracts include software development and testing, system modification, and installation requirements to integrate the TSS into the Cobra helicopters.

The TSS provides target information and tracking data for the helicopter, in addition to passive targeting for integrated weapons. Work on the first contract, performed in Florida, would be completed by December 2017.

Although the United States and Pakistan were once close allies, relations between the two countries strained in 2011, when the US eliminated Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during a covert raid at his compound in Abbottabad. The bilateral ties slipped further after the US Congress blocked financing of eight F-16 fighter jets earlier this year despite strong lobbying by Islamabad. The US lawmakers accused Islamabad of continuing to support the Afghan Taliban.
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Land prices in HCM City and neigbouring provinces are increasing, with real estate industry insiders attributing it to high liquidity.  Photo phununews.vn

HCM CITY  Land prices in HCM City and neigbouring provinces are increasing, with real estate industry insiders attributing it to high liquidity.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, deputy director of ai Viet Group, said prices have been rising in all districts in the city since the end of last year.

He quoted real estate website batdongsan.com.vn as saying that land prices surged 51 per cent last September.

They are up 34 per cent in Thu uc District, 54 per cent in Hoc Mon, 37 per cent in Binh Tan and 13 per cent in District 7.

Anh said that since the end of last year demand has been strong, with both speculators and people with actual housing needs buying.

Nguyen Thanh Trang of District 7 said she bought land in Binh Tan and made a profit of over 30 per cent within half a year.

Brokers said areas where prices have increased are ones where residential projects are mushrooming or infrastructure would be improved in future.

Explaining further, they said when an apartment or housing project is announced, land prices jump in the vicinity.

A year ago a 60sq.m piece of land in District 9, 15km from downtown, cost VN600 million (US$28,000). Now the same land costs VN800-900 million ($40 million).

Prices in more central parts have risen even more.

For instance, in Linh ong Ward of Thu uc District, 8km from downtown, now costs VN18-25 million ($810-1,100) per square metre. A year ago it was only VN14-16 million ($636-720).

The rise is attributed to the new Pham Van ong Street which runs to the Go Dua traffic intersection.

Furthermore, three apartment projects are being developed on this road.

Districts 7 and Nha Be too have seen prices jump after authorities indicated several bridges would be built there and many streets expanded together with flyovers and tunnels.

Neighbouring provinces like ong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An where tourism is developing are also seeing land prices go up sharply.

Brokers said liquidity is very good in these markets, with buyers coming from HCM City and elsewhere and acquiring lands without haggling much.

But as prices go up, some are reminded of the property bubble that burst in 2008-10.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association, admitted that the risk of a bubble exists and said buyers should exercise caution when investing. VNS
Housing developers in the country especially in HCM City will shift from luxury apartments to the mid- and low-end segments next year, experts have said.  Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY  Housing developers in the country especially in HCM City will shift from luxury apartments to the mid- and low-end segments next year, experts have said.

In its latest analysis, the HCM City Real Estate Association has made a similar forecast.

Le Hoang Chau, its chairman, said there would be a big change in the market to address the imbalance in supply.

While there is excessive supply of high-end housing, there is a dearth at the lower end, he said.

There would be a shift towards affordability next year, he said.

He cited Vingroups announcement it would build 200,000-300,000 apartments in the next five years at prices of VN700 million-1 billion (US$34,000-49,000).

Many other major developers like Him Lam Land, Khang ien, Sacomreal, FLC, Vihajico, and Nam Long also plan to build affordable apartments.

Le Xuan Nga, general director of World Star Land, told a conference this week that transactions in the high-end segment have reduced this year, especially in HCM City.

Next year the property market would witness a new trend of developers focusing on the mid- and low-end segments to meet demand for housing, he added.

Vo Thi Diu Hien, general director of PHP Real, said the national housing market is driven by the low- and mid-end segments.

In 2013-14 they had helped the market recover from a recession, but were ignored in 2015-16, causing a shortage, she said.

Next year these segments would grow strongly, stabilising the market, she said.

o Thu Hang, a senior official at Savills Vietnam, predicted national housing, especially in the low-priced segment, to surge to meet the unfulfilled demand.

Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) quoted her as saying that 2.6 million workers work in industrial zones and the number increases by 200,000 a year.

Three-fourths of them are migrants with an average income of US$2,500 a year, and this is a promising sign for the market, she added.

Experts said other segments too would grow next year but not strongly.

Nga of World Star Land said high-end supply would still increase but only strong developers would succeed.

Nguyen uc Thanh, head of the Viet Nam Institute for Economic and Policy Research, said other property segments like hotels, offices, and industrial lands would stagnate next year due to changes in the global economy.

Until two or three months ago many foreign investors were coming to Viet Nam to explore investment opportunities, but the numbers have dried up now, he said to explain why the segments would slow down.

Nguyen Tran Nam, chairman of the Viet Nam Real Estate Association, said overall the market is thriving thanks to the stable economy, rapid urbanisation and improving living standards.  VNS
Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, talks to the newspaper Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times) about the high demand for skilled workers to meet new requirements of national economic development.

Do you think that low labor cost remains Viet Nams advantage?

I dont think so. A young, inexpensive labor force was our countrys biggest advantage in the initial period of the countrys economic development. But now we have integrated deeper into the world economy while adapting to the fourth revolution of science and technology. In such circumstances, we have to adopt a comprehensive strategy to upgrade our economy and to improve the quality of our human resources. I should say that a creative labor force has the most advantage points nowadays, not low-skilled, cheap labor as in the past.

It is indisputable that the revolution of science and technology has strong impact on the worlds industrial sector, including Viet Nam, and we have gradually introduced automation in most production to replace workers. In my opinion, this will continue in the next five to 10 years, when Viet Nams economy is in the period of mid- and long-term development.

What strategy should we adopt to upgrade our economy?

The only way to cope with these challenges while still providing jobs is to quickly switch our economic structure from assembling to higher added value areas, like research, design or establishment of distribution systems, and others.

In my opinion, we should take a step forward in restructuring our entire economy, as well as each economic sector.

To do that Viet Nam must reform its vocational training system, a key element in the course of restructuring the national economy. The International Labor Organisation (ILO) has projected that up to 86 percent of Vietnamese workers in the textile sector and 75 percent of those working in the electronic industry are likely to lose their jobs due to automation technology. This requires Viet Nam to develop a comprehensive and synchronous strategy.

More recently, we have talked quite often about start-ups by young entrepreneurs. The spirit of renewal is a key to success for start-ups. As I have mentioned above, the time for cheap labor is over as wprkers will be replaced by robots or automation. In addition, the least developed countries may offer much lower labor costs than ours. So, for us, there is no other way than to take a step forward by restructuring our economy.

You have mentioned that we should focus on the development of the private sector in restructuring our national economy. Why?

What I mean is to help private enterprises develop in all national economic sectors, including agriculture, tourism, services and others. For example, high technology will become a central component in agricultural development.

However, we should only focus on sectors in which we have advantages, like the development of small and medium enterprises, in order to provide jobs to those who have been made redundant in the course of economic restructuring.

Another point I want to raise is that job training nowadays should be shared between the State and private sectors, particularly in the field of high skills training.

Of course, if any enterprises want to offer job training they must follow certain criteria laid out by the Government, particularly the following requirements:

They must be able to forecast the labor market demand;

They have to assume responsibility for developing training curricula, building workshops, recruiting teaching staff. The Government will only give advice to the enterprises to ensure the teaching curricula meet national standards. - VNS
US Congress(WASHINGTON) -- Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) used this week's Republican address to highlight the importance of mental health reform using the story of the Sandy Hook shooting.



Murphy, a practicing psychologist, talks about the difficulties families face in dealing with the mental health system in the United States. "Outdated laws prevent the families and caregivers from being a part of the treatment team," he says, which "too often...has fatal consequences."



"We need treatment before tragedy, and care before crisis," Murphy explains.



Murphy mentions the mental health reform bill signed by President Obama last week -- one day before the anniversary of the shooting in Newton, Connecticut -- saying that the passage of that law represents the "breaking down the wall between physical health and mental health."



"In a new year, with a new administration," Murphy promised, "we will kee working to get real treatment to those who need it."

Read the full text of the Republican Weekly Address:

"This picture means so much to me. I keep it on my desk in my congressional office. It was given to me by a proud parent. This is Daniel. Danieljust seven years oldwas at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, when a troubled young man took his life and those of 25 others, and ultimately his own.

You know, if theres one thing we cherish at Christmas, it is the comfort and joy of being surrounded by the people we love. But every day, 959 lives are takendirectly or indirectlyby mental illness. Last year alone, 350,000 lives were lost because our broken mental health system continues to fail American families. Rather than getting those who need help most into treatment, we leave them out on the streets or throw them in jail. This is heartbreakingand its unacceptable.

As a practicing psychologist, I have seen firsthand how difficult it is for families to navigate our broken mental health system. Outdated laws prevent the families and caregivers from being a part of the treatment teamtoo often this has fatal consequences. We need treatment before tragedy, and care before crisis.

After Sandy Hook, we launched an investigation into our nations broken mental health system. Courageous families stepped forward to tell their stories. And we started to understand the real problemsover 110 federal programs and a $130 billion investment that did little but stand by and watch rising rates of suicide, incarceration, and homelessness. But we needed to do more than just talk about this problem. We needed to start solving this problem.

By the start of 2016, we had pushed mental health reform towards the top of Washingtons to-do list. And last week, one day before the Sandy Hook anniversary, President Obama signed into law the most significant mental health reform in 50 years. With this new law, we are finally breaking down the wall between physical health and mental health.

Now federal agencies will be moving from vague feel-good programs to ones that emphasize evidence-based care for those at the highest risk. For the first time, there will be an Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use who will lead the way, evaluating and improving the system.



Well be investing in services for the most difficult-to-treat cases and ensuring that family members are a part of the care delivery team.

Well be training people to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, including law enforcement officers for how to best respond to a potentially violent situation.

Well be providing real resources to combat substance abuse, and specifically for the opioid crisis.

Well be addressing, head on, the number 10 killer in our nationsuicide, which disproportionately affects our veterans; and for the first time ever, Congress is stepping in to help those with an eating disorder get access to real medical care.

And well be expanding our mental health workforce, because today, half the counties in America do not have a single psychologist or psychiatrist.

One bill won't solve everything, but these desperately needed reforms will bring help. And where there is help, there is hope.

To the Sandy Hook families and all those who made this possible, who gave their time and took a stand, thank you. To anyone out there struggling, looking for answers, know that you are not alone. We are with you. We are fighting for you.

Although many doubted we would make it this far, here we are. And in a new year, with a new administration, we will keep working to get real treatment to those who need it.

This is what Christmas is all about: peace, goodwill, and above all, love. So God bless our caregivers, our doctors, our nurses. And God bless our troops, their families, and the nation they serve. And God bless the United States of America.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) receives Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Lee Hyuk in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Trong uc

HA NOI  National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Lee Hyuk and Ambassador of Iran Saleh Adibi in Ha Noi yesterday.

Meeting the RoK diplomat, the NA leader said she is delighted to see the two countries strategic cooperative partnership growing, mentioning the RoK as the leading economic partner, the biggest foreign investor, the second largest ODA provider, and the third trader of Viet Nam.

She expected that the enforcement of the Vietnam-RoK free trade agreement and the re-signing of the memorandum of understanding on labour co-operation will step up the countries co-operation.

Ambassador Lee Hyuk said he believes the similarities, the growing political, economic, trade and investment, and the close bond between the two people will help accelerate bilateral co-operation in the future.

He told his host that the RoK Government and the Embassy in Viet Nam are working to boost import of Vietnamese commodities in a bid to achieve a trade balance.

In the past 11 months, the two countries two-way trade exceeded US$14 billion, which, the Ambassador believed, is likely to reach the set target of US$70 billion by 2020.

He agreed that the countries should enhance cultural exchange, tourism and investments and coordinate closely in activities to mark the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2017.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) receives Iranian Ambassador Saleh Adibi in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Trong uc

At a reception for Iranian Ambassador Saleh Adibi, Chairwoman Ngan affirmed that Viet Nam always treasures and wants to further the friendship and multi-faceted co-operation with Iran, stressing the need to increase visits at all levels.

She asked Iran to support Viet Nams bid to secure a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 2020  21 term and prioritise trade to realise a turnover of $2 billion.

The leader also asked Iran to facilitate the participation of the military-run telecom group Viettel and the Vietnam Oil and Gas group in projects in the country as well as the implementation of a project to pilot the growing of Irans basmati rice variety in Viet Nam for export to Iran.

Ambassador Saleh Adibi spoke highly of the Vietnamese National Assembly in deciding the countrys important issues and expressed his hope that bilateral parliamentary cooperation will be sped up.

He emphasised that Irans foreign policy is to attach importance to the cooperation with Viet Nam.

He hoped the countries will set up partnerships in biotechnology and nanotechnology, which are Irans strong domains and will reap new developments in their relations.  VNS
HA NOI - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on all staff working in the judiciary sector to increase their efforts to produce high quality legal documents for the interest of the nation and people, not for their own or the interests of groups.

Addressing a National Conference on the implementation of judiciary work in 2017 in the capital city yesterday, PM Phuc urged the Ministry to take pride in its function as law maker and facilitator in bringing laws to life.

PM Phuc spoke highly of the Ministrys achievements in 2016, particularly its efforts in carrying out the task of institutional building  the most important and basic mission of a Government eyeing for development.

During the year, the ministry has managed to compile and appraise legal documents to make our legal system move towards goals of transparency and fairness, protecting the peoples legitimate rights and facilitating conditions for business expansion as well as the movement of entrepreneurship, Phuc said.

He said he was very glad that 2016 was the first year the government has accomplished all tasks of writing decrees, legal guiding documents and ordinances.

This success should be attributed to the big role played by the Ministry of Justice, Phuc said.

However, he said some of the laws were not of a high standard.

Some of the laws were of low quality and not stable. Thats why they were subjected to revision and supplement, Phuc said.

He agreed that making laws is a demanding job. He cited the case of the Penal Code.

It is regrettable that the 2015 Penal Code was supposed to come into force on July 1, 2016. But due to the detection of almost 100 errors in the law, the enforcement date has to be postponed," he said, and adding that No such precedent has been reported in a countrys law making process.

Speaking about the orientations and tasks for the Ministry of Justice in 2017 and the years to come, Phuc asked the ministry to increase efforts to ensure that legal documents are important tools for the State to govern society and to facilitate people to exercise their rights as masters of the country; their rights to check and supervise the State power.

It is time for us to switch from the old practice of administrative order to creativity, development and service for people and enterprises, PM Phuc emphasised.

He said the MOJ must be the first line of government agencies to bear responsibility for the quality and progress of the law making process.

The laws must be in the interest of the nation and of the people. They are not for the interests of the MOJ or certain groups of people, Phuc stressed.

He then asked the MOJ to speed up the process of administrative reform and apply IT in their daily activities, while upholding the principles of accountability and transparency.

In 2016, the MOJ has coordinated with concerned ministries and agencies in compiling 12 laws and resolutions which were passed by the National Assembly. It has also submitted 1,000 documents to the Government and the PM for approval.

In the same year, the judiciary sector has appraised more than 11,800 legal documents and flagged 659 of them for errors or surpassing their invested power.

Regarding the work of administrative reform, the MOJ has appraised 783 procedures, but decided to eliminate 141 procedures and revise 573 others.

In 2016, some 530,000 civil judgment enforcements were executed, achieving over 78 per cent of the total cases nationwide._VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for the involvement of the entire political system and the public in the fight against drug crimes, which have recently shown complicated developments.

Chairing a national teleconference on drug control in Ha Noi, the PM expressed his concern that despite the discovery and strict punishment of many drug cases, drug crimes are yet to decline and drug abuse among young people is on the rise, especially in big cities such as Ha Noi, HCM City, Binh Duong, ong Nai and Vung Tau.

Without strong and drastic actions, the situation will become serious, he warned, adding that new types of drugs, especially synthetic ones, are not only smuggled into the country but also recently produced in Ha Noi.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quy Vuong said heroin and synthetic drugs are smuggled in Viet Nam from abroad, particularly in border areas of the northwestern and north central regions. Notably, drug trafficking from Laos this year has increased by 4.6 times from last year, with more sophisticated tricks.

According to Vuong, the illegal trading and transport of synthetic drugs, particularly ice meth, surged from last year, mostly from China, Laos, Cambodia and Western African countries. A total of 19,333 drug crimes were discovered during 2016, with more than 31,000 suspects arrested.

He also reported that there are nearly 211,000 drug addicts in the country, up 10,600 from 2015.

Commenting on the cause of below-expectation drug detoxification work, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong am said many localities are yet to pay due attention to the work.

In the northern provinces of ien Bien, Lai Chau and Nam inh, the funding for the work only meets 2-4 per cent of the demand while staffs of rehabilitation centres lack necessary skills.

Several centres are overcrowded, making it easier for drug addicts to stage breakout and flee, he said.

Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said drug addicts in many localities have been given access to methadone therapy, fulfilling 63 per cent of the target.

She vowed readiness to offer medicines and training to medical staff but local authorities must arrange personnel to monitor the effort.

Concluding the event, the PM asked the border and coast guards, and public security forces to increase crackdowns on drug crimes and give strict sentences to drug ring leaders.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was required to spread drug rehabilitation models while the Health Ministry should multiply effective treatment.

He requested localities allocate sufficient funding for the effort.

The media is responsible for raising public awareness of drugs danger and competent agencies will recheck drug detoxification policies. VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City has proposed building 10 new inland container depots to reduce the overload of traffic on roads as well as enhance connectivity among roads leading to seaports in the city.

The roads have been congested for years, according to city authorities.

The depots, to be located in the city outskirts to the northeast, east and west of the city, will be connected to seaports in HCM City and the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The depots would be built at ong Nam Industrial Park, Tay Bac Industrial Park in the outlying district of Cu Chi, Sai Gon Hi-tech Park (SHTP) in District 9, and Tan Kien Commune in Binh Chanh District, according to authorities.

The depots are expected to play an important role in transporting goods between HCM City and neighbouring provinces.

The Transport Department has asked the city administration to adjust the master plan to build an inland container depot at ong Nam Industrial Park in Cu Chi until 2020 with a vision to 2030.

The depot in Cu Chi, covering an area of 10 hectares, would be 11 km from An Ha Bridge, near National Road 22  Le Loi  Quang Trung  ang Thuc Vinh roads. It would have a capacity of 150,000TEUs per year by 2020.

Le Hoang Minh, deputy director of the Transport Department, said the depot would help to significantly reduce overloading on National Road 22.

Under the proposal sent to the Ministry of Transport, HCM City will build the Tan Kien depot with an area of 50ha at the meeting point between Vo Van Kiet Avenue and Trung Luong Expressway.

Le Thanh ai, deputy head of the management board of SHTP, said about 800 container trucks travel regularly from SHTP to Cat Lai Port in District 2, creating a traffic burden in the area.

ai said the city should build a depot to serve SHTP, which would help reduce traffic congestion and take full advantage of waterways from SHTP to Cat Lai Port via Ong Nhieu canal.

Speaking at a recent meeting with the Transport Department, Le Van Khoa, vice chairman of the citys Peoples Committee, said it was essential to build the depots in District 9 and Cu Chi District, which play a key role in the citys socio-economic development.

Khoa urged the departments of Transport as well as Planning and Architecture, and the committees of District 9 and Cu Chi District, to carefully study the project to prevent waste.

He also asked agencies to call for investment from businesses to build the depots.

HCM City and its neighbouring provinces have 12 inland container depots, including Tan Cang, Song Than, Bien Hoa, Transimex, Tanamexco-Tay Nam and Sotrans, many of which are connected with roads but not waterways.

Infrastructure facilities near ports are almost always overloaded.

All of these have contributed to raising transport costs, thus reducing the competitiveness of the domestic logistics sector.

There are 1,300 logistics firms, with more than 60 per cent of them in HCM City, mainly operating in shipping and delivering, transport, warehousing, ports, loading and uploading, distribution, customs procedures and integrated logistics services.

Seventy-two per cent of local logistics companies are small- or medium-sized, and only 5-7 per cent of human resources are properly trained.

A Viet Nam Logistics Association spokesperson said some major seaports are operating at below capacity due to the lack of road connectivity, but others with good road connectivity are overloaded and cannot keep up with increasing demand from logistics companies.  VNS
by Phuoc Buu

THUA THIEN- HUE  A 71-year-old man chose to live in an oasis that is far from his neighbors and unconnected to the power grid and water supply. He has lived this life for almost 30 years and remains content with it, as he guards a mangrove forest area.

Nguyen Ngoc ap says living in the marsh islet Ru Cha was always good for him, and it has been even better as marsh resources helped to feed his 10 children. No power, no water supply, and an Internet connection is an understandable concept that has never existed in his mind, but ap always smiles while talking about his life.

I feel contented with this. This marsh fed me and my children, so I have nothing to blame it for, even during the tough weather in the flooding season, he says.

In 1988, ap brought his wife to settle down in Ru Cha, the remaining islet of a mangrove forest in central Thua Thien- Hue Province. Encroachment of land for aquaculture and the cultivation of soil by nearby residents had turned the forest into a small marsh islet with a population of cha trees (Excoecaria agallocha), a mangrove species.

In the 1980s, life was very difficult in his home village of Thuan Hoa in the provinces Huong Tra District. People did not have enough food to eat or wood for cooking fires, and there was no land for planting crops to feed growing families.

I have 10 children, but the soil plot there was not large enough to cultivate. I thought the islet would be good, as no one would compete with me there in catching fish to feed my children, says ap.

He then made the brave decision to leave his sons and daughters behind in the village to live on the islet. While the islet looks wild and isolated today, it was even wilder 30 years ago before the marsh man settled down on his site.

Behind the thick mangrove tree layer there are several tombs built for the dead, as well as an old temple for Mother Goddesses worshipping found in the black, muddy water.

I wasnt scared at all, thinking of food for the kids, he says. But practice proved that ap was right. In the islet, he easily found fish, crustaceans, and amphibian species in abundance for the couple and his children. He and his wife managed to cultivate rice on the islet, as well.

In the middle of the islet, ap excavated land to make an earthen foundation, which is placed on a high spot to be safe from rising waters during the four-month flood season, with a cottage built on it to shelter the couple.

Year after year, ap had the feeling of ownership over the islet and the thought of the protection of the trees. Late at nights in the 1980s and 1990s, many reached the islet to cut down the trees for wood chucks and ap attempted to drive these poarchers away.

He said sometimes the poachers violently attacked him.

In recent years, youngsters flock to the islet for shade and photography, and ap has had to remind them to respect the trees. He is now considered the forest guard.

At 71, ap and his wife do not have any plans to return to his home village. He feels content with life at a site where there is not another human house within a 3km diameter. I am familiar with this life, he says. His wife is in total agreement with him, smiling and nodding her head, refusing to give her name as she says she is shy about being seen in newspapers.

Last year, the province authorities recognized aps attempts and named him the guard of the islet. They pay him some 50 dollar a year to watch over the trees. The humble amount makes ap feels content, because of the recognition.

How much they pay me doesnt matter. I love this life and I owe the islet for feeding my children, who are all grown up and married now. So I will stay here to watch out for the trees until my last breath, the old man says.  VNS
BINH DUONG  The Peoples Committee of Tan Uyen town in Binh Duong Province inaugurated the Vinh Loi Revolutionary Base Relic on Thursday (December 22, 2016).

The relic, which has been recognised as a provincial historical site, is situated at H 409 Street in Hamlet 3, Vinh Tan Commune.

The relic site is aimed at preserving and promoting cultural-historical values, commemorating war heroes and martyrs who laid down their lives for the countrys independence, and educating future generations about the countrys history.

The 5.5ha area cost VN100 billion (US$4.4 million) and took four years to build.

It has a triple gate, a ceremonial pitch, a memorial stele house, a memorial temple and a victory monument.

The names of more than 1,000 war heroes and martyrs are inscribed on the stele.

The Vinh Loi Revolutionary Base housed revolutionary forces and developed logistics, and created links with other revolutionary bases in the countrys wars against the French and Americans.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City authorities will allocate VN67.9 billion (US$3 million) for a five-year (2016-2020) project that will provide vocational training and job counseling to ethnic minority workers.

The project aims to make the ethnic minority workers more competitive in the labour market, official of the Board for Ethnic Minority People said yesterday.

They said target project beneficiaries, estimated at 11,700, will be people of working-age who have not yet been trained.

They will be trained for three months or less at vocational schools or enterprises. Later, they will receive job counseling, be introduced to at least one enterprise or employed by the enterprise where they were trained under the project.

They will also be given loans on preferential loan terms if they want to invest in a business after being trained.

Project beneficiaries, who are required to be registered residents, will receive VN3 million ($133) each for vocational training. This will be paid to schools or enterprises by local labour department branches.

Vuong Tai Phuoc, deputy head of the citys Board for Ethnic Minority People, said the project would help ensure the rights of ethnic minority residents in the city.

They need to be trained in order to meet demand and to increase their ability to compete in the labour market, Phuoc said.

The project will increase employment opportunities for ethnic minority residents, especially those living in outlying districts or areas affected by construction projects, he added.

The city has residents belonging to 51 ethnic minority groups. As of last year, more than 500,000 ethnic minority citizens lived in the city, or six per cent of its population, with a majority of them belonging to the Hoa, Khmer and Cham groups.

Of them, 60.6 per cent were at working-age.

According to statistics released by the municipal Peoples Committee in June last year, the incidence of poverty among ethnic minority residents was disproportional to the ratio of the population. As many as 3,850 ethnic minority households accounted for 8.07 per cent of the poor people in the city. Another 1,480 households are estimated to live close to the poverty line.VNS
President Tran ai Quang yesterday awarded the First Class Labour Order to the Viet Nam  Germany Hospital for its major contribution to the national health sectors development over the past 110 years.  VNA/VNS Photo Nhan S a ng

HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang yesterday awarded the First Class Labour Order to the Viet Nam  Germany Hospital for its major contribution to the national health sectors development over the past 110 years.

The first class labour order was granted to the hospital on the occasion of its 110th anniversary (1906-2016). This is the second time the hospital was bestowed with the first class labour order from the State.

Speaking at the ceremony, Quang said the hospitals development was proven year after year with a group of leading doctors including Ho ac Di, Ton That Tung, Ton That Bach, Nguyen Trinh Co, Hoang inh Cau, ang Hanh e and Nguyen Duong Quang.

It was the pioneering hospital in training and transferring medical techniques to satellite hospitals in recent years so that patients, especially underprivileged people, were able to access modern examination-and-treatment services at provincial-level hospitals at a reasonable price, he said.

However, the domestic health sector was facing numerous challenges while peoples health was threatened by environmental pollution, traffic accidents, and infectious diseases, he said.

Thus, Quang tasked the hospital to constantly improve their examination-and-treatment services quality to better take care of patients who continue to require improvements in health care services.

Director of the hospital Tran Binh Giang said, so far, the hospital had installed cutting-edge medical equipment at the international level and 50 modern operating rooms in an attempt to provide better services for patients.

Doctors from the hospital had successfully carried out multi-organ transplants, for example, transplanting a heart, liver and kidney to a patient at the same time, while other hospitals in the world often separate the transplants.

The satisfaction of curing patients is the motivation that helps us overcome the difficulty of the job, he said.

The Viet Nam  Germany Hospital, situated on Trang Thi Street, Ha Noi, has a capacity of more than 1,200 beds, with nearly 1,700 doctors and nurses. The hospital conducted about 20,000 surgeries annually 10 years ago. Now it conducts more than 42,000 surgeries per year.  VNS
Astros throw group no-hitter at Phillies to tie Series at two games each
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I was drinking a delicious cup of coffee on this cold and snowing day in Moscow. Russia is cold. The news reports are full of stories about cities in the Siberian Region that have lost power and it is -45C. degrees below zero. That is about -49 degrees F. Brrrrrrrrr.

As I was drinking this hot cup of coffee, I thought about Santa, Saint Nick, Father Frost, Grandfather Frost, Ded Moroz, Santa Claus, Chris Kringle, Pere Noel, Papai Noel, Viejo Pascuero, Dun Che Lao Ren, Kerstman, Joulupukki, Weihnachtsmann, Kanakaloka, Mikulas, Babbo Natale, Hoteiosho, Julenissen, Swiety Mikolaj, Jultomten and Father Christmas! Yes all Santa in different parts of the world.

I remember well the letter that was written by a young girl (Virginia OHanlon). As we grew up we were taught about things like this. I grew up in a world that it was OK to believe. You were expected to believe

There are now people who feel that Santa should not be believed in.

In fact Russia had to stand up for Father Frost: there was a TV ad that was banned in December of 2007. The ad for Eto electrical stores stated Father Frost, Russias version of Father Christmas, did not exist.

But because Russia stood up for Father Frost (Santa) the Western press had a hay day with this and put Russia down for censoring freedom of speech. The Western Press says that the Eto Electric company had a right to say there is no Santa. Russia says that the company is not the one responsible to tell children that there is no Santa. That their actions undermined parental authority, trust and respect!

Russia still stands by the decision to leave the telling of No  Father Frost to the parents.

I agree

I grew up in a world that even if you did not think Father Frost (Santa) was real, you would never announce it to the world. You had more respect for the kids and not kids who believe or at least want to believe.

The world has more important issues than trying to destroy Santa Claus and good or bad, believing in Santa is the least of the evils that we have tossed at us on a daily onslaught

I for one do not care what he is called. I believe in Santa Claus and feel he is an important part of growing up.

Since I am under a 100 years old still, I have a lot of growing up to do and I still believe in Santa Claus

Posted by Kyle Keeton

Windows to Russia

PS: You have any names I missed for Santa let us know and I will add them
Staying out of debt is easier said than done, I know. However, its something you can do, and its something you should be practicing everyday. As Christians, we are in this world, but we are
Another year is about to come to an end and for us birders who cant help but keep a year list, it means that there are precious few days to add a few more species. What am I missing? What can I still get with a quick trip to the nearest reservoir? Better check eBird again, better check the rare bird alert once more to see if we need to rush to the beach, that feeder with the lost warbler, bunting, or hummingbird. Its go time for those last missing holes in the list so no matter how much the temperature drops, or how hard the wind blows, or how many holiday events, chores, or other duties we need to attend to, we need to just prioritize and fit in some birding time.

Or, we could also call it quits, feast on cookies, drink mulled wine, and glance at the feeder now and then from the cozy warmth of a heated home. Either way, we can relish in our best birds of the year and feel satisfied that once again, we have all seen a bunch of cool birds. The trophy is imaginary, the congratulations are autonomous but so what, we are birders dammit! Now for my top ten species identified by moi over the course of 2016 and not in any real order:

1 Jabiru

Even if this giant stork wasnt so rare, it would probably still make it onto the list by merit of its cool sounding name. I saw two foraging in a rice field near Playa Panama.

2 Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle

I was very pleased to add this powerful raptor to the year list because its rarely seen and gave me a sweet, annual hawk-eagle trifecta. I lucked out with a high-flying bird last week at the El Tapir reserve.

3 Tiny Hawk

Another really good one for the same reasons as the hawk-eagle. Always unexpected, thanks to the sharp eyes of my friend Susan, I had extended looks at one in foothill rainforest as it feasted on a honeycreeper.

4 Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Yeah, I guess this should be my bird of the year. It was new for my country list, is a rare migrant in Costa Rica, and we saw maybe one of the biggest flocks recorded in recent history at the shorebird hotspot of Chomes. Thats what those distant brown birds are in the image above.

5 Chuck-wills-Widow

This big old nightjar migrates through and winters in Costa Rica but finding one is always unexpected. I was very pleased with close looks at a bird from dawn at the Caribbean lowland site of Casa Calateas.

6 Rufous-crested Coquette

Oops, did I say that Buff-breasted Sand. was my bird of the year? Maybe I should have said it was this one! After a 100 years of not being documented in Costa Rica, one finally had the common sense to show up right at the birding hot spot of Rancho Naturalista! Thanks to the courtesy and good nature of the lodge owners, lots of local birders got the chance to see it, including myself. Very gracious to the folks at Rancho and this little lifer, country bird, and year bird!

7 Great Jacamar

Expected in the Amazon, not so much in Costa Rica. They are on the list, they are here, but not so many, and they sure arent easy to find! A calling bird through the scope at Hitoy Cerere was a wonderful one for 2016.

8 Great Green Macaw

I see them every year and its not that tough to see in Costa Rica, but its endangered and always spectacular so it makes it into the top ten. This one feasted on palm fruits at the La Selva entrance road.

9 Turquoise Cotinga

Any of the blue cotingas are special no matter what the occasion. They should always win a prize or be honored in some way. I was happy to see this species on more than one occasion at Talari Mountain Lodge, and at Luna Lodge.

10 Northern Parula

Yeah, how does that make it onto a year list when you can see dozens in Florida and lots of other places? Because, in Costa Rica, you would be lucky to see one at all. For me, this was a much awaited country first during the Christmas Count at Finca Luna Nueva.

I guess those are my top ten, honorable mentions going to Bicolored Hawk, 12 owl species, Uniform and Yellow-breasted Crakes, Lanceolated Monklet, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-crowned Antpitta, Yellow-billed Cotinga, Blue-headed and Warbling Vireos (both rare migrants here), Costa Rican Brush-Finch, and Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager. Since I have seen or heard over 675 species in Costa Rica this year, it was hard to pick the best of the bunch but there they are. This selection doesnt take into account memorable birding experiences like being surrounded by the varied species of a mixed flock moving through primary rainforest, glimpsing the treasure shimmering green of a quetzal in flight, or helping two of the worlds top listers add Black-crowned Antpitta, Sulphur-rumped Tanager, and other sweet species to their lists but Ill save those for another time.
SYNERGY MEDIA SYNERGY MEDIA is a company specialized in the field of content convergence that plans, produces, distributes animations and sales contents both domestically and internationally.

SEOUL, KOREA, December 24, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- SYNERGY MEDIA, which is established in 2002, is a company specialized in the field of content convergence that plans, produces, distributes animations and sales contents both domestically and internationally.



Starting with "Bernard," which was co-produced and distributed with a foreign partner, it has been working on distribution and production business of various contents such as Larva (Season 1), Dooodolls, and Legend Heroes.



By establishing an Animation Studio called 'Synergy Media' in 2011, it is developing the most diverse projects in South Korea with the talented producers and their network know-how.



"I constantly felt like there is a barrier between the foreign markets due to cultural differences while selling domestic movies and TV programs in foreign markets." and

"There are some needs in order to pioneer a new market and I thought animation could be an alternative that will overcome the limitations," said Eugene Kang, the president of Synergy Media, for the reason why he started to make own IP.



According to the officials, the process of developing new products and commercializing them is a series of difficulties, but it is Synergy Media's strength which innovating domestic production with its accumulated systems with know-how in Korea, although the production conditions are poor.



"T-Buster," which is planned to be broadcasted in 2017, is continuing a story through a symbiotic relationship between humans and alien robots that came to conquer the earth, unlike general robot animations that mainly about battles. Also, according to the official at Synergy Media, its name has come from a saying "Don't burn up", while stopping the alien's ambition to conquer the earth.



"T-Buster" concerned with educational aspects by mixing Korean in some parts of not only its title but also the settings of its characters. Also, it is suitable for the whole family to enjoy since it isn't about battle and violent scenes are excluded as much as possible.



Moreover, it's devoting its efforts to expand the markets that it submitted "Legend Heroes," a special FX show (as known as Tokusatchu), in the market in 2016.



In particular, after 20 years of domestic creative animation history, Synergy Media will release the Cinema Version of 'Fly, Superboard' which will make its public debut in 2018. In spite of keeping specific settings as a re-boot, it has gained a lot of attention since it is a reinterpretation of pure domestic animation.



"Fly, Superboard" is one of the major works of Young-man Huh, who also drew popular cartoons such as "Siggaek" and "Ttajja." It also achieved the highest record of the viewer ratings of Korean animation history with 42.8% during the week when it was broadcasted in November, 1992.



"Fly, Superboard," which is produced based on the original work of Young-man Huh, shows differences with previous works by newly introducing Miro, a female character, and Honse, who acts as a villain.



It's a movie that whole family members can watch together and shows Apple's design sense with the Law-City Fantasy World where animals and people live together, which adopted the world view of Star Wars.



The president Eugene Kang revealed that "Fly, Superboard", which will be screened later, will be a chance to introduce the return of heroes with nationally well-known characters such as Mr.son, Palgye and Ojeong and new added characters.



He also said that he will make it as a heart-touching family movie with full of fun based on the suggestions of the customers who said they wish to enjoy the movie with the children.



Also, as Synergy Media regards that "Journey to the West," one of the 4 classic Chinese novels, can act as recognizable content IP that encompasses both Korea and China which highly considered to be expanded in Chinese market, Synergy Media is aiming to make reverse concepts of characters as a fresh and original idea while keeping the previous storylines.



Synergy Media is a company where its members values fun and make profits together, has a goal of becoming a content general group that makes synergy between countries in the field of contents, by expanding it to various genres beyond animation.



# # #
Scott Abbott at Open Letters Monthly:

The disintegration of Yugoslavia (as Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks pursued their nationalist interests in what had been a multicultural country) was a turning point. In a series of long essays Handke argued that Serbia was being portrayed as the sole aggressor in the civil wars and that the language of journalism was itself a tool of aggression. He traveled in Serbia and described it in language he thought more conducive to peace. (A Journey to the Rivers orJustice for Serbia is the only one of these essays in English translation; the German title, Eine winterliche Reise zu den Flussen Donau, Sava, Morawa, und Drina, suggests a geographical connection with The Moravian Night.) Critics were merciless, attacking him with the same either/or language he was determined to replace with thinking marked by the conjunction and. Literary prizes were withdrawn and when a French writer published an essay interpreting Handkes Yugoslavia work (and his attendance at the funeral of Slobodan Milosevic) in the worst possible light, Handkes The Play of Questioning was withdrawn from a planned production in Paris. Defenders of Handke, of which I was one, pointed out that the critics were inventing the supposed transgressions and that a reading of the essays revealed a thoughtful dialectic rather than a single-minded denial of Serbian guilt.

When Handke received the Norwegian International Ibsen Prize for Drama in 2014, there were protests. Karl Ove Knausgaard responded to the protests in an essay called Handke and Singularity, arguing that Handkes Yugoslavia works are another form of history-writing, about what goes on outside of public attention, the entire political-historical and generalizing system of concepts that has filled Serbia with a whole bunch of fixed notions, unalterable and unshakable. As it meanders through possibilities of narration beyond fixed notions and forms, The Moravian Night continues to call the unalterable and unshakable into question.

more here.
How to watch, what to know about South Dakota State at Northern Iowa
Here we are on Christmas Eve. Imagine of Mary had been given "modern" medicine. Would the tidings have been of great joy?



From EcoWatch, by Robert Kennedy Jr and Lyn Redwood:



###



A Nov. 19 study, of 45,231 women, published in JAMA Pediatrics , identified a heightened risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis in the children of mothers who received a flu shot during their first trimester of pregnancy. The study, Association Between Influenza Infection and Vaccination During Pregnancy and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder, was authored by Ousseny Zerbo and his colleagues affiliated with the Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente.







While the researchers found no increased risk when the mother received flu shots in the second or third trimester, the data demonstrated a 20 percent higher risk of an autism spectrum disorder among children of mothers receiving the flu vaccine during the first trimester. That risk was statistically significant. (The P value, .01, indicates a 99 percent likelihood that the result isn't due to chance.)

However, after completing this analysis, the authors made a series of adjustments that have drawn criticism from other scientists. Most controversial was their questionable decision to apply a statistical device called the " Bonferroni Correction " to their data. Statisticians use the Bonferroni Correction in very specific circumstanceswhere they seek to reduce the chance for false positives in calculations involving multiple comparisons. The impact of the Bonferroni Correction is nearly always conservative; it dampens signals in data sets. In doing so it creates the risk of missing true associations. When applied to the first trimester flu vaccine dataset, the Bonferroni Correction reduced the significance of the association from 99 percent to 90 percent. Despite the fact that the adjusted result was still considered marginally statistically significant, the authors then made a second dodgy judgment, by declaring that, "this association could be due to chance."

These sweeping decisions allowed the authors to arrive at the questionable conclusion that, "There was a suggestion of increased ASD risk among children whose mothers received influenza vaccinations early in pregnancy (first trimester), although the association was insignificant after statistical correction for multiple comparisons." The researchers summed up with an acknowledgement of the uncertainty of their conclusion: "We believe that additional studies are warranted to further evaluate any potential associations between first-trimester maternal influenza vaccination and autism."

National media outlets universally missed that nuance. Journalists widely reported the study as a decisive exoneration of flu shots. NPR declared: Flu Shots Don't Increase Autism Risk In Pregnancy . Fox News celebrated: Fluor flu vaccinein pregnancy not tied to autism in kids . The Scientist headlined: Autism Not Linked to Flu or Flu Shot During Pregnancy , while the New York Daily News assured: No link between flu or flu vaccine in pregnancy and autism: study .

As the mainstream media celebrated, public health advocates and scholars cried "foul." Dr. James Lyons-Weiler, PhD, the CEO and director of the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge, and data manager of more than 100 biomedical research studies, told me that the author's "incorrect" and "unorthodox" application of the Bonferroni Correction in this circumstance risked the appearance that they were using improper methodologies to, "make an unwanted but statistically significant finding vanish in a sea of statistical wizardry."



Read more at EcoWatch here.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2016 - Susan Combs, a former Texas agriculture commissioner and state comptroller, interviewed with Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Tuesday to become agriculture secretary or possibly take another role in the Trump administration. Combs has the support of House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway, R-Texas. Combs, who grew up on a west Texas ranch, served two terms as Texas agriculture commissioner from 1999 to 2007 and two more as state comptroller from 2007 to 2015. The state comptroller, who is essentially the state treasurer, is one of Texas most powerful elected positions. In an interview with Agri-Pulse, Conaway described Combs as knowledgeable about agriculture policy and that he would feel very comfortable working with her in developing the next farm bill. Conaway said she's a "strong woman," well over 6-feet tall, who "would fit well in the Trump cabinet. She could hold her own. She has earned praise from agricultural interests for bringing stakeholders together to address endangered species issues and for acting to address concerns that dairy farms were polluting a major watershed. Shes a person that wants things done, and not next week, and not this week, and not today, but yesterday. She likes to see things gone after and attacked right now. She doesnt let things sit, said Gene Richardson, director of commodities and regulatory activities for the Texas Farm Bureau. Bob Stallman, a Texas cattle and rice producer who served as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation from 2000 until this year, said in an email to Agri-Pulse that Combs did a great job as Ag Commissioner here in TX! Combs began coordinating state endangered species policy as Texas agriculture commissioner and took that role to the comptroller's office, and the state legislature subsequently gave the comptroller statutory control of endangered species issues. Combs, however, may be best known outside of Texas for her role as agriculture commissioner in increasing school nutrition standards and banning deep-fat fryers in schools. The rules have since been rolled back by the current agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, an action Combs described as baffling. If you give children bad choices, they will make them, she said. A graduate of Vassar College and the University of Texas law school, Combs came under criticism during her 2006 campaign for state comptroller over a 1990 romance novel that she wrote. An opponent claimed it was pornographic. Combs said it was lighthearted and entertaining. Combs initially supported former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Floriina in the presidential race and then switched to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. She eventually came to support Trump. Combs interview came as Trumps agricultural advisers continued to push back hard against the possibility that, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., could become agriculture secretary. I have a large number of agricultural team members who are unalterably opposed to Sen. Heitkamp, said Gary Baise, a Washington lawyer who has been coordinating Trumps agricultural advisory council. Among the issues that opponents of Heitkamp have cited is her support for the livestock marketing rules issued last week by USDA and mandatory country-of-origin labeling for meat. During an interview with the Red River Farm Network on Tuesday, Heitkamp said she was in communication with the Trump transition organization but she indicated she would be happy staying in the Senate. Her focus, she said, was on where Im in the best position to do the job I was hired to do in 2012, and that is to represent the voters of my state. She went on, When you say, Whats the opportunity when youre senator? The opportunity is to still live in your state. Thats no surprise to any one. I like North Dakota. In fact, I love North Dakota, and I love living here, and I love being back in this state. I always tell people, I work in Washington, D.C., but I live in North Dakota. Thats a big part of my quality of life. Another possible candidate for USDA, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, has not been interviewed by Pence or Trump, and as of Tuesday no meeting had been scheduled, according to a supporter, Bill Flory, a former president of the National Association of Wheat Growers. Flory said Otter is a "Trump-like, high energy type of person who understands business, politics and the interagency process that is so important at the cabinet level." Another person who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for agriculture secretary or another position in USDA, Iowa agribusiness leader Bruce Rastetter was seen at Trump Tower on Tuesday. A Trump spokesman said Wednesday that he didnt know whether Rastetter was being considered for an administration post but that he had a wealth of knowledge and was very well known in Iowa politics. In March 2015, Rastetter hosted a summit in Des Moines for presidential candidates. Trump was not yet a candidate and did not attend. Meanwhile, Joel Leftwich has left Trumps transition landing team at USDA. Leftwich was splitting his time between the department and the Senate Agriculture Committee, where he is the Republican staff director. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan.,, said in a statement: I lent the Transition my top staffer, Joel Leftwich, to help them get underway. As you know, the Majority Leader has set an aggressive agenda for the new Congress beginning immediately in the New Year, and we are setting a fast pace in the Senate Agriculture Committee. It is time for Joel to return his full attention to Committee business." "I look forward to the announcement of a new Secretary and am appreciative of the work the USDA transition team has done to date.

(Updated Dec. 21)

(Photo by Gage Skidmore) #30
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President-elect Donald Trump's tweet was published Thursday on the heels of nuclear arms comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Syrian Assyrians Call Australia Home After Generations of Diaspora

Last year, the Khaieo family was waiting for approval to come to Australia as refugees. Now the Christian Syrian family are spending their first Christmas in Australia. ( James Brickwood) Aster Khaieo's Christmas wish is to "never leave Australia". A neat and small lilac-trimmed townhouse in Sydney's Fairfield is now home to her Syrian Christian family -- including two sons and another on the way -- since they arrived in September after waiting 20 months to be approved as refugees. Like a more famous Middle East family looking for somewhere safe to rest about 2000 years ago, her Assyrian family have been searching for a place to call home for nearly 100 years. The family arrived with nothing. Yet her 29-year-old brother Akram Khaieo, a former law student and English teacher before the war, says being in "Australia is a dream come true". Nearly two years ago, the extended Syrian Assyrian family fled their Christian village outside the small northern city of Al-Hasakah. Two nearby Christian villages had been kidnapped by ISIS. A cousin and another close relative were murdered. Videos of their execution had been posted on YouTube. By the time the family left, the village was nearly empty: only three people are left there today. Many friends and family members have moved to Australia, while some went north to Norway and other places. On Christmas Day, about 100 family and friends from their village from northern Syria will come together for a picnic and a reunion in a western Sydney park to try to capture some of the joy of the past. Before the war, the family said Christmas was a time to celebrate and decorate their homes and village. "Christmas in my village was very beautiful before the war," said Mr Khaieo. Papa Noel -- a man dressed in full costume with a big beard -- would travel on horseback from home to home to deliver gifts from his sack. "Brrrring, brrring, he would ring the door, and do a full tour around the village," Mr Khaieo said. "It was amazing." Mr Khaieo, who was granted refugee status with his parents in June, is now working at Coles in western Sydney. He learned English in school, and by watching American television shows like The Simpsons. Mr Khaieo jokes that the family may have few options if Australia doesn't work out. What's next? "New Zealand," he says with a laugh. "Mars!" His Assyrian grandparents had been from Turkey, but had emigrated because the government was "killing them". Translating from Assyrian for his sister, his parents Habib and Salma and brother-in-law Rabi Shelimoun, he said some of the family moved to Iraq and others to Iran, where history has repeated since the first massacre against Assyrians in AD339. In about 1933, members of the family relocated to Syria, where they said relationships between Christians and Muslims were happy and peaceful until the war began in 2012. Together the family is among the 8317 Syrians who have arrived in Australia as part of the federal government's pledge in September 2015 to take 12,000 Syrians and Iraqis displaced by conflict. Most Assyrians are Christian, and claimed to be from Mesopotamia. In Syria, there are also non-Assyrian Christians. When the war started in 2012, the family still gathered for Christmas, but quietly in deference to Christian and Muslim friends. "Because Christmas became very sad, because people in my country were dying and we are sad for them. We still celebrated but with small parties but no decorations. The country changed. In Syria, our friends were Muslim. I used to teach in Muslim schools, and at university my teacher was a Muslim. After the war, some armed group [of extremists] used religion as an excuse," said Mr Khaieo. The last Christmases in Syria were cold. There was no running water, electricity or heating, he says, translating for his parents. "Back in Syria, because all the people are leaving, we feel homesick. And we come here, and everyone is here, and we don't feel too bad any more. If we go back to our country we feel like strangers. No one we used to know is there." The acting head of the Refugee Council of NSW Tim O'Connor said the gift of resettlement was an incredible opportunity for families like Akram's. "The one-off increase in refugees being able to rebuild their lives in Australia shows that we can comfortably take many more refugees than we currently do," he said. There are now 24 million refugees in the world and last year just 112,000 were permanently resettled -- half of 1 per cent. "At Christmas we also remember that there are millions of refugees who will never be resettled and Australia should be supporting those people to live with dignity in the countries they have been forced to flee to, rather than wasting billions locking innocent and vulnerable people up in offshore gulags."
Historic Assyrian Church in Turkey Given to Islamic School Foundation

The interior of the historic Assyrian Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. ( urfa63.net) Yet another example of intolerance has taken place in the southeastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa (Urfa)--the historic Assyrian Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the city is now being used as a municipality-owned cultural center and the foundation of the Islamic school of Harran University. According to sources, the church was used actively until 1924, when Assyrians (Syriac Christians) left for Aleppo. Locals call the church "the Regie Church", because Tekel, the Turkish tobacco and alcoholic beverage company, had once used it as a tobacco factory. This tobacco factory had been known as the Regie Tobacco Company in Ottoman times, and was nationalized in 1925. It was also used as a grape storehouse for decades. After its restoration in 1998, it hosted a carpet-making class. In 2002, it became the "Kemalettin Gazezoglu Cultural Center," named after the governor of the city. Today, a part of it has been given to a foundation that runs the Islamic school at the city's university. Turkey has used the historic church for many different purposes--except for its intended purpose: a church. Called Edessa in ancient times, Urfa has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The modern city was founded in 304 B.C by Seleucus I Nicator. In the late 2nd century, as the Seleucid dynasty disintegrated, it successively became a Parthian, Armenian, and Roman state, and eventually an Eastern Roman (Byzantine) province. It was frequently conquered during periods when the Byzantine central government was weak, due to its location on the eastern frontier of the Empire. It fell to the Muslim conquest in 639 but was briefly retaken by Byzantium in 1031. It then fell to the Turkic Zengid dynasty in 1144, and was eventually absorbed by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Edessa was an important early center of Syriac Christianity. For Armenians, too, the city is significant since it is believed that the Armenian alphabet was invented there. The courtyard of the historic Assyrian Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. ( urfa63.net) But the traces of Assyrian, Armenian, and Greek Christians have been systematically erased from the city by Muslim governments and residents throughout centuries. Scholar Ian Wilson describes the current absence of the Christian heritage in his proposal for an archaeological survey of the city as follows: "For any Christian... Urfa appears to offer nothing of Christian interest even when you get there. To the best of my knowledge there is not a single Christian church, and certainly not an ancient one, the Moslem minaret being all-pervading...Yet if we could turn the clock back just over a thousand years, say to 943 AD, what a different picture of Edessa/Urfa we would find! Despite the city even then having fallen under Moslem control (though Arab rather than Turkish), we would find a full-blooded city, as distinct from a town, almost literally bristling with Christian churches and monasteries, numbering more than three hundred, according to one Arab geographer. At least three different rival denominations were represented, and the Christian pilgrim and tourist trade was then already at least six centuries old." All this is history now. Urfa today is an all-Muslim city. Christians were exposed to mass murders several times ever since Turks arrived from the Central Asia in Anatolia and Mesopotamia in the 11th century. Between 1894 and 1896, for example, a series of massacres spread through nearly every major Armenian-inhabited town of the Ottoman Empire. The massacres culminated in the single worst atrocity "with the burning of the Armenian cathedral of Urfa within whose walls some 3,000 Armenians had taken refuge during the siege of their neighborhood," according to the Armenian National Institute. Assyrian Christians too were targeted in the massacres. "In October 1895 the Turkish army and Hamidian troops entered Urfa and killed 13 thousand Assyrians," writes Dr. Anahit Khosroyeva in her article "A History of the Assyrian Genocide." But the gravest attack that exterminated the majority of Assyrian Christians in the region happened in the 1915. Historian Paul R. Bartrop writes in his book Encountering Genocide: Personal Accounts from Victims, Perpetrators, and Witnesses: "The Assyrian genocide... took place alongside those of the Armenians and the Pontic and Anatolian Greeks, during and after World War 1. At the start of the twentieth century, the Assyrian population in the Ottoman Empire numbered about one million, and was concentrated largely in what are now Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. As with the Armenian genocide, a large proportion of the Assyrian deaths occurred as a result of death marches into the Syrian Desert. Most of those who died were the victims of heat, starvation and thirst, exposure, and incessant brutality... The Assyrian population throughout the Empire was subjected to massacre, deportation, dismemberment, torture, and other atrocities. Whole cities were depopulated, and, when not killed outright, the inhabitants were sent on the aforementioned death marches." The Ottoman Turkish party the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was the planner and organizer of the genocide. According to many scholars, including Professor Bartrop, the major motivations of the perpetrators were the Turkification and Islamization of the region. "One of the major factors contributing to the Turkish campaign against Christian minorities was the pre-war commitment to the Turkification of the empire. Accompanying this was an Islamic incentive, whereby the Turkish national dimension could be wedded to an Islamic revival for the caliphate... Accordingly, on Oct. 11, 1914, Sultan Mehmet V declared jihad (holy war) against all the Christians living in the Empire. The call to holy war was reaffirmed on Nov. 14, 1914, by the Sheikh al-Islam, the most senior Islamic cleric in the Ottoman Empire. It was directed toward all Christians, hitting particularly hard for those of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek descent," Bartrop writes What followed was the confiscation, plunder, and seizure of Christian properties. "The state-orchestrated plunder of Armenian property immediately impoverished its victims," according to scholar Umit Kurt, in his article "The Plunder of Wealth through Abandoned Properties Laws in the Armenian Genocide." "This was simultaneously a condition for and a consequence of the genocide. The seizure of the Armenian property was not just a byproduct of the CUP's genocidal policies, but an integral part of the murder process, reinforcing and accelerating the intended destruction. The expropriation and plunder of deported Armenians' movable and immovable properties was an essential component of the destruction process of Armenians... Genocide does not only mean physical annihilation," according to Kurt. "What is important is the complete erasure of the traces of the Armenians from their ancient homeland." This attempt to erase the traces of the genocide victims has been applied to Anatolian Greeks and Assyrians, as well. The homes, businesses, churches, monasteries, and other economic, religious and cultural sites of Assyrians were systematically seized by government officials or Muslim locals. Churches and monasteries were either destroyed or used for sacrilegious purposes, such as stables or storehouses. Turkey today has a smaller Christian percentage of its population than all of its neighbors including Syria, Iraq and Iran. Only less than 0.2% of Turkey's population is now Christian. Though the constitution is officially secular, Christianity as well as other non-Muslim faiths are under the constant pressure and attacks at the hands of the Turkish government. Persecution stemming from this destructive worldview has turned the indigenous and once flourishing Christian community into an almost-extinct, second class minority that are still not allowed to live as equal citizens who can freely practice their faith on their native lands.
Assyrian Militia Stands Guard in Freed Town Outside Mosul, Iraq

Benham Aboush Almaseh, a former Iraqi army general, points at a map at a training camp for the Nineveh Plain Protection Units near the Christian village of Alqosh on Saturday, July 23, 2016. Almaseh founded the militia to help retake the area from the Islamic State. ( Chad Garland/Stars And Stripes) QARAQOSH, Iraq -- By day, the Assyrian men patrol the edges of this largely empty town outside Mosul, known as the capital of Iraq's Christian community before thousands of its residents were forced to flee advancing Islamic State fighters more than two years ago. Nights, they stand watch at posts dotting the surrounding plains, hoping to prevent another such invasion. Sometimes, members of the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, or NPU, drink 2-year-old stale beer they find in basements here, according to Benoit Kanabus, a Belgian professor who joined this Assyrian Christian militia. The 500-member militia is one of many armed groups -- Shiite, Sunni, Turkmen, Yazidi and Christian -- supporting the Iraqi army-led anti-Islamic State campaign. As the independent paramilitary group has struggled for legitimacy over the past two years, it has often turned to the West for support, including U.S. training and equipment. Now, with the Iraqi army moving further into Mosul, Kanabus said, the Christians are securing several outlying towns and providing rear security against lingering Islamic State fighters who have managed to infiltrate back into cleared areas and launch attacks. The militia, made up largely of men forced from their homes in 2014, now has a presence in the towns of Qaraqosh, Karamlis, Bartella and Teleskof. It may remain active as a security force indefinitely, its leaders say. "We want to protect us until the central government can protect us," said Benham Aboush Almaseh, the group's founder, in a recent phone interview. When that will be is not clear. The 2-month-old offensive to oust Islamic State fighters from Mosul, the second-largest city and the group's last major urban stronghold in the country, will likely grind on for months. Mubarak Toaya, an NPU commander in Qaraqosh, said the militants had been pushed from the town, but now he's more concerned about roving bands of criminals. Christians who had visited their villages said their properties were stripped of valuables. One woman shouted at an Iraqi army general in Karamlis a few weeks ago, alleging the Iraqi troops -- mostly Shiite -- had stolen belongings from her home. Others blamed Muslim neighbors in surrounding towns they claim had collaborated with the militants. Allegations like these, along with accusations that Shiite and Sunni militias have engaged in human rights abuses, add to a mix of recent and ancient sectarian grievances -- divisions some experts believe could strain efforts to restore order long after the Islamic State group has been routed. Dwindling numbers Once a significant minority in Iraq, Christians have dwindled in numbers in recent years, from some 1.5 million a little more than a decade ago to fewer than 300,000. Many have emigrated since 2003 to escape discrimination and violence. Frustrated with Iraqi and Kurdish forces for failing to protect Christian areas as the Islamic State group swept into the country, Almaseh, a white-haired former Iraqi army general and Iran-Iraq War veteran, founded the militia in 2014 in hope of retaking and defending the historic settlements in northern Iraq. Like thousands of others, he had been forced to flee to Iraq's Kurdish region that summer. At home, he's got the backing of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, a political party established decades ago to resist Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime. Almaseh has also received thousands in financial support from the U.S. and Europe -- mostly members of the Assyrian diaspora, he said. A private U.S. security firm trained initial NPU recruits -- including Iraqi army veterans who served decades ago -- and later raised $30,000 from U.S. donors for the militia. A New York-based pastor paid for several rocket-propelled grenade launchers in April. At about the same time, U.S. special operations troops were training NPU men, Almaseh said at the group's Alqosh camp this summer, and in May, the militia fought Islamic State attackers in the town of Teleskof. During that battle, Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Keating IV was killed. U.S. officials would not confirm whether they had trained NPU members but have said training in rule of law, marksmanship and first aid has been conducted with groups in several areas to enable local leaders to secure their territories. NPU has received backing from Baghdad, including stipends of about $400 a month since spring, as well as AK-47 rifles, PKM machine guns and ammunition. Still, when the battle for Qaraqosh kicked off in late October, days into the Mosul campaign, Iraqi army leaders hesitated to put NPU fighters in the direct line of fire, fearing they lacked sufficient training and equipment, said Iraqi army Gen. Shaker Kazem Mohsen, of the 9th Armored Division. Instead, they relegated them to rear guard when the battle began on Oct. 19. It wasn't until days later that the army brought the militia in to help secure the town from roughly 200 remaining militants, officials said. Though the town was considered liberated on Oct. 22, a small number of militants continued to resist for days afterward. Kanabus, the Belgian academic, said NPU members had helped secure the town by clearing enemy-built underground passageways, like the "tunnel rats" of the Vietnam War. It's not yet habitable, but it was secure enough on Nov. 14 to lay Hadiya Qreo Yohanna, 90, to rest. Like many in 2014, she had fled to the Kurdish city of Irbil, but only after she died there could she be brought home. Anwar Habib Tamo, the woman's son, said it's where she wanted to spend eternity. "My mother said, 'If I die, I want to be in Qaraqosh with my husband,'?" Tamo said. "Now, the town is freed and I can do this."
Assyrians Threaten to Withdraw From ISIS Fight After Deadly Attack in Baghdad

A Christian movement that has forces engaged in the fight against ISIS threatened to withdraw its heroes from the battle zones if Baghdad fails to reveal information about the perpetrators of a deadly attack on Christians and Yazidis in the Iraqi capital late Friday night, killing 9 people. "We strongly condemn the attack," said Rian Chaldean, Secretary General for the Babylon Movement, in a statement published on his Facebook account on Saturday. "Killing 8 Christians and one Yazidi resident was one of the most horrible terror crimes." "We ask security in charge of Baghdad and police to disclose who's behind the crime, and also arrest the criminals," Rian added in the statement, threatening to withdraw a number of its forces who are fighting ISIS in the country. "If security officials failed to disclose the ones who committed the crime... we will withdraw some of our heroes from the battle zones against Daesh," Rian said, using an alternate acronym for ISIS. The head of Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Foreign Relations Department condemned the attack. "I strongly condemn killing of 8 Christians and one Ezidi(Yazidi) on Christmas Eve," Falah Mustafa, tweeted on Saturday. "My heart goes out to their families and loved ones." The attack in Baghdad comes as Christians across Iraq were preparing for Christmas celebrations. "We appreciate your gifts of Christmas at a time when terror acts are escalating, displacing Christians, making them evacuate from Babylon, Assyria and Hammurabi," Rian said in his statement. The Babylon Movement is a Christian Chaldean group of fighters mostly embedded with Shiite forces, fighting ISIS south and west of Mosul.
December 24, 2016

Aleppo celebrates Christmas

The costs of the war in Aleppo have been catastrophic, but the citys Christians are seeking inspiration and hope in the Christmas season.

Jesuit Priest Ziad Hilal, who represents Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic nongovernmental organization in Syria, told The Christian Post, "Despite the harsh conditions the people of Aleppo are enduring, [for both] Christians and Muslims, Christmas brings the hope for peace that we have missed for the last five years. Although many churches have been destroyed in Aleppo, the bells of the other churches will sound and hope they bring us peace," he said.

The population of Aleppo has fallen from 5 million to 1.5 million as a result of the war; only 30,000 Christians remain, from a pre-war community of 120,000.

Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church of Antioch Ignatius Joseph III Younan reported that half a million Syrian Christians, a quarter of the community, have fled as a result of the war and 140 churches and monasteries have been abandoned, vandalized or destroyed throughout the country.

In September, Pope Francis said that those responsible for the bombing of civilians in Syria would be accountable to God. On Dec. 12, the pope sent a personal letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appealing 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.

The past year has witnessed a continued assault on the regions Christian communities by the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups. On Dec. 11, IS bombed St. Marks Cathedral in Cairo, the largest church in the Middle East, killing 25 and wounding 49. In March, US Secretary of State John Kerry accused IS of genocide against Christians, Yazidis, Shiites and other groups in Iraq and Syria and throughout the Middle East.

Antonio Guterres, the incoming UN secretary-general, recently said that Christians are part of the DNA of the Middle East. The hope here is that the Christmas season, and the coming year, will allow Christians, Muslims, Jews and all religions to reclaim their common heritage and work together on a shared vision of the region that is rooted in interfaith tolerance and community. The Christmas celebrations in Aleppo, the first in years, may be a faint, but hopeful, start on this journey.

Syria is source of rising terror in Turkey

Cengiz Candar writes that following the assassination of Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov on Dec. 19, Turkish authorities, without losing a beat, turned to what has become their common measure after every terror incident and blocked Twitter and ordered a media blackout on the issue. This was followed by cliche statements where government officials condemned the terror and said that terrorism could not divert Turkey from its course and that the criminals will be severely punished, and so forth. Officials were quick to declare that the killing of the Russian ambassador was a provocation aiming at undermining the increasing cooperation and good relations between the two countries.

Whoever committed the two terror acts in Istanbul and Kayseri and whatever the reason behind the assassination of the ambassador, there is no doubt that Syria is the major source of mounting terror in Turkey.

Syria has amplified Turkeys regional isolation and accelerated Ankaras deepening collaboration with Russia. Candar explains, There are some in the region who see the escalation of violence in Turkey in terms of redressing the balance of power in Syria. In this regard, Turkey is chosen as the weakest of the involved actors of the Syrian equation. Turkeys weakness is apparently manifested by its growing dependence on Russia. It appears that the assassination of the Russian ambassador, more than impairing the relationship, may be pushing an embarrassed Turkey more into the Russian fold, at least in the short term.

Turkey is now a fault line in the Syrian war. This situation Turkey finds itself in is, more than anything else, of Turkeys own making, Candar concludes. It seems that this impossible war, with its many fronts being waged simultaneously, has invited the violence generated in Syria into Turkey. As much as Turkey is getting into the Syrian swamp, the Syrian spillover into Turkey could turn into a flood.

Turkish resentment of Iran escalates

Semih Idiz writes, The fall of Aleppo has left the staunchly Sunni Islamist support base of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey with a deep sense of defeatism and resentment, and it has even prompted calls for revenge to be wreaked on Turkish Alevis.

Idiz notes, The fact that Ankara has been noticeably mute over Russian involvement in the defeat of rebel fighters in Aleppo, and all the atrocities this has entailed, does not sit well with all of Erdogans supporters. The general tone toward Russia among these supporters has nevertheless been one of restraint. Iran, however, has emerged as the archenemy, and the vitriol against that country is laced with religious and historical imagery that clearly reflects sectarian sentiments. Calls by pro-government opinion-makers in the media for protests outside Irans missions in Turkey have also been heeded. This has resulted in a formal protest by Tehran, which indicates that the two countries may be heading for fresh tensions in their already strained ties due to Syria.

Mustafa Akyol explaines that the rise of anti-Iranian sectarianism in Turkey did not happen because Turkeys Sunni Islamists suddenly became sectarian after a theological soul-searching. It happened because of a major political drama they witnessed: the Syrian civil war. From the beginning of the war in spring 2011, both the Turkish government led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan (then prime minister, and now president) and the Islamists in its base focused on the brutality of the Syrian regime over its people  especially the Sunni opposition. When Iran and proxies such as Hezbollah emerged as the biggest protectors of this regime, the anger at Bashar al-Assad and his 'Shabiha' turned into anger against Iran and the broader Shiite-Alevi axis in the region.

Lately, Iraq added more to this picture, Akyol adds. Turkeys mainstream Islamists have never supported the Islamic State (IS), and rather saw it as an extremist force that puts shame on Islam. Yet at times they understood it as a Sunni reaction to the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. The latters Shiite militia, especially the Popular Mobilization Units, became notorious in the Turkish Islamist media as a force as brutal as IS and a major threat to the Sunnis of Iraq.
December 22, 2016

CAIRO  Driven by rage, Mina Safwat, an Egyptian man in his 20s, took part in the Coptic demonstrations in front of the headquarters of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbasiya district in Cairo on Dec. 11. The demonstrations come after an explosion ripped through the St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, claiming the lives of 26 people and wounding 48, mostly women and children.

According to Safwat and the other demonstrators, the main reason behind this terrorist attack is the lack of security around the church. They believe that Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar should be blamed for the attack and dismissed from office.

During the demonstration, Safwat told Al-Monitor that despite the repeated attacks against churches since June 30, 2013, the security forces have failed to improve security for Christian places of worship.

According to the Wiki Thawra website, 83 Christian houses of worship in 17 provinces came under attack on Aug. 14-19, 2013, after the sit-in staged by supporters of former President Mohammed Morsi was dispersed at Rabia al-Adawiya and al-Nahda squares. During the same period, 40 attacks targeted Coptic public and private property.

Safwat added that the protesters mounting anger and calls for the departure of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis regime emanate from the Copts lack of confidence in the president, his government and the security forces. He said that Sisis positive behavior toward the Copts and his participation in Coptic religious ceremonies will not succeed in alleviating the Copts' constant fear, given the failure of his administration to defeat terrorism.

For his part, Sameh Haneen, a Coptic journalist and political activist, described the attacks on Christian places of worship and Coptic private property as a heinous Islamist punishment for the Copts participation in the June 30 demonstrations. Haneen told Al-Monitor that ever since, the Copts have shown absolute support for Sisi, who promised to consolidate the states efforts to maintain security and eradicate terrorism.

Haneen said that with time, this support started to fade as Copts felt that the Sisi administration was failing to provide them with security and economic progress, among other things.

The St. Peter and St. Paul Church attack raised the ire of the Copts, Haneen said. He added that this anger will continue to deepen so long as the regime denies its neglect in this regard. He confirmed that Sisis refusal to admit that the lack of security was behind the St. Peter and St. Paul Church attack has changed the Copts belief in the feasibility of the security policy and the power of the ruling regime as a whole.

Haneen said the proof is that the demonstrators prevented Sada El-Balad TV reporter Ahmed Musa, Al-Nahar TV reporter Riham Saeed and CBC anchor Lamees al-Hadidi from covering the demonstrations and expelled them from the area surrounding the cathedral. According to the Copts, media outlets have become known for their support of the current administration, and their reporters were dispatched to cover the demonstrations and convey the message that the Copts continue to support the regime.

Haneen said that Sisi turned a blind eye to the demonstrators anger and settled for attending the funeral of the victims and declaring the name of the bomber during the funeral without announcing any clear measures to avoid future such incidents. This further entrenches the Copts fear of the state's failure to protect them, even though they are among the states largest supporting groups.

During his participation in the military funeral of the church bombing victims Dec. 12, Sisi announced the security apparatus success in determining the identity of the suicide bomber, Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa, and arresting three men and a woman who helped him in the implementation of the bombing.

Bishop Boulos, the representative of Egypts Orthodox Church in the 50-member committee that drafted the current constitution in 2014 and was formed upon former President Adly Mansours decision in September 2013, refused to blame it all on the security apparatus. He told Al-Monitor that the security system around churches falls within the responsibility of both the church and the state.

Boulos said that the current administration's position on the recent bombing differs significantly from the positions of previous administrations on similar attacks on Christian worship centers. While the perpetrators of al-Qiddissin (Saints) Church attack in December 2010 are yet to be revealed, Sisi announced the name of the person behind the St. Paul Church attack within 24 hours.

Boulos added, No state can completely protect itself from terrorism no matter how strong it is, and asserted that security was not the main reason behind the ire of the young people who took to the streets. He accused most protesters of being originally opposed to the state and said that their anger did not emanate from the incident alone.

Boulos stressed that the state's interest in quickly restoring the St. Paul Church before Christmas shows that the states perception of the Christian places of worship in particular, and Christians in general, has improved.

Said Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo, told Al-Monitor, The Copts anger was not instantaneous, and it came a few weeks after the killing of Coptic Magdy Makeen on Nov. 15 at the hands of the security forces. Sadek stressed that the incident provoked Copts and doubled their anger after the St. Peter and St. Paul Church attack.

The Copts, just like other Egyptians, have been feeling shocked at Sisis performance for some time now due to the difficult economic and security situation plaguing the country.

Sadek believes that the depth of the young Copts anger is due to the quality of the incident and its targeting of women and children. Their anger reflected the shock suffered by the Copts, but the impact of this shock, Sadek said, faded when the president attended the funeral and revealed the identity of the bomber.

Sadek confirmed that the Copts perception of Sisi and his administration has changed a lot and that the president indeed lost the absolute support of the Copts. He said that Sisi relies on the fight against terrorism to consolidate his popularity, and the Copts were among the millions who supported Sisi in his war on terrorism in the mass demonstration of July 26, 2013. Although it has been 3 years since these demonstrations were held, he said, the terrorism targets have moved from the Sinai Peninsula to the center of Cairo.

Asked about the impact of the Copts frustration on their future political decisions, Sadek said that despite their reservations about the economic and security performance, the Copts fear of the rise of the Islamic movement will once again push them to renew their confidence in the current administration so long as there is no strong civil alternative that could move Sisi away.
December 23, 2016

AL-ARAQIB, Israel  Every Sunday at 3 p.m., several dozen residents and supporters of al-Araqib gather alongside a highway to protest the governments repeated demolition of the dusty Bedouin settlement in Israels southern Negev.

Its one of al-Araqibs many unfortunate routines: Residents say they own the land and refuse Israels orders to leave; legal proceedings and fines ensue; authorities demolish tents and homes; people rebuild, and intimidation and protests follow  and each time al-Araqibs status becomes ever more precarious.

They [Israeli government] are trying to erase our history in this way, Aziz Al-Turi, one of al-Araqibs remaining residents, told Al-Monitor. They are trying to erase the Arab history and plant a new history.

When authorities first demolished al-Araqib in July 2010, the Bedouin village became a symbol for the Israeli governments push to relocate around 35 Bedouin communities it doesnt recognize and for the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to reforest the land in their place. In the interim years, a series of legal cases ensued, even reaching the Supreme Court, as the Arab residents have argued they are the rightful owners of al-Araqib, contrary to Israels claims that it legally appropriated the land. By the 100th demolition this June, residents and activists struggled to keep their cause in the international arena, as the same sequence seemingly occurred again and again amid deepening political indifference in Israel.

And now as further demolitions  perhaps even the last  continue to loom, residents and activists are relying on a mix of old and new tactics targeting local and international solidarity in another bid to fight the malaise.

For al-Turi, the most important tool he has is to stay put: Remaining, after all, has been the peoples most effective power, he said.

Al-Araqib is still here because the people decided to be, Turi said. The people of al-Araqib took the decision to remain steadfast on our land. If today the people of al-Araqib decide to leave, al-Araqib would die.

Turi is one of about 80 people still living in al-Araqib, working in nearby cities and towns and returning at night to sleep in temporary tents and cars. Many other families have moved elsewhere, like to nearby Rahat, which has electricity, sewage, water, roads, stable structures, and education, health and other facilities.

The Israeli government insists it is in the communitys best interest to relocate to more safe and stable housing like in Rahat. Turi countered that the government should instead recognize al-Araqib and allow residents to rightfully develop their own land. Residents have also criticized the government for not providing enough housing for the relocated communities, despite claims otherwise.

In other ways, al-Araqib is taking its fight to new campaigns. The recently launched Four Villages Campaign is working to keep the spotlight on several unrecognized villages  both in Israels Negev and in the occupied Palestinian territories. Drawing connections to the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota and the fight for indigenous rights, Four Villages is focusing its efforts on the Bedouin villages of Umm al-Hiran and al-Araqib in the Negev and the villages of Susiya and Umm al-Kheir in Area C of the occupied West Bank.

It is a unique partnership that, despite important differences in the Negev and West Bank experiences, people agreed to because they decided in these times of indifference their voices are likely loudest when together.

We felt that each of these communities was deserving of an international campaign, but we didn't think we had the bandwidth to do four sites simultaneously, said Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the founder of the new nongovernmental organization Haqel, or United in Defense of Human Rights, which focuses on Palestinian land confiscations in the occupied West Bank and Negev.

There are significant difficulties between the Negev and the occupied territories, Ascherman said, noting in particular basic jurisdictional differences, as West Bank Palestinians arent Israeli citizens, while Bedouin in the Negev are. But I increasingly see similarities in the [Israeli] techniques, which is basically using planning and zoning for land control and taking over land owned by Palestinians, whether they be Israeli citizens or not.

Four Villages is also initiating a letter-writing campaign to the JNF, asking it not to reforest over the demolished al-Araqib as currently planned. A similar petition in 2011 was successful, Ascherman said, when as a result the JNF agreed that no further steps would be taken until after the land dispute was settled in court. Recently, however, they reversed course and started preparing land for planting  perhaps even this month, according to Ascherman.

The JNF has repeatedly denied involvement in the decision-making process of what Israeli authorities demolish and stressed the widespread benefit of their environmental work. But activists counter that the JNF does in practice have a significant say within the Israel Land Council and argue that some forestation projects have clearly contentious political implications.

To say that they [the JNF] are just a small partner is not the right answer, said Haya Noach, the director of the Negev Coexistence Forum. You [the JNF] have a responsibility, and ignoring peoples rights has a toll.

Al-Araqib residents are also involved in a series of court cases, from contesting fines the Israeli government claims they owe to cover the demolitions to challenging the legality of the governments initial appropriation of the land.

The plaintiffs have strong and new evidence to the fact that the 1953 confiscation was illegal and a pretense for stealing Bedouin land, attorney Carmel Pomerantz, one of several lawyers representing the Bedouin complainants, told Al-Monitor. We are hopeful that the Bedouin get a fair trial.

Turi said he was grateful for the international attention and solidarity, which, for places like Susiya, has been critical in prolonging the community from being completely pushed out. But he also described it as symbolic  that after so many years international pressure could only be applied if people remained on the ground.

Al-Araqibs 107th and most recent demolition was Dec. 22, according to Turi.
December 23, 2016

The West Bank is lacking security and stability following armed clashes between Palestinian security forces and gunmen deployed in refugee camps  most recently on Nov. 18 in Fara refugee camp in Tubas city, in the northeastern West Bank.

In light of this security tension, Israel agreed Dec. 6 to allow the entry of armored vehicles from Jordan to the West Bank to be handed over to the Palestinian security services, after having prohibited the entry of such vehicles for four years, during which Israel only approved the acquisition by the Palestinian Authority (PA) of anti-riot light weapons. The armored vehicles were received in the presence of Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian officers.

Haaretz newspaper reported on the same day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman have approved the delivery of five armored jeeps for the [PA] security forces.

The newspaper also read, The jeeps were delivered overnight Sunday into Monday via the Allenby Bridge. The vehicles were loaded onto transporters at the crossing under the supervision of Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli officers, and were sent to PA security bases.

Haaretz noted, Palestinian security forces need armored vehicles, especially in the northern West Bank."

Abdullah Abdullah, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor, The PA controls security in the West Bank, despite recent security events, which must be stopped and prevented from stretching to other parts of the West Bank. Despite the political rift between the PA and Israel, the latter fears future possible security unrest in the West Bank, and this is why it allowed the entry of armored vehicles to the Palestinian security services.

This is not the first time that Israel allowed the PA to obtain armored security vehicles. In July 2010, the Israeli Ministry of Defense had issued a recommendation to allow the PA to import 50 Russian-made armored vehicles in light of the significant improvement of the security cooperation between the two sides. Israel wanted to persuade the PA to enter into direct negotiations with it and sought to raise the capabilities of the Palestinian security services.

In July 2007, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had approved a request by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to provide the PA with military equipment such as bulletproof vests and military tents in a bid to strengthen the PA vis-a-vis Hamas, a few days after the Hamas takeover of Gaza on June 14, 2007.

However, the recent Israeli move to arm the PA by allowing the entry of armored vehicles occurred amid the political stalemate between the PA and Israel since April 2014 and the halted negotiations between them.

Abdel Sattar Qassem, a political science professor at An-Najah National University in Nablus, told Al-Monitor, The Israeli approval to provide the PA with this new military equipment is due to serious Israeli security concerns about the possibility that the security situation in the West Bank may spiral out of control.

He said, Palestinian internal clashes may erupt within the ranks of Fatah, or between the Palestinians themselves. This may urge the Palestinian national authorities to take advantage of the chaos to carry out armed attacks against Israel, inside the West Bank or Israeli cities. Qassem added, This is the scenario that Israel fears, and this is why it provided the PA with these armored vehicles."

Maj. Gen. Hazem Atallah, the director general of the Palestinian police in the West Bank, announced Dec. 16 that the police department suffers a great shortage of police officers, whose numbers do not exceed 8,500 serving in all of the cities across the West Bank, while 11,500 officers are needed in order for the police department to perform its duties for the Palestinians.

A Palestinian security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, The US security coordinator for Israel and the PA Gen. Frederick Rudesheim played a positive role in convincing the Israeli authorities to allow the entry of the vehicles through bona fide mediation efforts among Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli security chiefs.

The official added, Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai and Central Command Cmdr. Maj. Gen. Roni Numa expressed their support to the Palestinian request of the armored vehicles since they are closely watching the PAs strict crackdown on rioters and its efforts to contain the security chaos in the West Bank.

In conjunction with Israel's approval of the PAs acquisition of the military armored jeeps, Israeli Walla news website published Dec. 15 a lengthy report by its military expert Amir Bukhbut that stated, The No. 1 threat to Israel in the West Bank is that Palestinians may shoot at settlers cars and Israeli military jeeps, in light of the desire of the Palestinian organizations to raise the level of their [military] operations. This is a sign of the sensitivity of the security situation in the West Bank, which may be inflamed at any moment.

In his report, Bukhbut said, Israeli Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot issued instructions in recent days ordering the Israeli forces to deploy on the main crossroads in the West Bank, to set up sudden security checkpoints, gather security information, launch campaigns of arrests and investigations, and coordinate with the PA, which is carrying out raids against Hamas military groups.

Israel announced Dec. 9 the arrest of a Palestinian Hamas [military] cell that had planned to carry out attacks on military bases in Jerusalem, while on Dec. 8, Israel had also announced that it arrested another Hamas cell whose members planned to carry out shootings and abduct settlers.

Samira al-Halaiqa, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Hamas in Hebron, told Al-Monitor, The sudden Israeli approval on the supply to the PA of armored vehicles and military equipment is striking and surprising, because Israel and the PA were witnessing a political standoff, which means that they expect or are aware of an imminent outbreak of waves of suicide attacks against Israeli targets.

She added, This pushed the two sides to turn the page on their political differences and agree to deter any new Palestinian attempt to further encourage attacks currently taking place in the West Bank from time to time.

Perhaps the coming days will reveal the real reason why the PA was able to get its new armored jeeps. Was this aimed to strengthen it to face the Palestinian internal security chaos or to deter armed attacks against Israel? Regardless of the motives behind this positive Israeli step toward the PA, Palestinians feel that the coming phase would not necessarily bring calm and stability to the West Bank.
December 23, 2016

Iraqi Kurds have always dreamed of independence. Now they are moving to transform that dream into reality.

A conference titled The Future Independence of Kurdistan: Challenges and Opportunities, which took place Dec. 15-16 at the newly established American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in Dahuk, offered a historic platform for top Iraqi Kurdish leaders to argue the case for Iraqi statehood. Masrour Barzani, the quietly powerful chancellor of the Kurdistan Regional Security Council  and probably the most vocal proponent of breaking free from Baghdad  did not mince his words: We are not accepted as equal citizens, and we reject subordination, he told an electrified audience of Kurdish leaders from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Another heavyweight, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, has long been seen as less forward-leaning than his paternal cousin and brother-in-law on the subject of Kurdish independence. But he, too, appears to have shed any reservations: It is time for the issue of Kurdish independence to be debated by Kurds and the international community alike, he declared. Al-Monitor caught up with Nechirvan Barzani after the AUK conference at his office in Erbil.

The following are the highlights of the hour-long interview:

Al-Monitor: How is the Mosul campaign going?

Barzani: There has been a good level of cooperation between [peshmerga forces] and the Iraqi army. Its the first time in 25 years that the Iraqi army has been permitted to set foot in Kurdistan. There is a vast amount of cooperation on intelligence and military matters. Before the Mosul operation was launched, a tripartite agreement between the United States, the [KRG] and Baghdad was reached. This called for a division of labor. There were areas that were designated for the peshmerga to liberate and control and others that were designated for the Iraqi forces to liberate and control. The peshmerga have completed their job, and we are holding those areas. At the moment we are supporting the Iraqi army in its ongoing operations, providing intelligence and conducting joint surgical operations against Daesh [the Arabic term used for the Islamic State, or IS].

Al-Monitor: There are reports that the operation has slowed down. What is the reason for this?

Barzani: Yes. The operations seem to be going rather slowly. There are two reasons for this. There is a concerted effort to avoid collateral damage, to avoid harming civilians during the course of the operations. The second reason is that Daesh is putting up stiff resistance. The initial days of the operation were expected to go relatively smoothly. Mosul as you know is divided by the Tigris River. I believe the liberation of the eastern part will be far easier than that of the western part. The western part will be really, really difficult.

Al-Monitor: What makes it so difficult?

Barzani: The topography of the city itself makes it difficult. The old city has narrow alleys; thus, its hard to call in airstrikes. Its a matter of survival for Daesh, and they will resist fiercely. The Iraqi army lacks the level of sophistication required to conduct offensive action in such a challenging urban environment.

Al-Monitor: The last time I interviewed you, the role of the Shite militias appeared to be a matter of grave concern. Are you still worried about their potential to complicate or disrupt the Mosul campaign?

Barzani: We respect the contribution of the Shiite militias so far in this campaign. And till now, they have not ventured beyond the areas that they were mandated to operate within. But their initial motivation for taking part in the campaign  that is to get involved in the liberation of Tal Afar  was not a good idea. But they have avoided entering the city [Mosul] from the south and southwest and focused instead on the areas assigned to them by Baghdad.

Al-Monitor: Did Turkeys pretty bellicose statements on Tal Afar act as a deterrent?

Barzani: Turkeys prime concern was that the Shiite militias not enter Tal Afar so as to avert sectarian violence between the Shiite and Sunni Turkmens. And happily this has not happened. I believe the parties that are mainly responsible for averting this potentially bloody scenario are we, the KRG, Ankara and Baghdad.

Al-Monitor: There are many other potential conflicts brewing as the Mosul operation unfolds. In your speech at AUK, you mentioned the presence of the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] in Sinjar as one such flashpoint. You said the PKK needs to leave.

Barzani: During the calamity that befell the Yazidi people in Sinjar, obviously the Rojava forces  meaning the PYD [Democratic Unity Party]  played a valuable role in helping to protect them and shepherd them to safety, and we recognize and appreciate that. But under the present circumstances, the presence of PKK forces in Sinjar will only add to instability in the area and nothing more. The PKK presence is preventing people from returning to their homes. They are hesitating to return for fear of renewed conflict, out of concern as to what uncertain future awaits them and not because, as some allege, that we are the ones stopping them from reclaiming their lives, their homes. We share their concerns, and this is why we strongly believe that the PKK must leave Sinjar.

Al-Monitor: We know that the United States is engaging in efforts to unite the different Yazidi militias in Sinjar, including the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Units [YBS], and is echoing your demands that the PKK leave the area. Has there been any progress on this front?

Barzani: We have been engaging with both Baghdad and Washington on this issue. The ongoing talks have not resulted in any concrete progress, no practical measures so far in terms of getting the PKK to withdraw. The real problem lies within the mentality and the behavior of the PKK. The local Yazidi population does not want the PKK to remain. People want stability.

Al-Monitor: But its also true that the Yazidis have a huge trust issue and feel they were betrayed by the peshmerga. They want to be responsible for their own safety to the extent that they can. One of the main Yazidi militias, the Protection Force of Ezidkhan, led by Haydar Shesho, has suggested that his forces come under the umbrella of the peshmerga so long as he is allowed to maintain a certain level of independence and is not expected to fully merge with the peshmerga. For instance, he wants his men to be able to wear their own identification patches and carry their own flags. Would you agree to that?

Barzani: We would absolutely agree to that. Definitely. No problem. We told them. They know. We told all of the groups that they could [do the same]. We are currently in dialogue with all of these armed groups in the area for them to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. They will maintain a level of independence, but they will also take orders from and coordinate with the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. We are discussing all of that. The aim should be that there be a sufficient number of Yazidi local forces to provide security for their own people, to protect their own region. The problem that we had with Sinjar [when IS attacked] is that the closest point between the KRG controlled areas and Sinjar was about 80 kilometers [50 miles] in depth, and this area was populated by Arab communities and some of the local tribes were supporters of IS. This complicated many things.

Al-Monitor: But there are other actors involved in this matter, like Baghdad, for instance. They are said to be supporting the PKK and the YBS because they see them as leverage against the KRG and Turkey. But it's also been reported that Baghdad cut off salaries for the YBS after the United States pressured them to do so.

Barzani: We are in continuous talks with Baghdad. So far they havent taken any serious steps to help [with the withdrawal of the PKK], and I personally cannot confirm that they cut the YBS salaries even though they told us that they had. If matters come to a head and Ankara [Turkey] and Baghdad and other players get drawn in, we too, as the KRG, are players and hold certain cards in our hands. Having said that, I dont think it would be in anybodys interest to reach that point.

Al-Monitor: Are you suggesting that you might resort to military force in order to push the PKK out of Sinjar?

Barzani: Yes, I am.

Al-Monitor: Independence seems to be very much on the KRGs agenda. What is your road map for independence?

Barzani: When we raise the issue of independence, we are trying to find a solution to a pending problem, not to create instability. Quite the reverse. We believe Kurdistans independence will contribute to and enhance regional stability. We cannot continue with the same model that we had with Baghdad. The Kurdish issue in Iraq is an old one.

The Kurds in Iraq have not integrated into the Arab Iraqi part. I was the first one to bring up the issue of independence formally with Baghdad. I brought it up with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and with the Iraqi Shiite alliance. What I see as a road map is a very serious dialogue with Baghdad. This is the most important step.

And for arguments sake, if we do declare our independence without consultation with Baghdad or any form of dialogue, our independence wont be viable.

Al-Monitor: Are you saying that Baghdads formal acquiescence is a sine qua non for Kurdish independence?

Barzani: Look, for us what matters is that the first official dialogue for independence be with Baghdad. We have to sit down officially with Baghdad and remove this taboo and talk about it.

Al-Monitor: Are they ready for that?

Barzani: They are ready. I told Abadi, I told the Shiite alliance, 'At the end of the day, our goal is independence. And you should treat this matter very seriously.' They both said they were shocked by what I said but that they appreciated my frankness. They said it was the first time they were hearing the independence issue being articulated officially. I told them, 'In the past, this was conveyed through the media. Now I am telling you officially that our goal is independence and we must establish a committee to discuss this.'

Al-Monitor: When exactly?

Barzani: It was before the Mosul operation began, at the end of August. And after my visit, President Massoud Barzani  also traveled to Baghdad. The most important step is to launch this dialogue with Baghdad.

Al-Monitor: But havent all of your agreements with Baghdad ended in tragedy? And isnt it true that Abadi needs the Kurds to fend off his own internal political rivals? Perhaps this is more about his short-term self-interest. Or are you saying there is a new dynamic that makes you more confident this time?

Barzani: Its a different dynamic this time for sure. But what really matters is stability, and if they [Baghdad] really want stability in this country, this [Kurdish independence] is the only way. I told them, 'Look, Mr. Prime Minister, look at the history. In 1970, Saddam Hussein signed an [autonomy] agreement with my late grandfather, Mullah Mustafa Barzani. In 1974, when he felt strong again, he reneged on that agreement and then he was forced to cede half of the Shatt al-Arab [waterway] to Iran just to persuade them to stop their support for the Kurds. And when Saddam tried to get Shatt al-Arab back, he fought Iran for eight years and was bankrupted. So he invaded Kuwait and you know the rest. If Iraq had solved its problems with the Kurds, none of this would have come about.' Besides, the Iraqi Kurds are very different from the Kurds in Iran and in Turkey. They are very separate from the Arabs. They were never assimilated. They are homogenous and concentrated geographically. As for fears of an independent Kurdistan becoming a magnet, look at the Kurds in Turkey. The Kurds who leave the [Kurd majority] southeast go to Istanbul, to Izmir, to Mersin. They do not come to settle in Iraqi Kurdistan. So the idea that in order to solve the Kurdish problems in Iran and in Iraq you need to copy Iraq, thats simply not true.

Al-Monitor: Getting back to Iraq, clearly they are not ready to fight you and they have said so.

Barzani: They are not ready to fight us. Not for now. But even if they were ready, nothing would be solved.

Al-Monitor: Do you believe the cooperation that has emerged between you and Baghdad over Mosul is creating goodwill and will ease the path to an amicable divorce, as Masrour Barzani put it?

Barzani: In Mosul we have a common enemy. Defeating Daesh is a top priority for us no matter what. And it is for Baghdad as well. These issues [Kurdish independence and the fight against IS] are separate.

Al-Monitor: Where do the Sunni Arabs fall in the mix?

Barzani: The Sunni community has to decide for themselves what they want, whether its regional autonomy or some other formula. Once they achieve clarity, things will fall into place. The problem for everyone though is that the Sunnis dont seem to know what they want. That is the perception.

Al-Monitor: But they wont be part of your independent Kurdish state?

Barzani: No.

Al-Monitor: Some Kurds dont seem to know what they want either. You have sharp and enduring internal divisions, including over the issue of independence, and certainly in terms of its timing. How will you resolve these differences?

Barzani: I dont expect that anyone or any party will stand up against independence. There is unanimous consensus on this issue.

This issue is above parties, above politics, above this or that leader.

That said, there is no example in the world of a nation moving toward independence that hasnt experienced problems. We will settle our differences. Look, two years ago the biggest challenge that we faced was Daesh; it wasnt about which article said what in the parliament. Daesh was 30 kilometers [19 miles] away from Erbil. Our priority at that time was fighting Daesh. Now, gradually the situation is changing. We lost more than 1,600 peshmergas in that fight. Nine-thousand of our heroes were injured. And now, with the support of the international community, and especially of the Americans, we regained and took control of all our territories. And so now I think its the right time to talk about independence, and we have started that. We sent our [Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)] delegation to the PUK [Patriotic Union of Kurdistan] to [the opposition] Gorran. We will fix our differences. But first each party has to clearly lay out its positions, its demands. And also, we must not belittle what has been achieved so far. We have governed together [in coalitions]. We will build on that.

Al-Monitor: But the PUK and Gorran both fear that independence will beget a Barzanistan rather than a Kurdistan.

Barzani: There is a misconception that everything is controlled by the Barzanis, by the KDP. This is a false perception. When [PUK leader and former Iraqi president] Mam Jalal [Talabani] was on the scene, it was never an issue. Mam Jalals exit from the political scene created a big vacuum. At a certain point we thought we could deal with [Gorran leader] Nawshirwan [Mustafa], that he could rise to the occasion, fill the gap. But we were really very disappointed. There is nobody either in the PUK or Gorran who has either the charisma or status [Talabani has]. Plus, they are all fighting each other. Its against this background that they perceive us [the KDP] as some kind of giant.

Al-Monitor: Is Turkey onboard for your independence?

Barzani: They may not be onboard in the way that we would like them to be. But at the end of the day, Turkey is one of the countries that we have to engage in dialogue with on the subject of our independence.

Al-Monitor: Has that started?

Barzani: Not officially.

Al-Monitor: Are you planning to officially?

Barzani: Yes.

Al-Monitor: Is it on the calendar for 2017?

Barzani: Yes, for sure we will raise it with them.

Al-Monitor: And do you think the current leadership in Turkey would be open to this conversation?

Barzani: I think what has changed is that before the topic was a red line for Turkey no matter what. But now I believe there is an opportunity to open this dialogue and get them to listen at the very least.

Al-Monitor: Is the fact that Turkey allows you to export your oil independently of Baghdad a sign of this change?

Barzani: That is a very big achievement for sure. It was beyond our imagination, beyond all our expectations, that Turkey would allow this to happen.

Al-Monitor: Isnt peace between Turkey and its own Kurds a critical piece of ensuring that your future independence rests on stable ground?

Barzani: This issue can only be resolved through peaceful dialogue between Ankara and the Kurds.

Al-Monitor: You played a key role in starting peace negotiations, the Oslo talks, between Turkey and the PKK. Are you prepared to resume this role?

Barzani: For sure. We are ready at all times to contribute to reviving the peace process in whichever way we can. But first the PKK needs to revise its strategy. They need to understand that this problem cannot be fixed through war and violence. And this should be a strategic decision, not a tactical maneuver.

Al-Monitor: Do you agree that Turkey needs to do the same?

Barzani: Yes. But allow me to continue. If the PKK makes a strategic decision to abandon its military campaign in favor of a peaceful resolution of the conflict, things will get a lot easier. Killing soldiers and setting off bombs in Istanbul will not solve this problem. Both sides lose from this. When the PKK brought its fight to the cities last year, who was hurt the most by this? It was the Kurds. Its time the PKK stopped the violence and declared a cease-fire, and not just a temporary one.

And the lead figure on the Kurdish side of any renewed peace process needs to be [imprisoned PKK leader] Abdullah Ocalan.

Al-Monitor: What about Iran? Dont you need to begin a dialogue with them for independence as well?

Barzani: The Iranian media uses every opportunity to say Iran is opposed to [Iraqi] Kurdish independence even when its not on the agenda. Of course we need to have these discussions with the Iranians, but it seems that even before we sit down and talk about it they have decided to be against it [Iraqi Kurdish statehood].

Al-Monitor: Is the fact that the Iranian Kurdish groups based inside Iraqi Kurdistan are now being permitted to return to the border areas to collect taxes from smugglers and to resume military activity against the regime inside Iran some kind of a message from you to the Iranians?

Barzani: No, no. We are completely opposed to the idea of our territories being used as a springboard for military operations against our neighbors such as Iran. And we are very serious about taking preventive measures. I dont think this [activity] would solve the problem in Iran. And there is a joint committee set up by Iran and the KRG to address these issues.

Al-Monitor: So in that case, have the Iranian Kurdish groups been allowed to move back to the border to scale back the PKK presence there?

Barzani: There appears to be some kind of competition between these groups. They see what PJAK [the PKK-affiliated Party of Free Life of Kurdistan] is doing, and they fear that they will be forgotten [by the Iranian Kurds]. They therefore feel the need to make themselves present inside Iran. We did not allow them to go back to the border. They did it themselves.

Al-Monitor: You are going through a very grave financial crisis that has paralyzed much of Iraqi Kurdistan. Are things looking any brighter? What are you doing to fix the problem?

Barzani: First of all, with regard to transparency in the oil sector, we have hired two companies: Deloitte, and Ernst & Young. They will be auditing all future, present and past activities of the energy industry. They have already started.

Al-Monitor: And the energy agreement with Turkey?

Barzani: Obviously, we will not allow them to see the [text of] the agreement with Turkey. But everything else will be audited. There will be full transparency.

Al-Monitor: Including all payments made to the Turkish state bank Halkbank for the oil that you are exporting via Turkey?

Barzani: Yes, of course. We will have a monthly auditing report. Meanwhile, our Ministry of Planning has been working with the World Bank over the past couple of years in several areas including procurement. The procurement process in the KRG has now been brought up to international standards. Social security, protecting the most disadvantaged, is another area in which we have been working with the World Bank. And of course another big project is reforms within the Ministry of Finance. The budget, taxes, all of this  I can assure you that one year from now we will have a properly functioning establishment called the Ministry of Finance.

We hired former Lebanese Finance Minister Jihad Azour, who was spearheading such reforms in Lebanon and who will be moving on to the International Monetary Fund in March. He has been helping us with all of this, with training of personnel, for nearly 1 years. We wanted someone from the region who understands the local culture. As for the issue of ghost peshmergas, those who draw double, triple salaries, we have introduced a biometric system to eliminate this sort of mischief.

We have also cut back subsidies for fuel and electricity. All of this has reduced our expenditure dramatically. This crisis was debilitating and caused much suffering for our people, but at the same time it offered us an opportunity to seriously address many of the structural problems that aggravated this crisis. I realize that my credibility is at stake here, because as prime minister I am primarily responsible for the austerity program and it doesnt make me especially popular. In fact, I have paid a very high price. But in the future, our people will realize it was for their own good, for the good of Kurdistan.

Al-Monitor: Have you taken a pay cut?

Barzani: Yes, 75%.

Al-Monitor: Finally, how do you see relations between the KRG and Washington evolving under the new Donald Trump administration?

Barzani: I think the next administration will be friendly toward the Kurds. And Trumps election was not a surprise for me. I told my colleagues two months ago, 'Look, he will be the next president of the United States, no matter what,' and I was right.
December 22, 2016

Serious questions are being asked about the huge Palestinian security budget. Local transparency organizations, the US State Department and Congress are not convinced that the Palestinian government needs to spend so much of its budget on security.

On Nov. 9, the Ramallah-based Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) issued a detailed report of the Palestinian security sector, saying it amounts to more than one-third of the Palestinian governments overall budget.

On the same day, Hama Zeidan, a researcher at AMAN, revealed details of the security budget during a conference held in Ramallah. The security sector received $1.078 billion out of the overall $3.86 billion Palestinian budget, Zeidan said, adding that this budget is larger than the Palestinian health and education budgets combined.

During the same conference, AMAN Chairman Abdel Qader al-Husseini called on the Palestinian government to adopt a plan of austerity when it comes to spending policies, calling for a partnership with civil society when making decisions regarding how taxpayers' money is spent.

In Washington, the issue of the Palestinian security budget was criticized in a different way. The US contribution to Palestinian security was cut in half in the congressional budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year presented by the US State Department to the US Congress in the fall of 2016.

Seth Binder, a program manager with Security Assistance Monitor, which documents all publicly accessible information on US security and defense assistance programs throughout the world, told Al-Monitor that funding for Palestinian security has been decreasing. A graph created by the center  which receives no government funding and is funded by private foundations  shows that the United States supported Palestinian security with $184 million in 2009, but settled on $70 million since 2013; while the US State Departments recommendations to Congress for 2017 called for a cut in half, to $35 million. Most of the money saved was shifted to the Palestinian economic development budget, thus not affecting the overall US funding to Palestine.

Binder noted that US funding for Palestinian security is already generally restricted, saying, It is mostly used for equipment, training and basic infrastructure work. Much of the US-funded training for the Palestinian security takes place in Jordan. Binder added that no lethal equipment is delivered with these funds.

A source, who asked not to be identified, told Al-Monitor that Israel approves all equipment delivered to the Palestinian security, and that at times, even after these approvals, it takes a long time to overcome the delays at the border crossings.

Maen Areikat, the PLO representative in Washington, told Al-Monitor that the reason given for the cut in the security fund was the fact that the infrastructure and equipment purchases for the Palestinian security forces had been made in previous years. Areikat told Al-Monitor that the PLO delegation was able to convince the appropriations committee to shift the reduced $35 million to the economic fund.

Husam Zomlot, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, spoke to Al-Monitor about the importance of bilateral relationships between Palestine and the United States. Zomlot, who participated in a high-level visit to the United States, told Al-Monitor that the proposed State Department cut in the Palestinian budgets security sector was not discussed in the meetings with the various US officials. The Palestinian delegation, headed by PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat, had met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and top US officials Dec. 14.

One of the reasons why the issue was not discussed might be the expectation that the budget sent by the Barack Obama administration would not be voted on by the current Congress, as Washington is awaiting the arrival of the Donald Trump administration, and therefore, the current Congress tends to approve short-term continuing resolutions rather than tackle the full proposed aid budget.

In fact, this is what happened. On Dec. 9, the US House of Representatives voted (326-96) for the approval of an extension of the continuing resolution (H.R. 2028) until April 28, 2016. The Senate went along with a 63-36 vote. This means that funding will continue based on fiscal year 2016 spending levels through April 28, 2017.

At that time, Congress will have to either pass a new spending bill, which could affect the Palestinian funding levels, or pass another continuing resolution to keep levels the same as in 2016. The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Binder said that he double-checked the fiscal year 2016 legislation and it does not specifically list or exclude Palestine. Therefore, our best indicator is that $70 million will continue until the end of April 2017, he said.

In comparison with the overall security budget, the US input is rather small. But the decision of the Obama administration to cut this funding in half does send an important message to all governments, donors and to the Palestinian security that internal cuts are needed for the future.

Public demands by Palestinians and the international community for a shifting of the budget from security to social areas will no doubt continue in the years to come. The sooner the Palestinian government makes the internal adjustments, the better.
December 23, 2016

The mourning ceremony for assassinated Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov took place in Russias Foreign Ministry and was followed by a funeral service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in downtown Moscow. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin awarded Karlov with the nations highest honorary title posthumously  Hero of the Russian Federation.

On Dec. 21, the Russian government adopted a special document titled Procedure for the Interment of Slain or Dead Ambassadors of Russia that stipulates the procedure for bidding farewell with military honors. The ambassadors alma mater  Moscow State Institute of International Relations-MGIMO University  established a scholarship named after Karlov, while Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok supported the State Duma proposal to name the university after Karlov. Among other achievements, Karlov was an authority on Korean studies and has long worked with the university while stationed in Pyongyang, North Korea, as the Russian ambassador before his posting in Ankara.

Meanwhile, Russias political and expert communities are mulling over potential masterminds behind the assassination and what responses Moscow has at its disposal. Quite expectedly, the main question everyone is pondering is, Whom does it benefit? There currently are three major groups of answers to this:

External forces who oppose the reconciliation between Moscow and Ankara (a strong insinuation that there might be an American, British or Saudi involvement).

Internal forces that may be connected with Islamist groups and that also arent particularly excited about the deals Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been recently clinching. This group is believed to include an involvement of someone from the Turkish security apparatus.

Terrorist groups outside Turkey who have lost  militarily and politically  in Aleppo and wanted revenge on Moscow.

Proponents of all three versions point to the very timing of the assassination: right in between the UN Security Councils adoption of a resolution on Aleppo that by and large reflected Moscows position on the conflict (Dec. 19) and a day before the critical meetings of foreign and defense ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey in Moscow (Dec. 20). If successful  the argument goes  it would have sidelined the United States, silenced British criticism and come as a blow to the Saudis own standing on Syria. It might have also made life for the extremist groups in Syria more complicated: Even though Tehran, Moscow and Ankara would each continue on its own path, there seemed to be an understanding that the course toward a military confrontation was politically costly and financially weary. Besides, in recent months, Moscow and Ankara have been having top-level political and military consultations, and as Pinar Tremblay accurately noted in Al-Monitor, Karlov has been a crucial interlocutor in all of them. Therefore, using this logic, Russian politicians and experts grouped around each of the three versions depending on the degree of their antipathy regarding the West, the Islamist extremists or the level of distrust toward Turkey.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a frequent commentator on key Russian-related international events, offered a somewhat more accommodating narrative, saying on his Instagram that the 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas was executing the will of the Iblis State [Kadyrovs own euphemism for the Islamic State (IS)].  There can be no doubt, that both [IS] and al-Qaeda are a brainchild of Western intelligence services.

In any case, most of the commentators shared the view that the assassination was perpetrated by enemies of Moscows and Ankaras cooperation. Indeed, as soon as Russian-Turkish relations were set on a path of rapprochement, they faced another serious test.

What was dismissed from the very beginning was the lone wolf theory. Opponents of this version insist that Altintas might have had genuine negative feelings about Russias actions in Syria, but the assassination seems to have been calculated with a precision available to well-organized groups, not this type of individual. Even less discussed is the idea that Kurdish forces might be part in the assault. The Kurds may not be happy about what Russian-Turkish dealings may mean for their own future, but no one in Russia seriously believes the Kurdistan Workers Party would go so far as to kill the Russian ambassador to make Moscow go ballistic.

Few share what seems to be the main version Ankara is trying to present  the mad Gulenist theory. Speaking on a radio show soon after the assassination, Yevgeny Satanovsky, the head of the Moscow-based Institute for the Middle East, denounced the idea, saying, Fethullah Gulen doesnt take to such violent methods in his practices. Earlier this year, as part of the reconciliation process with Ankara over Russias downed jet, Moscow closed about 150 Gulen schools across Russia. Theres little evidence that the Kremlin believed that Gulen was behind the downing, but at the time it was a necessary political move that many Russian politicians thought was in the countrys national interests. This time, however, attempts to sell the same idea would only stain the relationship.

Russian decision-makers who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity signaled a concern over whether Turkish officials know more than they are actually telling. They believe that, to a large extent, all of the assassination hypotheses Ankara is presenting reflect the desire of the Turkish leadership to get Moscow onboard in its struggle against its own opponents  the Gulenists and the Kurds  rather than to truly and openly investigate the assassination. Indeed, the killing of Altintas raised all kinds of suspicions. The general feeling now is, even if killing the assassin was a forced measure under those circumstances, trying to shove the narratives, which on all accounts look artificial and dont hold together under scrutinized examination, casts a dark shadow on the potential involvement of the Turkish security apparatus or someone in the government.

These suspicions are galvanized with the news of the nationalization of Akfel Holding  Turkeys biggest private gas importer. The Turkish government snatched the assets of Gazprom, which owns a minority package of shares in the company and supplies 20% of its gas to Turkey through Akfel. The nationalization was conducted earlier in December under Turkeys state of emergency, which Erdogan adopted after the failed coup in July. Speaking to the Russian business edition of Kommersant, a source close to Gazprom said, They just took our most effective and profitable gas trader in Turkey.

Alexei Miller, the head of Gazprom, tried to raise this issue during Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirims recent trip to Moscow, but Yildirim didnt provide any meaningful explanation. Given that the gas discount for private importers is expiring in 2017, new negotiations should have started. The incident with Akfel Holding signals worrisome prospects for yet another gas dispute in the coming year between Turkey and Russia, which seeks support from Turkish authorities in implementing the Turkish Stream project.

In this volatile context, any potentially conflicting situation  especially one of the magnitude of the ambassador assassination  should be handled with care. The crisis diplomacy that Erdogan carried out with Putin in the first few hours was a successful case for such behavior. But this may turn out to not be enough if all kinds of negative signals continue to be sent from one capital and picked up and get fomented in the other.

So far one aspect of this incident that looked especially promising was the people-to-people dimension. An overwhelming majority of Turkish people sent their condolences and expressed sympathies to the Russian diplomatic corps and Foreign Affairs Ministry in Moscow as well as to Russian friends and colleagues. A few hours into the tragedy, the hashtag #TurkishPeopleLoveRussia became the fourth-most popular on the Turkish segment of Twitter. Hopefully, the investigation by the joint Russian-Turkish Commission will arrive at adequate and fair findings to avoid the people of the two states paying the highest price for yet another misfortune in their bilateral relations.
A woman is dead and the man who police believe shot her died at a Gadsden hospital early this morning.

Sgt. John Hallman said the incident happened at 1 a.m. today in the 1100 block of Jacksonville Court. Police responded to reports of a woman shot by a man there.

Hallman said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses said the man fled the scene on foot, and officers received a description.

The man was spotted a few minutes later by two Gadsden police officers, Hallman said, a short distance away on Wetter Street.

The man ran from police, Hallman said, and after a short foot pursuit produced a gun. Officers then shot the man.

He was taken to Gadsden Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

The names of the two have not yet been released pending family notifications.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has taken over the investigation according to department policy, and the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is completed, Hallman said.
A 23-year-old man is now formally charged in the shooting death of a woman wounded inside a Birmingham lounge early Friday.

Birmingham police on Saturday announced the murder charge against Johnathan Chambers. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $60,000.

Chambers is charged in the shooting death of 51-year-old Linda Hall. Hall and three others were shot about 3:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted inside the GM Lounge in the 3800 block of Richard Arrington Boulevard North.

Investigators said that prior to the shooting, two males were seen circling each other in the night club as if they were going to fight. One of the males pulled out a handgun and began shooting at the other male. All four victims were struck during the shooting. It appeared all the victims were patrons at the club.

Hall was taken to UAB Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The other four victims, whose names haven't been released, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said the shooter - later identified as Chambers - fled the scene in a red Ford Mustang. The department's Crime Reduction Team and Neighborhood Enforcement team began actively searching for him. He was taken into custody without incident four hours later.

Hall is Birmingham's 103rd homicide this year. Of those, eight have been ruled justifiable and two others were officer-involved shootings by outside law enforcement agencies - the Irondale Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office - and therefore aren't deemed criminal by the police department.

Birmingham ended 2015 with 92 homicides, a 55 percent increase over 2014, making 2015 the city's deadliest year since 2008 until 2016. Of the 92 Birmingham deaths ruled homicides by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office last year, two were considered accidental by Birmingham police and 10 others were ruled justifiable.

Countywide, there have been 148 homicides, including the 103 in Birmingham. There were 143 countywide in 2015, up from 88 in 2014.
A 14-year-old has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a south Alabama child, WSFA reported.

The 12-year-old victim, identified as Jade "Bubba" Jones, of Florala, was shot in the upper torso at a home on County Road 41 after 6 p.m. Thursday. Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms said the child was visiting his 14-year-old friend.

Helms said the unidentified 14-year-old got a shotgun from the closest and was recklessly handling it when it went off and shot the victim. The 14-year-old has been detained and taken to Dothan Juvenile Diversion Center.
Some of Alabama's most endangered and distinctive visitors have returned to the Yellowhammer State.

The whooping cranes are back at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge near Decatur, and easily seen throughout the refuge, sometimes even from the visitors center.

Lizzie Condon of the International Crane Foundation said at least 15 individual whooping cranes have been spotted at Wheeler this year, and on one occasion, six of them at once could be seen from the refuge's visitors center. Condon said that just goes to show that Wheeler is one of the best spots in the world to observe the large whoopers.

"It's a really incredible opportunity to see six whooping cranes just from a nature trail," Condon said. "You don't have that opportunity anywhere else. In Texas, people take boats out to an island to see them, and here you can just pull into the parking lot of the visitors center."

The whooping crane is often called the tallest bird in North America, with adults reaching almost five feet when standing. Mature cranes have stark white feathers with black wing tips and a red crown, and the distinctive call that gave the bird its name sounds almost prehistoric.

One observer who lives near the refuge said the first time he encountered whooping cranes up close, "it looked like three 747s in the air."

For visitors who want to see the cranes in person, Condon recommends calling the visitors center at Wheeler for daily updates on where the birds have been spotted.

"Chances are they'll even be able to tell you the names of the ones that are out there," Condon said.

She said there is no particular time of day that is best for seeing the birds, and in fact they don't sleep in the areas easily viewed from the center, so it doesn't require getting out of bed before dawn to see them.

The whoopers are expected to stay in Wheeler until they fly back to Wisconsin, usually around March or April. Last year one holdout, a female, stayed in the refuge until July.

"It's unusual," Condon said. "I think she was going through some heartache, she had lost her mate and was maybe feeling a little bit lost.

"They checked on her because they were worried that something might be wrong and she might not be able to fly, but they saw her flying and determined there was nothing wrong with her health-wise and then in July she just took off and showed up in Wisconsin."

Operation Migration grounded this year

For 15 years, people wanting to see whoopers in Alabama had another option. Human pilots in ultralight gliders -- painted to look like adult whooping cranes -- led young whoopers across Alabama on their way from the summer habitat in Wisconsin to a winter refuge in Florida, as part of a program called Operation Migration.

The birds' parents were absent, so people tried to step in and teach the birds the ropes of being a crane. The program, the basis of the film Fly Away Home, led the migrations over the state from 2001-2015.

In 2016, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined the human-led migrations were too artificial, and put a halt to the ultralight flights. The Service believes that the young cranes missed learning opportunities from their parents, and may not give future generations of whooper chicks enough care, leading to high mortality rates observed among their offspring.

Operation Migration now only tracks the birds from the ground, observing but not leading the journey.

The whooping crane has been fighting its way back from the brink of extinction in the 1940s, and is still endangered. There are several hundred whoopers around now, but wildlife officials estimate the entire population was down to as few as 15 birds at one point, when hunters targeted the large bird for its feathers and rapid development reduced its wetland habitat.

While hunting is no longer a major threat, the whoopers still face serious habitat reductions, as well as power line strikes and other man-made hazards.

Festival of the Crane set for Jan. 2017

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge will once again host its Festival of the Cranes on Jan. 14-15, 2017.

The festival will feature educational and informational programs about whooping cranes and other birds, as well as birds from the Auburn University Raptor Center, children's activities, guest speakers, the real whoopers, and Hope, a seven-foot tall crane mascot designed for the International Crane Foundation by the Jim Henson Company. The Muppets creator's daughter, Heather Henson, is on the Foundation's board.

Condon said the last event drew around 3,000 visitors to Wheeler, a mixture of avid birders and families who wanted to learn more about the whoopers.

"It's really incredible for me to see kids and families out there experience seeing the whoopers for the first time," Condon said. "Last year (2016) there were five whooping cranes that were highly visible all day."
Hatchet Creek

Hatchet Creek in Coosa County

(Howard Koplowitz)

Coosa County, just outside metro Birmingham, should take advantage of its natural resources to spur economic development, with the goal of making the county a destination for campers and tourists, according to residents and planners tasked with helping the county find an economic engine.

"It's a very low-population-based county" of 12,000 people, said Nisa Miranda, director of UA's Center for Economic Development, which has partnered with Auburn University to come up with a plan for the county at the behest of Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover. Coosa is "very naturally beautiful, with creeks, rivers bounding it and creeks running through it," Miranda said.

The population is projected to decrease by about 12 percent by 2020, when about 11,000 people are expected to call Coosa County home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and UA's Center for Business and Economic Research.

"They don't have a huge tax base. They don't have a huge industry and they're very sparsely populated," added Donna Fathke, principal planner for the East Alabama Regional Planning Commission, whose territory includes Coosa County.

Palmer, whose office produced a video highlighting the charms of Coosa County earlier this month, met with businesses in the area and is trying to encourage light manufacturing to move to or expand in Rockford, the county seat. In addition to outdoor sports, horse riding, kayaking, fishing and hunting, Palmer said the county also presents opportunities for the forestry industry and for Coosa County to become a destination for seniors.

"I can see the potential one day for people around the lakes [to build] retirement homes," the congressman told AL.com in a phone interview. "They're trying to take advantage of the infrastructure, but also the natural beauty of the place; Coosa County is a beautiful county."

Unlike neighboring counties - Tallapoosa to the west, Elmore to the south, Shelby to the east and Talladega to the north - Coosa County hasn't borne fruit from economic development because there are no interstates. Residents are accustomed to crossing county lines for large purchases like cars, and about half the residents drive between 20 minutes to an hour to get to work.

But while a lack of infrastructure precludes large industries from setting up shop in Coosa County, its hiking trails, lakes and cliffs and boulders for rock climbing present an opportunity.

"You have to look at alternative development strategies," Miranda said.

Miranda and Joe Sumner, executive director of Auburn University's Government & Economic Development Institute, pulled together resources to help Coosa County residents spur economic development.

Sumner said because of its small population and tax base, Coosa County is joining forces with its neighbors to share resources.

"In a county like Coosa, there's not a lot of money to hire personnel," he said. "So what they have done is they have partnered with Tallapoosa County and Alexander City, so they have a joint industrial park."

Much of the input on the county's economic future has come from the residents themselves.

One Coosa County land owner is starting a campground and has enough land to offer equestrian rides, according to Miranda. Meanwhile, Kathy Fulmer, the volunteer executive director of the Coosa County Chamber of Commerce, is renting out campsites with an eye on expansion.

Fulmer said the county is in need of upgrading roads leading to Lake Mitchell and Lake Martin so fisherman and watersports enthusiasts can get better access to the water. With an increase in tourists, the area may be able to attract hotels catering to travelers who want more than a daytrip in Coosa County.

"We have no shortage of really, really great outdoor recreation and resources," she said. "But the problem is the circle of folks who can come and take advantage of those outside of the county is small because we don't have those lodging facilities."

"This county is very rich in natural resources, but in addition to that there are a lot of talented people that have stayed back," added Miranda. "There's a lot of regional tourism, but you've got to give [tourists] a destination."

One such opportunity is the Appalachian Trail and its extensions, which run from Florida to Maine. Hikers go through Alabama, and Coosa County, through the Pinhoti Trail. The other is the Coldwater Mountain Forever Biking Trail, which opened in 2012 in nearby Anniston.

"We have people coming from all over the country to Coldwater Mountain because it's a practice track and the International Mountain Biking Association designed it," Miranda said.

The process on the economic development plan began in September, with a final report due in February. The county and its chamber of commerce would then use that data to grow industry.

"The end result is a strategic economic development plan that the county and the communities in the county can use to move forward to bring more development to the area," Fathke said.
Lots of good boys and girls are keeping an eye on Santa's path tonight as he delivers toys around the world.

There are plenty of ways to keep up with the Jolly Old Elf and his reindeer, including live tracking offered through Google and North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known as NORAD.

Live tracking is available here for Google and here for NORAD.

As of noon central time, Santa was over India and set to arrive in North America around 11 p.m.

There are also ways to track Santa's path on your tablet or smartphone.

Google has apps available for mobile web (Android/IOS), the Android app, Android TV app and Chromecast.

If you want to track Santa on your smartphone or tablet, official NORAD Tracks Santa apps are also available in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores. Tracking opportunities are also offered on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Google+. Santa followers just need to type "@noradsanta" into each search engine to get started.

Prefer the old-fashioned way? NORAD's phone lines are staffed by thousands of Christmas helpers who are happy to give the latest update on Santa and his progress. The toll-free number is 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to inquire as to Santa's whereabouts or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.

Any time on Dec. 24, Windows Phone users can ask Cortana for Santa's location, and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa.
Writers Ifrah Butt and Natasha Rather discuss the impact of militarisation on Kashmiri women and men.

Twenty-five years have passed since the 1991 incident in which Indian army soldiers allegedly raped between 23 and 100 women in Kashmirs Kunan and Poshpora villages during a search operation.

The Indian army has denied the accusations and a delayed investigation of the incident concluded that the allegations were worthless and no one was prosecuted for the alleged crimes.

But, in 2013, a group of 50 women, including the authors Ifrah Butt and Natasha Rather, petitioned the Supreme Court of India to re-open the investigations. Since then, a reinvestigation was ordered and the Kashmir High Court ordered that victims be paid compensation. The state government and army have mounted efforts to stop these orders.

Al Jazeera spoke to Ifrah Butt and Natasha Rather who, along with three others, co-wrote a book, Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?, published earlier this year.

Butt and Rather, both young women in their twenties, spoke about the impact of militarisation on Kashmiri Muslim women and men, political solidarities, about Kashmiri women who inspire, and the issue of self-determination in Kashmir.

Editors note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length

OPINION: Two centuries of oppression in Kashmir

Al Jazeera: How and when did you learn about the Kunan Poshpora rapes?

Ifrah Butt: I had a faint idea of the events of Kunan Poshpora, but it was not something which we talked about, because it is taboo to discuss rape in Kashmiri society. We were documenting cases of sexual violence at Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, when we learned about the full details.

At that time, people were on the streets in India, demanding immediate justice for a young woman who was raped in Delhi in December 2012. We wondered why nobody had sought justice for the Kashmiri women who were raped more than 20 years ago.

Al Jazeera: How has the conflict in Kashmir affected women and their participation in the public sphere?

Natasha Rather: Before the conflict escalated in the late 1980s, girls were encouraged to attend college, work and occupy high positions. But they were forced to drop out due to the conflict.

During the conflict, women helped [fighters] with meals and shelter, and acted as their couriers.

Increasing instances of rape were recorded after the armed uprising began in 1990s and incidents like Kunan Poshpora made women more aware of their vulnerability.

Rapes were humiliating for the entire Kashmiri community and demoralising. As a result, women were made to cover their faces and wear burqas. Their movements were restricted.

But after a point they had to go out and work because the men were being killed, or were in jail. There are hundreds of half-widows in Kashmir  women whose husbands disappeared.

Since the year 2000, more women started working. Now, many own big businesses, boutiques and beauty parlours, and are in the bureaucracy.

But the result of militarisation is that [Kashmiri women] dread men in uniform. We wont enter a park, if we see them sitting even far away, or walk down streets where there is an army bunker.

Butt: Kashmiri women have been abused both by militants and Indian security forces. Militants also used rape, especially if women were caught as informers. For example, in the 1990s, a Kashmiri Pandit [Hindu] nurse was raped and shot for being a suspected police informer.

Similarly, there are instances of Indian security forces raping female members of a militants family as a way of punishing the fighter.

Women were raped on both sides.

READ MORE: Kashmir  A story of defiance amid grief

Al Jazeera: Men have been tortured and brutalised during the conflict as well. What were the consequences?

Rather: Incidents of sexual torture and assault against men and boys have been recorded. But many such incidents go unreported because the victims fear shame and dishonour.

Butt: Also, I think, men started thinking that they could not take care of the women after incidents of rape and sexual assault against women by military and paramilitary forces increased.





Al Jazeera: What is the situation of Kashmiri women with regard to employment, marriage and sexual freedom?

Rather: Government jobs or education and banking jobs are considered the best for Kashmiri girls. Some families express discomfort about women working with men. Caste and class considerations can be important in selection of partners, but such ideas are slowly changing, especially among the middle class.

There is complete silence around premarital sex since Kashmiri society considers this to be a disgrace and dishonour.

Butt: We have the liberty to choose our partners, that is, husbands, but we cannot cohabitate with a partner if unmarried. Premarital sex is a big no. Sexuality and related issues like rape or even harassment are not discussed.

Al Jazeera: During the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during early 1990s, women from the Pandit community were reportedly raped. Has the violence against them been forgotten?

Rather: Rape of a Kashmiri Pandit woman is as condemnable as of a Kashmiri Muslim woman.

Butt: There were some incidents of rapes committed by militants in the 1990s. Such incidents, too, need documenting.

READ MORE: The slow road to justice for Indias rape victims

Al Jazeera: The outrage around the 2012 Delhi rape prompted you to delve into Kunan Poshpora. Do these other incidents in India also affect you?

Rather: The 2012 agitations demanded that the culture of silence [over rape] be broken. It seemed to be an apt time for talking about gendered violence in Kashmir.

Events in India do impact us, especially movements led by the people. But while most other agitating groups do not want freedom from India, Kashmiris want self-determination.

Butt: Events from all over the world impact us, be it Palestine, Syria or Yemen. We express our solidarity with every oppressed nation and groups like the Dalits or tribal groups. We do it by writing about it and expressing ourselves on social media.

Al Jazeera: Are you indicating that Kashmir needs freedom first, and only then can social problems like patriarchy and caste be dealt with?

Butt: We can solve our problems only if we are alive. We saw how young boys and girls were killed since 2008. There are massacres, and if this continues, there will soon be no one left to deal with the other social problems.

Once we get freedom we will work for a perfect nation. But when our existence is in peril, we cannot think of anything else.

Rather: The right to self-determination precedes everything else. When India was waging its struggle for freedom, did it wait to eliminate caste biases, religious intolerance or patriarchy?
Ubud, Bali  Twelve-year-old Agung Dewi likes to play with her dogs when she gets home from school. The little girl and her family have adopted 29 street dogs in the past two years, providing them with a kinder life, food and shelter in their small house in the village of Mas, lying outside of the city of Ubud, on the island of Bali in Indonesia.

The story of Agung Dewi and her dogs began when she was treated in hospital for food poisoning in 2014. Her condition was dire, and she was unable to eat anything during her two weeks in hospital, her father, Oka Yasna recalls. One day, while on his way to the hospital he saw a cute black stray dog, and took it with him to cheer up his daughter.

I told her, Dewi, I brought you a dog, dont you love it? and I put the dog beside her. She responded right away, the father says. She threw up, then sat up with a smile and hugged the dog, and asked for food. She recovered soon after and went home, taking the dog with her.

Agung Dewi believes that the dog, which she has named Selip, saved her life and she began adopting other strays she met in the village.

Balinese efforts to cull the islands stray dog population following outbreaks of rabies since 2008, often using what are considered cruel methods such as shooting or poisoning, have led to an outcry by animal rights groups.

We dont like the way they prevent rabies by killing the dogs, Agung Dewi and her dad agree.

A vaccination campaign for the dogs, has reportedly brought the disease under control in recent years.

READ MORE: One mans mission to save Indonesias orangutans
Is there anything Obama can do to salvage his reputation in the remaining weeks of his lame-duck presidency?

The twilight of Barack Obamas presidency may seem an odd time to propose a new policy initiative for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But, although it is the eleventh hour, it is not too late; it is the last chance to do something constructive and to leave behind a positive legacy.

The beginning of wisdom is to learn from the mistakes of the past. Americans usually prefer to look forward rather than backwards. But as Winston Churchill once observed, the further back you go, the farther forward you can see.

By going back to the beginning of the Obama administration, one cannot help noting the striking disparity between initial promise and ultimate, dismal failure. Reviewing the record helps to identify the causes of failure and it also suggests a last-ditch policy initiative: the sponsoring of a Security Council resolution which lays down the parameters for a two-state solution.

A cloak for settlement expansion

No American president ever came into office with a better understanding of the tragic history of the Palestinians or a deeper commitment to help them achieve independence than Obama.

In his Cairo speech in April 2009, Obama solemnly pledged to do everything in his power to bring about Palestinian statehood. He correctly identified the expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank as the principal obstacle to the emergence of a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Obama confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times with a demand for a complete settlement freeze and each time the president backed down. By his actions, if not always by his words, Netanyahu demonstrated time and again that he is more interested in land than in peace.

On his second day in office, Obama appointed Senator George Mitchell, the architect of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, as his Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. Two years later Mitchell resigned.

A much better alternative would be to couple recognition of Palestine with simultaneous sponsoring of a Security Council resolution which lays down the parameters of a two-state solution. President Trump would be able to tear up bilateral treaties but even he would not have the power to annul a UN resolution. by

In Northern Ireland, both parties remained committed to the success of the peace process. In the Israel-Palestine context, Netanyahu regarded peace as an American interest, not an Israeli one. He, therefore, turned the American-led peace process into a charade and Mitchell evidently did not want to be part of that charade.

In fact, the so-called peace process was much worse than a charade: it provided the Netanyahu government with a convenient cloak for continuing to pursue its aggressive colonial agenda on the West Bank.

Kerrys efforts

When John Kerry succeeded Hilary Clinton as secretary of state, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the task of peace-making. Whereas Secretary Clinton was noted for her partiality towards Israel, Kerry is meticulously even-handed.

His overarching goal is a settlement that balances justice and independence for the Palestinians with peace and security for the Israelis. Kerry is an admirable American statesman in the George Ball tradition of How to save Israel in spite of herself. He believes that Israel has no future as a democratic country unless it ends the occupation and resolves peacefully its conflict with the Palestinians.

OPINION: Trump and Israel

In office, Kerry demonstrated the courage of his convictions and he displayed astonishing energy in pursuit of a breakthrough. In his first year as secretary of state, he paid no less than eleven visits to the region.

Yet, the seriousness he brought to the task won him no accolades from his Israeli counterparts. Moshe Yaalon, the defence minister at the time, accused Kerry of operating from an incomprehensible obsession and a sense of messianism.

Yaalon and the rest of Netanyahus hawk-infested cabinet ensured that Kerry failed in his mission by refusing two things that are indispensable for success: a complete settlement freeze and agreement to a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders (with the possibility of land swaps).

The special relationship that isnt

Israel did not have to pay any price for its defiance. The special relationship is a one-way street. The US gives Israel money, arms, and advice. Israel takes the money, it takes the arms, and it rejects the advice.

It is the unconditional nature of American support that makes it possible for Israel to persist in its defiance and intransigence. Because of his well-known antipathy towards Netanyahu, Obama is sometimes seen as being anti-Israeli. Nothing could be further from the truth. Obama has gifted to Israel more money and arms than any of his predecessors, culminating in an aid package of $38bn for the decade 2018-2028.

Is there anything Obama can do to salvage his reputation in the remaining weeks of his lame-duck presidency? In an article in the New York Times on 28 November, Jimmy Carter urged Obama to recognise Palestine as a state. This would undoubtedly be a positive step, but recognition can be revoked when Donald Trump enters the White House.

A much better alternative would be to couple recognition of Palestine with simultaneous sponsoring of a Security Council resolution which lays down the parameters of a two-state solution. President Trump would be able to tear up bilateral treaties but even he would not have the power to annul a UN resolution.

The case for a US-sponsored Security Council resolution is compelling. Security Council resolution 242 of November 1967 has served as the basis of Israels peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. But it only refers to the Palestinians as a refugee problem, not as a people with the right to national self-determination.

OPINION: Israel, the UNs Sixth Committee and international law

UN resolution 181 of 29 November 1947 called for the partition of Palestine into two states, one Arab, one Jewish. This resolution needed to be updated. The basic need now is for the equivalent of 242 for Israel-Palestine: a resolution that condemns all Israeli settlement activity and mandates the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with a capital in Jerusalem.

Egypt prepared a resolution along these lines but strong arm-twisting by Trump and Netanyahu made them withdraw it.

Four other members of the Security Council re-tabled the resolution and it was passed on December 23, by 14 votes in favour and one abstention. The US abstained, thereby enabling this historic resolution to pass.

By resisting all the pressures to veto this resolution, Obama and Kerry showed courage, struck a blow against the occupation, and helped to keep alive the hope for eventual Palestinian statehood.

Whatever Trump and Israels leaders may think about it, this UNSC resolution will become a signpost on the long journey, a part of international law that is set in stone, and indeed the cornerstone of all future efforts to resolve this tragic conflict.

Avi Shlaim is an emeritus professor of international relations at Oxford University and the author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Child recruitment is losing hearts and minds, and it is costing boys and girls dearly.

Daoud said he wanted to fight for revenge after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) swept into Iraqs Sinjar district in August 2014, killing thousands of adherents of the Yazidi religious minority and taking thousands more captive.

Daouds family managed to flee, taking an escape route opened up by the Peoples Defence Forces, the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Those forces offered training and weapons to a Yazidi militia, the Sinjar Resistance Units. Six months later, Daoud, whose real name isnt used for his safety, joined the militia. He was 15.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented 29 casesin which armed groups linked to the PKK, had recruited children in Sinjar and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq  even though the groups commanders had pledged to end the practice.

War crime

The Yazidis and the Kurds have suffered appalling persecution. But in their efforts to protect their people, commanders are committing their own abuses by using children as soldiers. This can cost those children a future, and sometimes their lives.

None of the 29 children whose cases we documented was forcibly recruited, but it is prohibited under human rights law for armed groups to use children, even if they volunteer. And if the children are under 15, it is a war crime.

The children werent allowed regular contact with their families. A Kurdish family in Halabja, the town Saddam Hussein attacked with chemical weapons in 1988, said that PKK officials had rebuffed their attempts to contact their 16-year-old son since he left to join the group more than a year before.

As for Daoud, he was shot during fighting in Sinjar. He called home just twice over nine months from Syria where he was receiving medical treatment. He never told his family what happened, he said.

Another Yazidi boy saw a 16-year-old friend killed in battle. Neither had received any psychological support after they had returned to the displaced peoples camps where their families are.

Recruiting children as fighters is exacerbating their hardships, not ameliorating them. by

Once they joined up, some children were not allowed to leave. In the worst the HRW found, witnesses described the recapture and brutal beating by fighters of a 13-year-old Yazidi girl who had argued with her commander and tried to escape.

In February, residents of Sardashti, a town in Sinjar, told the HRW they found her limping along a road with a broken leg, pleading for help. They tried to help her, but her former sisters-in-arms tracked her down and took her away.

Some child soldiers said they received an informal education from their commanders, but many, like Daoud, dropped out of school and never went back. After missing out on an education, a childs reward for military service is often life-long poverty.

Daoud, who is now back in a camp for displaced people, is looking for unskilled work. A boy in another camp said he joined the Yazidi militia when he was 14 to kill some ISIL and fought for nearly two years, but that now, I have no job. I have no idea what Ill do.

Escaping desperate circumstances

Vengeance aside, children may try to join armed groups to escape desperate circumstances. In the camps, families live in prolonged, aid-dependent temporariness.

In Sinjar, where the economy remains in shambles, it is as bad or worse. Only eight of the 225 former Iraqi public schools in the district were functioning as of September, a school director said.

In one town, Khanasoor, the Sinjar Resistance Units have turned one former school into a barracks. The PKK had sent volunteer teachers to another empty school, but none had a high school education. Last year, the partys militia recruited some of the pupils.

Recruiting children as fighters is exacerbating their hardships, not ameliorating them. In interviews Yazidis in Sinjar repeatedly and spontaneously compared the Kurdish group with ISIL on the issue of child recruitment and indicated that the Peoples Defence Forces is wearing out its welcome.

READ MORE: Iraqs child soldiers  What happened to our boys?

A father in Sinjar said his son had left 18 months earlier with a group of 16-year-old boys to join up. The father had asked party officials to bring the boy back, but was rebuffed, and doesnt know if his son is alive or dead.

He is still a baby, the father said. He said he wanted to be a doctor, he was very good at school. He said the use of child soldiers risked starting a war between the Yazidis and the armed group.

Among the families the HRW spoke to, child recruitment is losing hearts and minds, and it is costing boys and girls dearly. The PKK leadership should clearly denounce it, and affiliated armed groups should demobilise all children in their ranks.

Zama Coursen-Neff is the childrens rights director at Human Rights Watch.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
When we leave whitewashers to continue their campaigns unchecked, we put our own voices at risk of being marginalised.

In the past few months, three Western women have gone to Syria, two of them by invitation and the third on a regime-approved reporting trip. The first two are now on speaking tours to explain whats really happening in Syria to the Western public. The third one, however, was kicked out of Syria by the Bashar al-Assad regime. Her crime? Untrue reporting in the form of sharing tweets containing photos and witness accounts from people in besieged Eastern Aleppo, because the regime wouldnt give her or the other journalists with her access to that part of the city.

The three women are Eva Bartlett, Vanessa Beeley and Cecilia Udden. Udden is the one who was removed from Syria by the Assad regime for her willingness to at least acknowledge the suffering of eastern Aleppos citizens.

The first two of these women, however, call themselves independent journalists, yet post gushing photos of themselves posing with Bashar al-Assad on social media, appear on Russian state television to peddle the Assad regimes lines and travel across the United States to accuse anyone opposing Assad of being an al-Qaeda sympathiser.

Channel 4, Snopes, EA Worldview and Pulse Media and others have done thorough fact-checking debunking Bartlett in particular. There is no need to rehash their findings.

But there is a great need to address why people like Bartlett are problematic, particularly because its not just her  Robert Fisk, Tim Anderson and pro-Palestinian activists such as Rania Khalek have all joined in on the whitewashing.

The problem with these regime apologists is that they claim to be journalists or academics or both  independent ones at that. Covering both sides of a story is one thing. Acquiescing to the narratives of three states wreaking havoc on civilians across Syria while doing so is another.

A genocide-denying regime and its allies cannot be given the benefit of the doubt, and those publicly defending such a regime are not journalists and must not be left unchallenged.

How many ways can I whitewash thee?

The regime and its allies crimes in Syria have been whitewashed in several ways by journalists and academics alike. Bartlett, Beeley, Fisk and Khalek, for example, repeat the regimes propaganda almost verbatim, claiming that whats happening in Syria is a war against terrorists.

Others argue that Assad is bad but that they see no other alternative to his regime.

OPINION: And who are we to say the Syrian revolution is dead?

Others have argued any Western intervention for regime change in Syria would only cause further loss of life, so it must be avoided. There are those who admit and extensively cover the crimes of the Assad regime, yet give the regime a platform to spread lies.

Still others say it doesnt matter who is doing the killing in Syria  it just needs to stop.

All of these arguments are problematic for three reasons: they deny the presence of the Syrian narrative, place the burden of proof on the victims of war crimes being committed by three different states, and remove all nuance from analysis on Syria.

Idealism is nice on paper

It is indeed imperative for killing in Syria to stop. Yes, anyone who has taken innocent souls, regardless of whose side theyre on, must be brought to account. However, any international conversation to stop killing in Syria must first plainly identify those who are committing the majority of these crimes.

For six years now, even the United Nations, which itself is guilty of being biased towards the regime in more ways than one, cannot but admit that the biggest criminals in Syria are the regime and its allies.

OPINION: Aleppans to Idlib  Out of the frying pan into the fire

Most importantly, Syrians, at great personal risk, have documented the crimes of not only the regime and its allies, but also of groups in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Jabhat Fateh el-Sham category, for nearly six years now.

Yet, two white women, in one swoop, would like to claim that Syrians in Aleppo are lying about the destroyed eastern part of the city and that the Assad regime, Russia and Iran are bombing civilian areas because they just want a terrorist-free Syria.

Terminology matters

Nuance in analysing Syria has been and continues to be a problem across pro-regime, opposition and even neutral media. This has been particularly evident as the world suddenly woke up to the fact that something bad was indeed happening in the country only in the past few weeks as eastern Aleppo made headlines.

But claiming those who support or reject the revolution do so based on a flawed sectarianism and geopolitical commitments is unhelpful and uses terminology that is not only inflammatory but also inaccurate.

Other cases of sloppy terminology have been more subtle. ISIL, Jabhat Fateh el-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa are often called rebels, even though Syrians in areas outside regime control are themselves victims of these groups and have protested their presence.

While Daraya, Moadamieh, Aleppo and other cities were being cleansed of their inhabitants, many media outlets called it evacuation rather than forced displacement.

These are small examples, but they help whitewashers to discredit even the most solid evidence that the Assad regime and its allies have been at the forefront of committing atrocities in Syria for years now.

Leaving whitewashers unchallenged says more about us than about them. It indicates that we are either not willing or unable to seek out truth. When we leave whitewashers to continue their campaigns unchecked, we put our own voices at risk of being marginalised in the very same way when it is our turn to speak.

Malak Chabkoun is an independent Middle East researcher and writer based in the US.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Rukban camp  Regular aid services for up to 85,000 refugees stuck in a barren wasteland between the Syrian and Jordanian border  an area known as the berm  are finally back up and running, according to the United Nations.

But questions remain over several aspects of the new plan for Rukban camp, with rights organisations saying that it continues to fall short of international humanitarian standards.

Despite the immense challenges posed by the harsh and remote environment, distribution of humanitarian assistance, including a monthly food ration and winter supplies, has been made to 8,404 households, meeting the needs of an estimated 31,094 people in Rukban and Hadalat, David McLachlan-Karr, the UNs interim humanitarian coordinator for Jordan, told Al Jazeera. Hadalat is a smaller settlement north of the main one at Rukban.

The conditions at the berm are dire, worsened further by the advent of the harsh winter weather, he added. The UNs partners are working as hard as possible to expedite the distribution of assistance to all of those in need.

READ MORE: Syrian refugees stuck on Jordan border have nothing

The conditions at Rukban, a remote and arid part of the desert in northeastern Jordan, have been troubling for a while, with no toilets, running water or electricity since the informal camp sprang up more than a year ago. Nearly 95 percent of households do not have enough food, according to a needs assessment conducted by World Vision International, and some people are reported to have sold their tents just to buy something to eat.

Dwellings are makeshift and unable to withstand the increasingly harsh, cold weather conditions. Medical care has been almost non-existent, and only five to six litres of water for each person is available every day  about a third of the international standard. Around three-quarters of the residents are women and children.

Things deteriorated significantly after the Jordanian army sealed off the entire Syrian border, following a deadly car bombing carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) at Rukban in June, with just one major aid delivery all summer: a months worth of food, hygiene kits and shelter materials dropped over the berm by crane in early August.

One of the primary reasons people are clustered along the Jordanian border is because they feel safe there, both from Russian bombing and from ISIS. So encouraging them to move is a problem. by Adam Coogle, Human Rights Watch researcher

In a sign of the high level of security in the area, even the trickle of donations from smaller local organisations have been subject to heavy restrictions. Helping Refugees in Jordan, a group of local volunteers, sent 1,400 packages of food essentials to Rukban before large-scale aid resumed, but they were delayed for weeks while the Jordanian army checked every single box.

UN aid is now being funnelled through a new distribution point around six kilometres west of the current one, which is situated near a Jordanian military base, and further back towards Syria. As UN staff cannot cross the Jordanian border to distribute aid, that will be done by contractors. Water will be delivered via a specially built pipeline, although that is not expected to be finished until the end of the year. The aim appears to be to encourage the refugees to move from their current location in order to give the Jordanian army more breathing room in the event of another attack.

Its good that theres a resumption of aid, as the refugees there are in desperate shape, Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Adam Coogle told Al Jazeera.

However, he added that from HRWs perspective, the new distribution point was very clearly inside Syria, and that incentivising refugees to relocate there was troubling.

We would consider it refoulement, he said, referring to the legal term for forcing refugees to return to a country where they might be persecuted  the prohibition of which is a cornerstone of international refugee law. One of the primary reasons people are clustered along the Jordanian border is because they feel safe there, both from Russian bombing and from ISIS. So encouraging them to move is a problem.

Amnesty International has also criticised the plan, calling it little more than a band-aid.

While the UN plan for aid distribution will bring short-term relief for the population, it is not a long-term solution, Khairunissa Dhala, a refugee researcher at Amnesty, told Al Jazeera. The security threats that Jordan fears are the same ones feared by thousands of refugees stranded at the berm. They are also struggling to survive and in desperate need of food aid and life-saving medical treatment. The Jordanian authorities, with the help of the international community, must grant sanctuary to refugees fleeing the bloodshed in Syria.

This seems unlikely, however. Early last month, government spokesman and information minister Mohamed Momani reiterated that Jordan would not compromise its security by reopening the border at Rukban, describing part of the camp as an ISIL enclave.

There are also ongoing concerns about how to provide much-needed mass medical care for the large population at the berm, particularly as winter descends. A new service facility on the Jordanian side of the border will include a clinic providing primary, maternity and newborn healthcare, but patients must be screened by the Jordanian security forces before they can cross the border to access it.

READ MORE: Syrian refugees suffering on Jordans border

It remains unclear when, or if, international aid workers will be allowed across the berm. Some aid organisations are understood to be planning to provide medicine through contractors or proxies, but Doctors without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, says this is hugely problematic due to the risk of partisanship.

What we support is direct access of qualified medical staff from any humanitarian organisation  that can provide quality and independent services to the population, Luiz Eguilez, the head of the mission for MSF  Netherlands in Jordan, told Al Jazeera. You cannot deliver healthcare with cranes or contractors. So we are negotiating with the army to have direct access inside.





MSFs work in Rukban prior to the border closure gives a sense of how widespread the health issues are in the camp, particularly with easily preventable diseases. In the month before the June 21 bombing, Eguilezs team saw 3,500 patients; a third had diarrhoea, and there were many cases of skin diseases and respiratory infections due to the lack of sanitation and dryness in the area. Nearly a quarter of households at Rukban include one or more pregnant women, according to World Vision.

Based on what we saw  plus four months of no healthcare, we can say the health situation there is quite bad now, said Eguilez.

Through unverified sources [in recent months] we have also seen cases of jaundice  and a certain number of malnutrition cases, he added. With only one delivery of food, this is bound to have got worse.
Three held after confession by nephew that Anis Amri urged him to join ISIL and sent him money, Tunisian officials say.

Tunisia has arrested the nephew of Anis Amri, the Berlin attack suspect, and two others linked to him, according to the North African nations interior ministry.

The three suspects  aged between 18 and 27  were arrested in a police raid on Friday in the central province of Kairouan, where Amris hometown is located, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Amris nephew has confessed to Tunisian authorities that he had been in contact with his uncle via Telegram, a messaging service, and that Amri had asked him to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the statement said.

The nephew has also said that Amri sent him money by post to enable him to travel to Germany, where the Berlin attack suspect was living at the time.

At least 12 people were killed when a truck drove into a Christmas market in the German capital on Monday.

Claims of incompetence

Amri was killed in Italys Milan on Friday following a Europe-wide manhunt, prompting accusations of incompetence at German officials for allowing Amri to cross borders.

Germanys top security official has denied charges that authorities bungled an investigation into Amri, who had also been watched by security officials previously as he was suspected of terrorism and plotting a robbery to steal arms.

To speak about a failure by the security authorities would be inappropriate, Thomas de Maiziere, interior minister, told Germanys Bild newspaper on Saturday.

However, we will, of course, analyse the case meticulously and release a corresponding report.

READ MORE: Community spirit and resilience prevail in Berlin

Amri, a 24-year-old, had been living in Germany as an asylum seeker. He was killed after he pulled a gun and shot an Italian officer in the shoulder during a routine police check.

Hundreds of German investigators are now investigating how Amri managed to flee the country after the attack and whether he may have had accomplices or a support network that helped him escape.

ISIL, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a video released by its Amaq website on Friday, a man it claims is Amri pledges allegiance to the head of the group and pledges revenge for Muslims.

Heightened security

Amri has been linked by German authorities to Abu Walaa, a preacher and the suspected head of an organisation that provided logistical and financial support to ISIL from western Germany.

Abu Walaa, an Iraqi national, was arrested in November.

A spokesman for the Berlin police said Saturday that there would be an increased presence of uniformed and plain-clothes officers on the citys streets over the Christmas holidays.

The 12 victims of Mondays attack include seven Germans, as well as an Italian, a Czech, a Ukrainian, an Israeli and a Polish national.
Tourists and local Christians gather in birthplace of Jesus to mark Christmas Eve despite hurdles of the occupation.

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world, together with local Christians, have gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem in the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Security was tight in Bethlehem on Saturday after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighbouring Egypt and Jordan by armed fighters.

Yet the faithful braved the chilly weather outside the towns Manger Square, as traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols.

Tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, today pic.twitter.com/sYRo2XLjDs  AJ Labs (@ajlabs) December 24, 2016

Christmas festivities have brought a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, who make up just a small percentage of the population.

The region has experienced a wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that erupted over a year ago. The violence has tapered off in recent months, but has not halted completely.

Al Jazeeras Andrew Simmons, reporting from Bethlehem, said there was a mood of optimism among the Palestinians there after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Friday calling for an end to illegal Israeli settlements.

He said the Palestinians he met there were thankful for the move.

Just down the road from the Church of the Nativity, there is a settlement of 25,000 Israeli homes, he said.

Palestinians say it stands in the way of Bethlehem and the occupied East Jerusalem. That, they say, is an obstacle to peace.

Rula Maaya, the Palestinian tourism minister, said all the hotels in Bethlehem are fully booked.

Bethlehem is celebrating today. We are receiving tourists from all over the world, she said.

All people over the world are looking at Bethlehem, so we hope more and more tourists will come during the year and that, next year, we will celebrate Christmas without occupation.

Despite the Christmas cheer, Middle East politics looms large in the background: the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem is just one prominent reminder.

It was built by Israel last decade during the second Intifada, when Palestinian bombers attacked buses and cafes.

Israeli says the barrier is meant to keep out such attackers, but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also stunts their economy.
Water authority cuts supplies to Syrian capital after rebels allegedly pollute the water with diesel.

Authorities in Syria say they have been forced to cut water supplies to the capital after rebels reportedly contaminated drinking water with diesel.

The Damascus water authority said late on Friday that it had resorted to using water reserves to meet the citys demands, after rebels who control territory northwest of Damascus, contaminated the al-Fija spring.





The spring, which supplies the capital with much of its water, is located in the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley, a mountainous area near the Lebanese border.

The water authority said it expected the problem to be resolved in a few days.

A news outlet run by Syrian governments ally, Hezbollah, said the rebels had refused to leave the Wadi Barada valley and as a result, the Syrian army began an offensive against them on Friday.

Deliberate cuts to water and electricity supplies have caused significant suffering to civilians with the Syrian army and rebels accused of using water as a weapon.

Aid workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross have helped water boards and engineers maintain and repair ageing pumping stations but as much as half of the total production capacity has been lost or damaged.

Through a series of so-called settlement agreements and army offensives, the Syrian government, backed by Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, has been steadily suppressing armed opposition around the capital.

READ MORE: Water war threatens Syria lifeline

The Syrian civil war started as a largely unarmed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, but quickly developed into a full-on armed conflict.

Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy to Syria, estimated in April that more than 400,000 Syrians had been killed since 2011.

Calculating a precise death toll is impossible, partially owing to the forced disappearances of tens of thousands of Syrians whose fates remain unknown.

Almost 11 million Syrians  half the countrys pre-war population  have been displaced from their homes.
Initiative pinpoints more than 5,000 toilets as part of governments nationwide campaign against open defecation.

Google has launched a feature that will assist people in Indias capital in locating the nearest public toilet.

Launched on Thursday, the initiative is part of the governments nationwide campaign to stop public urination and open defecation, Google India spokesman Gaurav Bhaskar told Al Jazeera on Saturday.

People searching for toilets in Delhi can type public toilet in Google Maps and access the 5,162 toilets in the capital, as well as its surrounding areas and cities in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

The locations of the toilets are marked swachh public toilet on Google Maps.

The government plans to cover more areas in India with the feature, said Bhaskar.

We will update the maps with these locations as and when officials provide us the information.

The feature also allows users to provide feedback on cleanliness in the toilets.

Open defecation is a worldwide issue. According to a UNICEF report, one in 10 individuals practices open defecation.

In India, however, nearly half of its 1.2bn population has no access to toilets at home and are forced to defecate in the open.

In his first Independence Day address two years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the building of toilets in rural India one of his governments major priorities.

READ MORE: Meet the toilet man of India

In addition to sanitation issues, open defecation could result in women suffering from increased sexual violence, a recent study found.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, concluded that women who did not access to household toilets were twice as likely to face sexual violence as women who do have such access.

One of the researchers said the study suggested that improving infrastructure and access to toilets would provide a safer environment for women.

Our findings provide further rationale for NGOs and the Indian government to expand sanitation programmes, and raise new questions about the potentially protective role of sanitation facilities in other contexts beyond India, the study said.

In 2014, the Indian government launched the Clean India campaign to end open defecation in five years by building millions of toilets and improving access to sanitation.
Resolution urging end to activities in occupied territory lauded by Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran among others.

Much of the Middle East has welcomed a UN resolution that calls on Israel to end settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Fourteen UN Security Council members voted for the Egypt-drafted resolution on Friday. The US abstained, defying calls from Israel and Donald Trump, the US president-elect , to block the text.

The resolution demanded that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and said the establishment of settlements by Israel has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.

Jordan, one of the few Arab states with diplomatic ties to Israel, on Saturday, welcomed the historic resolution, saying the vote paved a way for a two-state solution.





This historic decision expresses the consensus of the international community on the illegality of Israeli settlements and reaffirms the Palestinian peoples historic right [to live] in Jerusalem and its historic lands, Mohammad al-Momani, Jordans information minister, said Saturday.

An estimated 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in occupied East Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

Israel, for decades, has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees and has been on the defensive since the vote.

The UN resolution states that settlements are dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution.

Saeb Erekat, the c hief Palestinian negotiator, lauded the result as a victory for the justice of the Palestinian cause.

He said Trump, who will take office in January, was now faced with a choice between international legitimacy or siding with settlers and extremists.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, urged the Security Council to stand firm by this decision and not be cowed by negative threats or spin after Israel said it would refuse to recognise the resolution.

In addition to calling it shameful, Israel has recalled its ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal for their role in the passing of the resolution.

Justice is possible

Xavier Abu Eid, a senior adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, told Al Jazeera the resolution was a message that justice is possible.

Now, what we have to do is translate this resolution into concrete action, he said.

Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas politician from the Gaza Strip, said the Palestinian group believes that the resolution clearly underscores the worlds rejection of Israeli policy.

Hamas welcomes the vote in favour of the resolution and welcomes the positive changes in the international positions that support the Palestinian rights at the international agencies, Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement.





For his part, Dawood Shihab, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed statement that the overwhelming vote in favour of the resolution is a clear condemnation of the [Israeli] occupation policies and its aggression against the Palestinian people. It is a Palestinian victory.

Echoing others, an official at Saudi Arabias foreign ministry said that the kingdom hopes the resolution will contribute to reviving the peace process in the region  which will result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatars foreign minister, also welcomed the adoption of the resolution, and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Bahram Qasemi, Irans foreign ministry spokesman, said Iran welcomed any move which guaranteed the true demands of Palestinians.

As far as we are concerned, the resolution of the Palestinian issue requires serious and decisive measures by the international community to fulfil the rights of the innocent Palestinian people and to fight the Zionist regimes expansionist policies, he said, referring to Israel.

The UN resolution formally enshrines the international communitys disapproval of Israeli settlement-building and could spur further Palestinian moves against Israel in international forums.
Israel also recalls ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal after UNSC votes for resolution urging end of settlements.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has refused to recognise the UN resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory.

The resolution was adopted with 14 votes in favour after it was put forward at the 15-member Security Council for a vote on Friday by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal.

The US decided to abstain from voting.

The decision came a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and Donald Trump, the US president-elect.

In addition to calling it shameful, Israel also recalled its ambassador to New Zealand and Senegal for their role in the passing of the resolution.

INTERACTIVE: Palestine Remix  What are illegal Israeli settlements?

Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms, said Netanyahu.

At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half-a-million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall occupied territory.

Netanyahu instructed on Saturday Israels foreign ministry to end all aid programmes to Senegal and to cancel a planned visit to Israel by the Senegalese foreign minister.





Murray McCully, New Zealands foreign minister, said the decision should have not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue.

We have been very open about our view that the [Security Council] should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long-established policy on the Palestinian question.

Malaysia and Venezuela do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

The resolution demands Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

Around 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

The UN maintains that settlements are illegal, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months.

Israel and Trump had called on the US to veto the measure, but it ended up abstaining.

But after the vote in favour of the resolution, Trump vowed to change things at the UN when he takes over the White House next month.

It is the first resolution the Security Council has adopted on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.
Deaths of civilians reported in rebel-held Atareb while government blames fighters for deadly shelling elsewhere.

Syrian government forces have launched a new offensive against rebels on the outskirts of the city of Aleppo.

The fighting comes after claims by Syrian state television of at least three deaths due to opposition shelling of a district, and just two days after the Syrian army gained full control of Aleppo city.

At least six civilians were also killed on Saturday in air strikes on the rebel-held town of Atareb, west of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory, a UK-based information office that has been documenting human-rights abuses in Syria, said at least two children were among the dead.





The Observatory could not immediately specify who had carried out the air raids, but Russian and government warplanes typically carry out raids in Aleppo province.

An AFP correspondent in Atareb said military aircraft could be seen circling above the town and a nearby village throughout the day.

Al Jazeeras Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Turkeys Gaziantep near the border with Syria, said the new wave of air strikes were concentrated on eastern, southern and northern outskirts of Aleppo, appearing to be aimed at keeping rebel forces away from the recaptured city.

People are concerned because there are thousands of civilians who are still trapped on the outskirts of Aleppo, particularly those who have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo, he said.

If the fighting continues, that could further exacerbate the situation.

Russia launched its air war in support of President Bashar al-Assads forces in September 2015, marking a major turning point in the governments fight against armed opposition groups.

OPINION: No peace in sight in Syria

In another Aleppo-related development, Syrian state TV said an explosion caused by a device left inside a school by rebels rocked the eastern part of the city on Saturday as some residents were returning to their homes.

State news agency SANA said the school had been transformed into an ammunitions and explosive devices warehouse left behind by terrorist groups in the Sukkari neighbourhood.

Citing a police source, SANA said another 33 people were wounded in the blast, four of them critically, but did not specify whether they were civilians or government troops.





A correspondent for Lebanons Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV was reporting live from the area when the blast sounded in the background, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.

The correspondent later said that at least three people were killed.

The Observatory reported two deaths in the Sukkari warehouse, but said the blast took place as army troops were dismantling explosives.

It said one other person was killed when an explosive device detonated inside a home in the Ansari district.

Elsewhere in Syria, the Damascus water authority said late on Friday that it had resorted to using water reserves to meet the citys demands.





The authority accused rebels who control territory northwest of the Syrian capital of contaminating the waters source, al-Fija spring.

The water authority said it expected the problem to be resolved in a few days.

Syrian government forces and allied paramilitaries entered eastern Aleppo on Thursday after the last residents and opposition fighters were evacuated from the enclave under a Turkish-Russian deal.

The evacuees left for areas under control of rebels in the western Aleppo countryside and Idlib in northwestern Syria.

The pull-out has given Assads forces full control over Aleppo, which had been divided between his government and opposition fighters since 2012.
Away from government-run camps and NGO shelters, Syrians, Palestinians, Afghans and Iraqis launch community initiatives.

Athens, Greece  About one in 10 of the 60,000 refugees in Greece do not live in government camps or NGO shelters, but in squats such as disused schools which operate under the protection of the anarchist movement.

In these corners, refugees from Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq are creating their own community centres in Athens. Now that they have food, clothing and education, they are striving for fuller lives and self-empowerment.

Jafra is the first relief organisation in Greece formed exclusively by refugees. Among its initiatives is a series of dance lessons for refugee children to connect with their culture.

Almost all the world believes that refugees are weak, Housam Jackl, Jafra spokesperson, told Al Jazeera.

They came from war, by smugglers to the sea. We believe that the refugees have a lot of experience. They can organise [community activities] by themselves. We wanted to change the image of refugees.

Most Jafra members are women, who have organised a knitting room. They sold clothes for a small income.

Other members work in building or plumbing.

The refugee-run squats and Jafra provide an added bonus: diversity. Refugees of all backgrounds make a point of working together, putting aside differences as a first step towards their European integration.

Follow John Psaropoulos on Twitter: @thenewathenian
President-elect says US and Russia should restore collaboration after releasing very nice letter from Vladimir Putin.

US president-elect Donald Trump has released what he says is a very nice letter from Russias president, Vladimir Putin, calling for a thaw in ties between the rival powers.

Trumps transition team said late on Friday that the president-elect received the letter from Putin urging him to act in a constructive and pragmatic manner to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation.

The letter, dated December 15, also noted that serious global and regional challenges show that the relations between Russia and the US remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security in the modern world.

Trump Transition releases what it says is a letter from Putin. Trump says he agrees & hopes "we do not have to travel an alternate path." pic.twitter.com/1kBvwg8zVQ  Olivier Knox (@OKnox) December 23, 2016

In response, Trump agreed with Putin, adding that he hopes we do not have to travel an alternate path.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Saturday that Putin sent the letter, voicing hope for an improvement of bilateral ties, according to the Interfax news agency.

The exchange comes on the heels of comments by Trump and Putin about the need to strengthen their countries nuclear arsenals.





Trump tweeted on Thursday that the US should greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. He said the nation must do so until the rest of the world  as he put it  comes to its senses regarding nuclear weapons.

Those comments echoed an earlier statement by Putin, who said that strengthening his countrys nuclear capabilities should be a chief military objective in the coming year.

Putin said he saw nothing unusual in Trumps pledge to strengthen the US nuclear forces, and claimed that his countrys military is stronger than that of any potential aggressor, but acknowledged that the US military is bigger.

He also cast the modernisation of Russias nuclear arsenal as a necessary response to a US missile defence system.

OPINION: Opposing nuclear weapons in the era of millennials

The US currently has an estimated arsenal of about 7,000 nuclear warheads, second only to Russia, which has a few hundred more.

During the next decade, US ballistic missile submarines, bombers, and land-based missiles  the three legs of the nuclear triad  are expected to reach the end of their useful lives.

Maintaining and modernising the arsenal is expected to cost at about $1 trillion over 30 years.
US president-elect reacts after UN Security Council voted in favour of calling for an end to Israeli settlements.

Donald Trump has vowed to change things at the United Nations when he takes over at the White House next month, after the UN Security Councils vote in favour of a resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel in occupied Palestinian territory.

The resolution was put forward at the 15-member council for a vote on Friday by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and US president-elect Trump.

Israel and Trump had called on the United States to veto the measure but it ended up abstaining, resulting in the resolution being adopted with 14 votes in favour to a resounding round of applause.

It is the first resolution the Security Council has adopted on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.

As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016

This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilised language and negotiation and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters news agency.

The international community has told the people of Israel that the way to security and peace is not going to be done through occupation  but rather through peace, ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state to live side by side with the state of Israel on the 1967 line, Erekat said.

Sharif Nashashibi, a London-based analyst of Arab political affairs, told Al Jazeera: Its historic in the sense that its been decades since the US has done that [abstained].

But, in my opinion, its merely symbolic, precisely for that reason, because there are already UN Security Council resolutions in existence that call for pretty much the same thing that this resolution has done.

He added: These resolutions are decades old and they are just gathering dust. Israel has been allowed to flout them. My fear is that this will just be one of those resolutions that Israel can flout.

We dont have any mechanism to put tangible pressure on Israel to abide by this resolution, so I fear that despite the passing of this resolution, the Security Council has still proved itself largely irrelevant to this conflict.

On Saturday, Israel refused to recognise the UN resolution and retaliated by recalling its ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal.

Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms. said Netanyahu.

READ MORE: UN Security Council urges end to Israeli settlements

At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half-a-million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall occupied territory.





New Zealand foreign minister Murray McCully said the decision should have been no surprise to Israel which knew Wellingtons position long before the UN vote.

Israel has informed us of their decision to recall their ambassador to New Zealand for consultations, McCully told AFP news agency in a statement.

We have been very open about our view that the [Security Council] should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long-established policy on the Palestinian question.

The vote today should not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue.

The resolution demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

Malaysia and Venezuela also sponsored the UN resolution but do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
More than 300 Syrian refugees rescued by a cruise liner finally disembarked in Cyprus after hours of negotiations.

Hundreds of mostly Syrian refugees rescued by a cruise liner in the Mediterranean have disembarked in Cyprus after hours of refusing to budge and demanding to go to Italy.

A total of 345 migrants, mainly women and children, had been plucked from a boat in trouble off the coast of Cyprus on Thursday by a Salamis Cruise Lines ship, according to the company and Cypriot authorities.

About 700 paying passengers disembarked from the 157-metre liner, police said, but at first, only 65 of those rescued at sea left the ship.

The others refused to budge, the shipping company said, before authorities managed to convince the rest to disembark.

We were supposed to sail at 10:30 tonight [21:30 GMT], unfortunately these people want to negotiate, Kikis Vassiliou, managing director of Salamis Cruise Lines, told reporters. They want us to send them to Italy.

We did our outmost to save their lives, to give them food, support and now they want to destroy this company, he added, speaking of several hundred thousands of dollars in losses.

There is no responsible person to negotiate and to explain the situation, he said.

The 65 refugees who willingly left the ship originally were bussed to the Kokkinotrimithia camp not far from Nicosia.

Meanwhile 300 Russian passengers, who had been due to continue their cruise to Haifa, Israel, had their journey cancelled and were put up in Limmasol hotels.

Earlier, the defence ministry had said the rescue operation had been completed smoothly and without any injury.

The aid workers said eight of those rescued were suffering from dehydration, while some others had minor problems.

One passenger said a refugee had told her they had sailed from Syria and been at sea for three days and that their skipper had abandoned them.

The captain of their boat made a phone call and a speed boat came and took the captain, said Chrystalla Eflatsoumis, 66.

Among the refugees were many pregnant women and 20 babies, she added.

According to the UNs refugee agency, UNHCR, more than 2,500 people have drowned or gone missing attempting to cross from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe this year, often aboard rickety and overcrowded boats.

Earlier this month, 500 people were feared drowned after their boat sank off Malta, with just 10 people rescued alive.
Ben Rhodes reflects on Obamas foreign policy legacy, the uses and limits of military power, and Chinas global role.

When US president Barack Obama flew to Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations, Ben Rhodes was also there as one of the key negotiators.

Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, first started working with the Obama campaign in 2007 as a speech writer.

Over the years, he became a significant voice, not just in crafting the message, but in actually shaping US foreign policy. He was the man who directed the media operation to sell the Iran nuclear deal to a sceptical American public.

Russia poses this immediate threat to kind of international order and stability. China is a much more powerful country and is much more positioned to be a competitor to the United States in a way that Russia can't. by Ben Rhodes, US deputy national security adviser for strategic communications

Some believe that, while he doesnt think for the president, he knows what the president is thinking.

As he now prepares to leave the White House for an incoming administration, it is clear that Ben Rhodes  as he talks to Al Jazeera  is not ready to stop thinking about the future of US policy.

Asked about the Afghanistan war, Rhodes doesnt believe it was a mistake for the US to scale back their presence there and give it a timeframe.

We had to scale back. And frankly, the American public had an expectation that we were going to scale back. And you know, sustainability has always been a concern of the presence on our counterterrorism and war efforts  He [Obama] didnt want to leave his successor, for instance, with what he found  which was 180,000 troops in this massive resource allocation, Rhodes says.

We ask Rhodes whether Obama didnt want to commit the same level of resources, and had considerations about sustainability and what his successor would inherit in the back of his mind, when it came to the Syrian civil war.

It was part of it, Rhodes says. I think another part of it, that is less fully understood and appreciated, is that he never felt like he saw a military option that worked.

In Syria, Rhodes says, there was never a military option that he could see beyond the first move.

We ask Rhodes whether Obama made a mistake to issue a red line after the chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2013.

I dont think so, for the simple fact that for all the messiness of that, that did lead to the removal of a lot of chemical weapons, he says.

We also discuss Russian aggression particularly against Crimea and its neighbours, its role in Syria and Russian hacking during the 2016 presidential election.

When it comes to US security policy in the long term, Rhodes says China is going to be a much more powerful country than Russia.

He says in the immediate future, geopolitically, Russia poses this immediate threat to kind of international order and stability. China is a much more powerful country and is much more positioned to be a competitor to the United States in a way that Russia cant.

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.
An intoxicated, off-duty Alachua County Sheriff's Office deputy hit a parked car twice, sped down University Avenue and refused field-sobriety tests early Friday morning, Gainesville Police said.

Joseph Clayton Sperring, 27, was leaving the parking lot across from Rain nightclub at 11:56 p.m. Thursday in his gray 2015 Chevrolet Silverado when he hit the front drivers side of a vehicle parked next to him. In an attempt to back out again, he hit the car a second time, according to a police report.

Sperring left the scene and was later noticed by police when he sped west on University Avenue driving 52 mph, according to the report.

Sperring turned right onto Northwest Fifth Street, and two cars followed behind him. A white sedan drove in front of Sperrings truck, which blocked him from leaving. Occupants of the sedan argued with Sperring and told him he had crashed into their vehicle in the parking lot, according to the report.

Police observed the dispute and noticed that Sperring smelled like alcohol, according to the report. Sperring, who identified himself as a deputy sheriff, told officers he only had one drink and that he was not driving under the influence.

Sperrings eyes were bloodshot and watery, according to the report, but Sperring refused to perform field-sobriety exercises.

At about 12:39 a.m., Sperring interrupted and argued with an officer who read him a Miranda warning and tried to explain he was conducting a DUI investigation. Sperring was uncooperative and repeatedly said it was ridiculous, according to the report.

After his arrest, Sperring refused a breathalyzer test and later complained of chest pains. He was taken to the emergency room at UF Health Shands Hospital, according to the report.

Police arrested Sperring on charges of driving under the influence and hit and run. Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail at about 5 a.m., where he was released on his own recognizance at about noon.

ACSO began in internal investigation of Sperring and placed him on administrative leave, according to a press release. ACSO hired Sperring in September 2014.

mkornfield@alligator.org

@merylkornfield

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English News Army captures Boko Harams last remaining stronghold in Sambisa Forest known as Camp Zero

- 24 Decembre 2016



http://www.nigerianwatch.com

NIGERIAS armed forces have secured a major victory against Boko Haram in the ongoing war against the insurgents after the army captured one of the terrorists last enclaves in Sambisa Forest known as Camp Zero. Since 2009, Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency against Nigeria and at one stage in 2015 controlled 14 local government areas. However, over the last year and a half, the Nigerian Army has stepped up its offensive against the terrorists and has reclaimed most of the territory that the sect once held. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Army mounted a final offensive against Boko Haram aimed at clearing out its stronghold of Sambisa Forest in Borno State. Today, President Muhammadu Buhari said the chief of army staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai, informed him that the camp fell at about 1.35pm on Friday and that the terrorists were on the run. In a goodwill message he sent to the troops, the president said he was proud of them and their achievement. He called on all Nigerians to cooperate and support the Nigerian armed forces and other security agencies by providing useful information that will expose all the terrorists hiding among the populace. President Buhari said: I am delighted at and most proud of the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army, on receipt of the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest. I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest. I was told by the chief of army staff that the camp fell at about 1.35pm on Friday, December 22 and that the terrorists are on the run and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice. He also said more efforts should be intensified to locate and free the remaining girls abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State in April 2014. President Buhari also congratulated and commend the able leadership of the Nigerian Army in particular and indeed, that of the armed forces in general, for making this latest victory possible.



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United Community Bancorp in Lawrenceburg, Ind., has named a new chief financial officer. The $525 million-asset company said in a press release Friday that David Rosen, its chief risk officer, will succeed Vicki March as CFO when she resigns on Jan. 3. March has also been the company's treasurer.

Rosen, who has been chief risk officer since 2014, will retain that role. Previously, he was CFO at Merchants Bank and Trust in West Harrison, Ind., which was acquired by MainSource Financial in Greensburg, Ind., in October 2014.

Rosen has managed United Community's securities portfolio and asset-liability process. He also advised the bank's investment and asset liability management committees on balance sheet and liquidity management and scenario-based profitability forecasting. Rosen's appointment "will permit the company and the bank to consolidate managerial positions such that we expect to realize noninterest expense savings beginning in calendar year 2017," E.G. McLaughlin, the company's president and CEO, said in the release.
Recruiting from competitors can be hard to pull off, and it wont create more equity in the industry. Some of the Best Banks to Work For are finding ways to develop, support and promote women who are already on the payroll.
It is widely believed that slavery in 19th-century America was the exclusive province of whites. However, as historian Larry Kroger reveals in Black Slaveowners, free black people in the United States owned slaves, fought for their right to do so and had little sympathy for abolition.

A five-year investigation of federal census data, wills, mortgages, bills of sale, tax returns and newspaper ads from 1790 to 1860 provided the foundation for Koger's examination of black slave masters in the Palmetto state, culminating in his illuminating book, Black Slaveowners: Free Black Slave Masters in South Carolina, 1790-1860 (McFarland, 1985). Charleston City, in which 72.1% of African-America households owned slaves, was a valuable primary documentation source. Records that survived the Civil War indicated the existence of 260 black slave masters.

This well-sourced book, which contains lengthy appendices of federal census data and well over 600 citations, represents an earnest attempt to examine a difficult and complex topic that too few have addressed: the phenomenon of black slaveowners.

According to Kroger's comprehensive and well-researched volume, black slave owners lived in every Southern state that allowed slavery and even Northern states, including Maryland. The practice of black slave ownership was widespread and stretched from New York to Florida to Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. According to the 1830 federal census, free blacks owned 10,000 slaves, including in New York City eight free blacks who reportedly owned 17 slaves. Many black slave owners were large planters who raised cotton, rice, and sugar cane. Many inherited slaves from relatives or white kinsfolk who transported them from Africa to the New World.

As the economy of Charleston City expanded in the early 19th century, many free blacks were able to buy slaves, making the city the center of black slave holding in South Carolina. Between 1820 and 1840, most free black heads of households in Charleston owned slaves. Freed slaves in business customarily used slave labor, hired slaves out for a fee to non-slave owners or used slaves as collateral to secure loans. Former slaves bought slaves for economic benefit in a society in which slavery was an acceptable form of labor. They had no qualms about using slaves and were well assimilated into the white slaveowner culture. Often, free blacks purchased enslaved kinfolk to buy their freedom.

It was common in 19th-century South Carolina for the mulatto offspring of a white slave owner to be manumitted, educated, and made beneficiaries in a father-child relationship with the master. They were perceived as the legitimate heirs of the slave owner and thought of themselves as slave masters who legitimately used the labor of their father's slaves. Kroger explains how divisions in the black community were delineated by skin tone, with lighter-skinned blacks enjoying higher socioeconomic status. He cites documented evidence from the state census of 1850 that indicated that 93.1 % of Negro slave owners were mulattos and 90% of their slaves were dark-skinned blacks.

During slavery in South Carolina, a clear distinction existed between artisan and house slaves and slaves who worked the fields. The former had better food, clothing, and housing and tended to identify with white slaveowners rather than sympathize with the plight of fellow blacks. Field slaves worked from sunup to sundown, endured harsh conditions, and were more likely to feel abused and oppressed.

Although many free blacks devoted their lives to earning enough money to free family members, many purchased slaves themselves as a path to financial security or to produce greater wealth. In other words, they typically owned two sets of slaves: family members and slaves for profit. Economic self-interest overrode any moral concerns about slavery. This practice continued as the Union Army began its invasion of South Carolina in 1864.

In Black Slaveowners, the commercial aspect of slave owning by blacks is extensively documented and represents most cases of slaveowning. Like white slave masters, black slaveowners used flogging, incarceration, and workhouse confinement to punish unruly bondsmen. When they transferred slaves out of the area, they often placed the auctioned slaves in the workhouse as a precaution against their running away. Like their white counterparts, many black slave owners bequeathed their slaves to their family members at the time of their death.

Free rural blacks who owned farms or plantations typically made use of slave labor to produce crops on a commercial scale. The revenue made by cultivating staple crops led free black planters to invest in slaves to increase production and profits. Landowners of African descent were some of the largest slaveowners in South Carolina. A couple of African slave traders even established themselves as slave-owning planters in South Carolina. The black rice planters of South Carolina used slaves to plant and harvest rice -- a crop for the wealthy -- and later, cotton.

Numerous black artisans  carpenters, bricklayers, blacksmiths, mechanics, millwrights, seamstresses, shoemakers, caterers, butchers, and others  used slave workers. Without the assistance of slave labor, it would have been impossible for them to remain competitive and participate in growing markets. Excess slave labor was available for hire to the community with the owner benefiting from the slaves' wages. In Charleston, widows and spinsters were the primary suppliers of hired-out slaves within the black community. Their way of life committed these women to the institution of slavery, as it was often the only way they could support themselves. By the 1850s as the anti-slave movement intensified, black slave owners chose, upon their deaths, to sell their slaves and bequeath the proceeds to heirs rather than give their bondsmen to kinfolk.

A slave rebellion planned for 1822 by free black, Denmark Vesey, demonstrated the deep divisions within the 19th-century Charleston black community and illustrated how free blacks served as a buffer between slaves and white masters. Free blacks and mulattos, the privileged offspring of white masters and slaves, had an interest in preserving slavery, while poor, free blacks and most rural slaves, who knew slaverys cruelty, were determined to gain control over their own destinies. The free black elite regarded slave ownership as a privilege and status symbol and valued their ties to the white community. Many lived in white neighborhoods, attended white-dominated churches and shunned the slave community.

The insurrection, which Vesey kept from elite blacks and the white community for four years, was thwarted by this fragmentation within the black community. Free blacks believed they had much to lose and nothing to gain from a slave rebellion. Vesey's plan unraveled when a contented mulatto slave, approached to join the uprising, told his master about the plot. Remarkably, when 35 black slaves were summarily executed, the disclosure conferred great respect and financial rewards on free blacks who had warned of the planned insurrection.

When the Civil War began in 1861, free black slaveowners took the Confederate side. In the Antebellum South, urban slaveowners fared better than their rural counterparts. With the abolition of slavery, black planters found that they could not recover and rebuild their plantations. Former slaveowners from the cities, who identified with white aristocrats, were more able to adjust from slave labor to wage labor. Generally, they were educated, of a higher socioeconomic status, and had invested their profits in income-producing real estate.

Historian Larry Kroger is to be commended for tackling this difficult and complex topic that extends the purview of slavery in pre-Civil War America beyond its usual focus of white enslavement of blacks. His exploration of free black participation in this exploitation of human beings represents a courageous examination of an aspect of slavery, not well known. It reveals how the oppression of others can be a race-neutral proposition borne of an accepted, societal institution.
President Obama apparently wants his legacy to be one of energy starvation for the United States and dependence on foreign energy from friendly places like Saudi Arabia and Iran. His ban on offshore drilling in federally owned waters off our Atlantic and Arctic coasts makes no sense, either environmentally or economically. As the Washington Times notes, Obama thinks he can get away with it:

Vowing that his successor wont be able to reverse his actions, President Obama on Tuesday used executive authority to permanently ban new offshore drilling in federally owned waters off the Atlantic coast and in the Arctic Ocean. Mr. Obama used authority in a section of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a 1953 law, to ban the drilling. The law includes a provision that allows a president to put certain waters off-limits to oil and gas production. The presidential authority was used in conjunction with similar actions by Canada, which also moved to prohibit drilling in its own Arctic waters. The U.S. move will ban drilling in the vast majority of American waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, in addition to areas off the Atlantic coast stretching from New England to Virginia.

It is ironic that a president who has used executive orders to get around laws now cites a 63-year-old law to justify an offshore drilling ban. Executive orders can be overturned with another executive order. And a 1953 law written when offshore and deep water drilling technology was in its infancy can be amended or repealed. Technology has advanced a lot since 1953. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking didnt exist six decades ago. Oil drilling technology is safer, more advanced and requires a smaller footprint.

America needs this offshore energy, unless Obama wants us to be permanent vassals of OPEC. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off Alaska contain an estimated 23.6 billion barrels of oil and 104.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. According to the American Petroleum Institutes website Energy Tomorrow, offshore drilling could create 840,000 American jobs and generate @200 billion in revenue to the federal government by 2035. As the Daily Caller reports:

Offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean has the potential to produce 1.3 million barrels of oil and natural gas per day while generating nearly 280,000 jobs and contribute up to $23.5 billion per year to the U.S. economy, according to a 2013 study by the American Petroleum Institute.

And what about the environmental impact to these allegedly fragile ecosystems? What about the polar bears and the caribou? We heard this apocalyptic song before, when oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built to carry it southward. When oil exploration began in Prudhoe Bay, 60 miles to the west of ANWR, environmentalists claimed it would yield only a "few months' supply" of oil and would wreck the ecosystem. Prudhoe Bay turned out to be the largest deposit of oil ever found in North America. As Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation writes in the Daily Signal:

Would oil and gas drillers kill off the eagles, caribou, and polar bears, as the White House warns? These were the arguments made more than 40 years ago against building the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System -- which carries oil from Alaskas North Slope to the port of Valdez for shipment to the lower 48 states. Over the last 35 years it has carried more than 17 billion barrels of oil, a quantity worth nearly $1 trillion in todays dollars. At the time, the Sierra Club moaned that the pipeline would mean the wilderness is forever broken, while the Wilderness Society said the project would lead to imminent, grave and irreparable damage to the ecology, wilderness values, natural resources, recreational potential, and total environment of Alaska. No bird or caribou would be safe from the carnage. Sound familiar? Instead, the impact on Alaskas wildlife and natural beauty has been almost nonexistent. A study delivered in 2002 to the American Society of Civil Engineers found that the ecosystems affected by the operation of TAPS and associated activity for almost 25 years are healthy. Today the size of the caribou herd in Alaska is estimated at about 325,000 -- four times the number before the pipeline was built.

Despite those photos of polar bears clinging in seeming desperation to small pieces of ice, they are in no danger of extinction, whether from oil drilling or from climate change, as reported in the Daily Caller:

They appear to be as abundant and as productive as ever, in most populations, Dr. Mitchell Taylor, a polar bear expert with more than 30 years of experience who teaches at Lakehead University in Canada, told the Roy Green Show. Today, there are significantly more polar bears than there were 40 years ago, despite the animal being listed under the Endangered Species act in 2008 over fears global warming would destroy its Arctic habitat. Official estimates put the total number of bears between 20,000 and 25,000, but this number is really just a qualified guess and the actual number is likely higher [T]heyve said that polar bears were declining in Western Hudson Bay, subsequent surveys showed they were wrong  said polar bears were declining in Western Hudson Bay and polar bears are not declining there, polar bears are staying about the same, Taylor said. Theyre -- theyre warning that this will happen, that no-one is seeing it happen yet. And for us, living up in the north, where 365 days a year  you know, climate has been evolving over a number of years, bears have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and theyve gone through various cycles of climate change, echoed Gabriel Nirlungayuk, the Deputy Minister of the Environment in Nunavut. But in my lifetime, anyhow, we havent -- I have yet to see declining of polar bears, of climate change, Gabriel told the Roy Green Show. And one is Western Hudson Bay, which was projected to be in decline 20 years ago -- up to now, it should be less than 300 bears but were seeing that the numbers have not really changed.

Obamas Arctic drilling ban has nothing to do with polar bears, caribou, or fragile ecosystems. They are fine and are not threatened. It has everything to do with ideology and an irrational animus towards fossil fuels. It is about climate change zealots clinging on to their inconvenient falsehoods as desperately as those polar bears were said to be clinging to their ice.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Following the convoluted plot of Disneys latest Star Wars movie, and finding its place in the larger chronology, is a bit like navigating an asteroid field in the Millennium Falcon. Suffice it to say that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story takes place immediately before 1977s Star Wars: A New Hope. The grand villain of that original film was the vast, bureaucratic empire. Having displaced the galaxys ancient republic, Imperial creeps enforced their absolute power with the Death Star -- a space station capable of destroying any planet that resisted. For any who missed it, the heroic rebellion prevailed against the Death Stars tyranny when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) managed to lob a torpedo into a stray exhaust pipe and blow the thing to space dust. Rogue One sets out to explain how the rebellion found the pipe.

The empire of Rogue One is the epitome of the Anglocentric patriarchy. Darth Vader can hide behind his black suit and voice (for which James Earl Jones returns), but the testosterone-laden cast of villains is as pasty as the snowy plains of Hoth. One of them even garners that most dread appellation of all, the dead white male. Sir Peter Cushing has been one with the Force for over two decades, yet even in his postmortem, computer-generated state as Grand Moff Tarkin (voiced impressively by Guy Henry), he proves more compelling than most of the newcomers. Ben Mendelsohn is the exception, who excels as the calculating Director Orson Krennic, striding fiendishly about the screen with his cape (also pasty) billowing behind him.

Like the protagonist of last years The Force Awakens, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is a lonely girl. A search for the two father figures who abandoned her serves as the heroines main quest, from which the rest of the confusing plot, superfluous characters, and excessive interplanetary hopscotch are mere distractions. Disney has always had a strange obsession with orphaned and abandoned children, but especially depressing is their insistence upon remolding the Star Wars mythos to normalize -- even glorify -- rootless young women compelled to fend for themselves. Im not used to people sticking around when things go bad, Jyn says in one scene, almost as an aside.

Jyns potential love interest is a Latino named Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), whom she generally regards with all the pathos of someone swiping left on Tinder. With the exception of the racially neutral droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), the rest of the cast seem to have been chosen merely to appease Disneys cloaked diversity enforcers, who likely appeared in script sessions via hologram before dashing off in their TIE fighters to the State Department or some Ivy League admissions office. A cast assembled in a great burst of self-congratulatory virtue signaling is relieved of the need to be memorable, and the viewer is unlikely even to remember their names upon leaving the theater.

Three days after the American electorate tossed Hillary Clinton down the same hole that Vader threw the emperor, Rogue One screenwriter Chris Weitz tweeted his assertion that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization. (His parenthetical was presumably purposed to absolve any Imperial droids of accusation.) Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women, co-writer Gary Whitta appended in response. The two deleted their tweets after some thought, perhaps fearful that Darth Trump would grow wise to it and ignite the engines of his golden Star Destroyer in pursuit.

Displayed as their Twitter profile pictures by both Weitz and Whitta for some time was the image of a safety pin affixed to the Alliance Starbird, the symbol of the rebellion first seen on Luke Skywalkers X-wing in 1977. Mark Hamill, savior of the republic himself, retweeted the symbol, beneath which was inscribed, Star Wars against hate. Spread it. In the days after Trumps election, wearing a safety pin became the means by which to identify yourself as someone who was terrified that Trumps snaggletoothed stormtroopers would emerge from the backwoods of the Rust Belt to drag you from your Manhattan penthouse.

The willingness of grown men to symbolize their political beliefs with an article of clothing typically reserved for infants is almost poetically lame, as is their readiness to blend it with fictitious worlds originally created for children. The irony seemingly is lost on the writers of Rogue One, identifying themselves as they do with a ragtag group of patriots facing insurmountable odds. As the corporate coffers in Cinderellas castle overflow because of them, their left-wing, anti-patriarchal opinions hold unassailable sway not just in Hollywood, but in every major institution, from the universities to the mainline churches, schools, media, and most of government. It is uncertain, then, what Death Star it is they wish to destroy. Seemingly they are incensed by the mere vestige of the ancient order -- hardly an ideal of the rebellion, though certainly one of which the empire would be proud.
How straightforward the game When one has trust in one's player And how great the relief Working for one who believes in Loyalty, heritage, true to his kind come what may

These are the opening lyrics to the finale of the musical Chess, written in 1984 by Tim Rice, with music by Benny Anndersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus but not produced until 1986. It was a Cold War drama set within the subculture of international competitive chess. It was a biting metaphor for the struggle between communism and freedom. Many of the show's lyrics are curiously appropriate for our current political environment.

Americans have just elected a straightforward American. His supporters are experiencing great relief for Mr. Trump's loyalty and heritage.

It's the weak who accept Tawdry untruths about freedom Prostituting themselves Chasing a spurious starlight Trinkets in airports sufficient to lead them astray.

Obama's supporters who elected him twice bought into his tawdry untruths about freedom. Obama is not a man who cherishes freedom. Not one bit. For eight years, he has prostituted himself around the world, apologizing for America's "sins," over-regulating us to the point of madness, and restricting more and more of the freedom we once took for granted. He is chasing what he assumed would be his illustrious legacy. That it will not be. Obama's legacy will be one of failure on every front: domestic, economic, foreign policy, race, and culture.

President Obama has ruined American health care. He has destroyed the Middle East, enabled genocide with little response or discernible care. He has prostituted himself to Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, and smoothed that nation's expedited path to nuclear weapons. He has betrayed Israel at every turn. What he and Samantha Power did today at the U.N. is unconscionable. Obama has done everything in his power to undermine Israel's security for eight years. He is but a trinket that has led his supporters astray.

As you watch yourself caring About a minor sporting triumph, sharing Your win with esoterics, Paranoids, hysterics Who don't pay attention to What goes on around them They leave the ones they love the way they found them A normal person must dismiss you with disgust And weep for those who trusted you.

Shockingly to the left, Obama's priorities are anathema to most of the American people. He did not lift a finger to stop the genocide of Christians throughout the Middle East by ISIS but has imported tens of thousands of Muslim refugees, some of whom will most certainly terrorize us. He has allowed tens of thousands of migrants from Central America to enter the country and stay at taxpayer expense. He has released thousands of criminal illegal immigrants onto the streets of our communities where they daily commit more crimes. He has commuted the sentences of hundreds of violent criminals. Is it any wonder that the crime rate is rising in all major cities?

He has forced abortion, gay marriage, transgender bathrooms, etc. on a population, the majority of which cherish their traditional values. He loathes both Christianity and Judaism and is tolerant only of Islam. The man, from day one, has set out to submarine, to adulterate, our nation, to make it into something it was never meant to be. He wanted to take us down a few pegs, and he has. But enough American voters have spoken. They are done with the self-righteous, narcissistic young president who had so much pride in his community activist past that he believed himself to be the next Saul Alinsky, as if that were a good thing! Alinsky was as wannabe Che Guevera and Fidel Castro.

This election campaign was not, politics is not:

A model of decorum and tranquility Become like any other sport A battleground for rival ideologies To slug it out with glee.

Trump's supporters, those "deplorables" for whom the left has so much contempt, did not need to slug it out. They just voted...with glee.
As the British and Chinese governments concluded their latest strategic dialogue on Dec 20, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to a Sino-British "golden era" amid the uncertainty created by Brexit, the world today looks very different from October 2015, when President Xi Jinping paid a high-profile state visit to the United Kingdom.

The first challenge 2016 brought to UK-China ties is Brexit, which will require the UK to develop its China policy without the benefits of a multi-layered approach where objectives were pursued both bilaterally and with the support of the more influential European Union. The UK will therefore find itself on the spot more with respect to China, whether on human rights or trade policy. This might also create opportunities for Beijing.

Most attention has focused on a free trade agreement, with business voices expressing support for such a move. However, caution is in order.

An agreement which is good for the UK will involve much greater access to China's service sector, but it is not yet clear whether China is prepared to grant that. Besides, as many have pointed out, depending on the content, a UK-China agreement could constrain London in reaching an all-important future trade agreement with Brussels. Nor is it clear that it would push the EU toward its own free trade agreement with China, as Beijing might hope.

The second major factor which will hang over the agenda is uncertainty over the impact of a Donald Trump presidency in the United States. Although it is still too early to judge what strategic direction Trump will take, judging by his critical tone on the campaign trail, there is a good chance he will take a tougher line on China than his predecessor Barack Obama. We can expect more uncertain times.

This is not good for Europeans, who anyway are wary of the next US president. Greater uncertainty and friction in US-China relations tend to heighten tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, making the regional prosperity and stability, which contribute to Europe's economic security, more difficult to achieve.

The UK, whose new government has reiterated its commitment to pursuing good relations with China, may find itself at the sharp end of this, especially as it concurrently looks to get the London-Washington relationship onto an even footing.

The challenges for UK policymakers can be seen in some recent mixed messages about its approach to East Asia. The British foreign secretary said at a recent talk at Chatham House that "the emerging balance of power system in Asia needs the influence of friendly countries", while there has been some lack of clarity over remarks by the UK's ambassador to the US on the possibility of the British military engaging in "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea, something which would exacerbate the security dilemma in the region.

The UK, ideally working with the EU despite Brexit, should be encouraging a modus vivendi between China and the US in East Asia, on the basis of a balanced and impartial approach. London's response to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) set the right tone, demonstrating an openness to a changing world order.

The talk of a Sino-British "golden era" apart, the more significant achievement of Xi's state visit to the UK was the establishment of a comprehensive global strategic partnership.

This partnership should provide the basis for open, honest and frequent exchanges of views on the full range of global interests. Of course, this does not mean the two governments agree on everything - far from it. But it does provide a platform for responding to the uncertainties facing the world, and for exploring reforms, to ensure the international system reflects changes in the global and regional distribution of power.

The author is a senior consulting fellow with Chatham House.

(China Daily 12/24/2016 page5)
President Obama has said he is not a Muslim. Why, then, has he taken actions that have repeatedly suggested the opposite?

1) He has refused to say the words "Islamic terrorists" or "radical Islam."

2) Officials from the Hamas front group CAIR have repeatedly visited the White House.

3) Obama distanced the U.S. from Egypt when the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown there.

4) Obama gave the Islamic theocracy in Iran a sweetheart deal that unfroze their assets while allowing them, in a practical sense, to continue enriching uranium, building ICBMs, and funding terrorism.

5) Obama is on a massive jihad to import as many Muslims as he can from the Middle East.

6) Obama is suing towns all over America to force them to permit mosques.

7) Obama is sympathetic to false cries of "Islamophobia" but rarely to victims of Islamic terrorism.

And now, most recently, Obama has joined with anti-Semites at the U.N. to condemn Israel for the "settlements," in Jewish people's ancestral homes in Judea; Samaria; and yes, Jerusalem. Why would he do such a thing so late in his presidency that would have no effect, other than to bash Israel and give a boost to global efforts to divest from and isolate Israel?

The only motive I can think of is that Obama hates Israel and, by obvious deduction, that Obama hates Jews. Muslims don't have a monopoly on Jew-hatred, but you might say that when it comes to building a cottage industry of hating Jews, the last several decades Muslims have massive hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place.

It makes me wonder if Barack Hussein Obama, whose father was Muslim, who was educated in a Muslim school abroad, is merely extremely sympathetic to the Muslim point of view...or is actually one himself. His actions have raised more questions about his beliefs than anything anyone could ever have written about him. His obsessive hatred of Israel is only the latest example.

If people believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim, I think he has brought it on himself with his own disreputable actions.

[Photo from Obama's visit to Kenya]

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
Kimberly Strassel has a great article in the Wall Street Journal that summarizes the actions taken by President Obama since the election designed to undermine the presidency of Donald Trump by piling thousands of new regulations and executive orders on the new president's desk, daring him to undo them.

She begins:

Barack Obama isnt known for humility, though rarely has his lack of grace been more on display than in his final hours in office. The nation rejected his agenda. The presidents response? To shove more of that agenda down the nations gullet.

The proposed regulations and executive orders are directly related to parts of the president's agenda that have been rejected by Congress and the American people  most recently in the November presidential election. These "Midnight Regulations" are little more than a spiteful way for President Obama to give the middle finger to Trump and the American people.

The technical definition of a midnight regulation is one issued between Election Day and the inauguration of a new president. The practice is bipartisan. George W. Bush, despite having promised not to do so, pushed through a fair number of rules in his final months. But Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were more aggressive, and Mr. Obama is making them look like pikers. Mr. Obama has devoted his last year to ramming through controversial and far-reaching rules. Whether it was born of a desire to lay groundwork for a Clinton presidency, or as a guard against a Trump White House, the motive makes no difference. According to a Politico story of nearly a year ago, the administration had some 4,000 regulations in the works for Mr. Obamas last year. They included smaller rules on workplace hazards, gun sellers, nutrition labels and energy efficiency, as well as giant regulations (costing billions) on retirement advice and overtime pay. Since the election Mr. Obama has broken with all precedent by issuing rules that would be astonishing at any moment and are downright obnoxious at this point. This past week we learned of several sweeping new rules from the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, including regs on methane on public lands (cost: $2.4 billion); a new anti-coal rule related to streams ($1.2 billion) and renewable fuel standards ($1.5 billion). This follows Mr. Obamas extraordinary announcement that he will invoke a dusty old law to place nearly all of the Arctic Ocean, and much of the Atlantic Ocean, off limits to oil or gas drilling. This follows his highly politicized move to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota. And it comes amid reports the administration is rushing to implement last-minute rules on commodities speculation, immigrant workers and for-profit collegesamong others. Any action that is rushed is likely to be shoddy, especially if its from the federal government. The point is for Mr. Obama to have his way and to swamp the Trump administration with a dizzying array of new rules to have to undo. That diverts manpower from bigger and better priorities.

Trump's transition people are bitterly complaining about a lack of cooperation from the executive departments. This foot-dragging is slowing the transition process, which makes it less likely that Trump can hit the ground running on January 21. Instead, the new president will be forced to deal with a dizzying array of federal rules  most of which will end up in court anyway as businesses fight back against this federal government-wide power-grab.

The bottom line: Obama and the Democrats do not recognize Donald Trump as the legitimate president of the United States and will do all in their power over the next four years to ensure the failure of his administration.
An organization spawned by the radical United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia has issued a report that concludes that the state of North Carolina has a democracy on par with Cuba and Iran.

Of course, the American left has jumped on this study as if it's red meat and they are starving dogs. A few choice cuts from the study:

The report points to three main flaws in North Carolinas political system: extreme gerrymandering, voter suppression of black and brown residents, and the usurpation of incoming governor Roy Coopers power through hasty legislation. If it were a nation state, North Carolina would rank right in the middle of the global league table  a deeply flawed, partly free democracy that is only slightly ahead of the failed democracies that constitute much of the developing world, UNC-Chapel Hill political scientist Andrew Reynolds wrote in Thursdays op-ed. The EIP is a nonpartisan project that grades democracies worldwide on a 100-point scale. The gradings are based on multiple factors including voter access to polling sites, the influence of state-controlled media and the potential that an election has been rigged. For this years election, North Carolina received a score of 58/100, Reynolds wrote. Thats in the same neighborhood as the governments of Cuba, Sierra Leone and Indonesia. Patsy Keever, chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, agrees that her states current efforts at governing do not adhere to democratic principles. Senator [Phil] Berger and Speaker [Tim] Moore are power hungry leaders whose number one goal is to protect their power no matter the cost, Keever said in a statement to The Huffington Post, referring to the states Senate leader and House speaker. Since 2010, the NC GOP has systematically engaged in a dangerous partisan political agenda, making it harder for people to vote, changing the nature of the State Board of Elections and stripping an incoming Democratic governor of power, she said. Thats not what democracy looks like  and North Carolinians deserve better. The flaws in North Carolinas democratic system predate this years election, according to the EIP report. The Republican-controlled legislature racially gerrymandered its own district lines to such a degree in 2011 that a federal court struck down the electoral map as unconstitutional on Nov. 29 and ordered the state to hold special elections in 2017. The EIP concluded that the state of North Carolina had the least democratic redistricting in the world. There is nowhere in the world outside of America that allows politicians to change the district lines to this degree; its a recipe for disaster, Reynolds told HuffPost. Youve got voters locked into a system where theyre unable to change the power dynamics of the state, regardless how they vote.

Aside from the giggleworthy statement that the EIC is "non-partisan," the methodology of this study is fatally and irrevocably flawed:

The EIP produces an impressive forest of data to form its rankings on the legitimacy of elections worldwide; but what is the basis for all these numbers? Though it is not so easy to find, the method involves selecting a range of criteria and then seeking expert opinion, from a group of unnamed people. That is, the numbers and rankings rely on expert opinion, and those experts are anonymous. There is only anecdotal recourse to more standard methods, such as actual opinion polls, or actual participation rates.

I examined the EIC website looking for comments on its methodology and could find only that the organization relies on "datasets" compiled by its researchers to create its grading system. While the "Global Research" website is pro-Trump and anti-globalization, it appears to make some excellent points about how EIC operates.

How were the 50 criteria used to "judge" the level of "democracy" in a state or country created? That question is as important as the "results" they come up with, because it is ridiculously easy to create criteria to fit a biased agenda. For example, voter ID laws are systematically and routinely seen by the left as "voter suppression" of the black and brown vote  despite absolutely no reliable evidence that this is so.

How about gerrymandering? The Justice Department routinely throws out redistricting plans from Southern states, so the idea that it's a remarkable event that the 2011 lines were changed doesn't pass muster. Besides, there is no state in the nation that gerrymanders its district lines more to destroy a political party than California. California is a one-party dictatorship with so-called "non-partisan" elections, where the top two finishers in primaries, regardless of party, compete for congressional seats. ("Non-partisan" elections was the favorite tactic of racist white Democrats in the South for decades. It diluted the vote of the few blacks who were allowed to cast their ballot and assured Southern Democrat white domination of the political process.) For all intents and purposes, a viable Republican party does not exist in California.

Entirely subjective criteria compiled by radical liberals, "anonymous" experts giving their opinion on what the criteria mean  this is a recipe for a politcal attack, not a serious effort to examine any flaws in North Carolina's electoral process.
Jews voted almost three to one (71% to 24%) for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the recent election despite the Democratic Party's embrace of anti-Semites and racists like Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright. Barack Obama's refusal to veto the United Nations' recent resolution to condemn Israeli settlements in Israel underscores the status of the Jewish voter as the battered spouse who simply cannot bring herself to leave her abusive husband.

When someone becomes abused in a relationship, they often dont have the ability to see the reality of the situation. They are often blinded by their emotional attachments to their lover.

All loyal Americans, and not only Jews, should support Israel not for any religious reasons, but rather because Israel is a civilized free nation with values similar to those of the United States. Israel has equal rights for women, equal rights for Christians and Muslims, and legal protections for lesbians and gay people. Its enemies are third-world despotisms that treat women as chattel property, abuse and even execute gays, and oppress religious minorities, including those they deem the wrong kinds of Muslims.

The progressive Jewish voter is therefore the equivalent of the woman who attributes a long litany of bruises and broken bones to her own shortcomings rather than her husband's drunken rages. Jews voted 9 to 1 for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944 after he sent Jewish refugees on the St. Louis back to Nazi Germany to be killed.

Sailing so close to Florida that they could see the lights of Miami, some passengers on the St. Louis cabled President Franklin D. Roosevelt asking for refuge. Roosevelt never responded. The State Department and the White House had decided not to take extraordinary measures to permit the refugees to enter the United States.

Franklin Roosevelt slugged the Jewish voter, and she thought only, "It's really my fault. If I were only more progressive and more loyal to the Democratic Party, he might love me again."

Fast-forward to 2006, when MoveOn.org hosted the most vicious imaginable anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, and anti-Evangelical hate speech on its now defunct Action Forum. MoveOn slapped the Jewish voter in her face, and here is how she responded. The Anti-Defamation League "welcomed the responsiveness of MoveOn.org Political Action in removing anti-Semitic messages that had been posted on the Action Forum on their Web site" even though MoveOn lied to the ADL about removing all but a few instances of the hate speech. The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) similarly accused the Republican Jewish Coalition of "swiftboating" MoveOn.

"No, Officer, my husband didn't put these bruises on me," the Jewish voter, as represented by ADL and NJDC, told the cop who knocked on the door. "I was careless, and I fell down. I am sure my husband loves me, and this was entirely my fault."

In 2008, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards all appeared at Al Sharpton's National Action Network  the same racist and anti-Semitic hate group that helped incite the arson-murder at Freddy's Fashion Mart in Harlem. Obama's racist pastor, Jeremiah Wright, meanwhile hosted an opinion piece from a Hamas terrorist in his church newsletter and blood libeled Israel, South Africa, and the United States with false accusations of waging biological warfare. Jews nonetheless voted almost 4 to 1 for Obama over John McCain. The Democratic Party dislocated the Jewish voter's jaw, and she again attributed her injuries to her lack of sufficiently progressive values. "If I can be more into white guilt and more cognizant of white privilege," she explains to herself, "he will start to love me again."

The Democratic Party split the Jewish voter's lip this year when Hillary Clinton again appeared at the National Action Network with Al Sharpton. "He really loves me," the Jewish voter said, "and he is just having a bad day because of Donald Trump. I need to vote Democratic to earn and keep his love." This brings us to late December 2016, when Barack Obama chose to enable Palestinian terrorists at Israel's expense.

No, Jewish voter, he doesn't love you, and he never did. You gave him everything, and he gave you only slaps, bruises, and broken bones. This latest domestic violence will hopefully convince you that it is past time to pack your things, walk out on him, and leave him to drink himself to death with the left-wing politics that drove the blue-collar worker into Donald Trump's camp this year.

William A. Levinson, P.E., is the author of several books on business management including content on organizational psychology, as well as manufacturing productivity and quality.
The U.S. Jewish organization J Street applauded the move, saying the resolution advances the goal of a two-state solution, also a longtime U.S. objective. "This resolution conveys the overwhelming support of the international community, including Israel 's closest friends and allies, for the two-state solution, and their deep concern over the deteriorating status quo between Israelis and Palestinians and the lack of meaningful progress toward peace," the organization said.

Obama will be out in 28 days. Had Hillary Clinton been elected, this United Nations vote now would launch a real long-term headache  not a disaster, but a real headache. Nothing ever can obstruct the will of G-d, certainly not those in Migdal Bavel  the Tower of Babel  but they still can cause headaches. However, Hillary instead is an asterisk to history  a minuscule asterisk, best remembered as a Public Liar who lost two "can't miss" elections, first to Obama and then to Donald Trump.

It was a miracle that Donald Trump ever was elected. Even on Election Day, the exit poll reports were that he was in big trouble in Florida and elsewhere. The miracle goes back generations. His grandfather never wanted to be in America in the first place, but the Kaiser would not let him back in after the grandfather had traveled to America without paying a mandatory fee that permitted people to leave and then to return. So the grandfather got stuck in America against his will. Two generations later, Trump emerges as president of the United States. Before that, his elegant and refined daughter converts to Judaism and undertakes to live a Modern Orthodox Jewish life, and she marries into an Orthodox family with longstanding ties to Israel and with demonstrated sympathies to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

President-Elect Trump has been a friend of Israel and of Jews all his life. He has been awarded for his friendship, has been a grand marshall of an Israel Day Parade, has donated to Bet El. He surrounds himself with Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews who are deep and committed friends of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. His front-line non-Jewish supporters, including Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Dr. Ben Carson, Steve Bannon, and others are huge supporters of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and they all support moving the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Mr. Trump is very close with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and he deeply admires scrappy, strong men who do not back down in the face of adversity.

Obama now goes out  along with John Kerry  with exactly the legacy his ilk have earned but camouflaged from the public's view. By acting against Israel , Obama revealed his enmity and small churlish pettiness in his last month of the eight years, so that all could see and know what so many liberal Jews refused to acknowledge. His legacy with the Jews is sealed, and his churlish pettiness will define him for the rest of his life, as Jimmy Carter's anti-Semitism has defined him.

If Mr. Trump contemplated wavering on fulfilling his pledge to move the embassy, as so many other American presidents before him have done, now he himself will be motivated to move the embassy  "just because"  because that is how Donald Trump is in the core of his being: "you push me, and I hit you back twice as hard." Thus, the short-term anti-Israel moment in which Israel 's enemies exult will guarantee Israel a much more satisfying long-term result. This U.N. vote virtually assures that President Trump will move the embassy to Jerusalem .

Notably  and excellently for those who love Israel  the U.N. vote also equates East Jerusalem completely, with all the rest of Judea and Samaria, putting all Jewish communities there in the same category. This is excellent, because even most of the Israelis who are prepared to compromise on parts of Judea and Samaria are not prepared to compromise on East Jerusalem. Although people anticipated that President Trump would move the embassy to West Jerusalem if he would honor his promise, this vote even may induce Trump miraculously to move the embassy to East Jerusalem. I do not know whether he would go that far, but now he might.

If Prime Minster Netanyahu wants to remain in office and not see the utter break-up of his coalition, this U.N. vote will induce the Israeli government to expand Jewish populating of Judea and Samaria ("West Bank settlements") as a response of defiance, particularly once Trump is in.

The U.N. voted in 1975 that Zionism is racism. In time, they voted to retract the measure because it cost them dearly. Mr. Trump is the sort, and he has the Republican Congress to back him, to cut American dollars to the United Nations so significantly  and he already believes that America spends far too much on too many overseas commitments  and that itself may be useful.

More than 70 percent of American Jews voted foolishly for Hillary against Trump. G-d blessed Israel that, at her time of need, there is a Christian community in America  the conservative Evangelicals  who back Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria fully and who made clear to Mr. Trump that, along with religious and social issues dear to them (and, by the way, to Orthodox Jews)  opposition to abortion, issues regarding the traditional family, government interference in religion  they insist on supporting Israel, support moving the embassy to Jerusalem, and support the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (the "Jewish settlements in Occupied Palestine").

The so-called "Two-State Solution" died years and years ago. No one told Obama he helped kill it by siding so unilaterally with Arab demands against Israel. Obama induced Mahmoud Abbas almost a decade ago to stop talks with Israel, leaving Obama and Hillary, succeeded by Kerry, to do the dirty work. As a result, stasis ensued, and Jews continued moving in. There now are more than 750,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria , including Jews living in East Jerusalem. The Arabs will not all allow them to remain there, and Israel cannot logistically relocate them. Israel could not even relocate or successfully re-employ 10,000 Jews from Gush Katif who were forcibly uprooted and displaced during Ariel Sharon's Gaza giveaway. Israel cannot remove 800,000 people, place them in alternate homes, and find them productive jobs. It is logistically impossible. Only Adolf Hitler could remove a million Jews from their homes and resettle them. So there is no "Two-State" solution because, except for displacing a few families in Amona, who will one day live in even better homes, it will not happen anyway, because Israel is not going to put a million Jews in cattle cars and ship them to camps of concentration. Israel simply does not have alternate housing and employment for a million people.

Israel made major concessions in past negotiations, reaching agreements under Clinton and George W. Bush in return for American assurances and guarantees that included recognizing the legality of certain major populations of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Today's experience at the U.N. marks America reneging fundamentally on its pledged commitments made in these deals, thus nullifying the legal binding of those deals. It also reminds Israel that only she can watch out for her survival, because other countries have their own interests, and government leaderships change. Even President Trump will not be forever, though he does have four years ahead with a good chance of eight if he jump-starts the economy, and there is a reasonably good chance for some extra time afterward with Vice President Mike Pence succeeding him if the Republicans rule properly, effectively, and generously.

It is particularly satisfying, the Myth of Obama in the American Jewish community to be exposed and remembered. Israeli Jews already "had his number" eight years ago. This is an effete who characterized the radical Islamic terrorist murders of Jews in France, in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo murders, as having been the result of some violent people attacking a "random grocery store." That worldview accorded with Obama characterizing the radical Islamic murders at Fort Hood as "workplace violence." American Jews, more than others, need to remember whom they supported and what he and his ilk are. Jews also need to know now that New York's Charles Schumer, the Democrats' Senate minority leader, is not their savior, but rather their deep embarrassment, and Schumer has no influence on matters concerning Israel's survival. He is utterly useless. Likewise, the Orthodox Jew in Obama's cabinet  Jack Lew, Obama's secretary of the treasury  could not influence the day. Lew, too, was utterly useless, and it is valuable that he be remembered that way, now that his uselessness has been exposed.

In the end, Jews need to know who their friends are, who their obvious enemies are, and who their covert enemies are. Most importantly, as we embark on commemorating the Chanukah miracle in the Beit HaMikdash  the Holy Temple  Jews need to know that their survival is in the hands of G-d.

I conclude as I began. J Street is an organization supported in no small measure by George Soros. There has been some public discussion the past ten days in America as to whether it is fair to call the pathetic self-hating back-stabbers in J Street "worse than Kapos." The record will show that, on the day that Obama ineffectually took one last swipe at Israel, J Street issued the statement it did. Res ipsa loquitur: the thing speaks for itself.

Rabbi Dov Fischer is author of General Sharon's War Against Time Magazine (Steimatzky). His political commentaries have appeared on the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, National Review, the Los Angeles Times, and other major American publications. He formerly was chief articles editor of UCLA Law Review, is an adjunct professor of law at two prominent American law schools, and is Rav of Young Israel of Orange County, California. He is author of Jews for Nothing (Feldheim). His writings can be found at RabbiDov.com.
Much has been written and spoken of the recent elderly white womans verbal tirade at a J.C. Penney store  correctly written and spoken, in my view. There is no place in society for such offensive speech, though such is protected under our Constitution. However, there is no substantive difference between her actions and the racist words of some college and university professors, such as at Boston University.

In our country, proud of its First Amendment-protected free speech, the pride comes at the cost of being offended by the speech of some. And make no mistake: offensive speech is not limited to one racial, ethnic, gender, political, age, economic, religious, or any other grouping. Even a moderate amount of research provides countless examples of people from all groups offending others.

Though offending words can be aggravating and infuriating, lets not lose sight of the fact that they are a byproduct of free speech. And free speech, whether from a college professor, political candidate, white female shopper, radio host, TV commentator, or your neighbor, is worth protecting.

Protecting free speech means recognizing and accepting that it comes from all sectors of our society. We can certainly criticize free speech we find offensive, exercising our own freedom. But in doing so, let it not be in a manner that ascribes the offense to all folks of the same grouping as the offender.

So there is no difference between the racist rant of one white person and the racist rant of one black person. Both rants are offensive. Both rants should be repudiated. Both individuals deserve criticism, because there is no difference between them. As distinctly different individuals, they have a constitutionally protected right to the exercise of their free speech. They also have the right to demonstrate, by their free speech, their distinctively individual racism.

Our nation would do well to remember the distinctions and similarities.
The festive sounds of "Winter Wonderland" echoing across the air during the Christmas season become a bit more poignant after reading the story of the aspiring songwriter's untimely passing shortly after the first recording of the song.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article this week by Clare Ansberry telling the tale of one Richard Smith, from Honesdale, Pennsylvania, who penned the lyrics to "Winter Wonderland" in 1934 while "being treated for tuberculosis" at a sanitarium in his hometown:

While there, he entered contests, writing jingles and ads for companies. "Winter Wonderland," some say, was inspired by seeing children play outside his window in the snow and remembering doing the same as a boy at Honesdale's Central Park across the street from his childhood home. Mr. Smith died the following year, just before his 34th birthday, and never saw the now classic carol make it to the top of the charts, where it remains today.

Ms. Ansberry speaks with several locals who relate tales passed down from Mr. Smith's contemporaries, including this:

He talked with Mr. Smith's classmates and sister Marjorie before she died in 1997, who described how children skated on a little lake nearby, went caroling and built snowmen. ... She visited her brother often at the sanitarium and was proud of her brother's accomplishment.

After writing the lyrics, the Journal recounts, Smith is told his tuberculosis is under control, and he is released from the sanitarium. He eventually meets up with a New York pianist who writes the music to go with Smith's lyrics.

Before Mr. Smith meets his untimely fate, his boyhood dream of "becoming a songwriter" is fulfilled:

Mr. Smith lived long enough to hear Guy Lombardo and his orchestra, the Royal Canadians, perform his song that Christmas.

Each year, Mr. Smith's legacy is celebrated with Honesdale's Annual Santa Parade:

A DJ from a local radio station reads a short history of Mr. Smith and points to the songwriter's childhood home, where a lighted Christmas tree sits in his bedroom window. One year a cardboard silhouette of Mr. Smith was positioned in the window as if watching the merriment.

While many favorite Christmas carols trace back to the Europe of previous centuries  think "Silent Night, written nearly 200 years ago in Austria  our twentieth-century American standards often have a backstory reflecting their times  think Bing Crosby's 1943 classic "I'll be home for Christmas" and its moving lyrics expressing the thoughts of the World War II soldier who will "be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams."

The writing of "Winter Wonderland" is a small tale of a simple song, a backstory of an Americana where anyone can, as the song goes:

... dream by the fire

To face unafraid

The plans that we've made ...
With the New Year just a few days away, most tech enthusiasts are waiting with bated breath for a couple of tech expos that are scheduled to be held within the first few months of next year. While the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will be held from January 3 to January 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mobile World Congress will return to the Spanish city of Barcelona in late February. Many technology companies from around the world are expected to launch their new gadgets or showcase their new innovations at these two trade shows, so it promises to be an interesting few weeks if youre looking for the cutting edge in consumer technology.

LG Electronics is one such firm that has chosen MWC in the past to unveil its flagship smartphones, with the LG G5 being a case in point. The device was announced by the South Korean company this past February at MWC 2016, and this coming year, too, LG is rumored to launch its all-new flagship at the same event. Expected to be marketed as the LG G6, the handset will succeed the LG G5 as the companys next-generation G-series offering, and will reportedly come with a number of new and innovative features that the company hopes will help it stand out against competing products from Samsung, Apple, Sony and others.

Talking about bringing new ideas to the table, LG tried to do just that last year with the LG G5, making it the very first true modular smartphone from a mainstream vendor. The device, however, got mixed reviews in the media, and failed to set the sales charts on fire. This time around, LG is rumored to skip the modular design in favor of a more conventional form-factor for the LG G6. According to the rumor mills, the smartphone is expected to come with waterproofing and wireless charging, along with a number of other interesting features. The device is also expected to come with an iris scanner, which is something thats still not become as prevalent as other biometric identification technologies such as fingerprint scanners. Other rumors have also suggested that the upcoming LG flagship will very likely ship with a Snapdragon 830 SoC and at least 32GB of built-in storage. About 6GB to 8GB of RAM is also being talked about, although theres no reliable info regarding that at this point in time.

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Some rumors suggest that the LG G6 will be compatible with Googles Daydream, in which case it will sport an OLED display as per Googles guidelines. In terms of screen resolution, the device is expected to come with either a WQHD or 4K panel, but the latter will definitely enhance the VR experience. There are also rumors that with the G6, LG may unveil its own mobile payment service to rival Samsung Pay. Theres nothing definitive on that front as of yet, but whether or not LG decides to jump into the mobile payment ring, its upcoming flagship should have an embedded NFC chip, so expect it to be compatible with services such as Android Pay irrespective. The new device will reportedly be priced between $650 and $700, which is pretty much par for the course for flagship smartphones from tier-1 vendors these days. The handset is also expected to run Android Nougat out-of-the-box, so all in all, the upcoming LG G6 definitely promises to be a smartphone worth waiting for.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Citizens of Aleppo are returning to their homes in the liberated districts of the city, Komersant reports.

The military has allowed citizens to return to their homes in areas where bomb squads and field engineers have completed their work.

Bomb squads continue clearing operations throughout the city.

Earlier on December 22 the Syrian Army announced that Aleppo has been fully liberated.
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A new report claims that she will star in his female-centric project on which he is still working on.

Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra had been shooting for her international series 'Quantico' in the USA for the past few months and returned to India for a two-week break recently. She has confirmed that she will finalise her two Bollywood films for next year during this trip.

PeeCee is reportedly gearing up for a second innings with her Bajirao Mastani director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SLB). While some say she will play the lead role of Amrita Pritam in SLBs Sahir Ludhianvi biopic Gustakhiyan, a new report claims that the superstar will star in Bhansalis female-centric project which the ace director is still working on.

A source close to the development told a newspaper, Priyanka has met and discussed scripts with seven Bollywood directors over the last four months. She is being very selective as her calendar is choc-o-bloc till 2018 since the chance of 'Quantico' getting a third season is high.

Bhansali is currently busy with his period drama Padmavati and has two other projects lined up, one being Gustakhiyan.

Chopra, on the other hand, is constantly juggling between work commitments and spending quality time with family. The Quantico actress has been appointed the Global Goodwill ambassador by The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and in India, she is the brand ambassador of Assam tourism.

The actress has flown down to Assams capital city Guwahati after attending a party hosted by her best friend Srishti Behl Arya at her Juhu residence.
When asked whether she has faced racism in Hollywood, the actress reportedly replied yes.

Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra might have had only one release this year, 'Jai Gangaajal', but the actress was still in the news for her international projects like 'Quantico' and 'Baywatch'.

The superstar is back in Mumbai after wrapping up shoot of the second instalment of her popular FBI-inspired TV series Quantico. PeeCee is on a two-week break for Christmas and New Year.

Seems like Priyanka is making good use of her break. After signing a two-year agreement with Assam government as its brand ambassador for tourism, the superstar shot for Karan Johars famous celebrity chat show Koffee with Karan.

And if rumours are to be believed, Priyanka was her usual confident and honest self.

When asked whether she has faced racism in Hollywood, the actress reportedly replied yes.

A source from the sets revealed to a daily, When KJo asked her if she faced racism she admitted that she did, but not in studios. She shared that it was at the airport when she was sitting in the lounge for first class passengers that she was a victim. One of the ground staff personnel was rude to her telling that she was sitting in the wrong place. Only after she argued that she was a valid first class passenger, did he apologise.

Piggy Chops, being the first actress Indian actress to have made it big in Hollywood, warns her contemporaries who choose to follow her path, Chopra reportedly said this to Karan Johar.

Her Hollywood debut Baywatch alongside Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron is slated to release on May 27.
Speaking on demonetisation, Singh said the decision should not be seen as an election issue.

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed confidence about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweeping the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year with an absolute majority.

"BJP will win the Uttar Pradesh election with an absolute majority, Singh told ANI while en route to Lucknow.

Singh, who will address parivartan rally in Lucknow, added, "BJP's parivartan rally has laid the foundation of change in Uttar Pradesh and people of the state also believe that change is certain."

Speaking on demonetisation, Singh said the decision to impose a ban on Rs .500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes should not be seen as an election issue.

" Demonetisation is not about electoral loss or victory. The demonetisation decision has been taken keeping national interest in mind, and therefore, it should not be associated with the election," Singh said, adding that the demonetisation decision has been taken to curb corruption, black money and to strengthen the economy of the country.

He further said that the demonetisation also helped fight terrorism as many accounts of the Naxalites have been seized post the announcement of the drive.
India is awaiting a formal request from the mother of the child to intervene in the case.

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said India will provide help in case of a request of the mother of the boy  who has been taken away by the Norway authorities there after allegations that he was beaten up by his parents  even as the Norwegian embassy in the capital reportedly asked for restraint in the case, assuring that it is being handled with complete sensitivity and awareness.

The parents have reportedly denied the allegations. The boys father is of Indian origin but a Norwegian citizen while the boys mother is an Indian national. The boy is a Norwegian citizen. India is awaiting a formal request from the mother of the child to intervene in the case. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is personally monitoring the case

Ms Swarajs reaction came a day after she had asked the Indian ambassador in Oslo to send a report on the allegations made by the couple that the Norwegian authorities took away their child on frivolous complaint. I have received the report. Father and son are Norwegian nationals. We will represent on request of the mother, who is an Indian national, Ms Swaraj tweeted.

Reacting to the case, the spokesperson in the Norwegian embassy said the mission is aware and understands the concerns on the ongoing child welfare case involving an Norwegian/Indian family in Norway.

The embassy would like to reiterate that child welfare cases are handled in accordance to the Norwegian Child Welfare Act, which includes directions from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Act applies to all children in Norway, regardless of their background, residential status or citizenship. The basic principle of the Act is that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Since child welfare cases are highly sensitive, the cases are therefore subject to a strict duty of confidentiality. The Embassy, therefore, requests restraint and assures that the Norwegian authorities are dealing with the case with complete sensitivity and awareness. When available and permissible, updates on the case will be provided to the media and the general public, the spokesperson in the Norwegian Embassy was quoted by news agencies, as saying.

According to reports, this is the third case since 2011 when children have been taken away from their Indian-origin parents by the authorities in Norway on grounds of abuse. In 2011, a three-year-old and a one-year-old were separated from their parents, prompting the then UPA government to take up the issue with Norway. The Norwegian court later allowed the children to be reunited with their parents.

In December 2012, an Indian couple was jailed on charges of ill treatment of their children, 7 and 2 years. Later, they were sent to their grandparents in Hyderabad.

Ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, The ministry is fully aware of this issue and our embassy in Oslo is following up the matter. Our ambassador has already established contact with the father who is a Norwegian citizen as is the child. The mother, however, is an Indian passport holder. Following the custody of the child by Norways Child Welfare Services (CWS), legal proceedings are currently underway regarding the continuation of such custody. We are informed that the father has engaged a Norwegian lawyer to pursue the matter in the court. Given the seriousness of the issue, should we receive a formal representation from the mother, who is an Indian national, our Embassy remains fully prepared to engage with local authorities to impress upon them that this is a humanitarian issue and that the separation of a child from his parents is a matter of distress to the entire family. As you are aware, EAM is personally monitoring this case.
Cross-border trade route used to pump money in state.

New Delhi: Investigations into a recent case lodged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe funding of the four-month agitation witnessed in the Kashmir Valley have revealed that large-scale funds were transferred from Pakistan, using the cross-border trade mechanism along the Line of Control (LoC) as a front.

The LoC trade, which was started as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan, is conducted through the three Trade Facilitation Centres (TFCs) at Salamabad, Uri and Chakkan-da-Bagh.

It is suspected that a large amount of money was sent to separatist elements and over ground workers (OGWs) or supporters of subversive elements through these centres to fuel the unprecedented violence, which was triggered following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July.

The NIA and Central intelligence agencies are conducting a detailed probe into the funding of the agitation in the Valley, and the NIA had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act last week.

Sources said intelligence agencies received specific information that huge amount of money is being sent from Pakistan into the Valley under the cover of importing California almonds through the cross LoC trade mechanism. This, sources added, was in total violation of the policy for the LoC trade between the two countries as it prohibits trade of any third party origin goods.

It is surprising that the trade of banned goods is taking place through the Trade Facilitation Centres. We also suspect the involvement of some officers at these Centres as it seems the funds were used for fomenting trouble in the Valley, a senior intelligence official said.

After receiving information from intelligence agencies, the home ministry directed the NIA to launch a full-scale probe. Sources said during the course of investigations, intelligence agencies conducted searches and seized incriminating documents from several places in connection with the crimes that took place in the Valley.

We are keen to identify and plug the supply of funds to separatists and terror groups. It is now clear that trade across the LoC is being misused by subversive elements. A suitable action would be taken against officials involved in this,the official added.
The ministry of external affairs has received over 160 applications for the post of the vice-chancellor.

New Delhi: Known for his strong RSS links, chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research Y. Sudershan Rao is emerging as the frontrunner for the post of Nalanda University chancellor.

Others who held the position included Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and former foreign affairs minister of Singapore George Yeo. Both Dr Sen and Mr Yeo had quit citing government interference.

For the post of vice-chancellor, sources said that the names of three candidates were doing the rounds. These include Prof. Sunaina Singh, vice-chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University, (EFLU), Makarand Paranjape, professor at JNU and art historian Nirmala Sharma. The ministry of external affairs has received over 160 applications for the post of the vice-chancellor.

Sources revealed that a move is afoot to appoint Prof. Rao as the new Nalanda University chancellor. However, when contacted, the ICHR chairperson neither confirmed nor denied the development. His brief response was, Let us wait please...let it come officially. The announcement is likely to be made in January.

It may be recalled that Prof. Raos appointment by the Modi government to head ICHR in July 2014 had led to a controversy with eminent historians including Romila Thapar raising questions.

Romila Thapar had written: One is surprised at the appointment of Professor Y.

Sudershan Rao as chairperson of the ICHR. Professor Raos work is unfamiliar to most historians, with little visibility of research that he might have carried out. In another article she also wrote that while Prof. Rao has published popular articles on the historicity of the Indian epics, none has appeared in any peer-reviewed journal.

Historian, Irfan Habib had also questioned his appointment as ICHR chairperson. Prof. Rao is also associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, the history wing of the RSS. In an interview to the RSS mouthpiece Organiser, Prof. Rao had said, ...every nation has a right to write its own history from its own perspective, with certain national objectives. I call this process Indianisation perspective, with certain national objectives. At best, you can call it a patriotic approach.

Last year Prof. Rao ran into another controversy when he recommended names of three RSS historians to join the ICHR panel. The three names recommended by him included  Narayan Rao, national vice-president of the Sangh history wing, Ishwar Sharan Vishwakarma, all-India general secretary, and Nikhilesh Guha, head of the Bengal chapter.

It may be recalled that in November 2015, Prof. Rao had sent his resignation amid reports that he had asked for an honorarium of `1.5 lakh per month. The ICHR chairmanship does not have any provision for an honorarium. He was never granted the honorarium, but the HRD ministry never accepted his resignation.

Nalanda University has been in the eye of the storm ever since the NDA came to power. Nobel laureate Dr Amartya Sen, who quit the University after complaining of extraordinarily large interference, had said; I was certainly ousted from Nalanda, Some members of the Board, especially the foreign members, were keen on carrying on the battle for me, but I stepped aside as I did not want to be an ineffective leader. Similarly, his successor Singapore politician George Yeo also stepped down alleging government interference.
The BJP and the Congress accept 70 to 80 per cent of their donations in cash, says Delhi CM.

Jaipur: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to investigate bank account details for the last five years of political parties and leaders.

Addressing a public meeting here, he said that the real motive behind this decision was loot of public money. He questioned the logic behind allowing political parties to accept money in cash while asking people to go cashless. The BJP and Congress accept 70 to 80 per cent of their donations in cash, he alleged.

I demand that the PM investigate bank accounts of all political parties and their leaders for the last five years if he is serious about checking corruption.

The BJP and the Congress accept 70 to 80 per cent of their donations in cash, he alleged.

Compare that to AAP, which gets only eight per cent of its donations in bank account, he said.

Throwing a challenge to Mr Modi, he said, I demand that the Prime Minister investigate bank accounts of all political parties and their leaders for the last five years if he is serious about checking corruption. It is not fair that when people are asked to go cashless and provide details of small sum of `5,000, political parties are allowed to deposit crores without any query, he added.

Mr Kejriwal said that he would have been the first to hail the Prime Minister if the motive behind demonetisation was to attack corruption and black money. Unfortunately, it is a big scam and a conspiracy to siphon off public money, he alleged.

The Delhi chief minister alleged that Mr Modi has taken money to implement demonetisation in order to help his businessmen friends, who were unable to repay huge bank loans. Kuch toh liya hoga. Aaj kal toh bhai bina kisi swarth ek doosare ki madad nahi karte (He must have taken something. These days no one helps each other without some motive), he said.

Claiming that his allegations were true, Mr Kejriwal said that otherwise these people would have slapped defamation cases against him. He said that he was slapped with defamation cases in the past whenever he raised corruption charges against these people but no case has been filed so far even though its been a month since he has been making allegations, which proves that there is truth in what he has been saying.

If Modi ji is so serious about wiping out corruption than why is he shying away from inquiry into Birla and Sahara papers? he asked.

Reminding people of BJPs unfulfilled promise of Rs 15 lakh in every citizens account, he warned them that they are being made fool to believe that the government deposit Rs 5000 into their account from the black money seized from the rich. Actually, the money you have been depositing will also disappear as it would be given to businessmen who already owe banks Rs 8 lakh crore he said.
Prasad also said that in his long political career his integrity has never been questioned.

New Delhi: Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday strongly refuted allegations that he had taken money from Sahara Group. On Thursday, civil right activist and eminent lawyer, Mr Prashant Bhushan had tweeted a handwritten page allegedly seized by income-tax sleuths during raids at Sahara Group offices regarding payoffs in 2010. Mr Bhushan, in his tweet, had alleged, A handwritten pg seized by I-T in Sahara raid with payoffs of 2010. Last entry is `1.25cr to R.S. Prasad. BJP should get a better person to defend Modi.

Mr Prasad  who had come out in defence of Prime Minister Narendra Modis alleged personal corruption, saying that he(Modi) is as sacred as Ganga,  on Friday described the charges against him as motivated, baselss and false.

Mr Prasad said; My entire record of fighting against corruption is known. In the fodder and bitumen scams, I played a major role in exposing the corrupt, which led to politicians, bureaucrats going to jail.

Talking about the alleged I-T note, he pointed out that even the Supreme Court had refused to take cognizance of this plain handwritten document, which is of zero relevance. He claimed that the alleged reference of payment made to me is false and fabricated. Mr Prasad said that it is indeed regrettable that finding no response reportedly by the Supreme Court, Prashant Bhushan has now sought to go public with his tweets, which are defamatory in character.

Pointing fingers at the social activist, Mr Prasad said, many disturbing questions have been raised about Bhushan families regarding allocations of cheaper lands at Noida and also in Himachal Pradesh.

Mr Prasad also said that in his long political career his integrity has never been questioned.
The Congress Party has so far refused to confirm or deny these reports.

Bengaluru: The Congress Party is gearing up for one of its biggest organisational shakeups in recent times, with high-level sources signalling that the long-awaited induction of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the partys general secretary is imminent.

This has been talked about for some time, but due to various reasons, Priyanka has not expanded on her area of responsibility beyond the two constituencies that her mother and brother represent in Parliament. But that will change, as key states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat go to the polls, sources close to these developments told this newspaper.

They said that the clamour within a section of the party to appoint vice-president Rahul Gandhi as president of the 131-year-old party, taking over a part of Congress president Sonia Gandhis responsibilities, had also been heeded, and his elevation to the top post was also very much on the cards. Speculation is rife that both appointments may be made public on December 27, ahead of the anniversary of the partys founding in Mumbai on December 28, 1885.

While the story in Congress circles is that Mrs Sonia Gandhi will still be active behind the scenes, and work in tandem with other political parties of similar mind against the ruling BJP, given her indifferent health, the siblings will however be front and centre from now on.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi, credited with holding the party together after many of the stalwarts exited over differences with then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, and who has led the party to victory in two successive polls, is expected to retain her position, as chairperson.

Insiders said Mrs Sonia Gandhi felt it was time to bring in her daughter, whose rapport with party workers in the two constituencies of Rae Bareli and Amethi in UP could be used to better effect.

The Congress Party has so far refused to confirm or deny these reports.
The association said it was constrained to bring to the kind attention of the apex court regarding mysterious death of former Jayalalithaa.

New Delhi: A Chennai-based cultural organisation, Tamilnadu Telugu Yuva Sakthi, has filed a fresh writ petition in the Supreme Court demanding a judicial probe into the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa.

This writ petition will come up for hearing on January 6, 2017 along with a writ petition filed by expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa seeking similar probe.

The association said it was constrained to bring to the kind attention of the apex court regarding mysterious death of former Jayalalithaa. That the method of secrecy maintained is very suspicious and are raising serious questions among all sections of people, viz conspiracy; Corruption and misuse of power.

It said that right from the day of admitting Jayalalithaa in Apollo Hospital on September 22 till her death on December 5, everything was kept as very secret. Many speculations were floated during the hospitalisation and finally declared her dead after prolonged stay in the hospital. It was surprising that except one or two persons, including governor, national parties representatives such as Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah, Union ministers and even the family members/close relatives of Jayalalithaa were not allowed to see her.

It said the Chairman of Apollo Hospitals made public statement that the Tamil Nadu chief minister has recovered and it is upto her when to be discharged from the hospital and even at that point of time also nobody was allowed to meet her. It may not be out of context to mention herein that during the hospitalization of Jayalalithaa, several decisions were taken by the government which may have serious consequences on governance, public at large and on exchequer. It must be noted that the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa is pending in this Court and it needs to be brought to the logical conclusion. In view of the mystery shrouding her death, it is just and appropriate and in the interest of justice that this Court may order a judicial probe, the petition said.
The videos are posted on the internet for other viewers and risk being viewed by family members

Strip clubs are private spaces and they have rules that include not recording videos of the dancers. There are many who follow the rules but there are many who dont, lap dancers at a London strip club recently revealed. Men record their videos without their consent and also posted on the internet in the process.

According to an Independent report, lap dancers reveal that it is not new but it could tarnish their reputation, as friends and family can see it on the internet. A few have got calls from their families asking about the videos and why they dont know about it. Many women also take up the job to fund bigger dreams but such things endanger their careers and future if the employers see it on the internet.

While London clubs have strict rules for both the men and the dancers, the other cities do not. In London, if they are found, the men will be banned from the club and not allowed to enter. However, many skirt the rules and get the cameras in, even after screening.
Foreign students, mostly from Nigeria, were seen hitting the streets in areas like INA Market.

New Delhi: With the city streets soaked in Christmas revelry, the city markets have gone quiet as Christmas shoppers, who otherwise swamp the markets every year, are elusive this year. With a drop of over 70 per cent in business, its only the foreign students who have come forward to celebrate the festival.

While the majority of shoppers alleged that their purchasing power has been hit due to restrictions on withdrawal of cash from bank and ATM, the foreign students, mostly hailing from Nigeria, were seen hitting the market streets on Saturday in areas like INA Market, Aurobindo Market, and Lajpat Nagar, providing some relief to the street vendors and small-time shop owners.

The streets of Lajpat Nagar Market echoed with slogans like Noton se nahin, Santa se banao Christmasand Jitna pocket mein hai de jao, khushiyan ghar le jao by hawkers in a bid to sell decorative items.

While quite a few managed to convince the shoppers, a few continued with the struggle to attract the customers.

Notably, majority of the retailers have to bear losses owing to a relatively abysmal footfall compared to last year.
The state assured the court that it will curb noise pollution during Christmas and New Year celebrations this year.

Mumbai: The state government on Friday informed the Bombay high court that it has procured 1,843 noise decibel meters and distributed these to all the police stations in the state. The state also assured the court that it will curb noise pollution during Christmas and New Year celebrations this year with the help of these noise meters, and would submit a compliance report for the same on the next date of hearing.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai was hearing a contempt notice that the court has issued against the additional chief secretary of the home department (retired), K.P. Bakshi, for failing to procure 1,843 noise decibel meters within the stipulated time. During the last hearing, the HC had directed Mr Bakshi to appear before it and warned that it would sentence Mr Bakshi during the next hearing.

But on Friday, the court did not award any sentence to him after hearing that the state has already followed the court order and is ready to curb noise pollution during Christmas and New Years Eve celebrations. On Friday, special public prosecutor Ashutosh Kumbhakoni informed the court, Training on how to use the decibel meters has also been given to the police officials concerned. The authorities would ensure that there is no violation of noise pollution norms on December 25 and 31.

Mr Kumbhakoni further said the government would file a compliance report on the next date of hearing. If the court is not satisfied with the compliance report, then it can go ahead with the sentencing. We will not ask the court to show leniency then, he said.

The petitioners lawyer told to the court that speakers that disc jockeys (DJs) play music from create a lot of noise, which is unbearable for the common people.
The detained people included, men, women and boys who had shouted slogans against the memorial that the government has planned.

Members of the fishing community protest against the planned Shivaji memorial, in Cuffe Parade on Friday and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis with a kalash filled with water collected from all the rivers in the state, which would be used for the memorials foundation stone laying ceremony. (Photo: Debashish Dey)

Mumbai: The silent protest that fishermen had planned against the bhoomi poojan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in the Arabian Sea was foiled when the police detained all the protestors ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit on Saturday to lay the foundation stone for the memorial. Around 200 people had gathered at Macchimar Nagar in Cuffe Parade wearing black t-shirts and holding black flags. From there, these members of the fishing community had planned to conduct a bike rally to stage a protest against the Prime Ministers proposed bhoomi poojan.

Fishermen and people from the Akhil Maharashtra Machhimar Kriti Samiti (AMMKS) had gathered in large numbers, but the moment they started moving their bikes, around 100 police officials caught hold of them and put them in three police vans. The police then took the protestors to Cuffe Parade police station. The detained people included, men, women and boys who had shouted slogans against the memorial that the government has planned.

Before being detained, AMMKS leader Damodar Tandel said, We are not against the statue but against the place it is coming up in. This will destroy our lives. Where and what will we eat? The island they are planning the memorial on would get flooded during high tide, and hence they even want to build an eight-metre wall to stop the flow of water, which could be dangerous as well.

Meanhile, Maharshtra Macchimar Sanghatna (MMS) leader Mahesh Tandel claimed that many fishermen from villages are arriving in the city on Saturday to express their disappointment over the decision to build the memorial in the Arabian Sea. Mr Tandel said, We have not given up. After a meeting with the chief minister on Thursday, my sanghatna postponed the protest till December 25 on his request as we were assured that the government would come up with solutions for our problems.
Hanifs lawyer, Sharif Shaikh, had argued before the court that there is no evidence that shows Hanif radicalising Muslim youths.

He also argued that being a religious preacher, Hanif used to preach about the teachings of Quraan and Hadith. (Photo: AP)

Mumbai: A special NIA court on Friday rejected a bail application filed by Maulana Mohammed Hanif, who was arrested for allegedly indoctrinating and radicalising 21 Muslim youths to join ISIS.

Hanifs lawyer, Sharif Shaikh, had argued before the court that there is no evidence that shows Hanif radicalising Muslim youths. He also argued that being a religious preacher, Hanif used to preach about the teachings of Quraan and Hadith, and that it is not an offence to do so. He added that Hanif is not a part of any banned organisation or group.

But special NIA judge V.V. Patil rejected his bail plea. Advocate Shaikh told The Asian Age that the reasons for rejecting bail would be known only after the order copy is ready. He also said that the chargesheet is yet to be filed.
The mishap occurred on Dec 11 when Vrinda and her husband were enjoying a helicopter ride as part of their wedding anniversary celebrations.

Vrinda had suffered 50 per cent burn injuries in the incident and was admitted to the National Burns Centre in Airoli. (Photo: Representational Image)

Mumbai: Vrinda Modi, who was injured in a chopper crash near Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon, died this morning at a private hospital in Navi Mumbai taking the toll in the mishap to three, police said.

Vrinda had suffered 50 per cent burn injuries in the incident and was admitted to the National Burns Centre in Airoli.

The mishap occurred on December 11 when Vrinda and her husband Ritesh were enjoying a helicopter ride as part of their wedding anniversary celebrations. The chopper had crashed within four minutes of taking off.

While Ritesh passed away the next day of the accident, pilot of the helicopter Prafulla Mishra died the same day at a private hospital in Andheri during treatment, police said.

Vrinda was shifted to National Burns Centre, where she had undergone two surgeries in the last fortnight. Her burns were so deep that doctors were planning to amputate her arms, they said.
He also emphasised that the section 468 is not applicable in this case because the case is not of cheating.

Indranis lawyer argued the statement of Mekhail Bora, Indranis son, was recorded after the registration of FIR, but section 307 of IPC was already part of the FIR.

Mumbai: Indrani Mukerjeas lawyer has argued that she cannot be charged for an attempt to murder (for trying to kill her son Mekhail). Indrani shouldnt be charged alone for forgery also because her secretary Kajal Sharma in her statement has confessed that she had forged Sheenas signature on Indranis instructions, said her lawyer.

Advocate Sudeep Pasbola argued before the special CBI judge H.S. Mahajan that, statement of Mekhail Bora, Indranis biological son, was recorded after the registration of FIR, but section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC was already a part of the FIR. The police came to know about the incident only after Mekhail recorded his statement, then on what basis was the section 307 registered? asked advocate Pasbola.

He also emphasised that the section 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) is not applicable in this case because the case is not of cheating. According to him, the prosecutions case is that, in spite of knowing the reason behind forging Kajal Sharma still followed Indranis order. The lawyer argued that an accused cannot conspire with a witness but with accused however, in this case the prosecution has made Sharma a witness despite the fact that she aided and abetted in the alleged crime.

As per the prosecution after Sheenas murder, Indrani had sent Kajal Sharma with Sheenas resignation to Reliances Mumbai Metro office, where Sheena was working before her demise. Sharma told the CBI that she had refused to forge Sheenas signature in the resignation letter but was forced by her boss, Indrani. Indranis lawyer is claiming that alone Indrani cannot be charged for forgery because her secretary also played an important role.

The CBI has also made claims that, Indrani wanted to kill her son Mekhail along with Sheena and Mekhail was called to Mumbai and was given a lot of liquor but it did not affect him and hence her former husband and co-accused Sanjeev Khanna advised her to leave Mekhail since it would have been difficult for them to carry two dead bodies at different places. The CBI court, which is hearing arguments on framing of charges on accused, deferred hearing till January 4.

Charges on Indrani:
The Bombay High Court stayed the demolition notice issued by the BMC to Mehul Vora, husband of Congress corporator, Binita Vora.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday stayed the demolition notice issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to Mehul Vora, husband of Congress corporator, Binita Vora, for alleged illegal construction at their residence at Vile Parle.

A division bench of Justice Naresh Patil, and Justice M.S. Karnik, was hearing a writ petition filed by Mr Vora, challenging the notice issued by the BMC on December 21. The notice read that all the permissions that had been granted by BMC to regularise the said illegal structure, are being withdrawn.

Corporation counsel Anil Sakhare informed the court that another bench had already heard the matter and directed BMC to demolish the structure. Therefore, the court directed the registrar to present the matter before the Chief Justice in order to change the bench.

Mr Voras lawyer, Prasad Dhakephalkar, said that until the appropriate bench of the high court hears the petition, the BMC should not demolish the disputed structure. The court also directed BMC to maintain status quo till further hearing. Another bench of the HC, in a writ petition filed by Shiv Sena member Jitendra Janwale, had, on June 17, 2016, ordered the assistant commissioner (K west ward) to inspect the structure, and to demolish if any illegal construction was found.
Whenever it has happened in the past it has left the institution deeply wounded.

As the newsbreak flashed across television screens last Saturday evening, December 17, that the Indian Army and the Air Force would have new Chiefs, Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat and Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa respectively, I immediately tweeted asking the Prime Minister as to why two or, perhaps, even three officers senior to Gen. Rawat had been superseded by his government. Even a week later, there are no answers forthcoming from the government, much less the Prime Minister.

For quite some time, the social media, strategic community, veterans WhatsApp groups and even the langar gup (mess gossip) within the services was abuzz with speculation over the impending supersession. In the Armys case, the rumour that came true was that Gen. Rawat would be elevated to the chief over the heads of Lt. Gen Pravin Bakshi the Eastern Army commander, Southern Army commander Lt. Gen. Pattiarimal Mohamed Ali Hariz and Central Army commander Lt. Gen. B.S. Negi, who ostensibly became an Army commander before Gen. Rawat.

The first question is: Whether this deep selection or supersession was necessary? Whenever it has happened in the past it has left the institution deeply wounded. In 1957, Gen. K.S. Thimayya was selected over two senior lieutenant-generals  Sant Singh and Kulwant Singh. While the former put in his papers the latter stayed on. Again in 1983, Gen. Arun Kumar Vaidya was promoted over Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, who promptly put in his papers. After that for a good 33 years the seniority principle held the field and perhaps for good reason.

Without casting even a whisper of an insinuation on the professionalism or the brilliance of Lt. Gen. Rawat as either a commander or a solider, the source-based reasoning that has been put out by the government for its action have not been accepted by retired service officers.

Lt. Gen. Ike Singha (Retd) put out a Facebook post entitled Surgical strike on the Indian Army, where he critiqued the rationale of the government. It may be pertinent to point out that Gen. Singha was head of the peacekeeping mission in Golan Heights in Syria and Israel from 2012 to 2015. Similarly, Lt. Gen. Harwant Singh, the former deputy chief of Army Staff, concluded a piece in a national daily with the following lines: In the present case, the government has simply failed to come up with any compelling reasons to break the chain of seniority and has, in fact, politicised the appointment of the Army Chief. In a tweet Lt. Gen. Tej Sapru put it as follows: Violation of norms of seniority by the govt. in selection of COAS, a sad day for the armed forces. Not good for the system. Lt. Gen. Panag in a piece concludes with the following advice to the government: Last but not the least, to partially undo the damage done to the Indian Army, the government should make use of the two eminent, superseded generals either in the proposed higher defence management structure or at any other appropriate level. It would be unfair to make them serve under a junior. Their loss of honour because of an ambiguous selection process, if not restored, will have an adverse effect on the morale of the Indian Army.

However, the profoundest rationale for not bypassing the seniority principle came from the former Vice-Chief of the Army, Lt. Gen. Vijay Oberoi. In an article he wrote: I need to narrate a discussion held on the sidelines of a seminar at the College of Defence Management Secunderabad, many years back. During a discussion I had with two cerebral military intellectuals  Gen. Raghavan and Air Vice Marshal Kak, the three of us discussed the pros and cons of selecting a service chief on the basis of seniority, as was the norm vis-a-vis an open-ended selection from the Cs-in-C. After weighing the issue with great deliberation, we came to the conclusion that there were more negatives in the latter, as chances of selection based on political, sycophantic and non-professional reasons may become predominant in due course, with professional and character qualities being sacrificed on account of extraneous issues. With such precedences, even appointments of Army and corps commanders may meet such a fate later, throwing professionalism to the winds.

It is, therefore, apparent that the logic of deep selection has not cut any ice with the retired top brass of the armed forces though it may be only fair to point out that some retired officials have also supported the selection/supersession. These are all grizzled military men, and not some politicos tilting at windmills.

That brings us to the second question that the government and the BJP have been harping about and that is are political parties entitled to ask questions if the selection processes in the armed forces are a tad strange, if not irregular. This question becomes all the more germane because the government has been trying to run this gauntlet for a while that it is anti-national to question the BJP, seditious to question the government and, in fact, treasonous to even ask legitimate questions of the defence establishment whether they pertain to operations along the LoC or senior appointments in the three services.

This argument is not only insidious but also ludicrous, to say the least. In all democracies around the world, the principle of civilian supremacy in civil-military relations is well established, if not cast in stone. While the civilian leadership defers or should defer too the armed forces on operational imperatives, the broader trajectory of higher defence management is something that falls squarely to the remit of the civilian leadership. The strategic philosophy that should guide the defence leadership depends on a host of geo-political and geo-economic imperatives as well as relationships or the lack of it with other countries.

In furtherance of this dictum, even Parliament has both standing and consultative committees that exercise oversight on the functioning of the defence establishment that is not limited to policy and budgetary matters. It is, therefore, imperative that both parliamentarians and political parties must ask the hard questions when required on matters that impinge on national security.
Many people are hesitant to publicly voice their dislike of demonetisation because they are afraid that they will be abused.

No leader in India and perhaps no other political figure in any modern democracy could have survived the demonetisation crisis for seven weeks as Narendra Modi has.

If one is looking for evidence of his talents as a mass leader, it has been on display in this entire period. Let us look at it and appreciate it, because we are in the presence of a true master.

We have a few clues that the currency exchange crisis may not have been fully anticipated by the government. The first clue is Mr Modis initial announcement where he made some predictions on a return to normalcy that were incorrect. The second is that he continued on a scheduled visit to Japan, at the time when the extent to which the note shortage would affect the economy was just being realised. By the time he returned from Japan it was clear that the queues were not going to disappear quickly.

His initial announcement was so powerful and energetic that it carried popular opinion. The media was fully on his side and a nervous Congress lacking in confidence also announced support for the move. Only two grassroots leaders, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, recognised the danger and opposed it.

Mr Modi was in fact able to recruit large parts of the population on his side, probably including millions who did not vote for him, but who did not mind the inconvenience because they anticipated major change.

It is difficult to imagine the Manmohan Singh government producing this kind of euphoria in either the media or the middle class urban population if it had chosen to demonetise. The reaction would likely have been the opposite: resentment at being made to go through the trouble. And if it had carried on for seven weeks there would have been extreme anger.

Perhaps that anger is building now when it is clear that the disturbance is going to stay for months, but for Mr Modi to have sustained it even for this length of time is remarkable.

The second demonstration of his talent was how quickly he grasped that the negative consequence of the policy was bigger than anticipated. Immediately on his return from Japan he made a couple of speeches in which he did two things. First he said to Indians that he meant well and that he had sacrificed his family life for his mission. The uncharacteristically emotional moment of that speech, when he briefly broke down, may also have been the moment when he acknowledged to himself that the issue was out of hand.

Second, he said that normalcy would not return before 50 days. With this second move, he bought himself time and space to recalibrate his strategy. Once again, he got the media on his side and the discourse over the immediate problems that people were facing was diverted. Now Mr Modi could have waited for things to settle on their own, but he chose instead to voluntarily offer a timeframe before being pressed on it by the Opposition.

It is this comment on 50 days of inconvenience that allowed him the freedom to think of how to reposition demonetisation. As some publications have noted, there was no reference to a digital economy in his initial announcement, which was limited to black money, counterfeit currency and terrorism. It is after his return from Japan and those speeches that suddenly the discourse shifted and it shifted because of Mr Modis talent and credibility. One can picture him thinking about it alone. The Opposition said this was a shifting of goalposts, but they should understand that this is not a university debate. So long as Mr Modi can convince large parts of the population that the policy is good and the inconvenience will ultimately be beneficial, he will continue to do so. The specific benefits of the policy are unimportant to politics.

Proof of this appeared when the Bharatiya Janata Party continued its electoral successes across India even a month after demonetisation, including in Punjab where it is in power and suffering anti-incumbency.

There is actually no opposition to Mr Modi at the moment and he is still in full control of the narrative, which is astonishing because it has affected every single Indian negatively. The Congress had the opportunity to exploit mass inconvenience but it has so far been unable to. Many people are hesitant to publicly voice their dislike of demonetisation because they are afraid that they will be abused.

No other Indian leader, and few politicians in democratic politics anywhere could have achieved what Mr Modi has since November 8. Perhaps this will change in 2017 when the medium term effects of demonetisation are on display in the second salary cycle after November 8. For now it must be acknowledged that so far, the Prime Minister has shown that he is where he is not because of luck but pure talent at bringing public opinion to his side and keeping it there.
The Google Railtel Wifi helps many people discover the benefits of Internet with 15000 first time users connecting to the network everyday.

Google is committed to launch high-speed Wifi across 400 stations in India in partnership with Railtel. Launched in January this year, Google will continue to deploy the high speed Wi-Fi in the next 300 stations.

Google has announced the roll out of Railwire Wi-Fi at Udhagamandalam (Ooty) bringing in high-speed Internet to 100 of the busiest railway stations across India. Over 10 million people who pass through these stations every day now have an access to fast Internet speed to stream (or offline) an HD video, research their destination or download a new book or game for the journey ahead.

With over 5 million monthly users, the Google Railtel Wifi is helping millions of Indians discover the benefits of Internet with 15000 first time users connecting to the network everyday. The high-speed, quality Wi-Fi also enables the travellers to connect with their loved ones more regularly especially with video calling apps.

Google is committed to launch high-speed Wifi across 400 stations in India in partnership with Railtel. Launched in January this year, Google will continue to deploy the high speed Wi-Fi in the next 300 stations. In addition to this, Google has also introduced Google Station, which gives partners an easy set of tools to roll-out Wi-Fi hotspots in public places.
Aggressive passenger refuses to sit next to Ivanka Trump and her husband.

New York: A passenger was kicked off a US flight after he allegedly became aggressive and refused to sit next to US President-elect Donald Trumps eldest daughter Ivanka Trump, who was onboard the flight with her husband.

JetBlue forced the man off a morning flight on Thursday at John F. Kennedy airport here after he allegedly told Ivanka Trump, You ruined our country. Now, youre ruining our flight, according to a report in CNN.

Ivanka Trump was onboard the flight with her husband Jared Kushner and they were travelling to Hawaii for a vacation.

One Matthew Lasner tweeted that his husband was kicked off the flight after a flight attendant overheard a man expressing displeasure about Mr Trumps eldest daughter and her husband.

Ivanka and Jared at JFK TF, flying commercial. My husband chasing them down to harass them. #banalityofevil, a tweet by Mr Lasner read.

Marc Scheff, who was seated in front of Ivanka Trump on the plane, confirmed the incident in an interview to CNN. Mr Scheff described the man as shaking and visibly agitated. Asked about Ivanka Trumps response to the incident, he said she told a JetBlue staff member, I dont want to make this a thing.

JetBlue said in a statement to CNN that the decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly. If the crew determines that a customer is causing conflict on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight. In this instance, our team worked to reaccommodate the party on the next available flight. A Trump organisation condemned the incident and said it was unfortunate.
Trump said he hoped both countries could 'live up to these thoughts' rather than 'ave to travel an alternative path'.

Washington: Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a letter to US President-elect Donald Trump this month, sought bilateral cooperation and a "new level" of US-Russian relations, according to a copy of the letter released by Trump's team on Friday.

"I hope that ... we will be able  by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner - to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level," Putin wrote in the December 15 letter, according to Trump's transition team.

Trump, in an accompanying statement, said he hoped both countries could "live up to these thoughts" rather than "have to travel an alternative path".
But he raised objections to parts of it, including policies blocking him from closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Honolulu: US President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law an annual defence policy bill, but in a lengthy statement he raised objections to parts of it, including policies blocking him from closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Obama pledged in his 2008 presidential campaign to close the military prison, but his efforts have been blocked by mostly Republican opposition in Congress. The Democratic president has instead reduced the population there by transferring prisoners to other countries.

The administration recently told Congress it would move up to 18 more prisoners of the 59 remaining at Guantanamo before Obama leaves office next month.

"During my administration, we have responsibly transferred over 175 detainees from Guantanamo," Obama said in the statement on Friday. "Our efforts to transfer additional detainees will continue until the last day I am in office."

President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, said during the campaign that he would keep the Guantanamo Bay facility open and vowed to "load it up with some bad dudes."

The $618.7 billion defence spending bill passed by the Republican-controlled Congress this month was a compromise version that dropped controversial language requiring women to register for the draft.

But it kept some Republican-backed initiatives Obama had opposed. The legislation boosts military spending when there has been no similar increase in non-defence funding, and it bars closures of military bases even though top Pentagon officials say they have too much capacity.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said on Friday the legislation would give US troops a pay raise and praised the Guantanamo language.

"This ensures that, right up until his last hour in office, President Obama will not be able to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States," Ryan said in a statement.

Obama's predecessor George W. Bush opened the facility to hold terrorism suspects rounded up overseas following the Sept. 11 attacks. Under Bush, the prison came to symbolize aggressive detention practices that opened the United States to accusations of torture.

Obama has maintained for years that he considers "onerous restrictions" on his ability to transfer prisoners a violation of the US Constitution's separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch. But he gave no indication he would try to override those restrictions.

Reflecting the growing migration of espionage and warfare into cyberspace, Obama also said on Friday that he favors splitting the US Cyber Command, which conducts offensive operations, from the National Security Agency and making it independent, similar to the military's European and Pacific Commands.
Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

Kabul: An Afghan official says gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in the capital, killing at least one person.

Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, says the two gunmen attacked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef's house on Friday, but he was not there.

Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
Five men were acquitted of charges of which three were tried in absentia.

Colombo: A Sri Lankan court on Saturday acquitted five men, including three navy intelligence officers who were charged with assassinating an opposition Tamil legislator whose party immediately raised concerns about judicial integrity.

Nadarajah Raviraj, who represented the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), was shot dead in 2006 along with his bodyguard as they drove out of his home in Colombo, two and a half years before the end of the country's Tamil separatist war.

Raviraj had been a staunch critic of then-president Mahinda Rajapakse's no-holds-barred offensive that crushed Tamil rebels and prompted allegations that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by troops.

The court heard the testimony that a navy intelligence unit, which operated near Rajapakse's official residence, had carried out the assassination.

The Colombo High Court discharged the suspects, three of whom were tried in absentia, in a judgement delivered past midnight on Friday after a month-long trial.

One of those tried in absentia -- a police officer -- has reportedly fled the country and is said to be living in Australia.

"The jury's decision was that the accused cannot be convicted based solely on the fact that they were identified (by) several witnesses in the case," the state-run Daily News said.

TNA spokesman and fellow Member of Parliament M. A. Sumanthiran said the acquittal confirmed their fears that the victim could not expect a fair trail by a jury consisting only of those belonging to the majority Sinhala-speaking community.

"It became an us (majority Sinhalese) versus them (minority Tamils) issue and shows we were right to object to this jury, but our position was rejected by the judge," said Sumanthiran told.

He said the court verdict underscored the need for independent international judicial experts to investigate allegations of war crimes during the 37-year-long Tamil separatist war which ended in May 2009.

He added that the five men were charged with executing the assassination, but those who had ordered it were still at large.

Human rights organisations have accused government forces of killing political opponents and suspected Tamil rebel sympathisers during Rajapakse's rule.

Sri Lanka's new government, which came to power in January last year promising accountability for wartime atrocities and ethnic reconciliation, has so far refused to allow international judges in any war crimes probe.
The Vatican, though, is currently seeking better relations with communist China, which is making the underground wary.

Beijing: Every winter Sunday in the Chinese village of Youtong, hundreds of Catholic faithful brave subzero temperatures to meet in a makeshift, tin-roofed church.

Tucked away in a back alley in a rural area of Hebei, the province with Chinas biggest Catholic community, the gatherings are tolerated  but are illegal in the eyes of the local authorities.

These worshippers are among the millions of underground Catholics in China who reject the leadership of the state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which proclaims itself independent of Rome. The underground Catholics are solely loyal to Pope Francis.

The Vatican, though, is currently seeking better relations with communist China, which is making the underground wary.

Some are not ready to accept reconciliation with a Chinese government that has persecuted them for years. They now represent the biggest challenge to Francis hopes of developing a long-lasting entente with Beijing, according to Catholic Church officials and scholars.

Pei Ronggui, an 81-year-old retired bishop who was recognised by the Vatican, made plain his concern about the CCPA as he prepared to take confessions in a bare room at the makeshift church in Hebei.

Theres no way there can be an independent (Catholic) Church (in China) because that is the opposite of the principles of the Catholic Church, said Mr Pei, who spent four years in a labour camp.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong, is also openly critical of a soft approach by the Vatican to Beijing. A bad agreement  such as one that imposes the underground Church to submit itself to the government  would make these underground people feel betrayed by the Holy See, Mr Zen said.
Zardari said Pakistanis need to ask ourselves whether course correction is needed.

Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari addresses a rally outside the Karachi airport on his return to Pakistan after an 18-month self-imposed exile.

Islamabad: Pakistan will not be a theocratic State, former President Asif Ali Zardari said Saturday.

In a message on the eve of the 140th birth anniversary of father of nation Mohammed Ali Jinnah  to be celebrated on Sunday  he said: A central thought of the Father of the Nation Mohammed Ali Jinnah in creating Pakistan was that it will be a democratic and progressive state and not a theocratic one in which thoughts and actions of individuals are controlled by a few in the name of ideology.

On the eve of our leaders anniversary let us pledge to remain focused on the central principles for which the country was created by its founding fathers, he said.

Constitutionalism, rule of law, equality and equal opportunities to citizens without any prejudice of religion, cast and creed are the guiding principles behind the creation of Pakistan, he said.

There is a need for introspection in the direction the State has taken; whether ideology and religion are being misused to negate the pristine principles of the State and to stifle dissent and free expression, he added.

Mr Zardari said Pakistanis need to ask ourselves whether course correction is needed. He called for a review of administrative and legislative structures that militate against the principle of equality. The nation, he warned, will slip into instability if the founding principles were disregarded.

On this occasion we also reiterate our resolve to fight the enemies within who seek to destroy the state in the name of ideology or religion, he said.

He said the Pakistan Peoples Party reiterates its resolve to defend the founding principles of Pakistan and to fight extremism and militancy to the finish.

We also pay homage to all those in the armed forces, the police, the civilian law enforcing agencies and the people who have made huge sacrifices in the fight against extremists and militants, Mr Zardari said.
Ms Merkel said she had ordered justice and interior ministers at the federal and state level to analyse every aspect of the case.

Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Friday of an enduring terror threat despite the killing of the suspected perpetrator of the Berlin Christmas market attack.

We can be relieved at the end of this week that the acute danger is over, Ms Merkel told reporters, welcoming the news that the Tunisian suspect, Anis Amri, had been shot dead overnight by Italian police.

However, the danger of terrorism in general endures, as it has for several years. We all know that, she said. Amid fierce criticism that authorities let Amri, a rejected asylum seeker with known ties to the jihadist scene, slip through their fingers, Merkel pledged a comprehensive analysis of what went wrong. The Amri case raises questions  questions that are not only tied to this crime but also to the time before, since he came to Germany in July 2015 from Italy, she said.

We will now intensively examine to what extent official procedures need to be changed. Ms Merkel said she had ordered justice and interior ministers at the federal and state level to analyse every aspect of the case and present their conclusions as soon as possible so reforms, where needed, can be speedily implemented.

She said she spoke with the Tunisian President to discuss anti-terror efforts and inform him that Germany would be signficantly accelerating deportation of rejected asylum seekers.
Vladimir Putin criticised the Democrats for blaming him for their defeat.

Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump Saturday said Russian President Vladimir Putins remarks that the Democrats are looking elsewhere for their defeat in the elections were so true.

Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity. So true! Mr Trump tweeted.

At his annual news conference in Moscow Friday, Mr Putin said the Democrats are losing on all fronts and looking elsewhere for things to blame, The Washington Post reported.

In my view, this, how shall I say it, degrades their own dignity. You have to know how to lose with dignity, he said. The Democratic party and the Clinton Campaign have been blaming Russian hacking into their emails and servers for their loss.

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has ordered an investigation into the alleged Russian interference in US presidential elections.

Mr Putin criticised the Democrats for blaming him for their defeat. Outstanding figures in American history from the ranks of the Democratic Party would likely be turning in their graves. Roosevelt certainly would be, Mr Putin said.

Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him... Except for you and me, he added.
The regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the channel, directing its management to file a reply by December 15.

A Pakistan villager stands at the site of plane crash as investigation is in progress in Gug near Havelian, Pakistan, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. (Photo: AP/File)

Lahore: Pakistan's electronic media regulator on Friday ordered that the Channel-24 be shut down for seven days for airing a "false and unverified" audio clip of the crashed PIA plane in which 47 people were killed on December 7.

The decision was taken "for airing false, unverified audio clip" by the news channel claiming that the clip was of the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane which was crashed near Islamabad, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) spokesman Muhammad Tahir said.

The regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the channel, directing its management to file a reply by December 15.

"The channel in reply to show-cause notice and personal hearing could not prove its claim. The authority thus took the decision keeping in view the gravity of the violation, its adverse mental and psychological impact on the family members of those boarded the plane and the general public that was already going through an emotional trauma," Tahir said

The seven-day ban will come into effect from December 27.

Soon after the crash, an audio clip went viral on social media claiming to be the last audio before the plane crashed and was broadcast by Channel 24.

In the audio, people could be heard crying for help. However, it came to light that the clip was an audio of another plane.

The audio was released by Channel 24 during its 9:47 PM transmission on December 7 following which, PEMRA sent a notice to the channel for broadcasting the unverified audio clip.

PIA flight PK-661 smashed into a hillside in the country's north while travelling from the city of Chitral to Islamabad on December 7. The airline said one of the planes' two turboprop engines had failed.
by Nirmala Carvalho

An interfaith group engaged in intercommunal dialogue organised the event. Believers and leaders of various faiths celebrated the births of Muhammad, Jesus, the 10th Sikh guru, the 23rd Jain tirthankara and a Hindu harvest festival.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - In Varanasi, the Hindu holy city, members of the Christian, Islamic, Sikh, Jain and Hindu communities exchanged greetings.

The Kashi Qaumi Ekta Manch or United Forum of Communal harmony of Kashi/Varanasi was behind this exceptional event. This inter-faith group is dedicated to developing a climate of dialogue and reconciliation among the citys various communities.

"For 16 years, Christians have led this program to promote harmony, peace and inter-faith cooperation, said Anand Mathew, the group's founder and coordinator of the Vishwa Jyoti Communications, the information centre of the Indian Missionary Society, speaking to AsiaNews.

Last Wednesday, believers and religious leaders from various denominations met to celebrate the sacred moments of their respective creeds: the birth of Muhammad (12 December), the birth of 23rd Jain tirthankara  Parshvanatha  (23 December), the coming of Jesus Christ (December 25), the birth of the 10th Sikh Guru Govind Singh (5 January), and the Hindu festival of Makar Sankranti harvest (January 15).

Participants chanted Vedic hymns from the Hindu and Jain traditions, as well as Christmas carols.

Fr Anildev, the Acharya of Matri Dham ashram (i.e. abode of the mother, dedicated to the Virgin Mary), pointed out that "Jesus was born in a manger to proclaim God love for humanity and bring peace to people of goodwill. This means that people must be willing to open their hearts to others."

Christmas, he added, "is an opportunity to join Jesus mission to reconcile the whole universe with love".

Anand Prakash Tiwary, a Hindu, said that the Makar Sankranti festival "is an invitation to return to nature, to create a better environment, and reject modernity that leads to destruction in the name of development."

Mohammad Arif Khan, a Muslim, said that the Quran, the holy book for Muhammads followers, "promotes respect for people of different faiths."

Finally, Dr Kamaluddin Sheikh, an intellectual, appealed for "harmonious coexistence" among believers and religions.
For some, the Declaration is a "watershed" that marks the end of the Vaticans silence on Chinese matters and religious freedom. Among the "positive signals" expected from the Chinese government, there is first of all "freedom of conscience" and respect for the free choice of bishops, priests and nuns. Some call for a "boycott" of the Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives.

Rome (AsiaNews)  "It is not too late," says Fr Paul, a priest from south China, in relation to the statement issued by the Vatican Press Office two days ago about the presence of unlawful and excommunicated bishops at two episcopal ordinations (in Chengdu and Xichang) and the upcoming Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives (26-30 December).

This is in fact the first time in years that the Holy See proposes some doctrinal truths and guidelines for Chinese bishops, already laid out by Benedict XVI in his 2007 Letter and now de facto re-proposed by Pope Francis.

In recent years many Catholics felt that the Vaticans desire for dialogue with the People's Republic made it too flexible doctrinally vis-a-vis unlawful bishops, episcopal appointments, and violations of religious freedom. The statement makes many Catholics "happy" because it " clarifies the current chaotic situations.

AsiaNews has asked three priests in the official Church to comment the Holy Sees statement. All hope that thanks to the Declaration, the bishops will have the courage to boycott the future Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives (as "incompatible with Catholic doctrine"), and that the Chinese government will send "positive signals", above all by not limiting the religious freedom of believers and their bishops. Here are the three comments (BC).

1) Father Paul from Southern China

I have just read the Holy Sees Statement on the Ninth Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives and the Chengdu and Xichangs episcopal ordinations. Although such a statement came a bit late, it is not too late!

The Statement is late because the fact that an illegitimate bishop twice participated in a forcibly way in the episcopal ordinations happened, one in Chengdu and the other in Xichang. Prior to the two episcopal ordinations, the Holy See did not sound out any signal demanding a postponement or cancellation of the two episcopal ordinations in case any illegitimate bishop(s) might be present.

After the episcopal ordinations, no statement or position was issued in a timely manner. Of course, this Statement of the Holy See did not help to change the decision of the Chinese authorities, who always act according to its own established procedures. It can be seen that this forced participation of an illegitimate bishop in the episcopal ordinations was a contempt to the Pope and the Vatican.

However, this Statement is extremely important to those Catholics in China who are loyal to the Church and loyal to the Pope.

When I said the Statement is still not too late because the Ninth Assembly of the Chinese Catholic Representatives has not been convened. The Statement, issued at this moment, is clearly in time. By then, we can see the attitudes of the bishops to the Statement, who are actively participating in the Assembly, who ignore the Holy Sees Statement and actively participating in the meeting, who treat the Statement seriously, and who have tried to boycott that Assembly.

It is hoped that the Statement of the Holy See can ease the pains of the Catholics hearts and souls; and that the Statement marks a good start of the Holy See to stand on its principles. At the same time, it clarifies the current chaotic situations. Will the Statement of the Holy See and the Ninth Assembly of the Chinese authorities be a watershed of the situations?

2) Father Peter from North China

The Holy Sees Statement on the Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives and the participation of an illegitimate bishop in the two episcopal ordinations in Sichuan province has made the loyal Catholics in China very happy. The Statement reaffirmed the Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives is incompatible with the Catholic doctrine according to the Churchs principles and position. This Statement has enabled the Catholics in China to trust the Letter of Pope Benedict XVI is not outdated. Pope Francis has confirmed this intention. This helps the Chinese clergy and laypeople to see and witness clearly the direction of the faith and affirm the will of faith.  by Father Peter, Dec. 21, 2016

3) Father Thomas from Central China

Vatican spokesperson Greg Burke has issued a Statement on the episcopal ordinations of Chengdu and Xichang and on the Ninth Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives. It first came through AsiaNews, whose report seemed to be loaded with excessive interpretations, and caught much attention from mainland China.

It is noteworthy that until now the Church has not provided an official Chinese version of the Statement.

According to Father Pauls translation of the Statement (even though his interpretation of the Statement, as shown in his latest article, has embodied a style of extreme narcissism, it is fair to say that his translation is a just and balanced one.) The wording of the Statement sounds soft, clear and forceful, but retains the customary style of the Holy See.

On Chengdu and Xichang episcopal ordinations, the Statement used unease and shares their sorrow. This showed that the participation of an illegitimate bishop was inevitably posing uneasiness to Catholics, who were saddened by the events. This is because the freedom of worship has not been realized in China, and the right to religion has not been fully respected. The Statement indicated that Pope Francis, walking with Catholics, understands it very well, and he feels the sorrow of the Catholics and agonizes with the bitter ones. When his flock is in pain, the Shepherd will place the sheep on his shoulders.

About the upcoming Ninth Assembly, the Statement states it has hope for the future, but it has not taken place yet and there can still be variables. Therefore, the Pope will have to make judgement on it, and has to wait for its "established facts" to come.

While waiting, Pope Francis is "convinced that the Holy Spirit is with the Church, including the Church in China, which is preparing for the Ninth Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives, a structure of conference which is ever incompatible with the Catholic faith. Pope Francis said he is uncomfortable with the Chinese Catholics who are waiting for positive signals. From the Statement, it helps them place their trust in the dialogue between the civil authorities (and the Holy See has promised sincerity) can be affirmed. From here, the positive signals will require the Holy See, which is in dialogue with the Chinese government, to be released by the Chinese Government. For example, to respect individuals consciences, like respecting Chinese Catholics, bishops, priests and nuns can make a free choice, rather than have a lot of reluctances, overworks or escapes.

The last sentence of the Statement reaffirms the attitude of the whole Catholic Church: the Church encourages unity, refuses divisions; Catholics (the Church) in the Chinese community hope and will become an active builder of a harmonious society. This can only be realized under a premise of the Chinese governments respect of the freedom of conscience.
by Christopher Sharma

This year Christians will celebrate Christmas with greater commitment than in previous years, said Fr Ignatius Rai, pastor at Assumption Cathedral. The country's constitution guarantees freedom of worship but the government no longer recognises the birth day of Jesus as a national holiday.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews)  Thousands of Catholics are expected tomorrow at a mass Christmas celebration in Kathmandu.

Since Nepal constitutionally became a secular state eight years ago, Christians have been allowed to celebrate the birth of Jesus, albeit with some restrictions.

For Fr Ignatius Rai, pastor at Kathmandus Assumption Cathedral, "Secularism in the Charter is good for all faiths. This was a victory for all minorities, including Christians, but in practice we want more respect and equality."

This year, he noted, people are preparing to celebrate Christmas "with greater commitment than in previous years and thousands will join the celebrations."

For 240 years (until 2007), Nepal was a Hindu monarchy. Despite changes, Christians still face limitations, noted Fr Gahatrai, general secretary of the Federation of Nepali Christians.

"We understand that our country has been dominated for years by Hindus and that this fact is reflected in many aspects of life, he explained.

We are happy with the court's decision to free eight Christians accused of forced conversions. Still we suffer some discrimination. One example is the governments decision to cancel Christmas as a national holiday. Sometimes we also face restrictions in worship."

Christmas in Nepal is not celebrated only by Christians, but also by members of various religions who recognise him as part of their culture.

Rina Vaidya is a university student in Kathmandu. "I am not a Christian but I have been celebrating this holy day for a number of years. On this day, family and friends meet, sharing feelings of peace and sincerity as taught by Christianity ".

Samjhana Tamang is the mother of two children. "My youngest daughter wanted a Christmas tree decorated with an image of Jesus. Although we are not Christians, we celebrate Christmas every year as part of our culture."

Kanchan Adhikari was born and raised in the Hindu tradition. He lives a few steps from a church in the capital. "Christians have invited me to church for Christmas every year and this year I decided to go with my friends just to give a look".
A Difficult 2016 for Assyrians in the Middle East

The year 2016 was a very difficult year for Assyrians in the Middle East. Assyrians of the Nineveh Plain in Iraq who were made homeless by ISIS in 2014 continued with the struggle of daily survival. Assyrians from Qamishli and Khabour in Syria continued to endure the persecution and discrimination of new dictators on a daily basis. All the while, the so-called Islamic State displaced Assyrians, raped Assyrian women and killed Assyrian men and children. Many were forced to pay ransom just for a chance, or even a hope, of seeing family members again.

But Syria and Iraq are not the only places where Assyrians are being oppressed. In Tur Abdin in Turkey the Assyrians have been targeted by Erdogan, the latest dictator in Turkey. But despite all of this hardship and oppression hope remains. Throughout the Middle East there are fearless Assyrians fighting for a new life with equality, dignity and the chance for realizing their fundamental rights and freedoms. The Assyrian Confederation of Europe will work in 2017 to ensure the voice of the Assyrians in the Middle East reaches the highest levels of the EU. We are asking human rights organizations to work with us to help the Assyrians in the homeland establish their own region to secure their life, culture, history and future. The Assyrians in the West are free to practice and preserve their culture and traditions, which they brought from the homeland. But the Assyrians in the Middle East do not enjoy such freedom and are now living with persecution and fear. Moving forward we must work in a concerted effort to give them that freedom.
Hi I have just came to Perth with my aussie wife.



Just looking for jobs and friends,





See u
Hi there



My company based in NZ has an office in Melbourne also and are interested in transferring me there for a few years



I am an Indian passport holder with Permanent residence visa of NZ



MY job description fits ANZSCO code 263211

I have more then 7 years experience

3 years in India then 2 years in NZ both with same Indian employer

After that further 2 years in NZ with this NZ based employer



My company will sponsor my visa 457 as inter company employee transfer



I wanted to know if I will have to complete my qualification assessment from ACS before I can submit my application

Also will I need to prove my English speaking proficiency with School and college letters that the courses were taught in English or the fact that I am in a high paying job 120k per annum which requires English is sufficient



Thanks for advising
Hi all,



My fiance is a Kosovo citizen. Whereas I'm an Australian citizen.

We're in the process of completing our PMV application. There's a few questions I need help with.



1. On the application under the Sponsor heading, it says "Does this applicant have a national identity card?". I'm a bit confused about this part as all of the details on this page are about me (the sponsor) so I don't understand why it's asking if the applicant has a national identity card. The same question was asked on a previous page. As i'm an Australian citizen we don't national identity cards. I have a drivers licence, birth certificate and passport to show my citizenship.



2. Because my fiance is from Kosovo the closest Australian Embassy is in Serbia. I've read a few forums where peoples applications from Kosovo have had their application processing time way beyond the expected time frame. Both my fiance and I don't mind which embassy we use. Is there any difference in applying from other embassies? Also because my fiance and I speak Bosnian sometimes in our messages. Do we need to get it translated if we're going through Serbia? (The Bosnian and Serbia language is almost the same).



3. My fiance and I have heaps of evidence to show for our relationship. Our main source is Facebook Messenger. We had a major problem with Skype as it only shows us a certain date which is (3 months ago), even though we'd been using Skype for over one year now. I figured it might be because I had to do a factory reset on my phone. So I assumed my Skype history would show on my laptop. Unfortunately it was the same. My fiance had the same problem with his phone has he did not have enough storage with the thousands of photos I sent him from our trip. Therefore he did a reset on his phone. I've contacted the Skype technician and he said there's nothing we can do. Does anyone know a way we can get our Skype history. Skype was our main source of video calling so we literally had hundreds of calls and hours. Also, if I'm using Facebook Messenger to send to the immigration. Do I print screen the message then upload on word then convert to PDF? I'm confused as to how to upload my message history with my fiance.





Thank you in advance.



Kind Regards
Most of us live in countries where religious freedom is respected, and people are allowed to follow their faith, whatever it may be, in the way they feel it is appropriate. People have died to protect this right, and others may try to restrict it just to enforce their preferred religious beliefs.No matter what you feel about religion, you know that it is not fair to limit somebodys choices in this matter , or on topics like abortion, sexual preference, and so on. The only rule here is that ones freedom ends where anothers liberties begin. In other words, those fortunate enough to be born in free countries can do as they wish, as long as they do not disturb others.This story of religious freedom that you must respect involves a man who is an ordained Pagan priest and has received a legal approval to wear goat horns on his head in his drivers license photo. The same element is present in his ID, so this is not just a funny fad to him.The Maine resident, named Phelan Moonsong, stated that he wears his goat horns whenever he is not sleeping or bathing, and that they are his spiritual antennae, which help him educate others about Paganism. If you think he just went to the local DMV and got his drivers license picture taken, you would be wrong, because his request was denied.He had to make an appeal with the Maine Secretary of States office to explain his religious beliefs, and was eventually granted the approval to have his picture taken with the goat horns, The Washington Post informs. An important point that Mr. Moonsong made was that the goat horns he wears do not obstruct his face, which seems to be true because they are fixed with fishing line.We must note that several Pastafarians have obtained equal privileges for their license photos, which involved wearing a colander on their heads to show their allegiance to The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. With that being written, let us know how your Christmas dinner table discussions went. Enjoy your conversation!
EV

The plan could bring more affordable electric cars on the market, and all three brands could benefit from the move. Furthermore, sales of that segment have the potential to rise because of the lower price, which could drop by up to 20%, according to sources quoted by Nikkei The most affordable electric automobile that would be sold under the scheme could be as cheap as $17,000 according to the Japanese newspaper. The first product based on the collaboration could reach the market in a few years. Currently, Nissan and Renault have the largest share of the electric vehicle market, but their rivals from Ford, GM, and Volkswagen have begun ramping up theirofferings.While Renault and Nissan are used to sharing parts to cut costs on all levels, the two brands had gone on separate ways when electric vehicles were concerned. In spite of the separate development, both brands have succeeded in making electric vehicles that are relatively affordable for the average Joe, and they have sold a total of 370,000 units since 2010.As you can observe, 370,000 electric cars sold in six years over two companies is not what a mass-market company would consider a serious volume. However, Nissan and Renault are convinced that the EV market has a shot at greatness, and the early progress made by each brand should lead to benefits in the long run.Mitsubishi, the latest addition to the Renault-Nissan Alliance, will also profit from the scheme, as it will use the platform of the Leaf starting 2018. The said platform might get parts from Renaults electric cars, if those prove to be superior to the original components. Even if Renault and Nissans electric vehicles will not have the same parts, they will benefit from joint purchases, which have surprisingly been overlooked until this point.
We are now looking at what is, according to the son of the owner, "the first Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde [the final part of the designation has been officially dropped] in Texas and the first retail one sold in America,"Yep, this description, which was delivered via Reddit , is overly long, but it's easy to understand that people can get carried away in the presence of the ballistic 503 hp (make that 510 PS) sedan.For the record, the Redditor's father used to own a Hyundai Equus, which, according to the son, was a bit of a lemon. The dad went for an actual purchase (read: not a lease) this time around, one that was apparently done on the fly."My dad's Equus' lease was ending on the 31st so he had to make a quick decision. We just got the first one that came off the boat and didn't care how it was specced. Luckily it was exactly how he wanted it," the Redditor explains.The Ferrari-touched Giulia, along with the Abarth of the young one, can be found in Dallas and yes, you meetup fans, the Quadrifoglio will attend the local Cars and Coffee.As it turns out, Italian car love runs in this family: "He's wanted the car his entire life. His dad had 2 1970s Giulias in Italy. He's insanely excited," the Redditor states, talking about his father's connection to the super-sedan.Then again, who wouldn't be jumping for joy with such a five-seater beast on their driveway? As we discovered in our Giulia Q track test , the range-topping Giulia mixes an extremely playful at-the-limit character with surprising grace under normal driving conditions. On and let's not forget its Nurburgring record...
While regular automobiles were also built during those times, some brands have experimented with things that have not gained traction on the market, but sold them nevertheless. Chrysler fitted gas turbine engines in road cars , and Cadillac had its huge fender ornaments, some companies built amphibious automobiles This article is about the latter category, as we have discovered a stunning example of a 1966 Amphicar 770. It will be for sale at a RM Sothebys auction, and it does not have a reserve price.For those of you that are unacquainted with the terminology, it means that there is no minimum price for this item, which could mean that you have a shot of getting this car for less money that it would usually command.This precise example comes from the Mohrschaldt Family Collection, and its maker was the only company that managed to offer a car that swims that was successful on the market. However, only 3,878 Amphicars were built in its seven-year production run, and most of them were exported to the USA.This car was owned by someone from Anchorage, Alaska, who kept it from 1972 to 2004. Shortly after, it reached another owner, from Florida, who performed a careful restoration using correct parts. The vehicle was even painted in a factory color, Lagoon Blue.It is powered by a Triumph-sourced inline-four cylinder engine, which is mated to a four-speed manual transmission. The said engine can power the wheels, a set of propellers, or both. The latter situation was used when the car was exiting the water, while the other two are self-explanatory.This amphibious car is fully functional, and it comes with original documentation, which includes a maintenance manual, a repair manual, an owners manual, and more. The interior is as good as new, and the odometer only shows 12,200 miles. If you want it, it will be offered in RM Sothebys auction in Arizona, held on 19-20 January 2017.
AWD

The Texan-born actor signed an agreement with Lincoln to be the brands ambassador in 2014 , when the Ford-owned manufacturer introduced the MKC. If I may, the MKC is best viewed as a fancier Ford Escape, not a properly luxurious compact crossover. The latter category includes the Lexus NX.Many ads later, including one in which Matthew holds his hands on the steering wheel like a jock, Matthew McConaughey reprises his role in a commercial for the Continental. Part of the #ThatsContinental campaign, the ad features the 2017 Lincoln Continental Black Label with a lot of extras.The ad per se is brilliant, but theres a problem with the product it promotes. Cutting straight to the chase, a similarly-specced car is more than $80,000 according to Lincolns configurator. Im sorry to say it, but who in his right mind would pay BMW 7 Series money on what is, in essence, a Ford Fusion with a longer wheelbase, more potent engine,, and leather seats?Its worth remembering that a Bentley designer called out the 2017 Lincoln Continental for being too similar to a Flying Spur. I would have called it Flying Spur concept and kept the four round lights, said a masterfully sarcastic Luc Donckerwolke on social media about the most expensive sedan currently produced by the Lincoln brand. Hes made his point, but the real problem of the ill-fated Continental is how it compares to its most direct competitors.As a premium mid-size sedan, the Lincoln Continental (starting from $44,560) has to win over customers that would normally go for the likes of the Audi A6 ($47,600), BMW 5 Series ($50,200), and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan ($52,150). And as I hope youre also aware, the Lincoln badge doesnt offer the same status as the German trio. Not now and not in the forseeable future.
2016 has been a good year for Lincoln as it had good initial numbers in China with triple sales compared to its 2015 sales report. However, big bosses from Ford say that they've only just begun. Stating that they've got 65 branches and are all over China in just over two years, they are pretty confident that Lincoln will average one store opening every couple of weeks.

The brand's president, Kumar Galhotra, said so on Lincoln's press release given on Dec. 16, "We've got 65 stores, and they're all across China, in 25 months. ...more than one opening every other week," as reported by Automotive News.

Lincoln sales in China soared up to 11,000 units back in 2015 and by the first three quarters of the following year, it went up to 21,000. With that said, it is safe to say that their sales are approaching a 300 percent increase.

Lincoln's rival, Cadillac, however, claims that their sales in China had already passed 100,000 by November of 2016. This is a 54 percent increase based on a year-on-year perspective. Mercedes-Benz had a whopping 429,325 within the same period giving them an increase of 28 percent, roughly.

How to Conquer China's Luxury Car Industry

Judging from the previous statements, it seems that Lincoln Motor Company still has a lot of legwork to do considering the monstrous numbers reported by their main rivals, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz. Additionally, the report by Automotive News also stated that Lincoln needs to make its vehicles in China and is in dire need of a boost in its sales network as well.

It was also suggested that they need to set up 500 shops all over China. This in turn would make Lincoln's 65 number of current branches too low when it comes to conquering China's luxury car market.

2017 Lincoln MKZ

Reporting about Lincoln cars, The Californian posted a 2017 Lincoln MKZ review which mentioned that the auto is "comfortable and competent" as a luxury cruiser, making it a perfect commute and touring vehicle. The latest Lincoln model costs around $30,000 to $53,000.
24 December 2016 11:02 (UTC+04:00)

Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijans Financial Markets Supervision Authority has added Russian citizen Rustam Aselderov to the list of persons subject to international sanctions for their support of terrorism, said a report of Financial Monitoring Service posted on its website.

Aselderov is wanted by the authorities of the Russian Federation for terrorism crimes, the Financial Monitoring Service said in its message.

He leads a group of over 160 terrorist fighters, which operates in the Republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, and Ingushetia of Russian Federation, according to the message.

This is the 19th change made to the list in 2016. The list is updated in accordance with the UN Security Council's decisions and the information received from regional organizations.

According to an order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, the list is approved and updated on the recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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24 December 2016 11:12 (UTC+04:00)

The German Embassy in Azerbaijan has opened a book of condolence to commemorate those killed when a lorry ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin earlier this week.

Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev visited the embassy and signed the book of condolence on behalf of the Azerbaijani government.

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24 December 2016 10:03 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and Turkish TUV Austria Turk company have signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish a certification laboratory that will conduct analysis of food and agricultural products.

The new laboratory will issue export certificates to Azerbaijani products in accordance with ISO 17025 standard. This will simplify the export of Azerbaijani agricultural and food products.

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24 December 2016 00:01 (UTC+04:00)

December 24 marks the 55th birthday anniversary of President Ilham Aliyev, a true leader and bright politician of our time.

President Aliyev took huge responsibility on his shoulder in his young ages, but could become one of few young and successful leaders in the world.

Coming to state power in the age of 42, Ilham Aliyev could recommend himself as a talented state leader, pragmatic politician and farsighted economic modeler. Based on the political and economic background of the country created by national leader Heydar Aliyev, he was able to bring the young democratic nation up through revolutionary reforms. His tremendous efforts for the economic growth of the country yielded results even in the first years. High GDP growth rate achieved in the first years of his presidential office continues to this day.

Standing at the helm of the state back in 2003, young and ambitious politician Ilham Aliyev had many far-reaching plans. In a short time, he has managed to ensure a rapid economic breakthrough of the country.

Today, Azerbaijan's economy is the 46th among the world's economies. Poverty and unemployment rate, which was 49 percent, not long ago, has now declined to 6 and 5.2 percent respectively.

It is worth to note that Azerbaijan is making significant economic progress in a time when the countrys 20 percent of lands is still under Armenian occupation.

The reforms carried out in the country over the past years by President Aliyev, diversification of the country's economy, social policy, oil strategy, and proper use of budget revenues, all served to rapid development of the country.

At a time when oil prices slumped down considerably on world markets, resource-rich Azerbaijan is facing quite big challenges to develop its economy. In this regard, President Aliyev makes great effort to bring the country out of financial crisis by taking important actions aimed at the development of non-oil sector of Azerbaijan.

One of the most important areas of reforms envisages promoting businessmen, in particular, producers of agricultural products.

The president has initiated 'Made in Azerbaijan' brand to help the country access world markets to ensure the inflow of currency into the country, which is a prerequisite to save the economy from oil dependence.

Energy policy pursued by President Aliyev paved the way for transforming and diversifying the Azerbaijani economy.

Looking back the path left behind, one can easily conclude that President Aliyev is fully committed to continue the course, pledged in 1994 with the signing of the historic "Contract of the Century". He is the very initiator of new global economic projects able to change the energy map of Europe.

With strict purpose of creating a highly competitive economy Ilham Aliyev strongly supports the initiatives targeting the development of advanced areas, determining the scientific and technical progress. Developing space industry and information technology, as well as creation of modern industrial parks are all together push the process significantly ahead.

Some 7-8 years ago, very few people believed Azerbaijan could launch its own satellite into orbit. But today it is a reality, helping Azerbaijan to enter the global space club.

"The development of information and communication technologies will identify and ensure our future success," stressed Ilham Aliyev, when in 2013 the first Azerbaijani telecommunications satellite "Azerspace-1" was launched into orbit. Today, one of the most important challenges facing the country is the launch and orbiting of the second telecommunications satellite "Azerspace-2".

A "field" for corruption and bribery was significantly narrowed due to the brilliant invention of President Aliyev's team -- "ASAN Service" established in 2012. The innovative Azerbaijani model of public service delivery provides venues for state agencies to render their services in a uniformed and coordinated manner and so far more than 10 million people have benefited its services.

President Aliyev had made great contributions to the largest transit project Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which was successfully commissioned transporting Caspian oil to foreign markets.

Under the pragmatic leadership of President Aliyev, Azerbaijan became an initiator country. The Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic pipeline projects - the world's largest energy projects - are the brainchildren of Ilham Aliyev, able to change the energy map of the region and Europe.

Moreover, thanks to the policy pursued by the head of state, Azerbaijan is becoming an important logistics center. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project is very promising in this context.

Modernizing the economy, reviving the industry and raising the agriculture, the President is not neglecting the issues of development of rich culture, literature and art of the nation.

Ilham Aliyev is a strong President of the strong state leading into the region. As a guarantor of security and stability for the Azerbaijani people, he at the same time relies on their support. Indeed, the strength of the state is directly dependent on the degree of people's trust in their leader.

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24 December 2016 09:24 (UTC+04:00)

According to the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, Defence Ministry leadership visited the military units located on the frontline and watched the enemy positions.

Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov met with military personnel, got acquainted with their combat, moral and psychological readiness, social conditions.

The Defence Minister was informed about the operational situation in the territory, levels of training of military units and the enemy located on the opposite side.

After congratulating the servicemen being on combat duty on the frontline with the 31st December - The World Azerbaijanis Solidarity Day and New Year, on behalf of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Minister presented the medals and prizes to the servicemen for distinguished service.

Also, inspection of the level of combat readiness of the Air Force and Air Defence troops is being continued according to the plan of combat training for 2016, approved by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev.

During the complex training of the troops, the next live-firings of several modernized anti-aircraft rocket systems "S-125" were carried out. As a result of accurate shots, all the targets were destroyed.

The task on detection of the imaginary enemy violated the airspace, sending the information about it to the battle management point and immediate destruction of the targets by making the actual fire strikes has been successfully carried out during the exercise.

The results of the shootings and practical skills of military personnel involved to the exercise conducted under the supervision of Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov were highly appreciated.

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24 December 2016 10:29 (UTC+04:00)

A poetry night with the initiative of the vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva was held at the National Museum of Art in Baku. The event was arranged within the Word literary project.

Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the event.

Supported by the Azerbaijan`s Ministry of the Culture and Tourism, the event brought together ambassadors of foreign countries accredited in Baku.

Leyla Aliyeva presented her poems to the audience.

The event has particular importance in terms of popularization of the country`s culture, recognition of the classic and modern literature in the world, cherish the multicultural traditions.

The participants also viewed the Woman portraits photo project arranged at the National Museum of Art.

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24 December 2016 13:58 (UTC+04:00)

The Russian President Vladimir Putin made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on December 24.

Vladimir Putin congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his birthday, wished him robust health, success in his state activities for Azerbaijans development and well-being of Azerbaijani people, press service of the Azerbaijani president reported.

President Aliyev thanked Vladimir Putin for the congratulations and attention.

The presidents expressed confidence in the further expansion of friendly relations based on strategic partnership between the two countries.

During the conversation, the sides discussed the issues related to further development of bilateral ties.

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev also made a phone call to Ilham Aliyev.

Dmitry Medvedev congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his birthday, wished him success in his high state activities and robust health.

The head of state thanked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for the attention and congratulations.

During the phone conversation, they expressed their confidence that bilateral friendly relations between the two countries will further successfully develop.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev also discussed the current state and prospects of Russia-Azerbaijan economic cooperation.

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24 December 2016 10:15 (UTC+04:00)

The World Banks Board of Executive Directors has approved a $750 million loan for Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project through guarantee of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

The term of the loan is 15 years, director general of Southern Gas Corridor CJSC Afgan Isayev told Azertag in an exclusive interview.

TANAP project, which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will transport natural gas from a gas field in Azerbaijan to and across Turkey, and further to Europe, aiming to diversify Azerbaijans gas export markets and improve the security of the energy supply in Turkey and South Eastern Europe.

Given the importance of the SGC for all countries involved, the project enjoys support of a number of international financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the World Bank Group (WBG).

The Shah Deniz 2 gas field is being developed to produce 16 bcm per year and the revenues that will be generated from gas production and transportation will be very important for Azerbaijan and its citizens.

The project will contribute to achieving the strategic objectives of the Banks partnership with Azerbaijan, in particular, supporting stronger economic competitiveness, by integrating Azerbaijan with regional and European energy markets, strengthening its connectivity and transit role, and increasing its exports.

The construction process of TANAP is currently on track, while the project is completed by almost 55 percent. Some 19 underground passages have so far been built as part of the project.

TANAP shareholders are Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR (58 percent), BOTAS (30 percent) and BP (12 percent).

Azerbaijan became a WB member in 1992. As of September 2016, the Bank allocated loans to the country worth $3.99 billion, while the funds were used to finance more than 70 projects.

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24 December 2016 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

Irans Foreign Ministry published seven resolutions of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its website December 23.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has requested holding the next session of the JCPOA Joint Commission on January 10, 2017.

President Hassan Rouhani on December 13 ordered the Foreign Ministry to pursue the US breach of its obligations in the JCPOA.

The Joint Commission of the JCPOA held several meetings before execution of the nuclear deal and after that.

The JCPOA was reached between Iran and the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in 2015 to curb Irans nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions on the country. It was put into practice in January 2016.

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24 December 2016 10:13 (UTC+04:00)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have expressed satisfaction over the successful liberation of the Syrian city of Aleppo, which has created the conditions for the launch of a peace process, the Kremlin press service said in a statement, Sputnik reported.

Both leaders agreed in phone conversation on Friday that the end of the operation created the conditions for a transition to a political settlement in the war-torn country.

"Satisfaction was expressed from both sides over the successful conclusion of the operation in Aleppo. Thus favorable conditions have been created for the launch of a peace process that stipulates a ceasefire over the entire territory of Syria and a transition to a political settlement," the Friday statement said.

On December 16, the Russian Defense Ministry's center for Syrian reconciliation said that the Syrian army operation to liberate the eastern neighborhoods of the Syrian city of Aleppo was over.

On Thursday, the Syrian army declared victory in Aleppo as the last convoy with militants left the city's east.

Putin and Erdogan also talked on the progress in the investigation of the murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov, who was killed at an art gallery exhibition opening in Ankara ealier this week.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held phone talks today. The Turkish president informed Vladimir Putin about the progress in the investigation of the murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov," the statement said.

The statement noted close cooperation between Russian and Turkish law enforcement bodies and security agencies on the issue.

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Robert Price and The Californian welcome your comments and suggestions. To offer your input by phone, please call 395-7649 and leave your comments in a voice-mail message or send an email to soundoff@bakersfield.com. Please include your name and phone number. Phone numbers and addresses wont be published.
The following hospital and health system rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, starting with the most recent.

1. S&P assigns 'AA-' rating to Hospital Sisters Health System's bonds

S&P Global Ratings assigned an "AA-" long-term rating to Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System's series 2016 bonds.

2. S&P assigns 'AA-' rating to Baptist Health South Florida's notes

S&P Global Ratings assigned an "AA-" long-term rating to Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida's $250 million of series 2017 taxable notes.

3. Moody's affirms University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics Authority's 'Aa3' rating

Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "Aa3" rating on Madison-based University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics' $294 million of rated debt.

4. Moody's assigns 'A3' rating to Houston Healthcare's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A3" rating to Warner Robins, Ga.-based Houston Healthcare's $16 million of series 2016A and $57 million of series 2016B bonds.

5. Moody's affirms Wyoming Medical Center's 'A3' rating

Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A3" rating on Casper-based Wyoming Medical Center's $18 million of debt.

6. Moody's revises MedStar Health's outlook to stable

Moody's Investors Service revised Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health's outlook to stable from positive.

7. S&P lowers Fremont-Rideout Health Group's rating to 'BBB-'

S&P Global Ratings lowered the rating to "BBB-" from "BBB" on Marysville, Calif.-based Fremont-Rideout Health Group's series 2003A, 2011 and 2006A bonds.

8. S&P raises Hardin Memorial Hospital's rating to 'A-'

S&P Global Ratings raised the rating to "A-" from "BBB" on Elizabethtown, Ky.-based Hardin Memorial Hospital's series 2013 bonds.

9. S&P revises Denver Health and Hospital Authority's outlook to negative

S&P Global Ratings revised Denver Health and Hospital Authority's outlook to negative from stable.

10. Moody's affirms Allina Health's 'Aa3' ratings

Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "Aa3" ratings on Minneapolis-based Allina Health's $837 million of outstanding bonds.

11. Moody's revises Butler Health System's outlook to positive

Moody's Investors Service revised Butler (Pa.) Health System's outlook to positive from stable.

12. Moody's assigns 'Baa1' rating to Kimble County Hospital District's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an initial "Baa1" rating to Junction, Texas-based Kimble County Hospital District's series 2016 bonds.

More articles on healthcare finance:

University of Michigan undertakes $200M bond debt in Metro Health affiliation

NC mayor fights to save rural hospital

ACA repeal would impose massive burden on states, Democratic governors warn
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Still The Boss: Bruce Springsteen performs on stage at The Odyssey arena

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform on NBC's 'Today Show' concert series at Rockefeller Plaza September 28, 2007 in New York City.

Bruce Springsteen performs with the Seeger Sessions Band during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival April 30, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Fans queue for Bruce Springsteen and E Street band concert tickets outside Zavvi (formerly Virgin) in Belfast

Tickets for Bruce Springsteen's December 15 gig at the Odyssey sold out in a matter of minutes

The Boss is always right: Bruce Springsteen has been influential for many artists

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play the Odyssey in Belfast on December 15 as part of his tour of Europe and the US to promote the new album, Magic

Bruce Springsteen in concert at the O2 Arena in south London.

Bruce Springsteen's theme song may be "Born In The USA" but he's really an Irishman.

A new book celebrating the rock star's great concerts in Ireland over the past 25 years gives a detailed account of his family history and reveals his roots are in Co Westmeath, rather than his beloved New Jersey.

The book 'Land of Hope and Dreams' traces Springsteen's family tree back to the generation which left famine-ravaged Ireland in the 1850s.

Published to mark the 25th anniversary of his first Irish concert at Slane Castle in 1985, the book shows that Springsteen has very strong Irish connections.

According to the authors Moira Sharkey and Greg Lewis, these links go all the way back to Springsteen's great great grandmother. She was a young woman called Ann Garrity, who grew up in the Mullingar area and emigrated to America to escape the deprivation in Ireland in the immediate aftermath of the famine.

She arrived in the United States in 1852 and settled in the town of Freehold, New Jersey, where her descendants stayed over the next few generations, down to Springsteen's own arrival. The Boss himself was born in Freehold 60 years ago.

Like his father before him, Springsteen grew up in Freehold and went to the local St Rose of Lima School, where he was taught by nuns.

Springsteen was in the school from 1955 to 1963 and then transferred to Freehold High School where he joined his first rock band. He later made Freehold famous in one of his songs.

"This is the first time the full extent of Springsteen's Irish roots has been uncovered," said Derry-born Moira Sharkey.

"Bruce's paternal lineage is made up of generation after generation of Irish men and women."

So although his great great grandmother came from Mullingar, he also has links to other places in Ireland.

"His father's ancestors include the family names Garrity, Farrell, McNicholas, Sullivan, O'Hagan and McCann," Sharkey says.

Springsteen's grandmother on his father's side was an Irish woman called O'Hagan, and her family tree can be traced back to Ann Garrity from Mullingar.

"The Springsteen surname comes from his grandfather Anthony Springsteen who married into the Irish family -- his wife was Martha O'Hagan," Sharkey adds.

The authors suggest that this Irish heritage may help to explain why The Boss is so popular here.

"Springsteen has an incredible connection with Irish audiences, selling out show after show down the years. Perhaps this family history reveals why that connection is so strong," Sharkey says.

The new book, which is published this month, features more than 150 photographs from the 10 Irish tours which The Boss has done.

Published by Magic Rat Books is available from www.springsteeninireland.com and a limited number of bookshops.
Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in hospital in Spain, his manager has said.

The musician, who was 68, was taken into hospital in Marbella on Thursday evening due to complications with a pre-existing shoulder injury.

He reportedly died from an infection at around 1pm on Saturday.

His son, Rick Parfitt Jr, paid tribute to his late father, writing on Twitter: "I cannot describe the sadness I feel right now. To many he was a rockstar, to me he was simply 'Dad', and I loved him hugely. RIP Pappa Parf"

In October, Parfitt said he would no longer be performing with Status Quo after suffering from a heart attack in the summer.

He pulled pulled out the of band's tour after he was taken ill after a show in Turkey on June 14 and the heart attack and associated complications led to doctor's orders to rest for the remainder of the year.

Parfitt had suffered a catalogue of health problems including a quadruple heart bypass in 1997, a throat cancer scare in 2005 and a heart attack in 2011.

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Freddie Edwards, the son of the band's bass player John "Rhino" Edwards stepped in for Parfitt during the band's summer concerts.

Expand Close Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi received OBEs in 2010 PA / Facebook

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As a member of Status Quo, Parfitt found success globally with hits such as Rockin' All Over The World and Whatever You Want.

In 2015, the band passed a milestone enjoyed by only a handful of musicians - spending a total of 500 weeks in the UK album charts.

The band celebrated their 40th UK top 40 album this year after their latest release, Aquostic II - That's A Fact!, went in at number seven in the charts.

Following news of his death, their official website updated to show a full-screen picture of the rocker on stage with his guitar.

In 1985, Status Quo fronted one of the biggest concerts all time when they opened the show for Live Aid at Wembley Stadium, London.

Tearing into a rendition of Rockin' All Over the World, the band sent the thousands of spectators into a frenzy at the historic spectacle, set up to tackle global poverty.

Entertainment's long list of losses in 2016

The world of entertainment has lost stars from all genres of the industry in 2016.

Here is a list of some of the biggest names to die so far this year:

:: Singer David Bowie died aged 69 on January 10.

:: Actor Alan Rickman died aged 69 on January 14.

:: Eagles frontman Glenn Frey died aged 67 on January 18.

:: Broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan died on January 31 aged 77.

:: Author Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, died aged 89 on February 19.

:: Actor Frank Kelly, who played Father Jack in the comedy series Father Ted, died aged 77 on February 28.

:: Coronation Street creator Tony Warren died aged 79 on March 1.

Expand Close Guitar heroes: Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi on stage PA / Facebook

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:: Nancy Reagan, actress and former first lady of the United States, died aged 94 on March 6.

:: Beatles producer Sir George Martin died aged 90 on March 8.

:: Magician Paul Daniels died aged 77 on March 17.

:: Comedian Ronnie Corbett died aged 85 on March 31.

:: This Morning agony aunt Denise Robertson died aged 83 on March 31.

:: Sherlock Holmes actor Douglas Wilmer died aged 96 on March 31.

:: Drugs campaigner Howard Marks, known as Mr Nice, died aged 70 on April 10.

:: Reality TV star and music producer David Gest died aged 62 on April 12.

:: British playwright Sir Arnold Wesker died aged 83 on April 12.

:: Comedian Victoria Wood died aged 62 on April 20.

:: Pop star Prince died aged 57 on April 21.

:: Television writer Carla Lane, known for sitcoms such as The Liver Birds and Bread, died aged 87 on May 31.

:: Boxing champion Muhammad Ali died aged 74 on June 3.

:: Singer Dave Swarbrick of folk band Fairport Convention died aged 75 on June 3.

:: Anton Yelchin, actor in Star Trek, died aged 27 on June 19.

:: Comedian, Royle Family actress and writer Caroline Aherne died aged 52 on July 2.

:: Ken Barrie, the voice of Postman Pat, died aged 83 on July 29.

:: Kenny Baker, who played droid R2D2 in the Star Wars films, died aged 81 on August 13.

:: Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka and other memorable comedy roles, including parts in The Producers and Young Frankenstein, died aged 83 on August 28.

:: Former Israeli president Shimon Peres died aged 93 on September 28.

:: Former Coronation Street actress Jean Alexander, who played Hilda Ogden, died aged 90 on October 14.

:: Raine Spencer, the stepmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, died aged 87 on October 21.

:: London-born fashion designer Richard Nicoll died aged 39 on October 21.

:: Jimmy Perry, screenwriter known for shows including Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum, died aged 93 on October 23.

:: Singer, songwriter and television personality Pete Burns, who founded pop band Dead Or Alive, died aged 57 on October 23.

:: Sir Jimmy Young, who hosted BBC radio programmes for half a century, died aged 95 on November 7.

:: The death at 82 of Canadian singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen, who penned the classic song Hallelujah, was announced on November 11.

:: The Man From Uncle star Robert Vaughn died aged 83 on November 11.

:: Musician Craig Gill, drummer of Madchester band Inspiral Carpets, died aged 44 on November 22.

:: The death of West End star Keo Woolford, 49, who starred in The King And I opposite Elaine Paige, and in the television remake of Hawaii Five-O, was announced on November 30.

:: The death of comic actor Andrew Sachs, 86, best-known for playing Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers, was announced on December 1.

:: Peter Vaughan, who starred in Game Of Thrones and Porridge, died aged 93 on December 6.

:: Greg Lake, King Crimson founder member and one-third of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, died aged 69 on December 8.

:: Restaurant critic AA Gill died aged 62 on December 10.

:: Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt died in Spain at the age of 68 on Christmas Eve.
A child's first Christmas is a landmark event - but Olivia Gilmour will spend her special day in hospital.

At just 16-weeks old, the tiny tot is recovering from heart surgery and will mark the special occasion at Clark Clinic at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.

Little Olivia was born at Antrim Area Hospital on September 2 and diagnosed with a congenital heart defect - double outlet right ventricle.

Just a matter of weeks ago, she was transferred by air ambulance to the Evelina London Children's Hospital where she underwent a four-hour operation on her heart, and she faces further surgery in 2017.

While she has returned to Northern Ireland, she still isn't well enough to celebrate Christmas Day at the family home in Cullybackey, Co Antrim.

Her mum, 34-year-old Diane, explained: "The pregnancy was normal and it was just when she was having her final check before being discharged that they realised there was a problem.

"A junior doctor noticed a murmur and called for the senior consultant to come and look.

"They did a video link with the Royal and we were told what was wrong and that she would need surgery.

"She was transferred up to the Royal the next day. Her first trip out was in an ambulance."

Olivia has already spent the majority of her life in hospital. While she was allowed home, she was rushed back to hospital in November after her condition suddenly worsened.

"Because of her heart condition she has problems with her respiratory rate and we were taking her back to the hospital because of that when she started having a seizure," said dad, 38-year-old Peter.

"It wasn't pleasant, we thought she was going to die. She turned blue. Thankfully the man on reception at the hospital rushed us straight through when we arrived. We're so thankful for him, and she was in resus for two hours."

In December, a decision was taken to transfer Olivia to London for surgery to slow down the blood flow in her heart.

This will allow her to put on weight to enable her to go through the operation she needs to repair her heart.

The journey to England was nerve-racking and Olivia was sedated throughout.

Peter added: "It's terrible that they don't do children's heart surgery in Northern Ireland. It's a stressful enough experience to then have to be away from home where you don't know anyone."

Diane said: "It was so hard handing her over for the surgery and seeing her afterwards wasn't easy either.

"Although it probably wasn't as traumatic as it could have been as we have already seen her in intensive care with all the tubes.

"The operation has been a success so far and her breathing has definitely improved.

"She is a lot more settled and she is even smiling. We are hoping we might be able to get her home for a few hours on Christmas Day, but that really depends.

"She is being tube fed at the moment and we have to be trained in how to do that otherwise she will spend the entire day in hospital.

"Santa will be coming to her in the hospital and we have already had a hamper for her from the Children's Heartbeat Trust.

"They have been so supportive and the staff here have been brilliant too. It's not ideal that she is spending her first Christmas in hospital, but she is definitely doing better and we will make the best out of it."
During his days as a captain in the Royal Artillery

A former soldier has completed an epic 195-mile run from Bath to Belfast in time for Christmas - raising thousands of pounds for wounded veterans in the process.

Adam Conlon, who was a captain in the Royal Artillery, arrived at his parents' home on Wednesday morning after taking the ferry from Liverpool.

"The first five kilometres off the boat were really painful," he said. "I think my body had seen the finish line and decided to shut down a little."

Adam, who now works as an inspirational speaker in Bath, was greeted by his uncle at Belfast City Hall. His uncle then cycled alongside him on to his parents' home in south Belfast.

"There were about 20 people waiting for me outside - including aunts, uncles and cousins who I hadn't been in touch with for ages. It was very emotional," said Adam. "The first thing I did was give a big hug to my fiancee, who flew across on Monday. Then it was straight into my dad's for an Ulster fry to regain all those calories."

It was a tough week for the 36-year-old, who set himself a target of running about 60km a day.

"I think maybe the first day I bit off a little bit more than I could chew - and I was punished for that quite badly on days two and three," he said.

It was the support he received from friends, family and even complete strangers, Adam believes, that helped keep him going.

"There were a lot of dark moments when I was running by myself and in a lot of pain," he said. "But every now and then, emails would come through notifying me that another donation had been made - sometimes from people I didn't even know. It made such a difference."

Along the way, Adam was occasionally joined by members of his family and former Army friends.

"On the second day, I met my sister north of Gloucester; then my brother-in-law joined me near Worcester and cycled alongside me for the rest of the day.

"Then my uncle met me up in Birmingham. They were handing me over like a baton.

"One ex-RAF friend greeted me in the middle of nowhere with a cold beer and a party-bag full of chocolate. I hadn't had a party-bag for about 30 years."

Adam was also joined for a short period by adventurer Sean Conway, who was the first person to cycle, swim and run from Land's End to John O'Groats.

"I also had a really lovely moment when I met two farmers in a pub near Gloucester, where I was trying to get some food. I think there was an accent barrier because I couldn't understand them and I don't think they could understand me," he added.

"But then, just as they were leaving, they both came up to me and shook my hand. Then one of them gave me 10 and said, 'Make sure that goes to your charity'. It restored my faith in humanity."

The Army veteran had raised more than 3,000.

All the money will go to Walking with the Wounded's annual Christmas campaign, Walking Home for Christmas, which helps wounded servicemen and women.

You can donate by following the link on Adam's website www.adamconlon.co.uk.
A Twitter storm has erupted between unionist MLAs - with former soldier Doug Beattie delivering a stinging rebuke to a DUP man who accused him of "running scared" at Stormont this week.

Military Cross recipient Beattie had asked "good DUP MLAs to have quiet word with Arlene Foster" and tell her to step aside during an investigation into the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scandal.

The DUP's Phillip Logan took umbrage, tweeting: "Who's he?

"Why doesn't he ask Mike (Nesbitt) to stand down, he lead (sic) the UUP into the worst election in their history.

"Arlene is the leader of unionism."

As the row raged, others criticised the relatively unknown Logan for not knowing who the war hero was.

Mr Logan also accused Mr Beattie of "running scared".

He said Mr Beattie was "the same man who ran out of the chamber on Monday, scared of hearing the truth".

"More interested in TV cameras & headlines."

The Ulster Unionist MLA's reply hit home: "Phillip... I was filling body bags when you were filling your nappy.

"Happy to talk about what being scared is."

However, Mr Beattie played down the online debate, saying it was merely a "bit of twitter jousting".

After receiving a few comments about how harsh he was being, Mr Logan replied: "He's a politician, who attacked my party. I will not fear attacking back."

Mr Beattie told the Belfast Telegraph: "There is no spat between us.

"He was commenting on a piece I had in the paper urging the good DUP MLAs to quietly have a word with Mrs Foster to convince her to stand aside while the RHI situation is investigated.

"I didn't want to get involved with the online debate but, when Mr Logan accused me of running scared, I wanted to put it in perspective of what being scared really meant. I made it clear that me filling body bags was not down to any action I had taken as well.

"The bottom line is that I know only too well about being scared and I wanted people to understand my background, to put some perspective on it all.

"It's all just been twitter jousting, but that comment soon put an end to the conversation, though."

In a later tweet Mr Beattie added some words from one of his books.

His tweet read: "For those in the DUP who accuse me of being scared... I can let them know what fear is."

Mr Logan suggested that "you talk away, we will get on with the job".

Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson joined in the row, tweeting in response: "And what a job you are doing #SIF #CharterNI #RHI #NAMA." All references to some of the big controversies which have engulfed the DUP in recent times.

Mr Beattie's tweets referred to a section from his book An Ordinary Soldier, which reads: "Fear. You won't hear soldiers talk about it. Fear is a taboo subject, a word suggesting weakness or worse, what they once would have called a lack of moral fibre."

Efforts to contact Mr Logan were unsuccessful yesterday.

However, he did tweet: "Been out tonight for my wife's Birthday.

"Came home to discover a timeline full of anti-DUP trolls - haven't heard much from them since May."
A former soldier who faces prosecution for allegedly murdering an Official IRA commander has said he is being treated "like a terrorist".

The 67-year-old man, known only as Soldier A, told The Sun he felt "betrayed" after being told he would be prosecuted over the death of Joe McCann.

McCann, who was one of the Official IRA's most prominent activists in the early days of the Troubles, was shot dead in disputed circumstances in Belfast in April 1972 aged 24.

The veteran of civil rights protests was killed by an Army patrol in Joy Street in the Markets area of Belfast city centre.

A third member of the unit that fired at Mr McCann died in the intervening years, the Public Prosecution Service said.

Soldier A is to be prosecuted for the alleged murder along with a 65-year-old man known as Soldier C.

Both are surviving members of the Parachute Regiment patrol that fired on Mr McCann, prosecutors said.

Soldier A told The Sun: "I'm being treated like a terrorist. It's disgusting and the Government's doing nothing about this political witch-hunt. I feel betrayed.

"To be told you will be charged with murder 44 years after the incident is a shock to the system.

"Until last week I was looking forward to retiring and taking a few holidays abroad. But life's on hold now.

"A letter at the time said no action would be taken. Now I've been treated with contempt by the Northern Ireland prosecution system."

The two accused are likely to appear in court next year.

Last week, a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service said: "Following a careful consideration of all the available evidence it has been decided to prosecute two men for the offence of murder.

"The decision was reached following an objective and impartial application of the test for prosecution that was conducted in accordance with the code for prosecutors and with the benefit of advice from senior counsel."
The head of the Prison Officers Association (POA), Finlay Spratt, is to step down as chairman after losing the support of members.

This week members of the POA voted to replace the veteran negotiator, who has been in charge of it for 31 years.

In that time, Mr Spratt (70) became the key public spokesman for the staff in Northern Ireland's troubled prison system.

Taking over as chairman from January 1 will be Maghaberry-based Adrian Smith.

The decision to replace Mr Spratt comes after Prison Service staff recently voted in favour of industrial action - up to and including striking, which wardens are legally forbidden from doing.

"Of course I'm sad to leave, but that's the members' decision," Mr Spratt said. "The membership wish for someone else to take it forward.

"What advice can I give Adrian Smith? All he can do is his best for the members he represents, that's all I can say."

Last night, POA General Secretary Steve Gillan paid tribute to Mr Spratt's contribution to the association's work over the past three decades - a period which included some of the darkest days of The Troubles.

He added: "I'm sure Adrian will cope admirably with the challenges and, obviously, the membership have confidence in him."

Last month, 190 prison officers at Maghaberry and Magilligan started work late in a protest over pay.
Screen grabbed image taken from video issued by 10 Downing Street of Prime Minister Theresa May speaking in her Christmas message during which she called on British people to "come together" after a year of divisions over the Brexit referendum. PA

Theresa May has used her first Christmas message as Prime Minister to call on British people to "come together" after a year of divisions over the Brexit referendum.

Mrs May said it is important to "unite our country" as Britain seeks a "bold" new role on the world stage outside the European Union.

Her words may be seen as an attempt to address the splits between supporters and opponents of EU membership exposed by the June 23 vote, won by Leave by a 52%-48% margin.

At a time when families are coming together for the festive break, Mrs May said: "Coming together is also important for us as a country. As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future.

"And, with our international partners, we must work together to promote trade, increase prosperity and face the challenges to peace and security around the world."

Mrs May stressed that 2016 has seen much for Britain celebrate, including the Queen's 90th birthday and successes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In a separate video message to the armed forces, she promised to do more to help servicemen and women and their families in 2017, to show them that "this Government is on your side".

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Describing Britain's troops as "the finest in the world", the Prime Minister said: "Over this holiday period, there will be around 5,000 members of our armed forces deployed on operations - in the desert, at sea, even under the sea operating our continuous nuclear deterrent. While even those who are able to be here in the UK will, in many cases, be on standby to deal with domestic incidents like the flood relief that so many of you helped with during your Christmas breaks last year.

"Just as your commitment to our country is unfaltering, so in return we owe you the same deep commitment and unflinching support. So as I made clear when I met some of your families on Salisbury Plain earlier this year, we will honour the commitments we have made to you, including helping you to buy your own home and providing support for your children in school.

"And, as we go into 2017, I know there is more we can do to help and I am determined that we should do so. Because I want you - and all your families - to know that this Government is on your side."

In her message to the nation, Mrs May said that, as the daughter of a vicar, she was aware of the demands placed on those who have to work over Christmas. She offered her gratitude to health and care workers, emergency services and members of the armed forces who will be separated by duty from their families and friends during the festivities.

Noting the persecution faced by Christians in other parts of the world at Christmas, she voiced her determination "to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practise their beliefs in peace and safety".

She concluded: "Wherever you are this Christmas, I wish you joy and peace in this season of celebration, along with health and happiness in the year ahead."
Homeless man Quentin Sheridan stands outside Apollo House, a vacant office block in Dublin city centre which has been occupied by the Homeless activist group 'Home Sweet Home'. PA

File photo dated 17/12/16 of Apollo House in Dublin, as campaigners who occupied the empty office block to shelter homeless people have said it could house about 60 people in the next 48 hours. PA

File photo dated 17/12/16 of people standing behind the gates of Apollo House, as homeless campaigners who have occupied the empty office block in Dublin to shelter rough sleepers have appealed for medical supplies. PA

The receivers of Apollo House, Mazars, visited the building yesterday for the first time.

The Peter McVerry Trust also visited the residents on behalf of Dublin City Council to give them a one-to-one assessment.

Brendan Ogle, co-founder of the Home Sweet Home group, which campaigns to tackle homelessness, said "there were great developments" after the visit of Mazars.

Home Sweet Home had been occupying the building, and wants vacant properties to be used as emergency accommodation for the homeless.

"The receivers and their whole team looked at the building in terms of insurance, in terms of fire and in terms of their expectations in relation to their property rights," Mr Ogle said.

"I don't want to put words into their mouths, but we are very happy with how that meeting went. We think they are pleasantly surprised from what they've seen."

Mr Ogle said they haven't thought past Christmas and therefore do not know what will happen with the January 11 eviction date ordered by the court on Wednesday.

"The receivers are working with the various parties involved to ensure an orderly resolution as envisaged by the court," a spokesperson for Mazars said.

Meanwhile, Peter McVerry said there were not enough beds at the Merchant's Quay facility for the homeless.

"Suitable accommodation is not a bed rolled out on a floor surrounded by 20 other people," volunteer Justin Casey, who has worked in Apollo House every night since its opening, said.

"We feel that Apollo House is totally unsuitable for residential accommodation," Dublin City Council deputy chief executive Brendan Kenny said.

Speaking on RTE Radio One yesterday, Mr Kenny said: "We don't agree they [the residents] feel safe there.

"We'd like to talk to them on an individual basis and we'd like to show them the quality accommodation that has been provided only in the last few weeks in Dublin city."

A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said: "There are sufficient bed places to address the needs of rough sleepers."
Carl Paladino, the co-chairman of Mr Trumps New York campaign, defended his comments (File photo: AP)

A New York developer and leading supporter of Donald Trump, is at the centre of outcry after he said he hoped Barack Obama died of mad cow disease that the First Lady moved to Africa and lived in a cave with gorillas.

Carl Paladino, the co-chairman of Mr Trumps New York campaign, defended his comments that appeared in a free weekly newspaper published in Buffalo. Artvoice asked several leading figures from the city for their hopes for 2017.

Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Hereford (cow). He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarrett, said Mr Paladino, who failed in an attempt to become New York governor.

My official statement calling for Carl Paldino to resign from the Buffalo School Board:https://t.co/x1R97rsrAI pic.twitter.com/JDWEpjkKaQ  Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) December 23, 2016

He added that he would like to see Ms Obama return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

There was rapid and widespread criticism of the comments.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the remarks were incredulous.

If they were made by him there can be no room in our civil discourse for such hate and anger, he said.

Carl Paladino made racist, ugly, reprehensible remarks about the President & First Lady. My wish this season is for unity.

Full statement pic.twitter.com/ZHgsrHmHbp  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 23, 2016

This is not the first time Mr Paladino has been at the centre of controversy. During his 2010 run for governor, which he lost to current Governor .Andrew Cuomo, emails that he had forwarded presenting Ms Obama as a prostitute, were leaked. On Friday, Mr Cuomo was among those to accuse Mr Paladino of racism.

Dr. Barbara Nevergold held a press following remarks Carl Paladino made about President Obama and the First Lady in Artvoice. pic.twitter.com/H4axqHL9ec  John Hickey (@jhickeyBN) December 23, 2016

Earlier this year, Mr Paladino said that Mr Trump supporters were people frustrated with government and who want the raccoons out of the basement. He defended that comment amidst claims it was racist.

M Paladino, a Buffalo developer who is chairman of the Ellicott Development Co, has reportedly been among those visitors to Trump Tower in New York, apparently in search of a position with the incoming administration.

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The Times Union newspaper said that on Friday afternoon, Mr Paladino defended his comments in a lengthy statement.

Michelle hated America before her husband won. She then enjoyed all the attention, the multi -million dollar vacations, the huge staff and other benefits, he said.

Then when Hillary lost, she and Barack realised that without Hillary, there was no one to protect the little, if any, legacy he had. Thats when Michelle came out and said there is no hope for America. Good, let her leave and go someplace she will be happy.
Israel has taken diplomatic action against the countries that co-sponsored a controversial UN resolution condemning settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The 15-member Security Council voted 14 - 0 on the proposed measure on Friday, with US ambassador Samantha Power raising her hand as the lone abstention - a symbolic break with US policy in the past, which has been to veto similar resolutions.

The resolution was put forward by New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela, taking place just a day after Egypt withdrew following significant pressure from both Israel and President-elect Donald Trump.

It was met by applause in the chamber, but furious reaction from Israel. An official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry had effectively "abandoned" the country by allowing the resolution to pass.

The new resolution demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, pointing out that the international community views any Israeli construction over the agreed 1967 Green Line as illegal.

While it will not have any practical impact, the resolution is a significant step in reconfirming the UNs hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Friday.

Settlement building - which has accelerated year on year under current right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - is viewed as one of the major stumbling blocks to a lasting peace deal.

Israels envoy to the UN, Danny Damon, called the vote was shameful and a victory for terror". Israel has said it will not abide by the measures set out in the document.

In Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu immediately recalled Israels ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, who were ordered to return for consultations. All current aid to Senegal was to be suspended, the Prime Ministers office said, and an upcoming visit from Senegals Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye cancelled.

Israel does not have diplomatic relations with either Malaysia or Venezuela.

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Whatsapp Mr Obama's administration has frequently been at odds with the Israelis over the course of his presidency (AP)

Defending New Zealands vote on Saturday, the countrys Foreign Minister Murray McCully said: We have been very open about our view that the [UN Security Council] should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question.

The vote should not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue.

New Zealand is one of the current 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council. It is almost at the end of its two-year tenure.

President Obama had previously vetoed a resolution presented by the Palestinians against settlements in 2011. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
Two hijackers who diverted a Libyan passenger plane to Malta claiming to have a grenade, have surrendered peacefully following hours of tense negotiations.

There were 118 people, including seven crew members, on board the hijacked Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320, which was on an internal flight from Sabha in south east Libya to the capital city of Tripoli.

The hijackers, who declared loyalty to Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi, were carrying a pistol along with a hand grenade and second pistol found during initial investigations, said the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Mr Muscat effectively broke the news yesterday morning by tweeting: "Informed of potential hijack situation of a Libya internal flight diverted to Malta. Security and emergency operations standing by."

All flights to Malta International Airport were immediately cancelled or diverted and emergency teams including security officers and negotiators were sent to the airport tarmac.

The passengers - 82 men, 28 women and one child - were allowed to leave the plane before the hijackers walked out themselves with the last of the crew.

"Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken in custody," wrote Mr Muscat at 3.44pm local time, two hours after the plane's doors opened and a staircase was moved over to let freed passengers begin disembarking in groups.

After passengers had left the plane, a man appeared at the top of the steps with a plain green flag resembling that of Gaddafi's now-defunct state. The green flag was adopted in 1977 by Libya when Gaddafi became the country's dictator through a coup d'etat, until his death in 2011.

Libya's Channel TV station said one hijacker, who gave his name as Moussa Shaha, had said by phone he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jadid, or The New Al-Fateh. Al-Fateh is the name that Gaddafi gave to September, the month he staged a coup in 1969, and the word came to signify his coming to power.

In a tweet, the TV station later quoted the hijacker as saying: "We took this measure to declare and promote our new party."

Libya, a sprawling oil-rich North African country, has been split between rival parliaments and governments, each backed by a loose array of militias and tribes, since Gaddafi's death.

Western nations view the newly-formed UN-brokered government as the best hope for uniting the country, but Libya's parliament, which meets in the country's far east, has refused to accept it. Amid chaos, the Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates have gained a foothold over the past years. Earlier this month, militias answering to the UN-brokered government seized the Islamic State group's last stronghold in the Libyan city of Sirte.

Airport security in Libya can be poor and is not always under state control, according to BBC journalist Rana Jawad. She also said one of the hijackers had been named as Musa Shah and he was possibly seeking political asylum.
The Christmas bells are muffled today as a Second World War hero, who passed away aged 97, is mourned. He was former RAF squadron leader Tom Long, who flew 87 operations in Wellingtons and Mosquitoes in raids on enemy territory, including 25 missions over Berlin at the height of the war.

And at Toms funeral service in Fortwilliam Presbyterian Church in Belfast, before he was laid to rest in Carnmoney Cemetery, his son, Ian, read his fathers favourite poem  an Irish Airman Foresees His Death by WB Yeats.

Its opening lines are: I know that I shall meet my fate/Somewhere among the clouds above.

But Tom Long ended his war safely, against all the odds, far away from the dark clouds in which he might have perished, the Rev Tom McMullan reminded mourners.

This much-loved hero was one of 126 young men who joined up in the RAF Volunteer Reserve when war broke out in 1939. Only one of the 126 now survives.
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Many of us heard about the National Prayer Breakfast that is held yearly in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. Thousands of people comprising of ministers and presidents attend the meeting since it was first launched 1935 by Norwegian-born Methodist minister Abraham Vereide in Seattle, WA. Initially, the breakfast originated to bring preachers and businessmen together so they could brainstorm on how to fight poverty and pray before work. The initiative descended on Washington D.C. at the Senate in 1942 where leaders often inquired God for guidance. This started a pathway for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who attended in 1953, to savor the event beyond the hearty menu of grits and sausage at the breakfast. It was an exchange of ideas and a way to seek God for guidance. There is power in prayer and in joining with people of faith who have the same intentions. Prayer might even be a necessity. "Even our supplications are imperfect. Of course, they are. We are imperfect human beings," Eisenhower observed. "But if we can back off from those problems and make the effort, then there is something that ties us all together."

We have tremendous freedoms in our country to worship and to pray in public or in our homes. Some Christians have come under fire for praying in public over the years. Others mostly, tend to be hesitant to pray in public due to cultural pressures. Nevertheless, corporate prayer is something that is underutilized and goes beyond the scope of just the individual. When we are gathered together there is power in our chorus being lifted towards heaven. We also experience God's glory being manifested. So, why start a prayer breakfast? A lot of people like to begin their day with prayer. Before work or school, people can meet to eat and seek petition with the Lord. Additionally, morning prayer is the best way to command the day and to grow closer to Him. Jesus knew this all too well. He prayed in the morning because it was a good way to sidestep the distractions that come when people are struggling to get things done later in the day. Here are more reasons that you should begin your own prayer breakfast.

You become more connected to God.

Prayer is not just for the church where we passively sit back and watch the world go by. Corporate prayer can be done anywhere. By hosting a breakfast at your home or at a restaurant you are putting your faith into action. Prayer is about connecting with God as it is a line to the Father for us to express ourselves. Look at it as a journey with God. When we meet with other like-minded people we can focus on God and seek Him for answers to complex problems that are going on. We can also ponder on what God is doing in our hearts at the time as we humbly seek him with our petitions.

You learn more about your community.

If you want to become more involved in the world and in your community, launch a breakfast in town and invite local officials and leaders. This will give them a platform to talk about their concerns in the area. Taking charge like this is better than lamenting that nothing gets done in the community. Once you have an idea of the needs and challenges, you can then collectively create a goal list and a prayer list to tackle.

"While you are investing in God's work, you are enlisting others to advance God's work on earth."

You will experience growth.

Once you become more involved in the process and unifying with other people, you will see growth in your spiritual life and personal life. " A man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history," author Andrew Murray wrote. While you are investing in God's work, you are enlisting others to advance God's work on earth. God is also exposing you to servanthood, sacrifice, truth, honor and selflessness. This is what it is all about, isn't it?

You will find strength in numbers.

If you want to experience power start praying with others before the day begins. In Mathew 18-20, Jesus talks about the strength when more than one prays in unison. "For where 2 or 3 gather together in My name, there am I with them. Standing on Gods promises together when you meet is encouraging and will enable the group to stand together when there are challenging moments within the community and within the country. If we can tap into this source more, just think of the changes we can make.

You will be more prepared for spiritual battles.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," the Bible shared in Ephesians 6:17. When we use the power of prayer, the power of solidarity and wielding God's Word we are pulling down strongholds. We can can't see everything that is going on in the spiritual world and there is a reason. As humans, we could not handle it. However, when you launch these attacks on the enemy through meeting together and praying--you are creating an environment for the Holy Spirit to move. When you gather people to pray together, you are declaring war on evil as well. People who stand in the gap for a town or a country, the battle can be tough--but victory is assured in Christ. Encountering this will make you better equipped when an attack is launched against you by the enemy.

In reality, you can have prayer anywhere. But there is something powerful and meaningful when you call on others to pray, share and uplift each other at the start of the day. Vereide started a movement that was set in motion to help our nation's leaders find spiritual support and guidance in making wise decisions in their government positions. We have the same responsibility towards our own communities outside of Washington, D.C.

Corine Gatti-Santillo is a freelance digital journalist, editor, and content producer. She is also the The Christian Post Voices Editor. She is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com.
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Bangladesh police officers stand at alert while bystanders gather at the scene near a suspected militant hideout in Dhaka, Dec. 24, 2016.

A woman and a teenage boy blew themselves up as police raided a suspected militant hideout in Dhaka in what appears to be the first successful female suicide attack in Bangladesh, officials said at the scene on Saturday.

Four people, two women and two children surrendered to police while a third child was injured at a three-story building in Dhakas Ashkona neighborhood.

One female militant died as she detonated her suicidal vest and a child was seriously injured in the blast, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters at the police operation scene in Ashkona near the Shahjalal International Airport.

He said the injured girl who was being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, was the daughter of a militant identified as Iqbal.

Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of police at the counter-terrorism and organized crimes unit, said he led a raid of the house after police received a tip off that some militants were hiding there. He said the police encircled the house early Saturday.

At around 9.30 a.m. two women accompanied by two girls surrendered to the police, Hossain said.

He said they were slain JMB commander Maj. Zahidul Islams widow Jebunnahar Sheela and her daughter, and militant leader Musas wife Trisha and her daughter. They were being interrogated by police on Saturday.

We repeatedly asked the rest of the militants to surrender. At around 12:30 p.m., a veiled woman militant holding the hand of a girl came out of the building. Holding the girl up, she detonated the suicidal vest. She died immediately and injured the girl, Hossain said.

Our main target was Musa, who had rented the flat. He somehow managed to flee the scene, Kamal said, according to media reports.

Neo-JMB, a faction of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh that subscribes to Islamic State (IS) ideology, has been blamed for the terrorist attack that left 29 dead, including 20 hostages, at the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka in July.

Standoff lasts hours

Police, who had cordoned off the building early Saturday, ended the operation about 3:45 p.m.

There are still a lot of grenades and explosives as well as live bombs inside. The bomb disposal unit is taking care of those, Kamal told reporters.

Officers were acting on a tip that Neo-JMB members were hiding in the building. The boy blew himself up after firing on police who had appealed to him to surrender.

He also died to avoid arrest. Some on duty police were also injured, Kamal told BenarNews.

Inspector General of Police A.K.M. Shahidul Haque identified the teen as Afif Quadri, son of militant Tanvir Quadri who was slain in a police raid in Aziumpur neighborhood in Dhaka.

Bangladeshi authorities have been cracking down on Neo-JMB members since the July cafe attack. In October, authorities reported that 12 suspected militants were killed in four separate raids in one day by counter-terrorist police and Rapid Action Battalion units. Officials said those killed in the raids included the leader of Neo-JMBs military wing and a top financier.
Muslim protesters pass a Santa sled decoration during a demonstration in front of a mall in Surabaya, East Java, Dec. 18, 2016.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the nations top Muslim cleric group, issued a fatwa recently prohibiting companies from forcing employees to dress as Santa Claus or wear Christmas-related clothing.

MUI claims that the fatwa respects Indonesias diversity, while human rights activists challenged the council, stating it failed to anticipate the fatwas destructive effects.

Meanwhile, Islamic groups last week protested in shopping areas in Surabaya, East Java, and Solo, Central Java, urging Muslims to not deliver Christmas wishes nor wear clothing and accessories tied to Christmas and New Year.

Activists and political analysts said the MUI fatwa was done out of political interest.

Freedom Institute research associate Luthfi Assyaukanie has voiced concerns over MUI fatwas in the past few years.

Before the reformation era (beginning in 1998), MUI issued few fatwas. The only controversial one regarding pluralism was the ban on Muslims from delivering Christmas wishes to Christians, issued by Buya Hamka in 1981, Luthfi told BenarNews.

Controversy

Now almost every year, MUI issued controversial fatwas because there is no authority that has the right to control it anymore, he said.

Hendardi, chairman of the human rights organization SETARA Institute, said the fatwas failed to represent Islamic efforts in supporting tolerance.

MUI is focusing more on strengthening its political influence, including the fatwa which labels some groups as deviant and forces the government to recognize the fatwa, Hendardi said in a statement.

Radical groups represented

Luthfi said MUI was established during Suhartos reign as president from 1967 to 1998 to control Islamic groups potentially opposing the government.

MUI was practically able to be controlled by the ruling government. But during reformation, the structure of the organization has shifted, Luthfi said, referring to the post-Suharto years.

Previously, MUI leaders were appointed by the government. Now, MUI members must represent every existing Islamic organization in Indonesia.

Then trouble comes. Since every Islamic group must have representatives on MUI, radical groups can appoint theirs, said an activist for the Liberal Islam Network. That has changed the face of MUI.

Unauthorized sweeping

At least seven people were detained for allegedly conducting an unauthorized sweep at Social Kitchen, a bar in Solo, Central Java, on Dec. 18. Sweeps refers to Muslim groups acting as moral police by raiding venues that they determine do not meet their standards.

We have arrested two more suspects last night, so we have a total of seven suspects detained, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said Thursday during an inauguration ceremony that marked the beginning of Operasi Lilin, an operation to guard against security threats during Christmas and New Year holidays.

Indonesian authorities are deploying 150,000 police and other security personnel as part of this years operation.

I command the Central Java Police Chief to continue the investigation, because the report said there were at least 50 people who raided the bar and conducted violence. I want them to be arrested as a deterrent, he said.

MUI denounced the sweeps and in an official statement on Dec. 20, MUI Charman Maruf Amin said the fatwa was misunderstood by some people.

The fatwa was issued to respect the spirit of pluralism and religious tolerance in Indonesia. The meaning of pluralism is to raise the awareness toward difference, including in observing ones belief/religion, Maruf said.

Another key point in pluralism, he added, is to respect others.

Every coercion is against the human rights and the nations constitution, Maruf said in his statement.

Marsudi Syuhud, secretary general of Nahdlatul Ulama, one of the largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia, said MUI had the right to issue fatwas, but he regreted that groups have used them to conduct unauthorized sweeps.

Kyai Maruf Amin has urged the people to not conduct such sweeping, because in Islam such coercion is not allowed. I would say no more sweeping, he said.

Nurturing tolerance must come from both sides. We need to respect each other and fully understand that coercion in the matters of belief is restricted. Any employee who does not wish to wear non-muslim accessories should be respected.
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Odisha Engineering Entrance Examination, (OJEE-2022)

Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) 2022 : On the basis of JEE Main 2022 Category : Engineering Admissions 2022 Published : On February 2, 2022 By Webindia123 Editor

JEE Main 2022 - Important Dates

Commencement of Online application submission Last Date for Online application form submission April 5, 2022 Date of Availability of Admit Card for JEE (Main) on Website Date of JEE (Main) JEE (Main) - 2022 (Session 1) 21, 24, 25, 29 April, and 1, 4 May 2022

Applications are invited for Joint Entrance Examination, Odisha (OJEE-2022) for admission to :

First year degree course in

Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture/

This is to bring attention to all students aspiring to pursue Engineering study that there are nearly 50000 seats available in Government and Private technical institutions in Odisha.

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) MAIN will be conducted by the NTA from 2022 onwards. This Examination was being conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) till 2022.

JEE Main is applicable for admission to NITs, IIITs and CFTIs participating though Central Seat Allocation Board subject to the condition that the candidate should have secured at least 75% marks in the 12th class examination, or be in the top 20 percentile in the 12th class examination conducted by the respective Boards. For SC/ST candidates the qualifying marks would be 65% in the 12th class examination.

Candidates aspiring to take admission in 1st Year B TECH/ B ARCH courses in Government and Private Engineering/ Architecture colleges in the state of Odisha are required to appear JEE (MAIN)- 2022 entrance test conducted by NTA.

For the details of JEE (MAIN) 2022 click here

Seat allotment during web based counselling will as per the merit list prepared by JEE (MAIN). All candidates of Odisha who will appear JEE (MAIN) entrance test will be given a rank and they will be eligible for seat allotment.

There is no age limit and no limitation on number of attempts for appearing this examination for Odisha candidates.

For registration and other information please visit website www.jeemain.nic.in

Further details can be obtained from the institute website.

Contact Details Address : Chairman,

Odisha Joint Entrance Examination-2017

JEE Cell, Gandamunda, Khandagiri,

DIST - Khordha. Bhubaneswar - 751030 Phone : 0674- 6552455, 6552456, 6552457, 6552458 Fax : 0674-2352457 Mobile : - E-mail : Contact I Website : www.odishajee.com

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Prabhakar Sharan from Motihari, a sleepy small town in Bihar, in a way personifies Bollywood's westward march.



Settled in Costa Rica -- a small Central American nation with less than five million people -- since 1997, he is the lively hero of "Enredados: La confusion" (Entangled: The confusion), the first Indian to act as hero in a Latin American movie. This is also the first Latin American film made with the typical Bollywood song-and-dance recipe.



Nancy Dobles, a popular Costa Rican TV hostess, is the film's heroine. Famous local actors Mario Chacon and Jose Castro also appear in the film. The cast includes a world wrestling champion and Hollywood actor Scott Steiner. Panamanians, Colombians and Argentines have also collaborated in the project.The director is Ashish Mohan, who has helmed blockbusters like Akshay Kumar-starrer "Khiladi 786" (2012). The dance, music and action sequences have been choreographed by Bollywood experts. Teresa Rodrigues of Costa Rica has produced the film, which has been shot entirely in that country.



The film will release in Costa Rica on February 9, 2017, with the President as chief guest. It will also be shown in the rest of Latin America, besides being dubbed in Hindi and English for audiences in India and the US.



The rom-com sees Leo, the hero, carrying out a big robbery. But his life changes when he meets Ana, who becomes the love of his life -- but it turns out that he has to choose between money and love. He chooses love and decides to return the money. But confusion starts with an accident, which is followed by a series of risky and funny situations leaving the viewer with suspense and confusion about the money's whereabouts.



A word about the title song. Costa Ricans, known as Ticos, have a distinct spirit. They do not say "bien" (well) when asked "Como esta" (How are you?). They say "Pura vida" which literally means "Pure life". But what they really mean is "Full of life" and "Great". No wonder, Costa Ricans come on top of the Happy Planet Index with the highest life satisfaction in the world. The title song of the film is about this "Pura Vida" philosophy.



Prabhakar's life story is also like a Bollywood film script. He studied in Haryana and attempted to break into Bollywood but failed. He then wanted to go to the US but somehow ended up in Costa Rica. He fell in love with a local girl and married her. He ventured into the textiles business and later shifted to trading, film distribution and Monster Truck Jam shows.



His ventures failed and he lost money. He returned to India and lived in Chandigarh for two years from 2010. During this time, his marriage broke up and his wife went back to Costa Rica taking their daughter with her. Prabhakar was deep in depression but did not give up. He went back to Costa Rica, fell in love with another woman and lives with her.



The film is Prabhakar's dream project and he has struggled and worked very hard for its fruition. His biggest challenge was to convince Bollywood to take seriously little Costa Rica with a tiny population and an insignificant film industry.



In recent years, Bollywood has reached out to Latin America for location shooting, inclusion of Latinas in Indian films and co-productions. Pablo Cesar, the famous Argentine director, is currently making a film on Tagore's romantic encounter with Victoria Ocampo, his muse from Buenos Aires. Mathew Kodath from Kerala, settled in the Honduras, has produced two films in Spanish. Bollywood music and dance are the latest craze in dance clubs and gyms across Latin America.



The Bollywood crew, during the shooting in Costa Rica, did not miss Indian food thanks to the the authentic and popular Indian restaurants "Taj Mahal" and "Naan and Curry" owned by Kapil Gulati from Gurgaon who is settled there, bitten by the "Pura Vida" bug. The favourite dishes of Ticos, according to Gulati, are garlic naan, rogan josh and gulab jamun.



For Prabhakar, the film is only the beginning of his Latino movie "entanglement". He plans to produce more films and include in his next Barbara Mori, the Mexican actress who was the heroine to Hritik Roshan in the Bollywood film "Kites". His next film might connect Indian and Latin American characters with shooting in India as well as in Latin America.



Prabhakar's film initiative will certainly contribute to enriching Indian cinema with the Costa Rica's "Pura Vida" culture and Latin America's "Celebra la Vida" (Celebrate life) spirit.


10th Sejong International Cartoon Contest SICACO 2021, Korea

: Informed about the sending by e-mail on 23 November 2021

* The 4th International Competition of Cartoons Aleksandar Klas 2017, Serbia: All

whose cartoons are selected in the catalog and the exhibition will receive a free copy of the catalog (

).
The Karen National Liberation Army and the Mon National Liberation Army exchanged fire near Mann Aung village in Ye Phyu Township on December 20  a deputy company commander from KNLA was wounded.

According to sources from both groups, the soldiers involved are from the Karen National Unions, KNLA 6th Brigade, Battalion 16 and the New Mon State Partys armed wing, the MNLA.

Saw Dah Khu Htoo, the wounded, KNLA deputy company commander spoke to Karen News on 22 December and said.

It was at the east of Kyaung Sha where four of us were attacked at close range by about 20 of them [MNLA soldiers]. I was shot on my head. We retreated, but the clash last around two minutes.

The KNU and the MNSP have a history of fighting each other. In 1988 both sides fought bitterly over territory disputes around the Three Pagodas Pass area. After a 20-year with no fighting between the two armies, regional security observers are concerned that the latest clash is the second this year  September 8 and the latest incident on December 20, 2016.

Padoh Saw Maung Shwe, chairman of the KNU Win Ye Township said they have reported the incident to their senior officials.

We are now contacting leaders from the NMSP. We have our troops in the Mann Aung areas. Maybe they [NMSP] want to regain control over the territory. We should resolve the issue by diplomatic means, not military. We will report this to our seniors for further action.

The Mann Aung areas falls between the KNU controlled Win Ye Township, Dooplaya District and Ler Doh Soe Township, Megui/Tavoy District where it overlaps the MNSP controlled Ye Phyu Township, Dawei District. In the past the region was prone to territory disputes between the two ethnic armed groups.

Naing Win Hla, the head of Interior Department of NMSP spoke to Karen News.

We banned logging activities in that areas East of Mann Aung, our troops were on patrol as we heard there was logging taking place. While our troops were checking the place, they confronted each other. Our sources said the logging business is of the KNU, while the workers are Mon villagers. We will try to resolve the issue through our mediation team.

The KNU and NMSP senior leaders met in September this year after the first clash between the two groups and agreed to solve the problem in peaceful means.

The KNU is among the seven ethnic armed groups that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement on October 15, 2015 under the previous Thein Sein government, but the NMSP is among the 13 non-signatories ethnic armed groups.
The police arrived at Rehmonnya Hotel without warning and arrested the fugitive, along with his wife, who were staying at the hotel without documentation on December 18.



Thai fugitive Dr. Suphat ,aka Nai Aung Min (Photo: Facebook) Thai fugitive Dr. Suphat ,aka Nai Aung Min (Photo: Facebook)

The fugitive, a Thai national, is Dr. Suphat Lauhawatana, also known as Nai Aung Min. He came to stay at Rehmonnya Hotel driving a white-colored Toyota KYN-4M/8905 and accompanied by his wife.

Township Immigration Department has charged Dr. Suphat. He was investigated yesterday, said U Shein Win, Director of Mon State Immigration and Population Department.

Dr. Suphat Lauhawatana was charged under Article 13(1) of the 1947 Immigration Law Act by the Township Immigration Department.

Dr. Suphat is now being temporarily detained at Mupoon Police Station and filed with breaching immigration law. The police station is still planning to transfer the fugitive to Thailand, in accordance with the law, according to a police official from Mupoon Police Station.

Dr. Suphat was given a life sentence by Thai court in 2015, according to police documents.

Fugitive Dr. Suphat was arrested in August, 2012 by Thai police in Pha[rom]buri District, Thailand, after he had killed his five Burmese migrant workers, by beating up, stabbing and setting them on fire, regarding wages. He later escaped, although he accepted with warranty, according to Thai polices record.
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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/12/2016 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five graceful ballerinas hold delicate snowflake constellations as they dance among the trees and falling snow.

Waltzing of the Snowflakes captures the festive scene from the iconic ballet The Nutcracker.

The piece is an original painting by local artist Maria Egilsson for The Brandon Suns third annual Canvas for a Cause charity auction.

"Waltzing of the Snowflakes" is an original painting by local artist Maria Egilsson for The Brandon Suns third annual Canvas for a Cause auction in support of Samaritan House Ministries.

To prepare for the painting, Egilsson watched videos of the ballet for inspiration, and said as soon as she saw the Snowflake scene, she knew it would be perfect for the Canvas for a Cause commission.

Egilsson has her own unique style of painting, which she describes as figurative and impressionistic. She is drawn to people and specifically ballerinas.

I think people have stories to tell, their faces, the positions, pieces of their life journey, she said.

Waltzing of the Snowflakes is an acrylic painting on a 1620-inch canvas. It took approximately 10 hours to complete and is up for auction until 5 p.m. on Jan. 16. All proceeds go directly to Samaritan House Ministries.

To bid on the painting, visit apps.brandonsun.com/2016-auction and click on one of the seven yellow buttons on the right side of the page. Fill out your contact information in the form below and then hit the submit button. If you have made the winning bid, you will be contacted by either phone or by email.

You can also place a bid by emailing auction@brandonsun.com with the subject line Canvas for a Cause, by calling 204-571-7430 during office hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or by stopping by The Brandon Sun office at 501 Rosser Ave.

Opening up new world with a paintbrush

When Maria Egilsson picked up a paintbrush three years ago, it opened up a whole new world.

It was so relaxing, so peaceful, time just passed. You kind of wake up from a dream  you totally become engrossed in that, Egilsson said while sitting in her home studio in Brandon.

The whole environment went out of focus. It was just me and what I was painting and it was such an unusual feeling  I think I fell in love with that feeling.

The newfound passion began in 2013, the same year Egilssons father passed away. As she had been caring for her father, she now found herself with more free time. A friend suggested she try painting, and bought her a butterfly paint set from a local book store to nudge her along.

I spent a few days doing that and totally loved the process, Egilsson said.

She decided to take a beginner painting class at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. Recalling her first visit to the craft store, Egilsson laughs as she had no idea which supplies to buy.

It was about two classes in with artist Chris Reid when Egilsson said she realized how much she fell in love with it. That led to another class at the gallery, and then a decision to sign up as a fine arts student at Brandon University. Taking a class or two every term, Egilsson is exploring her drawing and painting skills.

Reid said Egilssons desire to learn was evident from the start.

Shes very, very enthusiastic and hard-working, Reid said. With my classes, I have them do a little bit of research and she would  go above and beyond.

As she explored her new passion, Egilsson would post her paintings on her Facebook page. People began asking if her artwork was for sale, and she started receiving more and more requests.

Colin Corneau/The Brandon Sun Maria Egilsson shows her painting, Waltzing of the Snowflakes, for this years Canvas for a Cause auction in support of Samaritan House Ministries at her Brandon home. The artist and Brandon University fine arts student chose a theme from The Nutcracker for this years work.

At first she sent them away for free, but the requests continued to increase, so she eventually began to charge. Thanks to the power of social media, Egilssons artwork has now been sold all over the world. She is still amazed by the attention her work has received in such a short amount of time, and has now sold hundreds of pieces.

If somebody had told me four years ago I would be painting or drawing, and then even selling them, I would have actually laughed because it just wasnt a part of me, she said. But I think its all in Gods timing  I think some things in life are not a coincidence.

It is especially heartwarming when Egilsson hears from a client how much a piece of art means to them.

I know art can be very emotional and very subjective, what people read into it has a lot of meaning, but I do feel that when the artist paints, part of their spirit and their personality comes through that art as well.

Egilsson was born in Yorkshire in the U.K. and came to Canada in the 1970s. She recalls painting as a young child, but in the intervening years, she never picked up a pencil or paintbrush until 2013.

It was like something that was restored that I think was there as a young child, she said.

Her educational background is in early childhood education, and she is now retired. Egilsson is also a poet, and facilitates a poetry workshop once a month at Valleyview Care Centre. She is currently a fine arts student at BU, and in her spare time volunteers at Westman Immigrant Services.

Much of her time is spent in front of a canvas. Egilsson says she doesnt wait for inspiration. She makes a habit of regularly painting or drawing. She wont go more than a few days without picking up a paintbrush.

She now has a website for her artwork, as well as an online store, zazzle.ca/sacred_dance.

In addition to her original paintings, her artwork can be printed on products, such as journals, aprons, pillows and mugs. Egilsson also has her artwork on display at Hillcrest Personal Care Home.

When they sell, a percentage also goes back to Hillcrest, she said. It gives the residents their own art gallery to look at fresh work, but also something colourful and bright.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 23/12/2016 (2141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shaun Cameron said his son went from having a fear of water to being comfortable in the pool, thanks to the dedicated volunteers of Manitoba SwimAbility.

The Brandon chapter, formerly known as Making Waves, provides one-on-one instruction to children with special needs.

Cameron said it was a night and day difference for his son Riley, 8.

Submitted Rachel West with director of the Manitoba SwimAbility Brandon chapter Madelyn Flood.

My son has (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), so focus can be a little bit tough for him at times, Cameron said. When he tried regular swimming lessons, the classes were too big.

Long story short, he went under, and he was pretty fearful of the water to begin with, and that was pretty much a nail in the coffin.

Once the Camerons heard about the SwimAbility program, they thought it would be a good opportunity to get Riley back into the water.

Were a water family, we boat in the summer and all that sort of stuff, and to me, swimming is a life skill, Cameron said. He went from basically being a rock, for lack of a better term, to being able to swim and to float. Its been tremendous, the change in him and his ability.

The Brandon chapter launched in April 2015 with 30 swimmers. In January, the program will offer its sixth session with approximately 65 swimmers at the Brandon Sportsplex. The age range is just over a year to 18 years old.

The program assists children with a wide range of physical and intellectual disabilities, including autism, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. The children have a range of unique capabilities with different levels of functioning.

Swimming especially we find is just so calming for kids with autism, said Madelyn Flood, director of Manitoba SwimAbilitys Brandon Chapter. Its a nice sensory activity for them. We definitely have a lot of children with cerebral palsy and other physical challenges, so the water is just really good therapy for them too, in strengthening their muscles.

Submitted Danika Brun with Manitoba SwimAbility volunteers Jaerin Yang and Kensie Hollier.

Flood launched the Brandon chapter after volunteering with the program in Winnipeg while attending the University of Manitoba. She is now a Brandon University education student, slated to graduate in May. The program became Manitoba SwimAbility in April 2016, as part of a national name change; however, the program remains the same.

The one-on-one instruction is an important aspect of the program, as the volunteers and children build trust and consistency over the sessions.

Theyre able to build that relationship with their instructor, Flood said. We have enough volunteers that some kids can have two instructors which is a huge help a lot of the time too.

Water safety is an important life skill, Flood added, and children with special needs have a greater risk for drowning-related incidents.

A lot of the families go camping during the summer, the farming area that we live in  kids are outside, theres open water, she said.

One of the main goals of the program is to keep the costs affordable for all families.

Many of the families that have children with exceptionalities, they have a lot of other medical costs that come along with their challenges, she said.

Submitted Manitoba SwimAbility volunteer Megan Treloar with swimmer JJ.

The sessions are offered in 10-week blocks, with half an hour lessons every week. The family pays just $20 for the entire session.

The whole program is run by volunteers  everything from organizing and scheduling to instruction. Volunteers also take time to apply for grants to help supplement their costs.

Its definitely a lot of work  but just seeing the kids every week, and meeting the families, getting to know them  its really inspiring, Flood said.

I watch them come to the pool and some of them are so scared to come in the water, and then after a few weeks, theyre in there, swimming laps and jumping in.

The Brandon chapter has held small fundraisers over the past few years, as they spread the word about the program. They are planning their first major fundraiser, the Manitoba SwimAbility Curling Funspiel to be held on Feb. 11 at Riverview Curling Club.

Our spots for our teams are almost full, we do have a little bit of space left, Flood said. We are still looking for sponsors or any donations that could be used for raffle prizes during the day.

Team registration costs $160 for a team of four to play three games followed by a dinner. A social will happen in the evening  tickets are $10. Flood said the public is invited to watch the bonspiel and can buy a ticket for dinner.

Submitted Manitoba SwimAbility swimmer Aiden Hovey with volunteer Brett Orpin.

For tickets, call 204-841-4721 or email brandon@swimability.org. For more information, visit manitobaswimability.com.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 23/12/2016 (2141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This week, the tragic situation in Syria took yet another ugly turn as Aleppo, a major centre held by rebel forces, fell to the combined forces of Hezbollah, Russia and the Syrian government of Bashar Assad.

Assad has used chemical weapons and barrel bombs in his fight to regain control of Syria. The prospects for Aleppos residents are not promising as of this writing.

Some columnists argue Canada has an obligation to act in Syria, but wont say in any specific way what our military should do. With respect, this type of empty rhetoric doesnt accomplish very much, particularly as we all know what thoughtless actions accomplished in the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

That action, backed up by serious intel, set off a series of unintended consequences that we are still paying for today. While the U.S. ended the despotic regime of Saddam Hussein, it removed the singular meaningful Arab bulwark to Islamic fundamentalists who used Iraq as the base for ISIS and

al-Qaida in Iraq. It further solidified Irans hegemony in the region.

Former U.S. president George W. Bush, assisted in his wisdom by neo-conservative think tanks and vice-president Dick Cheney, wasted a generations worth of blood and treasure in a war no one needed.

As this columnist opined many times, former prime minister Jean Chretiens decision not to participate in the Iraq war should stand as his hallmark legacy. Canadians gave their lives engaging in the Afghanistan conflict, where the actual terrorist minds behind 9/11 resided, supported by a truly tyrannical, theocratic regime that made Saddam appear charitable by comparison.

Today, well-intentioned people whose hearts are full are demanding Ottawa act in some completely unspecified manner to save Syrians. Others, who argue Canada should not intervene, will be accused of being heartless.

The reality is much more complicated.

The rebel forces represent a hodgepodge of sorts, including members of ISIS who are fighting the Assad regime. Do Canadians truly wish to join sides with a group infamous for beheadings and throwing caged innocents into the sea?

Do we wish to train and equip ISIS fighters? How about joining forces with Al-Fatah? In other words, the Syrian situation is far more complicated than we understand.

We have been very supportive of Syrians, welcoming some 25,000 innocent civilians to our country. For this, I am very proud of our government and Canadians in general. Were we too slow to act? In retrospect, the answer is obviously yes. This columnist is also guilty of this error in judgment.

Now we stand on another precipice  do we send in our armed forces in an effort to accomplish  what?

Part of the problem is not only who do we support other than the amorphous rebels, but what is our goal? What do we wish to accomplish? What is our national interest?

If we seek to drive Assad from power, and that is a worthy goal, then what happens the day after he is usurped? Will he be replaced by a Western-style democracy that ensures womens and minority rights? That is not a bet I would make.

As mentioned, the situation in Iraq is no improvement some decade after the invasion. Despots replaced despots. Did the lives of ordinary Iraqis improve? The answer, one suspects, lies with whom one is asking.

At this time of year, with hearts full, perhaps one salve for this humanitarian disaster would be to give generously to a charity of your choice, specifically one with an emphasis on helping Syrian refugees. We should hold back on our support for Canadian military intervention in Syria. The outcomes are completely unknown. It is time for politicians to think about the long term, not just the short-term solution.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/12/2016 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Earlier this month, the countrys first ministers gathered in Ottawa to discuss a national climate strategy that had been put forward by the federal government.

After an all-day session, two provinces  Manitoba and Saskatchewan  refused to sign on to the final deal. In the case of Saskatchewan, Premier Brad Walls opposition wasnt surprising, given his long-standing position on carbon pricing as a way of reducing Canadas emissions.

Manitobas opposition was a little less straightforward. The problem seemingly had less to do with the issue at hand  in fact, Premier Brian Pallister commended the prime minister for the open and co-operative dialogue that had taken place on climate change and how to best meet Canadas commitments under the Paris agreement  and more so with what was not being discussed among first ministers.

Frustrated with the lack of progress on the development of a new health accord, and Ottawas seeming reluctance to even discuss the issue, Pallister decided to use the opportunity of the climate change talks to play a game of quid pro quo with the prime minister.

While he congratulated the other premiers and the federal government on the climate agreement, in his comments to the press, Pallister repeatedly turned the conversation back to health care. Manitoba faces monumental challenges with respect to health care, he stated, and these should be addressed before other issues are brought to the table. The underlying message was clear: if Ottawa wants Manitobas support on its climate change strategy, then the price will be a new health care accord that is acceptable to Manitoba.

Manitobas stance came under fire by some political analysts, with some even going so far as to call the premiers refusal to sign the climate change plan childish and insulting. As one commentator (and former adviser to two provincial premiers) declared, this is a very bad strategy because Manitoba has not much leverage. If youre going to indulge in this kind of blackmail, you should have a lot of leverage and you should have some clout, and Manitoba just doesnt have it.

I disagree.

Intergovernmental relations in Canada are akin to a game of poker. Provincial, territorial and federal leaders all come to the bargaining table with their particular hand of cards. And, like any good poker game, each leader tries to outmanoeuvre the other players through a combination of strategy, bluffing and one-upmanship in an attempt to score the best deal they can for their regions. This is their job as first ministers, and this is what we expect of them.

In Pallisters case, he knew that the prime minister wanted a win on the climate change file. The Liberals have a lot invested on the environmental issue, both nationally and on the world stage. Not only was the environment and climate change a central plank in their 2015 election platform, it was with great fanfare that Justin Trudeau signed the Paris agreement (an international agreement to reduce global carbon emissions) a mere six months into his tenure as prime minister.

Indeed, if anyone doubted how personally and politically important this issue is to Trudeau, one only had to watch the press conference following the climate change talks and his gritted-teeth response to Manitobas refusal to sign on to the deal. If ever there was an issue on the national stage in which to push Manitobas interests, the climate change talks were clearly it.

I also disagree with the argument that Manitoba has less leverage than we think. For sure, in the grand scheme of things, we have only 14 seats in the House of Commons, compared to, say, Albertas 36 or British Columbias 42. But that aside, the Liberals did win six new seats in Manitoba in the 2015 election, several of which they managed to take from the Conservatives  and seats which they will want to hold on to come the next election.

The Liberals need to maintain their foothold in the Prairie provinces, a tenuous proposition when we look at the last few decades where the party was all but shut out in the West. This changed reality means that Manitobas grievances cannot be disregarded as easily as perhaps they once were.

This doesnt mean, of course, that Manitoba will end up with everything it wants in a new health care strategy. Just this past Monday, the provinces walked away from the bargaining table as talks on  you guessed it, a new health care agreement  broke down, ostensibly due to the federal governments take it or leave it approach.

Nor does it mean that we can or should use this same strategy on other federal-provincial matters. But it does send the message to Ottawa that we are prepared to use what leverage we have to advance Manitobas interests first and foremost. And in so doing, we just might find ourselves walking away with the pot.

 Kelly Saunders is an associate professor with the department of political science at Brandon University. kellylsaunders@hotmail.com
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 23/12/2016 (2141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Once again, Manitoba students have ranked near the bottom in Canada in the areas of science, math and reading. The Program for International Student Assessment, an international assessment of 15-year-olds conducted every three years by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, showed Manitoba students are six months to one year behind students in top-performing provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.

Anyone who tries to dismiss these results as a one-time anomaly must grapple with the fact that results dating back to 2006 show a slow but steady decline. The Pan-Canadian Assessment Program, a different assessment protocol completed by Grade 8 students across Canada, shows a similar decline for Manitoba. In fact, the latest round of Pan-Canadian tests placed Manitoba students dead last.

If the Manitoba government is serious about raising the academic performance of Manitoba students, it needs to do three things.

First, Manitoba should follow the example of nearly every other province and re-establish standardized tests at a variety of grade levels. British Columbias Foundation Skills Assessment for students in grades 4 and 7 and Ontarios tests for grades 3, 6 and 9 students are good examples of effective testing programs.

Standardized tests are important because they provide a provincial benchmark that can be used to determine how students are faring. Well-designed standardized tests highlight areas of strength and also point out areas of weakness. Unfortunately, the near-total absence of standardized tests in Manitoba has resulted in a dearth of information about student academic performance.

It did not help matters when the previous NDP government refused to release what little performance data it had to parents and the public.

Second, the province needs to place a much stronger emphasis on the academic basics  and it needs to send a much clearer message that curricular knowledge matters. For example, despite some limited moves in the right direction in recent years, the math curriculum still remains tilted much too far in the direction of the discovery approach to learning. The other curricular areas, unfortunately, are also tilted in that direction.

As math professors and WISE Math co-founders Anna Stokke and Robert Craigen have pointed out, students must learn standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as early as possible if they are going to succeed at higher levels of math.

Students also need to spend significant time practising and memorizing their math facts. Multiple research studies confirm that mastering the basics makes deeper learning possible.

When it comes to reading, schools need to do more than help students decode the words on a page. Students need content knowledge, which is the key to reading comprehension. All too often, teachers think of reading as something that can be taught in isolation from specific content. However, research is clear that reading comprehension soars when students have background knowledge about the topic. By contrast, if someone needs to look up the meaning of every other word in an article, that person will not understand the material and will probably not even try reading it.

Well-known education author E.D. Hirsch Jr. makes this point abundantly clear in his latest book, Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children from Failed Educational Theories. Hirsch presents substantial evidence showing reading comprehension is closely linked to background knowledge. For many students, particularly those living in poverty, school is the only place they can get this required knowledge. It is, in fact, the only path to success for the many poor children in Manitoba.

It is not enough for schools to teach critical thinking skills, as if they exist in a vacuum. In far too many cases, schools attempt to get around the need for knowledge by teaching students generic comprehension strategies such as finding the main idea, drawing logical inferences and close reading. Hirsch clearly shows these strategies are not a substitute for background knowledge.

Finally, the government needs to promote teaching methods and practices that are supported by research, as do faculties of education. Obviously, students and teachers differ, and there is little to be gained from trying to force everyone to teach exactly the same way.

At the same time, some methods are more effective than others. As a case in point, there is a wealth of evidence supporting direct whole-class instruction by teachers and considerably less evidence supporting the guide by the side methods currently in vogue in education faculties and in too many classrooms.

Manitoba can do better. It will take a lot of hard work and a willingness to make changes, but Manitoba students and teachers are prepared for the challenge.

These students and teachers need the support of Minister of Education Ian Wishart in setting better educational policy.

 Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher, a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, and co-author of the book Whats Wrong With Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them. His column recently appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press.
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I will never forget two remarkable Christmas days. The first was when I was 18.

Thrilled that I had passed Year 12, and celebrating my first year at art school, my architect father bought me a signal red MG Midget.

/ Credit:Stocksy

Rocketing up the freeway with the Ramones blasting from the cassette player was exhilarating.

The second was in 1987. I was working in London as a graphic designer at a music magazine. Unsure if I would ever return, my excitable Dad booked a flight home as a "surprise" for my family. Hidden in his drawing office, near lunchtime, I sauntered out. My grandmother was so shocked she relived it ad-infinitum, and added more champagne to her tea than usual.
A man has been charged over the death of a cyclist who was hit and killed at Pymble in Sydney's north on December 18.

Police say the man's car hit 33-year-old doctor Ann Formaz-Preston near the intersection of Woodlands Avenue and Mona Vale Road as she was riding on Mona Vale Road with a group of friends.

Despite the efforts of paramedics and bystanders, the Canadian expat died at the scene.

The 37-year-old driver of a Toyota Corolla sedan was arrested at the scene and returned negative alcohol and drug tests.
NSW Police are investigating whether the fatal shooting of a man in a Sydney park in broad daylight is gang related.

The victim, 20-year-old Antonio Hermiz, was shot in the head and killed on Friday afternoon while children played nearby in the popular Lizard Log park in western Sydney.

His 18-year-old companion Ronaldo Odisho was shot in the chest and taken to Liverpool hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

Fairfield Police Superintendent Peter Lennon said police were investigating whether the targeted attack was linked to a drug dispute.
A stabbing attack on Saturday night left a man with a severed artery and a woman with a damaged tendon, police say.

The pair were walking to their car parked in a unit complex on Defiance Road at Woodridge about 7.20pm when a man confronted them and began stabbing the 36-year-old man in the leg.

Police are investigating after a stabbing attack at Logan. Credit:Glenn Hunt

The woman was stabbed in the hand while trying to stop the attack, before the offender ran away, police said.

The injured man received first aid by police who arrived on scene before paramedics took him to hospital in a serious condition.
Tel Aviv: Tens of thousands of Christians from around the world have gathered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem.

Crowds on Saturday had already begun thronging the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem's annual procession route from the Old City to the biblical town where Jesus is believed to have been born.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic spiritual leader in the Holy Land, is expected to head the processions starting at 11am local time.

Later, Pizzaballa will deliver the midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity, believed to mark the site where Jesus was born.
World Series collides with TNF: Both feature Philly, Houston teams

Thursday will mark the seventh time a World Series game and NFL game involving teams from the same two cities will play on the same day.
Mayor Bragged About Eliminating Health Care, Plus More #RahmDump Revelations

By Stephen Gossett in News on Dec 22, 2016 4:21PM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday evening released more than 2,000 pages of personal emails as part of a settlement with the Better Government Association. The watchdog organization last year filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain emails the mayor sent from his unofficial, nongovernment account. The Chicago Tribune sued the city as well on similar grounds.

As we continue to sort through the documents, so far the notable findings in the massive email dump range from mildly embarrassing to alarming. Here are some highlight revelations:

Rahm brags about eliminating health care for retired city workers.

Emanuels controversial call to phase out Chicagos retiree health program will leave some 10,000 of workers on the hook for coveragea move he publicly touted as a regrettable but necessary cost-saving measure. In the email, however, Emanuel comes off as downright boastful about the move. Wealthy investor Henry Feinberg asks, Since when did Rahm Emanuel let a judicial ruling get in his way and not find a creative work around solution[?] Emanuel replies, Never which is why I eliminated health care. Only elected official to eliminate not cut or reform a benefit. Thank you vey much. A 175 million saving!

Legal consultants pushed for privatization of Midway and portions of public parks and half of public housing.

In a presentation sent to the mayor, legal consultants Jones Day suggest a variety of privatization options, including the request of 11,000 public housing units, "the largest request of any US city."

Summer 2015 consultant slides float privatizing half of CHA units under RAD, also public parks #rahmdump pic.twitter.com/JvH50A6hJd  Daniel Kay Hertz (@DanielKayHertz) December 22, 2016

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood sought permission from Rahm before publishing a pro-Uber op-ed in the Tribune.

The timing of this came as the mayor sought to pass restrictions on the rideshare service in through the City Council.

Ray LaHood checks with Rahm before writing a pro-Uber op ed #rahmdump pic.twitter.com/pAEjXwOV3a  Daniel Kay Hertz (@DanielKayHertz) December 22, 2016

Rahm channels his inner Trump, calls the Tribune "a failing paper."

In an exchange with Melinda Kelly, of the Chatham Business Association, about bringing trade programs to Dunbar High School, the mayor signed off with this decidedly Donald-esque bon mot:

The full, 2,697-page email dump is available here.
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Exfinity Venture Partners, an information technology (IT) venture capital firm, has made a final close of its second fund, named Exfinity Technology Fund-Series II, with a corpus of Rs 300 crore.

It is now fully subscribed and investors include technology heads, industrialists, family offices and wealthy individuals.

Its first fund had raised Rs 125 crore. Exfinity backs business to business companies, mainly in the US-India corridor.

Its investments are predominantly focused on emerging areas in IT, such as cloud, analytics, artificial intelligence, etc.

V Balakrishnan, chairman, Exfinity Venture Partners, said: Our fund thesis of investing in deep tech product/IP companies in the enterprise technology space resonated well with our investors. We received strong commitments from high quality marquee investors, resulting in the increase of our fund size to Rs 300 crores from the initial planned size of Rs 250 crores. Our deal flow is proprietary and we have strong conviction about the approach we are taking that is manifested in our fund thesis.

Exfinity Venture Partners was incorporated in October 2013 and is based in Bengaluru.
PTIEtihad and Qatar Airways are offering free transit visas, hotel discounts and extra incentives to travel agents to build their hubs as holiday destinations.

Dubai is the most popular transit hub and also a leisure holiday destination for Indians. Emirates is the largest foreign airline operating to India with a 10.8 per cent share of countrys overseas traffic in FY16.

Etihad and Qatar Airways had a market share of 4.7 per cent and four per cent respectively in FY16. These two airlines are offering discounts and incentives to get a larger pie of Indian traffic.

Earlier this week Etihad notified travel agents about its Abu Dhabi StopoverProgramme which allows guests to break their journey in the UAE capital and enjoy two-for-the-price-of-one night accommodation offers. The announcement coincided with the launch of its holiday division in India. The airline is marketing packages for Abu Dhabi, UK and the US.

With every Etihad Holidays package you sell you are entitled to 10 per cent commission, SuperSeller miles (reward points for agency staff) and many other benefits, the airline informed agents.

Last month Qatar Airways introduced its holiday-within-a-holiday scheme which allows visitors from India to break their outbound or inbound journey with a stay in Doha, without impacting their total return ticket fare. Qatar is offering free transit visas and passengers transiting to Doha can stopover for upto four days.

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Dr. Hugh Dunleavy said  At Qatar Airways, our brand is about Going places together, and even a short stopover in Doha will enrich the entire journey.

The offers may not be significant for revenue or market share growth but will help Etihad and Qatar Airways in brand building, customer engagement and generating interest in destinations. We are now seeing a lot of Indians travelling to Abu Dhabi which has attractions like Ferrari World and Grand Mosque, said Manoj Chacko, CEO of SOTCs business travel division.

According to aviation analyst Saj Ahmad with Dubai being the primary gateway for travellers, there is a race between Doha and Abu Dhabi for second rank.

Doha has struggled to match its Emirati neighbours for allure. Offering visas will certainly help raise the profile. Abu Dhabi is notoriously expensive but as the city moves towards a Dubai-style, less oil-reliant economy, that will invariably offer more choice for travellers. That, combined with Etihads partners flying to the city helps bolster traffic figures. Compared to that Qatar Airways has thus far not been able to get its one world alliance partners to shift their Middle East flights more to Doha. This signifies the sheer importance of Dubai and to a lesser extent Abu Dhabi as well, Ahmad added.
US online payments major PayPal Holdings Inc and Snapdeal-owned FreeCharge on Friday denied reports that the former was gearing up to make an India entry by picking up a significant minority stake of 25 per cent for $200 million in the Indian digital payments firm.

While both companies termed the reports as market speculation, experts say it makes sense for PayPal to have presence in India given the Narendra Modi-led governments push towards digitisation and a cashless economy in the wake of demonetisation.

Any company that makes an entry into India at this point of time will benefit from the sudden surge in digital payments. PayPal, even if it is not in talks with FreeCharge, might be testing the waters and finding a way to make an entry into the country. Alipay has taken over the China market, so India is the only viable option for PayPal, said a senior analyst with an international consultancy firm, who asked not to be identified.

According to him, PayPal needs to make an entry into India soon, as Alibaba would be possibly entering the country next year. Alibaba has Paytm and it has put all the technical knowhow of Alipay behind it. The moment it enters India, Alibaba would in all probability increase its digital wallet play via Paytm. PayPal needs to decide its India play soon.

The Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal-led company and its sister concern FreeCharge have been fighting rumours of stake sales in the recent past. On the recent media reports on stake sale to PayPal, a Snapdeal spokesperson said: There is no such deal in the works. We are not in talks with anyone.

In response to an email query on the same subject, PayPal said: PayPal does not comment on rumors or speculation.

FreeCharge was founded in August 2010 by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon with funding from Sequoia Capital, Tybourne Capital Management and San Francisco-based fund Valiant Capital Management. Snapdeal acquired FreeCharge in April last year for around $450 million.

The India digital cash market is currently pegged at Rs 6,000 crore, of which Rs 4,500 crore comes via money transfers and the rest through e-commerce.
Chief of Army Staff General is on a visit to Manipur and Assam to review security situation, an official said.

"General visits Manipur and Assam to review security situation (in the states)," the Indian Army tweeted on Saturday.

The United Naga Council has imposed an economic blockade in the state since November 1 to denounce the creation of seven new districts from areas inhabited by Nagas in Manipur.

Singh is set to retire on December 31 and will be succeeded by Lt General Bipin Rawat.
A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Friday reversed a July 8 verdict by a single judge restraining Prius Auto Industries, a Delhi-based an automotive accessories company, from using the 'Prius' trademark for its products after upholding a challenge earlier made by Japanese car maker Motor Corp.

The July 8 verdict had found Prius Auto guilty of infringing on Toyota's goodwill and reputation, by selling car spare parts under the name 'Prius', a trade name for Toyota's hybrid vehicles and thereby gaining customers who were familiar with Toyota's reputation. The judgment restrained the Prius Auto from manufacturing, selling, or using the trademarks "Prius", "Toyota" and "Innova". In addition, the court had also directed Prius Auto to pay Rs 10 lakh to as compensation for the infringement.



After the single judge determination, Prius Auto had challenged the interpretation of well-known trademarks, taken by to secure the judgment and had submitted before the division bench that such trademarks had to be determined in context to a similar class of goods and in a relevant geographical market.
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Pramod sells a rare commodityblood. Paid blood donation may have been banned in India by a 1996 Supreme Court ruling, but touts like him are a common sight in hospitals across India.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Vijay Sampla dedicate the Amritsar Beautification Project to the humanity in Amritsar, Punjab.

The sensational Nabha jailbreak, a spate of attacks on high-profile leaders including a fatal one on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Jagdish Gagneja and gangsters striking at will put a question mark on Punjab Police's functioning in 2016.

While the SAD-BJP government insisted there was "peace and harmony", opposition parties including Congress were unsparing in their attack against Akalis and claimed "complete breakdown of law and order" in the poll-bound state.

There were several sacrilege incidents in the state. In one such incident which took place at Muslim-dominated Malerkotla town, miscreants resorted to burning of vehicles and damaged property.

But the major embarrassment for Punjab Police came in November when six prisoners including Khalistan Liberation Front chief Harminder Singh Mintoo and five others escaped from the high-security Nabha jail in Patiala after a group of armed men in police fatigue stormed the prison and bolted out with the inmates while firing a hail of bullets.

Though Punjab government dismissed two jail officials and suspended ADGP (prison) besides setting up a special investigation team to nab them, the incident exposed how the state intelligence system was clueless about the brazen attempt by gangsters who stitched up plan in collusion with few jail officials to free dreaded prisoners.

Punjab Police with the help of its Delhi and Uttar Pradesh counterparts managed to nab Mintoo and Palwinder Singh Pinda who allegedly helped in facilitating their escape.

Six prisoners who escaped Nabha jail were Harminder Singh Mintoo, Kashmir Singh, two terrorists, while gangsters were Amandeep Dhothian, Vicky Gounder, Gurpreet Sekhon and Neeta Deol.

Opposition Congress in no-holds-barred attack alleged connivance of the Parkash Singh Badal government in the jailbreak and said the incident exposed a "complete breakdown of law and order" in the state, while triggering fears of revival of terrorism ahead of the Assembly elections.

In the early part of the year, RSS volunteer Naresh Kumar was attacked in Ludhiana. However, nobody was injured.

Then came the high-profile murder of 85-year-old Mata Chand Kaur, wife of late chief of the Namdhari sect Satguru Jagjit Singh in April at its international headquarters Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana.

In the same month, Shiv Sena leader Durga Prasad Gupta was shot dead at Khanna near his office at Lehari road Chowk. In the following month, the cavalcade of Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale was attacked by a group of heavily-armed persons near Ludhiana. Though Dhadrianwale had a miraculous escape his follower Sant Bhupinder Singh Khalsa died in the attack.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by the Governor of Maharashtra, C. Vidyasagar Rao and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis on his arrival, at Mumbai Airport. (Photo: PTI)
is on an overdrive to promote the state as an attractive tourist destination. Close on the heels of roping in Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra as its tourism brand ambassador, Tourism Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said on Saturday the budgetary allocation for the sector will see four-fold jump in the next financial year.
Shirki, in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, is a typically prosperous village blessed by rain gods: Houses here are pucca  most have a motorcycle; some even hatchbacks.
The tax simplification committee, chaired by Justice R V Easwar, is likely to touch upon restoration of standard deduction, reviewing of exemption limits and medical reimbursements for personal income tax in their report.
Months before demonetisation, in February-March, the Madhya Pradesh and Haryana state governments had approached the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) to evaluate Pune-based NGO ArthaKrantis proposals, which include the withdrawal of high-denomination notes.

The initial queries for conducting the research from the two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state governments went to NIPFP around February and March. Work on the research formally commenced around July. But, the complete report on the evaluation of the proposals was not submitted to the state governments by the time the Union government announced the on November 8. NIPFP did put out a working paper in the public domain on November 14 discussing the impacts of .

NIPFP is a New Delhi-based think tank set up as an autonomous society, at the joint initiative of the Union ministry of finance, erstwhile Planning Commission, several state governments and academics.

The Madhya Pradesh government responded to Business Standard queries saying that it asked NIPFP to carry out an Assessment of proposals outlined in the document Exploring ArthaKranti  A path to Fiscal Consolidation.

When asked what prompted the state government to request NIPFP to carry out the research, the government replied, ArthaKranti Pratishtan, Maharastra knowledge Corporation Limited had prepared a report for exploring ArthaKranti-A path to Fiscal Consolidation in 2013. The Commercial Tax Department of Government of Madhya Pradesh felt that this report needs to be examined further since the report focuses on a substitute alignment of the system of laying and levying taxes. Hence, a more in-depth analysis by NIPFP would be in order. In the context above the State Government has executed an agreement with NIPFP to conduct an assessment of the proposal outlined in the document.

Under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, state governments have no role or power in either withdrawal of currency or by any route. The Acts provision 26 (2) reads, On recommendation of the Central Board the Central Government may, by notification in the Gazette of India, declare that, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, any series of bank notes of any denomination shall cease to be legal tender.

The central government has repeatedly mentioned that the entire exercise running up to the announcement of demonetisation on November 8 had been conducted in secrecy.

Business Standard also sent detailed queries to NIPFP as well as the chief minister of Haryana. Neither responded.

ArthaKranti has claimed credit for introducing the idea of demonetisation to the BJP leadership even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over reigns at the Centre. The NGOs head, Anil Bokil, has spoken of repeatedly meeting several top BJP leaders on the issue.

Speaking to Business Standard, Bokil said, The report is in the final stages. Madhya Pradesh and Haryana had recommended NIPFP to study our proposals. I have personally not met people from NIPFP directly but other directors are in regular touch.

On being asked if the proposal had been commissioned to NIPFP by state finance ministries or chief ministers, Bokil said, It went from the chief ministers.

Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu said, I have not come across such a proposal but I wouldnt know if such a proposal had gone from the chief ministers office.

ArthaKrantis proposals listed on its website include the withdrawal of existing taxation system, introducing a banking transaction tax, withdrawal of high-denomination currency, legal restrictions to restrict cash transactions up to a certain limit. Bokil has noted that the government has not followed all the steps his NGO had recommended but undertaken only one part of it  the withdrawal of high-denomination notes as yet.

A reference in public to the possibility of demonetisation had also come as early as March 2016 from the chief economic advisor of the state bank of India, Soumya Kanti Ghosh. He wrote in Business Standard on March 23, stating, If we were to draw a link between such a surge in production and the usage of cash, it is possible that demonetisation might have begun even before the government had withdrawn high-value notes from circulation (according to unconfirmed reports, higher currency denomination notes may be discontinued in the near future so as to tackle the menace of unaccounted money).

The article was followed up by a formal report from SBI (Ecowrap) that Ghosh authored in April, stating, There are suggestions in the public domain and even analysis that are suggesting that higher denomination notes may be replaced. We believe, as a result of that people may be using more of high value currency to purchase safe haven assets.

While more details of NIPFPs report to states are not known, the working paper it put out after November 8 concludes, While it has been argued that the cash that would be extinguished would be black money and hence, should be rightfully extinguished to set right the perverse incentive structure in the economy, this argument is based on impressions rather than facts.

Sources in NIPFP said a working paper does not represent the views of the institution but that of the authors.
Presidents message on the eve of Christmas

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The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has greeted fellow citizens on the eve of Christmas. .

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In a message, the President said, On the joyous occasion of Christmas, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes for a blessed Christmas to all my fellow citizens in India and abroad. .

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May the spirit of Christmas fill our hearts with love and compassion. May the divine teachings of Lord Jesus Christ inspire us to contribute our very best for the welfare of humanity"..

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SMSOs Conclave 02/2016

Senior Maintenance Staff Officers Conclave was held at Air Force Station Hindan under the aegis of Western Air Command, Subroto Park, New Delhi on 23-24 Dec 2016.

The Conclave was inaugurated by Air Mshl NJS Dhillon AVSM, Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command and was chaired by Air Mshl PP Khandekar, Air Officer-in-charge Maintenance Commandof Indian Air Force. Senior Maintenance Staff Officers of all Operational Commands, Training Command & Maintenance Command of IAF attended the Conclave.

The Conclave took stock of the current maintenance support related challenges with focus on optimal operations, enhanced quality of the preventive maintenance, indigenisation and innovation efforts. Theneed to continuously improve the skill/ knowledge level of Maintenance personnel along with improvement in Supply Chain Management were also deliberated. In the closing address the AOM exhorted all maintenance personnel to be proactive, innovative and self reliant in meeting the challenges towards excellent support for all operational tasks of Indian Air Force.
On balance, 2016 was a year of highs and lows for women. The lows, however, have been of the how-low-can-you-go variety. In fact, there have been moments when it felt like the year of the anti-woman.
German Chancellor warned on Wednesday of an enduring terror threat, despite the killing of the suspected perpetrator of the Berlin Christmas market attack.

"We can be relieved at the end of this week that the acute danger is over," Merkel told reporters, welcoming the news that the Tunisian suspect, Anis Amri, had been shot dead overnight by Italian police.

"However, the danger of terrorism in general endures, as it has for several years. We all know that," she said.

Amid fierce criticism that authorities let Amri, a rejected asylum seeker with known ties to the jihadist scene, slip through their fingers, Merkel pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of what went wrong.

"The Amri case raises questions -- questions that are not only tied to this crime but also to the time before, since he came to Germany in July 2015 from Italy," she said.

"We will now intensively examine to what extent official procedures need to be changed."



Merkel said she had ordered justice and interior ministers at the federal and state level to "analyse every aspect of the case and present their conclusions as soon as possible" so reforms, where needed, can be speedily implemented.

Merkel said she had also spoken with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi by telephone today to discuss anti-terror efforts and inform him that Germany would be "significantly accelerating" deportation of rejected asylum seekers.

She said it was the "primary duty of the government" to protect its citizens.

However, she stressed that Germany would not sacrifice its principles in the fight against terrorism.

"Our democracy, our rule of law, our values, our humanity -- they are the alternative to the hateful world of terrorism, and they will be stronger than terrorism," she said.

Amri, 24, is believed to have killed 12 people and wounded dozens more in Monday's assault on the Christmas market, which has been claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Italy's interior minister Marco Minniti told reporters in Rome that Amri had been fatally shot after pulling out a pistol and firing at police who had stopped him for a routine identity check around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni train station.
Democrats are showing little interest in cooperating with the Republicans who control Congress, on legislation to dismantle the health insurance law  but some are signaling a willingness to collaborate on action to curb rising drug prices.
The first fixed-wing female pilot in the has sought asylum in the United States (US), the media reported on Saturday.

Captain Niloofar Rahmani on Friday expressed her intention to remain in the US following a 15-month long training period in Texas, Khaama Press reported.

"Things are not changing" for the better in Afghanistan, Rahmani told The New York Times. "Things are getting worse and worse."

Rahmani told her American trainers that she still wants to be a military pilot but not under her country's flag.

The pilot has already filed a petition seeking asylum in the US, where she hopes to join the air force.

This comes as reports emerged late last year that Rahmani was receiving death threats.

Rahmani is one of the celebrated personalities in Afghanistan for being the first female pilot to fly the fixed-wing plane. She was presented the Women of Courage award last year in Washington.

"Rahmani is as committed to encouraging other young women to follow in her footsteps now as she was as an 18-year-old dreaming of flight school," US First Lady Michelle Obama had said of her at the ceremony last year.
Support for Germany's anti-migration AfD party soared to a year high of more than 15% in the wake of the Berlin truck attack, a poll to be released on Saturday indicated.

With a general election expected next September, the right-wing populist Alternative for recorded a 2.5-point boost to 15.5% compared to last week, according to the survey for the Bild newspaper by the Insa institute.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats lost 1.5 points to hit 31.5% while the Social Democrats, junior partners in the ruling coalition, ceded one point to 20.5%.

The poll was carried out between Wednesday and Thursday among 2,083 eligible voters.

The prime suspect in the assault on the Berlin Christmas market which killed 12 people was a failed Tunisian asylum seeker.

The suspect, Anis Amri, who had been under surveillance as recently as September for suspected ties to the jihadist scene, was shot dead by Italian police in a gunfight in Milan early today.

In the immediate aftermath of the Berlin attack, the AfD blamed Merkel's liberal border policy, under which more than one million asylum seekers entered the country since 2015, for posing a serious security threat to the country.

One party official, Marcus Pretzell, even called the victims "Merkel's dead", in a tweet later criticised by the AfD leadership.

At a news conference today, Merkel pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of what went wrong, and rapid reforms.

However, she stressed that would not sacrifice its principles in the fight against terrorism.

"Our democracy, our rule of law, our values, our humanity -- they are the alternative to the hateful world of terrorism, and they will be stronger than terrorism," she said.
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Israel said on Friday night it "rejects" a resolution by the UN Security Council that demands an end to the Jewish settlements, and will not obey the resolution.

A fierce statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "despicable" resolution, which demands an immediate halt to the construction of settlements.

The resolution -- advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela -- was passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention (the United States).

The Prime Minister's Office declared that Israel "will not subordinate itself" to "this absurd" resolution.

The office also accused President Barack Obama of "acting behind the scene" to advance the motion, a notion previously rejected by the White House.

"Israel is looking forward to working with president-elect Trump and our friends in the Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to undo the damages of this decision," the statement read.

In abstaining during the vote, the U.S. ignored calls from Trump to veto the motion.

In a tweet after the vote, Trump wrote: "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th."

Israel was furious at the approval of the resolution. Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz condemned the move. "The U.S. abandoned Israel, its only friend in the Middle East," Steinitz told Channel 2 TV news.

The resolution demands Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem." It states that the building of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

The U.S., Israel's closest ally, traditionally protects Israel from such motions.

B'Tselem, one of Israel's largest human rights organizations, welcomed the resolution.

"Today's United Nations Security Council resolution reaffirms international consensus that Israel's settlements are illegal and harm Palestinian human rights," the group said in a statement.

"It is not an 'anti-Israeli' resolution, but a balanced one, which rejects the occupation," the statement read, adding that the group expects further international measures "for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians."

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands that Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and has been controlling ever since, despite international condemnations.

The Palestinians wish to build their future state in these lands.

The U.S. officially opposes the settlements and considers them as an obstacle to peace. The settlements are illegal under international law.
It is entirely possible, as many have argued, that Hillary Clinton would be the president-elect of the United States if the F.B.I. director, James Comey, had not sent a letter to Congress about her emails in the last weeks of the campaign.

But the electoral trends that put Donald J. Trump within striking distance of victory were clear long before Mr. Comey sent his letter. They were clear before WikiLeaks published hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee. They were even clear back in early July, before Mr. Comey excoriated Mrs. Clinton for using a private email server.

It was clear from the start that Mrs. Clinton was struggling to reassemble the Obama coalition.

At every point of the race, Mr. Trump was doing better among white voters without a college degree than Mitt Romney did in 2012  by a wide margin. Mrs. Clinton was also not matching Mr. Obamas support among black voters.

This was the core of the Obama coalition: an alliance between black voters and Northern white voters, from Mr. Obamas first win in the 2008 Iowa caucuses to his final sprint across the so-called Midwestern Firewall states where he staked his 2012 re-election bid.
It is entirely possible, as many have argued, that Hillary Clinton would be the president-elect of the United States if the F.B.I. director, James Comey, had not sent a letter to Congress about her emails in the last weeks of the campaign.
Saudi Arabia is planning to sell almost half of Saudi Arabian Oil, the worlds largest oil company, al-Eqtisadiah reported. A 49% stake will be sold within 10 years, according to the Riyadh-based newspaper, which cites an unidentified senior government official. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in April that an initial public offering is planned for 2018, or even a year earlier, with the country planning to sell less than 5%. Saudi Arabia, under pressure from lower crude prices, has been planning the share sale as part of an effort to generate revenue and reform its ...
Some climate activists worry that Donald Trumps presidential election will be the death knell for the global environment. Thats almost certainly untrue. Whatever Trumps attitude toward climate science and energy policy, two big outside factors will be much more important  technological progress and policy in developing nations. First, the good news. Renewable energy technology is already unstoppable. No longer does solar power depend on government subsidies for survival  its increasingly beating fossil fuels on pure raw economics. A new report from ...
The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty50 posted their biggest weekly fall in five weeks as market remained under pressure on account of foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows as worries over a faster pace of rate increase in US lingered on while back home the expected delay in the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) kept investors on tenterhooks.
Abortion care in the UK is 'heading towards a crisis' and reformation of the law is needed to remove stigma, encourage doctors to provide terminations and improve equitable access to excellent, modern abortion services, says a new study.

The study was published in the journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Care.

"Among the challenges women seeking abortion face include inequitable access, a lack of trained staff, stigmatisation and a culture of exceptionalism," said a researcher Dr Sandy Goldbeck-Wood from Cambridge University Hospitals.

The law is, therefore, widely seen by clinicians as "hypocritical and anachronistic," explains Dr Goldbeck-Wood.

Organisations calling for the law to be reformed include the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives and other women's organisations.

And if the law is to be reformed, says Dr Goldbeck-Wood, there will be a strong need for debate which is respectful and acknowledges the ethical complexity in this sensitive area of care.

Another problem is that abortion care has become artificially separated from the rest of reproductive health care, she adds.

Trainees in obstetrics and gynaecology - among them the potential service providers of the future - have too little opportunity to benefit from the learning environment that abortion care offers.

The lead study author Dr Louise Keogh from the University of Melbourne assessed the decriminalisation of abortion in the Victoria state of Australia in 2008.

The findings indicated that a change in the law has empowered women and increased clarity and safety for clinicians, but has failed to address stigma, access to services and workforce sustainability.

"Removal of specific criminal prohibitions against abortion should not be seen as a panacea, even though it is important to remove criminal law prohibitions and to establish abortion care as a health issue," said another researcher Sally Sheldon from Kent University in the London.

Much more work is needed to remove stigma, encourage doctors to provide terminations and improve "equitable access to excellent, modern abortion services," she concludes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Arunachal Pradesh Governor V. Shanmuganathan on Saturday expressed his hope that the festivity of Christmas will spread love and care and instill the blessed spirit in every individual and community.

Extending his warm greetings to the people of the state on the occasion of Christmas, the Governor said that the day is also being observed as Good Governance Day commemorating the birth anniversary of one of India's finest leaders and former prime minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He expressed confidence that the day will motivate all, particularly the public representatives and government officials to rise to the expectation of the people through efficient and effective governance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 Flash

China and Vietnam vowed Friday to further deepen mutual beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

While meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the sideline of the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) foreign minister's meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China and Vietnam, both socialist countries, share the common thought and ideal.

The development of bilateral ties between the two countries has witnessed a good start this year thanks to the efforts from both sides, and the two sides should properly handle differences and further deepen mutual beneficial cooperation so as to ensure the healthy and steady development of bilateral ties, the Chinese foreign minister said.

For his part, Pham Binh Minh said the development of bilateral ties has maintained good momentum and the cooperation between the two countries has been expanding, with Vietnam already becoming China's biggest trading partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Vietnam and China will brace for series of high level exchanges in 2017 and Vietnam is willing to work with China to make full preparation for them, he said.

Vietnam is also willing to dovetail with China's strategy so as to further deepen pragmatic cooperation between the two sides and manage the differences properly and effectively with China so as to maintain the stability in the region, he added.
At least 45 Rohingyas were sent back by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after they tried to enter the country illegally.

The trespassers were intercepted at different points of the Naf River by the BGB personnels.

Dhaka Tribune quoted, Teknaf 2 BGB Commander Lt Col Abujar Al Zahid, as saying, "We raided Hnila Fulerdeil points of the river from 5am till 9am and pushed back at least 45 Rohingyas boarded on three boats."

So far, thousands of Rohingyas have been pushed back by Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has strengthened security along its border with Myanmar to prevent the entry of Rohingyas who are trying to cross into its territory illegally due to violence in the Rakhine state that has claimed lives of at least 86 people and displaced 30,000 others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "covering up" the Dhulagarh communal incident, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday demanded an independent probe after a three-member party delegation was stopped by the local police from entering the area.

The BJP has alleged that the minority wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has targeted a particular community in the area in Howrah district of West Bengal for their support to the saffron party.

"It was a parliamentary BJP delegation. They were members of Parliament. What is scaring Mamata Banerjee is letting three to four delegates to go and meet those who have been hit by violence. Mamata is definitely trying to have a cover up therefore 144 was imposed there," BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh told ANI.

Singh further accused the TMC's minority wing of terrorising a particular community.

"It was unfortunate that the BJP delegation was stopped. Mamata should stop putting pressure on Bengali Hindus through the TMC minority wing goons and should not terrorise them. And If she is confident that she has nothing to hide, then I challenge Mamata to allow an independent investigation to be done so that truth comes out," he said.

The delegation comprising of party MPs Jagdambika Pal, Satpal Singh, state president Dilip Ghosh and its secretary Rahul Sinha was stopped at Ekabbarapur Road, about one kilometre away from the spot where the clashes had taken place a few days ago.

The police had cordononed off the area and deployed a large number of personnel.

They prevented the members to enter the areas and told them that prohibitory orders have been imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

In response, the BJP delegation along with its supporters blocked the road and staged a protest.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday seized seven packets of contraband suspected to be heroin near the Indo-Pakistan border in Amritsar's Bharopal sector.

Reportedly, the BSF troops open fired at Pakistani smugglers. However, they managed to escape.

Earlier this month, the BSF had seized nine packets of substance suspected to be heroin from fields near the International Border under the Border Outpost Dona Telu Mal area and Barreke Border Outpost area in Ferozepur sector.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that the fight against corruption would continue until the BJP-led government wins it.

"This fight will continue until we win it. Our battle to fight corruption has been going on since the day we assumed office. During this, we took some historic decisions, but on November 8 we launched one of the strongest attacks against black money hoarders," Prime Minister Modi said after laying the foundation of the Shivaji Memorial here.

Taking a dig at his detractors who vehemently opposed the demonetisation move, Prime Minister Modi said despite the opposition's best efforts to mislead and create a sense of panic, the people continued to repose their faith in the government.

Calling the demonetisation decision as a "bugle" against black money hoarders, Prime Minister Modi said, "There were various attempts to mislead and scare them, the air around was rife with speculations there were attempts to mislead the uneducated ones as well, but they did not get swayed by this and showed immense support on my government."

He said the recently held municipality elections, where the BJP emerged victorious, was proof of people showing support to the demonetisation drive.

The Prime Minister said the problems of the honest people will decrease after 50 days and those of dishonest will increase.

Taking a dig at the Congress Party, the Prime Minister said even after independence, India was still unable to achieve development and eradicate poverty.

"Had the previous governments taken development as their priority many problems which are creeping out now would have not occurred. Development has the capacity to lift people out of poverty, it is the only hope to live with dignity, that is why ever since we were given the mandate, we have made development as our focal point. We are clear on our approach and believe that development should be sustainable," he said.

"They (UPA rule) kept the rural people in darkness for 70 years. They were forced to live in 18th-century-like situation. Will they be forgiven for this?" he added.

Prime Minister Modi also heaped praise on Chhatrapati Shivaji for his valour and his contribution to development and good governance.

"Shivaji Maharaj was a multifaceted personality. So many aspects of his personality inspire us. His courage was known but there are so many more aspects of Shivaji Maharaj we must know about. Look at his policies on water, finance," he said.

The Prime Minister said India has the capacity to attract people with its robust tourism.

"If it is any sector which is accelerating it is the tourism sector. It has the capability to generate trillions of dollars worth revenue in the country. India, with its rich cultural history, has the capability to attract people all over the world," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the opposition was having a problem with the present regime, as it has tried to redeem an anomaly of the past by granting domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan.

"As far as the problem of political activists are concerned, there are of two classes. One were those who were in power both at the Centre and in the state for last 70 years, but they could not address this issue. That is why they are having problem as to how the BJP has managed to address the problem. The government led by the BJP who is there for the last two years has tried to redeem an anomaly of the past," Singh told ANI.

Singh said there are activists who tried to sustain their politics by catering to Kashmir centric sentiments, adding that they are not only causing harm to the cause of India, but also to the valley.

"On the other hand, some of them chose Jammu and Kashmir as their home cannot be held to ransom therefore a proof of identity is a basic right that they would be seeking to gain a reasonable employment. This is something the earlier government should have done," he added.

As protests and strike were observed by large sections of the people in the Kashmir Valley against the decision to grant domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan, both separatists and mainstream opposition parties took on the BJP-PDP government.

Clashes were reported from Sopore town in north Kashmir after the Friday prayers and the police used tear smoke shells and cane-charge to disperse the protesters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kashmiri activist Sushil Pandit on Saturday criticised Pakistan over reports of snatching of girls for debt repayment and said that the practice punishes the Hindu community for being a minority in a Muslim-majority country.

"Hindus in Pakistan are paying the price of becoming the minority. It is not just the issue of human rights violation, what they are facing is genocide. At this rate, they will not be able to find even one. It is a warning to all of us here in India," Pandit told ANI.

Pandit said he was ashamed that the Centre is not taking responsibility for the care of Hindus living in a place which was India's not long ago.

In the year 2005, a girl called Jeevti who was just 14 was taken away from her family in the night to be married off to a man who says her family owed him USD 1,000 in Pakistan.

Her mother, Ameri Kashi Kohli, is sure that her daughter paid the price for a never-ending debt.

As per reports, Hindu women in southern Pakistan are frequently offered by parents as payment for a debt or to settle disputes.

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, more than two million Pakistanis live as "modern slaves".

An estimated 1,000 young Christian and Hindu girls, most of them underage and impoverished, are taken from their homes each year, converted to Islam and married, said a report by the South Asia Partnership organization.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Maoist rebel was shot dead during an encounter in the forest area of Khunti district in Jharkhand.

Acting on a tip off, a police team raided a hideout in forest area of Khunti district yesterday.

In the ensuing gun battle, a member of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of India (Maoists) was shot dead.

Superintendent of Police of Khunti district Ashwani Kumar said that about nine rebels managed to escape, leaving behind their weapons.

"During the raids, there was a pitch encounter with Prabhu Sahay and Pattu Nag teams. One PLFI (People's Liberation Front of India) rebel was shot dead during the gun battle. One carbine was recovered from him and nearly eight to nine rebels managed o escape," Kumar said.

The police have formed teams to apprehend the rebels who are on the run.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ace filmmaker Karan Johar has given innumerable hits to Bollywood industry, making him worthy of several awards. When attacked by the media if he has ever lobbied for one, the 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' director denied the remark.

At the recently held press conference of 62nd Jio Filmfare Awards 2016, KJo said, "I have never in my entire life called anyone for awards. There's no point. I have won very few awards in my career and that too glamour related awards."

"As a director I have just got two awards. Those who are confident about their films don't need to call anyone as they get what they deserve," said Karan.

The awards ceremony will be held on January 14, 2017 at the NSCI Dome in Worli which was announced at a press conference attended by Filmfare editor Jitesh Pillai, Karan and actress Alia Bhatt.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Swatting off charges of Rahul Gandhi that the government has grabbed the lands of the tribes, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said the allegation of the Congress vice-president is ridiculous.

"Rahul Gandhi talking of the fact that our government has taken away land from adivasi is quite ridiculous and as far as seizing land is concerned," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told ANI.

Patra said Gandhi's allegation remind the nation about his brother-in-law Robert Vadra of his illegal land deals across the country.

"We are all reminded of his brother-in-law Robert Vadra and he is the only person in India who is infamous because he looted the land of this country and in fact cases are going against him and recently the Rajasthan Court has ordered the Enforcement Directorate to investigate one such case," he added.

Gandhi while addressing a public rally at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh alleged that the BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have taken away lands of the adivasis (tribes).

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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday dubbed the row over the installation of a statue of Shivaji as political gimmick engineered by the Bharatiya Janata Party to influence the Maharashtrian voters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today lay the foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on an island in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai.

"The bhumi pujan of memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mumbai is just a gimmick to influence voters of Maharashtra," NCP leader Nawab Malik told ANI.

"Earlier also, before Bihar elections, the bhumipujan of Dada Baba Sahib Ambedkar memorial was done by Prime Minister to influence the Bihar poll," Malik added.

During his one-day visit to the state, Prime Minister Modi would also lay the foundation stone for a metro rail project in Pune.

He will inaugurate the newly-built campus of the Institute of Securities Management at the MIDC Patalganga in neighbouring Raigad district.

Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground in suburban Bandra, after laying the foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).

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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday reiterated that his government is committed to the welfare of the retired army personnel and added that his government has taken several measures for the welfare of the military personnel and some more are in the offing.

The Chief Minister held a high-level review meeting on the welfare of the retired military personnel at Pragathi Bhavan here.

During the meeting the Chief Minister decided to implement double pension scheme for the retired military personnel.

The double pension benefit will also be given to the spouse incase of death of the army pensioner. This pension will also be paid along with pensions of other employees every month.

He has also decided to extend benefits given to the army personnel martyred while serving to those lost their lives due to ill health and accidents too.

He has instructed the officials not to show any discrimination in this regard and said that retired army personnel working as Special Police Officers will be paid salaries along with other employees every month.

Rao said there is a need to strengthen the Army Welfare Boards. There are only 10 Sainik Welfare Boards in the districts, which will be extended to all the newly formed districts in the State.

He said steps will be taken to set up two Army Welfare Offices in Medak and Adilabad districts.

The compensation money given for those getting the gallantry awards would be more in the Telangana State compared to other states.

He also said that reservation should be given to the children of serving and retired army personnel in the Government residential Schools.

"The State government should accord recognition to the schools run by the army. Students joining NCC, Scouts and Guides should be encouraged and those pursing courses in Defence Academy from the State should be given fellowships," Rao said.

Since the Centre has agreed to set up an Army School in Warangal, Rao said, a Memorandum of Understadning in this regard will be signed as early as possible.

He also waived off vehicle tax for the the army personnel and will be exempted from paying tax in the state.

Meanwhile, the retired army personnel representatives have thanked the Chief Minister for enhancing the pension of war widows, giving two per cent reservation while allotting the two bed room houses, thereby exempting the military personnel from paying tax on their property.

Ministers Naini Narasimha Reddy, State Government's Principal Advisor Rajeev Sharma, MPs Capt. Laxmikanth Rao, Vinod Kumar, Principal Secretaries Rajiv Trivedi and S Narsing Rao, Home Secretary Ms Anitha Rajendra, Southern India Army Commandant General Maj Gen S Pachauri, Secunderabad Station Brigadier Ajay Singh Negi, Colonel Tarun Kumar, Colonel Atul Rajput, Lieutenant General Jaswinder Singh, Captain Navneeth Singh, Army Welfare Committee Members Sri Suresh Reddy, Jagan Reddy, Pochaiah, Prabhakar Reddy, Manohar Reddy and others participated in the meeting.

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Maharashtra's Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde who is also the member of Board of Directors of Vaidyanath Urban Cooperative Bank, on Saturday said the bank is ready to cooperate with the CBI after it registered a case against its officials for exchanging old currencies through 'fraudulent means'.

"The board members and I are not directly involved with the routine transactions of the bank. Also, I have been told that the bank has not done anything wrong, but we will co-operate in the investigation," Munde told ANI.

Four officials of the bank, including the manager, two workers and a doctor have been detained in connection with transportation of the cash and allegedly converting Rs. 25 crore.

Earlier today, the bank issued a statement where it refuted the charges made by the investigative agency.

"We have done nothing wrong. However, we are ready to co-operate in the investigation," it read.

The CBI has registered the case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the investigative agency, the accused entered into a conspiracy and "fraudulently transported" around Rs25 crore in demonetised currency from the bank's head office in Beed to its Ghatkopar branch in Mumbai on November 19 for changing it into legal tender.

Around Rs. 15 crore was allegedly deposited with Maharashtra State Urban Co-operative Bank and Rs. 10.10 crore (Rs10 lakh in Rs. 2,000 denomination and Rs. 10 crore in old Rs. 500 notes) was being transported back to Beed in a car when it was intercepted by the Mumbai Police.

Three persons have been detained so far in the case by the police.

The probe revealed that the cash belonged to Vaidyanath Bank and the detained persons were its employees, including a branch manager.

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A woman rights activist on Saturday condemned the incident of a woman constable being attacked with acid in Vellore saying that women are unsafe in India.

"Women are not safe in India, no matter, which profession they may be, and a woman who is a police officer is not safe from her own family, forget about others," Brinda Adige told ANI.

She added that it was very sad situation as the culprits get away easily because the judiciary is very slow to act.

"The accused, the perpetrators get away so easily because they know nothing is going to be done to them, no cases are going to be booked on them, and even if a case is booked nothing happens to them, because the judiciary is very slow. It is cumbersome and tedious procedure and process," she added.

A woman constable was attacked with acid on Friday by unidentified assailants, here, police officials said. The incident took place at Tiruppattur in Vellore district.

The constable sustained burn injuries on her face and right hand and has been admitted to Christian Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

The police are probing the case to identify the accused and has formed five teams to nab the culprits who fled from the scene.

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The exercise undertaken by the government in terms of defence procurement will start yielding results from next year onwards, Union Defence Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar said at an ASSOCHAM event.

In defence procurement we have planted some grafts, which I expect to produce result, but even there you have to wait for 2-3 years, now two years are over, probably next year 2017 is a year where whatever exercise has been carried out will start yielding results, said Mr Parrikar.

He said that most of the issues pertaining to defence procurement procedure are being gradually sorted out.

I am still clearing the mess of the earlier government, I do not intend to point finger, this is not for blame game, but till now there were so many errors, mistakes, casualness, things have gone in cycles and cycles, said Mr Parrikar.

Slowly but surely these issues are getting sorted out and I am very sure that we will make it as the road ahead is very clear, he added.

Highlighting that government has initiated various policy initiatives, the Union Defence Minister said, If we properly assess the requirement of defence forces, we can make many of the changes happen.

He also said that industry should come out with clear recommendations. We expect that while we will also change DPMs (Defence Procurement Manuals) and OFB (Ordinance Factory Board) very soon into IDDM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) concept, slightly differently put up, but at the same time we will expect that the biggies in the private sector also spread requirement to the small and medium.

There is a definite improvement, the percentage of small and medium, legally required is 20, it was around between 9 per cent in OFBs and to about 14-15 in PSUs, today it has crossed 20 and is at an average of about 29 per cent in MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector, he added.

Talking about the need for India's defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) to remain competitive, he said that if good material can be got at a cheaper price why should advance be paid, except where development and small scale industry is involved.

Why should he restrict himself, he should ask for best quality at cheapest rates.

I am not going to give advance if I can get good material at credit why should I pay advance to another company, said Mr Parrikar.

He said that in case of high-technology item, the policy has to be different.

If it is developed, manufactured and supplied by small industry, the policy has to be different, we are working on it, that is why some time is being taken, but when it comes out it will be much better manuals, said the Union Defence Minister.

Both these manuals are being worked because now lot of things have been eliminated, they are gone, so now there are very few things, but critical issues are remaining, he said.

He said that there are more issues in offset like skill development, if it should be outsourced to a competent agency, and if it can be used for venture capital. These are questions we are answering and will be replying to them very soon but I think all these aspects are now limited to 4-5 pointed issues, give us those.

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Plant to restart on implementation corrective actions/ modification

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals announced that Safety Audit of TDI-II Plant, Dahej by Internationally reputed Company Lloyds Registers has been completed. The TDI technology supplier Chematur A.B. Sweden, has reviewed the corrective actions / modifications suggested by Lloyds Registers and currently the same are under implementation. The plant will be restarted as early as possible after implementing all corrective actions / modifications and ensuring safety and security of the plant.

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The softening of yields due to surplus liquidity could help Indian banks in registering INR 382 billion of potential treasury gains for FY17, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). The INR 382 billion worth of potential treasury gains are significantly large, considering the banking sector reported an INR 236 billion profit for FY16 (public sector banks (PSBs) reported INR 177 billion in loss). The development comes at a time when the banking sector is facing challenging conditions. The profitability levels of Indian banks remain weak owing to continued pressure on asset quality and weak loan expansion. It would be imperative for banks starved for capital to strengthen their capital adequacy ratios.

Meanwhile, even better placed banks can use this likely opportunity to improve their provision coverage ratios, which recently witnessed a downtrend. However, large profit booking, followed by a spike in yields, could have a double whammy effect on the profitability levels of banks in subsequent years.

Treasury Gains to Partially Ease Capital Requirement for PSBs: Treasury gains in FY17 would enable PSBs to contribute towards reducing their capital requirements, in accordance with the Basel III requirement. Domestic additional Tier 1 (AT1) issuances worth INR154 billion have been made so far in FY17, with increased participation from mutual funds. Ind-Ra believes the softening of yields could prove to be an additional impetus in the development of AT1 markets.

Demonetisation to Drive Yields Lower: A surge in deposits, due to demonetisation, will increase demand for government and high-rated corporate bonds, and is likely to put downward pressure on yields under the current tepid credit demand scenario. Banks are poised to benefit from the softening of yields, considering they are the largest holders of government bonds (about INR29 trillion as on 11 November 2016).

UDAY Bonds to Add to Treasury Gains: In addition to statutory liquidity requirement (SLR) bonds, banks hold bonds issued by states under Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). UDAY bonds have been converted to bonds from standard restructured loans given to state distribution companies (discoms).

In FY16, the value of loans converted to state government bonds under UDAY was about INR0.75 trillion. Ind-Ra estimates the value of loans converted to state government bonds at end-September 2016 at about INR1 trillion, a significant proportion of which continues to be a part of banks' investment portfolio. Under UDAY, discom bonds with different maturity periods, ranging from 4-15 years, were issued. The yields at the time of the issuance were in the range of 8.10%-8.75%. At present, UDAY bonds are trading at close to 7.25%. This could result in a potential gain of 100bp-150bp.

Mid-Sized PSBs Likely to Register Larger Treasury Gains: Some mid-sized PSBs would continue to report stressed profitability figures for FY17 on account of rising credit costs due to the ageing impact of a large proportion of assets classified non-performing in FY16. Treasury gains would provide some relief to the overall profitability levels of PSBs. Some mid-sized PSBs witnessed an increase in their investment portfolios in recent quarters on account of challenges with regard to the deployment of incremental deposits. The compression of yields has proved to be a boon for them. A weak profitability forecast, along with challenging capital conditions, would result in mid-sized PSBs registering high treasury gains to protect themselves from potential capital erosion.

Daily Average LCR Reporting to Increase SLR Holdings of Banks: Ind-Ra expects an increase in the structural volatility in the liquidity coverage ratios (LCRs) of banks, given the proposed switch from monthly to daily average LCR calculations by January 2018.

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At least 14 people were killed and 16 others injured when a bus fell off a cliff on Saturday while travelling from Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur, the authorities said.

Police have confirmed that the bus was travelling at a high speed during the incident. The Malaysian Star daily reported.

The bus driver lost control of the vehicle before plunging off the cliff, a senior police official said.

"The bus rammed into a concrete tunnel at the cliff," he said.

The victims comprised six men, seven women and a child.

Meanwhile, the injured victims were identified as seven local men, five Singaporean men, two Myanmar men, a Singaporean woman and a woman whose identity is yet to be ascertained.

--IANS

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Amid the escalating patents row with Finnish smartphone maker Nokia, Apple has reportedly pulled all products made by Withings -- a French company and now a Nokia subsidiary -- from Apple Stores, be it online or retail.

Several Withings iOS-compatible products -- mostly health-related connected accessories -- have been available at Apple Stores for nearly two years as part of a retail alliance, AppleInsider reported on Saturday.

The Withings product sales continued even after the company was acquired by Nokia in April for nearly $190 million. The Withings brand was integrated into Nokia's Digital Health unit.

"Now, the devices made by the Nokia subsidiary are no longer listed on Apple's website. Previously, Apple carried a wide range of iOS-compatible Withings devices in its retail stores, including the 'Body Cardio Scale' and 'Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor,'" the report added.

Five years after Apple and Nokia settled a lawsuit, the tech giants have again locked horns over patents with Apple filing an anti-trust lawsuit against third-party companies Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) that act on Nokia's behalf, and the Finland-based firm suing Apple directly earlier this week.

Nokia filed a suit in Europe and the US, claiming Apple is still infringing on Nokia patents.

The lawsuit covers 32 patents, including display, user interface, software and video-coding technology.

Nokia said that since settling the initial case, Apple has "declined subsequent offers made by Nokia to license other [parts] of its patented inventions, which are used by many Apple products."

In its lawsuit, Apple argued that Nokia already has agreements to license its patents for fair and reasonable terms, also know as "FRAND" (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory).

"But Nokia is transferring these patents to PAEs in order to aggressively pursue money," Apple argued.

According to the Cupertino-based tech giant, Nokia has been conspiring with PAEs patent assertion entities (Acacia Research and Conversant Property Management) in an "illegal patent transfer scheme" to wring money out of Apple because Nokia's cell phone business is failing.

According to the AppleInsider report, Apple has now "expunged all mention of Withings and its product line from the Apple.com online retail database".

"Whether or not the recent Withings removal is related to Nokia's shady legal dealings has yet to be confirmed, but Apple has in the past used its retail might as a retaliatory weapon," the report added.

In 2011, the two companies settled a patent fight over smartphone technology through a licensing agreement that committed Apple to make a one-time payment to the company and to pay regular royalties in the future, media reported.

The companies also agreed to withdraw complaints against each other with the International Trade Commission over the use of intellectual property.

--IANS

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After 28 years of talks between Beijing and Moscow, construction has finally started on a modern highway bridge connecting China and Russia across the Heilongjiang river, the first between the two countries.

The main span of the bridge is 1,283 metres and links Heihe to the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The bridge is an important international link and part of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. It will strengthen cooperation between the neighbouring two regions," said a Chinese official.

Costing 2.5 billion yuan (about $360 million), the bridge will open in October 2019.

Passenger flow between the two cities is expected to reach 1.5 million a year by 2020, double the current figure. Cargo volume will reach three million tones by then, ten times today's figure.

--IANS

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A day after the mother of a gang rape victim was shot by unidentified youth, Delhi Police on Saturday said it has arrested a builder, who was prime accused in the case, from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

"Sajid Khan, the prime accused of rape case, was absconding after the registeration of rape case. Six raids were made by police teams. He was traced and arrested in Bijnor of Uttar Pradesh on Friday night and was brought to Delhi," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Banniya.

Khan confessed to being involved in the crime, said Banniya, adding he was being interrogated for identifying the other three accused even as some suspects have been identified and their possible hideouts are being raided.

The builder was also being questioned to find if he was involved in sending the unidentified boy, who on Friday morning shot the victim's mother when she was on her way to hospital, along with her daughter, the rape victim, in Jamia Nagar area of south Delhi.

The woman was admitted in Safdurjung Hospital, according to police.

After the crime came to light, a case of gang rape was registered against four persons, including Khan, on December 12.

According to police, the sexual assault on the 15-year-old class 9 student first took place in July when Khan, whom she had met through a classmate, raped the victim in his flat.

Khan also made an MMS clip of the sexual assault. Later, three or four of Khan's associates also raped the victim in various flats located in south Delhi.

The victim was three months pregnant when her mother registered a complaint against Khan and his associates with the help of local NGOs.

--IANS

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The Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested an indigenous Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from an Indian Air Force aircraft, an official release said on Saturday.

Designed and developed in the country, the 120-kg class smart weapon is used to destroy runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced structures.

Its long standoff range of 100 km will allow the IAF to hit adversary airfields with high precision from a safe distance.

"The captive and release trials were tracked by radar and telemetry ground stations at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha during the entire duration of the flight. The performance of all systems was satisfactory with all mission objectives achieved," said the release.

The lightweight high-precision guided bomb is one of the world class weapons systems, the release said.

The government sanctioned the Rs 56.58 crore SAAW project in September 2013.

DRDO Chairman Dr S. Christopher congratulated the DRDO and the IAF teams for the successful mission.

In May, the DRDO conducted the first test on the weapon system from the IAF Jaguar DARIN-II aircraft in Bengaluru in Karnataka.

The test was carried out by IAF's Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE).

The trial mode mounting of the SAAW on Jaguar DARIN-II aircraft is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

--IANS

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Egypt said on Saturday it decided to postpone a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements to avoid a veto.

Egypt requested on Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements be postponed, which led to arguments and questions.

"Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, was quoted by official news agency MENA as saying.

"But Egypt has decided to withdraw the resolution to give more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution," the spokesman added.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced that he asked the incumbent US administration to veto the resolution, Abu Zeid noted.

On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela, urging Israel to cease all settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territory.

Egypt was a key partner in sponsoring Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in coordination with the coming US administration in order to reach an all-out, just and final settlement to the Palestinian issue, Abu Zeid said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a call on Thursday had agreed with US President-elect Trump on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive and final settlement.

--IANS

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Questioning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for removing the list of donors from the AAP website since June this year, social activist asked him what differentiates the AAP now from other political parties.

In a letter to Kejriwal written on Friday, Hazare said that he received a note from some activists who noted the list of donors to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was missing from the party website.

"You had promised that AAP will show the details of all donations received by it on the party website... In the letter (that I received), the activists have written that the list of donors has been removed from AAP website since June 2016," Hazare wrote.

"This reflects difference between your words and action. To bring change in the nation, there is a need for a leader who unites his words with his action.

"You promised me as well as the society that you will bring change. I feel sad that you didn't fulfil your promise," he added.

Hazare said that the talks Kejriwal had with him about bringing change seem to be getting lost, and power and money seem to be becoming important.

"Else, the names of those who donated to AAP during tough times, their names won't have been removed from the website," he added.

Noting that this was the first time he was writing to Kejriwal since he became the Delhi Chief Minister, the anti-corruption crusader asked if such measures continue, then what will be the difference between AAP and other political parties.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said the AAP did not do anything for the contractual workers employed in various government departments in the national capital.

"Kejriwal government has been in power for almost two years now but he has made no effort for regularisation of contractual employees," BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari told reporters here.

"In fact Kejriwal government which is beset with a authoritarian Tughlaqi approach has repeatedly threatened staff raising their bonafide demand," the leader who also holds the northeast constituency of Delhi, said.

"From DANICS officers to guest teachers, all have been threatened by the Kejriwal government time and again," he said.

Tiwari's remarks came after Delhi' Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said guest teachers working in Delhi government schools had "broken his heart" by raising slogans against him and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during the Delhi government's function to thank the teaching community.

On Wednesday, hundreds of guest teachers created a ruckus outside Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town and even blocked the Ring Road leading to the stadium where the event was organised.

"In a circular issued early this year to the Municipal Corporations the Kejriwal government had directed the Municipal Commissioners to remove all contractual employees with them," Tiwari alleged.

Tiwari said that "over 70 per cent of contractual employees with the civic bodies are sanitation workers who are the backbone of Delhi's sanitation system".

Tiwari also said that if needed the will launch an agitation for their regularisation.
Located in the heart of West Africa, a region India seeks to increase its engagement with, Mali is a winning business opportunity, says a political leader from the nation recently in the news for the conflict with Islamic militants in its northern areas.

"I have come to tell India that Mali is a winning business opportunity. It is a win-win opportunity for Indian businesses that come there," Niankoro Yeah Samake, president of the Party for Civic and Patriotic Action (PACP) in Mali and one of the very few Mormons in the predominantly Muslim country of 14.5 million, told IANS in an interview here.

Samake, who is currently mayor of his birthplace Ouelessebougou, around a 45-minute drive from capital Bamako, was a candidate in the country's presidential elections last July.

"Mali has opened up its telecom, agri-business and IT sectors, particularly in the area of internet service providers all of which would be good opportunities for Indian business," Samake said.

"Besides, education, which is another of India's strengths, is a big need for Mali, building higher and primary education in the country," he added.

Samake said that his country is currently a safe and protected business environment with the government committed to create employment.

"Mali favours Indian investment because it would be the engine to create jobs, for our economic development. We will make sure Indian investments are protected, that government will not turn around and make any issues for foreign investors", Samake said.

Currently, there are various Indian ventures doing business in Mali, particularly in the mining, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and agro industry sectors. The country has large reserves of minerals like gold, iron ore, uranium and bauxite, while cotton is a major agricultural product.

As mayor of Ouelessebougou, a commune of 44 villages, Samake focussed on ending corruption and increasing government transparency. The city now ranks among the top 10 in the country with a tax collection rate of 68 percent, where prior to his election three years ago, less than 10 percent of the population were paying taxes.

"I can facilitate Indian business coming to Mali. You need the support of someone who can hold your hand and help navigate the system, who can facilitate land acquisition," said Samake, who recently helped an Indian enterpreneur set up a small manufacturing unit in his area.

"I have a new partnership here with the Avignam Group, which helps advance Indian business in Africa and which will be representing my endeavours here," Samake said, adding that he had the support of the Malian government and their "embassy here has provided all the help I needed to be able to reach out to the business community."

Samake, who converted to Mormonism in 2000 when he was in the US studying in the sect-run Brigham Young University, has a $500,000-a-year charity foundation called Empower Mali that delivers schools, education, solar energy and healthcare to Ouelessebougou.

He also runs a travel business in Mali and has himself funded this visit to India.

"You may make profit by making a difference to the lives of the people," Samake said of his endeavours here that included meeting with local tour operators.

He concluded by pointing out that Mali also offers access to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) that includes Nigeria, Niger and Ghana.

"This economic community has oil, is growing quickly and the regional integration provides a market of 300 million people with little or no barriers" he said.

(Biswajit Choudhury can be reached at biswajit.c@ians.in)
A woman from London and a man from Derby appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court in London Saturday on terrorism charges.

Munir Hassan Mohammed, 36, of Derby and Rowaida El Hassan, 32, of Willeston Lane, London were remanded in custody by the court, Xinhua news agency reported.

Both were charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and possessing a record of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Mohammed was also charged with belonging to a proscribed organisation and dissemination of terrorist material.

Mohammed and El Hassan were among six people arrested on December 12 in Derby, Burton on Trent and London. The remaining four individuals have since been released without charge.

--IANS

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday not to allow a new state to be established in northern Syria.

"We will never allow the founding of this kind of state," the President was quoted by Turkish press as saying to Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board in Istanbul.

Erdogan also reiterated a call for the establishment of a "terror-free safe zone" in northern Syria for the safety of Turkey's southeastern border provinces.

Ankara launched a military operation on August 24 in northern Syria mainly to prevent the Syrian Kurds from uniting their cantons for an autonomous region, or worse, an independent state, which Turkey fears might set a precedent for its own Kurds.

Turkish forces and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels have been fighting lately to take the northern Syrian city of al-Bab from the Islamic State, an operation Erdogan said on Friday was "almost" coming to an end.

--IANS

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the central government's demonetisation decision, saying the decision is "anti-poor", favours 50 corporate families and is a "firebomb on country's cash economy".

Addressing a public rally here, he said: "It's the colour of the note that decides whether it's in the hands of an honest or an unscrupulous person.

"There is an honest person on one side, while an unscrupulous person on the other. If the note goes into the hands of unscrupulous people, it becomes black as if under a spell of magic...currency ban is against the honest people."

Donning a Himachali cap, Gandhi, in his 40-minute speech in Hindi, said the Congress was not against a cashless system but it should not be imposed and it should not be an "excuse".

"The note ban is a step taken against the poor, farmers and the middle class people," he said at the rally, marking the completion of four years of the state government led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said: "PM Modi, you have divided India into two parts. On one side is one per cent rich and on the other there are middle class, poor people."

He said Modi is saying the situation after demonetisation would improve in 50 days but "it will not improve for at least seven months".

"All black money isn't cash and all cash isn't black money... And only six per cent of black money in India is in the form of paper money. Rest 94 per cent is in the form of real estate, gold and in foreign banks."

He said the currency ban has hit this hill state's mainstay -- horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors -- adversely.

Terming the three sectors together as HAT (horticulture, agriculture and tourism), "PM Modi has taken the HAT off the state's head, just like the BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, snatching away land from the tribal people."

Questioning the Prime Minister on bringing back Indian money in foreign banks, Gandhi asked why he did not table the list of Swiss bank account holders in Parliament if his government was really sincere about its stand against black money and corruption.

Gandhi, who took part in a Himachali dance before the rally, said the corporate houses who are close to Modi are travelling with him to the US and getting maximum defence contracts and building palatial bungalows.

"The thieves (hoarders of black money) are intelligent and spend as little money as possible. They don't keep the money in cash. Those, who stashed huge sum of black money, don't do it only in cash but in real estate, jewellery and other forms."

Replying to Modi's barb that the Congress's young leader is learning to deliver speeches, Gandhi said: "When I ask questions, PM Modi mocks at me. He can continue to do so, but I just want my questions answered."

The BJP, he said, gave 'laddoos' to people of Delhi standing in queues outside banks and ATMs.

"For a common man a 'laddoo' costs Rs 3 or Rs 5 and to Vijay Mallya, the government gave a 'laddoo' of Rs 1,200 crore," Gandhi added.

--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 Barack Obama has signed an annual defence policy bill into law though he said he was disappointed in many aspects, the White House announced.

The wide-ranging National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed by both the House and the Senate with veto-proof majorities earlier this month, lays restrictions on transferring detainees out of the Guantanamo Bay facility, ensuring that Obama will not be able to fulfil his goal of closing it before he leaves office next month, Xinhua news agency reported.

It authorises a total of $618.7 billion in spending, including a troop pay raise of 2.1 per cent, though Obama has only requested for a 1.6 per cent pay raise.

It also calls for $3.2 billion more in base defence funding than Obama has requested, plus an additional $5.8 billion in White House-requested war dollars.

As for the size of the Army and Marine Corps, the new bill authorises 476,000 active-duty soldiers (16,000 more than requested) and 185,000 Marines (3,000 more than requested).

After signing the bill on Friday, Obama said that it "authorises fiscal year 2017 appropriations principally for the Department of Defense and for Department of Energy national security programmes, provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families, and includes authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe."

However, "Congress again failed to enact meaningful reforms to divest unneeded force structure, reduce wasteful overhead and modernize military healthcare."

"Instead, the Congress redirects funding needed to support the warfighter to fund additional end-strength that our military leaders have not requested at a time when our troops are engaged overseas supporting the fight against the Islamic State and against Al Qaeda," he added.

On the campaign trail, US President-elect Donald Trump promised a massive military building-up, including boosting the Army to 540,000 active-duty soldiers, increasing the Navy to 350 warships and adding 1,200 new Air Force fighter jets.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday travelled in an Indian Coast Guard hovercraft to perform a symbolic 'jal-pujan' for the proposed Rs 3,600 crore memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The 'Shiv Smarak' is coming up in the Arabian Sea, around 1.5 km from the Mumbai shoreline opposite Marine Drive or Queen's Necklace in south Mumbai.

He was accompanied by Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and a select group of other dignitaries.

Descendents of the great Maratha warrior, Udayan Raje Bhosale and Sambhaji Raje Bhosale were also present as the large ICG hovercraft vroomed off from Girgaum Chowpatty on Saturday afternoon.

At the designated spot in the Arabian Sea finalised for the project, where a makeshift floating mini-replica of the proposed memorial was created for Saturday's event, Modi poured water from a bronze vessel and threw some earth at the site to perform the 'jal-pujan'.

Later, on return to Girgaum Chowpatty, he was welcomed by a traditional Maharashtrian band as he performed another brief 'bhoomi pooja' for the memorial amidst sounding of bugles and 'tutaris'.

The Maharashtra Congress, meanwhile, strongly criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena for preventing their silent, peaceful rally to protest against demonetisation here this afternoon during Modi's visit.

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam said in a statement that he "has been placed under house arrest by the police since Friday night" and not permitted to leave his home in Andheri.

"What is this, Prime Minister Modi? We are a democracy, this is like a Hitler-Raj... We are not allowed to even raise our grievances in a peaceful manner.

"The media is barred from meeting me and I am placed under house arrest," Nirupam said.

In another stinging attack, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said "it is clear the BJP government appears to be extremely scared and perturbed and is unable to accept even a silent protest."

"We condemn the step of Maharashtra government to put Nirupam under house arrest. It is a Black Day for Indian democracy... this act confirms the fact that the BJP government has a sadist and fascist mindset, which deny the citizens' basic fundamental and constitutional right to protest peacefully," Sawant added.

Following the 'jal-pujan' and 'bhoomi-puja' for the memorial, Modi left for Bandra Kurla Complex in central Mumbai for several other engagements and a public rally.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
General Secretary Amar Singh on Saturday said the decision on an electoral understanding between his party and the Congress for the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be decided by the party top brass.

"I am a small party worker; such decisions are taken by senior leaders like party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav," Amar Singh said after a meeting with SP's state unit chief Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Amar Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, is a member of the party's Parliamentary Board.

As for his meeting with Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel in Delhi, Singh said no should be read into the meeting since the event was held to commemorate late prime minister Chowdhary Charan Singh and he attended it on Mulayam's instructions.

Regarding Akhilesh's claim that an alliance with the Congress will lead to 300 plus seats in UP polls, Amar Singh said he did not wish to comment. However, he said, leaders should desist from making comments they might have to withdraw later.

Regarding his meeting with Shivpal, the SP General Secretary said there was nothing unusual in it. "Am I meeting Mayawati? Why this buzz?" he asked.

It is for the first time in many months that Amar Singh has visited state capital Lucknow. He was caught in the crossfire between the Mulayam-Shivpal combine and Akhilesh Yadav starting September 2016.
A day after his nuclear weapons tweet sent jitters across the world, US President-elect further suggested that he was open to an arms race.

"Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all," Trump reportedly told MSNBC in an off-air conversation on Friday.

Less than one month before taking office, Trump caused alarm on Thursday by tweeting that the United States must boost its nuclear capability, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Trump wrote.

Though it remained unclear what caused Trump to weigh in on the issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin' statement about the need to "strengthen" its nuclear forces, just hours before Trump's tweet, could be a factor.

But Trump's incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined that Trump's tweet on nuclear weapons on Thursday was a reaction to Putin's speech.

"There's been several countries, Russia among them, that have talked about expanding their nuclear capability. The point that he was making was very clear," said Spicer.

In the same interview, Spicer also claimed that there would not be an arms race.

"There's not going to be (arms race) because he's going to ensure that other countries get the message that he's not going to sit back and allow that," he said.
Turkey's Minister of Defence said that the Islamic State jihadist group had taken three Turkish soldiers hostage.

Defense Minister Fikri Isik confirmed on Friday that the IS had captured three servicemen, but was unable to provide further detail, Efe news agency reported.

"We know that three of our soldiers are in the hands of Daesh (IS), but apart from that, everything else is an interpretation," Isik said.

The minister's statement came after a video emerged on social media on Thursday that appeared to show purported IS members burning two captured Turkish soldiers to death.

--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 Manoj Sinha was injured in a road mishap while he was on his way from Barabanki to Gorakhpur, police said.

He has fractured his left arm and sustained some minor injuries.

The Minister of State for Railways was rushed to Apollo hospital in Gorakhpur late on Friday and after receiving first aid has been admitted to the Lalit Narayan Mishra railway hospital.

Senior railway, district and police officials were camping at the hospital where Sinha, MP from Ghazipur is admitted.

Officials say the minister was headed for an event in Kushinagar and was slated for a night halt at the Gorakhpur's Railway VVIP guest house. But on the way, in an attempt to save a biker, the escort car in his cavalcade pressed emergency brakes and the minister's car hit it from behind.

A senior official of North-Eastern Railways (NER) Sanjay Yadav said Sinha had a fracture between his left shoulder and elbow. He will will be flown to Delhi on Saturday for a surgery.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US has issued travel warnings for Egypt and Jordan over the risk of terror attacks against American interests, tourists and personnel.

The US State Department on Friday warned US citizens to consider the risk of travelling to these countries and to avoid certain areas where the threat is greater, Efe news reported.

In Egypt, the US diplomatic mission has prohibited its staff from travelling to the Western Desert and the Sinai Peninsula, prompting US authorities to advise citizens against travel to these areas.

US diplomatic personnel are only allowed to travel to the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, adjacent to the Sinai Peninsula, and only by air as they are banned from using overland transport in the peninsula.

"The Egyptian Government maintains a heavy security presence at major tourist sites, such as Sharm el-Sheikh... and at many of the temples and archaeological sites located in and around greater Cairo and in the Nile Valley," the travel warning read.

"US Mission personnel are allowed to travel to these areas. However, terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country," the alert added, explaining that several extremist organisations are operating in Egypt, including the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

The US has also warned its citizens and staff against travelling to Jordan, where terror organisations, including the IS, are active.

"Jordan's prominent role in the counter-IS Coalition and its shared borders with Iraq and Syria increase the potential for future terrorist incidents," the State Department said.

US government employees on personal travel are not permitted to visit border areas or refugee camps and the government has advised its citizens to do the same.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking a dig at Narendra Modi's demonetisation move, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister termed cashless economy as a "bigger dream" than 'achche din' and said the note ban will be an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

"The dream of cashless economy is a bigger one than achche din... It is however for the government to see how it will be realised," he said at a function to distribute cheques to the families of martyrs and 14 persons who allegedly lost their lives while standing in queues outside ATMs/banks after demonetisation.

Attacking the NDA government on note ban, Yadav, without taking names, alleged that people have been betrayed and economy harmed.

"Earlier (when the note ban was announced) people had faith, or rather confusion, that a big change will be brought... But soon after the very same people started saying that there could not have been a bigger loss to the economy... and international economists are also writing about it.

"It is for the government to see how it will work out the losses to the GDP but it is a fact the people had to face hardships and I have said earlier too that the government which pose problems are voted out by people," he said, adding that in the coming elections those who had faced problems will stand against them.

UP is the first state in the country to announce compensation for the families of those who allegedly died while queuing up outside banks and ATMs for long post demonetisation.

The chief minister had earlier this month announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of 'demonetisation victims'.

Giving examples of major risk in online transactions, Yadav said one of the accused arrested for fraudulently withdrawing money from someone's account said that he was caught because he was a "novice".

"Anyone who becomes an expert in cyber crime will never be arrested," the chief minister said after presenting cheques of Rs two lakh each to the families of 14 people who allegedly died while standing in bank queues.

To a question on what will be the election issue, Yadav said "Development, road, water all will be elections issues... why would note ban not be an election issue".

Taking a dig at the BJP, Yadav said he has come to know that the 'parivartan rath yatra' was attacked by those standing in bank queue in Deoria recently... They need to remain alert while taking out the rath yatra and avoid banks on the route."

When asked about alliance, Yadav said party president Mulayam Singh Yadav will decide on alliance.

"I have already said that SP is going to form a government and if we go into the polls in an alliance we will win more than 300 seats," he said.

Claiming that the next SP government will take forward the works undertaken by the present regime, Yadav said the state needs to be taken on a new direction towards development and prosperity.

Over Centre's schemes, Yadav said UP government was extending full support to central schemes saying that AIIMS was coming up in Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur only because the state provided land for it.

"But if there is any scheme which farmers do not like or feel that they will not benefit from it what can UP government do.. It is for them to explain the benefits of their scheme to farmers and take their schemes to poor... Take Jan Dhan Yojna, first, it was stated that it is for the poor and when money was deposited it was termed as black money," he said.

Yadav reiterated that UP has had to suffer loss worth Rs 9,000 crore after Niti Ayog came into being.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed to have beaten the demonetisation blues in Uttar Pradesh, convinced that its political adversaries, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) were in trouble with their hollowed out coffers.
Congress Vice-President will address a rally in Dharamshala on Saturday.

This is the first visit of Gandhi after party's dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

While addressing a rally in Almora on Friday, Gandhi escalated his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that demonetisation is economic robbery.

"The Congress Party wants to obliterate corruption from India. The Congress will support any step against corruption. But notes ban wasn't against black money or corruption, it was economic robbery," Gandhi said.

He also used the occasion to reach out to the farmers and labourers.

"Prime Minister Modi hasn't listened to the farmers, but he has forgiven Rs 1.40 lakh crore in loans to 15 rich people but not farmers," said Gandhi.

Gandhi alleged that the 'suit boot ki Sarkar' was in its bid to help its "rich friends" snatching the rights of the poor.

"Under NDA, one per cent of Indians have 60 per cent of the wealth. 99 per cent Indians don't have black money. 94 per cent of the black money is in Swiss Bank accounts, gold and land. Just six per cent of black money is in cash. I don't know why Prime Minister Modi has made this six per cent black money his target, not the 94 per cent," said Gandhi.
Targeting the All India Muslim Personal Law Board over the issue of 'triple talaq', Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar today accused the organisation of turning itself into a "male personal law board which is only interested in oppressing women".

"Islam calls for gender equality and not gender oppression. Islam has never called for oppressing women. The Muslim Personal Law Board has turned into male personal law board," Akbar said while addressing a programme here.

On the last month's convention of AIMPLB supporting 'triple talaq' which was attended by a large number of people, Akbar said, "Huge gathering always doesn't signify truth."



Calling for removal of 'triple talaq' as it is against humanity, Akbar said, "Sometimes a marriage doesn't work so there is a clause of divorce. But while marrying in Muslim community you need the permission of the women. Then why during divorce (talaq), only a man will dictate terms and by spelling the word 'talaq' three times (it can be obtained)."



Akbar noted that if the country has to move forward and if the economy has to grow, we need to take the women along.

"India and its economy can never grow if you want to keep the women behind. Women consist of nearly 50 per cent of our population and we all have to move together towards it," he said.

A debate has emerged over the government's stand opposing the practice of 'triple talaq' with some leading women politicians seeking its abolition, even as some Muslim bodies accused the ruling dispensation of waging a "war" on their personal law.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hopes of a deal to end DR Congo's dangerous political crisis before Christmas were faltering today after fruitless all-night talks over President Joseph Kabila's refusal to quit power.

Kabila's second and final five-year term ended on December 20, but he has shown no intention of leaving office soon, sparking violent protests that have left at least 40 people dead this week, according to the United Nations.

The influential Catholic Church has been brokering talks between the government and opposition and hopes rose this week of an imminent deal, with a draft seen by AFP outlining plans for fresh elections at the end of next year, when Kabila would step down.

But that optimism has been slipping, and negotiators from the two camps left church offices in Kinshasa just before 5:30 AM (1000 IST) without a deal to prevent a fresh descent into conflict in a country that has suffered two horrific wars since 1996.

"The work is practically finished - the final touches are all that is left to do before the deal is signed," insisted Marcel Utembi, president of the Congo National Episcopal Conference (CENCO), who had pushed for a deal before Christmas.

But others indicated there was still a long way to go.

"Everything is still blocked on how (public affairs) will be managed during the transition period," said opposition delegate Francois Muamba.

Two opposition delegates said the squabbling sides could return to the table this morning, but there was no confirmation from CENCO. Negotiators from Kabila's political alliance were remaining tight-lipped.

A frustrated CENCO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, blasted DR Congo's political class for "serious mediocrity" in their inability to reach a deal.

"They have called into question everything we arranged the day before," the official said as talks stretched into the night.

Time is pressing as the bishops overseeing the talks are due to quit the capital this afternoon to return to their congregations in time for Christmas Eve mass.

Tensions are still running high, with security forces spraying live ammunition at a string of anti-Kabila protests in Kinshasa and other towns this week, killing at least 40 civilians, according to the UN.

Congolese police put the toll at 20 dead, saying they had largely been killed in "looting" or by "stray bullets".

Other sources say somewhere between 56 and 125 people have been killed in a week of clashes, not counting the unknown toll from fighting between security forces and an anti- government militia in the central town of Kananga.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AMU Students Union has threatened to launch an agitation against Akhilesh Yadav Government if it fails to fulfil its promise of granting 18 per cent quota to Muslims, made at the time of last Assembly elections.

In a memorandum sent to the Chief Minister today, the Students' Union said SP government has paid only "lip service" to the long standing demands of Muslims and has failed to even implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee.

"What is worse, it has made no serious attempt to fulfil even those commitments which were a part of the SP's election manifesto in 2011," the Union said.

Earlier yesterday, members of the Union held a protest march to highlight their anger over Samajwadi Party's failure to safeguard the interests of minorities in the state.

The protesters marched up to the gate of the District Collectorate, raising slogans against state government.

The President of the AMU Students' Union, Faizul Hasan told mediapersons that it was ironical that while the SP had recently decided to include 17 fresh OBC castes in the SC quota list, Muslims had to remain content just on empty promises and lip services.

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Bhojpuri actor Vikrant Singh Rajpoot says he is upset with his girlfriend Mona Lisa for her alleged 'closeness' to co-contestant Manu Punjabi on controversial TV reality show "Bigg Boss" but says she is clean at heart.

"I am upset with her (Mona) but not in a way that I will hit her and all. Its been eight years we are dating.. I know her. She is mine and will always remain in my heart," Vikrant told PTI.

"We have seen things that show us that there is something between them. Looking at the show, it seems she is easy to woo but in reality she is someone who can take the shit out of you," he said.

Bhojpuri actress Mona Lisa and commoner Manu Punjabi have grabbed headlines for their closeness inside the 'Bigg Boss' house, thanks to their intimate pictures and weird acts. During a task, Mona kissed Manu on his cheeks and became the talk of the town.

"You become friends when you are working together. But they don't know that it is shown a bit more. I know Manu and Mona are good friends. I did speak to Manu after he was out (during the demise of his mother)," Vikrant said.

As per the new luxury budget task 'Battery' the Bigg Boss housemates got a chance to meet their loved ones. Mona got to meet her boyfriend Vikrant as he entered the house. Mona ran towards Vikrant, hugged him and broke down.

"The experience to be on the show was good. One has to do all kinds of work inside the house. When you are in an intense situation you tend to get close to someone...You confide in that person," Vikrant said.

"I told Mona, she is not shown in a good way on the show, her image is bad. She was asking me what was shown on TV. She told me that both Manu and Manveer have supported her," he said.

Vikrant alleges that in the very beginning of the show Manu had told Mona if not you I will woo someone else.

"Both felt that they should carry on as a couple on the show. Now we see something between Manveer and Nitisha. I am confused whats happening between Gaurav and Bani," he said.

According to Vikrant, a few co-contestants on the show and some ex-contestants, there is no romance between the duo.

"(Contestants) Lopamudra Raut, Navin Prakash and Sahil Sangha have told me there is nothing between them (Mona and Manu). Lopamudra told me she (Mona) talks about me," he adds.

Despite her alleged closeness, Vikrant is all praise for his girlfriend.

"Mona is clean from her heart, she has never gone ahead and fought with anyone. They (Mona, Manu and Manveer) have supported each other," he said.

Aired on Colors channel, "Bigg Boss 10" is hosted by Salman Khan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as its chief Uddhav Thackeray accompanied the Prime Minister for 'jal pujan' ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial, Shiv Sena today appeared unhappy with ally BJP, alleging that it has "hijacked" the occasion to take political benefit.

It also took a swipe at BJP over the Ram Temple issue, saying it should admit its "failure" as it has not been able to build the promised temple in Ayodhya despite the huge majority in Lok Sabha.

"The BJP should not forget this memorial is a dream of every citizen of Maharashtra. The previous government (of Congress-NCP) also tried to start work on the memorial though it was unsuccessful for reasons best known to them," said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande.

"When the memorial is being built with Government money, BJP should remember this ('jal pujan' or stone laying ceremony) is a Government programme and all parties of the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) should be treated with equal respect," she said.

Kayande said "the trend of BJP hijacking events, whenever it is in power, is in bad taste and does not go down well with public".

The BJP tried similar "antics" at the inauguration of Ram Mandir railway station here, where its workers shouted slogans in support of the Prime Minister, she said.

"Before elections, they showed people big dream of building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which they have failed to do despite having absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Now, they should accept their failure (for not building the temple)," the Sena spokesperson said.

Earlier, Modi performed 'jal pujan' in the Arabian Sea for the Rs 3,600-crore memorial dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king, who is a revered figure in Maharashtra. He was accompanied by Uddhav among others.

The party is hoping that the issue will work ints favour in run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls likely in early 2017.

Sena-BJP relationship has been strained ever since the two parties parted ways ahead of Maharashtra Assembly election in 2014. The two reunited post-election but Sena has been sulking since it has been reduced to a junior partner in the state.

Thackeray's party has often been critical of the state and central governments though it is a part of the BJP-led NDA.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Accusing of indulging in "double speak" on the issue of West Pakistan refugees (WPR), Congress on Saturday said the party which had promised to provide citizenship rights to the refugees before elections is now providing only identity cards to them.

"BJP, which had always promised citizenship and voting rights to West Pakistan Refugees, is now merely providing them identity cards.

" has always indulged in double speak to remain in power," Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.

Charging with exploiting the issue for the sake of vote bank politics, Sharma said the rival party owes an explanation as to why the promise of citizenship rights has trickled down to mere identity cards.

"BJP is in power both at the Centre and in the state and it should explain to people what has happened to its promise of granting citizenship rights to West Pakistan refugees," Sharma said.
A BJP central team was stopped by West Bengal police from entering the violence-hit area in Dhulagarh in Howrah district today after which it staged a road blockade, accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of pursuing "appeasement politics".

The BJP delegation comprising party MPs Jagdambika Pal, Satpal Singh, state president Dilip Ghosh and its national secretary Rahul Sinha along with supporters was stopped at Ekabbarapur Road, about one kilometre away from the spot where the clashes had taken place a few days ago.

The police, which cordononed off the area and deployed a large number of personnel, told the delegation that they would not be allowed to proceed since prohibitory orders have been imposed under Section 144 of CrPC.

Angered by it, the BJP delegation along with one thousand odd supporters blocked the road in protest.

Alleging that there is no law and order in the state, Pal said the government was following "appeasement politics towards a particular community".

He also alleged that the government had transferred the Howrah (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sabyasachi Raman Mishra for arresting 65 people in connection with the violence at Dhulagarh, where houses belonging to a community and their property were attacked by another.

Ghosh alleged right wing Muslim outfits and SIMI activists have entered the area and were creating trouble. He also said BJP was not given prior information about prohibitory orders being imposed in Dhulagarh.

"We are surprised that police did not allow us to approach the people in the area to know about their plight of sufferings," Ghosh said.

Sinha said that police was working at the instruction of the government and the action was an insult for the party central team.

"The BJP team comprised two MPs and a number of state leaders. We were told that Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the area. If it is so, two of us could be allowed to enter the area," Sinha said.

"We will enter the area by any means. If the situation deteriorates, the government will be responsible," Sinha threatened.

Some BJP workers also blockaded the busy Kolkata-Mumbai NH6.

Both blockades were later lifted and Ghosh said the BJP delegation would proceed to Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to Governor K N Tripathi.

BJP has alleged that the minority wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress has targeted Hindus in the area in Howrah district for their support to the saffron party.

The Governor had alaso enguired from the state Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purakayastha about the law and order situation there.

"The governor asked the DGP to ensure peace and law and order in the area and to take strict action against the culprits," a release issued by the Raj Bhavan had said.

Tension erupted in Dhulagarh when two groups reportedly clashed as a procession was brought out in the area last week.

As per a senior officer at the Howrah Commissionerate, police had to use tear gas to bring the situation under control when the groups hurled bombs at each other.

(Reopens CAL2)



Later, the BJP delegation met Governor Tripathi and alleged that the state had "unleashed a reign of terror and was aiding fundamentalists".

"We have told the Governor, how the state is misusing the administration to help the fundamentalists of the state. This has to stop. The government should take steps to ensure the safety and security of minorities," Ghosh later told reporters.

BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should "stop shouting" on the issue of demonetization and concentrate on improving the law and order situation in the state.

"The law and order is worsening with every passing day. It has become a hub of jihadis, rioters and all is happening because of the patronage of Mamata Banerjee government. The day is not far away when Bengal will soon turn into a fundamentalist state," Singh said.
Aam Aadmi Party, which is eyeing to capture power in 2017 Assembly polls, today launched a campaign, 'Captain Da Dhokha', to "expose the lies" of state Congress chief Amarinder Singh who was in power during 2002-2007.

AAP's Dakha candidate H S Phoolka alleged that Amarinder was making false promises of giving jobs to unemployed youth.

He alleged that Amarinder, after becoming chief minister in 2002, had "put a ban" on recruitments.

He took charge in March of that year, and in a Cabinet meeting the very next month, he "banned" recruitments in the state, he claimed.

He alleged that Punjab Public Service Commission and SSB were directed to stop the process of recruitment of any kind for government job.

"The irony is that there were many jobs for which the written test and interview process were completed but were stayed at the last moment, backstabbing lakhs of job- aspirants," Phoolka alleged.

"The orders issued clearly said no further recruitment was to be initiated without consent of the Cabinet. So, if any department had to recruit even a clerk, it could not be done without Amarinder's orders," Phoolka said.

"On what basis now Captain again is making promises of providing jobs to youth when he is already exposed of telling lies," Phoolka said.

Talking about AAP's 'Sukhbir Da Gapp, AAP Da Sach' campaign, Phoolka said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal "is in the habit of making tall claims without assessing feasibility of any project".

He said the Deputy Chief Minister was trying to divert the attention of the people through propaganda.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A cattle smuggler was killed at Sonapur village in Sipahijala district last night when BSF personnel opened fire to stop smuggling.

A group of about 10 smugglers were trying to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh which was spotted at about 10-30 pm by a team of BSF personnel engaged in patrolling the border.

They rushed to the spot and tried to resist the smugglers and the smugglers in retaliation pounced on them and tried to drag one BSF personnel to Bangladesh territory.

The BSF man opened fire in self defense killing one smuggler on the spot, Sipahijala district magistrate Pradip Chakraborty, who visited the scene today told reporters.

The deceased was identified as Araber Rahaman.

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China's first public-private partnership (PPP) funded high-speed railway project with an investment of USD 6.46 billion has started construction in eastern province of Zhejiang, official media reported today.

The 269-km-long Hangzhou-Taizhou Intercity Passenger Line has a total investment of 44.9 billion yuan (USD 6.46 billion) with private capital contributing 51 per cent of the investment.

Private investors including Fosun Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Wanfeng Auto Holding Group will have a 30 year franchise period, with four years for construction and 26 years for operation.

Local governments will offer subsidies to ensure the project's smooth operation, and take ownership of the project after the franchise expires, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Giving holding status to private investors helps improve the project's management and operation and encourages more private enterprises to invest in infrastructure development, said Xu Kunlin, head of the investment department of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Over 1,000 PPPs, with a total investment of about 1.8 trillion yuan, have been inked so far this year, with private firms playing the leading role, the report said.

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Sharpening attack on Congress and AAP, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the two parties have shown "stiff resistance" to "pro-people" policies of the Akali government and asserted that if re-elected to power he would review "people-friendly" decisions like regularisation of employees.

"By announcing that they (opposition) will review the pro-people decisions taken by the state government like regularisation of employees and others, Amarinder Singh (of Congress) and AAP leaders have proved that if voted to power they will withdraw the subsidies and concessions like free power, Atta-Dal, Shagun and others being given to the people," he said.

The Chief Minister was addressing public gatherings in village Dhaler Kalan, Sandhaur, Sherwani Kot, Ferozepur Kothala and others during Sangat Darshan programme in Malerkotla assembly segment.

Congress state unit chief Amarinder Singh had earlier said that he would review all decisions taken by the SAD-BJP state government in the last three months, if hsi party comes to power.

Singh, however, yesterday clarified that his statement was twisted and affirmed that no government appointments would be subjected to any scrutiny.

Badal said that in last ten years, the SAD-BJP alliance had given free power to farmers at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore annually.

He said now in a historic initiative the state government has decided to regularise the services of 30,000 employees by passing the bill in the state assembly.

Badal said the SAD-BJP alliance has ensured the welfare of every strata of society by taking several "path-breaking initiatives" for providing jobs, quality health and education facilities and by starting several pro-poor schemes.

The veteran Akali leader said Punjabis can never forgive the Congress party for its "sins" against Punjab.

"Congress has irrelevantly meddled in the social, political, economic and even religious affairs of the state," he said, adding that the Congress governments at the Centre had deliberately denied the state of Punjabi speaking areas, its capital Chandigarh and even its legitimate share in river waters.

Badal said the financial burden on the state is a legacy



not of successive state governments- Congress or SAD-BJP.

"This mess was created under the central rule in long years of governor's rule during militancy in the state. It was not my fault and it is not the fault of Amaridner Singh or any of the state governments. The fault lies with successive Congress governments at the centre and their tragic mishandling of the Punjab situation," he alleged.

The veteran statesman said that all political parties in Punjab must pool their resources and fight together on issues that affect the people of the state.

Don't waste your energies on needlessly criticising each other, he said.

"The SAD-BJP alliance is committed to playing its role as constructive opposition. If the Chief Minister fights for the common cause of Punjab, he will represent us too.

"We will extend all help and cooperation. But the promises made by the Congress to the people were not made subject to the centre meeting its demands," he said.
Delhi Congress leaders and workers today staged a protest march at Jantar Mantar against alleged "reverse-migration" of unorganised sector workers hit by demonetisation and also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply on allegations of party leader Rahul Gandhi.

The 'Palayan Roko Evam Javab Do' march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament House was led by Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken. The marchers were stopped by police near Parliament Street police station.

Addressing the protesters, Maken alleged that "faulty implementation" of demonetisation has rendered lakhs of migrant labour unemployed who have started returning to their home states.

"Over 48 lakh unorganized sector workforce in Delhi is hit by faulty implementation of demonetisation resulting in reverse migration. Lakhs of labourers have already returned to their homes, and 10,000 to 15,000 labourers are returning home every day," Maken claimed.

In a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maken also demanded that he reply to allegations of corruption against him levelled by the Congress vice president.

"When Narendra Modi speaks about cashless economy, he should also reply to the question raised by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi," Maken said.

The march organised by Poorvanchal, Parvatiya and South Indian wings of Delhi Congress saw participation of scores of workers in their traditional dresses who raised slogans against Modi and demonetisation.

The party will also hold 'Bhanda fod'(expose) campaign on December 27- 28, across Delhi to highlight the alleged "corruption" by Modi, Maken said.

Senior Delhi Congress leaders including ex-MPs Mahabal Mishra and Ramesh Kumar, chief spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee, Dr Narender Nath, Hari Shankar Gupta among others also addressed the protesters.

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The Consumer ministry, both at the central as well as state level, is the most "neglected" despite a mandate to take care of 1.23 crore consumers, Union Consumer Affairs Minister said on Saturday.

Expressing concern about vacant posts and lack of infrastructure at the state and district consumer courts, the Consumer affairs minister appreciated their efforts in disposing of 41 lakh cases in the last 30 years despite poor facilities.

Paswan urged the state governments to provide adequate facilities for the smooth functioning of these courts as there is expected to be a "flood" cases after the new Consumer Protection Bill gets passed in Parliament. The government has made sweeping changes in the bill to protect consumer rights.

"I had told the Prime Minister in the first meeting that we have 1.23 crore population and all are consumers, but the Department has been most neglected, be it at Centre or state level," Paswan said at an event organised to celebrate the National Consumer Day here.

It is commendable that the consumer courts have been able to dispose of 41 lakh cases since the 1986 when the Consumer Protection law was enacted, he said. "But, the number is still less. There are two-three reasons. One is that the posts to fill 200 members are still lying vacant. There is no adequate infrastructure provided and salary is also an issue."

In a federal structure, the state governments have to address these issues and the central government has time and again reminded them to fix these gaps, he said.

Asserting that a lot more needs to be done to create awareness about consumer rights, he said states and the industry should take the proactive step to redress grievances.

Consumer helplines have been set up, the number of such centres although being increased, still, many consumers do not know where to file the complaints, he said.

Talking about alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the minister said the mediation route for resolving consumer disputes should be done fast and justice should be delivered fast to the affected party.

Observing that mediation is not an effective ADR tool to redress consumer cases, National Consumers Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) President D K Jain said: "I am not saying mediation as ADR will not work. I have certain reservations. It may not be that effective.

"Mediation in consumer disputes is fraught with bottlenecks ... In mediation, there is a big gap of bargaining power as a consumer is represented in person in most cases, while the other side is represented by big lawyers."

He said mediation cannot be ADR as Consumer Protection Act was legislated as ADR. "Mediation can only supplement and not sub-plant the Act," he said, adding that there is a need to change the basic mindset of seller/service provide who are keener in prolonging cases to the detriment of the consumer.

"The expected results of mediation will come out only if this mindset changed," he said.
Taking serious view of a false complaint by a teenage girl against her father charging him of rape, a district court here has ordered perjury proceedings against her.

Special Judge Mridula V K Bhatia, on Thursday, also acquitted her father from charges of rape levelled against him under POCSO Act.

The judge in her order wanted that this action on the girl should send a strong message to the society against the misuse of POCSO Act.

It was in 2013, that the girl (then 16) complained to the police that her father had molested and raped her in their house at Navi Mumbai.

However, in her deposition she told the court that she had filed a false complaint against her father due to a dispute among the duo.

Before orderin the proceeding, the judge, expressing displeasure over the false complaint by the girl said, "the complainant has undoubtedly misused the provisions of POCSO Act and lodged a false complaint against her own father, thereby causing him grave hardship, mental agony and trauma. He has spent close to three years in jail owing to serious allegations levelled against him.

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Crowds gathered in Bethlehem today for Christmas Eve celebrations ahead of midnight mass at the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born, with more visitors expected than in 2015 due to a drop in violence.

Dozens of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Manger Square, near the Church of the Nativity, built over the spot where tradition says Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Some snapped selfies near the square's giant Christmas tree and watched the annual scouts parade in the city, located a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The scouts marched waving flags and playing bagpipe music.

Palestinian security forces were deployed in areas leading up to the church and square, conducting searches of some people.

Christmas carols in Arabic rang out from speakers.

"It feels pretty awesome. This is my first Christmas away from home... But this is really amazing to be in Bethlehem," said Valeria, a 21-year-old from the US state of Wisconsin.

Ramzi Al Durzi, a Christian from Amman, came with his two children to visit relatives in Jifna, a Christian village near Ramallah, and decided to take in the parade.

"This is my first visit to Bethlehem and to Palestine and honestly the atmosphere is really great," he said.

Celebrations in Bethlehem culminate with midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity - with the grotto where Jesus is believed to have been born underneath.

Some 2,500 tickets are usually given out for the mass and those wishing to attend must register in advance. Attendees usually include Palestinian officials and foreign dignitaries.

Beyond that, tens of thousands of tourists are expected to visit sites including Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth over the holidays, tourism officials say.

Israel's tourism ministry said some 120,000 visitors were expected in December, half of them Christians. Palestinian officials said they were expecting more visitors than last year, with major hotels in Bethlehem booked.

There is more optimism this year in Israel and the West Bank after a wave of violence and protests that erupted in October 2015 sharply reduced visits for Christmas.

The violence saw knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeting Israelis. Many of the Palestinian assailants were killed by Israeli forces while others were shot dead during clashes and protests.

The violence has greatly subsided in recent months, though tourists will still have to cross Israel's West Bank separation barrier to reach Bethlehem.

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Sleuths of Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested a deputy executive engineer (DEE) of Roads and Buildings Department after they unearthed assets worth Rs 4.08 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Raids were conducted on properties of DEE in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Hyderabad and other places, ACB release quoting Director General R P Thakur said.

As many as 15 house sites, two residential flats, a commercial complex, 608 grams of gold, 850 grams of silver, bank balance of Rs 29 lakh, cash of Rs 1.08 lakh, fixed deposits of Rs 10 lakh, chit funds of Rs 19 lakh were among those unearthed by the ACB, said the release.

A bank locker in Visakhapatnam, jointly operated by the official's wife and son, was yet to be opened, the DG said.

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Delhi Government has decided to invite applications afresh for hiring "on merit" guest teachers from the next academic session, days after a group of such teachers staged a protest against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a function.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also heads education department, criticised the guest teachers for protest against the CM and him at the event organised by the department, "despite getting benefits" from the government.

After the incident, the AAP government has changed its stand on appointment of guest teachers as it had earlier allowed the already existing academic professionals to continue for the past two years.

"Government will invite fresh applications for guest teachers from March and hire them on merit," an official said.

A senior government official said that despite the fact that the AAP dispensation is doing "so much" for them, teachers are doing "politics" which will not be tolerated.

Earlier this month, the Chief Minister had announced a hike in salaries of Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET)- qualified teachers by up to 90 per cent.

Also, it was allowing non-CTET teachers to teach students, but from next session, it will not happen.

The official also said that government will only allow CTET-qualified teachers to teach students in its schools.

At present, there are about 15,000 teachers and 2,000 non-CTET guest teachers.

After the protest on Wednesday, Kejriwal had held the BJP and Congress responsible for the fracas at Chhatrasal Stadium where the event was held in the afternoon.

Addressing the gathering, comprising of guest teachers and heads of schools, the CM had said the final approval pertaining to the hike was pending with Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and he is ready to "snatch it" from him.

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Delhi Police has arrested a man for allegedly assaulting his domestic help in Mukherjee Nagar area.

The woman, who is currently admitted in RML hospital, was rescued by a placement agency on December 16.

"The woman was rescued from the house of her employer by the placement agency in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area on December 16 and was admitted to RML Hospital on December 19.

"In her statement, she has said her employer had physically assaulted her. We registered a case against the accused and arrested him. We have raided the placement agency.

"We are trying to ascertain why the placement agency didn't take her to hospital on December 16 when she had been assaulted and delayed reporting the matter to hospital by three days," said a senior police officer.

The woman who hails from West Bengal had been working in the house for the last six months, he said.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson, Swati Maliwal, visited the domestic worker late last night.

"The girl was brought to Delhi from West Bengal two years ago by a placement agency and was early this year placed in a house in Mukherjee Nagar by another placement agency.

"The girl has been subjected to extreme torture and abuse and is presently bedridden. Her condition was horrifying and she had several marks of abuse and neglect on her body and complained of having been beaten up by iron rods. Her medical condition is critical," Maliwal said in a statement.

DCW has approached Delhi Government Health Department which has arranged for shifting the girl to a private hospital under the EWS Scheme to ensure proper treatment and care for the girl.

"Hundreds of placement agencies are operating illegally in Delhi and several times act as trafficking agents. The Government should pass a law to regulate them and prescribe punishments for the defaulters. The Labour Department should regularly monitor the placement agencies," she said.

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A Democratic lawmaker, who is set to become the new face of the party in post-election debacle, has pledged to highlight the persecution of Hindus in South Asia and do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the community in India into his work.

Congressman Keith Ellison, a top candidate for the Democratic National Committee chairman, made the commitment in a letter to the Hindu American Foundation days after he participated in a conference call with Hindu leaders from across the country to listen to their concerns and answer their questions.

He said he will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu and Indian-American communities to foster their greater participation. He said he will give the community "well-deserved" and "much-valued" representation in the Democratic Party.

"As we discussed, I will do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the Hindu community in India into my legislative work," Ellison said in a letter to Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation.

"I also pledge to highlight the persecution of Hindu minority communities throughout South Asia. If elected DNC chair, I will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu- and Indian-American communities to foster greater participation and more well-deserved and much-valued representation in the Democratic Party," Ellison said in the letter dated December 16, which was released to the press yesterday.

The conference call on December 12, among others was joined by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and representatives of nearly 30 Hindu and Indian American groups. The call covered a wide range of concerns ranging from Ellison's focus on South Asia that many felt ignored the concerns of Hindus where they are minorities, to whether he would constructively engage the current Government of India to promote bilateral ties.

Leaders on the call also queried Ellison as to how, should he be elected DNC chair, he would work with the incoming four Hindu American Democrats in Congress to increase engagement and involvement of the broader Hindu and Indian American communities.

"It goes without saying that Hindu-Americans and Indian- Americans enrich our nation every day. I am proud to work with colleagues such as Senator-elect Kamala Harris, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Representative Ami Bera, and Representatives- elect Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthy, who represent the best values of the Democratic Party," Ellison wrote.

Responding to a question during the call regarding his focus on the Gujarat riots of 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was governing the state, Ellison said he viewed the issue as a "closed matter" since the Indian Supreme Court has issued its ruling.

India is a key strategic partner and friend to the US, he said, adding that he looks forward to build a "constructive and congenial relationship with the Indian government and Indian-American community". He also said he will continue to urge Congress and the Administration to work with India on key areas of shared importance.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today warned of ruin for the dishonest after the expiry of December 30 deadline for depositing scrapped currency and said they should not underestimate the mood of the country against corruption.

"Dishonest people, you should not underestimate the mood of 125 crore people. You will have to be afraid of it... Time has come for ruin of dishonest people. This is a cleanliness campaign," Modi said.

"After 50 days (from November 8), the troubles of honest people will start to reduce and the problems of dishonest people will begin to increase," Modi said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at MMRDA ground in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) here after laying foundation of various big ticket infrastructure projects.

"We took a big decision against black money and corruption on November 8 and 125 crore Indians endured pain but did not stop supporting me. I want to assure people of the country that this battle won't end till we win it," he said.

Hitting out at parties opposing demonetisation, he said, "this is not a simple battle. Those who have consumed malai (cream) did not leave any stone unturned to foil this (demonetisation)."



"The corrupt have made all efforts to defeat the decision (demonetisation). They even thought of managing bank officials to get their black money converted into white. And that's how many of them got caught," he said.

"I said there will be pain for 50 days (after demonetisation announcement)," he said, adding people are ready to bear the pain in the country's interest.

"People have borne the troubles in the country's



interest and are willing to do so in future too," the PM said.

Modi alleged that those who benefited from corruption during the earlier regimes "in last 70 years" did all they could to ensure the demonetisation move by him does not work.

"Those who are used to a certain type corrupt practices for last 70 years, will have to pay the price of their acts," he said.

"Time has changed and after a gap of 30 years, a government with full mandate is in power. One should not forget it.

"The country will change, will move forward and will hold its head high before the world," the PM said.

Modi, who earlier laid the foundation of the Shivaji Maharaj memorial off Mumbai coast, said the Maratha king was a multi-faceted personality "which inspires us"



"I am grateful to the Maharashtra government that I got the chance to perform jalpujan of Shivaji Maharaj," the PM said.

When the memorial is complete, people will admire the iconic building, he said, adding Shivaji Maharaj "is an inspiration for all of us" and remains a torch bearer of good governance.

"If India is projected in the right manner, it has the potential to attract global tourism," he said.

"After independence, had we adopted the path of development, the problems we face today wouldn't have been there," Modi said.

Development should be sustainable and should help the poor realise their dreams, Modi said.

The PM also dwelt on the various development initiatives of his government.

"Our efforts is to ensure affordable medicine to the poor. When we came to power, there were 18,000 villages without power. We decided to provided electricity to them in 1000 days," Modi said.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party has had strained ties with senior alliance partner BJP, also addressed the gathering.

However, as Thackeray began to speak, he was greeted with shouts of 'Modi, Modi' from BJP workers in audience.

"I extend my best wishes for memorial construction and hope that it gets completed within stipulated period," he said.

"I have come here to pay obeisance to Shivaji Maharaj," Thackeray said, adding the memorial should be built as strong as the Sindhudurg fort, built by the Maratha king.

The Sena leader also asked the government to "free forts in Maharashtra from the shackles of the Archaeological Survey of India".

Union minister Nitin Gadkari described Modi as the



biggest "Shivbhakt" (devotee of Shivaji).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the memorial will be the tallest in the world.

"If the US is known for the Statue of Liberty, Maharashtra will be known as the land of Shivaji Maharaj," the CM said.

Justifying the state government's decision to go ahead with the memorial despite opposition from various quarters, including environmentalists and activists, Fadnavis said, "This memorial is to remind people not to forget our glorious past. This memorial will inspire every person to work for good governance.
Former Maharashtra Governor K



Sankaranarayanan's wife Prof Radha Sankaranarayanan passed away here following a massive heart attack, the family said.

76-year old Radha's end came at home here last night.

She is survived by husband Sankaranarayanan, a Congress leader, and one daughter.

The funeral was held here this evening. In a message, Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao condoled her death.

(REOPENS MES 9)



Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has



expressed grief over the demise of Prof Radha Sankaranarayanan.

In a condolence message to K Sankaranarayanan, the Governor has said, "Radha Sankaranarayanan took keen interest in the beautification of Raj Bhavan. It was largely due to her initiative that the work of identifying the trees in the Raj Bhavan complex with common names and botanical names was implemented successfully."



"Radha Sankaranarayanan also took interest in the welfare of employees of Raj Bhavan, all of whom were saddened to hear the of her demise.

"I convey my heartfelt condolences to you and to other members of the bereaved family," said Rao.
In a bid to attract the youth and connect them to the ideology of the BJP, party's city youth wing has organised a musical program here on the occasion of 92nd birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tomorrow.

The organisers are anticipating a gathering of over 25,000 crowd from all over the state for the program, christened as "Yuva Urza", to be held in Lower Parel.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also address the gathering.

President of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Mumbai, Mohit Kamboj, told PTI, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth date has always been special to us. This is why we are celebrating his birthday with fanfare in which large numbers of youth have already given their consent to turn up and assimilate the Atal's mantra in their social life."



Beside Fadnavis, national president of youth wing of the party, Poonam Mahajan among other senior BJP leaders would be present at the event, he said.

"Our party at the state as well as at the Centre has earned so many achievements and done exemplary work for the sustainable development of the country and for people, no occasion other than Vajpayeeji's birthday could be better for us to celebrate these achievements," he added.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will launch an initiative 'Transform Maharashtra' in IIT Bombay's 'Mood Indigo' festival on December 26.

Under it, the Chief Minister will speak about issues involving role of youth in the governance.

"Fadnavis will elaborate on the steps taken by his government for youth empowerment, driving social change through participatory governance, among others," a senior associate of Action for Collective Transformation (ACT), organising partner of the festival, said.

"Beside, he will also launch an initiative 'Transform Maharashtra', aimed at engaging youth in governance," said the associate.

As per the associate, during the launch Fadnavis will have a conversation with around 3,500 students on his vision for Maharashtra and the event will be moderated by noted journalist Arnab Goswami.

"The government is aiming to make 'Transform Maharashtra' as the biggest platform for youth to create a road-map of developed Maharashtra by 2025", he said, adding the initiative will seek participation from over two lakh students from across 500 colleges.

"Under the initiative, we are planning to reach out to one crore youth. It aims to provide an opportunity to college students to put their heads together and come up with policy and/or programme level solutions to 11 critical challenges being faced by the state (Maharashtra) at present," he added.

ACT is an organisation started by a group of socio-entrepreneurs from colleges like IIT, ISB and NIT which collaborates with government, key decision makers and citizens to improve governance effectiveness.

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Former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, whose house and office were searched by Income Tax officials in connection with a tax evasion probe post demonetisation, was on Saturday admitted to a private hospital after he complained of chest pain.

Rao complained of pain in his chest at around 1 am at his residence and was rushed to Sri Ramachandra Hospital in suburban Porur.

Hospital sources said that "he (Rao) complained of chest pain and was immediately attended to by doctors".

"Presently, he has been kept under observation and his vitals are being monitored." the sources said.

On December 22, Rao was replaced from the top post by Additional Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan.

Rao's removal comes after I-T searches at his Anna Nagar residence, besides the premises of his son and some relatives, prompting the opposition parties in the state to seek his removal.

On December 21, Rao's house and office were searched by Income Tax officials, who claimed to have recovered Rs 30 lakh cash in new notes and 5 kg of gold besides getting "disclosure" about Rs 5 crore of unaccounted income.

The raids were carried out at 15 places, including the office and the residence of Rao, his son Vivek and some relatives in Chennai and Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, I-T sources had said.
Giving puberty lessons and free sanitary products may help improve girls' attendance levels at schools, especially in developing countries, a new study has found.

The trial carried out by Oxford University in the UK involved 1,000 girls at eight schools in Uganda.

Researchers found that in the two schools where sanitary pads or puberty education were not provided, over 18 months levels of absenteeism among girls were 17 per cent higher, on average, compared with schools where girls received pads, education, or a combination of both.

This amounts to the equivalent of nearly three and a half days of school a month, researchers said.

The paper led by Professor Paul Montgomery, from the University of Oxford, focuses on how puberty can have negative effects on a girl's education they are given help on how to manage periods and the bodily changes.

Researchers used a randomised trial to see whether absenteeism levels improved if girls were given reusable pads, puberty classes, or combinations of both and compared this approach with one where they had no intervention at all.

All the schools were in the Kamuli district, one of the poorest, rural areas of Uganda, which is reported to have high dropout rates, and some of the highest illiteracy and fertility rates in the world.

It is a district where, according to official government data, only 54 per cent of girls at the local secondary schools are able to read, compared with 69 per cent of boys.

The findings of this study which show the positive effects of such interventions echo an earlier pilot study in Ghana, also carried out by Oxford University researchers.

Previous studies have already found that menstruation is viewed widely in developing countries as 'embarrassing", 'shameful' and 'dirty'; being unable to stay clean is one of the main reasons why girls stay away from their lessons.

Most of the women and girls in Uganda rely on absorbent cloth during their periods, but it is sometimes difficult for them to source enough clean material for this use, researchers said.

The girls also often find the cloth is not sufficiently absorbent and difficult to secure in underwear, or to change and clean, he said.

"Many girls don't know about periods before they encounter their first one," said Paul Montgomery, from the University's Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention.

"Just by giving girls lessons in puberty or a sanitary pad means they were more likely to stay at school during their periods, minimising the risk of disruption to their schooling," said Montgomery.

"Simple interventions like these can have major long-term economic implications for women in low and middle income countries, which socially empowers them," he said.

There have been 'considerable improvements' across the globe in driving up school enrolment levels, particularly at primary level, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

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An inter-state gang which allegedly extorted over Rs 15 crore from people by filming their obscene videos has been busted by Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police with the arrest of two of its members.

The gang members, Akshat Sharma (31) and Sonu Sharma (30) have been arrested whereas the alleged kingpin, Navin Devani and other gang members Nitesh Bandu, Akshat Paota and others are absconding, IG SOG Dinesh MN said.

The gang allegedly used to threat people by filming their obscene videos only to blackmail and extort money from them.

"Devani and others used to target rich people of the city. The woman members of the gang used to befriend them and make intimate videos only to blackmail them later," he said.

A victim of this gang who was in a 75 day custody for a rape case approached the SOG following which the matter was investigated and the gang members arrested.

"They have extorted about 15 crore by blackmailing people. Advocates and some other people are also a part of the gang, he said, adding efforts are on to nab the other gang members.

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More than 54,000 people in the southern German city of Augsburg will have to leave their homes Christmas morning while authorities defuse a giant 1.8-ton aerial bomb from World War II.

The city's medieval cathedral and City Hall are in the area to be sealed off. Police said yesterday that no one would be allowed into the surrounding streets after about 8 AM today and everyone must be out by 10 AM.

Police say it was impossible to say exactly how long it would take to make the bomb safe.

Schools will be opened for people who can't stay with relatives or friends. Police said that people can bring their pets to shelters and that public transportation will be free Christmas morning.

Finding bombs from the war is not unusual in Germany. This evacuation, however, is even bigger than the 45,000 people temporarily evacuated to remove a bomb in Koblenz in 2011.

Large parts of Augsburg were destroyed on Feb 25-26, 1944, when the city was attacked by hundreds of British and US bombers.

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Germany today searched for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker who was gunned down by Italian police, as Tunisia announced the arrest of three men linked to the jihadist.

One of those detained was the nephew of the Tunisian-born attack suspect Anis Amri, the country's interior ministry said.

The three men, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested yesterday and were members of a "terrorist cell... Connected to the terrorist Anis Amri"," it said in a statement.

It made no direct link between the trio and the attack on Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people.

The 24-year-old then went on the run and was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt, before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

The Berlin rampage was claimed by the Islamic State group, which released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Tunisian interior ministry said Amri had sent money to his nephew and shared his jihadist views with him.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist ideology "and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

The arrests come as German authorities are racing to find out whether Amri had help from accomplices before or after the attack.

"It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... In the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank said Friday.

Seven of the victims were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman told AFP. The other five came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine.

She declined to provide names or ages.

The fact that Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies.

German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal with links to the Islamist scene.

But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure.

It "is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock," he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how Amri was able to slip through the net and vowed to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers like him.

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Though the tourism industry is still reeling under demonetisation aftermath, Goa is all set to usher in the Christmas festivities with all churches in the coastal state planning mid-night mass today.

The usual hustle and bustle in the markets across the state remained unaffected despite demonetisation, as people were seen crowding the places to buy goodies and other decorative items required to deck up the house for Christmas.

"There is no much crowd in the tourism belt these days. Despite being Christmas weekend, the flow of tourists is very usual. The aftermath of demonetisation is still looming large over the tourism industry," Domnic Pereira, who owns two guest houses one in Calangute and another at Baga told PTI.

Though the business remained low key in the coastal belt, it failed to dampen the spirit of Christmas in those areas. The market of Mapusa and Panaji was flooded with the people lining up for Christmas related purchases.

'Made in China' masks of Santa Clause and star lanterns donned the market of Panaji.

"There is no option for China made products. They are cheap and come in different varieties. We buy China products but that does not make us less patriotic. Give us an option and we will buy Swadeshi," Mario Albuquerque, a teacher at local school, said.

Albuqurque along with his wife was at Panaji market shopping for the Christmas.

"The schools are now having vacation so children are at home. They are busy preparing cribs," he said.

The state which was erstwhile Portuguese colony has 27 per cent Christian population which will be attending mid-night masses today.

The lanes and by lanes of the state are dotted with the Cribs, depicting Birth of Lord Jesus.

'Live' cribs are in fashion this year with youth trying their best to attract maximum eyeballs for their creation.

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Gunman of Samajwadi Party candidate from Jevar Bevan Naagar allegedly attempted suicide by shooting himself here, police said today.

The victim, Manuj Malik, a resident of Muzaffarnagar Janpad, has been admitted to the hospital in critical condition, they said.

"Manuj was under constant stress since his father was killed in Muzaffarnagar and this might have triggered suicidal tendencies in him. He continues to be in critical condition," SP Sujata Singh said.

In another incident, two persons were killed after the motorcycle they were travelling in collided with a vehicle on Yamuna Express way, police said, adding the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

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Haryana government today said it has ordered its departments to encourage receipts of payments of more than Rs 5,000 through digital methods in the wake of demonetisation of the high-value currency notes last month.

Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu said the state government has initiated a campaign to make Haryana a cashless economy.

To this effect, he said, orders have been issued to state government departments to move towards digital transactions.

Besides, senior secretaries to the government were deputed in various districts for sensitising field officers and various stakeholders such as bankers, traders, merchants, and the people towards digital transactions.

According to the minister, government employees were being trained for this and the state government has entered into an agreement with State Bank of India to install 3,000 point of sale (PoS) machines in government departments to enable staffers transact electronically, he added.

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Delhi police has registered a case in connection with a complaint by a domestic help that she was allegedly physically assaulted by her employer in north-west Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area.

The woman, who is currently admitted in RML hospital, was rescued by a placement agency on December 16.

"The woman was rescued from the house of her employer by the placement agency in Mukherjee Nagar on December 16 and was admitted to RML Hospital on December 19.

"In her statement, she has said that her employer had physically assaulted her. We registered a case and are investigating. The employer has been detained and we have raided the placement agency.

"We are trying to ascertain why the placement agency didn't take her to hospital on December 16 when she had been assaulted and delayed reporting the matter to hospital by three days," said a senior police officer.

The woman who hails from West Bengal had been working in the house for the last six months, he said.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson, Swati Maliwal, visited the domestic worker late last night.

"The girl was brought to Delhi from West Bengal two years ago by a placement agency and was early this year placed in a house in Mukherjee Nagar by another placement agency.

"The girl has been subjected to extreme torture and abuse and is presently bedridden. Her condition was horrifying and she had several marks of abuse and neglect on her body and complained of having been beaten up by iron rods. Her medical condition is critical," Maliwal said in a statement.

DCW has approached Delhi Government Health Department which has arranged for shifting the girl to a private hospital under the EWS Scheme to ensure proper treatment and care for the girl.

"Hundreds of placement agencies are operating illegally in Delhi and several times act as trafficking agents. The Government should pass a law to regulate them and prescribe punishments for the defaulters. The Labour Department should regularly monitor the placement agencies," she said.

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A high-level commission that oversees Iran's nuclear deal with world powers will meet in Vienna on January 10 to address a complaint by Tehran about the renewing of sanctions by the United States.

The meeting was called today by the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who coordinates follow-up of the nuclear deal for its signatories -- Iran, the US, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

"The meeting will review the implementation of the agreement and discuss the issues raised in the letter (Iranian) Foreign Minister Zarif addressed on 16 December to (Mogherini)," a short statement from the EU said.

The officials will meet 10 days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, who has promised to tear up the nuclear deal once in the White House.

Zarif formally requested the meeting after Washington on December 2 extended the Iran Sanctions Act -- which mostly seeks to limit Iran's oil and gas trade -- for another decade.

Although it received overwhelming support from the US Congress, President Barack Obama argues the act is largely symbolic since its measures are suspended as long as the nuclear deal remains in place.

Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, disagree, calling it a "clear violation".

Another concern for Iran is a wider frustration that the nuclear deal has not produced many of the expected benefits due to the reluctance of international banks to do business in the country.

Zarif could use the meeting to complain that although hundreds of European companies are desperate to resume trading with Iran, major lenders are still refusing to facilitate big transactions.

This is because Washington still has a number of non-nuclear sanctions in place that prevent anyone doing business with a long list of Iranians it says are linked to terrorism, human rights abuses and its ballistic missile programme.

Despite the nuclear deal, a wrong move could result in gigantic penalties like the USD 9 billion fine slapped on French bank BNP Paribas in 2014.

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Jammu and Kashmir government today said all state-run colleges will soon go cashless and digital learning programmes will be introduced for students in the campuses to facilitate the digital transaction project.

"(The move) will provide a single unified credential for all transactions and privileges across the campus besides ensuring seamless and cashless business with greater efficiency and accuracy," Commissioner Secretary Higher Education Asgar Hassan Samoon said at a review meeting here.

Samoon said the government was in the process of finalising a tie-up with cellular operators in the state for providing seamless Wi-fi services in the campuses.

To achieve success in the project, he asked officers to form a panel of computer professors, who will be given "orientation courses" by experts to further computer literacy in the colleges.

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Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today greeted people on the eve of Christmas.

In his message, the Governor said the teachings of Jesus Christ, the apostle of peace, compassion and brotherhood, have guided human beings towards righteousness.

He wished people a bright and merry Christmas and prayed for peace, progress and prosperity of the state.

The Governor observed that the message of Lord Christ is perhaps more relevant today than ever before, when the world is faced with increasing hatred, intolerance and violence.

He expressed hope that this joyous occasion would help in further strengthening the bonds of communal harmony, brotherhood, amity, secularism and the pluralistic traditions for which Jammu and Kashmir has been known for centuries.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, in her message, hoped the occasion will be a harbinger of communal harmony, love for humanity and compassion.

Such occasions remind us to rekindle the spirit of harmony, brotherhood and lead a virtuous life, she said.

In his message, deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh hoped that the occasion would be a harbinger of peace, progress and prosperity for the state.

He also hoped that the festival would further strengthen the values of compassion, mutual brotherhood among people besides infusing empathy and love towards mankind.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have also extended their greetings to the people on the eve of Christmas.

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A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Chief Minister in a case of allegedly giving false information in an affidavit filed in the run up to 2013 Assembly polls.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ashish Gupta granted the relief to Kejriwal, who appeared in court in pursuance to its direction, on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and posted the matter for next hearing on April 7, 2017.

The court had on August 31 exempted the Chief Minister from appearance for one day while directing him to personally appear before it today, considering that bail proceedings were pending.

Kejriwal was allowed exemption by the court on the ground that he could not appear due to "exigencies of work and some important meetings and discharge of his duties".

The court had summoned Kejriwal in February this year on a criminal complaint filed by Neeraj Saxena and Anuj Agarwal on behalf of the NGO, noting that the politician had prima facie "willfully concealed" and "suppressed" his details in 2013 elections.

It had noted that there was "sufficient ground" to proceed against him on allegations that he had concealed his correct address and suppressed the market value of his property in his affidavit to the Election Commission.

Earlier, the NGO had approached Delhi High Court with a plea seeking quashing of Kejriwal's nomination papers on the ground of "illegalities" in his affidavit.

The High Court had refused to entertain the plea and directed the petitioners to approach a magisterial court for remedy.

The NGO in its petition before the high court had alleged that Kejriwal had violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act by submitting an affidavit which had incorrect details of his assets and income at the time of filing of the nomination.

The offence under section 125-A of the Act entails a punishment of six months jail term and/or fine or both.

The complaint was filed under several sections of RP Act and IPC for the alleged offences committed by him before holding the office of the Chief Minister of Delhi.

The complaint alleged that Kejriwal falsely gave his Delhi address so as to qualify for contesting polls in the capital though he was living at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

This prima facie amounted to wilful concealment, suppression and furnishing of false information, it was claimed.
In a setback to Kerala Power Minister and CPI-M leader M M Mani, a court today refused to discharge him as an accused in a 34-year-old murder case, prompting opposition Congress and BJP to make a strong pitch for his resignation, which he rejected.

Thodupuzha Additional Sessions Court Judge V G Sreedevi dismissedthe discharge petition by Mani, a member of the CPI-M state Secretariat.

With the dismissal of his petition, Mani will continue as the second accused in the case related to the murder of Youth Congress leader Anchery Baby in November, 1982. It was reopened during the previous UDF regime and Mani made an accused.

The court verdict is seen as an embarrassment to the ruling CPI(M)-LDF government, which had hardly a month ago appointed him as Minister following the resignation of Industries Minister E P Jayarajan on charges of nepotism.

The Judge also permitted a prosecution petition to list CPIM Idukki District Secretary K K Jayachandran and CITU District leader A K Damodaran as accused in the case. Reacting to the verdict, Mani said he would fight the case politically and legally.

"It is a politically motivated case. I will fight the case both legally and politically' he told reporters in Kottayam, adding he would file an appeal soon.

"I was made minister by LDF. I was framed during UDF rule when Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan were handling the Home department," he charged.

While Congress and BJP lost no time in demanding that Mani resign immediately or be sacked by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the state unit of the CPI-M, heading the LDF regime, rallied behind him, saying it was 'politically motivated'.

"The demand is 'politically motivated... The case existed when Mani contested the state assembly elections. There is nothing new in the court verdict. The demand for his resignation has no basis and he can continue as Minister," CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said in Thrissur. Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala of Congress said Mani had no right to continue in office, KPCC President V M Sudheeran opined it was not proper for Mani to remain a minister.

BJP State President Kummanam Rajasekharan also said the Minister does not have the right to remain in office following the court verdict.

"Mani does not have the right to continue as minister even for a minute", Rajasekharan said in a statement.

Youth Congress and student wing KSU activists waved black flags at the Minister in Kochi.

The outfits' activists also took out a protest march to the State Secretariat here demanding Mani's resignation.

At Thodupuzha, BJP's Yuva Morcha activists burnt an effigy of the Minister.

Baby was shot dead at Udumbanchola in the district on Nov 13, 1982. There were nine accused and all acquitted by a lower court, which was later upheld by the high court. The case was reopened by the previous Congress-led UDF government after Mani made two controversial speeches in 2012 in which he publicly stated that the Communist party had often eliminated its political foes in Idukki district in the 1980s.

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Eight persons were today sentenced to life imprisonment for chopping off the palms of two labourers three years ago when they tried to flee from the clutches of contractors, a gruesome incident that had evoked widespread outrage.

Additional District and Sessions Judge, Dharmagarh, A C Behera while convicting the two labour contractors and their associates, described the incident as heinous.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on December 15, 2013 when Deyalu Nial and Nilamber Dhangda Maji along with 12 labourers made a bid to escape from the labour contractors who were trying to take them to Hyderabad instead of Raipur.

Deyalu and Nilamber were eventually caught and punished in a barbaric manner with their palms chopped off by the middlemen and agents.

One of the victims - Nilamber Maji - died around three months ago following critical illness.

Terming the offence as heinous, the judge observed that it was a crime against the society and the sentence will serve as a deterrence.

The convicts were identified as Prabesh alias Parmame Dundi, Baijanath Rauti, Arjun Bhoi, Ganghadar Das, Bana Majhi, Jayasen Thela, Bimala Rout and Mantu Nial.

They were convicted for crimes under sections 16 & 17 of Bonded Labour Act, 1976 and Sections 120B, 307, 323, 326, 364A, 365, 342, 370, 506 and 420 of the IPC.

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The Patna Meteorological Centre today predicted light rain across the state due to western disturbances in the next three-four days.

Residents of Patna today witnessed a sunny day and an increased temperature which was registered four to two degrees Celsius above normal.

According to an MeT bulletin, the maximum temperature of Patna was registered at 27.1 degrees Celsius and the minimum stood at 12.6 degrees Celsius.

"Both maximum and minimum temperature increases in the region before the advancement of western disturbances. It has reached Jammu and Kashmir and is expected to approach Bihar in the next three-four days. This may cause light rainfall which may create dense foggy weather before the sky clears," an Met official said.

The warmth in the weather could be felt because of the increase in temperature across the state, he said adding it has been witnessed that both maximum and minimum temperatures registered two degrees Celsius above normal at most places.

The maximum and minimum temperatures were expected to be around 27 and 13 degrees Celsius respectively in the state capital tomorrow, the official said.

Met has forecast foggy/misty morning followed by clear sky later in the day in four major cities of Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea.

Gaya recorded a low of 10.9 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 26.3 degrees Celsius, it said.

Bhagalpur had a minimum of 15 degrees Celsius and maximum of 26.6 degrees Celsius, while Purnea registered a minimum of 14.5 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 27.4 deg C.

The lowest temperature of 10 degrees Celsius was recorded at Sabour in Bhagalpur district today, the Met office said.

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The state government and the Centre will ink agreements for new railway projects worth Rs 45,000 crore in the state, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said at a function organised here.

"The Maharashtra and union governments will sign the projects today. The Railways have been investing in the state in large amount. It includes projects for Mumbai as well as for the rest of Maharashtra," said Prabhu.

"In last two-and-half years there has been an investment of Rs 4,000 crore in various railway projects in Mumbai alone. We have converted the DC tracks to AC, increased the height of 160 platforms and 16 foot-over-bridges. There are 37 escalators already serving people, while additional 65 are under-construction," pointed out Prabhu.

The railways have focussed on increasing connectivity in Maharashtra and total investment planned for this is as high as Rs 22,000 crore. It will be used for laying of new railway lines, increasing capacity of railway stations and converting some single line to double line, Prabhu said.

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Taking potshots at the opposition Congress for performing "bhumipoojan" of Pune Metro yesterday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said people will never give them an opportunity to perform official foundation stone laying ceremonies.

"Those who performed the 'bhumipoojan' yesterday were not authorised to do so. Many years ago, when I was small, during a visit to Delhi's Red fort, I gave a speech like Prime Minister. This does not make me a Prime Minister," the Chief Minister said at the event here where foundation stone for Pune Metro was laid down by Prime Minister Naredra Modi.

"Similarly, those who did the 'bhumipoojan' yesterday will never get a chance to perform 'bhumipoojan' officially," Fadnavis said.

He said the file containing 256 queries regarding the project were pending at the desk of the previous (Maharashtra) Chief Minister.

"There were issues of alignment which was resolved in our time, a new DPR was made. All issues related to the proposed second phase of Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar will be completed by March and in April next year. We will invite Modiji for the launch of the second phase," Fadnavis said.

He said the proposed International Airport in Pune and Metro will help the city to emerge as a start up capital in the country.

NCP president Sharad Pawar, union minister Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javdekar, Venkaiah Naidu were present on the occasion.

Naidu said the Centre and the state government will share the funding for Pune Metro.

With civic elections round the corner, the Pune unit of Congress had yesterday performed the 'bhoomipujan' of the Pune Metro Rail project.

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A man has been arrested for allegedly opening fire on the office of a property dealer in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area more than four months ago, police said today.

Dinesh Nayak, 27, was arrested near Police Colony, Sarai Rohilla, for opening fire on Santosh Tripathi's office, they said adding the attack was contracted to him and his associate for Rs 5,000.

Tripathi had filed a complaint on August 6, alleging that two motorcycle-borne men had fired gun shots on his office in Gandhi Nagar area, but no one was injured in the incident, said Ravindra Yadav, joint commissioner of police (Crime).

Efforts were on to nab the accused since then.

A specific information about the accused was received by Crime Branch on December 20 and a crime branch team - led by ACP Ishwar Singh and under DCP Bhisham Singh's supervision - arrested Nayak, said the officer.

"During interrogation, Nayak told police that he along with co-accused Rahul had fired gun shots on the property dealer's office. Nayak was driving the motorcycle while Rahul was riding pillion," said the officer.

Rahul was contracted for Rs 5,000 for the attack a few months ago when he was lodged in jail, he said.

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Nearly 1,000 permanent sanitary workers were today examined at a specially organised medical camp organised by the City Corporation in association with a group of hospitals, supported by CII and Young Indians.

The camp was a part of an initiative taken by Corporation Commissioner, Dr Vijay Karthikeyan to keep the 2,740 permanent sanitary workers fit, as they were involved many risky jobs.

Specialists in skin, eye, heart, liver, kidney and general medicine examined nearly 1,000 workers, Karthikeyan said.

The results of blood samples taken a week ago were also handed over to the workers and medicines if needed will be supplied by the hospitals, he said in a release.

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The young population of the country has become wary of diseases cropping up because of unhealthy lifestyle, pushing them to reach out to doctors for early diagnosis and preventive help, stated a recent report.

In a welcoming sign that can have far-reaching positive impact on Indian healthcare system in the future, the report states about 45 per cent people, in the age group 20-45 years, actively consult doctors for prevention of lifestyle diseases, while majority of others reach out to experts for either sexual or mental health.

Lybrate, an online doctor consultation platform, released the report today post analysis of around 70 million interactions, including booking of lab tests, that happened on the platform over a period of 12 months, starting January 1 this year.

The top seven lifestyle issues, the report points out, that hovered greatly on the minds of young Indians which they want to stay away from include Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases, Cancer and Hypertension.

Majority of the interactions happened around prevention, but there has also been a remarkable rise in interactions on treatment of these diseases from those who are already suffering from them.

Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hypertension and COPD are non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that put extreme burden on Indian households and healthcare delivery systems. NCDs lead to about 40 per cent of all hospital stays and roughly 35 per cent of all recorded outpatient visits in India, the report states.

"The inclination of young people towards preventive health assumes greater significance given the pressure it builds on the country's healthcare infrastructure. The awareness will bring about a huge change in the behavior towards health and greatly reduce the cost burden on households and healthcare delivery in the country," Saurabh Arora, Founder and CEO, Lybrates said.

While preventive health has gained prominence among people in tier-1 cities, people from tier-2 and 3 cities too have become conscious about it.

However, in tier-2 and 3 cities, the data show, people are more inclined to discuss issues related to their sexual or mental health.

The interactions over stress and depression have remarkably increased from these cities in the last one year, showing the stigma attached to these subjects is fading even in small towns and cities.

With rise in pollution levels in Delhi and Bangalore in the month of November, interactions around respiratory issues saw a significant rise, while during Dengue and Chikungunya outbreak between July and September, Delhi witnessed maximum number of interactions taking place with doctors.

In Chennai and Kolkata, women have been more proactive about their health issues compared to any other metropolitan city. Prevention of lifestyle diseases is what made most of the people from Mumbai and Hyderabad reach out to doctors.

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Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) leader Sadabhau Khot has said he would attend the event of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BKC here today, even as his party colleague and MP Raju Shetti took a dig at the BJP for organising the event extravagantly.

Modi will lay foundation stones for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj this afternoon. He will later address a gathering at the BKC in Bandra.

SSS founder Shetti had yesterday taking a jibe at its ally, said he would like to know where was BJP when an American author had allegedly made derogatory statements against Chhatrapti Shivaji, nearly a decade ago.

The book, titled, 'The Shivaji Hindu King in Islamic India', was later banned after Pune-based Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, which possesses vast scriptures and old documents on the warrior king, was allegedly attacked by activists of Sambhaji Brigade.

The Maratha community outfit later maintained that the institute had provided misinformation which had led the author make derogatory statements against Shivaji in his book.

On Shetti's remarks, Khot, who is Minister of State for Agriculture and Marketing in the state cabinet, said, "The memorial is being set up by the government, which means people have contributed for it. I have been invited for the event and I will be representing farmers. It is an important event, hence, I will be attending the BKC function."



Another ally of the BJP in the state, Shivsangram Sanghatna led by Vinayak Mete had earlier expressed his displeasure over BJP appropriating the state event. He had even skipped an event in Chembur and stayed away from the following rally on Friday.

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In a veiled attack on Congress for opposing demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the "sins" of benami properties would not have happened and people would not be standing in queues now had necessary decisions been taken in the past.

"In 1988, Parliament passed Benami Property Act but it never got notified and implemented. The papers had got lost somewhere in a stack of files. It was me who re-opened it. Sins of benami properties would not have happened had the law been implemented," he said after the inauguration of Pune metro.

"Should I let the situation be as it is or should I change it? Should the wrongdoings be undone or not? If decisions were taken years ago, I would not have had to make people stand in queues. I have taken this step because I made a promise to save the country," the Prime Minister said.

Modi warned those possessing black money to come clean now or they will stand no chance to save themselves.

"Some people thought all governments are the same and this government of mine will be no different. They thought they can put their black money in banks and convert it into white. Money did not become white but their faces turned black," he said.

"There is still time where laws can help you. Come on the right path and sleep peacefully. If not, I will not sleep. I have started this war against corruption, black money, terrorism, naxalism with a lot of 'jigar' (heart)," he said.

The Prime Minister said that due to the demonetisation decision, income of urban bodies have increased by 200-300 per cent and people, who were used to breaking rules at one point of time are now made to stand in queues.

Modi said that urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace



today and stressed on generating employment and improving the quality of life in villages to stop migration to cities.

"Only then will the run from villages to cities will slow down. If we think in pieces and for immediate political gains, we can never overcome problems," he said.

The PM said the Centre has started with a 'Rurban' mission which focusses on ensuring that that villages close to cities have the soul of a village and facilities of a city.

"Our Digital India campaign is not just meant for cities but for rural areas as well. We have decided to launch metro projects in more than 50 cities. Had we done so in bits and pieces, projects would have become costlier, more problems would have arisen and the projects would have had lagged even after we putting in money," he said.

Modi said benchmarks of development need to become modernise and transform with changing times.

"Infrastructure is not just roads, rail and air transport but also highways and I-ways (information ways), for which we need an optical fibre network. We need to work on water grid, digital network, gas grid and space technology," he said.

Modi said Pune Metro should have been visualised and implemented much earlier. "Previous governments have left a lot of work for me to do," Modi said.
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who was supposed to lead a 'silent' morcha of his party workers at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) here, the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting, today claimed that he has been placed under "house arrest" by police.

"The area outside my house is under heavy police bandobast and I am being prevented from stepping out," Nirupam told PTI alleging that "in the present democratic set up Opposition leaders are being virtually kept under house-arrest."



However, Mumbai Police denied the claims made by Nirupam and said the force deployed outside his residence was only part of the security arrangements made across the city in view of the PM's visit.

Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said, "We have deployed policemen across the city especially on the route of PM's convoy to maintain law and order as well as to avoid any untoward incident during his visit."



Nirupam also said that the Congress morcha will take place as per schedule and we have time till this afternoon to decide on our strategy.

"We have a lot of questions for the PM. He should answer to graft allegations made by our Vice President Rahul gandhi instead of mocking him. Modi should also answer when the people will get back their right to deposit and withdraw their own hard earned money from banks. Its more than a month. Since demonetisation citizens are still suffering due to cash crunch," he said.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash also condemned the decision of Mumbai Police to curb democratic rights of political rivals which he charged was done at the behest of the government.

"Earlier government put restrictions on citizens' rights to access their money and now there are restrictions on freedom of expression as well," he said.

He said the Congress workers were to display only placards in the morcha and were not to hold any protests.

"The government does not want to see people's hardships. If they don't want to see the placards people will show them the mirror in which they will see their failures," he added.

The Mumbai unit of Congress is scheduled to hold a 'silent' morcha near the venue where Modi will address a public function in the afternoon to highlight demonetisation troubles and a host of other issues.

(Reopens BES8)



Meanwhile, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee



(MPCC) condemned the "house arrest" of Nirupam, calling it a "black day" for democracy.

It is indeed a "black day" for the Indian democracy. This act confirms the fact the BJP Government has a "sadist and fascist" mindset, which denies a citizen's fundamental constitutional right to protest peacefully, MPCC spokesman Sachin Sawant said.

Nirupam was to take part in a peaceful protest against the demonetisation policy of the Modi Government, he said.

Clearly, the BJP Government appears to be extremely scared of even a silent protest. The Congress and the people of India will not be deterred by such "anti-democratic" approach of the BJP government. This only boosts our resolve to further escalate our fight against fascism, Sawant maintained.

"We vehemently condemn this extreme act of the BJP Government," he added.
To increase the electronic surveillance to prevent and detect crime, over 3,000 CCTV cameras are being installed in Rachakonda Police Commissionerate under community and government CCTV projects.

"CCTV Project has been undertaken with cooperation of community people in the Commissionerate area in 1,219 localities and so far 854 cameras have been installed and work is in progress in remaining areas," Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat told reporters.

"Accordingly government CCTV project is also under progress in which 2,234 CC cameras would be installed in different strategic locations in three phases," said Bhagwat.

Rachkonda Commissionerate which was bifurcated from Cyberabad Commissionerate in June this year would have its new building over the next one year, Bhagwat said adding identification of land for construction of new Commissionerate building is in final stage.

Rachakonda Police Commissionerate website would be launched on January 1,2017, the Commissioner said.

A total of 12,750 cases of various offences including dacoity, robbery, kidnappings and rapes were reported out of which 8,411 were detected during the year, he said.

120 cases of kidnapping were detected out of 154 reported while 142 rape cases were detected out of 153 cases. A total of 2,503 property cases were reported till December 20 this year as against 2558 cases reported last year.

Bhagwat further said as many as 57 cases were registered against the organisers who were running "prostitution houses".

"166 organisers were arrested while 71 victims were rescued, adding for the first time in Telangana, 25 prostitution houses including 5 lodges were seized under section 133 CrPC in the limits of Rachakonda Commissionerate".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari has returned to the country, ending his 18-month- long self-imposed exile, amidst speculations about his future role in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has threatened a major protest against the Nawaz Sharif government.

The party has asked the government to change the interior minister and appoint a full-time foreign minister, among other demands, before December 27 or face street demonstrations.

So far, none of the demands have been fulfilled.

Zardari landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport yesterday afternoon and later addressed a huge rally criticising Prime Minister Sharif.

But local media was not sure about the role of Zardari who with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the co-chairman of the PPP which is the largest opposition party and also rules southern province of Sindh.

"Will Zardari take back the reins of PPP? Will he change the party's strategy in dealing with the ruling PML-N? Will his son take the back seat? These are the questions making the rounds in political circles as Zardari returned to Karachi," the Express Tribune reported.

The answer to all these questions is 'no'.

This is at least what the Express Tribune has learnt from top PPP officials in background interviews.

They say Bilawal will remain the face of the party, while Zardari will act as a 'patriarch'.

Zardari, known for his wheeling and dealing, will use his political acumen to win over other political groups with his quintessential policy of political reconciliation.

The objective will be to improve the party's numerical strength in the legislatures of smaller provinces in the next general elections.

Bilawal, meanwhile, would continue to take on political rivals aggressively, mainly in Punjab, the province which decides who will rule in the Centre as almost half of the members of the National Assembly are elected from here.

Public perception of Zardari is not good. And the PPP, which is evolving under Bilawal, knows it full well. This was the reason PPP's inner circles had weighed the pros and cons of Zardari's homecoming, it said.

Some political analysts, however, see Zardari's return in the backdrop of the change in the military's high-command.

Before leaving the country in June last year, Zardari had made a hard-hitting speech at a function in Islamabad.

Apparently, his target was the powerful military establishment, especially the then army chief, General Raheel Sharif.

It was reported that Zardari was angered by the Rangers' actions against PPP leaders as part of the operation in Karachi.

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An 11-year-old boy has sued the office of President Mamnoon Hussain for stealing his speech which he had prepared to deliver in an event to celebrate the birth anniversary of Pakistan's founder M A Jinnah.

The six-grader, Muhammad Sabeel Haider, through his father Naseem Abbas Nasir, approached the Islamabad High Court, filing a petition against the presidency for "stealing" the text of his speech and giving it to someone else without his consent.

Justice Aamer Farooq on Friday reserved the verdict on the maintainability of the young orator's petition, The Express Tribune reported.

Haider has made the secretary to the President, additional secretary at the President's Secretariat, director colleges of the Directorate of Education, Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the managing director of the Television, and one Ayesha Ishtiaq through the principal of Islamabad College for Girls as respondents in the case.

Haider, who studies at the Islamabad Model College for Boys, said in the petition that he participated in a programme arranged by the presidency and delivered a speech on March 23 this year and later, the president had given him a letter of appreciation.

He said that a ceremony related to Jinnah's 141st birth anniversary was scheduled under the title "Quaid-e-Azam aur Bachay" and that the respondents had requested him on December 14 to deliver a speech in the ceremony on the topic " ka Mustaqbil" which had to be recorded on December 22.

He said he participated in daily rehearsals from December 14 onwards and sacrificed two papers (English and General Science) on December 15 and December 19, respectively, which were part of annual December Test examination.

The counsel said Haider's speech was forwarded for approval from the presidency, adding that the respondents had approved it.

When the petitioner on December 22 reached Aiwan-e-Sadr (Presidency Palace), officials of the presidency sent him for make-up and the young orator sat on his reserved seat and waited for his turn.

"Shockingly," Haider was informed that the speech was going to be delivered by a girl from another school, and "more astonishingly", the speech which she delivered "was the original script of the speech of the petitioner", the counsel said.

"The petitioner was highly discouraged... And insulted by the respondents" because his original script was delivered by someone else, and that too without permission, consent or will of the petitioner, the counsel said.

Calling it "stealing", the counsel termed the act of the respondents a violation of intellectual property, intellect, and copyrights and sought that they are restrained from airing the speech on electronic or social media.
Parents of a 26-year-old PG medical student of AIIMS, Delhi, found dead under mysterious circumstances in July last, today demanded a CBI investigation in the case, alleging that police in the national capital were not probing the case.

The Centre and Tamil Nadu governments should initiate steps for a CBI probe into the death of G Saravanan, a native of this city who was doing his MD degree at AIIMS, his parents told reporters here.

Saravanan was found dead in his rented flat at Hauz Khas in South Delhi on July 10 with police suspecting the death due to overdose of an injection.

His mother G Yuvarani said Delhi police had declared the death as suicide, but they were not even ready to provide a copy of FIR.

She also said she had petitioned the Prime Minister seeking an inquiry and the PMO had last month written to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary to take appropriate action.

However, the state government had not taken any steps to take forward the case, she claimed.

Saravanan's father P Ganesan said the post mortem report had confirmed it was not a case of suicide as some poison was found administered through right hand veins. Despite this, the Delhi police were 'sleeping' on the issue and not initiating any investigation, he alleged.

Even some MPs from the state had raised the issue in Parliament, the parents said adding as a last resort they were seeking a CBI inquiry to render justice.

They also sought adequate compensation from the Tamil Nadu government and required legal support to bring out the truth behind the death.

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Pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem today for Christmas Eve as Europeans worked up some holiday spirit despite tight security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

Dozens of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem's Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, where celebrations will culminate with a midnight mass at the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Some snapped selfies near the square's giant Christmas tree and watched the annual Scouts parade in the city, a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"This is Christ's land, the land of peace," said Ramzi Abu Khalil, who was wearing a red Santa hat.

"We take pride in him. All Christians should come today to Bethlehem. This is a holy day for us and a day of pilgrimage."



Violence put a damper on celebrations in Bethlehem last year, as a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeted Israelis and reduced sharply the number of Christmas visitors.

The unrest has subsided in recent months and, with major Bethlehem hotels booked up, many in the city were optimistic this year's holiday season would bring more visitors.

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from this week's truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

Hundreds of investigators were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed yesterday in a shootout with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Tunisia said today it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."



Security was tight elsewhere in Europe for the holidays, including at Milan's cathedral, where police were out in force and concrete barricades had been erected around the Piazza del Duomo, where a Christmas market is held.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers had been deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

In the northern city of Lille, concrete blocks had been laid in areas around the city to prevent vehicle attacks, prompting 62-year-old Michelle to ask: "How far are we going to go?"



Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional markets and other festivities.

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A PIL has been filed in Madras High Court seeking a direction to Tamil Nadu government for effective implementation of bio-medical waste management rules, saying the present situation posed health hazards to the public.

The bench comprising justices S K Kaul and M Sundar, before whom the PIL came up for hearing recently, issued notice to the state government.

Petitioner Dr J Umarani submitted that currently there was no authorized body or person to handle bio-medical waste in the state, resulting in failure to treat and dispose such wastes as per the provisions of Bio-Medical Waste Rules.

Though government pleader M.K.Subramanian submitted that a number of similar petitions have been filed before the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Chennai, which has issued appropriate guidelines, the court noted that the aspect relating to issuance of licences to treat Bio-Medical waste as substantive.

It directed the government pleader to file an affidavit explaining whether such licences had been issued and if so, to whomwithin three weeks.

The petitioner claimed that the present situation posed a serious threat to the environment and resulted in health hazard to the public.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM), led by Prakash Ambedkar, which has only one legislator in Maharashtra, has decided to contest 40 seats in the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.

The party has no presence outside Akola and Washim district in Vidarbha region of the state.

Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution.

"In Punjab, Dalit community is prevalent in almost each assembly constituency and are 32 per cent of the total population. To rope in these voters, BBM has decided to contest 40 seats out of total 117 seats," Ambedkar said.

"The Republican Party of India (RPI) has no presence in Punjab. Earlier, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party had a hold in a few pockets, but has lost supporters in the last few years. Which is why I think that BBM has strong chances of opening its account in the state," he added.

A team of 40 retired bureaucrats from the Punjab cadre will do the leg work for Ambedkar in Punjab.

"Today, I held a meeting of these retired IAS officers who had expressed their desire to join politics directly or indirectly. They will handle rallies and campaign in the state in our support," Ambedkar, who is on a tour of Punjab from the last Wednesday said and added that the process to select candidates will begin very soon.

BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance is currently in power in Punjab.

A party leader said that Aam Aadami Party has expressed its desire to tie up with the BBM for the assembly polls. However Ambedkar said he has not received any official communication from AAP as yet.

BBM's lone legislator Baliram Siraskar won the 2014 Maharashtra assembly polls from Akola constituency. The party has a complete hold over Akola Zilla Parishad, and 5 Panchayat Samitis from the same district. Party's Nafisa Shaikh won president's post of Buldhana Municipal Council in recently concluded civic polls.

Punjab government's Assembly tenure will end in March 2017.

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Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad today exhorted people, especially businessmen, to adopt and promote digital transactions for the country's economic development.

Advocating for "cashless, less-cash and digital payments", Prasad, who is also Law and Justice Minister, distributed Point of Sale (POS) machines among the businessmen and traders here at a function to promote and popularise the use of digital transactions/payments.

"It is not about 'cashless' rather the government stresses 'less' on cash. Our emphasis is to promote digital mode of payments," Prasad said at a function here.

He was addressing a gathering of businessmen and traders at a 'Go Cashless Awareness Programme' organised by the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry at Khajekalan in the state capital.

The minister, who along with Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai, made digital payment for having tea at Bablu Gupta's tea stall at Khajekalan area in Patna city after the function, also showed people how easy is digital transaction.

While addressing people, Prasad said, "The drive for digital payment would make India a stronger country. It would broaden the ambit of tax net...Demonetisation is a surgical strike on black money and aims to wipe out corruption. The decision would ultimately help honest people."



He said, "It is not only easy to make or accept digital payments but it would also keep record of the transactions a businessmen had in a day or month and on that basis, he/she may get loans from banks easily."



A person can make payments using his/her cards, mobile phones and Aadhaar today given the fact that there are 105 crore mobile phones, 109 crore Aadhaar cards, 50 crore internet connections, 35 crore smart phones.

He made it clear to the businessmen that government agencies would not go after the transactions that they had carried out prior to November 8.

Prasad was accompanied by Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai,



senior party leader and Patna Saheb MLA Nand Kishore Yadav, legislators Arun Kumar Sinha and Nitin Navin.

Stating that there are two lakh Common Service Centres (CSC) across the country, most of which are in rural areas, the minister said that these centres help people in getting Aadhaar card, railway tickets, depositing electricity bills, filling up of examination forms etc.

People would be able to make digital payments for their needs/payments through CSCs, he added.

The minister announced that the one crore people and 25 lakh businessmen would be provided training for making digital transactions/payments across the country.

Out of the set target, 1.73 lakh shopowners and 63 lakh people have already been provided training within 10 days of the start of the training programme, he said, adding that out of this, 2.55 lakh people and 12,903 shopowners have been trained for digital transactions in Bihar, Prasad said.

The minister also distributed POS machines among businessmen and traders in Bakhtiyarpur later in the day.
President Pranab Mukherjee today extended his greetings to citizens on the eve of Christmas and said the teachings of Jesus Christ should inspire everyone to contribute towards the welfare of humanity.

In his message, the President said, "On the joyous occasion of Christmas, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes for a blessed Christmas to all my fellow citizens in India and abroad."



"May the spirit of Christmas fill our hearts with love and compassion. May the divine teachings of Lord Jesus Christ inspire us to contribute our very best for the welfare of humanity," he added.

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President Pranab Mukherjee will offer worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at nearby Tirumala on December 28, a senior temple official said today.

The President, who is now on a ten-day visit to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would, arrive here on a five-hour pilgrimage in the forenoon of December 28, temple Public Relations Officer Dr Talari Ravi told PTI.

Arriving by a flight in nearby Renigunta Airport from Hyderabad, Mukherjee would first offer prayers at the shrine of Goddess Sri Padmavathi in Tiruchanur.

Later, he would visit Tirumala and offer worship to Lord Venkateswara in the afternoon, he said.

After taking a brief break at the TTD Padmavathi Guest House on the hills, the President would fly back to Hyderabad in the evening, he added.

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Commoner contestant Priyanka Jagga has been asked to leave from "Bigg Boss" following her appalling behaviour on the controversial reality show.

Priyanka, who exited the house in the very first week of the show going on air, was brought back as a wild card entry. Upon her return she stooped to a new low everyday either by passing unsavoury comments on other contestants especially females or picking up random fights and hurling abuses at them.

She also made comments on the death of Manu Punjabi's mother days after he returned to the house after performing her last rites.

Following all this drama throughout the week, host Salman Khan demands explanation from her but to his surprise, Priyanka starts giving nasty replies and disrespect to him in the bargain, a release issued here said.

However, Priyanka pays no heed and goes on a rant about how the contestants ill-treated her when she was unwell. Salman responds by saying that what she did was completely unacceptable and she has maligned people's character, it said.

Paying no heed to her drama, Salman tells that he loathes her actions and asks her to leave the Bigg Boss house with immediate effect.

The Dabangg Khan even said, "If Priyanka ever comes on this show or any other show on Colors, I will never work with the channel again."



The "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" star expresses his displeasure and reprimands the contestants for turning the house into a war zone during the BB Hostel task.

The 50-year-old star says that the contestants were given a simple and entertaining task to perform but it ironically brought the entire house down because of few people's unjust behaviour hinting towards Priyanka and Swami Om. Salman asked contestant Manveer to get a cloth from the store room and seal Swami Om's mouth to spare everyone from a verbal torture.

Appreciating contestant Manu's efforts for maintaining some peace and harmony inside the house, Salman gives him the title of 'Man of the Week'. The show is aired on Colors channel.

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Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday lashed out at the US for slapping sanctions on Syrian ministers and a Russian bank, saying Washington had "completely lost its grip on reality".

The United States yesterday added several senior Syrian officials including the ministers of oil and of finance and the leadership of a Russian bank to its sanctions blacklist.

"This widening of American sanctions against Russia...At a time when the bloody attacks in Ankara and Berlin should bring reasonable people together to fight the terrorist threat shows that Washington has completely lost its grip on reality," the ministry said in a statement.

The US was trying to "punish us for our support to the Syrian government in the fight against terrorism which is a threat not only to that country but to the whole world", it said.

Washington's "desire for regime change in is so strong that it is ready to help any destructive force", the ministry said.

"We will not give in to sanctions," it said, adding that targeted Russian companies were "functioning normally".

has been locked in war for more than five years, leaving more than 310,000 people dead and millions more displaced.

The conflict began as a pro-democracy revolt but later morphed into an all-out civil war after President Bashar al-Assad's troops unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent.

It has since become a complex, multi-front conflict, drawing in global powers as well as militias and jihadists.

While Western powers and some regional states have backed the rebellion, Russia and Iran have thrown their full weight behind Assad's regime.

In announcing the blacklist additions, Washington also imposed sanctions on Syrian airline Cham Wings, accused of transporting foreign militiamen to fight in the country's brutal civil war.

US officials also targeted two companies allegedly owned or operated by al-Assad's cousin Rami Makhluf, which they said had handled oil drilled in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

The east of has fallen to IS and, while the regime and its allies have fought the extremists, officials have been accused of trading oil from jihadist-held territory.

The fresh sanctions came as the government recaptured the rebel-held east of Aleppo, the country's second city, after a fierce month-long offensive that saw thousands of civilians and rebels evacuated in recent days.
West Pakistan Refugees today held a protest here condemning separatists for opposing the issuance of domicile certificates to them, and said their statements against the settlers exposed their bias against the Hindus.

"We strongly condemn the statement of separatist leaders like Yaseen Malik and Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani, who are opposing the grant of domicile certificates to us. We have been suffering a lot for the past 70 years," said Madan Lal Dubgotra, President of West Pakistani Hindu Refugee Front.

Hitting out at the leaders, he said the statements of the separatist leadership stating the refugees should be sent back to Pakistan was "inhuman" and exposed their bias against the Hindu community.

He said for the first time the state's PDP-BJP coalition government has decided to give identity cards to the refugees, which would help them get employment in central security forces and the central government.

"This certificate will not only help us in getting central government jobs and jobs in central forces but would also help our children to avail scholarship under various centre sponsored schemes," Dubgotra said.

The state government has decided to issue identity cards to the settlers and clarified after protests from opposition parties and separatists that it was not issuing domicile certificates.

Several other political organisations, including BJP and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, and refugee outfits have hit out at opposition parties and separatists for opposing identity certificates to the refugees.

The refugees, settled in Jammu and Kashmir, are citizens of India and have the right to vote in parliamentary polls. However, they are not permanent residents of the state in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution. They do not enjoy voting rights to the state assembly and local bodies.

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A Sri Lankan court has acquitted five naval intelligence officers accused of killing an outspoken Tamil lawmaker, who advocated greater self-rule for the minority community, 10 years ago during the civil war.

The case had been heard before a special jury for the first time in history and it is the first-ever occasion that a verdict was given after midnight.

Nadaraja Raviraj, who represented the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) from the northern Jaffna district, was shot dead outside his home in his car in Colombo in November, 2006.

The police's Crime Investigations Department had found the vehicle and the weapons allegedly used for the murder.

Raviraj was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority. He was shot dead during the country's three-decade-long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009.

The suspects held were all Naval intelligence personnel who were acquitted and released after they were found not guilty by a special jury. The decision was reached after midnight following a trial which lasted over a month.

One of the suspects had died during the trial, according to reports.

The jury has decided that the accused cannot be convicted based only on the fact that they were identified by several witnesses in the case.

The accused were charged on five counts under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Penal Code.

The High Court tried three of the suspects in absentia as they were absconding since the beginning of the nvestigations.

Another suspect former Police Constable Manamperige Sanjaya Preethi Viraj, had turned state witness in the case.

He was released Thursday after in the remand custody for almost 20 months.

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The US Department of Defence has awarded a $284.6 million contract to Lockheed Martin to produce infrared target sight systems for the US Navy and Pakistan, a media report said on Saturday.

The system will be used for the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters, which have proved very effective in combats against militants, particularly in difficult terrains. In the US, the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter is used by US Marine Corps expeditionary forces, the Dawn reported.

The TSS incorporates a third-generation forward-looking infrared sensor that provides target sighting in the day, night or adverse weather conditions.

A Pentagon statement describes the TSS system as a large-aperture mid-wave forward-looking infrared sensor with a laser designator/rangefinder turret. It provides the capability to identify and laser-designate targets at maximum weapon range, significantly enhancing platform survivability and lethality.

The company's Orlando-based missile and fire control unit will produce the sight system in Orlando and Ocala, Florida, through January 2022 for the US Navy and Pakistan under the foreign military sales portion of the award, the paper said, citing the Pentagon release.

The contract has a base value of $150.96 million but its accumulative cost would go up to $284.6 million. The government of Pakistan will pay about 12% of the total cost through an arrangement with the US under the Foreign Military Sales programme.

In January, Lockheed Martin received a smaller contract of $14 million to provide the same target system for Pakistan.

The contracts include software development and testing, system modification, and installation requirements to integrate the TSS into the Cobra helicopters.

The TSS provides target information and tracking data for the helicopter, in addition to passive targeting for integrated weapons. Work on the first contract, performed in Florida, would be completed by December 2017.

Although the United States and Pakistan were once close allies, relations between the two countries strained in 2011, when the US eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during a covert raid on his compound in Abbottabad.

The bilateral ties slipped further after the US Congress blocked financing of eight F-16 fighter jets earlier this year despite strong lobbying by Islamabad. The US lawmakers accused Islamabad of continuing to support the Afghan Taliban.
The US has defended its decision to refrain from vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement building in Palestine, saying the unusual step was taken only after all negotiating options to pursue a two-state solution were exhausted.

President-elect Donald Trump meanwhile slammed the outgoing Obama administration for abstaining from voting. "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th," he tweeted.

In a move seen as a diplomatic rebuke to its closest Middle East ally, the United States had decided not to veto the resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, introduced in the UN Security Council by Egypt.

"The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," said Secretary of State, John Kerry.

"One of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity -- which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that condemns settlements -- puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence," Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor told reporters during a conference call yesterday afternoon.

"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," Rhodes said in defence of the decision.

Describing this as a rebuke to Israel, The Washington Post said decision not to veto reflected frustration from the Obama administration over the settlements and defied pressure from Trump. A day earlier, Trump, in a tweet, had asked the US to veto the resolution.

Rhodes stressed that the US had exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, discussions and confidence-building measures.

"We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table. So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution," he said.

The Deputy National Security Advisor said the US does have concerns about the UN as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state," he said.

Obama's abstention however came under withering criticism



from across bipartisan lines.

"Today's passage of an ill-conceived resolution on Israeli settlements marks another shameful chapter in the bizarre anti-Israel history of the United Nations," said Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"The abstention of the United States has made us complicit in this outrageous attack, and marks a troubling departure from our nation's long, bipartisan history of defending our ally Israel in the United Nations. This resolution will serve as yet another roadblock to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and embolden the enemies of Israel," he said.

House Democratic whip Steny H Hoyer also expressed his deep disappointment over the abstention.

"Blaming Israel for the continuation of the conflict is not only wrong and unjust; it will also do nothing to move the parties closer to a peaceful and lasting solution. I join in expressing my very significant disagreement with the Administration's decision to abstain," he said.

"Refusing to veto an anti-Israel UN resolution will do absolutely nothing to promote peace in the region and only continue this Administration's policy of undermining our allies," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power defended the step saying the United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transitional period.

"Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks.

"Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated," she said.

The powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee said it was deeply disturbed by the "failure of the Obama Administration to exercise its veto to prevent a destructive, one-sided, anti-Israel resolution from being enacted" by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Hoping that Christmas will "provide an opportunity to reaffirm our faith in the country's cultural heritage, spirit of friendship and fraternity among all sections of society," West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi today wished the people of the state on the eve of Christmas.

In a message from the Governor House, Tripathi said "On the auspicious occasion of Christmas, I convey my heartiest greetings to the people of West Bengal.

"May the ideals of peace, amity and sacrifice prevail. My best wishes for Happy Christmas and for the well being of the people of the state on this occasion," Tripathi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Political beliefs are difficult to change as people become more hard-headed when provided with contradictory evidence, a new study has found.

Scientists said the findings seem especially relevant to how people responded to political stories, fake or credible, throughout this year's US elections.

"Political beliefs are like religious beliefs in the respect that both are part of who you are and important for the social circle to which you belong," said Jonas Kaplan, from the University of Southern California.

To determine which brain networks respond when someone holds firmly to a belief, researchers compared whether and how much people change their minds on nonpolitical and political issues when provided counter-evidence.

They discovered that people are more flexible when asked to consider the strength of their belief in non-political statements.

However, when it came to reconsidering their political beliefs, such as whether the US should reduce funding for the military, they would not budge.

Scientists recruited 40 people who were self-declared liberals. The scientists then examined through functional MRI how their brains responded when their beliefs were challenged.

During their brain imaging sessions, participants were presented with eight political statements that they had said they believe just as strongly as a set of eight nonpolitical statements.

They were then shown five counter-claims that challenged each statement.

Participants rated the strength of their belief in the original statement on a scale of one to seven after reading each counter-claim.

The scientists then studied their brain scans to determine which areas became most engaged during these challenges.

Participants did not change their beliefs much, if at all, when provided with evidence that countered political statements such as, "The laws regulating gun ownership in the US should be made more restrictive."



However, the scientists noticed the strength of their beliefs weakened by one or two points when challenged on non-political topics, such as whether "Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb."



The participants were shown counter statements that prompted some feelings of doubt, such as "Nearly 70 years before Edison, Humphrey Davy demonstrated an electric lamp to the Royal Society."



The study found that people who were most resistant to changing their beliefs had more activity in the amygdalae (a pair of almond-shaped areas near the centre of the brain) and the insular cortex, compared with people who were more willing to change their minds.

"The activity in these areas, which are important for emotion and decision-making, may relate to how we feel when we encounter evidence against our beliefs," said Kaplan.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 23-year-old woman from West Bengal, who was working with an IT firm here, was allegedly hacked to death by an unidentified person on the outskirts of the city, police said today.

Antara Das was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon at around 8 PM yesterday when she was returning home from work near Tathwade area, a senior police official of Dehuroad Police Station said.

"Das was rushed to a nearby hospital. However, she was declared dead on arrival," he said.

According to the officer, robbery angle has been ruled out as the valuables the woman was carrying were intact.

A case was registered in this regard, police said, adding a probe was underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Donald Trump's call for an expansion of the United States' nuclear capabilities has shone a spotlight on a group of uranium stocks that has been battered over the past six years but have seen some new life since his presidential election victory.

A clutch of uranium companies including Uranium Energy Corp and Ur-Energy Inc trade at around $1 a share or even less and have market values of less than $400 million. Canada's Cameco, one of the world's largest producers, is an exception in North America, with the market value above $5 billion.

Since the November 8 election, US-traded uranium shares are up between 15 per cent and 30 per cent, against a 14.8 per cent rise for the Russell 2000 small-cap index. During the presidential campaign, Trump said the US nuclear arsenal should be modernised and suggested Japan and South Korea could acquire nuclear weapons.

Some stocks have seen swings since Trump on Thursday tweeted, "the US must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

Shares of Uranium Energy climbed for two straight days, while Uranium Resources Inc stock was little changed on Friday after rising 31 per cent on Thursday in its two heaviest trading days since August. Still that brings Uranium Resources up to only $1.41 per share, resulting in a market value of $19 million.

"Trump's comments could mean a really big thing for uranium equities, however we really do need to see a sense of scale of what he is thinking," said Rob Chang, head of metals and mining research in Canada for Cantor Fitzgerald.

"If there is a notable increase in demand from the weapons standpoint, that could certainly be a huge boost," said Chang, who thinks uranium prices regardless are due to rise off of decade lows because of impending demand from utilities.

Trump on Friday sowed more doubt about his position on nuclear proliferation, reportedly welcoming an arms race even as his spokesman insisted an atomic weapons build-up was not likely to happen.

Chang said sentiment for the stocks has been helped by Trump's pro-nuclear comments, as well as Trump's nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a critic of federal environmental regulation, to head the Environmental Protection Agency, suggesting federal opposition to some mining projects may be relaxed.

"So it's positive for all of mining, and uranium, in my opinion, is the most heavily regulated of all," Chang said.

Uranium stock prices have been decimated in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, which led to Japan closing its nuclear reactors.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ridiculing Rahul Gandhi's remarks, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said though he too could ridicule him, he will not do that and said Modi should rather answer the questions posed.

"He (Rahul) says mock me but answer the questions of the people, the duty to respond to the question... lies with the Prime Minister... however he is ridiculing and acting (mocking Rahul)," Chidambaram said.

Stating that he too knows how to mock and poke fun, the former finance minister said, "I can also talk like Prime Minister... and ridicule..., however, I will not do that because he is India's Prime Minister."

Chidambaram said though Modi belonged to "another party" and "propagated several policies that we cannot accept, I respect him as he is India's Prime Minister. I will not ridicule him or poke fun at him, I only ask questions, he should answer the questions."

ALSO READ: Amid cash crunch, PM calls NITI Aayog meet to review economy: Report



"Why are you (the Centre and Modi) punishing people like this (by demonetising) and what sin have they committed? Why are you harassing people and the farmers... what is the reason...I would like to ask," he said.

He said Rahul Gandhi is addressing people in several states, including Gujarat, on demonetisation and related issues.

"The Prime Minister addresses meetings, Rahul Gandhi is also doing it and the media is giving equal importance to his speeches like they do for the PM and I welcome it. However that is not enough," he said and described the claims of BJP government regarding demonetization as "falsehood."

Corruption is happening black money is being hoarded by using Rs 2,000 notes, he claimed and said party workers should apprise people on such "false claims."

"I bow my head before the people for their patience," Chidambaram said, adding people are perhaps waiting for the Prime Minister's December 30 deadline for things to get normal.

"No government or Prime Minister has the authority to inflict so much pain and harassment on the people. They did not vote for them (BJP) for this," he said.

Chidambaram said the Prime Minister should have accepted that he had taken a wrong decision. "He (Modi) is a big (magnanimous) man... had he said that I made a mistake, had Modi sought forgiveness, he would have been a big man," the senior Congress leader said.

He said Indira Gandhi had generously admitted that promulgation of Emergency in 1975 was a mistake as it had led to suffering of people (not in Tamil Nadu) and promised to never do it again till such time she was Prime Minister.

"That is why she continues to live in the hearts of people as a towering leader though she passed away 32 years ago," he said.

"There is nothing wrong in accepting one's mistakethere is nothing wrong in saying that I have done a mistake." Chidambaram said if Modi had admitted he had taken a "wrong decision based on wrong advice" and he was not told of the quantum of currency that will be scrapped, it would have been generous.

If Modi had said he was not apprised about the note printing capacity and how many months it would take to print such notes and on the duration of ATM recalibration, he would have been magnanimous, he said.

Modi should have admitted that he had not taken into consideration the fact that people would be hit and daily wage earners would be affected, Chidambaram said.
Singapores Banyan Tree Group is moving quickly into one of the worlds most looked-at emerging markets Cuba.

News from Skift has reported the Dhawa Cayo Santia Maria Cuba is set to debut today.

Aside from the Dhawa, the pipeline includes two Angsana properties, a Banyan Tree and a second Dhawa.

One interesting fact from the news piece is how Wi-Fi is generally not available in guest rooms in Cebu, but the newly opened property will be a pioneering offering.

Banyan Tree has been able to get an early start into Cuba given it was not hampered by U.S. sanctions which constrained other global American chains, though this has now changed.

One of the key connections has been an initiative by the Singapore government in connecting local groups to new opportunities in a fast changing landscape in Cuba.
Economist Tom Lawler sent me the table below of short sales, foreclosures and all cash sales for selected cities in November.



On distressed: The total "distressed" share is down year-over-year in all of these markets.



Short sales and foreclosures are mostly down in these areas.



The All Cash Share (last two columns) is mostly declining year-over-year. As investors continue to pull back, the share of all cash buyers continues to decline.





Short

Sales

Share Foreclosure

Sales

Share Total

"Distressed"

Share All

Cash

Share Nov-

2016 Nov-

2015 Nov-

2016 Nov-

2015 Nov-

2016 Nov-

2015 Nov-

2016 Nov-

2015 Las Vegas 4.0% 7.1% 6.5% 6.2% 10.5% 13.3% 26.9% 33.2% Reno** 2.0% 4.0% 3.0% 4.0% 5.0% 8.0% Phoenix 1.5% 2.9% 2.2% 3.8% 3.7% 6.7% 23.4% 29.1% Sacramento 2.6% 4.4% 2.4% 3.6% 5.0% 8.0% 12.9% 22.9% Minneapolis 1.8% 2.6% 4.8% 9.6% 6.6% 12.2% 12.7% 16.6% Mid-Atlantic 3.1% 3.9% 9.4% 11.9% 12.6% 15.8% 17.5% 20.9% Florida SF 2.2% 3.7% 8.1% 15.3% 10.3% 19.0% 29.5% 37.7% Florida C/TH 1.3% 2.4% 6.1% 13.4% 7.4% 15.7% 57.2% 65.4% Chicago (city) 15.5% 18.6% Spokane 6.7% 9.8% Northeast Florida 13.7% 26.2% Rhode Island 9.2% 11.2% Tucson 23.1% 32.2% Knoxville 21.3% 26.0% Peoria 23.2% 27.2% Georgia*** 19.7% 25.2% Omaha 18.1% 20.6% Richmond VA 8.8% 10.2% 17.2% 21.0% Memphis 10.9% 15.3% Springfield IL** 5.6% 8.6% *share of existing home sales, based on property records

**Single Family Only

***GAMLS
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon, Agendia Aloysius: "Prof Pondi . I don't think you are honest enough"

Prof Pondi . I don't think you are honest enough. Not at all. You can only cajole those who can't read you between the lines or those who don't know where you are coming from, or where you are going to.There's no need for epistles and academic essays when the problem and solutions are staring at you but you pretend or refuse not to see it. A return to a loose two state federation is the durable solution. This is not rocket science. With a two state solution, the federal government is in charge of foreign policy and the military. That your version of decentralisation in Yaounde doesnt make any sense.

We need to be able to have regional taxation policies. The police brought under the city, control our educational system without appointed chancellors, dean's, principals etc. Have our own regional laws and parliament. What you are proposing is just more cosmetic changes to what la Republique is doing.

PROF PONDI STATEMENT

In a loose federal system, you won't have teachers teaching students in a language they don't understand, you won't have magistrates taking legal decision on a legal system they don't understand or a language they don't understand, you won't have federal ministers who can't speak both languages. In a loose federal system, someone would not be obliged to be bilingual to get a job in his state. Bilingualism will be limited to federal jobs and for those who want to explore the private sector.

We will have elected governors in our state. We don't need DOs and SDOs. Their job will be done by elected mayors. We don't need gendarmes That is the kind of loose two state federation most moderate southern Cameroonians like myself want.

I may not personally be in support of secession given the cost of lives, legal and financial challenges that may entail. But I think it's preposterous for an academic like you to make a sweeping statement that a minority of Southern Cameroonians are for secession. Where did you get that information. By the way, self determination isn't a crime and shouldn't be and people shouldn't be killed like your mentors are killing our people.

Really sad that you can't say something really tangible on this issue because of the political favours you may want. I must however, admit that you are a very well refined version of Issa Tchiroma. The latter keep spewing hogwash.

That said, thanks for being a little courageous in writing. However, I must draw your attention to the fact that a symbol (flag) can NEVER be more important than a human life. I didn't see your people condem the killings of Southern Cameroonians by soldiers and forces speaking in a language that most of the Southern Cameroonians don't understand . But they came from their hiding making noise about the burning of a flag. To say the least, that is absolutely nonsense.

Our differences go beyond language. It's cultural, territorial, style of administrative governance, it's constitutional etc.
Some Bamenda Youths Parading WIth Coffin of Comrades Killed During Strike. Wilson MUSA

Over two dozens of youths arrested in Bamenda, North West region during two separate strike actions staged on November 21, 2016 and December 8 have gained freedom.

A former detainee who wanted to be called only by his surname, Elvis reveals that over 25 of them incarcerated at the Bamenda Central prison were released on bail Friday December 23, 2016 .

He said they were presented before state council and that their case was defended by some lawyers and Human rights activists. According to information independently gathered those who are still in prison are unable to bail themselves or pay for charges levied against them.

The 25 were among others arrested during the uprising in Bamenda when a strike action initiated by Common law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers turned violent when Bamenda population joined in to denounce among others poor road networks and limited water supply.

The youths also staged a strike action and prevented the CPDM party from holding a unity meeting on December 8, 2016 but they met with police brutality as live bullets, tear gas and water cannons were used on them.

Over half a dozen died but government sources counted just two deaths.

However the fate of other youths over 50 transported to Yaounde on helicopter is still to be determined.

Common Law Lawyers and Allophone Teachers have set their release as a pre condition for dialogue with the government, without which dialogue will end on deadlock.





Untold Story About Bamenda Uprising

What has left untold about the Bamenda twin strike action on November 21 and December 8 this year leaves much to be desired. Most of those arrested were never part of the strike; in fact they were just unfortunate passer bys. Elvis who was released Friday sells plantains in Bamenda. That fateful December 8, he was returning from his site of sale and was intercepted by police forces who asked to see his palms, immediately they saw that they were dirty, they arrested him with pretext that he too was involved in burning tires and throwing stones. Like Elvis, several other youths were randomly arrested and detained, some brutalized.



Stray Bullets

Some of the youths who died were taken to their early grave by stray bullets. At City Chemist roundabout a youth went to fetch water but died on the spot after a stray bullet got him.

Another youth went outside their home to eat his Pawpaw but a bullet came from nowhere and struck her mouth denying him the Pawpaw and squeezing life out of him.



Government Lies About Death Toll?

Contrary to a situational report from North West Governor Adolphe LELE LAfrique to Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, which indicated that only two persons died, there have been more than six corpse removals from the Bamenda hospital mortuary, an indication that over half a dozen persons died. There are still some youths who were critically injured in hospitals as fear heightens they might give up the ghost.



By Wilson MUSA
The move is the first disposal in recent times by the acquisitive Altice group, which in the past two years has bought French mobile operator SFR; Cablevision, now called Optimum, and Suddenlink in the US; Portugal Telecom; and Oranges Dominican Republic business.

No reason has been given for the deal, which some see as indicating that Altice wants to focus on its larger operations.

The business it is selling is called Coditel Brabant, but it also uses the SFR BeLux brand. Liberty Global is buying the operation, subject to regulatory approval, via its majority-owned Telenet subsidiary in Belgium.

John Porter, Telenet CEO, said: We are very pleased with the acquisition of SFR BeLux as it would enable Telenet to extend its geographical footprint and offer approximately 90,000 customers in Belgium and 15,000 customers in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg the high-quality services for which our company has already won acclaim.

Telenet specialises in the supply of broadband internet, fixed and mobile telephone services and cable television to customers throughout Flanders and Brussels. In 2015it agreed to buy Base, the Belgian mobile operator, from KPN for 1.325 billion. That deal was completed in February 2016.

Telenet said that the acquisition means it will extend its cable footprint beyond the current Flemish and Brussels coverage areas to parts of Wallonia and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, while covering roughly two-thirds of the Brussels footprint post this acquisition.

Following the Base acquisition that was concluded in the beginning of the year, we have entered a new phase of growth and this acquisition is a next, very important step in this strategy, said Porter. Our ambition is to have the best networks  fixed and mobile  and the best services  landline and mobile telephony, high-speed internet, digital TV  in Belgium. We are also very delighted to be able to launch our great services in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on our own network.

Telenet said it intends to finance the acquisition through a combination of existing cash and cash equivalents and available liquidity under its revolving credit facilities. It plans to invest 12 million in 2017-18 on the newly acquired networks beyond the current capex plans.

Liberty Global owns a number of operations across Europe, including Virgin Media in the UK and Ireland, and Cable & Wireless Communications in central America and the Caribbean.
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 ...
North Carolina Votes to Keep Commonsense Law HB2 Contact: Janae Stracke, Concerned Women for America, 712-269-1724, jstracke@cwfa.org



WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Wednesday night, December 21, North Carolina held its fifth special session of the General Assembly and adjourned the session without a repeal of House Bill 2 despite the rumors that the Republicans would vote for repeal.



Jill Coward, Concerned Women for America of North Carolina State Director had this to say: "The citizens of North Carolina highly support Conservative traditional common sense bills over such controversial progressive ideas that are grown with one intent, to broker votes for the Democrat Party. Concerned Women for America of North Carolina is proud that once again, our legislators have stood strongly for privacy, protection and the dignity that all citizens deserve.



"Although we may be falsely labeled as hateful by some, Evangelical Christians actually care for those who are confused about their identity. We believe every human is affirmed by the Creator of the universe who loves each one. And for each person to find fulfillment, he must seek out God, understanding His word and purpose for their lives, always seeking to grow in Christ-likeness." Penny Nance, Concerned Women for America CEO and President added: "This is a huge victory for North Carolina. HB2 is a commonsense law in favor of safety and privacy for women and children as they use public restrooms. CWA women of North Carolina fought tirelessly to see the bill signed into law and then continued that fight to see that it was not repealed. Our members across the country also applaud the legislators of North Carolina who chose to uphold this law as it sets a precedent for other states." For an interview with Penny Nance contact Janae Stracke at jstracke@cwfa.org or 712-269-1724.

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Five Examples of How Persecution in Iran Has Backfired, and Grown the...

The Bible is full of stories reminding us that, whatever the opposition, God is always victorious.

Its the story of Joseph before Potiphars wife, of Moses before Pharaoh, of Daniel before the lions, of Esther before King Ahasuerus, of Peter and John before the Council. Supremely, its the story of the Lord Jesus, who was crucified and rose for our salvation.

Its also the story of the Iranian church in my lifetime. When I was a child, persecution threatened to wipe it out. Instead, the church in Iran has become the fastest-growing evangelical church in the world todayand its affecting the region for Christ.

Scripture is clear that God often uses his peoples suffering to advance his kingdom. In his providence, the Islamic regimes strategies to stamp out the Persian-speaking church in Iran have backfiredresulting in further church growth. Here are five examples.

1. Banning the Bible has backfired.

In addition to banning the printing of the Bible in Persian, closing down the Bible society and burning Bibles, Iranian government officials have warned citizens against reading the Bible. Apparently, this warning has caused many Iranians, already disillusioned with their government, to become all the more eager to obtain a copy of the Bible. And many have put their faith in Christ after finding and reading one.

A few years ago, a government official waved one of the New Testaments printed by our ministry (Elam) on national television and warned the population to avoid it. Demand for the New Testament soared as a result. Many who receive a copy through our street evangelism efforts say theyve been searching for a copy. Some say theyve been searching for years.

2. Closing church buildings has backfired.

The Iranian governments closure of churches over the past few years has forced Christians of Muslim background to meet in underground house churches. These usually grow and multiply as friends, family and neighbors give their lives to Christ. Though government security agents work hard to crack down on these outlawed house churches, there are so manyand new ones are formed so regularlythat its impossible to find them all.

3. Censoring television and blocking websites has backfired.

Christian websites are routinely blocked and TV channels scrambled in Iran. This censorship makes more people curious about what the government doesnt want them to know. Despite these censorship measures, blocked websites can still be accessed through VPNs (virtual private networks) and scrambled programs through satellite television.

I know of at least 30 new house churches planted through satellite television and follow-up ministry last year alone.

4. Killing leaders has backfired.

Eight pastors have been martyred in Iran since 1980 because of their ministries. Their deep affection for Christand their willingness to suffer for himhas made these leaders compelling examples for the rest of the church to follow. Their martyrdom accounts are well-known among Iranian Christians, many of whom desire to imitate their leaders deep love and courage for Christ.

Because of their leaders example, many Iranian believers are increasingly willing to take risks in order to share the gospel.

5. Imprisoning Christians has backfired.

Persecution is intended to instill fear and paralyze the church. Instead, seeing Christians willing to suffer often draws unbelievers closer to Christ. They ask, Who is this Jesus that people are so willing to suffer for?

One recently baptized man began his journey to Christ when he heard on the news that Iranian Christians had been arrested for their faith. Their willingness to go to prison for their beliefs made him curious, and so he googled Christianity. The Lord used that Internet search to eventually lead him to surrender his life to King Jesus.

Painful Path, Sovereign Christ

We glorify God for how he is accomplishing his sovereign purposes in Iran. Yet persecution remains deeply painful. Lives have been lost; homes, businesses and inheritances stolen; families torn apart. Some will carry the physical and emotional scars of suffering for the rest of their lives.

But we wont shrink back. As the apostle Paul declares, We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because Gods love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:35).

Suffering has not destroyed the church in Iran. Rather, suffering has deepened its dependence on God, which in turn has increased its endurance, character and hope.

A few years ago, an interrogator admitted to an imprisoned pastor, We know we cannot stop the church. We can only try to slow it down. Two thousand years ago, King Jesus promised to build his church (Mattnew 16:18). He is doing so in Iran today. Nothing can stand against him. With humble confidence, then, we continue to press forward with the work weve been given to do.

Please keep your Iranian brothers and sisters in prayer. Pray for continued openness to the gospel among the Iranian people. Pray for genuineness of faith among professing Christians. Pray for perseverance and for the establishment of faithful churches.

Never before have we seen such opportunity for ministry among Iranians.
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Photo: Contributed

The provincial government is urging everyone to play it safe with fire this Christmas.

The Office of the Fire Commissioner and Emergency Management BC offer these basic fire safety tips for a safe holiday season:
Photo: BC Parks

Changes to B.C. provincial parks' camping reservation system come into effect with the new year.

The changes to the Discover Camping service follow reports last summer of European tour operators reserving large numbers of campsites, shutting out many British Columbians looking for a weekend getaway.

The province announced the changes in November to enhance fair access for all campers.

They come into effect on Jan. 2 and include:

Eliminating the mid-March opening day for reservations, and extending the three-month rolling window for reservations to four months.

New measures to prevent the reselling of reservations.

Restrictions around altering arrival dates to prevent the practice of overbooking days around long weekends.

A pilot project in select parks to reduce the maximum length of stay to seven days during the peak camping season.

Expanding Discover Camping call centre hours.

Of the 10,700 campsites BC Parks manages, about 55 per cent are reservable, with the remainder working on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year saw more than 185,000 reservations made through Discover Camping, with 72 per cent from within British Columbia.

The province says demand for reserved sites has grown by over 91 per cent in the last five years.

Reservations are held until 11 a.m. on the arrival date. If the park is not notified of a late arrival, the site becomes available to anyone.
Photo: Contributed

Lost luggage is derailing a B.C. family's plans to spread Christmas cheer in Central America.

The Cruz family of Maple Ridge has been in El Salvador for five days, with no sight of their baggage, which included donations for an orphanage and medications.

It's also the first time in seven years they're spending Christmas with relatives there.

The Cruzes flew out of Vancouver International Airport on Sunday, and that's when things went wrong.

"It's far from a vacation, it's been a nightmare," Maria Cruz told CTV.

First they were delayed, then rerouted, arriving in El Salvador more than 12 hours late. Their bags were nowhere to be seen.

"We keep getting tricked, 'Oh, you're getting your bags tomorrow, they're coming on the next flight,'" said Cruz.

Her husband's prescription was packed in the checked bags, along with donated items for poor children.

"We're actually going to the orphanage tomorrow, and the orphanage won't have any of the help the great communities of Vancouver and Maple Ridge have given us," she said.

American Airlines has apologized for the delay and says the bags will arrive today.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Nicholas Johansen

Non-serious injuries were reported from a vehicle rollover heading eastbound along the Okanagan Connector.

One ambulance and West Kelowna Fire Department attended the scene of the incident on Highway 97C near Sunset Main Road, but a medical evacuation was called off.

A second rollover was reported on the Coquihalla heading westbound involving an SUV.

That rollover happened near the snowshed along Highway 5.

Two police cars and a tow truck were on scene, with one westbound lane closed to traffic.

It's not clear, at this point, what caused the rollovers.
Ive been in Columbus two weeks now and learned a lot in a short amount of time.

First, I received a quick refresher course in cold weather. Yes, I know its been a mild winter so far, but after two years in southwest Colorado, it feels cold here. Adding to the chill was the fact I had no heat the first two nights in town.

It was my fault. I set up the wrong address, but wasnt about to pay for a weekend emergency call.

Fortunately, one of my former students, from when I was a youth pastor in Fremont, lives here. Josh is grown and married to Ana now. Theyve been lifesavers.

He came to help me move in, they provided me with some electric heaters and they invited me over for a potluck dinner with some of their friends one night. I dont cook much, so an invite for dinner is always greatly appreciated. It was also a great way to reconnect with old friends, watch the Husker volleyball game and meet new people.

On Monday, I called the local office of Black Hills Energy. The local office was much more helpful than the call center. A lady by the name of Darla saved me when I missed my appointment to turn the heat on. She went out of her way to prevent me from having a third cold night in Columbus.

Both Darla and the technician who came out demonstrated that Nebraska pride in their work. Its that work ethic and caring attitude that make this such a great place to move back to. They couldnt do anything about the past two nights, but they did help me moving forward.

Business in todays world is changing dramatically  consolidation, call centers and doing more with less people. Unfortunately, it really causes problems for the customers sometimes.

I cant throw stones, because its apparent that The Columbus Telegram has gone through some tough times over the past few years. Weve had our fair share of consolidation, call centers and doing more with less. It has caused some problems for our subscribers and advertisers.

On the positive side, Im pleased to say that we have a staff full of "Darlas" here at The Telegram. Ive had the chance to meet and spend time working side-by-side with most of the staff. Im impressed.

Also Im not saying anything negative about my predecessors John DiMambro or Jim Dean. I worked with both of them and have nothing but respect for them. They did the best they could with the directives they had then.

Our commitment to you is, while we might not be able to do anything about the past issues, we will fix what we can and will let you know what we can do. That statement puts a lot of pressure on me to get our employees the support, guidance and tools they need to get their jobs done.

I just pulled the business cards from the last 10 days out of my pocket. Ive already met with Bob at Bobs U-Save, K.C. Belitz and Amanda Polacek from the chamber, Deb Loseke from the convention and visitors bureau, Tammy and her husband Tom from Accent Floral and Galleria, Mark Mercer and his staff from Cornerstone Bank, Dee Hanson from Bank of the Valley and Platte County Treasurer Theresa Gabriel.

Ive gone to see our staff in David City  twice.

In my first week here, I was warmly greeted by representatives from both Rotary clubs, although I havent made it to a meeting yet. Finally, Ive had a couple calls with upset advertisers.

I share all this not to brag, but instead to share my commitment to meeting and getting feedback from different leaders in our community. Im putting together a subscriber survey and hope to have that out in January. I want and value your input. After all, its our community paper.

One of the most surprising welcomes Ive received was when I found homemade banana bread filled with chocolate chips and nuts along with a bag of that seasonal "puppy chow" at my doorstep. It might have been from my landlord, but Im not sure. Either way, thank you to my Secret Santa.

As your new publisher and advertising director, I feel it's important that we start a dialogue. Every other week you should see my column here. If you want to reach me before then, I can be reached best at vincent.laboy@lee.net.
Authorities aren't saying why Tim Case showed up at York General Hospital with a knife just after midnight Dec. 11, but it's clear to his stepmother he wasn't the son she knew.

"Something was wrong, obviously, that night for him to have done any of the things that theyre saying that he did, said LaNorma Case of Lincoln.

York police killed Case, 53, after he threatened people outside the emergency room and refused to comply when police told him to stop and drop the knife.

Police Chief Don Klug said officers shot Case after pepper spray and a Taser failed to subdue him.

LaNorma Case said she last saw the man she described as a quiet gentleman at Thanksgiving. He was happy then, she said.

"Everything was right."

Tim Case, an Army veteran on disability, took medication and received treatment for mental health issues through Blue Valley Behavioral Health, his stepmother said.

In the months before his fatal encounter with York police, Case moved several times and had disputes with those close to him. As winter approached, his friends said, he wasn't himself.

"There had to have been a war going on inside his head because he was always dealing with some kind of issue, said Dennis Michalski, who rented a room in his York home to Case for almost a year starting in August 2015.

Michalski said he set Case up with furniture and tried to help him get a job, but it didn't pan out.

For the most part, he said, Case kept to himself, stayed up late and spent time smoking cigarettes around the fire pit.

Their relationship began to deteriorate when Case became increasingly paranoid in 2016.

"He just thought the whole world was trying to get him, said Michalski, 52.

Case moved out in July after they got into a dispute and Case threatened to hurt him, he said. Case sued Michalski in a dispute over rent but later tried to drop the case, saying in court documents he wasn't feeling himself.

Case moved into the Living Waters Rescue Mission before getting a place in low-income housing in York, said Chris Berry, a friend for nine years.

He said Case came to his home on Dec. 3, agitated and demanding a T-shirt Case gave him when they were neighbors in Lincoln in 2007.

Case looked frail and was missing some teeth, Berry said.

The two got into an argument over Case's lawsuit against Michalski, and Berry said he ultimately called police.

"There was something off, unfortunately," Berry said.

Case helped him deal with his own mental health challenges, he said.

"Its not the way I hoped things would have turned out."

A week after his fallout with Berry, Case called his stepmother. She missed his call about 5 p.m. on Dec. 10, and when she called him back, he didn't pick up.

Later that night, Officers Roger Wolfe and Christopher Jepsen would both fire at Case when he refused to comply with their orders, Chief Klug said.

A medical helicopter flew Case to Bryan West campus, where he died the next day.

When LaNorma Case heard about the shooting on the news, she had a feeling he might be involved.

"I was pretty sure that was my son, she said.

She said she hasn't heard from police on why he went to the hospital that night.

The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating; their findings will be examined by a grand jury, as is required whenever someone dies in custody or while being arrested.

Klug said Wolfe and Jepsen have been cleared by an internal investigation and are back at work.

"It sounds like theres something out of place, LaNorma Case said, "but not with the police.

"I feel that the police did their job, did absolutely everything they could to disarm the situation. I feel that they acted accordingly."
In early 2017, the annual Extension Crop Production Clinics will be held at nine locations across Nebraska. Topics will include soil fertility; soil water and irrigation; insect, disease and weed management; cropping systems; and agribusiness management and marketing.

The complete agendas are available at http://agronomy.unl.edu/cpc.

While these sessions are primarily for the commercial ag industry, there is quite a bit of information shared that is very valuable for any producer, and I would encourage our farmers to look carefully at the program.

The clinics will be the primary venue for commercial and noncommercial pesticide applicators to renew their licenses in ag plant and demonstration/research. The crop production clinics also will allow private pesticide applicators to renew their licenses. Representatives from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture will be present to verify attendance.

A maximum of six certified crop adviser credits will be available per day in these areas: crop production (two), nutrient management (one), integrated pest management (six), water management (one) and professional development (two).

Pesticide applicator recertification training will be available in commercial/noncommercial in ag plant and demonstration/research, and private applicator.

Registration, available at http://agronomy.unl.edu/cpc, is required for the clinics to provide meals and materials. The cost is $65 for preregistration by 3 p.m. the day before the clinic; on-site registration is $80. Online preregistration includes the 2017 Guide for Weed, Disease and Insect Management in Nebraska, the 2017 crop production clinic proceedings with further information on the topics being discussed, a meal and refreshments.

Check-in each day is from 8 to 8:30 a.m., with sessions from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Locations in our area include York on Jan. 6, ARDC in Saunders County on Jan. 12 and Norfolk on Jan. 18.

I just completed workshops in 15 locations across Nebraska as a part of the Ag Land Education series, related to cash renting of farmland. I have a few of the handouts used in those workshops left in my office. You may call us and well send one to you.

Reminder that the office is closed Jan. 2 for the New Years Day Holiday.
Still looking for that perfect Christmas gift? It's not too late to buy a drone, the gift that 1 in 5 people say they'd like to receive and that 1.2 million of them are going to find under the tree.

A drone is now one of the most sought-after gifts. And the Federal Aviation Administration, which refers to them as unmanned aircraft systems, would like anyone who receives a drone to know that they have to be registered before they take to the air.

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The FAA says twice as many drones will be sold in 2016 as in the previous year, numbering 2.5 million. The Consumer Technology Association says sales during the Christmas season will more than double over last year.

There's growing awareness of drones and their capabilities, a recent survey by Saint Leo University shows, and people are somewhat less worried about them than they were a year ago, although almost 66 percent of those polled said they remained concerned about them.

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For the most part, those who worried said they feared a drone might collide with an airplane or peer into their bedroom window.

Overwhelmingly, people surveyed say they support use of drones by the military, with almost 70 percent saying they are a good alternative to deploying ground troops in troubled areas.

Between 20,000 and 25,000 Islamic State militants have been killed by drone attacks in Iraq and Syria, according to military sources. There have been more than 20,000 military drone strikes in the past year in Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.

There also was strong support for drone use by local police departments.

Reaction was mixed when people were asked whether they would be "open to receiving deliveries by drone from such companies as Amazon or WalMart."

More than a third said they would, while almost half said they wouldn't and 15 percent said they were uncertain about the concept that those companies and many others were working to achieve. (Amazon CEO Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

About an equal number of people thought their communities should ban drones as thought they should be allowed to fly.

"You can't want to ban them, and also want to fly them or have them deliver packages," said Leo Ondrovic, a member of the Saint Leo science department.

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Ondrovic said the survey found that almost 22 percent of people expressed interest in owning one and that 88 percent of those people said it simply looked like a fun hobby.
Reporting from Washington  Donald Trump shook up long-standing international security norms Friday by reportedly suggesting a renewed arms race, a day after he tweeted that the United States should "greatly strengthen and expand" its nuclear weapons capability.

Trump's meaning was sufficiently cryptic, perhaps deliberately so, that disarmament experts, foreign leaders and U.S. officials were left off balance  and unsure if he plans to upend U.S. policy on nuclear arms after he enters the White House in 28 days.

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Since his election, Trump has rocked the foreign policy establishment by praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, and by speaking to the president of Taiwan and questioning the "One China" policy that only recognizes Beijing.

He also has challenged long-standing policy toward Israel, saying he will move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, a disputed city, and naming an ambassador who supports Israeli settlements likely to block any resumption of the peace process.

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But speaking recklessly about nuclear proliferation poses high risks in an unstable world, especially if it signals a possible end to decades of efforts and accords aimed at reducing the size and number of nuclear weapons.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to shrug off Trump's tweet as "nothing new," telling a news conference in Moscow that he would welcome a Trump invitation to visit the U.S.

China appeared more concerned. A foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing was "closely watching" the incoming administration's nuclear policies, adding that the "country with the largest nuclear arsenal should assume a special and prior responsibility on nuclear disarmament."

The numbers fluctuate, but Russia currently has about 400 more warheads, while the United States has 170 more delivery systems, according to the State Department Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. Under the New START Treaty, both countries will deploy no more than 1,550 strategic weapons by February 2018.

Whatever his intention, Trump's comments mark a severe shift in the tone and substance that Republican and Democratic presidents have used in the past when discussing nuclear weapons.

"It is a significant departure from what we have heard in the past," said Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce the spread and power of nuclear weapons.

"None of them came out in this brazen way," he added. "That means countries around the world are trying to figure out what is going on. Is it a madman or a new policy that they have to deal with? It creates uncertainty and suspicion both among allies and adversaries."

The flap began Thursday after Putin was reported telling a defense ministry meeting in Moscow that Russia needs "to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces."

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Apparently in response, Trump tweeted that "the U.S. must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

The back-and-forth raised concerns that the two countries, which control 95% of the world's nuclear weapons, might be resuming the destabilizing arms race that defined much of the Cold War.

On Friday, Trump acknowledged those fears in an off-camera conversation with the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" talk show, which he reportedly watches regularly.

Mika Brzezinski, dressed in festive pajamas before a roaring fire, quoted Trump as saying: "Let it be an arms race because we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all."

She didn't say if Trump meant it as a joke or a threat. But as has become increasingly common, Trump's aides rushed out statements trying to clarify what he meant, or at least may have meant.

In this case, they argued that Trump wasn't calling for a new arms race, saying he wants to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal, a policy that President Obama has pursued.

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Those claims didn't mollify disarmament experts in Washington.

"The real consequence of an arms race would be that the sides would, at great expense, pile up lots more nuclear weapons  and gain nothing in terms of improved security," said Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who now is a senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank.

Trump may have been taking a page from President Reagan's playbook: build up your weapons and then negotiate, said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a San Francisco-based organization that promotes nuclear non-proliferation.

"But it's a crude application," Cirincione said. "Trump doesn't have the skill or the knowledge of the advisors that Reagan had around him. He is breaking with decades of policy, being unnecessarily provocative and causing other leaders to question his competence and the value of his word."

In what appeared an effort to ease those concerns, Trump released a warm holiday greeting Friday afternoon that Putin had sent him. In it, the Russian leader said he hoped to "bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level."

"A very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct," Trump in a statement. "I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path."

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By almost any reckoning, the U.S. has a qualitative advantage over potential adversaries with nuclear weapons that are more accurate, reliable, technically advanced and invulnerable to a first strike than any other nation.

Keeping them current is another question, however.

The Energy Department has estimated it must spend about $18 billion a year over the next 15 years to replace and upgrade aging warheads and bombs. Outside experts have said the cost could reach $1 trillion.

The Defense Department has plans to build 450 new intercontinental ballistic missiles, replace the U.S. fleet of ballistic missile submarines and build a new fleet of strategic bombers.

Building new nuclear weapons, as Trump seemed to suggest in his tweet, would tax the nation's aging nuclear weapons complex.

Concrete ceilings have crumbled and roofs leak in parts of the Y-12 national security complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. A program to replace the key facility, a uranium foundry, was stopped after the projected cost reached between $12 billion and $19 billion. A lower-cost plan is moving slowly.

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tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

Wilkinson reported from Washington and Vartabedian from Los Angeles. Special correspondent Mansur Mirovalev in Moscow contributed to this report.

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In the last six weeks the liberal pundits and biased reporters of the Old Media have pulled a groin muscle trying to discredit President Trump in advance.

First they played up the recount stories to make it look like the vote totals in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania were fudged somehow.

Then they tried to play up the fact that Hillary won the popular vote and impugned the Electoral College like it had been devised by the founding fathers of the USSR.

The way the liberal Old Media saw it, their golden girl Hillary was cheated out of her rightful place in history by an antiquated, undemocratic process that needed to be blown up so the wise people of California, New York and Illinois could elect every American president from now on.

Next the Old Media tried to make it seem that Trump -- the guy they mocked during the election for having no ground game, no staff and no hope of winning -- was taking longer than he should to name his cabinet.

They said he was going to pick a bunch of unqualified bums based on their loyalty to him. Then they worried he was picking too many generals and was acting like he wanted to be a dictator.

On and on, the Old Mainstream Media pursued angles and made criticisms of Trump as if presidential history started last month.

Previous presidents-elect were slower to name their staffs. Others chose several generals. But the Old Media didn't go out of their way to point out those inconvenient historical facts. They were after Trump.

The liberal media's latest example of historical amnesia involves the claim that Trump's buddy Vladimir Putin used his hackers to hurt Hillary and affect the election's outcome.

For the first time in history, the way the Old Media tell it, a foreign power was asked to manipulate an American election.

Of course, it was only Trump and the evil Republicans who would allegedly try such a dastardly and unprecedented crime against democracy.

Except it wasn't -- and once again the Old Media were caught being wrong and biased.

As I tried to remind everyone last week in a column for Newsmax, in 1980, and again in 1984, it was Democrats who reached out to the Soviets several times for help in affecting an American election.

In 1980, Saint Ted Kennedy, who was trying to defeat incumbent President Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary, sent former Senator John Tunney to meet with the KGB in an attempt to sabotage American foreign policy.

According to documents later unearthed in the Soviet archives, Kennedy offered to condemn Carter's policy toward the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in exchange for KGB help.

Later that fall Saint Jimmy Carter himself tried to play the Soviet card against my father in the general election.

Trailing Ronald Reagan in the polls, he sent his pal, industrialist Armand Hammer, to meet with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin.

Hammer asked the Soviets to help Carter win Jewish votes in key states by allowing Jewish "refuseniks" in the USSR to emigrate to Israel.

The Russkies rejected Hammer's request. But in 1984 Carter himself went to Ambassador Dobrynin to ask for help in getting my father un-elected, as did Speaker of the House, Saint Tip O'Neill.

Both Carter and O'Neill -- Democrats, I believe -- told Dobrynin that it was in the planet's best interests to get my father out of office before he blew up the world with his dangerous massive defense buildup.

Nice.

The Soviets didn't play ball with the Democrats in 1980 or 1984. And we only know about these slimy efforts to affect American elections because the Soviet Empire collapsed and we've got a look at the KGB's archives.

President Obama has ordered a full investigation into any Russian skullduggery during the 2016 election and wants it finished before he leaves office.

When his report comes out the liberal pundits and biased reporters of the Old Media will use it to make President-elect Trump look as bad as possible.

Which is why I hope Santa Claus puts nothing in their Christmas stockings this year but a lump of West Virginia coal.

Merry Christmas.
Reporting from Seattle  A University of Oregon law professor and former chair of her department's diversity committee violated university anti-racial-harassment policies by wearing blackface at her Halloween party, an investigation has found.

The professor, Nancy Shurtz, a white woman, claimed she was portraying one of her favorite authors, a black man, and that she had been unfamiliar with the term "blackface."

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Shurtz fought back Thursday, claiming the university's 29-page investigative report released this week was filled with errors and omissions in an attempt "to publicly shame me." In a statement, she said she had hired an attorney and noted that the university is legally prohibited from disclosing personnel matters.

An instructor at Oregon for 34 years, Shurtz entertained 25 guests, mostly law students and fellow instructors, at the Oct. 31 event in Eugene. She had announced the party in her classroom and said she would be dressed "as the title of a book."

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The professor later said her costume was inspired by Damon Tweedy, the African American author of a bestselling memoir about conflicts of race and medicine, "Black Man in a White Coat."

Her costume included a white lab coat, stethoscope, black makeup on her face and hands, and a black Afro-style wig  although Tweedy is bald.

None of the guests confronted Shurtz about the makeup at the time, although many were stunned by it, according to investigators. Some found the sight "surreal" and others avoided "rooms where Shurtz was, declining participation in a group photo, and generally feeling like they could not say anything because they were in Shurtz's home," investigators say in the report released Wednesday.

After word spread, along with a viral photo of the costumed professor taken by an unidentified attendee, the incident sparked an uproar on campus, a public apology by Shurtz, embarrassing national headlines and some soul-searching by school officials. Students, educators and the public disagreed whether the professor's costume was a dumb mistake or offensive mockery.

Some agreed Shurtz was trying to show her support for Tweedy, as she insisted, while others felt she should be fired. An online petition urging her termination received about 1,200 signatures.

According to the investigation, done by a Portland law firm, interviews with Halloween partygoers "unanimously revealed that nobody told Shurtz during the event that her costume was inappropriate, that it was offensive, or that she should consider removing the black makeup. In addition, all those who were interviewed conveyed that Shurtz appeared to have worn the costume in earnest and that she did not seem to understand the ramifications of her costume."

In a statement, Oregon Provost Scott Coltrane said Shurtz's costume "forced our campus to face some very difficult truths about racism, ignorance, and the state of inclusivity on our campus. Her costume mimicked the historic stereotype of blackface, and caused offense to many who witnessed it."

Shurtz did not demonstrate "ill intent" in her choice of costume, Coltrane said, but her actions had a negative effect on the university's learning environment and constituted harassment under the school's anti-discrimination policies. Based on legal precedent, the law professor's "discriminatory harassment" outweighed constitutional free speech protections, he said.

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The university said it would not release details of any disciplinary action taken against Shurtz, who has been on paid administrative leave and is now officially back at work  but has no current assignments  the school said.

The school's "press release and uncorrected Report act as a supremely public retaliation against me for seeking, even if clumsily, to raise issues of insufficient diversity in American professions," Shurtz said in her Thursday response. The report "ignored the anonymous grading process, the presence of many non-students as guests, and the deceptive emails that created a firestorm in the law school."

In her interview with university investigators, Shurtz said "she had absolutely no intention to offend or mock anyone," according to the report, "and that she wished emphatically that someone had said something to her, particularly given that she was in her home and would have easily been able to wash the makeup off or remove her costume."

She also "stated that she did not know the term 'blackface.'"

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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Janyce Boss, 64, and the Rev. Kirk Moore discuss a canvas mural she and others have been working on at St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Downers Grove. Boss is what researchers call an elder orphan. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

It's the holiday season, the time of year when every red-and-green light display and jingling bell reminds Janyce Boss that she is, for the most part, alone.

She's almost 65. She's divorced with no children. She spent years caring for her father, who died after struggling with heart complications, and then her ailing mother, who died in 2013. Her brother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and died last year.

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Boss is what researchers call an elder orphan  an older person who is socially or physically isolated, without an available family member or caregiver to help them manage aging. Based on the number of people older than 65 who are unmarried, widowed and childless and who have no nearby family, experts estimate as many as 22.6 percent of the older population nationwide is at risk of aging alone, or already is. In Chicago, about 27 percent of seniors are widowed, 15 percent are divorced and 14 percent never married, according to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data.

"When the holidays come, when your doctor asks for your emergency contact, those things make you aware there's no one there for you," Boss said. "In some ways, it doesn't bother me. There are ways I can get involved ... but I'm concerned about health issues. Am I going to know when I need to go to a nursing home?"

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An estimated 49 percent of people older than 65 in Chicago who owned a house were living there alone in 2015, according to census data, and experts say that number is expected to increase in the coming years. Fewer people are getting married, couples are having fewer children and parents are living farther away from those children, experts say.

The numbers are similar in other big cities like New York City, where 49 percent of seniors who owned a house lived by themselves, and Los Angeles where the figure is 44 percent, according to 2015 census data.

The term "elder orphans" was coined in part by Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y., who co-wrote a July analysis on adults increasingly aging alone, with multiple chronic illnesses and geographically distant family and friends. By referring to these seniors as orphans, Carney hopes to bring awareness to their loneliness and isolation, which correlates with increased risk of heart disease and mortality.

Last month, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging and AARP launched a national education campaign to address the growing problem of loneliness, estimating that 1 in 5 people older than 50 are affected by isolation, which is associated with higher rates of chronic disease, depression, dementia and death. Research finds prolonged isolation to have an equal effect on health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, AARP President Lisa Marsh Ryerson said in a news release.

In addition to these long-term complications, day-to-day life presents challenges for seniors living alone. Sticking with treatment plans, filling medications, visiting the doctor  it can all be daunting, especially tagged onto daily chores that get harder with each day, like paying bills and accessing groceries.

For Boss, who lives in Downers Grove, looking after her family members was demanding and emotional work. She recalls the blur of doctor appointments and errands, which gave her little time to process the gravity of their illnesses. The long hours spent looking after her family members left her too tired to foster her other relationships, and, once her brother died, she found herself isolated.

"Most of the time I can deal with it, and it doesn't bother me. I'm a pretty independent person," she said, citing her involvement with her church and a mural she's helping paint. "But at this time of year, at the holidays, I think I'm a little more vulnerable right at this moment than I'd normally be."

Joyce Aldawood, 68, a divorced woman with no children and almost no family, considers herself an elder orphan. The key to her happiness, she said, is having a circle of friends of all ages, so that she can lean on the younger ones if challenges arise.

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"Some of my friends are 10 years younger than me," she said. "And you try to be as good a friend to them as you can. You treat them like what they are  solid gold."

Aldawood suffers from balance problems, which have made her aware of her aging, and she's installed safety measures in her Hoffman Estates home as a result. While she loves Middle Eastern-style rugs, she's thrown them out, recognizing they're a tripping hazard. She's now a big fan of motion sensor night lights, so much so that the trunk of her car has a neat stack of night lights she plans to distribute to her friends.

While researchers and senior advocates have few solutions to offer to those aging alone, they agree that elderly isolation can best be addressed on a community level. Those living alone need to be in cities that are safe, with affordable housing and convenient transportation systems, as well as social opportunities to meet new people. Experts also encourage those approaching the second halves of their lives to be proactive in planning for their later years by choosing to settle near family or friends and by finding someone to legally assist them with difficult health care decisions.

Local organizer Ben Handy has a fix for the elder orphans living in his neighborhood of Calumet Heights. A few years back, he decided to revive his street's block club, which has since turned into the Ridgeland Block Club Association, covering six blocks. The neighborhood has plenty of seniors aging alone, some of whom are part of a group of families that moved into Calumet Heights in the mid-1960s. Their children, Handy said, have grown older and moved to different, sunnier parts of the country, like Georgia or California.

As president of the block club, Handy finds himself dealing with tasks other block club leaders might not: shoveling older neighbors' driveways, taking them to the grocery store and helping them sign up for Meals on Wheels.

Handy, 51, is single with no kids and said he's "certainly moving" toward elder orphan status. He has a brother and two nephews, but he said he assumes his nephews' priority will be caring for their own father in his old age rather than caring for Handy. In a way, by creating opportunities for seniors in his community, Handy is building a safety net for when he reaches that age himself.

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He threw a holiday party recently, catered in part to the older neighbors who might find themselves feeling lonely around Christmas. The Family Den Lounge, a Calumet Heights establishment, was dressed up with candles and white tablecloths. A live band jazzed up the room with songs more suited for dancing than for talking, and Handy was particularly excited about a special cocktail menu.

"The holidays can be a really tough time for people because they remember loved ones they used to spend the holidays with who passed away, and you know, just hearing the same Christmas carol they used to love to sing with their husband," he said.

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During the party, two 78-year-old widows, Marge Matute and Jackie Mitchell, who've been friends for decades, sat at the bar and sipped their drinks, swaying to an Aretha Franklin cover song.

Mitchell, who has a son temporarily living with her but who usually lives by herself, is generally healthy and is not anticipating many health problems outside of the natural aging process. But she said she has a "multitude of aches and pains, every morning something different."

Her hope is that she can fend for herself for as long as possible and avoid moving out of her Avalon Park home.

While she doesn't live on one of the Ridgeland blocks, her sister and nephew do, and introduced Mitchell to the club. She said she admired how the club tried to involve older residents in its activities. Maybe, she said, she could set up something similar in her own neighborhood.

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"I think it's very beneficial," she said. "I'm sorry other blocks don't have one."

meltagouri@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marwaeltagouri
Eileen Wagner, 99, who was raped at age 16 and recently reconnected with the daughter she had given up for adoption more than 80 years ago, sits at her home in Monroe, Wis., on May 13, 2016. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)

For more than 80 Christmases, Eileen Wagner wondered about the baby girl she gave up for adoption as a teenager. Was her daughter happy? Did her adoptive family make her feel loved?

This holiday weekend, Wagner, who turned 100 this year, won't have to wonder about the whereabouts of the girl, who is now an 83-year-old retiree. The mother and her daughter plan to talk by phone on Christmas, as they've done every other day since their unexpected reunion last spring.

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In November, the mother and daughter celebrated their first Thanksgiving together along with extended family.

And the pair already is planning their next get-together for the new year.

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"It's a wonderful feeling," said Wagner, who lives in Monroe, Wis. "I'm sorry it took so long, but I'm glad that it finally came to a head."

For more than eight decades, Wagner told no one in her close-knit family about the baby she gave up as a 16-year-old. In 1932, she had been sexually assaulted by a young man in her hometown of De Pere, Wis., became pregnant and was sent to a home in Milwaukee for pregnant girls planning to give up their babies for adoption, she said.

She went on to get married, have two more children. Her family was well-known with several businesses in Monroe. But with the exception of her husband, with whom she confided the secret before they were married, she never uttered a word of the past to anyone else.

"A couple of times, I was about to say something and I thought, 'Well, I better well let it be left alone,'" Wagner said in May, when interviewed about the reunion. "If the Lord wanted things like that, he'd take care of it for me.

The daughter, Dorien Hammann, was adopted by a civil engineer and homemaker who lived in a Milwaukee suburb. The couple already had a 3-year-old boy adopted previously, and lived in a three-bedroom house on three-quarters of an acre not far from the Milwaukee River, Hammann said.

Hammann said she had a happy childhood  just as Wagner had hoped  and never sought to find her birth parents, for fear of upsetting her peaceful upbringing.

It was her daughter-in-law, Jeannette Foster, who used internet sleuthing to discover Hammann's birth mother. When she found a name that matched, she dialed a phone number she found online, thinking she'd reach Wagner's surviving relatives. Instead, she found Wagner in good health.

Hammann and her husband, Fred, drove to Monroe in April for a tearful first reunion where the three seniors in walkers maneuvered for long-awaited hugs.

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The mother and daughter reunited again in May when the Hammanns drove two hours to Wagner's house from their home in Elkhart Lake, Wis., to celebrate Wagner's 100th birthday.

National adoption advocates say it's the longest span of time between adoption and reconnection that they've heard of. And while studies show that reconnections are positive about 70 percent of the time, the holiday season makes them even sweeter.

"All of us want to be around our family at Christmas," said Chuck Johnson, president and CEO of the National Council for Adoption, an adoption advocacy organization based in Washington. "So I do think the holidays really do make you more reflective on family."

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Age and distance has made it hard for Hammann and Wagner to get together more frequently. But Hammann said she calls her birth mother every other day to see how she's doing.

"Those times are so precious because none of us know what will happen in the future," Hammann said.

Wagner said she was touched that her daughter brought Christmas gifts to their Thanksgiving celebration: a pillow, some holiday decorations, poinsettia plants.

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But she would've been happy just having a new sense of peace this Christmas, Wagner added.

"I think the Lord has been good enough to me."

vortiz@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @vikkiortiz
Surveillance cameras in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel in Springfield show an encounter between John Anthony, a former state representative and an administrator at the Illinois Department of Corrections, and a woman who said she was harassed and touched inappropriately. (Handout) (Handout)

A former state representative was fired from his position as an administrator at the Illinois Department of Corrections after a woman complained about being harassed and touched inappropriately by him during a department Christmas party earlier this month, records from the agency show.

John Anthony was fired five days after the Dec. 2 party, when an investigation by the department concluded the woman's complaints were "substantiated." Several other people expressed concerns to investigators about Anthony's conduct during the party, according to investigation records.

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The female employee of the Department of Juvenile Justice who initially complained about Anthony's conduct said he had approached her while she was on her way out for a cigarette, in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel in Springfield, where the party was being held. Anthony made comments about her body then pressed himself up against her and licked her neck, according to the complaint. When the woman asked his name, the man provided his first name  John. Later, the woman learned the man's full name after speaking with co-workers.

The exchange was caught by the hotel's surveillance cameras. Investigators concluded that the woman's complaint was "supported by video footage."

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Anthony could not be reached for comment. It was noted in the investigation report that the investigator had made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact Anthony by phone and answering machine over a three-day period.

Investigators also spoke with others who were at the party and relayed concerns about Anthony's behavior. A woman reported that Anthony came up from behind her while she was sitting at the party and put his arms around her, at one point brushing against her breast. The woman told investigators she hadn't felt assaulted or sexually harassed but was uncomfortable with the touching.

A male employee told investigators that he had heard complaints about Anthony's behavior on the night of the party, the records show. He reported having a private conversation with Anthony, in which he advised Anthony that several women at the party had complained about his inappropriate comments and touching. According to the investigation report, Anthony responded that "he was a former state representative and knew better."

A former Republican state representative from Joliet, Anthony in June traded his position as a lawmaker earning about $68,000 a year for a $120,000-a-year role as an administrator working with the director of the Department of Corrections. He was fired Dec. 7.

"As soon as we learned of these allegations of misconduct, we launched an investigation and took immediate action," the department said in a statement.

kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimgeiger
A mourner places a candle at a makeshift memorial near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlinon Dec. 21, 2016, close to the site where a truck crashed into a Christmas market two days before. (Clemens Bilan / AFP/Getty Images)

MILAN  Investigators on Saturday sought to hunt down where the Berlin Christmas market attacker got possible logistical support to cross at least two European borders and evade capture for days before being killed in a police shootout during a routine stop in a Milan suburb.

Tunisian fugitive Anis Amri's fingerprints and wallet were found in a truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Despite an intense, Europe-wide manhunt, Amri fled across Germany, into France and then into Italy, traveling at least part of the way by train, before being shot early Friday on foot outside a deserted train station.

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The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Berlin attack, but so far little is known about any possible logistical network backing the 24-year-old fugitive.

This image made from video released by Amaq News Agency of the Islamic State group on Dec. 23, 2016, shows Anis Amri pledging allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The video, which appeared to have been taken by Anis Amri himself, shows him standing on a footbridge in the north of Berlin, not far from where he allegedly hijacked the truck used in the attack that killed 12 people and injured dozens more at a Christmas market. (Amaq News Agency via AP)

Italian investigators were working to see if the Tunisian had any connections in the Milan area. Italy was his port of entry into Europe in 2011 and he spent more than three years in Italian jails on Sicily. But an anti-terrorism official said there was no evidence that he had ever been in or around Milan before Friday's shootout.

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In Tunisia, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest Friday of Amri's nephew and two others suspected of belonging to the same extremist network.

The ministry said in a statement that Amri, through an alias, had sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi some money through the post office to join him in Europe and join the Abou Walaa network. Amir claimed to be the network's emir.

It is unclear whether those suspects were in any position to help Amri flee Berlin.

The ministry said during questioning, the nephew said he was in contact with Amri via Telegram's encrypted communications to avoid detection. He told police that Amri had recruited him to jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to IS. The nephew recorded such a pledge and sent it to Amri via Telegram.

The Tunisian prosecutor's office ordered all three held in pre-trial detention pending further investigation.

In Spain, police were investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist in Spain, on a tip from German authorities.

"We are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person," Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio.

Italy has found itself at the center of the Berlin attack investigation after the dramatic shootout that ended the manhunt. The deserted train station and the late hour prompted Italian officers to check the North African man's identity, officials said. Instead of pulling out an identity card, Amri produced a loaded .22 caliber gun, shooting a senior officer in the shoulder before a rookie officer killed him with a single shot to the chest.

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Amri had arrived in the southern island of Lampedusa illegally in 2011, claiming to be a minor, and quickly landed in jail after setting fire to a migrant center. After he was freed, efforts to deport him failed for bureaucratic reasons.

He reached Germany, where authorities were concerned enough about him to put him under covert surveillance for six months earlier this year, ending the operation in September. His request for asylum was refused by Germany in the summer, but the paperwork from Tunisia that was needed to deport him was delayed for months. Tunisian officials say that's because Amri used at least six different names and three different nationalities in travels around Europe, and they had to check each one.

Investigators are looking into why Amri returned to Italy as he sought to elude police and whether he had any jihadi contacts in the country.

Authorities were also investigating the apparent coincidence that the truck from a Polish shipping company used in the Berlin attack had been loaded with machinery in the neighboring Milan suburb of Cinisello Balsamo three days before the attack.

Milan Police Chief Antonio de Iesu acknowledged the connection was "suggestive."

But he told reporters there was no evidence yet of a link, emphasizing that the Polish truck driver who was the terrorist's first victim had spoken to his wife by phone from Berlin hours before the Monday night attack and did not appear to be under duress.

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On Saturday, Italy welcomed home one of the 12 victims, 31-year-old Fabrizia Di Lorenzo. She had lived and worked in Berlin and was out shopping for Christmas presents to bring to relatives in central Italy when the truck careened into the market.

A casket containing her body arrived at Rome's Ciampino airport, met by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Her parents and brother received hugs and condolences before the casket was placed in a vehicle for the ride home.

Associated Press
JERUSALEM  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out Saturday at what he called the "old-world bias against Israel," attacking President Barack Obama and the United Nations over a resolution that criticized Israel's settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu compared Obama with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, whom he called hostile to Israel and the last president to break with U.S. commitments to support the state. Those who try to harm Israel will pay a high price, the prime minister said, adding that Israel would fight to cancel Friday's resolution.

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"The resolution is distorted. It states that the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall are occupied, which is absurd," said Netanyahu, referring to holy Jewish sites that sit within the Old City in East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu balanced his harsh words about Obama with his most explicit statement yet in enthusiastic anticipation of Obama's successor, Donald Trump.

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Israeli leaders on Saturday seemed to be counting down the days to Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, hoping he will offer a more sympathetic approach to Israel and bring an end to what one senior minister called Obama's support for "Palestinian intransigence, incitement, violence and terror."

Later Saturday, the U.S. president-elect tweeted that the United Nations action "will make it much harder to negotiate peace. Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!"

The resolution, which was brought for a vote Friday in the U.N. Security Council, declared that settlements built on land Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war have "no legal validity" and are a threat to the possibility of creating two states - one for Israelis and one for Palestinians.

The 15-member council passed the resolution 14 to 0, with the United States, in a break from standard practice, abstaining rather than vetoing. It was the first resolution adopted by the council on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.

The vote also sparked strong reactions among U.S. lawmakers. On Saturday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN he will ask Congress to rescind funding for the United Nations unless it repeals the resolution on settlements.

"If you can't show the American people that international organizations can be more responsible, there is going to be a break," Graham said. "I can't support funding a body that singles out the only democracy in the Middle East who shares our values."

In a statement after the vote, Netanyahu said the Obama administration had "not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the U.N., it has colluded with it behind the scenes."

He called the resolution shameful and said Israel would not abide by its terms.

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For the first time since the U.S. election, Netanyahu stated clearly that he looked forward to working with Trump, "to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution."

In this photo provided by the United Nations, members of the United Nations Security council vote at the United Nations headquarters on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, in favor of condemning Israel for its practice of establishing settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. In a striking rupture with past practice, the U.S. allowed the vote, not exercising its veto. (Manuel Elias / AP)

Netanyahu and his ministers have generally refrained from making public statements about Trump, but subtle words and gestures have suggested that the Israeli leadership is buoyed by the new administration.

They now seem eager to see the back of Obama, who has clashed regularly with Netanyahu over numerous issues, especially the settlements.

Roughly 400,000 Jewish settlers live on 125 settlements and 100 outposts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Over the past six months, Israel has announced plans to add hundreds of units to existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, each time drawing rebuke from the White House.

More recently, right-wing voices in Netanyahu's government have pushed legislation to legalize settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land, a step also frowned upon by the Obama administration.

Trump, on the other hand, has indicated he might bring a fresh approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last week, he nominated a close adviser and outspoken supporter of Israel's settlements, New York lawyer David Friedman, as ambassador to Israel. And on Thursday, he tweeted that "The resolution being considered . . . should be vetoed."

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The potential change in direction might explain why there was such urgency to bring the resolution to a vote Friday, as well as the U.S. decision not to veto it.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity about the sensitive internal discussions, said the Security Council vote was preceded by months of back-and-forth discussions about numerous draft resolutions in circulation.

The official said the White House would not back any measure that delegitimized Israel or imposed a solution on the two parties, and would veto any resolution that omitted mention of Palestinian incitement to violence and terrorism.

Late Wednesday night, President Obama spoke by phone with advisers including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, national security adviser Susan Rice and Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Obama said he was open to abstaining from a vote on an Egyptian resolution scheduled for Thursday.

But the Egyptians withdrew their resolution after President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi spoke with Trump, who had been approached by worried Israeli officials.

New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal stepped in and sponsored their own settlements resolution. On Friday morning, Obama authorized an abstention. It was relayed to Power through Rice.

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Following the vote, Netanyahu ordered diplomatic steps against the countries that had brought the resolution and with whom Israel has diplomatic relations.

He instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to immediately return to Israel and canceled a planned visit to Israel by the Senegalese foreign minister scheduled for next month. He also suspended Israeli aid programs in Senegal.

On Saturday, Netanyahu reportedly canceled an upcoming visit by Ukranian Prime Minister Vlodymyr Groysman. He also said he would cancel Israel's financial contributions to five U.N. agencies.

In Cairo, Sissi's government was left struggling to defend its actions, after first sponsoring the resolution and then withdrawing it. Although it ultimately voted in favor, Egypt drew criticism at home and in the Arab world for giving the appearance it had folded in the face of Israeli pressure.

After the resolution passed Friday, the country's representative to the United Nations said the decision to withdraw had been "procedural" and was taken because of "pressures that the draft has met."

Among Palestinians, as well as Arab countries seen as friendly to Israel, the resolution was viewed as a victory.

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Saeb Erekat, a former peace negotiator and the No. 2 in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the vote was a "clear and unanimous message" to Netanyahu that "your policies will not achieve peace and security for Israel or the region."

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum said: "Hamas appreciates the position of the countries that voted in the Security Council for the right of the Palestinian people (to live) on their land," Agence France-Presse reported.

Israeli leaders across the political spectrum, however, criticized the U.N. decision.

"I strongly oppose this harsh resolution, which is a strategic defeat for Israel," opposition leader Isaac Herzog said, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Speaking on Israeli television Saturday, he laid the blame for the defeat on Netanyahu's foreign policy.

Israel Katz, a senior government minister from Netanyahu's ruling Likud party said Obama had "reached a new low when he turned his back on America's ally Israel."

"Obama's decision at the end of his presidency to abandon the political umbrella which the United States has traditionally provided Israel in the Security Council will unfortunately only deepen the Israeli public's distrust and allow the Palestinians to continue to evade responsibility," he said.

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The Washington Post's Kareem Fahim and Heba Farouk Mahfouz in Cairo and Carol Morello and Michael Kranish in Washington contributed to this report.
The H. Kramer and Co. smelter in Pilsen, shown in 2014, is responsible for most of the lead contamination in the area, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Clouds of metallic-tasting smoke that churned for years through Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood left dozens of yards contaminated with dangerous amounts of brain-damaging lead.

Using forensic sleuthing techniques, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has traced much of the contamination to an aging factory that for years was the largest industrial source of lead pollution in the Chicago area: the H. Kramer and Co. smelter.

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On Tuesday, the agency announced an agreement to remove lead-contaminated soil from an alley and abandoned rail spur between the Kramer property and Benito Juarez Community Academy on Cermak Road.

But a much larger project  digging up contaminated soil in nearly 180 yards  has been delayed in part by a dispute about who pays for the work: taxpayers or Kramer, which has been melting scrap metal into brass and bronze ingots at 21st and Throop streets since the 1920s.

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"Unfortunately in Chicago and other cities  lead pollution is not an issue of the past," Susan Hedman, the EPA's regional administrator, said in an interview. "This is a problem we need to continue to address."

After nearly a year of negotiations between the EPA, Kramer and community groups in the predominantly low-income, Latino neighborhood, the smelter's owners agreed to pick up more than half of the $1 million tab to clean up the alley and railroad spur, said Bruce White, an attorney for the company.

BNSF railroad and the city will cover the rest by removing tracks and paving over the area.

"Hopefully this is a signal to the neighborhood that Kramer is committed to being a good neighbor," White said.

EPA officials are tentatively planning to spend $4 million in taxpayer funds for an "emergency cleanup" of residential yards northwest of the smelter, according to an agency memo. More than 1,500 people live in the area, bordered roughly by Loomis Street to the west, 21st Street to the south, May Street to the east and 18th Street to the north.

Testing in 2013 found lead levels in the area averaged 1,377 milligrams per kilogram and spiked as high as 3,200, well above the EPA limit of 400, according to an agency report.

Attorneys for Kramer contend the smelter is not responsible for all of the contamination, noting that several other smelters operated for years in the neighborhood. The company also has said decades of deposits from leaded gasoline contributed to the problem.

But the EPA analyzed metal particles filtered by the Kramer smelter's pollution controls and compared them to metals found in the surrounding area. The unique mix enabled agency investigators to conclude that Kramer "is a significant contributor for elevated lead in residential surface soils."

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Between 1987 and 2013, federal records show, the smelter emitted more than 54,000 pounds of lead.

Keith Harley, an attorney for the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization, said the question now is whether the EPA pays for the cleanup and sues Kramer for reimbursement or Kramer pays for the work upfront. Such negotiations are common when polluted sites are discovered.

Neighborhood activists conducted their own tests a decade ago and found high levels of lead throughout Pilsen. Federal and state officials filed complaints in 2006 and 2013 that forced Kramer to substantially reduce emissions.

mhawthorne@tribpub.com

Twitter @scribeguy
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for national security adviser partnered in recent months with a technology company co-led by a businessman who pleaded guilty to trying to sell stolen scientific material in the 1980s to the KGB, the former Soviet intelligence service.

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn joined the advisory board of Brainwave Science in February, company documents show. The Massachusetts firm develops controversial "brain fingerprinting" technology designed to assess whether people under interrogation are being truthful by measuring their brain waves. The firm offers training in how to use the technology, in partnership with Flynn's consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, according to Brainwave's website.

One of Brainwave's two-member board of directors was Sabu Kota, an Indian-born software engineer who pleaded guilty in 1996 to selling stolen biotech material to an FBI agent posing as a Soviet spy. Prosecutors said the sale stemmed from what they called Kota's involvement in a spy ring that passed sensitive defense technology to the KGB between 1985 and 1990, according to a Defense Department summary of the case.

Brainwave Science removed Kota's name from the company website sometime between Thursday and Friday, when Bloomberg News published a report about Flynn's ties to the firm, according to a search of archived Google data. Company officials and officials from Trump's transition team did not respond to requests for comment on Friday, and Kota did not respond to messages left at his home.

Kota's lawyer denied that he had any connection to spying when he was charged in 1995, and Kota told Bloomberg that the criminal charges were a misunderstanding and stemmed from a patent dispute, not espionage.

Bloomberg also quoted a Trump transition official as saying that Flynn had no dealings with Kota during his time working with Brainwave and that he has ended his association with the firm.

The connection between Flynn - a decorated military intelligence officer and former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency - and the company is the latest controversy involving relations between Russia and Trump or members of his team. Trump has faced criticism for expressing his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Friday the president-elect released what he called "a very nice letter" from the Russian leader.

Flynn stunned former colleagues when he traveled to Moscow last year to appear alongside Putin at a lavish gala for the state-run channel RT, a trip Flynn admitted he was paid to make. Former U.S. officials said Flynn, seen dining next to Putin in photos published by Russian outlets, was used as a prop by the autocratic leader.

Flynn defended the trip, saying he saw no distinction between RT and U.S. news channels such as CNN, and that he had pressed Putin's government to behave more responsibly in international affairs.

The length and precise nature of Flynn's contacts with the Brainwave firm could not be determined on Friday. Bloomberg reported that Flynn was supposed to help drum up new business for the firm with U.S. agencies, and that he has met with company officials at least 10 times. The meetings reportedly were held as late as September, when Flynn helped pitch Brainwave's services to officials from the Bangladeshi defense forces.

Independent scientists have disputed the accuracy and reliability of brain fingerprinting, and Brainwave has not released research supporting its claims that the tool is highly effective.

But Bloomberg quoted Brainwave President Krishna Ika as saying that Flynn had tested the device himself, donning a helmet-like headpiece fitted with sensors. "He found it very convincing," Ika told the news service.

Julie Tate and Laura Helmuth contributed to this report.
Carl Paladino, a former Republican nominee for governor of New York and an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, included the death of President Barack Obama and "return" of first lady Michelle Obama to Africa on his list of things he wanted for 2017.

Paladino was responding to a survey by an alternative weekly magazine, Artvoice.

Asked what he would like to happen in 2017, he said he hopes that "Obama catches mad cow disease" and dies after having relations with a Hereford, a type of cow. Asked what he would most like to see go, Paladino responded that Michelle Obama would "return to being male" and be "let loose" in Zimbabwe.

Full exchange:

Artvoice: What would you most like to happen in 2017?

Carl Paladino: Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarrett, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.

Artvoice: What would you most like to see go in 2017?

Carl Paladino: Michelle Obama. I'd like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

- - -

In a statement to The Post, Paladino denied that the comments were racist.

"It has nothing to do with race," Paladino said. "That's the typical stance of the press when they can't otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked."

"It's about 2 progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years," he added.

Reached briefly by phone Friday, Paladino confirmed that he made the comments and that he is currently involved in Trump's transition efforts.

"I don't think Mr. Trump particularly cares what I have to say," Paladino said. "He knows me. I was active with him, and I still am active with him."

"And that's it. I'll say what I feel like saying."

No stranger to controversy, Paladino has repeatedly over the years attacked Obama privately and publicly  including pushing the falsehood that Obama is Muslim. During his gubernatorial race, Paladino was accused of sending graphically racist and sexist emails  some of them concerning Obama  to his circle of friends. Paladino never denied sending the emails but called them a "smear."

In a statement, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, slammed Paladino for a "long history of racist and incendiary comments."

"Carl Paladino, a Republican Party official from Western New York, made racist, ugly and reprehensible remarks about President Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama," Cuomo said. "While most New Yorkers know Mr. Paladino is not to be taken seriously, as his erratic behavior defies any rational analysis and he has no credibility, his words are still jarring.

"His remarks do not reflect the sentiments or opinions of any real New Yorker and he has embarrassed the good people of the state with his latest hate-filled rage," he added.

As recently as Dec. 5, Paladino visited Trump Tower after the election.

"We're friends," Paladino told reporters afterward. "My meeting was good."

And this week, Paladino, a Buffalo school board member, sought to have photos of Trump hung in all of the city's schools.

In a statement Paladino's alma mater St. Bonaventure University, where he once served on the board of trustees, denounced his comments.

"Mr. Paladino's remarks in ArtVoice are reprehensible and in complete contradiction to the values of St. Bonaventure University," said Andrew Roth, the university's president. "At St. Bonaventure we believe in an inclusive community that values diversity as a strength.

"While as educators we know we never attain 100%, it is reasonably certain that the vast majority of St. Bonaventure's extended family  students, Franciscans, faculty, staff and alumni  share in the rejection of Mr. Paladino's comments and the comments of any who violate our shared values of individual dignity, community inclusiveness and service to others," he added.

Trump transition officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Why did all those "economically anxious" Donald Trump voters reject policies that would have helped relieve their economic anxiety?

Maybe they believed any big government expansions would disproportionately go to the "wrong" kinds of people  that is, people unlike themselves.

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Hillary Clinton's unexpected loss, particularly in traditionally blue strongholds, has led to lots of rumination about what the Democrats must do to reclaim their political territory. Smarter marketing, smoother organization, greater outreach and fresher faces are among the most commonly cited remedies.

But there seems to be universal agreement, at least among the Democratic politicians and strategists I've interviewed, that the party's actual ideas are the right ones.

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Democrats, they note, pushed for expansion of health insurance subsidies for low- and middle-income Americans; investments in education and retraining; middle-class tax cuts; and a higher minimum wage. These are core, standard-of-living improving policies. They would do far more to help the economically precarious  including and especially white working-class voters  than Donald Trump's top-heavy tax cuts and trade wars ever could.

Here's the problem. These Democratic policies probably would help the white working class. But the white working class doesn't seem to buy that they're the ones who'd really benefit.

Across rural America, the Rust Belt, Coal Country and other hotbeds of Trumpism, voters have repeatedly expressed frustration that the lazy and less deserving are getting a bigger chunk of government cheese.

In Kentucky, consumers receiving federal subsidies through the Obamacare exchanges complain that neighbors who are less responsible are receiving nearly free insurance through Medicaid.

"They can go to the emergency room for a headache," one woman told Vox's Sarah Kliff.

In Ohio, white working-class focus group participants decried that women who "pop out babies like Pez dispensers with different baby daddies" get "welfare every month" and "their housing paid for, their food." These women seem to live large, one participant said, while people like herself are "struggling to put food on the table."

Participants in this focus group, held by the Institute for Family Studies, were also skeptical of efforts to raise the minimum wage.

Opponents argued either that higher pay wasn't justified for lower-skilled, less intense work or that raising the minimum wage would unfairly narrow the pay gap between diligent folks such as themselves and people who'd made worse life choices.

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"That son of a (expletive) is making $10 an hour! I'm making $13.13. I feel like (expletive) because he's making almost as much as I am, and I have never been in trouble with the law and I have a clean record, I can pass a drug test," said one participant.

In Wisconsin, rural whites are similarly eager to "stop the flow of resources to people who are undeserving," says Katherine J. Cramer, author of "The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker."

The people Cramer interviewed for her book often named a (white) welfare-receiving neighbor or relative as someone who belonged in that basket of undeservings  but also immigrants, minorities and inner-city elites who were allegedly siphoning off more government funds than they contributed.

More broadly, a recent YouGov/Huffington Post survey found that Trump voters are five times more likely to believe that "average Americans" have gotten less than they deserve in recent years than to believe that "blacks" have gotten less than they deserve. (African-Americans don't count as "average Americans," apparently.)

None of this should be particularly surprising.

We've known for a long time, through the work of Martin Gilens, Suzanne Mettler and other social scientists, that Americans (A) generally associate government spending with undeserving, nonworking, nonwhite people; and (B) are really bad at recognizing when they personally benefit from government programs.

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Hence those oblivious demands to "keep your government hands off my Medicare," and the tea partyers who get farm subsidies, and the widespread opposition to expanded transfer payments in word if not in deed.

Rhetoric this election cycle caricaturing our government as "rigged," and anyone who pays into it as a chump, has only reinforced these misperceptions about who benefits from government programs and how much.

It's no wonder then that Democrats' emphasis on downwardly redistributive economic policies has been met with suspicion, even from those who would be on the receiving end of such redistribution. And likewise, it's no wonder that Trump's promises  to re-create millions of (technologically displaced) jobs and to punish all those non-self-sufficient moochers  seem much more enticing.

No Americans like the idea of getting a "handout"  especially if they believe that handout is secretly being rerouted to their layabout neighbor anyway.

Washington Post Writers Group

Catherine Rampell is a Washington Post columnist.

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crampell@washpost.com
Officials at the Lutheran Home celebrated resident Alice Gilberts 100th birthday this month, bringing the grand total up to 15 centenarians  three of whom are 104  living at the venue in Arlington Heights. Pictured here is Gilberts, right, with Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes, left. (Karen Ann Cullotta / Pioneer Press)

For the 16 residents at the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights who are between the ages of 100 and 104, the secret to surviving a century includes everything from a deep faith in God to taking a shot of bourbon each night before bed.

But for Alice Gilbert, the latest member of the senior living facility's unofficial centenarian club, celebrating her 100th birthday recently was simply a matter of luck.

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"I have good genes  my grandmother lived to be 99," said Gilbert, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 19 with family, friends and Arlington Heights Mayor Thomas Hayes, who delivered a special proclamation for Gilbert featuring a snapshot of her life history.

"My family always did something special for my birthday, and the whole family would come over to our house for cake and they'd bring gifts.  It was the highlight of the year for me," said Gilbert, who was born on Dec. 19, 1916, on Chicago's West Side.

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Gilbert, who has lived at the Lutheran Home for 26 years, is one 16 residents who are 100 or older. The grand total includes three residents who are 104, two who are 103, three who are 102, three who are 101 and five who are 100, said Brenda Borchers, the resident life director for the Lutheran Home.

"We see that our residents are living longer, and we'd like to think it's because we take such good care of them here," Borchers said.

But the uptick in those who reach the age of 100 and up is not unique to Arlington Heights. According to the findings of a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although centenarians are still uncommon, the number of Americans age 100 or over has increased nearly 44 percent, rising from 50,281 in 2000 to 72,197 in 2014.

The CDC study also found that as the number of centenarians increases, so does the number of deaths in this age group, with death rates for centenarians increasing from 2000 through 2008, and then decreasing through 2014 for both males and females.

Back at the Lutheran Home, whether Alice Gilbert was a statistical anomaly or not was far from the mind as she nibbled on a slice of her birthday cake and recalled the highlights of a century of living.

As one of seven children raised in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, Gilbert recalled walking one block and cutting through an alley to get to Trinity Lutheran Church and School, spending her teen years as a student at Austin High School and working at Montgomery Ward.

She met her husband, the late Albert Gilbert, at Soldier Field, with the couple marrying in June 1936 and moving to Chicago's Northwest Side, where they raised their three children, all of whom are now retired and living in Florida.

Gilbert also recalled the magic of the holiday season as a child growing up in the 1920s.

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"We had to go to church, and we had a piece to say at church," Gilbert said, adding that the family never owned a car. "And then, when we came home, we found out that Santa had been there, and then we opened our presents on Christmas Eve."

kcullotta@tribpub.com

Twitter @kcullotta
Barbara Doyle talks about the challenges people with autism face. Doyle will be awarded the Margaret Bancroft Distinguished Leadership Award from Winston Knolls, a nonprofit special education group, for her work on autism spectrum disorders. Monday, December 12th, 2016, in Orland Park. | Gary Middendorf-Chicago Tribune Media Group (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

"No kids have no friends for no reason," says Barbara Doyle, author, educator, consultant and leading expert in the field of autism.

"That to me is the primary issue in autism. People with autism don't automatically learn how to create and sustain relationships," Doyle said. "But they can learn it. They just have to be systematically instructed in social skills."

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Doyle, an Orland Park resident, is the 2017 recipient of the Margaret Bancroft Distinguished Leadership Award. It is the highest honor the Hoffman Estates-based Winston Knolls Education Group, a nonprofit that specializes in special education, bestows upon an individual in the field.

The leadership award, named for the founder and pioneer of special education, will be presented at the group's annual awards dinner Jan. 16.

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Val Belmonte, president and CEO of Winston Knolls, said the award honors an outstanding individual in the field, somebody who has made a major contribution or done something very exceptional.

He said: "Barbara Doyle is very well deserving and very much should be recognized. She embodies everything the award stands for."

Doyle has worked for 45 years in the field of special education, first helping deaf children and then children and adults with autism.

Sitting in her living room on a recent snowy afternoon, Doyle talked about autism's evolution into both the mainstream classroom and the public vernacular. Just about everybody today knows someone who has autism, she said. One, because she believes there is more of the condition and, two, because we better understand and recognize its characteristics.

"We know so much more about autism today but people still need to be more kind," she said.

"When you see a 12-year-old kid on his back on the floor in the middle of a store, having what appears to be a meltdown, but is probably a panic attack, it's probably a kid with autism," she said. "And the mother and father have probably done the best they could all along. They can't make this not happen. But people will come up and not just stare but say, 'If that was my son, I'd beat that out of him.'"

While you can't beat autism out of someone, she added, you can teach those affected by it skills to overcome challenges.

"In the old days, we would just say, well they have mental retardation. We don't say that anymore. At that time, we were dealing with the kids most impacted," she said. "Now, we recognize the features of autism across the whole spectrum. Now, by law, it is called intellectual/developmental disabilities."

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The disorder is spotlighted in the best-selling book and long-running play, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," now being staged at Chicago's Oriental Theatre. In it, the main character is a teenager with autism.

"It was astounding," Doyle said, of the production that has received rave reviews. She saw it in London a few years ago with her sister, Emily Doyle Iland, who has a son with autism and who co-authored with Doyle the book, "Autism Spectrum Disorders from A to Z" (Future Horizons), a comprehensive autism manual for staff and families published in English and Spanish.

Barbara Doyle co-authored "Autism Spectrum Disorders" with her sister Emily Doyle Iland. Monday, December 12th, 2016, in Orland Park. | Gary Middendorf-Chicago Tribune Media Group (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

Shows like that will go a long way toward enlightening what continues to be a somewhat judgmental public viewpoint, she said.

"I think people still need more awareness, more kindness and less blame. I'm hearing about families of children with autism who are being thrown out of their church because the child with autism makes noise during the service," she said. "Anybody can have a child with autism."

By definition, autism is a developmental disability that occurs early in life and is likely to last across the lifetime of the individual, she said.

"There are many treatments that help a lot," she said. "But the thing that I know the most after 45 years in the field is that everybody can learn and grow and have a good life. In the old days we used to say, 'Oh he has autism, he'll go to a group home and always be dependent on everyone.' Now, we're trying to get people to dream bigger because we've seen people with autism grow up to have careers, good jobs, live successfully with people they want to, not necessarily be placed somewhere. We've seen them have real work."

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She points to Carly Fleischmann, a teenager whose inability to control her physical actions led to a diagnosis similar to mental retardation until she revealed through typing that she had "typical intellect"  enough to maintain a blog and write a novel.

Doyle sings with the Moraine Valley Community College Chorus and has interpreted music into sign language. In 2014, she was the assistant director and had a small role in the film, "Broiled!," produced by Megan St. John, a Chicago filmmaker. She is now working on a YouTube series with St. John.

Doyle grew up on Chicago's South Side. Her family moved to Palos Park while she was in college. At age 9, she befriended a girl in the neighborhood who was deaf. The girl taught Doyle sign language. Her father, Patrick J. Doyle, was president and CEO of McDade and Co., a catalog showroom business that often hired people with disabilities. Those experiences, and later summer jobs at camps devoted to children with myriad disabilities, set her on the path toward a lifetime devoted to helping others with special needs.

She has been married for 35 years to Ed Kenney, a retired piano tuner who at age 18 was diagnosed with Norrie Disease, which left him blind.

Doyle, who has a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University and a masters from National Louis University, began her career as a teacher of the deaf before being recruited to work at Judevine Center for Autism in St. Louis. She came back to Illinois in 1988 to become assistant to the director of the state's department of mental health and disabilities. She was a member of the original autism training team for the state of Illinois.

"They brought in the lead people on autism. We got to be intensively trained by them and then we created trainings around the state. That's when I really got the best boost of what I know. These were the leading people in everything," she said.

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She stayed with the state for about nine years and has worked in private practice for the past 16, helping families and delivering keynote speeches.

"I'm known for practical strategies you can implement immediately," she said. "I understand what it takes to make practical changes at home, at school, at work and in the community quickly."

For example, she said, "In order to have friends you have to say nice things to other people. There's good research about that. If a boy with autism only talks about what he wants to talk about and doesn't say nice things to other kids, he's probably not going to have many friends. So, in the morning we might give him index cards with a few compliments that are age appropriate, such as 'I'm happy to see you today' or 'You're a nice person.' We can even say them for him. 'Todd thinks you're a nice girl.' And the girl is likely to say, 'Thanks, Todd' and then think of him as a friend."

Doyle said her strategies are practical ways to help people connect that can be employed immediately.

"One of my principals is 'assume competence.' Even if a child or adult looks like they're not paying attention, assume they are. Assume that they're taking in everything. Maybe not understanding everything. Maybe not knowing what to do with everything. But there's a competent human being inside every person with autism I've ever met, no matter how severely they've been affected by the syndrome," she said.

"It turns out even kids who are nonverbal, with training and opportunity and somebody who believes there's somebody in there to be pulled out, can surprise us," she said.

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Autism's symptoms can range from mild to severe, but all affected display similar characteristics of social and learning differences, Doyle said.

It is a broad spectrum, "one that ranges from individuals who are seemingly locked inside themselves to "that active but odd engineer who doesn't have good social skills but is very smart and very nice," she said.

"I'm not saying there's a magic key and they won't have autism anymore. The assumption of competence just means you're going to assume they have competencies we haven't seen yet and we're not going to stop until we find a way to allow that person to communicate," she said.

Doyle said autism is diagnosed more often in boys but that doesn't mean it occurs less frequently in girls, whose behavior is often corrected early on or mistakenly dismissed as shyness.

"It takes a lot longer to recognize it in girls because mothers know more about socializing them," she said. "When girls act up, mothers immediately correct it and teach the appropriate behavior but if boys act up they often dismiss it as, well, that's how boys are  wild.

"Girls may be quiet and good and cooperative but at the same time, not have any friends and not be able to create sustained relationships," she said.

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One of the "tells" of autism, she said, is a lack of friends. A typical kindergarten child can go into a room and by the end of the month, know the name of every kid and which kids they want to sit next to and which one has a dog or a cat. "But then there will be some little kid who doesn't automatically have that same skill set," she said.

"If I say to a parent, 'Tell me about your child's friends' and they tell me the name of one kid who has done one thing with their child. Then, I already know there's a problem with socialization because kids automatically make friends with other kids, they automatically get phone calls and initiations  unless the other kids perceive there is something wrong and the adults don't explain it," Doyle said. "If we explain autism to other kids, they get it, they're wonderful. That's one of the reasons we want inclusion in the world."

She recalled one example of this theory in action at a Park Ridge elementary school some years ago.

Two girls were walking down the hall, one of them a new student. The other who had grown up in the school said hello to a third girl, who had autism. The girl with autism didn't respond. So, the veteran student turned to the new girl and said, "Don't worry. In her heart and in her mind, she responded. Sometimes you just can't see it."

Doyle said this particular school "had a wonderful autism program. Every year special ed teachers went to all the classrooms and explained autism and deafness and blindness and what kids could do to help. They also explained what was not helpful and how to protect kids (with special needs) if someone was being mean to them."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

That, she said, is what inclusion is. It's not just about geography and putting kids together in a classroom, she said. It's what's going on in the minds of the people around the people with disabilities," she said.

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"We're definitely moving closer to it," she said. "But some are still dragging their feet. I think part of that is related to the emphasis on testing," she said.

Inclusion benefits typical children, too, she said, "because typical children need to know that there are people who are different in this world. You have to be able to work with people with disabilities in the workplace. Plus, about a tenth of all the people in any given room are going to grow up to be the parent of somebody who has a label."

dvickroy@tribpub.com

Twitter @dvickroy

For more information on Barbara Doyle, go to www.barbaradoyle.com or call 708-966-4683.

For more information on Winston Knolls, go to www.winstonknolls-hecampus.org or call 630-283-3221.
What the liberal, progressive, Democratic Party beliefs really are: denial; aversion; blame; scare. [the DABS party] You think Fox, Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart are "far-right" entities. No, they just try to convey conservative values. Yes, they are millionaires or owned by one. Are you jealous? I suppose you think CNN, NBC, ABC, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi or any politician isn't? You said the "progressive" agenda was focused on the middle-class, fair wages and a fair tax code. Really? We've had eight years of that agenda. It sure hasn't been good to most of us  maybe for you though? I have thought about your suggestion to learn what the progressive movement really means. Essentially, it wants to "own us from cradle-to-grave." It wants to tell us what to think and what we can't or must do. "SS", that's called Socialism. In case you weren't aware, we're a republic that was originated and still based on capitalism.

Bob, Oak Forest

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Rod Blagojevich has filed yet another get out of jail appeal. His better chance of getting out early may be a pardon or commutation from President-elect Donald Trump. Trump, who once said he admired Blagojevich, may have sympathy for the former Celebrity Apprentice contestant. On the other hand, Trump has been known to change his mind.

So, approximately 37,000 people left Illinois this year, twice as many as last year. At this rate, with the number doubling every year, by 2087, no one will live here anymore. This would solve a lot of problems. Maybe this is Michael Madigan's solution to the budget, pensions and other problems. And they could rename the state Madigan's wasteland.

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For the third straight year, almost 38,000 residents are finally saying, "we've had enough of Illinois." Our neighboring states  Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin's figures didn't even come close. The Daily Southtown had an almost half-page article on it, citing many reasons for this exodus but not one word that at least part of the reason is the liberal, political stranglehold regulations, taxes and corruption perpetrated on the entire state by "the good ol' boys" from Chicago's Cook County.

Bob, Oak Forest

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Tyrone Srother lived at the Division Street home that caught fire early Tuesday. He helped rescue two young neighbors from the fire. He and his family, including five children, were left homeless after the building was red tagged. (Gloria Casas / The Courier-News)

Three-year-old Serenity Crawford played in the snow as her mother, Sherian Crawford, and father, Tyrone Srother, waited for city code inspectors to arrive and let them into their smoke damaged home in the 300 block of Division St. in Elgin.

The family is trying to find a new home or replace everything they lost in a fire early Tuesday.

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It is the second time in Crawford's life that she has to rebuild after a fire. Her family of seven lost everything in a Bronx, New York, electrical fire about 18 months ago, she said. Crawford and Srother moved their five children to Elgin after living in a shelter for about a year. She has relatives in Elgin.

The family moved into the Division Street home in April, Crawford said.

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"It's hard, we just literally got everything together," she said.

It was shortly after midnight that fire broke out in the upstairs apartment. Srother heard the two young neighbors, Lucas Bishop, 14, and his brother, Kyle, 12, in a stairway and helped them escape the fire, Crawford said.

"He helped them and I pulled them inside and got my five kids out," Crawford said. "He went back to help the girls but it was too late," she said, adding the fire had quickly spread.

The Bishop boys' sisters, Katrina, 19, and Lindsay, 16, had run back into their room to call firefighters and broke some windows to try to escape. Firefighters found the two standing on a narrow windowsill and rescued them.

Both families were left with nothing and without a home.

Crawford and Srother have received help from community groups, churches and the Elgin Community Crisis Center. Congregation Kneseth Israel, next door to the burned out home, raised donations for the family. A GoFundMe account, https://www.gofundme.com/was-in-a-fire-need-help?ssid=848867236&pos=1, has been set up.

Crawford said the family could not afford renter's insurance. She said she appreciates all the help from the community.

"I don't know what we would've done," she said.

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The Bishop family has also received donations through GoFundMe along with other donations. Elgin Public Works department employees gave the Bishop children a street sign with his or her name on it and donated $800 to the family.

Courier-News reporter Mike Danahey contributed.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Nikhil Basu, from left, Vignesh Swarnam and Shreyas Vivekanandan, of Aurora, perform live Christmas music Friday at the Whole Foods store on 75th Street in Naperville. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

Three Metea Valley High School students became street musicians by accident last year.

"We were looking for something to do to pass the time during winter break, and we came up with this idea to do something good for the community," Vignesh Swarnam, 14, of Aurora, said.

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The idea was that he and friends Shreyas Vivekanandan, 16, and Nikhil Basu, 14, also of Aurora, would perform holiday carols at a store simply to entertain people who were shopping. However, Vignesh accidentally left his trumpet case open and passersby started dropping money into it.

"We worked up some Christmas songs and performed for people outside a store, and wound up making $100 in donations."

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Vignesh's mother, Veena Swarnam, said their unintentional success prompted them to make an encore appearance this year  with a heightened sense of purpose.

"The boys wound up giving the money to St. Jude's Children's Research Center for cancer, and decided this year they'd do something to help the local community," Veena Swarnam said.

The Metea Christmas Carol Trio, which features Vignesh on trumpet, Shreyas on vocals and Nikhil on keyboards, set themselves a goal of raising $500. They plan to give the money to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, where an anonymous donor has pledged matching funds.

The threesome performed Thursday at the Mariano's on Eola Road and New York Street in Aurora, Friday at the Whole Foods store on 75th Street in Naperville, and at Mariano's again on Saturday.

Vignesh said collecting $500 seems achievable, despite the fact that they were not allowed to accept donations at Whole Foods, per the store's policy.

"I think our goal is more than reasonable, and last year a lot of the money came from family, whereas this year, people come and drop money and sing along with us," he said. "We worked up a bunch of songs that really aren't that difficult as you've heard them for years and it's easy to learn the music."

Shreyas said he began studying voice before kindergarten and has been trained in both Indian and Western classic music.

"I think being the vocalist in the group is harder or carries more pressure because you don't have an instrument like the piano to fall back on," he said. "It's your voice and there is no way to replace it."

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Nikhil said they began rehearsing about two months ago. His favorite piece is "Silent Night."

"I feel like it's an emotional song and the work we have all done is well worth it," Basu said. "We're not getting any donations today, but tomorrow we're going to hit it hard for about five hours back at Mariano's and see how it goes."

Those stopping to hear the set of about 14 songs said the music helped ease the tension of last-minute shopping.

"I haven't gotten to the meat counter yet, but so far I'm feeling pretty calm," said Teresa Daly, of Naperville. "This is my regular grocery store and I'm feeling pretty relaxed so far hearing this music. I'm a teacher myself and I think what the kids are doing here is fabulous."

Kathy Panagopoulos, of Naperville, said she liked the idea of there being live music inside a store.

"I think it's charming and love the fact that it's kids as young are that who are doing this," she said.

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Mark Dela Cruz, of Woodridge, a supervisor in the Whole Foods deli department, had the luxury of working in a spot adjacent to where the teens set up to perform.

"I had no idea these guys were coming and it's been a pleasant surprise," he said. "There is authenticity to live music and, for me, it's a welcome change. I think I've heard Mariah Carey sing, 'All I Want For Christmas,' about 50 times in the past few days."

Veena Swarnam said she is proud of her son and his friends, who are embracing the idea of giving back to the community at a young age.

"We live in an area where most people do very well, and it's hard to imagine not having food on the table every day of the week," she said. "This has made them think more about the people that don't have that."

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Arona Banovz, clockwise from left, Imani Jones, Kevin Banovz Jr., Jihad Coleman and Kevin Banovz enjoyed lunch Friday at Texas Roadhouse in Naperville. The event was sponsored by the police officers who make up Naperville Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 42 and Texas Roadhouse. (Jane Donahue / Naperville Sun)

Kevin and Arona Banovz and their family celebrated Christmas early at Texas Roadhouse in Naperville. On Friday afternoon, they joined more than 100 guests at the local steakhouse for a holiday luncheon with Naperville police officers.

"We are just really thankful for the Naperville Police Department," Kevin Banovz said. "God bless them and their families."

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The luncheon was a follow-up to the Cops with Kids event held last week at Target where about 40 area children were treated to a $150 shopping spree. The annual shopping event is paid for by Naperville's Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 42, and officers volunteer by helping kids choose gifts.

"Our kids got to shop with Officer Sherry (Meine) and they were very excited," Banovz said. "It's just a good experience to have the children involved with the police in a positive way; a lot of the stuff in the news shows the police as a negative force and they are not."

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Detective Jason Zbrozek, coordinator for Cops with Kids, said this is the first time the department was able to include a meal for the kids and their families as part of the event.

"I reached out to Texas Roadhouse and they offered to donate the entire lunch," Zbrozek said. "It was a very generous offer and we are very grateful to them."

Kids and their families joined police officers and other community members for an afternoon of food, fun and fellowship.

"We do a lot of community outreach here at Texas Roadhouse so when the police department contacted us, we suggested lunch," said Michael Cannistra, managing partner of Texas Roadhouse in Naperville. "We know this is a great cause and we really wanted to be a part of it."

Along with a meal, guests were treated to visits from Texas Roadhouse mascot "Andy the Armadillo" and someone was on hand to make balloon creations.

"Doing things like this is right in the wheelhouse for us," Cannistra said. "It's the holidays and we want people to feel like they are guests in our home."

Zbrozek agreed, adding that the lunch is just another opportunity to strengthen community relations.

"I hope they see that the police department is here to help them," Zbrozek said. "We don't only have to be there in the community as law enforcement; we are here when people need us for other things. We just want to have a nice meal and have a good holiday together."

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Jane Donahue is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Don't kill Obamacare without replacement

While Congress prepares to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, it's important to remember what's really at stake  the health and well-being of people  including over 1 million Illinoisans who depend on coverage under the ACA.

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We can't afford to take action that disrupts healthcare coverage and the Illinois economy. Any repeal of ACA coverage should not take effect until the replacement plan takes effect.

If Congress does not make repeal of coverage contingent on adoption of a replacement plan, then Congress should also repeal the hospital payment cuts that help pay for ACA coverage. Illinois hospitals have experienced over $1 billion in ACA payment cuts.

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Otherwise, people won't be able to get the care they need, local economies will suffer and jobs will be lost. Facing revenue losses, hospitals will be forced to cut spending by reducing services and staff, delaying new technology and facilities or shifting costs to privately insured patients.

If Congress repeals coverage and does not replace it, the preliminary estimate is the loss of this revenue in Illinois will result in a potential loss of $11.6 billion to $13.1 billion in annual economic activity, which translates to a potential loss of 84,000 to 95,000 jobs.

On behalf of our 200 hospitals and 50 health systems, and the patients and communities they serve, IHA looks forward to working in a bipartisan manner with our state and federal officials to improve our health system. Remember the first lesson of medicine  first, do no harm.

A.J. Wilhelmi

President and CEO, Illinois Health and Hospital Association, Naperville

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The Gary School Board voted Friday evening to close three school buildings and approved a new contract for Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt.

The board voted to close Williams Annex immediately. The New Tech program, currently housed in the Gary Career Center, and Jefferson Elementary will close at the end of the school year.

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According to figures provided by Pruitt, the administration expects to save just over $5 million with the closures.

Those figures estimate closing Williams Annex would save $1.489 million, New Tech would save $1.5 million and Jefferson would save $2.094 million.

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It comes as the district continues to grapple with its massive budget deficit.

State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, warned the board that it faces skepticism in Indianapolis for its failure to carry out prior recommendations to shutter buildings to help tackle some of its debt.

Brown said it was important for the board to show lawmakers it would act to close schools or additional state support "will be moot," he said. Legislators will return to the Statehouse for a new session on Jan. 4.

Pruitt recommended closing Williams Annex because its boiler had recently burned up, she said.

Board member Dr. Marion Williams questioned whether it had a "replacement policy" rather than using it as a reason to shutter the entire building. The school district paid $278,000 in 2015 to install the boiler and made $600,000 in improvements at the school, according to Post-Tribune archives.

The board voted 6-1 to close the building. Williams was the lone nay vote. Students there will be transferred to Williams Elementary, according to the district's plan.

The board voted 6-1 to shutter the New Tech High program at the Career Center, with Williams again voting against. Students there will move to West Side High School.

Board members voted 4-3 to also close Jefferson Elementary. Board members Robert Campbell, Nellie Moore and Williams voted against closing. Its students will be moved to Beveridge Elementary.

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The board rejected Pruitt's recommendation to also close its service center at 1988 Polk St. that also houses its administrative offices.

It voted 4-3 to keep the district's administrative staff there, rather than move them to Roosevelt High school.

"We made some decisions tonight," Moore said after the meeting. "I hope that we will be able to convince the state that we have made as much effort as possible... that we are willing to make sacrifices."

It also voted 4-3 to renew Pruitt's contract, just weeks before four new members will join the board.

Pruitt has headed Gary's schools since 2012. Her new contract will run from Jan. 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019.

According to the terms of the contract, Pruitt will be paid $136,000. The district will pay her 3 percent contribution to the Indiana State Teachers Retirement Fund.

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It will also pay $18,500 for her retirement annuity. It will pay premiums for medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance. She will also continue to receive a $1,000 monthly automobile stipend.

The school board will be required to set annual goals for her by June 1 each year. They will also issue a written assessment of her job performance annually.

mcolias@tronc.com
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The new impetus [By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said that more efforts should be made to implement "Made in China 2025," a plan released last year to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power.

In his instruction to a Friday meeting on China's manufacturing development, Li said China will continue to streamline administrative approvals and delegate power to lower levels, improve government services and push forward taxation and financial reforms.

The country will create a sound environment for the development of advanced manufacturing sectors in the aspects of market access, distribution of essential productive factors and lowering costs, Li said.

The Made in China 2025 plan should be combined with the country's Internet Plus action plan and promotion of mass entrepreneurship and innovation to promote the positive interaction between new growth impetus and traditional sectors, the premier said.

China should also seek a higher level of smart and green manufacturing to promote medium-high level of growth, Li said.

Vice Premier Ma Kai said at the meeting that China has made headway in upgrading the manufacturing sector after the plan was unveiled last year, contributing to the sector's steady growth and profit recovery.

As manufacturing is a major part of real economy and a major field of China's supply-side structural reform, the country should continue to push forward the implementation of the Made in China 2025 plan, Ma said.

China should enhance coordination of central and local government efforts, build national manufacturing innovation centers, consolidate industrial foundation and optimize the market environment, Ma said.
The General Motors logo is seen outside its headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan in this file photograph taken August 25, 2009. (file photo)

The Chinese unit of General Motors has been fined 201 million yuan ($28.9 million) for infringing on the rights of consumers and its competitors through price-fixing since 2014, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator, said on Friday.

The amount was about 4 percent of SAIC GM's sales in China last year. It was also the second time a US company was fined this month as the nation strengthens anti-monopoly regulation.

Earlier this month, the commission imposed a fine of 119 million yuan on the China unit of US company Medtronic, a leading supplier of high-end medical devices, for price-fixing.

Zhang Handong, director of the NDRC's Price Supervision Bureau, said last week that no one should read too much into the timing of the penalty decisions or the businesses that were targeted, referring to the General Motors case.

The penalty came after US president-elect Donald Trump pledged to impose higher tariffs on Chinese exports and after a phone call between him and Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on Dec 2 strained Sino-US relations.

Xu Xinyu, a commission official who was in charge of the GM case, said the investigation was launched in 2014, after the commission got clues from its price report platform about the company's monopoly practices.

"The fine is fair," said Xu. "We just aim to improve market order."

As of Friday, the commission had issued fines on auto-makers totaling 2.25 billion yuan since 2014.

John Zeng, managing director of LMC Automotive Consulting (Shanghai), said the fine itself will not hurt the joint venture's profit too much, but will force SAIC GM and the industry to reconsider how to handle relations with dealers.

GM's behavior is a common practice for automakers setting minimum prices for their cars, according to Zeng.

The company will provide full support to its joint venture in China to ensure that all appropriate actions and responses are taken with respect to the matter, GM China said after it was fined.

A sales manager at an auto dealership in Shanghai who requested anonymity said the company had asked dealers to set a limit on the maximum discount, either through emails or oral instructions.

The company also tracked prices by making unannounced visits to stores, he said.
Jing Chunhua, a former senior official of north China's Hebei Province, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for corruption on Friday.

According to the court's verdict, personal assets worth 4 million yuan (575,954 U.S. dollars) belonging to Jing should be confiscated, and his illegal gains should be recovered and turned over to the state treasury.

Jing, former secretary general and standing committee member of the CPC provincial committee of Hebei, was found to have taken advantage of his various official posts from 2001 to 2013 to seek benefits for others in project construction, business operations, personnel promotions and reassignment.

He accepted bribes worth over 60.5 million yuan either himself or through his wife, according to the ruling.

Jing was also unable to specify the sources of his assets, worth over 86.3 million yuan, which constitutes another criminal violation.

Changchun City Intermediate People's Court in northeast China's Jilin Province said it showed leniency as Jing confessed to his crimes, expressed remorse and voluntarily returned his illegal gains.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 23, 2016. Leung is in Beijing to report to the central government on his work in 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping met with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying Friday.

Xi told Leung that the central government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR government in its work to contain "Hong Kong independence" according to law.

Leung is in Beijing to report to the central government on his work in 2016.

Xi said, achievements in Hong Kong's practice of "one country, two systems" are for all to see. However, as the practice of "one country, two systems" is a new undertaking, it is natural that new situations and new problems have arisen.

Currently, as Hong Kong is developing steadily in social, political and economic terms, the central government as well as Hong Kong citizens all hope for a better economy and people's livelihood, a harmonious society and happy life for the citizens, according to Xi.

"One country, two systems" is in line with interests of the country, well-being of Hong Kong citizens, and the common aspiration of the entire Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, Xi said.

He added the central government, the SAR government and Hong Kong society need to "strengthen their faith, adhere to the bottom line, staunchly safeguard and make sure the practice of 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong keeps pressing ahead along the track of the Basic Law."

Xi noted, the central government fully acknowledges the work of the chief executive and government of the Hong Kong SAR.

With the support of the central government, chief executive Leung has led the government of the Hong Kong SAR in prudent administration, and achieved remarkable progresses in sectors such as land and housing, old-age care, poverty relief, as well as scientific and technological innovation, Xi said.

Besides, in such significant matters as containing "Hong Kong independence" and handling street violence according to law, Xi commented, the Hong Kong SAR government, led by Leung, has strictly followed the Basic Law, the interpretation of the Basic Law by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, and laws of the SAR.

The SAR government has "safeguarded national sovereignty, security, development interests, and Hong Kong's economic development, social stability."

Moreover, Xi said, the central government respects the decision by Leung not to run in the next election in 2017 due to family related reasons.

Over the past four years or so, Leung and the SAR government have "comprehensively and accurately" implemented the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law, as well as made concrete efforts in "building the groundwork and benefiting the long-term development."

Leung and the SAR government have made vital contributions to the undertaking of the "one country, two systems" as well as Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, Xi added.

Xi asked Leung to present the new-year wish of him and the central government to Hong Kong citizens.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, also attended the meeting.
Chinese President Xi Jinping(R) meets with Chui Sai On, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 23, 2016. Chui is in Beijing to report to the central government on his work in 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Chui Sai On, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Friday.

Xi said the central authority fully appreciates the work of Chui and the Macao SAR government, and the Macao SAR has set an example in implementing the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law, as well as safeguarding national security and unity.

Chui is in Beijing to report to the central government on his work in 2016.

Under Chui's leadership, the Macao SAR government has focused on policies to boost the economy, improve people's livelihood and ensure stable development in 2016, Xi said, adding the Macao SAR government has done a lot of work in advancing public administration reform, promoting "appropriate diversification" of its economy, putting gaming industries under check and dealing with major issues in accordance with the law.

By mapping out the first five-year development plan for Macao, Chui and the Macao SAR government actively coordinated with the country's 13th Five-Year Plan and the Belt and Road Initiative, moves that showed the SAR's commitment to long-term development, Xi said.

Xi said the general situation in Macao is good, and the economy and people's livelihood are improving.

He called on Chui and the Macao SAR government to lead and unite all circles in the region to carry forward the tradition of loving the country and Macao, while sticking to national strategy and ensuring the prosperity and stability of the region.

Chui and the Macao SAR government were told to make boosting the economy and improving people's livelihood a priority and to efficiently govern the region in accordance with the law to make Macao more beautiful and prosperous.

On behalf of the central government and himself, Xi asked Chui to convey new year greetings to all citizens of Macao.

Top legislator Zhang Dejiang also attended the meeting.

In a separate meeting with Chui on Friday, Premier Li Keqiang expressed appreciation of Macao SAR's efforts to achieve a fiscal surplus, promote the job market, boost diversified development and maintain social harmony and stability, in face of the pressure of economic downturn.

Li said the central government will unwaveringly implement the principles of "one country, two systems," "Macao people governing Macao" and a high degree of autonomy, as well as act with the Constitution and the Basic Law.

The premier said the central government will give full support to the Macao SAR government and the chief executive's governance in accordance with the law, adding it will also back the SAR's efforts to boost economic development, improve people's livelihood, promote public administration reform and integrate its development into the country's development.

He also called on the Macao SAR to make new headway as a service platform for business and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Chui said guidance and assistance from the central government, especially a series of preferential policies, have vigorously bolstered social and economic development in Macao, as well as its opening up to the outside and external cooperation, adding the Macao SAR government will work to maintain economic stability and continue improving people's livelihood.
Three people face criminal charges for illegally dumping more than 10,000 tonnes of suspected hazardous waste in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.

The defendant, surnamed Zhou, deputy general manager of the Yangzhou Changqing pesticide company had an agreement that Houhe Chemical Plant in Jingjiang City would dipose with more than 10,000 tonnes of hazardous waste from September 2005 to July 2011, but knew that the chemical plant was not qualified to do so.

At the beginning of 2012, the Houhe Chemical Plant became a piggery and was bought by a man from southwest China's Yunnan Province in February 2015. On learning hazardous waste was buried on the farm, the owner reported the case to the local environmental protection department in July 2015.
Rex Tillerson is Donald Trump's personal selection for the position of the Secretary of State. Tillerson's position as CEO of Exxon Mobil is a direct confirmation of the importance energy and economics play when foreign policy is exerted. He will take the new position  after an expected approval by the Senate  having a long-standing experience in signing business deals with world leaders, mainly in countries where his company is operating.

The head of an energy colossus, however, is not automatically qualified to steer a country's foreign policy where balanced diplomatic moves and careful political decisions are required. In the case of Tillerson, this becomes more important as Trump himself is also a businessman without day-to-day experience in politics. Subsequently, analysts across the globe are attempting to anticipate how the American foreign policy will be shaped from January 20 onwards.

It has been almost a commonplace observation to link Tillerson's appointment with relations between the U.S. and Russia. Trump's relatively friendly approach vis-a-vis Moscow can be better implemented by Tillerson than by Mitt Romney, who was another candidate for the position of Secretary of State. Romney, for instance, is traditionally negatively inclined, while Tillerson enjoys excellent relations even with Vladimir Putin. Putin personally awarded the head of Exxon Mobil with Russia's Order of Friendship medal in 2013.

Nothing should be taken for granted, however. It is too early to suggest that a new chapter in the relationship between Washington and Moscow will open in 2017. Such a development would signal the beginning of a different world order, especially when taking into account the deep rivalry of the two sides over Ukraine and Syria. The American establishment  including several Republican politicians in Congress and media organizations  are skeptical of Trump's stance and could raise serious objections. For the time being, the president-elect is being heavily criticized for his apathy in investigating the alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election. Also, the terms of a potential rapprochement are unknown. Putin has proven to be a hard negotiator in recent years and will need to receive specific guarantees before coming to agreements with a country he does not trust.

Instead of being reserved, however, some commentators tend not only to predict Putin's alignment with the West under the leadership of Trump and Tillerson but also to analyze additional repercussions. It is here where the case of China appears in the media discourse.  recent article in The Guardian was titled: "Some other friends forever? China wary of Rex Tillerson wooing away Russia." The main argumentation is that the theoretical collaboration between the U.S. and Russia might jeopardize the Sino-Russian partnership. The supposed explanation is that Putin will have to make difficult choices between turning his country's foreign policy towards the West or towards China.

Even if illerson manages to facilitate a better political understanding between Washington and Moscow, the relationship between Beijing and Moscow will hardly be influenced. To start with, there is no Sino-Russian "axis" against the West. The fact that China and Russia closely co-operate does not mean that they seek to repudiate the U.S. and the EU or that they are building an anti-Western military and political alliance. Also, the economic grounds of Sino-Russian collaboration are unquestionable. Russia needs China as a reliable client for its natural gas. The bilateral May 2013 energy deal is a characteristic example. For its part, Beijing needs Moscow for the smooth implementation of B&R Initiative in several Asian countries. In other words, the win-win logic cannot be easily altered.

From another perspective, Tillerson is not only familiar with Russia but also with China. He has come across Beijing's interests in South China Sea following ExxonMobil's decision in 2009 to sign a contract with Vietnam for gas drilling. He also regularly travels to China in order to expand his company's presence in the country. According to its official website, ExxonMobil has an upstream, downstream and chemical business presence in China. In July 2016, for instance, Tillerson visited China to hold a meeting with Wang Yilin, chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation. Furthermore, Bloomberg reports that he has rarely commented directly on the South China Sea or on broader China matters, cultivating expectations for a cautious media strategy in a period during which journalists are often keen on inciting tensions.

There is no question that Trump's presidency might partly lead international affairs into unchartered waters. But there is no indication or suspicion that his will to cooperate with Putin will impact the Sino-Russian partnership. By contrast, Tillerson's appointment as U.S. Secretary of State and that of Terry Branstad for the position of the U.S. Ambassador to China demonstrate that  apart from some initial tactical moves  Trump will not alone or spontaneously risk pushing towards a new balance of power against Beijing.

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.
 Flash

Britain could be heading for a "disorderly" exit from the European Union (EU), a leading academic warned on Friday.

"If there is no organised deal by the end of the two-year period, then there will be disorderly Brexit," said Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union Law and Jean Monnet Chair of EU Law at the University of Cambridge.

"I don't think it is in anybody's interest to have a disorderly Brexit but the government is planning for it in case it happens," Barnard told Xinhua at a press briefing for the launch of the "Brexit: Six Months On" report from the London think-tank UK in a Changing Europe.

The British Prime Minister Theresa May has committed to triggering divorce proceedings from the EU by the end of March, following a mandate given by the exit result in the June 23 referendum. This would begin a two-year countdown to a formal exit.

Barnard, a specialist in EU law, cautioned that the upcoming Brexit negotiations would be multiple and complex.

"The problem is capacity, on the UK side and also on the EU side. There are real concerns because of the sheer breadth of the issues that are to be negotiated that it may well take a whole lot longer than two years," said the professor.

According to Barnard, government ministers, including May and Brexit Secretary David Davis, had begun to talk about transitional arrangements to cover a time gap between the end of the divorce talks, likely to be April 1, 2019, and the implementation of an agreement over trade access and other issues.
The General Motors logo is seen outside its headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan in this file photograph taken August 25, 2009. [Photo/Agencies]

The Chinese unit of General Motors has been fined 201 million yuan ($28.9 million) for infringing on the rights of consumers and its competitors through price-fixing since 2014, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator, said on Friday.

The amount was about 4 percent of SAIC GM's sales in China last year. It was also the second time a US company was fined this month as the nation strengthens anti-monopoly regulation.

Earlier this month, the commission imposed a fine of 119 million yuan on the China unit of US company Medtronic, a leading supplier of high-end medical devices, for price-fixing.

Zhang Handong, director of the NDRC's Price Supervision Bureau, said last week that no one should read too much into the timing of the penalty decisions or the businesses that were targeted, referring to the General Motors case.

The penalty came after US president-elect Donald Trump pledged to impose higher tariffs on Chinese exports and after a phone call between him and Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on Dec 2 strained Sino-US relations.

Xu Xinyu, a commission official who was in charge of the GM case, said the investigation was launched in 2014, after the commission got clues from its price report platform about the company's monopoly practices.

"The fine is fair," said Xu. "We just aim to improve market order."

As of Friday, the commission had issued fines on auto-makers totaling 2.25 billion yuan since 2014.

John Zeng, managing director of LMC Automotive Consulting (Shanghai), said the fine itself will not hurt the joint venture's profit too much, but will force SAIC GM and the industry to reconsider how to handle relations with dealers.

GM's behavior is a common practice for automakers setting minimum prices for their cars, according to Zeng.

The company will provide full support to its joint venture in China to ensure that all appropriate actions and responses are taken with respect to the matter, GM China said after it was fined.

A sales manager at an auto dealership in Shanghai who requested anonymity said the company had asked dealers to set a limit on the maximum discount, either through emails or oral instructions.

The company also tracked prices by making unannounced visits to stores, he said.
Potential buyers in the clean technology sector from China can choose to attend investment fairs among traditional avenues - or now they can just open their computers and the relevant information will be delivered directly to them.

A startup website called TEDA International Clean Tech Transfer Platform (www.icttp.org), which was launched on Dec 15 by the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), aims to serve as a more convenient and economical way of improving the increasing international cooperation in the clean tech sector.

The government-supported platform, which is mainly an information provider, offers news and information releases, policy interpretation, intellectual property rights protection, video conferencing and other cross-border communication services as well.

"In the 27 years I have been doing technology transferring, we never had this kind of platform for international cooperation," said John Deal, Environmental Control Officer of IX Power Clean Water, which has brought cutting-edge high concentrated water treatment technology to a partner in China.

"Being able to have a platform for innovation is itself an innovation," Deal said.

A week after the launch, six companies from Indonesia and India published on it their clean tech demands in such areas as lighting, air and urban refuse - and 22 suppliers from the UK, China, France, US and other countries also appeared on its home page.

Players in the sector say the clean tech industry in China has really taken off, and the balance between economic growth and environment protection is increasingly being struck by the clean technologies which the authorities and consumers are demanding.

China's new Five-Year Plan (2016-20) has committed to low-carbon economic targets, which encourages the development of clean tech.

According to a report from the World Bank released in 2014, China's total investments in clean technology could reach $415 billion in 2024.

"More bridges like this platform should be built since China now has a lot clean tech to offer to the world," said Du Xiaobing from Dalian National Demonstration District of Ecological Industry Co Ltd.

Officials with the Tianjin TEDA Low-Carbon Economy Promotion Center (or TEDA Eco Center) said they would collect and assess the needs of 219 national economic development areas, a process which could mean hundreds of new jobs.

According to its website, the center, a nonprofit body which is supported by TEDA, is dedicated to becoming the first international cooperation and implementing organization in China promoting technical innovation and spreading the low-carbon economy.

"Technology which can clean the industrial chain is in high demand in TEDA. In the meantime, we hope more companies from other countries see development happening here and eventually settle down in TEDA," said Song Yuyan, the center's director.
The booth of Deutsche Bank AG at an industry expo in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

Deutsche Bank AG said it has reached a $7.2 billion agreement to resolve a years-long US investigation into its dealings in mortgage-backed securities, removing a legal hurdle that fueled investor angst.

Deutsche Bank will pay a $3.1 billion civil penalty and provide $4.1 billion in relief to consumers under a settlement in principle with US authorities, according to a statement early on Friday. The fine will cut pretax profit by $1.2 billion this quarter as the firm taps existing legal reserves to blunt much of that cost. The relief may drag on earnings for years.

The settlement "might help in the short run because a major source of uncertainty has been cleared," said Michael Huenseler, an investor at Assenagon Asset Management, which holds about 0.8 percent of Deutsche Bank's shares. "But it's still higher than many have expected and it will pose a long-term drag on profitability."

The deal is far below the Justice Department's initial request of $14 billion, which had spooked stock and bond holders earlier this year, rattling entire markets. Credit Suisse Group AG just hours later announced that it had settled a related probe with the DoJ for $5.28 billion.

Bloomberg
Laborers clean the external wall of a KFC restaurant in Huaibei, Anhui province. [Photo/Agencies]

Kentucky Fried Chicken launched its first artificial intelligence-enabled store in Beijing on Friday, and the fast-food chain said it plans to further expand its layout of smart restaurants, creating more innovative and interesting dining experiences for customers.

With the cooperation of Baidu Inc, China's largest search engine, KFC started its first smart restaurant in the Financial Street area in Beijing.

At the store, customers are able to take pictures with a machine, which will recognize the diner's face, sex, age, mood and other features, then help to recommend suitable food and set meals and complete the ordering process.

"If the consumer visits the store again and takes a picture with the machine, it will be able to recognize his or her face and show the previous purchase history, remember the customer's dining habits, and help to place an order faster," said Wu Zhongqin, deputy director of the Institute of Deep Learning of Baidu Inc, which helped to develop the technology.

With another machine with an augmented reality, or AR function, customers are able to interact with the machine, change facial expressions by shaking their heads in front of the machine, take photos, and save them to their phones.

In April, KFC, an affiliate of Yum China Holdings Inc, started its first Chinese smart restaurant in Shanghai. The outlet is equipped with intelligent robot ordering, debuting the use of artificial intelligence in chain restaurants.

Zhao Li, general manager of Beijing KFC, said smart restaurants are not only about the cool hardware, but more about providing convenience to consumers.

"Our innovations make use of the cutting-edge technologies and they will help to attract more young consumers who prefer fashionable new things. The digitalization of the restaurant will also help to provide faster and easier services," she said.

"We believe that the restaurant dining experiences must continue to upgrade. With 5,000 stores in China, we plan to expand such services nationwide soon, to adapt to the digital age and enable more consumers to experience enjoyable ordering experiences."
By Carrie Qiu in Hong Kong and Wang Kaihao in Beijing | China Daily | Updated: 2016-12-24 06:56

Building expected to be completed in 2022 to exhibit imperial collections on loan from Beijing

Hong Kong will open a miniature "Palace Museum" in 2022 to exhibit priceless imperial collections on loan from the renowned national museum in Beijing.

Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor signed a cooperation agreement on the museum with Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, in Beijing on Friday.

The new museum, to be built in Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District, is expected to be completed in 2022. A 30,000-square-meter plot has been set aside for the project.

Shan said the agreement to open the new museum elevates the cooperation between the SAR and the Palace Museum to a new level.

The new museum will promote its Beijing counterpart and traditional Chinese culture through exhibitions, digital presentations, lectures and Palace Museum-themed merchandise, he said.

Previous Palace Museum exhibitions in Hong Kong have drawn large crowds, he said.

One such exhibition, from Nov 30 to Feb 27, focuses on ceremony and celebration in the grand weddings of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors.

Minister of Culture Luo Shugang hailed the plans for the new museum as a milestone in the mainland-Hong Kong relationship.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who was in Beijing to deliver the SAR government's annual work report, said the SAR fully supports the proposed museum and its goal of promoting Chinese culture, and presenting Palace Museum treasures to the world.

Facing myriad social challenges arising from Hong Kong's acute land shortage, the SAR government decided to set aside a 30,000-square-meters plot for the new museum shows its commitment and the project's importance.

As part of the events and celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's reunification with the mainland, an unprecedented exhibition will open in the SAR on June 28, displaying more than 200 treasures from the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Palace Museum. The relics have never before been exhibited outside the Chinese capital.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation was the residence of the last eight emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

Carrie Lam visited Beijing's Capital Museum on Friday, where the treasures from the Hall of Mental Cultivation are currently exhibited. She said that she went there to learn about the experience in preparation for the exhibition of the artifacts in Hong Kong.
Despite of the tense cross-Straits relations, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are still maintaining exchanges through political party communications.

The Communist Party of China and Taiwan's Kuomintang held a dialogue on Friday in Beijing. Zhang Zhijun, the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, met with the KMT delegation, led by the party's Vice-Chairman Chen Chen-hsiang.

They discussed party communication at the grassroots level, the protection of people's welfare and communication between youths on both sides.

The dialogue aims to set the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations back on track, uphold the one-China principle and oppose "Taiwan independence", promote social and economic cooperation and improve people's welfare, said Zhang, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

"The goal was to carry out the common understanding between President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's KMT leader Hung Hsui-chu," Zhang said.

Xi met with Hung in early November in Beijing and made a six-point proposal on cross-Straits relations, including adhering to the 1992 Consensus, resolutely opposing forces that support "Taiwan independence" and promoting social and economic cooperation between the two sides.

Zheng Zhenqing, an associate professor of Taiwan studies at Tsinghua University, said that because the official communication channel between the mainland and Taiwan has been cut off, dialogue between the CPC and KMT and people-to-people communication are the main forms of exchange between the two sides.

The KMT is not the ruling party, Zheng said, so the communication between the political parties is a non-official channel.

Since the Democratic Progressive Party took over leadership in Taiwan in May, cross-Straits relations have worsened and official communication has been suspended.

"Dialogue has brought warmth to the cold winter when official communication stalled," said Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies at Beijing Union University.

"The dialogue between the two parties becomes an important platform for seeking peaceful development, promoting people-to-people communication and economic exchanges and improving people's welfare on both sides," he said.

In Washington on Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States has a deep and abiding interest in cross-Straits stability. "We believe that dialogue between the two sides has enabled peace, stability, and development in recent years," he said.
Prosecutors cite improper force, lack of aid to suspect, but say severity of actions was minor

Beijing prosecutors have decided not to press charges against five law enforcement officers suspected of negligence in a case in which a man choked to death after being taken into custody, saying the severity of their actions was minor and all have shown remorse.

The Beijing People's Procuratorate said in an online post on Friday afternoon that prosecutors found the five officers, including two police officers and three auxiliary officers, who were suspected of "improper law enforcement" through the use of improper force. They said they were trying to take Lei Yang, a 29-year-old Beijing resident, into custody on May 7. But Lei died.

Given that the officers' activities were part of a planned law enforcement campaign, and that Lei had interfered with law enforcement, the prosecutors decided not to press any charges, the statement said.

However, prosecutors also found that the five officers contributed to Lei's death by failing to perform emergency lifesaving procedures, including taking the man to a hospital after finding him unresponsive. They were also found to have deliberately made up facts and obstruct the investigation during the ensuing inquiry, the procuratorate said.

The statement added that the procuratorate will report any violation of the Communist Party of China discipline, if any, to the appropriate watchdog.

The Beijing police said in a statement later on Friday that the five officers will be punished in accordance with regulations.

The case stirred a public outcry after an online post by Lei's wife casting doubt on the results of the police investigation after her husband's death.

Four of the suspects have been released on bail. A fifth, surnamed Xing, former deputy director of Dongxiaokou police station in Changping district, remained in custody.

The prosecutors said they determined that Lei had solicited prostitution at a foot massage salon before his encounter with the officers. Lei tried to escape before officers subdued him, the investigation found.

In the statement, the prosecutors described a number of abusive behaviors, including officers "using knees to press face and neck, and slapping on the face".

Lei tried to escape for a second time after he was placed in a police vehicle. In apprehending him the second time, the officers "used their feet to step on Lei's face and neck, and used their legs to hold down his arm". Lei was then dragged back to the police vehicle by the handcuffs he was wearing.

The prosecutors said they don't believe Lei was beaten to death by the police officers, as none of the bruises on his body were fatal. Lei was found by an independent autopsy to have choked to death on his vomit.

"But the misconduct by the police officers had a direct causal relationship with Lei's death, which is a serious result," it said, adding that "Lei's intensive and persistent resistance when he had a full stomach also has a close relationship with the death".
Businesses that serve the needs of the elderly in China are in the spotlight again as the central government announced on Friday that it will "fully open up" the market by 2020 and invite more foreign investors into the nonprofit service sector.

Calling elderly care a "sunrise industry", the State Council's General Office in a 6,000-word circular laid out plans to improve services for China's fast-expanding group of elderly citizens. They include lowering the entry threshold by simplifying registration procedures for all elderly care institutions, building a market pricing mechanism and a credit system for the sector and using internet tools to put services near at hand.

Since 2013, China has officially opened its arms to overseas investors to create for-profit eldercare businesses. This time, the central government is offering to lift restrictions for them to take part in the nonprofit sector, promising rights and benefits equal to those of their Chinese counterparts.

The detailed policy for foreign and domestic investors has been submitted to the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office for further review and approval, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The policy is expected to be finished by the end of the year, as directed.

At present, nonprofit providers of care for the elderly in China can get various government subsidies.

For instance, in Hebei province, the government will offer 4,000 yuan for each bed and 100 yuan ($14.4) for each customer the provider takes in, in addition to lower land costs and taxes, according to Li Donghui, marketing director of Yanda Golden Age Health Nursing Center in Yanjiao, Hebei, a nonprofit eldercare community that currently has 2,300 beds and plans to add another 7,700 by 2018.

In Beijing, the subsidy can be up to 10 times higher.

Li said he spoke with some of his overseas counterparts at a conference in France last month, and they asked many questions about China's eldercare market.

Gaining market share by entering the nonprofit sector and selling relevant products to seniors can be profitable, he said.

Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, the think tank of the Ministry of Commerce, said the Chinese government has recently shown interest in inviting foreign investors to inject money into certain lagging industries, including care for the elderly.

"We need to wait and see if solid measures will be taken to encourage foreign investment," Bai said.

Local governments are required to help transform public elderly service institutions into private enterprises. By 2020, nursing home beds in government-owned institutions should take up less than half the total, according to the circular.

The government is also encouraging elderly care institutions to operate as medical and health institutions. Eligible centers will be included in the basic medical insurance system.
By Hou Liqiang in Beijing and Tian Xuefei in Harbin | China Daily | Updated: 2016-12-24 06:56

The first highway bridge connecting China and Russia over the Heilong River is expected to trigger a development boom in the cross-border economic corridor - with positive effects for Mongolia, as well - as the flow of cargo and people increases.

A joint venture company will start construction of the bridge on Saturday, 28 years after it was first proposed. The model may prove instructive for the construction of other cross-border infrastructure, officials said at a news conference on Thursday.

The19.9-kilometer bridge about one-third of which is in China - stretches from Heihe, a border town in Heilongjiang province, to the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk.

At an estimated cost of 2.47 billion yuan ($355.6 million), the bridge will open to traffic in October 2019, according to Pan Yang, a Heilongjiang traffic department official.

Pan said his department organized 33 rounds of talks with the Blagoveshchensk side after 2013. An agreement for construction of the bridge was signed in September last year.

Russian employees of the joint venture company have begun their work in China, and their Chinese colleagues will also start their work in Russia, said Tian Lin, head of the Heilongjiang highway construction bureau.

The joint venture company will operate for a concession period of 20 years, and toll fees collected will be used to pay back the construction loan.

By 2020, the bridge is expected to be transporting more than 3 million metric tons of cargo and 1.48 million passengers annually, officials said at the news conference.
Santa Clauses can be busy during the Christmas season - especially the foreign Santas.

Those with foreign faces are in high demand by luxury brands because they resemble the "actual" Santa Claus more than Chinese models. Less discriminating institutions and families usually choose a Chinese Santa.

"Our Christmas services ended a week early because all of our models were booked," said Hu Meng, a Shanghai-based agent for brands such as Cartier and Swarovski with foreign models.

All of the agency's models are foreigners, with the majority coming from the Netherlands and New Zealand. It even offers female Santas.

Most of the brands only want models to pose for pictures; some others ask their Santa Claus to pass out small gifts or greet customers.

Hu said there's really no estimate on the number of models because they're stationed all over the country, including in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Price ranges from 3,000 to 10,000 yuan ($430-$1,430) for a commercial event that usually lasts for several hours.

But among the foreign-faced Santas in Shanghai, the most "original" is believed to be the one who comes from Santa Claus Village in Lapland region of Finland.

It is said there are only 50 such original Santas from that special area, and Shanghai was lucky to have one again this year thanks to a Christmas activity by the Kerry Parkside development.

"This year, we have a new kind of service that provides children with the opportunity to receive gifts from the Santa," a customer service staff member surnamed Feng said on Friday.

The woman, who declined to give her full name because of company policy, said the shopping mall hired the Santa to work from 1 pm to 9 pm, Friday through Sunday.

Customers can chat with and even receive gifts from this Santa - for a price. He is not just a random expat dressed in red, Feng said, but is someone who "has been trained in the role, with a certificate for it".

Yet for institutions on a tighter budget, a Santa born in China will do just fine.

A property management company in Shanghai offers some help giving out gifts to children from their parents. A Chinese Santa will come to a resident's home.

"I can't wait to see my boy's reaction when Santa gives him the package," said Sammi Wu, mother of a 4-year-old boy.

Santas played by family members bring joy, too. Liang Yu, a father in Beijing, has been dressing up for three years.

"It is fun, and is a unique way of bonding between me and my son," he said. With the white eyebrows and beard covering much of his face, and an improvised Santa voice, he has succeeded so far.

JD.com, an online shopping platform, is dressing up its delivery drivers as Santa Clauses in 87 Chinese cities from Dec 21 to 25 - and they'll be working extra hard to ensure customers' Christmas gifts arrive on time.
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LHASA -- Tibetans lit butter lamps and prayed through the night in an annual festival commemorating Tsong Khapa, a master of Tibetan Buddhism.

At 4 pm on Friday, monks gathered for prayers at the Jokhang Temple in the heart of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region.

Thousands of pilgrims and believers gathered around the temple to join the prayers.

More than 8,000 butter lamps were lit on top of the temple building, in prayer halls and in monks' residences.

"Ganden Atsok" is celebrated on the 25th day of the tenth month according to the Tibetan calendar, when Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelupga, the "yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, passed away in 1419.

Monks chanted sutras in his praise. Believers prayed for happiness and good health.

Yangdron, a Lhasa resident, lit 108 lamps at her home. "I started to melt the butter two days before the festival. It is an important day," she said.

On Friday, similar ceremonies were held in monasteries at Sera and Zhaibung, also in Lhasa.
A three-day fair featuring agricultural specialties of Taiwan began in the Beijing Exhibition Center on Saturday.

The fair attracted nearly 130 exhibitors and also promoted tourism.

Mainland businesses are expected to sign cooperation agreements with county authorities from Taiwan.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, and Chen Chen-hsiang, vice chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, attended the opening ceremony.

"What we are presenting here is not only the agricultural products grown by the Taiwanese, but also their confidence of walking hand in hand with mainland people at a difficult time for cross-Strait relations," Fu Kun-chi, head of Taiwan's Hualien County, said at the fair.

Yang Yizhou, vice president of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, an association of Taiwanese on the mainland, lauded the fair as it showcased mainland authorities's goodwill.

"The mainland and Taiwanese people's natural bond will not be sabotaged by anyone," Yang said.
Students at Tianjin Nankai High School prepare gifts for students at Zhongwangmiao primary school in the hilly Nanzhao county in Henan. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Senior high school students in the northern municipality of Tianjin have paired up with students from the underdeveloped northern province of Henan to pass on happiness and positive energy.

In a 15-year tradition for Tianjin Nankai High School, the program encourages students to take up voluntary work as a way to enhance students abilities and their social responsibility.

This winter, all 58 students in Class 15, Grade two of the high school sent handmade new year cards, notebooks, letters, cherished books and other gifts to the students in Zhongwangmiao primary school in the hilly Nanzhao county in Henan to encourage their studies.
BEIJING -- Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong said Saturday that China will do more to ensure that workplace safety rules are better enforced.

"Work safety in China still faces severe situation, despite progress," Wang said while answering legislators' questions at a joint inquiry meeting.

The meeting, attended by top legislator Zhang Dejiang, is part of the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Legislation on work safety will be improved, and supervision and inspections enhanced, Wang said.

Authorities will focus on key industries and sectors, preventing serious accidents, Wang added.

During the inquiry, legislators also discussed a report on traffic safety.

The reports were submitted for review on Wednesday.
GUANGZHOU -- Six fishermen are missing after their boat sunk in the waters of the city of Shantou in South China's Guangdong province, on Saturday morning, according to the provincial maritime search and rescue center.

The center received a report at 6 a.m. that a fishing boat with seven fishermen on board had capsized and sunk after it was hit by gales.

The seven fishermen were not wearing lift jackets. One of them was saved by a rescue vessel.

As of Saturday afternoon, six fishermen remain missing.

Four rescue vessels and helicopters have joined the search.
Editor's note: A husband and wife, Tianqiao Chen and Chrissy Luo, donated $115 million to the California Institute of Technology last week. It may sound like a victory for Chinese soft power, but many Chinese netizens are angry that the money isn't being directed toward domestic concerns. "Why don't you donate to our own colleges, traitor?" one user asked in response to the news. Are Chinese donations to US College unpatriotic?

Mbursian (US)

The criticism is that Chinese universities are NOT transparent with donations they receive... you don't know where the money is actually going...
US president-elect Donald Trump is known for his anti-China rhetoric on the campaign trail, such as threatening to impose up to 45 percent tariffs on Chinese products and calling China a currency manipulator.

Yet when Trump named China-friendly Iowa Governor Terry Branstad to be the United States ambassador to China, and his senior advisor James Woolsey said Trump may consider joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road), it momentarily seemed the president-elect may have started to see reason.

Wednesday, however, dampened that hope, as Trump nominated Peter Navarro to head the new White House National Trade Council. Trump's transition team described Navarro as a "visionary economist ... (who) will develop trade policies that shrink our trade deficit, expand our growth, and help stop the exodus of jobs from our shores".

It is still unclear what will be Navarro's relationship with the still-to-be-announced US trade representative, and commerce secretary-nominee Wilbur Ross, a sensible businessman I chatted with and interviewed in New York years ago. But one thing is certain: Navarro is a known China hawk.

Back in August 2012, I had criticized a documentary based on the 2011 book Death By China: Confronting the Dragon - A Global Call to Action by Navarro and Greg Autry, calling it "hate speech against China". I described his key points: China is bad in every respect. China is stealing American jobs, killing its babies with unsafe toys and its army is preparing to kill Americans. In a country known for making great movies, I wrote at the time, a trash production called Death By China which reminded one of Nazi propaganda should not make it to even the screen.

The China bashing by the conservative professor at University of California-Irvine, also includes his other books, such as The Coming China Wars (2008) and Crouching Tiger: What China's Militarism Means for the World (2015).

People who read the reviews on amazon.com will find that The Coming China Wars is "China bashing at its worst" and "meant to terrify you" and "simplistic and exaggerating". The Crouching Tiger also portrays China as a military threat to the US in a biased and sensational way.

In other words, Navarro is hardly a visionary. He is deaf and blind to the enormous win-win cooperation and potential of China-US relations, whether in trade and investment or in tackling regional and global challenges.

Trade is a form of cooperation and the $550 billion annual bilateral trade has brought huge benefits to the peoples of both countries. What Navarro and Trump have in common is to demonize trade, especially the US trade deficit with China.

The feeling that US trade deficit with China is in China's favor is both politicized and misleading. For example, each iPhone that Apple sells in the US adds some $200 to the US-China trade deficit. This means iPhones alone add $6-8 billion to the bilateral trade deficit each year. And what does China make from iPhones? A ridiculously small amount of about $10 from each, say many economists.

If the US lifts its outdated restrictions on high-tech exports to China, its trade deficit will shrink dramatically or could even be reversed.

In an article written for Project Syndicate last week, Cornell University professor Eswar Prasad, an economist and currency expert, criticized Trump for accusing China of currency manipulation, saying there were no facts to prove the charge and by "getting tough" on China, Trump would hurt both economies.

Many scholars have warned about the devastating effects on the US, China and the rest of the world a trade war will have if Trump were to truly put his tough talk into action. Navarro's appointment only adds to such concern.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 12/24/2016 page5)
A Chinese worker processes steel at a factory in Qingdao city, East China's Shandong province, July 1, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Among all the key takeaways of the recent Central Economic Work Conference, two priorities draw special attention.

One priority is the promotion of the stable and healthy development of the property market. The conference emphasized the urgency of curbing property market bubbles and speculation. One of the highlights in the Chinese economy over 2016 was the rampant rise of property market prices, starting in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and then quickly expanding to a number of the second tier cities, namely Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Xiamen and Wuhan. It only quieted down somewhat after exceptionally stringent measures announced in late September across dozens of cities.

According to the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) official data, outstanding long term consumer loans, mostly home mortgage loans, were 19.36 trillion yuan at the end of November, 2016, 29.1% up over that at the end of January, or a net increase of 4.37 trillion yuan. Forty-eight percent of the total net increase of total bank loans (9.10 trillion yuan), although its total volume accounts for 17.5% of the latter. The fundamental factor behind the sharp property market rises is speculation, buying a house only to sell it later, making considerable profit in a fast-rising market. Hence, houses are no longer living quarters but a financial tool, only for the increase in their face value. The capital, in chasing profits, chases the house deals. Local governments, hungry for money, play a key role in pushing up land prices. In turn, the banks tend to extend mortgage loans to home buyers, not caring whether they are speculators, because they have houses as mortgages.

The first consequence is that any further rises in the property markets will lead to a higher debt ratio, and a significant property price fall will definitely lead to a chain of disclosures and bank insolvency risks, and in turn, lead to a systemic financial risk in the country. In that event, the financial crisis will be not far away.

The second consequence is dampening the real economy. Property market speculation and bubbles are sucking financial resources at the cost of the real economy. During the first 11 months of 2016, outstanding bank loans to the non-financial business and institutions increased by a merger 4.5%, or a net increase of 3.14 trillion yuan. Its share in total outstanding bank loans fell from 70.0% to 65.2%. Property market speculation usually has a much higher capital return than the real economy, especially manufacturing. TCL, a leading manufacturing giant, also relies on real estate development for a better overall performance. Haier, the world leader of white home appliances, also has huge land plots for real estate development in Qingdao, Jinan, Chongqing and Suzhou.
The "surreal" entry in a Merriam-Webster's dictionary in New York. "Surreal" is Merriam-Webster's word of 2016 based on spikes in lookups. [Photo/Agencies]

Was 2016 a dream or a nightmare?

Try something in between: "surreal", which is Merriam-Webster's word of the year, unveiled last week.

Meaning "marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream," or "unbelievable, fantastic," the word joins Oxford's "post-truth" and Dictionary.com's "xenophobia" as the year's top choices.

"It just seems like one of those years," says Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large.

The company tracks year-over-year growth and spikes in lookups of words on its website to come up with the top choice. This time around, there were many periods of interest in "surreal" throughout the year, often in the aftermath of tragedy, Sokolowski says.

Major spikes came after the Brussels attack in March and again in July, after the Bastille Day massacre in Nice and the attempted coup in Turkey. All three received huge attention around the globe and had many in the media reaching for "surreal" to describe both the physical scenes and the "mental landscapes," Sokolowski says.

The single biggest spike in lookups came in November, he says, specifically Nov 9, the day Donald Trump went from candidate to president-elect.
Herders select and sort reindeer inside an enclosure in the settlement of Krasnoye in Nenets Autonomous District, Russia. [Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Agencies]

In Russia's remote Arctic regions, reindeer herding has been a way of life for centuries. Each winter, herders in Russia's sparsely populated Nenets Autonomous District corral their reindeer into open-air pens before selecting weak animals to be culled.

The cull helps preserve the region's fragile tundra by keeping herd sizes down, and local people sell reindeer meat, hide and antlers to make a living.

Igor Ledkov, who works at the Harp agricultural cooperative in the village of Krasnoye, says herders try to maintain the local reindeer population at around 15,000-17,000 animals.

"The size of the cull each year varies, this year we plan to cull more than 3,000 reindeer," Ledkov says.

"We wait until there's enough snow on the ground so the reindeer don't trample the best grazing land when we corral them into the pens."
Veteran rafter Travis Winn has led or participated in over 200 trips down China's rivers.[Photo by Will Stauffernorris/For China Daily]

Where some see danger, rafter sees fun and excitement

When Travis Winn first came to China 16 years ago with his father, a veteran rafter and geologist, he was instantly captivated by the grandeur of China's rivers, thus lighting a passion for the waterways in the country.

"I was shocked by their beauty," says Winn, 32. "I never expected China to have such amazing rivers. I've always been attracted to the power of flowing water, but there is something extra special about rivers here."

From 2000 to 2015 Winn led or took part in more than 200 trips down China's rivers, including 45 first descents (a type of raft). He has explored more than 5,000 kilometers of China's rivers and logged an additional 10,000 kilometers on repeat voyages to favorite sections.

Because agriculture is a way of life for millions of Chinese, they have long had a stronger disposition toward mountains and fields than to rivers. Furthermore, the Sino-US joint rafting expedition in 1986, which, with similar ventures at the time, claimed the lives of 11 people, fed the notion's outdoor enthusiasts that powerful rivers were things to be feared.

"I grew up floating down rivers in the western US, and it surprised me that no one in China seemed interested in exploring or going close to rivers," Winn says.

"To me, rafting is huge fun and I've rarely felt it was life threatening. Even if you don't have any experience or training, under the guidance of professionals on the right section of a river anyone can come and enjoy it."
(Photo : Getty Images) Rodrigo Duterte's government has been accused of human rights violations in the fight against drugs.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has reacted angrily at the United Nation's human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, by calling him an "idiot" after the UN official urged the country's authorities to investigate the leader for murder.



"You there in the United Nations, you do not know diplomacy," Duterte is quoted to have said by the media.



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"You do not know how to behave, to be an employee of the United Nations. You do not talk to me like that, you son of a b*tch," Duterte continued in his remarks that were reportedly made to a gathering of civilian watchdogs.



In a statement released by the UN on Tuesday, al-Hussein said: "It should be unthinkable for any functioning judicial system not to launch investigative and judicial proceedings when someone has openly admitted being a killer."



Earlier this week, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights promised to investigate Duterte's boastful claims that he personally killed criminals.



The commission also plans to investigate Duterte on accusations that he was in charge of the so-called death squads that are said to have killed hundreds of people in Davao.



Last week, Duterte himself admitted to a British media house that he had personally killed at least 300 suspected criminals when he was mayor of Davao city.



Chito Gaston, the chairman of the rights body, however, told the media that president Duterte enjoys constitutional immunity as long as he is in office.



Since assuming power in June, Duterte has launched a bloody war on drugs, leaving an estimated 6,000 dealers dead at the hands of the police and vigilante groups.



Duterte has been ramping up verbal attacks on Western countries, including former ally the United States.



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TagsRodrigo Duterte, United States, United Nations, Human Rights
(Photo : Getty Images) US President-elect Donald Trump believes any UN resolutions against Israel would be unfair.

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Egypt has decided to delay a United Nations vote on a text condemning Israeli settlements in occupied territory after US President-elect Donald Trump intervened.



The decision by Cairo was reached after Israel asked Trump to intervene on their behalf.



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Israel contacted Trump's transition team after learning that President Barack Obama's administration might abstain in the Security Council vote.



According to a U.S official, the move by the Obama administration would have allowed Egypt's motion to pass.



Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisis's office confirmed that he and Trump discussed the issue in a phone call.



A statement from al-Sisi's office said that the two leaders had agreed on "The importance of giving a chance for the new American administration to deal in a comprehensive way with the different aspects of the Palestinian situation."



In the resolution that it had submitted, Egypt had called for Israel to stop settling its people on the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Egypt believes that the settlements are a breach of international law.



The resolution was to have been put to vote on Thursday, but Egypt withdrew it a few hours before the meeting started.



Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador to the US, expressed his gratitude to Trump by tweeting: "Israel deeply appreciates the clear and unequivocal call of President-elect Donald Trump to veto the anti-Israeli resolution at the UN."



The US holds veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has traditionally sheltered Israel from condemnatory resolutions by voting against them.



Obama has long been opposed to Israeli settlement building on the West Bank and East Jerusalem.



Speculations have been rife that in its final months in office, the Obama administration might allow a resolution against the Israeli settlements to pass at the UN.



On Thursday, Trump had urged the Security Council to shoot down the motion:



"Peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties," Trump said, adding that imposition of terms by the United Nations will not offer a solution.



He added that such impositions would put Israel in a very poor negotiating position and would be extremely unfair.



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TagsIsrael, UN Security Council, donald trump, Egypt, Barack Obama
(Photo : Getty Images) Beijing and Manila have agreed to pursue cooperation in the South China Sea.

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The Chinese and Philippine coast guards met on Friday in Manila and discussed maritime cooperation on the disputed South China Sea following the Philippines' earlier announcement that it would temporarily set aside its conflict with the Asian giant on the disputed waters.



The meeting held in Manila was the first time for the two navies since the start of their conflict over ownership of several islands and reefs in the strategic waterway years ago.



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Military analysts said the meeting was a clear sign that the Philippines is seeking a strong alliance with Beijing and letting go of its ties with its longstanding ally, the United States.



No objections



Asked about the recent reports that China has militarized the region such as setting up several weapon systems and equipment in the disputed shoals islands and reefs, Philippine defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters that Manila has no objections to Chinese naval activities in the area.



"The Philippines has taken a rather moderate approach toward the Chinese position on the status of the claims in the South China Sea," Carl Baker, director of programs at the Pacific Forum CSIS in Honolulu, said.



Baker said Manila is now amenable to China's proposal that the South China Sea dispute must be resolved through bilateral talks instead of taking Beijing to a world court.



Policy shift



"As relations warm, both China and the Philippines will try to enlarge their artificial islands, build new structures on them and improve on existing infrastructure," Baker said.



Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, upon assuming the presidency last June, has taken all measures to lead its foreign policy shift towards China and away from the United States.



Meanwhile, Manila has recently entered into a $14 million firearms agreement with Beijing after it cancelled an order of 27,000 assault rifles from the US payable within 25 years.



The cancellation was made after foreign media have reported that delivery of the assault rifles would not transpire because of Obama's human rights concerns on Duterte's anti-crime campaign.



Aside from the arms deal, Beijing offered Manila $450 million in soft loan to assist Duterte's war on drugs and its fight against terrorism.



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home World Fertility technique that yields 'three-parent children' would exploit women, commoditize babies, warns bioethicists

United Kingdom's fertility regulator approved an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure that allows the conception of a baby using the DNA of three parents, and the first baby coming from this technique could be born next year. While many deem the development an important milestone in science, there are also those who criticize it, claiming that the practice would exploit women and commoditize children.

In a statement released last week, the U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said that it was legalizing the use of mitochondrial donation "in certain and specific cases." The decision came after an independent panel of experts recommended that the procedure can be used in cases wherein other treatments are ineffective in reducing the risk of the mother passing a mitochondrial disease to the baby.

Also, called mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), the procedure allows a donor's egg that has healthy mitochondria to host the nucleus extracted from an egg of a mother with unhealthy mitochondria. The father's sperm then fertilizes the egg. After which, the ovum is implanted and carried to term. The donor of the healthy egg, however, has legal rights to a child that may be conceived from the described procedure.

HFEA Chair Sally Cheshire stated, "Today's historic decision means that parents at very high risk of having a child with a life-threatening mitochondrial disease may soon have the chance of a healthy, genetically related child. This is life-changing for those families."

While many lauded the development, calling it an important scientific breakthrough, bioethicists are questioning if using such treatment is ethical and safe.

In a phone interview with Christian Post, Jennifer Lahl, president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, shared that she would point out to people that the donors of the mitochondria are healthy young women. She said, "You have to harm one woman in the hopes of potentially helping somebody else. That doesn't sound like ethical science to me."

Meanwhile, Arina Grossu of the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. told CP that the procedure is "utterly disrespectful of human dignity on all counts."

"First, children deserve to have one mom and one dad. Second, children are not commodities to be created, used, and thrown away as some of these techniques do," Grossu stated, adding, "[The fertility clinics] do not know the ramifications of these genetic modifications on the children's long-term health nor the effects they will have on the entire human germline for all of their future generations."

David King, director of London-based watch group Human Genetics Alert, worry that the legalization of MRT could lead to a world of designer babies. He told the Associated Press, as reported by USA Today, "Allowing mitochondrial replacement means that there is no logical basis for resisting (genetically modified) babies."
home World Four Nepalese Christians imprisoned for 'witchcraft' after prayers healed mentally ill woman

Four Nepalese Christians were convicted of "witchcraft" and "violence" and were sentenced to five years' imprisonment after their prayers healed a severely mentally ill woman.

The four Christians, Lali Pun, Bimkali Budha, Ruplal Pariyar and his wife Ganga, were arrested along with Rupa Thapa on July 21, World Watch Monitor reported. Thapa was found not guilty and released after the hearing in the District Court of Salyan.

Their arrest stems from an incident in June when Seti Pariyar, a mentally ill woman, was sent by her father-in-law to a local church for healing prayer. Seti reportedly left the church before the prayer service was over and was found shouting and self-harming in a nearby forest.

After more than a month, a local businessman recounted the incident to the local media, which became the basis of a complaint against the Christians.

Rev. Mukunda Sharma, a member of the Nepal Religious Liberty Forum, heard about the case and met with the five Christians in Salyan in October to help them form an appeal. An appeal team was formed to advocate for their release. The campaign appeared to be successful at first, with local bureaucrats and politicians assuring them that the five would be freed.

The accused were apparently questioned about attempting to convert Seti at every court hearing, although it was not on the charge sheet.

Meanwhile, Seti and her husband testified that the Christians did not act forcefully or inhumanely towards her. She later said at the church that she was completely healed due to the prayers.

Local church leaders believe that the five were targeted as minority Christians. Last year, lawmakers introduced a legislation that would forbid anything that is perceived to be proselytizing or evangelizing.

The conviction came after a court dropped charges against eight Christians who were distributing pamphlets about Jesus in a Christian school.

Christianity in Nepal continues to flourish despite the risks and challenges. Christian missionaries were banned before the country became secular in 2008. Now, the country is home to 8,000 churches and more than a million converts, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
Are The Christmas Stories True, Or Myths?

Of all the events in the New Testament, those surrounding Jesus' birth are possibly the most accused of being inauthentic. Perhaps if adults first heard the accounts of shepherds, three kings and stable births at school, then they are quick to put them in the same mental cupboard as Santa and his reindeers. Some secular academics are also keen to dismiss the exciting narratives at the beginning of Matthew and Luke's Gospels as legend rather than historical fact.

If anyone comes to the Christmas story believing that miracles such as the virgin birth are impossible, or that angels don't exist, then of course they have to reject the idea that the nativity stories are historical. But is there any evidence that this was so?

Certainly, some of our Christmas traditions, such as that Jesus was born on December 25th, or that it was in the year 0AD, are just human inventions. But the Bible doesn't say anything about these things. So what's the evidence for what can actually be found in Scripture?

Jesus' birth

The two nativity narratives are sometimes accused of inauthenticity because they aren't identical. Luke tells of the shepherds, while Matthew cites the three wise men. Luke says Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem because of a census, whereas the purpose isn't discussed in Matthew. But they contain no information that plainly conflicts.

If the Gospels are independent historical records, you should expect some corroboration but not identical accounts. If two accounts are from different writers and based on eyewitnesses, they should be phrased differently and told differently. Observe how two of your friends or family retell a favourite funny story about you  they will use different details, and emphasise different points  but the important information and the punchline will most likely be there.

Matthew and Luke do agree on important information, such as: Jesus was born of a virgin  Mary, in Bethlehem, at the time of Herod 'the Great.' The fact each account has extra information that is not in the other doesn't mean they are not authentic and could bolster the argument they are based on eyewitness accounts.

If you hear claims that they aren't historical, ask them  what's the evidence? What's a plausible reason the writers would do this? Would the earliest Christians give up their lives in persecution for made-up stories?

The census, Herod, and the massacre of the innocents

There is independent historical evidence that agrees with the nativity accounts. Luke, who at the beginning of his Gospel states he is using eyewitness testimony, accurately records Augustus as the Roman emperor of the time. Matthew correctly cites the death of 'King Herod' and the coming into power of Herod of Archelaus in Judea.

Not all the historical events mentioned in the nativity narratives have corroboration outside of the Bible. But it's estimated that we have today less than one per cent of ancient literature that has ever existed, so there are plenty of things that happened in the past that we don't have evidence for today. Lack of corroboration doesn't mean that it didn't happen. It's lucky to get two accounts of the same events in ancient history, and when you do get two, they usually conflict. So the Gospels are remarkably coherent for ancient historical documents.

There have been questions over the accuracy of some of Luke's details as they seem to conflict with other historical data, particularly the writings of Josephus. King Herod is estimated to have died in 4BC (though this is debated), and Luke says Jesus was born during his reign; while historian Josephus suggests that a census by Quirinius (Luke's stated reason for Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem) was take in 6AD, when Roman rule was imposed. However there are ways to reconcile this issue: there could be an earlier Quirinius, or the same man could have held office previously, or the other historical evidence may be wrong, or Luke was referring to another census. Such wrangling is common in ancient history, as you are often piecing together facts from sparse data. There's not enough information to assert that Luke is inaccurate, and good reasons to argue for its accuracy.

Some argue that the recorded massacre of all the young boys of Bethlehem in Matthew must be invented, as it is not found in other historical sources, and surely something this horrible would be recorded? Again, it may have been, but the accounts didn't survive. There's plenty of evidence that King Herod was a nasty character, so this atrocity wasn't beyond him; just because we have no other corroborating evidence for every detail at present doesn't mean it is not true.

Did the nativity story come from some other ancient myths?

Finally, it's sometimes claimed that Christianity borrowed the idea of the Saviour born of a virgin and so on from other ancient mythology  Osiris, Mithras, or other ancient 'gods'. This video by Lutheran Satire is a classic response for these 'Horus Scrooges' and useful for posting on social media.

Some say that the Egyptian god Horus was born of a virgin, and was the inspiration for early Christians who mysteriously wanted to invent Jesus. Academic Egyptologists don't agree, as this article summarises. Where did the Horus idea come from? The 19th Century Gerald Massey, who didn't provide evidence for his claims. Despite this, it's still common to hear such ideas, and works such as The Pagan Christ by Tom Harpur continue to appear in bookstores.

You can't historically verify everything in the Bible through secular means, but this is the nature of historical enquiry. So don't let the scrooges dampen your Christmas Spirit, and enjoy hearing the stories of Jesus' arrival into this world this season.
Catholic Health Educator Fired After She Chose Not to Teach Students About Contraceptives

Catholic health educator Karen "Alexia" Palma refused to compromise her principles by choosing not to teach students about contraceptives. As a result, she was fired from her job.

Palma, an immigrant from Guatemala, worked as a health educator at LCH, a clinic for low-income patients in Houston's inner city. "I emigrated from Guatemala to America as a child," Palma shared with the Gospel Herald. "Finding this job, where I could serve those in need in my community, was my American dream come true."

But in June 2016, her dream job was wrecked after the clinic welcomed a new administration. As a devout Catholic, Palma had an arrangement with her supervisors that she would not teach a class about contraception. Instead, she would show a video on birth control.

The arrangement worked in the past, but the new management did not agree. Amy Leonard, the vice president of the Public Health Department at LCH, gave Palma an ultimatum: either she "put aside" her religious beliefs or face termination.

Palma refused to yield. As a result, she was fired from the job she loves. Thankfully, First Liberty Institute, the largest Christian legal organisation dedicated to defending religious freedom for Americans, took her case. Just this Wednesday, they filed a complaint on behalf of Palma and charged LCH with religious discrimination since teaching birth control class was only less than 2 percent of her job.

"I really loved my job and my patients, but I couldn't do what the company was asking," Palma said. "Through my difficult childhood of abuse and abandonment, God has always been faithful to me, so I must be faithful to him. My faith comes first."

Jeremy Dys, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, said Palma's firing is nothing but "blatant religious discrimination."

"The company gave Alexia an ultimatum: violate your faith or be fired," he said. "That's a violation of federal law and it is blatant religious discrimination. No one should be fired over their religious beliefs."
Christian Group Slams Maker of Nativity Ornaments Showing Baby Jesus With Either 2 Josephs or 2 Virgin Marys

It's a "blasphemous attempt to rewrite the Christmas story."

That was the indignant reaction of campaign group Christian Concern to a gay Christmas decoration showing a nativity scene with two Josephs and another version with two Virgin Marys, The Daily Mail reported.

The colourful hanging tree ornamentswhich are sold for 13 eachshow either the two Josephs or the two Virgin Marys sitting beside a baby Jesus lying in a manger.

Christian Concern Chief Executive Andrea Williams slammed the decorations, calling them "a desperate and ridiculous attempt to pretend that homosexual relationships are pure and holy."

"They blasphemously portray the Lord Jesus being parented by a homosexual couple. What depths will the LGBT lobby stoop to in order to try and normalise their behaviour?" she asked.

"God's design is for children to grow up with a male and a female parent. The Lord Jesus was parented in this way, and this is what is best for children.

"The LGBT lobby is not interested in the welfare of children but only in pursuing its own selfish agenda. Trying to rewrite the Christmas story is their latest self-deception," Williams said.

The decorations were created by Kittredge Cherry and designed by artist Mark Thaler, from California. They are available for purchase in the U.K. on Zazzle.co.uk.

Reacting to the criticism, Thaler said, "Not everyone's viewpoints are the same. People need to coexist and not judge one another."

He said the images are no big deal. "It's just an image. [The critics] need to focus on themselves and not worry about what everyone else is doing," he said.

Because of the backlash, Thaler is reportedly considering pulling out the decorations from sale "out of respect for his fellow humans."

This was not the first time that a nativity scene with a same-sex couple was created.

In 2012, gay couple Andres Vasquez and Felipe Cardenas was censured after they created an all-male nativity scene in their home in Colombia.

Vasquez and Cardenas dismissed the criticism made by the Colombian Catholic Church, saying that their creation would hopefully encourage reform of their country's gay marriage laws. Same-sex marriage in Colombia has since then been made legal.
'Hell' In Aleppo, But Christmas Reminds People That God Is Still With Them Despite Their Sufferings

If there is one place on earth that could be likened to hell, the badly battered Syrian city of Aleppo could be it.

In fact a Jesuit priest who oversees humanitarian projects in the city recently described the place as "hell," saying the horrors of war in Aleppo have resulted in a city of 5 million inhabitants reduced to 1.5 million.

Speaking to The Christian Post, Jesuit Father Ziad Hilal, who represents the Catholic group Aid to the Church in Need in Syria, said countless lives have been lost in the city, leaving countless numbers of widows and orphans.

"Trees and park benches are chopped off [for] heating in winter due to the scarcity of fuel," he said.

Hilal said many homeless families are "living in the streets and deserted factories and under construction buildings from before the war, in this cold winter."

"This is a catastrophe for the upcoming generation, let alone the diseases that are spreading among the children and women," he said, pointing out that many families have been left without a father.

The priest said Christians wouldn't have thought of leaving Aleppo if it weren't "for the hell in which they are living."

"The humanitarian conditions are horrific. The city has been without electricity for the past six months! Even when the power lines are operating normally, only one or two hours of service, at best, is provided. Water is cut off routinely and many parts of Aleppo are still left without water for 40 days now," he said.

"The old historic churches located in the old city area are destroyed beyond restoration. Aleppo was home to 120,000 Christians before the war; now only 30,000 remain," he revealed, adding that many Christian residents of the city have fled to other areas in Syria and to foreign destinations such as Lebanon, Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

As for the children still enduring life in Aleppo, Hilal said they haven't had a school to attend in over three years and aren't being educated.

But despite all these horrors, the priest said Christmas is bringing renewed "hope for peace" for Christians and even non-Christians in Aleppo.

Christmas serves as a reminder to people that God is with them despite their sufferings, Hilal said.

"Despite the harsh conditions, the people of Aleppo are enduring, [for both] Christians and Muslims, Christmas brings the hope for peace that we have missed for the last five years," he said.

On Thursday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies announced that the remaining rebels have pulled out of the city, paving the way toward a political solution to the crisis.

But the following day, Syrian rebels once again shelled Aleppo and air strikes resumed around the city, Reuters reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rightsa war monitor based in Britainsaid six people, including two children, were killed during the shelling.
ISIS Shows Kids How to Blow Up Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty in Terror Attacks Via Mobile App

A future generation of merciless, conscience-less, and highly skilled terroriststhat's what the Islamic State (ISIS) appears to have in mind as it continues to find ways to train children in the horrible ways of terror.

The Islamist militant group recently developed a mobile application to indoctrinate young children in Iraq and Syria by encouraging them blow up such Western landmark targets as the Big Ben in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Statue of Liberty in New York City in 9/11-style terror attacks with just a few touches on their smartphones, Iraqi News reported.

Called Huroof, or alphabet, the app also teaches kids to spell out words. But this is not the typical "A is for apple," "B is for ball" kind of spelling. Instead, the children are taught to spell words in Arabic like "grenade" and "rocket," according to Col. John Dorrian, the spokesman for the international coalition fighting the ISIS.

"The children are rewarded if they say they are prepared to carry out attacks on the West, the targets are places like the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower," Dorrian said.

He explained this kind of thinking springs from the ISIS' "apocalyptic vision ... of damaging society everywhere they have gained control," adding that, "what they are trying to do is create a generational problem with their poisonous ideology."

"The reward for learning something in this app is to get points that they can use to select the terrorism target of their choice. Western landmarks that the child can choose and attack using a variety of weapons, including commercial airliners," Dorrian said, according to The Daily Mail.

Aside from teaching kids how to become armchair terrorists, ISIS is also encouraging them to undertake suicide missions.

Rebel media sources recently posted a video of an ISIS female fighter convincing her two young daughters to carry out suicide attacks against Syrian forces, Iraqi News reported.

The footage shows a woman in burqa holding her two young daughters while a man asks her, "Why you are sending your daughters? One is seven and the other is eight, they're young for jihad." She answers, "No one is too young for jihad, because now jihad is a duty for every Muslim."

Another footage shows a male militant, possibly the girls' father, lecturing the two girls on how to carry out suicide bomb attacks and persuading them to become martyrs.

On Friday, a young girl walked into a Damascus police station and asked for the toilet. The police didn't immediate notice that she was wearing an explosive vest. The bomb exploded, either by self-detonation or by remote control, killing her and injuring three officers.
US lets UN denounce Israeli settlements

The United States on Friday allowed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to wield its veto.

A US abstention paved the way for the 15-member council to approve the resolution, with 14 votes in favor, prompting applause in the council chamber. The action by President Barack Obama's administration follows growing US frustration over the unrelenting construction of Jewish settlements on land Palestinians want for a future independent state.

"Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has encouraged the expansion of Jewish settlements in territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbors, said in a statement.

The US action just weeks before Obama ends eight years as president broke with the long-standing American approach of shielding Israel, which receives more than $3 billion in annual US military aid, from such action. The United States, Russia, France, Britain and China have veto power on the council.

The resolution, put forward by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and Trump, was the first adopted by the council on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.

The US abstention was seen as a parting shot by Obama, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Netanyahu and whose efforts to forge a peace agreement based on a "two-state" solution of creating a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel have proven futile.

Obama also faced pressure from US lawmakers, fellow Democrats as well as Republicans, to veto the measure, and was hit with bipartisan criticism after the vote.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, took the extraordinary step by a US president-elect of personally intervening in a sensitive foreign policy matter before taking office, speaking by telephone with Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before Egypt, another major US aid recipient, dropped the resolution.

Trump wrote on Twitter after the vote, "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th."

"There is one president at a time," Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters, dismissing Trump's criticism.

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the resolution. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called on Israel to "respect international law."

But Netanyahu said, "At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall 'occupied territory.'"

Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbors including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees.

'No legal validity'

The resolution demanded that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem" and said the establishment of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

The White House said that in the absence of any meaningful peace process, Obama made the decision to abstain. The last round of US-led peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

"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," Rhodes said.

American UN ambassador Samantha Power said the United States did not veto it because the resolution "reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with US policy across Republican and Democratic administrations."

Successive US administrations of both parties have criticized settlement activity but have done little to slow their growth.

The Obama administration has called settlement expansion an "illegitimate" policy that has undermined chances of a peace deal.

The Security Council last adopted a resolution critical of settlements in 1979, with the United States also abstaining.

The passage of Friday's resolution changes nothing on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians and likely will be all but ignored by the incoming Trump administration.

But it was more than merely symbolic. It formally enshrined the international community's disapproval of Israeli settlement building and could spur further Palestinian moves against Israel in international forums.

Palestinian says UN move 'big blow' to Israel policy

Trump is likely to be a more staunch supporter of Netanyahu's right-wing policies. He has picked a hardline pro-Israel ambassador and vowed to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in what would be a major reversal of long-standing American policy.

The UN action was "a big blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements and a strong support for the two-state solution," a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation, and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel," Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said he had no doubt the incoming Trump administration and Ban's successor as UN chief, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, "will usher in a new era in terms of the UN's relationship with Israel."

After the vote, Netanyahu instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return to Israel for consultations. He also ordered the cancellation of a planned visit to Israel by Senegal's foreign minister and the cancellation of all aid programs to Senegal.
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Paul Michael Slayton, better known to millions as Houston rapper Paul Wall, was arrested on a drug charge on Friday.

Slayton, 35, was charged with manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance between 4 and 400 grams, a felony charge, according to the Harris Country District Clerk's Office.

Also arrested and given the same charge was fellow rapper Ronald Ray Bryant, known as Baby Bash. Both rappers made their bail, which were each set at $20,000.

TMZ reports Slayton and Bryant were among 10 people arrested when officers executed a search warrant on a Harris County location early Friday. ABC13 reports officers found the group with Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

Slayton spent Thursday night driving to various Houston locations collecting gifts for a holiday toy drive, according to his Instagram page.

On Friday afternoon, Bryant tweeted a message to his followers stating, "Got caught up with a lil Weed yall.. no biggie. Lol #cannabiscommunity."

Slayton's attorney, Jolanda Jones, released a statement Friday evening, stating that her client is "innocent until proven guilty." Jones wrote that she was "confident that after a thorough investigation of these allegations," Slayton would be found not guilty.

"I will fight vigorously to defend my client," she wrote.

Both Slayton and Bryant are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 27. At this time, it's unclear if Bryant has a lawyer.
The "King of Pot" is no longer in exile. He's in a jail in Canada and facing a long prison sentence in the United States.

Canadian immigration officials caught up with John Robert "Johnny" Boone, a fugitive marijuana grower who once ran the "Cornbread Mafia," at a mall near Montreal on Thursday. The arrest ended an eight-year search for Boone, who fled his central Kentucky farm in 2008 after state police there spotted him bundling up pot plants.
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Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher suffered a massive heart attack Friday on a plane from London to Los Angeles, prompting people on board to administer CPR, but she is now stable, according to media reports.

TMZ.com reports Fisher, known for portraying Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, was on the flight when she went into cardiac arrest.

RELATED: Celebrities greet delighted S.A. kids at dramatic Star Wars movie event

The gossip website said the medical episode occurred about 15 minutes prior to the plane landing in L.A., with a flight attendant asking if there were any medical personnel on board.

An EMT who was sitting in the back of the plane came up to first class and reportedly helped save her life, the website reports.

The plane landed shortly after noon and she was quickly rushed to UCLA, according to TMZ. The Los Angeles Times reported Fisher was transported in critical condition. A more recent update from the Associated Press said Fisher was in stable condition. The brother, Todd Fisher, said the actress was 'out of emergency' and had been stabilized and was receiving care in an intensive care unit.

RELATED: Festive 'Star Wars' fan salutes the dark side, builds Death Star out of gingerbread

Her Facebook and Twitter accounts have not released any statements regarding her condition.

In 2015, Fisher reprised her role as Princess (now General) Leia in Star Wars: Episode VII  The Force Awakens, alongside other veterans to the franchise, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.

RELATED: Photos: San Antonio gathers for the Wookiee Walk ahead of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

Fisher also will star in the next installment of the Star Wars franchise, which is being helmed by Looper director Rian Johnson. That film is scheduled for release on Dec. 15, 2017.

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Houston Police officers are searching for a 78-year-old man who went missing at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Ke Ngo was last seen in Terminal B and was reported missing by his son at around 10:20 p.m. Friday, according to Houston police. The man suffers from early signs of dementia.
According to a firebrand TV host, there's good news for people who are afraid of those aiming to wipe out Christmas.

On Dec. 15, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly declared the "War on Christmas" have been won by "the good guys."

THE NATURE OF SANTA: If there is a Santa, he's white, poll says

O'Reilly, who regularly updates the public in December about the War on Christmas, cites the American Family Association's annual "naughty or nice" list, where companies are judged by how often they refer to Christmas in commercials and in stores. This year, the AFA has more companies on the pro-Christmas list.

Despite O'Reilly's claim of victory, Washington Post reporter Ben Terris tweeted a photo on Thursday of a card he says is from Fox News. It reads, "Warm wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year!"

"Wow. Fox News is losing the War on Christmas," Terris captioned with the tweet.

WHO'S FIGHTING WHO? Confusion among those who claim to fight it

The War on Christmas didn't originate with Fox News, as the Harvard Business Review points out. Anti-immigration activist Peter Brimelow wrote about it in 1999. John Gibson most likely gave O'Reilly fuel for the battle when he went on "The O'Reilly Factor" to discuss his book "The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought."

A Public Policy Polling release suggests supporters of President-elect Donald Trump are more inclined to believe that people are out to destroy Christmas. In a Dec. 19 poll released by the organization, 34 percent of Americans think there's a War on Christmas, down from 41 percent of people three years ago. When Trump supporters were asked, 60 percent of them believed the War on Christmas is still being waged.

Part of the war includes debate over saying "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Holidays." Last year, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller threatened to slap people who told him "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

FACT CHECK: Obama didn't ban Christmas cards to military

Thankfully, there hasn't been any bloodshed (that we know of) in the War on Christmas. But even if O'Reilly said the good guys won, there's still some who fear those believed to be scheming to ruin the holiday.

"In fact, 24 percent of Trump voters say that the War on Christmas concerns them more than a potential war with China would," the PPP poll states.
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Former gubernatorial candidate and co-chair of President-elect Donald Trump's New York campaign Carl Paladino is standing by controversial comments about Michelle Obama made in Buffalo weekly ArtVoice that have sparked outcry on social media.

In a lengthy statement released Friday afternoon, Paladino defended his comments that he would like to see the first lady "return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."

He said his remarks have "nothing to do with race" and "tough luck if you don't like my answer." His statement slams "2 progressive elitist ingrates"  Barack and Michelle Obama  "who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabrice in so many respects in 8 years."

"Michelle hated America before her husband won," Paladino charged. "She then enjoyed all the attention, the multi -million dollar vacations, the huge staff and other benefits. Then when Hillary lost, she and Barack realized that without Hillary, there was no one to protect the little, if any, legacy he had. That's when Michelle came out and said there is no hope for America. Good, let her leave and go someplace she will be happy."

Paladino added that President Obama is "a yellow-bellied coward who left thousands to die in Syria and especially Aleppo and he gets on TV and says he feels bad he couldn't do anything about it."

Paladino's response to the Buffalo News was even sharper. He said the newspapers editors could "all go f themselves" and that "I made that comment just for" Rod Watson, one of the newspaper's black editors.

Paladino's original comments were published by ArtVoice as part of a package on what Western New Yorkers went out of 2017. The questions were:

1. What would you most like to happen in 2017?

2. What would you like to see go away in 2017?

3. Who would you like to see run for mayor of Buffalo in next year's election?

4. Should the new $50 million Amtrak station be at Central Terminal or Canal Side?

Here are Paladino's responses:

1. Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.

2. Michelle Obama. I'd like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

3. Someone with a brain, a set of balls and a lack of fear who has enough money so as not to owe anyone anything once elected and who believes in a market economy.

4. We need a $50 million dollar train station as much as we need parasitic people like Lou Ciminelli, 80% of the school board and the dizziness of socialistic progressive politicians who never signed the front of a paycheck. At best 400 people a day take a train. They are not complaining about exchange or Depew. We are already the laughingstock of America for having the dumbest elected leaders ever. Why add to it.

A call to ArtVoice led to a message that said "the person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time." An email requesting comment from ArtVoice editors was not immediately returned.

Paladino is no stranger to controversy. During his 2010 run for governor, which he lost to current Gov. andrew Cuomo, the brash Buffalonian was thrust into controversy when emails he forwarded to associates that, among other things, depicted a horse having sex with a woman and President Barack Obama and the first lady as a pimp and prostitute were leaked.

Earlier this year, Paladino said on NPR that Donald Trump supporters are people frustrated with government "who want the raccoons out of the basement." He defended that comment amidst an onslaught of criticisms that the remark was racist.

Also as a Trump surrogate this year, the Buffalo school board member said at a conference of urban school leaders in Miami in October that "our minorities need to be brought along" in discussing the role of the federal government in ensuring school diversity, the Buffalo News reported. That comment elicited sharp criticism at the conference, the newspaper reported.

On Friday, the Buffalo Parent-Teacher Organization demanded that the state Education Department remove Paladino from the Buffalo school board "for persistently violating the BOE and Buffalo Public Schools Code of Ethics and NYS Dignity for All Students Act with hateful and racist remarks."

Here's Paladino's full response to the Friday controversy:

It has nothing to do with race. That's the typical stance of the press when they can't otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked.

It's about 2 progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years.

It's about them diminishing the respect for their country on the world scene, surrendering its status as the protector of human rights, disgracing the memory of its veterans who gave so much.

It's about demeaning and weakening what was the most powerful military in the world, firing hundreds of good soldier Generals and Admirals who refused Barack's illegal and irresponsible dictates.

Michelle hated America before her husband won. She then enjoyed all the attention, the multi -million dollar vacations, the huge staff and other benefits. Then when Hillary lost, she and Barack realized that without Hillary, there was no one to protect the little, if any, legacy he had. That's when Michelle came out and said there is no hope for America. Good, let her leave and go someplace she will be happy.

As for Barack, he's a yellow-bellied coward who left thousands to die in Syria and especially Aleppo and he gets on TV and says he feels bad he couldn't do anything about it.

He supported the mass migration without vetting of people from Muslim countries and the open borders, not for the people, but to expand the democratic base to a permanent majority.

He couldn't care less about the people. He just commuted the sentences of another 650 drug pushers responsible for selling poison to our kids.

It's about the middle class, silent majority, rising up to destroy the Republican and Democrat establishment in America.

It's about the end of an era when the people took all their information from the main street media, letting them tell us what the issues are and how to resolve those issues. People no longer trust the press.

It's about that fraudulent, shadow government with a lazy ass president who allowed non-Americans like Valerie Jarret to run the government on a day to day basis and order the Stand down in Benghazi and the later cover-up that does matter.

It's about Lois Lerner and the head of the IRS and the other criminal officials who haven't been prosecuted or even investigated because the leaders of the progressive movement are above the law.

It's about the end of the progressive movement and reset of the direction of America for the next 30 years.

It's about a president who interfered in a presidential election for his successor so flagrantly that he called Trump unfit for office.

It's about a president who for 8 years did absolutely nothing for black children in our urban centers held prisoner by the cycle of poverty and illegitimate black leadership more interested in power and preserving their voting base by keeping them hungry and uneducated in the inner cities.

And yes, it's about a little deprecating humor which America lost for a long time. Merry Christmas and tough luck if you don't like my answer.

Get the latest on the Capital Confidential blog.
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NASA has lost another one of its stars.

Astronaut Piers Sellers died in Houston on Friday morning at age 61, NASA told the Associated Press. His death from pancreatic cancer comes two weeks after the passing of space pioneer John Glenn, 95.

Sellers gained fame late in life for his commentary about the earth's fragility and his own cancer diagnosis, according to the Associated Press.

'GODSPEED': A look back at the life and career of John Glenn

"(Sellers) was not in pain and his family was with him. A light has left our world. We will miss him so very much," Colleen Hartman, director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, wrote in a statement posted on the NASA Watch website, which provides news about the space agency.

"Please continue fighting the good fight and remembering the great times we had with the most amazing man in this world. We will never forget him," the statement said.

THEY MADE HISTORY: Film tells the story of space program's 'Hidden' heroes

The British-American meteorologist and astronaut was a veteran of three space shuttle missions. He appeared in Leonardo DiCaprio's 2016 climate-change documentary, "Before the Flood."

He started working for NASA as a scientist in 1982, the AP says. Sellers joined the astronaut corps in 1996 and flew to the International Space Station in 2002, 2006 and 2010, carrying out six spacewalks, his NASA bio reads.

Sellers was also deputy director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate and acting director of the Earth Sciences Division at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
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South Euclid police believe a story about the abduction of a 6-year-old girl, which resulted in an Amber Alert on Friday evening, was a hoax.

(File photo)

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Authorities canceled an Amber Alert issued Friday evening because investigators are confident it was a hoax, South Euclid police said.

Investigators believe a man made up a fake story about two men abducting his 6-year-old daughter from a Walmart parking lot on Warrensville Center Road, South Euclid police Lt. Ben Parisi said.

There is no evidence the girl exists or that such an incident occurred, Parisi said.

The man who reported the fake abduction could face criminal charges, Parisi said.

The man claimed the two men took his daughter about 7:10 p.m. Police issued an Amber Alert and released photos of a car and a man believed to be connected to the abduction.

The man provided specific details, including descriptions of the two men and the car, police said.

Authorities canceled the Amber Alert about 10:30 p.m. after discovering it was a hoax.

To comment on this story, please visit cleveland.com's crime and courts comments section.
South Euclid Amber Alert car.png

Police say two men may have taken a 6-year-old girl from a Walmart parking lot in South Euclid before driving off in this car.

(South Euclid police)

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Authorities have issued an Amber Alert for a 6-year-old girl abducted from a Walmart parking lot in South Euclid.

Two men took the girl about 7:10 p.m. from the parking lot on Warrensville Center Road, police said.

Update 10:40 p.m.: The Amber Alert has been cancelled because police believe it is a hoax, police said.

Police released photos of the car and a man wanted for questioning in connection with the abduction.

The car is a green Buick from the late 1990s or early 2000s.

One of the man was described as going by the name "Chuck Lewis." He is approximately 6 feet tall and 230 pounds. He was wearing a gray stocking cap and has a beard, police said.

The other man goes by the name "Fred" and is described as being in his early 20s. He was wearing a red Nike hooded sweatshirt and has tattoos on his hands and neck, police said.

Anyone with information is being asked to call South Euclid police at 216-381-1234.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Great Lakes Science Center hosted a preview Thursday of its Winter Week event by showcasing activities from the Fire and Ice Big Science Show.

Winter Week runs Dec. 26-31. The event offers hands-on activities, programs and demonstrations. During Winter Week, guests can experience the Fire and Ice Big Science Show, fruitcake explosions, participate in the Light Up Winter Wonders activities, and help create a miniature winter landscape using cardboard and a little imagination to build trains, bridges and other structures. Visitors also can take home polysnow, an absorbent polymer that won't melt in your hands.

The museum will host special activities Dec. 30, including carpet skating, magnetic ice fishing and an hourly dance party in the snow. A balloon drop will take place at 2:17 p.m. with 2,017 balloons dropping from the top level of the atrium.

The event is free with a paid general admission.

For more information, go to greatscience.com/explore/events-programs/winter-week
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State Highway Patrol are investigating after a Lorain woman's body was found on Interstate 71 near the Delaware County rest areas.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio -- A Lorain woman's body was found Thursday evening lying near the southbound lanes of Interstate 71.

The woman was identified as 60-year-old Elizabeth Kurish, according to the Delaware Post of the State Highway Patrol.

Kurish's body was found near the Delaware County rest areas just after 9:30 p.m., according to a news release. When troopers were on scene they found that the woman was dead, according to a news release.

A car registered to Kurish's name was found parked at the northbound rest area, the news release said.

An initial evaluation from the scene showed Kurish was hit by an unknown vehicle, the news release said.

No witnesses have been identified.

Anyone who has information is asked to call the State Highway Patrol at 614-799-9241.
While the nation continues to focus on illegal immigration as a controversial political issue, every Friday in New York City alone, approximately 500 citizens from around the world officially become Americans after taking an oath at a brief ceremony run by the Department of Homeland Security.

It just got considerably more expensive to be an immigrant seeking U.S. naturalization.

For the first time since 2010, the Department of Homeland Security hiked a range of administrative fees for citizenship applications  in a few cases more than doubling the costs of key services. Any new petitions filed after Dec. 23 will not be accepted unless they include the higher fees.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency charged with handling immigrant applications, said in a statement the proceeds will help cover detecting fraud, processing cases and a range of other administrative costs, in what USCIS called a "weighted average" price hike of 21 percent.



Experts say the stiffer bureaucratic costs means the path to becoming an American could become a heavier burden for many cash-strapped would-be citizens. However, USCIS justified the price hike by arguing the agency was almost exclusively funded through the fees paid by petitioners, and needed the cash infusion.



Still, USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez said in a statement that the agency was "mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve," which is why it waited so long to increase fees.

Peter Boogaard, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told CNBC that along with the new fees, "USCIS will also offer a reduced filing fee for certain naturalization applicants with limited means."

Still, "these changes are now necessary to ensure USCIS can continue to serve its customers effectively," he added.
Want to cash in on the liquor boom? Savvy and well-educated investors may consider looking beyond individual liquor brands and companies to creative exchange-traded funds and their agricultural suppliers. "We believe we're at year five of a 25- to 40-year super-cycle that could see continued growth in consumer demand for whiskey and spirits, much like what has occurred with craft breweries over the past two decades," said David Bolton, president and CEO of Spirited Funds, in a press release citing overall beverage alcohol industry sales of more than $1 trillion per year. Bolton's company, along with ETF Managers Group, debuted the Spirited Funds/ETFMG Whiskey and Spirits ETF to help investors capitalize on the craze in October. Made up of a small number of companies that derive part of their revenue from the spirits industry, it allows investors to own a diversified piece of brands, such as Pernod Ricard, Diageo and Brown Forman, as well as some foreign companies.

Carla Gottgens | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The big guys aren't the only ones experiencing record sales: There are now 750 micro-distilleries in the United States, compared to 92 in 2010. To make their hooch, all of these producers need raw agricultural products, such as corn, wheat, barley and rye, and their "commodity-linked nature" helps investors interested in liquor mitigate down markets, Bolton said. That leaves profit-thirsty investors with a growth opportunity, but not without careful consideration and a creative strategy. The cumulative amount of crops used in distilled spirits production shot way up compared to the same period last year, according to the Department of the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's August report. Wheat and sorghum use nearly quadrupled, to about 598 million pounds. Malt, barley and rice were up about 3.5 percent to 1.8 billion pounds, while rye was used up about 26 percent to 208 million pounds. Corn was up about 14 percent to nearly 98 billion pounds.

"We have to keep eating, and everyone loves to drink," he said. "From a macro perspective, the agricultural commodities really make sense." Chadwick warned, however, against "chasing" a hot industry such as spirits and distilleries.

"You're paying premiums compared to buying something that's unloved and undervalued," he said. There's always the possibility of investing privately in a small farm that supplies the booming liquor trade, and though the "little guys" are experiencing the highest growth currently, due diligence should be extensive, Chadwick said. "We want to know about that particular farm and who else these distilleries [are] buying from," he said. "What is this farm's competitive advantage? "There's got to be something that makes the business sustainable."
Over 240,000 Nigerians are now students of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, a feat which is a reflection of the academic revolution and standard set through re-invigoration of its curriculum and adoption of clear cut academic policies aimed at making education easily accessible and affordable to Nigerians. .

Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu stated this yesterday in Abuja when he played host to members of the Nigerian Guild Of Editors (NGE) who paid him a courtesy call at his office. Prof. Adamu said NOUN could not have come at a much more better time in the lives of Nigerians as the institution has not only heavily bridged the gap in affordable education but has helped raised the standard and bar in university education across the country and beyond.

He particularly stated that the institution which today has numerous faculties and courses cutting across different spheres of life has study centers spread across the country to the tune of about 476. The director of Learner Support Services of the University, Prof. Stanley Naribo Ngor, who also spoke at the meeting, eulogised the NGE but called for real professionalism in media practice.

He said the University was open to collaborations with the NGE and others in empowering journalists and media practioners across the country, especially within the context of intellectual conducts as being pursued by the university. Earlier, Vice President of the NGE ( North), Suleiman Uba Gaya, who led the NGE team had earlier in his speech requested NOUN to set up two special study centers for the NGE in Abuja and Lagos. He said this will go a long way in harnessing the huge potentials of Journalists in achieving their academic dreams even as it will enhance professionalism in the industry.

Uba who commended the strive of the NOUN, said over the years the institution has indeed become an excellent example of how education and academic brilliance could be entrenched in a developing country like Nigeria.
Viola Desmond, known by many as the Canadian Rosa Parks because of her decision to sit in the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theater in 1946, will be the subject of the next Canadian $10 note. Shown is a private rendition of a $100 note.

Viola Desmond, known by many as the Canadian Rosa Parks because of her decision to sit in the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theater in 1946, will be the subject of the next Canadian $10 note. The polymer note will enter circulation in late 2018 as the first in a new series.

The announcement by the Bank of Canada on Dec. 8 noted that this will be the first time that a portrait of a Canadian woman will be featured on a regularly circulating Bank of Canada note.

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Desmond emerged as the choice of Minister of Finance Bill Morneau from a short list that included four others  poet E. Pauline Johnson; Elsie MacGill, who received an electrical engineering degree from the University of Toronto in 1927; Quebec suffragist Idola Saint-Jean; and 1928 Olympic track and field medalist Fanny Rosenfeld. The finalists were culled from over 26,300 submissions from across Canada, reduced to 461 eligible candidates.

A mandate for the new $10 note was to reflect the broader themes of social justice and the struggle for rights and freedoms. Desmond was a successful Nova Scotia businesswoman who was jailed, convicted and fined for her actions in the theater. The publicity that followed when she unsuccessfully attempted to have her conviction overturned brought public attention to the racial discrimination she had experienced.

The bank said that, to choose the theme of the next $5 note, a similar public process will be used, and that Canadas first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and its first francophone prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, will be honored on the higher-value $50 and $100 notes when they are redesigned. The $20 note will continue to feature the reigning monarch.
The approved reverse is to be announced Jan. 12. The design shown was recommended by both the Commission of Fine Arts and Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

Illustrations show approved obverse and part of the edge device for the 2017-W American Liberty, High relief $100 gold coin.

The United States Mint began previewing its milestone 2017 anniversary in 2016, but much of what the U.S. Mint will do in celebration of the bureaus 225th anniversary will be on a stay tuned basis.

When Coin World knows, the collecting world will know.

General announcements to the numismatic press indicate events at the Mint production facilities will be closed to the public but accessible to the media.

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We will invite the media to all the Mints when they have their day,? says Tom Jurkowsky, director of the U.S. Mint Office of Corporate Communications. These will not be open to the public. These events will be for our employees.

At the first event, scheduled for Jan. 12 in the Cash Room of the Treasury Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S. Mint Principal Deputy Director Rhett Jeppson will unveil the adopted designs for the 17922017-W American Liberty gold $100 coin.

The adopted obverse for the high relief coin features Liberty rendered as an African-American woman with starred coronet; the design was illustrated on a promotional brochure circulated among members of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee during a meeting in 2016.

The obverse, dual-dated, has 1792 in the field to the viewers left, in front of Liberty, and 2017 in the right field, behind Libertys head.

The U.S. Mint, whose creation is embedded in the U.S. Constitution, was congressionally established April 2, 1792.

The brochure illustration shows part of the edge device as depicting 225TH ANNIVERSARY and several five-pointed stars.

The CCAC and Commission of Fine Arts both recommended a proposed reverse design depicting an eagle in flight with its wings positioned in a downward thrust. The Jan. 12 unveiling will reveal whether that proposed reverse is the official selection by Treasury officials.

The adopted designs will also be adapted in lower relief for use on four 2017 American Liberty silver medals.

The 1-ounce, .999 fine silver medals, struck on the same planchets as for silver American Eagles, are to be struck in four different finishes, one each at each of the four production facilities  Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and West Point.

Controversial choice

When the two review panels in 2016 recommended the obverse design that has been selected, along with approving comments, opposition to the design was voiced, with objections raised on several grounds: that it is aesthetically unpleasing, that the Liberty portrait departs too much from previous portraits with their roots in Greek art, that the selection of an African-American Liberty was politically correct or that it was dictated by the Obama administration. Additionally, some comments about the coin were blatantly racist in nature.

For future 225th anniversary celebration events, stay tuned.

Read all of our Coin World Top 10 of 2016 series:

- U.S. Mint issues gold Centennial coins

- Pogue IV auction tops $16 million

- Rare English gold coin found in toy box

- Boutique bullion trend catches on worldwide

- Langbord 1933 double eagle case rolls on

- 1974-D aluminum cent returned to U.S. Mint

- Treasury announces new Federal Reserve note designs

- 1964 Morgan dollar tooling uncovered

- American Liberty silver medal released

- U.S. Mint plans yearlong 225th anniversary party
Images courtesy of the Mint of Finland.

A Proof gold 100 coin is also part of the program honoring Finlands independence centennial in 2017.

Images courtesy of the Mint of Finland.

The Mint of Finland is numbering 100 examples of the 2017 silver 10 coin marking the nations independence and randomly distributing them amid the coins 10,000 mintage.

Coin images courtesy of the Mint of Finland.

Finland in 2017 will celebrate a centennial of independence from Russia. To mark the milestone, the Mint of Finland has unveiled a silver 10 coin and a gold 100 coin honoring the theme, each due for release on Jan. 3, 2017.

Finland in 2017 will celebrate a centennial of independence from Russia.

To mark the milestone, the Mint of Finland has unveiled a silver 10 coin and a gold 100 coin honoring the theme, each due for release on Jan. 3, 2017.

The Proof .500 fine silver coin features designs created by schoolchildren. The obverse features 15-year-old Saara Peltomakis design of Finland surrounded by the growth rings of a tree, symbolizing Finlands years of independence.

The designer of the reverse, 16-year-old Jennifer Tuomisto, wanted to convey the value of diversity in her design, so her design depicts two clasped hands, one black and one white.

The silver coin weighs 10 grams, measures 28.5 millimeters in diameter, has a mintage limit of 10,000 pieces and retails for 38.

Scattered throughout the release will be 100 numbered examples, where the number is stamped on the reverse  for some collectibles areas, similar limited variants of a collectible are called chase pieces.

The Proof .9167 fine gold coin features a design by Simon Ornberg.

The arched shape on the obverse depicts Finlands population growth during its years of independence.

The reverse features a mosaic forming a cartographic image of Finland.

The gold coin weighs 5.65 grams, measures 22 millimeters in diameter and has a mintage limit of 3,000 pieces.

Among the mintage, 100 gold coins were numbered and sold out immediately on pre-sale (which began Dec. 5).

Plain (non-numbered) gold coins remain available for 529.

To order, visit the Mint of Finland website.
December 23, 2016

 Piers Sellers, a British-American climate scientist and former NASA astronaut who launched on three space shuttle missions to the International Space Station, died on Friday (Dec. 23). He was 61.



Sellers' death came just over 11 months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in an editorial for The New York Times. In the column, Sellers wrote about how his prognosis added a sense of urgency to his work on climate change.



"I was forced to decide how to spend my remaining time," Sellers explained. "I concluded that all I really wanted to do was spend more time with the people I know and love, and get back to my office as quickly as possible."



Sellers' death was mourned by his fellow scientists, NASA colleagues and astronauts as news spread on Friday.







Piers Sellers, as the deputy director for Sciences and Exploration at Goddard Space Flight Center, speaks at a NASA Earth Day event on April 22, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

"An admired astronaut, a ground-breaking Earth scientist, a community leader, a friend. The impact of his work lives on!" wrote Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, on Twitter.



"Saddened by the loss of [a] friend and champion for our planet," tweeted former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott.



"The entire NASA family mourns the passing of scientist and astronaut Piers Sellers," said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, in a statement. "He was a strident defender and eloquent spokesperson for our home planet, Earth."



Sellers began his career in spaceflight as a meteorologist working at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, conducting research into how Earth's biosphere and atmosphere interact. Sellers was the project scientist for NASA's flagship Earth observing system, Terra, when he was selected to be an astronaut in 1996.



Sellers' first launch to the International Space Station was as a member of shuttle Atlantis' STS-112 crew in October 2002. During the flight, Sellers made three spacewalks to help install a segment of the station's backbone truss.







Piers Sellers looks out a window on the aft flight deck of the space shuttle Discovery during the STS-121 mission in 2006. (NASA)

Sellers returned to orbit in July 2006, aboard STS-121, the second return to flight mission after the loss of the orbiter Columbia three years earlier. As a space shuttle Discovery crew member, Sellers ventured outside the station again to conduct maintenance and demonstrate repair techniques for the shuttle's thermal protection tiles.



Sellers' third and last mission to the orbiting laboratory saw him fly again on Atlantis as an STS-132 mission specialist. The May 2010 flight delivered the Russian Rassvet Mini- Research Module to the space station on what had been slated to be Atlantis' final mission (the orbiter flew again to end the space shuttle program in July 2011).



In total, Sellers logged 35 days, 9 hours and 2 minutes in space, including more than 41 hours on six spacewalks.



A year after he landed back on Earth, Sellers left NASA's astronaut corps in Houston and returned to Maryland to be deputy director of Goddard Space Flight Center's Sciences and Exploration Directorate, a position he still held at the time of his death.







Piers Sellers spacewalks outside of the International Space Station during the STS-121 mission on July 12, 2006. (NASA)

Piers John Sellers was born in Crowborough, England, on April 11, 1955.



Sellers earned his bachelor of science degree in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland (UK) in 1976, and his doctorate in biometeorology from Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 1981, prior to moving to the United States in 1982 to conduct climate research for NASA.



As a resident associate for the National Research Council, faculty associate scientist at the University of Maryland in College Park and staff scientist at Goddard, Sellers helped to construct computer models of the global climate system, conducted satellite remote sensing studies and performed large-scale field experiments utilizing aircraft, satellites and ground teams in the U.S., Canada, Africa and Brazil.



In addition to his role as Deputy Director for Sciences and Exploration, Sellers was also the Acting Director for Earth Sciences at Goddard.







Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (right) speaks with Piers Sellers in front of a wall display showing biosphere data in April 2016. (NASA)

In the year since Sellers' diagnosis with pancreatic cancer, he became a more prominent advocate for climate change research. In October, he appeared with Leonardo DiCaprio in National Geographic's documentary "Before the Flood."



"Here are the facts: The climate is warming," Sellers told the National Geographic Society in an interview supporting the documentary. "We've measured it, from the beginning of the industrial revolution to now. It correlates so well with emissions and theory, we know within almost an absolute certainty that it's us who are causing the warming and the CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions."



The author of 70 research papers, Sellers was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011 for services to science. In June, he was bestowed the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.



On Dec. 17, the Space Foundation announced that Sellers would be conferred its highest honor, the Gen. James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award, at its 2017 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.







Piers Sellers at Goddard Space Flight Center in April 2016. (NASA)

Sellers is survived by his wife of 36 years, Amanda, their son Thomas and daughter Imogen and a grandson, Jack.



"I've no complaints," Sellers wrote in The New York Times in January. "I am very grateful for the experiences I've had on this planet."



"As an astronaut I spacewalked 220 miles [355 km] above Earth. Floating alongside the International Space Station, I watched hurricanes cartwheel across oceans, the Amazon snake its way to the sea through a brilliant green carpet of forest, and gigantic nighttime thunderstorms flash and flare for hundreds of miles along the Equator," he said.



"From this God's-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is. I'm hopeful for its future."
Types of obituaries

The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries  family obituaries and life stories.

A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries

A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories.
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.
Movies / Home Theatre

Pete's Dragon Blu-ray/DVD movie review

By Leroy Douresseaux



Pete's Dragon

Pete's Dragon

B+

Bonus clips from Pete's Dragon:

is a re-imagining of Walt Disney's 1977 cherished family film, also entitled. The new film focuses on an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon. It arrived on Digital HD, Blu-ray, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand on Tuesday, November 29, 2016.This high-quality Blu-ray and DVD with a sharp picture, vivid colors, and full sound will help Pete's Dragon captivate families. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes never-before-seen bonus features, including a revealing look at director David Lowery's personal diary kept during the filming of Pete's Dragon. Other features include a look at the design process behind the lovable dragon Elliot; deleted scenes from the film; a tour of the Pete's Dragon's breathtaking production location of New Zealand; audio commentary by filmmakers and actors; and hilarious bloopers.Pete's Dragon introduces Pete, who experiences a tragedy that leaves him an orphan when he is five-years-old. Lost in the forest, Pete meets a large dragon with green fur, yellow eyes, and wings on its back. Pete names the dragon Elliot after a character in his favorite storybook, Elliot Gets Lost, and the boy and his dragon become a family.Six years later, Pete (Oakes Fegley) spies forest ranger Grace Meachum (Bryce Dallas Howard) and is curious about her. However, it is his encounter with a girl his age, Natalie (Oona Laurence), that brings Pete into contact with the world outside the forest where he lives with Elliot. Soon, Pete is living among people again, and humans are hunting for Elliot, whom they know as the local legend, the Millhaven dragon.I have only seen bits and pieces of the original 1977 Pete's Dragon, and I was not interested in this new film. I even wondered why Disney needed to remake it. Were there people really clamoring for a fresh take on a film that had probably seen its day come and gone? I received a copy-for-review of the recent Blu-ray/DVD release of the new Pete's Dragon, obligating me to watch it.I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it, although I think that this movie is truly a children's film. In the last few decades, movie studios often believe that they have to make kids' movies have elements that appeal to the parents and adults that bring children to see movies aimed at the little ones. I don't think that Pete's Dragon does that.Pete's Dragon is a tale of child who lives in the world in his own terms. As usual, adults cannot or will not see the magic he (Pete) lives with everyday. It takes another child (Natalie) to truly understand the child hero's point of view. In fact, the adult that is most successful in helping Pete, Grace, turns out to be the one most open to trying to see what the child does by listening and learning from the child.Pete's Dragon is about the kind of magic and the kind of reality or surrealism that children accept, probably because they are willing to believe, where adults might have to suspend disbelief. There is a lot about Pete's Dragon that stretches credulity, and that is OK. If you believe in Pete and also in Elliot, you believe in Pete's Dragon.This is one of those so-called little movies, cinematic gems that bide their time, gradually attracting new audiences one viewing at a time. Pete's Dragon isn't perfect, but it is perfect for children and the child in adult viewers.Action SequencesLink: https://youtu.be/mUCvrUtOb4oBloopersLink: https://youtu.be/VRrvks_vGx8Making MagicLink: https://youtu.be/ylpbxbIU4-0Welcome to New ZealandLink: https://youtu.be/vyIjk7_NrUc

Rating: B+ /10
In early December, Carnival Corp. told about 200 IT employees that the company was transferring their work to Capgemini, a large IT outsourcing firm. The employees had a choice: Either agree to take a job with the contractor or leave without severance.

The employees had until this week to make a decision about their future with the cruise line.

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By agreeing to a job with Paris-based Capgemini, employees are guaranteed employment for six months, said Roger Frizzell, a Carnival spokesman. "Our expectation is that many will continue to work on our account or placed into other open positions within Capgemini" that go well beyond the six-month period, he said in an email.

"We believe this is an opportunity to strengthen and improve our IT operation, but also a better long-term option for our IT employees to have employment with a top IT firm," Frizzell said.

But Frizzell was only speaking for Carnival. A Capgemini spokesperson said the firm is not at liberty to discuss the work done on behalf of its clients.

And the view among employees is sharply different. They expect to participate in a "knowledge transfer," which involves training someone else to do your job. They expect that this transfer will help move the work overseas, that they will have no guarantee of employment and that their employment will be shorter term.

One employee, Matthew Culver, a senior IT engineer at Miami-based Carnival, saw how this decision was affecting his co-workers. They were shocked, stunned and upset. He felt for them, and started to speak out, but he took a different approach.

Culver gave an interview to to the CBS news channel in Miami about Carnival's outsourcing decision. The Miami Herald, part of a newspaper chain that moved its IT work offshore, which it didn't report, published an article on Carnival's outsourcing.

The Carnival employees are talking to Sara Blackwell, a Florida attorney who is representing former Disney IT employees in their outsourcing-related layoff. She helped organize a rally for the Carnival IT workers to protest the decision.

Under its agreement with Carnival, Capgemini, an IT services and consulting company, sent an employment offer to the Carnival IT employees. Culver, in turn, responded with a counteroffer to Capgemini that reads like a protest against offshore outsourcing.

Culver's letter began by asking for a base pay of $500,000 annually.

"This is calculated based upon a figure of $100,000 (the rough, annual pay estimate for my position) times 5 (the number of years for which I would estimate that it would take to create a similar job in the U.S., once you outsource this position to a more 'cost-effective' country of your choosing)," Culver wrote.

Culver also asked for "a one-time, $100,000 donation to a charity of your choice, as long as they participate in providing services to the unemployed American workers."

The counteroffer also included a provision asking for "a personal, signed apology letter from both the CEO of Capgemini, as well as the CEO of Carnival Corporation, to each of the families who have been affected by this decision."

There was also a request in his letter that no other employees be affected by offshoring. Culver concluded: "I appreciate your time and attention to this matter, and I sincerely hope that you can fulfill these terms, so that I may begin my consideration of a happy and productive future with Capgemini!"

Capgemini declined the counteroffer, Culver said.

Carnival's decision to move IT work to a contractor "is not a cost-savings initiative," Frizzell, the cruise line's spokesman, stated.

"Our core business is cruising, and by taking this action and working with a world-class IT firm like Capgemini, will provide us with the ability to significantly strengthen our IT operation for our company and our guests," he said. He added that there is more opportunity for Carnival's IT employees at Capgemini than at the cruise line.

Capgemini employs 16,600 workers in North America, or about 9 percent of its total workforce of 180,600, according to its 2015 annual report. The company, however, gets 31 percent of its revenues from North America.

Capgemini expanded in 2015 as a result of its acquisition of iGate, a U.S.-based IT services firm with 33,000 employees, most of whom are overseas.

Severance will be provided to those who accept a job with Capgemini "but are later released" from employment, Frizzell said. The actual transfer to Capgemini is scheduled to take place in early February.

"It is important to us that we always treat our employees with dignity and respect, and our goal here is to provide a transition and smooth landing for them with this process," he said.

Employees who spoke to Computerworld said they believe that if they leave without accepting the Capgemini offer and seek unemployment benefits, Carnival will contest their benefits because they made a voluntary resignation. "There is a gun to our head to sign the contract," said one employee, who asked not be named.

Carnival was asked whether the employees' concern was accurate but there was no immediate answer.

Blackwell doesn't see how it is possible to contest unemployment benefits for these employees. An employer can't tell someone whom "you have to work for, or else you don't get the benefit of unemployment. That's not their decision," she said. Blackwell also runs an advocacy group on the H-1B issue, Protect U.S. Workers

If employees are being pressured to take jobs with a contractor, it's due to the business model, Blackwell said. "This business model requires employees to train foreign replacements for it to be successful," she said.

Culver said the decision by Carnival has put IT workers in a difficult spot.

"Right now their motivation is to make sure they have gainful employment through the holidays and make sure their benefits are protected," Culver said, "and the only way that is being offered is by signing with Capgemini."

"It's a tough situation," he said. Referring to receiving this news just before Christmas, he added, "they stunned people at a time where it has a lot of emotional psychological impact."
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The success of the ALPHA antimatter research this week is now facing controversy after a Christian truther publication branded CERN as anti-christ. This group of religious conspiracy theorists accused the European Organization for Nuclear Research for manifesting a 'hell on earth' during the experiment.

Two days ago, CERN published a paper in the journal "Nature" that revealed their observations of the light spectrum of antimatter. CERN houses the Large Hadron Collider machine which was developed to recreate the conditions immediately after the big bang. Scientists spent decades devising a technique that will create antimatter.

This week, CERN scientists managed to tickle atoms of antimatter and make it shine. However, certain religious groups including the Christian Truther publication criticized the research organization for performing these experiments.

According to the Daily Mail, Christian Truther wrote an article about the ALPHA experiment that contains many scientific inaccuracies. The article's author, Emily, said that "CERN is building the kingdom of the antichrist, hell on earth." She described antimatter as demonically charged particle that would bring chaos and destruction.

The CERN ALPHA antimatter study is lauded by the scientific community as an important step towards unraveling what happened to all the antimatter created in the Big Bang. Jeffrey Hangst of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said the experiment's feat opens up a new branch of inquiry into physics' understanding of Big Bang.

The CERN antimatter community spent over 20 years before it successfully measured the optical spectrum of an antimatter atom. For Hangst, this achievement opens up a new era in high-precision antimatter research.

Further experiment will be conducted by Hangst and colleagues to refine their antimatter research. His group aims to map the atomic spectrum of antihydrogen.

For those who are not involved in the ALPHA antimatter research, the observations made by Hangst's team would be worthy of a Nobel Prize. One of them is physicist Guido Drexlin of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology who commended the team discovering a difference between matter and antimatter.

CERN's ALPHA experiment is briefly described in the video below. Share your thoughts on the article in the comment section.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
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The Nokia smartphone brand is expected to return to the market next year under the management of Finnish company HMD Global. The latter acquired the rights to use the Nokia name and plans to launch flagship and mid-range models in 2017 with the Android-powered Nokia P1.

It is reported that Nokia P1 will boast of powerful specs such as a Snapdragon 385 chipset and 6GB RAM as well as a 23MP Zeiss lens on the back of the phone. According to Forbes magazine, the upcoming product will be unveiled in the first half of 2017.

However, HMD will be present at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. The trade show is used by tech companies as a venue for new product releases and announcements. Forbes surmise that details of the Nokia P1 might be announced in the Spanish city.

Two leaked images show a mid-range Android powered Nokia model. But no confirmation links these images to the actual Nokia P1 handset. Frantic Nokia fans need to wait until February to have a first glimpse of the much-awaited smartphone.

HDM aims to regain Nokia's position as smartphone king. The Nokia P1 handsets signal the brand's return to the smartphone business after several unsuccessful attempts to recapture market leadership, which is now occupied by Apple and Samsung handsets.

Phone Arena reported that Nokia P1 will be powered by the Adreno 540 graphics processing unit. It is reported that the smartphone will offer download speeds of up to 1Gbps. Based on the leaked images, Nokia P might sport a metal body with an anodized finish.

If previous speculations are to be believed, the Nokia P1 will have a QHD display with a resolution of 2560 b 1440 pixels. The smartphone might also be available in 5.2 and 5.5-inch displays. Another feature that might excite Nokia lovers is the IP68 certification for water and dust resistance, which was also previously speculated.

The video below discusses the specs and features of the Nokia P1 smartphone. Share your thoughts on the article in the comment section.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
When families flee violence, they need to find a place where they can live, safely, while rebuilding their lives.

For clients of the Bridgeport-based Center for Family Justice, that haven is Kathies Place, the agencys safe house, which is for women and children only. But lately the shelter has been a bit crowded, said Debra Greenwood, president and CEO of the Center for Family Justice.

Greenwood said the shelters maximum is 15 guests. This week, there are 20 people staying there.

Like our sister agencies throughout Connecticut, we have also seen an increased demand for services and beds in our shelter, Greenwood said in an email. There are many factors driving this increased demand, but among the trends weve witnessed locally are large families, typically a single parent with several children, in need of the safety and shelter we provide to victims of domestic violence.

Indeed, finding a place to stay is an increasing problem for domestic violence survivors in the state, according to data released earlier this month by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The coalition reported that during fiscal year 2016, its member shelters were, on average, at 125 percent capacity. Thats a stark jump from 2008, when shelters were 57 percent filled.

Its unclear why shelters are busting at the seams, but coalition CEO Karen Jarmoc has some theories, including an overall lack of affordable housing.

Families are staying a long time, because they dont have housing to transition to, she said.

More Information Domestic violence fast facts Here are some fast facts about domestic violence, and domestic violence services, in Connecticut. Connecticut averages 14 intimate partner homicides annually, with over 230 victims since 2000. In the past fiscal year, the state's domestic violence programs sheltered a total of 2,325 people, 1,031 of whom were children. Domestic violence shelters in Connecticut were at 125 percent capacity in fiscal year 2016, as opposed to 57 percent capacity eight years earlier. Shelter use went up by 119 percent over the past eight years and the average length of stay increased by 77 percent. See More Collapse

There are other issues at play as well, included an increased number of clients with complicated needs that can include substance abuse or mental health issues. These can require more support from domestic violence shelters, and longer stays.

Whatever the reason, shelters throughout the state said its a constant challenge to find space for everyone who needs help.

Space at a premium

According to the state coalition, not only are more people using the shelters  a 119 percent increase over the past eight years  but their length of stay has almost doubled, from a 26-day average in 2008 to 46 days in 2016.

With both populations and length of stay increasing, no bed stays vacant for long.

If theres a bed that opens up because a family is leaving, its filled that same day, Jarmoc said.

Accommodating all of those people can be difficult, but, Jarmoc said, no one wants to turn away anyone in need. So providers are forced to be creative. Families sometimes have to double up in a bedroom. In other cases, rooms such as kids playrooms or living rooms are re-purposed into bedrooms. Jarmoc said none of these conditions are ideal, but theyre often necessary.

In rarer cases, shelters sometimes have to pay for hotel or motel stays for clients.

When necessary, we will turn to hotels to shelter clients, as we do not turn anyone in need of these services away, Greenwood said in her email. We do that whenever necessary at considerable expense.

Need for services

In addition to a lack of transitional housing and clients with a variety of needs, the crowded conditions also could be brought on by increased domestic violence awareness, said Esperina Stubblefield, director of the Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services.

Umbrella has two offices, serving the Lower Naugatuck Valley and Greater New Haven regions.

Domestic violence is an issue that continues to be a problem, she said. And as we educate more people about it, more people come in to use services.

The state report backs that point up, showing that counseling services increased 15 percent in the past year, with court-based advocacy increasing by 15 percent, and a 13 percent increase in support groups statewide.

As for how to remedy the overcrowding problem, Greenwood said funding is key  not just adding it, but maintaining it.

Something what is of particular concern to us is that this increased demand is coming at a time when weve already experienced cuts in the monies we receive to provide these free, life-saving services, she said. As a result of these cost cuts, weve had to reduce staff. So our staff is even more taxed as we serve a growing shelter population under less than ideal conditions.

Jarmoc said that starting next year, coalition members will begin meeting with a panel of three experts  Anne Menard, CEO of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, William H. Carbone, senior lecturer and director of experiential education at the University of New Haven and Jill Davies, deputy director of Greater Hartford Legal Aid  to work on issues facing the states domestic violence services.

But, Jarmoc said, the overcrowding issue likely wont be solved any time soon.

The challenge, for us, is an ongoing one, she said.
No, Democrats should not become the party of no during Donald Trumps presidency.

Let me be clear: Democrats certainly will oppose much of what Republicans propose over the next four years. Thats natural, especially in an era of intense partisanship. But thats not what folks such as New York magazines Jonathan Chait are urging as an out-party strategy. They are arguing that Republican rejectionism  maximum opposition to the president and refusal to compromise as a strategy  has been successful over the last eight years.

The problem is that the evidence for this strategy is weak. It doesnt explain George H.W. Bushs unpopular presidency, or Bill Clintons popular one  or, for that matter, the ebbs and flows of President Barack Obamas popularity during his time in office.

Its true, as Chait says, that elite out-party support for the president can convince rank-and-file voters that the president is doing a good job. That is, as Chait says, the story of George W. Bushs approval surge following the Sept. 11 attacks. But that example, in which Democrats suspended criticism of the president across the board for a brief period and in which only one story was in the news anyway, is just not helpful for extrapolating to the real decisions Democrats will face in 2017, which will involve compromising  or not  on occasional, probably second-tier policies.

Whats the harm in Democrats emulating Sen. Mitch McConnells no strategy?

For one thing, refusing to compromise means the out party has no chance to influence policy. Thats fine if the only goal is winning the next election, but if a party cares at all about policy before then, theres a real loss in rejecting compromise.

For another, knee-jerk rejectionism gives away the potential for the out party to exploit internal differences within the presidents party. After all, while out-party criticisms can prevent the presidents approval ratings from spiking up, same-party criticism is far more effective in eroding the presidents popularity. So if Democrats can strike a few deals with Trump that anger some Republicans, it could easily hurt the president overall. And again, Democrats will launch plenty of attacks against Trump even if they also work with him on, say, an infrastructure bill.

Whats more, while Chait is correct that congressional elections have now become quite dependent on national partisanship, its still very possible that positive publicity for Democratic incumbents can help them win re-election. Thats especially likely if the positive press comes from issues that are second-tier (or lower) nationally but perhaps very important in certain districts.

But the most important reason for Democrats to avoid automatic rejectionism as a strategy is that it would harm their future capacity to govern themselves and the nation.

Its understandable, but deeply odd, that Democrats look at the last eight years (and the 16 years before that) and decide that what Democrats really should do is to be more like the Republican Party. After all, the Republican Party proved itself so dysfunctional that it wound up nominating a presidential candidate who has a thin attachment at best to the partys platform. And the party doesnt seem especially ready to govern, as can be seen in their professed need for additional years to figure out what they want to do on one of their top priorities, replacing the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats may believe their party can act the way Republicans have acted in opposition but still be just as ready to govern as they were in 2009. Its unlikely. Working toward compromise, even if it eventually ends up futile, helps party legislators and party-aligned interest groups recognize whats needed when they get the chance to act. And the effect on activists (and rank-and-file voters) of demonizing every proposal the president makes can be seen in how quick Republican activists are to turn on their own leadership.

Democrats dont want to hear that they should engage with Trump and with congressional Republicans at all. Most of the time, they wont, regardless of strategy, because the space between their policy preferences is just too large.

But when they can engage, they should, because its better for their party to do so.

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg View columnist. Email: jbernstein62@bloomberg.net.
Imamoglu'na bir suikast ihbar daha: '8 kisilerdi, hepsi silahllard...'
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.
Labour was thrown into confusion this week by the resignation of MP Jamie Reed

Labour was thrown into confusion this week by the resignation of Jamie Reed, the MP who represents the Cumbrian constituency of Copeland.

He announced that he was leaving the Commons to take up a well-paid job in the nuclear power industry.

Inevitably, cynics were quick to remark that he found the prospect of working in a nuclear energy plant substantially less toxic than being a member of Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party.

His resignation means there will have to be a by-election in the new year. And it will come at a crucial time for Labour.

On the one hand, its party chiefs must be dreading another possible drubbing at the polls, as happened this month in the most recent by-election to be held.

In the Lincolnshire constituency of Sleaford and North Hykeham, it came a humiliating fourth, despite being in second place in last years general election.

But on the other hand, the forthcoming by-election in Copeland presents a great opportunity for Labour. It offers it a chance to return to the working-class roots which made it the natural governing party of Britain for much of the last century.

Controlled immigration has become the battle cry of the anti-Corbyn faction within Labour

Copeland is exactly the sort of gritty northern constituency that sustained Labour as a powerful political force for almost 100 years.

By the same token, it is the kind of working-class area that has been betrayed by Labour since the days of Tony Blair as the party embraced liberal, metropolitan values  such as opening Britains borders to millions of migrants.

This profoundly affected the fabric of the country and particularly damaged the livelihoods of the working class, as it put severe pressure on jobs, housing, schools and healthcare.

The truth is mass immigration has not only driven down wages, but has created unemployment blackspots in our former industrial heartlands.

And Labours deliberate, yet secretive, policy of mass immigration is one of the main reasons that Copeland, even though it contains far fewer migrants than many northern constituencies, voted by a large majority to leave the EU in Junes referendum.

It is also why so many traditional Labour voters have deserted the party in recent elections  many of them to Ukip.

As a result, Labour is at a crucial crossroads.

It can either allow itself to wither in the north of England in the same way it has in Scotland. Or it can seize the moment and try to regain its position as the champion of Britains working classes. Faced with such a stark choice, I am convinced that it will take the second path. And central to this will be a dramatic change of direction, with Labour switching from being a party that supports mass immigration to one that backs sensible border controls.

Former Labour Cabinet minister Yvette Cooper (pictured with Jeremy Corbyn) said it was time for the party to talk about limiting migrant numbers

Indeed, I predict that this will be the most important political story of 2017.

The first sign of this momentous change came this week in an interview given by former Labour Cabinet minister Yvette Cooper to The House magazine (the trade paper for MPs at Westminster).

She said it was time for the party to talk about limiting migrant numbers: I think you can make a progressive argument to say that free movement hasnt been working for the British economy in a way thats fair. The penny seems to have dropped at last!

Significantly, Ed Balls, Ms Coopers husband  who lost his seat at the last election and is now more famous as a celebrity after his enthusiastic performances on Strictly Come Dancing  made similar comments on the Robert Peston show earlier this month.

460,000 children facing starvation, and a crisis you can help alleviate Last summer, I travelled to Yemen to report on the civil war that has engulfed this beautiful country. Thousands of innocent people have been killed by bombs dropped by Saudi warplanes which are part of a multinational coalition of forces fighting anti-government Houthi rebels. Soldiers gather the site of a suicide bomb at a base in Aden, Yemen, last weekend But the worst aspect of this tragedy is that several million Yemenis face starvation, including 460,000 children. Tragically, 10,000 children have already died from preventable causes during the course of the war. I talked to one doctor in the capital, Sanaa, who told me that 25 people a day were dying in his hospital because he could not get medicines and the right equipment. There appears to be nothing we can do to stop the war  and Britain shamefully continues to supply arms to Saudi Arabia, whose air force is responsible for so many civilian deaths. However, there is still a great deal we can do to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. This Christmas, the Disasters Emergency Committee  the umbrella organisation for charities including Oxfam, the Red Cross and Care  has launched an urgent appeal to help the seven million people in Yemen who are in desperate need of food and require urgent medical help. The easiest way to donate to this cause is to go to the website, www.dec.org.uk. Even a fiver will help save a life. I believe that we in this country have a special obligation to help because Yemen was once part of the British Empire  our forces having left in 1967, when the country became independent. Many Yemenis told me they looked back with affection to British rule. We should repay that respect now in their time of need. Advertisement

Balls rebuked Corbyn for having said that more migration is good for us.

Of course, Cooper and Balls are no longer front-line politicians  she resigned from the Shadow Cabinet when Corbyn was elected as leader.

But they are not alone in holding such views.

Andy Burnham, the former Shadow Home Secretary, also warned that freedom of movement was undermining the cohesion of the UK. His remarks are particularly important because he plans to stand for election to be Mayor of Manchester.

He knows from doorstep experience in the North West that he will have no chance if he doesnt change his tune on immigration.

Thus Mr Burnham conceded that the British decision to leave the EU meant that people voted for change on immigration.

He went on to say: I am quite clear about that, and that has to be our starting point in this debate.

The status quo, full free movement, was defeated at the ballot box and therefore is not an option.

The problem is that Balls, Cooper and Burnham  all of whom have represented northern constituencies as MPs  have been scorned by Corbyns team. Indeed, the leader himself went out of his way, in his party conference speech in the autumn, to make it clear he was in favour of mass immigration, saying putting a limit on migrants would sow division in the UK.

Which is why, with the party so divided, I believe that in 2017 we will witness nothing less than a civil war over the soul of the Labour Party.

On one side there are those northern MPs who increasingly realise that the partys London-based leadership, which retains a naively idealistic commitment to free movement of people, is utterly out of touch with the concerns of voters elsewhere.

It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Labour Party will depend on the result of this bitter internecine battle.

The stakes are huge. Labour will not be able to survive as a mass party if it continues to turn its back on its long-established supporters.

The flight of traditional voters to Ukip shows no sign of ending.

For its part, Ukip is poised to take yet more advantage. Its new leader, Paul Nuttall, was born and bred in the North West and is already targeting working-class Labour voters.

Bear in mind that Ukip came second to Labour in more than 100 seats in the Midlands and the North of England in last years general election. That was a devastating indictment of the Labour Partys policies.

Indeed, unless Labour changes tack on immigration, there is a big risk that it could be swept away by Ukip in the North of England in a way that has already happened in Scotland, where Labour has been obliterated by the rise of the Scottish National Party.

That is why Februarys by-election in Copeland  and Labours choice of candidate  is crucial.

If a Corbynista supporter of mass immigration is picked, Labour will lose badly. To stand a chance in Copeland, the candidate will have to defy official policy as set out by Jeremy Corbyn and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.

It is, of course, deeply ironic that controlled immigration has become the battle cry of the anti-Corbyn faction within Labour. Yvette Cooper, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham were all senior members of the Blair and Brown governments which pushed through a mass immigration policy.
If it wasn't for a festive photo the cancer in little Mia Louden's eye might have gone unnoticed.

In December 2011, Mia's parents noticed a strange white spot in their daughter's left pupil as they looked back at their Christmas snaps.

When Mia, then 21 months old, 'freaked out' after putting on sunglasses she was given as a present, her parents, from Victoria, realised something was wrong with her sight.

Warning signs: A white disc would show up in the pupil of Mia's eye when she was pictured with flash photography (pictured)

'Something was up': Mia's family members began to notice she had problems with her sight when they took Christmas photos. The white disc in her pupil can be seen above

Noticing she had a lazy eye, Mia's parents had asked optometrists to look at their daughter's vision in the past.

At 15 months old an optometrist told them there was likely nothing wrong, although they should check again in half a year if her vision did not improve.

This time, at 21 months old, doctors discovered that Mia had retinoblastoma, a rare form of aggressive eye cancer.

The tumour had grown so large it took up two thirds of the space in her eye, showing up as a silver disc when the flash was left on in photographs.

Her parents, from regional Victoria, realised that she was so agitated by wearing the sunglasses because they effectively turned her blind.

'My cousins were taking Christmas photos and they just noticed something was a little bit different,' mother Melinda told Daily Mail Australia.

'Combined with her reaction to the sunglasses, things just started adding up.'

'Just in time': Mia was 21 months old when she was diagnosed with eye cancer. She is pictured at nine months old

Within weeks Mia had seen a specialist and been booked in for urgent surgery.

The cancer was so far progressed that doctors had to remove little Mia's eye, although the good news was that it had not travelled to her brain.

'Within two weeks they had surgery to have her eye removed. They found out there wasnt any cancer travelling down the optic nerve, which was obviously brilliant.

'She didnt even need to have chemotherapy,' Melinda said.

Although Mia was now a happy and healthy six-year-old girl, her mother could not help but wonder how differently things might have turned out.

The worst case scenario had the cancer travelled further was a brain tumour that could have proved fatal, Melinda said.

'The cancer could have travelled down the nerve into the brain.

'Although its rare, its easy enough to treat if you get on to it early. But late it becomes more difficult.

'Death couldve been an outcome if it wasnt treated.'

Happy and healthy: Mia is pictured at six years old ahead of her regular check up at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital

Mia now wears a barely noticeable prosthetic eye made from acrylic and has just started at school.

Although her mother was initially worried about how she would cope with her classmates, so far the loss of her eye hadn't held her back, Melinda said.

Melinda said: 'It's classic how she talks about it and how she takes it on.

'Shes really positive. It doesnt stop her from doing anything, although occasionally she might bump into something on her blind side.'

As Christmas rolled around, Melinda said it was a timely reminder of what could have happened to her daughter if she hadn't been so vigilant.

'I suppose it comes down to that mother's intuition that people talk about.

'If you think something is not quite right, don't be afraid to push it a little bit.
Like many of my generation, I first heard of Marie Stopes by word of mouth.

As a young woman at university seeking contraception, I felt too embarrassed to ask my GP and would never have dreamt of broaching the subject with my mother or grandmother  were just not that sort of family. So I asked a friend, who recommended Marie Stopes.

I remember the staff being cheery, pragmatic, dedicated and, above all, incredibly well-meaning.

Like many of my generation, I first heard of Marie Stopes by word of mouth, writes Sarah Vine

They had a reputation as serious professionals whose main aim was to help women avoid unwanted pregnancies and warn against the dangers of infection (those were the early days of HIV, when the threat of a gruesome death from Aids loomed over all our love lives).

Indeed, Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (October 15, 1880-October 2, 1958), the British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for womens rights, who, along with her second husband, the philanthropist Humphrey Verdon Roe, opened the first birth control clinic in Britain, never advocated abortion. She believed that prevention was the key to unwanted pregnancies.

So I was saddened this week at the news that the current incarnation of her legacy, Marie Stopes International, had some of their clinics closed earlier this year after concerns were raised by the Care Quality Commission over a catalogue of errors surrounding the quality of their abortion services.

Failings ranged from clinical malpractice (in one case, foetal remains from a succession of terminations were left in open waste bins) to administrative incompetence and staff being unable to cope with basic emergencies.

In one concerning case, the watchdog ruled that doctors failed to ensure that a woman with learning difficulties fully understood the nature of the termination she was about to undergo. The woman was found to be confused and distressed, and the staff poor and insensitive in handling her responses.

Most damaging of all, staff were accused of rubber stamping abortions by allowing doctors to bulk-sign consent forms, up to 60 at a time, without any indication that they were at all familiar with the mental or physical circumstances of individual patients.

In one clinic, obtaining patient consent, which must be done by a doctor, was left to nurses and healthcare assistants.

The clinics have since been cleared to re-open, but for a charity that undertakes 70,000 abortions a year  around one-third of all such procedures in England  such a serious lapse is simply not good enough.

A loss of respect for human life: Actress Lena Dunham apologised this week over crass and insensitive comments about abortion

Its also jaw-droppingly stupid. Because if there is one thing an organisation like Stopes absolutely has to be, it is a stickler for regulation. Abortion is such a highly emotive and controversial subject, they simply cannot afford to be anything other than beyond reproach when it comes to due diligence.

To be anything else is to fatally undermine their own legitimacy, and the rights of women to have control over their own bodies.

Dont get me wrong: I am no standard-bearer for abortion. As someone married to an adopted man born in August 1967, I am acutely aware that had he been conceived just a few months later, he might never have been born at all.

The Abortion Act of 1967 was debated and passed in Parliament when my husband Michael was just two months old. His birth mother had given him up for adoption and he was living with foster parents.

The Act legalised abortions by registered practitioners and regulated the free provision of such medical practices through the NHS.

In its current form, it states that abortions are permitted at up to 24 weeks if two doctors both think continuation of the pregnancy would risk injury to the physical or mental health of the mother or her other children.

Terminations can now also take place after 24 weeks if the mothers life is in danger, there is a substantial risk of severe birth defects, or it is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the woman or her existing children.

The Abortion Act came into effect on April 27, 1968. As the child of a young single mother in Edinburgh, baby Michael had snuck in just under the line.

Who knows, perhaps his mother might have gone ahead with the pregnancy anyway; but equally, she might have been one of the first to take advantage of the new law  and the father of my children would never have lived.

But even bearing my personal bias in mind, I am not against abortion. Sometimes it is the lesser of two evils; a horrible but necessary undertaking.

I know this to be the case because I have witnessed friends undergo terminations for a variety of reasons, from serious foetal abnormality to horrendous personal circumstances.

Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (October 15, 1880-October 2, 1958), the British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for womens rights, who, along with her second husband, the philanthropist Humphrey Verdon Roe, opened the first birth control clinic in Britain, never advocated abortion

Never was the decision taken lightly. Never was the experience easy. The individuals concerned, and those around them, were left deeply traumatised, haunted by their actions and racked with guilt.

Nevertheless, I have no doubt that they felt they had made the right decision. They did what they had to  and I am glad for their sakes that they had the proper medical help they needed, and a well-established support structure in place to help them recover.

That is why organisations such as Marie Stopes, who offer affordable and discreet help to women who feel that they have no alternative, are so important.

And it is why their failure is so serious. By showing itself to be irresponsible in its administrative practices, Stopes has undermined its very existence and betrayed women who, for whatever reason, need and deserve access to safe and responsible abortion services.

They have, in effect, handed the anti-abortion lobby a powerful weapon with which to beat them. For those who argue that abortion in Britain is now being used as a form of contraception, that the ease with which embryonic human life can be terminated is immoral and cruel, have rightly seized on the CQCs criticisms of Marie Stopes.

They see it as absolute proof that abortion in Britain is not  as it ought to be  an intervention of last resort, but equates to the institutionalised and blase killing of the innocent in order to further a hardline feminist agenda.

Certainly with idiots such as American actress and comedienne Lena Dunham on the loose, it can sometimes be hard to argue against this view.

This week, the star of Girls, that HBO programme most beloved by teens and twenty-somethings, said Now I can say that I still havent had an abortion, but I wish I had  in order to better sympathise, she said, with the plight of sisters who had undergone the procedure.

Realising too late the crass insensitivity of this remark, the 30-year-old actress, who is lionised by feminist brigades the world over, was quick to apologise, saying: I would never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy.

My only goal, she added, is to increase awareness and decrease stigma.

Pictured: Marie Stopes House, London. File photo

Thats nonsense, of course. Cocktail party feminists such as Dunham are forever flaunting their radical credentials to draw attention to themselves.

Equality and the rights of women are just opportunities for showing off their impeccable liberal credentials. That its guaranteed to widen their audience and increase the size of their pay packets also helps.

The only thing that exceeds the offensiveness of her statement is its stupidity. By talking about abortion with such insouciance, she undermines the so-called pro-choice case with lethal efficiency.

Her timing couldnt have been worse. We now have an American President elect who has stated his intention to overturn Roe v. Wade  the Supreme Court ruling which allowed abortion.

Those who support the reversal of abortion rights in America will seize on Dunham as evidence that young women like her are driven purely by selfish instincts and have lost all respect for the sanctity of human life. It is grist to the religious fundamentalists mill.

In Britain, we have similar individuals whose idiocy and militant feminism undermines the very cause they seek to promote.

Earlier this year, it transpired that Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, had sought to push through a motion scrapping the upper legal limit on abortion, without bothering to consult her own members.

She claimed she was simply trying to decriminalise abortion; but many midwives reacted in horror, calling for her resignation.

At the same time, it transpired, somewhat astonishingly, that Warwick was also chair of the trustees of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which rivals Marie Stopes as the largest provider of abortions (currently, around 186,000 a year) in the UK.

Many of us would have serious trouble reconciling the two roles: one helping new life enter the world, the other helping to extinguish it.

But Professor Warwick was, and is, utterly unapologetic. For her, abortion is part of the role of a midwife, and obtaining a termination should be viewed as a legitimate component of the family planning jigsaw.

As to the rights of the unborn child, they are neither here nor there. The woman is the person who has rights within the framework that we currently practise in, and I think we have to focus on the woman, she said in an interview.

In other words, the woman in charge of the countrys midwives believes that abortion is a straightforward medical procedure with no moral implications whatsoever  regardless of whether you are dealing with a three-day-old foetus or a full-term baby.

Its a view seemingly shared by her colleagues at Marie Stopes, whose actions  uncovered by the watchdog  bear out the fact that, as Warwick herself says, doctors are already interpreting abortion law almost as loosely as possible to get around restrictions.

At best, this makes Marie Stopes seem heartless; at worst, morally bankrupt. But to campaigners like Warwick, none of that matters. It is all about a womans right to choose and to control her own body  a right Warwick believes she is upholding.

In reality, though, actions such as hers and those uncovered by the health watchdog in respect of Marie Stopes have precisely the opposite effect. They actively endanger the case for safe abortion.

There is something else, too. Her stance is hopelessly out-dated; old- fashioned even. Because it belongs to a different time and a different culture. It is a response to a set of circumstances that no longer exists. The world has moved on  yet Cathy Warwick and Stopes remain trapped in a Seventies feminist mindset.

And so, of course, does the original Abortion Act with its 24-week upper limit. The fact is that that original piece of legislation is almost 50 years old. And in that half century, the world has become a very different place.

Having a baby out of wedlock in 1967 was still a social and moral catastrophe. This is no longer true. The days of girls being shunned, or of babies being brought up by their grandparents as their real mothers siblings, are long gone.

Marie Stopes believed that prevention was the key to unwanted pregnancies

Old-fashioned moral condemnation has been replaced by a culture of forgiveness and understanding. Even the Pope is said to be softening the Vaticans previously immovable line on contraception.

If a young girl gets pregnant by accident in Britain today, she can be assured of financial and social support. Even if her parents disapprove, there are countless measures in place to ensure that she and the child are properly looked after.

There will often be provision for the mother to continue her education, and while things wont ever be easy, they wont be dire.

At the same time as societys attitudes have changed, something else has shifted radically too: medical science.

Not only has it become much easier to detect a pregnancy virtually at the point of conception, over-the-counter tests are widely available, accurate and relatively inexpensive.

Contraception, too, has become much easier to come by  and even if unprotected sex does occur, the 72-hour morning-after pill can be obtained freely and easily over the counter from any chemist, and is extremely well-publicised.

Moreover, all children are now taught sex education in schools from the age of ten. By the time they get to secondary school and start regular PSHE classes (Personal, Social and Health Education), they learn about wider sexual practices as well as the nature of relationships.

Trust me, my 13-year-old knows the ins and outs of sex in a way that, quite honestly, makes me blush. The days of hopeless fumbles and misunderstandings are long gone.

Todays children have the reproductive processes explained to them in graphic detail; the chances of them not knowing precisely what they are getting up to are, like it or not, vanishingly small.

But for me, perhaps the greatest and most significant change is in frontline neonatal care. Thanks to advances in training, technology and medication, survival rates for premature babies have now improved to the point where 21-week-old foetuses are now viable outside the womb.

It seems miraculous, but the truth is that these children can and do now survive, and are able to grow up to lead normal lives.

In fact, one of my own daughters friends was born almost three months prematurely after her mother became seriously ill. Despite everything, she is today a happy, bright, healthy and academically high-achieving 12-year-old. True, she has one or two minor health issues; but nothing that could be considered in the slightest bit debilitating.

In the light of all this, it seems incredible that the 1967 Abortion Act has not already been re-drafted. But all attempts to do so have been met with fury and, in the case of Nadine Dorries  the Tory MP who has repeatedly stuck her neck out to try to get the 24-week cut-off point reduced to 22 weeks  derision and opprobrium.

The simple truth is this: the Abortion Act needs to be redrafted to take in all these social, cultural and technological changes.

My own view is that we should take Mother Nature as our guide.

The first 12-16 weeks of pregnancy carry a high  one in five  risk of miscarriage anyway. This is also the point where some foetal abnormalities become detectable.

We should aim to ensure that as many terminations as possible take place within this time frame  although I would not go so far as to suggest, as some have, that this should be the legal limit.

The reason for this is that many serious abnormalities are not detectable until the next natural cut-off point: the 20/21 week scan. Here, more serious foetal and maternal problems can be detected, and it is right that the woman should have the option to terminate  under medical advice  at or around this point.

I would also add another caveat: that they should be able to request surgical removal of the foetus rather than continue with the current system, which effectively requires them to give birth  a cruel practice, especially if the termination is not desired but is required because of serious abnormality or other medical concerns.

As for women seeking terminations at this stage for purely social or cultural reasons, the decision to terminate at or just beyond 20 weeks should be a much more considered one.

Currently, we have a situation where the arguments of the hardline pro-choice lobby are allowed to dominate. It is your body, they say; your life. This is true. But that is not necessarily a reason to rule out taking the baby to term.

There are other ways of getting rid of an unwanted child  ways that do not involve termination and also bring great joy to others. If abortion clinics were prepared to work directly with adoption agencies, women who cannot have children would have a better chance of fulfilling their dreams of motherhood.
A recent article suggested that former Scottish national rugby player Simon Danielli was accused of battering his estranged wife after she smashed up his car. We are happy to clarify that, as the article stated, he is facing two charges of common assault against his wife and one against a man which predate the damage his wife allegedly did to his car. Mr Danielli denies all the charges against him. We apologise for any confusion.

To report an inaccuracy, please email corrections@mailonline.co.uk. To make a formal complaint under IPSO rules please go to www.mailonline.co.uk/readerseditor where you will find an easy-to-use complaints form. You can also write to Readers Editor, MailOnline, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or contact IPSO directly at ipso.co.uk
Corruption charges against the high and mighty in politics generally don't lead to their prosecutions.

Most cases fall by the wayside before reaching denouement in court. But people's courts may not spare political bigwigs who escape the majesty of law.

Recent history shows prime ministers have fallen by wayside fighting charges of corruption, even if unproven.

Perception sways people in politics. People have brought down seemingly invincible to the ground from high pedestal.

Recent history shows prime ministers have fallen by wayside fighting charges of corruption, even if unproven.

Corruption

So, there was a strong sense of deja vu when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi stood at a public meeting in Mehsana, Gujarat, to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi of corruption.

Rahul alleged that the Sahara group of Subrata Roy had paid Rs 40 crore to Modi in 2013-14 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

He said the matter came to light when the income tax department raided Sahara offices in 2104.

Rahul alleged that the Sahara group of Subrata Roy had paid Rs 40 crore to Modi in 2013-14 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

Given the historical experience, one was compelled to think whether the Rs 40-crore bribery allegations against Modi would end in a denouement similar to Rajiv Gandhi?

In his live telecast speech, Rahul read out from papers in front of him.

Claiming to quote from I-T documents, he said Rs 2.5 crore was paid to Modi on October 30, 2013, Rs 5 crore on November 12; Rs 2.5 crore on November 27; Rs 5 crore on November 29; Rs 5 crore on December 6; Rs 5 crore on December 19; Rs 5 crore on January 13, 2014; Rs 5 crore on January 28; and Rs 5 crore on February 14, 2014.

Having threatened with an 'earthquake' in Parliament if he were 'allowed to speak' and having claimed to have proof of 'personal corruption' against Modi over a week ago, Rahul did indeed cause tremors at the Mehsana meeting.

He didn't say anything new as the cases related to Sahara and Birla payments are already in public domain, pending in the Supreme Court. So where was the tremor?

The tremor, however, could indeed be felt in the unprecedented manner in which the allegations of corruption were hurled directly and publicly at Modi.

Never before has a leader of Opposition has stood in public to name a serving prime minister of being a recipient of specific sums of money on specific dates.

Rajiv Gandhi as PM came under cloud when the Bofors scandal broke out. But at no point did VP Singh directly accuse or name Rajiv as a recipient of the kickback.

The BJP has talked about culpability of former PM Manmohan Singh in various cases of corruption.

But nobody accused Dr Singh of having received such and such amount of money and on such and such dates.

Rajiv Gandhi as PM came under cloud when the Bofors scandal broke out. But at no point did VP Singh directly accuse or name Rajiv as a recipient of the kickback.

Indira Gandhi as PM was charged by the Opposition to be heading governments mired in corruption.

But she was never publicly named as a recipient of bribes. Rajiv's successor PV Narasimha Rao was convicted in corruption cases and later acquitted.

Stock market broker Harshad Mehta, who gained notoriety as the Big Bull, claimed he had paid Rs 1 crore in a suitcase at the PM's then 7, Race Course Road (now, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg) residence.

Elections

The Rao government was embroiled in much bigger cases of corruption than what Harshad Mehta had alleged.

He faced trials, got convicted and was finally absolved. Rao lost the 1996 elections despite having transformed the country through paradigm-shifting structural reforms in the economy.

Yet, his electoral loss was the result of his much diminished image on account of the slew of corruption cases in which he got embroiled.

No PM could manage to emerge unscathed once his/her image was tainted with the indelible ink of involvement in one or more corruption scandal/s.

Indira Gandhi faced the people's wrath after she defended corruption as a global phenomenon.

She faced two of the biggest protest movements against corruption - in Gujarat and Bihar. However, personally she wasn't accused of any major corruption scandal.

The charges of electoral corruption against her that led to her conviction by the Allahabad High Court were minor.

What mattered was people's perception that she was trying to suppress campaign against corruption led by Jayaprakash Narayan.

Likewise corruption charges against Rajiv were not proved in court. But in the wake of VP Singh's campaign against payment of bribery in the Bofors gun purchase, people got convinced of the government's wrongdoing.

Rajiv lost the 1989 election.

Campaign

Modi's own campaign in 2014 was built around allegations of corruptions against the UPA.

He owes his resounding victory to people's perception that Manmohan Singh's government was mired in corruption.

Modi has been confronted with various allegations of acts of omission and commission as Gujarat's CM.

Corruption wasn't among them. His clean image has been the BJP's trump card.

What has changed since then is that it's the very image of Modi as a clean leader that's now under attack.

None of the past PMs had corruption charges proved against them.

But none could survive the storm created by perception that they were corrupt.

The Supreme Court is seized of the case in which charges of alleged payment of money to Modi by Sahara and Birla groups have been made.

The court is set to examine further evidence in support of allegations submitted by lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

Allegations of corruption against Modi will continue in public until the court dismisses the case.

Rahul and other opposition parties will continue to raise the issue in public.

They will try to create a perception that Modi is no different: that Modi is not infallible as far as personal corruption is concerned.

Modi has mocked Rahul's talk of 'earthquake' in Varanasi. He doesn't have to fight any earthquake because there is none.

But Modi should worry about perception gaining ground that he too may have feet of clay.
Mhari choriyan chhoron se kam hain ke (are my girls inferior to boys)?' The punchline on the posters of Dangal, Aamir Khan's latest, seems to declare a pervading Bollywood mood.

Cashing in on woman power has now become a bona fide formula for the industry.

The past 12 months have had nearly 10 releases that left an impact riding themes which created scope for the female protagonist.

Dangal is the story of a wrestler in heartland Haryana who fights every chauvinistic tradition of his land to realise his sporting dreams through his two daughters

Pick any random year, and Bollywood has never released so many heroine-centric films so frequently.

The shift to the multiplex model of business could be a reason, since it allows filmmakers to make films that cater to the urban audience - traditionally, a segment that roots for diversity in content beyond the formulaic.

With business focus gradually shifting from single screens to multiplexes with each passing year, content-driven fare including films based on the heroine will find increasing encouragement at the box-office.

Year 2016 has truly belonged to the heroine in a way. With no single box-office blockbuster (a domain still driven by male stars) setting new records in 2016, the focus shifts to entertainers that had substance.

Pink and Neerja also won critical acclaim and applaud of the discerning Bollywood viewer

Most films in this category this year, one discovers, deal with heroine-oriented subjects.

Aamir Khan's Dangal will, of course, sell tickets riding on the charisma of its talismanic superstar hero.

The masterstroke of the casting is that despite creating a strong role for Aamir in the film, the story of Dangal is not just about his protagonist.

It is the story of a wrestler in heartland Haryana who fights every chauvinistic tradition of his land to realise his sporting dreams through his two daughters.

Aamir has spoken about how Dangal represents woman's emancipation in a simplistic manner, using the mainstream Hindi cinema idiom.

Aishwarya Rai made a mark in the movie Sarbjit

The film's story about a daughter emerging from the shadow of a male-dominated society to carve her niche in the tough world of wrestling is unusual for a Hindi film.

Dangal is Bollywood's last release of the year, quite fittingly.

It should almost serve as a reminder that in an otherwise forgettable year of releases, womencentric stories are primarily the ones that left some impact.

The first female-centric hit this year was Ram Madhvani's Neerja, with Sonam Kapoor reprising the brave account of Pan Am hostess Neerja Bhanot.

Alia Bhatt won the hearts as a Bihari drug-addict in Udta Punjab

The small film, made on a budget of just Rs 20 crore went on to rake in over Rs 100 crore globally and was declared a superhit.

A similar story would be repeated later in the year when another female-centric film, Pink, made on a Rs 23- crore budget, crossed the Rs 100-crore mark and was also declared a superhit.

Importantly, Pink and Neerja also won critical acclaim and applaud of the discerning Bollywood viewer.

Nil Battey Sannata found easy release despite touting no major mainstream actress and featuring the incredibly talented Swara Bhaskar as its lead

These films have proved that there is big money to be made from content-driven films if they are made within a budget and marketed intelligently.

That is where the importance of heroine-oriented flicks lies. Traditionally, male superstars are known to demand fat pay cheques, accounting for almost 60 per cent of a film's budget and raising its overall cost monstrously.

The only occasion a male superstar does not come for a hefty price these days is when he co- produces his own film, in which case he starts dictating terms in order to create a commercially viable venture to suit his image.

Ram Madhvani's Neerja, with Sonam Kapoor reprising the brave account of Pan Am hostess Neerja Bhanot was a powerful women-centric movie

All of which raise the budget of a film substantially. The fee disparity between heroes and heroines, grossly unfair as it is, has ensured profits for producers of heroine-oriented films, in this context.

Since the investment is low, the returns are quick and profits big. It is a reason why a woman-oriented film starring a sufficiently marketable heroine rarely loses money.

Neerja and Pink apart, this year releases such as Dear Zindagi (starring Alia Bhatt), Ki & Ka (Kareena Kapoor), Sarbjit (Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan) and Udta Punjab (Alia and Kareena) have all seen profits.

The situational comedy Happy Bhag Jayegi clicked with Diana Penty helming the cast in a title role

The situational comedy Happy Bhag Jayegi clicked with Diana Penty helming the cast in a title role, as did Nil Battey Sannata, which found easy release despite touting no major mainstream actress and featuring the incredibly talented Swara Bhaskar as its lead.

These films - just like Piku, Queen, and the Tanu Weds Manu series in recent years - have proved that commercial Bollywood no longer needs a top male actor to score hits.

It is a reason why familiar themes of mainstream Hindi cinema are getting a reinterpretation from the female perspective, with directors traditionally known to explore hardcore male-centric ideas translating these scripts into women-centric plots.

Kareena Kapoor-starrer Ki & Ka was a unique love story about a career woman

Think Akira. The film is directed by AR Murugadoss, who shot to fame directing Aamir Khan's Ghajini and Akshay Kumar's Holiday.

Both films were high on violence and machismo, presenting the hero as an all-powerful, unbeatable force.

Akira is a remake of a Tamil film called Mouna Guru, which actually had a male protagonist. Murugadoss has narrated the same story in Akira - only, the main player of the tale has been changed to a girl, letting Sonakshi Sinha take centrestage.

The film lets Sonakshi strike action hero mode, as she takes on a bunch of corrupt cops.

Broadly, the traditional hero-versus-villains formula of the seventies and eighties is at work here, with a slightly more real edge in characterisation to suit contemporary audience tastes.

Formula rehash was seen in Dear Zindagi too, although the film's coming- of-age theme would overall seem novel by Bollywood standards at least.

In the film, heroine Alia Bhatt is plays a Hindu girl, with one Muslim (Ira Dubey as Fatima) and one Christian (Yashaswini Dayama as Jackie) best friend.

The idea is a throwback of the seventies and eighties when the hero would invariably have one best buddy from each religion, in a show of token Bollywoodish secularism.

Formulae never go away in commercial cinema. At least, modernage filmmakers exploring unconventional themes for heroines are using them sensibly.

Talking of commercialism, of course, the fact is notable that despite so many interesting heroineoriented releases this has been a year when three of Bollywood's most popular heroines have been absent from the marquee.

Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra have been busy in Hollywood, while Kangana Ranaut has also had no release this year.

In a way, the fact represents an important aspect. Female-centric cinema in Bollywood is not necessarily dependent on its top heroines, unlike what the scene is with their male counterparts (a year without a Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan or Akshay Kumar release would seem unimaginable).

There is a lot in store next year, of course. Deepika returns in the year end of 2017 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati - the first film directed by the prolific filmmaker bearing only the heroine's name as its title.

Kangana Ranaut has a strong role in Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon and the title role in Hansal Mehta's Simran.

Vidya Balan, despite the less than impressive Kahaani 2, has another heroine-oriented film lined up next year. She will be seen in Srijit Mukherji's Begum Jaan.

Anushka Sharma in the self-produced Phillauri, Taapsee Pannu in the Akshay Kumar and Neeraj Pandey co-produced Naam Shabana, and Sonakshi Sinha in Sunhil Sippy's Noor.

Shraddha Kapoor in Mohit Suri's adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's Half- Girlfriend, and Kriti Sanon in Nil Battey Sannata maker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's Bareilly Ki Barfi are all out to explore the modern Indian woman in varied shades in 2017.
Britannia Industries chairman Nusli N Wadia has filed a criminal defamation case against Tata Sons, its interim chairman Ratan Tata and some directors for alleged defamatory and offending contents in a special resolution moved to seek his removal from three Tata Group firms.

Wadia, who has been accused of siding with ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus P Mistry, filed the defamation suit in the court of the additional chief metropolitan magistrate here.

Tata Sons' special resolution to shareholders seeking Wadia's removal as independent director on board of Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Steel has caused severe prejudice to the reputation and goodwill, Wadia said in the petition.

Nusli Wadia has been accused of siding with ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus P Mistry

He has alleged that this also affected his status as an independent director in various other companies and will continue to have a cascading effect on his reputation and goodwill in business circles in India and abroad.

He named Anil Naik, Chairman of Larsen & Toubro and Tanya Godrej Dubash, Executive Director of Godrej Group, as the witnesses.

Others named as witness include Subhodh Bhargava, independent director of Tata Motors and Tata Steel and Vinesh Jairath, independent director at Tata Motors.

Nusli N Wadia has filed a criminal defamation case against Tata Sons, its interim chairman Ratan Tata and some directors

Wadia has urged the court to take cognizance of the offence under Section 500 of IPC (Defamation) and Section 500 read with Section 109 of IPC (abetment) and Section 500 read with Section 34 of IPC (criminal act with common intention) against Tata Sons and 11 other persons.

Besides Ratan Tata, who was brought back as Chairman of Tata Sons after Mistry was abruptly removed on October 24, the others named in the suit include the holding company's directors Ajay G Piramal, Amit Ranbir Chandra, Ishaat Hussain, Nitin Nohria, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Ralf Speth, N Chandrasekaran and Ranendra Sen.

Tata Sons Company Secretary and Chief Operating Officer F N Subedar has also been named as an accused.
A day after he resigned, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung said he had offered to quit at least twice in the past, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stopped him.

'In 2014, when PM Modi was sworn in, I met him and requested him that since I was a Congress appointee, I would like to resign. PM said no, please continue,' he told India Today TV's Karan Thapar.

The 65-year-old former bureaucrat said he had also offered again to resign earlier this year.

Jung reached the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) at South Block around 11.30am and spent a little over an hour inside.

'This July when I finished three years in office, I called the PM again to congratulate and expressed my desire to leave. PM again asked me to continue,' Jung said.

'Two days back, I spoke to the PM and expressed my desire yet again. This time PM told me to go ahead. I resigned within a few hours,' he said.

Jung met Modi on Friday, but what transpired between the two was not immediately clear.

Jung reached the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) at South Block around 11.30am and spent a little over an hour inside.

Informed sources said Jung briefed Modi about the reasons behind his resignation.

Over the last two years, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has time and again taken on Jung over his perceived closeness to PM Modi

Jung, who was caught in the middle of the bitter Centre-Arvind Kejriwal standoff, had quit on Thursday without citing any reason.

He said he would return to 'his first love, which is academics'. Jung also said that he would like to write a book.

In his brief resignation statement on Thursday, Jung had thanked Modi for his help and cooperation.

Rejecting speculation that he quit as pressure was mounting on him, Jung said there is no politics behind his decision and that he wanted to quit earlier as well.

Over the last two years, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has time and again taken on Jung over his perceived closeness to Modi.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal had an hour-long meeting with Jung over breakfast during which the latter reminisced their nearly two-year-long association in governing the city besides discussing other issues.

Sources close to Jung said that Jung's resignation was not a result of this acrimony between both the parties.

Kejriwal, when asked about the same, also said that the former LG had quit from his position because of 'personal reasons'.

(With inputs from agencies)

'AAP will continue its 'jung (war) with new L-G'

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Friday said that the party honours Najeeb Jung's personal decision to step down, but whoever becomes the new Lt Governor, the tussle between the L-G and AAP government will continue as the latter does not follow Constitutional propriety.

Expressing his surprise over the sudden resignation by Najeeb Jung on Thursday, Tiwari said he honours his personal decision to step down.

'The new Lt Governor will work to uphold the Constitution and various rules of governance in Delhi,' he said.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari the tussle between the L-G and AAP government will continue

Accusing Arvind Kejriwal-led government of not obeying the Constitution, Tiwari said a tussle with the new Lt Governor was inevitable.

'A government which does not follow the Constitution and adopts autocratic attitude will inevitably clash with the Lt Governor whoever he may be,' he said at a press conference here.

'Kejriwal has turned Delhi into a centre of devious politics engaging in allegations and counter allegations without doing any work on the ground,' Tiwari alleged.

He added: 'There is no work on the ground. Every day, he levels allegations on the Prime Minister and LG. I think, now Delhi wants to know from him about his promises of CCTV cameras, new buses, beds in hospitals and schools.'

Tiwari termed Congress a 'deal baaj' party while reacting over its Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken's charge that there was some deal between Narendra Modi and Kejriwal behind the exit of Jung.

'Ajay Maken belongs to Congress, a deal baaj party. They had coal deal, 2G deal so if he sees deal behind everything, what can we do about it?' he asked.

Kejriwal and L-G call truce over breakfast

A day after Najeeb Jung resigned as Delhi's Lt Governor, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal met him at Raj Niwas on Friday.

Kejriwal reached the L-G's official residence around 8am and the breakfast meeting lasted for nearly an hour.

Asked why Jung quit, Kejriwal said he resigned due to personal reasons. On Thursday, Jung's office, without citing reasons for his sudden exit, said he would be returning to academics.

A day after Najeeb Jung resigned as Delhi's Lt Governor, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal met him at Raj Niwas

Jung's decision had taken political circles by surprise. Kejriwal said he was invited by Jung for the breakfast meeting.

Later, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also called on Jung. Sisodia said he shared a good rapport with Jung and thanked him for his cooperation especially in areas of education.

'We had a very good chat. He shared memories of the last two years and also of his days as a bureaucrat. He said that he was mulling to quit over the last one year. He wants to spend time with his family and focus on academics. He said that he could not quit due to things like chikungunya outbreak,' Sisodia said.

On who could be the next LG of Delhi, the deputy chief minister said many names are doing the rounds, but nothing official has come up.

'We will work for the people of Delhi irrespective of the circumstances,' said Sisodia.

Sources close to Jung had said on Thursday that his resignation has nothing to do with his acrimonious relationship with the AAP government over matters of jurisdiction and he was contemplating to quit for last few months.

The chief minister was in Ranchi when the news of Jung's resignation broke.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stepped into a case involving an Indian couple after Norwegian authorities took their five-year-old son into custody on December 13 over a complaint of abuse.

The mother too was interrogated by officials the same day for nearly three hours.

The child's parents Anil Kumar Sharma and Gurvinderjit Kaur, who moved from India to Norway 26 years ago, have accused Oslo authorities of forcibly taking away their son without any valid reasons.

Jolly submitted representations to Norwegian embassy officials in Delhi and wrote a letter to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj seeking assistance in the matter

The father, who is vice-president of Overseas Friends of the BJP in Norway, appealed to the Indian government through senior party leader Vijay Jolly for help.

Jolly submitted representations to Norwegian embassy officials in Delhi and wrote a letter to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj seeking assistance in the matter.

'The ministry is fully aware of this issue and our Embassy in Oslo is following up the matter. Our Ambassador has already established contact with the father who is a Norwegian citizen as is the child. The mother, however, is an Indian passport holder,' informed MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Friday.

In 2011, two toddlers were taken into the Norwegian government's custody under similar circumstances.

In 2011, two toddlers were taken into the Norwegian government's custody under similar circumstances (picture for representation)

The then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government intervened in the matter to facilitate the children's release.

In 2012, a Norwegian court convicted an Indian couple in a child abuse case with a prison term and had sent the children to their grandparents' home in Hyderabad.

'We are going into the details of this to avoid such cases,' said Minister of State in MEA, Gen VK Singh, when asked about the reason behind the repetition of such incidents.

Swaraj who had earlier tweeted all possible support in this case is reportedly personally monitoring it.

'I have received the report. Father and son are Norwegian nationals. We will represent on request of the mother, who is an Indian national,' the minister tweeted.

Speaking to Mail Today from Oslo, Anil Sharma called it an inhumane act, adding that Norwegian police has accused him of committing an act punishable by the country's law, without mentioning the offence.

'When we asked about the complainant, we learnt it was registered by a private person. This seems to be a fabricated case. We are shattered,' said Sharma, as his voice choked.

Legal proceedings surrounding the custody are underway while the family has engaged a Norwegian lawyer to represent it.

The MEA informed that it is ready to pursue the case legally if the mother, an Indian citizen, wants that.

'Given the seriousness of the issue, should we receive a formal representation from the mother, who is an Indian national, our embassy remains fully prepared to engage with local authorities to impress upon them that this is a humanitarian issue and that the separation of a child from his parents is a matter of distress to the entire family,' said Vikas Swarup.

Norway though has claimed that Indians are not being targeted.

The statement put out on the Norway embassy website in India read: 'The Embassy would like to reiterate that Child welfare cases are handled in accordance to the Norwegian Child Welfare Act, which includes directions from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Norway is known for its stringent laws to prevent child abuse in any form (picture for representation)

The Act applies to all children in Norway, regardless of their background, residential status or citizenship.'

Norway is known for its stringent laws to prevent child abuse in any form.

In the past, actions of its child welfare committee officials have led to snowballing of diplomatic controversies with countries like Czechoslovakia.

'The basic principle of the Act is that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Since child welfare cases are highly sensitive, the cases are therefore subject to a strict duty of confidentiality.

The Embassy, therefore, requests restraint and assures that the Norwegian authorities are dealing with the case with complete sensitivity and awareness.'
The I-T officials carried out the search based on the leads from some of the Axis Bank accounts that were under the scanner.

Two persons were arrested by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police for depositing black money worth Rs 34 crore in fake accounts opened by them in a Delhi branch of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

'The Crime Branch arrested two men Rajkumar Goel (47) and Ranjit (29) on Thursday night from Naya Bazar area of Chandni Chowk,' said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

'Police received information that Goel is the mastermind of these illegal transactions,' he said.

The I-T officials carried out the search based on the leads from some of the Axis Bank accounts that were under the scanner.

Earlier, the I-T sleuths had found several Axis Bank accounts indulging in suspicious transactions.

Another officer said that both the accused were earlier involved in issuing fake bills against bank entries and were involved in theft of sale tax.

'After demonetisation was announced, they used the opportunity to transfer black money in the fake accounts and earn commission,' the officer said.

'He had floated a number of fake companies wherein he used to convert illegitimate money into legitimate money through RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) transfers,' the officer said.

Goel and Ranjit were called for interrogation and initially tried to mislead the team by not divulging the facts.

'Later, they confessed that Ranjit, in connivance with Rajkumar, had opened an account in the name of Raj Enterprises at Kotak Mahindra Bank, and the money was received by them in this account through RTGS. The account is used only for such transactions,' said the officer.

Upender, who happens to be the cousin of Ranjit, is the proprietor of the account, he said.

The accused Rajkumar had allegedly opened various accounts in the name of different firms like RK International, Swastik Trading, Sapna Trading, Mahalaxmi Industries, Shri Ganesh Enterprises,Delhi Trading Company, Virgo International etc. at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Naya Bazar.

The two accused opened several accounts in the name of different companies and deposited unaccounted cash worth Rs 34 crore

'They had deposited unaccounted cash worth Rs 34 crores in the accounts,' the officer said.

With their arrest, police also worked out a cheating case in which a woman Suman Anand, a resident of Greater Kailash, was cheated of Rs 55 lakh in September.

She had told police that sums of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 15 lakh were debited from her Corporation bank account on September 3 and 5 respectively using cheques.

Meanwhile in a statement issued today, Kotak Mahindra Bank claimed that there are no fake accounts operating in their branches and it adheres to all the norms.

'The bank denies that there were any fake accounts. The Bank is extending full cooperation to the investigating authorities,' said Rohit Rao, spokesperson, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

He said that the Income Tax Department had visited one of the bank's branches in New Delhi, in connection with survey on two account holders.
Cases of minor girls - below 18 years of age - being victims of sexual offences are on the rise, said a report study conducted by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital, where most cases of sexual assault are reported.

At Safdarjung Hospital, at total of 310 cases were reported this year, of which 62 cases were of victims falling under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, (POCSO), said a senior doctor at Gynaecology Safdarjung Hospital.

In 2015, about 95 cases of sexual assaults on victims below 18 years of age were reported.

In 2015, about 95 cases of sexual assaults on victims below 18 years of age were reported

Dr Monica Gupta, Assistant Professor of Gynaecology told Mail Today: 'We have seen patients from age group of 5 months to 18 years. On an average, we witness about 20-25 cases of sexual assault every month, of which 3-4 cases are that of children.'

'Ironically, the numbers are increasing,' she added.

Dr Gupta, who is also a nodal officer for sexual survivor said: 'Since people have become aware of the issue and their rights, therefore more cases are reported. Earlier, many cases were suppressed due to fear and other social reasons in the society.'

For doctors, it is mandatory to inform police once the victims' family approaches them as young victims and their families are often afraid of going to the police.

Such patients are given proper counselling and immediate treatment at One-Stop-Center, which is dedicated to provide medical aid to rape survivors, Dr Gupta added.

A lot of awareness towards sexual assault on children is still required as most victims to sexual offences in India are young children

The 2015 report of the registered crime incidents against women, held at the Gynecology Department of RML hospital, it was found, out of nearly 100 cases of sexual offences, 40 per cent were on children between 4- 10 years, said Dr AK Gadpayle, Medical Superintendent of RML Hospital.

He said, a lot of awareness towards sexual assault on children is still required as most victims to sexual offences in India are young children.

'Parents have to be alert while leaving there young ones alone or with the neighbours or their relatives,' he said.

Another doctor said: 'Since, these young patients narrate different stories to police and doctors during counselling, doctors are advised to counsel them again as there is a disparity between the counselling done by the Delhi Police and the RML doctors.'

Doctors conduct counselling of patients in privacy and in most cases, it is found that children are mostly targeted by neighbors or relatives.

'Many a time, children get scared after the incident and start telling lies. So, it becomes very important for us to get the correct version. Sometimes, children also get influenced by their parents and family members too.'
The city's party animals may be getting high this festive season on club drugs that were stolen from the Delhi zoo.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi has written to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for action against authorities at the park for misappropriation of ketamine vials.

While ketamine is administered as an anesthetic to animals like horses, it is also among the three most common 'date rape drugs'.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi has written to the Drug Controller General of India for action against authorities about misappropriation of ketamine vials

The other two are Rohypnol and GHB, often used at dance clubs, concerts and rave parties.

'The Delhi zoo has been involved in a number of malpractices and criminal negligence resulting in the death of a large number of animals,' says the minister's letter, dated December 21.

'The inspection of the zoo was conducted by Central Zoo Authority (CZA) on my request. Among other things, it was found that the zoo management has misappropriated ketamine, a schedule 'X' drug, in blatant violation of law. They have also been using veterinary drugs almost a decade past their expiry date.'

The report states that ketamine drug vials are misused in sexual abuse at dance clubs and rave parties

After several instances of its misuse in sexual abuse of women came forth, the government included ketamine in the stringent schedule X of the Drug and Cosmetics Act in December 2011 to curb its easy availability.

Being a highly dangerous substance, which is of premium value in the black market, chemists and institutions which procure it need to maintain a detailed record of its purchase, usage and sale, including preserving empty vials for future governmental checks.

A senior officer said: 'Its (NDPS Act) violation is a non-bailable offence.'

In her letter, the union minister for women & child development has requested Dr GN Singh  who heads the apex body for license approvals of specified categories of drugs and medicines  to prosecute those responsible in the alleged scandal.

'I am sending the CZA reports to you with a request to take immediate action against the Director of the zoo and the veterinary officers found to be guilty,' she wrote.

The Delhi zoo, deemed a 'Centre of Excellence' by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has been in the eye of a major controversy since the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) conducted a series of raids on its premises.

'Among them is the alleged 'illegal procurement and missing of Schedule 'X' drug ketamine from the zoo.'

'The CZA says it found that the 'NZP (Zoo) procured one number of 50 ml vial ketamine (100 mg/ml) from M/s Global Technology Solutions dated 05.09.2015. This was entered in the Stock Book as a 50 ml vial.'

'However, during physical inspection, it was informed by the Veterinary Officer that the NZP has received 5 vials of 10 ml ketamine. Also, there were two vials of 10 ml available in the NZP stock which has not been used.'

Mr. Paulose, Veterinary Compounder, procured another two empty vials of 10 ml each.

'Dr AK Bhawal, Veterinary Officer, and Mr. Paulose could not explain why 10 ml vial of ketamine was missing,' the report states.

Official sources said: 'Small dose of ketamine (as small as 1 ml) is sufficient to rape a woman. Imagine what 10 ml can dowe suspect this could have made its way into the black market. This is highly unacceptable.'

While zoo director Amitabh Agnihotri could not be reached for a reaction in spite of several calls and text messages.
Demonetisation decision has struck at the roots of hawala trade with business coming to a grinding halt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation decision has struck at the roots of hawala trade with business coming to a grinding halt, Mail Today has found.

Dozens of agents in old Delhi - a hub of the money-laundering network - have shut shop in the absence of customers and cash after the Centre suddenly banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in a bid to curb corruption and promote digital payments.

The worst-hit hawala operators in the Capital are the Gujarati businessmen.

'They used to celebrate Diwali by shutting their offices and going back to their home state for 15-20 days,' said Rakesh, whose father runs a courier services centre in old Delhi.

'But they have not returned since then because at the time they were supposed to come back, the scrapping of notes was announced.'

Investigation agencies say the underground networks are trying to revive themselves by parking their black money in new currency in neighbouring countries.

Gujarati brokers are the worst hit in the Capital as many have shut shop in absence of customers and cash

Officials say they have tightened vigil along border areas, especially near Bangladesh.

For a fee, a hawala dealer will provide the foreign currency equivalent of any amount and transfer it anywhere in the world  bypassing normal banking channels and leaving no paper trail.

Terrorists, drug dealers, arms salesmen and other criminals are big users of the network.

Almost every city in India has hawala traders, but major transactions take place in Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat.

Speaking to Mail Today, hawala operators in India, Pakistan and Dubai echoed the same words that the business has taken a massive hit with only about 3-5 per cent of the trade functioning.

'For the time being we have shut down our business and are staying back in Gujarat,' said one of the agents whose office is in old Delhi.

Sources say large volumes of cash lying with these brokers have turned redundant and many traders are likely to go bankrupt.

Liquidity crunch

This reporter approached the operator as a client, asking for Rs 20 lakh in old currency to be sent to Mumbai.

But the hawala dealer refused to change the scrapped notes. When asked if Rs 20 lakh in new currency can be transferred to Mumbai, the operator turned that down as well, saying only Rs 4 to 5 lakh can be transferred.

'The liquidity of the new currency is very less so the operator sitting on the other side might not have the same amount as the client is willing to send,' said another hawala dealer.

Long queue outside bank for withdrawal with hopes of getting cash in New Delhi

'But to survive, we are relying on the conversion of black money using agents and giving them 10 per cent commission.'

A broker who was ready to send hawala money from Delhi to Dubai said that he is taking extra commission for old currency transactions.

The trading is based on trust, has no records or paper trail and legal enforcement, is fast, flexible, non-bureaucratic, and charges low commission rate, but is illegal.

There is never any physical transfer of money and the channel is always anonymous.

The money enters the system in local currency and leaves as a foreign currency.

'If 1 lakh Dirham has to be received in Dubai then Rs 21.5 lakh (in old currency) can be deposited in Delhi or Rs 19.25 lakh in new currency,' he said.

Cashless economy is a bigger mirage than 'achhe din' says Akhilesh Yadav

By Mail Today Bureau

Attacking the BJP government on note ban, Akhilesh, without taking names, alleged that people have been betrayed and economy harmed.

Taking a dig at Narendra Modi's demonetisation move, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav termed cashless economy as a bigger mirage than 'achhe din' and said the note ban will be an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

'The illusion of cashless economy is a bigger one than achhe din... it is however for the government to see how it will be realised,' he said at a function to distribute cheques to the families of soldiers killed at the border and 14 people who allegedly lost their lives while standing in queues outside ATMs and banks after demonetisation.

Attacking the BJP government on note ban, Akhilesh, without taking names, alleged that people have been betrayed and economy harmed.

'Earlier (when the note ban was announced) people had faith, or rather confusion, that a big change will be brought... but soon after the very same people started saying that there could not have been a bigger loss to the economy... national and international economists are also writing about it,' said the UP chief minister.

'It is for the government to see how it will work out the losses to the GDP but it is a fact the people had to face hardships,' he said.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy once again started a war of words on social media.

This time, his target was Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and at the heart of the accusation was the Sahara controversy stoked by Gandhi.

Swamy tweeted that Gandhi had himself used a Sahara group car while going to file his nomination in the 2014 general elections.

Swamy tweeted that Gandhi had himself used a Sahara group car while going to file his nomination in the 2014 general elections.

'Rahul used Sahara vehicle to file nomination papers in Amethi for 2014 LS elections,' Swamy alleged in a tweet.

The attack came in response to the charges leveled by the Gandhi scion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gandhi had threatened an 'earthquake' once he revealed the corruption done by Modi.

He alleged during a rally in Mehsana that Modi had taken money from the Sahara and Birla groups when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, demanding an independent inquiry into the matter.

Though functionaries of the ruling party did not answer Mail Today queries into Swamy's allegations, sources said the veteran leader would have some proof, otherwise he would not have leveled the charge against Gandhi and that too openly, on social media.

Swamy did not respond to Mail Today queries. Congress party members, on the other hand, were quick to deny the allegations.

'Swamy rather than making wild allegations should demand a fair probe in Sahara case from the government. Sahara Diary should be investigated and all guilty should be punished. BJP, as usual, is shying away from investigations because it will expose PM Modi,' Jaiveer Shergill said.

Maharashtra Congress secretary Shehzad Poonawalla lashed out at Swamy for the allegation on Rahul Gandhi

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: 'Subramanian Swamy heads the dirty tricks department of Modiji and is a habitual offender at making preposterous statements to give cover fire to PM.'

'Instead of blabbering about non-issues and hiding behind Swamy's machinations, Modiji must answer the simple question - whether he took money from Sagar/Birla or not as depicted in documents confiscated and in custody of Income Tax & CBI,' he added.

Maharashtra Congress secretary and longtime Swamy-baiter Shehzad Poonawalla also lashed out at Swamy for the allegation.

'For anyone to take Mr Swamy, who is out on bail in a case I had lodged pertaining to a hate-article, seriously would amount to first and foremost legitimising all the allegations he has made against Mr Arun Jaitley, so the BJP better be careful because you can't pick some of his statements as true and the rest as false as per convenience.'

Though Gandhi had claimed that he had proof of 'personal corruption' against the PM, the BJP had rejected the charges as false and baseless, attacking Gandhi in turn that he was trying to take the heat off in several cases of corruption, especially the AgustaWestland chopper scam.

While Gandhi had alleged that the Sahara Group had paid Rs 40 crore and the Birla Group had paid Rs 12 crore to Modi, he is not the first one to do so.

Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan of the Swaraj Abhiyan had filed a PIL in Supreme Court which had been summarily dismissed.

The entire Opposition has demanded a thorough probe into the Congress vice-president's allegations.

Rahul Gandhi compares cash ban to Tokyo firebombing

Escalating the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi accused him of dividing the country between the rich and the poor and dubbed the move as firebombing on cash economy, farmers and labourers.

Addressing a public rally in Dharamshala, the Congress vice president said the Prime Minister Modi, with his note ban decision, has removed the hat of Himachal Pradesh as it has hit hard the state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors.

'Himachal's brave soldiers carried out the surgical strikes, but Modiji thought of launching a new drama.'

Escalating the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi accused him of dividing the country between the rich and the poor

'He launched the surgical strike on corruption. On one side, the brave give away their blood and life and on the other side, he (Modi) did surgical strike on black money and corruption. Modiji, this is not a surgical strike on black money and corruption. This is a firebombing and economic- bombing on the poor, farmers and labourers,' he said.

Accusing Modi of dividing the country between the rich and the poor, Gandhi said, 'Modiji you have tried to divide India into two parts.

On one side are the one per cent rich comprising 50 families who have private aircraft and big buildings and on other side, there are 99 per cent honest people of India - the farmers, labourers and the middle class who built this country with their sweat and blood.

'You tried to divide the people of the country,' he said.

He said that in World War II, a new way was evolved to conduct firebombing in 25 minutes and more people died in Tokyo firebombing than in Hiroshima bombing.
The end of the year is a perfect time for savers to review their investments, revel in their successes, lament over their losses  and make some important changes.

Trying to pick the funds that will top the performance charts is a tricky task for anybody, which is why some savers prefer to use multi-manager funds whose experts are solely dedicated to doing just this.

Multi-manager funds do not pick the stocks and shares they think will do best. Instead, they try to scout out the fund managers they believe will be the top performers.

The idea is that multi-manager funds can pick out the experts on, say, the UK, smaller companies and emerging markets and invest in their funds to create a one-stop shop investment fund for savers.

Trying to pick the funds that will top the performance charts is a tricky task for anybody, which is why some savers prefer to use multi-manager funds

They are also known as funds of funds, because they are funds whose portfolios are made up of other funds rather than individual stocks.

We've asked some of them to name the managers they are backing for 2017:

Bambos Hambi, head of funds at Standard Life

Hambi likes the JOHCM UK Dynamic fund, run by Alex Savvides, which invests in a range of British firms including Morrisons, BP and HSBC.

It has returned 23.2 per cent over the past year, compared with an average of 10.9 per cent among rivals.

Savvides tries to find companies in difficulty that are changing for the better.

Hambi, who first invested in the fund in 2014, says: 'I've been an admirer of Savvides for years. He is a passionate stock-picker with in-depth knowledge of the companies in which he invests.

'I also admire how he has reacted to setbacks by reducing the number of companies he invests in to focus on his best ideas  it's an impressive way to respond.'

David Lewis, fund manager at Jupiter Asset Management

He backs Stuart Rhodes, manager of M&G Global Dividend.

Rhodes has run the fund since 2008 and returned 42.9 per cent over the past year, compared with an average of 24.5 per cent among rivals.

It invests in companies across the globe, with 56 per cent in US firms such as casino operator Las Vegas Sands, Wells Fargo and Microsoft.

Lewis, who first invested in the fund in 2010, says: 'In Stuart I saw a talented investor with a structured investment process and the dedication to back his convictions.

'That strategy had a tough time in 2014 and 2015 but has rebounded dramatically with the help of his long-held and favoured stocks.'

Simon Evan-Cook, fund manager at Premier Asset Management

Evan-Cook is looking at some of M&G's riskier options, and particularly likes its Global Emerging Markets fund, which invests in businesses in developing economies including Brazil, South America and Russia.

Some 22 per cent of the 1.6billion fund is in Asian companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor, Samsung and the Chinese search engine firm Baidu.

Evan-Cook says: 'I like emerging markets because the share prices look far more attractive than their developed economy equivalents.

'Investors have shifted their sentiment from safer, bond proxy companies to recovery firms, and this fund could really benefit if that trend gains momentum.'

The fund has returned 48.7 per cent over the past year compared with an average of 28 per cent among rivals.

Gary Potter, co-head of multi-manager at BMO Global Asset Management

Another fan of emerging markets for 2017, he says: 'It seems a long time since the acronym BRIC  Brazil, Russia, India and China  was coined in 2001.

'Emerging markets have had a tough time, but with the advent of some of the changes in global politics, their prospects are starting to look better.'

Potter likes the TT Emerging Markets Unconstrained fund. It's a risky option with investments mainly in smaller firms in nations such as Argentina, Mexico and India, but it has returned 17.1 per cent in the past year.

The fund has been managed by Robert James since it was launched in June 2015, and Potter started investing in it this summer. He says: 'This fund only invests in around 40 firms.'

James de Bunsen, fund manager at Henderson

De Bunsen likes the Kennox Strategic Value fund, co-managed by Charles Heenan and Geoff Legg.

It invests across the globe in unloved businesses the managers believe are quality companies.

That strategy means some of its largest holdings are oil firms such as ExxonMobil, BP and Shell.

Some 15 per cent of the 200million fund is in Japanese firms, along with UK, US and Hong Kong companies.

De Bunsen says: 'This fund management pair are very disciplined investors who focus on quality companies with attractive share prices.

I first invested in this fund in 2012 and it has lagged since then, but I think its style is suited to what is likely to be a choppy year for stock markets in 2017.'
You might wish you'd splashed out on Renault's stylish new Scenic to get the whole family  and all those presents  to their Christmas destination in one piece.

This is the fourth generation in a range that defined the mid-size multi-purpose vehicle sector back in 1996.

It's flexible. The rear bench seat slides back and forth to increase legroom or the amount of load lugging capacity you have in the boot.

Flexible friend: The new stylish Renault Scenic can cope with most family travel needs

There's also a handy one-touch button in the back (as well as on the dashboard) that allows you to flip down and flatten the rear seats in an instant, thereby boosting your boot space.

There are even flip-down picnic tables in the back for those mince pies.

I drove the Scenic Dynamique S Nav dCi 110 with a 1.6-litre diesel engine linked to a six-speed manual gearbox offering a claimed 72.4 mpg and CO2 emissions of 100g/km.

A trip from London to the Midlands and back barely nudged the fuel tank needle.

The new Renault is the fourth generation in a range that defined the mid-size multi-purpose vehicle sector back in 1996

Frugal: A 1.6-litre diesel engine linked to a six-speed manual gearbox offers a claimed 72.4 mpg and CO2 emissions of 100g/km

Acceleration from rest to 62 mph is a toddling 12.4 seconds, with a top speed 114 mph

It has 20 in wheels and is packed with kit, including a helpful head-up colour display, rear parking camera, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition, plus a panoramic sunroof with electric sunblind.

It tickles along on motorways, but it's not the most responsive of drives and I did feel, at times, as if I was driving a minibus. Acceleration from rest to 62 mph is a toddling 12.4 seconds, with a top speed 114 mph.

Some of the technology can also be a bit confusing, though the satnav worked well, as did the music system.

The rear bench seat slides back and forth to increase legroom or the amount of load lugging capacity you have in the boot

Some of the technology can be a bit confusing, though the satnav and music system work well

So it's a fair proposition for busy families on the move.

Prices start at 21,445, while the vehicle I drove kicks off from 25,445. However, those little extras  including self-parking and blind spot features, 500, metallic paint, 545, extra safety features including a safe distance warning, 500, and an upgraded Bose stereo, 500  bumped that up to 28,080.

Still, not a bad choice for Santa's little helpers.

Supercar 'mini-bonds' promise 7.5% If you're fairly rich, feeling flush and fancy a flutter, supercar dealer Alex Prindiville may have the answer. You could plump for something like Ferrari's LaFerrari (pictured left with Prindiville), but he has a new idea. Fast cash: Supercar dealer Alex Prindiville with Ferrari's LaFerrari Prindiville just launched Britain's first supercar 'mini-bonds' costing from 50,000 each. The high-octane investment is designed to yield an annual return of 7.5 per cent. He aims to raise 12 million, secured against Prindiville Plc's stock of cars, some worth 1 million. Tesla-driving Prindiville, 42, a married father of three, grew up in Edgware, Middlesex, left school at 16, trained as an engineer and learned how to restore classic and performance cars before setting up his dealership. The idea came when a wealthy client said he was interested in investing in his company and suggested he create a suitable and safe way to do so. Prindiville says cars such as the McLaren P1  of which only 375 were produced  have more than doubled in value since launch.

nSixteen British-built cars have been long-listed for the various categories in next month's motoring 'Oscars' at the WhatCar? annual awards ceremony.

They include the Aston Martin DB11, Honda Civic, Rolls-Royce Dawn, Jaguar F-Pace, Nissan Qashqai, Mini Clubman and Vauxhall Astra.

'Hangover suit' replicates the effects of heavy night on drivers Driving with a hangover after a party is as dangerous as drink-driving, even if you are technically under the legal alcohol limit, says Ford. Now it's devised a special 'hangover suit' to replicate the effects on drivers. Weighing more than 40lb, the suit consists of vest, wrist and ankle weights, a weighted cap and goggles, and headphones that together simulate hangover symptoms. A lamp replicates hyper-sensitivity to light. Dr Richard Stephens, of Keele University, says: 'People don't realise the degree to which a hangover impacts your core ability to do anything.' The suit is part of Ford's Driving Skills For Life programme aimed at educating new drivers.

Britain's car industry achieved record exports with production topping 1.6 million for the year to date  up 9.6 per cent, of which 1,258,909 cars were exported.
Britain's largest motorbike maker has nearly doubled its profits as investments from last year started to pay off.

Triumph Motorcycles posted an increase in profits from 8.7million to 16.6million, with bike sales increasing 4.5 per cent from 53,812 to 56,253.

The Warwickshire firm said it had invested heavily in manufacturing, helping to produce its more profitable new Bonneville range.

Classic appeal: Triumph Motorcycles posted an increase in profits from 8.7m to 16.6m, with bike sales increasing 4.5%

It also ploughed money into developing an international sales network, particularly in Thailand.

Founded in 1902, it designs, manufactures and sells motorcycles, parts, accessories and clothing in more than 57 countries.

Its proportion of motorcycles sold abroad increased nearly one percentage point, from 84.4 per cent to 85.3 per cent, and turnover increased from 351.3million to 407.6million.

A spokesman said: 'Triumph has performed strongly against a backdrop of challenging currency, economic and motorcycle market conditions.
Administrators yesterday closed all but one of American Apparel's 13 stores in Britain

The High Street could face a wave of closures next year following the fall of fashion chain American Apparel, experts warn.

Rising costs and fierce competition have created a 'perfect storm' that could see some retailers go under within months.

Administrators yesterday closed all but one of American Apparel's 13 stores in Britain, with the loss of 147 jobs.

It came six weeks after the company went into administration, blaming tough trading conditions in the UK and US.

Retailers make 40 per cent of annual profit between October and December, but this year they have been slashing prices to bring in shoppers.

Retail expert Richard Hyman said factors such as looming rental payments, wage increases and the apprenticeship levy would push some retailers out of business.

He added: 'This is the most pressured retail market we have ever seen. The reality is it's very, very tough and something has to give.'

Julie Palmer, partner and retail expert at Begbies Traynor, said: 'Smaller to medium-sized retailers are struggling  it is a little bit of a perfect storm  things such as wage rises are really starting to affect them.

'For the bigger retailers it is easier  they can hit things like staff bonuses, but for the smaller retailers with less staff it is more difficult for them to do that.'

Many retailers may have miscalculated by offering heavy discounts in the run-up to Christmas, eroding margins and confidence in the brand in exchange for short-term sales volumes.

'I think the people who have been discounting for weeks are the people who are going to have less good Christmases,' Hyman said.

'When you are discounting heavily you are really sending customers a pretty negative message. You are devaluing your product.'
Two of Europe's biggest banks have been hit with fines of more than 10billion for mis-selling toxic mortgages before the financial crisis.

US regulators yesterday ordered Deutsche Bank to pay 5.9billion for its part in the debacle  less than expected  while Credit Suisse agreed to shell out 4.3billion.

The announcement draws a line under the pair's role in causing the Great Recession by touting bundles of worthless debt to unsuspecting investors.

But Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland are still being pursued by the US Department of Justice over the scandal.

Fined: US regulators yesterday ordered Deutsche Bank to pay 5.9bn for its part in the toxic loans debacle  less than expected

Panicked investors feared Deutsche could face a fine of up to 11.4billion after details of the Americans' demands were leaked this summer.

This led to concerns that it would be unable to pay and would collapse, dragging Europe's financial system down.

So yesterday's fine was greeted with relief by analysts.

In a memo to staff, Deutsche boss John Cryan said German ministers had not helped in the negotiation with US officials, and the bank was now on a secure footing with no risk of needing a government bailout.

'By agreeing this settlement, we are removing a long-standing uncertainty from Deutsche Bank,' the memo said. 'We anticipated that the credit market will welcome the sentiment.'

But Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at St James's Place, said: 'They've got a reasonable deal, but not as good as hoped.'

NatWest owner RBS is expected to face a fine of a similar size to Deutsche's. An investigation into HSBC is also under way, while Barclays will appear in the civil courts to challenge DoJ claims that it tricked investors.

Despite the relief at Deutsche, still faces a string of investigations over claims of bad practice.

There are probes into whether it manipulated foreign currency rates and precious metals prices, and whether it tried to stop investors from illegally transferring billions of pounds out of Russia.

'For Deutsche it was quite positive,' said Kyle Kloc, of Fisch Asset Management. 'With Credit Suisse it is more complicated.

'Yes, it reduces uncertainty but it is toward the high end of what people expected.'
Its been a dramatic year in which some events were so unlikely that you could have got odds of 5,000-1 on them happening.

Leicester City winning the Premier League in May, the Brexit vote in June and Donald Trumps election as US President last month were all hugely improbable.

And the combination of all three sporting and political upsets has led online bookmaker BetStars to bill 2016 as the year of the underdog.

LEICESTER CITY: PREMIER LEAGUE WITNESSES A 5,000-1 SPORTING MIRACLE

Leicester City winning last seasons Premier League was rated a less likely prospect than the Loch Ness Monster being discovered or Elvis found alive.

The title victory by Claudio Ranieri's side was branded 'a miracle' and a once in a lifetime achievement by pundits  with the side being rated at 5,000-1.

Stars from Jamie Vardy to Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante to Robert Huth saw bookmakers have to pay out an estimated 25million to those who backed them.

Italian Ranieri was an unpopular appointment after previous boss Nigel Pearson but won over fans of many clubs with the brilliance of his unfancied team.

He famously reacted with glee once Leicesters place in the top four was confirmed, saying: We are in the Champions League, dilly ding, dilly dong.

Top of the fox: Leicester City's Shinji Okazaki and his teammates including Riyad Mahrez lift the trophy as they celebrate winning the Premier League at King Power Stadium in May

Astonishing: The title victory by Claudio Ranieri's side was branded 'a miracle' and a once in a lifetime achievement by pundits  with the side being rated at 5,000-1

BREXIT MEANS BREXIT: CAMERON RESIGNS AFTER UK VOTES TO LEAVE EU

Not quite as unlikely as Leicesters title win, but when David Cameron revealed the EU referendum date in February, the odds were 5-1 for yes and 3-10 for no.

And even on the night before the vote in June, punters were still backing leave at 3-1, before 52 per cent of voters delivered the landmark political earthquake.

Mr Cameron resigned before Theresa May took over as Prime Minister and she has pledged to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March.

The two main issues to resolve before Brexit are how British firms will do business in the EU and how it will affect the rights of EU nationals to live and work in the UK.

However, Mrs Mays right to trigger Article 50 without Parliaments backing was successfully challenged in the High Court - and Downing Street has appealed.

'Vote to leave': Participants of a demonstration calling for Brexit hold banners in London

Shock result: Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react in dismay as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall in London on June 24

DONALD TRUMP: TV STAR BECOMES THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL PERSON

Donald Trump was voted in as the US President last month in one of the most explosive elections on record - a year after he could have been backed at 20-1.

Even in July when he was declared as the Republican candidate, Mr Trump was at 6-1 - and he was still 7-2 on the day of voting, compared to Hilary Clinton at 1-5.

It came 18 months after he announced his campaign, saying the country was in 'serious trouble' and that many Mexican immigrants were 'criminals' and 'rapists'.

The Trump campaign became known for his ideas that Muslims would be banned from entering the US and a huge wall would be built between America and Mexico.

But despite him rarely being ahead in any of the polls, former Celebrity Apprentice hose Mr Trump beat Mrs Clinton and he will take office on January 20.

President-elect: Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech during an election night rally in New York on November 9, one year after he could have been backed at odds of 20-1
A team of crack British medics have become the first in the world to be verified as able to set up a specialist field hospital in a natural disaster zone.

The Emergency Medical Team (EMT) has been accredited by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and can now be deployed and operating within 72 hours.

And the team could be called upon to abandon their families and fly out on Christmas morning if a disaster occurs.

The EMT - which includes firefighters and aid staff alongside medics - tested its skills recently in a huge exercise as part of its accreditation process.

It followed a year-long design and build project coordinated by the Department for International Development.

It is only the sixth EMT in the world to be verified by the WHO and the first to incorporate a specialist treatment cell that offers rehabilitation expertise for those left with a disability following a humanitarian disaster.

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A team of crack British medics have become the first in the world to be verified as able to set up a specialist field hospital in a natural disaster zone. Pictured: The team on a major training exercise earlier this month

An aerial view of the field hospital reveals the scale of the operation, which can be deployed within 72 hours of an emergency and operate up to 60 beds

The EMT is funded by Britain's controversial aid budget. It costs around 1.9million a year to train, maintain and keep the EMT on standby 24-7.

The International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: 'The whole country should be proud of these brave men and women who, without a moment's hesitation, can deploy to some of the world's most dangerous and challenging places to save lives.

'UK expertise means our Emergency Medical Team can get a working field hospital up and running at the site of any disaster in just 72 hours.'

'The World Health Organisation has recognised that the UK is at the forefront of humanitarian work as part of our vital global leadership role.'

As a direct result of the WHO's accreditation, depending on the need, the UK can now deploy:

Clinical personnel only to work in existing infrastructure

Small modular and specialist units

And/or a fully equipped, staffed and deployable field hospital to provide the physical infrastructure for NHS teams to carry out up to seven major and 15 minor surgeries per day, with up to 60 in-patient beds

It will be deployable and fully operational within 72 hours and self-sufficient for up to three weeks

With regular replenishment of medical consumables it will be capable of operating for up to three months

When a humanitarian disaster occurs, the home government can now request medical assistance via the United Nations.

EMT's were also deployed to fight Ebola.

Britain is one of six countries able to offer rapid response at global quality standards. The others are Russia, China, Japan, Australia and Israel.

The medics are trained to deploy into existing hospitals or to set up their own facilities within hours, offering emergency medicine and surgery in humanitarian disaster zones

Matthew Benson, DFID Humanitarian Response Team Leader, said: 'This is the culmination of a year-long project to design, build and deliver a fully staffed civilian field hospital that can be deployed overseas in response to rapid onset humanitarian disasters such as earthquakes, floods or other medical emergencies.

'The UK EMT has now been verified by the World Health Organisation as a 'type 2' field hospital, meaning it can be deployed and operational within 72 hours of being requested, and is capable of performing up to seven major or 15 minor surgeries per day, and treating up to 60 patients at any one time.'

He added: 'It means the UK is one of only a handful of countries in the world that has a field hospital of this type, and we're the first in the world to have a rehabilitation component.'

Humanitarian Response Team leader Matthew Benson said the fully equipped EMT had taken a year to design and build. It can carry out seven major emergency surgeries a day while being entirely self sufficient in a disaster zone

EMT staff can deploy as small self contained units or as a fully fledged field hospital if an emergency such as an earthquake or hurricane occurs

Roger Alcock is a consultant in emergency medicine and emergency paediatric medicine at Forth Vallery regional hospital. He took part in the full scale training exercise earlier this month.

He said: 'This simulation exercise has been a great opportunity for us to try out the UK's new civilian field hospital for the first time as a team, to assess and stress it, to identify the learning that we need to do before we deploy for real with it, to a sudden onset humanitarian disaster or medical emergency overseas.

'It's a great team of people working together, to handle what was quite a challenging mass casualty scenario with 53 patients attending the hospital with a range of injuries.'

Mr Alcock said the exercise had proven the value of the 'fantastic' facility and praised the 'superb team' from the NHS, Fire and Rescue Service, DFID and charity Handicap International.

Just six teams - including the British EMT are accredited by the WHO as rapid responders. Pictured: Medics treat a 'patient' during the major exercise earlier this month

Among the team members are David Anderson (left) who in his day job is head of urgent care at Norhamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group, and Kate Sweby (right), an NHS physiotherapist from Brighton who is on call over Christmas

Sean Moore is Group Manager and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and is a veteran at responding to international disasters after deploying 11 times to Nepal, Japan, New Zealand, the US for Hurricane Katrina, Iran, Turkey and India.

He said: ' Our main role from the Fire and Rescue Service is to provide logistics, which starts from the moment the plane lands at the airport of the affected country.

'We will be responsible for customs, immigration, unloading of the aircraft, arranging of transport to move the equipment from the airport to the site, and site selection.

'We would then literally build the infrastructure, including water and electricity supply, heating, lighting, and basically getting the facility up and running.'

The training exercise was made as authentic as possible with detailed and gory wounds presented to the medics to simulate the horrors of a real disaster

The team can fly out with vast amounts of equipment to ensure it is self sufficient for three weeks - and with regular re-supplies can operate as a fully functioning hospital for up to three months

Jon Barden, DFID Humanitarian Advisor and UK Emergency Medical Team project leader said: 'We all know that the NHS has magnificent capability that we can bring to bear to help save lives in response to humanitarian emergencies.

'We were commissioned to put together a register of NHS professionals who were willing to be deployed, to train them, and also to design and build a field hospital for them to work in.

'That's what we've done, and this is the culmination of it.'

NHS physiotherapist Kath Sweby - who normally works in the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust - said: 'I joined because I've got skills in major trauma, physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

'I joined because I love working in the NHS but sometimes you need to test your skills in a slightly different way.

'I also love travelling, seeing different cultures and actually being able to help in a different environment.'

Jon Barden (left) is the project lead for the EMT at the Department for International Development while Sean Moore (right), a Merseyside firefighter who is a veteran of 11 deployments to natural disasters

The team - which includes firefighters and aid staff alongside medics - tested its skills recently in a huge exercise as part of its accreditation process

She added: 'None of us really want to be deployed, because that would mean that some sort of disastrous event has happened, but that's what we're trained to do, and that's why we're going through this process.

'I'm part of the team on rota that is on call now and in January.'

David Anderson, Head of Urgent Care for Northamptonshire, said: 'For me, it's all about giving back.

'When I was deployed to Sierra Leone, you went and you saw what it was like and you think: I've worked in the NHS for years and could actually fundamentally make a massive difference to a huge number of people in a very short period.

'We deployed and we did lots of good work in prevention. Sadly, lots of people died but ultimately, we helped stopped the spread.'

Britain's EMT is only the sixth in the world to be verified by the WHO and the first to incorporate a specialist treatment cell that offers rehabilitation expertise for those left with a disability following a humanitarian disaster

Pete Skelton, Rehabilitation Project Manager at Handicap International, said: 'Weve been involved in the project since 2013.

'A lot of the lessons that weve learnt from past responses is that were getting better and better at doing emergency medical response but actually whats often missing is the follow-up, what happens to patients after.'

He added: 'Were the first country in the world to do this.

'Its a really exciting project, and a real flagship achievement for us, something that weve led on and played a big role in influencing the World Health Organisation.
It could be a cold Christmas for more than 1,000 people in Michigan's Upper Peninsula after a vehicle struck a natural gas line early Friday, causing an explosion and fire in Baraga County.

The sheriff's office says a vehicle went off U.S. 41, struck a Semco Energy gas line and caused a fire at a utility substation in the L'Anse area on Lake Superior. There were no injuries.

The L'Anse Fire Department extinguished the fire, but gas service to about 1,200 gas customers in parts of the village and L'Anse Township will be disrupted for two to three days while repairs are made, Baraga County Sheriff Rick Johnson said.

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It could be a cold Christmas for more than 1,000 people in Michigan's Upper Peninsula after a vehicle struck a natural gas line early Friday, causing an explosion and fire in Baraga County

Utility crews were going door-to-door to shut off gas at each home and business, a process that was estimated to take hours.

Semco crews also were working to repair the damage at the substation, the utility said.

Semco crews from across Michigan were headed to L'Anse to assist with service restoration.

Warming centers were established at a Baraga school, Ojibwa Community College and the Big Bucks Bingo Hall.

Firefighters put out the fire, but gas service to about 1,200 gas customers in parts of the village and L'Anse Township will be disrupted for two to three days

Semco crews were working to repair the damage at the substation

The National Weather Service predicted low temperatures in the 20s and 30s through Sunday night.

Space heaters were also distributed for people who preferred to stay home.

At Baraga High School, district Superintendent Richard Sarau turned on Wi-Fi for people staying there.

'You know, it's tough enough that it happened during the holidays but, you know, if we can keep the young ones busy, keep their minds off of things and keep families working together and playing games and those kinds of things  it just makes it that much easier on everybody,' Sarau said.
Theresa May today vows to unite the country after a year of Brexit divisions and forge a bold new role for the UK in the world.

In an upbeat Christmas message, the Prime Minister calls for people to come together and help make a success of the decision to leave the European Union.

There had been much to celebrate in 2016, she says, with great opportunities to be seized after we leave the EU  as long as Britain is confident about the future.

Message: Theresa May, the Prime Minister calls for people to come together and help make a success of the decision to leave the European Union in her video message

Her words will be seen as an attempt to address the splits between supporters and opponents of EU membership exposed by the June 23 vote, won by the Out campaign by a 52 to 48 per cent margin.

In her first Christmas message as PM, Mrs May spoke about her personal faith and her upbringing as the daughter of a vicar. She said: Coming together is also important for us as a country.

As we leave the European Union we must seize a historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future.

And, with our international partners, we must work together to promote trade, increase prosperity and face the challenges to peace and security around the world.

Mrs May stressed that 2016 has seen much for Britain to celebrate, including the Queens 90th birthday and successes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Message: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also sent out an upbeat Christmas message, saying he wanted to cheer up Britons left downcast by 2016

As we gather with our friends and families at this time of year we proudly celebrate the birth of Christ and the message of forgiveness, love and hope that He brings, she said.

We also think of Christians in other parts of the world who face persecution this Christmas and reaffirm our determination to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practise their beliefs in peace and safety.

The PM spoke about her own background as the daughter of a vicar. Having grown up in a vicarage, I know how demanding it can be for those who have to work over the Christmas period, she said.

So its right for all of us to express our gratitude to those who will have to spend Christmas away from the people they love in looking after others: those in our health and care services, those who work with the vulnerable, as well as those who will be caring for a loved one.

And we thank those in our armed forces, security agencies and emergency services who work all year round to keep our country safe  especially those who will be separated by their duty from their families and friends.

As we leave the European Union we must seize a historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future. Theresa May, Prime Minister

She concluded: Wherever you are this Christmas, I wish you joy and peace in this season of celebration, along with health and happiness in the year ahead.

In a separate video message to the Armed Forces, Mrs May promised to do more to help servicemen and women and their families in 2017, to show them that this Government is on your side.

Describing Britains troops as the finest in the world, the PM said: Over this holiday period, there will be around 5,000 members of our armed forces deployed on operations  in the desert, at sea, even under the sea operating our continuous nuclear deterrent.

While even those who are able to be here in the UK will, in many cases, be on standby to deal with domestic incidents like the flood relief that so many of you helped with during your Christmas breaks last year. Just as your commitment to our country is unfaltering, so in return we owe you the same deep commitment and unflinching support.

And, as we go into 2017, I know there is more we can do to help and I am determined that we should do so. Because I want you  and all your families  to know that this Government is on your side.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also sent out an upbeat Christmas message, saying he wanted to cheer up Britons left downcast by 2016.
A 47-year-old man who raped his business partner's girlfriend during a drug binge stopped to answer his colleague's phone-call to ask for food before continuing to rape the 19-year-old, a court heard.

The accused was found guilty of five counts of rape for sexually assaulting the woman who was initially asleep in a Preston hotel room in Melbourne on August 12, 2012,The Age reported.

The man's colleague and the woman were on the drug ice and were intoxicated on the night of the incident, the Victorian County Court heard.

A 47-year-old man raped his colleague's 19-year-old girlfriend in August 2012, the Victorian County Court heard (stock photo)

At the time of the assault the woman's boyfriend was out of the room to find more drugs and food, the court heard.

Earlier this month, the man was sentenced to six years behind bars with a non-parole period of four years.

After the assault the woman dressed herself beneath the covers and told her boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend the following day, the court heard.

Judge Quin said the man prowled on a person that was asleep and vulnerable.

'Sexual offences committed in circumstances where the victim is sleeping are opportunistic and exploits their vulnerability,' the judge said.

A 47-year-old man was on the drug ice when he stopped the sexual assault to answer a phone call from his victim's boyfriend
A Tory politician has criticised the broken care system after revealing her father will spend Christmas in hospital due to a shortage of home carers.

Ninety-one-year-old Jack Finch  father of Welsh Assembly member Janet Finch-Saunders  has been well enough to leave hospital for over three weeks.

But despite being promised twice that he would be home before Christmas, the great-grandfather has now been told no care is available until the New Year.

Tory politician Janet Finch-Saunders has criticised the broken care system after revealing her father, Jack (pictured with her), 91, will spend Christmas in hospital due to a shortage of home carers

Mrs Finch-Saunders, the Assemblys shadow minister for Local Government, said she had repeatedly called for a review of social care funding by the Labour-run Welsh government.

The system is broken, she said. People are lingering for weeks in hospital at huge cost. Care companies are struggling because they arent getting enough from local councils.

Mr Finch was admitted to hospital in north Wales with sepsis in September. He recovered, only to contract the superbug E.coli (file image, above)

Areas where there is an older demographic should be allocated more funding. Its a ticking time-bomb, not just here but also for the rest of the UK.

Mr Finch was admitted to hospital in north Wales with sepsis in September.

He recovered, only to contract the superbug E.coli.

He was moved to Llandudno Hospital and was medically fit to go home on December 2.

However Mrs Finch-Saunders has been told social workers were unable to secure a care package.
The foster father of 12-year-old Tiahleigh Palmer murdered her and placed her in a backyard shed after he found out his son had allegedly has sex with the youngster, police court papers allege.

Tiahleigh Palmer was killed on October 29, 2015, after her foster father Rick Thorburn allegedly learned from his wife their son had told her he had sex with the young girl.

The accused murderer Rick Thorburn, 56, then allegedly killed his foster daughter and hid her in the back shed before telling the family he had 'taken care of it', according to court documents seen by The Courier Mail.

Tiahleigh Palmer, 12, (pictured) was killed on October 29 last year in Brisbane

Foster father Rick Thorburn is accused of murdering 12-year-old Tiahleigh Palmer

The foster brother of Tialeigh Palmer allegedly had sex with the 12-year-old schoolgirl, court documents claim

The 19-year-old son of Rick Thorburn was denied bail after court documents claim he allegedly admitted to having sex with the schoolgirl in an online conversation.

In an online conversation with his cousin, the foster brother said he wanted Tiahleigh out of his life, but knew she was a 'source of income' for the parents, according to Nine News.

'I would rather kill myself then (sic) live with my family thinking I am some kind of sicko,' Thorburn allegedly wrote.

The 19-year-old foster brother of Tiahleigh has been denied bail

'I just want the kid gone and out of my life,' it's claimed he later wrote.

'But I know she is also a sauce (sic) of income for mum and dad as well and I can't risk us loosing (sic) money because she is gone.'

Another victim also alleged the 19-year-old had sexually abused her before.

Police searched a house south of Brisbane in relation to Tiahleigh Palmer's death

Police searched a house in Queensland relating to the death of Tiahleigh Palmer

Police allege Rick Thorburn's family did not know he was going to kill his 12-year-old foster daughter Tiahleigh, but court documents show police had installed surveillance equipment in the Thorburn's house and recorded the family discussing plans to lie to the police.

The foster mother, Julie Thorburn, has been charged with perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Snow, and an early dismissal from school and random chance at an intersection on the border between Silver Spring and Monroe townships led to a fatal crash on Feb. 9.

With snow falling in the county, Cumberland Valley School District buses hit the roads early that afternoon in an effort to get students home ahead of the predicted bad weather. One of those buses failed to stop at a stop sign where South Locust Point Road intersects West Trindle Road and struck the Chevrolet Cruze on the passenger side.

Sadie D. Wells, 20, of Kaysville, Utah, was a front-seat passenger in the Chevrolet Cruze. She was in the area to do missionary work.

Wells was pronounced dead at the scene and three other passengers in the Chevrolet Cruze were taken to the hospital as a result of their injuries.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spokeswoman Kristen Howey said at the time that Wells and the other three unidentified missionaries in the car were called to the Pittsburgh Mission for service, and that mission area included the Mechanicsburg area. Howey said missionaries usually work and live in the same area.

She would have been based right in your area, Howey said. Missionaries generally stay in an apartment or a home that was assigned to them.

Family statement

The next day, the Wells family issued a statement about their daughter.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our daughter and sister, Sadie Danielle Wells. We will miss her smile and vibrant, fun-loving personality. Our concern is for her mission companion and the other sister missionaries involved in the accident, and we pray for them and their families.

Sadie loved life and loved being a missionary. Her letters home were filled with her vibrant personality, love for the people of Pennsylvania, love of the gospel and love for her Savior, Jesus Christ.

We draw comfort from the belief that Sadie is with her Heavenly Father and that she continues the Lords work with the same vigor and enthusiasm that she did in life. Sadie ended each of her emails with the words of a favorite Primary song, `Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way. We ask all to pay tribute to Sadie by living their lives this way.

Rohrer Bus released a statement Feb. 10 about the crash. David Schrantz, vice president of Rohrer Bus, confirmed the details of the crash and noted that the company has worked with Cumberland Valley School District for more than 30 years, and safety has always been and continues to be our top priority.

While we cannot change what happened, we pledge our assistance in working with local authorities to understand what occurred and are cooperating fully with law enforcement officials to aid their investigation, Schrantz said in a statement. We are deeply grieved for the loss of life and injury and offer our sincere condolences to those affected by this tragedy.

Bus driver

State police said Edmund C. Clapper, 68, of Mechanicsburg, was driving the school bus south on North Locust Point Road when he failed to stop at the stop sign. There were roughly 32 students, who had been dismissed early because of snow, on the bus at the time of the crash.

Pennsylvania State Police announced in September that they had concluded their investigation into the bus crash, with the findings from the investigation turned over to the district attorneys office for determination if charges would be filed against the bus driver. District Attorney David Freed said then that his office was reviewing the findings.

To date, no charges have been filed in the case.
Leah Wright with son Logun, 6 months

The table is set, the champagnes on ice and crackers sit by the plates.

All that remains is for the guests to arrive for Christmas lunch, where they will be welcomed with open arms.

As long as they have paid up in advance, that is.

This is the reality of Christmas Day festivities at the home of Leah Wright this year.

She has invited 12 people  all family  to celebrate with her and her partner, Andrew Fuller, at their comfortable home in South London.

Yet she has made it clear that guests can only attend if they pay her 60 per couple for the privilege.

And if youre coming without a plus one?

Too bad.

Leahs mother and sister are attending without partners and must still fork out 60 each.

Not only that, but Leah insists on having the money in advance  cash or a bank transfer directly into the couples account.

For providing the lunch, she has a budget of just over 400.

Its a sum that will leave Leah with a profit from her guests contributions, and cover the cost of her own and Andrews Christmas lunch.

And her guests wont even get a glass of wine for their 60 fee  they have been asked to bring a bottle with them.

A typical family get together on Christmas Day, complete with makeshift chairs, at Cherry Bennett's house

Cherry Bennett (pictured), her mother and other family members take it in turn to host 13 guests and always ask for payment up front

Everyone is in employment, we all receive complimentary bottles [of wine] at this time of year.

I dont see why we shouldnt all enjoy them at the family Christmas lunch, says Leah.

At this point, many people will be thinking that even Scrooge might have blanched at turning a profit from making family members pay for a home-cooked meal to which he had invited them.

Yet Leah is not alone.

She is one of a growing number of women who are requesting payment in return for entertaining family and friends on Christmas Day.

Goodwill to all men? Not quite, it seems.

But 28-year-old Leah, a primary school teacher on maternity leave, is unrepentant.

She says she simply cant see why she should have to take the financial hit for feeding so many people.

Not that she is exactly on the breadline.

She and 33-year-old Andrew, an executive chef, have a combined annual household income of 85,000.

And it is Christmas, after all.

The table is set, the champagnes on ice and crackers sit by the plates. All that remains is for the guests to arrive for Christmas lunch, where they will be welcomed with open arms

Perhaps not surprisingly, there has been outrage from some family members at the idea of paying for their festive lunch

Perhaps not surprisingly, there has been outrage from some family members at the idea of paying for their festive lunch.

The first rumbles of discontent surfaced when Leah sent out emails and texts to everyone in their immediate family, inviting them to lunch and also revealing how much they would have to pay for the privilege.

Her in-laws were particularly upset, Leah admits.

In contrast, her side of the family accepted the idea  because for the past four years they have also requested payment up front for the Christmas Day meal, a practice instigated by Leahs mother.

Leah insists this is the first year there has been any muttering about money changing hands.

It has certainly caused issues with some family members.

'I heard several negative comments on the family grapevine and was a bit taken aback at first.

My two sisters and I dont have a problem with paying.

'After all, it was a lot for Mum to have to cover on her own.

But this is the first year the two families have come together.

'My partners side arent used to how we do things, so thats probably why they were shocked.

It was left to Andrew to explain to his horrified relatives that Christmas would be a payment-only affair.

What undoubtedly caused the family flare-up this year was the way we went about it  inviting everyone but telling them at the same time what were charging them, says Leah.

Perhaps receiving an email or a text isnt in keeping with the festive season, but its better to be clear about it.

Does she regret the whole arrangement? Definitely not.

My thinking is that just because we host the meal, that doesnt mean we should cover the entire cost.

It was only when wed received some of the payments that we ordered the food.

In an attempt to calm down everyone after her invitation, Leah, who has two sons, Jaylen, seven, and six-month-old Logan, then sent out her proposed menu, so guests could see what they would get in return.

She insists that for 60 they will be treated to a restaurant experience.

Andrew is a chef and what were offering isnt a traditional Christmas roast. He will prepare an exquisite three-course meal.

There are a variety of smoked salmon starters.

'The main course includes turkey, duck and pork, with a selection of five vegetables.

'This is followed by a choice of three desserts. If anything, were spoiling them!

The planning for Leah and Andrews big Christmas lunch began in November.

And while Leah, who has experience of catering and organising events, has no intention of cooking the now controversial meal herself, she did design the menu.

Im the bossy-boots, she says. I knew exactly what I wanted. The only change Ive had to make is including quiches as an option for starters, because my sisters arent keen on fish.

Our guests will arrive at 1pm, to sit down at 4pm. I enjoy being a hostess. I know how to make sure everyone has fun.

Despite everything, I dont have any dread about how things will go on the day.

While our families are different and dont share the same outlook on life, Ill be keeping everyones glasses topped up while Andrew works in the kitchen.

Were getting good deals on the meat and vegetables. Andrew is using his preferred suppliers. My family understand. It isnt personal, its a transaction, which means well all enjoy it so much more.

As for her in-laws misgivings, Leah is upbeat: Everyone is fine about it now. Im determined there wont be an atmosphere on Christmas Day.

But Peter Sidwell, curator of the recipe website Simple Good Food, doesnt share Leahs confidence.

Used notes changing hands between family members just feels so wrong, he says. If someone genuinely cant afford to host Christmas lunch, they shouldnt make the offer. Or they could ask their loved ones to bring a dish, not make a bank transfer.

Indeed, despite Leahs protestations of expense, research confirms that hosting Christmas Day need not be financially crippling.

Good Housekeeping magazine showed how to feed eight people a traditional Christmas lunch for less than 20  2.48 a head  by shopping around for bargains. Whether you keep a keen eye on the cost of Christmas or not, though, would you have the gall to ask your family to stump up if you found yourself short of cash to pay for Christmas lunch  and even the decorations?

Until two years ago, 32-year-old Julie and husband Jonathan, 35, a project manager, were happy to cover the 100 cost of the meal, which Julie has always insisted on hosting at her home in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, because she hates the thought of driving on Christmas Day

That is precisely what Julie Baker, a childrens physiotherapist, asked of her family.

Until two years ago, 32-year-old Julie and husband Jonathan, 35, a project manager, were happy to cover the 100 cost of the meal, which Julie has always insisted on hosting at her home in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, because she hates the thought of driving on Christmas Day.

But then Jonathan was made redundant. So Julie, who has a two-year-old son, Dylan, asked her family to pay up for the privilege of eating at her home.

Money was tight so everyone agreed to chip in, she says.

Even though Jonathan is back in work and the family finances are healthier, she continues to ask her guests for cash to pay for the Christmas meal.

Its a tradition Ive continued, especially as the meal has got bigger, with more family members joining us, she says.

Luckily our dining room is large enough to accommodate eight people. But its exhausting having to clean the house and prepare everything in the run-up to the meal.

Thats why I have no qualms about asking everyone for cash up front to pay the local suppliers I prefer to use at this time of year. I do soften it by saying what theyre contributing towards, though.

This year Julie has received money for everything from the turkey to the decorations. Her father-in-law handed over 40 to pay for the turkey. Her generous mother gave her 50 for decorations and food, while her mother-in-law has shelled out 30 towards the food.

All in all, Julie estimates that the budget for tomorrows meal will be 150 including the food, soft drinks and alcohol  and, like Leah, she is adamant that requesting financial help is acceptable.

I dont feel guilty about it. I work, Im a mum. Ill be stressed out over the next few days. Even though I enjoy the cooking part, I did look into us all going to the local gastro pub  but at 60 a head for a meal theyd normally charge 25 for, it was ridiculous. My family has got a good deal with me.

This way I wont be stressing about paying the bills at the end of January, either. The only thing Im worrying about is whether my signature dessert, pavlova, will be up to scratch.

But while Leah and Julie say their meals are worth the price because of the work that goes into them, spare a thought for the guests of Cherry Bennett, 29.

She charges 60 per couple for Christmas dinner  without a starter.

I did get a lot of stick for charging so much. The running joke was that Id been to Harrods to buy everything, she says.

I got a lot of ribbing for my extravagant budget. Yet no one complained when they had a glass of prosecco in their hand.

At least her request for money in 2014 caused little family tension as it has become a tradition. Cherry, her mother and other family members take it in turn to host 13 guests and always ask for payment up front.

Normally the family running the Christmas lunch charges 50 a couple. But for my year, I couldnt make the budget work on that  so I told everyone they had to pay 60 per couple instead, says Cherry, a full-time mum to daughter Lexi, nine, and son Huxton, two.

My philosophy is that everyone has to pay up front. No questions asked. With 13 of us to cater for, its not fair to expect one couple to foot such an enormous bill.

So Cherry, who lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex, with husband Adam, 32, a business partner in procurement at the local council, made sure everyone had paid before she did her food shop.

One paid by bank transfer, the other handed over the cash. Mum and Dad paid me in notes, too.

With cash in hand, Cherry  who calls herself a big Christmas spender  then set off to the shops, determined everything would be perfect.

In the event, there were a few testing moments.

I did get stressed out with my husband, she says. Wed missed our local carol service the night before so I could make a start on the vegetables. I was up at 6am to get the turkey under way.

 When everyone arrived at 11.30am, I trusted Adam to serve the drinks. But he was so slow! I did get cross with him.

Luckily the meal was perfect.

Im very traditional, says Cherry. There was no sprouts-wrapped-in-bacon malarkey. Im known for my crispy roast potatoes and my turkey was cooked to perfection  you get what you pay for.

The only thing that let me down was my soggy broccoli. But I was on my feet until 8.30pm, when everyone left. It was exhausting.

This year, though, my parents have moved away. Its the first time Ill be doing Christmas dinner on my own  and it will definitely be less stressful.

Despite the kerfuffle asking her in-laws for payment has caused, Leah Wright believes that, in fact, more of us should charge for hosting Christmas Day.

Just send out the invitations, menus and prices in advance, she says. Make it clear so everyone knows what theyre getting for their contribution.
Williamson was brutally killed and her body was found on June 3, 2015

The mother of a gang member who confessed to brutally murdering a transgender teenage girl in a hate crime has claimed her son's victim was 'living in sin'.

Kelly Wilkins, from Mobile, Alabama, is the mother of 29-year-old Josh Brandon Vallum - who pleaded guilty to a hate crime on Wednesday over the killing of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson.

Williamson was found dead and partially buried in a field on June 3, 2015. Vallum confessed to the killing, which he said was motivated by his fear of how he would be judged by gang members for having a relationship with a transgender woman.

He stabbed her multiple times with a military knife and beat her with a claw hammer until the screaming stopped, according Alabama.com.

Mercedes Williamson (pictured), 17, was murdered and her partially buried body was found in a field on June 3, 2015

29-year-old Josh Brandon Vallum (pictured in court in July) pleaded guilty to a hate crime on Wednesday over the killing of 17-year-old

However, Wilkins - a devout Christian - claims her son 'blacked out' when he killed Williamson and said it was not because the 29-year-old was prejudice against transgender people.

She also refused to refer to Williamson correctly as a woman, repeatedly using the wrong pronouns.

'It wasn't about that. He did black out because he didn't know,' the mother said in an interview on Thursday.

'He was kissing that boy (sic) thinking it was a girl and when he put his hand in their pants and felt a penis he blacked out.'

Kelly Wilkins (pictured), from Mobile, Alabama, is the mother of 29-year-old Josh Brandon Vallum, and claims her son 'blacked out' when he killed the 17-year-old

Wilkins (pictured) refused to refer to Williamson correctly as a woman, repeatedly using the wrong pronouns

Wilkins said both the 17-year-old woman and her son were 'living in sin'.

'I am a Christian. I believe what God says. His word says its (sic) a sin to be homosexual. It also says it is a sin to kill,' she said.

'Josh is not gay. Ask all the girls he has dated over the years. I'm not more focused on either sin. They are both sin.'

The following quote also contained incorrect pronouns, which have been left in the quote but identified as wrong.

'I am very sorry that boy (sic) lost his (sic) life. I'm sorry Josh killed him (sic). I hope that boy (sic) cried out to God for forgiveness before he (sic) died and is in heaven now.'

The interview came a day after Wilkins appeared to blame Williamson for her death, while also denying that her son is gay, in a lengthy Facebook post.

Vallum (pictured left, and right, when he was arrested in 2015) was in a relationship with the young woman before he killed her

Williamson was just 17 years old when she was found dead in a field after being murdered

'He is not gay. He thought the transgender was a female. He had been in a relationship with what he thought was a girl but in the act of making out he found male genitals,' she wrote, according to Alabama.com.

'He blacked out and when he came to that person was dead in his car and he had a hammer in his hand.

'It was a tragedy for that young person to have died. It was also wring (sic) the way he lived his life as a female when God created him as a male.'

The mother then went on to say her son had 'made a mistake', but was 'not a monster'.

The young victim was accused by her killer's mother of 'living in sin', during an interview this week

The Human Rights Campaign says at least 21 transgender women, like Williamson (pictured), have been killed in 2016

She also referenced the discovery of a vast library of gay pornography on her son's cellphone, including almost 100 pictures and videos of 'man on man sex'.

Wilkins claimed her son also visited heterosexual pornography websites on his phone, but accused prosecutors of not including those images in their findings.

Vallum is currently serving a life sentence for the murder.

In 2015, 21 transgender women died in a killing in the United States, up from 12 in 2014, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
Joe McCann was known as the Che Guevara of the IRA. They still sing ballads about his bravery during The Troubles (he scorned Britains might . . .) in pubs along the Falls Road in Belfast.

A plaque honouring his memory has been put up in the city centre. It features a silhouette of McCann crouched with an M1 Carbine semi-automatic rifle resting on his knee.

The photograph was taken during a stand-off between his infamous IRA unit (Third Belfast Battalion) and 600 British troops who had flooded into the Market district to arrest a local man after internment was introduced.

Joe McCann, known as the Che Guevara of the IRA', pictured during a stand-off between his infamous IRA unit (Third Belfast Battalion) and 600 British troops in 1972

The picture appeared in a spread in Life Magazine and secured McCanns place in Republican folklore. On the commemorative plaque bearing the iconic image is the inscription: Joe McCann, Staff Capt IRA, Murdered by British paratroopers 15th April 1972.

Interesting, isnt it, how all IRA men who died were murdered, but the men, women and children they slaughtered were legitimate casualties of war or just collateral damage.

Nowhere is this hypocrisy more evident than in the mythologised life  and death  of 24-year-old Staff Capt Joe McCann.

Joe was a true Republican Socialist and a genuine working class hero, reads the eulogy to him on his official website.

In fact, McCanns unit used children to lure British soldiers into deadly ambushes, a ploy which sits uneasily with the romanticised narrative peddled by his supporters.

McCann might never have been arrested, charged or convicted of killing anyone  as his family are at pains to point out  but no convictions is not the same as being innocent.

He was at the top of the Royal Ulster Constabularys most wanted list and was strongly suspected of being involved in numerous killings and terrorist outrages, including the shooting dead of a corporal and attempted assassination of a prominent Unionist politician.

There could also be another, more notorious entry on his CV, the Mail has learned.

Two former paratroopers have been charged with his murder, more than 40 years after he met his death in Belfast. Pictured is one of the defendants, known only as 'Soldier C'

McCann is rumoured to have been one of the masterminds behind a car bomb attack on Aldershot barracks in 1972, an atrocity which claimed seven lives, all civilians. Joe McCann has always been linked with Aldershot, a former IRA operative told us this week.

Remember this when you read what follows.

Today, more than 40 years after Joe McCann met his death in Belfast  a place where so many IRA bombers still walk the streets as free men  two former paratroopers have been charged with his murder.

McCann must be laughing in his grave. For in a few weeks time, the defendants, pensioners known only as Soldiers A and C, will be summoned before a court in Belfast where they could be publicly identified.

Theres a very real chance they will not be allowed to retain their anonymity when they stand trial, even though they would fear not just for their own safety, but that of their families, if named.

I feel angry and betrayed that our own Government has allowed this witch-hunt to take place against myself and fellow veterans, said Soldier A, now 67, who recently lost his wife to cancer.

Nearly half my adult life has been spent serving Queen and country. I think it is immoral and disgusting that were being treated like this.

Soldier C, 65 a husband, father, and grandfather, added: I was awarded the British Empire Medal. And yet here I am, being persecuted. I would like someone in power to explain in detail how this has been allowed to happen.

Why are they not going after the IRA men and women who carried out their campaign of murder, bombing and maiming?

Their visceral fury, bitter frustration and burning sense of injustice are borne out of their conviction that they have been betrayed to appease the nationalists.

McCann was at the top of the Royal Ulster Constabularys most wanted list and was strongly suspected of being involved in numerous killings and terrorist outrages

Republican support is vital to the peace process  even, it seems, if it means sacrificing men who served their country with fearlessness and pride. As Soldier A says: We have been thrown to the hyenas.

Soldiers A and C have been living under the shadow of prosecution for months, but only recently found out the case against them was going to proceed.

At the heart of the scandal is a cruel irony. The two willingly agreed to co-operate with Northern Irelands Historical Enquiries Team (HET), set up in 2005 to investigate fatal shootings by British troops during the Troubles.

The inquiry, staffed by detectives from outside Ulster, was meant to provide answers for the families of those who had been killed. Witnesses could not be compelled to testify, but many veterans, among them Soldiers A and C, did so in the spirit of openness.

Had they refused, they would not now be facing the prospect of retirement behind bars.

Soldiers A and C cannot speak about exactly what happened on that April 15 morning back in 1972 for legal reasons, as it might prejudice future proceedings.

But it has been widely reported that two RUC Special Branch officers recognised Joe McCann, a wanted terrorist, in disguise, and decided to arrest him on suspicion of attempted murder.

Soldiers A and C and another colleague (who is now dead) were on patrol nearby when they were ordered to help. As McCann was fleeing, it is said, the soldiers ordered him to stop. When he carried on running, one of the Paras fired two warning shots above his head. McCann did not take any notice, so all three soldiers opened fire.

He turned out not to have been carrying a weapon. Soldiers A and C could not possibly have known this. On the contrary, they had every reason to believe he had a gun.

Joe McCann, the HET report states, was a dangerous terrorist and someone who would be armed and would not hesitate to use his weapon to resist arrest.

The report concurred with the findings of the initial investigation at the time of the shooting, that there was not enough evidence to pursue the case. Soldiers A and C were informed of the findings in 2010.

So why are they now being hauled back to Belfast?

The short answer is that following a campaign by Joe McCanns family, the file was passed to the countrys Public Prosecution Service, which decided the two former Paras should be put on trial for murder.

The U-turn has appalled officers from the original Historical Enquiries Team. One of those officers, formerly a detective chief superintendent, contacted this newspaper after reading about the plight of Soldiers A and C. He had helped review the evidence surrounding the Joe McCann shooting.

He said: Unless the Police Service of Northern Ireland has discovered fresh and compelling evidence missed by the HET (highly unlikely), there would be no justifiable grounds upon which to refer the case to the Public Prosecution Service for a prosecutorial decision. What has happened, in my view, is both unethical and an abuse of process.

Could there be a more damning indictment of recent events?

The PPS say the decision to prosecute was objective and impartial and only sanctioned by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Barra McGrory after independent legal advice from an English QC.

Last week, MPs in Westminster questioned whether the DPPs decision had moved away from credible evidence to political decision making in a debate on the pursuit of British troops for historic offences in the province.

I wouldnt feel safe probably if I was identified in court. I wouldnt say were being thrown to the wolves - I prefer the expression, being thrown to the hyenas. Appeasing the bloody Republicans in Northern Ireland is what this boils down to

Before Mr McGrory was appointed to his current post in 2011, his clients in his then high-profile practice included Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

Gerry Adams has led Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA and Northern Irelands second biggest party, for 30 years. As a young man, he knew Joe McCann well.

Security sources believe Mr Adams was a senior IRA commander himself, a claim he has consistently denied. In 2007, Mr Adams was accused of neglecting to inform the police about his paedophile brother. Mr McGrory acted for him. His lawyer father (PJ McGrory) also worked for Mr Adams.

Martin McGuinness is now the Northern Irish Deputy First Minister at Stormont. Unlike Mr Adams, he admits to once being an IRA man (unionists labelled him the IRAs godfather of godfathers).

Mr McGuinness was represented by Mr McGrory when he appeared before the Saville Inquiry into the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry, as MP Sir Henry Bellingham pointed out in the Commons debate.

Still, the PPS stress that Mr McGrory is not biased and say the decision in question [to prosecute Soldiers A and C] was not made by the Director personally but rather was reached after application of proper procedure which is rigorous and robust to ensure fair and impartial prosecutorial decisions. This included the consideration of advice from experienced external counsel.

The vast majority of violent deaths in Northern Ireland were the work of the men in balaclavas, not soldiers. Nevertheless, past terrorists crimes such as the bombs in Birmingham, Harrods in London, and Enniskillen go unpunished.

The controversial peace deal drawn up by Tony Blair ensured an effective amnesty  widely dubbed Get Out Of Jail Free cards  for hundreds of IRA suspects.

Viewed through the toxic prism of Northern Ireland politics, you begin to understand how Soldiers A and C ended up in this predicament which shames not just Belfast, but Downing Street too. Both Soldiers A and C served for 23 years in the British Army. Soldier A, who lives in the Midlands, retired as a warrant officer in the late Eighties after a number of tours of duty in Northern Ireland. He has also been stationed in Saudi Arabia and was assigned to UN peacekeeping forces in Cyprus.

Soldier C, from Hampshire, was seconded to the Special Forces where he also rose to the rank of warrant officer and was awarded the British Empire medal. In 1993, he retired from the Army to work in security.

The Parachute Regiments motto is Utrinque Paratus (Ready for Anything). But neither of the men at the centre of this story could have been prepared for the ordeal which began seven months ago when they were first told that the case of Joe McCann had been reopened. Then, last week, their worst fears were confirmed.

Soldier A kept news that he might be prosecuted from his cancer-stricken wife of 44 years. She died without ever knowing her husband would be put on trial for murder. He says simply: She had enough to deal with before she died.

But, now news of his pending prosecution is official, he felt compelled to tell his children. I broke it to them on Sunday, he said. I handed them a newspaper cutting about the incident and told them I was going to be prosecuted. They were devastated.

What plans I had for my old age are on hold now.

I try to keep busy. I have a part-time job. But you find yourself thinking about the future when you go to bed and when you wake up. Its distressing and depressing.

The prospect of being stripped of his anonymity has placed an added layer of stress on what is an already intolerable situation.

I wouldnt feel safe probably if I was identified in court.

I wouldnt say were being thrown to the wolves  I prefer the expression, being thrown to the hyenas. Appeasing the bloody Republicans in Northern Ireland is what this boils down to.

Soldier C is equally convinced they have been sacrificed to preserve what some have called the false peace in Northern Ireland.

I feel very bitter about the whole scenario, he said. Myself and many others like me who were also doing their duty are now being hounded by a cabal residing in Belfast who say they are seeking justice.

But my own opinion is that they are seeking revenge.

Ordinary people in the street  not just soldiers  cannot understand the Governments position. I believe the Prime Minister has stated that justice has to be seen to run its course. If thats the case, then why isnt this a level playing field? Why are they only going after soldiers?

Back in Belfast in 1972, Staff Captain Joe McCann was given a full military-style funeral. More than 2,000 marched behind his coffin, led by a lone piper and McCanns Irish wolfhound.

McCann was eulogised for his good looks, charisma, wisdom and ironic sense of humour.

But, aside from his Republican comrades, few saw the funny side of Joe McCann.

Certainly not Anna-Marie Bankier, from Ipswich, who grew up without a father. Robert Bankier, a corporal in the Royal Green Jackets, is believed to have been shot dead by McCann when she was still a baby.

And not Unionist MP John Taylor, now Baron Kilclooney, who survived despite being shot five times in the head when a group of IRA men,- believed to have included McCann, opened fire on his car.

No one was ever prosecuted for the attempt on my life, he said.

It seems ridiculous that after 44 years they are prosecuting these veterans.

Soldiers A and C could not put it better themselves.

Innocent victims denied justice

By Andrew Malone

As the two former Paras face prosecution the question has been asked: Why arent those IRA men who murdered innocent civilians on both sides of the Irish Sea being dragged to court, too?

Here, we recall some of the victims whose killers were never convicted  or were released early.

Johnathan Ball, aged three (left) and Tim Parry, 12 (right) both died after IRA terrorists placed bombs inside litter bins outside Argos in Warrington, Cheshire, and 100 metres away outside Boots in 1993

Johnathan Ball, aged three

On March 20, 1993, IRA terrorists placed bombs inside litter bins outside Argos in Warrington, Cheshire, and 100 metres away outside Boots. The cast-iron bins sent out hails of shrapnel, causing appalling injuries for dozens.

Toddler Johnathan Ball was out with his baby-sitter to buy a card for Mothers Day. He was in his pushchair when the first blast went off and died instantly. Twelve-year-old Tim Parry would also die of injuries sustained that day.

Johnathans devasted father Wilf died of a heart attack in 2004. His mum, Marie, sunk into depression and became a recluse. Her body was found at her home in 2013, a coroner ruling that she had died of a broken heart. Nobody has been charged with the murder.

Danielle Carter, aged 15, died instantly when a one-ton truck bomb was detonated by remote control by the Baltic Exchange

Danielle Carter, aged 15

It was a clear April morning in 1993 when an IRA bomb ripped through the City of London, the biggest explosion on the mainland since World War II.

Danielle Carter, 15, was waiting in her fathers car with her sister when a one-ton truck bomb was detonated by remote control by the Baltic Exchange.

She died instantly; her sister, Christiane, then eight, needed years of hospital treatment after being peppered with glass.

Two others killed were Baltic Exchange employees Paul Butt, 29, and, Thomas Casey, 49. Nobody has been convicted.

Jean McConville

A mother-of-ten, aged 37, who was abducted in front of her children in 1972, Jean McConville was tortured and shot in the head. Her body was buried on a beach.

Her crime? She was accused of being a British sympathiser after comforting a soldier shot and wounded outside her Belfast home.

Soon afterwards, more than a dozen figures arrived at her home and burst in. Mrs McConville was dragged through the door as her children clung to her legs. A week later, a man who identified himself as being from the IRA, called at the home. He handed the children their mothers purse and wedding ring, saying: I was told to deliver this.

Gerry Adams, who denies he was head of the IRAs Army Council, was arrested in 2014 and questioned for 72 hours over his knowledge of the murder. To date, nobody has been charged.

Jasmine Cochrane-Patrick

On December 17, 1983, the last Saturday before Christmas, outside Harrods in London, an IRA bomb inside a car was detonated as families thronged the streets.

Six were killed: Shoppers, Philip Geddes, 24, Jasmine Cochrane-Patrick, 25, and Kenneth Salvesan, 28, and police officers Sgt Noel Lane, 28, PC Jane Arbuthnot, 22, and Insp Stephen Dodd, 34. No one has been convicted.

Graham Barker, Roy Bright, Anthony Daly, John Heritage, Robert Livingstone, Keith Powell, Robert McKnight, George Measure, Laurence Smith, Simon Tipper, Jeffrey Vernon Young

As troops on parade rode past Hyde Park in 1982, the IRA were lying in wait, detonating a nail bomb as the soldiers rode past. Four soldiers were killed. A second explosion under a bandstand in Regents Park killed a further seven soldiers from the Royal Green Jackets, who were performing, and wounded dozens more.

Gilbert Danny McNamee was sentenced in 1987 to 25 years for building the radio-controlled bomb used in the Hyde Park attack. But he was released from prison in 1998 after his conviction was quashed.

John Downey, an IRA terrorist, was charged over his involvement  but the case against him collapsed when it was revealed he was one of hundreds of IRA men granted so-called get out of jail letters from Blairs government, promising them immunity from prosecution. Nobody has ever been charged for the actual Regents Park bombing.

Caroline Moreland

A single mother-of-three aged 34 and suffering from spinal cancer, she was last seen alive ironing in her Belfast kitchen as her children played in the living room. Just days before the IRA announced its 1994 ceasefire, she was abducted, tortured for two weeks and shot in the head. Her body was buried in a bog near County Fermanagh.

Horrifically, her grieving family were sent a recording of her after she had been interrogated by IRA thugs, in which she was forced to confess she had betrayed the location of a rifle hidden by the IRA, charges her family dismiss as nonsense. Her daughter, Shauna Moreland, has blamed the IRA for the murder, saying she wanted to ask Martin McGuinness whether he had ordered the killing.

If they dont want to answer it, they just say they werent involved; they werent there, she said. Its not good enough for people any more. Nobody has been charged over the murder.

Joseph Mulhern

The Nutting Squad was a bloodthirsty unit which rooted out alleged IRA informers. Twenty-two-year-old Joe Mulherns body was discovered shot in the head after he was abducted and forced to make a recording of his alleged crimes in a tape sent to his parents.

Clearly extracted under duress, the tape recording reveals the hideous nature of IRA show trials. Im a volunteer, says the terrified victim. My name is Joseph Mulhern. Ive been working for the Special Branch. Nobody has ever been charged over his murder.

Michael Morrison, Evelyn Baird and their daughter Michelle, seven, (pictured) were killed in an IRA bomb attack on Belfasts Shankill Road in October 1993

Michael Morrison, Evelyn Baird and their daughter Michelle, seven

Michael Morrison, his partner and their daughter were killed in an IRA bomb attack on Belfasts Shankill Road in October 1993.

The terrorists entered a fish and chip shop where they believed a group of their Loyalist enemies were meeting and detonated their bomb prematurely, killing one of their own number and ten passers-by  including Michael Morrison and his family. Mr Morrisons mother Elizabeth Morrison, 81, failed in a legal bid to have the killers brought to justice when she discovered the suspected Shankill Road bombers were among those granted immunity in a secret deal with Tony Blair.

James Barker, 12, Samantha McFarland, 17, Lorraine Wilson, 15, and 20-month-old Breda Devine

The four children were among 29 people murdered, including two unborn babies, when the so-called Real IRA, which was opposed to the Blair peace agreement, bombed the High Street in Omagh in August, 1998. More than 200 people were injured.

Lorraine Wilson, 15, (left) and James Barker, 12, (right) were among 29 people murdered when the so-called Real IRA bombed the High Street in Omagh in August, 1998

But although one IRA man was convicted of conspiracy to help the bombing, his sentence of 14 years was overturned on appeal. No one has faced criminal charges for the mass murder.

But, with the support of the Daily Mail, the families of these four youngest victims launched a civil case against the alleged bombers, whose names were widely known, and were awarded 1.6 million in damages.

Sir Anthony Berry, Eric Taylor, Jean Shattock, Muriel Maclean, and Roberta Wakeham

The IRA planted a bomb inside Brightons Grand Hotel three weeks before the Conservative Party conference, planning to assassinate the British government.

Detonated at 2am on October 12, 1984, it killed five people and injured 34 more. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was not injured, and against police advice, she refused to cancel her speech to conference the next day.

Patrick Magee, an IRA member, was jailed for planting the bomb in a hotel room  but he was not acting alone. Lord Tebbit, whose wife was paralysed in the bombing, has called for Magee to reveal who procured and planned the attack with him, but his accomplices still remain unnamed. Magee remains the only person convicted. He was sentenced to eight life sentences and a minimum tariff of 35 years  but was freed early under terms of the Good Friday Agreement, after serving only 14 years.

Ian Gow
The number of people killed in fires caused by candles has trebled in just two years, figures reveal today.

Firemen have now issued a safety warning, after infants and small children were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The alert comes as industry data reveals how candle sales increased by 17 per cent in 2016  with more than a quarter of British households now regularly buying scented ones.

Danger: The number of people killed in fires caused by candles has trebled in just two years

But the number of deaths caused by candle-related fires has trebled from five to 15 between 2012/13 and 2014/15.

And the number of candle blazes has risen by 10 per cent, from 991 in 2013 to 2014 to 1,087 in 2014 to 2015.

Three fires were started by candles per day in 2014 to 2015  and 384 people were injured by candle fires in just a year.

A seven-week-old baby was taken to hospital after a Christmas candle decoration made at school caught fire, filling a home in Manchester with thick black smoke.

And a woman drowned in her bath in Sheffield after inhaling smoke during a house fire in which temperatures reached 600C  also caused by a candle.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 370 councils and all fire authorities in England and Wales, said: Firefighters tackled three fires involving candles in the Wrexham area in less than a week  including one in which a dog and a cat died.

In a recent candle fire, a baby and two adults were taken to hospital after a candle left burning in a living room set fire to a Basildon flat which was completely smoke-logged.

Warning: Firemen have now issued a safety warning, after infants and small children were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Councillor Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA communites board, said: Candles and tealights have become increasingly popular in many homes but its important to remember that they are not just another decoration.

Left unattended, the naked flame from a candle could result in a devastating house fire, injuring or killing you as a result.

Three fires are started by candles every day and insurance companies may not pay out on claims if a fire is deemed to be a result of negligence.

Always remember to extinguish candles when nobody is in the room and make sure theyre out completely at night. Fit a smoke alarm and test it regularly. Councillor Simon Blackburn

Mr Blackburn also warned: People using candles should avoid becoming a fire statistic by following important safety advice. Always put candles in a heat-resistant holder and on a stable surface.

Lit candles should be kept away from flammable materials like curtains and bedding, as well as pets and children.

Always remember to extinguish candles when nobody is in the room and make sure theyre out completely at night. Fit a smoke alarm and test it regularly.

According to market research firm Kantar Worldpanel more than one in four households (26.6 per cent) now buys scented candles.

Earlier this week, Lynne Murphy, 39, narrowly escaped a fire in her flat in Renfrew, Scotland, after a candle set her tinsel Christmas decorations ablaze.
An Austin biker is suing three police officers because of a 'humiliating' traffic stop in which they allegedly forced him to submit for pictures of his tattoos under threat of jail.

Kristopher Cody King, 34, was riding to school in Texas on his motorcycle on December 13 when he was pulled over by three police officers on Koenig Lane for failing to signal a turn, reported Austin American-Statesman.

King is suing Officer Dane ONeill and two other unnamed defendants for what he says was a violation of his civil rights.

Scroll down for video

Kristopher Cody King was stopped while biking through Austin, Texas for failing to signal

King was shocked as the officers told him they would either need to photograph his tattoos on the street or down at the jail

'Damn guys, this is a little humiliating, dont you think?' King, a member of the Escondido biker club asked the officers as they photographed his many tattoos and lobbed questions about his motorcycle club affiliations and vest patches.

King said he suffered emotional distress and has lost sleep over the incident.

'He is afraid to stay at his home, knowing that the same officers who had no regard for his rights know where he lives,' said the lawsuit.

King took video on his cell phone during the incident, which shows an officer forcing him to take off his vest and photographing his back tattoos.

'Can I call my lawyer?' King asks during the confrontation, in which an officer tells him he will not receive a ticket, but wants to photograph his tattoos.

'We can take your pictures out here, or we can go down to the jail and take pictures right now. No, you can't call your lawyer,' the officer says.

After taking photographs of his arms and face, the officer asks him to unzip his pants and pull his shirt up.

'Damn guys, this is a little humiliating, don't you think?' he said as an officer lifted his shirt

'Profiling me,' King says.

It's unclear how much money King is suing for.

Austin police did not comment on Thursday when contacted by the outlet.

David Devereaux, of the Motorcycle Profiling Project, said profiling bikers is common.
The evidence is clear from every camping trip where a group of youngsters scare themselves with a ghost story by the fire.

Scientists have found children are more frightened of things if their friends are too.

It is well known that parents can pass on their fears to their children, but the influence of school friends was unknown.

A study has now found seven to 10-year-olds take their lead from their best friends when faced with danger.

The evidence is clear from every camping trip where a group of youngsters scare themselves with a ghost story by the fire

Boys together became more afraid after discussing a potentially threatening animal, although pairs of girls became less scared.

The authors, from the University of East Anglia, suggest this might be because boys initially downplay their anxiety so they do not look cowardly and less masculine.

The study shows the importance of friends for schoolboys, as it suggests knowing someone else is afraid gives them the confidence to talk about their own feelings. Girls, in contrast, are less likely to hide their fear, which could be seen as a more feminine trait.

Lead author Dr Jinnie Ooi, said the findings could help children with anxiety, adding: Our findings indicate that close friends may share negative thoughts and to some extent may maintain these thoughts.

Hopefully with this knowledge, we may be able to design interventions whereby close friends can help change their friends thoughts during therapy.

Scientists have found children are more frightened of things if their friends are too

The study involved 242 schoolchildren (106 boys, 136 girls) shown pictures and videos of two Australian marsupials  a type of possum called the cuscus and the quoll, a meat-eating animal about the size of a domestic cat.

The animals were chosen to be unfamiliar to the children, who were read two versions of information about them.

After hearing one ambiguous account and one describing them as threatening, the children were asked questions such as whether they would find it scary to touch the animals. They also marked on a map how far away they would like to be from them.

Pairs of close friends, including 40 pairs of boys, 55 pairs of girls, and 26 boy-girl pairs, then discussed their feelings about the animals, before their fear responses were measured again.

The study, published in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy, states: The results showed that children in close friendships shared similar patterns pf fear beliefs and avoidance, even before they had discussed their responses.

The study shows the importance of friends for schoolboys, as it suggests knowing someone else is afraid gives them the confidence to talk about their own feelings. Girls, in contrast, are less likely to hide their fear, which could be seen as a more feminine trait

Additionally, evidence suggested that close friends influenced each others anxious cognitions following the discussion.

Girls appeared to make each other feel better and boys appeared more fearful after conferring, but girls were more likely to want to keep their distance from the animals.

Referring to previous research, the study concludes this could be driven by gender, with boys downplaying their level of fearfulness when discussing their fears with other boys they are not close to, while the expression of fear may be more accepted among girls.
A hard-Left union official works at the heart of the Labour Party as John McDonnells (above) economic adviser, it emerged yesterday

A hard-Left union official works at the heart of the Labour Party as John McDonnells economic adviser, it emerged yesterday.

James Meadway is employed by the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, which has held a series of crippling Tube strikes.

It is now known that the Shadow Chancellor has paid 47,000 to have him on secondment.

The Commons register of interests shows Mr McDonnell has sought guidance on economic policy from the union since December last year.

Tory MP James Berry said: This latest wave of strikes shows how little Labours trade union paymasters care about the concerns of ordinary working people.

Now we find there is a senior union official working inside the Labour Shadow Chancellors office, helping to shape policy within the party.

'This raises serious questions about Labours position and why they continue to refuse to condemn the strike action.

Mr Meadway, who co-authored a book called Marx for Today, is a former member of the militant Socialist Workers Party.

His appointment was made soon after the Shadow Chancellor announced Labour would automatically support strikes wherever they are taking place.

It emerged last year that Mr McDonnell attempted to hide the fact that he was receiving union advice, but had to come clean when the Commons authorities confirmed that they had launched an investigation.
A woman has claimed her partner is being kept as a prisoner in poor conditions on a cruise ship after he threatened to jump overboard.

The man who is on a cruise to Fiji was given the option to fly back to Sydney on Saturday or continue to stay locked in the room until December 29 when the ship returns to Australia, Herald Sun reported.

The man's partner, a mental health professional, said the threat occurred after her partner had three alcoholic drinks which reacted badly with his medication.

A woman has claimed her partner is being kept as a prisoner in poor conditions on a cruise ship

'In anger he made a verbal threat to jump overboard. He had no intention to do so however I asked security for help because I was scared he could be impulsive,' she said.

The woman agreed that staff had a right to keep him in the room overnight as he recovered mentally but she said her partner is now stable.

'He has been there four nights now. In that time he has been allowed only one shower, one brief glance out a small window, has not been given any clean bed sheets, is having to urinate in a plastic bottle, and meals are all being delivered to him cold.'

The woman claims the conditions her partner is being kept in breach a person's human rights.

'He has no facilities in his cell, no natural light, no fresh air and nothing to do. He is not allowed out for daily exercise. Security even refused to allow me to take a book for him to read,' she told the Herald Sun.

A Carnival Cruise Line spokesman said they cannot comment on certain passengers as it would breach their rights but they acknowledged such actions would be taken if a passenger was deemed to need protection.
Simon Callow claims he no longer goes to the West End because of the bewildering cost of tickets

Simon Callow claims he no longer goes to the West End because of the bewildering cost of tickets.

The Four Weddings and a Funeral actor said he could no longer afford the expense of going to the theatre despite a long career in the industry.

Speaking in an interview in The Stage magazine the veteran actor, 67, said: I cant afford to go the West End any more myself. I find the idea of paying 100 to see a four-hander bewildering.

I cant believe it has to be that expensive.

Asked if he approved of the live streaming of plays to cinemas he replied: Im glad people are being awakened to the idea of opera, ballet and drama who wouldnt otherwise get to see it, but I fear it will not necessarily translate into people going to live theatre to see things, partly because going to the cinema is so much cheaper than going to the theatre.

Research by The Stage earlier this year showed that top-price seats in the West End now cost 93.77 on average, an increase of 30 per cent since 2012.

The magazine started monitoring the soaring costs of West End tickets in 2012 when the average top price seat was 72.12.

The most expensive West End musical this year was The Book of Mormon with top seats selling for 202.25.

The most expensive play, starring Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, was No Mans Land with top seats priced 150.

Last year Elf the Musical became the most expensive show in West End history after putting tickets on sale for 240 each.

Speaking at the time the theatre critic Mark Shenton said rising theatre prices have become an unstoppable trend, explaining: Theres absolutely no ceiling to how high tickets prices can go. We live in a StubHub economy, its whatever people are prepared to play.

StubHub is a ticket reselling site on which fans can buy tickets for sold-out concerts and shows.

The most expensive West End musical this year was The Book of Mormon (pictured) with top seats selling for 202.25

But the website, and others like it, have come under fire because they are regularly used by touts who bulk buy tickets and sell them on for an inflated price.

Earlier this month the Daily Mail reported how Adele took stand against touts after tickets for her tour The Finale were priced at 6,599 on one resale website.

The star teamed up with a special reselling website that will only offers tickets for their face value or less, meaning greedy touts will be unable to make a profit.

Those who have bought tickets on resale websites such as Viagogo and Stubhub will be turned away from the venue on arrival.

Mr Callow is a biographer and theatre director as well as prominent actor.

This summer he wed his partner on the Greek island of Mykonos after changing his mind about gay marriage.

He previously admitted resisting the idea of gay marriage after witnessing some systematically disastrous relationships in his own family.
Donald Trump has heaped praise on Vladimir Putin, just hours after the Russian leader said Democrats needed to accept the Republican's election victory.

The president-elect tweeted out his message shortly after 7pm on Friday night.

'Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true!'

It comes after Putin told Russian reporters the democrats were behaving like sore losers.

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Donald Trump has heaped praise on Vladimir Putin, just hours after the Russian leader said Democrats needed to accept the Republican's election victory

Putin claimed the Democrats, 'need to learn to lose with dignity', during a press conference in Russia

'Democrats are losing on every front and looking for people to blame everywhere,' he said in response to a question by a Russian TV host, the Washington Post reported.

'They need to learn to lose with dignity. In my opinion it is humiliating.'

He also dismissed findings by the FBI and CIA that Russia interfered in the US election, almost directly echoing Trump's statements about who the hackers could be.

'Maybe it was someone lying on the couch who did it,' Putin said. Trump famously suggested the hacking had been done a '400-pound guy' lying on his bed, 'some guy in his home in New Jersey', during the campaign.

'Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true!'

Putin claimed the Democrats, 'need to learn to lose with dignity', during a press conference in Russia

The Russian leader finished his interview by again praising Trump.

'Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him  except for you and me,' he said.

Putin also sent a letter to the president-elect offering 'Christmas and New Year greetings', while calling for strong bilateral cooperation in global affairs.

Trump's transition sent out the letter, quoting Trump as calling it a 'very nice letter from Vladimir Putin'  on a day when he and Putin were engaging in long-distance rhetoric about a potential nuclear arms race.

'Democrats are losing on every front and looking for people to blame everywhere,' he said in response to a question by a Russian TV host

'His thoughts are so correct. I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path,' Trump said in a statement.

Putin's letter offers warm personal greetings, as well as a call for acting together in a 'constructive and pragmatic manner.'

Trump called throughout his campaign for better relations with Russia, and he must decide within months of taking office whether to extend economic sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

'Dear Mr. Trump, Please accept my warmest Christmas and New Year greetings,' Putin begins, in a letter dated December 15, a document that refers to the president-elect as 'His Excellency.'

Trump sent out Putin's letter Friday, even as the two leaders traded rhetoric about nuclear arms. He called it a 'very nice letter from Vladimir Putin'

Putin called for 'bilateral cooperation' in the letter he sent to Trump, which the president-elect quickly shared

'Serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have to face in recent years, show that the relations between Russia and the U.S. remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security of the modern world,' Putin continued.

'I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able  by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner - to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level.'

'Please accept my sincere wishes to you and your family of sound health, happiness, wellbeing, success and all the best,' Putin concludes.

Among other things, Trump has called for joint U.S.-Russian efforts against ISIS.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow, Russia, December 23

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual news conference in Moscow that he predicted Trump would win

Russia has been aiding Syria's President Bashar Assad's military, which has been butchering civilians during attacks on the city of Aleppo in recent weeks. It is estimated 11 women and 13 civilian children have been killed.

Trump took heat during the presidential campaign for his frequent praise of Putin, including hailing him as a stronger leader than President Obama, and his failure to condemn Russian actions in Ukraine and Syria.

The U.S. and allied nations imposed economic sanctions on Moscow following the country's incursion into Crimea.

Russia featured prominently in the elections, with U.S. intelligence agencies saying the country's government was behind hacking of Democrats and Democratic groups, and the CIA reportedly saying the purpose of the hacks was to benefit Trump.

Trump talks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 21

Donald Trump called for more nuclear weapons, following remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin that suggested a similar uptick in weaponry

The two leaders appeared to also be in agreement on the need to increase the number of nuclear weapons they have this week.

'The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,' Trump tweeted on Thursday.

The comments came after Putin said: 'We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems.'
BALTIMORE  Police say they've charged a Pennsylvania man in a third slaying in Baltimore.

Police announced in a statement Friday that they've charged 18-year-old Dennis Diggs of York, Pennsylvania, in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Jackson Bleier in southwest Baltimore on Oct. 2. Diggs is charged with first- and second-degree murder.

Local media outlets reported at the time that police believed that Bleier, a University of Maryland, Baltimore County student and former swim team member, was killed in a drug deal gone wrong. He was found near his Jeep suffering from a gunshot wound.

Diggs was already being held at Central Booking after being charged last month in two unrelated killings: the Oct. 24 slaying of 22-year-old Jamie Christian and the March 2015 slaying of 29-year-old Jarrell Hicks.
The Berlin truck terrorist made a mockery of Europes open borders before he was shot dead by police after four days on the run.

Anis Amri was apparently able to travel unhindered for around 1,000 miles through at least three countries.

Carrying no travel documents, the man who ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market killing 12 people, was able to slip from Germany into France and then into Italy.

A Milan police chief said the killer 'was a ghost'. When he was approached by two officers, they had no idea he was the most wanted man in Europe.

The three countries are in the EUs borderless Schengen zone.

It was only when Amri was confronted by a rookie Italian policeman during a routine ID check in a northern suburb of Milan that he was finally caught.

He was gunned down as he tried to flee.

Shortly before his death was announced yesterday morning, blundering German police stated they thought the 24-year-old Islamic State fanatic was still in their country.

Items left on the road included a pistol and a backpack. Amri's body was covered up as forensics scoured the scene

He is understood to have pulled a gun on a patrol after being stopped for a routine ID check and shot an officer in the shoulder leaving him seriously injured

'I AM GLAD KILLER'S NO LONGER A THREAT' SAYS VICTIM'S HUSBAND Nada Cizmar, a 34-year-old mother of one, died in Monday's terror attack The husband of a Czech mother killed in the Christmas market attack says he is relieved that the attacker, Anis Amri, no longer poses a threat to the people in Europe. Petr Cizmar, whose wife Nada died in the atrocity, said he was not after revenge, but added: 'I needed to know that he was removed from our society one way or another and could not cause further harm.' He spoke to The Associated Press by phone from the family's home in Braunschweig, a city 230 kilometers (143 miles) west of Berlin. Cizmar says his 34-year-old wife had a logistics job in Berlin since May and stayed there during the week. He said she went to the market, located near her office, to celebrate Christmas with her colleagues. The couple has a five-year-old son. Advertisement

The Italian school Amri torched for which he was jailed for three years

In other terror-related developments yesterday:

- A chilling Islamic State propaganda video emerged online which featured Amri pledging allegiance to the terror organisation and vowing to slaughter infidels like pigs;

- The Italian officers who tackled Amri  one of whom was shot and wounded in the exchange  were hailed as heroes;

- It was claimed that Amri might have tried to make his way to Britain earlier this year.

- More details of the security blunders surrounding the case emerged, with CCTV footage apparently showing Amri visiting a mosque in Berlin within hours of the attack.

Pictures emerged this morning of the terrorist lying dead in the street having been shot by Italian police

Chief suspect: Amri (pictured) shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and 'police b******s' as he shot at police officers in suburb north of Milan

SECURITY STEPPED UP IN ITALY AFTER TRUCK TERRORIST KILLED Security has been set up in Italy as investigators try to determine whether Amri had accomplices in the country, where he was gunned down yesterday. Security and new anti-terrorism measures were ramped up at the Colosseum in Rome today Authorities in Rome banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre, and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather. At the Vatican, where Pope Francis is due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres along streets leading to the Vatican. Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services. Advertisement

The dramatic climax to Europes most urgent manhunt unfolded at 3am yesterday, shortly after Amri got off a train in Milans Sesto San Giovanni district and was seen acting suspiciously.

As he was challenged, the fugitive pulled a gun from his backpack, screamed Allahu Akbar and opened fire on the two officers  hitting one, Christian Movio, 35, in the shoulder.

At the time the officers stopped Amri, they had no idea he was the most wanted man in Europe.

His colleague, Luca Scata, 29, a trainee police officer who had been in the job only a few months, gave chase before shooting Amri dead in the street.

The truck killer is reported to have told them: 'I don't have documents, I am Calabrian.'

But after being challenged, he pulled out a gun and shot at the two officers.

Milan police chief Antonio de Iesu said: 'They had no perception that it could be him, otherwise they'd have been more careful.'

HUNDREDS OF POLICE ASSIGNED TO FIND TERROR ACCOMPLICES Police are investigating whether Amri was part of a terror network Hundreds of investigators in Germany are hunting for possible accomplices of the Berlin truck killer. Federal prosecutor Peter Frank said it is possible that Amri was part of a network. He said: 'It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect.' German authorities face tough questions over how Amri was able to carry out the attack, despite being known to anti-terrorism agencies in Germany and Italy. He is believed to have been radicalised in Italy - where he arrived from his native Tunisia in 2011 - when he spent four years in jail for starting a fire at a refugee centre. It is thought that Amri may have been in Milan to meet a contact. Truck driver Giuseppe Russo told The Times that there was no other reason why the killer would have been in the Milan suburb of Sesto San Giovanni at 3am, when he was approached by police. Russo said: 'He was waiting to meet a local contact, someone from around here who was going to hide him.' And he added: 'It's the end of Milan tube line. Where else was he going?' Advertisement

While the bravery of the Italian officers was praised across the world, critics of the Schengen zone said the bungled hunt for Amri had exposed lax security across the continent.

Former Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Richard Walton told the Daily Telegraph: 'Schengen poses a huge risk of terrorism. Porous borders across mainland Europe are continuing to be exploided by Isil.

'They have a clear strategy and have set out to carry out attacks across mainland Europe. Europe's weakness is our weakness.'

HERO POLICE OFFICER WHO SHOT KILLER 'FORCED INTO HIDING' Luca Scata has reportedly gone into hiding The hero policeman who shot dead Europes most wanted man is in danger of being targeted by fanatical jihadis - as it emerged he did not initially know who he was stopping. Reports in Italy state that Luca Scata, 29, has gone into hiding for his own safety. Last night his Facebook account and that of his wounded partner, Christian Movio, 36, were removed from the internet on the orders of Milans police commissioner, Antonio De Jesu. The commissioner said that police authorities had a duty to protect our agents. Officers across Italy have been warned of the possibility of retaliatory attacks. Scata shot Anis Amri dead in the early hours of yesterday morning in Milan after stopping the terrorist in a routine approach. Milan police chief Antonio de Iesu said: 'He (Amri) was a man from northern Africa, like there are many in the Milan area, and ours was a routine check that was carried out by two young and good police officers.' Advertisement

And he warned that 'sooner or later' terrorists planning atrocities would get across the Channel.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage tweeted, before confirmation Amri had been killed by police: If the man shot in Milan is the Berlin killer, then the Schengen Area is proven to be a risk to public safety. It must go.

Tory MEP David Campbell-Bannerman said: Schengen is a terrorists dream as we saw with the Paris, Brussels and now Berlin attacks.

All terrorists need is an ID card and they can silently move around Europe.

'The alleged Berlin attacker moved across borders from Germany to France and then Italy without once being challenged.

The EU shares a big responsibility for this folly.

'I WANT THE TRUTH ABOUT MY SON' SAYS MOTHER OF KILLER Nour El Houda Hassani said a 'great secret' died with her son The mother of Berlin truck terrorist Anis Amri, who was yesterday shot to death by police in Milan, fears the world will never know why he carried out the atrocity. Nour El Houda Hassani, speaking at Amri's hometown of Oueslatia in Tunisia said that a 'great secret' had died with him. Family members have questioned the need to kill the 24-year-old. His mother said: 'Within him is a great secret. They killed him, and buried the secret with him.' And she called on authorities to unearth who had put her son up to the attack, stating: 'I want the truth about my son. Who was behind him?' Amri's brother Abdel Kader wept as he questioned the need to kill him. He said: 'My brother is dead. Bring us his remains, even one of his fingers, and I will put it in my pocket. They killed him when he was still only a suspect. Why?' Advertisement

A shoot out took place at about 3am local time and Amri was reportedly heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar' as he tried to flee and police opened fire

Italian police released this picture showing how a gunshot fired by Amri had hit the bullet-proof vest worn by officer Christian Movio

French far-Right leader Marine Le Pen said the hunt for Amri was symptomatic of the total security disaster represented by the Schengen area.

By the time the European arrest warrant for him was issued on Wednesday, Amri, who had used at least six different aliases with three nationalities, had vanished.

Despite being Europes most wanted man, he was able to cross the German border into France and make his way to Chambery, before crossing another national border by travelling on a high speed train to Turin in northern Italy.

From there, he apparently caught a regional train to Milan, arriving at 1am yesterday, before then taking another service to Sesto San Giovanni station in the suburbs.

Amri had strong links to Italy because it was the first European country he claimed asylum in in 2011 after fleeing his native Tunisia.

He spent three years in jail there before being released. Police believe he may have been trying to reach southern Italy, with a view to reaching northern Africa.

Under the Schengen rules he had no need to show travel documents at national frontiers, which have been had checkpoints removed.

Milan police said Amri was carrying a few personal belongings and several hundred euros  but no mobile phone and no travel documents.

He was a ghost, he didnt leave a trace, said Milan police chief Antonio De Lesu.

The mastermind of the Paris terror massacres had bragged of travelling across Europe at will.

Evidence: The Tunisian pulled a gun from his backpack, screamed 'Allahu Akbar' and opened fire on two officers  hitting one in the shoulder  before being shot dead. Pictures from the scene appear to show a weapon lying on the road near a backpack

Hero policeman Christian Moveo (pictured in bed) was recovering in hospital this afternoon having been shot by the most wanted man on the planet

He is understood to have pulled a gun on a patrol after being stopped for a routine ID check and shot an officer in the shoulder leaving him seriously injured

WHAT WAS BERLIN MASSACRE TERRORIST DOING IN ITALY? Investigators are trying to determine why terrorist Anis Amri was in Milan when he was shot dead yesterday morning. The killer, who did not have any documents on him and was not carrying a phone, was approached by officers in the Sesto San Giovanni suburb at 3am. He was gunned down after opening fire on two police, who had no idea that he was Europe's most wanted man. The suburb is a hub for transport, and is the last stop on the city's metro line. Killer: Anis Amri was gunned down in a Milan suburb early yesterday morning, after being approached by two police officers It has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy, but police patrols are particularly thorough. A young Moroccan worker called Aziz said: 'I get checked by police every day getting off the bus. 'At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol.' Italian daily La Stampa reports police believe Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France. Investigators at the scene of yesterday's shooting, where the terrorist opened fire on two police officers They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices. But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead. He is believed to have arrived in Milan at 1am yesterday, before going to Sesto San Giovanni. It is not known whether he was there to meet members of a network, or trying to get out of Europe. He could have been planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he was jailed for four years in 2011 for arson. Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had 'no links with the Sesto mosque', but locals wonder if he had contacts nearby. 'Some people are worried,' said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting. Advertisement

The Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri (pictured) has been shot dead after a gunfight with police in Milan, Italian police have said

Shoot-out: Italian authorities said this morning that they had 'without a shadow of a doubt' killed the chief suspect in the Berlin massacre

Crime scene: Berlin truck terrorist Anis Amri has been shot dead after a gunfight with police in Milan in the early hours of this morning

Despite being on wanted lists, Abdelhamid Abaaoud shuttled between Syria and Europe, taking full advantage of the migrant crisis on EU borders.

A British man, who helped give out aid in the Jungle Camp near Calais, claimed he saw Amri there last January.

Mick Watson, 48, said that during a trip to the camp  where thousands of migrants were massed hoping to make their way across the Channel  he had an altercation with a Middle Eastern looking man, who he believes was Amri.

The Italian press has printed an image apparently showing a 19-year-old Amri arriving in Italy on a boat in 2011.
The attempted kidnap of an RAF serviceman outside an airbase was a bungled mugging by opportunist thieves, police believe.

A huge manhunt was launched involving 70 police, including a counter terrorism squad from Scotland Yard, after an airman was attacked at knifepoint while out jogging near RAF Marham in July.

The two suspects of Middle Eastern appearance were initially suspected to be jihadis plotting a Lee Rigby-style attack.

The attempted kidnap of an RAF serviceman outside an airbase was a bungled mugging by opportunist thieves, police believe. This was an e-fit of the two suspect

The two suspects of Middle Eastern appearance were initially suspected to be jihadis plotting a Lee Rigby-style attack

But five months on, police believe the offenders were local criminals who may have attempted to snatch the servicemans smartphone after seeing him jogging listening to music with his earphones on.

Yesterday detectives said the net is closing in on the pair who are thought to targeted him by chance as they drove past and spotted he had an expensive phone.

Another theory is that the violent thugs pounced on the serviceman in a road rage attack as he was jogging in the road at the time and may have unwittingly cut them up.

But as he had headphones on, the victim would not have heard the vehicle revving up behind him or any driver remonstrating.

After reviewing hundreds of hours of CCTV and 500 calls from the public following a massive public appeal, Norfolk Police say they have no evidence to suggest the attack was related to terrorism despite earlier fears.

Within hours of the attack, servicemen at RAF Marham in Norfolk were warned to keep a low profile and not to travel alone amid fears that the attack was a Lee Rigby-style terrorist plot.

A huge manhunt was launched involving 70 police, including a counter terrorism squad from Scotland Yard, after an airman was attacked at knifepoint while out jogging near RAF Marham in July

Since the Fusiliers murder in 2013 by two Islamist fanatics outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, there have been fears of copycat attacks.

Earlier this year, it emerged that IS extremists had compiled a hit list to distribute to home-grown jihadis in Britain, which included details of RAF bases which might be vulnerable.

The attack took place on July 20 about a mile from the gates of the base, which is home to four squadrons of Tornado bombers flying missions against Islamic State.

Britain was on high alert at the time following a terrorist attack in Nice a week earlier on Bastille Day, when a truck driver ploughed into a crowd killed 84 people.

But detectives now believe the airman may have mistaken an attempted robbery for terrorists.

The victim, who is married and in his late 20s, had gone for a run outside the military base around 3.30pm when a stocky bearded man leapt out at him from a parked car.

He told police the man grabbed his wrist and tried to drag him towards a dark-coloured people carrier.

His assailant shouted something, but he did not hear what was said as he had earphones in.

The victim fought back and head-butted him, knocking him to the ground as a second man came running towards him with a combat-style knife with a three-inch blade.

But he managed to flee to raise the alarm.

Detective Superintendent Paul Durham, of the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team said the focus of their 70,000 inquiry had now shifted to robbery is potentially a motive or some sort of road rage.

He said: From his perspective, its completely understandable to see why he would have thought it was a terrorist related incident but I am leaning towards this being non-terrorist related and there are good reasons for that.

Its likely that we will get to the bottom of this locally rather than further afield.

We have made some good progress and I feel the net is closing in on this now.

He added: While he was running has he cut them up or something like that, something as innocuous as that?

Or is it that a couple of fairly low-level desperados who have seen the fact that he has earphones on and made the assumption that he must have an iPhone and they have tried to rob him.

The victim, who has never been named, returned to work following the incident but he has since been granted further leave as he recovers from the ordeal

Its very easy to appreciate the perspective of the victim because bear in mind he is an RAF serviceman, he is out on a run within the environment of one of the biggest bases in the country and these two men attack him, but it might just be that the attack isnt for the reason that he thinks.

If I was him on that run and that happened to me Id be thinking terrorism, that would be my first thought but when you look at it a little more widely and things calm down and you begin to consider other things which have filtered in, you begin to think perhaps it is not as dramatic as that.

The investigation team, which has now been scaled back to 12 officers, are now probing possible links to local criminals operating around the area.

No suspects have been arrested or interviewed but the officer leading the case said: We are investing quite heavily in some of the theories we have come up with now in terms of more conventional type criminality and that undoubtedly is going to lead to more lines of inquiry in the very near future.

Although the incident was not captured on any CCTV, footage from businesses in the vicinity has allowed officers to rule out a number of vehicles and identify a window of opportunity for the suspected thieves to strike.

The victim, who has never been named, returned to work following the incident but he has since been granted further leave as he recovers from the ordeal.

Police have dismissed any link to another RAF airman who went missing 30 miles away at another RAF base in Suffolk.
A highly infectious strain of bird flu has been discovered in a wild peregrine falcon in Dumfries and Galloway (file photo)

A highly infectious strain of bird flu was confirmed to have been found in Scotland last night.

The H5N8 strain, which has been spreading across continental Europe, was discovered in a wild peregrine falcon in Dumfries and Galloway.

This brings the total number of cases in the UK up to five, after a further two birds in Somerset and Leicestershire were also found to have contracted the virus.

The strain has spread across 14 European countries. Although the risk to humans is low, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised that human infection with the H5N8 avian flu cannot be excluded.

The Scottish Government urged bird owners, and poultry farms to keep their livestock indoors, and away from wild birds who may be carrying the virus. It also warned that the increasingly wet and windy weather across the country from Storm Barbara could help spread the virus.

Earlier this week ministers declared an avian influenza prevention zone requiring all poultry and captive birds to be kept separate from wild birds.

In January, about 40,000 birds were culled at Craigies Farm near Dunfermline, Fife, after a case of H5N1 avian influenza was identified among chickens.

A 1km control zone was put in place at the infected site. This was the first outbreak of bird flu in Scotland in nearly a decade following the death of an infected swan in 2006 in Cellardyke, Fife.

However, yesterday Rural Economy secretary Fergus Ewing confirmed the second case in two years.

He said: With the recent disease confirmations in both England and Wales, it is not unexpected for Avian Influenza to be found in a wild bird here in Scotland.

We have already made clear that all bird keepers  whether major businesses or small keepers with just a few birds  must ensure that their biosecurity is up to scratch and prevent any contact between their birds and wild birds.

Earlier this week it was revealed that some 5,000 turkeys would die at a farm in Louth, Lincolnshire, after the H5N8 strain was found in birds there.

Pictured, police in Scotland patrol a checkpoint after the death of a bird flu infected swan in 2006 in Cellardyke, Fife

Although many had died from the virus, officials at the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said the rest would be humanely culled.

A 3km (1.86 miles) protection zone and a 10km (6.21 miles) surveillance zone have been put in place around the infected farm to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

Scotlands Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: This case of H5N8 in a falcon in Dumfries and Galloway confirms that Avian Influenza is present in wild birds in Scotland. This underlines the crucial importance of bird keepers and members of the public remaining vigilant for signs of disease in domestic or wild birds.

Any dead wild swans, geese, ducks or gulls, falcons or other birds of prey or five or more dead wild birds of other species in the same location, should be reported to the Defra helpline, details of which are available on the gov.scot website.

I would also remind all keepers they must enhance their biosecurity and protect their birds from disease. Keepers who are concerned about the health or welfare of their flock should seek veterinary advice immediately. Your private vet, or your local Animal and Plant Health Agency office, will also be able to provide practical advice on keeping your birds safe from infection.

Expert advice remains that consumers should not be concerned about eating eggs or poultry and the threat to public health from the virus is very low.
A Brooklyn family is outraged not only because they say cops wrongly handcuffed them and searched their house for three hours - but because one of them posted the scene on Snapchat with the comment 'Merry Christmas its NYPD!'

The NYPD said late Friday that the officer in question has been suspended without pay, reports ABC 7.

While the family says the cops were at the wrong address, NYPD denies this and says it had a warrant for the address, although it would not say who it was looking for.

The Santiago family and some friends were sitting in their Brownsville apartment when NYPD officers knocked on the door around 6.30am Thursday, showing them a warrant that allowed them to search the rooms.

Santiago family and sound friends say that the NYPD put a picture of them handcuffed on Snapchat when they swept their house looking for a suspect who wasn't there

The group was handcuffed and cops went through the house for three hours, says Kimberly Santiago.

While the family sat wondering what was going on, Santiago said that she noticed one cop was hovering over them, fiddling with his phone.

'We thought he was texting on his phone,' she told the outlet.

She says after the officers left, she saw a picture on Snapchat under the 'New York Stories' section - and it was of her and her family handcuffed.

When the NYPD left, Santiago says a cop put up another photo of the group with 'Warrant Sweeps Its [sic] still a party smh [shaking my head]'

Kimberly Santiago says the cop who put their photo on social media shouldn't be a police officer

'You're letting the whole world know you're a crooked cop and you don't take your job serious,' Santiago, who called 911 to report the incident, said of the Snapchatting cop

To add insult to injury, once police realized the person they were looking for was not in the home, they left, and someone posted a second picture of the family, this time with the caption 'Warrant sweeps Its [sic] still a party smh.'

'The things that he wrote, it's like, this what you all do?' an astonished Santiago said. 'If he did that picture, how many other families he's done that to? And he was the only one standing there watching us. You're letting the whole world know you're a crooked cop and you don't take your job serious.'

The family was in their Brownsville apartment when NYPD came in with a search warrant but the family says they got the wrong address

The family then called 911 on the cops.

'I felt violated, embarrassed, everything in the book,' she said. 'He doesn't deserve to be a police officer. If he does that, what else is he doing on the low that nobody knows?'
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Real estate agents across Washington D.C. are preparing for a massive boom in sales, and even encouraging people to sell mansions now, as Donald Trump's mega-rich team is set to arrive in the capital.

Realtors are bracing for the arrival of the new batch of billionaires and millionaires the president-elect has tapped to form his cabinet.

TTR Sothebys International Realty associate broker Tom Daley, who raised money for Hillary Clinton, said a 'whole new breed' of people with massive bank accounts are being welcomed in the capital's most desirable neighborhoods.

Real estate agents are hoping Donald Trump's mega-rich team will be moving into some of these multi-million-dollar properties when the head to Washington D.C. Pictured is Wilbur Ross's new home

Ross bought his new home earlier this month, it was reported by the Washington Post. It was sold for a staggering $12 million

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were househunting in the area earlier this month, ahead of their move to the capital

'From a real estate perspective (it is): Thank you very much. Come in folks. Lets get you a nice new house,' Daley told Bloomberg News.

'With the Trump administration, were getting a whole new breed of people coming in.'

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were househunting in the area earlier this month, ahead of their move to the capital.

The move would put the power couple in close proximity to the president-elect.

Wilbur Ross, who has been chosen by Trump to serve as Commerce Secretary, has already picked out his new DC home.

Nestled in 'Billionaire's Row', Ross's palatial pad is a sprawling 10,000-square-foot seven-bedroom mansion that was listed for an eye-watering $12 million.

Nestled in 'Billionaire's Row', Ross's palatial pad is a sprawling 10,000-square-foot seven-bedroom mansion

Wilbur Ross (pictured with his wife, Hilary Geary Ross, in 2013) has already bought his new home in Washington D.C.

It has a huge garden area with grassy spaces and a fountain. Ross has been chosen by Trump to serve as Commerce Secretary

The Washington Post reports a deal for the property was reached earlier this month.

McEnearney Associates vice president David Howell told Bloomberg realtors are crossing their fingers and hoping to get the nod from the incoming political players.

'We would all love to have the distinct privilege of selling our listings to any of the folks coming in to town,' Howell said.

'Were all clamoring for that business and dusting off our contacts.'

Some of the homes are being sold by Washington Fine Properties.

It is believed that Wilbur Ross is the first of Trump's chosen cabinet members to purchase a new property in Washington D.C. His is pictured

Washington D.C. realtors have been showing this 11,242-square-foot home on Foxhall Road worth a staggering $15.5 million to potential buyers associated with Trump

The mansion was formerly home to the French ambassador, and comes complete with a spacious wine cellar, divine bedrooms and large living areas

One of the homes being offered by agents is 11,242-square-foot home on Foxhall Road worth a staggering $15.5 million.

Bloomberg said the mansion was formerly home to the French ambassador, and comes complete with a spacious wine cellar and glitzy infinity pool.

And if $15.5 million is too much in one go for the potential buyers - although the figure would be pocket-change for many in Trump's cabinet, it can be leased for $42,000 a month.

Daley's agency has a host of other homes on the market in the area, which could potentially be called home by members of Trump's team.

And if $15.5 million is too much in one go for the potential buyers - although the figure would be pocket-change for many in Trump's cabinet, the home (pictured) can be leased for $42,000 a month

The Foxhall Road home has a large outdoor entertaining area (left), as well as a number of expansive living rooms inside the mansion (right)

One such property, the Jacqueline Kennedy House on N Street, was built in 1794 and is available for $9 million.

It has six bedrooms, five full bathrooms and an impeccably designed interior.

Another property in Q Street is listed for $12.5 million, and comes complete with eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms littered across its four storeys.

It was revealed last week Trump's cabinet to date is worth more than the bottom third of all American households combined.

This lavish home on 31st Street in downtown Washington D.C. is also on the market, and could potentially be bought by a Trump team member

This Tracy Place mansion is a white house in Washington, but not the White House. However, a political player could still end up calling it home

The massive Tracy Place mansion has a huge spiral staircase right near the entrance (left), as well as a traditionally decorated living room (right)

This huge home is on the famously leafy N Street in Washington, and it could potentially be sold to someone on Trump's team

Trump, who ran on an anti-elite platform and appealed to the working class, has put together a list of names worth a staggering $14.68 billion, according to NBC News.

Just four people on his list - Todd Ricketts, Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, and Linda McMahon - account for about $14.46 billion of the huge sum alone.

The rest of the Donald's announced picks are worthy a comparatively paltry $283.2 million.

The total sum is higher than the 43 million least wealthy American households combined, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve.

Another mansion that could potentially become home to one of Donald Trump's team members is this one on Woodland Drive

The huge home has a multi-leveled exterior (left) and a huge, modernly-designed interior (right)

This home is located on the city's ultra-exclusive Massachusetts Avenue, and realtors hope to find a Trump employee to move in

Mike Pence has moved into a new home in Washington DC, just six miles from the White House

Pence is expected to spend a lot of time in the nation's capital over the coming weeks, as he has taken on the role of spearheading Donald Trump's transition team

The same report found the average worth for a household is $81,200 - which means Trump's cabinet is worth about 180,000 mean households combined.

Based on available estimates, Trump's cabinet is more than four times greater than President Obama's was, and 30 times more than President George W. Bush's.

Incredibly, the value of Trump's cabinet will continue to rise as he names more nominees, but here are some of the standout financial figures already selected.

Not included in the list are Reince Priebus, Mike Flynn, James Mattis, John Kelly, and Scott Pruitt, as there net worth is not known.

Linda McMahon (pictured with her husband, Vince, in 2013) and Steve Mnuchin (pictured with his fiance, Louise Linton, in 2016) could also be looking to snap up a new property in the capital

Todd Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, is one of Trump's ultra-rich cabinet members who could be looking to buy a new home in Washington D.C.
A man, 22, accused of planning to bomb Melbourne landmarks on Christmas Day has faced court with a black eye as the brother of a 21-year-old man arrested and released with no charges takes to social media to swear at the police.

Broadmeadows man Ibrahim Abbas faced the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Saturday charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act.

Abbas's lawyer said the black eye was sustained during police raids across the northern suburbs on Friday morning.

The lawyer then requested a Koran and a prayer mat on Abbas' behalf.

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The brother of a man accused of planning to bomb Melbourne landmarks on Christmas Day has taken to social media and abused police for arresting his brother and releasing him without charge (pictured)

This picture shows alleged terror suspect Hamza Abbas, according to the Age. Abbas, 21, was charged with preparing for a terror attack

Magistrate Steve Raleigh said the request was a matter for prison authorities.

Abbas' 21-year-old brother, Hamza, has also been charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act.

He appeared before court on Friday, along with his cousin, 26-year-old Abdullah Chaarani from Meadow Heights and Ahmed Mohamed, 24.

Police allege the men were behind an Islamic State-inspired plot targeting Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral.

All four men have been remanded into custody to reappear in court in April.

Ahmed Mohamed, 24, is seen leaving Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday after he was charged with preparing and planning a terror attack

Alleged terror suspect Hamza Abbas is seen posing on a tank in this social media picture

Another three people who were arrested during the raid, a woman, 20, and a man, 26, from Meadow heights and a man, 21, from Gladstone Park were released without charge.

Wassim Dabboussi took to Facebook to post an angry rant after his 21-year-old brother, IT worker Zakaria Dabbousi, was released.

'You pigs raid my house 10 hours assault my brothers...take one to prison and bring the whole f**king cop squad to my house point guns at my little f**king brother search from 7pm to 5am and find nothing.'

Zakaria Dabboussi was arrested but has since been released without charge and his brother has taken to Facebook posting an angry rant against the authorities

Mohamad Dabboussi, 20, and Ahmed Dabboussi, 31, claim counter-terror officers kicked them with steel-capped boots as they arrested their brother, Zakaria.

The brothers, who live in Gladstone Park, say they and other family members were hurt by police officers when they stormed their home yesterday.

'I was assaulted by a policeman who was saying I was resisting arrest,' Mr Dabboussi told 9 News.

'I was kicked with steel-capped boots. I was playing PlayStation and all I heard was police rage in and say 'get on the ground' so I laid down, hands behind my back, and that's when they started assaulting me,' he added.

Police allege they uncovered the 'makings of an explosive device' during the raids
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American farmers are incredibly vulnerable to the impacts of severe drought conditions combined with climate change, similar to what hit the country during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.

A new Nature Plants study has revealed a repeat of those drastic conditions could be hugely destructive to crops across the country.

Michael Glotter and Joshua Elliot from the University of Chicago ran a series of computer simulations as part of their analysis, in an attempt to figure out exactly what impact a modern Dust Bowl would have.

'We expected to find the system much more resilient because 30 percent of production is now irrigated in the United States, and because we've abandoned corn production in more severely drought-stricken places such as Oklahoma and west Texas,' Elliott said in a press release. 'But we found the opposite: The system was just as sensitive to drought and heat as it was in the 1930s.'

'Technology has evolved to make yields as high as possible in normal years,' said Glotter. 'But as extreme events become more frequent and severe, we may have to reframe how we breed crops and select for variance and resilience, not just for average yield.'

The study took an even more dramatic turn for the worse when Elliot and Glotter factored in climate change, which led to yield decreases of 25 per cent for each degree the temperatures increased.

If the temperature increased by just four degrees by 2050, which the United Nations has said will be the case if emissions continue to rise, crop yields could plummet by a staggering 80 per cent.

The Dust Bowl was a hugely damaging drought across parts of the country that saw the Great Plains devastated by drought. Agricultural output was massively impacted during the decade, and many people moved away from the areas.

American farmers are incredibly vulnerable to the impacts of severe drought conditions, similar to what hit the country during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Pictured is a rusted out car during the Dust Bowl

A new Nature Plants study has revealed a repeat of those drastic conditions could be hugely destructive to crops across the country. Pictured is a storm approaching a town in Kansas in 1937

Michael Glotter and Joshua Elliot from the University of Chicago ran a series of computer simulations as part of their analysis, in an attempt to figure out exactly what impact a modern Dust Bowl would have. Pictured is a deserted combine during the Dust Bowl years

'We expected to find the system much more resilient because 30 percent of production is now irrigated in the United States, and because we've abandoned corn production in more severely drought-stricken places such as Oklahoma and west Texas,' Elliott said. 'But we found the opposite.' Pictured is a town being blanketed in a dust storm in the 1930s

A man is seen standing near a property during a huge dust storm. Conditions like this caused huge damage to the American agriculture industry, and forced many to leave their homes

South of Lamar, Colorado, a large dust cloud appears behind a truck traveling on Highway 59 sometime in May 1936

A photographic postcard shows a dust storm approaching a house, produced in 1935 in Fort Scott, Kansas

The Dust Bowl was a hugely damaging drought across parts of the country that saw the Great Plains devastated by drought. Pictured are abandoned machines near a barn in South Dakota in 1936

A farmer and his sons walking in the face of a dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, sometime in the year 1936

A dust bowl farmstead in Dallam County, Texas, showing the desolation produced by the dust and wind on the countryside in April 1938
Reddit users have agreed with the man calling his brother-in-law a 'monster'

New Zealand man posted image of his brother-in-law's '

The ancient 'toilet paper debate' has divided people once again, this time during Christmas at the in-laws house.

A New Zealand man was visiting his brother-in-law's house for Christmas when he was forced to use the 'unusable toilet facilities.'

He posted an image to Reddit on Saturday titled 'Christmas ruined by brother-in-law's unusable toilet facilities,' which has since sparked an argument over the cleanliness of the man's bathroom.

A New Zealand man posted an image to Reddit on Saturday titled 'Christmas ruined by brother-in-laws unusable toilet facilities'

Internet user berated his brother-in-law's 'unusable toilet facilities' while others agreed he is 'a 'monster'

'My condolences for your s***** situation,' wrote on Reddit user

For those unfamiliar with the 125-year-old debate it refers to the orientation of the toilet paper.

When used with a roll holder the paper has two possible orientations- it can hang over or under the roll.

It's considered a matter of personal preference, but seems have sparked a fierce debate online once again.

'Over the top and the only thing you touch is toilet paper. Underneath and you touch the toilet paper and sometimes the wall,' wrote one Reddit user.

When used with a roll holder the paper has two possible orientations- it can hang over or under the roll

'What a f****** monster,' another user said.

People argue 'over' reduces the risk of transferring germs, while 'under' makes for a tidier appearance.

But a picture of the original patent for toilet paper may settle the argument once and for all.

Inventor Seth Wheeler drew it in 1891 with the toilet paper going up and over the roll.

But a picture of the original patent for toilet paper may settle the argument once and for all
The man, known as Faysal, taken to

Sudanese-born Faysal Ishak Ahmed, 27, died after being airlifted to Brisbane from Manus Island due to a 'fall and seizure'

A Sudanese refugee has died after he fell and suffered a seizure at Manus Island.

The 27-year-old man, known as Faysal, was taken to IHMS Clinic on Manus Island for urgent treatment on Thursday after suffering critical head injuries.

He was then air-lifted to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, where he died on Friday, the Department of Immigration said in a statement.

'The Department is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and expresses its sympathies to his family and friends,' the department said.

In a statement made before the man's death, Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said he had 'grave concerns for Faysal's welfare.'

The coalition said Faysal had suffered numerous black-outs and collapses on Manus Island in recent months and had previously complained to the Border Force and IHMS over a lack of treatment.

The death will be reported to the Queensland Coroner.

A Sudanese refugee has died after he fell and suffered a seizure at Manus Island (Manus Island stock image)
Charged: Heidi Verret, nee Domanghue, allegedly had sex with three boys aged 15-16. Cops say she may also have had an 'inappropriate chat' with a 12-year-old

A substitute teacher in the city of Houma, Terrebonne Parish, has been arrested after allegedly sleeping with three boys, aged 15-16, after bribing them with alcohol, food and the chance to drive her car.

Heidi M Domangue, 30, also known under her married name of Heidi Verret, had sex with the teens over several months this year, and is suspected talking inappropriately with a 12-year-old online, police said.

'What's really upsetting, she had my son having oral sex with her,' Contidina Manuel, the mother of one of the boys, told WWLTV. 'Like, why would you?! I don't understand that.'

Domangue's alleged victims were all friends, and lived in the same neighborhood as the teacher, who is also a mom.

It's not known whether the taught in the schools they attend, but police said all sexual activity took place in her home and not on any school properties.

At least one of the boys attended Ellender Memorial High School.

Locals said they had noticed her being unusually friendly with the boys, but assumed that because she worked as a substitute teacher, nothing untoward was happening.

However, earlier this week police received a report that Domangue had engaged in 'inappropriate' online conversations with a 12-year-old boy on social media.

Their investigation led to the discovery that she had been having sexual relations with the three other boys for several months, they said.

'I just thought she was a sweet lady, just looking out for children in the neighborhood. Not knowing something like this would happen,' Manuel said.

Domangue has been charged with one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile, sentences for which range between two and 25 years in prison.

She has also been booked on three counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, each charge of which carries a maximum sentence of ten years.

She was booked into the parish jail on $50,000 bail Wednesday.
Officials say the acrid order of rotten eggs that wafted through Philadelphia has been blamed on a power outage at a refinery just across the river from the city.

The foul odor first was reported to dispatchers at Philadelphia Gas Works around 9:30pm on Friday.

Complaints about the stench then flowed into the city's 911 system.

An aerial view of Philadelphia is seen above. Residents of the city and neighboring suburbs noticed a foul odor that blanketed the area on Friday evening

Some calls were even received from neighboring Bucks County, miles away.

About 90 minutes later, city officials determined the smell was caused by a kind of sulfur-based additive. They said it wasn't dangerous.

PBF Energy in Paulsboro, New Jersey, said Saturday that a brief loss of power at the refinery shortly before 8pm on Friday resulted in 'flaring and odors.'

The refinery is located just across the Delaware River.

The odor was caused by a brief power outage at the PBF Energy refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey (above). Authorities determined that the smell was not dangerous

The company apologized.

Locals took to social media to vent their frustrations, with the result being some hilarious posts.

'Just started smelling it in our house, first we thought the dog farted,' wrote one user on Reddit.

This Reddit user apologized to their dog for thinking it was responsible for the smell

Philadelphians were initially alarmed at the smell, thinking it may have been dangerous

This Twitter user chuckles at the thought of Philadelphians enjoying eggs

The smell was so pungent, that it had reached areas that lay miles from the city. The above Twitter gif sums up how locals felt about the situation

'But it wasn't going away so I let the dog outside and the smell smacked me in the face when I opened the door.'

'My next thought was one of the people with chimneys in the neighborhood burnt something not wood, but then I checked reddit. And here we are.'

'Update: I've been apologizing to my dog for blaming her ever since.'

On Twitter, users uploaded gifs in which Philadelphia residents express alarm at the situation.
Thousands of American Airlines flight attendants are complaining that their new uniforms aren't a good fit.

The airline introduced 70,000 new uniforms to the attendants in September, but since then, at least 2,200 have complained of 'eye swelling, rashes, skin blistering' plus wheezing, headaches, and vertigo, said the union that represents 25,000 of the flight attendants, according to NBC News.

The union's president, Bob Ross, filed a grievance on Wednesday with American's general counsel, stating: 'Personal health is so integral and critical to our Flight Attendant workforce, who must be able to work in a healthy manner and environment. To do so, our members need proper and safe uniforms.'

The new slate gray uniforms, above, with scarfs and cobalt blue ties, are not so popular with flight attendants

The old navy blue uniforms, above, were phased out for new slate gray uniforms that could be paired with jackets, cobalt blue sweaters, and Cole Haan ties and scarfs

The uniforms, which were navy blue, are now slate gray with cobalt blue cardigans or gray jackets and Cole Haan ties and scarfs that are red and blue. Attendants had the choice of mix and matching pants, shirts, skirts and jackets, reported Dallas News.

The outfits are meant to be comfortable, flexible, durable, and can be worn in all different types of weather.

They were manufactured by Houston-based Twin Hill company. After some initial complaints from the pilot's union on the first test batch of the uniform, the company went back to the drawing board.

The new slate gray uniforms (seen under the jacket above) could be paired with a blue and red scarf to give a snazzier look

The new uniforms could also be paired with a pretty shade of blue cardigan

In September, the company excitedly said, 'We were able to refine the collection and really take the time to ensure that its a success,' according to NBC News.

But that didn't last long as the complaints about allergic reactions began rolling in.

The union has demanded that American Airlines stop issuing the new uniforms, give flight attendants sick leave, and create a $2million fund to research what the problem is.

American Airlines received a grievance from the union on Wednesday from the flight attendants' union

It also issued a release telling flight attendants that if they don't feel comfortable wearing the new uniform to call the AA center and document whether they want to return to old blue uniforms.
A university dance team in Texas has announced it will perform at Donald Trump's inauguration parade, prompting backlash from some on social media.

The Texas State University Strutters announced the news on its official Facebook page on Wednesday.

'The Strutters are excited to announce that they will be a part of the 2017 Inaugural Parade on Friday, January 20th! The Strutters cannot wait for this once in a lifetime performance opportunity coming up in the next few weeks,' a post read.

The Texas State Strutters dance team (pictured) has announced it will perform at Donald Trump's inauguration parade

Almost immediately, the dancers were met by comments from people blasting the president-elect as a 'racist'.

'What a great honor for all of you to perform for a racist man! Truly amazing! I hope you guys remember this experience that will be A+++ for all of you! Do not worry at all about the marginalized groups that belong to the txstate community who will be harmed by his policies! What a once in a life time opportunity! You all should feel really proud,' one person wrote.

'The university is showing support to a racist and misogynistic man who was elected to be our president. He has proven that he has no respect for women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people of the LGBTQ community,' another said.

'Booooooo. Shame on the Strutter's booking agent. Trump supporters have been threatening people in campus and you're still going to sell out to that man. What a shame,' a person wrote.

The Texas State University Strutters (pictured) announced the news on its official Facebook page on Wednesday

'The Strutters are excited to announce that they will be a part of the 2017 Inaugural Parade on Friday, January 20th! The Strutters cannot wait for this once in a lifetime performance opportunity coming up in the next few weeks,' a post from the team (pictured) read

'I wonder what would happen on campus if a new campus president came in and spoke the way he did about women. Would that be ok? Of course it wouldn't. Why would you send a group of young women to perform at any celebration for this man?' one said.

'I am an alumni... I'm so embarrassed. How can this institution that has been a part of family support someone so full of hate, so misogynistic and racist?' another added.

However, others were more supportive of the dance group's decision.

'So very exciting!! A much deserved honor as you represent all Strutters and Texas State University!!' a fan wrote.

However, some were quick to criticize the dance group (pictured) for agreeing to perform for Trump

'I am an alumni... I'm so embarrassed. How can this institution that has been a part of family support someone so full of hate, so misogynistic and racist?' one person wrote

'As a former Strutter and Texas State alumni, Congratulations Strutters! Have an amazing time and cherish the memories you're making,' a former member of the dance group said.

'No matter who is president, it is an HONOR to be included in a presidential inaugural ceremony. I am so proud that my school will be represented by these young ladies!' another wrote.

The university has been a hotbed for tension since the election, with many protests being staged and some Trump supporting students threatening to 'tar and feather' people who did not vote for him.

Police were called in to investigate reports of potential attacks on students after fliers appeared around campus, the Statesman reports.

There was a lot of criticism of the dance group's decision to perform for Trump's inauguration

'Now that our man Trump is elected and Republicans own both the Senate and the House -- time to organize tar & feather vigilante squads and go arrest and torture those deviant university leaders spouting off all this diversity garbage,' one flier read.

In it, a group of men were seen standing in front of an American flag and appeared to be holding guns.

There were more incidents when in excess of 1,000 students and faculty members signed a petition to make the college a 'sanctuary campus', only for that request to be denied by the school.

The petition was created in part by students and staff who did not think the school did enough in the wake of the aforementioned fliers, according to the newspaper.
Antonio Hermiz, 20, was fatally shot in the head in a targeted broad daylight shooting

A young man shot dead and another fighting for his life after a targeted broad daylight shooting reportedly have ties to organised crime gangs.

The deadly dispute at western Sydney's Wetherill Park was the flashpoint to months of simmering tensions between Assyrian street gangs in the area.

Both Antonio Hermiz, 20, fatally shot in the head, and his friend Ronaldo Odisho, 18, shot in the chest, have links to the notorious DLASTHR gang, reports Sydney Morning Herald.

Odisho was struck by a bullet in the chest and was rushed to Liverpool Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

DLASTHR has been embroiled in a bloody turf war with The True Kings, sparking dozens of shootings the year.

Mr Hermiz and Mr Odisho were sitting in a car when another car pulled up beside them, whereupon a confrontation spiraled into the shooting.

The attacking car fled the scene, sparking a widespread search from police, who have condemned the brazen shooting.

'I think it's a gutless attack by these people,' said Fairfield Local Area Command Superintendent Peter Lennon.

Both Antonio Hermiz, 20, fatally shot in the head, and his friend Ronaldo Odisho, 18, shot in the chest, have links to the the notorious DLASTHR gang (pictured: a gang tattoo)

Detectives from Fairfield Local Area Command and State Crime Command's Homicide Squad investigating the scene of the shooting

The two victims were sitting in a car when another car pulled up beside them, whereupon a confrontation spiralled into the shooting

'We've got people who at Christmas time are enjoying themselves with their family in a parkland and this sort of thing goes on.'

Police announced on Friday night that a strike force, dubbed Strike Force Jacoby, has been formed to investigate the shootings.

The strike force comes months after the launch of Operation Condor, made to tackle DLASTHR and The True Kings.

On July 12, a man survived a shot in the back as he left his Fairfield home, before a 24-year-old man also shot in the back at Prairiewood weeks later.
Hundreds of investigators in Germany are hunting for possible accomplices of the Berlin truck killer who massacred 12 people in Berlin.

Yesterday Anis Amri, 24, was killed in a shootout with Italian police in Milan after a four-day manhunt. Carrying no travel documents, a Milan police chief said the killer 'was a ghost'.

But under-pressure police have assigned hundreds of officers to work on the case over the festive period and determine whether Amri acted alone.

Under-pressure police have assigned hundreds of officers to work on the case over the festive period and determine whether Amri acted alone

It comes after three men, including his 18-year-old nephew, were arrested in Tunisia on suspicion of being linked to a terror cell.

And Spanish authorities are also investigating links between Amri and another suspected extremist, it emerged today.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio station Cope that investigators are looking into a tip passed on by German authorities that Amri had developed a contact in Spain.

Zoido said: 'We are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person.'

Amri was at the wheel of a hijacked truck which ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital on Monday, killing 12 and injuring 50.

The attack has been claimed by ISIS, and chilling video emerged of Amri yesterday claiming allegiance to Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terror group.

'I AM GLAD KILLER'S NO LONGER A THREAT' SAYS VICTIM'S HUSBAND Nada Cizmar, a 34-year-old mother of one, died in Monday's terror attack The husband of a Czech mother killed in the Christmas market attack says he is relieved that the attacker, Anis Amri, no longer poses a threat to the people in Europe. Petr Cizmar, whose wife Nada died in the atrocity, said he was not after revenge, but added: 'I needed to know that he was removed from our society one way or another and could not cause further harm.' He spoke to The Associated Press by phone from the family's home in Braunschweig, a city 230 kilometers (143 miles) west of Berlin. Cizmar says his 34-year-old wife had a logistics job in Berlin since May and stayed there during the week. He said she went to the market, located near her office, to celebrate Christmas with her colleagues. The couple has a five-year-old son. Advertisement

Twelve people were killed when a truck driven by Amri was driven into the middle of a busy Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, and questions have been raised about whether he was part of a network of terrorists planning attacks

Federal prosecutor Peter Frank said it is possible that Amri was part of a network.

He said: 'It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect.'

It is thought that Amri may have been in Milan to meet a contact.

WHAT WAS BERLIN MASSACRE TERRORIST DOING IN ITALY? It is not yet known why Anis Amri was in Milan yesterday, having travelled from Germany through France Investigators are trying to determine why terrorist Anis Amri was in Milan when he was shot dead yesterday morning. The killer, who did not have any documents on him and was not carrying a phone, was approached by officers in the Sesto San Giovanni suburb at 3am. He was gunned down after opening fire on two police, who had no idea that he was Europe's most wanted man. The suburb is a hub for transport, and is the last stop on the city's metro line. It has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy, but police patrols are particularly thorough. A young Moroccan worker called Aziz said: 'I get checked by police every day getting off the bus. 'At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol.' Italian daily La Stampa reports police believe Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France. Investigators at the scene of yesterday's shooting, where the terrorist opened fire on two police officers They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices. But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead. He is believed to have arrived in Milan at 1am yesterday, before going to Sesto San Giovanni. There is an increased police presence across Italy following yesterday's shooting It is not known whether he was there to meet members of a network, or trying to get out of Europe. He could have been planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he was jailed for four years in 2011 for arson. Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had 'no links with the Sesto mosque', but locals wonder if he had contacts nearby. 'Some people are worried,' said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting. Advertisement

Truck driver Giuseppe Russo told The Times that there was no other reason why the killer would have been in the Milan suburb of Sesto San Giovanni at 3am, when he was approached by police.

Russo said: 'He was waiting to meet a local contact, someone from around here who was going to hide him.'

And he added: 'It's the end of Milan tube line. Where else was he going?'

German authorities face tough questions over how Amri was able to carry out the attack, despite being known to anti-terrorism agencies in Germany and Italy.

He is believed to have been radicalised in Italy - where he arrived from his native Tunisia in 2011 - when he spent four years in jail for starting a fire at a refugee centre.

Truck killer: Amri (pictured) shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and 'police b******s' as he shot at police officers in suburb north of Milan

German authorities face tough questions over how Amri was able to carry out Monday's attacks, despite being known to anti-terrorism agencies in both Italy and Germany

SECURITY STEPPED UP IN ITALY AFTER TRUCK TERRORIST KILLED Security has been set up in Italy as investigators try to determine whether Amri had accomplices in the country, where he was gunned down yesterday. Security and new anti-terrorism measures were ramped up at the Colosseum in Rome today Authorities in Rome banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre, and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather. At the Vatican, where Pope Francis is due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres along streets leading to the Vatican. Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services. Advertisement

German security agencies began monitoring Amri in March, suspecting that he was planning break-ins to raise cash for automatic weapons to carry out an attack.

But the surveillance was stopped in September because Amri, who was supposed to have been deported months earlier, was seen primarily as a small-time drug dealer.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas has pledged to examine 'how to improve surveillance of potentially dangerous persons' and concrete steps to speed up deportations of illegal migrants.

Gernman Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to hold a 'comprehensive' analysis of how the known jihadist was able to slip through the net in the first place

The Berlin attacker Anis Amri (pictured) was shot dead after a gunfight with police in Milan, Italian police have said

Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed relief that the killer no longer posed a threat, and vowed to hold a 'comprehensive' analysis of how the known jihadist was able to slip through the net in the first place.

'The Amri case raises questions,' she said. 'We will now intensively examine to what extent official procedures need to be changed.'

German newspaper Die Welt, reflecting widespread criticism of the German authorities' response to the atrocity, asked on its website: 'How could Europe's most wanted terrorist leave Germany?'

Amri was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two officers who had stopped him for a routine identity check in the early hours of yesterday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

Items left on the road included a pistol and a backpack. Amri's body was covered up as forensics scoured the scene

He is understood to have pulled a gun on a patrol after being stopped for a routine ID check and shot an officer in the shoulder leaving him seriously injured

He lightly wounded one of the officers before being killed by 29-year-old police rookie Luca Scata, who has since been hailed as a hero.

Police said Amri had shouted 'bastard police' in Italian before opening fire.

According to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, Amri had arrived in Italy from Germany via France. He had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone.

Carrying no travel documents, the man who ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market killing 12 people, was able to slip from Germany into France and then into Italy.

It was only when Amri was confronted by a rookie Italian policeman during a routine ID check in a northern suburb of Milan that he was finally caught.

He was gunned down as he tried to flee.

Shortly before his death was announced yesterday morning, blundering German police stated they thought the 24-year-old Islamic State fanatic was still in their country.

Amri's father, Mustapha (left, pictured with the killer's mother Nour-Houda) said he believes his son was radicalised in prison in Italy

Yesterday Amri's brother Abdul Kader said: 'We are sorry for the death of Anis, but he did not die today, he died the day after he swore allegiance to Daesh.

'I know he had a criminal record but I didn't think that he would ever become a terrorist.'

Speaking from his home in Tunisia, the terrrorist's father, Mustapha, said he believes his son was radicalised while serving his sentence in Italy.

The Italian school Amri torched for which he was jailed for three years

Pictures emerged this morning of the terrorist lying dead in the street having been shot by Italian police

The dramatic climax to Europes most urgent manhunt unfolded at 3am yesterday, shortly after Amri got off a train in Milans Sesto San Giovanni district and was seen acting suspiciously.

As he was challenged, the fugitive pulled a gun from his backpack, screamed Allahu Akbar and opened fire on the two officers  hitting one, Christian Movio, 35, in the shoulder.

His colleague, Luca Scata, 29, a trainee police officer who had been in the job only a few months, gave chase before shooting Amri dead in the street.

While the bravery of the Italian officers was praised across the world, critics of the Schengen zone said the bungled hunt for Amri had exposed lax security across the continent.

A shoot out took place at about 3am local time and Amri was reportedly heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar' as he tried to flee and police opened fire

Italian police released this picture showing how a gunshot fired by Amri had hit the bullet-proof vest worn by officer Christian Movio

By the time the European arrest warrant for him was issued on Wednesday, Amri, who had used at least six different aliases with three nationalities, had vanished.

Despite being Europes most wanted man, he was able to cross the German border into France and make his way to Chambery, before crossing another national border by travelling on a high speed train to Turin in northern Italy.

From there, he apparently caught a regional train to Milan, arriving at 1am yesterday, before then taking another service to Sesto San Giovanni station in the suburbs.

Amri had strong links to Italy because it was the first European country he claimed asylum in in 2011 after fleeing his native Tunisia.

He spent three years in jail there before being released. Police believe he may have been trying to reach southern Italy, with a view to reaching northern Africa.

Under the Schengen rules he had no need to show travel documents at national frontiers, which have been had checkpoints removed.

He was a ghost, he didnt leave a trace, said Milan police chief Antonio De Lesu.

Evidence: The Tunisian pulled a gun from his backpack, screamed 'Allahu Akbar' and opened fire on two officers  hitting one in the shoulder  before being shot dead. Pictures from the scene appear to show a weapon lying on the road near a backpack

Hero policeman Christian Moveo (pictured in bed) was recovering in hospital this afternoon having been shot by the most wanted man on the planet

He is understood to have pulled a gun on a patrol after being stopped for a routine ID check and shot an officer in the shoulder leaving him seriously injured

Shoot-out: Italian authorities said this morning that they had 'without a shadow of a doubt' killed the chief suspect in the Berlin massacre
She was taken by ambulance to Westmead Children's

A toddler has died in hospital after being pulled unconscious and not breathing from a car in Sydney.

The child, believed to be three-years-old, had been trapped inside the car on Cameo Circuit in Glenwood in the city's northwest for hours on Saturday.

The child was reportedly last seen at 2pm and then discovered inside the car just after 4.30pm.

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A toddler has died in Westmead Children's Hospital after being pulled unconscious from a car. Pictured are people speaking with police at the scene

The girl, believed to be three-years-old, was reportedly locked in the car for a number of hours after returning from Christmas shopping with her family about midday

She was pulled from a car on Cameo Circuit in the northwest Sydney suburb of Glenwood. Nine News reported she was last seen about 2pm, before she was found at 4.30pm

It's said the toddler had returned home with her family about midday after going Christmas shopping.

At about 4.45pm it was 25.8 degrees Celsius in the Sydney suburb.

Emergency services were called to the address about 4.45pm after reports of a child in a car at a property.

It's said the toddler had returned home with her family about midday after going Christmas shopping. Pictured is the scene surrounded with police tape

When police arrived, family were performing CPR inside the home, with police taking over until the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson told AAP attending paramedics had determined the child was in cardiac arrest, and she was taken to Westmead Children's Hospital.

A crime scene has been established at the location while police from Quakers Hill Local Area Command investigate all the circumstances surrounding the girls death.

Police are asking anyone with information to assist them to come forward.

Emergency services were called to the address about 4.45pm and the child was taken to Westmead Children's Hospital
Melbourne police have returned to one of the houses where terror raids were conducted earlier in the week.

The house on Blackwood Crescent in Campbellfield was searched on Friday and police returned to the property on Saturday for further analysis.

Police told the Herald Sun that the raids were carried out to protect the public and due to it being an ongoing investigation no further comment would be made.

Melbourne police returned to a house in Campbellfield on Saturday in which terror raids were conducted on Friday (pictured is a Meadows Heights house)

'Safety of the community and our members is paramount and more information will be released when it is safe to do so.' Victoria Police said .

Earlier four men including two brothers were charged with preparing to commit a terrorist attack on Christmas Day after police allegedly uncovered evidence they were building an improvised explosive device.

Among them are two brothers and all four have been remanded into custody.

Broadmeadows man Ibrahim Abbas faced the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Saturday charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act.

The 22-year-old had a black eye, which his lawyer said he had sustained during police raids across the northern suburbs on Friday morning.

This map shows where police raided several homes on Thursday night and Friday morning in order to thwart what investigators believe would have been a series of terror attacks in Melbourne

Police have foiled an alleged terror plot to attack iconic Melbourne locations including Melbourne's Flinders Street Station (pictured) on Christmas Day

Federation Square (pictured) and St Paul's Cathedral were also to be targeted

The lawyer requested a Koranand a prayer mat on Abbas' behalf.

Magistrate Steve Raleigh said the request was a matter for prison authorities.

Abbas' 21-year-old brother, Hamza, has also been charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act.

He appeared before court on Friday, along with Ahmed Mohamed, 24, from Meadow Heights and 26-year-old Abdullah Chaarani.

Police allege the men were behind an Islamic State-inspired plot targeting Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral.

All four men will reappear in court in April.

Alleged terror suspect Hamza Abbas is seen posing on a tank in this social media picture

This picture shows alleged terror suspect Hamza Abbas, according to the Age. Abbas, 21, was charged with preparing for a terror attack
This is the shocking moment a road rage trucker raced down the wrong side of a busy Thailand road, shunting cars and causing carnage.

The driver, described as drugged by eyewitnesses, swerved his white truck across both lanes of the Bangkok road, smashing into cars driving in both directions.

Dashcam footage from one caught-up motorist shows the crazed trucker ramming cars in the distance.

Road rage: This is the shocking moment a road rage trucker raced down the wrong side of a busy Thailand road, shunting cars and causing carnage

Other drivers tried to move to the left of the road to avoid collision as terrified pedestrians ran from the scene.

The driver weaved his way through the stationary traffic, taking wing-mirrors off parked cars and ramming into oncoming vehicles.

He rammed car bumpers as he squeezed through tiny gaps between stationary cars.

He then shunted head on into the car whose dashcam captured the fiasco, ramming it backwards at least six feet before finally coming to a halt.

Crazed: The driver, described as drugged by eyewitnesses, swerved his white truck across both lanes of the Bangkok road, smashing into cars driving in both directions

Captured: Dashcam footage from one caught-up motorist shows the crazed trucker ramming cars

The driver who filmed the incident posted his footage on YouTube.

He wrote: 'This clip recording from my car camera. On December 21 at 12.45pm there is a mad drugged driver in the center city of Bangkok.

'He drives from the opposite lane direction to me and hit every car in front. My car was the 23rd one to be hit. A few people were injured but no-one died.'
A film about a hijacking that was being shot at Malta airport about a plane hijacking was disrupted by the real-life hijacking of a Libyan Airbus A320, an official said.

'It's very ironic because then there was the real hijack on,' Magda Magri Naudi, the mayor of the villag Maltese of Lija told the BBC.

The film, titled Entebbe, tells that story of a 1976 hostage situation in a Ugandan airport.

The incident 40 years ago saw Israeli forces free 105 hostages in a surprise raid at Entebbe airport, killing about eight hostage-takers and 20 Ugandan troops.

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The moment the two men were arrested, searched and taken into custody by Maltese armed forces was caught on camera

One of the hijackers is arrested while the other one drops to the ground as her surrenders

However, Friday's incident ended rather differently when the two hijackers surrendered peacefully to police.

The Gaddafi supporters hijacked the Libyan plane armed with hand grenades, and later surrendered at gunpoint.

The two men had allowed all but the plane's pilots and other male cabin crew members to leave the aircraft, leading to fears they could be readying to take off.

However shortly after demanding political asylum in Malta, the hijackers peacefully left the plane along with the remaining crew.

They were then dramatically arrested, searched and taken into custody by armed forces.

Both men were searched before being taken away by armed forces for questioning

Gaddafi supporters who hijacked a Libyan plane armed with hand grenades have surrendered, after all passengers and crew were safely released.

Female passengers were allowed to leave the plane first, before all those onboard bar the crew were released

A group of 25 women and children were initally allowed to leave after the two men took control of the aircraft as it flew over Libya, redirecting it to Malta.

A second group, numbering 40, was released shortly afterwards, before all of the remaining passengers of the Libyan Afriqiyah Airways flight were allowed to leave.

Earlier it had been reported that they were calling for the release of Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al Islam, who it was thought had already been freed in July.

Saif is the most prominent of Gaddafi's eight children and was sentenced to death by a Libyan court in July 2015 as part of a mass trial of former regime officials.

He was said to have been released from house arrest in July after the sentence was quashed by Libya's new UN-backed government.

Al Arabiya claimed that a member of the Libyan House of Representatives had been present on the aircraft, as had been Libyan, Indian and Pakistani nationals.

A photograph said to have been taken onboard the plane appears to show one of the hijackers standing in the aisle

The two men were said to be part of the pro-Gaddafi group Al Fatah Al Gadida, and at one point waved a Gaddafi flag from the plane's front doorway

It is unknown whether this photograph of the hijacked plane's cockpit shows one of the hijackers or the aircraft's pilots

A man, who appears to be one of the plane's pilots, helps people to disembark from the plane

A Libyan passenger plane has been hijacked by two pro-Gaddafi supporters threatening to blow the aircraft up

The two men were said to be part of the pro-Gaddafi group Al Fatah Al Gadida, and at one point waved a Gaddafi flag from the plane's front doorway.

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and the country has been racked by factional violence since.

After the plane landed, the Malta airport authority said all emergency teams had been dispatched to what it called an 'unlawful interference' on the tarmac.

A tweet by the Maltese Prime Minister confirmed that there was 82 males and 28 females onboard, including one infant.

A Libyan security official said the pilot informed Tripoli Airport Control that hijackers were preventing him from landing in Libya before communication was lost.

The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta is about 300 miles north of the Libyan coast.

Joseph Muscat wrote on Twitter that he has been told of a potential hijack situation of an internal Libyan flight diverted to Malta

The plan set off from Sebha in Libya and was due to land in Tripoli, but instead carried on to the island of Malta further north

Maltese troops survey a hijacked Libyan Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on the runway at Malta Airport

Libya has been in a state of chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi left warring militias battling for control of different parts of the country.

Forces loyal to a fledgling national unity government recently took control of the coastal city of Sirte, which had been a bastion for the Islamic State group since June 2015.

Western powers have pinned their hopes of containing jihadism in the energy-rich North African state on the government but it has failed to establish its authority over all of the country.

A rival authority rules the country's far east, backed by the forces under military strongman Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who have been battling jihadists in second city Benghazi.

The aircraft had been flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli for state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, a route that would usually take a little over two hours.

The last time a hijacked plane landed in Malta was in 1985, when EgyptAir Flight 648 was taken over by three Palestinian members of the terrorist group Abu Nidal.

Joseph Muscat wrote on Twitter that he has been told of a potential hijack situation of an internal Libyan flight diverted to Malta

The Malta airport authority said all emergency teams have been dispatched to the site of what it called an 'unlawful interference' on the airport tarmac

Armed Maltese soldiers stand guard outside the plane (left), which arrived in Malta on Friday morning

The subsequent raid on the aircraft by Egyptian troops resulted in the death of 58 passengers, with only one of the three hijackers surviving.

The hijacking of planes was a common tactic by terrorist organisations during the last 20th century, most notoriously when two aircraft were flown into New York's Twin Towers in September 2001.

In March 2015, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked himself in a cockpit of Germanwings Flight 9525 when the captain went out for a rest.

He then started to descend the aircraft, and after eight minutes of falling it crashed into the Alps near the French village Prads-Haute-Bleone, killing 150 people.

A year later, in March 2016, EgyptCyprus Flight MS181 was taken over after a passenger said he was wearing an explosives belt and was diverted to Larnaca.

The hijacker surrendered after hours of negotiations with no causalities to passengers or crew.

Maltese armed forces were pictured surrounding the hijacked plane at Malta's airport
Lorry driver Lukasz Urban was found dead in the passenger seat after the massacre

Monday

Between 3pm and 4pm: Polish lorry driver Lukasz Urban, 37, has his lorry hijacked. He was on his way back to his truck from a kebab shop when he was ambushed.

8pm - The truck is driven into a large crowd of people at outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the centre of Berlin. Urban's body was found in the passenger seat after the attackers fled. He had been shot and stabbed, but authorities believe he was alive when the truck ploughed into the crowd. Twelve people were killed and 50 more were injured.

9pm - A Pakistani man is arrested a mile-and-a-half from the scene, after witnesses claimed to have seen him leaving the truck. It was revealed that he had entered Germany under a false name in February.

The suspect was arrested a mile-and-a-half from the scene of the atrocity, after witnesses claimed to have seen him getting out of the truck

10.16pm - Controversial far-right activist Lutz Bachmann, who heads the anti-immigrant PEGIDA group, tweeted on Monday night that he had 'internal police information' that the perpetrator was a Tunisian.

Tuesday

4am - Police raid a refugee camp at Tempelhof, believed to be where the Pakistani suspect resided.

8am - The suspect is named as Naved B, a 23-year-old man from Pakistan, but police later reveal that the man has denied any involvement in the attack and urged people to be vigilant.

Angela Merkel confirmed it was being treated as a terrorist attack

10am - German chancellor Angela Merkel confirms the attack is being treated as an act of terrorism.

12pm - Germanys interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, confirms that 18 of the 50 people hurt in the attack were 'very seriously injured'.

1.20pm - Police admit that they have arrested the wrong man. A senior officer says: 'The true perpetrator is still armed, at large and can cause fresh damage.'

6.50pm - Authorities confirm that the wrongly-arrested man has been released.

ISIS claims responsibility for the attack, releasing a statement which describes the lorry driver as a 'soldier' and praised him for 'targeting nationals of the coalition countries'.

Wednesday

It is revealed that police are looking for a Tunisian man, named as Anis Amri, after his ID was found under the driver's seat. It emerged that the failed asylum seeker, who had a 100,000 euro reward on his head, had been under the surveillance of German intelligence for several months, and had been arrested three times this year, but deportation papers were never served. Reports in Germany suggest intelligence services had lost track of him weeks ago.

A cousin of Naveed Baluch, the wrongly accused suspect, was 'mentally unfit' and had not been heard from since he was released. His cousin Waheed told MailOnline he was 'very worried' about the missing man.

Thursday

Dalia Elyakim, from Herzliya, Israel, was named as the first victim of the massacre. Her husband Rami, pictured with her, is fighting for his life

An Israeli woman became the first named victim of the Berlin lorry massacre. Dalia Elyakim, from Herzliya, Israel, was with her husband Rami when the atrocity happened. Rami was in hospital fighting for his life.

The market where the massacre happened reopened, with heightened security. Stalls on Breitscheidplatz square opened again three days after the 25-tonne lorry was used as a weapon to kill and maim shoppers.

The market, in the centre of Berlin, reopened on Thursday morning with heightened security, three days after the massacre

Two of Amris brothers, Walid and Abdelkader, said they believed he had been radicalised in prison in Italy, and Abdelkader told reporers: 'I ask him to turn himself in to the police. If it is proved that he is involved, we dissociate ourselves from it.'

Two men were arrested after a police raid at a mosque in Berlin's Moabit neighbourhood, where Amri was allegedly captured on CCTV just eight hours after the mass killing.

Friday

3am - Amri was shot dead in Milan. He immediately produced a gun when approached by police. In a press conference at 9.45am, the Italian Interior minister, Marco Minniti, said Amri immediately produced a gun when approached by police and shot an officer during a routine patrol. The Tunisian was then killed, and there is 'absolutely no doubt' that the man was Amri, Minniti said.
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A husband has paid tribute to his wife and 11-year-old daughter who died after being trapped inside their house when a fire broke out.

Alina Kordaszewska, 41, and daughter Emila Kordaszewska, 11, died from smoke inhalation after their house went up in flames on Wednesday night.

The pair were trapped inside their house shortly before 10.45pm in Braintree, Essex, and two other women at the scene, aged 43 and 18, managed to escape.

The fire service revealed today that the cause of the fatal fire was by candles being accidentally left alight in the lounge on the ground floor of the property.

Rafal Kordaszewski is pictured with daughters Emila (left) and Milena (middle) and wife Alina

Police tape blocks the entrance to the home, where a woman and a child were both killed

Alina's husband, Rafal Kordaszewski, 41, has now paid tribute to his wife of nearly 20 years and his youngest daughter Emila.

He said: 'Alina and I were married for nearly 20 years. We grew up together as children and married when we were 21.

'We had our first daughter, Milena, 18, then our youngest daughter, Emila. We came to England ten years ago and moved to Braintree.

'Alina was a very quiet person but had lots of friends at her workplace, Tyco Electronics, where she worked for nine years.

'Emila went to John Ray Junior School and started at Notley High School in September. She had lots of friends and she was always trying to help people.

'Alina and Emila were very much loved and we will miss them greatly. We would like to thank everyone for their support and everything they have done for us.

Photos taken the morning after the fire show the burnt remains of Christmas decorations

The victims of the house fire were named as Alina Kordaszewska, 41, (far right) and her 12-year-old daughter Emilia (middle). Older daughter Milena and father Rafal are also shown

'We have had so much support from our friends and the community; we are overwhelmed by their generosity.

'Friends have also brought us clothes and food and have helped us with housing.'

Forensic post mortem examinations were completed for the mother and daughter on Friday and the provisional cause of death was smoke inhalation.

The two other women who escaped the property before emergency services arrived were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Acting Chief Fire Officer for Essex Fire and Rescue service, Adam Eckley said: 'On behalf of the Service I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and the local community.

'This is a tragic incident, and to fall so close to Christmas has made it even more heart-breaking.

'The fire service is doing everything we can to work with the local communities to reassure them and keep them safe.'

One of the women is believed to be Rafal's eldest daughter, 18-year-old Milena Kordaszewska.

Neighbours told of the moment they saw Rafal desperately trying to get in to the property and try and save his loved ones.

Friends of 18-year-old Milena (pictured) have set up a fundraising page, which has already garnered 20,000 in donations

Emilia Kordaszewska, pictured left and with her sister Milena, right, died in the fire along with her mother Alina

Police officers are said to have held him back, as the enormous blaze tore through his detached family home.

Chris Bibbey, who lives a few doors down from the house, said: 'A Polish guy lives there but he wasn't in, police wouldn't let him through the cordon, they were holding him back and wouldn't let him in, he was obviously in a state.

'We saw the women outside screaming, it was a very haunting scream, they were shouting and screaming.'

On Thursday the headteacher of the school Emila attended paid tribute to the 'popular and friendly' year 7 pupil.

David Conway, headteacher at Notley High School in Braintree, Essex, said: 'On behalf of the whole community of Notley High School & Braintree Sixth Form I would like to express our unutterable sadness at the death of one of our students in a tragic house fire.

Police officers are said to have held back Rafal as an enormous blaze tore through his detached family home

'Emila Kordaszewska was a likeable and popular member of her teaching and tutor groups and will be greatly missed.

'As others have said this news is all the more distressing so close to Christmas. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Emilia.'

Emila's tutor, Mr Higgon said: 'Emila was a delightful, friendly and positive student who was always smiling and was well liked by everyone in her tutor group.

'She had settled in well during her first term at Notley High School, even contributing to a week of assemblies as an active member of our popular Action Equality Group.

'She will be sorely missed and long remembered by those of us who knew her.'

A joint fire and police investigation has concluded the cause of the fire was not suspicious. A file will be prepared for the coroner.
Amri's mother Nour El Houda Hassani said a 'great secret' died with her son, who was gunned down in Milan yesterday

An 18-year-old nephew of Berlin truck terrorist Anis Amri has been arrested in Tunisia, amid claims he is part of a terror cell and planned to travel to Europe.

Police swooped to arrest the teenager, named as Fedi, and two other jihadist suspects.

A statement from Tunisia's interior ministry said the three were members of a 'terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri who carried out the terrorist attack in Berlin'.

The ministry said Amri had sent Fedi money to join him in Europe.

It is unclear whether the suspects helped Amri flee Berlin.

The interior ministry said Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to ISIS.

'One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram,' it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist 'takfiri' ideology and 'asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS),' it said.

He told police that Amri, using an alias, sent his nephew money through the post office to join him in Germany to help him and join the terrorist network he headed.

The Tunisian prosecutor's office has ordered all three men held in pre-trial detention pending further investigation.

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Family members including Amri's mother (second left) and father Mustapha (right) watch coverage of the terrorist's death in Milan yesterday

Hamida Amri, the sister of 24-year-old Anis Amri, holds his portrait aloft after being told of his death in Milan (left), and brother Abdel Kader Amri (right) holds his head in his hands

Family members of massacre victim Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who died on Monday after a truck ploughed into crowds of shoppers in Berlin, greet flight personnel who transported her body back to Rome today

'I AM GLAD KILLER'S NO LONGER A THREAT' SAYS VICTIM'S HUSBAND Nada Cizmar, a 34-year-old mother of one, died in Monday's terror attack The husband of a Czech mother killed in the Christmas market attack says he is relieved that the attacker, Anis Amri, no longer poses a threat to the people in Europe. Petr Cizmar, whose wife Nada died in the atrocity, said he was not after revenge, but added: 'I needed to know that he was removed from our society one way or another and could not cause further harm.' He spoke to The Associated Press by phone from the family's home in Braunschweig, a city 230 kilometers (143 miles) west of Berlin. Cizmar says his 34-year-old wife had a logistics job in Berlin since May and stayed there during the week. He said she went to the market, located near her office, to celebrate Christmas with her colleagues. The couple has a five-year-old son. Advertisement

The nephew also told investigators that Amri 'sent him money through the post... so that he could join him in Germany,' the statement added.

The ministry claimed the arrested man said his uncle was the 'prince' or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and known as the 'Abu al-Walaa' brigade.

The terrorist's nephew was arrested in Amri's hometown of Oueslatia, while the others were arrested in Tunis.

Parents: Nour El Houda Hassani and Mustapha Amri outside their home after being told of their son's death

Spanish authorities are also investigating links between Amri and another suspected extremist, it emerged today.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio station Cope that investigators are looking into a tip passed on by German authorities that Amri had developed a contact in Spain.

Zoido said: 'We are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person.'

Candles are placed at a makeshift memorial today at the Christmas market where Amri carried out the massacre

The arrests happened hours after the mother of 24-year-old Amri - who was yesterday shot to death by police in Milan - said the world will never know why he carried out the mass killing.

Nour El Houda Hassani, speaking at Amri's hometown of Oueslatia in Tunisia said that a 'great secret' had died with him.

Family members have questioned the need to kill the terrorist.

His mother said: 'Within him is a great secret. They killed him, and buried the secret with him.'

And she called on authorities to unearth who had put her son up to the attack, stating: 'I want the truth about my son. Who was behind him?'

Twelve people were killed when Amri drove a truck into the middle of a crowded Christmas market in the heart of Berlin on Monday

Amri was named as a suspect after his wallet was discovered inside the lorry which mowed down shoppers at the Christmas market

Amri's brother Abdel Kader wept as he questioned the need to kill him.

He said: 'My brother is dead. Bring us his remains, even one of his fingers, and I will put it in my pocket. They killed him when he was still only a suspect. Why?'

Yesterday family members spoke of their shock over Amri's death, and his radicalisation.

Abdul Kader said his sibling died 'the day he swore allegiance to Daesh' - a derogatory name for ISIS.

Speaking after news of the 24-year-old's death reached his family in Tunisia, Abdul said: 'He did not call us when they published his picture - that's what convinced us that he was the one who carried out this terrorist attack.

'We are sorry for the death of Anis, but he did not die today, he died the day after he swore allegiance to Daesh.

'I know he had a criminal record but I didn't think that he would ever become a terrorist.'

HUNDREDS OF POLICE OFFICERS HUNTING FOR ACCOMPLICES Hundreds of investigators in Germany are hunting for possible accomplices of the Berlin truck killer. Under-pressure police have assigned hundreds of officers to work on the case over the festive period and determine whether Amri acted alone. He was at the wheel of a hijacked truck which ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in the German capital on Monday, killing 12 and injuring 50. Anis Amri was shot dead in a Milan suburb yesterday during a shootout with police after he was approached after being seen acting suspiciously. Officers did not know he was Europe's most wanted man when they spoke to him Hundreds of police officers have been assigned to investigate whether Amri had accomplices in planning and carrying out Monday's Christmas market massacre The attack has been claimed by ISIS, and chilling video emerged of Amri yesterday claiming allegiance to Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the terror group. Federal prosecutor Peter Frank said it is possible that Amri was part of a network. He said: 'It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect.' Amri was shot dead after opening fire on two police officers who approached him at 3am in a Milan suburb It is thought that Amri may have been in Milan to meet a contact. Truck driver Giuseppe Russo told The Times that there was no other reason why the killer would have been in the Milan suburb of Sesto San Giovanni at 3am, when he was approached by police. Russo said: 'He was waiting to meet a local contact, someone from around here who was going to hide him.' And he added: 'It's the end of Milan tube line. Where else was he going?' Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said German authorities should have been told about Amri's criminal past German authorities face tough questions over how Amri was able to carry out the attack, despite being known to anti-terrorism agencies in Germany and Italy. He is believed to have been radicalised in Italy - where he arrived from his native Tunisia in 2011 - when he spent four years in jail for starting a fire at a refugee centre. German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amri's criminal past. Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: 'Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum.' Advertisement

Amri's brother Walid holds a picture of the terrorist, who was killed in the early hours of yesterday morning in Milan

Anis Amri's father Mustapha with the terrorist's brother Walid Amri in tears following his death in Milan

WHAT WAS BERLIN MASSACRE TERRORIST DOING IN ITALY? It is not yet known why Anis Amri was in Milan yesterday, having travelled from Germany through France Investigators are trying to determine why terrorist Anis Amri was in Milan when he was shot dead yesterday morning. The killer, who did not have any documents on him and was not carrying a phone, was approached by officers in the Sesto San Giovanni suburb at 3am. He was gunned down after opening fire on two police, who had no idea that he was Europe's most wanted man. The suburb is a hub for transport, and is the last stop on the city's metro line. It has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy, but police patrols are particularly thorough. A young Moroccan worker called Aziz said: 'I get checked by police every day getting off the bus. 'At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol.' Italian daily La Stampa reports police believe Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France. Investigators at the scene of yesterday's shooting, where the terrorist opened fire on two police officers They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices. But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead. He is believed to have arrived in Milan at 1am yesterday, before going to Sesto San Giovanni. There is an increased police presence across Italy following yesterday's shooting It is not known whether he was there to meet members of a network, or trying to get out of Europe. He could have been planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he was jailed for four years in 2011 for arson. Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had 'no links with the Sesto mosque', but locals wonder if he had contacts nearby. 'Some people are worried,' said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting. Advertisement

Brother Abdel Kader Amri (left), and mother Nour-Houda (second right) react to news of the killing today after terrorist Anis Amri was shot to death by police in Milan

SECURITY STEPPED UP IN ITALY AFTER TRUCK TERRORIST KILLED Security has been set up in Italy as investigators try to determine whether Amri had accomplices in the country, where he was gunned down yesterday. Security and new anti-terrorism measures were ramped up at the Colosseum in Rome today Authorities in Rome banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre, and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather. At the Vatican, where Pope Francis is due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres along streets leading to the Vatican. Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services. Advertisement

Abdul Kader expressed regret at the loss of 'innocent family members' due to his brother's actions.

Twelve people were killed when a truck driven by Amri ploughed into a crowded Christmas market on Monday evening.

He was known to counter-terrorism agencies in Italy and Germany, and authorities face tough questions into how officials lost track of him.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed there will be a probe into failings.

Mustapha Amri, the father of Anis Amri, leaves his home after the death of her son in Oueslatia, central Tunisia

Brother of the Berlin Christmas market truck attack suspect Anis Amri, shows a picture of Anis Amri (centre), in Oueslatia, Tunisia

Nour El Houda Hassani, the mother of Anis Amri, reacts after the death of her son in Oueslatia, central Tunisia

Amri was shot dead after firing at police during a routine approach in Milan in the early hours of this morning

Family members held a portrait of Amri, but his brother Abdul Kader Amri said he died 'the day he swore allegiance to Daesh'

HERO POLICE OFFICER WHO SHOT KILLER 'FORCED INTO HIDING' Luca Scata has reportedly gone into hiding The hero policeman who shot dead Europes most wanted man is in danger of being targeted by fanatical jihadis - as it emerged he did not initially know who he was stopping. Reports in Italy state that Luca Scata, 29, has gone into hiding for his own safety. Last night his Facebook account and that of his wounded partner, Christian Movio, 36, were removed from the internet on the orders of Milans police commissioner, Antonio De Jesu. The commissioner said that police authorities had a duty to protect our agents. Officers across Italy have been warned of the possibility of retaliatory attacks. Scata shot Anis Amri dead in the early hours of yesterday morning in Milan after stopping the terrorist in a routine approach. Milan police chief Antonio de Iesu said: 'He (Amri) was a man from northern Africa, like there are many in the Milan area, and ours was a routine check that was carried out by two young and good police officers.' Advertisement

On Wednesday, authorities named Amri as the prime suspect in the atrocity, after his wallet was found in the vehicle.

The lorry had been hijacked, and truck driver Lukasz Urban's body was found in the passenger seat after the atrocity. He had been shot and stabbed.

The terrorist's sister, Najwa Amri, said: 'I'm in shock, my brother drank alcohol, how did he change to radicalism and kill innocent people? I can't believe that.

'He called the family three days before the attack. He told me that he was in good health and looking for a job. He asked about the family.'

Earlier yesterday a family member had told a journalist from the Deutsche Welle after Amri's death was confirmed by authorities in Italy: 'We are shocked and the whole family is sick. No comment.'

Following reports that his brother may have been killed in Milan, Walid Amri posted on Facebook, alongside a picture of the extremist: 'I am praying it won't be you.'

The terrorist's mother, Nour El Houda Hassani, pictured outside the family home yesterday

Mustapha Amri (second left), the father of 24-year-old Anis Amri next to his children Walid (left), Hanan (centre), and Abdelkader, with the truck killer's uncle (right) in front of the family house in the town of Oueslatia, Tunisia

Mustapha and Nour-Houda Amri, the parents of 24-year-old Anis Amri, who was killed in Milan this morning after opening fire on police after being stopped during a routine stop

The family had urged Amri to hand himself in to police when he was named as the world's most wanted man in connection to the killing of 12 people in Berlin.

They also said they would disown him if it transpired that he was responsible for Monday's attack, which claimed the lives of 12 people in the heart of Berlin.

Amri had fled Tunisia in 2011 to avoid a jail sentence for vehicle theft. He later served four years in an Italian jail for robbery and arson, his father Mustapha revealed.

It is in jail in Italy that his father believes he was radicalised.

But his sister Najwa has said there was no sign he had been radicalised after he arrived in Germany in June last year.

His sister Najwa said there was no indication that he had been radicalised after he arrived in Germany last year

A picture of Anis Amri, posted on Facebook by his brother Walid this morning (left), and Nour-Houda Amri, his mother, reacts during a phonecall as her son Abdelkader looks on

She told The Telegraph: 'He called us every day asking about the weather back hoime and what I was cooking for dinner, and how is everyone in the neighbourhood.

'He didn't look radicalised at all, he was so sweet all the time, smiling and laughing.'

Amri was originally from Tunisia but left seven years ago to travel Italy and it is thought he entered Germany just over a year ago.

His brother Abdelkader yesterday told reporters: 'I ask him to turn himself in to the police. If it is proved that he is involved, we dissociate ourselves from it.

The family of Anis Amri sits around a potriait of him in their home in Oueslatia, Tunisia,yesterday. After he was named as prime suspect, they urged him to hand himself in

'When I saw the picture of my brother in the media, I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm in shock, and can't believe it's him who committed this crime.

'If he's guilty, he deserves every condemnation. We reject terrorism and terrorists - we have no dealings with terrorists.'

His father Mustapha told The Times yesterday, while his son was still alive: 'He worked in farm fields and sometimes with street vendors. He drank with his friends, which led to his arrest several times. His name also came up in many court cases regarding his use of cannabis, robbery and violence.'

An Italian army chaplain blesses the coffin of Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who was killed during the Berlin Christmas market truck attack, after it arrived at Rome's Ciampino Airport airport today

Among those killed in the atrocity was Italian Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, 31, whose body was transported to Rome today.

Family members today gathered at the city's Ciampino Airport, where her coffin arrived from Germany. Italian President Sergio Mattarella was on hand for the arrival.

The coffin was blessed by a chaplain after being taken off a plane.

Di Lorenzo had been living in Berlin, and went to the market to buy presents.

Among the dead were six Germans and a 60-year-old Israeli woman named Dalia Elyakim.

Forty eight others were injured.
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These harrowing images portray the grim reality of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

In one heartbreaking picture, Kimberly, the mother of Kristine Joy Sailog, mourns at her daughter's wake on Christmas Eve after she was killed by stray bullets on Thursday while attending Simbang Gabi - Dawn Mass- in Binan, Laguna, south of the capital Manila.

According to reports, Kristine Joy Sailog was caught in the crossfire when four unidentified gunmen opened fire on a village chief allegedly involved in illegal drugs.

Another of the shocking images shows a little girl being passed over a coffin containing the body of Alex Hongco. Hongco and three other men were killed earlier this month when police barged inside a house during an alleged drug session. Officers killed all four men after the allegedly engaged in a shoot-out with raiding police teams.

In an other disturbing image, Christmas lanterns hang outside a door adjacent to an overcrowded jail cell at a police precinct. Inmates reach their hands through the bars of the cell, which they have been packed into two days before Christmas.

In another distressing picture, a man lies dead on the ground after he was shot by motorcycle-riding men in the Philippine capital Manila the day before Christmas Eve.

A girl is passed over a coffin during a funeral held for Alex Hongco. Hongco and three other men were killed when police barged inside a house during an alleged drug session and killed all four men inside

Christmas lanterns hang outside a door adjacent to an overcrowded jail cell at a police precinct on December 23

A man lies dead on the ground after being shot by motorcycle riding men on December 23 in Manila

Philippine authorities seized more than half a metric ton of suspected methamphetamine on Friday in suburban Manila and arrested six people, in what could be one of the largest drug seizures under President Rodrigo Duterte.

National Bureau of Investigation agents initially seized about 100 kilograms of the substance, locally known as shabu, in six bags and arrested four Filipinos in a car in the upscale Greenhills residential district, metropolitan Manila police spokeswoman Kimberly Molitas said.

Almost simultaneously, other agents raided a nearby house and found about 500 kilograms of meth and arrested two suspects believed to be Chinese.

His wife and children cry as the coffin bearing the remains of Alex Hongco is carried by relatives during his funeral. The men were killed after allegedly shooting it out with raiding police teams

Children and relatives mourn while walking behind a hearse during Alex Hongco's funeral, held on December 12 in Manila

Alex Hongco's mother cries beside the coffin containing his body, as she cradles a little girl

An initial estimate placed the street value of the suspected meth at more than 3 billion pesos - about 50 million.

SWAT and police teams surrounded the house, which was near a main road and a shopping center, while agents examined the bags of drugs, along with drug-making equipment, found in the house and a parked truck.

Officials said the drugs may have been manufactured elsewhere and stored in the house for distribution. The raids were conducted by the NBI, with the support of other police officers.

Inmates look outside from an overcrowded police jail cell on December 15. Around 5,882 people have been killed across the country since President Rodrigo Duterte launched his war on illegal drugs five months ago

A toy vendor waits for customers in a market stall on December 17 amid the bloody war on drunks which has seen an average of 25 victims killed a day since it began

A dog stands guard outside the residence of Kristine Joy Sailog's wake after she was killed by stray bullets on December 22, while attending Simbang Gabi (Dawn Mass) in Binan, Laguna, south of Manila

Duterte has been waging a brutal crackdown against illegal drugs since he took office in June. More than 6,000 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed, alarming U.S. and U.N. officials and human rights advocates.

More than 2,000 of the slain suspects died in purported gunbattles with the police, including a detained town mayor, who was said to have hidden a gun and illegal drugs in his cell.

He reportedly chose to shot it out with policemen in a clash last month that killed him and another inmate in a central Philippine jail.

dead body is brought out by morgue workers during an alleged buy bust operation by police, which killed two suspects on December 23

Alleged drug suspects cover their faces during a drug raid on in Manila on December 9. Duterte has said he wants the constitution amended to allow Philippine leaders to wield martial law powers

Inmates sit inside an overcrowded jail cell inside a police precinct in Manila. Last October, Duterte himself said the country could expect about 20,000 or 30,000 more deaths in his administration's bloody war on drugs

The NBI, Manila's counterpart of the FBI, said in an investigation that the mayor was killed in a rubout by the policemen, who raided the jail, but Duterte backed the officers and said he believed their claim that the mayor died in a firefight despite the finding.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein asked Philippine authorities on Tuesday to investigate Duterte for murder after he claimed to have killed people in the past and also to examine the 'appalling epidemic of extra-judicial killings' committed during his anti-drug crackdown.

Duterte angrily responded to Zeid's call with an expletives-laden outburst Thursday, saying the U.N. human rights chief has no right to order around a government helping fund the world body.

'You son of a bitch I'm paying your salary,' Duterte said. 'You idiot, you don't tell me what to do.'

The mother of Kristine Joy Sailog, mourns at her daughter's wake after she was killed by stray bullets on while attending a church service days before Christmas

According to reports Kristine Joy Sailog was hit by stray bullets when four unidentified gunmen opened fire on a village chief allegedly involved in illegal drugs

A man allegedly involved in drug dealing or consumption lies lifeless on a street after being shot down by an unidentified gunmen in Intramuros, Manila
She is known for her legal prowess in Suits but it seems Meghan Markle is no stranger to fighting crime on the front line either.

While Prince Harry's girlfriend was busy surprising a friend's daughter with an early Christmas present, footage has emerged of a minor role that she took up in long-running sci-fi show Fringe.

Meghan played Junior FBI Agent Amy Jessup for two episodes back in 2009, as her character looks for justice following an unusual road crash in New York.

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She is known for her legal prowess in Suits but it seems Meghan Markle is no stranger to fighting crime on the front line either

Meghan is picutred here bursting into two different potential crime scenes, with her gun in hand

More recent pictures show Markle enjoying Christmas away from Harry back in her home town of Toronto, as she surprised a friend's young daughter with a Christmas present.

Currently Harry is preparing to celebrate Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham.

The festivities are for close family only, but although Meghan was not invited the Queen is said to be 'fully supportive' of her grandson's relationship with the actress.

The Prince, who has been dating Miss Markle for several months, is said to have received the royal seal of approval from his grandmother.

More recent pictures show Markle enjoying Christmas away from Harry back in her native Toronto, as she surprised a friend's young daughter with a Christmas present

Speaking to US magazine a source claimed to be a 'Buckingham Palace insider' said that Her Majesty is 'fully supportive' of Harry's romance.

They added: 'Shes delighted to see Harry in a loving relationship'. MailOnline has contacted the palace for a comment.

Harry and Meghan packed plenty of festive activities into their London break recently - going shopping together for a Christmas tree and attending The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time at a West End theatre.

However, royal duty beckoned for Harry this week, and Meghan jetted back to Toronto where she is based to spend the festive season apart from her boyfriend.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were pictured together for the first time after seeing The Curious Inicdent Of The Dog In The Nighttime

It is the first time the couple, pictured centre, have been caught on camera together in public

Only close family and occasionally friends join the senior royals at Sandringham.

And it's thought to be too soon in Harry's romance with the Suits actress for her to be invited by the Queen.

However, Harry made sure to drop her off at Heathrow airport personally on Sunday morning.
Terrorism expert Marco Lombardi said methods used by Italian police against the mafia are helping in the battle against ISIS

Italy's battle against the mafia could be helping authorities tackle extremists - and organised criminals could be keeping ISIS at bay, it is claimed.

Yesterday Berlin truck killer Anis Amri was shot dead after opening fire on two police officers at around 3am in Milan.

When he was approached in the Sesto San Giovanni suburb, the officers had no idea they were dealing with Europe's most wanted man.

Yesterday Marco Lombardi, a terrorism expert at the Catholic University in Milan, told The Times: 'It's no surprise that a new police unit has recently been formed in Italy which fights both the mafia and terrorism, bringing together officers who share surveillance techniques.'

And he added: 'There are other factors to explain why Italy has not suffered a major attack, from the absence of a third generation of Muslim migrants, who tend to carry out attacks, to the mafia themselves, which does not want these people operating on its turf.'

WHAT WAS BERLIN MASSACRE TERRORIST DOING IN ITALY? Investigators are trying to determine why terrorist Anis Amri was in Milan when he was shot dead yesterday morning. The killer, who did not have any documents on him and was not carrying a phone, was approached by officers in the Sesto San Giovanni suburb at 3am. He was gunned down after opening fire on two police, who had no idea that he was Europe's most wanted man. The suburb is a hub for transport, and is the last stop on the city's metro line. Killer: Anis Amri was gunned down in a Milan suburb early yesterday morning, after being approached by two police officers It has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy, but police patrols are particularly thorough. A young Moroccan worker called Aziz said: 'I get checked by police every day getting off the bus. 'At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol.' Italian daily La Stampa reports police believe Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France. Investigators at the scene of yesterday's shooting, where the terrorist opened fire on two police officers They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices. But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead. He is believed to have arrived in Milan at 1am yesterday, before going to Sesto San Giovanni. It is not known whether he was there to meet members of a network, or trying to get out of Europe. He could have been planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he was jailed for four years in 2011 for arson. Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had 'no links with the Sesto mosque', but locals wonder if he had contacts nearby. 'Some people are worried,' said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting. Advertisement

The dramatic climax to Europes most urgent manhunt unfolded at 3am yesterday, shortly after Amri got off a train in Milans Sesto San Giovanni district and was seen acting suspiciously.

As he was challenged, the fugitive pulled a gun from his backpack, screamed Allahu Akbar and opened fire on the two officers  hitting one, Christian Movio, 35, in the shoulder.

At the time the officers stopped Amri, they had no idea he was the most wanted man in Europe.

His colleague, Luca Scata, 29, a trainee police officer who had been in the job only a few months, gave chase before shooting Amri dead in the street.
An irate handyman has offered up his own tools in the hopes it will speed along roadworks.

But the problem is, there appears to be no workers at the site next to Melbourne's Armadale train station.

In a letter addressed to 'The Roadworks Department', the anonymous author also offers up his spare time over the Christmas break, and says he can also drop by on the weekends if needed.

An irate handyman has offered up his own tools in an angry letter addressed to 'The Roadworks Department'

'I have a hammer and a shovel you can borrow if that is what is holding you up,' they write in the letter, which has even been thoughtfully laminated

'I have a hammer and a shovel you can borrow if that is what is holding you up,' they write in the letter, which has even been thoughtfully laminated.

'I have some time off over the Christmas break if you need a hand. I can also drop by on weekends.

'Not sure who to give this offer to as I have never seen anyone here.'

The image of the note pinned to a telephone pole was posted on Reddit on Saturday, where it was met with a chorus of agreement.

'These works have been empty for months blocking off half the road, it's ridiculous. They should at least put a sign up explaining the delay,' one user posted.

Another adds: 'I too have seen these works sit there with nothing going on.'

The letter was posted on a telephone pole next to Melbourne's Armadale train station (pictured)

The site appears to be set up in regards to the nearby Armadale Villiage Deli, which authorities are seeking to demolish

The site appears to be set up in regards to a nearby deli, just to the left out of sight in the image.

The Armadale Villiage Deli building is heritage protected, but authorities are seeking to demolish it as it has become structurally unsound.

The blocked off part of the road is for pedestrians, who need an alternative place to walk as the footpath is unsafe.
A three-year-old member of the Royal Family has been included on a list the world's biggest banks use to identify terrorists and potential money launderers.

The World-Check list also includes thousands of people just because they are related to minor public figures, according to analysis by The Times.

The database contains details about those suspected of being involved in terrorism, organised crime and money laundering, as part of efforts to combat financial crime.

Access is supposed to be restricted under European privacy laws, but a copy leaked online this summer shows it has grown to include more than two million records.

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The list is said to include Maud Windsor (right), the daughter of Lord Freddie Windsor and the actress Sophie Winkleman (left)

This is said to include the listing of Maud Windsor, the daughter of Lord Freddie Windsor and the actress Sophie Winkleman, who was just nine months old when she was listed on the database.

Ms Windsor is 42nd in line to the throne, with Lord Freddie the only son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Those on the World-Check list can face extra scrutiny from banks or even have applications for bank accounts and mortgages rejected.

This mid-2014 version of the database contains some 2.2 million records and is used by 49 of the world's 50 largest banks, along with 300 government and intelligence agencies.

The leaked copy also contains hundreds of people based partly on unverified blog posts and extremist websites, according to The Times.

Sir Neil Cossons, a historian and the former chairman of English Heritage, is another said to appear on the list.

Sir Neil Cossons, a historian and the former chairman of English Heritage, is another said to appear on the list

He told the newspaper: 'I've never been involved in any party political activities nor in money laundering.

'I am most concerned to have been identified in any capacity on World-Check.'

Thomson Reuters, the media company which maintains World-Check, does not tell people they are on the list, while banks have no obligation to inform customers of why they have been refused services.

David Crundwell, global head of corporate affairs at Thomson Reuters, said World-Check was just one of several services where it aggregated financial crime data from the public domain.

He added: 'World-Check also collates law enforcement, regulatory enforcement and other publicly available information from reputable sources in order to help clients comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations.

'Customers can then use this data to follow their own regulatory compliance policies and procedures.

'Data protection laws and regulations governing World-Check prevent us from discussing any specific individual profile.
The iPhone 7 has been hailed by users as the toughest iPhone yet.

But a group of tech boffins from California wanted to put that to the test.

They held an iPhone with a metal pincer and showed that it was in full working order by swiping left and right.

The boffins held an iPhone with a metal pincer before feeding it to the Alligator

Then they antagonised the creature in Willow Creek Trail, El Dorado County, until it opened its jaws nice and wide.

One boffin thrust the phone into the alligator's mouth for it to bite down with full force.

But the phone dropped out of its mouth before it could sink its teeth in.

The boffins tried again, this time with more luck.

The creature grabbed the phone in its sharp teeth and tried to wrestle it away

The screen was cracked but somehow the iPhone was still working

The alligator snapped up the phone, piercing it with its fangs and cracking the screen.

But the phone was still working until the boffins put it back in the alligators' jaws and the creature finished it off completely.

Alligators' jaws generate up to 3,700 pounds per square inch, or 16,460 newtons, of bite pressure at a time.

After the second crunch, the phone showed some signs of life but was unusable
Hollywood actor Tom Hardy has joined the hunt for a missing RAF airman who vanished after a night out more than three months ago.

Corrie McKeague, 23, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on September 24 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Darroch McKeague, Corrie's brother, posted the video to the 'Please help us find Corrie McKeague' Facebook group, which has so far gained thousands of views.

The London-born star urged people to contact police or Corrie's family directly with information.

In the video, Legend actor Tom Hardy, 39, says: 'Serviceman Corrie McKeague went missing on September 24 this year at approximately 3.20 in the morning in Bury St Edmunds.

'Nobody has seen or heard of him since and his family is extremely worried and desperate to find him before Christmas or as soon as possible.

'Nobody has given or volunteered any information of his whereabouts.

'So if you have any information at all about his whereabouts please contact the number provided, either to the family themselves, or to the police on the number on the poster below.

'Thank you very much for your help.'

A qualified gunner and team medic, Corrie McKeague joined II Squadron RAF Regiment three years ago and lived on the RAF Honington base with his black pug puppy, Louell

Corrie was reported missing after he failed to turn up at his base in RAF Honington, Suffolk, and it was feared he could have tried to walk the ten miles back.

His family has been appealing for months for help to find the missing airman, and on Friday the English actor joined the appeal.

Hardy thrilled Corrie's devastated family as he threw his weight behind the huge nationwide hunt to find the Scotsman.

The Revenant and actor made a video as it comes up to three months since the much-loved young serviceman vanished into thin air.

Legend actor Tom Hardy appeared in the video appealing for help to find missing serviceman Corrie McKeague

His shattered mum, Nicola Urquhart, 47, a Police Scotland officer, has spent hours searching for her son

Corrie was last seen in Bury St Edmunds town centre on CCTV at 3.25am.

He was wearing a light pink Ralph Lauren shirt, white jeans and brown suede timberland boots with light soles.

Corrie is described as white, 5ft 10ins tall, of medium build, with short light brown hair.

A qualified gunner and team medic, Corrie joined II Squadron RAF Regiment three years ago and lived on the RAF Honington base with his black pug puppy, Louell.

Corrie's last sighting shows the young squaddie walking from a shop doorway and walking into a horseshoe-shaped area and no sight of him emerging.

Corrie, 23, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on September 24 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

An emotional Darroch said it was 'hard to put into words' how much the high-profile Oscar nominee's message was appreciated.

Today, Christmas Eve, marks exactly three months since Corrie, based at RAF Honington, west Suffolk, was last seen.

All the available evidence points to someone else being involved with his baffling disappearance after a night out with pals in Bury.

Corrie, a member of the crack RAF Regiment's 2 Squadron, had already bought his plane ticket home to Scotland to spend Christmas with his close-knit family.

His shattered mum, Nicola Urquhart, 47, a Police Scotland officer, said they would celebrate Christmas as they usually do despite the brutal blow.

But she said she's hoping and praying someone who knows something vital to the investigation will come forward.

Nicola's family are working tirelessly to find answers and the public have donated more than 40,000 to help her hire a private investigator

Last weekend, an army of volunteers helped Nicola scour land near RAF Honington

Mrs Urquhart, of Dunfermline, Fife, said: 'With human nature, usually you can't keep something like that completely to yourself.

'You would tell somebody.

'You wouldn't expect someone could keep all of that so quiet to themselves.'

Everywhere you look in Bury St Edmunds and further afield, Corrie's face grins down at you.

From posters stuck in shop windows to huge banners on the busy A14.

'That will just be eating away at whoever it is that's done this,' said Nicola, a police family liaison officer.

'I've got to hope they have a terrible pang of remorse and come forward.'

Nicola and her family have returned to their Scottish home briefly and she said people had been asking her what they would do this Christmas.

'We're going to do exactly the same thing we do every year,' said the mother-of-three.

'Me and the boys will spend Christmas Day in the house.

'My mum, brother and sister will come around.

'We will sit, eat and watch the television.

'What else can we do?

'We've got our Christmas tree up.

'We're going through the motions.

'But it's probably just making us think more about what we do have and how strong we are and just talking to each other.'

Corrie's last sighting shows the young squaddie walking from a shop doorway and walking into a horseshoe-shaped area - with no sight of him emerging

Corrie, a member of the crack RAF Regiment's 2 Squadron, had already bought his plane ticket home to Scotland to spend Christmas with his close-knit family

Nicola's family are working tirelessly to find answers and the public have donated more than 40,000 to help her hire a private investigator.

Last weekend, an army of volunteers helped Nicola scour land near RAF Honington.

And in the past few days she said microlights and drones had been scanning the ground from the air.

Anonymous donors have given Corrie's family 50,000 to post as a reward for any information that brings him home.

'All of us firmly believe, especially knowing Corrie, if there's anybody that could still be out there it would be him,' said Nicola.

'I can't believe it's three months already.

'I don't know where those three months have gone.

'It feels like yesterday that I was told.'

Nicola urged everyone to make the most of the time with their families this Christmas.

'Please just get across from myself, Makeyan and Darroch, that we just want to say Happy Christmas to everybody else and just enjoy what you've got,' she bravely insisted.
The FBI has warned state and city police of possible ISIS threats against the US after a list of churches across the country was posted online by fanatics.

The bureau said while no one specific threat had been traced, officers should be more vigilant over the holidays given the amid 'aspirational calls for attacks'.

In a memo it told how the Islamic extremist group had compiled a list of churches across the country and shared it online.

'The FBI is aware of the recent link published online that urges attacks against U.S. churches.

The FBI said while no one specific threat had been traced, police officers should be more vigilant

'As with similar threats, the FBI is tracking this matter while we investigate its credibility,' it said.

It comes less than a week after an attack at Berlin's Christmas markets by Tunisian fanatic Anis Amri.

He plowed a hijacked truck into crowds at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.

Amri was shot dead in Milan on Friday in the early hours of the morning by two young policemen carrying out routine stops.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacre shortly after it unfolded, describing Amri as a 'soldier'.

They praised him for targeting 'nationals of the coalition countries'.

The US has been at the forefront of Western efforts to disarm the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014.

The warning comes less than a week after a Tunisian fanatic plowed a hijacked truck into crowds at Berlin's Christmas market, killing 12 people. ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack

There have not been any orchestrated ISIS attacks on US soil. Several incidents involving one or two shooters or attackers have however been traced back to the terrorist organization.

Among them is the slaughtering of dozens of party-goers at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando in June, 2016.

Gunman Omar Mateen took hostages in the gay nightclub after spraying dancing crowds with bullets.
A Farmington man was recently arrested for reportedly embezzling more than $100,000 from a local not-for-profit business that helps disabled individuals.

Michael Jennings is being charged with 49 counts of forgery.

Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said Jennings worked at the L.I.F.E. Center for more than a year.

During that period through different mechanisms he embezzled and stole more than $100,000, said Baker. It went through a grand jury and he was arrested on an indictment in recent days."

We conducted the investigation for a few weeks and he was an employee of the center, said Baker. I dont know exactly how he did it, but I wouldnt want to reveal that anyway. But during that period of time he embezzled and stole over $100,000.

St. Francois County Prosecutor Jerrod Mahurin said no details of the investigation will be released until a later date pending Jennings' attorney receiving the indictment.

The L.I.F.E. Center is a non-profit Center for Independent Living that works with individuals with disabilities who want to remain independent or to regain their independence. The Center is funded through a Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation grant, Medicaid fee for service program, private and corporate donations and various fundraisers.

Jennings is being held in the St. Francois County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Fans of Ivanka Trump are leaving one-star reviews for a Hillary Clinton supporter's book after his husband confronted the future first daughter on a flight.

Attorney Daniel Goldstein, of Brooklyn, New York, accosted Ivanka on a JetBlue flight from New York to San Francisco on Thursday, reportedly screaming: 'Why is she on our flight? She should be flying private.'

His husband Matthew Lasner, who was also on the plane, claims Goldstein simply 'expressed his displeasure in a calm tone', but the couple and their child were asked to leave the aircraft.

Since then, both Goldstein and Lasner have been branded 'scum of the earth', 'd*****bags,' 'political terrorists' and 'heterophobic bigots', while Lasner's book has been flooded with bad reviews on Amazon.

Daniel Goldstein (left), of Brooklyn, New York, accosted Ivanka Trump on a JetBlue flight on Thursday. He, his husband Matthew Lasner (right) and their child were kicked off the plane

Goldstein reportedly told Ivanka 'Your father is ruining the country' before screaming 'Why is she on our flight?'

Lasner, an urban studies professor at Hunter College who was very vocal about his distaste for Trump on Twitter, wrote a book in 2012 titled High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century.

Only one of the 106 reviews left on the book's Amazon page was written by someone who made a verified purchase in 2013.

Now, Trump supporters are flooding Lasner's book with one-star reviews on Amazon

The others were written on December 22 and 23 following the incident with Ivanka, with several of the reviews making personal attacks on Lasner.

One review, written by user 'Amazon Customer', called Lasner a 'liberal idiot that harasses a young mother and her three children aboard a Jet Blue airline...'

Other trolls took a more understated approach in referencing their support for Ivanka.

User 'fmp4369' for example, wrote: 'This book goes nowhere, like missing a flight. Book left me feeling like I was stuck at an airport. Story didn't have any altitude. Hopefully it's not made into an in flight movie.'

A few others said they used the book as toilet paper, while one person suggested it should be marketed as a fire starter.

One Amazon user tried to fight back, leaving a five-star review commending the book and adding: 'Not recommended for white supremacists.'

Dailymail.com has reached out to Amazon for comment.

Only one of the 106 reviews left on the book's Amazon page was written by someone who made a verified purchase in 2013

One Amazon user tried to fight back, leaving a five-star review commending the book and adding: 'Not recommended for white supremacists'

On Thursday, he defended his husband, who cradled their child in his arms when he reportedly told Ivanka: 'Your father is ruining the country.'

Goldstein then apparently began screaming out, 'Why is she on our flight? She should be flying private,' according to TMZ.

But Lasner said on his Twitter account: 'My husband expressed his displeasure in a calm tone, JetBlue staff overheard, and they kicked us off the plane.'

However, just an hour before that tweet, Lasner wrote on Twitter: 'Ivanka and Jared at JFK T5, flying commercial. My husband chasing them down to harass them. #banalityofevil'

Lasner also took a photo of Ivanka sitting on the plane writing that they were kicked off for 'expressing displeasure about flying w/ Trumps.' He has since deleted his Twitter account.

The plane was still boarding when the incident occurred, so the crew had the two men and their child removed from the flight.

Lasner defended his husband, and claimed Goldstein 'expressed his displeasure in a calm tone'

Just one hour before, Lasner wrote on Twitter: 'Ivanka and Jared at JFK T5, flying commercial. My husband chasing them down to harass them.' He has since deleted his account

JetBlue released a statement on Thursday morning saying: 'The decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly. If the crew determines that a customer is causing a conflict on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight.'

It was then noted that Lasner and Goldstein were placed on the next available flight.

Ivanka, who was on her way to Hawaii with her husband Jared Kusher and their three children, were swiftly escorted off the commercial plane by Secret Service officers when they landed in San Francisco.

They stepped off the plane before any other passengers and boarded SUVs which drove them to a private jet heading to Hawaii, TMZ reported.
Craig Vandewege allegedly told co-workers he had dreams about slicing his wife and baby son's heads before they were found dead

A father accused of cutting his wife and newborn's throats as they slept told co-workers he had dreamed of slicing off their heads 'like bologna' before their deaths.

Craig Vandewege told police his house in Fort Worth, Texas, had been burgled when he came home to find his wife Shanna and their newborn son Diederik murdered on December 15.

Police later arrested the 36-year-old for speeding through Colorado. He told officers he was on his way to Las Vegas to see Donald Trump to 'work it out' and that he had been framed for the murders.

His wedding ring was stashed in his pocket along with several condoms.

Vandewege was charged with their murders after being picked up for speeding.

His Costco co-workers have since told how he described dreams in which he decapitated the pair before their killings, telling how he had sliced their heads "like bologna" in the dream.

They said Vandewege was taking medication which he claimed made him hear 'voices in his head'.

One also told how he complained about his wife and the way she wore her hair, Dallas News reports and threatened to kill her while she was pregnant by pushing her down the stairs.

Vandewege called 911 on December 15 after claiming to have returned home from work to find his wife and son had been killed.

Shannan Vandewege and the pair's baby son Diederik were found dead inside their home in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 15

The couple welcomed their son earlier this year after several miscarriages. Co-workers told how Vandewege once described killing his wife while she was pregnant by pushing her down the stairs

He told police the house had been broken in to and that he and his wife had been exchanging text messages that morning while he was at work.

Co-workers later told detectives he had shown up 45 minutes later, despite his claims to have been on time.

When they asked to inspect his phone, Vandewege refused police, telling them it would be 'invasive'.

The family had recently moved from Colorado to Texas and suffered several miscarriages before Diederik's birth.

The baby and his mother's funerals were scheduled to take place in Colorado. Vandewege is understood to have traveled to the state to attend them.

The 36-year-old originally told police he came home (above) from work to find his wife and son murdered

Other workers at Costco said Vandewege once complained about his wife's hairstyles

On Wednesday he was picked up for speeding after a by-passer reported him driving erratically.

When police approached his vehicle, he said it had been a 'hard week', telling them: 'My wife and kid just got murdered in Texas.'

Vandewege said he was on his way to Las Vegas. In his pocket was his wedding ring and several condoms.

He was booked into county jail for speeding. After posting bond, authorities were alerted to a warrant for his arrest for his wife and son's killings.
Ken Ham (above) is an evangelist leader of the Answers in Genesis ministry in Petersburg, Kentucky

An evangelical minister from Kentucky decorated a life-size replica of Noah's Ark with the colors of the rainbow as a way to urge his fellow Christians to reclaim it from the gay rights movement.

Ken Ham, the Australian-born evangelist who heads the Answers in Genesis ministry which is based in Petersburg, Kentucky, says that the biblical purpose of the rainbow was to symbolize a divine covenant with Noah.

'After the Flood, God made a covenant with Noah, his family, their descendants, and the living creatures on the Ark,' Ham wrote on the Answers in Genesis website.

'The sign of this covenant was the rainbow.'

'Even today the rainbow represents the "everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth".'

Now Ham is calling on his parishioners to 'take the rainbow back.'

'In recent times the rainbow (albeit with some different colors) has come to represent something far different,' Ham said.

'To many people it means freedom, love, pride, a new era, and, specifically, the LGBTQ movement.'

'But the rainbow itself wasn't designed to be a symbol of freedom, love, pride, or the LGBTQ movement,' Ham wrote.

In honor of Christmas, Ham decorated a life-sized replica of Noah's Ark with rainbow colors in order to symbolize 'God's covenant with Noah'

'God created this beautiful, colorful phenomenon and designated it as a sign of His covenant with Noah and his descendants forever.'

'Sadly, people ignore what God intended the rainbow to represent and proudly wave rainbow-colored flags in defiance of God's command and design for marriage,' he wrote.

'Because of this, many Christians shy away from using the rainbow colors.'

'But the rainbow was a symbol of God's promises before the LGBTQ movementand will continue to be after that movement has ended.'

The Ark Encounter (above), which is billed as a biblical theme park, opened this past July. The 500-foot-long structure cost $100million and has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors

'As Christians, we need to take the rainbow back and teach our young people its true meaning.'

The Ark Encounter, which is billed as a biblical theme park, opened this past July.

The 500-foot-long structure cost $100million.

In the first few months of operation, it attracted over 400,000 visitors, according to USA Today.

Ham says that the purpose of the rainbow decorations was to urge Christians to 'take back the rainbow' from the gay rights movement. Above is a stock image of a gay pride parade taken in Melbourne, Australia, on January 31, 2016

Gay rights advocates were not impressed with Ham's appeal.

'I think the rainbow is big enough for all of us,' said Josh Wagoner of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network of Greater Cincinnati.

Chris Hartman, the head of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, said that the rainbow symbolized love, acceptance, and inclusion, 'none of which Mr. Ham or his operation embrace or embody.'
A woman was left severely bruised and bloodied after she was brutally beaten outside her Georgia home.

Shirley Newman, 69, had come home from buying groceries and a newspaper on Wednesday when a man dressed in black attacked her in her driveway.

Ms Newman said the man put her in a headlock and punched her in the head repeatedly, Fox5 reports.

Shirley Newman, 69, was brutally attacked in the driveway of her Georgia home on Wednesday when a man repeatedly punched her in the head while demanding money

The robber kept demanding Ms Newman hand over her money.

'He said give me your money... he grabbed me by the neck and hit me in the head,' Ms Newman said.

The elderly woman was found by her neighbors covered in blood after screaming for help.

She had to get stitches in the back of her head and suffered severe bruising to her face.

The elderly woman had to get stitches in the back of her head and suffered severe bruising to her face. She said she is slowly regaining her vision after her eyes were swollen shut

Ms Newman said the man put her in a headlock and punched her in the head repeatedly when he brutally attacked her outside her home

Ms Newman said she is starting to get back some vision given her eyes were so swollen.

She was left with scratches on her arms and legs and still can not eat food after her lip was busted open.

'This character will be caught and I hope and pray somebody does not do to his family what he has done to me,' Ms Newman said.

Police are still investigating the incident.
A man accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman he kept locked in a shed for weeks is now being charged with sexually abusing two other girls.

Jared Stephen Morgan of Sandy, Utah, was charged with 14 first-degree felonies on Thursday, including sodomy of a child, rape and aggravated sexual assault, in addition to one second-degree felony for kidnapping.

Morgan began dating a woman before abusing her two daughters for several years starting in 2006, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Morgan later dated another woman in 2013 before luring her 18-year-old daughter to a remote cabin, where he sexually assaulted her and forced her to eat rat feces and drink her own urine, court documents state.

Jared Stephen Morgan (pictured) was charged with 15 felonies on Thursday for sexually abusing a pair of sisters. He faces five other felonies with regards to a third alleged victim

Morgan faces 15 new charges for allegations pertaining to the two sisters.

He started off dating their mother, and began molesting the older daughter in 2006 when she was just 12 years old, the charges state.

He began having sex with her by the time she was 14, the charges state.

He also had sex with the younger daughter when she turned 16, and the two ran off to Idaho and Arizona, charges state.

She stayed at his brother David Morgan's home in Arizona in 2013, and he was also charged on Thursday with the sexual exploitation of a minor, unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 or 17-year-old.

The younger daughter eventually returned to Utah with Jared Morgan, and they continued their sexual relationship until this year, according to the charges.

In October 2013, Jared Morgan began dating another woman before he started sexually abusing her 18-year-old daughter, charges state.

T he girl, who thought of Morgan as a father figure, was first assaulted after he invited her to relax at his cabin and spend time with his puppies after she broke up with a boyfriend, prosecutors said.

When she arrived, she discovered there wasn't an available bed, forcing her to share his, police wrote in court documents.

The girl went into the bed and Morgan allegedly kissed her before performing sex acts on her the next evening, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

According to the news outlet, she told police she was uncomfortable and didn't know how to respond.

Jared Morgan's brother David Morgan was also charged on Thursday after the younger daughter ran off and stayed at his home in Arizona

After a fight in June of 2014, he locked her in the shed for about six weeks and forced her to eat rat feces, the documents state.

He also forced her to drink her own urine and told her not to vomit before she was given any food, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing charges.

She reportedly told the police that she 'didn't puke' and was given 'a small cup of water and a can of cold raviolis to eat'.

Morgan armed himself with a gun or a Taser and assaulted her before allowing her to eat during the days he kept her confined in the shed, police said.

He let her out sometime in July of 2014 after a brutal assault, and threatened to 'end' her if she told anyone what happened, police said.

Morgan was arrested in September after the woman, now 20, reported the allegations to a private investigator who called police, authorities said.
The foster father of Tiahleigh Palmer threatened to kill his wife if she told anyone about his son having sex with the 12-year-old, court documents allege.

Rick Thorburn's wife and their sons were arrested in September over Tiahleigh's death, with details emerging this week of the family's eroding relationship, reports Courier Mail.

Thorburn's wife's mother told police her daughter and one of her grandsons moved into her house after being charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice for Rick, who allegedly murdered the young schoolgirl.

The foster father of Tiahleigh Palmer Rick Thorburn (left) threatened to kill his wife if she told anyone about his son having sex with the 12-year-old

Tiahleigh Palmer's foster family of four have all been accused over her death

Thorburn's has reportedly revealed he threatened her after claiming to have killed the schoolgirl

In her statement to police, she said her daughter told her she was terrified of what Rick was capable of after learning about the alleged murder.

'I do not feel like Rick is my husband,' she allegedly told her mother. 'Rick loved Tiah so much and if he can do that to Tiah, he could do it to any of us.'

'She told me Rick had threatened her a while ago that he would kill her if she ever took the boys away from him,' the mother reportedly said in her statement to police.

In the statement she also claimed her daughter's emotional wellbeing wore down after the alleged attack, as she began to shy away from people and lose pride in her appearance.

In October Thorburn's wife and her son announced they intended to plead guilty to perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice, lawyer Jason Jacobson said.

Thorburn's son with police after members of the family were arrested earlier this year

Thorburn's wife and one of their sons are expected to give evidence at his trial

The pair will be witnesses in the murder case against the family's father Rick Thorburn, 56.

The schoolgirl from Logan disappeared on October 30 last year. Her body was found on the banks of the Pimpama River six days later.

The Thorburn foster mother and son were charged in September and released on bail.

Rick Thorburn, 56, has been charged with Tiahleigh Palmer's murder
Palestinian protesters dressed as Father Christmas were tear gassed by the Israeli Army as fights broke out in Bethlehem yesterday.

Violence flared up in the West Bank city revered as the birthplace of Jesus as demonstrators attempted to reach nearby Jerusalem.

Palestinians said they wanted to visit holy sites there but without permits they were stopped at Israel's West Bank separation barrier.

Fury: One man in a Santa outfit was seen throwing a tear gas grenade back at Israelis

Down: Another was lying on the floor after inhaling the gas. No-one was killed in the scuffles

Video footage showed Israeli security forces blocking the demonstrators at the Bethlehem checkpoint where the scuffles erupted.

One man in a Santa outfit was seen throwing a tear gas grenade back at Israelis and another was lying on the floor after inhaling the gas. No-one was killed.

One demonstrator, Fareed al Atrash, said: 'We are here today in order to reach Jerusalem for religious rituals.

'We want to reach the Palestinian capital Jerusalem and we want to say that this land is a Palestinian land and it is our right to reach our lands.'

Anger: Palestinian protesters dressed as Santa Claus clash with Israeli security forces

Violence flared up in Bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of Jesus, as demonstrators attempted to reach nearby Jerusalem

Explosion: Protesters scarpered after Israeli troops let off a tear gas grenade

The organiser of the demonstration, Monther Amirah, said in Arabic: 'We are in this protest to say that the occupation and the terrorism are two faces of the same coin and we want to say to the whole world that the Palestinians are facing organised terrorism from the occupation and that we will continue to resist this Nazi occupation.'

At least 231 Palestinians have been killed in violence in Israel, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip since October 2015.

Israel says at least 156 of them were assailants in lone attacks often targeting security forces and using rudimentary weapons including kitchen knives.

Palestinian protesters dressed as Santa Claus are injured after clashing with Israeli security forces

Video footage showed Israeli security forces blocking the demonstrators at the Bethlehem checkpoint where the scuffles erupted

Palestinians said they wanted to visit holy sites in Jerusalem but without permits they were stopped at Israel's West Bank separation barrier

Others died during clashes and protests. The street assaults killed at least 33 Israelis and two visiting Americans over the same period.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war.

The Palestinians want that territory, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip for a future state. Peace talks between the sides broke down in 2014.

Today's scenes in Bethlehem offered stark contrast as Christmas preparations were in full swing with marching bands and clergy processing through the streets.

A Palestinian bagpipe group marches at Manger Square during a Christmas Eve procession

A Palestinian drum band marches at Manger Square

Christian clergy line up at Manger Square to take part in a Christmas Eve procession leading to the Church of the Nativity

A Christian clergyman prays in the 'Grotto' of the Church of Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem

Christian clergymen pray and celebrate the Morning Mass in the 'Grotto' of the Church of Nativity

Christian nuns pass by as Palestinian presidential security personnel gathers in front of a giant Christmas tree installed on Manger Square in Bethlehem

A Palestinian bagpiper band marches along Manger Square neqar the Church of the Nativity

Christian clergy line up at Manger Square to take part in a Christmas Eve procession

Apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, proceeds to Manger Square
More than 3,200 speeding motorists have been fined across Queensland on day one of the state's road safety campaign.

The 'Festive Break' campaign involves twelve days of high policing presence on Queensland roads over the Christmas and New Year period.

One Gold Coast speedster was caught travelling at 191km/h in a 110km/h zone and fined $1138, while an unlicensed motorcyclist was fined $1664 for riding at 142 km/h 'to avoid the rain' at Tanah Merah.

More than 3,200 speeding motorists have been fined across Queensland on day one of the state's road safety campaign

There were also 68 drink drivers busted the first day of the 'Festive Break' campaign.

The highest blood alcohol reading was from a 72-year-old Burleigh Waters man who registered 0.257 per cent, which was described as 'horrendous' by Road Policing Inspector Kieryn Dermody.

She warned police would be ramping up testing for alcohol and drugs and would be using unmarked cars to pull over drivers.

'We will do everything we can to keep Queensland safe,' she said.

The state has had an horrendous start to the holiday season on its roads, with 16 fatalities since December 9.

The 'Festive Break' road campaign involves twelve days of high policing presence on Queensland roads over the Christmas and New Year period
But she was never charged in her stepson's

Terri Horman is photographed at the Marin County Jail in Northern California after she was arrested for allegedly driving a stolen car

Legal woes continue to mount for the stepmother of an Oregon boy who has been missing for six years.

Terri Horman was arrested on Friday in Northern California for allegedly driving a stolen car, KGW-TV reported.

Horman was stopped by police and taken into custody after she was caught in Belvedere, a wealthy suburb of San Francisco, just before 1:30pm on Friday.

Police initially spotted the car which Horman was driving and pulled it over after noticing a mechanical violation, according to KPTV.

When officers ran a search of the car's license plates, they learned that the car had been reported stolen out of Sacramento.

She was charged with taking a vehicle without the owner's consent and booked into Marin County Jail.

She posted $25,000 bail and was released.

Horman is the stepmom of seven-year-old Kyron Horman, the Portland, Oregon, boy whose case gained nationwide fame six years ago.

Terri Horman, who now goes by her maiden name Moulton, was the last person to see Kyron Horman alive before he disappeared from his school in June 2010.

While police never called her a person of interest in the case, she was the subject of public suspicions in the boy's disappearance, including the boy's father who has since divorced her.

Earlier this month, Horman was hit with a restraining order taken out on her by her boyfriend, after she allegedly threatened him with a knife.

Horman, 46, moved to Northern California last year to escape the 'haters' who think she killed Kyron, and that's where she met and started dating Joseph Cristobal.

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Horman (left) was the step-mom of Kyron Horman (right), an Oregon boy who went missing in June 2010

Cristobal, a Sacramento adult caregiver, filed a restraining order against his live-in girlfriend on November 28, when she held a knife up to him and threatened him and his family.

'She was trying to put a knife  a kitchen knife to my face and then she was telling me that if I talked to law enforcement that something is going to happen to me or my family,' he told KGW.

He told the news station that he now fears for his life.

'I don't even know what she's capable of,' he added.

Cristobal also said that he didn't know about his girlfriend's connection to the Horman case until recently and that he is suspicious of her.

'She has two phones. One that she calls a burner phone and one that she normally uses for her personal stuff,' he said.

No charges have been filed in the incident, but Horman was a no-show at a December 16 court hearing in Sacramento, according to KGW.

That same day, Horman also didn't show up in court for another matter stemming from an issue with her former male roommate in Marysville, California.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Horman allegedly stole her roommate's gun and then failed to show up in court to face the charges of grand theft firearm.

Kyron is seen on the left with his birth mother, Desiree Young. His case attracted national attention

Her roommate in California reported his handgun missing in August 2015, accusing the woman of taking it from his safe without permission.

When Sacramento police went to interview Horman, they said she had the missing firearm in her possession.

Horman was arrested and booked into the Yuba County Jail in early July 2016 on a misdemeanor charge of grand theft of a fireman after she failed to show up in court for her arraignment in November 2015.

She was released on bail the same day and later pleaded not guilty to the theft charge.

Kyron's biological mother, Desiree Young, has long Horman for her sons disappearance.

In the wake of her arrest in California, Young told KGW the gun charge further reinforces the idea that we have the right person.

Above is the last picture of Kyron, taken by Horman, at the child's science fair the morning he disappeared on June 4, 2010 after she dropped him off at school.

I think that her time is running out and I think that she knows that. We are getting closer and closer to her and I think that she should be scared, Young said.

The woman also suggested that Horman might harm someone else before she is finally held accountable for whatever happened to her son.

Horman gave her first interview about Kyron's disappearance to ABC's Good Morning America in January, lamenting that her life was turned upside down in the wake of the tragedy.

'I saw him walking down to his room. My vision of him is the back of his head almost at the door,' Horman recalled, speaking of Kyron.

'That's what I see when I sit here and think about him  that's my last thought.'

In the weeks and months after Kyron's disappearance, Horman (pictured second right) said their family, including the boy's biological mother, Young (second left), turned against one another. The boy's father Kain Horman is pictured on the far right

Horman (pictured left in August 2010) has never been charged in Kyron's disappearance or named a person of interest

Shortly after 8am on June 4, 2010, Horman dropped off Kyron at Skyline Elementary School for the science fair.

She took photos of her stepson in front of his project and then left to run some errands with her daughter, Kiara.

That was the last time she saw the bespectacled 7-year-old boy with a gap-toothed smile.

At 2.30pm that day, when Terri and her then-husband Kaine Horman, headed to the bus stop to meet Kyron from school, they learned from the bus driver that the second-grader was not there.

Horman then called Kyron's elementary school and was told that he wasn't there either, even though his jacket and book bag still hung on a hook in a classroom. By that point, the boy had been unaccounted for for six hours.

A large-scale search operation was then launched but failed to turn up any clues.

Several weeks later, Terri Horman failed a polygraph test - an outcome she has blamed on her emotional state.

Nearly two months after Kyron had gone missing, Horman's husband, Kaine, left her with their daughter after the couple had an explosive argument. Their divorce was finalized in 2013.

In court filings, Kaine Horman said he believes Terri 'is involved' in Kyron's disappearance CNN reported.
Grocery shoppers were in no mood for festive cheer today - as they lambasted the supermarkets for 'ruining Christmas' with missing items and bizarre substitutions.

Social media users complained of not receiving Christmas dinner essentials such as roast potatoes in their orders, despite many booking a delivery back in October.

Other shoppers at Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons complained about late items and ungenerous portions of food.

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These Ocado customers complained of not receiving Christmas dinner essentials such as roast potatoes in their orders, despite many booking a delivery back in October

Ocado customers bemoaned the amount of 'substitutes' - whereby an item that is ordered is replaced by something supposedly similar as the original item is no longer in stock.

Even when they did get the product right, it didn't always meet the customer's expectation.

In one instance, a man tweeted a picture of Brussels sprouts we had ordered online - which showed a giant stalk with only four or five tiny sprouts attached below.

Another person expressed his disappointment after ordering a chicken for four people, only to end up with paltry poultry.

Lots of Tesco customers seemed unhappy too, with complaints about late items and ungenerous portions of food

The company, which delivers its own products as well as that of Waitrose, was quick to respond to those complaining online - but not everyone was happy.

Simon Chandler tweeted: 'Well done Ocado. The order I placed weeks ago for Christmas has 75% substitutes. Well done for ruining Christmas for me.'

One user, tweeting to Ocado directly, said: 'Is stock control that hard?

'Wife has had basics like dessert, breadsticks and most importantly sausages for Xmas dinner in her delivery order for weeks so why are they suddenly unavailable?!

Patrick Reihill was not impressed after receiving mouldy manchego in his Christmas delivery

In one exchange, Ocado was forced to apologise to a customer after wrongly calling them Amanda, despite the man's name being Simon

Ocado sent texts to several customers to warn them of 'missing items' or high numbers of substitutions to their Christmas deliveries

One woman, who ordered Waitrose's banana and bacon trifle, complained after it was delivered upside down

'Loads of substitutions too. Whole point of is that we dont have to go out to the shops today!'

Kate Loynes added: 'The one thing you want to avoid on Xmas eve is the supermarket - thanks to crappy Ocado. That's where poor hubby is off to now.'

When Ocado replied to her to apologise, she said: 'N ot good enough though.

'Just wrecks Christmas, adds whole new level of stress & upsets everyone. Shocking really given my loyalty.'

Another angry user wrote: 'No sage, no Baileys cream, no physalis, no peas, no mint, no raspberries, no grapes, no chestnuts, no parsnips. Great.'

Not every customer was critical of Ocado, however, with many thanking the online supermarket for offering vouchers or free shopping in exchange for the mix-ups.

Daniel Trace tweeted: 'A true measure of a company is not its mistakes but, how it deals with them! Thank you for your time today, merry xmas.'

Marsha Mills wrote: 'Thanks for a great shopping delivery this morning, on time and only a couple of subs. Merry Christmas.'

Jim Ellis struck a different note, writing: 'Dear Sainsburys, can you please let people home on Christmas Eve BEFORE 9pm shocked and sad you are open past. 5.30 frankly'

Other customers expressed their anger at food running out and products that did not meet their expectations.

Cat Roberts tweeted: 'Feeling cheated. Where's the skin on this turkey @sainsburys.'

Anna Keen told Morrisons: 'If I order an XL turkey 4 weeks before Xmas I don't expect to pick up 2 medium birds instead.'

But Jim Ellis struck a different note, writing: 'Dear Sainsburys, can you please let people home on Christmas Eve BEFORE 9pm shocked and sad you are open past. 5.30 frankly.'

Some Morrisons customers were also angry at their Christmas purchases. Anna Keen tweeted: 'If I order an XL turkey 4 weeks before Xmas I don't expect to pick up 2 medium birds instead.'

Desperate last-minute shoppers pack the high streets despite Boxing Day sales already starting online

Shoppers hoping for a great bargain wont have to wait for the traditional Boxing Day sales  they can just look online today.

Sainsburys and Amazon began cutting prices on their websites by up to 88 per cent from midnight, and rivals including Debenhams, John Lewis and House of Fraser are launching their own deals today.

Retail analysts say millions of Britons will spend the Christmas break searching for bargains from today  predicting as much as 9billion could be spent throughout the Christmas period until the new year.

Online bargains: Shoppers hoping for a great bargain wont have to wait for the traditional Boxing Day sales  they can just look online today

Thousands of people poured onto the streets of London to shop for the last presents, with sales of more than 700million expected on Saturday alone

Last minute Christmas shoppers will part with more than 726million on Christmas Eve.

Partly thanks to the rise of online shopping, Christmas Day itself has become a big day for shopping as people ditch party games and the Queens speech to look for deals  and retailers expect record takings this year.

Web retail trade body IMRG predicts that spending online will rise by 10.1per cent to a new Christmas Day record of 805million.

The figure for Boxing Day is expected to soar by 15 per cent to a new high of 984million.

While some shoppers are leaving it until the last minute to get their gifts, some are also putting their hopes on a Christmas Day turkey at the annual Smithfields meat market auction.

A butcher from Harts of Smithfields passes a prime cut to a customer who has made the top bid on the meat

The market opened its auction at 10.30am on Christmas Eve, with bidders waving their cash in the hope of getting a prime cut or a juicy turkey for their dinner table on the big day.

If the sales targets prove accurate, December 26 will be the second biggest online shopping day of the year behind Black Friday, when online takings hit 1.23billion.

The online sales will push up the figures for total takings from both retailers websites and their bricks-and-mortar shops.

The Centre for Retail Research expects that total spending will reach 3.8billion on Boxing Day, with another 3.76billion to be spent on Tuesday through to Thursday evening.

The spending spree will kick off with the sales today, when Sainsburys Bank predicts a total of 726 million will be spent online and in stores. This means that in total, from today to Thursday, an eye-watering 9billion could be spent.

Shoppers in Blackpool packed out the Winter Gardens high street to complete their last minute shopping before tomorrow

Research by the supermarket bank showed Christmas week spending would average 191 per person, rising to 313 for those living in London compared to the North West average of 146.

The rise of internet shopping means the idea of people going out and queuing in the cold for stores to open is becoming increasingly outdated  as customers can shop online while still spending time with their families at home.

Justin Opie, managing director at IMRG, said: It might not seem an obvious fixture in the retail calendar, but Christmas Day has actually become a fairly significant online shopping day in the UK.

Whereas gifts were traditionally physical items, many people now receive gift cards which they can instantly redeem on the day to download the kinds of items that have become highly virtual  such as games, music and in-play app upgrades.

Many retailers will also have set their post-Christmas sales campaigns live on their sites by then, which are very easy to browse during a quiet digestive moment, post-Christmas dinner perhaps.

Shoppers were spotted laden with bags of last-minute gifts as they rushed to Oxford Street on the last shopping day before Christmas

The IMRG figures are produced in partnership with SimilarWeb, who are experts in website use.

Spokesman Nitzan Tamari said: Last year, both Christmas and Boxing Day were big days in terms of desktop and mobile web traffic in the UK.

The firm said there were 73million visits to UK online stores on Christmas Day alone.

Sainsburys took over Argos earlier this year and is positioning itself as a British rival to Amazon.

The supermarket launched its January sale overnight with savings of up to 56 per cent on coffee machines, TVs and household products.
Every year when Christmas approaches everyone has their own traditions, but have you ever wondered where some of those traditions originated from or how they got started. Long before Christmas or the coming of Christ, plants and trees that remained green year round were considered special during the winter.

According to history.com, just like today's era, people would decorate their houses with pine, spruce, fir trees and evergreen boughs. Throughout many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

The shortest and longest night of the year in the Northern hemisphere was on Dec. 21, which is called the winter solstice. During ancient times the people believed that the sun was a god and that he became ill and weak and that was why winter would come.

Back to the evergreen green plants, they hung them in their homes because it reminded them of all the plants that would grow again when the sun god was once again strong and warmer weather would return. They would celebrate the solstice because it meant the sun god was beginning to heal.

In ancient Egypt, Egyptians would worship a god who had the head of a hawk and had a sun around his head. He was known as Ra and at the solstice the Egyptians would fill their homes with green palm rushes which meant Ra was recovering from the illness, triumphing of life over death.

The early Romans also celebrated the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. They knew it meant the farms and orchards would soon be green and fruitful once again. They also decorated their homes and temples with evergreen and in Northern Europe, the druids, which were priests of the ancients Celts, would use evergreen as a symbol of everlasting life. The Scandinavia Vikings thought the evergreens were a special plant of their sun god Balder.

The first country to introduce the Christmas tree tradition as we know today was Germany in the 16th century. One of the first trees believed to be on display in America was in Pennsylvania in the 1830s by German settlers. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.

Like many other festive customs, the idea of a Christmas tree was adopted late in America. History.com says that the New England Puritans believed Christmas to be sacred and the pilgrims second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out pagan mockery of the observance, penalizing any frivolity.

Its also said the influential Oliver Cromwell preached against the heathen traditions of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated that sacred event. In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of Dec. 25 other than a church service, a penal offense and people were fined for hanging decorations.

Those ways continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy. By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were making their way from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise in the United States. During that time Europeans used smaller trees about four feet tall, while Americans liked their trees to span from ceiling to floor.

In the early 20th century, Americans were decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American folks continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn was later introduced after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts.

When electricity became more common Christmas lights made their debut, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.

In 1912, the first community Christmas tree in the United States was erected in New York City. The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City dates back to the depression era. The first tree to be placed was by construction workers in the center of the construction site in 1931. Two years later, another tree was placed there but with lights that time.

The tallest tree displayed there was a Norway Spruce tree that was a 100 feet tall from Killingworth, Connecticut in 1948. Today it is popular for being one of the largest trees and has over 25,000 lights placed on it each year.

The tree is located at Rockefeller Center, west of Fifth Avenue from 47th through 51st Streets in New York City. Today, Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska and have been sold commercially since 1850.

History of the candy cane

Some may wonder where the tradition of the candy cane came from and how it became a part of the Christmas tradition as its known today.

According to various folklore, a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany in 1670 was looking for a way to keep the children from making noise during the Living Creche tradition of Christmas Eve.

Its said that he went to a local candy maker and asked to have some sweet sticks made for the children. To justify him giving the children candy, he asked the candy maker to make a curve on the top of each stick to represent a shepherd's cane.

He hoped it would help children remember the shepherds who visited the infant Jesus. He also had the candy maker make them white to teach the children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus.

From Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe where they were also handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity. Also according to this legend, the candy cane became associated with Christmas.

The first recipe for peppermint sticks, white with red stripes, was first published in 1844 and it has been mentioned in literature since 1866. The first time it was mentioned in association with Christmas was in 1874 and as early as 1882 the canes were hung on Christmas trees.

Some say the white of the candy cane represents the purity of Jesus and his virgin birth. The bold red stripe represents Gods love. The three fine stripes are said by some to represent the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Others say they represent the blood spilled at the beating Jesus received at the hands of the Roman soldiers.

From its plain early beginnings to its familiar shape and color of today, the candy cane is a symbol of Christmas and a reminder of the meaning of the holiday.
A white father-of-four has confessed to setting his own car on fire and painting a racial slur on their garage door in a staged hate crime.

David and Jenny Williams from Denton, Texas, woke up to find their truck and motorcycle ablaze and the vile slur 'n***** lovers' scrawled across their garage door in spray paint on December 12.

Police deemed the incident a hate crime and launched an arson investigation while well-wishers donated money to the family to help repair the damage.

On Tuesday, Mrs Williams however revealed it was her husband who had started the fire.

David Williams, a white father-of-four, has confessed to spraying this racial slur on his own garage door as part of a staged hate crime

'David confessed to spray painting our garage door and starting the fire at our home,' she wrote in a Facebook post to friends.

Mr Williams, 34, had been checked in to a 'mental facility', she said, and would be arrested upon his release.

'My heart is heavy, and I have more questions then answers. My children and I are in a state of shock and sadness,' the 35-year-old said.

The 34-year-old also set the family's truck and motorcycle on fire, his wife Jenny (left together) said

A GoFund Me page set up by the family's friends after the incident had stopped taking donations, she added, and all donations given before her revelation will be returned.

In a blog post last week, the mother-of-four described the apparent vandalism in great detail.

She told how she woke up with her sleeping husband next to her to the sounds of a neighbor banging on their door to tell them their truck was on fire.

'We woke the children before we knew the house itself wasn't on fire. In the middle of the night it is hard to tell the difference between smoke and steam.

'The kids and I gathered in the living room waiting for word of all clear or evacuate,' Mrs Williams said.

The couple alerted police on December 12 after waking up in the middle of the night to find their truck ablaze

Their Harley Davidson was also set on fire in the apparent 'hate crime'

Mrs Williams said her husband had checked into a 'mental facility' and would later be arrested

She vowed to return all the money raised through a GoFundMe page set up by friends

Once police and fire fighters arrived at the house, they discovered the racial slur scrawled on the garage door.

The couple said their insurance would not cover the entire cost of the damage

'It is considered a hate crime because of what was painted on the garage door. Yes, we are white.

'It just so happens that we aren't as racist as someone would like us to be,' Mrs Williams wrote.

Denton Police were not available to verify Mrs Williams' claim her husband had confessed on Saturday.

No motive has been suggested. The couple repeatedly told how their insurance would not cover the damage in total after the fire.

A GoFundMe page set up by Mr Williams's sister and a friend of the family has raise more than $5,000.

'The kids won't be able to have anything under the Christmas tree due to this horrible act.
A stranger has given a six-year-old girl a Christmas miracle after she found a balloon with the child's Santa note attached to it.

Keani Page wrote a note to Santa late last month and tied it to a purple balloon, which she then released into the air in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The handwritten note miraculously made its way 800 miles north and landed in Rachel Goffinet's yard in Evanston, Indiana.

Keani Page, 6, wrote a note to Santa and tied it to a pink balloon in Lafayette, Louisiana last month before it miraculously made its way 800 north to Evanston, Indiana a few days later.

If it had traveled just 10 miles further, the balloon could have landed in Santa Claus, Indiana, WTHR reports.

'Dear Santa, I want a tablet and light up shoes and a turtle. Keani Page,' the note read.

Ms Goffinet decided to fulfill the little girl's Santa wish list and sent the gifts to her on Friday.

She wrote a note to Keani saying she had received her princess balloon and wish list.

The handwritten note asking for a tablet, light up shoes and a turtle miraculously made its way 800 miles north

Keani and her 10-year-old sister wanted to release the balloons with their notes because they thought they would get to Santa more quickly

The balloon and note landed in Rachel Goffinet's yard in Evanston, Indiana a few days later

'I'm not going to cry, but this is a Christmas miracle,' Keani's mom, Sheena, said.

Keani and her 10-year-old sister wanted to release the balloons with their notes because they thought they would get to Santa more quickly.

'I thought it would've just come right back down. I never thought it would make it to where it did,' Ms Page said.
A student pilot's proposal to his girlfriend on the baggage carousel has won the hearts of thousands after a video of him popping the question was shared online.

Evan Henrich asked his girlfriend Liz Hammel to marry him on Friday at Akron Airport in Ohio in front of dozens of other passengers.

The 25-year-old was filmed riding the baggage carousel while playing guitar before he got down on one knee to ask Liz to be his wife.

Liz, who works for Boeing as a designer, had just flown back from Seattle where she is based for work to spend Christmas with her boyfriend and his family.

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She immediately accepted his proposal through tears, weeping: 'Absolutely, absolutely' as he rose to his feet, the ring box still in his hand.

Speaking to DailyMail.com on Saturday, Evan revealed that he had been planning the proposal since Thanksgiving.

Evan Henrich proposed to his girlfriend Liz Hammel on Thursday at Akron Airport in Ohio, riding on the baggage carousel while playing his guitar

The pair, who met in college, have been dating for more than three years but were separated this summer when Liz took her job with Boeing.

'I was out in Seattle for Thanksgiving with her and that's when I started to work on getting a proposal together,' he said.

Evan, who is studying for his private pilot's license, enlisted a friend and contacted the airport and airline to help him pull off the grand gesture.

When she went to collect her luggage, she instead received a scrapbook from her boyfriend on the carousel.

In a video captured by Evan's friend who had gone to collect her, she read it aloud.

'Hi Liz, welcome back from Seattle.

'You are by far the best, the world's greatest, most beautiful thing ever to have drunkenly stumbled into my life!' it read.

As she flipped the pages of the book, Evan appeared on the conveyor belt strumming his guitar.

After making his way round to her, he said: 'I have a confession. I am madly in love with you and it's everything about you. It's everything you do.

'I admire you and adore you. Even though we've been apart and separated by thousands of miles, you've only pulled me in closer.

'Would you make me the happiest man in the world...will you marry me?'

On Friday the 25-year-old revealed he was 'pacing back and forth' with nerves before making his grand entrance.

Liz had just returned from Seattle where she works as a designer for Boeing. First, Evan sent a scrapbook down the carousel to reach her

By the time Liz had finished the scrapbook, her boyfriend had appeared on the carousel in front of her with his guitar

As dozens of passengers watched on, the 25-year-old got down on one knee to pop the question

'I was super anxious, pacing back and forth in the baggage claim for like an hour. But once I came out. I wasn't nervous.

Evan and Liz have been together for more than three years and met in college

'I sent her out a scrap book on the conveyor first. And I could see her reaction so yeah, kind of put me at ease.

'It was a complete surprise for her. But I definitely knew the answer. Distance has a way of working that out,' he said.

The pair plan to marry once they are living in the same city which Evan hopes will be next year or the one after.

Another video taken in the crowd was shared by the airport on its Facebook page.

'All the feels this morning as Evan asked Elizabeth to marry him, and of course, she said yes!

'What makes this proposal even more aw-worthy is that both are aviation enthusiasts.
An infant in Pennsylvania died of starvation days after her parents died from apparent heroin overdoses.

Jason Chambers, 27, his girlfriend Chelsea Cardaro, 19, and their five-month-old baby Summer were all found dead in their Kernville, Pennsylvania home on Thursday, Cambria County officials said.

Coroner Jeffrey Lees said the parents had been dead for about a week when their bodies were found Thursday. He said autopsies Friday confirmed that the infant died several days later from dehydration and starvation.

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Jason Chambers, 27, Chelsea Cardaro, 19, and their five-month-old baby Summer were all found dead in their Kernville, Pennsylvania home on Thursday

It is believed that baby Summer died of starvation and dehydration days after her parents died from apparent heroin overdoses

Chambers was found in a living room on the first floor of the residence, while Cardaro was in a second-floor bathroom and the baby was in a bassinet in a second-floor bedroom, according to WJAC-TV.

It is believed that the couple died within minutes of each other so they could not call for help.

Toxicology tests are pending for the adults and could take up to six to eight weeks, according to The Tribune-Democrat.

Video courtesy of WJAC-TV

Authorities said that although overdoses haven't been confirmed, there was evidence of drugs at the scene.

Neighbors believed the family was out of town, because they hadn't been seen since December 11.

Cardaro posted a photo of her with Chambers to Facebook on December 14, with the caption 'The one and only my love of my life'.

It is believed that the couple died within minutes of each other so they could not call for help

Police said emergency responders were called to the home (pictured above) last month to treat Chambers after another overdose, and he was revived with Narcan

After the overdose, the family was reported to the Children and Youth Services, and the home was deemed appropriate for a small child

Chambers and Cardero previously lived in New York, and were believed to have taken a planned trip to the state.

They had lived in the home in Kernville, which sits an hour and a half southeast of Pittsburgh, since May.

District Attorney Kelly Callihan said during a press conference on Friday that there was a prior history of drug abuse at the home.

Police said emergency responders were called to the home last month to treat Chambers after another overdose, where he was revived with Narcan.

After the overdose, the family was reported to the Children and Youth Services.

Neighbors believed the family was out of town, because they hadn't been seen since December 11. Cardaro posted the above photo of her with Chambers to Facebook on December 14. The family had lived in the home in Kernville, which sits an hour and a half southeast of Pittsburgh, since May

'They did meet with the mother and the father with the child present at the residence,' she said.

'They checked out the house, and it was appropriate to a child living there. There was plenty of food and the child seemed well taken care of.'

Johnstown police Capt Chad Miller said that them not having family in town might have caused the late discovery of the family.
A man armed with a large kitchen knife held up a deli in Staten Island, demanded that he appear on Facebook Live, and stole an ice cream cone before sauntering off.

Rasheem Harrison, 30, walked into the Jersey Street deli in New York City on Wednesday morning and threatened to kill Abdul 'AK' Aziz if he didn't film him on Facebook, the deli owner told CBS.

Aziz, 28, a local celebrity who has nearly 7,000 followers on the social media platform, said he feared for his life and complied with Harrison's bizarre request.

Rasheem Harrison, 30, (pictured) walked into the Jersey Street deli in Staten Island, New York, on Wednesday morning, threatened the deli owner and stole an ice cream cone

Pictured, Harrison with a knife in his right hand, and the ice cream cone in his left

He later asked Aziz how much money was behind the counter, threatened to take his phone, and said he could buy the whole store

Abdul 'AK' Aziz (pictured) is a local celebrity who has nearly 7,000 followers on the social media platform. He said he feared for his life and complied with Harrison's bizarre request

Harrison, a repeat customer at the deli, walked in at 8.40am on Wednesday wearing a shearling jacket over a red hoodie with sunglasses over his eyes.

He pulled out a large knife and said: 'You gotta record me, I got a knife. You gotta go live and record,' according to a criminal complaint cited by DNAinfo.

Aziz, an immigrant from Yemen, frequently films his customers and other characters who visit the deli he purchased just two months ago.

The 28-year-old said Harrison threatened to kill him and told CBS: 'He could do something dangerous so I was nervous.

'At the same time, I was in fear for my life...I felt like I was a hostage inside my own place so I put him on Facebook,' Aziz added.

But Aziz remained calm and started recording Harrison, who grabbed an ice cream cone and refused to pay for it.

He said: 'Im gonna eat it whether you like it or not, right or wrong.

'And you can take it how you want to because at the end of the day - [because of] what I got in my hand,' he said as he reached into his pocket and brandished the knife.

Aziz, a 28-year-old immigrant from Yemen, frequently films his customers and other characters who visit the deli

He told DNAinfo he purchased the deli just two months ago, although he has owned similar stores across the country

He later asked Aziz how much money was behind the counter, threatened to take his phone, and said he could buy the whole store.

The armed robber said: 'I do stickups. I'm the type of n***** that will touch your pocket.'

He also made threats off camera to come back to the deli with his friends if Aziz said anything.

Harrison, who was previously convicted of reckless endangerment, was arrested later that day and held on $25,000 bond.

He was arraigned and charged with robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, according to the Staten Island District Attorney's office said.

Aziz said he refused to be intimidated, telling CBS: 'Most of these guys are wannabes. They're thirsty for attention.
A construction worker in Canada has used his excavator to help arrest a drunk driver.

Police were called to a highway on Prince Edward Island off Nova Scotia on Thursday following reports a man was driving drunk.

When authorities arrived, they found the man's car bizarrely trapped by the construction worker's excavator.

Police were called to a highway on Prince Edward Island in Canada on Thursday following reports a construction worker had trapped a drunk driver with his excavator so he couldn't flee

The worker told police he had held the man until authorities could arrive.

The 50-year-old driver of the car had gotten out to confront the operator about his work when he realized the man was intoxicated.

He told police he had tried to prevent the driver from fleeing by using the bucket on the excavator to trap his car.

The accused was taken to back to the police station where he recorded a blood alcohol reading three times the legal limit.

Sergeant Leanne Butler told CBC News that it was the first time she had seen anything like it.

'The officers responding probably haven't seen something like that before either,' she said.

'It was a different way, but it was effective.'
A masked man parading an ISIS flag has filmed himself walking straight across the German border as he taunts officials over the non-existent security checks.

The uploader, calling himself Vlad Tapes, said he published the video 'to show how pathetic the border is' between the two countries.

It was posted in the wake of the Berlin terror truck attack, during which the German officials were criticized for allowing killer Anis Amri to roam out of the country undetected.

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Danish citizen filmed himself walking across the German border in a video uploaded online

The uploader, calling himself Vlad Tapes, said he published the video 'to show how pathetic the border is' between the two countries

It was posted in the wake of the Berlin terror truck attack, during which the German officials were criticized for allowing killer Anis Amri to roam out of the country undetected

'A Danish citizen dressed up in Islamic State gear, flag and fake gun to show how pathetic the border is between Germany and Denmark,' the uploader writes.

'We test border controls. Can an Isis terrorist cross the border unnoticed?

'Border controls were non-existent. Do you feel comfortable with our open borders?'

The unverified video shows the border is unmanned as the balaclava-clad man walks slowly through the countryside.
A man who fell asleep while operating a train that derailed and killed four passengers in 2013 will receive a lifetime pension of about $3,200 a month.

William Rockefeller will receive a pension from the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York after he appealed a review board's decision to turn down his request in September, according to theJournal News.

Rockefeller's union said he was seeking the disability pension for post-traumatic stress disorder after the Manhattan-bound train going 82 miles per hour derailed along a curve in 2013.

The train engineer will pocket the $3,200 a month on top of his retirement pension, the value of which is unknown.

William Rockefeller (pictured) fell asleep while driving a train that derailed in 2013. He will receive a disability pension of about $3,200 a month, it was announced Friday

Rockefeller's union said he was seeking the pension for post-traumatic stress disorder after the Manhattan-bound train going 82 miles per hour derailed along a curve in the Bronx

Federal investigators said Rockefeller suffered from an undiagnosed sleep disorder, and prosecutors did not bring criminal charges against the train engineer

'The Pension Disability Medical Review Board reviewed the appeal and determined that Mr. Rockefeller is disabled from performing his function as an engineer and he is eligible now to receive his pension,' according to the MTA.

The MTA's review board consists of medical professionals. While officials declined to discuss Rockefeller's disability citing privacy issues, his union said he was seeking the pension for PTSD.

On December 1, 2013, four people were killed and more than 70 were injured when a commuter train derailed at Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx.

The train was speeding at 82mph on a curve with a speed limit of 30mph.

Federal investigators said Rockefeller suffered from an undiagnosed sleep disorder that caused him to nod off before he lost control of the train.

He never faced a disciplinary hearing and prosecutors did not bring criminal charges against the train engineer.

Rockefeller filed a $10million lawsuit this month claiming Metro-North was negligent and careless by failing to provide him with a safe workplace

The four-page court document cited Metro-North's 'Deficient safety culture' that prizes on-time performance at the expense of protecting riders and workers.'

Rockefeller cited his PTSD, and also claims to suffer lost wages and benefits along with pain, suffering, mental anguish and depression, according to court documents

He then filed a $10million lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on the third anniversary of the crash.

Rockefeller claimed Metro-North was negligent and careless by failing to provide him with a safe workplace since automatic brakes were not installed on the train.

The four-page court document cited Metro-North's 'Deficient safety culture' that prizes on-time performance at the expense of protecting riders and workers.'

The 11-year veteran engineer also claimed to suffer from PTSD in the lawsuit.

He also claims to suffer lost wages and benefits along with pain, suffering, mental anguish and depression, according to court documents.
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Security was heightened at church services in major cities across the world this evening in a bid to prevent an incident similar to the deadly truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

Armed police officers stood outside the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris as worshippers arrived for the Christmas Eve mass in the French capital.

Officers were seen patting people down and carrying out searches before they entered the 600-year-old building.

In France, Britain and Germany police increased their presence at tourist spots in major cities and other densely populated areas.

French officers stopped worshippers and searched them at the entrance of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Christmas Eve

An armed police officer stands guard near the Notre Dame Cathedral as worshippers arrive for the Christmas Eve mass

Two officers were photographed talking to each other outside the famous cathedral in the heart of Paris on Saturday night

Palestinian presidential security personnel gathered in front of the Church of Nativity, which is accepted by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem, on Christmas Eve

The armed officers jump from a jeep as they are deployed at Manger Square in Bethlehem, on Christmas Eve on Saturday

It comes after Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian suspected of carrying out the truck attack which killed 12 people, was shot dead in a town near Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check.

In France, where Islamist militants killed 130 people in shooting and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security measures being enforced at churches.

Meanwhile, armed guards patrolled the area around a church as Christians attended a Christmas Eve service in Bartalla, near Mosul, Iraq.

The officers were wearing camouflaged uniforms and were armed as they kept guard to offer security to worshippers on Saturday.

And Palestinian presidential security personnel gathered in front of the Church of Nativity, which is accepted by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem, on Christmas Eve.

Meanwhile, the UK is on its second-highest threat level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.

Police officers inspected people's bags at the entrance of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on Christmas Eve

An Iraqi security member stands guard as Christians attend a Christmas Eve service at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla near Mosul

Iraqi security forces stand guard as Christians attended a Christmas Eve service at the Mar Shimoni church near Mosul

Italian police officers stand guard at a security check-point in a central street of Rome on Christmas Eve following the Berlin attack

Pope Francis (pictured) leads the Christmas night Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican December 24

Pope Francis kisses a statue of baby Jesus as he leads the Christmas night Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Police there have increased security at a number of popular tourist attractions, including around Queen Elizabeth's London residence, Buckingham Palace.

Rome authorities have banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather.

At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres along streets leading to the Vatican.

Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services.

Turkish police check the grounds of the Saint Anthony of Padua Church prior to the start of the Christmas Eve mass in Istanbul

A Turkish security officer checks the purse of a woman a she enters Saint Anthony of Padua Church prior to the start of the Christmas Eve mass

A Pakistani security officer stands guard outside the Saint Anthony's church during a midnight service on Christmas eve in Lahore, Pakistan

Children were photographed trying to grab ornaments from a tree in the old city of Damascus, Syria, on Christmas Eve

People took selfie photos near a Christmas tree outside the state-approved Xuanwumen Catholic Church, otherwise known as the South Cathedral in Beijing

People gathered near a Christmas tree close to damaged buildings during Christmas Eve in the Al-Hamidiyah neighbourhood in the city of Homs, Syria
The White House on Friday defended its decision to abstain from a UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements and allowing the resolution to pass, saying the rapid expansion of settlement activity put a two-state solution at risk.

Ben Rhodes, the White House's deputy national security adviser, also dismissed criticism by President-elect Donald Trump of the US decision saying President Barack Obama was president of the United States until January 20.

'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,' Rhodes told a conference call.

He added that the administration is 'certain' that Trump would take a different stance when he enters office.

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Ben Rhodes (pictured), the White House's deputy national security adviser defended the decision to abstain from a UN Security Council vote on Israeli

By abstaining from voting on Friday, the outgoing Obama administration brushed aside Trump's demands that the US exercise its veto

'Our position is that there is one president at a time,' Rhodes said. 'President Obama is the president until January 20, and we are taking this action of course as US policy.'

By abstaining from voting on Friday, the outgoing Obama administration brushed aside Donald Trump's demands that the US exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel's leadership.

The decision to abstain from the council's 14-0 vote is one of the biggest American rebukes of its longstanding ally in recent memory.

And it could have significant ramifications for the Jewish state, potentially hindering Israel's negotiating position in future peace talks. Given the world's widespread opposition to settlements, the action will be almost impossible for anyone, including Trump, to reverse.

Nevertheless, Trump vowed via Twitter: 'As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th.'

The resolution said Israel's settlements in lands the Palestinians want to include in their future state have 'no legal validity.' It demanded a halt to such activities for the sake of 'salvaging the two-state solution.'

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power (center) abstained from a vote condemning Israeli settlements on Friday, ending America's longstanding practice of vetoing such measures

The UN Security Council passed the resolution unanimously because the US declined to vote

Relations between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been frosty for years and are likely to become impossible after Friday's UN Security Council meeting

Loud applause erupted in the council chamber after US Ambassador Samantha Power permitted the resolution to pass.

Friday's condemnation, a day after Egypt suddenly postponed a scheduled showdown, capped days of frantic diplomacy in capitals around the world.

American officials indicated they would have been prepared to let the resolution pass, despite blocking such proposals for years. Israeli officials said they were aware of such plans and turned to Trump for support.

The US president-elect sent a tweet urging President Barack Obama to block the UN effort. Egypt then pulled its resolution, with US officials citing fierce Israeli pressure as the reason.

Israeli officials then accused Obama of colluding with the Palestinians in a 'shameful move' against the Jewish state. Washington denied the charge.

Egypt then pulled its resolution, with US officials citing fierce Israeli pressure as the reason. Israeli officials then accused Obama of colluding with the Palestinians in a 'shameful move' against the Jewish state. Washington denied the charge.

Most of the world is opposed to Israel's construction of Jewish settlements in lands it seized in the 1967 Mideast War.

The primary holdout at the UN has been the United States, which sees settlements as illegitimate but has traditionally used its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council to block such resolutions on the grounds that Israeli-Palestinian disputes should be addressed through negotiation.

Trump has signaled he will be far more sympathetic to Israel's stances on the two territories, where some Israelis live.

His campaign platform made no mention of the establishment of a Palestinian state, a core policy objective of Democratic and Republican presidents over the past two decades.

He also has vowed to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would anger Palestinians and lack international support.
DEAR ABBY: My nephew, "Logan," is a sophomore in high school. He is a bright, awesome kid who is on the autism spectrum. He is very high-functioning, even on a higher level than Asperger's. But the social struggles/issues are still there. To this day, my sister refuses to tell Logan about his autism. She feels immense guilt and goes into panic mode every time I bring it up. She thinks he wouldn't be able to handle it.

The poor kid knows something is wrong but doesn't know what. Can I tell him? Or if it's morally wrong to tell him, can I tell him when he is 18? I am a nurse, and I strongly believe everyone should know everything about their conditions, mental as well as physical. But it's tough with my nephew because he is still a minor. -- CAN I TELL HIM?

DEAR CAN I TELL: Your sister may mean well, but keeping her son in the dark about why he is the way he is, is cruel. I agree that the boy should be told, but the person to persuade your sister to come clean would be your nephew's pediatrician, because it appears she has tuned you out on that subject. He should have been getting counseling and/or therapy to help him deal with his social issues.

If the conversation still hasn't happened by the time Logan turns 18, tell him then. He will probably be grateful to be able to put a label on what he's experiencing.

DEAR ABBY: My taste in music has changed throughout my life. I liked pop when I was young because that's what I heard played on the car radio. Then in eighth grade I started to like music from the '60s to the '90s. But now I'm a sophomore in high school, and I have become a fan of rap and electronic music.

A lot of adults think rap is trash. I understand that it may cover some mature subjects like selling drugs, violence, sex and living in the 'hood. But I still find rap songs to be a pleasure to listen to.

Am I wrong to enjoy rap music? This may sound irrational, but I know employers search social media profiles. If I make the fact that I enjoy rap public, will they reject me? These are just thoughts that have crossed my mind, so I'm asking for some advice. -- HIP-HOP FAN IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR FAN: As your experience illustrates, people's taste in music can change as they grow older. Many people enjoy listening to rap music without indulging in the lifestyle that's described -- including, I have heard, some of the performers who write and perform it.

If you like a particular genre of music, I see no reason why you can't continue to enjoy it. Although some employers check the internet profiles of prospective employees, I have never heard of an applicant being rejected for a job because of his taste in music.

DEAR ABBY: I go to the gym regularly. Part of my membership includes a free guest pass. Working out with others can be much more fun and a really good motivator. I have a friend who has taken me up on my offer to join me at the gym. She goes with me two to four times a week.

Initially, I made the offer to get her going. Never in a million years did I think she'd still be piggybacking off of my membership all these months later. Now that it has become routine, I feel bad saying anything to her. Should I suggest she get her own membership? Or must I just own this since I invited her along in the first place without clear and obvious boundaries? -- WORKING OUT AT THE GYM

DEAR WORKING: You have a right to draw the line. Tell your friend how pleased you are that she now works out regularly, and that because she seems to enjoy it, she should get a gym membership of her own. If she asks why, tell her it's so you can bring other people with you if you wish. If she objects, then she has been taking advantage of your generosity, and that's not how "friends" treat each other.

P.S. If money is an issue for her, you could always suggest she split the cost of your annual membership with you.

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my wife for four years, but we have been together for 11. She has three children whom I love and treat as my own. My problem is that my wife is a baker and lets the kids eat whatever, whenever, and as much as they want.

My older daughter has graduated from college, where she worked out regularly and lost weight. However, my son and younger daughter have ballooned to obese. I have tried to talk to my wife about instilling better eating habits, but it never materializes. Food with no nutritional value is consumed each school night, along with bowls of my wife's homemade ice cream. I know being obese will have lifelong consequences for them. How can I fix the problem and help them change how they eat? -- NEEDS GUIDANCE IN FLORIDA

DEAR NEEDS GUIDANCE: You're correct that childhood obesity can set the stage for lifelong health problems. I'm surprised your wife hasn't been told this by their doctor. If she thinks stuffing them with unhealthy food and failing to instill good eating habits is showing them "love," she's misguided.

If she is doing this because of some emotional need of her own, she may need both nutritional and emotional counseling to get past it. A step in the right direction would be for you to involve your kids in family time that includes exercise and encourage them to choose a sport that interests them and to pursue it. If you ask your older daughter, I'll bet she would be glad to support the idea.

DEAR ABBY: One of my friends says I work too much, that I have little to no time for myself or her, and when I'm off, I spend the majority of my time sleeping.

Abby, I'm a certified nursing assistant and work in a hospital that requires me to work 12-hour shifts. (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) What should I do? Yes, they are long hours, but I love what I do. Does this make me a workaholic? -- LOVES MY WORK IN OKLAHOMA

DEAR LOVES: No. It makes you a lucky person who is dedicated to a profession she enjoys. What matters is that your schedule works FOR YOU, not for your friend, and that you get sufficient rest to do it efficiently.

DEAR ABBY: I divorced last year after 14 years of marriage. We have a 10-year-old son together. While staying with his father on weekends, he has overheard his father and new girlfriend having sex. It has happened a couple of times, and each time my son comes home in tears. His father has promised to not let it happen again.

My son is now worried that I'm doing the same thing, and he is treating me like I am the child and he's the parent. He seems to think that people have sex only to have babies, and he is worried.

Do I need to get him some kind of counseling, or will this get better as he gets older and matures? I'm angry that his father didn't use his head before choosing his actions, and now I'm the one being punished for it. -- TOO MUCH FOR MY SON

DEAR TOO MUCH: If your son hasn't had "the talk" with you or his father, it should start immediately so he knows that having sex doesn't always mean the result will be babies. And while you're at it, tell your son that you are not planning to have any more children anytime soon, so he has no reason to worry about you.

DEAR ABBY: I volunteer at a local hospital. We were told in training not to come to work if we were sick. One volunteer I work with didn't heed what he was told and showed up last week sneezing and coughing. When I asked if he wanted to go home, he declined. Although I cleaned his workstation with an antiseptic, a few days later I came down with the worst cold I have had in years.

I take care not to do anything to jeopardize my good health, but I had no control over this situation. I think it is extremely thoughtless of sick people to expose co-workers to their germs. Please, people, stay home when you are sick! -- STILL RECOVERING IN OKLAHOMA

DEAR STILL RECOVERING: I hear you loud and clear, and I agree. Your co-worker should be ashamed of himself. If he infected you, I can only wonder how many of the patients were put at risk or infected. As soon as you saw your co-worker had come to work sick, you should have informed your supervisor. If you had, it might have saved you some misery.

DEAR ABBY: My so-called boyfriend asked me to marry him. The problem is, he's already married to a woman he married for financial reasons. He doesn't believe in divorce, so where does that leave me? Yes, I love him, but I feel hurt and my heart is heavy. He doesn't know that I know all of this, and if he did, he would probably be upset. What should I do? -- HURTING HEART

DEAR HURTING HEART: I know your heart is heavy. Any woman's heart would be if she found herself in your situation. If your boyfriend's wife knew what he was proposing, I'll bet SHE would believe in divorce.

Tell him to get lost, and run in the opposite direction! Whether it "upsets" him is irrelevant. The last thing you need is a cheater. He will never marry you because he's already married -- to his meal ticket.

DEAR ABBY: I sent out save-the-date notices for my wedding in November. One couple has stopped talking to me and refuses to tell me why. Must I send them an invitation to my wedding? -- WEDDING BLUES

DEAR WEDDING BLUES: According to Emily Post, the rules of etiquette dictate that "EVERYONE WHO RECEIVES A SAVE-THE-DATE CARD MUST RECEIVE AN INVITATION." (The italics are Emily's.) However, because the couple has stopped speaking to you, do not be surprised if you hear nothing from them.

DEAR ABBY: I'm a woman in my 30s. My father has been in prison since I was a tot. I was raised by my mother who, in my opinion, did a great job. My relationship with my father has been damaged for as long as I can remember. He will never get out, and part of me is angry at him for making such poor life choices.

When I was a teenager he struck me once during a visit. He is also manipulative and sometimes does hurtful things. For example, a few years ago he wrote me letters to which I never responded. When I finally got around to writing him back, he mailed my letters back to me (unopened) and said I deserved to see how it felt to have letters go unanswered.

He has said he's convinced he will die within five years because he's nearing the ages when his parents died. I think there's something wrong with him, and I'm afraid that after he passes on I'll feel like I didn't make enough of an effort. How do I proceed with my relationship with my father? -- CAUTIOUS IN THE SOUTH

DEAR CAUTIOUS: Your father made terrible life choices, and he's spending the rest of his life paying for them. I don't blame you for feeling anger at his inability to parent you. However, before advising you to write him off, I would need to know why he lashed out at you during your prison visit, even though hitting is unacceptable.

When people are incarcerated, their ability to reach out is severely limited, as I am sure you know all too well. I don't think the way your father handled your ignoring his letters was bad or wrong. If his silence stung you, imagine how yours affected him.

Whether or not your father is dying is beside the point. I think on some level you know you have to treat him with more compassion than you have, or you wouldn't have written to me. I don't know anyone who hasn't made mistakes. Your father made a doozy. But you say your mother raised you right, and if that's true it couldn't hurt to treat him with some compassion.

DEAR ABBY: My dad started an affair with a woman who is four years older than I am. He met her when he hired her for her "services." Fast-forward a year: He has left my mom. Mom left the state and has moved in with me. She's trying to rebuild her life, but she's still very much in love with my dad.

Dad, on the other hand, is miserable. His girlfriend is controlling to the point that he's not allowed to talk to his children or grandchildren. She's an alcoholic who mentally, verbally and physically abuses him. He recently left her and came to stay at my house. He told Mom and me that he wanted a fresh start.

Abby, he was here for less than 48 hours and went back to the girlfriend! I am convinced that he either has a drug problem or he's sick. He has lost an extreme amount of weight. I have no idea how to help him and I'm terrified that he is going to die.

Now he won't talk to me. He left while I was at work so he wouldn't have to face me. I don't understand why he would come here only to turn right around and leave. I am disgusted, disappointed and angry. Should I cut all ties with him until he gets his life together? -- DISAPPOINTED DAUGHTER

DEAR DISAPPOINTED: Considering what has been going on, your feelings are natural. However, because you are unsure about what is driving your father -- addiction, illness, indecision, etc. -- do not "cut all ties." Leave the door ajar a little longer. There's a saying, "It ain't over 'til it's over." Victims sometimes need several attempts to leave their abusers, and your dad may be no exception.

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating a wonderful girl for about seven months. We're sophomores in college. She's sweet, kind, extraordinarily talented, and we treat each other wonderfully. Everything has been great, with the occasional disagreement.

The problem is that I'm starting to notice that she seems to be homophobic. I was raised in a liberal, open-minded home, whereas hers was much more conservative. She never met a homosexual until college. She has talked about feeling uncomfortable with two men kissing or talking about being intimate.

At first, I thought she'd be equally uncomfortable with straight couples doing the same thing, but she wasn't. When I tell her that I support marriage equality and the LGBTQ community, she gets very quiet and uneasy.

I care for her, but I don't know if I can be with someone who's this uncomfortable about homosexuality. What do you think I should do? This is a very important issue to me, and I would love your insight. -- TORN COLLEGE SOPHOMORE

DEAR TORN: She may be a wonderful girl, but whether you are wonderful for each other is open to question. Try to project ahead. If the two of you were to marry and she was unable to overcome her aversion to gay people, to what extent would it limit your ability to interact with them? Or their ability to have a relationship with you?

Let this play out a little longer to see if she's able to evolve with more exposure. If she's not, then she may not be the one for you.

DEAR ABBY: My son's girlfriend of five years and her 8-year-old daughter have been living with my son for the last four years. She has recently started introducing my husband and me as her daughter's "grandparents." Tonight she asked for details about my father so her daughter could include them in a paper she is writing about her "family." The daughter's father and his current wife had twins recently, and I understand from her mother that she is somewhat jealous.

I feel uncomfortable with this new description of our relationship, although I don't want to hurt the girl. Should I say something to my son's girlfriend or my son? -- FAMILY DETAILS IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR FAMILY DETAILS: The word from here is: Keep your lips zipped! If you object, it will cause only hard feelings. You say your son and his girlfriend have been living together for four years. If they should have a child together, do you plan to treat that child differently? Face it, you ARE in the role of a grandparent. My advice is to accept it graciously and act accordingly.

DEAR ABBY: I'm an 18-year-old girl and on my way to Navy boot camp. I'm excited about my enlistment, but I have a few troubling distractions.

The first is my mother, "Dana." I moved in with my dad a year and a half ago, and it has been an amazing, positive change. But any contact I have with Dana or my grandmother screws me up majorly. I become mopey, have a bad attitude, and I'm just an all-around bad person to be around. This upsets my dad and my stepmom, "Ashley," whom I consider to be my true mom, because it affects them and my three sisters.

They say I need to forgive and let go, since obviously I won't get an apology from Dana for how she raised and treated me. What I need is advice on how to forgive and remove her from my life without hurting her feelings or making it worse at home. -- ON MY WAY TO BOOT CAMP

DEAR ON YOUR WAY: It isn't necessary to forgive a toxic parent. What you need to do is distance yourself from her, which will happen soon as you depart for boot camp. If being around Dana depresses you, see her as little as possible and don't feel guilty about it. Do not demand or expect an apology from her and don't offer one, because separating oneself from someone who mistreated you is healthy.

DEAR ABBY: I recently graduated from a prestigious university. I am proud of having graduated from there, and I would like to put a bumper sticker of that university on my car. My father says I shouldn't do it because it will come across as pretentious.

While I understand where he's coming from, my pride for my alma mater is no different than that of many of my high school friends who went to various universities around the country. I'm not sure what to do and would appreciate your opinion. -- PROUD ALUM IN TEXAS

DEAR PROUD ALUM: I'm sure your father means well. However, if you would like to advertise the fact that you graduated from a prestigious university, go ahead and do so. You have earned the right, and no one should criticize you for it.

DEAR ABBY: I'm 57 and have been married for 25 years. My husband has retired and is ready for me to do the same. I enjoy my work, and I am delaying my retirement because he wants to move to another state.

Abby, all I can think about is how I will be forced to start all over with a new church, new doctors, new friends, etc. That's incredibly stressful for me, and I don't want to do it. It takes me a while to warm up to people, and I don't do it easily. To me, it would not be an exciting adventure.

I have told him I don't want to do this and why. He responds that if I want to visit my friends I can always "hop on a plane." He said he's tired of the cold and wants to move. All I can think about is having to sell our home, buy another one, learn a new area, make friends, find a new church. I have all of that here. Maybe he should be a snowbird? -- DON'T WANT TO START ANEW

DEAR DON'T WANT: If you and your husband can afford two places, perhaps you should both be snowbirds. It couldn't hurt to rent a place for a few months to see what life would be like in a new community. That's what I recommend to readers who contemplate making a drastic change -- such as relocation -- in their lives. If you do that, you might find that the "natives" are friendly and the community is congenial. However, if that's not the case, it could help you to avoid making a costly mistake.

DEAR ABBY: My daughter has been divorced less than a year and is dating again. (She's the one who left the marriage.) However, she keeps many pictures of her ex-husband on her Facebook page. She says he was a big part of her life, and she refuses to take them down. She thinks if a guy can't accept it, then he isn't the right guy. Do you agree that she's sending the wrong message? -- TAKE THE PHOTOS DOWN

DEAR TAKE: Personally, I do. A picture is worth a thousand words, and what it shows those who see hers is that she hasn't emotionally let go of her ex-husband. However, if men date her after looking at her Facebook page and seeing his pictures posted there, it's working for her, and I can't offer a criticism. Because you can't stop her, I suggest you accept it.

DEAR ABBY: It's that time of year when you print your gift ideas for seniors column. When my dad was alive, he, like many others, was on a fixed income. Among his pleasures was watching ballgames and keeping up with current events. So I contacted his cable company and arranged to pay his cable bill for a period of time as a gift. This can be arranged for any increment of time to match the gifter's budget -- from one month to a year. It allowed Dad to enjoy his TV and have some extra spending money that would otherwise have gone to paying the cable bill. -- ROSEMARY IN PENNSYLVANIA

DEAR ROSEMARY: You are a good daughter. Thanks for sharing your idea. It's a thoughtful one, and I'm sure my readers will thank you for the suggestion.

DEAR ABBY: Recently, my wife and I went dancing with my friend "Dick" and his wife. While I was in the middle of a conversation with Dick, my wife kept trying to interrupt. She even laid her hand on my arm to try to get my attention. I ignored her and told her later she had been rude to try to interrupt my conversation. She thinks I disrespected her and our marriage by putting conversation with my friend above her. This happens often when the four of us are together.

Am I being insensitive to my wife's feelings? We frequently disagree, but we have been married 44 years. Your input would be appreciated. -- ALWAYS A LOVING HUSBAND

DEAR LOVING HUSBAND: It is generally considered rude to interrupt someone when he or she is talking. The next time your wife does it, stop and ask her what's so important. (Could it be that the band is playing your song?)

However, if you have been droning on with your buddy for a long time, she may simply be craving some attention. If that's the case, perhaps it would be better if you saw Dick on a one-to-one basis without the wives around. That way you won't be interrupted.

DEAR ABBY: You missed the mark in your answer to "Mother Doesn't Know Best" (July 7), whose 8-year-old stepson arrives for visits in old, ill-fitting clothing, even though the father purchases new clothes for him on every visit.

I live in Ohio, and the state considers housing, food, electricity, gas and running water as part of the makeup of child support. I know this firsthand. You also need to know if the mother is working and if she contributes to her son's support. What about other expenses (toys, haircuts, uniforms, etc.)?

Part of the problem may be that Stepmom and Dad live across the country and aren't there to see what exactly goes on day to day. Yes, the little boy shouldn't be showing up at their home in clothes that are too small, but even Stepmom said he was putting on weight. -- MITZI IN DAYTON, OHIO

DEAR MITZI: Your points are well taken. However, the majority of the feedback I received about that letter pointed out that children arriving in old clothes for visits with their dads is a popular ploy that some custodial mothers use in order to get new clothes, and some even return the clothes for cash. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: I had a divorced girlfriend I had confided in about this same problem. She said, "Don't you know? We always send the kids to their dad's in their worst clothing. That way, they'll have to buy them new stuff during the visit."

You can't assume that because a child arrives in worn or ill-fitting clothes that the custodial parent is unfit or that the child doesn't have lots of better clothing at home. -- MRS. D. IN VIRGINIA

DEAR ABBY: Please suggest that when Stepmom and Dad buy clothes for his son, they mark the labels with the boy's initials. The mom may be returning the items for cash and buying something she wanted for herself. -- MOM WHO KNOWS

DEAR ABBY: I am writing this as I sit in a hospital at my daughter's bedside. When staff comes into her room, she asks them to wash their hands in front of her before putting on their gloves. Several doctors took offense at this. We even posted a note on the door, asking the staff to wash up inside the room. Were we wrong? She doesn't want to increase her risk of infection. I would think that a patient worried about proper hygiene would not be sneered at by the people trying to get her healthy. -- TRYING TO STAY HEALTHY

DEAR TRYING TO STAY HEALTHY: Bravo to you for speaking up! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospital-acquired infections have cost the hospital industry $30 billion and resulted in 100,000 patient deaths. A 2013 New York Times article reported that unless pushed to do so, hospital workers wash their hands only as little as 30 percent of the time they interact with patients. The problem is so widespread that some hospitals must monitor workers via video cameras or have them wear electronic badges to "encourage" compliance, while others have resorted to "bribing" workers to do the right thing.

You were not wrong to ask staffers at your daughter's hospital to wash their hands. Nobody should feel reluctant to ask for something that is standard procedure.

Because many patients in hospitals and care facilities feel vulnerable and dependent, they fear that staff will "dislike" them if they ask for too much. For patients to request handwashing is not only in their best interest, but also the hospital's. Too often, change doesn't happen in the medical profession until patients speak up and advocate for their own well-being. You would not have been "sneered at" if your request hadn't made those individuals feel defensive.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
The starvation began in September and the children were not adequately cared for for several months

Police said Joshua and Brandi Weyant conspired to starve their children because their father no longer wanted to care for them

A couple in Pennsylvania has been arrested after being accused of starving, severely beating and neglecting their three young children.

Joshua Ross Weyant, 33, and Brandi Jene Weyant, 38, of Halifax Township were charged on Friday with multiple counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and endangering the welfare of children.

Pennsylvania State Police and Dauphin County Children and Youth Services found the couples children, aged, four, five and six, in extremely poor physical health on December 16 after receiving a report of suspected child abuse.

The four- and five-year-old girls and the six-year-old boy, all weighing under 30lb, appeared emaciated and weak and were suffering from severe abrasions and bruises.

Joshua Ross Weyant, 33, and Brandi Jene Weyant, 38, of Halifax Township, Pennsylvania, are accused of neglecting their three young children in their home (pictured above)

Two of the children were less than a week away from death, according to court documents obtained by Penn Live.

Police told Penn Live that Joshua and Brandi Weyant conspired to starve their children because their father no longer wanted to care for them.

The starvation began in September and the children were not adequately cared for for several months, investigators told FOX 43.

When the children were found, the four-year-old weighed 26lb, the five-year-old weighed 23lb and the six-year-old weight 27.3lb, according to court documents.

The children told investigators that during long periods of cold weather they were locked in a bedroom with no heat.

They also said they were starved for stretches of time and violently assaulted by their parents.

The three young kids were taken to the Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center and treated for pediatric emergency care.

Investigators said they were found covered in live, and needed advanced medical treatment upon arrival at the hospital.

"The victims were infested with lice so severe that the children screamed when the lice were physically removed from their bodies by medical personnel and investigators," police told Penn Live.

The children stayed at the hospital on Friday night, and are now in the hands of Children and Youth Services.
A school in Taiwan has been condemned after students waved Nazi flags and shout 'Sief Heil' as teachers stood by saluting them.

The images were taken at Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School in Western Taiwan where a history teacher can be seen dressed as Adolf Hitler.

Some are standing in a tank made of cardboard pulling a Nazi salute, and the actions have been slammed by German and Israeli officials.

The images were taken at Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School in Western Taiwan where a history teacher can be seen dressed as Adolf Hitler yesterday

Students, whose faces have been digitally obscured, wearing Nazi uniforms during a Cosplay event at the school in Hsinchu, western Taiwan, yesterday

Taiwan's Presidential Office ordered an investigation into the incident and the education minister Pan Wen-chung apologized and ordered the school to boost students' knowledge about modern history.

The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei issued a statement, according to the Taipei Times, said: 'It is deplorable and shocking that seven decades only after the world had witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust, a high school in Taiwan is supporting such an outrageous action as we witnessed yesterday at Hsinchu Kuang Fu Senior High School.'

Israeli Representative to Taiwan Asher Yarden also condemned the actions of the school, and wrote on the mission's Facebook page: 'We strongly condemn this tasteless occurrence and call on the Taiwanese authorities, in all levels, to initiate educational programs which would introduce the meaning of the Holocaust and teach its history and universal meaning.'

The German Institute Taipei also issued a statement, saying the students did not understand the what the Nazi symbol stands for with regards to human rights and oppression.

School principle Cheng Hsiao-ming (R) and dean Liao Ching-lin (L) bowing their heads to apologize for a Nazi-themed performance held by students and at least one teacher at the school in Hsinchu, western Taiwan

The incident was 'regrettable' and 'disappointing', according to the Presidential Office.

'We feel it is extremely disrespectful to the Jewish people who had been victims of the oppression perpetrated during wars, but more importantly, it highlighted ignorance about history,' it said a statement, according to the Taipei Times.

'The responsibility of an education facility is to teach students that peace and diversity did not come easily. The freedom of thinking should be based on justice and respect, rather than misconduct.'
Not much is known about President-elect Donald Trump's pick to serve as secretary of state, but anecdotal details are beginning to emerge about ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

The wife of a Denton, Texas city councilman revealed in an op-ed column for The Dallas Morning News on Friday that she served jury duty with Tillerson during a sexual assault trial nine years ago in Denton County, Texas.

The writer, Emily Roden, had high praise for Tillerson, whom she credits for helping sway undecided jurors toward convicting a man of sexually assaulting his girlfriend's young daughter.

'Humbly, delicately, and without an ounce of condescension toward those who disagreed, he began walking us all through the details of the case,' Roden writes.

Emily Roden (left), a suburban Dallas educational entrepreneur, served on a jury with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson (right) in 2007. Tillerson is in line to be secretary of state

'I even recall being moved by his thorough explanation about the nature of doubt and the standards set forth by our justice system.'

'With great patience, this man who strikes multi-billion dollar deals with foreign heads of state brought our scrappy jury together to bring a sexual predator to justice and to deliver justice for a scared and deeply wounded little girl,' Roden writes.

Roden and the other jurors recall being impressed with Tillerson for his humility and sense of civic responsibility given that a man of his stature could have used his connections to avoid jury duty.

She also revealed that Tillerson never volunteered information about his identity or bragged about his status as a wealthy oil executive.

It was only when the jurors noticed that he had a bodyguard with him that one of them worked up the nerve to ask him who he was.

'Our fellow jury member was reading the paper again and pointed out an article with Exxon in the headlines,' Denton writes.

Emily Roden is the wife of Kevin Roden, a city council member in Denton, Texas. She writes that Tillerson was a 'humble' juror with an 'impressive stature'

'"I work for them",' he said humbly. "There are a lot of people in this world who hate me for what I do, so they give me and my family guys like that to protect me".'

'It didn't take long before a few internet searches revealed that I was serving on this jury with the CEO of Exxon Mobile, Rex Tillerson.'

Tillerson was so low-key that he declined the opportunity to serve as jury foreman, even though he appeared to be best suited for the job.

'Perhaps it was his business suit, his impressive stature, or his charisma, but almost everyone in that jury room suggested that this middle-aged man with greying hair was likely the most fit for the task,' Denton writes.

'Thanks, but I decline. I'm not interested in the spot light,' he told us. I didn't think anything of it.

Denton writes that Tillerson was kind enough to take her up on an offer to donate money to a non-profit organization that was helping sexual assault victims like the victim in their trial.

'On a whim, I decided to reach out to Mr. Tillerson to encourage him to do the same,' she writes.

'I found an email for him online and sent him a note, touting the role this agency played in our trial and urging him to consider supporting the great work that they do,' according to Denton.

'To my surprise, I received an email back thanking me for my note, my jury service, and ensuring me that he would contact the agency.'

'I later received a call from the director of that nonprofit to let me know that Mr. Tillerson followed-through and gave a generous donation.'

Though she doesn't take a position either way on whether Tillerson should be secretary of state, Denton does vouch for the man's integrity and honesty.

'I know that a scared little girl who was finally convinced to come public with her account of abuse was inches away from a decision that would have sided with her abuser, yet this man put his negotiation skills to a very noble use and justice was served,' she writes.

'All I know is that this man and his myriad of aides could have ignored an unsolicited email from a girl in her 20s suggesting that he donate to a local cause, but he took the time to respond and opened up his pocket book.'

Roden's husband, Kevin Roden, is a city councilman in Denton.
Amir Khan's sister claims that the boxer's wife has banned his family from visiting their two-year-old daughter.

Mariyah Khan, 19, suggested that her brother's wife Faryal Makhdoom Khan, 25, does not let the family see toddler Lamaisah.

She claimed Faryal 'doesn't allow us to see her' during an Instagram conversation in which a commenter accused Mariyah and her family of not helping Faryal.

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Amir Khan's sister claims that the boxer's wife has banned his family from visiting their two-year-old daughter

According to The Sun, the Instagram user wrote: ' You people don't even help Faryal. Everytime when she goes out from the country her Mum comes from the USA to babysit.

'Cruel people. Amir choose his wife over you guys.'

Mariyah is said to have replied: 'Babes she doesnt allow us to see her'.

However, the claims have been rejected by model Faryal, who insists she has never stopped them from seeing her.

She told the newspaper: ' I have never stopped my child from visiting them.

'In fact Amirs older sister wouldnt let her daughters come over and play with my daughter.'

Mariyah Khan, 19, (pictured with her mother) suggested that her brother's wife Faryal Makhdoom Khan, 25, does not let the family see Lamaisah

Amir later posted a photograph on Instagram of his daughter with Faryal's parents, which he captioned: 'Merry Christmas from Lamaisah and her grandparents. Have a good one.'

The feud between Faryal and her in-laws became public after she launched an astonishing Snapchat rant earlier this month in which she accused her in-laws of trying to destroy their marriage.

She suggested that Khan's parents Falek and Shah 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, wrote: 'Don't get your sons married if you're going to abuse and bully the wife.

However, the claims have been rejected by model Faryal, who insists she has never stopped the family from seeing her

'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. :)'

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?'

In later interviews, Faryal claimed that she had been bullied by the family for several years.

She said the family had attacked her on social media and mocked her for looking like Michael Jackson.

Mrs Khan told ITVs This Morning: Over the years Amirs brother and sister went on Twitter rants, went on Instagram rants talking about me saying I dont get along with them, saying I'm very fake, saying I've done plastic surgery, calling me Michael Jackson  I was a pregnant woman; reading all that was not really nice.

Amir later posted a photograph on Instagram of his daughter with Faryal's parents, which he captioned: 'Merry Christmas from Lamaisah and her grandparents. Have a good one'

Anyway, I used to take it in, I was very, very patient about it  I thought my silence would probably make them stop.

'Just recently I think it just started to build up, build up, build up, and I had done a catwalk and I was very proud of myself, Amir was very, very supportive and proud of me and I had seen Amir's youngest sister had said something like dog walk and made a comment and laughed about it.

'It really, really hurt me, because when I didn't work and I used to just stay home I was called a golddigger, I was called Im with Amir for his money.

But her father-in-law Sajjad Khan hit back following the This Morning interview, claiming his son's 'very evil' wife is causing such a bitter feud within their family that his boxer son will want to end the marriage 'sooner or later'.

He told MailOnline: 'She is pushing Amir to the limit with her accusations and I feel very sorry for my son.

'It's not fair. While he is out working so hard with his foundation, helping people he doesn't even know but who are so deprived and he just wants to make them happy, look what his wife's doing?

'She's not picking up the phone calling us to try and make amends.'

Meanwhile, Amir has vowed to 'sort out' the feud that has torn his family apart.

He said told MailOnline: 'Whatever happened, happened. Inshallah one day it will be sorted out.

'We want to be one family. It will take time but everything will be sorted out.
Meghan Markle may be spending Christmas away from her boyfriend Prince Harry, but the Suits actress seems to be getting into holiday spirit just fine without him.

With her mother Doria Ragland heading to the Los Angeles International Airport on Christmas Eve wearing furry snow boots, it appears Meghan, 35, will have plenty to celebrate in Toronto, Canada.

Ragland, a 60-year-old social worker who divorced Thomas Markle when the actress was just six, looked youthful in a grey sweater as she carried a heavy down jacket while walking into the airport.

Meghan Markle may be welcoming her mother Doria Ragland in Toronto. The 60-year-old wore furry snow boots and carried a down jacket as she entered LAX on Saturday

Ragland (right with Meghan) divorced Thomas Markle when the actress was just six, and lives in Culver City, California, where she is a social worker

Doria Ragland is pictured left and right arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on Christmas Eve

Meghan's mother works as a yoga teacher and jewelry maker in Los Angeles.

Ragland is listed as a mental health therapist on her LinkedIn page and she is a licensed social worker in California, state records reveal.

She may be joining daughter Meghan, who was last seen back in her home town of Toronto as she surprised a friend's young daughter with a Christmas present.

Harry, on the other hand, is preparing to celebrate Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham.

While Meghan was not invited, the Queen is said to be 'fully supportive' of her grandson's relationship with the actress.

The Prince, who has been dating Meghan for several months, is said to have received the royal seal of approval from his grandmother.

Speaking to US magazine, a source who claimed to be a 'Buckingham Palace insider' said Her Majesty is 'fully supportive' of Harry's romance.

They added: 'Shes delighted to see Harry in a loving relationship'. MailOnline has contacted the palace for a comment.

More recent pictures show Markle enjoying Christmas away from Harry back in her native Toronto, as she surprised a friend's young daughter with a Christmas present

Harry and Meghan packed plenty of festive activities into their London break recently - going shopping together for a Christmas tree and attending The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time at a West End theater.

However, royal duty beckoned for Harry this week, and Meghan jetted back to Toronto where she is based to spend the festive season apart from her boyfriend.

Only close family and occasionally friends join the senior royals at Sandringham.

And it's thought to be too soon in Harry's romance with the Suits actress for her to be invited by the Queen.

However, Harry made sure to drop her off at Heathrow airport personally on Sunday morning.
Anyone watching this impressive fireworks display might think the New Year had come early.

But in reality the shower of rockets dotting the daytime sky came from two tonnes of illegal rockets that had been seized by police in Peru.

The officers rounded up the illegal explosives from shops in the Peruvian capital, Lima, and blew them up at their headquarters at Diroes just outside the city.

The shower of rockets dotting the daytime sky came from two tonnes of illegal rockets that had been seized by police in Peru

The fireworks had been taken during raids on illegal vendors over the last sixteen days.

Offices hope to find three tonnes more before the end of the year - so plenty more spectacular displays can be expected.

Peru has some of the strictest controls on fireworks in Latin America.

These came in after a blaze at a warehouse killed approximately 300 people in 2001.

The officers rounded up the illegal explosives from shops in the Peruvian capital, Lima, and blew them up at their headquarters at Diroes just outside the city
A Long Island man has been arrested for beating his helpless dog so badly it had to be euthanized after suffering a major head wound.

Michael Gallagher allegedly attacked his Shepherd mix in front of his home around 2.45pm on Friday, the New York Post reported.

The 56-year-old reportedly choked the dog with a plastic zip tie and put it in a trash bag before hitting the animal over the head with a shovel.

Michael Gallagher (left) allegedly attacked his Shepherd mix (right) in front of his home around 2.45pm on Friday, authorities said

His neighbor, who witnessed the savage attack, confronted Gallagher, who then left his yard, the Post reported.

Officers told the newspaper the neighbor opened the bag and cut the zip tie from the dog's neck.

The neighbor also discovered that the helpless animal had a large head wound.

When authorities responded to the scene, they transported the dog to the Levittown Animal Hospital, where it was euthanized, according to the Post.

Police didn't locate Gallagher until 10.30pm Friday night near a 7 Eleven.

Gallagher was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and torturing or injuring animals/failure to provide sustenance.
People would suffer 3rd degree burns, fractured faces and would even die

how these traps would really affect the human body

This includes using a blowtorch, falling bricks and an exploding toilet

A boy sets booby troops in his home to ward of

From swinging paint cans to falling bricks and an exploding toilet, the two burglars in the Home Alone films ran through a viscous obstacle of booby traps.

However, some viewers question just how lethal these traps would be if set off in real life.

Motherboard interviewed Joseph O'Hare, an EMT in New York City, about how the human body would be affected and what treatments would be necessary to heal the horrific wounds.

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From swinging paint cans to falling bricks and an exploding toilet, the two burglars in the Home Alone films ran through a viscous obstacle of booby traps. However, some viewers question just how lethal these traps would be if set off in real life

THE BOOBY TRAPS The Blowtorch Booby Trap: You would have 2nd or 3rd degree burns. There would be damage underneath the dermis and damage to deeper tissue. The Paint Can Booby Trap: This trap would cause major damage to the face. Teeth would be lost, your nose would be broken and there would be multiple fractures to your face. The Bricks Booby Trap: You would die. It would cause multiple fractures to the skull and brain matter would have been exposed  all from just being hit with one brick. The Exploding Toilet Booby Trap: The blowtorch would burn off at thick part of the scalp - similar to the first 'blowtorch booby trap'. However, the toilet exploding would cause 2nd or 3rd degree burns over the entire body, which would result in death. Advertisement

Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas comedy about a young boy, Kevin McCallister, who is mistakenly left behind when his family jets off to Paris for the holidays.

At first it seems like a dream come true for the boy, who now has a large home in Chicago all to himself.

However, things take a turn when two would-be buglers, Harry and Marv, attempt to break into the Kevin's home.

These bumbling thieves are met with their worst nightmare, as Kevin stages numerous traps throughout the house that inflict third degree burns, painful bumps and nasty bruises.

In one scene, Harry attempts to sneak into the house through a side door.

However, little does he know, Kevin has rigged the door to activate a blowtorch when opened.

As soon as Harry opens the door, flames come blowing out of the device and set Harry's head on fire.

O'Hare told Kevin Wong with Motherboard that the flames cooking Harry's scalp would cause second or third degree burns.

And being that these types of burn are severe, the underneath of his dermis could be damaged and the deeper tissue may have also been affected.

If Harry was a real person, he could expect to see 'deeply blackened skin with severe blistering or even some exposed bone in the area,' said O'Hare.

However, after Harry sat under the flames for a few seconds, he ran outside and smoldered the fire with snow.

O'Hare told Kevin Wong with Motherboard that with the blowtorch booby trap, the flames cooking Harry's scalp would cause second or third degree burns. And being that these types of burn are severe, the underneath of his dermis could be damaged

O'Hare said this 'was a smart move', but in reality his body may have gone into shock before he had a chance to run outside to ease the burn.

Following the rigged door incident, the two burglars gave up on robbing the home and went on a man hunt for Kevin.

During the 'paint can booby trap' scene, both Harry and Marv are inside the home where they spot Kevin at the top of the stair case.

The two run up towards him, but Kevin releases a paint can attached to string that hits Marv in the face  sending him soaring to the bottom floor.

For the 'paint can booby trap', O'Hare says that if this were real their 'faces would be destroyed'. They would lose teeth, both of their noses would be broken and they would suffer multiple fractures in their face

And Harry is met with the same fate just seconds after Marv rolls down the stairs.

Although the two unfortunate burglars just fall down a few stairs, O'Hare says that if this were real their 'faces would be destroyed'.

They would lose teeth, both of their noses would be broken and they would suffer multiple fractures in their face.

'The trauma could possibly create a 'brain bleed,' and a subsequent hemorrhagic stroke could lead to death,' he said.

If O'Hara were to treat a patient with these type of injuries, he would first 'immobilize the cervical spine' and then check their airways to make sure there aren't any teeth stuck in there.

One would think that Harry and Marv had enough in the first Home Alone, but a second film, 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York', was released in 1992  complete with more horrific, yet comical, booby traps.

In this film, Kevin does make it to the airport with his family, who are on their way to Miami to spend Christmas in Miami, but accidentally boards a plane to New York.

And luck would have it, Harry and Marv are also in the Big Apple.

Remembering the bandits, Kevin lures them back to his uncle's townhouse where he has been staying and rigs the place with numerous traps.

When Harry and Marv show up at the townhouse, Kevin begins throwing bricks at them from the roof.

Each brick that is thrown hits the two men directly in the face.

And although they seemed unfazed, O'Hara said in reality they should have died.

When Harry and Marv show up at the townhouse, Kevin begins throwing bricks at them from the roof. And O'Hara said in reality they should have died. An event like this would cause multiple fractures to the skull and brain matter would have been exposed

An event like this would cause multiple fractures to the skull and brain matter would have been exposed  all from just being hit with one brick.

The last scenario given to O'Hara is the 'exploding toilet booby trap.

Harry finds a way inside the home, but since the building is still being renovated it is complete dark.

He pulls on a light switch hanging from the ceiling, which triggers a blowtorch hanging over the doorway.

Once Harry realizes his head is on fire, he pushes it inside of a toilet to smolder the flames - and within seconds the toilet explodes while he is still face down in the bowl.

During the exploding toilet scene, Harry again is scorched with a blowtorch. He sticks his head in a toilet that explodes. The explosion would have caused severe burns all over Harry's body that would have killed him

O'Hara says another top section of the scalp would be burned off and would have experienced the same symptoms and injuries as the first time Harry was scorched with a blowtorch in the original Home Alone.

However, since there was an explosion, he would've had burns all over his entire body that would eventually kill him.

'Unlike the previous burn, there probably wouldn't be a suitable place left on his body to take a skin graft,' said O'Hara.
A new study has pinpointed the areas in the brain that are activated when a 'hard-headed' person is confronted with evidence that challenges their beliefs.

Those who were resistant to changing their minds were found to have more activity in areas that play a key role in emotion and decision-making, along with surge in the region responsible for 'thinking about who we are.'

The study suggests alternative viewpoints can be seen as a threat, and subsequently cause people to become even more stubborn in their opinions  especially when it comes to politics.

People who were resistant to changing their minds were found to have more activity in areas that play a key role in emotion and decision-making, along with surge in the region responsible for 'thinking about who we are.'

HOW THEY DID IT The researchers recruited 40 people, and examined the areas in their brain that responded to contradictory viewpoints using fMRI. The participants were presented with eight political statements that they said they believed just as strongly as a set of eight non-political statements. Then, they were shown five counter-claims that challenged each statement. After reading the counter claims, they were then asked to rate the strength of their belief in the original statement on a scale of 1-7. Political statements, such as 'The laws regulating gun ownership in the United States should be made more restrictive,' were met with nearly unchanged, if at all, beliefs. For non-political topics, however, strength in their beliefs often weakened by one or two points when met with a challenge. Advertisement

Neuroscientists from the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California examined whether and how often people were flexible in the beliefs on both political and non-political issues.

Participants were asked to consider the strength of their belief in a number of statements, and were provided counter evidence.

Their results are published the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

'Political beliefs are like religious beliefs in the respect that both are part of who you are and important for the social circle to which you belong,' said lead author Jonas Kaplan, an assistant research professor of psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

'To consider an alternative view, you would have to consider an alternative version of yourself.'

The researchers recruited 40 people, and examined the areas in their brain that responded to contradictory viewpoints using fMRI.

The participants were presented with eight political statements that they said they believed just as strongly as a set of eight non-political statements.

Then, they were shown five counter-claims that challenged each statement.

After reading the counter claims, they were then asked to rate the strength of their belief in the original statement on a scale of 1-7.

Political statements, such as 'The laws regulating gun ownership in the United States should be made more restrictive,' were met with nearly unchanged, if at all, beliefs.

For non-political topics, however, strength in their beliefs often weakened by one or two points when met with a challenge.

To contradict a statement that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, for example, they were told 'Nearly 70 years before Edison, Humphrey Davy demonstrated an electric lamp to the Royal Society.'

This caused the participants to doubt what they previously thought.

The researchers noted that people who were most resistant to alternative views had more activity in the amygdalae  a pair of almond-shaped areas near the center of the brain  and the insular cortex.

'The activity in these areas which are important for emotion and decision-making, may relate to how we feel when we encounter evidence against our beliefs,' said Kaplan, a co-director of the Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center at USC.

'The amygdala in particular is known to be especially involved in perceiving threat and anxiety.

After reading the counter claims, they were then asked to rate the strength of their belief in the original statement on a scale of 1-7. The graph shows shifts in their belief strength ratings

'The insular cortex processes feelings from the body, and it is important for detecting the emotional salience of stimuli.

'That is consistent with the idea that when we feel threatened, anxious or emotional, then we are less likely to change our minds.'

According to the researcher, a system in the brain called the Default Mode Network also surged in activity when beliefs were challenged.

'These areas of the brain have been linked to thinking about who we are, and with the kind of rumination or deep thinking that takes us away from the here and now,' Kaplan said.

'Understanding when and why people are likely to change their minds is an urgent objective,' added co-author Sarah Gimbel of the Brain and Creativity Institute.

'Knowing how and which statements may persuade people to change their political beliefs could be key for society's progress.

The researchers say the findings apply to a number of scenarios even outside of politics, including response to fake news.

'We should acknowledge that emotion plays a role in cognition and in how we decide what is true and what is not true,' Kaplan said.
Love Child star Harriet Dyer had an awkward Christmas get together on Friday.

During a family gathering in Townsville, the Australian actress sported a T-shirt which read: 'The Future Is Female'.

The shirt was first seen during the 1970s feminist movement, but resurfaced amid the recent US election campaign, often worn by Hillary Clinton supporters.

Awkward! Love Child star Harriet Dyer wore a T-shirt which read 'The Future is Female' to a Christmas get together with her family on Friday. But her grandfather had a very different idea

Her grandfather opted for a Donald Trump shirt, with the President-elect seen with a passionate expression on his face and his index finger pointed in the air.

Harriet seemed uncomfortable as she posed for the camera, as her grandfather put his arm around her and flashed a broad smile.

'Home for Christmas,' the 28-year-old wrote alongside the photo she shared with her 9,500 Instagram followers.

'This is what we both wore,' she continued, adding the hash-tags: 'help', 'Townsville', 'Grandpa' and 'Christmas'.

'Home for Christmas': The Australian actress is currently in Townsville with her family. (Pictured at the Logie Awards in May)

Meanwhile, the Love Child actress's latest feature film was Down Under, based on the infamous Cronulla race riots in Sydney's south in 2005.

During an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the actress admitted she was worried viewers of the film might interpret scenes the wrong way.

'What makes me most nervous about it is that in the day and age of Snapchat and people taking 15 second videos of things, it could be taken out of context,' she said.

Latest role: Harriet stars in new flick Down Under, based on the infamous Cronulla race riots in 2005. (Pictured at Sydney's Clovelly Beach)

'If you take any part of this film out of context, it could look like a completely different film.'

She went on to add: 'I just hope people watch it with a big open heart.'

Harriet plays the role of foul mouthed Stacey who is pregnant in the film, which was released in August.
President Obama has ordered the Intelligence Community to finish a review of allegations of Russian election hacking by the time Obama leaves office on Jan. 20.

Don't look for the report to settle anything. After years of what some Republicans view as administration obfuscation, manipulation and slow-walking on intelligence ranging from Benghazi to U.S. Central Command assessments of the Islamic State to the papers of Osama bin Laden, distrust of the Intelligence Community is so high in some GOP quarters on Capitol Hill that unless the IC delivers a document of uncharacteristic openness and transparency, the debate over Russia's activities and intentions will continue well into the presidency of Donald Trump.

It hasn't started well. Earlier this month, House Republicans were mystified by news reports of disagreement between intelligence agencies over some aspects of Russian hacking, including the Russians' alleged motivation. On Dec. 12, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper saying, in effect: Why didn't you tell us? Why do we have to learn about this in the media?

Nunes demanded the DNI brief the Intel Committee on the Russia situation no later than Dec. 16. It didn't happen. First, DNI flatly refused Nunes' request. And then, included in an announcement that it would not brief the Electoral College, the DNI also announced it would offer no more briefings to lawmakers until after the Obama-ordered report is finished next year.

"Once the review is complete in the coming weeks, the Intelligence Community stands ready to brief Congress," DNI said in a press release.

After the first refusal, Nunes noted the DNI is "obligated to comply" with the House's "constitutionally vested" oversight activities. The committee is "deeply concerned" by the DNI's "intransigence," Nunes said in a statement.

After the second refusal, Nunes upped the ante. If DNI officials won't come to House overseers, he said in a Dec. 16 statement, then House overseers will come to DNI officials.

Nunes' statement suggested the standoff over Russian hacking could at some point change from a war of words to an actual physical confrontation.

The issue is not that Republicans don't believe Russia tried to hack the Democratic National Committee or other Democratic-affiliated organizations. Republicans involved in intelligence issues, like Democrats involved in intelligence issues, know that Russians (along with the Chinese) try every single day to hack into various institutions of American business and governance. They've succeeded many times, leading to some serious breaches. It's an unending phenomenon.

Over the last several years, some Republicans have been dismayed by the administration's lack of response. "Russia's cyber-attacks are no surprise to the House Intelligence Committee, which has been closely monitoring Russia's belligerence for years," Nunes said in a Dec. 9 statement. "As I've said many times, the Intelligence Community has repeatedly failed to anticipate Putin's hostile actions. Unfortunately the Obama administration, dedicated to delusions of 'resetting' relations with Russia, ignored pleas by numerous Intelligence Committee members to take more forceful action against the Kremlin's aggression. It appears, however, that after eight years the administration has suddenly awoken to the threat."

"Suddenly," that is, after Democrats lost a presidential election. Nunes' not-so-subtle point was that Russian hacking did not become a hair-on-fire issue for Democrats until it affected their political fortunes.

Beyond that, though, some Hill Republicans believe the Obama administration has concealed and/or manipulated intelligence at key times in the last few years. Those episodes do not give Republicans any confidence that the Obama Intelligence Community will be straight with them this time.

So what do those Republicans think actually happened during the election? First, they're entirely convinced the Russians tried to hack the U.S. political process because the Russians try to hack everything. They believe that Vladimir Putin probably saw Trump as an unserious candidate who was going to lose; Putin didn't have any more sophisticated political intelligence than anyone in the United States.

Next, they believe the Russians were able to hack some damaging material from the Democratic National Committee. (They're not clear about the John Podesta emails.) They believe the Russians had fun messing with Clinton, in part because Putin assumed she would be president, and a continuing target, after the election.

In a larger sense, they believe Putin was trying to show that the U.S. system is corrupt because Putin is always trying to show that the U.S. system is corrupt. The number-one thing Russians seek to do is to sow doubt about the United States.

All of that is conjecture, or mostly conjecture, at this point. And of course, the administration is likely to produce a somewhat different picture in January -- the big difference being that it will portray Putin as specifically working to promote the election of Trump.

That's what Republicans are trying to head off with their demands for briefings and to see more intelligence. So far, they're making no progress. They're also fighting a side battle with Democrats over the creation of a special committee to investigate election interference, which many Republicans view as a vehicle for Democrats to grandstand and to extend the Trump-delegitimization process throughout next year. (So far, GOP leaders appear determined to block a special committee.)

Finally, there's one huge factor that will come into play next month. After Trump takes office, the Intelligence Community will be under new leadership. CIA Director John Brennan will be out, to be replaced by Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo, a veteran of the House Intelligence Committee who took part in the various battles with the administration over intelligence in the past few years. Yes, of course, the entrenched bureaucracies in the Intelligence Community will stay in place. But new leaders can make a real difference. And after Jan. 20, the fight over Russian interference might take on a new character.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
She's been showing off her model figure in a slew of bikinis as she enjoys her festive break in Barbados with her family.

But Suki Waterhouse was a bit more covered up on Friday as she hit the beach in a black T-shirt and yellow bikini bottoms.

However, the model appeared to have missed an important part of her body with the suntan lotion as she sported a rather painful looking patch of sunburn on her bottom.

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Strutting her stuff: Suki Waterhouse hit the beach in a black T-shirt and yellow bikini bottoms in Barbados on Friday although looked like she'd burned her pert posterior

The stunning model channelled her rocky side with the top emblazoned with the slogan: Keep Music Evil.'

Sporting tinted sunglasses and pink moccasin shoes, Suki seemed immersed in her music as she strode along the sands.

Wearing very little makeup, she let her dark blonde hair loose and beachy while simple gold earrings completed the look.

The actress and model is currently enjoying her holiday with her parents and siblings Madeleine, Imogen, and Charlie.

Keep music evil: Suki's look on Friday showed off her rockier side in a black T-shirt

Natural look: Wearing very little makeup, she let her dark blonde hair loose and beachy while simple gold earrings completed the look

Beyond the pale: Suki was a little more covered up than in recent days, perhaps aware of the heat of the Caribbean sun

Her sister Immy equally flaunted her enviable curves on the sun soaked getaway as she slipped into a sizzling blue bikini.

The 22-year-old model exhibited her taut stomach in the alluring swimwear that paraded her abs as she seductively exited the inviting sea.

Her choice of bikini top plunged into a deep V to accentuate her ample cleavage and silver plated neckline.

Hiding her sandy blonde hair, she placed a navy baseball cap over her locks as she flashed her perky posterior.

Sizzling: Her sister Immy equally flaunted her enviable curves on the sun soaked getaway as she slipped into a sizzling blue bikini

Abs-olutely: The 22-year-old model exhibited her taut stomach in the alluring swimwear that paraded her abs as she seductively exited the inviting sea

Flaunt it: Her choice of bikini top plunged into a deep V to accentuate her ample cleavage and silver plated neckline

Meanwhile, Suki's appearance comes after she was recently linked with Game Of Thrones actor Richard Madden.

The model is said to be in the throes of a passionate new romance with the hunky Scottish actor, 30, who soared to fame after taking on the role of Robb Stark in the HBO mega-series.

Speaking of the blossoming romance, a source told The Sun: 'Suki and Richard recently started dating after meeting through mutual friends.'

'Its early days but theyve got a great connection and are looking forward to spending quality time with each other next year,' the insider added.

Lazing around: Suki was spotted chilling out on her sunlounger

Suki reported new romance follows on from her hunky Hollywood ex Bradley Cooper, 41, in March last year - he is said to be expecting his first child with model Irina Shayk.

Suki and Bradley 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.

'They've got a great connection': The model is said to be in the throes of a passionate new romance with Game Of Thrones actor Richard Madden

'They met through mutual friends': A source also told The Sun that the fledgling lovebirds are looking forward to spending more time together next year

Meanwhile, Richard was previously linked to Laura Whitmore earlier this year after they were introduced through mutual pal Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow, the half-brother of Richard's onscreen character Rob in the huge fantasy hit.

He has also indulged in an on again/off again romance with his Doctor Who sidekick Jenna Coleman until last April.

Cara Delevingne may not be too happy about Suki's new rumoured romance after she had a very public spat with the actor.

Claim to fame: Richard who soared to fame after taking on the role of Robb Stark in the HBO mega-series, Game Of Thrones

Last year, Richard accused Cara of being 'too difficult' and 'seemed ungrateful' after a cringe-worthy TV interview last year.

The Hammersmith born model furiously tweeted back, stating: 'I have no idea who you are but I think its a little desperate for a grown man to be bad mouthing someone they dont know.

'If you really want attention that badly, try focusing on your own work and not other peoples,' she continued.

Clearly surprised by her reaction, Richard responded: 'Hi @Caradelevingne, nothing but respect for you. Misquoted and blown out of proportion. #SlowNewsWeek.'
Ariel Winter got temperatures soaring Friday as she shared a very cheeky flashback snap of herself sunbathing during a recent trip to Cabo San Lucas.

In the photo, the 18-year-old laid flat on her belly as she wore a skimpy blue bikini that put her posterior on full display.

'#fbf #mexico #travel,' Ariel captioned the image.

Bottom's up! Ariel Winter was busy heating up winter Friday as she shared a very cheeky flashback snap of herself sunbathing during a recent vacation to Cabo San Lucas

The star wore her jet black locks down loose as she relaxed on the plush lounger.

Legs kicked up into the air, the actress looked the picture of bliss as she caught some rays during a fun-filled getaway.

More than just friends: Winter traveled to Cabo in November with several friends, including new boyfriend Levi Meadon, whose romance she confirmed shortly after returning to the U.S.

The actress travelled to Cabo in November with several friends, including actor Levi Meadon, 29.

Not long after returning to the U.S., Ariel and Levi confirmed their romance when they were spotted locking lips later that month.

Levi is best known for his role on the 2016 TV series Aftermath and for his part in the Netflix original series The Killing.

Cute couple: Winter and Meadon got all dressed up for a night out at TrevorLive in Los Angeles earlier this month

Ariel, meanwhile, currently stars as Alex Dunphy opposite Sarah Hyland and Nolan Gould on Modern Family.

She will also star in the upcoming film Dog Years opposite Burt Reynolds.

The film, which is currently in post-production, is about an actor who realizes he has passed his prime.
Star Wars vet Carrie Fisher suffered a 'massive' heart attack on Friday while flying into Los Angeles from London on an 11-hour flight.

The news must have been devastating for her movie star mother, Debbie Reynolds, aged 84. The two have always been very close, and it was Debbie who stood by the Force Awakens star's side as she went through rehab and a heartbreaking divorce from Paul Simon in the 1980s.

Carrie's devastated film legend mother is awaiting news of her daughter's health from the home she owns next door to her.

Debbie was believed to be at her property in Beverly Hills this afternoon as reports of the dramatic health scare broke.

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Painful: Carrie Fisher suffered a heart attack on Friday while flying into Los Angeles from London. The news must have been devastating for her movie star mother Debbie Reynolds, 84. Pictured 2015

So many fans: Soon after news broke of Carrie's health scare, fans bombarded Debbie's Twitter account with well wishes

As a baby: Debbie and her singing husband Eddie with Carrie in 1956

A male caretaker came out to confirm Debbie is aware of the sad news, but insisted it was too early for her to comment.

He said: 'We still don't know what's happened at the moment.'

The caretaker, who often looks after Debbie and her house, appeared in shock as he took a phone call on his cell phone and headed back inside the property.

Soon after news broke of Carrie's health scare, fans bombarded Debbie's Twitter account with well wishes.

'Your daughter and you and all of her family are in our prayers and thoughts tonight,' one user posts.

'Also sending my very warmest thoughts to Debbie Reynolds and Billie Lourd. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, man,' tweeted daytime show host Tiffany Vazquez.

Another shares their concern for the elderly actress: 'Worried about her mom Debbie Reynolds too at age 84.'

Mothers in need: Twitter users sent 84-year-old Debbie their well wishes during this difficult time

Twitter users sent prayers, lit candles, and sent their thoughts to Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher in this difficult time.

Not forgotten: The mother of Princess Leia was not forgotten in the prayers

Before the holiday: A user pointed out that Debbie and Billie Lourd must deal with this heartache right before Christmas

Twitter users sent prayers, lit candles, and sent their positive thoughts to Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.

A rep for Debbie has yet to return calls to DailyMail.com and there has yet to be a reaction from the 1950s icon.

Reynolds is best known for Singin' In The Rain and The Singing Nun.

So far, Carrie's daughter, Billie Lourd, is the only family member who has been spotted at UCLA Medical Center where Carrie is getting care.

Her brother Todd Fisher, 58, told Variety in a phone interview that the actress is not in stable condition despite previous reports.

Debbie is believed to be at her home in Beverly Hills and is aware of her daughter's medical emergency. Carrie is being cared for at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (pictured on Friday)

No word yet: A rep for Debbie has yet to return calls to DailyMail.com and there has yet to be a reaction from the 1950s icon

Big fame came early: Carrie seen here with Harrison Ford in 1980's The Star Wars Episode V - Empire Strikes Back

He said she is in the intensive care unit at the hospital and that 'everybody's praying for her.'

He added, 'There's nothing new from the doctors. There's nothing new at all.  There's no good news or bad news.'

Earlier this year, the close knit mother-daughter duo released their documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

And during promotion for the films, Carrie said it's been 'terrifying' watching her mother coping with 'certain health issues she's had.'

New again: Fisher with Ford in 2015's Force Awakens. She will also be in Episode VIII

One of the last photos of Carrie: This image was taken in London on Tuesday

Earlier this month: Carrie promoted Rogue One on the Graham Norton Show along with her new book

Unfortunately, it is now the Singin' In the Rain starlet's turn to worry as Carrie was unresponsive after a massive heart attack she suffered on board an 11-hour transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles.

Reynolds has always been her daughter's biggest cheerleader.

The mega-starlet - one of the only ones left of Hollywood's golden age - often shares throwback photos of herself with her children Carrie and Todd on set of her many films.

The actress raised her children on the sets of movie films, which many say have contributed to her daughter growing up to be one of the most celebrated actresses of all time.




As popular actors, they run in the same circles in Hollywood.

But it still came as a surprise to see Simon Baker catch up with Hugh Jackman, at a cafe on Sydney's Bondi Beach on Friday.

The 47-year-old, known for his role in The Mentalist, cut a casual figure, as he was spotted chatting with 48-year-old Hugh, at eatery North Bondi Fish.

Back on home soil! Simon Baker (L) was seen catching up with Hugh Jackman (R) at Sydney's North Bondi Fish, on Friday

Simon appeared carefree and relaxed in a simple grey round-neck T-shirt, teamed with a pair of loose-fitting indigo jeans.

Keeping accessories to a minimum, The Devil Wears Prada star donned navy Adidas trainers, a silver statement watch, and his trademark black-rimmed spectacles.

His fair tresses fell in loose waves, while his face sported a small amount of stubble.

Low-key: Simon appeared carefree and relaxed in a simple grey round-neck T-shirt, teamed with a pair of loose-fitting indigo jeans

Famous faces: The Mentalist star was seen engaging in friendly conversation with Hugh, who also cut a casual figure in a burgundy round-neck T-shirt and beige shorts

Connections: Hugh's son Oscar Maximilian Jackman, 16, was seen being introduced to Simon

Hugh looked equally as casual, wearing a burgundy round-neck T-shirt, beige linen shorts and brown loafers.

The Wolverine star tried to go incognito, wearing a simple cap and a pair of dark sunglasses.

Hugh was joined by 16-year-old Oscar Maximilian Jackman, his adopted son with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, 61.

Oscar wore a light blue T-shirt with white text emblazoned on the front, trackpants of a darker grey hue and coordinating sneakers.

We still see, Hugh! The Wolverine star appeared to go incognito, accessorising with a simple cap and dark sunglasses

Off they go! After the sighting, Hugh and Oscar were seen making their way to their next destination

Alfresco: Simon enjoyed a bite to eat with wife Rebecca Rigg dining at one of the venue's outdoor tables

Like the locals do: Rebecca highlighted her slim figure in a tan fitted dress and swept her dark tresses into a casual style

The teen was introduced to Simon, with the pair seen shaking hands.

While Hugh's stay at chef Matt Moran's Bondi establishment appeared to be brief, Simon enjoyed a bite to eat with wife Rebecca Rigg, 48.

Rebecca, an actress known for roles in Fatty Finn and Ellie Parker, highlighted her slim figure in a tan fitted dress, with her brunette locks swept up into a casual style.

A pair of dark sunglasses and delicate silver hoop earrings finished off her look.

They later continued on with last-minute shopping for Christmas.

Effortlessly stylish: Keeping her accessories to a minimum, the actress shielded her eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses and sported delicate silver hoop earrings
They've been dating for three years, with Tim Robards constantly feeling pressure to wed.

But in an interview with Saturday's the Daily Telegraph, the hunky chiropractor hinted girlfriend Anna Heinrich, 30, may get her happily ever after this holiday season.

Tim, 33, revealed to the publication that Christmas is 'about providing people with a fun experience that could change their lives.'

Will Anna Heinrich get an engagement ring? The 30-year-old's beau Tim Robards, 33, told the Daily Telegraph on Saturday about his Christmas presents: 'It's about providing people with a fun experience that could change their lives'

'This year everyone will love the present I have got them,' Tim told the publication.

Tim and Anna are at Lake Macquarie spending time with Tim's family, and will return to Sydney on Christmas Day for celebrations with Anna's family.

Prized bling on the agenda? 'This year everyone will love the present I have got them,' Tim told the publication

Talk of an impending engagement has always surrounded the high-profile couple.

Just last month, Anna, a lawyer, admitted to PopSugar Australia that she would like to receive jewellery.

'I think it's always fun and exciting to open jewellery on special occasions or a big holiday, and these rings are just gorgeous,' she said, plugging Pandora, whom she is an ambassador for.

The former reality TV star's comments come a month after Tim hinted at an imminent proposal during an appearance on KIIS FM's Kyle & Jackie O Show.

Online frenzy: Talk of an impending engagement has always surrounded the high-profile couple

Tim revealed that while he has a jeweller in mind for Anna's engagement ring, he is still unsure of the size.

'It's three years on, so probably getting around that time,' he said.

'I know where I'd probably go to get [the ring]... I know what she likes. I need to steal one of her other ones to find out the size.'

All love: Numerous photos shared to Tim and Anna's respective Instagram accounts see the genetically-blessed pair looking a picture of content

Meanwhile, Tim and Anna have been enjoying themselves on a luxury yacht.

Anna flaunted her enviable bikini body in a vibrant crochet style bikini.

The triangle top showed off her cleavage and delicate decolletage, while the skimpy briefs accentuated her taut torso and lean legs.

Allowing her signature blonde tresses to fall effortlessly around her face and shoulders, the slender beauty concealed her minimally made-up face behind a pair of trendy tortoise-shell sunglasses.

It's a tough life! Meanwhile, Anna took to Instagram on Saturday, flaunting her enviable bikini body in a skimpy two-piece ensemble, while on board a luxury yacht

Tim also took to Instagram to share an affectionate snap, while on the water.

With Anna embracing her famous beau, a rather bronzed Tim attempted to take the perfect selfie from above.

His short dark locks were slicked back off his face, and a pair of dark Ray Ban sunglasses finished off the look.

In the caption Tim made fun of a slight technical glitch: 'This happy snap was right before the battery died on the boat...although we kept up smiles whilst pulling it apart and eventually getting towed'.

He also added in the hash-tags #firstworldproblems and #luckyonallaccounts.
Deck the halls with bows from Halle.

Ms Berry was spotted delivering a huge haul of pressies to a friend's house in Los Angeles on Friday.

The 50-year-old had to make several trips back and forth from her car to bring the festive stash inside.

Berry Christmas! Halle Berry delivered a huge haul of presents to a friend's house in Los Angeles on Friday

The actress rocked a cosy casual look on what was a gloomy LA day, wearing black ankle boots and trousers, with a loose-fitting grey turtleneck sweater.

She kept her hair loosely pinned back as she delivered some pretty creatively wrapped gifts.

Halle delivered another huge haul this month - followers on Instagram - as she passed the one million followers milestone.

Busy: The 50-year-old had to make several trips back and forth from her car to bring the festive stash inside

Toasty: The actress rocked a cosy casual look on what was a gloomy LA day, wearing black ankle boots and trousers, with a loose-fitting grey turtleneck sweater

'Wow, I woke up high key excited this morning to see that there are officially ONE MILLION of you here with me,' she wrote beneath a typically flawless picture of herself in bed.

'Engaging, connecting and commenting and not just with me, but with each other!'

'I've only been here a short while and I have to say this social media platform is all that it's cracked up to be,' the X-Men star added. 'This is so much fun and I enjoy it more and more each day.'

Style: She kept her hair loosely pinned back as she delivered some pretty creatively wrapped gifts

Halle will also likely be assisting Santa deliver presents to her own eight-year-old Nahla, and three-year-old Maceo.

She shares her daughter with French Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, whom she dated from 2005 to 2010; she shares her son with French actor Olivier Martinez, to whom she was married from 2013 to 2015.

Halle has one film already lined up for next year; the Kingsman sequel The Golden Circle, in which she plays a US secret agent up against criminal mastermind played by Julianne Moore.
She's the vivacious actress and wife of Australian A-lister Chris Hemsworth.

And on Saturday, Elsa Pataky hinted that her handsome husband is in for a VERY special Christmas treat as she posed with a suggestive pillow.

Posing proudly with a smile on her face, the 40-year-old held up the pillow, which reads: 'Be naughty, save Santa the trip.'

'Be naughty, save Santa the trip!' Elsa Pataky posed with a cheeky pillow on husband Chris Hemsworth's Instagram page on Saturday

Interestingly, it was Chris who shared the image to his Instagram account, instead of Elsa posting it on hers.

'My wife @elsapatakyconfidential gave a great talk today on behavior,' wrote the 33-year-old actor to his 8 million followers.

Fans were supportive of the post, with many leaving positive comments.

Loved up: Chris and Elsa have been married since 2010, and have three children together

'Ha that's funny. I need a shirt of that,' wrote one.

Another said: 'I loved seeing you in the Fast and Furious franchise, a beautiful person with a beautiful soul thank you.'

One fan even seemed to cross the line a little, writing: 'With a husband like yours, I would be naughty every single day!'

Chris and Elsa married in 2010.
The Bachelor star is known for her constant social media updates - often sharing photographs of her adventures with girlfriend Tiffany Scanlon.

But Megan Marx says she will be taking some time off over the silly season to recharge.

She told fans her getaway would be a solo trip, and someone else would be running her social media page.

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Signing off: Megan Marx took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal her solo plans for Christmas, and inform her followers someone else would be managing her social media accounts as she would be uncontactable

An accompanying image to the lengthy Instagram post showed the former health promotions officer relaxing on the beach in a purple bikini.

'As many of you know I'm not a big Christmas fan (although I genuinely wish everyone a Merry time!) so I'm leaving today to go on a beach camping trip on my own, to read and write and dive and build fires and pretend I'm Bear Grylls,' she wrote.

'Solitude in nature really breeds a tranquility in me unparalleled and I'm excited for that.

'I won't be in reception so will be having someone look after my Insta... be back soon for some New Years party times!

Time apart: Megan has revealed her plans for Christmas don't involve girlfriend Tiffany (pictured)

'A big Feliz Natal to everyone in Brazil, a warm cuddle to those braving a white Christmas in the US & Canada, and of course to my fellow Aussies and everyone around the globe who I follow and follow me... MUCH LOVE!'

She ended the post with hashtags reading: 'grinch out', 'campin' not glampin''.

While the reality star did not go into her reasons behind her disdain for the holiday, it could have something to do with her religious upbringing.

Everything okay? Tiffany, who was also a contestant on The Bachelor, has not acknowledged Megan's post with a comment, or revealed her own holiday plans

Megan was raised in a strict religious group by her mother and step-father and even got married at the early age of 18, as Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed earlier this year.

Her step-father Ross Upchurch said: 'She was married. That didn't work out'. He also confirmed that Megan and her ex-husband were 'together for about six or seven years'.

'She was 18 when she married,' he added. 'I would have liked her to wait a little longer, but they seemed like a good match at the time.'

Former flame: Megan is pictured walking down the aisle with her stepfather Ross Upchurch in 2014

The details of her family's church are unclear, but Megan told Woman's Day she 'broke free' from what she describes as a 'religious cult' four years ago.

She also said the marriage was arranged and called the service 'the worst day of (her) life', claiming it involved a preacher 'screaming at everyone how they were all going to hell'.

Megan stated she was banned from watching television and dancing due to the tough rules, adding: 'In there, education wasn't necessarily important, it was just about pleasing your husband.'
Sarah Hyland is feeling the spirit of the season.

The 26-year-old beauty, who plays Haley Dunphy on ABC's Modern Family, was snapped in Beverly Hills Friday getting some last-minute touch-ups for her holiday festivities at the swanky salon, UNITE.

The Manhattan native looked every part the Hollywood star, wearing a black jacket that went just past her waist, a fluffy white top and cloud-grey, thigh-high heeled boots.

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Hitting her stride: Sarah Hyland, 26, looked to be in top form as she left a Beverly Hills salon on Friday ahead of the holiday weekend

Happy: Hyland looked elated as she chatted with two friends outside the swanky salon

Good vibrations: Everyone seems to be in a wonderful mood on the rainy Southern California day

Parting is such sweet sorrow: Hyland and her friend share a warm hug on the cold day

Hyland accessorized with an off-white hat and black sunglasses, holding a bag of salon goodies as she chatted amiably with a few friends outside the establishment as a valet retrieved her vehicle.

The actress, who's been seen in films such as XOXO and Scary Movie 5, is clearly ending the year on a good note amid her ongoing career success and an enduring romance with 26-year-old English actor Dom Sherwood, 26, her co-star in the 2014 film Vampire Academy.

Earlier this week, Sarah took to Instagram with a shot of herself cuddling with the Britain native, who made a cameo on an episode of Modern Family this year.

In the zone: Hyland and her boyfriend Dom Sherwood, 26, cuddled in this Instagram shot

What's cooking: Hyland and Sherwood had a romantic Thanksgiving together this year

Hyland, channeling her inner Mariah Carey, wrote: 'All I want for Christmas is..... to be able to eat all the pizza in the world and still have abs without having to workout.... oh yeah and you @domsherwood,' adding an emoji of a heart to punctuate the romantic message.

Earlier in the holiday season, the beauty uploaded a heartwarming shot of her and her beau cutting up apples, saying his presence helped make for the 'perfect Birthday/Thanksgiving' celebration, as she turned 26 on November 24.

Stalwart: Hyland has been a regular on the ABC series Modern Family since 2009. Here, she showed her physical expressiveness alongside co-star Ed O'Neill

As the new year appearances, Hyland and Sherwood are closing in on two years together, as they originally linked up in the spring of 2015.

Hyland's affection for the handsome Shadowhunters star was evident right from the start, as she called him 'an amazing person' in an interview with E! News. 'He's amazing ... we became such good friends on Vampire Academy.'
She's the Home And Away stunner who has recently clocked up over half a million Instagram followers.

And Pia Miller did not fail to disappoint her followers as she posted a glamorous picture of herself in a tight shoulder-less black frock as she headed out the door for a night out.

Pairing the ensemble with a black crossover back with gold chain, Pia's sunkissed limbs were on full display.

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Stunning! Pia Miller did not fail to disappoint her followers as she posted a glamorous picture of herself in a tight shoulder-less black frock as she headed out the door for a night out

The 33-year-old recently arrived home in Melbourne for the Christmas holidays.

The actress is also spending the festive season with her boyfriend Tyson Mullane, as their relationship becomes more serious.

In several Instagram posts on Friday, Pia is pictured drinking coffee and walking through the streets of Melbourne.

Home for the holidays! Pia returned to Melbourne on Friday to spend Christmas with family and her boyfriend Tyson Mullane

In one photo, the Chilean-born beauty sipped on a latte in a trendy cafe.

Wearing a simple black dress, the brunette beauty looked happy and relaxed as she rested her elbows on the table.

'Home town': In several Instagram posts on Friday, Pia is pictured drinking coffee and walking through the streets of Melbourne

Getting serious? The brunette beauty has also been joined by her beau Tyson Mullane, a sign their relationship is becoming serious

On Wednesday, Pia celebrated reaching 500,000 followers on Instagram.

The model has is known for sharing candid photos of her family life with sons Isaiah and Lennox, and her beach dates with Tyson .

But it's her fondness for bikinis which have no doubt made her popular on the image-sharing website.

Loved up: Pia and Tyson have been dating for over a year, following her split from husband Brad Miller, a former AFL player

Milestone: On Wednesday, Pia celebrated reaching 500,000 followers on Instagram

She regularly poses in her impressive collection of bikinis, including her favourite brand, Coco Jane Swimwear.

Pia separated from her husband of 10 years, former AFL player Brad Miller, in October 2015.

She started dating film producer Tyson shortly after.
"To change anything in the Navy is like punching a feather bed. You punch it with your right and you punch it with your left until you are finally exhausted, and then you find the damn bed just as it was before you started punching."

-- Franklin Roosevelt, 1940

SAN DIEGO -- What the former assistant secretary of the Navy said is descriptive of the entire military. Each service's culture, and interservice rivalries, and bureaucratic viscosity are resistant to reform. Which is why the next secretary of defense, retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, has the most difficult management challenge in American government.

He comes from a service whose core mission, small-unit combat, involves conflict at its most granular. He will now rely on companies like General Atomics here, whose business is leveraging technology to produce maximum potential military lethality with minimal costs.

The president-elect ardently advocated substantially increased defense spending, and just as ardently favors unrestrained entitlement spending. For about $500,000 in expenditures, the 9/11 attackers did over $2 trillion in damage to the United States and the world economy. The linked physical and cyber infrastructures of complex societies are vulnerable to such asymmetries. General Atomics' scientists toil to redress this imbalance with, for example, the Predator and other remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs).

But they bristle at the word "drone," which they think falsely suggests mindlessness on the part of aircraft that perform three "ISR" missions -- intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance. RPAs can hover for 40 hours over a Middle East target and deliver, with Hellfire missiles, a munitions payload equal to an F-16's. The "fast movers" -- F-16s and the like -- must refuel coming and going from the Gulf, and most have returned to their carriers without expending their ordnance. A Reaper, another type of RPA, can deliver what an F-35, the most expensive fighter aircraft, can. The Reaper is only half as fast, but is speed -- aviation's expensive goal since World War II -- so important? An increasing amount of the Reaper's and the F-35's work, including sensing and jamming, is done at the speed of light, which is roughly 560,000 times faster than the F-35's airspeed.

RPAs, which have logged more than 4 million flight hours looking, listening and attacking, can discover what the enemy is planning and doing, and can deliver precision strikes with minimal collateral damage. They could have been an inexpensive and low-risk way of intervening in Syria by enforcing a no-fly, no-movement zone that would have protected President Bashar Assad's enemies and victims.

But because RPAs are unmanned, they clash with important components of the military culture. Marine jets from Miramar Air Station roar over General Atomics, making what has been called "the sound of freedom," but some scientists here call it the sound of obsolescence.

The Navy is using high-powered electro-magnetic energy to replace steam catapults to launch 80,000-pound aircraft off carriers with less stress on the planes, and hence less maintenance expenses. Now the Navy is acquiring rail guns that use such energy to fire 15-to-25-pound, 18-inch projectiles at 5,000 miles per hour. They hit with the impact of a train slamming into a wall at 100 miles per hour. The high-speed, hence high-energy projectiles, which cost just $25,000, can radically improve fleet-protection capabilities: A barrage of them could counter an enemy's more expensive anti-ship missiles.

The daunting challenge posed by defense against the proliferating threat of ballistic missiles is that it is prohibitively expensive to be prepared to intercept a swarm of incoming missiles. New technologies, however, can revolutionize defense against ballistic missiles because small, smart projectiles can be inexpensive. It takes 300 seconds to pick up such a launched missile's signature, the missile must be tracked, and a vector calculated for defensive projectiles. A single 25-pound projectile can dispense over 500 three-gram tungsten impactors and be fired at hypervelocity by electromagnetic energy. Their impact force -- their mass times the square of their velocity -- can destroy expensive missiles and multiple warheads.

Mattis will be trying to take control of the often uncontrollable Pentagon, with its interservice rivalries and intricate problems of matching slowly developed weapons to rapidly metastasizing threats. The good news, such as it is, is this:

The nation just experienced a raucous presidential campaign during which there was silence about the crisis of the entitlement state -- an aging population's pension and health care entitlements swallowing government resources, with alarming national security implications. But technology, pursued determinedly, has the potential to make peace through making deterrent strength less expensive.

George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com.
A fellow Howard Stern 'Wack Packer' called into a live podcast on Friday night to reveal to the hosts that Joey Boots had been found dead.

Boots, 49, was found dead by fellow Wack Packer High Pitch Erik Bealman on Friday night after the radio show personality failed to show up for a recording of their podcast The Joey Boots Show.

Upon finding Boots, Bealman called into the podcast - which was still on air - to tell the men recording that he had some 'bad news'.

When asked what was wrong, Bealman, with a quivering voice, responded: 'Can we just go off the air?'

The podcast, however, kept recording through Erik's phone call where he told the hosts the news about Boots' death.

Joey Boots, 49, was found dead in his Bronx, New York apartment by fellow Howard Stern 'Wack Packer' High Pitch Erik Bealman on Friday . The radio personality, who was famous for his catchphrase Baba Booey, was a favorite on the Howard Stern show

'Me and the building manager opened Joey's door. And Joey was slumped over his chair,' Bealman said in a recording obtained by TMZ. 'He was ice cold.'

'Shut the f**k up dude,' one of the men responded.

'And there was no pulse,' Bealman said, adding that the building manager called 911.

The podcast hosts decided then to stop recording - with one in complete disbelief and the other saying he was going to call Bealman on a separate line.

Fellow Wack Packer High Pitch Erik Bealman (pictured) was the one who found Boots dead

The NYPD responded to an emergency call on Friday night for a man in need of medical attention, before pronouncing Boots dead on arrival (DOA), according to TMZ.

Bealman reportedly became concerned when he didn't appear for their podcast gig, and visited his apartment.

When Boots, whose real name is Joey Bassolino, didn't answer the door, the building manager was called to enter the residence, where they found him in a chair cold to the touch 'with no pulse'.

Boots suffered from diabetes, according to Page Six. Police say there were no visible signs of trauma.

The radio personality, who was famous for his catchphrase Baba Booey, was a favorite on the Stern show. MailOnline has contacted Stern's representatives for comment.

Boots is the third member from the Stern 'Wack Pack' to die in the last three years. Eric 'The Actor' Lynch passed away in September 2014 and Crackhead Bob passed away in February 2016.

Sad news: Joey Boots (not pictured), who was one of (pictured) Howard Stern's 'Wack Packers', was found dead at his New York Bronx apartment

The sad report comes a week after Artie Lange took off the gloves with Howard Stern.

The New Jersey comedian tore into the King of All Media like never before, revealing for the first time how he believes how Stern confidante Jimmy Kimmel has heavily influenced the direction Stern's taken his career in, while calling the radio legend an 'a**hole' who 'abandoned his fans' and longtime staffers in his bid to replicate the mainstream success Kimmel's had.

The 49-year-old funnyman was Stern's right-hand man of nearly ten years, taking the seat vacated in 2001 by former head writer Jackie 'The Jokeman' Martling, who was his guest on the Artie Quitter podcast Friday.

Martling, 68, told Lange he was going to be the subject of an upcoming documentary, and invited the Beer League star to participate in it.

Lange agreed, then bluntly told 'The Jokeman' that Stern, whose 180 degree turns personally and professionally are frequently dissected - and reviled - on forums such as Radio Gunk, Dawgshed and Reddit, wouldn't likely participate in it.

Lange suggested the radio icon wouldn't lift a finger to help the key contributor who Boots' catch prahse is named for to his program's success 'because he's an a**hole,' turning his back on nearly two decades of key contributions from his longtime joke writer.

'Emasculating': Lange criticized Stern's handling of producer Gary 'Baba Booey' Dell'Abate, a Stern soldier of more than 30 years, who's humiliated himself for the good of the radio show countless times

'Seventeen years he helped create the f***ing show, he gets rid of him when he asks for more money, he wouldn't sit down for 20 minutes and talk - whatever,' said Lange.

Lange said that a major cause behind the aforementioned changes trace back to Marci Turk, the show's chief operating officer who the Private Parts star minted in 2013 after they worked together on a time-management system called Getting Things Done.

Turk, who rocketed to the top of the show's totem pole in short order, was subsequently hailed by Page Six as 'The woman responsible for Howard Stern's 'PC' behavior' in an August 2015 piece.

Lange star said that in appointing Turk, Stern made an 'emasculating' statement toward Stern's longtime producer Gary 'Baba Booey' Dell'Abate, sharing an anecdote of how Stern brushed Dell'Abate's three-plus decades of loyalty by the wayside.

'A bunch of people told me this, so this one's true: Gary gets up at a meeting and asks, 'Is Marci my boss?' And Howard said, 'Yes.'

Lange said that he felt Stern appointed Turk to bring order to a perpetually-disorganized back office - and help clean up his and the show's image - to be more in the mainstream vein of his show biz confidante, Kimmel.
It has been reported that he is 'battling health issues' in the wake of his breakdown.

But Kanye West seemingly brushed off the allegations when he stepped out in Los Angeles on Friday, paying a visit to his Yeezy fashion line warehouse.

The rapper kept it comfy in sweatpants and a green Adidas hoodie as he strolled along.

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Business as usual: Kanye West seemingly brushed off allegations he is 'battling health issues' when he stepped out in Los Angeles on Friday, paying a visit to his Yeezy fashion line warehouse

Kanye completed his off-duty look with a black cap and a pair of sneakers, dressing down for the day.

The star was pictured sporting his wedding ring, dispelling claims of marriage woes with wife Kim Kardashian.

A source told People on Friday that he needs to be back to fully well and fit before he will get the all-clear to work again.

'Fitness - physical and mental - are essential to him being able to be restored fully and cleared to work,' the source said, adding: 'He has health issues that need to be resolved prior to returning to work.'

Working to resolve: Kanye won't return to the stage any time soon, while he battles to resolve his health issues, it has been claimed

Another source told the publication that the rappers impulsive behavior and fluctuating moods that have made it difficult to solidify future plans of any kind.

'He is mercurial. One minute he is here. One minute he is there. He is very very difficult to pin down. Things are changing minute to minute,' the source told them.

A month after canceling the remaining North American dates of his Saint Pablo Tour, it was revealed earlier this week that Kanye will not be moving forward with European shows.

Off stage: A month after canceling the remaining North American dates of his Saint Pablo Tour, it was revealed earlier this week that Kanye will not be moving forward with European shows (pictured June 2015)

TMZ claimed the 39-year-old rapper has pulled out of the European dates of the concerts after he was rushed to UCLA Medical Center last month for an apparent breakdown.

Sources tell the site that Kanye's psychiatric hospitalisation cut short the 2017 side of the tour, which was set to feature dates in Paris, UK and Germany.

The site reported that Kanye's camp contacted concert promoter Live Nation to explain that the second leg of the tour would not go ahead.

His rock: The star was seen with wife Kim Kardashian earlier this week at Giorgio Baldi; here they are pictured in May at the Met Gala

The shock move is set to cause few problems as no dates had been confirmed nor tickets sold, so refunds and rearrangements are not necessary.

News of the tour comes after it was claimed that hospital staff were 'hunting' for his medical information.

According to TMZ, they were 'curious' when the rapper was admitted and tried to gain access to the computer system - reportedly leading to 'several dozen' staff members being fired.

Sources have alleged that the hospital has launched an investigation, while others claim 'several dozen people' have been or will be fired.

The publication claimed: 'Kanye West's stay at UCLA Med Center had some staffers hunting for medical info, according to multiple people at the facility.

'A slew of people couldn't resist attempting to look at his info in the computer'. MailOnline has contacted UCLA Medical Center for comment.

Hi supporters: Kris Jenner and her beau Corey Gamble have also been looking after West

Kanye was hospitalised on November 21 after a series of bizarre incidents.

He had been taking part in a gym session at the West Hollywood home of trainer Harley Pasternak when he became agitated and allegedly began screaming that people were trying to kill him.

Dr Michael Farzam was called to the scene and West was placed on a 5150 hold, which allows a physician to forcibly admit a patient to hospital, before being taken to the UCLA Medical Center.

West is said to have been handcuffed to a gurney during the journey, which came two days after he launched a bizarre rant on stage in Sacramento, California, and 24 hours after he announced that he was canceling all remaining dates on his Life of Pablo tour.

He and wife Kim Kardashian are thought to have been arguing a lot in the run-up to his meltdown, while the armed robbery on her in Paris on October 2 is also believed to have contributed.

Downcast: Kanye was seen looking glum as he left Barneys New York on Thursday

Kim's world was torn apart when she was the victim of a terrifying $8.5 million heist back in October.

She has barely left the house for weeks afterwards - and removed herself from social media.

Kim and Kanye were seen having dinner together earlier this week, but emerged looking glum.

He was also seen on Wednesday looking downcast while leaving the Cinepolis Luxury Cinema in Westlake Village, California where he saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
She's the bikini blogger who recently made headlines after admitting she photoshops her photos.

But Natasha Oakley, 25, has made waves for a different reason this Christmas Eve after making an embarrassing geographical blunder in her latest Instagram caption.

Taking to her popular page, the beach-loving blonde shared a photo of herself posing on a Sydney street in front of a red Porsche with the caption: 'So excited for Christmas! Australia will be the first in the world to open their presents.'

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Did you ask Santa for a map this year? Natasha Oakley, 25, made an an embarrassing geographical blunder in her latest Instagram caption by claiming that Australians will be 'first in the world to open their presents' this Christmas

In reality, there are many countries that will ring in Christmas before Australia, some of which include New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu and a small region of Russia.

Further, residents of some European countries traditionally open their Christmas presents on Christmas eve.

Fans immediately mocked the permanently bronzed blogger, with one commenting: 'Um after New Zealand sweetie'.

Ouch! Fans immediately mocked the permanently bronzed blogger, with one commenting: 'Um after New Zealand sweetie'

Blunder: 'New Zealand is 5 hours ahead of us omfg,' another stunned follower wrote

'Actually in some European countries the presents are opened on the 24th at night.' Meanwhile, one fan decided to educate Natasha on customs from abroad

'New Zealand is 5 hours ahead of us omfg,' another stunned follower wrote.

Meanwhile, one fan decided to educate Natasha on customs from abroad, writing: 'Actually in some European countries the presents are opened on the 24th at night.'

While Natasha may need to brush up on her map-reading skills, she is certainly a whizz when it comes to photoshop.

Doctored images: While Natasha may need to brush up on her map-reading skills, she is certainly a whizz when it comes to photoshop

After candid images of the star looking much different to her social media snaps emerged online, the beauty was forced to admit that she does retouch her images.

'I think that everyone is doing that (retouching) because of what they see in the media,' the airbrush enthusiast told The Daily Telegraph.

'I think with the general population are just trying to follow exactly what they see with pictures being edited'.

Controversy: After candid images of the star looking much different to her social media snaps emerged online, the beauty was forced to admit that she does retouch her images

Under pressure? She also admitted that she feels pressure to look good all the time but is adamant her aim to look good is more for herself than anyone else

She also admitted that she feels pressure to look good all the time but is adamant her aim to look good is more for herself than anyone else.

'I feel it - I'm a human and a natural curvy woman! But for me, it's really more about feeling good in myself, and healthy and fit,' she noted.

Natasha's photos are gazed upon by some 1.8 million Instagram fans, many of whom are young girls who aspire to look just like her.

In October last year, unflattering paparazzi snaps of Natasha at the beach surfaced online, prompting many fans to question whether her Instagram-worthy physique was genuine.

Rather than owning up to doctoring her images, Natasha claimed she was 'proud' of her body and that 'I pose in swimwear everyday of my life so I know my angles.'
Tammin Sursok and her family have had a busy year travelling the globe.

But now as the year comes to a close they finally headed home in time for Christmas.

On Friday the actress posted an adorable snap of her kissing her husband Sean McEwan while clutching on to the little hands of her three-year old daughter Phoenix.

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We are family! On Friday Tammin Sursok posted an adorable snap of her kissing her husband Sean McEwan while clutching on to the little hands of her three-year old daughter Phoenix

The former Home And Away star captioned the post: 'This fam bam has had the most incredible time away. We have laughed, cried, loved, faced challenges, grown as a family, learned more about each other and had our eyes opened by our many adventures.'

Then a few hours later, the brunette beauty posted a pic of Phoenix sitting atop a suitcase.

Captioning the post: Home in time for Christmas.  love to you and your families from ours,' her toddler looked a little weary as she rested her head on her hands.

Tired bunny? Captioning the post: Home in time for Christmas.  love to you and your families from ours,' her toddler looked a little weary as she rested her head on her hands

It was a stark contrast to Phoenix's bubbly composure a few days back.

In a video posted to the actress' Instagram account on Thursday, the toddler is seen 'busking' as an man plays a piano nearby.

'I feel like this kid is going to do something with her life,' she captioned the video, which was filmed at London St Pancras train station.

Tammin had been travelling around Europe on a promotional tour with her Pretty Little Liars castmates and had taken her little girl along.

In another photo shared Thursday, the mother-of-one shared a photo of the child aboard the train, wearing pink headphones and happily distracted by her favourite film.

'After 4 countries today and a food strike we improvised our own picnic. Thank god for wine and the Lion King!' Tammin wrote in her caption.

Little star! In a video posted to her mum's Instagram, Tammin Sursok's toddler Phoenix is seen 'busking' at a London train station as an entertainer plays the piano nearby

Chilly! Tammin has been travelling around Europe promoting her TV series Pretty Little Liars

Phoenix has been enjoying the globetrotting lifestyle, even joining her mother on stage briefly at a Pretty Little Liars fan convention in Brussels this week.

The performer shares a very special bond with her firstborn, who she recently worried may grow up feeling pressured to change her beautiful curly hair.

'I want Phoenix to know that her hair is unique and beautiful just like she is!,' Tammin wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post.

Snacks: 'After 4 countries today and a food strike we improvised our own picnic. Thank god for wine and the Lion King!' Tammin joked about her long train journeys across Europe

Tammin may have been travelling around Europe but she actually lives in LA, and stars as Jenna Marshall on the hit show Pretty Little Liars.

The South African-born star has been married to her director husband Sean since 2011.
She became a mother for the second time last week.

And on Monday, Sally Obermeder penned a heartfelt post of the bond her five-year-old daughter Annabelle shares with her surrogate mother's children.

Taking to Instagram, the TV presenter wrote: 'Family comes in all different forms. These girls met 2 years ago. We wanted to have a baby. Their mother was our angel who came calling.'

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We are family! On Monday, Sally Obermeder penned a heartfelt post of the bond her five-year-old daughter Annabelle shares with her surrogate mother's children

'The unexpected gift was the love these four girls share. Instantly bonded by, well not by anything really. They just bonded...'

'They face time each other, they send snap chats to each other (new generation!) and they have a USA / AUS lolly (candy) swap happening,' she continued.

'Annabelle also sent some Vegemite across which was met with lots of cries of "YUUUUUK. you actually eat that?!" And every time they see each other, like all true friendships they pick up where they left off.

'Annabelle has a new sister but she also amazingly got 3 new cousins as part of this adventure. She sobbed her heart out as we said our goodbyes, but we are forever family. ,' Sally concluded.

Special girl: Sally shared a heartwarming photo with herself and her bundle of joy still in their pyjamas after waking up to a chilling minus 18 degree U.S. winter day

Earlier in the week, Sally shared a heartwarming photo with herself and her bundle of joy still in their pyjamas after waking up to a chilling minus 18 degree U.S. winter day.

'All hail pyjama Sunday,' she wrote in the Instagram caption.

Sporting a low-cut white top and loose striped pyjama pants, the 43-year-old clutched Elyssa Rose, who was wrapped tight in a soft, spotted blanket.

'It's minus 18 today so this bug and I are going NOWHERE,' she continued.

Venturing out! The Daily Edition host also shared a video of the heavy snow falling from her hotel room window

Sally and husband Marcus welcomed their glowing bub into the world two weeks ago.

Elyssa Rose was born via surrogate after Sally was told the risks of giving birth to a second daughter were too high due to her experiences with breast cancer.

After previously blasting Australian surrogacy laws in an interview with Sunrise, Sally had flew to Milwaukee to await the arrival of her newborn.
They recently celebrated their 14th year of marriage.

And Joan Collins, 83, and her husband Percy Gibson, 51, still looked completely enamored with each other as they took a trip to The Grove in Hollywood on Friday.

The pair were getting into the festive spirit as they strolled around the pop-up Christmas market, going arm-in-arm.

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Loved-up: Joan Collins, 83, and her husband Percy Gibson, 51, still looked completely enamored with each other as they took a trip to The Grove in Hollywood on Friday

Joan looked impossibly chic in a beige trench coat, worn cinched in at the waist.

The star completed her look with some smart accessories, sporting a black beret and a pair of leather boots.

Percy - who is Joan's fifth husband - was casually clad for their festive shopping spree, sporting in a leather jacket and blue polo neck.

The couple - who tied the knot in 2002 - seemed happier than ever during their outing.

Not long to go: The pair were getting into the festive spirit as they strolled around the pop-up Christmas market, going arm-in-arm

She previously told Hello! magazine: 'It is my fifth marriage, and my happiest, and last.

'Percy is wonderful, he's my soulmate. That doesn't mean we don't bicker but we are very understanding of each other.'

Percy, who shares several homes around the world with the actress including houses in Los Angeles and London, said he enjoyed proving people 'wrong' who thought the couple would not last.

He said: 'I've certainly never been happier and I hope that I make Joan happy because she definitely deserves that.'

She previously told Hello! magazine: 'It is my fifth marriage, and my happiest, and last'

Joan, who first headed to Hollywood at the age of just 22, has forged quite the career during her six decades in the industry.

After a string of small roles, she hit the big time in the highly acclaimed Aaron Spelling soap, Dynasty, in which she played the role of Alexis Carrington Colby, the vicious, vengeful ex-wife of patriarch Blake Carrington.

The Golden Globe winner also starred in two adaptions from her sister Jackie Collins' highly successful novels.

Jackie passed away in September 2015 due to breast cancer.
Call The Midwife fans can expect something a little different this Christmas Day.

The nurses and nuns of the popular ITV drama are heading to South Africa for the 85-minute festive special, which is set to delight fans this weekend.

In official stills for the upcoming episode, the beloved characters can be seen soaking up the local culture, enjoying the wildlife as well as helping out for charity.

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Festive fun: Call The Midwife fans can expect something a little different this Christmas Day

The plot evolves around midwives Trixie, (Helen George), Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie), Phyllis (Linda Bassett) and Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Sister Winifred (Victoria Yeates) jetting off to South Africa to answer an SOS from an African mission facing closure.

Helen, who plays Trixie, revealed to The Sun: 'This episode is very different for viewers, who will be expecting a snowy, cosy Nonnatus House.

'Were hoping that taking everyone out of their comfort zone will really work.

Storyline: The plot evolves around midwives Trixie, (Helen George), Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie), Phyllis (Linda Bassett) and Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Sister Winifred (Victoria Yeates) jetting off to South Africa to answer an SOS from an African mission facing closure

Emotional: Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie) is set to take centre stage in the episode

'But we do see the characters having Christmas at home before they go, so you get the best of both worlds  a lovely Christmas Day story, then travelling out just before New Year.'

The episode will also see her alter-ego perform her very first Caesarean, a procedure Helen read up on for hours.

She told What's On TV: 'It was amazing, I love all of that stuff because it is such a challenge and we have done so many births in Call the Midwife, and that doesnt ever feel easy, but it was nice to do something different and to learn about using the scalpel.

Helen, who plays Trixie, revealed to The Sun : 'This episode is very different for viewers, who will be expecting a snowy, cosy Nonnatus House

Strike a pose: Barbara and Trixie are set to make most of their trip to South Africa

True to life: The episode will also see Helen's alter-ego perform her very first Caesarean, a procedure Helen read up on for hours

Blending in: In official stills for the upcoming episode, the beloved characters can be seen soaking up the local culture

'I was trawling through Caesareans on YouTube and it is not the prettiest of things!'

The period drama about a group of convent based midwives working in impoverished surroundings in the late fifties and early sixties - little more than a decade after the birth of the NHS - has been a huge hit with viewers following its launch in 2012.

The fifth series, set in 1961, ended in March and saw the dramatic conclusion of a Thalidomide storyline in which Doctor Turner discovered that drugs he prescribed are responsible for a spate of birth defects.

Success story: The period drama has been a huge hit with viewers following its launch in 2012

Tense: The fifth series, set in 1961, ended in March and saw the dramatic conclusion of a Thalidomide storyline

Change of scenery: The Christmas special will offer viewers something a little different - with plenty of surprises along the way

Jenny, 63, who plays compassionate Sister Julienne, recently explained the quality of the writing is what lures viewers in.

She told the Daily Mail: 'It's wrong to assume the only way now to entice a TV audience is by sexualising a show.

'I think the viewers will come if the quality of the writing and the acting is good enough in the first place.

'People look for good programmes and I think sometimes being commercial means ticking boxes, but not always the right boxes.'

Call The Midwife airs on Christmas Day at 8pm on BBC1.

Gripping: Jenny, 63, who plays compassionate Sister Julienne, recently explained the quality of the writing is what lures viewers in
The couple found love on hit reality series The Bachelor.

And Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski showed their relationship was still going strong in an adorable family photo shared to Instagram on Christmas Eve.

Along with Snezana's 10-year-old daughter Eve, they were joined by Sam's chocolate Labrador Hendrix and a pet cat who looked a little disgruntled.

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Family photo! Bachelor Sam Wood and his fiancee Snezana Markoski marked their first Christmas under one roof with a cheesy costumed family photo

Everyone - including the animals - dressed in their festive best for the picture.

Sam, Snezana and Eve all donned Santa hats and Christmas sweaters, while the dog wore reindeer antlers and the cat paired an elf collar with a matching hat.

The trio moved into a new home in July and now they're celebrating their first Christmas as a family.

This week, the Bachelor couple both shared adorable images of Eve and Snez decorating their Christmas tree on Instagram.

Family time: Sam Wood, Snezana Markoski and Snez's 10-year-old daughter Eve are preparing to celebrate their first Christmas as a family in their Melbourne home

In one of the images, the mother and daughter duo looked overjoyed as they posed in Santa hats and festive jumpers by an elaborately decorated tree.

'Is it too late to get on Santa's nice list?' the 36-year old mum joked in her caption.

Her personal trainer beau had earlier posted his own image to Instagram, showing the girls at the beginning stages of decorating the pine tree.

'And so it begins. My girls have started decorating this beauty,' Sam gushed, jokingly adding the hashtag, #goingtobealongnight.

Making memories: Over the last week, both Sam and Snezana have shared adorable images of of the young family decorating their Christmas tree on Instagram

Doggone it! The family pooch, Hendrix, also got in on the action, with Sam posting a photo of the unhappy brown pup wearing a Santa hat with caption, 'No comment required'

The family dog, Hendrix, also had a special mention in on the action, with Sam posting a photo of the unhappy pup wearing a Santa hat with caption, 'No comment required.'

The former Bachelor has bonded with Snezana's daughter, posting a photo to Instagram of the pair donning face masks and cucumber slices on their eyes for a beauty sesh.

'Friday night feels with my little partner in crime,' he captioned the pic, making it clear that the new family are getting on swimmingly.

Bonding: Sam is getting into the Christmas spirit with Snezana's 10-year-old daughter Eve

One of the girls: Last week he shared an image of himself and the 10-year-old getting a facial, with the caption: 'Friday night feels with my little partner in crime'

Sam and Snezana purchased their first home in January, a $1.4million, three-bedroom house in Melbourne.

It took the threesome six months to finally move in as they had been waiting for a good moment in order not to disrupt Eve's schooling.

The mother-of-one had been living Perth while her gym-owner boyfriend was based in Melbourne.
She usually favours a more skimpy style of clothing.

And Cara De La Hoyde kept covered up in a giant, faux fur trimmed coat when she stepped out in Brentwood, Essex on Friday with her fellow Love Island stars.

The 25-year-old beauty was dressed to impress in a barely-there bodysuit featuring a completely sheer skirt.

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Making a statement: Cara De La Hoyde kept covered up in a giant, faux fur trimmed coat when she stepped out in Brentwood, Essex on Friday with her fellow Love Island stars

However, she ensured the plunging number was a little less risque by donning an oversized, camouflage print coat over the top.

The faux fur trimmed jacket ensured Cara stayed snug, while adding a touch of glamour to the look.

She styled her long dark locks down loose and highlighted her features with pale pink gloss.

Cara was joined by loving boyfriend Nathan Massey, who was smartly dressed in a camel coat and skinny jeans.

Skimpy: The 25-year-old beauty was dressed to impress in a barely-there bodysuit featuring a completely sheer skirt

Brr: She ensured the plunging number was a little less risque by donning an oversized, camouflage print coat over the top

Covering up: The faux fur trimmed jacket ensured Cara stayed snug, while adding a touch of glamour to the look

Joining them on the outing was Olivia Buckland and her beau Alex Bowen, who also fell in love on reality show Love Island this summer.

Cara seemed to have enlisted Nathan's help for another sultry shot as she posted yet another raunchy offering to Instagram on Thursday.

Clad in just her lingerie, the brunette showed off her enviably peachy posterior as she rested on her knees.

Here he comes: Cara was joined by loving boyfriend Nathan Massey, who was smartly dressed in a camel coat and skinny jeans

Fancy footwear: The reality starlet completed her ensemble with peep-toe ankle boots

Hitting the town: Also joining the duo on their night out were their Love Island pals Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen

Gazing sultrily away from the lens, the reality starlet oozed glamour in the saucy shot.

Wearing her raven coloured tresses back in a high ponytail, she offered more of a look at her phenomenal figure.

The raunchy image was reminiscent of a snap posted earlier this month by her beau.

Bootylicious! Love Island winner Cara shared another raunchy snap earlier this month which saw her clad in just her lingerie as she gazed away from the camera

Knows her angles! Cara and boyfriend Nathan recently gushed over her intimate holiday belfie as they shared a snap from their recent break to Florida

The intimate photo - which saw Cara don a black crop top and thong was championed by her proud-as-punch beau Nathan, 26, who gushed over the racy snap.

'When you get your girl some CK undies.. all girls should wear these', he captioned the image.

And Cara quickly regrammed the semi-clad self, responding: 'When your mans proud of you it's the best feeling ever' (sic).

Fun in the sun! The duo are currently enjoying a sun-soaked break in Florida, visiting Disneyland this week

Following their victory on Love Island Nathan and Cara have been inseparable since setting up home together back in England.

Speaking to the Daily Star earlier this year, Cara revealed: 'It was Nathans idea for me to move to Essex and for us to get a place together.

'Its been a different way of starting a relationship but now we have the time to get to know each other properly.

Success! The besotted couple met on Love Island- which the won- earlier this year

'And we both think well be together forever, and have the whole marriage and kids thing.'

The Essex-born due also recently made their debut on TOWIE.

Surprising the castmembers, the happy couple announced they were 'getting a baby'.

And as Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet looked on in surprise, they admitted: 'We're getting a baby French bulldog!'.
With three kids and two dogs running around, the holidays are surely a chaotic time at the Baldwin household.

And on Saturday morning, Alec Baldwin, 58, and Hilaria Baldwin, 32, were spotted running some last-minute Christmas errands around New York City.

The couple used teamwork to multitask - walking their pups, taking one-year-old Rafael out for some fresh air, and shopping for Christmas ornaments all at the same time.

Teamwork: Hands-on father Alec Baldwin, 58, and yoga instructor wife Hilaria, 32, were spotted running some last minute errands with Rafael and their dogs

Alec held on to two leashes while wearing a gray t-shirt, black pants, black leather boots and a black pea-coat buttoned to shield him from the NYC chill.

The Golden Globe award winner looked tired and ready for a relaxing holiday, his peppered gray hair uncombed.

The doting father reached out to Rafael lovingly, who was slung onto his younger wife's body through a baby carrier wrap.

Hilaria, curing her sleepiness with a cup of coffee in hand, was ready for a day of last-minute shopping in a comfortable sweat outfit.

Bring it on: Hilaria, curing her sleepiness with a cup of coffee in hand, was ready for a day of last-minute shopping in a comfortable sweat outfit

She wore her favorite gray sweat pants with 'Paris' written down the side of one leg paired with a black shirt and a cozy gray cardigan sweater.

To further cover up from the cold, the yoga instructor threw on a cream-coloured scarf.

For shoes, the sensible Spanish beauty chose brown and gray loafers.

Her hair was pulled back into a low-maintenance pony tail and she hid behind a large pair of dark shades.

The only accessory visible on the author's slender frame was a pair of diamond stud earrings.

Comfort first: One-year-old Rafael, the couple's middle child, looked cozy in his sling as he donned layers of shirts and a warm panda beanie to cover his small head

One-year-old Rafael, the couple's middle child, looked cozy in his sling as he donned layers of shirts and a warm panda beanie to cover his small head.

Alec - known for voicing his political opinions and for impersonating Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live - recently took to Twitter to express his feelings about Trump's upcoming inauguration.

Before sarcastically offering to perform Highway to Hell by AC/DC at the President-elect's inaugural ceremony, the actor wrote:

Opinionated: The actor took to Twitter to express his feelings about Trump's upcoming inauguration

'We are not far from the day when the most reviled candidate in our history will become President. Unwanted by a significant majority of voters.

'A man who has projected little other than an empty braggadocio and synthetic rhetoric about both his qualifications and plans.

'But Inauguration Day means the beginning of the countdown to when he will be gone. And he will be gone. January 20. The countdown begins.'
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He jetted back to the US on Saturday, after spending some time in his native Australia this week.

And Hollywood heavyweight Hugh Jackman sent a sweet message to his fans on Instagram, wishing them happy holidays.

Posing in front of an elaborate Christmas Tree, Hugh, 48, captioned the image: 'Happy holidays to all!'

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'Happy holidays to all': Australian actor Hugh Jackman shared a sweet message to fans on Instagram this week

Smiling and appearing relaxed, the Wolverine star rugged up in a navy knitted jumper, with a dark T-shirt underneath.

His Christmas tree was ornate in design, featuring white decorations including owls and snowflakes.

Glass ornaments were also used and fairy lights.

Views: The Hollywood actor recently spent time in his native of Australia

It came after Hugh and his adopted son Oscar, 16, spent time in Australia this week.

The pair were seen in Bondi and seen heading to the airport to catch a flight to New York.

Beforehand, the actor shared to Instagram a shot of himself posing with some friends and instructors at a Yoga, pilates and barre studio called Yoga Bar.

Wedded bliss! Hugh is based in New York with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, 61, and their children Oscar and Ava, 11 (seen in November in New York)

He captioned the image: 'One last session @the_yogabar before heading home.'

Hugh is based in New York with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, 61, and their children Oscar and Ava, 11.

Hugh met Deborra-Lee in 1995 on set of Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series, Correlli.

The couple enjoyed a whirlwind romance, marrying the following year in Melbourne.
She has been relaxing with boyfriend Simon Cowell during their annual Barbados trip this week.

And Lauren Silverman seemed to be reaping the rewards of her sun-soaked break on the Caribbean island as she hit the beach looking well-rested on Saturday.

The brunette beauty showcased her svelte physique in a racy one-shoulder swimsuit as she larked about on the white sands with the 57-year-old music mogul.

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Beach babe! Lauren Silverman seemed to be reaping the rewards of her sun-soaked break in Barbados as she hit the beach looking well-rested on Saturday

Lauren looked every inch the beach babe in the sizzling black one-piece which featured slashed detail at the shoulder and a high cut to emphasize her lean limbs.

Shielding her peepers from the bright sun, she rocked some gold oversized shades and wore her raven tresses scraped back in a sleek high ponytail.

Meanwhile, Simon kept it lowkey with simple white swimming shorts and mirrored aviators as he flashed an amiable peace sign at fellow sun worshippers.

Looking good: The brunette beauty showcased her svelte physique in a racy one-shoulder swimsuit as she larked about on the white sands with boyfriend Simon Cowell

Turning heads: Lauren looked every inch the beach babe in the sizzling black one-piece which featured slashed detail at the shoulder and a high cut to emphasize her lean limbs

Making a splash: Shielding her peepers from the bright sun, she rocked some gold oversized shades and wore her raven tresses scraped back in a sleek high ponytail

Simon traditionally spends Christmas on the Caribbean island at the exclusive One Sandy Lane complex and often brings his former flames - notably close pal Sinitta - with him.

Sinitta was joined by boyfriend Jason Gale for the trip and she also brought along her children Magdalena and Zac with her daughter holding a Yorkshire Terrier dog for their day at the beach.

Despite all his worldly success Simon Cowell is just like any other parent, as the 57-year-old music mogul revealed his 'worst nightmare' would be to outlive his son.

Fun in the sun: Simon kept it lowkey with simple white swimming shorts and mirrored aviators

In great spirits: Lauren flashed a grin as Simon puffed away on a cigarette behind her

Turning heads: Lauren later concealed her trim figure in a black open knit sarong tied loosely around her hips

Explaining his fatherly fears, he said: 'Knowing you will outlive your own child is everyones worst nightmare and I am more aware than ever that it can happen to anyone.'

In a heartfelt talk with the Mirror, Simon admitted that he has a new perspective on life thanks to his son.

'Now that I am a father I understand on a much deeper level how devastating it would be to hear the news that your child was unwell,' said Simon.

Taking centre-stage! Lauren later hit the surf, armed with a life jacket

Well-deserved break: She seemed to enjoy herself as she hopped on a jetski

Round of applause? Simon seemed to start clapping as he hit the idyllic white sands

Mr Nice Guy: He flashed an amiable peace sign at fellow sun worshippers

Meanwhile Cowell's X Factor colleague Nicole Scherzinger admits Eric is already following in his father's footsteps.

'I think he just cloned himself. He is just like Simon, he never listens to me,' she told The Jonathan Ross Show.

'I'll say, "Eric give me a hug" and he walks away. I'll say "Do you want a cookie? Can I have a bite of your orange?" and he just ignores me. He goes to his dad all the time, he loves his dad.'

Annual tradition: Simon traditionally spends Christmas on the Caribbean island at the exclusive One Sandy Lane complex and often brings his former flames - notably close pal Sinitta - with him

Having a whale of a time: The X Factor judge appeared to be having a great time
Kim Kardashian has booked her first work appearance since she was the victim of a terrifying jewelery heist back in October.

The reality star will appear at a demonstration alongside her longtime make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic in Dubai on January 13.

Tickets for the event cost from $528.48 to $1,667.94, and will include a free notepad and pen - all the better to note Kim's words of wisdom.

Kim Kardashian books first work after Paris heist... a Dubai make-up demo with tickets up to $1650

According to the flier 'Mario and Kim will share personal stories from their ten years of adventures working together and traveling the world.'

The event marks the first time Kim has appeared at an event, other than family outings, since she was robbed of $8.5million worth of jewels in Paris.

And according to the latest update, Parisian police are 'nowhere near' finding out the identities of the five-men gang who robbed the mother of two at gunpoint.

A police source told Us Magazine: Two months on and we're nowhere near finding who the robbers are. You could call it strange, but actually it can take months, even years to solve a heist mystery. There's a lot that goes on beyond the initial evidence collecting. It can take a long time.'

Getting back to normal: Kim was seen at a performance of The Nutcracker on Friday night with husband Kanye West

Despite the expected longevity of the case, officers from the renowned crime unit La Brigade de Repression du Banditisme - also known as B.R.B - who are investigating the incident, are 'confident' the culprits will be caught.

Paris police chief Christian Sainte said shortly after the attack in the French capital: 'The B.R.B. has experience with people who attack with arms, and a big part of the brigade is now working on the Kim Kardashian case.
New Zealand defends UN vote as Israel recalls ambassador

New Zealand said Saturday the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements should have come as no surprise to the Jewish State, after Israel retaliated by recalling its ambassador to Wellington.

New Zealand co-sponsored the resolution which described the settlements in the occupied territories as a major stumbling block to Middle East peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state.

There was applause in the UN chamber when the first resolution by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in more than 38 years to condemn Israel over its settlement policy was passed 14-0, with the country's key ally the United States abstaining.

Members of the UN Security Council vote on December 23, 2016, on a resolution to stop Israeli settlements Manuel ELIAS (SC Chamber/AFP)

Israel refused to recognise the resolution with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman tweeting that their ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, who co-sponsored the resolution, were to return to Israel immediately.

"These steps are taken against countries that have tabled the draft resolution to the UNSC and have diplomatic relations with Israel," he said.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the decision should have been no surprise to Israel which knew Wellington's position long before the UN vote.

"Israel has informed us of their decision to recall their ambassador to New Zealand for consultations," McCully told AFP in a statement.

"We have been very open about our view that the (Security Council) should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question.

"The vote today should not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue."

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution".

Netanyahu's office described the UN move as a "shameful anti-Israel resolution".

Malaysia and Venezuela also sponsored the UN resolution but do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
DR Congo crisis talks suspended, hopes for deal by year end

Talks to end DR Congo's dangerous political crisis were suspended on Saturday until after Christmas after a fruitless 48 hours of negotiations over President Joseph Kabila's refusal to quit power.

Kabila's second and final five-year term ended on December 20, but he has shown no intention of leaving office soon, sparking violent protests that have left at least 40 people dead, according to the United Nations.

The informal talks, mediated by the influential Catholic Church since December 8, are now expected to resume after a Christmas break with hopes of a deal by December 30.

DR Congo President Joseph Kabila's second and final term ended December 20, but he has shown no intention of leaving, sparking protests that have left at least 40 dead LIONEL HEALING (AFP/File)

"We think that Friday will be the day... during which an agreement will be adopted and signed," said Marcel Utembi, president of the Congo National Episcopal Conference (CENCO), who had pushed for a deal before Christmas.

The talks between the government and opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo had raised hopes this week of an imminent deal, with a draft seen by AFP outlining plans for fresh elections at the end of next year, when Kabila would step down.

But that optimism has been slipping, and negotiators from the two camps left church offices in Kinshasa just before 5:30 am (0430 GMT) without a deal to prevent a fresh descent into conflict in a country that has suffered two horrific wars since 1996.

After an all-night discussion "we reached the end of the tunnel," said Utembi, the archbishop of Kinshasa, who also stressed that "95 percent of the differences over the management of the transitional period have been ironed out."

But others indicated there was still a long way to go.

"Everything is still blocked on how (public affairs) will be managed during the transition period," said opposition delegate Francois Muamba.

- 'Serious mediocrity' -

A frustrated CENCO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had blasted DR Congo's political class for "serious mediocrity" in their inability to reach a deal during the marathon talks.

"They have called into question everything we arranged the day before," the official said.

Tensions are running high, with security forces spraying live ammunition at a string of anti-Kabila protests in Kinshasa and other towns this week, killing at least 40 civilians, according to the UN.

Congolese police put the toll at 20 dead, saying they had largely been killed in "looting" or by "stray bullets".

Other sources say somewhere between 56 and 125 people have been killed in a week of clashes, not counting the unknown toll from fighting between security forces and an anti-government militia in the central town of Kananga.

Kabila, 45, has been in power since the 2001 assassination of his father Laurent at the height of the Second Congo War.

He was confirmed as leader of the mineral-rich nation in 2006 during the first free elections since independence from Belgium in 1960, and re-elected for a second term in 2011 in a vote marred by allegations of massive fraud.

Constitutionally banned from seeking a third term, he obtained a controversial court ruling in May stating that he could remain in power until a successor was chosen.

DR Congo has never seen a democratic transfer of power following polls since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Two decades ago, the country collapsed into the deadliest conflict in modern African history. Its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s pulled in at least six African armies and left more than three million dead.

A man is arrested by a member of the military police after people attempted to block a road with rocks in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on December 19, 2016 Griff Tapper (AFP/File)
Hamas welcomes landmark UN vote on Israel settlements

Hamas on Saturday welcomed a landmark UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlements in occupied territory, with the Palestinian Islamist movement saying it marked an "important evolution."

The UN Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing the resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally.

Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, remains deeply divided from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, which dominates the occupied West Bank.

Members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, take part in a rally marking the 29th anniversary of the creation of the movement on December 16, 2016 Said Khatib (AFP/File)

"Hamas appreciates the position of the countries that voted in the Security Council for the right of the Palestinian people (to live) on their land," said Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum.

"We salute this important evolution in international positions," he said, while calling for more such actions to bring about "the end of the occupation."

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but has occupied the West Bank for nearly 50 years.

There have been growing warnings that settlement building in the West Bank is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While the Palestine Liberation Organisation has recognised Israel's right to exist, Hamas, which is not part of the PLO, calls for its destruction.

It is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, the European Union and the United States.

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars with Israel since 2008, while the enclave has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade. Its border with Egypt has also remained largely closed.

UN officials have called for the blockade to be lifted, saying conditions are deteriorating in the impoverished territory of two million people.

Israel says it is needed to keep Hamas from importing weapons or materials used to make them.

Islamic Jihad, the second-largest force in Gaza, also welcomed the UN vote, with spokesman Daoud Shehab saying it would lead to Israel's "isolation" and "boycott" while opening it up to prosecution under international law.

Settlements in the West Bank Kun TIAN, Gillian HANDYSIDE (AFP)
Iran nuclear deal powers to meet January 10

A high-level commission that oversees Iran's nuclear deal with world powers will meet in Vienna on January 10 to address a complaint by Tehran about the renewing of sanctions by the United States.

The meeting was called on Saturday by the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who coordinates follow-up of the nuclear deal for its signatories -- Iran, the US, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

"The meeting will review the implementation of the agreement and discuss the issues raised in the letter (Iranian) Foreign Minister Zarif addressed on 16 December to (Mogherini)," a short statement from the EU said.

Both Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,(pictured) and President Hassan Rouhani have called US renewal of sanctions a "clear violation" of the nuclear accord HO (KHAMENEI.IR/AFP/File)

The officials will meet 10 days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, who has promised to tear up the nuclear deal once in the White House.

Zarif formally requested the meeting after Washington on December 2 extended the Iran Sanctions Act -- which mostly seeks to limit Iran's oil and gas trade -- for another decade.

Although it received overwhelming support from the US Congress, President Barack Obama argues the act is largely symbolic since its measures are suspended as long as the nuclear deal remains in place.

Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, disagree, calling it a "clear violation".

Another concern for Iran is a wider frustration that the nuclear deal has not produced many of the expected benefits due to the reluctance of international banks to do business in the country.

Zariff could use the meeting to complain that although hundreds of European companies are desperate to resume trading with Iran, major lenders are still refusing to facilitate big transactions.

This is because Washington still has a number of non-nuclear sanctions in place that prevent anyone doing business with a long list of Iranians it says are linked to terrorism, human rights abuses and its ballistic missile programme.
Iraqis mark Christmas Eve in town recaptured from IS

Iraqi Christians filled the pews of the fire-scarred Mar Shimoni church in a town east of Mosul on Christmas Eve for the first service since its recapture from jihadists.

The Islamic State group destroyed crosses at the church in the town of Bartalla and set it alight, but volunteers worked for days to ready it for the service, the first held here in two and a half years.

The damage done by IS is still visible: pieces of crosses can be found in and around the church, parts of it are still charred from the flames, and the face of a statue near its entrance has been smashed, the hands broken off.

An Iraqi general attends a Christmas Eve service for Iraqi Christians at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla near Mosul, on December 24, 2016 Safin Hamed (AFP)

But a new cross has been erected on top of the church, and the Christmas Eve service held here is a step on what will be a long road to recovery for the town.

For some of the displaced Christians of Bartalla, it was a deeply emotional experience.

"I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned," said Nada Yaqub.

"We felt that our cross is still around our necks. No one could take it from us."

Matti Hanna called the jihadists who displaced the town's people "criminals".

"My feelings are the feelings of all the people of Bartalla, the same feelings: we missed this day... we missed it a lot," said Hanna.

IS seized Bartalla and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014, leaving Christians with the grim choices of conversion, paying a tax, fleeing or death.

The town was recaptured as part of the massive military operation to retake Mosul, the last IS-held Iraqi city, which was launched on October 17.

- 'We are staying' -

Worshippers travelled in buses from Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil to Bartalla for the service.

It was held with security forces deployed around the church, in a town marred by smashed buildings and IS graffiti.

But there were some festive aspects as well: a Christmas tree decorated in ornaments, coloured lights and topped by a star stood at the entrance to the church compound, and the bell at Mar Shimoni was rung at the beginning and end of the service.

Worshippers held candles during the service, which was conducted in Aramaic and Arabic, the air smelling of incense, gas heaters only slightly warming the chilly air.

"We want to deliver the message that we are staying in this country and that these are our roots and our origins," Father Yaqub Saadi, the church's priest, told AFP.

Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a senior commander in the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, attended the service, as did Nawfal Hammadi, the governor of Nineveh province, where Bartalla is located.

A group of American soldiers also came, but faced some difficulties when one of their heavy armoured vehicles became stuck in a muddy section of a street near the church.

The soldiers entered the church without their usual weapons or body armour, with most of them sitting in a group in the back.

While Bartalla and other Christian areas around Mosul have been recaptured from IS, the large-scale return of residents is still a long way off, with bombs planted by the jihadists still a threat and basic services needing to be restored.

Yaqub said that even though her house in Bartalla was destroyed, she still hopes to come back.

"God willing, I will return," she said.

Iraqi Christians are escorted by security forces as they walk to attend a Christmas Eve service at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla near Mosul Safin Hamed (AFP)

Iraqi security forces stand guard as Iraqi Christians attend a Christmas Eve service at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla near Mosul Safin Hamed (AFP)
Tunisia arrests nephew, two others linked to Berlin suspect: ministry

Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are "connected" to the Tunisian assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry said Saturday.

A statement said the three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Friday and were members of a "terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri".

It made no direct link between the suspects and Monday's deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

Tunisian Anis Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market

The interior ministry said that Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist "takfiri" ideology "and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

The nephew also told investigators that Amri "sent him money through the post... so that he could join him in Germany," the statement added.

The unnamed nephew was reported in the statement to have said that his uncle was the "prince" or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and know as the "Abu al-Walaa" brigade.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

He was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two Italian policemen who had stopped him for a routine identity check Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one of the policemen before being killed by the other.

The Tunisian interior ministry did not specify where the three suspects were arrested but said that the "terrorist cell" was "active" between Fouchana, south of Tunis, and Oueslatia, hometown of Amri's family in central Tunisia.

Berlin attack suspect killed Jean Michel CORNU, Simon MALFATTO (AFP)
Questions and answers on Israeli settlements

The United Nations Security Council has passed a landmark resolution condemning Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank after the United States refrained from using its veto.

Here are some key questions and answers on Israeli settlements:

- What are settlements? -

Young Israeli settlers gather in the settlement outpost of Amona in the West Bank on December 18, 2016 MENAHEM KAHANA (AFP/File)

Settlements are Israeli villages, towns and even cities built on territory Israel seized during the 1967 Six Day War.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank, along with 2.6 million Palestinians.

A further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, along with at least 300,000 Palestinians, who want to make east Jerusalem the capital of their future state.

Israel also seized part of the Golan Heights from Syria and the Gaza Strip from Egypt and established settlements in both. It evacuated the Gaza settlements in 2005.

- What is their legal status? -

From the 1970s, Israel established a network of settlements throughout the occupied West Bank.

The Oslo accords of the 1990s divided the territory into Israeli and Palestinian-governed zones meant to lay the ground for a future Palestinian state, but Israel continued to build and expand settlements there.

Palestinian violence has also led to calls from some Israelis to build more settlements in response.

The United Nations and most of the international community see Israeli settlements in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem -- which Israel annexed in 1980 -- as illegal.

Israel differentiates between those it has approved and those it has not, often called outposts.

- Who are the settlers? -

Many Israeli settlers moved to the West Bank and east Jerusalem in search of affordable housing.

The government encouraged them to move to cities such as Ariel, Maale Adumim and the ultra-Orthodox settlements of Beitar Ilit and Modiin Ilit.

There are also many religious nationalist hardliners who see living in the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria as fulfilling a divine promise.

Hundreds of them live near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a holy site for both Jews and Muslims and a focal point of violence between Israelis and Palestinians

- How do the Palestinians see settlements? -

Palestinians consider Israeli settlements a war crime and a major obstacle to peace.

The Palestinians want Israel to withdraw from all land it occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War and to dismantle all Jewish settlements, although they have accepted the principle of minor land swaps equal in size and value.

Israel rules out a full return to pre-1967 borders but has expressed a willingness to pull out of some parts of the West Bank while annexing its largest settlement blocs which are home to the majority of the settlers in the territory.

Settlements in the West Bank Kun TIAN, Gillian HANDYSIDE (AFP)
Blast kills 2 at Aleppo ammo store: state media

Two people were killed Saturday in a blast at an ammunitions warehouse formerly used by rebels in the battered Syrian city of Aleppo, state media said.

SANA news agency said the explosion took place at a school that had been transformed into "an ammunitions and explosive devices warehouse left behind by terrorist groups in the Sukkari neighbourhood".

Citing a police source, it said another 33 people were wounded in the blast, four of them critically, but did not specify whether they were civilians or government forces.

Residents use a tractor to collect belongings in the former rebel-held Zebdiye district in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 23, 2016 after government forces retook control of the whole embattled city George OURFALIAN (AFP)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported five killed in the blast, but said it took place as army troops were clearing mines.

The Britain-based monitor said one other person was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated at a home in the Ansari district.

Since declaring Aleppo fully under its control on Thursday, Syria's army has been scouring former rebel neighbourhoods for explosives and mines.

President Bashar al-Assad's victory in Aleppo is the most devastating blow to rebel forces since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

For more than four years, the northern city was divided between opposition fighters in the east and regime forces in the west.

On Saturday, six civilians were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held town of Atareb, west of Aleppo city, the Observatory said.

At least two children were among the dead, according to the monitor.

It could not immediately specify who had carried out the air raids, but Russian and regime warplanes typically carry out raids in Aleppo province.

An AFP correspondent in Atareb said military aircraft could be seen circling above the town and a nearby village throughout the day.
Two militants linked to cafe siege killed in Dhaka raid

Two militants linked to the Islamist extremist group behind July's Dhaka cafe siege that left 22 people dead were killed Saturday after Bangladesh police raided a hideout in the capital, officials said.

Security forces, acting on a tip, besieged a flat in Dhaka's Dakshinkhan neighbourhood for more than 12 hours, with the operation coming to an end at around 4.00 pm (1000 GMT) after officers exchanged gun-fire with the militants, police said.

A child was also injured when one of the militants, a woman who was holding the child, exploded a vest she was wearing.

Members of the Bangladeshi Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) gather at the site of an operation against suspected Islamist extremists in Dhaka on December 24, 2016 Munir Uz Zaman (AFP)

"Two extremists were killed including a woman who detonated a suicide vest," Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP.

He said the two were members of a faction of the JMB (Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh), the banned extremist outfit blamed for a wave of attacks including the July 1 massacre at a Dhaka restaurant in which 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed.

Dhaka police chief Asaduzzaman Mia said the female militant exploded the vest in an attempt to target the security forces.

"The woman came forward and tried to come near police... she conducted suicide blast," Mia told reporters after the raid.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a wave of attacks on foreigners, rights activists and members of religious minorities.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government blames local militant groups like JMB for the carnage, rejecting claims by the Islamic State group and Al Qaeda.
Pilgrims in Bethlehem, fears in Europe on Christmas Eve

Christian leaders from the Vatican to Bethlehem struck a sombre note on Christmas Eve speaking of war, fear and division, as cities in Europe ramped up security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the world's 1.2 billion Catholics to feel compassion for children, notably victims of war, migration and homelessness in his Christmas Eve mass.

Addressing a 10,000-strong crowd late Saturday in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff urged worshippers to think of the children "hiding underground to escape bombardment", in apparent reference to Syria.

People take part in the Christmas Eve celebrations on December 24, 2016 outside the Church of the Nativity, revered as the site of Jesus Christ's birth, in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem Hazem Bader (AFP)

In Bethlehem, some 2,500 worshippers packed the Church of the Nativity complex, built over the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born, for midnight mass in the Israeli-occupied West Bank near Jerusalem.

Like Pope Francis, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa also used his homily to plead for compassion for refugees and for a halt to the violence wracking the Middle East.

"We fear the stranger who knocks at the door of our home and at the borders of our countries," he said at the mass, which was attended by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and other dignitaries.

"Closed doors, defended borders, before personal and political choices, are a metaphor for the fear that inevitably breed the violent dynamics of the present time."

Security was tight across Israel where Christmas coincided with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Prepared remarks by the leader of the world's Anglicans noted 2016 had left the world "more awash with fear and division".

"The end of 2016 finds us all in a different kind of world; one less predictable and certain, which feels more awash with fear and division," Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was to say in his Christmas Day sermon on Sunday.

- Candles, flowers in Berlin -

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from Monday's truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

German authorities were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed Friday in a shoot-out with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Tunisia said Saturday it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."

Security was also tight at Milan's cathedral, where Italian police were out in force and concrete barricades were erected around the historic Piazza del Duomo.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers were deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

- Icy swim, meat auction -

Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional revelry.

Among them some 30 hardy Slovaks participated in a winter swim at Bratislava's Zlate Piesky lake, some drinking beer in the nearly freezing water.

In London, meat-lovers converged on Smithfield Market for the traditional Christmas Eve auction at butcher Harts, waving banknotes in the air as they bid on turkeys, pork cuts and rump steaks.

Meanwhile, in debt-ridden Greece, Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos sent Christmas cards featuring the tight-fisted Dickensian protagonist of "A Christmas Carol", Ebenezer Scrooge, in a jibe to the country's creditors.

- First Aleppo mass in years -

Christians in Syria's Aleppo were preparing for celebrations after President Bashar al-Assad's forces retook full control of the city following a rebel withdrawal this week.

Members of Aleppo's Catholic minority have been prepping for the first Christmas mass in five years at the Old City's Saint Elias Cathedral, whose roof collapsed under a salvo of rocket fire.

"All our memories are here -- this is where we celebrated all our feast days, our joys," said Bashir Badawi, rummaging through rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene.

"We want to transform all this destruction into something beautiful."

In Bartalla, near the Iraqi city of Mosul, Christians filled the pews of the fire-scarred Mar Shimoni church for the first service since the town was retaken from IS who seized it in 2014.

"I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned," said Nada Yaqub. "We felt that our cross is still around our necks. No one could take it from us."

The patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael Sako, urged international protection for Christians displaced by war so they could return to their homes.

- Blast in Philippines -

In the mostly Catholic Philippines, a blast ripped through a police car outside a church as worshippers were arriving for a Christmas Eve mass south of Manila, injuring 13 people.

On the east coast, authorities evacuated thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the area on Christmas Day before moving to the main island of Luzon.

In the United States, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama sent their final Christmas salutations from the White House on Saturday, highlighting common values uniting Americans of all faiths.

Palestinians attend a Christian scouts performance at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on December 24, 2016 during Christmas celebrations in the city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Hazem Bader (AFP)

A man places a candle on the memorial at the Christmas market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin on December 24, 2016 John Macdougall (AFP)

People mourn at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Christmas market attack near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin John Macdougall (AFP)

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East John X Yazigi leads prayers during Christmas mass at the Elias Orthodox Church in Aleppo on December 24, 2016 George OURFALIAN (AFP)
Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday lashed out at the US for slapping sanctions on Syrian ministers and a Russian bank, saying Washington had 'completely lost its grip on reality'.

The United States on Friday added several senior Syrian officials including the ministers of oil and of finance and the leadership of a Russian bank to its sanctions blacklist.

'This widening of American sanctions against Russia ... at a time when the bloody attacks in Ankara and Berlin should bring reasonable people together to fight the terrorist threat shows that Washington has completely lost its grip on reality,' the ministry said in a statement.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual press conference in Moscow on December 23

The US was trying to ''punish' us for our support to the Syrian government in the fight against terrorism which is a threat not only to that country but to the whole world', it said.

Washington's 'desire for regime change in Syria is so strong that it is ready to help any destructive force', the ministry said.

'We will not give in to sanctions,' it said, adding that targeted Russian companies were 'functioning normally'.

Syria has been locked in war for more than five years, leaving more than 310,000 people dead and millions more displaced.

The conflict began as a pro-democracy revolt but later morphed into an all-out civil war after President Bashar al-Assad's troops unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent.

It has since become a complex, multi-front conflict, drawing in global powers as well as militias and jihadists.

While Western powers and some regional states have backed the rebellion, Russia and Iran have thrown their full weight behind Assad's regime.

In announcing the blacklist additions, Washington also imposed sanctions on Syrian airline Cham Wings, accused of transporting foreign militiamen to fight in the country's brutal civil war.

US officials also targeted two companies allegedly owned or operated by a Assad's cousin Rami Makhluf, which they said had handled oil drilled in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

The east of Syria has fallen to IS and, while the regime and its allies have fought the extremists, officials have been accused of trading oil from jihadist-held territory.

The fresh sanctions came as the government recaptured the rebel-held east of Aleppo, the country's second city, after a fierce month-long offensive that saw thousands of civilians and rebels evacuated in recent days.

'The daily attacks on civilian centers by the government of Syria led by Bashar al-Assad are reprehensible, and both the Government and its enablers must be isolated and held accountable for their barbarism,' said Adam Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
HRW urges protection for Libya civilians

Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the Libyan government to protect civilians who were detained after fleeing former Islamic State group stronghold Sirte.

"Libyan authorities should ensure the safety of and urgently provide medical care for more than 120 women and children being held in a Misrata prison" on suspicion of jihadist links, it said.

Forces allied with Libya's unity government said on December 5 that they had ousted IS from the coastal city, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, after seven months of fighting.

A member of the Libyan forces of the National Accord (GNA) patrols Sirte's Al-Giza Al-Bahriya district on December 20, 2016 after they drove the Islamic State (IS) group out of its Libyan stronghold earlier in the month MAHMUD TURKIA (AFP/File)

The jihadists had seized Sirte, the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, in June 2015 amid the chaos following Kadhafi's downfall in 2011.

After evacuating the city, Libyan authorities detained a number of civilians suspected of IS links, fears heightened by cases where women blew themselves up after leaving the city.

HRW said authorities have "an obligation to ensure the well-being and security of the women and children" and should not detain them on the basis of suspected relationships to IS fighters.

It cited a prison official who said none of the women had identification documents and another who said some of the women appeared to have been abducted by IS.
Tunisians protest against return of jihadists

Hundreds of people gathered outside Tunisia's parliament on Saturday to protest against letting jihadists who fought overseas to return to the country.

"No to freedom for terrorist groups!" protestors chanted.

Some held placards calling for "political will against terrorist groups".

Tunisian women shout slogans during a demonstration outside parliament against allowing Tunisians who joined the ranks of jihadist groups to return to the country, in the capital Tunis on December 24, 2016 FETHI BELAID (AFP)

Organisers said 1,500 people attended the rally.

It was held on the same day authorities said they had arrested three alleged jihadists connected to the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker, Tunisian Anis Amri.

Protestors slammed Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist Ennahda party, who has in the past supported the idea of allowing Tunisian jihadists who "repent" and renounce violence to return home.

President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier this month that Tunisia would refuse to pardon Tunisians who fight for jihadist organisations.

"Many of them want to return, and we can't prevent a Tunisian from returning to his country," he told AFP, "but we will be vigilant."

Following a storm of criticism in the press and on social media, on December 15 he told Tunisian local television that "we will not be indulgent with the terrorists".

More than 5,000 Tunisians are fighting for jihadist groups abroad, mainly in Iraq, Syria or neighbouring Libya, according to a UN working group on mercenaries.

On Friday evening, the country's Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub told parliament 800 Tunisian nationals who had fought for extremist groups abroad had since returned to the country.
UN Israel vote to make peace negotiations 'much harder': Trump

US President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the UN vote demanding Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory would make a peace deal "much harder," but said it could happen anyway.

"The big loss yesterday for Israel in the United Nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace.Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!" Trump said in a message on Twitter.

The UN vote Friday marked a stark turnabout in longstanding US custom at the world body.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the USA Thank You Tour 2016 at the Giant Center on December 15, 2016 in Hershey, Pennsylvania DON EMMERT (AFP/File)

The Security Council passed the measure after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

By deciding not to veto the move, the US took a rare step that deeply angered Israel, which accused President Barack Obama of abandoning its closest Middle East ally in the waning days of his administration.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the resolution as a "shameful blow against Israel at the United Nations."

Trump, who campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, had bluntly said Thursday that Washington should use its veto to block the resolution.

"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations," he said in a statement.
Santa Claus is coming to Tehran

Tehran might not seem like the most obvious pitstop for Santa Claus, but Iranians love the chintzy side of Christmas and it is also one of the safest places in the Middle East for Christians.

The past month has seen shoppers flocking to the Armenian district of Somayeh -- the biggest Christian area in the city -- to pick up fake trees, and stock up on baubles, reindeer toys and plastic snowmen.

"It's really interesting and attractive for us," said Niloufar, a Muslim women in her thirties who was out shopping with her husband on Christmas Eve.

Shoppers in Tehran have been flocking to the Armenian district of Somayeh, the biggest Christian area in the city, to pick up fake trees, baubles and plastic snowmen ATTA KENARE (AFP)

"I love the decorations, the tree. We see it as showing a kind of respect for other beliefs. And of course I like all the chocolates!"

Shoppers line up for selfies with one of several Santas stationed outside stores on the main drag.

One Father Christmas, full of the festive spirit, breaks into an impromptu dance to a popular Iranian pop song playing outside a food stall.

Hamed Davoodian owns a grocery store on the street, and says the community never faces any trouble from the authorities.

"Why should we? (Armenians) have been here for 400 years. They are great to us," he said, adding proudly that Christians fought alongside their fellow Iranians during the brutal war with Iraq in the 1980s.

"There were 30 to 35 martyrs from our neighbourhood," he said.

- Midnight mass -

Thousands of Christians have emigrated to the United States and elsewhere since the Islamic revolution in 1979, leaving only 120,000 Christians according to the last official count.

Most are Armenian -- who are Orthodox Christian -- along with a few thousand Assyrian Catholics.

Despite the exodus, Christians are officially recognised and protected -- along with Jews and Zoroastrians -- under laws introduced by the revolution's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

There are limitations. Converting Muslims is illegal, which leads authorities to crack down on Persian-language Bibles. Services must be carried out in the original language of the ethnic group.

Human Rights Watch says Persian-speaking converts face persecution.

But there are none of those concerns at St Joseph's Catholic Church in downtown Tehran on Christmas Eve, where it is standing-room only for the midnight mass, delivered in the Assyrian language.

Archbishop Ramzi Garmou tells AFP that Christianity in the region dates back to the second century when St Thomas passed through on his way to India.

Having once numbered in the tens of millions, the Christian community is now tiny, and Garmou says he normally sees only a few dozen for Sunday mass -- not least because it's a working day in Iran and traffic is horrendous.

"But I've always said that the strength of the church is not in the number of its followers but the faith they show in their daily lives," he said.

And he is grateful that Iran is such an oasis of peace in a region beset by war, and in which Christians face mounting persecution.

"Thanks to God, we really live in peace and security, but our neighbours live in anguish and violence. We pray for them tonight," he said.

Iranians take a selfie infront of Christmas decorations at a shop in the capital Tehran ATTA KENARE (AFP)

Iranian Christians attend Christmas Eve mass at the St Joseph Armenian Catholic church in Tehran on December 24, 2016, as Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas ATTA KENARE (AFP)
South Koreans to march against president on Christmas Eve

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Large crowds of South Koreans were expected to march in the streets on Saturday, calling for the permanent removal of impeached President Park Geun-hye and extending the historically biggest protest movement in the country to Christmas Eve.

The protest comes as a special prosecutor widens an investigation into a corruption scandal surrounding Park, which saw millions of people take to the streets before the country's opposition-controlled parliament on Dec. 9 voted to impeach her.

Organizers expected Saturday's rally in Seoul to be festive, but there was tension as Park's conservative supporters planned to gather in nearby streets.

The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether Park should permanently step down or be reinstated. Her presidential powers are suspended until then, with the prime minister serving as the government caretaker.

State prosecutors have accused Park of colluding with a longtime friend to extort money and favors from the country's largest companies and allow her confidante to manipulate government affairs from the shadows.

They have now handed over their investigation to special prosecutor Park Young-soo, whose team on Saturday was planning to summon the president's arrested friend, Choi Soon-sil.

Investigators earlier on Saturday summoned the country's former vice sports minister Kim Chong, who among other allegations is suspected of helping Choi wrest money and favors from Samsung, the country's largest business group.

Samsung is under suspicion that it sponsored Choi to win government backing for a controversial merger deal between two affiliates last year that helped promote a father-to-son transfer of leadership and corporate wealth at the group.

Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong, son of ailing group chairman Lee Kun-hee, has apologized over the use of corporate funds to buy a horse for Choi's daughter, Yoora Chung, an equestrian athlete, but denied that Samsung sought favors from Choi or Park's administration.

The National Pension Service, which was raided Wednesday, supported the merger between the two Samsung affiliates even though the fund's stake in one of the companies lost an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in value.
Sri Lankan court acquits 5 men accused in lawmaker's death

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)  A Sri Lankan court has acquitted five suspects including three navy personnel who were accused in the shooting death of an outspoken ethnic Tamil lawmaker.

Nadaraja Raviraj was shot dead in his car in 2006 during the country's long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009. He was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority.

The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke on midnight Friday following the unanimous decision reached by the jury in the monthlong trial.
2 dead in Bangladesh raid on suspected militant hideout

NEW DELHI (AP)  A woman and a teenager believed to be linked to a banned Islamist militant group blew themselves up during a police raid on a two-story house in Bangladesh's capital on Saturday, a government minister said.

The woman died after detonating explosives attached to her body during the raid, while the teenage boy's bloodied body was found inside an apartment on the ground floor of the building in Dhaka's Ashkona area, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said. Both were tied to the Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh group, or JMB, he said.

A 7-year-old girl sustained splinter injuries when the woman blew herself up and was being treated at a hospital in Dhaka, Khan said.

A policeman uses a baton to control the crowd near the area where suspected militants are hiding in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Bangladesh's home minister says a woman and a teenager thought to be linked with a banned Islamist militant group have blown themselves up during a police raid on a two-story house in the nation's capital. (AP Photo)

Two other women and two children surrendered in the operation earlier on Saturday, he said.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country, has been experiencing threats recently from radical groups targeting atheists, bloggers, writers, foreigners and minority religious groups.

Masudur Rahman, a spokesman for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told reporters that one of the surrendered women was the wife of a slain JMB military commander who was killed in a police raid in Dhaka in September.

He said the women were taken into police custody and would be questioned.

The secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed JMB for several recent attacks. In a major attack on July 1, young militants belonging to the group killed 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners, in a restaurant in Dhaka.

Since July, police have conducted several raids like Saturday's and killed at least 40 suspects amid a massive manhunt for those responsible for the recent attacks.

Policemen stand guard after cordoning off the building where suspected militants are hiding in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Bangladesh's home minister says a woman and a teenager thought to be linked with a banned Islamist militant group have blown themselves up during a police raid on a two-story house in the nation's capital. (AP Photo)
Explosion rocks east Aleppo in Syria as residents return

BEIRUT (AP)  An explosion rocked eastern Aleppo on Saturday as some residents were returning to their homes after the government assumed full control of the city earlier this week, state TV reported while fresh airstrikes on a rebel-held town near Aleppo killed at least five people.

The airstrikes on areas near the northern city of Aleppo show the government has resumed military activities after days of calm that coincided with the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians and rebels from east Aleppo.

On Thursday, President Bashar Assad's forces took control of eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo for the first time since July 2012, marking the government's biggest victory since the crisis began more than five years ago.

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian army soldiers flash the victory sign near their tank in the Sukkari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016. Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday shelled a neighborhood in the northern city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government forces took control of the whole city after opposition fighters in the eastern parts withdrew, state TV reported. (SANA via AP)

Government forces will likely now try to secure the outskirts of the city as rebels are based in the western and southwestern suburbs of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once commercial center.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike on the town of Atareb, west of Aleppo, killed five people including a man, his daughter and daughter-in-law.

The Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, said the airstrikes killed seven people including a woman and two children.

The Saturday noon airstrike on Atareb came after airstrikes on nearby villages the night before killed three rebels, according to the Observatory.

Earlier Saturday, state TV said the explosion in east Aleppo was caused by a device left inside a school by Syrian rebels, who withdrew from their last remaining enclave under a cease-fire deal after more than four years of fighting. It said three people were wounded in the blast.

A correspondent for Lebanon's Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV was reporting live from the area when the blast sounded in the background, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air. The correspondent later said that at least three people were killed.

In the capital Damascus, state news agency SANA said militants blew up the Barada water pipeline in the suburb of Kafr al-Zayt.

SANA quoted the director of Damascus and Damascus Countryside Water Establishment Hussam Hreidin as saying that the pipeline went out of service due to the attack. He added that the pipeline had been fixed and its service restored on Friday less than a month after a similar attack.

Pro-government media said the government was forced to cut water supplies coming to the Syrian capital for a few days and use reserves instead after rebels polluted the water with diesel. The al-Fija spring which supplies Damascus with water is in the rebel-held Barada valley northwest of the capital in a mountainous area near the Lebanese border.

The cut in water supplies comes at a time when government forces and their allies are on the offensive in the Barada Valley area.

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA shows Syrian army soldiers marching through the streets in the Ansari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016. Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday shelled a neighborhood in the northern city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government forces took control of the whole city after opposition fighters in the eastern parts withdrew, state TV reported. (SANA via AP)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows damaged buildings and cars in the Ansari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016. Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday shelled a neighborhood in the northern city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government forces took control of the whole city after opposition fighters in the eastern parts withdrew, state TV reported. (SANA via AP)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows damaged buildings and cars in the Ansari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016. Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday shelled a neighborhood in the northern city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government forces took control of the whole city after opposition fighters in the eastern parts withdrew, state TV reported. (SANA via AP)
Investigators seek supply network for slain Berlin attacker

MILAN (AP)  Investigators on Saturday worked to determine if the Berlin Christmas market attacker got any logistical support to cross at least two European borders and evade capture for days before being killed in a police shootout in a Milan suburb.

Tunisian fugitive Anis Amri's fingerprints and wallet were found in a truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Despite an intense, Europe-wide manhunt, Amri fled across Germany, into France and then into Italy, traveling at least part of the way by train, before being shot early Friday in a routine police stop outside a deserted train station.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Berlin attack, but so far little is known about any support network backing up the 24-year-old fugitive.

Giovanna Di Lorenzo, mother of Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, is hugged by Italian President Sergio Mattarella upon her arrival from Berlin on a plane carrying the coffin of their daughter, at Rome's military airport of Ciampino, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Di Lorenzo, 31, is among the 12 people who perished when a truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin last Monday. (Paolo Giandotti/Italian Presidential Press Service via AP)

Italian investigators were working to see if the Tunisian had any connections in the Milan area. Italy was his port of entry into Europe in 2011 and he spent more than three years in Italian jails on Sicily. But an anti-terrorism official said there was no evidence that he had ever been in or around Milan before Friday's shootout.

In Tunisia, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest Friday of Amri's nephew and two others suspected of belonging to the same extremist network.

The ministry said in a statement that Amri, through an alias, had sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi some money through the post office to join him in Europe and join the Abou Walaa network. Amir claimed to be the network's emir.

The ministry said the nephew told them he was in contact with Amri via Telegram's encrypted communications to avoid detection. He said Amri had recruited him to jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to IS, which he did and sent it to Amri via Telegram.

The Tunisian prosecutor's office ordered all three held in pre-trial detention pending further investigation.

In Spain, police were investigating whether Amri was in contact with a possible extremist there, on a tip from German authorities.

"We are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person," Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio.

Italy has found itself at the center of the Berlin attack investigation after the dramatic shootout early Friday that ended the manhunt. The deserted train station and the late hour prompted Italian officers to check the North African man's identity, officials said. Instead of pulling out an identity card, Amri produced a loaded .22 caliber gun, shooting a senior officer in the shoulder before a rookie officer killed him with a single shot.

Amri had arrived in the southern island of Lampedusa illegally in 2011, claiming to be a minor, and quickly landed in jail after setting fire to a migrant center. After he was freed, efforts to deport him failed for bureaucratic reasons.

He reached Germany, where authorities were concerned enough to put him under covert surveillance for six months earlier this year, ending the operation in September. His request for asylum was refused by Germany in the summer, but the paperwork from Tunisia needed to deport him was delayed for months.

Investigators are looking into why Amri returned to Italy this week as he sought to elude police and whether he had any jihadi contacts in the country.

Authorities were also investigating the apparent coincidence that the truck from a Polish shipping company used in the Berlin attack had been loaded with machinery in the neighboring Milan suburb of Cinisello Balsamo three days before the attack.

Milan Police Chief Antonio de Iesu acknowledged the connection was "suggestive."

But he told reporters there was no evidence yet of a link, emphasizing that the Polish truck driver who was the terrorist's first victim had spoken to his wife by phone from Berlin hours before the attack and did not appear to be under duress.

On Saturday, Italy welcomed home one of the 12 victims, 31-year-old Fabrizia Di Lorenzo. She had been working in Berlin and was out shopping for Christmas presents to bring to relatives in central Italy when the truck careened into the market.

A casket containing her body arrived at Rome's Ciampino airport, met by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Her parents and brother received hugs and condolences before the casket was placed in a vehicle for the ride home.

The husband of a Czech woman killed in the Berlin attack, meanwhile, said he was relieved that Amri no longer posed a threat to the people of Europe.

Petr Cizmar said he was not after revenge "but I needed to know that he was removed from our society one way or another and could not cause further harm."

He spoke Saturday by phone from the family's home in Braunschweig, 230 kilometers (143 miles) west of Berlin.

Cizmar says his 34-year-old wife Nada had a logistics job in Berlin since May and stayed there during the week. He says she went to the market to celebrate Christmas with her colleagues.

The couple has a five-year-old son.

___

Bouazza ben Bouazza in Tunis, Tunisia, and Katerina Santurova in Prague contributed to this report.

Gerardo Di Agostino touches the coffin of his sister Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, as her parents Gaetano Di Lorenzo, second from right hugs his wife Giovanna, right, upon their return from Berlin at Rome's military airport of Ciampino, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Di Lorenzo, 31, is among the 12 people who perished when a truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin last Monday. (Giuseppe Lami/ANSA via AP)

Giovanna Di Agostino, flanked by her husband Gaetano, left, and her son Gerardo, places a rose on the coffin of her daughter Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo upon their return from Berlin at Rome's military airport of Ciampino, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Di Lorenzo, 31, is among the 12 people who perished when a truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin last Monday. (Giuseppe Lami/ANSA via AP)

Giovanna Di Agostino, mother of Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, and her son Gerardo, left, are hugged by authorities upon their arrival from Berlin with the coffin of her daughter Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, at Rome's military airport of Ciampino, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Di Lorenzo, 31, is among the 12 people who perished when a truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin last Monday. (Giuseppe Lami/ANSA via AP)

The family of Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, mother Giovanna, father Gaetano and brother Gerardo, left, are greeted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella upon their arrival from Berlin with the coffin of their daughter, at Rome's military airport of Ciampino, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Di Lorenzo, 31, is among the 12 people who perished when a truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin last Monday. (Paolo Giandotti/Italian Presidential Press Service via AP)

Gaetano Di Agostino, bottom right, father of Italian victim Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, holds a rose as he is followed by his wife Giovanna, center, and his son Gerardo, top left,, while disembarking a plane carrying the coffin of their daughter from Berlin at Rome's military airport of Ciampino, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Di Lorenzo, 31, is among the 12 people who perished when a truck plowed through a Christmas market in Berlin last Monday. (Giuseppe Lami/ANSA via AP)

Nour El Houda Hassani, the mother of Anis Amri, reacts after the death of her son in Oueslatia, central Tunisia, Friday, Dec. 23, 2016. Anis Amri, the Tunisian-born suspect in the Berlin truck rampage that killed at least 12, was shot dead early Friday in the outskirts of Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Anis Ben Salah)

Nour El Houda Hassani, the mother of Anis Amri, reacts after the death of her son in Oueslatia, central Tunisia, Friday, Dec. 23, 2016. Anis Amri, the Tunisian-born suspect in the Berlin truck rampage that killed at least 12, was shot dead early Friday on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Anis Ben Salah)

Mustapha Amri, the father of Anis Amri, leaves his home after the death of her son in Oueslatia, central Tunisia, Friday, Dec. 23, 2016. Anis Amri, the Tunisian-born suspect in the Berlin truck rampage that killed at least 12, was shot dead early Friday on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Anis Ben Salah)

This image made from video released by Amaq News Agency of the Islamic State group on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 shows Anis Amri, a Tunisian suspect in the Berlin truck attack pledging allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and vowing to fight against what he calls "the Crusader pigs." The video, which appeared to have been taken by Anis Amri himself, shows him standing on a footbridge in the north of Berlin, not far from where he allegedly hijacked the truck used in the attack that killed 12 people and injured dozens more at a Christmas market on Monday. (Militant video via AP)
After Berlin attack, Europe weighs freedom against security

PARIS (AP)  Open borders symbolize liberty and forward thinking for many Europeans  but they increasingly look like the continent's Achilles' heel.

Europe's No. 1 terrorism suspect crossed at least two borders this week despite an international manhunt, and he was felled only by chance, in a random ID check in a Milan suburb. The bungled chase for Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri is just one example of recent cross-border security failures that are emboldening nationalists fed up with European unity. Extremist violence, they argue, is too high a price to pay for the freedom to travel easily.

Defenders of the EU's border-free zone say the security failures show the need for more cooperation among European governments, even shared militaries  not new barriers. Hidebound habits of hoarding intelligence within centuries-old borders are part of the problem, they contend.

FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, a migrant child walks at the "Horgos 2" border crossing that leads into Hungary, from Horgos, Serbia, with the old Yugoslav communist flag on the abandoned border point. Europes open borders seem to symbolize liberty and forward thinking, but they increasingly look like the continents Achilles heel, with its inability to implement cross border security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, FILE)

But their arguments are criticized by the likes of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is hoping to win France's presidency in May.

"The myth of total free movement in Europe, which my rivals are clinging to in this presidential election, should be definitively buried. Our security depends on it," she said in a statement Friday, calling Europe's free-travel zone a "total security catastrophe."

That poses a dilemma for European Union devotees like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing a re-election battle next year.

Merkel's defense of the EU, and the welcoming hand she extended to Syrian war refugees, were once seen as assets, signs of her moral authority. Today, with anti-immigrant, anti-establishment sentiment rising across Europe, they are threatening to become liabilities.

Countless numbers of people cross borders in the 26-country Schengen travel zone every day, thanks to a 31-year-old system encompassing nearly 400 million people that has dramatically boosted trade and job prospects across the world's largest collective economy.

It's a pillar of a system designed to prevent new world wars, yet it is a system under growing strain. While EU countries debated over how to manage an influx of migrants last year, eastern nations rebuilt border fences and exposed EU weaknesses.

The German far right is insisting on closing the country's borders. Merkel's conservatives are suggesting "transit zones" to hold migrants at the borders while their identities are confirmed, and making it easier to hold people in pre-deportation detention.

Berlin truck attacker Amri is a painful reminder of how Islamic extremists have used Europe's open borders to attack the principles of tolerance they are meant to epitomize.

After migrating illegally from Tunisia in 2011, he was imprisoned for burning down a migrant detention center in Italy. When freed, attempts to deport him to Tunisia failed for bureaucratic reasons. He subsequently traveled to Switzerland and then Germany, where he apparently fell under the influence of a radical network accused of recruiting for the Islamic State group.

Although Germany rejected his asylum application last summer and flagged him as a potential terror threat, authorities patiently waited for Tunisia to produce the required paperwork before deporting him.

Just as the deportation was being finalized Monday, Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and rammed it into holiday crowds at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 and injuring dozens.

He evaded an international manhunt for more than three days, apparently slipping into France  possibly with a pistol in his pocket  and then Italy before stumbling into a standard ID check in suburban Milan, where he died in a shootout with police.

Germany, France and Italy have failed to explain how he escaped the dragnet.

"Movement from one country to another in Europe is easy, especially for someone like Anis Amri, who had lived in Europe for several years" and knew which borders were easier to cross, said Tunisian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bouraoui Limam.

France is especially embarrassed.

It has been under high security as part of a state of emergency since last year, and the French are acutely concerned about train security after American passengers thwarted an attack on an Amsterdam-Paris train in 2015.

Yet French President Francois Hollande visited the Alpine town of Chambery on the same day that Amri is believed to have passed through its train station en route to Italy, unnoticed by border guards or the president's security detail.

The next morning, as Italian police were identifying Amri's body, France's interior minister visited a Paris train station to talk about the vigorous transport security in place for the holidays.

France's far right and the conservative opposition have assailed the Socialist government as lax.

"How could this person enter in Europe without being monitored? How could we let him settle in Europe?" said Eric Ciotti, lawmaker for the conservative Republicans.

What's worse, it was not the first time.

Last year, hours after Islamic State extremists killed 130 people at multiple targets in Paris, key suspect Salah Abdeslam fled to Belgium despite increased checks on both the French and Belgian borders. It took authorities four months to find him. Further, Abdeslam, a French national, had traveled through the Italian port of Bari on a roundtrip journey to Greece in August, months before the attack.

And in 2014, Mehdi Nemmouche allegedly killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, then crossed into France and traveled to the Mediterranean city of Marseille before being picked up in a police check.

Security and migration will be central issues in elections in the coming year in Germany, France and the Netherlands, all founding nations of the EU. And related fears could be key to fueling opposition calls for an early election in Italy after its recent political crisis.

The leader of Italy's anti-migrant Northern League, Matteo Salvini, called Saturday for closing and reinforcing Europe's borders after the Berlin attack.

"I don't want another two or three massacres before Europe wakes up," Salvini said.

A candidate for France's left-wing primary next month, Vincent Peillon, pleaded for joint European rules on borders, defense and intelligence.

"It's all of Europe that is being attacked," he said.

Le Pen's far-right National Front party wants to retrench rather than reach out, to "give France back full control over its sovereignty."

As Europeans head home for the holidays, many crossing multiple borders on the way without showing a single passport or changing any currency, people are asking themselves: Is it all worth it?

___

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this report.

FILE - In this photo dated Thursday, March 24, 2016, a German flag flies at the German combat supply ship 'Frankfurt am Main' in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. National emblems still hold meaning, but Europes open borders seem to symbolize liberty and forward thinking for the region, although they increasingly look like the continents Achilles heel, with its inability to implement cross border security. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, FILE)

This image made from video released by Amaq News Agency of the Islamic State group on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 shows Anis Amri, a Tunisian suspect in the Berlin truck attack pledging allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and vowing to fight against what he calls "the Crusader pigs." The video, which appeared to have been taken by Anis Amri himself, shows him standing on a footbridge in the north of Berlin, not far from where he allegedly hijacked the truck used in the attack that killed 12 people and injured dozens more at a Christmas market on Monday. (Militant video via AP)

Armed police officers stand behind concrete blocks for protection near the Brandenburg Gate, background, in Berlin, Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, after Anis Amri, the suspect of the terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin was shot in Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Nigeria: Boko Haram is crushed, forced out of last enclave

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  The Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed  driven from its last forest enclave with fighters on the run and no place to hide, Nigeria's president declared Saturday.

His victorious statement came as the Islamic State group, with which one faction of Boko Haram is allied, claimed a successful attack on an army barracks in northeast Nigeria's Yobe state "killed and wounded many." The communique on social media said the attack took place Thursday, the same day President Muhammadu Buhari said troops defeated Boko Haram in its Sambisa Forest stronghold in neighboring Borno state.

It was an indicator that despite Buhari's announcement, Nigeria is unlikely to see an end soon to the deadly suicide bombings, village attacks and assaults on remote military outposts in northeastern Nigeria carried out by the country's homegrown Islamic extremist group. Already, there are reports that the insurgents have been regrouping in Taraba and Bauchi states, south of their northeastern stronghold in Borno state, and taking advantage of a decades-old conflict in central Nigeria between mainly Muslim nomadic cattle herders and sedentary Christian farmers.

FILE- In this file photo taken Friday, May 29, 2015, Nigerian President elect, Muhammadu Buhari, arrives for his Inauguration at the eagle square in Abuja, Nigeria. The Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed  driven from its last forest enclave with fighters on the run and no place to hide, Nigeria's president declared Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

In a statement, Buhari commended Nigerian troops for "finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero," which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest.

He announced the "long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave" and declared "the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide."

The Sambisa Forest was where Boko Haram was believed to be holding some of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 from a school in the town of Chibok  a mass abduction that brought the Islamic extremists world attention and sparked an international social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

"Further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity. May God be with them," Buhari said.

Nigerian troops have freed thousands of Boko Haram captives this year, but none of the Chibok girls among 276 seized from a government boarding school.

Dozens of girls escaped within hours of their abduction. In October, 21 Chibok girls were freed through negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, brokered by the Swiss government and the International Red Cross. In May, one Chibok girl escaped on her own. Some 197 remain missing.

The freed girls have indicated that several others have died in captivity from things like malaria and a snake bite.

Boko Haram's seven-year Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across Nigeria's borders, driven some 2.3 million people from their homes and created a massive humanitarian crisis. The U.N. has warned that 5.1 million people are in danger of starving in northeast Nigeria, including in areas too dangerous to reach because of Boko Haram ambushes.
In Zimbabwe's meltdown, Christmas is out of reach for many

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)  Naison Makwechede rummages through piles of used clothes at a busy flea market in Zimbabwe's capital in hopes of finding Christmas clothes for his family. This secondhand search is new terrain for the father of three, who always buys new clothes for his children this time of year in line with local holiday tradition.

"The bond note is the only new thing in my possession," said Makwechede, referring to Zimbabwe's latest attempt to address a spiraling currency crisis.

Most people in this once-prosperous southern African country are struggling to afford Christmas as the economy implodes.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, a motorist takes a picture of a man dressed as Santa Claus on the streets of Harare. Most people in this once-prosperous southern African country are struggling to afford Christmas as the economy implodes. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

The U.S. dollar, the main currency used since Zimbabwe abandoned its own in 2009, is in such short supply that some people sleep outside banks in the hope of withdrawing what they can.

In this predominantly Christian country, the holiday period is traditionally associated with wild merry-making, travel, family gatherings and new clothes. This year is different.

But not for everyone. The 7,000 delegates who attended the ruling ZANU-PF party's conference last weekend took home goodies, including five kilograms (11 pounds) of rice, in a holiday bag decorated with pictures of longtime President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace.

The political meeting brought a temporary boom to the usually sleepy town of Masvingo, where hotels and lodges were fully booked and usually empty beerhalls teemed. Informal vendors, who now make up the bulk of Zimbabwe's adult population, said they had brisk business of several items, including condoms.

The party conference endorsed the 92-year-old Mugabe, who has led the country since its independence from white minority rule in 1980, as its candidate in the upcoming elections.

Mugabe told the delegates the economy was on the mend. But the government, which has failed to pay civil servants on time since June, indicated it will only be able to pay the military, police, prison services and health workers before Christmas.

"It is sad. Our members will not have their salaries, so they are foregoing Christmas this year," said Sifiso Ndlovu, the chief executive of the Zimbabwe Teachers Union

In this Dec. 17, 2016 photo, a woman carries goods in a bag bearing the portrait of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace, during a Zanu pf Conference in Masvingo. Most people in this once-prosperous southern African country are struggling to afford Christmas as the economy implodes. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016 photo, a man takes time to sit down after waiting for hours in a bank queue in Harare. Most people in this once-prosperous southern African country are struggling to afford Christmas as the economy implodes. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Tragedy drives man to give 'haven' to thousands of babies

LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (AP)  To untold numbers of children, he's simply Uncle Tim.

Nearly 3,300 babies across the country who otherwise might have been abandoned and perhaps died have found homes in the past 17 years, thanks in part to the efforts of Tim Jaccard, a retired New York police ambulance medic who grew weary of responding to calls of dead infants abandoned in trash cans and alleys.

"To hold a newborn infant in your arms and have to pronounce that child dead is heart-wrenching," said the 66-year-old father and grandfather from Long Island. "My gut feeling was that I was being sent on these particular calls to try and see what's going on and change it. I had to stop this insanity."

In this Dec. 12, 2016 photo, Tim Jaccard stands in front of a trailer in Wantagh, N.Y., that advertises a hotline where mothers can call to arrange to safely relinquish babies they are unwilling or unable to care for, to a responsible party. The retired ambulance medic lobbied legislatures across the country to pass so-called "Safe Haven" laws in all 50 states. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)

Not only did he help spearhead a movement in all 50 states to enact "safe haven" laws that give mothers in crisis the option of leaving their newborns at police stations, hospitals or firehouses without fear of prosecution, he also founded the national Baby Safe Haven organization that acts as a go-between to make such drop-offs as safe as possible.

Leaving a newborn at a firehouse door in the freezing cold, for example, could still be dangerous for the infant. Mothers can instead call a national hotline (1-866-510-BABY) and arrange a safe handover. Some give birth at a hospital and surrender the child to Baby Safe Haven representatives who work with local social services agencies.

Jaccard's eyes redden when he talks of the tragic abandonments he dealt with in his 37 years as a medic. But there are also the more hopeful cases he documents on a bulletin board jammed with dozens of snapshots of the children relinquished through Baby Safe Haven.

"What he's doing is ensuring that mothers are able to move forward with their lives," said Tracey Johnson, executive director of the National Safe Haven Alliance in Washington, D.C. "And the kids get the gift of life."

According to the alliance, 3,298 babies had been turned over with the help of Baby Safe Haven nationwide in 17 years, including 167 so far this year.

The holiday season often sees an uptick in the numbers. In one memorable case from last year, Jaccard said a distraught mother had called the Baby Safe Haven hotline seeking information about New York's law just minutes before a healthy newborn boy, his umbilical cord still attached, was left at the manger of a Nativity scene at New York City church.

The reasons for such cases are as varied as the children, Johnson said, dispelling a notion that the mothers and fathers are young teenagers. Some are college students reluctant to tell their parents and can't raise a child alone. Many are women in "toxic relationships," with spouses already abusing older children in the home and want to shield a new baby from that fate.

Larry and Jennifer Mergentheimer, of Levittown on New York's Long Island, are on the other side of the safe haven equation. Their 18-month-old daughter, Rebecca, was adopted after being born and given up in a hospital on Mother's Day 2015.

They say "Uncle Tim" regularly checks in with the family.

"It was like winning the lottery," said Larry Mergentheimer, a 44-year-old nurse manager who lives in Levittown. "You can't ask to complete something any more than putting a child in a home. It's amazing."

His wife, Jennifer, a 41-year-old radiological technologist, says the precocious toddler who loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse completed their family.

"We wanted to have a baby and a family for so many years and it was such a struggle. Just to have her in our lives, it's the greatest thing in the world," she said.

___

Follow Eltman on Twitter at @feltman41.

In this Dec. 8, 2016 photo, Larry and Jennifer Mergentheimer sit at their dining room table with their daughter, Rebecca, in Levittown, N.Y. The Mergentheimers adopted Rebecca with the assistance of the A.M.T. Children of Hope Foundation's Baby Safe Haven program. The program encourages mothers of children unwilling or unable to care for their infants to relinquish their children at safe places like fire houses or police stations, or make arrangements with the organization to turn the children over after giving birth at a hospital. The organization then works with social services agencies to arrange for the care and eventual adoption of the children. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)

In this Dec. 12, 2016 photo, Tim Jaccard sits in front of snapshots of some of the children who were safely relinquished under a "Safe Haven" program he started 17 years ago, in Wantagh, N.Y. The retired ambulance medic lobbied legislatures across the country to pass so-called "Safe Haven" laws in all 50 states. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)
$1M dead zone contest: 5 finalists from AUS, Calif, Ill, NY

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Teams from Australia, New York and California are among five finalists in Tulane University's $1 million contest to find ways to fight "dead zones" where water holds too little oxygen to support life. There are hundreds of such areas worldwide, including one that forms each summer off Louisiana's coast.

Two teams from Illinois will join the others in testing their ideas on a farm in northeast Louisiana as phase 2 of the Dead Zone Challenge, also called the Nitrogen Reduction Challenge, the university said in a news release.

The contest is aimed at finding ways to keep fertilizer in the ground, so they don't get into rivers. Scientists say that agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus carried down the Mississippi River are largely to blame for Louisiana's dead zone.

Waterways carry the nutrients to lakes or coastal areas, where they feed blooms of one-celled plants and animals. Those die, fall to the bottom and decompose, using up oxygen from the bottom up.

The university says the finalist teams are from Farmer City and Carmi, Illinois; Ithaca, New York; Berkeley, California; and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

They were chosen from 77 applicants, including 10 from Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, India, Ireland, Israel and Singapore.

"Narrowing down to just five finalists was a very competitive process because of the quantity and the quality of submissions received," challenge director Leah Berger Jensen said.

Their proposals include using electricity to inhibit nitrogen loss, using microbes to get crops to take up more nitrogen, an integrated nutrient management system, and using real-time data and simulation scenarios to decide how much nitrogen to use in different parts of a field.

They'll be tested on farmland in Tensas Parish and judged on crop yield, runoff and cost.
Virginia woman charged in wreck that killed Missouri mother

COEBURN, Va. (AP)  A 36-year-old southwest Virginia woman faces a murder charge after authorities say she crashed head-on into another car while trying to avoid a drunken-driving checkpoint, killing a Missouri mother.

Wise County Commonwealth's Attorney Chuck Slemp tells local media Samantha R. Dennis of Coeburn is charged with felony murder and felony eluding after the crash Friday.

State police say Dennis was driving an SUV that stopped after coming upon a DUI checkpoint. They say she made a U-turn and then collided with a vehicle driven by 32-year-old Rebecca Starling of St. Charles, Missouri. Starling's young daughters sustained injuries that weren't life-threatening, and a passenger in Dennis' car suffered life-threatening injuries.
Malian authorities say Swiss aid worker abducted in Gao

GAO, Mali (AP)  Authorities in northern Mali say a Swiss aid worker has been abducted in the town of Gao.

The kidnapping took place Saturday when three men stormed her house and took her and an orphan at the home.

Hamadou Guindo, head of security for the governor of Gao, says a rescue operation has been launched.

The town of Gao was occupied by Islamic extremists in 2012 until a French-led military operation forced them from power though remnants continue to stage attacks in the region. They frequently target U.N. peacekeeping patrols and Malian soldiers.
In Christmas Eve speech, king urges Spaniards to stay united

MADRID (AP)  In his Christmas Eve speech, King Felipe VI of Spain urges respect for the rule of law and calls on Spaniards to remain united.

The separatist government of Spain's Catalonia region has announced plans for an independence referendum in 2017 despite a constitutional ban on such a vote and fierce opposition from the central government.

In his TV address, the king didn't mention Catalonia but clearly referred to the region when he criticized attitudes that "violate the rules guaranteeing our democracy and freedom." He said they "lead to tensions and fruitless confrontations."
Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died after suffering from a severe infection at the age of 68, his manager has said.

The veteran musician was taken into hospital in Marbella, Spain, on Thursday evening due to complications with a pre-existing shoulder injury.

Rick Parfitt 1948 - 2016



Statement from The Parfitt Family & Status Quo Manager, Simon Porter: https://t.co/j9jtskvKAE  Status Quo (@Status_Quo) December 24, 2016

He died there at lunchtime on Saturday, his manager and family said in a statement.

The statement said: We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away at lunchtime today.

Parfitt with bandmate Francis Rossi at the Kerrang Awards in 2014 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

He died in hospital in Marbella, Spain as a result of a severe infection, having been admitted to hospital on Thursday evening following complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall.

This tragic news comes at a time when Rick was hugely looking forward to launching a solo career with an album and autobiography planned for 2017 following his departure from Status Quos touring activities on medical advice.

I cannot describe the sadness I feel right now. To many he was a rockstar, to me he was simply 'Dad', and I loved him hugely. RIP Pappa Parf  Rick Parfitt Jnr (@RickParfittJnr) December 24, 2016

He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow band members, management, crew and his dedicated legion of fans from throughout the world, gained through 50 years of monumental success with Status Quo.

Rick is survived by his wife Lyndsay, their twins Tommy and Lily and Ricks adult children Rick Jnr and Harry. No further comment will be made at this time and Ricks family, and the band, ask for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

Shocked and so sad to hear of the passing of Rick Parfitt. Hard to find words. You truly joyfully rocked our world. RIP dear buddy. Bri  Dr. Brian May (@DrBrianMay) December 24, 2016

Our condolences to the family and friends of Rick Parfitt of @Status_Quo R.I.P. Rick.  The Who (@TheWho) December 24, 2016

Absolutely gutted to hear of the passing of Rick Parfitt. Total rock and roll legend. RIP xx  Chris Wolstenholme (@CTWolstenholme) December 24, 2016

RIP you lovely man Rick Parfitt!

You rocked all around the world and back again!!

One of rocks great characters you will be missed!  Martin Kemp (@realmartinkemp) December 24, 2016

Thinking back to my early-teens, buying a denim waistcoat. Because: the Quo. RIP Rick Parfitt...  Ian Rankin (@Beathhigh) December 24, 2016

I'm very sad indeed to learn of Rick Parfitt's death. One of the nicest guys in Rock 'n' roll. RIP Rick. #Rickparfitt  Mike Batt LVO (@Mike_Batt) December 24, 2016

Goodbye Rick Parfitt. The first ever show I saw was Status Quo at Wembley. I'll never forget it!  matt willis (@mattjwillis) December 24, 2016

RIP #RickParfitt.....it was always a pleasure to be in your company... X  Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) December 24, 2016

The Surrey-born guitarist had been dogged by health concerns for years, most recently pulling out of the bands tour following a heart attack over the summer.

Manager Simon Porter said at the time Parfitt had died for several minutes, which had affected him mentally.

He first suffered a quadruple heart bypass in 1997 after touring with the band for decades, during which time he had weathered drink and drug problems.

Parfitt was made an OBE by the Queen in 2010 (Lewis Whyld/PA)

As a member of Status Quo, Parfitt found success globally with hits such as Rockin All Over The World and Whatever You Want.

In 2015, the band passed a milestone enjoyed by only a handful of musicians  spending a total of 500 weeks in the UK album charts.
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighbouring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Yet the faithful braved the chilly weather outside the towns Manger Square as traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols.

A worshipper lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity (Majdi Mohammed/AP)

Elated tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

Adding to the holiday spirit for the Palestinians, locals celebrated a key diplomatic victory at the United Nations the day before, where the Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Sharolyn Knight, a 28-year-old teacher from Georgia, said she was in Bethlehem for the first time and experiencing mixed emotions.

Manger Square. Just before the carol service at the Church of the Nativity. O little town of #Bethlehem ... pic.twitter.com/nE6Kg3hrTu  Alastair McPhail (@AMcPhailUK) December 24, 2016

Its been sobering and humbling because its a place with a lot of heavy stuff, religious and historical. At the same time, disillusioning because there is so much strife in the place where Jesus was born.

Its very unique, Ive never seen anything like it, said Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky, Its very meaningful, its Christmas time, where everything started.

Christian clergymen welcomed the top Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus Christ, as Christians worldwide begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.

Father Pizzaballa arrives at the Church of the Nativity (Majdi Mohammed/AP)

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession. Later, he was to celebrate Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built at the grotto revered as Jesus birthplace.

Christmas festivities brought a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, who make up just a small percentage of the population. The region has which has experienced a wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that erupted over a year ago. The violence has tapered off in recent months, but has not halted completely.

Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked: All people over the world are looking at Bethlehem so we hope more and more tourists will come during the year and that next year we will celebrate Christmas without occupation.

Ms Maaya spoke a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Pray for #Santa, he might not be able to enter #Bethlehem because of Israel's apartheid wall !!#Palestine pic.twitter.com/Nj07EpD2h1     (@ShehabAgency) December 24, 2016

Despite the Christmas cheer, politics loom large in the background - the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem is just one hulking reminder. It was built by Israel last decade during the second Intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.
CIA chief warns against in-kind retaliation for Russian hacking -NPR

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has warned the U.S. government against a tit-for-tat response to Russian hacking during the presidential election.

"I don't think we should resort to some of the tactics and techniques that our adversaries employ against us. I think we need to remember what we're fighting for," Brennan told National Public Radio in an interview that aired on Friday. (http://n.pr/2ily7zS)

"We're fighting for our country, our democracy, our way of life, and to engage. And the skullduggery that some of our opponents and adversaries engage in, I think is beneath this country's greatness," Brennan said on NPR's "Morning Edition."

U.S. officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of supervising his intelligence agencies' hacking during the U.S. presidential election in an effort to help Republican Donald Trump. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the Nov. 8 election won by Trump..

President Barack Obama, who has asked spy agencies to deliver an analysis of Russian meddling in the election before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, last week strongly suggested that Putin personally authorized the election hacking. He also left the door open to retaliation, possibly under a Trump administration.

U.S. Republican and Democratic senators have called for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks against the United States by foreign countries with a focus on Russia's alleged efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election.

Brennan also predicted that despite the fall of eastern Aleppo to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, there would be no end to the violence there.
Congo nears deal under which Kabila to leave power by end 2017

By Aaron Ross and Tim Cocks

KINSHASA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo would leave power in 2017 and elections would be held the same year under a political deal close to completion, opposition leaders said on Friday.

The deal would be a breakthrough for a country that has not seen a peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960 and would represent a turnaround after dozens of people were killed this week in protests over Kabila's tenure.

Kabila took power after his father, Laurent, was assassinated in 2001, and critics saw the violence as an attempt to crush dissent and enable the extension of his constitutional mandate, which ended on Tuesday after two terms in office.

As a result, any deal resulting from the weeks of talks between the ruling coalition and the opposition mediated by the Catholic church would come as a shock.

It could also reinforce democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, given Congo's centrality, size and economic importance as a mineral exporter and the continent's top copper producer.

"It is difficult for me to tell you whether (the deal) will be in two hours or three hours. We are in the process of working. We can only leave here when everything is finished," opposition leader Joseph Olenghankoy told reporters.

Kabila says he supports the talks but has yet to comment on their substance.

A deal would also be an achievement for the Catholic church, which says the talks are an attempt to stop Congo sliding back into anarchy and war. Pope Francis has heaped pressure on all sides to find a peaceful solution.

"At first glance, a miracle is possible and the bishops have won their bet," said Albert Moleka, former chief of staff to the leader of the main opposition bloc, Etienne Tshisekedi.

A government spokesman said the proposal was to have been presented to the full delegation on Friday afternoon.

ONE MORE YEAR

Under the deal's terms, Kabila would stay in power for a year, but the constitution cannot be changed to let him run again. A prime minister would be named from the main opposition bloc and Tshisekedi would oversee the deal's implementation, opposition leaders Martin Fayulu and Jose Endundo told Reuters.

"Kabila stays for one year," Fayulu said. "He will not try to stand for a new term."

The head of the U.N. human rights agency said on Friday that Congolese security forces killed at least 40 people and arrested 460 in protests this week.

The violence raised fears Congo is heading toward armed conflict, a risk that has prompted several donor nations to condemn Kabila for failing to stand down. Millions were killed in wars between 1996 and 2003.

"Most of ... (Kabila's coalition) would welcome this (deal) because they're under so much pressure," said Pascal Kambale, a Congolese human rights lawyer at the Open Society Foundations.

A presidential election set for last month has been postponed until at least April 2018 because of delays registering voters. This deal would mean the election must happen by the end of next year.

Kabila's allies say he will respect the constitution, but that promising to step down would make him a lame duck and spark a power struggle that could put his life in danger.
Nigeria's Buhari says army has captured key Boko Haram camp

ABUJA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Nigeria's army has captured a key Boko Haram camp that was the Islamist militant group's last enclave in its northeastern Sambisa forest stronghold, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday.

"I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the camp fell at about 1:35 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 22, and that the terrorists are on the run and no longer have a place to hide," said Buhari.
Europe on Christmas high alert after truck attack in Berlin

By Philip Pullella

ROME, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Security was heightened for the Christmas weekend in Italy and at the Vatican on Saturday after Italian police killed the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack while other European cities kept forces on high alert.

In France, Britain and Germany, which have all been targets of Islamist militant attacks, police increased their presence at tourist spots in major cities and other densely populated areas.

Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian suspected of carrying out the truck attack which killed 12 people, was shot dead in a town near Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check.

He had travelled undetected to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europe's open-border Schengen pact.

As investigators sought to determine if Amri had accomplices in Italy, and associates were being arrested in his home country of Tunisia, national security officials in Italy beefed up security at sensitive spots.

Rome authorities banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather.

At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres (yards) along streets leading to the Vatican.

Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services.

In France, where Islamist militants killed 130 people in shooting and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security measures being enforced at churches.

Emergency rule has been in place since the Paris attacks, and French soldiers patrol the capital's streets. Police have been given wider search and arrest powers to target suspects considered a threat to security.

In Germany, federal police reinforced armed patrols at airports and rail stations, officials said. They have also reintroduced spot checks on people coming into Germany along a 30-km (19 miles) corridor inside the international frontiers.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has said the danger of an attack in Germany remains high despite the death of the suspected attacker.

More than 100 investigators would be working through the holidays searching for any accomplices or support network for Amri. "The level of threat remains high," he told reporters late on Friday.

Britain is on its second-highest threat level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.

Police there have increased security at a number of popular tourist attractions, including around Queen Elizabeth's London residence, Buckingham Palace. Armed officers patrol major shopping centres, Christmas markets and places of worship.

RECONSTRUCTING MOVEMENTS

After reconstructing Amri's movements since he drove a truck through a festive market in Berlin on Monday, police are investigating whether he was seeking shelter from comrades in Italy or was en route to another country.

The town near Milan where Amri was killed, Sesto San Giovanni, is home to a sizeable Muslim community and is a departure point for buses to southern Italy, eastern Europe and the Balkans.

In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Tunisian security forces on Saturday arrested three suspected militants, including Amri's nephew, who had been in touch with Amri by social media messaging.

Spain's interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said its intelligence services were investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19.

Amri originally came to Europe in 2011, landing with other migrants on the island of Lampedusa, and spent four years in an Italian jail for trying to set a school on fire in Sicily.

German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amri's criminal past.

"Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum," Germany's de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
Chibok girl recalls "miracle" release by Boko Haram as reunited with family

By Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

YOLA, Nigeria, Dec 24 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Boko Haram militants decided to release some of the 200 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped two-and-a-half years ago in northeast Nigeria, Asabe Goni did not dare to dream that she would be among the girls allowed to go home.

During their time in captivity the girls were encouraged to convert to Islam and to marry their kidnappers, with some whipped for not doing so, but Goni said otherwise they were treated well and fed well until supplies recently ran short.

Hungry and ill, the 22-year-old did not even have the energy to stand up in October when the Islamist militants said that any girls who wanted to be released should line up. She just sat and watched as other girls scrambled to get into line.

"I was surprised when they announced that my name was on the list," Goni told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the first interview by one of the 21 freed girls to international media.

"It was a miracle," she said, while expressing regret that she had to leave behind her cousin who was also abducted.

A group of 21 girls was released two months ago after Switzerland and the International Red Cross brokered a deal with the Boko Haram. They have been held since in a secret location in the capital Abuja for debriefing by the Nigerian government.

But the girls have been taken back to the Chibok area in Borno state to spend Christmas with their families, returning home for the first time since being seized from their school in April 2014, an act that sparked global outrage.

"I was very happy when they said I should go home," Goni said in an interview in her family's home in the northern city of Yola, surrounded by her father, stepmother, five siblings and several neighbours.

The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014 hit international headlines and prompted global figures, including U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and a list of celebrities, to support a campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

But none of the girls were sighted again until May this year when one of the students, Amina Ali, was found in a forest with a baby and a man claiming to be her husband.

Her discovery prompted hopes that the girls were alive and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari pledged to ensure the release of the remaining girls in captivity.

"GIVEN UP HOPE"

Recalling the abduction, Goni said the girls, which included her younger cousin Margaret with whom she had lived since she was a child, trekked for three days through Sambisa forest, Boko Haram's vast woodland stronghold, before they arrived at a camp.

"I was in great pain," she said. "Many of us didn't stop crying until about three months after we were kidnapped."

While the girls were not forced to convert to Islam, the militants told them that they would all be sent home if they did so, said Goni. Neither were they forced to marry, she added.

"But the way they talked to us about it, you would be afraid not to," she said, recalling how the girls were sometimes flogged with a whip. "That is why some were convinced to marry."

Goni said the girls were otherwise treated well by the militants. They were given material to sew clothes and fed three times a day until recently when food became scarce.

The girls told state officials they were not abused or raped by the militants, and all tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases, according to a confidential report based on a two-week debriefing prepared for Buhari and seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in November.

When Goni was released, she did not have time to say goodbye to Margaret, whom she calls her sister, or the other girls.

"Some of the other girls left behind started crying," she said. "But the Boko Haram men consoled them, telling them that their turn to go home would come one day."

Nigerian authorities say they are involved in negotiations aimed at securing the release of more of the girls, while the army has captured a key Boko Haram camp in Sambisa forest, Buhari said earlier today.

Far away from negotiations and army operations, Goni chatted with her siblings and helped her mother prepare breakfast as she spoke of her excitement of going to church on Christmas Day.
Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Migraine drugs may repeat rheumatoid arthritis success

Nearly two decades ago, several drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis hit the shelves in rapid succession, opening up a huge market for the treatment of the autoimmune joint disorder. Most of those biologics - drugs made using living cells - went on to notch blockbuster sales.

Summer may be the most fattening time of year for kids

Children are more likely to become overweight or obese during summer vacation than during the school year, a U.S. study suggests. The national study of more than 18,000 school children found that from the autumn start of kindergarten to the spring semester of second grade, the prevalence of obesity increased from 8.9 to 11.5 percent. During that same period, the proportion of overweight kids climbed from 23.3 to 28.7 percent.

China reports first two human deaths from bird flu this winter

Two people in China's Anhui province have died from H7N9 bird flu, the first fatalities in China among this winter's cases, while Macau reported its first human infection of the strain since the former Portuguese colony returned to China in 1999. Anhui has reported five cases of H7N9 avian flu since Dec. 8, including the two people who died, the eastern province's health authority said in a statement dated Dec. 21, posted on its website.

Cardinal settles with U.S. over painkiller shipments to pharmacies

A drug distributor owned by Cardinal Health Inc has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve claims it failed to alert the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to suspiciously large orders of addictive painkillers by New York-area pharmacies. The settlement with Kinray LLC, a New York City-based pharmaceutical distributor, disclosed in papers filed late Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, comes amid efforts by U.S. authorities to combat the nation's opioid drug epidemic.

China uncovers 500,000 food safety violations in nine months

China, rocked in recent years by a series of food safety scandals, uncovered as many as half a million illegal food safety violations in the first three quarters of the year, an official said. Chinese officials have unearthed a series of recent food health scandals, including rice contaminated with heavy metals, the use of recycled "gutter oil" in restaurants as well as the sale of baby formula containing lethal amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in 2008.

FDA approves Biogen drug for lead genetic cause of infant death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it has approved Biogen Inc's drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy, the leading genetic cause of death in infants. It is the first FDA-approved medicine for spinal muscular atrophy, a devastating disease that affects about one in 10,000 live births.

LGBT individuals more likely to be incarcerated

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) individuals are disproportionately incarcerated, mistreated and sexually victimized in U.S. jails and prisons, researchers say. Just the proportion of women in prisons and jails identifying as lesbian and bisexual is eight times greater than the 3.4 percent of U.S. women overall who identify as lesbian or bisexual, they found.

Listerine may hold promise in fight against gonorrhea

Antiseptic mouthwashes may someday be a tool in the fight against the sexually transmitted infection known as gonorrhea, but more research is needed, according to a new study from Australia. Researchers found that the brand of mouthwash known Listerine inhibited the growth of the bacteria known as N. gonorrhea in the lab and in the mouths of gay and bisexual men who tested positive for the infection.

Angola declares end to world's worst yellow fever epidemic in decades
ECONOMYNEXT: The Sri Lanka Ports Authority will next year employ its first female gantry crane operators presently undergoing training at its Mahapola Training Institute, Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga said.

Gantry crane operators in Sri Lanka have normally been male, but we changed that practice and began training females as well, he told the Colombo Maritime conference.

The first batch of female gantry crane operators will start work in Colombo port on 8 March 2017, Ranatunga told the forum aimed at educating youth on the maritime industry and employment opportunities available in the sector.
Kerrville, TX (78028)

Today

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.
President Maithripala Sirisena has told the Global Sri Lanka Forum (GSLF) that the recommendations made by the constitutional sub-committee on Periphery and the Centre Relations were merely proposals, members of the group said on Thursday (22).

Coordinator, Global Sri Lanka Forum (GSLF), a newly formed organization of Sri Lankan expatriates, Nuwan Ballantudawa, told a media briefing on Thursday that President had assured that the recommendations of the subcommittee on periphery and the centre will not be implemented or discussed in Parliament. The President had given this assurance when the GSLF questioned him about recommendations made by the sub-committee. Some of these recommendations including the setting up of a senate, limiting the powers of the governors are going to harm the unitary status of the country. We will not approve a Constitution that is going to harm the unitary status of Sri Lanka, he said.

Further he said the notion that the recommendations made by the sub-committees are merely suggestions cannot be accepted as they have been appointed for some purpose. This was in response to an assertion by Mr Ballantudawa that even President Sirisena was of the opinion that the recommendations of the sub-committee were only suggestions.

Furthermore, the President said the government does not have the mandate to compile a new constitution. The United National Party commands 105 seats in Parliament while the SLFP led UPFA has 95. In these circumstances it is clear that a constitution is being compiled by a government which does not even have a simple majority in the House, Mr Ballantudawa said. He charged that President Sirisena formed a government together with the UNP by violating the mandate given to the UPFA.  How can a man who kept away from the SLFP led UPFA during the general election form a government with the UNP? he questioned.

In addition the GSLF said the powers of the provincial councils should be reduced in order to preserve the unitary status of the country. As per the 13th Amendment to the constitution a provincial council can approve or dismiss a Bill pertaining to Parliament by a simple majority while a Bill or a statute pertaining to a provincial council can only be approved or dismissed by the House by a two thirds majority. This clause should be repealed, the organization said.

GSLF is an organization formed by Sri Lankans in countries such as France, UAE, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Canada in September 2016. We are an organization which is committed to safeguarding the unitary status of the country. However we dont have any intention of confronting the Tamil Diaspora though our organization comprises mostly of Sinhalese, the office bearers said. GSLF is to meet all political leaders including the Prime Minister and Tamil National Alliance in the future, they also said. (Yohan Perera)
President Rodrigo Duterte

The Philippines independent human rights watchdog has said it will investigate claims by President Rodrigo Duterte that he personally killed drug suspects while mayor of Davao.





The Commission on Human Rights will also examine reports that so-called death squads killed several hundred people in the southern city.





Mr Duterte confirmed to the BBC last week that he shot dead three men.





Since being elected in May, he has waged a brutal anti-drugs crackdown.





Critics say he has encouraged police, vigilantes and mercenaries to shoot suspected drug dealers and users on sight. Nearly 6,000 people are said to have been killed.





Mr Duterte was mayor of Davao for two decades, during which time he earned a reputation for harshly suppressing crime and was accused of sponsoring death squads.





On Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said Mr Duterte's claims "clearly constitute murder" and he called on authorities to investigate.





Chito Gascon, who heads the Philippines Commission on Human Rights, said on Wednesday a team of investigators would look into the matter.





He told the BBC that a previous investigation into events in Davao, that concluded in 2012, had not found any evidence that Mr Duterte was directly involved in killings but the commission had recommended charges be filed against him "under the doctrine of command responsibility".





Prosecutors, however, had not taken up the recommendation.





"Now, with his admission... we are looking into new evidence that directly links Mr Duterte to the killings," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.





Mr Gascon added that Mr Duterte was immune from prosecution while in office.





But he added: "Even if we cannot file charges while Mr Duterte is president I think it is important that we do have a record and documentation [of events] so that at the time of appropriate reckoning we have the evidence preserved so that people may ultimately be held to account for what they have done."





Earlier this month, Mr Duterte told a group of business leaders that in Davao "I used to do it [kill] personally. Just to show to the guys [police] that if I can do it, why can't you".





His spokesman later dismissed the comments as "tough talk" and denied that Mr Duterte had killed anyone.





But speaking to the BBC hours later, Mr Duterte said: "I killed about three of them... I don't know how many bullets from my gun went inside their bodies. It happened and I cannot lie about it."





One of the president's most strident critics in the Philippines, Senator Leila de Lima, has said his admission could be grounds for impeachment.





But on Wednesday, the government filed criminal charges against Ms de Lima, accusing her of trying to sabotage a congressional investigation into her alleged involvement in the drugs trade. She strongly denies any wrongdoing.





Earlier this week, Ms de Lima told the BBC that she feared for her life, but will not be silenced.





Mr Duterte has dismissed concerns over his anti-drugs policies.

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Source: BBC News , December 22, 2016
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December 19, 2016: The General Assembly of the United Nations confirmed the demand for an end to the death penalty by the vote of a new resolution calling on states to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the practice. This is the sixth pro-moratorium text adopted since 2007.





The new resolution was adopted with 117 votes in favor (as in 2014), 40 no (two more than the 38 of 2014), while the abstainers were 31 (3 less than in 2014) and 5 absent at the time of vote (one more than in 2014).





Although the text contains an amendment, voted in the Third Committee in November on a proposal of Singapore, referring to the prerogatives of States to decide which type of punishment to impose in the face of the most serious crimes, the positive steps in strengthening the text are definitely more relevant.





As for new votes in favor, coming mostly from the African continent and from countries that abstained before, they were those of Guinea, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, as well as that of the Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka. It casted a vote in favor also Nauru, that in 2014 was absent.





Zimbabwe went from a contrary vote to one of abstention.





Sergio D'Elia, Secretary of Hands Off Cain said: "I want to remind that the votes in favor for the first time in Swaziland and Malawi were the result of a mission of Hands Off Cain, with the support of the Italian Foreign Ministry. The mission was aimed exactly to get a favorable vote in the General Assembly, and in 2014 Zimbabwe had been a target country of our mission."





[S]trengthened the front of no Burundi and South Sudan, previously in favor, and the Maldives, previously abstained.





Passed from a vote in favor to a vote of abstention the Philippines, Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Niger, while Lesotho, absent in 2014, abstained this year.





Among the absentees are the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal, both abstained in 2014, and Rwanda, formerly in favor.





This year's resolution has been strengthened in the part that requires states to "make available the relevant information about the use of the death penalty" (among other things, disaggregated by sex, age and race data, and also the number of prisoners on death row, and information about scheduled executions).





The General Assembly for the first time recognized the role that national human rights bodies to support local, national and regional debates on the death penalty. The Assembly for the first time highlighted the need for those who risk the death penalty to be treated with humanity and with respect for their dignity, in accordance with the international law on human rights.





"The confirmation of the votes in favor of a universal moratorium on capital punishment is very important in a time when, faced with the emergency of terrorism, there is the danger of abdicating to the principles of law rather than strengthen them. The General Assembly vote shows us that we must continue to work to raise the threshold for the protection of human dignity in compliance with international treaties said Sergio D'Elia, Secretary of Hands Off Cain.





DElia concluded: The new vote at the Palace of Glass, the sixth at the General Assembly in nine years, demonstrates that the path of dialogue, liberal and anti-prohibitionist, of the moratorium - and not the outright abolition of the death penalty - which since 1993 Hands Off Cain and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty have chosen to propose in all international fora, has proved to be the main way to overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable , and open doors that otherwise be inaccessible.





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BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
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A Corporation of Colorado, IonEarth LLC, Irby Construction Company, Irby Construction Company Inc., Iron Mountain M.J. Electric LLC, Island Mechanical Corporation, J.C.R. Construction Co. Inc., J.C.R. Utility Construction Co., J.W. Didado Electric Inc., J.W. Didado Electric LLC, J.w. Didado Electric, JBT Electric LLC, Kingston Contracting Inc., Lazy Q Ranch LLC, Lazy Q Training Center LLC The Lazy Q Lineman School, Legend Foundation Services, Lex Engineering Ltd., Lindsey Electric L.P., Logical Link, Longfellow Drilling, M. G. Dyess Inc., M. J. ELECTRIC LLC IRON MOUNTAIN, M. J. Electric LLC, M. J. Electric LLC - Iron Mountain, M. J. Electric LLC DBA M. J. Electric Iron Mountain LLC, M.J. Electric LLC DBA M.J. Electric Iron Mountain, M.J. Electric LLC Iron Mountain, MTS Field Services, MTS Field Services (Richmond Co), MTS Quanta LLC, Manuel Bros. Inc., Marathon Construction Services, Mears Canada Corp., Mears Equipment Services LLC, Mears Group Inc., Mears Group Pty Ltd, Mears Installation LLC, Mearsmex S. de R.L. de C.V., Mejia Personnel Services LLC, Mercer Technical Services, Microline Technology Corporation, Mid America Energy Services Inc., NACAP Niugini Ltd., NC Northstar Energy Services Inc, NGI Construction, NGI Construction Inc., NGI Construction Inc. (FN), NLC CA. Inc., NLC FL. Inc. Northwest Lineman Center, NLC ID. Inc. Northwest Lineman College, NLC TX. Inc., NPC Energy Services LLC, Nacap Australia, Nacap PNG Limited, Network Communication Services, North Houston Pole Line L.P., North Houston Pole Line Limited Partnership, North Sky Communications, NorthStar Energy Services Inc., Northern Powerline Constructors Inc., Northstar Energy Solutions LLC, Northwest Lineman Center, Northwest Lineman College, Northwest Lineman Training Center, Northwest Lineman Training Center Inc., Nova Constructors LLC, Nova Constructors LTD, Nova Equipment Leasing LLC, Nova Group Inc, Nova Group Inc (CA), Nova Group Inc., Nova Group Inc. DBA NGI Construction, Nova NextGen Solutions LLC, O. J. Pipelines Canada Corporation, O. J. Pipelines Canada Limited Partnership, O.J. Industrial Maintenance, O.J. Pipelines Canada, One Call Locators Canada Ltd., P.D.G. Electric, PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., PDG Electric Co., Par Internacional S. de R.L. de C.V., Performance Energy Services Guyana Ltd., Performance Energy Services L.L.C., Phasor Engineering Inc., Phoenix North Constructors Inc., Phoenix Power Group Inc., Potelco Inc., Potelco Incorporated, Power Delivery Program Inc., Price Gregory International Inc., Price Gregory Services LLC, Probst Construction Inc., Probst Electric Inc., QEPC, QEPC Power Solutions LLC, QES GP LLC, QP Energy Services LLC, QPS Engineering LLC, QPS Engineering LTD., QPS Engineering PLLC, QPS Environmental, QPS Flint Construction, QPS Flint Tank Services, QPS Global, QPS Global Services, QPS Global Services (Richmond Ci), QPS Professional Services, QPSE, QS Mats, QSI Engineering Inc., QSI Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance (Cayman) Pvt. Ltd., QSI Finance Canada ULC, QSI Finance GP (US) LLC, QSI Finance I (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance I (US) LP, QSI Finance II (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance II (Lux) S.a r.l, QSI Finance II (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance III (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance III (Lux) SARL, QSI Finance IV (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance IX (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance V (US) L.P., QSI Finance VI (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance VII (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance VIII (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance X (Canada) ULC, QSI Inc., QSN Lux Holdings I SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings II SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings III SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings IV SCSp, QTSL LLC, QUANTA FOUNDATION SERVICES, Quanta APL GP II Ltd., Quanta Asset Management LLC, Quanta Associates L.P., Quanta Aviation Services LLC, Quanta Canada GP ULC, Quanta Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership, Quanta Canada Holdings LP, Quanta Canada III GP Ltd., Quanta Capital GP LLC, Quanta Capital LP L.P., Quanta Capital Solutions Inc., Quanta Cares, Quanta EPC Services, Quanta Electric Power Construction LLC, Quanta Electric Power Construction Management Inc., Quanta Electric Power Services LLC, Quanta Electric Power Services West LLC, Quanta Energized Innovations Ltd., Quanta Energized Services U.S. LLC, Quanta Energized Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Energy Services LLC, Quanta Environmental Solutions, Quanta Equipment Company LLC, Quanta Government Solutions Inc., Quanta Holdings I (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Holdings II (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Infraestructura de Chile SpA, Quanta Infrastructure Services LLC, Quanta Infrastructure Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Quanta Inline Devices LLC, Quanta Inspection Services, Quanta Insurance Company Inc., Quanta International Holdings (US) LLC, Quanta International Holdings II Ltd., Quanta International Holdings Ltd., Quanta International Limited, Quanta Kingsvale LP Ltd., Quanta Lines Pty Ltd., Quanta Maine Services LLC, Quanta Middle East LLC, Quanta Pipeline Services Inc., Quanta Power Australia Pty Ltd, Quanta Power Generation Inc., Quanta Power Inc., Quanta Power Solutions India Private Limited, Quanta Resource Development, Quanta Services Africa (PTY) Ltd., Quanta Services Australia Pty Ltd., Quanta Services Chile SpA, Quanta Services Colombia S.A.S., Quanta Services Costa Rica Ltda., Quanta Services Guatemala Ltda., Quanta Services International Holdings II LP, Quanta Services International Holdings LP, Quanta Services Management Partnership L.P., Quanta Services Netherlands B.V., Quanta Services Panama S. de R.L., Quanta Services Peru S.A.C., Quanta Services Puerto Rico LLC, Quanta Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface LLC, Quanta Tank Services, Quanta Technology Canada ULC, Quanta Technology LLC, Quanta Technology UK Ltd., Quanta Tecnologia do Brasil Ltda., Quanta Telecom, Quanta Telecom Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services LLC, Quanta Telecommunications Services LLC, Quanta Underground Services, Quanta Underground Services (Culpeper Co), Quanta Underground Services (Spotsylvania Co), Quanta Underground Services Inc., Quanta Utility Engineering Services Inc., Quanta Utility Installation Company Inc., Quanta Utility Operation LLC, Quanta West LLC, Quantecua Cia. Ltda., R. R. Cassidy Inc., RMS Holdings LLC, RMS Holdings LLC (Delaware), RMS Welding Systems, RMS Welding Systems LLC, Ranger Directional, Realtime Engineers Inc., Realtime Utility Engineers Inc., Redes Andinas de Comunicaciones S.R.L., Riggin & Diggin Line Construction, Rms Welding LLC, Rms Welding Systems LLC, Road Bore Corporation, Ryan Company Inc. The, Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, Ryan Company Inc.(The), Seaward, Seaward Corp, Seaward Corporation, Service EC (DE) Inc., Service Electric Company (DE), Service Electric Company Inc., Service Electric Company of Delaware, Servicios Par Electric S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios de Infraestructura del Peru S.A.C., Southwest Trenching Company Inc., Specialty Tank Services L.P., Specialty Tank Services LP, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Ltd., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. (LP), Specialty Tank Services Ltd. L.P., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold General LLC, Stronghold Holdings (BVI) Limited, Stronghold Inspection L.P., Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Lp, Stronghold Inspection Ltd L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Limited Partnership, Stronghold Ltd., Stronghold Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Management Holdings LP, Stronghold Specialty General LLC, Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Tower Group LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd., Stronghold Tower Group Ltd. LP, Stronghold VI LLC, Subterra Damage Prevention Specialists Ltd., Summit Line Construction, Sumter Utilities Inc., T. G. Mercer Consulting Services Inc., TA Construction, TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., Taylor Built, Texas Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, The Aspen Utility Company LLC, The ComTran Group Inc., The Hallen Construction Co. Inc., The Massachusetts Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc Of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc. (Massachusetts), The Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Incorporated of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Of Massachusetts Inc., The Ryan Company of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company of Massachusetts (FN), Tom Allen Construction Company Inc., Tom Allen Construction Company of Delaware, Trans Tech Electric, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd., TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey I&E Ltd., Turnkey Automation Ltd. L.P., Turnkey Automation Ltd. LP., UCC Underground Construction Co. Inc., Ucc - Underground Construction Co., Underground Construction Co. Inc., Underground Construction Co. Inc. (Delaware), Underground Electric Construction Company LLC, Utilco Inc., Utility Fleet Services, Utility Line Management Services Inc., Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Utility Training Services Corporation, VALARD Polska sp. Z o.o., Valard, Valard, Valard Construction (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Construction (Quebec) Inc., Valard Construction 2008 Ltd., Valard Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Valard Construction LLC, Valard Equipment (AB) Ltd., Valard Equipment GP Ltd., Valard Equipment Limited Partnership, Valard Geomatics (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Geomatics BC Ltd., Valard Geomatics Ltd., Valard Mechanical Ltd., Valard Norway AS, Valard Sweden AB, Valard Zagreb d. o. o., Wade D. Taylor Inc., West Coast Communications, Winco Helicopters, Winco Inc., Winco Inc. an Oregon Based Corporation, Winco Powerline Services, Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Services Inc., World Fiber Inc., and mmit Line Construction Inc..

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I want to preface this with the statement: I think the man who confronted Ms. Trump on the plane is a horse's *** and had no business "visiting the father's sins on" her.



However. She *is* being given a place in the Trump administration. She *will* have an office in the White House. She can't plan on being a political figure, but being immune from criticism because she's the child of a President. You just can't have it both ways.



I do have to question why the same-sex marriage status of the confronting party is trotted out in every single news article about the instance. What possible insight is that into the story and what difference would it make if he were straight? I think it's just another way to inflame the conservative right wing crowd. This group knows which buttons to push.
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 Boeing Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of airplanes and commands more than 50% of the market in some channels and categories. The company and its family of subsidiaries design, develops, manufacture, sell, service, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and related services worldwide. The company operates through four segments including Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital providing products and services to end-users in 150 countries.

Boeing got its start in 1910 when William E. Boeing developed a love for aircraft. Soon after he takes his first plane ride which leads him to build a hangar and begin construction of his first plane. The onset of WWI helped spur the companys growth but business was cut drastically in its wake. The start of WWII was another milestone for the company and one that led to its current position of dominance. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing employs over 140,000 people in 65 countries making it one of the most diverse employers on the planet.

The Commercial Airplanes segment is built around the iconic 7-series which includes the 737, 747, and 787. The segment provides commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as fleet support services for regional, national, and international air carriers and logistics and freight companies. In terms of global volume, the company estimates about 90% of all air freight is carried aboard one of its jets. This segment also includes the Dreamliner family of planes. The Dreamliner is a game-changing airplane for many carriers as it opens up the potential for new one-stop destinations because of its capacity and range.

The Defense, Space & Security segment develops and manufactures a range of systems including manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems for governments. Among the many iconic brands within this segment are the AH-64 Apache, Air Force One, B-52, C-17 Globemaster, Chinook, F/A-18, and the V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft used by the Marines.

The Global Services segment offers a range of products and services that include supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics to its commercial and defense customers.

Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and underground storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas liquefaction and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 83,000 miles of pipelines and 143 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
United Parcel Service, Inc. provides letter and package delivery, transportation, logistics, and related services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States. The International Package segment provides guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping services in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment offers guaranteed time-definite express options. The company also provides international air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution and post-sales, and mail and consulting services in approximately 200 countries and territories. In addition, it offers truckload brokerage services; supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industry; shipping, visibility, and billing technologies; and financial and insurance services. The company operates a fleet of approximately 121,000 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; and owns 59,000 containers that are used to transport cargo in its aircraft. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Second of two parts.

In his 1943 book The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery expressed a great truth.

The Frenchman, who died in 1944, wrote, It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Nearly 50 years earlier, Francis P. Church used the same premise to structuralize his argument that Santa Claus exists. On Sept. 21, 1897, the editorial writer for the New York Sun newspaper assured 8-year-old Virginia OHanlon that the master of merriment didnt have to be seen to be believed.

Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus, Church wrote in the most frequently reprinted newspaper editorial in the English language. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.

The journalist cited love, generosity and devotion as examples of things that are unquestionably known to exist, but have no material form. Such things, he further suggested, were essential to making life worth living.

Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus, Church bewailed. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.

Churchs parade of roughly 500 words resonated so powerfully, in part, because they applied to life in general, and not just to a singular character. He wrote of a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.

Instead of letting it stand at that, the scribe, who will be eternally linked with the yuletide season, provided the key to the kingdom beyond our knowing. The only cost was the ability to believe in the imperceptible.

Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond, Church wrote. Is it all real?

Ah, Virginia, in all the world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever.

A thousand years from now, Virginia  nay, ten times ten thousand years from now  he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Churchs authorship of the timeless message was never announced during his lifetime. It was only after his death in April 1906 that another talented writer at the Sun revealed the man behind the pen.

At this time, with the sense of personal loss strong upon us, we know of no better or briefer way to make the friends of the Sun feel that they too have lost a friend than to violate custom by indicating him [Church] as the author of the beautiful and often republished editorial article affirming the existence of Santa Claus, in reply to the question of a little girl, the anonymous journalist wrote.

With Church on the far side of the curtain he so eloquently wrote about, Virginia became the focus of attention during the holidays. History shows that she was the ideal spokesperson for Santa, and proponent of lifes invisible treasures.

Virginia had a happy childhood, but a short and unhappy marriage. Her husband deserted her shortly before she gave birth to their daughter, Laura. She kept her ex-husbands surname, and reworked her full name to Laura Virginia OHanlon Douglas.

Douglas became a teacher in New York City and, in 1959, retired as a principal. She then moved in with her daughters family in North Chatham, New York.

Charlottesville resident Shelia Dennis became a close friend of Douglas. The families were next-door neighbors when she was growing up, and they often spent time together.

Virginia was a warm, loving person and very distinguished looking, Dennis said. She always had her pearls on, and every hair was in place.

She was a very genuine person. When you sat down to talk with her, you were getting the real deal. I was 10 or 11 years old when I first read Virginias letter and the reply.

She was very humble and unassuming, and always said the big deal wasnt her letter, but Churchs letter back to her. Unless she was asked about it, I dont think she ever brought it up.

Part of her couldnt figure out what all the hoopla was about. She never cashed in on her celebrity status at all. It wouldnt have even occurred to her to do that.

Douglas died in a nursing home in Valatie, New York, on May 13, 1971. She is buried in the Chatham Rural Cemetery in North Chatham.

Douglas passing was front-page news in the New York Times. The headline read: Virginia OHanlon, Santas friend, dies.

Douglas insistence on a solid answer to one of childhoods most pressing questions made her friends around the world. But even the most important answers to lifes big questions must be relearned by each generation, lest they be lost.

Dennis went on to teach second and third grade at Mary E. Dardess Elementary School, located about 7 miles from where she grew up. She always made a point of telling her students about the letter and reply that her dear friend had been responsible for.

The saddest part is that as the years went on, the kids didnt know who Virginia was, Dennis said. I bet if you went into an elementary school classroom today, a lot of the children wouldnt have any idea what this was all about.

But it was a very big deal to us. I still believe in Santa Claus, and the magic of it. I dont ever want to give up that belief.

And having had Virginia as a next-door neighbor was wonderful. She truly was one of those unique people who dont come along in your life very often.

She was like the grandmother every child would like to have.
G. Michael Fitzgerald has no idea what life is like without The Spudnut Shop on Avon Street.

We stopped here on the way home from the hospital when I was born, the son of shop owners Lori and Mike Fitzgerald said.

The store, called Spudnuts for the potato-flour doughnuts it makes, will be closing at the end of business on Friday after more than four decades in business.

Richard Wingfield opened the shop in 1969 with his wife, Fay. Wingfield died in 2005, but his daughter Lori Fitzgerald and her husband, Mike, continued to run the shop.

Once part of a more than 300-store national chain, the Charlottesville shop is one of the last Spudnuts on the East Coast. Its unknown what will happen to the property after the shop closes.

Dr. Richard Lindsay moved to Charlottesville in 1961 and has been coming to the shop since the mid-1970s.

I began to stop in here on the way to the hospital in the morning, take some doughnuts to the conference room  we had the young docs who were in training  we would sit around and talk about the cases and have Spudnuts, he said.

Lindsay became a regular customer, coming in many mornings after he retired and conversing at the back table with friends. The group isnt sure where theyre going to meet next.

I leave, and for the rest of the day Ive got a positive force behind me, he said. Ive got Spudnut in me and a cup of coffee, but more importantly, Ive talked to some friends and Ive found a good place to meet people. So for me, its like Times Square; they say Times Square is the crossroads of the world. Well, Spudnuts, for me, is the crossroads of Charlottesville.

He said the owners have been good to him over the years, and hell miss going to a place where he has contact and a relationship with the owners.

They know you as an individual  whereas if you go to another shop, you go to the window and the guy gives you the doughnuts, and thats it, youre gone, Lindsay said. The personal nature of this business, like really small businesses, is disappearing, and thats a scary thing. We need more places like this.

Many customers  veterans and newcomers alike  have expressed how they do not want to see the shop close.

Its a local establishment, its literally a mom and pop store, and its sad to see something like that go away, customer John Baran said. I know how hard they work and how taxing it is on them to do the doughnuts.

Baran said he knows the owners well and has taught G. Michael at Monticello High School.

Its disappointing; theyre a Charlottesville institution. I hate to see them go, he said. G. Michaels a senior, so I wont see him after this year. I hope that I still get to see Mike and Lori. I dont know where Im going to find them.

Carter Boyd, 10, said he was going to the shop every day until they closed. He said his favorite part about Spudnuts is eating them.

When he stopped by on Wednesday, a customer gave out pieces of her Spudnut to children waiting in line after the shop had run out. Carter was one of them.

It was so good, that first doughnut, he said. It wasnt as good as the fresh ones that were made right after we waited 50 minutes; that was so much better.

They feel like air; theyre so soft and fluffy, he said.

His mom, Kenna Boyd, said they have been coming to the shop since he was 10 months old.

We lived in Crozet when we first moved here, so we would make the drive with him because he would be up at 5 in the morning anyway, so we would just put him in the car, she said.

Cheryl Hicks came to the shop on Thursday for some of the last Spudnuts with her sister, who was visiting from Arizona, and waited more than an hour to make sure she got some.

A few weeks ago when I came in here, the line was out the door all the way around the store, and I waited, she said. It was about a 45-minute wait.

She said she has fond memories of having Spudnuts at work and bringing them to her grandson.

Ive been coming here for quite a few years, she said. Theyre great people and theyre always so sweet when they talk to you. Theyre going to be greatly missed.

G. Michael Fitzgerald said he doesnt know what to expect after the shop closes. Hell now have more free time and more time to do homework, work on scholarships and will be able to sleep in, he said.

A lot of people are really going to miss this place, which, as the owners, its good to know that you had an impact, but for me, personally, its always been just a job, he said. So for me, it probably doesnt mean as much for me as it does for my parents or for the customers who have come here for so many years.

Its significant to me in that I dont have to get up super early anymore, he said.
For a man who makes his money making home repairs, Joe Noonan has cleaned out a lot of garages.

Its just part of the customer service, Noonan laughed. If youre doing work for a customer and you get done early, you just go ahead and find something else to do. Were famous for cleaning garages and moving boxes, and the customers seem to like that, especially the older ones. If we find something small that we can fix while were there, we just go ahead and do it. Theyre surprised when we do it without charge.

Noonan is a man who goes out of his way to make a difference, even if that difference is small.

The 60-year-old Michigan native has lived all around the country, moving to Central Virginia in 2004 after working in the ski industry in Maine. His experience in building luxury houseboats in Seattle and working with a construction company in California and Boston led him and his wife, Margie, to open Noonans Inside and Outside Repairs.

His attention to detail, pride in his work and willingness to make a comfortable living have led him to focus on home repairs rather than expanding into other trades or services.

I cant speak for all of Charlottesville, but for my community, he makes a big difference, said customer Dr. Harvey Miller, of Keswick. When you need help, he will go out of his way to take care of you and, if he cant do it, he knows people who can.

Miller said Noonan is more than a hired hand; he quickly becomes a friend.

He was working here one day and we just started chatting and, when my wife came home, she found us having lunch together, Miller laughed. Hes just such a great guy and he really cares about the people he works for. He becomes sort of a family member.

Noonans love of people has earned him a loyal following and a reputation for helping others.

He goes overboard and to the last mile for me, said customer Barbara Deal. He looks for things that arent working or arent perfect and he wants things right, so he just does them.

Deal agreed.

Hes a great guy and we sit down and chat sometimes, maybe have lunch, she said.

Miller said Noonan is quick to respond to a customers needs and problems.

He always responds with a smile to a caller for his services and tries to squeeze them in, if at all possible, Miller said. His business is not 9 to 5; its whatever it takes each and every day.

Noonan is a most affable man whose congeniality has led to many adventures. A high school and college gymnast, he fell in with a group of serious mountain climbers while building houseboats on the West Coast.

That led to nine ascents on Mount Rainier, climbs in the Yosemite Valley and scaling the nose of El Capitan and ascending Half Dome.

Rekindling a friendship with an old high school friend resulted in Noonan serving four years as a mechanic and support crewmember for the Type I diabetes bicycle race team in the Ride Across America endurance challenge from California to Maryland.

That was exhausting, but a lot of fun, he said. It was a great experience going across country with these riders in five days, in rain, sleet and whatever. Id get about 15 hours of sleep in five days and then sleep for an entire day when it was over.

His outdoor experience led him to the ski industry in Maine. And that led him to train horses and help develop a therapeutic riding school for handicapped children.

I love working with horses and it was something we started doing to help build up the program, he recalled. It was a wonderful experience. We still have horses, but when youre running a small business, it takes up most of your time. All the riding we do now is just for fun.

Chatting with customers also connected him with one of his favorite charities, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet retirement fund.

I grew up in Catholic schools and I have a lot of respect for the nuns and the priests who worked with me when I was young, he said. One day I was working at a customers home and from time to time wed stop and chat and I saw a photograph of a nun and asked about it.

The customer told Noonan about the fund, which allows retired nuns to have a little extra money to live on.

They pretty much get room and board when they retire, but if they want any extra, if they want to go to movies or go to dinner, thats not included, he said. I started giving a little and I received a handwritten letter from the Mother. What I got in return for my money was her prayers, and I thought that was a pretty good deal.

Noonan said he gives back whenever and whatever he can, both in time and money.

Theres a ton of great charities out there. There are a lot of charities that deserve support, but the nuns really spoke to me, he said. We dont have a ton of dough to dish out, but if retired nuns get to go see a movie and have a night out on the Noonans, thats great!

Noonan said the little extra things he does are just his way of saying thank you to customers and generating a little bit of goodwill.

Its about relationship-building, and in business, you want to develop a relationship with customers so they think of you the next time they need something done, he said. I like people, and this lets me meet folks and get to know them. Its rewarding to do a little more than they bargain for. I enjoy it.
LOVINGSTON  Nearly a month after a Lovingston wildfire that burned more than 1,600 acres subsided, the Nelson County Board of Supervisors heard a final report from the Virginia Department of Forestry and lifted a county-wide burn ban last Tuesday.

During its monthly meeting, the board unanimously passed a resolution lifting a burn ban that had been in effect since Nov. 21. The resolution states the ban was lifted because of recent rain and the forecast for periodic rainfall that decreased the fire risk.

Supervisors also unanimously passed a resolution honoring all local volunteer departments and VDF for their response to the fire, which began Nov. 20 on Eades Lane and burned for several days before it was contained.

I realize that the dispatchers got a lot of calls when the fire came over the mountain and down toward Lovingston, said Martha Warring, the Nelson County forester from the VDF, and Im sure it was a frightening sight for most people to see, but I felt confident through the whole thing that we could get a handle on it, and we did.

Warring said almost all of the volunteer fire departments in the county, as well as VDF, responded immediately to the fire at about 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20, but conditions that night meant the fire could not be immediately contained.

The volunteer departments and forestry personnel backed off after assessing the fire and determining that no nearby structures would be threatened, and they came back the next morning to work on the fire.

Until it was contained about four days later, the fire jumped containment lines several times.

Thats one of the reasons why this fire got as large as it did, because we used those natural barriers, Warring said. But even the natural barriers that we used, like roads or creeks, power lines, anything like that, the fire crossed those.

Low humidity contributed to the spread of the fire, and Warring said the fire was unable to be contained until the humidity rose.

A major asset to firefighters, Warring explained, was the help of a geographic information system expert, who helped provide good maps throughout the process.

During the week the fire burned, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, VDF devoted 118 tractor-plow hours, 40 hours on all-terrain vehicles and a total of 2,429 man hours. Given the raging fire in nearby Amherst County, which burned more than 11,000 acres, no air resources were used to control the Nelson fire.

Only one minor injury was associated with the fire: A firefighter who responded the night the fire began was treated for a sprain at Blue Ridge Medical Center.

Warring said the cost to contain the fire totaled just more than $60,000.

We could not have done that as cheaply as we did without the help of Nelson County, not only emergency services [and] the fire departments, [but] the Board of Supervisors [and] the county administration, Warring said. Everybody was there to help, especially the people and the businesses of Nelson County.
RICHMOND  A 37-year-old Louisa County man was killed Friday night when he was hit by a car as it rounded a curve.

Daniel O. Jackson died at the scene after being struck by a 2001 Honda Accord heading north on School Bus Road less than a mile north of Route 33, according to Virginia State Police in a news release Saturday morning.

Police said Jackson was in the middle of the road. There are no charges in the crash.
RICHMOND  An effort by Ricky Javon Gray to stop his scheduled Jan. 18 execution is based on speculation and anecdotal evidence from other states and must fail, the Virginia Attorney Generals Office argued in a federal court response filed Friday.

Grays lawyers are challenging Virginias plan to use a drug not created by a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Among other things, they cited purported botched executions elsewhere, contending the use of the drugs could lead to cruel and unusual punishment and suggesting that a firing squad would be more humane.

They have filed a request in the U.S. District Court in Richmond for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the execution.

In a 31-page response, the Virginia Attorney Generals Office argued the execution should proceed.

There is a strong public interest in favor of seeing these proceedings through to their ultimate conclusion. There is also a strong public interest in bringing closure to the families of Grays many victims. In light of the speculative nature of Grays allegations, the Court should not exacerbate their agony by granting him leave to pursue his ultimately baseless Eighth Amendment claim, the response states.

Virginia law allows inmates to choose between the electric chair and lethal injection. Injection is the default method for those who do not choose, and the state has conducted 80 executions by injection since 1995. Because of a shortage of drugs, two of the three chemicals planned for use in Grays execution were made by an unidentified compounding pharmacy, not a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Gray contends that one of the drugs, midazolam, has been implicated in what it called botched executions in other states, most recently in Alabama, and that Virginias plan to use a version of it made by a compounding pharmacy greatly increases the risk of a torturous death.

Because Virginia no longer can obtain midazolam from a pharmaceutical company, state law was changed allowing it and other required drugs to be made by compounding pharmacies. The law allows the Department of Corrections to keep the identity of the pharmacy a secret.

The process of drug compounding means combining two or more ingredients into a single preparation, while drug manufacturing means the production of any item regulated by the drug control act and does not include compounding, explained the attorney general Friday. A compounded drug was used by the state in last years execution of serial killer Alfredo Prieto.

The Department of Corrections has obtained enough midazolam and potassium chloride to conduct two executions. The attorney generals office said Friday that Virginias Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services tested and verified the drugs twice.

Grays lawyers contend, This method for creating drugs unnecessarily adds enormous risk that the drugs will be ineffective, sub-potent, expired or contaminated. ... Recent botched executions have shown the horrific results of using FDA-approved, manufactured midazolam.

But the attorney generals office responded that there is no evidence inmates in the cases cited by Gray suffered as a result of midazolam, which has been successfully used in executions by Florida 12 times. Problems in an Oklahoma case cited by Gray were the result of a misplaced IV line, the state said.

Gray has been on death row for ten years, but waited until the eleventh-hour to challenge the constitutionality of Virginias execution procedures, the response states.

The attorney generals office wrote that the emergency injunction sought by Gray is an extraordinary remedy involving the exercise of a very far-reaching power which is to be applied only in limited circumstances which clearly demand it.

These extraordinary circumstances are not present here, the attorney general argues. The brief says, The compounded substances have been independently tested and verified, so Gray will not be irreparably harmed when they are used during his January execution.

In addition, Virginia has never authorized execution by firing squad, has never executed anyone by firing squad, has never trained personnel on firing squad methodologies, and does not have a bulletproof chamber that is equipped for execution by firing squad.

Indeed, if a [Department of Corrections] employee were to execute Gray, via firing squad, that employee would be subject to prosecution for first-degree murder, argues the state.

Under a schedule set by the judge last week, Gray has until next Friday to respond. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson has scheduled a hearing on Grays emergency request on Jan. 3.

In an order Thursday, the judge said both sides will be allowed to present testimony from witnesses via video conferencing as needed.

Gray, 39, murdered sisters Ruby Harvey, 4, and Stella Harvey, 9, and their parents, Bryan Harvey, 49, and Kathryn Harvey, 39, in their South Richmond home on New Years Day 2006.

Gray and accomplice Ray Dandridge, 39, also killed Ashley Baskerville, 21, who had been a lookout when Gray killed the Harveys; Baskervilles mother, Mary Tucker, 47; and stepfather Percyell Tucker, 55, in their Richmond home days after the two men killed the Harveys. Dandridge was sentenced to life.
FAIRFAX  The police use of automatic license plate readers, photographing hundreds of license plates per minute and capturing the exact time and place of the photo, has become routine in law enforcement and is credited with helping to solve all manner of crimes, find missing persons and locate stolen vehicles. But the vast data those readers generate continues to alarm civil liberties advocates, troubled by the possibility of police tracking peoples movements, and now a legal challenge is headed to Virginias Supreme Court to determine whether the police can keep the information indefinitely  or not at all.

Different states, and individual police departments, have varying policies on how long the police can keep the data from their license plate readers. In Colorado, the data can be kept for three years. In New Hampshire, state law says the readers cant be used at all. In Virginia, where there is no restriction, the American Civil Liberties Union entered the swirling controversy over data retention by suing the Fairfax County Police Department, seeking an injunction to prevent them from keeping the license data they currently maintain for a year. Last month, a Fairfax judge threw the case out, ruling that a license plate is not personal information, in what appears to be the first court ruling nationwide on that issue, important in states that prohibit government from keeping citizens personal information.

The ACLU is appealing that ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court. If the state high court reviews the case, its ruling would likely set a precedent in Virginia  either allowing police departments to maintain license data indefinitely, or requiring them to purge it almost immediately  that could launch a similar legal shift in state laws and police departments nationwide.

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The Virginia case has attracted attention from national groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Vigilant Solutions, one of the largest manufacturers of LPRs, and both filed amicus briefs in the case. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said that some readers can capture 1,800 plate numbers per minute, and that one Northern California law enforcement agency had collected data on 3.2 million plates in just three months. Of those 3.2 million, only 720 were linked to crime, and the other 99.09 percent were not, the foundation said.

Vigilant argued that a license plate is essentially a mobile billboard that is seen by countless others whenever a vehicle is in public view, and that since government mandates license plates be publicly visible, the additional act of recording what everyone can see entails no invasion of privacy distinct from this universal viewing.

When it comes to license plate readers, data retention is in fact the most critical issue nationwide, said Chad Marlow, advocacy and policy counsel for the ACLU. He said the police argument for maintaining data can be summarized as, Just because, just in case. Just because were collecting the ALPR data, Marlow said, we might as well keep it just in case one of you might be a criminal. That is mass surveillance to a T.

Twelve states have enacted laws specific to license plate readers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, with some limiting the amount of time the data may be kept from 21 days (Maine) to 90 days (Tennessee and North Carolina) to 18 months (Vermont). A survey by the Electronic Frontier Foundation found most California police departments kept the license data for one to two years, though the Los Angeles County sheriff keeps it for five. There is no reader-specific law in Virginia.

The Virginia lawsuit centers on another state law, the Data Act, which says that agencies shall not collect personal information except as explicitly or implicitly authorized by law. The Virginia State Police, concerned about whether their collection of license plate data violated the Data Act, asked the state attorney general for an opinion. Then-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican, advised in 2013 that active collection of information for an ongoing case was legal but passive collection of license plates, without a need clearly established in advance, was illegal. The state police began purging their databases every 24 hours.

But many police departments in Virginia ignored the advisory opinion and kept the data, some for as long as two years. A bipartisan measure to limit the data retention to seven days overwhelmingly passed both houses of the state General Assembly in 2015, but Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, vetoed the bill at the urging of police groups, saying it would negatively impact public safety. The ACLU, representing a Fairfax County man whose license plate had been recorded twice by the automatic readers, sued the Fairfax police days later.

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License plate readers automatically photograph up to hundreds of plates per minute while in motion, then convert the numbers into text and continuously compare those with a Hot List of stolen auto plates and cars related to other crimes. If a connection is made with the Hot List, a monitor in the car alerts the officer, who can act immediately. Storing the plate numbers, and their locations, also enables police to look back in time to try to link a car to a crime scene, or to find a missing person.

License plate readers were used by police in New York to help track down a man suspected of planting bombs in Manhattan in September. Police in Arlington found a 67-year-old man who had been missing for two days, and was near death, when his car was recorded blocks away from his residence. A 2012 survey of police departments by the International Association of Chiefs of Police found that departments using license plate readers had increased their stolen auto recoveries by 68 percent. Don DeLucca, chief of the Doral, Florida, police and president of the IACP, said the readers had led to 42 stolen cars and one missing person in 2016 in his city of 56,000. He said the use of stationary readers at the entrances to the city was well known and served as a deterrent to criminals.

The LPR system is a valuable crime fighting tool, Fairfax police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. said. Oftentimes, crimes are not discovered immediately and/or we eventually develop leads in which we have to go back in time to develop probable cause and bring a suspect to justice to prevent further harm to the community. This is a primary reason why its important to retain the data within the scope of the Virginia Data Act.

Still, most of the stolen autos and missing persons are located quickly if not immediately by the plate readers. Maintaining time and location data of cars over time creates the possibility for abuse by creating a trail of personal movement, many experts said. It becomes very seductive as a law enforcement tool, said Joseph Schafer, professor of criminology at Southern Illinois University, because youve got a lot of data. Officers could use it secretly to obtain leads on cases, Schafer said, or monitor the movements of someone either for professional or personal reasons, and if violations occur, they would not likely become public.This is a great example of how technology and data systems can encroach into our lives.

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The ACLUs Fairfax lawsuit on behalf of Harrison Neal focused on Virginias Data Act law prohibiting the collection of personal information, defined to include an agency-issued identification number. Lawyers Edward Rosenthal and Hope Amezquita argued that it is difficult to understand how the tag number assigned by the DMV  is anything other than an agency-issued identification number  which FCPD admits it stores in its ALPR database.

In Fairfaxs first attempt to dismiss the case, a judge agreed with the ACLU. Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Grace Carroll ruled that the license plate, by virtue of the link to the data bank to DMV tells you who that vehicle belongs to  this court finds that that is personal information. Carroll added, Otherwise, what would be the point of holding that information?

But Fairfax moved for summary judgment in the case. Assistant County Attorney Kimberly Baucom argued that the license plate number of a vehicle says absolutely nothing about an individual, his personal characteristics such as his fingerprints, or his membership in an organization  The FCPDs ALPR database contains no additional information associated with the license plate number, nor did it contain any information specific to Neal.

Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Robert Smith issued an opinion on Nov. 18 after finding no precedent anywhere on the issue of whether a license plate qualifies as personal information. Smith examined the issue from a privacy perspective, reasoning that if information isnt private, how can it be personal? He noted that federal appeals courts have found that there is no privacy interest in a license plate number, in part because its in plain view, and that running a check of a license plate by an officer is not a violation of the Constitution.

A reading of these cases, Smith wrote, logically leads to but one conclusion to that issue  license plate numbers are not personal information. He dismissed the ACLUs suit. The ACLU filed its notice of appeal on Dec. 20. ACLU-VA Executive Director Claire Guthrie Gastanaga said of the judges ruling, Its very hard to understand how a Social Security number or other government-issued number is deemed personal information, but your license plate number is not. All these numbers are indexed to your name across various databases easily accessible to law enforcement agencies.

* * *

If the Virginia General Assembly added license plate numbers to the Data Acts definition of personal information, as it did in the bill vetoed in 2015, the case would become moot. State Sen. Chapman Petersen, a Democrat who helped create the bipartisan Ben Franklin Liberty Caucus in the General Assembly after the license plate reader issue intensified, said he would be taking another run at the matter in 2017. Any type of surveillance technology that just randomly accumulates data, Petersen said, and makes it available to the police, I dont accept it. I think its incumbent on us to put restraints on these types of technologies.

A similar debate is rumbling through statehouses across the country, with about a quarter having already enacted reader-specific laws and another quarter of the states considering one, Schafer said. Its split, the ACLUs Marlow said of debates over how long to allow the data to be kept, but because of politics, not philosophy. A lot of states have a practice of deferring to law enforcement, and a lot of the police departments are political forces in and of themselves. The politicians dont want to take on that fight. Politicians who oppose police on an issue could find embarrassing data about their whereabouts leaked, in one possible scenario of abuse of reader data, Marlow said.

Fairfax Chief Roessler said that wouldnt happen. Existing laws prohibit anyone from accessing the system for mere curiosity and/or abuse. Accessing the system is strictly held to law enforcement purposes only. He said Fairfaxs policy demonstrates how we safeguard from big brother abuses. I will not tolerate such abuses by any employee as the publics trust is paramount with this data.

Marlow said he had spoken to a number of chiefs who understood the privacy concerns. But they do not have a privacy mission, Marlow said. They take their responsibility as stopping crime. I understand that keeping data on every American would enhance crime fighting. Just as locking up every American would fight crime. We have to balance the equation.
We write to say thank you to Bodos for its quick and decisive response to incidents of hostile racial harassment and hate speech that, sadly, occurred recently at this popular Charlottesville restaurant (nbc29.com/story/33695338/bodos-owner-speaks-out-following-harassment-toward-workers). We agree with Bodos that intolerance and hate speech are abhorrent and unacceptable and have no place in our community or in any community.
RICHMONDIt is quiet now and a time of reflection for Sen. Tim Kaine.

Less than two months after a bruising presidential campaign in which Kaine visited more than 40 states as Hillary Clintons vice presidential running mate, he is at peace and looking forward.

The disappointment of the loss of the presidency to Republican Donald Trump is behind Kaine. He is looking ahead to a January return to the 115th Congress.

Things happen for a reason, Kaine said during a recent interview with The News Virginian. He is four years into his term as one of Virginias U.S. senators, and he plans to focus on that job. Kaine will not seek the presidency in 2020.

Kaine has carved out an impressive national security and defense niche as a member of both the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees.

Now he is adding to his Senate focus with a new assignment on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. That change will happen when the new Congress starts.

Part of Kaines emphasis during his Senate term has been on education, including meeting with vocational educators and business leaders in the Shenandoah Valley about workforce certification.

But there are plenty of national security concerns for Kaine as the calendar turns to 2017.

He is grappling with the issues of non-state terrorism, the cyber attack of the Democratic National Committee by Russia, and the entire threat of cyber to the United States.

Of the latter, Kaine thinks the United States needs a doctrine regarding cyber. He is concerned that the threat of a cyber attack could cripple U.S. power grids, the American financial system and other matters affecting national security.

When is a cyber attack an act of war? Kaine asked. He said having a doctrine would help determine how the United States responds to a cyber attack.

Kaine has a mixed reaction on President-elect Trumps picks for cabinet positions.

He is impressed with retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as the potential head of Homeland Security. Kaine said Kelly, who headed Southern Command for the U.S. Military, is tough, smart and compassionate.

The senator also thinks Marine Gen. James Mattis can be a very good secretary of defense. Kaine said Elaine Chao would be a strong secretary of transportation. The wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Chao was previously secretary of labor.

Kaine does not feel similarly about Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state nominee who has been ExxonMobil CEO. I have deep concerns, he said. He has deep personal ties to Russia. ExxonMobil has also funded climate science denial, Kaine said.

Kaine does not support Scott Pruett, the Oklahoma attorney general and Trumps nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruett has also been an opponent of climate science.

Another nominee that Kaine has reservations about is Health and Human Services secretary nominee, Rep. Tom Price of Georgia.

He wants to change Medicaid and Medicare and is anti-Planned Parenthood, Kaine said of Price, a physician before he was elected to Congress.

As for Trump, Kaine retains hope that the president-elect will can it with the name calling. Kaine would like to partner with the new chief executive on an infrastructure plan for the country.

Id love to work on an infrastructure package, said Kaine, who has a multitude of questions about how the plan would work. Those questions range from how the project would be financed, to what improvements would be picked across America.

Kaine worries that Trump, who has borrowed heavily to finance his business empire, may not focus enough on how to pay for an infrastructure project.

Kaine counts former Virginia Sen. John Warner as a role model for his work in the Senate.

He cared about committee leadership, said Kaine. As a member of Senate Foreign Relations, Kaine brings strong expertise of the Americas and the Middle East. His next goal is work on becoming more knowledgeable about the Far East. That would mean serving on the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee and focusing on Vietnam, China and Japan.

That is a huge and important part of the world, Kaine said.
An effort by Ricky Javon Gray to stop his scheduled Jan. 18 execution is based on speculation and anecdotal evidence from other states and must fail, the Virginia Attorney Generals Office argues in a federal court response filed today.

Grays lawyers are challenging Virginias plan to use a drug not created by a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Among other things, they cited purported botched executions elsewhere, contending the use of the drugs could lead to cruel and unusual punishment and suggested that a firing squad would be more humane.

They have filed a request in the U.S. District Court in Richmond for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt the execution.

In a 31-page response filed this morning, the Virginia Attorney Generals Office argued the execution should proceed.

There is a strong public interest in favor of seeing these proceedings through to their ultimate conclusion. There is also a strong public interest in bringing closure to the families of Grays many victims. In light of the speculative nature of Grays allegations, the Court should not exacerbate their agony by granting him leave to pursue his ultimately baseless Eighth Amendment claim, the response states.

Virginia law has allows inmates to choose between the electric chair and lethal injection. Injection is the default method for those who will not choose and the state has conducted 80 executions by injection since 1995. Because of a shortage of drugs, two of the three chemicals planned for use in Grays execution were made by an unidentified compounding pharmacy, not a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Gary contends that one of the drugs, midazolam, has been implicated in what it called botched executions in other states, most recently in Alabama, and that Virginias plan to use a version of it made by a compounding pharmacy greatly increases the risk of a torturous death.

Because Virginia can no longer obtain midazolam from a pharmaceutical company state law was changed allowing it and other required drugs to be made by compounding pharmacies. The law allows the Department of Corrections to keep the identity of the pharmacy a secret.

The process of drug compounding means combining two or more ingredients into a single preparation while drug manufacturing means the production of any item regulated by the drug control act and does not include compounding, explained the attorney general Friday. A compounded drug was used by the state in last years execution of serial killer Alfredo Prieto.

The Department of Corrections has obtained enough midazolam and potassium chloride to conduct two executions. The attorney generals office said today that the Virginias Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services tested and verified the drugs twice.

Garys lawyers contend, This method for creating drugs unnecessarily adds enormous risk that the drugs will be ineffective, sub-potent, expired or contaminated ... recent botched executions have shown the horrific results of using FDA-approved, manufactured midazolam.

But the attorney generals office responds that there was no evidence inmates in the cases cited by Gray as a result of midazolam which has been successfully used in executions by Florida 12 times. Problems in an Oklahoma case cited by Gray were the result of a misplaced IV line, the state says.

Gray has been on death row for ten years, but waited until the eleventh-hour to challenge the constitutionality of Virginias execution procedures, the response states.

The attorney generals office wrote that the emergency injunction sought by Gray is an extraordinary remedy involving the exercise of a very far-reaching power which is to be applied only in limited circumstances which clearly demand it.

These extraordinary circumstances are not present here, the attorney general argues. The brief says, The compounded substances have been independently tested and verified, so Gray will not be irreparably harmed when they are used during his January execution.

In addition, Virginia has never authorized execution by firing squad, has never executed anyone by firing squad, has never trained personnel on firing squad methodologies, and does not have a bulletproof chamber that is equipped for execution by firing squad.

Indeed, if a (Department of Corrections) employee were to execute Gray, via firing squad, that employee would be subject to prosecution for first degree murder, argues the state.

Under a schedule set by the judge last week, Gray has until next Friday to respond. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson has scheduled a hearing on Garys emergency request on Jan. 3.

In an order Thursday, the judge said both sides will be allowed to present testimony from witnesses via video conferencing as needed.

Gray, 39, murdered sisters Ruby Harvey, 4, and Stella Harvey, 9, and their parents, Bryan Harvey, 49, and Kathryn Harvey, 39, in their South Richmond home on New Years Day, 2006.

Gray and accomplice Ray Dandridge, 39, also killed Ashley Baskerville, 21, who had been a lookout when Gray killed the Harveys; Baskervilles mother, Mary Tucker, 47; and stepfather Percyell Tucker, 55, in their Richmond home days after the two men killed the Harveys. Dandridge was sentenced to life.
The Culpeper woman wanted in connection with a springtime homicide in Manassas has been arrested.

Rhebekah Alexis Patterson, 29, of Retriever Road was taken into custody Dec. 19 in the city of Charlottesville without incident, according to the Prince William County Police Department. She is charged with principal in the second degree to murder in the shooting death May 12 of Jason Thomas Mannion, 43, at a residence in the 9500 block of Hensley Road.

Two other residents from Culpeper have also been arrested in the homicide. A preliminary investigation alleged that Marquan Antonio Brown, 25 and Jhaire Nathaniel Montgomery, 19, attempted to rob the victim inside the home in Manassas. During the encounter, Mannion was shot and later died.

Ms. Patterson is also alleged to have participated in the incident. All three of the suspects knew each other, according to police. Brown and Montgomery were charged with murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, according to Prince William Police.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia plans to sell up to 49 per cent of its oil giant Saudi Aramco within 10 years as the world's largest crude exporter tries to lower its deficit, local media said Saturday.

The Al-Eqtisadiah daily quoted an unnamed official as saying the sale would raise funds to be spent "at home and abroad" in what is expected to form the world's largest state investment fund.

The kingdom is looking to diversify its oil-dependent economy and has already announced cutbacks after its 2015 deficit snowballed to $97 billion (93 billion euros).

The IPO for state-owned Aramco could take place in 2018 and an initial sale of a five per cent share is expected to form the basis for the fund holding around $2 trillion in assets.

The firm will next year begin publishing quarterly results in a bid to attract potential investors, Aramco chief Amin Nasser has said.

Riyadh earlier this month agreed to slash its oil production beyond cuts agreed among OPEC members, giving crude prices a lift. They remain at around half of their mid-2014 levels.
The bonds, carrying a coupon rate of 9.50 per cent, witnessed participation from insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, provident funds, banks amongst others.

New Delhi: Private sector Yes Bank today said it has raised Rs 3,000 crore from bonds to fund business expansion.

With this capital raising, the bank's Tier-I Capital Ratio will be at 12 per cent including profits and adjusted for pro-rata dividends, Yes Bank said in a statement.

The Basel-III compliant additional Tier-1 (AT1) Bonds will be listed on the BSE and its proceeds will qualify for Basel III Tier-I Capital.

The bonds, carrying a coupon rate of 9.50 per cent, witnessed participation from insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, provident funds, banks amongst others.

Under the Basel-III norms, AT-1 bonds come with loss absorbency features, meaning that in case of stress, banks can write off such investments or convert them into common equity if approved by the RBI.

AT-1 bonds qualify as core or equity capital.
New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today asked the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) to prepare a list of qualified women professionals who can be appointed on boards of public sector units.

"Most often we...do not put women as independent directors in many of our public sector undertakings...its actually a bit difficult task," Sitharaman said at an award function organised by ICSI here.

"I only appeal to the ICSI that you not just be ready with qualified women who can fill those positions which you want to fill, but also you should keep a bank of names which you can help the government with because most often in our searches, we are limited to Lutyens' Delhi and that's not good," she added.

The minister said the government needs people from all over the country. "I am sure that there are women who can occupy such positions," she said.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has repeatedly asked the government to ensure that listed PSUs are in full compliance with the norms relating to independent directors in order to ensure good corporate governance practices.
Mumbai: The superstar is back in Mumbai after wrapping up shoot of the second instalment of her popular FBI-inspired TV series Quantico. PeeCee is on a two-week break for Christmas and New Year.

Seems like Priyanka is making good use of her break. After signing a two-year agreement with Assam government as its brand ambassador for tourism, the superstar shot for Karan Johars famous celebrity chat show Koffee with Karan.

And if rumours are to be believed, Priyanka was her usual confident and honest self.

When asked whether she has faced racism in Hollywood, the actress reportedly replied yes.

A source from the sets revealed to a daily, When KJo asked her if she faced racism she admitted that she did, but not in studios. She shared that it was at the airport when she was sitting in the lounge for first class passengers that she was a victim. One of the ground staff personnel was rude to her telling that she was sitting in the wrong place. Only after she argued that she was a valid first class passenger, did he apologise.

Piggy Chops being the first actress Indian actress to have made it big in Hollywood, warns her contemporaries who choose to follow her path, Chopra reportedly said this to karan Johar.

Her Hollywood debut Baywatch alongside Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron is slated to release on May 27.
Priyanka will meet Bhansali again at his office next week and is expected to sign on the dotted line only in February. The duo has been discussing scripts for the last one year. Theyre very fond of each other, a source reportedly told a leading newspaper..

Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra recently confirmed that she will be doing two Bollywood projects next year. After a very busy schedule in US, the actress is back in Mumbai for a two-week break.

PeeCee is reportedly gearing up for a second innings with her Bajirao Mastani director Sanjay Leela Bhansali (SLB). While some say she will play the lead role of Amrita Pritam in SLBs Sahir Ludhianvi biopic Gustakhiyan, a new report claims that the superstar will star in Bhansalis female-centric project which the ace director is still working on.

A source close to the development told a newspaper, Priyanka has met and discussed scripts with seven Bollywood directors over the last four months. She is being very selective as her calendar is choc-o-bloc till 2018 since the chance of 'Quantico' getting a third season is high.

Bhansali is currently busy with his period drama Padmavati and has two other projects lined up, one being Gustakhiyan.

Chopra, on the other hand, is constantly juggling between work commitments and spending quality time with family. The Quantico actress has been appointed the Global Goodwill ambassador by The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and in India, she is the brand ambassador of Assam tourism.

The actress has flown down to Guwahati after attending a party hosted by her best friend Srishti Behl Arya at her Juhu residence.
Actress Carrie Fisher suffered a major heart attack while she was on an 11-hour transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles on Saturday. A distress call was made by the pilot and it was revealed that the actress was being kept alive by CPR but she was unresponsive.

Despite reports that the actress was stable, her brother Todd Fisher told Variety that she was in the intensive care unit and everyone was praying for her, reported Dailymail.co.uk.

After she was admitted, her 24-year-old daughter, Billie Lourd, rushed to the hospital with the actress beloved french bulldog, Gary. According to reports, the Star Wars actress suffered the attack 15 minutes prior to landing and paramedics worked on her till they could get a pulse. When the flight landed the actress was rushed to the hospital, where she is currently undergoing treatment.

According to her housekeeper, the actress didnt suffer from any known health issues prior to this episode.
Strippers from a London strip club recently revealed that men who visit the club record videos of the dancers very often. While it has been banned, there are many who get in pinhole cameras, record and post it on the internet.

The lap dancers reveal that it is not new but it could tarnish their reputation, as friends and family can see it on the internet. A few have got calls from their families asking about the videos and why they dont know about it. Many women also take up the job to fund bigger dreams but such things endanger their careers and future if the employers see it on the internet, according to an Independent report.

While London clubs have strict rules for both the men and the dancers, the other cities do not. In London, if they are found, the men will be banned from the club and not allowed to enter. However, many skirt the rules and get the cameras in, even after screening.
Looking for new ways to get sexual pleasure is nothing new and while people are yet busy experimenting and secretive about it, the world has moved forward. Japan developed a intriguingly futuristic sex toy out of lollipops.

The sex toy called Teletongue is made up of two lollipops that allow partners to give oral pleasure to each while miles apart. While one device records the partners licking sounds and tongue movements, the other makes them into vibrations inside the other partners mouth. While the experiment has to yet be done, the designers at Keio University are busy trying to perfect the device connection via the internet.

The adult toy was unveiled at the Love and Sex with Robots Congress at Goldsmiths in the University of London. The idea of creating the toy came after the researchers explained how couples are more into long distance relationships with everybody going global.
New Delhi: A 60-year-old auto driver who used to ferry students to and from school has been arrested for allegedly molesting a 10-year-old girl, who used to take his vehicle occasionally, in east Delhi's Geeta Colony area, police said on Saturday.

The incident happened a few days back when the girl was returning from school.

The accused allegedly touched her inappropriately and after she brought the matter to her parent's notice, they approached police and an FIR was registered, said a senior police officer.

The accused, identified as Lakhni, was arrested the same night from the area, he said.

He said the accused had tried to allegedly assault her on earlier occasions also but the girl was too scared to share it with her family. But this time, the accused allegedly touched her private parts and she informed her parents, he added.

The accused had also threatened her with dire sequences. The auto-driver regularly ferries children from school. He sometimes used to ferry the girl from her school, he said. The girl stays with parents and two brothers in Geeta Colony area, he said.

Police are verifying whether the accused had molested other children or were there any complaints against him from other children, he added.
The police said an organ trafficking group could be involved. (Photo: Representational Image)

Singhbum: The four-year-old girl who went missing on December 15 was found dead near her village in Jharkhands East Singhbum on Thursday with her eyes gouged out and hands chopped off.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the girl had been brutally raped and murdered and villagers claim that it was the handicraft of a sorcerer.

But the police said an organ trafficking group could be involved, but they are waiting for the girls autopsy to confirm if any of her organs are missing. They also said that stray dogs could have scraped her eyes out.

However, they are not ruling out other motives and suspect that her family members or people who are close to her could be involved.

Someone close and known to the victim appeared to be behind the act because had there been outsiders or a racket been involved they would not have dumped the body in the village. But we are probing every lead and not ruling out any angle, the Jamshedpur rural superintendent of police, Shailendra Barnwal said.

The girls parents had lodged a complaint four days after the girl went missing. The police allegedly refused to search for her when her parents approached them initially.

The angry villagers assaulted the assistant sub-inspector before the police team rescued him and promised them that an action will be taken.

Several women from the villagers said that a sorcerer, who was spotted at an adjacent hillock from the nearby village, could be involved.

Villagers alleged that two young men who were seen on a motorcycle drugged the girl when she was playing outside her house and committed the crime.

The girls father, however, has not named any suspect so far.

This is the second such crime in Jharkhand in a week, the first one being the rape of a 19-year-old girl who was burnt to death in Booty Basti.
Thane: Taking serious view of a teenage girls false complaint against her father charging him of rape, a district court here has ordered perjury proceedings against her.

Special Judge Mridula V K Bhatia, on Thursday, also acquitted her father from the charges of rape levelled against him under Prevention Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The judge in her order wanted the action on the girl to send a strong message to the society against the misuse of the POCSO Act.

In 2013, the girl (then 16) had complained to the police that her father had molested and raped her in their house at Navi Mumbai.

However, in her deposition she told the court that she had filed a false complaint against her father due to a dispute among them.

Before ordering the proceeding, the judge, expressing displeasure over the false complaint by the girl said, "the complainant has undoubtedly misused the provisions of POCSO Act and lodged a false complaint against her own father, thereby causing him grave hardship, mental agony and trauma. He has spent close to three years in jail owing to serious allegations levelled against him."
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad ISIS module had been using code words like chawal pakana for explosive manufacturing, and words 'Chikki, talcum powder' and maggi for the various ingredients of explosives. National Investigation Agency sleuths have, in their charge-sheet, alleged that when the eight members of the module talked over phone or directly, they used specific code words to avoid any suspicion.

These members also used code words desktop and training desktop for guns and arms-training respectively. They also used words like tablet probably for target practice. In some conversations of ISIS suspects Habeeb Mohammed and Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani, one of them was heard saying, One or two training desktops for training have come and one or two more are to come soon, obviously referring to the weapons that were yet to be received, said the NIA officials in the chargesheet.

Read: Yazdani failed ISIS attempt

The NIA charge-sheet said the ISIS handlers had given specific instructions to the members to do only minimum talking over the phone but talk in detail while personally meeting each another. The accused persons were very cautious in their conversations and took extreme precautions while on mobile phones.

They often made use of code words in their conversations and had been specifically instructed to keep deleting messages and other incriminating material from their mobile phones on a regular basis, said the NIA chargesheet.

Read: Fear of bombs made 8th man quit module

They have been advised to keep the group small. They have also been told to avoid searching for ISIS on the Internet, lead a normal life, and not to share or disclose anything about the group to outsiders.

According to the officials, the third accused, Habeeb Mohammed, had helped the module to set up a clandestine lab on the first floor of his house. The group members had purchased articles that are required to set up the lab and for preparation of explosives. While discussing the preparation of these explosives, they used code words, said an NIA official.
Hyderabad: The newly-created Rachakonda Commissionerate struggles to tackle growing number of theft and burglary cases in their jurisdiction. Around 1,500 cases have been reported in the last six months with native and interstate gangs targeting locked houses. But, officials say there is a high percent of detection with over 60 per cent of the cases cracked by detective teams. The number of snatching cases has dropped by half with better surveillance.

Rachakonda Commissionerate was created from Cyberabad Commissionerate in June this year.

Police officials say some criminals have installed CCTV cameras in front of their houses to know the arrival of police at their houses in advance so that they give the slip. They are installing CCTV cameras to monitor movements outside their house and to see if cops are coming to arrest them. One of the suspects we arrested recently had multiple cameras at his house, said Rachakonda Commissioner of Police, Mahesh Bhagwat.

Senior officials say that the thieves and burglars lurk on the borders of the city, strike at houses before retreating to their safe havens. We detected many cases. More burglars will land in our trap soon, said another higher official.

Meanwhile, Rachakonda police has started an operation to keep a check on anti social activities in the area. We have booked as many as 57 cases against the organisers of prostitution houses and 71 victims were rescued. Several gambling dens were also busted, said the Commissioner

In order to increase the electronic surveillance to prevent and detect crime, over 3,000 CCTV cameras are being installed in Rachakonda Police Commissionerate under community and government CCTV projects.

CCTV Project has been undertaken with cooperation of residential communities in the Commissionerate area. In 1,219 localities so far 854 cameras have been installed and work is in progress in remaining areas. The government CCTV project will see 2,234 CC cameras being installed in strategic locations in three phases, said the Commissioner.
Chandigarh: PCC chief Amarinder Singh on Saturday accused Badals of indulging in politics of "distraction" to divert public attention from the "widespread rebellion" in their own party by unleashing a "disinformation" campaign against the Congress.

Dismissing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's "Congress tug of war" remark, he said the Akali leadership should look at putting their own house in order before raking up non-existent differences within the Congress.

Amarinder also rejected Badal's allegation that the Congress would withdraw all subsidies and concessions in the state on coming to power as "baseless rhetoric" aimed at covering up his party's own "failures".

On Friday, Badal had said Congress was a "divided house" which was hardly a match for Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), while taking a jibe on the alleged ongoing "tug of war" among the state Congress leadership over ticket allocation.

Having announced names of candidates on only 85 seats in more than a month and faced with "large-scale" revolt within the party from "disgruntled aspirants" who had been denied tickets, the SAD was struggling to hold itself together, Amarinder said.

The SAD was "coming down like a pack of cards" which they were unable to put back together even by resorting to all kinds of "gimmicks and violation of norms", he further said.

Pointing out that the first SAD's list of 69 candidates was announced on November 16, Amarinder said not a single list declared thereafter by the party had more than nine names, with the last list, released on Friday, containing only three names.

This, said Amarinder, clearly reflected the extent of "discontent" prevailing in the Badal camp, which was striving desperately to remain in the fight for the Assembly polls.

Reports of revolt in the party continued to come in from different parts of the state every day, Amarinder claimed, adding the allegations of allocation of tickets to "tainted and undeserving" aspirants were rife in the SAD, which was contesting 94 of the 117 assembly segments in the state under the seat-sharing pact with its ally, the BJP.

The "disillusionment and resentment" in the party was evident from the fact that as many as 18 key SAD leaders had quit the party to join the Congress in the last couple of months, Amarinder said.
Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party, which is eyeing to capture power in 2017 Assembly polls, on Saturday launched a campaign, 'Captain Da Dhokha', to "expose the lies" of state Congress chief Amarinder Singh who was in power during 2002-2007.

AAP's Dakha candidate H S Phoolka alleged that Amarinder was making false promises of giving jobs to unemployed youth.

He alleged that Amarinder, after becoming chief minister in 2002, had "put a ban" on recruitments.

He took charge in March of that year, and in a Cabinet meeting the very next month, he "banned" recruitments in the state, he claimed.

He alleged that Punjab Public Service Commission and SSB were directed to stop the process of recruitment of any kind for government job.

"The irony is that there were many jobs for which the written test and interview process were completed but were stayed at the last moment, backstabbing lakhs of job- aspirants," Phoolka alleged.

"The orders issued clearly said no further recruitment was to be initiated without consent of the Cabinet. So, if any department had to recruit even a clerk, it could not be done without Amarinder's orders," Phoolka said.

"On what basis now Captain again is making promises of providing jobs to youth when he is already exposed of telling lies," Phoolka said.

Talking about AAP's 'Sukhbir Da Gapp, AAP Da Sach' campaign, Phoolka said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal "is in the habit of making tall claims without assessing feasibility of any project".

He said the Deputy Chief Minister was trying to divert the attention of the people through propaganda.
Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday accused the Centre of discriminating against Malayalam language. (Photo: DC/File)

Kochi: Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday accused the Centre of "discriminating" against Malayalam language by not including it among regional languages for holding the NEET for admission in medical colleges for 2017-18.

The senior Congress leader urged the CPI(M)-led LDF government in the state to "urgently" take up the matter with the union government.

"It is unfair. It is an injustice to the people of Kerala," Chennithala told reporters here when his attention was drawn to the non-inclusion of Malayalam and Kannada among the languages for holding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

"It is a discrimination. Both Malayalam and Kannada should be included," he said.

Noting that a majority of students, who study in government-run educational institutions, are more familiar with their local languages than English, Chennithala said the state government should come forward and appeal to the Centre on the matter.

"Omitting Malayalam cannot be justified. The state government should urgently take up the matter with the Centre.

It should urge the central government to include Malayalam," he said.

Otherwise, the students from the state will not get adequate representation in the medical courses, he argued.

His statement comes a day after his party colleague and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that his government had written to the Centre stating that NEET exams should be held in Kannada also.

The Union Health Ministry had on December 21 said that NEET exams for admission in medical colleges will be held in eight languages, Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.
Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, whose house and office were searched by Income Tax officials in connection with a tax evasion probe post demonetisation, was admitted to a private hospital here after he complained of chest pain on Saturday.

Rao complained of pain in his chest at around 1 AM at his residence and was rushed to Sri Ramachandra Hospital in Porur, a suburb in Chennai.

Hospital sources stated "he (Rao) complained of chest pain and was immediately attended to by doctors." They further added "Presently, he has been kept under observation and his vitals are being monitored."

On Thursday, Rao was replaced from the top post by Additional Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan. Rao's removal came after IT searches at his Anna Nagar residence, apart from the premises of his son and some relatives, prompting the opposition parties in the state to seek his removal.

On December 21, Rao's house and office were searched by Income Tax officials, who claimed to have recovered Rs 30 lakh cash in new notes and five kilograms of gold besides getting "disclosure" about Rs five crore of unaccounted income.

The raids were carried out at 15 places, including the office and the residence of Rao, his son Vivek and some relatives in Chennai and Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, IT sources had said.
Kolkata: Days after a row erupted over the army drill at toll plazas in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday objected to the centre's move to deploy CRPF personnel for providing security to Income Tax officials during search operations in the state.

Banerjee demanded that the decision be immediately revoked.

Describing the decision as "unconstitutional, illegal and against all principles of cooperative federalism", Banerjee shot off a one-page letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in which she said deployment of any central police force to any state can only be done at the request of the state government.

"The decision must be immediately revoked," she demanded, adding, "The state government and police forces would provide all necessary help and protection if so requested by any central government agency for any legitimate action on their part."

Stating that no communication in this regard has been received by the state government, Banerjee said, "A copy of such instruction as reported in the media is enclosed."

"Respective legislative and executive jurisdictions of the state governments and the central governments are clearly delineated in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and public order and police are within the domain of List II (state list)," the letter said.

A copy of the letter has also been sent to all state chief ministers.

A row had erupted over the deployment of Army personnel at toll plazas in the state with Banerjee and the centre trading charges.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also dashed off a stinging letter to Banerjee, saying her allegations against the army can "adversely" impact the morale of the force and the Trinamool Congress chief hit back over his "wild assertion".
Hyderabad: The countrys premier investigative agency CBI has informed the Hyderabad High Court that its Hyderabad branch is overburdened with the investigation of several important cases. In a counter-affidavit filed before the High Court, CBI joint director, Hyderabad, said that infrastructure and manpower in CBI are very limited.

The counter-affidavit was filed following its direction in a PIL by State Minorities Commi-ssion for Telangana and Abid Rasool Khan seeking CBI probe into alleged irregularities in Wakf properties. The petitioners have sought a direction from the court to the CBI to probe into the illegal encroachment of Wakf properties in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The CBI has brought to the notice of the court that it has been empowered to investigate offences notified by the Central government under the Section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946. The investigative agency submitted that the case which has been cited in the PIL does not involve any complicated issues of law or interstate or international ramifications.
Hyderabad: Four students sustained bleeding injuries after they were caned by their physics teacher at Sri Chaitanya Junior College at SR Nagar. The teacher, Dora Babu, was caning the students as they allegedly did not do their homework from the beginning of the academic year.

Some students secretly shot videos of the teacher and sent them to the media.

More than 10 students from the same college are likely to approach police against the teacher.

The college management said it had suspended the teacher after receiving a complaint from a students parents. They said that they do not allow corporal punishment in the school.

Child rights activists have approached police seeking punishment to the teacher. SR Nagar police said that they had started an investigation.

Teacher filmed while caning

Four students sustained bleeding injuries after they were beaten by their physics teacher at Sri Chaitanya Junior College at SR Nagar. The teacher, Dora Babu, was caning the students as they allegedly did not do their home work from the beginning of the academic year.

According to one of the students, Md Shareef, an MPC student, the teacher hit him several times for delaying his homework. Shareefs father, Md. Baba approached the college management and lodged a complaint. He was bleeding from his hand after he was beaten several times. The teacher would not stop despite his repeated pleas, said a student from his class, who did not want to be named.

Shareefs father asked the management not to beat his son even if he does not study. As the lecturer continued to cane students, the students decided to film him secretly. One of the students kept a mobile phone camera behind his books and recorded everything, said a student.

The video showed the lecturer caning a student even as he pleaded for mercy. Another video showed the teacher caning a student on from the arm to his thighs. A third video showed the teacher abusing the student before hitting him repeatedly. Another showed the injured hands of the students with blood oozing.

Most of the students were afraid to talk about the incident, fearing a backlash from the management. We are been afraid to lodge a complaint as he might fail us in the exams. But, it became too much, a student said.

A police officer said that they were in touch with the college management, and would initiate action against the teacher. We were told that the college had suspended the teacher. Once a preliminary inquiry is over, we will initiate action, said SR Nagar cop Md. Waheeduddin
Ahmedabad: Gujarat's incharge DGP P P Pandey, an accused in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case, has filed a discharge application, which is likely to come up for hearing at the special CBI court on January 12.

Pandey, an accused in the case and currently out on bail, has cited his reinstatement and promotion as incharge DGP as one of the grounds, besides claiming that none of the 105 witnesses examined by the court have named him in the case.

The officer moved the application that he be discharged from the case when the matter was being heard in the court of special CBI judge S J Raje.

The matter could not come up for hearing after judge Rajerecused himself around two months ago and is pending.

"Two days ago, the Ishrat Jahan case was transferred to the court of special CBI judge J K Pandya who is likely to hear Pandey's pending discharge application on January 12," Pandey's lawyer Paresh Nayak said.

In his application, Pandey has said that he should be discharged as he does not have any "direct or indirect involvement in the case."

Pandey has said that since his involvement has not been established, he should not be considered as an accused.

He has also argued that he was reinstated in state police and was even promoted by the state government to the post of in-charge DGP after he was let out on bail in connection with the same case. He has pleaded before the court to consider this as one of the grounds to discharge him.

Pandey has also pointed out that a supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI in which IB officials including retired special IB director Rajinder Kumar have been named as accused, has not yet been taken on record by the court.

In the first chargesheet filed by CBI in 2013, seven Gujarat police officers were named as accused including IPS officers P P Pandey, D G Vanzara and G L Singhal who are facing charges for kidnapping, murder and conspiracy.

The case pertains to a 19-year-old college girl Ishrat Jahan, her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh along with two others being gunned down by the city crime branch officials in an alleged encounter on June 15, 2004 in the outskirts of the city.
Dharamsala: Escalating the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused him of dividing the country between the rich and the poor and dubbed the move as "firebombing" on cash economy and farmers and labourers.

Addressing a public rally here, the Congress Vice President said the Prime Minister with his note ban decision has removed the "hat" of Himachal Pradesh as it has hit hard the state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors.

"Himachal's brave soldiers carried out the surgical strikes, but Modiji thought of launching a new drama. He launched the surgical strike on corruption.

"On one side the brave give away their blood and life, but here he did surgical strike on black money and corruption. Modiji this is not a surgical strike on black money and corruption. This is a firebombing and economic-bombing on the poor, farmers and labourers," he said.

Accusing Modi of dividing the country between the rich and the poor, Gandhi said, "Modiji you have tried to divide India into two parts."

"On one side are the one per cent rich comprising 50 families who have private aircraft and big buildings and on other side, there are 99 per cent honest people of India -- the farmers, labourers and the middle class who built this country with their sweat and blood. You tried to divide the people of the country," he said.

He said that in the Second World War, a new way was evolved to do firebombing in 25 minutes and more people died in Tokyo firebombing than in Hiroshima bombing.

"The same way Modiji has done firebombing on the poor, farmers and labourers. You have done firebombing on India's cash economy. Not on 94 per cent of black money where it was to be done. Not on one per cent people possessing black money, but on 99 per cent poor people of the country," he said.

Showing the traditional Himachali cap, Gandhi accused Modi of putting it down and destroying it.

"Modiji you have removed the Himachal's 'hat' through the note ban -- horticulture, agriculture and tourism. Note ban has caused a major dent on horticulture, agriculture and tourism. You have burnt the fields of honest Himachal farmers, and you did so with a smile on your face.

"This note ban step was against all of you, against the honest people of India. In two-and-a-half years, the Modi government has attacked the poor of the country," he told the crowd.

Besides Gandhi, the Congress rally was addressed by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and other state leaders. Himachal Pradesh goes to Assembly polls in the latter part of 2017.

Gandhi said notes are neither black nor white. It is the integrity and honesty of the people which determine the "colour" of the money. The colour of a banknote is decided by whether it is in the hands of the honest or the dishonest.

"A note has no colour. There is an honest person on one side and a dishonest one on the other. If the note goes into the hands of the dishonest person like Mallya, it turns black as if under a spell of magic," he said, referring to now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya.

Gandhi said the Prime Minister has given Rs 3 'laddoo' to the poor people, but has given away a Rs 1,200 crore 'laddoo' to Vijay Mallya, who is accused of "running" away from the country after defaulting on his loans worth thousands of crores of rupees.

The Congress Vice President wondered why Modi chose to target the 99 per cent honest people and not the one per cent who possess all the black money, as also on six per cent black money which is in cash and not the 94 per cent in gold, real estate and foreign banks including Swiss banks.

"All black money is not in cash and all cash is not black. The one per cent people who own black money keep their thousands of crores in real estate, big buildings, gold and Swiss bank accounts.

"There is only six per cent black money in cash in India. The rest of 94 per cent black money is in real estate, gold and in foreign banks. Those who stash huge sum of black money, don't do it only in cash but in real estates, jewellery and other forms," he said.

Gandhi said this is the reason why Modi did not target the one per cent rich and he chose to target the 99 per cent people.

"Modiji knows where the black money is stashed... It is with those who travel with Modiji to America. These are the same people who get all the defence contracts. These are the same people who have thousands of crores worth of land and those whose houses are worth Rs 3-4-5-6 thousand crore," he said.

He said Himachali cap is the "symbol of the culture and strength of Himachal Pradesh". "Modiji is snatching that symbol away from the people," he said.

Gandhi also accused Modi of snatching away land of tribal people in Himachal Pradesh the same way BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh had done.
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the Foundation for a Rs 3,600-crore grand memorial for Shivaji Maharaj off the city coast, an event that comes a few months ahead of the civic polls and amid tussle among parties to claim the legacy of the 17th century warrior king.

Modi, accompanied by select dignitaries, including Governor Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, sailed in a hovercraft from Girgaum Chowpatty beach in south Mumbai to reach near the memorial site, some 1.5km off the coast.

The PM performed the 'jalpujan' at the designated spot, symbolically marking the start of construction of the magnificent memorial in the Arabian Sea, which, according to the state government, is going to be the tallest such structure in the world.

Shivaji's descendants Udayanraje Bhosale and Sambhaji Raje (both Parliamentarians) were also on board the hovercraft.

Before the event, Fadnavis handed over to Modi a 'kalash' (vase) containing river waters and soil collected from all districts in Maharashtra.

When the hovercraft reached the memorial site, Modi immersed the 'kalash' in the sea. The PM also inspected a float depicting Shivaji Maharaj's coronation.

During the ceremony, Modi was seen talking to Thackeray, whose party, despite being an ally, has been a bitter critic of many of the BJP-led NDA Government's decisions, including demonetisation.

Earlier in the day, Modi inaugurated the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management in neighbouring Raigad district, where he defended note ban policy, saying that demonetisation is only short term pain for long term gain, adding that the present regime would not shy away from taking difficult decisions that are in the interest of the country.

The Prime Minister's visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away.

The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said the 'Shiv Smarak' will not only be the tallest memorial in the country, but in the entire world. He had thanked Modi for "making it possible."

Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground insuburban Bandra, after laying foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of ruling BJP, is expected to share the dais with Modi at the MMRDA event.

The PM will then leave for Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone of the Pune Metro Rail project at the Agriculture College ground there. NCP leader Sharad Pawar will share the stage with Modi at this event.

The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

For the MMRDA event, the government has sent out invitation to over 3,000 VVIPs and dignitaries, including members of the royal family and Shivaji historians.

Ever since it came to power in Maharashtra in October 2014, BJP has been quietly trying to usurp the near-monopoly that bickering ally Shiv Sena has held over the 17th century Maratha king for the last many years.

Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly election in 2014, BJP had used the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji for electoral gains, with a famous tagline seeking to evoke Shivaji's blessings.

The government and BJP are trying to make the memorial event a success with hoardings at important places of all districts and also through campaigns in print, TV and social media.

An official said those who would accompany Modi in the hovercraft to the 'jalpujan and bhumipujan' venue off Mumbai coast, will include Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP's Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale and BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Kolhapur Sambhaji Raje Bhosle.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said real empowerment of women would be possible only through education, encouragement of economic self-dependence, and provision of opportunities enabling the unfolding of one's full potential.

The President praised the leading role played by the Mahila Dakshata Samiti in women's empowerment and recalled the contributions of the Samiti's founding members such as Suman Krishankant, Prof. Pramila Dandavate and Smt. Mridula Sinha, the Governor of Goa.

"The only long lasting solution is to create cooperative structures comprising the government and private stake holders as well as civil society. In fact, the developmental goals of health, education, livelihood etc. cannot be achieved by the government alone. Such co-operative structures are relevant for all of them," President Mukherjee said at the inauguration of the Bansilal Malani College of Nursing established by the Mahila Dakshata Samiti in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, the President expressed concern over the deficiencies in the health infrastructure of the country.

The President said there is a phenomenal shortage of about 2.4 million nurses in our country and a decrease in the number of nurses from about 1.65 million in 2009 to about 1.56 million in 2015.

"This indicated a worry-some trend. At the same time, our infrastructure also comprises of just 1.53 lakh sub-centres, 85000 PHCs and about 5000 Community Health Centres in a nation of 130 crore people living in more than 5000 towns and 6.4 lakh villages. It is essential to look for models wherein all stake-holders participate rather than the government alone," he added.

The President said it is unfortunate that today when average overall literacy in India was 74 percent, women's literacy is less than 65 percent.

He said a society which does not empower its women will end up as a loser and called for renewed efforts in this direction.
The deposits range from Rs 60 crore in one co-operative bank to `100 and `200 crore in other DCCs, said an officer.

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday cracked down on District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCs) in the state, which have recorded huge cash deposits ranging between Rs 100 crore and Rs 200 crore, post-demonetisation, which was announced on November 8.

The deposits range from Rs 60 crore in one co-operative bank to `100 and `200 crore in other DCCs, said an officer. The ED officials visited DCC banks in Belagavi, Bagalkot, Mysuru and Kodagu for verification of accounts and account holders, who have remitted large amounts of cash into their cooperative bank accounts.

The ED teams will also verify accounts in DCCs in Ballari, Mandya, Shivamogga, Kolar and Dakshin Kannada districts, which have recorded unprecedented cash deposits, the officer said.

The Reserve Bank of India had stopped the DCCs from accepting cash in old currency after November 14 after they recorded unprecedented cash deposits in the first six days of demonetisation.

It is possible that depositors felt that DCCs would go unnoticed because majority of them are in rural areas. The Directorate had earlier issued a notice to the Managing Director of Apex Bank to provide statements from October 1, 2016 to December 19, 2016. He has sent the initial reply to the notice. There are thousands of transactions which have to be sieved through, he said.

The ED works closely with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its drive against corruption and money laundering, who have remitted their ill-gotten money in the banks to make it white.

ACB traps four

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths arrested four people, including a tout, in two different cases on Thursday under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

In the first case, Honnappa, a shirastedar from Devanahalli taluk office, was arrested for effecting land conversion for 19 guntas of agriculture land without proper documents.

False entry

Honnappa had falsely made an official entry in the column 11 of Record of rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) and it was revealed when a Right To Information (RTI) sought the answer.

The activist later lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Sensing the gravity of his fault, Honnappa offered to pay the activist Rs 50,000 to remain quiet. Hte ACB trapped him while he was giving the money to the activist.

In another incident, Suhad Ingale, tahsildar of Mudhol taluk, Prakash Kandagal, FDC, and Abdul Noor Ali Bidari, an assistant to the FDC, were arrested for demanding a commission from contractors to release the payment for supplying water.

Anti-Corruption Bureau sources said that different contractors were supplying water through tankers in summer in Mudhol taluk. The officials and Bidari were demanding seven per cent commission to get their payments.Following the complaint, all the three were arrested, said sources.
Mumbai: Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who was supposed to lead a 'silent' morcha of his party workers at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) here, the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting, on Saturday claimed that he has been placed under "house arrest" by police.

"The area outside my house is under heavy police bandobast and I am being prevented from stepping out," Nirupam said, alleging that "in the present democratic set up Opposition leaders are being virtually kept under house-arrest."

However, Mumbai Police denied the claims made by Nirupam and said the force deployed outside his residence was only part of the security arrangements made across the city in view of the PM's visit.

Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said, "We have deployed policemen across the city especially on the route of PM's convoy to maintain law and order as well as to avoid any untoward incident during his visit."

Nirupam also said that the Congress morcha will take place as per schedule and we have time till this afternoon to decide on our strategy.

"We have a lot of questions for the PM. He should answer to graft allegations made by our Vice President Rahul gandhi instead of mocking him. Modi should also answer when the people will get back their right to deposit and withdraw their own hard earned money from banks. Its more than a month. Since demonetisation citizens are still suffering due to cash crunch," he said.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash also condemned the decision of Mumbai Police to curb democratic rights of political rivals which he charged was done at the behest of the government.

"Earlier government put restrictions on citizens' rights to access their money and now there are restrictions on freedom of expression as well," he said.

He said the Congress workers were to display only placards in the morcha and were not to hold any protests.

"The government does not want to see people's hardships. If they don't want to see the placards people will show them the mirror in which they will see their failures," he added.

The Mumbai unit of Congress is scheduled to hold a 'silent' morcha near the venue where Modi will address a public function in the afternoon to highlight demonetisation troubles and a host of other issues.

Meanwhile, former CM Prithviraj Chavan said it was wrong on part of the BJP led government in Maharashtra to 'detain' Nirupam.

"He was going to stage a protest against demonetisation in a peaceful manner. Such suppressive regime doesn't augur well for democracy," Chavan said.

Chavan, who performed a 'bhumipujan' of the Pune Metro a day ahead of the official one by PM Modi, said as per CRZ norms no construction is allowed in the sea.

"CRZ norms should have been changed before going ahead with the Shivaji memorial project," Chavan said.
Mumbai: The foundation stone-laying ceremony for a grand memorial in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji off the Mumbai coast, is not a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) event but a function organized by several parties, said the Shiv Sena on Saturday.

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande said, "It is a proud moment for every citizen of this country that finally the stone-laying foundation of this memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will take place today. Honorable Uddhav Thackarey is also attending the function. But one thing the government has to remember is that all those who have supported this cause, or tried for this cause, all the alliance partners of the 'Mahayuti' in Maharashtra, should be taken together . It is not a Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) function. It is a government function and all parties should be taken together for such an event."

Kayande further said that since the government has taken such a huge step it will also make necessary provisions.

"But the Congress, NCP that is criticising should also understand that they did nothing for this in the last 15 years when they were at the helm of affairs." she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Rs.3,600 crore memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji, the much-celebrated 17th century ruler of the Maratha empire.

The Maharashtra government will fund the entire project and has already set aside Rs. 2,300 crore for the first phase of construction.

Earlier, a group of marine conservationists and fishermen, too, had filed a petition with India's National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking to stop the state government from constructing the project.
Shinichi Kitaoka, President, JICA and a high level team of officials from JICA, meet Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam at the Secretariat on Friday (Photo: DC)

Chennai: Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Friday urged the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) to ensure early approval of infra projects funded by the agency.

Panneerselvam, along with state senior ministers, interacted with the JICA delegation led by its President Shinichi Kitaoka and pressed for the early approval of major projects like the 400 MLD Desalination Plant in Chennai, Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase II and Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme Phase II.

A press release from the secretariat said the state also sought early approval for the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road Project with Intelligent Transport System, and the Chennai Urban Infrastructure Project.

Panneerselvam further pointed out that JICAs involvement in Tamil Nadu has been very beneficial to the people of the state and the funding agency has been an active partner in implementing the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023 development plan, mooted by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

The Japanese side also highlighted that the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme (TNIPP) Phase I was a great success and JICA was ready to move to TNIPP Phase II within the current fiscal year, the release said. It was also highlighted from the Japanese side that the implementation of ongoing projects is proceeding satisfactorily in the state, the release said.

Panneerselvam and state ministers also thanked the foreign delegation for their condolences on the recent untimely demise of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

When Kitaoka emphasised that the late CM was a person of great charisma, Panneerselvam recalled that his party leader, Ms Jayalalithaa had inaugurated service from Airport to Little Mount on the JICA-assisted Chennai Metro Rail Project on September 21, 2016 in the same room in which this meeting was taking place and that was the last official function the late Chief Minister attended. The JICA delegation also expressed sympathy for the damage caused by the recent cyclone Vardah in the city and neighbouring districts.
B. Jayavardhan, a student at a government school in Suryapet district, was admitted to Osmania Hospital in the city in a critical condition. He fell into the container which was placed inside the schools premises.

Hyderabad: A five-year-old Class I student, who suffered severe burns on Friday after falling into a vat of hot sambar, died on Saturday.

B. Jayavardhan, a student at a government school in Suryapet district, was admitted to Osmania Hospital in the city in a critical condition. He fell into the container which was placed inside the schools premises.

District collector Gaurav Uppal has announced a Rs 2 lakh ex gratia, a government job to a member of the boy's family besides a 2BHK house.

The collector also suspended the schools headmaster Uma and one teacher, Murali Krishna, for alleged negligence.

The incident happened inside the school, located in Eduluru village in Kattangur mandal, while the mid-day meals were being served. The school has 201 students and five teachers.

On Friday afternoon, when the students had queued up for food, a slight commotion took place after the children started pushing in the line.

Jayavardhan is believed to have been pushed inside the container which had

boiling sambar during this commotion. He was rushed to hospital by school staff.
The study found that prevalence of ARI was 75 per cent in children in the 1-5 age group. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Children in the age group 1-5 have to be extra careful against Acute Respiratory Infections, according to a recent study conducted in Hyderabad by researchers from Gandhi and Osmania medical colleges. The study found that prevalence of ARI was 75 per cent in children in the 1-5 age group.

ARI is the reason behind frequent visits of children to hospitals and a major cause of mortality among children of this age group. The World Health Organisation says that ARI is responsible for 19 per cent of under-five mortalities in India, a majority of which are because of pneumonia.

The study led by Dr B. Kiranmai, professor of community medicine at Osmania Medical College, examined 250 children aged below five. Some 75 per cent of the children were found to be suffering from ARI, 30.8 per cent of them below one year of age.

The study found that incomplete immunisation, undernourishment and lack of proper ventilation in houses are the major factors for the development of ARI among the children.

Dr Vijayanand Jamalpuri, consultant neonatologist and paediatrician, said one way to prevent pneumonia caused by bacteria was getting children vaccinated with pneumococcal vaccine.

Pneumococcal vaccine is usually ignored by parents thinking it is not important as it is not part of the schedule, but if they can afford it they should get their children vaccinated. It is part of the government immunisation schedule in many developed countries but not in India, one reason being that it is costly. Getting vaccinated against flu is also one way to reduce probability of respiratory infections occurring in children, Dr Jamalpuri said.

Scheduled vaccinations like measles, pertusis or BCG must be done.

Theres no need to panic if a child gets a cold or cough. Dr Jamalpuri says that children tend to contract flu 10-12 times in a year. If the flu is not severe and if the child has no problem breathing, parents can wait for 48 hours before taking the child to a doctor.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao asked officials at a meeting to create Army welfare boards board in the 21 new districts and strengthen the existing 10 to implement schemes for Army personnel.

He said the government would sign an MoU soon with Centre for setting up an Army School in Warangal. Steps will be taken to set up Army welfare Offices in Medak and Adilabad districts.

Maj Gen S. Pachauri and Army officials were present at the meeting. Mr Rao decided to implement double pensions for retired military personnel. It would be given to the spouse in case of death of the Army pensioner.

He decided to extend benefits given to Army martyrs to those who lost their lives due to ill health or in accidents. Retired army personnel working as special police officers will be paid salaries along with other employees.

He wanted the state to pay the highest amount to gallantry medal winners.

Children of Army personnel should get a quota in state residential schools, the Chief Minister said.
Lucknow: A laborer died due to cardiac arrest while standing in a bank queue in Mathura. He was waiting to withdraw money for the treatment of his ailing son.

The deceased, Uma Shankar, was a resident of Durga colony in Goverdhan, and was standing in the queue when he suffered a heart attack and died on the spot.

Uma Shankar, father of five daughters and a son, was trying to withdraw money from the bank for the last four days, police said. Angry villagers led by a local RLD leader Kunwar Narendra Singh, blocked roads for over three hours, demanding compensation for Shankars family and police case against the bank employees.

The blockade was removed after senior officials intervened and promised an inquiry against the bank staff and compensation to the victims family.
New Delhi: Investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into a recent case lodged by the agency have revealed that largescale funds transferred from Pakistan, using the cross border trade mechanism along the Line of Control as a front were pumped into funding the massive four-month long agitation witnessed in the Kashmir Valley.

The LoC trade, which was started as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan, is conducted through the three Trade Facilitation Centres at Salamabad, Uri and Chakkan-da-Bagh.

It is suspected that large amount of funds were sent to separatist elements and Over Ground Workers or supporters of subversive elements in the Valley using the LoC trade to fuel the unprecedented violence in the Valley which was triggered following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July this year.

The NIA and Central Intelligence agencies are already conducting a detailed investigation into the funding of the agitation and in this connection had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act last week.

Sources said intelligence agencies had received specific information that large amounts of funds were being sent from Pakistan into the Valley under the cover of importing California almonds through the cross LoC trade mechanism. This, sources added, was in total violation of the policy for LoC trade between the two countries as it prohibits trade of any third party origin goods.

It is surprising that trade of banned goods had been taking place through the Trade Facilitation Centres along the LoC. We suspect the involvement of some officers also at these Centres as it seems the funds were for the same used for fomenting trouble in the Kashmir Valley, an intelligence official said.

After receiving information from intelligence agencies, home ministry directed the NIA to launch a full scale probe into this following which it formally registered a case. During the investigation, intelligence agencies along with NIA conducted searches and seized incriminating documents, in connection with the crime in the Valley.0
Hyderabad: Rachakonda police has chalked out an elaborate security plan for developing the temple city at Yadagirigutta on par with other major pilgrimage destinations in the country. The police is working with Yadigirigutta Temple Development Authority (YTDA) to provide separate security for the temple, a VIP, VVIP guest house complex and the entire town. Periodical sabotage checks, bomb detectors and advanced vehicle scanners will be in place soon, senior officials said.

Within six months, elaborate security plans will be on place. The temple will be guarded by separate team. Complexes for VIP and VVIP visitors will also be given foolproof security, said Rachakonda Commis-sioner Mahesh Bhagwat.

Anti sabotage checks and a system for vehicle scanning will be in place, he said adding that a safe city would attract more visitors.

Currently at rush hours, the police do not allow vehicles to go up the hill in as a security measure.

Police to act tough on crime

Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat says he would act tough on erring cops. We will not spare anyone acting against the law, he says, adding that She shuttles would be introduced for IT employees at Batasinga-ram and IT Corridor in commissionerate limits.

Talking to reporters on Saturday, he said a new Commissionerate building will come up in a year. The land has been identified in Saroor-nagar area, said the commissioner.

He added that new police stations will be opened at Moula Ali and Yadagirigutta next year. New Women police stations will also be functional at Malkajgiri and Bhongir areas.
Hyderabad: The governments of Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh will soon reach an agreement to swap employees between them to enable locals to work for their respective states.

Both state governments are under pressure from their respective employees associations to allow swapping of employees since the division of staff between the two states, consequent on the bifurcation of AP, has reached its fag end.

Except for the allotment of deputy superintendents of police, the rest of the swaps are likely to go through. In the bifurcation of the cadre, the Kamalnathan Committee allotted 1,824 TS-origin staff to AP and 1,292 AP-origin staff to TS. Over 70 per cent of them want to work for their home states and gave this as their first option.

Panel had ignored employee options

In the bifurcation of state-cadre staff between TS and AP by the Kamalnathan Committee, over 70 per cent of them want to work for their home states and gave this as their first option. The committee made allotments based on the number of posts and vacancies available at the time of bifurcation on June 2, 2014.

In the last 30 months since bifurcation, there have been many vacancies in both states as employees have retired. And the employees unions in both TS and AP are urging their respective governments to allow swapping of employees to fill such vacancies.

TS employees leader and TRS MLA V. Srinivas Goud said, Though several TS and AP employees gave options to work for their home states, the committee ignored them. Now that the bifurcation of staff is over, both the governments can sit across the table and swap the employees through mutual agreement. We have taken up the issue with the Chief Minister, who has asked officials to initiate talks with the Andhra Pradesh government after the ongoing Assembly session.

Chief secretary K. Pradeep Chandra has initiated talks with his AP counterpart to reach an agreement over the issue. The problem is the allotment of deputy superintends of police.

TS employees unions claim that around 25 AP-origin DSPs have been allotted to TS, while eight TS-origin DSPs who opted for AP were denied the same. TS employees have demanded the swapping of DSPs along with other staff but there has been no response from the AP government so far.
HYDERABAD: Nearly 20,000 junior dentists do not have proper jobs and most of them have opted for alternative employment in information technology, event management, human resources and service sectors due to lack of opportunity. Dr Priyanka Marthitenni, a junior dentist, explained, We have been lobbying for a year saying we are ready to work in the rural sector, public health centres and area hospitals but there is no response from the state government. They have recently stated that 17 posts of dentists will be filled. But there are more than 10,000 dentists who do not have a job.

The call of President Pranab Mukherjee that dentists must practice in rural areas is accepted by these dentists but they want to go as government appointees only. A senior dentist in the city said, Private clinics are not being set up in rural areas as there is very little awareness about oral health. In the rural areas, the belief is that a person must go to a dentist only when a tooth is to be removed.

He said dentists needed to raise awareness on oral dental health, foul smell in the mouth, tooth decay, cavities and healthy gums. This requires pumping in a lot of money and that is not possible for private players hence they are not interested, he said. A junior dentist said that the dental chair which is mandatory Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. This huge investment requires a constant flow of patients. And that is not possible in rural areas. Therefore, most dentists practise in Tier II and Tier III cities and not willing to go to the rural areas.

Dr Neeraj Shah, a junior doctor, explained, The government has to open up recruitment for rural areas so that there is job security. This will allow the district administration to create awareness among the masses. But that is not happening. The state government is not willing to take the burden and due to this reason the problem of oral health is neglected.
Mumbai: A container truck hired by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to carry demonetised currency notes from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh to Nagpur, was stopped at Deori border check-post in Gondia district and penalised for overloading, by the Regional Transport Office (RTO).

The action was taken on Tuesday night and Rs 30,000 fine was collected from the driver, an RTO official said.

"The container had the capacity to carry 16 tonnes of load, but we found that the it was carrying 21 tonnes. The vehicle was filled with scrapped notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination, which it was transporting to RBI's currency chest in Nagpur," Vijay Chavan, Deputy Regional Transport Officer of Gondia district told Press Trust of India on Friday.

The vehicle was stopped by local officials posted at Deori check-post.

"The vehicle papers and other necessary documents were verified. We received a communication from Transport Commissioner based in Nagpur that the vehicle can be released after the payment of fine," Mr Chavan said.

"As per the calculation, the driver was asked to pay a fine of Rs. 30,000, as the container was carrying five tonnes above the permissible limit. The officials issued a receipt of the fine payment and the vehicle was let off," he said.
Mumbai: Strained relations between BJP and Shiv Sena came to the fore during a public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray's speech was interrupted for a while, apparently by BJP supporters present among the audience.

The reaction of BJP workers was in response to Shiv Sena activists causing disturbance during the speech of state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil.

Uddhav shared the dais with PM Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the MMRDA ground in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) here, after laying foundation of various big ticket infrastructure projects.

Thackeray's speech was interrupted for a while after some of the BJP supporters started chanting "Modi, Modi," which made the Shiv Sena chief to stop for a while.

Earlier, when Patil's speech was disturbed, Devendra Fadnavis personally intervened and controlled the crowd.

Earlier this week, during the inauguration of Ram Mandir station here, Shiv Sena and BJP workers had sparred over by indulging in sloganeering and interrupting the speeches of senior leaders.

Shiv Sena has been criticising various decisions of Prime Minister Modi as well as those taken by the Fadnavis government from time-to-time.
New Delhi: The National Commission for Protection of child rights has made an appeal to all state governments and asked them to disqualify candidates if they do not send their children to school for local body and Panchayati Raj elections.

According to the recommendation by the apex body for Child Rights, a candidate must produce a certificate from his child's school to prove that his/her ward is enrolled there and has regular attendance.

This is only for those candidates who have children between the age of 6-14 years.

"We have appealed to state governments to make amendments in electoral rules for local body elections and panchayati raj institutions and say that anyone who wants to fight elections will need to produce a certificate from his child's school to prove that his/her ward is enrolled there and is attending the school regularly, said Priyank Kanoongo, Member- RTE and Education, NCPCR adding that candidates must not be allowed to contest if they fail to do this.

Kanoongo also said that this suggestion draws from the 86th amendment of the Constitution, which inserted Article 21a and made education a fundamental right, as well as the Right To Education Act, 2009.

The NCPCR official calls it a "new milestone" in creating awareness as an elected representative will be an example in the society. He also said that this move will help in drawing politicians attention towards the state of schools in his state.

This suggestion is also part of recommendations prepared by NCPCR on "re-engagement of out-of-school children and prevention of drop-outs", which were tabled before a sub-committee of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

In the recent past, there have been laws passed by Haryana and Rajasthan governments imposing minimum educational requirements for candidates contesting Panchayat elections.

Many activists have said that the move was against the principle of universal suffrage.

According to Kanoongo, there is no such debate about NCPCR's move.

"We are not talking about those who were denied education in the past either because of caste or poverty but about today's children who have a right to free and compulsory education. If you oppose to this, right then you are opposed to the Constitution as well," he said.
Srinagar: Police removed independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rasheed from the pavement outside Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's official residence, where the lawmaker was on a 48-hour sit-in to protest against governments decision to issue identity certificates to West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Rasheed along with his supporters, who spent the night under the open sky, was removed by a police team on Saturday morning, officials said.

Rasheed and his supporters sat on the pavement outside Mehbooba's Fairview residence on Gupkar road on Friday, the officials added.

The MLA had warned the government on Friday against "bulldozing rights of people of state."
New Delhi: Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ridiculing Rahul Gandhi's remarks, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said though he too could ridicule him, he will not do that and said Modi should rather answer the questions posed.

"He (Rahul) says mock me but answer the questions of the people, the duty to respond to the question... lies with the Prime Minister... however he is ridiculing and acting (mocking Rahul)," Chidambaram said.

Stating that he too knows how to mock and poke fun, the former finance minister said, "I can also talk like Prime Minister... and ridicule..., however, I will not do that because he is India's Prime Minister."

Chidambaram said though Modi belonged to "another party" and "propagated several policies that we cannot accept, I respect him as he is India's Prime Minister. I will not ridicule him or poke fun at him, I only ask questions, he should answer the questions."

"Why are you (the Centre and Modi) punishing people like this (by demonetising) and what sin have they committed? Why are you harassing people and the farmers... what is the reason...I would like to ask," he said.

He said Rahul Gandhi is addressing people in several states, including Gujarat, on demonetisation and related issues.

"The Prime Minister addresses meetings, Rahul Gandhi is also doing it and the media is giving equal importance to his speeches like they do for the PM and I welcome it. However that is not enough," he said and described the claims of BJP government regarding demonetization as "falsehood." Corruption is happening black money is being hoarded by using Rs 2,000 notes, he claimed and said party workers should apprise people on such "false claims."

"I bow my head before the people for their patience," Chidambaram said, adding people are perhaps waiting for the Prime Minister's December 30 deadline for things to get normal.

"No government or Prime Minister has the authority to inflict so much pain and harassment on the people. They did not vote for them (BJP) for this," he said.

Chidambaram said the Prime Minister should have accepted that he had taken a wrong decision. "He (Modi) is a big (magnanimous) man... had he said that I made a mistake, had Modi sought forgiveness, he would have been a big man," the senior Congress leader said. He said Indira Gandhi had generously admitted that promulgation of Emergency in 1975 was a mistake as it had led to suffering of people (not in Tamil Nadu) and promised to never do it again till such time she was Prime Minister.

"That is why she continues to live in the hearts of people as a towering leader though she passed away 32 years ago," he said.

"There is nothing wrong in accepting one's mistakethere is nothing wrong in saying that I have done a mistake." Chidambaram said if Modi had admitted he had taken a "wrong decision based on wrong advice" and he was not told of the quantum of currency that will be scrapped, it would have been generous.

If Modi had said he was not apprised about the note printing capacity and how many months it would take to print such notes and on the duration of ATM recalibration, he would have been magnanimous, he said.

Modi should have admitted that he had not taken into consideration the fact that people would be hit and daily wage earners would be affected, Chidambaram said.
No leader in India and perhaps no other political figure in any modern democracy could have survived the demonetisation crisis for seven weeks as Narendra Modi has. If one is looking for evidence of his talents as a mass leader, it has been on display in this entire period. Let us look at it and appreciate it, because we are in the presence of a true master. We have a few clues that the currency exchange crisis may not have been fully anticipated by the government. The first clue is Mr Modis initial announcement where he made some predictions on a return to normalcy that were incorrect. The second is that he continued on a scheduled visit to Japan, at the time when the extent to which the note shortage would affect the economy was just being realised. By the time he returned from Japan it was clear that the queues were not going to disappear quickly.

His initial announcement was so powerful and energetic that it carried popular opinion. The media was fully on his side and a nervous Congress lacking in confidence also announced support for the move. Only two grassroots leaders, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, and opposed it. It is difficult to imagine the Manmohan Singh government producing this kind of euphoria in either the media or the middle class urban population if it had chosen to demonetise. The reaction would likely have been the opposite: resentment at being made to go through the trouble. And if it had carried on for seven weeks there would have been extreme anger.

Perhaps that anger is building now when it is clear that the disturbance is going to stay for months, but for Mr Modi to have sustained it even for this length of time is remarkable. The second demonstration of his talent was how quickly he grasped that the negative consequence of the policy was bigger than anticipated. Immediately on his return from Japan he made a couple of speeches in which he did two things. First he said to Indians that he meant well and that he had sacrificed his family life for his mission. The uncharacteristically emotional moment of that speech, when he briefly broke down, may also have been the moment when he acknowledged to himself that the issue was out of hand.

Second, he said that normalcy would not return before 50 days. With this second move, he bought himself time and space to recalibrate his strategy. Once again, he got the media on his side and the discourse over the immediate problems that people were facing was diverted. It is this comment on 50 days of inconvenience that allowed him the freedom to think of how to reposition demonetisation. There was no reference to a digital economy in his initial announcement, which was limited to black money, counterfeit currency and terrorism. It is after his return from Japan and those speeches that suddenly the discourse shifted and it shifted because of Mr Modis talent and credibility. The Opposition said this was a shifting of goalposts, but they should understand that this is not a university debate. So long as Mr Modi can convince large parts of the population that the policy is good and the inconvenience will ultimately be beneficial, he will continue to do so. The specific benefits of the policy are unimportant to politics.

There is actually no opposition to Mr Modi at the moment and he is still in full control of the narrative, which is astonishing because it has affected every single Indian negatively. The Congress had the opportunity to exploit mass inconvenience but it has so far been unable to. Many people are hesitant to publicly voice their dislike of demonetisation because they are afraid that they will be abused. No other Indian leader, and few politicians in democratic politics anywhere could have achieved what Mr Modi has since November 8. Perhaps this will change in 2017 when the medium term effects of demonetisation are on display in the second salary cycle. For now it must be acknowledged that so far, Mr Modi has shown that he is where he is not because of luck but talent at bringing public opinion to his side and keeping it there.
When commerce secretary Rita Teaotia went on leave recently, the government gave additional charge of the position to two secretaries  first to department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) secretary Ramesh Abhishek and then to heavy industry secretary Girish Shankar. Both babus are from Bihar cadre and belong to the 1982 batch. So this month has seen three different secretaries handle the commerce ministry, which while seeming odd, is within the rules. Usually, when the commerce secretary is on leave, the additional charge is given to the DIPP secretary as both commerce and DIPP are allied departments; and have the same minister.

Also, both are housed in the same building  Udyog Bhawan. But heavy industry secretary sits in the Central Government Offices (CGO) complex located in Lodhi Road, and thus he has to travel several kilometres to Udyog Bhawan to attend the commerce secretarys office. Sources say possibly, the absence on leave of DIPP secretary Mr Abhishek may have forced the personnel ministry to assign the responsibility to the heavy industry secretary post.

A tough race

The search for a successor to U.K. Sinha, chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is on, in earnest. Sources say that the government has shortlisted 10 candidates to succeed Mr Sinha when his term ends in February. They include power secretary Pradeep Kumar Pujari, disinvestment secretary Neeraj Kumar Gupta, former Sebi whole-time member Rajeev Kumar Agarwal and labour secretary Shankar Agarwal. Though Mr Pujari, a 1981-batch Indian Administrative Services officer of the Gujarat cadre, is regarded as the ideal frontrunner to head the regulator, sources say that other candidates who applied are equally strong contenders.

These include financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal and Ajay Tyagi, additional secretary (investment), department of economic affairs. Ms Duggal is said to have the support of finance minister Arun Jaitley. Deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India S.S. Mundra is also in the running and they are a rather favoured lot currently. The selection panel is headed by Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha and includes among others, P.K. Mishra, additional principal secretary to the Prime Minister. This exercise was undertaken last year too, before the government decided to extend Mr Sinhas term for one more year.
Sharad Yadav, senior Janata Dal (United) leader, speaks with Sreeparna Chakrabarty about how Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation scheme was not a political gimmick but was aimed at controlling the rising NPAs of banks and how the Opposition lost an opportunity to educate people in the washed out Winter Session of Parliament.

You have been a critic of the demonetisation drive. How do you think it has affected the country?

This decision has brought 125 crore people of the country out on the streets standing in queues. Black money and black wealth are mostly parked outside the country. Within the country, it is only a mere six per cent. They have not done anything to bring back black money from abroad, which had been promised by the Prime Minister during his election campaign. The money, which is being deposited in banks, now, shows that as compared to the black money figure, which was being circulated, the money which was being deposited in banks is not much. Thus, it has had no effect on black money.

The decision to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes was taken to help out banks, which were sinking. The non-performing assets of banks are around 8.5 lakh crores. So the government thought that this will help them out. In the process, honest people are also getting affected. The money that is being deposited now in banks is the money of honest people. It is not the defaulters  who led to the NPAs being created in banks  standing in queues in front of ATMs, but the common, honest people of the country. In one stroke, entire communities of farmers, traders, labourers and small-scale industry owners as well as factory workers have been destroyed. Entire swathes of rural economy have been hit.

Was their any political motive behind this because the BJP is claiming that people are happy that black money hoarders are getting targeted? Who will benefit from this?

This should not be seen politically. The masses do not understand economics. They are influenced by propaganda. The economic growth of the country had gone into negative and banks were in serious trouble. The government has taken this step to bail out the economy and banks.

The demonetisation issue led to a virtual washout of Parliament session. Both the government and the Opposition are trading charges on this. Who would you blame?

It is true Parliament could not function. It is very unfortunate. We (the Opposition) lost the opportunity to educate the people. But in the end, it is the governments job to run the Houses. It is their responsibility. There was never any effective initiative from the government side to make the Houses function.

Post-demonetisation efforts are on to form a broad alliance of all Opposition parties. It was evident in Parliament session also. Is this with a view on 2019 too?

Yes. All Opposition parties are broadly together. There is a need to be together also. We will like that to happen in 2019 too. But right now nothing is final. Everything is in a flux. Things are still being worked out.

In such an alliance will you agree that the Congress needs to take a leadership role as it is still the largest secular block? And is this evident in the manner a joint press conference is being organised on December 27, which is likely to be led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi?

The event on December 27 is a joint press conference of Opposition parties. Nothing else. There is no need for any particular party to assume leadership of an Opposition alliance. Everybody will be equal partners.

There were efforts to forge an umbrella alliance of anti-BJP parties on the lines of Bihar to take on the BJP in the coming Uttar Pradesh elections. What is the progress?

It is true there were efforts to form an alliance last November. We had all gone to Lucknow at the Samajwadi Party rally  former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh and I. But there has been no progress. Mulayam Singh Yadav had said after this that there would be no alliance, but if anybody is interested they can merge. We are not interested in that. So there is nothing on the cards as of now.

However, the JD(U), JD(S) and RLD are together. We have already come together in western Uttar Pradesh. On December 22, there was massive response to our RLD-led rally in Muzaffarnagar. It was also attended by members of Trinamul Congress among others.

Have you approached Mayawati for such an alliance?

The Bahujan Samaj Party doesnt form alliances with any party.

How much effect do you think demonetisation will have on the coming Assembly elections in five crucial states? Will it benefit the BJP and Mr Modi?

It is for the public to decide. I dont see it affecting Assembly polls in any manner. It is just an economic gimmick.
In South Asia, Gaming monitors grew by 51 per cent. ASUSs flagship gaming brand ROG or commonly known as Republic of Gamers Monitors grew by 105 per cent.

ASUS has announced, they are currently leading vendors in the gaming monitor market in an official statement. Currently ASUS lead the market share in 2016 with a 35 per cent share followed by its competitors.

For Asia Pacific, Gaming monitors with a refresh rate of 144Hzand above monitor grew 119 per cent from 2015 to 2016. In South Asia, Gaming monitors grew by 51 per cent. ASUSs flagship gaming brand ROG or commonly known as Republic of Gamers Monitors grew by 105 per cent.

In India, for ESLs pioneer E-sports event, ASUS gaming monitors used during through the course of the event. ASUS currently have two exclusive ROG stores and one store due to launch in India and opened over 200 stores across India selling ROG monitors. Mr. Chiou expects the gaming monitor market in 2017 to have new features larger size, higher-resolution, curve panel, and increased refresh rate that will help increase gaming monitor demand in 2017. Stepping up to competition aggressively, ASUS also have a strong focus in the enterprise sector as enterprise monitors was rising and overall monitor shipments were set to grow by between 5 -10 per cent next year, added Chiou.

In the upcoming year, 2017, ASUS will launch a Gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate that features NVIDIAs G-Sync technology. The monitor will also feature ASUSs ultra-low blue light and flicker-free technologies.

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President Barack Obama, who has asked spy agencies to deliver an analysis of Russian meddling in the election before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, last week strongly suggested that Putin personally authorized the election hacking.

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has warned the US government against a tit-for-tat response to Russian hacking during the presidential election.

"I don't think we should resort to some of the tactics and techniques that our adversaries employ against us. I think we need to remember what we're fighting for," Brennan told National Public Radio in an interview that aired on Friday.

"We're fighting for our country, our democracy, our way of life, and to engage. And the skullduggery that some of our opponents and adversaries engage in, I think is beneath this country's greatness," Brennan said on NPR's "Morning Edition."

US officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of supervising his intelligence agencies' hacking during the US presidential election in an effort to help Republican Donald Trump. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the Nov. 8 election won by Trump.

President Barack Obama, who has asked spy agencies to deliver an analysis of Russian meddling in the election before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, last week strongly suggested that Putin personally authorized the election hacking. He also left the door open to retaliation, possibly under a Trump administration.

US Republican and Democratic senators have called for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks against the United States by foreign countries with a focus on Russia's alleged efforts to influence the US presidential election.

Brennan also predicted that despite the fall of eastern Aleppo to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, there would be no end to the violence there.

"Aleppo's fall, to me is not a sign that there is going to be an end to this conflict because I am convinced that many, many of those oppositionists, the ones who are trying to reclaim their country for their families, for their neighbors, for their children, will continue to fight," he told NPR.
The campaign, which is expected to roll out in January, 2017, will reach out with training materials to over 1,200 consumer organisations as well as consumer affairs department of every state and union territories.

In a bid to raise awareness about online safety, Google India has partnered Ministry of Consumer Affairs for rolling out a nationwide 'Digitally Safe Consumer' campaign.

Google, along with Department of Consumer Affairs, will undertake a year-long campaign focussed on building capacities of consumer organisations, personnel of Consumer Affairs department and counsellors of National Consumer Helpline on Internet safety and related issues.

"With the rapid increase in digitisation across all spheres, the message of internet safety needs to be integrated into the everyday tasks that the consumer undertakes online," Google India Country head (Public Policy) Chetan Krishnaswamy said in a statement.

This initiative will add to Google's existing campaigns guiding users to navigate the web and manage their digital lives safely and leverage the web to the fullest, he added.

In order to provide training and information on online safety tools, Google with the help of partner agencies will work towards advocating digital security and privacy needs through workshops training about 500 people, including 250 consumer organisations across the country.

These trainers will further engage with the local community to spread awareness around the need for internet safety.

The campaign, which is expected to roll out in January, 2017, will reach out with training materials to over 1,200 consumer organisations as well as consumer affairs department of every state and union territories.

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Uber's self-driving program had been running in San Francisco for just a week, and all the while the company was embroiled in a dispute with the state DMV and attorney general.

Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday removed its self-driving test cars from California and put them on trucks bound for Arizona, shuttering the autonomous vehicle project in its home state after a week-long battle with regulators. The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday revoked the registration of 16 cars in Uber's self-driving fleet, which the regulator said lacked the proper permits.

Arizona, however, does not require any special permits for self-driving cars, according to the state Department of Transportation. Autonomous vehicles have the same registration requirements as any other car. Uber's self-driving program had been running in San Francisco for just a week, and all the while the company was embroiled in a dispute with the state DMV and attorney general. Both threatened legal action if Uber did not remove its self-driving cars from the road, which the company ultimately did on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, Uber loaded its cars onto long-haul trucks belonging to Otto - a self-driving truck company Uber acquired in August.

"Our cars departed for Arizona this morning by truck," an Uber spokeswoman said in a written statement. "We'll be expanding our self-driving pilot there in the next few weeks."

San Francisco had been selected as Uber's second testing ground for its self-driving cars after Pittsburgh, but the company immediately faced a backlash from the DMV, which requires that any company testing autonomous vehicles on public roads receive a permit. But Uber refused to apply for the permit, arguing that state regulations do not apply to its cars, which require constant monitoring and interference by a person in the vehicle.

California defines autonomous vehicles as having the capability to drive "without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person." Amid the fray, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey invited Uber to bring its cars to his state.

"Arizona welcomes Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads," Ducey said in a statement released Thursday. "While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation, Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses."

Alphabet Inc's autonomous car division Waymo is also testing in Arizona.

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Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, arrives for the Economic Community Of West African States, ECOWAS, Heads of State and Government summit in Abuja. (Photo: AP)

Abuja: Nigeria's army has captured a key Boko Haram camp that was the Islamist militant group's last enclave in its northeastern Sambisa forest stronghold, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday.

"I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the camp fell at about 1:35 pm on Friday, Dec. 22, and that the terrorists are on the run and no longer have a place to hide," said Buhari.

The Nigerian military has in recent weeks been carrying out a large-scale offensive in the Sambisa forest, a vast former colonial game reserve that has been the group's base.
Washington: In boasting about his tenure in the White House, President Barack Obama often cites numbers like these: 15 million new jobs, a 4.9 percent unemployment rate and 74 months of consecutive job growth.

There's one number you will almost never hear: More than 1,030 seats.

That's the number of spots in state legislatures, governor's mansions and Congress lost by Democrats during Obama's presidency.

It's a statistic that reveals an unexpected twist of the Obama years: The leadership of the one-time community organiser and champion of ground-up politics was rough on the grassroots of his own party. When Obama exits the White House, he'll leave behind a Democratic Party that languished in his shadow for years and is searching for itself.

"What's happened on the ground is that voters have been punishing Democrats for eight solid years, it's been exhausting," said South Carolina state Sen. Vincent Sheheen. "If I was talking about a local or state issue, voters would always lapse back into a national topic: Barack Obama."

When Obama won the presidency, his election was heralded as a moment of Democratic dominance, the crashing of a conservative wave that had swept the country since the dawn of the Reagan era.

Democrats believed that the coalition of young, minority and female voters who swept Obama into the White House would usher in something new: an ascendant Democratic majority that would ensure party gains for decades to come.

The coalition, it turns out, was Obama's alone.

After this year's elections, Democrats hold the governor's office and both legislative chambers in just five coastal states: Oregon, California, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware. Republicans have the trifecta in 25, giving them control of a broad swath of the middle of the country.

The defeats have all but wiped out a generation of young Democrats, leaving the party with limited power in statehouses and a thin bench to challenge an ascendant GOP majority eager to undo many of the president's policies. To be sure, the president's party almost always loses seats in midterm elections. But, say experts, Obama's tenure has marked the greatest number of losses under any president in decades.

"Obama just figured his important actions on policies like immigration and health care would solidify support, but that hasn't really materialized," said Daniel Galvin, a political science professor at Northwestern University and the author of a book on presidential party building. "He's done basically the minimal amount of party building, and it's been insufficient to help the party."

It's a political reality that Obama has only been willing to acknowledge publicly after his party's devastating November losses. He's admitted he failed to create "a sustaining organization" around the political force that twice elected him to office.

"That's something I would have liked to have done more of, but it's kind of hard to do when you're also dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House," he said at his year-end press conference.

It is perhaps not surprising that Obama - a politician who promised a post-party era - turned out not to be a party stalwart.

Obama and his aides came into office neither beholden to his party's establishment, nor particularly interested in reinforcing his party's weak spots.

He electrified the 2004 Democratic National Convention with a speech seeking common cause over party differences. Four years later, he defeated Hillary Clinton, the pick of the party insiders, to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

In the White House, Obama's failure to do the typical Washington schmoozing was a constant source of complaint among congressional Democrats, as was his reluctance to endorse down-ballot candidates and inability to parlay Organizing for Action, his grassroots organization, into a significant force.

State parties languished and the Democratic National Committee struggled with dysfunction and debt.

"We built this beautiful house, but the foundation is rotten," said South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison, a candidate to lead the Democratic National Committee. "In hindsight we should have looked at this and said, 'Maybe the state parties should be strong.'"

Toward the end of his presidency, Obama began doing more, stepping in to assist more than 150 state legislative candidates in October and campaigning across the country for Clinton.

He's indicated he intends to make partisan politics a bigger piece of his post-presidential life. Aides say Obama will be closely involved in an effort to focus on drawing district lines more in the favour of Democrats.

The president's advisers blame the losses on such structural trends. They point to a flood of Republican super PAC dollars and a resurgence of Republican political power in statehouses. That state-level dominance has given Republicans the ability to redraw district lines and created voting rules that could benefit their party for years to come.

The refusal by many Democrats to accept help from Obama in the 2010 and 2014 midterms was also a strategic mistake, they argue.

"Frankly, when people have asked, the president has been more than willing to engage," said David Simas, Obama's political director.

Some Democrats blame Obama for an executive agenda that highlighted social issues, such as transgender rights and access to birth control over the economic anxiety still felt by many voters.

"The backlash to the Obama presidency was perhaps bigger than any of us really realized," said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democratic Network, a Democratic think tank. "A lot of the story of this election was people feeling like the culture was evolving in a way that made it feel like they were no longer living in the country they grew up in."

Others are focusing on the one clear truth of the November defeats: What worked for Obama just did not work for this party.

Perhaps the most remarkable twist of a shocking political season even as voters chose to elect a successor who vows to undo most of Obama's legacy, his approval rating remains the highest it's been since the spring of 2009.
Kabul: An Afghan official says gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in the capital, killing at least one person.

Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, says the two gunmen attacked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef's house on Friday, but he was not there.

Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
Despite sub-zero temperatures, protesters waved banners and balloons, and sang along to Christmas songs with new lyrics heaping ridicule on Park and calling for her immediate removal. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: Tens of thousands of people, many in Santa Claus outfits, marched through the streets of Seoul Saturday calling for the immediate ouster of impeached President Park Geun-Hye.

Parliament voted to impeach Park earlier this month over a corruption scandal in which she allegedly colluded with her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, to strong-arm donations from large conglomerates to two dubious foundations.

Park is also accused of ordering aides to leak confidential state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance, and allowing her to meddle in state affairs, including the appointment of top officials.

Police figures were unavailable but organisers estimated the crowd at more than 550,000. Protesters walked in three columns towards the presidential Blue House, the prime minister's office and the Constitutional Court.

"Arrest Park immediately", they chanted, while also urging the Constitutional Court to approve the impeachment.

Despite sub-zero temperatures, protesters waved banners and balloons, and sang along to Christmas songs with new lyrics heaping ridicule on Park and calling for her immediate removal.

"This is a special Chrismas eve as it gives me a chance to show my children what democracy is all about", Yoon Ki-Seung told AFP as his son and daughter held banners.

Some 300 young people wearing Santa Claus outfits were seen handing out books and Christmas cards to children who accompanied their parents to the demonstration.

"Gifts to children and handcuffs to Park", they chanted.

Artists drew a large baby Jesus holding a candle with the slogan "Oust Park in the name of the people" on the pavement.

Massive demonstrations have been taking place in Seoul and other cities every Saturday for the past two months, with protesters calling for Park's immediate departure from office.

But Park, who has been suspended from her duties since the impeachment vote on December 9, has remained defiant, declaring she will "calmly" wait until the Constitutional Court, which is due to rule on the case within 180 days, arrives at a decision.

Bribery allegations

The demonstration came as investigators were expanding a probe into the scandal to determine whether Park and Choi took bribes from conglomerates such as Samsung in addition to soliciting "donations" to the two foundations.

Samsung has been a main target of the investigation. It allegedly bribed Choi to win state approval for a controversial merger of two of its units in order to bolster its founding family's control over the management.

Prosecutors are also investigating new allegations that Choi sent dubious assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars overseas.

Choi, who has been in custody since October, was brought to a special prosecutors' office Saturday in a prison bus.

Television footage showed the 60-year-old handcuffed and wearing an ivory prison outfit with a serial number on the chest as she was taken off the bus and led into the court building.

Choi, dubbed South Korea's "female Rasputin" for the influence she wielded over Park, faces trial on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power.

"We will question her to confirm her earlier statements and investigate other allegations," a spokesman for the special prosecutor told reporters.

Choi's appearance came on the heels of the first hearing into Park's impeachment earlier this week.

If the justices confirm impeachment, Park will be permanently removed and elections must be held within 60 days.
Ras Al Khaimah: In an unfortunate incident, a five-year old Emirati boy died after he was accidentally run over by his mother in her car on Friday.

According to a report in Gulf News, the incident happened near the victims family house in the Shamal district of Ras Al Khaimah.

The boy was immediately taken to the hospital after the incident where he was declared dead. He had suffered intense injuries including fractures in his skull and spine.

According to police investigations, the boys mother was about to leave the house when the accident happened.

The mother was reportedly unaware of her sons presence as she started her car. She rushed the child to the hospital after she realised her mistake but couldnt save him.

While the police are investigating the incident, Colonel Arif Al Kaz, Director of Al Mamoura Police station advised parents to check the area surrounding their vehicles before leaving their house. He also urged parents to install vehicle sensors to curb such instances.
A man with a green flag is helped out an Afriqiyah Airways plane from Libya standing on the tarmac at Malta's Luqa International airport. (Photo: AP)

Valletta: Hijackers armed with what were probably replica weapons forced an airliner to land in Malta on Friday before freeing all their hostages unharmed and surrendering, having declared loyalty to Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Television pictures showed two men being led from the aircraft in handcuffs. The prime minister of the tiny Mediterranean island, Joseph Muscat, tweeted: "Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken in custody".

The Airbus A320 had been on an internal flight in Libya on Friday morning when it was diverted to Malta, 500 km (300 miles) north of the Libyan coast, after a man told the crew he had a hand grenade.

Muscat said the grenade and two pistols the hijackers were also carrying appeared to be replicas, according to an initial forensic examination.

A Libyan television channel reported it had spoken by phone with a hijacker who described himself as head of a pro-Gaddafi party. Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and Libya has been racked by factional violence since.

With troops positioned a few hundred meters (yards) away, buses were driven onto the tarmac at Malta International Airport to carry away 109 passengers, as well as some of the crew. Television footage showed no signs of struggle or alarm.

After the passengers had left the plane, a man briefly appeared at the top of the steps with a plain green flag resembling that of Gaddafi's now-defunct state.

Libya's Channel TV station said one hijacker, who gave his name as Moussa Shaha, had said by phone he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jadid, or The New Al-Fateh. Al-Fateh is the name that Gaddafi gave to September, the month he staged a coup in 1969, and the word came to signify his coming to power.

In a tweet, the TV station later quoted the hijacker as saying: "We took this measure to declare and promote our new party."

Standoff on Tarmac

Lawmaker Hadi al-Saghir told Reuters that Abdusalem Mrabit, a fellow member of Libya's House of Representatives on the plane, had told him the two hijackers were in their mid-20s and were from the Tebu ethnic group in southern Libya.

After the standoff ended peacefully, Muscat told a news conference there had been talks between Maltese authorities and the Libyan hijackers.

The men had asked for two Maltese negotiators to board the aircraft, but this was rejected.

"We were not willing to negotiate until there was a surrender," he said, adding that the hijackers had not requested asylum.

A senior Libyan security official told Reuters the first news of the hijack came in a call from the pilot to the control tower at Tripoli's Mitiga airport.

"Then they lost communication with him," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The pilot tried very hard to have them land at the correct destination but they refused."

The aircraft, operated by state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, had been flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli, a trip that would usually take a little over two hours.

The last major hijacking on Malta was in 1985, when Palestinians took over an Egyptair plane. Egyptian commandos stormed the aircraft and dozens of people were killed.
Sesto San Giovanni: Nobody comes to Sesto San Giovanni by chance, say the residents of this dreary working-class Milan suburb where police caught up with Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri.

So why, Italy wonders, did Europe's most wanted man end up here?

Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian, was shot dead by police on Friday during a routine check at the local train station, after opening fire first.

Sesto San Giovanni, with its 80,000 inhabitants, is where Amri caught the officers' attention in the small hours. It's a hub for transport, the last stop on a metro line, and has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy.

Many foreigners come through here, and police controls are particularly thorough.

"I get checked by police every day getting off the bus," said Aziz, a young Moroccan worker.

"At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol," he told AFP.

According to Italian daily La Stampa, police believe that Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France.

They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices.

But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead.

Italy's Stalingrad

He then travelled to Milan, where he arrived at 1 am Friday, before going on to Sesto San Giovanni.

Was he hoping to hook up with members of a network? Was he looking for new ID to get him out of Europe? Or was he planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he spent four years in prison for torching a school in 2011?

Police are short on answers. But they do point out, according to Italian media, that Sesto San Giovanni, once known as "Italy's Stalingrad" because of the powerful local Communist party, has become a multicultural town with a large Muslim community.

Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had "no links with the Sesto mosque", but some locals wonder if he had contacts nearby.

"Some people are worried," said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting.

Italy does its bit investigating jihadist sympathiser networks, but only a few dozen Italians have actually gone off to join Islamic State fighters in Iraq or Syria.

And despite the occasional threatening militant video, Italy has never been the target of any jihadist attack.

They got lucky

Still, many Italians are startled that the man tracked by the combined power of the continent's police forces could slip into their country unnoticed.

"He could have committed more attacks," acknowledged De Iesu, calling Amri "a very dangerous fugitive".

Populists have seized the opportunity to further their agenda, including Beppo Grillo, head of the Five Star Movement.

"Italy is becoming a crossroads for terrorists. We can't detect or identify them, and thanks to Schengen they can cross borders without trouble," he said on his blog, referring to the EU's passport-free travel system.

Many other Italians declare themselves to be fatalistic, like Francesco Micali, another resident of Sesto San Giovanni.

"There could easily be an attack in Italy, just like in France, Germany and Spain," said.

As for the two policeman who stopped the suspect, who are being celebrated as heroes in Italy, "They just got lucky," said Micali.
Bethelehem: Bethlehem, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is the "little town" where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born and it attracts thousands of pilgrims at Christmas.

Located just 10 kilometres (six miles) from Jerusalem, and hosting holy sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, it has not been spared the fallout of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Here are five things to know about Bethlehem:

Sacred city for three religions

Bethlehem is the cradle of Christianity, the site of the Church of the Nativity, which contains an underground cave where Christians believe Mary gave birth to Jesus. A 14-pointed silver star beneath an altar marks the spot and the stone church is a key pilgrimage site for Christians and Muslims alike.

The emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helena had it built around the year 338.

Over the years the church has been sacked and undergone several transformations, and it is now administered jointly by the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

A space reserved for Muslim prayer has been set aside in a southern wing.

Bethlehem is also home to the tomb of Rachel, wife of Jacob who was Abraham's grandson. It is Judaism's third holiest site, after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The tomb of the biblical matriarch is sacred for Muslims as well, and Jewish and Muslim women visit regularly to pray for safe and smooth pregnancies.

The first mention of Bethlehem in the Old Testament is in the book of Genesis, under the name of Ephrat, where Rachel dies while giving birth to her son Benjamin. Her tomb is at the northern edge of the city.

Unesco heritage sites

In June 2012, the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route along which the traditional Christmas procession heads were designated a world heritage site by the UN cultural organisation UNESCO, despite stiff opposition from Israel and the United States. Palestinians hailed the decision as historic.

In October 2010, UNESCO's executive council had termed Rachel's tomb also as the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque. Israel reduced its cooperation with the cultural organisation in protest.

Christmas in Bethlehem

Adjoining the Church of the Nativity is the Franciscan church of Saint Catherine, where Christmas Mass is celebrated each year at midnight.

A tall Christmas tree is put up in early December outside the church in Manger Square, signalling the start of the festivities, and its lighting is often accompanied by a message of peace from the city to a troubled region.

On Christmas Day thousands of tourists and Palestinians, Muslims and Christians alike line the so-called pilgrimage route to watch a procession led by the Catholic patriarch who begins in Jerusalem and passes through the wall that separates the West Bank from Israel.

Scout marching bands escort the cleric to the sound of drums and bagpipes. The square is the site of many other multi-coloured processions.

Other denominations also celebrate Christmas in various parts of the city, though in the Orthodox and Armenian church calendars, Christmas comes in January.

The wall and unrest

The Israeli separation wall is part of a project begun in 2002 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, that is to extend around 700 kilometres (450 miles) once completed. It is a stark symbol of the occupation for Palestinians, and in Bethlehem it has been covered by graffiti and street art.

Pope Francis visited the site in May 2014, laying his hands on the wall and celebrating mass in Manger Square.

Bethlehem has suffered meanwhile from the intifada unrest and a clampdown by Israeli security forces. In 2002, armed Palestinian fighters holed up in the Church of the Nativity for 38 days.

Main tourist site in Palestinian territories

The district of Bethlehem, home to about 210,000 Palestinians, includes the city itself, which has a population of 32,000. Other major towns are Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, in addition to some 30 villages and three refugee camps.

Although the population was predominantly Christian a half century ago, it is now predominantly Muslim, but Christians are still present in key sectors.

Tourism is the biggest economic activity, with the Church of the Nativity drawing some two million pilgrims each year.

Last year however, the number of visitors slumped amid violence and protests in the region that left around 150 people dead.
The council passed the measure Friday after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy. (Photo: AP)

Jerusalem: Israel scrambled on Saturday to contain the fallout from the UN Security Council vote to halt settlements in Palestinian territory after lashing out at US President Barack Obama over the "shameful" resolution.

The council passed the measure Friday after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

By deciding not to veto the move, the US took a rare step that deeply angered Israel, which accused Obama of abandoning its closest Middle East ally in the waning days of his administration.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council, with applause breaking out in the chamber.

The landmark vote came despite intense lobbying efforts by Israel and calls from US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

While the resolution contains no sanctions, Israeli officials are concerned it could widen the possibility of prosecution at the International Criminal Court.

They are also worried it could encourage some countries to impose sanctions against Israeli settlers and products produced in the settlements.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the resolution and criticised Obama in especially harsh language.

"Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," read a statement from his office.

"The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes," it said.

"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution."

Michael Oren, the deputy minister for diplomacy in the premier's officer and a former Israeli envoy to Washington, said he saw the resolution as "a lot like anti-Semitism".

"Of all the conflicts in the world, just one party's being singled out, and that's the Jewish party," said Oren.

Trump reacted after the vote by promising change at the UN.

"As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th," he tweeted referring to the date of his inauguration.

Threat to two-state solution

The US has traditionally served as Israel's diplomatic shield, protecting it from resolutions it opposes.

It is Israel's most important ally, providing it with more than $3 billion each year in defence aid.

But the Obama administration has grown increasingly frustrated with settlement building in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied for nearly 50 years.

There have been growing warnings that settlement expansion is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the basis of years of negotiations.

Settlements are built on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state and seen as illegal under international law.

"We cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our longstanding objective of two states living side by side in peace and security," said Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN.

"The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution."

Speculation has mounted that Obama would allow such a resolution to pass before he leaves office on January 20.

Trump has signalled he is likely to be far more favourable to Israel.

David Friedman, his nominee for ambassador to Israel, favours moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and has voiced support for settlement building.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in annexed east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution."

Friday's vote was scheduled at the request of New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela, who stepped in to push for action after Egypt put the draft resolution on hold.

After the resolution passed, Israel recalling its ambassadors to Senegal and New Zealand for consultations. It has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela or Malaysia.

A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called the resolution a "big blow for Israeli policies".

The move was "an international and unanimous condemnation of settlements and strong support for the two-state solution," Nabil Abu Rudeina said.

Saeb Erekat, a former peace negotiator and the number two in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, spoke of a "historic day".
Islamabad: Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari has returned to the country, ending his 18-month-long self-imposed exile, amidst speculations about his future role in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has threatened a major protest against the Nawaz Sharif government.

The party has asked the government to change the interior minister and appoint a full-time foreign minister, among other demands, before December 27 or face street demonstrations. So far, none of the demands have been fulfilled.

Zardari landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Friday afternoon and later addressed a huge rally criticising Prime Minister Sharif.

But local media was not sure about the role of Zardari who with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the co-chairman of the PPP which is the largest opposition party and also rules southern province of Sindh.

"Will Zardari take back the reins of PPP? Will he change the party's strategy in dealing with the ruling PML-N? Will his son take the back seat? These are the questions making the rounds in political circles as Zardari returned to Karachi," the Express Tribune reported. The answer to all these questions is 'no'.

This is at least what the Express Tribune has learnt from top PPP officials in background interviews.

They say Bilawal will remain the face of the party, while Zardari will act as a 'patriarch'. Zardari, known for his wheeling and dealing, will use his political acumen to win over other political groups with his quintessential policy of political reconciliation.

The objective will be to improve the party's numerical strength in the legislatures of smaller provinces in the next general elections.

Bilawal, meanwhile, would continue to take on political rivals aggressively, mainly in Punjab, the province which decides who will rule in the Centre as almost half of the members of the National Assembly are elected from Islamabad.

Public perception of Zardari is not good. And the PPP, which is evolving under Bilawal, knows it full well. This was

the reason PPP's inner circles had weighed the pros and cons

of Zardari's homecoming, it said.

Some political analysts, however, see Zardari's return in the backdrop of the change in the military's high-command.

Before leaving the country in June last year, Zardari had made a hard-hitting speech at a function in Islamabad.

Apparently, his target was the powerful military establishment, especially the then army chief, General Raheel Sharif.

It was reported that Zardari was angered by the Rangers' actions against PPP leaders as part of the operation in Karachi.

Zardari was quick to call up the new army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, to felicitate him soon after he had received the baton of command from Gen Raheel last month.

Insiders say the PPP is in the process of defining Zardari's new role as the 'patriarch' of the party to benefit from his political acumen while he stays behind the scenes.

"He would be particularly helpful in consolidating PPP's position in the smaller provinces. The party wants to utilise his experience in traditional politics," says a senior PPP leader.

Zardari would leave Punjab to an increasingly aggressive Bilawal. He has already delegated the party's organisational matters to his son, he said. Bilawal has given the ruling party until December 27 to accept his four demands or else face the wrath of PPP.

The PPP feels Zardari's style of politics will be of much help in the smaller provinces, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, where political scene is still dominated by fuedal lords.

"We plan to add six to seven more seats to our strength in the National Assembly from Sindh and a few from Balochistan in the next general elections. Here, we would need a leader who has expertise in traditional politics of give and take. No one can rival Zardari's skills in such matters," said a close aide of Bilawal.

Bilawal, the scion of the Bhutto dynasty, would copy the aggressive style of politics introduced in the party by his maternal grandfather and PPP founder Zulifikar Ali Bhutto and later successfully adopted by the late Benazir Bhutto.

Thus Bilawal would make a serious attempt to reclaim the ground the PPP has ceded to other parties in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

PPP insiders say some 'surprises' are expected on December 27 in Garhi Khuda Bukhash when the party observes Benazir's death anniversary.

"Subsequently, some prominent political figures from Punjab, mainly from South Punjab, would also jump ship to join the PPP before the party kick-starts its protest campaign in the province," claimed another close aide of Bilawal.

Meanwhile, ruling Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz has welcomed the return of Zardari.

Railway Minister Khawja Saad Rafique said that Zardari's presence will have sobering effect on the politics of his son Bilawal.
Law enforcers lobbed several rounds of tear gas canisters targeting the building after the blast. (Photo: Representational Image/AP)

Dhaka: A woman and a teenage boy on Saturday blew themselves up in the national capital when Bangladesh police's elite counter-terrorism unit raided their three-storey building where heavily-armed militants, belonging to an Islamist group blamed for the deadly cafe attack, were hiding. Police raided the building in Ashkona area of the capital.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the media that a woman and a teenage boy have blown themselves up.

Earlier four persons, including two woman and as many children, came out of the building and surrendered to law enforcers, bdnews reported. A minor girl, who suffered splinter injuries when the woman killed herself, has been taken to the hospital.

Sounds of several explosions and gunshots were heard in the areas since afternoon. Law enforcers lobbed several rounds of tear gas canisters targeting the building after the blast, reports our staff correspondent covering the raid from the spot.

"The inmates have vowed to fight us with grenades, we are repeatedly asking them to give up," Dhaka's police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mian told reporters.

Police said the militants are believed to be the operatives of neo-Jamaatun Mujahideen Bangladesh (neo-JMB) which was behind the July 1 terror attack on the Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

Another official at the scene said one of the two women who surrendered was the wife of a slain renegade ex-army major who was killed on September 2 this year in a police encounter during a nearly identical raid at Dhakas Mirpur area. The other woman was the wife of a neo-JMB leader.
Islamabad: Eleven-year-old Mohammad Sabeel Haider, who is sixth-grade student at Islamabad Model College for Boys, has sued officials of Pakistans Presidents House over alleged plagiarism of his speech without his consent.

Sabeel Haider said that he was chosen to deliver a speech at the Presidents House in Islamabad on December 22.

The ceremony was recorded and was supposed to be aired on Pakistan Television on December 25, marking the 141st birth anniversary of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

However, when Sabeel arrived at the Presidents House, he was informed he will no longer be delivering the speech. He said in his petition that a tenth-grader delivered the speech he had written and prepared, alleging that his intellectual property was stolen.

According to Sabeels lawyer, as per Section 3 of Intellectual Property and Copyrights Ordinance 1967, a literary piece that the person has produced themselves cannot be used by a third party without their consent.

Calling it stealing, the counsel termed the act of the respondents a violation of intellectual property, intellect, and copyrights and sought that they be restrained from airing the speech on electronic or social media.

The counsel said Haiders speech was forwarded for approval from the presidency, adding that the respondents had approved it.
Defying heavy pressure, the US today allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution demanding Israel to halt settlements in Palestinian territory as it abstained from wielding its veto in the powerful world body.



The 15-nation Council adopted yesterday the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour and with one abstention from the US.



In a rare step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.



The resolution had been put forward by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela.

In the resolution, the Council reiterated its demand that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard".



As the resolution, which had more symbolic value and is unlikely to change the situation on ground between Israel and Palestine, was adopted, the Council broke into a huge round of applause as envoys of the permanent and non-permanent members lauded the decision.



The adoption of the resolution and Washington's abstention was seen as a huge rebuke to Israel, which has traditionally been a staunch US ally.



Trump had put pressure on the Obama administration to veto the UN resolution critical of Israel.



A day before the vote, Trump said in a post on social network Facebook that the resolution being considered at the UN Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed.



"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations. This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis," he had said.



Following the adoption of the resolution, Trump made his displeasure clear, tweeting "As to the UN, things will be different after January 20," referring to the day when he is sworn in as the next US President.



"There is one president at a time," Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters, dismissing Trump's criticism.



US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, in Washington's explanation of vote on the resolution, said the vote for US was "not straightforward" because of "for as long as Israel has been a member" of the UN, Israel has been treated differently from other nations at the United Nations.



She said it is America's commitment to Israel's security that makes the United States believe it cannot stand in the way of this resolution as it seeks to preserve a chance of attaining the long-standing objective: two states living side-by-side in peace and security.



"The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution. The number of settlers in the roughly 150 authorized Israeli settlements east of the 1967 lines has increased dramatically.



Yet rather than dismantling these and other settler outposts, which are illegal even under Israeli law, now there is new legislation advancing in the Israeli Knesset that would legalize most of the outposts  a factor that propelled the decision by this resolutions sponsors to bring it before the Council," she said.



Power added the US did not veto the resolution because it reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with US policy across Republican and Democratic administration throughout the history of the State of Israel.



Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the adoption of the resolution which stated that the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, have "no legal validity", constitute a "flagrant violation" under international law and are a "major obstacle" to a two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.



"The resolution is a significant step, demonstrating the Council's much needed leadership and the international communitys collective efforts to reconfirm that the vision of two States is still achievable," the UN chief's spokesperson said in a statement.



"The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work with the international community to create a conducive environment for a return to meaningful negotiations," the spokesperson added.



Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon responded harshly to the American decision not to veto the UN Security Council resolution: "Neither the Security Council nor UNESCO can sever the tie between the people of Israel and the land of Israel".



Danon added that it was "expected" that Israel's greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that "we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution".



"I have no doubt that the new US administration and the incoming UN Secretary General will usher in a new era in terms of the UN's relationship with Israel," he said.



Leading human rights group Human Rights Watch lauded the adoption of the resolution saying the US abstention is a welcome shift away from past practice of "using its Security Council veto to shield Israel from criticism despite longstanding US policy opposing settlements".



The Council vote "rebukes" those seeking to reverse universally accepted international law on the illegality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.



UN Director at Human Rights Watch Louis Charbonneau said indications that Trump may change US policy on settlements "reinforces" the need for a steadfast Security Council position, adding that Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela should be commended for pushing this resolution forward after Egypt "balked under political pressure before voting in favour of the final resolution".



The Council also underlined that it will not recognize any changes to the June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.



The resolution called for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction, and for accountability in that regard, as well as for both parties to act on the basis of international law, including international humanitarian law, and previous agreements and obligations, "to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric".


The US has defended its decision to refrain from vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement building in Palestine, saying the unusual step was taken only after all negotiating options to pursue a two-state solution were exhausted.





President-elect Donald Trump meanwhile slammed the outgoing Obama administration for abstaining from voting. "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th," he tweeted.



In a move seen as a diplomatic rebuke to its closest Middle East ally, the United States had decided not to veto the resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, introduced in the UN Security Council by Egypt.



"The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," said Secretary of State, John Kerry.



"One of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity -- which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that condemns settlements -- puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence," Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor told reporters during a conference call yesterday afternoon.



"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," Rhodes said in defence of the decision.



Describing this as a rebuke to Israel, The Washington Post said decision not to veto reflected frustration from the Obama administration over the settlements and defied pressure from Trump. A day earlier, Trump, in a tweet, had asked the US to veto the resolution.



Rhodes stressed that the US had exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, discussions and confidence-building measures.



"We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table. So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution," he said.



The Deputy National Security Advisor said the US does have concerns about the UN as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



"That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state," he said.



Obama's abstention however came under withering criticism from across bipartisan lines.



"Today's passage of an ill-conceived resolution on Israeli settlements marks another shameful chapter in the bizarre anti-Israel history of the United Nations," said Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.



"The abstention of the United States has made us complicit in this outrageous attack, and marks a troubling departure from our nation's long, bipartisan history of defending our ally Israel in the United Nations. This resolution will serve as yet another roadblock to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and embolden the enemies of Israel," he said.



House Democratic whip Steny H Hoyer also expressed his deep disappointment over the abstention.



"Blaming Israel for the continuation of the conflict is not only wrong and unjust; it will also do nothing to move the parties closer to a peaceful and lasting solution. I join in expressing my very significant disagreement with the Administration's decision to abstain," he said.



"Refusing to veto an anti-Israel UN resolution will do absolutely nothing to promote peace in the region and only continue this Administration's policy of undermining our allies," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.



Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power defended the step saying the United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transitional period.



"Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks.



"Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated," she said.



The powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee said it was deeply disturbed by the "failure of the Obama Administration to exercise its veto to prevent a destructive, one-sided, anti-Israel resolution from being enacted" by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
US President Barack Obama has signed into law the USD 618 billion defence budget for 2017, which enhances security cooperation with India and conditions nearly half of the funding to Pakistan on a certification that it is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.





Currently vacationing in Hawaii, Obama yesterday signed the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2017, which asks Defence Secretary and Secretary of State to take steps necessary to recognise India as America's "major defence partner".



A summary of the bill released by Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator John McCain said NDAA-2017 "enhances security cooperation" between the US and India.



It also asks the administration to designate an individual within the executive branch who has experience in defence acquisition and technology to reinforce and ensure, through inter-agency policy coordination, the success of the Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship; and to help resolve remaining issues impeding US-India defence trade, security cooperation, and co-production and co-development opportunities.



The NDAA, which among other things creates a USD 1.2 billion Counter-ISIL Fund, imposes four conditions on Pakistan to be eligible for USD 400 million of the USD 900 million of the coalition support fund (CSF).



The US Defence Secretary needs to certify to the Congress that Pakistan continues to conduct military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network in Pakistan and that Islamabad has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment to prevent the Haqqani Network from using any of its territory as a safe haven.



Early this year, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter refused to give a similar certification to Pakistan due to which it was not given USD 300 million under coalition support fund.



In his signing statement, Obama did not mention to any of these provisions of the bill, but he did expressed disappointment over certain other provisions in NDAA-2017.



He said: "I remain deeply concerned about the Congress's use of the National Defence Authorisation Act to impose extensive organisational changes on the Department of Defence, disregarding the advice of the Department's senior civilian and uniformed leaders.



"The extensive changes in the bill are rushed, the consequences poorly understood, and they come at a particularly inappropriate time as we undertake a transition between administrations. These changes not only impose additional administrative burdens on the Department of Defence and make it less agile, but they also create additional bureaucracies and operational restrictions that generate inefficiencies at a time when we need to be more efficient."



The bill, among other things, creates a USD 1.2 billion Counter-ISIL Fund providing flexible resources to support training and equipping the properly-vetted Syrian opposition, Iraqi Security Forces, the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribal elements, and other local security forces with a national security mission such as local security forces that are committed to protecting highly vulnerable ethnic and religious communities.



McCain said the bold reforms achieved in this year's legislation on defence acquisition, military healthcare, military justice, and security cooperation are a worthy contribution to this historic legacy of bipartisan support for troops.



"(It) refocuses security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support US national security interests and conditions a significant portion of funding on a certification from the Secretary of Defence that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network in Pakistani territory," the summary said.



Obama also slammed the Congress for not taking action toward closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.



"As I have said before, spending hundreds of millions of dollars, year after year, to keep fewer than 60 men in an isolated detention facility in Cuba is not consistent with our interests as a Nation and undermines our standing in the world.



"It weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists," he said.
Germany was hunting for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker today, a day after he was killed in a shootout with Italian police in Milan.





As most of the country was preparing to celebrate Christmas Eve, Germany's under-pressure authorities said hundreds of investigators would be working on the probe throughout the holiday season.



Tunisian Anis Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.



The rejected asylum seeker was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt after the rampage, but his time on the run was cut short by Italian police.



Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday thanked Italy and expressed relief that the fugitive no longer posed a threat, but warned that "the danger of terrorism in general endures".



She pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how the known jihadist was able to slip through the net in the first place.



"The Amri case raises questions," she said. "We will now intensively examine to what extent official procedures need to be changed."



"How could Europe's most wanted terrorist leave Germany?" asked the respected Die Welt daily on its website, in a nod to the growing criticism of the country's handling of the probe.



Amri was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two officers who had stopped him for a routine identity check in the early hours of Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.



He lightly wounded one of the officers before being killed by 29-year-old police rookie Luca Scata, who has since been hailed as a hero.



Police said Amri had shouted "bastard police" in Italian before opening fire.



According to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, Amri had arrived in Italy from Germany via France. He had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone.



The Islamic State group released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.



German investigators are now focusing on whether Amri had help from accomplices.



"It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank told reporters.



Questions have been raised about whether enough was done to keep tabs on Amri, who was on the radar of anti-terrorism agencies in both Germany and Italy.
Even as its chief Uddhav Thackeray accompanied the Prime Minister for 'jal pujan' ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial, Shiv Sena today appeared unhappy with ally BJP, alleging that it has "hijacked" the occasion to take political benefit. It also took a swipe at BJP over the Ram Temple issue, saying it should admit its "failure" as it has not been able to build the promised temple in Ayodhya despite the huge majority in Lok Sabha.



"The BJP should not forget this memorial is a dream of every citizen of Maharashtra. The previous government (of Congress-NCP) also tried to start work on the memorial though it was unsuccessful for reasons best known to them," said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande.



"When the memorial is being built with Government money, BJP should remember this (`jal pujan' or stone laying ceremony) is a Government programme and all parties of the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) should be treated with equal respect," she said. Kayande said "the trend of BJP hijacking events, whenever it is in power, is in bad taste and does not go down well with public".



The BJP tried similar "antics" at the inauguration of Ram Mandir railway station here, where its workers shouted slogans in support of the Prime Minister, she said. "Before elections, they showed people big dream of building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which they have failed to do despite having absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Now, they should accept their failure (for not building the temple)," the Sena spokesperson said.



Earlier, Modi performed 'jal pujan' in the Arabian Sea for the Rs 3,600-crore memorial dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king, who is a revered figure in Maharashtra. He was accompanied by Uddhav among others. The party is hoping that the issue will work ints favour in run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls likely in early 2017.



Sena-BJP relationship has been strained ever since the two parties parted ways ahead of Maharashtra Assembly election in 2014. The two reunited post-election but Sena has been sulking since it has been reduced to a junior partner in the state. Thackeray's party has often been critical of the state and central governments though it is a part of the BJP-led NDA.


A woman and a teenage boy today blew themselves up in the national capital when Bangladesh police's elite counter-terrorism unit raided their three-storey building where heavily-armed militants, belonging to an Islamist group blamed for the deadly cafe attack, were hiding.





Police raided the building in Ashkona area of the capital. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the media that a woman and a teenage boy have blown themselves up.

Earlier four persons, including two woman and as many children, came out of the building and surrendered to law enforcers, bdnews reported.



A minor girl, who suffered splinter injuries when the woman killed herself, has been taken to the hospital. Sounds of several explosions and gunshots were heard in the areas since afternoon. Law enforcers lobbed several rounds of tear gas canisters targeting the building after the blast, reports our staff correspondent covering the raid from the spot.



"The inmates have vowed to fight us with grenades... we are repeatedly asking them to give up," Dhaka's police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mian told reporters.



Police said the militants are believed to be the operatives of neo-Jamaatun Mujahideen Bangladesh (neo-JMB) which was behind the July 1 terror attack on the Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.



Another official at the scene said one of the two women who surrendered was the wife of a slain renegade ex-army major who was killed on September 2 this year in a police encounter during a nearly identical raid at Dhakas Mirpur area. The other woman was the wife of a neo-JMB leader.


Bilawal has given the ruling party until December 27 to accept his four demands or else face the wrath of PPP. The PPP feels Zardari's style of politics will be of much help in the smaller provinces, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, where political scene is still dominated by fuedal lords.



"We plan to add six to seven more seats to our strength in the National Assembly from Sindh and a few from Balochistan in the next general elections. Here, we would need a leader who has expertise in traditional politics of give and take. No one can rival Zardari's skills in such matters," said a close aide of Bilawal.



Bilawal, the scion of the Bhutto dynasty, would copy the aggressive style of politics introduced in the party by his maternal grandfather and PPP founder Zulifikar Ali Bhutto and later successfully adopted by the late Benazir Bhutto. Thus Bilawal would make a serious attempt to reclaim the ground the PPP has ceded to other parties in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.



PPP insiders say some 'surprises' are expected on December 27 in Garhi Khuda Bukhash when the party observes Benazir's death anniversary. "Subsequently, some prominent political figures from Punjab, mainly from South Punjab, would also jump ship to join the PPP before the party kick-starts its protest campaign in the province," claimed another close aide of Bilawal.



Meanwhile, ruling Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz has welcomed the return of Zardari. Railway Minister Khawja Saad Rafique said that Zardari's presence will have sobering effect on the politics of his son Bilawal.



Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari has returned to the country, ending his 18-month- long self-imposed exile, amidst speculations about his future role in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has threatened a major protest against the Nawaz Sharif government. The party has asked the government to change the interior minister and appoint a full-time foreign minister, among other demands, before December 27 or face street demonstrations.So far, none of the demands have been fulfilled. Zardari landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport yesterday afternoon and later addressed a huge rally criticising Prime Minister Sharif. But local media was not sure about the role of Zardari who with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the co-chairman of the PPP which is the largest opposition party and also rules southern province of Sindh."Will Zardari take back the reins of PPP? Will he change the party's strategy in dealing with the ruling PML-N? Will his son take the back seat? These are the questions making the rounds in political circles as Zardari returned to Karachi," the Express Tribune reported. The answer to all these questions is 'no'. This is at least what the Express Tribune has learnt from top PPP officials in background interviews. They say Bilawal will remain the face of the party, while Zardari will act as a 'patriarch'.Zardari, known for his wheeling and dealing, will use his political acumen to win over other political groups with his quintessential policy of political reconciliation. The objective will be to improve the party's numerical strength in the legislatures of smaller provinces in the next general elections. Bilawal, meanwhile, would continue to take on political rivals aggressively, mainly in Punjab, the province which decides who will rule in the Centre as almost half of the members of the National Assembly are elected from here.Public perception of Zardari is not good. And the PPP, which is evolving under Bilawal, knows it full well. This was the reason PPP's inner circles had weighed the pros and cons of Zardari's homecoming, it said. Some political analysts, however, see Zardari's return in the backdrop of the change in the military's high-command. Before leaving the country in June last year, Zardari had made a hard-hitting speech at a function in Islamabad.Apparently, his target was the powerful military establishment, especially the then army chief, General Raheel Sharif. It was reported that Zardari was angered by the Rangers' actions against PPP leaders as part of the operation in Karachi.Zardari was quick to call up the new army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, to felicitate him soon after he had received the baton of command from Gen Raheel last month. Insiders say the PPP is in the process of defining Zardari's new role as the 'patriarch' of the party to benefit from his political acumen while he stays behind the scenes."He would be particularly helpful in consolidating PPP's position in the smaller provinces. The party wants to utilise his experience in traditional politics," says a senior PPP leader. Zardari would leave Punjab to an increasingly aggressive Bilawal. He has already delegated the party's organisational matters to his son, he said.
"People have borne the troubles in the country's interest and are willing to do so in future too," the PM said. Modi alleged that those who benefited from corruption during the earlier regimes "in last 70 years" did all they could to ensure the demonetisation move by him does not work.



"Those who are used to a certain type corrupt practices for last 70 years, will have to pay the price of their acts," he said. "Time has changed and after a gap of 30 years, a government with full mandate is in power. One should not forget it. "The country will change, will move forward and will hold its head high before the world," the PM said.



Modi, who earlier laid the foundation of the Shivaji Maharaj memorial off Mumbai coast, said the Maratha king was a multi-faceted personality "which inspires us" "I am grateful to the Maharashtra government that I got the chance to perform jalpujan of Shivaji Maharaj," the PM said. When the memorial is complete, people will admire the iconic building, he said, adding Shivaji Maharaj "is an inspiration for all of us" and remains a torch bearer of good governance.



"If India is projected in the right manner, it has the potential to attract global tourism," he said. "After independence, had we adopted the path of development, the problems we face today wouldn't have been there," Modi said. Development should be sustainable and should help the poor realise their dreams, Modi said. The PM also dwelt on the various development initiatives of his government.



"Our efforts is to ensure affordable medicine to the poor. When we came to power, there were 18,000 villages without power. We decided to provided electricity to them in 1000 days," Modi said. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party has had strained ties with senior alliance partner BJP, also addressed the gathering. However, as Thackeray began to speak, he was greeted with shouts of 'Modi, Modi' from BJP workers in audience.



"I extend my best wishes for memorial construction and hope that it gets completed within stipulated period," he said. "I have come here to pay obeisance to Shivaji Maharaj," Thackeray said, adding the memorial should be built as strong as the Sindhudurg fort, built by the Maratha king.



The Sena leader also asked the government to "free forts in Maharashtra from the shackles of the Archaeological Survey of India". Union minister Nitin Gadkari described Modi as the biggest "Shivbhakt" (devotee of Shivaji). Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the memorial will be the tallest in the world. "If the US is known for the Statue of Liberty, Maharashtra will be known as the land of Shivaji Maharaj," the CM said.



Justifying the state government's decision to go ahead with the memorial despite opposition from various quarters, including environmentalists and activists, Fadnavis said, "This memorial is to remind people not to forget our glorious past. This memorial will inspire every person to work for good governance."



Prime Minister Narendra Modi today warned of ruin for the dishonest after the expiry of December 30 deadline for depositing scrapped currency and said they should not underestimate the mood of the country against corruption. "Dishonest people, you should not underestimate the mood of 125 crore people. You will have to be afraid of it... Time has come for ruin of dishonest people. This is a cleanliness campaign," Modi said."After 50 days (from November 8), the troubles of honest people will start to reduce and the problems of dishonest people will begin to increase," Modi said. The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at MMRDA ground in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) here after laying foundation of various big ticket infrastructure projects."We took a big decision against black money and corruption on November 8 and 125 crore Indians endured pain but did not stop supporting me. I want to assure people of the country that this battle won't end till we win it," he said.Hitting out at parties opposing demonetisation, he said, "this is not a simple battle. Those who have consumed malai (cream) did not leave any stone unturned to foil this (demonetisation)." "The corrupt have made all efforts to defeat the decision (demonetisation). They even thought of managing bank officials to get their black money converted into white. And that's how many of them got caught," he said. "I said there will be pain for 50 days (after demonetisation announcement)," he said, adding people are ready to bear the pain in the country's interest.


Escalating the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi today accused him of dividing the country between the rich and the poor and dubbed the move as "firebombing" on cash economy and farmers and labourers.





Addressing a public rally here, the Congress Vice President said the Prime Minister with his note ban decision has removed the "hat" of Himachal Pradesh as it has hit hard the state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors.



"Himachal's brave soldiers carried out the surgical strikes, but Modiji thought of launching a new drama. He launched the surgical strike on corruption.



"On one side the brave give away their blood and life, but here he did surgical strike on black money and corruption. Modiji this is not a surgical strike on black money and corruption. This is a firebombing and economic-bombing on the poor, farmers and labourers," he said.



Accusing Modi of dividing the country between the rich and the poor, Gandhi said, "Modiji you have tried to divide India into two parts."



"On one side are the one per cent rich comprising 50 families who have private aircraft and big buildings and on other side, there are 99 per cent honest people of India -- the farmers, labourers and the middle class who built this country with their sweat and blood. You tried to divide the people of the country," he said.



He said that in the Second World War, a new way was evolved to do firebombing in 25 minutes and more people died in Tokyo firebombing than in Hiroshima bombing.



"The same way Modiji has done firebombing on the poor, farmers and labourers. You have done firebombing on India's cash economy. Not on 94 per cent of black money where it was to be done. Not on one per cent people possessing black money, but on 99 per cent poor people of the country," he said.



Showing the traditional Himachali cap, Gandhi accused Modi of putting it down and destroying it. "Modiji you have removed the Himachal's 'hat' through the note ban -- horticulture, agriculture and tourism. Note ban has caused a major dent on horticulture, agriculture and tourism. You have burnt the fields of honest Himachal farmers, and you did so with a smile on your face.



"This note ban step was against all of you, against the honest people of India. In two-and-a-half years, the Modi government has attacked the poor of the country," he told the crowd.



Besides Gandhi, the Congress rally was addressed by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and other state leaders. Himachal Pradesh goes to Assembly polls in the latter part of 2017.



Gandhi said the colour of a banknote is decided by whether it is in the hands of the honest or the dishonest.



"A note has no colour. There is an honest person on one side and a dishonest one on the other. If the note goes into the hands of the dishonest person like Mallya, it turns black as if under a spell of magic," he said, referring to now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines promoter Vijay Mallya.



Gandhi said the Prime Minister has given Rs 3 'laddoo' to the poor people, but has given away a Rs 1,200 crore 'laddoo' to Vijay Mallya, who is accused of "running" away from the country after defaulting on his loans worth thousands of crores of rupees.



The Congress Vice President wondered why Modi chose to target the 99 per cent honest people and not the one per cent who possess all the black money, as also on six per cent black money which is in cash and not the 94 per cent in gold, real estate and foreign banks including Swiss banks.



"All black money is not in cash and all cash is not black. The one per cent people who own black money keep their thousands of crores in real estate, big buildings, gold and Swiss bank accounts.



"There is only six per cent black money in cash in India. The rest of 94 per cent black money is in real estate, gold and in foreign banks. Those who stash huge sum of black money, don't do it only in cash but in real estates, jewellery and other forms," he said.



Gandhi said this is the reason why Modi did not target the one per cent rich and he chose to target the 99 per cent people.



"Modiji knows where the black money is stashed... It is with those who travel with Modiji to America. These are the same people who get all the defence contracts. These are the same people who have thousands of crores worth of land and those whose houses are worth Rs 3-4-5-6 thousand crore," he said.



Gandhi also accused Modi of snatching away land of tribal people in Himachal Pradesh the same way BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh had done.
Police have arrested two male friends who were accompanying the 17-year-old girl who was shot dead in southwest Delhi's Najafgarh area.





The accused, Shubham, had allegedly shot the girl since he disapproved of her friendship with another man, Nitin, police said. Shubham told police he had a heated argument with the minor girl over her friendship with Nitin, they added.



Shubham had been angry with the girl for the last few days. On December 20, when he had gone to drop the girl at her house with Yogesh in the latter's Mercedes, he saw Nitin standing close to the girl's mother, police said.



He was upset that the girl's family was in touch with her friend and shot at her with Yogesh's pistol, they said. They said at the time of the incident Shubham was allegedly under the influence of alcohol.



On the day of the murder, her mother had called her around 7 PM, asking her to return home soon as it was getting late. She assured her that she would be back soon.



"Three days police remand of both accused Shubham & Yogesh obtained in Njfgarh minor girl murder case. Shubham & Yogesh arrstd in Njfgarh minor girl murder case. Sec 302, 363 IPC, 25, 27, 30 Arms act & 77 JJ Act imposed (sic)," tweeted Surender Kumar, DCP(Southwest).



"Shubahm had been hiding at Tughlakabad. We received a tip off on Friday afternoon that he will be coming to Saket. Our team laid a trap and we held him on late Friday evening," police said.



Police said they have booked Yogesh, the owner of the pistol and the Mercedes car under the appropriate sections of the Arms Act.
German police said today they had released two brothers suspected of planning an attack on one of the country's biggest shopping centres, citing a lack of evidence.





The two men, aged 28 and 31 and originally from Kosovo, were arrested yesterday as Germany was on high alert following a jihadist attack on a Berlin Christmas market earlier in the week.



But police in the western city of Essen said in a statement that "despite careful investigation" the allegations against the pair could not be substantiated.



Police had acted on a tip-off from intelligence services that claimed the duo was planning to target the CentrO mall in the nearby city of Oberhausen.



"After it was established today that there were no relevant criminal findings against the two persons and there was no concrete danger, they were released from police custody this afternoon," the statement said.



The arrest of the brothers made headlines around the world, coming just four days after 12 people were killed and dozens injured when an attacker drove a truck into a crowded Berlin Christmas market.



The main suspect in that attack, Tunisian Anis Amri, was killed in a shoot-out with police in Italy yesterday.
A blast ripped through a police car outside a Catholic church in the southern Philippines late today, authorities said, wounding 12 people including a police officer.





The explosion hit churchgoers arriving for a Christmas Eve mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Nino in Midsayap town, about 900 kilometres south of Manila, police said.



Authorities did not immediately say who was responsible for the blast, which a police report said was caused by an unspecified explosive.



"All victims suffered minor injuries except for one female civilian who was seriously injured (on) her foot," regional police spokesman Superintendent Romeo Galgo said in a written report.



The town is resides in the middle of the large Philippine island of Mindanao, home to a Muslim minority and decades of armed rebellion. However the main Muslim guerrilla group in the area has signed a ceasefire with the Philippine government.



Government forces continue to fight smaller Muslim armed groups on the island, some of whom have pledged allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and have been blamed for bombing civilian targets in the past.



A member of the Midsayap police force was among those injured, Galgo reported.Maureen Apilado, a civilian clerk at the Midsayap police station, told AFP by telephone that officers were busy investigating the incident and were unavailable for comment.
There are very many fascinating facets to the Himalayas. The worlds highest mountain range has often invoked images and feelings of tranquillity, silence, peace, magnificence and most of all, challenge. But the experience to a traveller or a resident of the Himalayas is largely personal, says writer Ruskin Bond.



Mountain peaks are simply there, serene and impervious to your love or hate. They will be there long after everybody is gone, he says, in the preface of the book Himalaya: Adventures, Meditations, Life, an anthology of stories, essays, musings about the Himalayas.



Over the years, many books and essays have been based on the Himalayas, and yet the enthusiasm and appetite for knowing, understanding the many aspects about the mountain range, is unending.



Edited by Ruskin Bond and novelist Namita Gokhale, the anthology is as fascinating as the mountains are. Himalayas, the mountain range, has offered a diverse range of experiences to people as varied as travellers, explorers, field biologists, scientists, farmers, residents, philosophers, pilgrims and nature lovers.



The book, therefore, is split into three segments  adventures, meditations and life.

Adventures, the first segment of the book, opens with a travel account of Fa-Hien, the Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled from China to India and Sri Lanka in AD 399-412. The essays that follow this are set in chronological order. One of the priceless gems included in this segment is the report of a route survey from Nepal to Lhasa, done by Pundit Nain Singh and his brother, who were employed by the British to conduct a secret survey of Tibet.



Of the many essays that follow include the ones by Heinrich Harrer, Austrian explorer and climber, from his famous book, Seven Years in Tibet; mountaineer Edmund Hillarys account of his ascent to Everest, the worlds highest mountain peak; and British mountaineer Frank S Smythes musings about his travels through the Valley of Flowers.



English mountaineer George Mallory writes about his preparations for Everest during his 1921 reconnaissance trip to Everest. In 1924, during an attempt to climb Everest, Mallory and his partner Andrew Irvine disappeared on the North-East ridge, barely 800 feet from the summit. His body was found 75 years later. Was he the first to climb Everest? The answer to this would never be known.



In 1996, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, son of Tenzing Norgay, who summited Everest along with Edmund Hillary, made a successful attempt at Everest. Even as he reflects about this ascent, he dwells upon moments of his fathers famous climb that remains well etched in history. The first segment also includes an essay by traveller and writer Mark Twain from his book Following the Equator: A Journey Round the World.



In 1973, novelist and writer Peter Matthiessen travels to the Himalayas along with field biologist George Schaller. For Matthiessen, it was a personal journey in search of the elusive snow leopard, and to recover from the loss of his wife to cancer. His essay from his book The Snow Leopard forms a part of the Meditations segment of Himalaya.



This segment also includes essays by Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda, British army officer, explorer and spiritual writer Francis Younghusband, and author and religious scholar Andrew Harvey. The selection in this segment includes an excerpt from Hindi travel writer Rahul Sankrityayans biography on Swami Haridas, titled Ghumakkad Swami.



The third segment of the book, Life, opens with Ruskin Bonds account of a night in a Garhwal village. Life in the mountains is not easy, he says. Living in the mountains is not a romance for everyone. Wresting a living from the stony calcified soil does not leave much time for poetry and contemplation, he says.



Travel writer Bill Aitkens excerpt from his book Footloose in the Himalaya makes for an interesting reading, as he goes through myriad details of his sojourn through the pilgrim centres of the Himalayas.



The Life segment also includes an excerpt from former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehrus book, Toward Freedom: The Autobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru. He talks about his time during his stint at Dehradun Jail and how he gets to see so many creatures, creepy crawlies, birds and animals, including reptiles. I came in contact with animals far more in prison than I had done outside. In prison I was grateful for their company, he says in his musings on prison life.



The anthology is a delightful collection of writings from the deep past and the present that veritably take you up the mountains. And the musings are not merely about the beauty of the mountains, but extreme difficulties in the attempts at climbing some of the magnificent peaks in the Himalayas, reflective moments in writers sojourn through the mountain ranges, and life itself in these precipitous parts. A beautifully produced book, this anthology should definitely be a part of everyones personal library.



Himalaya

Edited by Ruskin Bond

& Namita Gokhale

Speaking Tiger

2016, pp 444

Rs. 799
With an unprecedented surge in the use of information technology for communications, storing data and conducting financial transactions, cybersecurity has become a crucial challenge to one and all, including individuals, corporate entities and government bodies.



According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, in the last three years, registered cases of cybercrime increased by 350%, from 966 to 4,356. As per a Norton Cybercrime in India report released last year, around 113 million Indians lost about Rs 16,558 on an average to cybercrime, apart from emotional distress due to breach of private financial data. The recent incidents of hacking Twitter accounts of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some journalists created a strong turbulence in domain of cybersecurity. The spike in such incidents highlights the dire need of training more professionals skilled to handle cybersecurity to prevent and combat cybercrimes.



Though more number of cases of cybercrime are being reported, tracing the cybercriminal is often a challenge to the law enforcement agencies, particularly the police. Special cyberpolice stations are being set up in states, and deployment of added infrastructure and tools is underway, yet police officers require frequent and regular training in cyberlaw to effectively investigate cases.



Similarly, the country needs more cybersecurity professionals to assist in securing the cyberspace and making online communications, e-payments and data storage more secure. According to Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, everyone handling sensitive personal information ought to comply with reasonable security practices to safeguard the personal data, which is fulfilled, for instance, by complying with ISO 27001 certification. Cybersecurity professionals play an important role here in safeguarding data and preventing hacking or other attempts of data breach. If a cyberattack has occurred, cybersecurity professionals assist in incident response and mitigating the risk and effects of the incident, and tracing the criminal. They assist in collection of digital evidence in a legally admissible manner, which is crucial to every cybercrime investigation and prosecution.



A million needed

Indias cybersecurity policy, 2013, aptly notes that besides the impact on corporate environment or compromise of an individuals privacy or data, it could involve large-scale attacks on critical information systems and related critical infrastructure.

It further points out that identification, coordinated exchange, investigation, coordinated response and remediation can mitigate the damage caused by malicious cyberspace activity. The policy envisages creation of 5 lakh cybersecurity professionals. In fact, Nasscom estimates that India will need a million cybersecurity professionals by 2020. There are structured courses available in India that impart such skills. However, as technology changes at a fast pace, these courses need to be regularly updated and structured to cover different skill sets and aspects of cybersecurity.



Courses of this nature are being offered by reputed institutions such as IGNOU and the National Law School etc. In my view, capacity building and training of cybersecurity professionals is the key to achieving the mission envisaged in the policy which aims to prevent and respond to cybersecurity incidents, reducing loopholes, mitigating damage through institutional structure, people, technology and processes. In fact, the policy encourages public-private partnerships in the domain of imparting training and capacity building. It lays equal stress on establishing institutional mechanisms for capacity building for law enforcement agencies.

In order to strengthen Indias cybersecurity, it is equally important to make people more cyberaware, and impart knowledge about online safety practices to prevent unsuspecting people from falling victims of phishing, vishing or smishing attacks. Cybercriminals often use sophisticated tools to hide their true identity and location by concealing their IP address and use malware such as keyloggers to extract personal sensitive financial information from gullible people. As India witnesses a paradigm shift in digitisation and increased use of e-payment systems, it is imperative to impart basic cybersafety tips to people. Its time Digital India works out a clear strategic action plan to increase capacity building in cybersecurity to make India cybersecure.



(The writer is a leading cyberlaw expert and advocate, Supreme court; and Visiting Faculty (CBI), the National Police Academy and the National Judicial Academy)


The Congress has dubbed talks of the party contesting the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Samajwadi Party(SP) and the RLD completely baseless.





AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in-charge of the party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, asserted that no discussions have taken place with the ruling SP for a pre-poll alliance.



Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of the state party leaders on Monday to discuss the Assembly elections scheduled early next year.



At an earlier brainstorming session, several party leaders had favoured an alliance with the SP to get a toehold in the government as they believed that a joint strategy would pay rich dividends.



The Congress has kept backchannels open with the SP, which is going through an internal turmoil due to fight between factions headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav, who is the state unit chief .



While Akhilesh favours an alliance with the Congress, his father and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is opposed to the idea.



There were reports that the SP had agreed to part with 100 out of the total 403 seats in the state Assembly for the Congress, RLD, JD(U) and other regional outfits. The Congress was learnt to have been alloted 78 seats.
In order to promote digital payment, the government will on Sunday launch Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana in 100 cities.





The first draw of Lucky Grahak Yojana to provide a cashback of Rs 1,000 to 15,000 consumers every day for the next 100 days will be launched on December 25, 2016, in New Delhi, read an official statement on Saturday.



Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad will inaugurate the first draw of lots here. Winners will be selected on daily and weekly basis under Lucky Grahak Yojana, while under Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana, they will be selected only on a weekly basis. The mega draw will be held April 14, 2017.



With the goal of ensuring that easy and user-friendly methods of digital payments become a mass movement in India, the government had announced a slew of incentives to encourage the general public to move from cash to a digital platform, the statement read.


Indicating that demonetisation would be an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said people would punish those who inflicted pain on them.





When the time comes, the people will teach a lesson to those responsible for giving them pain, Akhilesh said speaking at a function here after distributing compensation cheques to the kin of the those who reportedly died in queues before banks and ATMs after demonetisation.



The chief minister handed over cheques for Rs 2 lakh each to 14 people who lost their kin.



Economy hit



Akhilesh said demonetisation had hit the countrys economy very hard and it would be very difficult to recover the lost grounds in the near future.



It is really very painful that the people are not able to withdraw their own money from banks and ATMs despite standing in queues for days together, Akhilesh said.



He also said there were many flaws in cyber security laws and that online transactions were not entirely safe.



Akhilesh has made it clear that the Samajwadi Party (SP) will include the demonetisation issue in its election campaign agenda as it has affected every section of society.



His decision was being viewed by the BJP as an attempt to gain the sympathy of the people ahead of the Assembly polls. The saffron party, however, said such moves would not help the SP.
The Centre is launching an Aadhaar-based app on Sunday to enable free retail digital transactions.





Consumers can get by without plastic cards, and merchants can do business even if they have no swiping machines. The app can be downloaded on Android phones, and used with the help of a biometric reader, which costs the merchant Rs 2,000.



A customer feeds his or her Aadhaar number into the app and selects a bank. The biometric information then serves as the password. The move is aimed at promoting digital payments among the poor and those living in areas not served by networks such as Master and Visa, an official said.



Master and Visa are popular with urban consumers, but have not made inroads in the hinterland. They charge about 2% on every transaction.



With this zero-charge initiative, the government hopes to promote digital transactions even in rural areas with limited or no banking presence.



Moreover, Master and Visa cards, used only by urban consumers, have not made inroads into the Indian markets as payment through them is charged a fee. These cards come with about 2% charge levied by merchants and an equal amount by card companies.



The settlement is done through the Aadhaar bridge, which means it connects a much wider set of people. Anybody who has the Aadhaar seeding done can make payments to merchants with this app. It wouldnt matter if the person does not have a credit or debit card, or even a mobile phone, Rajiv Lall, MD and CEO at IDFC Bank, told reporters.



IDFC Bank has developed the app along with UIDAI and National Payments Corporation of India.



India currently has only 15 lakh POS terminals deployed by various banks. POS machines manufactured by two companies in China dominate the market.



To facilitate cashless payments, the government had earlier this week exempted POS machines from mandatory labelling by the Bureau of Indian Standards till March 31 to expedite their shipment.



The government has also earmarked Rs 100 crore to incentivise merchants to enrol themselves for the drive.
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which has provided point of sale (PoS) machines at 10 booking counters, plans to instal 102 more at different counters.





Under its Digital KSRTC initiative, the largest state-run corporation also plans to procure electronic ticketing machines (ETMs), which are hand-held devices used by conductors to issue tickets.



The decision gains significance in the wake of scarcity of small-denomination notes. Moreover, KSRTCs revenues had dropped after the ban on Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.



We have already provided card swiping facilities in 10 passenger ticket booking counters and the process is on to instal 102 more. In addition to these, we will also provide these facilities in 65 more places. With this, we hope to cover almost all KSRTCs ticket booking counters in the state and outside in a month, Rajender Kumar Kataria, managing director, KSRTC, told DH.



KSRTC had recently introduced PoS machines at ticket booking counters at Shanthinagar, Majestic, Mysuru, Infosys counter in Mysuru and Bengaluru, Ooty, Chennai and Tirupati.



Passengers can also swipe debit and credit cards to buy tickets on board. We already have GPS-enabled ETMs in some buses. KSRTC plans to procure 2,500 electronic ticketing machines, which will be put to use in express buses, Kataria added.



He said: These initiatives will help KSRTC collect revenues on a real-time basis and enable a cashless commute.



Kataria added that plans are afoot to instal closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at its depots, workshops and bus stations to improve efficiency.



Another official said about 35,000 tickets were sold online everyday, while the remaining are booked on-board or at counters.



At present, KSRTC has a fleet of 8,090 buses catering to an average of 24.43 lakh passengers daily with a daily revenue of Rs 8.04 crore.


Children of many ministers and ruling party legislators have set an eye on the posts of president and vice-president of the state Youth Congress, polls for which are likely to be held in February.





Bengaluru Development Minister K J Georges son Rana, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddys daughter Soumya Reddy, Law Minister T B Jayachandras son Santosh, Mantar Gowda, son of Animal Husbandry Minister A Manju, and R Rajendra, senior legislator and Apex bank president K N Rajannas son, are prominent among those planning to contest the polls, sources said.



But Basanagouda Badarli, nephew of Sindhanur MLA Hampanagouda Badarli, Amruth Gowda, currently state Youth Congress general secretary, and Rajendra are said to be strong contenders for the post of president.



Currently, party MLC Rizwan Arshad is holding the post of state Youth Congress president. It is Rizwans second term. The term of the Youth Congress president is three years. The party recently concluded the membership drive for the Youth Congress.



Rana is a wildlife activist and businessman. He is the director of Kelachandra group of companies which has coffee estates in Kodagu and Chikkamagalur and rubber industry in Kerala. Rana had run into controversy when the state government nominated him as a member of the state board for wildlife two years ago despite opposition.



Soumya, an engineering graduate and postgraduate in environmental science, is an animal rights and environment activist. She was in the news last year for organising an eco-friendly wedding for herself at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru. She is planning to contest for the post of vice-president, which is likely to be reserved for women, sources said. Ramalinga Reddy said his daughter was keen on politics. She is the secretary of the womens wing of the Congress. She wants to fight elections. But, I am not keen to bring her to politics.



Mantar had served as Hassan district Youth Congress president, while Badarli is currently heading the Koppal district Youth Congress, sources said.



When contacted, Rizwan said the party had enrolled more than 20 lakh new members during a drive between October 22 and December 11. The party will announce the calendar of events for the polls after the voters list is finalised, he added.


A firm operating from Noida is in the dock for diverting duty-free gold worth Rs 140 crore for money-laundering. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said it had arrested four company officials late on Saturday.





The sleuths have seized Rs 2.60 crore in cash and 95 kg in bullion. The gold had been imported under a special concession scheme, they said.



Revenue intelligence officials from Lucknow carried out searches for two days at Shri Lal Mahal Ltd, located in a special economic zone, and the houses of its officials. The action was part of an anti-black money drive in the wake of demonetisation, the agency said.



It is found that the unit has illegally diverted and sold 430 kg (valued at about Rs 140 crore) of duty free gold in the market, a release said.



The DRI said the firm had also transferred a huge amount of money through RTGS, through a firm operating from their premises, to buy 24-kg gold in coins or bars after November 8.



The idea was to sell the gold for a profit against demonetised currency.Earlier, the agency had said directors of the firm were avoiding investigation by claiming to be in hospital.
Former minister and Dalit leader V Srinivas Prasad will join the BJP on January 2 in Bengaluru.





This was announced by both BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa and Prasad. Yeddyurappa met Prasad, a former Congress leader, at his house in Bengaluru and formally invited him to join the party.



Prasad would be the BJP candidate for the byelection to the Nanjangud Assembly constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes. The seat fell vacant following Prasads resignation as MLA in October. The election commission is yet to announce the date for the bypoll.



The senior Congress leader came out of the Congress after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dropped him from the Cabinet as revenue minister. Siddaramaiah had not assigned any specific reason for sacking the senior leader.



Prasad told reporters he was joining the BJP without any pre-conditions.

I have no ambitions to nurture after being in politics for 45 years. I had made this clear to Siddaramaiah. All I wanted was to complete my term of five years as MLA. I want to complete the rest of the term as mandated by my voters. Hence, I am going to face the bypoll. The election would be reduced to a fight between me and Siddaramaiah.



Asked whether he would be a candidate in 2018 Assembly elections too, Prasad said it was too early to discuss it.



The challenge before me is to win the byelection. I will focus on that for now. I have told Yeddyurappa that I am not eyeing any post. For me, my self-esteem is important. Siddaramaiah, after taking so much help from me, betrayed me. He unceremoniously removed me as minister. I had never been humiliated so badly in my career. It is important for me to fight back. During the election campaign, I will announce whether I will face the elections in 2018, he said.



Yeddyurappa said Prasad was scheduled to join the party at a programme in the

presence of party national president Amit Shah in November. But it did not materialise.



Recently, in Nanjangud, I had announced that Prasad would be our candidate. This I did without seeking his consent. Prasads entry would help the party strengthen its base. He would be our candidate from Nanjangud. He will win. He will face no problem from the party.



Prasad said the Congress is having a tough time getting a suitable candidate to face the byelection.



It was said that Minister H C Mahadevappas son Sunil Bose would be the candidate. Why shouldnt Mahadevappa himself contest? If it was not a reserved constituency, I would have challenged Siddaramaiah to enter the fray.



The Congress is yet to finalise its candidate. The JD(S) had announced that it would support Prasad if he contests as an Independent.


The corrupt and the dishonest will have a harder time after December 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned on Saturday.





Addressing a rally at the Bandra-Kurla Complex here, he recalled he had sought 50 days for note woes related to the November 8 note ban to subside.



The nation stood with me... now I am saying that for those who are honest, troubles would gradually reduce after 50 days," he said. December 30 is the last day to deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency at the banks.



The strength of 125 crore Indians will bring about a change in this nation. There were efforts to mislead and even intimidate people but they supported us in the battle against corruption and black moneythe people of India will not accept corruption and black money, he said, adding: The battle to end corruption started the day our government came to power and it would not end till it is won.



Modi said some people thought that they can influence bank officials. Not only did they land in trouble, but they also dragged the bank officials into trouble, he said in a stern message that those messing up the demonetisation and remonetisation processes would not be spared.



I am warning, please be carefulwhatever is the right of the poor, you would have to give, he said, asking people holding black money to come to the mainstream.



If you do not fear Modi, let it be; if you do not fear government, let it be; but beware of the sentiments of 125 crore people (of this country), he said.



The prime minister performed the jal poojan and bhoomi poojan of the grand memorial of the great Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea and later laid the foundation for several infrastructure projects.



He laid the foundation for projects totalling Rs 1,06,000 crore, including two metro lines, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link and the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase III.



Earlier, inaugurating the new campus of National Institute of Capital Markets of the Securities and Exchange Board of India at Patalganga in Raigad district, he said: By claiming that demonetisation has stopped a fast-moving car, our critics, too, have acknowledged the speed of our progressWe will not take decisions for short-term political point-scoring. We will not shy away from taking difficult decisions, if those decisions are in the interest of the country. Demonetisation is an example. It has short-term pain but will bring long-term gain.



While inaugurating the Pune metro, Modi, in a veiled attack on the Congress for opposing demonetisation,said the sins of benami properties would not have happened and people would not be standing in queues now had necessary decisions been taken in the past.



In 1988, Parliament passed Benami Property Act but it never got notified and implemented. The papers had got lost somewhere in a stack of files. It was me who re-opened it, he said.
Suspended JD(S) MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan said on Saturday that he was considering joining the Nationalist Congress Party, with seven other MLAs who were suspended along with him.





Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, Khan said that he would be meeting NCP president Sharad Pawar in Bengaluru on January 8 in this connection. He said though he was keen on remaining in JD(S), the party leaders were not keen on taking him back.



He said that the six other suspended MLAs -- Akhanda Srinivasmurthy, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, Bheema Naik, N Cheluvarayaswamy, H C Balakrishna, were still by his side. The party leadership has been discriminating against its members. It has decided to take back K Gopalaiah, who too was suspended, he said.



The JD(S) had suspended eight of its MLAs when they had flouted the party whip

and cross-voted in favour of Congress candidate K C Ramamurthy during Rajya Sabha election held in June this year.


Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that the government, during the November 25 video conference with the Union Health Minister, had urged that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) be conducted in Kannada. However, the Union government overlooked it, he said.





Speaking to mediapersons at the Hubballi airport, he said the state had asked the Union health secretary to conduct the exams both in Kannada and English.



Siddaramaiah reiterated that the Mahadayi issue could be resolved only with the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prime minister has to call a meeting of chief ministers of the three affected states and resolve it.
Sri Shankara National Centre for Cancer Prevention and Research, a unit of Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, will be formally inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on December 30.





The formal inauguration of the centre, which aims at reducing the incidence of cancer and improvise the outcome of treatment, will be held at National High School Grounds, Basavanagudi.



The foundation would make an attempt to reach out to rural masses through the project. Dr B S Srinath, managing trustee, Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, said most private hospitals are clustered together in large cities and are expensive, making it difficult for rural patients to access them.



In India, cancer will double in next 10 years. Establishing cancer hospitals is expensive, and lack of trained manpower poses additional problems. A multidimensional effort is necessary to address this challenge of glaring inequalities by establishing an institution, which through its comprehensive outreach programmes, would direct its energy to understand the problems faced by the target population and work towards prevention of cancer. The institution will train manpower drawn from the milieu of that area to integrate and work along with people to understand their lifestyle habits and psychological behaviour, he added.



This centre has five wings - Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Human Behaviour Sciences, Social and Economic Studies, cancer prevention, and cancer research, which would work towards reducing the incidence of cancer.



The Department of Community Oncology would reach people through mobile cancer centres equipped with diagnostic equipment such as mammography, X-ray, ultrasound, dental diagnostic centre and laboratory. The foundation aims at screening at least 11 lakh people to begin with. Two Mobile Clinics would reach out to people in Ramanagaram district covering 878 villages.



Four doctors, six nurses, drivers, computer operators on board these Mobile Clinics. Senior cancer specialists would connect with people through Tele-Oncology network.



A few patients who would be identified from the camps would also be given treatment at concessional cost at the Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre.
By Michael Smith and Jonathan Levin

16 December 2016 (Bloomberg Businessweek)  Donald Trump shelled out $409,759 for property taxes in 2016 on Mar-a-Lago, his oceanfront club above billionaires row in Palm Beach, Florida. Some of those tax dollars will go toward combating the ravages of climate change, a phenomenon the president-elect has dismissed as a hoax. Trump tweeted in 2012 that the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese to make U.S. industry less competitive. In early December he told Fox News that nobody really knows whether climate change is real. Hes picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a staunch denier of climate change, to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thats not stopping officials in Palm Beach from preparing to deal with its effects. This year, the town overhauled 12 pumping stations to push storm runoff up a huge pipe to the Intracoastal Waterway under a 20-year, $120 million infrastructure plan to deal with increased rainfall and street flooding, among other issues. Palm Beachs system can now suck up almost 1 million gallons of runoff a minute. I just deal with the reality that sea levels are rising, says Palm Beach Town Manager Thomas Bradford. I dont want to rile people up about it. [more]
Heres What Arshad Warsi Said About Replacing Akshay Kumar in Aankhein 2
Doctor who performed abortion on Ohio girl sues to stop Indiana AG from accessing records

An Indianapolis doctor thrust into national news on abortion is suing to stop Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita from obtaining medical records.
This story was originally published on Gizmodo

Life is weird. Between the mysteries that baffle scientists, strange disappearances and even stranger reappearances, there are some things that we just cant explain. It turns out a lot of those things happened in 2016, and no, were not talking about Trump being elected president.

Creepy Clowns On The Rise

With everything else thats been happening this year, its easy to forget that in 2016 we were invaded by creepy, vaguely threatening clowns. In case you missed that: oh god why are the clowns here, what do they want, why wont it stop staring?

The whole clown thing started back in August, when multiple reports of creepy clowns trying to lure children into the woods at night emerged out of Greensboro, North Carolina. While even one is fairly alarming, this was a case of three sightings happening within two days. People, understandably, began to get a little creeped out.

Unfortunately, it didnt stop there.

Later that month, South Carolina was targeted too (in a city called Greenville, oddly enough) with residents of a gated community warned about lurking clowns, and security being tightened around the area.

The reports only escalated through September and October, leading up to Halloween of course.They made their way over to Australia, where Perth and Victoria appeared to become hotbeds of clown activity. A clown was arrested in Western Australia after chasing a group of teenage girls down a Perth street.

The clowns started getting organised, rallying under clown purge groups on Facebook. And then Halloween came and, perhaps predictably, they all just disappeared. Thank god. Was it just a case of people jumping on a convenient way to terrorise other people, or was there some more sinister clown plot going down? Hopefully, well never really know.

The Tromps

No, not the Trumps. You may have followed the tumultuous story of the Tromp family as it happened, but if this is the first thing youre hearing about it, youre in for a wild ride.

One day in August, the Tromp family of five  husband and wife Mark and Jacoba and their three adult children, Riana, Mitchell and Ella  got into their car and drove away from their home in Melbourne with little warning, heading north.

Passports, credit cards and mobile phones had all been left behind at their house, aside from the phone belonging to Mitchell. He brought it along, but barely 30km into their drive was pressured to throw it out the car window as they went. The family was apparently paranoid  worried that the phone was being used to track them, that someone was after them or wanted to kill them.

They drove 800km away to the town of Bathurst in NSW, driving for an entire day and night. It was in Bathurst that Mitchell left the rest of his family, parting ways at 7am the next morning. The other four continued on the the Jenolan Caves. Here, the two sisters, Riana and Ella, stole a car and parted ways with their parents, driving south to Goulburn.

It was there that the two sisters made a report that their parents were missing, before the two of them split again. Ella left to go home, arriving back at their farm on Tuesday night  and finding police there, investigating. She was the first Tromp to be successfully located, followed by Mitchell, who caught a series of trains to arrive home on the Wednesday morning. The other three were still missing.

A Goulburn man driving to Canberra on the Tuesday made a strange discovery when he felt something kicking the back of his seat. When he stopped to look, he found Riana Tromp curled up in his ute in a catatonic state. She apparently had no idea either where or who she was, let alone how she got there. He delivered her back to Goulburn police, who delivered her into psychiatric care at Goulburn hospital. Her sister Ella, meanwhile, was charged with the theft of the car they took from Jenolan to Goulburn.

The two parents were still missing, however, and an interstate search kicked off for Mark and Jacoba Tromp. They had been driving back towards Melbourne, but became separated in the town of Warangaratta. Jacoba, somehow managed to get herself to the town of Yass where she was found the next day, 350km away. She too was taken for psychiatric care, and eventually moved to be with her daughter at Goulburn.

But there was still one Tromp left to be found: Mark, the father, who had been spotted a few times behaving erratically. First, he had dangerously tailgated another car in Wangaratta, before being seen fleeing from the silver Peugeot the family had taken on the trip, leaving the keys in the ignition. The search ramped up after a night of heavy rain in the area, with rivers becoming swollen and searchers becoming worried about Marks wellbeing.

He was eventually found on the Saturday, almost a week after the whole ordeal began. He was located by a road, near the Wangaratta airport.

So why did they do it? Investigators believe that the family were never in any danger from an outside party, and they werent found to be under the influence of drugs, nor did any of them have any previously diagnosed mental health problems.

The most likely fact would be that it was some kind of shared delusion, though even the family didnt really know exactly what had happened. As Ella said when she and her brother faced the press outside their family farm: Theres no one reason for it. Its bizarre.

Disappearing Shipwrecks

How do three 74-year-old shipwrecks just up and disappear from the ocean floor? Thats exactly what happened in Indonesia this year, when the wrecks of three Dutch warships sunk in World War II were found to be missing from their previously known locations.

The wrecks  of the HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS Kortenaer  were first found in 2002 by amateur divers, with all sites being declared war graves. The ships collectively had taken down 915 Dutch and 259 Indonesian soldiers when they fell victim to the Japanese fleet.

In November this year, the Dutch government confirmed that all three had simply disappeared from the seabed. Ship salvage experts weighed in on the mystery, saying that any attempt to move entire warships that had been sunk for three quarters of a century would be a massive operation  not one easily hidden from the authorities.

Even theories that the ships had been torn apart and stripped for salvage didnt quite  excuse the pun  hold water, and a number of other possible fates for the shipwrecks were suggested. Storms, swell, tsunamis or even a shift in tectonic plates could have been to blame  though a shipwreck of this sort would have been incredibly difficult to budge by most means. So, in absence of any other explanation  aliens?

Contagious Hallucinations

It seems to have been a year for strange, shared psychosis, with another example cropping up at an Oregon hospital in October.

A woman was taken to said hospital after police were called to her house  she claimed she had seen strangers on the roof of her car. After two callouts, the police realised that she was suffering from hallucinations, and took her to the hospital.

She was soon after discharged and left to go about her business, cleared of any illness or substance use. Thats where it starts to get weird.

The two police officers who had picked her up to take her to the hospital also began suffering from hallucinations, closely followed by similar symptoms appearing in the woman for whom the original patient was a caretaker.

After the older woman was hospitalised, one of the nurses attending to her was also struck by mysterious hallucinations.

Was this a case of directly contagious hallucination?

Whatever it was, the hospital was placed under quarantine, and HAZMAT was called. Standard procedures applied  everything was sterilised, washed and examined in an effort to identify the cause, but nothing could be found.

There was no drug or even anything strange found in blood samples. No contaminants were found before the quarantine was eventually lifted with no real answers.

I think what weve really discovered in 2016 is that the human brain is weirder and more terrifying than anything the natural (or supernatural) world can throw at us.
Chevron to sell Indonesian, Philippines geothermal assets to Star Energy Consortium

US oil giant Chevron Corp yesterday struck a deal to sell its Indonesian and Philippines geothermal assets to Star Energy Consortium, part of Philippine property-to-banking conglomerate Ayala Corp.

The two companies did not reveal the financial terms of the deal, but Reuters had earlier reported that the assets on sale were valued at about $3 billion.

"These assets deliver reliable energy to support the needs of Asia-Pacific's growing economies," said Jay Johnson, executive vice president, Upstream, Chevron. "This sale is aligned with our strategy to maximize the value of our global upstream businesses through effective portfolio management."

In Indonesia, Chevron subsidiaries operate the Darajat and Salak geothermal fields in West Java, while in the Philippines, the subsidiaries hold a 40 per cent stake in the Philippine Geothermal Production Company, Inc., which operates the Tiwi and Mak-Ban geothermal power plants in Southern Luzon.

AC Energy Holdings Inc, part of Ayala's Indonesian and Philippine groups of companies, has signed share sale and purchase agreements with the Chevron subsidiaries comprising of Chevron Global Energy Inc, Union Oil Company of California and their affiliates.

''This acquisition is a major milestone for AC Energy as this scales up our renewable energy platform and establishes our presence in Indonesia. This is a significant step towards attaining our goal of reaching 2,000MW by 2020," said John Eric Francia, president and CEO of AC Energy.

Chevron, the largest oil producer in the US after Exxon Mobil, is restructuring by selling assets, cutting jobs and delaying drilling projects after oil prices last year fell to the lowest level in more than a decade.

Late last year it said that it plans to sell assets worth about $10 billion by 2017, in an effort to weather a global slump in energy prices.

As part of this plan, the California-based company was looking for buyers for its geothermal assets in Indonesia worth more than $2 billion, and natural gas field assets in Thailand worth around $500 million.

In October, it said that it is in talks to sell its assets in Bangladesh. (See: Chevron seeks $2 bn from sale of Bangladesh assets)
India has expressed serious concern over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which is being built in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in violation of India's sovereignty.

Briefing the media on the issue on Friday, MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup said New Delhi has raised its concerns with both Pakistan and China, as the ''CPEC passes through sovereign Indian territory''.

Beijing plans to invest over $45 billion in CPEC  a joint venture of road and rail links - which connects western China with the Pakistani port of Gwadar near Karachi.

The venture has evoked a lot of reactions in India with some security analysts accusing China of encircling India to flex its geopolitical muscle in the region.

The project also passes through the restive Baluchistan province in Pakistan.

The Baloch people have been fighting for a sovereign homeland and have been accusing Islamabad of occupying their territory.

Popular public rebellion against the ''Pakistani occupation'' in the recent past were brutally crushed by the government, forcing many of their leaders to live in exile, including India and other countries.

Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan.

India's protest comes at a time when both Islamabad and Beijing are trying to legitimise construction work for the CPEC through Occupied Kashmir, which is an inalienable part of India.

Beijing wants India to accept the ''olive branch extended by Pakistan and join multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),'' according to an article in a China's state-run daily.

"Surprise aside, New Delhi should consider accepting the olive branch Pakistan has extended in a bid to participate in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," the article published in Global Times read.

The article referred to Commander of Pakistan Army's Southern Command, Lt Gen Amir Riaz's statement in which he had said if India shuns enmity with Pakistan, then it may also join the CPEC like Iran, Afghanistan and other states, and reap its fruits.

"The best way to reduce hostilities is by establishing economic cooperation based on mutual benefits to put aside what cannot be reached by a consensus," it said.

The article further said there was a possibility that an open attitude toward India joining the CPEC might quickly be overwhelmed by opposition voices from Pakistan if New Delhi did not respond in a timely manner to the general's overture.

India could boost its exports and slash its trade deficit with China via new trade routes that would be opened up by the CPEC, it added.
Scientists have developed a vaccine to counter the Ebola virus which killed 11,000 people in West Africa a few years ago. Armed with the new drug doctors say a large outbreak of the same magnitude was unlikely to ever happen again. Hailing the breakthrough, The Lancet yesterday said that the world now had a potent weapon against Ebola that brought the outbreak to a screeching halt. "We were able to estimate the efficacy of the vaccine as being 100 per cent in a trial," says Ira Longini, a biostatistician at the University of Florida, who helped test the vaccine. "It's very unusual to have a vaccine that protects people perfectly." Longini and his colleagues tested the vaccine on about 4,000 people in Guinea in 2015, when the epidemic was still spreading there. These people were at high risk of contracting the disease as they had had contact with someone who was infected. When they were administered the vaccine, they were completely protected without any incidenc of contracting the sickness. The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV has not been been approved yet by either the World Health Organization or the US Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to happen sometime in 2018. However, there still remained a few open questions about the vaccine, according to Dr Anthony Fauci, at the National Institutes of Health. National Public radio quoted him as saying, "For example, we don't know how durable the vaccine is," he says. "If you give healthcare workers the vaccine, for example, how long would they be protected? That's very important to learn." The study of the vaccine was led by the World Health Organization. The vaccine was developed by the Canadian government and has been licensed to the US-based Merck & Co. The vaccine was administered to around 5,800 people, all of whom had some contact with a new Ebola patient, in Guinea last year, as the virus was waning. They were given the vaccine right away or three weeks later, and it was found that after 10-day waiting period, no Ebola cases developed in those immediately vaccinated, 23 cases turned up among those with delayed vaccination.








Four angling development projects in Donegal have been awarded funding totaling 45,000 to improve angling access in the area.

They include 6,000 funding for boat replacement at Sessiagh Lough by Dunfanaghy Angling Association. The boat will be used on both Sessiagh and Purt Loughs and will act as a resource for the Dunfanaghy Angling Association for tourist and domestic anglers.

Letterkenny & District Anglers' Association have been awarded 1,050 for improving car parking and access for anglers to Lough Keel near Kilmacrennan.

Creeslough & District Angling Association received 3,5000 for the provision of an angling boat which will be used by angling club members and to develop youth angling initiatives at Lough Na Toohey.

Buncrana Anglers' Association have been awarded 25,850 for their Buncrana Anglers Fisheries Development Plan at Buncrana River and Fullerton Pollan Dam Fisheries. The project aims to deliver the standard of a tourist destination fishery which will be open to all anglers. A Beat System and development works will be funded by Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The projects are some of 50 angling development projects across the country which will receive support from Inland Fisheries Ireland to the value of 500,000 in total as part of its Capital Works Fund. The projects, which focus on improving angling access and infrastructure, will now be delivered in 2017. Applications for over 100 projects were received bringing the total value of projects looking for funding to above 2 million.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD is delighted and relieved to confirm that permission has been granted by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for Santa Claus to enter Irish air space this Christmas Eve. There had been worries that Storm Barbara may have interfered with the big mans travel plans, but the IAA have assured the Minister that Mr Claus is good to go.

It is believed that Mr Claus will be accompanied with a team of nine reindeer and a large flying sleigh, however it is not yet known whether he will be accompanied by Mrs Claus, who is sometimes in charge of navigation.

In addition Minister Ross said that the Coast Guard had issued a special Christmas navigation warning for all Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea.

Minister Ross said: I have been informed that a large, jolly man on a low flying sleigh, assisted by reindeer and perhaps some elves, will be entering Irish air space tomorrow evening. I would therefore encourage all children to be safety tucked up in their beds as early as possible to ensure Santa and his reindeer can go about their work successfully.

"I am happy to confirm that the countrys stock of milk, mince pies and carrots (for the reindeer) has been recently topped up. I have also just received a very important message from Mrs Claus who has asked that everyone take special care on our roads this holiday season and if youre having a festive drink, please leave the car at home.
Maureen Carroll, Wolfe Tone Terrace who died on November 23 hailed from Limerick city but spent most of her life in Dundalk which she loved.

Her move to Dundalk resulted after meeting with her husband Michael to whom she was married for 60 years at the time of his death in September 2014.

The couple met when she was 17 when Michael who was in the army served for a matter of a couple of months in Limerick. Maureen whose maiden name was Clancy was one of a family of two. She and her brother Michael were reared by their mother with her father passing away when she was only three.

She married at the age of 18 and moved to this part of the country to make a life with Michael. The couple lived first in Ardee where Michael worked in a furniture factory after leaving the army.

The couple went off to England then and spent 20 years in Manchester where they both worked. There Maureen as the caring, loving lady she was minded her mother who came to live with the couple. Indeed she gave over a lot of her life to looking after family members with her maternal nature although she had no children.

The couple returned to Michaels home town in 1976, and Maureen came to regard it as her own, being blessed with great neighbours, especially Marian Callan and Mary Sharkey in later life.

The couple lived for a period in Barrack Street, but when Michaels father died the couple moved in with his father and Michaels brother in Wolfe Tone Terrace. That remained their home to the end of their lives.

She was a quiet individual who devoted much of her time to others and used to knit Aran jumpers for members of the family

She liked to relax watching television, following the soaps, and enjoyed murder mystery programmes like Mid Summer Murders. She also enjoyed a game of bingo, attending sessions with her sister-in-law, Agnes.

She was in and out of hospital over the last few months and spent a few weeks in Dundealgan Nursing Home only then had to be re-admitted to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where she died peacefully.

Along with her husband, Michael she was also predeceased by her brother also Michael 20 year ago, and her parents.

Her passing is very deeply regretted by her loving nieces, Sabrina, Pauline, Helen, Maria, Bernadette, Margaret, Veronica, Maria, Jennifer, Patty and Cathy, nephews Michael, Christopher, Eugene, Derek, Eamon, Andrew, Kevin, Johnny, Pat and Sean, brothers in-law Jim, Leo and Oliver Carroll, sisters in-law, Agnes, Ann and Noeleen, cousins, extended family relatives, wonderful neighbours and friends.

After reposing at her residence on the Thursday Maureen was taken on the Friday to Saint Nicholas' Church for Requiem Mass. Fr. Magnus Ogbonna was the celebrant and also delivered the eulogy.

The Readings were given by nieces, Maria and Helen, while the Prayers of the Faithful were led by grand nephews and grand nieces.

The Offertory Gifts were presented at the altar by sisters-in-law, Agnes and Ann.

Burial took place in Saint Patricks cemetery.

Month's Mind Mass Sunday, 18th December at 12 noon in Saint Nicholas Church.
[This post is inspired by a recent masterful piece by one of my real role models as a writer on all topics related to education: Peter Greene, the author of Curmudgication. Thank you, Peter, for so beautifully capturing the frustration that so many teachers feel about the standards and testing movement that seems to be dominating our work in the classroom, and our energies in the policy realm.]

In his latest post, Peter Greene writes about the curriculum narrowing that has been the unexpected/totally expected result of the testing craze, with our schools seemingly focused only on two subjects these days:

Theres a message that has been delivered loud and clear for the last decade only two subjects in school matter. Only reading and math affect a schools rating. Only reading and math scores factor in teacher evaluation. Only reading and math come with state-approved Official Standards. Only reading and math are on the all-important Big Standardized Test, now believed by an entire generation of school children to be the entire purpose of schools. History? Science? Music? Art? Well, there are still some parents out there who remember these as being part of school, and so theres not full support yet for getting rid of them (kind of like some folks are sure that cursive writing has to be part of school). This has left other disciplines in a bit of a bind. On the one hand, it would be a kind of boost to folks who teach history and science and all that other cool stuff if they were part of the whole test-driven school set-up. If history were on the BS Test, schools wouldnt just cut history classes, or only offer history to students who dont need test prep remediation classes.

As every teacher was taught at some point in their preparation (sorry TFAers: Im sure you missed this lesson in your 5 week summer boot camp), the purpose of evaluation is twofold: the improvement of instruction, and accountability.

The ed reformers totally ignore the former to obsess on the latterwhich transforms evaluation from a pedagogical principle to a punitive one.

When the new music standards were released, it became clear that the goal had been to recast music as a Common Core-worthy discipline, adopting the language of the CCSS, and forcing the beauty and nuance of our art form to conform to the artless and barren nature of technocratic edu-jargon. All in the desire to join the roll call of tested subjects.

In the process, look at what weve given up.

In exchange for the honor of joining the list of tested subjects, weve reduced music to a set of easily re-produceable tasks that can be captured on a multiple choice test form by students bubbling in their correct answerseven our national association has jumped on to the bubbles bandwagon, complete with t-shirts, coffee mugs, and ornaments available for purchase!

And, at a time when music educators have finally begun to realize the unacceptable lack of diversity in our students, teachers, and curricular offerings, we are being forced to standardize our content so it can be easily testedmaking what we offer in schools even less relevant and meaningful to the diverse student population we should be serving, and entrenching the tyranny of tradition.

Changing our professional goals to fit a narrow, one-size-fits-all approach to educational accountability is like buying a new house because you like its door knob.

Its curriculum without belief.

Content without philosophy.

A solution in search of a problem.

Can we assess music skills and knowledge? Of course we can, and music teachers have been doing so for centuries. In fact, its high-time that music teachers be recognized as the champions of authentic assessmentthe kind of evaluative strategies that match the assessment technique to the nature of the subject matter being taught and learned. Like playing tests in middle school band; and video recording students singing their high school chorus parts over the course of the semester and self-evaluating their progress with written reflective commentaries; and having students work collaboratively on a composition project in their elementary music class, culminating in an informance for their parents.

But forcing 3rd graders to take a paper and pencil test on music terms isnt telling us anything meaningful about what these children know and can do as musicians. Its just generating data for the testing machine, and lulling teachers into a false sense of security that their subject matters.

Again, Peter Greene sums it up beautifully, here: We have not reduced the Subjects That Matter list to tworeading and math. We have reduced it to onethe only subject that matters is testing, a subject that has little or nothing to do with education.

Its also important to figure out where the push for standardized assessments is coming from, and what the true purpose of these tests really is. A recent story from MLive contained the following information from Amber Arellano, executive director of The Education Trust-Midwest, an advocacy group supportive of increased testing in the schools:

So much of the local data is actually unreliable and totally unfair to educators, she said. Its not helpful in terms of improvement. What many other states have done is that theyve actually put collaborative efforts together to develop new data sources for non-tested subjects. A 2013 study by researchers at the University of Michigan found that local assessments can vary among teachers at the same grade, in the same school, teaching the same subjects. The study, which examined teacher evaluations in 13 districts across the state, said this diversity in assessment makes it nearly impossible to apply a uniform standard for judging teachers success in promoting students academic growth.

A close read of this excerpt suggests that the true goal of uniform standards has little to do with teaching, learning, or providing equity for non-tested subjectsits all about generating data that can be used to evaluate teachers. And to Ms. Arellano and her reformy friends, thats code for firing more teacherswhich just so happens to be one of Betsy DeVos six stated goals for her reign as Secretary of Education.

So, Ill wrap up this little post by asking a question Ive been asking for many years now, and still havent received a satisfactory answer for: Why do we need National Standards in music at all?

In a country as large, and diverse, as the United States, what is the purpose of mandating that music teachers in Alaska are teaching the same content and materials as music teachers in Arkansas are teaching?

Why should children in Texas, some of whom have the opportunity to participate in mariachis in their school music programs, or steel drum band members in Florida, be forced into the same kind of ensembles as kids in Minnesota, or North Dakota?

Its not the uniformity in music that makes it beautifulits the differences. From the elegance of classical orchestral repertoire, to the power of hip-hop, to the beauty of choral singing, to the improvisatory brilliance of jazz, its the diversity of tone, rhythm, style, and form that is the defining hallmark of our art form.

School music programs should not be run like fast-food franchises, with uniform menus, ingredients, and branding.

School music programs should be a reflection of the unique musical qualities, characteristics, and traditions of the communities in which they are located. They should be celebrated for their differences, not coerced into adopting a bland and uniform vision of content and form just to be added to the list of tested subjects.

Ask your reading and math teacher friends how thats working for them
(Photo:  Peter Kenny / Ecumenical News)Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Jerusalem on Feb. 10. 2016

The past year has been marked by impossibly bad acts of extremism, violence, terrorism, and war making it possible to doubt the possibility of peace says Holy Land Lutheran Bishop Munib A. Younan.

"As I have been preparing to send this message to you, nearly every day has brought news of another horrendous event: the attack on our sisters and brothers of the Coptic Church in Cairo, terror in Istanbul and Karak, the ongoing horror in Aleppo, and just in the last few hours, an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, among others," said Younan.

In his Christmas message titled "Nothing will be impossible with God," Younan, who is the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land spoke of the doubts that can be triggered by horrors.

"Even in this season of joyful expectation, such horrors can make us doubt the possibility of peace, of justice, of reconciliation, and of a world which values diversity and living together," he said.

It is for this reason that I have chosen to focus this Christmas message on Luke 1:37, which says "Nothing will be impossible with God."

Younan noted that "this remarkable statement from an angel of the Lord reveals that the message of Christmas is not a diversion or an escape, but is really the foundation of our hope in this broken world."

Bishop Younan, who is president of the 74-million strong Lutheran World Federation noted that in the biblical story when the angel came to Mary and announced that soon she would be the mother of a baby, a holy child called "Son of God", at first, she could not believe it.

THE BEARER OF GOD

She was unable to imagine that a simple young woman would become the bearer of God.

"How can this be, since I am a virgin?" she asked the angel. And the angel said to her, "Nothing will be impossible with God."

The bishop said the simple and powerful statement is often overshadowed by other familiar parts of the Christmas story, "and yet it perfectly sums up the theme of every Christmas carol, every Christmas play, and every Christmas tradition.

"If the Son of God could be born to a virgin in Bethlehem, laid in a manger, worshipped by shepherds and foreign travelers from the East, sought by a ruthless king and chased out of the country - all before saving the world through a sacrifice of love on the cross - then truly, nothing is impossible with God."

Younan said that a few day earlier he had been with the King of Jordan, who had invited all the Heads of Churches to the palace to wish us a Merry Christmas.

"This was a moment of joy, of friendship, and of interfaith understanding. As we left the palace, however, we received the news that a terror attack in the Christian village of Karak had taken several lives.

"Frankly, this news spoiled our Christmas joy. It made us angry! We were asking ourselves, 'How could this possibly happen? Where is the God of peace, justice, and mercy?'"

The anger was same was felt a week earlier when there was a terror attack near Cairo's St. Mark's cathedral.

TARGETTING CHRISTIANS

"This attack was not only targeting Christians, but was against all of Egyptian society. It was even an attack on God, and on humanity itself. Although such attackers may claim to be lovers of God, truly they have sinned against God and against all of humanity."

Younan asked if such events frighten the Christians of the Middle East.

"I cannot say that it does not affect us. At the same time, as Christians in this region we are called to reflect, 'What is our call as a community? What is our role in bringing peace to this region?'"

"I believe the answers are clear: Arab Christians are called - as are Christians in every place - to boldly carry the Gospel of love wherever we are.

"In the face of oppression, violence, terrorism, and occupation, our role is not to escape. We must be like the Virgin Mary, who, although she faced an impossible situation, chose to listen to the words of God's messenger. Like Mary, when we feel the whole world is against us, we must hear the words of the angel who said, 'Nothing will be impossible with God.'"
In Manipur, this festive season has turned into a time of sorrow and deprivation. In a state with a long history of crippling economic blockades used as a form of protest, the latest blockade called by the United Naga Council (UNC) on 1 November has extracted a heavy price. With the two highways that represent a virtual lifeline blocked, people are struggling to survive without essential supplies, including petroleum products. This is on top of their daily deprivations of living with patchy electricity, intermittent water supply and a poor road network that speaks of the high levels of corruption and pathetically low levels of governance. Added to this are the challenges posed by demonetisation and an economy without cash.

The current blockade is rooted in a long history of claims and counterclaims of the different ethnicities in Manipur. Many of these issues have remained unresolved. To some, they appear almost unresolvable. Yet these differences have also been the pivot on which politics has turned in the state. As a result, the distance between the mostly tribal groups living in the hills of Manipur, an area that constitutes 90% of the state, from the largely Meitei population that lives in the densely populated Imphal Valley has increased as each becomes more entrenched in its identity and its demands. This distance has been further exacerbated by a politics that thrives on division, on playing out the demands of one group against another. It is this very politics that also governs the statecentre relationship. When the party in power at the centre is the same as the one in the state, there is some semblance of harmony. But when, as at present, it is different, the centre does not hesitate to use these extant divisions to further its own agenda.
On 8 & 9 December, the EBS Science Workshop brought together 300 members of the ESRF scientific community from across the world.

The two-day event was the opportunity for expert groups of users to discuss and openly exchange on the topics resulting from the call for Expressions of Interest (EoI) launched in 2015.

The aim of the workshop is to identify the most impactful and scientifically promising projects that we can realise on the fantastic new source we are planning to install and start operating in 2020. Harald Reichert, ESRF Director of Research.

In May 2016, following an analysis by user experts of the 48 EoI received, the ESRF Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) selected eight topics for upgraded beamlines and a number of major refurbishment projects. Draft conceptual design reports (CDR) were elaborated at the ESRF for potential new beamlines to be constructed within the EBS project.

With the EBS workshop, the ESRF encouraged its scientific community to openly discuss and debate these CDRs and to further refine the scientific cases for the future orientation of the ESRFs new beamlines. The CDRs were presented to the user community on the second day of the event.

The workshop is full of tremendous ideas, creativity, and passion. Theres a huge turnout from those people who already use synchrotron radiation in their science. But the interesting question is how this is going to evolve because these new beamlines will open up to new areas of science and reach into new communities. I think that in the future, once the idea has become more concrete, we will see an even wider community engaging with the ESRF. Andrew Harrison, CEO of Diamond Light Source (UK) and moderator of the EBS Science Workshop.

The EBS Science Workshop will produce 8 consolidated CDRs that will be analysed together with the SAC in early spring 2017. A consolidated experimental floor plan with all the ESRF beamlines will result. It will be analysed and projects ranked by the SAC before being finally submitted to the ESRF Council for final approval in June 2017.

The EBS science workshop is an important event in that it will contribute to the selection of the new beamlines. Its a unique opportunity to exchange with the community and, with the help of the expert groups, we hope to select the best projects for the future. Jean Susini, ESRF Director of Research.

Participants of the workshop during a visit of beamline ID06. ESRF/C. Navarette A tremendous turnout from the ESRF scientific community. ESRF/C. Argoud

The eight projects for upgraded beamlines

CDR1: A dedicated XPCS/CXDI beamline for dynamics studies and advanced imaging of complex systems. The new instrument will allow to unveil many new phenomena such as hidden ordering and disordering sub-millisecond processes during phase separation, diffusion kinetics, nucleation and growth processes under external stimuli and complex environments, as well as in vivo imaging of bacteria under micro-fluidic devices

CDR2: A beamline for hard X-ray diffraction microscopy, offering the opportunity to study bulk properties in mm-sized samples in 3D, using adapted tomographic techniques. The ability to directly characterize complex, multi-scale phenomena in situ is a key step towards formulating and validating multi-scale models that account for the entire heterogeneity of a material.

CDR3: A high throughput large field phase-contrast tomography beamline. For materials research and engineering, biology for imaging large samples (60 cm  200 cm) on multiple scales: from the complete sample to sub-micrometre resolution imaging of selected regions, with a partial emphasis on automation and high throughput.

CDR4: A surface science beamline to exploit the extremely high brilliance of the new source to investigate chemical and physical processes on solid and liquid interfaces by surface sensitive X-ray techniques. The proposed beamline will provide unique capabilities for the in-situ studies on interfaces and nano-objects and will open new possibilities to investigate the dynamics of fundamental and applied processes in several fields ranging from material science (catalysis, electrochemistry, 2D materials) to soft matter and biochemistry (biomimetic membranes, polymers) including buried interfaces.

CDR5: An advanced high-flux nano-XRD beamline for science under extreme conditions. This high pressure X-ray diffraction beamline will take full advantage of the higher photon flux density and higher coherence of the new source.

CDR6: A facility for dynamic compression studies. This facility will extend the applications of the recently approved high power laser facility. The new beamline will cater for single shot and fast time resolved XRD and imaging.

CDR7: This project proposes to convert one branch of the energy dispersive XAS beamline ID24 to a scanning EXAFS beamline, providing optimal conditions for time-resolved and extreme conditions XAS. It will expand the capacity of the ESRF spectroscopy beamline portfolio to studies of highly dilute systems at extreme conditions and /or in time resolution.

CDR8: ESRF-EBS will allow the delivery of Henderson Limit X-ray doses in microseconds using submicron focal spots. Synchrotron serial crystallography on micro- and nano-crystals, combined with room temperature data collection and time-resolved studies, will become routinely accessible techniques.
The campaign is all about sharing ones wish and bringing it alive for the users

Samsung shares the festive spirit with its Samsung Galaxy users by releasing #WishUponMyGalaxy campaign. Cheil India has conceptualised the unique digital engagement campaign to embrace holiday cheer.

#WishUponMyGalaxy campaign is all about sharing ones wish and bringing it alive for the users. Samsung Galaxy consumers are encouraged to use all-in-one My Galaxy app. The users have to visit the My Galaxy app, share their wishes and Samsung will ensure it brings a smile to its users. The My Galaxy app users will in turn stand a chance to groove to peppy songs while a chosen few will be put in spotlight with a customised animated song. The music videos are a treat, keeping in mind the users wishes.

Speaking about the campaign, Sanjeev Jasani, Head  Digital, Cheil India, said, Samsung is very close to our hearts. Samsung always encourages us to go beyond our boundaries of creativity and captivate the audience in a unique manner. #WishUponMyGalaxy dwells on a strong emotion  joy of surprising people. The campaign is all about touching the hearts of the people and we believe it has been brought alive in a very engaging manner.

Running up to Christmas Eve today, the ongoing campaign has resulted in some fantastic response from the My Galaxy app users. On the first two days of the campaign witnessed over 10 thousand wishes and the thematic video has got over 4 lakh views.

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Transcription

1 Sale of Erinmets Woodland Estate, Estonia hectares Erinmets Woodland Estate is a highly productive group of 143 woodland properties. It consists of a good mixture of commercial species with a wide spread of age classes and a considerable volume of timber available for immediate felling. It also includes 87 ha of productive agricultural land. A rare opportunity to invest in a substantial, well - managed Estonian forest investment Offers are invited in excess of HDFestForest, Heki 21, Tartu Estonia For further details, please contact Michael Glud HDFestForest is part of the HedeDanmark group of companies and has offices in Vilnius, Tartu and Riga

2 Erinmets Woodland Estate summary Forest area Agriculture Other land Total ha 87 ha 247 ha ha In addition to the productive area, the other land includes roads, rides and waterways, but also abandoned agricultural land and unproductive bog land. The land is accurately surveyed and kept on the national property register with aerial photographs and boundaries publicly available (except the owner s details). Estonian forestry Forest management is controlled through the management plan which records species, volumes, growth, soils and health of the forest. This plan is produced for free every 10 years by state-licensed independent surveyors. A copy of the plan is kept by the state and forms the basis for granting felling permission and other operations. Species information Spruce m3 18% Pine m3 44% Birch m3 28% Other broadleaves m3 10% Total m3 This group is special in its high percentage of pine and low component of other broadleaves. The woodlands are naturally regenerated and hence species are mixed and only identifiable by volume rather than by area. Other broadleaves consist of aspen, alder, rowan hazel, willow, oak, ash, as well as other minor species. The volumes of these are identified in the management plan. Maturity classes Species 0-20 yrs old More than 40 Less than 40 Less than 20 Less than 10 Mature Totals m3 m3 m3 m3 m3 m3 m3 Spruce Pine Birch Other broadleaves Total

3 The felling age is controlled by age or diameter and varies per species, for example, birch is at 65 years, pine at 100 and spruce at 80. As the species are grown intermixed, it is more meaningful to analyse how far particular stands are from being, rather than knowing their age. The felling age is mostly decided by the age of dominant species in mixtures. Felling volume The felling is restricted by age, location and extent of area to allow natural regeneration to colonise felled areas. In general, felling is restricted to up to 5 ha and neighbouring felled areas must have been successfully restocked, either through planting or natural regeneration. However, recent law changes have loosened this restriction. In practice, felling areas are usually much smaller because of the relative small size of properties and the intimate mixture of species and age classes. Over the next 15 years, some m3 can be felled, half of which could be achieved in the first three to five years. Property size Estonia was feudal until very recently resulting in large estates with small farming tenancies. This system existed until 1918 when Estonia became independent for the first time and the tenants became small landowners. Independence was lost again in 1940 during the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union. Many of the small landowners were sent to Siberia, put in collective farms, or fled. The abandoned properties often seeded naturally with trees. On regaining independence, the small properties were returned to those who could prove family ownership before These have often come on the market. Erinmets consists of 143 properties, with an average of 16.5 ha. That may be seen as a disadvantage, but it actually has some considerable advantages as well: With that number of woodlands, insurance is not needed, as any calamity will never affect many woodlands. There is much more flexibility in marketing, as the woodlands are spread across Estonia. There is a much larger likelihood of special interest values. Often a neighbour wants to buy a property for a price well over the market value. There is much more flexibility in the investment. Cash can be raised quickly by selling a few properties without affecting the overall investment. Obviously, management can be more expensive with a lot of travelling between properties. HDFestForest manages some 3000 properties in the Baltics, with regional foresters and a sophisticated IT system to control the data and plan operations. Timber is marketed in a co-operative style so all clients benefit from the HDFestForest volume of timber sales. Thus, with good planning, management costs can be contained whilst the advantages are maximised. Property ownership Property ownership is organised along the German cadastre system. All ownership details including mortgages and other liabilities are registered in a central property registry. All transactions have to be notarised. Any claim against a property that is not recorded in the property register is invalid. HDFestForest has organised thousands of transactions and there have been no problems. Agriculture Because of the historical source of the properties, many still have an element of agricultural land. This is now part of the EU CAP system. HDFestForest has a close relationship with ESTKinnisvara, a local property and agricultural manager which administers the agricultural land. Where possible, it is let to local farmers. Where there is no tenant at present, it is kept in good agricultural condition, the cost of which is covered by EU subsidy. Let land 81 ha 2015 income Maintained land 6 ha 2015 income 696 3

4 The total value of the agricultural land is estimated at Year EU SAPS support Estonia Estonia is the smallest and most northerly of the three Baltic countries. It has a landmass of km2 and a population of 1.3m people. The language is Estonian, a Finno-Ugric language closely related to Finnish. It is a member of NATO and the EU and the currency is the euro. It is a republic, has a stable parliamentary, democratic, right-of-centre government and an expanding, open economy. During the financial crisis, the Baltic states were badly hit, and they suffered large reductions in GDP and increased unemployment. However, they took their medicine bravely and the recovery is well under way with some of the largest growth in GDP in the Euro-zone. Taxation There is no corporation tax in Estonia, so annual profits are not taxed as long as they stay in the company. However, there is a 20% distribution tax on the capital gain, which is payable when funds are paid to investors or the company is liquidated. As Estonia has a dual taxation system with many countries, in some circumstances the tax need not be paid in Estonia. It is recommended to take specialist advice on issues of taxation. Timber industry The timber industry is amongst the most modern in the world and dominated by Finnish Stora Enso. However, Swedes, Germans and Norwegians also have large timber-processing industries, as well as considerable home-grown enterprises. Increasingly, much of the sawn timber is sold locally and given added value before exporting. Of the home-grown industries, Latvijan Finieris is the largest. It has four birch veneer plants in the Baltics and one in Finland. Pulpwood is mostly exported to Sweden and Finland. There is a medium-sized conifer pulpmill and a large aspen pulpmill, but no facility to use birch pulpwood. However, biomass has also become a major industry and there are a considerable number of wood-using combined heat and power plants. Recently a 1m m3 wood pellet plant has been opened in south Estonia. Like Estonia, Latvia has a large, modern timber-using industry. As both countries are part of the EU Schengen area, the borders are open and timber can move freely between the countries. Timber supply Until 2006, about 30% of the timber required was imported from Russia. However, Russia then imposed the 15/m3 export tax, which made it too expensive to import timber from Russia and industry had to rely on local timber only. The recent economic turmoil and drop in the rouble has affected Baltic markets, but in the medium-term, there is a timber shortage and selling timber was not even a problem during the economic crisis. 4

5 Pulpwood demand from Finland has fluctuated but the increased demand of fuel-wood has reduced the effect of this. After the initial period of exceeding approved felling, the volumes are now fairly steady at 8m m3, which is also expected for The sustainable annual cut is estimated at 12m m3. Annual growth is estimated at 16m m3. Property values Property prices increased from about 500/ha in 1998 to 4000/ha in 2008, pre-crisis. They dropped back to about 500, but now they are about This is still very cheap (30% or so) compared to western Europe. The main difference between now and prior to the crisis is that now mostly foreign investors are buying, whereas before the crisis it was local people who felt wealthy enough to buy and enjoy a woodland. That will come back as the economies recover and woodland ownership returns to be a desired luxury for locals, as it is in Scandinavia. That will raise prices of properties beyond their pure timber investment return levels. The present owners have invested in Estonian forests and property since 1998 and made substantial returns over the years. Their reason for selling is that their syndicate has come to the end of its investment period. A further 369 ha is also available and can be added to the group. A digital copy of the management plans is available. Tartu, March
Friday, December 23, 2016

Anyone whos ever had a dog, cat or other companion animal can tell you how hard it is emotionally when a pet dies or goes missing. These three podcasts on A Good Goodbye Radio provide many great tips help address pet loss.

A Good Goodbye is an entertaining and educational 60-minute online radio show on everything you need to know before you go, covering a wide range of critical information most people dont consider until theres a death in the family. Host Gail Rubin brings a light touch to a serious subject and presents expert interviews on funeral planning issues with practical insights into the party no one wants to plan.

By planning ahead and having a conversation, families can reduce stress at a time of grief, minimize family conflict, save money and create a meaningful, memorable good goodbye.

Pet Loss and Disenfranchised Grief

Any dog or cat owner will tell you pets are members of the family. Yet when a fur child dies or disappears, grief over pet loss is often dismissed. What can pet parents do?

Coleen Ellis, founder of Two Hearts Pet Loss Center and co-chair of the Pet Loss Professionals Alliance (PLPA), has been there. Shes the author of Pet Parents: A Journey Through Unconditional Love and Grief. Pet parents and pet care professionals nationwide are using the book as a resource, an educational teaching tool and a source of comfort.

Some aspects of pet loss and grieving discussed on this podcast:

Ideas to help celebrate the special bonds people share with their pets;

How to choose the right cremation provider or funeral home;

Ways that pets can be honored in life and in death;

How death-care professionals, veterinarians and others are taking steps to serve pet parents;

Where people can find resources to help process their pet loss and grief.

Listen to the podcast:

This program was sponsored by Vet-Co, providing quality pet care at affordable prices in Albuquerque and Los Lunas, New Mexico. Visit their website and blog at www.VetCoNM.com.

Love Lessons From Our Animal Companions

Our animal companions share great love with their human families. When pets depart this physical sphere, they can teach their human friends important lessons about the eternalness of being.

David Hutchings, author of Im Still Here: Recognizing the Eternalness of Our Companion Animals, joins host Gail Rubin on A Good Goodbye Radio. He discusses lessons humans can learn about love, wellbeing and spirituality from our dogs, cats and other pets. Topics include:

How companion animals model ways for humans to release grief

What Eternity Blindness is and how it impacts human mourning

Ways to help companion animals transition at the end of their physical lifetimes

Lessons about love and life our pets convey to humans

The spirituality of the human/companion animal bond

Listen to the podcast:

Helping Pets with Home Hospice Care

Hospice for pets is a growing trend, just as compassionate end-of-life care is growing for people. When pet owners look to ease the pain of a pets death, they also seek a more meaningful goodbye.

Kathryn Marocchino, a professor of death and dying at California State University in Vallejo and founder of the Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets, joins host Gail Rubin on A Good GoodbyeRadio to discuss the end-of-life care movement for pets.

Topics include:

What pet owners need to know about their ailing pets to make informed quality-of-life decisions

How pet hospice and in-home euthanasia are different

Why pet hospice is a growing movement

What the growth of pet hospice says about our culture

How pet owners can become better prepared to deal with people deaths

Listen to the podcast:

When making your estate or funeral plans, remember to include provisions for your pets when you plan! You can also find good information about pet loss and pet trusts in these two books by Gail Rubin: A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Dont Plan to Die and KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die.
Not many people outside of New York have ever heard of Caril Paladino and theyre better off for that. The aggressively senile far right 70 year old Buffalo realtor managed to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination against the hapless Rick Lazio in 2010. He went on to be absolutely shredded in the general election of Andrew Cuomo, losing 2,910,876 (61%) to 1,547,857 (32.5%). His senior adviser was well-known right-wing crackpot and Trump retainer, Roger Stone.





Paladino was a right-wing Democrat until 2005 when he finally figured out he was a Republican and officially switched parties. His gubernatorial campaign was as ugly as anyone could expect, trying to woo reactionary Hassidic rabbis, for example, with rabid denunciations of the LGBT community and marriage equality. He told a gaggle of right-wing rabbis in Brooklyn, I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don't want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option it isn't." Hes also vehemently anti-Choice and insists victims of rape and incest give birth to any resultant pregnancy. Hes an anti-education psychopath, a racist (with a special animus towards Asians for some reason), a Climate Change denier and an anti-regulations fanatic. So, of course, he was an enthusiastic Trump supporter and co-chaired Trumps failed New York campaign.





While co-chairing Trumps campaign, he threatened in writing Republican officials who refused to endorse Trump. This was part of an open letter to Republicans in Congress and the state legislature: "This is our last request that you join 'Trump for President' and try to preserve what's left of your pathetic careers in government." He later threatened too have Republican delegates killed if they didnt support Trump. "I dont trust our entire delegation Id certainly whack them if they went off the reservation."





In 2013 Paladino ran for the Buffalo school board from South Buffalo, a largely conservative blue collar, Irish-American area. His campaign was basically a screed against the teachers union with an ugly dose of racism. He won and was reelected narrowly, by 132 votes against an 18 year old high school senior, in 2016.





Artvoice this week which seemed like an Onion-like parody was a Trump has been running around screeching like a madman that Obama is a Muslim for years and this year famously tweeted that Attorney General Loretta Lynch should be lynched. So it should have come as no real surprise this week whe he told the editors of the Buffalo News , who have endorsed him and generally support his ugly racism, that the outrageous interview he gavethis week which seemed like an-like parody was a straight up, for real interview with him .Of course I did, he said when asked if he had uttered the remarks. "Tell them all to go fuck themselves.





Artvoice asked 4 questions but the two that have stirred up controversy and inspired some people to ask themselves how typical of Trump supporters Paladino is were 1- What would you most like to happen in 2017? And 2- What would you like to see go away in 2017?





The Buffalo areas other participants answered the way you might normally expect a public figure to respond. Not Paladino:

1. Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.



2. Michelle Obama. Id like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

Of the 30 other participants, 4 mentioned theyd like to see Trump impeached and 5 said theyd like to see Trump disappear in 2017. A couple of people also mentioned how nice 2017 would be without Paladino and at least one person said theyd like to see him run for mayor. The Buffalo News:

Friday's response left many wondering about Paladino's political future.



"This is no longer a black issue, this is a community issue," said Warren Galloway, a Republican who was the local president of Jesse Jacksons Operation PUSH. "This is a reflection of the whole community. As an African-American Republican, the party should sever ties with him."



The Artvoice comments are the latest example in a long history of Paladino making offensive statements, some of which caught national attention because of his role as a co-chairman in Donald J. Trump's New York State election campaign.



During the campaign, Paladino appeared on National Public Radio and described supporters of Trump as people frustrated with government who want the raccoons out of the basement. He described whats happening in the presidential race as a political revolution aimed at getting rid of the establishment class within the Republican Party and ridding Washington, D.C., of the Washington elite monsters.



In June 2015, Paladino commented during a political rally in Olean about damn Asians and other foreigners attending the University at Buffalo.



Paladino also defended a then-Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority commissioner who used a racial epithet to describe several African-American politicians, including Mayor Byron W. Brown.



And during his run for governor in 2010, Paladino received national attention for circulating emails, including pornographic images, and one that included the use of the N-word.



Paladino has a long history of racist and incendiary comments," Cuomo wrote in a statement Friday. "While most New Yorkers know Mr. Paladino is not to be taken seriously, as his erratic behavior defies any rational analysis and he has no credibility, his words are still jarring. His remarks do not reflect the sentiments or opinions of any real New Yorker and he has embarrassed the good people of the state with his latest hate-filled rage.



Earlier this week, Paladino was also criticized for introducing a resolution to mandate that all Buffalo Public Schools display a picture of Trump. Paladino served as co-chairman in President-elect Trump's New York State election campaign.



Such comments have lead to a push by some community members and a few of his colleagues on the Buffalo School Board to have him removed from the elected position. Earlier this year, the group devoted part of a committee meeting to discuss their legal options for his removal.



"The question we continue to ask is if we should have someone like this sitting on a board representing children," said board member Sharon Belton-Cottman. "The board sets a policy of expectations for student behavior. We expect them to be civil. We expect them to be courteous. And we should model that behavior.

There has been some talk lately that the shock of not being offered a Cabinet post by Trump has sent Paladino, a gun-carrying walking freak-show, who expected to be Trump's running-mate, into a spiral of depression, rage and barely controllable insanity which isnt likely to end well.








A former longtime Wells Fargo Bank branch manager in San Antonio accuses the bank of discriminating against him and ultimately firing him for speaking up against the sales tactics that have upended the institution and provoked consumer outrage and government investigations.

Alex Leal claims he was terminated in 2015 for resisting the banks unethical and illegal sales practices after working as a local Wells Fargo branch manager for more than 15 years, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Bexar County District Court. He was working at a branch on the West Side when he was terminated.

Leal, 48, also is suing the bank for age discrimination, saying Wells Fargo sought to hire younger, less-experienced workers who would buy into (its) scheme of cross-selling items to bank customers that they did not request or need, particularly  credit cards. He says he was replaced by a 29-year-old.

The lawsuit is believed to be the first filed in state district court here by an ex-Wells Fargo employee over the scandal.

Paul Vick, Leals lawyer, and a Wells Fargo spokesman couldnt be reached for comment Friday.

Leals suit is just the latest in a mountain of legal woes for Wells Fargo, which last month revealed it had set aside $1.7 billion to deal with its widening legal troubles. Besides the myriad of government investigations, including by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank is facing class-action lawsuits filed by customers, investors and former employees.

As many as 2 million fake bank and credit card accounts were opened by bank employees without customer authorization, all part of an effort to achieve lofty sales goals. The bank was fined $185 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among others, in September. CEO John Stumpf was forced out without severance pay the following month in an abrupt retirement that was immediately effective.

Earlier this month, U.S. bank regulators slapped restrictions on the San Francisco lender after finding it failed to adequately fix deficiencies in a plan to unwind its business in the event of a failure without wreaking havoc on the broader financial system  its so-called living will. It could eventually be forced to restructure, Bloomberg News reported.

Leal was told he was being terminated for allegedly violating the companys code of ethics and business conduct policy, his lawsuit says. Robert Ortiz, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as a district manager for Wells Fargo, said Leal instructed employees to lie about an incident that occurred at the branch at 8360 Marbach Road, which Leal managed, according to the lawsuit. No details on the incident were provided.

The statements about Leal were false and intended to harass him, discredit him among his co-workers and adversely affect his employment, the suit says.

Leal was being harassed because he told executives on numerous occasions that Wells Fargos practice of pushing credit cards to customers while misrepresenting the benefits and need for the cards was  unethical and illegal, the suit adds.

Leal requested a right to sue letter from the the Texas Workforce Commission before he filed, but he has not received one.

The only cause of action listed in the complaint is for defamation. Leal seeks more than $1 million in damages, including for back pay and lost future earnings.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A new study taking place in San Antonio will test whether writing about a traumatic event can help military service members recover from PTSD.

The study will compare written exposure therapy with more established methods for treating PTSD. Recruiting is expected to take place over the next two years with a target of 150 active duty military members with PTSD due to a post-9/11 deployment, Denise Sloan, the studys author, said.

Writing exposure therapy may help people overcome barriers to treatment, Sloan said.

It's much shorter than other PTSD treatment approaches, and its easier to implement, and it's more tolerable, Sloan, a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, said.

The therapy takes place over five sessions of 30 minutes of writing, with additional time for instruction.

The study is part of the multi-institutional STRONG STAR Consortium, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and based at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

In a previous writing therapy study with seven veterans with PTSD, Sloan found five of the participants had improved to the point of no longer meeting a PTSD diagnosis. The two remaining had the more severe PTSD symptoms at the outset but also improved.

More Information PTSD symptom severity score before and after writing exposure therapy Participant Pretreatment Posttreatment 3-month followup 1 90 80 63 2 49 27 13 3 63 44 15 *Participant 3 dropped out of treatment but returned for assessments 4 45 23 16 5 45 44 25 6 88 53 69 7 64 23 20 See More Collapse

Of the two most common existing therapies for treating PTSD, around 33 percent of veterans either do not respond to treatment or drop out, according to a 2005 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Jacqueline Evans, a civilian and Boston native who participated in a larger study of Sloans, said before the study she was paranoid and could not sleep at night. Afterward the study done, however, she said she felt much better.

It helped to write down my story, thinking about it, realizing oh shoot, people have it badder than me, it could have been worse, Evans said.

At the beginning of the first session, Evans received a pen and paper from a therapist. On the paper were questions asking her to recount the event and what happened, who was there, and what it smelled like. The instructions told her that spelling and grammar do not matter.

After the therapist left, Evans began writing. Evans said doesnt normally write. I have four kids, I dont have time to write, she said.

Still, Evans said she didnt have any writers block. She wrote throughout the entire 30-minute session.

I felt like I was accomplishing something and doing something to better my condition, Evans said.

Frantz Blass Jr., a civilian and another participant in the study, said the solitude helped him organize his thoughts.

The thoughts are deeper when youre by yourself, Blass said. A paper cant ask you questions. You really have to deal with what you thought of.

Blass said as he wrote about small memories, like how he waited for the sun to shine through the curtains the morning after he was sexually abused.

At the end of the 30 minutes of writing, a therapist returned to answer any questions and to make sure instructions were followed, Blass said.

Sloan said she does not recall anyone who did not write at all during the 30 minutes.

The first three sessions are about the trauma event itself, the fourth one is generally on the impact of the event, and the fifth event is about next steps for the participant, Sloan said.

Another participant, Marilyn from Boston, said she enrolled in the study after a bad head-on collision, one that left her panicking whenever she saw headlights. She said she wasnt a writer and was skeptical about the therapy, but afterward no longer felt panicked in a car, or when walking to the scene of the crash, or even after a recent rear-end collision. She said she expects to get her drivers license again.

In a review measuring the studys effectiveness on those with PTSD due to car crashes, Sloan found that of the 22 participants, none of them had PTSD six months afterward.

All I know is whatever was stored in my mind came out through that pen, Marilyn said.

Writing exposure therapy draws from research done 30 years ago by a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. In a 1986 study, James Pennebaker asked college students to write about their most traumatic or distressing experience with as much detail as possible. Results showed this boosted health and immune system functioning.

He had a hypothesis that people bottle up their emotions, and if they dont express it, they have detrimental health effects, Sloan said. He never applied it to trauma survivors.

Sloan combined Pennebakers work on expressive writing with research on prolonged exposure, a PTSD therapy in which exposing someone to a traumatic memory will in time make the person less fearful of it.

Sloans studies have found that at first, participants reported more fear as they wrote about their experiences, and then over the course of the therapy became less fearful of their memories.

Participants may also feel a greater sense of control and less shame when they confront their traumas on paper rather than in person to a therapist. Pennebaker, in his research, found participants improved whether they were writing alone or talking into a voice recorder alone.

Sometimes people feel shame, Sloan said. They feel judged, that could get in the way of them doing the treatment.

Is there a way to predict who the therapy will help most? In one study, participants were asked to read 50 words out loud as a way of measure verbal IQ. When the results came in, neither a persons IQ, nor education level nor how much they wrote on the paper mattered, Sloan said.

The upcoming study will measure how many participants drop out, Sloan said.

Around 25 percent of participants in prolonged exposure therapy failed to complete the required number of sessions, but in Sloans studies only 10 percent or so dropped out.

When people drop out of therapy, its often because of life getting in the way, especially among military members, Alan Peterson, director of the STRONG STAR consortium, said.

Writing therapy is promising as it only requires five sessions instead of the eight to 15 sessions other therapy requires, which may lead to fewer dropouts and more participants completing treatment, Peterson said.

What percentage of people who sign up for a gym membership in January actually go to the gym ten times? Peterson said.

Sloan said in the future writing therapy could be used as initial treatment for PTSD, or even over the phone.

We clearly need a different approach that's more efficient, Sloan said.
A lamb lacking a shepherd was discovered walking down a West Side street last week just before temperatures plummeted to an unsettling 32 degrees.

Animal Control Services Spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said the lamb was found on S. Mayo Street by a good Samaritan who cared for him until ACS arrived.

Despite being muddy and matted, the male lamb was in good physical shape, thanks to the goodwill of strangers, Norwood said.

ACS named the 2-month-old lamb Lambert. Hes unweaned and needs constant care, including bottle feeding every four to six hours. Hes now living with a foster family.

He likes him some milk, Norwood said. With his foster, he will bleat for the bottle; he lets you know when he is hungry.

ACS veterinarians said Lambert falls into the hair sheep category; that type of ovine doesnt have wool. Its usually a meat animal. He is black from the tip of his nose to his hindquarters, with a white underbelly, front stockings and hind legs.

He appears to have been socialized at some point in his young life, Norwood said. He was willing to take the bottle and walk on a leash.

Lambert was found near Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium in an area surrounded by rural properties and small farms.

No one has come to claim Lambert, Norwood said.

ACS took in more than 200 livestock that included fowl and horses last year; small hoof stock animals like goats, pigs and sheep rarely come into the shelter she said.

As the city annexes more of Bexar County, problems concerning wandering livestock may increase, Shannon Sims, ACS chief field operations officer, said.

The problem exists not only on the outskirts of San Antonio but within the city limits as farm animals sometimes escape from their enclosures.

We have had Shetland ponies, donkeys, emus and full-grown horses running around the city, he said.

Norwood recalled a similar case to Lamberts when a wandering llama who seemed to have been socialized by a family was found behind an auto mechanic shop on Bandera Road. He was named Como Te Llama by ACS. His gentle demeanor landed him a home at the San Antonio Zoo where he serves as the llama ambassador.

ACS does not allow personal adoption of livestock, Norwood said, so Lambert will stay with his foster family for a few more days until a rescue organization takes him in.

Folks are already asking about him, Sims said.
Christmas gifts came early for 30 children in need of good tidings at Calvary Baptist Church.

Bicycles lined the middle aisle in the sanctuary of the East Side church. There were remote-controlled airplanes with batteries taped to the wings. Other toys and sorted clothes for boys and girls were stacked on a dozen tables near the pulpit. Stuffed animals shared space with backpacks and new and gently used clothing. Books to read during the Christmas break sat among rows of barbie dolls and trucks.

All of the items were donated or bought with monetary donations from people who answered the call for presents by Rucker Helping Kids & Youth to the Next Level, a grassroots charity that helps children from low-income families without means.

From 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 17, volunteers and the groups founder, Willie O. Rucker, watched as the children and their families shopped the donations the community organization had collected over the last few weeks.

Just seeing the kids faces light up was priceless, Rucker, 49, said. Thats what its all about.

This was the fourth Christmas gift drive that church members and volunteers conducted to help local children who may not have otherwise had a Christmas this year.

In addition to the toys and clothes, Rucker said, the group raised $2,000 in financial donations, including $144 in loose change packed in a coffee can. He also received a tall crayon-shaped piggy bank and glass jars filled with coins.

Families at the event also received boxes filled with food that included sugar, tortillas, canned vegetables and more for holiday meals.

And the goodwill extended beyond the church located at 6142 FM 72.

Rucker said volunteers delivered six bicycles, a Christmas tree and boxes of food to a 70-year-old grandmother raising 6 grandchildren.

Hopefully it took some burden off of the parents who were very grateful, he said.

Weenonah Chambers, who helped set up gifts for the giveaway, said it was overwhelming to see the generosity of people who made donations.

It was heartwarming to see the outpouring of people interested in making children happy at Christmas time, Chambers said. It was just a joy to be part of such a giving time of the year.

vtdavis@express-news.net
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Commissioners Court ended 2016 on a generous note Friday, approving pay raises and bonuses for sheriffs deputies and rescinding a planned surcharge on some county workers health insurance plans.

Increases in deputy pay were authorized as part of a new collective bargaining agreement between the Bexar County Sheriffs Office and the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Bexar County. The $42.6 million pact takes effect immediately and runs through September 2020.

Sheriff Susan Pamerleau, who leaves office Dec. 31, praised the agreement as good for taxpayers and deputies. The sorely needed 8 percent raises authorized for the coming year, and other new benefits and incentives, will help recruiting efforts, she said.

Were competing not just locally but nationally for qualified law enforcement and detention officers, Pamerleau said. This is a real boost to recruiting the right kind of people, to get them in the door, and also to retain them, she said.

Pamerleau said finding adequate staffing is a perennial concern that awaits Sheriff-elect Javier Salazar, a Democrat who outpolled the incumbent on Nov. 8.

As her four-year term ends, Pamerleau, a Republican, said the Sheriffs Office is in the best shape its ever been. When I came into office, this office was 30 years behind in terms of facilities, technology, and people programs.

As Salazar settles in next year, work is starting on $56 million in construction projects including a reconfiguration of the jail complex near downtown and construction of two new sheriffs substations on the East and West Sides. An additional $10 million work is underway on major systems such as electrical, plumbing and air conditioning for jail complex buildings, Pamerleau said.

Im proud that were handing it over in the shape its in. There are always things that can be improved, she said.

Salazar, a 23-year San Antonio Police officer who takes the oath as sheriff on Jan. 1, praised the new contract for deputies.

Certainly thats one less thing to worry about, he said. The pay increases should help on the recruiting front, he added.

This salary jump is going to make for a really good, effective tool for me to attract those candidates, Salazar said.

County Judge Nelson Wolff said the deal was a fair settlement for both sides, while Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert called it the best contract that the members of our sheriff department have ever received.

Among the contracts key provisions are a 15 percent raise for detention officers and detention corporals over the 4 years; and a 16.25 percent raise for detention sergeants, lieutenants and captains along with all law enforcement, or patrol, officers.

The pact also boosts compensation for being on special units, for attaining professional certifications and college degrees and for uniform allowances.

At a cost of $900,000, sheriffs employees also will be awarded a one-time $500 bonus in coming weeks.

Deputies who were facing a cost-sharing measure  a new surcharge on health insurance  wont have to pay it after all. The $100 monthly assessment that was imposed Oct. 1, effective Jan. 1, would have applied to county employees spouses who enrolled in the countys health plan but had access to other coverage options.

Based on the decision to rescinded the surcharge for deputies, commissioners on Friday also cancelled it for other county employees.

The court also authorized more than 15,000 hours of jailer overtime expected in the first three months of 2017. For the budget year that began Oct. 1, commissioners had set aside $250,000 for overtime costs, but the sum quickly was exhausted.

On Nov. 7, the court approved another $456,000 to cover 15,198 hours of projected mandatory overtime through next week. Beyond that $706,000, the court on Friday approved $456,000 more to cover an additional 15,198 hours in jailer overtime through March 31.

The funding request noted that the jail population was trending higher than usual in recent months while nearly 100 uniformed positions remained vacant.

Salazar said hes planning to address the persistent issue of mandatory OT.

My goal is to save as much taxpayer money as possible, he said. To me, it makes a lot more sense to hire folks, pay them at straight time, than to have to backfill with overtime, Salazar said.

jgonzalez@express-news.net

Twitter: @johnwgonzalez
COLUMBUS  Reindeer have feet like snowshoes, antlers like a rocking chair, and connections in story and song to Santa Claus.

But they dont live wild in Ohio.

Neither do caribou, which belong to the same species (see No. 2 below).

And Marne Titchenell  whos a wildlife program specialist with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University  hasnt even seen them in Alaska.

I went there a couple of years ago, she said. I thought I had a good chance, considering there are more caribou there than people. But no dice.

Ive had to rely on the ones Ive seen at the Columbus Zoo.

A relative lives in Ohio

Titchenell has a sleighful of experience, however, with a reindeer and caribou relative.

White-tailed deer live in all 88 of Ohios counties, have reached nuisance levels in some cities, and part of her job is teaching workshops that show people ways to deal with them.

Theres a tiny bit of good news, she said: I can confidently say, with the backing of the scientific community, that white-tailed deer cant fly.

Shes less firm when it comes to reindeer. Ive never seen one fly, she said. But I keep looking.

Especially Dec. 24.

Confirmed reindeer facts include the following:

1Reindeer used to be Buckeyes.

Once upon a time, about, hmmm, at least 10,000 years ago  until the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age  reindeer lived in the area that became Ohio.

Paleontologists have found reindeer fossils in the Buckeye State and Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and West Virginia, among others.

2Reindeer are the same things as caribou. In general. But maybe, somewhat, not.

Reindeer and caribou belong to the same species, which is Rangifer tarandus. In general, people use caribou in North America, reindeer in Europe and Asia.

Caribou also tends to refer to the larger, wild R. tarandus types, like the ones in Canada and Alaska, while reindeer often, but not always, means the slightly smaller, domesticated kinds, like many of the ones in Scandinavia.

Scientists say in all, there are 14 R. tarandus subspecies and at least four domesticated breeds.

A 2013 study complicates matters. Based on DNA analysis, the study suggested that reindeer/caribou should be in two groups. One group is the caribou in southern Canada. The other group is the caribou in Alaska and northern Canada plus the reindeer in Europe and Asia.

The scientists who did the study said the Ice Age split the two groups apart about 200,000 years ago, and their genes and adaptations to their environment, including to changing climates, are somewhat different because of it.

3Reindeer are deer.

Reindeer are members of the Cervidae, or deer, family. The Cervidae family, to name a few, includes elk, moose and Ohios white-tailed deer.

4Reindeer Do go click, click, click.

Reindeer make a clicking sound when they walk, and not just when up on a housetop. Tendons snap over sesamoid bones in their feet, and thats what makes the click.

Experts think the clicking helps the members of a herd stay in contact, especially in snowstorms or, say, when its foggy.

5Reindeer also vocalize. Which doesnt count shouting with glee.

Reindeer cows grunt to their calves. Calves bleat and bawl to their mothers. Males snort, hoot, bellow and rattle hoarsely when trying to attract a mate. A special inflatable air sac in the neck gives the calls of the males extra oomph.

6When a reindeer senses danger, it may sniff, listen, stare, urinate, wheese-snort, rear up and jump in the air like a stallion, then run away. Often in that order.

Scientists call the rearing up and jumping an excitation leap. Its a visual warning to other reindeer. It could mean theres a predator coming, like a wolf, a bear or a fearsome, toothy, bounceable biped you could even describe as abominable.

7Theres a reason a reindeer can have a red nose. At least on the inside, And its gross.

Flies called reindeer nose bot flies may deposit their larvae in a reindeers nostrils. The larvae then grow in the throat or sinuses. One of the results can be inflammation. But you couldnt really say the nose glows. The reindeer sneezes them out in spring.

8A reindeer runs faster than a grandma.

A reindeer can run at speeds of up to 48 mph. A grandma walking home from someones house Christmas Eve, or any other day, averages about 3 mph. If both the reindeer and grandma were traveling in the same direction and following the same path, the grandma indeed and unfortunately would get run over by the reindeer.

Even Olympic gold-medal-winning sprinter Elaine Thompson, whos capable of about 21 mph over 100 meters, would have hoof prints.

9Up on the House Top  and its composers house  have histories in Ohio.

Finally, theres a reindeer tie to Ohio in music. Benjamin Hanby  who was born in Rushville, lived in Westerville and went to Otterbein University  composed Up on the House Top in 1864. According to its Wikipedia entry, the song is considered the first Yuletide song focused primarily on Santa Claus  and his four-footed, foot-clicking helpers.

Hanby was a minister, abolitionist and helped with the Underground Railroad. Today, his Westerville home is preserved as the Hanby House State Memorial, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is included in the National Park Services Network to Freedom of significant Underground Railroad sites.

Source: The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Welsh farming union NFU Cymru has 'strongly opposed' government proposals to designate further areas of Wales as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ).

In response to the Welsh government consultation, which closed yesterday (23 December 2016), NFU Cymru set out its opposition to proposals which would see the area of NVZ in Wales increase from 2.4% to 8% with a significant new designation in Pembrokeshire and smaller new designations within Anglesey and Carmarthenshire.

NFU Cymru President Stephen James said the Union remains 'wholly unconvinced' on the basis of evidence presented by Natural Resources Wales that further NVZ designations are necessary in Wales.

He said: Additionally, proposals to designate the whole of Wales as NVZ, known as Whole Territory Designation are completely without any scientific foundation.

NFU Cymru says it is 'disappointed' that Welsh government has opted not to publish a regulatory impact assessment alongside the consultation.

This work is vital to demonstrate the costs and impacts of proposals on individual businesses, sectors and specific regions and indeed the whole economy of rural Wales together with its social and cultural well-being.

Without a comprehensive Regulatory Impact Assessment neither our members nor decision makers are in a position to make an informed, evidence-based decision on the impacts of designation or the cost-effectiveness of the action programme.

One in eight considering leaving

An NFU Cymru NVZ Survey showed that around one in eight (13%) of farmers would consider leaving the industry if the NVZ proposals are introduced.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of farmers surveyed did not have sufficient slurry storage on their farm to meet the proposed NVZ requirements and it would cost, on average, nearly 80,000 for Welsh farmers to upgrade their slurry storage facilities to achieve NVZ slurry storage compliance.

Mr James said: The significant costs to achieve compliance need to be considered in the context of a sustained period of low market returns across many sectors. According to the figures based on the results of the Wales Farm Business Survey for 2015-16 (up to March 2016), average farm business income across All Farm Types fell by 6,800 to 22,200 - a decline of around 23%. This is the third consecutive year for farm incomes to fall.

The high levels of concern and opposition expressed by farmers throughout the consultation period are predominantly due to the added costs and reduction in farmers ability to make good management decisions, relating to resource management based on their knowledge of their own farm, prevailing weather and ground conditions.

Effectiveness has 'not been demonstrated'

NFU Cymru believes that the extent to which the existing NVZ Action Programme is effective in reducing levels of nitrates from agriculture has 'not been demonstrated.'

Mr James added: NFU Cymru recognises the clear role that farmers have to play in contributing to further and sustained improvements in water quality in the years ahead. We would emphasise, that throughout the consultation period with our members, their willingness to play their part and take action to address nitrates where agriculture is responsible has been unequivocal  farmers take their environmental responsibilities very seriously.

We are strong advocates of appropriate interventions where poor practices are responsible. It is our view that approaches to address water quality must consider the full range of issues and sectors influencing water quality, be evidence-based, provide local solutions to local problems working in partnership with industry.

Concluding Mr James said: NFU Cymru is strongly opposed to the consultation proposals as the costs associated with the implementation vastly outweigh any benefits to water quality.

NFU Cymru believes that the new legislative framework provided through the Well-Being of Future Generations Act 2015 and the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 presents opportunities and the flexibility to move forward and make progress on water quality issues on a different basis to that proposed within the consultation.

An alternative approach rather than an unwieldly EU directive will enable us to develop, grow and realise NFU Cymrus vision of a productive, progressive and profitable industry that will deliver jobs, growth and investment for Wales.
The Scottish government is leaving growers at a 'competitive disadvantage' compared to English farmers, NFU Scotland have said.

Despite a long running campaign by farming leaders, the Scottish government continues to ask for greening requirements of growers which 'go beyond' what is required at EU level.

Rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing promised to remove excess greening conditions in June but the union says he has failed to deliver.

'Greening', a major innovation brought in under the 2013 CAP reform, makes the direct payments system more environment-friendly. Farmers who use farmland more sustainably and care for natural resources as part of their everyday work benefit financially.

NFU Scotland's President Allan Bowie said: "The union remains resolutely committed to seeking changes within current greening requirements that address both Scottish Government gold-plating and the simplification agenda in Brussels.

"Despite a huge lobbying effort from officeholders, staff and members, securing changes to Scotlands interpretation of greening rules has been a long, hard slog.

"After eight months of claiming that it was acting in accordance with EU rules, the Scottish Government finally conceded in February 2016, that its requirement for EFA Green Cover to be incorporated into the soil was home-grown gold-plating.

"Faced with overwhelming evidence of the environmental benefits of no-till and minimum tillage systems, the requirement was finally dropped."

'Feet to the fire'

Fresh talks with Mr Ewing and Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham have now been requested by NFUS, and union vice-president Rob Livesey insists its 'time to hold Mr Ewings feet to the fire.'

"Its within his grasp to do something for agriculture. Roseanna Cunningham had a bit of a win, she got her own way on beaver reintroduction so we need to be getting something back for that," he said.

"Fergus is well aware of the issues, hes been on the farms and is completely sympathetic to the nonsense that surrounds greening and how it undermines the competitiveness of the Scottish arable sector so he needs to deliver."

Mr Bowie said the common-sense changes to Scottish rules would allow mechanical control of weeds, the topping of green cover and drainage work to be carried out during the fallow period, activities that have been banned on EFA fallow in Scotland during 2015 or 2016 but have been permitted in England.

"Europes approach to Greening is changing and Scotland must come into line," Mr Bowie said.

"The European Comissions proposed changes to Greening were leaked in June and contained many positive developments. The negatives included a proposal to extend the fallow period to nine months and it appears that this unhelpful rule change has been dropped.

Looking beyond Brexit, we are also putting down markers on the sort of appropriate environmental requirements that might be attached to future agricultural support. That process involves building up an evidence base on how effective existing Greening rules have been and pulling together wider evidence of the many environmental benefits that Scottish agriculture already delivers.
China is set to ban imports of poultry from countries where reports of bird flu outbreaks have been reported, according to the agency that oversees safety of the country's imports.

China has already banned poultry imports from more than 60 countries.

South Korea have ordered the biggest-ever cull of chickens, gassing millions of birds to fight a bird flu outbreak. About 20 million birds, nearly a quarter of South Korea's poultry stock, have been culled.

Since the disease was declared in Lincolnshire on the 16 December, the UK government has now confirmed all 2,500 birds at the farm have been destroyed, the farm has been disinfected and there have been no subsequent cases reported, though restrictions around the site remain in place.

Because of this, a temporary suspension on gatherings of some species of birds will apply across England, Scotland and Wales following the bird flu case at the farm in Lincolnshire.

The spread of bird flu across Europe

Reports of Avian Influenza H5N8 outbreaks in wild birds and poultry in Germany, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland have resulted in the risk level for Avian Influenza incursion to the UK via wild birds being raised from Low to Medium.

On 14 December, Dutch authorities ordered a cull of 63,000 broiler hens on after bird flu was identified at a poultry farm in the northern province of Friesland, the country's fourth outbreak so far this winter.

On 3 December, a new case of high risk bird flu was found in southern France prompting a 7000 duck cull.

On 25 November, Swedish authorities decided to cull at least 37,000 poultry after a highly contagious bird flu outbreak was confirmed on a farm in southern Sweden  but the figure may rise.

On 24 November, a case of high risk H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in the German state of Lower Saxony and about 16,000 turkeys have been culled, authorities say.

And on 18 November, following the discovery of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8 in several European countries, France decided to raise the level of risk of disease from "negligible" to "moderate".
NFU Cymru Conference: Farmers need more help to 'weather current storms'
Will Gov. Coopers veto become useless? Cumberland voters to decide

Republicans need five seats  three in the NC House, two in the NC Senate  to get carte blanche control of the state. Cumberland County voters can help that happen or prevent that from happening.
A Hong Kong based investor group has acquired designer, manufacturer and marketer of womens and kids fashion brands Kellwood Company for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition includes the My Michelle, Jolt, Rewind, Democracy, Sangria, JAX, and Briggs New York brands, as well as the XOXO apparel license, and Kellwoods private label business.After the acquisition, David Falwell has been appointed as chief executive officer of Kellwood Company. Falwell had earlier served as executive vice president of operations until 2013 at Kellwood.

A Hong Kong based investor group has acquired designer, manufacturer and marketer of women's and kids fashion brands Kellwood Company for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition includes the My Michelle, Jolt, Rewind, Democracy, Sangria, JAX, and Briggs New York brands, as well as the XOXO apparel license, and Kellwood's private label business. #

Kellwood is one of the leading apparel manufacturers in the United States, with over 50 years of history at the forefront of the apparel industry, said David Falwel. We believe that there is tremendous growth potential for Kellwoods businesses, and this acquisition will allow the company to leverage its existing relationships in Asia to grow its businesses and increase profitability.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Lenzing Group, a global supplier of high-quality, botanic cellulose fibres to the global textile and nonwovens industry, has reduced its equity stake in EQUI-Fibres Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Kelheim from 45 to 20 per cent. EQUI-Fibres is the parent company of Kelheim Fibres GmbH, which manufactures viscose fibres at its plant in Kelheim, Germany.EQUI-Fibres reported total revenue of 162 million in 2015. The transaction represents the next logical step in the Lenzing Groups implementation of its sCore TEN strategy. The buyer is a company represented by its managing directors Peter Untersperger and Gerald Schmidsberger. Untersperger is very familiar with both EQUI-Fibres and the fibre industry.

The Lenzing Group, a global supplier of high-quality, botanic cellulose fibres to the global textile and nonwovens industry, has reduced its equity stake in EQUI-Fibres Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Kelheim from 45 to 20 per cent. EQUI-Fibres is the parent company of Kelheim Fibres GmbH, which manufactures viscose fibres at its plant in Kelheim, Germany.#

On the basis of this transaction, the financial result of the Lenzing Group for the current financial year is expected to increase by about 10-15 million. The payment of the stipulated purchase price is to take place starting in 2017. (GK)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

Orange O Tec will market cutting machines, pin tables, software, hanger systems, computerised tables and air tables produced by Serkon Makina, which also offers related software, customised as per customers requirements.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

The company will market Serkons MH 1, a 3.4 metre wide fully automatic fabric spreader for home textiles, which operates at a spreading speed up to 100 metres/minute and has a spreading height of 0.25 metres with cutting device. The automatic spreader has a table width ranging from 2.8 metres to 3.6 metres with allowed fabric width available from 2.6 metres to 3.4 metres and can handle roll diametre of 0.65 metres.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

Additionally, the machine can spread woven and knit fabrics in roll or flat-fold form weighing up to 300 kg without tension and edges are aligned perfectly, while the cradle feed system tilts for easy fabric roll loading/unloading and eliminates the use of a fabric roll bar.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

For apparel producers, the Serkon MC 90 automatic fabric cutter provides the best features of a CNC cutter and cuts at a speed of 100 metre/minute with a cutting height up to 0.09 metres and a cutting width available from 1.6 metres to 2.4 metres, making it viable for wide fabrics used in manufacturing home furnishings.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

The MC 90 is integrated with Windows platform and is compatible with all CAD systems and can select the pieces not to be cut and bypass them during cutting and is a very quiet machine with noise level below 80 dBA and is a perfect complement to the MH 1.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

Common for all automatic cutters of Serkon Makina, there is a user friendly keypad which controls various machine functions at the cutter.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

We decided to be marketing partners for Serkon Makina in northern and western India after doing due diligence. We found that their products are extremely durable with a focus on quality. Additionally, we have also set up a team of highly trained technicians to provide effective and responsive after-sales service for Serkon Makina technologies, Aayush Rathi, director at Orange O Tec, said.

Surat based textile and apparel machinery marketer Orange O Tec Pvt Ltd will market machines produced by Serkon Makina in north and west India. Serkon Makina is a leading Turkish manufacturer of textile and apparel cutting manufacturing technologies and equipment. The company specialises in offering customised wide width spreaders for garment sector.#

Due to the high quality of the Serkon Makina technologies and excellent service that we will offer, we aim to grab a large slice of the market in the next 2-3 years, he added. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The ministry of textiles has decided to establish a Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre where professional queries of weavers will be answered by the experts in the field. The helpline will function from 10.00 a.m. to 6 p.m. and initially it will be provided in 7 languages viz., Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada Bengali & Assamese.

Currently, 28 Weavers Service Centres (WSCs) are functioning across the country. These WSCs provide technical assistance to handloom weavers in improving their skills. For seeking assistance, weavers have to personally visit the WSCs. As on date, there is no single point of contact where weavers can seek solutions for their technical issues/problems. The helpline aims to overcome these problems.

To set up this helpline, online bids were called by the ministry by following due e-procurement process. Bhopal based MSD (I) P. Ltd has been selected as an agency for providing Handloom Helpline Centre and LOI was issued on November 30, 2016, the textiles ministry said in a statement.

The ministry of textiles has decided to establish a 'Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre' where professional queries of weavers will be answered by the experts in the field. The helpline will function from 10.00 a.m. to 6 p.m. and initially it will be provided in 7 languages viz., Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada Bengali & Assamese.#

The call centre will be operationalised within a month. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
H.E THE PRESIDENT 2016 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE





May God Bless our beloved nation, Fiji.



Major General (Retd) Jioji Konrote

President of the Republic of Fiji

Ni sa bula vinaka, Namaste, Asalaam Alaykum, Ni Hao, Noaiae Mauri and greetings to all my fellow Fijians.Christmas is a time of great joy for Christians around the world. And even in the wake of yet another extreme weather event in Fiji which has again tested us as a people, a great many of us have gathered together today to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.As Fijians recover from the latest deluge and flooding and the loss of crops and possessions, we can all be thankful that we have been spared the loss of life that we experienced back in February after Cyclone Winston.Our thoughts today are not only with those who have suffered because of the latest Tropical Depression, but with the families of the 44 Fijians whose lives were claimed by Winston. May the peace of Christmas especially be with you and yours this Christmas Day, with all the memories it must hold of being with your loved ones in previous years. The prayers of every Fijian are with you.We take great comfort as a nation from the Christian message of hope that is embodied in the Christ child, Jesus.And whether we are Christians or members of other religions, we can all celebrate the simple truth of the Christian message. Which is one of love, tolerance, compassion and understanding.Jesus was not born amid riches and splendour. He was born to a poor couple with simple values in a stable surrounded by animals. So his values as he grew up were the values of ordinary people throughout the ages  love and respect of family, of caring for others and acknowledging a higher being. And in the case of Jesus, an especially fierce determination to fight injustice and preach the word of God.Christians believe Jesus is the son of God, who was sent to redeem our sins and prepare us all for an afterlife in the presence of our creator. So today as Christians, we worship and thank the Almighty God for his abundant and unfailing love, as embodied in his son, Jesus Christ. Or as the Holy Bible tells it:For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.The life Jesus led was one of love, tolerance and compassion. Of empowering the dispossessed and reminding everyone of their obligations to each other.As he famously said  Love one another as I have loved you. It is a wonderfully simple statement about how we should all live our lives. To put the needs of others before our own. To fight for justice for the downtrodden and dispossesed.It is a message that is common to other great religions of the world. But it is one that Christians hold especially dear on Christmas Day, as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour  the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us all rededicate ourselves as a nation on this day  Christians and the adherents of other religions  to building a Fiji built on the values that Christ embodied. Of love, peace, truth, justice and tolerance.We can count ourselves extremely fortunate as Fijians that in a world that is often marked by selfishness and indifference, we are a caring nation. Fijians care for each other and they care about the world. Whether it is sending our troops to keep the peace for the citizens of other nations. Sending our civilian volunteers to build capacity in our Pacific neighbours. Or leading the fight against the effects of climate change or the threat to our oceans and seas.Christians often ask themselves: what would Jesus do? Well we can be sure this Christmas Day that he would have supported all these things. Because it is about Fijians extending the hand of support and friendship to those who are less fortunate around the world and need our assistance.Which is why I especially ask you to pray or spare a thought for our UN peacekeepers this Christmas Day, as well as the families they have left behind.The same applies at home. And today, I want to ask you all to pray or spare a thought for the less fortunate among us. And for Christians to again ask yourselves what would Jesus do?.I believe he would ask us to do all we can to support our fellow Fijians who have suffered from the torrential rain and flooding of the past couple of weeks. He would ask us to comfort and support all those who are still struggling to recover from Cyclone Winston. And he would ask us to rededicate ourselves to the task of building an equal, just and fair Fiji.Next year promises to be one of the most momentous in our history. The world has given us the task of leading COP23 and the next phase of the fight against climate change. It has also given us the task of co-hosting the United Nations Oceans Conference and the fight against pollution and overfishing.May Almighty God make us worthy of the challenge that we have been given. And may his abundant blessings be upon us as every Fijian  whatever their beliefs  joins in celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.To each and everyone of you, my wife Sarote and our family wish you all a Blessed Christmas filled with love, unity and peace.
HABO, Sweden, Dec 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

To strategically strengthen the Fagerhult Group's position in the professional outdoor lighting market, Fagerhult has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in WE-EF based in Bispingen, Germany. This acquisition takes the Group's sales in the outdoor segment to a run-rate exceeding 100 MEUR. The acquisition is expected to have a positive effect on the earnings per share during 2017 and forward.

WE-EF designs and manufactures outdoor lighting fixtures for a wide range of lighting application sectors. The company has two factories in Germany and one in Thailand, as well as assembly plants in Australia, France and the US, and has successfully established a global sales presence with strong sales in Europe, particularly Germany and in France, as well as sales in other regions such as Australia and the US.

"WE-EF is a leading outdoor lighting brand known globally and throughout the industry as having very strong outdoor lighting solutions. Their reputation has been built up based on a long history of highly innovative, German designed and engineered outdoor lighting solutions. I am very pleased that Stephan Fritzsche and Thomas Fritzsche, will remain as Managing Directors of the company and continue to build on the strong platform that they and the WE-EF team have built. Stephan Fritzsche will assume the position of Managing Director of the WE-EF Group. With the addition of WE-EF to the Fagerhult Group we see many strong synergies, including (i) marketing and promoting WE-EF products through our distribution channels, in addition to WE-EF's existing sales channels, which will significantly strengthen the Group's outdoor lighting presence, and (ii) building on our existing presence and revenues in Germany, France, US and Australia, while also (iii) significantly expanding our presence in the Asia Pacific region", comments Johan Hjertonsson CEO Fagerhult Group.

In the year ending June 2016, WE-EF had 484 employees, consolidated sales of approximately 57 MEUR and a profitability rate in line with that of the Fagerhult Group. Fagerhult will pay 81 MEURon a cash and debt free basis for 100% of the shares of the WE-EF group companies (see below), pending approval from the German Competition Authority.

In addition, Fagerhult will also pay 5 MEUR for 100% of the shares in Flux Eclairage S.A.S. which is a French outdoor lighting company co-located with WE-EF LUMIERE in Lyon, France. Flux Eclairage had sales of approximately 5 MEUR for the year ending December 31, 2015 and 20 staff.

Both transactions are mainly financed with new credit facilities and up to 5% using existing Fagerhult treasury shares. The deal is expected to close in the 1st quarter 2017.

More information on WE-EF and Flux is available at http://www.weef.de and http://www.flux-lighting.com

WE-EF group companies included in this transaction are (Note: this includes all relevant WE-EF branded lighting operating companies)

WE-EF LEUCHTEN GmbH; Bispingen, Germany

WE-EF LEUCHTEN GmbH & Co. KG; Bispingen, Germany

WE-EF TRADING & DESIGN GmbH; Bispingen, Germany

WE- EF LUMIERE S .a.r.l.; Satolas-et-Bonce, France

.a.r.l.; Satolas-et-Bonce, WE-EF LIGHTING Co. Ltd.; Bangplee, Thailand

WE-EF HELVITICA SA; Geneva, Switzerland

WE-EF LIGHTING Ltd. Nottingham, UK

WE-EF LIGHTING Pty. Ltd.; Braeside, Australia

WE-EF LIGHTING USA LLC; Warrendale, USA

Plus

Flux Eclairage S.A.S.; Satolas-et-Bonce, France

The information contained in this press release is such that AB Fagerhult (publ) is required to disclose pursuant to the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act and/or the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication on December 23, 2016 at17.40 CET.

Habo December 23, 2016

CONTACT:

Disclosures may be submitted by

Johan Hjertonsson CEO tel: 46 36 1085 00 mobile: 46 70 229 77 93 e-mail: johan.hjertonsson@fagerhult.se

Michael Wood CFO tel: 4636 10 85 00 mobile: 46 730874647 e-mail: michael.wood@fagerhult.se

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/fagerhult/r/fagerhult-signs-an-agreement-to-acquire-we-ef,c2155697

The following files are available for download:
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/23/16 -- US Oil Sands Inc. ("US Oil Sands" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: USO), an innovator of oil extraction technologies, announces an update on its previously announced financing and the PR Spring Project (the "Project").

The Company has made application to the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") for approval of certain terms of the US$7.5 million financing (the "Financing") with ACMO S.a R.L. ("ACMO"), the Company's largest shareholder. The Exchange has indicated its approval of the Financing subject to certain conditions. The Company is working to satisfy these conditions. Should these conditions be met, the Company intends to close the Financing on or before January 6, 2017.

The Company successfully completed equipment preservation and lay-up of its oil sand extraction facility and intends to resume activities at the Project site upon completion of the Financing.

CONDITIONS OF EXCHANGE APPROVAL

As a condition of approval, the Exchange requires a majority of disinterested shareholders to provide their written consent. ACMO is the only shareholder who has an interest in the Financing and would be excluded from providing consent for purposes of satisfying this condition.

The Company has determined that holding a special meeting of shareholders to obtain approval would unnecessarily delay closing and resumption of Project activities. Accordingly, the Company has prepared a form of shareholder consent letter which provides shareholders the opportunity to provide their consent for the Financing. The Company will immediately contact its largest shareholders to request their consent.

A second condition of approval imposed by the Exchange is the consolidation of the Company's common shares (the "Consolidation"). The Consolidation was approved at the May 18, 2016 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to a special resolution to consolidate the issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for up to every 100 pre-consolidation common shares or such lesser ratio that the directors in their sole discretion determine to be appropriate. The Company has initiated the process to undertake the Consolidation of one post-consolidation common share for every 50 pre-consolidation common shares. The Consolidation is subject to receipt of all regulatory approvals.

"This is an important step for all stakeholders of the Company," said Cameron Todd, CEO of US Oil Sands. "This capital is necessary to allow the Company to proceed with the final commissioning steps and enabling us to start-up and operate the PR Spring Project. Without this Financing, the Company would not have the necessary capital to demonstrate the Company's value proposition and environmental benefits of its proprietary patented technology, both of which we believe will enhance shareholder value. This Financing is believed to be in the best interest of all shareholders. We are looking forward to making first oil early into 2017 and profitably demonstrating the Company's commercial technology."

ABOUT US OIL SANDS INC.

US Oil Sands is engaged in the exploration and development of oil sands properties and, through its wholly owned United States subsidiary US Oil Sands (Utah) Inc., has a 100% interest in bitumen leases covering 32,005 acres of land in Utah's Uinta Basin. The Company plans to develop its oil sands properties using its proprietary extraction process which uses a bio-solvent to extract bitumen from oil sands without the need for tailings ponds. The Company is in the pre-production stage, anticipating the commencement of bitumen production and sales once it has completed commissioning and start-up of the Project.

The foregoing contains forward-looking information relating to the future performance of the Company including information relating to the development and construction of the Project, expectations that the Company will complete commissioning, start-up and operate Phase 1 of the Project during 2017, and expectations relating to completion of the Financing and Consolidation on the terms contemplated herein, construction activities, capital requirements and corporate development activities. Forward looking information is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of exploration activities, changes in world commodity markets or equity markets, the risks of the petroleum industry including, without limitation, those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, title disputes, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the oil and gas industry, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities (available at www.SEDAR.com). Forward-looking statements are made based on various assumptions and on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made. In particular, forward looking statements regarding the completion of construction, commission, start-up and operation of the Project are subject to the necessary financing being obtained to complete these steps and the Financing and Consolidation is subject to negotiation of definitive agreements and obtaining all necessary approvals and waivers from the Exchange and satisfying any conditions that may be imposed by the Exchange. There is no certainty that the Financing, Consolidation or the Project will be completed within the time contemplated herein.

Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information contained herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these assumptions, beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

US Oil Sands Inc.

Cameron Todd, CEO or Glen Snarr, President & CFO

+1 403 233 9366

info@usoilsandsinc.com

www.usoilsandsinc.com



Investor Relations

Jack Copping

Manager, Corporate Development

+1 403 233 9366 ext. 27

jack.copping@usoilsandsinc.com




BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS, a company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), and its subsidiary Usiminas Commercial Ltd., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the " Issuer "), announced today that they have further extended the expiration date for the solicitation of consents (the " Consent Solicitation ") from holders of the Issuer's 7.25% Notes due 2018, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Company, and originally issued in the aggregate principal amount of US$400,000,000 (the " Notes ") (CUSIP: 91732BAA7; G93085AA9), which is being conducted pursuant to terms contained in the consent solicitation statement dated December 1, 2016 (the " Consent Solicitation Statement "). The Consent Solicitation was originally set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 15, 2016, but had been extended until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on December 23, 2016 by means of a press release issued by the Company on December 16, 2016. The Company hereby announces that the Consent Solicitation will now be open for the receipt of consents until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on January 12, 2017 (the " Further Amended Consent Date "). All references in the Consent Solicitation Statement to the Consent Date shall now be deemed to be references to the Further Amended Consent Date.

The Company is undertaking the Consent Solicitation to temporarily waive, until June 30, 2017, the Company's past noncompliance with the negative pledge covenant set forth in the indenture governing the Notes resulting from the perfection of security interests over the collateral granted to certain Brazilian bank lenders and debenture holders in the context of the renegotiation of the Company's indebtedness, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. As of 5:00 p.m. on December 23, 2016, the Company had obtained consents from the holders of 48.65% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Notes.

Any holder of Notes who has previously delivered a consent pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement does not need to redeliver such consent or take any other action. Any holder of Notes who has not yet delivered a consent should follow the instructions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement, and may use the previously distributed consent form for purposes of delivering its consent.

Except as described in this press release, all other terms described in the Consent Solicitation Statement remain unchanged. Holders of the Notes are urged to review the Consent Solicitation Statement and the related consent form for the detailed terms of the Consent Solicitation and the procedures for providing consent.

The Consent Solicitation is being made solely on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Company may, in its sole discretion, terminate, further extend or amend the Consent Solicitation at any time, as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

Questions concerning the terms of the Consent Solicitation should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) or (646) 855-8988 (collect). BofA Merrill Lynch is the Solicitation Agent for the Consent Solicitation (the " Solicitation Agent "). Requests for assistance in completing and delivering a consent form or requests for additional copies of the Consent Solicitation Statement, the consent form or other related documents should be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. (the " Information Agent "), at (212) 269-5550 (collect) or (877) 478-5045 (toll-free) or in writing at 48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10005.

Important Notice

This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Consent Solicitation Statement and related consent form. None of the Company, the Issuer, the Trustee, the Solicitation Agent, the Information Agent or the Tabulation Agent make any recommendation as to whether or not holders of the Notes should provide consents to the waiver pursuant to the Consent Solicitation. Holders of the Notes should not construe the contents of this press release, the Consent Solicitation Statement or any related materials as legal, business or tax advice. Each holder of the Notes should consult its own attorney, business advisor and tax advisor as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning the Consent Solicitation.

The Consent Solicitation is not being made to, and consents will not be accepted from or on behalf of, a holder of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Consent Solicitation or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. However, the Company and the Issuer may in their sole discretion take such action as they may deem necessary to lawfully make the Consent Solicitation in any such jurisdiction and to extend the Consent Solicitation to any holder of the Notes in such jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act. Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, risks and assumptions, since these statements include information concerning Usiminas' possible or assumed future plans and intentions, including the launching of an exchange offer, results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and Usiminas undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after it publishes this notice because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this notice might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Usiminas' actual results, plans and performance could differ substantially from those anticipated in its forward-looking statements, including those set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

About Usiminas

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS is one of the largest Brazilian steelmakers, with complementary operations in the mining and logistics, capital goods, steelmaking and steel transformation industries. Usiminas is headquartered at Rua Professor Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011, Bairro Engenho Nogueira - Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. For more information, please visit www.usiminas.com.br.

Investor Relations Department-USIMINAS

R. Prof. Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011 - 5 andar

Bairro Engenho Nogueira - Belo Horizonte/MG

ZIP Code 31310-260

Contact:

Cristina Morgan Cavalcanti

Head of Investor Relations-USIMINAS

Phone: +55 (31) 3499-8856










After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings  though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.



Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance


HOUSTON (dpa-AFX) - Halliburton (HAL) announced an agreement to settle the Erica P. John Fund class action lawsuit that has been pending in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas for over 14 years. The company will fund approximately $54 million of the $100 million settlement fund, and its insurer will fund the balance. The company noted that the Lead Plaintiff's counsel is expected to seek an award of fees and costs from the settlement fund. The class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2002 asserting claims in connection with accounting for long-term construction projects, and was amended in 2003 to include claims related to asbestos liability disclosures. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/24/16 -- Tonight at sundown, Jewish people in Canada and around the world mark the beginning of Hanukkah-the Jewish festival of light-by lighting the first candle of the menorah. This eight-day festival commemorates the Jewish people's struggle for religious freedom and their liberation from oppression. It is a celebration of the victory of light over darkness, and the possibility of miracles even during the most challenging times.

Canada was built by people of every faith, representing many cultures and a multitude of languages. We are a nation of diverse people, with roots in every corner of the world, living peacefully together.

Hanukkah is an opportunity to reflect on the blessings and freedom we enjoy, and to remember those around the world still facing tyranny and oppression.

As Minister of Canadian Heritage, I want to wish everyone celebrating Hanukkah a bright and peaceful holiday. Chag sameach.

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

Contacts:

For more information (media only), please contact:

Pierre-Olivier Herbert

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage

819-997-7788




When a man with Lord Rama in his name grows up to be Independent India's first terrorist, do we stop naming our children Nathu, Nathmal or Ram?

When an emperor named Asoka (Ashoka) murders his 99 step-brothers, throws them into Patna's Agam Kuan, has a torture chamber that entitles him to the sobriquet of Chand (fierce), kills at least one lakh people, decapitates thousands in the battle of Kalinga, does it stop us from naming every Tom, Dick and Harry after him?

When Sikander (Alexander) sacks several bastions and massacres many people in the Indian sub-continent, does it stop us from making his name a synonym for bravery and fortitude, the inspiration behind a BJP parliamentarian's son?

So, what's the big deal if Kareena and Saif Ali Khan decide to name their son Taimur, a name linked to a ferocious west Asian conqueror who also did what Nathuram, Ashoka and Sikander did  kill, conquer, wage wars?

The hysteria among some right-wing trolls over Saifeena's choice of the name for their newborn is typical of selective reading of history, deep-seated bigotry and typical rage over the fact that raiders from the West could scythe through this land of incapable warriors and kings whenever they wanted, make them fall to their knees at will. The chest-thumping trolls just can't accept that most of the kings who ruled ancient and medieval India did not have the ability to protect their empires, win wars or stand up to raiders from the west. So, they take out this frustration on an infant, in a different age and time.

Great work, people. After fighting with Pakistan, Kashmiris and then anti-nationals at home, you have stooped to the low of attacking a new-born! Now that really takes some serious kind of mental regression. In a civilised society, people would be expected to at least follow established rules of decency. Nobody drags a new-born child into their politics of hate and bigotry. What parents call their child is nobody's business. But, not in the country we call Mahaan. Here such pettiness is paraded in the name nationalism, patriotism and Hindutva. Perhaps we don't even get what may be Saif and Kareena's may be an ode to Langa Tyaagi, the unforgettable character from a film both of them starred in.

A young man from an Uzbek tribe rises from being a thief to one of the biggest conquerors of his era, in spite of physical disabilities. He leads his men to victories from India in the east to the tip of Europe in the west. He establishes an empire from Tibet to south Russia, a regime that is both feared (obviously by the craven) and respected by peers in Spain and parts of Europe. He wages wars against Hindus, Christians and Muslims from Baghdad to Turkey and massacres their armies  like Ashoka did in the battle of Kalinga  with equal ferocity. His descendant Babar, another young man synonymous with exceptional leadership skills, bravery and fortitude, establishes a dynasty that rules India for more than 300 years. What is wrong if parents want their child named after such a man?

Seriously, who would you prefer as a role model? Perhaps the Rajput king Man Singh, who surrendered to the Mughals, struck matrimonial alliances to save their empires, became leader of Akbar's armies that took on fellow-Rajputs like Rana Pratap. Our pride allows us to have a road named after him in New Delhi but the petty Indian ego gets hurt when two film stars name their son after a great warrior, leader, and a winner.

And, by the way, did Taimur not defeat a Mahmud Shah Tughlaq, a descendant of another dynasty that is believed to have put India under 1,200 years of ghulami? Oh wait, wasn't an invader defeating a Sultan whose ancestors ended the reign of Hindu kings in India supposed to be cause celebre?

Taimur, in case we missed it, is a common name in Turkey, in spite of being known as the nemesis of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, though he ravaged and razed down cities across Central Asia, in almost every country he conquered parents have been proudly naming their children after Taimur. In Uzbekistan, he is considered a hero, the architect of Samarkand, a polyglot, patron of art and culture. So, what is so special about us Indians that make us wage a Twitter jihad if a child answers to a name thousands across the world do?

Finally, the entire argument that a name should be rejected because of its history is flawed. If the criteria were to be followed across the world, there would have been no Marie (Antoinette) in France, no Ivans (the Terrible) in the UK and Josephs (Stalins) in Europe, Stalins in DMK and Sikander's in the saffron parivar.

As the Bard said: What's in a name? Whom we call Nathu Ram may not turn out to be a Maryada Purshuttom. No?
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After several delays, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will finally lay the foundation for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial statue in Mumbai on Saturday. The memorial featuers a 630 feet statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji on a horse. Around Rs 3,600 crore has been alotted to the project. It will be built on 43 acres reclaimed land in the Arabian Sea.

Visuals of PM Modi onboard the boat and performing Jal Pujan for Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial in Mumbai

USA is known for Statue of Liberty, India will be known for the Statue of Shivaji- Maharashtra CM Devandra Fadnavis https://t.co/gZpSOcYSLh pic.twitter.com/G5Pd8qd3D6

PM Modi lays the foundation stone for two additional Metro lines, and several other projects

I still recall my visit to Raigad, after I was declared the Prime Ministerial candidate by my party: PM @narendramodi

His courage was known but there are so many more aspects of Shivaji Maharaj we must know about. Look at his policies on water, finance, says Modi

Trillions of dollars will be spent on tourism in the years to come. If we can make the most of the forts Shivaji Maharaj had built, we would do a great job, the prime minister said

#ShivajiMaharaj was a multifaceted personality. So many aspects of his personality inspire us: #Modi | Live: https://t.co/gZpSOcYSLh pic.twitter.com/062HYbe7QP

Who says the country can never change? The country will change, it will improve, it will be at the forefront of the world in under three years, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi

If the corrupt people aren't afraid of Modi or the government, that is fine. But be afraid of the 1.25 crore Indians. They will defeat you with their honesty.

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a day's visit to Maharashtra on Saturday, where he will lay foundation stones for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune.

Modi will inaugurate the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management in MIDC Patalganga in neighbouring Raigad district.

He will then proceed to the site in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, where the state government is planning to build a mega memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The Prime Minister's visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away.

The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said the 'Shiv Smarak' will not only be the tallest memorial in the country, but in the entire world. He had thanked Modi for "making it possible."

Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground in suburban Bandra, after laying foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of ruling BJP, is expected to share the dais with Modi at the MMRDA event.

The PM will then leave for Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone of the Pune Metro Rail project. NCP leader Sharad Pawar will share the stage with Modi at this event.

The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

A rally was flagged off at Chembur on Saturday, where representatives from various districts gathered with collections of sand and soil from Chhatrapati Shivaji's forts across the state.

The rally led by a 'Shivaji chariot' will conclude at the Gateway of India, where the Chief Minister will receive the vase carrying water and soil from all districts of the state. This will then be handed over to the Prime Minister and carried to the memorial site.

For the MMRDA event, the government has sent out invitation to over 3,000 VVIPs and dignitaries, including members of the royal family and Shivaji historians.

Ever since it came to power in Maharashtra in October 2014, BJP has been quietly trying to usurp the near-monopoly that bickering ally Shiv Sena has held over the 17th century Maratha king for the last many years.

Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly election in 2014, BJP had used the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji for electoral gains, with a famous tagline seeking to evoke Shivaji's blessings.

The government and BJP are trying to make the memorial event a success with hoardings at important places of all districts and also through campaigns in print, TV and social media.

Meanwhile, an official said those who would accompany Modi in the hovercraft to the jalpujan and bhumipujan venue off Mumbai coast, will include Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP's Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale and BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Kolhapur Sambhaji Raje Bhosle.

With inputs from PTI
Koraput (Odisha): Maoists murdered the husband of a naib sarpanch in Odisha's Koraput district and torched at least seven vehicles engaged in road works, police said on Saturday.

A group of Maoists attacked G Appa Rao's house at Kotubu village, bordering Andhra Pradesh in Pottangi area late on Thursday night and dragged him out charging him to be a police informer.

They then reached the road construction and set seven vehicles on fire, the police said adding Rao's body was found on Friday.

Police recovered few Maoist posters of Koraput-Malkangiri-Srikakulam division of CPI (Maoist) in Odia and Telegu from the site.

The Maoists through the posters opposed the construction of a 4.5 km PMGSY road from Upper Goloru to Pedapadu in the area and warned three villagers of dire consequences if they supported the work.

Brushing aside allegations that the killed person was an informer, Koraput SP Charan Singh said probe into the incident is on.
By Divya Vijayakumar

A month ago, a friend wandered into a grocery store where she saw a vaguely familiar man staring at her. She approached him and asked if they knew each other. He said: yes. He knew her name and even rattled off a list of places where hed seen her before  at track practice, a park close to her home, a bookstore. With growing discomfort, she turned to leave when he called out to her. "It was your birthday two days ago, wasnt it? Happy birthday." This last bit of information was not even on social media.

While she was shaken by the interaction, many people didnt consider it something to worry about. After all, they countered, he wasnt harming her. In fact, he'd been nice to her and wished her happy birthday. While she chose not to go to the police, she felt unsettled for a long time after the incident.

On 17 December, Jyothi Kumari, an advocate in her 20s, was on her way to work in Bengaluru when she was murdered by Madhu, who had been stalking her for years. He had constantly harassed her when she was younger. He would follow her to college and incessantly telephone her house. He disappeared for a while when her uncle intervened but two months before the incident, Jyothi had approached the police saying that Madhu had resurfaced. He attacked her when she was in her PG and also stolen her scooter. All that the complaint yielded was a stern warning. No FIR was filed.

Jyothi is the latest in a growing number of women who have been harassed and killed by their stalkers  angry, entitled men seeking revenge after their advances were rejected. Many of these crimes also share a pattern of having been committed in public places, often as these women were travelling to or from their place of work.

Pinki Devi, a beautician in Gurgaon was stabbed to death by her stalker at a metro station in Delhi in October. S Swathi (in pic), an Infosys employee, was hacked to death by her stalker at Chennais Nungambakkam railway station in June.

With every horrific case, what becomes clear is this  stalking cannot be brushed aside as something casual. Yet there are movies and pop culture that glorify stalking, depicting it as proof that a mans persistence pays off. Just a few months ago Tamil actor Sivakarthikeyan defended stalking saying that it does not matter if in a movie the heros feelings are not reciprocated initially, if his thoughts are "pure" and if he is willing to marry the girl.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC), thankfully, was amended in 2013 to include stalking as a crime. The Section 354 of the IPC deals with attempts to outrage a womans modesty: the amendment introduced Clause 354D to specifically address instances of stalking and defines a stalker as any man who follows, contacts, or attempts to contact a woman to foster a personal interaction with her, despite her clear indication of disinterest.

Despite this, the police still often do not file a FIR under Clause 354D of the IPC but prefer Clause 354A that deals with molestation. But, 354A only covers incidents where a man initiates unwanted physical contact that is explicitly sexual, demands sexual favours, forcefully shows pornography against the will of a woman or makes sexually coloured remarks  things that may or may not happen in a case of stalking.

If my friend had indeed tried to complain to the police about the stalker in the grocery store, how effective would it have been? Journalist Arunima Mazumdar wrote of experiencing something similar when she called the police after being harassed by an old classmate, both online and offline, from 2013 to 2015. Mazumdar was made to wait for hours at the police station before an officer nonchalantly commented that Pradhan hadnt really "done" anything to her. A FIR was not filed and the stalker was let off after writing an "apology" letter.

As per the law, stalkers can receive bail if they are convicted of the crime for the first time  and this sometimes gives the offender an awful opportunity for revenge (bail can be denied only in the case of subsequent convictions for stalking). For instance, Lakshmi, a 32-year-old housewife, was stabbed to death in Delhi in September by Sanjay Kumar. He had already been arrested for harassing her but had secured bail. In 2015, Meenakshi, a teenager in Delhi, was also murdered, by Jai Prakash despite her family having lodged a complaint against him for stalking  two years before she was murdered.

So is there a law that can ensure that stalkers dont approach women after police complaints have already been made? While India does not have provisions for restraining orders in the way that the US does, prohibitive injunctions have been cited as a method of ordering a person to not interfere with anothers liberty.

Lawyer Aarti Mundkur clarifies that although injunctions are filed in civil courts, this can only be done if there is already a criminal case pending against the accused for the same. Such injunctions are rarely granted anyway. Rebecca John, a senior advocate in the Delhi High Court, also says that these civil proceedings are long drawn out and arduous. According to her, the most important concern is of enforceability  currently, there is nothing that ensures that stalkers follow injunction orders  and so these injunctions often turn out to be only scraps of paper.

A video entitled The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon went viral a few years ago  its a horror-comedy short film where a ghoulish stranger follows a man around, trying to kill him. Its funny because his weapon of choice is a spoon. All that the stranger does is to shadow him constantly, tapping away with a spoon. The victim slowly loses his sanity. His complaints to the police are not taken seriously because they sound ludicrous. Thats what stalking can feel like. Somebody whittling anothers security away with something seemingly innocuous. Somebody whose fixation transcends the fact that the other person is also human, with her own feelings and the right to not be interested.

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.
Arts blindness is often pre-empted by its need to emerge only out of the imagination. Even though no one has ever said it needs to. We can reinterpret with just as much ease what exists so commonly to the naked eye. But that ease is often directed at the commonest of common things. Foliage and pretty, tall trees precede our imagination of the environment, and it is almost always sugary and expositional rather than inquisitive. And in the age of climate change and global warming, it is imperative that it be the latter.

Sonia Mehra Chawla visited the Sundarbans a long time ago. The massive mangrove ecosystem that is now threatened by extinction, fascinated her, not just as an artist but as a person stoked by scientific curiosity as well. Critical Membrane is the result of almost five years of research and travel that reflects, and more importantly suggests an overlap between science and art.

Currently at Exhibit 320, Chawlas solo show is an exploration of equal parts science and the aesthetic that we often feel it lacks in its cache. And it isnt something that happened overnight. Chawla has travelled these forests for nearly half a decade now. There is an impending feeling of wonder, desire, fear and death in these forests that draws the observer close. These landscapes are curated by light and validated by sound. For me, they are sites of history, memory and transformation, and entry-points to various inquiries, scientific, philosophical, metaphorical and artistic, she says. Chawlas previous exhibition Scapelands in early 2015 was a precursor to this considerably layered, and advanced work. During my exhibition Scapelands in New Delhi in early 2015, I was disappointed to find that many young people had very little awareness about the importance of this fragile ecosystem, she says.

Critical Membrane owes its layered identity to the way it sidesteps between the internal and the external, the micro and the macroscopic. In the Residual series, the approach is rather journalistic, and documentarian. These are photographs of the manifest nature of these changing ecosystems; the change being that of the tragic rather than one which is stimulated by natural evolution. Most of these ecosystems, we must remember, are static unlike the wildlife in the regions with a kinetic narrative of their own. The change, therefore, is as much a state of transformation as it is the moving study of one. And Residual series serves the purpose adequately. A photograph of feet stained by what seems is oil, reminds one of human interference and the role we have played in disasters like the oil spill in Sundarbans in 2004.

Perhaps, what makes the curation, and the work as a whole, even more intriguing is its pairing of the scientific and the aesthetic. Science is interwoven into the matrix of our lives and existence and we possibly cannot distance ourselves from it. Science affects us all, every day of the year, from the moment we wake up, all day long, and through the night. I have been engaging with my audiences and have been pleasantly surprised to find that most people are able to view the works with an open mind, even those with very little understanding of mangroves, Chawla says. The Universe in Details section brilliantly coalesces these two different worlds, effectively asking us to spot the line of difference between scientific inquiry and aesthetic form.

Of this fine line, that at least in her work emerges with some sort of recognisable tilt, Chawla says, As a cultural practitioner, I like to analyse and probe cultural, philosophical and social questions connected with scientific and technological research, all of which challenge our assumptions about our relations with science, technology, and the environment. Drawing data and vital information from the fields of microbiology and biotechnology, my artistic investigation also speculates about a future where invisible biological data is uncovered; a world where what is invisible becomes visible. That such complex ecosystems exist well outside our basic knowledge framework or scientific grooming and development is something she is well aware of and bent on changing. In a way, art here is a bridging the gap to something that is often seen as its anti-dote, its unwilling competitor. And for that to happen, the experience is almost everything. I am interested in the relationship between the viewer and the artwork, and the role of the viewer within the exhibition environment, she adds.

Membrane here serves both as a metaphor and scientific anchor. Considering how mangroves play a crucial role in protecting us from natural disasters like Tsunamis and Hurricanes, they have a socially relevant existence to consider as well. An existence we would do well to learn about. In the past few years there has been a gradual increase in the awareness of the people in Mumbai and Chennai towards the preservation of mangroves. Land reclamations and industrial effluents are the major causes of mangroves degradation in these cities. Systematic dumping of all kinds of waste and debris in the mangrove areas destroys them. I feel that at this time of crisis we need to focus on the various ways we can contribute to raising awareness about preserving these ecosystems, Chawla says, where she basically underlines the other word that makes up the title of the exhibition  Critical. And it with that sentiment that Critical Membrane should not only be watched, but experienced and pondered upon, in the afterlife of all that is dead in science, but lives on in art.
Lucknow: Taking a dig at Narendra Modi's demonetisation move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav termed cashless economy as a "bigger dream" than 'achche din' and said the note ban will be an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

"The dream of cashless economy is a bigger one than achche din... it is however for the government to see how it will be realised," he said at a function to distribute cheques to the families of martyrs and 14 persons who allegedly lost their lives while standing in queues outside ATMs/banks after demonetisation.

Attacking the BJP government on note ban, Yadav, without taking names, alleged that people have been betrayed and economy harmed.

"Earlier (when the note ban was announced) people had faith, or rather confusion, that a big change will be brought... but soon after the very same people started saying that there could not have been a bigger loss to the economy... national and international economists are also writing about it.

"It is for the government to see how it will work out the losses to the GDP but it is a fact the people had to face hardships and I have said earlier too that the government which pose problems are voted out by people," he said, adding that in the coming elections those who had faced problems will stand against them.

Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to announce compensation for the families of those who allegedly died while queuing up outside banks and ATMs for long post demonetisation.

Chief Minister had earlier this month announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of 'demonetisation

victims'.

Giving examples of major risk in online transactions, Yadav said one of the accused arrested for fraudulently withdrawing money from someone's account said that he was caught because he was a "novice".

"Anyone who becomes an expert in cyber crime will never be arrested," the Chief Minister said after presenting cheques of Rs two lakh each to the families of 14 people who allegedly died while standing in bank queues.

To a question on what will be the election issue, Yadav said "Development, road, water all will be elections issues... why would note ban not be an election issue".

Taking a dig at the BJP, Yadav said he has come to know that the 'parivartan rath yatra' was attacked by those standing in bank queue in Deoria recently... They need to remain alert while taking out the rath yatra and avoid banks on the route."

When asked about alliance, Yadav said party president Mulayam Singh Yadav will decide on alliance.

"I have already said that SP is going to form a government and if we go into the polls in an alliance we will win more than 300 seats," he said.

Claiming that the next SP government will take forward the works undertaken by the present regime, Yadav said the state needs to be taken on a new direction towards development and prosperity.

Over Centre's schemes, Yadav said UP government was extending full support to central schemes saying that AIIMS was coming up in Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur only because the state provided land for it.

"But if there is any scheme which farmers do not like or feel that they will not benefit from it what can UP government do.. it is for them to explain the benefits of their scheme to farmers and take their schemes to poor... take Jan Dhan Yojna, first it was stated that it is for the poor and when money was deposited it was termed as black money," he said.

Yadav reiterated that UP has had to suffer loss worth Rs 9,000 crore after Niti Ayog came into being.
Try not to think about people who are writing facile things on the Internet. Remember the radical ancestor poets who have gone before, especially those who receive less acknowledgement than they should have, those whose genius was insufficiency recognized. When you feel paralyzed by the pointlessness of temporary fashion, or when dull or predictable work is lauded, try new things that will surprise you as you work for the joy of the process, remembering that all a writer needs are four true readers and one of them can be a tree.




Jaipur: Patidar community leader Hardik Patel on Friday claimed he was "arrested by the Rajasthan police" at the Jaipur International Airport, and prevented from meeting Arvind Kejriwal, who was also in the city, a charge the police denied as "rumour" saying he was escorted for safety reasons.

Though he was released later, the incident took place at the same time when Kejriwal was in Jaipur. According to Economic Times report, Patel told the newspaper that he was planning to meet Kejriwal.

"Kejriwal had earlier reached out to Patel in a bid to secure his communitys backing in the run-up to the assembly polls in Gujarat in 2017," the report said.

   ...

             .         ?? pic.twitter.com/lGmFHJQNFT  Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) December 23, 2016

According to The Indian Express, the Jaipur Police had prevented Patel from meeting anyone. Patel had claimed that the action was politically motivated.

"On the instructions of the Vasundhara Raje government, the Jaipur Police arrested me as soon as I got down at the Jaipur airport," he said in the first of a series of tweets.

Kejriwal had also tweeted on Friday, asking for Patel's immediate release.

Arrested? Bizarre. Vasundhara govt shud release him immediately. https://t.co/WqJqjFjmpv  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 23, 2016

However, the police denied the claims saying he was "just escorted for his own safety".

"He was neither detained nor arrested by the police. He was escorted owing to safety reasons. He had left for Udaipur right after landing at Jaipur Airport. It is purely a rumour (that he was arrested)," DCP East Kunwar Rashtradeep told PTI.

After landing at Jaipur airport, Patel, in multiple tweets alleged he was "arrested" and "the Rajasthan government and other BJP-ruled states were trying to snatch freedom (from people)".

He tweeted, "Jaipur police said the reason for my arrest, is threat to my life."

"In Independent India, attempt to snatch freedom is being made in every BJP-led state," he alleged in another tweet.

The Patidar leader also tweeted, "The Jaipur DCP said we have orders from higher authorities, you have to come with us."

With inputs from PTI


Mumbai: Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who planned to lead a 'silent' march of party workers to the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, claimed he had been placed under "house arrest" by police which denied the charge.

Mumbai Police said the personnel deployed outside Nirupam's residence were only part of the security arrangements made across the city in view of the PM's visit for launching some major projects.

"The area outside my house is under heavy police bandobast and I am being prevented from stepping out," Nirupam told PTI.

"In the present democratic set up Opposition leaders are being virtually kept under house-arrest," he alleged.

Asked about Nirupam's allegation, Mumbai Police spokesperson, DCP Ashok Dudhe. said, "We have deployed policemen across the city especially on the route of PM's convoy to maintain law and order as well as to avoid any untoward incident during his visit."

Nirupam said the morcha was planned as a peaceful march to highlight some live issues.

"We have a lot of questions for the PM. He should answer graft allegations made by our Vice President Rahul Gandhi instead of mocking him. Modi should also answer when the people will get back their right to deposit and withdraw their own hard earned money from banks. It is more than a month. Since demonetisation citizens are still suffering due to cash crunch," he said.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash accused the police of curbing the democratic rights of political rivals, which he alleged was being done at the behest of the government.

"Earlier, the government put restrictions on citizens' rights to access their money and now there are restrictions on freedom of expression as well," he said.

Condemning the "house arrest" of Nirupam, MPCC spokersperson Sachin Sawant said, "It is indeed, a black day for Indian democracy. This act confirms the fact that the BJP government has a sadist and fascist mindset, which denies the citizen's basic fundamental constitutional right to protest peacefully."

Meanwhile, former CM Prithviraj Chavan said it was wrong on part of the BJP led government in Maharashtra to 'detain' Nirupam.

"He was going to stage a protest against demonetisation in a peaceful manner. Such suppressive regime doesn't augur well for democracy," Chavan said.

Chavan, who performed a 'bhumipujan' of the Pune Metro a day ahead of the official one by PM Modi, said as per CRZ norms no construction is allowed in the sea.

"CRZ norms should have been changed before going ahead with the Shivaji memorial project," Chavan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated infrastructure projects worth Rs 1.06 lakh crore for Mumbai on Saturday, indicating that the countdown to the Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika (BMC) elections is underway. In doing so, Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also got one up over ally Shiv Sena. A slogan war followed the 'jal pujan' ceremony between workers of the two parties, but it was about the hijacking of the Shivaji figure, considered the Sena's most potent icon.

After the ceremony, Modi gave a speech where he claimed to have the support of 1.25 billion Indians in his campaign against black money, and also said the proposed Shivaji statue would become a money-spinner to drive the trillion dollar tourism industry.

Modi also initiated a slew of other infrastructural projects in Mumbai. Accompanied by a large number of BJP volunteers who had collected soil from Shivaji's forts and water from the various rivers of Maharashtra, the event was seen as a show of strength by the party, which was flexing its muscles in Sena's backyard, over the Sena's favourite icon: Shivaji.

In the weeks leading up to the event, Shiv Sena had put up hoardings claiming credit for Shivaji's legacy, and describing the event as a dream project of the late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

BJP and Shiv Sena have had alliances to form the central and the state governments, but are yet to agree upon a seat-sharing formula for the upcoming civic polls. But with BJP corporators exposing irregularities in Sena-ruled BMC, the rank and file of Sena's cadre is already jittery about the prospect of not being in power at the country's richest civic body.

At Saturday's rally, Sena workers shouted slogans in favour of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, while BJP volunteers were hailing Modi. It was up to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene and calm people from both sides down and remind them of the sanctity of the situation. Fadnavis spoke on the public address system, asking youth to stop the sloganeering and respect Shivaji. It worked for a while, but lasted only till the time Uddhav took to the stage to deliver his speech. BJP workers immediately started chanting Modi's name, prompting Sena workers to react.

Uddhav took the opportunity to urge Modi to free Shivaji's forts from the restrictions of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), so that they could be developed, give environmental clearance for the coastal road; and develop a recreational park on the eastern waterfront.

Taking a cue from Uddhav, Modi said he would ask the ASI to ease norms and allow developmental works at Shivaji's forts. He also said that the ambitious statue project had the potential of becoming a money-spinner for the country, saying symbolic and iconic attractions are always tourism magnets. Comparing it to the Taj Mahal, Modi stressed upon the need to present India's history in the right perspective, by developing ancient and iconic things that are lying neglected.

Taking a dig at the opposition parties, Modi said that the war against corruption launched by his government ever since it took over would continue unabated till the war was won. "After 70 years of experience, we have to accept that it would have been better if we would have walked the path of development, instead of furthering the kind of politics that have gained roots," he said. "Development is the only way which can tackle our problems."

He thanked people of the country for standing by him after demonetisation despite a shortage of currency notes, and warned hoarders of dire consequences.

Fadnavis countered the opposition to the Shivaji statue project, by saying, "Those who forget history, only have the present, no future." He said that it would not be just a statue but a live entity that would inspire citizens.
Islamabad: Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari has returned to the country, ending his 18-month-long self-imposed exile, amidst speculations about his future role in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has threatened a major protest against the Nawaz Sharif government.

The party has asked the government to change the interior minister and appoint a full-time foreign minister, among other demands, before 27 December or face street demonstrations.

So far, none of the demands have been fulfilled.

Zardari landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Friday afternoon and later addressed a huge rally criticising Prime Minister Sharif.

But local media was not sure about the role of Zardari who with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the co-chairman of the PPP which is the largest opposition party and also rules southern province of Sindh.

"Will Zardari take back the reins of PPP? Will he change the party's strategy in dealing with the ruling PML-N? Will his son take the back seat? These are the questions making the rounds in political circles as Zardari returned to Karachi," the Express Tribune reported. The answer to all these questions is 'no'.

This is at least what the Express Tribune has learnt from top PPP officials in background interviews.

They say Bilawal will remain the face of the party, while Zardari will act as a 'patriarch'.

Zardari, known for his wheeling and dealing, will use his political acumen to win over other political groups with his quintessential policy of political reconciliation.

The objective will be to improve the party's numerical strength in the legislatures of smaller provinces in the next general elections.

Bilawal, meanwhile, would continue to take on political rivals aggressively, mainly in Punjab, the province which decides who will rule in the Centre as almost half of the members of the National Assembly are elected from here.

Public perception of Zardari is not good. And the PPP, which is evolving under Bilawal, knows it full well. This was the reason PPP's inner circles had weighed the pros and cons of Zardari's homecoming, it said.

Some political analysts, however, see Zardari's return in the backdrop of the change in the military's high-command. Before leaving the country in June last year, Zardari had made a hard-hitting speech at a function in Islamabad. Apparently, his target was the powerful military establishment, especially the then army chief, General Raheel Sharif.

It was reported that Zardari was angered by the Rangers' actions against PPP leaders as part of the operation in Karachi.
Tunis: Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are "connected" to the Tunisian assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

A statement said the three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Friday and were members of a "terrorist cell connected to the terrorist Anis Amri". It made no direct link between the suspects and Monday's deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

The interior ministry said that Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group. "One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he

admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said.

"Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist "takfiri" ideology and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

The nephew also told investigators that Amri "sent him money through post, so that he could join him in Germany", the statement added.

The unnamed nephew was reported in the statement to have said that his uncle was the "prince" or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and know as the 'Abu al-Walaa' brigade. Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

He was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two Italian policemen who had stopped him for a routine identity check on Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station. He lightly wounded one of the policemen before being killed by the other.

The Tunisian interior ministry did not specify where the three suspects were arrested but said that the "terrorist cell" was "active" between Fouchana, south of Tunis, and Oueslatia, hometown of Amri's family in central Tunisia.
By Michelle Nichols

| UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS The United States on Friday allowed the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to wield its veto.A U.S. abstention paved the way for the 15-member council to approve the resolution, with 14 votes in favour, prompting applause in the council chamber. The action by President Barack Obama's administration follows growing U.S. frustration over the unrelenting construction of Jewish settlements on land Palestinians want for a future independent state."Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has encouraged the expansion of Jewish settlements in territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours, said in a statement.The U.S. action just weeks before Obama ends eight years as president broke with the long-standing American approach of shielding Israel, which receives more than $3 billion in annual U.S. military aid, from such action. The United States, Russia, France, Britain and China have veto power on the council.The resolution, put forward by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and Trump, was the first adopted by the council on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.The U.S. abstention was seen as a parting shot by Obama, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Netanyahu and whose efforts to forge a peace agreement based on a "two-state" solution of creating a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel have proven futile.Obama also faced pressure from U.S. lawmakers, fellow Democrats as well as Republicans, to veto the measure, and was hit with bipartisan criticism after the vote. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, took the extraordinary step by a U.S. president-elect of personally intervening in a sensitive foreign policy matter before taking office, speaking by telephone with Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before Egypt, another major U.S. aid recipient, dropped the resolution.Trump wrote on Twitter after the vote, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.""There is one president at a time," Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, told reporters, dismissing Trump's criticism.Outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the resolution. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called on Israel to "respect international law."

But Netanyahu said, "At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall 'occupied territory.'"Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees.'NO LEGAL VALIDITY'

The resolution demanded that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem" and said the establishment of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."The White House said that in the absence of any meaningful peace process, Obama made the decision to abstain. The last round of U.S.-led peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

"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," Rhodes said.American U.N ambassador Samantha Power said the United States did not veto it because the resolution "reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with U.S. policy across Republican and Democratic administrations."Successive U.S. administrations of both parties have criticized settlement activity but have done little to slow their growth.The Obama administration has called settlement expansion an "illegitimate" policy that has undermined chances of a peace deal.The Security Council last adopted a resolution critical of settlements in 1979, with the United States also abstaining.

The passage of Friday's resolution changes nothing on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians and likely will be all but ignored by the incoming Trump administration.But it was more than merely symbolic. It formally enshrined the international communitys disapproval of Israeli settlement building and could spur further Palestinian moves against Israel in international forums.PALESTINIAN SAYS U.N. MOVE 'BIG BLOW' TO ISRAEL POLICY

Trump is likely to be a more staunch supporter of Netanyahu's right-wing policies. He has picked a hardline pro-Israel ambassador and vowed to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in what would be a major reversal of long-standing American policy.The U.N. action was "a big blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements and a strong support for the two-state solution," a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa."This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation, and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel," Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, said he had no doubt the incoming Trump administration and Ban's successor as U.N. chief, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, "will usher in a new era in terms of the U.N.'s relationship with Israel."After the vote, Netanyahu instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return to Israel for consultations. He also ordered the cancellation of a planned visit to Israel by Senegal's foreign minister and the cancellation of all aid programs to Senegal. (Writing by Will Dunham and Yara Bayoumy; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Lesley Wroughton and Susan Heavey in Washington, Matt Spetalnick in New York and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
US President-elect Donald Trumps latest tweet has sent America into a tailspin. Trump said that he wants America to "greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes". His tweet set alarm bells ringing across the world.

The non-proliferation community, as well as political commentators, took this to mean the start of a new and dangerous nuclear arms race between the US and Russia. The concern is that the carefully calibrated non-proliferation agenda painfully put in place will be now at risk.

The hue-and-cry has led to the Trump team scrambling to reassure all concerned that the President-elect was talking about keeping nuclear weapons away from terrorists. How the tweet fits into this explanation is not known, but the fact remains that the transition team is trying their best to reassure Americans that Trump is voicing the common international concern about terrorists getting their hands on nuclear material.

But Indias non-proliferation activist Achin Vinayak believes that Trump as president will be no different from Barak Obama, so far as Americas weapons and nuclear programmes go.

"I expect Trump to follow a similar course. What Trump tweeted was in keeping with the Obama policy of expanding the scope and accuracy of the US nuclear weapons, he said.

So, whats all this fuss about Trump being a nuclear hawk? Or, putting it in another way, Obama is no nuclear dove.

Barak Obama began his first term as US president as the darling of the powerful non-proliferation groups across the world. He was a great advocate of a nuclear-free world. His speech in Prague in 2009, when he spoke of the elimination of all nuclear weapons and his commitment to work for that, possibly won him the surprise Nobel peace prize, so early in his presidency. But, besides holding a Nuclear Summit and getting Iran to sign the multilateral nuclear agreement, his presidency has achieved very little on the nuclear front. Instead, he has asked for one trillion dollars to modernise the US nuclear arsenal, spread over the next thirty years. This nuclear programme would mean new cruise missiles, advanced nuclear submarines, a deadly variety of Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), a better variety of long-range bombers and more deadly nuclear submarines. He has also continued with president George Bushs Ballistic Missile Defence Programme and promoting NATO expansion to Russias doorsteps.

The missile defence shield that smaller US allies in Europe want has led to latent Russian fears of the balance of nuclear power shifting to Washington. Russia and China fear that the US missile defence shield can be used to launch attacks on targets in their territory if the need arises. This has naturally led to both Russia and China working towards developing their own variant of nuclear weapons to counter the US. The sum total has been the weaponisation and militarisation of outer space.

Considering all that Barak Obama has already done, Trump's tweet has led to unnecessary sound and fury. "Trump will go ahead with what the Obama administration has already outlined," Vinayak said.

In short, there is no need to get all hot and bothered about the Trump tweet. Obama, despite his previous commitment to a nuclear-free world, has gone ahead and pushed for a massive nuclear weapons programme in the US. Trump is merely echoing Obama.

Of course, with Trump nothing is predictable. But, whether he really believes in upping the nuclear ante is not certain. His actions as the president may be very different from what he is tweeting at the moment. If he goes ahead and revokes the agreement with Iran, that would be a big blow. By all accounts, Trump is likely to pull out of the agreement. But once the US does that the P5 + 1 ( US, Russia, China, France, UK and Germany) deal will be meaningless, as Germany, France and the UK having used to follow Washingtons lead, are likely to do so. So, the line up will be Russia, China and Iran against the US and its allies. The process is already on, with Iran and Russia aligning with Syrias President Bashar-al-Asad. Much of the blame for the Syrian crisis has to do with the European support for regime change in Syria. France was one of the biggest advocates for change.

Meanwhile, the practical businessman Donald Trump has already said that North Korea will go ahead with its nuclear programme and there is little others can do to stop it. He had at one time also talked about Japan building its own nuclear system. For the moment everything is up in the air, and until Trump takes over, the rest can only speculate. But taking his recent tweet as a break in US nuclear policy is unfair and unwarranted.
By Philip Pullella

| ROME

ROME Security was heightened for the Christmas weekend in Italy and at the Vatican on Saturday after Italian police killed the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack while other European cities kept forces on high alert.In France, Britain and Germany, which have all been targets of Islamist militant attacks, police increased their presence at tourist spots in major cities and other densely populated areas.Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian suspected of carrying out the truck attack which killed 12 people, was shot dead in a town near Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check.He had travelled undetected to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europe's open-border Schengen pact. As investigators sought to determine if Amri had accomplices in Italy, and associates were being arrested in his home country of Tunisia, national security officials in Italy beefed up security at sensitive spots.Rome authorities banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather.At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres (yards) along streets leading to the Vatican.Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services.In France, where Islamist militants killed 130 people in shooting and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security measures being enforced at churches.

Emergency rule has been in place since the Paris attacks, and French soldiers patrol the capital's streets. Police have been given wider search and arrest powers to target suspects considered a threat to security.In Germany, federal police reinforced armed patrols at airports and rail stations, officials said. They have also reintroduced spot checks on people coming into Germany along a 30-km (19 miles) corridor inside the international frontiers.German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has said the danger of an attack in Germany remains high despite the death of the suspected attacker. More than 100 investigators would be working through the holidays searching for any accomplices or support network for Amri. "The level of threat remains high," he told reporters late on Friday.Britain is on its second-highest threat level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.

Police there have increased security at a number of popular tourist attractions, including around Queen Elizabeth's London residence, Buckingham Palace. Armed officers patrol major shopping centres, Christmas markets and places of worship.RECONSTRUCTING MOVEMENTS

After reconstructing Amri's movements since he drove a truck through a festive market in Berlin on Monday, police are investigating whether he was seeking shelter from comrades in Italy or was en route to another country.The town near Milan where Amri was killed, Sesto San Giovanni, is home to a sizeable Muslim community and is a departure point for buses to southern Italy, eastern Europe and the Balkans.

In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Tunisian security forces on Saturday arrested three suspected militants, including Amri's nephew, who had been in touch with Amri by social media messaging.Spain's interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said its intelligence services were investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19. Amri originally came to Europe in 2011, landing with other migrants on the island of Lampedusa, and spent four years in an Italian jail for trying to set a school on fire in Sicily.German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amri's criminal past."Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum," Germany's de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.Italians have been moved by the story of 31-year-old Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who survived two heart operations only to be killed in the truck attack in Berlin, where she was living. (Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin, Sonya Dowsett in Madrid, Maya Nikolaeva in Paris, Guy Faulconbridge in London; Writing by Richard Balmforth)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON U.S. federal authorities cautioned local law enforcement on Friday to be aware that supporters of Islamic State have been calling for their sympathizers to attack holiday gatherings in the United States, including churches, CNN reported.The warning, issued in a bulletin to local law enforcement, said there were no known specific, credible threats, CNN said.The notice from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security was issued out of an abundance of caution after a publicly available list of U.S. churches was published on pro-Islamic State websites, CNN said.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Islamic State sympathizers "continue aspirational calls for attacks on holiday gatherings, including targeting churches," CNN quoted the bulletin as saying. The notice describes different signs of suspicious activity for which police should be alert, it said.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The passengers from a hijacked Libyan flight that was diverted to Malta have left the Mediterranean island and are returning home.

Malta's interior minister, Carmelo Abela, said the passengers left Malta early Saturday.

Two Libyan hijackers had diverted the domestic flight Friday to demand asylum in Europe and create a new political party in honor of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, officials said.

After hours of negotiations, the standoff ended peacefully with the hijackers freeing all 117 people on board and walking off the plane to surrender.

The passengers were subsequently interviewed by officials.

Malta police said it was most likely the two hijackers, who had threatened to blow up the plane with hand grenades, would be arraigned on Saturday.
ELKO  When Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital was lacking an OB/GYN, the hospital was able to find a couple of doctors to fill the position who also happen to be a couple themselves.

Doctors Radhika Sharma and Scott Curtis are married to each other and have filled a valuable need in the womens health department at the hospital.

Curtis is originally from Pocatello, Idaho, and was training with Sharma in Ohio. Sharma is originally from Toronto and since working in Canada was not a realistic option for the couple, they begin to explore the option of working closer to Idaho.

Sharma said NNRH was a good place for her and Curtis to start their careers after their residency.

We liked the town. It was very charming to us. Everyone was welcoming and friendly from the very beginning, she said. Obviously we heard about the need that was here for obstetrics and gynecology. What better way to start our lives and meet the need of the community?

Sharma and Curtis both worked together previously and regularly shared patients when they were training. Even though it may be awkward for a couple to work together, Sharma said working with her husband actually makes both of their jobs easier.

We actually work pretty well together, she said. We can separate the medical and the personal. Its nice to have someone who you trust on many levels. I dont have to learn how to trust my partner.

Curtis echoed those sentiments and recalled an instance when the two performed a difficult surgery on a patient where having Sharma to assist him helped them complete the operation successfully.

Without having Radhika there with me, I dont know that I could have done that surgery because you really want to have surgeons across the table that know exactly how the procedure is done.

NNRH Director of Marketing Steve Burrows said he was excited to have two doctors who are already used to working with each other but added that hes enjoyed getting to know them on a personal level as well.

Personally its been fun just because they have a great sense of humor. Just hanging out with them is fun, he said. It was also cool to see Dr. Curtis out there on the dance floor at our Christmas party. Its cool to have some doctors whove got some dance moves.

Having two people who are able to assist each other in the operating room is useful but Curtis may be working on his own in the delivery room if he wants to start a family. Curtis and Sharma have discussed the idea of him delivering his own baby and after initially being hesitant, he said he is warming up to the idea.

A delivery would be fun. One of our other residents delivered his own babies, he said. You have another doctor on standby in case anything goes wrong. At the time I thought it was crazy but now I think it would be kind of fun.

With Sharma still working to get into the country, Curtis found himself delivering his first baby at NNRH without his wifes help.

Jessie Bahr of Spring Creek was expecting her third child when she went into NNRH. After already establishing a relationship with a doctor, she was initially nervous about being turned over to a new physician when her baby was due.

Despite her initial concern, Bahr said Curtis immediately made her feel at ease.

He was there the whole time, which obviously makes you feel comforted because at any time you could be fully dilated and ready to go, she said. Hes one of those people thats instantly likeable and you instantly feel comfortable with.

Sharma said her Canadian citizenship became a hurdle in starting her tenure at NNRH, even though she studied medicine in the United States. She praised the staff for being flexible and helping her get paperwork in order so she could start working and assisting Curtis while he was the only OB/GYN on call.

Curtis said it was difficult working without Sharma.

When youve got those difficult patient cases you want someone to bounce ideas off of, he said. When I was out here alone in a rural community where the same services I had in the bigger cities werent available, suddenly you realize how important another person is. We had a lot of phone calls.

Sharma and Curtis are new to the community but Sharma said she hopes to establish strong relationship with her patients and make them feel comfortable in what can be a stressful time.

Its a vulnerable time in a womans life and you want someone who you trust. You want someone who is present and available, she said Were busy but were always going to be available for our patients. Thats what we want to model our office around.

Its nice to have someone who you trust on many levels. I dont have to learn how to trust my partner.  Dr. Radhika Sharma
MOSCOW Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gave an update on the investigation into the killing of the Russian ambassador in Ankara in a phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Friday which also covered the Syrian crisis, the Kremlin said.The envoy, Andrei Karlov, was shot dead on Monday by an assassin who shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "Don't forget Aleppo". He was buried with military honours in Moscow on Thursday."The President of Turkey informed Vladimir Putin about how the investigation of the murder of the Russian ambassador to Turkey was going," the Kremlin said in a statement."The close cooperation between Russian and Turkish law enforcement and special services was noted," it said.

On the Syrian crisis, the two men expressed satisfaction with the end of the operation in Aleppo."This has meant that favourable conditions have been created to start the peace process, assuming there will be a cessation of hostilities across the whole territory of Syria and a transition to a political settlement," it said.

Russian news agencies reported earlier on Friday that one Russian military police battalion, fully staffed with contract service members, had been deployed from the Hmeimim air base in Syria to Aleppo.

The battalion will help local officials with law enforcement, the defence ministry was quoted as saying by RIA news agency. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Richard Balmforth)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: The US has defended its decision to refrain from vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement building in Palestine, saying the unusual step was taken only after all negotiating options to pursue a two-state solution were exhausted.

President-elect Donald Trump meanwhile slammed the outgoing Obama administration for abstaining from voting. "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th," he tweeted.

In a move seen as a diplomatic rebuke to its closest Middle East ally, the United States had decided not to veto the resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, introduced in the UN Security Council by Egypt.

"The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," said Secretary of State, John Kerry.

"One of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity  which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that condemns settlements  puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence," Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor told reporters during a conference call yesterday afternoon.

"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," Rhodes said in defence of the decision.

Describing this as a rebuke to Israel, The Washington Post said decision not to veto reflected frustration from the Obama administration over the settlements and defied pressure from Trump. A day earlier, Trump, in a tweet, had asked the US to veto the resolution.

Rhodes stressed that the US had exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, discussions and confidence-building measures.

"We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table. So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution," he said.

The Deputy National Security Advisor said the US does have concerns about the UN as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state," he said.

Obama's abstention however came under withering criticism from across bipartisan lines.

"Today's passage of an ill-conceived resolution on Israeli settlements marks another shameful chapter in the bizarre anti-Israel history of the United Nations," said Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"The abstention of the United States has made us complicit in this outrageous attack, and marks a troubling departure from our nation's long, bipartisan history of defending our ally Israel in the United Nations. This resolution will serve as yet another roadblock to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and embolden the enemies of Israel," he said.

House Democratic whip Steny H Hoyer also expressed his deep disappointment over the abstention.

"Blaming Israel for the continuation of the conflict is not only wrong and unjust; it will also do nothing to move the parties closer to a peaceful and lasting solution. I join in expressing my very significant disagreement with the Administration's decision to abstain," he said.

"Refusing to veto an anti-Israel UN resolution will do absolutely nothing to promote peace in the region and only continue this Administration's policy of undermining our allies," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power defended the step saying the United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transitional period.

"Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks.

"Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated," she said.

The powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee said it was deeply disturbed by the "failure of the Obama Administration to exercise its veto to prevent a destructive, one-sided, anti-Israel resolution from being enacted" by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
ELKO  Joshua Tree Organization is thanking those who generously donated items to the Creche Exhibit for the communitys homeless.

As our organization moves forward in building a facility for the homeless in 2017, we at Joshua Tree are grateful to those who possess empathy and compassion towards those living on the streets, said Jennifer Kidwell of Joshua Tree.

More than 700 items were donated during the interfaith Creche Exhibit, from hand and toe warmers to clothing and coats to blankets, tarps and flashlights, as well as several hundred dollars worth of gift cards.

Many made extra efforts to make contributions, such as the Cub Scouts who made heater cans from tuna cans, and the Spring Creek neighborhood which collected items prior to the exhibit and brought in a large box of items.

Kathy Edwards, humanitarian specialist for the Elko NV West Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said she was pleased and felt good about the volume of contributions that were made this year.

The donated items from the Creche Exhibit are distributed to the homeless Christmas Day during the community dinner, as well as thoughtout the year.

Please consider further supporting Joshua Tree Organization as we move to constructing a facility for those in need, said Kidwell.

Visit their website at www.JoshuaTreeShelter.org for more information.
Several app and game developers have cut the price of their apps for the holiday season. Here are some of the popular apps and games that are on sale for as low as Rs. 10 or $0.99 in the US. Since Google Play now has support for Net banking, you can easily pay from your bank account. Idea users can easily pay from their pre-paid balance or add the purchase to their post-paid bill.

Top Android apps on sale on Google Play

Top Android games on sale on Google Play

Most of these are limited period offers, so buy them before the sale ends. Do you have any recommendations? Let us know in the comments below.

[Update: Added new Apps and games]
If there's one thing American taxpayers fear more than owing money to the IRS, it's being audited. But before you picture a mean, scary IRS agent busting into your home and questioning you till you break, you should know that in reality, most audits aren't actually a big deal. Most of the time, a tax audit involves answering additional questions the IRS has by mail; it's uncommon to actually meet with an auditor in person. But if you are among the few who wind up face-to-face with an auditor, knowing what to expect and what to do can make the process run smoothly.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Tax audits by mail

The vast majority of tax audits -- more than 75%, in fact-- are conducted by mail. These audits are known as correspondence audits, and they typically come up when the IRS has questions or wants additional documentation to back up your return. Often, submitting paperwork by mail will be enough to bring the matter to a close. You won't ever need to have so much as a brief conversation with a live IRS representative.

In-office tax audits

In some cases, you may be required to attend an in-person audit at a local IRS office. In-office tax audits are necessary when the IRS needs a more detailed explanation than what a document or receipt can provide. If you're chosen for this type of audit, you may need to bring specific documentation along to review. You also have the right to bring along an accountant or attorney for representation, though this isn't always necessary.

Field audits

Field audits are generally considered the most daunting of the bunch. During a field audit, an IRS agent will come to your home or place of business and conduct a more in-depth investigation of your return. Field audits are typically necessary when a return raises major red flags, or when the IRS has numerous questions about a return.

Tax audit outcomes

Many people assume that audits are designed to get them into trouble, but this doesn't always happen. There are several outcomes that can arise following an audit. In many cases, the IRS will agree that your documentation answers its questions and accept your return as-is. In other situations, the IRS might propose changes to your return, at which point you have the right to agree or contest. If you opt for the latter, you may need to meet with an IRS representative to further discuss your case or request a formal appeals conference.

Now, you should know that almost 90% of audits result in a change to the tax return that was originally filed. That said, those changes could work out in your favor. While it's less common for the IRS to find that you underpaid your taxes, in 2015, over $1 billion in refunds was distributed to taxpayers who underwent audits. Additionally, 9% of field audits and 12% of correspondence audits resulted in no tax return changes whatsoever.

Surviving an in-person audit

If you are among the unlucky few who wind up dealing with the IRS face to face, it's natural to be worried or intimidated. If you bring an accountant or attorney along, that professional will be there to guide you and, ideally, do much of the talking. But if you're going it alone, here's what to do.

First, whether you're meeting with an IRS agent at home or at a field office, get organized beforehand and come prepared with all of your records and documentation. That said, only present information relevant to the issues at hand or questions being asked. The last thing you want to do is open up an additional can of worms and subject yourself to further scrutiny.

Furthermore, don't be rude to the agent you're meeting with or argue excessively. Even if you have nothing to hide, you'll come off as overly defensive, which could arouse further suspicion.

Finally, do not make the mistake of justifying an error by pointing out that you've always done things that way in the past. The IRS has three years to initiate an audit following the date of each filed return. Pointing out an erroneous deduction you've taken in the past isn't going to get you off the hook this year; if anything, it could prompt the IRS to examine your previously filed returns.

In an ideal world, we'd all file our taxes and be done with them. But if that doesn't happen, don't panic if you do get audited. Most of the time, the audit process is quick and painless, and if you're honest on your tax return to begin with, you stand an even greater chance of coming out unscathed.

The $15,834 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: One easy trick could pay you as much as $15,834 more...each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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For years, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has been trying to invent a better way to launch rockets into space. Instead of launching from Earth in a fiery blast and a cloud of dust, Virgin Galactic aims to carry a "SpaceShipTwo" spaceship into the stratosphere, strapped to the belly of a "WhiteKnightTwo" mothership -- then detach the former from the latter, and rocket to 62 miles above sea level.

If Branson can succeed in the endeavor, he'll build a space tourism business enabling well-heeled thrill-seekers able to afford the $250,000 ticket to enjoy several minutes of weightlessness on the edge of space.

But Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA) can push them right past that edge, and actually into orbit.

Orbital ATK's Stargazer -- carrying a Pegasus rocket on its tummy. Image source: Orbital ATK.

Space tourism isn't Virgin Galactic's only business. "Leveraging" its work with SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo, Virgin says it's also building a business to service the small satellites revolution. As the company explains on its website, it won't be long before Virgin can put satellites into orbit by air-launching them with a "LauncherOne" rocket carried by a Boeing 747-400 mothership.

But here's the thing: Orbital ATK is already doing that.

Been there, done that

Orbital is already an established provider of terrestrial launch services -- rockets blasting directly from Earth to space. But Orbital also does air launches. Last week, Orbital announced its latest launch of a small satellite into space from an airborne aircraft, a mission it has conducted successfully 29 times in a row since 1997. The 61-pound Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, satellite that it launched will be the first of an eight-satellite NASA constellation used to forecast the formation of tropical storms.

Orbitalloaded CYGNSS aboard a Pegasus rocket, carried on the underbelly of a Lockheed Martin L-1011 aircraft -- one dubbed "Stargazer" by Orbital ATK. Then, at an altitude of 39,000 feet, Orbital detached the Pegasus, ignited its engine, and blasted it, and CYGNSS, into orbit.

Space is hard

Now here's where things get interesting from an investing perspective: Virgin Galactic has from time to time floated plans to IPO the company, following in the footsteps of Branson's Virgin America airline (which had its IPO in 2014, rocketed in value, and was ultimatelyacquired by Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK)). Presumably, Branson would prefer to notch a few successes with the company, though, before taking Virgin Galactic public.

Unfortunately, Virgin's space tourism business hit a rough patch when its SpaceShipTwo crashed during test flights in 2014, and it still hasn't fully recovered. But now, Virgin's LauncherOne business offers a second path to profits. Virgin is promising to offer launch prices as low as $10 milliononce it has the system up and running -- a mere fraction of the $50 million-plusthat Orbital charges. That price point promises to win a lot of business from small-satellite operators -- and, potentially, to disrupt Orbital ATK's air-launched satellites business.

On the other hand, it took Orbital ATK several years to work out the kinks of air-launched rockets-to-orbit. In fact, in its early years, Pegasus experienced in excess of a 20% failure rate, losing multiple valuable payloads before figuring out how to make the process work. Assuming Virgin Galactic faces a similar learning curve, it could be some years before its business matures enough to reassure investors and support an IPO.

Meanwhile, Orbital ATK just keeps extending its lead -- and collecting $50 million a launch.

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According to recent media reports, the U.S. Navy has just floated a plan to grow its battle fleet from the current 273 warships to 355 -- an increase of 82 ships. So file this story under "one down, 81 to go."

On Monday, the Pentagon issued its regularly scheduled daily digest of contracts awarded to defense contractors. Topping the list was a $1.46 billion award to Huntington Ingalls (NYSE: HII) to proceed with construction of USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).

LPD 17 -- lead ship of the San Antonio class -- at sea. Image source: U.S. Navy.

USS Fort Lauderdale and its maker

Described as an "amphibious transport dock," Fort Lauderdale belongs to a class of warships designated LPD (for "landing platform dock"), and that is sometimes referred to as the "LPD 17-class" (so named because the lead ship of the class was LPD 17), and other times as a "San Antonio-class ship" (because LPD 17 is named the USS San Antonio). Its purpose is to carry hovercraft, amphibious tanks, helicopters, and tilt-rotor aircraft filled with Marines to assault hostile beachheads. Huntington Ingalls is the sole builder of San Antonio-class warships in the U.S.

That being the case, it's no great surprise that Huntington Ingalls was chosen to build this ship. Still, the contract is great news for the company, which up until last year had been worrying no one would get to build the new LPD -- because the Navy would not order it. These worries faded a bit last year, when the Navy gave Huntington a small down payment to begin purchasing parts needed to build the warship. Now the worries have been laid permanently to rest, with the award of the full construction contract.

Huntington Ingalls Stock Market capitalization $8.6 billion Revenue $7.1 billion Net profit $426 million

Data source: Yahoo Finance.

At the same time, the news is pretty great for taxpayers. Last we heard, the Navy was estimating LPD 28 would cost it as much as $2 billion to build. Instead, the $1.46 billion award announced Monday, which "subsumes" the Navy's initial $270 million down payment, appears to offer taxpayers a 25% discount off the initially expected price.

But what does it mean for investors?

What it means for investors

San Antonio-class warships come out of Huntington's Ingalls shipbuilding unit, the smaller of the company's two main business units, but by far the more profitable. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Ingalls-built ships earn robust 17.3% operating profit margins for Huntington -- nearly twice the 9% operating profit margin at the company's other business, Newport News.

That being the case, even at the cut-rate price Huntington is offering the Navy, investors can expect to see Huntington reap profits of as much as $252 million from this single contract -- nearly 60% of the net profit Huntington Ingalls generates from its entire business over the course of a year.

Should you buy Huntington Ingalls stock?

Granted, these profits will actually be spread over six years' time (the Pentagon has set an October 2021 completion date for Fort Lauderdale's construction). Even so, winning this contract is clearly a big deal for Huntington Ingalls. But is it a big enough deal to justify buying the stock?

Not necessarily. To know whether Huntington Ingalls stock is a buy, you need to look beyond any one contract, no matter how profitable, and examine the valuation of the stock as a whole. So let's do that:

Huntington Ingalls Stock Price-to-earnings ratio 20.6 Price-to-free cash flow 13.6 Price-to-sales 1.2 Projected 5-year growth rate 27.5% Dividend yield 1.3%

Data sources: Yahoo Finance,S&P Global Market Intelligence.

As you can see, Huntington Ingalls' valuations are all over the place. On one hand, the stock's price-to-sales ratio -- 1.2 -- sits uncomfortably above my usual rule of thumb for investing in defense stocks, that the P/S ratio be 1.0 or lower. Huntington's dividend yield is also a bit low for a defense contractor. Archrival General Dynamics, for example, pays 1.7%, while Lockheed Martin -- also a force in naval shipbuilding -- pays a much more generous 2.9% dividend yield.

On the other hand, though... just look at that growth rate! 27.5% growth, if Huntington achieves it, is sufficient to justify a lot of otherwise unacceptable valuation ratios, and certainly fast enough growth to render a 20.6 P/E ratio -- much less a 13.6 P/FCF ratio -- acceptable. The key will be to see if Huntington Ingalls can achieve the growth rates that Wall Street is expecting from it.

At the very least, the $1.46 billion that Huntington will collect from the USS Fort Lauderdale contract should help make that growth rate more achievable.

(For more on this story, tune back in to The Motley Fool bright and early tomorrow).

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Rich Smithdoes not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him onMotley Fool CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handleTMFDitty, where he's currently ranked No. 346 out of more than 75,000 rated members. Follow him on Facebookfor the latest in defense news.

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Image source: Getty Images.

What happened

Oil prices meandered along for most of the week, basically ending where they began. That said, there was still plenty of optimism in the oil market to go around, which drove several oil-related stocks up by double digits this week. Leading the ascent, according to data fromS&P Global Market Intelligence, wereKosmos Energy (NYSE: KOS), Gastar Exploration (NYSEMKT: GST), Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE: PES), Carbo Ceramics (NYSE: CRR), and Fairmount Santrol (NYSE: FMSA):

KOS price data by YCharts.

So what

Fueling Kosmos Energy's big move this week was the announcement that it struck a partnership with British oil giant BP (NYSE: BP) to help it develop discoveries offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Under the terms of the deal, Kosmos will receive an up-front cash payment of $162 million, a $221 million drilling carry, and BP will pay up to $533 million toward the front-end engineering and design study for the Tortue gas project. In exchange, BP will receive an interest in several offshore exploration blocks. This transaction represents a win for both companies because Kosmos receives a cash infusion along with a strong financial partner, while BP gains early access to a compelling basin.

Meanwhile, Gastar Exploration jumped amid growing optimism surrounding the company's position in the STACK play of Oklahoma. It is a leading producer in the play, which the market is starting to recognize as one of America's premier resource basins. Also fueling Gastar Exploration's rise this week is the rumored sale of closely held STACK producer Staghorn Petroleum, which an analyst at Canaccord Genuity saw as a potential catalyst for the company due to the proximity of their acreage positions.

Pioneer Energy Services did not have any company-specific catalysts' fueling its double-digit rise this week. If anything, the oil-field service company's stock seems to be recovering from a dilution induced sell-off earlier this month. That is after Pioneer Energy Services chose to take advantage of its surging stock price following the OPEC announcement to raise cash and pay off debt. The company sold more than 12 million shares, netting it $65.4 million in cash, which it will use to pay off more than half of the $111.5 million of outstanding borrowings under its $175 million revolving credit facility. Investors are starting to realize that this increasing financial flexibility could help Pioneer capture opportunities as the oil market starts to recover.

Image source: Getty Images.

Finally, an analyst upgrade was the primary cause of the rally in frack sand producers Carbo Ceramics and Fairmont Santrol. Piper Jaffray boosted Fairmount Santrol's rating to overweight and increased the price target from $10 to $14.25 while also lifting Carbo Ceramics to neutral. Driving those upgrades was the view that frack sand volumes will be up significantly in 2017 due to improving market fundamentals in the U.S. shale industry.

Now what

The oil market is cautiously optimistic that industry conditions are on the upswing. Major oil companies are starting to open their wallets for offshore drilling deals, while hot shale plays like the STACK are drawing more attention. These catalysts should lead to increased drilling activities, which is great news for oil-field service companies and frack sand producers. That said, investors need to be wary of chasing these rallies given that OPEC fueled much of this recent optimism, which is concerning given its spotty history of following through with agreements.

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Doctors connected with the research and development of new medications said Wednesday that despite the fact that Hispanics make up 16 percent of the U.S. population, they account for only 1 percent of the people taking part in clinical trials.

The low participation rate of minorities in general in medical trials is a negative factor affecting the general long-term health of U.S. society.

At a press conference in Washington, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, and the National Minority Quality Forum launched the "I'm In" campaign to help achieve greater racial diversity in clinical trials.

"What we're seeking is to get these research centers closer to the places where our Hispanic communities are," Dr. Carlos Cardenas, CEO of Doctors Hospital in Edinburg, Texas, told EFE news agency.

He said that one of the main reasons for the low Hispanic participation rate in clinical studies is the lack of a definitive outreach strategy.

He explained that Mexican-Americans and people born in Puerto Rico are more prone to suffer from type 2 diabetes, one reason why it is important that they participate as volunteers in the development of new medications to treat that chronic disease.

"PhRMA and our member companies are committed to raising awareness and increasing participation in clinical trials, particularly among historically underrepresented populations," John Castellani, president and CEO of the industry group, said Wednesday.

He pointed out that African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Hispanics are significantly underrepresented in tests of new drugs.

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The border isnt a barrier to Dr. Ariel Ortiz Lagardere.

A bariatric (i.e., weight loss) surgeon who grew up and received his medical training on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Ortiz is a California resident while the state-of-the-art facility he started and runs, the Obesity Control Center, is in Tijuana. Im puro Chicano, the 47-year-old told Fox News Latino.

Despite not being affiliated with its manufacturer beyond as a medical consultant, Ortiz has become the face for a new medical device  not approved in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration  called Obalon, which has produced some eye-popping weight loss numbers during trials.

Obalon is a balloon made of a polymer film packed inside a capsule thats attached to a long tube. A patient  preferably one who is clinically obese, with a body mass index of 30 or higher  swallows the capsule.

After a doctor confirms that it has entered the stomach using X-rays, the balloon is inflated and the tube detached and pulled out.

The filled balloon, which floats atop the gastric fluids, fools the patient into believing that he or she isnt hungry. For a few weeks, at least, Ortiz said. Then a second balloon is inserted, even a third, if needed. After 12-16 weeks, all balloons are removed, at which point the patient has typically lost 50 percent of his excess weight, he added.

Its a protocol that Ortiz himself helped draw up.

Obalon Therapeutics approached him in 2008 to be a consultant for the medical device and to conduct some of the earliest trials of the device.

He had a long experience and expertise in gastric surgery, Mark Mahmood, executive vice president for marketing at Obalon Therapeutics in San Diego, Calif, explained to Fox News Latino. And his facility in Tijuana is world-class. Certified as an International Center of Excellence by the Surgical Review Corporation, in fact.

Obalon follows on other gastric balloons that are filled with saline solution and sit in the bottom of the stomach. There have been no head-to-head studies conducted between the two types of balloon, but early studies conducted by Ortiz and European investigators suggest that Obalon is more easily tolerated than saline-filled balloons, meaning that patients experience less cramping, vomiting and nausea.

Ortiz, who has performed by his estimate 15,000 or so gastric surgeries, believes that Obalon is the most promising weight loss treatment he has seen.

Of course, a lot more studies need to be performed, and it hasnt been around long enough to know if there are any long-term effects or to be absolutely certain whether its advisable if you have other conditions (diabetes, heart disease).

Ortiz and Mahmood both stress that Obalon, like any gastric procedure, wont help keep weight off unless the patient also undergoes a change in habit, as Ortiz put it.

We used all our experience as surgeons and doctors, Ortiz said, to design a smart phone app that tracks what patients eat, how much they exercise and feeds that information into our nutritionists database. We can warn patients that theyve eaten too much grease or havent drunk enough liquids. The same day, in real time.

Ortiz points out that many people trying to change their eating habits slip and then face a cascade of events  feelings of depression, eating more  that make it so that one visit to our office every two weeks isnt enough.

So one treatment at Ortizs Obesity Control Center costs the equivalent of $3,800that includes the insertion of two or three balloons, regular follow-ups, nutrition plan, protein shakes and, of course, removal of the balloons.

Obalon has been available in Europe since August 2012, according to Mahmood. In the Americas, the only country where its been cleared, since November of last year, is Mexico. (Brazil is fairly close to approving the procedure.)

Ortiz helped train the 20 or so bariatric surgeons who perform the procedure in Mexico, but only a handful of facilities are offering the procedure yet, so the demand for the treatment north of the border is big.

Asked what percentage of his Obalon clientele crossed the border, Ortiz said he couldnt be sure, but he offered that, Overall about 98 percent of our patients come from the U.S. or Canada.

All Mahmood would say about when Obalon might be cleared for use stateside was, We have conducted two small feasibility studies in the U.S., and were working with the FDA on conducting trials.

Ortiz suggested that based on the pace that other procedures hes tracked have moved through the approval process, he thinks it might be a matter of a couple of years.

Theres a misunderstanding about the medical system in Mexico, he said. The protocols here are very thorough, but they facilitate a level of research that happens much more slowly in the U.S. Mexico is a great place to do medical research.
It won't be nearly as much fun as eating candy bars, but a big study is being launched to see if pills containing the nutrients in dark chocolate can help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The pills are so packed with nutrients that you'd have to eat a gazillion candy bars to get the amount being tested in this study, which will enroll 18,000 men and women nationwide.

"People eat chocolate because they enjoy it," not because they think it's good for them, and the idea of the study is to see whether there are health benefits from chocolate's ingredients minus the sugar and fat, said Dr. JoAnn Manson, preventive medicine chief at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

The study will be the first large test of cocoa flavanols, which in previous smaller studies improved blood pressure, cholesterol, the body's use of insulin, artery health and other heart-related factors.

A second part of the study will test multivitamins to help prevent cancer. Earlier research suggested this benefit but involved just older, unusually healthy men. Researchers want to see if multivitamins lower cancer risk in a broader population.

The study will be sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Mars Inc., maker of M&M's and Snickers bars. The candy company has patented a way to extract flavanols from cocoa in high concentration and put them in capsules. Mars and some other companies sell cocoa extract capsules, but with less active ingredient than those that will be tested in the study; candy contains even less.

"You're not going to get these protective flavanols in most of the candy on the market. Cocoa flavanols are often destroyed by the processing," said Manson, who will lead the study with Howard Sesso at Brigham and others at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Participants will get dummy pills or two capsules a day of cocoa flavanols for four years, and neither they nor the study leaders will know who is taking what during the study. The flavanol capsules are coated and have no taste, said Manson, who tried them herself.

In the other part of the study, participants will get dummy pills or daily multivitamins containing a broad range of nutrients.

Participants will be recruited from existing studies, which saves money and lets the study proceed much more quickly, Manson said, although some additional people with a strong interest in the research may be allowed to enroll. The women will come from the Women's Health Initiative study, the long-running research project best known for showing that menopause hormone pills might raise heart risks rather than lower them as had long been thought. Men will be recruited from other large studies.

Manson also is leading a government-funded study testing vitamin D pills in 26,000 men and women. Results are expected in three years.

People love vitamin supplements but "it's important not to jump on the bandwagon" and take pills before they are rigorously tested, she warned.

"More is not necessarily better," and research has shown surprising harm from some nutrients that once looked promising, she said.

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Sara Rodriguez recently received a $4,000 bill for a six-hour emergency room visit to treat a fever. She says she can't pay, but she's also not planning to buy health insurance through the new federal marketplace.

Rodriguez, like others gathered in a Houston gymnasium listening to a presentation about the health care overhaul, says she can't afford insurance, even for $50 a month. With two young children and barely $400 of income a month after paying rent, she struggles to feed her family.

"It's the law, but I'm not interested," the 27-year-old says, explaining that she attended the presentation only because her GED teacher is making her write an essay. "I cannot afford it."

The presentation ends and Rodriguez grabs her belongings and rushes out, forgoing the opportunity to make an appointment for enrollment assistance. The crowd of about 200 quickly dwindles, with some stragglers lingering to schedule appointments.

As a March 31 deadline draws near, this is a daily reality in Texas, where nearly 1 in 4 people is uninsured, the highest rate in the nation.

Texas stands out among the nation's four most populous states for lagging behind on signups. California, New York and Florida have signed up far more people.

Enrollment helpers here are working days on end, sometimes with no time off, as they make a final push to get people to buy policies.

They count the small victories: If only five people come to a three-hour enrollment event but all sign up, that gets a thumbs' up. No matter that it is just an infinitesimal fraction of the nearly 760,000 Texans the Department of Health and Human Services estimates could be eligible.

The final weeks of enrollment are sure to be filled with frenetic activity. Mega-enrollment drives are planned almost daily. Weekend and evening events are jam-packed. Hospitals in Dallas will stay open for longer weekday and weekend hours.

At this late stage, education and outreach have largely been abandoned. The goal now is to ensure that everyone who strolls in with paperwork walks out with insurance.

"Sign up! Sign up," is the charge guiding Benjamin Hernandez, Houston's deputy assistant health director, as he helps with a massive effort to reach his region's 1 million uninsured.

Texas' large uninsured population makes it crucial to the success of the entire national program. But the impediments are many.

The state's large Hispanic population  some of whom are in the country illegally  are either not eligible or wary of enrolling because of fears that doing so might reveal the existence of family members at risk of being deported.

As of mid-March, enrollment numbers were only slightly more than 295,000, lagging behind Florida, another state with high numbers of uninsured and a governor opposed to the program.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has erected his own obstacles in the form of additional rules and training requirements imposed on health care "navigators."

Other Texas Republicans have also slammed the program. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, forced into a runoff against a tea party candidate after a tight primary, released a TV ad that shows businessmen and women in suits engaged in a high school cafeteria food fight  a metaphor, according to the ad, for the program's glitch-filled rollout.

It's not clear whether the Perry mandates and the intense public criticism of the law have scared off many potential enrollees. But Hernandez believes "lack of information and misinformation are key barriers."

Brenda Sanders, 54, was one of about a half-dozen people who trickled into a recent enrollment event on Houston's north side. Sanders knew the deadline and where to find a plan. She tried to apply, and it appeared she didn't qualify for financial assistance. The $200 monthly premium offered was unaffordable on her income of barely $600 a month, the part-time home care provider said.

"I'm a little disappointed," Sanders said. "Even with Obamacare, it's supposed to be affordable, but for people like me, that are low, low income, it's still not affordable."

And that is another struggle for Texas. The state decided against expanding Medicaid, despite the offer of federal dollars to help cover the costs in the first few years, meaning more than 1 million of the uninsured who do not qualify for subsidies could be left without coverage.

In the meantime, Houston and other areas are zeroing in on crucial populations: younger people and Hispanics. Houston spent about $40,000 on a two-week radio ad buy in English and Spanish. Hernandez also advertised in fitness centers, hoping to reach Hispanic mothers, believed to be the health care decision makers in those families.

Martha Blaine, executive director of the Community Council of Greater Dallas, recently spent just under $10,000 to buy radio spots on seven different Spanish radio stations in North Texas. The spots ran for two weeks in the morning and afternoon drive times and midday to hit stay-at-home moms. One was aimed at young men.

"Their mom will be listening to the other station and tell them to go do it," Blaine said. "We figure we'll hit them with both sides with that one."

Rodriguez has seen and heard all this, but remains adamantly opposed. Sitting alongside her GED classmates at the presentation organized by the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, they run through their expenses: food, clothes, diapers, baby formula, baby sitters.

Sitting next to her is Mayde Arroyo, 32, who makes less than $400 a month working weekends at the Children's Place clothing store. She relies largely on the $780 a month she gets in child support to raise her 11- and 10-year-old boys. Often, she says, she doesn't have the $25 co-pay to take her children to the doctor under the insurance plan they have through their father. She is desperate to also be insured but not optimistic about obtaining coverage.

"I'm not going to work just to pay my insurance," Arroyo says, concluding she can't afford more than $50 a month for a plan.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, looks through the pamphlet she received at the event. An hour later, she's considering at least filling out an application. But even $20 a month is a stretch, she says. Like the $4,000 hospital bill she will ignore, she also shrugs off a penalty imposed by the law on those who are eligible for marketplace coverage but remain uninsured.

"It will just come out of my taxes so it doesn't matter," she says. "And it's way less than what they will take out monthly, right?"

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As the U.S. government and the United Nations both stepped up giving Wednesday to quell the Ebola epidemic sweeping through several West African countries, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it will spend $50 million on the international effort seeking a vaccine and other therapies.

The United States donated five ambulances Wednesday to help Sierra Leone's fight against Ebola as the West African government acknowledged it can take up to 24 hours to pick up bodies in the spiraling crisis.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's donation is the U.S.-based group's largest to a humanitarian effort. The $50 million includes $10 million the foundation previously committed for emergency operations, treatment and research. The money will be used to purchase supplies and to develop vaccines, therapies and better diagnostic tools.

More than 2,200 deaths throughout West Africa have been attributed to Ebola amid the worst outbreak of the disease in history. The sick have been using motorcycle taxis and other public transport to get to hospitals, further increasing the risk of transmitting the disease that kills about half its victims.

Kathleen FitzGibbon of the U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone handed President Ernest Bai Koroma the keys to five ambulances Wednesday. The U.S. has spent more than $100 million responding to the outbreak.

"Together we will win this fight," Koroma told her.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea  the three countries hit hardest by the outbreak  are also in need of more protective gear for health care workers and more treatment beds for Ebola victims. The World Health Organization says about 1,000 more beds in isolation centers are needed.

Also on Wednesday, the United Nations allocated $3.8 million from an emergency fund to support a U.N. air service operating in the Ebola-struck region. U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said reduction in commercial air flights as a result of the outbreak has hindered the deployment of health workers and supplies.

Doctors Without Borders has said bodies are being left to rot in the streets of Sierra Leone, a claim the country's health officials have rejected. But Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, an adviser to the president, did acknowledge that it can take up to a full day to retrieve a dead body because it must first be tested for Ebola.

Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids. Dead bodies are particularly contagious and must be buried with extreme care. Experts say traditional burials that wash the dead have been a significant source of Ebola transmission.

Senegal, meanwhile, announced that its only confirmed Ebola patient has recovered. But Dr. Moussa Seydi told Senegalese radio the young man is still suffering psychologically after losing several relatives to the disease.
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When Americans think of Somalia, famine or violence comes to mind -- a fair perception because the country has suffered both -- or they think of the movie "Black Hawk Down" about U.S. attacks in Mogadishu.

The reality in Mogadishu, however, and throughout Somalia, is much different.

Americas response to, and treatment of, this country, therefore, must also be different.

The status quo, tried for decades, will not work any longer.

Whether it was the thousands flocking to Mogadishus beautiful beaches last week, celebrating Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan, or the busy, bustling streets of Mogadishu filled with new business, optimism and opportunity, from what I witnessed, a new dawn is rising.

[pullquote]

This was unexpected.

When I departed Washington, D.C. in early August, there were reports of new violence coming on the heels of summer bombings at the UN mission and the Turkish embassy. But to walk the streets of Mogadishus old city, in Shangani and Hamar Weyne, with friends who grew up here, who witnessed decades worth of destruction, and who still hold out hope for a foreseeable turning point, is inspiring.

A positive future is palpable. You can taste it.

This a country trying to free itself from a painful past  not merely from mass atrocities that came with warlordism (which America supported), weapons trafficking, extreme poverty, and the anarchy of non-state actor violence.

This is a country trying to liberate itself from the oppression of foreign intervention by next-door neighbors, Arab League states, and Western nations.

Everyone wants a piece of Somalia. And no wonder, it is a country rich with resources.

Agriculture, if sustainably developed, could feed an estimated 100 million people.

Oil resources are estimated at 100 billion barrels, which is why BP, Chevron, Conoco, Eni and Shell bought oil blocks in Somalia decades ago.

Fish stocks rival the worlds best and, when threatened by overfishing or toxic dumping by Arab and Asian countries, became the genesis of Somali piracy (for income generation and protection of coastal waters).

Last week, after meeting with the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior and National Security , and Natural Resources, Members of Parliament, the Speaker of the Parliament, and civil society leaders, the path toward rebuilding Somalia became clear.

It must be Somali-led. That means the African Union Mission in Somalia, the security force the West has invested in, must exit and Somali security must be trained and equipped to protect its people.

That means that the Monitoring Group, run by the Western advisers who have undermined Somali leaders and institutions, must be dismantled and decommissioned.

That means that the U.S. defense, state and intelligence must stop funding illegal private security firms and stop seeing the military option as the way to create stability in Somalia.

That means that Western banks, like Barclays, must reverse their bans on financial remittances from the Somali diaspora, so that Somalias poor can receive subsistence funding.

Thats what the West must stop doing.

Heres what the West should start doing.

Help the new government feed and employ its people, as there are too many unemployed youth.

Help rebuild the city and country infrastructure.

Help with a renewable energy-reliant power grid. Help with sustainable development, not exploitative extraction and deforestation.

Help the government become a sovereign state, rather than supportive fractious elements.

Help the executive branch (since the Parliament is more representative) be inclusive of all clans since the marginalization of some has led to new recruits for the rebel group al-Shabaab.

This is how Americans can help Somalia.

There are clear opportunities for partnership and engagement and we should pursue them, but Somali people must lead them.

Peace is possible, now lets help them pursue it.
Jeh Johnson has been confirmed by the Senate to be the new secretary of Homeland Security. Not only is it one of the most challenging jobs in all of federal government, but theres not a lot of experience to draw upon as the new appointee charts his course. There have been a grand total of four secretaries of the department and two acting secretaries. There is no dog-eared training manual for this post.

So as those of us on the border say welcome aboard to the new chief, here are five issues that are facing Sec. Johnson:

Vacancy at CBP

Based on the Obama administrations inability to fill the position of Customs and Border Protection commissioner permanently, youd think the job required walking on hot coals while juggling sharp knives. Since President Obama took office, there has yet to be a Senate-confirmed commissioner in CBPs top job.

We are fortunate that the extremely talented Thomas Winkowski is serving as the acting commissioner of CBP, having taken over for the previous acting commissioner, David Aguilar. Both gentlemen have brought to the job  albeit temporarily  a deep understanding of what it takes to move cargo and travelers in and out of this country securely and efficiently every day. Having Winkowski and Aguilar helming CBP has been no consolation prize.

Effective leaders are also creative ones. Secretary Johnson will earn the respect from the trade community by making a commitment to seeking innovative solutions for moving cargo.  Nelson Balido

I had the opportunity to visit personally with Gil Kerlikowske, the president's pick for the job, whose Senate confirmation process started earlier this month. He is a serious candidate for the job; there is no question his law enforcement experience. I stressed the need for the integration of security and trade facilitation, so one does not trump the other, while seeking consistent input from the private sector. From our conversation, I am confident that he understands where improvements can be implemented, and he pledged to seek the counsel of experts to assist and advise when needed.

But the agency is DHS most visible face for the business community. The CBP commissioner should be the chief implementer of the presidents vision of how our country should engage in global business, and thus should be the presidents appointee. Secretary Johnson will have to navigate and gain the trust of a trade community that for years has watched a changing cast of characters within CBP senior leadership.

Helping, not hurting immigration reform

We are closer than ever before of reaching a bipartisan deal on immigration reform. There is broad agreement that we need to ensure that American businesses can attract talent from around the globe, that we dont want our universities to educate foreign students in needed fields and then send them back to their home countries, and that individuals who were brought to this country without proper documentation as children are a special case that deserve to be dealt with in a compassionate manner that recognizes that the U.S. is the only country theyve ever known. With agreement on those big issues, the stage is set for thoughtful leaders to find a way through the thorny issue of how to deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants in this country who have been here for years and have otherwise stayed out of trouble.

But the president has so little credibility on Capitol Hill that when he attempts to engage on immigration reform, the cause actually loses traction. Secretary Johnson will have to work quickly to build relationships on both sides of the aisle to gain the confidence of lawmakers that DHS can deliver on the increased border security that will be part of any immigration deal.

Border security does not mean a fence

As the immigration deal takes shape, the secretary and president will also have to resist calls that border security should mean the construction of a fence from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas. That would be an expensive mistake. Secretary Johnson can also help redirect resources to the ports of entry, but I cant stress enough he must address any border initiative with real data and resist blind staff increases and infrastructure investments because they sound good without proper checks and balances. By partnering with industry and using existing tools that are embraced by the public and private sector that measure efficiencies  as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggested last July  it will go a long way in ensuring investments are placed in the right place.

Get creative

Effective leaders are also creative ones. Secretary Johnson will earn the respect from the trade community by making a commitment to seeking innovative solutions for moving cargo. That means ensuring that pre-clearance programs where cargo can be cleared for U.S. entry from its country of origin come online, that trusted shipper programs actually result in tangible benefits for participating companies, and that public-private partnerships for improved port staffing and infrastructure arent paid for solely on the backs of the trade community. Secretary Johnson does not come to the position with a wealth of trade experience; he should look to industry experts for best practices and new ideas.

High expectations in a dangerous world

Finally, an issue that faces anyone in this job: This is a dangerous world, and theres very little margin for error at DHS. We learn everyday of new vulnerabilities in our transportation system, our critical infrastructure, and increasingly in the cyber world. Time is not on our side. Heres hoping Congress and the White House give DHS the attention and resources the department and new secretary need. Shortchanging our homeland security mission could have precarious results.
Pardon me for not joining the pity party taking place among my esteemed colleagues in the media this week. You know who Im talking about right? The ones that have been ranting, wailing and bemoaning the way the Richard Sherman and Mike Huckabee comments have been reported.

As a managing editor and host of one of CNNs most highly rated shows in the last decade (yes, I had to get that in, given the news this week regarding the networks historic ratings plunge, oops!), I know what its like to have to fill a slow news week with predictable segments.

Just as Ive resigned myself to the idea that immigration reform isnt going to happen either. How could it, if we dont even get a seat at the table to discuss the very issue that most affects us?  Rick Sanchez

So when I see talking heads assembled into panels to discuss whether former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee insulted women with his libido line, or whether Richard Sherman was right to say that thug is the new N-word, Im not shocked. Thats right, Im not shocked by the absence of African Americans or women chosen to opine on news panels.

Why? Because in defense of the programmers, the panels are often composed before the topics are selected. And even more to the point, there are usually a multitude of topics that are discussed.

Yes, in an ideal instance it is best to include a woman panelist when discussing women's issues or an African American when discussing race issues. Few would disagree that critics are well within their right to point that out.

There is a difference, however; between pointing something out and screaming it out. My friends at the The Huffington Post for example chose to frame Fox News coverage of the Huckabee comment with a headline that read: This is How Fox News Debates Womens Issues.

Is that really fair  given that it was only one of several topics discussed? Is it really fair to imply that its commonplace for Fox News to exclude women when even Fox News host Bret Baier astutely and responsibly suggested the importance of including a womans voice on the subject? I think not.

While were on the subject of panels, can I share something with you which is rarely noticed or written about? Ive been watching the Sunday morning panel shows now since I was off the boat, you know what they are, right? The ones we could refer to as the super panels of TV news, because theyre the most copied and most revered as industry standards. They are also the ones that are least apt to include Latinos when discussing immigration, a subject which is regularly discussed on these shows.

Rarely if ever will you see members of the media represented there whose name, like mine, ends in a z. Ive watched the big three  CBS, ABC and NBC  as long as I can remember, and I can tell you as sure as I profess my love for Cuban coffee that a Latino panelist on one of those shows is as uncommon as a non white host.

In fact, Ive resigned myself to the idea that it just isnt going to happen. Just as Ive resigned myself to the idea that immigration reform isnt going to happen either. How could it, if we dont even get a seat at the table to discuss the very issue that most affects us?

It is always best to be as inclusive as possible when inviting guests to join panels, but guess who is invited least of all, according to the most recent Media Matters study? Latinos, who make up only 2 percent of guests on cable news. And which cable network is most apt to invite a Latino to a panel? Fox News. Who knew?

Still, the overall picture does not exactly spell out inclusion. As the largest minority group in the U.S., Latinos make up almost 17 percent of the population, yet they get only 2 percent representation on TV news? How fair is that?

Funny how we rarely hear much media palaver about the lack of representation of Hispanics on TV news, unless of course it comes from somebody like me whose name ends in a z. Let me address those who complained so apoplectically this week about inclusiveness with just two words:

SPARE ME!
The Republican immigration reform principles are finally out. They focus on border security and interior enforcement, including an entry-exit visa tracking system, employment verification and workplace enforcement, followed by a shift to a system that spurs economic growth creating jobs for Americans as well as immigrants. No surprises there.

The biggest threat to immigration reform, however, is those in both parties taking an all or nothing approach, as a compromise is the only way a deal gets done.  Matthew Kolken

What is surprising is both Republicans and Democrats agree DREAMers, individuals brought here as children, should be given legal status and a path to citizenship. The other major shift recognizes that the estimated 11 million undocumented people in this country must be provided a way out of the shadows that doesn't end in deportation. There will be flaming hoops to jump through: the admission of culpability, rigorous background checks, significant fines, payment of back taxes, proficiency in English and American civics, and proving the ability to support yourself and your family without receiving public benefits. Individuals with serious criminal convictions, gang members, and sex offenders need not apply. Most significantly, no "special" path to citizenship will be created except for DREAMers. Period.

Predictably, some Democrats have gone on offense. Nancy Pelosi has drawn a hard line in the sand, reportedly calling for citizenship or nothing. Other resistance comes from AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka, who dismissed Republican principles as 'fool's gold' and a "nonstarter" because they lack a new special path to citizenship. However, noted immigration lawyer Greg Siskind pushed back, commenting on his blog that "the AFL-CIO's biggest problem with immigration reform is opposition to guest workers," and not the GOP's failure to forge a new special path to citizenship for all. Mr. Siskind, a self-described loyal Democrat, is right.

The talking point that the Republican solution creates a permanent underclass is a non sequitur. While their principles don't forge a new special path to citizenship for all, it does not appear that they will permanently block the undocumented population from citizenship either. They simply believe that it is inadvisable to reward past immigration law violations with the creation of a new special path. It's a fair point.

Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy explains that the term "path to citizenship" is a "misnomer" that needs to be retired from the immigration reform lexicon. What matters, he observes, is whether undocumented immigrants may ultimately qualify to apply for lawful permanent residency, commonly referred to as "getting a green card," because becoming a lawful resident is the path to citizenship. There is no need to create a new "special" path, because the process already exists, and may be expanded during negotiations.

For example, if you marry a United States citizen your spouse is required to sponsor you for lawful permanent residency. After getting your green card, you must then wait a period of years before becoming eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. It doesn't happen automatically, and you can't skip the first step.

The Republicans suggest a willingness to permit individuals to take advantage of the existing process, while also providing them with legal status and the ability to work and travel while they wait for a family member or employer to sponsor them. It is a reasonable compromise, and is the first real progress I've seen since we started this stab at immigration reform, representing movement toward the middle.

I'm not the only one that thinks so. President Obama commented that "if the Speaker proposes something that says right away, 'folks aren't being deported, families aren't being separated, we're able to attract top young students to provide the skills or start businesses here, and then there's a regular process of citizenship,' I'm not sure how wide the divide ends up being."

Leading immigration reform Congressman Luis Gutierrez is also "delighted," stating his willingness to work with House Republicans to forge a viable compromise that stops the record deportations in their tracks. These words are encouraging and leave room for cautious optimism. The biggest threat to immigration reform, however, is those in both parties taking an all or nothing approach, as a compromise is the only way a deal gets done.

So here is to the first steps down the immigration path less traveled: the one in the middle.
With scores of suburban kids dying of heroin overdoses in recent months in relatively upscale communities like Ocean County, New Jersey, it was just a matter of time before a high-profile celebrity like 46-year-old, Oscar-winning actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman joined the ranks of previous celebrity junkies like Lenny Bruce, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Heath Ledger in a body bag.

Smack is now cheaper and far easier to purchase on the streets of New York than either prescription medicines like Oxycontin or Xanax or even a bag of good weed.  Geraldo Rivera

Heroin users dont usually die from bad dope, they die from good dope; accidentally overdosing when the drug they are shooting is cheap and potent and right now heroin is cheaper and stronger than ever.

After the deaths of the superstars and of those clusters of suburban kids who died of overdoses last year, television shrinks rush to the airwaves to ponder what went wrong in their apparently privileged lives that they would sink so low as to use the ghetto drug that epitomizes the lowest of the low.

I cant answer for heroins perverse allure; why people who should know better go so far to the dark side, but I do know that once a junkie, always a junkie. Once you are hooked the way Phillip Seymour Hoffman was hooked on smack years ago, it is often only a matter of time before some excuse to use rears its ugly head. Then, its Russian Roulette. Sometimes you get the extreme high that youre chasing and sometimes you die.

A long time ago (43 years) in a galaxy far, far away (East 100th Street in Spanish Harlem), I did something that had never done before on network television; I interviewed heroin addicts full-faced on camera for my first ever special report, Drug Crisis in East Harlem. They looked bewildered, belligerent, lost, embarrassed and defensive.

How much are you spending on heroin every day? A hundred dollars?! Where are you getting the money to buy your dope? Dont you see that youre killing yourself? Man, youre a mess. Lady, does your mother know that youre selling your body to feed your habit?

In those bad old days, New York was living in terror. In the throes of a raging heroin epidemic involving tens of thousands of addicts citywide (as many as 500,000 across the nation), junkies were everywhere: nodding out on the stoops of brownstones, in the subways, alleyways, on the lawns and elevators of the projects, everywhere. Most of those addicts were black and Latino; poor, mostly young to middle-aged men and women whose low-rent prostitution, street robberies, apartment burglaries and more violent crimes were a curse on the city. Overdose deaths were a daily occurrence in the hood, and they soon spread to other, better hoods when our GIs returned from Vietnam hooked on cheap Asian smack. Those battered veterans soon hooked up with other urban nomads and counterculture hippies and populated neighborhoods like San Franciscos Haight-Asbury and Manhattans Lower East Side, where I lived. Heroin use spread to the middle class.

Back in the day, then President Richard Nixon invoked New Yorks heroin epidemic to start the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and wage what became the fruitless Trillion Dollar War on Drugs, saying that Americas public enemy No. 1 in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.

Part of Nixons War on Drugs was to create harsh new laws to punish pushers and users alike. In typical government overreaction, everything from heroin to cocaine to marijuana was lumped together and treated with similar severity. Even small-time user/dealers were treated as traitors and everybody went to jail.

Because of those Draconian and dumb laws that did not adequately distinguish between pot and smack, law enforcement was diluted. All drug abuse was treated equally, and the ax fell heaviest on black and brown kids who were less interested in heroin, especially after the AIDS and crack epidemics of the late 1980s, and more interested in pot. Over the ensuing decades, uncounted tens of thousands of mostly minority pot smokers were busted with catastrophic consequences for their futures in terms of city jobs or public housing or college admissions. With that misguided focus on the easy to catch potheads, heroin made its insidious comeback.

Smack is now cheaper and far easier to purchase on the streets of New York than either prescription medicines like Oxycontin or Xanax or even a bag of good weed. Last week, ABC News reported that the glassine envelopes of heroin like the kind found scattered around Hoffmans Greenwich Village apartment were selling for as low as five bucks a pop.

One result of misguided drug policy was almost pre-ordained. In 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 1,842 overdose deaths nationwide. Ten years later, by 2010 that number had jumped to 3,036. These days, entire rural/suburban states like Vermont are in the grip of the smack attack. Meantime, until recently, New York City was still busting poor kids for two joints in their knapsacks.

Time to grow up America; addiction is a disease. Bring it out of the closet of shame and punishment. Everybody has tried marijuana; even your mom and dad. President Obama says pot is less dangerous than alcohol. It is certainly less dangerous than prescription meds or heroin for Gods sake. The War on Drugs is an ongoing tragedy and a tragic waste. Ask Phillip Seymour Hoffmans widow.
For the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, the murder of a former beauty queen wasn't so much a tragedy as an opportunity.

On January 6, Monica Spear, who won the 2004 Miss Venezuela beauty contest and later became one of the country's most popular actresses, was traveling with her partner and their five year old daughter along a highway in Carabobo state. As they waited for assistance after their car broke down, a group of armed robbers descended on them. As is the custom with Venezuelan criminals, who are reluctant to leave witnesses behind, both Ms. Spear and her partner, Thomas Berry, were shot dead, while their little girl was wounded in the leg.

The sad reality of Venezuela today is that impunity reigns, from gangland executions in poor neighborhoods all the way up to military leaders running private operations with public money.  Fermin Lares

Although Venezuelans have become accustomed to violent crime  at an annual average of 79 per 100,000, the country has the world's highest homicide rate after Honduras  the horrific murders in Carabobo, involving as they did a much-loved celebrity and her family, convulsed the entire nation in shock. Enter Maduro, who loudly declared that he would use an "iron fist" against Venezuelan criminals.

Sure enough, within days of the killings, seven men said to belong to a gang known as "Los sanguinarios del Cambur" ("The bloodthirsty ones of Cambur") were in custody. But if Maduro was expecting plaudits from a country whose citizens are even more fiercely divided than during the rule of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, he must have been sorely disappointed. The swift response of the authorities in the Monica Spear case was a stark contrast to the thousands of other murders  there were a total of 24,763 murders in 2013 alone, according to the independent Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV)  that are seldom investigated or resolved.

To the casual observer, it is not immediately clear how the various strands that compose Venezuela's current economic and political crisis relate to this fundamental breakdown of law and order. What therefore needs to be understood is that, after 15 years of Chavista misrule, the Venezuelan state is not an enemy of the criminal networks that have conquered the country, but their ally.

Indeed, the regime that presides over the gravest economic crisis in the country's history has been completely penetrated by criminal elements. Maduro has created a long list of enemies whom he blames for the fiscal meltdown, including "speculators" who supposedly drive down the value of Venezuela's currency, the Bolivar, small merchants who stand accused of price-fixing, and  of course  the CIA, which is daily charged with launching sabotage operations. But conspicuous by their absence are those whose actions lie at the root of the catastrophe enveloping Venezuela.

This group includes the so-called "Boliburguesia"  a contraction of the words "Bolivarian" and "bourgeoisie," denoting the sizeable Chavista elite that has amassed extreme wealth through corruption. Concentrated in banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies, this Chavista business class provides revenues for state officials by illegally circumventing exchange controls. As Carlos Tablante, a former parliamentarian, documented in his recent book on corruption in Venezuela, an average of 40 percent, and as much as 70 percent, of the capital behind these businesses is drawn directly from public funds.

However, every time opposition leaders demand an end to this criminality, the stock-in-trade response of the Chavistas is to accuse them of corruption in turn.

A principal reason why this culture of impunity prevails lies in the Venezuelan military. Though Chavismo likes to present itself as a socialist movement whose aim is to redistribute wealth to those in extreme poverty through "social missions", its enduring legacy will be the economic empowerment of the military, and the violation of constitutional provisions preventing military involvement in politics.

In Maduro's government, seven senior cabinet ministers, 10 junior ones, and 11 state governors come from the military. Among their number is Gen. Rodolfo Marco Torres, who now runs the newly-created, super powerful Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Public Banking. Infrastructure is in the hands of officers like Maj. Gen. Wilmer Barrientos and Maj. Gen. Hebert Garcia Plaza. The new tsar for "fair prices" is the former Commander of the National Guard, Maj. Gen. Luis Motta Dominguez. Carefully watching over them is Gen. Miguel Rodriguez Torres, the chief of the intelligence services and a close friend of the Cuban regime.

All these men have been accused of corruption. Many of them are also accused of involvement with drug trafficking, in part of their connections to the Marxist FARC guerillas in neighboring Colombia, who control the regions where the coca crop is cultivated.

Thanks to the military's facilitation of the cocaine trade, armed criminal gangs indigenous to Venezuela have mushroomed, inevitably fueling the rise in homicides. Among the most notorious of these gangs is the "Cartel de los Soles" (Cartel of the Suns), whose core personnel are members of the National Guard and other military institutions based on the border with Colombia.

In October 2013, National Guard operatives in this cartel planted a massive 1.3 tons of cocaine on an Air France flight to Paris. The drugs were later seized by French police, who marveled at the audacity of Venezuelan drug traffickers in using the French national carrier to transport such a large volume of narcotics.

Such audacity is only possible when criminals can be confident that they will not face consequences for their actions. The sad reality of Venezuela today is that impunity reigns, from gangland executions in poor neighborhoods all the way up to military leaders running private operations with public money. The country has become both a military regime and a mafia state  and as long as this state of affairs continues, we can expect the grim fate of Monica Spears to be shared by thousands of other innocents.
Florida is todays political laboratory on whether a politician can change ones lifelong record by changing political party.

New York was the laboratory in the 60s when a star Republican Congressman John Lindsey ran for mayor from an Upper Eastside Silk Stocking congressional district and won. California was next when former Democrat Ronald Reagan ran for California Governor as a Republican, won and went on to become President. Texas currently is governed by Republican Rick Perry who used to be a Democrat.

The trouble with Charlie is, every time he states a position, its the opposite of where he was last time he was governor. Hes got to defend that kind of moral dishonesty over and over again for the next how many months?  Dean Keller

Charlie Crist has served as a Florida Republican State Senator, Republican state Attorney General and as a one-term Republican Governor who ran for the U.S. Senate, lost to Republican Marco Rubio and is now running for his old job as Governor  this time as a Democrat.

Since announcing for the office last fall, Crist has spent most of his time raising money, millions, in fact. But it was what he was not doing that is coming to the surface. Question, is he really running for Governor?

Adam Smith of the Tampa Times writes: It may not be readily apparent if you follow the Florida media that constantly notes Charlie Crists campaign for governor or the Washington Pundits who describe Charlie Crist v. Rick Scott as THE race to watch in 2014. But heres the reality: There is no real Crist campaign for Governor.

Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald writes: Why is (Crist) still putting together a staff when it was known six months ago he would be running?

Campaign followers note that in March 2013 the Quinnipiac University poll had Crist up 16 points on incumbent governor Rick Scott. Last fall the PPP poll had Crist up by 12 points. PPP released its most current poll a few days ago and the results were a statistical tie, 43 percent for Crist and 41 percent for Scott. This precipitous decline occurred during his non-campaign campaign. No breakdown was given in the polls about Hispanic voters.

Four years ago, Republican amateur politician Rick Scott surprised everyone when he split the Florida Hispanic vote with Democrat Alex Sink and defeated her. Hispanic Democrats are suggesting today that Scott has no chance to repeat that performance with Hispanics, but, are they being partisan or objective?

In 2012, 1.66 million Florida Hispanics were registered to vote of which 645,000 were Democrats and 476,000 were Republicans. Of all Florida voters, 13.9 percent are Hispanic with 32 percent of them being Cuban, 28 percent Puerto Rican and 9 percent Mexican. Will low off-presidential year turnout equalize party strength? That is very likely. More important are the issues.

Of course, this story assumes Crist will win the Democratic nomination for Governor by defeating former State Senator Nan Rich in the primary. She has been running for almost two years. Her fundraising is weak but she is counting on a grassroots campaign of regular Florida Democrats. Many of her issues with Crist are positions and actions Crist took and made while a Republican Attorney General and Governor.

Rich supporter Dean Keller is quoted in the Sunshine State News: The trouble with Charlie is, every time he states a position, its the opposite of where he was last time he was governor. Hes got to defend that kind of moral dishonesty over and over again for the next how many months? Too many months. In the end, Democrats wont want to come out for Crist. But Nan Rich doesnt have that kind of handicap.

Reaching outside Florida, Crist has named Obama political technicians to run his campaign. From the influential Shark Tank political blog: One little, two little, three little Obama minions, will be part of former Republican-turned Democrat Charlie Crists gubernatorial campaign in FloridaObamas former campaign manager, Jim Messina, will be joining the Team Crist as a senior strategic advisor, who joins Obama alums Jim Margolis and Steve Schale, who was Obamas senior advisor.

But how can these experts overcome history? In 2004, Attorney General Charlie Crist voted against an increase in minimum wage while on the Board of Enterprise Florida. He now criticizes Governor Scott for wondering if raising the minimum wage is a wise thing to do.

Crists record on gay issues overwhelms anything else he has opined on in that (a) Governor Crist supported a Florida state ban on same sex marriage equality, (b) Crist supported a state ban on Gay adoptions; and (c) He opposed repeal of the militarys Dont ask, dont tell policy.

How does he overcome this history of anti-Gay positions that many Democrats abhorred at the time and still do? He says, Im sorry nine times in an interview in a Gay publication, Watermark.

Im sorry. Im sorry I did that. It was a mistake. I was wrong. Please forgive meIm sorry. Im sorryIt was wrong. Thats what Im telling you and Im sorry.

Obamas Messina and his people managed to sell the country that if you like your health plan, you can keep it lie; can they sell Floridian Democrats former Republican, turned Independent, turned Democrat Charlie Crist?
Around 800 B.C., Homer wrote The Odyssey, the epic tale of a man named Ulysses cast adrift on an impossible, storm-tossed adventure. By hook or by crook, this peril too shall be something that we remember, Homer wrote. And there is no doubt we shall remember the perilous tale almost 3,000 years later of the Pacific Survivor, 37-year old Jose Alvarenga.

He is home now, and like Homers hero Ulysses, Joses odyssey sounds mythical. In a world filled with grifters and charlatans, we are asked to believe a modest Salvadoran fisherman did something never before achieved, beaten the biggest, baddest ocean, almost bare-handed.

Strange thing is, unlike Homers epic hero, Jose Alvarengas tale is apparently true.

Now, the Miracle Survivor of the Pacific is back in El Salvador, the Central American nation he fled years before, apparently following a brutal bar fight. We are told, he settled in nearby Mexico and a subsistence existence as an itinerant fisherman a decade and a half ago.

On around Nov. 18, 2012, Jose goes missing from a Mexican village when he and a buddy lost power in their boat while shark-fishing in a storm. They get caught by the current, the underwater river that flows relentlessly away from shore. Before they know it, they are, again in Homers words, out of sight, if not out of mind.

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Fourteen long months later, alone, Jose washes ashore on a remote Pacific Island 6,500 miles from where he started. Before we go any further, review those mind-boggling numbers; 14 months adrift at sea; on an unguided journey of 6,500 miles. That is the equivalent of drifting west from New York City to Los Angeles, then back east to New York, then west again to Chicago.

The "Super Superviviente" (Super Survivor) is home now, to an epic, overwhelming Salvadoran welcome, but how exactly did he survive without even a fishing rod or cooking gear to harvest the fruits of the sea or canned food or a bottle of fresh water? And as he drifted across the worlds largest ocean, what happened to his partner, 22-year old Ezequiel Cordoba? The surviving castaway says Ezequiel died because he refused to eat the raw flesh and blood of the birds and fish Jose somehow wrangled.

But Jose had a knife, and I confess my first question was whether Jose ate Ezequiel to survive? After all, Homer wrote, The blade itself incites to deeds of violence.

Over time we will undoubtedly hear all about Joses warts and failings, and answers to other questions like why didnt he contact his family during his long stay in Mexico? And what exactly was he running from? But for now, what seems undeniable is his incredible feat. The dude really did something that deserves an Olympic medal for unimaginable endurance. He lived when every other person we have ever known who was placed in the same impossible situation, has died.

The Pacific Ocean is vast beyond imagining. Take a map and trace Joses apparent course as he drifted from the fishing village of Costa Azul on the west coast of Mexico near the Guatemalan border, 6,500 miles across the widest, watery part of the planets bleakest space, ending on a remote atoll on the southernmost tip of the Marshall Islands, not far from Indonesia.

Thats a track twice the width of North America, clinging to life in an empty boat propelled only by the invisible current that flows west from our continent toward the widely scattered islands of Oceana, and Southeast Asia impossibly far away. There are no landmarks, no friendly ships, nothing, just undrinkable water, occasional fish and squalls and lonely space.

When my crew and I journeyed around the world back in 2000, it took our powerful sailing vessel Voyager 35 days to travel purposefully across just half the distance Jose drifted in his 21 foot long, powerless, fiberglass boat. On that leg of Voyagers journey, our crew worried about conserving fuel and fresh water for fear that exhausting either would be disastrous in a place on earth where no one can come galloping to your rescue because everyone and everyplace is impossibly far away.

But armed with the incredible true grit characteristic of his people, he made it. Looking at him reminds me of the undocumented Central American bicycle messengers in New York. Theyre tough enough to brave desert, mountains and U.S. BorderPatrol to make it all the way to the snow and ice of El Norte. So, unless this is the biggest con job of the 21st Century, Joses has to rank among the greatest survival stories of all times. He made it across the Pacific. Now, lets see if he can successfully navigate the world media crush that has descended on the biggest star El Salvador has ever seen.

Hopefully, it will all work out for the survivor in the end. Giving Homer the final word, A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.

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In a recent FNL opinion piece, Puerto Ricos Governor lauded his own administrations efforts to jumpstart the islands recovering economy. Yet, since taking office in 2013, Puerto Rico continues to make headlines for its fiscal mismanagement, poor economic performance, and most recently for the credit rating smack-down given by all three major credit-rating agencies, leaving many to wonder: What recovery?

To be fair, the Governor should be given some credit for his recent efforts to appease creditors. It cant be easy to manage a deficit-laden government with the perpetual looming threat from lenders to make it harder to borrow money. His oft-touted "Jobs Now Act of 2013," combined with pension and utility reforms, show a marked interest in changing the economy. The $300 million-plus revenue increase in fiscal year 2014 makes it seem as though Puerto Rico might even be making some headway towards slowing the islands downward-trending credit ratings and overall fiscal crisis.

But, a closer inspection reveals that  despite the best of intentions  the new policies may not be the best reforms for long-term economic development.

The Jobs Now Act provided a number of tax exemptions and credits, along with an extra incentive to hire such underemployed groups as former government workers, older women, and younger workers. Unfortunately, the latest policy research has proven such hiring credits to be mostly ineffective. In fact, the state of Maryland recently allowed its hiring credits to expire, instead emphasizing more effective jobs training programs that target specific sectors. The cost to hire and train new employees can add up to as much as a full years salary, which is why a few thousand bucks provide little motivation. Knowing this, I was surprised to hear the Governor attribute the recent creation of over 30,000 jobs to his Jobs Act.

Its especially surprising given the latest employment numbers. According to the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico, employment trends have yet to improve. While unemployment actually fell by a full percentage point in 2012, it completely reversed this trend in the first year of this administration, climbing from 14.6 percent to 15.4 percent by December. The budget for fiscal year 2013, which corresponded with a fall in unemployment to 13.5 percent, was created before the current governor was in office, while 11,000 unemployed persons were added during the subsequent fiscal year 2014 budget period, increasing the rate to 15.4 percent (nearly double that of the fiscally-inept Illinois).

If 30,000 jobs were created, they were dwarfed by a far greater number of job losses. The governors pension reforms were on the right track. Its unfortunate that the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is stalling their implementation, effectively limiting his fiscal authority. But, even if reforms are allowed to proceed, they need to be on a grander scale, regardless of the political backlash from voters. In a fiscal crisis, with a very real possibility of everyone on the government payroll being left with their hands out, Puerto Rico has no choice but to shift the burden of retirement from the average taxpayer to the relative handful of government employees.

The same mentality should dominate out-of-control utility costs. Like so many municipalities before it, Puerto Rico has proven itself to be a maladroit administrator of its state-owned utilities. In one case, poor management has resulted in energy prices that are nearly twice the cost of anywhere else in the U.S. Some minor reforms have reportedly helped reduce costs, but again, drastic reforms such as privatization, increased competition, and greater diversification are needed.

Fiscal year 2014 revenues to the Treasury are higher than the previous year at this time (even though still not even as high as they were at the end of FY13), but the source of those revenues is my biggest concern. Individuals and small business owners were gifted an income tax increase of up to 20 percent in 2013, while corporate taxpayers are paying 30-60 percent more than they did before.

Corporate tax increases are an easy way to bolster revenues without affecting individuals  at least thats what politicians want you to think. The seemingly counter-intuitive reality is that businesses dont pay taxes. When taxes on these entities rise, the added costs are passed on to its employees and/or consumers. This simple economic principle is often misunderstood by too many elected officials (perhaps because most of them have never run a business).

Combined with new sales and use taxes on many services, and your average Puerto Rican is the one bearing the brunt of the new governments fiscal hammer.

These shifting costs, combined with an increasing disincentive to expand businesses in Puerto Rico, may help to explain why the Government Development Banks Economic Activity Index shows a 5-6 percent economic downturn over the previous fiscal year.

And they wonder why Fitch, S&P, Moodys, and numerous others are concerned that Puerto Rico wont be able to pay its bills?

Even if they are finally able to balance their budget, the governor is going to have to push beyond his political limits to focus on incentives for growing businesses in Puerto Rico, such as rolling back the higher tax rates, expanding the incentive for foreign investment, and explicitly targeting companies in high-growth industries for residency in Puerto Rico.



Puerto Rico needs its fiscal administrators to realize that the greater problem isnt its credit rating and short-term debt, but the underlying structural economic problems that drive innovation, business growth, and employment for the citizens, and future taxpayers, of Puerto Rico.
This weeks press release related to the findings of the Canadian National Breast Screening Study stated that annual mammography failed to reduce breast cancer mortality in women, age 4059, compared with physical examination or routine care. This finding is at odds with results of other studies that have shown mortality risk reduction with screening and have formed the basis of guidelines favoring routine screening. The results of the Canadian study were met with a firestorm of criticism from groups favoring mammographic screening.

In the face of conflicting study results and conflicting expert opinions, what should individual women and their physicians (including me) do with regard to mammographic screening for detection of breast cancer?

In my view, it is certainly reasonable to continue to follow guidelines developed by respected organizations who have based their recommendations on the preponderance of scientific data related to screening. The American Cancer Society, the Mayo Clinic, and the U.S. Preventative Services Taskforce, among others, provide very similar recommendations regarding mammographic screening based on these data. Insurers largely follow these guidelines in providing coverage for screening. These guidelines generally include initiating screening between ages of 40 and 50, conducting screening every year or two, and discontinuing screening above age 75. Within these broad parameters, I would think that every thoughtful patient and physician would find a comfortable process that they could follow.

However, it is probably worth considering that the continued healthy debate about the value of screening mammography illustrates the fact that screening of large populations with overall low risk for disease can never be flawlessly efficient and will always operate at the margin of usefulness. In other words, could we somehow do this better if we were more specific about who we screen and how often we do it?

Unfortunately guidelines do not allow us to provide highly personalized recommendations for individual patients, but rather are expressions of broad policy for large populations. Screening can only be personalized when individual patients and their physicians look carefully at each patients unique circumstances. The renewed discussion of the guidelines will be of greatest value when it is viewed as an opportunity to think creatively and specifically about the circumstances of the individual patient.

For example, I particularly want my patient to be screened more frequently if she has dense breasts, has a family history of breast cancer, or has other personal factors which are known epidemiologically to favor development of breast cancer (such as early menarche, late menopause, obesity, few or no pregnancies). On the other hand, Id feel less urgency about screening patients who had none of these factors. Finally, after a thorough discussion of these issues, if anxiety about breast cancer was going to be a major life stress for the patient, screening would be an advantage.

Another important idea coming out of the commentary related to this report was the fact that breast cancers discovered as a result of provider physical exams or patient self-exams led to successful outcomes of breast cancer treatment which may have overcome the fact that screening mammography did not detect the cancers first. The point of this observation is that in recent years our treatments for breast cancer have become more successful, to the point where the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer by whatever means will survive their disease.

Much of what Im describing above is also being recognized in the context of prostate cancer, where routine screening of large populations is being de-emphasized in favor of more targeted screening of individuals based on judgments by individual patients and their physicians.

In summary, I believe that the controversy about mammographic screening offers us an opportunity to look more specifically at individual needs for screening. Mammographic screening can be individually designed for each patient based on careful discussion between the patient and her physician, the context in which the most appropriate approach for her can be developed.
Guess whos proving Karl Rove wrong? Why, its our old friend Miley Cyrus, thats who.

Cyrus is doing so with whats tantamount to a twerk. I must admit I had to look it up before I actually wrote the word. So heres the urban dictionary definition: The rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a lascivious manner with the intent to elicit sexual arousal or laughter in ones intended audience.

Actually, Miley out-Mileyd herself. In case you missed it, shes got a new act and shes showing it off on tour. It involves a simulated oral sex scene with none other than the former president of the United States. Thats right, shes doing it the scene that is with William Jefferson Clinton. Apparently, Miley thinks the former presidents peccadilloes are relevant enough to include in her tour.

Who would argue with that right? Who would argue with Miley Cyrus? Karl Rove, thats who. He's on a one man mission to save Republicans from themselves. He doesnt want them to go after political low-hanging fruit by attacking or even mentioning the former presidents Monica Lewinsky moment.

Rove recently zeroed in on Kentucky Senator Rand Paul for bringing up the Lewinsky affair.

"Frankly, Rand Paul spending a lot of time talking about the mistakes of Bill Clinton does not look like a big agenda for the future of the country," Karl Rove said on Fox News.

"Im not certain, again, that beating up on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky is a particularly good thing to strengthen your skills," he added.

Rove seems to be making the argument that Mr. Clintons affair is not relevant. Rand Paul, obviously, begs to differ. And frankly, I find Roves criticism unjustified in light of the fact that Paul was simply answering a direct question that he was asked by Meet the Press moderator David Gregory.

Gregory asked whether the Monica Lewinsky scandal would be fair game if Hillary Clinton decides to run for president and Paul responded with was an honest and accurate answer.

"He took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office," he said. "There is no excuse for that and that is predatory behavior. We shouldn't want to associate with people who would take advantage of a young girl in his office."

Paul added: "If there was somebody in my community who did that  we would disassociate from [them]."

Politics and pop culture make for strange bedfellows. Miley Cyrus, hardly a conservative, and Rand Paul, a pure conservative with libertarian leanings, in principle agree that Mr. Clintons White House shenanigans are relevant.

Heres what I say: Forget Rand Paul, I put my money on Miley Cyrus. After all, what or who is more relevant than her these days?

If she thinks its relevant, I say then its relevant. Its not like Mrs. Clinton is married to some guy weve never heard of. We know exactly what Bill Clinton returning to the White House would represent.

And as a front runner for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton appears on the cusp of trying to make it happen. Shes on the cusp of making Bill Clinton the first president to return to the White House in an entirely different capacity. Its a distinction that no American has ever held  First Gentleman.

Rove says its not relevant. Miley says it is. As a strategist, I respect Rove. As a judge of what sells, Ill take Miley all day long.
Joaquin El Chapo Guzman was busted recently by Mexican Marines in the Pacific Ocean resort town of Mazatlan, Mexico.

El Chapo, also known as Shorty, was ranked as one of the richest men in the world by Forbes magazine, because of a fortune resulting from myriad illegal narcotics manufacture, growing, distributing and selling throughout the United States of America, Europe and the United States of Mexico. (This was true at least until 2013, when the magazine determined that while Chapo and his family were likely worth more than a billion dollars, proving it is simply impossible.)

Using his base in the Pacific state of Sinaloaone of the worlds finest agricultural areasand its capital of Culiacan, an ancient settlement founded in the seventh century, El Chapo grew his gang of narcotraficantes from a handful of farmers into a sophisticated army of murderers, brilliant logistical thinkers and a gaggle of financial experts that have contributed to his personal fortune.

Every American junkie put money into El Chapos pocket with, almost, every marijuana cigarette they smoked, every snort of cocaine up their noses, every dose of crystal methamphetamine and even some of the heroin they shot into their veins.

American, Mexican, Cayman Island and Swiss bank accounts belonging to El Chapo are awash with his money as well as U.S Treasury notes and bonds that his drug money regularly bought. His revenues were unprecedented in criminal history. The Sicilian Mafia never equaled the money or murders attributable to El Chapo; the Sicilians are amateurs in comparison, in distribution of contraband, in its quantity and quality and availability to every drug user in the U.S.

Without the benefit of a Harvard business degree, El Chapo built a multi-national drug enterprise that sprawls throughout the 450 million people of North America and millions in Europe; in fact, when it comes to formal education, El Chapo only reached the third grade.

Drug trafficking expert Patrick Radden OKeefe of the Century Foundation and the New Yorker magazine estimates that El Chapos cartel supplies up to 40 percent of all illicit narcotics in the U.S. No other Mexican or Asian cartels come close to that level.

How has he done it? In part, through innovation.

The traditional method of cross-border drug trafficking of passenger cars, one kilo per car of some of the 50,000 cars-a-day and 650,000 commercial trucks through the busiest port of entry in the world between Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, California ended mostly when the US deployed hundreds of trained drug sniffing dogs.

Chapo pioneered the construction of drug tunnels under the U.S.-Mexico border, the use of submarines to our shores and single file processions of Mexican men carrying his merchandise across the desert and mountains in duffel bags and backpacks. And he did this two decades ago.

The Mexican economy has benefited because of the drug habits of millions of Americans who shell out billions for illicit drugs. From the grower of cannabis plants in the mountains of Sinaloa, Sonora and Chihuahua to the drug mules who ferry drugs across the border in backpacks under the noses of the Border Patrol to the drivers who pick up the merchandise on this side of the border and drive it all over the country, thousands of people are beneficiaries of the drug trade.

One recalls a San Fernando Valley warehouse bust that occurred some years back that found tons, repeat, tons of cocaine awaiting processing into tons more of retail merchandise for the Los Angeles/Orange County/San Diego/Las Vegas market, the largest and richest cocaine market in the world. That bust occurred because honest Mexican and American drug cops joined forces.

The same occurred in the arrest of El Chapo. American drug enforcement agents and U.S. Marshals joined Mexican federales to track Chapo and watched as Mexican Marines made the bust without firing a shot.

The marines were used because they are most effective in arresting drug kingpins. Why? Mexican Army officers are garrisoned in static camps and are well known at the local level, which makes them easy to bribe.

In comparison, the marines are stationed in Veracruz and are loaded up in planes and flown to target areas without anyone knowing the destination or target except for maybe the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, and a handful of others including the Navy Admiral who commands the marines.

Chapo has been indicted by several American state and federal grand juries, and extradition is a possibility. That is mainly due to the fact that El Chapo was in a Mexican prison a decade ago and escaped by bribing a gaggle of prison officers so he could be rolled out in a laundry cart.

If the U.S. State Department is smart, they will arrange a special cell at the Florence, Colo., Supermax prison from which no one will ever escape. All participating in El Chapos bust deserve attaboys, including the President of Mexico whom everyone thought would ease up on the war on cartels started by former President Felipe Calderon eight years ago.

Of course, the bodies will pile up even higher now that Chapo is out of the picture. His competitors and his own people will fight it out for control of the billion-dollar business.

Supply and demand is the irrefutable law involved  that is, all American junkies know or care about is that they have the demand so someone must have the supply.
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After nearly three weeks of protests against Nicolas Maduro's regime, no reasonable person can deny the absurdity of the Venezuelan president's charge that these demonstrations have been stoked by a few "fascists" backed by the United States.

Last Saturday's opposition demonstration in Caracas brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets. With Lilian Tintori, the wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, by his side, Henrique Capriles, the head of the opposition Mesa de la Unidad Democratica (MUD) coalition, pithily expressed the anger and frustration with a regime that demonizes its opponents.

What Maduro wanted was a photo opportunity, and Capriles knew it. "Nicolas, you are not going to use me: I am not going to the Federal Council to whitewash this moribund government," Capriles announced.  Leopoldo Martinez

"Make no mistake, we love peace, but well never get down on our knees," Capriles declared. "How long are we going to have to put up with turning on the television and hearing that the protesting students are 'fascists?'"

Accordingly, the MUD opposition coalition headed by Capriles has issued a list of ten points in a bid to prevent Venezuela's crisis from worsening. How Maduro responds will be a definitive test of whether his government will persist with the politics of denunciation, or whether it is finally ready for a meaningful dialogue.

The MUD wants to address both immediate and more long-term issues. Foremost, it is demanding the urgent release of political prisoners, including Lopez and Ivan Simonovis, a former police official jailed on falsified charges of involvement in the failed coup against Hugo Chavez in 2002. Incarcerated in appalling conditions, Simonovis' health is rapidly deteriorating.

Additionally, Maduro would have to commit to dismantling the colectivos, the pro-regime paramilitary groups that are responsible for the violence and the abuse of human rights that we have witnessed these past weeks. Such a gesture would help persuade skeptical Venezuelans that his government is not entirely in the pockets of the Cubans, whose "rapid response brigades" the colectivos are modeled upon. In keeping with the opposition's rejection of Cuban intervention in Venezuela's internal affairs, the MUD also calls for the expulsion of Cuban military officers  some of whom have been accused of directly participating in the repression  from the country.

The MUD's ten point plan aims to secure firm assurances of political and civil rights, in accordance with Venezuela's democratic constitution. These would include a guarantee that independent media, like the NTN24 satellite broadcaster taken off the air after the protests started, can resume their coverage without harassment. Another, related measure the MUD is calling for would involve the restoration of an independent judiciary, by appointing political neutral officials to the Supreme Court and to the CNE, the body which controls elections.

Significantly, there are signs that the MUD's demands are resonating with regime figures. Julio Vielma Mora, the Governor of Tachira state and a long-serving chavista, expressed unusually strident displeasure with Maduro's strategy of repression - before backtracking somewhat twenty-four hours later, after the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Elias Jaua, spoke ominously of calling Vielma "so he can give us the substance of his opinions."

Tachira  located in the west of Venezuela, along the border with Colombia  is a stronghold of the opposition and the birthplace of the current surge of protest. In early February, students at the university in San Cristobal, Tachira's main city, held demonstrations against the deteriorating security situation in the country after a young woman was raped on the campus. The violent police response simply stoked further protests, with the result that the regime declared a state of emergency in Tachira, sending thousands of troops to San Cristobal and even patrolling the skies above with fighter aircraft.

As far as Vielma was concerned, that was a step too far. "I am against using arms and repression against peaceful protests," Vielma stated, dramatically breaking with Maduro's depiction of the protestors as bent on violence. In that regard, Vielma was instrumental in securing the removal of Maj-Gen. Bermudez Pirela, the National Guard's regional commander for Tachira, who directed the excessive repression in the state.

Once the regime leaned on him, though, Vielma reverted back to party loyalty. "I want to congratulate the chavista people of Tachira," he said. "The only way out of this is through the Bolivarian Revolution."

But much as the regime might wish otherwise, Vielma's initial response to the repression remains on the record. That is why Vielma's welcome condemnation of Maduro, and his recognition that the peaceful protests are legitimately grounded, could yet pave the way to a much-needed national dialogue.

Such a dialogue is not what Maduro presently has in mind. That was why Capriles turned down Maduro's invitation to a meeting this week of the Federal Council. What Maduro wanted was a photo opportunity, and Capriles knew it. "Nicolas, you are not going to use me: I am not going to the Federal Council to whitewash this moribund government," Capriles announced. "They want me to shake hands as if the country was in a state of complete normality." But another dissenting voice, that of Henri Falcon, the Governor of the State of Lara, was present. Falcon denounced the violent actions of the National Guard and called for a proper dialogue that would "send a message of calm to the population.

Hence, for any talks with the opposition to be truly significant, Maduro would have to change course. Outside parties, like the Organization of American States (OAS) and The Vatican, should therefore step up the pressure on his government, in order to prove that they are committed to helping the bruised Venezuelan nation bring about peaceful political change.
Here in Miami, weve become accustomed to the standard Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish and 3 for Creole. But could we be on the verge of getting a fourth choice, Press 4 for Mayan?

Talk about confusing. Remember, theres already this healthy argument among those of us who fill out questionnaires and applications in the United States about what to call ourselves. Many Hispanics/Latinos dont like being bunched in with the rest and argue that were much more different than we are similar, which is to say a Puerto Rican from New York or a Venezuelan from Miami may not have much in common with a Mexican from Los Angeles or a Honduran from Albuquerque. (Heck, we cant even decide on what we want to be called.) Some prefer Latino, others Hispanic. But what if youre neither and yet, you still have a more well-rooted geographic claim on who you really are?

In the 1980s a great deal of people in the Mayan Highlands in Guatemala were forced to flee due to civil wars, now they are fleeing in record numbers from the threat of violent drug cartels.  Rick Sanchez

That is a claim that belongs to the newest group of South Floridians who go by the ancient racial and ethnic classification of Mayan.

Mayans are now the fastest growing minority group in the population of South Florida. Yes, you read that right, Mayan. You see, in the 1980s a great deal of people in the Mayan Highlands in Guatemala were forced to flee due to civil wars, now they are fleeing in record numbers from the threat of violent drug cartels.

"Although exact figures arent available, experts estimate Floridas Maya population could be more than 50,000. Thats perhaps a five-fold increase from a decade ago, when the narcotrafico began turning northern Central America into what the U.S. military calls the most dangerous zone in the world outside of Iraq and Afghanistan," according to a recent article from Miami's PBS radio affiliate WLRN.

So what does that mean? Culturally, it provides to the rich cornucopia that is South Florida. Economically, it remains to be seen. It appears that their work ethic and enthusiasm may be unbridled; their language skills? Bridled.

At the outset of this writing, I made a joke about Press 4 for Mayan, which technically would be the word Mam (pronounced mawm). However, thats assuming that they speak that particular dialect. You see, Mayans arent necessarily Latinos, or South Americans, or even Hispanic.

They are Mayans, they built pyramids, wrote in hieroglyphs, perfected the calendar, and made a prophecy or two. How do we help them? Are we to build schools, are we to erect community centers and signs just to speak to them? What if another portion of these indigenous people emigrate here, but speak a completely different dialect or even a different language? Whats the next step? And lets not even start on the issue of whether they are here legally or not.

Turn on the TV or a movie and you will see that the fish out of water tale is one of Hollywoods go to story lines. Heres the rub on that  theres a great deal of fish in this country, and they all communicate in different ways, from regionalisms to slang and so on. They also all eventually find a way to survive, even if it means swimming against the current until they can find their way.

The results, much to any screenwriters chagrin, are not necessarily cute, or the requisite happy ending. Thats not to say they are worse off here than they would have been in their narcotrafico-torn homeland.

A people with a vast amount of history may just find themselves at the bottom of this American pyramid for a while. And then? To be continued...
In an unbelievable case of Oh no she didnt, Rachel Canning, an 18-year-old New Jersey cheerleader with a whole slew of respect and behavior deficiencies, ran away from home and then went to court to force her parents to provide her with more than $600 a week in child support and pay her private school tuition, medical and related bills, college expenses and legal fees. Her wrath and entitlement campaign also accused her parents of kicking her out of the house and delivered allegations of child abuse and emotional abandonment.

Rachel, you still have a chance. Apologize to your family, go home, and learn from this. Consider doing a few volunteer hours with an organization that serves kids who have faced real abuse and neglect so you can understand what real hardship is.  Kim Keller

Her claims were vigorously disputed by her parents, Sean and Elizabeth Canning, who cited the teen had a myriad of disciplinary problems that included suspensions from school, underage drinking, credit card theft, bullying siblings, breaking curfew and lying to the local child protection agency. The agency investigated the Canning family and found no evidence of abuse.

On Tuesday, March 4, Morris County Court Judge Peter Bogaard denied Rachels lawsuit with a judicial spanking and noted it would set a bad precedent by setting limits on parenting.

Do we want to establish a precedent where parents live in basic fear of establishing rules of the house?" asked Bogaard.

No, Judge Bogaard, no! I cant afford to have my teen daughter sue me because I took her phone away for talking back to me or I refuse to buy her a car. Your Honor, shes on a discount plan that I pay for, and I cant afford to fix the transmission on my car let alone buy her one AND hire an attorney!

The sulky teen was obviously unhappy with the decision, but it was a victory for responsible parenting. It was also a slap in the face for children who face real abuse and abandonment. God bless Rachels lawyer friends for equating the consequences of narcissism and entitlement with abuse and neglect.

Where does a child find such lawyer friends? After leaving her parents home, Rachel bunked with her boyfriend for a few days and then moved in with her friend, Jaime Inglesino. Jaimes father, John Inglesino, is an attorney who formerly served in county government. He got the ball rolling by bankrolling fellow lawyer Tanya Helfand to fight on the maligned Rachels behalf. Guess what else he did? He included reimbursement for the legal fees hes paid in the lawsuit. You have to love it when an adult interferes with another family and then demands compensation for it.

You also have to love it when a lawyer slams a set of parents because theyre not caving in to a temper tantrum. "Normal, healthy people want to help their children," a misguided Ms. Helfand said. "The Cannings simply dont want to pay. They want to strip their daughter of her opportunities."

She added the Cannings treated their daughter in an "abnormal" way that made it "untenable" for her to stay in the house. Oh, that poor child.

Perhaps Ms. Helfand is right. Parents enforcing rules has become a bit abnormal in todays society, and it is horrifically indefensible for parents to enact consequences for bad behavior. Based on this lawsuit, its akin to child abuse and neglect. How can we be so sadistic that we deny our children of opportunities?

Sorry, Mr. Inglesino and Ms. Helfand. Thats what good parents are supposed to do; failing to do so is abuse and neglect. They set rules and boundaries in hopes of preventing the creation of a generation of over-entitled narcissists, they enact consequences for bad behavior, and they recognize the opportunities that are available for their children, but they make them do part of the work to attain them. Good parents raise their children to become mature, self-sufficient, compassionate and hardworking adults, not eternally sulky adolescents.

Rachel, you still have a chance. Apologize to your family, go home, and learn from this. Consider doing a few volunteer hours with an organization that serves kids who have faced real abuse and neglect so you can understand what real hardship is. I also encourage you to count your blessings: many kids and their families live on less than $600 per month; most teens dont have the benefit of a private school education; and many will pay for their own college tuition by working full time or taking out loans that mommy and daddy wont repay.

Most of them also have parents who wouldnt have tolerated your mess and would have jerked a knot in your tail a long time ago.


It is illustrative of the dysfunction that Hugo Chavez brought to his country that many Venezuelans will commemorate March 5 as the first anniversary of his death while many others believe the "Caudillo's" end came months earlier. One of the legacies of Chavez is that very few Venezuelans believe what their government tells them.

While the government claims that Chavez died in Caracas on March 5, 2013, evidence points to his having died over two months earlier in a military hospital Havana, Cuba, where his health status had been closely guarded as a "Secret of State" by his friend and mentor, Fidel Castro.

During his 14 years in that office, Chavez tried to impose his neo-Marxist ideology on Venezuela, sometimes by the force of his considerable charm and oratory skills and sometimes by deceit, threats, bribery, blackmail and police state tactics.  Otto Reich

Indeed, the secrecy that surrounded the repatriation from Cuba of what was either Hugo Chavez or his remains, at 3 a.m., in the dead of night (no pun intended), in a manner ensuring that no one saw the patient or corpse, only added to the speculation. Regardless of the mystery over his death, Chavez's legacy is much clearer.

For 14 years after his election in 1998, the Chavez government presided over a remarkable national contradiction: On one hand, Venezuela enjoyed the largest national income ever recorded  over one trillion dollars for a country of barely 30 million people  as a result of historically high international prices of oil, Venezuela's principal revenue-earner. But, on the other hand, it experienced a steady decline in standards of living, housing stock, employment, production of all kinds, most notably food  shoppers fight with each other at stores nationwide when the infrequent shipment of milk, bread or meat arrives; rising rates of crime that put Venezuela in third place on the list of the world's most violent countries; the exodus of hundreds of thousands of the most educated and experienced Venezuelans: professionals, managers and entrepreneurs, at the same time that foreigners arrived by the tens of thousands to assist Chavez in building what he called "21st Century Socialism" a mixture of military autocracy, populism, Marxism, and foreign adventurism.

There are an estimated 50,000 Cuban advisors, intelligence operatives, doctors, teachers and combat troops in Venezuela. The actual numbers of military and security personnel are secret.

In 1998 Chavez's sole qualification for his candidacy was having led a military uprising six years before that had cost the lives of over 300 Venezuelans. The attempted coup d'etat was a failure, put down in 12 hours by the Venezuelan Army. One objective of the rebels was to assassinate the head of state, Carlos Andres Perez, whose office Chavez later occupied as President.

During his 14 years in that office, Chavez tried to impose his neo-Marxist ideology on Venezuela, sometimes by the force of his considerable charm and oratory skills and sometimes by deceit, threats, bribery, blackmail and police state tactics.

The result can be seen on the streets of all major Venezuelan cities today: people of all ages and social classes demonstrate against the government's incompetence, brutality and corruption. What began four weeks ago as a movement of young university students protesting peacefully for more freedom (and food), and against the imposition of a failed foreign ideology  Castro's communism  on Venezuela, has grown as the ironic result of the Maduro government using the very same brutal tactics use in Cuba for the past 55 years, urged by the Castro brothers and their generals in Caracas.

Unarmed civilians have been murdered in plain sight by Maduro's uniformed security forces and by government-organized and-financed gangs of thugs. Witnesses using social media technology have recorded the incidents for the world to see. The ultimate failure of a political system, like the one that Chavez tried to import from Cuba into Venezuela, is when it has to use indiscriminate force against its most vulnerable citizens, its young. That is Chavez's legacy, being carried out mechanically by the automatons of Venezuela's "21st Century Socialism."
We have a clear vision at the Democratic National Committee  we want every eligible voter to register, every registered voter to vote, and for every vote to be accurately counted. We do this because we believe that voting is a fundamental right and that, no matter who you are, where youre from, or what party you belong to, you should be able to make your voice heard.

For decades, Democrats have actively fought against cynical Republican attempts to impose unnecessary restrictions on voting. But weve always known that its not enough to simply be against voting restrictions  we need to go back on the offense and work for more and easier voting.

The DNC Voter Expansion Project will ensure that we are on the offense and that we take into account the specific challenges that the Latino community faces.  Annette Tadeo

That is why we are launching the Voter Expansion Project, where we are taking action to expand voting opportunities for all.

We are focused on both expanding the vote by creating opportunities for more access and more voters  and protecting the vote by breaking down barriers, demystifying the process and ensuring every vote is counted. Increasing the number of voices heard  and languages heard  is not just good for our party, its good for our democracy.

After all, laws that limit who votes affect every household  women, students, the elderly, people of color, and the disabled  and affect citizens in every corner of the nation.

Latinos are overwhelmingly affected by restricting access to the ballot box, such as laws requiring unnecessary and burdensome documentation or photo IDs. The Latino/Hispanic community comprises more than 10 percent of the countrys eligible voters and about 8 percent of registered voters. In 2010 there were over 21 million Latino citizens of voting age. Out of those 21 million, about 6.3 million people said they were not registered, and 10.8 million said that they dont vote. Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographic in the United States, and there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to Latino voter registration and voter turnout. The more Americans vote, the better off we are as a country.

But in order to improve Latino turnout, we need to improve the voting experience  to make it easier and more convenient.

We do this through the combination of educating voters, campaign staff and volunteers to make sure they know the rules; engaging with election administrators to make sure they have the resources and training necessary to oversee a fair election; advocating for better laws where we can; and fighting bad laws where we must.

Were going to continue to mobilize against Republican attacks on voting, such as reducing early voting periods, eliminating same-day registration or voter ID laws that exclude thousands and thousands of Americans  attacks that make it harder for women, elderly, students, people of color and disabled to participate in the process.

Were also going to advocate for better laws  such as making voter registration easier, making voting more convenient, and making the counting of votes more transparent.

The Voter Expansion Project builds upon over a decade of experience of mobilizing voters, volunteers and advocates in securing and expanding the franchise. And it will place all of the DNCs voter advocacy efforts under one roof. The DNC has more institutional knowledge and experience in voter protection than anyone. And only the DNC has the existing infrastructure in the states and team of experts across the country.

But perhaps most important, the DNC will take an innovative approach to voting rights that no longer is content to just defend against Republican efforts to make it more difficult to vote. With the implementation of a permanent program at the DNC, the organization will be committed to playing both offense and defense on behalf of all Americans.

As states like Colorado, Ohio, Arizona, Texas and my own state of Florida, move to institute voter laws that will make it harder for Latinos/Hispanics to cast a ballot, the DNC Voter Expansion Project will ensure that we are on the offense and that we take into account the specific challenges that the Latino community faces.

The DNC is committed to ensuring that more people and in particular, more Latinos, can participate in our democracy and have their voices heard.
It stands to reason that the beginning of the end of the Democrats control in Washington would begin with the word sink, as in candidate Alex Sink, who lost what some might consider the first volley of the midterm elections in Florida this week to Republican David Jolly.

Webster defines sink as "to go down," which is whats likely to happen to the total number of Democrats in Congress this next go-around.

Jolly, the newly elected representative, narrowly defeated Sink, a Democratic favorite, to replace the late Bill Youngs seat in Floridas 13th congressional district. Young, a Republican, held the seat since 1971.

What you have is a sinking feeling in the collective stomachs of Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues. More to the point, if theyre not feeling that pain  then, theyre not really paying attention.  Rick Sanchez

A narrow defeat is still a defeat; one that sends shivers down the backs of Democrats across the nation who already fear a thumping in the 2014 midterm congressional elections, evidenced by President Obamas warning of a throwback to 2010.

Blame Obamacare

Last week, Obama said, People tune out, and because the electorate has changed we get walloped. The president is also warning that the era of divided government is likely to continue past the upcoming midterms.

If the pattern becomes a trend, Democrats have more to blame than tune out. They real culprit may be Obamacare, which Republicans are quick to point out nationally.

A loud warning for other Democrats running coast to coast," said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.

Republican National Convention Chairman Reince Priebus was even more direct, congratulating Pinellas County citizens for electing Jolly, who will fight for good jobs and quality health care and against Democrats effort to rob Medicare Advantage to pay for Obamacare.

GOP Retains House

Its not just Obamacare. Theres yet another trend line that is working in the GOPs favor when it comes to making gains in Congress. Its the current tendency for voters to cast ballots for the party already in power.

In fact, its happened in every one of the nine special elections held between 2013 and 2014 as part of this Congress. Not a single special election brought about a shift in party affiliation. No wins, no losses, just washes. If that trend continues, theres little doubt that Republicans will retain control of the house.

Senate Trending Toward GOP

As for the Senate, the climb is steeper, but imminently doable. All the GOP needs is six seats. The numbers game looks like this: Democrats now hold 21 of the 35 seats up for election. That leaves a lot of room for error. And seven of those 21 are in states that were won by Mitt Romney.

Throw in the disenchantment, if not the downright venom that is Obamacare to those who will be driven to polls in an effort to vote against it  and what you have is a sinking feeling in the collective stomachs of Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues. More to the point, if theyre not feeling that pain  then, theyre not really paying attention.
The Egyptian decision to withdraw the one-sided anti-Israel Security Council resolution should not mask the sad reality that it is the Obama administration that has been pushing for the resolution to be enacted. The United States was trying to hide its active behind the scenes roll by preparing to abstain rather than voting for the resolution. But in the context of the Security Council where only an American veto can prevent anti-Israel resolutions from automatically passing, an abstention is a vote for the resolution. And because of this automatic majority, an anti-Israel resolution like this one cannot be reversed by a future American president. A veto once cast cannot be cast retroactively.

The effect, therefore of the Obama decision to push for, and abstain from, a vote on this resolution is to deliberately tie the hands of President Obamas successors, most particularly President elect Trump. That is why Trump did the right thing in reaction to Obamas provocation. Had the lame duck president not tried to tie the incoming presidents hands, Trump would not have intervened at this time. But if he had not urged the Egyptians to withdraw the resolution, he would have made it far more difficult for himself to try to bring about a negotiated resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The reason for this is that a Security Council resolution declaring the 1967 border to be sacrosanct and any building behind those boarders to be illegal would make it impossible for Palestinian leaders to accept less in a negotiation. Moreover, the passage of such a resolution would disincentivize the Palestinians from accepting Israel Prime Minister Netanyahus invitation to sit down and negotiate with no preconditions. Any such negotiations would require painful sacrifices on both sides if a resolution were to be reached. And a Security Council resolution siding with the Palestinians would give the Palestinians the false hope that they could get a state through the United Nations without having to make painful sacrifices.

President Obamas lame duck attempt to tie the hands of his successor is both counterproductive to peace and undemocratic in nature. The lame duck period of an outgoing president is a time when our system of checks and balances is effectively suspended. The outgoing president does not have to listen to Congress or the people. He can selfishly try to burnish his personal legacy at the expense of our national and international interests. He can try to even personal scores and act on pique. That is what seems to be happening here. Congress does not support this resolution; the American people do not support this resolution; no Israeli leader  from the left, to the center, to the right  supports this resolution. Even some members of Obamas own administration do not support this resolution. But Obama is determined  after 8 years of frustration and failure in bringing together the Israelis and Palestinians  to leave his mark on the mid-East peace process. But if he manages to push this resolution through, his mark may well be the end of any realistic prospect for a negotiated peace.

One would think that Obama would have learned from his past mistakes in the mid-East. He has alienated the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Jordanians, the Emirates and other allies by his actions and inactions with regard to Iran, Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Everything he has touched has turned to sand.

Now, in his waning days, he wants to make trouble for his successor. He should be stopped in the name of peace, democracy and basic decency.

But it now appears that Obama will not be stopped. Four temporary Security Council members have decided to push the resolution to a vote now. It is difficult to believe that they would have done so without the implicit support of the United States. Stay tuned.

Addendum

As predicted, the United States allowed the anti-Israel resolution to be approved by the United Nations Security Council. Votes in favor were cast by Russia, which has occupied Kornengsberg since 1945, after capturing that ancient German city, ethnically cleansing its population and bringing in hundreds of thousands of Russian settlers; China, which has occupied Tibet and brought in thousands of Chinese settlers; France who occupied and settled Algeria for many years; Great Britain which has occupied and colonized a significant portion of the globe; and assorted other countries, several of which have horrendous human rights records.

Israel on the other hand, offered to end the occupation and settlements in 2000-2001 and again in 2008 only to be rebuffed by the Palestinian leadership. But Israel is the only country to have been condemned by the Security Council for an occupation and settlement. This hypocrisy is typical of the United Nations as even our representative acknowledged when she explained why the United States abstained.

Now peace will be more difficult to achieve, as the Palestinians become further convinced that they do not have to accept Netanyahus offer to negotiate without preconditions.

Thank you, President Obama for completing your 8 years of failed foreign policy with a final blow against, peace, stability and decency.

Congress can ameliorate the impact of this destructive resolution by enacting a statute declaring that the resolution does not represent the United States policy, which is that peace will not come through the United Nations but only by direct negations between the parties. The law should also prohibit any United States funds to be spent directly or indirectly in support of this Security Council resolution. I suspect that the incoming president will be willing to sign such a law.
Making history twice within hours, President Barack Obama on Monday became the first U.S. president to set foot in Cambodia, a country once known for its Khmer Rouge "killing fields." He left behind flag-waving crowds on the streets of Myanmar, the once internationally shunned nation now showing democratic promise.

Unlike the visit to Myanmar, where Obama seemed to revel in that nation's new hope, the White House has made clear that Obama is only in Cambodia to attend an East Asia Summit and said the visit should not be seen as an endorsement of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the government he has led since the 1980s.

Indeed, Obama's arrival in Cambodia lacked the euphoria of his greeting in Yangon, Myanmar, where tens of thousands of people lined city streets to cheer the first American president to visit a country that had long been isolated from the West. "You gave us hope," Obama declared in Yangon.

In Phnom Penh, the sun was already setting by the time Air Force One landed. Small clusters of Cambodians gathered in the streets to watch the motorcade pass, but there was none of the outpouring that greeted Obama in Myanmar.

Speaking to a national audience from the University of Yangon, Obama offered a "hand of friendship" and a lasting U.S. commitment, yet a warning as well. He said the new civilian government must nurture democracy or watch it, and U.S. support, disappear.

The visit to Myanmar was the centerpiece of a four-day trip to Southeast Asia that began in Bangkok and will end Tuesday in Cambodia, where Obama will visit with Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asia leaders in addition to attending the East Asia Summit.

Obama celebrated the history of what he was witnessing in Myanmar -- a nation shedding years of military rule, and a relationship between two nations changing fast.

"This remarkable journey has just begun," he said.

In a notable detour from U.S. policy, the president referred to the nation as Myanmar in his talks with President Thein Sein. That is the name preferred by the former military regime and the new government, rather than Burma, the old name and the one favored by democracy advocates and the U.S. government.

Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said afterward that Obama's use of Myanmar was "a diplomatic courtesy" that doesn't change the U.S. position that the country is still Burma.

On his first trip abroad since his re-election earlier this month, Obama's motorcade sped him to the lakeside home in Yangon of longtime opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He hugged her and lauded her as a personal inspiration. Suu Kyi spent most of the past 20 years in house detention at her home.

In remarks after their meeting, Suu Kyi echoed Obama's tone with an admonition of her own, one that could have been directed at her own ruling party as much as to the United States.

"The most difficult time in any transition is when we think that success is in sight," she said. "Then we have to be very careful that we're not lured by the mirage of success."

Rhodes said Obama was moved by the opportunity to visit Suu Kyi at her home -- and was pleased to see that she had prominently displayed a stuffed replica of the president's dog Bo in the house. Obama gave Suu Kyi the stuffed animal when she visited Washington earlier this year.

Crowds swelled at every intersection, yelling affectionately for Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"You are the legend hero of our world," one banner read.

Obama spoke at a university that was once the center of government opposition, and his message was as much a call for Myanmar to continue in its promising steps as it was a tribute to democracy in general. He held up the United States as an example of its triumph and its imperfections

Coinciding with the president's visit, the government of Myanmar announced further human rights steps to review prisoner cases and de-escalate conflicts in ethnic regions of the country.

But Obama urged even more, calling for a government where, as he put it, "those in power must accept constraints."

"The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished," Obama said in an address televised to the nation.

Rhodes said the president was moved by the throngs of people who lined the streets to greet him during the visit. The president made one unscheduled stop at the Shwedagon Pagoda. After seeing the pagoda as Air Force One approached Yangon, then seeing the outpouring of support from the citizens for whom the site means so much, Obama personally decided to make the unscheduled stop, Rhodes said.

As Obama arrived in Cambodia, he was dogged by concerns from human rights groups that have cast Hun Sen as a violent authoritarian and have voiced apprehension that Obama's visit will be perceived within Cambodia as validation of the prime minister's regime. But administration officials say Obama, when he meets with Hun Sen on Monday, will raise concerns about the government's human rights record.

Still, many Cambodians credit Hun Sen with helping the country emerge from the horrors of the 1970s Khmer Rouge reign, when systematic genocide left 1.7 million dead. Vietnam invaded and ousted that regime in 1979. By 1985, Hun Sen had become prime minister.
After decades as a largely behind-the-scenes Democratic power broker, Steven Grossman gained his first personal political victory in 2010 when he was elected Massachusetts treasurer. Four years later, the Newton resident is banking on liberal values, deep party ties and fundraising prowess to propel him into the governor's office.

The onetime Democratic National Committee chairman is among five Democrats, two Republicans and three independents vying to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick. Were the outcome to hinge largely on money, Grossman would be well positioned: Campaign finance records showed a balance of more than $1 million in his campaign account at the end of February, nearly twice that of any other candidate.

Yet Grossman, despite his high-profile party activism and term as state treasurer, seemingly has yet to emerge as a well-known commodity among the electorate. A Suffolk University poll of 600 likely voters taken Jan. 29 to Feb. 3 showed that more than a third of respondents remained unfamiliar with Grossman, and among Democratic hopefuls, he trailed well behind Attorney General Martha Coakley, whose visibility among voters was higher.

It's a gap he feels confident he can overcome before the Sept. 9 primary.

"I think we have all noticed with a few exceptions that turnout in primaries has been pretty low, so there is a huge premium in building a team of organizers, people who believe passionately in the ideas that you're espousing, who believe that you can actually implement those ideas," Grossman said in a recent interview.

Grossman, 68, joined his family's business, Massachusetts Envelope Co. (now Grossman Marketing Group), soon after earning his MBA from Harvard in 1969. He led the company until his election as state treasurer and holds a nearly 50 percent share of the firm.

He headed the Massachusetts Democratic Party in 1991-92 and chaired the national party from 1997 to 1999 during Bill Clinton's presidency.

Grossman recalls once asking Clinton about the fundamental role of the presidency.

"He looked at me very simply and (said), 'Steve, as president, I'm in the solutions business. And I think that's a pretty good way of looking at the role of governor," Grossman said.

A potential risk for Grossman, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, is that voters may perceive him as a cozy party insider unwilling to challenge fellow Democrats. In recent weeks in his campaign, he's taken a more aggressive tact toward Coakley and has also questioned Patrick's decision not to accept the resignation of the commissioner of the state's child welfare agency, under scrutiny since the disappearance of a 5-year-old Fitchburg boy.

Grossman views income inequality as a central challenge facing Massachusetts. To that end, he favors a higher minimum wage, earned sick time for all workers and allowing immigrants in the country illegally to apply for driver's licenses and in-state college tuition.

He's also called for more spending in areas such as prekindergarten education, community colleges and behavioral health treatment and, if necessary, would not shy away from new taxes to fund such investments.

"I am in no way, shape or form going to rule out raising revenue at some point," said Grossman, adding that he'd look to higher taxes only if other options have been exhausted and in conjunction with other measures such as increased exemptions for lower-income families.

Grossman casts himself as a fiscally responsible, pro-business Democrat who would make job growth a priority.

As treasurer, he cites as major accomplishments the state's continued strong bond rating and healthy reserve fund. He touts his strategy of depositing more of the state's money into smaller community banks  funds that in turn can be invested in local small businesses. He also says his move to put the state's checkbook online has improved transparency.

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With the Crimea referendum an apparent foregone conclusion and U.S. and European sanctions on Russia imminent, the Obama administration shifted its sites Sunday to stopping Russian military advances near eastern and southern Ukraine that could further inflame the crisis.

Repeating that the United States will not recognize the results of the Crimea vote and will, with the European Union, impose penalties on Russia if it annexes the strategic region, senior U.S. officials warned that any Russia moves on east and south Ukraine would be a grave escalation requiring additional responses.

"President Putin has started a game of Russian roulette, and I think the United States and the West have to be very clear in their response because he will calculate about how far he can go," said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Secretary of State John Kerry called on Moscow to return its troops in Crimea to their bases, pull back forces from the Ukraine border, halt incitement in eastern Ukraine and support the political reforms in Ukraine that would protect ethnic Russians, Russian speakers and others in the former Soviet Republic that Russia says it is concerned about.

In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, their second since unsuccessful face-to-face talks on Friday in London, Kerry urged Russia "to support efforts by Ukrainians across the spectrum to address power sharing and decentralization through a constitutional reform process that is broadly inclusive and protects the rights of minorities," the State Department said.

Kerry expressed "strong concerns" about Russian military activities in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, just north of Crimea where Russian troops appeared on Saturday, and about "continuing provocations" in cities in east Ukraine, the department said.

Kerry "made clear that this crisis can only be resolved politically and that as Ukrainians take the necessary political measures going forward, Russia must reciprocate by pulling forces back to base and addressing the tensions and concerns about military engagement," the department said.

A senior State Department official said Lavrov's willingness to discuss Ukraine political reforms was positive, but the official stressed that the Russian military escalation was of "greatest concern" and must be reversed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer stressed that Russia faces penalties that will badly hurt its economy and diminish its influence in the world if President Vladimir Putin doesn't back down. He said the Obama administration's top priority is supporting the new Ukrainian government "in every way possible."

"President Putin has a choice about what he's going to do here. Is he going to continue to further isolate himself, further hurt his economy, further diminish Russian influence in the world, or is he going to do the right thing?" Pfeiffer said.

U.S. and European officials have said they plan to announce sanctions against Russia, including visa bans and potential asset freezes, on Monday if Putin does not shift course. But Putin and other Russians have shown no sign they are willing to back down. They insist they will respect the results of the Crimean referendum in which voters in the largely pro-Moscow peninsula are expected to choose joining Russia by a wide margin.

Members of Congress said they were prepared to enact tough sanctions on various Russian leaders, but $1 billion in loan guarantees to help the Ukrainian economy is on hold while Congress is on a break.

The ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, said the U.S. and Europe were entering a "defining moment" in their relationship with Russia.

"Putin will continue to do this. He did it in Georgia a few years ago. He's moved into Crimea, and he will move into other places unless we show that long-term resolve."

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut returned early Sunday from meetings in Ukraine. He called Sunday's annexation vote a "sham referendum." He said that Ukrainians he talked to, both inside and outside the government, said war could occur if Russia attempts to annex more territory. They indicated that "if Russia really does decide to move beyond Crimea, it's going to be bloody and the fight may be long," Murphy said.

Pfeiffer spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press." Menendez and Corker appeared on "Fox News Sunday." Murphy was on ABC's "This Week."

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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Secretary of State John Kerry is defending the Obama administrations decision to effectively allow the United Nations to condemn Israel for attempting to build more settlements in the disputed West Bank, saying the unprecedented effort has spawned terrorism and violence that jeopardizes lasting peace in the region.

The United States on Friday abstained from a U.N. Security Council vote to adopt a resolution condemning Israels settlement expansion, which allowed for the measures passage and resulted in the disapproval of incoming Republican President Donald Trump.

Things will be different after Jan. 20, Trump tweeted minutes after the vote.

Kerry said Israels continued and stepped-up attempts to build more settlements, or communities, in the region, which includes East Jerusalem, risks the so-called two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians, who also lay claim to the region.

The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every U.S. administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," Kerry said Friday. Two states is the only way to ensure Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors, and freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people.

He also said the administration does not agree with every aspect of the resolution but that it rightly condemns violence and calls on both sides to take constructive steps to reverse current trends and advance the prospects for a two-state solution.

The resolution was put forward by four nations a day after Egypt withdrew it Thursday under pressure from Israel and Trump.

The U.S. not vetoing the measure is being considered a snub to the countrys key Middle East ally and attributed to outgoing Democratic President Obama, who has had chilly relations with Israel throughout his eight-year tenure.

Reaction from U.S. Republicans and Jewish leaders around the world was swift and sharp.

"It was to be expected that Israel's greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution," said Israel's Ambassador Danny Danon. "I have no doubt that the new U.S. administration and the incoming UN Secretary General will usher in a new era in terms of the UN's relationship with Israel."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., blasted the administration for appearing to undermine America's historic Middle East ally.

"This is absolutely shameful," he said. "Today's vote is a blow to peace that sets a dangerous precedent for further diplomatic efforts to isolate and demonize Israel."

Former GOP presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee called the administrations move a big mistake.

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, said the contention that settlements, and not Palestinian terrorism, is the obstacle to peace is false.

"This UN resolution represents the Big Lie of modern anti-Semitism," Bayefsky said. "Palestinians' backers on the Council, New Zealand and Malaysia, made today's slander clear, claiming Jews living peaceful, productive lives on Arab-claimed land was the 'single biggest threat to peace' and "primary threat to a two-state solution.

"Seven decades of violent Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state prove otherwise."

The measure was adopted with 14 votes in favor, to a round of applause, after U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power abstained. It is the first resolution the Security Council has adopted on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.

Powers said the U.S. used its veto power in 2007 on a similar matter but that circumstances have (since) changed dramatically.

One cannot simultaneously champion Israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution, she said. One has to make a choice.

The Obama White House, under heavy pressure from the Israeli government and its supporters to veto the resolution, kept everyone guessing until the vote whether it would stop shielding Israel from council resolutions and permit it to pass by abstaining.

After the vote, White House officials acknowledged on a conference that Obama made the decision himself after several rounds of discussions with top administration officials.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said afterward that the U.S. has only one president at a time.

Israel believes it has the right to expand settlements in the disputed territories as populations within them expand. Palestinians do not believe the settlements should exist at all, and world condemnation of expansion is seen as a possible first in that direction.

The resolution calls on Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activity in occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. And it repeated the longstanding U.N. position that all settlements on land Israel conquered in 1967 are illegal under international law.

A senior Israeli official accused the U.S. of a "shameful move" after learning that it did not intend to veto the text, the BBC reported.

As one the council five permanent members of the council, the U.S. has veto power and has used it to sheltered Israel from condemnatory resolutions. But the Obama administration has long made clear its opposition to Israeli settlement-building in occupied territory, even though it gives Israel tens of billions annually in assistance.

This last minute political maneuvering is shameful," said Ric Grenell, former spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the U.N. and a Fox News contributor. "Todays abstention by the Obama administration will make it harder to find a peaceful solution because it imposes outside positions on Israel without letting them negotiate directly.

Fox News' Eric Linton and Jonathan Wachtel contributed to this report.
You know the scene in the 1986 John Hughes classic. Ferris Bueller and his pals ditch school. Then, for a joyride around Chicago, they purloin the cherry red, 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California -- the prized-possession of Camerons father.

Its his fault he didnt lock the garage, snaps Ferris to Cameron about his dad when he spots the car.

He knows the mileage, Ferris, protests Cameron.

But no matter.

They drive like bats out of hell all over the city. They hit a Cubs game. Sing Twist and Shout. Ferris even dupes a snooty maitre d' into thinking hes Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago.

After the excursion, they have to knock off the 84.2 miles they racked up on the Ferrari. Someone gets the harebrained idea to jack up the car, press a cinder block against the gas pedal and throw the gearshift into reverse to strip the miles.

The madcap scheme was doomed to fail.

Hey Ferris! The miles arent coming off! protests Cameron.

Naturally, Ferris has an answer for everything.

I thought that might be a problem, concedes Ferris. Well just have to crack open the odometer and roll it back by hand.

For more than seven years now, congressional Republicans warred with Democrats over ObamaCare. Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in March 2010, Republicans tried every single parliamentary machination possible to repeal, dismantle or defund the health care law.

Everything failed.

So congressional Republicans sit in the garage. Theyve jacked-up the law, deposited a cinder block against the accelerator and shifted into reverse. Its a desperate attempt to run off the miles and eliminate ObamaCare.

But just like the ludicrous plan with the Ferrari, they cant undo the ACA that way. The wheels just spin in reverse.

Congressional Republicans may have just one option. As Ferris said, Crack open the odometer and roll it back by hand.

The parliamentary apparatus to roll it back by hand is an elite, procedural device called budget reconciliation. And with the GOP running both chambers of Congress and President-elect Donald Trump moving into the White House, Republicans believe this is their best shot to euthanize ObamaCare once and for all.

Congressional Democrats and President Obama turned to the reconciliation process to approve the final versions of the ACA. If Republicans are to dissolve the law, they plan to use the same parliamentary tactic.

The reconciliation process launches in the House. But its application is more resonant in the Senate. So lets start there.

Unlimited debate and an unlimited amendment process are the quintessence of the Senate. Senators can talk and amend to their hearts content. That is, until the body reaches a deal involving all 100 senators to stop debate or consider a particular slate of amendments.

The Senate can also skip filibusters by conjuring 60 votes to invoke cloture. A successful cloture vote then limits debate, in most cases, to another 30 hours. But at that point, a filibuster is over. The Senate mustered 60 yeas.

This is where budget reconciliation comes in.

In 1974, Congress approved the Budget Act. This created the contemporary budget process governing non-binding guidelines for federal spending. But drafters of the act tucked into the measure a process called reconciliation. Aides who crafted the act viewed the reconciliation process as an after-thought and a procedure that was almost ministerial.

Yet over the years, reconciliation emerged as perhaps the most-powerful weapon in the Senates parliamentary arsenal. The reason? Well, if the Senate considers legislation under the reconciliation process, the body melts away the very marrow of the Senate: unlimited debate and unlimited amendments.

By rule, items considered under reconciliation must carry fiscal applications, be budget neutral or decrease the deficit. Moreover, reconciliation curbs debate to a grand total of 30 hours. And amendments? Well, reconciliation slashes those, too.

Reconciliation imposes a finite time frame on the Senate. No filibusters. And remember that business about 60 votes to undercut a filibuster? Well, a simple majority (usually 51 votes) is whats necessary to advance items considered under reconciliation.

That is, unless you want to bust the budget, add to the deficit or break the reconciliation parameters. Then youre back to needing 60 votes to waive the Budget Act.

Republicans will hold 52 Senate seats in the upcoming Congress. Forty-eight senators will caucus with the Democrats. Under standard Senate operations, Democrats could filibuster any effort to bring an ObamaCare repeal or replacement bill to the floor. Breaking that filibuster would require 60 votes.

A similar roll call of 60 votes are necessary to end debate on that bill (if you managed to clear the first 60 vote threshold). If the Senate makes it that far, a simple majority of 51 votes is required to pass the bill.

Democrats have a problem in 2018. Many of their senators from either GOP-leaning or battleground states face reelection.

They include Sens. Joe Manchin, West Virginia; Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota; Joe Donnelly, Indiana; Debbie Stabenow, Michigan; Sherrod Brown, Ohio; Claire McCaskill, Missouri; Al Franken, Minnesota; and Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin.

It may behoove some of them to vote with Republicans on certain ObamaCare repeal efforts. But Fox is told while Democrats may be willing to vote to improve the law, yanking it out by the root system is a non-starter -- even for some of these senators. In other words, with 52 votes, Republicans are still short of the magic, 60 vote threshold.

That leaves the GOP with little alternative but to turn to budget reconciliation to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

No filibusters. Limited time. And they only need a simple majority.

Now back to the House.

The House and Senate must first adopt a budget resolution before starting budget reconciliation. Guess what happened this past year? Neither the Republican-controlled House nor Senate approved a budget. This came after years of GOPers excoriating Senate Democrats for not muscling through a budget.

But Republicans now have the very real opportunity to excavate ObamaCare. That means Republicans who were reluctant to OK a budget this year have more incentive this time.

But there could be trouble. Remember the part about diminishing the deficit, or, at the very least, remaining budget neutral? Thats where something called The Byrd Rule kicks in.

Named after the late-Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., items in the reconciliation package must relate directly to spending and tax provisions. And the reconciliation plan must help with the deficit.

The problem with repealing ObamaCare is that such a plan would immediately spike the deficit. Like it or not, the ACA brings in significant tax revenue. Lawmakers would have to find savings elsewhere and include those provisions in the reconciliation plan to keep from running afoul of the Byrd Rule.

Of course, Republicans could avoid any Byrd Rule entanglements if they assemble 60 votes to bypass the Budget Act. But thats a high bar. Regardless, the reconciliation process must undergo a procedural filet which strips out policy provisions which dont meet the Byrd Rule standards.

The Senate refers to this process as The Byrd Bath. And items stripped from the reconciliation process? Byrd Droppings.

I know. Droll.

Its possible Republicans could graft a provision onto the reconciliation plan that replaces ObamaCare. The more likely scenario is that reconciliation compels lawmakers to enact a new health care law to succeed ObamaCare by a date certain.

When Ferris and his friends set out on their escapade, they have a free-wheeling agenda.

The question isn't what are we going to do? The question is what aren't we going to do?  posits Ferris.

Thats the approach of congressional Republicans as they attempt to torpedo ObamaCare. But as youll recall in the movie, Cameron leans on the Ferrari. It rolls backwards off the jack, through a plate glass window and crashes into the woods.

You killed the car! Ferris exclaims.

They neither rolled off the miles nor maintained the Ferraris pristine condition.

Thats the challenge facing Republicans. All of the other methods to eliminate the ACA failed. Now they have a real chance to do it  so long as they dont send the car flying off into the trees.

Youre still here? Its over. Go home. Go.
A cruise boat carrying up to 150 people capsized Thursday night in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Bahrain, and at least 48 bodies were recovered, the country's coast guard chief said. American divers and a U.S. helicopter aided the rescue effort.

Coast guard chief Youssef al-Katem said at least 63 people survived. A passenger on board the boat calling from his cell phone was the first to alert officials that the ship was listing, he said.

Survivor Khalil Mirza of Bahrain told The Associated Press that he made that call. He said the listing began while the craft was making a left turn out of the harbor.

"People were scared in the water," he said. "They were fighting with each other and screaming."

Television stations early Friday put the death toll at 54, but that higher figure couldn't immediately be confirmed with authorities.

The official Bahrain News Agency said the al-Dana was on an evening cruise that was to last several hours. It overturned less than a mile off the coast, it said. Television footage showed the boat capsized but not sunk, with rescue workers walking on its brown hull.

U.S. helicopters and divers joined the rescue operation launched by Bahrain's coast guard. Bahrain, a tiny island nation on the western side of the Persian Gulf, is home to the Navy's 5th Fleet.

Rescue teams brought bodies covered with white sheets to shore, and hospital workers hurried them to waiting ambulances. Scores of officials and relatives waited on the dock watching small rescue boats with flashing blue lights bring more bodies and survivors.

Television stations showed what they called a file photo of the al-Dana, which appeared to be 60 to 70 feet long with two decks.

There was no indication of what caused the vessel to overturn in what appeared to be ideal weather conditions. The government dismissed terrorism as a cause, and the news agency quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Mohammed Ben Dayna calling it an accident.

"It's too early to say what caused the accident," Ben Dayna said.

Al-Katem said an investigation was underway. The boat's owners said overloading could have caused the boat to capsize, according to Bahrain television.

The passengers were thought to be a mix of Bahrainis, nationals of other Gulf Arab nations and Westerners. Health Minister Nada Haffadh told al-Arabiya television that survivors who arrived at hospitals included nationals of India, South Africa, Singapore and Britain.

Information Minister Mohammed Abul-Ghafar, interviewed on al-Arabiya television, said the passengers included 25 Britons, 20 Filipinos, 10 South Africans and 10 Egyptians.

Haffadh said 24 people were hospitalized and that other survivors had been released upon arrival on shore. Television footage showed survivors, appearing to be in shock and their hair still wet, squatting on the floor of a hospital. Many of them covered themselves with blankets. One male survivor was shown being treated for cuts to the head.

Survivors, some with blood streaming down their faces, hugged each other. Several wept uncontrollably as friends and relatives tried to calm them. Some survivors needed assistance as they disembarked from a rescue boat that brought them to shore.

Interior Minister Sheik Al Kahlifa said most of the passengers were employees of a Bahrain-based company.

Al-Katem said there were 150 guests at a dinner party aboard. The guests, he said, ate dinner while the vessel was still docked and that up to 20 of them disembarked before it sailed.

Cmdr. Jeff Breslau, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy, told The Associated Press that the U.S. military aided the rescue effort. The Navy has had a presence in Bahrain for more than 50 years.

"We're sending divers, small boats and a helicopter," Breslau said.

A pair of helicopters could be seen from the shore flying low over the site of the incident. Rescue teams on small boats could also be seen using flashlights to help them search for survivors.

The capsizing of the ship came about two months after an Egyptian ferry sank in the Red Sea, killing about 1,000 people. The vessel was en route from the Saudi port of Dubah to the Egyptian port of Safaga when it went down before dawn about 60 miles off the Egyptian coast.

Bahrain is an oil-exporting and refining archipelago of 688,000 off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Why should you care about the violence in Israel and Lebanon? That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

The answer to that question is because it affects your life. Every time stuff like this happens, the price of oil goes up and the worldwide economy totters.

That's exactly what Iran wants.

Iran is behind the terror attacks on Israeli forces. The whole thing is part of World War III, ladies and gentlemen. Islamic fascism against the West. That global conflict, unfortunately, is here for the foreseeable future.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Iran is the world's most dangerous country. Any serious analyst will tell you that. And Iran is protected by China and Russia. It knows it can finance and train terrorists. It knows it can order Hezbollah to attack Israel any time it wants.

That's because, according to a variety of intelligence sources, Iran gives Hezbollah about $100 million a year, but Russia and China don't care. China wants Iranian oil. Russia want the USA on the defensive in the War on Terror.

So we have a terror nation -- Iran -- developing nuclear weapons and provoking war in the Middle East. And no one is doing much about it. How dangerous is this? How foolish?

Iran understands that violence is a good thing for the jihad. Having Israel attack Lebanon and Hamas means more Muslims will become terrorists. More Arabs will hate Jews, but what's Israel supposed to do?

Imagine terrorists sneaking across the Mexican border killing eight American soldiers and kidnapping two more. The USA would attack any country harboring those terrorists.

Iran timed this whole thing perfectly. It was under pressure to negotiate the nuke issue, so it used Hezbollah to avert attention, at the same time sending a message to the world that Iran can disrupt things any time it wants.

Look what happened to the stock market on Thursday -- down big.

The USA and other nations that recognize the danger from Iran and Islamic fascism are really in a jam. With China and Russia actually helping the evil jihad, options are limited. The campaign in Iraq is brutal. The USA can't launch another ground action and Iran knows it.

The U.N. is a cowardly farce. NATO? MIA. So Iran sits there and gloats about all the death and destruction it is causing.

Finally, it was nice to see the far-left Boston Globe editorialize today against Iran. But I still believe some far-left Americans are clueless about the vicious war we're in.

How would Ted Kennedy, or Barbara Boxer, or Howard Dean wage the terror war? What exactly would they do? If you figure it out, please let me know. I'm sure Iran would be interested as well.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, have filed suit against Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney for releasing Ms. Plame's name to journalists, thereby putting her in danger, they say.

Former Cheney aide Lewis Libby, under indictment in the case, is also named in the civil suit, which supporters of President Bush will find ridiculous. But anti-Bush people will applaud. You can make your own call on this one.

You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A Colorado man was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison Tuesday for sexually abusing children at a school he founded in Haiti, including some who faced him inside the courtroom and testified that he threatened to expel them if they did not submit to his advances.

Judge Janet Bond Arterton called Douglas Perlitz a serial rapist and molester as she imposed the sentence in New Haven federal court.

Perlitz, 40, apologized to his victims before the sentence was handed down. He said he knew his crimes were horrible but pleaded for leniency nevertheless, asking the judge to consider the good work he did in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

"They say a convicted sex offender has no future, but I would like to try to prove people wrong," he said. "At times I would rather die than carry this burden to be honest."

Perlitz admitted in August that he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with eight children who attended the Project Pierre Toussaint School for homeless children in Cap-Haitien.

Now a resident of Eagle, Colo., Perlitz founded the school in 1997 when he lived in Fairfield County, Conn. Authorities said he began abusing the children in 1998 before the school was built.

Six of his victims -- now young men -- were flown to Connecticut and detailed the abuse they suffered.

"He always told me, `Don't tell anybody about it. If you tell anybody about it, I will put you out on the street,"' one victim said through a Creole interpreter. He said Perlitz first abused him in 1998 and once sodomized him after plying him with rum.

Another victim said Perlitz started abusing him on his 14th birthday in 2004. He said he struggled with feelings of shame and thought about suicide, especially when he read the Bible.

"I am here today to tell the truth. Because of the truth I can find justice," he said. "He hurt us a lot."

Perlitz was arrested last year and pleaded guilty to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a crime that carries up to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors had asked the judge for a prison sentence of nearly 20 years, saying Perlitz preyed on some of the world's most vulnerable: Haitian street children with little or no family support or education.

The judge said she handed down such a lengthy sentence partly because interviews conducted by prosecutors indicated that Perlitz abused at least 16 children.

Authorities said Perlitz enticed the impoverished children into sex acts by promising food, shelter, money, electronics and other items of value, and then threatened to withhold benefits and expel them if they spurned his advances.

"Perlitz's sexual abuse of minors, abuse which lasted for a decade or more, shows him to be nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing -- an American man who traveled to Haiti purporting to care for homeless children when in reality he preyed upon the desperation of these children so that he could sexually abuse them," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing request to the judge.

Perlitz's lawyers asked for a sentence of about eight years, saying that Perlitz also helped many children.

His attorneys wrote in their sentencing brief that the government's "one-dimensional portrait of him as a monster driven solely by illicit sexual desire runs counter to what experience tells us about the human condition: that behavior may rarely if ever be explained so simply, and that most of us, including defendants accused of serious crimes, may only be fairly sketched in shades of gray."

Perlitz said in a pre-sentencing statement that a factor in the crimes was his "dark and abusive relationship" with a priest he met while attending Fairfield University, according to prosecutors.

Perlitz's lawyer said that he had "confusion and shame about his sexuality, and struggles with his identity; an ongoing, complicated and exploitive relationship with an influential priest; and increasing isolation and pressure while in Haiti."
For the last eight years, the Justice Department has sought to reform police practices considered discriminatory by any means necessary  something that has frequently involved the use of a statutory weapon that is little known by the public and even less well understood.

The DOJs so-called consent decree was established in the aftermath of the Los Angeles Rodney King riots, and it allows the departments Civil Rights Division to sue local police forces that have been found to have a pattern and practice of violating peoples rights or the use of excessive force.

One of the most dangerous, and rarely discussed, exercises of raw power is the issuance of expansive court decrees, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama wrote in the forward to a 2008 report from the Alabama Policy Institute. Consent decrees have a profound effect on our legal system as they constitute an end run around the democratic process.

The way the decree works is this: The DOJ launches an investigation into a police departments operations, frequently after a high-profile incident  such as the 2014 shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and Laquan McDonald in Chicago.

If the feds find that the departments operate with an ongoing pattern of abuse, they sue, effectively forcing the law enforcement groups to settle the cases and undergo a change to their culture to a degree deemed sufficient by the court and the DOJ.

Under President Barack Obama and his two attorney generals, Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, nearly two dozen investigations have been launched against various law enforcement agencies, many of which are still open. That number is not far from the norm for the federal agency, similar to the number of investigations that were launched under the Bush administration.

Obamas Justice Department has issued nearly four times the amount of consent decrees as his predecessor.

Sen. Sessions opinion that consent decrees are dangerous is of more than passing interest, as he has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to replace Lynch as attorney general, so the activist approach taken by the current administration is likely to end on Jan. 20.

"I think he will follow the law, J. Christian Adams, election law expert and president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, told FoxNews.com. He won't abuse federal power. I think he will not turn law enforcement into an exercise in grandstanding.

In other words, he won't behave like his previous two predecessors."

Much of Holders efforts in his six years in the post were spent rebuilding the Civil Rights Division, repeatedly calling it the federal agencys crown jewel.

A report on the DOJ report listing the divisions accomplishments during Obamas first term mentions the record number of court enforceable agreements which led to six jurisdictions  New Orleans, Seattle, Puerto Rico, East Haven in Connecticut, Arizonas Maricopa County and Alamance County, N.C.  to address policing issues.

For todays Department of Justice, our commitment to strengthening  and to fulfilling  our nations promise of equal opportunity and equal justice has never been stronger, Holder is quoted as saying in the executive summary.

Some of the more recent agreements, like those with the Baltimore and Ferguson Police Departments, are better known to the public, but others are not and many havent yet seen a resolution.

Out of 19 investigations carried out since 2010, six are considered ongoing. These include:

- A December 2015 investigation into allegations of excessive force and discriminatory policing in the Chicago Police Department after a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, was shot and killed by an officer. The incident led then-Superintendent Garry McCarthy to resign after documents pertinent to the case were suppressed.

- An investigation against the Orange County, CA, Sheriffs Department for violation of due process. The probe began in December 2015 after years of numerous allegations that prosecutors and deputies were abusing their power in order to lock down convictions.

- A case opened in April 2015 against the Evangeline Parish Sheriffs Office and Ville Platte Police Department in Louisiana about the alleged improper use of detentions and violations of the Fourth Amendment.

According to the LA Times, civil rights advocates are bracing for the division to have a more limited role in the coming years.

"Jeff Sessions has a decades-long record  from his early days as a prosecutor to his present role as a senator  of opposing civil rights and equality, Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told the Times. It is unimaginable that he could be entrusted to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for this nation's civil rights laws.

Others believe that Sessions that will restore professionalism at the Justice Department.

He will restore honor to a department that, under President Obama, perpetually pushed a political agenda while neglecting to enforce the law, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told the paper. It's time to end the politicization of the Justice Department and start defending the rule of law.
A second man has been arrested for a convenience store robbery in which a Southeast Texas police officer was shot.

Police in Bryan say 31-year-old Jonathon Deshawn Bradley was arrested in nearby Grimes County and is being charged with aggravated robbery for the holdup early Thursday. Another 31-year-old, Rafeal Antione Ginn, was arrested earlier.

The officer, who was wearing a protective vest when shot, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.

Police say the robbery occurred when a group of people entered the store and one of them pulled out a firearm. They took some money and fled.

Police have not said if either man arrested is the suspected shooter.

Bryan is about 90 miles northwest of Houston and adjacent to College Station, home to Texas A&M University.
A young woman says anti-Trump bullies at a prestigious womens liberal arts college forced her to drop out of the school.

Eighteen-year-old Andi Moritz told FoxNews.com Saturday that the ridicule began when she went on Bryn Mawr Colleges ride-share Facebook page in September to look for a fellow student to help her knock on doors for Donald Trump.

It didnt hit me at first because it was just one person being negative, Moritz said. Thats not that big a deal to me. It was when the negative comments started to continue and I saw a lot of people 'like' those comments and it just made me feel like I wasnt welcome Bryn Mawr.

Nobody has the right to an opinion of bigotry. 0 tolerance for fascists! was one response to her Facebook request for a ride.

You want to go campaign for a man who has systematically oppressed entire ethnic/racial groups not to mention the LGBTQIA+ community and many others, was another.

Why y'all doing this free labor for white supremacists tho, was a third.

I can understand you not liking someone politically, but things get taken too far when you dont like that person because of their political support, she told FoxNews.com.

Moritz said she worked hard to get into Bryn Mawr and was a first year student.

The night of her ride-share post, fellow freshman on her floor met to discuss the matter.

Moritz, who is from Hershey, Penn., says she deleted the post after the meeting and then the next day called the campus suicide hotline.

I just need someone to talk to, she said. She said she has battled depression in high school.

Two days after the call she dropped out after she spoke to her parents.

I let myself realize I wasnt happy and Bryn Mawr wasnt a good fit, she said.

She says she now works full-time at an animal shelter and is happy.

Moritz said she became a Trump supporter over time, attracted to his positions on terrorism, national security and gun rights.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that Bryn Mawr sophomore Anna Garguilo wrote about Moritz for a journalism class blog a few weeks ago.

Garguilo told the paper Moritz shouldnt have been subjected to such cyberbullying just because of her beliefs. She said she faced ridicule from Bryn Mawr students for telling Moritzs story, but doesnt regret it.

Bryn Mawr gave The Inquirer a statement after being asked about Moritz.

Freedom of speech and expression can lead to heated debate on campuses, and the Bryn Mawr campus has not been immune from the polarization of views that characterized the campaign, the statement said, according to the paper. Ad hominem attacks have no place in these discussions and do nothing to help us learn from or better understand one another. We continue to strive to be a place that both affirms freedom of speech and promotes civil discourse.

The Inquirers article says several students who responded to Moritz ride-share request with critical comments were also contacted.

The paper reported that those students either did not return calls or declined to comment.
A Canadian man is being held on $5,100 bond in Florida after driving a baggage-towing vehicle across the tarmac at Orlando International Airport.

The Orlando Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/2hk4ZNC ) that police identified the man as 27-year-old Richard Hogh. According to an affidavit, Hogh was flying Friday to Chicago and then to Canada.

Police said United Airlines employees removed Hogh from his flight after he sat in a first-class seat that wasn't his and claimed he was a pilot.

Authorities said Hogh removed his pants, then climbed onto a luggage tug and told the driver he "had a flight to catch." The driver left, and Hogh allegedly drove the tug onto a taxiway.

Hogh faces grand theft and trespassing charges. Orange County jail records don't show whether he has an attorney.

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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
A defense attorney says an insanity defense is unlikely in the trial of a man charged with fatally ambushing a Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding a second trooper near a rural barracks in eastern Pennsylvania.

Attorney William Ruzzo said during a hearing Friday that an insanity or diminished capacity defense isn't planned for 33-year-old Eric Frein (freen).

The (Scranton) Times-Tribune (http://bit.ly/2hnaqes) says Ruzzo declined to comment after the hearing.

Jury selection is slated in March in Chester County, outside Philadelphia, for a panel to be bused to Pike County.

Frein is charged with killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and wounding another trooper outside the Blooming Grove barracks in September 2014.

He led police on a tense 48-day manhunt before U.S. marshals caught him about 30 miles from the shooting scene.

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Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/
The European Union's talk of trying to ban Maine lobsters hasn't stopped them from becoming holiday meals in places like France, Italy and Spain.

Lobsters are a Christmas tradition in several European countries, and Maine lobster suppliers see a spike in December exports to meet demand.

The European Union caused consternation earlier in the year by considering  and then backing down  from a proposal to ban North American lobsters.

Sweden had complained about American lobster in the country's waters. The European Commission has informed Sweden it will not propose the lobster be listed as invasive. It will instead pursue measures less likely to disrupt trade.
Another man was arrested for a robbery at a convenience store which led to a Southeast Texas police officer being shot.

Officials say Jonathon Deshawn Bradley was arrested in Grimes County and is being charged with aggravated robbery for the holdup early on Thursday. Another man, Rafeal Antione Ginn, was arrested earlier. Both men are 31-years-old.

The officer was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and then released. The officer was wearing a protective vest during the time of the shooting.

The robbery occurred when a group of people entered the store and one of them pulled out a firearm, according to police. They took some money and fled.

It was not immediately identified if either man arrested is the suspected shooter.

The Associated Press contributed to the report.
A statue of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan was unveiled Wednesday in Hungary's capital, where he was honored for his leadership in helping to end communism.

The bronze 2-meter (7-foot) likeness of the 40th president was erected in Budapest at Freedom Square, near both the U.S.

Embassy and a World War II memorial to Soviet soldiers killed during the ouster of the Nazis from Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice helped unveil the statue Wednesday.

Reagan was remembered for the aid and encouragement he gave Hungary and other former Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe to gain back their freedom.

Reagan "changed the world and created a new world for Central Europe," Orban said at the unveiling ceremony. "He tore down the walls which were erected in the path of freedom in the name of distorted and sick ideologies."

Rice said the cause of the freedom fighters in Hungary's failed anti-Soviet revolution in 1956 deepened Reagan's commitment to ending communist rule around the world.

"The men and women of '56 inspired Americans and all free peoples never again to leave those alone who are struggling for their freedom," Rice said. "And they inspired most of all Ronald Reagan."

A large facsimile of Reagan's signature identifies the statue made by Istvan Mate and a touchscreen monitor nearby provides information about Reagan in Hungarian and English.

"The statue is imposing and the touchscreen is a lot of a fun," said Reka Nemeth, a Hungarian teenager visiting the site after the ceremony.

The statue, which shows Reagan in mid-stride, is the second memorial erected in his honor in Budapest, where a bust of the former actor and governor of California was placed in City Park in 2006.

In March, Hungary's postal service also issued a commemorative envelope and postmark celebrating the centenary of Reagan's birth.

For some, the Reagan tributes are excessive.

"We Hungarians have nothing to do with Reagan," the Hungarian Communist Workers Party said in a statement. "During his life, he served not our interests but those of 'American Big Capital' bent on ruling the world."

For others, however, Reagan deserves all the accolades.

"It's better to have two Ronald Reagan statues than none at all," said Marton Baranyi, co-creator of a Hungarian website dedicated to Reagan. "Reagan is a role model for Hungarians."

The unveiling ceremony, which began with the Hungarian and U.S. national anthems performed by a Hungarian military band, was also attended by former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House majority whip, and several members of the Hungarian government.
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Home to meditating monks and Himalayan nomads, the sleepy kingdom of Bhutan has set its sights on becoming an unlikely energy powerhouse thanks to its abundant winding rivers.

Hydropower plants have already harnessed the country's water flows to light up nearly every Bhutanese home, generating electricity that is sent to remote villages by cables strung through rugged mountain terrain.

It is a rapid transformation for the long isolated nation, where less than a quarter of households had electricity in 1999 -- the same year Bhutan became the last country to introduce television.

But the kingdom now has much greater ambitions for renewable hydropower -- already its biggest export -- which it hopes will provide more than half of its gross domestic product by the end of the decade.

"It is the white gold for Bhutan today," said Chhewang Rinzin, managing director of state-owned Druk Green Power Corporation, which runs the country's hydropower sector.

Bhutan's first megaproject, opened in the southwestern Chukha district in the 1980s, is now one of four major plants which between them have almost 1,500 megawatt capacity -- at peak output roughly equivalent to a large nuclear power station, and only five percent of Bhutan's hydropower potential.

Already going far beyond domestic needs in summer months, when monsoon rains fill up the rivers, most of the electric power is sold to India, Bhutan's giant energy-hungry neighbour.

In cooperation with the Indian government, and funded by its grants and loans, the kingdom is now aiming to reach capacity of 10,000 megawatts by 2020 through the building of 10 new plants.

In contrast, politically deadlocked and once war-wracked Nepal has just 700 megawatts of installed capacity, despite being among the top potential hydropower producers in the world according to the World Bank.

"India we see as a market that cannot be satisfied," Rinzin said of the demand for Bhutan's natural resource, which is driving economic growth estimated by the Asian Development Bank at 8.6 percent this year.

While hydropower is hailed as the country's ticket to self-sufficiency after years of depending on donors, there are reservations about the speed and scale of its development while other sectors of the economy lag behind.

One of the first new plants being built, the Punatsangchhu I project, is projected to cost about two billion dollars -- more than Bhutan's total gross domestic product. And there are nine more projects to complete.

"While no one disputes that harnessing hydropower energy is the way to go, there is concern that Bhutan is trying to do too much, too soon," said an April editorial in the national Kuensel newspaper, titled "Drowning in hydropower".

At the Chukha plant, colourful murals depicting the Buddha's life-cycle contrast with the whirring machinery but hint at the country's unique development model of pursuing "Gross National Happiness" (GNH).

Retaining Bhutan's Buddhist cultural identity and protecting the environment are key parts of the GNH philosophy, which aims to balance the financial advancement of the nation with spiritual well-being.

The existing hydropower schemes are all "run of the river" sorts that depend on natural water supplies rather than large reservoirs, designed to cause less disruption to their surroundings.

But three reservoir dams have been proposed among the upcoming projects to ensure plentiful water in the rain-free and freezing winter months, when power output currently drops by about three-quarters.

Rinzin says Bhutan's steep and sparsely-populated valleys will suffer much less impact than areas affected by big Indian or Chinese reservoirs -- the number of households displaced is in the hundreds rather than thousands.

But Samir Mehta, South Asia programme director at US-based watchdog International Rivers, expressed concern at a lack of transparency around the proposals and their impact. "The level of public engagement is not known," he said.

He warned that hydropower plants also face serious threats from climate change, given Bhutan's susceptibility to floods from lakes formed high in the mountains by melting glaciers.

In the capital Thimphu, people have other concerns on their mind about hydropower's rise, sometimes described as "jobless growth".

Despite its dominance in Bhutan, Druk Green has a staff of only 1,800, expected to rise to no more than 6,000, in a country where unemployment is a growing worry among its youthful population of 736,000.

The construction phase is more labour-intensive, but only 10 to 15 percent of these jobs are going to the Bhutanese by Rinzin's calculation, as most of the building work is carried out and overseen by Indians.

"It's money in and money out," said Tenzing Lamsang, editor of The Bhutanese newspaper. "Your own companies are not making the money that they should."

The kingdom, which is holding its second parliamentary elections after shifting to democracy in 2008, is already hugely dependent on India for imports and soaring demand led it to run out of Indian rupee supplies last year.

Many think the flurry in hydropower development, and subsequent demand for costly imported equipment and machinery, exacerbated the crisis.

While he believes in hydropower's long-term benefits for Bhutan, Lamsang says the financial and environmental concerns show that it should not be relied upon to the cost of other industries.

"The danger here is that we put all our eggs in one basket. If the basket does fall or something happens to the basket, then we're in for a lot of trouble."
The execution of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's uncle was more brutal than initially reported, according to a Beijing-controlled newspaper, which said the country's second-most-powerful figure was thrown into a cage filled with starving dogs and eaten alive.

The Singaporean Straits Times cited a report from Wen Wei Po, a Beijing-control newspaper, that said Jang Song Thaek and five close associates were stripped and fed to 120 dogs that had not eaten for three days. The entire process, witnessed by 300 senior officials, lasted for about an hour, the report said. Fox News could not immediately verify the report.

Gordon Chang, the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World," said he heard about the reports of Jang's brutal death back in early December. And although the reports are unconfirmed, Chang said "it is entirely possible" that Jang met his demise in the dog cage.

[pullquote]

"These deaths send a message that you better not cross the leader," Chang said. North Korea is known for its brutal killings. Chang said that Jang himself may have been responsible in the execution of a North Korean military colonel who was killed by a mortar shell.

Most political prisoners in North Korea are killed by a firing squad, Singaporean Straits Times reported. Kims reported departure from that method drew fresh rebuke from The Global Times, a Communist Party paper, which called the killing an example of backwardness of the regime. The editorial went on to urge Beijing to distance itself from the country.

To be sure, while the story is being widely reported, no major media outlets, including South Korean newspapers and China's People Daily, have confirmed it.

There are several reasons Beijing may have opposed the report on Jang's death. The Singaporean Strait Times reported that Jang was accused of selling cheap coal and precious metals to China. He was also accused of securing low commodity prices for Chinese businessmen.

Up until that point, Jang had been seen as the leading supporter of Chinese-style economic reforms in his country and an important link between Pyongyang and Beijing. But even before his death, China, North Koreas only official ally, had suspicions about the direction North Korea went under Kims rule.

"The two countries' military have always had close ties," Chang said.

North Korea accused Jang, 67, of corruption, womanizing, gambling and taking drugs. It said he'd been eliminated from all his posts. Allegations heaped on claims that he tried "to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state."

News of Jang's execution was trumpeted across the nation by state media  with unusually vitriolic outbursts on TV, radio and in the main newspaper  as a triumph of Kim and the ruling party over a traitor "worse than a dog" who was bent on overthrowing the government.

Narushige Michishita, a security expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, suggested that Jang's removal shows "that Kim Jong Un has the guts to hold onto power, and this might have shown his will to power, his willingness to get rid of anything that stands in his way."

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Spain's biggest cities -- Madrid and Barcelona -- were completing one of the nation's biggest political upheavals in years Saturday by swearing in far-left mayors. The radical leaders have promised to cut their own salaries, halt homeowner evictions and eliminate perks enjoyed by the rich and famous.

The landmark changes came three weeks after Spain's two largest traditional parties were punished in nationwide local elections by voters groaning under the weight of austerity measures and repulsed by a string of corruption scandals.

In Madrid, 71-year-old retired judge Manuela Carmena was sworn in to cheers from jubilant leftists who crowded the streets outside city hall shouting "Yes We Can!" as they ended 24 years of city rule by the conservative Popular Party, which runs the national government.

"We want to lead by listening to people who don't use fancy titles to address us," Carmena said after being voted in as mayor by a majority of Madrid's new city councilors.

Carmena has vowed among other things to take on wealthy Madrilenos who enjoy exclusive use of the city-owned Club de Campo country club -- opening it up to the masses. "We're creating a new kind of politics that doesn't fit within the conventions," she said before being voted in. "Get ready."

In Barcelona, anti-eviction activist Ada Colau was expected to be sworn in Saturday evening as the city's first female mayor.

Colau has questioned whether it's worth spending 4 million euros ($4.5 million) of city money to help host the glitzy Formula 1 race every other year. She thinks the funds would be better spent on free meals for needy children at public schools.

Carmena and Colau ran for office as leaders of leftist coalitions supported by the new pro-worker and anti-establishment Podemos -- "We Can" -- party formed last year. It is led by the pony-tailed college professor Pablo Iglesias, a big supporter of Greece's governing far-left Syriza Party.

Iglesias smiled from a balcony inside Madrid's city hall as he watched Carmena being sworn in, then pumped his arm into the air with a clenched fist as he celebrated the victory with others on the streets.

The left's takeover of Madrid, Iglesias said, is the goal his party has nationally for general elections that must be called by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy by the end of the year.

"Our principal objective is to beat the Popular Party in the general elections," he said.

The political fragmentation propelling Carmena and Colau into office marks a historic moment in Spanish politics, said Manuel Martin Algarra, a communications professor at the University of Navarra who specializes in public opinion.

"Madrid and Barcelona for the first time are not going be governed by political parties, but by coalitions made up of social movements," he said. "This was a punishment vote to the traditional political establishment in Spain."

For Carmena's Ahora Madrid -- or "Madrid Now" -- coalition with the Socialist Party, that means a mandate to roll back moves by the Popular Party to privatize city services, as well as carry out audits of the city's debts and contracts awarded to private companies seen as political cronies, said Pablo Carmona, an incoming Madrid city councilor.

The coalition also wants to set up a municipal anti-eviction division, create a housing bank of vacant apartments for needy residents and provide cheap quality daycare to working class families.

Before becoming a judge, Carmena was a labor lawyer defending worker-rights activists detained during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco that ended in 1975. The law firm she co-founded was targeted by a right-wing extremist who killed five of her colleagues and wounded four in an attack in 1977.

In Barcelona, the 41-year-old Colau is best known for leading the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages, formed in 2009 to fight evictions of crisis-hit homeowners who under Spanish law must still repay much of what they owe to lenders even after losing foreclosed homes.

Colau, who will be Barcelona's first female mayor, has raised eyebrows by siding with residents who say their neighborhoods are unlivable because the city has too much tourism. The main complaints are passengers disembarking from cruise ships and visitors who stay in illegally rented apartments.

"If we don't want to become Venice, some sort of limit on the tourism burden will be needed in Barcelona," Colau told the leading El Pais newspaper. "We can grow more, but I don't know how much."

There's no way of knowing how much Carmena and Colau will shake up the status quo because their coalitions are "groupings of people with different opinions and very little political experience who are going to try new things and some of them will not be viable," said Martin Algarra.

But Colau said new things are exactly what voters want.

"In Barcelona," she said, "a bet was made for change."
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Albanian authorities say they have confiscated about half a million cannabis plants this year, arresting 240 suspected growers and drug traffickers.

Interior Ministry spokesman Ardi Bita said Friday that fighting drug production is a "top priority" for police.

Some 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) worth of marijuana has been seized and destroyed so far, Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said.

On Wednesday, 100 police destroyed some 16,000 plants in Kurvelesh, south of Tirana.

Albania was long a major marijuana producer in Europe. A crackdown started last year, when police stormed the southern Lazarat village with armored personnel carriers  despite coming under automatic weapon and rocket fire by drug growers.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has set the fight against drugs as a main priority for his government, elected in 2013.
A Peruvian judge has ordered former military dictator Francisco Morales Bermudez to stand trial on kidnapping charges for the 1978 abduction of 13 opponents he allegedly ordered flown to Argentina on a military plane.

The 13 included three journalists. They were later deported by Argentina's military rulers to Mexico and Europe after international pressure for their release.

Peru's judiciary confirmed via email Thursday that Judge Rafael Martinez issued the order. It said Martinez also ordered two of Morales' then-ministers to stand trial. Kidnapping is punishable by a minimum of 20 years in prison.

The 91-year-old Morales ruled Peru from 1975-1980.

He was among a group of South American military dictators who colluded at the time, in what was known as Operation Condor, to suppress dissent through forced disappearances and killings.
A Singaporean teenager whose video posts and blogs mocking his government and its late founder landed him in jail twice has been detained in the U.S. where he is seeking asylum, his lawyer and a human rights group said Saturday.

The Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, called on the U.S. to recognize Amos Yee's asylum claim, saying he has been consistently harassed by the Singapore government for publicly expressing his views on politics and religion and severely criticizing the city-state's leaders, including late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Yee, 18, was imprisoned for six weeks in September on charges of hurting religious feelings of Christians and Muslims after repeatedly breaching bail conditions following a four-week prison sentence he served in July last year on the same charges.

He was also due to be called up for mandatory military service.

His U.S. lawyer Sandra Grossman told the South China Morning Post on Saturday that Yee was likely detained at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport because he entered the country on a tourist visa despite an intention to apply for asylum.

She said Yee would have to undergo a "credible fear interview" by an asylum official who would assess if he faces a credible fear of persecution or torture back home. She said the process usually takes a few days, but a holiday season could delay it. He would then appear before an immigration judge, but that could take years because of backlogs in the immigration system.

Yee, who won a local filmmaking prize at age 13, ruffled feathers in Singapore with a video blog laced with expletives as the city-state was mourning Lee's death in March last year.

Such open criticism and lampooning of leaders is rarely seen in Singapore, where laws are strictly enforced. The government of the multiethnic state says Yee crossed the red line on religion when he mocked Christians and Muslims and the law had to be enforced on him to protect racial and religious harmony.

Robertson said Yee has faced intensive government surveillance and monitoring of his public and online comments.

"Amos Yee is the sort of classic political dissident that the U.N. Refugee Convention was designed to protect, and Human Rights Watch hopes the U.S. will recognize his asylum claim," he said in a statement.
A nephew of the Berlin Christmas market attacker and two others have been arrested by authorities in Tunisia who suspect they are part of the same terror cell.

Tunisia's Interior Ministry said Saturday the three have ties to terrorist Anis Amri the driver of the truck that crashed into the market Monday, killing 12 people.

The ministry claimed Amri sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi money to join him in Europe.

It is unclear whether the suspects helped Amri flee Berlin.

The nephew was arrested in Amri's hometown of Oueslatia while the others were arrested in Tunis. The arrests occurred Saturday.

On Monday, Amri's fingerprints and wallet were found in the truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin. After fleeing from Germany and through France, he was shot dead by Italian police in Milan on Friday.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack.

Before his death, Amri pledged his allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and called for jihadists to take revenge on "crusaders" bombing Muslims, a video posted on Islamic State's Amaq website showed. It was not clear if the video was made before or after the Berlin attack.

Also Saturday, Spain's Interior Minister says police are investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist in Spain.

Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido tells Spanish radio station Cope that Spanish police are looking into a tip passed on by German authorities that Amri had developed a contact in Spain.

Zoido says we are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person.

Amri sought asylum after arriving in Germany late last year, Sky News reported Saturday.

The news outlet reports that Amri was seen as a potential threat long before the Berlin attack. Terrorism investigators had him under surveillance for six months.

But authorities failed to deport him because he lacked valid identity papers and Tunisia initially denied he was a citizen, Sky News reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Europe's open borders symbolize liberty and forward thinking  but they increasingly look like the continent's Achilles' heel.

Europe's No. 1 terrorism suspect crossed at least two borders this week despite an international manhunt, and was felled only by chance, in a random ID check. The bungled chase for Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri is just one example of recent cross-border security failures that are emboldening nationalists fed up with European unity. Extremist violence, they argue, is too high a price to pay for the freedom to travel.

Defenders of the EU's border-free zone say the security failures show the need for more cooperation among European governments, even shared militaries  not new barriers. Hidebound habits of hoarding intelligence within centuries-old borders, they contend, are part of the problem.

But their arguments are easily drowned out by the likes of far right leader Marine Le Pen, hoping to win France's presidency in May.

"The myth of total free movement in Europe, which my rivals are clinging to in this presidential election, should be definitively buried. Our security depends on it," she said in a statement Friday, calling the free-travel zone a "total security catastrophe."

That poses a dilemma for EU devotees like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing a re-election battle next year.

Her defense of the EU, and the open hand she extended to Syrian war refugees, were once seen as assets, signs of her moral authority. Today, with anti-immigrant, anti-establishment sentiment rising across Europe, they are threatening to become liabilities.

Millions cross borders in the 26-country Schengen travel zone every day, thanks to a 31-year-old system encompassing nearly 400 million people that has dramatically boosted trade and job prospects across the world's largest collective economy.

It's a pillar of a system designed to prevent new world wars  a system that's under growing strain. While EU countries debated over how to manage an influx of migrants last year, eastern nations rebuilt fences and exposed EU weaknesses.

The German far right is insisting on closing the borders. Merkel's conservatives are suggesting "transit zones" to hold migrants at the borders while their identity is confirmed, and making it easier to hold people in pre-deportation detention.

Berlin attacker Amri is a painful example of how Islamic extremists have used Europe's open borders to attack the principles of tolerance they're meant to epitomize.

After migrating illegally from Tunisia in 2011, he was imprisoned for burning down a migrant detention center in Italy. When freed, attempts to deport him to Tunisia failed for bureaucratic reasons. He subsequently traveled to Switzerland and then Germany, where he apparently fell under the influence of a radical network accused of recruiting for the Islamic State group.

Though his asylum application was rejected and he was flagged as a potential terror threat, Germany obediently waited for Tunisia to produce his paperwork before deporting him.

And just as the deportation was being finalized Monday, Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and rammed it into holiday crowds at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 and wounding dozens.

He evaded an international manhunt for more than three days, slipping apparently into France  possibly with a pistol in his pocket  and then Italy before stumbling into a standard ID check in suburban Milan, where he died in a police shootout.

Germany, France and Italy have failed to explain how he escaped the dragnet.

"Movement from one country to another in Europe is easy, especially for someone like Anis Amri, who had lived in Europe for several years" and knew which borders were easier to cross, said Tunisian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bouraoui Limam.

France is especially embarrassed.

It's been under high security as part of a state of emergency since last year. It's acutely aware of the risks of violence on trains, after American passengers thwarted an attack on a Paris-Amsterdam train in 2015.

Yet French President Francois Hollande visited the Alpine town of Chambery on the same day that Amri is believed to have passed through its train station en route to Italy, unnoticed by border guards or the president's security detail.

The next morning, as Italian police were identifying Amri's body, France's interior minister visited a Paris train station to talk about vigorous transport security in place for the holidays.

France's far right and the conservative opposition assailed the Socialist government as lax.

"It's a veritable kitchen strainer," said Eric Ciotti, lawmaker for the Republicans. "How could this person enter in Europe without being monitored? How could we let him settle in Europe?"

What's worse, it's not the first time.

Last year, hours after IS extremists killed 130 people at multiple targets in Paris, key suspect Salah Abdeslam fled to Belgium despite increased checks on both the French and Belgian borders. It took authorities four months to find him. Further, Abdeslam, a French national, had traveled through the Italian port of Bari on a roundtrip journey to Greece in August, months before the attack.

And in 2014, Mehdi Nemmouche allegedly killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, then crossed into France and traveled to the Mediterranean city of Marseille before being picked up in a police check.

Security and migration will be central issues in elections in the coming year in Germany, France and the Netherlands  all founding nations of the EU. And related fears could be key to fueling opposition calls for early elections in Italy after the recent political crisis.

The leader of Italy's anti-migrant Northern League, Matteo Salvini, called for closing and reinforcing Europe's borders after the latest terror attack.

"I don't want another two or three massacres before Europe wakes up," Salvini said Saturday.

A candidate for France's left-wing primary next month, Vincent Peillon, pleaded Friday for joint European rules on borders, defense and intelligence. "It's all of Europe that is being attacked," he said.

Le Pen's party, though, wants to retrench rather than reach out. She says she wants to "give France back full control over its sovereignty."

As Europeans head home for the holidays, many crossing multiple borders on the way without showing a single passport or changing any currency, people are asking themselves: Is it all worth it?

___

Geir Moulson in Berlin and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed.
As the first female airplane pilot in Afghanistan, Niloofar Rahmani became a powerful symbol of what women could accomplish in the post-Taliban era. But in the ultraconservative country, the limelight also brought threats, sending her into hiding from insurgents and vengeful relatives.

Now, more than three years after she earned her wings, the 25-year-old Afghan air force pilot hopes to start a new life in the U.S. where she has applied for asylum, saying her life would be in danger if she returns home.

Capt. Rahmani went to the U.S. in the summer of 2015 to train on C-130 transport planes with the U.S. Air Force. The course ended Thursday, and under the terms of her training stint, she was due to go back to Afghanistan on Saturday. She wont be going.

I would love to fly for my countrythat is what I always wanted to do, Capt. Rahmani said from Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, where she completed the flight training. But Im scared for my life.

Click for more from the Wall Street Journal.
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

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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh
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Syrian state TV says an explosion rocked eastern Aleppo as some residents were returning to their homes after the government assumed full control of the city earlier this week.

It says the explosion on Saturday was caused by a device left inside a school by Syrian rebels, who withdrew from their last remaining enclave under a cease-fire deal after more than four years of fighting.

A correspondent for Lebanon's Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV was reporting live from the area when the blast sounded in the background, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air. The correspondent later said that at least three people were killed.

The rebel pullout from Aleppo, which was completed on Thursday, marks President Bashar Assad's greatest victory since the conflict began in 2011.
The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic lay order, has told Pope Francis that his decision to launch an investigation into the ouster of a top official over a condom scandal is "unacceptable."

In an extraordinary rebuke of the pontiff, the group said the replacement of its grand chancellor was an "act of internal governmental administration of the Sovereign Order of Malta and consequently falls solely within its competence."

Francis on Thursday appointed a five-member commission to investigate the ouster of Albrecht von Boeselager amid evidence that Francis' own envoy to the group helped engineer it without his blessing.

One charge used against von Boeteslager concerned a program that the order's aid group participated in several years ago to help sex slaves in Myanmar, including giving them condoms to protect against HIV infection. Church teaching bars artificial contraception.
The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land says he's glad that "at least the military war" in the Syrian city of Aleppo is over and that Christians there can celebrate Christmas "without fear."

Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa traveled from Jerusalem in a traditional Christmas Eve procession on Saturday ahead of midnight mass in Bethlehem.

He told The Associated Press that he hoped the people of Aleppo could "rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there."

The Syrian government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels, including some Islamic militants, agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the country's largest city.
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About 200 people have protested in the Tunisian capital against the return of Tunisian jihadis who have fought abroad.

The gathering was prompted by the deadly truck attack in a Berlin Christmas market by Tunisian Anis Amri, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and was killed Friday in a police shootout. Amri, 24, was slated to be deported home from Germany.

Banners at the protest Saturday in front of Parliament in Tunis read "Close the doors to terrorism" and "No tolerance, no return." Protesters waved Tunisian flags and sang the national anthem.

Protester Faten Mejri said "for us, they are not Tunisians. They are awful people."

Tunisia says at least 800 Tunisian jihadis are under surveillance since returning home after fighting in Syria, Iraq and Libya.
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

Google Ad

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

Google Ad

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
FREDERICKSBURG

Christ Lutheran Church, 1300 Augustine Ave., will hold a Family Service with a Childrens Program at 5 p.m. today, and there will be Candlelight Services with Holy Communion at 7 and 9 p.m. On Christmas Day and New Years Day there will be one worship service with Holy Communion at 10 a.m. 540/373-5087.

First Christian Church, 1501 Washington Ave., will host its annual Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion service at 7 p.m. today, which will also include a Christmas cantata, devotionals and scripture. The church will celebrate Christmas on Sunday with an 11 a.m. worship service following its 10 a.m. all-ages Sunday School. The church administrative office will be closed Dec. 26 in recognition of the Christmas holiday. 540/373-7716; 1stchristianchurchfredva.org.

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 309 Wolfe St., will hold its Christmas services at 6 a.m. with The Rev. Dr. Lawrence A. Davies, 9:30 a.m. with Sunday School and 11 a.m. with The Rev. Carl Butler, who will be preaching normal morning service. 540/371-2878.

Christ Lutheran Church, 1300 Augustine Ave. On Christmas Day and New Years Day there will be one worship service with Holy Communion at 10 a.m. 540/373-5087.

Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site), 525 Princess Anne St., will hold its annual Community Free Christmas Day Dinner for senior citizens, homeless and homebound citizens on Sunday, Dec. 25 between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. All are welcome to dine at the church. Dinners will also be delivered within an 8-mile radius of the church. Call 540/371-1153 or Carole Hamm at 540/785-0898 before Dec. 23 to make reservations for deliveries.

Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 2208 Lafayette Blvd., will hold a New Years Eve Gospel Sing from 7 p.m. until midnight sponsored by the Salvation Army. Justified, Old Time Way Bluegrass Gospel, Born Again Country and The Hendersons will perform. 540/898-2180, 540/582-2309.

Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 308 Hanover St., is offering two courses starting Jan. 4 for Grief Education and Jan. 11 for Divorce Recovery. For more information and childcare, call 540/373-9021 Ext. 105; fumcva.org/grow/adult.

Peace United Methodist Church, 801 Maple Grove Drive, is changing its food pantry days. The food pantry will only be in operation the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 9:3011 a.m. 540/786-8585.

Trinity Bible Church, 6331 Campus Drive, will hold a midweek Bible study beginning Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the Book of Revelation. The church will also continue to host Sunday evening AWANA ministry from 57 p.m. Email admin@tbc.me.

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY

Hope Presbyterian Church, 11121 Leavells Road, will hold the following services on Christmas Eve: Service of Lessons and Carols, 4 p.m. Contemporary Family Service, 6 p.m.; Traditional Candlelight Service, 9 p.m. Communion will be served at all three services and a nursery will be provided as well. On Christmas Day, the church will hold one Worship Service at 10 a.m. 540/898-4673.

Resurrection Lutheran Church, 6170 Plank Road, will be holding Christmas Eve Services at the church today with the childrens service at 4:30 p.m., candlelight services at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and on Christmas Day, Worship and Communion at 10 a.m. 540/786-7778.

Massaponax Baptist Church, 5101 Massaponax Church Road, will hold a Christmas Eve candlelight service at 5 p.m. 540/898-0021.

The First Baptist Church of Love, 124 Bend Farm Road, will hold a worship service today at 6 p.m. It will not be having Sunday school or morning worship service on Sunday. 540/373-4944.

Eastland United Methodist Church, 10718 Courthouse Road, will hold a Candlelight, Communion worship service today at 7:30 p.m. There will be a casual Christmas morning worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. 540/898-6430.

Piney Branch Baptist Church, 10727 Piney Branch Road, will hold Christmas Day Hour of Power from 8-9 a.m. There will be no 11:30 a.m. Morning Worship service. On Dec. 31, Watch Night Service and Sunday Morning Service will include Holy Communion at 10 p.m. There will be no 11:30 a.m. Morning Worship Service on Jan. 1. 540/786-7045.

Zion Hill Baptist Church, 10411 Cooktown Road, will hold Christmas Day worship service at 8:30 a.m. 540/972-2778.

First New Hope Baptist Church, 4508 Dickerson Road, Partlow, will hold morning worship service at 9 a.m. on Christmas Day. 540/895-5052.

Craigs Baptist Church, 14123 W. Catharpin Road, will hold a special Christmas Day Service at 11 a.m. Sunday. All other services are canceled for the day. AWANA program will be held every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The next eight-week Centershot archery program for ages 6 to adult will begin Feb. 2. Register early. 540/854-5284; churchbaptistchurch.org.

New Destiny Baptist Church, 11903 Bowman Drive, will host Word on Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. weekly. newdestinyva.org.

STAFFORD COUNTY

Hartwood Presbyterian Church, 50 Hartwood Church Road, will hold a candlelight Christmas Eve service at 4 p.m. 540/752-4671.

Berea Baptist Church, 28 Fleet Road, have a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 6 p.m. Christmas Day Celebration worship service will be at 11 a.m. Sunday. No other activities that day. 540/752-4406; Berea-Baptist.org.

Antioch United Methodist Church, 138 Kellogg Mill Road, will have a Christmas Eve candlelight service beginning at 7 p.m. On Christmas Day, services will begin at 11 a.m. 540/752-7108.

Beth Sholom Temple, 805 Lyons Blvd., will hold its annual Hanukkah Menorah Lighting today at Hurkamp Park. The lighting will feature Hanukkah blessings, prayers, music and serve hot cocoa, chocolate gelt and jelly doughnuts. Beth Sholom will also provide a Christmas dinner at Thurman Brisben, 471 Central Road, on Christmas Day. To RSVP, call 540/373-4834 or email office@bstva.org.

Stafford Community Baptist Church, (current meeting place at Red Roof Inn), 153 Garrisonville Road, will observe its annual Christmas Eve Service on Dec. 24 and will have Andrew L. Hogan Jr. as the speaker for the 7:30 p.m. service. 301/225-2676.

Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, 135 Chapel Green Road, will have early Christmas service on Dec. 25 at 9 a.m. It will be a short service. 540/373-4303.

First Bible Baptist Church, 565 White Oak Road, will hold its Christmas Day service on Sunday at 10 a.m. 301/752-8589.

Miracle Faith Ministries Church, 14 Miracle Valley Lane, will hold its Christmas Celebration Service on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Casual dress. miraclefaithmin.com.

CAROLINE COUNTY

Long Branch Baptist Church, 14297 Long Branch Road, Woodford, will have a Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. The Rev. Morris Oliver will bring the message and the music will be rendered by Deliverance. 540/373-0690.

St. John Baptist Church, 17080 S. River Road, Woodford. Christmas Day worship will take place at 8 a.m. only. No Watch Night will begin on Dec. 31 with New Years Day worship at 10 a.m. 804/448-3866.

Third Mount Zion Baptist Church, 9132 Fredericksburg Turnpike, Woodford, will hold its Christmas morning worship service on Sunday at 10 a.m. On Dec. 31, the Watch Night service begins at 10 p.m. will a gospel celebration with Ray and the Revelations from South Carolina, along with Walter Bake and the Mass choir and Men of Zion. On Jan. 1, the morning worship service will be at 10 a.m. 804/632-6039.

KING GEORGE COUNTY

The Little Ark Baptist Church, 15681 Owens Drive, will host a 2016 Final Prayer and Praise Service on Dec. 30 from 7-9 p.m. Come join for a time of thanksgiving for 2016 and prayer and praise for the incoming 2017 year. This will take the place of the Watch Night service. 540/663-2831.

CULPEPER COUNTY

Oakland Baptist Church, 28348 Eleys Ford Road, Richardsville, will hold its Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. The evening of scripture and special music will close with a candle lighting and Silent Night. 540/399-1248.

Richardsville United Methodist Church, 29235 Richards Ferry Road, will hold a 6:30 p.m. candlelight service today partnering with Hopewell Church in Lignum. The informal services will include congregational hymns, Christmas carols and a brief message recalling the true meaning of Christmas from The Rev. Stan Mulford. 540/399-1843.

Little Fork Episcopal Church, 16461 Oak Shade Road, Rixeyville. Candlelight Christmas Eve service begins at 8 p.m. with closing Christmas ceremony and lessons on Sunday, Jan. 1, at 10 a.m. 540/937-4306.

Hopewell United Methodist Church, 23557 Lignum Road, Lignum, will hold a candlelight service at 11 p.m. today for families in the community, partnering with Richardsville United Methodist Church. Kids in pajamas are welcome. 540/399-1843.

Beulah Baptist Church, 9297 Eggbornsville Road, Rixeyville, will host a free call-in Bible study with Pastor Kenneth Pitts every Wednesday from 77:30 p.m., studying the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Call-in number 302/202-1118; access code 862090.

St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 115 N. East St., (Parking: 120 N. Commerce St.), will have a Holy Communion family service on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m., followed by a childrens birthday party for Jesus, with caroling at 10:30 p.m. and Midnight Mass at 11 p.m. Christmas Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Christmas Day. 540/825-8786, ststephensculpeper.net, FB: St-Stephens-Episcopal-Church-Culpeper-VA.
The third time Bill Bailey was turned down for flight school, an instructor told him he didnt have the mental dexterity to handle the rigors of flying.

More than half a century later, as Capt. William E. Bill Bailey was being inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame, he shared that story with others at the Richmond ceremony.

Now, thats a good one for the archives, he said.

While Bailey initially was denied admission to flight school because of his complexion, he said he succeeded because of his determinationand his ability to let God lead him. Once he got the chance to get in a cockpit, he said the color of his skin didnt matter.

That was just a minor part of it, to be honest, the Stafford County man said, and none of that impacted my goal: to get through it and become an airline pilot.

Bailey met his goal and then some.

After a 20-year military careerwhich included being shot down in Vietnam, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and three Purple HeartsBailey retired as a colonel and switched his focus to jumbo jets.

He spent another 20 years as a pilot with Continental Airlines before his retirement in 2002.

Along the way to earning 25,000 flying hours in commercial planes, he also trained more than a thousand pilots. About 200 of them were AfricanAmericans, and 25 of them became airline pilots, Bailey said.

Blacks are still under-represented in military cockpits. While they make up 14 percent of those on active duty in the Air Force, less than 2 percent are pilots.

Still, Bailey contributed to shattering forever the myth that AfricanAmericans were not capable of acquiring technical flying skills, Herman Jones, a retired Army colonel and friend and fellow church member to Bailey, wrote in his nomination letter to the Hall of Fame.

Indeed, that aspect of Baileys career, along with his impressive record, attracted the attention of Virginias Aviation Hall of Fame, which was created in 1978 by the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society.

It wasnt just the difficulty in breaking through barriers, said Linda Burdette, chairperson of the committee that reviews applications.

His skills and ability later became obvious as Bailey was chosen to fly high-ranking officers and dignitaries into combat areas during the Vietnam War.

Thats not a job you give to average pilots, she said.

Plus, Bailey has tried to encourage and inspire young people of all backgrounds to take up an interest in flying. Its gotten more expensive to take flying lessons or rent aircraft, and fewer younger people are entering aviation, Burdette said. The average age of airline pilots is about 50, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Its really impressive when you find someone whos able to influence and encourage young people the way Bill Bailey has, Burdette said.

The committee reviews about 20 new applications per year, then looks back at previous nominees who may not have been selected because they were up against tough competition, Burdette said.

Baileys nomination quickly soared to the top of the list.

That one was pretty much a slam dunk, she said.

SEE HOW GOD WORKS

Bailey grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and attended Virginia State College, where he was named an All-American wrestler.

He initially wanted to teach physical education in high school, but had joined the ROTC in college and went into the Army in 1962 to fulfill his commitment.

When others in his company were being sent to glamorous duty stations, he ended up in Germanya soldier surrounded by flying forces at Rhein-Main Air Base.

But as he said has often happened in his life, there was a purpose in him being at Rhein-Main. He became friends with an Air Force lieutenant, who often took him flying on days after the pilot had stayed out a little too late.

Hed say, Keep the airplane pointed in this direction, and he would point to the instruments, Bailey said. As soon as hed go to sleep, I would descend and climb.

The lessons werent exactly kosher, but they got Bailey interesting in flying. He studied the manuals and took the flight skills tests. He also applied to flight school and was turned down repeatedly.

Bailey eventually got reassigned to Fort Eustis near Newport News. He answered a call one day from Washington, where a unit didnt have enough pilots to meet its quota.

Bailey told the woman on the other end that hed completed all the tests but hadnt been admitted to classes. She told him to send her his paperwork, and by weeks end, he was signed up for flight school.

See how God works if you just get out of the way? he said.

JUST A GREAT GUY

Bailey is a prolific talker, yet he hes never had much to say about his time in Vietnam, where he served with the 3rd Squadron of the 5th U.S. Cavalry. He was there for two years, in 1967 and 1970, and was no stranger to being shot ator shot down.

He took bullets in the left shoulder and knee, crashed twice, and turned his chopper into a rescue vehicle when ground troops were dropping like flies.

Ive forgotten a lot of it, Ive erased it from my memory, I always figured nobody wanted to hear this stuff, Bailey said.

His friend, Jones, also served in Vietnam and hadnt mentioned much about his service, either.

If he was like me, he got off the plane, where people spit on you and threw rocks at you, Jones said. No one wanted to go there. There wasnt much for him to be proud of, until all of a sudden, hes getting recognition for it.

Thats why Jones wanted to nominate him for the Hall of Fame, to give him much-deserved credit for his part in a war people havent always honored.

This is the best thing that ever happened to him, Jones said.

Don Davenport, a retired officer who lives in Texas, agreed that Bailey was more than deserving of any honor accorded him. The two met in Kansas, flew together in Vietnamwhere Davenport risked his life to rescue Bailey after he was shot downand have been friends ever since. They keep in touch regularly, and Davenport came from Texas to see Bailey inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame.

I do not know of anyone who has ever met Bill Bailey that Bill didnt make a lasting impression on, Davenport said. Hes just a great guy.
A lot of people wanted to talk to Stafford High School senior Nathan Ostrum this week.

After Nathan spoke out when he heard a proposed yearbook profile that would discuss his transgender transition had been vetoed, the American Civil Liberties Union called. So did the Human Rights Campaign, which is interested in having him serve as a Youth Ambassador.

Then he received a personal letter from Ralph S. Northam, the lieutenant governor of Virginia, thanking him for his courage in using his personal story to educate and inspire.

But one of the most meaningful conversations, Nathan said, was with Joseph Lewis, the principal who had apparently not been in favor of the piece, letting him know that he would be included in the yearbook profiles of featured students after all.

I think if I hadnt spoken about it and it hadnt gotten where it did, it would have just been forgotten about, Nathan said. I dont regret putting it out there. I feel bad he went through what he did.

Nathan recorded a video on his YouTube channel about the profile cancellation, leading to attention from the community, and he knows Lewis received criticism as a result.

That wasnt his goal, he said. As he has done with videos throughout his transition, he has always just wanted to share his experience with others, hoping to create a more inclusive, aware community.

The comments on my YouTube channel were incredible, Nathan said. In general, they said I just made them feel more safe and comfortable to be themselves at school.

The yearbook profile will focus on Nathan as an activist, not as a transgender individual, which the 17-year-old said had always been his understanding of the piece. But he said that Lewis told him that when it was proposed, it sounded to the principal like it would just be putting the student on display, not honoring an accomplishment.

Schools spokeswoman Sherrie Johnson confirmed via email that Nathan would be included in the profiles, which feature notable students or significant student achievements.

An email seeking comment from Lewis also was answered by Johnson.

In the future, Nathan said, he hopes that school administrators will approach students directly in sensitive situations.

They should reach out to the student, he said. They knew somehow it would get back to me, Im sure, because I already knew I would be interviewed [for the yearbook].

He understands that his schools administration might have preferred for him to come to speak to them when he heard he wouldnt be included in the profiles instead of posting a public commentary about it, but he thinks thats a lot to ask of a teenager, he said.

It makes sense both ways, but if you think about it, a kid thats this age and maybe going through something isnt going to want to talk to someone thats up high. Its a little scary, he said. No student would want to go the principals office and say, Hey, can I talk to you. 

His father, Scott Ostrum, is happy the school gave the profile further consideration, he said.

I wish he didnt cuss so much on his video, Scott Ostrum said of his son. But Im really pleased that he said something and stood up for himself.

And he appreciated the healthy conversations he had on social media, he said.

It allowed me to respond to peoples misperception about gender dysphoria and clarify things, Scott Ostrum said. Now I find myself surprisingly emotional when it comes to seeing videos about kids that are struggling, and parents struggling with their kids transition. ... Before, I wouldnt care. I think a lot of people cant empathize because they never really went through it.

When he got a negative comment, he sent a link to a Ted TV video about gender dysphoria, he said, and he described an emotional video out of Texas about a parent coming to terms.

In the end, they said, its the conversations that make them feel this incident may have had a silver lining.

Nathan is amazed by how many teachers have stopped to speak to him. And several alumni reached out and told him they wish their yearbook had included a story like his, he said.

We were all just talking about visibility in the community, in Stafford, how its not really there and how theyre really happy that this got out, Nathan said. Because  people got a chance to see that we exist. I think nobody really thinks in Fredericksburg that these people, LGBT kids, are actually here, because nobody talks about them.
Spotsylvania County deputies spent the past few weeks making sure needy children and seniors will get something for Christmas.

On Friday, it was their turn to receive a thank you for all that they do.

Walter Bouchard, a Marine turned financial advisor, and his children, Jacob, 17, and Kylie, 15, met 1st Sgt. Shaun Jones at the Starbucks in Fredericksburgs Westwood Shopping Center and handed him a bag containing dozens of gift cards for area coffee shops.

We really appreciate it, Jones said as he took the festive red and green bag with the word Joy printed on it. I will give these out to the guys who are working right now.

This is the second time that Bouchard, who owns Bouchard & Associates in downtown Fredericksburg, has collected gift cards and donated them to area police.

The first took place in 2014 ago when clients, friends and others chipped in 127 gift cards for him and his children to distribute to the Fredericksburg City Police Department, and the sheriffs offices in Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.

He wished to perform a random act of kindness in the wake of negative reactions to police-involved shootings and the ensuing ambush of police officers around the nation.

I wanted to be on the positive side of things, Bouchard said. These folks are out there every day trying to protect us. This is really just to show them some support when theyre out there working and were home celebrating Christmas.

It was also a chance to give his children a hands-on lesson in gratitude. He said that its important not just to tell them about the importance of being grateful, but to involve them.

Bouchard wasnt able to do the gift card donation last year, but wanted to do it again. This time he enlisted the help of Kristin Ward, who manages the Starbucks in Westwood Shopping Center.

She put out signs inside the store and at the drive-thru window asking for gift card donations. That helped boost the total to 446 gift cards by Thursday, plus three more that Ward gave him Friday.

Weve really seen an outpouring of support from the community, said Bouchard, who gave Ward a present in thanks for her help.

She said that her store has donated gift baskets to nonprofits, but nothing as big and in-depth as collecting gift cards for the local police.

Its definitely going to a good cause, Ward said.

The gift cards, most of which were worth $5, were divided among the three local police departments and, for the first time, the Virginia State Police office in Spotsylvania.

1st Sgt. Keith Hairston, who accepted a bag of gift cards Friday at the Virginia State Police office, said that people often stop by to give the state troopers food or some gift cards during the holidays, but nothing quite like this.

This is great, he said. We appreciate it.

Jones said that the Spotsylvania Sheriffs Office has been helping to make the holidays brighter through its Shop with a Cop program and Operation Blue Christmas for people in need, including those who have lost belongings due to fire or have a family member with a critical illness.

Its not all about arresting people, he said of his job. Its about reaching out to the community.

He said that the donation of gift cards to him and his coworkers shows that people care about what we do.

That, Bouchard told him, is why we did it.
This year, Alane Callanders Christmas Eve dinner will include brisket and sweet potato latkes in addition to ham and scalloped potatoes.

Thats because the first night of Hanukkah falls on Christmas Eve this year, for only the fourth time since 1900.

The date of Hanukkah, which commemorates Judah the Maccabees reclamation of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from the Greeks, moves around each year because it is based on a solar and lunar calendar, Rabbi Michael Weinstein of Fredericksburgs Beth Sholom Temple explained. The standard Gregorian calendar used in the United States is a strictly solar calendar.

Our Hebrew calendar bounces around on the American calendar, Weinstein said, which makes it interesting for us.

The holiday, which starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, can fall anywhere from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar. It is common for the eight-night Jewish festival of lights to fall near Christmas, but rare for it to overlap. The last time the first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Eve was 1978.

Well combine the special foods for each holiday. Weve gone out of our way to make Hanukkah cut-out cookies, said Callander, who was raised Jewish. Her husband, Bruce, grew up celebrating Christmas.

The Callanders chose to celebrate both winter holidays with their son Andrew, now 34. They are not unique: A survey conducted in 2015 by the Pew Research Center found that almost four in 10 Americans who have married since 2010 have a spouse from a different religious group or denomination.

Families of different faiths come up with their own ways to approach the end-of-the-year winter holidays.

Weinstein said that, theologically, it is not possible to truly celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas.

That goes to a theological understanding of God, he explained. In Judaism, the Messianic age hasnt come yet. So its not possible for someone Jewish to celebrate the birth of the Messiah.

But can there be two people in a household celebrating their traditions together? Absolutely, he continued. Can you put up a Christmas tree and have a Hanukkah menorah in the corner? Absolutely.

Weinstein said he used the analogy of a birthday party to explain to his own son how to honor both traditions.

Its like going to someone elses birthday party, he said. Its not your party, but you can certainly go to someone elses home to celebrate and support them.

The analogy extends to Jewish children receiving gifts for both Hanukkah and Christmas.

When you take your child to a birthday party, she will often come home with a favor in her hand, he said. Its OK to receive gifts when you go to someone elses party. Its OK to receive a gift as much as its OK to give a gift. Who doesnt like gifts?

Some interfaith families choose to celebrate the secular aspect of both holidays.

Mainly, we think of it in terms of special foods, Callander said.

In addition to lighting the menorah each night, Hanukkah for her family means potato latkes and applesauce, noodle kugel, her aunts recipe for roast brisket, and trips to the deli for corned beef sandwiches and Dr. Browns black cherry soda. They combined these food traditions with her husbands familys tradition of making and decorating Christmas sugar cookies.

The WilsonLesser family also celebrates aspects of both holidays. Nora WilsonLesser was raised Methodist and her husband, Jewish.

We didnt feel a calling to either of our specific religions, WilsonLesser said. But we wanted our children to have the benefit of both of the traditions that we grew up with that we have warm, fuzzy feelings about. To me, its more of a family thing.

So they light the menorah and say the blessings for each night of Hanukkah, put up a Christmas tree, decorate the house with Christmas lights and Star of Davids, sing Christmas carols, and go to Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg.

Some children of interfaith families celebrate both holidays, but keep them separate.

Anna Loftis 2-year-old son, Jacob, celebrates Hanukkah with her and her husband, who attend Beth Sholom, and Christmas with his grandparents.

Weve told Jacob that Santa goes to Nanni and Papas house, but not ours, Loftis said.

On Christmas Eve this year, she said, they will light the menorah at their in-laws house while the grandparents go to church. Jacob will receive gifts for the first seven nights of Hanukkah and will get his main gift from his parents on the last night. On Christmas morning, hell open presents from Santa and his grandparents.

Whats important to understand that a lot of people dont realize is that Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas, Weinstein said. Christmas is one of the biggest holidays in the Christian faith. In Judaism, Hanukkah is not one of our major holidays.

But the overlap between the two holidays this year has the potential to bring together people of different faiths in the Fredericksburg region. This year, there is a menorah in Hurkamp Park along with the citys Christmas tree, and Beth Sholom will host a Hanukkah First Night candle-lighting there at 5 p.m. today. Weinstein is hoping that people who are downtown for Christmas Eve church services will stop by to celebrate with their Jewish neighbors.

Well sing some Hanukkah songs and have doughnuts and hot chocolate, he said. Everyone is invited.
President Barack Obama has signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, a $619 billion measure that directs how the military spends money.

The measure includes a provision that, over time, could make Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia the largest Civil War park in the country.

Obama signed the legislation on Friday, the White House said. He and his family are on Christmas vacation in Hawaii, his native state.

Approval of the bipartisan measure enlarging the congressionally authorized boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield is a dream come true for park advocates, who had been urging the action for about a dozen years.

The provision authorizes the National Park Service to incorporate battlefield landup to 7,238 acresthat is now unprotected from development. No property will be added to the park immediately. Land will acquired only from willing sellers or via donation.

The measure originated with then-Rep. Randy Forbes, a Republican, and Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat. Forbes and Rep. Bobby Scott, a Democrat, sponsored it in the House of Representatives. The bill passed the House on Dec. 2 and the Senate on Dec. 9.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine cosponsored the legislation in the Senate.

Petersburg bore witness to the longest siege in the nations history, in which more than 70,000 Americansincluding 16,000 African-American troopsfought.

The nonprofit Civil War Trust has helped protect more than 2,500 acres associated with the Union armys 1864-65 siege of Petersburg. Now, the trust landsalong with properties protected by other conservation organizationscan be integrated into the national park.

The law will help preserve ground where the battles of Five Forks, Peebles Farm, Reams Station, the Crater and the Petersburg Breakthrough were waged.

That will help fuel more heritage tourism in Virginia and improve park visitors experiences and learning opportunities, lawmakers and the trust have said.

Various items in the defense authorization actincluding a 2.1 percent pay raise for service members, construction of more aircraft carriers at Newport News Shipbuilding, and reparations for Guam residents who experienced Japanese atrocities during World War IIwill happen only if Congress appropriates money in a separate budget bill.
Ronald was born in Baltimore, Md. on January 11, 1947. He was educated in the Baltimore City Public School system, where he graduated from Edmonson Senior High. He attended the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and Clark County Community College in Las Vegas, Nev. following service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. While in Las Vegas, Ronald met his wife of 47 years, Nettie, and had two children. He returned to Baltimore in 1978 as an ordained elder in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). Ronald and his family relocated to Virginia in 1994. Until his death, he served as founder and pastor of Faith Truth and Love COGIC (later changed to New Birth Ministries) in Stafford, Va. Ronald also served as a civilian federal employee for 25 years before he retired.
THESE are, indeed, miraculous and holy days for people of the Christian and Jewish faiths. Today brings not only Christmas Eveheralding Jesus Christs birth for Christiansbut also, at sundown, Jews begin observing Hanukkah, their eight-day festival of lights.

Its the first time in more than a decade that these two holy days have come so closely together. That convergence offers a chance for people of faith to increase their joy.

Although the two events normally occur in the holiday period, Hanukkah and Christmas Eve last coincided in 1978. This has happened only a handful of times over the last century.

Hanukkah typically is celebrated in November or December. The dates are determined by the Hebrew calendar, which is based on phases of the moon. The holiday begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. It ends on the second or the third day of Tevet, as Kislev can have 29 or 30 days.

Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the dates of Jewish holidays are on a lunar calendar and change annually. Experts also point out that a day in the Gregorian calendar begins at midnight; the Jewish day begins at sunset.

So while Christians in the Fredericksburg region will head to churches for Christmas Eve services at various hours today, members of Beth Sholom Temple in southern Stafford will light their community menorah at 5 p.m. in Hurkamp Park in downtown Fredericksburg. Rabbi Michael Weinstein said he hopes the new, more accessible location for the lighting ceremony will encourage residents, including those heading to other worship services, to join them in the festivities. The celebration will include music, jelly doughnuts and hot beverages to mark the first night of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire in 165 B.C. According to the Talmud, the book of Jewish law, the temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days, even though there was only enough sacred oil for one day.

And so, a festival was declared to commemorate not only the freeing of the temple but also the miracle of the oil.

Today, Jews light the lights that symbolize that miracle. They exchange gifts, sing songs and play the dreidel game. They eat fried foods to commemorate the long-lasting oil.

Historians might quibble with some of the facts about Hanukkahs origin. Some see it as being as much about national liberation as keeping the faith. The fact that is clear, though, is that, nearly 2,200 years later, the festival continues as a symbol of the Jewish faith and peoples determination to keep that faith.

Enjoy these celebrations of Gods amazing miracles as expressed by these two great faiths. Share in their joy and fellowship. Days like these dont often combine; Hanukkah and Christmas Eve will next meet in 2024.
Quantum Dot Market 2016 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022

Quantum Dot -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and analysis of Top Key Player Forecast to 2022

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Description

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According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Quantum Dot market is expected to grow from $451.6 million in 2015 to reach $13,570.9 million by 2022 with a CAGR of 62.6%. Increasing demand for optimized devices with better performance and resolution quality and rising as a striking substitute to conventional display technologies are the current trends in Quantum Dot market. The increasing demand for energy-efficient display devices and lighting solutions, augmented demand for quantum dots from the healthcare business would drive the market in coming years. However, elevated cost of quantum dots and ever-changing regulatory atmosphere for cadmium based quantum dots, slower acceptance of technology due to lack of consciousness among consumers are acting as the major restraints of the Quantum Dot market.

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Healthcare application segment with the exploit of quantum dots technology for drug delivery, in-vivo imaging, in-vitro imaging, photodynamic therapy, and flow cytometry dominates the global quantum dots market. North America has the maximum revenue share followed by Europe due to early acceptance of the Quantum Dot market and their key QD manufacturers in the business are based in the U.S. due to broad R&D expenditure over sophisticated QD display technologies and high manufacture capacities.

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"Escape from Saigon - Novel" Author Dick Pirozzolo to Speak In Wellesley January 12

Escape From Saigon - Novel, set during the final 30 days of the Vietnam War, by Michael Morris and Dick Pirozzolo, is available on Amazon.com and in bookstores nationwide beginning Jan. 3. Through the personal stories of Vietnamese and American civilians, journalists, expatriates, US Embassy staffers, CIA operatives and double agents, "Escape from Saigon - Novel" sticks closely to the historical record while it covers the harrowing events leading up to the fall of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975.

December 24, 2016 (FPRC) -- Wellesley Books will host an author's talk on "Escape from Saigon - a Novel" by Michael Morris and Dick Pirozzolo, 7 - 9 PM, at its independent bookstore on 82 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Please RSVP author@escapefromsaigon.com.



"Escape from Saigon - a Novel" tells of the heartbreaking final thirty-days of the Vietnam War through the lives of both ordinary and powerful people trapped in Saigon  all desperate to escape before the city falls to the enemy. Publisher is Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY, 264 pages, hardbound and Kindle editions.



Coauthor Dick Pirozzolo, a Vietnam Veteran, will discuss the inspiration for the novel, those who fought in Vietnam, the journalists who devoted their youth to covering the war and whether any lessons were learned from what was then America's longest war.



For details, visit http://store.wellesleybooks.com/event/dick-pirozzolo

RSVP at Wellesley Books or email: author@escapefromsaigon.com



Escape from Saigon follows the lives of people trapped in the besieged capital city of South Vietnam during April, 1975the final 30 days of the Vietnam War.



Among them are NBS-TVs first Vietnamese-American correspondent and the hard-hitting Sam Esposito of The Washington Legend whose coverage infuriated Richard Nixon, an American businessman who risks his life to smuggle out his employees; an American soldier searching for his wifes relatives, a French expatriate barkeep hanging on the last vestiges of colonialism, along with the remaining US diplomats, including the disillusioned Ambassador Graham Martin, CIA operatives and double agents.



The novel has already won accolades from:



Winston Groom, author of "Forrest Gump" who wrote, Escape from Saigon brings to life the lives of the men and women trapped in the capital city, and



Casey Sherman, New York Times Bestselling Author of "The Finest Hours," and "Boston Strong" who wrote, Escape from Saigon is a sweeping sagain the grand tradition of Michener and Clavell.



Llewellyn King, executive producer and host of PBS-TVs White House Chronicle" put it this way: 'Escape from Saigon' has the same ring of authenticity as Graham Greenes The Quiet American. Its portrait of a city in extremis is chilling and completely engrossing. It will take many back and some forward  forward to new foreign entanglements.



For their complete comments, a sample chapter and further information about Escape from Saigon, please visit www.wacapefromsaigon.com.







Send an email to Dick Pirozzolo of r

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Release Date, News & Update: Explosions Didnt Happen In Lab, Says Company; Successor Delayed In April 2017?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco was initially noted as a manufacturing defect causing the phones to heat and explode. However, Samsung held its own investigation and they reportedly were unable to witness explosions of the handsets in their own labs. Moreover, the giant tech company is reportedly disappointed at its own employees for adding burden to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 troubles.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Investigation Is Finished But Findings Are Yet To Come

Previously, Samsung was forced to issue a recall for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. In addition, the company was also reportedly forced to end production of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Thereafter, Samsung held an internal investigation which was reportedly finished. However, the tech giant reportedly sent the findings over to the external labs instead, Indian Express reported.

It has been noted that the Korean Testing Laboratory and the UL both have access to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 investigation findings. It should be noted that Samsung previously announced that it would share the result of the company's findings before the year ends. Moreover, Samsung reportedly expresses disappointment over employees that continue to produce leaks. On that note, Samsung's mobile business chief Koh Dong-jin noted that there were more recent attempts at a prototype leak and data breach lately.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Successor May Be Delayed In April 2017 To Avoid Battery Issues

In other news, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 investors are reportedly encouraged to still make an investment for the Samsung Galaxy S8. The company's next flagship phone is slated to launch at the MWC in 2017 and is believed to be equipped with safer batteries. Reports also claim that the handset may make it as early as February or March 2017, according to report.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery problems is expected to be resolved before launching the next flagship product. Apparently, issues related to the Galaxy's battery may need to be addressed first before the Galaxy S8 is revealed. The company is also expected to make wiser moves with the launching of their next product. Watch the Galaxy Note 7 Explosion Compilation here:
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Gets Reinforcement, LG Chem Partnership Hope To Dissolve Battery Explosions Aura

The road to redemption continues for Samsung as they find ways to erase the memory of the exploding battery mess caused by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. There is a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 expected and the Korean giant has time to erase that stigma.

As mentioned in a previous post, the anticipated specs for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 continue to ramp up. Optical fingerprint and iris scanner security have been mentioned along with other eye-catching specs that Samsung has been known to offer.

But then again, all these new probable features that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will carry will be useless unless the company is able to correct the reason behind the fire-causing battery explosions of the fallen Phablet.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was believed to be overstuffed and the batteries were simply unable to carry the load. Hence, turning to a new battery supplier could change the fortunes. And the one stepping up to the plate is LG Chem, the companys battery subsidiary.

LG Chem may have placed itself in the hot seat as it tries to lend Samsung a hand. They are expected to take over and change the batteries for the embattled electronics giant which previously used SDI and ATL batteries for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Reuters reported.

The alleged tie-up is reportedly 90 percent done and if all goes well, Samsung will start procuring LG Chem batteries by the second half of 2017. The LG subsidiary manufactures phone batteries for LG Electronics as well Apple Inc.

If LG Chem does come in by the second half of 2017, it may be a close one to call for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. There are claims that the next phablet could come out by May 2017 though the recent mishap could force Samsung to consider delaying its release until a safe and suitable battery has been chosen.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is soliciting public comment on a request to fill 0.08 acres of wetlands near the Home Depot store in Corvallis for a proposed hotel development.

Corvallis Station LLC has applied for a fill permit to put up to 356 cubic yards of soil, sand and gravel on the site at 1815 N.E. Four Acre Place.

The work was previously authorized as part of a 9.5-acre fill project, but that permit expired before the entire job was completed. The new permit would allow the remaining 0.08 acres to be filled while updating the stormwater management plan for the property. No additional mitigation work is being proposed beyond what has already been done under the original permit.

Kalyan Hospitality of Virginia plans to build a five-story, 102-room Hampton Inn & Suites hotel on the site.

The deadline to submit written comments is Jan. 13. All comments must include the authors name and address and the project reference number, NWP-2004-716/4.

Comments can be emailed to Benny.A.Dean@usace.army.mil or mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Benny A. Dean Jr., Eugene Field Office, 211 E. Seventh Ave., Suite 105, Eugene, OR, 97401-2722.
Angel Falls is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the worlds highest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 meters (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 meters (2,648 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyantepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolivar State. The height figure 979 metres (3,212 ft) mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 400 metres (0.25 mi) of sloped cascade and rapids below the drop and a 30-metre (98 ft) high plunge downstream of the talus rapids.

The falls are along a fork of the Rio Kerepacupai Meru which flows into the Churun River, a tributary of the Carrao River, itself a tributary of the Orinoco River.

Name

The waterfall has been known as the Angel Falls since the Mid-20th century; they are named after Jimmie Angel, a US aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls. Angels ashes were scattered over the falls on 2 July 1960.

Tourism

Angel Falls is one of Venezuelas top tourist attractions, though a trip to the falls is a complicated affair. The falls are located in an isolated jungle. A flight from Puerto Ordaz or Ciudad Bolivar is required to reach Canaima camp, the starting point for river trips to the base of the falls. River trips generally take place from June to December, when the rivers are deep enough for use by the Pemon guides. During the dry season (December to March) there is less water seen than in the other months.

Angel Falls, Venezuela 1 of 7

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Zimbabwe Mega Wedding! Mugabe's 70yrs Old Minister Weds His 23yrs Old Sweetheart - VIDEO

kacylee at 24-12-2016 11:15 AM (5 years ago) (f)



A video clip showing a Zimbabwean minister, 70, dancing after he married his 23-year-old lover has gone viral on social media. According to New Zimbabwe, the Matebeleland North Provincial Governor Cain Mathema wedded his youthful wife Bathabetsoe Nare at a colourful wedding in Bulawayo.







Nare, a former Midlands State University student graduated in November this year.

A video clip showing a Zimbabwean minister, 70, dancing after he married his 23-year-old lover has gone viral on social media. According to New Zimbabwe, the Matebeleland North Provincial Governor Cain Mathema wedded his youthful wife Bathabetsoe Nare at a colourful wedding in Bulawayo.Nare, a former Midlands State University student graduated in November this year.

Mathema could be seen in the video dancing in a jovial mood with his wife.



Mathema reportedly left his first wife for a house helper, whom he married customarily in 2009. The maid was only 20-years-old at the time. He later left her for Nare after her met her while she was on attachment at a government complex in Bulawayo in 2014.



Mathema joins a list of President Robert Mugabes top officials who left their wives to wed youthful women, the report said.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFb75OoJ_o





Mathema could be seen in the video dancing in a jovial mood with his wife.Mathema reportedly left his first wife for a house helper, whom he married customarily in 2009. The maid was only 20-years-old at the time. He later left her for Nare after her met her while she was on attachment at a government complex in Bulawayo in 2014.Mathema joins a list of President Robert Mugabes top officials who left their wives to wed youthful women, the report said.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 24-12-2016 11:15 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero

gogoman at 24-12-2016 11:34 AM (5 years ago)

(m) VERY GOOD Posted: at 24-12-2016 11:34 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero VERY GOOD Reply

concentrate at 24-12-2016 11:43 AM (5 years ago)

(m) he is a stupid boy. what happened to his first wife? nonsense Posted: at 24-12-2016 11:43 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac he is a stupid boy. what happened to his first wife? nonsense Reply

journalist96 at 24-12-2016 01:35 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Zimbabwe again? Posted: at 24-12-2016 01:35 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming Zimbabwe again? Reply

journalist96 at 24-12-2016 01:38 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Zimbabwe again Posted: at 24-12-2016 01:38 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming Zimbabwe again Reply

DrSoba at 24-12-2016 01:50 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Could this be love? Posted: at 24-12-2016 01:50 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Could this be love? Reply

victorstic1 at 24-12-2016 02:37 PM (5 years ago)

(m) BOTH OF THEM HAVE HIDDEN AGENDA Posted: at 24-12-2016 02:37 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac BOTH OF THEM HAVE HIDDEN AGENDA Reply

nametalkam at 24-12-2016 02:40 PM (5 years ago)

(m) wow wow wow!!!! This old man need to do die so that 23 years old chic can inherit the wealth and marry another man that will marry her and leave her for his main chic I specialize in investigative reportage across several subject matter and sectors but mainly focus on metro events and investigation. Do leave your thoughts and opinion on my reports to let me know what you think about them. Thank you Posted: at 24-12-2016 02:40 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero wow wow wow!!!! This old man need to do die so that 23 years old chic can inherit the wealth and marry another man that will marry her and leave her for his main chic Reply

Markeve at 24-12-2016 04:16 PM (5 years ago)

(f) he doesn't look like 70years oooh biko. Posted: at 24-12-2016 04:16 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac he doesn't look like 70years oooh biko. Reply

bishopdon at 24-12-2016 05:41 PM (5 years ago)

(m) U r correct Posted: at 24-12-2016 05:41 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming U r correct Reply

james987 at 24-12-2016 06:45 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Money things Posted: at 24-12-2016 06:45 PM (5 years ago) | Hero Money things Reply

Tripleflash at 24-12-2016 07:05 PM (5 years ago)

(m) There must be a misconception here..the groom sure doesn't look 70. Mr poster..from which joint did you post this, plz? Posted: at 24-12-2016 07:05 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming There must be a misconception here..the groom sure doesn't look 70. Mr poster..from which joint did you post this, plz? Reply

chukkychukky at 24-12-2016 09:03 PM (5 years ago)

(m) blind love Joramentity aka chukkychukky Posted: at 24-12-2016 09:03 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac blind love Reply

ruchynize at 24-12-2016 09:26 PM (5 years ago)

(f) sick people Posted: at 24-12-2016 09:26 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming sick people Reply

tommy70 at 24-12-2016 09:53 PM (5 years ago)

(m) Posted: at 24-12-2016 09:53 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Reply

kison at 24-12-2016 10:34 PM (5 years ago)

(m) EVERYTHING NA NEWS Posted: at 24-12-2016 10:34 PM (5 years ago) | Hero EVERYTHING NA NEWS Reply

diutopep at 24-12-2016 10:54 PM (5 years ago)

(f) Is Money That Girl Married! Anyway, good for the man! Posted: at 24-12-2016 10:54 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Is Money That Girl Married! Anyway, good for the man! Reply

donsmoki at 25-12-2016 11:52 AM (5 years ago)

(m) MAGA DON PAY....!!!!! SHOUT HALLELUJAH!!!!!! Posted: at 25-12-2016 11:52 AM (5 years ago) | Upcoming MAGA DON PAY....!!!!! SHOUT HALLELUJAH!!!!!! Reply

kacylee at 25-12-2016 05:23 PM (5 years ago)

(f) its better for a man than for a woman, so congrats grandpa I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 25-12-2016 05:23 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero its better for a man than for a woman, so congrats grandpa Reply
Sony Launches Cyber-shot HX350 Super Zoom Camera News oi -Samden Sherpa Sony has announced the Cyber-shot HX350, which is the follow-up to the HX300 super-zoom compact camera.

Sony Corporation, the Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation has just announced the launch of Cyber-shot HX350, which is the follow-up to the HX300 superzoom compact camera.

The new HX350 camera features a back-illuminated 20.4-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and a BIONZ X image processor. The ISO range is set from ISO 80-3200 and can be expanded to 12800 in the multi-frame NR mode. Users get a focal length of 24mm at the wide end and 1200mm at the telephoto end, which is equal to 35mm. The available aperture is f/2.8-6.3.

Black Pearl Variant of the Galaxy S7 Edge to be Launched in India

Furthermore, with this camera, users can achieve a 50x optical zoom, making it an ideal camera for shooting distant objects and wildlife.

In addition, the HX350 features options like a manual ring for smooth adjustment of zoom and focus plus an easily-accessible mode dial and a custom button for quick adjustment of settings. The camera also has full PASM controls.

People Don't Want to Buy the New Apple iPhones Anymore: Find Out Why

The camera is capable of shooting at 10fps and can record videos up to 1080p at 60fps. Sony's HX350 also comes with a 3-inch LCD display, which can be tilted and has a 921k-dot resolution. In order to prevent the camera from shaking, the HX350 retains the optical SteadyShot feature, which helps keep the video steady. The inbuilt Intelligent Active Mode keeps full-HD videos sharp and blur-free with Sony's proprietary frame analysis technology.

As of now, the new model is announced for the European markets and is said to go on sale for 449 (approximately Rs. 31,836) starting next month.

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Black Pearl Variant of the Galaxy S7 Edge to be Launched in India News oi -Samden Sherpa Black Pearl to follow Blue Coral and Pink Gold.

Earlier, Samsung Electronics had officially announced the release of the seventh color edition of the Galaxy S7 Edge: Black Pearl. While it had been set to debut in select markets, Samsung has now made it official that the company is ready to launch the Black Pearl color variant of its flagship smartphone in India.

As per the reports from Mysmartprice, the company is expected to launch the new color variant from January 1, 2017.

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This comes after Samsung recently launched the Blue Coral and Pink Gold variants of the Galaxy S7 Edge in India. According to the reports that have been going around on the internet, the new color radiates quality and luxury. It will also be exclusive to the 128GB variant of the device.

As such, from what we have seen in the images of the smartphone, the new Black Pearl color has been designed in a striking manner. Moreover, the sleek black finish covers the entire device including the edges and adds depth to its glass design. The result is a stylish and its all-black aesthetic captures the essence of the color in its purest form.

People Don't Want to Buy the New Apple iPhones Anymore: Find Out Why

On the other hand, with this launch, the Black Pearl variant will be taking the competition to the likes of Apple iPhone 7's Jet Black variant. In another case, Samsung might be also trying to fill the gap left by the discontinuation of the "exploding" Galaxy Note 7, which had a negative impact on Samsung's reputation.

Nonetheless, by introducing the new color, the South Korean company might be trying to promote and boost the demand for the Galaxy S7 Edge in the market. In addition to the Black Pearl variant, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is also available in White Pearl, Black Onyx, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium.

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Sony Xperia XZ and Xpeira X Performance Get December Security Update News oi -Samden Sherpa Sony has pushed a new firmware update for the Xperia XZ and Xperia X Performance.

A few days back, Sony rolled out the Android Nougat update for the Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZ smartphones. Now, the company has yet again released a new update for the two smartphones.

The new firmware update brings the latest December Security patch to these smartphones. On the contrary, other than this update, there seems to be no other added feature.

Upcoming Mid-Range Nokia Powered Android Smartphone Hits the Web

Now, with the latest update, both Sony Xperia XZ and Xperia X Performance smartphones' build number has been moved from 39.2.A.0.237 to 39.2.A.0.361.

As per the reports, the update is out in some European markets and Latin America. And as of now, the update is only meant for the single SIM variants of the Xperia XZ (F8331) and Xperia X Performance (F8131). It might come to other areas in the days to come.

Sony Xperia X Performance comes with a 5.00-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. It has 3GB of RAM and packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 2000GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Sony Xperia X Performance packs a 23-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 13-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The smartphone is powered by a 2700mAh non-removable battery. The Sony Xperia X Performance is a single SIM (GSM) smartphone that accepts a Nano-SIM.

SEE ASLO: Xiaomi Launches Affordable Mi Piston Fresh Ear Muffs and Over-the-ear Mi Headphones

As for Sony Xperia XZ smartphone, the device comes with a 5.20-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. The phone is powered by 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 200GB via a microSD card.

The Sony Xperia XZ packs a 23-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 13-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The Sony Xperia XZ is powered by a 2900mAh non-removable battery and is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts two Nano-SIMs.

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Why Chinese are Upset Over This Pricey Golden Smartphone News oi -Rohit Chinese social media users have expressed their shock about this gem-laden flashy Gold colored smartphone.

A limited edition smartphone has sparked criticism in China. The "Titanium Palace Edition" mobile phone, which is supposed to go on sale next month at a price tag of 19,999 yuan (Rs. 20 lakh approximately) is now a topic of criticism after people in China expressed their views on social media sites.

SEE ALSO: The Wackiest technology Products of 2016 That We Want to See in India

As per state-run Global Times newspaper reports, Chinese people took over to social media and called it "a stain on the sacredness of the Imperial City". Another Weibo user expressed his shock sarcastically by saying that, "I always picture the Ancient Emperor strolling through the Forbidden City holding a smartphone."

The gem-laden device comes in a limited run of 999 devices and was designed in partnership with the Palace Museum, inspired by the imperial collections it houses. While the smartphone contains no actual titanium, it comes with an 18-carat gold dragon decoration and a screen made from sapphire glass.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Mi S is a 4.6-inch Flagship Smartphone with Snapdragon 821 CPU

As per reports, the phone's gaudy looks and its connection to one of China's most revered locations have not gone down well with Chinese social media users. The people's reaction has somehow forced the museum to step back from giving the titanium Palace Edition it's full backing, releasing a terse statement via its own Weibo account saying "We don't sell mobile phones".

As noted, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace of China's rulers until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912 and is one of the most-visited museums in the world.

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Image Source: BBC.com, AncientOrigins.net

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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!!
Multinational paratroopers fill NC skies

By Airman 1st Class Greg Nash, 23rd Wing Public Affairs / Published December 23, 2016

CAMP MACKALL, N.C.(AFNS) -- Instead of snow above North Carolina's frigid skies, the horizon was filled with paratroopers as they 'flurried' to the ground, during the 19th annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop Dec. 5-16.

Every year, the Fort Bragg community in North Carolina begins celebrating the holidays early by inviting their coalition partners to participate in the world's largest annual multinational airborne exercise and give toys to children in need.

"Operation Toy Drop supports the local community by giving underprivileged kids toys while also allowing international teams to enhance their parachuting capabilities," said Staff Sgt. Joey Hauser, Jr., the OTD Netherlands host nation jumpmaster instructor. "The training is designed for domestic and foreign nations to build relationships, to share knowledge and find better ways to conduct operations."

According to Hauser, the goal is to ensure nations take back lessons learned as they train to sharpen abilities as paratroopers.

"This is accomplished as each nation implements their practices and partners with other nations," Hauser said. "By training together, they familiarize themselves on a multitude of aircraft and standardizations, which can also lessen cultural barriers.

"Finding common ground is important, but it's a big challenge to work in an environment with so much variety and strict timelines," Hauser, Jr., added.

Canadian, Dutch, Botswanan, Czech, German, Italian, Polish, and Singaporean armed forces worked alongside U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force units around the clock, getting accustomed to different languages and methods.

For Staff Sgt. Leanne McCombs, an 824th Base Defense Squadron fire team leader assigned to Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, it was pivotal to build rapport with partner nations during the 820th Base Defense Group's first OTD.

"The ability to get an understanding while building trust and cohesion among [the U.S. armed forces] and other nations was important because it will allow us to perform better back home," McCombs said. "Trust is the biggest factor for us and if we have familiarity with a nation that we can depend on, it makes us more confident to perform in real world scenarios with exercises like these."

For security forces personnel from the 820th BDG, their role was to provide force protection on the ground but they are also airborne qualified. At home station, the chance to jump is rare, which made OTD exhilarating for McCombs.

"There's a lot of excitement with an exercise like this because we don't get to jump as often back home," McCombs said. "This was also fun because there's the serious focus to train, but also the chance to enjoy the experience. Usually, when we perform jumps, there's a follow-on mission or we have to parachute with heavy combat equipment with more at stake, but this was more enjoyable and relaxing. This whole experience has been awesome with all the different aircraft and people."

Approximately 120 jumpmasters helped 4,000 paratroopers descend the skies under parachute canopies. For Sgt. Daniel Jenkins, a Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Center parachute instructor, the chance to share tactics and stories with others continues to forge the universal brotherhood experienced in the paratrooper world.

"The airborne community as a whole is like a family, no matter if you're American, Canadian, Czech or Polish," Jenkins said. "When we go overseas to conduct our business whether it's for combat or peacekeeping, we fight the mission and the chance to come back here and share those experiences and build relations is very special. It's been a great time for a great cause."

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Military Strikes Target ISIL in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 23, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Raqqah, eight strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units; destroyed six oil storage tanks, two vehicle bombs and a technical vehicle; and damaged a supply route, a fighting position and a truck.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike damaged three ISIL supply routes.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an oil wellhead.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter, remotely piloted and rotary wing aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Bashir, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a tactical vehicle.

-- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb, two vehicles and a supply cache.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit; destroyed two vehicles, a building, two tunnels and an ISIL command and control headquarters; and damaged a supply route.

-- Near Rawah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed a building and suppressed a vehicle bomb.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL tank.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Kuwait - Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Tail Kits

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 16-40

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2016 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Kuwait for Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Tail Kits and related equipment, and support. The estimated cost is $37 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on December 20, 2016.

The Government of Kuwait has requested a possible total sale of seven hundred and fifty (750) JDAM Tail Kits (two hundred and fifty (250) for 500-pound bombs, two hundred and fifty (250) kits for 1,000-pound bombs, and two hundred and fifty (250) kits for 2,000-pound bombs). Sale also includes two (2) 500-pounds and two (2) 2,000-pounds JDAM Load Build Trainers spares, support equipment, repair and return, and other associated logistical support. The estimated cost is $37 million.

This proposed sale contributes to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally which continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. Kuwait plays a large role in U.S. efforts to advance stability in the Middle East, providing basing, access, and transit for U.S. forces in the region.

This proposed sale improves Kuwait's capability to deter regional threats and strengthens its homeland defense. Kuwait will be able to absorb this additional equipment and support into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The proposed sale does not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Kuwait.

The sole-source contractor is the original equipment manufacturer, Boeing, Chicago, Illinois. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

There is no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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VMA-542 heads home

US Marine Corps News

By Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego | December 23, 2016

U.S. Marines with Marine Attack Squadron 542 completed their Aviation Training Relocation Program at Chitose Air Base, and headed back to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Dec. 22, 2016.

The ATR is an effort between the U.S. and Japan governments to increase operational readiness between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

It also improves interoperability and reduces noise concerns of aviation training on local communities by disseminating training locations throughout Japan.

"It was a great experience," said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Austin K. Weber, operations chief for VMA-542. "We really felt like we were working toward something with being in a different environment and getting the aircraft in and out constantly. There was a lot of cross training for the Marines and a lot of knowledge to be gained from the JASDF."

While learning from the JASDF, the Marines were also able to show their capabilities and share their familiarity with the AV-8B Harriers and unit operations.

"The Marines have a different structure than we do," said JASDF Staff Sgt. Tomonori Miura, maintenance controller with the 2nd Air Wing Maintenance Supply Group. "They have a different specialty, and they are very efficient with what they do. They have a different jet so I learned a lot about the Harrier and how the maintenance operations work."

Miura said it was really easy to make conversation with the Marines. Everyone took time to get to know one another, which helped a lot with the cooperation throughout the ATR and ensured that nothing was overlooked.

The bonds built during the ATR continued after operations were completed, allowing Marines to explore the culture with the JASDF personnel.

"We established really good working relations, and it didn't just stop there," said Weber. "A lot of the JASDF personnel were inviting us out, showing us their city and even taking us to Sapporo. It was nice to be able to carry those relations we had past the work day and really get to know and build on our cohesion."

Weber said they were able to interact with the Japanese and were able to see that even through the language barrier there were ways to communicate and build bonds.

Working through everything with their Japanese allies, VMA-542 worked toward achieving the goals of the ATR and made life-long friends along the way.

"This was a good opportunity to meet Marines," said Miura. "It was a great experience, and I've made memories that I'll remember for the rest of my life. I'm looking forward to the next chance I get to meet more Marines."

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MACS-4 Marines train to employ expeditionary runways

US Marine Corps News

By Cpl. Aaron Henson | December 23, 2016

U.S. Marines with Marine Air Control Squadron 4 Detachment Bravo, Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team, conducted aircraft landing zone training at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Dec. 21, 2016.

The training allows the Marine Air Traffic Control Mobile Team, or MMT, to gain experience, practice constructing an expeditionary airfield, and complete training and readiness requirements.

"MMT usually consists of six to eight Marines set to operate in a 72 hour environment by themselves . . . without support," said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Chris Swogger, an air traffic control Marine with MACS-4 Detachment Bravo. "If we were in combat we would be able to establish an expeditionary runway. We go out and set up these runways, land and refuel aircraft, which allows us to further push into the country without having to take over airfields or build permanent structures."

A MMT comprises of a base, pace, chase, reference, navigation aid and communication technician who establish a 60-foot wide and 3,000-foot long runway in remote locations during combat scenarios, medical evacuations or for humanitarian aid.

"The base Marine establishes the front end of the runway and are the ones in control talking to the aircraft," said Swogger. "The pace Marine runs down the 3,000-foot landing zone and every 500 feet drops off a panel marking. The chase Marine follows the pace and sets up the left side of the runway. And the reference point Marine runs all the way down to the 3,000-foot marker and acts as the in-between for the base and pace, and allows base to line up the runways with the reference point at the far end."

The MMT Marines conduct this training every three to six months to refine the Marines' skills, keeping them ready for expeditionary operations while in a garrison environment.

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 assisted MACS-4 Detachment Bravo while also completing their training and readiness requirements.

"MMT Marines are extremely important to our aircraft landing zone operations," said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Jeffrey Simonson, a KC-130J pilot with VMGR-152. "They are able to set up the strip to resemble what would be seen in a real world scenario. The runway we use in Okinawa does not provide realistic training. The landing strip here in Iwakuni is much smaller, providing challenging and realistic training for the squadron. Each pilot has to conduct this training a minimum of once a year."

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. George Price, an MMT instructor with MACS-4 Detachment Bravo, assisted directing aircraft to the runway from the ground.

MMT instructors are trained by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, over a six-week period.

"To be an instructor we have to go through MAWTS-1 and participate in a lot of the live-flying training with every type of aircraft the Marine Corps has," said 1st Lt. Jeremy Graves, air traffic control officer with MACS-4 Detachment Bravo. "We learn our pace counts, how to set up an airfield, controlling aircraft in an expeditionary environment, and we work with all of Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. It is a big event and a lot of training goes into it."

Graves said the Marines will be conducting aircraft landing zone training quarterly and did well for their first time conducting this training on the air station.

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USS Wasp Completes Deployment, Ready for Japan

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161223-01

Release Date: 12/23/2016 7:36:00 AM

From USS Wasp Public Affairs

ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) completed the final portion of its first deployment in 12 years when it finished offloading the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), Dec. 22.

She will be #Homefortheholidays when she returns to her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk on Dec. 24.

While deployed, Wasp's crew completed a certification validation (CV) enabling the ship to forward deploy to Sasebo, Japan, next year. The rotation is the latest move in the Navy's ongoing Pacific rebalance.

"This crew did their jobs in amazing fashion during this deployment," said Wasp Commanding Officer Capt. Andrew Smith. "They often had to do deployment certification drills part of the day and fight ISIL the other. Not to mention, we simultaneously carried out the massive day-to-day operations that are required to run a deployed Navy warship."

CVs are designed to support deployment certification extensions when necessary. They include a comprehensive assessment of most mission areas to make sure a ship is ready to get underway quickly.

"We do certification validations on the rare occasion that a ship needs to get underway within a short time frame after deployment for events such as re-deployment," said Afloat Training Group (ATG) Tactical Mentor Lt. Cmdr. Michael Myers. "The fact that we completed CV testing phases while the ship was also doing real-world operations is unprecedented both for a ship and for ATG. We had to de-conflict with replenishments-at-sea, flight operations, and normal ship operations."

Areas tested during the CV included navigation, seamanship, communications, explosive safety, search-and-rescue plotting, engineering, and damage control.

"We went at least 14 weeks at a minimum of 14-20 hour days," said Master at Arms 1st Class Jeffery Martinez. "My crew is exhausted, but at the end of the day we passed, we got our recertification done. It required a lot of work and a lot of effort by my crew to get the job done and I'm very proud of them. Now it's time to go home and get some time off, some well-deserved liberty earned by everybody."

A large portion of the drills were completed while the crew was simultaneously carrying out Operation Odyssey Lightning (OOL). On Aug. 1 the 22nd MEU was ordered carry to out precision air strikes against ISIL targets in Sirte, Libya, in support of the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces fighting there.

Wasp was initially on station supporting OOL for 100 consecutive days before being relieved by the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17), another ship in the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (ARG).

"It's amazing to see what the American Sailor can do," said Wasp Command Master Chief Gregory Carlson. "I think it was amazing that we not only focused on combat operations but also focus on our own training repetition. Whether it was damage control, force protection, or the IT training done for radio, it's nice to go back to basics and make sure we can execute the core fundamentals of the ship."

On Dec. 6 GNA-aligned forces claimed liberation of the city.

"I'm very humbled by what we've been able to accomplish," Carlson continued. "I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what these Sailors and Marines have done."

Over the course of the 180-day deployment, Wasp transited more than 34,000 nautical miles, and logged more than 14,300 flight hours. The crew also took on more than 1,280 pallets of cargo during 18 replenishment-at-sea evolutions.

Additionally, Wasp, Amphibious Squadron Six (PHIBRON Six), and the 22nd MEU took part in Exercise African Sea Lion, a bi-lateral cooperation exercise with the Moroccan Royal Navy, and supported maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

Wasp was deployed as part of the Wasp ARG to both the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations. Commander, PHIBRON Six commands the Wasp ARG, which consists of San Antonio, Wasp, and amphibious dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41).

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Enhanced Energy: ONR Global Seeks More Powerful Electronic Devices

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS161223-03

Release Date: 12/23/2016 7:51:00 AM

By David Smalley, Office of Naval Research Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (NNS) -- Groundbreaking energy research from the United Arab Emirates, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG), is the focus of an article published this week in the acclaimed Nature Magazine journal "Scientific Reports."

Dr. Ammar Nayfeh's article http://www.nature.com/articles/srep38712 reveals unique use of zinc oxide (ZnO) to improve semiconductors and energy output in electronic devices. The research could have enormous benefits not only for Marines in forward operating bases and Sailors at sea, but also for a global population of consumers eager to see increased capability and faster performance from their electronic devices.

"This is an excellent example of expanding the Naval Research Enterprise's network to ensure we are capitalizing on the high-quality, novel research that is being conducted across the globe," said Capt. Clark Troyer, ONRG's commanding officer. "Dr. Nayfeh's team at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology [Abu Dhabi, UAE] has demonstrated new ways to increase efficiency in solar cells and photodetectors-research which could be pivotal in reducing our dependency on both fuel and battery resupply for the warfighters."

ONR Global is ONR's international arm for basic research sponsorships outside of the U.S., working with researchers and partners around the world to discover and advance research that will benefit U.S. naval forces. ONRG's science directors promote collaboration with international scientists through research grants.

Dr. Nayfeh's partnership with ONRG began during a visit from the science director responsible for ONRG projects in the Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Monique Beaudoin.

"There is a growing capacity in academic institutions in the Gulf region for hypothesis-driven, basic research in support of renewable energy initiatives in the countries of the region," said Beaudoin. "This project highlights some of that research. In parallel, Gulf countries like the UAE are aiming to move toward knowledge-based economies-in fact, Dr. Nayfeh's lab has a strong contingent of graduate students from the region who are now becoming recognized in their own right as scientists as well."

Energy resupply has been a serious issue for Marines on the ground in international engagements. Reducing the need for, and vulnerabilities of, energy convoys has been front and center for naval research efforts in recent years.

Nayfeh's research focuses on a new nanomaterial called zinc oxide. Changing the size and structure of the oxide allows scientists to "tune" its electrical properties, thereby optimizing the performance of the memory in electronics such as cell phones, digital cameras, laptops and even medical devices and military equipment.

It could also improve the efficiency of fabricated solar cells, which play a role in a number of naval applications and settings.

"We are very happy and honored to have ONR Global-sponsored research featured in this publication," said Nayfeh. "We believe that research is key to building strong human capacity and to continue to enhance technologies to better our world."

The abstract for the article notes that low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures are of particular interest in high-performance electronic and photonic devices. ZnO "nanoislands," it says, are promising for future low-power memory applications.

Nayfeh says he realizes the important long-term potential of the research, particularly given the disaster relief role the U.S. Navy plays when crises occur around the world.

"The U.S. Navy is the largest and most capable navy in the world," he noted. "Moreover, the U.S. Navy has a noble duty to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

"Therefore, it is our honor to be a part of this great mission through innovating and providing the latest technology advancements related to future energy devices."

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UNSC passes resolution to end Israeli settlements

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:34PM

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has passed a resolution censuring Israel for its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories after the US refused to veto it, reversing its longstanding policy of shielding the Israeli regime from condemnatory resolutions at the world body.

The Egyptian-drafted resolution was passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention on Friday.

Egypt had withdrawn the measure after the Israeli regime asked US President-elect Donald Trump to pressure the North African country to delay voting on the draft resolution.

Israel, wary of indications that the US might veto the resolution, turned to Trump for support , who has defended Israel against condemnation for the settlement construction, and slammed the Obama administration for the "shameful move" against Tel Aviv.

It is the first resolution on Israel and the Palestinians that the 15-member body has passed in about eight years.

The Security Council was initially scheduled to vote on the resolution on Thursday.

However, on Friday, Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela put forward the draft again, which called on Israel to "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem" al-Quds.

It also said the construction of Israeli settlements has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

The vote possibly marks a short-lived turning point in US policy vis-a-vis the Israeli regime. Outgoing US President Barack Obama has said that the Israeli settlements pose an obstacle to the so-called Middle East peace process.

During the Friday session, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told the council that the vote reflected the country's complaints about Israel's settlement construction.

"Our vote today is fully in line with the bipartisan history of how American presidents have approached both the issue and the role of this body," she said, adding that settlement activity "harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region."

'Shameful resolution'

Infuriated at Washington's abstention, Israel's envoy lashed out at the Obama administration and expressed hope that both Trump and the incoming UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, would establish closer ties with Tel Aviv.

"It was to be expected that Israel's greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution," said Danny Danon.

"I have no doubt that the new US administration and the incoming UN secretary-general will usher in a new era in terms of the UN's relationship with Israel," Dannon added.

Meanwhile, the chief Palestinian negotiator and secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, hailed the UN vote as a "victory for the justice of the Palestinian cause," while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced resentment.

Erekat said Trump now had to choose between "international legitimacy" or siding with "settlers and extremists."

In a statement released on Friday, the Israel prime minister said it "rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," adding that Obama failed to "protect Israel".

"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in [US] Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution," the statement said.

Trump vows change at the UN

Shortly after the resolution was approved, Trump promised that Washington's policies at the world body would "be different" during his administration.

"As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th," he said in a tweet, referring to the date of his inauguration.

White House defends abstention

Dismissing Trump's remarks, the White House on Friday defended its decision to allow the motion to pass at the UN.

"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," Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security adviser, said, adding that Obama was the US president until January 20.

In a statement released on Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the UN resolution "rightly condemns violence and incitement and settlement activity and calls on both sides to take constructive steps to reverse current trends and advance the prospects for a two state solution." He added, however, that Washington does not agree with every single aspect of the motion.

The developments come more than a week after Trump announced his decision to nominate hardliner David Friedman as the US ambassador to Israel. Friedman is notorious for his fervent support of Israel's illegal settlement expansion in the occupied territories, and has been characterized as an "obstacle to peace" by successive US administrations. He has said that he plans to work at "the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem."

Earlier this month, Israeli lawmakers approved a hugely-controversial bill legalizing some 4,000 settler units built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, in the first of three readings needed to turn it into law.

The United States, Israel's strongest ally, Germany, the country least critical of Tel Aviv in Europe, UN officials, and the European Union have strongly criticized the bill.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Built on occupied land, the settlements are internationally condemned as illegal and equal to land grab.

The Palestinian Authority wants the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinians state, with East al-Quds as its capital.

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UN rejects US-drafted resolution on South Sudan

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 5:54PM

The UN Security Council has rejected a resolution drafted by the US that would have imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan.

Only seven countries of the 15-member council voted for the measure on Friday.

The United States, supported by Britain and France, had called for the arms embargo to halt the weapons flow into South Sudan, citing the UN warnings about a risk of mass atrocities.

Russia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Venezuela and the three African council members, Angola, Egypt and Senegal, all abstained.

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told the council after the vote, "This should not have been a contentious resolution."

Washington also proposed to impose sanctions, including an assets freeze and a global travel ban, on Reik Machar, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir' former vice president who is currently a rebel leader, army chief Paul Malong and Information Minister Michael Makuei.

Japan, which has 350 troops deployed to Juba as part of the UN mission in South Sudan, also known as UNMISS, had warned that the American proposal would have threaten the lives of the UN peacekeepers.

South Sudan plunged into turmoil in late 2013, when President Kiir, a member of Dinka ethnic group, accused Machar, a Nuer, of plotting to take the helm of the oil-rich country.

As a result of distrust between the two, the world's youngest nation sank into a civil war. Since then, clashes between the two sides have often followed ethnic lines.

Numerous internationally-mediated attempts for reconciliation between the conflicting sides have failed.

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Trump drops Twitter bomb on Lockheed Martin's stealth fighter

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:16PM

US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized the cost of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet, saying he's asked Boeing to offer a price for an alternative to the expensive stealth fighter jet.

"Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!" Trump tweeted on Thursday.

Following Trump's tweet, Lockheed shares fell 2 percent and Boeing's rose 0.7 percent.

Trump's tweet came after he held meetings with the chief executives of both aerospace companies on Wednesday.

Trump also met with military officials, including the F-35 program manager, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan. He said during the meetings the focus was "primarily the F-35, trying to get the costs down."

The F-35 program, the biggest weapons initiative in Pentagon history, has been dogged by problems since it was launched in 2001, missing several deadlines due to many software bugs and dissatisfactory performances.

And its costs have escalated to an estimated $379 billion and are projected to cost another $1 trillion during its 55-year life cycle.

Lockheed is producing three models of the jet which will be used by the United States and at least 9 other countries.

Since being elected president in the November 8 election, Trump has denounced the F-35 as an "out of control" program, but he has also raised questions about Boeing's new Air Force One contract.

In response to Trump's tweet, Todd Blecher, a Boeing representative, said they were committed to working with the incoming president.

"We have committed to working with the president elect and his administration to provide the best capability, deliverability and affordability across all Boeing products and services to meet our national security needs," Blecher said in a statement.

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Egypt delays anti-Israel vote following Trump's phone call

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 9:14AM

Cairo says it agreed to delay a UN Security Council resolution it has drafted against illegal Israeli settlements after US president-elect Donald Trump called the Egyptian leader to make Washington's opposition clear.

"The phone call touched on the draft resolution before the United Nations Security Council on Israeli settlements," a statement from Sisi's office said on Friday.

"The two leaders agreed on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive settlement," it said.

On Thursday, the Security Council was to vote on the Cairo-proposed resolution, which would call on the regime in Israel to stop its settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian lands.

However, Cairo abruptly requested for the voting session to be postponed after Tel Aviv went on a last-ditch lobbying campaign against the resolution.

Reuters quoted two Western officials as saying that the outgoing US administration intended to allow the 15-nation council to approve the resolution, prompting the Tel Aviv regime to reach out to Trump.

Trump, meanwhile, minced no words in divulging the American UN mission's plans in case of a vote. "The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed," he said in a statement.

Amid Egypt's dawdling, New Zealand, Venezuelan, Malaysian, and Senegalese missions to the UN gave Cairo an ultimatum on the issues.

They sent a note to their Egyptian counterpart, saying if Cairo did not clarify whether it would call the vote by midnight, the deadline for the call, they might resort to their right to table the draft.

"In the event that Egypt decides that it cannot proceed to call for vote on 23 December or does not provide a response by the deadline, those delegations reserve the right to table the draft ... and proceed to put it to vote ASAP," the note read.

The US, Tel Aviv's oldest and strongest ally, has unswervingly backed the regime at the world body since its creation in 1948 in the face of all international momentum against its acts of aggression against Palestinians.

This includes its refusal to stand in the way of Israel's unbridled settlement expansion, which have invariably shattered all previous diplomatic pushes towards the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Trump had campaigned on a pledge to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's capital. This is while Palestinians want the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, as part of a future Palestinian state, with East al-Quds as their capital.

There has, meanwhile, been speculation that the incoming US administration may decide to move the American embassy to East al-Quds in a sign of the recognition.

Last Friday, Trump announced his decision to nominate hardliner David Friedman as the US's ambassador to Israel.

Friedman is notorious for his fervent support of Israel's illegal settlement expansion in the occupied territories, and has been characterized as an "obstacle to peace" by successive US administrations.

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About 30,000 Displaced in CAR Over 3R Rebel Group's Violence - UN

Sputnik News

17:57 23.12.2016

The recently formed Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation group (3R) in the Central African Republic is devastating the already unstable western part of the country, forcing tens of thousands of civilians from their homes, a spokesperson at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to a report released by the Human Rights Watch on Tuesday, the 3R group emerged in late 2015 in order to help protect the minority Puehl population from attacks by Christian militias. The human rights group also claims that 3R has hundreds of fighters, who control territory near the border of Cameroon.

"Approximately 15,000 fled [from Koui in Ouham Pende] to the neighbouring town of Bocaranga and another 15,000 have not been identified yet they sought refuge in the bush and along the axis leading to Bocaranga," Yaye Nabo Sene told the Al Jazeera broadcaster.

Overall, about 70,000 civilians have been displaced throughout the country due to hostilities since September, Sene added.

 Sputnik

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MiG-29 Fighter Jets From Russia to 'Save' Serbia's Air Force

Sputnik News

11:26 23.12.2016

Russia plans to transfer six Mikoyan MiG-29 multirole fighters to Serbia as part of a military and technical cooperation program, with defense analyst Aleksandar Radic telling Sputnik that Belgrade "urgently needs" these military aircraft. Under the deal, the Balkan nation will also receive 30 T-72 tanks and 30 BRDM-2 amphibious vehicles.

"The four MiGs in Serbia's arsenal which are currently stationed at the Batajnica air field increasingly require maintenance," the Serbian analyst said. "At the moment the MiG-29s [which Russia will deliver to Serbia] are a salvation for our air force. They will help us maintain constant alert as part of air defense. This is a duty which has to be carried out 24/7. This is a national and international duty for us, as well as training for our pilots."

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic issued a statement on the deal with Russia on Thursday following an informal meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The delivery is expected to take place in March  April 2017.

In November, defense analyst Miroslav Lazanski told Sputnik that Serbia will receive Russian-made military hardware at a huge discount, with Belgrade only covering repair costs.

Retired colonel Dragan Krsmanovic noted that Russian planes will strengthen Serbia's defense capabilities.

"Any modernization, particularly when it comes to air force and air defense, matters. I am refereeing to the latest deal and the ones that will follow, which could include the Buk missile system. This could drastically improve Serbia's defenses," he told Sputnik. "However, we should not forget that national defense is a comprehensive system. If a single component of this system changes, it does not mean that the entire system will be automatically improve."

The deal prompted journalist Evgeny Krutikov to assert that Serbia has become Russia's key defense partner in the Balkans.

"One could say that due to these deliveries Russia has returned to the Balkans with regard to military cooperation. And clearly it is impossible to imagine a similar deal with other countries in the region, like Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro," he said. "Boosting defense ties with Russia is extremely important for Serbian authorities, mainly in the context of the upcoming presidential election in 2017 and the possible snap parliamentary elections."

 Sputnik

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Today's Vote in the UN Security Council

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

December 23, 2016



Today, the United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every U.S. administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Two states is the only way to ensure Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors, and freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people. That future is now in jeopardy, with terrorism, violence and incitement continuing and unprecedented steps to expand settlements being advanced by avowed opponents of the two state solution. That is why we cannot in good conscience stand in the way of a resolution at the United Nations that makes clear that both sides must act now to preserve the possibility of peace. While we do not agree with every aspect of this Resolution, it rightly condemns violence and incitement and settlement activity and calls on both sides to take constructive steps to reverse current trends and advance the prospects for a two state solution. And it does not seek to impose on the parties a solution to the conflict. It preserves the ability for the parties to negotiate the end of conflict.

As a lifelong friend of Israel, I have taken every opportunity to speak out, or cast a vote, to protect its security and the chance for a peaceful future. This Administration is proud of what Israel's leaders have called its unparalleled record of support for Israel's security, including the largest military assistance package in history, defending Israel against any efforts to undermine its security or legitimacy in international fora, and steadfastly opposing boycotts, divestment campaigns and sanctions targeting the State of Israel. It is that very commitment to Israel's long term security that we are standing up for today. We hope the parties will see this as a moment to urgently advance the peaceful and prosperous future they each deserve.

We all understand that reversing these disturbing trends on the ground will not itself bring an end to the conflict. That is why, over the past four years, I have spent countless hours engaged with the Israelis and Palestinians, countries in the region, and key stakeholders around the world, to explore and advance the prospects for peace. In the coming days, I will speak further to the vote in the Security Council today and share more detailed thoughts, drawn from the experience of the last several years, on the way ahead.

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Liberia: Security Council extends UN Mission, for the final time, until 30 March 2018

23 December 2016  Adopting a resolution today, the United Nations Security Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), for the final time, until 30 March 2018 and adjusted its mandate to comprise protection of civilians, reform of justice and security institutions, protection and promotion of human rights, public information activities, and protection of UN personnel and installations.

In the resolution, adopted by a vote of 12 in favour, with three abstentions (France, Russia and the UK), the Council noted the potential security challenges during preparation for and in the period leading to presidential and legislative elections in October 2017, stressed the need for the Liberian Government to prepare for the elections, and called on all parties to ensure that the electoral process is free, fair, peaceful and transparent.

In relation to the elections, the Council also authorized UNMIL "to assist as requested and within its capabilities [] with logistical support, including aviation support, to meet urgent gaps in Liberia's capabilities for the [electoral processes], including voter registration, in particular to facilitate access to remote areas."

It also decided to reduce UNMIL's 1,240 military personnel to a ceiling of 434, and its police strength to 310 personnel.

In the resolution, the Security Council also underlined the need to address sexual and gender-based violence in the west African country and to fight against impunity for such crimes. The Council further emphasized the importance of the role of women in preventing and resolving conflicts, as recognized in its resolution 1325 (2000).

UNMIL was established in Liberia in October 2003 with an initial troop strength of up to 15,000, including 250 military observers, 160 staff officers, up to 875 UN police officers and additional five armed formed units each comprising 120 officers, and along with a civilian component and necessary support staff.

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Explanation of Vote at the Adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on the Situation in the Middle East

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Ambassador Samantha Power

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations

U.S. Mission to the United Nations

New York City

December 23, 2016

AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Mr. President.

Let me begin with a quote: "The United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transitional period. Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks. Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated."

This was said in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan. He was speaking about a new proposal that he was launching to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While ultimately, of course, President Reagan's proposal was not realized, his words are still illuminating in at least two respects.

First, because they underscore the United States' deep and long-standing commitment to achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. That has been the policy of every administration, Republican and Democrat, since before President Reagan and all the way through to the present day.

Second, because President Reagan's words highlight the United States' long-standing position that Israeli settlement activity in territories occupied in 1967 undermines Israel's security, harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome, and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region. Today, the Security Council reaffirmed its established consensus that settlements have no legal validity. The United States has been sending the message that the settlements must stop  privately and publicly  for nearly five decades, through the administrations of Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and now Barack Obama. Indeed, since 1967, the only president who had not had at least one Israeli-Palestinian-related Security Council resolution pass during his tenure is Barack Obama. So our vote today is fully in line with the bipartisan history of how American Presidents have approached both the issue  and the role of this body.

Given the consistency of this position across U.S. administrations, one would think that it would be a routine vote for the U.S. to allow the passage of a resolution with the elements in this one, reaffirming the long-standing U.S. position on settlements, condemning violence and incitement, and calling for the parties to start taking constructive steps to reverse current trends on the ground. These are familiar, well-articulated components of U.S. policy.

But in reality this vote for us was not straightforward, because of where it is taking place  at the United Nations. For the simple truth is that for as long as Israel has been a member of this institution, Israel has been treated differently from other nations at the United Nations. And not only in decades past  such as in the infamous resolution that the General Assembly adopted in 1975, with the support of the majority of Member States, officially determining that, "Zionism is a form of racism"  but also in 2016, this year. One need only look at the 18 resolutions against Israel adopted during the UN General Assembly in September; or the 12 Israel-specific resolutions adopted this year in the Human Rights Council  more than those focused on Syria, North Korea, Iran, and South Sudan put together  to see that in 2016 Israel continues to be treated differently from other Member States.

Like U.S. administrations before it, the Obama Administration has worked tirelessly to fight for Israel's right simply to be treated just like any other country  from advocating for Israel to finally be granted membership to a UN regional body, something no other UN Member State had been denied; to fighting to ensure that Israeli NGOs are not denied UN accreditation, simply because they are Israeli, to getting Yom Kippur finally recognized as a UN holiday; to pressing this Council to break its indefensible silence in response to terrorist attacks on Israelis. As the United States has said repeatedly, such unequal treatment not only hurts Israel, it undermines the legitimacy of the United Nations itself.

The practice of treating Israel differently at the UN matters for votes like this one. For even if one believes that the resolution proposed today is justified  or, even more, necessitated  by events on the ground, one cannot completely separate the vote from the venue.

And Member States that say they are for the two-state solution must ask themselves some difficult questions. For those states that are quick to promote resolutions condemning Israel, but refuse to recognize when innocent Israelis are the victims of terrorism  what steps will you take to stop treating Israel differently? For those states that passionately denounce the closures of crossings in Gaza as exacerbating the humanitarian situation, but saying nothing of the resources diverted from helping Gaza's residents to dig tunnels into Israeli territory so that terrorists can attack Israelis in their homes  what will you do to end the double-standard that undermines the legitimacy of this institution?

Member States should also ask themselves about the double standards when it comes to this Council taking action. Just this morning we came together, as a Council, and we were unable to muster the will to act to stop the flow of weapons going to killers in South Sudan, who are perpetrating mass atrocities that the UN has said could lead to genocide. We couldn't come together just to stem the flow of arms. Earlier this month, this Council could not muster the will to adopt the simplest of resolutions calling for a seven-day pause in the savage bombardment of innocent civilians, hospitals, and schools in Aleppo. Yet when a resolution on Israel comes before this Council, members suddenly summon the will to act.

It is because this forum too often continues to be biased against Israel; because there are important issues that are not sufficiently addressed in this resolution; and because the United States does not agree with every word in this text, that the United States did not vote in favor of the resolution. But it is because this resolution reflects the facts on the ground  and is consistent with U.S. policy across Republican and Democratic administration throughout the history of the State of Israel  that the United States did not veto it.

The United States has consistently said we would block any resolution that we thought would undermine Israel's security or seek to impose a resolution to the conflict. We would not have let this resolution pass had it not also addressed counterproductive actions by the Palestinians such as terrorism and incitement to violence, which we've repeatedly condemned and repeatedly raised with the Palestinian leadership, and which, of course, must be stopped.

Unlike some on the UN Security Council, we do not believe that outside parties can impose a solution that has not been negotiated by the two parties. Nor can we unilaterally recognize a future Palestinian state. But it is precisely our commitment to Israel's security that makes the United States believe that we cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our long-standing objective: two states living side-by-side in peace and security. Let me briefly explain why.

The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution. The number of settlers in the roughly 150 authorized Israeli settlements east of the 1967 lines has increased dramatically. Since the 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords  which launched efforts that made a comprehensive and lasting peace possible  the number of settlers has increased by 355,000. The total settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now exceeds 590,000. Nearly 90,000 settlers are living east of the separation barrier that was created by Israel itself. And just since July 2016  when the Middle East Quartet issued a report highlighting international concern about a systematic process of land seizures, settlement expansions, and legalizations  Israel has advanced plans for more than 2,600 new settlement units. Yet rather than dismantling these and other settler outposts, which are illegal even under Israeli law, now there is new legislation advancing in the Israeli Knesset that would legalize most of the outposts  a factor that propelled the decision by this resolution's sponsors to bring it before the Council.

The Israeli Prime Minister recently described his government as "more committed to settlements than any in Israel's history," and one of his leading coalition partners recently declared that "the era of the two-state solution is over." At the same time, the Prime Minister has said that he is still committed to pursuing a two-state solution. But these statements are irreconcilable. One cannot simultaneously champion expanding Israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. One has to make a choice between settlements and separation.

In 2011, the United States vetoed a resolution that focused exclusively on settlements, as if settlements were they only factor harming the prospects of a two-state solution. The circumstances have changed dramatically. Since 2011, settlement growth has only accelerated. Since 2011, multiple efforts to pursue peace through negotiations have failed. And since 2011, President Obama and Secretary Kerry have repeatedly warned  publically and privately  that the absence of progress toward peace and continued settlement expansion was going to put the two-state solution at risk, and threaten Israel's stated objective to remain both a Jewish State and a democracy. Moreover, unlike in 2011, this resolution condemns violence, terrorism and incitement, which also poses an extremely grave risk to the two-state solution. This resolution reflects trends that will permanently destroy the hope of a two-state solution if they continue on their current course.

The United States has not taken the step of voting in support of this resolution because the resolution is too narrowly focused on settlements, when we all know  or we all should know  that many other factors contribute significantly to the tensions that perpetuate this conflict. Let us be clear: even if every single settlement were to be dismantled tomorrow, peace still would not be attainable without both sides acknowledging uncomfortable truths and making difficult choices. That is an indisputable fact. Yet it is one that is too often overlooked by members of the United Nations and by members of this Council.

For Palestinian leaders, that means recognizing the obvious: that in addition to taking innocent lives  the incitement to violence, the glorification of terrorists, and the growth of violent extremism erodes prospects for peace, as this resolution makes crystal clear. The most recent wave of Palestinian violence has seen terrorists commit hundreds of attacks  including driving cars into crowds of innocent civilians and stabbing mothers in front of their children. Yet rather than condemn these attacks, Hamas, other radical factions, and even certain members of Fatah have held up the terrorists as heroes, and used social media to incite others to follow in their murderous footsteps. And while President Abbas and his party's leaders have made clear their opposition to violence, terrorism, and extremism, they have too often failed to condemn specific attacks or condemn the praised heaped upon the perpetrators.

Our vote today does not in any way diminish the United States' steadfast and unparalleled commitment to the security of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. We would not have let this resolution pass had it not also addressed counterproductive actions by Palestinians. We have to recognize that Israel faces very serious threats in a very tough neighborhood. Israelis are rightfully concerned about making sure there is not a new terrorist haven next door. President Obama and this administration have shown an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security because that is what we believe in.

Our commitment to that security has never wavered, and it never will. Even with a financial crisis and budget deficits, we've repeatedly increased funding to support Israel's military. And in September, the Obama administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide $38 billion in security assistance to Israel over the next 10 years  the largest single pledge of military assistance in U.S. history to any country. And as the Israeli Prime Minister himself has noted, our military and intelligence cooperation is unprecedented. We believe, though, that continued settlement building seriously undermines Israel's security.

Some may cast the U.S. vote as a sign that we have finally given up on a two-state solution. Nothing could be further from the truth. None of us can give up on a two-state solution. We continue to believe that that solution is the only viable path to provide peace and security for the state of Israel, and freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people. And we continue to believe that the parties can still pursue this path, if both sides are honest about the choices, and have the courage to take steps that will be politically difficult. While we can encourage them, it is ultimately up to the parties to choose this path, as it always has been. We sincerely hope that they will begin making these choices before it is too late.

I thank you.

###

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Taliban: Peace Talks Not Possible Until Foreign 'Occupation' of Afghanistan Ends

By Ayaz Gul December 23, 2016

The Taliban has rejected latest United Nations calls for engaging in peace talks with the Afghan government, and instead demanded the world body pressure U.S.-led foreign troops to end their "occupation" of Afghanistan if the U.N. truly wants an end to the 15-year war.

"Our fight is for independence, and as long as foreign occupation forces are present here (in Afghanistan) any talk about peace and reconciliation is meaningless," Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told VOA Friday.

He was responding to a renewed call for Afghan peace talks earlier this week by Tadamichi Yamamoto, who heads the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA.

In his quarterly briefing to the Security Council in New York on Monday, Yamamoto urged the Taliban to enter into direct talks with the Kabul government, without preconditions, to prevent further bloodshed in the country.

"We all know that the conflict in Afghanistan has no military solution. The Taliban leadership must reconsider the notion that their objectives can only be achieved on the battlefield," noted the UNAMA chief.

However, the Taliban spokesman insisted that all parties interested in resolving Afghanistan's problems should pressure on foreign forces to leave Afghanistan and let its people decide the kind of governing system they need for their country.

"Afghans neither like a foreign-imposed regime nor do they accept presence of foreign forces in their country," he said, citing presence of American and NATO in Afghanistan as the main cause of the conflict.

The Taliban maintains President Ashraf Ghani's national unity government is not a "sovereign administration," alleging it works under U.S. direction. The Islamist insurgency has recently called for direct talks with the U.S. administration to find a solution to the Afghan war.

But Washington rejected the offer and reiterated its support for an Afghan-led reconciliation process.

"We believe that's the right approach. We've always believed that that's the right approach. President Ghani, more importantly, also believes in the criticality of that approach, and that's where our support will go to," said State Department spokesman Johan Kirby on Wednesday while responding to the Taliban's offer.

The Afghan war has caused unprecedented bloodshed in 2016. UNAMA estimates more than 3,000 civilians have died while thousands more have been wounded so far this year.

The U.S. military reported in October that in the first eight months of 2016, Afghan forces suffered more than 15,000 casualties, including over 5,500 deaths. The casualties figures for the entire year are likely to be much higher because the conflict has expanded and intensified since August.

For their part, Afghan authorities earlier this week reported that in country-wide police operations alone more than 8,500 "enemy" fighters have been killed this year.

The Afghan Defense Ministry estimates suggest its troops have also killed thousands of anti-government fighters in counter-insurgency operations in 2016, but no official figures have been released as yet.

The U.N. says the conflict also forced more than 5,5100 Afghans to flee their homes this year, representing record level of internal displacements during the past 15 years.

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West African States Threaten Military Action in Gambia

By VOA News December 23, 2016

West Africa's regional bloc has threatened to use force in Gambia if the country's longtime leader does not step down in January as scheduled, following his loss in presidential elections.

The chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Marcel de Souza, told reporters Friday that the bloc has a standby force.

"The deadline is January 19, when the mandate of [President Yahya] Jammeh expires,'' de Souza said. "If he doesn't go, we have a standby force, which is already on alert." He said the force should be able to intervene "to restore the will of the people."

De Souza said ECOWAS had chosen Senegal to lead any military operation. Senegal, which geographically surrounds Gambia on three sides, had previously said that military action would be a last resort.

The regional group has been leading diplomatic efforts to try to persuade Jammeh to step down.

Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years, initially accepted defeat after December's presidential election, but a week later he changed his mind. He said voting irregularities made him question the win by opposition candidate Adama Barrow.

The president has said ECOWAS has no authority to meddle in Gambia's internal affairs.

Took power in coup

Jammeh, 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."

Rights groups have often accused Jammeh of having political opponents and journalists either arrested or killed.

Barrow, also 51, represented a coalition of seven opposition parties that challenged Jammeh in December's election. Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission said that Barrow won 263,000 votes, or 45 percent of the total, while Jammeh took 212,000 votes, about 36 percent. A third candidate, Mama Kandeh, won 17 percent.

Gambia's Supreme Court will hear a case next month, brought by Jammeh, that seeks to cancel results of the December election.

Gambia, a former British colony, occupies a narrow sliver of land surrounded by French-speaking Senegal. About 880,000 Gambians were eligible to vote in the December 1 poll, which took place under a complete communications blackout, including social media platforms.

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On-the-Record Press Call on the U.N. Security Council Resolution on Israeli Settlement Activity

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

December 23, 2016



ON-THE-RECORD PRESS CALL

BY BEN RHODES, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS,

ROB MALLEY, WHITE HOUSE COORDINATOR FOR MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AND THE GULF

AND FRANK LOWENSTEIN, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATIONS AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT

ON THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION

ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY

Via Telephone

3:10 P.M. EST

MR. PRICE: Good afternoon, everyone. And thanks for joining the call on relatively short notice here. We wanted to provide an opportunity to provide a little more context and answer your questions on today's action in U.N. Security Council.

We have three speakers on today's call, which will be on the record but embargoed until the conclusion of the call. We have Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. We have Rob Malley, the White House Coordinator for Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf. And we have Frank Lowenstein, who is the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations at the State Department.

So again, this call is on the record but it is embargoed until the conclusion. And with that, I'll turn it over to Ben.

MR. RHODES: Great. Thanks, everybody, for joining the call. I won't give a lengthy opening statement just because Samantha Power's explanation both I think comprehensively captures the United States' view and our decision to, again, abstain and allow for the passage of the U.N. Security Council resolution that makes clear that both Israel and the Palestinians have to take steps to preserve the two-state solution, a resolution that expresses the consensus international view on Israeli settlement activity, as well as condemning violence, terrorism, and incitement.

I'd just give a few points before we get into your questions. First of all, President Obama, of course, communicated his decision for the United States to take this action after several rounds of discussions with Ambassador Rice, Ambassador Power, Secretary Kerry, and members of his national security team. We have been following the development by different parties of a variety of resolutions at the United Nations, as we often do, over the course of the year. And this, of course, is the one that emerged in recent days and was put forward by the Egyptians yesterday, and counted the votes today.

I'd just make a number of comments at the top. First of all, this is consistent with longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy as it relates to settlements, as it relates to our opposition to Israeli settlements, as it relates to our opposition to, and condemnation of, incitement and violence and terrorism, and, above all, about our affirmative support for a two-state solution.

And one of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity -- which has accelerated in recent years, which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the U.N. Security Council resolution that condemns settlements -- puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence. And we've been very concerned that these accelerating trends are putting the very viability of a two-state solution at risk. And 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.

The second thing I would say is that it is -- again, not only has it been the consistent policy under bipartisan U.S. administrations to oppose settlement activity, it has also been consistently the case that U.S. administrations have addressed the Israeli-Palestinian issue, or the broader Arab-Israeli issue, through the U.N. Security Council. In fact, President Obama was, until this resolution, the first President in decades to not have such a resolution go forward during his time in office.

The third thing that I would say just by way of opening is that we, as Samantha Power said, do have concerns about the U.N. as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state. What this resolution does, again, is condemn the settlement activity as well as incitement and violence, which are steps that we believe are consistent with having a basis in the future for there to be a return to the negotiating table in pursuit of a two-state solution.

But let's be clear here: We exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, through direct discussions, through proximity discussions, through confidence-building measures, through a lengthy and exhaustive effort undertaken by Secretary Kerry earlier in the President's second term. We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table.

So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution.

With that, I'm sure you have many questions. So, operator, we'd be happy to shift to questions. And again, I'm joined by Frank and Rob here, and so the three of us can handle questions.

Q Thanks very much. Thanks to all of you. To Ben or Rob or whoever, Frank -- Donald Trump just tweeted, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20." And a senior Israeli official told NBC News today -- said, "President Obama and Secretary Kerry are behind this shameful move against Israel at the U.N. The U.S. administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel's back, which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts, and effectively make the Western Wall occupied Palestinian territory." So I wanted to see if you could react to Trump's tweet, the very strong language out of Israel, and whether you think it is confusing to have the President-elect getting this directly involved with Egypt, Israel and the U.N., as well as Russia, and the other things that have happened before he is sworn in.

MR. RHODES: So thanks, Andrea, for the question. On the President-elect, the first thing I'd just say is that there's one President at a time. President Obama is the President of the United States until January 20th, and we are taking this action, of course, as U.S. policy. And as I also said, this has been longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy to oppose this type of settlement activity going forward.

With respect to the quote you read, it's full of inaccuracies and falsehoods. Let me just step back and put this in context for a moment. President Obama has done more for Israel and its security than any previous U.S. President. We just recently signed with Israel the single largest U.S. military assistance package in history -- $38 billion over the coming decade. That comes after an administration in which we provided lifesaving assistance for the Iron Dome Missile Defense System. We've achieved what Prime Minister Netanyahu himself has described as unprecedented security cooperation between our military and intelligence officials. We have repeatedly stood up for Israel in international fora in a variety of different ways, whether it was opposing efforts to address final status issues through the United Nations, or supporting greater Israeli integration into international fora.

So I believe that despite what has at times been very strident Israeli government criticism of U.S. policies that President Obama has always made Israel and its security sacrosanct in his approach to these issues. In fact, we've always said that our pursuit of a two-state solution is guided in part by our belief that that is the only way to preserve and strengthen Israel's security in the long run, and to achieve the goal that we share with the Israeli people of having a state of Israel that is both Jewish and democratic in nature.

All of that said, with this criticism it seems like the Israeli government wants the conversation to be about anything other than the settlement activity. And the fact of the matter is, as you heard Samantha say, since 2009, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased by more than 100,000 to nearly 400,000. There's been an increase of more than 15,000 in the last year alone. Since 2009, construction has begun on over 12,700 new settlement units in the West Bank. There are now nearly 900,000 -- I'm sorry, 90,000 settlers living east of the separation barrier that was created by Israel itself. And the population of these distant settlements has grown by 20,000 since 2009.

So this is not simply a matter of construction within the so-called blocks, within what has long been considered the likely borders of a future -- within a future peace agreement. We have acknowledged publicly that there will have to be an acknowledgement of the growth since the 1967 lines were established as a part of any future peace agreement. But in fact, what we've seen is much more accelerated settlement construction. And now the total settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem exceeds 590,000.

Prime Minister Netanyahu recently described his own government as "more committed to settlements than any in Israel's history." Those are his words. And we're concerned about these trends. We were concerned after our election, when one of his leading coalition partners, Naftali Bennett, declared that "the era of the two-state solution is over."

So, for us, the question here has always been about what is the best way to pursue the security that the Israeli people deserve. And we cannot simply have a two-state solution be a slogan while the trend lines on the ground are such that a two-state solution is becoming less and less viable.

I would add that we've repeatedly condemned incitement to violence by Palestinians. We've repeatedly condemned Palestinian terrorism. We have stood up for Israel's right to defend itself against rocket fire from Gaza, even when we were one of the only countries in the world that was taking that position. So we've been willing time and again to support Israel in international fora, just as we've supported Israel's right to defend itself, by itself, and just as we've ensured through our assistance that Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge for the enduring future.

So, again, President Obama's track record on Israel's security is clear. Anybody can review it. But, in fact, I'd take umbrage at language that suggests that this was our preferred course of action and that we initiated it. The fact of the matter is, we'd been warning -- President Obama and Secretary Kerry publicly and privately for years -- that the trend line of settlement construction and settlement activity was just increasing Israel's international isolation. This is not a new position for us; we've been saying that for many, many, many years. Secretary Kerry, as Frank can attest to, has had hundreds of conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We've made precisely this point.

And with respect to this resolution, we did not draft this resolution; we did not introduce this resolution. The Egyptians, in partnership with the Palestinians, are the ones who began circulating an earlier draft of the resolution. The Egyptians are the ones who moved it forward yesterday. And we took the position that we did when it was put to a vote.

Q Thanks, Ben and Ned, and everybody for doing this. It doesn't seem as if necessarily that this is -- you're talking about a bipartisan position against settlement activity, and that's well understood. But when Chuck Schumer was calling you guys this morning, he was saying it's not about the fact that I endorse settlement activity; obviously, I think that settlement activity is contrary to the pursuit of peace and all of that -- it's the way in which you guys are going about this that it's counterproductive or it's not going to get the results that you seek. And so I don't really understand what you think this accomplishes and how you account for the position you're putting the President-elect in to somehow reverse course or to make up for this action that has just been taken.

Just the last thing, Paul Ryan obviously just came out with a statement saying that this is absolutely shameful, which of course, you disagree with, but the actionable point he made is we are going to take steps to reverse course. So why would you put the incoming administration into a position where they have to sort of make up for this action?

MR. RHODES: So, Michael, on the second point, I think it would be absurd to suggest that this action is in some way related at all to policy positions that the incoming administration has already said that they will pursue. In other words, before this resolution was even being discussed publicly, the incoming administration announced their intention to move our embassy to Jerusalem. And I think they've sent a very clear message about what their approach to this issue is going to be through the person that they selected as their ambassador nominee. That tells you what you need to know about the position of the incoming administration, and I think it would be, frankly, ignoring those very clear facts and statements that are available to everybody to see to suggest that somehow this resolution informs those positions. Those positions were taken before this resolution was even being discussed at all publicly.

The second point I'd make is that we have great respect for Senator Schumer and for a number of members of Congress of both parties who I recognize took a different view from us. What I'd say as it relates to your question, though, is, where is the evidence that not doing this is slowing the settlement construction? We've tried a different approach for years here. We vetoed a resolution in 2011 that condemned settlement activity, and yet what we've seen since then is an acceleration of the settlement activity.

So the notion that vetoing this resolution would have somehow slowed the settlement activity I think flies in the face of any piece of evidence that anybody who is looking at the facts can see. These are facts. The construction of settlements can be counted and documented. Palestinians being displaced from their homes -- that can be documented. The statements of this Israeli government, that they are "more committed to settlements than any in Israel's history," that is something that was said before this resolution passed the United Nations Security Council.

So, again, while I understand and respect the different points of view on the issue, I would just suggest that we have a body of evidence to assess how this Israeli government has responded to us not taking this kind of action, and that suggests that they will continue to accelerate the type of settlement construction that puts a two-state solution at risk. Whereas here we are at least trying to establish that the international community is on the record in reaffirming its own longstanding position against settlement construction and against incitement and against terrorism, because we believe that those are, again, important principles that could guide any future return to the negotiating table.

And again, just the last thing I'd say is that if you look at this resolution as against the resolution in 2011, it is more balanced. There is a more direct condemnation of violence and incitement of violence, and a call upon leaders to reject incitement to violence. So we felt that that balance is also very important, because we completely understand that the conflict is not purely about settlements. It has to be about whether or not Palestinian leaders are taking the necessary steps to reject incitement, to condemn incitement, to reject terrorism, to reject rocket fire to individual citizens of Israel. And I think if you look at our track record, it's consistent in that regard.

We've supported Israeli efforts to defend themselves against rocket fire. We've condemned terrorism. We've condemned incitement. We've opposed previous one-sided resolutions that did not have the balance that was in this resolution. And we've opposed efforts to impose a solution through the U.N. Security Council.

Q Thanks for doing this, guys. I'm just wondering, Ben, whether there are still any plans for the President to maybe give a speech or lay down a vision of parameters or some sort of a framework for future negotiations. Settlements are obviously part of the equation, but they're only a small part, and also for the administration, a part that has generally been the most contentious. I'm wondering, does the President recognize the need to offer sort of a more cohesive vision of what a two-state solution would look like and the road to get to that, to get to that kind of agreement before he leaves office?

MR. RHODES: Sure -- and Frank will want to speak to this. But Secretary Kerry will be providing, informed by his enormous and tireless work, a comprehensive vision. We completely agree with the point that this conflict is about far more than settlements. And so, Frank, you may want to speak to that.

MR. LOWENSTEIN: Yeah, no, I think it's a very important point, Mark, and thanks for raising it. The Secretary has obviously put a great deal of time and effort over the course of the last four years to negotiations (inaudible) between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and then, since then, to really innumerable conversations, not only with the parties but also with key players in the region and other stakeholders around the world. And out of that, I think he's got some ideas about where we go from here. And I know he looks forward to sharing them sometime in the days ahead.

Q Hi, thanks for doing this. You obviously, clearly, have very strong feelings about this. I'm wondering why go with the split-the-middle choice of an abstention. Also, do you see this as something more than symbolic? What follow-through will there be to actually in any way stop Israeli settlements? And do you have any kind of response to Senator Graham who said he's going to cut funding to the U.N. and basically punish anyone who voted for it?

MR. RHODES: Sure, Margaret. So, on your first point, look, we abstained, as Samantha explained, for a number of reasons. First, the United Nations, we continue to believe, is a flawed venue for this issue in that it has frequently been used to single out Israel, often through completely over-the-top exercises, that -- again, when it comes to final status issues, we believe that those should be negotiated between the parties.

So, for instance, there have been many different resolutions kicking around over the course of the last year. We would not have supported or abstained from voting on a parameters resolution. We would have vetoed any resolution that we thought sought to impose a solution that sought to impose a view on the final status issue.

So, again, I think an abstention reflects the reality that we don't want to suggest that the United Nations should be used for efforts beyond this one to address final status issues, or to recognize a Palestinian state, or to endorse a set of parameters.

On the narrow question of the resolution that was put in front of us, we saw a resolution that in large part was consistent with U.S. policy. And that, combined with the trend lines I spoke of, informed our decision.

We also abstained because while there was balance, as I discussed, in that the resolution addressed and condemned violence and incitement of violence, we thought that that could have been more prominent in the resolution; that there was more time devoted to addressing Israeli activities than the type of violence and incitement that we've seen. And so, again, it did not, in terms of the weight of emphasis on the different issues -- it was not sufficiently elevating at length the issues that we care very deeply about. We're pleased that that was included, but again, when you see horrifying knife attacks, when you see continued incitement to violence, you see continued anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic slogans and calls for violence from with the Palestinian Territories, that gravely concerns us. And that's an enormous obstacle to peace, of course.

So again, that explains that abstention, those two issues -- the U.N. as a future venue for final status issues, given its history, and the emphasis in this resolution being more focused on Israeli activity than some of the concerning activities that are addressed in the resolution with respect to the Palestinians but I think could have been addressed at greater length.

With respect to U.N. funding, whenever this issue comes up, the United States would only be hurting itself by seeking to hurt the United Nations. We work through the United Nations to do an enormous range of activities that are very important to our own national security interests -- to provide life-saving assistance, to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. So if we were to cut funding for the United Nations in response to this resolution, all we would be doing is hurting other people, hurting our own interests, and, frankly, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do that, particularly given to your last point.

Look, this is a statement, an affirmation of the view of the international community. That's what it is. You are correct that it does not -- it is not something that is going to impose a consequence beyond affirming that view of the international community. And so, in that regard, we felt that given that, that's our view and that's been a longstanding view of this administration and the international community that we could abstain from this and allow this resolution to go forward.

Q Hi, thanks for doing this. First question -- Frank, I want to follow up to what you just said about Kerry's speech, upcoming speech. Is he basically going to make the March 2014 framework paper public and basically tell us what it included? And second question to Ben: I know you've been planning this for eight years now, trying to promote the peace process with Netanyahu. And it's very interesting for me and I guess for others to really try and understand your final conclusion after eight years. Do you believe that, at the end of the day, after all those years, your conclusion is that Netanyahu wants to promote a two-state solution? Or was that just a talking point all those last eight years?

MR. LOWENSTEIN: Thanks, Barack, I'll take your first part of that question first. No, the Secretary will not be making the March 2014 framework public. That was a private negotiation with the parties, and he will absolutely respect that.

I think what you'll hear in his remarks -- and I don't want to go into too much detail -- but I think he will draw on his experiences, as I said, directly with the parties and also with others over the course of the last four years.

MR. RHODES: And on your second question, Barack, look, I think a first point that's very important is that Prime Minister Netanyahu had the opportunity to pursue policies that would have led to a different outcome today. Absent this acceleration of settlement activity, absent the type of rhetoric we've seen out of the current Israeli government, I think the United States likely would have taken a different view, because our preference is for there to be a credible peace process underway.

So, again, it's very important that this -- the fact that this is happening towards the end of our eight years indicates that this is not our preferred course of action and that we've given years and years and years of opportunities to address issues related to the settlements or to address issues related to the peace process that, frankly, we believe could have been more productive. And, frankly, President Obama, if you look at speech after speech that he gave, kept warning that the trends in the conflict were going to lead to greater international efforts to apply pressure in Israel; that the settlement activity was going to lead to greater national efforts to apply pressure to Israel.

There's a huge record on this, and I think it's very unfair and inaccurate to suggest that somehow this was an outcome that we sought. If it was an outcome that we sought, we would have done this long ago. But the fact is, we were compelled to because of the choices that have been made over years by the Israeli government in building settlements and not taking different opportunities that were presented for a credible peace process.

I should add that the Palestinians also failed to take opportunities. As Frank and Rob know well, Secretary Kerry's effort did not move forward because of the decisions by both Israelis and Palestinians. So I just want to be very clear here that the Palestinians have missed plenty of opportunities under this administration as well.

On your second part of your question, look, all I can say is that we've tried everything. We've tried proximity talks, we've tried direct talks, we've tried the Secretary of State who dove into this and made it an enormous priority for a long period of time. We've tried to step back. And the one consistent outcome was that it didn't work. We can go back and look at what we did differently, but at the end of the day, precisely because we believe this can only be resolved in negotiations, it's up to the parties to show that they're serious about those negotiations and that talking about a peace process isn't just a phrase -- it's an actual, meaningful, diplomatic effort to try to achieve a resolution.

And I think Samantha's vote explanation says it best, which is that we hear the words about a two-state solution, and then we see the actions that are making a two-state solution far less likely, if not out of reach. And at a certain point, the words and the actions become irreconcilable. And that's what we're concerned about. And we believe that that would be not in the best interest of Israel. And precisely because President Obama cares so deeply about Israel and its security, he would like to see a return to a meaningful effort to pursue peace.

Q I wanted to ask Ben how much influence Donald Trump's positions -- his choice of ambassador, you talked about that a little bit earlier -- but how much did that have an effect on the President's decision in terms of whether or not it made it more likely for him to make the decision that he did? And did he tell anyone in advance, either the Israelis or any lawmakers, before he made this decision? And then if you could clarify just two on his decision-making -- when he made the decision on this particular resolution, and then, more broadly, kind of when he decided in principle that this was something he would do.

MR. RHODES: So he communicated his decision today to Ambassador Rice. The fact is, we didn't know what resolution was going to come to a vote until late morning today. So he did not communicate his decision until that point.

I think as this resolution emerged from the Egyptians yesterday, we were preparing to make a decision, and then we had the drama yesterday. What we've said consistently is that the settlement-related UNSCRs circulate, and we have always been clear that we would want to look at any resolution on its own merits and that we would want to assess whether it had balance and whether it avoided seeking to impose a solution. And so we had to see whether this resolution would meet that criteria.

With respect to the President-elect, look, we made this decision based on our assessment of the trend lines on the ground, recent incitement, recent settlement activity, our concern that a two-state solution was being put at risk by the trend lines on the ground. So that's the basis under which we made our decision.

I only mentioned the President-elect's statements and appointments in response to the notion that this might shape their actions. Again, my point is simply that I think they've been quite clear and quite specific about their intentions and their policies, and that simply pre-dates this resolution.

And, again, I do just want to be very clear because it has come up in a couple of the questions, including Andrea's: When the Egyptians began circulating this resolution, we did not indicate to any U.N. member how we would vote on the resolution. In fact, I think part of the reason why there seemed to be some suspense -- even when Samantha was sitting in the room -- is because we had not been indicating how we would vote, in part because we recognized that drafts could change. And so until we knew exactly what the draft was and how we would vote on it, we weren't going to express the view.

So the notion that we were somehow involved in drafting this is just not true. This is something that the Egyptians were pursuing with other members of the council. Now, those members of the council, they hear our views on this issue all the time, but again, I think we maintained ambiguity about how we would vote precisely because of what we saw yesterday, which is we didn't know exactly what resolution was going to emerge.

What we always do is make clear that any resolution that fails to reflect our concerns about issues like incitement and violence and terrorism would be subject to a U.S. veto. And so that's a principle that I think was understood by other members of the council.

Again, after this Egyptian draft was put in blue on Wednesday evening, the President convened a call with senior members of his national security team, including the Vice President, Secretary Kerry, Ambassador Rice, Ambassador Power and others. And again, he, in that decision, was open to abstaining, though we had to wait and see what would emerge. And again, after the drama of yesterday, we wanted to wait and see whether the resolution would change or not. So that's why he had to communicate his final decision to Susan today.

So, again, I just want to -- it's important that the record reflects that we were responding to efforts at the U.N. Security Council up until even this morning.

Q Hey, Ben, thanks again for doing the call. Hoping you can -- we know that President-elect Trump and President Obama spoke on Monday, per the President-elect, and that the President-elect's team said that they provided the White House notice yesterday before releasing their statement calling for a veto of a version of this resolution. Could you provide any -- were there any conversations between the President and the President-elect about this since Monday? Or when they talked Monday, was it about this? And any communication between the White House and the President-elect or his staff between when the President made his decision and when the vote took place?

MR. RHODES: So I'm not aware that President Obama and the President-elect spoke about this, but again, I'm not -- President Obama definitely made no reference to that, so I can't confirm that this hasn't come up at all, but I'm not aware of any particular conversation they had about this.

We did hear from the President-elect's team. Again, our position has been there's one President at a time. We're going to make our decision on this and, frankly, believe that it's important that there's a principle here that the world understands who is speaking on behalf of the United States until January 20th and who is speaking on behalf of the United States after January 20th.

And look, the new team will have every opportunity after January 20th to pursue their own policies, to take different approaches. I'm certain that they will on any number of issues. We're just reflecting the simple principle that I think has guided the President-elect transitions historically, which is that there is one President at a time and we're going to execute our duties until the new team is in place and the new President is inaugurated.

Okay, thanks, everybody, for joining the call. And we'll be available for any additional inquiries.

END

3:50 P.M. EST

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Obama Signs US Defense Budget for 2017

Sputnik News

00:45 24.12.2016(updated 03:07 24.12.2016)

Outgoing President Barack Obama has signed into law the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to set the budget for the US Department of Defense, the White House announced in a release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Obama noted in a statement on Friday that the NDAA for the next year includes necessary authorizations to sustain the momentum in the fight against Daesh, reassuring European allies as well as providing more flexibility in countering cyberattacks.

Obama pointed out that while NDAA requires the creation of a unified combatant command for cyber operations forces, it at the same time prohibits the Defense Secretary from terminating the "dual-hat" arrangement under which the Commander of US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) also serves as the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA).

"That said, after directing a comprehensive review of this issue earlier this year, and consistent with the views of the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, I strongly support elevating CYBERCOM to a unified combatant command and ending the dual-hat arrangement for NSA and CYBERCOM  a position my administration has communicated to the incoming administration," Obama stated.

The president expressed his disappointment that amid the US engagement in military operations against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, the US Congress redirected funding needed for the warfighter "to fund additional end-strength that our military leaders have not requested."

Obama also criticized Congress for its failure to take action to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"As I have said before, spending hundreds of millions of dollars, year after year, to keep fewer than sixty men in an isolated detention facility in Cuba is not consistent with our interests as a Nation and undermines our standing in the world," he asserted. "It weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists."

The US Senate and House of Representatives passed the 2017 NDAA earlier in December.

The Act increases base funding by $9 billion and provide US soldiers a 2.1 percent pay raise.

 Sputnik

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Berlin attack suspect shot dead in Italy

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:34AM

A man believed to be the perpetrator of a Monday terrorist attack in the German city of Berlin has been killed in Italy.

Italy's interior minister confirmed that Anis Amri, wanted in the Berlin attack, was killed in a shootout with police in the northern Italian city of Milan on Friday.

Minister Marco Minniti said that all the necessary checks were conducted after the shootout and that "the person killed, without a shadow of a doubt, is Anis Amri, the suspect of the [Berlin] terrorist attack."

Minniti said, however, that investigations were still in progress and that there could be "future developments."

A short video posted on the website of Italian magazine Panorama suggested that the shooting happened before dawn, with police gathered around a cordoned-off area in the dark.

Amri was the main suspect in an attack on a busy Berlin Christmas market on Monday. He allegedly ran a 40-ton truck into a crowd, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others.

Shortly before the shootout in Italy, police in Denmark had said that a man matching his description had been seen in Aalborg in northern Denmark. Danish police said people had to keep away from the area as a security operation had been launched there.

German investigators had said they believed Amri was still laying low in Berlin because he was probably wounded, Der Tagesspiegel reported citing security sources.

In the early hours of Friday, German special forces also arrested two men suspected of planning an attack on a shopping mall in the city of OberhausenIn in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police said in a statement.

A police spokesman said there was no connection between the Duisburg arrests and the Amri case.

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Berlin Christmas Market Attack Suspect Shot Dead By Italian Police

RFE/RL December 23, 2016

Italy's interior minister said the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck attack that killed 12 people was shot dead by Italian police in a suburb of Milan.

Tunisian national Anis Amri was stopped in his car at about 3 a.m. on December 23 by two police officers for a routine identity check, Interior Minister Marco Minniti told a press conference in Rome.

Amri pulled a pistol from his backpack and shot the policeman who had asked for his documents. He was killed as police fired back, Minniti said.

Authorities have conducted all necessary checks and found that "the person killed, without a shadow of a doubt, is Anis Amri, the suspect of the terrorist attack [in Berlin]," Minniti said.

Minniti said the injuries sustained by the police officer who was shot are not life-threatening. He praised the two officers, saying they "have done an extraordinary service to the community."

Amri, 24, became the target of a Europewide manhunt after German authorities said they believed he was the attacker who drove a large truck laden with steel into a Christmas market late on December 19, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

The extremist group Islamic State said on December 20 that it had inspired the attack, calling the assailant "a soldier of the Islamic State" who acted "in response to calls to target nationals of the coalition countries."

The same IS-affiliated news agency that issued that announcement said on December 23 that the perpetrator of the Berlin attack carried out a new attack against an Italian police patrol in Milan and was killed in a shootout.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said he personally told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Amri was killed in Milan.

The attack, and indications that Amri had at one point been on German police's radar, has stoked anger toward Merkel and her government's policies toward migrants.

The right-wing political party known as AfD, whose popularity has surged amid growing dissatisfication toward migration policies, lambasted Merkel earlier this week .

Merkel, meanwhile, ordered an investigation into the fact that German authorities had tracked Amri for months on suspicion of planning an attack.

"We can be relieved at the end of this week that one acute danger has been ended," she said in Berlin. "But the danger of terrorism as a whole remains, as it has for many years -- we all know that."

German Chief Federal Prosecutor Peter Frank said investigators are trying to determine whether Amri had help from a network of supporters in planning the attack and then fleeing to Italy.

Authorities in Milan were able to identify Amri with help from fingerprints provided by German authorities, Frank said.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that Amri's death does not reduce the extremist threat to Germany. The threat "remains high" in Germany and security won't be scaled down, he said.

According to the German news agency dpa, Amri arrived in Italy in February 2011 among thousands of migrants from Tunisia who crossed the Mediterranean in the wake of the Arab Spring upheaval.

On October 23, 2011, he was arrested on suspicion of arson, assault, intimidation, and embezzlement, and was later sentenced to four years in prison.

Amri was released from prison in May 2015 and two months later entered Germany. Amri's application for asylum was reportedly rejected by Germany.

With reporting by dpa, AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/berlin-christmas -market-attack-suspect-shootout -milan/28193010.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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China announces standby peacekeeping police force

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:13, December 23, 2016

JINAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The China Standby Peacekeeping Police Force under the Ministry of Public Security has been formed in Dongying City in east China's Shandong Province, according to an announcement on Thursday.

The force consists of more than 300 people, with an average age of 27, selected from border control forces around the country. The force is divided into two subordinate anti-riot forces.

The Border Control Department of the ministry is in charge of organizing the force. Organization work started in March.

All members of the first anti-riot force passed assessments organized by the UN on Oct. 12, and the force is ready to be sent abroad. The second force is preparing for the assessment.

Since 2004, the ministry has organized 12 peacekeeping anti-riot police forces. A total of 1,564 policemen have been sent abroad for peacekeeping missions.

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Chinese Navy finishes 1,000 escort missions at Gulf of Aden

People's Daily Online

(CRI Online) 13:48, December 23, 2016

Thursday marked the eighth anniversary of the launch of the Chinese Navy's escort mission at the Gulf of Aden, the body of water to the north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa, an area of frequent pirate activity.

On the same day the PLA Navy finished its 1,000th task by escorting a Singaporean merchant ship to the eastern sea area of the Gulf.

Since 2008, 25 batches of escort formations, including 78 naval vessels, 54 helicopters, and over 21,000 officers and soldiers, have convoyed nearly 6,300 ships from across the world to destinations safely. Altogether 60 ships that got into difficulty have been assisted.

The Navy has kept its record of 100% security of both the escortees and themselves.

The escort fleets are five times faster today than they were eight years ago in completing an anti-pirate deployment. The time helicopters need to react to an emergency situation has shrunk to one third of that of 2008. The speed of Special forces deployment has also doubled.

The Navy is not exclusive to the Gulf of Aden area, but is made available when emergencies occur in other regions. For example, it went to the Mediterranean Sea and escorted 20 batches of Syrian chemical weapons, along with vessels from Russia, Denmark, and Norway.

The PLA has also taken the initiative in offering humanitarian assistance, escorting 10 ships from the World Food Program, sending fleets to help locate the missing Malaysian flight of MH 370, and helping to provide fresh water for the people of the Maldives.

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China warns of 'showdown' over Trump choices

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:6AM

Chinese state media have warned of a "showdown" with the US after President-elect Donald Trump named an economist pushing for a hard line against China to head a key White House post.

Trump's naming of Peter Navarro, who has authored books such as "Death by China: How America Lost its Manufacturing Base", to head a new White House National Trade Council has sparked alarm in China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing was paying close attention to any changes in US policy under Trump.

Navarro's book was made into a documentary film about Beijing's desire to become the dominant economic and military power in Asia.

"Those individuals such as Navarro who have a bias against China are being picked to work in leading positions in the next administration, is no laughing matter," the official China Daily said in an editorial.

The ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily said Trump's decision over Navarro was "by no means a positive signal."

"China needs to face up to the reality that the Trump team maintains a hard-line attitude toward China. It must discard any illusions and make full preparations for any offensive move by the Trump government," it said.

The choice of the hardliner on China for the trade post is seen as a prelude to a potential slowdown in US investment in China, according to several Chinese experts who cautioned that a trade war could ensue.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that China's relations with the United States were facing new uncertainties.

Trump has been exhibiting anti-Chinese belligerence since before he was elected US president. He has previously blamed China as one of the countries causing America's economic slump.

During his campaign run, he said he would impose much higher tariffs on Chinese imports and criticized Beijing for devaluing its currency.

After winning the presidential race, Trump broke with diplomatic protocol by taking a phone call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, challenging Chinese sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

On Friday, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing is "paying close attention" to what nuclear weapons policy Trump's administration will follow.

Trump tweeted Thursday: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

The US and Russia hold the vast majority of the world's nuclear weapons. China is also a nuclear power and in 1996, Beijing signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

According to the Washington-based Arms Control Association, China has an estimated 260 nuclear warheads. Russia and the US have more than 7,000 each.

Hua said that China advocates a ban on and destruction of nuclear weapons.

"The countries that have the largest nuclear arsenals should bear special responsibility for nuclear disarmament, take a lead in drastically and tangibly cutting the number of nuclear weapons," she said.

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China Monitoring Possible Changes to US Nuclear Policy After Trump's Statement

Sputnik News

11:28 23.12.2016(updated 15:02 23.12.2016)

Beijing is paying close attention to the policy that may be adopted by the United States following President-elect Donald Trump's earlier statement on the need for nuclear capabilities' enhancement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday.

BEIJING (Sputnik)  On Thursday, Trump wrote on his Twitter account that the United States had to "greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

"We have seen the statements and we are closely monitoring the relevant policy that the US government will adopt. China is actively promoting full prohibition and definitive destruction of the nuclear arms," Hua said at a briefing.

The ministry's spokeswoman also noted that the United States, as a country with a large nuclear arms reserve, had a "special responsibility" to facilitate nuclear disarmament.

On Wednesday, Trump named Peter Navarro, a staunch critic of China, as the head of a national trade body.

In another move that could be interpreted by China as a warning signal, on December 2, Trump became the first US president or president-elect to speak with a Taiwanese leader in an official capacity since 1979. On December 11, Trump said he would not be bound by the US "one China" policy regarding relations with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

 Sputnik

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N Korea May Conduct Next Nuclear Test 'at Any Time' - S Korean Intel Service

Sputnik News

18:59 23.12.2016

Pyongyang may carry out yet another nuclear test at any moment, taking into consideration activities at North Korea's nuclear sites, the director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Pyongyang is preparing to carry out "provocation" taking into consideration political situation in both the United States and South Korea, he added.

"Human and vehicle activities remain active in the second shaft at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site even during the winter, and the third shaft is capable of further testing at any time," Lee Byoung-ho said, as quoted by the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula intensified in September after Pyongyang claimed to have successfully tested a nuclear warhead, having previously detonated a hydrogen bomb in January.

 Sputnik

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India to Purchase Sole C-17 Transporters in Boeing's Inventory

Sputnik News

16:33 23.12.2016

The C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft has been criticized by the Indian auditor for a below par performance  the annual average load ranged between 13 tons and 18 tons per sortie against the payload capacity of 70 tons. Yet India wants to but the sole aircraft left in US inventory.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  The Indian government has decided to purchase the lone C-17 transport aircraft in US inventory. In a meeting of Defense Acquisition Council here on Friday, sources informed Sputnik about the approval to purchase the aircraft at a cost of approximately $ 405 million under the foreign military sales route. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is currently operating 10 C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft for its major operations to lift armed personnel and equipment.

Interestingly, the IAF had planned to buy three C-17 from the US in April 2015. But the paperwork took a lot of time and the US manufacturer Boeing signed a deal to sell four of the last five C-17 to Qatar. As production of C-17 aircraft at Long Beach in California has ended, the IAF had to revise its purchase plan and settled with one C-17 transport aircraft.

India first signed a contract in 2012 to purchase 10 C-17 aircraft at cost of $4.1 billion with an option of follow on offer to purchase six additional aircraft. India didn't go for the follow on offer because Boeing did not fulfill the terms of the contract. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)  India's apex auditing body  had found massive under-utilization of the aircraft. Of the C-17 aircraft purchased for high load carrying capacity, the non-availability of ground equipment has adversely affected to a large extent.

It is observed that in contrast to claimed in-flight refueling capabilities and range of 4,200 kms with maximum payload of 70 tons and 9,000 kms with reduced payload of 40 tons, CAG observed that annual average load airlifted by C-17 (in India) ranged between 13 tons and 18 tons per sortie, against the aircraft's payload capacity of 70 tons. The operating squadron e stated that C-17 aircraft could carry only 35 tons of load (40 tons in winters) and on a few occasions, only 26 tons.

 Sputnik

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Hijackers of Libyan Plane Surrender in Malta

By VOA News December 23, 2016

The two hijackers aboard a Libyan plane surrendered to police Friday after rerouting the jet to the island of Malta and releasing all hostages on board, said Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat.

In a series of tweets, Muscat said the hijackers released the last remaining crew members before being taken into custody.

The hijackers had previously released two waves of hostages, beginning with the women and children on board the plane.

Police said they found a grenade and two handguns on the plane, though Muscat tweeted later saying the weapons were replicas, based on an initial forensic investigation.

Muscat addressed reporters after the incident ended, saying the hijackers were in custody and interrogations were ongoing.

"The rest of the crew and passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events," he said. "Once this interrogation process is completed over the next few hours, arrangements will be made to send the passengers and the crew members back to Libya with another Afriqiyah aircraft." Afriqiyah Airways is the state-owned airline in Libya.

He also said that Maltese authorities were very clear in telling the hijackers that authorities were "not willing to negotiate" unless the two surrendered.

"Until now they have made no demands, obviously they are not now in a position to make any demands, but we were very clear that we were not negotiating."

The hijackers released 109 of the 118 people on board shortly after the plane landed and emergency teams had been dispatched to the airport tarmac. Within a few hours, the remaining hostages were released and police arrested the hijackers.

Initially, the hijackers ordered the pilot to fly to Rome, but they settled on Malta after they were informed the plane didn't have enough fuel to reach the central Italian city.

Libya's foreign minister, Taher Siala, said the hijackers are loyalists to the country's slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi and have asked for political asylum in Malta, although Muscat later contradicted the asylum comment.

The foreign minister also said the hijackers wanted to set up a pro-Gadhafi political party.

All flights into the Malta International Airport had initially been canceled, but airport officials said Friday evening that operations were returning to normal. Officials said they expected the flight schedule to be fully back to normal by the end of the day.

A total of 44 flights were affected by the tarmac standoff.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane was slated to fly from southwestern Sabha to Tripoli before being diverted to Malta.

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Criticism Taints Myanmar's Media Access to Rakhine Crisis Zone

By Joe Freeman December 23, 2016

Almost three months after insurgents killed nine border guard police officers in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, the government loosened its grip on the area this week by inviting a group of journalists and photographers on a three-day tour of places affected by the violence.

Diplomats, rights groups and the press have been calling for media access to Maungdaw and surrounding townships in northern Rakhine since the October 9 attacks, which were claimed by a new insurgent group drawn from the ranks of the country's oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority.

The military operation to retrieve weapons and arrest suspects has resulted in mass displacement, the deaths of dozens of people, and allegations of widespread human rights abuses, including rape and the systematic torching of villages. The government maintains the stories are fabricated despite mounting evidence to the contrary, including satellite imagery and numerous testimonies.

The trip this week was supposed to be a concession, a chance for members of the media to see for themselves and conduct interviews. But it was tainted from the start. Several international news organizations with bureaus in Myanmar, including the BBC and the Associated Press, were not invited, and the sense among journalists was that the junket was at best a guided tour and at worst an exercise in propaganda.

"Such kind of things happen sometimes in Myanmar. Now that the team is in Maungdaw, they [the authorities] will tell their minister and other people that the journalists were there already," said Thitsa Hla Htway, secretary of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Myanmar, in an interview with VOA this week.

"But it is just for show," he said. "The government's intention is to exploit them only."

Thitsa Hla Htway added that he was not calling into question the independence of the reporters and photographers involved, but simply the way the trip was organized.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Myanmar took the unusual step of issuing a statement this week that said it had not been consulted about the selection of participants despite an article in local media saying it had. When Thitsa Hla Htway complained to the Ministry of Information, which organized the trip, he was told it was a mistake, he said.

The delegation consisted mainly of local news organizations, including the Myanmar Times, whose management had, until recently, blocked coverage of the crisis in Rakhine and fired a foreign journalist after she wrote an article reporting on allegations of rape there in October. The Japanese newswire Kyodo and the European Pressphoto Agency were represented by Myanmar contributors.

Along the way, the state-backed newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar has covered the comings and goings of the journalists.

"Journalists impressed with extensive media access in Rakhine," a headline on Friday concluded at the end of the trip.

The article quoted most of the participants, many of whom expressed satisfaction with the proceedings.

"We arrived at the area with no restriction on any individual. We were given the freedom to interview anyone we wanted, anywhere we went. The people answered freely without fear. In terms of media freedom, we were completely free to cover the news. Upon arrival, we had total freedom of expression," Sithu Aung Myint, a political columnist who works for a fledgling broadcasting outlet called Central News Bureau, was quoted as saying.

"Despite the fact that people were saying it in different ways, we have now seen the true situations with our own eyes," freelance photographer Shwe Inn Thar Khin Maung Win was quoted as saying. "It was found that people's sayings are totally different from the situations on the ground."

Soe Myint, the editor of Mizzima news, struck a more balanced tone in the report.

"We heard diverse opinions during the trip. There are allegations and also denials. There are also controversial allegations especially over excessive use of force in hunting violent attackers. So, the government should probe into that issue," the paper quoted him as saying.

There was no specific mention of the arson or sexual assault claims.

Ye Naing, a Ministry of Information spokesperson who led the visits, defended the selection process and the arrangements in an interview with VOA on Friday, saying the trip was "successful" and that there would be more in the future.

"As it is a region still under operation, we can't bring a lot of local and international media. We made a team with journalists from online, broadcast and print. Then we have to arrange the trip plan. And we have to select the places where it was happening and where it was not. So we have a time limit and it was under pressure and there was a limited amount of journalists. So it looks like a tour. Even though it looks like a tour, we let journalists cover news freely," he said.

"We have selected those who are easier to call as we had to arrange the trip ASAP. A lot of media were left behind in this trip," he added.

He said the priority was to visit the three posts attacked on October 9 and go to villages where the military operated in search of suspects.

"And we could show those places where members of three religions are staying peacefully together and there were no attacks there," he said, referring to communities of Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus.

Thiha Saw, the executive director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute and a member of Myanmar's Press Council, which helps regulate the industry and pushes for journalistic freedom, said that while the trip was "arranged," he saw some positives.

"This is something like a testing of the waters for both sides," the veteran journalist said, adding that it may be easier to judge the result after reading the coverage in the coming days.

"Hopefully you will start to see some independent stories coming out after the trip."

Aung Naing Soe contributed to this report

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Pyongyang Slams UN Chief's Ambition to Become Next South Korean President

Sputnik News

16:47 23.12.2016(updated 16:55 23.12.2016)

North Korea subjected the UN Secretary-General's Ban Ki-moon's ambition to run for president in South Korea in 2017 to severe criticism.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  North Korea criticized UN Secretary-General's Ban Ki-moon's supposed ambition to run for president in South Korea in 2017, and labeled Ban as an opportunistic "chameleon in a human mask" with a "hollow dream," media reported Friday.

According to the International Business Times, Pyongyang's state-run Uriminzokkiri website called Ban's ambition "absurd" because of how poorly he handled his position as UN chief. The North Korean website also called Ban out on his bad domestic reputation, labeling him as an opportunist who "sets sail wherever window blow," the newspaper added.

During a December 16 press conference, Ban was asked if he would run for the presidency in South Korea. While Ban did not confirm his decision or intent, he did say that he will "really consider seriously" what he would be able to do for his country moving forward.

On December 9, South Korea's parliament voted in favor of removing President Park Geun-hye from office as the president was at the center of a scandal around "secret adviser" Choi Soon-sil, who is said to have pressured the county's biggest corporations and extorted money from them for her non-commercial funds abroad.

 Sputnik

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South Korea's Anti-Presidential Breakaway Faction to Create New Party

Sputnik News

09:15 23.12.2016

A faction from South Korea's Saenuri Party, who earlier vowed to leave the ruling group, are to set up a new party, with their first meeting scheduled for Friday, local media reported.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  According to the faction, the new party name will be the New Conservative Party for Reform, Yonhap reported.

They intend to form a parliament negotiation group to face the National Assembly's current negotiation groups  Saenuri, the Democratic Party and the People's Party. The establishment of a parliament negotiation group requires at least 20 lawmakers.

The decision to leave the party due to concerns over the leadership was announced by around 35 lawmakers on Tuesday.

Political scandal around the president broke out in late October when media reported that Park allowed Choi, her friend and "shadow adviser," who held no official post, to edit her speeches thus letting her influence the country's policy. Moreover, Choi is accused of pressuring South Korean big corporations and extorting money from them for her non-commercial funds.

On December 9, the South Korean parliament voted in favor of starting the process of impeachment against the embattled leader over the "shadow adviser" scandal involving Park's associate Choi Soon-sil. The decision is now with the country's Constitutional Court. The country's Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has become acting president until the constitutional court approves or rejects his appointment.

 Sputnik

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What Effect will Park's Impeachment have on Policies?

By Steve Miller December 23, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye awaits an uncertain political fate as her impeachment is adjudicated by the country's Constitutional Court. While an overwhelming number of South Koreans want her removed from office, it's unclear how these events will impact Park's programs, like the controversial "comfort women" agreement with Japan, the bilateral intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, and deployment of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a United States high-altitude missile defense system.

THAAD opposition

The opposition Minjoo Party would like to see the THAAD system delayed until after a new president is selected, or perhaps indefinitely, but acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn says the advanced anti-ballistic missile system should be deployed as soon as possible.

Katharine Moon, a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor at Wellesley College, says the "proceedings have expedited the plans to install THAAD. That's just the bottom line ... because people don't know what will happen in the coming months."

Moon says that may open an opportunity for opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in to change the agreement with the U.S. regarding THAAD implementation.

Daniel Pinkston, a lecturer on international relations at Troy University, notes there's a huge difference between criticizing those in charge and being in charge yourself.

"When someone becomes president and is responsible for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Korea, the safety and security of the people, and all assets in the country  that's quite a serious responsibility; quite a solemn responsibility," said Pinkston who adds that there's been an unmet burden of proof by those opposing THAAD that its absence increases South Korean security.

Japan intelligence-sharing pact opposition

In November, South Korea and Japan signed an intelligence-sharing pact  something that was originally supposed to go into effect in 2012, but was scrapped due to domestic opposition. The new deal has also faced criticism; however, the bilateral agreement has already started.

"I understand the resentment from the colonial period and so forth," said Pinkston, "However, on the other hand, these agreements are pretty standard. It only provides for a channel or a mechanism to share sensitive information, to protect that information, and to protect the sources and methods."

Katherine Moon agreed, noting, "It's in place, it's working and, in truth, both countries benefits immensely." She highlighted how the deal allows for "the superiority of [South] Korea's human intelligence gathering capabilities to marry with Japan's satellite and other technological capabilities."

Moon also highlights that the pact excludes top secret information, something that South Koreans objecting to the deal may gloss over.

Pinkston says that South Korea has many such agreements in place, and this one doesn't require that Seoul do anything and that it only provides a channel of communication to Tokyo. Pinkston adds that if there was a threat from North Korea and Japan had valuable intelligence, "I don't understand why any leader or government official who's responsible for the security of South Korea would refuse that information."

2015 'comfort women' deal

Perhaps one of the more controversial policy decisions made by the Park administration took place in 2015, when it agreed to finally and permanently resolve the diplomatic issues regarding South Korea's "comfort women."

Opposition presidential candidate Moon Jae-in said December 15 that he believes further talks over Japan's legal responsibility need to occur with Japan and that an official apology must be made.

"The 'comfort women' issue is a deep-seated one," says Katherine Moon, "But there's also this reality, no matter what, in my opinion, Japan were to do, in order to make amends with South Korea, I don't think you would find 100 percent of South Koreans ever happy."

Pinkston also notes there exists a number of political actors in both South Korea and Japan who use this particular issue for personal political agendas, and in his view, he explains on Skype, the situation wasn't resolved satisfactorily.

"I think the way it was handled was insufficient," he said. "I think from a humanitarian perspective, I think the most important thing is to address the feelings and concerns and human rights abuses of these survivors suffered so many decades ago."

While the South Korean Constitutional Court must arrive at its conclusion on Park's impeachment within 180 days, the fate of her public policy may remain unknown for an indiscriminate amount of time.

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Russian nuclear missiles can penetrate any defense system: Putin

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:4PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed nuclear missiles in his country's military inventory, stating that the ammunition can penetrate any missile defense system in the world.

Speaking at the end-of-year news conference in Moscow on Friday, Putin said Russia had to improve its nuclear weapons capabilities after the United States opted to pull out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002.

"When one party unilaterally withdrew from the treaty and said it was going to create an anti-nuclear umbrella, the other party has to either create a similar umbrella  the necessity of which we are not sure about, considering its questionable efficiency  or create effective ways to overcome this anti-ballistic missile system and improve its strike capabilities," he said.

"We've made progress in improving our nuclear triad systems [land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles], including in terms of bypassing missile defense system. And this system is much more effective than the US missile defense system. It's true," Putin said, adding, "We are doing this, and we are succeeding."

The Russian president added that the so-called nuclear arms race between Washington and Moscow had been initiated by the former.

Putin highlighted that Russia adheres to existing arms control agreements, including the New Start Treaty with the United States, concerning the modernization of its nuclear forces.

He added that the US is upgrading its nuclear arsenal, including the replacement of tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe.

Putin yet to decide on another term

The Russian leader also said he would later decide whether or not to run for the presidency in 2018, and stay in office for another six years.

Putin, 64, said he will "look at what will be going on in the country and in the world" to make a decision.

He also dismissed media speculations about early elections in Russia, saying such a vote is "unfeasible."

Democrats should learn to concede defeat with grace

Putin also shrugged off Washington's claims of Russian meddling in the US presidential election, stating that the US Democratic Party just wanted to blame all their failures on somebody else.

"The Democratic Party lost not only the presidential election, but also elections in Congress, where the Republicans now have a majority. Was that my doing too? " he asked. "Everything points to systematic problems in the current administration."

"They are losing on all fronts and look for someone else to blame. I believe, this is, how should I say, humiliating. One should know how to lose with grace," Putin said.

Nationwide truce in Syria vital

The Russian leader said it is necessary to broker a ceasefire across Syria before the re-launch of a round of peace negations.

He noted that Moscow suggested that Kazakhstan's capital city of Astana host the talks, and that Syrian President Bashar Assad has already agreed to that.

Putin noted that cooperation among Turkey, Iran and Russia led to the settlement of the conflict in Aleppo, describing the evacuation of Takfiri militants and civilians from the northern Syrian city "the largest international humanitarian action in the world."

"We organized it and moved people in thousands and tens of thousands. Not only the armed radicals and their supporters, but also women and children," he said.

Putin stated that other regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, could contribute to the Syria peace efforts, and the United States is also welcome to join in.

Envoy assassination attack on Russia-Turkey ties

Putin said that the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Ankara Andrei Karlov this week was "an attack on Russia-Turkey relations," stressing that the killing would not harm cooperation between the two nations.

He said the attack on the late Russian ambassador by an officer of the special service reflected the high level of "penetration of destructive forces" into the Turkish military and security forces.

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Envoy to UN: Syrian crisis needs no military solutions

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New York, Dec 22, IRNA -- Iran's Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gholamali Dehghani on Wednesday criticized a recent draft resolution on Syria referring to it as an "unconstructive" move that can undermine all efforts to end Syrian crisis through political solutions.

"Taking into account the realities on the ground in Syria and the timing of tabling this draft, there remains little doubt that the resolution seeks to further a political agenda under the disguise of the quest for justice," Dehghani said while addressing the General Assembly on the Resolution entitled: 'International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Those Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011'.

He said that the draft resolution failed 'to address the root causes of the heinous Phenomenon of terrorism' in Syria.

The full text of Dehghani's statement follows:

Mr. President,

Allow me to start by extending our heart-felt condolences and solidarity to the people, Governments and the Permanent Missions of the Russian Federation and Germany in the wake of the two recent terrorist attacks in Ankara and Berlin. Unfortunately, hearing tragic news of terrorist incidents here and there in the world is becoming a horrible routine, indicating that the international community has a long way to go to address this evil phenomenon.

Mr. President,

The Syrian Arab Republic has suffered the most from the evil of terrorism during the past several years. The people and Government of Syria have paid a heavy toll in their fight against dark elements of violent extremism and terrorism, who are continued to be sponsored, armed and supported from outside the country.

It is incumbent upon the international community to support Syria during these difficult days in their fight against terrorism and extremism. It is also critical to take initiatives to end the conflict in order to start a Syrian led political reconciliation process as soon as possible.

Mr. President,

Unfortunately, the draft resolution under consideration today does exactly the opposite. We find the draft resolution to be an unconstructive move, on both legal and political grounds.

On the legal aspects, we regret to see that while PP1 and PP2 of the draft underline the Charter of the United Nations and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, the resolution, in its entirety, is in violation of the Charter and the fundamental principle of state sovereignty.

According to the norms and principles of international law, enforcement of law and prosecution of criminals fall strictly within the domestic jurisdiction of states. However, this resolution is seeking to establish an international mechanism to (and I quote): 'assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes under International Law committed in the Syrian Arab Republic'.

Needless to say that establishing such a mechanism, without the consent of the concerned state, would be in utter disregard to the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic. As such, this initiative is also in violation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, including Article 2.7 by intervening in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of a UN Member State. In accordance with the same article of the Charter, the only exception to this rule would be the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII of the Charter.

Also on the Political front, this resolution is not helpful for many reasons, including the following:

Taking into account the realities on the ground in Syria and the timing of tabling this draft, there remains little doubt that the resolution seeks to further a political agenda under the disguise of the quest for justice. It is quite noticeable that right after the retake of Eastern Aleppo by the Syrian Army from the terrorists, suddenly different initiatives with a clear political agenda have been pushed at different levels, including in this august assembly.

While there is a consensus at the international level that terrorism should be defeated, Iran has time and again reiterated that there can be no military solution to the situation in Syria, and that the people of Syria should decide themselves on their political future. As such, we have always adhered to a genuine, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned peace process in order to achieve peace and national reconciliation.

Any other efforts or initiatives should be in line with such a process and to help and expedite it. In this regard, the meeting held yesterday in Moscow among the Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Russian Federation and Iran is an example of how we all could help in a constructive way towards going back to that political process, including the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254.

However, this draft resolution before us today is not in the right direction, as it can undermine the efforts to foster a political solution to the crisis. By establishing an illegal investigation mechanism and introducing conditionality, this draft will serve no purpose other than creating impediments in the way towards achieving a political solution for the crisis.

The Islamic Republic of Iran vehemently upholds the principle of combating impunity and ensuring accountability. However, we should carefully avoid any politicization of this important principle. The international community should seek ending impunity everywhere in the world, including in the Occupied Palestinian territory, Yemen and all other territories that are facing foreign interventions and/or aggressions. As such, politicization, selectivity and application of double standards can be poisonous and will hamper ending impunity. The question to the sponsors of this draft is whether they are ready to combat impunity all over the world, or they choose to be selective when it comes to the impunity regarding most serious crimes?

Moreover, the draft resolution fails to address root causes of the heinous Phenomenon of terrorism in Syria and will only serve the impunity of those who have formed, financed, armed and ideologically nurtured terrorist groups and foreign terrorist fighters in Syria.

This resolution sets a dangerous precedent for politicizing combat against impunity for the sake of short-sighted political interests at the expense of ignoring well-established principles of international law and the Charter.

For those reasons, we will vote against this resolution, and we invite all Member States to consider doing the same.

**1394

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Russia's Putin calls Syria's Assad to congratulate on Aleppo liberation

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:49PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to congratulate him on the full liberation of Syria's strategic city of Aleppo from the control of foreign-backed militants.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and congratulated him with the end of the operation of liberation of Aleppo from fighters," the Kremlin said in a statement on Friday.

"This success was possible thanks to mutual efforts of all who came together in the fight with international terrorism in Syria," it said.

The statement added that Putin "underlined that the main task remains to focus efforts on issues pertaining to the... resolution of the Syrian crisis."

According to the statement, Putin also told Assad that the efforts must be directed toward trying to achieving an agreement to resolve the Syria crisis.

Meanwhile, according to a statement by the office of the Syrian Presidency on Friday, Assad thanked his Russian counterpart for having been Syria's main partner in the liberation of Aleppo.

He said the city's fall had opened the door to a political process, the statement added.

Assad and Putin discussed the way forward for Syria after almost six years of war, it said

The phone call came a day after the Syrian military announced that it had attained full control of the northwestern city, having completely cleansed its eastern side of militants for the first time since 2012.

The victory came about despite military support for the militants by the United States, Turkey, and some Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region.

At a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday, Putin described the liberation of Syria's second city as a sizeable step toward the restoration of stability in the Arab country and the region in general.

"The liberation of Aleppo from radical elements is a very important part of the normalization in Syria, and I hope, for the region overall," the Russian president said.

Also on Friday, Putin addressed an annual conference, saying that the evacuations in Aleppo would not have been possible without his country, Iran, and Turkey and the goodwill of President Assad.

He urged a nationwide ceasefire deal and said the four sides had agreed to attend peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to try to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign against militants in Syria, including formerly in Aleppo, on a request from the Syrian government. Iran, too, has been offering Damascus advisory military help.

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Aleppo win great step for Syria, region: Russian President Putin

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:51AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the recent liberation of Syria's second city of Aleppo as a sizeable step toward the restoration of stability in the Arab country and the region in general.

"The liberation of Aleppo from radical elements is a very important part of the normalization in Syria, and I hope, for the region overall," Putin said at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday.

The remarks came a day after the Syrian military announced it had attained full control of the northwestern city, having completely cleansed its eastern side of militants for the first time since 2012.

The victory came about despite military support for the militants by the United States, Turkey, and some Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region.

Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign against militants in Syria, including formerly in Aleppo, on a request from the Syrian government. Iran, too, has been offering Damascus advisory military help.

"Everything needs to be done for fighting to stop on all Syrian territory," Putin further added. "In any case, we will strive toward this."

Russia, Iran, and Turkish foreign ministers recently met in Moscow to discuss means of resolving the Syrian conflict.

Militants and civilians had been evacuated from Aleppo and militant-besieged areas elsewhere under a deal between Russia and Turkey earlier.

During the meeting with Putin, Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, said the evacuation of militants from Aleppo was now complete, creating the conditions for a ceasefire deal covering the entire Syrian territory.

He said some 34,000 people had been evacuated from the formerly militant-held areas of eastern Aleppo since December 15.

"In my view, we are very close to achieving an agreement on a full ceasefire across the territory of Syria," the Russian defense chief said.

Earlier on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria. Ankara has been supporting anti-Damascus militants in the Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011.

Also on Friday, Putin addressed an annual conference, saying that the evacuations in Aleppo would not have been possible without his country, Iran, and Turkey and the goodwill of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

He urged a nationwide ceasefire deal and said the four sides had agreed to attend peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to try to resolve the conflict in Syria.

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Turkey urges 'nationwide' truce in Syria after Aleppo liberation

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 7:7AM

The Turkish foreign minister has called for a "nationwide" ceasefire in Syria and negotiations between Damascus and foreign-backed militants who were fully driven out of Aleppo on Thursday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu made the call on Thursday at a news conference on the sidelines of an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which is among the key supporters of militants in Syria along with Turkey.

The Syrian government "must return to the negotiating table for direct talks with the opposition for a genuine political transition in Syria," he said.

The demand came as the Syrian army said that it would continue its push against terrorists until the liberation of "the last bit of the homeland's soil" from the foreign-backed militants.

Until recently, Ankara persisted in its demand that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave office or be ousted by force. Turkey has long served as the main transit route for Syria-bound militants.

Those militants, however, have hit back in a series of high-profile bombings which have plunged Turkey into a security crisis, crippling its mainstay tourism industry.

Cavusolgu on Tuesday joined his Iranian and Russian counterparts in Moscow to discuss the way forward toward peace and security in Syria.

On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said he expected new Syria peace talks backed by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran to take place in Kazakhstan in the middle of January.

They would focus on discussing what needs to be done to get a nationwide ceasefire for Syria in place, Gatilov added.

Turkish troops are "illegally" deployed inside the Syrian territory, mainly to confront Kurdish militants who are the key ally of the US in its military operations in the region.

Ankara's incursion has not only drawn the Syrian government's condemnation, it has also put it on a collision course with its major ally, Washington.

On Thursday, Turkey suffered the biggest loss so far of its military campaign in Syria after 14 of its soldiers were reportedly killed by Daesh terrorists. The Takfiri group also claimed to have captured Turkey's two German-made state-of-the-art Leopard main battle tanks.

Cavusoglu further urged foreign militants to withdraw from Syria. "We should send out a strong message that the foreign militias should leave Syria right away," he said.

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Assad Thanks Putin for Russia's Efforts to Liberate Aleppo

Sputnik News

20:01 23.12.2016(updated 20:03 23.12.2016)

Syrian President Bashar Assad thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for Moscow's efforts to liberate Aleppo, Syrian government news agency SANA reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, the Kremlin's press service said that Putin congratulated Assad with the liberation of Aleppo during a phone conversation, the Kremlin said Friday, noting that the main task now is peace efforts.

"The two sides discussed during the phone call the next political process in Syria, with President Assad thanking President Putin and Russia as a key ally for Syria which contributed along with other allies to liberating Aleppo," the report said.

"President Assad said victories in Aleppo paved the way for political work in Syria, adding that they will push many parties which hindered the political process to join the political track and reconciliations," it said.

On December 16, the Russian Defense Ministry's center for Syrian reconciliation said that the Syrian army operation to liberate Aleppo's eastern neighborhoods was over, and that Syrian government troops were eliminating separate hotbeds of militants' resistance. On Thursday, the Syrian army declared victory in Aleppo as the last convoy with militants left the city's east.

 Sputnik

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Syria: Situation 'remains catastrophic' despite eastern Aleppo evacuations, Security Council told

23 December 2016  Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Syria, a senior United Nations humanitarian official underlined the enormity challenges of the continuing humanitarian operations in the region.

"As we meet today, the evacuation of the eastern districts of Aleppo may have concluded but the situation in Syria remains catastrophic," John Ging, Director of Operations at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) informed the 15-member Council, on behalf of UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O'Brien.

Overall, more than 35,000 people were evacuated from the eastern districts of Aleppo, including some 20,000 since the Security Council adopted a resolution approving UN monitors for the evacuations. A total of 308 buses, 61 ambulances and 1,231 private vehicles were used in the process, crossing numerous checkpoints from besieged eastern Aleppo through the western part of the city and into western rural Aleppo, and onwards to Idlib.

In parallel, an estimated 1,300 people were evacuated from the besieged villages of Foah and Kefrayeh in Idleb.

However, Mr. Ging underlined that some 13.5 million Syrians continue to remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including nearly 9 million who are food insecure. Many people, in particular children, are also left physically and psychologically traumatised by deprivation and bombardment that they have faced.

He added that humanitarian actors continued to face significant challenges reaching populations that have little access to food, medical care and other essential items due to the insecurity in many areas, as well as because of administrative delays on the part of the Government such as approval of facilitation letters and convoy plans.

"Due to lack of approval by the Government of Syria, the UN team has not had access to eastern Aleppo in recent months  but, since 15 December has undertaken a monitoring and observation function, stationed around the clock close to the Ramouseh checkpoint in the Government-controlled part of Aleppo," said the OCHA official.

"What was reduced to a two-step approval process earlier this year has gone back again to being a 10-step process and we have only secured agreement from the Syrian Government for one convoy so far this month, reaching 6,000 people. This is despite receiving initial approvals to reach almost 800,000 people in December," said the OCHA official.

He also drew attention to the situation in Idlib where currently, according to estimates, nearly 2 million people reside, 700,000 of whom are internally displaced, including 35,000 who have been displaced from eastern Aleppo this month.

"There are broader concerns that the civilian population in Idlib are at risk of suffering the same fate as those in Aleppo if it becomes the focus of a new and more intense offensive," he said, adding that UN and its partners have been supporting approximately 700,000 people with food, 340,000 with medical treatment, and some 230,000 with water and sanitation (WASH) assistance each month.

Mr. Ging stressed that despite all the challenges, UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and other key humanitarian partners, though their "heroic staff" on the ground continue to try to reach every Syrian in need.

However, he said that efforts are falling short at the global level to support the organizations at the grouped and appealed upon all Council members and all parties to the conflict and their allies to redouble their efforts to end this conflict and in the meantime provide more effective support to humanitarian action for the innocent victims of this conflict.

"As has been stated so many times, there is no humanitarian solution to this crisis. We welcome the announcement by the UN Special Envoy de Staffan de Mistura on the resumption of political talks in February," the OCHA official said, concluding:

"The number of those dying, displaced and suffering continues to rise as we end 2016, a new political commitment to peace will be needed if 2017 is to offer any different prospect than the death and destruction of the past five years."

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Syrian Civilians Begin Returning to Aleppo Neighborhoods

By VOA News December 23, 2016

Hundreds of Syrians returned to Aleppo on Friday to check on their homes after the last rebels left the city Thursday.

Residents wrapped in heavy coats crossed into neighborhoods that had recently been dangerous front lines during the battle for Aleppo, sorting through the wreckage for personal belongings. Some of them had not been able to reach their homes for five years.

While much of the city was free from fighting, sporadic violence continued in some parts. State television reported that rebels outside Aleppo shelled a neighborhood inside the city Friday, killing three people.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence, said airstrikes resumed in rebel-held areas of the countryside outside Aleppo on Friday for the first time since the end of a weeklong operation to evacuate residents.

Also Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria have agreed to hold peace discussions in the Kazakh capital of Astana to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Speaking at his annual, end-of-the-year news conference, Putin said the recent evacuation of Aleppo was "the largest international humanitarian operation in the modern world" and would not have been possible without the "active involvement" of Russia, Turkey, Iran and "the goodwill of and the work carried out by Syrian President [Bashar al-]Assad."

Putin said the next step for Syria should be a nationwide cease-fire. The peace talks in Astana are expected to be held in January.

On Thursday, Assad's government announced it had full control of the massive city of Aleppo for the first time since 2012.

The rebel forces agreed to withdraw from the city after a monthlong army offensive drove them from 90 percent of their original territory.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said by Thursday about 34,000 people had left eastern Aleppo, which rebels held for four years in their effort to push Assad from office.

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Putin: Peace Talks for Syria to Be Held in Astana

By VOA News December 23, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria have agreed to hold peace discussions in the Kazakh capital of Astana to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Speaking at his annual, end-of-the-year news conference, Putin said the recent evacuation of Aleppo was "the largest international humanitarian operation in the modern world" and would not have been possible without the "active involvement" of Russia, Turkey, Iran and "the goodwill of and the work carried out by Syrian President Assad."

Putin said the next step for Syria should be a nationwide cease-fire.

The peace talks in Astana are expected to be held in January.

The war-torn city of Aleppo has been recaptured, the Syrian army says, marking its biggest victory in the nearly six-year civil war.

"The restoration of security and stability to Aleppo is a victory which forms a strategic juncture and important turning point in the fight against terrorism, from one point, and a blow to the terrorist project and its supporters from another," the army's general command said in a statement posted on the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

President Bashar al-Assad's government has full control of the massive city of Aleppo for the first time since 2012.

The rebel forces agreed to withdraw from the city after a month-long army offensive drove them from 90 percent of their original territory.

The announcement came hours after the last convoy of residents was reported leaving the city, the last of a week-long evacuation effort.

The United States remains wary of the victory, citing reports of increased violence in other parts of the country as well as the future of those evacuated from Aleppo.

"Certainly seeing these reports that they are claiming to have all of Aleppo, I am in no position to dispute that," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said. "But they bear responsibility for what they did to Aleppo and Aleppo's citizens."

The United Nations also echoed concerns over increased violence elsewhere in Syria. Speaking in Geneva Thursday, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned that Idlib, where many evacuees have gone, "could be in theory the next Aleppo."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said by Thursday about 34,000 people had left eastern Aleppo, which rebels held for four years in their effort to push Assad from office.

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Minister reaffirms military's commitment to local submarine program

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/23 22:04:41

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) The military is committed to its locally- developed submarine program and once progress is made, it expects other countries to express interest in making submarine deals with Taiwan, Defense Minister Feng Shih-kuan () said Friday.

Feng admitted that investing in the research and development of a local submarine involves considerable risk, but added that it might also attract interest from other countries to sell Taiwan arms.

At that time, the Ministry of National Defense will decide whether to continue with the program to build submarines or purchase them from overseas, Feng was quoted as saying by Chen Ching-tsai (), a member of the Control Yuan, the government watchdog body.

Led by Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya (), Chen and other Control Yuan members visited the Executive Yuan on an inspection tour earlier Friday.

Chen, who heads the Control Yuan's Committee on National Defense and Intelligence Affairs, said at a news conference following the visit that he asked questions about the development of local submarines and fighter jets, as well as military discipline.

Fielding questions from Control Yuan members, Feng said that Taiwan faces great difficulties in procuring arms from other countries and that for the time being, the military remains committed to the local submarine program, according to Chen.

Premier Lin Chuan () said that Taiwan already has the ability to build patrol boats and expressed the hope that the local submarine program will help to upgrade the ship-building industry in Taiwan and ultimately result in the technical expertise needed to build submarines.

On the issue of military aircraft, Lin said that Taiwan will continue in its efforts to develop indigenous fighter jets, based on the experience of the locally-developed IDF, one of the Air Force's three main types of combat aircraft in Taiwan.

The military launched the local submarine program in an effort to replace the Navy's aging fleet of submarines, the first stage being the completion of a submarine design.

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Elaine Hou)

ENDITEM/AW

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Trump to bring uncertainty to Asia-Pacific region: Taiwan official

ROC Central News Agency

2016/12/23 23:15:42

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will bring tremendous uncertainty to the development in the Asia-Pacific region, and Taiwan will adjust its diplomatic strategy in response to international affairs, Foreign Minister David Lee () said Friday.

As Trump is expected to bring great uncertainty to the Asia-Pacific region after he takes office in January, Taiwan will step up its efforts to join regional economic integration and push for bilateral trade negotiations, as well as adjust the allocation of its diplomatic strategic resources, Lee was quoted as saying by Bau Tzong-ho (), a member of the Control Yuan, the government watchdog body.

Led by Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya (), Bau and other Control Yuan members visited the Executive Yuan on an inspection tour earlier Friday.

Bau, who heads the Control Yuan's Committee on Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs, said at a news conference following the visit that he asked questions about the difficulties faced by Taiwan in its international participation and the government's response measures as well as issues concerning the government's "New Southbound Policy."

Fielding questions from Control Yuan members, Lee said that the difficulties faced by Taiwan in international participation have mainly resulted from the U.N. Resolution 2758 -- which states that the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government of China -- and Beijing's "one China principle" which sees Taiwan as part of the PRC, according to Bau.

Premier Lin Chuan (), meanwhile, said that the government will continue its efforts to seek greater international participation with a pragmatic, flexible approach, under President Tsai Ing-wen's ('s) "steadfast diplomacy," according to Bau.

The "New Southbound Policy" seeks to advance ties with countries in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Chen Tain-jy (), head of the Cabinet-level National Development Council (NDC), said the policy does not mean that Taiwan will give up on the Chinese market, according to Bau.

Instead, it is aimed at boosting people-to-people exchanges with countries targeted under the "New Southbound Policy," Chen was quoted by Bau as saying.

Sharing similar views, Lin said Taiwan should promote exchanges in tourism and education with Southeast Asian countries in its effort to advance people-to-people ties with those countries.

(By Hsia Chia-chen and Elaine Hou)

ENDITEM/cs

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Turkish raids leave 88 civilians in northern Syria: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:6AM

Nearly 90 civilians have reportedly fallen victim to Turkish air raids in northern Syria over the past 24 hours as Ankara steps up its military campaign against what it calls Daesh positions there.

On Friday, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some of the raids hit the northwestern Syrian town al-Bab a day earlier, leaving 72 civilians dead, including 21 children.

Another 16 civilians, including three children, lost their lives in the Turkish assaults on Friday.

Over the past weeks, the Turkish military and the militants it is supporting have launched an offensive to seize al-Bab.

It is Ankara's bloodiest attack since it began its intervention in Syria in late August.

Turkish troops are also in the neighboring country in support of the anti-Damascus militant groups in a mission said to be aimed at Daesh and Kurdish militias.

Damascus has slammed the Turkish military action as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Turkey has long been a transit route for Daesh terrorists and other Syria-bound foreign militants seeking to topple the Damascus government.

Ankara has recently intensified its Syria campaign as foreign-backed militants have been taking heavy blows from the Damascus army on several fronts, particularly during the Aleppo battle.

On Thursday, Turkey suffered the biggest loss so far of its military campaign in Syria after over a dozen of its soldiers were reportedly killed by Daesh terrorists. The Takfiri group also claimed to have captured Turkey's two German-made state-of-the-art Leopard main battle tanks.

Daesh also released a video of burning two Turkish soldiers alive, prompting Ankara to limit access to online social media.

Turkey has, however, remained defiant in its military push, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to keep up the incursion.

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Turkish Operation in Syria's Al-Bab Close to End  Erdogan

Sputnik News

18:12 23.12.2016(updated 18:13 23.12.2016)

The Turkish operation aimed at liberation of the northern Syrian city of al-Bab from Daesh terrorist group is close to its end, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

ANKARA (Sputnik)  On August 24, the Turkish army launched the operation Euphrates Shield against Daesh.

"We have completed almost everything in al-Bab. Our army and the Syrian opposition are close to resolving the situation there," Erdogan said at the ceremony of opening a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Izmir.

Turkish forces, with assistance from Syrian opposition fighters, occupied the city of Jarabulus in northern Syria and are currently conducting its offensive on al-Bab. According to Erdogan, the aim of the operation was to clear the region from terrorists and to make it into a safety zone for refugees.

 Sputnik

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Turkish Troops Kill Over 1,000 Daesh Terrorists in Euphrates Shield Operation

Sputnik News

06:22 23.12.2016

Over a thousand of Daesh militants have been eliminated in the course of the Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkish forces have killed 1,005 jihadists from Daesh terrorist group since August, Isik said.

"The liberation of Jarabulus, Al-Rai and Dabiq, which has a symbolic meaning for the group, is significant. An area of about 2,000-square-kilometers [772 square miles] has been cleared off, and 225 urbanized areas have been liberated. As of today, 1,005 terrorists have been killed," Isik said in the country's parliament, speaking about the Euphrates Shield, as quoted by the Daily Sabah newspaper.

He added that during the operation a total of 29 mortars and 97 vehicles of the militant group had been destroyed.

On August 24, Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed the Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area of Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including Russia. As Jarabulus was retaken, the joint forces of Ankara, the coalition and Syrian rebels continued the offensive southwest.

 Sputnik

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China urges U.S. to cut nuclear arsenal after Trump tweet

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 18:59, December 23, 2016

China on Friday called on the United States to take the lead in cutting nuclear weapons after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump used Twitter to propose the expansion of his country's nuclear capabilities.

"The world's largest nuclear stockpile country should take the lead in making substantial cuts to its nuclear arsenal so as to create conditions for total elimination of nuclear weapons," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Friday in response to Trump's tweet.

Trump tweeted Thursday that the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.

Hua said that the United States, as the country with the world's largest nuclear stockpile, bears special and primary responsibilities in nuclear disarmament.

China always stands for and advocates complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, she said.

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Trump Team Scrambles to Clarify Calls for Expansion of US Nuclear Capabilities

By VOA News December 23, 2016

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."

His team has been trying to clarify what could be seen as an alarming statement from the president-elect on bolstering the country's nuclear capabilities.

Trump gave no context or details of what he meant.

On Friday morning, MSNBC reported that Trump told the network ""Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all."

Trump press secretary Sean Spicer, speaking after Trump's remakers, said there would be no arms race "because other countries would come to their senses."

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Friday in his annual year-ending news conference that he sees nothing unusual in Trump's pledge to strengthen U.S. nuclear forces, nothing the president-elect had said as much in his campaign speeches.

Putin said, while the U.S. has a bigger military, he did not see the Americans as a potential aggressor, and that Russia's focus should be on missiles that can penetrate any existing nuclear defense systems.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday the Obama administration has been "trying to get us on a path to a world without nuclear weapons. First, by reducing our stockpile and our launchers...Number two, diminishing the role of nuclear weapons in our security strategy and number three, securing the Iran deal."

Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller says Trump was talking about the need to keep nuclear weapons away from terrorists and dangerous world leaders.

"President-elect Trump was referring to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the critical need to prevent it, particularly to and among terrorist organizations and unstable rogue regimes," Miller said.

Trump issued his tweet about the same time Russian President Vladimir Putin told his defense team Russia needs to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces," including "missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems."

Russia has said a U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe is a threat, while the U.S. says it is aimed at countering a possible missile launch from Iran.

U.S. arms control experts say the U.S. and Russia possess roughly the same number of weapons in their nuclear arsenals  more than 7,000 each.

Trump said during the campaign that modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal is necessary "to ensure it continues to be an effective deterrent."

But if he decides to expand it, it would be a sharp reversal of more than 50 years of U.S. policy which has focused on cutting its nuclear stockpile.

The U.S. and Russia signed a major weapons deal in 2010 limiting the number of nuclear warheads and missile launchers each side can have.

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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.
MARTINSVILLE  During the Christmas season, sales increase in local stores as people hunt for those final gifts. Thats not the only thing increasing in Southside, however. Local law enforcement agencies warn that counterfeit money is being passed around.

The most recent example happened over the last few weeks, as counterfeit bills in the form of $20s and $100s showed up in Henry County. Sheriff Lane Perry warns store employees and local residents to check every bill, especially those at $20 or higher.

"With the holidays people tend to get in a hurry and they dont check as well as they normally would," Perry said. "However, thats really the only way to make absolutely sure."

Counterfeit money pops up often during the holidays because its an easy time to target businesses, law enforcement officials said. People can print their own money at home, then go down to Walmart and use it to pay for different items. Because of the amount of people going through the stores on a daily basis, it can be hard for employees to check every dollar bill they receive.

Counterfeit operations often target one specific store and then hit a number of those, all in one day. That includes "big box" companies like Walmart, Belk or Target. Often, big-box store employees dont really look at the money until it goes to the bank. Thats where most of the counterfeiters get exposed. Banks use machines that can separate fake bills from authentic ones. The machines examine the magnetic ink on real dollars. When a dollar doesnt have that ink, it gets flagged.

It becomes a problem for law enforcement because once it reaches the bank, the fake currency may have changed hands over 50 times. That makes it hard to track the moneys origin.

Martinsville City Police Lieutenant R.A. Turner explained that this problem is not just a local one, but nationwide.

"There are counterfeit bills in every city in America," Turner said. "There isnt a rampant problem in Henry County. However, with the holidays we do see a small increase in counterfeit bills."

Turner explained that typically, the Secret Service handles counterfeit money investigations.

Right after a presidential election though, as the Secret Service has a new presidential family to project, these investigations fall more on local law enforcement. Counterfeiters know this, which is why they typically release the most fake bills during this period.

How do you spot them?

Martinsville Police Chief Sean Dunn said the fake bills his department has seized are not good quality and after careful inspection, they should be fairly obvious to recognize. For example, real bills are made of cotton. Manufacturers of this new fake currency make their money out of paper. You can tell the difference by feeling the texture of the money.

Secret Service officials also point to the watermark on the money. Its embedded in the cotton paper, not printed on the bill itself, making it harder for counterfeiters to duplicate. To help local businesses, the Martinsville Police Department recommends companies buy an ultraviolet light.

If the bill is held up to an ultraviolet light, the five dollar bill glows blue; the $10 bill glows orange, the $20 bill glows green, the $50 bill glows yellow, and the $100 bill glows red  if they are authentic. Thats not something counterfeit operations can duplicate. There are also tiny words written on the bill called microprinting. The $5 bill has "USA FIVE" written on the security thread, while the $10 bill has "USA TEN" written on and so on. If you hold a dollar bill up to the light, you can see the security thread. Its a thin, embedded strip running from top to bottom on the face of a banknote. In the $10 and $50 bills, the strip should be located to the right of the portrait. In the $5, $20 and $100, it is just to the left of the portrait in real bills.

Where does it come from?

So where is all this counterfeit money coming from? The answer is mainly from South America. Last month, Secret Service officials seized $30 million in fake American bills and 50,000 euros in Lima, Peru. The money was spread out through different homes and apartments in the city. Peru has the reputation of creating the best counterfeit U.S. money in the world. Secret Service officials estimate that 60 percent of the counterfeit bills brought into America come from Peru. Not counting what was seized in November, Secret Service officials have collected $75 million in fake money from the country since 2009.

How does it arrive in this country? Much like illegal immigrants, the fake money comes through smugglers or "coyotes," crossing over the Mexican border, officials said. The main points of entry are Texas and California.

Once you discover a counterfeit bill, federal officials ask that you dont try to return it to whoever gave it to you. Instead, residents are asked to call your local police department or the nearest Secret Service office. For Henry County and Martinsville residents, the closest one is in Roanoke and can be reached at (540)-857-2208. The Henry County Sheriffs Office can be reached at (276)-656-4200 and in Martinsville, the police departments number is (276)-403-5300.

Erica Haynes is a freelancer for the Martinsville Bulletin.
Mike and the Rev. Jane Lyon and staff of Brooks-Lyon Funeral and Cremation Services of South Boston invited the community to a building dedication Dec. 20 for an improvement project almost three years in the making.

What the packed house saw was more than just a facade, rather it saw the results of craftsmanship from numerous area tradespersons who worked together to make the upgrades a reality.

It also applauded the rewards of 50 years of dedication from Betty Jones to first Brooks Funeral Home and then Brooks-Lyon Funeral and Cremation Services, with the chapel named in her honor and a portrait of Jones unveiled at the end of the formal dedication.

Described by some as someone never at a loss for words  in a positive way  Jones had very little to say but held back tears as the portrait was unveiled.

It was a total shock, said Jones.

Jones wondered what the covered portrait on the easel was all about as she arrived for the dedication.

I saw some of my relatives and friends and co-workers here, including those from Clarksville and thought maybe hes (Mike Lyon) just going to do a picture and hang it, Jones said. Its a great honor, an unexpected honor.

Its accurate to say she was born into the business, Jones continued.

Its fulfilling, because you can help somebody when theyre at their lowest point, she explained.

Families come in. Theyve lost somebody very dear to them, and you can help them through probably one of the worst times of their lives. Its very fulfilling, Jones added.

I feel like I was called to do it.

Jones started at Brooks Funeral Home in 1965, before answering services, call forwarding and other modern time-saving devices, said the Rev. Jane Lyon.

Somebody had to be by the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, she said.

In the early days she was unable to escape the business for more than one week a year, and she had to line up her own coverage. She has remained a faithful, major contributor for four generations of family ownership.

Jones is one of the most compassionate people shes ever known, a friend of Jones told her, said Lyon.

The building project, funded in part by seed money and grants, began in 2014 with the renovation of the chapel and reception/visitation and continued through the summer of 2015 with the transformation of property across Broad Street into a family care center.

Phase three began in May 2016 with redesign of the foyer/lobby area, the addition of an administration area and the enlargement of the parking lot.

In order to accomplish that, a building used by Brooks Funeral Home and the oldest building in South Boston had to be demolished.

The town had to be convinced the razing of that building was necessary for the project to move forward.

That proved to be the most difficult part of the project for emotional as well as physical reasons, Mike Lyon said.

The leadership of this county demanded proof - they did not take Mike Lyon at his word, he said.

The town and county, long familiar with the service Brooks Funeral Home provided to them, had to be reassured Brooks-Lyon wasnt pulling the trigger too fast, asking all the prudent questions to make sure we werent premature.

This town did not want to lose the building, so it took effort.

Lyon and his staff have been impressed with the talent and craftsmanship displayed by area contractors in accomplishing their goals associated with the project.

We were determined to have as many crafts people from this community as possible touch this project, added Lyon.

We have been wowed at their skill set, said Lyon while thanking the families who have had to endure the almost three years it took for the project to be completed.
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.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 23, 2016) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQX: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a non-brokered private placement today consisting of 2,500,000 flow-through shares at a price of $0.15 per share for gross proceeds of $375,000.

In conjunction with this private placement, Avalon paid finder's fees of $22,500 and issued 150,000 non-transferrable finder's warrants, with each finder's warrant being exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.15 for a period of 24 months from today. Pursuant to Canadian securities laws, the securities issuable under this private placement are subject to a hold period which expires on April 24, 2017. The proceeds from this offering will be used primarily to advance the Company's Separation Rapids Lithium Project, including as described below.

Avalon is planning a drilling program for early 2017 with the main goals of expanding the existing resource and exploring untested extensions to the resource along strike and to depth. This will include testing other lithium sub-zones that were not fully explored historically when the focus was on defining a resource of the lithium mineral petalite for glass-ceramics markets. One such sub-zone open for expansion to the east of the petalite resource contains lepidolite, a lithium-rubidium mica typically containing approximately 8% Li 2 O (lithium oxide), compared to the 4.0 - 4.5% Li 2 O typically contained in petalite. Testwork toward defining a flowsheet for efficiently extracting lithium and rubidium chemical products from a lepidolite mineral concentrate has already been initiated at an Australian laboratory.

Work continues on enhancing the performance of the petalite flotation process, where opportunities to reduce reagent consumptions are being investigated. Work on optimizing the lithium hydroxide production process is also progressing. Samples of high purity (>99.5%) lithium hydroxide crystals produced in the recent test programs have been sent to a major Canadian research facility for characterization and evaluation for use as a feed for lithium ion battery cathode material. In addition, Avalon continues to evaluate processes for recovery of valuable by-products, including tantalum and high-purity silica.

Don Bubar, Avalon's President and CEO, comments: "I am pleased with the progress we are making with the Separation Rapids Project following the completion of a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment in September. In addition to advancing our resource modelling and process flowsheet development, we continue to make progress on developing the markets for our products, environmental assessment work, infrastructure alternatives and community relationships. An appropriate site for the proposed demonstration plant has also been identified. Demand for new supply sources of lithium continues to grow rapidly along with the energy storage market, and Avalon remains well-positioned to bring a new supply of lithium to the market within the next three years."



This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US persons (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. All currency reported in this release is in Canadian dollars.

The technical information included in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Donald S. Bubar, P. Geo., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company who is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.

Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (formerly Avalon Rare Metals Inc.) is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in niche market metals and minerals with growing demand in new technology. The Company has three advanced stage projects, all 100%-owned, providing investors with exposure to lithium, tin and indium, as well as rare earth elements, tantalum, niobium, and zirconium. Avalon is currently focusing on its Separation Rapids Lithium Project, Kenora, ON and its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project, Yarmouth, NS. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones.

For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@AvalonAM.com, or phone Don Bubar, President & CEO at 416-364-4938.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to how the Company plans to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement, and that proceeds from this offering will be used primarily to advance the Company's Separation Rapids Lithium Project, that Avalon is planning a drilling program for early 2017, that this will include testing other lithium sub-zone, that demand for new supply sources of lithium continues to grow rapidly along with the energy storage market, and that Avalon remains well-positioned to bring a new supply of lithium to the market within the next three years. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "scheduled", "anticipates", "continues", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "scheduled", "targeted", "planned", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" or "will not be" taken, reached or result, "will occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Avalon to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. Although Avalon has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to market conditions, and the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses as well as those risk factors set out in the Company's current Annual Information Form, Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure documents available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such forward-looking statements have been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Avalon does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Dec 23, 2016) - US Oil Sands Inc. ("US Oil Sands" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:USO), an innovator of oil extraction technologies, announces an update on its previously announced financing and the PR Spring Project (the "Project").

The Company has made application to the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") for approval of certain terms of the US$7.5 million financing (the "Financing") with ACMO S.a R.L. ("ACMO"), the Company's largest shareholder. The Exchange has indicated its approval of the Financing subject to certain conditions. The Company is working to satisfy these conditions. Should these conditions be met, the Company intends to close the Financing on or before January 6, 2017.

The Company successfully completed equipment preservation and lay-up of its oil sand extraction facility and intends to resume activities at the Project site upon completion of the Financing.

CONDITIONS OF EXCHANGE APPROVAL

As a condition of approval, the Exchange requires a majority of disinterested shareholders to provide their written consent. ACMO is the only shareholder who has an interest in the Financing and would be excluded from providing consent for purposes of satisfying this condition.

The Company has determined that holding a special meeting of shareholders to obtain approval would unnecessarily delay closing and resumption of Project activities. Accordingly, the Company has prepared a form of shareholder consent letter which provides shareholders the opportunity to provide their consent for the Financing. The Company will immediately contact its largest shareholders to request their consent.

A second condition of approval imposed by the Exchange is the consolidation of the Company's common shares (the "Consolidation"). The Consolidation was approved at the May 18, 2016 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to a special resolution to consolidate the issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for up to every 100 pre-consolidation common shares or such lesser ratio that the directors in their sole discretion determine to be appropriate. The Company has initiated the process to undertake the Consolidation of one post-consolidation common share for every 50 pre-consolidation common shares. The Consolidation is subject to receipt of all regulatory approvals.

"This is an important step for all stakeholders of the Company," said Cameron Todd, CEO of US Oil Sands. "This capital is necessary to allow the Company to proceed with the final commissioning steps and enabling us to start-up and operate the PR Spring Project. Without this Financing, the Company would not have the necessary capital to demonstrate the Company's value proposition and environmental benefits of its proprietary patented technology, both of which we believe will enhance shareholder value. This Financing is believed to be in the best interest of all shareholders. We are looking forward to making first oil early into 2017 and profitably demonstrating the Company's commercial technology."

ABOUT US OIL SANDS INC.

US Oil Sands is engaged in the exploration and development of oil sands properties and, through its wholly owned United States subsidiary US Oil Sands (Utah) Inc., has a 100% interest in bitumen leases covering 32,005 acres of land in Utah's Uinta Basin. The Company plans to develop its oil sands properties using its proprietary extraction process which uses a bio-solvent to extract bitumen from oil sands without the need for tailings ponds. The Company is in the pre-production stage, anticipating the commencement of bitumen production and sales once it has completed commissioning and start-up of the Project.

The foregoing contains forward-looking information relating to the future performance of the Company including information relating to the development and construction of the Project, expectations that the Company will complete commissioning, start-up and operate Phase 1 of the Project during 2017, and expectations relating to completion of the Financing and Consolidation on the terms contemplated herein, construction activities, capital requirements and corporate development activities. Forward looking information is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of exploration activities, changes in world commodity markets or equity markets, the risks of the petroleum industry including, without limitation, those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, title disputes, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the oil and gas industry, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities (available at www.SEDAR.com). Forward-looking statements are made based on various assumptions and on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made. In particular, forward looking statements regarding the completion of construction, commission, start-up and operation of the Project are subject to the necessary financing being obtained to complete these steps and the Financing and Consolidation is subject to negotiation of definitive agreements and obtaining all necessary approvals and waivers from the Exchange and satisfying any conditions that may be imposed by the Exchange. There is no certainty that the Financing, Consolidation or the Project will be completed within the time contemplated herein.

Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information contained herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these assumptions, beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law.

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.
The US Department of Energys Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded $4.6 million to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for two transformational agriculture technology projects. One project aims to use electrical current to image the root system, which will accelerate the breeding of crops with roots that are tailored to specific conditions (such as drought). The other project will develop a new imaging technique based on neutron scattering to measure the distribution of carbon and other elements in the soil.

Berkeley Lab received these competitive awards from ARPA-Es Rhizosphere Observations Optimizing Terrestrial Sequestration (ROOTS) program, which seeks to develop crops that take carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in soilenabling a 50% increase in carbon deposition depth and accumulation while also reducing nitrous oxide emissions by 50% and increasing water productivity by 25%.

Soil carbon deficits are a global phenomenon resulting from many decades of industrial agriculture. Soils have the capacity to store significant quantities of carbon, reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations while also enhancing soil fertility and water retention.

Development of the Tomographic Electrical Rhizosphere Imaging (TERI) technology, which was awarded $2.3 million by ARPA-E, is led by Berkeley Lab geophysicist Yuxin Wu, also in the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division.

By sending a small electrical current into the stem, which will then travel throughout the root system, TERI will sense the electrical response of both roots and soil and provide information on root mass, surface area, depth, and distribution in the soil, together with data on soil texture and moisture content and how these variables change over time.

In contrast, the common approach to studying root properties, which goes by the moniker shovelomics, involves not much more than a shovel and a bucket of water before root analysis in the lab. Its a very labor intensive and low-throughput method to characterize roots, Wu said. And once you dig up the root, youre done. You cant look at changes over time.

Wu has begun initial testing in the lab. Later he will do field testing with wheat crops in collaboration with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Based in Ardmore, Oklahoma, the Noble Foundation is the largest independent agricultural research institute in the US with more than 13,500 acres of farmland carrying out research to enable farmers and ranchers to increase regional productivity and land stewardship.

Wu and his team are also partnering with Subsurface Insights, a small business focusing on software development for geophysical applications.

The projects goal is to develop next-generation root phenotyping technology integrated with ecosystem modeling to accelerate the breeding of root-focused cultivars with certain traits; for example, better climate resiliency and better tolerance for low water and low fertilizer conditions. Ultimately, the tool could help increase yields while increasing carbon input to the soil.

In the second project, also awarded $2.3 million, Berkeley Lab physicists led by Arun Persaud of the Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division will build an instrument to analyze soil chemistry, without disturbing it, by means of inelastic neutron scattering. , Persaud said. 

Similar technology is currently used in homeland security applications, such as detecting explosives and other materials in cargo, and is a longtime area of research at Berkeley Lab.

Persaud said that unlike current technologies for analyzing soil properties, this technique can be employed in the field and can measure changes over space and time without disturbing the soil. Standard methods now involve drilling soil cores and doing chemical analyses on them back in the lab, which does not allow for repeat measurements of the same soil and is not practical over large areas.

Together with ATAP physicist Bernhard Ludewigt, Persaud will work with Adelphi Technology Inc. to develop the neutron generator. The resulting system could eventually take the form of a mobile instrument that takes in situ measurements in a farmers field.
Members of the Supreme Courts conservative majority are questioning the continued use of affirmative action in higher education. In lengthy arguments Monday, the justices wrestled with persistent, difficult questions of race. The justices heard from six different lawyers in challenges to policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard. Those policies consider race among many factors in evaluating applications for admission. One conservative justice likened affirmative action to giving some college applicants a head start in a footrace. But a liberal justice said universities are the pipelines to leadership in our society and suggested that without affirmative action minority enrollment will drop.
The progress made this year on police accountability and transparency may not be everything concerned citizens of Greensboro wanted, but it has been substantial.

In February, the 100th Police Academy introduced a new curriculum with a renewed focus on communication, de-escalating conflict, avoiding bias-based policing and mentoring new officers.

Training on implicit bias and procedural justice were incorporated into the police academy and will be extended to all officers currently on the force. Implicit-bias training helps officers recognize that unconscious biases may be influencing how they react to or treat certain people. Procedural justice governs how officers interact with the public in manner and tone.

In March, the city became the first in the state to create a policy on the release of police body camera footage. Although it stopped short of making body camera footage a public record, the policy allows the Greensboro City Council to release footage if its members find that doing so is essential to maintain public confidence.

Also in March, Police Chief Wayne Scott responded to internal and external studies showing racial disparity in traffic stops and searches with a plan to collect more detailed data to increase accountability and reveal whether bias played a role in stops and searches.

That plan includes documenting all traffic stops, and standardizing training in traffic-stop reporting and requiring more detailed reporting. It also urges the state to do the same so that data collection is consistent statewide.

Consent searches, which only can be conducted with a subjects permission, would have to be documented through a signed form or body camera footage in every setting, not just vehicle stops. Case reports will be required for every search and must say why the officer asked for the search. All reports require supervisor approval.

Resist, delay and obstruct charges, which cover a range of behaviors and rely heavily on an officers discretion, now require case reports detailing the circumstances and the nature of the offense, which are reviewed by a supervisor.

Scott also plans to implement a monitoring system that can serve as an early warning system for officers who may not be making good decisions.

In May, the city issued an apology and a $50,000 settlement in the case of Devin and Rufus Scales, which had inflamed distrust of the police department in the African American community since the incident occurred in 2014. The Scales brothers were arrested by Officer Travis Cole for blocking traffic on an empty street.

In September, Scott introduced a policy banning bias-based policing, which turned a philosophy into an operational mandate.

Also in September, Scott recommended  and the City Council agreed  to make public body camera footage of an incident of improper use of force that led to the resignation of that same officer from the Scales case, Travis Cole.

The disclosure of that incident led to additional questions, which were raised and addressed. Although the incident occurred June 17, the internal investigation wasnt concluded until 42 days later, on July 29, and the police chief wasnt informed until Aug. 9.

Cole resigned before the police departments criminal investigation and professional standards divisions completed their investigations. He was found to have used excessive force and violated the departments guidelines on search and seizure. Officer C.N. Jackson resigned while a review of her actions in the case was underway.

When Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Howard Neumann declined to press charges against Cole, the City Council asked the district attorneys office to reconsider and also took the unusual step of alerting the state police licensing board about Coles actions.

Scott responded to some of the initial concerns the day the council saw the video, and he followed up last week with a set of process improvements based on a review of the investigation by his own department and by council members Sharon Hightower, Jamal Fox and Marikay Abuzuaiter.

First, Scott is forming a committee to review the entire administrative process of investigations with the goal of identifying improvements in policy, process efficiency and technology.

Information on how to contact the Police Community Review Board will be given to residents at the beginning of an investigation instead of just at the end.

A process will be designed to indicate who is present  and why  when any body camera video footage is reviewed.

Notification of internal investigations, including due dates and status, will be expanded to include all supervisors in the chain of command.

Scott also is asking the city for money to hire four additional sergeants who would assist in the oversight of investigations and body-worn camera reviews. These sergeants, who would be outside the chain of command of an administrative investigation, would provide a more objective perspective and would be in a position to alert the police chief earlier in the process if an incident were to be particularly egregious.

Will all these actions transform the police department? Not completely and not overnight.

But they are rooted in policy and procedure, designed to correct some of the problems identified and create a system that requires accountability on the part of its officers and its leaders.

With each challenge that has presented itself this year, Scott has demonstrated not just a willingness to change but an eagerness to lead change.

We certainly have not achieved the level of police accountability and transparency that will be necessary to heal the decades of distrust between the police department and all the communities it serves.

But progress made this year, which spans training, operations and police review, is undeniable and a bit remarkable.

Recognition for these achievements go to Scott, who instituted the improvements; the city manager and the City Council, who advised and supported the process; and members of the public, who demanded change.

The process wasnt always pretty, but it did produce results.

Lets keep it going in 2017.
GREENSBORO  Three months ago, Harold Terry was shopping at a Wal-Mart in Burlington, when he came down with a terrible headache.

It was terrible pain, so terrible it would just blank you out, he said.

His wife took him to the emergency room, where doctors discovered hemorrhaging in his brain.

He had had his fourth stroke.

Today, he is walking around with a quarter-sized, umbrella-shaped device in his heart, which he hopes will help prevent a fifth stroke.

Terry, 82, of Whitsett is one of the first patients at Cone Health and Vascular Center to receive a Watchman implant.

The device, made by Boston Scientific, reduces and eliminates the need for blood thinners for some people at risk of a stroke.

For most patients, those medicines (blood thinners) are the right treatment, said Dr. Michael Cooper, Terrys physician and Cone Health interventional cardiologist. But some people who get put on those medicines have bleeding problems, or they might not be able to take them for some other reason.

Or maybe they have a lifestyle that puts them at high risk of bleeding, like theyre a firefighter, or they ride a motorcycle. For them, this could be an alternative to being on a longterm blood-thinning drug.

Many people who suffer from strokes have a condition known as atrial fibrillation, in which the upper chambers of the heart dont beat in synch with the lower chambers of the heart.

When people have atrial fibrillation, the blood can pool in the upper chambers of the heart, and when there is pooling of blood, people tend to form blood clots, Cooper said. And most blood clots occur in an area called the left atrial appendage.

The Watchman is inserted in a catheter through a vein in the leg and up into the heart.

The device, which has a fabric covering over a metal frame, seals the left atrial appendage off from the rest of the heart.

When you put the device in, it grows tissue over it, Cooper said. So for the first few months you do have to take some blood-thinning medication to prevent blood clots from forming, but after that, the device has been incorporated into the heart, and patients can come off the blood-thinning medication.

Cooper said implanting the device typically takes about 60 to 90 minutes. The procedure is done under general anesthesia, and is performed by Cooper and fellow cardiologist Dr. James Allred.

They literally only have one small puncture hole in the vein through the leg, Cooper said. The patient can get up and walk around that afternoon and go home the next morning.

Terry had been taking blood thinners. But staying on them can be dangerous for those whove had bleeding in the brain, which is why Cooper recommended he get the Watchman.

So far, Terry said, he feels really good about the implant.

They said I could be paralyzed if I have another stroke, he said. So, Im glad we decided to go for it.
Updated 12:39 p.m.

MADISON  Rockingham County sheriff's deputies have located a seventh victim in this morning's shooting at the Madison Moose Lodge.

Deputies found six victims at four locations about 2:20 a.m. after gunfire was reported at Madison Moose Lodge, 490 K Fork Road. The latest victim arrived by private vehicle at Annie Penn Hospital in Reidsville, according to deputies.

Dispatchers at 2:19 a.m. received reports of multiple gunshots fired near the lodge, according to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.

The gunfire happened at a Christmas party for which the lodge had been rented, Page said. Up to 300 people were attending the party.

Arriving investigators found two victims at the lodge, two more at Checkers Grill and Grocery convenience store, 1905 W. Academy St., and one in the parking lot at Western Rockingham Middle School, according to Page.

The sixth victim was found in Stokes County, he said.

Paramedics took all the victims to area hospitals for treatment.

None of the victims' injuries are life-threatening, deputies said.

One gunman wore a brown coat, black pants and a black ski mask, witnesses said. The other wore a light green jacket, black pants and a ski mask.

Anyone with information about the party or the shooting is asked to call Rockingham County Crime Stoppers at (336) 349-9683.

Posted 7:50 a.m.

MADISON  Gunfire during a party at the Madison Moose Lodge left six people hospitalized early this morning.

Dispatchers at 2:19 a.m. received reports of multiple gunshots fired near the lodge, located at 490 K Fork Road, according to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.

Arriving investigators found two victims at the lodge, two more at Checkers Grill and Grocery convenience store, 1905 W. Academy St., and one at Western Rockingham Middle School, according to Page.

The sixth victim was found in Stokes County, he said.

Paramedics took all the victims to area hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were not available.

Between 250 and 300 people were attending the private party at the lodge, Page said, when a fight broke out.

Two people put on black ski masks, Page said. They pulled out handguns and began firing.

The men then got into a silver-color car with a woman driving and left in an unknown direction, he said.

Check greensboro.com for updates.
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WASHINGTON  In normal presidential transitions, the choice of secretary for veterans affairs draws little notice outside the veterans service organizations and veterans themselves.

But whatever else it is, the ascension of Donald Trump to the White House is most certainly not a normal transition.

The New York real-estate deal maker and TV personality intends to run government like a business  and that includes the $180 billion Department of Veterans Affairs, roundly excoriated for incompetence and outright fraud.

Among those on Capitol Hill who intend to leave a major imprint on confirming a new veterans secretary is U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who steps down next month as the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.

The VA management structure has been sclerotic and fossilized, and has clearly lacked accountability, he said. There has been progress, but it still needs a lot of work.

Although Blumenthal is relinquishing his top Democrat seat to Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., who is senior in rank, he remains on the committee and expects to pepper the eventual Trump nominee with a long list of concerns.

Blumenthals name is attached to the recently enacted Veterans Health Care and Benefits Act, which improves education benefits for veterans and spouses, provides greater access to benefits for homeless veterans, and requires more research on the health effects of exposure to toxic substances on the battlefield.

Questions of mismanagement

Long-simmering management issues burst into the open in 2014 when the VA hospital in Phoenix was discovered to be covering up long health care appointment waiting times. Hundreds of veterans died while waiting a month for appointments, but officials there cooked the books to show prompt attention to patient needs.

During the campaign, Trump pledged to take care of our veterans like they have never been taken care of before.

And he also promised no more waiting in line. If youre a veteran who cannot get timely health care, youre going to go to a private doctor across the street, a private hospital across the street or nearby and youll be taken care of quickly and efficiently, Trump said.

Trumps indignation has given hope to Republican conservatives that the business-minded president-elect will empower the nations 22 million veterans  200,000 in Connecticut  to choose their own health care provider, whether in the VA system or outside.

But they bridle at the term privatization.

Increasing choice for veterans is not privatization,  said Dan Caldwell, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and is policy director of Concerned Veterans for America. People think the VA needs to manage health care because vets cant do it themselves. Its insulting.

CVA is funded by the conservative Koch brothers, who have bankrolled several organizations aimed at promoting Republican causes. Its influence is significant in the embryonic Trump administration, with two Trump transition team members having ties to the organization.

While Blumenthal and other Democrats agree VA management must be revamped and there is a role for outside care, they draw the line at any effort they see as destabilizing VA health care.

Privatizing is not the answer, Blumenthal said. Choice is an answer, but neither the veterans groups nor veterans themselves want to abolish the VA system.

Concerns about choice

Under current law, veterans who live more than 40 miles away from a VA facility or face wait times above 30 days can see a private health-care provider, with costs covered by VA.

As someone who fancies himself to be unpredictable, Trump may have a surprise or two in store for those who follow VA issues. Politico reported Trump is seriously considering Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, an Air Force surgeon in the Vietnam War who is not among the VA bomb-throwers whispering in Trumps ear.

The VA in Connecticut appears to be on top of the management issues that have plagued Phoenix and other areas, Blumenthal said.

What I hear is there can be long wait times but theyre satisfied with the quality of care they receive, he said.

Connecticuts veteran population puts it at 34th among the states, with about 36,000 in Fairfield County. They are served by two VA hospitals in West Haven and Newington, and a string of primary care clinics throughout the state  including Danbury and Stamford.

Veteran service organizations monitor the VA system in Connecticut and elsewhere.

Our department service officers would let us know if they were seeing major problems, said Harry Butch Hansen, American Legion adjutant in Connecticut. Theyd be getting an earful.

Personally, if you lose the VA system, the veterans would be without a voice, said Hansen. We worked hard to create the VA system and its important to our vets. We dont want to lose that.

dan@hearstdc.com
Melissa Rodriguez will be his replacement. Photo: Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images for NYCWFF

One of New Yorks most celebrated restaurants  and its most prestigious Italian restaurant  is getting a new chef. Mark Ladner, who has run the kitchen at Del Posto since it opened in 2005, will leave next month to focus full-time on an idea he wants to turn into a pasta chain.

Under Ladner, Del Posto, part of Mario Batalis restaurant empire, has received basically every accolade a restaurant can, and hes considered to be among the best pasta chefs in the country. He is also responsible for the famed 100-layer lasagna that became something of a fetish object for carb lovers far and wide. Now he tells the Times hes leaving to focus on Pasta Flyer, a quick-service restaurant currently being built in Greenwich Village and which Ladner wants to turn into a chain. His departure also follows that of Brooks Headley, the former pastry chef who went on to open Superiority Burger.

Its rare to see chef changes at the very highest end of the restaurant food chain, if only because the head chefs are often equity partners in their restaurants. Ladner tells the Times that wasnt the case at Del Posto, and he hopes the new concept will scratch his ownership itch.

Meanwhile at Del Posto, the new executive chef will be Melissa Rodriguez, who had served as Ladners chef de cuisine. Batali tells the paper that Rodriguezs menu will roll out in February.




Haiti - Politics : Inauguration of an office of Immigration and Emigration in Jeremie





As part of the deconcentration and expansion of access to basic services, Jude Saint-Natus, the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities, accompanied in particular by System Engineer Jean Osselin Lambert of the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration DIE, inaugurated the premises of Immigration and Emigration earlier this week in Jeremie.



These premises with an area of 200 m2, located at # 77 Mgr. Bauge (in front of the Cathedral of Saint Louis King of France), which will serve the citizens of Jeremie and the other communes of Grande-Anse, has been completely renovated and offers enough space for passport applicants and other services of the DIE.



After the North, South, Southeast and Artibonite, it is the turn of Grande-Anse to have an Infrastructure of deposit of documents and delivery of passport. From now, the members of the population will be able to request or have their passports re-done, among other things, without having to travel to Les Cayes or Port-au-Prince.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





Disagreement over Privert's vision

The Collective of Local Candidates, composed of candidates from almost all the political parties, disputes the supposedly positive balance of the de facto President Jocelerme Privert, which decerned himseld a satisfies for having brought a climate of social stability in Haiti. The Collective emphasizes, on the contrary, that in no way our social system is better, recalling that "[...] insecurity has increased, markets have been burned, merchants left without anything and without aid, delivered to themselves, daily violent demonstrations, the Gourde that collapses without mentioning the rise of insecurity and criminality in the streets at the end of the year..." are all, EXCEPT the signs of social stability in Haiti !



OCID disapprove the violent protests

The Citizen's Observatory for the Institutionalization of Democracy (OCID) disapproves of all forms of protest, violent demonstrations or intimidation speeches that may hinder the serenity of electoral judges who are called upon to decide disputes impartially. The Observatory invites the authorities to be vigilant with regard to such infringements of the Electoral Decree in order to take appropriate measures to prevent and punish them.



Unfounded challenges of lawyers ?

Rudy Heriveaux of the PHTK, at the Tabulation Centre, described as chimerical the attitude of the candidates who refuse to acknowledge the victory of Jovenel Moise, according to him "the statements made by the lawyers of the losers, relating to the Minutes are not founded."



Education : the major issues

On Wednesday, at the Hotel Marriot was held the last working session for 2016 of the Board of Directors, chaired by the Director General of the Ministry of National Education, Louis Mary Cador. In the course of the working session, has been discussed in particular the main issues of the day : post-Matthew actions, teacher training, school accreditation and the school identity card, State exams, the new secondary and the school census.



Meeting at the palace around the victims of Matthew

Friday at the National Palace, Deputy President Jocelerme Privert met with Yves Romain Bastien, Minister of Economy and Finance, as well as officials from the General Administration of Customs (AGD) and the National Port Authority ( APN) around of the coordination of the distribution of essential goods to the victims of Hurricane Matthew.



Agenda

Thursday, de facto President Jocelerme Privert, accompanied by the First Lady, Ginette M. Privert, participated at the National Palace, to the traditional gala evening organized in honor of the employees of the Palace.



On Thursday, Jacmel was visited by Sandra Honore, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and Head of the Minustah. Mrs. Honore and her hosts visited the Jacmel Carnival Interpretation Center as well as some workshops and were amazed by the talent of the craftsmen.



De facto President Jocelerme Privert, met a delegation of students from Harvard University, visiting Haiti on Friday, December 23, 2016 at the National Palace.


















Published on 2016/12/24 | Source

Kim Woo-bin has returned to the big screen in the crime action flick "Master", which was released on Wednesday. Just six years since his debut, the model-turned-actor is already one of the hottest stars in the showbusiness. To be sure, his heartthrob appeal has helped his career, but Kim has charmed the critics just as much as he does his many fans.

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Kim met with the Chosun Ilbo before the release of his latest film.

"The film tells us that the bad guy always gets punished in the end and justice prevails. I hope it offers some consolation and courage to people in this tough time", he said.

He plays a genius hacker caught in the cross-fire between a con man and an investigator trying to nail him for fraud; what's more, he holds the key to solving the case.

In the film, the still relatively inexperienced Kim holds his own alongside two seasoned co-stars, Lee Byung-hun and Gang Dong-won.

Asked if it was intimidating to work with them, Kim said, "If I had let that bother me, I wouldn't have appeared in the film". He viewed the pressure to perform at their level as a positive.

"When I first met them on the set, they were just like the characters they play in the movie. That put me at ease a bit, because I could see them as fellow cast members to play opposite -- not as top stars I admire and look up to. That helped me, too, by letting me concentrate on my role", he said.

Kim's film career hasn't been prolific -- four films in six years, of which the 2014 comedy "Twenty" was his most popular to date with 3.04 million viewers, but he's quite happy working at that pace. "If I only cared about fame, I would have accepted more projects", he said. "Older actors tell me fame is fleeting. I'm taking things one step at a time. I don't want to rush it".

Discussing his goals as an actor, he said, "I want to keep people guessing about what role I'll play next", he said.
Is your companys marketing stuck in old-fashioned facts and methods? Do you feel like you have no idea about how to keep up with all of the marketing trends and potential opportunities out there?

What is my companys next step and where do I start?

It doesnt matter how old or big your company is, what the figures are behind your sales, what your customer base is or where they are located. You simply need to make as much noise about your company and your expertise as possible, so that the crowd can hear you loud and clear. Marketing can be complex in some situations where you can make big mistakes and lose a lot of money. However, the simplest way to do integrated marketing is by NETWORKING. Be brave and have courage. Get together with people like you and start networking step-by-step. These are some of the ways you can do it in Helsinki;

1. Event: Slush

Slush is a hot, international startup event in Helsinki that takes place in the middle of winter. Slush brings together international start-up entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and the media. The event has grown, year by year, into a huge international networking event. At Slush, partners look for each otherwith intent. This event is so hot that people are willing to travel from the other side of the world to the cold, dark Helsinki winter with the ambition of taking their business to the next level.

2. Aalto Universitys Startup Sauna

Do you feel like networking in a sauna? Dont worry, its not a real sauna! Startup Sauna is actually a co-working space and a meeting point for aspiring entrepreneurs. But, if you want to, you can actually bounce your ideas off others in Sauna, one of the meeting places within this 1500 m industry hall. No sweat though, its just a meeting and event room!

3. Kasvu Open  Finlands biggest sparring competition for company growth

Kasvu Open is located in Jyvaskyla, but there are also many other Kasvu Open events in the Helsinki area. In 2016, there will be a total of 349 companies and startups, and over 900 of the best of the best business innovation leaders participating in Kasvu Open events. Kasvu Open events provide you with an excellent chance to network and create your business ideas and innovations.

4. Innovation House Finland

Sea, sun and inspiration. Thats Innovation House Finland. Situated by the sea, just a few kilometres from the Helsinki city centre, the founders of this fresh idea say that they wanted to create a nest of inspiration, competencies, professionalism and innovation. Innovation House Finland offers you the opportunity to work with mentors, protectors and other enthusiastic people in a 20-day programme, starting July 2016. And yes, it comes complete with a sea view sauna and a seashore for cooling off your ideas!

5. Mesenaatti.me

Crowdfunding is well established in Helsinki. Mesenaatti.me is Finlands first focused platform solely dedicated to crowdfunding, where established players and newcomers can present their own projects and seek financial support for them. As a bonus, anyone can be a patron, since a tenner is enough. This is hot!

6. Loyly

Loyly is a public sauna and restaurant complex that has just opened, located next to the Hernesaari seashore. This building is a fascinating addition to Helsinki in terms of its architecture and, in addition, offers a great opportunity to meet, mingle and get acquainted with Finnish people and sauna culture. Dont worry, we all wear bathing suits, but be open; you never know who will sit next to you!

7. Hoffice

Did you know that people in Helsinki are even ready to open their homes to fellow entrepreneurs? Hoffice lets users invite other unknown entrepreneurs into their own homes to work. What an opportunity for the lone worker! Arent we all supposed to be silent and introverted? Hel no!

8. Tekes events

Even the official organisations of Finland have surprises for you. Tekes is the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, which boosts wide-ranging innovation activities in research communities, industry and service sectors. Tekes has also proved to be an excellent event organizer, and their events offer many networking opportunities. Meanwhile, in addition to the subjects their events cover, you can often get inspiration from the humour, enthusiasm, and flexible entry. Hel yes we like!

9. Social media is still alive and kicking  some options

LinkedIn, what a way to start your storytelling. First of all, you must take care of your company page so that it includes all relevant information. Follow this by writing interesting content, including fancy visuals. Be honest and keep writing your content frequently. Write stories about your company; let your expertise be seen from different angles. Join every marketing and sales group that helps you keep track of what others are doing, and helps your network grow by itself.

10. Situate yourself in a co-working space

There is an opportunity to become stronger by openly networking and benchmarking in some areas. A clever way to do this is to locate your company in the same premises as similar companies or even with competitors. In the Helsinki area, there are tons of fantastic co-working spaces and environments available.

This list was created by Mia Heiskanen and Marianne Vahterkoski  owners and entrepreneurs from Sisaltomylly Oy, a flexible and capable agency for digital content and marketing. We believe in opportunities, the power of networking and stories. www.sisaltomylly.fi
The holiday season is a busy time and more and more people are finding their way to the internet to do their seasonal shopping. However, maybe you are a seasonally-spirited person. Maybe you prefer to wander past beautifully decorated stores with Jingle Bells playing on the speakers. Maybe you prefer to search for gifts by wandering through the shops, holding up clothes and checking the sizes, or by simply letting the displays catch your eye. If this sounds like you, you might prefer to wrap up in a warm scarf and cloak and make your way to the city center to visit Kauppakeskus Forum.

Forum was the first shopping center in Finland, with the original building ready for the 1951 Finnish Winter Olympics and the current location opening in 1985; now the 31-year-old mall has been declared by the Nordic Council of Shopping Centers to be the best mall in Finland in 2016. If you stop by to have a look, you might understand why. After a recent renovation, Forum is now 8000 m2 bigger and has added another twenty shops to reach a total of 140 different stores. We were so happy and proud, said Pia Rosvall, Forums marketing manager, of the victory. In May of 2017, Forum will go on to compete for the best shopping center in the Nordic countries.

However, the real reason to visit Forum in December is for that Christmas feeling, as their board put together an incredible visual display that, when combined with the right music, makes the mall into a wonderland of its own. Though Finland may not have a booth where children can meet Santa Claus  for that youd have to visit Rovaniemi  First Christmas decorations are nevertheless breathtaking, as thousands of twinkling lights greet you as you enter the central region of the shopping center, glimmering yellow and gold from every angle, as well as the decorative balls hanging from the ceiling. Shoppers are constantly pausing at the balconies, taking a moment to enjoy the general splendor. The board members of Forum voted for this choice 11-0 when we had three different [options] to choose from, Rosvall explained. The decorations were provided by First Christmas, who also decorate Dubai Mall, one of the largest and most well-known malls in the world.

Currently, Rosvall says that Forums highlights include Finlands first-ever Victoria Secret shop, as well as the Fazer Cafe, the Moomin Shop, Marimekko, among others. When asked what will attract shoppers to Forum as opposed to the other malls in the Helsinki-Espoo-Vantaa region, Rosvall explains: Forum has the best location and its easy to coordinate. We are easy to approach and very friendly. Like a family atmosphere. We are the best!

In fact, if youre looking for a family-friendly environment, Forum may be just the place for you. Not only is the third floor largely dedicated to child-oriented shoppers, but they now have a Moomin-themed play area, in case the kids need a break during their outing. There are seats for nursing, parking spots for strollers, puzzles and colorful decorations on the walls, as well as places to doodle pictures or watch Moomin videos.

Forum is currently partnering with Joulupuu, a charity that involves Helsingin Keskustan Nuorkauppakamari, as well as Helsinki City. This is their thirteenth year, gathering donations from 98 companies to give presents to the poor.
An apprentice butcher who was showing his friends a stun gun while in the car park of a shopping centre did not realise he required a firearms certificate to have it.

Samy Lamari (20), who has no interest in guns, was given the stun gun by a friend who had brought it back from a visit to Spain.

A ballistics report later showed that the stun gun was not charged properly, but gardai were called as Lamari and his friends were observed acting in a suspicious manner.

He was identified on CCTV footage from the shopping centre car park, and when gardai called at his home he made full admissions of being in possession of the stun gun.

Sgt Tony Tighe said Lamari was simply in possession of the firearm but it was not an incident where people were put in fear.

"There was nothing sinister going on. He was simply in poss- ession of the stun gun," he said.

Anxious

Lamari, of Ringfort Avenue, Balrothery, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to unauthorised possession of the stun gun without a firearms certificate.

Defence solicitor Fiona D'Arcy told the court that her client did not realise that having it required a licence issued under the Firearms Act.

"He accepts now that it is a firearms offence but he has no interest in the stun gun," said Ms D'Arcy.

She said Lamari had it in his car and was simply showing it to his friends.

Sgt Tighe agreed with Ms D'Arcy that Lamari was not using the stun gun in a threatening way.

Ms D'Arcy said he has a three-year-old child and is anxious about having a conviction for a firearms offence.

"He sincerely apologises for his actions," she added.

Judge Dermot Dempsey ordered a Restorative Justice Report on Lamari for early next year and said that if it is a positive report and Lamari makes a 300 charitable contribution he may "take a certain course".
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said the criminals behind Ireland's drugs trade are sitting in comfortable houses abroad and don't care who they kill.

He was commenting in the wake of the latest gangland murder, which saw Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan (62), a friend of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, gunned down on Thursday.

Kirwan was shot dead in front of his partner in Ronanstown, west Dublin. It is understood his close friendship with gang boss Hutch was one of the reasons he was a target for the rival Kinahan cartel.

Change

Speaking on RTE Radio 1, the archbishop said he witnessed the rise of the Mafia while living in Italy and it took brave people in the community to come forward with information to make a change.

"They decide to kill these people maybe as an example to others. But they're also flooding our streets with drugs," he said.

Dr Martin said when he goes behind the Pro-Cathedral he sees young people injecting themselves - and it is drugs gangs behind that miserable scene.

"This is the way that these poor people are being led into something that's bigger than themselves," he said.

"In the long term it's people with courage who actually bring about the change," he added, when asked about people who might have information but are too scared to come forward.

"There are ways of contacting the gardai indirectly and all this intelligence is absolutely necessary.

"The gardai will deal with these things very discreetly, I know that," he said.

Meanwhile, the grandfather of innocent murder victim Martin O'Rourke's children has said they face an "uphill battle" after their dad's death.

Senseless

Mr O'Rourke (24) was shot dead on Sheriff Street on April 14, in a case of mistaken identity.

Larry Power, Martin's father-in-law, said the victim's four-year-old daughter, Angela, has been particularly affected by her father's senseless murder.

"When she hears his name it's like her body goes into shutdown," he said.
The country's most elite garda unit will be patrolling the streets of the capital on Christmas Day to prevent any potential gangland shooting.

The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) will be on patrol across the city tomorrow following the latest Hutch/Kinahan feud related murder.

Concerns have been raised that both faction's involved in the bitter feud could attempt a hit on their rivals over the Christmas period.

Members of the heavily armed force were deployed in February following the murders of David Byrne (33) and Eddie Hutch Snr (59) in short succession.

An attachment to the Special Detective Unit (SDU), the ERU are the country's main response to serious armed incidents and terrorist threats.

"The ERU have been on patrol in the capital since February, and have continued to do so in the interim," a source said.

"However, given Thursday's murder the majority of units available will be focusing on keeping a lid on the feud, which unfortunately has reared its ugly head again. This results from the fear of an immediate response, potentially from either side," the source added.

Members of the ERU were on hand for the funeral of Eddie Hutch in February over fears that the service could be targeted. Specially trained marksmen kept watch on rooftops overhead while heavily armed members patrolled the surrounding streets.

It comes as almost 200 gardai are being moved to the SDU and the National Support Services (NSS) in a major move to boost the fight against organised crime.

This week, approximately 180 members of An Garda Siochana were informed that they were selected for the elite unit and other specialist teams.

A source said that the selection process for these units had been "ramped up" in the last 12 months in response to the "current climate".

"The force has made a massive effort to increase the man-power of the national services, and a lot of gardai have been moved to these units.

"They were this week informed of their selection, and will be allocated positions in the New Year.

"It is certainly a much needed boost for the SDU and NSS," the source said.
Gardai at the scene of the latest gun murder in west Dublin

The country's latest gangland victim was murdered after getting involved in a dispute between the Kinahan cartel and their own mob banker.

Noel Kirwan (62) was shot dead in front of his partner outside his home at St Ronan's Drive, west Dublin on Thursday night.

Kirwan was a childhood friend of Gerry Hutch (53), and drove 'The Monk' to the funeral of his brother Eddie Hutch Snr (59) in February.

The Herald can also reveal that a young associate of the murdered man has sworn revenge against his killers.

In the last month, Kirwan attempted to prevent the Kinahan cartel from carrying out an attack on their own gangland banker - who also works for the Hutch mob.

Syndicate

Gardai believe this failed bid to reason with the international crime syndicate is the reason why Kirwan was shot dead.

On November 23, the cartel carried out a shooting on the businessman's home.

Nobody was injured during the gun attack, but gardai believe it was an attempt to seriously harm or kill the gangland banker.

This individual has no previous convictions but is suspected of involvement in the financial aspect of the feuding Hutch and Kinahan gangs.

Following the attack, Noel Kirwan attempted to act as a mediator in a bid to prevent further attacks on his banker pal.

However, the Kinahan cartel were enraged by Kirwan's efforts to protect his associate and hatched a devious plot to murder the 62-year-old.

It has also emerged that Noel Kirwan spent his last hours at the funeral of one of his friends in Finglas. Key to the garda investigation is tracing Kirwan's movements between the funeral and the gun attack in Ronanstown.

Following Thursday's murder, a young associate of Kirwan, distraught by the brutal killing, vowed revenge against the cartel.

Friend

In an ironic twist, it can also be revealed that Noel Kirwan was a close friend of James 'Jaws' Byrne (69) - the father of slain Kinahan gangster David Byrne (33).

A source stated that Kirwan and 'Jaws' had attended several weddings together, and were close friends for several years.

Another son of James Byrne, Liam (36), is a leading member of the Kinahan cartel.

Noel Kirwan (62) was gunned down shortly after 5pm on Thursday evening at St Ronan's Drive in Ronanstown, west Dublin. A lone gunman approached Kirwan as he sat in his Ford Mondeo outside his home.

His partner was in the passenger seat at the time and witnessed the shooting.

Several shots were fired at the victim, including three to his head, before the assailant ran to a waiting van, where an accomplice was waiting to act as a getaway driver.

Kirwan knew his life was in danger and had an elaborate CCTV system installed in his west Dublin home after detectives warned him of the threat.

This threat emanated from Kirwan driving Gerry Hutch to his brother Eddie's funeral in February.

Firearms

It previously emerged that Kirwan's family home in Kilbarrack was targeted by members of the Kinahan cartel in August.

Nicknamed 'Duck Egg', Kirwan had a number of serious brushes with the law and he was previously arrested for firearms offences.

There was shock in Dublin's inner city when it emerged that he had been gunned down.

A former low-level criminal in his younger years, he had turned his back on crime, according to locals.

"He would have grown up with some of the Hutch family, and it is my guess he was murdered because of this. There is no way he should be a target," a source said.

It is understood Kirwan moved to Kilbarrack some years ago and more recently had been living with his partner in Ronanstown.

His father worked in the docks and it is believed Kirwan inherited his father's unusual nickname from him.
The Tunisian man suspected of the deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin was killed in a shootout with police in Milan during a routine patrol, ending a Europe-wide manhunt.

Italian police said Anis Amri travelled from Germany through France and into Italy after the attack.

Expand Close Cristian Movio, the Milan policemen who shot dead the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck attack, was injured in the shootout. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp Cristian Movio, the Milan policemen who shot dead the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck attack, was injured in the shootout. Photo: Reuters

Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni praised the two police officers for their courage in taking down Amri during a routine check of ID papers.

But he also called for greater cross-border police co-operation, suggesting dismay that Amri was able to easily move through Europe's open borders despite being Europe's No. 1 fugitive.

"The person killed, without a shadow of a doubt, is Anis Amri, the suspect of the Berlin terrorist attack," said Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti.

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack outside Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in which a truck plowed into a crowd of shoppers, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others.

Italian officials stressed that the young officers who stopped Amri didn't suspect he was the Berlin attacker, but were suspicious because he was a North African man, alone outside a deserted train station at 3am.

Routine

Amri (24), who had spent time in prison in Italy, was stopped during a routine patrol in the Sesto San Giovanni neighbourhood of Milan early yesterday.

He pulled a gun from his backpack after being asked to show his identification and was killed in an ensuing shootout.

One of the officers, Christian Movio (35), was shot in the right shoulder and underwent surgery for a superficial wound and was in good condition. Movio's 29-year-old partner, Luca Scata, fatally shot Amri in the chest.

Amri arrived by train at Milan's central station, where video surveillance showed him at around 1am on Friday. A train ticket indicates he travelled from Chambery, France through Turin and into Milan, an Italian anti-terrorism official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Amri made his way to the piazza outside the Sesto San Giovanni train station, which is 7.5 kilometres from the main train station.

"It is now of great significance for us to establish whether the suspect had a network of supporters or helpers," said Germany's chief federal prosecutor, Peter Frank.

Video

Prosecutors also want to know whether the gun Amri was carrying in Milan was the same one used to shoot the Polish driver of the truck he had commandeered for the attack, Frank added. The driver was found dead in the vehicle's cab.

In a video released after his death, Amri is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"I call on my Muslim brothers everywhere... Those in Europe, kill the crusader pigs, each person to their own ability," he says in the video posted on Islamic State's Amaq news agency.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has conceded he cannot rule out Ireland being targeted by a terror attack similar to the truck rampage which killed 12 people in Germany.

However, he has rejected a suggestion by a senior Muslim cleric that the Government should regulate Irish mosques as part of an attempt to clampdown on hate-preaching.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, who runs a mosque in Clonee, said the Government needs to have a strategy to monitor levels of radicalisation and an initiative to promote integration.

He called for a Muslim council to regulate mosques and Imams should be required to preach in English. The Taoiseach said he disagreed and insisted Ireland is a country where citizens have freedom of religion and religious practices.

"We respect the right of every religion to preach to its own followers and we expect that preaching to be in accordance with peaceful means and the religious beliefs that people have," he said.

Mr Kenny said gardai and the Defence Forces are "always vigilant" and are taking every precaution to protect Irish citizens from the threat posed by international terrorists.

However, he noted bigger police and security forces in other EU countries have not being able to prevent attacks from radicalised Islamic terror groups.

"You can never rule anything out but we like to think that in this country people are vigilant, that we're careful and we will do everything we can to protect our citizens," he said.

"I hope that nothing like that will happen here. That would apply to any country.

"We are very careful in the alertness of our security forces, gardai and Defence Forces who make every effort possible to see that we are protected," he added.

Avoided

Meanwhile, in a Christmas interview Mr Kenny refused to refute claims by senior Cabinet colleagues he would remain as party leader if a snap general election was called next year.

On all three occasions, the Taoiseach deliberately avoided answering the question and instead said his focus was on the challenges posed by Brexit.

When it was put to him that he was purposely leaving open the possibility of a seeking a third term in office, Mr Kenny said he was "genuinely focused on the challenges ahead".
At the event (Source: VNA)

The two FMs met on the sidelines of the second Foreign Ministers Meeting of Mekong  Lancang Cooperation (MLC) held in Siem Reap, Cambodia from December 22-23

Deputy PM Minh urged continued collaboration in effectively realising agreements and common perceptions of the two countries leaders, towards the healthy and stable development of Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

He asked China to facilitate upcoming high-level visits, take additional measures for more balanced bilateral trade and improve the scale and quality of Chinas investment projects in Vietnam.

The Deputy PM also called for strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture, science-technology, climate change response, research on new rice varieties adaptable to drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta, and establishing a mechanism on the exchange of nuclear safety information.

Speaking highly of the MLC mechanism, Minh suggested relevant agencies of Vietnam and China jointly study the impacts of hydropower dams and proper water release plans while strengthening the harmonious and sustainable use of Mekong River water resources.

On sea-related issues, the Deputy PM requested serious implementation of common perceptions of the two Parties and nations leaders, consistent settlement of the East Sea disputes by peaceful means in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as respect for diplomatic and legal process.

The Vietnamese official urged that the two sides well manage disputes, maintain peace and stability at sea, refrain from actions that complicate the situation and escalate disputes, fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and accelerate work towards completing a Code of Conduct in the East Sea next year.

Wang, for his part, agreed with the Deputy PMs proposed measures to solidify ties, and vowed close coordination to prepare for visits next year.

On the fringes of the MLC meeting, Deputy PM Minh also met with Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith.

They noted the significance of the annual consultation at foreign ministerial-level slated for Laos next year, which they said, would foster trust and effective cooperation between the two ministries in bilateral issues as well as regional and global cooperation mechanisms.

Both sides also agreed on thorough preparations for the 55th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation next year./.
There are also artistic photos on modern beauty and life in Can Tho city at present.

In the framework of the exhibition, 200 photos and objects on southern pottery are also displayed, contributing to popularizing the beauty and culture of pottery, and preserving and promoting national cultural values.

Visitors to the exhibition (Source: cantho.gov.vn)

This activity aims to mark the 72nd founding anniversary of Vietnam Peoples Army (December 22nd) and welcome the Spring.

The exhibition contributes to disseminate and encourage people to be creative in local construction and development.

It will run until April 14th, 2017./.
The children kept asking a logical question in Sunday school, one linked to those Whose birthday is it? appeals voiced by Put Christ back in Christmas activists.

Leaders of Ecclesia Church in Houston were trying to find ways to encourage members to observe the four solemn weeks of Advent. Advent, Latin for toward the coming, precedes the Christmas season itself, which begins on Dec. 25 and lasts for 12 days.

The children pushed this thing to another level, said the Rev. Chris Seay, pastor of this nondenominational flock in the trendy Montrose neighborhood. The church, which draws around 3,000 each weekend, was created by a coalition of Baptists, Presbyterians and others.

The question the children asked, he said, was this: If Christmas is Jesus birthday, then he should get the best gifts, right? ... Once you ask that, it has to affect what we do as a church and what we do as families. If you start thinking that way, it changes just about everything we do at Christmas.

That shift led to efforts  part of a national Advent Conspiracy campaign  to raise money to provide safe water for suffering people around the world. The basic equation: If Americans spend $450 billion a year on Christmas, then why cant believers funnel some of that gift-giving into efforts to save others?

Ecclesia, an urban flock that includes rich and poor alike, is trying to raise about $1 million. That would be 30 percent of its annual budget, noted Seay, a total that will require major changes for many church members. The bottom line: Advent Conspiracy pastors are asking people to find ways to use the four weeks of Advent to prepare for Christmas as a holy day, rather than queuing up for Americas blitz of holiday shopping, partying and decorating.

This also means paying attention to ancient traditions that have shaped the church calendar, if not the shopping mall calendar. Most modern Christians are not used to thinking that way, said Seay.

The key is that the liturgical calendar calls us into the story of Jesus, he said. If you dont take that seriously, youll skip parts of the story. Youll skip Good Friday and rush to Easter. Youll skip Pentecost altogether. Youll rush to Christmas and then collapse. ... We need this discipline. We need ways to control our modern biases.

For some people, that may mean skipping some early- and mid-December office and school parties, said Seay. It may mean using online sites (hello, Pinterest) to create hands-on, less expensive decorations and gifts. For clergy, it may mean daring to schedule Christmas parties and concerts during the actual 12 days of Christmas.

Some people may want to start with digital mixes of traditional Advent music for their cars, stereos and smartphones, said Alexi Sargeant, an editor at the interfaith journal First Things in New York. He keeps adding chants and hymns  from Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox sources  to an online Advent Playlist for those seeking ways to save Christmas music for the Christmas season.

These songs are lovely, but most include images both hopeful and sobering  like the Biblical events that led to Christmas. Consider one favorite, Creator of the Stars of Night, he said. The lyrics include: Jesu, Redeemer, save us all, and hear Thy servants when they call. ... O Thou Whose coming is with dread, to judge and doom the quick and dead, preserve us, while we dwell below, from every insult of the foe.

The bottom line, said Sargeant, is that Americans dont want to have to wait for anything. This means that even the most dedicated of modern Christians may struggle when it comes to preparing for the explosion of joy that is Christmas with what, for many centuries, was Advents season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Its hard to blame anyone for wanting to rush on to get to Christmas, because its a truly great and glorious feast, he said. But the church keeps reminding us that Christmas is not something that we are automatically ready for. We need to go on a journey with Mary and Joseph to get ready for Christmas. Thats a serious message and, quite frankly, we may not want to hear it.
Anti-Semitism on college campuses, driven by a morally obtuse radical chic, has become all too common. But a bill sailing through Congress to fight it presents an even bigger problem.

The legislation, sponsored by Pennsylvanias Bob Casey and South Carolinas Tim Scott, would require the federal Department of Education to adopt a broader definition of anti-Semitism when investigating claims of discrimination. The definitions criteria would include accusing either Jews or Israel of exaggerating the Holocaust, demonizing Israel and applying a double standard to the Jewish state.

Jew-haters certainly do such things. But so do many of Israels legions of critics, some of whom harbor animosity toward the Jewish people and some of whom do not. Either way, demonizing Israel and applying a double standard are protected speech under the First Amendment.

Yet the Casey-Scott bill would make it easier for Jewish groups to file claims alleging a hostile environment on campus, which could trigger federal investigations of BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions), pro-Palestinian and other groups. The result would be a further constriction of already heavily constrained speech on campuses across the U.S.

Most efforts to censor speech at colleges and universities these days comes from the left, which often uses hostile environment complaints as a convenient tactic for silencing others. But fashioning such tactics inevitably makes them available to all sides, not just one - and the inventors of them often wind up on the receiving end as well. Thats one lesson college students should never forget.
Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune (R) welcomes Vo Van Thuong. (Photo: NDO)

The visit was made at the invitation of Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and Head of LPRP Commission for Popularization and Education.

During talks between the two commissions, Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune appreciated the visit by the Vietnamese delegation which he said would contribute to reinforcing and increasing the special relationship between Laos and Vietnam, as well as the cooperation between the two commissions.

The two sides informed each other of the situation of each Party, each country and the relations between the two Parties and two commissions; discussed different measures to enhance the cooperation between the two commissions, stressing cooperation in popularization and education work, social public research, scientific and technological cooperation, and the collection of documents to the work The history of the Vietnam - Laos, Laos -Vietnam special relationship between 1930-2007.

They also agreed to educate cadres, Party members and classes of people, especially the younger generation about the good relationship between the two Parties, States and peoples, as well as the achievements gained during the renewal process; and work closely with each other to celebrate the 55th year since the establishment of diplomatic relations and 40th year since the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty in 2017.

Strict cooperation to effectively carry out agreements reached by the high-ranking leaders of the two Parties and countries was confirmed during the talks. In addition, the two commissions pledged to create favorable conditions for their branches, especially at localities in border areas, to assist each other in realization of the Party resolution in each country, contributing to strengthening and increasing the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.

After the talks, Vo Van Thuong and Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune signed a cooperation deal between the two commissions for the 2016-2021 period./.
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.
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the
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Thousands of Indians have been waiting ages for medical science to find cures for dreaded ailments such as cancer and AIDS, but if the ayurvedic practitioners at this MP government-promoted event are to be believed, they neednt have looked beyond their own backyard.

A van mela organised by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government to promote ayurveda has guaranteed 100% cures for fatal diseases that have foxed scientists for decades. Whats more, these treatments cost just a few thousands, as opposed to the astronomical sums people shell out to get a new lease of life.

However, not everybodys impressed. Sceptics accuse the government of promoting quackery by allowing vaidyas who make impossible claims participate in the mela. Last years event had several stalls where such practitioners offered medicines allegedly capable of changing the gender of an unborn child.

A workshop on minor forest produce and livelihood was held at the ayurveda fair.

A ground check by an HT team found that the situation hasnt changed a lot since then.

Vaidya Sonu Singh, a disciple of Vaidya Mangal Baba of Dewas, claimed Ayurvedic medicine is so powerful that it can cure the root cause of AIDS and cancer.

Nirvashi Jadi (a herb), which is exclusively cultivated in the forests of Satpura in Panchmari, can cure any type of cancer. Its not expensive. A single dose of a medicine that contains Nirvashi costs Rs 900, and four doses are enough to cure the most critical case, he said.

Singh also said he possessed a miracle drug for AIDS that cost just Rs 1,600.

Another vaidya, known only as Pratap, claimed he was capable of reviving a person on the verge of death due to multiple organ failure with a herbal concoction called kalp chikitsa. Ayurveda believes prevention is better than cure. The regular use of a medicine made of turmeric and gau mutra (cow urine) will ensure that one never suffers from tumours or cancer, he said.

Vaidya PK Pagre, on the other hand, said he specialises in genetic diseases such as sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia. My daughter used to suffer from sickle cell anaemia, but I successfully cured her. I have cured over half a dozen patients till now. After being treated by me, they dont need to undergo blood transfusions anymore. Once, I even cured a woman of breast cancer without subjecting her to surgery, he added.

Pagre provided the phone numbers of a few patients he had treated. However, all the calls made by HT went unanswered.

Herbs they mention can only provide some relief

Dr Vivek Sharma, professor at the Pandit Khushilal Ayurvedic Government Hospital, denied the existence of ayurvedic medicines that can cure diseases like AIDS and cancer. I have learnt ayurveda from various books, including the Charak Samhita. No cure for such diseases is mentioned in any of these books. Ayurvedic medicines can improve the patients quality of life, but cant cure diseases of this sort. The herbs they mention can only provide some relief.

The forest department, which is organising the fair, said they would take strict action against vaidyas who make false claims. We had made the vaidyas give an undertaking that they will not misguide people with false claims. We will check it. If they are found guilty, we will cancel their registration as vaidyas, said forest department managing director Jabbar Hassan.
The income tax department, probing a suspected money-laundering racket across the country, has seized documents relating to several accounts opened since 2009 at an Axis Bank branch in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh.

A team of income tax sleuths from Jabalpur seized the documents from the branch during a three-day survey that ended on Thursday, department sources in Bhopal said on Friday.

The seizure will boost investigations, which started with an I-T department search at towns, such as Satna, Jabalpur and Katni, in March this year.

Investigations till now have established that the suspected money-laundering racket, involving over 300 businessmen from Madhya Pradesh and outside, is at least worth 500 crore, said a senior I-T department official in Bhopal.

The official said Katni was the hub of the suspected money-laundering racket that benefited businessmen from Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, and other parts of the state.

Around 100 accounts opened in banks (particularly the Axis Bank at Katni) since 2009 in the name of bogus firms, below poverty line card holders and other fictitious entities have been used to park black money.

The Katni police have registered criminal cases in the matter. Manvendra Mistry who with aide Ravi Prajapti played a key role in opening the accounts is absconding, police sources in Katni told HT.

Three businessmen -- Naresh Poddar, Naresh Barman and Manish Saraogi -- were found to be behind the suspected money-laundering racket, but more skeletons are likely to tumble out of the closet following seizure of the documents from the Katni Axis Bank branch, the I-T department official added.

The Hindustan Times had in August and September exclusively reported about the possibility of a big money-laundering racket, which used documents of BPL card holders and bogus companies to open accounts in banks in Katni, a business centre owing to coal and mineral operations, for parking black money.
The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday effected a major reshuffle at the upper echelons of the medical education department soon after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan conducted a surprise inspection at Hamidia Hospital, the teaching facility of the Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal.

Additional chief secretary (medical education) Prabhanshu Kamal and dean of the GMC Dr Ulka Shrivastava are among those shunted, according to a government communique. Department sources, however, said even director of medical education GS Patel has been shifted.

Patel, however, told HT he was not aware of his transfer.

The government appointed Manish Rastogi as commissioner (medical education). This is the first time Madhya Pradesh will have a commissioner in the department.

PS health given interim charge of ACS medical education

Principal secretary health and family welfare Gauri Singh has been given the interim charge of ACS Medical Education.

Sources said chief minister was so upset on seeing the mismanagement at the hospital that barely an hour after he left the institution the transfer orders were issued.

Chouhan with a patient at Hamidia hospital. (HT photo)

The hospital hit the headlines a couple of days ago when media highlighted an incident of rodents gnawing on the body of an old woman. The dead was identified as Gulab Bai (60), who used to stay under a shed erected by an NGO Share and Care. After the media reports, the NGO was asked to vacate the hospital premises.

Union minister of state for health and family welfare Faggan Singh Kulaste had downplayed the incident saying in Mandla on Thursday, Its a crime to kill rats and no one has control over rodents.

Chouhan inspected the emergency unit, outpatient department (OPD), ICU ward and medical store. He also asked patients if they got free medicines on regular basis.

Tender of agency appointed for cleaning hospital premises cancelled

Chouhan also cancelled the tender of the agency appointed for cleaning the hospital premises after seeing the dirt and mess there.

He directed divisional commissioner and collector Bhopal to study the problems afflicting the Hamidia hospital and prepare a report.

The CM inspected the medicine distribution centre and stock register at the Hamidia hospital.

The chief minister stressed on the need to bring about massive changes in the administrative mechanism of the hospital to provide better treatment to the patients, said a government press release.

Sources said chief minister was already upset with the ACS and the DME for the chaotic situation and alleged mismanagement during the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) counselling held at the GMC for admission to MBBS and dental courses recently.
Since November-8 demonetization of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, income tax (I-T) departments crackdowns on black money hoarders in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have led to the unearthing of undeclared income of Rs 80 crore.

According to I-T principal director (investigation) of MP and Chhattisgarh RK Paliwal, as many as 84 search and survey actions and seizure of unaccounted cash through intercepts by police led to surrender of this huge undisclosed income in just over a month, which is equivalent to 35% of the Rs 229 crore surrendered during I-T departments searches at 15 business establishments in both states between April 1 and November 7 this year.

Out of these 84 actions, eight matters of suspected money laundering (in Bhopal and Indore) were referred to the enforcement directorate for further action, added Paliwal.

A total of 11 business groups were searched after demonetization and it led to the seizure of Rs 1.78 crore cash in old and existing currency notes and jewellery worth Rs 51 lakh.

Besides, at least 49 business establishments were surveyed in different cities of the two states leading to seizure of undeclared income of Rs 52 crore. Those business establishments included 24 jewelry houses (eight each in Bhopal and Indore), nine builders and 16 other businesses, including caterers, private hospitals and even grocery traders.

The I-T department also seized Rs 9.39 crore, including Rs 2.17 crore in Rs 500 and Rs 2000 new currency notes after getting tip-offs from state police, special task force team and intelligence agencies through timely intercepts.

Meanwhile, a day-long I-T departments search at the house and office of one private money lender, Anil Kumar Motwani, in Raipur on Thursday led to the surrender of undisclosed income of Rs 10 crore, besides the seizure of Rs 70 lakh, including Rs 43 lakh in Rs 500 and Rs 2000 new currency notes.
Mumbai

Like every festival, television actors look forward to Christmas every year and celebrate it with gusto. From Santa Claus, gifts and Christmas tree decorations to traditional lunches and big dinner parties, they pull out all the stops so they can enjoy and celebrate the spirit of the festival. We talk to a few actors from the small screen about their plans for Christmas.

Jennifer Winget will be celebrating Christmas at her new place in Goa.

Jennifer Winget

Every year, my dad, brother and I used to decorate the house and the tree. I remember buying new clothes and being excited about midnight mass. I would also go carol-singing, and gorge on sweets that my grandma made. We all looked forward to the Christmas lunch. This year, Ill be celebrating Christmas at my new place in Goa with some of my close friends. We will put up our tree and decorate the house with wreaths, hollies, candy canes and mistletoe.

Karan Wahi loves to celebrate every festival.

Karan Wahi

We celebrate every festival, including Ganesh Chaturthi, Navrati and Christmas, as we like the festivities and the spirit each occasion has. Like every festival, we will have a small celebration at home for Christmas. Some friends and family will come home for a cozy dinner as well.

Adaa Khan will visit the Mount Mary Church with my friends on Christmas.

Adaa Khan

Every year, Christmas means visiting Mount Mary Church with my friends, eating cakes and visiting friends. I live in Bandra, so going to the church is a ritual. Visiting church at night is one of the best parts of the festival. Decorated Christmas trees cheer me up, and I feel like celebrating Christmas till New Year.

Nakuul Mehta has a six-foot-tall Christmas tree which he decorates with his wife.

Nakuul Mehta

I was fascinated by the idea of Santa Claus and Christmas presents as a child. My aunt used to set up a Christmas tree in our ancestral home in Udaipur, Rajasthan, and we grew up on tales of Santa and reindeer. However, now, we have our own six-foot-tall Christmas tree, which Jankee (Parekh Mehta; wife) and I decorate every year. We look forward to our Christmas Eve parties, which are slowly becoming a tradition, just like Aamirs (Khan) films. There is a lot of plum cake and wine, and usually one of us dresses up as Santa and spreads some good cheer.

Deepika Singh waits for gifts every year.

Deepika Singh

I have always loved Christmas as a festival, as I love Santa Claus. I wait for gifts every year, and I get many from my friends. This year, we have a well-decorated Christmas tree, and will have friends coming over. As I am on a break, I will look after everything for the party.

Karishma Kotak is spending Christmas with family in Paris.

Karishma Kotak

Christmas came early for me this year. Ive planned a trip to Paris (France), so Im spending Christmas with family there. Later, I will be in London, (UK) with my brother, mother and friends.

Ridhima Pandit decorates a Christmas tree every year at her home.

Ridhima Pandit

Ive enjoyed Christmas since I was a kid, and I continue to love the fun, food, games and gifts. I decorate a Christmas tree every year at home and have gifts for my nephew. I might be working on Christmas day, but will I surely celebrate later.
This Christmas is special for actor Maniesh Paul. He became father to a baby boy, Yuvann, in June, and is excited about celebrating his first Christmas by dressing him as Santa Claus. The actor will also play secret Santa to his five-year-old daughter, Saisha, who has been writing letters to Santa Claus, asking for gifts.

I am definitely going to dress my son like Santa. Ive already arranged the dress, but my wife has been telling me not to put a beard. But Ill definitely do something with cotton at least, he laughs.

Revealing what he plans to gift his daughter, he says,  She likes hair clips, bands etc. She loves music too. Last year, I gave her a guitar and this year she is after Santas life for a piano and shes been writing letters too. Also, theres a very specific demand for a silver dress with blue flowers. Thats something I couldnt find, so I have got it made especially for her, shares the 35-year-old , adding that his daughter loves to decorate the Christmas tree. Shes very good at painting and colouring, so she decorates with her own handmade cards.

Honestly, Ive never followed this tradition that Christmas or New Year has to be in Goa, and wed always fly to some foreign locale.

Besides the surprises planned for his kids, the actor is off to Goa for a family holiday to celebrate Christmas. Honestly, Ive never followed this tradition that Christmas or New Year has to be in Goa, and wed always fly to some foreign locale , but Yuvann is too small to take longer flights, so we decided Goa was the closest we could do, he says.

The actor, however, isnt complaining because his friends have decided to fly to Mumbai after celebrating Christmas in Goa. All of them are going to come to my house and it is going to be the party place till the New Year.

Recounting childhood memories of Christmas , Maniesh shares how there used to be excitement about Santas visit and he would be thrilled to get new gifts every year. I remember once I wanted a guitar because my school teacher told me that hell teach me only if I have a good guitar. My father said hell get me one, but I wanted to ask Santa. I wrote letters, so I could show it to my teacher that Santa got me the guitar.

Who is that one person hed like to turn Secret Santa for? Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. And I would give him a great, healthy life. But more than giving him, I would want to be around him to see where he gets this never-ending energy from.

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Actor Ali Fazal who was busy with his Hollywood debut in London, is back in India. He is now occupied with shooting the sequel to Fukrey (2013).

Despite his hectic schedule, the actor decided to take a break and surprise his school teacher on his birthday a few days back.

I knew sirs birthday was coming up, so I requested my team to give me a couple of days off from work. He has been a strong influence in my life and meeting him on the special day was very important for me, says Fazal, who studied in Doon School, Dehradun.

The two celebrated his birthday together and remembered Fazals student days.

I went to Dehradun just to make him smile and his reaction after seeing me was totally worth it. You can travel the world but actual happiness comes when people who mean a lot to you are happy. We sat down and remembered the golden days of our school. It was an amazing trip down the memory lane for both of us, he says.

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Shareholders of Tata Chemicals voted out Nusli Wadia as an independent director of the company with 75.67% votes going in favour of a resolution moved by Tata Sons to remove him at the companys EGM on Friday.

According to a regulatory filing by Tata Chemicals, out of the total of 25.48 crore shares of the company, 14.91 crore shares were voted. Out of this, 11.28 crore were in favour of the resolution to remove him.

The company said 3.62 crore votes, accounting for 24.33% of votes polled, were against his removal.

Tata Chemicals also said the shareholders have approved a resolution to appoint Bhaskar Bhat as a director of the company with 79.26% of votes going in his favour.

It further said the shareholders have also approved the appointment of S Padmanabhan as director of the company with 89.29% voting in favour of a resolution for his appointment.

Tata Chemicals had last month issued notice for an extraordinary general meeting of the companys shareholders to discuss a resolution moved by Tata Sons to remove Cyrus Mistry, ousted chairman of Tata Sons, and Wadia as directors.

Mistry resigned from listed Tata firms ahead of EGMs.

Wadia, who has been an independent director at Tata Chemicals for 35 years, has already filed a criminal defamation suit against Tata Sons, its interim chairman Ratan Tata and some directors for alleged defamatory and offending contents in a special resolution moved to seek his removal from three Tata Group firms.

He has denied allegations that he was galvanising independent directors and mobilising opinion, forcing disruptions and issuing statement which is contrary to the interests of the company.
Ukraine and Spain are developing bilateral cooperation in the space sector and preparing a program of partnership in the field of Earth remote sensing (RS).

The press service of the State Space Agency of Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine the plan of development of long-term partnership is stipulated in the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the space sector signed by the State Space Agency of Ukraine and Spain's ELECNOR Deimos.

The arrangements fixed in the document provide, inter alia, for the joint development of systems and Earth observation means, sharing space and ground-based remote sensing segments, cooperation in the field of commercial use of remote sensing technologies.

Among the promising areas of partnership is also the creation of launch systems, space control, satellite navigation, scientific research, and satellite communications.

The Ukrainian delegation also included representatives of Pivdenne design bureau and Spetstechnoexport.

Spain's ELECNOR Deimos specializes in design and development of technological solutions and system integration in the aerospace and transportation sectors, information and communication technologies. The company has a great potential in the development of satellite systems.
A senior citizen in Jharkhands Latehar district had to raise money from neighbours and acquaintances to cremate his wife after his bank turned down his request for a cash withdrawal.

Juel Kujur, a retired government employee in his late eighties in Birshrampur village, 180 km from the state capital, wanted to withdraw Rs 10,000 for the last rites of his wife Heeramani Kujur (82) who died Thursday morning.

Kujur along with his nephew had reached the State Bank of India branch at Mahuadand to withdraw the money. When the cashier refused to make full payment, I went to the manager and narrated the entire situation but he asked me to take a maximum of Rs 4,000. I had no option but to toe his line, Kujur said.

The duo then returned to the village and informed the locals about the problem. The villagers then collected donations among themselves to meet the deficit. The village has a population of 600.

An upset Kujur said, I earlier sought loan from my neighbours, but they were also short of cash. Why should we have deposits in bank accounts when we cannot withdraw money to meet our needs?

I will return their money whenever I get cash, said the senior citizen who served in Palamu district with revenue department.

The villagers also decried the prevailing situation in Mahuadand region that has only one branch. The banks did not make full payments in Mahuadand and Garu citing liquidity cruch even before the recent demonetisation drive, pointed out Krishna Gupta, a veteran journalist and social worker.

SBI Mahudand manager Manoj Kumar Sinha told local reporters on Thursday, Kujur could not be paid Rs 10,000 as the branch didnt possess enough cash.

Lead bank district manager Nirad Kumar of the SBI underlined that branches did not get enough money to make full payments

The situation is likely to improve after March. However, the people should presently focus more on cashless transactions to evade hardships, Kumar said.
The Panna Reserve Forest in Madhya Pradesh is easily one of Indias best tiger reserves. I have been there a couple of times but it was only during a recent visit that I had the opportunity to visit a British-era dam built on the River Ken that flows through the forests. The interesting aspect of the structure is that you can enter its belly and walk from one end to the other. The walk is delightful: One can hear the water crossing the barrier and falling on the other side, and also watch the non-stop water curtains through its windows.

At one end of the tunnel is a plaque with some details about the Gangau Dam and Reservoir, which was built in 1915 by Messrs Ford and Macdonald Ltd. There are a few other details on it: The names of the construction agent, the chief engineer, executive engineer, the supervisor and other who built the structure. While we were reading the names, a colleague commented: No names of politicians, can you believe it? I couldnt. It was incredible indeed; in India, we seldom see structures that have the names of those who toiled to build it; it is always a bureaucrat or a politician who runs away with the honours, making sure that people feel indebted to them forever.

This desire to make people feel indebted to the politician surges before elections: For example, look at whats happening in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Recently, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav launched 5,500 projects in six hours in a bid to woo voters. Among the projects he launched --- his name will etched on the plaques for sure --- there are schools, bridges, mandis, roads etc.

A few days later, several newspapers carried an advertisement issued by the Uttar Pradesh government, announcing a 382-km six-lane expressway, the longest in the country (until now the Lucknow-Agra expressway is the longest), which will pass through Azamgarh, Mulayams parliamentary constituency, to reach Ballia, on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border.

Read: Ruling Samajwadi Party showers poll sops on Ghaziabad and Hapur

In Punjab, things are no different: In one week, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal doled out Rs 40-crore developmental grants during his favourite sangat darshan exercise in three reserved segmentsNabha, Chamkaur Sahib and Bassi Pathanawhere the party has fielded fresh faces.

Almost every week, the Badal cabinet is meeting and taking plethora of populist decisions. Sources say every financial resource is being squeezed, including loans from banks. The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, that funds most of Badals pet projects sought the nod for more loans stating that its financial health had collapsed. This carpet bombing of sorts (read inauguration spree) is aimed at building positive public perception and deflecting negative public opinion, an aide of Sukhbir Badal told HT.

Read: Poll pitch: Badal govt takes please-all route with sops

Last week, the chief ministers daughter inaugurated Rs 102-crore bridge over the Sutlej river in Tarn Taran. The construction of the bridge, which links Tarn Taran and Ferozpur districts and lessens the distance between many areas of Majha and Malwa regions, began in 2011. Its foundation stone was laid by Badal Senior, with an eye on the 2012 assembly elections. It was to be completed within two years. However, even after more than five years, the project is still incomplete. Then, of course, the queen of pre-poll gifts to voters was the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa: From mixer-grinder to free phones to free gold, Ammas kitty had it all.

Read: Jaya back to rebuilding brand value in TN with proposed Amma Bazaars

The excessive use of freebies has even led the Supreme Court (the judgment in S. Subramaniam Balaji vs Government of Tamil Nadu & Others on July 5, 2013) to intervene and ask the Election Commission to frame rules regarding what political parties can promise in their manifestos.

Do these freebies work? Its unclear. A research by the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, US, shows that these policies have little effect either on voter turnout or on support for a party. First, if populism (quotas or freebies) won elections, incumbent parties and their candidates would be less likely to lose, argues the study. There is overwhelming evidence that suggests that incumbents face a big disadvantage in India, that is, their chances of re-election are lower than non-incumbents.

Despite there being no definite link between freebies and wins, sops have become are part and parcel of Indian elections. But what I find devious and extremely self-centred of politicians is the manner in which they hold on to critical infrastructure projects till the end because they want to reap poll benefits. These projects --- bridges, schools, roads --- shouldnt be even called sops because they are actually necessities and shouldnt be put on hold for any reason.

Isnt it sad that instead of building school infrastructure as and where required with the education cess you and I pay, politicians use them as carrots for votes?

The way politicians hand out these crucial development projects, which should have been done elections or no elections, only goes to show that India has a long way to go before becoming a democracy in letter and spirit, free and fair polls notwithstanding.

With politicians/State, we still continue to have a patron-client relationship.

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A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a case of allegedly giving false information in an affidavit filed in the run up to 2013 Assembly polls.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ashish Gupta granted the relief to Kejriwal, who appeared in court in pursuance to its direction, on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and posted the matter for next hearing on April 7, 2017.

The court had on August 31 exempted the CM from appearance for one day while directing him to personally appear before it today, considering that bail proceedings were pending.

Kejriwal was allowed exemption by the court on the ground that he could not appear due to exigencies of work and some important meetings and discharge of his duties.

The court had summoned Kejriwal in February this year on a criminal complaint filed by Neeraj Saxena and Anuj Agarwal on behalf of the NGO, noting that the politician had prima facie willfully concealed and suppressed his details in 2013 elections.

It had noted that there was sufficient ground to proceed against him on allegations that he had concealed his correct address and suppressed the market value of his property in his affidavit to the Election Commission.

Earlier, the NGO had approached Delhi High Court with a plea seeking quashing of Kejriwals nomination papers on the ground of illegalities in his affidavit.

High Court had refused to entertain the plea and directed the petitioners to approach a magisterial court for remedy.

The NGO in its petition before the high court had alleged that Kejriwal had violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act by submitting an affidavit which had incorrect details of his assets and income at the time of filing of the nomination.

The offence under section 125-A of the Act entails a punishment of six months jail term and/or fine or both.

The complaint was filed under several sections of RP Act and IPC for the alleged offences committed by him before holding the office of the Chief Minister of Delhi.

The complaint alleged that Kejriwal falsely gave his Delhi address so as to qualify for contesting polls in the capital though he was living at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

This prima facie amounted to willful concealment, suppression and furnishing of false information, it was claimed.
The Delhi government will invite fresh applications for guest teaching positions in its school and will appoint teachers based on merit.

The governments move is a change of stance as it had earlier allowed the already employed guest teachers to continue in the last two years.

The move comes two days after a group of guest teachers protested against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at a government function. The function was organised to announce measures taken by the government for the benefit of guest teachers, that included 40-90% hike in their salaries.

The government is doing so much for the guest teachers and yet the teachers are playing politics. They did chakka jam outside the venue. This move will send a signal to teachers that this kind of politics will not be tolerated, sources said.

The government will invite applications in March 2017 for the next academic session. Principals feedback will also be taken while hiring the teachers, said sources.

After it came to power in 2015, the government ordered continuation of existing teachers, who were engaged in 2014, and the same teachers have been teaching in schools till now.

Earlier, guest teachers were employed for 10 months every year. They had to apply afresh the next year. The government stopped that system and allowed them to continue. But a small group of politically motivated guest teachers are holding these protests, sources said.

Recently, the CM had announced that around 16,000 guest teachers will now get an increased fixed monthly salary instead of daily wages.

He said that teachers who have cleared the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) will receive a 90% hike while those who have not will receive a 44% hike. Out of the 15,678 teachers teaching in over 1,100 government schools, 12,048 teachers have cleared the CTET.

At present guest teachers get daily wages in the range of Rs 700-900 per day and have no weekly offs. Assistant primary teachers will now get a monthly salary of R 32,200, TGT teachers will get R 33,120 and PGT teachers will get R 34,100.

The file has been sent to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for his approval.

Sources said the government is also contemplating to hire around 9,500 teachers through Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB).

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Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare has hit out at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for not fulfilling the promise of putting his partys donor list in public domain.

The criticism comes at a time when the AAP has been questioning the Congress and the BJP over their source of funding.

In a letter to Kejriwal, dated December 23, the veteran social activist, who is also a father-like figure for Kejriwal, took a dig at the Delhi chief minister and said if change has to be brought into the system, then the leadership should walk the talk.

For the betterment of country and the society, I kept aside several important works related to people in Maharashtra and gave you my time without any selfish interest and dreamt big for the country. But my dream has been shattered, Hazare, who along with Kejriwal led the anti-corruption crusade by India against Corruption in 2011, wrote in his letter.

The letter referred to Munish Raizada, a US-based medico and suspended AAP member, pointing out that donor records have gone off the party website since June 2016. Raizada launched a no chanda (no donation) satyagraha at Raj Ghat on Saturday.

Read: Kejriwal is taking right steps, says Anna Hazare

AAPs national treasurer Raghav Chadha, however, claimed at a press conference that Hazare was being misled by Congress leaders on the issue while the BJP is using state agencies to threaten its donors.

The AAP has been challenging the Congress and BJP to come out clean on their source of funding. Repeating the party stand on Saturday, Chadha challenged BJP president Amit Shah and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to come out clean on party donors and have a debate on the issue at Jantar Mantar.

It has been widely reported that the AAP gets 92% of its donations through banks. Details of the rest 8% is also provided to the banks. On the contrary, 70% of donations to BJP come through unknown sources. Congress receives 80% of its donations through unknown sources. People whose names have figured in Swiss bank lists give donations to these parties, Chadha said.

On the issue of removing details of donors from partys website, the AAP leader said it has been done as the BJP was harassing the donors by using state agencies.
Two weeks after a 15-year-old girl accused a 35-year-old builder and his four friends of allegedly raping and blackmailing her over a period of four months in south Delhis Jamia Nagar, the police on Saturday arrested the builder from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. The other four men are still at large.

The arrest of Sajid Khan came hours after the girls mother was shot at allegedly by two unidentified bike-borne men, some distance away from her home in Jamia Nagar. The police are probing Sajids role in the firing, though they believe that he was not present at the spot when the woman was shot at.

The 47-year-old woman was on her way to a local hospital with her daughter at the time of the crime. Two bullets were fired on them. One of the rounds brushed against the womans hip. She was admitted to AIIMS and is undergoing treatment, said police.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal visited the woman at AIIMS on Friday and said the womens panel will set up a committee to look into the incident.

RP Upadhyay, joint commissioner of police (southeastern range), said that Sajid was the main accused in the gang rape case and was absconding since the FIR was registered. Our teams were working on the case and collecting information about the suspects after the FIR was registered. Six raids were made over the past two weeks to nab them, said Upadhyay.

On Friday, DCP (southeast) Romil Baaniya said, the investigating team received inputs about Sajids movements in Bijnor. A team was immediately dispatched.

Raids were conducted at his possible hideouts and he was finally caught in the evening. We have brought him to Delhi and are interrogating him. He has confessed to having raped the minor girl, added Baaniya.

Sources said Sajid has denied his role in attack on the girls mother. Senior police officer said that they have identified the men who fired at the woman. Raids are on to nab them. They will be caught soon, added Baaniya.

The sexual assault on the girl first took place in July 2016 when Sajid allegedly raped her in his flat. She met him through her classmate. Sajid also made an MMS clip of the sexual assault and used it to blackmail her.
The police team investigating the gang rape case of a US woman has consulted a team of psychiatrists and psychologists from RML hospital who counselled the victim after the incident.

A senior police officer, who refused to be named, said the doctors at RML were consulted because there were some contradictions in the womans statement.

On Thursday, the psychologists met her for around 45 minutes and the psychiatrists for 15 minutes.

The officer claimed they are yet to get a report from the doctors.

We contacted a woman in the tour group who in her statement denied knowing about any such incident having taken place. The victim had alleged she was drugged and raped. She realized this afterwards. We are working round-the-clock to identify the men and gather evidence but we are also probing if she was hallucinating, the officer said.

While police have identified a few suspects and are questioning them on a daily basis, no formal arrests have been made in the case so far. The womans statement has been recorded before a judicial magistrate, which is admissible as evidence in a court of law. Police sources said the investigating team is gathering evidence to link the men to the incident.

The womans lawyer Mritunjay Kumar, however, denied suggestions that the woman might have been hallucinating and said that she had not changed a word in her statement since day one.

The case is being monitored by the deputy commissioner of police and other senior officers of the New Delhi district. Sources said as the victim was a US citizen, the top brass of Delhi Police have been regularly asking for a status reports from the investigating officers.

Multiple objects inserted in her private parts

The woman, in her FIR, has detailed the alleged brutal assault by the five men inside a hotel room. Sources said the woman in her statement has claimed that the five men inserted multiple foreign objects inside her private parts and assaulted her. She said she was constantly drugged and raped inside the hotel room for two days.

The 25-year-old woman had come to the capital for a second time on Monday. She had earlier contacted the US embassy who helped her with an accommodation in the city.
Giving puberty lessons and free sanitary products may help improve girls attendance levels at schools, especially in developing countries, a new study has found.

The trial carried out by Oxford University in the UK involved 1,000 girls at eight schools in Uganda.

Researchers found that in the two schools where sanitary pads or puberty education were not provided, over 18 months levels of absenteeism among girls were 17% higher, on average, compared with schools where girls received pads, education, or a combination of both.

This amounts to the equivalent of nearly three and a half days of school a month, researchers said. The paper led by Professor Paul Montgomery, from the University of Oxford, focuses on how puberty can have negative effects on a girls education they are given help on how to manage periods and the bodily changes.

Researchers used a randomised trial to see whether absenteeism levels improved if girls were given reusable pads, puberty classes, or combinations of both and compared this approach with one where they had no intervention at all.

All the schools were in the Kamuli district, one of the poorest, rural areas of Uganda, which is reported to have high dropout rates, and some of the highest illiteracy and fertility rates in the world.

It is a district where, according to official government data, only 54% of girls at the local secondary schools are able to read, compared with 69% of boys.

The findings of this study which show the positive effects of such interventions echo an earlier pilot study in Ghana, also carried out by Oxford University researchers.

Previous studies have already found that menstruation is viewed widely in developing countries as embarrassing, shameful and dirty; being unable to stay clean is one of the main reasons why girls stay away from their lessons.

Most of the women and girls in Uganda rely on absorbent cloth during their periods, but it is sometimes difficult for them to source enough clean material for this use, researchers said.

The girls also often find the cloth is not sufficiently absorbent and difficult to secure in underwear, or to change and clean, he said.

Many girls dont know about periods before they encounter their first one, said Paul Montgomery, from the Universitys Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention.

Just by giving girls lessons in puberty or a sanitary pad means they were more likely to stay at school during their periods, minimising the risk of disruption to their schooling, said Montgomery.

Simple interventions like these can have major long-term economic implications for women in low and middle income countries, which socially empowers them, he said.

There have been considerable improvements across the globe in driving up school enrolment levels, particularly at primary level, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The state-level committee formed by the Haryana government to decide the fate of Kingdom of Dreams (KoD) has sought the financial details of their entire operations, including fund flow and state of cash flow.

The committee was formed after the KoD management approached the Government of India for support and the Union tourism ministry asked Haryana government to come up with measures that could help in revival of KoD as a cultural destination. The three-member committee comprises two additional state chief secretaries, Rajan Gupta and Sanjeev Kaushal, and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation managing director, Sudhir Rajpal.

The committee, which met on Wednesday in Chandigarh, has decided to analyse the financial status and operational structure of KoD before making its recommendations to the state government.

KoD, operated by Great Indian Nautanki Company, is spread over 6 acres in Sector 29 and is a major cultural attraction.

The committee, in its meeting, discussed the various scenarios that could occur and the turnaround strategy that would best suit this cultural project. The decision will be taken only on merit and there is a general consensus that the urban authority should not suffer any revenue loss, a senior government official said. He, however, admitted that the government wanted to revive KoD as it had become a cultural landmark, which invited visitors from across NCR and even from other states.

KoD has been in the doldrums due to non-payment of lease dues to Huda, which amounts to 42 crore. The government and Huda have been facing stringent criticism from activists, who allege that KoD is being given preferential treatment.

However, Huda officials denied the allegations and said that it is up to the state government to take the decision, following the recommendations of the committee formed for the purpose. Decisions taken by the state government on the recommendations of the high-level committee will be implemented by Huda, Yashpal Yadav, Huda administrator, said.

Anumod Gagan Sharma, managing director of KoD, said, We are ready with financial documents and will submit the same at the next meeting.

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A favourite concern for tea enthusiasts is wondering where they should draw the line; how many cups a day is acceptable  both socially and chemically. While there is no concrete answer to this question, there have been numerous studies that peg the sweet spot between 4-6 cups.

A lot of it depends on your bodys tolerance for certain chemicals found in tea and the amount of flourides and caffeine your body allows.

If you have a low tolerance for flourides, youll be fine as long as you are consuming loose leaf teas and not instant mixes or teabags.

A 2013 review of several studies found green tea helped prevent a range of heart-related issues, from high blood pressure to congestive heart failure. It has also been proved to help block the formation of plaques linked to Alzheimers disease.

A study published by the Harvard Medical School found that tea, especially green tea, does have several substances that lower the risk for heart disease, cancer, and other related health problems.

One study found that even up to 3 cups of tea a day led to a 4.6% decrease in the chances of developing a heart disease. Dr Zuo Feng Zhang, a cancer epidemiology researcher at UCLA, and the University of Maryland Medical Centre, recommends two to three teacups a day, according to a report in POPSUGAR.

According to WedMD, these are the benefits of drinking green tea:

1. Less weight and fat gain: Among mice with an obesity gene, those that ate chow laced with green tea extract gained less weight and less fat.

2. Less fat in the liver: There was less sign of fatty liver disease in the mice with the obesity gene that ate chow laced with green tea extract.

3. Lower cholesterol: Cholesterol and triglyceride levels in obese mice that ate the chow laced with green tea extract were considerably lower compared to other mice with the same obesity gene.

Many researchers however draw the upper limit at 10 cups a day. So now you know where to draw the limit.

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About UAH 8 bln of state budget saved in 2016 due to ProZorro - Groysman

About UAH 8 billion of funds from the national budget were saved in 2016 thanks to the ProZorro e-procurement system, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has stated.

"If to talk about figures, this year we have saved UAH 8 billion," he said during a meeting with students of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

The premier noted Ukrainian business is stimulated, corruption schemes are eliminated due to open trading through the electronic system, while savings can be used for other needs of the state.
Bensie wont bark. Not when a journalist and photographer enter the kennels late at night. Not when other dogs are barking up a storm. Bensie sits perfectly still, her eyes on us. Shell bark only on her handlers command.

The shiny black 10-month-old Labrador is training to be a tracker. Four months from now, when she starts following suspicious scents through forests, army camps and battle zones, India will be grateful for her silence. Barking alerts the enemy, says her handler, Selva Kumar, a soldier with the South Bengal Frontier of Indias Border Security Force (BSF). Were teaching her to signal us by sitting, facing the source of the scent, he says. If she does her job well, she could save the lives of our entire platoon.

Queena hugs her handler Naresh Kaushik after a hard day of work and play. This tracker is hardworking, but greedy for affection and snacks, says Kaushik, grinning. He, in turn, loves her kajal-rimmed eyes. (Kunal Patil/HT Photos )

Bensie is part of a six-month training programme at the BSFs National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD) in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh. The centre, established in 1970 with 20 canines, is now Indias busiest school for dogs in official service.

More than 130 of them  each with an assigned handler  are currently learning how to patrol with the infantry, track a scent, sniff out explosives and narcotics, detect mines, or search and rescue . Theyll eventually join our paramilitary forces, airport security, forest guards and state police.

Are you going Awww already? Watch the full slideshow here

Tails wagging, tongues hanging out, canines have handled Indias most prestigious and dangerous jobs in recent times. They guard the Prime Minister, whose security detail has four canines. They patrol the forests and mountains with the Central Reserve Police Force, tracking Naxals . The Delhi police recently doubled its Labrador squad to 60. They even marched with their handlers in this years Republic Day parade for the first time in 26 years.

India has realised that dogs are incredibly useful in the fight against terror, says deputy commandant Dr BN Panchbuddhe, senior veterinary officer in charge of training at the NTCD. His commanding officer, chief veterinary officer GS Nag, calls dogs an invaluable asset. They hear better, smell better, see better at night, are agile, aggressive and vigilant. But above all, theyre loyal, he says. A trained human wont love you unconditionally, a trained dog will.

The new guard

Turning a dog into a weapon, is no picnic.

At the NTCD, training starts early. Six-month-old pups, bred at the centre or brought in from other departments, are assigned a handler and married up. For 21 days, dog and handler live together, bonding.

NTCD instructor, head constable Sachitanand Singh, likens it to an arranged-marriage couple getting to know each other. Many handlers have never had a dog, the pups have never had a master. They start out not knowing anything but develop a taal-mel, Singh says.

Pyaar se (With love). Thats training head BN Panchbuddhes most often used instruction to handlers. Our main task is to mould men to understand a dogs feelings, he says. (Kunal Patil/ HT Photos )

The pups learn to heed the hand that feeds, grooms and plays with them. The men learn a deeper lesson  their yipping, nipping, drooling companion is equal parts friend, fan, colleague, specialist and responsibility. The biggest lesson they learn is that dogs are not machines, says assistant commandant Dr Rajan Gajre, a surgical veterinarian. Theres no key to turn to make them work. Dogs dont understand duty; they respond to love and patience.

Read: At Mumbai airport, trained therapy dogs to beat travel blues

Close to 100 staffers then help condition that love and patience into obedience. Over six months, handlers study canine health and behaviour and learn to get their dogs to salute (bow with their jaw to the ground), bust ever-smaller traces of contraband, dig out explosives, be wary of strangers, and, as with Bensie, communicate effectively.

Calls of Baitho!, Thaam! and Shabaash! (Sit, Stay and Fantastic) echo at morning and evening sessions. Mealtimes are chances to test if a hungry dog is still dutiful.

And just about any time is good for a spot of grooming  nose-to-tail body rubs, ear- and paw-cleaning, and a vigorous coat-brushing. Caesar, a 14-month-old spaniel training for the security detail of the West Bengal chief minister, loves getting groomed. He takes longer than short-haired dogs, admits handler Gautam Chakravarti. But we both enjoy ourselves!

Rookies fare better than pet owners, says Nag: Experience hampers training. It brings overconfidence and less dedication. Im mighty happy to train a raw hand.

Working together

By the end of training, man and dog are one unit. Neither functions without the other. Dogs reject meals from assistants when handlers go on leave, and curl up in their handlers lap when ill. Handlers are similarly smitten. If theres some reading to do after dinner, its not unusual for handlers to come to the kennels and work in peace with the dog by their side, says Dr Panchbuddhe. Many drop in at night to check if their dog is OKs. Some are out playing fetch at 4.30 am even if PT doesnt start until an hour later.

Selva Kumar, whos been bunking down in the kennels for 11 weeks to help Bensie adjust, says living with the dog is not a comedown but a matter of pride. They are serving the nation at our command, he says. His family was apprehensive of his training at first, fearing bites and attacks. But when my wife at home sees the pictures I WhatsApp her, all she says is Bensie is so cute. Kumar is now planning to adopt a dog at home too.

Read: The adorable Indian dog Instagram accounts you need to follow right now

Panchbuddhe finds that Alsatians make excellent trackers, Dobermans detect narcotics best and Labradors are good for sniffing out explosives, VIP details and infantry patrolling. A new breed is also making news. The Belgian Malinois, a quieter, hardier, more compact German Shepherd lookalike, is becoming popular for wildlife security and Maoist zones. But breed is a secondary concern. Without dedicated care , your dog is a weapon that wont fire, Panchbuddhe says.

Biplav Kumar Rai, a forest guard at West Bengals Jaldapara sanctuary, and his Alsatian, Rani, completed training at the centre in October. I was nervous about how shed perform in the real world, Rai says. He neednt have worried. Rani hates strangers but is possessive of him. In a drill, she retrieved buried tiger teeth and located a tiger skin in a home in minutes. She even sniffed out the thief from among 200 suspects. I couldnt do this job without her, Rai says. I lose my appetite when shes sick. Shes female, but I call her beta (son).

Beyond the field

A service dog receives a pension and puts in a decade of work before retirement. Trackers give out early  their job calls for more physical activity than, say, sniffing airport luggage.

What happens next varies. Military animals have special shelters, many state police departments let civilians adopt old dogs. All animals, however, find it hard to adjust.

Begum (centre), the NTDCs in-house sniffer and gold-medallist at a paramilitary competition last year, shows off at a demonstration. The centres other house dogs include German Shepherds, Alsatians, Labradors and a new breed called the Malinois. (Kunal Patil/ HT Photos )

Fizza Shah, the animal activist who adopted Mumbai police dogs Max, Sultan, Tiger and Caesar, and housed them on her Virar farm last year, says they go from day to night. Their energy already dropping, theyre put into an unfamiliar world, a new routine, new faces and separation from the human who had been their whole world.

Theyd been treated well in their jobs but everything stopped at retirement, she says. These heroes served us during the 2008 terror arracks and I wanted to serve them in return. Adoption meant three months of paperwork and medical bills, but she didnt mind. Service dogs dont get holidays. They went mad being set free in grass after so long. They rolled in it and chased butterflies. Giving them a dignified retirement was the golden era of my farm.

Read: Pets are more than just animals: This is how kids react to losing a pet

Shah was particularly moved by how much the handlers were still connected to them. Handlers have no authority or capacity to care for dogs after retirement, but when Caesar was in hospital, his handler Santosh Bhogle would visit him, talk to him, groom him, she says.

Caesar survived the longest. He died in October, with the weeping policemen at his military-style funeral. The graves of all four dogs stand under the farms banyan tree.

Watch them roll, play, heel and train here

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Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who recently sparked romance rumours with model Nina Agdal, was spotted kissing another mystery woman.

The 42-year-old star was seen getting a little too close with the lady when he and friend Tobey Maguire were partying together earlier this week, reported AceShowbiz.

According to a source DiCaprio joined Maguire at his The Wolf of the Wall Street co-star Jonah Hills birthday bash on December 19, where they spent a nice time with nine models at their table.

Leo was kissing some models neck that was definitely not Nina, a source said.

DiCaprio, who was previously in a relationship with models Gisele Bundchen and Bar Refaeli, began dating Agdal earlier this year.

The Revenant star and the Danish beauty were reportedly getting more serious just months before he was seen with another girl at a party.

Just one week ago, DiCaprio was spotted vacationing with Agdal in Mexico.

Monday blues  A photo posted by Nina Agdal (@ninaagdal) on Dec 12, 2016 at 5:38am PST

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Social networking giant Facebook received 6,324 requests from Indian government agencies for 8,290 users/accounts in the first half of 2016.

This is the second highest after the US, which made 23,854 requests for 38,951 users/accounts during January-June 2016, according to Facebooks Government Requests Report.

Requests from India have increased, a trend seen globally as well from the previous period. Indian agencies had made 5,561 requests for 7,018 users/accounts in July-December 2015 period.

Facebook said it was able to produce some data in 53.59% of the cases in the first half of 2016, compared to just over 50% in the July-December 2015 period.

Government requests for account data increased by 27% globally compared to the last half of 2015, increasing from 46,710 to 59,229 requests, Facebook deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said.

Read | Malayalam writer Chavara arrested for insulting national anthem on Facebook

As we have previously emphasised, we apply a rigorous approach to every government request we receive to protect the information of the people who use our services. We scrutinise each request for legal sufficiency, no matter which country is making the request, and challenge those that are deficient or overly broad, he added.

Sonderby emphasised that Facebook does not provide governments with back doors or direct access to peoples information.

Well also keep working with partners in industry and civil society to push governments around the world to reform surveillance in a way that protects their citizens safety and security while respecting their rights and freedoms, he said.
A Muslim man was killed when BSF troopers, while on patrol along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, opened fire suspecting him to be a smuggler police said here on Saturday.

Araber Rahman, 38, was killed in Border Security Force firing at Balerdepha village (under Sipahijala district) late Friday night, police spokesman Uttam Kumar Bhowmik said.

Bhowmik said that the BSF told the police that during patrolling against cattle smuggling, they opened fire killing the man on the spot.

Family members of the victim have denied the BSF allegations and lodged a complaint with the police against the para-military troopers. They said he was innocent, the police official said.
The BJP concluded its four Parivartan Rath Yatras spanning 192 days in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh with a road show featuring party veterans and senior Union ministers in Lucknow on Saturday.

The show saw home minister Rajnath Singh, also an MP from Lucknow, administer a pledge to party cadre to ensure a BJP government in the state.

Justifying the governments demonetisation move, Singh said, Demonetisation is in national interest. This government doesnt hesitate in taking bold decisions. The currency ban would help the poor.

Ahead of the 2017 polls, the BJP is aggressively wooing Dalits and OBCs  the two groups who constitute over 70 per cent of the states electorate.

The four BJP yatras had started between and November 5 and 9, coinciding with the November 8 currency ban. The yatras, thus, helped the BJP blunt the sharp political criticism of the move.

Initially, the yatras were to conclude in Lucknow with a rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Modi rally was subsequently rescheduled for January 2 and replaced with a road show that crawled its way through the busy Hazratganj market on Saturday.

Through the roughly 6-km route, the rally was welcomed by the cadre who kept on showering flowers and garlands at the BJP leaders. The partys minority wing ensured the presence of some skull cap wearing Muslims at the show.

We are here to prove that Muslims would side with any party that thinks about the country, said 60-year-old Zafar Abbas who was present at the show. Lawyers too turned up in impressive numbers.

So many people have come just to show their support to the BJP, Modiji and Rajnathji, said Dilip Srivastava, advocate and party leader.

Giving Singh company were Union ministers Kalraj Mishra, an MP from Deoria in east UP, and Uma Bharti, an MP from Jhansi in Bundelkhand, BJP national secretary Mahendra Singh, national vice-president Dinesh Sharma and UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya.

In the motorised chariots that followed Singhs vehicle, Union ministers Mahedra Pandey, Sanjeev Balyan and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti were also seen. Former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who joined the BJP, was also seen on the rath while Union minister of state General (retd) VK Singh walked with the cadre.
Jagdalpur:

A joint team of Chhattisgarh police special task force (STF), district reserve guards (DRG) and local police shot dead a Maoist in an encounter near Regdagatta Saturday morning even as another encounter was raging in Karigundam area in Sukma.

Indra Kalyan Elsela, superintendent of police, Sukma said the anti-Maoist force Cobra battalion was involved in the encounter.

Earlier in the morning, the police said the joint team had mounted a search operation after an intelligence tip off about the presence of Maoists near Mosalmadugu and surrounding villages near Errabore.

Police said the search party came under attack with the Maoists triggering an IED blast and opening fire on the security personnel who were on the way back near Regdagatta around 10 am. Regdagatta is 525 km south of the state capital Raipur.

The security forces returned the fire. The encounter lasted about 30 minutes before the Maoists retreated inside the jungle.

After the encounter, the joint security team launched a combing operation and discovered the body of one Maoist. The security men also seized of weapons of arms and ammunition that the Maoists left behind.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi continued his attack on PM Narendra Modi on Saturday, saying the governments push for cashless transactions would trap Indias economy in a corporate cage.

At a rally in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradeshs Dharamsala, Gandhi accused Modi of breaking the backbone of the states economy by scrapping Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes in a shock move last month.

Demonetisation is not against black money and corruption, but poor, farmers and middle class and a fire-bomb on the countrys cash economy, Gandhi said at a rally to celebrate the Himachal Pradesh governments four years in power.

The Congress leader has been at the forefront of opposition to the governments decision and has hurled personal corruption allegations at the Prime Minister.

His party has made demonetisation an election in several poll-bound states that have elections scheduled early next year.

PM Modi has broken the backbone of Himachals economy, he has taken a crown off the states head, just like BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh snatched away lands from adivasis, Gandhi alleged, adding that farmers who fail to repay loan were termed thieves while people such as industrialist Vijay Mallya were called defaulters.

Gandhi alleged that Modis policy was to siphon off money from the poor and benefit the rich. Gareebon se kheencho aur ameeron ko seencho (take from the poor and give to the rich) is what the present government is doing, he said, adding that government figures reveal that one percent of Indians hold 60% of the countrys wealth.

Modi has divided India. 1% super rich, dishonest people on one side and middle class, poor people on the other side.

Gandhi alleged that demonetisation was a well-planned move to pull money belonging to 99% people to the banks so that government could waive off loans worth `8 lakh crore of super-rich families.

The idea is to hold back the money in bank accounts for five-six months and then waive off the loans. Things will not become normal in 50 days as Modi has been claiming, said the Congress vice-president.

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Independent MLA Engineer Rashid and his supporters who were protesting the state governments alleged decision to provide domicile to West Pakistan refugees, were on Saturday removed from the pavement outside Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis residence in Srinagar.

Rashid was on a 48-hour long sit-in against Jammu and Kashmir governments decision to give domicile certificates to the West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu since 1947.

The MLA and a few of his supporters had spent the night under the open sky in sub-zero temperature despite the governments persuasion to end his protest.

Police on Saturday morning removed Rashid and his supporters from the pavement opposite the Fair View residence of the Chief Minister.

The state government has made it clear that the West Pakistan refugees have been given identity cards and not domicile certificates.

Despite the governments assurance, some mainstream politicians and the separatists have been opposing the move.
Christmas should be a time to rejoice. But for Joseph, a Manipuri youth posted in Rajasthans Jaisalmer with the Border Security Force, the celebrations this year brought stress.

I was planning to take a train from Delhi to Dimapur and then a bus from there till my home in Chandel district. But I had to take two flights to reach Imphal due to the blockade of highways in Manipur, he said.

This is the first time that Joseph, who belongs to the Zou community, is returning home since joining the BSF last year.

The blockade of highways by the United Naga Council (UNC) since November 1 in protest against the creation of new districts has crippled the northeastern state.

There is scarcity of essential goods, especially petroleum products, prices have increased, and attacks on security personnel coupled with a counter-blockade by those opposed to the UNCs tactics have added to the grim scenario.

The blockade, the after-effects of demonetisation and the threat of possible violence have forced many churches in Imphal Valley to cut down on their Christmas celebrations this year. Because of the present situation, we have cancelled our social gathering and Christmas feast this year, said Ngamlei Zimik, pastor of Tangkhul Baptist Church in Imphal.

Last week, youths from another community asked the church authorities not to go ahead with Christmas celebrations. They relented after it was agreed that only prayers would be offered.

Business establishments, especially bakeries, have also been hit. Theres a scarcity of raw materials due to the blockade. Our shop is always crowded during Christmas but this year, we have no customers, said Priya Shimray of Elles Cakes and Bakes.

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Its Christmas, but it is far from a season of cheer for papier mache artisans in Kashmir.

Barkat Ali (50) sits hunched at a workshop in a narrow alley in old Srinagar and carefully applies the final touches to a Christmas tree-hanging ornament  a red Santa Claus carrying a yellow bag, with a glittery string attached.

The Kangri (traditional charcoal heater) under his pheran (Kashmiri winter wear) keeps him warm as he focuses on miniature designs.

In the floor above  the storehouse of the Akhter Mir and Brothers papier mache company  a large variety of Christmas decorations including Santa Claus tree hangings, balls with Santa painted on them, Christmas trees, colourful stars, bells and trinkets, are packed in boxes and ready to be exported.

It has been a long tradition to produce Christmas decorations and export them. I have seen it since childhood, Akhter Mir (55), who now heads the company, told HT. The company employs 100-odd people. The family has been in this business for over 100 years now.

Traders say Kashmiri papier mache Christmas decorations are shipped across the country and the world, including the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East. (Wassem Andrabi/HT Photo)

The beauty and finesse of these Christmas products is that its not machine made. The incomparable talent of the Kashmiri artisan is showcased in these art pieces, says Mir.

Traders say Kashmiri papier mache Christmas decorations are shipped across the country and the world, including the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East. They are also readily available on the prominent e-retail platforms.

Syed Maqbool Hussain, a papier mache artist from Alamgiri Bazar in Srinagar, points out that the designs on the artefacts vary according to the demand.

We create a wide variety of interesting designs as per the market demand. For example, for a shipment for Bahrain or Rajasthan, we will draw Santa Claus riding a camel through a desert with his sack of gifts, Hussain says.

He adds, While we also draw Santas on Chinar leaf to give the ornament a traditional Kashmiri look.

Papier-mache art is said to be brought to the Valley by Persian Muslims in the 15th century and is a treasured handicraft variety of Kashmir. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

A bulk is firstly exported to Delhi, from where large wholesalers ship the products to international markets, says Hussain, whose family has been in the papier mache business for decades now.

Papier-mache art is said to be brought to the Valley by Persian Muslims in the 15th century and is a treasured handicraft variety of Kashmir. The lengthy process basically involves the application of paper pulp over wooden moulds and then meticulously painting the final shape with rich colours.

Papier-mache products traditionally comprise vases, boxes, trays, and replicas of animals and birds. Latest innovations have the art form into tech products, like Bluetooth speakers and mobile phone cases.

But this famed art form in Kashmir is staring at oblivion. Artisans say they cannot sustain for long on the prevailing low wages in the industry and hence, youngsters are not willing to learn the art.

Ye papier mache khatam ho gaya hai Kashmir mein. (In Kashmir papier mache is over). The profit has gone down over the years. Very few young people are coming forward to learn it, Mir says.

On being asked why, he says, The artisan is paid very less. The final product, sold in glamourous showrooms, is expensive but the artisan at the base of the chain earns very little.

Barkat Ali seen here holding a Santa Claus decoration said he has not encouraged his children to become papier mache artists. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

The artisans complain that after working from 8am to late night, all they earn per day is Rs 200-250. Many have left the industry to work as painters (earning around Rs 600 per day) or do menial jobs such as a driver and labourer.

Barkat Ali has not encouraged his children to become papier mache artists. Eyesight deteriorates soon because of constantly focussing on the miniature drawings. And in comparison to the hard work, you earn nothing, Ali says.

Moreover, the handicraft industry as a whole has been badly hit by the unrest that has been convulsing Kashmir since July and has resulted in a completed collapse of tourism and related sectors.

Handicraft artisans and traders say that Srinagars major showrooms did little or no business since July and hence no fresh products were ordered nor could many from earlier orders be produced.

Handicraft sector suffered a lot in the unrest. Since transportation was not possible, even the goods prepared before unrest could not be exported, says Mushtaq Ahmad Wani who heads Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI).

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U.S. President Barack Obama has signed the U.S. budget for the needs of national defense for 2017, increasing aid to the Ukraine security sector to $350 million.

"U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law the National Defense Authorizations Act 2017 authorizing up to $350 million to be made available for security assistance to Ukraine, including lethal defensive assistance for the fiscal year of 2017. It is a $50 million increase from $300 million authorized in NDAA 2016," reads a report on the Facebook page of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States.

The document foresees fiscal assistance to Ukraine in the field of security, including lethal defense weapons. The list of types of assistance was extended by inclusion of funds and technical support for the development of an integrated system for monitoring the state border of Ukraine, as well as assistance in training staff officers and the command authorities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As reported, the bill on U.S. defense policy signed by the president provides for the restriction of military cooperation with Russia. The act for 2017 foresees $611 billion budget for the defense sector. Of these, $3.4 billion will be used for "containment of Russia."
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who planned to lead a silent march to the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modis public meeting in the city on Saturday, claimed he had been placed under house arrest --- a charge denied by police.

Mumbai Police said the personnel deployed outside Nirupams residence were only part of the security arrangements made across the city in view of the PMs visit for launching some major projects.

The area outside my house is under heavy police bandobast (arrangements) and I am being prevented from stepping out, Nirupam told PTI.

In the present democratic set up Opposition leaders are being virtually kept under house-arrest, he alleged.

Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said, We have deployed policemen across the city especially on the route of PMs convoy to maintain law and order as well as to avoid any untoward incident during his visit.

Nirupam said the march was planned as a peaceful march to highlight some important issues.

We have a lot of questions for the PM. He should answer graft allegations made by our vice-president Rahul Gandhi instead of mocking him.

Modi should also answer when the people will get back their right to deposit and withdraw their own hard earned money from banks. It is more than a month. Since demonetisation, citizens are still suffering due to cash crunch, he said.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, Mohan Prakash, accused the police in the BJP-ruled state of curbing the democratic rights of political rivals, which he alleged was being done at the behest of the government.

Earlier, the government put restrictions on citizens rights to access their money and now there are restrictions on freedom of expression as well, he said.

Condemning the house arrest of Nirupam, MPCC spokersperson Sachin Sawant said, It is indeed, a black day for Indian democracy. This act confirms the fact that the BJP government has a sadist and fascist mindset, which denies the citizens basic fundamental constitutional right to protest peacefully.
Family members of a BEST conductor, who died in a road accident in 2012 after being hit by a tanker, have been awarded a compensation of Rs 41.23 lakh by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Thane.

President of the Tribunal and principal district judge SM Gavhane, in a recent order, directed the insurance company New India Assurance Company to make the payment to the applicants and recover the same from the other opponent -- owner of the tanker involved in the accident.

The applicants in this case were Varsha Shrimant Narute (44), Kumar Vicky Narute (17), and Kumari Harshada Narute, (15) residents of Vashi Naka at Chembur.

While the owner of the tanker Cosmo Bulk Carriers of Bhiwandi did not appear, the matter was decided ex-parte against them. However, the Insurance company appeared and contested the claim on various grounds.

The counsel for the applicants, GA Vinod, in his submission told the tribunal that on August 27, 2012 deceased Shriman Somanna Narute, 48, was going to his house along the CG Gidwani road and a tanker filled with hazardous material hit him as a result of which he sustained injuries and died on the spot.

The deceased was working as a conductor at the Dharavi depot of the BEST and earning a salary of Rs 35,508 per month and his kin were eligible to the compensation amount of Rs 54.88 lakh with interest at 18%. For the court fee they claimed Rs 1 lakh only.

Advocate AK Tiwari appearing for the insurance company in his submission stated that offending tanker was registered with the RTO as a heavy goods vehicle and it had permit to carry goods and not hazardous goods.

On the date of accident, explosive or hazardous goods in the form of hazardous chemical was being carried by the offending tanker without proper permit and hence the insurance company is not liable to pay any compensation, he argued.

Police papers had stated that on the date of accident the offending tanker was filled with acetic acid at Chembur in Ages Logistic Ltd and it was proceeding towards Mahad to deliver it to the Laxmi Organic Industry at Mahad in Raigad, the tribunal was told.

Thus, on the basis of above all evidence, it can be said that at the material time of accident offending tanker was carrying acetic acid which is hazardous goods, although it had no specific permit to carry the same as per RTO information and therefore the owner of the tanker committed breach of policy conditions.

The judge in his order noted, Therefore, on the basis of above evidence it can be said that on the date of accident driver of the offending tanker drove the same while carrying hazardous goods in absence of endorsement in this respect on his driving license, and as such, breach of policy conditions is committed by the owner of vehicle as alleged by the opponent insurance company, and therefore, the insurance company is not jointly and severally liable to pay compensation to the applicants.

But I am of the opinion that directions can be given to opponent Insurance company to pay award amount to applicants and recover the said amount from the opponent No.1 owner of the offending tanker, the order said.
President Barack Obama on Friday signed a legislation that approves $619 billion budget for US military in 2017 and codifies India as a Major Defence Partner, a distinctly unique definition the US doesnt use for any other country.

The India section of the voluminous Act, the details of which have been widely reported as it travelled around the legislature getting procedural approvals, essentially institutionalises and commits future government to that definition, unless recalled.

The Obama administration declared India a major defence partner  borrowing it from a legislation moved by Congressman George Holding, a co-chair of the House India caucus  during Prime Minister Narendra Modis June visit.

The legislation has been called both symbolic, expressing a sense of where congress stands on ties with India, as an expert has said, to not doing enough, and failing to upgrade ties to a higher level, say, to match the one US has with Israel.

India has welcomed it, with sources saying, it locks in all future administration to the definition, and have said the closer ties that some people have advocated could have been counterproductive, and not in Indias interest.

Benjamin Schwartz, who headed the India desk at the Pentagon till a year ago, wrote in a recent piece about the legislation that the intent was to bolster India as predominant security provider in the Indian Ocean Region to offset Chinas military superiority.

Read | US defence bill pledges $900 million to Pakistan

Shwartz, who is now with the US-India Business Council, argued that the growing gap between Chinese military power and that of its neighbours increases the risk of instability in Asia. This gap is provocative and dangerously so in a region that contains the worlds most important trade corridors.

The India section, which is titled Enhancing Defence and Security Cooperation with India, and directs the administration to appoint an official to directly oversee the relationship, identify impediments and resolve them.

Specially, those issues that are impeding United States-India defence trade, security cooperation, and co-production and co-development opportunities.

The first report under this law will come in around June from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has said, at an election rally in November, India and the US will be best friends on his watch.
The government is preparing to amend the law to introduce stringent punishment for bounced cheques from next year, which could act as a deterrent for defaulters in a country saddled with above 1.8 million lawsuits on dishonoured cheques.

The proposed changes could do away with the long-drawn process of settling disputes, even after years of litigation.

Among the suggestions being considered is to give a window  possibly 30 days  for settling disputes between complainants and people whose cheques bounced. If the two parties fail to come to an understanding within that time, the defaulter could be put in jail without bail at the courts discretion.

These are among several options on the table. We will finalise the specifics shortly. To promote cashless transactions, we will not shy away from incorporating stringent provisions, said a source involved in deliberations over amendments to the negotiable instruments act, which governs cases relating to bounced cheques.

Cheque bounce is a bailable offence under the current law, which enables defaulters to stay away from jail as long as the trial is on. The law stipulates imprisonment up to two years or fine that may extend up to double the dishonoured amount, or both.

Of the options being considered, the government could make the law a non-bailable offence.

The idea is to minimise litigation by putting in place strict deterrents, an official said.

The government would try to pass the amendments to the law when Parliament sits for the budget session, likely from the last week of January, sources said.

Read | Cheque payment to casual labourers impractical: Industry experts

Besides electronic money transfer, by direct debit or with debit and credit cards, cheques are an important cog in the governments push for a post-demonetisation cashless economy, aimed at stopping the circulation of illicit funds and counterfeiting.

But cheque defaults  mostly people issuing them without sufficient funds in their bank account  are rampant. Trade associations and businessmen have complained repeatedly to the government about difficulties in recovering money from defaulters because of protracted legal battles.

More than 1.8 million cases are pending in courts across the country, of which about 38,000 are with the high courts. A large number of these cases are over five years old. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan have recorded the most number of litigation.

Traders have argued that the government should address the problems while promoting cashless transactions.

Fast settlement of disputes will encourage traders to take cheque payments more often. It will help reduce the circulation of notes, a source said.

The government had amended the law last winter session of Parliament, allowing filing of cases in a court at a place where the cheque is presented for clearance and not at the place of issue.

The amendment followed a 2014 Supreme Court order that says territorial jurisdiction for bounced cheques is restricted to the court within whose jurisdiction the offence was committed.

Read | Govt okays ordinance to let companies pay salaries electronically, via cheque

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday expressed confidence about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweeping the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year with an absolute majority.

BJP will win the Uttar Pradesh election with an absolute majority, Singh told ANI while en route to Lucknow.

Singh, who will address parivartan rally in Lucknow, added, BJPs parivartan rally has laid the foundation of change in Uttar Pradesh and people of the state also believe that change is certain.

Speaking on demonetisation, Singh said the decision to impose a ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes should not be seen as an election issue.

Demonetisation is not about electoral loss or victory. The demonetisation decision has been taken keeping national interest in mind, and therefore, it should not be associated with the election, Singh said, adding that the demonetisation decision has been taken to curb corruption, black money and to strengthen the economy of the country.

He further said that the demonetisation also helped fight terrorism as many accounts of the Maoists have been seized post the announcement of the drive.
The foundation stone-laying ceremony for a grand memorial in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji off the Mumbai coast, is not a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) event but a function organized by several, said the Shiv Sena on Saturday.

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande told ANI, It is a proud moment for every citizen of this country that finally the stone-laying foundation of this memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will take place today. Honorable Uddhav Thackrey is also attending the function. But one thing the government has to remember is that all those who have supported this cause, or tried for this cause, all the alliance partners of the Mahayuti in Maharashtra, should be taken together . It is not a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) function. It is a government function and all parties should be taken together for such an event.

Kayande further said that since the government has taken such a huge step it will also make necessary provisions.

But the Congress, NCP that is criticising should also understand that they did nothing for this in the last 15 years when they were at the helm of affairs. she added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fly down to Mumbai to lay the foundation stone for a Rs.3,600 crore memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji, the much-celebrated 17th century ruler of the Maratha empire.

The Maharashtra government will fund the entire project and has already set aside Rs. 2,300 crore for the first phase of construction.

Earlier, a group of marine conservationists and fishermen, too, had filed a petition with Indias National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking to stop the state government from constructing the project.
If West Bengals North Parganas is home to the office of The Religion of Man Revolving Party of India, Keralas Ernakulum district hosts the Twenty 20 party. In Haryanas Sheria village there is a party with an ambition that is over-arching, the Corruption Abolition Party, while Uttar Pradesh  a state that is not particularly at the edge of technology  hosts the Hi-Tech Party.

One may not have heard of these names but they are legitimate political parties, registered with the Election Commission of India. There are 1,786 such registered, but unrecognised parties in the country besides the seven national and 50 plus state level parties.

The EC has now decided to delist 200 of these formations, which have not contested elections in the past decade, and have also not filed their returns. Some are even understood to be fronts for money laundering. Hindustan Times does not have a list of the parties the EC may delist, but a scan of party names show how frivolous some of them may be.

Read | Election Commission delists 255 political parties existing only on paper

Explaining the phenomenon, SY Quraishi, former chief election commissioner said, There are different motivations which lead to the formation of these parties. Some are born out of personal ego of individuals to earn some social status. Some people are over-ambitious, and think registering parties will result in election victories and they will become PM. Then, there are parties that are born out of naivete.

A few other parties that form a part of Indias crowded political landscape include Aap Sabki Apni Party, which operates out of a flat behind the old bus stand in Chhattisgarhs Bilaspur. Indore hosts The Imperial Party of India while the plush locality of GK-1 in south Delhi houses the Bharat Bachao Party of India. Nagpur, home to the RSS, is also home to the Bolshevik Party of India, a century after the Russian revolution took place.

Jammu and Kashmir may be in the news for militancy and radicalisation but there is another kind of revolutionary outfit in Uddhampur  Front of Revolutionished Creative Efforts.

According to Quraishi, the easy process involved in the formation of a party is also a reason for a number of quirky political outfits coming up.

Hundred or so people have to submit signatures  earlier it was only nine or 11. They have to show some evidence of holding meetings, an advertisement is then issued to check if anyone has objections to such a party being registered. It is then checked if the name they propose has already been taken, and if so, another name is given. That is why they end up with funny or quirky names.

In 2003, parties funds were given tax exemption, which Quraishi said was also a motive behind the formation of a lot of unrecognised parties. We suspect that many came up to convert their black money into white and collect money without liabilities.

Read | As polls loom ahead, EC seeks ban on anonymous political donations above Rs 2000

Quraishi added that only a small number of these parties actually contested polls. Some may be fronts for laundering, but many may be dead or defunct.

In an earlier judgment, the Supreme Court had said the power to register does not automatically give the EC the power to deregister parties, which meant many remained on the list. Political parties have been cavalier and have not passed the legislation which will empower the EC to do so. It is now using extraordinary powers under Article 324  which created the institution  to deregister these parties, and I support it, he said.

Also read | Election body to ask I-T department to look into finances of delisted parties
A BJP central team was stopped by West Bengal police from entering the violence-hit area in Dhulagarh in Howrah district on Saturday after which it staged a road blockade, accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of pursuing appeasement politics.

The BJP delegation comprising party MPs Jagdambika Pal, Satpal Singh, state president Dilip Ghosh and its national secretary Rahul Sinha along with supporters was stopped at Ekabbarapur Road, about one kilometre away from the spot where the clashes had taken place a few days ago.

The police, which cordoned off the area and deployed a large number of personnel, told the delegation that they would not be allowed to proceed since prohibitory orders have been imposed under Section 144 of CrPC.

Angered by it, the BJP delegation along with one thousand odd supporters blocked the road in protest.

Alleging that there is no law and order in the state, Pal said the government was following appeasement politics towards a particular community.

West Bengal: BJP delegation reaches Dhulagarh; stopped from entering the village by administration pic.twitter.com/NmgooqdJmz  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

He also alleged that the government had transferred the Howrah (rural) SP Sabyasachi Raman Mishra for arresting 65 people in connection with the violence at Dhulagarh, where houses belonging to a community and their property were attacked by another.

Ghosh alleged right wing Muslim outfits and SIMI activists have entered the area and were creating trouble. He also said BJP was not given prior information about prohibitory orders being imposed in Dhulagarh.

We are surprised that police did not allow us to approach the people in the area to know about their plight of sufferings, Ghosh said.

Sinha said that police was working at the instruction of the government and the action was an insult for the party central team.

The BJP team comprised two MPs and a number of state leaders. We were told that Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the area. If it is so, two of us could be allowed to enter the area, Sinha said.

We will enter the area by any means. If the situation deteriorates, the government will be responsible, Sinha threatened.

Some BJP workers also blockaded the busy Kolkata-Mumbai NH6.

Both blockades were later lifted and Ghosh said the BJP delegation would proceed to Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to governor K N Tripathi.

BJP has alleged that the minority wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress has targeted Hindus in the area in Howrah district for their support to the saffron party.

The governor had also enquired from the state director general of police Surajit Kar Purakayastha about the law and order situation there.

The governor asked the DGP to ensure peace and law and order in the area and to take strict action against the culprits, a release issued by the Raj Bhavan had said.

Tension erupted in Dhulagarh when two groups reportedly clashed as a procession was brought out in the area last week.

As per a senior officer at the Howrah Commissionerate, police had to use tear gas to bring the situation under control when the groups hurled bombs at each other.
Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare castigated Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday for not fulfilling the promise of putting his partys donors list in public domain, at a time when the AAP has been questioning the Congress and BJP over their source of funding.

In a letter to Kejriwal, dated December 23, the veteran activist, popularly known as Anna and also a father-figure for the AAP, took a dig at the Delhi CM and said if change has to be brought into the system, then the leadership should walk the talk.

For the betterment of country and the society, I kept aside several important works related to people in Maharashtra and gave you my time without any selfish interest and dreamt big for the country. But my dream has been shattered, Hazare, who launched an anti-graft crusade, said.

He also referred to a letter written to him by Munish Raizada, a US-based medico and suspended AAP member, pointing out that donors records have gone off the party website since June 2016. Raizada also launched no chanda (no donation) satyagraha at Raj Ghat on Saturday.

AAPs national treasurer Raghav Chadha claimed that Hazare was being misled by Congress leaders on the issue while the BJP is using state agencies to threaten its donors.

On behalf of Kejriwal, he also challenged BJP president Amit Shah and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to come out clean on party donors and have a debate on the issue at Jantar Mantar.

You made several promises, which includes putting the donations received by the AAP on the party website.

The talks of social change, which we espoused, are fading and politics and money are becoming important. The sense of humility is also fading.

Or else, you would not have taken off the names of people from your website who gave donations to the party during trying times, Hazare said.

He also expressed displeasure over the functioning of AAP. Hazare said that while other parties get donations from people for their selfish interests, people give funds to AAP to bring in change.

You penned a book on Gram Swaraj. The way you are going...is this the way to Gram Swaraj? This is the question before me. What is the difference between your party and other political outfits? Hazare said.

You promised change to me and the people. It pains because the promise has not been fulfilled. You have made several such promises to me and people, Hazare said.

Chadha said AAP is the only party that has transparency in its source of funding and 92% of its donations come through banking channels like net banking, credit and debit card and cheques.

Congress leaders like Muish Raizada are misleading Anna while BJP uses state agencies to harass our donors. Raizada has joined the Congress, Chadha claimed.
Coming to India was a childhood dream for her. But eight months after her first visit, a 25-year-old woman from Pennsylvania in the United States is back in New Delhi  this time to fight for justice.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, the woman, described in the media in recent weeks as the American tourist, has alleged that she was raped, drugged and physically assaulted in a five-star hotel in the Capital on two consecutive days this April. She also said she feared the police werent doing enough to catch her alleged rapists.

I came to India on a tour. In the hotel I was sexually assaulted by three members of the tour group and two members of the hotel staff. I was drugged during that time. I was physically assaulted and sexually assaulted, she said. I am still afraid afraid of being alone in India.

The woman, who flew in on December 19 to join the investigation, had filed a complaint on email to Delhi Police through a US-based NGO on October 5. She blamed two hotel employees, and a conductor, a driver and a guide from the tour agency for the crime. A case of gang rape was registered on December 3. Police are questioning three suspects, but no arrests have been made so far.

They may be sincere but I dont think the police are doing enough I am definitely worried that I may not get justice. I am not naive to the situation. I have come this far finding justice is a sense of healing for me.

Over the past week, her statement has been recorded in front of a magistrate and she had undergone a medical examination. The woman said her trauma has been unbearable. There is a lot of emotional trauma I suffer, and probably I will for the rest of my life, she said. I (want to) try to do everything I can in this situation and keep other women from being victims of these people.

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The armed groups opposing the Ukrainian government forces in Donbas have observed a ceasefire agreement that has been in effect since 0:00 a.m. December 24, Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Petrenko, the chief of the Ukrainian delegation to the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC), said in a statement on Saturday morning.

"As of the morning of December 24, the Ukrainian part of the JCCC confirms the introduction of a comprehensive, durable, and open-ended ceasefire starting 0:00 a.m. December 24, 2016. Silence has been in effect along the entire line of contact," the statement said.

Officers from the Ukrainian part of the JCCC are continuing to monitor the ceasefire observance, and any changes in the situation will be immediately reported to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OSCE SMM), it said.
The Income Tax (I-T) department has traced several multi-crore transactions people made in Indore region, after the Centre announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes on November 8.

Vinod Kumar Mathur, chief I-T commissioner, Indore region, said on Friday that the departments investigation wing has collected details of 500 Jan Dhan accounts, which have received deposits of more than Rs 100 crore.

Similarly, it has collected data of 300 people, who deposited crores of rupees in 60 co-operative banks and co-operative credit societies of Indore region, which includes 15 districts of Indore and Ujjain divisions. A majority of depositors are PAN (permanent account number) holders.

In addition, it has collected sale details from petrol pumps, dealers of high-end luxury products like automobiles and watches, among other goods. All these details are under scrutiny, Mathur told newspersons.

According to him, the department has gathered additional information about 350 transactions, in which more than Rs 1 crore were deposited post demonetisation declaration. Similarly, it has information of about 768 transactions, where people deposited more than Rs 10 lakh.

Of these total transactions traced, 50% are made by individuals and 50% by business establishments. The I-T investigation wing has been strengthened, as more staff has been deployed to investigate and gather information about unaccounted money, the official said.

The I-T officials reiterated on Friday that demonetisation is not a scheme to convert unaccounted money into an accounted sum. People are answerable for every penny they deposit in the bank, if the explanation is called for. Demonetisation should not be misunderstood as a scheme to launder ones black money, Mathur said.

Acting on Centres directives, the department has begun digging into the collected details of financial transactions to trace tax evasion, money laundering and hawala transactions in Indore region. The departments move is part of ongoing nation-wide government exercise to crack down on grey money.

Centre offers second chance to come clean

The income declared under Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana will not be included in the declarants total income under Income Tax (I-T) Act for any assessment year, I-T department said on Friday.

Nor will this declaration be admissible as evidence under Central Excise Act, Wealth Tax Act and Companies Act, said Vinod Kumar Mathur, chief commissioner of I-T, at a press meet. We, therefore, appeal to people to avail this scheme and come clean on their unaccounted income, Mathur said.

As per the scheme, a declarant can deposit his/her unaccounted income in the form of cash or deposit made through other means (cheques, online transfer etc) in an account with bank, post office or entities specified in the scheme. The declarant will have to pay 30% tax of total deposit, surcharge of 33% and penalty of 10%. Any non-declaration of undisclosed cash or deposit will be liable for tax, surcharge and cess totalling upto 77.25%, Mathur said.

The scheme, which came into force on December 15 and will end on March 31, 2017, is a second opportunity provided to people to declare unaccounted income.

Meanwhile, I-T Indore region, which includes 15 districts of Indore and Ujjain division and Rajgarh district of Bhopal division, has received 90 applications for settlement of tax disputes worth 75.18 lakh so far under Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme 2016, which ends on December 31.

Of the total 90, the department settled 36 disputed tax cases and collected 8.26 lakh. Ujjain area received maximum of 40 applications, of which 29 were decided and 3.62 lakh were recovered in process. There are 3,000 tax dispute appeals pending before department in Indore region.
The marriage procession of Sunni Muslims in Khandwa may soon be devoid of pomp and show. As per a decree by religious heads (Imams) of 21 mosques, no bands or DJs should be played in marriage procession of Muslim youths.

If the family members ignore this decree then, the Ulema-e-Karam will not read the Nikah for the family.

The initiative was taken by the Abu Hanif Foundation of Khandwa which sent a tharir (a letter) to ulemas and maulanas who were attached to several mosques in the city and they all agreed on this decree.

Khandwa Muslim religious leaders have also urged the community to abstain from playing bands and DJ during the marriage ceremony.

Shahar Quazi Syed Ansar Ali told HT that the ban on bands and DJ in the marriage procession was a good decision. It is very important to ban the band and DJ. It was banned by the consent of everyone and will prevent extravagant spending and not put the families under undue financial stress, Ali said.

The foundations spokesman Faizan Quadri said that 40,000 Muslim family live in Khandwa city and about 150 marriages are held every year as per religious tradition. We want that the marriage should be done in an easy and simple way. Those who marry in a simple function are also blessed by the almighty, he said.

On Friday, a few youth of the foundation also distributed pamphlets to the community persons to make them aware about the decree.

Talking to HT, Majid Khan, a mechanic by occupation, said that he respects the decision taken by the community elders. They have our best interest in mind. There is no ban on celebrations or on dawat (dinner party), he said.
For the second time this year the onion farmers of Mandsaur-Neemuch belt are being forced to sell onions at as low as Rs 1 per kg and many are abandoning their onion produce in the mandis to be consumed by cattle and the main culprit appears to be demonetisation, say those associated with the trade.

Prices are holding at around Rs 6 per kg in Indore and neighbouring places at present, though for how long is debateable. According to state horticulture department, Madhya Pradesh is the second highest onion producer in the country with 2.65 million tonnes (2015-16), in 1,13,754 hectares, the highest being Maharashtra. Across the country, onion cultivation is spread across three seasons -- kharif, late kharif and rabi.

In April, prices crashed to 20 paise per kg in Ratlam

When the rabi crop hit the market in April, prices crashed to 20 paise per kg in Ratlam and the situation was no better in Mandsaur and Neemuch, forcing the government to go in for purchase of onion at Rs 6 per kg. On Thursday, many farmers left their onion crop in Neemuch mandi when they were offered prices around Rs 1 per kg and in Mandsaur irate farmers stopped the bidding process for two hours when the opening bid for onion was Rs 1.50 per kg. The prices are hovering around the same level on Friday also. As of now, Markfed officials have ruled out any plan to purchase onions as they did in May this year.

While excessive sowing by farmers in the rabi season (winter crop) was attributed as the main reason for the crash in prices in April, the Kharif sowing of onion has been 12 per cent lower this year compared to 2015. Kharif is the monsoon crop and at present those who had sown late are coming to the market with their produce.

Explaining the impact of demonetisation, a mandi official who did not want to be identified said, all the small traders who used to bring in supply from small farmers in the hinterland have vanished due to shortage of cash and big traders appeared to have formed a cartel. The small traders used to act as counter-balance. Also small farmers are selling their produce at their nearest smaller mandi where prices are always 20 to 30 per cent less than bigger mandis. Due to swift communication in this technological age, the big traders are sourcing their produce from smaller mandis, which is leading to pressure on prices in the bigger mandis.

Most traders prefer cash for which they do not pay taxes

Lack of cash has meant more cashless transaction which can come under the scrutiny of the taxman. The same mandi board official said, Most traders prefer cash for which they do not pay taxes, but now with cheque payment not only do they have to pay 7 per cent to 8 per cent tax, if they increase their turnover too much, they will invite attention of the tax authorities, so they are limiting their purchase.

MP Kisan Ayog president Bansilal Gujar admits that demonetisation has had some effect on the prices, but he also attributes other factors too. Overall there is shortage of cash and while earlier one trader used to lend cash to another trader for the day (on a day when huge quantity of grains come to the market, the grain trader used to take money from say the onion trader) but this practice has come to a halt as there is not enough cash, Gujar says. He also attributes lack of communication between government department officials and farmers on what they should sow and how much. He also blames herd mentality of the farmers of sowing whatever his neighbour is doing for the problems.

MP Horticulture director Satyanand said that local factors at the mandi could be responsible for the crash in prices of onion in Mandsaur-Neemuch as there is no spike in supply during this time of year. The rabi crop will arrive from February 2017, he said.

State has increased storage capacity of onions by almost 50%

Satyanand said that after Rabi glut the state has increased storage capacity of onions by almost 50 percent, but in Neemuch and Mandsaur they are yet to meet the target. Onions have to be stored in special storehouses and not in cold storages. Last year we have 80,000 store houses in the state, now it has increased to 1,20,000, with capacity ranging from 25 tonnes to 50 tonnes.

Local mandi authorities in Neemuch and Mandsaur were unwilling to come on record for the reason behind the crash in prices. Neemuch mandi secretary R S Baghe said, I do not want to comment on this matter.

Farmer woes

Farmer Ramnarayan said that he was planning to buy a water pump from the proceeds of the onion crop, but when I reached here I came to know that the prices have crashed to Re 1 per kg.

Farmer Lalaram Bhatt of Diken village was in tears after hearing the news of crash in onion prices. We are already facing cash shortage problems due to demonetization and this crash in onion prices is a double blow. At these prices, we wont be able to pay even for transport, he said.

Farmer Prem Patidar said that input cost for producing onion crop on one Bigha land is about Rs 20,000. The production from one Bigha is about 5,000 quintal and today we are getting Rs 5,000 for this crop.

Markfed bought 10.4 lakh quintal of onions

After onion prices crashed in April 2016, the Madhya Pradesh Marketing Cooperative Federation bought 10.4 lakh quintal of onions. It sold 1.46 lakh quintal of onions at PDS shops while 7.52 lakh quintals of onions were damaged. The government spent an additional Rs 90 a quintal to dispose the rotten onions, according to a Markfed official
The 62nd national conference of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), scheduled to begin from Saturday, has plunged the Government Arts and Commerce College and its adjoining area into a festive mood.

Colourful paintings adorn the compound walls, while the nooks and corners are illuminated. The road  which connects the Agra Bombay Road to the rear portion of the university teaching department campus and are usually in a pathetic condition and not secure for girls to travel even during day time as it is deserted, are looking paved and clean, thanks to the conference.

A painter painting the wall of Governments Arts and Commerce College. (Arun Mondhe/HT photo)

The national conference is an annual programme which provides the vision and mission for the working of ABVP in the coming year. On Saturday, the four-day conference will be inaugurated by defence minister Manohar Parrikar and veteran dancer and Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh here at the campus.

The organising committee expects that over 10,000 students, including 2,200 girls, from every part of the country, will participate in the four-day event.

School students practising Vande Matram song for the 4-day ABVP meet. (Arun Mondhe/HT photo)

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Prafulla Akant, central zone organising secretary and All India tribal students and medical students incharge said over 10,000 students from across 36 states, including seven union territories will participate in the programme as the representative of other students there.

Unlike earlier times, the ABVP will emphasise more on social media in order to reach college students in the country. We are changing with the technology and time, said Akant.

ABVP activists arriving at GACC for the ABVP meet. (Arun Mondhe/HT photo)

After being contacted, Shreerang Kulkarni, head, national media and public relation, ABVP said, Today every student has a smartphone and they are active on the social media and we are going to connect each and every ABVP worker and student across the country through different social media platforms available with us.

According to information, currently ABVP has over three million active members across the country.

A Rawjada like replica and Ahilya statue is established at the Governments Arts and Commerce College. (Arun Mondhe/HT photo)

Kulkarni said that at the venue, they will set up a media centre equipped will required resources to put each and every activities on the social media. Team of 30 volunteers will keep a tab on different platforms, including Facebook (FB), Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Live streaming and Snapchat.

We have 1.95 lakh followers on ABVP national official FB page, over 20,000 followers on Twitter page and more than 11,000 on YouTube, Kulkarni added.
A social worker, who sought information seeking how many monks of different faiths in the state got beacon and hooter mounted vehicles, was roughed up by four persons in Indore on Friday.

The victim, identified as Shubham Lokhande, 28, resident of Subhash Nagar in Indore, runs a mineral water supply business.

Lokhande said that he had been launching a campaign against beacon and hooter mounted vehicles being allotted to people who do not deserve them. On December 8, he had filed a Right To Information (RTI) query seeking information on how many monks belonging to different faiths, were allotted the facility. He has not yet received a reply regarding this.

Meanwhile, in his complaint lodged with Pardeshipura sub-inspector Mohammad Ansarul Khan, Lokhande said that he was on his way to supply mineral water in 56 Dukan on Friday, when four unidentified persons intercepted him between Malwa Mill and Subhash Nagar.

Lokhande said the four assailants started beating him up. During the assail, the men told him they were ardent followers of Radhe Radhe Baba, a holy man in Indore city, and that Lokhandes RTI query against the Baba has hurt their sentiments, and hence the punishment.

Police have registered a non-cognizable offence information report under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of Indian Penal Code.

When contacted, Radhe Radhe Baba denied any connection with the men. I dont know any of the five men involved in the case. Nor do I know why the man was thrashed. I will ask police to investigate the matter thoroughly and put behind bars all the four men who took my name, Baba said, adding that he never put beacon and hooter on his vehicle and that the government should reply to Lokhandes RTI so that this would be clarified.
Ujjain Municipal Corporation on Friday got a mention in Golden Book of World records for largest human depiction of Gandhi spectacle, which is also Swachh Bharat Mission logo.

Municipal commissioner Ashish Singh said that around 5,165 people took part in the human chain and pledged to keep their surroundings clean. He said the initiative was taken to make people of Ujjain city committed to cleanliness, in the wake of upcoming Swachh Sarvekshan 2017 being carried out by the Central government.

Officials of Golden Book of World records handed over a certificate to authorities in presence of state minister Paras Jain, mayor Meena Jonwal, speaker Sonu Gehlot and BJP city president Iqbal Singh Gandhi.

As part of cleanliness drive, the city roads are being cleaned using modern machines and garbage is being collected door-to-door in all the 54 wards.

A new service has been initiated, in which a complaint regarding garbage or any other filth on public places will be cleared within an hour. Towards this, two vehicles equipped with staff and materials, named Harshdoot, equipped with GPS facility, have been deployed. Citizens can call on toll free number 18002331454. The call attended at the control room would be forwarded to Harshdoot on mobile and wireless.

A mobile application Ujjain Jansulabh Suvidha is launched where public can lodge complaints and also get information about location of public toilets.
Three police officers were booked for negligent duty after Rs 14.60 lakh in scrapped banknotes was discovered missing from the Kotwali police stations storehouse in Varanasi on Friday.

Head constable Manjeet Prasad, constable Anupam Tiwari and sub-inspector Tejbahadur Singh, who were responsible for the storehouses security, were booked for dereliction of duty under section 409 of Indian Penal Code.

An investigation has been ordered to locate the money.

The money was seized in June 2013 from a gambling bust, and was thus in scrapped banknotes. A Kotwali inspector had applied to exchange the money when the discovery was made, police said.

The inspector was filing a report for the additional chief judicial magistrate-II court in order to receive permission for exchanging the money.

The case was registered following the orders of senior superintendent of police, Nitin Tiwari, who was notified of the situation by Kotwali police station in-charge, inspector Arvind Kumar Singh.

While Anupam Tiwari and Tejbadaur Singh are posted outside the district, Manjeet Prasad is posted in Varanasi.

SSP Tiwari said Prasad was suspended with immediate effect and senior officials of the districts where the other two cops are posted were told to initiate action against them. He said strict action would be ensure in the matter, adding that investigation is on.
A happy Christmas to you, dear HT readers. Christmas, like Janmashtami, is dearly beloved to us for its spirit of joyous welcome to a divine energy believed to have taken form in our midst. Christmas, like Janmashtami, makes us want to believe in positive transformation, in redemptive spiritual magic. How curious that both Krishna and Christ were born in humble places, that their death was sought by tyrants even as babies, that they were both charismatic rebels. Such facts may be well-known but their festivals are a chance to remember and renew our interest and affection. This came home to me poignantly on Thursday, December 22, regarding a personage who seems to me to combine aspects of Krishna and Jesus. His was a life that is unparalleled in history for sacrifice and staunchness. Unlike the avatars from antiquity, this personage was well-documented during his own time on earth, which was fairly recent, between 22 December 1666 and 7 October 1708. His name was Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru.

Read: Know Bethlehem a little better this Christmas - 5 things you didnt know about the holy city

On Thursday, along with many others, I set out on the prosaic chore of going to the bank. A few yards away, I passed by a Hindu gentleman of my acquaintance and said, Namaste, Sir as I usually did when I saw him. Now this is one of the nicest things about being Indian. People often drop their guard, tell you whatever is in their heart and make you feel you have received a very special gift. This gentleman returned my greeting with a smile and suddenly stopped. Without any preamble, he said, There was nobody like Guru Gobind Singh, you know. I felt a thrill of kinship and waited for more. He lost four sons, he said, and we repeated the names of the martyred sahibzadas in remembrance. He knew both Sanskrit and Persian, he said and we softly recited the famous sword verse from the Zafar Nama. He was a great poet said the gentleman, and that was our cue to remember two incandescent and inspiring verses by Guru Gobind Singh, Deh Shiva and Mitter pyare nu, which made us close our eyes, entranced. We stood there on that ordinary lane with ordinary things happening around us, in a quiet daze of joy remembering this most extraordinary person on his birthday, and went our way without another word.

Do you remember why the Guru instituted long hair for Sikhs? It was an act of political rebellion against an oppressive Mughal tax. Besides jaziya and pilgrim tax, the Mughals levied bhaddar on Hindus and Sikhs, a tax that had to be paid by anyone who shaved his head in cultural custom when someone in his family died and was cremated. Guru Gobind Singh declared that Sikhs would not cut their hair, which routed this hostile, profiteering law.

Krishna challenged the cowherds fear of Indra by diverting their worship to Mount Goverdhan. Jesus swept away the tradesmen from the temple. Guru Gobind Singh rejected Delhis tyranny and Gandhi, who knew Jesus well, opposed exploitative British laws. On Christmas Day, it is not submission we rejoice in, after all, but righteous resistance.

shebaba09@gmail.com

The views expressed are personal

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Another case of mangrove destruction came to light on Saturday. This time, it was a huge stretch of more than 1,000 mangrove trees near Kahler village in Thane district, about 25kms from Mumbai. The district collector filed a first-information-report (FIR) on Saturday against unidentified persons for the violation under the Environment Protection Act (EPA).

On Wednesday, members of a local non-profit organisation, Shree Ekvira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP), filed complaints with the collector, state mangrove cell and local police about a 3-acre mangrove patch that had been destroyed after large scale of construction debris were dumped at the site. This was the third such violation in the area this year.

Officials said that action had been taken in all cases this year, and circle officers had been deployed to investigate the violation at Kahler from Wednesday onwards itself. We observed a violation at the site and the sub-divisional officer SDO from the area has already taken action in the matter, said Thane collector, Mahendra Kalyankar.

Officials added that Sujit Tatyapatil, Suresh Deopatil and a group of unidentified persons were booked for unauthorised possession of land and unauthorised debris dumping violations under EPA and Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. We visited the site and identified several violations. We have stopped all debris dumping and will make sure there are no future violations, said Santosh Thite, the SDO at Bhiwandi adding that arrests are yet to be made.

In 2005, the Bombay high court banned the destruction of mangroves across Maharashtra and construction within 50 metres of mangrove areas, acting on a public interest litigation by Bombay Environment Action Group, a city-based environmental body. In 2014, the HC banned reclamation and construction on wetlands in the state following NGO Vanashaktis PIL on protection of wetlands.

Hundreds of acres have been reclaimed for illegal construction in this area, which is ecologically sensitive, and issues such as flooding and waterlogging are a regular feature here, said Nandkumar Pawar, complainant and head of environment cell, SEAP. This sort of massive reclamation will make situations even worse. While the alleged encroachers are booked, there is an immediate need to convict the violators and restore the mangroves at the site.

During a hearing of a wetlands case from Thane in the Bombay High Court on Thursday, the chief justice instructed the district collector to visit all sites where mangrove destruction has occurred and submit a report regarding the restoration of all sites by the next hearing scheduled in January 2017.

June26 - More than 300 mangrove trees were destroyed due to dumping debris at a one-and-a-half acre stretch near Kahler village itself.

Action: No arrests made and mangroves not restored at the site

April 19 - Environmentalists during a two-day inspection of wetlands along the Thane-Bhiwandi road on April 17 and 18 discovered more than 150 mangrove trees destroyed, and heaps of dumped garbage set on fire on the one-and-a-half acre patch close to Kahler village, merely 25 kilometres away from Mumbai.

Action: No action taken in the matter

April 1 - More than 300 fully grown mangrove trees were destroyed at a one-and-a-half-acre wetland at Kasheli Creek along the Thane-Bhiwandi road

Action: Ongoing investigation in the matter. No arrests made

January 8 - Close to 600 mangrove trees destroyed because of dumping of construction debris at Kasheli Creek in Thane

Action: Circle officers visited the site and drafted a report. No arrests made

15,088 hectares (ha)  Notified as reserved forest area in Maharashtra

5,775 hectares (ha) - of mangrove cover currently in Mumbai

4,000 ha on government owned land (protected forest areas)

 277 ha in Mumbai city

 3,723 ha in Mumbai suburban areas

1,775 ha on private land declared as forest (maximum violations seen here)

1,471 ha government owned land in Navi Mumbai (protected forest areas)

1,500 ha on the western bank of Thane creek (protected flamingo sanctuary)

Why should you care: Even after several Bombay HC orders prohibits construction within wetlands, rampant destruction of mangrove trees continue. Wetlands stabilise the coastline, control erosion and provide a habitat conducive for plant and animal species; they prevent floods and filter groundwater.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday gave the green signal to a slew of infrastructure projects in Mumbai and Pune, besides inaugurating the new campus of SEBIs National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) during his daylong visit to Maharashtra.

Modi also laid the foundation for a Rs 3,600-crore grand memorial for Shivaji Maharaj off the Mumbai city coast, an event that comes a few months ahead of the civic polls and amid tussle among parties to claim the legacy of the 17th century warrior king.

Here are the highlights of Modis visit

8.20pm: After 8th November, urban local bodies have seen a rise in their income. This makes it possible to spend more resources of development: PM Modi

8.15pm: Those who governed earlier did not act (against black money) hence I had to take harsh steps, says PM Modi.

8.12pm: In this nation everybody is equal before the law and everyone has to follow the law: PM Modi

8.10pm: Parliament passed a law on benami property in 1988 but was never implemented, says PM Modi.

8.05pm: Earlier, infrastructure was only about roads, rail and airports. Now, we need to cater to peoples expectations too: PM Modi

8pm: The gains of the present are vital but we need systems that cater to the needs and aspirations of the future too, says PM Modi in Pune.

7.55pm: India is urbanising at a very quick pace & thus, its essential to work in 2 directions. Its essential to improve quality of life in villages while we mitigate the challenges that our urban areas are facing: PM Modi

7.50pm: PM Modi lays the foundation stone for the Pune Metro project

7.30pm: We will make Pune, the start-up capital of India, says Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis

7pm: Narendra Modi arrives in Pune. NCP chief Sharad Pawar shares dais with the PM at the metro rail foundation function.

5:20pm:Modi concludes his speech at the Bandra Kurla complex and leaves for Pune.

5:19pm:This fight will continue until we win it, says PM Modi, stressing his resolve to root out graft.

5:18pm:The country is not ready to tolerate corruption anymore, says Modi.

5:17pm:This is a cleanliness campaign (demonetisation) for the betterment of the country, the PM says.

5:14pm: After 50 days, the hardship faced by the honest will start to ease. But problems faced by the dishonest will increase, says Modi.

5:11pm: There were efforts to mislead and even intimidate people but they supported us in the battle against corruption and black money, says Modi.

5:10pm: We sounded the bugle, launched a decisive fight against black money and corruption on November 8, Modi says referring to his governments demonetisation exercise.

5:06pm: Who says India cant change? The strength of 125 crore Indians will bring about the change. The country will advance, says Modi.

5:04pm: We have taken up the task to supply cooking gas to the poor, says Modi.

5:00pm: Development is the solution to every problem, says Modi. Development is our focal point.

4:58pm: Modi thanks the people of Maharashtra.

Performing the Jan Pujan of #ShivSmarak was very special. Glad I got the opportunity: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 24, 2016

4:52pm: Modi says Shivajis courage is famous, talks of other aspects of his character. The PM goes on to laud Shivajis policies on water and currency management.

4:50pm: Shivaji Maharaj was a multifaceted personality, Modi says, adding that so many aspects of his personality inspire us.

4:46pm: Even in the midst of struggle, Shivaji Maharaj remained a torchbearer of good governance, tweets the official handle of the Prime Ministers Office, quoting Modi.

4:44pm: In his address at Bandra Kurla Complex, PM Modi showers praises on Chhatrapati Shivaji.

4:32pm: Modi lays the foundation stone for two metro corridors and other projects at the MMRDA grounds.

Hon PM @narendramodi performs Bhumipujan for Metro 2B (D.N. Nagar-BKC-Mankhurd) in Mumbai; project cost 10,986crore with 23.5km long route. pic.twitter.com/1w2mS86UFb  CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) December 24, 2016

3:44pm: Before that, PM Modi pays floral tributes to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at MMRDA grounds.

3:15pm: The Prime Minister will now head for the inauguration of the Mumbai and Pune metro projects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis (right) and Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of BJP ally Shiv Sena, in Mumbai. (Photo: PIB/Twitter)

3:10pm: PM Modi reaches land at Girgaum Chowpatty after performing rituals for the start of the Rs 3600-crore Shivaji memorial project.

3:00pm: Modi also took photographs with the crew of the hovercraft who took him out to sea.

The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the middle of Arabian Sea pic.twitter.com/j6mk8s5yMH  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

2:57pm: Modi drops holy water and mud into the sea at the location where the Shivaji memorial will come up, 4km off Mumbais Marine Drive.

PM Narendra Modi performs Jal Pujan for Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/1CVCDQPc4y  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

2:53pm: PM Modi en route to the location for the bhumi puja in the Arabian sea on board a hovercraft.

2:41pm: PM Modi arrives at Girgaum Chowpatty for the foundation-laying ceremony.

Mumbai: PM Narendra Modi reaches Girgaum Chowpatty, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maha CM also present #ShivajiMemorial pic.twitter.com/48RsZGyHiC  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

1:20pm: PM Modi to travel to Shivaji Memorial for its foundation-laying ceremony

1:17pm: My aim is to make India a developed country in one generation, says Modi as he concludes his address at NISM.

1:15pm: Those who profit from financial markets must make a fair contribution to nation-building through taxes, he says.

1:14pm: The true measure of success (of our economy) is the impact in villages, not the impact in Dalal Street or Lutyens Delhi, says Modi.

FULL SPEECH: PM @narendramodi addresses gathering at the inauguration of new NISM Campus in #Mumbaihttps://t.co/40zY839ZoM  Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) December 24, 2016

1:13pm: Unless we can make our stock markets useful for our farmers, they will remain costly ornaments in our economy, says Modi.

1:12pm: Bond markets must become our source of our long term infrastructure demands, says the Prime Minister.

1:10pm: My Government is very keen to encourage start-ups, he says, adding that stock markets are essential for the start-up ecosystem.

1:08pm: Our markets should show they successfully can raise capital for projects benefiting the vast majority of our population... in particular Im talking about infrastructure, says Modi.

1:07pm: For financial markets to function successfully, participants need to be well informed, he says.

1:06pm: Financial markets can play an important role in the modern economy...However history has shown that financial markets can also do damage if not properly regulated, Modi says.

1:05pm: Constitutional amendments on GST that remained pending for years has been passed and the long awaited GST will soon be a reality, says PM Modi.

1:04pm: Demonetisation is short-term pain for long-term gain, Modi says.

1:04pm: PM Modi speaks. This is a time there is an economic slowdown... (But ) Indias place is the fastest growing economy.

1pm: PM Modi inaugurates the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) campus in Raigad

Maharashtra: PM Modi inaugurates the new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) in Raigad pic.twitter.com/eq38bz1440  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

12:53pm: Finance minister Arun Jaitley speaks at the inaugural of the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) in Raigad district. The demonetisation move has made a lot of the informal savings formal, Jaitley says in his address, adding that lot of money has come into the banking system post November 9, 2016

12:18pm: PM Modi arrives in Raigad. Here he will inaugurate the new campus of the National Institute of Securities Markets (NiSM) in Panvel.

The NiSM is a public trust and educational institute set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

11:40am: PM Modi arrives in Mumbai. He will head to Raigad district.

The Prime Minister had earlier in the day tweeted about the Shivaji memorial, calling the Maratha king a torchbearer of courage and good governance.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a torchbearer of courage, bravery & good governance. #ShivSmarak is a fitting tribute to him & his greatness.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 24, 2016

I am honoured to be getting the opportunity to perform the Bhoomipujan of Shiv Smarak, he added.

About the project

The mid-sea Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial  which has been a talking point for all political parties in the state of late  was originally conceived in the 1980s.

Expected to be the worlds tallest statue, the memorial will be 210 metres tall, close to a 12-storey structure, built entirely in the sea on an islet of 15.96 hectare.

The Shivaji statue will surpass the height of New Yorks Statue of Liberty and the under-construction Statue of Unity of Saradar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat.

Read | Five things you need to know about Shivaji memorial off Mumbai coast

But the memorial has courted controversy for the mammoth cheque required to be signed for its construction  an estimated Rs 3,600 crore. Since it was first conceived 12 years ago, the budget for Shivajis statue has risen 35 times.

The state government is also building a library, an amphitheatre, an aquarium, an IMAX theatre to showcase short films on the Maratha warrior king, guest rooms, a helipad and a hospital, among other things.

Even though the Union environment ministry has allowed the construction, experts claim the movement of boats from Nariman Point to the project site will lead to marine pollution and damage the coast.

The fishing community too has been against the project, saying it will affect their livelihood and harm the fishs habitat.

Read | What Maharashtra can do with Rs 3,600 crore if Shivaji statue isnt built

Political bickering

As preparations were on in full swing, the Opposition slammed the BJP-led state government on Friday, saying the fanfare over the event was a poll gimmick in view of next years Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

The BJPs dominance at the preparation events appeared to have irked both its ally Shiv Sena and some Maratha community leaders as well. The entire area around the Shivaji statue in Chembur, where BJP leaders welcomed people carrying pails of water, soil and stones from across Maharashtra for the bhoomipujan, was decked up with the partys flag.

The procession rally that followed too was dominated by BJP flags and placards with the face of PM Modi, who will carry out the bhoomipujan.

This was supposed to be an event organised by the Maharashtra government, of which the Shiv Sena is a part. The party was absent at the Chembur event as well as in the procession.

Read | Shiv Sena miffed as BJP usurps launch of Shivaji memorial in Mumbai
Ukrainian government forces' positions in Donbas have been fired upon four times since a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that took effect at 0:00 a.m. December 24, Leonid Maiukhin, a member of the headquarters of the Ukrainian government forces in Donbas, told Interfax-Ukraine on Saturday.

"Two acts of provocation took place in Maryinka and one each in Shyrokyne and Zhovte in Luhansk region," Matiukhin said, adding that the militants used machineguns and firearms.

The Ukrainian delegation to the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC) in Donbas had said earlier that the ceasefire had been observed.

"As of the morning of December 24, the Ukrainian part of the JCCC confirms the introduction of a comprehensive, durable, and open-ended ceasefire starting 0:00 a.m. December 24, 2016. Silence has been in effect along the entire line of contact," the statement said.

It said also that officers from the Ukrainian delegation to the JCCC were continuing to monitor the ceasefire observance, and any changes in the situation would be immediately reported to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OSCE SMM).
Star tortoises, parakeets and spotted black terrapin turtles topped the list of animals traded illegally from Mumbai to different parts of the country this year, a report stated. The list of most-traded animal parts included pangolin scales, elephant ivory and tiger skin.

In a first, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), western region, released an annual report highlighting the top six illegally traded wildlife species from Mumbai and Maharashtra in 2016. The seizures were made by the WCCB along with the state forest department and the police. These animals are protected under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972, except the star tortoise, which is protected under Schedule IV of the same act.

Our bureau collated reports from different districts in Maharashtra and put the list together. The idea is to increase awareness about this kind of illegal trade, which is prevalent not only in India, but abroad as well, said M Maranko, regional director, western region, WCCB. Since there was lack of data from previous years, a comparative analysis could not be provided. However, the cognisance and enforcement to stop such activities has increased now.

Maranko said nine cases of star tortoise trade from Mumbai were reported this year. All accused have been arrested and convicted for three years under WPA. A major case: On October 14, Mumbai Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers intercepted two men with United Arab Emirates (UAE) passports carrying 199 endangered tortoises and turtles in four checked-in bags.

With parakeets, there have been six cases of trade of Alexandrian parakeets from Mumbai this year and a few others cases of Sun parakeets and Eastern Rosella from different parts of the state.

Four cases were observed for the spotted black terrapin turtles, which are in high demand across South-east Asian countries as food and are also used as a feng-shui symbol.

Some of the other striking cases this year included the seizure of one pangolin scale (sold in the international market for Rs3-8 lakh per scale) from Dapoli in April, tiger skins (worth Rs5-10 lakh) from Gondia district, Nagpur division in October and Telengana in November, both skins had been transported from Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.

While three people were arrested in the pangolin scales case, which is a serious international offence, 11 were arrested from Gondia and five were arrested from Gadchiroli, where tiger skin trade is rampant, said Maranko.

It is a matter of concern that this year we also had two cases of elephant ivory seizures, one from Sangli in January worth Rs54 lakh and another in February from SV Road, Mumbai, worth Rs2 crore, which was 100 years old, he said.

The report highlights the issue of clandestine trade in wildlife taking place through online portals and mobile applications, which Indias conservationists have been battling against for years. Buyers and sellers have been communicating online, viewing images of the animals, deciding prices and even completing transactions, all through net banking before consignments are dispatched.

In May this year, HT had reported that after animal rights activists complained that protected species and hunting equipment were being sold on e-commerce websites, Amazon stopped sale of products and animals banned under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Experts said despite their protected status, traders have been finding ways to smuggle such animals out of the country. There is increased vigilance for traders and investigators on social media now. However, the number of cases has not decreased because closed groups on social media apps such as Whatsapp are being used to communicate and all numbers have unique codes making them untraceable, said Jose Louies, head of trade control, Wildlife Trust of India.

AUTHORITIES SPEAK

To my knowledge, tiger skin is not majorly poached, but either stolen before taxidermy or after death during a fight for territorial dominance. Elephant ivory, on the other hand, has either been trafficked into the state or is from elephants around the Kolhapur, Sindhudurg areas, said Shree Bhagwan, chief wildlife warden, Maharashtra. Apart from introducing a 24x7 call centre facility, the forest department has issued strict guidelines for better enforcement, combined with mass awareness programmes, not only for the public, but also for the every officer of the forest department.

He said if the number of cases of online wildlife trade increases, then the forest department will be contacting the state and central home department to issue stricter norms.

Indian star tortoise

Found: In Kurnool and Chittoor districts, Andhra Pradesh

Price at source: Rs200

Price at destination: BetweenRs10,000 to Rs1,00,000 (on the international market)

Status: Protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (protected, but lower penalties for offences)

Spotted black pond turtle

Found: Along the Ganga river basin, in places such as Unnao in Uttar Pradesh

Price at source: Rs30 to Rs500

Price at destination: Between Rs10,000 and Rs1,00,000 (on the international market)

Status: Protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (absolute protection and the highest penalties for offences)

Under threat

The most sought-after endangered animals and animal parts in Maharashtra and India:

 Pangolin scales (killed for its scales, the Pangolin is the most trafficked animal on Earth)

 Star tortoises, spotted black pond turtles and soft-shell turtles

 Elephant ivory

 Tiger and leopard skins

 Exotic birds

Thriving trade this year

October 25, 2016: 26 Indian star tortoises were rescued by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) from a shop at Crawford Market after an anonymous tip-off.

May 12, 2016: Six live Indian star tortoises were rescued from Chetna College, Bandra (East).

May 3, 2016: Six star tortoises were rescued by 16-year-old boy from Versova and sent to a rehabilitation centre at Katraj, Pune.

Shell-shocked: 199 rare tortoises, turtles found in UAE fliers bags

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, riding a hovercraft on Saturday afternoon to the site of the Shivaji memorial in the Arabian Sea, performed a jalpoojan ceremony by pouring a mixture of water from Maharashtras main rivers and soil and stones from Shivajis forts into the sea.

The ceremony, which took place at 2.56pm, officially marks the launch of construction of the much-politicised project, decades after it was first conceived.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who travelled with the PM in an Indian Coast Guard hovercraft, also poured the materials into the water. Chhatrapati Shivajis descendants, Sambhaji Raje and Udayanraje Bhosale, were part of the ceremony.

Modi boarded the hovercraft from a makeshift jetty at Girgaum Chowpatty, after accepting the pots of water, soil and stones brought to Mumbai from places significant to the Maratha kings life, from the chief minister at Rajbhavan.

The states plan for the statue takes its estimated to cost to around Rs3,600 crore. After the ceremony, speaking at a rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Modi sought to justify his partys decision.

Iconic projects become the identity of a nation. For many, the Statue of Liberty is Americas identity,the PM said.

For the BJP, starting the construction of the memorial may be a political statement to the dominant Maratha community  that only this party can meet the communitys demands. The Marathas have been protesting for reservation in government jobs and education. But the project as well as Saturdays function has seen opposition from several quarters.

The Shiv Sena and other smaller parties on Friday claimed the BJP tried to hijack a programme, when soil from Shivajis forts and water from rivers across Maharashtra were brought to Mumbai.

Fisherfolk in Mumbai have objected to the project as they fear traditional routes for their fishing boats and breeding grounds of fish would be affected.

Citizens have questioned the need to spend Rs3,600 crore on the project, when several of the states welfare schemes are struggling for want of funds.

Fadnavis, however, had made it clear on Friday that the government will go ahead with the project, despite opposition from various quarters.

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Opposition leaders, fisherfolk detained for protesting

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a bunch of infrastructure projects in Mumbai just months before the civic polls, Opposition leaders alleged the BJP-led government in the state was stifling them by detaining several of their leaders or keeping them under house arrest.

Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam was placed under house arrest on Saturday, after the police learnt of his plans to protest against demonetisation during the PMs rally at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). Later in the day, Nirupam violated the arrest and stepped out of his house, leading the Versova police to detain him.

The police had detained Damodar Tandel, a leader from the fishing community, on Friday night as he attempted to stage protests against the Shivaji memorial project.

Confirming the preventive detention, Dattatray Bhargude, assistant commissioner of police said, Nirupam was brought to the Versova police station after he stepped out to protest. Police sources said Nirupam was taken to the Versova police station around 3.30pm with other party workers, under Section 68 of Maharashtra Police Act. He was let go two hours later.

Nirupam, however, turned the police station into a small stage when he started addressing his supporters in a fiery speech targeting the Prime Minister. The money earned by us is in our bank. Will we be able to take it out at will when the deadline ends? Give us that explanation before leaving Mumbai, the Congress leader said, as his supporters applauded. Nirupam added, Ambedkar gave us democracy. But Modis acts are dictatorial. We should be allowed to ask questions to our PM.

Nirupam also alleged that women constables roughed up the women supporters. He said he has taken this issue to the ACP and the police station in-charge.

Sources in the Congress said the police took Praveen Chheda, leader of opposition in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and several other party supporters into custody.

Stifling the voice of the opposition by putting leaders under house arrest and taking them into custody blackens democracy. I strongly condemn this. This once again shows the fascist attitude of the Central and state government, said Congress leader Ashok Chavan.

Tandel, the president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machimar Kruti Samiti, was detained with 150 of his supporters, as fishermen were protesting against the Rs3,600-crore mid-sea Shivaji memorial, saying it will kill their source of livelihood. The police rounded us up in four vans around 8.30pm last night, when we were about to start our bike rally to protest against the memorial. Some of us were taken to Versova, some to Ghatkopar and some to Cuffe Parade police station. Our community still managed to show black flags to Modi at Cuffe Parade. We will ensure the BJP is defeated in the Mumbai civic polls, come what may, Tandel said.

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PM Modi hints at more stringent steps to root out corruption, defends note ban
Two months ahead of the crucial BMC polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sounded the bugle for the civic polls by launching big-ticket infrastructure projects for the city valued at Rs1.06 lakh crore. He also underscored that development would be the partys central campaign plank.

At a grand function at BKC, Modi said, I have just inaugurated development projects worth Rs 1.06 lakh crore with the push of a few buttons in one day, in Mumbai. This has not happened before, but we have made it possible, said Modi. With the launch of these projects, the government aims to show it can bring change to the lives of ordinary Mumbaiites.

The BJP is hoping to gain decisive control of the countrys richest civic body, which for the past two decades has been the citadel of its ally-turned-rival Shiv Sena.

Among the projects he laid the foundation stone to include the pending Mumbai Trans-harbour Link, the 22-km sea bridge, the longest in the country that will link the island city to the mainland. Besides this, the PM laid the foundation stone for two Metro corridors and the ambitious Mumbai Urban Transport Project III, which will upgrade and add to suburban railway services, including bringing in 500 new rakes.

Development is the only solution to our problems  to create employment for the youth, to give poor their rights, to fulfil aspirations of the middle class and to live a life of dignity. Since you have given us the mandate, we have only made development as our central focus and priority, Modi said. In a jibe, he also said the past 70 years have shown that development should have been adopted as the sole agenda for the country much earlier.

Sources in BJP told HT that Mumbais vision blueprint including some of these showcase projects would be the cornerstone of the partys campaign.

The party is also looking to broad base its traditional vote bank from middle class to the urban poor. Unless, the BJP makes a dent in the votes of the urban poor, a clear win is unlikely for the party. The PM said his government was looking at development, which was sustainable and empowered the poor.

All our policies and schemes are focused on the poor, he said.

Modi spoke of his governments schemes to increase the pension of senior citizens, providing cheaper generic medicines, providing gas connections to the poor, at a cost to the public exchequer to transform the country. These central schemes that have benefitted poor will also form the backbone of the BJPs BMC camapaign to win over urban poor and slum dwellers, considered to be traditional Congress vote bank. For the past 70 years, 18,000 villages have been forced to live in the 18th century without any access to power. Can people forget those who have wasted 70 years? Modi said.

Read more: Modi in Mumbai: Opposition leaders, fisherfolk detained for protesting

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Three people are missing after a boat capsized in Powai lake, Mumbai suburb, late on Friday night.

Of the eight on board, five people were immediately rescued but three others were not found, a civic official said. Search operations have been ongoing since, he added.

Boating in Powai has been in mired in controversy since 2014 when the civic body issued a demolition notice. Then chief of the Mumbai civic body, Sitaram Kunte, directed the citys S ward -- under which Powai falls -- and the hydraulic department to demolish the illegal boats operating at Powai lake.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) also complained about the Maharashtra State Angling Association (MSAA) operating illegal houseboats for commercial purposes.

However, the organisation got a stay order from the high court while some of the boats were removed.

There are 29 houseboats used by around 400 members of the MSAA, which came under the civic body radar.
A directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) team conducted random searches at a Noida-based companys premises on December 22 and seized about Rs 2.60 crore 00Rs 2.48 crore in old notes and Rs 12 lakh in new currency.

The team was acting on information about an alleged diversion and illegal sale of duty-free gold imported under the special economic zone (SEZ) scheme.

During the investigation, it was found that the company allegedly diverted or sold 430 kg of gold worth Rs 140 crore.

In a statement, the DRI team said, It is found that the unit has illegally diverted 430 kg (valued at around Rs 140 crore) of duty- free gold in the open market and investigation is underway.

Besides, cash amounting to Rs 2.60 crore (Rs 2.48 crore in old currency and Rs 12 lakh in new currency) has been seized also, the statement said further.

The statement said that during the raid, which began on December 22 and continued till December 23, an unaccounted 80kg of silver was also found in the factory premises of the SEZ unit in Noida.

According to DRI, while directors of the firm are either admitted in hospital or avoiding investigation, two people have been intercepted for questioning.

Investigation, till now, revealed that the firm has also transferred huge amounts of money through real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS ) to a firm operating from their premises to purchase gold coins/bars worth 25 kg after November 8 from trading body MMTC.

Officials said further investigation is in progress with the likelihood of arrests.

Despite repeated attempts, the companys officials refused to comment on the issue.

In a similar raid on December 19, DRI had unearthed a major export fraud by a unit, manufacturing and processing gold jewellery in SEZ in Noida.

During that raid, it was revealed that more than Rs 150 crore worth of imported duty-free bullion had been diverted. Searches are being conducted at multiple locations to investigate the diversion of imported gold with domestic and international linkages of the gold-smuggling network, said a DRI official.

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The Ghaziabad municipal corporation (GMC) on Saturday initiated 133 crore trunk line rejuvenation of the decades-old 25km sewage network of the city. The project is approved by the Central government under its Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

The agencies that have got the tenders will desilt, clean, repair and provide internal PVC coating to the four major trunk lines in Ghaziabad, that lead to two sewage treatment plants at Dundahera, near NH-24. According to corporation officials, the trunk lines are choked with silt and have not been properly maintained due to lack of funds and equipment.

The project will impact nearly 90% of the citys residential areas which have been suffering from the major issue of sewage backflow for years. The project will also increase the durability of the trunk lines by another 20-30 years, RK Yadav, corporations executive engineer (water works department), said.

At present, the sewage gushes to the 56MLD (million litres a day) and 70MLD plants at Dundahera, which are working below their capacity due to blockage in the trunk lines.

Once the project is completed, expected in two years, the sewage overflow issue will be resolved. The trunk lines are laid 25-30 feet below the ground and a lot of specialised equipment and funds were necessary to carry out this process. Nearly 50%-70% of the 25km lines are choked at present and only a part of the sewage is carried to the STPs, Ashu Kumar Verma, city mayor, said.

Rajendra Tyagi, municipal corporation, Major colonies such as Nehru Nagar, Raj Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Vivekanand Nagar and other most of the city areas are connected to the sewage lines and are suffering due to sewage backflow. Further, the sewage is also flowing into nearby drains, leading to unhygienic conditions and also affecting river Hindon.

According to statistics, the 56MLD STP is able to treat only 40MLD sewage while the bigger 70MLD plant treats nearly 44MLD per day. The corporation, however, spends nearly 1.80 crore per annum for the operation of the two STPs.

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After Indias surgical strikes on terror cells across the border in September, militants attacked the Nagrota Army base in November, raising disturbing questions on the ability of security agencies to second guess terror. Perhaps it is time New Delhi took a closer look at new age tools developed by researchers whose computational analyses of extremist organisations have become powerful weapons in the fight against terrorism.

Security agencies across the world currently employ more than 40 math models to stay a step ahead of terrorists. Jonathan Farley, professor at the University of the West Indies, uses the lattice theory  a branch of mathematics that deals with ordered sets  to ascertain the probability of how many members need to be taken out before a terrorist cell can be disrupted. This, in turn, helps to determine the structure of an ideal terrorist cell which is most resistant to the loss of its members. Mathematicians Stephen Trench and Hannah Fry of the University College, London base their model on the Hawkes process (used in earthquake prediction programmes): It assumes that terror strikes occur in clusters and an attack is likely to be followed soon after by others  like after-shocks following an earthquake.

Read: Terror alerts for Delhi down 50% in five years

Neil Johnson of Miami University and his team mix maths and social media to predict terrorist attacks. Their algorithm detects signs of imminent terror strikes by monitoring social media posts used by radical groups. Prof. Johnson says social media serves as a recruitment platform for extremists and even seemingly innocuous online conversations on extremist topics could portend violent terrorist acts.

By studying pro-ISIS posts in various languages, for instance, he found strong linkages between terrorist-inspired posts and the likelihood of terror attacks actually happening. In fact, he says, its possible to see people materialising around certain social groups to share information in real-time, just like crystals form in a test-tube. This technology could help security agencies track sympathisers who get together at random before becoming terrorists themselves. Thus online lone wolf actors apparently act on their own only for short periods of time. After a while, a coalescence process begins in the online activity of such individuals and they become identifiable with different groups, or aggregates. Prof. Johnson calls this the ecology of aggregates which allows his algorithm to track the trajectories of individuals through it.

Read: Heart of Asia summit: India, Afghanistan team to isolate Pakistan on terror

But of especial interest to India would be the Temporal-Probabilistic Rule System developed by Venkatramana Subrahmanian, University of Maryland, which not only predicts terror attacks but also suggests counter strategies. The programme is based on two frameworks: the Stochastic Opponent Modeling Agents (SOMA) and the multiplayer game theory models. Both are built on data reflecting hundreds of variables relevant to terror groups in South Asia like the LeT, JeM, and SIMI. These variables describe both the environment in which a group operates as well as the intensity of the groups actions.

SOMA identifies environment conditions favourable for the groups actions and predicts the probability P that it will carry out action A with intensity I, when some condition is true in the environment. The multiplayer game theory correlates sets of actions that each player can perform and assigns a payoff for each combination of actions that a group can take. This yields something called a payoff matrix, showing all possible combinations of actions, and the payoffs for each scenario. In the LeT game theory, these actions include covert action or coercive diplomacy that policy makers could use. So in a hypothetical situation with five players (LeT, Pak military, Pak civilian government, US, and India), for each combination of actions these players could take, the model evaluates how good or bad that scenario could be for them. If, for instance, the US increases aid to Pakistan and the LeT carries out major attacks, the payoff for the US would be very low.

Read: India slams lack of collective will to adopt a UN convention on terrorism

Prof. Subrahmanians programme derives from Nash equilibria (mathematical techniques for determining action combinations that depend on stable situations) and calculates both pure equilibriawhere each player may or may not take an action, and mixed equilibriawhere each player can take probabilistic combinations of action (e.g., the Pak military may talk peace for some of the time, while funding and training the LeT for the rest of the time). We found that of all the Nash equilibria in which LeT behaves well (i.e., does not carry out attacks), says Prof. Subrahmanian, the US and India both use covert action against LeT and/or coercive diplomacy with respect to Pakistan, and there is no additional military/development aid to Pakistan.

Read: No good or bad terrorists, all countries have to stand up to them: Cameron

During World War II, the US Navy neutralised Germanys U-boat threat by asking chess grandmaster Reuben Fine to analyse the probability of U-boats surfacing at certain points in the sea. And Britain recruited several chess masters to devise a mathematical model to crack the German Enigma code, which virtually won the war for the Allies. More than six decades later, the free world is again turning to mathematical models and the science of probability to help fight a new enemy: Terrorism.

Prakash Chandra is a senior journalist

The views expressed are personal
The United States president-elect, Donald Trump, has a predilection for the off-the-cuff statement. This, in turn, has spawned a micro-industry of interpretation, commentary and, finally, spin doctoring by members of Trumps staff. Trump recently weighed in on the nuclear weapons policy with a warning that he would launch an arms race if needed to maintain US supremacy. Unsurprisingly, this has rung alarm bells because it would indicate a desire to overturn over three decades of consensus that less warhead is good. For the most part, however, Trumps comments and the subsequent explanations by his staff have only caused confusion and concern that the worlds most powerful announces policy as if he was on reality television.

Read: Will Trump shake up American foreign policy?

Trump has no grounds for worrying about the credibility of the USs nuclear deterrence. Though its warhead count is almost unchanged since 1967, a comprehensive review in 2013 by the US military concluded that if anything the US had about a third more warheads than it needed. Trumps own Pentagon chief pick, John Mathis, is among those who have in past said the US can reduce its nuclear arsenal. The Barack Obama administration did conclude that the delivery, safety and technical aspects of the arsenal needed an upgrade and it sanctioned a one trillion dollar modernisation programme that is still unfolding. Russia has also focussed on upgrading its missiles. The only area it can be argued there is an arms race is in the area of ballistic missile defence where both countries have kept building better interceptors as well as weapons designed to avoid the same.

Trump has already outlined aggressive plans to expand the size of the USs military, especially in terms of infantry and warships. More importantly, the entire theme of his election campaign and the narrative surrounding his policies is about making America great again and maintaining US supremacy on all counts. This seems to combine with his seeming inability to understand that even his whimsical comments are treated as official policy.
While Congress is pointing fingers at each other post the defeat in municipal corporation polls, it seems all is not well with the Bharatiya Janata Party also. Even after the spectacular performance of the party in the civic body polls, with BJP-SAD combine winning 21 seats out of 26 elected councillors, the party is not able to put up a united front.

The Member Parliament, Kirron Kher, was absent from the prominent dinner and lunch hosted by the local unit party president Sanjay Tandon. On Wednesday night a dinner was hosted for the media where MP Kirron Kher was not part of the event. The sources in the BJP said the MP was not invited for the dinner.

She also missed out the special lunch hosted for the party workers post the partys landslide victory in the MC polls on Friday. The massive lunch organised by the local party president Sanjay Tandon in Sector 34 was attended by senior party leaders, including Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana chief minister. The veteran leader-cum-former union minister Harmohan Dhawan was also not present.

On Thursday, Kher invited all the newly-elected councillors at her house in Sector 8 for tea, in which party president was not present. In the evening the party president hosted dinner for the elected councillors, in which again MP was not invited.

On Friday, party president felicitated the newly-appointed BJP councillors. Even though the president says he extended the lunch invitation to party workers, the sources in the BJP said the MP was not extended any individual invite but was part of a bulk message as sent to other party workers and leaders. This is not for the first time that chinks within the BJP have come out in the open. Earlier also the leaders have been avoiding each other and the camps within the party are well known to all.

The senior leaders present during the event were MLA Panchkula, Gian Chand Gupta; former MP, Satya Pal Jain; leaders Hans Raj Hans; Banto Kataria, among others.

Khattar while speaking on the occasion said, It was in 1996 MC elections that BJP had swept the elections and at the same time the party had formed a government in Haryana. In those elections, BJP had managed to win in 15 wards out of 20 wards and now again the party has managed to get a complete majority and Chandigarh is the capital of Haryana, and hence is a moment of pride for Haryana as well.

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One Ukrainian serviceman was injured and four were contused in the Donbas hostilities in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko has said.

"No one soldier was killed. One serviceman was injured and four were contused in the Donbas hostilities in the past 24 hours," he said at a press briefing in Kyiv.
Taking a jibe at Punjab deputy chief minister (CM) Sukhbir Badal, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and candidate from Jalalabad Bhagwant Mann said that Sukhbir must disclose soon that from where he is contesting as he has to order his posters for campaign too.

Mann, while addressing the gathering after a road show in Majitha constituency said, I dont know what Sukhbir Badal is thinking about. He must quickly decide on his seat. Even the guy who has to print my posters is asking me repeatedly.

Mann, who was campaigning for AAP candidate Himmat Singh Shergill from Majitha segment also targeted revenue minister Bikram Majithia yet again on the drug issue saying that the minister was no challenge to the AAP.

Mann went door-to-door seeking votes and targeted the SAD-BJP alliance for misrule in Punjab and said that once the code of conduct is in place; the people will come out and teach the government a lesson.

The AAPs star campaigner, while answering a query on Navjot Singh Sidhu said, Sidhus entry into the Congress party will have no impact as people very well know what the SAD-BJP and Congress have done.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader also accused the SAD-BJP government of cheating its 6.50 lakh employees and pensioners in the name of cashless health insurance scheme which was primarily meant to benefit the employees but ended up lining the pockets of owners of private hospitals.

Bhagwant Mann further said that the Badal government has miserably failed to provide medical facilities to its employees and other sections of the society. He said that the state government has discontinued its much-publicised health insurance scheme which lacked planning and commitment.
Sponsorship and foster care benefits to children under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) are a non-starter in Jharkhand though the state signed a memorandum of understanding with the Centre for the implementation of the scheme since its launch in 2009.

The central scheme aims at building a protective environment for children in difficult circumstances, and other vulnerable children. Sponsorship is a supplementary support to families to meet medical, nutritional, educational and other needs of their children to improve their quality of life.

The scheme provides for a monthly sponsorship of 2000 to semi-orphaned, abandoned/destitute children, who dropped out of schools because of financial and other socio-economic constraints, to continue with their studies, or gain health.

The central guideline requires such children to furnish income certificates to officials concerned to avail of the sponsorship and foster care benefits. Revenue circle officers are to issue certificates showing an annual income below 24,000 in rural areas, below 30,000 in urban areas, and under 36,000 in metro cities.

In seven years of the implementation of the scheme, not a single child in Jharkhand has benefited because of the Centres eligibility criteria and the states income certificate issuance rules.

In Jharkhand, income certificates below 72,000 per annum are not issued by revenue circle officers. The state norm deprives children of income certificates, a condition to avail of scheme benefits.

Over 1000 children, identified in the state s by the Sponsorship and Foster Care Approval Committee (SFCAC), are denied 2000 monthly assistance though money received from the Centre under the scheme is parked in state coffers, said Baijnath Kumar, a member of the Ranchi district foster care committee.

The state has engaged officials and staff in all the 24 districts to implement the scheme under a public-private partnership (PPP) mode, mandated under the central guideline.

Those rescued from trafficking, child labour, child marriage, and abuse, and abandoned children devoid of parental care were getting other benefits under the scheme, such as shelter, food, clothing, informal education, and vocational training, said Sevak Ram Lohra, Ranchi district child protection officer. But the sponsorship and foster care benefit of 2000 per month is stuck due to legal wrangling, he said.

We have identified 48 children for sponsorship and 12 for foster care. We have stopped identifying such needy children as they are not getting sponsorship benefit, Lohra said.

We have written to the ministry of women and child development to relax the income certificate issuance norms. We are yet to receive government guideline pertaining to issue of income certificates below 72,000 for implementation of the Centres enabling scheme for poor, hapless children, he said.

A circle officer (CO) in Ranchi district said, We dont issue income certificates below 72,000. Income certificates below that are made in special circumstances; the applicant has to prove that due to ailments and other incapacitations his or her income is less than that.
More than 50 tax-exempted elite educational institutes, trusts and NGOs in Jharkhand, including XLRI, DAV, JEM foundation of Jusco here, have come under scrutiny for allegedly routing black money from dubious sources since demonetisation.

While XLRI claimed transparency in transactions, Motilal Nehru Public School, run by a trust Uttar Pradesh Sangh, said it has furnished the details sought by the income tax department.

Notices have been served to over 50 educational institutes, religious, charitable trusts and NGOs across the state who are tax-exempted under section 12(A) of the Income Tax Act, Ajay Kumar Singh, I-T deputy commissioner (exemption), Ranchi, told HT on Saturday.

The institutions have been asked to file their closing balance as on March 2016, November 8, and cash deposits since then, he said.

XLRI director Fr E Abraham told HT that they had replied to the I-T department, saying there has been no cash transaction during the said period. Everything was cashlesseither through online account transfer to banks or digital transactions, he said.

MNPS principal Ashu Tiwari said the department, in its December 22 notice, had sought audit reports of three years, students details and fee structure, and we have furnished the details.

Other institutions were not available for comment despite several attempts to contact them.

The Jamshedpur I-T investigation wing also conducted raids on three schoolsDAV, Patelnagar, Central Public School, Adityapur, and Vig School, Govindpurrun by city-based builder-banker Hare Ram Singh on December 16 and 17.

Institutions with annual receipt of over Rs 5 crore have got notices from the I-T headquarters, Ranchi, while those with less that Rs 5 crore have been issued notices by local I-T commissioner offices.

Jamshedpur I-T officer (exemption) P K Sen has issued notices to Loyola School, Sacred Heart Convent, MNPS, Kerala Public School, Kerala Samajam School, DAV School, JPS, Rajendra Vidyalaya and Sheyn International School, among others.

The I-T headquarters, Ranchi, has issued notices to city-based Kamalvati Devi Trust, which runs a dental college, and Sitaramdera-based Chitvanto Devi Charitable Trust, which runs several schools.

XISS, Cambridge School and Ashok Bhagats Navbharat Trust in Ranchi, Radha Govind Charitable Trust in Ramgarh, Bal Vidya Mandir in Bokaro, Bal Kalyan Charitable Trust and Samajik Kalyan Sansthan in Dhanbad and Satsang Sansthan in Deogarh have also come under its scanner.

It is estimated that private English-medium schools in Jamshedpur collect Rs 20-40 lakh every month on an average.

It is suspected that these schools were exchanging the banned currencies of dubious sources with new ones that were extracted as fee from students parents, income tax sources said.

NGOs and charitable trusts are suspected of taking hefty donations in scrapped notes from dubious sources and depositing them in their accounts on an understanding that it will be adjusted after a year or two.

Principal chief income tax commissioner (Bihar and Jharkhand), S T Ahmad and I-T commissioner Subrata Sarkar said about 150 such institutions have been served notices in both Bihar and Jharkhand.

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The Jharkhand Biodiversity Board has roped in Kolkata-based ornithologists to count migratory and domestic birds in the state from the first week of January.

This will be the third bird census in the state. Earlier, the forest department conducted the census in 2015 and 2016 in coordination with the Asian Waterbird Census.

We are working on the details of conducting the bird census for next year. Kolkata-based bird experts are being roped in for the job, said Rajiv Ranjan, member secretary of the board.

If everything goes on well, we will begin the bird survey from the first week of January, he said.

He further said that there are two purposes for inviting experts from West Bengal for bird count. We want to identify species, especially domestic birds that need to be conserved immediately.

The other purpose is to popularise Jharkhand bird sites among tourists who come from the neighbouring state. The bird watchers would help highlighting Jharkhand sites in Bengal.

With normal rainfall and adequate aquatic life in water bodies, bird count is expected to increase this time. The winged guests can be seen flocking at different water bodies in the state. Bird watchers and ornithologists are estimating 10-20% rise in the number of migratory birds in the state.

Monsoon rain has been good and all major lakes, dams and other water bodies are full. There is also no dearth of food for birds, said Satya Prakash, state coordinator of Bombay Natural History Society.

Though the actual figure will be known after the census, we are estimating the number of migratory birds to rise by 10-20% this year, he said.

Prakash had coordinated the last two bird census in Jharkhand. In 2016, the bird count was carried out in 25 major water bodies of the state.

The census in 2016, found 71, 833 birds in 25 water bodies of the state while 71,134 birds were spotted in 2015.

Besides, 71 species of wetland birds were identified during the census. Of the total, 25 species were resident birds, 21 resident migrants and 25 species were migratory birds, Prakash said.

Number of migratory birds in 2016 was estimated at 42,223, which was 37,168 in 2015. Altogether nine threatened bird species, including oriental white ibis, ferruginous pochard, river lapwing, river tern, white-necked stork, lesser adjutant stork, western marsh harrier, osprey and fulvous whistling duck were also spotted during the census.

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A blast ripped through a police car outside a Catholic church in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, authorities said, wounding 12 people, including a police officer.

The explosion hit churchgoers arriving for a Christmas Eve mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Nino in Midsayap town, about 900 kilometres south of Manila, police said.

Authorities did not immediately say who was responsible for the blast, which a police report said was caused by an unspecified explosive.

All victims suffered minor injuries except for one female civilian who was seriously injured (on) her foot, regional police spokesperson superintendent Romeo Galgo said in a written report.

The town resides in the middle of the large Philippine island of Mindanao, home to a Muslim minority and decades of armed rebellion.

However, the main Muslim guerrilla group in the area has signed a ceasefire with the Philippine government.

Government forces continue to fight smaller Muslim armed groups on the island, some of whom have pledged allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and have been blamed for bombing civilian targets in the past.

A member of the Midsayap police force was among those injured, Galgo reported.

Maureen Apilado, a civilian clerk at the Midsayap police station, told AFP by telephone that officers were busy investigating the incident and were unavailable for comment.
A film being shot at Malta airport about a plane hijacking was disrupted amid the real hijacking of a Libyan Airbus A320 on Friday.

According to a BBC report the film crew was forced to stop the shooting of the movie as the hijacked Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane landed at Malta International Airport.

Weve had five hijackings landing here and ironically today they were actually filming Entebbe on the airport grounds - and that had to be stopped, Magda Magri Naudi, the mayor of Lija told the BBC.

The movie - Entebbe - is based on a hostage situation that occurred 40 years ago in Uganda.

In 1976, an Air France aircraft carrying 250 passengers - many of who were Israeli - and 12 crew members was hijacked and flown to Ugandas Entebbe airport. The hijackers demanded that release of 54 militants held by Israel and four other countries and a $5m ransom.

The Ugandan government supported the hijackers, and dictator Idi Amin personally welcomed them.

In one of the most daring operations in its history, Israel secretly dispatched a unit of elite commandos - led by Yonatan Netanyahu, the brother of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - to rescue the hostages.

They flew eight-and-a-half-hours over 4,000km, through hostile territory and beneath the scope of enemy radar, to mount a surprise raid.

The Israeli forces freed 105 hostages killing about eight hostage-takers and 20 Ugandan troops.

Very different ending

In Fridays incident the two hijackers, both Libyan nationals claimed to be acting in the name of the countrys former ruler, Moammar Gaddafi.

Yet unlike most Gaddafi-era airline dramas, this one was resolved easily. Within hours of landing in Malta, the two hijackers had released the other 115 people aboard and had surrendered peacefully to the Maltese authorities.

Their weapons  a pistol and a grenade  turned out to be replicas. Libyan officials said the two men had asked for visas to Europe.
A record 5,000 migrants are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea this year, following two shipwrecks on Thursday in which some 100 people, mainly West Africans, were feared dead, aid agencies said on Friday.

Two overcrowded inflatable dinghies capsized in the Strait of Sicily after leaving Libya for Italy, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

Those two incidents together appear to be the numbers that would bring this years total up to over to 5,000 (deaths), which is a new high that we have reported during this crisis, IOM spokesperson Joel Millman told a Geneva briefing.

The Italian coast guard rescued survivors and had recovered eight bodies so far, he said. IOM staff were interviewing survivors brought to Trapani, Italy, he added.

Just under 3,800 migrants perished at sea during all of 2015, according to IOM figures.

UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler said the alarming increase in deaths this year appeared to be related to bad weather, the declining quality of vessels used by smugglers, and their tactics to avoid detection.

These (reasons also) include sending large numbers of embarkations simultaneously, which makes the work of rescuers more difficult, he said

The UNHCR appealed to states to open up more legal pathways for admitting refugees. Resettlement programmes, private sponsorship, family reunification and student scholarships would help so they do not have to resort to dangerous journeys and the use of smugglers, Spindler said.

IOM figures show 358,403 migrants and refugees had entered Europe by sea in 2016 up to and including December 21, arriving mostly in Greece and Italy.
Temperatures at the North Pole could be up to 20 degrees higher than average this Christmas Eve, in what scientists say is a record-breaking heatwave, a media report said on Saturday.

Friederike Otto, a senior researcher at Oxfords Environmental Change Institute told BBC News that in pre-industrial times a heatwave like this would have been extremely rare - we would expect it to occur about every 1,000 years.

Temperatures are forecast to peak on Christmas Eve around the North Pole - at near-freezing.

The warm air from the North Atlantic is forecast to flow all the way to the North Pole via Spitsbergen, giving rise to clouds that prevent heat from escaping.

Otto told the BBC News, the reduction in sea ice is contributing to this feedback loop.

Forecasting models show that there is about a 2% chance of a heatwave event occurring every year.

Thorsten Markus, chief of NASAs Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, said the heatwave was very, very unusual.
The first fixed-wing female pilot in the Afghan air force has sought asylum in the US, the media reported on Saturday.

Captain Niloofar Rahmani on Friday expressed her intention to remain in the US following a 15-month long training period in Texas, Khaama Press reported.

Things are not changing for the better in Afghanistan, Rahmani told The New York Times. Things are getting worse and worse.

Rahmani told her American trainers that she still wants to be a military pilot but not under her countrys flag.

The pilot has already filed a petition seeking asylum in the US, where she hopes to join the air force.

This comes as reports emerged late last year that Rahmani was receiving death threats.

Rahmani is one of the celebrated personalities in Afghanistan for being the first female pilot to fly fixed-wing plane. She was presented the International Women of Courage award last year in Washington.

Rahmani is as committed to encouraging other young women to follow in her footsteps now as she was as an 18-year-old dreaming of flight school, US First Lady Michelle Obama had said of her at the ceremony last year.

Read | Afghanistans young air force spreads its wings in battle with Taliban
Hundreds of people returned to eastern Aleppo neighbourhoods on Friday to check on their homes after the last opposition fighters left the city, picking through debris and wreckage for personal belongings blasted by years of fighting.

In a sign of the immense challenges that still lie ahead for President Bashar Assad, rebels outside the city shelled a neighbourhood in the city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government forces took full control of Syrias largest city a day earlier, state TV reported.

The rebel surrender in Aleppo ended a brutal chapter in Syrias nearly six-year civil war, and marked Assads most significant victory since an uprising against his familys four-decade rule began in 2011. But large parts of the war-ravaged country remain outside his control, including rural areas in Aleppo province south and west of the city where opposition fighters still operate.

Read | Syrian president Bashar al-Assad congratulates nation on liberation of Aleppo

Assad has said that the most important priority after securing Aleppo will be fortifying the countryside around it before moving on to other strongholds outside his control, including the nearby province of Idlib, west of Aleppo, and the city of Raqqa controlled by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria.

the main goal now is to focus efforts on issues of advancing a peace settlement including hammering out an agreement on a comprehensive settlement for the Syria crisis.

Syrian TV said Fridays rockets which hit the southwestern neighbourhood of Hamadaniyeh were fired by insurgents based southwest of Aleppo.

Associated Press footage from inside neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo taken over by the army after the last rebels were bused out a day earlier captured the staggering destruction: Row after row of destroyed buildings, many with blown out doors and windows, and toppled floors, along debris-strewn streets lined with charred vehicles. Not a single building appeared intact.

In the Sukkari, Ansari and Amiriyeh neighbourhoods, army experts were dismantling explosives and booby-traps left behind by rebels before they left.

Hundreds of people walked through the Bustan al-Qasr crossing, a passageway that separated rebel-controlled eastern Aleppo from the government-controlled al-Masharqa district, which was closed years ago, cutting off links between the two sides of the divided city.

Ahmad Khayata was among those who returned to see what remains of his home in Sukkari, one of the last neighbourhoods to be evacuated by opposition fighters Thursday. He was told by soldiers he needed to wait until they finish de-mining the area.

Read | Aleppo liberated: What shaped Syrias war-torn city since March 2011

Its been five years since I left my home, he said. Thank God now we are back... They (soldiers) told us maybe in the afternoon or tomorrow it will be possible to go in, he said.

The Syrian governments recapture of Aleppo after a prolonged and punishing air assault leaves Assad in control of almost all major urban areas  and poised to play a role in the world communitys broader war against jihadis clinging to parts of Syria. It is a devastating a blow for the opposition, whose main backer, Turkey, is now heavily engaged with Moscow in searching for a settlement to the six-year war in Syria.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin, one of Assads key backers, said its necessary to establish a cease-fire across the entire territory of Syria, to be followed by peace talks.

In the next stage, an agreement on a cease-fire on the entire territory of Syria should be reached and practical talks on a political settlement should start immediately after, Putin said at his annual news conference.

He said the leaders of Turkey and Iran, which have helped broker the withdrawal of the remaining civilians and militants from Aleppo, have agreed that Syria peace talks should be held in Kazakhstans capital, Astana. He added that Assad has agreed to that proposal.

The Kremlin later said that Putin called Assad to congratulate him on the capture of Aleppo.

This success was possibly only thanks to joint efforts of everyone who rallied together against international terrorism in Syria, Putin was quoted as saying.

The Kremlin also said Putin told Assad that the main goal now is to focus efforts on issues of advancing a peace settlement including hammering out an agreement on a comprehensive settlement for the Syria crisis.

Read | Aleppo recapture deals setback to Gulf rebel backers

Russias Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a meeting with Putin that a military police battalion had been deployed to eastern Aleppo the previous evening to ensure order. He didnt specify how many troops had been deployed.

Shoigu told Putin that the Russian military is helping restore water and energy supplies to eastern districts of Aleppo and clearing them from mines. Shoigu said that an agreement on a complete cease-fire in Syria is very close, didnt offer details.

Syrian state TV said the Russian force aims to protect explosive experts in the Russian base of Hemeimeem on the coast.

The ancient city had been divided into rebel and government parts since 2012, when rebels from the countryside swept in and took hold of eastern districts. That set the stage for more than four years of brutal fighting and government bombardment that laid waste to those neighbourhoods.

The rebel evacuations were set in motion after a months-long siege and Russian-backed military campaign. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians killed by shells as they fled for safety.

Under a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and fighters began evacuating to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process that took a week and ended Thursday night.

Pro-government TV stations reported that rebels killed dozens of prisoners they were holding before they evacuated the city. Syrian rebels denied the reports in an exchange monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, saying the prisoners were released.

A Syrian military official told The Associated Press that the gunmen carried out criminal acts before the left east Aleppo, adding that he will not go into details until a military investigation is over. He spoke by telephone from Syria on condition of anonymity in line with army regulations.
Tribunal in early 2017 will consider Ukraine's claim against Russia as for violation of UN Convention on Law of Sea

The United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in early 2017 will start considering Ukraine's claim against the Russian Federation regarding the violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by Moscow.

The press center of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said the tribunal was formed on December 22, 2016 and consists of the following members: judge Jin-Hyun Paik (South Korea) appointed by the president of the tribunal; judge Boualem Bouguetaia (Algeria); judge Alonso Gomez-Robledo Verduzco (Mexico); Professor Love (UK) appointed by Ukraine; and judge Vladimir Golitsyn appointed by the Russian Federation.

"The appointed members of the tribunal have the reputation for fair, competent, honest and independent experts in the field of international maritime law. The Foreign Ministry expresses its sincere gratitude to the vice president of the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for the fast appointment of the tribunal members," the ministry said.

As reported, Ukraine on September 14, 2016 initiated a dispute with the Russian Federation regarding the violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by Moscow.
Nobody comes to Sesto San Giovanni by chance, say the residents of this dreary working-class Milan suburb where police caught up with Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri.

So why, Italy wonders, did Europes most wanted man end up here?

Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian, was shot dead by police on Friday during a routine check at the local train station, after opening fire first.

Sesto San Giovanni, with its 80,000 inhabitants, is where Amri caught the officers attention in the small hours. Its a hub for transport, the last stop on a metro line, and has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy.

Many foreigners come through here, and police controls are particularly thorough.

I get checked by police every day getting off the bus, said Aziz, a young Moroccan worker.

At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol, he told AFP.

According to Italian daily La Stampa, police believe that Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France.

They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices.

But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead.

Italys Stalingrad

He then travelled to Milan, where he arrived at 1 am Friday, before going on to Sesto San Giovanni.

Was he hoping to hook up with members of a network? Was he looking for new ID to get him out of Europe? Or was he planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he spent four years in prison for torching a school in 2011?

Police are short on answers. But they do point out, according to Italian media, that Sesto San Giovanni, once known as Italys Stalingrad because of the powerful local Communist party, has become a multicultural town with a large Muslim community.

Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had no links with the Sesto mosque, but some locals wonder if he had contacts nearby.

Some people are worried, said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting.

Italy does its bit investigating jihadist sympathiser networks, but only a few dozen Italians have actually gone off to join Islamic State fighters in Iraq or Syria.

And despite the occasional threatening militant video, Italy has never been the target of any jihadist attack.

They got lucky

Still, many Italians are startled that the man tracked by the combined power of the continents police forces could slip into their country unnoticed.

He could have committed more attacks, acknowledged De Iesu, calling Amri a very dangerous fugitive.

Populists have seized the opportunity to further their agenda, including Beppo Grillo, head of the Five Star Movement.

Italy is becoming a crossroads for terrorists. We cant detect or identify them, and thanks to Schengen they can cross borders without trouble, he said on his blog, referring to the EUs passport-free travel system.

Many other Italians declare themselves to be fatalistic, like Francesco Micali, another resident of Sesto San Giovanni.

There could easily be an attack in Italy, just like in France, Germany and Spain, said.

As for the two policeman who stopped the suspect, who are being celebrated as heroes in Italy: They just got lucky, said Micali.
British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the country to come together in 2017 after a year of bitter divisions exposed by the Brexit referendum, in her first Christmas message released Saturday.

She said Britain needed to unite and seize the opportunity to forge a new role in the world as it leaves the European Union.

In the June referendum, 52 percent voted for Britain to leave the EU and wrangling over the issue dominated the rest of the year.

May says she wants to begin the formal process of withdrawing from the EU, which can take up to two years, by the end of March.

As families gathered for Christmas, May said coming together is also important for us as a country.

As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future.

May said on Tuesday that she was planning to negotiate both Brexit and Britains future relationship with the EU by 2019 but a transition period may be required after that.

Britains Supreme Court is set to rule in January on whether parliaments approval is required for May to trigger the exit process.
A sixth-grader, through his father, on Friday sued in the Islamabad High Court officials of the Pakistan Presidents House, accusing them of plagiarising and using his speech without his consent.

Eleven-year-old Mohammad Sabeel Haider, who studies in Islamabad Model College for Boys, told DawnNews that he was chosen to deliver a speech at the President House in Islamabad on December 22.

The ceremony was recorded and is supposed to be aired on Pakistan Television on December 25, marking the 141st birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

However, when Sabeel arrived at the Presidents House, he was informed he will no longer be delivering the speech.

He said in his petition that a tenth-grader named Ayesha Ishtiaq delivered the speech he had written and prepared, alleging that his intellectual property was stolen.

According to Sabeels lawyer, as per countrys constitution, a literary piece that the person has produced themselves cannot be used by a third party without their consent.

The courts judgement in this regard has been reserved.

Read | I never attended school, says Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain
Security was heightened for the Christmas weekend in Italy and at the Vatican on Saturday after Italian police killed the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack while other European cities kept forces on high alert.

In France, Britain and Germany, which have all been targets of Islamist militant attacks, police increased their presence at tourist spots in major cities and other densely populated areas.

Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian suspected of carrying out the truck attack which killed 12 people, was shot dead in a town near Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check.

He had travelled undetected to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europes open-border Schengen pact.

As investigators sought to determine if Amri had accomplices in Italy, and associates were being arrested in his home country of Tunisia, national security officials in Italy beefed up security at sensitive spots.

Rome authorities banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather.

At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peters basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres along streets leading to the Vatican.

Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services.

Italian police officers conduct a security check-point in a central street of Rome. (AFP Photo)

In France, where Islamist militants killed 130 people in shooting and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security measures being enforced at churches.

Emergency rule has been in place since the Paris attacks, and French soldiers patrol the capitals streets. Police have been given wider search and arrest powers to target suspects considered a threat to security.

In Germany, federal police reinforced armed patrols at airports and rail stations, officials said. They have also reintroduced spot checks on people coming into Germany along a 30-km corridor inside the international frontiers.

German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere has said the danger of an attack in Germany remains high despite the death of the suspected attacker.

Read: Germany hunts possible accomplices of Berlin truck attack suspect

More than 100 investigators would be working through the holidays searching for any accomplices or support network for Amri. The level of threat remains high, he told reporters late on Friday.

Britain is on its second-highest threat level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.

Police there have increased security at a number of popular tourist attractions, including around Queen Elizabeths London residence, Buckingham Palace. Armed officers patrol major shopping centres, Christmas markets and places of worship.

Reconstructing movements

After reconstructing Amris movements since he drove a truck through a festive market in Berlin on Monday, police are investigating whether he was seeking shelter from comrades in Italy or was en route to another country.

The town near Milan where Amri was killed, Sesto San Giovanni, is home to a sizeable Muslim community and is a departure point for buses to southern Italy, eastern Europe and the Balkans.

In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Tunisian security forces on Saturday arrested three suspected militants, including Amris nephew, who had been in touch with Amri by social media messaging.

Spains interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said its intelligence services were investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19.

French soldiers patrol outside the Notre Dame Cathedral as part of the Vigipirate security plan as emergency security measures continue during the holiday season in Paris. (REUTERS)

Amri originally came to Europe in 2011, landing with other migrants on the island of Lampedusa, and spent four years in an Italian jail for trying to set a school on fire in Sicily.

German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amris criminal past.

Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum, Germanys de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Italians have been moved by the story of 31-year-old Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who survived two heart operations only to be killed in the truck attack in Berlin, where she was living.

Read: Missed chances: How Berlin attack suspect slipped through the police net
Germany was hunting for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker on Saturday, a day after he was killed in a shoot-out with Italian police in Milan.

As most of the country was preparing to celebrate Christmas Eve, Germanys under-pressure authorities said hundreds of investigators would be working on the probe throughout the holiday season.

Tunisian Anis Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The rejected asylum seeker was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt after the rampage, but his time on the run was cut short by Italian police.

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday thanked Italy and expressed relief that the fugitive no longer posed a threat, but warned that the danger of terrorism in general endures.

She pledged a comprehensive analysis of how the known jihadist was able to slip through the net in the first place.

The Amri case raises questions, she said. We will now intensively examine to what extent official procedures need to be changed.

How could Europes most wanted terrorist leave Germany? asked the respected Die Welt daily on its website, in a nod to the growing criticism of the countrys handling of the probe.

Amri was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two officers who had stopped him for a routine identity check in the early hours of Friday near Milans Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one of the officers before being killed by 29-year-old police rookie Luca Scata, who has since been hailed as a hero.

Police said Amri had shouted bastard police in Italian before opening fire.

According to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, Amri had arrived in Italy from Germany via France. He had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone.

The Islamic State group released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Radicalised in prison

German investigators are now focusing on whether Amri had help from accomplices.

It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect, federal prosecutor Peter Frank told reporters.

Questions have been raised about whether enough was done to keep tabs on Amri, who was on the radar of anti-terrorism agencies in both Germany and Italy.

Amris port of entry to Europe was Italy, arriving on a migrant boat in 2011. He then spent four years in prison there for starting a fire in a refugee centre, during which time he was apparently radicalised.

After serving his sentence he made his way to Germany in 2015, taking advantage of Europes Schengen system of open borders -- as he did on his return to Italy this week.

German security agencies began monitoring Amri in March, suspecting that he was planning break-ins to raise cash for automatic weapons to carry out an attack.

But the surveillance was stopped in September because Amri, who was supposed to have been deported months earlier, was seen primarily as a small-time drug dealer.

Germanys anti-migration AfD party, which has blamed the attack on Merkels liberal asylum policy, surged to a year high of more than 15 percent in a poll on Friday, ahead of a general election expected next September.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas has pledged to examine how to improve surveillance of potentially dangerous persons and concrete steps to speed up deportations of illegal migrants.
Germany on Saturday searched for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker who was gunned down by Italian police, as Tunisia announced the arrest of three men linked to the jihadist.

One of those detained was the nephew of the Tunisian-born attack suspect Anis Amri, the countrys interior ministry said.

The three men, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Friday and were members of a terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri, it said in a statement.

It made no direct link between the trio and the attack on Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people.

The 24-year-old then went on the run and was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt, before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

The Berlin rampage was claimed by the Islamic State group, which released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The arrests come as German authorities are racing to find out whether Amri had help from accomplices before or after the attack.

It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect, federal prosecutor Peter Frank said Friday.

Seven of the victims were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman told AFP. The other five came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine.

She declined to provide names or ages.

Criticism

The fact that Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies.

German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal with links to the Islamist scene.

But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure.

It is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock, he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged a comprehensive analysis of how Amri was able to slip through the net and vowed to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers like him.

The fugitive was killed after pulling out a pistol and firing at two officers who had stopped him for a routine identity check Friday near Milans Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one officer before being killed by 29-year-old police rookie Luca Scata.

According to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, Amri had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone.

Media reports said a train ticket found in Amris backpack suggested he had boarded a train in Chambery, southeastern France, and passed through Turin before arriving in Milan.

Amri left Tunisia for Italy in 2011. He spent four years in prison there for starting a fire in a refugee centre, during which time he was apparently radicalised.

After serving his sentence he made his way to Germany in 2015, taking advantage of Europes Schengen system of open borders -- as he did on his return to Italy this week.

German security agencies began monitoring Amri in March, suspecting he was planning break-ins to raise cash for automatic weapons to carry out an attack.

But the surveillance was stopped in September because Amri, who was supposed to have been deported months earlier, was seen primarily as a small-time drug dealer.
An Afghan official says gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in the capital, killing at least one person.

Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul polices criminal investigation department, says the two gunmen attacked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeefs house late Friday, but he was not there.

Zaeef, who served as the Talibans envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
In an unusual move, Iran and six world powers have released previously restricted documents about their nuclear deal to enforce their view that Tehran is not circumventing limits on its limit of enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons.

Some of the documents are dated January 6, 2016, shortly before the pact was implemented. But they were not made public until yesterday, when they were posted on the public website of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is monitoring the nuclear deal.

The agreement stipulates that Iran can possess only low-enriched uranium, which is not suitable for weapons, and it is limited to possessing no more than 300 kgs at any time.

That is far less than would be needed to make a nuclear weapon even if it were further enriched to weapons-grade levels used for the core of nuclear warheads.

When the nuclear deal was agreed on, Iran had more than 100 kgs of liquid or solid waste containing low-enriched uranium as part of its enrichment activities. Some of the material remains and the documents posted yesterday declare the low-enriched uranium it contains as unrecoverable and thereby not part of the 300-kg limit.

A letter on behalf of the European Unions foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, authorising publication of the documents was also posted on the IAEA website.

It did not specify why they were made public nearly a year after they were agreed on by the nations negotiating the deal.

But it comes at a time that the incoming US administration has served notice it might seek to pull out of the agreement. Two officials of one of the five nations at the table with Iran suggested it was meant to show unity on the issue among criticism from experts that US lawmakers critical of the deal have seized on as an example of allowing Iran to undercut the pact.

Publication of the document comes shortly after the IAEA warned Iran to curb its production of low-enriched uranium or face the possibility of exceeding its allotted limit. The two officials said, however, that the two issues were not related, and Iran for now remained within its obligations.

They agreed to discuss the matter only if they were not quoted by name because they are not authorised to talk about the confidential issue.
Israel lashed out at US President Barack Obama over a UN Security Council resolution passed Friday demanding it halt settlements in Palestinian territory, while vowing it would not abide by it.

Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said.

The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes, it said.

Israel looks forward to working with President-elect (Donald) Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution.

Israel also announced diplomatic retaliatory steps against Senegal and New Zealand, two of the four countries that pushed for a vote on the resolution. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with the other two, Malaysia and Venezuela.

Read | After US abstention, UN Security Council demands end to Israeli settlements

In a rare and momentous step, the United States abstained from Fridays vote, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

The landmark move by the Security Council came despite intense lobbying efforts by Israel and Trump to block the resolution.

But the Obama administration has grown increasingly frustrated with settlement building in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied for nearly 50 years.

There have been growing warnings that settlement building is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the basis of years of negotiations.

Settlements are constructed on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state and have long been seen as illegal under international law.

The United States has traditionally served as Israels diplomatic protector, shielding it from resolutions it opposes.

It is Israels most important ally and provides it with more than $3 billion per year in defence aid.

But there had been mounting speculation that Obama would allow such a resolution to pass before he leaves office on January 20.

Trump has signalled he is likely to be far more favourable to Israel.

His nominee for ambassador to the country, David Friedman, favours moving the embassy to Jerusalem and has voiced support for settlement building.

Read: UN settler vote big blow to Israel: Palestinian presidency

Harsh words for Obama

Obama and Netanyahu have had testy relations, but Israels statement after the vote was particularly harsh toward the US administration, as were comments earlier in the day from an anonymous Israeli official.

Earlier on Friday, the Israeli official said that Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry were behind this shameful move against Israel at the UN.

After the vote, Netanyahu ordered Israels ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return for consultations, a statement from his spokesman said.

Israel also called off a planned visit by the Senegalese foreign minister in three weeks, while all aid programmes to Senegal were cancelled.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called the resolution a big blow for Israeli policies.

The move was an international and unanimous condemnation of settlements and strong support for the two-state solution, Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

Saeb Erekat, a former peace negotiator and the number two in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), spoke of a historic day.

December 23 is a historic day and a victory for international legitimacy, international law and international documents, said Erekat.

The resolution demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem.

It states that Israeli settlements have no legal validity and are dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution that would see an independent Palestine co-exist alongside Israel.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the occupied West Bank and another 200,000 in annexed east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.
Israel has handed Palestinian authorities the bodies of nine Palestinians killed carrying out attacks on its soldiers and civilians, the army said on Friday.

Five of the bodies were those of Palestinians from the flashpoint city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, an army spokesperson said.

They were returned a week after Israel handed Palestinian authorities the bodies of seven other Palestinians.

A wave of Palestinian attacks erupted last year, but the violence has greatly subsided in recent months.

Since October 2015, 246 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed, according to an AFP count.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some died in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

Since the start of the violence, Israeli forces have confiscated the bodies of killed Palestinians, often for several months, as a means of deterrence and to prevent clashes during funerals.

Under former defence minister Moshe Yaalon, the army had started to return the bodies of Palestinians not affiliated with armed groups.
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US Congressman Keith Ellison, a Democrat, has been a leading critic of India on religious freedom for decades and co-sponsored a 2013 House resolution that called for America to continue to deny then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi a visa.

Now, he says Modi is a closed matter for him after the Indian Supreme Court ruling on the Gujarat riots, and has pledged to do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the Hindu community in India into my legislative work.

What changed? Ellison is running for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), a post that has assumed critical importance this year after the party lost the White House and failed to wrest control of the two chambers of Congress.

The DNC chairman will have the onerous task of rescuing the party from despondency and putting it back on its feet over the next four years by working to deny president-elect Donald Trump a second term and winning back the Senate and the House.

Though small in number compared to other religious and ethnic minorities in the US, Indian Americans have begun to leverage their financial clout and the ability to swing the outcome in closely contested elections, especially in battleground states.

Hindus among them are a particularly prominent part of this trend. They made significant progress in the Republican Party when Trump attended a rally hosted by a wealthy donor Shalli Kumar. That was the first time a major party nominee had pitched himself directly to the community.

There is a growing realisation among parties that though small in number this community matters as every vote matters as this election has demonstrated, said a member of the community who played a key role in reaching out to Ellison.

This is what prompted the push in the Democratic Party, which remains the party of choice for most Indian Americans and Hindu Americans though, based purely on anecdotal evidence, a large number of them voted for Trump this time.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF), an advocacy group that has long tracked Ellison and tussled with him over his legislative activities critical of India and the community, led the effort by reaching out to him soon after he announced his candidature.

Ellison agreed to a conference call, which was joined by the only Hindu in the US Congress Tulsi Gabbard, a senior member of the Maryland state legislature Kumar Bharve and representatives from 30 Hindu outfits.

According to a statement issued by the foundation on Friday, discussion covered a wide range of subjects  the plight of Hindus in South Asian countries where they were in a minority and Ellisons willingness to work with the government of India.

Ellison, an African American who is the first Muslim ever elected to the US Congress, was also asked about his unrelenting focus on the 2002 Gujarat riots and Modi. The foundation said, Rep. Ellison responded that he viewed the Gujarat issue as a closed matter since the Indian Supreme Court has issued its ruling.

He also wrote in a statement, This should be seen in the broader context of my efforts to stand up for minority religious communities, and in no way detracts from my support for Hindus and Hinduism as one of the worlds great religions.

Ellison and Joe Pitts, co-sponsors of the 2013 resolution, had continued to push it among fellow lawmakers right up till the 2014 parliamentary elections that the BJP won.

The Congressman also said in the statement after the conference call, India is a key strategic partner and friend to the United States, and I look forward to building on a constructive and congenial relationship with the Indian government.

The foundations Suhag Shukla, who led the outreach to Ellison, said in a statement, On behalf of HAF and the other community organizations present, we appreciate Representative Ellisons willingness to have an open dialogue about concerns of the Hindu American community, as well as the candor of his responses.
A woman and a teenage boy blew themselves up in Dhaka on Saturday when Bangladesh polices elite counter-terrorism unit raided their three-storey building in Ashkona area of the capital.

Heavily-armed militants, belonging to an Islamist group blamed for the deadly cafe attack, were hiding inside the building. Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the media that a woman and a teenage boy have blown themselves up.

Earlier four persons, including two woman and as many children, came out of the building and surrendered to law enforcers, bdnews reported.

A minor girl, who suffered splinter injuries when the woman killed herself, has been taken to the hospital.

Sounds of several explosions and gunshots were heard in the areas since afternoon. Law enforcers lobbed several rounds of tear gas canisters targeting the building after the blast, reports our staff correspondent covering the raid from the spot.

Read | Bangladesh arrests two Islamists blamed for cafe attack

The inmates have vowed to fight us with grenades... we are repeatedly asking them to give up, Dhakas police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mian told reporters.

Police said the militants are believed to be the operatives of neo-Jamaatun Mujahideen Bangladesh (neo-JMB) which was behind the July 1 terror attack on the Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed.

Another official at the scene said one of the two women who surrendered was the wife of a slain renegade ex-army major who was killed on September 2 this year in a police encounter during a nearly identical raid at Dhakas Mirpur area. The other woman was the wife of a neo-JMB leader.

Read | Militant hideout raided in Dhaka, members of cafe attacker group holed-up
The Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed - driven from its last forest enclave with fighters on the run and no place to hide, Nigerias president declared Saturday.

Despite President Muhammadu Buharis victorious announcement, Nigeria is unlikely to see an end soon to the deadly suicide bombings, village attacks and assaults on remote military outposts in northeastern Nigeria carried out by the countrys homegrown Islamic extremist group. Already, there are reports that the insurgents have been regrouping in Taraba and Bauchi states, south of their northeastern stronghold in Borno state, and taking advantage of a decades-old conflict in central Nigeria between mainly Muslim nomadic cattle herders and sedentary Christian farmers.

In a statement, Buhari commended Nigerian troops for finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest.

He announced the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave and declared the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide.

The Sambisa Forest was where Boko Haram was believed to be holding some of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 from a school in the town of Chibok - a mass abduction that brought the Islamic extremists world attention and sparked an international social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

Further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity. May God be with them, Buhari said.

Nigerian troops have freed thousands of Boko Haram captives this year, but none of the Chibok girls among 276 seized from a government boarding school.

Dozens of girls escaped within hours of their abduction. In October, 21 Chibok girls were freed through negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, brokered by the Swiss government and the International Red Cross. In May, one Chibok girl escaped on her own. Some 197 remain missing.

The freed girls have indicated that several others have died in captivity from things like malaria and a snake bite.

Boko Harams seven-year Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across Nigerias borders, driven some 2.3 million people from their homes and created a massive humanitarian crisis. The UN has warned that 5.1 million people are in danger of starving in northeast Nigeria, including in areas too dangerous to reach because of Boko Haram ambushes.
Hijackings like the one on Friday of a Libyan plane have become relatively rare since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States led to increased security.

The hijackers who diverted the plane on Friday to Malta released everyone on board and surrendered. A Libyan official claimed the men had sought asylum, but Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said they had not.

Two men used fake weapons to hijack a Libyan plane with 117 people on board and divert it to Malta. The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was en route from Sabha in southern Libya to the capital Tripoli when it was taken over and forced to fly to Malta, sparking a four-hour runway standoff.

While they were initially thought to have used a real grenade and at least one pistol to stage the hijacking, it later emerged that the pair used fake weapons, a Maltese government statement said.

Read: Actual hijacking at Malta airport stops shooting of movie on hijacking

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the two men, probably of Libyan nationality, were arrested. Libyan foreign minister Taher Siala from the fledgling national unity government said the two were supporters of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, whose death in 2011 has plunged Libya into chaos.

Other recent hijackings have been carried out by individuals for reasons ranging from personal to political, and almost all ended swiftly and safely. Here are examples from the past 10 years:

Wanted to see ex-wife

A man hijacks an EgyptAir flight on March 29, 2016 from Alexandria to Cairo with 55 passengers and crew onboard, and forces it to land in Cyprus so he can see his ex-wife.

Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58, is described as psychologically unstable and claims to have explosives strapped to his waist, but gives himself up after releasing fellow travellers.

Maltese special forces soldiers approach a hijacked Libyan Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 on the runway at Malta International Airport.

Asylum seeker

An Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 202 people on board is diverted on February 17, 2014 by its unarmed copilot to Geneva where he asks for asylum.

Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn is arrested, but Switzerland refuses an Ethiopian request for his extradition.

Drunk hijacker

A reportedly drunk man hijacks a flight on February 7, 2014 with 110 people on board from Ukraines second city Kharkov to Istanbul.

He brandishes what he claims is a detonator and shouts Lets go to Sochi, Russia, where the Winter Olympics opening ceremony is under way.

The plane is escorted by Turkish F-16 jets to Istanbul where anti-terrorist commandos end the incident without any casualties.

Divine mission to warn Mexico

A Bolivian preacher and former drug addict hijacks on September 9, 2009 an Aeromexico airliner from Cancun to Mexico City with 104 people on board, saying he is on a divine mission.

Presenting sand-filled juice cans with coloured lights as a bomb, Jose Marc Flores Pereira surrenders after the plane lands, with most passengers unaware they had been taken hostage.

The hijacker says he had to warn Mexico it was threatened by an earthquake.

Two hijackers of a Libyan Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 surrender to Maltese military on the runway at Malta Airport. (REUTERS)

Low on fuel

A Sun Air flight carrying 95 people from Nyala in Sudan to Khartoum is hijacked on August 26, 2008 by two men and lands in Kufra, southern Libya after running low on fuel. Almost a day later, the men surrender and the passengers are freed.

Escape out the back

An Egyptian and a Turk who claim to be al Qaeda members hijack on August 18, 2007 an Istanbul-bound Atlasjet flight from the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with 142 people on board and demand to fly to Iran or Syria.

The pilots land in Antalya, Turkey to refuel, and while women and children are being freed by the front door, most of the other passengers escape through the rear. The rest are released several hours later when the hijackers surrender.

Message to the Pope

An unarmed Turkish army deserter, Hakan Ekinci, seizes on October 3, 2006 a Turkish Airlines flight carrying 113 people from Tirana to Istanbul. The plane is forced by Greek and Italian jets to land in Brindisi, Italy.

Ekinci had forced his way into the cockpit with a parcel that he said was a bomb, and wanted to send a message to Pope Benedict XVI.

He claimed to be a Christian convert and a conscientious objector, and sought to avoid Turkeys compulsory military service.
The Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen used banned cluster bombs in attacks near two schools this month, Human Rights Watch said. The watchdog said that the alliance fired Brazilian-made rockets containing the outlawed munitions on December 6, near two schools in the Houthi rebel stronghold province of Saada, killing two civilians and wounding six including a child.

That incident came a day after Saudi Arabia joined the US and Brazil in abstaining from a UN General Assembly vote that overwhelmingly endorsed an international ban on cluster bomb use.

Brazil should be on notice that its rockets are being used in unlawful attacks in the Yemeni war, said HRW arms director Steve Goose.

Cluster munitions are prohibited weapons that should never be used under any circumstances due to the harm inflicted on civilians. Brazil should make an immediate commitment to ending production and export of cluster munitions.

The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets that disperse over large areas, often continuing to kill and maim civilians long after they are dropped.

The Saudi-led coalition this week said it had made limited use of British-made cluster bombs, a type of weapon which 100 countries have already pledged not to use.

The alliance, which intervened in support of Yemens government in March 2015 after the Houthis overran much of the countrys northern and central regions, has come under repeated criticism over civilian casualties.

Since then, the war has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000, the United Nations says.

Read | Saudi Arabia led coalition says UK-made cluster bombs used in Yemen
A Donald Trump ally has ignited widespread outrage after wishing for US President Barack Obamas death and making racially charged comments about the first lady.

Carl Paladino -- a businessman who served as a co-chairman of the president-elects New York State election campaign -- made the incendiary jabs in a year-end feature published on Friday in Artvoice, a weekly newspaper in upstate New York.

Asked what he would most like to see happen in 2017, the former Republican candidate for governor of New York state said he hoped Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a type of beef cattle and dies before his trial.

Read | Gotta catch them all: Racist stickers in UK ask to deport Obama, London mayor

When questioned what he would most like to see go next year, Paladino replied Michelle Obama.

Id like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

Paladinos remarks quickly spurred angry reaction on social media and drew the ire of elected officials.

Carl Paladino speaks during the gubernatorial debate at Hofstra University. (AFP Photo)

Andrew Cuomo -- current New York governor who beat Paladino in 2010 -- slammed his ex-rivals comments as racist, ugly and reprehensible.

Paladino has a long history of racist and incendiary comments, Cuomo said in a statement. His remarks do not reflect the sentiments or opinions of any real New Yorker.

He has embarrassed the good people of the state with his latest hate-filled rage.

Read | Ape in heels: Racist post about Michelle Obama sparks backlash

Trump did not personally defend or call out his political ally, though a spokesperson for the president-elect said the comments are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse, according to the New York Times.

Facing broad condemnation, Paladino published an open letter that his remarks had nothing to do with race. In the statement he went on to call Obama a yellow-bellied coward and said the first lady should leave and go someplace she will be happy.

First lady Michelle Obama blows kisses after speaking to delegates during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. (AP File Photo)

Paladino -- a developer in the city of Buffalo, New York -- visited Trump Tower earlier this month, a meeting he described to The Buffalo News as very warm.

Read | What Trump can learn from Obamas rough ride on health care
Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are connected to the Tunisian assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry said Saturday.

A statement said the three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Friday and were members of a terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri.

It made no direct link between the suspects and Mondays deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

The interior ministry said that Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group.

One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram, it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist takfiri ideology and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS), it said.

The nephew also told investigators that Amri sent him money through the post... so that he could join him in Germany, the statement added.

The unnamed nephew was reported in the statement to have said that his uncle was the prince or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and know as the Abu al-Walaa brigade.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

He was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two Italian policemen who had stopped him for a routine identity check Friday near Milans Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one of the policemen before being killed by the other.

The Tunisian interior ministry did not specify where the three suspects were arrested but said that the terrorist cell was active between Fouchana, south of Tunis, and Oueslatia, hometown of Amris family in central Tunisia.
Syrian rebels backed by Turkish warplanes killed 68 Islamic State militants in northern Syria overnight, the Turkish military said on Saturday, as intense fighting around the town of al-Bab continued.

Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the Islamic State-held town for weeks under the Euphrates Shield operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the Sunni hardliners and Kurdish fighters from its Syrian border.

Fighting around al-Bab has escalated this week with Turkish soldiers and 138 jihadists killed in clashes on Wednesday in the deadliest day since the start of Turkeys Syrian incursion.

Sixty-eight Islamic State militants have been neutralised in fighting and air strikes near al-Bab since Friday night, the military said in a statement.

A total of 141 Islamic State targets were hit in the attacks and one of its military headquarters was destroyed, the military said, adding that two of the Turkish-backed rebel fighters had been killed and one wounded.

Defence minister Fikri Isik said on Friday that the area around a hospital used as a command centre and ammunition depot by Islamic State had been cleared of militants, marking a breakthrough for the rebels.

Speaking in Kocaeli province, near Istanbul, Isik also said authorities had information three Turkish soldiers had been captured by Islamic State but nothing else had been confirmed.

Islamic State in Syria released a video on Thursday purporting to show two captured Turkish soldiers being burned to death, according to the US-based SITE Intelligence Group which monitors militant groups online.
The UN Security Councils vote on Friday demanding Israel halt settlements in the occupied territories is a big blow to Israeli policy and a historic day, Palestinian officials said.

The resolution was adopted after the United States abstained, allowing the measure to pass by a vote of 14 in favour in the 15-member council.

The Security Council decision is a big blow for Israeli policies, said Palestinian presidency spokesman Abu Rudeina.

The move was an international and unanimous condemnation of settlements and strong support for the two-state solution, he told AFP.

Read | After US abstention, UN Security Council demands end to Israeli settlements

Saeb Erakat, a former peace negotiator and the number two in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), spoke of a historic day.

December 23 is a historic day and a victory for international legitimacy, international law and international documents, said Erakat.

The vote was a clear and unanimous message to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that your policies will not achieve peace and security for Israel or the region.

The only way to peace is through the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and this is what the international community agreed upon today at the Security Council, he added.

Israels envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said in New York that his government had expected its US ally to veto this disgraceful resolution.

Before the vote an Israeli official, who spoke in Jerusalem on condition of anonymity, had said that US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were behind this shameful move against Israel at the UN.

Read | Israel rejects UN settler vote on Palestine, lashes out at Obama

The resolution demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

It states that Israeli settlements have no legal validity and are dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution that would see an independent Palestine co-exist alongside Israel.

Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

The United Nations maintains that settlements are illegal, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the occupied West Bank and another 200,000 in annexed east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.
Ignoring calls from president-elect Donald Trump and lobbying by Israel, the United States on Friday allowed the UN Security Council to adopt a contentious resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

The resolution passed 14-0 with the US abstaining over deep frustration with the continuing construction activities in the settlement. It cited a move to legitimise these settlements, calling them illegal even under Israeli law.

Though this was not unexpected, Israel was furious. President Obama and Secretary Kerry are behind this shameful move against Israel at the UN, an unidentified official said in a statement to several reporters. The US administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israels back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts and effectively make the Western Wall occupied Palestinian territory.

A resolution moved by Egypt was to come up for vote on Thursday, but was postponed because of Trumps personal intervention  he spoke to the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While Egypt agreed to hold the resolution, its co-sponsors New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela decided to push ahead with it. It required nine votes to pass, and it got 14.

Any one of the permanent members could have stopped it with a veto, but no one did, demonstrating Israels complete global isolation.

The Obama administration, which has been extremely frustrated with the continuing settlement constructions and has shared a fractious relationship with Netanyahu, ignored Trumps open call on Thursday and intense lobbying by the Israeli government, which had approached the president-elect.

Trump said in a statement, The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed.

As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations.

This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.

After the vote, Trump said in a tweet that things will be different once he assumes office on January 20.
The US has defended its decision to refrain from vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement building in Palestine, saying the unusual step was taken only after all negotiating options to pursue a two-state solution were exhausted.

President-elect Donald Trump meanwhile slammed the outgoing Obama administration for abstaining from voting. As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th, he tweeted.

In a move seen as a diplomatic rebuke to its closest Middle East ally, the United States had decided not to veto the resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, introduced in the UN Security Council by Egypt.

The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, said US secretary of state, John Kerry.

One of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity -- which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that condemns settlements -- puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser told reporters during a conference call on Friday afternoon.

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, Rhodes said in defence of the decision.

Describing this as a rebuke to Israel, The Washington Post said decision not to veto reflected frustration from the Obama administration over the settlements and defied pressure from Trump. A day earlier, Trump, in a tweet, had asked the US to veto the resolution.

Rhodes stressed that the US had exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, discussions and confidence-building measures.

We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table. So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution, he said.

The deputy NSA said the US does have concerns about the UN as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state, he said.
The US department of defence has awarded a $284.6 million contract to Lockheed Martin to produce infrared target sight systems for the US Navy and Pakistan, a media report said on Saturday.

The system will be used for the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters, which have proved very effective in combats against militants, particularly in difficult terrains. In the US, the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter is used by US Marine Corps expeditionary forces, the Dawn reported.

The TSS incorporates a third-generation forward-looking infrared sensor that provides target sighting in day, night, or adverse weather conditions.

A Pentagon press release describes the TSS system as a large-aperture mid-wave forward-looking infrared sensor with a laser designator/rangefinder turret. It provides the capability to identify and laser-designate targets at maximum weapon range, significantly enhancing platform survivability and lethality.

The companys Orlando-based missile and fire control unit will produce the sight system in Orlando and Ocala, Florida, through January 2022 for the US Navy and Pakistan under the foreign military sales portion of the award, the paper said, citing the Pentagon release.

The contract has a base value of $150.96 million but its accumulative cost would go up to $284.6 million. The government of Pakistan will pay about 12% of the total cost through an arrangement with the US under the Foreign Military Sales programme.

In January, Lockheed Martin received a smaller contract of $14 million to provide the same target system for Pakistan.

The contracts include software development and testing, system modification, and installation requirements to integrate the TSS into the Cobra helicopters.

The TSS provides target information and tracking data for the helicopter, in addition to passive targeting for integrated weapons. Work on the first contract, performed in Florida, would be completed by December 2017.

Although the United States and Pakistan were once close allies, relations between the two countries strained in 2011, when the US eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during a covert raid at his compound in Abbottabad.

The bilateral ties slipped further after the US Congress blocked financing of eight F-16 fighter jets earlier this year despite strong lobbying by Islamabad. The US lawmakers accused Islamabad of continuing to support the Afghan Taliban.
The US green light that allowed the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Donald Trump administration and may harden Israels attitude toward concessions.

The Barack Obama administrations decision to abstain and allow the UNs most powerful body to approve a long-sought resolution calling Israeli settlements a flagrant violation under international law was a sharp rebuke to a longstanding ally and a striking rupture with past US vetoes.

US Ambassador Samantha Power said it is because this resolution reflects the facts on the ground  and is consistent with US policy across Republican and Democratic administrations throughout the history of the state of Israel  that the United States did not veto it.

Israeli security forces scuffle with Palestinian protesters, some dressed up as Santa Claus, during a demonstration next to a gate of a section of Israel's separation wall in the biblical town of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

Read: Israel rejects UN settler vote on Palestine, lashes out at Obama

She cited a 1982 statement by then-President Ronald Reagan that the United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements and that settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel.

The Security Council vote Friday, however, was anything but routine for Washington, which traditionally vetoes all resolutions related to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict on grounds that differences must be solved through negotiations. It was the first resolution on the conflict approved during President Barack Obamas nearly eight years in office and shone a spotlight on his icy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The U.S. decision to abstain on the 14-0 vote followed months of intensely secret deliberations in Washington, a spate of fresh Israeli settlement announcements that sparked exasperation and anger from American officials, and recent attempts by Israels government to have parliament legalize thousands of homes built on privately owned Palestinian land.

After Egypt suddenly postponed a scheduled vote on the resolution Thursday, reportedly under pressure from Israel and supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump, four new sponsors stepped up and pushed it through  Malaysia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Senegal, each representing a different region and reflecting the wide support for the measure.

Read more: Israel rejects UN settler vote on Palestine, lashes out at Obama

Trump demanded that Obama veto the resolution and tweeted after the vote, As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th  when Trump takes office.

It would be virtually impossible, however, for Trump to overturn the resolution. It would require a new resolution with support from at least nine members in the 15-member Security Council and no veto by one of the other permanent members  Russia, China, Britain or France, all of whom supported Fridays resolution.

Republicans, who control Congress, immediately threatened consequences. Sen. Lindsay Graham, who heads the Senate panel in charge of US payments to the UN, said he would form a bipartisan coalition to suspend or significantly reduce funding. He added that countries receiving US aid could also be penalized for supporting the resolution.

Under UN rules, failure to pay dues leads to the loss of voting privileges in the General Assembly.

The vote on settlements sparked behind-the-scenes discussion in the usually divided Security Council on what else might be achieved on the Israeli-Palestinian issue while Obama is still in the White House.

Masked members of the Israeli security forces briefly detain a Palestinian boy during clashes following a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

Read: US defends decision to abstain from UNSC vote on Israel

New Zealand has been pressing for the council to consider a resolution that would set out the parameters for a settlement of the conflict, and its draft ideas remain on the table.

But Israels UN Ambassador Danny Danon warned the council after the vote that the resolution would not spur peace efforts.

By voting yes in favor of this resolution, you have in fact voted no, Danon said. You voted no to negotiations. You voted no to progress, and a chance for better lives for Israelis and Palestinians. And you voted no to the possibility of peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately retaliated against some of the nations that proposed Fridays resolution. He recalled his nations ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal for consultations, canceled a planned January visit to Israel by Senegals foreign minister and ended Israeli aid programs to the West African nation.

Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms, Netanyahus office said in a statement.

The Israeli leader blamed Obama for failing to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN and even colluding with its detractors. He said, Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution.

By contrast, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat hailed the result as a victory for the justice of the Palestinian cause. He said Trumps choice was now between international legitimacy or siding with settlers and extremists.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, urged the Security Council to stand firm by this decision and not be cowed by negative threats or spin.
Dallas trio The Outfit TX is steadily gaining traction on the strength of its lyrical, focused brand of turn-up music. They released a full-length mixtape titled Green Lights: Everythang Goin in July. They return today with a brief 5-track appetizer called Breakfast at Rudys, produced entirely produced by the notorious duo Stunt n Dozier.

The sounds of Breakfast at Rudys will be bleeding from Dallas-area bars out into the streets tonight. Stream and download the tape and let us know what you think. Follow The Outfix TX on SoundCloud.
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WASHINGTON - The job of energy secretary is the most misunderstood in the presidential Cabinet.

Outside of managing the underground caverns that serve as the country's oil reserves and some high-level research into fusion and other energy sources of the future, most of the department's budget goes to managing the country's nuclear missile complex and promoting nonproliferation of those weapons.

But that hard reality seemed lost this past week on U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, as he left an airport in Chicago en route to an event promoting an initiative allowing energy entrepreneurs to work inside the Argonne National Laboratory. The next day, he announced another energy project, a methanol plant that runs on one of the nasty by-products of oil refining and then sends captured carbon dioxide to oil fields in Texas.

For Moniz, who is expected to be succeeded by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, it was his swan song.

"I note that today is December the 20th," he said by telephone from Chicago. "It is one month to go."

A physics professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Moniz may be best known to many around the U.S. for what some have termed his Founding Fathers hairstyle  a chin-length cut with a wave at the bottom.

Of late he has found himself in the news on more serious issues. A request by President-elect Donald Trump's transition team for the names of department employees who worked on climate change issues raised the specter of a political witch hunt.

Moniz decided not to comply, and the Trump team ultimately withdrew the request.

"Those particular questions we felt were not appropriate," he said. "I know both career staff at the department and from the national labs. Let's say some of the questions led them to be rather unsettled. So I decided that it was simply best, we are not going to get into names of individuals."

Known for a political acumen that has earned him praise from Democrats and Republicans alike, Moniz has been working on and off in the Energy Department since the Clinton administration.

During the last three-plus years heading the department, he has avoided the sorts of criticism that hounded his predecessor, Steven Chu, the Nobel laureate.

Chu was forever tied to the department's loan to failed solar manufacturing firm Solyndra, which climate change deniers used as ammo to argue the Obama administration was throwing money away backing renewable energy.

How has Moniz generally stayed in the good graces of Congress and the public? Talking about his academic background - he's the third energy secretary in a row with a doctorate in the sciences - Moniz offered that his expertise and credentials lent him the air of an official coming at issues in "a fact-based way."

"The pedigree helped in the interactions with Congress and the public," he said. "It also helped having a practiced ability to explain."
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Certain Southern states might be known for oil and gas production, but the region also is a major producer of a lesser-known energy source: wood pellets.

The South this year was the nation's biggest producer of wood pellets, accounting for about 75 percent of the 3.1 million tons of pellets that are made from scraps from sawmills, logging operations and other wood product manufacturing, according to the Energy Department. Nearly all wood pellets produced in the region are exported overseas, primarily to Europe, where they are burned for utility-scale electricity generation.

Europe accounts for 85 percent of the world's wood pellet use. The U.S. is the world's biggest wood pellet exporter.

Wood pellets are considered biomass, renewable fuels made from plants and other organic material. Biomass, which include fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and methane, accounts for about 5 percent of U.S. energy production. In the Northeast, wood pellets are the fuel for efficient stoves used to heat homes.

The main customers, however, are utilities in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most of the wood pellets made in the U.S. head to the Drax Power Plant in northern England.

U.S. sales and production of wood pellets shot up after Europe created a clean energy standard to reduce carbon emissions and promote renewable energy. In 2002, the United Kingdom set the goal of having 15 percent of energy come from renewables by 2020, and coal-fired power plants started using wood pellets to meet the standard.

More Information Falling off a log 3.3 million tons of wood pellets were produced in the U.S. during the first half of 2016. 3.1 million tons of those were sold. 75% of wood pellets are used to generate electricity. 80% of wood pellets produced during the first half of 2016 were exported. 120plants that produce biomass products, like wood pellets, in the U.S. See More Collapse

Plants were retrofitted to burn both coal and wood pellets, which critics say does little to reduce carbon emissions. The Southern Environmental Law Center, an advocacy group that focuses on the Southern states, discourages burning wood pellets, which, unlike wind and solar energy, produce carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and dust particles that can be harmful to human health.

Nonetheless, since 2013, the Drax power plant in Leeds, England, has driven the demand for wood pellets, buying more than 80 percent of U.S. exports of wood pellets, according to the Energy Department. A subsidiary of Drax owns and operates two wood pellet plants in the South, one in Louisiana and one in Mississippi.

The region has the most capacity to produce nearly 11 million tons a year, accounting for about 80 percent of the capacity nationwide. Texas plays a small role in that - the state has two wood pellet production plants, both northeast of Houston, close to the Louisiana border. This year, the South produced nearly all of the pellets destined for utility-scale power generation plants, according to the Energy Department.

In the U.S., the East produced most of the pellets used for heating, about 61 percent, the Energy Department said. The South produced about 17 percent of heating pellets.
Police are investigating after a man was found dead inside a north Houston garage from a gunshot wound on Friday, according to reports from KTRK and KPRC.

Houston police responded to the scene around 6 p.m. in the 200 block of E. Janisch Road.
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On Christmas morning a year ago, Edith Williams sat at her daughter's bedside at Houston Methodist Hospital, worrying it would be the last time. It was 4 a.m. as she clutched Hailey's fragile hand and began whispering stories.

She talked about how she'd been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as an infant, 25 years earlier. About how adorable she'd looked as a 3-year-old, wearing her white cowboy boots while riding a tricycle in the driveway. She remembered how she'd wheezed through a one mile run in middle school, despite an exemption from her gym teacher. Recalled with pride how well Hailey had done at Texas State University, earning a spot on the dean's list, even as her lungs began to fail her.

Now, in what felt like a Christmas miracle, a replacement set was on the way. Her lungs had given out weeks earlier, and time nearly had run out. The machine keeping her blood flowing with oxygen was also slowly killing her.

But would she be strong enough to survive the transplant operation?

Edith closed her eyes and asked God "to shine his light" on her daughter. When she looked up, she noticed a band of light - probably streaming in from the hallway - illuminating Hailey's face.

You can do this, Hailey, she remembers thinking.

There's more story left to tell.

************

At that moment - in a different state, at a different hospital - Christmas Day in 2015 marked the end of another young woman's life.

Her lungs arrived in Houston around 1 o'clock that afternoon. Hailey's 17-year-old brother, Shane, snapped a photo of the blue ice chest being carted into surgery, then ran to the waiting room and announced it to two dozen of Hailey's friends and family.

In the operating room, Dr. Scott Scheinin worked quickly. This wasn't the first time the surgeon had been called on to perform a life-saving transplant on Christmas, but even he was moved by the symbolism.

"I wouldn't rush to dismiss the spirituality of the process," he said.

After he'd removed Hailey's lungs, someone brought them out for her parents to see. They were blackened, flat, worn out. Her father, Mike, teared up as he held them, feeling a mix of emotions.

"I hate what they'd done to her," he said, "but I loved that they brought her this far."

Around 7 p.m., the surgery was complete. Hospital staff wheeled Hailey into the intensive-care unit, machines pumping air in and out of her new lungs. The first 24 hours after a transplant are critical. After that, physicians should know whether Hailey's body would accept the organs.

"Get some rest," one of the doctors told her parents. "And don't be surprised if she's still unconscious when you come back in the morning."

*************

When Mom and Dad returned around 4 a.m., they'd expected to find their daughter sleeping. They were stunned to see her sitting up. She smiled and waved for them to come in.

"I was on cloud nine," Hailey said this week recalling that magical day a year ago. "I wasn't in pain. I could breath. I was just so ecstatic to be alive."

This year, she'll be home in Katy for Christmas, breathing well on her own. And she has a new wish.

"I want to meet the donor family," Hailey said. "I've written a letter for them. I want to bring a stethoscope and for them to listen to their daughter's lungs breathing inside of me."

Mike Williams said he wants to meet them, too, and thank them for the best Christmas gift of his life.

"They gave us our daughter back."
Texas will receive more than $177 million in disaster recovery funds, more than quadrupling the amount of critical, long-term aid after a series of historic storms ravaged Houston and other parts of the state, federal officials announced Friday.

The announcement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development follows the torrential rain and flooding during the Tax Day and Memorial Day Floods and could mean years of assistance for people whose homes and businesses still sport cracked floors and broken roofs.

It is also a crucial step in the relief process, raising the total amount of so-called Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds coming to Texas this year from roughly $45 million to more than $222 million.

"If you didn't have this, then there would be people whose lives would just be permanently wiped out after a disaster," said John Henneberger, co-director of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service. "It's very important that Congress make these funds available."

While there is not yet a formal breakdown of how much of the $177 million will be earmarked for Harris County or Houston, a significant chunk is likely to come since these areas were among the most heavily damaged.

"The State will decide where to allocate this money, and I will continue to advocate that Harris County receive their fair share to help Houstonians repair after the Memorial Day and Tax Day floods," U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, said in a statement Friday.

In Harris County, spring storms saw up to 18 inches of rain in 24 hours swell creeks and bayous, flood more than 7,000 homes and kill more than a dozen people. Entire neighborhoods were inundated and hundreds of people displaced.

Wide discretion

The disaster recovery funds are a portion of a $1.8 billion package announced Friday by the federal agency. Louisiana was the biggest beneficiary, coming away with more than $1.2 billion. North Carolina, hit by Hurricane Matthew in October, received the next most with more than $198 million. Texas was third in line.

Friday's funding announcement comes on top of HUD's earlier allocation in October of $45 million to Texas. In both instances, Congress and HUD have directed state officials to channel the money to areas hardest hit, like Harris County.

"We'll do everything we can to support the people and places still struggling to rebuild," HUD Secretary Julian Castro, a former San Antonio mayor, said in a statement Friday.

The disaster recovery money is special because it gives government officials wide discretion on how to use it, said Shannon Van Zandt, a professor of urban planning at Texas A&M University who studies disaster recovery.

The latest aid would likely be used for things like elevating homes and structures, stormwater management projects, fixing up community centers and parks, in addition to repairs and rebuilds, she said. Henneberger said such money in the past has been used to buy emergency generators for wastewater plants and make improvements to police stations and fire stations.

"To me its the preferred way of getting the money back because it does have the flexibility," Van Zandt said.

For long-term projects

The funds must also be largely be spent on projects affecting low- and moderate-income residents. The disaster recovery funds are also geared toward people who haven't received other forms of aid, such as flood insurance payments or the emergency aid often given by the Federal Emergency Management Agency soon after disasters occur.

Flood victims of the spring storms have already netted more than $100 million in FEMA funds - usually for more immediate needs, Henneberger said.

"This is long-term disaster recovery," said Brian Sullivan, a HUD spokesman, of the disaster recovery money. "This is the stuff that takes years to get through."

The timeline of when the money could reach flood victims is unclear. First, HUD needs to publish guidelines of how the funds can be spent, and then the state develops an action plan of how the $177 million would be dispersed.

Sullivan only said the guidelines would be published "very, very quickly." The state plan then would likely include who is qualified to apply for the money, when the applications are due, how flood victims can apply, among other nuts and bolts, Sullivan said.

A spokeswoman for the Texas General Land Office, which helps develop the plan, said the state would have to wait and see when the guidelines were published before determining when a plan could be put together.

Delays, misuse of aid

Henneberger criticized the amount of time it takes for the money to get from the federal government down to the people who can actually benefit.

"Very often, the local governmental entities which administer the funds have taken many years to actually get the programs set up and get the money spent," Henneberger said.

Van Zandt said the flexibility of the funds can also be a drawback, as they can be misused. She said other housing advocates will be closely watching how the money is spent.

"I hope they will be true in terms of how they use this money," she said.
Scrapping a state requirement that forces colleges to provide financial aid to lower-income students at the expense of other families is a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other top Texas Republicans in the legislative session that starts in January.

Sen. Kel Seliger, an Amarillo Republican who heads the Senate's higher education committee, said he plans to introduce legislation to end the so-called tuition set-aside program that requires public universities to divert some tuition dollars to help low-income students. In the 2015 fiscal year, colleges gave nearly 209,000 students some $345 million in grants. Statewide, students from higher-income families paid an average of about $680 more to attend college to cover those grants.

Seliger said he favors letting universities decide how much tuition money they want to use for financial aid. And he wants to allocate more state-sponsored grants for needy students, such as the existing Texas Grant program.

In November, Patrick named eliminating tuition set-asides as one of his top legislative priorities for 2017. He spoke out against high college costs and tuition set-asides in April.

More Information Texas universities financial aid disbursements in 2015 from tuition set-aside program Texas A&M University: $35.05 million University of Texas at Austin: $34.35 million University of Houston: $21.66 million Texas Southern University: $6.08 million See More Collapse

He and other opponents say the practice unfairly burdens students paying higher tuition bills as the overall expense of going to college keeps increasing. Advocates say the grants help low- and middle-income students graduate and then contribute to the workforce.

The set-aside program began in 2003 when Texas lawmakers deregulated tuition rates. While colleges were allowed to set their own tuition rates for the first time, the law required 15 percent of subsequent tuition increases to be set aside for financial aid, a condition lawmakers hoped would keep college affordable. Average in-state tuition at Texas' four-year universities, however, has soared since then from $3,361 to $8,669 a year.

Additionally, a 1975 law requires universities to earmark 15 percent of the first $50 per semester credit hour they charge for financial aid.

'Serious issue'

Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said earlier this month that eliminating tuition set-asides without replacing the grants in some form would prevent some lower-income students, including many students of color, from having the chance to earn a college degree.

The cost of college is a "serious issue," he said. "We need some sort of (replacement) plan."

University leaders and lawmakers have placed the blame on one another for escalating tuition. College officials say they have to charge more to keep up with increasing operating costs and more stringent mandates with smaller state appropriations. Lawmakers counter that institutions need to increase efficiencies and trim their operating budgets rather than increasing prices.

Rep. Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat who is vice chair of the House higher education committee, said committee members largely agree that any set-aside aid cut would need to be replaced.

And she said she's not convinced the state has the money in its budget to do that.

"I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but there are going to be many competing issues," she said, adding that she expects Democrats in the House committee to protest attempts to eliminate tuition set-asides.

Seliger wants to discuss linking the ability of universities to boost tuition to performance indicators such as graduation rates. And he has not decided if he'll propose doing away with both set-aside programs.

Benefit, burden

Tom Melecki, an Austin-based college affordability consultant who worked for a decade in the University of Texas at Austin's financial aid office, said cutting set-asides would affect both low-income students who also qualify for Pell Grants and Texas Grants as well as students technically from middle-income families who still need help paying for college.

"Even students from fairly middle-class homes need some kind of financial aid in order to cover the total cost of attending Texas public universities," Melecki said.

In August, the Senate's higher education committee heard more than an hour of testimony detailing the tuition set-aside program.

Then, Paredes acknowledged that the extra costs charged to certain tuition-paying families are a burden.

"The question is," he said, "does the benefit outweigh the cost and the burden to all students?"

Some senators were skeptical.

Sen. Charles Perry, a Lubbock Republican, said the practice unfairly "squeezed" middle-class families who end up paying for part of other students' education, even though they can't qualify for federal loan programs that assist the poorest families.

Austin Sen. Kirk Watson, a Democrat, countered during the summer hearing that the set-aside program would need to be replaced with some other way to help those students who need to work while going to college. He said he had "absolutely zero" faith the Legislature would add $345 million to the state budget for need-based financial aid to offset the elimination of the set-aside program.

'Short memories'

In a recent interview, Watson said the program is maintaining affordable college costs for students who can't afford to pay full tuition.

"Nobody didn't believe that tuition wasn't going to go up," he said, referring to the 2003 law that allowed the state's universities to set tuition prices. "We have short memories in this building."
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When Meg Poissant first moved into the Washington Avenue corridor a quarter century ago, chickens wandered quiet streets in the shadow of the downtown skyline.

Then came the towering apartments and packed townhomes, and a bustling bar scene. Feeling hemmed in, many neighbors filled in the drainage ditches in front of their homes for parking.

Now, when it rains, water pours off the new buildings, races across asphalt and pools at Poissant's top step. For the attorney, it's no accident that the flooding followed the area's rapid rebirth.

"People know they can get away with it. And it's a horrible impact: We all get flooded," Poissant said.

What happened on Washington Avenue is not unusual. Regulations to manage stormwater can be broken, ignored or undercut, the Chronicle has found.

Local officials acknowledge being constrained by resources and outdated infrastructure, and challenged by redevelopment, where new owners can make changes that affect drainage.

Rules that guide new development - both in Houston and Harris County - do force developers and builders to compensate for their impact, but the standard used to set those guidelines may be outdated, given recent weather patterns.

More Information The series so far Part 1 - Houston has been losing ground Part 2 - The trouble with living in a swamp Part 3 - Residents seeking answers Part 4 - Flood victims face crippling choice Part 5 - Not enough land left to absorb all that water Part 6 - Dams are beat up and vital line of defense Today - Standards, inspectors not keeping up To see previous installments, go to HoustonChronicle.com/Swamped See More Collapse

Still to come: One million more people, expected to populate a slew of new townhomes and subdivisions over the next decade.

Harris County Residential Properties Interactive Written By John D. Harden

Copyright  Houston Chronicle 2017

Caption: Click the buttons below on the map to remove or add residential properties along the flood plain.

***

The solution for negating the impact of sprawl is largely detention - requiring the developers of every subdivision and strip mall to make up for the grass they pave over by holding back rainwater in slowly draining ponds or underground basins.

Developers must prove through prescribed formulas and blueprints that they will not worsen flooding for others downstream.

There are no variances from this requirement, whether from the city, which guides rainwater from residents' rooftops to the bayous, or from the county, which takes the water from the bayous and creeks to Galveston Bay.

Yet a majority of structures in Harris County - 56 percent - were built before detention was formally mandated in 1984.

Minimum detention requirements are largely the same now as they were then, though the county has boomed.

Between 2000 and 2015, almost 360,000 new buildings were built in Harris County, according to data from the Harris County Appraisal District. More than 267,000, or nearly 75 percent, were outside city limits.

Both set standards for development to account for "a 100-year storm," and the measure for that kind of storm has changed slightly over time.

When properties are redeveloped, both localities, with minor exceptions, only require builders to provide detention if those projects increase the amount of pavement on a lot. The others are "grandfathered," allowed to operate under old rules.

Mark Loethen, a top city public works official, said "grandfathering" is a sound policy based on runoff, not a favor to builders.

The practice keeps from penalizing those trying to redevelop land, said David Hightower, a civil engineer and chief development officer of Wolff Companies. They shouldn't be made to improve drainage when that is the city's responsibility, he said.

But Larry Dunbar, a Houston engineering consultant and attorney who is a project manager at Rice University's Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, said regulators should force developers to do more.

Dunbar, who helped Fort Bend County and the Clear Lake City Water Authority set detention requirements at more stringent levels, said the system relies on a flawed model. Developers aren't made to mimic the natural state of a property. Instead, rules kick in after sites have been cleared and leveled.

City and county officials have tightened some flood control rules over time.

Today, for instance, all developments in the city covering more than 1 acre have to detain about 3.75 gallons per square foot of new pavement. Previously, developments had to detain about 1.5 gallons for every square foot of added pavement, even on sites up to 20 acres.

In 2004, three years after Tropical Storm Allison dumped more than 24 inches of rain, shut down interstates and damaged more than 73,000 homes, the county began requiring that some developers control runoff to even stricter than 100-year-storm levels because some of the Harris County Flood Control District's aging channels couldn't handle that amount of rain. It expects to tighten those requirements even more early next year.

In 2014, the city forced builders to begin accounting for the fact that water runs more quickly off a newly paved surface, even if the area previously was paved. However, officials acknowledge that mandates only a minor increase in detention.

Old asphalt can be pitted and cracked, which allows for absorption, said Jane West, of the Super Neighborhood Alliance, a coalition of civic clubs. And that old pavement once was surrounded by open land, she said, where now neighboring properties also are paved.

"At every level of what the city does with flooding and drainage, it's failing," she said. "We're not abating the problem, we're not mitigating the problem - we're worsening the problem."

Houston's "flood czar," engineer and former city councilman Steve Costello, says he hopes to regain trust in flood control rules by forming a task force of citizens, developers and city staff.

"The development community is only implementing what the bureaucrat has defined as the requirements," Costello said. "I've told the development community that there's going to be change."

The adjustments could range, Costello said, from the incremental - like offering incentives to developers who use green tools such as permeable pavement - to more fundamental shifts, such as asking builders to improve existing conditions in an area with poor drainage.

"Mother Nature is always changing. We're always learning," he said. "I think these two floods (from recent spring storms) have illustrated that maybe it's time to revisit how we manage the watersheds."

Hightower, of Wolff Companies, said the goal should remain the same - to ensure that new development has zero net increase on runoff.

Costello cautions that no regulations can protect against everything.

He visited a neighborhood recently where people were convinced a road redevelopment had led to first-ever flooding. Rainfall data, however, showed the area had been hit by a 700-year storm.

"We don't design for that," Costello said.

Russ Poppe, the new executive director of the flood control district, said the district hired a consultant last summer, after the spring storms, to analyze whether detention requirements force developers to do enough to negate their impact. Poppe expects results in January.

The district also has allocated $200,000 toward a study on the region's rainfall, part of a federal effort that could redefine a "100-year storm."

If the study influences rainfall projections, then the area's regulations could be falling short. Poppe said in both studies, years of additional data could lead to better rules.

"If it comes back and says we need to be doing something different, I'm going to be the first advocating to do something different," Poppe said.

***

Michael Bolton's corner of northwest Harris County is ground zero for Houston's sprawl, with new subdivisions and strip malls rapidly replacing the rural landscape. Eighty percent of the growth since 2000 - more than 900,000 people - has been in unincorporated Harris County. The Grand Parkway continues to spur development there.

Bolton hasn't removed the line of dirt that runs across his garage door, just under waist level, marking where the water reached in the spring after pouring down the street and spilling out of nearby Horsepen Creek, into the Hearthstone neighborhood. He's still replacing the tiles in his home.

It was the third time his home had been inundated in the last eight years, resulting in more than $200,000 in flood damage, though it's not in the 100-year floodplain.

"It keeps raining, and the water keeps getting higher in my house," Bolton said.

Bolton said he can't find detention ponds for a nearby commercial property or an entire residential subdivision. He points to pipes that jut into Horsepen Creek, some bigger in diameter than Bolton is tall, and wonders who is discharging water and whether the county is watching.

In the county and city, development plans are submitted to dozens of staffers, who look over blueprints and models to ensure each project will have "no adverse impact" on properties nearby or downstream. Field inspectors then ensure projects follow approved plans.

County projects that don't meet specifications don't get electricity and may have financing tied up, as regulators routinely call banks that lend developers money, officials say.

County officials say they've hired inspectors to keep pace with development - today, it has 53, in addition to five from the flood control district.

The district has six employees dedicated to reviewing plans, and other staff pitch in, while the city employs 85 plan reviewers.

The city has about 160 inspectors. Roughly 50 of those work in the structural division, enforcing detention rules along with eyeballing foundations, steel structures and framing work, said Mark McAvoy, who heads the city permitting center.

The workload - nearly 20,000 commercial and 11,500 residential plans were submitted and roughly 665,000 inspections were conducted last year - is a strain.

The department aims to review 90 percent of commercial plans within 15 days and 90 percent of residential plans within 10 days, according to budget data, but those goals were met just 46 percent and 30 percent of the time, respectively, last fiscal year.

Officials say the system largely holds wrongdoers in check, though they acknowledge enforcement after construction is bottom-up, driven by citizen complaints.

"There's no systemic approach," said Rock Owens, an attorney who sues violators on behalf of the county.

The county processes nearly 4,000 stormwater complaints annually, and Houston fields roughly 500 "drainage system violation" complaints to its 311 help line each year.

Most violations, officials said, are resolved by developers once they understand the rules.

Still, Houston has issued about 180 stormwater-related citations annually for the last seven years; the county last year issued 324 floodplain regulation violations.

In rare cases, the county sues builders for noncompliance. About 25 cases are pending. It is looking to the Legislature for authority to take criminal action.

"I like to think that if there are people out there trying to do the wrong thing and challenge our system, they're going to lose," Poppe said.

But the system is imperfect.

The city lacks the resources for follow-up once a builder has passed final inspection, Loethen said, and keeps no record of the detention it required to enable ongoing oversight.

When builders or homeowners do fill in or pave over land once intended to hold stormwater, Houston generally does not take action if the violations are not caught quickly.

"They may have done it 10, 15 years ago, never got a permit for it," Loethen said. "How do you bring punitive measures against a homeowner for something they may not have had any complicity in?"

Washington Avenue residents say stormwater slipups are all around them.

There's the business on Poissant's block that paved over the ditch along its parking lot, making the road impassable during storms. City inspectors notified the owner seven times that the work was improper, Poissant said, but never cited him or ordered the problem fixed.

Neighbors rattle off times developers ripped down old homes and paved lots to build townhomes without providing any evident detention.

County inspectors are increasingly coming across developers who pave over the natural landscape and dump dirt without proper permits - the most common violation.

Houston faces the same challenge, as builders often use extra dirt to raise sites and displace water onto neighboring properties in violation of state law and city regulations.

McAvoy acknowledged inspectors often must make judgment calls about elevated lots and said code compliance is not a "perfect system, by any stretch of the imagination."

"There's room for improvement with any process," he said, "but in terms of what they're doing on a day-to-day basis, in the majority of cases, (inspectors) are catching anything that would be a code issue."
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If prosecutors are right, former Houston police officer Clarence McNatt's recent arrest was not the first time he had expressed an interest in killing someone.

Personnel records obtained by the Chronicle show the 63-year-old former HPD officer - accused of trying to hire assassins to kidnap, sexually assault and murder his wife - was fired from the Houston police force in the late 1980s after lying during an investigation and threatening to kill the supervisor investigating him.

McNatt went on to seek work at other police departments in the area. Two midsize departments read his personnel files and did not hire him. But two small departments did take him on board in the years after his dismissal from HPD, apparently without checking his personnel file.

Though McNatt's last police job ended two decades ago, his case illustrates a nationwide challenge that experts call "muni-shuffle," in which problem officers find work with other law enforcement agencies.

In McNatt's case, he joined the Houston police force in July 1982 and trained at the Houston police academy, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records.

He was suspended indefinitely in 1986 for violating rules that govern outside employment, HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva said earlier this month.

More Information July 23, 1982: Starts at HPD Oct. 14, 1985: Fired by HPD chief, McNatt appeals May 29, 1986: Recorded while urging officer to lie and threatening to kill supervisor March 7, 1987: Independent arbitrator upholds firing March 20, 1987: Starts at Ames PD April 8, 1987: Leaves HPD payroll July 16, 1988: Leaves Ames PD August 4, 1992: Starts at Clear Lake Shores PD Jan. 29, 1995: Leaves Clear Lake Shores PD Aug. 31, 2012: Peace officer license becomes inactive See More Collapse

Thirty years later McNatt landed in the public spotlight when Pasadena police arrested him on Nov. 30 after two undercover detectives posed as hitmen. The police had received information that he was looking to hire someone to kidnap and sexually assault his estranged third wife and another woman.

McNatt alledgedly offered to pay detectives $500 for the acts but eventually ponied up just $100 cash and three gold rings containing various stones.

When he was arrested, police said they found items in his car that could have been used to bind and torture victims. Because of those items, he is charged with solicitation to commit capital murder and two counts of solicitation to commit aggravated kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault.

McNatt's defense attorney, Tommy LaFon, said Thursday he was "not prepared to make any comment" on the case against his client.

'Web of deceit'

HPD personnel records show the department's former chief first tried to get rid of McNatt in October 1986, citing a laundry list of misconduct allegations and a "web of deceit" about outside employment.

McNatt was reportedly injured on duty in March 1986 and given paid sick leave in April and May. But a supervisor grew suspicious that he was improperly holding outside employment at a restaurant and club.

That supervisor, Sgt. Arthur Valdez, visited Shanghai Red's at 10:15 on a Saturday night - and found McNatt there despite orders not to work while on paid leave, according to personnel records. The officer told the sergeant he was just there for lunch, not to work.

As part of an extensive attempt to cover up his wrongdoing, McNatt told other officers to lie - but one of his buddies recorded the wayward officer's ramblings, including a threat to kill Sgt. Valdez.

The way the officers working at the Ship Channel hotspot were paid showed "a web of deceit spun by (McNatt) and the nightclub managers," then-Chief Lee Brown wrote.

McNatt got a police union attorney to help him appeal the indefinite suspension. The department was not allowed to remove him from the payroll until April 1987, after an independent arbitrator upheld the decision and he was permanently dismissed.

The independent arbitrator found McNatt "became the head of a mini-syndicate" of officers working at Shanghai Red's and that he was guilty of disgraceful conduct after telling witnesses to lie and threatening the life of a superior officer.

"A lying police officer is a disgrace to the force," the arbitrator wrote in ruling that the chief had just cause to fire McNatt.

The violations that ended in his termination were just the last in a long string of problems at work, including a December 1985 car crash. He was given a five-day suspension after he tried to pass a car on the right as that vehicle was pulling over to yield to the police sirens. McNatt's cruiser slammed into the back of the car at 67 mph, leaving 179 feet of skid marks in the 30 mph zone.

'Muni-shuffle' rampant

When he finally left HPD payroll in April 1987 - weeks after he had already started working for another police department - the HPD gave McNatt more than $6,000 for accrued vacation and sick days. After his termination, he failed to return his ID badge, claiming he'd lost it and hadn't seen it in more than two years.

On March 20, 1987 - just thirteen days after the arbitrator upheld his removal from HPD, McNatt joined the police force of Ames, a small town in Liberty County. State records show he spent just 16 months with the department, which city secretary Dez Edwards said closed around 1993. The Liberty County Sheriff's Office now answers calls for service there.

A few years later, McNatt worked 30 months for the Galveston County town of Clear Lake Shores, where he obtained an Advanced Peace Officer certification before leaving police work in January 1995. The Clear Lake Shores department has not indicated why McNatt left the agency or fulfilled a request for his personnel records.

McNatt later authorized HPD to disclose his personnel records to the Pearland Police Department. On Jan. 11, 1993, a Capt. Chapman from that department signed a request to view McNatt's records.

The next year, on Feb. 10, the former officer authorized HPD to release the records to the Kemah Police Department. A Kemah officer, whose signature is illegible, signed a request to view McNatt's records on March 2, 1994.

Those inquiries likely came in response to job applications by McNatt. However, state records show he did not work for either department. The two police departments that did hire him - Ames and Clear Lake Shores - are not listed as having reviewed his records.

Texas law lays out requirements for law enforcement officers, which the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement translates into standards for police departments, said Gretchen Grigsby, the commission's director of government relations.

Since at least 1999, Texas law has required departments to vet aspiring officers - including by contacting previous law enforcement employers and reviewing their records. But experts suggest the recirculation of problem police remains an issue nationwide.

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum, calls the practice "muni-shuffle."

After the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., sparked calls for reform, the research group found the practice was rampant in the St. Louis area. Officers often found work with a new municipal force after being quietly booted from a previous employer who often allowed them to resign rather than go through the often expensive and time-consuming process of firing them.

Lacking resources

All agencies have a responsibility to vet applicants before handing them a badge and a gun, Wexler said. "Given the tremendous responsibility (entrusted to police), going and doing a full background investigation should be part of standard operating procedure for the hiring of any officer."

Wexler, a national expert who oversaw operations for the Boston PD, said it can be an "uneven process."

"Larger departments have more resources and are more able to vet these candidates," he said, adding that "smaller departments may lack the resources of larger departments to physically go to the location to look at personnel files."

That appears to be the case with McNatt, who was hired by two small departments that apparently did not review his HPD files, unlike the two midsize departments that checked his records and did not hire him.

John Urby, a retired Midland PD chief who now lives in the Houston area, said the majority of agencies go "above and beyond" state requirements for vetting.

"My experience has been that smaller departments lack the resources of larger agencies in many areas," he wrote in an email. "This doesn't mean smaller agencies are doing anything incorrectly. All agencies must follow the law."
On June 1, 2015, three U.S. Cabinet secretaries joined then-Mayor Annise Parker to declare veteran homelessness in Houston "effectively ended." Yet 18 months later, the area still has hundreds of veterans living on the streets and in shelters.

Local advocates and national experts generally praise Houston's yearslong effort to house every veteran but point to persistent challenges and concern about sustaining the system they've built here.

Tom Mitchell, an Air Force veteran who leads a local nonprofit, criticized the celebratory language.

"I don't like the term 'ending veteran homelessness' because we didn't end it," the Houston director for U.S. Vets said.

"Effectively" is a key qualifier for the city's declaration; some veterans are still living on the streets and in shelters. It means any homeless veteran can get housing within 30 days.

In 2012, local nonprofits and government agencies kicked off The Way Home campaign to reduce homelessness in Houston plus Harris and Fort Bend counties. The first target group was military veterans.

In October 2016, the effort celebrated its 5,000th veteran housed. And a few days before Thanksgiving, the Coalition for the Homeless reported zero veterans on a waiting list for housing - a reality hard to imagine a few years ago.

Despite those successes, the January 2016 census found 537 veterans homeless in the area, including about 270 on the streets.

However, that represents a 62 percent drop from the 1,311 found four years earlier by the coalition's annual count.

During the same period, overall homelessness here was halved, while the country as a whole only saw a 12 percent decrease, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mandy Chapman Semple, Parker's special assistant for homeless initiatives, said the most difficult part of effectively ending veteran homelessness was not housing the already homeless but building a system for the homeless veterans of the future - about 900 each year, the coalition anticipated.

"We're feeling confident that the system we built is functioning as expected," said Chapman Semple, who now works mostly for the nonprofit Corporation for Supportive Housing.

The system has two prongs: prevention and response. Prevention happens when organizations find veterans at risk for homelessness but not yet on the streets, Chapman Semple said. Assistance can include rent support or job counseling.

David Sunday, 47, was one such veteran kept from homelessness. The lanky Air Force veteran lost his house while serving a prison term for a felony drug conviction.

When he was released early in 2015, he stayed clean for the first time in 20 years but had nowhere to live. He found shelter, food and job training at the U.S. Vets apartment complex in Midtown.

"You can literally rebuild your whole life right here," he said. Though he could not resume his carpentry work because of a motorcycle-crash injury, he now has a full-time position as a recovery counselor at the Council on Recovery. Sunday, who's also reconnecting with his estranged children, said supportive services are crucial.

"Just housing somebody is not fixing the problem," he said. "It's putting a Band-Aid on it."

'Rapid rehousing'

The other prong, response, happens when providers like shelters, soup kitchens or Veterans Affairs offices encounter a homeless veteran and refer him (or less often, her) to "rapid rehousing" options that lead to a permanent home.

Everett Palmer, a five-year Army veteran who deployed to Kuwait and Bosnia in the 1990s, spent three years on Houston's streets. The 42-year-old now works as a U.S. Vets intake counselor.

"There's a whole bunch of veterans that are homeless, and they still need services," he said.

Many don't know they're eligible for benefits from the VA and elsewhere.

The CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless, Marilyn Brown, said the system still houses 40 or 50 veterans each month. She said they seem to have reached a point where supply keeps up with demand.

For veterans with a serious physical disability or mental illness or who have been homeless a long time, the goal is permanent supportive housing - a place to live regardless of ability to pay rent, with access to resources like social workers, psychiatric care, job training and peer-to-peer counseling.

Evidence from studies and pilot programs show "huge cost savings," Chapman Semple said. "We know that it's more cost-efficient to help support or even pay for your housing and the services that you need than for you to be homeless on the streets and using our public services - our hospitals, our ambulances, our jails."

That's true even for people actively addicted to alcohol or drugs, and for people who might never become financially self-sufficient.

"What the housing-first model really does is it says instead of waiting years for all of these pieces (like addiction recovery) to fall into place, let's get them housed and get them back on a stable path," Chapman Semple said.

At a news conference in October, Mayor Sylvester Turner expressed his commitment to continuing the housing-first model, citing both the moral motivation and potential cost savings.

Dennis Culhane, who leads the VA's National Center on Homelessness among Veterans, said Houston is "absolutely recognized as a national leader on the veteran homelessness front."

"They proved how it could be done," the University of Pennsylvania professor said. Houston leaders presented to Congress, the VA and Housing and Urban Development. Other cities adopted parts of the area's model, he said.

Few return to streets

Once formerly homeless people enter permanent supportive housing, few return to homelessness - generally just 5 or 10 percent, Culhane said.

In the Houston area, the Coalition for the Homeless found that 90 percent of people placed in permanent housing were still housed two years later.

However, Mitchell, the local director for U.S. Vets, estimated the rate of Houston veterans returning from the streets could be as high as 20 percent. "For whatever reason they don't make it," he said. "They either relapse, if they're on alcohol or drugs, or they have financial problems."

From a systemic perspective, Chapman Semple said, the main challenge is finding landlords who accept vouchers.

The city's stock of veteran housing also took a hit just weeks before Parker's announcement, the Chronicle reported last year.

The VA Medical Center closed its off-site domiciliary, a 40-bed residential complex where veterans also received comprehensive services, after the contractors who operated it were sentenced to prison for Medicare fraud. The apartments also suffered from maintenance issues. A replacement for the complex, where more than 700 veterans got help between 2008 and 2015, will open next year at the earliest.

Brown, with the Coalition for the Homeless, said it would be challenging to move from "effectively" ending veteran homelessness to literally housing every homeless veteran. The 250 or so still on the streets here generally have a severe mental illness or addiction and reject offers of assistance.

"What we have left is really small in quantity, but the level of help that they need is greater than what housing and support services can do. They need hospitalization," she said.

The coalition seeks a new strategy for these remaining veterans, Brown added. It also plans to apply the veterans model to the next targets set by Housing and Urban Development: family and chronic homelessness.

In the meantime, advocates worry people will forget that more veterans face housing crises every day. They said the system requires consistent investment and staffing.

"You bought the car," Brown said. "You still are going to have to maintain it."
During the 83rd Legislative session in 2013, parents, teachers and students made it clear to state legislators that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) needed to reduce the number of high-stakes tests that were being given to high school students. The STAAR assessments went too far and overburdened students and teachers in public schools. Our community spoke out and state legislators listened by reducing the number of STAAR End-of-Course tests for seniors from 15 to five.

It's time for parents, teachers and community members to speak up again. As we begin 2017, a legislative change from the 84th Texas Legislature in 2015 is set to go into effect, with the potential to negatively impact our students, their schools, and our community.

Starting with the 2017-18 school year, the TEA will label each public school district and campus with a rating in the form of an A-F letter grades to comply with House Bill 2804. Although the state has not yet released exactly how the letter grade will be calculated, approximately 55 percent of our campus and District overall grades will be based on high-stakes, standardized tests - the same tests our communities fought to reduce in 2013.

Coming in January 2017

The state is set to release the set of indicators that will be used to measure and evaluate school districts and campuses. School districts across the state will receive provisional A-F grades in the new system in January 2017. These grades will be given to schools, as if the system were already in place. The official new accountability system will be introduced during summer of 2018.

These changes are an attempt at simplifying accountability - but to be clear: the work of Fort Bend ISD's 5,000 educators is complex, as they are charged with meeting each student's individual needs. A single letter grade is not a good indicator of how well our schools, teachers and especially our students are performing.

Looking Beyond the Label

All of our children - and our campuses - have unique needs, and our children need an accountability system that helps the District improve instruction. We believe in continuous improvement in everything we do, and we are committed to improving teaching and learning each year. However, A-F ratings systems create a false impression about an entire neighborhood of children and could potentially negatively impact students, undermining the work they put in each day and the growth they accomplish throughout the academic year.

A-F rating systems have not worked in 16 other states, and they fail to account for varying socioeconomic conditions that influence performance. Our board does not believe A-F ratings adequately reflect the work our educators are doing to meet the needs of all students, or how students are responding to instruction.

A-F ratings systems can also negatively impact neighborhoods and property values, affecting residents whether or not they have children in schools.

Our students deserve more than an A-F rating system and would be better served by an accountability system that looks beyond high-stakes, multiple-choice tests to meaningful assessments that have value for students, parents and teachers, as well as measures what each community deems important in promoting college and career readiness.

I ask you to join me in advocating for our students and letting your state legislators know what you think about TEA's new A-F Rating System.

Our students deserve better. Our students are more than a letter grade.

Tassin is president of the Fort Bend County Independent School District school board.
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Chinas thriving bike-lending industry is about to greet its oldest competitor. The 76-year-old Shanghai bicycle-maker Forever has announced its forthcoming cooperation with U Bike, a newly formed bike-sharing company. The two will launch a station-free bicycle rental service in multiple Chinese cities, with Shanghai set as their first target in 2017. The number of bikes they release in a year is expected to be between 100,000 and 200,000.

Established in 1940, the once-ubiquitous Forever brand has been in the business of public bike rental for eight years. As early as 2008, Forever undertook a public bike-sharing project in cooperation with the Shanghai government, distributing about 80,000 bikes around Shanghai. Now, entering the new rental market, Forever will upgrade its bicycles, installing smart locks and doing away with the appointment cards previously needed to borrow bikes.

Indeed, the streets of Chinas biggest cities are increasingly flooded with public bikes.

Shanghai alone has 150,000 to 200,000 sharing bikes, said Yu Yi, founder of U Bike, in an interview with Thepaper.cn. But compared with user demand, this market is far from saturated.
Sheroes Hangout is celebrating its second anniversary, a milestone for a little cafe that has made a big difference for empowering victims of gender-based violence.

The cafe is located in the Indian city of Agra, just blocks from the Taj Mahal, and it's run entirely by female acid attack survivors.

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We cannot kill our quest for happiness, our dreams. Now we have come out as fighters, not as victims, Laxmi Agarwal told VOA News.

Agarwal was attacked with acid when she was 16 by a stalker after she refused his proposal, according to The Indian Express.

Now, she's an advocate for Stop Acid Attacks, the non-profit organization that opened Sheroes in 2014.

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Survivors of acid violence run Sheroes Hangout in Agra, India. (Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty Images)

The cafe aims to foster confidence in women who have survived the devastating attacks. It serves food, but also sells crafts and artwork by its employees, and has a library and gathering space for performances.

Pictures of the women's faces cover the walls, as do their handprints.

According to Acid Survivors International, thousands of women are attacked with acid around the world each year.

Sheroes cafe was founded by non-profit Stop Acid Attacks in December 2014. (Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty

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In India, acid attacks are on the rise, with over 500 reported attacks happening in 2015.

And that number could even be higher.

"There are many unreported cases of acid attacks where victims die, especially in rural areas. Sometimes people try to hide information if the attacker was the husband or a family member of the victim,'' Pragya Prasun, an acid attack survivor and activist, told DW.

The attacks can come from family disputes, jealousy, sex crimes or even cases mistaken identity.

Ritu Saini, one of the cafe's employees and an acid attack survivor, smiles outside the cafe. (Photo: Sheroes Hangout/Facebook)

Twenty-year-old Ritu Sainu, an employee at the cafe, faced 10 reconstructive surgeries after she rejected a romantic advance from her cousin, eventually losing one of her eyes.

Before Sheroes, I used to cover my face, she told the Wall Street Journal.

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Acid Attack Victims In Powerful Photoshoot See Gallery
Six months into his new Canadian life, Amir Fattal pulls out a second-hand rocking chair and presents it as a deal of a lifetime. I bought this chair for $20, he proudly proclaims. A wide smile forms on his face. I can sit here like Queen Elizabeth and see the TV.

His unbridled enthusiasm over a wooden chair and its flattened floral cushion makes his family giggle.

Amir is a Syrian refugee. He arrived in Toronto this summer with his young family under Canadas private sponsorship program.

Its winter now and the heat is humming in their basement apartment. Donated carpets cover the cool concrete floor. Noor, his wife, pours hot red tea sprinkled with ground cardamom into cups. She sets down a plate of cookies.

Their two-year-old daughter Sally plays by her feet and occasionally interrupts the grown-ups conversations with peals of laughter.

* * *

War broke out right when Amir finished university. The increasing conflict split his family apart, forcing them to move to Turkey or Dubai.

Amir and Noor are both from Aleppo, a city besieged for more than five years. Noors family still lives there; her father refuses to leave.

Despite enjoying living in Istanbul, Amir and Noor say staying there long-term was never an option because of politics beyond their control.
The Carib Indians of the Leeward Islands must have been terrified when Christopher Columbus' fleet - two super-size galleons and 15 tri-masted caravels manned by a thousand soldiers in full battle gear - showed up on the chart-maker-turned sea-captain's second voyage to the New World on Nov. 14, 1493. Even scarier must have been the fire-belching metal tubes brimming the ships' decks under immense sails flying the blazing red cross of the Roman Catholic church.

Columbus picked the largest island in the group - the Caribs called it Ay Ay - to come ashore with a couple of dozen troops. Historians say they planted a cross on the beach, blasted off a few cannon shots at the Caribs, dodged some arrows and left. As Columbus sailed away, the story goes, he penciled in the island on his map and named it Santa Cruz (Holy Cross). Then, dazzled by the pristine beauty of the entire group of 50 or so islands in the area, he tagged them Las Virgenes after the legendary 11,000 virgin handmaidens of St. Ursula.



The American flag went up over the Virgin Islands in 1917.

The Spanish cross was later replaced by the Union Jack of Great Britain, then by the flags of the Netherlands, France (which renamed the island St. Croix), the Knights of Malta, France again, and Denmark. The American eagle has been flying over St. Croix and its neighboring islands since 1917. Back then, with World War I raging, there were fears in Washington that the Germans might set up submarine bases on the islands. So America bought them from Denmark, their owner for over 250 years, for $25 million.

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So what had been Las Virgenes - and for a while the Danish Virgin Islands - became the United States Virgin Islands , the U.S.V.I. for short.

Remnants of St. Croix's six former owners can be seen all over the 28-mile-long island. Sightseeing tours take you to cannon-studded forts, 18th century sugar plantations, ancient cathedrals and old-time government buildings. You'll also get plenty of time to browse through the shopping lanes of the island's two big towns, Frederiksted and Christiansted.



Steel drummers bat out calypso songs on St. Croix.

Tourists quickly find that Crucians (as the local folks call themselves) enjoy a smorgasbord of music. Listen close to the tunes pouring out of their car radios and you'll hear everything from rock to Bach -- punctuated by French-inspired minuets, brassy Cuban salsas, Trinidadian-style steel drums and hip-swinging "quelbe" songs native to St. Croix.

More Saints

The U.S.V.I.'s two other main islands have been described this way: St. Thomas is where the action is, and St. John isn't.

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That's not exactly true for the latter spot. It depends on what kind of action you're after. If it's eco-related or otherwise outdoors, St. John is loaded with it, two-thirds of the island having been set aside as national parklands. Visitors can enjoy Mother Nature's bounty in forests full of exotic wildlife and foliage, and on the white sands of unspoiled beaches.



Trunk Bay on St. John is often voted one of the best beaches in the world.



If you'd like to stay over, there's all kinds of places to bed down from campgrounds to posh resorts. Also poking out of the bushes are a few shopping areas, mostly around the town of Cruz Bay where visitors arrive on water ferries from other islands. Wade through the trinkets, and you might come across some fine, locally made wood carvings and loomed goods, many worth lugging home.



Ferries shuttle back and forth between St. John and St. Thomas.

But if you're after a full-blown shopping mecca, you'll find it a short ferry ride away on St. Thomas. There, in the U.S.V.I. capital of Charlotte Amalie (named after the wife of an early Danish king), the streets are lined with wall-to-wall shops seemingly stretching out for miles and selling everything from lotions to laptops. Among the shops' deeply discounted buys are cameras, jewelry, watches, DVD players, cell phones, designer clothes, liquor, exotic perfumes, china and fine crystal.



Cruise ships line a dock on St. Thomas. Photo courtesy of U.S.V.I. Department of Tourism.



Why so many shops? Because St. Thomas is one of the most popular cruise ports in the world. At Charlotte Amalie (pronounced ah-MAHL-yuh), stayover guests from the island's dozens of hotels rub elbows with some two million annual visitors from the cruise ships. It's not unusual to see as many as 10 giant liners in the harbor at a time.

As a desk clerk put it, "If you like crowds, you'll love St. Thomas when tens of thousands of cruise passengers pour into town at a clip."

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Tens of thousands of Iraqis continue to be displaced fleeing violence, desperate for food, in areas of the country controlled by hardline armed groups.

Young girl at Al Alam camp, Tikrit Photo: UNHCR/Caroline Gluck

By Bathoul Ahmed and Caroline Gluck

Al Alam camp, Tikrit, Iraq - UNHCR. For two days and one night, Nasser and Anwar travelled by foot with their seven children to escape from armed groups in Hawiga, spending nearly one day crossing a mountain range in the freezing cold. "We only had what we wore", said 37 year-old Nasser, who arrived a day earlier, events still fresh in his mind.

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"We walked for 20 hours through the mountains and there were so many mines and IEDs along the way. I counted five or six bodies. It was terrifying".

The family only had bread and water with them. They tried to stay warm at night, huddling together and wrapping themselves with a nylon sheet until reaching the safety of UNHCR's Al Alam camp for displaced Iraqis in Tikrit.

Intensified fighting around Hawiga district is one reason that the family, like tens of thousands of others, decided to flee. More than 60,000 Iraqis have left Hawiga since an intensification of military operations to retake the district began in August. But shortages of food, as a result of soaring prices, is another driving factor, with families describing a worsening humanitarian situation. Nasser and his family, Al Alam camp. Photo: UNHCR/Caroline Gluck

Anwar said her family survived on one basic meal a day for four months. "Food was so expensive and we had no money", she said. "We were eating just one meal a day, a bowl of bulgur wheat. We at like this, surviving for four months."

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Rice prices have increased ten-fold, say former residents. One kilo of rice now sells for 15,000 Iraqi dinars ($12), when it used to cost just between 500 and 1,000 Iraqi dinars (less than $1). A kilo of sugar now costs 42,000 Iraqi dinars ($35) when it used to cost just 1,000 dinars (less than $1).

"People were hungry and living in fear", said Jumah, who fled the city with his wife and three children and is now sheltering in UNHCR's Laylan 2 camp in Kirkuk. "Everything became more expensive. Cooking oil became like gold and not everyone could afford it". Jumah said families had run out of money for food and that fuel for heating was also scarce, making it impossible to stay warm. Jumah with his daughter, Sarah, 3, and 18 month old grandson, Samhan. Photo: UNHCR/Bathoul Ahmed Even water was in short supply, said 15 year-old Farah, who is staying in Laylan 2 camp. "Around five months ago, they cut off the water supply to many of the villages. We had no water in our homes.

"We had to go to the river to get water for drinking and so on. If you had no money, you had to drink river water", she said.

Atrocities and brutality against civilians has also been widely reported. Many people described life in Hawiga as living under a reign of terror. Being caught with a phone or a satellite dish could lead to severe punishment; as could violations of strict dress codes.

"The forms of torture they used are unheard of", said Abdullah, another displaced Iraqi who arrived in Laylan 2 camp a week earlier. "You cannot as a human being imagine the kinds of things they were capable of. They would torture people and hang them out like you hang meat at a butchers'", he said.

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According to Nasser, the displaced Iraqi in Al Alam camp, strong punishment was meted out as a deterrent to others. "Sometimes they killed people at the door of their home, in front of their family.

"They insisted to keep dead bodies for four days, as a warning to others. I saw this with my own eyes."

Desperate families have been facing stark choices. Mother of five, Sabah, managed to leave Hawiga with her family on her second attempt, travelling with around 100 other people. Even though she risked her life, she said it was a journey worth attempting. "I feared my children would starve. I have five youngsters, all under 11 years old.

"Would you stay and watch your kids cry of hunger?", she asked. "It is easier to try to flee again than to sit and wait for my children to die a slow death".

But while Sabah and family are now safe in Laylan 2 camp, and have received a tent, kitchen items and winter assistance from UNHCR and its partner, anxiety still haunts her. Her father, who is disabled, remains in Hawiga and cannot walk. "If you cannot walk, you cannot leave. You just wait and pray to be rescued", she said.

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Two days before Christmas seemed like the right time to visit Washington's National Gallery and its paintings of nativity scenes spanning the centuries. Even better: The gallery was giving a special tour of those works, led by art historian David Gariff. I didn't expect the tour to become yet another meditation on the role of women in the church. But it was.

The birth of Christ has always featured Mary, the mother of God.The gospels record the annunciation, when an angel visited Mary and told her of the plan for her to conceive and give birth to the Messiah.

It's always bothered me that the church only stresses certain aspects of Mary's conduct. The church makes a big deal of her acquiescence to the divine plan, but forgets that she pushed back initially and asked questions about how this would happen since she was a virgin.



The church also forgets about her amazing victory lap after the deal was sealed. Mary says that from this day forward "all generations will call me blessed." And her vision of what her son could accomplish was close to a social justice paradise, where income inequality would be addressed.

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"He has filled the hungry with good things," she proclaims, "and the rich he has sent away empty." She was thrilled at the prospect of tyrants being toppled. If there were a Nation magazine back then, Mary would have made a good staff writer.

By dismissing the feisty side of Mary, the institutional church dismisses all strong women, emphasizing instead the virtues that male clerics like to see - docility and acceptance.

But what the nativity paintings brought out for me was another way the church had dismissed women - by making the birth of Christ utterly alien to any other woman's experience.

The institutional church's description of the birth of Christ emphasizes its unworldliness. And indeed, the church has done a good job extolling Mary's uniqueness, even insisting that she remained a virgin forever, even after she bore a son.

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Saint Bridget of Sweden did not help matters. She was a 14th century mystic who reportedly had many visions, including one of the nativity.

I'm sure Bridget was very holy. But I'm not sure that her vision can be taken as - uh -gospel truth. Being Swedish, Bridget was sure the Virgin had golden tresses, which is difficult to believe of a Jewish woman born in the Middle East. She also claimed that the birth of Christ was painless. No labor. No mess. In the womb one moment. Out the next.

According to historical accounts, Bridget had eight children, and was widowed at the age of 41. Maybe her spiritual self could not reconcile her memories of what she endured with her mystical experience of the incarnation.

Her visions in the 1300s greatly influenced artists of that era and beyond. The artists did not portray a Madonna lying down, sweat pouring down her face, happy but showing the exhaustion of delivery. Unlike paintings from earlier centuries, these works don't even depict a reclining Mary, fatigued by what she's gone through. No, we get a saintly, gorgeous woman, with every hair in place, sitting or kneeling before their newborn infant.

It pains me to think of great artists through the ages, who followed the party line and gave us unruffled Madonnas kneeling next to the crib like disinterested bystanders - beautiful but lacking a more intimate connection to the lives of women.

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This insistence on virginity seems a way for the church to get over its squeamishness about women and their sexuality. The one woman they extol somehow is not made of flesh and blood. And part of that narrative demands that Mary's labor and delivery be utterly outside human experience.

I can't believe that Christ, who we are to believe is truly man and God, would somehow give himself and his Mom a free pass when it came to birth. Delivery is a human's first struggle, a perilous process that challenges both mother and child. A literal rite of passage through the birth canal. It is like all human life - messy, and painful, and full of moments of exaltation.

The church talks a good game about motherhood. But really, it scares them - celibate men in their bubble. And so, with a little help from a Swedish mystic and generations of a male-dominated institution that really does not like or trust women - we get a sanitized incarnation.

Indeed, during the tenure of Pope Benedict XVI, the Nicene Creed, which is said at Mass, was changed to make the whole notion of Christ's nativity even more remote and clinical. The older version of the Creed replaced the plain spoken "born of" the Virgin Mary" to "incarnate of."

Notre Dame administrator and professor Gretchen Reydams-Schils was so exercised by the change that she wrote a letter of protest to the Catholic magazine, Commonweal. Reydams Schils called the new wording an "abstruse alternative" that may, indeed betray "a deep strand of repulsion at the female body in the Christian tradition."

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I hope that someday, real women and their bodies and what those bodies experience - will be not only accepted by the church, but respected. Perhaps even revered.

I agree with Sarah Bessey, an Evangelical Christian and author of Jesus Feminist, who wrote: "the delivery of new life in blood and hope and humanity - this is the stuff of God."
BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping met with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying Friday.

Xi told Leung that the central government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR government in its work to contain "Hong Kong independence" according to law.

Leung is in Beijing to report to the central government on his work in 2016.

Xi said, achievements in Hong Kong's practice of "one country, two systems" are for all to see. However, as the practice of "one country, two systems" is a new undertaking, it is natural that new situations and new problems have arisen.

Currently, as Hong Kong is developing steadily in social, political and economic terms, the central government as well as Hong Kong citizens all hope for a better economy and people's livelihood, a harmonious society and happy life for the citizens, according to Xi.

"One country, two systems" is in line with interests of the country, well-being of Hong Kong citizens, and the common aspiration of the entire Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, Xi said.

He added the central government, the SAR government and Hong Kong society need to "strengthen their faith, adhere to the bottom line, staunchly safeguard and make sure the practice of 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong keeps pressing ahead along the track of the Basic Law."

Xi noted, the central government fully acknowledges the work of the chief executive and government of the Hong Kong SAR.

With the support of the central government, chief executive Leung has led the government of the Hong Kong SAR in prudent administration, and achieved remarkable progresses in sectors such as land and housing, old-age care, poverty relief, as well as scientific and technological innovation, Xi said.

Besides, in such significant matters as containing "Hong Kong independence" and handling street violence according to law, Xi commented, the Hong Kong SAR government, led by Leung, has strictly followed the Basic Law, the interpretation of the Basic Law by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, and laws of the SAR.

The SAR government has "safeguarded national sovereignty, security, development interests, and Hong Kong's economic development, social stability."

Moreover, Xi said, the central government respects the decision by Leung not to run in the next election in 2017 due to family related reasons.

Over the past four years or so, Leung and the SAR government have "comprehensively and accurately" implemented the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law, as well as made concrete efforts in "building the groundwork and benefiting the long-term development."

Leung and the SAR government have made vital contributions to the undertaking of the "one country, two systems" as well as Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, Xi added.

Xi asked Leung to present the new-year wish of him and the central government to Hong Kong citizens.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, also attended the meeting.

In a separate meeting with Leung on Friday, Premier Li Keqiang said the central government is in full support of the SAR government and the chief executive performing administration in accordance with the law.

Li pledged continued policies and measures that support Hong Kong's development and enhance cooperation between the SAR and the mainland.

Over the past year, the Hong Kong SAR government has made progress in ensuring steady economic growth with relatively low unemployment, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, integrating Hong Kong's development with national strategies, and expanding cooperation with the mainland and international exchanges, said Li.

The premier called for a bigger role of the SAR in the country's economic development and opening up.

Leung said the SAR government will coordinate with the country's 13th Five-Year Plan and Belt and Road Initiative, vigorously promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and strive to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity, stability and economic development.
1) Yesterday, Obama instructed his UN ambassador Samantha Power to abstain from voting on a Security Council resolution critical of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. It is a sign of how low we have sunk that this abstention feels like a victory. The text of the resolution is the most anodyne stuff imaginable; this is why it received unanimous support from the remainder of the Security Council. In addition to declaring settlements an obstacle to peace, it emphasizes at several points the Israeli right to security. Far from being hostile to Israel, its central argument is very simple: settlements are redrawing the map of the occupied territories in a way that makes the lasting peace of a two-state solution impossible.

2) The same was true in 2011, when the US did use its veto power to prevent a similar Security Resolution from passing, so it is hard not to see the abstention through the lens of US politics. For eight years Obama has been severely constrained in dealing with an Israeli government completely uninterested in peace: even his mildest criticisms have caused a furor, and have been opportunistically exploited by Congressional Republicans tripping over themselves to lick the boots of Bibi Netanyahu. If this is Obama's parting shot, it also retains the dignity of his subdued and measured style in the face of unrepentant irrationality.

3) As so many things do, the abstention immediately provoked an angry and foreboding tweet from Donald Trump: "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th." It has been reported that he urged Obama to veto the resolution, confirming suspicions of his sympathies with the Israeli right. This is a man who just appointed David Friedman, a stalwart supporter of settlements, as his ambassador to Israel. Trump was more successful in his calls to Egypt, the Security Council member state that initially introduced the resolution and promptly folded at the slightest touch. After Egypt signaled that it would delay its resolution, it was re-introduced by New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia, and Senegal.

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4) Egypt's actions in this instance are an excellent lesson in the cowardice of the "strong Arab state." A certain kind of Israel critic excuses the crimes of Arab authoritarianism because we need "strong Arab states" to stand up to Israel and the West. This episode shows that Egypt's new strongman, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has learned much more from his Saudi patrons than he has from Gamal Abdel Nasser, to whom he has been compared by his adulators at home. The Saudi approach, which Egypt has here followed to the letter, entails paying lip-service to the Palestinian cause while taking no real action toward peace whatsoever. This empty show of Arab solidarity then excuses the crimes of totalitarianism at home. Only fools will be fooled.

5) There may be an unintentional silver lining of a Trump presidency: it could make Netanyahu's tenuous grip on power more tenuous still. Netanyahu has thus far been able to cast himself as pursuing the agenda of the Israeli right in the face of American pressure. His coalition with right-wing parties, the source of his slender parliamentary majority, rests on this tissue of lies. With a pro-settlement US administration entering office, he will face a difficult choice: either align himself more fully with the right and potentially isolate centrist voters, or try to carve out a centrist position that might isolate his allies on the right. If he suffers electoral losses, it may open a very small window of opportunity for the left-center alliance, the Zionist Union, which narrowly lost the 2015 election. This would depend on the left presenting a more compelling alternative to Netanyahu than it has done thus far.

6) All of the major US news outlets have covered UN Security Council Resolution 2334. But you will not find the full text on the website of the Washington Post or New York Times. It is up on the websites of Haaretz and the Times of Israel. True to form, American coverage has focused on the partisan shouting that this episode has inspired, rather than on any of the substantive issues at stake. Is it any surprise, then, that public conversation on this and so many topics remains mired in ignorance? That American democracy is broken? Actual information never sees the light of day in this country. Much more important than the resolution itself, apparently, is that Lindsey Graham is grousing about Obama having delayed the Second Coming.

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As 2016 comes to a close, I look back at what's become of news gathering, distribution and monetization and am reminded by the World Editors Forum (WEF) that change is the only constant.

"But with everything changing so rapidly and drastically, newsrooms too must adapt and better reflect new roles, new skills and new workflows, alongside evergreen journalistic values and reporting principles," we're told in WEF's rich annual report Trends in Newsrooms 2016.



Trends in Newsrooms 2016 (courtesy WAN-IFRA)

WEF, part of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), uses its experts' insights to analyze transformations' impact on journalism, delivery and engagement.

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The Washington Post, one of several case studies of next-level newsrooms, has a "two-floor open space designed to encourage greater collaboration" involving a central hub of homepage editors and producers, photo and video editors, senior editors, and engineers, efficient internal communications channels, and a graphics department that's a vital part of any story.



Screen shot of Washington Post newsroom

But above all, it's the story, based on solid journalistic principles of accurate, balanced (not totally detached), and ethical news gathering and reporting.

According to Post executive editor Marty Baron, quoted in the report, the conversation in the news industry has often centered on finding a sustainable revenue model, retaining the audience and social media platforms. But, he said, not enough importance has been placed on trust.



Washington Post Marty Baron's message (courtesy WAN-IFRA)

Living in digital silos like Facebook exacerbates lack of trust as its feed "is determined by an algorithm designed more to entertain than to inform," the report noted.

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Misinformation and fake news have also been the bane of news organizations so they are increasingly turning to fact checking and involving their communities in helping to sort fact from fiction.

Media are also capitalizing on collaborations for cross-border investigative efforts exemplified by the Panama Papers.

A key recurring component in the newsroom trends report is ethics, with one section dedicated to the Online News Association's (ONA) Social Newsgathering Ethics Code.



ONA's social newsgathering code (courtesy WAN-IFRA)

The code can be integrated into one's operations or used to form the basis of a new User Generated Content (UGC) ethics code by any individual or organization, WEF said.

An interesting segment focuses on "how social media redefine content distribution," with all the benefits and drawbacks we've experienced, driving traffic to publishers' websites at a faster and a more expanded clip than search-related traffic.

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The report lists Facebook's Instant Articles, Google AMP, Apple News, Twitter Moments, and Snapchat Discover as news distribution vehicles.

Not to be overlooked are video ubiquity, 360-degree video, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).



"There is no question that VR has the power to break down barriers and deeply move people," the report said of the immersive experience, which an increasing number of media are adopting, although not much research has been conducted on the medium.

These "realities" are forcing journalists to learn a new storytelling language that requires text, audio, video, graphics and "navigation cues" to assist news consumers and ensure they don't miss key contents.

Here, too, ethics enters the equation and presents new dilemmas.

"There is concern that the high level of immersion may be so intense that it could be psychologically damaging. Correct labeling is critical," the report said. "Privacy is a bigger issue for VR storytelling than for 2D video, because it is much harder to control who is in the shot if you're shooting in 360."

Enter news bots and messaging apps in next-level platforms.



News bots (courtesy WAN-IFRA)

While robots performing editorial tasks aren't a novelty in newsrooms, they're being used for more than just curation and data gathering. They're writing stories and supplementing reporters' fieldwork.

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Again, ethics is paramount when disseminating information that's partially or wholly machine generated and how monetizing it shapes the news landscape.

"While bots may offer benefits for publishers in terms of enabling them to reach new audiences and offer new experiences, they also have inherent limitations in terms of accountability and algorithmic transparency," the report explains.

Another ethical concern is a story that has snowballed in recent years, dominated headlines in 2016, and is likely to grow well into 2017 - migrants and refugees.

It presents newsrooms with new and challenging considerations.



Ethics covering migrants/refugees

(courtesy WAN-IFRA)

"The refugee crisis is not going to go away and there has never been a greater need for useful and reliable intelligence on the complexities of migration. But if that is to happen, we must strengthen the craft of journalism." - Aidan White, director, Ethical Journalism Network, on the release of the report "Moving Stories."

A useful report chapter is on engagement, the value of community and how to nurture it. Which raises questions about the value of comments sections and social media interaction.

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WEF goes the extra step by publishing a companion report entitled "Do Comments Matter?"



Do Comments Matter? (courtesy WAN-IFRA)

Yes, they do, but WEF asks whether media should completely turn off comments, limit them to some stories, or dedicate valuable resources to handling them 24/7.

The report provides examples of various news organizations grappling with this matter, including a growing online culture of abuse and trolling, legal and societal constraints, and, freedom of speech and civility.



Comment management tips (courtesy WAN-IFRA)

WEF concludes:
Inspired by the news about a potential looming nuclear arms race, I got on the phone and had an hour long conversation with a sitting United States Congressperson, searching for ways to provide some checks and balances in potential nuclear scenarios.

We came up with this draft of a bill that we believe could do just that.

If you agree that a bill like this could make America and the world safer, please send it to your Congressperson and United States Senators immediately and ask them, as their constituent, to consider Sponsoring or Co-Sponsoring this immediately.

If you or your representatives have any questions or would like to know the identity of the Sponsor and current Co-Sponsors, please indicate so in the Comments, below and someone will get back to you.

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"THE NUCLEAR SANITY ACT"

Except in cases of a nuclear or other form of massive physical attack on the territory of The United States by a confirmed foreign national military or when it is impossible, after exhausting every available option, to establish communications with The Secretary of Defense or The Secretary of State, The President shall obtain the written approval of said Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State prior to the deployment of nuclear weapons and The United States Military shall disregard any and all orders in violation of this Act.

The term "territory of The United States" means the 50 States, The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and territory of The United States, whether or not incorporated or organized.
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.
BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said that more efforts should be made to implement "Made in China 2025," a plan released last year to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power.

In his instruction to a Friday meeting on China's manufacturing development, Li said China will continue to streamline administrative approvals and delegate power to lower levels, improve government services and push forward taxation and financial reforms.

The country will create a sound environment for the development of advanced manufacturing sectors in the aspects of market access, distribution of essential productive factors and lowering costs, Li said.

The Made in China 2025 plan should be combined with the country's Internet Plus action plan and promotion of mass entrepreneurship and innovation to promote the positive interaction between new growth impetus and traditional sectors, the premier said.

China should also seek a higher level of smart and green manufacturing to promote medium-high level of growth, Li said.

Vice Premier Ma Kai said at the meeting that China has made headway in upgrading the manufacturing sector after the plan was unveiled last year, contributing to the sector's steady growth and profit recovery.

As manufacturing is a major part of real economy and a major field of China's supply-side structural reform, the country should continue to push forward the implementation of the Made in China 2025 plan, Ma said.

China should enhance coordination of central and local government efforts, build national manufacturing innovation centers, consolidate industrial foundation and optimize the market environment, Ma said.
Santa and his reindeer have just 24 hours every year on deliver presents to children everywhere. In case you think he might get lost, both Google and NORAD have apps and websites to show where he has got to.

There has been plenty of activity on offer from both the NORAD and Google Santa Trackers since the beginning of December but today represents the annual climax - the day on which Santa leaves the North Pole in his sleigh.

Now you can ask the questions:

Where is Santa now?

When will Santa arrive?

Remarkably one source of the answers is NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) the organization that tracks airplanes, missiles, space launches and anything else that flies in or around the North American continent.

It all started because of a misprinted telephone number as explained in last year's report of the 60th anniversary of the Santa tracking activities but is worth repeating if you don't know the history:

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

For more details of how NORAD uses its radar installations and fighter pilots to track Santa see NORAD Santa Tracker Celebrates Sixty Years.

NORAD is now helped in its mission by Microsoft which since 2012 has been involved. The MSDN blog explains how the Azure Rapid Response copes with peak usage of the site on Christmas Eve:

The tracking of Santa is accomplished through a multi-region deployment of the application to Azure in data centers around the world which are all load balanced. To handle the scale of the site which has 10s of millions of visitors on Christmas Eve alone, we rely on Azures scaling capabilities to expand the different parts of the application up and down accordingly. Planning for that scale involves the collaboration of iLink Systems, Inc., AGI, Bing Maps, and the PSfD ADM team. Together we work on identifying the appropriate cloud patterns and scaling solutions we should be using to handle the demand. But a very key component in making sure Santas flight is as smooth as possible, is we do rigorous load testing in advance.

Although in 2012 we reported Santa Trackers from Google and Microsoft, the Google one was already well established and has now been around for 12 years.

The fun begins each and every year when Santas Village opens on the website on December 1, as the countdown starts until Santas departure from the North Pole. The fun and games, including learn to code activities, remain available until the end of the December.

There are some exclusive items of the Google Santa Tracker that can only be accessed using an Android device. These include four extras games, one of which, Present Quest, involves geolocation and tasks the user with seeing how many of Santas misplaced Christmas gifts can be recovered.

Now that Santa has set off from the North Pole Google will use your geolocation to tell you both when Santa will reach you and where he currently is:

More Information

Official NORAD Santa Tracker

Google Santa Tracker

Related Articles

NORAD Santa Tracker Celebrates Sixty Years

Google's Santa Tracker Introduces Coding Lab

Santa Trackers from Google and Microsoft

Track Santa With Google And NORAD
BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Chui Sai On, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Friday.

Xi said the central authority fully appreciates the work of Chui and the Macao SAR government, and the Macao SAR has set an example in implementing the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law, as well as safeguarding national security and unity.

Chui is in Beijing to report to the central government on his work in 2016.

Under Chui's leadership, the Macao SAR government has focused on policies to boost the economy, improve people's livelihood and ensure stable development in 2016, Xi said, adding the Macao SAR government has done a lot of work in advancing public administration reform, promoting "appropriate diversification" of its economy, putting gaming industries under check and dealing with major issues in accordance with the law.

By mapping out the first five-year development plan for Macao, Chui and the Macao SAR government actively coordinated with the country's 13th Five-Year Plan and the Belt and Road Initiative, moves that showed the SAR's commitment to long-term development, Xi said.

Xi said the general situation in Macao is good, and the economy and people's livelihood are improving.

He called on Chui and the Macao SAR government to lead and unite all circles in the region to carry forward the tradition of loving the country and Macao, while sticking to national strategy and ensuring the prosperity and stability of the region.

Chui and the Macao SAR government were told to make boosting the economy and improving people's livelihood a priority and to efficiently govern the region in accordance with the law to make Macao more beautiful and prosperous.

On behalf of the central government and himself, Xi asked Chui to convey new year greetings to all citizens of Macao.

Top legislator Zhang Dejiang also attended the meeting.

In a separate meeting with Chui on Friday, Premier Li Keqiang expressed appreciation of Macao SAR's efforts to achieve a fiscal surplus, promote the job market, boost diversified development and maintain social harmony and stability, in face of the pressure of economic downturn.

Li said the central government will unwaveringly implement the principles of "one country, two systems," "Macao people governing Macao" and a high degree of autonomy, as well as act with the Constitution and the Basic Law.

The premier said the central government will give full support to the Macao SAR government and the chief executive's governance in accordance with the law, adding it will also back the SAR's efforts to boost economic development, improve people's livelihood, promote public administration reform and integrate its development into the country's development.

He also called on the Macao SAR to make new headway as a service platform for business and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Chui said guidance and assistance from the central government, especially a series of preferential policies, have vigorously bolstered social and economic development in Macao, as well as its opening up to the outside and external cooperation, adding the Macao SAR government will work to maintain economic stability and continue improving people's livelihood.
TRIPOLI, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hijackers who forced the Libyan airplane diverted to Malta Friday have surrendered peacefully, with all hostages released.

Television footage showed the two hijackers taken into custody in handcuffs, with no signs of struggle or violence.

"Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken into custody," said Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta in a tweet.

The two hijackers said they were loyal to the late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled in the uprising of 2011.

A Libyan TV channel reported that one of the two men identified himself as Mousa Shaha. He claimed by phone that he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jaded party, new Al-Fateh, a name that Gaddafi gave to his coup in 1969.

Media reports said that the two men demanded asylum in Malta.

The airplane belongs to the state-owned Afriqiyah Airways and was intended to fly from Sabha in southern Libya to Tripoli's Mitiga airport, when two men hijacked it and threatened to blow the airbus A320 with hand grenade.
Governor Brown Grants Pardons

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he has granted 112 pardons and one commutation.

Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the Governor for a pardon. Those granted pardons all completed their sentences and the majority were originally convicted of nonviolent, drug-related crimes. All applicants for a pardon who were eligible obtained a Certificate of Rehabilitation, which is an order from a superior court declaring that a person convicted of a crime is now rehabilitated.

A gubernatorial pardon may be granted to people who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction. Pardons are not granted unless they are earned.

When a pardon is granted, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are notified so that they may update their records on the applicant. The pardon is filed with the Secretary of State and the Legislature, and it is a public record.



The Governor also granted one commutation to a current inmate, which will reduce the prison sentence but not eliminate it. The individual will not be released from prison today and he will remain incarcerated until he is eligible to appear before the Board of Parole Hearings. The inmate receiving the commutation has shown exemplary behavior during incarceration, including vocational accomplishments, self-help, volunteer activities and earning multiple community college degrees.

Copies of all 112 gubernatorial pardons and the commutation can be found here. Additional information on pardons and commutations can be found here.
Joint Statement on Libya by the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Washington, DC - One year after the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) in Skhirat, Morocco, the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States commend the Presidency Council (PC) of the Government of National Accord (GNA) for its efforts to restore unified governance, prosperity, and security to Libya. We congratulate the GNA and the Libyan people on their successful operation to eject Daesh from Sirte and applaud the Libyan peoples courage in confronting the scourge of Daesh and other terrorist organizations.

The PC of the GNA has our full support as it addresses ongoing security and economic challenges for the Libyan people. We reaffirm our support for the LPA as a transitional roadmap to a democratically elected government in Libya, recalling UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2259, which endorses the Rome Communique of 13 December 2015 and calls on members to support the GNA as the sole legitimate government of Libya and reject official contact with parallel institutions outside the LPA. We commend UNSMILs efforts and take note of ongoing regional activities towards a broadly based and inclusive implementation of the LPA.



We condemn any threats of use of military force in Libya, including in Tripoli. We call on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and national reconciliation. We encourage the PC of the GNA to strengthen its internal cohesion and tackle with renewed determination the multiple security, economic, and social emergencies facing Libya today, first among them building a secure environment where all citizens can feel safe and protected by unified Libyan forces operating under civilian oversight, including the Presidential Guard, devoted to serving and protecting Libyan institutions. We encourage the PC to step up preparations for its establishment and speedy deployment.



We welcome the approval by the Presidency Council of the budget for 2017, and urge Libya's State financial institutions to ensure their full cooperation with the PC, thereby enabling the country's legitimate executive authority to carry out an effective economic policy addressing the most urgent needs of Libya's population.



We call on all Libyan parties to engage meaningfully in continued political dialogue and support the PC as it charts a peaceful transition to national reconciliation and an elected and unified government that represents all Libyans.



Through maintaining a unified approach in support of these principles, the international community will work to help Libya through this transitional period. But in the end, Libyans alone must decide their countrys future.
BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Through high-level meetings in late 2016, the Chinese leadership has signaled a clear orientation for the nation's policy stance for next year: to hold the economy steady, press ahead with reforms and improve the well-being of ordinary people.

ECONOMIC STABILITY

"Stability" was the theme that emerged for 2017's economic work at last week's Central Economic Work Conference.

China will maintain its proactive fiscal and prudent monetary policies, according to a statement released after the meeting. Specifically, monetary policy was described as "prudent and neutral," and fiscal policy will be "more proactive and effective."

"Neutral" means neither stimulating nor contractionary, said Zeng Gang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "When implementing monetary policy, a balance has to be achieved between propping up growth and fending off risks, and now it is more pressing to control risks."

Given rising corporate leverage and global uncertainties, regulators have turned more cautious toward monetary easing, but have more frequently resorted to fiscal measures.

Fiscal support is necessary to push forward economic restructuring, stabilize the economy and improve people's livelihood, said Bai Jingming, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.

Public spending will continue to bolster infrastructure improvement amid a prolonged economic slowdown, while more funds will be channeled to areas including re-employment of laid-off workers, industrial technological upgrades, health care, and education.

Analysts also expect continued tax breaks to relieve business burdens.

Despite volatility in the stock market and real estate sector, the Chinese economy is ending 2016 on a firm footing, with encouraging signs ranging from industrial profits to railway freight.

In the first three quarters, GDP expanded 6.7 percent year on year, within the government's target range of between 6.5 and 7 percent.

FURTHER REFORM

Reform remained on the front burner as the economy urgently needs to address entrenched structural imbalance and find sustainable growth momentum.

"Next year's major economic task can be summarized as deepening supply-side structural reform," said Yang Weimin, deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs.

The reform was proposed at the end of 2015 and briskly carried out this year, with five major tasks: cutting industrial capacity, bringing down housing inventory, reducing leverage levels, lowering corporate costs and improving weak economic links.

Last week's meeting agreed to strengthen efforts and expand reform to more areas, including overhauling the supply side of agriculture, reviving the real economy and stabilizing the property sector.

Yang expects the reform to be a main theme of the country's economic work in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

President Xi Jinping highlighted curbing property bubbles at a meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs on Wednesday, the fourth time asset bubbles were mentioned by Chinese leaders in the second half of the year.

China will take a varied approach to regulating the property market, adopting financial, fiscal, tax, land and regulation measures to build a long-term housing mechanism that provides housing for all people, according to Xi.

Thanks to policies introduced by local authorities in October, the property market in big cities continued to stabilize in the last month, gradually retreating from sky-high prices.

"Houses are built for living, not for speculation," policymakers have agreed.

China will also introduce private funds into more sectors dominated by state-owned companies, push forward legislation on a civil code, better protect property rights, and improve the old-age insurance system, as well as steadily and properly promote fiscal, taxation and financial reforms.

PEOPLE-CENTERED DEVELOPMENT

China should stick to its people-centered development philosophy and address people's common concerns in promoting economic growth, Xi said during Wednesday's meeting.

"The fundamental goal of maintaining the growth pace and promoting economic development is to seek proper solutions to prominent issues of people's common concern," Xi said.

Xi's remarks added to China's ambitious plans to substantially improve the lives of common people.

By 2020, the last year of the current five-year plan, the country will build an all-round moderately prosperous society, double the average annual incomes of both urban and rural residents from 2010 levels, and completely eliminate poverty.

A two-day central rural work conference ending Tuesday targeted improving farmers' incomes, partly by enhancing agricultural productivity and competitiveness.

The meeting demanded more targeted efforts to lift another 10 million rural people out of poverty in 2017, as growth of per capita disposable rural income in the first three quarters slipped to its lowest level in almost 13 years.

The government will work on several fronts to reduce poverty: promoting industrial development in poor regions, improving access to employment services for the poor, improving health care and education, and improving infrastructure in poor regions.

China has lifted 700 million people out of poverty through more than 30 years of reform and opening-up.

Policymakers also agreed to promote clean energy, regulate the housing rental market, improve garbage sorting, improve nursing homes for the aged, and reinforce food safety supervision.
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Franca Sozzani, the longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, has died aged 66.

The fashion journalist passed away on Thursday after a year-long illness with her son Francesco by her side, according to Conde Nast International chairman Jonathan Newhouse who described her as one of the greatest editors who ever made a magazine.

Sozzani became editor of the prestigious title in 1988 after stints at other Conde Nast titles. Fearless in the content she would cover, she often broke boundaries with issues devoted to a certain cause or global issue. These issues have included thought-provoking fashion shoots on violence against women and sustainability.

In 2008, she edited an issue featuring only black models leading supermodel Naomi Campbell to say Sozzani doesnt realise what shes done for people of colour. Sozzani later called the issue her proudest career moment.

Notable deaths in 2016 Show all 42 1 /42 Notable deaths in 2016 Notable deaths in 2016 Debbie Reynolds was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. She died on December 28 in Los Angeles Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Actress Carrie Fisher died on December 27 aged 60 Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Comedian and Actor Ricky Harris died on December 26 aged 54 Rex Notable deaths in 2016 British singer George Michael died on 25 December aged 53 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Rick Parfitt OBE was an English musician, best known for being a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist in the rock band Status Quo. He died on December 24 in Marbella, Spain Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Lord Jenkin of Roding died at the age of 90 on the 21 December PA wire Notable deaths in 2016 Rabbi Lionel Blue died on the 19 December Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Zsa Zsa Gabor died on December 18 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Leonard Cohen died on 7 November Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Grand secretary of the Orange Order Drew Nelson died on 10 October aged 60 after a short illness PA Notable deaths in 2016 Aaron Pryor, the relentless junior welterweight died Sunday, Oct. 9, at the age of 60 at his home in Cincinnati after a long battle with heart disease AP Notable deaths in 2016 Polish Director Andrzej Wajda died on October 9, aged 90 Reuters Notable deaths in 2016 Stylianos Pattakos has died following a stroke on 8th October. He was 103 years old. AP Notable deaths in 2016 Dickie Jeeps, was an English rugby union player who played for Northampton. He represented and captained both the England national rugby union team and the British Lions in the 1950s and 1960s. He died on 8th October. He was 84 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Duke of Westminster Billionaire landowner the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor has died on 9 August, aged 64 Rex Features Notable deaths in 2016 Christina Knudsen Sir Roger Moores stepdaughter Christina Knudsen has died from cancer on 25 July at teh age of 47 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Caroline Aherne The actress Caroline Aherne has died from cancer on 2 July at the age of 52 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Christina Grimmie Christina Grimmie, 22, who was an American singer and songwriter, known for her participation in the NBC singing competition The Voice, was signing autographs at a concert venue in Orlando on 10 June when an assailant shot her. Grimmie was transported to a local hospital where she died from her wounds on 11 June Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Kimbo Slice Former UFC and Bellator MMA fighter Kimbo Slice died after being admitted to hospital in Florida on 6 June, aged 42 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Muhammad Ali The three-time former heavyweight world champion died after being admitted to hospital with a respiratory illness on 3 June, aged 74 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Sally Brampton Brampton who was the launch editor of the UK edition of Elle magazine has died on 10 May, aged 60 Grant Triplow/REX/Shutterstock Notable deaths in 2016 Billy Paul The soul singer Billy Paul, who was best known for his single Me and Mrs Jones, has died on 24 April, aged 81 Noel Vasquez/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Prince Prince, the legendary musician, has been found dead at his Paisley Park recording studio on 21 April. He was 57 Notable deaths in 2016 Chyna WWE icon Joan Laurer dies aged 45 after being found at California home on 20 April Notable deaths in 2016 Victoria Wood The five-time Bafta-winning actress and comedian Victoria Wood has died on 20 April at her London home after a short illness with cancer. She was 62 Notable deaths in 2016 David Gest The entertainer and former husband of Liza Minnelli, David Gest has been found dead on 12 April in the Four Seasons hotel in Canary Warf, London. He was 62-years-old PA Notable deaths in 2016 Denise Robertson Denise Robertson, an agony aunt on This Morning for over 30 years, has died on 1 April, aged 83 Notable deaths in 2016 Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Hadid, the prominent architect best known for designs such as the London Olympic Aquatic Centre and the Guangzhou Opera House, has died of a heart attack on 31 March, aged 65 2010 AFP Notable deaths in 2016 Ronnie Corbett British entertainer Ronnie Corbett has passed away on 31 March at the age of 85 2014 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Imre Kertesz Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Imre Kertesz, who won the 2002 Nobel Literature Prize, has died on 31 March, at the age of 86 REUTERS Notable deaths in 2016 Rob Ford Rob Ford, the former controversial mayor of Toronto, has died following a battle with a rare form of cancer. The 46-year-old passed away at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto on 22 March Notable deaths in 2016 Joey Feek Joey (left) passed away in March after a two-year cancer illness. She was part of country music duo, Joey + Rory, with her husband Rory (right) Jason Merritt/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Umberto Eco Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco died 19 February 2016 aged 84 EPA Notable deaths in 2016 Harper Lee Harper Lee, the American novelist known for writing 'To Kill a Mockingbird', died February 19, 2016 aged 89 2005 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Vanity Vanity, pictured performing in 1983, died aged 57 REX Features Notable deaths in 2016 Dave Mirra The BMX legend's body found inside truck with gunshot wound after apparent suicide aged 41 Notable deaths in 2016 Harry Harpham The former miner became Sheffield Labour MP in May after many years as a local councillor. He died after succumbing to cancer, at the age of 61. Notable deaths in 2016 Dale Griffin The Mott the Hoople drummer died on January 17, aged 67 REX Notable deaths in 2016 Rene Angelil Celine Dion's husband and manager Rene Angelil has lost his battle with cancer on 14 January, aged 73 2011 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Alan Rickman Legendary actor Alan Rickman has died on 14 January at the age of 69 after battle with pancreatic cancer. He is largely regarded as one of the most beloved British actors of our generation with roles in Love Actually, Die Hard, Michael Collins, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and an illustrious stage career 2015 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Maurice White The Earth, Wind & Fire founder died aged 74. The nine-piece band sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and won six Grammy awards Notable deaths in 2016 Lawrence Phillips Former NFL star found dead in prison cell on 13 January in suspected suicide, aged 40 AFP/Getty Images

US Vogues editor-in-chief Anna Wintour  who took the helm of the title in the same year Sozzani did  paid tribute to her friend of more than 30 years in an article for the magazine.

In private, Franca was warm, clever, funny and someone who could give the sphinx a run for its money when it comes to keeping a confidence. She was also the hardest-working person I have known, and with an envy-inducing ease with multitasking.

Sozanni visited London just three weeks ago to receive an award for Positive Change at the British Fashion Awards. Wintour described how despite being on oxygen, Sozzani was determined to be there in person.

Many from the world of fashion including Victoria Beckham, Kanye West and Georgio Armani paid tribute to the fashion mogul.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
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Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has died in Spain aged 68, his manager has said.

The rock musician died on Saturday in a Marbella hospital after developing a "severe" infection. He had been admitted on Thursday with a shoulder injury.

A statement from his manager said: "We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away at lunchtime today.

This tragic news comes at a time when Rick was hugely looking forward to launching a solo career with an album and autobiography planned for 2017 following his departure from Status Quo's touring activities on medical advice.

Notable deaths in 2016 Show all 42 1 /42 Notable deaths in 2016 Notable deaths in 2016 Debbie Reynolds was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. She died on December 28 in Los Angeles Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Actress Carrie Fisher died on December 27 aged 60 Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Comedian and Actor Ricky Harris died on December 26 aged 54 Rex Notable deaths in 2016 British singer George Michael died on 25 December aged 53 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Rick Parfitt OBE was an English musician, best known for being a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist in the rock band Status Quo. He died on December 24 in Marbella, Spain Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Lord Jenkin of Roding died at the age of 90 on the 21 December PA wire Notable deaths in 2016 Rabbi Lionel Blue died on the 19 December Rex Notable deaths in 2016 Zsa Zsa Gabor died on December 18 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Leonard Cohen died on 7 November Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Grand secretary of the Orange Order Drew Nelson died on 10 October aged 60 after a short illness PA Notable deaths in 2016 Aaron Pryor, the relentless junior welterweight died Sunday, Oct. 9, at the age of 60 at his home in Cincinnati after a long battle with heart disease AP Notable deaths in 2016 Polish Director Andrzej Wajda died on October 9, aged 90 Reuters Notable deaths in 2016 Stylianos Pattakos has died following a stroke on 8th October. He was 103 years old. AP Notable deaths in 2016 Dickie Jeeps, was an English rugby union player who played for Northampton. He represented and captained both the England national rugby union team and the British Lions in the 1950s and 1960s. He died on 8th October. He was 84 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Duke of Westminster Billionaire landowner the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor has died on 9 August, aged 64 Rex Features Notable deaths in 2016 Christina Knudsen Sir Roger Moores stepdaughter Christina Knudsen has died from cancer on 25 July at teh age of 47 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Caroline Aherne The actress Caroline Aherne has died from cancer on 2 July at the age of 52 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Christina Grimmie Christina Grimmie, 22, who was an American singer and songwriter, known for her participation in the NBC singing competition The Voice, was signing autographs at a concert venue in Orlando on 10 June when an assailant shot her. Grimmie was transported to a local hospital where she died from her wounds on 11 June Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Kimbo Slice Former UFC and Bellator MMA fighter Kimbo Slice died after being admitted to hospital in Florida on 6 June, aged 42 Getty Notable deaths in 2016 Muhammad Ali The three-time former heavyweight world champion died after being admitted to hospital with a respiratory illness on 3 June, aged 74 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Sally Brampton Brampton who was the launch editor of the UK edition of Elle magazine has died on 10 May, aged 60 Grant Triplow/REX/Shutterstock Notable deaths in 2016 Billy Paul The soul singer Billy Paul, who was best known for his single Me and Mrs Jones, has died on 24 April, aged 81 Noel Vasquez/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Prince Prince, the legendary musician, has been found dead at his Paisley Park recording studio on 21 April. He was 57 Notable deaths in 2016 Chyna WWE icon Joan Laurer dies aged 45 after being found at California home on 20 April Notable deaths in 2016 Victoria Wood The five-time Bafta-winning actress and comedian Victoria Wood has died on 20 April at her London home after a short illness with cancer. She was 62 Notable deaths in 2016 David Gest The entertainer and former husband of Liza Minnelli, David Gest has been found dead on 12 April in the Four Seasons hotel in Canary Warf, London. He was 62-years-old PA Notable deaths in 2016 Denise Robertson Denise Robertson, an agony aunt on This Morning for over 30 years, has died on 1 April, aged 83 Notable deaths in 2016 Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Hadid, the prominent architect best known for designs such as the London Olympic Aquatic Centre and the Guangzhou Opera House, has died of a heart attack on 31 March, aged 65 2010 AFP Notable deaths in 2016 Ronnie Corbett British entertainer Ronnie Corbett has passed away on 31 March at the age of 85 2014 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Imre Kertesz Hungarian writer and Holocaust survivor Imre Kertesz, who won the 2002 Nobel Literature Prize, has died on 31 March, at the age of 86 REUTERS Notable deaths in 2016 Rob Ford Rob Ford, the former controversial mayor of Toronto, has died following a battle with a rare form of cancer. The 46-year-old passed away at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto on 22 March Notable deaths in 2016 Joey Feek Joey (left) passed away in March after a two-year cancer illness. She was part of country music duo, Joey + Rory, with her husband Rory (right) Jason Merritt/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Umberto Eco Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco died 19 February 2016 aged 84 EPA Notable deaths in 2016 Harper Lee Harper Lee, the American novelist known for writing 'To Kill a Mockingbird', died February 19, 2016 aged 89 2005 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Vanity Vanity, pictured performing in 1983, died aged 57 REX Features Notable deaths in 2016 Dave Mirra The BMX legend's body found inside truck with gunshot wound after apparent suicide aged 41 Notable deaths in 2016 Harry Harpham The former miner became Sheffield Labour MP in May after many years as a local councillor. He died after succumbing to cancer, at the age of 61. Notable deaths in 2016 Dale Griffin The Mott the Hoople drummer died on January 17, aged 67 REX Notable deaths in 2016 Rene Angelil Celine Dion's husband and manager Rene Angelil has lost his battle with cancer on 14 January, aged 73 2011 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Alan Rickman Legendary actor Alan Rickman has died on 14 January at the age of 69 after battle with pancreatic cancer. He is largely regarded as one of the most beloved British actors of our generation with roles in Love Actually, Die Hard, Michael Collins, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and an illustrious stage career 2015 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2016 Maurice White The Earth, Wind & Fire founder died aged 74. The nine-piece band sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and won six Grammy awards Notable deaths in 2016 Lawrence Phillips Former NFL star found dead in prison cell on 13 January in suspected suicide, aged 40 AFP/Getty Images

He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow band members, management, crew and his dedicated legion of fans from throughout the world, gained through 50 years of monumental success with Status Quo."

Born in Surrey in 1948, Parfitt began playing guitar aged 11.

He formed Status Quo, along with Francis Rossi, Alan Lancaster, John Coghlan and Roy Lines in 1967. The group found huge success with singles such as "Rockin' All Over The World" and "Whatever You Want" and in 2015, it was announced they had spent a total of 500 weeks in the UK album charts. In 1985, they opened Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid concert at Wembley.

In September, Parfitt pulled out of the band's autumn tour for health reasons. He suffered a heart attack in June where, according to the band's manager Simon Porter, he "died" for several minutes.

Prior to this, he underwent a quadruple heart bypass in 1997 and was told to slow down his rock-and-roll lifestyle by doctors.

In 2014, he said he had not "smoked a joint for 27 years and I haven't done any cocaine for 10 years", the BBC reported.

He has also vowed not to become a "born-again Christian" and said he still enjoyed the odd pint.

Parfitt is survived by his third wife Lyndsay, their twins Tommy and Lily, and his adult children Rick Jnr and Harry.

Additional reporting by the Press Association
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Piers Sellers, a British-born climate scientist for Nasa who remained optimistic about the fate of the Earth despite the grim climate change models he oversaw and who gained American citizenship to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, has died in Houston. He was 61.

The death was confirmed in a statement by Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden. Dr Sellers, who had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in October 2015, went public with his diagnosis in a New York Times column in January 2016. He wrote that while he had hoped he would see solutions to the problem of climate change in his lifetime, he was devoted to continuing his climate research until he died.

There is no convincing, demonstrated reason to believe that our evolving future will be worse than our present, assuming careful management of the challenges and risks, he wrote, sounding a note of optimism in spite of increasingly drastic changes in the global temperature and precipitation patterns that he studied. History is replete with examples of us humans getting out of tight spots.

Dr. Sellers had worked on global climate problems from 1982 to 1996 at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and at the University of Maryland at College Park. He wrote more than 70 papers, using computer models to delve into the relationship between the biosphere  the region of the Earth inhabited by humans and other organisms  and the atmosphere. He was also a lead scientist for Terra, a Nasa satellite launched in 1998 that monitors the state of the Earths climate and environment.

All the while, he applied to become a Nasa astronaut.

The corps is open only to U.S. citizens, but Dr. Sellers said he wanted, at the very least, to keep his name before the astronaut selection board. He acquired dual citizenship in 1991, and five years later became part of Nasa's largest astronaut training group. The class of 44 so cramped Nasa's training facilities it was humorously nicknamed the Sardines.

In three space flights from 2002 to 2010, Dr. Sellers logged 35 days in space, including 41 hours in six space walks. Some lasted as long as seven hours, including a walk in 2006 during which Dr. Sellers tested new emergency repair techniques and materials using caulk guns, putty knives and his favorite spatula from home, according to the Times.

The best practice for this is to have an old house in Houston, he joked during the mission. Later in the walk, he lost his spatula, which mission control spotted drifting away from the shuttle and tracked, unconcerned by any possible kitchen-utensil collisions, by radar.

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Dr. Sellers returned to the Goddard center in 2011, overseeing scientists researching climate and weather  including the causes and effects of climate change  as deputy director of the centers sciences and exploration directorate and as acting director of its Earth sciences division.

He made a point of using his experiences as an astronaut to further peoples awareness of climate issues.

Asked what it was like going into space, he told a United Nations interviewer in 2011 that even as a climate scientist, he was surprised to see how thin the atmosphere was. That really brought home to me how easily mankind can affect its own environment. The stuff we breathe, theres not much of it. Its a very thin atmosphere. We better pay attention.

Piers John Sellers was born in Crowborough, a town in the south of England, on April 11, 1955. The son of a British army officer, he was raised on military posts around the world.

England has no manned space travel program. (The first official British astronaut, Tim Peake, flew as part of the European Space Agency in December 2015.)

Dr. Sellers said he dreamed of going into space ever since he saw images of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbiting the Earth in 1961 and U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969.

Through a British air force cadet program, Dr. Sellers learned to fly gliders before he could drive. He received a bachelors in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh in 1976 and a doctorate in biometeorology from the University of Leeds in 1981. He moved to the United States one year later, starting work at Goddard as a research meteorologist.

His marriage to the former Amanda Lomas ended in divorce. Survivors include two children from his marriage, Imogen Shelton of Austin and Thomas Sellers of Houston; his mother, Lindsay Sellers of Guildford, England; four brothers; and a grandson.

Dr. Sellers became just the third Briton to go into space when he flew on the shuttle Atlantis in 2002, carrying out three space walks as part of the assembly of the International Space Station. Three months later, the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on reentry, killing all seven astronauts on board, including three with whom Dr. Sellers had trained.

His 2006 mission on Discovery was partly designed to test safety measures that would prevent similar accidents. His final flight, on Atlantis in 2010, delivered a new module to the International Space Station.

Months later, Dr. Sellers was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to science. He proclaimed himself gobsmacked.

Ive no regrets, he wrote in the Times in January. As an astronaut I spacewalked 220 miles above the Earth. Floating alongside the International Space Station, I watched hurricanes cartwheel across oceans, the Amazon snake its way to the sea through a brilliant green carpet of forest, and gigantic nighttime thunderstorms flash and flare for hundreds of miles along the Equator. From this Gods-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is. Im hopeful for its future.

Ever loyal to his profession as a scientist, he concluded: And so, Im going to work tomorrow.

Copyright Washington Post
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A council is facing mounting criticism after an employee appeared to bemoan people of a certain culture drowning along its coastline, according to reports.

A British council officer said it was unfair for us to deal with non-swimming persons dying at an East Sussex beach.

Seven men  six Asian and one Brazilian  drowned at Camber Sands beach this year.

A council spokesman refused to address the leaked incident log PA (PA)

One of the mens mothers, ahead of a full inquest scheduled for early next year, has since said it is the councils job to protect people and not judge them.

The Rother District Council incident log, which The Guardian claims to have seen, was written on the day that two of the men died on 24 July this year.

The log reportedly states: We are again faced with incidents of non-swimming persons of a certain culture that enter the water in great numbers with deadly results.

Kenigan Nathan and his brother both died in the East Sussex sea Facebook (Facebook)

The combination of a beach as shallow as Camber attracting predominantly non-British visitors has been an increasing issue over the last 10 years and the risks that these people create upon their lack of ability in being 'tempted in' to such a shallow bay are becoming unsustainable and unfair for us to deal with or carry the burden of responding to.

It continues: For a non-swimmer to jump into the deep end of Rye swimming bath would be foolish but we are faced with thousands entering an ocean and responding to their actions and inevitable consequences. An incoming tide, sand bars and breeze is a lethal combination for such people of little swimming ability and we are being left with the trauma of responding to the consequences.

The dead includes Londoner Mohit Dupar, of Asian heritage, who died trying to save Brazilian 19-year-old Gustavo Silva Da Cruz on 24 July.

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On 24 August, Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22, both of Erith, south-east London, their friends Nitharsan Ravi, 22, of, Plumstead, south-east London, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, 23, of Grays, Essex, and Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, of Welling, south-east London, all died.

They were all of Tamil origin, from south India and Sri Lanka.

More than 8,000 people subsequently signed a petition calling for lifeguards to man Camber Sands, where around 25,000 people visit on hot days, during the summer.

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The council is reportedly yet to make a decision, even though in 2013, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution recommended a lifeguard setup.

I dont understand why these things are said about nationality and culture, said mother of Gurushanth, Uthayamalar Srithavarajah, speaking to The Guardian.

The job of the council is to protect people, not to judge them on appearance.

Mayuru Ravi, 17, sister of Nitharsan, said: All five could swim really well.

Rother District Council was unavailable for comment when called on 24 December by The Independent.

A spokesman told The Guardian that it was inappropriate to comment before the inquest concluded next year. They also said the council was looking closely into safety options for Camber beach.
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Theresa May has used her Christmas message to urge Britain to be bold as it looks to find a new place for itself in the world after Brexit.

The Prime Minister called for people in the country to come together after what has been one of the most destabilising years in modern history.

Ms May also spoke of her childhood memories of growing up in a vicarage and what it means to be working at Christmas.

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She said: Coming together is also important for us as a country. As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future.

And, with our international partners, we must work together to promote trade, increase prosperity and face the challenges to peace and security around the world.

She said the country had much to celebrate in 2016, including the Queens 90th birthday and Olympic success, and then went on to re-affirm our determination to protect religious freedoms.

Praising those who work over the festive period, she said: Having grown up in a vicarage, I know how demanding it can be for those who have to work over the Christmas period.

So its right for all of us to express our gratitude to those who will have to spend Christmas away from the people they love in looking after others, those in our health and care services, those who work with the vulnerable, as well as those who will be caring for a loved one.

And we thank those in our armed forces, security agencies and emergency services who work all year round to keep our country safe  especially those who will be separated by their duty from their families and friends.

Wherever you are this Christmas, I wish you joy and peace in this season of celebration, along with health and happiness in the year ahead.
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During the drought that devastated the Horn of Africa in 2010 and 2011, women bound their waists with rope to deaden the pangs of hunger as they gave what little food they had to their children.

In stark contrast to such selfless acts, the international community stood back and watched until it was too late for the 260,000 people who starved to death.

Now aid workers are increasingly concerned that 2017 could see a tragedy on a similar scale with droughts  and floods  meaning some parts of southern and east Africa have not had a significant harvest for three years.

The Government is leading calls for the world to take effective action this time  just as right-wing politicians and newspapers call for David Camerons flagship pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on aid to be scrapped.

The Department for International Development (DfID) has already committed 362m in aid over this year and next, and is understood to be considering increasing its contribution further.

As we enter 2017, over 37 million people across Africa are without food, International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, said in a statement sent to the Independent. Families face losing their homes and livelihoods as the effects of widespread drought worsen.

That is why Global Britain is leading the response to the escalating crisis by providing life-saving food, water and shelter.

Warning the crisis could force many people in the region to become refugees, Ms Patel appealed to other countries to step up to prevent people from going hungry.

Tackling the global challenges of our time such as drought and disease which fuel migration, insecurity and instability is the right thing to do and is firmly in Britains interest, she said.

A source in the international aid community told The Independent that there was a danger of a repeat of the desperate conditions and extreme hunger that killed hundreds of thousands in 2010.

Certain population groups are now in the third year of having very limited household input, the source said.

They will have already sold off household assets, livestock will have died or are likely to be unhealthy and not productive.

Africa Rising - in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Africa Rising - in pictures Africa Rising - in pictures Men using the natural Bogolan dyeing technique, which is an ancient craft tradition in the Niger River, particularly Mali. By Le Ndomo / Boubacar Doumbia. Photography by Adriaan Louw / Design Network Africa Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures An art piece by South African-born artists Athi-Patra Ruga. Photography by Adam McConnachie, Courtesy of Athi-Patra Ruga and WHATIFTHEWORLD Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures An image from C-Stunners by Nairobi-based artist Cyrus Kabiru. The phrames were made using scraps of disused technology. Photography by SMAC Gallery, South Africa Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Photography by Flurina Rothenberger published in the magazine 'I love to dress like I am coming from somewhere and I have a place to go'. Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures From the photographic series Proud Women of Africa: Rainbow Girls, which captures the lesbians of South African townships of Gugulethu and Khayelitsha who have been disowned by their families. Photography by : Magic Group Media, Amsterdam, NL Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Babylonstoren, where guests partake in curated dining experiences. Most of the food is planted and cultivated on the farm. Photography by Babylonstoren Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Work by The Nest Collective which spans film, music, fashion and visual arts. Photography by Phyllis Galembo Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Photography by Phyllis Galembo, who documented the clothing of people across Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Architecture by Kunle Adeyemi / NLE Photography by Reze Bonna. In collaboration with Makoko Waterfront Community, Blok Kats van Veen architecten, Dykstra Naval Architects, Thieu Besselink, Roel Bosch architecten, Urhahn + Borra, Pieters Bouwtechniek, Ikeyi & Arifayan, Matrix Design & Works Nig Ltd., Solarmate Engineering Nig Ltd. Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures A collaboration between Amandine David and Marie Douel, inspired by Burkina Faso. Photography by Emile Barret / Hors Pistes Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Photography by Hector Mediavilla, whose photo series the SAPE Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant People captures the dandies of Congo. Gestalten 2016 Africa Rising - in pictures Fantasma, a 'superband' formed in 2014 by producer and rapper Spoek Mathambo who recruited members from acros South Africa. Photography by Fantasma Gestalten 2016

Thats when you start to see changes in mortality that we shouldnt be seeing in populations.

The source said during the previous drought there was an issue around a slow response by the system and efforts had been made since then to try to pick up on the warning signs sooner.

But, with the world focused on events in the Middle East, the current refugee crisis, Brexit and the US presidency, there are fears an unfolding disaster could go unnoticed once again.

The problem has been caused by a particularly severe El Nino weather system, a natural recurring effect that has been exacerbated by climate change. While the El Nino has ended, there are suggestions that the next harvest could be in trouble.

Rebecca Sutton, Oxfams global El Nino campaign manager, said: The vegetation cover index in parts of the Horn of Africa area is lower now than it was at this stage in the 2010/11 drought. That indicator is looking worse now than it was then.

With drought, its a slow-onset crisis. It doesnt attract media coverage and very unpleasant pictures of people and animals in a very bad way come only once its way too late.

By the time you get headline media coverage, things are extremely bad and way too many people have suffered more than they needed to.

She praised the UK Government, saying it had responded quite well to this crisis, but warned that something of this scale is more than a handful of donors can deal with.

As part of its aid package, DfID has now given 16.9m to Unicef to help countries in southern Africa, which are approaching the peak of the lean system, the United Nations aid agency said in a statement.

It said this year had seen the worst El-Nino induced drought in decades, and the money would be used for life-saving interventions to prevent the escalation of malnutrition and child illness or death in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Increasing numbers of children have been dropping out of school due to a lack of water or more pressing problems at home, Unicef said, while all four countries were seeing outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea.

The money will allow 456,000 children to be checked for severe, acute malnutrition and more than 65,000 to be treated for several common diseases. A further 194,000 people will get access to safe drinking water.

Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala, Unicefs regional director for eastern and southern Africa, said: As already vulnerable children and their families enter another lean season, these funds are critical for helping them to cope with the ongoing impacts of this chronic emergency.

We greatly appreciate  and applaud  DfID for leading the way in ensuring that communities are significantly supported to become further resilient to the recurrent climatic crises we are seeing across much of the region.
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Bernie Sanders has urged Congress to stop Donald Trump launching a Cold War-style nuclear arms race.

"It's a miracle a nuclear weapon hasn't been used in war since 1945," the Vermont Senator said in a post on Twitter. "Congress can't allow the Tweeter in Chief to start a nuclear arms race."

Earlier on Friday, the US President-elect was asked to clarify the meaning behind an ambiguous tweet in an interview with MSNBC.

Let it be an arms race, he is reported to have told co-host Mika Brzezinski,in a telephone call.

He did not specify which country or countries he was referring to, but his post on the social media site on Thursday used very similar language to a statement made by Russian Premier Vladimir Putin just hours earlier.

"The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Mr Trump said in a tweet read by some as a challenge to the former Soviet Union country.

Laicie Heeley, a nuclear expert at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan anti-nuclear proliferation think-tank in Washington, told AFP news agency it was reckless for Mr Trump to tweet on the topic without offering details.

To make such a loaded statement without context or follow-up is irresponsible at best, she said.

We could be talking about a return to the Cold War here, when the threat of a nuclear catastrophe was very real, she said. Russian rhetoric is already moving in that direction. It wouldn't take a lot to bring us back there.

Minutes after Mr Trumps follow up remarks were reported on MSNBC, his secretary Sean Spicer said in several television interviews that there would be no arms race because the President-elect would make sure that other countries trying to step up their nuclear capabilities, such as Russia and China, would decide not to participate.

Hes going to ensure that other countries get the message that hes not going to sit back and allow that, Mr Spicer told NBC. And whats going to happen is they will come to their senses, and we will all be just fine."

In his annual news conference on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed suggestions there was a risk of a new Cold War-style weapons race, dismissing comments made by the US President-elect as nothing new.

He added that his plan to bolster Russias nuclear weapons was simply a necessary response to the US missile defence system.

Its not us who have been speeding up the arms race, he said.

Which countries have nuclear weapons? Show all 14 1 /14 Which countries have nuclear weapons? Which countries have nuclear weapons? USA Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Russia Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? UK Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? France Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? China Have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? India Say they have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Pakistan Say they have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? North Korea Say they have nuclear weapons EPA/Rodong Sinmun Which countries have nuclear weapons? Israel Believed to have nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Belgium Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Germany Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Italy Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Netherlands Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty Which countries have nuclear weapons? Turkey Nations hosting nuclear weapons Getty

He added that he did not have a problem with the President-elect, saying that if Mr Trump invited him, he would even visit the US.

Mr Trump also made it clear that on a personal level he still feels something of an affinity with Mr Putin, quoting the Russian president in an unrelated tweet posted to his account late on Friday night.

During his election campaign, Mr Trump suggested the US expand its nuclear arsenal.

He also suggested that better off other countries that are traditionally US allies, including Japan and South Korea, should have nuclear capabilities, to make them less dependent on Washington.
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A two-year-old child has died after shooting himself with his policeman father's gun.

Cleveland police said the toddler died during surgery. They said his father's service weapon had gone off after he grabbed it on Thursday.

The identity of the 54-year-old police officer, who has served in the Ohio city's police force for 23 years, has not been revealed. The child was named locally as Dominique.

Ohio State University shooting Show all 16 1 /16 Ohio State University shooting Ohio State University shooting Crime scene investigators collect evidence from the pavement as police respond to an attack on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) AP Ohio State University shooting Ohio State students duck under police tape after a shelter-in-place notification was lifted following an attack Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (Joshua A. Bickel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP) AP Ohio State University shooting Students leave buildings as police respond to an attack on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) AP Ohio State University shooting Students leave buildings as police respond to an attack on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) AP Ohio State University shooting Police respond to reports of an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) AP Ohio State University shooting AP Ohio State University shooting Law enforcement officials are seen outside of a parking garage on the campus of Ohio State University as they respond to an active attack in Columbus, Ohio, on November 28, 2016. Eight people were injured when an attacker apparently drove into a crowd at Ohio State University on Monday, triggering an hours-long lockdown before authorities declared the campus secure. Law enforcement shot and killed one suspect, according to local television station WBNS, which reported that police led two people out in handcuffs from a garage they had surrounded on the university's main campus in Columbus. / AFP / Paul Vernon (Photo credit should read PAUL VERNON/AFP/Getty Images) PAUL VERNON/AFP/Getty Ohio State University shooting A law enforcement official motions for people to leave the area outside of a parking garage on the campus of Ohio State University as they respond to an active attack in Columbus, Ohio, on November 28, 2016. Eight people were injured when an attacker apparently drove into a crowd at Ohio State University on Monday, triggering an hours-long lockdown before authorities declared the campus secure. Law enforcement shot and killed one suspect, according to local television station WBNS, which reported that police led two people out in handcuffs from a garage they had surrounded on the university's main campus in Columbus. PAUL VERNON/AFP/Getty Ohio State University shooting Law enforcement officials are seen outside of a parking garage on the campus of Ohio State University as they respond to an active attack in Columbus, Ohio, on November 28, 2016. Eight people were injured when an attacker apparently drove into a crowd at Ohio State University on Monday, triggering an hours-long lockdown before authorities declared the campus secure. Law enforcement shot and killed one suspect, according to local television station WBNS, which reported that police led two people out in handcuffs from a garage they had surrounded on the university's main campus in Columbus. PAUL VERNON/AFP/Getty Ohio State University shooting Law enforcement officials are seen outside of a parking garage on the campus of Ohio State University as they respond to an active attack in Columbus, Ohio, on November 28, 2016. Eight people were injured when an attacker apparently drove into a crowd at Ohio State University on Monday, triggering an hours-long lockdown before authorities declared the campus secure. Law enforcement shot and killed one suspect, according to local television station WBNS, which reported that police led two people out in handcuffs from a garage they had surrounded on the university's main campus in Columbus. PAUL VERNON/AFP/Getty Ohio State University shooting Members of the Columbus SWAT team work the scene around a parking garage on the campus of The Ohio State University Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio. ) AP Photo/Jay LaPrete Ohio State University shooting Students leave buildings as police respond to an attack on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Ohio State University shooting SWAT teams and police respond to reports of an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Ohio State University shooting Police respond to reports of an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Ohio State University shooting Students leave buildings surrounding Watts Hall as police respond to reports of an active shooter on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Ohio State University shooting Law enforcement officials are seen outside of a parking garage on the campus of Ohio State University as they respond to an active attack in Columbus, Ohio, on November 28, 2016. Eight people were injured when an attacker apparently drove into a crowd at Ohio State University on Monday, triggering an hours-long lockdown before authorities declared the campus secure. Law enforcement shot and killed one suspect, according to local television station WBNS, which reported that police led two people out in handcuffs from a garage they had surrounded on the university's main campus in Columbus. PAUL VERNON/AFP/Getty

"When I went in there, I seen that baby  he was only two years old  I seen that baby laying on the floor", neighbour Sonya Hobbs told the Cleveland.com news site.

She said was leaving her home at around 10.30am when the victim's older brother ran up to her "screaming and hollering" for someone to phone 911, because his brother had just shot himself.

Ms Hobbs said she called the police, and then entered the house to see the child with a gunshot wound to his head.

 Gun control campaigners release high school romance video that ends in shooting, warning 'know your signs'

The boy was taken from his home in the Brooklyn Centre neighbourhood of Old Cleveland to the MetroHealth medical centre, where he died on the operating table.

Fatal shootings by toddlers are increasing in the US. In 2015, more Americans were killed by toddlers than by terrorists.

The incident in Cleveland was described as an "accidental shooting" by Cleveland Police spokesperson Jennifer Ciaccia.
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The home of a man who murdered an 11-year-old has been demolished by a property developer who bought the house specifically to destroy it.

Danny Heinrich abducted and killed James Wetterling in 1989, but the crime went unsolved until last year when he confessed after police reopened the investigation.

The 53-year-old was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November, leaving his detached white house in Annandale in the US state of Minnesota standing empty.

Residents campaigned for the city to demolish the house, which they said was a distressing reminder that the man who kidnapped and killed Jacob had lived among them.

However, the town could not raise enough money to buy it.

Real estate developer Tim Thone bought the house for $57,000 (46,000) after seeing the story on TV news two weeks ago.

I was literally on my couch and saw Jacobs picture, Mrs Wetterlings picture and the house, he told Fox News.

Tim Thorne, the property developer who bought the house (Screenshot from Fox News footage)

[I] said, why do they keep showing the house? They shouldnt show the house. Im going to go and buy the house to tear it down.

Patty Wetterling, Jacobs mother, was among the small crowd to gathered to watch as a crew used heavy machinery to raze the house to the ground.

Authorities searched Heinrich's home and arrested him on child pornography charges last year, but prosecutors agreed not to charge him in Jacobs murder as part of a plea bargain in which Heinrich publicly confessed and led authorities to where he buried Jacob.

The Annandale house before demolition (Screenshot from ABC news footage)

I'm happy the house will be torn down, next door neighbor Megan Champlin told ABC News before the demolition.

You still have people drive by during the summer when we are outside playing and you know what they are looking at, so it will be nice for peace of mind.

Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland Show all 11 1 /11 Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Firefighters investigate the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: The face of a building that was the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Charred windows on the face of a building that was the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed speaks to the press following an overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: The face of a building that was the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Firefighters investigate the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland Firemen assess the scene where a fire tore through a warehouse party early this morning in Oakland, Calif. on December 03, 2016. At least 9 people were killed in the blaze.(AP Photo/Josh Edelson) AP Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Firefighters investigate the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: The face of a building that was the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Charred windows on the face of a building that was the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images Warehouse Fire Kills Several People At Dance Party In Oakland OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 03: Firefighters investigate the scene of a overnight fire that claimed the lives of at least nine people at a warehouse in the Fruitvale neighborhood on December 3, 2016 in Oakland, California. The warehouse was hosting an electronic music party. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Getty Images

You know, you don't have to look at that house anymore and think, 'Oh man, I can't believe he lived there.'

Local governor Mark Dayton helped to speed up the foreclosure process with the support of the Wetterling family and the land will now be donated back to the city.
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The head of Lockheed Martin has promised to aggressively drive down the cost of the F-35 fighter jet after Donald Trump criticised the price of the defence project on Twitter.

Mr Trump suggested an older aircraft made by rival aerospace company Boeing could offer a cheaper alternative to the F-35, said to be the worlds most expensive weapons program.

Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet! he wrote in a tweet.

Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martins CEO, told the President-elect she was personally committed to reducing the cost of the F-35 and had heard his message loud and clear.

In a statement, said she had had a very good conversation with Mr Trump.

I gave him my personal commitment to drive the cost down aggressively, she said.

Lockheed Martins stocks took a tumble following the tweet, the latest in an ongoing war of words between the President-elect and US defence companies, which he has criticised for excessive costs.

An F35 fighter jet. Donald Trump said the 'F35 program and cost is out of control'. (Getty)

The companys shares fell by around 2 per cent following Mr Trumps comments, nearing their lowest levels since the Presidential election.

This is the second time the President-elect has sparked a Lockheed Martin stock wobble of millions this month.

Mr Trump, who takes office on 20 January, has promised to cut government procurement costs as part of his industrial policy.

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 Mr Trump on 12 December  causing the companys market value to fall by $3.5bn, which it later recovered.

Mr Trump met Ms Hewson and Boeing head Dennis Muilenburg this week at his seafront Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The President-elect has also used the bully pulpit to cause Boeings stock to fall when he said costs for a project to build two new Air Force One planes were out of control.

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! tweeted Mr Trump, causing a temporary dip of Boeings stock of around $2 a share.

Mr Muilenburg said he had promised Mr Trump the manufacturer would complete the Air Force One project for less than the $4bn the president-elect claimed it would cost.

Ms Hewson did not speak to reporters after her meeting with Mr Trump but released a statement which said it had been productive.

I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the importance of the F-35 program and the progress we've made in bringing the costs down, she said.

The F-35 is a critical program to our national security, and I conveyed our continued commitment to delivering an affordable aircraft to our U.S. military and our allies.

Mr Trump told reporters the focus of his meetings had been to try and reduce the costs of the programs, according to Reuters.

Primarily the F-35, we're trying to get the cost down. It's a program that's very, very expensive.

Of his meeting with Ms Hewson, the President-elect said: It's a little bit of a dance. We're trying to get costs down.

Women go on strike against Donald Trump Show all 7 1 /7 Women go on strike against Donald Trump Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump Protestors march during a demonstration against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump near Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 12, 2016. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women go on strike against Donald Trump Protestors march during a demonstration against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump near Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 12, 2016. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Boeing's F-18 is an older generation aircraft that lacks the stealth capabilities of the F-35.

One US official said it was impossible to tell what Trump meant by his tweet, given the importance of stealth technology as a way to counter advanced defenses of near-peer states, like Russia or China.

Somebody needs to ask Donald Trump how he's going to be able to confront China without aircraft capable of penetrating anti-access and area denial systems, including air defenses, the official said.

Most defence analysts do not consider the two jets as comparable aircraft, according to Reuters.
BERLIN, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Friday confirmed the death of Anis Amri, a man suspected of committing Monday's truck attack on a Christmas market in downtown Berlin.

The minister said he was "very relieved" that the suspected attacker no longer posed a danger.

De Maiziere told reporters that despite the death of the suspect, threats from extremists "remains high" in Germany, stressing that the German government would not scale down security.

The Italian government announced earlier Friday that Amri was shot and killed by police during a routine patrol in Milan.

The suspect opened fire at two police officers who had stopped him and asked for his identification near a local train station. Amri was killed and one policeman injured during the shootout.

Peter Frank, Germany's top federal prosecutor, told reporters here that the German authorities will continue the investigation into the Christmas market attack in Berlin that left 12 dead and 48 others injured.

"Even though Anis Amri has died, we'll continue our investigation," Frank said. It was very important to find out whether there was a network of supporters and accomplices, he added.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday also issued a statement over the death of Anis Amri, a Tunisian national who allegedly fled Berlin to Milia via France after committing the truck attack.

Merkel said that she had told Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi in a phone conversation that Germany wanted quicker deportation of Tunisian asylum seekers whose applications had been rejected.

The truck attack on the Christmas market raised many questions, she said, vowing that her government would take necessary measures to make the country better secured.
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North Carolina can no longer be classified as a full-fledged democracy, according to a bombshell report that likens it to countries like Cuba, Indonesia, and Sierra Leone.

The Electoral Integrity Project gave the state a score of 58/100. When it came to legal framework and voter registration, North Carolina earned a 7/10  similar to Iran and Venezuela.

If it were a nation state, North Carolina would rank right in the middle of the global league table  a deeply flawed, partly free democracy that is only slightly ahead of the failed democracies that constitute much of the developing world," wrote Andrew Reynolds, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina and co-founder of the EIC, which has measured 213 elections in 153 countries since 2012.

The outgoing Republican administration, led by Gov Pat McCrory, sparked massive protests at the statehouse last week after passing a law that gutted the powers of the incoming Governor-elect Roy Cooper.

Mr McCrorys defeat stemmed from his backing of the so-called bathroom bill, that forces people to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates  not according to their gender identity.

The state failed to repeal the law after congressional Republicans reneged on their plan to vote for the overturn.

Turmoil amongst legislators is illustrative of some of the issues the EIP focused on in its report  among which are unfair districting that helps shift unchecked power to the GOP, giving the party almost uncontested control of the state.

[L]egislative power does not depend on the votes of the people, Mr Reynolds wrote. One party wins just half the votes but 100 per cent of the power. The GOP has a huge legislative majority giving it absolute veto-proof control with that tiny advantage in the popular vote.

The other party wins just a handful of votes less and zero per cent of legislative power.

North Carolina Democratic Party chair Patsy Keever agreed with the assessment and lambasted state Republican leaders for their apparent grab for power.

[Senate leader Phil] Berger and [House Speaker Tim] Moore are power hungry leaders whose number one goal is to protect their power no matter the cost, Ms Keever told the Huffington Post.

She added: Since 2010, the NC GOP has systematically engaged in a dangerous partisan political agenda, making it harder for people to vote, changing the nature of the State Board of Elections and stripping an incoming Democratic governor of power.

Thats not what democracy looks like  and North Carolinians deserve better.

Following Mr McCrorys election loss, he signed into law two bills that would greatly strip power from the incoming Democratic governor.

The new House Bill 17 cut the number of people Mr Cooper can appoint to Cabinet positions, and requiring approval from the Republican-controlled Senate. He also signed Senate Bill 4, increasing the state elections board from five to eight officials  with four to be chosen by the governor and four by the Senate.

North Carolina recently came under fire for its voter identification laws that a federal court determined targeted the black population with almost surgical precision. The laws prompted the NAACP to sue North Carolina for voter suppression late October.

The Tar Heel state is ground zero in the intentional surgical efforts by Republicans  or extremists who have hijacked the Republican Party  to suppress the voice of voters, said North Carolina NAACP president Rev William Barber. The NAACP is defending the rights of all North Carolinians to participate in this election.

In the days leading up to the election, the North Carolina Republican Party issued a press release boasting of lower black voter turnout numbers. Showing an apparent 8.5 per cent decrease since 2012, the released concluded that the Obama coalition is crumbling.
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Donald Trumps off-the-cuff comments about nuclear weapons have sparked fears of a new global arms race  but what would happen if an atomic bomb was dropped on your city?

Online tool Nukemap allows nervous civilians to position a hypothetical nuclear weapon above any building or major landmark in their town, to see how far the potential devastation could spread.

It uses details of historic and existing bombs to estimate the damage that would be wreaked at the centre of the blast and the surrounding area.

These include the 20 kiloton Fat Man warhead that decimated Nagasaki in 1945 and weapons currently held by nuclear powers, such as Russias 800 kiloton Topol SS-25.

Other bombs that can be tested range from a 100 ton crude nuclear terrorist weapon to the 15 megaton hydrogen bomb Castle Bravo, the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the US.

Mr Trump raised the spectre of heightened nuclear tensions in coming years when he tweeted that the US must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.

Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all, the President-elect later told MSNBC.

These comments have triggered fears Mr Trump will reverse decades of policy in which the US has, in tandem with Russia, sought to reduce its atomic arsenal.

The worlds largest nuclear device ever to be set off, the 50 megaton Soviet Tsar Bomba  detonated in a remote arctic test site in 1961, creating the most powerful man-made explosion in history  would kill an estimated 5.8 million people if it were dropped on London, according to Nukemap.

Thermal radiation causing third degree burns would spread as far as Reading, Southend and Haywards Heath.

Most residential buildings within the M25 would collapse and the majority of people in transport zone one of the capital would die from radiation exposure within a week.

Nukemap shows the destruction that would be wrought if a bomb the size of the USSR's 'tsar bomba', tested in 1961, was dropped on London (Screenshot from nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap)

Social media users reacting to Nukemap, created by American nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein, have expressed fear but also their relief at living far from the city centre.

I selected the largest bomb possible on the list and detonated it over lower Manhattan and the line stopped 10 feet from my house. I'm good guys! wrote one Reddit user.

Another said: I feel like this game only exists to make people feel better about living in the suburbs.

Following the President-elects controversial post on Twitter, a Trump spokesperson attempted to explain the Republicans remarks.

Trump secretary Sean Spicer said in several television interviews that there would not be an arms race because the President-elect would ensure that other countries trying to step up their nuclear capabilities, such as Russia and China, would decide not to participate.

Hes going to ensure that other countries get the message that hes not going to sit back and allow that, Mr Spicer told NBC. And whats going to happen is they will come to their senses, and we will all be just fine.

The bombing of Nagasaki Show all 5 1 /5 The bombing of Nagasaki The bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata's photographs of Nagasaki the day after the atomic bombing An arch is the sole landmark following the attack Image copyright Shogo Yamahata, provided courtesy of Bonhams The bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata's photographs of Nagasaki the day after the atomic bombing The city is unrecognisable Image copyright Shogo Yamahata, provided courtesy of Bonhams The bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata's photographs of Nagasaki the day after the atomic bombing Survivors wander through the desecrated landscape Image copyright Shogo Yamahata, provided courtesy of Bonhams The bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata's photographs of Nagasaki the day after the atomic bombing A mother and her child appear in a state of shock Image copyright Shogo Yamahata, provided courtesy of Bonhams The bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata's photographs of Nagasaki the day after the atomic bombing A woman breastfeeds her baby amid the rubble Image copyright Shogo Yamahata, provided courtesy of Bonhams

More than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out across the world between 1945, when the US exploded its first atomic bomb, and the multilateral Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996.

The Treaty bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, and has been signed by 183 states at the UN headquarters.

However, it has not technically come into force as eight states  China, the US, Egypt, Iran, Israel, India, North Korea and Pakistan  have not ratified the treaty, even if they have signed it.

Soon after he was elected, Barack Obama spoke of "America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons".

However, critics have said the President has put the US on course to spend $1 trillion on upgrading its nuclear arsenal, according to NPR.
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Police in India claim to have cracked a major baby smuggling ring after arresting six people linked to the kidnapping racket.

Five women and a man in Bombay have been detained on suspicion of abducting babies and selling them on to childless couples.

The countrys National Crime Records Bureau registered 82,999 cases of kidnapping and abductions last year and 3,490 cases of child trafficking.

Recommended The fate of an Indian family who dared to challenge human trafficking

We have formed three teams to find more suspects who are involved in the network and are trying our best to rescue other babies who were sold by them, said Bombay Zone 6 Deputy Police Commissioner Shahaji Umap.

Police reportedly cottoned on to the six alleged gang members after a boy was reported kidnapped from his Bombay home. The child was tracked down earlier this month and found with a gang member in Goa.

She reportedly confessed that the gang kidnapped babies and presented them as their own to sell to customers for up to 300,000 rupees (3,600).

Senior police inspector Naresh Kasale said they sold five babies over the past year using this method.

Detectives also claimed to have arrested 18 people after rescuing 10 babies from an old age home, that had sold at least 50 infants, in relation to a human trafficking racket in Kolkata earlier this year.

India has a notoriously bad track record over human trafficking. The number of kidnappings and abductions last year was a 263.5 per cent increase on 2005 levels.

The Independent has previously told how an Indian girl was rescued from kidnap thanks to a tweet and how child victims of the Nepal earthquake were being sold to factories.

Human trafficking: Children suffer severe mental issues

The alleged Bombay baby-selling ring allegedly conned people in the street, convincing them to part with their children in exchange for big money.

The illegal adoptions in different states is helping this racket enjoy the money after selling the babies, said DCP Umap, speaking to Indian publication Mid-Day.
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China has said its first aircraft carrier has carried out a set of combat drills in the Yellow Sea ahead of further planned missions, sparking fears the group could soon venture into the fiercely-contested South China Sea.

Aircraft performed air conflict manoeuvres along with practising launch and recovery from the Soviet-era warship, which China bought off Ukraine in 1998 and has since spent years refurbishing.

The capabilities of the Liaoning carrier group have been closely watched by the international community since China declared it was ready to "fight against enemies" in November.

The Defence Ministry announced the exercises in the Yellow Sea late on Friday, adding that the group "as a next step will conduct scheduled cross-sea training and tests."

The ministry did not specify its destination, but its "cross-sea" wording has prompted speculation in the Chinese media that the warships could soon sail into disputed waters.

The state-run Global Times newspaper quoted a well-known military analyst on Saturday as saying that the South China Sea would be an "ideal" next location because joint exercises could involve with troops on reefs controlled by China.

The growing capabilities of the carrier group and its movements have been closely watched since the Liaoning was declared combat-ready last month.

Tensions have mounted in the South China Sea, where the US and China accuse each other of engaging in a dangerous military buildup.

China claims nearly all of the sea and is pitted against smaller neighbours in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons.

The US-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative think tank said this month that satellite imagery showed China building large anti-aircraft guns on artificial islands in the contested waters, where China has also laid airstrips, built communications facilities and deployed suspected missiles.

China has characterised its moves as defensive in nature and accused US warships of making provocative passes through the region.

The Liaoning, commissioned by the Chinese navy in 2012, first sailed to the South China Sea in 2013, when it docked at a navy base near the Chinese holiday resort of Sanya. The vessel at the time was not outfitted with a full aircraft complement.

Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Show all 6 1 /6 Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Tourists walk on the 100-meter-long and 1.6-meter-wide glass skywalk clung the cliff of Tianmen Mountain (or Tianmenshan Mountain) in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Getty Images Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain An aerial view of tourists walking on a glass-bottomed skywalk on the Panlong (coiling dragon) Cliff on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China Getty Images Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Tourists walk on the 100-meter-long and 1.6-meter-wide glass skywalk clung the cliff of Tianmen Mountain Getty Images Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain The 100-metre-long walk gives a clear view of the deep valley behind and is the third glass walkway in the scenic zone EPA Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain Tourist takes selfies on a glass-bottomed skywalk on the Panlong (coiling dragon) Cliff on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China EPA Glass-floored skywalk circling China's Tianmen Mountain The Coiling Dragon Cliff skywalk, featuring a total of 99 road turns, layers after another, is the third glass skywalk on the Tianmen Mountain EPA

The Liaoning carried out its first live-fire exercise last week, with the military releasing video footage that showed Chinese J-15 fighters launching missiles and hitting targets.

State broadcaster China Central Television on Saturday showed footage of the Liaoning launching a large contingent of J-15 fighters. The navy's top commander, Adm Wu Shengli, was shown onboard watching the exercises.

Beijing has said the carrier would be used mostly for training and research as it prepares to deploy its first home-grown carrier, but it is widely viewed by analysts as a strategic piece in China's increasingly assertive claims in the South China Sea.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
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A Sudanese refugee detained in an offshore Australian immigration centre has died after suffering a fall and being airlifted to a Brisbane hospital.

The 27-year-old, Faysal Ishak Ahmed, was taken to the International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) clinic on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea after suffering a "fall and seizure", the Department for Immigration and Border Protection said.

Mr Ahmed, who is understood to have been detained on the Island since October 2013, was then flown to Australia for further care.

Recommended Australia to close Manus Island refugee processing centre

He later died at at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. The immigration department has said it is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Ian Rintoul, a spokesperson for Refugee Action Coalition (RAC), told The Sydney Morning Herald the case threw a stark light on medical failures of IHMS [...] and the lack of proper medical treatment on Manus.

Mr Ahmad had been suffering black-outs and collapses for months prior to his death and had made numerous complaints of receiving inadequate care both to IHMS and to the border agency, Mr Rintoul said.

Prior to his death, dozens of refugees on Manus had signed a letter complaining of IHMS failure to treat Mr Ahmed properly, Mr Rintoul said.

We do not yet know the precise case of Faysal's death whether it is the head injuries he suffered or his underlying medical condition, he added.

The RAC has drawn parallels between the treatment of Mr Ahmed and that of Hamid Khazaei, an Iranian refugee who died in 2014 in a Brisbane Hospital 13 days after attending the Manus Island clinic.

The 24-year-old died of septicaemia after suffering a cut to his foot.

Several cases of severe medical neglect on the island have recently been discovered by the Australian Medical Association, which has also accused immigration officials of failing to follow up with patients.

The medical association president said there was an "inappropriate degree of secrecy in the department's attitude to these patients," while also pointing out there had been a degree of hyperbole from refugee advocates around medical conditions suffered by refugees on Manus Island.

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

More than 800 asylum seekers are currently being held on the Pacific island of Manus as part of the controversial policy to stop the boats by intercepting and imprisoning anyone attempting to reach Australia.

Other refugees have died while in Australia's off-shore detention centres, which have been criticised for stranding vulnerable people in a state of permanent limbo.

Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati was murdered by guards at the Manus detention centre in 2014. In 2016, Omid Masoumali died after setting himself alight on Nauru, Australia's other major off-shore detention centre, in protest against being held indefinitely.

In August, the Australian government said the Manus Island camp was to be closed, but none of the hundreds of refugees in the detention centre will ever be settled in Australia.
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Tunisian police have arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker and two other men thought to be connected to Anis Amri.

A statement says the three suspects were members of a "terrorist cell" that was "connected to the terrorist Anis Amri who carried out the terrorist attack in Berlin".

This trio, according to Tunisia's Interior Ministry, includes 18-year-old nephew "Fredi" who Amri allegedly sent money to so he could join him in Germany.

Italian police and forensics experts surround Anis Amri's body in Milan in the early hours of Friday morning Daniele Bennati/AFP/Getty (Daniele Bennati/AFP/Getty)

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through telegram," read the statement.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist 'takfiri' ideology and "asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh".

The nephew also reportedly said that his uncle was the "prince" of a jihadist group based in Germany known as the "Abu al-Walaa" brigade.

 Video surfaces of Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri

The 24-year-old was shot dead by police in Milan in northern Italy after Amri opened fire when he was challenged during a routine patrol at around 3am local time.

The Tunisian, whose father said he was a drug-taking troublemaker who became a radical after moving to Europe, was traced across the continent after being linked to the bus crash that killed 12 people and injured 48.

Amri, who reportedly shouted 'Alluahu Akbar' in the Milan shootout, was hunted after his fingerprints and wallet were allegedly found in the truck.

Mustapha and Nour-Houda Amri, the parents of 24-year-old Anis Amri Fethi Belaid/AFP/Gettty (Fethi Belaid/AFP/Gettty)

Police in Spain are also investigating whether Amri was in contact with an extremist in Spain following a tip-off from German authorities, according to the Associated Press.

Spain's Interior Minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, told Spanish radio station Cope: "We are studying all possible connections [between Amri] and our country, above all with one specific person."

Amri's nephew was reportedly arrested in his hometown of Oueslatia while the other two were arrested in Tunis - reports the Associated Press.

Mother Nour Al-Houda Hassani has said poverty drove him into crime and to Europe by boat during the 2011 Arab Spring.
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Counter-terrorism officials believe that Anis Amri, the Berlin killer, had terrorist accomplices and was likely to have been trying to reach them when he was shot dead by a police officer in Italy.

Amri, who it has emerged pledged allegiance to Isis and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before carrying out his attack on a Christmas market in the German capital, made a 1,000-mile journey across Europe through three countries before the fatal encounter in a Milan street in the early hours of the morning.

Tunisian-born Amri was found in the district of Sesto San Giovanni which has a large Muslim population, mainly from North Africa, during what the police described as a routine check.

Security agencies in Italy have now begun to examine the movements and communications of Islamist suspects to search for any links with Amri.

Milan has been connected with Islamist terrorist plots in the recent past. Four people were arrested in April over plots to carry out attacks on the Vatican and the Israeli embassy in Rome. The main suspect, Abderrahim Moutahrrick, was alleged to have received his instructions from an Isis-held area in Syria in the name of al-Baghdadi. A second man, Abderrahmane Khachia, also of Moroccan background was subsequently detained.

The following month, a Pakistani man was arrested in Milan, along with two Afghans in Bari  one of whom was subsequently freed  in an investigation into an alleged terror cell planning to carry out attacks in Italy and London with airports and hotels as potential targets.

Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Show all 18 1 /18 Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Several people have been killed after a lorry drove into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Berlin Christmas market lorry attack 'At least nine' people have been killed and more than 50 injured. AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency Services rush a Berlin market victim to an ambulance Associated Press Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Police cordoned off the square at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church following the incident REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers inspect the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market close to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church in Berlin EPA Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency crews inspect the lorry that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing at least nine people AFP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Fire crews attend the scene of the attack AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Armed police secure the site of a lorry attack at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Crushed debris is visible beneath the wheels of the vehicle REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack An injured man is pushed to an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Medics attend an injured person after the lorry attack which killed at least nine and injured more than 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters examine the lorry which was rammed into a Berlin Christmas market REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack A person is carried into an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack View of the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine and injuring at least 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher to an ambulance Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters assess the damage after the lorry rammed the Christmas market, killing 'at least nine', and injuring more than 50 people AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters stand beside a toppled Christmas tree at the site of the suspected terrorist attack in a Berlin Christmas market AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Damaged stalls at the scene of the incident at a Berlin Christmas market where at least nine people have been killed EPA

A team of detectives from Berlin has travelled to Milan.

Thomas De Maiziere, the German interior minister, said: This manhunt, which has ended with success, doesnt end the investigation  we have to investigate further.

"Unfortunately the terror threat has not changed, it is still at high risk.

Germanys federal prosecutor, Peter Frank, stressed that the main focus now was on establishing whether Amri had accomplices.

 Dashcam footage captures the moment truck crashes into the Berlin Christmas market

He said: For us its important to know whether the person being sought had a network of support or help in preparing and carrying out the attack and also when he fled, whether there were others that knew or gave him help.

"That is now of central importance for us, also to understand his escape route.

Amri, 24, was regularly in touch in Germany with the Iraqi-born cleric Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah, who, preaching under the name of Abu Walaa, has praised Isis and exhorted his followers to join the jihad in Syria.

Abu Walaa was arrested earlier this year, but, according to German security officials, the network he helped set up continues to function.

 Angela Merkel reacts to shooting of Berlin market attack suspect

Antonio De Iesu, Milans police chief, said Amri was like a ghost as he was not carrying any documentation or a mobile telephone.

However, he was carrying a pistol, believed to have been used in the murder of a Polish driver whose truck was used in the Berlin massacre, a small knife and a small amount of money.

Mr De Iesu said his force was investigating what had brought the wanted fugitive to the city, undertaking a journey across, Germany and France.

Amris only known Italian connection was to the island of Lampedusa, where he had stayed in a refugee camp, and Sicily where he had served a prison sentence.

Robert Emerson, a security analyst, said: A lot is being said about security flaws in the Schengen system with Amri getting out of Germany and then getting to two other countries.

"But this wasnt a journey without risk and we have to ask who may have helped him and why he was so keen to get to Milan.

"Its unlikely he had gone all that way to go on an attack spree with a .22 pistol and a small knife; the Italian police and the intelligence guys will be working hard to find his possible points of contact.
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An explosion which rocked an east Aleppo neighbourhood early on Saturday killed at least three people, state media said.

A correspondent for Lebanon's Hezbollah-run television station Al-Manar was reporting live from the area when the blast sounded in the background, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.

The channel later reported the explosion was caused by a device left inside a school by rebels.

The Syrian army is still sweeping the area for bombs and booby traps, a spokesperson said. Rebel artillery fire on al-Hamdaniya neighbourhood on Friday also killed at least three people. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the figure at six, including two children.

The Syrian government has been broadcasting footage of tourists visiting the citys ancient citadel and celebrating Christmas, keen to show that Aleppo is safe and united again despite the threat of continued rebel shelling.

Some residents who left homes in the eastern half of the city when fighting broke out four years ago have managed to return, state media said.

Meanwhile, activists loyal to the opposition said this week that at least six civilians have been executed by Shia militias, as happened during the regimes final push to retake the city, although no such incident has been verified by other sources.

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 last rebels and civilians who wanted to leave Aleppo were taken to neighbouring rebel-held Idlib province on Thursday after a tense eight-day long process UN spokesperson Farqan Haq described as traumatic.

Numbers are difficult to verify, but it is thought that no more than a few hundred people chose to remain in east Aleppo before the governments forces moved in. It is not clear how many are fighters and how many are civilians.

Idlib, where more than 35,000 people have been moved, has also seen renewed violence, as air strikes on the area resumed on Saturday. Casualties have not yet been reported.

The rural, mostly rebel-held province has been hit nearly as brutally as Aleppo by both Syrian and Russian air strikes in recent months. The UNs Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan di Mistura, warned this week that it could become the next Aleppo, with most observers expecting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to refocus his attention on the area now Aleppo has fallen.

The rebel pullout from the city, which was completed on Thursday, marks President Assad's greatest victory since the conflict began in 2011.
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Outside the Saint Shmony Church the bells are ringing over a deserted town. Christmas Eve mass has just finished and the congregation file past the wooden pews, out through large iron doors and into the rainy courtyard. Its cold but there is a sense of joy and relief to be back.

For the hundreds of worshippers, this is the first Christmas theyve celebrated in their home town of Bartella since it was captured by the jihadists of Isis two and a half years ago.

But they cannot stay here  it is still too dangerous to come here at night. They will return to Irbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, 40 miles east where they fled to in panic in the summer of 2014 when Isis advanced across the ancient towns of the Nineveh plain.

They tried to remove us here but we refused, said Father Sahar Qurkios, a Priest from the nearby St Marys church, as the mass came to a close. The mass is a symbolic gesture of defiance. It is a challenge to the ones who thought we would leave and never come back, he added.

Bartella lies in ruins; homes are caved in, looted, surrounded by rubble or blackened with flames. On 22 December Isis targeted the nearby liberated district of Gogjali with suicide attacks, killing 23, showing that they can still penetrate behind Iraqi lines and cause havoc. Black humvees of the Iraqi Counter Terror Forces roll by on the main highway through the town and groups of soldiers stand huddled beside oil drum fires to keep warm.

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

Isis seized Mosul in a lightning advance in June 2014 and in July, they gave the citys ancient Christian community an ultimatum: the pay a tax, convert to Islam or face the sword. Instead nearly all of them fled and have spent the years since in exile. Ismail Ibrahim Mattai, 16, from Bartella, failed to escape with the rest of his family when Isis attacked, and was left stranded in Isis territory with his mother, Jandak Bahnan, 55.

They were caught by Isis and moved around the city, forced to convert and pray. Ibrahim was imprisoned 12 times and endured regular beatings by Isis fighters using a piece of plastic piping, before finally escaping for good when the Iraqi Counter Terror Services advanced into Mosul at the beginning of November and they were able to sneak across the frontlines. The operation to retake Mosul began on 17 October.

 Isis 'does not have the guts' to continue fight for Mosul, claims Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi

During their initial interrogation by Isis, Ismail and his mother saw their captors executing a Shia Muslim prisoner. Later on, Ismail said his mother, who has epilepsy, was tortured by an Isis fighter who pierced her shoulders, hands and head with needles until the blood ran. I cant believe I lived through all this evil, Ismail said from a shelter in Irbil where he now lives with his mother. I cant go back to Bartella now, he added, I want to leave Iraq to good care for my mother.

This is a common feeling among Iraqs Christians who left the country in large numbers after jihadist attacks and a general deterioration in security following the 2003 US-led invasion. But despite the pain and sadness of the last two and a half years, Father Sahar said that conversely, Isis has already healed the wounds it inflicted on Iraqi society, by bringing together different groups in defiance of them.

Isis made it better, now everyone comes here. We were invaded by Muslims but our town was also retaken by Muslims. Because of Isis, Muslims are coming here, taking pictured with us, looking at the cross and sharing our sorrow  Isis did that. He said.
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Egypt decided to postpone its UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements in an attempt to avoid it being vetoed, the country's government has revealed.

The resolution demanded Israel halt settlement activities in occupied territories claimed by the Palestinians but was delayed for less than a day before the vote.

Egypt had said it would be conducting additional meetings with the Arab League to work on the wording of the resolution.

"Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said, MENA reported.

"But Egypt has decided to withdraw the resolution to give more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution."

The 15-member Security Council voted 14 - 0 on the proposed measure on Friday, with US ambassador Samantha Power raising her hand as the lone abstention - a symbolic break with US policy in the past.

Israel has since taken diplomatic action against the countries that co-sponsored the resolution.

An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had turned to President-elect Donald Trump to help head off the resolution after learning the White House did not intend to veto the measure.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Trump took to Facebook and Twitter to say America should veto the resolution.

As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations, Mr Trump said.

This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) foreign ministers' meeting has mapped out the direction of further cooperation and made clear the goal of following efforts, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Friday.

Number One is to set up joint working groups on key priority areas within three to six months and put them into real practice, Wang told a joint press conference with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn after the meeting had concluded.

Number Two is to encourage member states to set up LMC secretariats or coordination bodies respectively within next year, Wang said.

Number Three, all 45 early harvest projects will be implemented next year, the minister said.

Number Four, foreign ministers of the LMC member states have agreed to work out a list of new cooperation projects and a LMC five-year action plan which will be submitted to the second Leaders' Meeting for approval, he said.

Number Five, the application for the LMC fund and its usage will be formally launched, he added.

Since the first Leaders' Meeting, LMC has made remarkable progress and demonstrated satisfactory speed and efficiency, Wang told reporters.

The reason why LMC could make so much headway within such a short period of time is that it answered the urgent desire of the six countries to enhance reciprocal cooperation and followed the tide of regional economic integration process, Wang said.

China is ready to make joint efforts with the other five countries to cultivate a Lancang-Mekong culture featuring equality, mutual assistance and amicability and create a LMC corridor based on the principles of mutual consultation, common contribution and shared benefits, he added.

The second LMC foreign ministers' meeting was held in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Friday, gathering top diplomats from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

At the joint press conference, Prak Sokhonn, who co-chaired the ministerial meeting, said the establishment and development of LMC is in line with the needs of countries in the region.

LMC member states are grateful for China's attention and devotion to LMC, hoping that China would continue to play a leading role in future cooperation process, he said.

Foreign ministers attending the meeting also lauded the achievements that LMC had made over the past year.

They hoped that LMC could be aligned with the "Belt and Road" Initiative proposed by China, be more complementary with other sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, and be able to make unique contributions to the benefits of peoples of the region.

The six countries along the Mekong (known as Lancang in the Chinese stretch) launched the LMC mechanism in 2015 and convened the first Leaders' Meeting in March 2016.
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The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has ordered bottles of Trump Vodka taken off shop shelves across the country amid fears one batch was not officially labelled as kosher-compliant.

In a statement issued earlier this week, the Chief Rabbinate, which must approve all food imports into the country regardless of whether it has been certified as kosher elsewhere, said that one shipment of the now-defunct vodka brand managed to get into Israel without the correct licences, and ordered a recall.

Trump Vodka, which was launched in 2006, was marketed as "the world's finest premium" spirit that would demand the same respect and inspire the same awe as the international legacy and brand of Donald Trump himself. It was discontinued in 2011.

The Times of Israel reports that although the gold bottles - which feature the tagline success distilled - are now not available anywhere else, they remain popular in Israel during the Jewish holiday Passover.

Trump Vodka is made from potato rather than grain, making it kosher to drink during the eight-day holiday. Passover this year was celebrated in April.

Since a rogue shipment of the vodka, which is sold under licence, did not get authorisation from the Chief Rabbinates import division, all bottles with the code L34211120 should be removed from the shelves, the authority said.

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

Flavoured and plain versions of the spirit can be found in the country, as well as Trump energy drinks.

In 2013, a production error meant that some Trump Vodka which was sold in Israel was made from grain rather than potatoes or molasses. Bottles were then sold with labels warning that their contents may not meet kosher requirements, The Jerusalem Post reported.
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Israel has taken diplomatic action against the countries that co-sponsored a controversial UN resolution condemning settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The 15-member Security Council voted 14 - 0 on the proposed measure on Friday, with US ambassador Samantha Power raising her hand as the lone abstention  a symbolic break with US policy in the past, which has been to veto similar resolutions.

The resolution was put forward by New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela, taking place just a day after Egypt withdrew it following significant pressure from both Israel and President-elect Donald Trump.

It was met by applause in the chamber, but furious reaction from Israel. An official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry had effectively "abandoned" the country by allowing the resolution to pass.

The Obama administration's decision not to shield Israel from the UN's vote calling Israeli expansion a "flagrant violation of international law" has been widely interpreted as a rebuke to Israel's government, despite the fact the US continues to send more than $3bn (2.4bn) in military aid to the country each year. Mr Obama's parting shot of an abstention was the result of "an absence of a meaningful peace process", the White House said.

Relations between the US and Israel under Mr Obama's tenure have become somewhat strained, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made no secret of the fact that he is glad his counterpart is leaving office.

Incoming US President Donald Trump is more likely to be friendlier towards the country, tweeting after the vote, "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th"  when Mr Trump takes office.

The new resolution demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, pointing out that the international community views any Israeli construction over the agreed 1967 Green Line as illegal.

 Israeli man starts charity to get injured Syrians to Israel for medical treatment

While it will not have any practical impact, the resolution is a significant step in reconfirming the UNs hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday.

The vote was welcomed by Palestinian representatives. A spokesperson from Palestinan Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' office called it a "big blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements, and a strong support for the two-state solution".

Settlement building  which has accelerated year-on-year under current right-wing Prime Minister Netanyahu  is viewed as one of the major stumbling blocks to a lasting peace deal.

Israels envoy to the UN, Danny Damon, called the vote shameful and a victory for terror". Israel has said it will not abide by the measures set out in the document.

Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Show all 12 1 /12 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The fire in my heart is beyond my ribs. You left me beloved - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Let me get enough of you, as Im still hungry for your smile my son - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict They besiege me in my homeland so I flew to heaven - Rodaina Al Agha, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict And I am still facing the pain all by myself - Lama Shakshak, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My brother, I watched you go while my heart was tearing - Helen Mo'amar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My new doll is lonely in the rubble - Ayah Sha'ath, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict When a soul hugs another soul they never split, even in death - Ismail Matar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Everyone is gone and I stayed alone to make the world witness the injustice done to me - Hamza Shaheen, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The hand that carries the arms carries roses too - Madeeha Al Majayda, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My eyes tell you about a dream that overcame the fence - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict A childhood caught in an unjust siege - Hadeel Quidh, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict All the details are torn after you - Hamza Shaheen, 17

In Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu immediately recalled Israels ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, who were ordered to return for consultations. All current aid to Senegal was to be suspended, the prime ministers office said, and an upcoming visit from Senegals Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye cancelled.

Israel does not have diplomatic relations with either Malaysia or Venezuela.

Defending New Zealands vote on Saturday, the countrys Foreign Minister Murray McCully said: We have been very open about our view that the [UN Security Council] should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question.

The vote should not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue.
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A search for a British woman thought to have fallen overboard in the Atlantic Ocean during a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 liner has been called off.

The 74-year-old was on a tour of the Caribbean which left New York on Thursday.

The alarm was raised when the ship was around 100 nautical miles south east of Atlantic City in New Jersey, and the US Coast Guard scrambled a plane and helicopter to help search for her.

The Cunard-run liner also turned back to assist in the hunt, but it was called off as darkness fell on Friday evening.

A company spokesman said: "It is with sadness we can confirm that after a comprehensive search, working with all relevant authorities, Queen Mary 2 has halted the search for a missing guest, presumed overboard.

"The ship left New York on December 22, on a 12-night Caribbean itinerary. Cunard's care team is offering every support to the family.

"The ship is now back on course to reach St Maarten on December 26 as scheduled."

The Coast Guard had launched a C-130 fixed wing plane and an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to scour the sea, searching an area of almost 400sq nautical miles, but they have now returned to land.

Petty Officer David Micallef told the Press Association the woman was reported missing between 1am and 3am US time on Friday.

He said: "The search has been suspended pending any new information."

The Queen Mary 2, based in the port of Southampton, was built in 2003 at a cost of 700 million and launched the following year.

The luxury ship was renovated earlier this year and boasts suites, state rooms and the "largest library at sea", with 8,000 books, according to the Cunard website.

Press Association
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The European tour of the Berlin truck attack suspect shows how Europe has lost its reason. While Europe's leaders, civil rights activists and liberals all worry about protecting our civil liberties and being politically correct, Europe faces a permanent threat.

In this case the suspect arrived from Tunisia, not a country at war, allowed to stay in Italy, went to Germany, and then despite being on security services and police radar instead of being deported immediately was allowed to carry out an attack in Berlin and then travel freely through France and back to Italy. Madness!

In the meantime thousands are dying in the Mediterranean due to misguided immigration policies which are encouraging hundreds of thousands of people from other continents as well as the Balkan states to enter Western Europe without papers or legal rights expecting a better life and granted nationality and passports. We even collect them and bring them ashore. No other nations of the world do this. And we wonder why right wing parties are gaining ground. 2017 could see the collapse of the EU.

Peter Fieldman

Paris

Donald Trump is causing chaos already: what will happen after he has been sworn in?

When Donald Trump was first elected many thought that due to his bellicose attitude, complete lack of political experience and total ignorance of diplomatic nuances there was, amongst many other previously unthinkable possibilities, a very real prospect of him causing World War III during his term of office.

It now appears that he might very well succeed in that even before he is actually in the White House.

Harvey Sanders

Paddington, Australia

Was it really right for the Queen to defer her trip?

I cannot decide whether the letter from John Eoin Douglas of Edinburgh ("The Queen is right, stay at home if you have a cold") is an attempt at satire, or not.

The likelihood of her infecting fellow travellers to Kings Lynn seems remote unless, of course, she and her husband were travelling in a normal train with other travellers. I think that was unlikely and that either a section of the Royal Train or a secure carriage would have formed part of the original travel plans.

Having a heavy cold, she was sensible to take a day to recover. However, it would appear that there were no trains to Kings Lynn on Thursday, so they had to travel to Sandringham by helicopter instead! And what did that cost? I assume that Mr Douglas regards it as "money well spent". I dont.

Richard Fagence

Windsor

Don't forget those on state pensions

I don't know how old Andrew Grice is but would be interested to know how he thinks he would survive on my state pension of 140 a week; this is my reward for working and paying taxes for 43 years. The UK state pension is already among the lowest in Europe as Andrew Grice undoubtedly knows and to propose reducing it is inhuman.

The social care crisis could be easily and painlessly averted by redirecting some of the billions of pounds sent to countries that do not want it and where it currently languishes unused in their bank accounts. When are people like Andrew Grice going to get over their guilt about the UK's colonial past and start putting the British taxpayers first?

L Bignell

Surrey

A suitable voice for Farage

Regarding the voicing of Nigel Farage when on TV I would suggest either Kermit the Frog or even Miss Piggy would be appropriate.

David Neale

Birmingham

Thank you, Mark Steel, for your article regarding the disgusting behaviour of Nigel Farage and his supporters.

Helen Maclenan

Address supplied
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Just as the catastrophic Anglo-American invasion of Iraq brought an end to epic Western military adventures in the Middle East, so the tragedy of Syria ensures that there will be no more Arab revolutions. And its taken just 13 bloodsoaked years  from 2003 to 2016  to realign political power. Russia and Iran and the Shia Muslims of the region are now deciding its future; Bashar al-Assad cannot claim victory  but he is winning.

Aleppo must be taken quickly  before Mosul falls, a Syrian brigadier announced to me with a wan smile in the countrys army headquarters in Damascus. And it did, scarcely a month later. There were  and still are  little Aleppos all over Syria in which the government and its armed jihadi opponents are playing good guy and bad guy, depending on who is besieging whom. When the Sunni militias end their siege of little Shia towns like Faour, the civilians flock to government lines. Its reported as a slightly incomprehensible local dispute.

But when the regimes forces storm into eastern Aleppo, its deplored around the world as a war crime. Ive grown tired of repeating that, yes, war crimes are committed on both sides, and Bashars forces are no squeaky clean military cadets  although these days, we have to remember that 42 Royal Marine Commandos were not that squeaky clean in Afghanistan. But the story of Aleppo is still being re-threaded into old loops, the brave but largely jihadi defenders disguised as nondescript rebels, their opponents compared to Milosevics Serb killers or Saddams gas-bomb pilots.

All this will soon end. Russia realised that Obama and the weeping liberals of Europe were bluffing about the overthrow of Bashar  who, unlike Putins Ukrainian ally in Kiev, did not run away  and backed his army. The Economist made fun of Syrian soldiers because they supposedly couldnt march in step when Moscow staged a military parade at its Syrian air base. But you dont have to march like the Wehrmacht to win battles. The Syrian Arab Army  its real name, which is increasingly used, I notice, by the usual mountebanks who pose as experts on the satellite channels  boasts that it has fought simultaneously on 80 fronts against Isis, Nusrah and a clutch of other jihadi armies (and Free Syrian Army men who changed sides). Which, given the infractions and bulges in front lines, is probably true, but perhaps not a military record to be proud of. Its one thing to recapture Palmyra from Isis, quite another to lose it to Isis again in the middle of the battle for eastern Aleppo.

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

Syrian soldiers have a lot of time for their Hezbollah militia allies  who used to turn up on the battlefield better armed than the Syrians themselves  but are less enamoured of the Iranian advisors who supposedly know so much about open warfare. I have been present when an Iranian officer called a Syrian general stupid  in this case, the Iranian was probably right  but Syrian officers are far more battle-trained and experienced than the Revolutionary Guard from Tehran who have sustained  along with their Afghan and Iraqi Shia allies  far more casualties than they believed possible.

So after almost five years of battle, the Syrian army is still in action. The Nusrah and Isis forces surrounding the government sector of the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zour will almost certainly be its next target -- after the retaking of Palmyra, but long before the Isis capital of Raqqa, which will probably be retaken by Washingtons Kurdish allies. And it is the Syrian army which will most likely have to rebuild the new Syria when the war eventually ends. It will certainly decide the future of the country.

That doesnt mean the overthrow of Bashar. Neither among his official opponents nor his mortal jihadi enemies nor the corrupt and corrupted political opposition in Turkey is there anyone who can challenge him on the ground. Even if they were successful, you can be sure that the same prisons and dungeons in Syria would be in operation within 24 hours to lock up and torture the new opposition to a new regime. Besides, Vladimir Putin has suffered enough humiliation after Isiss second success in Palmyra  after the Russians staged a victory concert of peace in the Roman city only a few months ago. He is not going to permit the defenestration of Bashar al-Assad.

Oddly, Western leaders remain stupefyingly unaware of the nature of the real struggle in Syria, and even which warlords they should support. Take the impotent Francois Hollande, who chose to tell the United Nations in September that Russia and Iran must compel Assad to make peace, because they would otherwise, along with the regime, bear the responsibility for the division and chaos in Syria. All well and good. Yet only two months earlier, the same Hollande was demanding effective action against the Islamist Nusrah front  among the defenders of Aleppo, although most of us decided not to tell our readers this  on the grounds that Isis was in retreat and Nusrah stood to take advantage of this. That is beyond dispute, Hollande pompously remarked of Isiss retreat. That was before the retaking of Palmyra by the same ISIS brigands.

But perhaps Hollande and his European allies  and Washington  are so besotted with their own weak and flawed policies towards Syria (always supposing they can decide what these are), that they do not realise how power moves across battlefields. Instead of whinnying on about Russian brutality and mixing this in with Iranian cruelty and Hezbollah mendacity, they should be taking a close look at the mostly Sunni Muslim Syrian army which has been fighting, from the very start, against its mostly Sunni Muslim jihadi enemies. They have always regarded Nusrah  our allies in eastern Aleppo, since they are paid by our Gulf chums and armed by us -- to be more dangerous than Isis. The Syrian army are right. Here, at least, Hollande must surely agree with their conclusion.

 Shocking images show Aleppo before and after the conflict

Yet the power of illusion matters more to us. If the West cant retake Mosul from Isis, they could hardly have stopped the Syrians retaking eastern Aleppo. But they could easily encourage the Western media to concentrate on the beastly Russians in Aleppo rather than the fearful casualties inflicted on Americas allies in Mosul. The reporting on Aleppo these past weeks has sounded much like the accounts of British war correspondents in the First World War. And the Russians could encourage their own tame media to concentrate on the victory at Aleppo rather than defeat at Palmyra. As for Mosul, its mysteriously vanished from our news. I wonder why?

And how many died in Palmyra? And, for that matter, how many were really captive in eastern Aleppo? Was it really 250,000? Or was it 100,000? I came across a news report a few weeks ago which gave two overall statistics for fatalities in the entire Syrian war: 400,000; then, a few paragraphs later, 500,000 Well, which is it? Im always reminded of the Nazi bombing of Rotterdam in 1940 when the Allies announced that 30,000 civilians had been killed. For years, this was the authentic figure. Then after the war, it turned out that the real figure  though terrible enough -- was only around 900, 33 times less than the official version. Makes you wonder, doesnt it, what Syrias statistics really are?

And if we cant get those right, what are we doing interfering in the Syrian war? Not that it matters. Russia is back in the Middle East. Iran is securing its political semi-circle of Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus-Beirut. And if the Gulf Arabs  or the Americans  want to reinvolve themselves, they can chat to Putin. Or to Assad.
Queen Elizabeth was said to be disappointed after the meeting Picture: PA

Britain's Queen Elizabeth is reported to have been "disappointed" with Prime Minister Theresa May after she declined to share details of her plans for leaving the EU during her first visit to Balmoral.

A "source close to the monarch" has been reported as saying Mrs May stuck to her "Brexit means Brexit" line when she went to stay in Scotland in September.

Her reluctance to offer more insight into her private thinking was said to have come as a disappointment to the queen and Prince Philip.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor Downing Street would comment on the report.

A palace spokeswoman said: "By long-established convention, we never disclose details of discussions between the queen and her prime ministers. Nor would we comment on anonymously sourced conjecture of this kind."

Behind the scenes there was irritation at the report, with one source insisting it was not representative of Mrs May's conversations with the monarch during her two-day stay in Scotland.

The visit - an annual fixture for prime ministers - came just two months after Mrs May entered No 10 following the resignation of David Cameron in the wake of the Brexit vote in June.

Although she had attended regular weekly audiences with the queen it was the first occasion the two women had spent an extended period of time together.

While Mrs May may have had little time to clarify her thinking on Brexit at that point, she has since regularly frustrated MPs with her repeated refusal to offer a "running commentary" on her plans.

It is not the first time reporting of the queen's supposed concerns about the EU have sparked controversy.

Earlier this year, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg flatly denied a report in 'The Sun' that the queen had vented her frustration with Brussels at him during a private lunch at Windsor Castle.

Meanwhile, European attitudes towards Brexit have hardened in the six months since the referendum, with support for Britain declining "significantly" because of the approach Mrs May has taken, according to a new report.

The report, by a group of academics working on the 'UK in a Changing Europe' initiative, warns that many in continental Europe regard the UK as "living on Fantasy Island" over its hopes for its new relationship with the EU - something which could lead to a "showdown" following the tabling of Article 50 in March.

A crunch issue is likely to be the "divorce bill" expected to be presented to the UK by the European Commission, which reports suggest could be as much as 60bn (70bn).

The report's authors predicted the demand would be "a considerable embarrassment" politically for Mrs May and could result in a court battle which would drag on long after the expected date of UK withdrawal in 2019.

London School of Economics assistant professor Sara Hagemann said Mrs May's post-referendum tour of EU capitals "seems to have generated little support for the British cause".

The prospect of Brexit has "united the EU27 to a degree rarely seen before", with none of the remaining members ready to agree to an arrangement that looks attractive to eurosceptics in their own countries, she wrote.

"While several of these countries first expressed the hope that a solution would be found to keep London 'closely involved in EU affairs', attitudes are now quite different."
European pigmeat exports are up 33pc, driven primarily by demand from China.

Irish pig meat exports were 257m tonnes in 2017, but European pigmeat exports are up 33pc - based on Chinese demand.

Figures from Teagasc show that Europe is taking advantage of the need for pig meat in China.

It says that the impact of this demand from China will help drive pigmeat prices up in 2017.

Since 2013 China has slaughtered 12.4m sows, the equivalent in size of the total EU sow herd. This led to a scarcity of pigmeat in China in recent years, which in turn led to increased demand for European pigmeat.

While Teagasc says that it expects there will be a cooling off of EU exports, due to competition form the US and Canada, those countries' exports may be affected by their use of hormones.

Both countries allow pig producers to use a growth hormone, Paylean, but they are looking to supply a paylean free pig to get into the Chinese market.
Hardly a week goes by when Irish agriculture isn't attacked for its contribution to climate change. But another highly significant, connected, issue, which gets far less attention is food waste; and it's one that everyone, not just farmers, could be addressing.

Among the many stark figures is that one third of the food produced in the world is wasted and, if food waste were a country, it would be the world's third largest, after China and the US. In the EU, every one of us throws out 80kg of food a year on average.

The problem is especially bad this time of year when we seem to have adopted a motto of "Eat, drink and be wasteful". Even the usually prudent lose the run of themselves.

In the past when shops were closed for much longer over the festive period, people bought far less. Of course, money was less plentiful and food relatively more expensive.

The UN has set a target of halving food waste by 2030. All EU Member States have signed up to this but the union has no binding targets on waste.

A 2013 US report on food expiration dates concluded that these were the cause of high, rising, rates of waste.

The EU's health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis recently launched an initiative on reducing waste. Among the areas being mooted for action are a relaxation of the rules on the use of donated food and shelf/expiry dates. This latter one is a bug-bear of mine. We have lost confidence in our own ability to judge when something is OK to eat.

Shelf dates are a fairly recent concept. They only started when supermarkets took over selling milk and the link between the farmer and the consumer was lost. Marks & Spencer starting using them in its store rooms in the 1950s but it was 1973 before Use-By appeared in supermarkets.

This area is covered by EU regulation on food safety. Also lurking in the background is litigation. Deep down, though, we can't help feeling that these are primarily a way for supermarkets to keep stock moving. As soon as we see some version of "Best Before" of "Use By", our brains seem to freeze. "If I eat this food after this date, some killer bacteria is going to sweep me off."

The reality is that, despite the ready availability of information, surveys have long shown that consumers still don't understand the distinction between the various expiry terms.

One study found that a third of people believe that produce passed its best before date should never be eaten, another that less than 40pc understood the meaning of "Use By".

But what about the first rule of survival, ie common sense. Instead of sell-by dates, maybe we should go back to smell-by dates?

If it smells ok and it isn't slimy, it's probably not going to kill you. If it doesn't taste nice, stop eating. With eggs, a good test is to see if they float. But even floaters may be OK for baking.

Instead of expiry dates, why not "produced on" dates? Then consumers might learn to judge for themselves, see what's really fresh, and buy local.

Food waste Ireland says that up to 80pc of domestic wastage is avoidable. It consists of things like plate scrapings, passed-its-date perishables and crusts.

Just before I sat down to pen these words, I threw out food. It comprised some porridge. It wasn't totally wasted, though, because it went to the hens and they give us back eggs. I fail at furry fruit. If I spot a damaged strawberry in a punnet, instead of removing the offender, I'll ignore it and then when they're all gone, chuck the lot. Chefs need to get in on the act too. In baking, measurements need to be precise but that's not always the case in cooking.
Investment in breeding and grassland management over the past decade has been the significant contributor to increasing the value of production on dairy farmers by an average of more than 3m/week compared to 2000.

At a base price of 29c/L, the 2015 milk output was worth an extra 161m at farm level, compared to 2000.

This was worth an extra 3c/L to producers, farmers attending the Teagasc National Dairy Conference at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork were told.

Laurence Shalloo and Patrick Gowing of Teagasc Moorepark outlined a number of factors and strategies that had helped to increase the resilience of the dairy business over the past number of years that facilitated its survival despite dramatic milk price movements.

These included the value of milk sold, cost reductions and increased output.

A focus on high EBI/crossbred cows within a system that maximises grass growth, while minimising investment had contributed to an overall low cost base that was leaving producers best placed to deal with volatility of milk price, Shalloo and Gowing told the conference.

Milk output on the average dairy farm had increased by 43.3pc between 2000 and 2015, while milk solids had also increased with protein content up from 3.83pc to 4.03pc and butterfat increased from 3.33pc to 3.50pc during the same period.

In 2009, the actual milk price of milk solids was 3.17/kg against a farm breakeven cost of 3.65/kg.

By 2015, the position had improved with break even cost at 3.78/kg, and the actual base price received at 4.10/kg.

However, the Moorepark duo warned that milk price volatility could put the survival of the farm at risk in a period of expansion.

When a farm is expanding there are increased pressures on cash within the business. Coupling poor milk prices with an expanding business, and if there is not a focus on cost control, poor efficiency and productivity within the business can create severe pressures on the liquidity of the business, they pointed out.

Investment in breeding and grassland management over the past decade has been the significant contributor to increasing the value of production on dairy farmers by an average of more than 3m/week compared to 2000.

At a base price of 29c/L, the 2015 milk output was worth an extra 161m at farm level, compared to 2000.

This was worth an extra 3c/L to producers, farmers attending the Teagasc National Dairy Conference at Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork were told.

Laurence Shalloo and Patrick Gowing of Teagasc Moorepark outlined a number of factors and strategies that had helped to increase the resilience of the dairy business over the past number of years that facilitated its survival despite dramatic milk price movements.

These included the value of milk sold, cost reductions and increased output.

A focus on high EBI/crossbred cows within a system that maximises grass growth, while minimising investment had contributed to an overall low cost base that was leaving producers best placed to deal with volatility of milk price, Shalloo and Gowing told the conference.

Milk output on the average dairy farm had increased by 43.3pc between 2000 and 2015, while milk solids had also increased with protein content up from 3.83pc to 4.03pc and butterfat increased from 3.33pc to 3.50pc during the same period.

In 2009 the actual milk price of milk solids was 3.17/kg against a farm breakeven cost of 3.65/kg.

By 2015 the position had improved with break even cost at 3.78/kg, and the actual base price received at 4.10/kg.

However, the Moorepark duo warned that milk price volatility could put the survival of the farm at risk in a period of expansion.

When a farm is expanding there are increased pressures on cash within the business. Coupling poor milk prices with an expanding business, and if there is not a focus on cost control, poor efficiency and productivity within the business can create severe pressures on the liquidity of the business, they pointed out.
Q: I have been driving a jeep for many years both for my personal use and also for towing a cattle trailer to and from the mart, and also around the farm. I have heard recently of farmers being stopped by gardai while towing trailers as they did not hold the correct licence. I am worried that I will potentially have to face into another driving test and whether or not my insurance will cover me in the case of an accident if I do not have the correct licence.

A. This question has come up many times recently as it seems the number of drivers being stopped while towing trailers without the correct licence is increasing.

The majority of drivers in Ireland who have passed a driving test or hold a 'full driving licence' have a B license.

This type of licence allows the driver to tow a trailer (a) where the MAM (maximum authorised mass) of the trailer is not greater than 750kg or (b) where the MAM of the trailer exceeds 750kg (0.75 tonne), the combined MAM of the towing vehicle and the trailer is not greater than 3,500kg (3.5 tonnes).

The MAM is the weight of a trailer including the maximum load it can carry in accordance with the manufacturer's design specifications.

To establish the MAM of your trailer, you should check the manufacturer's statutory plate affixed to it. If there is no plate affixed to the trailer and the authorised distributor for the trailer cannot give you this information, you should get a suitably qualified individual to rate the trailer for you and affix a plate to it.

Bearing in mind that a typical Isuzu Trooper weighs almost two tonnes - by adding even a small cattle trailer, most farmer drivers will find themselves exceeding the maximum authorised mass allowed on the B license while towing.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has stated that as a general rule, a category B licence would not entitle the holder to tow a horsebox or a livestock trailer because the DGCW/MAM would exceed 3,500kg.

Getting a BE licence

For many farmers, towing a livestock trailer is essential to their job. If this is the case then you will need a category BE licence. In order to get a BE licence you must first get a BE learner permit.

Once you have your BE learner permit, the RSA recommends that you get tuition in towing a trailer from a qualified Approved Driving Instructor.

Once you hold a BE learner permit, you are entitled to drive a car, van or 4x4 with a MAM not exceeding 3,500kg and you can draw a trailer, provided the laden weight of the trailer being towed does not exceed the manufacturer's specified towing capacity for your towing vehicle.

The heaviest trailer that can be towed with a BE learner permit is one with a MAM not more than 3,500kg.

Therefore, the MAM of the towing vehicle and trailer must not exceed 7,000kg. BE learner permit holders must be accompanied by a qualified driver who holds a full BE, C1E, CE, D1E or DE licence for at least two years. In order to get a full category BE licence you will need to pass a practical driving test.

If you have never passed a theory test, you will need to pass one before you can apply for your BE learner permit. This will effect many drivers who got their driving licence before 2001.

Towing another vehicle

If you need to tow another vehicle with your vehicle using a rope or strap - for example, a broken down vehicle - you should only do so to the nearest convenient safe place of repair, and the driver of the towing vehicle must be the holder of a BE driving licence.

Theresa Murphy is a barrister based in Ardrahan, Co. Galway

Compliance doesn't guarantee cover

Complying with the licence requirements and being fully insured are not necessarily the same thing.

The policy on trailers varies significantly between insurance companies. You should check whether your policy definitely covers you to tow a trailer because some policies do not actually cover this even where you hold the correct licence.

FBD say that they encourage all farmers to comply with the new regulation to ensure they hold the appropriate licence to tow a trailer in connection with their farm business.

Anything which enhances safety and reduces the risk of catastrophic incidents is supported by FBD.

FBD have also stated that "when we issue a policy of insurance which provides Third Party Liability, we are obliged to pay claims to any injured third party arising in connection with the use of the insured vehicle. this obligation rests with insurers regardless of the driver's adherence to RTA (road traffic act) provisions whether they be in connection with the testing of vehicles or licence category of a driver, wearing of a seatbelt and so on".

This effectively means that even if you are breaking the law in not holding the correct licence for the trailer you are towing, under their policy, third parties will still be insured.

In addition, FBD state that insurers can, under contract, "seek to recover the costs of such claims from drivers who are in breach of contract conditions, however, this issue rarely arises with our farming customers."

Licence

The obligation to pay claims does not apply in the same way in relation to damage to the insured person's vehicles, so you may have difficulty in making a claim to cover damage to your own vehicle, even where you hold a comprehensive insurance policy, if you have an accident while driving without the correct licence.

Insurance companies vary in their terms and conditions and what is covered under their policies.

All farmers and drivers generally who tow trailers, should clarify the position with their insurers to prevent a situation where they are driving without a valid policy of insurance.

This is a very serious road traffic offence carrying very severe penalties.
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's food safety system will soon cover almost all kinds of food and major hazard factors, according to a report released Friday.

The report, on feedback to China's top legislature, said the health authority, the food and drug regulator, and the agricultural authority had jointly issued 926 national food safety standards, and another 130 items will follow.

The national food safety standard system will have almost 1,100 items with about 20,000 criteria, covering almost all kinds of food and major hazard factors, said Bi Jingquan, head of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), when delivering the report to the National People' s Congress Standing Committee at its week-long bimonthly session.

The report was delivered at a plenary meeting of the NPC Standing Committee session. Zhang Dejiang, the top legislator, attended the meeting.

The report came after the NPC Standing Committee investigated enforcement of the Food Safety Law in the first half of this year, finding that despite the overall improvement, major problems still exist.

Bi added that the office of the State Council' s food safety commission is coordinating with other agencies on a medium to long-term strategy to improve food safety in five to 15 years.

Also on Friday, Zhang Dejiang presided over a meeting of the chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, hearing a series of reports.
Aer Lingus planes could be used by International Airlines Group (IAG) to launch low-cost long-haul flights from Barcelona to US destinations in June next year, in an apparent response to increasing budget competition on transatlantic routes.

The move comes after Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA has shaken up the Europe to North America travel market by offering ticket prices as little as half what rivals charge, and will launch a Cork to Boston route in March.

Analysts at the CAPA Centre for Aviation said it looked like IAG was reacting to Norwegian's move and that IAG could use Aer Lingus planes as an initial platform for the long-haul plan as that airline is the lowest cost long-haul operator in its portfolio of brands.

IAG's budget airline brand Vueling uses Barcelona's El Prat as a hub, and IAG said yesterdayy that Vueling passengers could feed into its long-haul flights at the airport, adding that it had not yet decided whether to set up a new airline or use existing resources from its airlines.

Willie Walsh-led IAG owns Vueling, Spain-based Iberia, British Airways and Aer Lingus.

"Barcelona has become a significant airport hub and we believe that there is a demand for these flights from El Prat," IAG said in a statement.

Destinations being considering for the long-haul plan are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Havana and Tokyo, IAG said.

That could bring the airline group into direct competition with fast-expanding Norwegian which is due to start budget flights between Barcelona and Los Angeles and San Francisco from next summer.

Analysts at CAPA Centre for Aviation said it looked like IAG was reacting to Norwegian's move. "Plans by the low-cost carrier Norwegian to launch long-haul routes from Barcelona in 2017 may have had a catalytic effect on IAG's thinking," they said.

Long-established airlines are finding their formerly lucrative transatlantic routes tougher amid rising competition from budget newcomers such as fast-expanding Norwegian, WestJet and WOW Air.

That has prompted the legacy carriers to develop their own low-cost exposure. (Additional reporting Reuters)
The Irish Independent and Independent.ie are joining forces with an initiative which will see news outlets spread classical music through their platforms.

LENA (Leading European Newspapers Alliance), which includes the globally-known El Pais, Die Welt, La Repubblica, Le Figaro, Le Soir, Tages-Anzeiger and Tribune de Geneve, has teamed up with well-known musical director Gustavo Dudamel to create the innovative method.

It will mean that readers will have full access to free music and it will also allow access to new audiences.

Readers will be able to download the music for free from the digital platform's pages.

Full symphonies of Beethoven recorded by Dudamel with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra will be available among the collection.

Director Dudamel has served as guest conductor with several of the world's most famous musical institutions, and will become the youngest-ever conductor to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic's legendary New Year's Concert on January 1.

Dudamel has helped thousands of children by teaching them music.

His agreement with LENA was sparked by his interest in expanding the traditional audience of classical music and taking advantage of its possibilities in youth education projects.
Singer Adele, winner of the Best Original Song award for 'Skyfall,' poses in the press room during the Oscars held at Loews Hollywood Hotel on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Beyonce was thrilled to talk to Adele as others looked on

Singer Adele attends The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Beyonce and Adele are bringing their superstar power to the stage for the 2017 Grammy Awards.

The show's executive producer Ken Ehrlich, reveals the two icons, who are among the top nominees for the ceremony, are expected to perform at music's big night in February.

During a roundtable chat for Billboard magazine, Ehrlich was asked if British soul sensation Adele would be a part of the prizegiving's live line-up, to which he responded, "Very few people say no to the Grammys. Over all of the years I've been doing the show, there have been three or four acts who've actually said no."

The producer was pressed to name names, and although he declined to do so, he revealed Adele and Beyonce are both set to take up the 2017 Grammys performance invite.

Expand Close Beyonce was thrilled to talk to Adele as others looked on / Facebook

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Whatsapp Beyonce was thrilled to talk to Adele as others looked on

"I can tell you that Adele and Beyonce are not two of them (who have declined)," he said. "We have every anticipation that both of them will be with us in February."

Beyonce leads all nominees heading into the big bash with nine nods for her work on her hit album Lemonade, while Adele's 25 has earned her five nods.

They will go head-to-head for the three top honours: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year, with their respective tunes Formation and Hello facing off in the two latter categories.

"We love a good horse race," Ehrlich shared of the ladies' close competition. "It's a fine line: We love the competition aspect of it, but it's really more - here's the cliche - the family of music.

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"I don't know how many of those three categories they're in together that we'll announce during the telecast, but we'll probably come pretty close. When you can start with that as a foundation for a show, you're in pretty good shape."
It simply isn't Christmas unless Joe Duffy and his band of merry men and women hit Dublin's city centre for their Christmas Eve show.

Keeping with tradition, the much-loved broadcaster took his RTE Radio broadcast live to entertain the crowds on Grafton Street.

Music, jokes, readings and banter was what the crowds turned up for - and what last-minute shoppers got the pleasure of listening to.

A host of guests, including Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll, joined Joe for the annual 'Funny Friday' style broadcast.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Brendan O'Carroll at annual Christmas Joe Duffy show on Grafton street Credit: Twitter Brendan O'Carroll and Joe Duffy have crowds singing tunes at annual show Credit: Twitter / Facebook

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'Donald Trump' with his wife Melania even turned up to give a very unique rendition of 'Fairytale of New York'.

Celebrity Dustin the Turkey also put in appearance at the show which kicked off at 9am and stayed on air until 11am.
Actor Chris Pratt and actress Jennifer Lawrence attend the 'Passengers' photocall at Villamagna hotel on November 30, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Eduardo Parra/Getty Images)

Actors Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence attend a photocall for the film "Passengers" at Claridge's Hotel on December 1, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Actors Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence attend a photocall for the film "Passengers" at Claridge's Hotel on December 1, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Actors Jennifer Lawrence (L) and Chris Pratt attend 'photo call for Columbia Pictures' 'Passengers' at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on December 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

US actors Jennifer Lawrence (L) and Chris Pratt pose during the photocall of "Passengers" directed by Norway Morten Tyldum, in Madrid

US actors Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt pose during the photocall of "Passengers" directed by Norway Morten Tyldum, in Madrid

An interview with Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt was cut after they were both asked a personal question about their sex lives.

The actors, who are currently on a long promotional tour for their Sci-Fi film Passengers, called into the Australian radio programme KIIS summer fling for an interview on Thursday.

After discussing their film, host Sophie Monk steered the conversation to the sex scene in the film before asking them the most adventurous place either of them have had sex.

"Airplane, Pratt immediately replied.

Expand Close Actors Jennifer Lawrence (L) and Chris Pratt attend 'photo call for Columbia Pictures' 'Passengers' at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on December 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actors Jennifer Lawrence (L) and Chris Pratt attend 'photo call for Columbia Pictures' 'Passengers' at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on December 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Lawrence paused before saying: I dont really have anything. I like being safe... Thats what really turns me on, feeling safe.

Monks co-host Matty Acton then joked she had made the interview "awkward" before a publicist could be heard thanking them for the interview with it apparent both Lawrence and Pratt had been cut off from the call.

When the hosts asked if they could say goodbye, they were informed the actors had already left the call.

The stunned radio hosts then debated whether the interview was cut because they ran out of time or whether it was, in fact, down to their line of questioning.

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Whatsapp Actors Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence attend a photocall for the film "Passengers" at Claridge's Hotel on December 1, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Representatives for Lawrence and Pratt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Members of the country's most elite garda unit will be patrolling the streets of Dublin this Christmas over fears of further bloodshed in the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

So far the deadly feud has claimed 11 lives over the space of 14 months, with eight of these murders happening on the streets of Dublin.

In the most recent gun killing, Noel Kirwan (62) was shot dead in front of his partner at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin, on Thursday night.

The fresh escalation in violence means that members of the Emergency Response unit (ERU) will carry out patrols on the city's streets on Christmas Day and throughout the festive season.

Concerns have been raised that both sides of the faction will be planning further attacks in the coming days.

This has forced Garda management to deploy the heavily armed unit in the hope of preventing another gangland shooting.

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The ERU - a specialist section of the Special Detective Unit (SDU) - is normally deployed for dangerous live armed incidents and potential terrorist threats.

However, due to the high possibility of another feud related murder, the elite gardai will be out on Christmas Day and throughout the week.

"The ERU has been on patrol in the capital since February, and has continued to do so in the interim," a source said.

"However, given Thursday's murder the majority of units available will be focusing on the capital and on keeping a lid on the feud which unfortunately has reared its ugly head again.

"This results from the fear of an immediate response, potentially from either side."

Members of the ERU were out in force for the funeral of feud murder victim Eddie Hutch (59) in February over fears that the service could be targeted.

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Whatsapp Noel Kirwan spoke out about the drug dealers plaguing Dublin in a television news documentary shot after the murder of crusading journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996

Specially trained marksmen kept watch on rooftops overhead while heavily armed members patrolled the surrounding streets.

Former Lord Mayor Christy Burke said that the sight of heavily armed gardai on the streets of the north-inner city had become routine since the deadly gangland feud erupted earlier this year.

"It's like back in the days on the Falls Road when curfews were enforced and armed soldiers were policing the streets.

"We have seen members of the ERU and the new Armed Support Unit (ASU) out in force, and unfortunately it's something we've become used to," Mr Burke said.

"At the last Dublin City Council meeting Chief Supt Pat Leahy informed us that there would be a strong garda presence over the Christmas period, so it doesn't come as a shock to us.

"It's necessary at the moment but it isn't something we would hope will continue, in a civil society," he added.

It comes as almost 200 gardai are being moved to the SDU and the National Support Services (NSS) in a major reshuffle to boost the fight against organised crime.

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This week, about 180 members of An Garda Siochana were informed that they were selected for the elite unit and other specialist teams.

A source said that the selection process for these units had been "ramped up" in the past 12 months as a reaction to the "current climate".

"The force has made a massive effort to increase the manpower of the national services, and a lot of gardai have been moved to these units.

"They were this week informed of their selection, and will be allocated positions in the new year.

"It is certainly a much needed boost for the SDU and NSS," the source said.
Members of the newly formed Garda Armed Support Unit at a checkpoint yesterday near the scene of the fatal shooting Photo: Collins

The country's latest gangland victim was murdered after attempting to mediate in a dispute between the Kinahan cartel and their own mob banker.

The Irish Independent can also reveal that a young associate of the murdered man has now sworn revenge against his killers.

Noel Kirwan (62) was shot dead outside his home in front of his partner at St Ronan's Drive, west Dublin, on Thursday night.

Kirwan was a childhood friend of Gerry Hutch (53), and drove 'The Monk' to the funeral of his brother, Eddie Hutch Snr (59) in February.

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In the past month, Kirwan attempted to prevent the Kinahan cartel from carrying out an attack on their own gangland banker - who also works for the Hutch mob.

Gardai believe that a failed effort to reason with the deadly international crime syndicate is the reason why Kirwan was shot dead.

They had previously attempted a hit on the banker, who has no previous convictions but is suspected of involvement in the financial aspect of the Hutch and Kinahan gangs.

In late November, the cartel was behind a shooting at the businessman's home.Nobody was injured during the gun attack, but gardai believe that it was an attempt to seriously harm or kill the gangland banker.

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Following the attack, Kirwan attempted to act as a mediator in a bid to prevent further attacks on his banker friend.

However, the Kinahan cartel were enraged by Kirwan's efforts to protect his associate and hatched a plot to murder the 62-year-old.

It has also emerged that Kirwan spent his last remaining hours at the funeral of one of his friends in Finglas.

Key to the garda investigation is tracing Kirwan's movements between the funeral in Finglas and the gun attack in Ronanstown.

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He was gunned down shortly after 5pm on Thursday at St Ronan's Drive in Ronanstown.

A lone gunman approached Kirwan as he sat in his Ford Mondeo vehicle outside his home.

His partner was in the passenger seat at the time and witnessed the shooting.

Several shots were fired at the victim, including three to his head, before the assailant ran to a waiting van, where there was a getaway driver.

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Local residents expressed deep shock at the murder in their midst. "After the shooting, the woman was in the car holding the man's head," said one man.

"People are saying that the gunman used a silencer on his gun because people didn't hear shots."

Brave

Amid the fallout from the latest gangland killing to hit the capital, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin slammed the culture of crime.

He said the criminals behind Ireland's drugs trade were sitting in comfortable houses abroad and did not care who they killed.

Speaking on RTE Radio One, the archbishop said he witnessed the power of the Mafia while living in Italy and it took brave people in the community to come forward with information to make a change.

"Most people would hope that some way or other these killings among the gangland people would be brought to an end by somebody within their own community.

"That somebody would have enough sense to say 'look, this is getting us nowhere'. But this is all part of a much bigger problem.

"It's all about a multi-million, multi-national business of death called the drug trade.

"And the people who sit behind this, sitting in comfortable houses, maybe abroad, they don't care who they kill," he said.

"They decide to kill these people maybe as an example to others.

"But they're also flooding our streets with drugs."

Dr Martin said when he goes to the back lane behind the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin city centre, he sees unfortunate young people injecting themselves, and drugs gangs are to blame.

"This is the way that these poor people are being led into something that's bigger than themselves," he said.

But following Thursday's murder, a young associate of Kirwan has vowed revenge against the cartel.

Kirwan already knew his life was in danger and had an elaborate CCTV system installed in his west-Dublin home after detectives warned him of the threat. This threat emanated from Kirwan driving Gerry Hutch to his murdered brother Eddie's funeral in February.

Gardai have launched a major manhunt for the gunman.

Kirwan's family home in Kilbarrack was targeted by members of the Kinahan cartel in August.

Nicknamed 'Duck Egg', Kirwan had a number of serious brushes with the law and he was previously arrested for firearms offences.

There was shock in Dublin's inner city when it emerged that Kirwan had been gunned down in Ronanstown.

A former low-level criminal in his younger years, he had long turned his back on crime, according to locals.

"He would have grown up with some of the Hutch family, and it is my guess he was murdered because of this. There is no way he should be a target," a source said.

In an ironic twist, it can also be revealed that Kirwan was a close friend of James 'Jaws' Byrne (69) - the father of slain Kinahan gangster David Byrne (33).

A source stated that Kirwan and 'Jaws' had attended several weddings together, and were close friends for several years.
Noel Kirwan in the 1996 Australian TV documentary about the drugs gangs of Dublin, of whom he was an outspoken critic

Noel Kirwan, the lifelong friend of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, who was gunned down in a gangland execution on Thursday, spoke out about the dealers plaguing Dublin in a TV documentary shot after the murder of crusading journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996.

The same documentary by the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) also showed footage of Gerry Hutch, referring to him as "a notorious gangland boss".

Hutch has no convictions for drug offences.

"It's close to anarchy," the reporter said as Hutch, identified by Sgt John O'Driscoll in the documentary, is seen chatting to a man on a motorbike. "Almost as if to emphasise the lack of resources, he drove us twice past a man he identified as the Monk," he said.

The news special, called 'The Irishmen and Drug Dealers', documents the scourge of drug dealing in Dublin in the 1990s and revealed the existence of armed vigilantes who were prepared to kill pushers to get them off the streets.

The reporter also refers to the so-called "rat traps" that Bob Geldof wrote about in his song of the same name by the Boomtown Rats that describes the bleak desolation of Dublin's tower block complexes where dealing and drug-taking were rampant.

In one scene shot at the notorious St Joseph's Mansions housing estate in Dublin's north inner city, Mr Kirwan is quoted as saying: "There's no hope. There's no hope in these flats whatsoever. Every second person in these flats is dealing drugs."

The complex has since been demolished and in its place the Killarney Court apartment complex was built.

The complex is in Summerhill where heavily armed gardai have been patrolling the streets due to the ongoing gang war between the Kinahan and Hutch criminal gangs. The war has claimed the lives of 11 people to date.
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- China will set up 126 monitoring sites nationwide to study the effect of air pollution on health.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission has been researching correlations between health and smog, Ma Xiaowei, deputy head of the commission, told a press conference held on Friday.

"This work is still in its primary stage, but we are losing no time," said Ma.

China has started smog risk assessments and a program on smog warning technology to identify typical pollutants that harm people's health and establish an evaluation system.
One of the sitting rooms in Apollo House all decked out for the Christmas season

Acclaimed director Jim Sheridan is heading up a number of documentaries at the occupied Apollo House - in order to portray the plight of homelessness in the capital.

The Home Sweet Home group heading the occupation of the Dublin city centre building says there are dozens on the waiting list because of the homely feel they provide.

Around 14 residents in the building are set to move on to six-month accommodation with the Peter McVerry Trust - with another seven currently weighing up the offer of whether to move on too.

Home Sweet Home expects to have new occupants swiftly, given the demand for places.

Unlike a number of other emergency accommodation hostels in Dublin, residents at Apollo House have the luxury of staying there during the day and even have their own sitting room.

Residents are able to lock their bedroom doors, with some of the bedrooms including a television.

This, according to spokesman Tommy Gavin, is why Apollo House has a lengthy waiting list, while there are more than 50 emergency beds vacant in the city.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney said yesterday that there are more than enough beds available to cater for the crisis.

On Thursday night, some 54 beds were not used across the homeless support system.

The Dublin Simon Community said that their Carmen Hall facility was only at 20pc of its capacity, while there were another 17 beds available at Merchants Quay.

Mr Gavin told the Irish Independent that the care on offer within the building is different to other services and more community-orientated.

"It's worth asking people who are in situations of homelessness, what they think about the standards of emergency accommodation," he said.

"The standard of support in Apollo House is very high," he added.
Left, Siobhan Delahunt (1) with her nana Isobel Delahunt after she arrived into Dublin airport with her parents, Alan and Janice, from Orlando Picture: Frank McGrath

There were scenes of jubilation at Dublin Airport as passengers arrived home for Christmas.

Even the delays for 50 flights arriving to Dublin Airport yesterday afternoon didn't dampen the spirits of families waiting to be reunited with their loved ones at the gates.

High winds resulted in flights being delayed in landing and difficulties with luggage transportation, with average delays of 40 minutes.

However, waiting families were well able to keep their spirits up, with many wearing festive costumes and carrying homemade signs to greet their returning family members.

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Marielle Clarke from Galway was waiting for almost two hours with the family dog, Joey, for her brother Jimmy to come through the gates from San Francisco.

"Just having him home for Christmas, that's all I want. He's my baby brother so I can't wait," she said.

Jimmy was greeted by Marielle and a delighted Joey, who leapt straight into his arms when he arrived.

John Brady, from Navan, Co Meath, was returning home from Sydney for the first time in two years.

"It's good, pretty cold, but we're happy to be home," he said.

"It's the first time I've been home for Christmas for about nine years. My sister's coming home from the Cayman Islands as well, so I'm looking forward to Christmas at home and a pint of Guinness."

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Meanwhile, love was blossoming between Aisling Glynn from Howth and Christian Guzman, who arrived from Mexico City to spend Christmas with Aisling's family - even though it was only the second time they had actually met.

"He was in Dublin this time last year, and we matched on Tinder but we never met," says Aisling. "But we kept in contact and stayed in contact for months and months, and in September we met in New York. Now he's coming to meet my family. We've been in touch on Facetime but this is only our second time actually meeting," she says.

However, the couple are planning ahead, and will finally be living in the same country in the summer, as Christian hopes to study for his MBA in Ireland.

However, it was also a bittersweet moment for many families, particularly those who knew their relatives would be returning abroad after the holiday season. Pat and Geraldine Greene from Longford were waiting for their son John James and daughter-in-law Michelle, as well as their grandchildren Chloe (3) and Eva (1), to arrive from Australia.

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"We're happy and sad. We're happy here today but we'll be sad when they go back," said Margaret.

Michelle's parents, Margaret and Jim Meehan from Waterfod, agreed.

"Michelle has missed out on a lot at home. Her younger sister had a baby six months ago and she's coming home to be godmother," said Margaret.

"We miss out on our grandkids, they were last home in April. They've both missed so much. But we're looking forward to quality family time when they're here."

But for many, their family members' arrival was a cause for pure celebration - particularly among the younger members of the family.

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Anna Ryan, originally from Tipperary but now living in Dublin, was waiting for her daughter Deirdre to return from Cambodia, where she has been volunteering for a year.

Seven of Deirdre's nephews, nieces and godchildren joined her in the wait, and ran for hugs with their aunt as soon as she came through the door.

"All of these kids are here to meet her," she said.

"We're all just glad to have her home."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the site of the attack in Berlin. (AP)

Enda Kenny has warned a Berlin-style terror attack could not be ruled out in Ireland.

The Taoiseach has written to Chancellor Angela Merkel to express sympathy over the killing of 12 people and injuring of 48 when a truck ploughed into crowds at a Christmas market in the German capital on Monday.

Asked whether Ireland could be similarly targeted, Mr Kenny said bigger security and police forces in other countries had failed to prevent the likes of the Berlin atrocity or the almost identical attack on Bastille Day in Nice.

"You can never rule anything out," he said.

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"But we like to think that in this country people are vigilant, that we are careful and we will do everything we can to protect our citizens."

The Taoiseach added: "I would hope that nothing like that will happen here."

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Both the Berlin and Nice outrages were claimed by the so-called Islamic State.

Mr Kenny said the Gardai and Defence Forces are making every effort possible "to see that we are protected and that lives are protected in that regard".

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Separately, he rejected calls from an imam to regulate Irish mosques in an attempt to thwart Muslims here being radicalised.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, chairman of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, was reported as saying the Government should set up a Muslim council to regulate how mosques are being run and the education they are providing.

However, Mr Kenny said Ireland enjoys freedom of religion and religious practices and he did not agree with the suggestion.

"Obviously, we respect the right of every religion to preach to its own followers and we expected that preaching to be in accordance with peaceful means and the religious beliefs that people have," he added.
Danny O'Carroll's generous donation means that little Rory Gallagher can get the best medical care possible.

The Sligo parents of a boy with cerebral palsy say Mrs Brown's Boys star Danny O'Carroll has given their son a chance at life after donating 30,000 towards his medical care.

Rory Gallagher (4) was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at eight months old and his family were told hed never walk, talk or see properly.

His parents Shauna and Gerry are selling their family home in order to fund surgeries and ensure their youngest child has every available opportunity in life.

During the week, Shauna received a phone call from Danny, son of comedian Brendan O'Carroll, who told her his family had been following their story for quite a while.

Expand Close Rory Gallagher was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at eight months old and his family were told he would never walk or talk. After much fundraising, the little boy travelled to Missouri, USA this month for further life changing surgery, and every day he is making huge strives towards walking independently. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Rory Gallagher was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at eight months old and his family were told he would never walk or talk. After much fundraising, the little boy travelled to Missouri, USA this month for further life changing surgery, and every day he is making huge strives towards walking independently.

"He asked me how would 30,000 go for us and I just burst out crying," she told Independent.ie.

"Its been a rough year, so for this to happen now, it means so much. Hes taken away all that stress. The O'Carroll family made our Christmas.

"I feel like theyve given Rory the chance to have the chance his deserves."

Danny (33) was following Rory's procedures since he was approached by Shauna in the hope of organising a fundraiser for the tot. Although he wasn't able to do it at the time, he kept an eye out on how the family were going.

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"I knew the operation was coming up soon. I saw at one point they were 30,000 short. I called my dad and my sister [Fiona]. We all agreed to donated 10,000 each," he said.

"Its always nice to make the phone call, but I wasnt expecting that reaction from Shauna. She was bowled over.

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"I had a little cry too."

The Gallagher family are currently in St Louis, where little Rory has just had eye surgery, which now gave him perfect vision, something Shauna and Gerry thought might never happen.

"Words can't describe how we feel. Rory is in great form and has been telling everyone that his eyes are now fixed. Lots of happy tears have been shed.

"When he was 10 months old we were told that our baby was blind in his right eye and that the vision in his left was very poor.

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"We were told that there was nothing that could be done. It's amazing to be here today and know that he now has equal vision."

Despite the uphill battle Rory has faced since his birth, his parents say he is an incredibly happy boy and always has a smile on his face.

"He's recently learned he has cerebral palsy after asking why he isn't able to walk. After we explained it all to him, he just took it all in his stride," Shauna said.

"He's a remarkable child. He can't wait for Santa to come visit him in America. All he wants is a train and a dinosaur."

Brendan O'Carroll and his family have a history of altruism, having recently made a very substantial donation the St Vincent de Paul, which will ensure that more than 2,000 families will not go hungry this Christmas.

The Mrs Brown's Boys creator was named Philanthropist of the Year in 2015 for his service to Irish charities.

If you would like to donate to Rory's fund, you can make a donation here.
Marina and Alan Killoran with Dog Bailey in their home in Newbridge.

A mother who travelled to Chicago for life-saving treatment after funds were raised through an online campaign has revealed that her condition has dramatically improved.

Marina Jordan Killoran (46), who suffers from an incurable auto-immune disease called Systemic Scleroderm, received a stem-cell transplant that isnt available in Ireland over the summer.

The mum-of-two travelled to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the US with her husband Alan in July after over 160,000 was raised in order to receive the treatment.

Speaking to Independent.ie Marina explained that she never thought she would see 2017.

I can look forward to Christmas knowing that I am no longer dying, I am getting better. I have a future with my family, she said.

Marina, who is originally from Tallaght but living in Newbridge, Co Kildare, rose to national attention last March when she issued a heartfelt plea for help raising over 100k for the life saving treatment.

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Many heard her call and the cash was raised online in the space of a few short weeks.

Marina travelled to Chicago with her husband Alan in the summer but they were lucky to get the treatment.

Speaking at her home in Newbridge, Marina explained: Just after the interview with Independent.ie my right knee got so bad with calcinosis that it swelled up. It was so bad that I couldn't walk. By the time I got to Chicago I was in a wheelchair.

I arrived into the hospital in Chicago and Dr Richard Burt took one look at me and one look at my knee and his face just dropped. He was in two minds.

At that point I was not going back, I knew time was ticking. This was my last chance,

She explained: Had I been going over in June for the assessment rather than the surgery with my leg like that then there is no way it would have gone ahead.

I got in by the skin of my teeth, it is just by the goodness and kindness of the people in Ireland that I am alive today.

Marina spent several weeks undergoing painful chemotherapy before the stem cell transplant.

The mother-of-two explained that it wasn't the dramatic overnight experience many might have believed it would be.

Instead, it has been a slow process where gradually she is improving every day.

The recovery is slow because there was a lot of damage done to me. It is going to take time.

"My breathing is so much better. My lung function is great, I still have scar tissue but I can breathe comfortably now

My persistent cough is gone, I used to struggle to sleep. It was very hard for me to swallow food before but that is now better.

Her calcinosis, which almost threatened to scupper the whole operation, is now vastly improved. She shows how it has almost disappeared on her left wrist while it is receding on her right wrist.

There was an awful lot of damage done to me. I was at the point where my body was turning to stone.

All that was happening to me was that I was getting worse, I knew I didn't have long to live.

She said: It's fascinating to watch and see your body over time improve and repair itself.

My bloods are good, all the signs are there that I am in remission.

In my opinion I am in remission but I haven't seen my consultants here.

She now no longer needs a wheelchair but is still using crutches. Her drug dosages have also dramatically reduced. I'm on anti-virals. I'm only 7.5mg of steroids now at one point I was on 40-60mg.

I was on 2g of cellcept , I am now on 1g and I will be weaned off that.

Marina said that she and her husband Alan will spend Christmas with their daughters Shannon (21) and Erin (18).

It won't be a big event but just getting to December 25, 2016 is a miracle in itself.
Bord na Mona has been granted permission to continue operating an Offaly power plant for another seven years despite concerns about its impact on the environment.

An Bord Pleanala has given Bord na Mona the green light to allow the Edenderry plant continue generating until 2023 despite concerns about use of more than one million tonnes of peat a year to produce electricity.

Permission was previously granted in 2015, but this was challenged by An Taisce in the High Court and the decision was overturned.

The heritage group argued the impact of peat harvesting for use as fuel had not been properly assessed. Peat is among the most polluting fuels and has a profound impact on climate emissions, but cutting bogs also results in habitat being lost.

The plant is fired with a mix of peat and biomass, and the boards inspector had suggested it had not been demonstrated that the development would not impact on the environment. The board sought additional information, and granted permission yesterday.

While national and local policy was broadly supportive of continued electricity generation from peat and biomass, the board said the transition away from using peat as a fuel source had wide implications on technical, environmental and employment grounds.

Whereas the applicant has applied to continue operations using the current mix of peat and biomass fuel sources until 2030, the Board considered that continued operation for a further period of seven years would be a more appropriate period.

The seven-year period provides an opportunity to develop and implement an appropriate response to this necessary transition, it added.

An Taisce said the plant and two others in the Midlands benefitted from subsidies of 100m a year, and that this money would be better invested in energy efficiency and renewables.

The new An Bord Pleanala decision has failed to demonstrate how it assessed the environmental impact of the peat extraction area, it said.

The continuation of peat extraction and burning for electricity Ireland is irreconcilable with achieving the emission reductions required under the Paris (climate) Agreement.

Bord na Mona said it welcomed the decision, and that 50pc of all power was generated from renewable resources.

It would completely cease production of peat for electricity generation by 2030.

Climate Change Minister Denis Naughten also welcomed the decision, saying the decision allowed for the transition to green energy.
A pensioner out delivering a present, and a waitress on her way home from a Christmas party shift are the latest victims on Ireland's roads.

Pedestrian Betty McManus (74) was knocked down and killed in Co Leitrim, and Amy Loughrey (25) died in a crash in Co Donegal.

Widow Mrs McManus died as she crossed the road to deliver a present to her sister in Drumshanbo. Her death has stunned the local community. She was involved with the annual Joe Mooney Summer School, a traditional Irish music event which she helped found.

She died at the scene of the accident at around 7.15pm on Thursday. Her late husband Paddy, who died in November 2015, ran the Thatched Pub on High Street.

"Betty gave so much to her community,"said Fine Gael councillor Finola Armstrong-McGuire. "She was a very lively lady and she has been taken cruelly from us."

She said locals were thinking of Mrs McManus's five children and her grandchildren as well as the 50-year-old female motorist involved in the accident.

Meanwhile, Supt Eugene McGovern described as "absolutely heart-breaking" the death of Ms Loughrey, following a two-car collision in Inishowen, Co Donegal. Ms Loughrey, from Derry's Waterside, had finished a restaurant shift in Fahan and was driving home when the incident happened.

Supt McGovern said Ms Loughrey's car was in a collision with a car driving in the opposite direction. The 20-year-old driver was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Ms Loughrey was a popular member of staff at the Red Door, a favourite restaurant of Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid and 'Friends' actress Courteney Cox. The restaurant closed and cancelled Christmas bookings as a mark of respect.

"Our thoughts are with the family of our dear colleague and friend," said a spokeswoman.

Waterside parish priest Fr Michael Canny saidMs Loughrey's mum Mary had taken down the Christmas tree and decorations after learning of the tragedy.

The RSA confirmed the 2016 road death toll now stands at 184 fatalities, meaning 27 more lives have been lost than in the same period in 2016.
Sgt Gary Condren: "Wishing a Merry Christmas & Happy new year To My wife Louise & also My children Poppy(7), Theo(5) & Ewan(2)"

Pte Kerry Ryan: "To all in Wardtown, to my wife Lorraine and three children; Alana, Corey, and Drew. Happy Christmas and have a great New Year."

BQ Sean O BRIEN sends Christmas greetings to all my family and friends in Athlone

Pte Pierce Harrison: "To my wife Tanya, and three girls Rachael, Emily, and Ruth and to my family and friends."

Sgt Ruairi McLaughlin: "To my wife Aine and daughters Anna and Aoife, wishing you a very Happy Christmas and new year."

"To all my family and friends at home, Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year."

Sgt Wayne Callan: "To my wife Gillian, and children, Shaun, Jamie, and Matthew, missing you all very much and really looking forward to seeing you in the Spring."

Lt Tom Quigley: "To my fiance Vivien and my family in Waterford. Missing you all and looking forward to seeing you next year."

Pte Ryan Casley: "To my family and especially to my son Rhys, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and love you all."

Pte Burke: "To all my neighbours and friends, especially the Hilary family, wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year."

Capt Paul O'Callaghan 109 Inf Bn, UNIFIL. To my fiance Maura, my family, and my friends at home, I will be thinking of you this festive season. Catch up with you all in the New Year.

Lt Paul Dunne: "To my girlfriend Salma, my family, and my friends, wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

AB John O'Sullivan 109 Inf Bn, UNIFIL Merry Christmas from Lebanon to my mum and dad, Ciaran, Cliona, Sophie, Nan, Charlie and Mya. XX

Lt Niamh Ni Dhroma: "Merry Christmas to my friends, family, and fiance," while Sgt Ciaran Friel said: "I am so excited to get home to my partner Emma, my son Reuben, and my daughter Fiadh, who turns one on Stephens Day."

Capt Emma Harney: "I would like to wish my parents, Donie and Helen and a very Merry Christmas."

Pte Richie Glynn looking out for Santy at T2. "Can't wait to see you all in 2017."

Lt Paul Griffin: "Happy Christmas to all my family and friends. Looking forward to seeing you all in the Spring."

CS Noel Doherty: "To my wife Maggie and my children, wishing you a great Christmas and all the best for the New Year."

Capt Jamie Feely: "To my wife Brona, all my family and friends. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas. Looking forward to seeing you in March. All my love, Jamie."

Cpl Dan Browne: "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my friends and family."

Captain Gemma Fagan: "Happy Christmas to all my family and friends back home can't wait to see you all".

Signalman Brian O'Shea from Dublin: "I miss my son Odhran very much, and I hope he has a very Happy Christmas."

Javelin Platoon, Recce Company 109 Inf Bn - Merry Christmas to all our friends and family from the Javelin Platoon, Recce Company.

Working on Christmas Day is never easy, especially when you are thousands of miles from home and instead of partying, you are patrolling.

This is the reality for many members of the Irish Defence Force, who are working in areas that require peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts.

Around 1,500 troops rotated throughout 15 counties during 2016 and approximately 600 Defence Forces members will spend Christmas Day on duty. 377 of these will be in Lebanon, while 136 are stationed in war-torn Syria.

One of these soldiers is Captain Grace Fanning, who is part of a naval service that rescued a total of 7,029 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea as part of operation Pontus.

Not only is this Captain Fanning's first overseas mission, it is also her first Christmas as a married woman. Instead of opening selection boxes, she will be ready for work selection, as she will spend Christmas Day on-call.

"I miss my family, especially my wife Carol as we were married during the summer and this is our first Christmas, but we are spending it apart," she told Independent.ie

"I myself will be on call on Christmas Day, [and I will be ready] to respond to any incidents in our area of operations. To my family and Carol, I love you very much and Ill be home in the New Year. Save me a selection box for me," she added.

It is also Lieutenant Ciaran Carey's first overseas mission. The 29-year-old Kildare man will be on patrol on Christmas Day, which make the lack of his mother's Christmas dinner even more difficult.

"Christmas in the camp will very different in many ways, but enjoyable. Ill miss my mothers Christmas dinner, and spending time with family, my girlfriend, and my friends.

"I will be conducting vehicle patrols in my company Area of Operations on Christmas Day. During the holiday period our operations must be maintained as normal.

"I just want to add, happy Christmas to my girlfriend Katie, my family in Kildare and Wexford."

These are just a small portion of the messages that are being sent home from troops abroad this Christmas. For more, click on the gallery below.
BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's recent decision to deepen supply-side structural reforms and open up more to foreign direct investment (FDI) is in line with G20 goals to improve the global economy, according to a leading Argentine economist and political observer.

"That is consistent with the decision made at the last G20 gathering (in Hangzhou, China), where the document, signed by all parties and promoted by (Chinese) President Xi Jinping, raised awareness about the global oversupply of manufacturing commodities," said Gustavo Girado, head of the Buenos Aires-based consulting firm Asia & Argentina (A&A).

"China's new supply-side policy ... is in the global interest in preventing (commodity) prices from dropping further, by restricting the international supply of these products," Girado told Xinhua in an interview recently.

Following last week's Central Economic Work Conference, a national policy meeting held annually, Beijing announced it will continue to advance supply-side structural reforms in 2017.

The world's second-largest economy said it will seek to make headway in five key reforms over the coming year, including reducing excess production capacity, and lowering company costs, among others.

China also said it will strive to attract foreign investment in 2017 by bolstering the rule of law in business and allowing foreign-owned companies to play a larger role in the economy.

"Among developing countries, China continues to be the leading destination for foreign direct investment," Girado said.

What's special is that China in 2014 became "a net exporter of capital" for overseas investment or loans, he said.

"For an economy that was severely impoverished 60 years ago, and where a substantial proportion of its population was very rural, turning into a net exporter of capital, shows the extraordinary speed at which it developed. It's unprecedented," said Girado.

To further its goal of establishing a "moderately prosperous society" by 2020, "China is spurring the entry of foreign investment," especially in the areas of innovation and technology.

Such foreign investment, he said, is not for "exporting from China, like 30 years ago, but for taking advantage of China's domestic market for high-technology products."
Marguerite Bouniol and her friend Marie Paul Bloc Daudet at the memorial cross where Sophie Toscan Du Plantier was killed Picture: Niall Duffy

On an isolated west Cork laneway, a simple stone Celtic cross bears a single inscription: 'Sophie'. At its base, just feet from the muddy laneway, lay a number of floral tributes and wreaths this week.

On the crest of the hill immediately ahead, is a snug cottage boasting panoramic views of the wild countryside around Toormore and Schull.

There is little here to indicate that this humble memorial marks a horrific crime that has cast a shadow not just over Irish justice but over Irish relations with France for 20 years.

French film executive, socialite and mother-of-one Sophie Toscan du Plantier (39) was savagely beaten to death at this very spot in the early hours of December 23, 1996.

Her attacker subjected her to a horrific beating which inflicted fatal injuries and left her virtually unrecognisable.

Sophie had been scheduled to fly back to France that day to spend Christmas with her husband, Daniel du Plantier, and her family.

When her body was discovered by a neighbour at 10am on December 23, the woman mistook Sophie's huddled body for a bag of rags.

The subsequent murder investigation by gardai was arguably the biggest in the history of the force.

Tragically, it was compromised almost from the beginning by a series of unfortunate incidents.

The scene, because of its location, was not completely preserved for forensic purposes.

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More seriously, there was a delay of more than a day in removing the body from the scene because of the inability to get a pathologist to the locality until Christmas Eve.

Sophie's body effectively lay outside for two nights. Such was the delay that an accurate body temperature reading could not be taken to determine the precise time of her death.

Gardai were unable to obtain any forensic data for clues as to the identity of the killer. There were no eye-witnesses.

In the 20 years since, gardai have charged no-one in relation to Sophie's death and the DPP acknowledged that, in the absence of new information or evidence, a prosecution is now highly unlikely.

Eight years ago, I stood just metres from Sophie's simple memorial waiting for her family to begin a candlelit vigil.

Her elderly parents, Georges and Marguerite Bouniol, were present along with Sophie's brother, Bertrand, and other family friends.

Not wanting to intrude, I stayed well clear of the property on the hill that Sophie once described as her dream holiday home.

I had been reporting on the case since 1997 and had come to know Sophie's parents and her aunt, Marie-Madeline Opalka, from their annual visits to west Cork in December.

On that damp, dark night the family repeatedly invited me into the house for a cup of coffee and to warm myself by the fire.

I repeatedly refused until I was bluntly told that if I didn't go up into the house for refreshments, Sophie's elderly mother would be forced to walk down the hill with coffee and food for me. Such kindness in the face of appalling heartache made a lasting impression.

Marguerite Bouniol once admitted her nightmare is that she would not live to see justice done for her only daughter.

Eight years on, it remains to be seen whether that nightmare can still be avoided.

This week, Sophie's family and friends opted not to stage a public memorial in either Ireland or France to mark the 20th anniversary of her murder.

Instead, a private family Mass in Paris will be attended by Sophie's elderly parents.

The Association for the Truth of the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier (ASSOPH) insisted the best memorial to the mother of one will be a criminal trial staged in France next year.

ASSOPH spokesman Jean-Antoine Bloc said they believe 2017 will be a critical year for their campaign.

"Our association does not intend to celebrate publicly the 20th anniversary of Sophie, neither in Ireland nor in France," he said.

"We are now focused on the outcome of the indictment and the new European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by Judge Nathalie Turquey."

Alain Spilliaert, the Paris solicitor for Sophie's family, said they were now entirely focused on the ongoing French legal process.

"The family and ASSOPH wish that such a trial (before the Paris Cour d'Assises) can be scheduled during next year," he said.

Manchester-born freelance journalist Ian Bailey (59) was twice arrested for questioning by gardai in relation to the investigation in January 1997 and February 1998.

He was released without charge on both occasions. Mr Bailey later claimed that efforts had been made to frame him for the crime.

Mr Bailey later initiated - and lost - a High Court action in 2015 against the State for wrongful arrest. That action is now under appeal before the Supreme Court.

In 2008, the French launched a separate investigation into the killing under Judge Patrick Gachon after despairing of any action in Ireland.

Under French law, which is based on the Napoleonic judicial code, Mr Bailey can be tried in absentia.

The Gachon inquiry was taken over by Judge Nathalie Turquey last year with a recommendation of a Paris-based prosecution.

In 2012, a French bid to have Mr Bailey extradited under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Mr Bailey has consistently maintained that the French will attempt to stage "a show trial" and warned he remains "in limbo" over the entire matter.

"I want to clear my name once and for all. I want my life back. This cannot go on," he said. "No human being should have to live with this constantly hanging over them."

Mr Bailey's solicitor, Frank Buttimer, has also written to the Irish authorities warning that if any fresh attempt is made to extradite his client, an immediate court injunction will be sought.

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Sophie's son, Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud, who visited west Cork last summer, and her brother, Bertrand Bouniol, vowed that their fight for justice will never stop, even after 20 years.

"I have always said that, as long as the truth was not revealed, I will never give up the campaign for justice for my mother. I will never give up," Mr Baudey-Vignaud said.

"Let me remind you that a murderer is still out there. The people of west Cork are still afraid because justice has not been done."

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Sophie's family believes a French trial is the fitting tribute to a woman who fell in love with west Cork and its wild beauty.
Left: Elizabeth Devane and her daughter Sarah (4) Christmas shopping at Marshes Shopping Centre in Dundalk. Photo: Arthur Carron

Last-minute shoppers have salvaged a slow Christmas for retailers - with more than 1.2bn being spent on the final furlong to the big day.

The jump in sales comes as retailers were noticing very little business coming through their doors in comparison with previous years.

A statement released yesterday by Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) showed trading to be down in electronics, ladieswear, footwear and jewellery among other things.

This is despite a prediction of like-for-like sales compared with 2015.

Spokeswoman for the REI Lynn Drumgoole said the Christmas shopping would carry on right up until businesses shut up shop this evening.

"Overall for the Christmas period, we're looking at 4bn to be spent, certainly the last big lump of it will be spent in the week running up to Christmas," Ms Drumgoole said.

"That would be over the entire Christmas period, which is what would have been traditionally the month of December, but has extended to the end of November (due to Black Friday)."

The week leading up to Black Friday and that preceding it were also quiet - indicating that while there is big spending on that week, it doesn't necessarily mean that consumers are parting with more cash than usual.

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When it comes to the Christmas rush, items purchased vary significantly from earlier on in the month, with the bulk of the big buys already made, according to REI.

Large electronic devices, for example, have been bought much further in advance of the big day.

"Vouchers are a big hit and so are the smaller gifting items, so beauty products," Ms Drumgoole. "Even ladieswear and jewellery would see the mad dash. A lot of the bigger ticket items would have been bought already.

"Obviously groceries and alcohol have a big push on this week and even Christmas Eve and the last couple of days is the big run-up for them (supermarkets)."

Yesterday was coined 'Frenzied Friday' for the last-minute dash for food, as most households held out until yesterday to buy their groceries due to Christmas landing on a Sunday this year.

A Tesco spokesperson said they expected an incredible 2.4 million individual mince pies to be sold. This is along with more than a million Brussels sprouts and some 1.1 million fresh and frozen products.

Other businesses reaping the rewards of the last-minute splurge are cafes and restaurants, with Christmas revellers soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the festivities.

"Particularly this year, because it's (Christmas Eve) a Saturday (it will be busy)," Ms Drumgoole said.

"Last week our members would be saying to us that there were people out on Saturday but are still going 'ah sure I'll come back next weekend'.

"People are travelling down the country and if they haven't got the last few bits to bring with them, they'll be doing that definitely."
Tomorrow, for one day only, the world will turn on its head. Gender quotas go out the window, and women just take over. On Christmas Day, the burden of responsibility to recreate a scene befitting a Christmas TV commercial largely lies with the female of the species. Those hoping to live out their fantasies of festive cheer, bouncy dogs and good-humoured grandparents expect women to deliver their dreams. Men play but a small bit part. It's a stereotype I know but hey, that's what Christmas is all about!

I have never favoured gender quotas. I can't speak for every member of my sex but I can say for certain that I know no one (male or female) worth their salt who would like to be appointed to any position simply to fulfil a statistical target.

Let's face it, as a female in a wicked man's world, there are enough stigmas, barriers and benchmarks set for us already. So being parachuted into an organisation to simply make up the numbers is about as professionally satisfying as superimposing your head onto Naomi Campbell's body for your LinkedIn profile.

Ultimately, neither fallacy will work - eventually you will be exposed.

While I have never considered myself a feminist, I do fundamentally believe in equality for all people. On reflection, I realise that I am just one of those women who believes that equality between the sexes should and will happen eventually. Things will level out.

Recently, I have changed my mind about both feminism and gender quotas. I have realised that the advancement of female equality will not just simply "happen". Real change requires radical initiatives, like gender quotas.

The equality agenda for women has not progressed to the level many of us like to believe it has. Numerous positions that females aspire to are not solely a gender issue, they are also about competency. Sometimes it seems even when a female is more competent they still lose, as we saw in the recent US election.

Although Hillary Clinton will go down in history as the first female victor of the popular vote and the first defeated female presidential candidate, the historic milestone of a first female president awaits another woman. In addition, and perhaps more harrowingly, she does have to suffer the ignominy of being beaten by Donald Trump.

The result is on Americans, not on Mrs Clinton. Not just on the female population, but on men as well. They had an opportunity to address an imbalance and inequality at the highest level but they did not grasp it.

Mrs Clinton herself shares some of the blame. She failed (or refused) to craft a narrative about the importance of her position as an aspiring female, in the way that Barack Obama successfully did for racial minorities when he first ran for office.

In the aftermath of the election, many have focused on introspection and finger-pointing, most characterising Mrs Clinton as a failed candidate whose past suffocated her chances before she even began. It was Americans, however, who chose to elect a man who was manifestly less qualified and less capable and, most importantly, who treated women badly.

Feminism is not just about moving women forward, it is about achieving gender equality for an entire society. Sadly, that is a role that until now is left almost exclusively to women. But the sisterhood that we often take for granted is merely a fiction; the creation of an era seeking to compartmentalise women's concerns.

Heap feminism all in to one neat category, and if other women disagree they are not part of the sisterhood. The reality is there are vastly different and varied demographics of women with little civic support from outside the female community.

Women all over the world do not just fight for their own interests. They work on pro-environment issues, anti-war issues, anti-racist campaigns and pro-LGBT causes. Where are these groups when women argue for gender equality?

Ireland's same-sex marriage referendum in 2015 taught us several valuable lessons. Firstly, that campaigns will not be won simply through the support of the vested interests. No one group can successfully change a nation's mindset, behaviour or laws.

Another thing we learned from the marriage equality referendum is that we cannot simply categorise the LGBT community as 'gay'. Within that grouping is a diverse fluidity, a complex community of differing life choices. It is the same for women.

We are not all professionals; neither are we all home-makers. We are not all good, not all right, not all wrong, not all heterosexual, not all strong, and not all weak.

All that feminism asks is that we are all afforded the same rights and given equal treatment. Somewhere along the line, that became women's responsibility. It is not our responsibility, just as was the case with delivering change for the LGBT community - it is everyone's responsibility.

The movements of social change within civic society have evolved. In line with those developments, the face of feminism is changing. But have women's causes reached out in the same way to progress work on gender issues? Perhaps that is where feminist energies should be focused now.

Astute businesswomen and strong civic representatives have crafted a new narrative. They have decided that the way to change things is from within. A development which the last government recognised, supported and influenced greatly by introducing gender quotas for political parties.

No one is going to burn their bra because they cannot get onto the management board of a sporting body like the FAI or the IRFU. Yet there is something refreshingly progressive about Junior Sport Minister Patrick O'Donovan's ambition to introduce a 30pc gender quota for sporting bodies. Although initially shot down by his senior minister, Shane Ross, he may yet find substantial support from above.

To date, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has appointed several women to important senior positions. He has successfully introduced a 30pc gender quota for all political parties, when many thought it was impossible. When taken collectively, it points to a genuine attempt by Mr Kenny to progress the cause of equality for women.

When the history books are written, Mr Kenny may wish for his legacy to be centred around economic recovery. Perhaps a more enduring and meaningful legacy would be to continue to pursue the female equality agenda.

While you are mulling over all of that, I must dash, there is a TV commercial to recreate. Happy Christmas.
Back in 1943, Christmas festivities generally only lasted for just one day for most families trying to survive during wartime. So there was nothing strange about a tiny Wexford ship, the MV Kerlogue, leaving Lisbon for Ireland on St Stephen's Day, sailing unarmed and alone, its sole protection being a neutral Irish tricolour painted across its deck.

The 10-man crew knew how little protection this tricolour offered at Christmas or any other time. All would have known friends and ex-shipmates who lost their lives on similar tiny Irish ships sunk by predatory U-boat captains out on the treacherous Bay of Biscay: the only route on which to bring vital national supplies into Ireland.

So at dawn on December 29, they would have feared the worst when a German warplane flew overhead. But this plane dropped no bombs. Instead, it signalled the most plaintive code known to any mariner - SOS - which is traditionally believed to mean 'save our souls'.

They could have chosen to save their own souls and maintain their course. Instead they swung around and, a short time later, encountered a seascape littered with drowning bodies. They had no idea as to the identity of these figures clinging to driftwood until someone spotted a ribbon on their caps which denoted that they belonged to the dreaded Kriegsmarine, which had previously sunk so many unarmed Irish ships.

The Kerlogue's crew didn't see those drowning Germans as combatants but as fellow seafarers and human beings during the 10 hours they spent using grappling hooks and their bare hands to save as many souls as they could. By nightfall, 168 German sailors occupied every inch of space, with the 142-foot ship so dangerously overloaded that nobody knew if it would capsize during the slow voyage until it reached Cobh, Co Cork, on New Year's Day.

In some ways, this is a seasonal story, encapsulating the generous spirit of Christmas. But in another way, it is not, because those unheralded Irish sailors acted not out of any Christmas altruism, but out of fundamental human decency.

This same human decency saw the Irish naval vessel, the LE Samuel Beckett, rescue 269 migrants from two flimsy rubber vessels off the Libyan coast this December. In both cases not everyone could be saved - four Germans died on board the Kerlogue, while the LE Samuel Beckett found three migrants dead in the water. But these two Irish crews - 73 years apart - saved each soul they could, not because it was something you do at Christmas time but because this humanity was an essential trait of their character.

Nowadays, Christmas lasts far longer than just a single day. Everyone is so preoccupied in advance, ticking off the never-ending 'must-do' list in their minds, that there is often little time for reflection.

This is even truer for parents confronted by 'can't-do' lists, acutely conscious of gifts they cannot give their children as they struggle with soaring rents or homelessness. It can be a tough time too for 'empty-nesters', who for in previous years were caught up in the whirl of a thousand tasks but now feel marooned amid the conspicuous festive jauntiness assailing them.

So every Christmas Eve, no matter how busy I am, I find 10 minutes to sit still and light candles on a homemade Advent wreath. It is my way to remember absences which remain ever-present in my life; people who truly shaped me with their love and fundamental decency which was not a trait simply produced at Christmas, but shone through in their actions during 365 days of the year.

By Christmas 1944, the Germans rescued by the Kerlogue were carving traditional wooden dolls as gifts for nurses in the Curragh Camp where they were interned, and trying to sell them in surrounding villages. I don't know if they crafted German Advent wreaths, because I only learned of this tradition from an elderly German woman, Madeleine Stuart, in the 1980s.

Back then, on a Sunday before Christmas, my late wife and I always cycled to the bungalow in Dundrum, Dublin, where Madeleine and her husband - the writer Francis Stuart - lived in what the poet Anthony Cronin called "an independent republic of love". Madeleine was always fussed when cooking, while Francis radiated calm, sitting with a white cat on his lap.

At twilight, Madeleine brought us into the living room to light the German Advent wreath she loved.

I still see her smiling as she lit an extra candle to bring Christmas closer and remember someone else whom she loved.

As Madeleine is long gone, the first candle on my own wreath is for her. The second candle I light for someone whose absence is too deep to be spoken of.

The third is always for my mother - a seafarer's wife who used every ploy to ensure that shipping companies allowed her husband to spend Christmas with his family. She died on December 21, 1969 - the shortest day of the year - so Christmas is infused with sadness for my family, but with ongoing happiness too.

This year, when we gather on that same date, it will be for a joyous engagement party for my eldest son, home from London with his bride-to-be, because every generation reinvents Christmas, recalibrating each date with new significance.

Therefore, when I pause amid the whirlwind of Christmas to light my Advent candles, I do so out of no sense of sadness, but so that, amid the celebrations, I can recall those absences in the full light of their vitality and happiness; so I can remember their humanity, laughter and strength of character and how the fact of having known each one has left me enriched.

I will cherish their memories before moving on to cherish the living: those loved ones around me this Christmas.

What I especially remember is that, while their humanity always shone through at Christmas, their generosity of spirit was never staged for the festival season.

Like with the Kerlogue's crew, 73 years ago, and the LE Samuel Beckett today, their open-handedness was inherent in them on 365 days of the year.

Perhaps the finest chance to display this humanity may occur in the dark days of December on Biscay's waves or off the Libyan coast.

But we see it too in people who are special to us; in thousands of ordinary generous deeds that thousands of people - unpaid carers or kindly neighbours - do during this most special of weeks and will continue to do on every week of the year to come.

Dermot Bolger's latest novel, 'The Lonely Sea and the Sky', which recreates the rescue by the Kerlogue, is published by New Island Books.
The story of how Anis Amri, the chief suspect in the Christmas Market attack in Berlin this week, went from Tunisian school dropout to fugitive killed by Milan police in a shootout yesterday yet again casts an uncomfortable spotlight on a country hailed as the only success story of what became known as the Arab Spring.

The question of why Tunisia, largely known before the 2011 revolution for its Mediterranean resorts and since as a poster child for a successful - albeit fragile - transition from dictatorship to democracy, has produced so many radicals both from its domestic population and diaspora is a vexed one.

Some 7,000 Tunisians have left home to join extremist groups in Iraq and Syria, filling the ranks of Isil in particular. When it comes to the cohort of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, there are more Tunisians than any other nationality. In neighbouring Libya, Tunisians have made up a large proportion of militants in groups like Isil, carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks against the local population. In a bid to stem the flow of recruits, the Tunisian government has now imposed restrictions on youths attempting to travel abroad.

Tunisian extremists have also turned their deadly attentions on their own country, striking against the security services and targeting foreign tourists in Tunis and the coastal resort of Sousse in 2015.

Mohammed Lahuaiej-Bouhlel, who ploughed a truck through crowds in Nice in July, killing 86 people, was born in the north-eastern Tunisian town of M'saken before later moving to France. A French citizen of Tunisian origin implicated in the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, named Boubakr al-Hakim, had spent time in Tunisia after 2011 before heading to Syria, where he was later killed in a US air strike.

Anis Amri, the man suspected of the Berlin truck attack, which echoed the Nice atrocity and resulted in 12 dead, grew up in the small town of Oueslatia, deep in Tunisia's underdeveloped interior. The youngest in a family of four brothers and five sisters, he left school at 14 and became known for his drinking and partying. Two months after Tunisia's revolution triggered the resignation of Ben Ali, the autocrat who had ruled for decades, Amri left for Italy on a boat, looking for better opportunities than he could find at home, according to his family.

Other young men from Oueslatia would also leave in the following years, some to join militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Later convicted in absentia by a Tunisian court for stealing a car, Amri also ran into trouble in Italy, where he spent nearly four years in a total of six prisons for offences including arson.

His family say they believe he may have been radicalised while in jail in Italy and he had recently told them that he planned to return home to Tunisia next year, as he was struggling with life in Germany. That was an understatement. After apparently arriving in Germany in summer 2015, Amri's asylum application was rejected. He went on to use multiple names and soon came to the attention of the authorities who suspected he was planning a burglary to raise funds to buy weapons for a possible attack "against the state".

But after failing to find evidence, their surveillance of Amri was dropped. There are many questions to be asked about how Amri was able to slip through the net then and since the attack.

His apparent escape route from Berlin this week was via train through France to Turin and then on to Milan - across at least three countries in a continent reeling from a series of terrorist attacks over the past 18 months.

But there will also be questions in Tunisia over how another one of its sons has brought unwanted attention to a problem many of its people are still in denial over.

It is common to hear Tunisians say that the number of their compatriots cited as having joined Isil at home or abroad is an exaggeration, an attempt to smear the country's image as it navigates its nascent democracy.

Many are uneasy about delving into the historical and socio-economic dynamics that helped create more radical currents within Tunisian society. While Amri appears to have been radicalised after he left Tunisia, in several respects his story echoes those of others who drifted into extremism from the path of petty criminality.

Other young Tunisians have sought to escape lives stunted by joblessness and despair, finding meaning in the fiery rhetoric of radicals, many of whom were released from jail after an amnesty five years ago.

Until Tunisia begins to address the challenge of its youth, struggling with few prospects and the humiliation of long-term unemployment, the radical message will continue to resonate.
On Friday night, I headed for the Lisdoo where the Horseware Christmas Party was in full swing and the place was really buzzing in anticipation of an excellent night.

I wasn't too long in the door when I met up with Angela Woods from Lis Na Ri and Mary Grimes from Avenue Road who told me they were really looking forward to a great night and this marked the start of Christmas.

Not too far away I then got talking to Pauline Bingham from Wolfetone Terrace and Eithne Markey from Knockbridge who were both on for making it a real night to remember amongst their friends.

After this I got a word with David Mulligan from Chapel Road Omeath and David Egan from Stonetown who said it was early in the proceedings and everything was quiet, but they certainly weren't expecting the night to stay like that!

I headed over for a quick word with Alan Hillard from Doolargy Avenue and Rosaleen Englishby from Kingscourt who assured me it was going to be a wild night and no mistake.

Not too long later I then managed a few words with Emma McAleavy from Castleross and Jenny Myles from Kingscourt who were joined by Lisa Kearns from Riverside Drive told me the few drinks were going down easy and it was going to be an outrageous night.

Making my way through the crowds I then caught up with cousins Carol Duffy from Louth Village and Tina Lee from Farndreg who certainly don't stand on ceremony when they get out and were expecting a festive celebration unlike any other.

Making my way over to another table I then had the pleasure of speaking to some of the main organisers of the party and they included Anne Newell from Oaklawns who was up for making the best of the night with Anita Lennon from Ardee, Ciara Jeffers from Tom Bellew Avenue, Tara Brady from Blackrock and Michele Magee from Ardee who told me they were quietly confident that the night was going to be a huge success.

Not too far away I then got talking to Roisin Campbell from Crossmaglen, Lorraine McGuinness from Dromiskin and Michelle Murphy from Dunmahon who assured me it was going to be a very quiet affair and they'd all be home nice and early!

Making my way over to another table I then got a word with Marina Hope from Newry, Jacqueline Lewis from Louth Village and Mary Thompson from Inniskeen who assured me it was going to be a major party night and no mistake.

After this I headed over for a word with Ivonna Mike from Garrybawn and Indra Kabaca from Avondale who were who were in great form and up for making the best of the party with all their workmates.

But not too far away I then caught up with Lee Brennan from Fatima and Aidan Rice from Aghameen Park who was up for a wild one with the rest of the lads at the table Robbie Kieran from Hillview, Gerry Curran from Marian Park Gerard McKeown from Muirhevnamor, Sean Larkin from Glenmore and Arvidas Pauliuka from Bellewsbridge Road who told me that this was his 11th Horseware Christmas Party he has been at. He celebrated 10 years with the company and they threw him a party in the canteen where he got a cake to mark the decade, well impressed, well impressed!

Making my way to another table I then got talking to Emma McCabe from Kilcurry and Emma Kearney from Drogheda who tried to tell me it was going to be a quiet party, eh no such thing girls.

Close by I then got a word with Siobhan McDonagh from Ard Easmuinn, Linda Curtis from Newtownbalregan Nicola Elber originally from Derbyshire but now living in Ravensdale, Tara Murphy from Knockbridge, Guang Yang from Adelphi Apartments and Miriam Bosaea from Bridge Street who were all looking extremely well, were enjoying their meal and were ready for a major night of fun together.

After this I caught up with Margaret Johnson from St. Alphonsus Villas and Rose McCarthy from Greenacres who told me it was going to be a lovely night with all their friends.

Finally, before I departed I caught up with Billy Tuft who wanted a big shout out for Carol and Cailim as well as Raymind, Edel and 'the cubs' and to wish all his fans a very happy Christmas.
On Saturday night, I headed for Knockbridge Community Hall where the Knockbridge Vintage Club were hosting their Senior Citizens Christmas Party. This is the 10th anniversary of the club and the night was kicked off by the presentation of cheques to 20 different local charities, the culmination of their work through the year.

I was only in the door when I met up with Frank McGeeney from Grange who told me not to forget to give a special mention for the Knockbridge Youth Choir who were singing carols throughout the night.

Frank told me his dad was a bit on the busy side because he is the Vintage Club's chairperson and was going round making sure the night was running smoothly.

I first met up with Eimear King from Knockbridge who was doing the door with her mum Helen and they assured me it was going to be a really great night.

After this I got taking to Shirley Bellew from Knockbridge who told me her daughters Emily, Jenna and Libby who were all singing with the choir. She was chatting to Susie Fagan from Louth Village who had Bryan also singing with the choir.

I then headed over for a chat with J&C Catering boss James Watters from Mullaghboy who was busy making sure that everyone was fed, but took time out to congratulate the Vintage Club on their great work throughout the year.

I then met Philip Byrne from the club who was lucky enough to be accompanying Santa around who told me the Knockbridge Vintage Club had done trojan work doing the year and he was delighted to take time out from his busiest period to appear at the Christmas party, and wanted to wish them all the best for next year.

After this I headed over for a chat with club secretary Richard Malone from Nicholas Avenue who was with his mum Alice Malone from Cavan and mother-in-law Marian Dollard from O'Hanlon Park who were sitting with Malachy Wynne from Grange who were having a really great laugh together.

Not too far away I then got talking to Lily Markey from O'Hanlon Park who told me it was going to be a brilliant night and no mistake.

Seated close by were Hugh and Margaret McGahon from Walterstown who told me that this wasn't the first of the Christmas parties 'just one of them'!

Not too far away I then met up with Gerry and Mary King from Ashville who assured me they'd be dancing afterwards, Heather and Herbie Christmas from Rathcor and Dermot McKeown from Lisheen Park who tried to be that it was going to be a quiet night, I somehow doubted that.

After this I headed over for a chat with Sean Hughes from Cooley, Brendan Duffy from Ballykelly and John Pepper from Lordship who told me they had started to celebrate Christmas the previous Thursday night and were going to continue on from there.

After this I headed over for a chat with Mary Carraher from Dublin Road who was there with Niall and Shane along with her sister Geraldine and Eugene Deane from Rossmakea. The ladies told me that Niall and Shane would be performing on the stage later on and were looking forward to an excellent night.

Seated close by were Mary Kirk, Roma Daly and Mary Hamill all from Knockbridge who were enjoying the meal and the fun on the night, although Mary, no harm to you but being a ciotog really isn't the sign of the devil!

Making my way over to another group I then caught up with Eugene and Noel Hand from Corduff who told me they were guests of the club because they show their horses at their show every year and were delighted to be there.

Next I got a word with Veronica and Terry McMahon from Palmersland, Mary and James Conroy from Carrickmullen, Eamonn McEnteggart from Castlering, Brendan and Bernie Sweeney from Grange, Colm and Terese Smyth from Newtown who were all there to support the Vintage Club and assured me it was a really good night.

I headed over for a quick word with Fr Gerry Campbell PP who told me that he has only been in Knockbridge for less than three months but loves it, the people are so friendly and they gave him a lovely welcome to the parish. Fr. Gerry was sitting with Noel and Mary McEnteggart from Barronstown.

Finally, before I departed I then got talking to Gerry and Mary Marmion from Kilcurry and Pat Quigley from Kilkerley who are all involved in the club and were really up for enjoying the party.
The grand-niece of the RIC officer killed in Castlebellingham at the start of the 1916 Rising in Louth has released a new book on his life and times.

The book - 'The Life and Times of Constable Charles McGee First R.I.C casualty and the 1916 Rising in County Louth' has been written by his grand-niece Madge O'Boyle is now available at a number of locations in Dundalk.

Madge is well known to people in Dundalk as she spent many years teaching in St Malachy's School and was involved in organisations such as the Gaelic League.

She said: 'Many historical accounts have been written on the military aspects of the 1916 Rising in County Louth and on the participation of members of the Louth Volunteers in that event. However, there has been a paucity of information available on Constable Charles (Charlie) McGee who was fatally wounded in Castlebellingham, on Easter Monday evening 1916. He was the first member of the Royal Irish Constabulary to die in the Rising'.

The account reveals the complexities of Irish history and the network of relationships that linked counties Donegal, Louth and Antrim in 1916. 'It is fortunate that Constable McGee's story and the 100 years' of society's refusal to acknowledge the memory of members of the RIC is finally being recognised in the inclusive 2016 Centenary Commemorative Programme', said Madge.

However, Madge is keen to stress that this book is not just about Constable McGee. It delineates the development of nationalism in Dundalk from the late 1890s and records the history of the County Louth Volunteers, as well as the 1916 Rising in Louth. She said: 'It is a serious academic work that seeks to give a balanced view of what happened in the county during Easter Week 1916 and includes the activities of various local Volunteers who participated in the insurrection'.

Books are available to buy at County Museum, Dundalk, in Carrolls Newsagents on Clanbrassil Street, or from Madge O'Boyle's Facebook page.
It wouldn't be Christmas without veteran fundraiser Conor Hughes and his band of merry volunteers preparing to lark about on Blackrock beach!

This year is set to be an exceptionally funny gig as Conor will don his Father Ted garb to lead the fundraiser which will be held as normal on St. Stephen's day.

'We held a Fr. Ted theme party earlier in the year, and it was so popular that we realised it was a great one to go with for this year's Stephens Day fundraiser,' Conor told the Argus.

'There are a whole range of activities planned for the event, including plenty of blessings, a number of moving statues, and a re-run of the famous 'lovely girls' competition where all the ladies will be dressed in their finest 1990's countrywear best,' said Conor.

'Added to that we will have more priests than ever before, oh and a special visit by Fr. Trump from America, which we are especially looking forward to.'

The event is held every year to raise funds for the Crosscause charity, which serves communities in need in Romania and Ghana.

'The work in Romania continues, and in 2017 we will focus on villages in Ghana where we are hoping to carry out eye tests on everyone who needs them, and some minor treatments that will help.'

He explained that eye surgery is in fact free in Ghana, but most people cannot afford to travel to the cities for the operation.

'We will be funding the travel for anyone who needs surgery, as it's a real barrier for many,' explained Conor.

He said the past year has been especially busy for Crosscause as along with continuing their work in both countries they also arranged for convoys of aid to go out to Syria.

'We're really grateful to everyone who supports us, particularly by coming out on St. Stephen's morning to see our antics.' The event has become a popular feature of the festive season in Blackrock, and draws huge crowds every year, no matter the weather.

'We'll be kicking off a bit earlier this year, hopefully around 11am. There will be plenty of tea and treats to go round, so everybody is welcome,' added Conor.
On Dec. 22, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet approved a record-high budget of 5.13 trillion yen ($43.6 billion) for defense spending in 2017, up 1.4 percent from 2016. The hike has caused widespread concern among both media and the Japanese people.

The budget mandates increased defense spending for the fifth straight year, since Abe took office in 2012. It also shows Abe's desire to confront China, analysts noted. According to the budget, Japan's Coast Guard will increase security around the Diaoyu Islands with a record 210 billion yen, lifting the number of patrol ships to 142 by 2020 and adding 118 more Coast Guard employees, according to the Kyodo News, the leading news agency in Japan.

Part of the budget will also be allocated to beef up security around Okinawa Prefecture and the islands in the southwest of the country. In addition to constructing a new type of submarine, Japan will continue developing its land-to-sea missiles, boosting its ability to handle warships.

Various international media outlets have commented that the budget is part of a plan to confront China. Bloomberg said Japans cabinet approved a record-setting defense budget of just over 5 trillion yen ($42.5 billion) for the year starting in April, as tensions with China were simmering over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Agence France Press said on Dec. 22 that the budget increase shows Abe's hawkish desire to strengthen Japan's military force, as it confronts China over the disputed Diaoyu Islands and remains on constant alert against North Korea, which has conducted two underground nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year.

Japan has diverted its focus of safeguarding the north to the southwest, which means it will strengthen mobile forces like osprey aircraft, naval vessels, amphibious equipment and mobile missile forces, according to a Reuters report.

In contrast to the defense budget hike, the social security budget is up only 500 billion yen, which has upset Japan's opposition party. Renho, chief of the main opposition Democratic Party, said ordinary people may feel that the government has increased its defense budget for five straight years but left its citizens without satisfactory medical care and pensions. The Abe administration was also criticized by the chief of the Japanese Communist Party, who bemoaned the effect of "Abenomics" on ordinary people.

A social security bill to fund the cost of services for an ageing population is already putting pressure on Japan's economy, and the extra defense spending will add to Japan's debt, according to a BBC report. Japan economic journal Nikon Keizai Shimbun said that while areas such as social security are struggling with their budgets, the unchallenged expansion of the defense budget is only becoming more blatant.

In addition, Japanese netizens criticized the Abe administration for using loans to plan the budget. Some said the future of Japan is gloomy, and the real intention of Abe's administration is to expand the defense budget and cause tension, taking provocative actions while simultaneously pretending to be under threat.
Marcella OConluain, Principal, St. Josephs National School, with pupils of St. Nicholas National School and St. Josephs National School, along with Archbishop Eamon Martin and Archbishop Richard Clarke, who recorded the RTE Christmas message from the Primate of All-Ireland in St. Josephs NS, which will be broadcast on Christmas Day at 12.20pm

Marcella O'Conluain, Principal, St. Joseph's National School and Susan Reyburn, Principal, St. Nicholas' National School, with Archbishop Eamon Martin and Archbishop Richard Clarke, who recorded the RTE Christmas Message from the Primate of All-Ireland in St. Joseph's NS, which will be broadcast on Christmas Day at 12.30pm

Respecting different cultures in a turbulent and ever-changing world are ideals perfectly represented by St Joseph's NS in Muirhevnamor which was the backdrop for the Christmas messages recorded by Armagh Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All-Ireland and Church of Ireland Archbishop Richard Clarke.

The message will be broadcast on RTE 1 television at 12.20pm on Christmas Day.

Following Archbishop Martin's visit to St Joseph's NS in October for the opening of the school's extension, he contacted staff a short time later to ask if he could record the Christmas message from the school.

Muirne Lawlor from St Joseph's NS explained how staff and students were delighted to facilitate the archbishop's request and are looking forward to watching the message on Christmas Day.

Ms Lawlor detailed the preparations, which started at 8am. 'There was a variety of aspects to the day involving staff, children and parents. A number of students were involved in singing, including the choir who sang Liam Reilly's 'Another Christmas Morn' and another group who welcomed the archbishops with 'Little Donkey'.

'In addition, Ms Faherty's first class were filmed preparing for their Nativity play, while Ms Shaw was involved in helping children from St Joseph's, as well as from St Nicholas NS Dundalk and St Peter's in Drogheda, complete Christmas artwork'.

This is the first time St Joseph's has been involved in a project like this and are delighted with the archbishops' endorsement of the valuable inter-cultural, inter-faith and ethnic work that is being done in the school, where some 18 ethnic groups, including Travellers, are accommodated in a respectful and positive learning environment.
Enterprising senior students from St Brigid's School got a taste for business when they held a mini companies pop up shop last Wednesday from 10am to 2pm, selling their local hand-crafted creations in the Marshes Shopping Centre.

There was a fantastic Christmas buzz in the centre and the students were nearly sold out by 2pm. The students really enjoyed this piece of work by making their own hand-crafted creations in school and then going out to sell them to the public.

WALK PEER and St. Brigid's school have continued to work together to help develop senior students' employability and entrepreneurial skills and maximise their career prospects by getting into work or starting their own businesses.

Eimear Marron, WALK PEER and Majella McAteer, Senior Class Teacher would like to say a special thanks to Hoey's Timber Sales Limited, McEvoy's Department Store, Creative Spark, Dundalk FM, Tesco Longwalk, Marshes Shopping Centre and the local papers for supporting the students with this important event.
The Crosslanes car park which is used by visitors to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda

The Irish Cancer Society has called on Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda to scrap parking charges for cancer patients.

The call comes as a new report on car parking charges at hospitals nationwide reveals that patients at the Lourdes face some of the highest costs in the country.

The report highlights the financial burden of car parking on patients and their families.

According to the findings in the 'Park the Charges' report, cancer patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda could be paying as much as 40 a day in car parking charges.

In a survey of car parking across the country, the Society found that a four hour stay in the short term car park at Our Lady of Lourdes costs patients 15, a charge which Donal Buggy, Head of Services and Advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society, described as 'exorbitant'.

At the Crosslane Car Park, patients face a charge of 9 for the same period.

This is in excess of the average cost of a four hour stay in a Dublin hospital which costs 8.86, according to the report.

Hospitals in Munster cost an average of 6.70 for a four hour stay, while costs were lower in Connaught/Ulster at 4.67 and in Leinster (excl. Dublin) at 5.20.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital raised almost 500,000 in car parking charges during 2015.

The Irish Cancer Society says that the HSE needs to issue guidelines to hospitals so that all people undergoing cancer treatment receive free car parking. One cancer patient told the Irish Cancer Society that his family had spent 1,200 on car parking charges while he was in hospital.

According to figures provided by the Society, at the 26 public hospitals that offer cancer treatment, the revenue raised by car parking in 2015 totalled almost 14.5 million, with two hospitals taking in in excess of 1million, and another two hospitals taking in 1.5million and 2.9million respectively.

Donal Buggy, Head of Services and Advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society said: 'Car parking charges represent a huge cost for many cancer patients, at a time of not just physical and psychological stress, but financial pressure. People undergoing treatment are facing real hardship in having to deal with additional costs and large drops in income, and high car parking charges only add to this. We have proposed a set of guidelines for hospitals to the HSE, that, if put in place, would make a big difference to cancer patients.'

Mr. Buggy welcomed the fact that reductions are offered to patients in Drogheda facing financial hardship, but said that 'this needs to be extended to all cancer patients who are already facing huge increases in day-to-day living costs. These kind of charges are hurting people who are already vulnerable financially.'
Pamela Shevlin, Maria O'Toole, Bea Doherty and Laura Morgan Walsh, PayPal, present a range of toys to Ray Agnew and Jim Fitzgerald, St. Vincent de Paul, Dundalk, donated by staff in PayPal

Dundalk charities have benefited from the 'exceptional generosity' of local people in the run up to Christmas, the Argus can reveal.

St Vincent De Paul is thankful for an incredible outpouring of support as it raised over 100,000 at its recent church-gate collections. The local charity also highlighted the very generous donations from both individuals and businesses alike.

Meanwhile, St Patrick's soup kitchen revealed donations of food enabled it to offer 165 hampers to people in need.

Dundalk St. Vincent de Paul celebrated a Christmas season of 'exceptional generosity' by local people and businesses in the area.

Area President Kevin Mulligan told the Argus that December is the busiest time of the year for the charity, as they respond to appeals from local families for help at Christmas.

'This year there has been an extraordinary response from both the people and businesses of Dundalk.

The church gate collections a few weeks ago saw upwards of 100,000 donated, including a number of churches which exceeded collections from previous years,' said Kevin.

All of the funds raised locally will be spent in the Dundalk area over the next year.

'In addition to that we have had a number of extremely generous individual donations for which we are very grateful.'

He highlighted the contributions of a number of companies based in Dundalk for their 'incredible support.'

'Paypal have been extraordinary in that not only did they have a huge collection of goods and foodstuffs, but they also put together a wide range of beautiful hampers which really were so appreciated.

They were all exceptionally well finished and wrapped, and basically ready for us just to deliver to people and families who need them,' said Kevin.

One particular company, who have chosen to remain anonymous went, he added 'above and beyond' the expectations anyone at the charity had.

'The Dundalk firm came to us saying they wanted to 'make a family's Christmas' by giving them what they needed, and asked us to identify a family they could support.'

He explained that one family with four children had only approached St. Vincent De Paul in the last week, having found themselves in urgent need of help.

'The firm in question responded with such unbelievable generosity, donating a range of fantastic toys, all the Christmas foods, vouchers, gifts for the children's parents, basically everything a family needs.

We were so heartened at the efforts they had made even our volunteers were in tears as they delivered it all, it was so incredibly giving.'

He also thanked Ridleys niteclub for their support in hosting a Christmas night last week in aid of St. Vincent De Paul.

The fundraiser saw club goers make a donation to the charity, either cash or a toy in lieu of the entry fee.

'It was a very kind gesture, and we thank Ridley's for all their support,' added Kevin.

Meanwhile, the St. Patrick's soup kitchen have highlighted the support they received in the food hamper appeal over the last few weeks.

In a post on the Facebook page, organisers said:

'A big thank you to the people of Dundalk and surrounding area whose support has been overwhelming this past few weeks with donations of food, vouchers, toys, clothes and cash for our soup kitchen/food parcels.

This evening a group of dedicated volunteers prepared 165 food hampers. A lot of happy people this year.'
One of the 'permanent bays' that have been improved at Woodland Park

In the faltering winter sunshine, half a dozen workmen make last-minute additions to the Woodland Park Traveller site at the Inner Relief Road in Dundalk. It's 11 months since 23 families were evicted for illegally occupying the site in an operation that put Louth County Council under an intense media spotlight.

Things are different now, according to the council's Director of Service Joe McGuinness, who is in charge of housing in the county.

In a week or two's time, 12 of the people removed from the site in January will set up home at the refurbished site which has cost 450,000 to complete. There will be 14 families in all.

Four of the permanent bays will accommodate those from one extended family. These are houses, with a large kitchen with a wood burning stove and a bathroom, complete with a shower.

In addition, there are CO2, smoke and fire alarms inside and, Mr McGuinness said, the tenants will be visited and trained by members of Dundalk Fire Service shortly in fire prevention and safety.

But there are no bedrooms as, the director of housing says, the consultation conducted by officials revealed that Travellers wanted to sleep in their caravans, or trailers, which will be parked outside.

Three of these homes were damaged by fire last month, but the damage was 'minor enough', though it did stall the refurbishment for a short while.

The other ten sites are what are known as 'serviced bays' where there is access to 'pay as you go' electricity and water that will be hooked up to the caravans as well as an outside wash sink and loo.

Mr McGuinness said: 'We expect that those who have been offered bays here will be here in a few days' time. We will have full occupancy at the site probably by the end of January'.

The site was last legally occupied in 2008, Mr McGuinness said, with two tenants who had previously been on the site now living in small houses adjacent to, but not on, the Woodland Park site. Over the years, the site had been vandalised.

Travellers returned to Woodland Park in April last year and 23 were here when the Gardai, acting on instructions from the council, removed them on January 15.

The director of service says that in a review carried out before the occupancy of the site last year showed 'there was no demand identified' for halting site accommodation and 'officially only one person had expressed an interest in this type of accommodation when the evictions took place'.

Mr McGuinness said that some of those who were evicted 'didn't take up offers' at the refurbished site. He added that while the full review of accommodation requirements is not yet complete in the county, the Travellers who have responded so far 'all want group housing'.

But the council has 'a good relationship' with the people who have been allocated bays. Those who will be living here will be council tenants, subject to paying rent and to all the other responsibilities that come with the rights of having accommodation. There are four CCTV cameras mounted on top of long poles on the site.

They are not being monitored, Mr McGuinness said, but they are recording and the footage can be accessed by the usual authorities if something happens. There will be a caretaker here every day who will liaise with families and look after Woodland Park.

In addition, the council is providing loans to families through a government scheme that will allow them to buy caravans to move onto Woodland Park, as a number of them were impounded following the eviction.

The 450,000 cost of the refurbishment is 'a reasonable investment' the council director says. It's separate from the 100,000 estimated cost of accommodating the evicted families in emergency accommodation.

He points to the fact that 12 are moving back here , while a number didn't take up the halting site offer, a smaller number didn't present themselves to the council again. Some are also living in private rented housing sector. None, he says, are on the side of the road in Louth.

It's a New Year shortly, and a new beginning. Hopefully the residents of Woodland Park can look to a brighter future now.
Two arts centres in Co Wicklow are to benefit from at total of 170,000 in funding in 2017.

The Mermaid Arts Centre and the Courthouse Arts Centre are to receive the cash injection from the Arts Council, with the Bray facility receiving 125,000 and the Tinahely centre receiving 45,000.

The Mermaid Arts Centre, which opened its doors in 2002, has a 242 seat theatre, a dedicated gallery space, a cafe and workshop spaces. It produces a visual arts programme, hosts residencies for artists and promotes a multi-disciplinary touring work.

The Courthouse, which has been in operation since 1996, is a multi-disciplinary independent arts centre with the capacity to seat 100 people. It also boasts a visual arts space, produces a visual arts programme and hosts a multi-disciplinary programme of touring work, mainly in music and small-scale theatre.

The Arts Council funding is part of the group's planning investment of 65.1 million for 2017, an increase of 5m (or 8.6 per cent) on 2016.
The tight-knit Roundwood community came out in force last Saturday night for the official switching on of the Christmas tree lights.

There were plenty of Santa hats and Christmas jumpers on the go as a sizeable crowd gathered in the grounds of Roundwood Garda Station, where the Christmas tree is located.

Everyone also sang along to some festive carols as the light switching ceremony got underway.

Mulled wine and some other goodies were served afterwards in the Roundwood Parish Hall.

There are still a number of local Christmas events taking place in the general area before the big day on December 25.

A Christmas Disco takes place in Roundwood Parish Hall on Thursday, December 22, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Santa is expected to make an appearance and spot prizes will also be handed out. Admission is 5 and there will also be shop located in the community centre for the night.
Shelton Abbey prison on the outskirts of Arklow welcomed three familiar faces from the GAA world recently to raise awareness of the Bothar Christmas appeal.

Dublin manager Jim Gavin has issued a final Christmas appeal to help raise funds for a New Year's airlift by aid agency Bothar of food-and-income producing Irish cows to impoverished African families.

The Dublin manager crossed county boundaries into Wicklow, to Shelton Abbey open prison, with All-Ireland captain Stephen Cluxton and Michael Darragh Macauley to see where many of the Irish cows that have been sent by Bothar to impoverished African families in countries like Rwanda, Malawi, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo have been reared.

The open, low-security prison houses males aged from 19 years who are regarded as requiring lower levels of security and for the past nine years, as part of a restorative justice programme, have reared almost 1,500 animals that have been transported to African nations and the Balkans.

The trio, after getting an induction from Shelton farm manager Tom Gregan to the work that the prisoners do daily in hand-rearing the animals, met with inmates and family members.

The livestock aid agency is seeking a final push from the public for its Christmas fund-raising programme which will go towards an airlift of cows to Rwanda in January. The animals will be donated to widows of the Rwandan atrocity of 1994, which claimed the lives of almost one million people in 90 days.

'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 and a sense of what it is to do good, which is important as part of their rehabilitation. And that's before they are sent to Africa where they have a life-changing impact,' said Jim Gavin.

He also praised the operation at the local prison.

'The Shelton team run a very impressive operation. They had novice farm hands today but the guys got stuck in and got a great insight as to how important the programme is,' he said.

'I would just ask now that anyone who hasn't made their mind up yet as to the Christmas present they are going to buy for a loved one to consider donating to Bothar's campaign as it really does transform lives.'

Padraig O'Brien, Shelton Abbey Prison Chief Officer, said that the partnership with Bothar has been ongoing for nine years.

'There was a great buzz having Jim and the lads in. He has been out to Rwanda to see for himself the impact that this programme can have on people's lives so it was great to hear that. We have been partnering with Bothar on this programme for nine years now and it has been hugely successful. It has real meaning for the prisoners and gives them a sense of rehabilitation,' he said.

The animals have either been donated by dairy farmers across Ireland, purchased by donors through Bothar's online gift shop or by groups such as schools and community organisations.
VALLETTA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Passengers who had travelled on a hijacked Libyan flight returned to Libya early Saturday morning, the Malta International Airport told Xinhua.

The hijacked Libyan flight is still in Malta, and another plane came to pick up the passengers, most of whom were freed unharmed in the incident.

The Libyan plane, flying a domestic route in Libya, was hijacked and landed at Malta International Airport at 11:32 a.m. local time. The two Libyan hijackers have surrendered.
Members of the public are being urged to lodge submissions in support of a restriction zone preventing the establishment of wind turbines from within 1km of residential areas.

The majority of councillors voted in favour of Cllr Shay Cullen's call for an exclusion zone which would restrict wind farms from at least 1,000m, or ten times the tip of the height of the proposed turbines, from any residential properties or other centres of human habitation. However, Minister for the Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney, has issued a draft directive demanding that the restriction is removed from the Wicklow County Development Plan 2016-2022.

Submissions regarding the County Development Plan can be made up until January 5, 2017, and Cllr Cullen wants the public to have their say.

'I would urge as many people as possible to make submissions. This is a crucial issue for rural communities in particular.

'Everything possible must be done to ensure that wind turbines can't be built within 1,000 metres of someone's home,' said Cllr Cullen.

In his draft directive, the Minister maintains that councillors, in making the Development Plan, ignored or didn't take sufficient account of submissions made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in February and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in August 2016,

He also argues that the Development Plan is not in compliance with some of the requirements of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

Cllr Cullen has accused the Minister of interfering in Local Authority affairs and remains adamant that the wind turbine restrictions should remain part of the Development Plan.

'Wind turbines are a major issue which could affect an awful lot of people in Wicklow. A distance was set which was voted for by councillors on two occasions. I don't think the Minister should be interfering. You have noise issues and the shadow flicker effect, while wind turbines also diminish land and houses prices. There are real concerns over the impact wind turbines have on people's homes.'

Meanwhile, South Wicklow Wind Action Group (SWWAG) has called for a moratorium on wind farm planning applications.

The group this week outlined that it intends to file objections to the proposed removal of the exclusion zone.

Spokesperson Richard More-O'Ferrell said that the Minister's direction is 'all the more worrying' in view of the recent outcome of a long-running High Court case where a wind turbine company was sued by a number of families in Cork.

'There now is a possibility for multiple legal actions against wind farms right around the country. The legal implications for the wind industry are significant. The use of inadequate and out-dated planning guidelines may come back to haunt the industry, planning authorities and Government,' he said.
There was a case of vandalism at St Fergal's Church in Bray last week with the cabling pulled out of their external CCTV system.

Parishioners heard at Mass last Sunday that the damage will amount to thousands of Euros.

Fr Larry Behan said that the incident was discovered on Friday morning when it was noticed that some of their cameras were offline.

They called an engineer who discovered on inspection that cabling had been completely pulled out of the rear of a camera on the roof.

Three young people, aged in their early teens, have been questioned by gardai following examination of footage.

Fr Behan said that they estimate the cost of replacement to be 'a couple of thousand.'

He told the congregation at Mass on Sunday that overall there are great young people in the area. However, he said that all the fundraising done locally throughout the year goes to pay the bills in the church, including insurance, heating and lighting. 'We were not expecting to have to shell out a couple of thousand,' he said.

'We don't operate on a surplus at St Fergal's, we operate day-to-day.'

'It was certainly a very costly incident,' said Deputy John Brady. 'Anyone would think that the church and its grounds would be sacrosanct; it's worrying.'

He said that the church is the centre of the community in the Ballywaltrim area and that a lot of voluntary work goes into its running.

'It's not just an attack on the church, it's an attack on the entire community,' he said. 'A lot of positive work and fundraising has gone in there. Stuff like this is totally scandalous and unnecessary, it's wanton vandalism really.'
A Bray father has expressed his grief following the death of his son in an apparent murder-suicide in Ruislip, London, last week.

The remains of the late Oisin O'Driscoll (7) were found alongside those of his mother Sinead Higgins (37) in their London home last Wednesday.

The little boy's funeral Mass is to be held at the Holy Redeemer church in Bray this Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Bray native Shane O'Driscoll, formerly of the Silverpines estate, raised the alarm when Oisin did not go to school.

Shane took to social media last Friday, writing that words could not express his feelings since the death of his son.

'Thank you for all your support and messages,' wrote Shane. 'Words cannot express how we are feeling. Today it became real when I had the first opportunity to hold Oisin and see his little face.

'My best buddy has been taken from this world and taken from all his little friends. He has always been an angel. Sleep well my little man. Love Dada.'

Ms Higgins and Mr O'Driscoll had been in a relationship which had come to an end.

A post-mortem examination took place at Fulham Mortuary in London last Friday.

Police in the UK have said that they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the deaths.

Ms Higgins tweeted last Friday that 'The future looks stormy'. The Mayo native had been living in England for a number of years.

She and Oisin had not been seen in public since the weekend prior to the discovery of their remains on Wednesday morning.

Shane has also lived in London for some years. He is a past pupil of Presentation College.

His sister Elaine, Oisin's heartbroken aunt, is a past pupil of Loreto. Oisin's Bray family also includes his grandparents, Colette and Ken, and his cousin Amy.

Shane is a barrister who works as Assistant General Counsel at Aspen Technology in London. He lived a short distance from his son and former partner. Oisin attended St Swithun Wells Catholic Primary School.

'Oisin was a gift to our school community,' said head teacher Kristy Davis in a statement.

'Many were lucky enough to call him a friend and we all have special memories of him to treasure.

'We will remember seeing him around the school with his lovely smile and his gentle and fun-loving personality.

'We have all been blessed to have Oisin in our lives.'
A convicted murder who escaped from Shelton Abbey prison earlier this year has been sentenced to three years imprisonment at Wicklow Circuit Court.

Fredrick Lee (52) with an address at Tallaght Bypass, Tallaght, Dublin 24 was charged with escaping from lawful custody contrary to common law. He absconded from Shelton Abbey Prison, Arklow on March 4, 2016 and was detected by Gardai and put back into custody in July, 2016.

Lee was charged at Arklow Garda Station with escaping from custody and appeared at Circuit Court on Thursday, December 15 where he was sentenced.

Prior to his escape, Lee had been coming towards the end of a life sentence for murder which was handed down in Leeds Crown Court in 1994. He began serving time in Ireland in 1998 and had been moved to Shelton Abbey to prepare for eventual release.

Lee is currently in custody in Wheatfield Prison.
A Wicklow man has been jailed for five years for punching a man and leaving him with lifelong brain injuries after the victim allegedly called him a 'Paki'.

The victim, Gerard McManus, fell to the ground in Temple Bar after been punched by Aaron O'Donoughoe (21). The court heard O'Donoughoe then lifted up his victim's head and punched him again.

Mr McManus suffered bleeding and swelling on the brain. It was initially thought he made a good recovery from the injury but a later assessment showed his balance and ability to process visual and spoken information had been severely impacted.

He has intermittent headaches, can no longer concentrate for long periods and has issues with his balance. He requires daily care and now lives with his mother.

O'Donoughoe, of Redford Park, Greystones, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing serious harm in Temple Bar on April 20, 2014.

When gardai put it to O'Donoughoe that he allegedly hit Mr McManus, O'Donoughoe replied, 'Not allegedly. I f**king did hit him, like.'

O'Donoughoe said he 'lost the plot when he called me a Paki and he said he was going to stick a needle in my neck.' O'Donoughoe admitted he was also 'giving it back' to Mr McManus.

He said he told Mr McManus numerous times he was going to 'kick his head in' because the victim was 'pestering' him about giving him a can of cider.

Prosecuting counsel, Rosin Lacey SC, said the Director of Public Prosecutions views the offence as being on the upper end of the scale of seriousness.

Judge Martin Nolan noted this offence had been judged by the Court of Appeal to be deserving of a sentence of up to 12-and-a-half years.

He imposed a five-year term after taking into account O'Donoughoe's own difficult background and his remorse. He said the accused did not intend to cause a brain injury.

Garda Enda Dowling said O'Donoughoe told gardai that McManus was pestering him over cans and that he only had a few left. He said Mr McManus called him an 'ungrateful b*****d' and a row broke out.

Witnesses later saw O'Donoughoe tell others 'I knocked him out cold.' When an ambulance arrived, the accused told paramedics 'I did it. I can't believe I hit him so hard. I hope he's OK.'

When arrested, he told gardai he punched Mr McManus a second time while he was semi-conscious on the ground, adding: 'It's a scummy thing, I know.'

Defence counsel, Sean Gillane SC, said O'Donoughoe was a man with his own problems who lived a sort of 'street life' around the Temple Bar area. He said he came from a difficult background and was in residential care as a child.
The Bray-based North Wicklow Educate Together secondary school has learned that its permanent location has been decided by the Department of Education and Skills.

However, the location of the site has not yet been disclosed to the school's board of management.

The building project is slated to start in 2018 and the school will announce the location as soon as they have concrete information.

'We won't be speculating as to where the location may be until we hear from the department,' the board of management said in a statement.

The school is currently based on Putland Road in Bray, in a temporary home at the Bray Adult Education Centre building. There are now 40 first-year pupils attending the school.

The opening of the school followed a six-year campaign for an Educate Together second-level facility in the area. They expect to be in the Putland Road building for the coming three years before moving to their new school.

NWET is expected to grow to become a 1,000 pupil school over the next 10 years.
Charges of assault causing harm were brought against two Arklow men following a night out in a local night club last year.

Stephen Walker, 111 Churchview, Arklow, and Aaron Byrne, 3 St Columba's Terrace, Arklow, denied assaulting Shane Sugrue at Sally O'Brien's on April 5, 2015.

In evidence at Arklow District Court last Wednesday, Mr Sugrue said that he was in the smoking area and surrounded by three men, including the defendants.

He said that it felt like the three of them were all hitting him and he could not open his eyes. Mr Sugrue said that the group was separated and that Aaron Byrne came up and hit him again.

'My nose was gushing blood and I had to have stitches,' he said.

Defence solicitor Tom Honan questioned if there was a 'festering resentment' between Mr Sugrue and the defendants to which he replied 'it is more them than me'.

Mr Sugrue denied any suggestion that there was some 'shoving and verbal disagreement' caused by him on the night.

Judge Grainne O'Neill dismissed the charge against Stephen Walker at this stage of the hearing, saying that the injured party was unable to indicate clearly that it was Mr Walker who hit him because in evidence he said his eyes were closed.

In evidence, Aaron Byrne conceded that he did hit Mr Sugrue but that he did so in self defence.

'He shoved past me and a brawl broke out. There were punches from both sides. His arms (Mr Sugrue) were raised and I thought he was going to hit me so I threw a punch. I thought his friends were going to gang up on me. I'm only 21. They are all 24 or 25,' Aaron Byrne.

Solicitor Tom Honan said that there was 'clearly a lot of alcohol involved and that there was bad blood between both sides which spiralled out of control on the night in question.'

However, Judge Grainne O'Neill said that by his own admission, Aaron Byrne lashed out.

She said she was satisfied that his actions constituted self-defence and that he used more force than necessary.

'He needs to not respond in an over-zealous nature,' the judge said.

Mr Sugrue outlined that the incident has had a negative impact on his life.

'I can't go outside the door without one of them coming up to me. I am in fear of someone starting on me,' he said.

A conviction was recorded and the matter was adjourned to March 8, 2017 for Byrne to 'show remorse by way of compensation'.
Most youngsters will wake up early on Christmas morning at their home and race to the Christmas tree to see what Santa brought for them this year, before spending the rest of their day playing with their gifts alongside offspring and friends.

Three-year-old Poppy Mernagh will spend Christmas in an isolation room in Temple Street Hospital.

The daughter of Jennifer Tymlin and Edward Mernagh, Poppy became ill last June with entreovirus D68. This inflamed her spinal cord from the brain stem right down to the bottom. Her motor nerves were damaged, leaving Poppy paraplegic and with paralysed or weakened internal organs. Poppy is now dependent on ventilation to breathe.

'It has been a very tough six months or so,' said Jennifer.

'It has been very rough on Poppy. She was in ICU for quite a while. Now she is confined to an isolation room which she isn't allowed to leave. She is only allowed out of bed for two hours each day.

'Temple Street has been great to her and I know she is looking forward to Christmas. Santa has been to visit her twice in hospital. It will be her first Christmas in hospital but she is so used to lying in bed it has almost become her normal life.'

A fundraising drive was established by friends almost immediately, and Jennifer and Edward have been taken aback by the amount of support Poppy has received.

'People have been amazing and we couldn't have gotten to this point without all their support,' added Jennifer.

'I was self-employed but had to give up my work because of Poppy's illness. I'm not entitled to anything and we can't get any carer's allowance or domiciliary payment until Poppy actually comes home.

'We share our time between hospital and home. I do five days in Temple Street and two at home with my other daughter Annabelle. Edward is working at home and covers weekends in the hospital and comes up once per week for training. We are like passing ships. Unfortunately, our living costs have not changed and have actually become greater and we need funds to meet our living costs. We have already been able to buy a wheelchair assessable car thanks to everyone's generosity.

'Poppy has been tested for assisted technology which would be a huge benefit to her. It would be great for her learning and would also give her that bit of independence, but it's very difficult to get Government funding.

'When Poppy does get home we will require a HSE Home Care package for nursing at home. She will required 24 hour care. I will be her main carer but it has also been estimated that she will need the assistance of another carer for 160 hours a week. You have to keep her air-ways clear and it takes two people to change her tracheostomy tube.'

The family has also been waiting for a specially adapted house from Wicklow County Council and is currently having to rent privately.

There is currently a raffle ongoing for a signed Leinster Jersey kindly donated by Sarah Quilter. Tickets are on sale online through the 'Precious Poppy's Journey' Facebook page. The draw will take place this Friday, December 23.

Tickets cost 5 for one entry or 10 for three entries. The jersey would make an ideal Christmas gift and the draw takes place at 8 p.m.

Donations toward Poppy's rehabilitation can also be made by visiting www.gofundme.com/2cskjbb8.
Eva Sutton following the assault last year

A second man has admitted assaulting Eva Sutton (91) at her Dublin Road home on September 1, 2015.

Jamie O'Brien (22), formerly of Hazelwood, Fassaroe, appeared in Wicklow Circuit Court last Friday where he entered a plea of guilty to all charges, which also included burglary and false imprisonment.

A hearing date set for January 11 was cancelled and sentencing has been scheduled for March 14 - the same date as co-accused Michael Cash (23), of 121 Ashlawn Park, Ballybrack.

Cash appeared in the same court earlier in the week where he also admitted burglary, false imprisonment and assault causing serious harm.

O'Brien will remain in continuing custody. State Barrister Paul Murray BL said that he has asked for a victim impact statement.
President of Bray Lions Club Jerry Teehan, Minister Simon Harris and swimmers Joshua, Adam and Alex Butler getting ready for the Bray Lions Club New Years Day Swim in aid of local charities

What better way to shed some of those unseemly pounds gained over the Christmas period from over-indulging than taking the plunge and going for a swim in the ocean?

A Christmas Day swim takes place in Greystones, while St Stephen's Day swims take place in Wicklow town and Arklow. Similar events also take place in Arklow and Bray on New Year's Day.

The Greystones South Beach Playground Committee is calling on people to make a 'splash for cash' at the Christmas dip this year to raise money for the new playground.

The Christmas dip, a long-time Greystones tradition, will take place Christmas Day at noon at the South Beach.

Through a mix of grassroots fundraising and corporate donations, the fundraising committee, with support from Wicklow County Council and Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, has so far raised over 35,000. The committee aims to reach the 100,000 mark by April 2017 and hopes to commence construction and open the new playground during the summer of 2017. Sponsorship cards are now available by emailing greystonesplayground@gmail.com.

Wicklow Swimming Club has been hosting the annual St Stephen's Day swim at the New Pier in Wicklow town since the early 1980s.

Each year a different charity benefits, from Meals on Wheels to Wicklow Cancer Support and the Wicklow Hospice Foundation. This year the bucket collection will be for the Wicklow Day Care Benefit Fund.

The club celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and members vary in age from four to 84.

Last year's swim attracted over 50 participants, while two swans also decided to watch proceedings from close-up. Sammy the Seal has also made an appearance at previous events.

This year's swim takes place at 12.45 p.m. on St Stephen's Day.

Why not blow off the cobwebs and help raise some money for a great cause. Fancy dress is optional but normally at least a couple of Santa's take the plunge. Everyone usually heads back to Phil Healy's afterwards to warm up.

St Stephen's Day will also see the annual Lions Club charity swim take place at South Beach/The Cove, Arklow. The exact location will be decided on the day once weather conditions are assessed.

The swim kicks off at noon and all are welcome to come along and take a dip for a good cause. This annual event is always a festive favourite.

On New Year's Day, the seventh Eamonn Burke annual charity swim will take place at South Beach, Arklow, at noon.

This swim is run by Mary and Eamonn Burke from Beech Road in the town and is in aid of St Vincent's Foundation. It was started to give back to the Liver Unit, where Eamonn received his transplant. All are welcome and feel free to wear fancy dress to add to the festive fun.

The New Year's Day Bray Charities Sea Swim will take place on Sunday, January 1 at noon, across from the Strand Hotel. Bray man Damien Meaney, who works in Haiti, said that this is a wonderful community occasion for swimmers and spectators alike.

'It is a great opportunity for me when I'm home for Christmas to not only support great local charities but also to meet friends I haven't met since the previous year,' said Damien.

This year, the charities being supported are Wicklow Hospice, WH 5 Loaves, Order of Malta in Bray and the Bray Lions Senior Citizens and Carer's Fund.

Bray Lions Club members pay all running costs so all funds go 100 per cent to the charities.

For a sponsorship card, call (086) 8561888, email brayswim@gmail.com, or call in to the Strand Hotel, or FHM Accountants, the red door to the rear of McDonalds.
TOKYO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has approved a record-high defense budget for the fiscal year 2017 with a growing ambition for military expansion although it added to an already heavy financial burden for the country.

The defense budget, rising for the fifth straight year since Abe took office in 2012, hit an unprecedented 5.13 trillion yen (around 44 billion U.S. dollars) for the fiscal year starting April 2017.

The budget is expected to cover a purchasing list including a number of state-of-the-art military equipment for the nation, such as F-35A fighters, V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, as well as a new sea-based ballistic missile interceptors, the Standard Missile-3 Block 2A, which has been co-developed by Japan and the United States.

Japan is also speeding up the establishment of new forces, such as a Marine Corps-like amphibious platoon, and is mulling introduction of an expensive U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

Observers here have pointed out that the huge budget far exceeds the need of a country that is constitutionally bound to have purely defensive armed forces and shows a growing tendency of Japan once again walking the path toward militarism.

The nation, with greater "military forces" as well as the newly enacted security laws which are commonly called "war laws" in Japan, is now able to fight wars abroad, albeit in contradiction to its own constitution.

The constitution prohibits Japan from maintaining any war potential, or from using force as a means of settling international disputes. It also decrees that the Japanese people forever renounce war.

The huge military spending will also incur an excessive financial burden to the nation that is already mired in fiscal woes as its arrears continue to stand as the highest in the industrialized world, amounting to more than twice the size of Japan's GDP.

Japan has optimistically anticipated a tax revenue of 57.71 trillion yen (491 billion U.S. dollars) in fiscal 2017 to cut its debt, though very slightly, to 35.3 percent from 35.6 percent in the fiscal 2016 budget.

Economists here, however, have pointed out that the government's projection is based on an overly optimistic view of the economy with an expected growth of 1.5 percent. However, a 1.0-percent expansion is more realistic, according to median estimates from private-sector economists.

"The truth is Abenomics has failed," said Ogushi Hiroshi, head of the opposition Democratic Party's policy research council, dismissing the budget as lacking sufficient grounds.

The Japanese government has downgraded its tax revenue estimate for fiscal 2016 by 1.74 trillion yen (14.8 billion U.S. dollars), which has to be made up for by compiling supplementary budgets and issuing more bonds.

An urgent need for the Japanese economy now is to tackle the ever-growing threat posed by an increasingly aging population. As a result, the nation has to spend a third of its annual budget on social security costs.

Spending on pensions is expected to reach 11.5 trillion yen (98 billion U.S. dollars), up 1.5 percent compared to the amount allocated by the initial budget of fiscal 2016, and medical expenses will rise by 2 percent to 11.5 trillion yen (98 billion U.S. dollars).

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned that Japan's debt pile could jump to 400 percent of its GDP within three decades, if policymakers do not implement structural reforms.

Japan's expansion of military power is also likely to alarm its neighboring countries which, due to Japan's wartime past, have ample reason to closely watch and be vigilant against Tokyo's moves and true intentions.

Given the uncertainties now facing the global economy, a better choice for Japan would be to allay the concerns of its neighbors and develop a cooperative, win-win relationship, especially with China, its close neighbor and largest trading partner.
The annual Aubane Social Club mountain climb takes place on Christmas morning on Sunday at 10.30am.

All proceeds are in aid of the Millstreet Reach Out Cancer Support Group. Members of the ROCS committee will have a bucket collection on Christmas morning of the climb but the fund is currently open and can be supported over the coming weeks.

Social Club members and friends drawn far and wide will work up an appetite on Christmas Day morning in their traditional trek up Mushera Mountain close to the entrance to Millstreet Country Park.

The Mushera event is eagerly looked forward to on each December 25 and organizers are keeping their fingers crossed, the weather will again oblige.

A night of stories and song in Around the Fireside goes ahead in the Aubane Community Centre on Thursday, December 29 commencing at 8.30pm sharp. Everybody is welcome.

The Annual Mass and Christmas Party for the Aubane community and surrounding attracted a large attendance to the Community Centre. Another new year of set dancing commences in Aubane Community Centre on Monday, January 2.
McEgan College Macroom TY students who recently held a stall at the Christmas Market in Macroom Square, Darragh O Sullivan, Jackie Healy, Michaela Riordan, Cathal Healy Ring and Sarah Twomey

McEgan Principal, Ms Lynam with Stephanie Kelly, Claire Leahy and Ms Helena Creedon who will be heading to the European Parliament in January 2017

TY enterprise class Christmas Market stall: McEgan College Transition Year Enterprise Class had a stall at this years Christmas Market in The Square in Macroom. The students showcased their goods and services, ranging from Phone Holders, Spanish Cuisine, Festive Treats, Christmas Socking Fillers, Key Rings, Decorations, Handmade Fairy Doors and McEgan Resale. Samples of the new school half zips were also available for people to order.

It was an excellent event to be part of and the students thoroughly enjoyed trading in the real world. It may have been cold outside but that didn't stop the local community supporting local enterprises.

Thank you to all who supported the initiative and the fellow stall holders who helped McEgan Enterprise settle in. A special thank you also to Macroom Town Council for letting the school be part of such a well organised community event.

McEgan College heading to EU Parliament

Huge congratulations to Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) students Claire Leahy & Stephanie Kelly and their teacher Ms.Creedon, who have been selected to go to the European Parliament from January 24-27, 2017.

The LCA students entered the Michael Sweetman Educational Trust Competition. Each year, the Michael Sweetman Educational Trust awards a trip to Euroscola in Strasbourg, France to 24 Leaving Certificate Applied students, attending an ETB School, College or Centre.

The girls Social Education project showcased their work on their own contemporary issue ranging from LGBT in Schools, Female Genital Mutilation and Donald Trump Igniting Racism.

The students will highlight their knowledge of the European Union and in particular Youth Employment. Congratulations to all.
To close a very successful year the Lourdes Brass Band commenced their series of festive concerts last week with their young musicians held in the bandroom on Bachelors Lane followed by their annual Christmas Concert in the Drogheda Arts Centre

The Lourdes Youth Band which is now under the baton of Mr John Walsh, a hugely accomplished musician who began his musical studies as a member of the Artane Boy's Band, and who now regularly guests with the R.T.E. Concert Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra, opened the festivities with the March "Maryland" followed by a selection of Christmas tunes, Adeste Fidelis, Silent Night, White Christmas and Jingle Bells.

The Youth Band was then followed by the Band's youngest classes, who although they have only been playing brass instruments for less than a year, took centre stage to entertain the packed audience with their chosen Christmas pieces.

As the night came to a close John Walsh, presented the "Connie Campbell Perpetual Trophy", an award presented to a member of the junior classes who shows great enthusiasm and is always ready do give his or her time to help others, the winner for 2016 was Cathal O' Malley.

On Thursday night it was then the turn of the Lourdes Youth Band, who are the South of Ireland Junior Band Champions, together with the Lourdes Brass Band, the Senior South of Ireland Champions and Festival of Brass winners, to entertain the people of Drogheda. With everyone in the Christmas spirit, the band under the baton of Prof Michael Alcorn opened the festivities their award winning program. Michael Alcorn is the Senior Lecturer in Music at Queen's University, Belfast, he established the world-renowned Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's, one of the leading facilities in the world for music technology research.

The band opened their program with When Thunder Calls by Paul Lovatt-Copper followed by the popular march Blaze Away. With everyone on stage an in attendance truly enjoying the performance it was time for soloist Mark Newman to give a moving performance of Rusalka's Song to the Moon before the band then completed their program with an entertaining performance of "You've Been Warned".

The Lourdes Youth Band then brought some Christmas sparkle to the show under the baton of Michael Black, who also presented the Young bands person on the year Trophy, awarding the prize to a very worthy winner, Sean Toner.

The close the event the Lourdes Brass Band retook to the stage for the second half of the festivities. The Band opened by introducing soloist John Kelly on E-flat bass preforming a beautiful rendition of "It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas" arr by Meredith Wilson followed by soloist Cormac Black on Euphonium performing a wonderful adaptation of "Julesang "also known as "O Holy Night" arranged by Ray Farr.

With everyone in attendance joining in, and singing along with the band performance of "The Big Sing" a selection of Christmas favourites. With the evening drawing to a close the Lourdes Brass Band's Musical director Professor Michael Alcorn was called upon to present the Band person of the year award. This year the award was presented to a member of the band who is recognised for their musical ability, and is always available to share their experience and knowledge with the young musicians coming through the organisation.

The Jack Reilly Perpetual Trophy winner for 2016 and Band Person of the Year was awarded to Niamh Shortt

An enormous thank you was given to Professor Michael Alcorn who has had such a big influence in the future direction of the band, and special thanks given to the staff and management at the Droichead Arts Centre. Mr Niall Whelan chairman of the Lourdes Brass Band would like to wish all our members and supports of the Band a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
The much anticipated and very successful Tullyallen Tractor Run will return again on December 27th 2016.

Organised by a group of tractor enthusiasts from Tullyallen the run is one of the biggest runs around with participants coming from all over the North East and beyond to do the run in every type of vehicle from trucks, cars, tractors, jeeps and more.

Thanks to the phenomenal help and support of all involved last year an incredible amount of just under 23,000 was raised for the Oncology Unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

This year in addition to the Oncology Unit the Tullyallen Carers will also be a beneficiary of funds raised.

Registration will take place at the Tullyallen Parochial Hall from midday with the run starting at 1.00pm. More details on their Facebook Tullyallen Tractor Run

In order to facilitate those who cannot be there on the day, or anyone who would prefer to donate anonymously online, the group have set up a Go Fund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/tullyallen-tractor-run
The Drogheda Senior Citizens group will be busy again this Christmas Day. They are hosting the annual Christmas party in the Loaves and Fishes in Ballsgrove. It's for people living alone and who would otherwise be on their own on Christmas Day.

It is a wonderful concept to have in Drogheda and it involves a four-course meal, with music, presents, spot prizes, etc. All the volunteers give their time free and and also give a packed lunch for St Stephen's Day.

The group would take any assistance out there, so if you can make a donation, contact them at Unit 2, Dominic Street, or email seniorcitizens@eircom.net. Phone; 1800200459.
A Drogheda business owner who assaulted his neighbour with a knuckle duster in an unprovoked attack and damaged the front door of his mother's house leaving his victims "terrified" has been sentenced to seven months in prison.

Mark Gray (38), who owns Drogheda Glass & Glazing, verbally abused his neighbour's mother a week prior to the attack and damaged her front door which was beyond repair.

Alan Reid, the victim of the assault, told Drogheda District Court "seeing him here today has me terrified."

"I am getting over the assault, physically I am ok but mentally I am not," Mr Reid said.

He said he is constantly looking over his shoulder when he gets in and out of his car and said he did not know the defendant but knew him to see. Mr Reid's mother Sandra Murphy also said she is "terrified."

"I didn't even know his surname even though he lives three doors up from me and there was no reason for the attack on my house or on my son," she said.

Mr Reid had just returned home from working a 12 hour shift when Gray approached him with "raised fists."

He produced a knuckle duster and punched Mr Reid on the side of his face.

He continued to punch and kick Mr Reid, who then fell to the ground and a further scuffle ensued, the court heard.

Mr Reid managed to break free but received a cut to his head and bruising to his upper body.

His mother Sandra Murphy's front door had to be replaced to the cost of 1,300 and no reason was given for the attack.

Gray, of Knockbrack Downs pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Reid on June 3rd. He further pleaded guilty to being in possession of a knuckle duster on the same date. Gray further pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to Ms Murphy's front door on May 28th.

Defence barrister Ronan O'Carroll said it was a "sorry affair that the defendant cannot offer a significant explanation to explain his behaviour."

He said the father-of-three, who has been in custody since September, is self-employed and owns Drogheda Glass & Glazing, employing two people, whom he said cannot work as Gray is in custody.

Mr O'Carroll said Gray "acted in a particular way" which he cannot explain but he may have been "operating under a misapprehension at the time."

Judge Flann Brennan said it was an extremely serious incident and sentenced Gray to seven months for the offences.

He fixed recognisance giving Gray leave to appeal on his own bond of 500.

However, after it was brought to the judge's attention that Gray had been sticking his fingers up behind his back to his victims while standing in the body of the court, Judge Brennan said an independent surety approved by the court must lodge 2,000 for Gray to lodge an appeal.
Subway passengers in some Chinese cities are not standing on the right side of escalators and sparing the left side for those to walk through.

An earlier report hit the Internet saying that Nanjing city in eastern China only requires subway passengers to stand firm and hold the handrail rather than to stand on the right side as it did formerly.

The Nanjing Subway Group explained on their Weibo account that it found 95 percent of escalators were seriously worn on the right side.

Shi Dajiang from the city's public security bureau agreed that standing on the right side will speed up the abrasion of the escalator, shorten the service life and increase risk of breakdown.

Station staff also said the escalator step is 21 centimeters in height, six centimeters higher than the height of the public stairs. It is dangerous to walk on the operating escalators.

Guangzhou canceled the standard to stand on the right side of escalator about ten years ago. Ye Zichuan from the Guangzhou subway publicity department said they have investigated escalator accidents, finding that more than 90 percent of the accidents were caused by passengers walking through the escalator.

But some netizens support the international standard to stand on the right side of the escalator, saying the standard is popular in many countries and there are few escalator accidents in those countries.

Other netizens argue that the international standard is not necessarily feasible in China. With the large population and the crowded rush hours in big cities, they say standing on the right side and allowing walk-through traffic on the left doesn't fit in China.
A cleaner who betrayed the trust of her employers by stealing nearly 6,000 worth of sentimental jewellery from their home is to be sentenced later.

Janine Johnson (34) was working as a house cleaner for a family in Termonfeckin when they noticed a lot of jewellery had gone missing.

CCTV footage later showed Johnson taking money and a passport from a black bag which was inside the home.

She was arrested and admitted stealing 100 in cash, the passport and subsequently admitted stealing 5,600 worth of jewellery which she said she sold on for cash, Drogheda District Court heard.

Her employer told the court she feels so 'deceived and shattered over the loss of trust.' She said she employed Johnson as a house cleaner and became 'fond of her and looked on her as a daughter.' She said the 'precious items of jewellery' were earmarked for her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

'They are all gone now and I don't know what else I can say. I was very fond of her and looking on her as a daughter. I didn't know she was rummaging through all corners of my home and stealing from me,' she said.

Johnson, of Orchard Villas, Termonfeckin pleaded guilty to the theft of 5,600 worth of jewellery from the house on dates unknown in 2015.

It had been alleged a substantial amount of jewellery was taken but Johnson, who has no previous convictions, admitted to taking 5,600 worth.

Defence solicitor Dermot Monahan said Johnson, who has four children, put a pen to paper to apologise to the family.

'She is trembling in her shoes and regrets completely the betrayal of trust,' said Mr Monahan.

'If she could turn back the clock she would but she can't. It is an unfortunate set of circumstances and there are no winners here. I am asking you not to impose a custodial sentence. She has demonstrated her remorse and the Probation Report states she is of moderate risk of re-offending,' said Mr Monahan.

He said Johnson could not speak in court as she was so upset.

'She regrets breaching the trust and sincerely apologises. She lost her parents when she was young and suffered post-natal depression following the birth of her child. She can't come up with compensation as she has no money and her only option was to go to money lenders,' said Mr Monahan.

Judge Flann Brennan said it was a 'colossal breach of trust' and a 'very considerable amount of property involved.'

He adjourned the case until January for finalisation to give him time to consider what sentence to impose.
Uachtaran Chumann Luthchleas Gael Aogan O Fearghail has confirmed that he will be attending a special tree planting ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of Louth's 1957 All-Ireland win.

The event is likely to take place in March and the GAA president is hoping to have the Sam Maguire with him on the day.

'It's great that the President of the GAA is taking time out of his schedule to come to Ardee for the occasion,' Mid Louth area Cathaoirleach Dolores Minogue stated.

It's planned that a tree will be planted called the '1957 Tree' in a central location and surviving members of the team will be invited. Families of those who have passed away will also be invited on the day.

'It's important that we remember these people and honour their name. It's a special year and it's great that Mid Louth is part of it,' Cllr Minogue stated.
A father-of-one who threatened to stab the family of a garda and threatened to bite another garda's nose after he was found drunk lying on a footpath only calmed down when his mother arrived at the garda station, a court has heard.

Tariq Stowe (28), who has 58 previous convictions, including 36 for public order offences, claims he has 'no memory' of the incidents such was the level of his intoxication after he took to the drink following the death of his grandfather.

He was found drunk, lying on a footpath in Balbriggan by gardai and when he was arrested he became violent and abusive, Balbriggan District Court heard.

Sergeant Tony Tighe said Stowe started to threaten gardai telling one garda he would bite his nose off and that he would stab the family of another garda.

'He only calmed down when his mother arrived at the garda station,' said Sgt Tighe.

Stowe, of St Laurence's Drive in Drogheda pleaded guilty to being intoxicated at Moylaragh Walk in Balbriggan on September 14th and to violent behaviour at Balbriggan Garda Station on the same date.

Stowe's solicitor said the 28-year-old, who has a young son, is ashamed and has no memory of the night .

'His grandfather passed away and he took to the drink. He let himself and his family down and accepts he should have apologised to the gardai the following day,' the solicitor said.

The solicitor said Stowe had a 'shaky start in life' and left school at the age of 15.

'He got in with the wrong crowd and this isn't a life he wants anymore,' the solicitor said, adding that Stowe is attending Alcoholics Anonymous three times a week and no longer drinks.

The solicitor said the defendant is due to start work as a plasterer in the New Year and is 'looking forward' to using his time wisely.

'He is in contact with the Probation Services in Drogheda and wants to shake off his demons,' the solicitor added.

Judge Dermot Dempsey ordered Stowe to personally apologise to the gardai and wants proof he is attending AA and proof he has work before he considers what sentence to hand down next month.
Most of Clogherhead turned out to greet Santa who arrived by sea on board the Lifeboat having been rescued four miles East of the Head.

As the boat rounded the Head, the children were relieved to see Santa on the bow, with the Crew holding flares, a sure sign that all was well with Santa Claus!

Several hundred people waited on the beach as Santa pulled up through the waves, and then proceeded to the Boathouse for a special and memorable visit.

The local school choir sang their hearts out for Santa, with live musical accompaniment. A group of local traditional Irish musicians played a set of jigs and reels, & a dancer took to the stage!!

All of this while Santa met over 200 local children. He was ably assisted by two hardworking elves, who work on the Lifeboat crew in their spare time.

Refreshments were provided by the backroom team, & snow fell on the whole proceedings to conclude a very successful day.

The Coastguard were on hand to bring Santa back to the North Pole to his busiest week of the year.
Cllr Frank Godfrey and some of the protestors at the Gate

A small but very vocal and committed group descended on Laurence's Gate on Saturday afternoon to voice their concerns about the future of the 13th century structure.

It has been the subject of much debate and now, a public meeting on its proposed closure - including the benefits and the downsides - will take place at the Barbican Centre on January 9th at 8pm.

It comes shortly before submissions from the public on the plan to close the gate come to an end.

'We want all parties who will be impacted by the proposed closure to come along and make their point', Cllr Frank Godfrey stated.

'The traders should be there, the gardai and all the local residents from the Cord Road, Sandyford Terrace, Oulster Lane and elsewhere. This will be a chance for people to air their views', he added.

Speaking at Saturday's protest, he said Louth County Council should be doing more to protect the structure.

'The neglect of the Gate has been going on for years. People are proud of it.'

He criticised the council for the mix up in the height restrictions at the gate, the council erecting a 4.45m sign, changed in recent weeks to just 3m.

'No wonder the trucks were getting stuck', he stated.

He said immediate measures were now needed, including the erection of a barrier in front of the gate to prevent lorries getting anywhere near it.
The Pipers Garden at the Seamus Ennis Arts Centre was opened by President Michael D Higgins in 2015

Fingal is losing out to its noisy neighbours in the city in terms of funding for arts projects from the Arts Council with the latest round of funding grants showing 22 million going to Dublin but only just over 200,000 making its way to just three projects in Fingal.

The Arts Council, the government agency for leading the development of the arts in Ireland, recently announced funding of over 22 million for Dublin in 2017. The Abbey, Dublin Theatre Festival and the Irish Film Institute are just some of the 81 organisations that have been awarded funding by the arts agency.

But in Fingal, just three organisations have received funding for the year ahead from the Arts Council, according to the body's own figures.

About half of that Fingal funding goes to the Draiocht Arts Centre in Blanchardstown which will receive 113,00 in 2017 from the Arts Council.

The Seamus Ennis Arts Centre in the Naul will receive some 39,000 from the Arts Council in the year ahead to help it stage another year of ambitious programming at the music and arts venue.

Finally, Deadalus Press in Baldoyle gets a 80,000 contribution from the Arts Council bringing the Fingal total to just 232,000, only just over 1% of the Dublin total of 22 million.

Explaining the allocation of funds, Arts Council Chair Sheila Pratschke said: 'Our grant from Government for 2017 is 65.1 million, which is 5 million more than 2016. Our strategy prioritises the artist and public engagement, and our decisions for 2017 focus on small festivals, individual and emerging artists, community-based practice and work with and for children and young people.'
Fingal County Council has offered hope that the historic bell which once rang out over the Carnegie Library in the centre of town may once again be heard in Balbriggan.

Cllr Grainne Maguire (NP) has asked the council to liaise with local councillors and the Balbriggan and District Historical Society with a view to installing the bell in the Carnegie Library to mark the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the redevelopment of Balbriggan Library'.

It was that redevelopment that led to the removal of the bell but now the local authority appears to be amenable to finding a way to restore the historic bell to its rightful place.

In response to Cllr Maguire's request, the local authority said: 'The Architects Department, along with Facilities Management and the Libraries Department, are happy to liaise with Balbriggan and District Historical Society and Elected Members in returning the bell in question to a suitable location in the Library to mark its 10th anniversary.'

Balbriggan's Carnegie Free Library was built in 1905 and had an extension built in 2006.

The original protected library building, which houses a lecture room on ground floor level and librarian's office on the first floor, is built in Scottish Baronial style.

The walls are Portmarnock red brick with limestone dressings and feature numerous limestone carvings and plaques, the interior features moulded cornicing and a timber window architrave.

A special feature of the original building is the corbelled circular plan clock tower/turret. The clock tower's spire is supported by limestone brackets and terminated in a weathervane. The library was renovated in 1981 and renovated and extended in 2006 as part of the re-development of George's Square.
Pupils at St Oliver Plunkett's school in Malahide are being encouraged to get back to reading books through a new initiative set up by several parents.

The initiative called 'Book Buzz' was set up by parents Karin Ennis, Sarah Murray, Aoibhinn Dinnegan and Leone Mitchell and asked pupils of all ages to make a list of their favourite reads.

The result was the 12 Books of Christmas and included in the top picks are Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter, The Twits, The BFG, The Midnight Gang, Gangsta Granny, The Hunger Games, Beast Quest, Horrid Henry, Wonder, The Gruffalo and A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The initiative is to re-encourage book reading among the youngsters who are constantly being surrounded by technology devices.

Malahide Library are also involved in the initiative and have offered to order more of the Top 12 favourite books for the upcoming school library visits in an effort to encourage more children to have their own library card.

As part of the community the school is encouraging parents to shop local in the run up to Christmas and as an added incentive, Manor Books in Malahide is offering a discount on all of the Top 12 listed books.

'Christmas can be fraught with decisions so if children, family or friends are looking for gift ideas we are encouraging people to give the gift of reading for Christmas and the Top 12 listed books is the perfect place to start,' said one of the parents Karin Ennis.

For more book suggestions award winning Children's writer Sarah Webb and other book experts are recommending great children's books on Facebook and Twitter at #bookelves16 throughout the month of December.
The past 12 months have been perhaps the most significant in the history of Fingal's favourite special needs club, Remember Us, who made the dream of a permanent headquarters for its activities a reality in 2016.

Remember Us moved into its new permanent home in Balbriggan this year and the organisation has a long list of people to thank for making this dream come true and wants to remind everyone that a challenge still remains to raise the cash to fit out the property to suit the special needs of its members.

Remember us members and their families would like to wish all of their supporters a very Happy Christmas and lots of success in 2017 and there a few people they want to single out for added gratitude.

Remember Us founder, Nora Roban said: 'We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following who have become Patrons of Remember Us - our premier patron, Progressive Credit Union, Andrews Spar, Millfield Shopping Centre, Tony Murphy, Apache Pizza and Colin Hughes, We would also like to thank Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce, Fingal Dublin Chamber for all their support to us over the past year.'

Remember Us would also like to thank its fundraising partners this year who have been The Millbank Theatre in Rush, Moriarty's Supervalu in Balbriggan, Supervalu in Lusk, the GV Wright Group, Skerries Chamber of Commerce, The Lion's Clubs across Fingal, ICA groups across the couty and the Rotary Club of Dublin Fingal.

The Balbriggan-based club would also like to thank Platinum Gyms and PJ's Playcentre, both near neighbours of its new base.

Nora added: 'A big thank you to the local community in general for all their support throughout 2016. Our members really appreciate it.'

The organisation also received a number of grants in 2016 and would like to acknowledge those valuable contributions to its work.

Nora said: 'Remember Us would sincerely like to thank the following for their 2016 grants, without which we would not be able to provide this vital service - they are the HSE Dublin North, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Fingal County Council.

Remember Us would like to thank the Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board for their continued support of the club.

Nora said: 'A massive THANK YOU to our amazing volunteers without whom it would be impossible to run our organisation. To Anne who job-shares with me, to our CE And TUS placements, Matt, Igor and Martina, our Board of Directors and our Advisory Council members.

'If I have left anyone out please accept my sincere apologies and thank you also. '

Nora added: '2017 will be an exciting year for us as this will be the year our special members will move into their new base. Fit out of it will start in early 2017. Check out our website to see our plans for our new home and watch this space. We continue to look to business and the community at large for their support.

'If anyone has any unwanted gifts we would be really grateful if you could donate them to us - we use them for hampers and raffle prizes. Please check out our website www.rememberus.ie to keep up to date with all the programmes we provide and check out our gallery to see all the happy smiley faces of our members.'

A recent feature on the club by RTE's Nationwide programme is currently available to view on the RTE Player.
HEIHE, Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- After 28 years of talks between China and Russia, construction has finally started on a modern highway bridge connecting China and Russia across the Heilongjiang River, the first between the two countries.

The main span of the bridge is 1,283 meters and links Heihe to the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk.

"The bridge is an important international link, and part of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. It will strengthen cooperation between the neighboring two regions," said Qin Enting, communist Party chief of Heihe City.

Costing 2.5 billion yuan (about 360 million U.S. dollars), the bridge will open in October 2019.

Passenger flow between the two cities is expected to reach 1.5 million a year by 2020, double the current figure. Cargo volume will reach three million tonnes by then, ten times today's figure.
The proposal to move towards a charitable trust managing Fingal's important heritage buildings was broadly welcomed by councillors who were all conscious of the need to win the 'buy-in' of the communities that surround these sites, for the idea.

Cllr Brian McDonagh (Lab) said he welcomed the process and the manner in which consultants were going about their task in reviewing the management of Fingal's heritage properties. He described the proposal as a 'strong vision' and said he welcomed the commitment to keep the properties in public hands and to involve the wider community in their management.

Cllr Tom O'Leary (FG) welcomed the plan's 'ambition' while Cllr Justin Sinnott (NP) emphasised the need for communication and a high level of consultation with the people of Fingal over this proposed change in direction.

Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF) said that the 'bottom line is we have to come up with a model that will allow for a revenue stream that will allow us to keep funding improvements and restorations to these properties'. He believed the charitable trust model would allow for that and help create a 'heritage offering in Fingal that will be second to none'.

Cllr Adrian Henchy (FF) defended the performance of Newbridge House against some criticism in the report, pointing out that it is only recently that proper investment has gone into that property and the benefits of that would be seen further down the line. He said it was important if all the properties were to be managed by a single entity, that they all retain their own 'uniqueness'.

Cllr Daire Ni Laoi (SF) said she was nervous the report would recommend some kind of move to privatisation but welcomed the recommendation for a so-called 'open' trust with community involvement while Cllr David O'Connor said that SLR had prepared a 'really positive report'.

Cllr Paul Mulville (NP) asked for and received assurances that current staff at the properties would have their employment rights protected.

Cllr Grainne Maguire (NP) argued that community buy-in would be crucial to the proposal's success while Cllr Cian O'Callaghan (SD) said he was very happy with the 'substance' of the report but had difficulty with some of the commercial language in the report, such as describing the heritage properties as 'assets'.

Cllr Tony Murphy (IA) said it was 'obvious' the council needed to move toward the charitable trust model so these properties could 'capitalise on the growth in tourism'.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Darragh Butler (FF) said he welcomed any proposal that would help Fingal's heritage properties 'stand on their own two feet'.
Little Ceejay McCardle with members of the Dublin Airport Police and Fire Service

The Dublin Airport Police and Fire Service welcomed a very special guest to the airport last week in the shape of a young man who is describe as Ireland's youngest Garda recruit and 'cancer's worst enemy'.

Garda Ceejay McCardle from Monaghan is just four-years-old and became a Garda officer at the tender age of three.

The young man is an ambassador for children's cancer charity Aobibheann's Pink Tie, one of the daa's charities of the year and was diagnosed himself with leukaemia, two years ago.

Ceejay was a special guest of the APFS last week and got a behind the scenes look at the Airport Police and Fire Service.

He met with fire officer and Skerries Harps woman, Lyndsey Davey who showed him her fellow officers run through an exercise putting out an aircraft engine fire.

Ceejay also got to meet another Dublin GAA legend in Paul Clarke as he showed him the ropes at the APFS headquarters.

The young Monaghan recruit was treated to a ride in the fire engine and even got to operate the fire hose, pointing it mischievously at his new fire service friends.

We are told there was an attempt to recruit Ceejay into the fire service but apparently, his heart lies with An Garda Siochana and he was not prepared to swap uniforms. It was a day that neither Ceejay or the APFS will forget in a hurry.
A young man who threw away three bags of cannabis while running away from gardai has offered to come up with 1,000 before Christmas to avoid a conviction.

Martin O'Neill (19), who suffered a serious unprovoked assault earlier in the year, turned to cannabis to help relieve stress from the assault, Balbriggan District Court heard.

He was with another two males on the night and when they saw a garda checkpoint the three males ran off in different directions.

A foot chase ensued and O'Neill discarded 75 worth of cannabis.

When arrested he admitted the cannabis was for his own use.

O'Neill, of The Brambles, Townspark in Skerries pleaded guilty to obstructing gardai by throwing away three bags of cannabis and pleaded guilty to being in unlawful possession of cannabis on September 1st in Skerries.

'He made a foolish mistake,' his solicitor said.

The solicitor told Judge Dermot Dempsey O'Neill suffered a serious assault and suffers from severe anxiety since.

Sergeant Tony Tighe agreed with the solicitor that O'Neill did indicate to gardai on the night he was the subject of an assault and that was the reason for having the cannabis.

'Unfortunately he turned to cannabis to relieve the stress,' the solicitor explained.

'He is attending counselling and has provided clean urine analysis,' the solicitor said, adding that O'Neill has signed up for a full-time Barber's course starting in January.

'He apologised to gardai on the night and again in August,' the solicitor said.

The solicitor said O'Neill is very embarrassed to be before the court and is taking it very seriously.

'He is supported by his mother in court and she advised me they travel quite frequently to America,' the solicitor said, explaining that a drugs conviction would seriously hamper O'Neill's ability to travel. 'He has made an offer of 1,000,' the solicitor said.

Judge Dermot Dempsey ordered O'Neill to bring 1,000 to court on December 22nd before finalising the case.
The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney, TD, paid a visit to Fingal County Council last week and met with councillors and staff in a series of meetings.

The Minister met with Councillors for over an hour during which he addressed them on his plans for solving the housing crisis through the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan before engaging in a question and answer session with the council.

Earlier he had met with Fingal County Council Chief Executive Paul Reid, his Executive Management Team and Senior Executives from the Housing and Community Department.

'Both meetings were very constructive and we had an open and constructive exchange of views,' said Mr Reid.

He added: 'The Minister was very complimentary of the efforts that Fingal County Council is making to address the housing crisis and we updated him on progress to date, what we have planned and what we need to implement those plans.'

But a Labour councillor has tod the Fingal Independent he was 'annoyed' that the councillors on Fingal's Housing Strategic Policy Committee were made to wait for over half an hour for the Minister's arrival while he met with Fine Gael councillors.

Cllr Duncan Smith said: 'Many Cllrs such as myself made an extra effort to leave work early for this important chance to question the Housing Minister on the housing crisis we are all dealing with on a daily basis. I, along with the vast majority of councillors waited patiently for the Minister to arrive.

'However, both he, and the group of Fine Gael Councillors were absent. I saw on Twitter that the Fine Gale Councillors had their own personal meeting and briefing with the Minister.'

Cllr Smith added: 'Despite the Mayor doing an admirable job of trying to get as many questions as possible to the Minister, myself and other councillors did not get a chance to have our questions heard.'

Minister Coveney had a busy week and later announced a new package of measures to control spiralling rents, across the Dublin region.

The measures include naming 'pressure zones' where rent rises would be restricted to 4% per year over three years but it is not yet known whether any of these zones will be in Fingal.
The Minister for Transport has been questioned in the Dail by a Fingal TD who raised concerns over night-time flying at Dublin Airport.

Deputy Clare Daly TD asked Minister Shane Ross what proposals he had made to the daa on night-time flying which she claimed was being 'encouraged' by reduced airport charges.

Deputy Daly said: 'The question stems from a discussion on the previous Question Time when I brought to his attention that in contrast to the activities of other similarly sized airports, which operate a policy of differential charges to deter night time aircraft, daa actively promotes it. The Minister expressed surprise at the time and said he would look into it. What proposals does he now have to deal with the fact that the daa incentivises night time flights?'

In response, Minister Ross said: 'As the Deputy will be aware, the daa has statutory responsibility to manage, operate and develop Dublin Airport. I have made no proposals to the daa on airport charges, as the setting of such charges at Dublin Airport, within the regulatory framework established by statute, is an operational matter for the daa. The Commission for Aviation Regulation, CAR, regulates airport charges levied at Dublin Airport.'

However, the Minister for Transport added: 'The daa has informed my officials that discounts for departures in the 5am to 6am period have recently been introduced. Deputy Daly is correct. The early morning discounts were initiated as a direct result of the capacity shortages currently being experienced at the airport.

'The move is designed to maximise efficiencies of the existing runway infrastructure, a stated action for all airports, as set out in the national aviation policy published by my Department in 2015.'

Deputy Daly argued with the minister, saying: 'He has confirmed that he has checked out the information and the point to which his attention was drawn is accurate. This is not just something that happened recently. The pre-6am discount is now in place without further notice and it is being extended indefinitely.'

Minister Ross said: 'The Deputy should be aware that this is just in the 5am to 6am period, which arguably is night time. It is a massive and further inconvenience for the residents who have had an intolerable time in terms of noise. That is why, as the Deputy is aware, I have appointed the IAA to take over noise regulation in a totally independent way. It is a group which not only has an understanding of the residents but will be obliged to consult with them, as the daa has done.'

Deputy Daly said she was 'disappointed' with the Minister's response and countered: 'The discounts are given in various blocks depending on the scheme. It is not just the hour the Minister mentioned,'
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the thoughts of children across Fingal and millions more around the world are turning to a certain old man with a white beard who will be arriving soon to leave all kinds of wondrous Christmas gifts to brighten up everyone's Christmas Day.

With just a few days to go before the big day arrives, a certain Mr. Claus found some time in his busy schedule to pop over from Lapland and have a cup of hot chocolate with the Fingal Independent in the splendid surroundings of Ardgillan Castle where he regularly visits to hear what local children want in their Christmas stockings, this year.

In our now annual exclusive chat with the great man, Mr Claus revealed just who in Fingal was on the naughty and the nice lists this Christmas and the good news is that the nice list is a lot longer than the naughty one, so far.

Regular readers may remember that this world exclusive interview has been conducted at Skerries Mills in the past but Santa insisted on a change of venue after getting thoroughly fed up of trying to land on the Mill's pointed roof.

Last year we met at the Seamus Ennis Centre in the Naul and just to mix it up a bit and get around the county, Santa chose the splendour of Ardgillan Castle to meet this year.

The vast expanse of Ardgillan Demesene offered plenty of landing opportunities for the sleigh and the reindeer were delighted with the food on offer at the castle and happily munched away on assortment of fresh vegetables as Santa sat down for a chat.

With the ease of landing and the reindeer happily tucking into some grub, we find Santa in great form and willing to chat for as long as his busy schedule allows.

Our first question is how Santa keeps up with the latest trends and how he knows what toys will be popular each Christmas? Of course, you can't beat some first-hand research from children's letters and meeting them in the run up to Christmas but it seems a certain television show also helps.

Santa explained: 'We tune into RTE every year up in the North Pole to see what that Tubridy lad is up to. We know that the toys shown that night will be in big demand in Ireland so the elves take careful note of everything Ryan demonstrates and the next day, we concentrate on building the toys we need for Ireland.'

So what keeps Mr Claus coming back year after year and does he ever think of retirement? 'Oh no, no, no I couldn't retire - who else would do it? Rudolph is great but I don't see him sliding down a chimney anytime soon and as for Mrs Claus, she's a wonderful woman but she is afraid of flying,' Santa explained.

'No, I've been doing this now for hundreds of years and I'll expect I'll be doing it for hundreds for more as long as my work is fuelled by the Christmas spirit in everyone of us from the very young to the well, young at heart,' Santa added.

So why does he do it? He said: 'Well you would do it if you could. There's nothing better than flying around the world and delivering a little bit of joy and a touch of magic to children all over the globe.

'My only regret is that I'm gone before they open their presents and I never get to see the joy on their faces when they rip that wrapping paper off but I can hear the screams of delight from below as we pass over homes we've already delivered to, on the way to our next stop so I know I'm making people happy and there is no better job than that.'

Sitting comfortably amid the grandeur of Ardgillan Castle, Santa began to chat about his love of Fingal, built up over centuries of visiting children in the county. 'I'm older than Swords Castle,' he joked.

The famous man with the white beard said: 'Oh, I've been coming to Fingal for longer than I care to remember and these days there are an awful lot more houses to visit than there used to be and almost none of them have chimneys! I remember when Fingal was a very quick visit to a few farmhouses but now it's a much bigger challenge for myself and the reindeer but with a sprinkle of magic dust and crossed fingers, we manage to get it done.'

Whether it's our bigger towns like Balbriggan and Swords or our rural villages and even those little by-roads known only to the Fingal Walking Group, Santa knows where you live and whatever the weather, he will be arriving on Christmas Eve. Santa enjoys flying over the county's landmarks and places like Malahide Castle and Ardgillan Castle help him plot his course across the county from south to north.

So what about the contents of those all important nice and naughty lists? Are there any children in Fingal that are just too bold to get their presents this year? Santa said: 'Well there's a few I can see here that have been kicking up a bit of a fuss but they've all said sorry and they're promising to be good from now until Christmas Day, so if they can manage that, everyone should make it onto the nice list and we'll have no need for that nasty, naughty list.'

That news should come as huge relief to all the children waiting on their presents from Santa this year but the big jolly man said nobody should be disappointed if they don't get exactly what they are looking for this Christmas.

'Well there has been years of recession in the North Pole too, you know? We are climbing out of it and looking forward to better times and we'll try to get exactly what the children ask for but if we can't, there'll still be something nice and I'm sure the nice children of Fingal will be grateful for anything they get this Christmas,' the North Pole gift-giver said.

Fingal plays a crucial part in Santa's visit to Ireland every year and is the first place he lands in the country each Christmas which means that children in Fingal have to be particularly careful they are in bed nice and early before Mr Claus arrives.

'I can't stress enough how important it is for the children of Fingal to go to bed when their mammies or daddies tell them to. Lovely Fingal is the first place on my trip to Ireland so I'll be there early,' Santa warned.

While Fingal is the first place in Ireland to be visited by Santa Claus, Dublin Airport is the first place he will touch down on Fingal soil and the airport and everyone who works there plays an essential part in his journey around the world.

'Yes, that's right. Dublin Airport is my first stop on every trip to Ireland,' Santa told the Fingal Independent.

The airport plays a crucial part in the whole effort and without it, it would be almost impossible for Santa to get in and out of Ireland. The good people in air traffic control at Dublin Airport guide Santa's flying sleigh through Irish air space, taking care that commercial aircraft are not too close and none of the passengers flying in of out of Dublin Airport on Christmas Eve catch sight of the magic sleigh.

Santa lands there and refuels the reindeer with food and water and takes a bit of refuelling himself in the bar at T2, but the less said about that, the better. Let's just say the man from the North Pole is looking forward to a visit to the Irish Whiskey Collection in The Loop at Dublin Airport. 'Refreshed' and ready to go, Santa takes off again and delivers presents all over Fingal and then the rest of the country before saying goodbye to Ireland for another year and carrying on with his one night, whistle-stop tour of the world.

We had our own goodbyes to say to Santa at this point - he was off to attend some local functions before heading back to base at the North Pole to see how preparations for the big day were coming.

So with a wave on his hands a flexing of the reins, he and his reindeer troupe lifted off from Ardgillan Demesne and headed north - way, way north - and the sleigh disappeared into the darkening sky of a December evening.

Wherever you are, remember Santa's advice for all the children of Fingal, go to bed early, sleep well and in the morning you will wake up to find a present at the foot of the bed and you will known that Santa has been to call.

Only a couple of days left to wait now so happy Christmas everyone, from all at the Fingal Independent.
Wexford Deputy Mick Wallace has been adjudicated bankrupt at the High Court on foot of a 2 million judgment. Mr Wallace's total debts exceed 30 million, the court heard.

Ms Justice Caroline Costello yesterday (December 19) granted the bankruptcy petition by Promontoria (Aran) Ltd fund arising from a 2m judgment obtained after the fund took over the TD's debt to Ulster Bank.

Promontoria is owned by US fund giant Cerberus, the fund at the centre of allegations made in the Dail by Mr Wallace concerning the acquisition of Nama's 5.7 billion Northern Ireland portfolio. The substance of those allegations is now subject to investigations in the UK and US.

The loans taken over by Promontoria are linked to M&J Wallace, one of Mr Wallace's pre-crash Dublin businesses, but are also understood to be backed by personal guarantees, leaving the TD liable if the business could not pay the debt.

While a TD would until 2014 automatically lose their seat if declared bankrupt, that is no longer the position.

The Irish Independent reports that when the matter first came before the court in November, Mr Wallace sought an adjournment to allow him engage with an insolvency practitioner and prepare a statement of affairs.

The court heard the Independent TD was also exploring possible alternatives to bankruptcy and engaging with Allied Irish Banks in a bid to save his family home.

Yesterday, the judge heard ACC Loan Management, Mr Wallace's dominant creditor, was written to by a Personal Insolvency Practitioner for Mr Wallace as to whether it would waive a secured debt cap so as to allow him prepare a personal insolvency arrangement (PIA). ACC had replied it was not prepared to do so.

Barrister Edward Farrelly, for Promontoria, said he understood the total indebtedness was more than 30 million. Barrister Keith Farry, for Mr Wallace, who was in court, said his client had a statement of affairs in court.

However, in the circumstances, there was no reality to Mr Wallace further defending the petition as his client was not eligible to make a proposal for a PIA, counsel said. Ms Justice Costello said she was satisfied the fund had met the requirements of the Bankruptcy Act and she would grant its petition to adjudicate Mr Wallace a bankrupt.

After the adjudication, Mr Farry said his client would co-operate fully with the bankruptcy process.

The adjudication means that for a period of at least 12 months all of Mr Wallace's assets will be in the control of the Official Assignee, Christopher Lehane, who can seek to sell them to realise whatever value he can for creditors.

Speaking to Independent.ie Mr Wallace said he would not be stopped from criticising the purchase by Cerberus of Nama's Northern Ireland loans portfolio, Project Eagle, for 1.6bn in 2014. 'I am going to continue what I am doing for the moment,' he said. Mr Wallace also hit out at insolvency legislation, which allows creditors owed 3m or more veto attempts by a debtor to come to a personal insolvency arrangement.
Some of the attendance at the Liam Mellows commemoration in Castletown

The memorial to Liam Mellows is unveiled by Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and is blessed by Canon Martin Cosgrove

Around 200 people turned out for the unveiling of a new Liam Mellows commemorative stone at Castletown graveyard recently.

Mellows, who was commander of the eastern section in Galway during the 1916 Rising, was executed in Mountjoy Prison in December 1922. In a letter to his mother shortly before his execution, he expressed the wish that some day he 'might rest in some quiet place' beside his grandparents in Castletown.

The grave remained unmarked until the Liam Mellows committee was founded in 1944, with Denis Allen TD as its chairman. They arranged for a headstone to be placed at his grave.

Now, the committee, with Denis Allen's son, former TD Lorcan, as its chairman, has erected a commemorative stone in the graveyard to mark his role in the 1916 Rising.

The unveiling was performed by Micheal Martin TD, who also gave the oration on the day. Political figures from Wexford and Wicklow were in attendance, as was Cllr Michael Connolly, chairperson of Galway County Council who laid a wreath. Dr Conor McNamara also spoke, as did Cllr Lorcan Allen, who paid tribute to his committee for all their work on the project.

The event was preceded by a Commemorative Mass said by Canon Martin Cosgrove who blessed the stone. Refreshments were served to around 150 people afterwards in The Golden Anchor.

The committee thanked all who participated in any way, and all who attended.
Sharon Bates, store manager, cuts the ribbon to open the new Selected store on Wexford's Main Street

Danish brand SELECTED Femme/Homme has just opened its first fashion store in Wexford, its fourth and biggest so far in Ireland.

The new store at 2/2A South Main Street has led to the creation of between eight and 10 jobs in Wexford and follows recent store openings in the Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork and at the Swords' Pavillion Shopping Centre in Dublin. The brand's first Irish store is in Dundrum.

The company said the heart of Wexford town, given its catchment area, was a perfect fit for its expansion, considering the size of the store - 2,700 square feet on the ground floor and 1,700 square feet on the second - providing 'two floors of wall-to-wall Scandinavian style for men and women'.

'After seeing our first retail store blossom in Ireland, we obviously jumped at the offer to open more stores when the opportunity presented itself,' said the brand's Creative Concept and Marketing Manager, Martin Jack Busk.

Manager of the new store is Sharon Bates.
Wexford County Council has granted permission to Edward Warren to deepen his quarry by twenty metres at Coolnahinch, Courtown.

Planning permission has been in place for a quarry at the site since 2004, and last April he lodged an application for substitute consent for the existing quarry and stone extraction and processing operation, as well as related ancillary facilities, and the restoration of the quarry.

It is proposed to deepen the quarry area, which covers 3.8 hectares, from 12 metres below sea level, to 32 metres below sea level. Permission was also granted to increase production output from the quarry, from 55,000 tonnes a year to 125,000 tonnes per year, in line with market demand.

The Council has attached a long list of conditions to the permission, covering a range of areas. Hours of operation must be limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Residents and landowners are to receive advance notice of all blasts. Levels of noise, dust, and water discharge to the Ounavarra river are also set out.
Lending at Gorey Credit Union increased greatly increased greatly during the past year.

The total amount of loans on the books now stands at 48,771,037, compared to 43,692,376 in 2015. Of these, 4.25 per cent are more than a year past due, compared to 6.14 per cent the previous year.

There was a sharp rise in vehicle loans this year. In 2016, there were 1,421 loans totalling almost 10 million, compared to 908 vehicle loans in 2015, totalling 6.7 million.

Second most popular were borrowings for home improvements, which rose from 762 loans totalling 3.36 million, to 1,064 loans, totalling 4.74 million.

There are almost 28,000 members of Gorey Credit Union, which also has branches in Avoca, Rathdrum, and Roundwood. Members' savings now amount to 95,359,069, compared to 88,482,164 in 2015. Management expenses rose from 1.5 million to 1.9 million.

In his annual address to members, president Thomas Fitzpatrick said that the Credit Union is safe, secure, and going from strength to strength.

Gorey Credit Union will hold its AGM in The Loch gCarman Arms, Gorey, on Wednesday, December 21, at 7.30 p.m.

The board of directors will recommend a dividend return of 0.25 per cent and a loan interest rebate of 10 per cent on the standard rate loan. Mr Fitzpatrick said that keeping the proposed dividend and interest rebate 'realistic' will allow them to meet their regulatory requirements, and invest in the development and delivery of existing and additional services.

Motions before the AGM include: allowing for the introduction of member personal current account services; and allowing for the common bond area expansion around Kilmuckridge, Avoca, Rathdrum, Roundwood, and Laragh.

Another motion, while recognising members' 'emotional and proprietary attachment to the name of their Credit Union', seeks permission, should the opportunity arise, to change the name of Gorey Credit Union. This, the motion proposes, could only arise should the opportunity for further mergers or transfers arise, if the Board deems it appropriate.
A Wexford woman scooped a top award at third annual Pride of Centra Awards.

Celine Cassidy, from Centra Bridgetown, fought off stiff competition from Centra employees across Ireland to be named the overall winner for the 2016 Department Manager Category. She was recognised for the leadership she shows,setting very high standards not only for herself but also for her team in Centra Bridgetown.

With a background in accountancy, Celine brings these skills to the way she runs her departments in Bridgetown, always looking to drive improvements. In total 17 Centra employees were honoured for the passion and commitment they have shown in the workplace in 2016.

Presented by broadcaster Sybil Mulcahy, the Pride of Centra Awards were established to acknowledge staff who demonstrate passion and enthusiasm in cementing Centra as the number one convenience retailer at the heart of communities across the country. All candidates were recognised for their commitment to their work with community initiatives, charity organisations and customer service.
The St Aidan's Saoirse trainees present goods for the homeless to Sheila Waters of Inner City Helping Homeless and support worker Sue Fortune (centre back)

The trainees at the St Aidan's Saoirse training unit in Gorey Business Park are used to receiving very welcome support from the local community, so this Christmas, they decided to pay that generosity forward.

They decided to hold a collection for a homeless support charity, and almost all of the 30 trainees at the centre brought in items that would help people who are homeless.

They invited Sheila Waters and Sue Fortune from the front-line charity 'Inner City Helping Homeless' which is based in Dublin to visit them at Ramstown to collect two boxes full of useful items such as blankets, razors, hair brushes, and canned food.

Inner City Helping Homeless is run by volunteers and operates a seven day outreach service across the city, providing access to beds, sleeping bags, food and case management referral. Its mobile outreach service responds to rough sleeper reports within 15 minutes of a call.

Training manager Colm O'Neill said that the representatives of the charity were thrilled to receive the donations. He added that it was great to see one charity helping another. The trainees hope to continue their support for homeless people in the coming year.
Duagh was delighted to welcome back its much-loved former PP, Fr Pat Moore, for a night of Christmas fun on Saturday, encompassing everything from the opening of the parish's annual live crib to the unveiling of its restored church bell.

Fr Moore officiated at both events amid a massive turnout - following Vigil Mass in St Brigid's - signalling, as he did, the start of one great Christmas in the North Kerry community.

"It was great to have Fr Moore back, you could feel the difference in the crowd and it is wonderful to see him looking so well," Tidy Towns committee member Therese Cronin said.

Fr Moore's last big public outing was at the recent Listowel launch of his book Weathering a Storm, which sets out the story of his journey with cancer in recent years. Now recovered, the much-loved cleric was only too happy to be back in his old parish with so much to do once more.

Following Mass was the opening of the Live Crib. "It was Fr Moore who started it 10 years ago after coming from Irremore and it is now a favourite Christmas tradition here with people coming from all over to see it," Therese said.

Keeping the crib 'live' this year are donkeys, sheep, goats and a group of new additions - probably not present in the Bethlehem - a rabbit and two Connemara ponies.

"It was wonderful to hear the newly restored bell ringing again. Duagh Development Association have been fundraising for years to replace the old tower and restore the original bell," Therese explained.
It is expected that the county's new unit for long-term residential mental health care will be open by next month and fully operational by March following the announcement of the funding required to complete it this week.

1.15 million was announced for the Deer Lodge Continuing Care Unit, the newly-constructed 40-bed facility by the district hospital in Killarney. Once open it will replace the existing O'Connor unit where many former residents of St Finan's Hospital are currently being cared for in a building deemed of 'inadequate standard.'

While the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) also welcomed the funds, a spokesperson expressed disappointment the HSE appears to be focusing on low-skilled mixed labour in staffing Deer Lodge.

"We are disappointed that HSE proposals on staffing suggest for the opening of Deer Lodge is very much based on a increased input of low skill mix labour ( Health Care Attendants (HCAs) which would not be in keeping with a higher skill modern, progressive, therapeutic, rehabilitative-based model of care," the PNA's Cormac Williams said.

Further good news for mental health in the county was announced at the same time in a 500,000 injection for the Sliabh Mis Acute Mental Health Admission Unit at University Hospital Kerry meanwhile. Head of Mental Health Services with the HSE in Cork and Kerry Sinead Glennon suggested the only remaining criteria to be met now before Deer Lodge can open exist with staff and unions: "We are delighted to have secured the funding needed to move ahead with the last phase of this important project. We look forward to working with staff and unions to have this facility open as soon as possible."

Fine Gael Kerry TD Brendan Griffin said he understands Deer Lodge could now be opened as early as March.

"The new, modern facility at Deer Lodge is symbolic of how far mental health care in the county has come since the days of the Victorian-era facilities like St Finan's of the recent past.

"I understand Deer Lodge will open by next month and that it will be fully operational, at capacity, by March in what is great news not just for Killarney, but for the entire county," Deputy Griffin said. Meanwhile, the additional 500,000 for UHK's Sliabh Mis unit will allow work continue into phase two of an ongoing refurbishment scheme there, the HSE said.
Bags of fake cash are being sold on the black market in Tralee as criminal gangs look to cash in on the busy Christmas shopping season and the January sales.

The Kerryman has learned that batches of counterfeit 50 and 20 notes are being sold by criminals in the Tralee and north Kerry area.

For just 200 in genuine cash, scammers can buy a batch of fake 50s and 20s with a face value of 2,000. Several businesses in the Tralee area have already detected the fake notes which are said to be in wide circulation. As most shops have good systems in place to detect fake notes scammers are using busy pubs and restaurants - where staff are under pressure and don't have time to check all notes - to pass the counterfeit cash.

The counterfeit money is being issued by a national crime gang who are using smalltime criminals and the public to launder the fake Euros.

Meanwhile Gardai are also urging the public to be aware of bogus charity collectors pretending to represent charities or companies.

Gardai say there is usually an increase in this type of activity in the run up to Christmas. Scammers call to homes and either pretend to be representing a charity or a company that is offering special Christmas deals.

Homeowners are advised that legitimate representatives of charities or large companies will always have identification and will usually let people know in advance that they will be visiting.

Gardai say people should never let someone into their house unattended and never engage with someone insisting on a cash payment. If suspicious immediately contact the gardai.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva have today attended a groundbreaking ceremony of the first nine-storey building and school in Yasamal residential complex, the first project of the State Housing Construction Agency (MIDA) under the President of Azerbaijan.

Head of the State Housing Construction Agency Samir Nuriyev informed President Aliyev about the work to be done in the residential complex.

President Ilham Aliyev laid a foundation stone for the nine-storey building and school building to be built here.

The head of state then made a speech at the event.
Launching the Duagh St Stephen's Day charity walk at O'Brien's Bar were, front, from left: Rose Costello, Kathleen O'Keeffe and Mike Collins. Back from left: Tim O'Brien, Mike Carmody, Ger O'Connor, Tony Gould and Brendan O'Brien

Now in its eleventh year, Duagh's St Stephen's Day walk in aid of Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin is firmly one of the great Christmas-time traditions of the area.

As ever, the good people organising the event are calling on everyone from far and wide to come along and take part in aid of the vital hospital.

Setting out from O'Brien's Bar at 11.30am, the walk will follow a 10km route along the scenic roads of the parish. And those extra keen to burn off the Christmas calories are more than welcome to take off jogging. All that organisers ask is walkers and runners would make a donation to the cause in accordance with their circumstances.

In it's decade of existence, the event has raised in the region of 80,000 in a wonderful support for the hospital - a cause close to the hearts of so many in Kerry.

Walkers will roll back into O'Brien's Bar to the sounds of live music and the sight of welcome refreshments, with a great night there also in the offing from 8pm, meanwhile.
North Kerry's towns and villages are coming together in an united front calling for clarity amid the confusing array of strategies and policy plans governing Kerry County Council's whole approach to the region.

The first salvo in the campaign was launched at a public meeting in Listowel last week attended by more than 40 representatives of local development associations operating in the towns and villages of the area (north of Tralee).

It was convened by the group set up to explore ways of boosting visitor numbers to the area, the North Kerry Tourism Forum, in a bid to bring about what it describes as 'real and effective' change in the development of the regional economy.

Kerry's new Tourism Strategy was welcomed by the Forum on its launch in Listowel in October in so far as it provides for greater development of the industry in North Kerry as elsewhere. It is the provisions of a number of other guiding documents in use by the council that would appear to be completely out of kilter with the tourism strategy that are of mounting concern to the region at present, however.

"The economic importance of prioritising tourism throughout all of Kerry in the recent Tourism Strategy for Kerry and other reports was reviewed and all groups were encouraged at the meeting to engage with council to ensure those action points relevant to North Kerry are implemented. The potential from North Kerry's hidden and undeveloped tourism assets being evident," Chairman of the Forum John O'Sullivan told The Kerryman.

However, the Council's official assessment of large parts of the landscape of North Kerry as being of no scenic value - something those who live there could not disagree more strongly with - is of major concern. "The classification of zones of North Kerry contained in council's Landscape Character Assessment and the associated Kerry Renewable Energy Strategy were also discussed and are a cause of major concern to the Tourism Forum," Mr O'Sullivan said, adding: "The demand for a culture change regarding North Kerry's importance and ranking within the county was palpable at the meeting. Putting a structure on this groundswell of opinion through greater communication and cohesion is vital to present a unified case to council, State agencies and politicians to bring about this culture change."
German police have arrested a Killorglin based musician on suspicion of taking part in an IRA attack on a British barracks in Germany 20-years-ago.

James Anthony Oliver Albert Corry (46), was arrested in Killorglin in October 2015 on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by German authorities.

Originally from Belfast Mr Corry, a father of seven, has lived in the Killorglin area for 20 years. A well-known traditional musician and former actor Mr Corry has no previous convictions.

Last month the High Court approved the State's application to extradite Mr Corry to Germany on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by German authorities in 2004.

The court had heard that Gardai told German police that Mr Corry was living in Kerry in 2005. Despite this German authorities took no action for 10 years, a delay Mr Corry's Barrister Remy Farrell described as "exceptional."

German Federal Prosecutors say Mr Corry was arrested in Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday December 13 having been extradited from Ireland. The prosecutors said he was brought before a judge on Wednesday and ordered to be held in jail on suspicion of attempted murder.

Prosecutors allege that Mr Corry was part of an IRA unit that fired three mortar shells onto the grounds of the Quebec Barracks in Osnabrueck on June 28, 1996. Only one of the shells detonated on the property, damaging buildings and vehicles but injuring nobody.

Mr Corry has denied any involvement in the attack and said he was never involved with the IRA. He has received support from Sinn Fein to fight his case.
Kerry's political heavyweight Michael Healy-Rae is backing lightweight UFC champion Conor McGregor, advising the mixed martial arts superstar to ignore the begrudgers.

McGregor was voted RTE's Sportsman of the Year at the weekend. However, the decision - the result of an open public vote - hasn't pleased critics of McGregor and the UFC who took to Twitter to voice their outrage at the "embarrassment" of the result.

Michael Healy-Rae - who on numerous occasions has called out the "begrudgers" who have continuously attacked his political dynasty - has come out swinging in support of the outspoken athlete.

The Kilgarvan independent deputy - who floored all his opponents at the first count last February - says that instead of attacking the Dubliner we should be celebrating him.

"Since Conor McGregor's entrance to the UFC he has taken the world by storm, he has carried himself sometimes in a manner I wouldn't agree with, for instance the profanity he uses isn't something I would like young children to be listening to, but Conor McGregor's work ethic is to be admired by all, young and old, in Ireland," said Deputy Healy-Rae.

"Looking at Conor's background, a young man who was on the dole that worked every day and night putting in endless hours to reach where he is today," he said.

"He is one of the best athletes that we have in Ireland and he should be acknowledged by us here in Ireland for that. He has overcome all the doubters that said he couldn't do it. Some people in Ireland thought he was a flash in the pan but again he proved everyone wrong. He truly does deserve Sportsperson of the year," Deputy Healy Rae said.

"I have seen over the weekend a lot of negative comments on Social Media about Conor winning this award but instead of people trying to put him down we should be extremely proud of what he has achieved on the world stage. He has done more than any other Irish fighter ever has on the world stage and I'm glad to see that acknowledge by RTE."
Connie K staff pictured as they get ready to offer free dinners to those who are struggling this Christmas

A Rathmore-based bar will go above and beyond their normal call of duty this festive period, as they prepare to donate free lunch and dinners to all those who may be struggling to make ends meet this Christmas,

In a wonderful act of compassion, the staff at Connie K's bar are inviting those who are struggling, to come to the bar between December 23 to December 25 to collect their Christmas meals, which they can then take home with them to eat as normal.

"I was talking to a woman outside of the bar and she had just come from the post office where she had been paying off her ESB bill. She was always the type of lady that would have paid it off as soon as she got it, but unfortunately, this time, she was quite upset as she did not have the means to pay it," said Jeff Gordon, talking to The Kerryman.

"I went away thinking of ways that I could help and the more that I thought about it, the more I realised that she would not be the only person struggling; we see a lot in the media about homelessness and sometimes, the struggles can be a lot closer to home than we realise."

"The idea of what we're doing is that, in reality, there are a lot of parents with children that are struggling so the beauty of our initiative is that the parents can call into the bar and bring the meals away with them and they can have Christmas dinner at home as normal; this way the children need not know that their parents are struggling."

"Anyone who is in need can avail of this service, no-one will be turned away; we will do our best to facilitate everybody."

Those wishing to partake can contact the bar at 0879534944, with strict confidentiality for those involved completely assured.
Twenty jobs have been lost in Tralee after the High Court ordered that Irish TV be placed in liquidation. Last month the satellite TV network  which specialises in regional programming aimed at the Irish diaspora -was placed in examinership after its main financial backer withdrew his support.

It had been hoped a new backer could be found for the channel but the effort to source new funding has proven unsuccessful. On Tuesday in the High Court Ms Justice Caroline Costello ordered that a liquidator be appointed and that the station be wound up after Examiner Michael McAteer told the court that several efforts to obtain investment funding had failed.

In a report provided to the court by counsel Kelly Smith Mr McAteer said that despite cost-cutting measures the lack of new investment meant the company had no reasonable prospect of survival as a going concern.

Irish TV  which has its headquarters in Westport, Mayo  opened its Munster Regional Hub at Tom Crean Centre at Kerry Technology Park in Tralee in late 2014.

The Munster Hub  which oversaw all of the stations productions in the region  employed around 20 people at its height.

Irish TV had entered examinership after its main stakeholder  UK minicab mogul John Griffin  withdrew his support in late October.

Mr Griffins decision followed four years of losses at Irish TV, which told the courts it had net liabilities of 8.7 million.

On Tuesday Ms Justice Costello made orders ending the courts protection, discharging the examiner and winding up Irish TV and its holding company Eochair Media Holdings Ltd.

Mr McAteer has now been appointed as liquidator of both companies.

Neither Irish TV nor Eochair Media Holdings could be contacted for comment as The Kerryman went to press on Tuesday evening.
A sum of money was stolen from a shop in New Ross on Thursday afternoon after thieves distracted the staff member.

Sergeant Eddie Wilde said distraction crimes are on the rise. 'A couple of people entered a shop and confused the shopkeeper, having handed them money for change.

'The staff member handed back the money and they left with more money than they handed over. If people working in shops start feeling confused and that they are being put under pressure, they should slow down and be assertive and say no. There are a number of people going around trying this and sometimes shopkeepers let their guard down'
Fethard RNLI are on target in their fundraising campaign to purchase a new lifeboat, as over 60,000 has been donated over the past ten months.

Oonagh Hearne Messette, Chairperson of the Fethard RNLI Fundraising Team, said it is very humbling to have received such outstanding support of local businesses and communities.

Ms Hearne Messette said: 'Combine this with the vision, drive and dedication of the fundraising team and the support of the whole crew and we have had a whirlwind year. We are extraordinarily lucky that we can announce we are very close to reaching the goal that was set on February 20 for our new lifeboat. We have almost reached 60,000 of our 65,000 target.'

She said two further events are planned for 2017 so far. 'Don't be a Fool', a peninsula wide table quiz, takes place on April 1, 2017, and the 'Mighty Grange Raft Race' will take place during the summer months - with dates yet to be decided.

So far this year the volunteer crew of the lifeboat Tradewinds has assisted 11 leisure craft and one commercial vessel. There have been 20 callouts, assisting 22 people and one life was saved. Over the course of the year, the volunteer lifeboat crew undertook 78 training exercises taking up 235 hours. These training activities are essential to all crew members to familiarise and ingrain life-saving procedures and to gain an understanding of the power of the water and its capabilities.

Following one callout last August, Tony Molloy, Fethard RNLI Deputy Launching Authority, said: 'Every minute counted this evening due to the period the casualty had spent in the water. The area is quite treacherous to manoeuver in during darkness, so the knowledge and skillset of the crew, who know the area and manoeuvrability of the D Class inshore lifeboat, was essential.'

On this particular incident, the casualty care training of the crew was also employed.

Hugh Burke, Fethard RNLI Deputy Launching Authority also commended vigilant members of the public this year for alerting the Coast Guard to a number of services which involved the Fethard lifeboat.

Mr Burke said: 'We would always rather launch to a false alarm good intent and we count on the vigilance of the public.'

Walter Foley Fethard RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager has encouraged all those that use the sea to wear lifejackets, watch for safety markers, bring some form of communication and stay calm if in difficulty. 'The weather, tides, currents and circumstances can all change in the blink of an eye. We will be ready and able to launch whenever and wherever we are needed but anything a person can do to stay safe if they get into difficulty and need help is vital,' Mr Foley said.

For anyone interested in joining Fethard RNLI, please contact Hugh on 086 3346184 or Eoin on 086 7829977. John Hearne Fethard RNLI Station Chairperson added: 'The amount of time spent training by the volunteer lifeboat crew and the benefit this training has on our activities on the water is life-changing. An excellent example of this was the life saved at the Bar of Lough which was largely possible due to the training that the crew carry out all year round. The benefit of recent coastal familiarisation and casualty care training and exercise paid off and there's a family somewhere near Cullenstown that did not lose a loved one that day. That the best Christmas present you could give. It's the whole reason all this effort is put in by each and every member of Fethard RNLI to keep this whole enterprise going.'
A 21-year-old man who sued a store for defamation and false imprisonment after he was stopped on the street by a security guard for allegedly tearing open three packets of boxer shorts has been awarded damages of 15,000 at Sligo Circuit Court.

The court heard that Ricky Jinks of Willow Park, Maugheraboy had bought items in Heatons on Castle Street on the afternoon of Sunday, February 17th 2013 and had left the store when he was approached by a security guard, Peter Coughlan, who alleged that he had committed damage while in the store. Mr Jinks, who was 17 at the time, was asked to come back to Heaton's and the Gardai were called. It was alleged the plaintiff had tore open three packets of boxer shorts and had then thrown them on the floor before kicking them under a shelf and while the store had CCTV cameras there was no coverage in this area of the shop.

Mr Jinks, who was represented by Ms Maura McNally BL with Michael Quigley, solicitor took his action against Heaton's and Pinnacle Security Limited. Mr Damien Higgins BL appeared on behalf of the defendants. The plaintiff, a student at NUIG, told the court that he had been in Heaton's for about an hour and had bought a maroon coloured body warmer and two pairs of boxer shorts, a receipt for which was produced to the court. He left the shop and had got as far as EJ's Menswear shop on Grattan Street when he was tapped on the shoulder by a man who said his name was Peter and that he was a security guard at Heaton's.

"He ushered me up the steps of EJ's and told me that I had committed criminal damage of a product. He didn't say what. He said that I needed to go back to the store with him and that he would be calling the Gardai if I didn't.

"I felt I had no choice but to go back. I didn't feel I had the power to leave," he said.

When he got back to the store he took out his phone to call his mother but Mr Coughlan told him to put it away. The plaintiff got through to his mother and told her to come to the store.

Mr Jinks said he was taken to an upstairs office where the security guard and a manager, William Gallagher were present along with another staff member. He was asked to empty out his pockets and he also showed them his bag which contained the items he bought.

He was not asked his name or age. Two Gardai arrived ten minutes later and he spoke with one of them in the hallway. It was stated that he would be dealt with under the JLO scheme.

They left together and the plaintiff met his mother downstairs in the store. Mr Jinks said he hadn't torn any boxer short package or thrown them on the ground. He said he felt degraded being brought back to the store and felt anxious for a few weeks afterwards as he felt he was being seen as a criminal in people's eyes. He was in fourth year at the time and was also local chairperson then of Comhairle na nog.

Mr Higgins said the security guard had found three pairs of boxers with torn packaging, two of which were handed in to court. The plaintiff agreed these had been the brand of boxer shorts he had been looking at. He would not accept the goods were damaged.

"The product is intact. The cardboard only is torn," he said. He agreed that he offered to pay for the boxer shorts but said he did not accept that he had damaged them. In the office, packages without boxer shorts were produced to him.

William Gallagher, assistant manager in Heaton's at the time, said he had been aware that the security guard had left to go after Mr Jinks because there was packaging on the ground that was ripped. The witness said the plaintiff "had been acting suspicious."

"I thought he was under suspicion of stealing until I saw the product in the office," said the witness. In reply to Mr Higgins when asked why the plaintiff had come to his attention, he replied: "He was just acting strange in the shop, he just came to our attention. He was acting out of the ordinary."

Garda Conor O'Malley told the court he had gone to Heaton's following a call from the store and went to an upstairs office where he told those present that he thought he was there about a theft. He informed them that technically it may be a case of criminal damage. No one wanted to pursue the matter.

Peter Coughlan in evidence said he had been working in security for nearly 25 years and was a member of the Private Security Authority and was licensed under this body since its inception in 2004. He was contracted to work with Heaton's by Pinnacle Security Limited for the past four years every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was in civilian clothes. The witness recalled the plaintiff entering the store at 2.45pm on February 17th and leaving at 3.49pm.

As the witness was patrolling the gents department he saw the plaintiff jump up from behind a rail as though he had startled him. The witness continued on but circled back to see what he was doing because he thought Mr Jinks, whom he did not know, was acting very strange.

Mr Coughlan said he observed the plaintiff from a distance and saw him pick up a pair of boxer shorts, open them, take out the contents, look at them, fold them, put them back in the package and place them back on the rail.

He selected a second box, this time ripping it. He held the boxer shorts up, folded them and put them back in the box. He then put the box on the ground and kicked them under the unit.

He then picked up two more boxes along with some clothing and walked towards the fitting rooms where there was a long queue. Mr Jinks then went upstairs before coming back down before going to the gents department where he kept an eye on the fitting rooms. He then went there where he was for about four to five minutes. On leaving the fitting room he went back to the stand where the boxer shorts were and he dropped both boxes with the contents on the ground before kicking them underneath it.

Mr Jinks selected two other pairs of boxer shorts along with a body warmer and proceeded to pay for these at the checkout. The witness said he approached Mr Jinks on Castle Street, identified himself and produced his ID card. "I asked him if he would return to the store with me and he replied, why? and I told him it was because you damaged some boxes."

Mr Jinks said he was sorry and offered to pay for them. The witness directed a staff member to get the damaged boxes he had left to one side and they went to the manager's office. He then called the Gardai and while waiting for them to come he asked Mr Jinks his name and why he damaged the boxes.

"He replied that he didn't know. He apologised and said he'd pay for them." It was explained to the plaintiff's mother what happened and her reply was: "I do that all the effing time," said the witness. In reply to Ms McNally, the security guard said he didn't know the plaintiff was a child at the time. The witness denied asking Mr Jinks to empty his pockets or that he looked into his bag. It was also not correct that he thought the plaintiff "was up to thieving."

Judge Doirbhile Flanagan ruled that Mr Jinks had not been defamed either in the street or subsequently in the office. With regard to the claim of false imprisonment she said that in his evidence the security guard when making the call to Gardai stated that he had "someone held."

The plaintiff was 17 at the time and the security guard stated that he did not think he was minor but the fact was that he was. Mr Coughlan had not enquired as to the plaintiff's age. "It appears to me he was not free to leave from when he was first stopped on the street and I'm satisfied he was falsely imprisoned," she said awarding damages of 15,000 with costs.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

Trend:

The Russian President Vladimir Putin made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on Dec. 24.

Vladimir Putin congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his birthday, wished him robust health, success in his state activities for Azerbaijans development and well-being of Azerbaijani people, press service of the Azerbaijani president reported.

President Aliyev thanked Vladimir Putin for the congratulations and attention.

The presidents expressed confidence in the further expansion of friendly relations based on strategic partnership between the two countries.

During the conversation, the sides discussed the issues related to further development of bilateral ties.
A 26-year-old woman charged with an offence arising out of the murder of a local musician was served with the book of evidence in the case at Sligo District Court last Thursday.

The court was told that Janice Brady with an address at Maryville Hostel, Finisklin would be sent forward for trial at this week's sitting of the court.

Brady is charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of a person having committed murder at New Apartments, Holborn Street between August 2nd and 3rd 2015.

Martin 'Matt' Kivlehan was found stabbed in his apartment on August 3rd last.

State Solicitor Mr Hugh Sheridan said the book of evidence in the case had been served on the accused and he applied for a remand on continuing bail to this Thursday so that she could be sent forward for trial alongside a second accused.

The accused was represented by Mr Gerard McGovern, solicitor.

Judge Kevin Kilrane, who was told the accused wasn't in custody on any other matter, was remanded on bail to appear at the court on Thursday.

On that date, the accused's brother, Keith Brady (29) of Cartron Estate will appear on a charge of murdering Mr Kivlehan (59). The book of evidence is expected to be ready for serving on the accused on Thursday when he is also due to be sent forward for trial. He is represented by Mr Keith O'Grady BL with Mr Eddie Henry, solicitor.
Gardai have expressed concerns about the granting of an application to a Carrick-on-Shannon hotel to sell alcohol to 2.30am.

Inspector Paul Kilcoyne told Sligo District Court that the granting of special exemptions to the Landmark Hotel over the Christmas period would create problems for Gardai who had limited resources.

He told Judge Kevin Kilrane that the town attracted many hen and stag parties and there had also been a number of serious incidents in the town in the past.

The Inspector, who was objecting on behalf of the Superintendent in Carrick-on-Shannon, pointed out that the Garda roster finished at 3am. If exemptions were granted to 2.30am it would be 3.30am and 4am when crowds would be spilling out and this would cause huge difficulty.

Exemptions in Sligo are normally granted until 2am.

Judge Kilrane said the Landmark Hotel was a reputable premises that hosted wedding receptions and functions which were locally based and he distinguised this from "the hen and stag culture."

Mr Gerard McGovern, solicitor, who moved the applications, said the difficulty was surely with people spilling out at the same time. He also pointed out that those attending the functions would be residents.

Judge Kilrane said he would grant two of the applications (those for last week-end) but would adjourn the others until today (Tuesday) in Carrick-on-Shannon Court when the local Superintendent Kevin English could outline in greater detail his objection.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross has told a group of business leaders and politicians that he is aware of the deficit in the North West with regard to road infrastructure.

He made the remarks when meeting with Chamber of Commerce representatives from eight towns demanding the Government upgrade the N4 and N5 routes. He agreed the road needed improving.

The Minister was told at the meeting in Buswell's Hotel in Dublin last Wednesday that constant postponements of improvement works were hampering economic development in the region.

He was also told the roads that connect the midlands to the North West of Ireland are badly in need of repairs and upgrading to motorway status in sections.

Along with Chambers of Commerce representing Athlone, Mayo, Mullingar, Longford, Sligo, Carrick-On-Shannon, Donegal and Roscommon, local Fine Gael TD Tony McLoughlin was also present along with Councillor Marie Casserly, Independent Alliance and Mayor of Sligo Municipal District.

A short presentation was made to the Minister.

The Chambers said the current state of the roads was putting the north west and west at a disadvantage in attracting foreign direct investment and creating jobs.

While there is a motorway from Dublin to Mullingar along the N4 the road from there to Sligo was single carriageway and substandard the Minister was told.

The N4, he was told was a vital lifeline to the west and north-west of Ireland for industry, commerce and tourism. It is a major gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way and to the proposed Centre Parcs facility near Ballymahon.

The Chambers want:

 N4 Motorway from Mullingar to Rooskey- completion of all pre-construction works in the short term leading to commencement of construction by 2021

 N4 - Collooney to Castlebaldwin - construction to commence during 2018

 N4 - Bypass of Carrick-On-Shannon - completion of all planning and preconstruction works leading to commencement of construction by 2021

 N5 - Longford to Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon - completion of all work to allow work to start now.

Also in attendance were representatives from business group IBEC and the US multi-national firm Abbott. Minister Ross said the upgrading of the N4 was high on the agenda and it would be looked at in January in terms of the Government's 2017 Capital Spending plan.

He said he had driven the road on many occasions and was aware of the white crosses placed near Sligo by campaigners seeking the road's upgrading, said Cllr Casserly.
Approval has been given for the extension and repair to the slipway at Rosses Point along with the provision of a floating pontoon.

The Chief State Solicitor's Office has now been requested to prepare the requisite legal documentation following Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government Simon Coveney's approval of Sligo County Council's application for a Foreshore Licence for the work.

Deputy Tony McLoughlin said funding can now be applied for under the specific funding mechanism for piers.

He said "One might recall, in 2015, I was successful in my efforts at lobbying Minister Coveney for funding for this project. "However, at a later date it transpired that the funding could not be drawn down as there was no foreshore licence in place for the development.

"This has now been rectified and I see no reason why this essential development should not receive grant funding in 2017.

"The upgrade works will involve the extension to the slipway and remedial works to the existing slipway, provision of a floating pontoon and access gangway and mooring/anchoring arrangements at the pier.

The matter was also raised at last week's meeting of Sligo County Council where Councillor Declan Bree said the proposed pier and pontoon would provide much needed and safe access to and from vessels.

"Currently, there is a lack of tying up facilities with severe overcrowding at peak times and poorly accessible points for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and there is no provision for disabled access. The proposed works including an extension of the slipway, the provision of a floating pontoon and access ramp and a new dinghy mooring system will certainly greatly enhance the facility. I understand that the Director of Services Mr Tom Kilfeather, has been in communication with the Department of the Environment so as to ensure that the Foreshore Licence is issued which will then allow the Council to submit an application for grant aid to the Department of the Marine."
While many will be driving home for Christmas in the coming days, they may not be aware that there is an increasing number of uninsured drivers on our roads.

It's a sobering thought and follows figures released this week revealing that the number of uninsured drivers have almost doubled in just five years.

The Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland say 151,000 vehicles were uninsured on Irish roads in November; a figure which stood at 85,000 in 2011 but has now jumped by almost 78 per cent.

It now means that over seven per cent of all vehicles on Irish roads are uninsured, up from around five per cent in 2011.

The figures reflect a blatant disregard for the rights of law abiding drivers who continue to pay rapidly increasing premiums through gritted teeth.

The issue of exorbitant premiums dominated headlines throughout the year and motorists have expressed outrage at a 70 percent increase over the past three years, with a 38 percent hike in 2016 alone.

The issue was addressed at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform holding hearings in September and October but premiums continue to rise despite constructive input from across the industry, including from young and low earning drivers who are being priced out of the market.

There's no definitive breakdown in the figures in terms of age profile but on social media the blame is being placed at the feet of young, disenfranchised drivers, frustrated at high insurance costs.

To use high premiums as justification to drive while uninsured is absurd but it is equally absurd to argue that escalating premiums are not an underlying factor. That a surge in uninsured driving happens as premiums soar can't be a coincidence.

We do live in different times. Times when reactions to rules and authority are more flippant than in the past and there's no reason to assume car insurance is any less likely to escape the kind of shoulder-shrugging attitudes found elsewhere in society.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland responded to the findings with dire warnings about the consequences for uninsured drivers and by ramming home the point that having motor insurance is an obligation not an option.

Fair enough, the law is the law, but it might also be an idea to look at the main motives behind these criminal drivers' actions. That, however, might not be an area insurers would wish to see probed too closely.

Uninsured drivers need to be caught and heavily penalised, both as punishment and as an example to others.

However, if the Government really wants to get to grips with this issue, the driving force behind the problem - sky-rocketing insurance premiums - has to be dealt with.

Many drivers feel like they are being robbed by insurance companies and until the Government steps in they see nothing wrong with robbing the state and their law abiding fellow motorists. That attitude has to be changed.

Hopefully these sobering new figures will kick-start some much needed debate. The current system clearly isn't working.
The wind farm site at Ballyfarnon where Paddy McCaffrey lost his life in a landslide. Pics: James Connolly

The Community of Rossinver gathered in shock and grief amid winter sunshine at the picturesque St Aidan's Church last Friday.

They were there to bid a final farewell to Paddy McCaffrey (37) who died tragically in a landslide on the Ballyfarnon side of Kilronan mountain on Monday December 12th.

"In the early hours of Tuesday morning, darkness fell on this community," Fr Patrick Farrelly told mourners, as he put words on the devastation brought to the door of Paddy's family.

Moments earlier, an estimated 150 work colleagues from Moriarty Civil Engineering and Construction Company formed a guard of honour outside the Church. Paddy's young wife Helen walked alongside with her hand on his coffin, as Sarah McLachlan's song 'Angel' was sang overhead by a soloist.

Paddy's death is the second tragedy to hit Helen after the couple lost their two-day-old newborn son Jack Colin in November 2015 .

Fr Farrelly was joined on the altar by concelebrants Fr Thomas Keogan, who married the couple in 2010, and chaplain from Sligo University Hospital, Fr John Carroll.

Gifts offered up in Paddy's memory included a photo of a digger to show his love of machinery from an early age, a yellow hard hat and a family photo of Paddy and Helen with Baby Jack.

"Tragedy always stuns us," said Fr Farrelly in his homily. "We are numbed by the sadness and the horror of it. We have so many questions and we have no answers. In a sense we are paralysed, suspended in disbelief," he said.

"Paddy was so young and full of life. His work in this world was not finished. He still had so much to do and so much to give to other people," he said.

He recalled how growing up in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, Paddy was known as the 'caretaker' at school.

"He had been given a set of keys to the school - any job that needed to be done - any excuse to get out of class," he said.

Mourners heard how Paddy met his soulmate Helen 12 years ago and had been living in Rossinver for four years.

The couple enjoyed a cruise this year as they came to terms with the loss of their baby boy. "On Tuesday morning on the bus to school, a child said, 'Paddy is gone home, to be with Jack' and it was for me as if Jack raised his hands from the grave and said 'Welcome home Daddy'," said Fr Farrelly.

Sligo/Leitrim Mountain Rescue were thanked for their efforts in retrieving Paddy's remains from the mountain, as were the numerous colleagues, neighbours and friends involved in the rescue operation.

Gifted with 'great hands', Paddy was a trained welder and would "do anything" for friends, even building his own trailer. He was heavily involved in his adopted home of Rossinver and was instrumental in developing the new Community Centre, where mourners gathered after his funeral mass.

"Paddy did more in his four years here than most people do in a lifetime," said one neighbour.

"He was a great community man and fundraiser. He was up in Belfast at the Pride of Place awards this year.

"He wanted to get the community together and enter the Tidy Towns next year. If ever you needed anything, all you had to do was pick up the phone to Paddy," he added.

After the funeral mass Paddy was laid to rest alongside his son Jack in Rossinver Cemetery.
The Orphans at the Dominican collage production of "Annie" in Fathima hall, Wicklow

Blathin Ward, Emily Carey and Liadh Cronin at the Dominican college production of "Annie" in Fathima hall, Wicklow

All the transition year students at Dominican College Wicklow were involved in the school production of the musical 'Annie' in some way.

Students either took to the stage as lead actors or as part of the support cast, or they were involved backstage in set design and construction.

Transition year students were also handed the responsibility for the considerable task of promoting the event.

Three night-time performances were held in the school, including a sold-out night on Friday.

Two sold-out matinees were also held for different primary schools in the area.

The cast and crew consisted of local and international students, including 20 visiting students from Spain and Germany.

The director of 'Annie' was Anne McIntyre, while the musical director was Philip O'Neill.

Laidh Cronin made the role of Annie her own and was commended each night for the quality of her performance, as were the rest of the talented cast.

The students received great feedback from parents who praised the professional manner in which the students went about their business, culminating in yet another hugely successful musical.
Wicklow's Singing Santys received an early Christmas present after their largest ever charity collection took place on Saturday night.

For the past 32 years, the Singing Santys have headed out during the last weekend before Christmas to all the local pubs in Wicklow town to undertake a bucket collection in aid of Wicklow Meals on Wheels. This year they collected a massive 2,000 in just one hour, the largest sum they have ever raised in 32 years.

'We are absolutely delighted with all the support we have received,' said Michael Mulvihill.

'We usually hit around the 1,500 mark but this is the first time we ever reached 2,000. Before that the highest amount we ever collected was 1,800 during the Celtic Tiger years.'

This year's Santy line-up included Michael, Mrs Santy William Dunne, Chief Elf Gillian, Vincent Mulvihill, Pat Brennan, his daughter Robin and John Kelly.

Joanna Murray arrived with 360 from donated from everyone at Kelly's Car Recovery.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

Trend:

President of France Francois Hollande has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on occasion of his birthday.

Dear Mr. President, I extend the most sincere congratulations on the occasion of your birthday, reads Hollandes letter. I wish you robust health and success in high state activities. Taking this auspicious opportunity, I am glad to emphasize the importance of our deepening and developing bilateral ties. I am also glad for excellent achievements.

One example of this is the opening of the French-Azerbaijani University with your support in Baku on Sept. 15, 2016. In conclusion, I once again bring to your attention Frances and my personal commitment to find a sustainable solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through negotiations, said Francois Hollande.
Santa Claus has rolled out his map and has already marked Baltinglass on it. He doesn't want the reindeer to get lost because it is very important that the young pupils at Scoil Naomh Iosaf, Baltinglass, receive their presents as they have been so good all year.

In senior infants, the excitement is certainly mounting as the children prepare for their Christmas holidays.

They have been learning all about the birth of Jesus and have been singing their Christmas carols proudly.

The children had lots of fun writing their letters to Santa and are delighted that they have been delivered in time. Santa was very impressed with their wonderful hand writing and colouring.

Sara O'Reilly is hoping to get a lovely surprise on Christmas morning.

In her letter, she told Santa that she has been very good and wanted to know what snacks to leave out for him and Rudolph on Christmas Eve. She cannot wait for their visit.

Vera Koliqi is five years old and also has been very good all year. She would love to get a fish tank and some Play Doh.

Lucas Begley wished Santa a very safe journey as he travels from the North Pole to Baltinglass.

He has asked for a train and a tablet and a Lego Dimensions Portal.

Six-year-old Grace Norton would love a surprise, and also a pair of Heelies and some Shopkins.

Aoife McMahon is also six years of age and assures Santa that she has been very well behaved. She said that she is really looking forward to her presents.

Nicole Jeaney is also in the market for a pair of Heelies and also hopes to receive a Hatchimal, Ruby & Lottie and a Shopkin doll.

Sports fan Amira Pender is hoping to get a Liverpool kit on Christmas morning as well as a two-wheel scooter and Limbo Hop.

Toma Janonyte asked Santa how Twinkle and Ralf are and said she has been very good and would really love a new doll.

Oran Foley is keen to get some new Lego to play with on Christmas Day while Lauren Doyle's top is a Minnie Mouse car.

Martins Buikis shared a very special Christmas wish as he would love a white Christmas.

He asked Santa for snow, and failing that, a toy train, dinosaur book and a jumper for Dulux.

Chloe Jordan is a big Santa fan and promised to leave out some tasty treats for him.

She hopes to receive a bike and cry-baby doll and a Shopkin girl.

Santa is in for a tasty treat at the home of Marta Ablazej who said she will leave out some milk as well as a carrot for their reindeer.

She would love to get an Ever After High doll and some Lego friends.

Amelia Rajel is six years old and told Santa that she has tried her best to be a good girl, helping her mum and cleaning her room.

She would love to wake up on Christmas morning to a new tablet, a Shopkins car and some sweet treats.

Peter Cogan assured Santa that he will put lights on his house to show him where it is.

He would love to get a farm surprise present.

Wiktoria Fenik was delighted to share her Christmas wishes for a doll, two mice and a guitar with Santa.

She is six years old and has been very good all year.

Aoife Wall was keen to know how Santa is doing and if he was hard at work making all the new toys.

She said that she likes his red coat and his reindeer and would like a surprise.

A secret diary and a surprise made it onto Caoimhe Fitzgerald's wishlist.

She said that she is really looking forward to Christmas and Santa's visit too.
An Arklow Lidl shopper was delighted to win 493 worth of goodies recently after she won the chance to take part in a trolley dash recently.

Denise Pierce was the lucky raffle ticket winner in the Arklow supermarket and as a result, was given two minutes to race around the shop and fill her trolley as quickly as possible.

Denise did a super job and filled her trolley as quickly as she could to receive the contents for free.

Raffle tickets were on sale in stores from last month and 100 per cent of the proceeds went to Barretstown, Lidl's charity partner and contributed to 4,776 raised in County Wicklow alone. The Trolley Dash, which raised 262,199 in total in Ireland, raised much needed funds for Barretstown just before the new year.

Speaking about the Trolley Dash CSR initiative, Sinead Flynn, Lidl CSR team said: 'Funds raised from this year's Trolley Dash are the result of combined efforts from both Lidl Ireland staff and our customers. In just 3 weeks, 262,199 was raised, completely exceeding our expectations. We'd like to thank everybody that got involved and purchased a Trolley Dash ticket for such a worthy cause.'
Santa Claus can't seem to keep away from Wicklow town during the build-up to Christmas and made another appearance on Saturday afternoon by sea.

Last weekend he helped turn on the Christmas lights and this week Santa decided to forgo his normal mode of transport via a reindeer led sleigh, and instead opted to arrive by the Wicklow Lifeboat on his way to the RNLI Station.

There was great excitement as Santa reached the East Pier, where a large group of the crews children awaited his arrival. He handed out presents to all the boys and girls before returning back to the North Pole.
A walker who injured his leg in Glendalough had to be transported to shore by boat.

On Sunday, December 11, gardai contacted both the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team at 12.50 a.m. to make them aware that a male required assistance after sustaining a lower leg injury.

He was part of a group of walkers who had been traversing the area around St Kevin's Bed.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) deployed their boat to transport mountain rescue personnel to the location of the casualty. After being examined and treated, the man was transported back to shore on the boat. He didn't require any further medical attention and was released into the care of a friend as the rescue operation was stood down.

It was the 66th call-out of the year for Wicklow's mountain rescue teams.
Australian police have detained five men suspected of planning a series of Christmas Day attacks using explosives, knives and a gun in the heart of the country's second-largest city.

The suspects, inspired by Isil, planned a string of attacks in Melbourne, according to Victoria state police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton.

Targets included Flinders Street railway station, neighbouring Federation Square, a fashionable bar and restaurant precinct, and St Paul's Cathedral, an Anglican church.

Mr Ashton said the men had been plotting the attack for three weeks. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was one of the most substantial plots to be disrupted for several years.

Seven people were initially arrested in raids on Thursday night and yesterday morning in Melbourne, but a 26-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were released without charge.

Five men aged 21 to 26 remained in custody yesterday. Three have appeared in a Melbourne court charged with preparing or planning a terrorist attack, and face a life sentence if convicted.

Hamza Abbas (21), Ahmed Mohamed (24) and Abdullah Chaarani (26) did not enter pleas or apply for bail. They will appear in court next on April 28.

Police said the other two men will also be charged with preparing a terrorist attack.

Four of the suspects were born in Australia and the fifth was Egyptian-born with Egyptian and Australian citizenship.

Police believe the threat has been neutralised by the raids on five Melbourne premises, Mr Turnbull said.

"Islamist terrorism is a global challenge that affects us all. But we must not be cowed by the terrorists," he told reporters.

"We will continue to go about our lives as we always have. What these criminals seek to do is to kill.

"But they also seek to frighten us, to cow us into abandoning our Australian way of life," he added.

Since Australia's terrorist threat level was elevated in September 2014, the government says there have been four extremist attacks and 12 plots foiled by police.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the plotters had moved quickly from a plan to develop a capability to attack.

"In terms of events that we have seen over the past few years in Australia, this certainly concerns me more than any other event that I've seen," Mr Colvin said.

"We believe that we have removed the bulk of this particular cell, this group."

Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews said there will be extra police on the streets of Melbourne on Christmas Day to make the public feel safe.

About 400 officers were involved in the raids.
A man has been charged with two counts of murder in a notorious, 20-year-old case that terrified residents of Western Australia and became one of the country's longest-running investigations.

The development in the so-called "Claremont serial killings" case comes two decades after three women vanished from the wealthy Perth suburb of Claremont.

The remains of two of the women - Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon - were later found in remote areas while the third, Sarah Spiers, remains missing.

Over the years authorities have offered hefty cash rewards for information, took DNA samples from 2,000 Perth taxi drivers and even recruited a convicted Perth serial killer, David Birnie, for his insight.

Yesterday, police charged 48-year-old Bradley Robert Edwards with murdering Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon, and with the sexual assault of two other young women. Police did not elaborate on what led them to Edwards.

"There is still much work to be done, but this has already been the biggest and most complex investigation in WA (Western Australia) history," Western Australia Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said.

Edwards lives in the Perth suburb of Kewdale. Police have accused him of abducting Ms Rimmer, a 23-year-old childcare worker, on June 9, 1996, as she was on her way home from a night out with friends.

Police say Edwards abducted Ms Glennon, a 27-year-old lawyer, on March 14, 1997, after she, too, had spent the evening out with her friends.

The investigation into the disappearance of Ms Spiers, an 18-year-old secretary, is continuing.

Edwards appeared briefly in Perth Magistrates' Court yesterday.

He did not enter a plea and will return to court next month.
The Church of the Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighbouring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Yet the faithful braved the chilly weather outside the town's Manger Square as traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols. Elated tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

Adding to the holiday spirit for the Palestinians, locals celebrated a key diplomatic victory at the United Nations the day before, where the Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Sharolyn Knight, a 28-year-old teacher from Georgia, said she was in Bethlehem for the first time and experiencing mixed emotions.

"It's been sobering and humbling because it's a place with a lot of heavy stuff, religious and historical. At the same time, disillusioning because there is so much strife in the place where Jesus was born."

She said she would come back again, maybe next time with her children.

"It's very unique, I've never seen anything like it," said Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky, "It's very meaningful, its Christmas time, where everything started."

Christian clergymen welcomed the top Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus Christ, as Christians worldwide begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population. He travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession. Later, he was to celebrate Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built at the grotto revered as Jesus' birthplace.

"I wish this joyous atmosphere of Christmas will continue in the year and not just for a few days and I hope the coming year will bring a little more serenity and peaceful relations in our country. We need it," he said.

"I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season. I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there," he told The Associated Press.

The Syrian government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels, including some Islamic militants, agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the country's largest city.

Christmas festivities brought a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, who make up just a small percentage of the population. The region has which has experienced a wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that erupted over a year ago. The violence has tapered off in recent months, but has not halted completely.

Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked.

"Bethlehem is celebrating today, we are receiving tourists from all over the world," Ms Maaya said. "All people over the world are looking at Bethlehem so we hope more and more tourists will come during the year and that next year we will celebrate Christmas without occupation."

Ms Maaya spoke a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Julie Suhain, 20, from Ramallah said she was delighted with the UNSC resolution.

"It's like getting a Christmas gift," she said. "We've been waiting for this for a long time."

Despite the Christmas cheer, politics loom large in the background - the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem is just one hulking reminder. It was built by Israel last decade during the second Intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.

Israeli says the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers, but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also stunts their economy.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent attacks on Christian targets in Egypt and elsewhere in the region by Islamic extremists.

AP
Twelve people were killed in the attack on a Christmas market

The nephew of Berlin truck attack suspect Anis Amri and two other men have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to the same extremist network.

Tunisia's Interior Ministry said that Amri - suspected of driving a lorry into a Christmas market crowd, killing 12 - had sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi money to join him in Europe.

It is unclear whether the suspects helped Amri flee Berlin.

The nephew was arrested in Amri's home town of Oueslatia while the others were arrested in Tunis.
She entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for "the highest fall survived without a parachute"

Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian air stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 33,000ft after her plane exploded in mid-air in 1972, has died aged 66.

Serbia's state TV said Ms Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Ms Vulovic was 23 and working as a Yugoslav Airlines hostess on January 26 1972, when the Douglas DC-9 airliner she was aboard blew up high above the snowy mountain ranges of Czechoslovakia. All 27 other passengers and crew aboard died.

She entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for "the highest fall survived without a parachute".

It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made.

Trapped in the plane's tail cone, she plummeted to earth in sub-freezing temperatures and landed on a steep, heavily wooded slope near a village.

The fuselage tumbled through pine branches and into a thick coating of snow, softening the impact and cushioning its descent down the hill, crash investigators said at the time.

Ms Vulovic was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. She was rushed to a hospital, where she fell into a coma for 10 days. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs.

Initially paralysed from the waist down, Ms Vulovic eventually made a near-full recovery and even returned to work for the airline in a desk job.

She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue. She told the AP in an interview in 2008 that she could only recall greeting passengers before take-off from the airport in Denmark and then waking up in the hospital with her mother at her side.

An instant national heroine, she went on to put her celebrity at the service of political causes, protesting against Slobodan Milosevic's rule in the 1990s and later campaigning for liberal forces in elections.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

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On December 24, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Dmitry Medvedev congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his birthday, wished him success in his high state activities, and robust health.

The head of state thanked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for the attention and congratulations.

During the phone conversation, they expressed their confidence that bilateral friendly relations between the two countries will further successfully develop.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev also discussed the current state and prospects of Russia-Azerbaijan economic cooperation.
The body of Anis Amri lies on the ground covered with a blanket, next to forensics officers in a suburb of the Italian city of Milan early yesterday. Photo: Reuters.

Italian police shot dead the man believed to be responsible for this week's Berlin Christmas market truck attack, killing him after he pulled a gun on them during a routine check in the early hours of yesterday.

The suspect - 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri - travelled to Italy from France, triggering a spate of criticism from eurosceptics over Europe's open- border Schengen pact.

A police chief said his men had no idea they might be dealing with Amri when they approached him at around 3am outside a station in Sesto San Giovanni, a suburb of the northern city of Milan.

Amri is suspected of driving a truck which smashed through a Berlin market on Monday killing 12 people, and security forces across Europe have been trying to track him down.

The truck ploughed through a crowd of people and bulldozed wooden huts selling Christmas gifts and snacks beside a famous church in west Berlin.

Militant group Isil acknowledged Amri's death and his suspected role in the German attack - for which it has claimed responsibility - through its Amaq news agency.

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"The executor of the Berlin attacks carries out another attack on Italian police in Milan and is killed in a shoot-out," it said.

Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu told reporters that Amri had arrived in Milan's main railway station from France at around 1am and had then travelled to Sesto San Giovanni, where two young policemen approached him because he looked suspicious.

"We had no intelligence that he could be in Milan," De Iesu said. "They had no perception that it could be him otherwise they would have been much more cautious."

He failed to produce any identification so police requested he empty his pockets and his small backpack.

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He pulled a loaded gun from his bag and shot at one of the men, lightly wounding him in the shoulder.

Amri then hid behind a nearby car but the other police officer managed to shoot him once or twice, killing him on the spot. Amri was identified by his fingerprints.

De Iesu said that besides the gun, Amri had been carrying a small pocket knife. He also had a few hundred euros on him but no cell phone. Amri once spent four years in jail in Italy and police were trying to work out if he knew someone in Sesto.

A judicial source had earlier told Reuters that police had a tip-off that Amri might be in the Milan area and that additional patrols had been sent out to look for him. De Iesu denied that, saying only that the authorities had recently ordered tighter security and more identification checks across the country.

"The two policemen simply decided to check up on a foreigner," De Iesu said.

Leading eurosceptics were quick to blame the Schengen open pact for allowing the fugitive to travel easily.

"This escapade in at least two or three countries is symptomatic of the total security catastrophe that is the Schengen agreement," said Marine Le Pen, who leads France's far-right, anti-immigrant National Front party and is running for president.

"I reiterate my pledge to give back France full control of its sovereignty, its national borders and to put an end to the consequences of the Schengen agreement," she said.

Amri had been caught on camera by German police on a regular stake-out at a mosque in Berlin's Moabit district early on Tuesday, Germany's rbb public broadcaster reported. His movements thereafter are not clear.

He had originally come to Europe in 2011, reaching the Italian island of Lampedusa by boat. He told authorities he was a minor, though documents now indicate he was not, and he was transferred to Catania, Sicily, where he was enrolled in school.

Just months later he was arrested by police after he attempted to set fire to the school, a senior police source said. He was later convicted of vandalism, threats and theft.

He spent almost four years in Italian prisons before being ordered out of the country after Tunisia refused to accept him back because he did not have ID papers linking him to the north African country.

He moved to Germany and applied for asylum there, but this was rejected after he was identified by security agencies as a potential threat.

But once again Amri could not be deported because of a lack of identification documentation.
Twelve people were killed in the attack on a Christmas market

Tunisian police have arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker and two other men thought to be "connected" to Anis Amri.

A statement says the three suspects were members of a "terrorist cell" that was "connected to the terrorist Anis Amri who carried out the terrorist attack in Berlin".

This trio, according to Tunisia's Interior Ministry, includes 18-year-old nephew Fredi who Amri allegedly sent money to so he could join him in Germany.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through telegram," read the statement.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist 'takfiri' ideology and "asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh".

The nephew also reportedly said that his uncle was the "prince" of a jihadist group based in Germany known as the "Abu al-Walaa" brigade.

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The 24-year-old was shot dead by police in Milan in northern Italy after Amri opened fire when he was challenged during a routine patrol at around 3am local time.

The Tunisian, whose father said he was a drug-taking troublemaker who became a radical after moving to Europe, was traced across the continent after being linked to the bus crash that killed 12 people and injured 48.

Amri, who reportedly shouted 'Alluahu Akbar' in the Milan shootout, was hunted after his fingerprints and wallet were allegedly found in the truck.

Police in Spain are also investigating whether Amri was in contact with an extremist in Spain following a tip-off from German authorities, according to the Associated Press.

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Spain's Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio station Cope: "We are studying all possible connections [between Amri] and our country, above all with one specific person."

Amri's nephew was reportedly arrested in his hometown of Oueslatia while the other two were arrested in Tunis - reports the Associated Press.
Police are searching for a mother and her two young children who have not been seen since three days before Christmas.

Angela Lambert went missing with her son Cyrus, six, and daughter Maryam, two, police said.

The 45-year-old from Winton Close, Luton, is thought to have boarded a bus from Luton to Stevenage with the two youngsters on Thursday.

The mother is said to use a number of different aliases and is white, 5ft 8ins with shoulder-length, untidy brown hair.

She is described as wearing tracksuits with a t-shirt or sweatshirt and trainers.

Her son is said to have spiked brown hair and was last seen wearing a green hoodie, while the daughter has shoulder-length brown hair and was last seen wearing a green jacket with fur around the hood.

DC Martin Eaton said: "We are utilising all available resources in order to trace Angela and her two children, as we continue to grow increasingly worried for their welfare.

"We know they have been sighted as recently as Thursday and though they are likely to have changed clothing since then, we would appeal for anyone who saw a family matching the descriptions given in Luton, on the bus, or in the Stevenage or surrounding areas to get in touch so we can ensure they are safely home for Christmas."
Two men have been charged with murder after a man died following a brawl outside a lap dancing club.

Officers were called to a report of a group of 10 men fighting outside Totties bar in The Causeway in Altrincham in the early hours of Thursday.

When police arrived at the scene they found a 31-year-old man with serious head injuries. He was taken to hospital, where he later died.

On Saturday, Aiden Oakes, 26, of Peveril Road, Altrincham, and Anton Oakes, 22, of Lee Avenue, Broadheath, appeared at Manchester Magistrates' Court accused of murder, said Greater Manchester Police.

Both men are also charged with assault and were remanded in custody to next appear at Manchester Crown Court on December 29.
The hijackers of a Libyan Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 surrendered to Maltese military on the runway at Malta Airport, yesterday. Photo: Reuters/Darrin Zammit-Lupi. Photo: Reuters

Two men who hijacked a plane from Libya to Malta and threatened to blow it up have surrendered peacefully, allowing 118 passengers and crew to leave the aircraft before walking out alongside the last of the crew.

The hijacked Airbus A320 flight, operated by Afriqiyah Airways, was travelling from the Libyan oasis city of Sabha to Tripoli when it was diverted to Malta yesterday morning.

Malta state television said the two Libyan hijackers possessed hand grenades and had threatened to detonate them.

All flights to Malta International Airport were immediately diverted and emergency teams including negotiators were sent to the airport tarmac.

Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, announced that the hijacking of the Libyan plane was over in a tweet at 3.44pm local time.

They had surrendered, been searched and taken into custody, he said.

The hijackers, after negotiations, had allowed the plane's doors to open at 1.44pm and a staircase was moved over to let freed passengers begin disembarking in groups.

In a series of tweets, Mr Muscat said 65 people were allowed to leave, then another 44, including some crew, followed by the hijackers and the final crew members. All were seen leaving the aircraft without hand luggage.

The company said on its Facebook page that 118 people, including seven crew members, were on board the hijacked plane.

Ali Milad, the pilot, told Libya Channel TV network that initially the hijackers had asked him to head to Rome. He identified the two hijackers as Moussa Shaha and Ahmed Ali, Libyans who other officials said were in their twenties.

The pilot said the men were seeking political asylum in Europe and wanted to set up a political party called "the New Fateh".

Fateh is a reference to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who led the Fateh revolution after his coup in 1969.

After many of the hostages left the plane, someone, apparently a hijacker, waved the old green Libyan flag from the plane's doorway.

Libya has been split between rival parliaments and governments, each backed by a loose array of militias and tribes. Gaddafi was ousted and killed by a mob in 2011.

Western nations view the newly-formed UN-brokered government as the best hope for uniting the country, but Libya's parliament, which meets in the country's far east, has refused to accept it.
The United States has allowed the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

In the striking rupture with past practice, the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama brushed aside Donald Trump's demands that the US exercise its veto.

It also provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel's leadership.

The decision to abstain from the council's 14-0 vote is one of the biggest American rebukes of its longstanding ally in recent memory.

As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016

It could have significant ramifications for the Jewish state, potentially hindering Israel's negotiating position in future peace talks.

Given the world's widespread opposition to settlements, the action will be almost impossible for anyone, including Mr Trump, to reverse.

Nevertheless, the president-elect vowed via Twitter: "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th."

The resolution said Israel's settlements in lands the Palestinians want to include in their future state have "no legal validity". It demanded a halt to such activities for the sake of "salvaging the two-state solution".

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Loud applause erupted in the council chamber after US ambassador Samantha Power permitted the resolution to pass.

Friday's condemnation, a day after Egypt suddenly postponed a scheduled showdown, capped days of frantic diplomacy in capitals around the world.

American officials indicated they would have been prepared to let the resolution pass, despite blocking such proposals for years. Israeli officials said they were aware of such plans and turned to Mr Trump for support.

The president-elect sent a tweet urging Mr Obama to block the UN effort. Egypt then pulled its resolution, with US officials citing fierce Israeli pressure as the reason.

Israeli officials accused Mr Obama of colluding with the Palestinians in a "shameful move" against the Jewish state. Washington denied the charge.

Most of the world is opposed to Israel's construction of Jewish settlements in lands it seized in the 1967 war.

The primary holdout at the UN has been the United States, which sees settlements as illegitimate but has traditionally used its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council to block such resolutions on the grounds that Israeli-Palestinian disputes should be addressed through negotiation.

Underscoring that unity, Friday's resolution was proposed by nations in four different parts of the world: Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela. It is the first resolution on settlements to pass in 36 years, Malaysia's UN ambassador Ramlan Bin Ibrahim said.

Explaining the US vote, Ms Power quoted a 1982 statement from then-US president Ronald Reagan, which declared that Washington "will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements".

"That has been the policy of every administration, Republican and Democrat, since before President Reagan and all the way through to the present day," she said.

Settlement activity, she added, "harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region".

She noted that until Friday, Mr Obama was the only president in the last half-century that did not have a Security Council resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict pass on his watch.

"One would think that it would be a routine vote," Ms Power said. But she acknowledged that, in reality, the vote was "not straightforward" because it occurred at the United Nations, a body that has singled out Israel for criticism for decades.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat hailed the result as a "victory for the justice of the Palestinian cause". He said Mr Trump's choice was now between "international legitimacy" or siding with "settlers and extremists".

But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office voiced anger.

"Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," it said, blaming Mr Obama for failing to "protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN" and even colluding with the country's detractors.

"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution," the statement said.

In some ways, the American abstention served as a direct reflection of the deep distrust between Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu.

It followed months of intensely secret deliberations in Washington, including what one official said was an unannounced meeting earlier this month between Mr Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, and a spate of fresh Israeli settlement announcements that have wrought exasperation and anger from American officials.

Mr Trump has signalled he will be far more sympathetic to Israel's stances on the two territories, where some 600,000 Israelis live.

His campaign platform made no mention of the establishment of a Palestinian state, a core policy objective of Democratic and Republican presidents over the past two decades.

He also has vowed to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would anger Palestinians and lack international support. His pick for ambassador to Israel, Jewish-American lawyer David Friedman, is a donor and vocal supporter of the settlements.

The resolution is little different in tone or substance from Mr Obama's view, with the exception of its language on the legality of settlements.

Washington has long avoided calling the activity illegal, in part to maintain diplomatic wiggle room for a negotiated solution that would allow Israel to incorporate some of the larger settlement blocs.

While the resolution does not impose sanctions on Israel, it enshrines the world's disapproval of the settlements. A reversal would require a follow-up vote that avoids a veto from the US, Britain, China, France or Russia - an highly unlikely scenario given the current stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

In Washington, Republicans were already threatening consequences.

Senator Lindsey Graham, who heads the Senate appropriations panel in charge of US payments to the global body, said he would "form a bipartisan coalition to suspend or significantly reduce" such funding. He said countries receiving US aid also could be penalised for backing the effort.

In a Hanukkah message on Friday, Mr Obama did not mention the matter.

He referenced Israel once, noting that Jews there and around the world would soon "gather to light their Hanukkah menorahs, display them proudly in the window and recall the miracles of both ancient times and the present day".
Security forces patrol the site of attack on an Afghan parliament member's house in western Kabul, as another politician's home has been targeted (AP/ Rahmat Gul)

G unmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in Kabul, killing at least one person.

Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, said the two gunmen attacked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef's house late on Friday, but he was not there.

Mr Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the troubled southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The politician survived the assault.
Pope Francis urged Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus by thinking about the plight of today's children, bemoaning how some must escape bombs or flee in migrant boats and how others are prevented from being born at all.

Francis celebrated a sombre Christmas Eve Mass in a packed St Peter's Basilica, processing to the altar behind cardinals draped in golden vestments as the Sistine Chapel choir sang Gloria and the church bells rang out across Rome.

Francis has spent much of the year denouncing the Islamic extremist violence that has driven Christians from Middle East communities that date to the time of Christ.

He has also demanded Europe in particular do more to welcome refugees, saying Jesus himself was a migrant who deserved more than being born in a manger. And he has called out the wasteful ways of the wealthy when children and the poor die of hunger every day.

In his homily, Francis urged his flock to reflect on how children today are not always allowed to lie peacefully in a cot, loved by their parents as Jesus was, but rather "suffer the squalid mangers that devour dignity".

Among the indignities, he said, are "hiding underground to escape bombardment, on the pavements of a large city, at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants".

"Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons," he added.

The Mass late on Saturday was the first major event of the Christmas season, followed by Francis' noon Urbi et Orbi (To the city and the world) blessing on Christmas Day.

In another appeal, Francis called for the faithful to not get caught up in the commercialisation of Christmas - "when we are concerned for gifts but cold toward those who are marginalised".

Materialism has "taken us hostage this Christmas", he said. "We have to free ourselves of it!"

AP
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

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Moscow hosted the official presentation of the recently published book of the member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, the member of the Union of Writers of Azerbaijan, Elmira Akhundova  Ilham Aliyev. Portrait of a President against the Background of Changes dedicated to the analysis of the history and results of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs 55-year life and 13-year leadership of the country.

The presentation was attended by the rector of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Academician Viktor Sadovnichy, rector of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Academician Anatoly Torkunov, Chairman of the Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, First Deputy Director General of TASS Mikhail Gusman, along with Elmira Akhundova.

The book is a logical continuation of a six-volume work of Elmira Akhundova Heydar Aliyev: Personality and Epoch. It shows how Ilham Aliyev  the successor of national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev  came to power and what he achieved in the presidential office.

Ilham Aliyev is shown as a man who earned the trust of his people and elites back in the 1990s and proved himself as the most loyal and trusted comrade of his father.

The years of his presidency are presented not in the chronological, but in thematic order - by doing so, the author sums up the work of President Ilham Aliyev in various areas.

In addition to the international activities, a considerable part of the book is dedicated to internal policy. The author points out that Heydar Aliyev was a savior of Azerbaijan, and Ilham Aliyev is a builder of its present and future.
Amos Yee pictured in May 2015 to reporters after being released on bail in Singapore. (AP/Wong Maye-E)

A Singaporean teenager whose video posts and blogs mocking his government and its late founder landed him in jail twice has been detained in the US where he is seeking asylum.

The Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, called on the US to recognise Amos Yee's asylum claim.

He said he has been consistently harassed by the Singapore government for publicly expressing his views on politics and religion and severely criticising the city-state's leaders, including late prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Yee, 18, was imprisoned for six weeks in September on charges of hurting religious feelings of Christians and Muslims after repeatedly breaching bail conditions following a four-week prison sentence he served in July last year on the same charges.

He was also due to be called up for mandatory military service.

Mr Robertson said Yee has faced intensive government surveillance and monitoring of his public and online comments.

"Amos Yee is the sort of classic political dissident that the UN Refugee Convention was designed to protect, and Human Rights Watch hopes the US will recognise his asylum claim," he said.

His US lawyer Sandra Grossman told the South China Morning Post on Saturday that Yee was likely detained at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport because he entered the country on a tourist visa despite an intention to apply for asylum.

She said Yee would have to undergo a "credible fear interview" by an asylum official who would assess if he faces a credible fear of persecution or torture back home.

She said the process usually takes a few days, but the holiday season could delay it. He would then appear before an immigration judge, but that could take years because of backlogs in the immigration system.

Yee, who won a local filmmaking prize aged 13, ruffled feathers in Singapore with a video blog laced with expletives as the city-state was mourning Mr Lee's death in March last year.

Such open criticism and lampooning of leaders is rarely seen in Singapore, where laws are strictly enforced.

The government of the multi-ethnic state says Yee crossed the red line on religion when he mocked Christians and Muslims and the law had to be enforced on him to protect racial and religious harmony.

AP
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
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

Trend:

The media play an important role in formation and development of the society, therefore, Azerbaijans National Leader Heydar Aliyev viewed the media as one of the important institutes of the Azerbaijani society, Azerbaijani Presidents Aide for Public and Political Affairs Ali Hasanov said Dec. 24.

He was addressing a ceremony of awarding of the winners of a journalistic essays competition, held by the State Fund for the Support to Mass Media Development under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of Azerbaijanis and New Year.

Hasanov reminded that National Leader Heydar Aliyev abolished all the mechanisms of public regulation of the media and journalists created the Press Council of Azerbaijan.

He added that the Azerbaijani state views the media as an important institute of the society. President Ilham Aliyev has stated that he does not imagine Azerbaijan without free media, said Hasanov, adding that nearly 28 million manats have been allocated for development of the media through the State Fund for the Support to Mass Media Development.

Nearly the same amount has been allocated to address the problems of the media, the media outlets debts have been written off, and the media are using all the care mechanisms provided by the state, added Hasanov.

He reminded that the state has built and continues to build houses for journalists.

The state is doing all this for you to be able to skillfully realize your role in the Azerbaijani society, said Hasanov.

We can do nothing without independent media, without intelligent journalists, he added. Therefore the state is taking the care of the journalists.

Hasanov also reminded that the media play an important role in communicating the truth about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the world community.

Today we are facing the big Armenian lobby, the Islamophobe circles. There are such missionary organizations that dont accept Azerbaijans development, our opposers increase in number as our country develops. To fight all this, we expect support from the media, he added.
A sixth grader in Pakistan has filed a case in Islamabad High Court, against Pakistans President House, for plagiarism and accused it of using his speech without his consent.

The 11-year-old Mohammed Sabeel Haider, a student of Islamabad Model College for Boys, sued the President House through his father. The boy said that he was chosen to deliver a speech at the President House in Islamabad on December 22, reports the Dawn.

AFP

The ceremony which was recorded was supposed to be aired on Pakistan Television on December 25, marking 141st birth anniversary of founder of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

But when Sabeel arrived at Presidents House, he was told that he would not deliver the speech.

The ceremony was recorded and is supposed to be aired on Pakistan Television on December 25, marking the 141st birth anniversary of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. However, when Sabeel arrived at the Presidents House, he was informed he will no longer be delivering the speech.

AFP

In his petition, the sixth grader has said that the speech written and prepared by him was delivered by a tenth grader which to him to like somebody stealing his intellectual property.

According to Sabeels lawyer, as per Section 3 of Intellectual Property and Copyrights Ordinance 1967, a literary piece that the person has produced themselves cannot be used by a third party without their consent. Though the court hasnt declared its verdict, but the judgement has been reserved.
In what should be called a great success, surgeons in Poland on Thursday successfully attached a hand from a deceased donor to a man born without one. It was first such case in the world.

"It is the first graft in the world of an upper limb onto an adult with this congenital defect," said Adam Domanasiewicz, who headed the team of surgeons at Wroclaw Medical University Hospital was quoted by AFP.

"We are talking about a man who lived 32 years without this member."

AFP

Up to now, a similar procedure had been performed only on newborn conjoined twins in Indonesia and Canada, Domanasiewicz said. Hands have also been grafted onto patients whose own limbs were amputated.

On December 15, the transplant was performed in an operation that lasted 13 hours. The patient, identified by his first name Piotr, was all smiles after the procedure and spoke of his dream for the future.

"I'd like to be able to hug my family using both hands. Until now I'd been using my stump," he told private news channel TVN 24.

Though hes only able to move his fingers, but doctors believe that he will gain more movement in his hand over time.

"This is an important breakthrough in neurophysiology and the practice of transplants because up to now it was thought that -- in the case of this type of congenital defect -- such grafts could not be done," Domanasiewicz said.

The operation could open up new possibilities to hundreds of thousands of people in the world born without members whose only option to date has been prostheses, he added.
More than 5,000 people have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean sea in 2016, says a United Nations report. The latest estimates include 100 people believed to have drowned following a shipwreck Thursday, the UN Refugee Agency said in a statement.

AFP

"The causes for the alarming increase in deaths this year are multiple but appear to be related to the declining quality of the vessels used by people smugglers, the vagaries of the weather and the tactics used by smugglers to avoid detection by the authorities. These include sending large numbers of embarkations simultaneously, which makes the work of rescuers more difficult," the UN statement reads.

In October, UN officials warned that 2016 would be extremely unfortunate for people who are living their country because of the ongoing wars. The whole middle east region, starting from Afghanistan, Yemen, till up to Syria, Iraq and Libya have got engulfed in war which has forced its residents to flee their countries and go to European countries.

And Mediterranean is the easiest and shortest way for these refugees to reach Europe, both legally and illegally. According to the International Organization for Migration, so far, nearly 360,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea, often coming ashore in Italy or Greece.

AFP

"'This tragedy reminds us that the humanitarian emergency involving thousands of people dying while trying to flee Libya is not over,' said Di Giacomo. 'In 2016 the number of arrivals by sea in Italy has kept growing, but the number of migrants dying is up dramatically: over 5,000 people have died in 2016, compared to 3,777 deaths registered in the same period last year. That is nearly more than 2,000 more than in 2014, another year when over 3,000 men, women and children were lost on this dangerous passage.

Di Giacomo explained that the number of shipwrecks reflects the poor state of the boats used by the migrants, compounded by harsh weather conditions at sea in this season.

AFP

Over 175,000 arrived in Italy alone and it has seen a massive 19 percent increase in number of people landing on Italian shores in comparison to last year. In a statement, spokesmen for IOM's Rome operations, Flavio Di Giacomo mentions instability in Libya as contributing to the surge.

"'We are seeing more migrants crossing this winter. This trend confirms the fact that conditions in Libya are becoming increasingly dangerous for migrants, who are often trying to flee the country in order to save their lives,' he said.

AFP

On the latest shipwreck, the UN said, "In two separate incidents rubber dinghies collapsed and passengers fell into the sea, the Italian Coastguard reported. The first dinghy was carrying between 120 and 140 people including many women and children. Only 63 people survived after the dinghy collapsed and passengers fell into the water. The second dinghy was carrying about 120 people and 80 were rescued by the Coastguard.

AFP

"Around 175 people were successfully rescued from another dinghy and a wooden boat. The Coastguard disembarked 264 people last night in Trapani, Sicily. Eight bodies were also recovered during the operations."

AFP

Hundreds of boats have drowned in the sea in last one year because most of them house people twice or thrice than the capacity they could endure. Maximum cases of boats sinking in sea and leaving people dead have come from Libya from only Libyans are fleeing, but it has become a route for the immigrants of other countries like Nigeria.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Work on the development of the second stage of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas and condensate field has been completed by 87 percent, reads the article of Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev, published by official press on Dec. 24.

The minister reminded that the foundations for the Southern Gas Corridor project and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project were laid in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Mustafayev also noted the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor project which is being implemented under Azerbaijans initiative.

The Southern Gas Corridor project envisages full-scale development of the Shah Deniz gas and condensate field, production and supply of Azerbaijani gas to European markets through appropriate infrastructure. This project will make a valuable contribution to strengthening of Europe's energy security," he said.

The minister added that 72 percent of work to expand the South Caucasus Pipeline, 60 percent of work to construct TANAP and 30 percent of work to construct the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has been completed.

Reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 240 million tons of condensate.

Shah Deniz Stage 2 will add a further 16 billion cubic meters per year of gas production to the approximately 9 billion cubic meters per year produced by Shah Deniz Stage 1.

The gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets through expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of TANAP and TAP.
BCCL/representational image

This Christmas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will start playing Santa Claus for people who have made and received digital payments after November 8 when he had announced demonetisation.

The government will launch two schemesLucky Grahak Yojana and the Digi-Dhan Vyapari Yojanaon Christmas to incentivise consumers and merchants to go for digital payments.

With prizes worth crores of rupees to win, the schemes will run for 100 days and cost the government Rs 340 crore. Read more here.

Here are 5 more stories for you:

1. After Pakistan General's Offer To India, China Too Says It's Open To India Joining CPEC In PoK

BCCL

China today said it has an "open attitude" to India joining the $46 billion economic corridor but it wants to know New Delhi's response to a top Pakistani army general's offer to participate in the project.

"I wonder what is India's take on this whether this is a good sign from Pakistan," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said when asked about Pakistan Southern Command commander Lt Gen Amir Riaz's remarks that India should join the CPEC along with Iran, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries and enjoy its benefits.

"On China's part, the CEPC is a cooperation framework and we hope this programme can not only serve the interest of Pakistan but also Asia and the region as a whole," Hua said. Read more here

2. 10 Delhi Metro Stations To Go Cashless For Recharging Smart Cards From 1 January

PTI

The Delhi metro is mulling to allow only digital payment methods for recharging smart cards and sale of tokens at 10 of its stations. The facility is likely to be available from January 1 onwards and would have payment options through debit/credit cards and Paytm mobile e-wallets for the purchase of tokens and smart card recharge.

The commuters at these stations will be required to scan the QR code at the station with Paytm app on their mobile phones. This will send a message to the token vendor or the customer care operator, who will then issue the token or recharge the card with the desired amount, said Mangu Singh, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), MD. Read more here

3. Why An LPG Cylinder Costs Rs 3,000 In Manipur: 10 Points About The Naga-led Economic Blockade

AFP/representational image

A Naga-led economic blockade that has lasted more than 50 days has disrupted life in Manipur. Truckloads of supplies to Imphal have been stopped at NH 37 and NH 2, the two lifelines for the Imphal Valley.

The price of essential commodities has skyrocketed: A litre of petrol sold for more than Rs 300 and an LPG cylinder for about Rs 3,000. Ethnic tensions have led to clashes, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju visited Imphal yesterday to take stock of the situation.

What sparked the violence? Here's an analysis, in 10 points. Read more here

4. Demonetisation Is A Short-Term Pain For A Long-Term Gain,Says PM Hinting At Early Budget

My aim is to make India a developed country in one generation: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/VgOpdBoTFo  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

Well, he doesn't care if people have started to see through the facade, nor does he care enough to change his tone about the note-ban. Speaking at the inauguration of a new campus of the National Institute of Securities Markets in Raigad, Maharashtra, he roared again, "Demonetisation is a short-term pain for a long term gain!"

He also said that his government would continue to follow sound and prudent economic policies, and that it wouldn't take decisions for short-term political point scoring. The PM, who said his dream is "to make India a developed country in one generation," explained that his government had transformed the country's economy in less than three years. Read more here

5. Kejriwal Gets Bail In 2013 Polls Affidavit Case, And The Internet Isn't Too Kind To Him Either

Huffpost

A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a complaint case filed against him for allegedly giving misleading information in his poll affidavit ahead of the 2013 assembly elections.

Metropolitan Magistrate Aashish Gupta allowed the bail plea moved by Kejriwals counsels Rishikesh Kumar and Irsad as the concerned magistrate was on leave.

The court directed him to furnish personal bonds of Rs 10,000 and fixed April 7, 2017, as the next date of hearing. Kejriwal appeared before the court in pursuance of summons issued against him in the case filed by an NGO alleging that Kejriwal had willfully misled the Election Commission of India by concealing his correct address and suppressing the market value of his property Read more here
In a bid to save more lives, the new Ebola vaccine is here, with 100 percent protection against the lethal disease. The vaccine has not been approved by regulatory authorities, but it is looking extremely promising.

In fact, a stockpile of 300,000 doses has already been created.

tagesanzeiger

Back in 1976, when Ebola came into the picture for the first time, nobody really knew how to save the people dying from it. The grotesque nature of their deaths - copious haemorrhaging from every orifice - has lent the disease a frightening reputation.

(Also read: It's The Beginning Of The End For Ebola. A Vaccine Successfully Passed A Field Trial In Guinea)

More recently, the huge outbreak in 2014, which claimed 11,000 lives in Africa and spread overseas, killing several people in Europe, and the US, stimulated the need for a vaccine.

huffingtonpost

The vaccine that successfully passed the trial in August, has come with positive test results in Guinea and was released on Thursday in The Lancet. The prospect of a vaccine stockpile now has brought optimism among public health experts.

(Also read: Ebola On The Decline: After 2 Years And Over 2500 Deaths, Guinea Is Finally Declared Ebola-Free!)

"While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa's ebola epidemic, they show that when the next outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless," said Marie-Paule Kieny, the World Health Organization's assistant director-general for health systems and innovation and the study's lead author.

The new vaccine has some flaws, experts said. It appears to work only against one of the two most common strains of the ebola virus, and it may not give long-lasting protection. Some of those who get it report side effects like joint pain and headaches.
In what is being described as a kind of 'jet stream' of molten iron surging 3000 km below the surface, scientists have come a lot closer to understanding the earth's crust.

The discovery was made by a trio of European Space Agency's Swarm satellites that mapped the earth's magnetic field to collect data. This stream, reported to be about 420-km wide, is currently flowing westwards below Alaska and Siberia.

theshock.deviantart.com

On their website, the European Space Agency (ESA) quotes Chris Finlay from the Technical University of Denmark as saying, "We know more about the Sun than Earths core because the Sun is not hidden from us by 3000 km of rock."

ESA

"This jet of liquid iron is moving at about fifty kilometres per year," Dr Chris Finlay told BBC News.

"That might not sound like a lot to you on Earth's surface, but you have to remember this is a very dense liquid metal and it takes a huge amount of energy to move this thing around and that's probably the fastest motion we have anywhere within the solid Earth."
Nigerian soldiers have raided Boko Harams last enclave in Sambisa forest, and the insurgents have finally been crushed, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday.

The president said in a statement that he was most proud to receive the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists.

I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest, the president said.

He said he was told by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, that the camp fell at about 1:35p.m. on Friday.

Read Mr. Buharis full statement below:

GOODWILL MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI TO TROOPS OF OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE ON THE SUCCESSFUL CAPTURE OF BOKO HARAM ENCLAVE IN SAMBISA FOREST

I am delighted at, and most proud of the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army, on receipt of the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest.

I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest.

I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the Camp fell at about 1:35pm on Friday, December 22, and that the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice.

I, therefore, call on all Nigerians to cooperate and support the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies by providing useful information that will expose all the terrorists hiding among the populace.

Further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity. May God be with them.

I also want to congratulate and commend the able leadership of the Nigerian Army in particular and indeed, that of the Armed Forces in general, for making this possible. This, no doubt, will go a long way in improving the security situation not only in the North East, but the country in general. But we must not let our guards down.

Once more, congratulations to our troops and all who, in one way or the other, contributed to this most commendable and momentous effort. May the Almighty continue to be with you.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a most rewarding and peaceful Year 2017 ahead.

MUHAMMADU BUHARI

PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
South African telecom giant, MTN, has fired one of its top and most valuable staffers in order to avoid scrutiny by the United States government over bribes offered to Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shortly after helping to resolve a hefty fine imposed by the Nigerian government, Amina Oyagbola was so important to MTN that the company gave her two strategic positions. Her corporate elevation saw her combining leadership of the Human Resources department with the post of Director of Strategic Communications at MTN.

Ms. Oyagbola and her husband were instrumental in resolving MTNs serious problem with the Nigerian Presidency culminating in a massive $5.2 billion fine imposed on the company for ignoring the Nigerian governments directive to ensure that all SIM cards were registered as a strategy to curb Boko Haram insurgency in Nigerias northeast.

An insider within the company and other sources in Abuja told our correspondent that, once the fine was imposed, Ms. Oyagbola recruited a close friend, Femi Lijadu, to act as a consultant for strategic advisory services. In that capacity, Mr. Lijadu was a member of the team that negotiated with the Federal Government to reduce the fine to $1.7 billion. One of our sources said Ms. Oyagbola and Mr. Lijadu once worked with presidential Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari at the United Bank for Africa.

Once the fine was reduced to about a third of the original sum, Ms. Oyagbolas corporate star seemed to soar. However, MTN last week told her to step down from one of her two corporate positions. A source at MTN claimed that Mrs. Oyagbola decided to resign.

However, another source within the company told Sahara Reporters that the once powerful corporate player was fired after MTNs bribe scandal with Mr. Kyari came to the notice of the MTNs parent company in South Africa.

The source added that the decision to relieve Ms. Oyagbola was taken in order to avoid the consequences of a global disgrace should US authorities ask questions related to the companys reported offer of an undisclosed sum as bribe to Mr. Kyari before the senior presidential aide helped broker a deal that lowered the fine earlier imposed by the government.

Source: Sahara Reporters
American entertainer Nick Cannon is stuck in the hospital and will spend Christmas there.

The 36-year-old revealed via Instagram on Thursday that hell be hospitalised through the holiday due to lupus complications.

For all who have been trying to contact me the last few days this is where Ive been. And I will be in the Hospital through Christmas. All good though, Doctors say I will be back to normal before the New Year. #LupusSucks #ncredible #warrior, the Americas Got Talent host captioned a photo from his hospital bed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOVWcsKDF1F/

Cannon was diagnosed with lupus five years ago after landing in the hospital because of kidney failure.

He was hospitalised this past July for exhaustion.

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body).
Nigerian newspaper headlines December 24, 2016.

Punch

The Nigeria Police have scaled up security arrangements around churches and public locations across the country to forestall attacks by insurgents and other criminal elements during the Christmas celebration.

Vanguard

CRISIS is brewing between the Edo State Pilgrims Board and the authorities of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission following what the Chairman of the Board, Bishop Peter Imasuen described as illegal and wicked deportation of one of the participants from Israel on the orders of some members of the Commission.

Guardian

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has lamented the spate of suspected assassinations in the state in the last four days, saying the development was not unconnected with lax security measures short of political will to protect residents from avoidable deaths.

Thisday

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze the multiple bank accounts operated by former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, on the grounds that it contains suspected proceeds of crime.

Leadership

Contrary to media reports, President Muhammadu Buhari didnt snubbed the recent South-East Economic and Security Summit in Enugu according to the presidency.

Premium Times

A few days after Nigeria commenced prosecution of persons involved in the OPL 245 scandal, Italian officials are also set to commence prosecution of Italians and firms involved in the shady deal.

The Sun

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to remain resolute following the terror attack in the countrys capital Berlin at the citys Christmas market.

The Nation

Five families and other residents in Olokonla Town in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State have called on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Inspector General of Police I. Idris to save them from land grabbers who are bent on dispossessing us of our belongings.
The Yobe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp ( NSCDC), said it has arrested six suspected vandals of high tension electricity cables in Goniri village of Gujba Local Government area of the state.

The State Commandant, Dr. Muhammad Fari, disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday while parading the suspects as he added that they were caught with large quantities of the cables.

The suspects took advantage of lack of electricity in the area due to insurgency activities.

They usually cut the cables into pieces and use it to fabricate cooking pots, he said.

Fari assured that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

The commandant said a special intelligence squad had been working across the state to monitor activities of criminals and other suspicious persons.

He urged members of the public to volunteer useful information to security operatives to effectively curb crime in the state.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Dec. 24

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

In Turkmenistans energy industry, main attention should be paid to the attraction of foreign investment in large infrastructure projects, including the projects on the development of oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea, diversification of natural gas supplies to world markets and construction of modern gas chemical complexes, the Turkmen government said in a message on Dec. 24 quoting President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The head of state made the remarks addressing a meeting of the cabinet of ministers.

Berdimuhamedov noted the need to introduce scientific achievements and innovative technologies in exploration, drilling and development of hydrocarbon deposits.

Effective use of the enormous hydrocarbon resources of Turkmenistan  one of the world's energy powers  is intended to help realize the countrys enormous potential, boost well-being of the Turkmen people, as well as solve the issues of ensuring energy security, which is an important factor of dynamic social and economic development on regional and global scale, Berdimuhamedov said.

Turkmenistan is one of the key suppliers of natural gas in the region. The country delivers gas to China and Iran.
Some officers and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) currently undergoing arms training in Abuja have cried out over alleged ill-treatment by their handlers.

About 300 personnel drawn from the FCT Command of the corps are undergoing the training at the Civil Defence Academy, Sauka, Airport Road, Abuja.

Our correspondent learnt that the three-week training programme, which began on Sunday, is for officers and men from the rank of Deputy Commandant (DC) downward.

Some of the trainees, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that the buckets, toiletries and other necessities they took to camp were confiscated by the officials without explanation.

One of them said, when we arrived at the camp, the officials seized our toiletries, including soap, disinfectants, detergents, tissue papers and buckets.

We dont know the reason why. They confiscated those things from us without giving them back to us for our own use.

They only gave us two buckets in a room of six to seven people. This is causing us serious personal hygiene and sanitation problems, he said.

Another trainee alleged that they were being forced to buy the confiscated items from shops owned by the officials outside camp.

He said that all their complaints to their superiors had fallen on deaf ears as no explanation was forthcoming.

We have complained but nobody is ready to answer us. In our own case there is a limit to which you can complain because everything is an order.

When you complain too much they tag you as a rebel and then they court-martial you.

One of our superiors told us his hands were tied and that we should comply with whatever they subject us to, he said.

He said that they learnt from enquiry that previous trainees were not treated the same way.

The allegedly seized items are not among prohibited items such as knives, hard drugs, electric irons, stoves, kettles, bombs, razors, among others.

When contacted, spokesman of the FCT Command of the NSCDC, Mr David Akinbinu, dismissed the allegations as fabrications by the complainants.

It is not true. If a friend of yours gives you such information, as a mature person you should know it is false.

I went to Sauka by myself this morning (Thursday) and I saw all of them. We are all mature men, and I am telling you that story is not true.

They are going on holiday, and the management for safety reasons, asked them to keep the things in the store and collect them when they return.

How did you expect them to be going out with their buckets and other things?

What would the management be doing with their tissue papers? Is it the commandant that wants to bathe with their soap or take them to his family?

People just peddle rumours unnecessarily because they have access to the press, Akinbinu said.
An NYSC Corps member has been kidnapped in the Kwali area council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The corps member, Grace Oghene Edegware was reportedly kidnapped alongside three other passengers on Wednesday and it is not yet clear if the rest of the passengers were also corps members.

The NYSC has confirmed that Grace Oghene, who was deployed to Lagos state to serve was kidnapped and informed that they are already liaising with the police, towards rescuing the Corps member and reuniting her with her family, friends and colleagues.

NYSC has also appealed to Nigerians with useful information to speak to the police.
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has advised state governors to emulate their Ekiti State counterpart, Mr Ayo Fayose, in protecting the interest of their people.

Adeboye stated on Saturday in Ado-Ekiti at the palace of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe.

The renowned cleric, who paid a call on the monarch before attending a crusade at the unusually crowded Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado Ekiti described the governor as a great defender of his people and their cause.

He commended the governor for taking great risks of defending and protecting the interests of his people.



Your Excellency, we thank God for your life, courage, boldness and being willing to take the risk

You are doing this so that your people can be protected and I know you are aware of what I am talking about

You can be sure that we are praying for you and you will succeed., i hope other governors will stand for their people like you and defend their people and say enough is enough, he said.

Adeboye who prayed for the restoration of the lost glory of Ekiti, also commended Oba Adejugbe for leading his people in the way of the Lord.

While responding to the comments, Gov Fayose said Nigerians appreciate the efforts of Adeboye at taking the gospel round the world.



We know that it is at this time of the year that you go round and we pray that God strengthens you

Your visit is annually and when a man of God passes by, we want to take that advantage for him to bless us, we appreciate your efforts at taking the gospel round the world, Fayose said.

In his remarks, Oba Adejugbe described Adeboyes visit as a blessing to the palace, and the people of the state in general.

Pastor Adeboye later held a revival at the stadium and later visited Ikere Ekiti, Ilawe Ekiti as well as Ogotun-Ekiti
A Kenyan Pastor, John Olang Abluza, has reportedly died from and overdose of Viagra after checking into a hotel room with his secret lover.

It was gathered that the body of the 60-year-old Abluza was discovered Unclad inside the hotel room in a city called Oyugis which is in the Homa Bay County, while the woman he went with was nowhere to be found.

The pastor who was also a professional surveyor, had booked a room in the lodging facility at around 5 pm on the day of the incident and in anticipation of an all-night sex romp with the woman, he took an overdose of the Viagra.

But barely 30 minutes after they went into the room, the woman was seen hurriedly leaving the hotel without the pastor in tow.

The hotel management called in the police after discovering the body of the late pastor though the identity of the woman could not be ascertained.

The Homa Bay County Police Commander, John Omusanga, who confirmed the incident, said investigations have revealed that the 60-year-old man overdosed on sex enhancement drugs, which could have led to his death.

Source: BreakingTimes
A newly elected US mayor cited a lyric by hip hop artist Jay Z to explain why he plagiarized President Barack Obamas 2008 acceptance speech.

Last Friday, Mayor of Milpitas, California, Richard Tran admitted to the Milpitas Post that he liberally sprinkled his December 13 acceptance speech with words Obama used in his first inauguration address.

Tran said he didnt view that as plagiarism or intend to mislead anyone; rather, he considered it a way to honour the man who inspired him and thought it was blatantly obvious the words were Obamas.

It is an honour because you know Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk, so Obama could run, and so for young leaders and politicians its for us to fly, Tran told the Post.

Those words closely resemble the ones in the Jay Z remix of Young Jeezys 2008 song, My President, where Jay Z raps Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk, Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run, Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly.

Asked by the Post if he was aware of using Jay Zs lyric and if so why he didnt mention it, Tran admitted he was aware and explained why he didnt think it necessary to attribute.

For me it was just speaking the truth, Tran said.

Those are factual statements regardless of who says it, and so I think thats why I didnt attribute it and my mentality is not that Im writing a research paper or essay, which Ive written with many citations. Im just speaking freely and providing valuable insight into my thinking.

So me talking about something that Jay Z inspired me, I dont know who Im offending or harming, I like to cite songs, I thought it was special words to share.

Tran said he is often inspired by popular culture, music and the arts.

This common saying really struck a chord with the career Ive chosen, which is to advocate for the public, serve the undeserved, and represent the underrepresented, he added. Milpitas residents will understand I will take the best practices from around the world and will implement them in every way possible to ensure our communitys quality of life is at its best.

However, Tran noted, from now on hell be sure to cite references to words and ideas that arent originally his.

I did a lot of school and I didnt think in the real world I would have to be so on top of it, like this is not something I would do for turnitin.com, so I thought in the real world I could ease up a bit, but I guess not, and Ill make sure to be better and do whats appropriate going forward, Tran said.
An ordeal which angered a family in Brooklyn, New York when police raided their home, put everyone in handcuffs and then posted a picture of them on social media with the caption Merry Christmas Its NYPD has led to the suspension of an officer.

The residents were so upset that not only did they file a report, but also called 911.

The worst part was the Snapchats, Kimberly Santiago told ABC News. Thats what really got to me.

The photo appeared in the New York story feed on Snapchat, which a public collection of photos and videos posted by users in the city.

The photo is under investigation by US Internal Affairs, which late Friday said the officer who took the photo has been suspended without pay. The department also said the officers were at the correct address, and had a warrant to go inside the apartment. But they would not disclose why home was being investigated.

The things that he wrote, its like, this what you all do? Santiago said. If he did that to, picture how many other families hes done that to. And he was the only one standing there watching us.

She said the warrant squad showed up at her apartment around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, and they placed everyone inside the unit in handcuffs during the search.

Yall know that when you came to this house, looking for the wrong person that we dont even know, she said.

She said the officers left after about three hours, and not only did they have the wrong address, but a second picture appeared on Snapchat with the caption Warrant sweeps Its still a party smh.

We thought he was texting on his phone, she said. Because the whole three hours we were sitting here, he was the one standing there. We saw him on his phone, but we didnt think an officer would do that.
Tumelo Diphoko, a South African was stabbed to death on Tuesday afternoon by his new lover.

His lover allegedly went berserk and stabbed her new boyfriend to death after he tore up a photo of her sons dead father.

The report revealed that the incident happened while Tumelo Diphoko (42) and his 26-year-old girlfriend were relaxing together at his home at Chris Hani Square in Mangaung, Free State of South Africa, on Tuesday afternoon.

An eyewitness said the woman found a torn ID photo of her dead boyfriend, who died in 2014 and became furious. When the mum saw the photo was torn, she asked her boyfriend if he was responsible. He said yes, he did it because he could see she still loved her dead boyfriend!

The photo was the only thing the little boy had left of his father, who died shortly after he was born in 2014. The couple had lived together for a year. The woman took out a knife from a drawer and stabbed him.

I never thought she would do something like this. Tumelos brother, Galeboe (41), said by the time he arrived on the scene after receiving a phone call about what had happened, his brother was already dead. We will bury him soon. Theres not much else I can say. I hope his spirit rests in peace and justice takes its course, said Galeboe.

Police spokesman Constable Mosili Ntsika confirmed the incident. A 26-year-old woman allegedly stabbed a 42-year-old man in the left side of the neck, killing him. A case of murder was opened against the woman.

She is currently in custody and will appear in court soon, said Ntsika.

Source: BreakingTimes
The presidents of Iran and Russia have discussed the avenues for the continuation of cooperation between the two countries on the crisis in Syria and the fight against international terrorism, Press TV reported.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a conversation on the telephone on Saturday for the third time over the past month.

They exchanged views about the latest developments in Syria, particularly after the recent major defeat of terrorists and full liberation of the strategic city of Aleppo from the grips of foreign-backed militants.

The Iranian and Russian presidents also stressed the importance of developing cooperation to help the resumption of dialogue and negotiations to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

The Iranian and Russian chief executives had also held phone talks on December 19 and November 28.

The Syrian military announced on Thursday that it had attained full control of the northwestern city of Aleppo, having completely cleansed its eastern side of militants for the first time since 2012.

The victory came about despite military support for the militants by the United States, Turkey, and some Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region.

The Russian president on Friday called his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to congratulate him on the full liberation of Aleppo, saying, This success was possible thanks to mutual efforts of all who came together in the fight with international terrorism in Syria."

Also in an annual conference on Friday, Putin said the evacuations in Aleppo would not have been possible without the help of his country, Iran, and Turkey and the goodwill of President Assad.

He urged a nationwide ceasefire deal and said the four sides had agreed to attend peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to try to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Russia has been carrying out an aerial campaign against militants in Syria, including formerly in Aleppo, on a request from the Syrian government. Iran, too, has been offering Damascus advisory military help.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Turkish counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, respectively, held a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed the latest developments in Syria, particularly those concerning Aleppo.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended the Government's approach to dealing with the homeless crisis.

Latest figures show there are over 6,500 people 'officially homeless' in Ireland.

The number of families becoming homeless has increased by over 40% since last year and children now make up one in three of those in emergency accommodation.

A recent iReach survey found that 88% of respondents believed that Irish charities help the homeless more than the Government.

Enda Kenny said that the issue is not just about finding someone a bed, it's about providing them with vital services.

"And if some of those have particular challenges, you follow now what they call 'Housing First," he said.

"And you get accommodation for them, but then wrap around that the services of caring professionals who look after them.

"And we intend to keep working, through the Housing ministry, and the agencies, the charities, so that these facilities are available for people and they're provided and looked after by caring professionals who know what they're doing."
Ever since Cicero, politicians have been complaining o tempora, o mores, and we should have a healthy suspicion of the words, this time is different. But maybe this time is, in fact, different.

We have seen, in Brexit and in Trump, the rise of populism.

This is populism of a particular kind, however. It is populism driven not by poverty, not by loss of a war, not by anything specific. It is populism grounded in an inchoate sense that things used to be, and could be, better, populism in the rear-view mirror, populism for a simpler and, in the populists memory, better time.

It is populism whipped up in the most cynical terms by the most inner of elites portraying themselves as outsiders, a modern Clodius, who led those at whom they laugh.

Its a curious populism, for the most part a phenomenon of the west. While in the west the lower middle classes remember fondly the days of their fathers and their salad days of the 1970s, in the rest of the world, the reality is that the majority of people have never had it so good.

The old, and the late middle-aged, vote and in doing so have driven the UK off the Brexit cliff and the US into the hands of the nomenklatura, in both cases wilfully and cheerfully.

At the root of the discontent is the differential pace of gains from globalisation.

There is a fantastic graph, which to a great extent explains the last 30 years of the world economy. What it shows, in essence, is the relative winners and losers, globally.

Since the early 1990s, the world has undergone a dramatic change. Concurrent with globalisation, relative wealth has shifted. The global middle class now is dominated not by relatively wealthy south Americans and those in the west, but also by the enormous Chinese and, to a lesser extent, African and Indian middle classes.

Crucially, this doesnt imply, necessarily, that the middle classes of the 1990s have gotten poorer. They may have in some countries but in other countries they may not have. What they have become is just one part of the global middle class.

At the bottom, changes have been modest but in the middle  the global earners in the 30% to 60% of income distribution  there have been enormous rises in real income, as global poverty is reduced and globalisation acts as an enormous redistributive mechanism.

The Brexiteers and Trumpeteers are mourning, at least in part, about a loss of exclusivism, a loss of the world being their oyster and a loss of the ability to be the lords of economic creation.

A key element that should be of concern to us here in the liberal still-wealthy democratic west is this: There is no evident linkage between global wealth and democracy. Liberal, western, representative democracy in the long perspective is probably best seen as a mechanism for the middle classes to ensure that the peasants stayed in their place, more or less, and that the upper crust didnt loot the place bare.

Doing so, with the concomitant superstructure of rules of law and procedure, enabled and enhanced entrepreneurship and economic growth.

But other mechanisms exist. China is one such experiment: Hyper-capitalistic at one level and at another deeply dirigiste to a level that would make the graduates of elite ENA institution weep in envy.

It is by no means democratic. Vladimir Putins Russia is another  both more and less absolutist than China but a Potemkin democracy, yet more or less succeeding. While I and others might like to think that in the long term these will come round, due to the same pressures as led enlightenment Europe, towards democracy, that is not a given.

Universal suffrage is a historical rarity in large states. The self-perceived squeezed middle classes of the west have tried universal suffrage democracy and plainly find it lacking. But their woes are only starting, and with them the disillusionment will perhaps reach greater depths, opening the door for the right to rise again.

This year also saw the arrival of a large number of automated processes and products that have the potential to eradicate swathes of previously-humanised middle and lower middle-class jobs.

Take some examples. In finance we see the rise of robo-advisors, to counterpart the growth of algorithmic trading. Robo advisors are programs, virtual robots as it were, which suggest, with little human intervention, what and where to place any funds one might have. This has the potential to wipe out a large tranche of the investment advisor and fund advisor market.

In motoring, we have seen astonishing growth in the penetration and acceptance of self-driving cars. Initially confined to cars, this is now beginning to penetrate into the trucking business. That has the potential to disrupt a huge employer  in the US, for instance, there are 3.5 million truckers, mostly independent operators.

In large stores, we are now grindingly accepting of the robotic checkout. Banking is increasingly roboticised. A 2012 paper noted a potential immiseration cycle from robotics  as they penetrate the workforce, they make it harder for younger workers to get jobs and make it less feasible and rewarding for them to invest in human capital, depressing wages for several generations.

The marginal productivity of lower-skilled workers declines while that of the higher-skilled rises, exacerbating the income gap and social tensions. The older and richer get richer, the younger and poorer get stagnation.

We are seeing this happening now through the overhang of debt and the unwillingness of the boomer generation to countenance any reduction in their welfare amid the growth of extreme income inequality.

As noted, globalisation has brought about huge welfare increases in the lower reaches of the income distribution. But the biggest gains are among the 1%, the 0.1% and the 0.01%. The world has seen the rise of a Plutocratic class unseen perhaps since the Tang or Roman empires.

Although not yet complete, the cabinet of curiosities that Donald Trump has proposed are already wealthier than the lowest-earning 50 million US households. Think of that for a second.

A dozen versus 100 million people. Half of the global wealth is in the hands of the 1%. The top 0.01% in the US are as wealthy as the remaining 0.99% that make up the famed 1%. There is something wrong with this.

As my wifes aunt said when she first saw Versailles: No wonder they riz up.

What of Ireland? Well, we have the most unequal pre-tax pre-welfare society of the entire OECD. This includes the US.

Perhaps for shame, or perhaps because we have a fairly vibrant democracy, we have a tax and welfare system that makes us middle-ranking after distributions. But that is a function of a politics that is under strain. We have  mercifully  been spared the extremes of the right. But the virus is there.

Left to our own devices, we show all the instincts of the farther reaches of the Right. We dont, really, give much of a toss about homelessness. If we did, we would not tolerate 7,000 people spending Xmas and New year in emergency accommodation, in small and dingy hotel rooms.

We think that there is no tax rate too low to attract any number of brass plated jobs, and be damned to the begrudgers who class us as part of the global tax scandal that is the multinational taxation mess.

We dont really give a hoot about the undocumented, unless they are Irish in the States, when we mutter shure didnt they build America, while confining our domestic undocumented to direct provision for decades.

We dont much like paying tax, but love a good service. We have no problem with higher education, really, wanting a world class system, but one that produces lawyers and doctors for the upper middle classes, accountants and teachers for the middle, and sure isnt the regional college grand and cant they do computers and the like there for the rest.

We dont want to pay for it. We want cheap electricity but dont want pylons, and so on. We have a system that left to its own devices produces inequality on a scandalous scale.

Presiding over this we have new politics which looks much like the old politics with a coat of paint. Painting over a damp rotten edifice makes it look good for a while, but the paint peels and reveals the reality.

Right now we have the paint beginning to peel.

In a world in which president-elect Trump is not an episode of The Simpsons, and in which the UK has decided to go back to 1957, where a populist right wing political party is showing spectacular growth in Germany through blaming the national woes on a small but visible minority, what could possibly go wrong?

Brian Lucey is professor of finance at the School of Business, Trinity College Dublin.
Rosie Leonard of the Home Sweet Home movement said that the idea behind the shelter in Apollo House is to offer the kind of home lacking in hostels elsewhere in Dublin. She said some staying in Apollo House are currently assessing offers from the Peter McVerry Trust, but that their space in the office building will be kept for them while they decide which option suits best.

Unfortunately a six- month bed is one of the longest bed periods you can get if you are homeless, its pretty shocking. Theyre very difficult beds to get, Ms Leonard told RTEs Morning Ireland.
According to end of year figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), 8,919,700 visits were made to Ireland between January and November  a rise of 11% on the same period last year.

The figure also surpasses the record number of visits achieved over 12 months in 2015 (8,643,100) making it the best year ever for Irish tourism.

Visits from mainland Europe grew by 8.8% for January to November to 3,096,300 while visits from north America registered an increase of 18.3% (1,699,100). Numbers coming here from to Britain were up by 11.1% to 3,620,500.

Visits from the rest of the world (mostly long-haul and developing markets) totalled 503,700 for the first 11 months of 2016 (representing an increase of 1.9%).

Spending by overseas visitors to Ireland in the first nine months of the year was up 10% compared to the same period in 2015.

Commenting on the figures, Failte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn said the focus for next year was to ensure that Brexit does not impact Irelands tourism sector negatively.

Its been a phenomenal year driven by a number of factors, he said. Weve seen lots of further growth in terms of access to this country and thats really helpful.

Prevailing conditions in a lot of our overseas markets have been favourable and, to be fair, the Irish tourist industry has remained competitive. However, looking back on the year, a lot of things have happened that we couldnt have predicted.

In particular, I think that Brexit sticks out in that regard. Anything that affects our nearest overseas market like that is something that you simply cant ignore.

Looking to 2017, the tourism sector will need to shift its focus towards Continental Europe  a much more stable market with great further potential  to sustain growth.

Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said the aim for next year was to continue to improve Ireland as an offering for overseas visitors.

It is clear that 2016 will be another record-breaking year for Irish tourism, he said. We have seen exceptional results from north America for January to November  up more than 18% on the same 11-month period in 2015.

"I also welcome the strong increase in British visitors and mainland Europe has also turned in another excellent performance, with important markets like Spain, France and Germany all recording good growth.

Tourism Ireland has a number of late-season campaigns under way right now, to kick-start our promotional effort for 2017. The aim is to grow overseas tourism revenue in 2017 by 4.5% to 5.7bn for the island.
Tristan Forde from Dunmanway, Co Cork, who suffers from Dravet Syndrome, has lived US for over a year with his mother, Yvonne and brother Oscar.

She decided to relocate in order to administer the medicinal marijuana to her son in a bid to help reduce the number and severity of his seizures.

Tristan has been seizure-free for over three months.

Yvonne Cahalane told C103s Today programme that she was delighted to receive the news just days after they returned back to Ireland.

Tristan turns three on St Stephens Day and is happy to be reunited with his dad John who stayed in Dunmanway for work reasons.

Yvonne said shes ecstatic that her sons application for the use of medicinal marijuana has been approved. She directly applied to Minister for Health Simon Harris for the licence.

We finally got the phone call. He is the first wee man in Irish history to be legally allowed access medicinal marijuana in Ireland. We are thrilled. We got a call yesterday and confirmation yesterday that his application is approved. It has been frustrating. None of this has been rosy or plain sailing. It has taken years. Mainly because there was no such thing as an application process before we left, so they had to design an application process, which took the majority of the waiting time, Yvonne said.

Others will have this option now. They need to know, and be aware, that they have an option now instead of considering to self-medicate. They can go to a doctors and discuss this with them, to work with them, to go ahead and make their application. Tristan is doing great.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the visit of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Groysman scheduled for the next week over Kiev support for the damning UNSC resolution on the Israeli settlement in Palestine, Sputnik reported.

The decision was made in protest of the fact that Ukraine voted in favor of the resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and demanding immediate cease of all settlement activities on "occupied Palestinian territory," Ynet online outlet reported without disclosing the source of the information.

Over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 war. The settlements are considered illegal by the United Nations.
A whole range of highly-automated models from all BMW Group brands are set to follow and to achieve this aim, the BMW Group is combining its development expertise in vehicle connectivity and automated driving at a new campus in Unterschleissheim near Munich.

Upon final completion, more than 2,000 employees will work on the next steps towards fully-automated driving, from software development to road testing, at the new location.
Cavanaghs was founded by Dr Tom Cavanagh when it was appointed to the Ford Network in 1966 by then CEO of Ford Ireland, Tommy Brennan.

In 1969, Martin Condon joined Cavanaghs as a trainee junior sales executive, quickly playing a major part as the dealership started to make its mark as a serious Ford entity.

At that time, Dr Cavanagh also had a dealership in Fermoy and would later add another dealership in Blackrock in Cork.

Reflecting on those early days, Dr Cavanagh said the success was built on the trust placed on management and staff he worked with over the years.

Trust in your staff is a key component for any company to be a success. Without it, the company will never fully reach its true potential.

Dr Cavanagh, now in his 80s, still displays all of the sharpness and intellect that made him one of Corks earliest entrepreneurs and whose name went on to be synonymous with the Ford brand, and motoring in general, throughout Munster.

In recent years, he has given generously of his time both as the chairman of the IBAL group (Irish Business Against Litter) and also as a patron of UCC, having spent many years as an active member of their governing body.

Over the years the company has gone from strength to strength, adding two modern showrooms, which now house the Ford passenger and commercial range.

Cavanaghs was named the SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) the National Franchised Dealer of the Year 2011 and has been presented with the Ford Chairmans Award of Excellence for customer service no fewer than 13 years out of last 18 since 1997  an award richly valued within the Ford Dealer Network given that it is solely voted on by the buying public.

In 2015, the company was awarded the Gold Standard by Deloitte Ireland as part of its Best Managed Companies programme.

At the recent 2016 Ford National Dealer Meeting at the Europe Hotel, Ford Ireland CEO Ciaran McMahon presented managing director Martin Condon with a carriage clock marking Cavanaghs 50th anniversary as a main Ford dealer.
IT WAS a quiet night in the emergency department of St Jamess Hospital with the main ailments being homelessness, drug addiction, depression, alcohol abuse, violence and a poorly functioning elder care system.

And then there were the accidents and emergencies.

Snoring wheezily on a trolley in the back corridor, one of several trolley-lined arteries feeding into the main treatment area, Peter (not his real name), a wiry man in his 50s or 60s, was deep in sleep despite the discomfort of a bloodied nose, a bruised forehead and a deep gash on the top of his crown.

He took a tumble, he said when woken to have his blood pressure checked. He wasnt sure when. 10am? No, 8pm? He didnt know. Did he lose consciousness? He didnt think so. Had he been able to get up himself? He was getting tetchy now. Sure he wasnt let get up. The passers-by who called the ambulance kept telling him to lie still.

He quickly apologised for his gruffness. The nurse assured him there was no need. The doctor would be with him soon. He shielded his face with his grubby bomber jacket against the glare of the lights and resumed snoring.

A young woman shuffled past him, swaying slightly, and sat down in the small, almost bare family room, followed at a discreet distance by an attendant tasked with sitting by the door to keep an eye on her and make sure she didnt try to sleep.

The doctor who called in to her spoke in low tones but there was no way of keeping personal details private. Her chart showed she had been here several times before. What did she take this time? Sleeping tablets. How many? Not enough.

The doctor tried again, emphasising the importance of knowing how much of what exactly she had taken. The reply was monotone. All she knew was it wasnt enough. Had she any family she could call? She didnt.

At the other end of the corridor, another gashed head was being examined, this one owned by a chatty man who told how hed been out drinking when suddenly the ground came up and whacked him on the skull. Christmas party? Not really, more like a one-man party.

From the main treatment area came a constant chorus of coughs and wheezes as senior citizens, brought in from nursing homes, were checked out for respiratory problems.

One man, grateful to see his daughter arrive, asked her to wheel him to the toilet. They returned to find his cubicle curtain closed and another man on his bed. They tried to be good humoured but it was a little unsettling to find squatters rights applied even in a hospital emergency department.

Eventually the squatter, a trim, fit-looking man in his 30s was moved, limping, to a trolley in the corridor where a doctor followed and brought him good news and bad news. The weight loss, the thirst, the black-out that he couldnt fathom was, it turned out, a classic case of undiagnosed diabetes.

The good news was that his condition was very manageable. The bad news was it would take a bit of time to get it under control and he didnt have time. He was supposed to flying abroad for his wedding in a few days.

Back at the far end of the corridor Peter was being quizzed gently by a doctor as she tried to convince him to focus his sight on her pen and follow it as she moved it.

Peter couldnt be bothered. He was grand, he said. He didnt want his eyes tested, his nose examined, his face X-rayed or his scalp stitched. He was fine the way he was.

In between the protests of being grand, the doctor extracted the information that Peter had already survived a stroke, was living in a hostel, drinking heavily and hadnt taken his warfarin in months because it didnt go well with alcohol.

The doctor explained if he didnt take the warfarin, he was at a high risk of another stroke. That was fine with Peter. He was tired of living.

The doctor examined him more and the tetchiness returned. He didnt want to be treated. He didnt care if he died. He wanted to die.

The doctor asked him if he had ever spoken to anyone about how he felt, if indeed he had anyone to talk to. Sure Im talking now, he replied. He didnt mean to be cheeky, he said by way of apology. No need for one, she assured him again.

A new arrival with a bandaged hand and one eye swollen shut settled himself on another trolley with instructions not to doze off as a full head and eye exam was needed.

He had stepped in to break up a fight, he explained, and had no idea whether hed taken punches or kicks but the next thing he knew he was in an ambulance.

Another trolley was wheeled by, carrying an unconscious girl who looked to be in her teens, her neat clutch bag carefully placed at her feet, the stains of vomit on her party clothes.

More coughs, more wheezes, more senior citizens with expressions that said they wished they could be treated at home, in their nursing home. Anywhere but here.

And this was a quiet night. Monday is rarely the worst an emergency department will see and the waiting time for non-urgent cases was recorded on the electronic notice board as four hours  nothing worth ringing Joe Duffy about. By 5am, it was down to one hour. Barely worth mentioning.

There were 11 patients on trolleys on the Monday morning and that was down to eight on Tuesday. One night earlier this month, it was 26.

A member of staff who kept tabs on the movement of patients appeared every now and again with a folder permanently printed with the words back corridor. This was no temporarily overspill. The back corridor is not just an artery serving the treatment area. It is a treatment area in itself.

With trolleys lining each side, there is just enough room to move a third one through to take a patient to X-ray or to a ward. There are no chairs for people accompanying patients as there is not enough space and besides, they can present a safety issue if trouble erupts.

After seven hours standing by a trolley, an attendant, without being asked and without speaking, appeared and slid a plastic stackable chair my way with a wink. I mustnt look like the chair-throwing kind.

Much of the activity here isnt even reflected in the daily trolley counts as people on the corridor who are discharged during the night are not included. Trolley counts only begin when a patient entering the emergency department is declared in need of admission to a ward.

The groom-to-be was allowed home with an appointment for outpatients the next day. The one-man party was declared fit to leave too. Various walking wounded were assured that they too could go once X-rays and/or blood tests came back clear or as soon as a drip bag delivered the last of some restorative fluids.

All the examinations, the tests, the explanations and the assurances were carried out and delivered with patience, empathy and the coolest of heads. These are qualities the staff will need in abundance as their campus is to be home to the new National Childrens Hospital.

Its a much-needed, long-awaited facility but the chosen site is small, bordered on all sides by tightly packed old Dublin neighbourhoods, with two road access points that at peak times are backed up by the surrounding city centre traffic, with parking already a problem and with Viking settlements all round and probably beneath the ground that must be dug deeply for parking and foundations with all the potential archaeological headaches that may entail.

Whatever disruption lies ahead, there was no time to dwell on it on Monday night as ambulances pulled in, trolleys rolled out and corridors filled up.

However, there was time for the personal touch. As the doctor prepared Peter for X-ray, he stalled her for a moment. That thing he had said. He didnt want to upset anyone. He really wasnt going to do anything silly.

You dont go to heaven if you commit suicide, he said, and he wanted to go to heaven.

I want to see my mother again, he said.
The first thing to pop out is the endorsement of the occupation by the buildings former owner, developer Garrett Kelleher.

He said that he supports the aim of the group organising Apollo House, Home Sweet Home, which advocates that nobody be deprived a roof over their head this Christmas.

It is heartwarming that so many people really care regardless of politics or socio-economics. People have been squatting in vacant properties for generations, Mr Kelleher said.

Right so. Wonder if Mr Kelleher still had ownership of the building would he feel as strongly? One can also presume that in the various cities around the world where he does own property he will be opening doors to the homeless over the festive season, giving the nod to the practice down through the generations of squatting. At this rate the Construction Industry Federations Tom Parlon will appear at the gates of Apollo tonight togged out as Santa Claus.

Another tacit endorsement comes from the Government. No minister has condemned the trespassing. None have questioned the legality. What gives? If the Government is all for it, or at least not agin it, there must be something wrong.

One more bum note was the by now mandatory inclusion of the name of Jonathan Corrie by some of the activists. Brendan Ogle couldnt help including Mr Corrie in a piece he wrote for the Irish Times about the occupation.

Mr Corrie died in a doorway a few yards from the gates of Leinster House two years ago. During his life he had terrible struggles, with both his own demons and a society that is ill-equipped or unwilling to deal properly with addiction related issues.

In death, he is constantly dragged out as an example of how people are dying on the streets for want of a bed. Mr Corrie didnt die for want of a bed. His untimely tragedy was attributable to a wider malaise in society. Perhaps the only people who should invoke Mr Corries name are his bereaved loved ones, and if they prefer not to then maybe the man should be left to rest in peace.

So theres plenty about Apollo House to give rise to caution. But beyond that, there is far more reason to celebrate what has occurred.

Up to three dozen people who are accustomed to existing at the margins of society will be part of a community this Christmas. By the standards of accommodation allotted to the most disadvantaged, they will be enjoying the Ritz. Surely that is what Christmas is about.

Many of them will know what it feels like to be invisible to the great bulk of people who pass them on the street, a source of fear or embarrassment, from whom it is best to turn away in the face of uncomfortable questions. And now for a brief pocket of time, for one Christmas, they have inched in from the margins. Respite is all that it is, but thats plenty of justification.

The other positive aspect to the occupation is the publicity it has generated.

It has highlighted the issue in an extraordinary way, according to Fr Peter McVerry. And it has generated public support in a way that nothing in the past few years has been able to do. The scourge of homelessness has been thrust into the public glare, which is where it should be all the time. The nature of modern media, which requires constant churning of stories to keep the public interested, often results in the important stories not getting the requisite attention.

That, unfortunately, is life as we know it in this celebrity/media age. For keeping a light shone into the darker recesses of society, we should be grateful to Apollo House.

What matters now is whether momentum can be sustained after the building will presumably be vacated on January 11 on foot of this weeks High Court order. Occupying a building to house rough sleepers was an admirable exercise, but it is also the simplest element of a complex crises. As such, it wont have bothered those with a vested interest in ensuring that housing is primarily a market issue rather than a basic human right.

Surely the best direction for Home Sweet Home is to now get its political activists and artists involved in addressing the messier aspects of the crisis.

One element that could do with a major focus in the coming months is the business of temporary accommodation. During the week, the Simon Community revealed that around 7,000 people will be living in temporary accommodation this Christmas, including more than 2,000 children. Living in hotel rooms is a transient form of existence for anybody, but for children it can be life-transforming, arresting development and, in some cases, condemning their prospects in adulthood. Last July, the Housing Strategy stated that this shocking indictment of modern Ireland was coming to an end.

Our intention is to move the existing group of families out of these hotel arrangements as quickly as possible, and to limit the extent to which such accommodation has to be used for new presentations, the strategy stated.

Our aim is that by mid-2017, hotels will only be used for emergency accommodation in very limited circumstances. This is the most urgent and ambitious element of the strategy. Its wider implications for the development and well-being of children in particular is enormous. But will it, like so many other plans, end up being quietly shelved, and excuses trotted out as to why it was not possible.

What about a campaign over the next six months to push for that achievement? How about elevating it to a matter of urgent action which will cost the government serious political capital? Why not organise to ensure that politicians, public servants and private interests be reminded each day of their responsibilities?

Surely such a campaign would be even more laudable that the occupation of an empty office building. It would attract support across society, not least from the agencies who work quietly to support people without a home. A concerted drive to end hotel room child-rearing could do with plenty of celebrity endorsement. In the normal course of such events it would most likely also unearth more solutions from those with expertise in housing and accommodation. Could such a campaign driven by Home Sweet Home make a difference? Imagine how it might feel at the height of the summer for a country to celebrate it had brought to an end one of the most long-term destructive elements of the current crisis?

Happy Christmas Apollo House. And lets try to make it a happy new life, for children who have no home.
Saturday, December 24th, 2016 (1:04 am) - Score 572

Lying to children about the existence of a mythical home invader, the occasional alcoholic tipple, shopping queues, Brussels Sprouts that arent actually from Brussels, annoyingly repetitive songs and at some point an old lady on the TV will lecture you about family values (intersected with pictures of Corgis).. it can only be Christmas!

This year Christmas is a bit of an oddball and falls on a Sunday, which means itll be followed by a couple of bank holidays on Monday and Tuesday. As usual well be taking it easy for the next few days and will be back into full swing on Wednesday, but of course if anything important pops up before that then we will try to cover it, albeit from behind glazed eyes.

But before we go its important to include an obligatory reminder about keeping Christmas Tree Lights well away from your broadband router as some of them, particularly the older style ones, are known to cause interference that can impact your Internet connectivity; modern standards should make this less of a problem.

Similarly Christmas Day can often result in a lot of people going online to activate new devices or to share updates on social media, so dont be surprise if the performance of your home connection falls ever so slightly on the big day. Internet providers can also be short staffed over the festive weekend (not unlike most businesses) and some smaller providers may even close their offices for a day or two, so keep that in mind if you need support.

Otherwise wed just like to wish all of our visitors a Merry Christmas, whatever your faith or belief, and a Happy New Year for 2017. Now its time for a bit of classic Simons Cat..
Social networks had a huge influence on the presidential election in 2016, especially Facebook and Twitter. One new regarding a company Microsoft closed one of the highest-profile acquisition in social media history. These are just two of the picks for the most significant social stories of 2016.

2016's Biggest Social Media Stories

Social media had big ups and downs for the whole year of 2016. According to CIO, these two situations are the stories that shaped the conversations and intrigue around social media during the past year.

US Presidential Election 2016

Many people believe that Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms contribute a huge impact on the result of the US Presidential Election 2016. As reported by NPR, social media communities played a large role in gathering young voters for the 2016 election. "The algorithm that controls your Facebook newsfeed favors content that you've liked before and matches your own politics. And with Twitter, you could argue that it's very DNA is just not set up for a thoughtful political dialogue."

During the final weeks of the US presidential election, it became quite clear that social media could not be more powerful or dangerous than ever. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook did not impact the result of the election. "Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 percent of what people see is authentic," he said, noting the Facebook, as a network, has a goal to "give every person a voice."

In the wake of the election outcome, Facebook found itself under immense pressure to explain its role in influencing users. "After the election, many people are asking whether fake news contributed to the result, and what our responsibility is to prevent fake news from spreading," Zuckerberg said to Chris Prentice of Reuters "These are very important questions and I care deeply about getting them right."

On the other hand, Twitter also gives part on the historical US presidential election. CIO said Twitter's impact on the 2016 election was also unmistakable. The news on Twitter has become unstoppable just like a machine that always giving an outcome. But it simultaneously lost momentum in two key business metrics: user growth and ad revenue. "It's unclear whether or not the popular social network will even exist the next time Americans hit the polls."

Live Video, Group Chats, and Social Media Integrations

Of course, aside from the fake news and rumors, there is still good news. One of the best good news of 2016 are the updates on social networks and applications. According to The Guardian, this year is the year of plenty of other things but it is also the year of the group chat. iMessage, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook Messenger are usually the means used and they can be three people or they can be 30.

Instagram is one of the many apps and social media platforms that announced many updates this year. There are also lots of celebrities involve in the news related to IG, such as Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and much more. Instagram, is indeed an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos and share them in 2016.

Social media integrations are everywhere. Nowadays, you can connect your Twitter account to your Facebook, you can also connect your Pinterest to your Twitter, Instagram to Facebook, Snapchat to Twitter and more! The most realistic update on social media integrations is when Instagram announced that its live video broadcasting feature will be rolled out to everyone in the U.S. Facebook-owned platform, IG, will be available to live stream for all US users.

More broadly, social media companies failed in 2016 to live up to their promise as online one-stop-shops for consumers and retailers. Shopping is still not common on social media, and social sites are unlikely to become major destinations for buying anytime soon. The biggest platforms haven't given up, but some critics say it may be too late.
The world's oldest mummies just had their medical check-up after more than 7,000 years. Using mummy CT scans and DNA testing, anthropologists try to reveal the secrets of the Chinchorro mummies -- which are about 2,000 years older than the first mummies in Egypt.

The Chinchorro is an old civilization in modern-day Chile and Peru. They are composed of fishing and hunting people who lived on the Pacific coast of South America from 10,000 to 3,400 BC. The Chinchorro were among the first civilization who used mummification on the dead. Their mummies are at least 7,400 years old.

Last week, 15 mummies were brought to a Santiago clinic. Researchers revealed how the mummification process was done. The Chinchorro people carefully removed the skin and muscles in the dead body and reconstructed it by putting plants, clay and wood in the skeleton.

The original skin was then sewed back and the hair, eyes and mouth were added. They also put a mask on the face resulting in an eerie combination of a person and a statue. They follow one general process but the method evolved through time.

However, the most surprising thing is, their mummification process has no scale. Unlike Egyptians, it was not reserved to royalties. The family of the dead mummify their deceased -- even children and infants. They also have no pyramids. The mummies, which were the only relic left by the Chinchorro people, were all discovered outdoors, some buried in desert valleys according to Daily Mail.

"We collected thousands of images with a precision of less than one millimeter," chief radiologist Marcelo Galvez told Agence France-Presse. "The next phase is to try to dissect these bodies virtually, without touching them, which will help us preserve them for another 500,000 years."

Using the mummy CT scans, the researchers are now busy reconstructing the facial and bodily features of the mummies. Galvez added that they want to know the physical appearance of the Chinchorro people. Their DNA and genes are also being studied using skin and hair samples to bring more light to ancient civilizations.

The mummy CT scans also revealed that the smallest mummy discovered was just a figurine. Researchers revealed there was no bone structure inside the mummy and it could just be a representation of an individual who could not be mummified.
The U.S. State Department on Friday warned Americans traveling to Egypt of threats from terrorist groups and noted that several bombing incidents had occurred this month, including a Coptic cathedral attack that killed at least 25 people, Reuters reported.

The department said that while Egypt has a heavy security presence at major tourist sites, including Luxor and Aswan, "terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country."

It said Americans should avoid travel to the Western Desert and the Sinai Peninsula outside the beach resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Thirteen people were killed and over a dozen others were wounded in a bus accident in Malaysia, Sputnik reported.

The accident occurred in the Muar District of Johor State on Saturday morning, The Star newspaper said citing Johor Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Mohd Yusof Mohd Gunnos.

The bus driver, along with a dozen passengers, were killed and 17 others were injured when the bus skidded and fell off a cliff.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The bus was heading from the capital of Johor State, Johor Baru, to Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.
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A blast ripped through a police car outside a Catholic church in the southern Philippines late Saturday, authorities said, wounding 12 people including a police officer. The explosion hit churchgoers arriving for a Christmas Eve mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Nino in Midsayap town, about 900 kilometres south of Manila, The Indian Express reported.

Authorities did not immediately say who was responsible for the blast, which a police report said was caused by an unspecified explosive.

All victims suffered minor injuries except for one female civilian who was seriously injured (on) her foot, regional police spokesman Superintendent Romeo Galgo said in a written report.

The town is resides in the middle of the large Philippine island of Mindanao, home to a Muslim minority and decades of armed rebellion. However the main Muslim guerrilla group in the area has signed a ceasefire with the Philippine government.

Government forces continue to fight smaller Muslim armed groups on the island, some of whom have pledged allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and have been blamed for bombing civilian targets in the past.

A member of the Midsayap police force was among those injured, Galgo reported. Maureen Apilado, a civilian clerk at the Midsayap police station, told AFP by telephone that officers were busy investigating the incident and were unavailable for comment.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24

Trend:

Turkeys first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FRSU) opened Dec. 23 with a grand ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Daily Sabah reported.

President Erdogan highlighted the remarkable contribution the facility will make to Turkey's energy supply security.

"This facility, which has the capacity to send up to 20 million cubic meters of LNG per day to our national transmission network, will be both a power plant, producing electricity with natural gas, and a fuse for consumption for heating purposes," he said.

The facility will have a storage capacity of 145,000 cubic meters of liquid natural gas and will be able to supply over 5.3 billion cubic meters of gas annually to the national system.
Asus teases two new smartphones that are about to be launched at the upcoming CES 2017.

The clues are given by the speaker in the video trailer of the two new smartphones, who was repeating the words innovation and exploration. As such, the footage revolves on the humans perceptions and visual as well. Just as the human eye in the last seconds on the video below. Asus was also the first mobile community to introduce a smartphone with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM, Zenfone 2 in its event two years ago.

Asus released a teaser video for what users could expect from their company. The video teaser isnt detailed much. But as the audience can see, the other phone has an infinity red sign while the other has a blue inverted triangle shape. Speculations suggest that the symbols are connected to the phones names.

Recent reports by 9to5Google were suggesting that Asus will release a phone under a Tango-enabled phone. Since Lenovo with Phab2 Pro was the first smartphone to release a Tango phone, Asus MAY plan also to do so. Google Tango is also called as Project Tango, which enables AR (augmented reality) that has special software and sensors. This enables users to expand imagination in placing furniture and things on the floor or maybe play games on the floor.

The speculated phone is said to be dubbed as Zenfone AR. Since Asus CEO Jerry Shen stated, The ZenFone AR will come with advanced functionality and performance at a competitive price." No further details were provided, though.

On the other hand, NDTV guesses that the infinity symbol smartphone is the recent released Zenfone 3 Zoom since, like every Asus phone, it should have an optical zoom feature. The Zenfone 3 Zoom is also equipped with a powered Snapdragon 625, a dual rear camera setup, a 13-megapixel front camera, and a battery packed with a 4850mAh battery.

You can witness the live stream coverage of the Asus Zennovation to happen at the Caesar Palace on Jan. 4, 2017, here.
The blossoming royal romance of Prince Harry and Suits actress Meghan Markle is going pretty well. There may be different speculations about the new royal romance but what matters most is that Queen Elizabeth is said to be supportive of the young lovers. Meghans obedience to the Queen is a great factor.

US Weekly shared that Meghan charms also works not only with the Prince but also with Queen Elizabeth. One of Buckingham Palace insiders says Her Majesty is fully supportive of grandson Prince Harrys relationship with the actress. The source even added that the Queen is delighted to see Harry in a loving relationship.

There have been talks going around that the Toronto-based actress obedience is one of the key factors why the Queen is supportive of her romance with Prince Harry. According to Celebrity Dirty Laundry, Markle has been refusing media appearance ever since she started her romance with the Harry.

Meghan was a no show on The Today Show wherein she was expected to have an appearance and talk about her TV series. In the new edition of Life & Style Magazine, it was discussed why Meghan snubbed The Today Show.

It was mentioned that Before Meghan Markle began dating Prince Harry and became an instant household name, she occasionally appeared on Today to promote her USA series Suits. But this season shell be a no-show. Why?

To explain The Suits actress side, a source that is close to Meghan said that Meghan told producers she was pressured by the palace to not do any interviews. She is being extremely cautious and wants to keep a low profile out of respect for the royal family.

The royal insiders were not surprised by Meghans decision to stay quite and stir away from the media about her relationship with the eligible Prince. Everyone knows that Queen Elizabeths hates to get the royal family involves in any gossip news.

Following the royal family protocols may not be that hard for Markle since Harrys senior aides guide her with the dos and donts as reported by one of the Princes friends. Meghan even asks for advice from Harrys communications secretary Jason Knauf and private secretary Ed Lane Fox.

The source said that There have been times where Meghans been unsure [of protocol] and having a direct line to Harrys most trusted aides has been a godsend.

It was back in October that Jobs & Hire shared to its readers that Prince Harry and Meghan have been secretly dating. Now, the couple is already together for six months and engagement rumors are running around.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday vowed once again to combat terrorism at home and abroad, saying Syrias Al-Bab was almost free of Daesh terrorists as result of a Turkish army operation with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Anadolu reported.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Turkey's first ever floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in the Aliaga district of the western Izmir province, Erdogan spoke about the recent development in Syria.

Al-Bab is almost free, our armed forces together with the FSA will take the region soon," he said. We will fight terrorism not only at home, but abroad also."

He went on to say Turkey was maintaining diplomatic ties with Russia, the U.S., Iran and Iraq as well as the Gulf countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

We are coordinating with coalition forces, he added.

Drawing on recent terror attacks in Turkey, Erdogan added: Recent attacks target [our] stability and secured environment. We will not be deceived by those trying to limit Turkey through instability and insecurity, by diverting Turkeys focus away from investment, development and progress. We know their games.

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along Turkeys border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

As of Thursday, the Turkish defense minister said over 1,000 Daesh terrorists have been killed since the beginning of the Euphrates Shield operation.
Criminal defendants awaiting trial will no longer have the option of being on electronic house monitoring, and that has some court officials worried.

To me, its a significant loss for all of us, Chief District Judge Lisa Menefee said Thursday.

The Forsyth County Sheriffs Office is ending the program, which has been in operation since 1998, because the software network that the electronic monitoring equipment uses will no longer work after 2017, said Maj. Robert Slater, the bureau commander of the Forsyth County Jail. That will make the equipment useless, he said.

Slater and Chief Deputy Brad Stanley of the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said they were notified in the middle of the year. It would cost a lot of money to get onto a new network, and thats money the sheriffs office doesnt have budgeted, Stanley said.

Its not something we were just excited about doing, Stanley said about eliminating the program.

Slater said about 20 criminal defendants are on electronic monitoring at any time. Thats been the average for the past few years. He said the program was started in 1998 as a way to decrease the number of inmates at the jail, which had reached capacity in the 1990s.

Criminal defendants who have been convicted and are on probation can still be electronically monitored, which is done by another agency.

Menefee and Paul James, Forsyth Countys public defender, said eliminating the program could increase costs for housing more people at the jail.

James said in many cases judges will now have to make secured bonds higher if they dont have the option of electronic monitoring.

This is punitive to people who are indigent, he said. Theyre not going to be able to make bond. It costs a lot more to keep someone in custody than to keep them on house electronic arrest.

Menefee said judges also deal with defendants who are 16, 17 or 18 years old and are still in school. She said judges have to consider a number of factors, including whether they have jobs or go to school, whether they have a history of missing court and the seriousness of the crimes. By state law, they also have to consider whether defendants are a flight risk or pose a potential danger to the community or to alleged victims in the criminal case, Menefee said.

Electronic monitoring was a valuable option, she said, and getting rid of the program is short-sighted.

Stanley disagreed. He said the program only affects a small number of criminal defendants. He said some judges placed criminal defendants on the program that officials in the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office thought should not have been released from jail. Those defendants, Stanley said, were facing violent felonies or had previously been convicted of violent crimes.

The sheriffs office also had to electronically monitor a criminal defendant who lived in Durham, he said.

Stanley also noted that the program is not mandated by state law.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim ONeill said Sheriff Bill Schatzman had maintained the program for as long as he could with limited resources.

The Forsyth County District Attorneys office will continue to work as diligently as we have since 2009 to effectively manage the jail population by reviewing the conditions of pre-trial release for those individuals that do not pose a threat to the rest of our community, he said. We will continue to allow certain crimes to be moved expeditiously through the criminal justice system for those individuals that choose to take responsibility for their criminal conduct at an early stage in the proceedings.

Menefee said she is disappointed by the decision.

Its a cost to taxpayers because its a cost to the county, and there are non-monetary costs of people missing school and people losing jobs, she said.
Nine Democratic U.S. senators have scolded the board of directors of Wells Fargo & Co. for the banks foot-dragging on disclosing more details on its fraudulent customer accounts.

Wells Fargo agreed Sept. 8 to pay a combined $185 million in fines to resolve regulatory complaints regarding 2.1 million customer accounts.

In a letter sent Thursday to Wells Fargo Chairman Stephen Sanger, the senators, all members of the Senate banking committee, expressed frustration that the bank has failed to provide requested information to 10 inquiries even after the banking committees Sept. 28 grilling of then-top executive John Stumpf.

The senators criticized Stumpf for failing to answer many questions. (Wells Fargo let Stumpf, its chairman and chief executive, retire immediately on Oct. 12.)

The issues the banking committee want to know more about include: officially identifying the independent directors serving on the banks internal investigative committee; why such an investigative committee wasnt in place before the settlement; how it will make its report known to shareholders and the public; what was the boards knowledge of the scandal before Sept. 8; and what other business lines had been affected by the fraudulent employee behavior.

The senators want answers by Jan. 6.

As you know, continued failure to answer questions  especially basic questions  about the causes and consequences of the fraud that Wells Fargo permitted for many years does nothing to restore the trust of Wells Fargos customers and shareholders, many of whom are our constituents, the senators wrote.

Analysts say the shadow over the bank will not go away until it discloses more information about the depth of the scandal, and what management and the board knew about it and when they were told. Analysts have questioned whether some board members will be required to step down as part of the rehabilitation process.

In our view, waiting until Spring 2017 to provide more documents and information to our questions is not diligence, the senators wrote.

The bank has said that 1.5 million unauthorized and fraudulent customer checking and 623,000 credit-card accounts were opened by branch employees and managers in customers names to meet sales targets. Wells Fargo said its internal investigation goes back to 2009.

The bank has said it cannot rule out that 38,722 unauthorized customer accounts were established in North Carolina and 23,327 in South Carolina.

The senators also want the bank to provide all board minutes, e-mails and materials related to customer accounts dating back to 2007, say when and how the bank disclosed the nature of the scandal to investors and when did the banks auditors raise the unacceptable sales practices (or a related issue) to a board member.

Tim Sloan, who took over as Wells Fargos chief executive upon Stumpfs retirement, said in October that the board had not declared whether it will make the internal investigations results public.

Wells Fargo responded to the senators letter with a statement that said the boards internal investigation is being conducted with the advice of outside counsel that will follow the facts wherever they lead  and that the findings of the investigation will be made public at the conclusion of the process.

The more frustrating

The senators said Sloans remarks on CNBC on Oct. 12  that the bank felt like there was more answers that it could have provided at the congressional hearings  makes the companys slow and incomplete responses to our requests all the more frustrating.

Since senior management is unwilling to provide us the information we requested pertaining to the unauthorized accounts and termination of employees, we are requesting information that specifically relates to the boards conduct, decisions and documents in these matters, the senators wrote.

We believe answers to these questions are necessary for us to fully evaluate the events and practices that occurred, causing millions of Wells Fargo customers to question the trustworthiness of Wells Fargo, the letter says.

Tony Plath, a finance professor at UNC Charlotte, said Friday that he is amazed by how Wells Fargo and its board have responded to the Senate banking committees requests.

This letter indicates that the Democratic committee members have been totally dissatisfied with Wells Fargo managements response to the crisis, Plath said.

This is one big, swift kick in telling the board to get busy and come up with a better, more sincere and meaningful response to what the government and the general public considers to be a major problem at the bank, he said.

Now, the governments big guns are aimed squarely and directly at the board, answering the questions of whether regulators will hold the board accountable for the deplorable actions of its managers.
TMZ is reporting that Carrie Fisher had a heart attack today on an airplane.

The Chicago Tribune was reporting that the actress is in critical condition.

The website says the plane landed shortly after noon in Los Angeles and that Fisher was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The actress best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars has been traveling to promote her book, The Princess Diarist.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey will never allow the formation of a new state in northern Syria, Anadolu reported.

"We will never allow the founding of this kind of state, despite efforts to do so, Erdogan told Turkeys Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) in Istanbul.

Erdogan also reiterated Turkeys wish to see a terror-free safe zone in northern Syria for the safety of its southeastern border provinces.

"We have been saying this from the beginning. If this [issue] isnt dealt with, Gaziantep is always hanging by a thread, Kilis is always hanging by a thread, Sanliurfa is hanging by a thread," he added, mentioning three border provinces.

Later, at the opening of a governmental complex, Erdogan spoke on the Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces in northern Syria backed by the Turkish army.

"The Free Syrian Army is the epitome of moderate opposition in Syria, he said. It has nothing to do with [being a] terrorist organization, but it is precisely a resistance movement. They are trying to save their territory."

On the completion of the evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from war-battered eastern Aleppo, Erdogan said: "We have saved our 45,000 brothers from Aleppo ... We can bring them to our territories if necessary."

Separately, meeting with women entrepreneurs in Istanbul, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim stressed the goals of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria.

"Our aim in being there is ensuring the safety of life and property of our citizens who live along our southern borders," said Yildirim, adding that Turkey has long wanted to block the danger coming from northern Syria.

Separately, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli spoke on Turkey's current Al-Bab operation as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.

"Operation Euphrates Shield should definitely be crowned with victory," Bahceli said at MHP headquarters in Ankara.

"If we emerged empty-handed from Al-Bab, we would endanger Diyarbakir and Ankara. Al-Bab should collapse around the hellhounds, and they should all perish."

The Turkish army is supporting Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters efforts to liberate Al-Bab from Daesh, a strategic city for the terrorist group.

The Turkish army is currently active in northern Syria under Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along Turkeys border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

Since the launch of Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkish explosive ordnance disposal teams have neutralized 2,208 handmade explosives and 42 mines in areas rid of Daesh.
RALEIGH  Precisely four times in modern North Carolina history, voters have elected a new governor or lieutenant governor of one party and legislative majorities of the other party. In all four instances, the legislature stripped the newly elected executives of some power.

In the first three instances  Republican Gov. Jim Holhousers election in 1972, Republican Gov. Jim Martins election in 1984 and Republican Lt. Gov. Jim Gardners election in 1988  it was a Democratic legislature who did the stripping. As Martins biographer, Im most familiar with his experience. Lawmakers limited his ability to staff agencies (including the State Board of Elections), subjected other appointments to constraints or confirmation and withdrew gubernatorial control over state construction and administrative hearings, among other actions.

In each case, Republicans cried foul. Democrats insisted they were simply carrying out North Carolinas longstanding preference for legislative supremacy.

If you think I offer this history to justify the fourth instance in question  the recently concluded special session of the GOP-led General Assembly  then you are mistaken. While I think many provisions that lawmakers passed this month are either needed or at least have potential, they were major changes in the structure and operation of state government. They deserved more deliberation than a brief Christmastime session allowed.

When you make policy through an orderly process of committee hearings, robust debate and sufficient time for lots of people to weigh in, you increase both the quality of legislation and the credibility of legislators. Routinely, such a process uncovers drafting errors or unforeseen complications that can be addressed before passage.

Admittedly, some of the changes were relatively straightforward. For example, Ive argued for many years that we should either have partisan elections for appellate judges or adopt a federal-type system of gubernatorial appointment with legislative confirmation. The worst option is the nonpartisan system adopted by Democrats in 2002 after years of watching Republicans win judicial races.

The subsequent elections continued to be partisan in all but name. Democrats simply figured they would win more of them if the labels were removed. It was a partisan scheme to deny voters information. Republican lawmakers reversed it for the 2016 elections for Court of Appeals but came up with a different scheme for the Supreme Court. That was a grave mistake, now corrected.

But what about the creation of a new bipartisan elections and ethics board, or the changes to the administration of the Department of Public Instruction? There may be merit to these ideas. There may also be unanticipated consequences. Having been passed in haste, they should now be watched in more leisure and adjusted as needed during regular session.

Heres something else North Carolina history can teach us: dont believe apocalyptic claims about an end to representative government. Incoming Gov. Roy Cooper, among others, knows better. He knows that he will have roughly the same hiring authority that other recent governors have had (albeit much less than Pat McCrory received). He knows that senators are unlikely to reject most of his Cabinet secretaries, and that if they did his other hires would essentially run the departments, anyway.

After all, Holshouser and Martin werent irrelevant governors. They got things done. Cooper  who proposed or enacted checks on governors of both parties during his service in the state legislature  still retains many formal and informal powers. Hell use them.

One last thing. Democrats upset with the special session might have been more persuasive had they chosen a different rhetorical strategy. Every time they accused GOP lawmakers of unprecedented acts, of contempt for democracy, of being sore losers and the like, all Republicans heard was hypocrisy. What happened in 2016 was different in detail, but not much in degree, from what happened in the past. A better argument would have been, Yes, we Democrats went too far when we were in power. It often came back to bite us. Dont make the same mistake.

I am all for breaking the cycle. That will increase trust and long-term thinking from both sides.
STEPHANIE EMERY, Clemmons

Grow up already

I have voted without regard for party in every election for the past 50 years, always for the candidate I thought would be the best person for the job. Sometimes my choice won, sometimes not. Sometimes the person who won kept his/her campaign promises, most often not.

This has been a campaign season riddled with derision, mockery and divisiveness. It is time to put all that behind us and unite behind the person who has been duly elected and affirmed by the Electoral College.

Who are these people who hold signs saying Not my president? Are they not Americans concerned with the peaceful transition of power, which was advocated by Hillary Clinton? Millions of us could have said Not my president many times during elections when our side didnt win. But instead we decided to give the person elected a chance.

It is time for the losing side to realize, as President Obama said, that elections have con-sequences. It is time for that side to grow up, get over it and get on with the future.

We will be a vulnerable target for any enemy who sees us as a divided country. Set aside your fears and anger and resolve to help America with your prayers and by joining with fellow citizens to present a united front to the world.

***

DAVID BOTCHIN, Winston-Salem

The fourth special session

What can we, the public, take away from last weeks fourth special session of the N.C. legislature:

1. Gov. Pat McCrory does not care (and never has cared) about the office of the governor and/or the executive branch; all he has cared about is the GOP agenda. This will be his legacy.

2. The GOP legislature believes that there is only one branch of government: The legislative branch (of course that is only if they are in control). If possible, they would abolish the executive and judicial branches of government and vest total power in themselves.

3. Once again, the GOP has brought our great state to the national forefront with more negative and damaging publicity that will hurt our state for years to come.

4. Clearly it is time for the citizens of North Carolina to file recall petitions in each and every district against each and every legislator that voted in favor of any of the bills.

***

LELAND STOAT, Winston-Salem

An incidental vote

The Business Insider recently reported that after the election, PepsiCos CEO and chairman, Indra Nooyi, had to face employees who were in mourning over the results  like so many of us.

Our employees were all crying, Nooyi said. And the question that theyre asking, especially those who are not white, Are we safe? Women are asking, Are we safe? LGBT people are asking, Are we safe? I never thought I would have to answer those questions.

So when I read the letter A vote for Trump (Dec. 11), in which the writer claims he voted for the conservative agenda, and writes, My vote for Trump was incidental, I cant help wondering if the conservative agenda was to create this kind of fear among the non-white populace. Because that sure was the result.

I dont blame the writer for making excuses for his deplorable vote now. But unless he was living in a bunker, he has to have known about Trumps fascist rhetoric and the white supremacists who walked hand-in-hand to this victory with him. Were those incidental?

If he, and other Trump voters, really didnt intend to foster racism and sexism by voting for Trump, if they didnt really support his rude, bullying character, I challenge them to stand against Trump now. Every time Trump says something crude, racist or deceitful, speak out against him.

If, that is, your vote for Trump truly was incidental.

***

DAVID TURCK, Clemmons

Possibilities

As we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, we are reminded that the possibilities for mankind are truly infinite.

As we see in the news that many politicians would put personal and party interests ahead of the general welfare of mankind and country, we are shown that zero is included in that infinite spectrum of possibilities.

***

MICHAEL NEWMAN, Winston-Salem

Power-grab

The N.C. General Assemblys power-grab in the name of loyalty to the Republican tribe reflects a trashing of our American standards of fair play and respect for all North Carolinians.

We need leaders who are working to build bridges. Unfortunately, politicians in North Carolina and in our country are focused on a path of division.

Are we headed to become like Syria, a country destroyed by internal division? Will we destroy ourselves? What can each of us do to turn around this threat to democracy and the future of America?

When You Write

The Journal encourages readers comments. To participate in The Readers Forum, please submit letters online to Letters@wsjournal.com. Please write The Readers Forum in the subject line and include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. Or you may mail letters to: The Readers Forum, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Letters are subject to editing and may be published on journalnow.com. Letters are limited to 250 words. Letter writers are allowed one letter every 30 days.

If you would like a photo of yourself included with your letter, send it to us as a .jpg file.

For more guidelines and advice on writing letters, go to journalnow.com/opinion/submit_a_letter.

The Journal welcomes original submissions for guest columns on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. The writer should have some authority for writing about his or her subject. Our email address is: Let-ters@wsjournal.com. Essays may also be mailed to: The Readers Forum, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime tele-phone number.
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By TeleSur |  

Activists say Thursdays announcement of the dismantling of the notorious NSEERS program is a key victory in the fight against Trumps Islamophobia.

After 14 years of almost constant organizing, activists celebrated Thursday the announcement that the Obama administration would fully dismantle a dormant special registration program that targeted migrants from Muslim majority countries in the wake of the U.S. 9/11 attacks.

While the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, NSEERS, was suspended in 2011, calls for Obama to fully dismantle the program have grown since the election of Donald Trump, whose explicitly Islamophobic campaign promised to ban Muslim migrants from entering the country and explicitly considered reviving internment camp program for Muslims, similar to those used during WW2 against Japanese-Americans.

Many credit Obamas decision to the work of New York City-based grassroots organization Desis Rising Up and Moving, DRUM, who since the creation of the program in 2002 by President George W. Bush, have organized resistance to the program which led to the deportation of more than 13, 000 men, the registration of almost 85, 000 others, and spread panic throughout migrant communities across the U.S.

Much love to @DesisRisingUp for helping lead the push to dismantle NSEERS. ????  thomas mariadason (@jaffnagraphy) December 22, 2016

At DRUM, we saw firsthand how thousands of families have been torn apart, jobs lost, and neighborhoods and communities devastated, many of which have still yet to recover. This massive and ineffective profiling campaign based on religion and ethnicity led to zero identifications and convictions of anyone associated with any cases of terrorism, but has come at extensive social, ethical, and economic costs, wrote DRUM executive director Fahd Ahmed, in a press release upon the programs suspension in 2011.

DRUM and many others declared Obamas announcement- coming after demonstrations organized in New York and Washington in December as well as an online petition that reaced almost 150,000 signatures in the month after Trumps election- a strategic victory, saying that the full dismantling of the programs regulatory framework will make it much more difficult for Trump to enact his campaign promises, and thus make building resistance to them easier.

However, DRUM also suggested that the fight against Trumps Islamophobic policies continues. Just because a future program may not mention Muslims specifically, just as NSEERS did not, does not mean that Muslim communities are not at risk, wrote Ahmed.

On Wednesday key Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway said that the President-elect would not create a ban based solely on religion.

Trump has stacked his cabinet and key advisor positions with well-known Islamophobes, from Conway, who worked with hysterical anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney, to Homeland Security pick Kris Koback, who helped draft the original NSEERS program as well as anti-Latinx racial profiling and deportation laws in Arizona and Alabama.

On Wednesday when Trump was asked if he was still committed to his anti-Muslim campaign promises he said, you know my plans.

Via TeleSur



Democracy Now! Obama Administration Dismantles Idled Muslim Registry Ahead of Trump Inauguration
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By Maan News Agency |  

BETHLEHEM (Maan)  Israeli forces Friday suppressed Bethlehems Santa Claus March, shooting tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at participants, with many suffering from tear gas inhalation.

A number of demonstrators, including five journalists and foreigners, participated in a march near the Israeli checkpoint 300 in the north of Bethlehem, which separates residents from Jerusalem.

The march, which includes participants dressing up as Santa Claus close to the Christian holiday of Christmas, was launched under the banner Terrorism and occupation are two sides of the same coin, and demanded the opening of Israeli checkpoints for Christian tourists to celebrate the holiday in the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

A Maan reporter witnessed Israeli forces fire rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas into the crowd, which caused a number of participants to suffer tear gas inhalation.

Five journalists were also injured, including the cameraman for the Jordanian al-Roya TV Muhammad Shoudha. Israeli forces reportedly fired tear gas canisters directly at his foot.

An Israeli border police spokesperson told Maan that 15 men in the afternoon threw rocks at Israeli soldiers, he said, adding that some of them were dressed as Santa Claus and tried to cross the checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

The spokesperson also said that two Israeli soldiers were injured by rocks being thrown at them. The injuries were reported as light.

This was the second such march to be organized this year in Bethlehem for the Christian holidays.

Israeli-imposed restrictions on Palestinian movement, regulated by more than 196 illegal Israeli settlements scattered across Palestinian territory, more than a hundred Israeli checkpoints and physical obstacles, and the construction of the Israeli separation wall has continued to strain the movement of Palestinians and has caused the tourism industry to plummet.

Christmas is typically a time of year where Bethlehem receives droves of Christian tourists visiting the Nativity Church in the Old City, however activists have pointed out that the tourism industry has severely declined, with Israeli authorities continuing to tighten control over Palestinian movement as the Israeli occupation now enters its 50th year.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The United Nations Security Council on Friday passed a resolution with 14 member states in favor and 1 abstaining (the US), condemning Israeli government support for Israeli squatters who steal Palestinian land and squat on it in the Palestinian West Bank.

Since Israel is in severe violation of a large number of treaties and instruments of international law on the treatment of persons in occupied territories by the Occupier, it could have had sanctions imposed on it for this shameful behavior.

Note that Netanyahu ran on a platform of no Palestinian state. And the Israeli government has announced thousands of new settlement apartments on Palestinian land just in the past few years. Tel Aviv is clearly intent on annexing all of Palestinian territory in the West Bank and pushing the Palestinians out. The UNSC wants to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, but that path has already been forestalled by Israeli land theft on a cosmic scale.

But the resolution, while it condemned Israeli annexation of Palestinian land and Israeli squatting on it, did not specify any particular punishment for Israel, which is the government being condemned.

In contrast, the UNSC has made the lives of Iranians, Iraqis, and North Koreans miserable through sanctions.

Israelis crimes against the Palestinians are not comparable to crimes committed by any other conemporary government against people it occupies, and are unique in their horror. It is true that Morocco annexed the Western Sahara after Spain relinquished the latter as a colonial project. But Morocco bestowed citizenship on the Western Saharans, at least, and has not left them stateless.

That is how the Israeli project differs from other contemporary occupations. It has kept the Palestinians stateless and without the rights that derive from having citizenship in an autonomous state. Millions of Palestinians are stateless because of Israeli policy. Stateless people do not have stable property since it can be stolen from them at any time without repercussions. Stateless people can also be mistreated with impunity, so that countries (like Israel) can conclude a treaty with them (like Oslo in the 1990s) and then completely renege.

The US did not veto the resolution, as it usually does to protect Israeli governments from any consequence for their crimes. This time Barack Obama ordered UN Ambassador Samantha Power to abstain. But he should have asked her to vote in favor of the resolution. And the resolution itself should have had some teeth.

 The Map

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu immediately pledged to disregard the resolution. He had also conspired with Donald Trump to have Egypt (author of the original resolution) withdraw its draft. This was to undermine President Obama. Trump is alleged to have called up Egypts Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and pressured him to withdraw the Egyptian draft. But Senegal and Malaysia, among others, moved the resolution without Egypt (Egypt still voted for it). It handily passed.

Here is a primer for the flood of Likud Party propaganda that is about to be unleashed, for instance, allegations that those who care about millions of stateless Palestinians being under military rule by a foreign power only do so because they are racially bigoted against Jews. On the contrary, to excuse Israelis from behaving in accordance with the same regime of international law to which we hold others would be to single them out for special treatment on racial grounds, the very essence of racism.

Even though right wing Americans typically dont like the United Nations (and the tinfoil hat crowd promotes all kinds of conspiracy theories and fake news about it), it is actually sometimes a powerful body. The UN Security Council has decreed that North Korean ships may be boarded with impunity by navies of UN member states, which under other circumstances would be a violation of the law of the seas.

The UN helped kill some 500,000 Iraqi children with severe sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s in the wake of the Gulf War. The sanctions included interdicting chlorine, which can be used in bomb-making but is also essential to water purification. It turns out that if you dont purify your drinking water, babies and toddlers drop like flies.

The Neoconservatives in the Bush era asserted that Iraq was out of compliance with UN Security Council resolutions on destruction of its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and weapons experimentation labs. They actually said that the US should go to war on Iraq as a way of upholding these UN resolutions!

So Washington ignores or lambastes the UN except when the latter has done something that the US can turn to its own advantage.

But let me repeat that. The pretext for Bushs illegal war on Iraq was that the UN Security Council had condemned Baghdad repeatedly.

The UN put severe sanctions on Iran on the grounds that it wasnt being transparent about its plans to enrich uranium and close the fuel cycle. In the period after 2012 some Iranians actually could not get the medicines they needed because the sanctions on Iran so hurt the economy as to prevent a middle class family from affording that medicine.

After ruining Iraq and deeply harming Iran (which didnt even have a nuclear weapons program, whereas Israel has 200-400 nuclear warheads), the least the UNSC could do with regard to Israels concerted colonization and Apartheid policies in Palestine is to give the nations and peoples of the world carte blanche to punish Israel for its blatant defiance of international law.
Kim Yoo Jung is a South Korean actress known for her role in 'Love in the Moonlight,' 'Angry Mom' and 'Moon Embracing the Sun.' (Photo : YouTube/Abiz-Entertainment Buzz)

Kim Yoo Jung's fans were shocked to know that the actress has been hospitalized the same day that she promoted her new movie "Because I Love You." New reports are hitting the headlines that her hospitalization was just a move to cover up her bad behavior that drew ire among the netizens.



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The company managing the promotion of "Because I Love You" has released a statement that say that Kim was rushed to the emergency room due to her severe cold and fatigue. To give Kim a time to recover, the actress will not be working for a couple of days and will be rescheduling her future engagements for the promotion of her new film.



Kim's condition is not life-threatening as it may have been due to over-exhaustion because of her busy schedules, All Kpop quoted the company as saying. The company assured that the actress is fine and her fans have nothing to worry about.



Kim temporarily withdrew her scheduled promotional interviews on Dec. 22, Thursday, and Dec. 23, Friday. Instead, she will be rescheduling it after her hospitalization.



The news coincides with the reports that Kim was criticized over her rude behavior onstage while promoting her new movie. She was seen paying no attention at all onstage, and was busy looking at her hands and nails. The South Korean actress was even spotted leaning on one leg, which made some commenters say that she is discourteous and ill-mannered.



In a statement released by Kim's agency SidusHD via Soompi, the actress said sorry for her recent actions. The company's statement reads, "She is fully aware of all the problems that have arisen online about the preview screening, and she is currently deeply reflecting on her own attitude as a result of the controversy. She also feels apologetic to her trusting fans who may have been disappointed with her."



Kim's agency assured that it would not happen again in the future. In the statement, the actress apologized to all the people who have been affected by her behavior.



Meanwhile, the "Love in the Moonlight" star was awarded as the most-searched rising actress at the Yahoo Asia BUZZ Awards 2016 in Hong Kong on Dec. 20, Tuesday. She has become one of the most popular actresses after her participation in the SBS drama "Love in the Moonlight."



Check out the footage that caught Kim's reported rude behavior:






A bipartisan agreement to repeal North Carolinas bathroom bill fell apart [Reuters report] Wednesday after each party accused the other of reneging on promises. House Bill 2 (HB2) [text, PDF] is a state law requiring transgender people to use the public bathroom associated with the sex listed on their birth certificate. The bill was launched in response [BBC report] to an ordinance from the City of Charlotte [official website] that extended protections on the LGBT community. The Republican-dominated Senate [official website] agreed to repeal HB2 on the condition that Charlotte repeal its ordinance. The city of Charlotte voted 7-2 in an emergency session [WSJ report] to repeal the ordinance but the repeal of HB2 never took place. Before voting on Wednesday, Republicans added a provision to the repeal that included a 6 month moratorium on cities passing nondiscrimination ordinances similar to the one Charlotte repealed. HB2 has caused heavy political and economic fallout since it was passed. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina [official website] issued a statement [press release] saying, The legislature may not be willing to undo their unconstitutional overreach and respect the rights of LGBT people, so well just have to see them in court.

North Carolinas stance on LGBT rights has been a topic of national controversy. The states Governor Pat McCrory dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in September and declared that HB2 did not violate federal law. In April McCrory issued an executive order [JURIST report] to clarify HB 2 in response to significant backlash. In March North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper stated during a press conference that he would not defend [JURIST report] the law, which he considers to be discriminatory against the LGBT community. Earlier that week North Carolina individuals and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against McCrory, claiming that the bill he signed one week prior was unconstitutional and discriminatory. Earlier that month McCrory signed the bill into law [JURIST report], preventing local governments from enacting their own nondiscrimination ordinances and making them unable to pass laws allowing transgender people to use the public restroom or locker room that corresponds with their gender identity.
The Obama administration [official website] is dismantling [NYT report] the dormant national registry program that was used to keep tabs on visitors from countries with active terrorist groups, the administration announced Thursday. The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (Nseers) is a remnant element [Guardian report] from the Bush administrations response to the terror attacks of 9/11. More than 80,000 people from 25 different countries were required to provide fingerprints and photographs and make regular in-person visits to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website]. Over 14,000 of those people were placed in deportation proceedings. Joann Lin, legislative counsel for the ACLU [official website], said [press release] Nseers was a completely failed counter-terrorism tool and massive profiling program that didnt yield a single terrorism conviction in nearly a decade. The registry has not been in use since 2011 but it provided a framework for President-elect Donald Trump [official website] to introduce the Muslim-registry program he promised while on the campaign trail. The dismantling of Nseers will make it much more difficult for Trump to implement his ban on Muslims entering the United States.

The Obama administration has been taking several steps to preserve its legacy before the President-elect takes office in January. On Wednesday Obama announced a ban [JURIST report] on offshore drilling as a preemptive opposition to the Trump administration. Earlier this month the Obama administration challenged [JURIST report] a federal judges decision to block the implementation of a new overtime pay rule. President-elect Trumps views on immigration have been a source of contention for many city officials. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel [official website] delivered a letter [JURIST report] in early December to US President-elect Donald Trump signed by many US mayors warning of the potential economic losses Trump could cause if he repeals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) [official website]. In November New York Governor Andrew Cuomo [official website] unveiled statewide initiatives to combat [JURIST report] hate crime and protect civil rights in response to the increase in hate crimes following the November 8 election.
Mark Zuckerberg and Mathias Doepfner were at the presentation of the first Axel Springer Award in February in Berlin, Germany. (Photo : Getty Images/Frank Zauritz -Pool)

After weeks of rebuffing the idea that his $343 billion social media platform might have been involved in the facilitation of the spread of fake news and misinformation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg now seems to have changed his position on the matter.



According to Vanity Fair, Zuckerberg now believes that Facebook is more than just a technology company and that it has new responsibilities. "Facebook is a new kind of platform. It's not a traditional technology company. It's not a traditional media company," the 32-year-old CEO said in a live video stream on Wednesday.



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In relation to his statement, Zuckerberg deems Facebook as an organization that builds technology and although it does not write the news which people read on the social platform, it is responsible for how such information is used. He also considers his organization as more than just a platform that distributes the news because it also plays an important role in the public discourse.



Zuckerberg's new opionion comes days after Facebook started rolling out some preliminary steps to combat fake news last week. These steps are expected to work by enlisting third-party fact checkers in assessing the legitimacy of posts flagged by users.



In August, Zuckerberg gave a group of students a contrasting report. The CEO said that for a media company, there are content writers and editors, something that Facebook does not have.



"We're a technology company," USA Today quoted Zuckerberg as saying. "We build tools. We do not produce any of the content."



That is just a touch of Zuckerberg's earlier contrasting ideologies. At the Techotomy Conference 2016, the CEO expressed his thoughts on the fake news matter, saying that there was a very small amount of such content on Facebook and the allegations that the platform had anything to do with influencing the election was a crazy idea.



The distinction between tech and media is now in the limelight and Facebook seems to be at the center of it. People are having mixed thoughts on the matter with some saying that Facebook's journalistic role cannot be ignored.



Here is a video of Zuckerberg's earlier opinion:






Naruto Shippuden is an anime series adapted from Part II of the Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto. (Photo : YouTube/Steve99)

Mixed reactions from fans are expected once the official announcement for a live-action "Naruto" movie takes place. However, Masashi Kishimoto, the main man behind the hit-anime series, will be in charge of its Hollywood production. With this, some are expecting it will be different from what the anime fan base witnessed for a couple of adaptations.



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Despite attempts to cover competitive movie versions of several anime series, none from Hollywood has really pulled it off and impressed the fan community. More often than not, hardcore fans are complaining how Hollywood versions of their favorite anime series are being converted to look "more Western."



One of the recently debated adaptation is Hollywood's take on "Ghost in the Shell," where Scarlett Johansson took the role of the protagonist. Others have labelled it as "whitewashing," referring how the production altered the physical features of the character to look more Westernized.



In a report by GameSpot, while Kishimoto will be in charge of production, the directorial duties will be headed by Lionsgate's Michael Gracey who previously handled the visual effects on 2005's "The Magician."



"Naruto" live-action movie is still in pre-production, and details about its release date has not been finalized. Back in July 2015, a "Naruto" movie made rounds of rumors, but it was not until last weekend in an anime convention where the rumor was confirmed, Polygon reported.



"Naruto" follows the story of a young boy named Uzumaki Naruto, who was used to carry the legendary nine-tailed demon fox that wreaked havoc to Earth years ago. People from his village are mocking him because of this, but despite it, Naruto kept on pursuing his dream to become a Hokage. Bonds and friendships were built along the way, but these were also the very same things which confronted him to the residing darkness outside Konoha and within himself.



Alongside "One Piece" and "Bleach," "Naruto" remained to be one of the top three most followed manga series since it debuted in 1999. Just recently, the original manga has already concluded, but a spinoff to the series is already being prepared and in development.



For more details about the live-action "Naruto" film, check out the video below.






The Real Estate Office, which is now Century 21 Midlands, located at 3423 Second Ave., first opened in 1979. It was CBS Real Estate of Kearney, which was part of the CBS Real Estate Company in Omaha. It wanted to franchise all over Nebraska, but didnt realize what all was involved in running a franchise system. Four years later the system ended. Wiebusch then became part of the Partners Franchise, which was based out of Iowa. The company name was Midland Partners and in the early 90s it decided that franchising wasnt for it. The Partners office in Norfolk and Wiebusch discussed a buyout but made the decision not to. Wiebusch then looked at numerous franchises and the Century 21 office was for sale. In 1992, Wiebusch purchased that office. The Kearney office was the first Century 21 Franchise sold in Nebraska.
OKLAHOMA CITY - A man accused of killing his three young children shot each in the head twice before setting fire to his house with their bodies inside, according to an FBI affidavit.

Dean Robert Payne is charged with three counts of murder in federal court in Oklahoma City because the crime occurred on American Indian land near Fort Cobb.

Payne told authorities he decided to kill himself and his children because he was distraught over marital problems, according to court papers. He and his wife, Traci, had been living apart since Aug. 23.

The children's maternal grandfather is John Rhoades of Alma, Neb.

Payne was arrested Friday after authorities found the bodies of Payne's children - Cirea, 9; Keelie, 7, and Tye, 5 - in the smoldering remains of his home in Caddo County.

He said he plotted his murder-suicide plan after being served with a temporary protective order Thursday night, court papers state.

According to an affidavit by FBI agent Charles DeLaughter, Payne retrieved guns from his car, which he said he parked in the driveway to block firefighters after he set the house on fire.

Payne shot each of his children in the head two times with a .22 caliber pistol, the affidavit states. He then used a flammable liquid to ignite the house with their bodies inside.

The 47-year-old said he tried unsuccessfully to shoot himself with a .243-caliber rifle, then fled the house and watched it burn from a nearby field with the children inside.

He went to a friend's house when emergency personnel arrived on the scene at about 1 a.m., the affidavit states.

Traci Payne's protective order prevented her husband from having any contact with her, but she allowed him to keep their children on Thursday while she stayed with a friend.

The Comanche Nation, of which Payne is a member, has opted not to allow the death penalty in such cases so Payne could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
In this Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, photo, jewelry is on display at a kiosk at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. The kiosk, which is in operation until the end of the month, features jewelry produced by former inmates through a society re-entry program by former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2012, file photo, volunteers take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their house, during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation, at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, at Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado Springs, Colo.The wildly popular NORAD Tracks Santa operation is launching its 61st run at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Volunteers will answer phone calls and emails and post updates about Santa's storybook world tour on Facebook and Twitter. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
This image made from video released by Amaq News Agency of the Islamic State group on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 shows Anis Amri, a Tunisian suspect in the Berlin truck attack pledging allegiance to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and vowing to fight against what he calls "the Crusader pigs." The video, which appeared to have been taken by Anis Amri himself, shows him standing on a footbridge in the north of Berlin, not far from where he allegedly hijacked the truck used in the attack that killed 12 people and injured dozens more at a Christmas market on Monday. (Militant video via AP)
The 15-member council adopted the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour with one abstention  the United States

Egypt's foreign affairs ministry said in a Saturday statement that the country withdrew a UN Security Council resolution on illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory because it was not sure that it had a chance at passing.

On Friday, the resolution, which stipulates that the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 has no legal validity, was reintroduced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela and put into vote.

The 15-member council adopted the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour with one abstention  the United States.

"Egypt wanted more time to make sure that no country would use its veto power to block the resolution, especially after US president elect [Donald Trump] called on the current US administration to veto the resolution," the statement read.

On Friday, Egypt's foreign affairs ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu-Zeid told Dream TV that "Egypt did not realise that the consultations reached [by the UN's member states] were enough to pass the resolution."

He affirmed that Egypt is a main partner with the international community in dealing with the Palestinian cause, which is not limited to settlements, but also includes other issues such as borders and refugees.

The spokesman added that when Egypt realised that the US's next administration wanted to work with Egypt on resolving the issue, it had to carefully weigh everything.

"Perhaps putting forward the resolution could have been, in one way or another, an obstacle to Egypt in its main role [of championing the Palestinian cause,]" Abu-Zeid stated.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters on Friday that "this is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel."

"The international community has told the people of Israel that the way to security and peace is not going to be done through occupation ... but rather through peace, ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state to live side by side with the state of Israel on the 1967 line," Erekat said.

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Russias President Vladimir Putin also told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during the week that passenger flights from Russia would resume to Egypt soon

EgyptAir cargo service flight flew to Moscow for the first time since the downing of a Russian airliner in Egypt, which was followed by a suspension of flights between the two countries for more than a year, state new agency MENA reported on Friday.

According to informed sources in the countrys flagship airliner EgyptAir, the companys EgyptAir Cargo flight flew to Russias capital Moscow carrying 40 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, MENA said.

The sources added that the trip was based on a signed protocol with the Russian authorities for the delivery of the products, adding that it is expected that other flights would continue to make the trip in the upcoming period.

Several foreign airlines have imposed travel bans on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh after a Russian passenger jet crashed over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board, most of them holidaymakers.

The Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the crash, saying it had smuggled a bomb on board.

However, Egypt has not concluded its investigations into the cause of the crash.

Since the deadly incident, Egypt has been implementing new, tighter security measures at all its airports.

In recent months, a number of European airlines also resumed direct flights to the popular South Sinai tourist destination, including Turkish, Belgian and Polish companies.

On Wednesday, Russias President Vladimir Putin told Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a telephone call that Russian flights to Egypt would soon resume.

Negotiations between the two countries to resume Russian flights to Egypt have been ongoing for months, with multiple visits by Russian security services to Egyptian airports to monitor changes implemented by Cairo.

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The most exciting time to be a mining stock investor is when a exploration company is drilling and awaiting assays.

Three companies at this exciting stage right now are Fiore Exploration, Redstar Gold, and Prosper Gold.

The potential for life-changing returns is possible.

Very few sectors offer the potential return of a mining stock in the discovery/speculation phase.

Sprotts President and CEO, Rick Rule says, Speculation is where the big money is made; however, that is where the big risks are.

It is said that roughly 1 in 3,000 anomalies actually get to the stage of an economic mineral deposit.

Mineral deposits are rare and because of this, they become extremely valuable.This leads to the potential for a 2X, 5X, 10X, 50X, or even the elusive 100 bagger.

If the drill bit hits significant mineralization, it could be the start of huge gains.

NexGen Energy serves as a good example from the past few years. NexGen Energys stock has gone up eight times since the initial discovery was made, based on excellent uranium drill holes in Saskatchewan. This has occurred even in a depressed uranium market.

Finding a mineral deposit can be similar to putting together a complex puzzle.

The first step in a companys process is staking or acquiring a project. At this stage, the company likely has a thesis for a mineral deposit based on geological structures (type or rocks, faults etc.)

The second step involves boots on the ground work and may include sampling (soil and rock), geophysical surveys, and mapping. Typically, the results from this work will have little to no effect on the share price. The goal here is to find any potential drill targets.

The third step and the most exciting for shareholders is drilling. A drill rig is referred to in the industry as the truth machine because it reveals if any mineralization lies below the surface. Good drill holes lead to significant share price appreciation.

If future drill holes continue to hit mineralization and the project becomes de-risked a takeover from a bigger company is likely.

With the rise in metal prices in 2016, companies have been raising money and spending funds drilling. Summer and fall drilling programs are finishing up now and have the labs much busier than the last couple years. Majors have also been keeping the labs busy with drilling to replace reserves/resources for year-end updates. Busy labs are causing some delays for companies and investors.

In regards to considering investments in mining, Sprotts Investment Executive Steve Todoruk says, I believe that one of the most exciting  and potentially rewarding  ways to invest in the mining sector is through shares of small companies that have just announced a new, potentially large, mineral discovery.

Below are three exploration companies that are currently awaiting assays results and deserve to be on your investing radar.

Fiore Exploration (F:TSXV)  Fiore started an 8,000-metre drill program at the Pampas El Penon project in Chile on October 27th. Drilling is targeting high grade epithermal gold similar to the neighbouring Pampas Augusta Victoria zone at Yamana Golds flagship El Penon Mine. El Penon is a underground mine which has been producing since 2000. Production in 2015 was 227,288 ounces of gold and 7.7 million ounces of silver. Geology appears similar to Yamanas with arsenic-antimony anomalies and rhyolite domes. The drill bit will see if high grade veins can be found.Proven and Probable reserves at El Penon show a grade of 4.98 g/t.Investors evaluating Fiore drill results will be looking for similar grades.To view the latest Fiore presentation click here.

Prosper Gold (PGX:TSXV  Prosper is in the midst of an up to 20,000-metre drill program at the Ashley gold project in Ontario. The initial plan was for 7,500 metres but Prosper Gold raised more money and increased the program on November 1st. At Ashley, Prosper is testing high-grade and bulk tonnage targets under the guidance of geologist Dirk Tempelman-Kluit. Mr. Tempelman-Kluit is credited with the discovery of the Blackwater deposit which is now over 10 million ounces and owned by New Gold. The latest company presentation for investors can be found here.

Redstar Gold (RGC:TSXV)  The team at Redstar is eagerly awaiting drill results from the high-grade Unga project in Alaska. Results from the 7-hole program are expected any day now. The team was encouraged at the look for the core before it went off to the lab. The drill holes intersected the targeted structure, which in previous programs has hit high-grade mineralization. Investors will want to see high-grade intersections and continuity in results in between drill holes. Redstar has a useful presentation here.

When speculating in exploration stocks, you want to increase your odds of success. Each of these three companies has attributes that could help increase the odds of success.Some of these odd enhancers are:

Management  One of the most important aspects of investing in exploration companies is management. Each of these three companies has a management team with a proven track record and have made discoveries in the past. Another positive sign is insider ownership in all three companies is high.

 One of the most important aspects of investing in exploration companies is management. Each of these three companies has a management team with a proven track record and have made discoveries in the past. Another positive sign is insider ownership in all three companies is high. Cash  Junior mining exploration companies are serial diluters as they have no cash flow. Fiore and Redstar are both companies which will still have significant cash in the bank at the end of drilling and will not need to go back to the market.

 Junior mining exploration companies are serial diluters as they have no cash flow. Fiore and Redstar are both companies which will still have significant cash in the bank at the end of drilling and will not need to go back to the market. Geology  All three companies are drilling in close proximity to where mineralization has been found before.

By James Fraser

Co-author Mining Stocks Guide

james@miningstocksguide.com
By Lamine Chikhi

HASSI MESSAOUD, Algeria, Dec 24 (Reuters) - - Algeria's Sonatrach will drill 290 wells in 2017 in comparison with 265 in 2016, the head of the oil and gas giant's drilling division told Reuters late on Friday.

OPEC member Algeria has seen a slow rise in energy output this year after years of energy stagnation, helped in part by increased production at existing fields like Hassi Messaoud and new gas fields coming online in its southern Sahara region.

The North African country has struggled to draw in foreign energy companies to help it to explore new fields, its efforts undermined by low global oil prices and what many investors see as tough contract terms and operating conditions.

"Of the 290 wells, 190 will be for production and 100 for exploration," the head of Sonatrach's drilling division Khelil Kortobi told Reuters in an interview at Hassi Messaoud, explaining next year's drilling programme.

Hassi Messaoud, Algeria's biggest oil field, produces more than 400,000 barrels per day.

Oil output is expected to reach 69 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2016, against 67 million tonnes last year, while gas production will rise to 132.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) from 128.3 bcm in 2015 and 130.9 bcm in 2014, a Sonatrach report showed earlier this year.

Like other producers, Algeria has been hit by the global oil price crash and is focusing on boosting production to alleviate pressure on the government budget. Around 97 percent of Algeria's revenues are from oil and gas.

"Our key objective is to rise total output by 20 percent by 2020," Kortobi said.

Kortobi said Sonatrach has 100 drilling rigs, with 30 percent of the equipment belonging to foreign firms including China's Sinopec and Greatwall, India's John Energy and WDI.

A major supplier of gas to the European market, Algeria was in talks earlier this year with energy companies and European Union officials to explore ways Algeria can adapt to more competitive markets and attract investment.

(Editing by Patrick Markey and Catherine Evans)
DUBAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - State oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to sell 49 percent of its shares over the next 10 years, Saudi newspaper al-Eqtisadiah reported on Saturday, quoting an unnamed senior source.

Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company is targeting 2018 for what is expected to be the world's biggest initial public offering, with a listing at home and overseas among the options.

Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said in October that a flotation of up to 5 percent was being considered, though the exact size of the offering will be determined by the Saudi Supreme Council. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Rania El Gamal; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Audrey Young reports:

The Israeli Government has recalled its ambassador from New Zealand after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israels continued settlements. New Zealand co-sponsored the resolution, which said the settlements violate international law and undermine a two-state solution in Israels conflict with Palestine. The resolution was passed 14-0 at the last council meeting of the year, and New Zealands last meeting in its two-year term as an elected member of the Security Council.

I have mixed feelings on this. On the substance I dont support Israel building settlements in the occupied territories. They just make a peace settlement way more difficult. An eventual peace settlement wont be on the exact 1967 borders but comprise an equivalent area. However the more settlements there are the less flexibility there is on what those areas will be, and the harder an agreement is.

However the UN has a terrible bias against Israel and a history of passing resolutions that only call for action by Israel, and nothing from the Palestinians. So it is regrettable this resolution followed that path also.

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The president made the comments during the inauguration of new production lines at the military-owned Al-Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi dismissed on Saturday rumours that the army's business operations amount to 20-50 percent of the GDP, adding that the real number is 1.5 to 2 percent.

We wish that the armys economy becomes 50 percent [of GDP], as the army is one of the state's components, but the citizens know this cannot happen, El-Sisi added.

El-Sisi made the comments during the inauguration of new production lines at the military-owned Al-Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals in Abu Rawash industrial zone in Giza governorate.

The company's new production line includes the production of chlorine to help in the state's ongoing water sanitation projects.

Al-Nasr, founded in 1972, currently has 25 factories, 15 of which are in Abu Rawash and nine are in Fayoum governorate.

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Choi Soon-sil, in a prisoner's outfit and being escorted by security officials, arrives at special prosecutors' office in Daechi-dong, Seoul, Dec. 24. It is her first trip to the office since the prosecutors launched the investigation into the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and Choi on Wednesday. / Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan

Longtime friend of President Park Geun-hye, Choi Soon-sil, appeared before special prosecutors on Saturday, facing them for her alleged involvement in the influence-peddling and corruption scandal involving the president.

Choi, who has been in custody since October, had allegedly exerted influence on the business and political spheres for personal benefit by using her ties to the president. The National Assembly voted to impeach the president earlier this month, based on her involvement in the scandal, immediately suspending her from all power.

Choi, 60, arrived at the office of the special prosecutors in southern Seoul at around 2 p.m. The prosecutors began their official work on Wednesday.

"This is aimed at confirming Choi's version of the story with regard to suspicions and allegations that have been revealed so far," an official of the special team said.

Kim Chong, a former minister of vice culture, was brought to the special prosecutors' office ahead of Choi earlier in the day as part of the investigation into the scandal. Kim is suspected of having aided Choi in pressuring large conglomerates to donate nearly 80 billion won ($66.5 million) to two foundations.

Choi denied major charges in her first court appearance on Monday.





Former vice culture minister Kim Chong was taken for questioning at the special prosecutors' office prior to Choi on Saturday. / Yonhap



A civilian with no security clearance, Choi maintained close personal ties with the president for nearly 40 years and is suspected of having been involved in state affairs and in diverse influence-peddling cases. The President is also suspected of conspiring with Choi, which led to massive candlelight demonstrations nationwide that played a large role in prompting the National Assembly to impeach the president on Dec. 9.

The final decision on the impeachment motion lies with the Constitutional Court which will have up to six months to determine whether or not to approve the motion.

On Friday, the justice ministry said that it has submitted its views on the recent parliamentary vote for the impeachment to the court, adding that the process has met all necessary legal requirements. The ministry's move was in response to the court's request seeking advice.

"As the ministry in charge of legal affairs, we provided legal opinions, core issues and procedures related to the impeachment from an objective viewpoint in a way that can help the court in its deliberation and decision," the ministry said.

The ministry, however, did not include its opinions on the allegations involving the president.
Russias Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that he is awaiting an invitation from his Egyptian counterpart to be able to make a final assessment of Egypts airports

Russian aviation experts may visit Egypt for security checks at Egyptian airports in the first half of 2017, Russian news agency TASS reported on Friday.

According to TASS, Russias Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told Rossiya 24 TV channel that the experts would check compliance with security regulations in Egyptian airports.

"According to our estimates, it will be the first half of 2017. I hope that maybe it will be the first quarter," Sokolov said.

He added that Egypt has progressed considerably in ensuring security at airports.

"We are waiting for an invitation from the Egyptian side after implementation of the whole package of measures, in order to make a final expert assessment and report to the country's leadership on principal readiness of Egyptian airports -- all of them or every single one in particular -- for resuming air service," he noted.

Russia suspended flights to and from Egypt last year shortly after an Airbus A321 plane en route to St Petersburg crashed in Sinai after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all 224 people aboard.

Several foreign airlines have also imposed travel bans on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh after the Russian crash.



Since the deadly incident, Egypt has been implementing new, tighter security measures at all of its airports, with negotiations between the two countries ongoing to resume Russian flights to Egypt whose tourism industry has been hit hard since the crash.

In recent months, a number of European airlines also resumed direct flights to the popular South Sinai tourist destination, including Turkish, Belgian and Polish companies.

According to TASS, Sokolov said earlier said that the date of resuming air services with Egypt would depend on setting up the biometric system of personnel access at Egyptian airports, adding that all other measures on enhancing security have already been taken.

In October, Egypts Civil Aviation minister Sherif Fathy said on the one year anniversary of the Russian A321 airliner crash over Sinai Peninsula that the recommended biometric airport equipment recommended was due to arrive in Egypt in November, adding that following installation, Russia will then be contacted to discuss our next steps.

Cairo has ordered the biometric access systems to track the arrival and departure of airport staff and expected them to be installed within four months, according to the Egyptian minister.

It remains unclear if Egypt has received the biometric equipment. Civil aviation officials were not available for comment.

The press statements by Sokolov come a few days after Russias President Vladimir Putin told Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a telephone call that Russian flights to Egypt would soon resume.

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Protesters calling for the Constitutional Court's prompt decision to impeach scandal-ridden president Park Geun-hye gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Dec. 24. The demonstration's organizers counted some 250,000 joining the vigil on Christmas Eve. / Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan

Hundreds of thousands of Koreans held anti-President Park Geun-hye rallies for the ninth consecutive weekend on Christmas Eve, Saturday, demanding the Constitutional Court make a faster decision on impeaching the scandal-ridden president.

Park allegedly forced major Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Group, to donate a massive amount of money to two non-profit foundations. She is also suspected of allowing her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to access confidential state documents and meddle in state affairs, including influencing the appointments of Cabinet members, despite her being a civilian.

Since the scandal surfaced in late October, enraged citizens have taken to the streets in Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square and other sites across the country every weekend demanding Park's immediate ouster.

Some 250,000 people gathered at Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday to join the candlelit vigil and peaceful demonstration. The protesters called for a strict and fair investigation by the special prosecution, which was officially launched on Wednesday, while other demonstrators marched to the Constitutional Court to pressure it to review Park's case as soon as possible.

The president, who denies all accusations, has been suspended from her duties since the National Assembly voted to impeach her on Dec. 9. The Constitutional Court will decide whether or not to unseat the president within 180 days.
The South Korean government is set to finish collecting public opinions on the draft versions of the controversial state-authored history textbooks Friday.

Critics demand the cancellation of their publication, which they claim are designed to educate students with the conservative government's views of history.

The Ministry of Education plans to announce its decision early next week whether to go ahead with its plan to use them starting next year.

Since it unveiled the pilot editions late last month, the ministry has gathered public opinions to correct errors.

As of Wednesday, it has received 2,511 opinions, with 1,438 related to the content and 52 to typos. More than 980 expressed their approval or disapproval of state authorship.

The opinion gathering will end Friday at midnight. The ministry plans to produce the final version of the textbooks by January.

The Park Geun-hye government has pushed for the state-issued textbooks to fix what it called predominantly left-leaning content in existing private publications and to forge a "common understanding" of history.

Opponents said the government should not dictate the way history is written and taught. Calls for cancellation swelled especially after Park was impeached on Dec. 9 over a massive political scandal.

Some observers raise the possibility of delaying their use by one year. But Education Minister Lee Joon-sik recently said that the publication must proceed "regardless of the political situation." (Yonhap)
An Ismailiya misdemeanor court handed on Saturday jail sentences to 19 policemen after they were convicted of extreme negligence that allowed six inmates to escape a prison in the Suez Canal governorate of Ismailiya in October.

The defendants received prison terms ranging from one to three years.

Five other defendants received three-year suspended jail terms, while three policemen were acquitted of the charges.

The sentences can still be appealed.

The six inmates broke out of El-Mostaqbal Prison after obtaining weapons smuggled into the facility during visitation hours, according to an investigation by the prosecution.

The ensuing shootout, which started inside the prison and continued out onto the street, resulted in the injury of five policemen and the deaths of a police major and a bystander.

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The death of the latest victim raises the death toll in the church bombing to 27

An Egyptian woman who was severely wounded in the Cairo church bombing on 11 December died of her injuries on Saturday, Coptic Orthodox Church official Bassem Salah told Ahram Online.

Isis Fares, 63, suffered a brain injury after she was struck in the head by shrapnel during the bombing, which was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks against Egyptian civilians in years.

A suicide bomber set off explosives in the womens section of the church, killing 23 people, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 40.

Three more people later died of their injuries.

Authorities have identified the bomber as 22-year-old Egyptian national Mahmoud Shafiq Mohamed Mostafa.

Four others suspected of involvement in the attack have been arrested, including one woman.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt's interior ministry accused members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation residing in Qatar of plotting the bombing.

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The hijacking of a Libyan plane has ended peacefully after the men who seized control surrendered in Malta.

The domestic flight with 118 people on board was hijacked after taking off from Sabha, bound for the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Instead, the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was diverted to Malta International Airport. It appears the two hijackers are supporters of Libyas late deposed leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Pictures of them kneeling on the tarmac with their hands up appear to show the moment they were arrested by the Maltese authorities.



All the passengers  including one infant  and a number of the crew had already been released.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat initially said that the men had been armed with pistols and a grenade  but later tweeted that the weapons appeared to be replicas.

Mr Muscat said neither of the men, believed to be of Libyan nationality, had made any demands.

He told a press conference: The two hijackers have been detained in custody and interrogations are ongoing. The rest of the crew and passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events.

Once this interrogation process is completed over the next few hours arrangements will be made to send the passengers and the crew members back to Libya with another Afriqiyah aircraft.

Shortly before the incident drew to an end, one man emerged from the plane briefly and stood on the plane steps waving a green, Gaddafi-era flag  adding support to earlier suggestions they were loyalists to the former leader, killed in 2011.

Taher Siala, the foreign minister of Libyas internationally backed Government of National Accord, said the hijackers wanted to set up a pro-Gaddafi political party.

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Fresh facts have emerged revealing that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, okayed the importation of a 20ft container of Egusi soup, Ogbono soup, and yam porridge from India which was recently intercepted by the Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS.

It was discovered that the agency which is saddled with the responsibility of eliminating counterfeit pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages products that are not manufactured in Nigeria, issued numbers for the imported products.

The numbers, which authenticate imported products, were found on some of the items that were shown to Saturday Vanguard by the Comptroller of Tin Can Island Port Command, Yusuf Bashar.



He condemned the development, noting that it was wrong to import the products at a time the Federal Government had granted zero duty for the importation of machinery for the packaging of agricultural products into the country. Imported cancerous food However, a top officer of the NCS, who pleaded anonymity, accused NAFDAC of issuing genuine registration numbers for the products.

He said: When our boss asked NAFDAC officials how the NAFDAC registration number was issued for the product, no body said anything. It showed that there was a compromise somewhere. Can Indians cook our local delicacies more than we do here? That is how cancerous foods are imported into the country. Also, a freight forwarder, Mr. Donatus Onwuegusi noted that it was wrong for NAFDAC to have registered such consumables without considering their likely health implications.

It is very sad that the food which is being imported into the country for the first time already have original NAFDAC registration numbers on them. Yet the same NAFDAC will deny those who want to start producing pure water the registration number because they can not bribe them. It is bad especially at this time when the President is seriously fighting corruption.

He urged the government to monitor the activities of NAFDAC to avoid future occurrence. Onwuegusi further commended NCS for using Thierry Initiative to intercept the container.

He said: The Customs tried but the government should find out the situation of the container of food handed over to NAFDAC to stop them from releasing it to the owner because the food can wipe out the whole country. NAFDAC must be investigated.

Similarly, a consultant at Simmons Cooper, consultant to the Consumer Protection Council, CPC, Mr. Babatunde Irukera urged the media to work assiduously with the CPC in protecting consumers.

Urukera said: One lawyer in my office bought canned Moimoi and I said so they are exporting Moimoi to Nigeria. The thing was made somewhere in England. Recession affects individuals more than it affects companies. Companies will continue to shift impact to the people. This underscores the need for vigilance and the very critical role the media have to play in the society. People import Moimoi.

The agencies are overwhelmed but only the media can help. A society where there is so much ingenuity, the consumers need protection. The Nigerian society needs protection. The media should seek ways of removing from the market hazardous products.

Responding to the claims, a source at NAFDACs Department of Registration & Regulatory Affairs, told Saturday Vanguard that the agency was investigating how importers got NAFDAC numbers, saying she could not confirm or deny it. The source said NAFDAC has guidelines and operating procedures for product registration. Further efforts to reach both the Director of Registration & Regulatory Department Affairs and the Acting Director General of NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni proved abortive as calls made to her telephone line were not answered.

Saturday Vanguard recalls that a few days ago, NAFDACs Deputy Director, Investigation & Enforcement, Mr. Francis Ononiwu had decried the influx of imported fruit drink into the country, blaming it on the absence of the agencys staff at the ports. We are aware that most of these products come through the sea ports and NAFDAC is not on the ground at sea ports. Definitely, we cannot effectively stop the products from entering. That is a major challenge. If we are there the quantity will be much more reduced or eliminated. The federal government should consider taking NAFDAC back to the ports

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Egypt has successfully coordinated with Yemeni authorities to secure the release in Sanaa 49 Egyptian fishermen who were kidnapped in late November in the port city of Al-Hudaydah, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement on Saturday.

The spokesman added that the Egyptian embassy in Yemen is following up on procedures to ensure the Egyptians return home, and called on all Egyptians in Yemen to take the utmost care and stay away from conflict areas.

Abu Zeid explained that Egypt's ambassador to Yemen worked with the UN envoy in Yemen and the International Red Cross Committee to secure the release of the Egyptians.

The identity of the kidnappers was not clear.

The war in Yemen erupted in 2014 when Houthi rebels took over the capital Sanaa and overthrew the country's internationally recognised government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Egypt has been part of the Saudi-led military coalition formed last year to combat the Houthi uprising.

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More than 1,000 Facebook pages were closed in 2016 for inciting violence against police and army officers , calling for [protest] marches and obstructing roads, Ali Abaza, the head of the interior ministrys cyber crimes department, told MENA state news agency on Saturday.

[In 2016, police] arrested 2,372 people in cases of insulting [others], 1,623 slander cases, 193 fraud cases and 77 cases of hacking private accounts, Abaza said.

The latest [hacking case] involved the arrest of someone in Sharqiya governorate who hacked 360 computers, stealing photos and videos [with the aim of blackmail].

Abaza also stressed that the interior ministry respects human rights, explaining that the ministry does not monitor the private communications of citizens, only publicly accessible pages.

We do not spy on citizens, we obtain warrants from the prosecution in accordance with the law to track criminal or terrorist activities, Abaza concluded.

In September 2014, the interior ministry began a social media surveillance programme to track security threats such as terrorism.

The interior minister said at the time that the programme aims to follow increasing security problems such as terrorism and explosives manufacturing, as well as analyse and identify destructive ideas and conduct opinion polls to gauge their influence on youth.

A controversial cybercrime draft law was submitted to parliament earlier this year, but it has not been passed yet.

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The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

Read more
PRESS RELEASE

Putin: Liberation of Aleppo Essential to Normalizing Syria

Dec. 23, 2016 (EIRNS)If the destabilization of the Middle East that we know today began with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, then the return to normalization has begun with the Russian military intervention in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said as much this morning, during his annual year-end press conference. "Liberation of Aleppo from radical elements is an essential component of a full normalization in Syria, and I hope in the region on the whole," he said, reported TASS.

"And this operation, certainly, there is no doubt about it, ended with a direct participationif not to say a decisive participation and influence of our military, especially in its final part, concerning the humanitarian operation."

A ceasefire across the entire territory of Syria should be next, he said, followed by "practical negotiations" on a political settlement in Syria, which the president of Kazakhstan has agreed to host.

Putin placed great stress on the point that the final evacuation of the jihadis from Aleppo proceeded without combat operations.

"It could not be done without active involvement of the Turkish leadership, the Turkish president, the Iranian president and the entire Iranian leadership and our participation,"

Putin said. "Naturally, it could not be done without good will and efforts taken by Syrian President Assad and his team." Putin stressed that Russia is ready to develop the "much-needed format" of Syrian settlement involving Iran and Turkey and is open for participation of other countries.

The evacuation from Aleppo was the largest humanitarian action in the modern world, he added. "In practice, life has proved that such format [involving Iran and Turkey] is much-needed and, naturally, we will develop it further," he said. "But I would not ignore the interests and participation of other countries of the regionJordan, Saudi Arabia, Egyptand, naturally, it would be wrong to address such matter without such a global player as the United States."
PRESS RELEASE

Turkish Daily Hurriyet: Putin Calling the Shots in the Middle East

Dec. 23, 2016 (EIRNS)In an editorial in Hurriyet in Turkey, chief editor Murat Yetkin writes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has the most influence in the Middle East and the new U.S. Administration should work with him.

Yetkin wrote this while commenting on a Fox TV interview on Dec. 21 with retired Gen. Raymond Odierno who said that because of the "passive" strategy of U.S. President Barack Obama against terrorism, Russia had gained leadership in the Middle East. Odierno also said that it was "time for" the U.S.

"to lead from the front, be aggressive at bringing nations together, be aggressive in our own policies and bring the capabilities of our government together to take action" and "reassert leadership."

Yetkin then makes clear who is now taking leadership:

"Now it is a fact that nothing that Russia doesn't want is possible in the Syrian theater. It is Russian President Vladimir Putin who decided to keep the plans of pursuing an initiative with Iran and Turkey despite the assassination of his ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, by a Turkish police officer under heavy suspicion of being manipulated by Gulen's secret network. It was Putin who convinced Erdogan to drop the top demand that Bashar al-Assad step down, and it was Putin who convinced al-Assad to welcome the Moscow agreement which NATO member Turkey is also part of. "And it should be noted that without Putin's (and al-Assad's) consent, it would not be possible for Turkish army to conduct a full-scale military operation to take the Syrian town of al-Bab from ISIL hands and also prevent it from being taken by the PYD/PKK. "It is for sure that Obama has lost Erdogan. But it is not true that the United States and NATO have lost Turkey. The course of events from now will depend on the actions to be taken by Trump. If Trump takes the advice of Odierno, decides to bring nations together starting with Turkey and its 910 km border with Syria, as well as neighboring Russia and Ukraine across the Black Sea, he could simply start by ending cooperation with the PKK in Syria. Opening up an investigation against Gulen, not even extraditing him, would be the cherry on the top of the cake to win Turkey back. "On the Russian advance, one has to examine the expression on the face of Putin before the coffin of Karlov at the Moscow funeral ceremony on Dec. 22. He is biding his time to act in a patient fury. "It's not just Trump; Erdogan will also have lessons to draw from that expression and exercise caution."

When briefed on this assessment, Lyndon LaRouche said it was on the mark and if we can get rid of Obama, a combination can be pulled together along these lines.
PRESS RELEASE

China To Hold Summit of Silk Road Countries

Dec. 23, 2016 (EIRNS)Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in and interview with Peoples Daily released today, said that over the next year, China will

"forge ahead and prepare for the two major home-field diplomatic events in the coming year, namely the international cooperation summit forum on the Belt and Road

initiative and the 9th BRICS Summit."

The BRICS Summit will be held in Xiamen (formerly Amoy, two islands across from Taiwan) in September.

The Belt and Road Summit will also be in September, in Hong Kong. The inaugural Belt and Road Summit, held in Hong Kong last May, was attended by 2,400 government officials, business leaders, and institutional representatives from the countries engaged in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Wang Yi noted in his press conference, as reported by Peoples Daily, that China is

"advancing a major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and has become a stabilizer of world peace ... by holding a big picture in mind among the international turmoil, seeking development amid the world economic transformation and opening a new chapter in diplomacy. A more mature China has approached the center of international stage, becoming the stabilizer that injects positive energy in global turmoil. The international governance system has entered a key stage of transformation. Because the global balance of powers is witnessing historical changes, a reform on global governance system will be inevitable. Against such backdrop, China took initiatives to push forward a more fair and reasonable global political and economic system by contributing Chinese solutions on global governance."

He referenced the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting held in Lima, Peru in November, where President Xi Jinping brought Chinas increasingly constructive voice to world affairs.

Wang Yi noted the telephone conversation between President Xi and President-elect Donald Trump, "sending out a message about the smooth transition of China-U.S. relationship in the future." Wang said that "the complicated China-U.S. ties would definitely encounter uncertainties, but they will not hinder the development direction as a whole."

He made special note of the improved relations with the Philippines, where

"the newly-elected Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte changed the previous confrontational attitudes towards China and took the initiative to improve bilateral relations," i

mportantly adding that the

"transformed bilateral relationship has not only dispelled the dark could shrouding the two countries, but also cleared the way for deepening China-ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] cooperation,"

while also putting the South China Sea issues
In this season of peace, the country seems divided against itself as seldom before in living memory. The presidential campaign that just ended turned on a demagogic stoking of fear of immigrants and refugees of rare ferocity.

As he did of so many aspects of human character, William Shakespeare subjected this very occurrence to his incisive eye. The evidence comes from a unique artifact of Shakespeareana, a sheaf of three handwritten pages from The Book of Sir Thomas More, a never-produced play of about 1600 by Anthony Munday in which Shakespeare was brought in as a sort of play doctor. His contribution was the emotional summit of the play, the insurrection scene in which More quells a mob of riotous Londoners intent on a massacre of immigrants. Scholars have concluded that the pages are in Shakespeares handwriting, making them the only known literary manuscript in his hand.

What country... should give you harbor?  William Shakespeare, The Book of Sir Thomas More

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The topical context of this scene was an outbreak of anti-immigrant riots in the 1590s, which replicated a fever sweeping London in 1517, during Mores time as a sheriff of the city. In Shakespeares version, Mores words to the mob come as a response to a townsmans declaration that by removing competition, evicting the strangers could not but be an advantage to the poor artisans of the city.

More turns the argument back upon the mob. What if you were the refugees, he asks them. Where would you go? As strangers yourselves, Would you be pleased/To find a nation of such barbarous temper/That, breaking out in hideous violence,/Would not afford you an abode on earth,/Whet their detested knives against your throats?

By exposing this your mountainish inhumanity, More persuades the mob to back down. Reading it today we are forced to ask, where is our Thomas More to expose as cynical opportunists those who would attack immigrants and refugees for their own political ends?

Here is the speech, modernized and slightly abridged:

...

Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise

Hath chid down all the majesty of England;

Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,

Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage,

Plodding to thports and coasts for transportation,

And that you sit as kings in your desires,

Authority quite silenced by your brawl,

And you in ruff of your opinions clothed;

What had you got? Ill tell you. You had taught

How insolence and strong hand should prevail,

How order should be quelled; and by this pattern

Not one of you should live an aged man,

For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,

With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,

Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes

Would feed on one another.

...

Youll put down strangers,

Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses,

And lead the majesty of law in line,

To slip him like a hound. Say now the king

(As he is clement, if th offender mourn)

Should so much come to short of your great trespass

As but to banish you, whither would you go?

What country, by the nature of your error,

Should give you harbor? Go you to France or Flanders,

To any German province, to Spain or Portugal,

Nay, any where that not adheres to England,

Why, you must needs be strangers. Would you be pleased

To find a nation of such barbarous temper,

That, breaking out in hideous violence,

Would not afford you an abode on earth,

Whet their detested knives against your throats,

Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God

Owed not nor made not you, nor that the claimants

Were not all appropriate to your comforts,

But chartered unto them, what would you think

To be thus used? This is the strangers case;

And this your mountainish inhumanity.

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.
Are the new uniforms for flight attendants and other crew members at American Airlines safe to wear?

About half a dozen American Airlines executives and middle managers are so sure the new uniforms that debuted in September are harmless that they have begun to wear the wool-based outfits to work.



For the record: This article incorrectly describes Twin Hill, the company that made the uniforms, as a subsidiary of Mens Wearhouse. Twin Hill is a subsidiary of Tailored Brands Inc., which was created in 2016 as a holding company for Mens Wearhouse and other brands.

These are the same uniforms that generated about 2,200 complaints from employees, who said the clothing causes hives, wheezing, coughing and headaches.

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American Airlines declined to name all of the executives who are wearing the uniforms but did disclose that Hector Adler, vice president for flight services, had ordered a uniform and is expected to don it in the next week or so.

Taylor Garland, a spokeswoman for the Assn. of Flight Attendants, fired back at the airline executives who are wearing the uniforms. The association represents members from 18 airlines.

Its insulting. Instead of acknowledging legitimate concerns of their employees, American Airlines management is pulling a publicity stunt, she said.

Meanwhile, the union that represents American Airlines flight attendants, the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants, filed a formal grievance with the airline, saying the uniforms threaten the health of the flight attendants. In the grievance letter, the union demanded that the airline reimburse flight attendants for the cost of medical bills and give them time off to recover from any illnesses caused by the clothing.

Personal health is so integral and critical to our flight attendant workforce, who must be able to work in a healthy manner and environment, union national President Robert Ross said in the grievance. To do so, our members need proper and safe uniforms.

American Airlines said it has agreed to team up with Ross union to perform a chemical test on the uniforms  the fourth in a series of tests.

American Airlines said the previous three tests have shown no unhealthful levels of harmful chemicals in the clothing.

The new uniforms were made by Twin Hill, a subsidiary of Mens Wearhouse. It is the same manufacturer that made the uniforms for Alaska Airlines employees, sparking similar complaints in 2012 about health problems related to the clothing.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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Amri is not the first Tunisian to be involved in terrorist attacks in Europe  the Nice truck attack in July was also carried out by a Tunisian

As soon as German authorities accused the Tunisian Anis Amri of executing the Berlin market truck attack, media outlets in Tunisia started to largely focus on covering the issue.

Amri was not known in the North African country for his involvement in acts of Islamist militancy. His name was not even put on the government's list of wanted militants.

According to Tunisia's Al-Sherouq newspaper, Amri, 24, escaped Tunisia in 2011 after facing a five-year imprisonment sentence for committing armed robbery in Al-Weslateya neighbourhoodhis hometownin Kairouan city.

He -- as is the case with thousands of desperate Tunisian youths who resort to illegal immigration -- took a boat and arrived at Italy's Lampedusa Island.

Amri, as the same report points out, was put in a camp for irregular immigrants once he reached Italian territories, facing later a four-year jail term after being accused of burning the refugee camp.

Al-Sherouq stated that Amri kept close contact with his brother and mother and informed them about his move to Germany through Switzerland, adding that 16 December was the last day they spoke to each other.

As for Amri's mother, she said still does not believe he committed the Berlin attacks, though emphasised that his family would disown him if it is proven that her son is guilty.

She called on him to hand himself to German authorities.

When checking the social and cultural background of Amri -- which many Tunisian news sources had recently spoke about -- one can conclude that Amri comes from a poor family.

His father was a street vendor, though he is currently disabled and cannot work anymore. Concerning Amri himself, he did not finish his school education. He was not religious at that time, which can be implied when knowing that Amri was drinking alcohol.

Amri is not the first Tunisian to be involved in militant attacks in Europe. In July, a similar truck attack in the French city of Nice was executed by another Tunisian called Mohamed bin Helal.

The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed its responsibility for both attacks in Nice and Berlin.

In a news report published by the Tunisian Al-Maghreb newspaper, the Berlin attack reflects the rise of third generation of "Tunisian terrorists" in Europe.

The report said that the first generation moved to Europe during the 1990s, being linked to the Islamist militant groups in Afghanistan and the Europe-based, Algerian "terrorist cells."

The second generation, mentioned the report, was associated with Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq.

Being different than its predecessors, the third generation is characterised by both recruitment of militants and execution of attacks inside Europe.

Speaking to Ahram Online, Samy Braham -- a Tunisia-based expert on Islamist militancy -- said that the Tunisian militants of the third generation are not clearly identified so far, arguing that the Tunisian people did not see that coming.

"Tunisians were shocked after knowing the involvement of Amri in the Berlin attack, especially that it came following a public sense of pride that Tunisian engineer Mohammed Zawari gave to them due to his scientific contribution in developing a drone for the Palestinian resistance," he said.

Braham concluded that authorities in Tunisia do not have information about them, especially since they mostly leave the country ahead of adopting "jihadist-Salafist orientations."

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Uber moved a fleet of self-driving vehicles to Arizona on Friday after California insisted it comply with local rules  a move that highlights the regulatory discrepancies governing this new technology between states.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of 16 Uber cars Wednesday because Uber refused to apply for a permit for testing autonomous vehicles. Ubers response: shipping the cars to a state where no such permits are required.

Its a tactic that could have consequences for Californias future as a hub for self-driving technology, some experts said.

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Though California allows companies to test self-driving vehicles on its roads, it has established strict regulatory barriers. For example, a company must gain approval from specific municipalities through which it plans to drive, according to Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book.

Self-driving vehicles in Arizona, however, operate with the same registration requirements as any other vehicle, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Such laws are a strategy to court high-tech companies  many of them based in California  and the people they employ.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed the executive order that gave self-driving vehicles the green light in his state, framed Ubers move on economic and regulatory terms.

Arizona welcomes Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads. While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation, Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses, Ducey said in a statement.

But industry experts, including Jon Garon, dean and professor of law at Nova Southeastern Universitys Shepard Broad College of Law, say Californias track record proves its regulations are no impediment to innovation.

California has created a fairly complex but pro innovation statute that balances the needs to develop the technology with the need to ensure public safety, Garon said.

Twenty companies, including Tesla and Google, abide by the states self-driving ground rules.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad

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Good morning. Im Paul Thornton, The Times letters editor, and it is Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Happy holidays to all our Opinion subscribers; I truly thank you for the time you spend each week catching up on The Times commentary. Now, lets take a look back at the week in Opinion.

Dont let the holiday spirit fool you  it didnt stop incomprehensible bloodshed and misery from taking place in Syria, especially in what was once that countrys largest and most vibrant city, Aleppo. Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, recently retook control of the former rebel stronghold after years of conflict in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed and millions more face an uncertain future.

Writing on The Times op-ed page, Syrian activist Abdulfattah Alkhaled places much of the blame for the slaughter not on Russia or Damascus, but on the United States  and his rebuke is unsparing in its criticism of our government and of the American people:

Over the past few years, you have deceived us with your empty promises. From the first day of the 2011 revolution to the most recent breakdown of a life-saving evacuation effort, the killing of Syrians has been met with consistent U.S. inaction, or worse: U.S. acquiescence to Russian aggression. While the Assad and Russian regimes are responsible for the vast majority of Syrian bloodshed, by no means should you feel entitled to lecture the world based on your supposed moral superiority. You have let us down again and again. After Rwanda and then after Srebrenica, you said, Never again. After Gaza you said nothing at all. Today, you can no longer rest on your hollow rhetoric celebrating freedom and equality. Today as Syrians, watching you glibly condemn a catastrophe that is partly of your own making, we ask if you feel any shame at all for your inaction. President Obama, you declared that if President Assad used chemical weapons against his enemies, hed be crossing a red line. You watched him cross it. Arent you ashamed? Ashamed that your concern and care for the Syrian people evaporated at the first sign of difficulty and complication? Are you not embarrassed that strategic overseas interests trumped your willingness to take any and all steps necessary to stop the wanton death of hundreds of thousands? Do you and your spokespeople at the U.N. and beyond look in the mirror and think, We encouraged the Syrian people to rise up, and then watched impassively as they were slaughtered for it? Do you not feel cowardly for refusing to engage and confront Russian aggression beyond shallow public condemnations? And President-elect Trump, have you no shame in your public affirmation of Russia as the U.S.s strategic partner in Syria? The same Russia that has joined the Assad regime in massacring the Syrian people. Are you not uncomfortable with stating publicly that the Assad regime is fighting Islamic State despite the evidence suggesting that Assad has actually facilitated the growth, expansion and survival of Islamic State? President Obama and President-elect Trump, your silence is deafening and has set a dangerous global precedent. You should be ashamed.  Click here to read more.

Syria is President Obamas greatest foreign policy failure. Columnist Doyle McManus notes that comments critical of Syria by Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry were anguished and sincere because they wanted President Obama to back up his support for the Syrian rebels with action. But the president failed to help, making the fall of Aleppo unsurprising. L.A. Times

Readers have been more supportive of Obama. They praised the president for withholding American forces from involvement in Syrias civil war, saying its unfair to call the administrations non-participation in a no-win situation a failure. Every recent U.S. intervention in the Middle East has made the situation worse, wrote John La Grange of Solana Beach. Given the hole that we are in, stopping digging may have been the best choice Obama could have made. L.A. Times

The GOPs Christmas gift to America: repealing Obamacare without a backup plan. Like those out-of-pocket maximum protections, the ability to keep your child on your insurance plan until the age or 26 and free birth control? So do many Americans, but Republicans are so focused on repealing the Affordable Care Act that theyre ignoring the catastrophe they could create, says The Times editorial board: It appears that Republicans are so determined simply to repeal the law, theyre going to make things worse in the short term with uncertain prospects at best for ever making them better over the long run. L.A. Times

Dont push away the white supremacists; confront them. UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman encourages college students to fight the urge to block alt-right figureheads such as Richard Spencer from speaking on campus, and instead expose their hate to the light of day by engaging them. Hate speech is like mold, Gillman writes. Its enemies are bright light and fresh air. L.A. Times

Was the 405 Freeway widening worth it? A New York Times report implies that the answer is no, noting the years-long disruption and $600-million cost overrun of an effort to relieve congestion that may not even have the desired effect. Former L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has misgivings: I doubt the project would have been undertaken in the first place if wed known it would cost $1.6 billion. Theres a lot of bad taste in my mouth about this. There were mistakes made all around. It was a nightmare of a project. New York Times

Reach me: paul.thornton@latimes.com
The California High-Speed Rail Authority quietly approached federal officials in July to discuss an ambitious solution to its most pressing problem, one that has hung over the project for more than five years.

The state does not know where to find all of the $64 billion it will cost to get the first passengers rocketing between San Francisco and Los Angeles on a bullet train.

With the Obama administration on its way out, it seemed like a good time to nail down more long-term federal support on the assumption that Hillary Clinton would be the next president.

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So the state set up a meeting to ask the U.S. Department of Transportation to publicly announce a federal loan of up to $15 billion that would help build an initial rail segment from San Jose to Shafter, northwest of Bakersfield, which would cement federal support during the transition to a new presidential administration.

Such a loan  even the commitment for one  would also show potential private investors that the project was creditworthy, according to a briefing document for the meeting.

But federal officials did not go along with the states suggestion. At this time, California has not submitted a financing request, said Clark Pettig, press secretary for the Transportation Department.

They are going to have to put a lot more money into this project than they thought.  Elizabeth Alexis, co-founder, Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design

Federal officials are unlikely to make any new loans in the next month. Meanwhile, the election of Republican Donald Trump makes the rail authoritys funding problem more serious than ever.

The project has long been vilified by congressional Republicans, particularly by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), who has called it a boondoggle that was doomed to fail from the start.

And House rail subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) has vowed to block any future federal funding for the project, citing long-standing concerns about its poor management controls and planning.

Senior congressional staffers say they dont have any direct knowledge of Trumps views or those of Elaine Chao, his pick for Transportation secretary, but they doubt they will attempt to challenge the existing Republican opposition to the project.

Robert Poole, transportation policy director at the libertarian Reason Foundation, said he too is doubtful that Trump and Chao would support the project with new money. Poole noted that Chao, a former deputy secretary at the Transportation Department, has supported projects that have private backing, something Californias bullet train lacks.

If those expectations are borne out, it would leave the project on a continued search to fill giant gaps in its funding, even as construction of rail bridges, viaducts and trenches through a section in Fresno accelerates.

Voters approved a $9-billion bond for what was then a $33-billion project in 2008, but most of that money has been hogtied by complex taxpayer protections that were part of the ballot proposition. The rail project has been unable to satisfy those rules.

The Obama administration provided $3.5 billion in grants. And California lawmakers gave the project rights to 25% of the proceeds from the states greenhouse gas permit auctions, but those funds have fallen sharply below expectations this year.

An effort to tap private investors for cash proved futile when more than two dozen companies said they wouldnt put any money into the project until the state proves the system can operate profitably carrying passengers.

The most immediate problem is unlocking the bond funding, which could keep the project going for at least several years. The rail authority believes it has a solution, thanks to a key assist this summer from the Legislature  assuming the maneuver is legal.

Opponents have already filed a suit against the plan.

The original bond measure set up tough conditions: The rail authority had to identify all the sources of money needed to build a usable segment of high-speed rail before starting construction; it had to prove that it would not need an operating subsidy; it had to show it could design the system to move passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in two hours and 40 minutes; and much else.

Until now, the rail authority could not show it had all the money in hand to build an actual operating segment. But the Legislature found a fix.

Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco) authored AB 1889, which addresses what the original act meant when it said a segment had to be suitable and ready for high-speed rail. Under the Mullin bill, the rail authority can use bond funds that would enable bullet train operations after additional planned investments are made. That means that the rail authority could spend the bonds without any immediate plan to carry passengers.

The bill also allows the rail authority in December to approve two funding plans.

One plan provides for building what amounts to a 119-mile test track from Madera to Shafter for $7.8 billion. After the testing is completed, the rail authority said in its funding plan that it would explore other uses for the track, though they would not immediately include high-speed trains.

Another funding plan, for $819 million, was approved to help convert the Caltrain commuter rail system from diesel to electric power along the route leading into San Francisco.

Stuart Flashman, a Bay Area attorney, filed suit against the funding plans immediately on behalf of several antirail groups and local government units, asserting it is unconstitutional for the Legislature to amend or alter a voter-approved proposition and bond act.

Flashman has said court rulings since the 1920s have gone against the Legislature and local boards that attempted to modify or clarify bond propositions.

I told the high-speed rail board they need to take this back to the voters, Flashman said.

Rail authority spokeswoman Lisa Marie Alley said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Richard Hasen, a UC Irvine law professor and expert on election law, said that unless the bond act specifically granted the Legislature the power to make interpretations or amendments, the Mullin bills funding plans could be found unconstitutional.

But since the bond act does provide the Legislature with a major role in approving funding plans, the legal issues in the case could be quite complicated, Hasen added.

Alley said the two funding plans were significant decisions  that will accelerate the program, continuing progress on the nations first high-speed rail program.

The Mullin bill was so important that the rail authority apparently never moved ahead with its plan for a federal loan, according to sources knowledgeable about the matter.

The watchdog group Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design obtained the briefing document about the loan plan under a Public Records Act request.

Elizabeth Alexis, a co-founder of the group, said the funding problems are putting California in exactly the position it wanted to avoid, increasing the states financial commitments while the benefits of an actual train service move further into the future.

It is a desperate move, she said. It is exactly the bind that the Legislature didnt want to put itself in. They are going to have to put a lot more money into this project than they thought.

Mullin, whose district includes the section of Caltrain track that will be electrified, said his legislation simply clarified the term suitable and ready  and will help the state to meet its obligation to deliver funding for an appropriation made in 2012.

Mullin said in a statement that he is confident the lawsuit against AB 1889 will be unsuccessful, noting that he had attorneys help draft his bill.

Our transportation infrastructure has many needs, and AB 1889 will allow Caltrain to address one of those needs by moving forward with electrification of their system, providing both short- and long-term benefits, Mullin said. Its going to be a big deal for the [San Francisco] Peninsula both economically and environmentally.

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @rvartabedian

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Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris announced new criminal charges Friday against the operators of classified ad website Backpage.com, accusing them of laundering earnings from escorts as well as pimping children and adult women on their websites.

The charges come two weeks after a Sacramento judge threw out pimping charges against the same three men, ruling that websites such as Backpage.com  which Harris had condemned as the worlds top online brothel  are protected from lawsuits when they publish speech posted by other people.

But in the new 40-count criminal complaint, Harris accused the operators of personally creating profiles for thousands of women, including minors, to increase revenue from the illegal sex trade. The profiles appeared on their two other websites, BigCity and EvilEmpire, which were used to draw Web traffic to Backpages prostitution business, the complaint said.

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The complaint listed 10 victims whose profiles were created without their knowledge. In one case, a woman contacted Backpage to remove her photograph from EvilEmpire, but was told by Backpage staff that the two companies were not affiliated and therefore her picture could not be removed, according to the complaint.

Backpage Chief Executive Carl Ferrer, 55, along with the sites former owners Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67, are charged with more than two dozen counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit pimping. Ferrer is also charged with 12 counts of pimping, seven of which involve minors. Harris said the charges are based on new evidence.

Lawyers for the men previously pointed to the federal Communications Decency Act, which frees online publishers from liability over user postings and has been repeatedly interpreted to trump state criminal laws. The men argued that Harris was well aware that they were protected because she signed a 2013 letter with other state attorneys general that unsuccessfully lobbied for an amendment to the law that would have allowed for state-level criminal prosecutions.

On Friday, an attorney representing the men said the latest complaint is a rehash of the same charges that were thrown out.

Harris admitted in 2013 that her office cannot bring state-law charges against Backpage, and the Superior Courts orders earlier this month confirmed this, attorney James Grant said via email. She cannot avoid First Amendment protections, federal law, or her obligations to follow the law, although her new complaint is a transparent effort to do exactly that.

Backpage has long been a target in the crusade against human trafficking. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported about 2,900 cases of suspected child sex trafficking via Backpage to law enforcement agencies in California since 2012, officials said.

The company has contended that it is a host  not a publisher  of content generated by third parties, namely, consenting adults.

In the latest case, the attorney generals money-laundering charges stem from alleged efforts to hide prostitution-related transactions.

According to the complaint, the men created new companies and classified websites  including Ymas, Postfastr and Truckrjobs  to handle transactions for Backpage customers after credit card companies refused to process payments to the site because of its overtly sexual content.

When American Express notified Backpage operators in 2015 that the company would soon stop processing Backpage transactions, Ferrer directed his employees to guide cardholders on how to purchase credits through Postfastr, which could later be used on Backpage.

Over the next two months, American Express transactions from Backpages female escort section in California dropped from $48,289 to $31,786, while Postfastr.com credits purchased via American Express increased from $7,904 to $16,152, the complaint said.

Between Aug. 1, 2013, and Oct. 31, 2016, Backpage operators received more than $45 million from transactions initially purchased through the websites escort categories in California, the complaint said.

In a statement, Harris said the three men preyed on and profited from vulnerable victims, including children.

My office will not turn a blind eye to this criminal behavior simply because the defendants are exploiting and pimping victims on the Internet rather than on a street corner, she said.

Founded in 2004, Backpage originated in the classified section in the back of alternative newspapers. It also lists apartments, cars and jobs.

When operators were charged the first time, Backpage denied any wrongdoing and accused Harris of pursuing a politically motivated prosecution as she entered the final weeks in her campaign for U.S. Senate. She was elected last month and is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 3.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael G. Bowman ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects websites such as Backpage.com from lawsuits when they publish speech posted by other people. He said the law struck a balance in favor of free speech in keeping Internet service providers protected from liability.

At the time, Harris said she was extremely disappointed by the ruling.

To all those who have been victimized by pimps online and trafficked through Backpage.com, you are not alone and the fight for justice is not over, she said. We are exploring all legal options and will continue to advocate for all victims and to aggressively prosecute those who prey on and exploit the vulnerable.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @AleneTchek

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One person killed, two injured in San Fernando shooting; gunman remains at large
San Fernando police were searching Friday for a gunman responsible for fatally shooting one person and critically wounding two others.

The shootings occurred about 2 p.m. near the corner of Fourth and Harp streets, a residential neighborhood between the 5 and 210 freeways, said Sgt. Irwin Rosenberg.

A male victim was pronounced dead at the scene, Rosenberg said. Two other victims  described as a man and a woman  were taken to a hospital in critical condition.

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Police Chief Anthony Vairo told a KABCTV Channel 7 news reporter that it was not clear whether the shooting was gang-related but said the victims were targeted.

Police cordoned off several blocks around the crime scene as they continued to search for the gunman.

A police helicopter searches for a shooting suspect near the intersection of 4th St. and Harps St. in San Fernando. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times )

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President Obama has signed legislation that, by striking a single word from longstanding U.S. nuclear defense policy, could heighten tensions with Russia and China and launch the country on an expensive effort to build space-based defense systems.

The National Defense Authorization Act, a year-end policy bill encompassing virtually every aspect of the U.S. military, contained two provisions with potentially momentous consequences.

One struck the word limited from language describing the mission of the countrys homeland missile defense system. The system is designed to thwart a small-scale attack by a non-superpower such as North Korea or Iran.

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A related provision calls for the Pentagon to start research, development, test and evaluation of space-based systems for missile defense.

Together, the provisions signal that the U.S. will seek to use advanced technology to defeat both small-scale and large-scale nuclear attacks. That could unsettle the decades-old balance of power among the major nuclear states.

Huge bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress approved the policy changes over the past month, with virtually no public debate.

Although the White House had earlier criticized the changes, it stopped short of threatening a veto.On Friday, Obama signed the legislation.

In a four-page signing statement, the president criticized various aspects of the bill, including the structure of a cyber-security command and limits on administrative leave for employees, but said nothing about the changes in nuclear defense policy.

Before Obamas action, proponents and opponents of the policy changes agreed that they could have dramatic effects.

Leading defense scientists said the idea that a space-based system could provide security against nuclear attack is a fantasy.

It defies the laws of physics and is not based on science of any kind, said L. David Montague, a retired president of missile systems for Lockheed Corp. and co-chair of a National Academy of Sciences panel that studied missile defense technologies at the request of Congress.

Even if we darken the sky with hundreds or thousands of satellites and interceptors, theres no way to ensure against a dedicated attack, Montague said in an interview. So its an opportunity to waste a prodigious amount of money.

He called the provisions passed by Congress insanity, pure and simple.

What is national security worth? Its priceless.  Rep. Trent Franks

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who introduced and shepherded the policy changes in the House, said he drew inspiration from President Reagans Strategic Defense Initiative of the 1980s, which was intended to use lasers and other space-based weaponry to render nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete. Known as Star Wars, the initiative cost taxpayers $30 billion, but no system was ever deployed.

Franks said that striking the word limited from the homeland defense systems mission, and at the same time pursuing a space-based system, would put the U.S. on a path to better safeguard its security. He said the new approach would protect both U.S. territory and surveillance satellites.

I hope that the day will come when we could have solid-state lasers in space that can defeat any missile attack, said Franks, who represents suburbs north and west of Phoenix. That day is a long ways off. But fortunately, its a little closer, and a little more certain, with the passage of these amendments.

The new policy Franks championed says America should maintain and improve a robust layered missile defense system capable of defending the territory of the United States and its allies against the developing and increasingly complex ballistic missile threat.

A space-based defense system would hinge on annual congressional appropriations and decisions by the incoming Trump administration.

The National Academy study, released in 2012, concluded that even a bare-bones space-based system would cost about $200 billion to put in place, and hundreds of billions to operate in subsequent years.

Franks, asked whether the country could afford it, replied: What is national security worth? Its priceless.

Philip E. Coyle III, a former assistant secretary of Defense who headed the Pentagon office responsible for testing and evaluating weapon systems, described the idea of a space-based nuclear shield as a sham.

To do this would cost just gazillions and gazillions, Coyle said. The technology isnt at hand  nor is the money.Its unfortunate from my point of view that the Congress doesnt see that.

He added: Both Russia and China will use it as an excuse to do something that they want to do.

The word limited has guided U.S. policy since the National Missile Defense Act of 1999. The qualifier reflects, in part, the reality that intercepting and destroying incoming warheads is supremely difficult, and that it would be impractical to field enough interceptors to counter a large-scale attack.

The current homeland anti-missile system  the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD  relies on interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Ft. Greely, Alaska. In flight tests, the system, which has cost taxpayers more than $40 billion, has managed to destroy mock enemy warheads only about half the time.

The first of Franks amendments  to eliminate limited from U.S. policy  was approved in April by the House Armed Services Committee with no debate and without a recorded roll-call vote.

At a committee hearing May 17, a senior Democrat on the panel, Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee, offered mild protest.

I think it was a mistake to mandate a poorly thought out, unaffordable and unrealistic missile defense policy, including plans for a space-based missile deterrent, Cooper said.

But neither Cooper nor any other House Democrat sought to overturn the provisions, and he was among those who voted to pass the overall bill the next day.

Franks Republican partner on the legislation, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, enjoyed a similarly smooth path.

Deliberations of the Senate Armed Services Committee were closed, forestalling public debate. The legislation was approved by a roll call vote of 16-10, with two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Tim Kaine of Virginia, the partys eventual vice presidential nominee, joining the Republican majority.

In June, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sought to restore limited, saying that the change in U.S. policy would create the impetus for a new arms race with Russia and China. Markey offered an amendment on the Senate floor but could not muster enough support to bring it to vote.

The policy changes were greeted with opposition from another quarter as well. At a congressional hearing in April, Franks pressed Vice Adm. James D. Syring, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, for his stance on expanding American capability into space.

Syring replied: I have serious concerns about the technical feasibility of the interceptors in space, and I have serious concerns about the long-term affordability of a program like that.

david.willman@latimes.com

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As a girl in the mid-1950s, Amy Roberts would catch a ride each morning with her neighbors the Johnsons, the couple who ran the one-room schoolhouse where black children were taught on St. Simons Island.

Mrs. Johnson played the piano, and she had the younger children, Roberts said, recalling her years attending first and second grade at the Harrington School on the Georgia coast in the years before desegregation. We used to sing. We had to do a Bible verse that begins with a different letter of the alphabet every day.

The old schoolhouse had been an anchor of the islands black community since the 1920s. St. Simons, a barrier island thats now a seaside resort and home to more than 12,700 predominantly white residents, looked remarkably different when the Harrington School was new. Roughly three-fourths of the areas inhabitants were black descendants of slaves who worked the island plantations until the Civil War.

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After integration came, the school eventually was abandoned, fell prey to rot and was slated for demolition. Now, however, Roberts and other preservationists are close to finishing a seven-year project to restore it.

The Friends of the Harrington School, a group that raises money for the project, recently announced it has been awarded a grant that could bring in the final $50,000 needed to rehabilitate the schoolhouses interior. The group hopes to have it ready to open in February.

Its a bridge from the times of slavery through the years up to the civil rights era, said Patty Deveau, the fundraising groups president. St. Simons Island has a rich plantation history. But not many places talk about the 150 years of freedom.

Historians arent sure what year the Harrington School opened on the island 70 miles south of Savannah, but it was in the early 1920s. Thousands of schools for black children were being built across the South in a partnership between the Tuskegee Institute under Booker T. Washington and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, the CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

By the late 1920s, 1 in 3 black schoolchildren in the rural South were served by Rosenwald schools, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Many of those school buildings later fell into disrepair, and few are still standing.

Although theres no definitive evidence that Harrington was a Rosenwald school, it was built in the same era and its structure closely resembles a Rosenwald school floor plan.

St. Simons Island was the home of many Gullah Geechee people, slave descendants who retained African traditions and mannerisms that survived thanks to their isolation from the mainland. Some worked in sawmills and as carpenters, while others still farmed. Roberts father was a bartender, while her mother was employed as a housekeeper.

The reason they built the Harrington School was because they wanted a better life for their children, said Roberts, who heads the St. Simons African-American Heritage Coalition.

The school taught 15 to 40 children at a time, often divided into two groups of younger and older grade levels, until Glynn County schools were desegregated in the 1960s and Harringtons students were bused to schools on the mainland. The one-room schoolhouse was converted to a daycare that lasted into the 1970s.

The building of 1,250 square feet almost didnt survive. In 2010, it sat abandoned with gaping holes in its asbestos siding and gaps in the metal roof that let rainwater seep inside, while termites thrived in the crawlspace beneath the heart-pine floors. The Glynn County Commission declared the schoolhouse beyond repair and slated it for demolition.

But Roberts and others determined to save the building banded together. A group of preservation experts visited the schoolhouse and determined the foundation was structurally sound, though extensive work was needed to stabilize and restore the rest.

About $300,000 has been spent on a new roof, repairing the windows and other exterior work, including rebuilding the steps and portico leading to the front door. Inside, electrical wiring still must be installed, the floors need sanding and finishing and walls require repairs and painting.

Preservationists hope to finish the job with a grant from the Watson-Brown Foundation that will match dollar for dollar up to $25,000 in private donations. Deveau said about $10,000 already had been raised by mid-December, and the group hoped to get the rest by the end of the month.

Roberts, who says she went a little crazy when county officials planned to tear down her former school, now looks forward to seeing its new beginning.

Now it is so near the finish the line, Roberts said. And its gorgeous.
Now that youve finished your holiday shopping (you have finished, right?), its a good time to head out and spend some quality time at one of this citys great restaurants. Maybe drive to Culver City, where Jonathan Gold finds an Old Man Bar (thats the actual name) in a neo-Southern restaurant called Hatchet Hall that also serves a cookie plate.

Or if you happen to be in Beverly Hills  not shopping for gifts  maybe visit one of the new restaurants in the area, where youll find everything from an expertly prepared Dover sole to vegan lasagna, as well as the best bar bites in the city. And if youre looking to make a reservation for New Years Eve dinner, weve got some ideas here.

Happy Holidays!

 Jenn Harris

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Gold review

In this weeks restaurant review, Jonathan Gold considers Hatchet Hall, Brian Dunsmoors Southern-leaning restaurant in Culver City. Gold describes the restaurant as one of the most formidable leftover producers in the city. Its also where youll find a first-rate bourbon selection.

Fried chicken and doughnuts

Like the sound of a creme brulee doughnut? Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken in Washington, D.C., is bringing its doughnuts and fried chicken to downtown Los Angeles. In other restaurant news: a new bone broth restaurant in Pasadena and a lounge opening on Sunset Boulevard.

Eating in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills may not be known for its dining destinations, but a wave of new restaurants in the area will have you eating very, very well. Here are eight new and notable restaurants in the 90210. Think Southern biscuits or Italian street food with a side of paparazzi.

The buttermilk biscuits with chipotle maple syrup and pimento cheese at Citizen. (Mariah Tauger / For The Times )

Mall food

One of next years most exciting places to eat may actually be a mall. Seriously. Heres a look at all the new restaurants headed for the Westfield Century City mall, including the dumpling house Din Tai Fung.

A soup dumpling from Din Tai Fung. The Taiwanese dumpling house is opening a location at the Westfield Century City. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)

Jonathan Gold has a robot twin

Goldbot, a robot version of our restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, is now live on Facebook Messenger. You can ask the bot for personal restaurant recommendations based on location, type of food or price. And you can get Golds latest reviews sent straight to your device. Pretty cool, huh?

Jonathan Golds 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers and now features his 2016 Best Restaurants. If you didnt get a copy of the booklet, you can order one online here.

City of Gold, Laura Gabberts documentary of Jonathan Golds Los Angeles, is available on Amazon.

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Check out the thousands of recipes in our Recipe Database.

Feedback? Wed love to hear from you. Email us at food@latimes.com.
To the editor: I agree with UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman that its desirable to have hate speech out in the open. Sequestration of hateful opinions does not stop their dissemination. (Bigots at the gate: Universities shouldnt duck the fight against white nationalism, Opinion, Nov. 20)

Now that we have a more accurate idea of the extent of such views in this country, we can more clearly see the urgency of dealing with them in our schools and homes. We also have a unique opportunity to personally engage people by first listening to them and then expressing our opinions.

This might not change minds, but it may open them to alternative views.

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Kathryn Kroger, Pasadena

..

To the editor: A much bigger threat to democracy are those who refuse to accept election results, who shut down free speech and who demand special rules based on race and gender. Thats the arrogant left, which runs many campuses.

Gillman is so concern about democracies being fragile while he supports an academia thats openly contemptuous of Americas system. Some professors hold low grades over the heads of students, publicly mocking any who dare to disagree with their radical agendas. University administrators tacitly approve such persecution, along with their phony alt-right paranoia and safe space idiocy.

If anyones guilty of McCarthyism, its this extremist mindset thats hijacked education and turned it into indoctrination.

Pat Murphy, Pacific Palisades

..

To the editor: Long before President-elect Donald Trump made hate speech presidential, we should have been extending invitations to all haters and granting them access to our every public venue. Just tell us your fears, we should have instructed.

If only wed heard it all, we could have treated the hate before it had metastasized. We would have made attempts to educate against it everywhere. The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he didnt exist.

Kevin T. Freeman, Huntington Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Abdulfattah Alkhaled wonders at the conclusion of his piece whether any acts of barbarism get under President Obamas skin. Im guessing the horrors of Aleppo, Syria, have gotten deep under Obamas skin, as does the prospect of involvement that could eventually lead to the loss of American lives. (Message from Syria to the United States: Well never again believe your lofty rhetoric, Opinion, Dec. 20)

Beginning with Korea, the United States has become quite involved in conflicts within other nations, and none have restored a democratic ruling body when our military has been seriously involved. The cost in lives and division within our society may be immeasurable. U.S. military interventions in the Islamic world have made everyone worse off every time.

Alkhaled fails to mention whether he has taken up arms and fought in the streets of Aleppo against Syrian President Bashar Assads forces. Perhaps Obama made a mistake in publicly declaring support for the Syrian resistance years ago, a move that seems to anger the author as much as the lack of military support for the rebels.

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No one can say whether greater U.S. military involvement in Syria would have made things better for the people, nor can anyone predict that our lack of involvement will make Syria worse off over the long run.

Brian Miller, Echo Park

..

To the editor: Alkhaled is bitterly angry that Obama and the United States did not intervene militarily to save Syrians who were slaughtered by the butcher of Damascus and his Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah co-conspirators.

Despite millions of U.S. dollars spent training the so-called moderate opposition, hapless civilians were caught between Assad loyalists and the radical Islamists of the Nusra Front, Islamic State and others. This vile mixture is contained in the bottle of misery that is Syria and it has a clear stamp on its bottom: Made in Syria.

Looking across the Muslim world, one sees sectarian violence, brutal dictators and blood-thirsty radicals. Islamic leaders have had centuries to learn to accept the different varieties of their faith and the ethnic groups in their lands and have completely failed. So if Alkhalad is looking for those who should feel shame about the debacle in Syria, he could start by looking closer to home.

Joel Jaffe, Beverly Hills

..

To the editor: Since the United States has the most powerful military force in the world, Alkhaled implies, it was the obligation of our president to commit those forces to a ground and air war in Syria .

Yes, the human suffering in Syria has reached the level of genocide. The world has not seen photos like this since the Battle of Britain.

Might Alkhaled point his finger of scorn at the Syrian military, which clearly does not have a problem bombing its own citizens? Is it just following orders? Is there a moral dimension to its behavior ?

Might Alkhaled express scorn for Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel? That nation shares a border with Syria and, thanks to the United States, is a major military power. Does Netanyahu have any concern about the security of his neighbors citizens? Why didnt he think it appropriate to intervene in Syria?

Alkhaled, who has an envious position being a manager of a Syrian advocacy group, can be critical of decisions he does not like. But not being a head of state like Obama, he will never decide whether to take a nation to war and face the consequences of that decision .

Frank Ferrone, El Cajon

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Israel lashed out at US President Barack Obama over a UN Security Council resolution passed Friday demanding it halt settlements in Palestinian territory, while vowing it would not abide by it.

"Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

"The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes," it said.

"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect (Donald) Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution."

Israel also announced diplomatic retaliatory steps against Senegal and New Zealand, two of the four countries that pushed for a vote on the resolution. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with the other two, Malaysia and Venezuela.

In a rare and momentous step, the United States abstained from Friday's vote, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

The landmark move by the Security Council came despite intense lobbying efforts by Israel and Trump to block the resolution.

But the Obama administration has grown increasingly frustrated with settlement building in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied for nearly 50 years.

There have been growing warnings that settlement building is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the basis of years of negotiations.

Settlements are constructed on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state and have long been seen as illegal under international law.

The United States has traditionally served as Israel's diplomatic protector, shielding it from resolutions it opposes.

It is Israel's most important ally and provides it with more than $3 billion per year in defence aid.

But there had been mounting speculation that Obama would allow such a resolution to pass before he leaves office on January 20.

Trump has signalled he is likely to be far more favourable to Israel.

His nominee for ambassador to the country, David Friedman, favours moving the embassy to Jerusalem and has voiced support for settlement building.

Obama and Netanyahu have had testy relations, but Israel's statement after the vote was particularly harsh toward the US administration, as were comments earlier in the day from an anonymous Israeli official.

Earlier on Friday, the Israeli official said that Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry were "behind this shameful move against Israel at the UN".

After the vote, Netanyahu ordered Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return for consultations, a statement from his spokesman said.

Israel also called off a planned visit by the Senegalese foreign minister in three weeks, while all aid programmes to Senegal were cancelled.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called the resolution a "big blow for Israeli policies."

The move was "an international and unanimous condemnation of settlements and strong support for the two-state solution," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

Saeb Erekat, a former peace negotiator and the number two in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), spoke of a "historic day".

"December 23 is a historic day and a victory for international legitimacy, international law and international documents," said Erekat.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution" that would see an independent Palestine co-exist alongside Israel.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the occupied West Bank and another 200,000 in annexed east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

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Some of The Times letter writers want little to nothing in their newspaper reporting on white supremacists or the so-called alt-right.

Thats the message theyve been sending in response to several articles over the last few weeks. Shortly after Donald Trumps election victory, The Times ran a piece on the ascendant movements attempt to reach into Washington, a report that drew stinging criticism from dozens of letter writers. Most recently, an article that ran in print Wednesday on California white supremacist Nathan Damigos outreach efforts on college campuses prompted similar rebukes from readers who believe any front-page report at all on the fringe movement amounts to free publicity.

Here are some of their letters.

Bill Schmitendorf of Irvine doesnt like the nearly full-page treatment given to Damigo:

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In Wednesdays Times you had a front-page story about an alt-right person named Nathan Damigo. The article continued on Page A13 and covered nearly the whole page. You also say his following is fairly limited.

The power of the press should respected so racism is not encouraged.  George Epstein, Los Angeles

It seems that you are giving free publicity to this person, which could help him attract more followers. Shame on you. A minor extremist should not be given space in your paper.

San Marcos resident Chet Chebegia wishes the piece had been featured less prominently:

Since The Times printed this article on the front page, it must think it is very relevant. But the article states that Damigo does not have a very large following.

Perhaps The Times wants to warn readers about the dangers of extremism, but the article does seem to give this obviously disturbed Damigo more attention than he deserves. Being that he is a convicted felon, surely, this story would have been better placed inside the paper.

I attended college in the 1960s and served my country upon graduation, but if this guy had appeared on a California campus then and spewed this white message, he would have been tarred and feathered, ridiculed and bounced off the campus.

George Epstein of Los Angeles says the media need to be responsible in their reporting on the alt-right:

Having served as an editor for my college newspaper and subsequently written for other publications, I know of the power of the press. It is enormous.

Lately, I have seen extensive material published in The Times about alt-right figurehead and white supremacist Richard Spencer, the founder of a racist think tank in Montana who rose to prominence during Trumps campaign. Before that, I had never heard of him. The media are making him a star, increasing the possibility that many borderline white nationalists will be attracted to him and ultimately join his troops.

The power of the press should respected so racism is not encouraged. The Times and other media should have a sense of responsibility rather than just fill their pages

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Californias famous chronicler Carey McWilliams once wrote that some see this highly improbable state as more illusion than reality. Perhaps that explains its residents perpetual efforts to shake things up and break away  either from the national government or each other.

Since 1849, more than 200 efforts have imagined a political do-over to the idea of California as a single, sprawling American state. Every attempt has failed.

All major social and political movements in this country take time and inevitably have to overcome failures and setbacks before they are ultimately successful, Louis Marinelli, the latest provocateur with secessionist dreams, told The Times in an email.

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Marinelli, 30, is leading a new effort to make California an independent nation, complete with its own catch phase, Calexit. Last weekend, he went so far as to christen a California embassy in Moscow. (Marinelli, from San Diego, said hes temporarily living in Russia while working on his wifes immigration status.)

But even as some California lawmakers openly discuss their post-election funk about the United States, its the ultimate political Hail Mary. Assuming voters endorsed an independent nation in both 2018 and again in a 2019 special election, theres legal doubt whether any state can exit the union.

Follow the latest happenings in Sacramento and Washington with our Essential Politics news feed 

What may be most striking is that anyone would assume theres a shared state identity, when Californians more often have tried to go their separate ways.

State lawmakers sent their first breakup plan to Congress in 1859, but it was squashed by the onset of the Civil War. The equally unlucky, but colorful, Yreka Rebellion of 1941 saw a handful of Northern California counties join grumpy southern Oregonians to propose a new state called Jefferson. They threw a big party in Siskiyou Countys biggest town, Yreka, on Dec. 4, 1941.

Three days later, after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, secession fever subsided.

(Anthony Russo / For The Times )

As the song says, breaking up is hard to do. There was a 1965 failed legislative effort to create the nations 51st state with a dividing line at the Tehachapi Mountains that span Los Angeles and Kern counties, revisited and dismissed in 1978. And then, the early 1990s plan for an advisory ballot measure to gauge voter interest in splitting California into three states.

I cant guarantee a perfect world, but I know that divided, more homogeneous Californias will be better than the gridlocks we have now, Stan Statham, then a Republican state assemblyman, said in a 1993 Times story. Alas, his proposal died in the state Senate.

A 2009 plan wouldve carved California into separate coastal and inland U.S. states, presumably one favored by Democrats and one by Republicans. The idea was recycled in 2011 by state Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Temecula) while he was a Riverside County supervisor.

Few efforts garnered as much attention, or derision, as the 2014 campaign by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Tim Draper to create six states out of California, with names like Silicon Valley and West California.

Draper, even after spending almost $5 million, failed to gather enough signatures to get his proposal on the ballot.

No secession effort has answered the practical questions  how to negotiate water rights, divvy up the existing states assets, pay for border security, just for starters. Still, it often sparks valuable public policy discussions.

How sustainable is it when the Bay Areas per capita income is more than double that in the Central Valley? Why is poverty pocketed in a handful of regions? Does California, home to much of Americas recent job growth, get what it deserves from the federal government?

Those concerns may trigger bouts of secessionist fever, but few would dispute that theyre also a good start on a to-do list for Californias state and national leaders as 2017 comes into view.

john.myers@latimes.com

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California secession backers say theyve opened an embassy in Moscow

Big-city mayors oppose Calexit secession effort

Political Road Map: A long, cold winter awaits for Californias pension plans

Updates on California politics
A Santa Clarita real estate agent, an El Cajon lawyer, and a prison chaplain from Norwalk all had their criminal histories excused through pardons by Gov. Jerry Brown as part of an annual tradition of Christmastime clemency.

Brown on Friday granted 112 pardons for convicted felons who had completed their sentences and shortened the existing sentence of a man involved in a gang-related shooting nearly 20 years ago.



For the record: An earlier version of this story said attorney Thomas J. Dao spent six weeks in jail for selling marijuana. He served a six-month sentence.

For the dozens receiving pardons  the vast majority of which were for drug offenses  Browns action was both an early Christmas gift and an official end to a more troubled chapter of their lives.

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Hes saying you can have a second chance and were not going to hold that against you, said Dana Pope, a Santa Clarita real estate agent who was convicted in 1996 of possession of a controlled substance. I was young. I was on drugs. Thats not who I am today.

As governor, Brown has shown a commitment to executive clemency that sets him apart from recent predecessors. Since 2011, Brown has granted 854 pardons and two commutations, according to the governors office.

That far exceeds the total pardons by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who granted 15; Gov. Gray Davis, who granted zero; and Gov. Pete Wilson, who granted 13.

Other California governors enthusiastically embraced the power to grant clemency, including Republican Govs. George Deukmejian, Ronald Reagan and Earl Warren, who granted 325, 574 and 522 pardons, respectively. Gov. Edmund G. Pat Brown, the current governors father, issued 467.

The twice-yearly list of pardons  Brown traditionally grants clemency around Christmas Eve and Easter  tends to be full of everyday Californians and former residents of the state whose brushes with the law are often years behind them. Applicants must obtain a certificate of rehabilitation from a court or directly petition the governors office. They must demonstrate that they are living productive and law-abiding lives. A pardon doesnt erase a conviction, but it does allow the restoration of certain rights, like gun ownership.

Pardons are not granted unless they are earned, notes the governors office.

Using the power of clemency can be politically perilous.

Schwarzenegger on his last day in office commuted the sentence of the son of his political ally, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Esteban Nunez was convicted for his role in the stabbing death of a college student.

Last year, in a rare celebrity pardon, Brown granted clemency to Robert Downey Jr., the actor who notoriously served time for drug-related convictions in the 1990s.

Brown had inducted Downey Jr. into the California Hall of Fame several months prior to the pardon. This year, Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan, gave a combined $70,000 to Proposition 57, the successful ballot initiative backed by Brown that revamped state prison parole rules.

Browns office had to withdraw a 2014 pardon after the Los Angeles Times found the man who was granted clemency had recently been disciplined by financial regulators.

On Friday, as this crop of pardons became official, pardoned felons reflected on their past lives.

Patrick ONeil was a self-described career heroin addict for 20 years in San Francisco before a botched robbery landed him in jail. There, he took adult education classes just to pass the time and discovered a love of writing.

He since has earned a masters in fine arts, began teaching creative writing at Antioch University in Los Angeles and written a memoir about his addiction.

It saved my life, getting arrested, he said. I realized this is not where I wanted to go.

Pope, now 48, is going on 20 years sober after battling drug addiction. She had her record expunged more than 10 years ago in order to get a real estate license, but she found her past continued to come up.

The pardon puts the old me to sleep. Thats not who I am anymore, she said. I have a family and productive life.

El Cajon attorney Thomas J. Dao, 35, said he is still embarrassed to remember he was sentenced for selling marijuana 15 years ago. But the six-month stint in jail he served also changed his life for the better: It spurred the then-20-year-old dropout to pursue his high school diploma, go to college and apply to law school. It was a catalyst for change, he said. I really wanted to help people that didnt understand the [legal] process. I wanted to understand the process myself, and all of that happened because of the conviction.

For Norwalk resident Mark Maciel, Browns pardon capped a long road in transforming his life since he was sentenced in 1979 for assault with a deadly weapon.

Since he left prison, the 56-year-old Maciel has worked as a chaplain and motivational speaker in prisons and other correctional facilities, including with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

Maciel serves as executive director of Prison Ministry of America, a nonprofit that provides religious literature and spiritual counseling to the incarcerated.

He said that Browns pardon held even more meaning for him because Brown was first governor when he was sent to prison 37 years ago.

This is the final achievement for me, Maciel said.

Brown also shortened, but not did not eliminate, the sentence of Louis Calderon, who was convicted of attempted murder, with an enhanced sentence for use of a firearm, for being an accomplice in a 1999 gang-related shooting in which a victim lost an eye. Calderon was sentenced to a total prison term of 32 years to life.

Calderon has broken ties with his gang and has never been disciplined for a rule violation in his 18 years in prison, Brown noted. Calderon has also earned multiple community college degrees and a paralegal certificate.

This is a very serious crime, but it is clear that Mr. Calderon has distinguished himself by his exemplary conduct in prison and his forthright and continuing separation from gang activities of any kind, Brown wrote. He reduced Calderons sentence to a total of 22 years to life.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

liam dillon.@latimes.com

jazmine.ulloa@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

8:35 p.m.: This article was updated to clarify a statement from Pope about her past.

This article was originally published at 3:45 p.m.
A state appellate court this week rejected the city of Burbanks challenge to a 2012 jury verdict that awarded $150,000 to an Armenian-American police detective who said hed suffered racial discrimination and harassment while on the job.

The decision on Thursday comes several years after Det. Steve Karagiosian, along with several other current and former officers with the department, filed a discrimination and harassment lawsuit against the city in 2009.

Karagiosian, who still works for the department, testified in Los Angeles Superior Court that several sergeants and detectives frequently used racial slurs and derogatory terms when referring to Armenians.

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A jury awarded the detective $150,000 in damages and nearly $720,000 in attorneys fees. The detectives attorney, Solomon Gresen, lauded the appellate courts decision.

Were gratified that the court upheld the verdict of the jury and upheld the award, he said.

Meanwhile, the city has not yet determined if it will continue to challenge the verdict with the California Supreme Court or accept the appeals rejection. Burbank City Atty. Amy Albano said thats a determination to be made by the City Council.

However, she said the case is in the past for the city and police department. According to her, the focus should now be on the progress that police officials have made in the past several years to address harassment and discrimination within the department.

The court made its decision, and its always an uphill battle to have a jury verdict overturned, Albano said. We felt it was worth trying because of the factual circumstances of how it all arose.

The city based its appeal on several arguments.

One argument was that the detectives harassment and discrimination suit, citing the Fair Employment and Housing Act, was outside of the statute of limitations, and that Karagiosian took too long to file a complaint.

However, in the courts opinion signed by Justice Thomas Willhite, that argument was rejected. The court cited a continuing violation doctrine that supersedes any statute of limitations.

There was enough of a pattern of harassment and discrimination from officers that created a hostile workplace, according to the opinion.

The relevant point is that acts of the harassment occur within the limitation period that are sufficiently connected to acts occurring outside the limitations period, the opinion stated.

The city also argued that attorneys fees were wildly inflated and the court abused its discretion when awarding the nearly $720,000 to Karagiosian  that the billed hours for his attorneys were speculative, arbitrary and capricious.

According to the opinion, the fees were based on the hours worked by Karagiosians attorneys and an assigned rate that was considered reasonable by the court.

Arguing against the citys claim of the billed hours being arbitrary, the opinion pointed out that keeping a detailed record of hours worked was never a prerequisite for the recovery of attorneys fees.

Burbank has spent more than $7 million during the past four years to deal with the lawsuits relating to harassment and discrimination at the police department.

--

Andy Nguyen, andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
For years, about 200 monarch butterflies have made their way from Canada to Huntington Beachs Norma Gibbs Butterfly Park around winter time.

But it hasnt always been so. The monarchs stopped coming to Gibbs park for a period after the trees and vegetation that the milkweed butterflies rely on deteriorated.

Enter longtime resident Leslie Gilson, who along with members of the Huntington Beach Tree Society and others restored the park starting around 2007.

Known around town as the butterfly lady, Gilson has devoted the last several years to developing Gibbs park and raising butterflies, particularly the monarch, in her home.

In her small butterfly house, caterpillars lazily wriggle along milkweed leaves, a poisonous plant that only butterflies eat. A few are entombed at the top of the house in their chrysalis, a hardened skin similar to a cocoon, beginning the final stage of their butterfly metamorphosis.

Once they become butterflies, Gilson will tag them with little stickers and release them into the park.

A monarch caterpillar eats eats milkweed at Leslie Gilsons home in Huntington Beach on Dec. 21. (Scott Smeltzer / Daily Pilot)

Her activism started when Gilson returned to Huntington Beach more than a decade ago after living abroad.

She had grown fond of seeing the butterflies at Gibbs park, which was dedicated on July 8, 1995, in honor of the first female mayor of Huntington Beach. But Gilson was met on her return by a dilapidated version of the place she once loved.

The trees were all dead. It was a mess, she said.

The 6.8-acre butterfly park, at 16641 Graham St., between Warner Avenue and Heil Street, had become known as a refuge for a substantial homeless population. Worst of all, Gilson learned that the butterflies had not returned in about 15 years.

Gilson decided she was going to do something about it.

In 2007, Gilson took storyboards to the Huntington Beach City Council and made her case for the parks restoration.

At the meeting, she was approached by Jean Nagy, president of the Huntington Beach Tree Society, who proposed that they team up. The environmental nonprofit works on developing and maintaining local parks and greenery in the city.

Gilson was made the societys coordinator for the restoration project.

Nagy said Thursday that she had grown concerned about the park at the time because it looked like a jungle, and Gilson had enough energy for both of us.

Before the project could move forward, Gilson and Nagy, who both lacked traditional knowledge of butterflies, hired a butterfly guru from a Northern California research firm to conduct a study to determine the best way to plant trees to benefit the insects.

Gilson said she paid for the study out of pocket. A believer in fate, she mentioned that her mother had left her $3,000 when she died, and the cost of the project would cost exactly that.

With the necessary information in hand, the two of them partnered with the city and the long renovation process began.

By 2008, the city had removed 179 rotting eucalyptus trees from the park and planted new ones. Nagy said the team also purchased and planted the flowers and plants that butterflies need to feed off of.

Within three months of the new trees going in, the monarch butterflies returned to the park, Gilson said.

Gibbs park is now, once again, a regular stop for them on their annual migration.

Nagy said Gilson has done a beautiful job heading the the renovation efforts in Gibbs park.

Shes fabulous. This is her baby, echoed Norma Brandel Gibbs, the parks namesake. I am so grateful for a person to have that energy and vision to do that. We all owe her a debt.

Gibbs, who is now 91 and still lives in the city, served on the council from 1970 to 78 and was Huntington Beachs first female mayor, from 1976 to 77. Known for breaking barriers and getting things done, she was also the first female psychology professor at Cal State Long Beach and, back home, was instrumental in developing the citys Central Park and Central Library, as well as its public park policy. She also has been a member of numerous organizations.

Norma Brandel Gibbs, Huntington Beachs first female City Council member and mayor, sits on a 35-foot tile mosaic of butterflies in 1995 at the park named in her honor. (Karen Tapia / Los Angeles Times)

Gilsons love for monarch butterflies has only grown in the past decade. She said that about five years ago she began working with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to raise and tag monarchs so they can be tracked. (The monarchs spend their winter hibernation in Mexico and some parts of Southern California where it is warm all year. Then they start their return trip around March. )

Every year, she and a team of local residents go to Gibbs park and collect caterpillars. They bring them back to their homes and raise them.

Gilson monitors the growth of the caterpillars as they go through their life cycles. She said her favorite part is when the butterflies emerge from their chrysalis.

Leslie Gilson of Huntington Beach holds a caterpillar that will become a monarch butterfly at her home on Dec. 21. (Scott Smeltzer / Daily Pilot)

She described as quiet and amazing the moment when the newly transformed insect slowly uses its legs to claw its way out of the shell, emerging as a butterfly.

Wednesday at her home, she held two caterpillars in her hand as they appeared to nip at one another.

They fight with one another for position, she said. They have a personality to them.

As she placed them back into their small house, keeping them separated, it appeared that raising butterflies shares amusing similarities with parenting.

An autodidact, Gilson has read books and articles and taken trips to Mexico and Florida in her quest to learn more about butterflies. Florida is a key East Coast refuge for migrating monarchs before they fly over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico.

To Gilson, these creatures are special and have a numinous quality to them.

She remembers when the family of a boy who had recently committed suicide dedicated a tree in Gibbs park to their son.

On that day, a butterfly appeared out of nowhere on the tree, Gilson said.

She said butterflies are the souls of people who have died.

Today, Gilson gives talks and tours of the park to the public. She hopes to instill a sense of wonderment in kids so they will one day take on the responsibility of preserving the park and keep the butterflies coming back to Huntington Beach.

People can donate to the park at hbtrees.org.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
A 78-year-old Huntington Beach man who pleaded guilty in 2005 to illegally buying dwarf Indian star tortoises from a reptile enthusiast website was among 231 people pardoned Monday by President Barack Obama.

Ralph Hoekstra was sentenced to a years probation and a $5,000 fine after being indicted on a charge of importing wildlife contrary to law, according to court records and a White House news release.

In 2007, authorities indicted Wai Ho Gin, also known as Bobby Gin, and Umesh Kishore Tekani, who were alleged to be the ringleaders in a scheme to sell rare and endangered tortoises taken illegally from native habitats across Asia, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Authorities alleged at the time that at least 75 tortoises were sold to collectors of exotic pets across the United States.

At the time, dwarf Indian star tortoises were considered endangered, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Hoekstra told The Associated Press in 2007 that he corresponded with Gin in 2002 after he saw an online ad for 10 dwarf Indian star tortoises and arranged for a shipment to his home.

Ten days later, AP wrote, a Fish and Wildlife officer dressed as a letter carrier dropped off the tortoises, and when Hoekstra accepted the package, authorities raided his home.

I knew I shouldnt have done it, Hoekstra told AP. But at that time, I was interested in the species.

Hoekstra did not respond to calls from the Daily Pilot seeking comment.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
The Costa Mesa Motor Inn is now officially closed after the last residents there moved out last month.

Standing outside the property at 2277 Harbor Blvd., the 1970s-era motel looks much the same. A somewhat-worn piece of paper lashed to the front entrance is one of the only apparent signs of its fate.

No rooms for rent, the notice states. Motel is closed.

The final departures bring an end to the months-long effort by owner Miracle Mile Properties to vacate the 236-room motel. Eventually, the Los Angeles-based company hopes to demolish the structure and replace it with 224 high-end apartments.

Ellia Thompson, a lawyer who represents Miracle Mile, said the motel officially closed after the last residents left in November.

In the end, we were able to make amicable agreements with all the remaining guests and everybody moved on to some other living arrangement, she said Thursday.

Its unclear how many residents were left at the Motor Inn in its final days. In September, Thompson told the Daily Pilot that 13 of the motels rooms were still occupied.

Thompson said she couldnt say specifically where the remaining Motor Inn residents went.

Some ended up moving to other motels or finding apartments in Costa Mesa, while others relocated to cities such as Anaheim, Fullerton or Santa Ana, said Linda Tang, project manager with the Kennedy Commission, an Irvine-based affordable-housing advocacy group.

Theyre just worried about whats going to happen next because rent is so high, Tang said. Right now, they have a roof over their heads, but who knows? Rent always increases and theyre really struggling right now.

Kathy Esfahani, a member of the Costa Mesa Affordable Housing Coalition, said its not surprising that some Motor Inn residents were forced to leave Costa Mesa.

The reality is what weve been saying all along: that the reason people are living in the motel is they cannot find affordable housing in the city, she said Friday.

Miracle Mile agreed to provide relocation assistance to eligible long-term motel residents, with some packages ranging from $6,000 to $8,000, according to Thompson.

Some residents declined the offer, though. A few told the Pilot in August that the money wouldnt do them any good in the long run, and given their bad credit histories, they cant get a proper apartment and motels are the only place they can go.

In January, the Kennedy Commission and some then-Motor Inn residents filed a lawsuit against Miracle Mile and the city of Costa Mesa over the plan to replace the motel with apartments. They alleged the city had approved the project without providing relocation plans or appropriate assistance for the low-income residents who would be displaced.

We wanted to make sure that residents were able to preserve the only housing thats available for low-income people in Costa Mesa, Cesar Covarrubias, executive director of the Kennedy Commission, said Friday.

The city, he added, should be incentivizing affordable housing development.

Supporters of the redevelopment project, however, say it would rid the city of a blighted motel that has long been a hotbed for transients and illegal activity.

A hearing on the case is scheduled for May, Thompson said.

In June, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert OBrien issued a preliminary injunction against the project, effectively preventing Miracle Mile from moving ahead with its proposed apartment complex.

That ruling, which has been appealed, did not prevent Miracle Mile from continuing its efforts to relocate or vacate tenants ahead of demolishing the motel. A timeline for the teardown hasnt yet been determined, Thompson said.

We are speaking to some contractors about what well do in the future, she said.

Though she hasnt been able to keep tabs on everyone, Tang said she recently received about 30 donated gift cards  mostly for Target  and was able to deliver them to the children of 11 former Motor Inn families.

We just want to make sure some of these kids get Christmas gifts, she said.

Anyone whod like to donate additional gift cards can call Tang at the Kennedy Commissions office, (949) 250-0909.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter: @LukeMMoney
Referendum has too many errors to be valid

We engaged one of the premiere election law firms in California, Sacramento-based Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, to conduct a review of the referendum petition being circulated against Museum House.

The firm has vast experience on more than 100 state and local ballot measures over the last two decades. Based on their findings, we believe the referendum petition should be rejected because of its failure to comply with the California elections codes mandatory requirements.

We are especially concerned that most of the petition is completely illegible. How can people be asked to sign a petition that is unreadable? At its heart, the petition is an informational document. Our attorneys have never seen a petition that is formatted like this one, where every page is essentially scaled down to one-half or smaller of its original size. Additionally, the referendum petition does not contain the full text of the City Councils action that is subject of the referendum.

The rules that govern the circulation of petitions in California are there for a reason. Efficiency over compliance is not a reason to skirt the laws. And we have seen firsthand how these non-compliant petitions have caused confusion and become the basis for the public being told false statements.

Plus, the Newport Beach City Council was very clear that to aide in transparency, all information should be provided to citizens being asked to sign the petition. The size of the petition was not intended to be burdensome. It was intended to literally and symbolically impart the amount of work and due diligence that went into the projects approval by the Planning Commission and City Council.

Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk has provided a legal analysis to the Newport Beach City Clerk for their review and action on this matter.

Further, we have diligently documented many instances of both volunteer and paid circulators misstating facts, lying to potential signers, and attempting to generally mislead the voters. These videos, logs and statements will be submitted for review should the petition be filed.

And, finally, it is well known that a major campaign, funded by secret money, is actively working to oppose Museum House. Ironically, while citywide mailers, TV ads and other expensive activities have been used against Museum House, it seems that opponents have chosen to save money and time by not printing the petition correctly.

After four public hearings, the Planning Commission and City Councils near unanimous approvals, we continue to stand by the facts. Museum House is 100% compliant with Greenlight, is designed by one of the worlds finest architects and brings important public benefits, including West Coast Highway landscaping, a new Junior Lifeguards Headquarters, library lecture hall and money for public schools.

Gino Canori

Irvine

The writer is executive vice president of Related California.

Museum House should have triggered Greenlight

On Nov. 29, the Newport Beach City Council approved the 25-story Museum House condo tower over the opposition voiced by several thousand residents. Line in the Sands plans to run a referendum putting the Museum House to a citywide vote were well known, and the way the City Council vote was structured would dictate the form of the referendum petition.

Democratic institutions work best when there is respect for the process. Councilman Keith Curry, aided by Councilman Tony Petros, made an impassioned plea to his colleagues not to explicitly structure their vote requiring the referendum petition to include 3,800 extraneous pages, but the council ignored Curry. Councilman Kevin Muldoon said that transparency was required, and Councilman Scott Peotter said that adding the extra pages was justified because SPON had lied.

My query to the council to clarify what lies had been told was met with silence, so I will speculate that the lie was that SPON and Line in the Sand had pointed out that there would be traffic and water impacts from the Museum House, whereas the City Council had concluded that such impacts would be insignificant.

The result of the councils vote was a phone book-sized petition that took nine days and cost $46,506 to print. Their intent could not have been more chilling: squash Line in the Sands referendum before it could begin and clear the way for the construction of the Museum House. If you are looking for a word to describe this, bully would be a good one.

Out of the scrum of blockers, deceitful flyers and a 10-pound petition, Line in the Sand has emerged carrying the ball. We recently delivered signatures to the City Clerk for verification, far more than the required 5,800 signatures required and a clear measure of the outrage felt by residents for the totality of this process.

The Museum House will get the vote it has always deserved under Greenlight. The residents have seen an ugly side of city politics, and the city as a whole has drawn a line in the sand against over-development. Working together, we can protect our quality of life in this beautiful slice of paradise.

Susan Skinner

Newport Beach

The writer is a member of Line in the Sand and SPON.
In this day and age, we take so much for granted. We fail to realize that winning the American Revolutionary War to create a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal was a fragile proposition in 1776.

The Christmas season is a great time to remember and reflect upon a small but important victory that came when Washington crossed the Delaware River with a small group of dedicated men who suffered terribly for a great cause. This event is celebrated on the 25 cent coin for the state of New Jersey: a replica of the famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware.

Independence from Great Britain, the largest and strongest nation in the world, was thought to be an impossible feat. And it nearly was.

Washington and his civilian militia were an untrained and rag-tag group. Washington had suffered defeat after defeat since the summer of 1776, when a determined and courageous group of men signed the Declaration of Independence.

We give our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor, they stated on the document that would be their death sentence if they should ever be caught.

These upstarts in the colonies were willing to confront the king with their demands for an equal say in their governance. Remember, in this age, kings were the ultimate authority and their word was law.

Washington was the leader of the Continental Army, which consisted of the citizen soldier. These men were farmers and businessmen who joined the fight whenever they had a break in their work that would allow them to participate for a few months at a time.

Washington was facing the expiration of these enlistments at the end of December. The army had been shrinking, due to the harsh winter weather and to the poor morale because of military defeats.

Washington desperately needed a victory to rally the troops and the people to the dream of independence from Britain. Few people today realize that only about a third of the population backed the revolutionary cause. One-third of the population considered themselves to be Englishmen and were loyal to the crown.

Many of these were businessmen who found it more profitable to sell supplies to the British troops for a good profit instead of to Washington and his starving troops for payment with the worthless Continental Dollar. Fully a third of the population didnt care; they didnt want to take sides or get involved in any of this.

Then Thomas Paine wrote his inflammatory pamphlet, The American Crisis, in which he said, Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

Now the people were stirred with visions of possibility for a new kind of government and a new way of life.

The winter was cold and harsh. Many of Washingtons men had only thin clothing and no shoes. Many had to resort to wrapping their feet in rags which left a bloody trail on the snowy, frozen ground. Food was in short supply. The suffering of his men was acute.

Washington knew these wonderful men would leave the camp to return to their comfortable homes when their enlistment ended. Once they were gone, he may never be able to recruit more men for the cause again.

Washington was desperate for a victory. So he devised a plan to cross the Delaware River with his troops, silently, in the middle of the night that Christmas in 1776 so he could execute a surprise attack on the morning of Dec. 26 on the Hessians mercenary soldiers, hired by the king, who were quartered in Trenton, N.J.

The Hessians were totally taken by surprise. Normally, soldiers in those years had a reprieve in the winter so they could rest and resupply, and so they could avoid fighting in harsh winter conditions. Washingtons plan had worked, and the colonists enjoyed a rousing victory.

Washingtons victory saved the revolutionary cause. People became more hopeful and inspired to support this new idea of a government ruled by the people.

True, they had ruled themselves as colonists, but it was still under the supervision of the king and Parliament. Now the people realized a new future was possible for them.

Newport Beach resident SHERRY MARRON has a doctorate in American studies. She has taught at the University of Connecticut and Orange Coast College.
Ive just rediscovered that one of the hardest things in the world is to entice teachers into talking about what they have done for kids in their careers.

First, they never think that its a big deal, no matter what theyve done.

Second, for some crazy reason, they seem to think its part of their job.

An eighth-grade boys family I knew of was a mess. Dad and the two older brothers had left home a long time ago. Their house burned down when the kid was in high school, and his mother couldnt take care of him for many reasons.

He was not crazy about school but liked his math teacher. When the teacher and his wife realized what was going on with the kid they decided to take care of him, and he moved in with them.

They then became his parents for this part of his life and guided him through sports, jobs, cars, girlfriends and his start in college. They thought it was no big deal. The student, his wife and children are still part of the family.

A freshman girl thought she might be pregnant. She was scared and young, and knew almost nothing about sex. Her mother had no car and no resources. The girl talked to her favorite teacher who drove her and her mother to counseling that day.

The girl wasnt pregnant, and without disclosing details, she had done nothing to be pregnant. Sex education was obviously not in the curriculum. Taking the girl to counseling was not in this teachers job description but when asked why she had taken her, she said, She was a good kid who needed help.

A student in eighth-grade graduation wore a skirt that was too short, and she was told a half hour before graduation that she couldnt go through the ceremony. Her teacher drove her home to the motel where she lived and waited while she found something to wear, and drove like a maniac back to graduation while the teacher in charge of graduation held her place in line. The student was allowed to graduate.

A teacher I know paid the rent for a student and her mother for months. They were going to be evicted and were going to have to live in their car. This incredibly generous teacher found out and paid their rent until they got back on their feet.

Every day the vice principal of the middle school went to a motel at 6 a.m. to pick a boy up. He did this so the student could shower and dress in the P.E. building early and look decent for school that day.

So many teachers I have known have spent their vacations working for Share Our Selves (SOS) and other organizations. They have adopted families for Christmas. They work in soup kitchens. They tutor kids for nothing, and it turns out, teachers are some of the best people on earth and some of the most humble.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and the happiest New Year to all you humble angels.

Former teacher SANDY ASPER lives in Newport Beach.
Jordan on Saturday welcomed the "historic" UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlements, saying the momentous vote paved a way for a two-state solution.

The 15-member council passed the resolution Friday after the United States abstained and despite an effort led by Israel and backed by US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

"This historic decision expresses the consensus of the international community on the illegality of Israeli settlements and reaffirms the Palestinian people's historic right (to live) in Jerusalem and its historic lands," Jordan's information minister Mohammad al-Momani said Saturday.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution."

Momani said the resolution reinforced the historic position of Jordan -- one of the few Arab states to have diplomatic ties with Israel -- on the need for a two state solution.

The Middle East peace process has been comatose since a US initiative to re-launch peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

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This time of year can be particularly difficult for hospital patients who must spend the holidays in care away from friends, family and festivities.

For the past three years, the healthcare foundation at Glendale Adventist Medical Center has teamed up with the local Bloomingdales store for its annual Project Hug-a-Bear. Select patients, who are at the hospital for care over the holidays, are given a Bloomingdales teddy bear as a way to help keep them company.

The tradition continued Thursday morning as employees of Bloomingdales in the Glendale Galleria joined staff from Glendale Adventist to bring bears to recuperating patients in various hospital wards.

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Irene Bourdon, the foundations president, was handing out teddy bears and said it doesnt take much to do something meaningful.

There is just something about that soft, cuddly teddy bear that is very comforting, Bourdon said. Last year, we had one patient who went to sleep every single night with that teddy bear.

There is just something about that soft, cuddly teddy bear that is very comforting. Last year, we had one patient who went to sleep every single night with that teddy bear.  Irene Bourdon

According to Bourdon, an anonymous donor came to the foundation looking to offer something special for patients during the holidays. The donor happened to have an affinity for Bloomingdales bears and decided to donate 25 of them.

The local Bloomingdales has every year matched the teddy bear donations, with 55 teddy bears given this season. Fifteen of the bears are being held until they can be handed out to patients during Armenian Christmas in January.

Glendale Adventist nurses are tasked with finding patients they feel are experiencing the most difficulty and, in some cases, without family during the holiday season.

Nurse manager Tina Mkrtchyan helped select patients in the comprehensive stroke center.

They are so emotional. Right away, they are so well that I think it even speeds up the healing process, Mkrtchyan said. They are [more] in a mood [to take] medication, they are more happy and willing to continue with therapy. It has lots of positive impacts.

Proceeds from the purchase of a Bloomingdales bear go toward the Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit that helps families of children dealing with mental health and learning disorders.

Its my favorite thing Ive done all year, said Kelli Daley, Glendale Bloomingdales public relations manager, who was also handing out bears. Its such a special experience to go in there and watch their faces light up when we hand them the bear.

--

Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
My family moved to California from the Philippines in 1977 and made Los Angeles our home. I was 19. I studied nursing, met my husband and had two children. Then, after 22 years of marriage, the problems we had could no longer be ignored. We divorced.

One night, long after that breakup, I dreamed of my first boyfriend. It was decades earlier, when I was 17 and he was 20. When I awoke from that dream, I found myself crying, thinking of him, day and night. It seemed like I had penetrated a memory tucked away in my brain. It felt like it was just yesterday. And just like that, I realized: Im still in love with him.

One of the memories that surfaced was a deeply rooted, painful incident that occurred between my mother and me. It was the very incident that led to my separation from my boyfriend, without ever having the chance to say goodbye.

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You have to remember, this was in the olden days, and stern rules were prevalent among Filipino families. Children learned to obscure their true emotions for fear of punishment.

My mother had found out that I had a boyfriend, and she disciplined me severely, physically and emotionally.

I was punished for falling in love.

Our entire clan and neighborhood witnessed the turmoil in our household after my secret love was discovered. The harsh words and physical beatings were almost unbearable. I wanted to rebel against the societal norms that that said I was far too young to date, especially without my mothers permission and supervision. But I knew it would lead to my destruction and more pain.

I did the only thing I could do. I numbed myself, lost my soul and my dignity.

I lost myself.

Later, after I studied psychology as part of my nursing, I learned more about what I had done to survive that ordeal: I had found a way to force myself to forget the painful incident and suppress it in the back of my mind forever ... thinking it would stay there forever.

But that dream told me otherwise.

After that dream, I felt a desperate need to find him and to apologize, to explain.

Thanks to Facebook and Google  technology I could never have imaged when I was a teenager  I found him.

I discovered that after we broke up, he had graduated from seminary school and was planning to join the priesthood before changing course. He was still living in the Philippines. I tracked down a number and reached out to him by text, but there was no response.

Finally, I sent him an old pocketbook I had kept, which he would have remembered from our time together in 1974, along with my favorite high school literature novel, Wuthering Heights. It is a story, of course, of a deep love that is carried to the grave.

He responded and said that he doesnt hold grudges any longer. I was so relieved but not satisfied. We continued to communicate on and off, but he became a man of limited words, unlike me. I tediously wrote him prayers, love notes and greetings for every occasion that came around. I kept trying to revise my thoughts so I could penetrate his heart. Last Christmas came and I sent him a wish across the miles: I give you my heart and soul, because I realized that after all these years, I still belong to you.

I also wrote to him about what happened with my mother, which I had never told him before. He was shocked. He said, I shouldve been there. Im sorry it was all because of me. Now, I understand everything.

He told me, I love you very very much forever.

It was the greatest gift of Christmas  my absolution.

Earlier this year, as my mother was dying, I worked up the courage to tell her that I had found my old boyfriend. I apologized, and I explained that we still love each other very much. My mother uttered, Im sorry. My eyes were pouring tears with joy and sadness. That was my redemption of myself, my soul and my dignity. I went home to text him what transpired and he said, If our memories were good, why would you cry? What we have enjoyed, we can never lose. All that we loved deeply becomes part of us. The pain passes, but the beauty remains.

He told me he has lived a lonely life and that love had finally found him after all these years. He recently sent me the lyrics to the song,

I want to know what love is, I want you to show me

I want to feel what love is, I know you can show me

That caused my heart to sink with sadness. It was a powerful revelation. But what had I done to us? There was nothing else I could offer but the love I deprived him of four decades earlier. He wished me a happy ruby anniversary.

But hes on the other side of the world.

We still write each other but nothing has been said about a reunion.

The author is a nurse living in Chino Hills with her son and daughter.

L.A Affairs chronicles love in and around Los Angeles. If you have comments, or a true story to tell, email us at LAAffairs@latimes.com.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

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CROATIA AND SLOVENIA

We first met Marko Vlahov in the Zagreb Airport where he was waiting for us when we disembarked our flight from Los Angeles. He escorted us to his Mercedes SUV and we were off for our tour of Lake Bled, Slovenia and Croatia. From his first smile to the last minute we spent with Marko, we enjoyed his bountiful knowledge of the area, excellent food and drink choices, fantastic hiking opportunities, concern for our comfort and safety, schedule flexibility, indefatigable energy and a great sense of humor. If you are looking for an active tour of Croatia or Slovenia, Marko is your guy. We feel as if we have made a lifelong friend.

Marko Vlahov, Active Tours, activetours4u.com

Catherine Seidler

Huntington Beach
LA 90: Suspect in Berlin market attack is killed by police in Milan shootout The suspect in the Berlin market attack on Monday has been killed in Milan.
Tunisias Interior Ministry said Saturday that police have arrested the nephew of Anis Amri  the suspect in the deadly Berlin market attack  and two others suspected of belonging to the same extremist network.

The ministry said in a statement that Amri had sent his 18-year-old nephew, Fedi, money to join him in Europe. Amri reportedly claimed to be the emir of the Abou Walaa network.

The ministry said the nephew told investigators that he was in contact with Amri via Telegrams encrypted communications to avoid detection. He said Amri had recruited him for jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to Islamic State, which he did.

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The Tunisian prosecutors office ordered all three detained pending further investigation.

The nephew was arrested Friday in Amris hometown of Oueslatia; the others were picked up in Tunis.

In Spain, police acting on a tip from German authorities were investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist there.

We are studying all possible connections [between Amri] and our country, above all with one specific person, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio.

Amris fingerprints and wallet were found in the truck that plowed into a Christmas market crowd in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 56.

After fleeing from Germany through France, he was shot dead by Italian police in Milan on Friday.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Mondays attack.

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1:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the investigation.

This article was originally published at 5:15 a.m.
Mustafa Sello strode up to the soldiers loitering by the green buses near southern Aleppos Ramousseh crossing, where they waited to evacuate the last residents out of the citys eastern districts.

Please, sir, do you know where I can find my mother? An officer told me she would be here, Sello asked, his eyes filling with tears.

It had been more than four years since he had last seen her, since the Syrian civil war engulfed this commercial capital 16 months after anti-government uprisings began in early 2011.

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Minutes later, a white van drove up. The door opened, and out stepped a frail woman dressed in a tattered purple velvet frock and olive cardigan.

Sellos mother, 80-year old Fatemah, had arrived.

Seeing him, her face puckered in a spasm of emotion, and tears left tracks in the dirt caked in the wrinkles of her face. Sello too began to cry as he rushed to embrace her tiny frame.

Theirs was not a unique story in this almost six-year crisis, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more. Its battle lines have left almost no family whole.

In Aleppo those lines were physical. The clashes between rebels and troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad split the city in two.

Fatemah and her two other sons stayed in the Sakhour district, where the family house stood (She had carried the stones to build it on her back, said Sello). The neighborhood became part of the rebels bastion in eastern Aleppo.

Sello, a government employee at the Ministry of Industry, had remained in the government-held half to the west. From there, he was able to stay in touch with his family by phone. But for years, that was as close as they got.

This week, the divisions were erased as the government proclaimed that it had removed the last rebels from eastern Aleppo and was in control of the entire city, Syrias largest. But even now, the aftershocks linger.

In late November, with its cadres battered by a months-long siege, the opposition collapsed before an unrelenting onslaught by pro-government troops. Successive rebel neighborhoods fell, including Sakhour, with as many as 100,000 people escaping towards government-held areas, according to the Syrian pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But thousands, wary of retribution or enlistment in government forces (army service is compulsory in Syria), fled deeper into those districts still in rebel hands.

Fatemeh, unable to walk on her own, was carried from her house in Sakhour to the Sukkari neighborhood.

The onslaught continued, and more of the enclave fell to government forces. Faced with certain defeat, the rebels surrendered, and negotiated their safe passage out of the city.

Their exit, which finished Thursday after days of stalling and breakdowns, took most of the estimated 35,000 residents to Idlib province, where the opposition still holds sway.

But when a soldier boarded the bus leaving Sukkari and asked if anyone wanted to stay in government areas, Fatemah raised her hand.

Once reunited with his mother, Mustafa took her to an apartment to see her grandchildren, 8-year-old Hanin and her 5-year-old brother, Tyme.

Its the first time she will ever see Tyme, he said, huffing as he helped Fatemah up the four stories to his door. At the end, she could walk no more, and crawled up the final steps on hands and knees.

Hanin opened the door and quickly hugged her grandmother, but Tyme seemed wary, reluctantly stepping into Fatemahs waiting arms.

Why do you look like that? he asked, running his finger down Fatemahs dirtied nose.

She hugged him, then started to wipe the grime from her hands with wet tissues. A pile of them grew by her side.

We slept in the street last night  on blankets and whatever mattresses they could find. Im so tired, she said.

She spoke of how the fighters, loath to leave behind any spoils for their loyalist foes, had disposed of whatever they could not take with them.

They dumped bags of sugar and oil on the ground. Your brothers had new two motorcycles in the shop. They burned them as well, she said to Sello.

Although she was happy to have left eastern Aleppo, the familys reunion was bittersweet: Fatemah had come alone. Sellos brothers had gone to Idlib.

I didnt see them when I got off the bus.  I knew they were behind me, but I couldnt see them, she said.

Even for families who had left the rebel enclave together, the relief they felt in leaving the siege in rebel-held Aleppo was often short-lived.

Several women interviewed last week in Jibreen, an industrial town where thousands of the displaced from east Aleppo had been given temporary shelter, said their husbands underwent ID checks by government authorities.

Those men of fighting age who had not finished their military service or had been listed as reservists were soon dispatched to training camps, leaving their families to return alone to what remained of their houses in eastern Aleppo, now under government control.

And even for those whose families had remained intact as they escaped to Idlib, there were few entirely happy endings.

Im happy because my daughter is getting treatment.  She was very sick inside Aleppo, said one pro-opposition activist, who declined to give his name for reasons of privacy.

He spoke on the phone Friday from the Atmeh refugee camp on the Syrian-Turkish border, where he had taken his 2-month-old daughter Lareen to the hospital.

But, he said, if we had stayed besieged it would have been better than leaving our houses and being displaced from our land.

Bulos is a special correspondent.
The Obama administration portrayed its historic decision to allow U.N. condemnation of Israeli settlement-building as a way to finally and emphatically demand a stop to the activity.

But the move may backfire by hardening positions, both in the right-wing Israeli government and in the incoming Trump administration.

President-elect Donald Trump has already signaled his intention to roll back numerous U.S. policies that were aimed at promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He may now feel more emboldened.

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Things will be different after Jan. 20th, Trump tweeted after the United Nations vote, referring to the date of his inauguration.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would not abide by the U.N. resolution and said his government was cancelling about $7 million in contributions that Israel makes to U.N. organizations. He has also recalled ambassadors from countries that backed the resolution.

All of the American presidents after [Jimmy] Carter fulfilled the American commitment not to try to dictate to Israel the conditions for a final settlement at the Security Council,' Netanyahu said. Yesterday, in complete contradiction to that commitment, including an explicit commitment from President Obama himself in 2011, the Obama administration carried out a disgraceful anti-Israeli blitz at the U.N.'

Trump will feel compelled to quickly negate the resolution, as Netanyahu has urged him to do .

And a backlash against the U.N. is already being predicted. Trump has repeatedly called into question the effectiveness of world bodies like the U.N. and is likely to review the United States substantial financial support for the agency.

The consequences of this will, in fact, be precisely the opposite of whatever the administration intended, said Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Washington-based nonpartisan Wilson Center who served as a Middle East advisor in three administrations.

The U.N. vote Friday marked the first time in years that the United States abstained from a vote criticizing Israel, which allowed the condemnation to be approved unanimously.

Traditionally, Democratic and Republican administrations have used their veto power to block U.N. resolutions that criticize Israel. Obama himself vetoed a 2011 resolution very similar to the one passed Friday.

The presidents decision not to block this resolution infuriated Israels staunchest allies in Congress and the Israeli government, which took the unusual steps of reaching out to Trump for help and accusing Obama of colluding with the Palestinians to write the resolution. Trump urged a veto.

It is highly unusual for a president-elect to attempt to intervene in foreign affairs and publicly contradict the man he is to replace.

The Obama administration rejected the suggestion that it had worked with the Palestinians on the resolution, which was authored by Egypt and sponsored by four additional nations: New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela.

The decision to abstain was the result of high-level, behind-the-scenes diplomacy at the State Department and the White House, where officials were careful not to telegraph the administrations intentions. That caught some off guard.

The abstention was a way to condemn Netanyahu, who has accelerated the expansion of settlements in the disputed West Bank and east Jerusalem, contributing to his notoriously frosty relationship with Obama.

Palestinians being displaced from their homes  that can be documented, said Ben Rhodes, the presidents spokesman and deputy national security advisor. The statement of this Israeli government, that they are more committed to settlements than any in Israels history, can be documented.

Obama and Secretary of State John F. Kerry have been repeatedly frustrated by their inability to get Netanyahu to freeze the expansion of settlements, which most of the world considers illegal.

Wed been warning  for years that the trend line of settlement construction and settlement activity was just increasing Israels international isolation, Rhodes said.

Netanyahu has ignored their entreaties. During a 2010 visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden, Netanyahus government announced yet another big settlement project. A furious Biden cut the visit short.

The administration argues that settlements undermine the so-called two-state solution, the internationally accepted framework to resolve decades of discord in the region with a Jewish Israeli state living next to a Palestinian state. Many of the settlements criss-cross the Palestinian West Bank and divide it into impossibly disconnected chunks.

But rather than slow the settlement movement, the U.N. resolution, and the United States role in allowing it, may give Netanyahu and his supporters more reason to move ahead quickly.

Among pending projects is a law, currently moving through the Knesset, or Israeli parliament, that would retroactively legalize Israeli settlements built illegally on Palestinian-owned land.

Netanyahu has said he looks forward to working with Trump.

And Trump has already said he will move the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and has named a strident pro-settlement attorney as the next ambassador to Israel. Both actions will be seen as highly provocative by the Palestinians and much of the international community. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their eventual state, and few countries have placed their embassies in the disputed city.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), the incoming minority leader, also condemned the U.S. abstention, saying the resolution would end up being counterproductive.

The resolution does not bring us any closer to the goal of a two-state solution, he said.

Special correspondent Joshua Mitnick contributed from Tel Aviv.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter

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Hijackers who claimed to be armed with grenades took control of a domestic flight in Libya on Friday, threatening to blow up the plane and forcing the pilot to land in Malta with 118 people aboard, officials said.

The passengers and crew were eventually released and the hijackers surrendered peacefully, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.



For the record: An earlier version of this article said there were seven crew members aboard the flight. Authorities later corrected that to six.

The two hijackers identified themselves as supporters of deposed Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi, but it was not clear what their demands were, according to Magda Magri Naudi, mayor of the Maltese city of Lija.

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She said the passengers included 83 men, 28 women and a baby. It was not clear what their nationalities were, she said, or if any were injured. There were six crew members aboard, Muscat said.

As the ordeal progressed, Naudi said, 25 female passengers were let off the plane, and later, the rest of the passengers, who were believed to include a member of the Libyan parliament.

During a news conference in Valletta following the hostages release, Muscat said that when the hijackers agreed to surrender, they turned over their weapons, which included a hand grenade and a pistol. The two men, both Libyan nationals, were detained and interrogated, he said.

He said a second pistol was found during a search of the plane. He said the planes passengers and crew were also being questioned.

Muscat said the hijackers were initially told that in order to maintain contact with negotiators, they had to release all passengers, which they did in stages. When the hijackers later demanded that two Maltese negotiators board the plane, authorities refused, Muscat said.

The Airbus A320 aircraft operated by Afriqiyah Airways departed from Sebha on a domestic flight to Tripoli shortly after 10 a.m. local time but was diverted when the hijackers threatened the crew, according to Naudi.

They told them, We have grenades, and we will explode the airplane if you dont do what we say, she said.

It wasnt clear how the hijackers managed to get access to the cockpit, but Naudi said the crew never was forced to relinquish the planes controls, unlike in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The captain and the crew managed to land the aircraft themselves, and they did not hand it over to the hijackers, not like the hijackers so many years ago in America, Naudi said.

The plane landed at the Malta airport at 11:30 a.m., where it was immediately surrounded by security forces.

The tiny Mediterranean island nations airport was closed after the planes arrival, with all other flights diverted.

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UPDATES:

8:10 a.m.: This article was updated with the hijackers surrendering.

7 a.m.: This article was updated with all passengers reportedly released.

5:25 a.m.: This article was updated with Times reporting, quotes from Naudi.

4:55 a.m.: This article was updated with passengers disembarking.

3:50 a.m.: This article was updated with hijackers threat to blow up the plane.

This article was originally published at 3:15 a.m.
In a dramatic departure from long-standing U.S. practice, the Obama administration on Friday stepped aside and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a violation of international law.

Traditionally, the United States has used its veto power to quash such resolutions. But this time, with Israels conservative government railing against the Obama administration and President-elect Donald Trump demanding an American veto, the U.S. abstained, and the resolution was approved 14-0.

Although the resolution is largely in line with official American views on Jewish settlements, the move provoked an immediate firestorm. Some staunch congressional supporters of Israel suggested they would seek a halt to U.S. financial support for the world body or impose punitive measures against countries that backed the resolution.

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I anticipate this vote will create a backlash in Congress against the United Nations, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement denouncing the administrations move as flat-out reckless.

Trump echoed that sentiment, promising in a tweet that, As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.

Until now, successive U.S. administrations have argued that negotiations, rather than Security Council resolutions, are the correct way to address Israeli-Palestinian disputes over issues including the settlements.

The episode marked a final burst of animosity between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. administration in President Obamas waning weeks in office.

Netanyahus office called the resolution shameful and a gang-up against Israel.

Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution, the prime ministers office said in a statement.

Palestinians were elated, though. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, in a tweet by his office, called the resolution a victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation and said it was a rejection of extremist forces in Israel.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry portrayed the U.S. failure to quash the resolution as an American expression of support for a two-state solution that would ensure Israels future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors.

That future is now in jeopardy, Kerry warned.

The resolution, whose passage was greeted by a burst of applause in the council chamber, states that settlements built on Palestinian lands occupied by Israel since the 1967 Mideast war have no legal validity. It describes a halt to settlement activity as essential for a climate that would allow for the creation of a Palestinian state.

A day of high-stakes diplomatic drama preceded the showdown vote. The council was to have taken up the resolution on Thursday, but sponsor Egypt abruptly postponed action on the measure. It was then revived by four co-sponsors.

Before the vote, the Israeli government and the Obama administration had traded unaccustomedly sharp words, and Israel took the highly unusual step of turning to Trump for support, even though he has not yet taken office.

Trump  via Twitter, as is his practice  called on Obama to exercise the veto power the U.S. holds as a permanent member of the Security Council.

The White House rebuffed Israeli accusations of colluding with the Palestinians and staging a shameful attack against Israel.

Liberal American Jewish organizations welcomed the American abstention. The group J Street said the measure reaffirms the need for a two-state solution and calls for a halt to actions by both sides that serve to undermine the prospects for peace.

But other groups that generally offer unconditional support for Israels actions expressed dismay. The head of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, called the U.S. decision to abstain disconcerting and unfortunate.

Israel and its backers were not mollified by language in the resolution that urged both sides to refrain from activities that could hurt peace prospects, including acts of provocation, incitement and destruction. That was meant as a rebuke to Palestinian leaders accused by Israel of condoning or encouraging attacks against Israelis, whether soldiers or civilians.

In protecting Israel in past Security Council votes, the U.S. has defied world opinion, which runs strongly against the settlements. About 600,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a future state.

Trump has already signaled that he intends to scrap core American policy on Israel and the Palestinians. For two decades, both Democratic and Republican administrations have adhered to the goal of a two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side by side.

The president-elect has pledged to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a step that would set the U.S. at odds with Palestinians, and has picked a strident supporter of settlement activity, lawyer David Friedman, as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The clash over the Security Council resolution caps nearly eight years of estrangement between Obama and Netanyahu, two leaders who came into office within months of each other and clashed repeatedly in public over Irans nuclear program and Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Israels building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem has been a constant and particular bone of contention. While Obama has called settlements an obstacle to a two state-solution by making the creation of a Palestinian state more difficult, Netanyahu has vigorously rejected this argument.

From the beginning of his tenure in 2009, Obama pressured Netanyahu to freeze settlement activity, and administration officials have kept up a drumbeat of criticism following news of Israeli construction plans.

After the collapse of U.S.-mediated talks in 2014, Obama largely pulled back from Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Politicians in Israels right-wing government and settler leaders have welcomed Trumps accession enthusiastically, with some even declaring an end to the era of the two-state state solution.

laura.king@latimes.com

Times staff writer King reported from Washington and special correspondent Mitnick from Tel Aviv. Staff writer Tracy Wilkinson contributed to this report from Washington.

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2:40 p.m.: This article was updated with staff reporting.

This article was originally published at 11:40 a.m.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return to Israel for consultations, his spokesman said on Friday, in response to a UN resolution on settlements.

The Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement activity on land the Palestinians want for a state was put forward by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal.

Netanyahu's spokesman David Keys said the prime minister had also ordered the cancellation of the planned visit to Israel of the Senegalese foreign minister in three weeks and instructed the Foreign Ministry to cancel all aid programs to Senegal.

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This year is an excellent time for scientists who are associated with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Last February and June, the researchers from Handford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana announced their latest discovery about the gravitational waves which was a result of two black holes that collides 1.3 billion light years from the Earth.

The series of developments brought LIGO into fame, and the collaboration has earned several accolades. That accolade includes $3 million awards which were given to the researchers by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.

According to Space, the Journal Nature and the Magazine Physics World which was published by the London-based Institute of Physics has named the recent gravitation wave discovery as the "Breakthrough of the Year."

The significance of the discovery has been acknowledged but this time in the journal Science. Now, one of the world's top scientific magazines has given its award to the highest yearly honor to an experiment in searching for ripples in the fabric of the universe.

With the collaboration of scientists who created and operate the LIGO, the science magazine has bestowed its 2016 Breakthrough of the Year Award. The award is one of the much recognition that the collaboration and its scientists have won.

"The achievement fulfilled a 100-year-old prediction, opened up a potential new branch of astronomy, and was a stunning technological accomplishment," the journal said in a statement.

According to LIGO website, the gravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein first in 1915. It almost took a century for him to procure the first-ever direct detection of the cosmic phenomena. Einstein also discovered that space and time are not separate but rather make a single and universal fabric that everything moves through.

The massive objects moving through space-time could even create ripples and LIGO has detected these two separate signals of such waves. These ripples came from a pair of black holes that are circling each other and merging into a single entity.

The two other magazines have given accolades to LIGO, and it eventually earned a $3 million Special Prize in Fundamental Physics from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.




A high-level commission that oversees Iran's nuclear deal with world powers will meet in Vienna on January 10 to address a complaint by Teheran about the renewing of sanctions by the United States.

The meeting was called on Saturday by the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who coordinates follow-up of the nuclear deal for its signatories -- Iran, the US, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

"The meeting will review the implementation of the agreement and discuss the issues raised in the letter (Iranian) Foreign Minister Zarif addressed on 16 December to (Mogherini)," a short statement from the EU said.

The officials will meet 10 days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, who has promised to tear up the nuclear deal once in the White House.

Zarif formally requested the meeting after Washington on December 2 extended the Iran Sanctions Act -- which mostly seeks to limit Iran's oil and gas trade -- for another decade.

Although it received overwhelming support from the US Congress, President Barack Obama argues the act is largely symbolic since its measures are suspended as long as the nuclear deal remains in place.

Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, disagree, calling it a "clear violation".

Another concern for Iran is a wider frustration that the nuclear deal has not produced many of the expected benefits due to the reluctance of international banks to do business in the country.

Zariff could use the meeting to complain that although hundreds of European companies are desperate to resume trading with Iran, major lenders are still refusing to facilitate big transactions.

This is because Washington still has a number of non-nuclear sanctions in place that prevent anyone doing business with a long list of Iranians it says are linked to terrorism, human rights abuses and its ballistic missile programme.

Despite the nuclear deal, a wrong move could result in gigantic penalties like the $9 billion fine slapped on French bank BNP Paribas in 2014.

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Iraqi Christians held a Christmas Eve service in a town near Mosul on Saturday for the first time since its recapture from the Islamist militants.

The Islamic State (IS) militants destroyed crosses at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla and set it alight, but volunteers worked for days to ready it for the service, the first held here in more than two and a half years.

"We want to deliver the message that we are staying in this country and that these are our roots and our origins," Father Yaqub Saadi, the church's priest, told AFP.

IS seized Bartalla and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014, leaving Christians with the grim choices of conversion, paying a tax, fleeing or death.

The town was recaptured as part of the massive military operation to retake Mosul, the last IS-held Iraqi city, which was launched on October 17.

Worshippers travelled in buses from Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil to Bartalla for the service, which was held with security forces deployed around the church in a town still marred by smashed buildings and IS graffiti.

For Christians from Bartalla, the service was a deeply emotional experience.

"I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned to us," said Nada Yaqub.

"We felt that our cross is still around our necks. No one could take it from us," she said.

Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a senior commander in the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, attended the service, as did Nawfal Hammadi, the governor of Nineveh province, where Bartalla is located.

A group of American soldiers also came, but faced some difficulties when one of their heavy armoured vehicles became stuck in a muddy section of a street near the church.

While Bartalla and other Christian areas around Mosul have been recaptured from IS, return is still a long way off, with bombs planted by the Islamist militants still a threat and basic services needing to be restored.

Yaqub said that even though her house in Bartalla was destroyed, she still hopes to come back.

"God willing, I will return," she said.

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Relationships Ireland, a non-denominational relationship counselling service which has been supporting couples for over 50 years, has outlined some of the potential pressures which can affect couples and families at Christmas time and has provided advice which can help avoid unnecessary confrontation and stress during the festive period.

Most families enjoy Christmas but for others it can be a sad and stressful time, notes Maura Leahy, Clinical Director at Relationships Ireland.

The absence of family members through death can be intensely felt during this period, while conflict in relationships can also be more intensely felt  and indeed can become heightened  at Christmas. Our professional counselling services at Relationships Ireland respond to much of this distress and conflict and helps people take appropriate steps to deal with all relationship difficulties.

Bernadette Ryan, a couples counsellor with Relationships Ireland, has advice for anyone concerned about the possibility of relationship and family issues coming to the fore during the Christmas holidays.

The three main pressure areas tend to be centred around the Four Fs: Finance, Family, Food and Fantasy, Bernadette explains.

Christmas brings additional financial costs. Most people overspend and extend their credit to the max. This can lead to rising anxiety and even panic. Try and take stock, make a list of essential spending, figure out a budget and stick to it. Even if you do go over a little, it will not be as shocking as spending willy-nilly.

Families tend to get together at Christmas and for some it is a very welcome scenario, while for others it can be an anxious time fraught with anxiety and stress. If you find yourself feeling anxious or guilty about spending time with family members, try and check in with your feelings. What might they be trying to tell you? If you find yourself saying a lot of 'shoulds and have tos' perhaps you need to re-evaluate your plans. If you find yourself dreading family time perhaps you could limit the time spent with them? The extended time together can also put additional strain on an already challenged relationship and conflict can escalate. Try to step back. Take a breath or a timeout which will give you the opportunity to respond rather than react. Give yourself some breathing space.

When it comes to the food, it is lovely to put on a delicious spread for all, but at what cost to you? Its not a trial for Master Chef! Cook to your ability and, again, delegate. It can be a great way to involve extended family members and gives them an opportunity to share their traditions with you.

Meanwhile, we all want the perfect Christmas and usually it is down to one person to try and create this for everyone else! The ads on the TV are lovely and heart-warming, telling us what we have to have. Again, step back and take stock. There is no such thing as the perfect Christmas so you can relax! Keep things simple and delegate. What can help to make it perfect for you is to make time for yourself. Take a walk, a bath, a moment to breathe and be present, Bernadette concluded.

Relationships Ireland was established in 1962 and is a non-denominational, multi-cultural, LGBT-friendly, all-inclusive agency. Its services are provided to both couples and individuals to help them overcome difficulties in their relationships or to prevent further problems through relationship health checks and marriage preparation courses.

Other services include separation support and counselling for couples and individuals living in abusive relationships. Relationships Ireland also operates Teen-Between, a service dedicated to teenagers experiencing difficulties resulting from familial breakdown.

Further information is available on our websites, www.relationshipsireland.com and www.teenbetween.ie, and our social media channels, www.facebook.com/ relationshipsie and @RelationshipsIE.
A 64-year-old Laois man has been found not guilty of indecently assaulting his own sister over a three-year period in the 1970s.

Judge Keenan Johnson found the man not guilty after a three-day trial at Portlaoise Circuit Court, after deeming the States case to have not met the high standard of proof required.

State prosecutor, Mr Will Fennelly, said it was the States case that between 1974 and 1977, the accused indecently assaulted his sister, who was aged between 13 and 16 during this period.

The accused was nine years older than her.

The alleged victim, now 55, gave evidence that every Saturday her parents would go off to do the shopping, leaving her and her younger sister to clean up.

She claimed that her brother would come in and grab her by the hair, and if she put up a fight hed put his arms around her waist, lift her up to the bedroom and throw her down on the bed.

Hed throw me down with force and lift up my clothes and pull down my trousers. Then hed take his penis out and rub it up and down me, she said.

She claimed that he put his penis between her breasts and squeezed them so hard, and tried to put his penis in her mouth.

The woman claimed that her two other brothers were also present, with one standing by the window to keep watch for their parents and the other at the bedroom door to keep her younger sister out.

She claimed that this abuse happened almost every Saturday, and only stopped after she got sick with her thyroid glands at the age of 16 or 17.

The woman told the court that following the death of one of her brothers in 2008, she was left three acres in his will.

She said that following her mothers death in 2011, she began the legal process of acquiring the land, but in 2012, the accused, who was executor, issued a letter to her solicitor, in which he said he would not sign over the land until she withdrew the allegations against him.

I was willing to let this go until I received that letter, thats when I approached the gardai, she said.

She concluded: Im not a liar, I would never say someone abused me.

Mr John Shortt put it to the witness that she was claiming the abuse happened every Saturday, yet she took no steps to avoid it.

The witness replied that she had nowhere to run to or hide.

Mr Shortt asked her what kind of a battle shed put up during the alleged abuse, to which the witness replied shed scream and try to push him off, but he was holding her two hands.

If he was holding you with his two hands, how did he do things? asked defence.

Witness replied that the accuseds hands would move up and down.

Mr Shortt described as nonsense the claim that her other two brothers aided and abetted the accused.

My whole family was involved in this, replied the witness.

She said that her parents were so afraid of the accused they put money into his house. She rejected defences suggestion that this was a source of bitterness.

She went on to say that every Christmas her mother would give her a cheque for 100, but her mother would give the accused a cheque for 300 or he could hit her.

She also said that her sister had seen a cheque for 800, which her mother said she had to give the accused or hed kick off.

This all seems to be about money, said Mr Shortt, going on to say that she had only complained after the dispute over her late fathers estate.

She replied that she flipped after receiving the letter in 2012, in which the accused said he wouldn't sign over the land until she withdrew the allegations.

The court heard that around April of 2014, the DPP directed that the prosecution not go ahead due to insufficient evidence.

After this, the witness appealed and wrote to the DPP herself.

You said if the prosecution wasnt brought against the accused then you couldnt live with that decision, said Mr Shortt. The witness agreed this was correct.

The alleged victims younger sister, now aged 50, also gave evidence.

She said her brother would grab her sister, drag her upstairs and throw her on the bed, or, if the girls were outside hiding, hed find them and do the same.

She said her other brothers would try to prevent her from going into the room.

She said the accused would tell her not to say anything or thered be big trouble.

He said the Black Mariah would take me away, she said.

In cross-examination, Mr Shortt asked why had she not made the claim to the gardai regarding the threat of the Black Mariah, to which she replied: I did say it, it wasnt put into my statement.

Mr Shortt put it to her that one of her other brothers denied ever seeing the accused doing anything.

Well, I remember, replied the witness.

Mr Shortt then read from a document written by the witness, in which she claimed to have seen the accused sexually abuse a neighbour in her own home.

Mr Shortt said that the neighbour did not recall any of this when questioned by gardai.

She remembered him making a pass at her as a teenager, but it was harmless fun, said Mr Shortt.

Im just saying it as I recall it, said the witness.

Mr Shortt then read another letter written by the witness, in which she said: it should be him paying us to keep him out of jail.

Mr Shortt said that sounded like blackmail, and asked why, if the accused deserved to go to prison, should he be paying to stay out of jail.

The witness did not answer this.

The investigating garda, Garda Karen Anderson gave evidence.

She said that when interviewed after arrest, the accused said: (The alleged assaults) did not occur, I can swear on the bible.

The accused also said he couldnt be sure, but he believed the allegations were made because of land.

Mr Shortt asked Garda Anderson about the statement made by the sister of the alleged injured party, in which she mentioned a Black Mariah. Garda Anderson replied she didnt know what that was.

Youre showing your age, smiled Judge Keenan Johnson.

Added Mr Shortt: Youre a lot younger than I am, Garda Anderson, you werent raised on Charlie Chaplin and Ealing comedies.

Judge Johnson informed her it was a reference to a prison van.

The garda confirmed that no one else interviewed by gardai was able to confirm what the alleged victim and her sister were saying.

Mr Shortt referred to the statement of one of the accuseds brothers, who said: Its a total fabrication of lies altogether. I think its all after money and property.

The brother denied ever witnessing any assault or standing at the door to keep his other sister out.

Garda Anderson informed the court that the DPP initially returned a direction not to prosecute the accused.

The matter was then reviewed and this time the decision was made to prosecute. Garda Anderson confirmed that between the first and second decision, no further evidence was gathered.

At the conclusion of the States case, Mr Shortt made a lengthy legal submission to the court in the absence of the jury.

He described the entire case as a good old-fashioned Irish row over inheritance.

After considering the matter carefully, Judge Johnson said: The jury couldnt but have a reasonable doubt.

Im not saying the State witnesses are being untruthful, but the State's case does not meet the high standard of proof required. Im merely applying the law, he said.

Verdict: not guilty by direction of the trial judge.

** A Laois man whose brother was implicated in an alleged indecent assault on his sister, has contacted the Leinster Express to point out that documentary evidence proving he was not present during the alleged assaults was produced at the recent circuit court.

The mans brother, a 64-year-old Laois man, was recently found not guilty of indecently assaulting his sister over a three-year period in the 1970s.

Following a three-day trial at Portlaoise Courthouse, Judge Keenan Johnson deemed the States case to have not met the high standard of proof required and found the man not guilty.

In a statement to the gardai, the brother said he was required to work every Saturday in a local garage. He said there would have had to have been a serious reason for him ever to be off work on a Saturday.

State prosecutor, Mr Will Fennelly told the court that the owner of the garage, where the accuseds brother worked, provided the gardai with a letter proving the brother worked every Saturday. Mr Fennelly said that the owner had the letter ready for the gardai when they arrived.
If you are stuffed after the Christmas turkey and pudding and need to get out and about, there are a number of festive events that will help burn off the excess.

The Clonaslee St Stephen's Day Slieve Bloom walk is now in its 24th year and to date they have raised in the region of 880,000 for Laois Hospice.

There two walks on the day - one 10 miles with beautiful views, taking in Brittas lake on the descent, and then back to the village of Clonaslee and the Community centre for some well earned refreshments.

The short walk is approx 3-4 miles, and is a real family walk through the village and up to Brittas Lake, taking in some beautiful woodland areas and with refreshments at the Centre also. Lovely hot soup is served on the long walk. Sandwiches and Christmas cake are served in the Community centre.

Create a family memory. Attend a GOAL mile event. The GOAL mile starts at 11am and finishes at 11.30am on Christmas Day at Portarlington GAA club. Run, walk or jog while the turkey cooks. No registration required. Donate at gate. Just turn up.

The St Abbans Fun Run takes place on St Stephen's day from Behan's pub in Tolerton.

The open family run offers the choice of one or three miles distance.

Register at 11.30am.

Anyone with an interest in horses and hunting can get along to Abbeyleix on St Stephen's Day around midday where they can saviour the atmosphere of the annual Laois Hunt outing.

On New Year's Day, Timahoe once again hosts the annual walk in aid of the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Fatima Invalid Fund. There is a choice of two walks around scenic Timahoe. The walks get underway at 1pm.

Ballacolla is also the place to be for the annual Richard Moynan Memorial Walk and Vintage run on January 1. The Vintage run takes a 15k route starting in Ballacolla village at 2pm with registration for all (donation) from 1pm.

The event supports local community groups.
The students of Portlaoise Educate Together National School (PETNS) recently entertained parents, family members and teachers alike with a wide variety of Christmas performances.

Junior Infants led the way with a performance of a variety of nursery rhymes including Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep and Hickory Dickory Dock which not only featured the mouse running up the clock but also a snake.

Senior Infants sang a selection of up-lifting traditional favourite Christmas songs to the delight of the packed school hall.

First class students did not do a winter performance this year. However, this didnt stop them from singing along, joining in and clapping for their colleagues from the other classes. The first class children assisted their juniors in helping to put their performances together.

The second class Winter Performance was a play which was titled Pirates Versus Mermaids. The theme was Heave-Ho and away we go on a fantastical journey. The seven seas just werent big enough for both Mermaids and Pirates.

Third class did a performance based on Santa Claus having to be woken up by his elves, the reindeers and Mrs Claus in time to load up his sleigh for his deliveries to all the good children of the world.

The children also sang many Christmas songs dedicated to Santa Claus and encouraged him to ask Rudolph to lead his sleigh this year.

The fourth class students performed their own adaption of Roald Dahls Fantastic Mr Fox. This featured three horrid farmers, Boggis, Bounce and Bean who kept being outsmarted by Mr Fox as he was eating their chickens, geese and turkeys. In the end the frustrated farmers were only able to get Mr Foxs tail by shooting part of it off. Mr Fox lived to tell another tale.

Fifth and sixth classes joined forces at this years winter performances with a play on the X Factor which featured many celebrities including Kayne West and Kim Kardashian.

All of the plays went down a treat and were done over a three day period. The school Principal Sinead Ahern thanked all of the children, the teachers, the parents association and the parents/guardians and families of the children for making this years winter concerts so special and successful.
Related Iraqis mark Christmas Eve in town recaptured from Islamist militants

The patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church has appealed for international protection to help Iraqi Christians displaced by war return to their homes.

Tens of thousands of Christians fled northern Iraqi towns in 2014 as the Islamic State group seized second city Mosul and swathes of the surrounding Nineveh province.

Iraqi forces launched a massive offensive on October 17 to oust the IS militants from their last Iraqi stronghold.

"There was great joy among Christians at the start of the liberation of Nineveh," Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako told AFP on Saturday.

"But as the battle continues, they are waiting with fear as well as hope," he said.

Iraqi fighters backed by an international coalition have retaken parts of Mosul but are facing fierce resistance from jihadists defending their last Iraqi stronghold.

While the group has been ousted from several Christian-majority towns, others such as Tal Kayf, 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Mosul, are still in jihadist hands.

"In the liberated villages, the damage is immense. I have visited these villages, they are 30 to 40 percent destroyed," Sako said. "The churches have been damaged, the streets and the infrastructure too."

But he warned that IS must be ousted from Mosul itself before Christians can safely return.

"If Mosul is not liberated, Daesh will be able to infiltrate villages and sow panic," he said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

He urged Christians not to join militias such as the Babylon Brigade, a Christian unit within the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) a loose grouping of mainly Shia paramilitary groups including several backed by Iran.

"If Christians want to protect their towns, they should join the army or the (Kurdish) peshmerga," Sako said. "The militias, it's anarchy."

Iraq had well over a million Christians before the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, but the population has dwindled to just 350,000 as sectarian violence wracked the country.

The majority of those who remain are Chaldeans, an eastern Christian community affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church with roots in northern Iraq.

The IS occupation of Nineveh and much of western Iraq in 2014 accelerated the exodus.

IS presented Christians with a grim choice: conversion, a heavy tax, exile or death. Around 120,000 fled. Sako said they needed protection if they were to return to areas formerly occupied by the jihadists.

"We have demanded guarantees from the international community," he said. "There should be some kind of UN or European Union office to monitor things, rather than throwing people unprotected into their villages where they risk being threatened by their neighbours."

He suggested that European countries each take charge of reconstructing a village or town.

"That would encourage inhabitants who have sought refuge in Europe to go home," he said.

He called for a national dialogue to reconcile Iraq's mosaic of sects and ethnicities, saying Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Shia-dominated government and Muslim religious authorities had changed their discourse.

"(Muslim) religious authorities have said that it is good to celebrate Christmas with the Christians," he said.

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The Arts Council has announced funding of 121,660 for Laois in 2017, with the Dunamaise Arts Centre and the Association of Irish Stage Technicians awarded funding by the arts agency.

The Dunamaise will receive 117,000, a valuable boost to this important arts resource for Portlaoise and the rest of Laois.

The centre hosts a programme of touring multi-disciplinary events and curates a visual arts programme of exhibitions.

It also manages a programme of arts engagement with the community.

Meanwhile, the Association of Irish Stage Technicians will receive 4,660. The association is a resource and training organisation for the stage technician industry within Ireland.

It offers a range of services to its members, including training and education, and acts as a forum for discussion and information sharing.

The announcement forms part of the Arts Councils planned investment of 65.1 million for 2017, which will see people across Ireland engage with the arts in exciting and innovative ways. The investment represents an increase of 5 million, or 8.6%, on the 2016 amount.

Arts Council director Orlaith McBride said: In our investment approach, we have focused in particular on broadening the reach of the arts in Ireland.

We will work with a range of partners, in local, community, educational, youth and other settings, to ensure that people experience the best of the arts over the next 12 months, she said.

Local authorities, individual artists, particularly emerging artists, work for children and young people, local authorities and community-based arts practices are a particular focus of the Arts Councils strategy, Making Great Art Work and have therefore received significant increases in investment.
In BREAKING NEWS, Santa Claus has been spotted in the skies over Kildare this evening.

Leinster Leader photographers have been scanning the skies and have been lucky to capture some shots of the Man in Red making his journey to deliver toys to Kildare children.

It is speculated that Santa did a quick reconaissance flyover of the county while waiting for all the good boys and girls to go to bed.

Santa in the skies above the Curragh of Kildare

He was spotted by our plucky snappers while rounding the Big Ball on the outskirts of Naas and startling some sheep on the plains of the Curragh.

Children are advised to be tucked up in bed nice and early tonight, so as not to interfere with Santa's tight delivery schedule by being awake when he comes down the chimney.

There were fears yesterday that Storm Barbara might have delayed Santa's visit, but he was cleared to enter Irish airspace by the Irish Aviation Authority and Transport Minister Shane Ross yesterday.

Santa spotted flying over the Fionn MacCumhaill statue at the Curragh motorway roundabout earlier this evening

The Man in Red admiring the Christmas lights in Newbridge as he flies over

Santa keeping an eye on all the Kildare County Council politicians at Aras Chill Dara in Naas - are they on the naughty or nice list?
Maeve Brennan, is pictured at the Lidl Christmas Trolley Dash at Lidl Carrick-on-Shannon, where she managed to grab 490 worth of goodies.

The festive season was in full swing this weekend as every Lidl store right across the country offered one raffle winner the chance to dash around the store Supermarket Sweep style. T

The lucky contestant dashed around their local Lidl for 2 minutes, grabbing as many Christmas goodies as possible and Maeve Brennan, who was the winner in the Carrick-on-Shannon store, managed to grab herself 490 worth of Christmas shopping for free.

100% of proceeds from the sale of Trolley Dash tickets went to Barretstown, Lidls charity partner and contributed to 1,798 raised in County Leitrim alone.

The Trolley Dash, which raised 262,199 in total in Ireland, raised much needed funds for Barretstown just before the new year.

Speaking about the Trolley Dash CSR initiative, Sinead Flynn, Lidl CSR team said: "Funds raised from this year's Trolley Dash are the result of combined efforts from both Lidl Ireland staff and our customers. In just 3 weeks, 262,199 was raised, completely exceeding our expectations. We'd like to thank everybody that got involved and purchased a Trolley Dash ticket for such a worthy cause."
The Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Flood Relief, Sean Canney, T.D., today outlined the significant level of investment made by the OPW in addressing and alleviating flood risk in 2016.

The Minister said 2016 is a record year for the OPW with the full allocation of 52 million available to my Office for flood relief spent in protecting individuals, families, communities and businesses against the most serious risk and impact of flooding. The OPW has made significant progress during the year in advancing its flood risk capital programme and, at this time, there are an unprecedented 35 major flood relief schemes at various stages of advancement. 7 major schemes have commenced construction this year with a record 12 major schemes now at various stages of construction representing a three-fold increase on the position last year. Under the Minor Works Scheme, 400 projects have been completed by local authorities with funding provided by the OPW since 2009. In 2016 alone, 82 applications have been approved by my Office for funding with a combined value of 4.3 million.

Substantial progress has also been made in advancing the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme*. The Minister said The CFRAM Programme is the largest flood risk management planning programme ever undertaken by the State. Under this Programme 29 draft Flood Risk Management Plans have been published by the OPW for public consultation since July this year with feasible flood relief measures identified to provide protection to at risk properties in 300 at risk assessed areas. The publication of these draft Plans is another significant milestone in the advancement of the flood risk management agenda by the OPW in 2016. The Draft Plans under the Programme will be finalised in Spring next year when the submissions from the statutory public consultation process have been fully considered.

The Minister went on to say Ireland is now more prepared than ever to tackle flood risk. We have invested some 460 million in flood risk management since 1995 and there are now 7,000 properties being protected by the 37 major flood defence schemes that have been completed during this timeframe. A further 5,000 properties are being protected through the 400 projects that have been completed under the Minor Works Scheme and some 650,000 acres of agricultural land are being protected through the programmed maintenance of 11,500 km of river channels by the OPW under the Arterial Drainage Acts.

The Minister concluded We have a planned and strategic approach in place in the OPW to tackle flood risk which has been confirmed by external experts to be in line with best international practice. This Government has fully embraced this approach and has provided an unprecedented level of investment of 430 million for flood risk management in the Capital Investment Plan for 2016 to 2021. This is very significant funding by any measure and underscores the priority that the Government attributes to tackling flood risk. I am confident that the OPW is well positioned to build on the strong performance that it has achieved in 2016 and that the target set in the Capital Investment Plan to ramp up annual spending from the current level to 100 million per annum by 2021 will be attained by the OPW for the benefit of communities and businesses affected by flood risk.
It has been a good year for journalists. I have never known better.

There has been an endless march of, upsets, twists, turns, worries, cheers, jeers, doom, gloom and unadulterated surprised joy.

Half the world is sunk into a slough of despond deeper than the Marianas Trench and the other half is waving their anti-globalist flags from the top of Everest.

The Western world is the most divided it has been since World War Two. Divided within countries and divided between countries.

The authoritarian East is a different story. They are watching the democratic West self-destruct and going about their business and rattling their sabres to let the rest of the world know that they are prepared to move into the yawning political vacuum.

Russia is well-placed to pick up the pieces from Americas failed Middle East policy. The victory in Aleppo has established the military supremacy of Vladimir Putins buddy Bashar Al-Assadthe dictator everyone loves to hate. They hate him almost as much as they do Russia and Syrias other regional allytheocratic Iran.

But Putin is not trying to win a popularity contest. He wants power and is prepared to go to any lengthincluding manipulating US presidential electionsto obtain it.

Chinas President Xi Jinping is no model of restraint. His growing military bases in the South China Sea are a testament to that.

Another fascinating Eastern potentate is Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is busily burning the bridge that has been the traditional Turkish role between East and West.

The Brexit campaign started the ball rolling and introduced the word-post-truth into the political lexicon. The word became so popular that the Oxford English Dictionary named it word of the year. Politicians have never been known for their veracity, but they outdid themselves in 2016 as the Brexiteers discovered that if you shout loud enough and long enoughno matter how outrageous the lieyou will be believed if it is a lie that the neglected voters want to believe.

Of course, the Brexiteers did not act alone. They had a significant boost from he opposing Remain campaign. To start with, there was the decision of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron to put party before country and call the referendum in the first place. Then there was the lacklustre performance of Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn which has left a continuing question mark hanging over his actual position on the Brexit issue.

Surreal is another good word describe it. And, funnily enough, that is the word of the year for the American dictionary publishers Merriam-Webster. That and post-truth are both excellent descriptions of the culmination of the political year: The election of billionaire property developer Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.

His campaign was one long xenophobic, misogynistic , narcissistic rant. It included the controversy over Obamas birth certificate; an attack on menstruating journalists; locker room banter; an attack on the parents of a American war hero; a proposed ban on Muslims entering the US, the branding of Mexican immigrants as rapists and finally, he exposed himself as friendless by declaring : I am the smartest man I know.

But half of the American votersactually less than halfbelieved him, because like their British cousins they feel disenfranchised by years of political neglect, and the lies were the ones they wanted to believe.

As has been the case for centuries, the Anglo-Saxons are leading the world. Gaps between pro and anti-Europeans, pro and anti-immigration, pro and anti-globalisation are breaking out in France, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Italyall across what used to be called the Western Alliance.

It has been a good year for meI am a journalist and with the world still terribly divided 2017 looks even better. For the rest of you, well.

So thank you Presidents/Erdogan, Assad,Putin and Xi for providing myself and my colleagues with so many interesting stories over the past 12 months. This past year we havequite literally been spoilt for choice.

But thank you also to all those wonderfully useless Western leaders who have done their bit to push up flagging newspaper circulations, and inflate television and radio audiences.

The year has been replete with memorable quotes. My favourite was the one uttered by Brexiteering former British Justice Minister Michael Gove. Experts? He spluttered at the height of the referendum debate. The British public are sick of experts.  I have often since wondered where Mr Goves doctor received his medical training.

* Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and the author of The Encyclopedia of the Cold War and the recently published America Made in Britain that has sold out in the US after six weeks but is still available in the UK.
Last January I managed to visit Bethlehem after 5.5 hours of delay and obstruction at the Jordan/Palestine border by the Israeli authorities. As well as visiting the (Christian) University of Bethlehem, I also paid a visit to the birthplace of Christ and the place where Christmas originated. At this time of year, it is appropriate to remember just how much the occupants of Bethlehem are affected by the illegal occupation and I am grateful to the Palestinian mission for the following information, which I will present without further comment  it speaks for itself.

Bethlehem is located 10 kilometers to the south of Jerusalem. It has a population of over 220,000 people, including over 20,000 living in three refugee camps (Dheisheh, Aida and Beit Jibrin).

The most important cities and towns of the governorate are Bethlehem City, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Al Doha, Al Khader, Battir and Artas.

There are two sites in the governorate that have been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

The Nativity Church and Star Street (Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route). Battir, including Wadi Makhrour (Land of Olives and Vines  Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir).

Other important heritage and archeological sites located in the governorate are:

The Herodion Mountain (under full Israeli control).

The Rachel Tomb / Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque (under full Israeli control).

The Pools of King Salomon in Artas.

The Shepherds Field in Beit Sahour (there are two locations: one for the Roman Catholic Church and one for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate).

Saint Nicholas Church in Beit Jala (a large parade of scouts takes place every December 19th marking Saint Nicholas Day).

Saint Georges Monastery in Al Khader.

Cremisan Valley (including its monasteries and winery).

The Dead Sea (under full Israeli control).

Israeli Settlements

There are 18 illegal Israeli settlements across the Bethlehem Governorate with a population of over 100,000 settlers. This includes areas within the Israeli-defined, expanded and annexed Jerusalem Municipality. In effect, Israeli settlements surround the holy city of Bethlehem from its four sides.

The most prominent Israeli settlements in the Bethlehem area are Gilo and Har Homa to the north; Har Gilo, Beitar Illit and Neve Daniel to the West, Efrat to the south as well as Nokdim and Tekoa to the East. Among the Israeli settlers living in the Bethlehem governorate there are the Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Nokdim), Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Neve Daniel) and Minister of Environment and Jerusalem Affairs, Zeev Elkin (Kfar Eldad).

The construction of Israels illegal Annexation Wall in Beit Jala (Bir Onah/Cremisan) continued during 2016, with the uprooting of ancient olive trees and restricting access to the Palestinian valley of Cremisan.

Under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian government exercises control over only 13% of the Bethlehem Governorate. In the absence of the Israeli occupation, Bethlehem would have open roads connecting it with Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.

Connection with Jerusalem

Bethlehem and Jerusalem have been twin cities for centuries. The Israeli occupation through its policy of colonization, including its illegal Annexation Wall, has separated both cities for first time in 2000 years of Christianity. This includes the pilgrimage routes that now have to cross through an Israeli checkpoint.

For Palestinian ID holders, entry to Jerusalem is restricted. They can only do so after obtaining an Israeli military permit. In the vast majority of cases, this permit is restricted to certain hours and does not allow the holder to drive a car.

Israels racially biased citizenship laws have prevented thousands of Palestinian Jerusalemites from obtaining family reunification for their spouses and children from the rest of the Occupied State of Palestine. This has particularly affected Palestinian Christians that had intermarried between Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Ramallah for centuries.

Both East Jerusalem and Bethlehem are an integral part of the Occupied State of Palestine.

Spare a thought for the Bethlehemites when you see Christmas worship being broadcast from the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square.

Comments on this post will be pre-moderated.

* John Kelly is a member in Warwick District, Secretary of the Lib Dem Friends of Palestine, and a member of the Federal International Relations Committee.
The festive season affords us the opportunity to reflect on what is important in life.

During the festive season we witness the joy that comes from acts of generosity and we can see that there is much to be celebrated. Our thanks must go out to those who work over Christmas including the emergency services who keep us safe. Our thoughts are with those who are unwell, alone or struggling. And our appreciation is with those who come to their aid.

However, there is little doubt we are in a more uncertain and dark place in global affairs. The election of President Trump and the decision to sever links with our friends in Europe have taken our society in the wrong direction. With attacks in Turkey, the conflict in Yemen, and the war in Syria with its awful reports from Aleppo, it is imperative we do not turn our backs no matter how difficult the challenge. Yet there is hope in the response to these conflicts and to the rise of divisive politics. The positive alternative of government and charitable international aid combined with alternative voices that promote tolerance, optimism, openness and unity means that there is light amongst this darkness. There is hope at Christmas. Enjoy Christmas.

* Willie Rennie MSP is leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
A COUNTY Limerick man who threatened to rape and kill the wife and children of a taxi driver has been jailed for six years.

Gerard Ward, aged 40, of Glenma, Croom, had earlier pleaded guilty to several charges, including robbery, relating to an incident in a rural cul-de-sac on January 25, 2013.

Ward, who fled to the UK following a sentencing hearing in July, also admitted a charge of attempted robbery relating to a separate incident in the city centre which happened while he was on bail.

During a sentencing hearing relating to the first incident, Garda Tom Flavin said Ward had been socialising in the city and approached the driver at a taxi rank at around 10pm.

The driver  a Nigerian national  told gardai that Ward seemed friendly at first but suddenly turned on him as they entered a remote cul de sac near Croom.

He had earlier instructed the victim to travel the 18km to the village via back roads claiming it was quicker than travelling on the motorway.

After the taxi pulled over, Ward - who has a number of serious convictions  threatened him and demanded that he hand over his cash.

Garda Flavin said the victim was then ordered to get out of the car and warned he would be killed if he looked at his (Wards) face.

After he handed over his drivers licence, the victim was told to get into the boot of the car by Ward who threatened he was going to ride me and my wife.

The defendant also ordered the driver to fall on his knees threatening he was going to kill him.

After picking up an iron bar, the father-of-three then ordered the taxi driver to go to a tree where he said he was going to whip him.

Michael Collins BL, prosecuting said Ward then drove the taxi into Croom where he wiped his fingerprints off the steering wheel, and walked off into the night.

As he did so, he told the victim he knew where he lived.

In a victim impact statement, the taxi driver said he was particularly disturbed by the threats against his kids and is still fearful more than three years after the incident.

While he continues to work nights, he is constantly apprehensive and anxious as a result of what happened.

The second incident, the court heard, happened at OConnell Street in the city centre at around 11.30pm on August 7, 2015.

On that date Ward and another man approached a man who was carrying a briefcase and threatened him with a knife.

Garda Tadgh Reeves said the businessman refused to hand over his briefcase and that the two men escaped empty handed after another man intervened.

Both were arrested a short time later and Mr Ward told gardai a three-inch knife which he had was for peeling fruit.

Urging the court to be lenient, Mark Nicholas SC said his clients guilty admissions and guilty pleas were important aspects in each case.

In relation to the first incident, he accepted there had been a deplorable threat of violence but added that no violence had actually occurred.

Imposing sentence, Judge Tom ODonnell said the use of weapons was an aggravating factor as was the nature of the threats and violence.

He noted that Ward previously served a lengthy prison sentence in the UK for a robbery offence and has numerous convictions in this country - dating back more than 20 years.

The judge imposed consecutive prison sentences totalling seven years, suspending the final twelve months.
CLOSE on 2,000 people were taken on an Abba musical journey when students from Colaiste Iosaef, Kilmallock took to the stage with their production Take a Chance On Me.

Transition year students from the school treaded the boards of The Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick over two nights with their Christmas show.

There are 66 students in transition year and each student was involved in the show, be it on stage or behind the scenes.

Months of rehearsals came to fruition and in the words of producer Laura Henebry we couldnt be prouder of our pupils and we say thank you for the music.

The production team consisted of Liam OConnor, director, Elaine Davern, musical director, choreographers Michele Daly and Louise Raleigh, choral mistress Eimear Glancy and producer, Laura Henebry. Set design was by Rose Hanley, Ann Lane OConnell, Brian Finn and Brendan Mahon.

Principal Noel Kelly spoke on the closing night and he highly commended the students on their wonderful achievements. He said his only regret was that it had to end. He told the students how proud he was of them and how this experience would stand to them for the rest of their lives.

He quoted Shakespeare, It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves and told students they had a very bright future ahead.

The show featured a wealth of Abba songs which brought the audience on a musical journey to the Greek islands. The story tells how a 20-year old bride-to-be, Sophie, played by Aoife Barrett from Kilmallock finds in her mothers diary that she has three possible fathers. Sarah Connolly, Bulgaden, playing the role of Donna Sheridan is baffled when three men from her past turn up unexpectedly the day before her daughters wedding. Sophies dads are played by the talented trio Enda ONeill, Ardpatrick, Adam Kirby, Meanus and Kevin Casey, Kilmallock portraying the roles of Sam, Harry and Bill. Donnas best friends Rosie and Tanya played by two Kilmallock ladies Rebecca Sheedy and Emma Meehan had the audience in stitches with their comic abilities and musical talents.

The school would like to thank all the sponsors and public for their support.
SENATOR Kieran ODonnell has written to HSE director general Tony OBrien to apply for funding to progress the development of a new 96-bed unit at University Hospital Limerick.

This follows Senator ODonnells motion in the Seanad saying that there was an urgent need for the project to enter the design phase, which would cost around 1m.

For this to happen, the HSE must apply for seed money through the Department of Health, so that the unit will be 'shovel-ready' if it gets the go-ahead in a capital review in May.

In the letter, Sen ODonnell wrote: I pointed out to the Minister that UHL had already submitted a plan for this project to the HSE in 2015 and it was included in the HSE national capital plan. In this context, I asked him to ensure the project is funded under the mid-term capital review next year. The overall build project would be expected to cost in the order of 25m. Indeed, the evidence on the need for these acute beds is overwhelming and it was now a question of when rather than if it happens.

He said that, in the interim, he is asking Minister Harris to fast-track the design phase via the fund.

Minister Harris gave me a commitment to look at this proposal. Whilst the opening of the new state-of-the art A&E next May will be very welcome, this must be complemented by the provision of these additional much needed acute beds.

He said that the A&E was the busiest in the country, with an expected 64,000 attending in 2016.

Still we find that it's bed numbers rank well behind other hospitals like CUH with similar A&E patient figures. Getting the design phase underway is the key first step to advancing this vital project for the people of Limerick and the Mid-West as quickly as possible.
Germany on Saturday hunted for possible accomplices of Anis Amri, the suspected Berlin truck attacker who was gunned down by Italian police, as Tunisia announced it had arrested his nephew.

Tunisia's interior ministry said the nephew and two other suspected Islamist militants, aged between 18 and 27, were detained on Friday and were members of a "terrorist cell" connected to Tunisian-born Amri.

It made no direct link between the trio and the Berlin attack on Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down revellers at a Christmas market, killing 12 people.

Amri, 24, then went on the run and was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt, before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

The Berlin rampage was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Tunisian interior ministry said in a statement that Amri had sent money to his nephew so he could join him in Germany and had allegedly urged him "to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)".

The unnamed nephew also claimed that his uncle was the leader of an Islamist militant group based in Germany and known as the Abu al-Walaa brigade, it added.

The arrests come as German authorities are racing to find out whether Amri had help from accomplices before or after the attack.

"It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank said Friday.

Seven of the victims killed in the attack were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman told AFP. The other five came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine.

The fact that Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies.

German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal with links to the Islamist scene.

But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure.

It "is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock," he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how Amri was able to slip through the net and vowed to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers like him.

The fugitive was killed after firing at two officers who had stopped him for a routine identity check Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

Media reports said a train ticket found in Amri's backpack suggested he had boarded a train in Chambery, southeastern France, and passed through Turin before arriving in Milan.

Milan police said Amri had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone.

Amri left Tunisia for Italy in 2011. He spent four years in prison there for starting a fire in a refugee centre, during which time he was apparently radicalised.

After serving his sentence he made his way to Germany in 2015, taking advantage of Europe's Schengen system of open borders -- as he did on his return to Italy this week.

German security agencies began monitoring Amri in March, suspecting he was planning break-ins to raise cash for automatic weapons to carry out an attack.

But the surveillance was stopped in September because Amri was seen primarily as a small-time drug dealer.

In a separate case, police said Saturday they had released two Kosovo-born brothers suspected of planning to attack a shopping centre in western Germany.

With the country on high alert, their arrests on Friday had made global headlines.

As Germany celebrated Christmas Eve meanwhile, locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the truck assault, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."

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AN OPEN library scheme was brought to book by councillors at a meeting of the Cappamore-Kilmallock municipal district.

A motion, proposed by Cllr Lisa Marie Sheehy, calling on the CEO of Limerick City and County Council to immediately suspend any roll-out of the initiative was seconded by Cllr Noel Gleeson.

County librarian, Damien Brady gave a presentation on the scheme that allows for additional opening hours for libraries over and above staffed hours.

Registered members can access the library using their library card and pin code outside of regular opening hours from 8am to 10pm daily, seven days a week, 365 days a year, said Mr Brady. The concept was mainly developed in Scandinavian countries where it has been a success since 2004, he said.

It is seen as attracting a range of customers by allowing access at times that suit the customer. Very few incidents of note have been recorded, said Mr Brady.

Two pilot projects have been running in Ireland since 2014 - Sligo and Offaly. A key recommendation was that a further pilot should be tested in each local authority and Cappamore was picked in Limerick. A grant of 35,000 was used for enhanced security - gates, cameras, additional lighting and more.

Regardless of whether the open library system is fully implemented or not, it represents a positive in terms of additional security for the library, said Mr Brady, who stressed there would be no reduction in staffed hours. He said during the open library scheme members can borrow and return books and other items using self service; use computers and wifi; print and photocopy; study and hold community meetings.

Cllr Noel Gleeson said he has a problem with the plan and it is not Mr Bradys fault. He said in Offaly somebody opened the door and let others in. While welcoming the extra security, Cllr Gleeson said IT systems can be broken into.

It was a shock. The people of Cappamore could not get over it. We are so proud of it. I am completely and utterly against this on behalf of the community of east Limerick. It is no good having security when when the books are long gone. There are some who would take the eye out of your head. I am going to fight this tooth and nail, said Cllr Gleeson.

Cllr Sheehy said she has severe, severe concerns.

If we want to increase hours we increase staff, said Cllr Sheehy. Her lengthy list of concerns included one instance where alcohol was involved, how would it be possible to see if somebody is being bullied, the possibility of claims, discriminating against blind people, theft of items and more. The community ethos of libraries is for the librarian to give a helping hand, said Cllr Sheehy.

Cllrs Mike Donegan, Brigid Teefy, Bill ODonnell and Eddie Ryan all expressed reservations. Cllr Gerald Mitchell said there are plusses - extra opening hours, enhanced security, no staff loss. The negatives are anti-social behaviour  swiping in doesnt detect the smell of drink or drugs, said Cllr Mitchell.
THE Minister for Education and Skills has praised businessman JP McManus for his continuing support of students from his alma mater CBS Sexton Street.

Minister Richard Bruton was speaking at Limerick Racecouse where eight students were presented with JP McManus Scholarship Awards.

The eight - Jordan Madden, Junior Obinna Echeruwer, Daniel ORiordan, Keith Quinn, Mohammed Thabir, Trevor Daly, Shane Hartigan and Zakariye - completed their Leaving Certificate examinations in June.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the scholarship scheme and almost 500 people attended last weeks celebration dinner.

Ive always said that education is the key to our ambition as a nation because it is the key to developing the talent that will fire our enterprise, that will fire science but is also a key to breaking cycles of disadvantage and I think JP (McManus) over the years has committed hard cash to make sure people get a chance in education and it can transform peoples lives, said Mr Bruton.

Each of the scholarship recipients will receive 6,750 a year through the scholarship scheme for the duration of their third level studies.

Since awards were established in 1996, 161 students from CBS Sexton Street have received scholarships at a total cost of almost 2.95m.
IN the region of 2,500 food hampers have been distributed in Limerick this Christmas by charitable organisation St Vincent de Paul.

Large crowds gathered at St Johns Pavilion on William Street in the city on Thursday afternoon to collect Christmas food hampers which were being distributed by the voluntary organisation.

Around 1,500 were distributed from the pavilion, said a spokesperson for St Vincent de Paul.

There is a bit of an increase but the hampers are given out every year through the SVP networks and the Redemptorists. We are assisting more of the county conferences, she added.

People from across the city and county collected the parcels from 2pm on Thursday after they were given a voucher from the charity.

The hampers which are understood to be worth in the region of 50 contain a number of items including ham and non-perishable foods.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, members of the Defence Forces from Sarsfield Barracks and local gardai helped transport the food parcels from a depot on the Dock Road to St Johns Pavilion on Upper William Street.

A spokesperson confirmed that the Defence Forces supplied one truck and some soldiers to help move the hampers.
A DAUGHTER feared her mum would end up in hospital such was the shock she gave her when she arrived in her kitchen unannounced to celebrate her first Christmas at home in 12 years.

Dressed in her pyjamas and dressing gown, Bernie OLeary was minding her own business, cleaning up in the kitchen of her home in Knocksauna, Kilmallock when her daughter Olivia appeared out of nowhere.

Such was her shock on seeing the outline of her only daughter in the middle of the livingroom, Bernie froze on the spot, dropped the ware in her hands into the kitchen sink before clasping her hands over her mouth.

Then came the first of a series of unforgettable embraces followed by tears, but very few words.

Poor Bernie was unable to speak with the shock of it all.

The extraordinary moment was captured on camera by Olivias brother Brian and has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook.

I thought I would have to go to the hospital with her, honestly, she was so shocked to see me, Olivia told the Limerick Leader from her Kilmallock home this Christmas Eve.

Ive made more people cry with that video, she smiled.

Olivia, or Libby as she is known to her friends, left New York on Monday and arrived at the doorstep of her childhood home on Tuesday morning.

My brother Brian picked me up from the airport and we went and picked up some groceries and came back here straight away, she explained.

I was last home around four years ago but this is my first time home for Christmas in 12 years.

While Bernie had no chance to prepare for her moment in the spotlight, according to Olivia, her ecstatic mum didnt mind one bit that the touching moment was recorded.

She is delighted with it, she watches it more than me, she giggled.

Olivia left Kilmallock 12 years ago to go travelling with her good friend Laura Conway, also from Kilmallock, and hasnt been home for any considerable length of time since then.

Once again she is on a flying visit, jetting back Stateside on Monday.

Its back to work, said the 32-year-old who is the brand manager for Jagermeister in New York.

Ive been in the States on and off now for 12 years. I went travelling for the first two but Ive been settled there now for 10 years.

Ive always been working in bars and restaurants. I started off in Mike Houlihans (in Kilmallock) back in the day and I was opening and managing bars and restaurants in New York for eight years. Ive been with Jagermeister now going on two years. New York is my home now  I come home to Kilmallock for visits.

Bernie has been out to see Olivia who lives in Astoria, Queens, a few times, but, understandably, Olivia misses her mum, her dad Ollie, and brothers Brian, Tony - who lives in England - and younger brother Jonathon, dearly.

She is fortunate however, to have some close friends from home, living near her in New York.

Theres Laura Conway and her husband Shaun (Murphy) and John Moore. John came over about two years ago to visit and he has more or less settled there too. John was my next door neighbour here in Knocksauna and now he is my next door neighbour in New York too.

While she first found the New York lifestyle very difficult to adjust to, its now a way of life, and she considers the Big Apple to be her home.

When you get used to the lifestyle over there, its very hard to come back and adjust. I remember when we first went over we were staying with Shaun at the time. I remember we were five girls travelling the world and we were sleeping on his floor while we were looking for apartments. I remember his friend was working round the clock. She went to a job during the day, got home at around five, had a quick shower and went off to work as a bartender in the evening until four or five in the morning. I thought it was absolutely crazy and wondered how does anyone live this lifestyle and then when you are over there you start doing it and it becomes natural. If youre not working six or seven days of the week its like what are you doing. You definitely have to work to make a name for yourself because it is so competitive, but once you do, then New York is very small and the word of mouth spreads so quickly you would be surprised how talking to one person leads to another and thats how I got offered this job with Jagermeister. It takes a while to establish a name for yourself but once you do, the opportunities are endless."

And has she hit the bright lights of Kilmallock since her return home?

I was out last night for the first time since I came back but Ive been really focusing on visiting family and making sure that I see everybody while Im here, she smiled.
Pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem on Saturday for Christmas Eve as Europeans worked up some holiday spirit despite tight security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

Dozens of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem's Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, where celebrations will culminate with a midnight mass at the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Some snapped selfies near the square's giant Christmas tree and watched the annual Scouts parade in the city, a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"This is Christ's land, the land of peace," said Ramzi Abu Khalil, who was wearing a red Santa hat.

"We take pride in him. All Christians should come today to Bethlehem. This is a holy day for us and a day of pilgrimage."

Violence put a damper on celebrations in Bethlehem last year, as a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeted Israelis and reduced sharply the number of Christmas visitors.

The unrest has subsided in recent months and, with major Bethlehem hotels booked up, many in the city were optimistic this year's holiday season would bring more visitors.

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from this week's truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

Hundreds of investigators were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed Friday in a shootout with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Tunisia said Saturday it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."

Security was tight elsewhere in Europe for the holidays, including at Milan's cathedral, where police were out in force and concrete barricades had been erected around the Piazza del Duomo, where a Christmas market is held.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers had been deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

In the northern city of Lille, concrete blocks had been laid in areas around the city to prevent vehicle attacks, prompting 62-year-old Michelle to ask: "How far are we going to go?"

Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional markets and other festivities.

Among them some 30 hardy Slovaks participated in a winter swim at Bratislava's Zlate Piesky lake, some drinking beer in the nearly freezing water.

In London, meat-lovers converged on Smithfield Market for the traditional Christmas Eve auction at butcher Harts, waving banknotes in the air as they bid on turkeys, pork cuts and rump steaks.

Prime Minister Theresa May used her first Christmas message to urge Britain to come together in 2017 after a year of bitter divisions exposed by the Brexit referendum.

As families gathered for Christmas, May said "coming together is also important for us as a country."

Christians in Syria's Aleppo were looking forward to celebrations after President Bashar al-Assad's forces retook full control of the city following a rebel withdrawal this week.

Members of Aleppo's Catholic minority have been preparing for the first Christmas mass in five years at the Saint Elias Cathedral in the Old City.

The famed cathedral's roof collapsed years ago under a salvo of rocket fire, but this week members of the community were clearing out debris to prepare for the service.

"All our memories are here -- this is where we celebrated all our feast days, our joys," said Bashir Badawi, rummaging through rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene.

"We want to transform all this destruction into something beautiful."

In Bartalla near the Iraqi city of Mosul, Christians were also holding a service for the first time since their town was recaptured from IS.

The Islamist militants destroyed crosses at the Mar Shimoni church in Bartalla and set it alight, but volunteers worked for days to ready it for the first service in more than two and a half years.

"We want to deliver the message that we are staying in this country and that these are our roots and our origins," Father Yaqub Saadi, the church's priest, told AFP.

In the mostly Catholic Philippines, authorities began evacuating thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the country's east coast on Christmas Day.

Seafaring vessels in the area were ordered to stay at port, while one airline cancelled 18 Christmas Day flights.

"It's sad that I could not join my parents for Christmas," technician Reagan Sumukit told AFP as the coastguard shut down the port of Tabaco.

Pope Francis, the leader of the of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, was to deliver his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and The World) Christmas message from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica on Sunday.

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Inside the Laredo Energy Arenas Club Annex, pop rock fans can enjoy the live performance of internationally famed band La Oreja de Van Gogh on Wednesday, May 3.

This band from Spain has a career span of 20 years, and we are excited that La Oreja de Van Gogh will bring their poetic songs in both lyrics and music to Laredo, said Xavier Villalon, general manager of the SMG-managed Laredo Energy Arena.

Tickets went on sale Friday.

Its been two decades, seven albums and thousands of emotions since five friends from San Sebastian, Spain took time from their college studies to create their first songs in a rehearsal room.

In 1996, guitarist Pablo Benegas, bassist Alvaro Fuentes, keyboardist Xabi San Martin and drummer Haritz Garde met at a local university and formed La Oreja de Van Gogh (LOVG). The name of the band is referenced to painter Vincent van Gogh who is known for cutting off his own ear lobe. They covered songs from U2, Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

Subsequently, vocalist Amaia Montero joined the band. They rose to fame after they won a local pop-rock festival, earning them the opportunity to record songs. San Martin, Benegas and Montero serve as the primary songwriters for the band.

The uncertain journey would become an exhilarating global success. They led the way to some of the most emblematic compositions of Spanish pop, a gallery of awards like no other artist in the country can dream of and the title of a well-known nationwide band with major sales of the twenty-first century.

LOGV has won numerous awards since their first released album. Theyve received a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Album in 2016, MTV International Award for Best Spanish Artist in 2001, MTV Latin Award for Best Group in 2004, two Ondas Awards in 1998 and 2003, an Amigo Award in 1999 and many more. These recognitions accredit LOVG as the capital artist in the Spanish and Latin American pop scene that endorse the countless number one spots on the music charts with more than 50 platinum and gold albums.

LOVGs 20-year career fulfills their seven studio album, El Planeta Imaginario, in which fans can find a collection of songs inscribed in the history of pop sung in Spanish and recorded in the memory of the public of Spain and Latin America.

LOVG has toured half-way across the world in countries such as Spain, the United States, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Peru, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and France.

Though they werent strangers to success, their third album in 2003, Lo Que Te Conte Mientras Te Hacias la Dormida, sold impressively in the Americas with over 100,000 copies sold in the United States alone.
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The Wells Fargo bank off San Dario Avenue has been robbed again, Laredo police said.

At about 6 p.m. Friday, a man claiming to have a bomb robbed the bank, 5219 San Dario Ave. Police said the robber fled on foot, heading east. Police were still canvassing the area as of late Friday.
The Wells Fargo bank off San Dario Avenue has been robbed again, Laredo police said.

At about 6 p.m. Friday, a man claiming to have a bomb robbed the bank, 5219 San Dario Ave. Police said the male suspect approached one of the tellers, saying he had placed an explosive device inside the banks restroom.

Preliminary reports from employees indicated a male had entered the restroom before the threat occurred.

The teller, as per procedures of the bank, turned over money to the robber, police said.

The suspect fled the bank on foot, running east. Police were canvassing the area as of late Friday.

LPDs bomb squad searched the bank after the building was evacuated. The building was announced clear at about 7:45 p.m. with no indication of a bomb.

Police were awaiting access to footage of the incident Friday evening. Wells Fargo bank does not allow for local download or operation of the security cameras, Investigator Joe E. Baeza, LPD spokesman, said.

My understanding is that they did have armed law enforcement here at this location after the second (robbery in September), Baeza said.

That wasnt the case during Fridays robbery.

The recommendations are to add law enforcement security so (individuals) think twice before robbing this location, Baeza said.

The bank was open with customers at the time of the robbery. The building was immediately evacuated due to the bomb threat.

A description of the suspect had not been provided as of late Friday.

Prior robberies

The Wells Fargo location has now been robbed three times this year. Each robbery occurred on a Friday.

The first one happened in early June when a man walked into the bank shortly before closing time and handed a note to a female teller, demanding money.

The note stated that he was armed with a gun and wanted the bank box money, states the criminal complaint.

Fearing for her life, the clerk gave him a bag containing about $3,000.

The robber was later identified as Laredo resident Charles Edward Vela, 22. He was arrested three days after the robbery.

The second robbery occurred in September, when a woman handed a threatening note to a teller. Police arrested the suspect, Claudia Coronado, 42, the following day. Police said they also found the stolen cash  $10,000  inside a backpack

Taryn Walters may be reached at 956-728-2528 or twalters@lmtonline.com.
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Local News, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: December 24 2016

Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating an incident in which a woman suffers an apparent medical event, crashed her car and died in the hospital.

Margherita Giaquinto, 77, of Patchogue, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Lake Grove, NY - December 23, 2016 - Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating an incident in which a woman suffers an apparent medical event, crashed her car and died in the hospital.

Margherita Giaquinto, 77, of Patchogue, was driving a 2015 Mercedes-Benz in the parking lot of the Smith Haven Mall when she apparently suffered a medical emergency and struck a pole and the building at approximately 2 p.m.

Giaquinto was transported via ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The vehicle was impounded for a safety check. The investigation is continuing.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
The US military killed 15 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in six previously unannounced airstrikes that took place throughout Yemen over the last four months. The US has now launched 37 airstrikes against AQAP in 2016, the largest yearly total since 2012 (41 strikes).

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the operation in a statement that released on Dec. 22, and noted that AQAP is a Foreign Terrorist Organization with a history of attacks against the United States and its allies. Previous CENTCOM announcements of attacks on AQAP described the group a significant threat to the region and to the United States.

The CENTCOM announcement listed nine strikes, with 25 AQAP operatives killed. However, three of the strikes were previously reported by CENTCOM. Fifteen AQAP operatives are reported to have been killed in the six new strikes.

CENTCOM acknowledged that one of the strikes, which took place on Sept. 29, was previously announced, but the number of AQAP operatives killed was updated from one to two, as a hospitalized terrorist later died of those injuries. The Oct. 18 and Oct. 21 strikes were previously reported by CENTCOM. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, US airstrikes kill 8 al Qaeda operatives in central Yemen and CENTCOM Press release, Terrorists killed in U.S. Strike.]

The six new strikes took place in the provinces of Al Baydah (2 strikes), Marib (2), Shabwah (1), and Hadramout (1). AQAP is know to operate in all four provinces, and the US military has launched numerous strikes there since 2009.

The US has stepped up its air campaign against AQAP in Yemen. There have been at least 37 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen in 2016, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. In 2016, the US has already exceeded the number of strikes of each of the three previous years (26 strikes in 2013, 23 each in 2014 and 2015). Since 2009, the US has launched 166 drone, missile, and conventional attacks against AQAP. [See LWJ report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002  2016.]

The targets of the US air campaign have varied, as all aspects of AQAPs network have come under fire. The US has killed senior and low level leaders and commanders, as well as fighters. Additionally, the US has hit training camps, military formations, and even equipment captured from the Yemeni military.

AQAP remains entrenched in southern and central Yemen despite the active targeting of the group and its leaders by the US for eight years.

AQAP still controls rural areas of central and southern Yemen despite both attacks from the US and a United Arab Emirates-led ground offensive, which ejected the group from major cities and towns that it held between March 2016 and the summer of 2016. AQAP is known to operate training camps in Yemen, and claims to do so to this day. In mid-July, AQAP touted its Hamza al Zinjibari Camp, which trains its special forces. Zinjibari was an AQAP military field commander who was killed in a US drone strike in February 2016.

The US military targets AQAP with the approval of Yemens government in exile. The government was forced to flee the capital of Sanaa after Houthi rebels overran it as well as several provinces in both north and central Yemen.

Newly reported strikes in Yemen:

Sept. 23, one strike killed four AQAP operatives in Marib near al-Bayda.

Oct. 6, a strike killed two AQAP operatives in Shabwah governorate

Nov. 20, a strike killed one AQAP operative in al Baydah governorate

Nov. 24, a strike killed two AQAP operatives in al Baydah

Nov. 30, a strike killed three AQAP operatives in Hadramawt governorate

Dec. 13, a strike killed three AQAP operatives in Marib

Previously reported strikes in Yemen listed in the Dec. 22 CENTCOM announcement:

Sept. 29, in a previously reported strike, two AQAP operatives died after they were targeted in al Baydah governorate. Originally CENTCOM reported one death, and one injured in the strike. It is now confirmed that the hospitalized terrorist later died of those injuries.

Oct. 18, a strike killed six AQAP operatives in Shabwah

Oct. 21, a strike killed five AQAP operatives in Marib governorate

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.
Style / Fashion

Dec 24, 2016 | By Staff Writer

After 20 years at Ngee Ann City, Louis Vuittons Orchard Road boutique in Singapore gets a stunning makeover to celebrate two decades of residency in the iconic shopping mall  and just in time for the festive season.

Dressed in the Maisons signature Monogram Flower pattern that has been reinterpreted in shiny copper with a fading effect, the exterior facade features a mixed use of stone, glass and metal  materials that signifies authenticity and tradition.

Inside, the look is subdued yet stately, thanks to luxurious fittings such as cerused oak with gold leaf, natural stone floors, plush furniture by Paul Evans and Helene de Saint Lager, and splendid hand-knotted carpets from Nepal.

The most noticeable feature of the new space is, in our minds, the Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nautas installation. Made of glass, wire, LED and electronics, the art installation is equipped with a motion detector, interacting with visitors when they pass. Original art pieces by Farhad Moshiri, Michael Brunn and Lonneke Gordijn lends a warm, homely touch to the swish space.

On the ground floor, youll first discover the uptown-chic leather goods, accessories and the new Les Parfums collection of the Louis Vuitton womens universe, before entering the mens universe and its collection of swanky travel luggages and accessories. Up the emblematic ribbon staircase  the centrepiece of the store  lie more womens ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewellery, leather accessories and travel goods.

The renovated store is now open.

Louis Vuitton Ngee Ann City branch, 391 Orchard Rd, #01-20/24 & #02-12H/J/K/L Ngee Ann City, 238872 Singapore
Properties / Hotels

Get to know the five-star hilltop resort on Sentosa Island, off Singapore, in our review of its stylish one-bedroom villa

Jan 23, 2017 | By Staff Writer

Looks can be deceiving. With two colonial bungalows (named Tanah Merah, or red earth in Malay) greeting you at the front, Capella Singapore exudes grandeur and opulence on the outset. Wed imagined its rooms and suites to be ritzy with a dash of Victorian or Art Deco drama  but interiors (for the most part) are elegantly minimalistic, creamy and Asian-influenced.

The historic Tenah Merah I and II, built in the 1880s to accommodate British Officers, also disguises the vastness of Capella Singapore. Sitting on 30 acres of rolling hills, the five-star hotel and resort seem to go on endlessly, with 112 rooms, suites, villas and manors, as well as two restaurants, a bar, a spa, a fitness centre, a library and a series of stunning cascading pools housed within.

Every stay at Capella Singapore begins before you even step foot on its lush, beautifully-landscaped premises. Once your reservation is confirmed, a personal assistant will get in touch to answer to your every need  from arranging the use of the hotels conference rooms, to getting a table at Singapores hottest restaurants.













The setting is delightfully peaceful and quiet, which is a welcome respite from a hectic city life. If you love a tropical villa holiday for two, the resorts swish one-bedder is the one to book. Each comes replete with a refined living room, a private plunge pool to beat the heat, an outdoor rain shower and tub, a king-sized bed dressed in heavenly Pratesi luxury linens, Aesop amenities, and state-of-the-art technologies. For those with a bigger party or enjoy having more space, check into one of the rare, two-level manors at Capella Singapore  all of which feature three bedrooms, a dining room, a fully equipped kitchen and a pool.

Theres really no need to step out of the hotel if all you want to do is while away the hours. Check into Cassia for fine Chinese dishes, or The Knolls for a indulgent international breakfast or a satisfying Mediterranean brunch. On Fridays, Bobs Bar throws a groovy Cuban barbecue party, where youll be spoiled with an array of mouthwatering grilled meats and stellar rum cocktails. Need a good rubdown? A pampering session at the award-winning Auriga Spa, one of the best in Singapore, will make sure you leave the resort glowing.

Rooms start from $780++ per night (subject to change). Capella Singapore is at 1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island Singapore 098297, t. (65) 6377-8888, e. gr.singapore@capellahotels.com.
Cars / Yachts

For those craving a truly unique and unforgettable holiday experience, escape to the exotic East African plains and immerse yourself in the culture and wildlife of the region with Crystal Yacht Cruises.

Dec 24, 2016 | By Staff Writer

For those craving a truly unique and unforgettable holiday experience, escape to the exotic East African plains and immerse yourself in the culture and wildlife of the region with Crystal Yacht Cruises. The company has scheduled more than 10 voyages aboard the luxurious Crystal Esprit yacht setting sail from the Seychelles in 2017, and is offering guests the prospect of enhancing their trip with an exclusive safari adventure.

Organised and helmed by Crystals team of experts, the companys renowned Extended Land Programmes, involving multi-night excursions that bring travellers deeper into a destination, presents for its 2017 Seychelles calendar, a post-cruise four-day safari through East Africa. The trip immerses travellers within the natural splendour of Kenyas Maasai Mara National Reserve, and includes game drives bringing Crystal guests into the habitats of the reserves vast population of Masai lions, Tanzanian cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, and other magnificent animals that call the plains their home. Guests will also learn about the animals hunting, playing, grooming, and social habits in a carefully guided tour by an expert director from acclaimed safari operator Micato Safaris. An optional hot air balloon journey over the Mara Plain provides a grand perspective of the spectacular landscape below, a magical experience made more special by a lift-off illuminated by the regions famous colourful sunrise. The programme also offers a more intimate engagement of the regions cultural heritage, with guests paying a personal visit to Maasai Village. In their interaction with the local village residents, guests will have the opportunity to learn more about Maasai history and are also encouraged to participate in traditional singing and dancing.

Our Extended Land Programs are an excellent way to seamlessly continue ones luxury vacation ashore while still enjoying the Crystal attention to detail and seeing to all arrangements, says Edie Rodriguez, Crystals president and CEO. With a base fare of USD 3,495 per person, though prices are subject to change depending on the type of air transportation selected, the Crystal Esprit safari land programme includes: three-night luxury accommodations at the Norfolk Hotel and the Fairmont Mara Safari Club; air transportation from Victoria, Mahe, to Nairobi and up to two scheduled flights during the excursion; welcome amenities and gifts; game drive equipment and flight kits; and all gratuities to hotel staff and Micato Safari guides. The hot air balloon excursion comes at an additional cost, and guests are reminded that a Kenyan visa must be secured prior to arrival.

Setting sail from Mahe, Crystals 2017 round-trip Seychelles voyages also call in at pristine island destinations throughout the Indian Ocean, including St. Anne Island, Cousin Island, Praslin, La Passe, la Digue, Laraie Bay/Curieuse Island, Aride, and Big Sister Island. Book Now cruise fares start at USD 3,240 per person until the 31st of October. An inclusive pre-cruise land program in Dubai is also available for the voyages.

Crystal Cruises is the Worlds Most Awarded Luxury Cruise Line, having earned more Worlds Best accolades than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in history. Crystal Cruises has won Worlds Best Cruise Ship in Conde Nast Travelers Reader Choice Awards for 22 years; has been voted Worlds Best Large Ship Cruise Line by Travel + Leisure readers for 20 consecutive years; and the Best Luxury Cruise Line by Virtuoso for two-consecutive years (2014 & 2015). In the summer of 2015, Crystal embarked on a significant brand expansion, introducing three new classes of cruising, the recently launched Crystal Yacht Cruises (December 2015), Crystal River Cruises (July 2016), Crystal Exclusive Class Ocean Cruises (Fall 2019), Crystal Luxury Air (April 2016) and Crystal AirCruises (2017).

For more information: www.crystalcruises.com / www.mirarmarexpress.hk / email: mecruises@miramarexpress.hk

this story was first published in Yacht Style
Danish builder Tuco Marine said it has delivered a ProZero 10.5m WBW Archipelago multipurpose workboat to the Norwegian Archipelago Services.

The vessel is a fast and light and features a hydraulic bow gate and a deck crane for handling cargo over the vessels side, according to the builder. From the flexible and unique ProZero construction the vessel is built with a flexible, hung cabin to ensure the best possible comfort in the wheelhouse.

The vessel is to enter service in Holmestrand, Norway, for the local Archipelago services and has been modified to fit the needs of this specific client. The changes required by Holmestrand were a center mounted cabin with a deck layout allowing room for full walk around the cabin. The powertrain has been changed from single propeller installation in the previous delivery to a single jet in the Holmestrand boat.

The vessel is equipped with a flexible hung cabin, mounted on rubber shocks, to secure optimal sound dampening and crew comfort inside the cabin, including two suspended seats, a passenger sofa and a toilet. On the aft deck of the vessel, a large heated locker is mounted, serving as a dry locker for the crews clothes and tools.

The workboat is equipped with a Volvo Penta D11 inboard diesel engine, capable of doing more than 25 knots when transporting crew and passengers to or from the archipelago islands, which will be the boats main area of use.

On the foredeck the boat features a crane in starboard side, and in port side a line/trap hauler, and a side door for easy access to shore and water. The boat is further equipped with radio, radar, AIS and a VHF installation for optimal communication.

The design of the ProZero cabin ensures a huge amount of daylight, this also improves the personal comfort. A sliding door secures that access to, and from the cabin, can be done with a minimum of obstacles for the crew working on deck or walking past the cabin entrance.
Harry Dent - Im NOT a Bull!

On December 13, Denzel Washington hit the nail on the head when :

If you dont read the newspaper, youre uninformed.

If you DO read the paper, youre misinformed

We live in a society now where its just get it out first!

We dont care who it hurts.

We dont care who we destroy.

We dont care if its true.

Just say it!

Sell it.

And Ive been victim of this same media mentality since I issued my Mea Culpa last week.

Somehow the media has decided that my admission of mistiming the market very short term was a switch from a perma-bear to a bull.

Seriously!?

Do these people read any further than their nose?

What about common courtesy or due diligence?

So far, only one media personality has phoned me for an interview on this so-called switch, and when I explained what Im about to explain to you  in the hopes to be crystal clear about this  the interview turned into a non-starter!

How much more clearly can I say this?

You can see in the original article, (excerpt below), that I was pretty clear when I sent this note out.

I still believe the markets are due for a massive correction. Nothing has changed on that front.

Me going from perma-bear to bull couldnt be further from the truth. And I am anything but a perma-bear if you look at my forecasts back to the 1980s forward.

Yes, this delusional Trump rally looks real for now. But it also looks more clearly like a final blow-off or 5th wave rally from the third and final bubble since March 2009 that is only likely to last months at best, not years.

Nothing has changed in the fundamentals of aging in demographic trends, massive debt burdens, and the imminent Italy debt default and the uber-Chinese real estate bubble burst.

Nothing has changed in the trends my four key cycles are currently moving through that all point down into early 2020. This has only occurred twice in the last century: in the early 1930s and early-t0-mid 1970s.

Nothing has changed in the economic season were living in right now. Its still winter, and will be for at least another six years, and the worst of my cycles hits in the next three years.

My admission was that the bubble burst is taking longer than I had thought possible. Thats it. I even allowed for a slight new high in stocks in 2016 it just looks like a more substantial high on the Trump factor, with him promising near 4% growth  and pigs can fly!

I still believe there will be a massive market crash that will sweep the globe, now even more so and from higher heights yes, an even greater bubble. And what do bubbles do? They burst, and violently.

Its just that, while Trumps election was a surprise, the markets reaction was mind blowing. Believe you me even the smart money I monitor on the Traders of Commitments report at COTbase.com totally missed this rally as well. It was a surprise across the board.

But now that the markets are believing Trump can instantly create 3% to 4% growth again, its up to the real economy to prove he cant and you know where I stand on that one. This rally could last weeks or months, but not years!

In fact, this delusional rally only proves how bubbly this market is. The higher it goes, the harder it will fall our downside targets have not changed: 5,000 by early 2020 and 3,800 or lower by late 2022. Fundamental trends dont change: human delusions around them do!

So I join Denzel in calling out the media: Get your message straight. Tell the truth! Quit playing on extreme stories: like perma-bear turns to perma-bull.

Harry

Follow me on Twitter

P.S. Heres something else the media got wrong. How could anyone call me a perma-bear when I was the most bullish economist from the mid-to-late 1980s into 2007! Just goes to show you that the mainstream media of today is completely unreliable. And anyone who is a perma-bull or bear is an idiot, as everything goes in cycles period! The greatest boom in history will turn into the greatest bust. Its Newtons third law of physics: equal and opposite reactions Period!

http://economyandmarkets.com

Follow me on Twitter @HarryDentjr

Harry studied economics in college in the 70s, but found it vague and inconclusive. He became so disillusioned by the state of the profession that he turned his back on it. Instead, he threw himself into the burgeoning New Science of Finance, which married economic research and market research and encompassed identifying and studying demographic trends, business cycles, consumers purchasing power and many, many other trends that empowered him to forecast economic and market changes.

Copyright  2016 Harry Dent- 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.

Harry Dent Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




The Unification Ministry has released the final list of North Koreans who will take part in the upcoming reunions of families separated by the Korean War.

The list consists of 96 families who will be reunited with 394 South Korean relatives in the first round starting on Tuesday for a three-day run at North Korea's Mt. Kumgang resort.

The oldest participants from the North are 88 years old.

The ministry says one family from the North had to be taken off the list as their South Korean relatives canceled for health reasons.

On Thursday, South Korean Red Cross officials crossed the border for a final check before the event.

The second round of reunions will start on Oct. 24, with 90 South Korean families expected to meet their relatives from the North.
Updated on Dec. 24, 7:45 a.m.: Todd Fisher said his sister is in the intensive care unit and he could not classify her condition. He had earlier told The Associated Press that she had been stabilized and was out of the emergency room. In a subsequent interview he said many details about her condition or what caused the medical emergency are unknown.

Updated at 7:30 p.m.: Carrie Fisher's younger brother, Todd Fisher, told the Associated Press that his sister was "out of emergency" and stabilized at 4 p.m. Pacific Time. He said he could not discuss any other details about what happened.

__________

"Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher suffered a massive heart attack on a transatlantic flight on Friday and was listed in critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital.

Fisher, 60, was flying from London to Los Angeles when she went into cardiac arrest, according to E! News. Paramedics were on standby when the flight landed, shortly after noon Pacific Time. They provided "advanced life support" and aggressive treatment and transported patient to local hospital.

Actress Anna Akana, a passenger on the flight, tweeted Fisher was not breathing for more than 10 minutes and was receiving CPR until the landing.

Paramedics worked on Fisher for 15 minutes with CPR before they were able to get a pulse, reported TMZ, adding Fisher was placed on a ventilator,

Fisher was listed as in critical condition at UCLA Medical Center, according to The Los Angeles Times.

A statement released by United Airlines said that medical personnel met Flight 935 from London on arrival after the crew reported a passenger was unresponsive. "Our thoughts are with our customer at this time," the statement read.

The actress has completed filming on "Star Wars: Episode VIII," the fifth film in which she played the heroic Princess Leia.

Fisher, the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, recently published "Princess Diarist," her eighth book.

Married briefly to singer Paul Simon, Fisher has a daughter, Billie Lourd, from a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd. She has a brother and two half-sisters.

Her "Star Wars" co-stars, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbaca) tweeted their concerns.

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse... sending all our love to @carrieffisher  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016
ToyforJoy/WMAD/HI.JPG

Members of the Western Massachusetts Association of the Deaf/Hearing Impaired, Inc. board meet with Wayne Phaneuf, Executive Editor of The Republican, to donate $200 to the 94th Toy for Joy campaign. (Left to Right) Wayne Dore, George Balsley, Wayne Phaneuf, Kellynette Gomez, Ruth Moore, Win Moore, Kay Woods.

(Jordan Grice / The Republican)

Toy for Joy is in its final day, and people are still feeling the holiday spirit as they continue to give on Christmas Eve.

Online donations can be made by clicking here

Now in its 94th year, Toy for Joy is a program sponsored by The Republican, The Salvation Army and MassLive.com that aims to bring some cheer to Western Massachusetts by providing children in need with toys.

For the last month Toy for Joy has received donations from local businesses, families and anonymous donors as it tries to reach its goal of $150,000 to cover the cost of the toys and gifts that the Salvation Army handed out to thousands of families throughout Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden counties.

As of yesterday Toy for Joy had raised just under $100,000, meaning another $50,000 is needed to reach the goal.

Members of the Western Massachusetts Association of the Deaf/Hearing Impaired Inc. were among the generous donors that contributed to this year's Toy for Joy fund.

"We had our holiday festival buffet party at the Delaney House in Holyoke on Dec. 3, 2016," Wayne Dore, the group's chairman, said in a statement. "Seventy-two people came to join us with the celebration. We made a good profit and the board had decided to donate $200 to Toy for Joy. This may not be much, but it's a start. I believe that it's the first time we've done that and hope to continue on an annual basis."

The Western Massachusetts Association of the Deaf/Hearing Impaired is a nonprofit that advocates for the rights and welfare of hearing-impaired individuals in Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties.

Other major donations on today's list include two $1,000 gifts, from Steve and Georgianne Roberts of Longmeadow and FLN-MAR Rubber and Plastic Inc. of Holyoke. Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham donated $873.68.

Other generous contributions came in the form of $500 from the employees of Direct Results, an advertising firm in West Springfield; $300 from International Valve and Instrument Corp. of Springfield; and $250 each from Harry Grodsky & Co. and Sullivan, Keating and Moran Insurance, both of Springfield.

To learn more about Toy for Joy, call the Salvation Army's Springfield citadel at 413-733-1518.

Here is a list of the latest contributions to this year's campaign:

Minnechaug Regional High School $873.68

Michael & Christine $500

Merry Christmas to a terrific boss, from Bambi $50

In memory of Mom & Dad $100

Memory of Margaret Mary and Margaret Mary and Lucy Monica $100

In loving memory of William Manegre who passed away in 1974, sadly missed by his wife Catherine Manegre and his daughter JoAnne Gould $10

In loving memory of John and Mary Ganley, sadly missed by daughter Catherine Manegre and granddaughter JoAnne Gould $10

In memory of Basil and Eleanor Gould from Walter and Joanne Gould $3

In memory of Grandpa and Grandma Gould from Robert Gould $3

In memory of Walter and Bertha Edwards from grandson Walter Gould $3

In memory of Charles and Helen Edwards from nephew Walter Gould and family $3

In memory of Joe and Mary Dillon from nephew Walter Gould and family $3

In memory of Richard (Water Wheel) Savoy from the Gould family $3

In memory of Robin Fleming from the Gould family $3

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Fleming from the Gould family $3

In memory of Ken Fleming from the Gould family $3

In memory of our dogs, Buddy, Princess, Toby and Sandy girl from the Gould family $3

In memory of Grandpa Manegre from grandson Robert Gould $3

Happy Holidays to all my friends from Robert Gould $3

In memory of Benny Bonnevita from the Gould family $3

In memory of our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hawley from the Gould family $3

In memory of our neighbor Stan, from the Gould family $3

In memory of our neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Kwist from the Gould family $3

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. George Pelletier from the Gould family $3

In memory of my pal, Josie from Robert Gould $3

In memory of Mary and Jerry Langone from the Gould family $3

In memory of Jay Rouis Langone from the Gould family $3

In memory of Jim Maher from Walter Gould $3

In memory of Harry Gallerani from the Gould family $3

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. O'Diorne from the Gould family $3

In memory of Grandpa Larosa from Robert Gould $3

In memory of our friend, Anthony Larosa from Joanne and Walter Gould $3

In memory of our neighbor, Fred Kelleher from the Gould family $3

In memory of Aunt Gerry and Uncle John and Uncle Paul from the Gould family $3

In memory of Ciro Langone from the Gould family $3

Happy Holidays to all our friends from the Gould family $3

To the staff at Tony's Barber shop in Springfield's south end, Merry Christmas from Walter and Robert Gould $3

In memory of Ruth Taylor, from sister Cathy, niece JoAnne, nephew Walter and great nephew Robert Gould $3

In memory of Brian O'Diorne, from the Gould family $3

In memory of Retired Springfield Police officer Mike J. Ristaino and Irene Ristaino $3

To my eighth Christmas as a Gould family member, Preston $3

In memory of Josephine Szczepanek from the Gould family $3

In memory of Antonette Pepe from the Gould family and Catherine Manegre $5

Thank you Eastfield Hospital for animals from Preston Gould and family $3

Thomas $50

In loving memory of William J Whyte from Wendy Whyte $25

In loving memory of the Clark Whyte families from Wendy $25

In loving memory of Bill Whyte from his family $25

In honor of my grandchildren Mari, Presley, Clark and Brennan, love Gramme $25

In loving memory of Kathy, missing you from Wendy $25

In honor of Jill, Jennifer and Jeffrey, love Mom $25

For Edward $25

In memory of Mom and Dad from Don and Jean $25

A-non-e-moose $25

In memory of Jeff $20

In loving memory of Mike C and Ken M $50

Happy Holidays, enjoy, Dean and Linda $40

Friends of Westfield $20

For our dearly departed, now shining stars in the heavens $20

In honor of Penny, Merry Christmas everyone $100

In memory of Arthur, Timothy and Dennis Daniels $15

Sharing some love and joy, love to all, Noah P $50

In memory of Grandpa Hastings, Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Linda $20

In memory of Bruno, always Jazmine, Emmanuel $20

In memory of my beloved Tony and my dear Mom and Dad, love Fran $50

In loving memory of our parents Raymond and Jean Babineau, love Dan and Terry Willett $50

In memory of Thomas Dubour, love you, Judy, children, grandchildren and great granddaughter Maia $50

In memory of Matthew $33

In memory of Teddy, our beloved beagle who loved people, DMLD $25

In memory of Todd A Bristol from Susie, John and Maureen $100

For Elizabeth with love from Grandma Kelleher $50

In honor of St. Agatha $20

In honor of St. Anthony $20

In loving memory of John Brogan Jr and his sister Virginia from Mary $100

In memory of our beloved daughter Linda Gaudette from Mom and Dad $20

In memory of Marlene Gagne and Jack and Nancy Golden $100

In memory of our parents Bob and Evangeline Olson, my husband Dan and Big John from Carole $50

In memory of Aunt Koula, the Wrisley's, Dot, Helen, Elinor and Evelyn from Carole $25

In memory of our fallen warriors $100

Christmas blessings to all from Ray and Maureen $25

In memory of deceased members of the Scahill Fenton tree $50

In loving memory of granddaughter Olivia Ross from Grammy and Grampy $50

Merry Christmas from Pat $20

In loving memory of CND, AWD and GMD from GEF $15

In memory of dad who brought home the best trees $25

In memory of Bernard and Mary Sheridan $50

Blessings to all and a wish for world peace $50

Happy Holidays from Diane and Frank $100

In thanksgiving for my many blessings $50

In loving memory of my Dad, Fran Drud, love Lori $30

Peace on earth, LB $20

Anonymous $30

In memory of my son Jeffrey Martin Urban, xo Mom $30

Merry Christmas Abel, Duncan, Gussie and Oliver from Baba and Googa $100

In loving memory of Dr. Jack Savoia from his Polish Princess $100

In memory of Lisa Meade and Joe and Noel Fortier $10

To honor the memory of my parents and son $20

Federal St. Learys 1954 $10

Merry Christmas and wet kisses to all the kids and furry friends from Benson and Chanel $50

Western Mass Association of the Deaf/Hearing Impaired Inc. $200

Anonymous $200

For our young and for our old who are special $20

Happy Holidays from Steven and Georgianne $1,000

Anonymous $20

From Glay and Ron $100

Anonymous $30

Anonymous $100

Anonymous $25

In memory of my father Jim Newton $100

Remembering Edward and Jane Gruszka and the Bednarz/Gruszka families $250

In memory of Joseph LaPierre and Renee Pisarcik, love Claire and Jim $50

In memory of Barbara Flynn, our angel at Christmas, love her family $50

In memory of Barbara Weissbrod and Marg Kelly from the Church Ladies $100

Merry Christmas to all, Jennifer, Meghan and Judy Judd $100

Merry Christmas Bill and Kathy Judd, Onset MA $50

Merry Christmas from the employees at The Republican $78

Peace on earth from Accu Finish Orthodontic Lab $25

Merry Christmas to all from Alpha Oil Co. $150

Sullivan, Keating and Moran Insurance Agency of Springfield, Inc. $250

Anonymous $150

On behalf of the office staff at Harry Grodsky and Co., Inc. $250

Nick, Carolyn, Buddy and Brittany Athas $25.00

Anonymous $25

To thank God for all our blessings from International Valve $300

In memory of Ruth LaBelle who always remained a child at heart from the employees of Direct Results $500

Thank you and Merry Christmas to our loyal customers with our wishes for Happy Holidays from FLN-MAR Rubber and Plastics, Inc. $1,000

RECEIVED: $9,162.68

TOTAL TO DATE: $98,993.06

STILL NEEDED: $51,006.94
SPRINGFIELD -- A man awaiting trial with his son on food stamp trafficking charges is seeking to have his case dismissed, claiming he had nothing to do with his son's alleged crimes.

Ramon Diaz, 53, and Samuel Diaz, 30, both of New Haven, Connecticut, pleaded not guilty to larceny, food stamp trafficking and related charges in March after state and city police raided the Dwight Mini Market in Springfield's South End.

The raid capped a four-month probe into alleged public assistance fraud and drug sales at the market, which is owned by Ramon Diaz and managed by his son, according to court records. Bail for Samuel Diaz was set at $2,000; his father was released on personal recognizance.

In paperwork filed this week, defense lawyer Harold Brunault, representing Ramon Diaz, said his client had been wrongfully accused.

"Ramon Diaz was not personally present at any time" that alleged illegal activity took place at his market, Brunault wrote.

Judge Patricia Poehler gave the lawyer until Feb. 1 to file a motion to dismiss the charges. Arguments on the motion are scheduled for Feb. 17, according to court records.

Attorney Jon Helpa, representing Samuel Diaz, said he needed more time to review potential evidence turned over by prosecutors. He said a resolution to the case was possible at the February hearing, but did not elaborate.

The father and son are accused of allowing customers with EBT cards to buy items such as baby formula at full price, sell them back to the store at half price, and keep the remaining cash. Customers sometimes used the cash to buy drugs, according to police, who said loitering, public drinking and open-air drug sales were common outside the market.

Investigators seized a computer, cellphones, syringes, crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia during the raid. The market, located at 293 Dwight Street Extension, was shut down for code violations following the raid.

Many details of the investigation, including the amount of money allegedly lost to fraud, were not disclosed when charges were filed. No additional information has emerged from court filings over the past eight months.
This is an update of a story posted at 9:24 a.m. Friday.

HOLYOKE -- The shooting death of 55-year-old Anthony Sirakowski Thursday night, according to court documents, was apparently the result of a botched robbery attempt that occurred shortly after he purchased a small amount of marijuana from one of two suspects now accused of killing him.

Police statements filed in Holyoke District Court indicate that Sirakowski had just paid $50 to Nashon Perez, 20, of 63 Pine St. for drugs. Police said Perez then left to tell Eric Carattini, 24, of 23 Hamilton St., where Sirakowski was and that he had cash on him.

At that point, Carattini is said to have picked up a gun and set off to rob Sirakowski, telling witnesses, "I'm gonna go grab some money."

Perez and Carattini were each arrested Thursday night and charged with Sirakowski's murder.

Both denied the charge at their arraignments Friday in Holyoke District Court. Each was ordered held without the right to bail and is due back in court on Jan. 23.

The police investigation narrative, authored by Holyoke Police Officer Jennifer L. Sattler, identifies Carattini as the suspected shooter. Perez was apparently not present for the shooting, but the police statements say he is suspected of telling Carattini that Sirakowski had money and where he could be found.

Sirakowski was shot twice inside a trailer at the rear of 100 Pine St. sometime around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

When police arrived, they found Sirakowski lying on his back on a bed inside the trailer and suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was described as unresponsive and had no pulse.

He was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was pronounced dead. It was determined he had been shot twice, according to the police report.

According to the police reports, an unidentified witness told police that he and Sirakowski had gone to the bank to withdraw money. The amount was not disclosed. The witness told police that, a short time later, Sirakowski called someone to arrange the purchase of marijuana "from a man on Pine Street."

A short time after the transaction, Sirakowski and the witness were inside the trailer when a man the witness knew as Eddy came in with a gun and demanded, "Give me your (expletive)."

The man fired two shots and ran off, and Sirakowski collapsed backward into a wall and then onto the bed. The witness told police he initially thought Sirakowski had been shot in the leg.

The police report says detectives examined Sirakowski's cellphone and found that he had recently called Perez's number.

When Perez was brought to the police station for questioning hours later, he gave inconsistent and contradictory information about his knowledge of the shooting, police said.

He first told detectives he had no knowledge of Sirakowski's killing. Then he said he learned of it from a phone conversation with his boss' brother. And then he changed his story again to say he learned about it from his girlfriend, who read about it on Facebook.

Perez eventually admitted to police that he had sold marijuana to Sirakowski for $50 inside his trailer, then went home. At some point in the evening he told Carattini about it.

Perez's statement and the statement from an unidentified witness indicate that Carattini left the apartment with a gun, saying that he was going to get money. Perez told police he was "pretty sure" Carattini was going to rob Sirakowski.

Each told police that when Carattini returned a while later, he was agitated and admitted to shooting Sirakowski.

Court records show Perez told police that Carattini told him he went there to rob Sirakowski, "but a big guy grabbed him and he shot and ran away."

The witness who was in the trailer at the time of the shooting picked Carattini out of a photo array as the man who fired the shots, court records said.

Sirakowski's death marked the city's second homicide of 2016. In 2015, there were two homicides in Holyoke.

At district court, each was assigned a public defender. Attorney Joan Williams of

Northampton will represent Perez, while attorney Alan Black will represent Carattini.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing with Holyoke Police and state police detectives assigned to his office.

"I would like to thank the Holyoke Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to my office for their quick action and skill that led to these two arrests," Gulluni said.
police lights.jpg

(FILE PHOTO)

LANCASTER, MA  Massachusetts State Police are investigating an early morning crash on Route 2 in Lancaster that reportedly killed a 22-year-old Maynard woman.

Troopers from the Leominster barracks responded to reports of a single vehicle crash on the westbound side of the highway just before 4 a.m. Saturday.

A preliminary investigation suggests the crash occurred when a 2008 Toyota Camry traveling westbound on Route 2 went off the roadway and into the wood line, where it became fully engulfed in flames, according to state police.

The reasons for the car exiting the highway remain under investigation, police said.

Emergency crews pronounced a yet-to-be-identified woman deceased at the scene. She was the operator and sole occupant of the vehicle, police reported.

The crash remains under investigation with assistance from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services Section, according to state police.

Lancaster Fire and EMS, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation assisted state police at the scene.
Postseason Wrapup Baseball

Jose Bautista, who turned 36 in October and declined a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays, was limited to 116 regular season games in 2016 because of injuries. He posted a .234/.366/.452/.817 line with 22 homers and 69 RBIs. He blasted 40 homers in 2015 and 35 homers in 2014. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith, File)

(Eric Christian Smith)

Free agent slugger Jose Bautista's market hasn't developed this offseason. And here one week from January, Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan is reporting that "while Bautista is willing to accept a one-year deal, he wants it to be at a higher value than the qualifying offer."

Bautista turned down a $17.2 million qualifying offer from the Toronto Blue Jays.

The right-handed hitter, who turned 36 in October, was limited to 116 regular season games in 2016 because of injuries. He posted a .234/.366/.452/.817 line with 22 homers and 69 RBIs. He blasted 40 homers in 2015 and 35 homers in 2014.

Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reported earlier this offseason Bautista would have accepted a two-year contract from the Red Sox but Boston wasn't interested.

The Red Sox are approximately $13 million below the $195 million tax threshold set for 2017 and they want to stay below it. So it's extremely unlikely they would reconsider with Bautista.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the Clay Buchholz trade also wasn't made to free up money for a big free agent.
Tester has also created a portal for constituents to submit their stories, questions and concerns regarding the scandalparticularly if they think they might have been affected.

Senator Requests More Accountability and Transparency from the Bank and its Board

Senator Jon Tester is calling on the Wells Fargo Board of Directors to respond to questions about the banks ongoing fraud investigation over deceptive sales practices.

In a letter to the bank and its board, Tester demanded answers, accountability and transparency.

"As you know, continued failure to answer questions  especially basic questions  about the causes and consequences of the fraud that Wells Fargo permitted for many years does nothing to restore the trust of Wells Fargos customers and shareholders, many of whom are our constituents," Tester wrote.

The letter goes on to demand that the Wells Fargo Board answer the Senate Banking Committees questions, including whos leading the investigation, why the investigation wasnt launched earlier, and what the board is doing to ensure this kind of systematic fraud and abuse does not happen again.

This letter is a follow-up to the one Tester and his colleagues sent back in September http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4797 and includes many similar questions that the bank has so far failed or refused to answer.

Back in September, Tester grilled http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4777 former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf during a Banking Committee hearing, which was called after it was discovered that the bank had opened over two million deposit and credit card accounts without customers knowledge and 5,300 bank employees were terminated over the course of several years.

"Fifty-three hundred people is more people than live in most towns in Montana," Tester told Stumpf during the hearing. "Two million is twice the population of the entire state. This is a major screw up that went on for far, far, far too long."

Tester has also created a portal

http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4795 for constituents to submit their stories, questions and concerns regarding the scandalparticularly if they think they might have been affected.

And earlier this month Tester introduced legislation http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4884 to ensure Wells Fargo victims could seek justice through the courts.

You can read the letter HERE http://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=4884
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, December 22, 2016

Google will publish a set of podcasts early next year that will put agencies behind the microphone to share their expertise in digital marketing.

Those who are looking to learn will pick up skills as experts share insights on Google products, agency life, digital advertising, and business as well as what it means to be an agency and how to navigate through the digital world with big ideas and creative thinking.

Alex Langshur, co-founder and senior partner at Cardinal Path, a digital data analytics company, will host the podcasts. As a frequent Google speaker, he has been featured in publications such as Government IT Week, Government Executive and CNN Money, per Google.

Through the partner program, marketers can submit questions and request topics to cover.

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During the first few episodes, Langshur will explore topics related to sales, marketing strategy and client management.

The first episode, Turning Leads and Prospects into Sales, will run on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Langshur will host guest speaker Guillaume Bouchard, CEO iProspect Canada, who drives the agency's vision.

Other guests include Andrew Swinand, CEO of Frequency 540; and Stephanie Rudnick, SVP Global Brand Communications, MKTG.
by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, December 23, 2016

Was 2016 (in the inescapable jargon of the day) a pivotal year for programmatic television?

Thats a subjective call, and easier to make looking backward, with some distance.

Certainly, use of enhanced consumer data for more targeted television buys accelerated, although the overall scenario could still best be characterized as experimental.

Over the course of this year, weve reported on a number of test buys driven by the demand for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Those included several addressable TV campaigns conducted by SMG for clients spanning a variety of product categories that produced very positive results. Another enriched-data success story was U.S. International Medias use of household income and travel behavior data, on top of age demographics, to efficiently reach new U.S. markets with addressable TV for client Aruba.

The growing application of advanced data isnt limited to addressable, of course. In response to increasing requests for enriched-data-informed buys, Turner, NBC Universal and Viacom  and to a lesser extent others including ABC and Fox  have been expanding and honing their advanced data offerings.

While the leaders all reported increases in advanced-data deals during this years upfronts, these still represent very small portions of their overall businesses. Nielsens age/gender demographics continue to be the transactions guarantee standard, and a major shift may not occur until there is some standardization of advanced data sets and technology across network groups.

Advanced data became more of a focal point and differentiation point at this years upfronts, Samantha Sam Rose, VP, director of video investment for HorizonAdvanced, noted to Audience Buying Insider earlier this year. It was infused into most, if not all, of the discussions.  Its becoming more and more important to both networks and advertisers to really understand the data that were using and how it informs the buying and selling processes.

Rose added, however, that it makes sense for the networks to take it slowly, and limit the number of advanced-data deals, as the industry learns how best to use such data to target, and how to measure the results.

The advanced data capabilities make everybody smarter about the buying process, but it remains to be seen whether delivering a higher concentration against a particular target, as opposed to a broad-based demo, will sell more of our product, or make our brand more likeable, or deliver higher brand health metrics, she said. Theres a lot of data out there, but it needs to be reliable. And outside of addressable, you need to match that target data set to viewership data. You need to ensure that thats being done correctly and youre using the right first- or third-party viewership data. Were all excited about data, and its certainly the future, but we need to make sure that were analyzing and implementing it appropriately.

For national advertisers, achieving sufficient scale, as well as measurement issues, continues to pose challenges to more widespread use of advanced data in campaigns.

And on the automated buying front, while platform vendors continued to make advancements in aggregating media and reducing the need for manual functions, agency executives continued to voice frustration.

When weve looked at buying programmatic television  inventory typically supplied through the cable and broadcast networks  the issue is getting the inventory that we need at sufficient scale, with as much transparency as possible, said Barry Lowenthal, president of The Media Kitchen. Were not seeing that. I think that the networks in particular are being motivated by fear and pricing protection. Eventually, I think the technology will be so easy on both the supply and demand sides that theyll be persuaded to make more inventory available.

But for now, while some platform suppliers offer the ability to use advanced audience data for targeting in TV, as far as I know, there isnt a solution that would let me go into, for example, my DSP, point and click to develop a schedule using TV inventory, and execute that at scale, Lowenthal said.

2017 is guaranteed to be another year of exploration and progress for PTV, as technology and data science advance and increasingly integrated approaches to media planning and marketing budgets gain traction.

The 'Halo Effect'

As food for thought for the coming year, consider the programmatic digital halo effect described by Tom Wright, head of programmatic at London-based Tomorrow TTH.

Wright proposes a bold vision for 2017, which he maintains is also a practical one. In the coming year, the infrastructure established in digital programmatic buying will pave the way for traditional channels, such as TV, to move into a programmatic format capable of learning, optimizing and reacting, considerate of data made available from other programmatic-enabled formats, Wright declares in an essay in Econsultancy.

Its now time for brand marketers to be brave enough to move away from treating programmatic display in isolation, and start considering the halo effect that the scale and impact of this channel has on the overall performance of all other paid media channels, he argues. Implementing fluid media budget strategies and a blended approach is something we're championing with our clients  and the uplift in performance has been dramatic, he reports.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, December 23, 2016

Earlier this month, the newspaper industry took a long-standing feud with Google to President-elect Donald Trump. Next, the music industry followed suit.

Now, the American Association of Publishers, which famously sued Google over its book digitization project, is complaining to the incoming president about Silicon Valley. Specifically, the publishers argue that the tech companies aren't doing enough to stop online piracy.

"Innocently or not, the ease of discovery, access and distribution increasingly associated with the unauthorized presence of many copyrighted works on the Internet promotes conduct reflecting a mistaken view that their mere availability online justifies acquisition and use of such works," the publishers write in a letter to Trump.

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"The problem is exacerbated by the conduct and rhetoric of some in the Internet-based services and consumer technology manufacturing communities, as well as in the library, education and archival communities, who share a common self-interest in continued advocacy to minimize the effectiveness of copyright protection and enforcement."

The publishers went on to criticize the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which generally immunizes Internet platforms from liability for users' piracy, provided Web companies take down copyrighted material upon an owner's request.

According to the publishers, the DMCA isn't protecting content owners, due to the "unanticipated appearance of service provider business models that foster, exploit and profit from online infringement by their users while offering only token compliance with the law."

The publishers' group also accuses judges of incorrectly applying the DMCA. The publishers don't state which cases they're referring to, or why the organization believes the judges wrongly interpreted the law.

The Authors Guild, which also sued Google for scanning books and making them searchable, said this week that it also plans to lobby Trump. The organization noted Trump's recent meeting with tech companies, adding that the incoming president "struck a conciliatory tone with companies that have been willfully ignorant of, if not openly hostile to, the interests of creators."
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By reducing hypertension,

By reducing serum cholesterol levels that are responsible for building of plaques that block the coronary arteries to the heart.

By improving blood circulation.

By lowering stress

By improving respiration, energy and vitality

According to NIH, yoga may help reduce low-back pain and improve function, offer relief from anxiety, depression and insomnia, improve quality of life, reduce stress, lower heart rate and blood pressure, improve strength and flexibility.NIH website also points out that "NCCIH is currently supporting research on how practicing yoga may affect: HIV, immune function, menopausal symptoms, multiple sclerosis, diabetes risk and so on."About 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga, according to a "2016 Yoga in America Study".The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit wordwhich means union or joining. It holds techniques for transformation of individual consciousness to universal consciousness, to make the soul fit for union with thefor the purpose of attainingor liberation from the cycle of birth and re-birth.The origins of yoga trace back to around 10,000 years ago to the Indus-Saraswati Civilization. Yoga was first described by Patanjali in the classical Hindu text,(300-200 B.C.).According to Patanjali, the father of Yoga, it is a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.Yoga helps to attain a sense of balance and union between the mind and body, by producing a physiological state opposite to that of the flight-or-fight stress response thus interrupting the stress response.It helps to create a positive self image.The project includes studying the benefits of yoga in the treatment, relief, intervention, management or care of various conditions including PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression, sleep disturbance, insomnia, symptom management for breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, chronic pain, pain perception and pain control etc.The benefits of yoga for various condition are described below:People tend to suffer from a host of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. These conditions have become quite common. Some people might resort to alternatives like yoga and meditation for respite.Various physical and psychological demands trigger the HPA or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as a result of the release of cortisol and catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine). To combat the demand through the classic "fight or flight" response is initiated.Over time, the constant state of hypervigilence can lead to diseases such as obesity , diabetes, autoimmune disorders, depression, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease. Yoga mainly acts by modulating stress response. It encourages the technique of relaxation, slow breathing and helps to focus on the present. It helps to shift the balance from the sympathetic nervous system and the flight-or-fight response, which is responsible for stress and anxiety, by suppressing it, to the parasympathetic system and the relaxation response.This shift helps to create a calming and restorative effect by slowing breathing and heart rate, decreasing blood pressure , lowering cortisol levels, and increasing blood flow to the intestines and vital organs.Yoga practice inhibit the areas responsible for fear, aggressiveness and rage, and this inhibition results in lower anxiety, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and cardiac output in students practicing yoga and meditation.Yoga helps to achieve tranquility of the mind and create a sense of well-being, feelings of relaxation, improved self-confidence, improved efficiency, increased attentiveness, lowered irritability, and an optimistic outlook on life.Consistent yoga practice significantly increases the serotonin levels and helps in improving depression. Medications for insomnia or other sleep disorders often have side-effects like daytime sleepiness, impaired intellectual function and states of confusion, especially in older adults. As a result, many people opt for alternative, non-pharmacological approaches to improve sleep.Yoga helps to improve sleep by inducing relaxation and bringing about a balance in the mental state.Yoga is particularly beneficial to those suffering from non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In diabetics who practice yoga regularly, a significant reduction in the frequency of hyperglycemia occurs and there the need for oral hypoglycemic to maintain adequate blood sugar control also decreases.Long-term yoga practice is associated with increased insulin sensitivity. This increased sensitivity is likely to be a sustained change resulting from progressive long-term effect of yogasanas.Aches and pains, mostly in the joints are caused by reduced flexibility and increased stiffness which restricts movement. This restricted motion inhibits the supply of oxygen, blood and other nutrients to the surrounding muscles and cartilages. The cartilages will eventually wear out and expose the underlying bone.Yoga helps to improve flexibility. With continued practice the muscles and connective tissues surrounding the bones and joints get loosened gradually. This could be one reason why yoga is associated with reduced aches and pains.Yoga provides protection from conditions such as arthritis , osteoporosis and back pain by building muscle mass and/ or maintaining muscle strength.During a yoga session, the joints are taken through their full range of motion, including areas of cartilage which are not often used thus bringing fresh nutrients, oxygen and blood to the area, which helps to prevent conditions like arthritis and chronic pain.Many studies have shown that asana, meditation or a combination of both reduced pain in people with arthritis, Carpel Tunnel syndrome, back pain and other chronic conditions.The growth of tumors and cancers is exacerbated by stress and it is important for people with cancer to reduce and manage stress effectively.In people suffering from cancer, yoga is helpful in managing symptoms like depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, fatigue and in improving quality of life. Yoga along with breathing and meditation helps to promote healing and brings about a certain sense of peace in the cancer patients.Among women with metastatic breast cancer, practicing yoga reduced pain and fatigue, increased the feeling invigoration, acceptance, and relaxation.Baroreflex is the body's homeostatic mechanism that helps to maintain blood pressure at near normal levels. Impaired baroreflex sensitivity is believed to be one of the major causes of hypertension.Yoga practice has shown to restore baroreflex sensitivity.Antihypertensive drugs have been associated with numerous side-effects. Yoga coupled with breathing, relaxation and meditation has convincing hypertensive effect.Yoga improves heart health in the following ways: Pre-menstrual syndrome consists of a group of symptoms that women experience a week of two before menstruation. The symptoms include irritability, fatigue, bloating, aches and pains, anxiety, depression, anger and confusion. Though there is no underlying pathology for this, it can be very bothersome and may interfere with the quality of life.Yoga helps to ease the aches and pains by increasing flexibility and relaxes the mind and elevates mood by allowing the release of endorphins, which is the body's natural mood elevating compound.Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, called these state funded/administered research projects "a step in the positive direction".Although introduced and nourished by Hinduism,yoga is a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all.Yoga, referred as "a living fossil", is designed to bring balance and health to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the individual.Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.The projects are being funded and administered by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Cancer Institute.The cost for some of these projects is listed at over half-a-million dollars each.These projects are being undertaken at Indianapolis Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, University of California-San Francisco, University of Minnesota, Duke University, NIH Clinical Center in Maryland, Providence Butler Hospital, Boston Brigham and Women's Hospital, Rhode Island Miriam Hospital, Alexandria University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston University etc.Source: Medindia


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Many patients who chose double mastectomy demonstrated little knowledge of the lack of benefit this aggressive procedure has for most patients."That one in six breast cancer patients chose bilateral mastectomy is really striking. We knew it was increasing, but I don't think many of us realized just how frequent this is," says study author Reshma Jagsi, professor and deputy chair of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan.In the new study, published in, researchers surveyed 2,578 women from Georgia and Los Angeles who had surgery for early stage breast cancer in one breast. Overall, 44% said they considered double mastectomy.Patients were grouped based on their genetic risk of developing cancer in the unaffected breast. A quarter of the higher risk patients underwent double mastectomy, and so did 14% of those at average risk.Women were also asked whether contralateral prophylactic mastectomy improved survival or prevented cancer from returning. The answers demonstrated poor understanding of the surgery's benefits.Among patients who considered double mastectomy, only 38% knew it does not improve survival for all women with breast cancer. Almost all patients said peace of mind motivated them to choose double mastectomy."At a time when emotions are running high, it's not surprising that newly diagnosed breast cancer patients might find it difficult to absorb this complex information. It seems logical that more aggressive surgery should be better at fighting disease - but that's not how breast cancer works. It's a real communication challenge," Jagsi says.When patients perceived that their surgeons recommended strongly against contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, most heeded that advice: only 2% of these women went on to choose the procedure. The rates were higher among women who perceived no surgeon recommendation, with one in five choosing the procedure - even if they were at average risk of a genetic mutation.Because the study asked patients to report their surgeon's recommendations, it's possible some surgeons did recommend against double mastectomy but that patients failed to hear or understand."As physicians, we want to be respectful of our patients' preferences and values. We don't want to alienate patients who are already in a stressful situation. We want them to trust us," Jagsi says."When a patient comes in saying she has already decided on double mastectomy, it can be challenging to strike that balance between respecting her preferences and adequately conveying why the medical community in general doesn't think it's necessary," she adds.The study authors call for better communication training for physicians to help them navigate these difficult conversations more effectively.Source: Eurekalert
Cardiac Arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping or contracting abruptly. In the sequence of events that follow, blood supply from the heart to the brain and vital organs gets affected resulting in a loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness. The primary reason for the heart to stop beating is an electrical imbalance in the heart.

Sudden cardiac death can occur within minutes of a cardiac arrest if it is not treated immediately. Survival depends on providing instant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or using a defibrillator to give an electric shock or just giving chest compressions.

Unlike other systems in the body, the heart possesses its own electrical stimulator called the sinus node which comprises of a group of specialized cells in the hearts upper right chamber. Electrical impulses that are generated by the sinus node flow in an orderly manner through the heart in order to control the rate and rhythm of the heartbeat and the pumping of blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

Arrhythmias are caused when this flow of electrical impulses is affected. Arrhythmias result in irregular heartbeats. The heart ends up beating either slowly or fast or irregularly. Not all irregularities are necessarily a cause for concern, but some of them can be serious leading to a sudden stop of the heartbeat, inturn leading to the cessation of the heart function.

People who have underlying heart conditions or who are born with a congenital heart defect are more susceptible to cardiac arrests. For a cardiac arrest to occur in a person with a normal healthy heart there should be an external trigger that causes the irregular heartbeat in the first place.

Many people mistake a cardiac arrest for a heart attack. In a heart attack the heart does not stop beating as opposed to a cardiac arrest. It occurs if a particular part of the heart muscle is deprived of the blood supply due to the mechanical blockage in the artery that supplies the blood. A massive heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest.

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Cardiac arrest mostly occurs in people who are in their mid 60s but it can occur in children and young adults too.

The highest percentage of sudden cardiac arrests occur at home (70%), followed by public places (20%) and then in nursing or assisted living homes (10%).

In the United States, 535,000 people suffer from cardiac arrest every year. Of these 326,000 suffer it at homes or public places and the 209,000 while in a hospital setting.

Around 350,000 people die due to cardiac arrest every year in the United States. This equals to one life lost every 90 seconds due to cardiac arrests. In the western countries, cardiac arrests account for 15% of all deaths that take place.

95% of people die because of delays in treatment following a sudden cardiac arrest.

When a cardiac arrest happens outside the hospital setting, very few bystanders are able to initiate CPR and hence the mortality is high.

Without any intervention, it is predicted that the survival probability drops by 10% every minute following a cardiac arrest. This could mean death in 10 minutes following such an attack.

Ventricular fibrillation (VF), a kind of arrhythymia or abnormal heart rhythm is the foremost cause of SCA. Arrhythmias usually arise due to a problem in the hearts electrical system. In VF, electrical disturbances cause the ventricles or the lower chambers of the heart to twitch or quiver randomly instead of contracting in a timely manner and pumping blood.

A life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia can also be caused due to underlying heart conditions like -

Coronary artery disease (CAD)  it accounts for 60 - 70% of cardiac arrests in adults. CAD is a condition where arteries become clogged due to cholesterol and other fat deposits. This decreases blood flow through the heart which impedes electrical impulses. CAD results in coronary ischemia (inadequate blood supply to a particular part of the body) and can result in ventricular fibrillation (VF).

Electrical short circuits (electrical problems in the heart) that occur around scar tissues left by the attack may lead to heart rhythm abnormalities.

(electrical problems in the heart) that occur around scar tissues left by the attack may lead to heart rhythm abnormalities. An enlarged heart or cardiomyopathy - is when the heart muscles become abnormal due to enlargement or thickening. The heart tissue gets damaged and ventricular fibrillation like arrhythmias can occur.

or cardiomyopathy - is when the heart muscles become abnormal due to enlargement or thickening. The heart tissue gets damaged and ventricular fibrillation like arrhythmias can occur. Congenital heart disease is a heart condition or a defect that some children are born with.

is a heart condition or a defect that some children are born with. Valvular heart disease that affects the valves of the heart and makes them leaky or narrow (stenosis). This causes the heart chambers to become enlarged or weakened as it takes the stress due to the poorly functioning valves.

that affects the valves of the heart and makes them leaky or narrow (stenosis). This causes the heart chambers to become enlarged or weakened as it takes the stress due to the poorly functioning valves. Primary heart rhythm abnormality which is a condition where the hearts own electrical system slows down or stops. A long QT syndrome (an irregularity in the heartbeat) occurs in one in every 5000 to 7000 newborns. These conditions can be detected earlier and treated.

which is a condition where the hearts own electrical system slows down or stops. A long QT syndrome (an irregularity in the heartbeat) occurs in one in every 5000 to 7000 newborns. These conditions can be detected earlier and treated. Inflammation of the middle layer of the heart wall or myocarditis which is usually caused by a viral infection. Myocarditis can affect the hearts muscle walls and its electrical system both of which can lead to irregular heart rhythms.

In case of a cardiac arrest the individual becomes unconscious without warning and collapses suddenly.

The usual signs are -

Lack of palpable pulse (a condition where the pulse cannot be felt)

Abnormal or Absent Breathing

Symptoms that could precede a cardiac arrest includes -

Fatigue and weakness

Dizziness and fainting

Chest pain, palpitations and shortness of breath

Vomiting

Coronary artery disease or CAD and cardiac arrests have similar key risk factors.

Medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and high blood cholesterol.

Lifestyle factors like obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and drinking.

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The secondary risk factors are:

Previous episodes of cardiac arrests or heart attacks.

Family history of cardiac arrests or other heart disorders like heart rhythm disorders, congenital heart defects, heart failure and cardiomyopathy.

Old Age.

Gender - men have three times a lifetime risk than women below the age of 85.

Electric shock.

Use of illegal drugs (cocaine or amphetamines).

Imbalance of essential nutrients like potassium or magnesium.

Trauma to the chest as a result of a direct blow to the area over the heart. This is called commotio cordis and must occur at a critical time during the heartbeat cycle to cause the cardiac arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest causes unconsciousness due to the loss of oxygen-rich blood in the brain and leads to -

Brain damage in survivors if the arrest lasts for more than 8 minutes

in survivors if the arrest lasts for more than 8 minutes Death if recovery takes more than 10 minutes.

Clinically, cardiac arrest is diagnosed by the absence of a carotid pulse (when detected accurately), abnormal or lack of breaths, unconsciousness or signs of poor circulation.

If a person survived a cardiac arrest, tests can be performed to understand what caused the attack in the first place.

Electrocardiogram: Sensors or electrodes placed on the chest and limbs can check for any abnormal electrical activities, such as a prolonged QT interval. The pattern of ECG will indicate ventricular fibrillation or a flat ECG.

Blood tests: The hearts ability to function depends on certain chemicals like potassium and magnesium and hormones. A blood test will reveal any abnormal levels. A recent heart injury or attack can also be detected through blood tests.

If a person recovers from the cardiac arrest, the blood parameters will reveal them to be acidic and this will requires corrections using bicarbonate alkaline intravenous fluids.

Imaging Tests:

Chest X-Ray: Will reveal the size and shape of the heart and the blood vessels and indicate if there is a heart failure.

Echocardiogram: Looks at the dynamic ultrasound image of the heart. An ECHO will reveal any damaged area of the heart due to a heart attack, will check the pumping efficiency and the ejection fraction and record any valves that are not functioning properly.

Nuclear Scan: Tiny amounts of a radioactive substance like thallium is injected into the bloodstream and its flow is tracked using cameras. This can help identify any blood flow abnormalities.

Response to a cardiac arrest has to be instantaneous. Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is the first step in providing care. CPR restarts the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the vital organs and helps the patient survive until more-advanced emergency care becomes available.

How to Administer CPR:

If you are in a situation where a person becomes unconscious and stops breathing do the following -

Check for the pulse, especially carotid pulse in the neck below the lower jaw ( easiest pulse to feel in the body). Feel your own first and understand its location before you start feeling the pulse of unconscious person. Turn the neck on the side to make it easier. If 2 of you are present to help and the patient is unconscious, one of you should call an emergency service while the other starts CPR on the patient.

If the person is not breathing, start by giving chest compressions.

Chest compressions are given by putting the heel of one hand on the center of the chest and covering it with the second hand. Next it is required to push down hard on the persons chest using your upper body weight and to deliver compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 a minute allowing the chest to rise in between them.

If you are not trained in CPR, continue administering chest compressions till emergency personnel arrive.

If you are trained in CPR, after 30 compressions, check for normal breathing.

If the person is not breathing, the head has to be tilted back and the chin lifted in order to open the airway. Pinch the nostrils and give a mouth to mouth rescue breath, making sure the chest lifts up. If it does, give the second breath too.

If the chest does not rise, repeat the head tilt and chin lift steps and then give the second breath.

Chest compressions or CPR have to be administered continuously till professional help arrives or a public-use defibrillation device is available.

Defibrillation:

A defibrillator delivers an electrical shock through the chest wall to the heart. This restores a normal heart rhythm.

The shock can be delivered by emergency personnel or a bystander if a public-use defibrillator (automated external defibrillator or AED) is available. AEDs will provide a shock if they detect the life-threatening arrhythmia. They will not give a shock to a person who has fainted and not having an arrest thus protecting the patient and helping the lay man administering the shock.

Instructions on the defibrillator are very graphically displayed and should be followed.

Long-term Treatment:

A person who has survived a cardiac arrest will have to be assessed to detect the cause of the arrest in the first place in order to prevent it from recurring.

Additional tests and preventive treatment options have to be discussed. Options include -

1. Drugs:

Anti-arrhythmic drugs to treat arrhythmias, mainly amiodarone

Beta blockers

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

Calcium channel blockers

Anti-coagulants or blood thinners

Epinephrine has been shown to improve short term improvement such as getting back spontaneous circulation

2. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD): This is a battery-powered device placed under the skin near the left collarbone. A couple of electrode-tipped wires from this device connect it to the heart.

The ICD constantly monitors the heart rhythm. If it detects any changes in the heart rhythm it corrects them by sending low or high energy shocks.

An ICD is more effective than a drug treatment.

3. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)  Resuscitation with extracorporeal membrane devices has been tried and has shown better results in an in-hospital setting of cardiac arrest compared to outside hospital cardiac arrests.

4. Procedures:

Corrective surgery for blocked coronary arteries: This surgery will help blood flow freely through the heart and reduce the risk of arrhythmias.

Blocked arteries can be treated by a procedure called angioplasty - by nserting a long, thin tube with a balloon tip at its end that is made to inflate and open up the blocked coronary artery.

Blocked arteries can also be corrected by a bypass surgery that sews veins or arteries beyond the blocked artery in order to bypass it.

Heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect, a faulty valve or a diseased heart muscle can improve heart rate and blood flow.

to correct a congenital heart defect, a faulty valve or a diseased heart muscle can improve heart rate and blood flow. Ablation procedure is used to resolve any abnormal electrical pathway in the heart. The pathway is blocked using electrodes that are carried by the catheters. These electrodes send electrical impulses and help to detect the abnormal tissue. When the abnormal tissue is detected, the electrodes are heated using radiofrequency energy to burn the abnormal tissue.

If you are at a high risk to get a cardiac arrest due to having severe coronary heart disease (CAD) and / or a recent heart attack, it can be prevented by -

Taking other medications to lower blood pressure, prevent blood clots and to reduce the hearts workload

Taking medications like beta blockers or statins (for underlying conditions like diabetes, heart disease, previous stroke or high cholesterol) that directly lower the risk

or (for underlying conditions like diabetes, heart disease, previous stroke or high cholesterol) that directly lower the risk Taking blood thinning tablets like Aspirin and clopidogrel

Lifestyle changes like healthy eating and exercising

Undergoing treatments for CAD like coronary angioplasty or a bypass grafting

If you have no risk factors for developing a cardiac arrest, you should still wish to prevent it by -
SRK has a charm that is unmatched and his fan base is spread across borders. The badshah of Bollywood was recently honoured by the students of Malaysia's management and Science University who sang his famous track Janam Janam' from Dilwale' as a special tribute to him.

Shah Rukh, being the humble human that he is, was touched and even thanked the students for this beautiful gesture. A gentleman as always, Shah Rukh was in fine spirits as the students performed the hit number.

Thank u Malaysia and all the best to the kids for life. https://t.co/ORugpAyokU  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) December 24, 2016

King Khan is gearing up for his upcoming movie Raees', where is playing the character of a don. Well, you don't blame anyone for falling for him, it is inevitable!
Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain.

Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred.

For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.
The Telangana chief minister has said the BDJS leader from Kerala was acting on the direction of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
KINDE  Two North Huron students have been named finalists for the Michigan FFA Star Farmer Awards Program. The two seniors, Michael Jahn and Kendall Pawlowski, submitted applications at the end of November and were judged against students from across the entire state of Michigan. They were selected as semi-finalists in early December, along with fellow member Tammy Kessel, and were interviewed by a representative from Michigan FFA. The interview included time at the school to talk with the students, their FFA advisor and principal ,as well as time at their farms.

After the on-site interviews concluded around the state, three finalists in two different categories were selected. Michael Jahn was selected as a finalist for the Michigan FFA Star in Agricultural Placement Award. Kendall Pawlowski was selected as a finalist for the Michigan FFA Star in Agricultural Production Award. Jahn and Pawlowski will both interview at Michigan Farm Bureau's headquarters in Lansing on Jan. 10 for an opportunity to be named top in the state in their award areas. They will also be recognized on stage with their parents and school administration at the 89th Michigan FFA State Convention.

Jahn's project involves him working on his family's crop and swine farm in Port Hope. He was employed at a young age to help his dad around the farm and his responsibilities have grown to include operating a majority of the equipment on the farm.

Jahn will be attending MSU's Agricultural Industries Program next year. About his future role on the farm, he shared the following: "Living in a small community and being involved in a farm that supports our small community has made me realize that I want to live in the area. Continuing to work and gain responsibility on my family's farm will allow me to stay in the area while growing a business that will employ local residents."

Pawlowski's project involves him helping to run his family's cash crop farm in Filion as well farm his own 17 acres and care for cattle and ducks that he raises throughout the year. He started farming with his dad early on and his freshmen year had the opportunity to rent his own land and borrow equipment from his dad to grow wheat, black beans and corn the past three years.

Pawlowski plans to continue farming in the future.

"After high school, I plan to pursue an associates degree in diesel service technology to be able to service our own equipment," he stated. "I plan to take over the farm at some point and expand the acreage and possibly the amount of different crops we grow."
The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V..

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Carnival Corporation & plc is a leisure travel company operating a fleet of cruise ships, hotels, and resorts with international destinations. Brands under the Carnival Corporation umbrella include Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, P&O Cruises, Seaborn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Cunard. The companys goal is to provide extraordinary vacations at an exceptional value. As of 2022, the company laid claim to nearly half of the global cruising market share with several new ships in the works.

Carnival Cruise Line was launched in 1972 with one second-hand ship and a tank of fuel. The first port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, but soon more were added. The original growth strategy included a festive atmosphere, features and amenities unlike any other cruise line at the time. Slow to start, the growth strategy shifted into overdrive in 1980 when Carnival shocked the world by building its own ship. The Tropicale became an iconic name in the cruising industry and sparked a wave of shipbuilding that is still underway.

The companys growth hit a new stride in 1987 following the IPO which floated 20% of the company on the open market. The proceeds from the IPO allowed the company to embark on a voyage of acquisition and now Carnival is the worlds largest travel and leisure business.

Today, Carnival Corporations 87 ships visit approximately 700 ports worldwide and employ more than 120,000 people while serving more than 13 million guests annually for a total of 85 million passenger cruise days per year. Net revenue, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, peaked out at over $6.5 billion annually.

Carnival Cruise Line is the companys largest brand serving guests on all coasts of North America. The brand's 22 ships make 1500 voyages per year with trips ranging from 2 days to 3 weeks and ports of call from the Caribbean to Alaska. The company's largest ship is named Panorama and can accommodate more than 4,000 passengers.

Carnivals 9 brands provide access to a wide range of cruising styles and destinations including the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, England, and ports in Asia. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida and has offices around the world. The company also has the distinction of being the only company included in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.
The following companies are subsidiares of Johnson & Johnson: 3Dintegrated ApS, ALZA Corporation, AMO (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Beijing Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd Guangzhou Branch, AMO (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd., AMO ASIA LIMITED, AMO Asia Limited (Korea Branch), AMO Asia Limited Taiwan Branch (Hong Kong), AMO Australia Pty Limited, AMO Australia Pty Limited (New Zealand Branch), AMO Canada Company, AMO Denmark ApS, AMO Development LLC, AMO France, AMO Germany GmbH, AMO Groningen B.V., AMO International Holdings Unlimited Company, AMO Ireland, AMO Ireland Ireland Branch, AMO Italy SRL, AMO Japan K.K., AMO Manufacturing USA LLC, AMO Netherlands BV, AMO Nominee Holdings LLC, AMO Norway AS, AMO Puerto Rico Manufacturing Inc., AMO Sales and Service Inc., AMO Singapore Pte. Ltd., AMO Spain Holdings LLC, AMO Switzerland GmbH, AMO U.K. Holdings LLC, AMO United Kingdom Ltd., AMO Uppsala AB, AUB Holdings LLC, Abott Medical Optics, Acclarent Inc., Actelion Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc., Actelion Treasury Unlimited Company, Akros Medical Inc., Albany Street LLC, Alios BioPharma, Alza Land Management Inc., Anakuria Therapeutics Inc., Animas Diabetes Care LLC, Animas LLC, Animas Technologies LLC, AorTx Inc., Apsis, Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Asia Pacific Holdings LLC, Atrionix Inc., Auris Health, Auris Health Inc., Backsvalan 2 Aktiebolag, Backsvalan 6 Handelsbolag, Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co. Ltd., BeneVir BioPharm Inc., Berna Rhein B.V., BioMedical Enterprises Inc., Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd., Biosense Webster Inc., Branch of Johnson & Johnson LLC (RU) in Kazakhstan, C Consumer Products Denmark ApS, CSATS Inc., Calibra Medical LLC, Campus-Foyer Apotheke GmbH, Carlo Erba OTC S.r.l., Centocor Biologics LLC, Centocor Research & Development Inc., Cerenovus Inc., ChromaGenics B.V., Ci:Labo Customer Marketing Co. Ltd., Ci:Labo USA Inc., Ci:z Holdings, Ci:z. Labo Co. Ltd., Cilag AG, Cilag GmbH International, Cilag Holding AG, Cilag Holding Treasury Unlimited Company, Cilag-Biotech S.L., CoTherix Inc., Coherex Medical Inc., ColBar LifeScience Ltd., Company Store.com Inc., Conor MedSystems, Cordis International Corporation, Cordis de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Corimmun GmbH, DePuy Hellas SA, DePuy International Limited, DePuy Ireland Unlimited Company, DePuy Mexico S.A. de C.V., DePuy Mitek LLC, DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., DePuy Products Inc., DePuy Spine LLC, DePuy Synthes Gorgan Limited, DePuy Synthes Inc., DePuy Synthes Institute LLC, DePuy Synthes Leto SARL, DePuy Synthes Products Inc., DePuy Synthes Sales Inc., Debs-Vogue Corporation (Proprietary) Limited, Dutch Holding LLC, ECL7 LLC, EES Holdings de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., EES S.A. de C.V., EIT Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Europe) GmbH, Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., Ethicon Endo-Surgery LLC, Ethicon Inc., Ethicon LLC, Ethicon PR Holdings Unlimited Company, Ethicon Sarl, Ethicon US LLC, Ethicon Women's Health & Urology Sarl, Ethnor (Proprietary) Limited, Ethnor Farmaceutica S.A., Ethnor del Istmo S.A., FMS Future Medical System SA, Finsbury (Development) Limited, Finsbury (Instruments) Limited, Finsbury Medical Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics International Limited, Finsbury Orthopaedics Limited, GH Biotech Holdings Limited, GMED Healthcare BV, GMED Healthcare BV (Branch), Global Investment Participation B.V., Guangzhou Bioseal Biotech Co. Ltd., Hansen Medical Deutschland GmbH, Hansen Medical Inc., Hansen Medical International Inc., Hansen Medical UK Limited, Healthcare Services (Shanghai) Ltd., Hickory Merger Sub Inc., I.D. Acquisition Corp., Innomedic Gesellschaft fur innovative Medizintechnik und Informatik mbH, Innovative Surgical Solutions LLC, J & J Company West Africa Limited, J&J Pension Trustees Limited, J-C Health Care Ltd., J.C. General Services BV, JJ Surgical Vision Spain S.L., JJC Acquisition Company B.V., JJHC LLC, JJSV Belgium BV, JJSV Manufacturing Malaysia SDN. BHD., JJSV Norden AB, JJSV Produtos Oticos Ltda., JNJ Global Business Services s.r.o., JNJ Holding EMEA B.V., JNJ International Investment LLC, JOM Pharmaceutical Services Inc., Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy (Holding) Limited, Janssen BioPharma LLC, Janssen Biologics (Ireland) Limited, Janssen Biologics B.V., Janssen Biotech Inc., Janssen Cilag C.A., Janssen Cilag Farmaceutica S.A., Janssen Cilag S.p.A., Janssen Cilag SPA, Janssen Development Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Diagnostics LLC, Janssen Egypt LLC, Janssen Farmaceutica Portugal Lda, Janssen Global Services LLC, Janssen Holding GmbH, Janssen Inc., Janssen Irish Finance Unlimited Company, Janssen Korea Ltd., Janssen Oncology Inc., Janssen Ortho LLC, Janssen Pharmaceutica (Proprietary) Limited, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Janssen Pharmaceutica S.A., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical Sciences Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceutical Unlimited Company, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Japan Branch, Janssen Products LP, Janssen R&D Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Research & Development LLC, Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company, Janssen Scientific Affairs LLC, Janssen Supply Group LLC, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., Janssen Vaccines Branch of Cilag GmbH International, Janssen Vaccines Corp., Janssen-Cilag, Janssen-Cilag (New Zealand) Limited, Janssen-Cilag A/S, Janssen-Cilag AG, Janssen-Cilag AS, Janssen-Cilag Aktiebolag, Janssen-Cilag B.V., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Lda., Janssen-Cilag Farmaceutica Ltda., Janssen-Cilag GmbH, Janssen-Cilag International NV, Janssen-Cilag Kft., Janssen-Cilag Kft. Branch Office, Janssen-Cilag Limited, Janssen-Cilag Manufacturing LLC, Janssen-Cilag NV, Janssen-Cilag OY, Janssen-Cilag Pharma GmbH, Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutical S.A.C.I., Janssen-Cilag Polska Sp. z o.o., Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd, Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd (Branch), Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A., Janssen-Cilag S.A. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Janssen-Cilag s.r.o., Janssen-Pharma S.L., Jevco Holding Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson (Angola) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson (Egypt) S.A.E., Johnson & Johnson (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Ireland) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Jamaica) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Kenya) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (DHCC Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. (JAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Middle East) Inc. Service Center (DAFZA Branch), Johnson & Johnson (Mozambique) Limitada, Johnson & Johnson (Namibia) (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (New Zealand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Philippines) Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Thailand) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson (Trinidad) Limited, Johnson & Johnson (Vietnam) Co. Ltd, Johnson & Johnson - Societa' Per Azioni, Johnson & Johnson AB, Johnson & Johnson AB Eesti filiaal (Branch), Johnson & Johnson AG, Johnson & Johnson AG (Zuchwil Branch), Johnson & Johnson Belgium Finance Company BV, Johnson & Johnson Bulgaria EOOD, Johnson & Johnson China Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Hong Kong) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer (Thailand) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer B.V., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Care Switzerland Branch of Janssen-Cilag AG, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Holdings France, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Dominican Republic Branch), Johnson & Johnson Consumer NV, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Services EAME Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Del Paraguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson Dominicana S.A.S., Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation Inc., Johnson & Johnson European Treasury Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson Finance Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Finance Limited, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Financial Services GmbH (Branch Office), Johnson & Johnson Gateway LLC, Johnson & Johnson Gesellschaft m.b.H., Johnson & Johnson GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Guatemala S.A., Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Commercial and Industrial S.A., Johnson & Johnson Hellas Consumer Products Commercial Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson Hemisferica S.A., Johnson & Johnson Holding GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Inc., Johnson & Johnson Industrial Ltda., Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc., Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Limited, Johnson & Johnson International, Johnson & Johnson International (Belgian Branch) (European Logistics Center), Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Branch), Johnson & Johnson International Financial Services Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson K.K., Johnson & Johnson Kft., Johnson & Johnson Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Korea Selling & Distribution LLC, Johnson & Johnson LLC, Johnson & Johnson Lda, Johnson & Johnson Limited, Johnson & Johnson Limited (Sri Lanka Branch), Johnson & Johnson Luxembourg Finance Company Sarl, Johnson & Johnson Management Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Proprietary) Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical (Shanghai) Ltd. Beijing Branch, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Suzhou) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical B.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices & Diagnostics Group - Latin America L.L.C., Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Korea Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medical Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson Medical NV, Johnson & Johnson Medical Products GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Medical S.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.C.S., Johnson & Johnson Medical S.p.A., Johnson & Johnson Medical SAS, Johnson & Johnson Medical Saudi Arabia Limited, Johnson & Johnson Medical Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Ankara Branch), Johnson & Johnson Medikal Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Izmir Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East - Scientific Office, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ - LLC (Lebanese Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC, Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Ghana Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC (Kenya Branch), Johnson & Johnson Middle East FZ-LLC Branch (TSO) (Saudi Arabia Branch), Johnson & Johnson Morocco Societe Anonyme, Johnson & Johnson NCB (Belgian Branch), Johnson & Johnson Nordic AB, Johnson & Johnson Pacific Pty Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pakistan (Private) Limited, Johnson & Johnson Panama S.A., Johnson & Johnson Personal Care (Chile) S.A., Johnson & Johnson Poland Sp. z o.o., Johnson & Johnson Poland sp. z o.o. oddzial w Warszawie "Consumer", Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pte. Ltd. Korea Branch, Johnson & Johnson Pty. Limited, Johnson & Johnson Romania S.R.L., Johnson & Johnson S.A., Johnson & Johnson S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson S.E. Inc., Johnson & Johnson S.E. d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson SDN. BHD., Johnson & Johnson Sante Beaute France, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision Inc., Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision India Private Limited, Johnson & Johnson Taiwan Ltd., Johnson & Johnson UK Treasury Company Limited, Johnson & Johnson Ukraine LLC, Johnson & Johnson Urban Renewal Associates, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Shanghai) Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland Unlimited Company, Johnson & Johnson d.o.o., Johnson & Johnson de Argentina S.A.C. e. I., Johnson & Johnson de Chile Limitada, Johnson & Johnson de Chile S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Colombia S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Johnson & Johnson de Uruguay S.A., Johnson & Johnson de Venezuela S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Ecuador S.A., Johnson & Johnson del Peru S.A., Johnson & Johnson do Brasil Industria E Comercio de Produtos Para Saude Ltda., Johnson & Johnson for Export and Import LLC, Johnson & Johnson s.r.o., Johnson Y Johnson de Costa Rica S.A., Johnson and Johnson (Proprietary) Limited, Johnson and Johnson Sihhi Malzeme Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, LTL Management LLC, La Concha Land Investment Corporation, Latam International Investment Company Unlimited Company, Legal Entity Name, MDS Co. Ltd., McNEIL MMP LLC, McNeil AB, McNeil Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co., McNeil Denmark ApS, McNeil Healthcare (Ireland) Limited, McNeil Healthcare (UK) Limited, McNeil Healthcare LLC, McNeil Iberica S.L.U., McNeil LA LLC, McNeil Nutritionals LLC, McNeil Panama LLC, McNeil Products Limited, McNeil Sweden AB, Medical Device Business Services Inc., Medical Devices & Diagnostics Global Services LLC, Medical Devices International LLC, Medos International Sarl, Medos International Sarl succursale de Neuchatel (Branch), Medos Sarl, MegaDyne Medical Products Inc., Menlo Care De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Mentor B.V., Mentor Deutschland GmbH, Mentor Medical Systems B.V., Mentor Partnership Holding Company I LLC, Mentor Texas GP LLC, Mentor Texas L.P., Mentor Worldwide LLC, Micrus Endovascular LLC, Middlesex Assurance Company Limited, Momenta Ireland Limited, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., NeoStrata Company Inc., NeoStrata UG (haftungsbeschrankt), Netherlands Holding Company, NeuWave Medical Inc., Neuravi Limited, Novira Therapeutics, Novira Therapeutics LLC, NuVera Medical Inc., OBTECH Medical Sarl, OGX Beauty Limited, OMJ Holding GmbH, OMJ Ireland Unlimited Company, OMJ Pharmaceuticals Inc., Obtech Medical Mexico S.A. de C.V., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., Omrix Biopharmaceuticals NV, Ortho Biologics LLC, Ortho Biotech Holding LLC, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, Orthospin Ltd., Orthotaxy, PT Integrated Healthcare Indonesia, PT. Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, Patriot Pharmaceuticals LLC, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pharmadirect Ltd., Pharmedica Laboratories (Proprietary) Limited, Princeton Laboratories Inc., Productos de Cuidado Personal y de La Salud de Bolivia S.R.L., Proleader S.A., Pulsar Vascular Inc., Regency Urban Renewal Associates, RespiVert Ltd., RoC International, Royalty A&M LLC, Rutan Realty LLC, SYNTHES Medical Immobilien GmbH, Scios LLC, Sedona Singapore International Pte. Ltd., Sedona Thai International Co. Ltd., Serhum S.A. de C.V., Shanghai Elsker For Mother & Baby Co. Ltd, Shanghai Elsker Mother & Baby Co. Ltd Minghang Branch, Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Shanghai Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sightbox LLC, Sodiac ESV, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Company, Spectrum Vision Limited Liability Partnership, SterilMed, SterilMed Inc., Surgical Process Institute Deutschland GmbH, Synthes Costa Rica S.C.R. Limitada, Synthes GmbH, Synthes Holding AG, Synthes Holding Limited, Synthes Inc., Synthes Medical Surgical Equipment & Instruments Trading LLC, Synthes Produktions GmbH, Synthes Proprietary Limited, Synthes S.M.P. S. de R.L. de C.V., Synthes Tuttlingen GmbH, Synthes USA LLC, Synthes USA Products LLC, TARIS Biomedical, TARIS Biomedical LLC, TearScience Inc., The Anspach Effort LLC, The Vision Care Institute LLC, Tibotec LLC, Torax Medical Inc., UAB "Johnson & Johnson", UAB Johnson & Johnson Eesti Filiaal (Estonian Branch), Vania Expansion, Verb Surgical, Verb Surgical Inc., Vision Care Finance Unlimited Company, Vogue International, Vogue International LLC, Vogue International Trading Inc., WH4110 Development Company L.L.C., XO1, XO1 Limited, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Beijing Branch Office, Xian-Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd. Shanghai Branch Office, Zarbee's Inc., and Zarbee's Naturals.

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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 Marlins have designated lefty Elvis Araujo for assignment, per a club announcement. Hell play in 2017 for Japans Chunichi Dragons, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets. Araujos roster spot will go to veteran reliever Brad Ziegler, whose two-year contract was also announced.

Araujo was claimed off waivers from the Phillies earlier in the offseason, and had been perhaps second to Hunter Cervenka on the teams depth chart among southpaw relievers. It seems increasingly plausible to expect that Miami wont put too great an emphasis on ensuring that its bullpen features at least one lefty; Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource currently projects an all-righty relief corps.

The 67 Araujo threw 62 total major frames over the past two seasons. He produced largely equivalent K/BB numbers  which average out to 9.1 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9  but suffered much worse batted-ball fortunes in 2016. All told, he owns a 4.35 ERA in the big leagues, which is just about what ERA estimators expect based upon his peripherals.

Araujo did show improved control when pitching at Triple-A last year, where he carried a 2.18 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and just 2.6 BB/9 over 20 2/3 frames. Notably, he debuted there after he reached the majors  which came after he had made only 25 total appearances at Double-A  so theres perhaps added reason to believe that Araujo could still undergo some refinement.
ANN ARBOR, MI - An Ann Arbor CEO made some Christmas wishes to come true for 2016, after offering bonuses totaling $1.5 million to his employees.

Shri Thanedar is chief executive officer of Avomeen Analytical Services, a chemical testing, development and analysis company in Ann Arbor. He met with his employees last week to personally hand out 50 checks in various amounts based on each person's tenure.

Thanedar recently sold a majority share of Avomeen to private equity firm High Street Capital, based in Chicago, and said he wanted to reward the hard-working team that made the company so profitable.

"I felt really good about the team I put together and the hard work people have done to make this happen," Thanedar said. "As I saw the transaction proceed, I felt I needed to thank my team."

Part of the revenue from selling the majority share went toward employee bonuses for all 50 employees, from the scientists developing products to sales and administrative personnel. One administrative assistant at Avomeen since 2011 received a check for $104,000.

Some employees brought in baked goods to celebrate the bonus distribution, held at Avomeen's headquarters at 4840 Venture Drive.

"My secretary had tears in her eyes," Thanedar said. "People were not expecting that, it didn't seem real until I actually handed the checks over to them, that this is really happening."

The bonuses meant dreams could become reality for some Avomeen employees: there are plans to buy houses, dream cars, and save for educations, Thanedar said. Others received the money in time to provide their families with an extra-special holiday season.

"It felt good to share, it felt good to appreciate," Thanedar said. "Not just with words, but with some money and appreciation for what they've done."

Thanedar maintains 40 percent ownership of the company, and sees Avomeen's partnership with High Street Capital as a means to keep the company moving forward.

"It will help grow the company, it will help us acquire other companies and get into other areas," Thanedar said. "We will certainly be doing more hiring."

He started Avomeen in 2010, and the company has since increased its revenue by more than 400 percent and doubled the size of its staff, Thanedar said. He was named "Entrepreneur of The Year" this year by accounting firm Ernst and Young.

The success of Avomeen was preceded by some business failures, Thanedar said. He moved from India and received his doctorate from the University of Akron in 1982.

"I was invited for a chemical society meeting to present my Ph.D. research. That meeting happened to be in Michigan," Thanedar said.

He worked in the U-M chemistry department for two years and then at a handful of chemical companies like Dow Corning Corp. before deciding he wanted more control over his career. Thanedar bought a chemical company, and then spun off part of that company into a pharmaceuticals business.

At one point, Thanedar believed he had it all. Then the recession happened, and he lost those businesses, his home and his dream cars. It was a low point for the man who sold books and spoke to college students about his rags-to-riches story.

"It was a hard battle because what we did, was early stage drug development, which suffers the most in a recession," Thanedar said. "People are more focused on late-stage, something they can cash quickly."

In 2010, Thanedar came back to Ann Arbor and bought a small laboratory that was going out of business and turned it into Avomeen. The University of Michigan was a major attraction for Thanedar.

"They bring in a lot of new technology, a new knowledge base, and they have an open mind to new products," Thanedar said.

Avomeen became profitable in 2012, moved into its current headquarters, and soon became a fast-growing company, he said.

"After doing what I've done, I didn't want my professional career to end with the foreclosure story," Thanedar said about what got him back into the business world at the age of 55. "I wanted to come back and knew I didn't have a lot of time."

In 2016, Thanedar realized he had achieved his goal. He is thankful for the Ann Arbor community, for the wealth of talent and education in the area and the employees he works with on a daily basis.

"We've grown tremendously and won a lot of awards, but I think the growth in the next 5 to 10 years will be even more spectacular," Thanedar said.

Some of those employees are now planning to invest in Avomeen with the bonus money they received from Thanedar.

"We want to give some employees an option to invest," Thanedar said. "We are giving that opportunity to people. Just like me, they believe in the growth of the company."
GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP, MI - Tucked away on a farm 8 miles north of Ann Arbor, Bob the reindeer paws the ground to clear some snow away in search of a snack of grass.

The 5-year-old reindeer with a massive set of antlers is relaxing in between making appearances during the busiest season of his year. Christmas time is when he and three other reindeer living at Carousel Acres visit libraries, country clubs and other places to delight children during the holidays.

Each December, Bob (short for Blitzen's Only Boy), Comet, Clarice and Silverbell give children the opportunity to see them close up and learn about the animals.

Occasionally, Bob stands in as the popular reindeer Sven from Disney's "Frozen" for children's parties.

Reindeer, known as caribou in North America, are natives to Siberia, Scandinavia and northern Europe. The reindeer at Carousel Acres come from breeders in northern Michigan and Kalamazoo.

At Carousel Acres, 12749 Nine Mile Road in Livingston County's Green Oak Township, employees teach the reindeer to be more comfortable around people by walking them around town to get used to people and busy surroundings, farm hand Charlie Strong said.

Although they look friendly, reindeer don't particularly like being touched, Strong said. So they tell children not to touch the animals because of the "magical dust" covering their antlers. Their ear tags are Santa Claus's global positioning system trackers, he says.

In the wild, reindeer eat lichens and moss, but the reindeer at Carousel Acres eat hay, grass and special reindeer pellets. They spend most of the year in a pasture before going to work around the holidays.

They are easy to take care of and keep themselves clean, Strong said. Occasionally, the farm hands have to trim their hooves.

Reindeer are built for cold climates, with thick coats and large hooves that help them travel on snow. Their knees click with each step and that helps the reindeer hear one another in snowstorms.

Strong said the farm workers have to constantly change their water because reindeer like to put their feet in it.

The reindeer will lose their antlers in mid-winter and grow them back. Both male and female reindeer grow antlers, although the male's are much bigger. Bob's antlers this year weigh about 35 pounds.

In the spring and summer, his antlers grow as much as an inch a day, Strong said. The reindeer rub the velvet from their antlers on a car wash brush in their pasture.

Although reindeer are shorter than many people expect, males can weigh up to 400 pounds and females up to about 200 pounds, Strong said.

Climate change is causing the population of Svalbard's reindeer to shrink, the Washington Post reports. Warmer temperatures in the Norwegian territory in the north Atlantic makes rain fall instead of snow, which then freezes, making it more difficult for the reindeer to dig down to find something to eat in the winter.

In Livingston County, Carousel Acres also is home to horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, cows, pigs and other common animals. More exotic creatures including arctic foxes, lemur, wallabys, emu and, of course, the reindeer, also live at the farm.

Strong said Carousel Acres helps to create live Nativity scenes, with an alpaca taking the place of the Three Wise Men's camel.

At Carousel Acres, the reindeer herd might expand if they breed two of the animals next year, Strong said. Perhaps a Rudolph is in the future?
BAY CITY, MI -- A 24-year-old Bay City man police say drunkenly kicked in a stranger's door then wound up leaning against a church has the chance to avoid a felony on his record.

Larry R. Corrion on Wednesday, Dec. 21, appeared before Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly waived his right to a preliminary examination, prompting Kelly to bind his case over to Circuit Court. Kelly then acted as a judge of the higher court as Corrion pleaded no contest to third-degree home invasion, a five-year felony.

Defense attorney Andrea LaBean said Corrion was pleading no contest, as opposed to guilty, due to a lack of memory. Kelly thus relied on police reports to enter a conviction on the record.

Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Bernard J. Coppolino said his office is dismissing a 20-year charge of first-degree home invasion. In addition, the prosecution is recommending Corrion receive a one-year delayed sentence, meaning he'll effectively be on probation. If Corrion successfully complies with the terms of this delay, he'll be allowed to withdraw his plea and instead plead no contest to malicious destruction of a building less than $200 and disorderly person, both misdemeanors.

The case against Corrion stems from a 56-year-old man calling 911 from his home in the 200 block of North Dean Street at 1:43 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4. The man told dispatchers a younger man had tried breaking into his house, but he had scared him off.

The intruder then retreated to Christian Assembly Church, 401 E. Vermont St., the man said.

Police went to the church, where they found Corrion against a door with his head slumped down, court records show. Corrion told officers he had been "drinking everywhere on Midland Street" and then walked to his home at Tradewinds East Apartments in Hampton Township, where he thought he was, court records state.

Police arrested Corrion.

The homeowner who called 911 told police he had heard a loud banging on his door. When he approached the door, he saw a man had kicked in the door of his enclosed porch and was now trying to kick in a second door. The resident pointed a flashlight at the man and told him to get off his porch, at which point the man ran away, he told police.

Corrion is free on bond pending sentencing, the date of which is pending.
PONTIAC, MI - Working to evacuate the building, police and firefighters had to carry disabled residents Saturday morning from a fire in a public housing community that killed two men, ages 79 and 53, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

Paramedics took four people to an area hospital. One of the men died there. The other man was found dead in the bedroom of apartment No. 216, where fire investigators determined the fire began, according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

The three others, two women and a man, all in their 50s, were treated at the hospital and released.

What caused the fire is has not been determined and the incident remains under investigation, according to the sheriff's office.

A resident first called 911 about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 24 and reported heavy smoke in his apartment. Several others additional emergency calls saying they were trapped inside the six-story Woodland Heights building.

Deputies and firefighters arrive to see a fire on the second floor of the east wing of the building on N. Edith Street.

Heavy smoke prevented deputies from getting to the second floor, but firefighters ventured there and authorities cleared the third, fourth and fifth floors and part of the sixth floor before they had to evacuate themselves, the sheriff's office reported.

The Waterford Regional Fire Department, which lead the firefighting effort, asked the sheriff's office fire investigation unit to begin an inquiry.

Autopsies have been scheduled for both victims.

Building management personnel arrived and began to find placement for tenants unable to return to their apartments. American Red Cross representatives assisted in aiding the displaced.
MADISON HEIGHTS -- Government officials have shut down a Metro Detroit metalworking warehouse after finding it in dangerous disarray during inspection.

There were over 5,000 containers precariously stockpiled in the ramshackle warehouse at 945 E. 10 Mile in Madison Heights, some mislabeled or leaking potentially hazardous or unidentified chemicals, inspection photos released by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality show.

The owner, Electro-Plate Service Inc., a company specializing in metal coating, has been ordered to close indefinitely.

"This particular company has been given several opportunities to comply but continues to ignore the most basic requirements of public safety," MDEQ Director C. Heidi Grether said in a statement issued Thursday. "It's location, within 500 feet of residential neighbors and overlooking I-696, poses an imminent threat that could cause untold damage to people and the environment.

"(The company) ... is now closed until the site can be cleared of hazardous materials."

The MDEQ says the company has stubbornly refused to bring operations into compliance.

Environmental officials first inspected the warehouse along with Madison Heights fire inspectors on Nov. 15 and issued violations. A second set of violations were issued Dec. 2, when the business was told to correct the issues by Dec. 16.

Photos of warehouse from Nov. 15 inspection

"The (MDEQ) on Dec. 16, 2016, found conditions at the property to be an imminent and substantial hazard to public health," the MDEQ said. "The combination of cyanide and hydrochloric acid onsite with large amounts of water, as is used in firefighting, could produce a highly toxic cloud of hydrogen cyanide in a high-density area.

"The Madison Heights Fire Department, an ambulance service, nine daycare, schools and senior living facilities are within one mile of the facility. Also, within a one mile radius is the intersection of I-696 and I-75 which serve 350,000 vehicles per day."

MLive attempted to reach representatives of the company via a phone number listed in online records, but there was no answer.
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NORAD and U.S. Northern Command Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Charles D. Luckey joins other volunteers taking phone calls from children around the world asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their homes during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. (AP files)

The North American Aerospace Defense Command has been providing an answer to age-old questions since 1955.

Where is Santa Claus? When will he get to Michigan? Where does he go?

NORAD's Santa Tracker kicks in at 2:01 a.m. Saturday morning, Dec. 24, and will feature streamed video of Jolly Ol' St. Nick's sleigh landing at various locations.

So, that's right, families can use U.S. military technology to track down "Santa's location."

There are also live phone operators standing by ready to answer questions. The website also features games, videos and a holiday countdown clock.

AL.com reports that more than 1,000 volunteers will field 110,000 phone calls and 12,000 emails on Christmas Eve.

Santa can be tracked on NORAD's website, Twitter account or Facebook page. There are also mobile apps on Windows, Apple and Google Play.

#NORAD's tradition of tracking #Santa began in 1955, using cutting edge technology to provide real time updates on Santa's yuletide journey!  NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 22, 2016

NORAD began tracking Santa 61 years ago this year, and it was all thanks to a typo in a Colorado newspaper. The newspaper printed an ad that said children could call Santa, but the number printed actually led to an air defense command center.

NORAD describes the first call as not coming from "the president or a general," but from a child in Colorado Springs wanting to know where Santa was.

"On duty that night was Colonel Harry Shoup, who has come to be known as the 'Santa Colonel,'" NORAD's website reads. "Colonel Shoup received numerous calls that night and rather than hanging up, he had his operators find the location of Santa Claus and reported it to every child who phoned in that night."

Tomorrow is the big day! #NORAD is excited to start tracking #Santa! Be sure to tune into https://t.co/gSvRD6ezKo or call 1-877-HI-NORAD!! pic.twitter.com/wwHJ78HTRT  NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 23, 2016

NORAD reports it receives 9 million visitors from more than 200 countries each year.

The website tracks Santa's location in seven different language, and can be found by typing in @noradsanta in any search engine.
DETROIT -- Police are seeking help identifying and locating a suspect wanted in connection with a Friday afternoon bank robbery on the city's west side.

The suspect entered a Fifth Third Bank in the 19100 block of Telegraph Road just after 3 p.m., approached a teller and presented a note demanding money, according to Detroit police.

Police said the teller complied, slipping the suspect an undisclosed amount of cash before the man fled northbound on foot.

No injuries were reported and police said the suspect was not visibly armed.

The suspect is described as a white male, 5-foot-5 with a slim build, red beard and freckles, wearing a black skull cap, a black Nike sweat shirt, black Puma jogging pants with a white stripe and black shoes.

Detroit police ask anyone with information pertaining to this crime to contact its investigative unit at 313-596-5840. Alternately, anonymous tips can be made by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
FLINT, MI -- Residents at a troubled apartment community face eviction notices after agencies and volunteers push to help people find somewhere else to live.

Some residents at Lakeside Apartments received eviction notices on Dec. 20 for nonpayment of rent. According to the notice, tenants had seven days from receiving the Dec. 20 notice to pay up or move.

The apartment complex received attention when the owners failed to pay an outstanding water bill owed to Flint that city officials placed around $45,000.

Residents said their rent included water service.

According to city and county records, Empire Worldwide Michigan Kelvin LLC, the company that owns Lakeside, shows the company made a $1,500 payment on Dec. 20.

The city's push to collect the water bill brought attention to other issues at the complex,including residents living without electricity in some of the buildings.

"At the end of the day, the situation out there is deplorable," said community activist Lisia Williams. "He can do what he wants to do, but we are going to make sure we get these people placed."

Williams, along with other volunteers, City of Flint staff, and local agencies, including United Way, the American Red Cross, One Stop Housing Resource Center and Genesee Health System, have been out to help resident with their options, including relocation efforts.

"My thing was just to keep their minds focused on getting them to Flint Housing Commission," said Williams. She added that there is a utility shutoff from Consumer Energy that was dated for Dec. 23, but the company has put a hold on it until Jan. 7.

"There is a lot of confusion," Williams said. "We have tenants with animals who don't want to leave their pets. It's a big concern."

Williams said they are looking for boxes, trucks, and helping hands to help people move when relocation starts. She added, that they will know Tuesday, Dec. 27, if and where residents may be placed.

"Some of them have family to help them move," Williams said. "But we have some that just don't have anybody and those are the ones we are trying to make sure don't fall through the cracks."

A phone number included on the eviction notices was associated with a person who denied he was the owner of the property, but helped manage the facility. He declined to comment on the situation.

Genesee County Register of Deeds records list a mailing address for the company as a Plattsburgh, New York, mail shipping center. No phone number is associated with the company.

Owners of the apartment complex have failed to pay their water bill and city officials have threatened to cut off service to the complex. The apartments would be uninhabitable under state law if service is cut off.

There are four separate buildings at the complex with separate water meters. The total amount due is $45,327. City spokeswoman Kristin Moore said about 13 to 17 units are occupied.

According to Flint records, a $1,500 payment was made on Dec. 20 to the account for one of the building. The same day residents received notice.

For months, the city has pushed to collect water bill payments from commercial accounts, including a number of apartment complexes in Flint. The move was to meet the demands from the state that the city have a 70 percent water bill collection rate or risk losing future water credits.

If the city is below that 70 percent rate, Flint could lose funds under the water relief act signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in February. The act gives commercial customers a 20 percent credit on their bills and 65 percent to residential customers.

City officials said they have also contacted Legal Aid to assist residents who may want to sue the owners of the community for a potential breach of contract.

Moore said previously the city is not turning the water off at the complex until the residents are relocated.

Flint is asking the owners to pay at least 10 percent of the past bill and the current bill due.

This is the city's second round of shutoff notices for commercial accounts. On Nov. 11, Flint police issued notices to past-due commercial account holders.

Residents can call the Customer Service Center at 810-766-7015 to find out the status of a property's utility account.
FLINT, MI - A Flint man was ordered to spend nearly 10 years in federal prison for his role in a plan that left a federal witness shot.

Lawrence Christopher Davis was sentenced Wednesday, Dec. 21, to nine years, five months in prison by Flint U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg after pleading guilty to tampering with a witness by using physical force.

Davis was part of a group charged in connection to the July 27, 2014, shooting of Juawone Jones.

Jones was shot just days after he pleaded guilty in the federal case filed against him and two other men, Frank Hogg and Jaquavious Towns, connected to a Flint-area crack cocaine ring.

Federal investigators claimed Hogg, who was being lodged at the Midland County Jail, made a call to Christopher Blackwell, who also pleaded guilty in connection to the shooting, and raised concerns that Jones would be cooperating with federal investigators.

Blackwell told Hogg he did not need to "worry about dog," meaning he would take steps to prevent Jones from testifying at Hogg's trial, according to Blackwell's plea agreement.

However, court records show Jones did not provide any useful information to law enforcement.

Flint police responded around 12:42 a.m. July 27, 2014, to County Club Manor apartments, 1905 Woodslea Drive, after Jones was shot twice in the back of the leg, according to federal court records.

Federal investigators claimed Jones was with a woman, Lezlye Taylor, at the time of the shooting, and he believed he was shot by Blackwell. Jones also alleged Taylor set him up to be shot.

Taylor has admitted to setting up the shooting.

Davis admitted to discarding the firearm used in the shooting.
WYOMING, MI -- Christmas came early this year for 1,400 Grand Rapids-area children in a Godwin Heights neighborhood.

Nearly 300 volunteers were on scene Saturday morning, helping to distribute 1,400 bicycles and 300 gift boxes to children gathered in the North Godwin Elementary School parking lot in Wyoming.

Funds for the bikes were collected throughout the year by the non-profit organization Elves & More West Michigan.

Each $65 donation produced a bike and safety helmet for a child age 3-16.

"With the financial help of many generous people and companies and the continuous efforts of our volunteers, we were able to have another amazing year of providing bikes and gifts to children of Grand Rapids," said Liz Bracken, founder of the non-profit, in a statement.

Local police and fire departments helped escort the semis and cars transporting the gifts Saturday.

It marked the 12th year Elves & More has held its bicycle giveaway. In total, the organization has provided 13,600 new bikes and helmets, and 3,600 bags of toys and needed items throughout the 12 different neighborhoods.
Betsy DeVos

President-elect Donald Trump calls out to the media as he and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016.

(Carolyn Kaster | AP Photo)

Betsy DeVos might not have been a household name before she was announced as President-elect Donald Trump's choice for U.S. Education Secretary, but she and members of her family have long been fixtures in education policy both in Michigan and nationally.

In addition to DeVos' leadership roles for several education policy organizations, she and her family have used their money and influence as a means to shape major education policy initiatives in Michigan.

DeVos will have to go before the U.S. Senate to be confirmed before she's officially named Education Secretary -- in the meantime, here's a summary of some of the main ways the DeVos family has entered the Michigan education policy conversation.

Detroit Public Schools

DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos, played a large role in the outcome of the Detroit Public Schools funding debate that played out in the Michigan Legislature.

The Great Lakes Education Project, a charter school advocacy group founded by the pair, was one of the loudest voices against a provision in the initial legislation that would have established a local commission to oversee location and performance of both public and charter schools in the district.

That provision of the legislation didn't make it into the final deal, which passed without any support from Detroit lawmakers.

As initially outlined by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the DeVoses used financial contributions to influence the discussion as well. The family gave at least $6.1 million directly to the Michigan Republican Party, about $752,000 to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee and about $1.1 million to the House Republican Campaign Committee.

School choice

DeVos and her affiliated groups also supported a 2011 law that lifted Michigan's cap on charter schools.

Under the law, the number of authorized charter schools was raised to 300 through 2012 and 500 through 2014, after which point the cap was lifted.

At the time, Democrats, teachers unions and some administrators said the move would hurt traditional public school districts and did not require enough oversight of charter schools, which are largely run by private, for-profit companies.

When signing the legislation, Gov. Rick Snyder said quality is assured because charter schools must meet the same requirements as other public schools.

Vouchers

One major policy initiative DeVos supported that did not pass in Michigan was a 2000 ballot measure that would have amended Michigan's Constitution to allow taxpayer dollars to be used to pay for students to attend private school.

The constitutional amendment, added in 1970, prohibits any government support for private or religious schools.

The 2000 ballot initiative to overturn that amendment was soundly defeated at the ballot box.

Since then, some Republican lawmakers have raised the issue again, but have made little headway.
JACKSON, MI - Tom Betser switched jobs. His wife, with some health concerns, does not work, and spending was limited - even before the failing family vehicle had to be replaced.

As December arrived, Betser could not buy all he hoped.

But here were his three children, excitedly tearing away paper, or carefully unwrapping gifts from the heaping pile beneath their tree.

"Ahh. These feel so nice," his daughter Savannah said as she slipped her feet into new boots, replacements for the three-year-old pair by the doorway, small for the growing 11-year-old.

"I was watching a commercial on this!" her sister Madison, 9, exclaimed as she unwrapped a pie-in-the-face game.

Maybe a half hour earlier, Blackman-Leoni Township public safety officers Chris Jacobson and Chris Pohl and Leoni Township Trustee Jerry Cox, came to their door. Along with their families, the three delivered plastic garbage bags filled with wrapped toys, coats and other items for the Betsers and two more struggling families identified by elementary school staff at East Jackson, Michigan Center or Northwest schools.

Cox dressed in a Santa Claus costume supplied by Jacobson's wife - known to don it herself from time to time - and greeted the surprised children with a "Ho, ho, ho."

For the officers, it was a chance to remedy any negative perceptions, to remind people they want to do more than make arrests - and to take a break from work that had them handling two drug overdoses and a suicide in the last 24 hours.

"This makes my job more happy," Jacobson said as he walked from a home on First Street in Jackson, where a child has a disorder requiring a wheelchair.

For Tom Betser, the good deeds came "just at the right time."

Before the officers left, he and his children insisted on posing for pictures in the snow outside their mobile home off Mantle Avenue.

Back inside, Betser and his wife Val allowed the children to open select gifts. "They have a hard time waiting," Tom Betser said. The remainder were to be saved for Christmas morning.

Marcus Betser, 12, showed off his new Matchbox cars and a small LEGO kit. Savannah uncovered "the board game I always wanted."

They were clearly grateful. "I wasn't expecting that much stuff," said Tom Betser, who knew in advance of the officers' intentions, plans he kept from his children. "What did you do?" Betser joked with his sometimes mischievous son when the blue and red lights started flashing outside their home.

In a week and a half, the officers raised $2,800 for the project. They were able, among other gifts, to also help a Vietnam War veteran with post-traumatic stress syndrome and give a pediatric hospital patient an enormous teddy bear.

The families additionally received $100 Kroger gift cards for groceries. Food was among the first items they requested, the officers said.

Jacobson's grandfather, a former chief in Indiana, used to take similar action in the 1970s and 80s., firing up a fire truck, dressing as the man in red and distributing oranges and Hershey bars. "It was all about service," said Jacobson, who watched his grandpa as a 9- or 10-year-old.

The Friday efforts of Jacobson and his companions brought Val Betser to tears.

"It's been one lucky Christmas for these three," she said of her children, the beneficiaries of more than one act of kindness. "They got so much love from everybody. They are precious kids."

Behind her were parceled bags of the holiday cookies she baked, products of her own kindness.
PONTIAC, MI - Two people died early Saturday in an apartment building fire on N. Edith Road in Pontiac.

Many people were displaced by the fire in one wing of the six-story building, said Waterford Regional Fire Department Capt. Kurt Lane, who was not at the fire scene and had limited information. "I know they are trying to get some of the floors back up and in operation."

Emergency personnel were about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 24 to the area northwest of Pike Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard in the city northwest of Pontiac. Multiple fire departments were involved in extinguishing the flames.

Any details about how the peopled died or any identifying information was not available.

WDIV-TV, Channel 4, is reporting a male resident inside the apartment where the fire began went to a hospital and died. Another man in a different apartment also died, according to the news station.

Five others were taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Lane said the fire is under investigation.
The 32nd annual holiday blood drive by the American Red Cross in Kalamazoo is being held memory of public safety officer Lisa Zuk for the second year in a row.

Zuk, a 14-year veteran of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, lost her battle with breast cancer on Nov. 30, 2015.

"Lisa was a long-time blood donor and received a number of blood products during her treatment," Jane Emanuel of the American Red Cross said in a news release. "The blood drive is a chance for donors to give the gift of life while keeping Lisa's memory alive."

Todd Kulman of the American Red Cross echoed Emanuel's statement, saying they are happy to pay homage to Zuk in this way and honor her memory. Many in Zuk's family are also blood donors, and some would be coming throughout the day to donate.

"As we head into the holidays, it's a really difficult time for us to collect blood, [because] folks are obviously busy with the holidays, family and friends," Kulman said, though he also noted that the Kalamazoo community consistently comes together every year to make this drive a success.

"[This drive] is a really good way to jump start our holiday push, as we head into the new year and flu season."

The American Red Cross will continue taking donations until 2:15 p.m. this afternoon at the Radisson Hotel & Suites. Everyone who donates will receive a Red Cross holiday long-sleeve t-shirt, while supplies last, and will be entered for a chance to win an overnight package at the Radisson, as well as hourly prize drawings.

The American Red Cross is seeking donors of all types of blood, but is in particular need of AB, O negative, A negative and B negative.
GARFIELD TWP, MI -- An Alto couple was snowmobiling Thursday morning on Crooked Lake when their vehicle broke through the ice and landed them in four-foot frigid waters.

Both the 74-year-old man and his 74-year-old wife were able to make it out before emergency responders came, but the man went back in to retrieve the snowmobile, according to a Clare County Sheriff's Office press release.

Emergency responders were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, to Crooked Lake on reports of a one person in the water and another person trying to get them out, the press release states.

On arrival, deputies found one person ashore and another still in the water, attempting to retrieve the snowmobile, the press release states.

The husband and wife sustained no injuries, and emergency workers were able to get the snowmobile out of the lake, according to the release.

The Clare County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the Garfield Township Fire Department, Surrey Township Fire Department, Mobile Medical Response and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The incident is under investigation by DNR.
Close

Two of the biggest tech companies in the industry are at it again with Apple filing a case against Finland-based phone company Nokia for licensing terms on technologies. Apple claims that Nokia is taking advantage of a legal system that is ripe for abuse by carving up its patent holdings and passing it on special firms.

As Tech Times reported, Apple filed a lawsuit against nine percent assertion entities or known as "patent trolls" in the tech industry. The Cupertino-tech giant also claims that Nokia is looking for ways to take as much money as possible from the company through abusive licensing terms for essential patents that should have FRAND terms.

The report further explains that Apple has a hitch that a group of PAEs is assisting Nokia in a plan to extract and take huge amount of revenues from Apple and other mobile inventors as well. The Cupertino-based company also accuses Nokia for being a patent troll since the Finland-based company sold its mobile division to Microsoft more than two years ago.

According to Financial Times, the Apple-Nokia patent battle is nothing more than a dispute involving deep-pocketed companies that are more than capable of taking care of themselves. However, the dispute has thrown an important question for the tech industry at large today on the issues regarding patent assertion entities.

The patent issue has been a long problem involving inventors with their inventions and the people who want to earn money from the said invention. Through the years, other patent entities have been abusing the legal system and demand more royalties from the inventors themselves.

For now, Nokia responded with filing five lawsuits against Apple for patent infringements. Among the other 32 patents involved in the lawsuits are those related to software, displays, chipsets, antennas, and video coding.

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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,
Ex-choir director in Bucks County pleads no contest to molesting two students, secretly filming another
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 []
New members inducted into Institute of ...
In a tragic incident, as many 12 police officer lost their lives after a bus carrying 32 police officers plunges off mountain cliff near Santiago, about 970 kilometers (600 miles) southeast of Lima.

The incident occured on Tuesday when police officers were being transported to Antabamba to provide security at a meeting between local residents and federal officials. At least five officers still missing following the crash and search is on.

Expressing grief over the incident, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said, "Today's a day of mourning because police officers have died unnecessarily in a highway in the Andes".

Television images of the crash showed the bus completely destroyed at the edge of a river. Police and firefighters are working to rescue possible survivors, authorities said.

Deadly accidents are common in Limas interior, caused in part by poorly maintained vehicles in bad conditions and the bad state of roads, especially in rough terrain. The World Health Organization reports an average of 15.9 traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents in Peru.

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New Delhi: After a rally in Almora on Thursday, Congress Vice Praesident Rahul Gandhi is planning to address his rally in Dharamshala on Saturday.

On Friday, rally at Almora by Gandhi hit another punch on government by saying 'suit boot ki sarkar'. Gandhi blames PM Modi as a helper of the rich and snatcher of the rights of poor.

Talking about abolition of black money Gandhi asserted that,  The Congress Party wants to obliterate corruption from India. The congress will support any step against corruption. But notes ban wasn't against black money or corruption, it was economic robbery.

Rahul Gandhi alleged that PM Modi hasn't listened to the farmers, where 1.40lakh crore in loans with 15 rich people has been forgiven but not of farmer.

Rahul added, according to the NDA 1% of Indian has 60% of the wealth. 99% of Indian doesnt have black money. 94% of the black money is in Swiss Bank accounts, gold and land. Just 6% of black money is in cash, I don't know why PM Modi didn't target this 94% rather than 6%.

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Rahul Gandhi is trying to be new Kejriwal; BJP's Nalin Kohli
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The last doughnut is soon to pass over the counter at Donut Time in Pacifica.

Like the 11 million doughnuts that have gone before it at the modest hangout at Linda Mar shopping center, it will be delicious. And it will disappear into the dust of the ages, dust more or less the consistency of powdered sugar on a cake doughnut.

Donut Time has lost its lease after 36 years. There will be no more chocolate sprinkles on top, no more custard in the middle. There will be no more bags full of doughnut holes. A marketable hole is an existential paradox anyplace but a doughnut store.

Ive been coming here since I was a little kid, said Ali Vidali, 20, of Pacifica. I like this place. Its family-owned. Its mom and pop.

The mom of the operation would be veteran doughnut purveyor Yok-moui Sinn, who works 12-hour days and whose family has owned the store for about eight years, ever since buying out the previous owner. She sells about 900 doughnuts a day.

One doughnut is not bad for you, she said, bristling at the health brigade that always seems to single out doughnuts.

Two doughnuts are not bad for you. Three, it depends. Four is too many.

That settled, Sinn showed off the fine features of the store. There are the drawings by customers kids on the wall. One old-timer brought in three paint-by-number masterpieces and Sinn promptly placed them on prominent display, too. They dont have stuff like that at the Starbucks next door, and they dont have an on-site baker who shows up every day at midnight to crank out the goods.

Near the front door is the Doughnut Tree. Its an ersatz Christmas tree made by Sinn from hundreds of glued-together doughnuts. Exactly how many is the subject of a guessing contest. Closest guess wins $50 of doughnuts (which works out to 50 glazed doughnuts, at $1 apiece, or 20 Bavarian Cream bars, at $2.50 each). Doughnut holes do not count as official doughnuts in the doughnut tree tally although, at 25 cents, they are not entirely illusory.

Sinn makes the tree fresh every holiday season but, doughnuts being doughnuts, it doesnt stay fresh for long. The doughnuts that constitute this years tree are already rock hard.

Break your teeth if you eat one, Sinn said.

The store will close at the end of January. The reason seems to be as mysterious as the nature of doughnut holes. Sinn said the landlord refused the stores request to have its lease renewed.

The landlord, Kimco Realty, said in a statement issued by its New York headquarters that it renews leases for tenants who are managing their businesses well and that Donut Time did not reply to its request to discuss renewal opportunities. And the landlord said it was looking forward to welcoming three new businesses to the shopping center  a chain bakery, a chain beauty supply shop and a chain bubble tea stand.

Meanwhile, the beckoning aroma of fried grease that wafted from the store continued to beckon the coastside faithful. Joseph Jones, a surfer from Moss Beach, drove through the Tom Lantos tunnel to Pacifica to get a twist and a maple bar. There were closer bakeries, he said, but none as satisfying. He could not discuss the attributes of his maple bar in greater detail because he had a puppy in the car outside who was waiting to share it with him.

Its not good for the puppy, Jones said. Its not good for me, either.

And Ed Dunne bought a plain old-fashioned doughnut for a dollar and looked like a happy man. Hes been buying Donut Time doughnuts for three decades.

Theres always old guys sitting around here, he said. This is a friendly place. A doughnut store is important to a community. And the doughnuts are as healthy as doughnuts can be.

A doughnut shop may be old school, but Donut Times closure has sparked a high-tech online save-the-doughnuts petition that, so far, has gathered more than 500 supporters.

Great memories. ... Always excited to see the doughnut tree. ... Save the doughnuts. ... Kimco, stop the attack on small businesses in Pacifica. ... Please stop replacing small businesses with generic corporate crap, said the petitioners.

As her own best customer, Sinn said the closure is going to present something of a problem.

I eat them myself, she said. Every day. I dont know what Im going to do.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
ALBANY  A 38-year-old man drove the wrong way on Interstate-787 late Friday, crashing into two coming cars and injuring a teenage passenger in one of the cars, according to New York State Police..

Craig Person, of Albany, remained in the Albany County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail Saturday on charges of driving while intoxicated, second-degree vehicular assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, and other vehicle and traffic law violations, State Police said.
SCHENECTADY  The Northeastern New York Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing emergency aid to people driven from their home after a fire late Friday on Albany Street in Schenectady.

None of the five people living there were hurt in the blaze, which broke out shortly before 11:30 p.m., said Deputy Fire Chief Don Mareno. The second floor of the home was heavily damaged and the building is currently uninhabitable.
BAD AXE  The Huron County Board of Commissioners interviewed two of three road commissioner candidates this week.

Todd Cooper of Pigeon and Road Commissioner Alan J. McTaggart of Port Hope were interviewed for the six-year term, while Charles Bumhoffer of Sebewaing will be interviewed next week.

The road commission oversees county roads, bridges, drains, parks and the Huron County Airport.

Cooper, a mechanic and former business owner, said he would like the commission to look into forming a parks and recreation committee to operate the county parks.

We have beautiful parks. (The Road Commission has) done a great job to this point. I think theres more that could be done, he said.

The committee would be responsible for maintenance, administration and promotion of county parks. Maintenance issues, repairs and equipment would be privatized, he said.

He said that there is too much emphasis on Caseville County Park, and that the other county parks should be promoted and developed, and eventually carry their own weight.

We could definitely work on the parks that are lagging behind.  Do things to enhance those parks to get people to want to stay at those parks, and try to get those parks to be self sufficient as well; instead of dragging behind and one carrying them all.

There are people in the county that think that the parks should not be run by the road commission, Commissioner Clark Elftman said. According to Tourism Michigan, the Thumb area has first class parks. Huron County is No. 1. Are you going to improve on that by making it plus one, or how are you going to do this?

Obviously, theyre doing a good job, Cooper responded. But I gotta believe that a committee of people that just solely promotes our parks, its got to help.

McTaggart is a plant manager at Star of the West Milling Co. in Rapson, and his term as road commissioner expires this month. He has been a road commissioner for 12 years.

The parks have made great strides in the last few years, McTaggart said. Weve done a great job.

He said the reservation system recently established has allowed a lot more contact with the past people who have attended the park.

He said park funds this year were in good shape, while in 2015 funds were really tight.

We can do more projects like we did at Caseville and really clean that up, he said. Projects on the shelf include Oak Beach County Park and Sebewaing County Park.

He said matching grant funds would be important for future improvement projects.

I think thats a win-win for the county, he said.

In terms of the Huron County Airport, McTaggart said pleasure aviation is down, but commercial aviation has increased, so the use remains the same as in recent years.

The airport has made great strides in the law few years, he said, including numerous upgrades to facilities and lighting systems.

Cooper said the airport is not self-sufficient, does not make any money, and costs the county $120,000 a year.

He questioned why it cost $10,000 in 2011 for snow removal, but the most recent budget showed that $26,000 was spent.

Snow, Commissioner Ron Wruble responded.

I would question that a little bit, Cooper said. It could be legitimate reasons, but Im just looking at a budget.

He wondered if there might be something that can be done with the property to make the airport more self-sufficient.

Regarding roads, McTaggart said that the county needs a plan to take care of infrastructure being built now, such as roads being built by townships.

Commissioner Sami Khoury questioned who made the decision to pave Canboro Road, when there is just one house located on the newly-paved stretch.

The township made that decision, McTaggart said.

Both Cooper and McTaggart expect more state funds for roads with recent state legislation.

Many other issues were discussed, including road and drain financing, as well as what entity is responsible for building and maintaining various types of roads.

Cooper said he is willing to learn.

I wont just go with the flow, he said. I will know whats going on.

McTaggart said he is pleased with the road commissions progress.

I also bring complacency to the board, McTaggart said. We keep things running smoothly. I guess Id like to say that Im part of that.

Bumhoffer will be interviewed at Thursdays board meeting, and the board is scheduled to make its decision then.
The UNSC in its recent resolution has criticized the Israeli construction Palestine. After all the negotiations failed UNSC has to take this extreme step. Surprisingly, the US has refrained during voting and this way the resolution passed by 14-0 majority.

Though president elect Donald Trump has tweeted , "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th,".

The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, John Kerry Secretary of State, said.

One of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity  which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the UN Security Council resolution that condemns settlements  puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence, Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor informed media.

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Japan to Disburse enormously on Military Power

India surpasses Britain, becomes sixth largest economy in the world
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Some 2,350 miles from home, Miguel Angel Yanez-Manilla, 51, spends much of his time at Entre Amigos in Midland, his arm stacked with plates from fingertip to shoulder.

Many know him as a quiet, smiling and hard-working server. At tables, theres limited conversation; he doesnt speak much English. Patrons eat, pay the bill and go on with their day.

What they may not know of Yanez is that he isnt exactly one of them.

Miguel Angel Yanez-Manilla, whos lived in Midland for nine years, is applying for lawful permanent residency, colloquially known as a green card, with the help of local law firm Warner Norcross & Judd. He wants to become a permanent part of Midland  to remain with family members here who already have theirs.

The Yanez family is from a small town in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, about an hour northeast of Mexico City. Miguel and his wife, Rubi, have two daughters, Dulce, 21, and Nayla, 8, and a son, Luis, 23. Miguels mother, Alejandra, remains in Mexico with Luis. Miguel also has a 1-year-old grandson who lives in Traverse City.

In 2002, Miguel came to the U.S. illegally.

That year, he got a temporary visa and found work at a restaurant in Kentucky. Work brought him to Bay City and eventually to Midlands Entre Amigos, which his brother opened in 2007.

Miguel has a current visa, which attorneys say was granted in February 2013 and expires next July. Its a U visa, issued to applicants who are victims of crime or assist authorities in investigations. In Miguels case, his son, Luis, helped police investigate an assault that occurred at his school, attorney Clint Westbrook said. Law enforcement then helped the Yanez family secure visas, he said.

Westbrook said the firm had helped Rubi, who cleans houses, and Dulce, a student at Academic and Career Education Academy in Midland, who also works with her father at Entre Amigos, apply for green cards. Dulce said she started the application process in April, as did Miguel, and her mother started hers in June. Dulce and Rubi received green cards within the past month.

Miguel wasnt as fortunate.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made a request for evidence of Miguel. Westbrook and attorney Michael Wooley plan to send documentation, witness statements and other materials to the federal agency by deadline at the end of December.

Miguel has no criminal record and no history that would trigger a request for evidence, Westbrook said.

Its unusual that the USCIS would ask for evidence for one family member and not the others  particularly when the same application was submitted for the whole family, Westbrook said.

Attorneys filed an application to adjust status, which authorizes Miguels stay while USCIS reviews his green card application. But if either the visa were not renewed or Miguels application for green card denied, he would be subject to deportation.

At Warner Norcross & Judd, the firm says its main motive is to show the community the value of a hard-working, legal resident of the United States. In the process, Westbrook said, were not trying to make any political statements or paint with a broad brush.

Theres no reason for concern that Miguels work visa would not be renewed, he added, other than the government having total discretion over immigration.

There are no guarantees that someone is allowed to stay, meaning there is a possibility that he could be asked to leave at some point, Westbrook said.

That much scares the Yanez family.

They know, as do friends and supporters, that their attorneys may have a difficult picture to paint given the incoming presidential administrations outspoken views on immigration.

And in the Latino community, Dulce said during a Daily News interview, flanked by attorneys in a conference room of the downtown law firm, a lot of people are angry.

Im scared. Were all scared, she said, adding a lot of Latinos are keeping their voices down.

It hurts us that he (Donald Trump) is president.

Miguel, translated by his attorneys and daughter, said Trumps views on deportation are worrying, because not all immigrants are bad.

Still, the family is hopeful.

Were not scared to prove that were not bad people; were just like you guys, Dulce said. And its wrong to separate families.

In 2014, more than one million people in the U.S. were granted lawful permanent residence, or green cards; Mexico was the country of last residence for 13 percent of that total, or 133,107 people, according to the DHS Office of Immigration Statistics.

Sixty-two percent of the 13.1 million people with green cards in 2013 lived in five states: California (25.2), New York (12.6), Texas (10.1), Florida (9.6) and New Jersey (4.5), according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates. About 210,000 lived in Michigan.

In Midland County, based on 2015 Census estimates, there were about 2,174 residents, or 2.6 percent of the 83,632 population, who indicated they are either Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban or originate from another Spanish-speaking country.

Miguel said he dreams to have his green card to be able to go to Mexico to visit his parents. He hasnt seen them in 15 years.

In Midland, he likes to fix things around the house. Hes replaced flooring and doors, painted and remodeled a bathroom. Family photos show them smiling at Sanford Lake and their Midland home. Another shows the first vehicle they bought, a red 1990s Pontiac Trans Sport van.

Little Daisy, the familys Pekingese dog, follows Miguel around. Hes also shadowed by a cat that showed up one day and has stayed ever since.

Miguel gets Mondays off from work, sometimes Sundays. He said his shifts are between 10 and 12 hours. On breaks, he drives his daughter to school and brings her home.

In the future, he said he hopes to buy a better car. He said he wants to give direction to his daughter, whom he wants to see do better in life than he has. (Dulce says she wants to get her diploma, an apartment, a cosmetology license and eventually attend nursing school.) He also intends to take over care of his 1-year-old grandson.

Dulce said her fathers ultimate goal is citizenship. Hed need to maintain lawful permanent resident status for five years before applying, according to his attorneys.

Many people who know Miguel want to see that happen.

Regular customers at Entre Amigos, and restaurant employees, family, friends, attorneys and others who know the Mexican native, all had the same adjective come to mind when describing Miguel: hard-working. The notion is mentioned in nine witness statements the firm has compiled.

Kelly Kissane of Midland said shes been Miguels customer for about nine years and goes to Entre Amigos at least once or twice a week. She calls Miguel a friend.

We dont speak Spanish, but weve connected with him anyway. Hes just that kind of person, reads Kissanes statement, which she confirmed to the Daily News. This poor man works so hard here, and he does so much for his family. I could just never understand if they wouldnt let him stay in this country.

Michelle Zielinski, principal of the Academic and Career Education Academy, said in a statement that Dulce has been a student at the school for just over two years. According to the statement, Zielinski hasnt had long conversations with Miguel, but considers him a welcome visitor to the school.

He is always pleasant and kind when he visits the office, Zielinskis statement reads. It is obvious to anyone who knows Miguel that he offers his full, dedicated support to his children. He has always been supportive of Dulces goals, and he does everything he can to help her succeed. Although Dulce could skip classes to work more hours, Miguel never asks her to sacrifice her education.

Ana Canales, 29, is a server at Entre Amigos. She said she was born in Mexico City, the countrys capital, and was brought to the U.S. illegally at about six months old. She was issued a green card in eighth grade, and at that point she said it cost $600 to $700.

She arrived in Midland from Orange County, California, in 2010, and has worked with Miguel since 2011. She has three sons, ages 11, 9, and 6, and a daughter, 4.

I do see him as a father figure, Canales said. Our kids play together at Christmas parties. He loves all kids tremendously.

In the Mexican state of Hidalgo, where Miguel is from, there is no dominant cartel presence, according to a Drug Enforcement Agency map of Mexican drug trafficking organizations drawn in 2015. But traffickers claim ground in nearly every surrounding state and the capital. The drug trade creates a sense of fear for her, as she said her mother was recently deported.

Canales kids also worry: she said a classmate asked her 9-year-old son Why do they want us to leave?

My kids are really scared about that, she said, adding if Miguel is successful in getting his green card, she hopes it will show them that you can give your family a better life.

Miguels pursuit inspires Canales.

I think its good to shed light on it, she said. I believe Miguel is a big part of this community. And you always see him pushing his family to do better.

Maddie Davis, 19, has worked at Entre Amigos since mid-October. She sees Miguel as a nice, funny and very sarcastic guy, and a great server, dad and friend.

At this point, hes an American. He works here and he supports the economy, Davis said.

She continued: It doesnt matter where you originally came from. The person themselves, their personality; thats who should be seen. Not the geographic location or skin color. Its the quality of a person, and hes a quality person. He should be able to provide for his family.

Miguel takes care of another family  that of Doug Lees.

Lee, 57, of Midland said hes been coming to Entre Amigos since it opened, often meeting his son and daughter. In return visits, he said he had started asking for Miguel.

You walk in and he knows what you want, Lee said.

Miguel delivered a taco salad and side of shrimp to the table on a recent Friday night.

We dont come here unless hes working, Lee said.

Lees daughter, Christa, 35, said she has run into Miguel around town and at the fair.

Hes always smiling, she said.

Doug Lee called Miguels plan to obtain a green card good news.

He takes good care of myself and my family, he said.

Carol Bailey, 72, and husband, Bernard, 74, live near Harrison. They got dinner at Entre Amigos before seeing grandchildren at a concert later that night. Regular customers of Miguel, they hadnt heard of his quest for a green card.

I always thought he was one of us, Carol Bailey said, calling him such a nice man.

He would be a good neighbor living by me, next to me or with me. He belongs here with us. Midland is a great place to live and he should be a part of it.
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A Montgomery County Constable helped in the arrest of four men who allegedly robbed a Walgreens story on Aldine Westfield Thursday.

According to information from the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, deputies responded the Walgreens store in the 23000 block of Aldine Westfield for an aggravated robbery call. Once on scene, witnesses told deputies two men entered the store with guns and pointed them at employees.

Employees told deputies thousands of dollars were taken but had tracking devices attached to some of the money. Dispatchers broadcast the information and that the men had fled north into Montgomery County in a vehicle with Louisiana license plates. That was when a deputy with the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office spotted the vehicle in the 20500 block of FM 1488.

Following a traffic stop, four men were taken into custody in connection with the robbery. The witness at the location positively identified the men as being the robbers.

"Harris County Precinct 4 and Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constables office teamwork and coordination made these arrests possible," said Constable Mark Herman.

All four suspects were turned over to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable investigators and aggravated robbery charges were filed on three of the men. A fourth man in the vehicle was filed on for possession of a controlled substance.

Arrested were Kerry Johnson, Darrius Jacobs, Justin L. Wright and Ladarious Thomas.

"It is clear to investigators, the mannerisms and methods these suspects used in the robbery, that it is not their first time committing such robberies," Herman said. "We feel confident these suspects will be good for more than just this robbery". The streets of both Harris and Montgomery Counties are a much safer place."
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North Pole

On a snowy shoulder of Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks, beyond hand-painted signs advertising "North Pole, N.Y." and "Rides, Shops, Shows," several parking attendants pushed a sedan, its tires spinning, into a packed lot. The car's occupants spilled out, joining other families who high-stepped through snowdrifts  just about everyone smiling, some tossing snowballs  toward the entrance to Santa's Workshop, a theme park from another era.

Inside, a line to Santa's house snaked toward a frost-covered North Pole, where families posed for selfies and a boy in a puffy snowsuit touched his tongue. Some families roasted marshmallows around a fire pit or wandered into the reindeer stable, where the animals were bedded down and out of reach of little hands.

While it appeared to be a snowglobe-perfect scene, Doug Waterbury, the owner of Santa's Workshop, said, "It's a challenge to keep the door open, frankly."

"We lose money or break even every year," Waterbury added. "Attendance is down. It's hard to get up in the morning to push snow, feed reindeer and then look at all that red ink at the end of the year  and it's not red because of Christmas.''

Santa's Workshop in North Pole, in Wilmington, is among the last of the theme parks in the region, outlasting Frontier Town, Gaslight Village and other Adirondack roadside attractions. Since 1949, Santa's Workshop, an alpine village scaled for children, has welcomed families along the Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway.

Today, the park's Technicolor slope-roofed buildings and non-thrill rides are a kitschy throwback that draws dedicated fans fueled by nostalgia, who return with their children or grandchildren to share their childhood experience of seeing Santa and his reindeer.

Near the Candy Cane Express train, Carrie McDonald, 41, who lives in Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania, and her sister, Erin Richburg, 37, who lives in Philadelphia, watched their children flap arms and legs into snow angels. "We came up in 1984 with our grandparents and have really vivid memories," McDonald said. "We've made it a tradition to come back. Right now we're choosing this over Disney."

Santa's Workshop's inaccessibility  far from metropolitan areas and along twisty mountain roads  is "part of the mystique of the place," Waterbury said. But it has also contributed to its decline. In 1967, the final stretch of Interstate 87 bypassed communities with mom-and-pop motels and diners and attractions that had flourished in the years after World War II.
PORT HOPE  Holiday memories are sometimes the best gifts a person can give.

One such memory for Port Hope area residents was the Santa and reindeer display created by the late R.B. Hunter in the 1940s.

Hunter owned Brinker Lumber Co. and he and Clarence Cook built a large wooden display of Santa, his sleigh, and the reindeer. It was placed on top of the lumber company in the late 1940s.

A photograph of the display could never do it justice. The deer are about eight feet tall and the overall display is near 50 feet long. The display is animated  the reindeers legs move and Santa waves from his sleigh.

According to Hunters son, Jim, the display is run with an old Maytag washing machine gear box. It was created with an old Maytag, and the machine is still operational today.

We lived in the lumber yard until 1958, Jim Hunter said. I remember it bumping on the roof all night.

The family moved the display to their new home in about 1975, although it was stored at the lumber yard most of the year.

It was put up every year from 1975 until 2004.

R.B. Hunter died in 2004, but the family displayed it that year during the Christmas season in his honor.

Donna Berger, the daughter of R.B. Hunter, explained how the sleigh came to life again.

This year, Kevin Arndt, remembering the display from his childhood, got in touch with my brother, Jim Hunter, hoping he could put the display at the corner of 2nd and School streets in Port Hope.

The family gave Arndt permission to use Santa and the reindeer and they assisted him in moving it to his home.

We plugged it in and it worked perfectly. It amazed us. After all, it was about 70 years old.

After it was erected, Kevin Arndt said the display was nearly ready to go when they put it on his property. A few more lights were added and he installed spotlights to illuminate it in the dark. He hopes to do a complete overhaul next summer.

Years after R.B. created the wooden display, he asked his son and daughter-in-law Carol to create an elf to go with Santa. Jim and Carol came up with a brilliant idea. They built an elf riding a bicycle carrying gift(s) and placed it as if the elf was trying to catch Santa. The bike is lighted and the elfs legs move as if he were peddling the bike.

The elf may look familiar.

The couple needed an elfs image, so Carol laid on a piece of cardboard and Jim outlined her body.

Carol is the elf, he said.

After Santa and the reindeer were erected this year, Jim posted photographs on Facebook. He began to receive a large number of responses.

I had about 80 responses and many were very heartfelt comments.

Artha Helms of Tennessee stated: Enjoyed your posting about the display. I remember it placed on the front lawn and I always enjoyed seeing it each year.

Susan Lesse Reinke stated: Boy that brings back many happy memories. Good to see it again. That truly is an original Port Hope Christmas.

Don Finkel stated: It sure brings back memories of Christmases past. Its looking great.

Betty (Bill) Gaffke of Midland stated: Bill and I remember it on the lumber yard roof. Good memories.

And Elaine Lange of Clinton Township stated: What great childhood memories.
STAMFORD  Someone, finally, is telling the tale of Bulls Head.

Its a busy spot in the geographic heart of Stamford where five thoroughfares  Long Ridge, High Ridge and Cold Spring roads, and Summer and Bedford streets  converge.

Natives and newcomers alike ask: Why is it called Bulls Head?

The answer isnt pretty, according to Ronald Marcus, a Stamford Historical Society volunteer who is researching place names.

At first, it was a place to buy and sell cattle, said Marcus, who found the information Stamford Advocate stories from the 1870s. It had sheds and pens because, at the time, it was on the outer edge of town, and that was where farmers brought their animals.

But it evolved.

At some point, somebody figured out there was business to be had in selling the meat, not the animals, to the hotels and people living in the town, Marcus said. So it became a slaughterhouse.

In the lingo of 140 years ago, such a place was called a bulls head, an ancient Scottish term defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as a signal of condemnation, and prelude of immediate execution, Marcus found.

A place where cattle go to die.

Thats pretty much it, said Marcus, 76, who has been a historical society volunteer for most of his life.

He is four years into the research project, titled Whats in a Name? He got the idea while compiling a three-volume bibliography of books, pamphlets, articles, journals, maps, religious sermons and other documents that reveal the history of Stamford. That took 27 years.

While I was doing the bibliography, I became intrigued with the origin of place names, Marcus said. Like Shippan.

Ghost ship

Marcus had heard the story that, in the early 1800s, a ship named Ann went up on the rocky point that juts into Long Island Sound.

Ship Ann. Shippan. Get it? Marcus said. Wrong. Its a myth.

The name goes back much farther. It shows up in the mid-1600s in a deed drawn by a settler from the New Haven colony seeking to buy land from two American Indian chiefs, one of them Wascussee of Shippan.

I looked up shippan in a dictionary of American Indian terms, Marcus said. It means the land where the sea begins. The Indians named it. Its beautiful.

Hes not sure how many place names hes logged so far, or how many he has to go, only that his research to date takes up 600 pages on his computer. But Marcus is comfortable with the long haul.

He first volunteered with the historical society when it was headquartered in the citys oldest house, Hoyt-Barnham, while it was still on Bedford Street. He was about 16.

I did mailings, set things up, moved things  anything they needed, Marcus said.

He soon began doing research for the society, continuing even as he worked as a scientific glass blower at Machlett Laboratories in Springdale, married and had two daughters.

After I retired, it took me 3.5 seconds to volunteer full-time, Marcus said of the society, now at 1508 High Ridge Road.

The work is intriguing, he said. He peels away myths, misinformation and time to get to the truth. He reads the minutes of Board of Representatives meetings of many years ago, old architectural journals, atlases, obituaries, memoirs and more.

Im having a lot of fun, he said. I think, for example, people should know why that little city park on Lawn Avenue is called McKeithen.

Heros heritage

Its named for Angris McKeithen, a U.S. Marine and World War II veteran who became one of Stamfords first black police officers. McKeithen was a dedicated cop who was shot while trying to stop a liquor-store robbery in 1977. Hit twice in the chest, McKeithen managed to shoot the perpetrator then walk 150 feet to a police call box to report the crime. The suspect later was caught.

The bullets damaged McKeithens heart, and he died four months later. The funeral for McKeithen, known for his bravery, kindness, and work helping kids, drew police officers from throughout New England.

To keep such history alive, Marcus is investigating names of not only landmarks such as Bulls Head, neighborhoods such as Shippan, and parks like McKeithen, but cemeteries, estates, bridges, dams, ponds, farms, and more  including rocks.

His research of Rock Rimmon reveals the road, lane and drive in North Stamford are named after an actual rock. But good luck finding it.

Its a massive freestanding boulder deposited by a glacier thousands of years ago. Its one of the largest glacial rocks in the Northeast, Marcus said. But its set back in the woods near Rock Rimmon and Saddle Hill roads, and you can only see it in the winter when the trees are bare. The Indians used it as a shelter.

The boulder got its name in the 1800s from a man named Charles Crandall, who took it from an Old Testament description of a place where surviving Benjaminites fled after their tribe was destroyed. Rimmon is an ancient Syrian word meaning elevation.

Names originate in all kinds of ways, Marcus said. Cummings Park, for example, was named, nicknamed and renamed.

A spooky start

The saga began around 1900, when Stamford was growing and the mayor, Homer Cummings, decided the city was short on parks.

It was extremely controversial because it was a huge tract of land, very expensive, and a lot of it was swamp and marsh, Marcus said. But Cummings kept pushing it. At the time, Stamford was governed by a city council. The mayor had no vote on the council except if there was a tie.

The vote to buy the waterfront land was evenly split, and Cummings was the decider.

They voted on Halloween night, so Cummings opponents called it that damn Halloween park, Marcus said. It was given an official name, Soundview Park, but nobody called it anything but Halloween.

Cummings hired a landscape architect and developed it into a major park. He later became attorney general of the United States under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but always cited the park as one of his best accomplishments.

In the late 1920s, Stamford Mayor Alfred Phillips proposed that it be named for Cummings while he was still alive, Marcus said. Time has proven Cummings correct. The park is his legacy.

Marcus said he hopes his project will preserve the stories of the names.

I think its important that they not be forgotten, he said.

angela.carella@scni.com; 203-964-2296; stamfordadvocate.com/angelacarella
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Milan

A routine request for ID papers outside a deserted train station in Milan at 3 a.m. Friday led to a police shootout that killed the Tunisian fugitive wanted in the deadly Christmas market attack in Berlin.

While authorities expressed relief that the search for Anis Amri was over, his four-day run raised fresh questions about whether he had any accomplices and how Europe can stop extremists from moving freely across its open borders, even amid an intense manhunt.

Italian police said Amri traveled from Germany through France and into Italy after Monday night's truck rampage in Berlin, and at least some of his journey was by rail. French officials refused to comment on his passage through France, which has increased surveillance on trains after recent attacks in France and Germany.

Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni called for greater cross-border police cooperation, suggesting some dismay that Europe's open frontier policy had enabled Amri to move around easily despite being its No. 1 fugitive.

Amri, whose fingerprints and wallet were found in the truck that plowed into Christmas market outside Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others, was caught seemingly by chance after eluding police for more than three days.

"He was a ghost," Milan police chief Antoio de Iesu said, adding that Amri was stopped because of basic police work, intensified surveillance "and a little luck."

Like other cities, Milan has been on heightened alert, with increased surveillance and police patrols. Italian officials stressed that the two young officers who stopped Amri didn't suspect he was the Berlin attacker, but rather grew suspicious because he was a North African man, alone outside a deserted train station in the dead of night.

Amri, who had spent time in prison in Italy, was confronted by the officers in the Sesto San Giovanni neighborhood of Milan. He pulled a gun from his backpack after being asked to show his ID and was killed in an ensuing shootout.

One of the officers, Christian Movio, 35, was shot in the right shoulder and had surgery for what doctors said was a superficial wound. His 29-year-old partner, Luca Scata, fatally shot Amri in the chest.

The suspect had no ID or cellphone and carried only a pocket knife and the loaded .22-caliber pistol he used to shoot Movio, police said. He was identified with the help of fingerprints supplied by Germany.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack. On Friday, it noted his death in Milan and released a separate video showing Amri swearing allegiance to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, while vowing to fight non-Muslims.
Submitted Photo

Residents were able to escape a blaze that destroyed a large home off FM 149 early Friday morning, according to the Montgomery County Fire Marshal's Office.

Montgomery fire fighters responded to the two-alarm fire that broke out in the 7,300 sq ft home at 4:30 a.m., according to information from MCFMO
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Theres good news for current and prospective students with the intent of enrolling in the workforce education programs of Laredo Community College.

A recent report released by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that students in public undergraduate programs, particularly those focused in workforce education, are more likely to earn higher earnings than students enrolled in for-profit undergraduate certificate programs across the United States.

The statistics reported by the DOE via the Gainful Employment programs proved a significant increase in the amount of mean earnings by graduates of public undergraduate certificate programs, accounting for nearly $9,000 more in mean earnings per year than graduates at for-profit undergraduate certificate programs.

Poised to meet the needs of its community and offer the training needed for these high-wage occupations, LCC offers a plethora of cost-effective, fully accredited workforce education programs. Through these career pathways, individuals can acquire the knowledge and skills needed to begin at an entry-level position in a variety of in-demand occupations.

Our various workforce education programs, both at Ft. McIntosh campus and South campus, prepare our students to meet the demand of the industry needs in the different sectors of our business community, explained LCC Assistant Dean of Workforce Education Roxanne Vedia.

Vedia reaffirmed, All of our programs are current in the curriculum and maintain industry accreditations to remain competitive in the service delivery area.

Individuals can pursue either a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree or a one- or two-year certificate in several areas.

For the business and tech-savvy, LCC offers several programs of study in applied accounting, business management, or logistics and distribution management. Individuals with an interest in industrial technology can pursue a course of study in one of several in-demand careers, which include: Electrical Technology; Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration; the Oil and Gas Industry; or Welding.

Individuals who enjoy working with young children may also choose to obtain the training to begin a career in Child Development. Instruction consists of lecture and laboratory training, field experience courses, and an internship at the Camilo Prada Child Development Center at LCC South or other community child care centers.

Adults with a talent or interest in the kitchen can harness their talents through the Culinary Arts program that focuses on basic food preparation, sanitation, hospitality, nutrition, and meal planning skills.

For those who want to work in law enforcement, the colleges Protective Services program may be the best option to help prepare you for a career in public safety. Opportunities are available for both entry-level employment and promotion within a public or private law enforcement agency.

Ready to get under the hood? Several options are available for individuals looking to enter the transportation technology industry, with specializations available in Automotive Collision and Repair, Automotive Service, Automotive Electronics and Performance, and Diesel Heavy Truck Technician, including a specialization in Heavy Truck Undercarriage maintenance.

So, what are you waiting for? With a greater potential for higher-wage earnings and a variety of workforce education programs to choose from, its time to find your future at LCC.

For more information, call the Allied Health Department at 721-5261, the Child Development Department at 794-4389, the Computer Technology Department at 721-5317, the Industrial Technology Department at 721-5172, etc.
Clearly, Donald Trump is the political story of the year. His successful presidential campaign changed American politics  probably revamping the landscape in ways that we dont yet understand  and demonstrated voters strong desire to end business as usual in Washington.

But for Bexar County, Trumps candidacy did not produce any remarkable changes in voter behavior. Instead, Bexars 2016 results showed voting continued to follow the pattern established in recent elections.

Voter turnout was up about half a percentage point. This years election drew about 57 percent of the countys registered voters, compared to 56.5 percent in 2012. No sea change there.

Democrats continued to carry the day in Bexar presidential voting. Hillary Clinton trounced Trump in Bexar County, netting almost 54 percent compared to Trumps 40 percent. Clintons percentage was slightly larger than either of Barack Obamas two Bexar County general election victories.

George W. Bush, a popular Texan, carried Bexar County in 2000 and 2004, while Bill Clinton carried the county in 1992 and 1996.

Local Democrats have been celebrating in presidential years, but they tend to get spanked in gubernatorial election cycles.

GOP gubernatorial candidates havent been as strong as the rest of the GOP ticket in recent elections  Greg Abbott narrowly defeated Wendy Davis in 2014, and Democrat Bill White edged out Rick Perry in 2010 Bexar voting  but the rest of the GOPs statewide ticket has carried the county easily.

And in 2010, Bexar County Republicans scored the first full sweep of Bexar judicial races. That was the big signal that San Antonio voters lost their status as a uniquely deliberative group of voters who were astute enough to pick and choose among judicial candidates.

Near sweeps have been routine in judicial voting since the 2010 election. And Bexar Democrats scored a judicial sweep this year.

Also disappointing for Republicans were losses by state Reps. Rick Galindo and John Lujan, who won a special election earlier this year and was then unseated.

Galindo, who had a strong term after defeating Democrat Phil Cortez two years ago, lost in what has been the countys lone legislative swing district. Cortez, whose political career has been marred by a string of small-time ethical missteps, regained the post.

The legislative losses crushed GOP hopes of getting a grip on traditionally Democratic turf.

If the Bexar pattern were to continue, the GOP would be expected to regain some judicial posts and the House post now held by Cortez in 2018. But dont bet on it.

Without a Democratic administration to serve as a foil for Republican candidates, the 2018 environment will be more difficult because the voters will be judging the actual accomplishments of Trump and Texas Republicans.

Texas GOP leaders have had a field day railing against the Obama administration. In 2018, instead of running against Democrat-inspired federal government overreach, the actual Republican agenda will be in the spotlight. And if Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has his way, that agenda may be considered extreme. Trumps administration is a political wild card, but every president provides plenty of fodder for the opposition party to run against. Republicans will be forced to choose between defending Trump or distancing themselves from the party leader.

Conditions are likely to be favorable for Democrats to consolidate strength in Bexar County, and the pattern of Bexar swinging back and forth may finally be over. Look for the 2018 election to be white-knuckles time for Bexar Republicans.

bdavidson@express-news.net
The boss of a boutique distillery from Cahir has scooped the top award in a Young Entrepreneur competition.

And just days after the announcement, Tipperary Boutique Distillery has revealed details of a major new enterprise that could establish Tipperary as a prime whiskey producing area.

Jennifer Nickerson won the overall Best Young Entrepreneur award in Tipperary at a ceremony in Nenagh last week, the county final of Irelands Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition.

IBYE, which has a 2 million investment fund, is run by all 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Enterprise Ireland.

Jennifer Nickerson also won the category for Best Start up and an investment fund from LEO Tipperary worth 15,000.

Ms Nickerson is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a MA Hons in Business and Accounting. After graduation she worked for several years with KPMG in Ireland where she advised companies on domestic and international tax matters. With two others she has started Tipperary Boutique Distillery a new but growing entrant into the Irish whiskey market.

This business has recently received planning permission to establish a distillery on Ballindoney farm in Cahir. The long-term aim of this business is to produce an Irish whiskey exclusively from Tipperary barley and Tipperary water, distilled and matured in Tipperary.

The other main category winners on the evening were Andy Spillane, T/a Savvy Kitchens, Thurles in the Best Established Business; and Paddy Moynihan, Unibooks from Loughmore in the Best New Idea category.

The top prize in the Best Established Business category was  15,000, with a top prize of 7,000 for the Best New Idea category. All three category winners will now be representing Tipperary at Mid West IBYE Regional Finals, taking place in Ennis in early 2017.

Meanwhile, the three category runners-up between them shared an investment of 13,000 for their respective businesses.

The runners up were: Enda Maher, Capital Transport and Shipping Ltd, Roscrea in the Best Established Business category; Evie Ward, Nutshed Ltd, Nenagh in the Best Start up category and Marian Kennedy, PPR Brand, Clonmel in the Best New Idea category.

Marian Kennedy with Cllr Mattie Ryan and Tipperary County Council chief executive Joe MacGrath.

Marian Kennedy has a background in accounting. She has worked with the HSE in various hospital environments. After having her first child in 2015 Marian was inspired to think of her new product idea and is now in the process of creating the PPR brand, (Post-Partum Relief). The new product which she is creating is called the PPR Pad which will be used for efficiently soothing and healing a womans perineal area after giving birth naturally.

In her address at the awards ceremony, Rita Guinan, Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Tipperary said: We started the search to find Irelands best young entrepreneur in August and the competition received a record-breaking number of entries this year, with 1,800 young entrepreneurs applying nationally and 47 locally.

"After a very successful IBYE bootcamp and County Final, the future is looking bright for both youth entrepreneurship and job creation in the county.
St. Marys Irishtown

St. Marys Irishtown

Thursday, 22nd - Penitential/Reconciliation Service at The Friary at 7.30pm

Christmas Eve - Childrens Mass: 5.30pm. Vigil of Christmas: 8pm

Christmas Day - Mass: 9.30 Marlfield; Mass: 10.30am, St. Marys, Blessing of toys; Mass, 12 noon, St. Marys

St. Stephens Day  Friday, 30th December: There will be no 7.45am Mass. Mass will be celebrated as usual at 10am

The Eucharistic Congress Bell is going around all the Dioceses of Ireland to create awareness of the 50th International Congress to be held in Dublin from June 11th-18th. St. Marys is the host Church for the Congress Bell in Clonmel. It will be in Clonmel from 10am on Friday, December 30th to 2pm on New Years Eve.

Friday, January 6th - Feast of the Epiphany: Holy Day of Obligation. It is hoped to have the various nationalities and ethnic groups in our town present at the 12 noon Mass. If anyone would like to become involved contact the Parish Office at 61-22773 or the Sacristy at 61-87915.

Sunday, January 8th - Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord: As in recent years it is hoped to have a blessing of all babies baptised in St. Marys during the past year at 3pm.

Ss Peter and Pauls and Church of the Resurrection

Thursday, 22nd December - Penitential Service at the Friary Church at 7.30pm

Christmas Eve - Confessions from 11am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 4pm

Vigil Masses: Church of the Resurrection at 7pm (Carols beforehand)

Ss Peter and Pauls at 9pm (Carols beforehand)

Christmas Day Masses - Polish Mass at 9.30am in Ss Peter and Pauls ; Church of the Resurrection at 10am; Ss Peter and Pauls at 11am and 12.30pm

(Banna Chluain Meala will play at 12.30pm Mass)

St. Stephens Day to New Years Eve - Mass in Ss Peter and Pauls at 1pm

Wednesday, 28th to Friday, 30th - 9.30am Mass in Church of Resurrection (There will be no Mass in the Church of Resurrection on St. Stephens Day or Tuesday, 27th)

Epiphany, 6th January (Holy Day) - Ss Peter and Pauls: Vigil Mass on Thursday, January 5th at 7.30pm; 1pm and 6.15pm

Church of Resurrection - 9.30am.

The Friary

Masses

Christmas Eve at 9pm; Christmas Day at 8am and 11.30am; St. Stephens Day at 11.30am; Tuesday, December 27th at 10am - there will be no evening Mass. Normal Mass times resume from Wednesday, December 28th.

Confessions

Wednesday, December 21st, Thursday, 22nd and Friday, 23rd - 12 noon-1pm and 2-5pm. Penitential Service at 7.30pm on Thursday, 22nd

Christmas Eve - 10.30am-1pm and 2-5pm. Normal Confession times resume from New Years Eve.

The Friary office will close at 5pm on Christmas Eve and re-open on Wednesday, 28th December.

Church of Ireland

Clonmel Union of Parishes - Anglican and Episcopal

Christmas Eve - Midnight Eucharist in St Pauls Church, Cahir at 11.30pm

Christmas Day - 8.30pm - Holy Communion - Old St. Marys, Clonmel

9.30am - Holy Communion - Holy Trinity, Fethard

11am - Sung Eucharist - Old St. Marys, Clonmel

Sunday, 1st January - Service of Commitment for the New Year in St Pauls Church, Cahir at 11am

St. Olivers

Christmas Eve - Mass at 11.30am; 12.30pm - Special Blessing of the Crib for Children (a Priest will be available for Confessions)

7 - 7.30 pm - Carol Singing; 7.30 pm - Vigil Mass for Christmas

Christmas Day - Masses at 9am and 12 noon.

St. Stephens Day to Friday, 30th December - Morning Mass at 10am as usual

New Years Eve - Mass at 11.30am and Vigil Mass at 7.30pm

New Years Day - Masses at 9am and 12 noon.

Clonmel Baptist Church

Anglesea Street

Christmas Day - 10:30am God becomes man. John 1:1-14

All are warmly welcomed to the Christmas Day service. For more information contact 086-1527663.
Friday, December 23, 2016 by: JD Heyes Tags: Censorship , Facebook , fake news This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) Bound and determined to continue burying real news containing facts that it doesnt like, Facebook has announced a new partnership with ABC News and Snopes.com to filter out fake news from its coveted news feed. These fact-checkers, however, have all bought into the biotech industrys bogus science that claims GMOs and glyphosate are completely safe for humans, animals and the environment.

As reported by Business Insider, the social media site says it will begin fact-checking, labeling and then burying so-called fake news and hoaxes, after executives say the company was heavily criticized for its role in spreading a deluge of political misinformation during the recent U.S. presidential election.

Facebook, in other words, plans to make official the censorship of non-conformist, truth-filled news reporting that it was caught doing in the months before the election. In an interview with Gizmodo, former Facebook news curators revealed that so-called conservative news and reporting was purposely suppressed in favor of far-Left sites that were actually reporting fake news.

Censorship now official at Facebook

Depending on who was on shift, things would be blacklisted or trending, one of the former curators told the site. I believe it had a chilling effect on conservative news.

Censorship tends to do that  have a chilling effect on whatever angle of a story is being intentionally suppressed. Now Facebook wants to make it formal policy.

According to Business Insider, this is how the new Facebook censorship program will work: The company has teamed up with a shortlist of media organizations that include ABC News and Snopes, part of an international fact-checking network that is led by Poynter, a nonprofit journalism school in St. Petersburg, Fla. Once third-party fact-checkers have determined that a story is fake, it will be labeled and then buried in the news feed. Officials told Business Insider that the social site will also use algorithms to determine whether a story that has been deemed to be phony is going viral.

Weve focused our efforts on the worst of the worst, on the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain, and on engaging both our community and third party organizations, Facebook News Feed chief Adam Mosseri said in a company blog post.

Fine. As a news organization ourselves, we applaud efforts to root out phony news stories and fraudulent reporting. The problem here is that Facebook, led by a lockstep Leftist in Mark Zuckerberg, isnt interested in making sure that only genuine news makes it to the valued news feed; he is interested in suppressing divergent opinions and inconvenient facts, especially when they are being reported by news organizations that do not fall in line with the corporate or liberal narratives.

We should start calling it Fakebook

So does this mean that Facebook will soon weed out and bury fake, discredited stories from the Washington Post claiming that Russia hacked the U.S. elections in order to sway voters away from Hillary Clinton to support Donald Trump?

Or perhaps the New York Times, which has reported that U.S. spy agencies have a consensus about this? Thats fake, because the intelligence community has no consensus on this, and in fact, intel chiefs have distanced themselves from a CIA claim that the hacking occurred. In fact, an NSA whistleblower says the Russia hacking narrative is bogus because hard evidence points to an inside leak instead.

What about the nefarious claim by CNN that the Chinese recently took a U.S. undersea research drone because President-elect Trump took a congratulatory phone call from the president of Taiwan  a claim made with absolutely no evidence whatsoever?

Or how about stories that ABC News fakes? And Snopes, which has a clear Left-wing bias?

Or stories promoting GMOs, when in fact they are harmful and damaging to our food chain?

There definitely is a cottage industry of click-bait phony news on the Internet, no question about it. But the so-called mainstream media is most guilty of spreading false stories and political hack attacks disguised as news. And yet those are the sources of news that Facebook will increasingly rely on in the coming months and years.

Maybe we should begin calling the social media site Fakebook, because its news feed will be full of it.

In the meantime, TruthWiki lays bare the bias behind fact-checking sites here and here. If you want a real social media experience featuring uncensored news and information, join ours here.

Sources:

BusinessInsider.com

Gizmodo.com

NaturalNews.com

NationalSecurity.news
The mystery continues. Astronomers may have to think just a little bit harder to solve the mystery behind Boyajian's star.



For the uninitiated, Boyaijan's star was discovered by Yale University's Tabetha Boyajian and her team in Septmeber 2015.



The star, originally named KIC 8462852, has dimmed dramatically over the past seven years - with one time dimming by a surprising 22-percent.NASA's Kepler space telescope spotted this anomaly. However, according to Space.com, the brightness dips of the star were far too significant just to be caused by an orbiting planet.



Hence the birth of the alien megastructure mystery.



Space.com says researchers have come up with a variety of alternative causes for the dimming. This includes swarms of broken-apart comet fragments, a variability in the activity of the star, a cloud of some sort in the interstellar medium, and an orbiting "megastructure" built by aliens.



According to Space.com, researchers are testing these hypotheses. For example, there's a $100-million Breakthrough Listen initiative using the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia to hunt for signals coming from Boyajian's star, which lies about 1,500 light-years from Earth.



According to Space.com, the Green Bank observing run will wrap up next month, according to Jason Wright of the Pennsylvania State University.



Wright spent the past 15 months pondering what may be happening with the star. He's also the leading author of the recent study outlining the various possibilities.



The mystery has only deepened since the 2015 discovery. Early last year, astronomer Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University determined that in addition to the periodic dips, the star dimmed overall by about 20-percent from 1890 to 1989. This was supported further by another 2016 study, which found out the star dimmed by about 3-percent between 2009 and 2013.



Wright said the most likely explanation is interstellar-cloud explanation, but he's not betting on it. Researchers may have to dig a bit deeper to find out what is really happening to Boyaijan's star.
The morning after Michelle Obama's big speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, in which she argued passionately for a second term for her husband, designer Tracy Reese's phone was ringing. And ringing.

Mrs. Obama's powerfully delivered speech had attracted much attention  but these phone calls were about her dress. A shimmering sleeveless sheath in rose and silvery gray, it was pretty universally considered a fashion slam dunk. And customers wanted it.

There was only one problem, Reese recalls: "We didn't have inventory  we had made that dress custom." And so the label went into production. "And people waited," Reese says. "You know, so many people admire Mrs. Obama and they want to dress like her. We sold quite a few of those dresses." She estimates the number at over 2,000.

Reese, who hails from Detroit, is one of the first lady's favored designers  Mrs. Obama has been photographed in her clothes some 20 to 30 times. But unlike some past first ladies who favored one or two big-name designers, Mrs. Obama has spread her fashion choices among a huge stable of them  often promoting lesser-known names, and taking care to promote American designers at such high-profile events as inaugurations, conventions and state dinners.

Which is why so many designers and fashion watchers will miss her when she steps away from her post after eight fashion-conscious years, and why they consider her one of the most influential first ladies in fashion, perhaps even more so than Jacqueline Kennedy, because of her broad appeal.

"Michelle Obama embraced everyone," says Andre Leon Talley, a fashion editor at Vogue magazine. "She embraced black designers, Asian designers, European designers. ... She was very democratic in her choice of clothes."

And that includes wearing fashion that ordinary women could potentially afford  like cardigans from the retailer J. Crew.

"She's made an effort to wear accessible fashion," Reese says. "I think Jackie (Kennedy) was a great role model but she wore a lot of couture, and things that most Americans could not afford." Mrs. Obama, she says, has worn both high-end and moderately priced fashion.

Reese, who is African-American, is particularly proud that one of her designs  a black dress printed with bright red flowers  is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The first lady wore it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Mrs. Obama set the stage for her broad-based fashion choices with her first inauguration. Previous first ladies had often gone with established luxury designers like Oscar de la Renta. Mrs. Obama wore a two-piece lemongrass-hued ensemble by Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo for day, and a one-shouldered white gown by New York-based, Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu at night.

For her husband's second inauguration, she wore a sleek coat and dress by American designer Thom Browne, known for his eclectic talents, and in the evening Jason Wu again.

"It was an honor to have the opportunity to dress Mrs. Obama," Browne said in an email message. "She is such a stylish individual because of her confidence and intelligence."

For Browne, Toledo, Reese and others, it was never clear until the moment Mrs. Obama actually appeared whether she would be wearing their designs.

"We would get calls periodically from her team," says Reese. "But we never knew exactly what things were for and when she would be wearing them. And I think that that's just necessary, because you don't know when plans will change."

However it unfolded, it certainly could change a designer's career. "We've been brought to the attention of millions more people than we ever would have reached," Reese says.

David Yermack, a professor of corporate finance at New York University, studied the financial impact of Mrs. Obama's fashion choices in her first year as first lady. He says he found an immediate spike in stock prices of companies whose apparel she wore (he only examined publicly traded companies).

"There was a very strong and immediate reaction in the stock prices of the design firms and also the retailers," Yermack says. For major appearances, this could run into the tens of millions of dollars: "That's happened many times with her."

And the public, Yermack says, remembers what Mrs. Obama wears.

"Do you remember what Pat Nixon or Laura Bush wore? She has the ability to hold the interest of the consumer in a way that almost no one else does. I've looked far and wide  Kate Middleton, Carla Bruni. Nobody begins to approach Mrs. Obama on this."

Yermack thinks what's different about Mrs. Obama is that first ladies "have traditionally tried to be nondescript in the way they dressed  they didn't want to overshadow their spouses ... or be seen as spending a lot on clothing. But she had no inhibitions in that sense.

"She really had an impact on how professional women dressed, and how you could have fun with fashion, in a way that you couldn't imagine Rosalynn Carter or Barbara Bush ever doing," he says. "It's a very short list of first ladies who are going to leave that kind of legacy."
Federal prosecutors have issued a subpoena to a former Wells Fargo employee from the Napa Valley for material related to the banks sales tactics.

According to a grand jury subpoena obtained by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California ordered Yesenia Guitron to provide all documents obtained during her employment involving Wells Fargos sales practices.

The subpoena, issued on Dec. 12, also asked her to provide documentation about complaints she made and all documents relating to any discipline, employment action or other form of retaliation taken against her by the bank.

The grand jury investigation could result in criminal charges against Wells Fargo.

In September the bank was fined $185 million by federal regulators after employees opened two million fraudulent bank accounts and credit cards to meet sales goals. Wells Fargo fired 5,300 employees tied to the scandal, but revelations have surfaced that the company also fired employees for blowing the whistle about phony customer accounts.

Guitron, a former personal banker at the Wells Fargo branch in St. Helena, was fired in January 2010 after she said she made numerous complaints to her manager, human resources and the companys ethics hotline about the fraudulent bank accounts. She first told NBC Bay Area in October that she believes she was terminated for speaking up about unethical business practices, which she noticed right after she started working for the company in March 2008.

Guitron said she has now become the squeaky wheel  contacting lawmakers and regulators about the retaliation she believes she faced for raising red flags. Her federal retaliation lawsuit was dismissed in 2012. She said she welcomes the opportunity to appear before the grand jury to tell her story.

Her attorney Yosef Peretz said his client will comply with the order, which requires the production of documents from Jan. 1, 2006 to the present.

A spokesman for the Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California said the office has no comment, including on the existence or non-existence of an investigation. A spokesperson for Wells Fargo said the company has no comment.

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit email theunit@nbcbayarea.com or call 888-996-TIPS. Follow Liz on Facebook and Twitter.
Gov. Doug Ducey planned to welcome the arrival of Uber self-driving cars as a self-driving truck on Friday transported them from San Francisco to Arizona.

Ducey's office says the governor will welcome the truck carrying the self-driving Volvos after it arrives at the State Capitol in Phoenix late Friday morning.

Uber announced Thursday that it was shipping the self-driving cars to Arizona after they were banned from San Francisco roads over safety concerns.

Uber made the announcement after Ducey on Wednesday and Thursday touted Arizona as an alternative to California for the ride-hailing company to test out its self-driving cars.

Uber hasn't announced when the cars will be tested, nor provided details about how many vehicles will be heading to Arizona. Uber previously had 16 self-driving cars registered in California.
A man, who once called the Bay Area home, is accused in federal court of biting a flight attendants ear in a drunken fit while traveling from Amsterdam to San Francisco.

Jonah Cayle Snow attacked two male flight attendants as they tried to stop him from smoking a cigarette and drinking alcohol aboard Wednesdays KLM Flight No. 605 from Amsterdam International Airport to San Francisco International Airport, David Peacock, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, wrote in an affidavit.

Snow is accused of assaulting or intimidating a flight crew member or flight attendant and preventing them from completing their duties. If convicted, the man, whose Facebook page indicates was a Santa Rosa resident and studied at Aragon High School, could face up to 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine, according to the affidavit.

Snow and his girlfriend, Nikki Zeebregts, were identified as being drunk on their flight from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam. So the crew on board the airplane that was to bring them to San Francisco was advised not to serve them any more alcohol.

The couple was contacted prior to their flight and were allowed on to the plane once they agreed to the crews condition. However, things went awry about midway through the 11-hour flight when Snow and Zeebregts got into an argument and became unruly, Peacock wrote.

The pair was separated and Zeebregts was accompanied to the back of the plane and offered a seat there. However, she only became more aggressive, forcing the flight crew to restrain her to protect themselves and other passengers from getting injured, according to the affidavit.

Soon after, the smell of cigarette smoke wafted to the aircraft crew, alerting them to Snow who was smoking and drinking in his seat. Since the duo hadnt been served alcoholic beverages on the flight, Peacock surmised that they brought it on to the flight themselves.

Snow was directed to extinguish the cigarette and instead became verbally aggressive and disruptive, Peacock wrote. Two male attendants tried to subdue him, but he fought back by violently flailing, scratching them. Snow even went so far as to assault one of the attendants by biting his ear. His agitated flailing also resulted in injuries on the the attendants face and elsewhere on his body, the affidavit said.

The flight crews duties were interrupted during the rowdy encounter, Peacock wrote. One attendant was forced to take a seat next to Snow and attempt to keep him calm until the flight landed at SFO.

Upon disembarking, the wounded flight attended was taken to a San Francisco hospital and treated.

The East Bay Times reported that Zeebregts does not face charges stemming from her behavior on the flight. However, the U.S. Attorneys Office charged Snow on Thursday with one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants.

He was in custody during his first federal court appearance, but has since posted a $25,000 bond. Snow is slated to be arraigned on Jan. 12.

Social media indicates that Zeebregts is a tattoo artist and photographer who lives the Netherlands, where Snow now lives.
The parents of a 20-year-old college student who died in the arms of her boyfriend in Oakland's deadly warehouse fire filed the first lawsuit Friday in the disaster, blaming the building's owner, chief tenant and others.

The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, evoked the last moments of San Francisco State University student Michela Gregory, saying she was trapped on the second floor of the 10,000-square-foot building that was a jumble of makeshift stairs and room dividers with no clear exit paths.

The building plunged into darkness when the fire started, the lawsuit said.

Gregory and the others "tried to exit the warehouse, but were unable to exit due to the unsafe conditions and configuration of the warehouse," the lawsuit alleges.

"It is just reprehensible" and "gross negligence in the highest degree to have this happen," attorney Mary Alexander, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of parents Kimberly and David Gregory, said. Alexander on Friday also filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of 23-year-old Griffin Madden of Berkeley.

Gregory and Madden were among 36 people killed Dec. 2 when a fire broke out in the illegally converted Ghost Ship warehouse that was hosting a $10-a-head music performance and party.

The loss of a child is unimaginable, said David Gregory, Michela's father. "She just loved life and she is never coming home. We will never see her again," he said.

It was the deadliest building fire in the United States in more than a decade.

"It's really horrific, irresponsible actions and inactions on the part of this building owner, those associated with this event, and the city that cost the life of this beautiful young lady and the lives of 35 others," Alexander said.

Gregory's body was found with that of Alex Vega, 22, who had been her boyfriend from high school. Vega's arms were around her, the lawsuit said, citing the coroner's office.

"Her and Alex loved each other. They just wanted to have a good time," David Gregory said.

Nothing they do will bring Michela Gregory back, but the woman's family says the tragedy could have been avoided. They want justice for not only their child but also the others who perished.

"There is not a day that goes by that we dont miss her," David Gregory said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from building owner Chor Ng, principal tenant Derick Ion Almenda and others who lived and used the work spaces and makeshift rooms in the warehouse and promoted the night's event.

Ng has retained a Southern California-based attorney, Keith G. Bremer of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara. City officials say Ng had a business license for more than two decades on the property and has paid all business taxes.

Lawyers retained by the building owner and chief tenant did not immediately return requests for comment Friday.

The Alameda County district attorney's office has said it is evaluating whether any criminal charges are warranted in the blaze.

Alexander said the family planned to file a separate claim against Oakland and Alameda County alleging negligence by officials.

People living in and near the building had lodged repeated complaints to building inspectors, police and others about parties, trash and illegal residences at the converted warehouse. But officials failed to respond to safety complaints and did not ensure that the warehouse was fire safe.

"It all could have been prevented," Alexander insisted. "These beautiful, young people should never have been in this kind of situation where fire breaks out and you couldnt escape, you couldnt get out."

Alexander believes more lawsuits and claims will be filed. It is likely that the individual cases will be consolidated in one court with one judge, she added.
The actress best known for playing Princess Leia in "Star Wars" is in critical condition Friday after suffering a heart attack on a Los Angeles-bound flight.

Carrie Fisher was in full cardiac arrest as her flight from London descended. Nurses helping her said she was unresponsive for roughly 15 minutes and was rushed to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Hours later, her brother Todd Fisher told The Associated Press that she was "out of emergency" and stabilized.

Although Fisher lives in Southern California, she has a connection to San Francisco where Lucas Films has an office and a small museum in the Presidio.

She talked to NBC Bay Area in 2010 while on tour at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre performing in her autobiography, "Wishful Drinking." At the time, she laughed about how her most well-known role follows here everywhere - on and off stage.

"It's not going to go away, she said. You can buy like creams and sprays. I am Princess Leia  deal with it.

Fisher, 60, was believed to have been in good health  beyond her decades-long battle with drug addiction and mental health issues.

Fans, who had not yet heard the news, were stunned when they heard of her hospitalization.

Wow! That's big news, John Reitan said. I'm not a super huge Star Wars fan, but she's super iconic. That's heavy duty!

Kirk Nakamoto had a similar reaction.

That's pretty shocking to hear, he said.

Fans in line in Santa Clara, gearing up to watch Rogue One, and others near the Yoda statue in San Anselmo were equally troubled to hear of Fisher's heart attack and offered good wishes and prayers for her recovery.

Lucas Films employees told NBC Bay Area that they too were saddened by the news.

NBC Bay Area's Ian Cull contributed to this report.
Police have arrested a suspect they believe impersonated a New Hampshire state trooper to trick an auto dealership and steal a pickup truck.

Police say former Melrose Police Officer Derek Guthro, 46 of 31 Concord Street, Nashua, New Hampshire claimed he was someone else when he entered Team Nissan in Manchester, New Hampshire on Monday.

Guthro said his name was Adam Foley at Team Nissan on Monday and claimed to be a Merrimack, New Hampshire, resident. He asked to take a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew cab pickup truck for a drive, and flashed a badge in lieu of a license

He never returned the vehicle to the dealership.

Guthro was later identified by his former colleagues at the Melrose Massachusetts Police Department and arrested soon after.

Guthro was charged with one count of theft by unauthorized taking and one count of false impersonation. He was admitted to a $5000 personal recognizance bail and is due to be arraigned in the 9th Circuit Court Manchester on January 20, 2017.
Gearing up for his first reelection bid, Gov. Bruce Rauner dumped $50 million into his own campaign fund.

On Tuesday, the governor contributed the more-than-substantial sum to his campaign committee, Citizens for Rauner, Inc, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Rauners contribution marks the single largest political donation in the states history, according the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Rauner made the second largest donation in 2014, when he donated $10 million to his own campaign.

During his 2014 gubernatorial bid, Rauner spent $65 million, according to the report.

In 2018, Rauner could face stiff competition from some well-connected Democrats. Billionaire J.B. Pritzker and businessman Chris Kennedy, who have strong fundraising ties and deep pockets, are both reportedly considering their options.
Gov. Bruce Rauner offered a modest proposal in 2011 to administer the ACT exam to Chicago Public Schools teachers and publish the results by printing average scores, according to a correspondence included in Mayor Rahm Emanuels trove of recently-released emails.

Administer the ACT this september, and every other sept thereafter, to all teachers in cps - publish results by printing the avg teacher ACT score for each school, Rauner wrote before he was elected governor. Galvanize media and parent conversations about teacher quality/recruiting/training and would lay the groundwork for many of the changes we need to make going forward.

Rauners message, sent in May of 2011, was originally addressed to former CPS Chief Administrative Officer Tim Cawley and a redacted address. Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker, who currently serves a U.S. Secretary of Commerce, was also copied on the message.

In response, Cawley called the proposal an interesting idea, but noted some potential issues.

The key would be whether there is a correlation between ACT score (taken now as an adult) and teacher effectiveness, he wrote. I dont know if there would be one or not. Also, we would certainly be training teachers to become good at taking that one test (you get what you measure).

Instead, Cawley recommended using data on student achievement growth, coupled with systematic observations to evaluate teachers performance.

Granted, there is much work to do on that front, but dont you agree its worth the effort, Cawley added. That would be my focus.

Rauner responded, pushing to move the school district to a culture of data and measurement.

If were afraid to measure/report on our teachers on frequent, standardized basis, we wont get there for our students either, he said.

A message from a redacted email account was then sent in early June, responding to Rauners proposal.

I think we all agree that measurement of teacher effectiveness is critical - and being able to appropriately share that info is key, the messages reads. But to Tims point - we need to be thoughtful about how we measure this - and thorough which instrument. As this type of accountability will be a drastic shift for the system - we need to make sure our first move in this direction is thoughtful - and well communicated.

But I dont mean to suggest that we lose the urgency to establish a culture of data and measurement, he added. It is a must.

In Rauners reply, which was originally sent to Cawley, Pritzker, and a redacted address, but was later forwarded to Emanuel, a pair of the his aides, and another redacted account, the businessman continued pushing the agenda.

ACT is simple, objective, standard for all college bound-kids; its degree of difficulty cant be manipulated by politicians, Rauner said.

The Republican claimed that if the city instituted the policy, they could publish scores for both students and teachers, sending a powerful message to everyone in city that there is a new culture of measurement and accountability in cps.

Every principal in the system will immediately begin to think about the talent of their teachers and explore ways to recruit more intelligent, academically accomplished teachers so that their school does not stay at bottom of rankings on teacher test scores - no edicts or directives needed from central office - we can leave it to the media and parents to discuss whether there is or should be a correlation between teachers scores and student achievement, he said.

Rauner also claimed the move would leave parents questioning why certain CPS schools, like Whitney Young and Walter Payton, have higher ACT scores.

This will lay the groundwork for constant measurement and reporting (like all great organizations do) so that when cps rolls out student growth grades for teachers and schools, the psychological shock will not be as big and well be set for a whole new ballgame, Rauner added.

That same day, Rauner also forwarded an email thread requesting meetings between CPS, Teach for America, and a group of charter schools and organizations. In the email, Rauner asked Cawley to sit in on the working groups, which were aimed at finding the proper approach to assessing CPS teachers.

The Rauners decades-long philanthropic involvement in reforming and improving Chicago Public Schools is well documented - as Governor, he remains focused on improving the quality of education for all children and expanding high quality school choices for parents, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement. Since Governor Rauner came into office, Illinois has put record funding into our PK-12 schools and increased early childhood funding by more than $100 million.

Nevertheless, Rauner has been a vocal advocate for charter schools. Rauner College Prep, a West Town charter, is named after the governor and his wife, Diana. Earlier this month, Rauner backed President-elect Donald Trumps choice for education secretary, Betsy DeVos. The Michigan billionaire, who contributed the Rauners 2014 campaign, has advocated for voucher programs that allow parents to use taxpayer money to pay for private or parochial schools.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has called DeVos a nightmare, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Lewis has repeatedly clashed with Rauner during his first term in office, even calling him a new ISIS recruit in April after the governor slashed millions in funding for the district and other social service groups.
Vice president-elect Mike Pence is scheduled to appear at a Chicago fundraiser next week alongside Gov. Bruce Rauner and other prominent Republicans, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Tickets for the event, which is scheduled for Dec. 30 at the Chicago Club, range in price from $2,700 per person to $10,000 per couple, according to the report.

Throughout the 2016 campaign season, Rauner distanced himself from President-elect Donald Trumps campaign, at times refusing to mention the billionaire by name.

However, their relationship as seemingly improves since the election. Last month, Rauner told reporters and business owners that he had a good, positive conversation with Trump following the election.

I want to try to figure out if we can work together, because I want Illinois to benefit from the changes coming, Rauner said at the time.
While Carrie Fisher might not have had a part in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, moviegoers were thinking about her.

I was very sad and I hope she gets better, Joseph Ferraro of New Haven, said.

Well wishes to Fisher from people heading in to see Rogue One at the Holiday Cinemas in Wallingford Friday.

Fisher might always be idolized for her role as the powerful and beautiful Princess Leia in the original Star Wars.

You never really saw a female princess acting like that. It was always Cinderella, the glass slipper. And she was like pretty tough and awesome, Millicent Malcolm of Middlefield, said.

Especially as a woman she was a strong female influence. For a little girl growing up she was someone we could look up to, Anita Poulton of Wallingford, said.

As strong as Fisher was on-screen, she was honest about her struggles off-screen.

Back in 2011 she was honored at a fundraising gala for New Canaans Silver Hill Hospital.

According to reports, Fisher credited the mental health facility in Connecticut for changing her life around.

Not just Princess Leia but also a warrior for those of us that battle with certain mental illness, Poulton said.

Fisher had been promoting her eighth book  a collection called Princess Diarist.

And now as she recovers in a Los Angeles hospital from a reported heart attack mid-flight, her fans wish her the best.

Hope for good health for her, Malcolm said.

Fisher had been busy recently.

Besides her book tour, she had just wrapped filming for Star Wars: Episode VIII.
A 32-year-old Manchester man is accused of firing bullets at another car on Interstate 91 South in Windsor on Thursday night.

State troopers responded to I-91 South, near exit 35A, just after 5:30 p.m. Thursday and met with the victim, whose vehicle appeared to have been hit by two bullets on the passenger side.

He gave state troopers a description of the vehicle the shooter was in and the license plate and police went to the home of the person who owned that car.

After interviewing Jacob Danis, police arrested him and charged him with second-degree assault with a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment and additional charges.

Bond was set at $50,000.
A mother and her five children were kidnapped and held against their will in a Bridgeport basement, police said.

On Dec. 20, the victim's family told police that the woman and her children had been missing for more than 24 hours. The family explained that she had been taken by her ex-boyfriend, Morlo Macklin, who was holding them in the basement, which he has done "often", according to police documents.

When police when to follow up at a Laurel Avenue home, the residents Charles Washington and Sandra Ouattara told police they did not know who Macklin was or about the domestic violence allegations.

It was later determined that Ouattara is Macklin's sister.

The next day, police returned to the address and met by the same couple who were uncooperative. Police explained they did not need a warrant to seep the home for any potential victims being held illegally before entering the home.

The 41-year-old victim and her five children, a 13-year-old boy, 4-year-old twins, a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old, were found in what police described as deplorable conditions. Police said the basement was as cold as 40 degrees and the children were barefoot and wearing shorts. The family did not have proper food, water or a bathroom.

All victims were transported to the hospital.

Macklin, 42, was charged with five counts of risk of injury and his bond was set at $500,000.

Ouattara and Washington were both charged with five counts of risk of injury, hindering prosecution and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Both of their bonds were set at $300,000 each.
A dad and a baby alone on a commercial flight could be a long, uncomfortable trip for everyone on board.

But Evan Hughes of Fort Worth received help from a stranger to comfort his 8-month-old son, Ki, on a Dec. 11 flight, and the picture he took went viral.

"The fact that she was willing to offer a hand, not just listen to her music and ignore me, she was very engaged and active in the process, and I'm forever thankful for it," Hughes said.

Winter weather caused Hughes and his wife's flight back from Chicago to be canceled. They were rebooked on separate flights, and different airlines, with Hughes flying back to North Texas alone with the boy.

India Massinburg was in a window seat.

"I had my earplugs in already because I was getting ready for takeoff, and I said, 'Oh man, it's a man with a baby. I hope he's not sitting by me,'" Massinburg recalled.

That dad and his baby were booked in the middle seat right beside her.

"For me, it was going to be my first time flying alone with him, his second time flying ever," said Hughes. "When we sat down, he was just antsy and fidgety, wanted to get to the window."

Luckily, Massinburg is an experienced daycare worker at Kosmic Kids Learning Center in DeSoto.

"Working with kids is just a passion of mine," she said.

She came to the rescue for the dad and his restless son.

"She offered a couple of times. I didn't want to impose, but eventually I said 'OK,' just handed him over, and she held him for a minute," Hughes said.

The boy was soon asleep in the stranger's lap, and his father took a picture.

"The rest is history," Hughes said.

The photo spread around the world on social media and news reports. It was posted on a parenting website, and Thursday, back in North Texas, it aired on NBC 5.

The adults said the photo, and attention it's drawn, are holiday blessings in more ways than one.

"Some people say whites and blacks don't get along, whatever it may be. But to know that it was comforting to somebody else, that they were able to just talk about it without being ridiculed in any kind of way, that was amazing to me," Massinburg said.

"I'm sure everyone around us was thankful for it, too," said Hughes about their trip on the plane.

His father is saving the photo of Ki to show his son in the future that he was an 8-month-old celebrity passenger.

And the adults are talking about another visit over the holidays after meeting on that plane.

"They always say it takes a village to raise a kid, and that was more true than ever with this experience," Hughes said.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is again pushing for new regulations on electronic cigarettes. His concern was re-sparked after an e-cig blew up in a Stratford man's face earlier this month and other recent exploding e-cig incidents.

A defective or faulty battery that exploded in his mouth, and destroyed several of his teeth, said Blumenthal.

The lithium ion batteries inside of e-Cigarettes have been to blame in nearly all the explosions.

On Wednesday, an e-cig exploded in a California mans pocket while he sat on a public bus.

There are no standards, no protections, no real guarantees about the safety of these lithium ion batteries, said Blumenthal.

Many of the batteries that have exploded were made in China. There, Blumenthal said they arent regulated, so the U.S. needs to do more to ensure product safety.

There is simply no protection in China, no oversight, no standards, said Blumenthal. We are at the mercy of Chinese defective batteries that can seriously injure people.

Friday, Blumenthal wrote to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) calling on the federal agencies to recall the exploding devices and establish clear safety standards for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in the devices.

In the meantime, he urges airlines to act.

I am asking that the airlines voluntarily ban them from the cabins of flights, said Blumenthal.

Blumenthal tried to get e-cigarettes banned from aircraft cabins in an aviation bill Congress considered earlier this year. But, it ended up only extending aviation programs for the short term instead of advancing new aviation safety measures. He said he will try again next year.

The FAA has already banned e-cigs from checked luggage.

We reached out to the FDA, which regulates e-cigarettes, they declined to comment to us. However, they said they will respond to Senator Blumenthal directly.

The full text of Blumenthals letter to the FDA and CPSC is available here.
There new details about the graphic emails that led to the sudden retirement of the Glastonbury police chief.

More than a dozen pictures of naked women were contained in a packet of paperwork provided to NBC Connecticut through the State's Freedom of Information law but were too graphic to share.

NBC Connecticut cannot show viewers the 22 images of nude or nearly naked women contained in an envelope provided by the Glastonbury town manager's office.

They were sent over email and Police Chief David Caron admits to forwarding to friends from his town issued email account.

The controversial emails prompted Caron to retire effective on Dec. 23, 2016.

Caron declined speaking with NBC Connecticut at the police station.

Friday was the Director of Police Services Thomas Sweeney's first day back on the force

A familiar face here in Glastonbury, Sweeney retired as chief in 2012, with Caron as his second in command for twelve years.

Telling us Caron's judgment then was 'excellent'

Sweeney doesn't want to look back at these recent issues, his concern he says is the department going forward.

This is the third department I've headed; this is an absolutely outstanding department. The officers have always done an excellent job ad are well respected in the community. The incident is unfortunate. Chief Caron admitted this was a lapse in judgment. He has an outstanding 40-year career otherwise."

Town manager Richard Johnson wouldn't elaborate on the conversation he had with Caron prior to his final departure today.

But added the three recipients of the emails are not employees of the town. One, according to Sweeney is a retired police officer.

Johnson says he's disappointed and saddened, and the town is doing its best to provide its support to the department.

Asking that we not forget Chief Caron's four decades of his career devoted to law enforcement.
A man suspected of killing his wife and infant son in Fort Worth calmly told officers during a traffic stop in Colorado that he was having a "long week" because his wife and child had been murdered and he was being blamed, according to police reports filed in connection with the case.

Craig Vandewege, 35, was being held Friday in Glenwood Springs, a Colorado resort town, pending his extradition to Texas to face charges and did not plan to fight the effort to send him back, said his lawyer, Leslie Barrows.

Police have said he had called 911 Dec. 15 in Fort Worth, Texas, to report he came home from work and found his wife, Shanna Riddle Vandewege, and their 3-month-old son Diederik dead. Their throats had been slashed.

The Colorado police reports stated Vandewege raised suspicions after police say he borrowed a phone from a 7-Eleven clerk and was overheard talking about a murder. The clerk called 911 and when police later pulled him over for speeding, he calmly and unemotionally told them that his wife and son had been murdered, the reports said.

Vandewege had two holstered handguns with him plus a rifle in the backseat of his car, the reports said.

He also told officers that has family had moved from the Denver area earlier this year and that he had returned to Colorado to bury them, the reports said. But Vandewege also said he was on his way to Las Vegas because he had hear that three suspects had been arrested in the deaths of his fie and son, the reports added.

The Glenwood Springs officers decided to arrest Vandewege for not having insurance and speeding, believing he could pose a threat to public safety "in his state with numerous loaded firearms."

He was later poised to be released from custody when the Glenwood Springs police department received a warrant from Fort Worth to arrest him for suspicion of murder.

Vandewege told a co-worker before the killers that he was taking a new medication that was making him hear voices telling him to kill people and that one voice said it wished he could kill his then-pregnant wife by pushing her down stairs, according to a Fort Worth police affidavit.

Barrows did not directly address the allegations against Vandewege but said she and other lawyers have started "our own independent investigation into the deaths of Shanna and Diederik."

Authorities also found a fourth gun and ammunition in Vandewege's car.
A man has pleaded guilty to making a false report about a shooting threat to delay the departure of a missed Megabus headed for Texas.

Prosecutors say Kirk Stuart pleaded guilty in federal court in Memphis to a charge of willfully and maliciously conveying false information. Stuart had called police in February 2015 to say a man on the bus was about to do "something for Allah, a Muslim thing for Allah."

Authorities searched the bus in Little Rock, Arkansas, and found no one meeting the caller's description. Stuart later admitted to investigators that he had placed the fake emergency call in hopes of delaying the Megabus long enough to make its departure to Dallas.

The Austin, Texas, man faces a sentence of up to five years in prison.

AP-WF-12-24-16 1627GMT

A man has pleaded guilty to making a false report about a shooting threat to delay the departure of a missed Megabus headed for Texas.

Prosecutors say Kirk Stuart pleaded guilty in federal court in Memphis to a charge of willfully and maliciously conveying false information.

Stuart had called police in February 2015 to say a man on the bus was about to do "something for Allah, a Muslim thing for Allah."

Authorities searched the bus in Little Rock, Arkansas, and found no one meeting the caller's description.

Stuart later admitted to investigators that he had placed the fake emergency call in hopes of delaying the Megabus long enough to make its departure to Dallas.

The Austin, Texas, man faces a sentence of up to five years in prison.
An aging hospital building on Angel Island, where a million immigrants were detained between 1910 and 1940, is getting a new life, after nearly reaching a state just short of total disrepair.

The hospital is a survivor of the era when the island served as a detention center for immigrants entering the U.S. from some 80 countries including Japan, China and Germany. But while the islands old barracks have since been restored and used as an interpretive center hosting thousands of visitors, the hospital sat slowly decaying and listing toward ruin.

This building was a beautiful ruin before we were able to save it, said Katherine Toy, director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. This building was very close to being lost forever.

Toys group worked with California State Parks to raise the funds needed to restore the hospital, which over the years has consumed about $40 million. The restoration work is bringing the building back to its original condition at a time when it housed everything from deaths to births.

Toy recently walked through the building where rooms ranged from a state of raw wood slats to sleekly plastered and painted rooms in an austere white harkening back to its days as a medical facility.

The work is also restoring a pair of staircases that once served as segregated entrances for Asians and non-Asians." Toy said the restoration work uncovered one of the staircases that had since been boarded up. She said segregated entrances were only used for a couple years before the practice ended.

Angel Island really represented a gate-keeping experience for immigration, Toy said. It was built to keep people out of the country really.

The buildings architecture reflected a period of medical practice occasionally based on some dodgy theories. Toy pointed to the ceiling of a patients room where the ceilings corners were rounded off. The thinking of the time was that germs would get trapped in cornered ceiling  hence the curves.

A surgery room had tiled floors and a crescent shape with windows that faced out to the bay. The buildings old kitchen is being reimagined as a catering kitchen for visitors and events. A vast room which once housed patients will become a conference room. A newly installed elevator is one of the few obvious nods to the modern world which evolved beyond the island's shores.

A room where windows open to sweeping views of the bay will become a reflection room where visitors can look up their genealogy on computer work stations, or simply sit and ponder the islands experience and that of thousands of immigrants whose dreams of coming to the U.S. first landed them in the isolated station.

"Youre filled with these ideas," said State Park Ranger Ben Fenkell who has lived on the island for years, "youve come over on these hopes and dreams and the immigration station is your first experience."

But Toy hopes the hospital will go beyond the experience of a stunning nature-laden island  or even just the history of the station. She hopes a visit to the hospital will touch-off a conversation about the immigration experience, a subject that has raged during the recent presidential election.

We as a country have always had, I think kind of a tension in our relationship to immigrants and ourselves as an immigrant nation, Toy said. That tension continues today.

The hospital is scheduled to open in early 2018. Once open it may hold the distinction as the only hospital people will look forward to visiting.
Jack in the Box Inc., in an apparent concession to activist shareholders and consumer groups, has ruled out buying poultry treated with antibiotics to promote growth.

The pledge was included in a recently updated policy statement posted to the San Diego-based restaurant chains website. It added the company is working with its suppliers to eliminate other routine uses of antibiotics, such as for disease prevention, by 2020.

We encourage continued research into the development of safe and ethical alternatives for the treatment of sick and injured animals, the policy statement reads, and we look forward to a time when antibiotics important to human medicine can be phased out of the food-supply chain.

No mention was made regarding the use of antibiotics in its beef or pork products.

Thats going to be a little more challenging, company spokesman Brian Luscomb said in an interview. Thats something well be looking into.

Jack in the Box Inc. operates the namesake fast-food chain and Qdoba Mexican Eats restaurants.

The use of antibiotics in U.S. food supplies has gained attention as concerns mount that routine use of such treatments may be a major contributor to antibiotic resistance, which the U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates causes 23,000 deaths annually nationwide.

A California law passed in 2015 restricts the use of antibiotics to treating sick animals or controlling a confirmed outbreak of disease. While it forbids their use for promoting growth or routine disease prevention, the measure has no jurisdiction over the treatment of animals raised in other states.

As recently as September, advocacy groups including Consumer Union and the National Resources Defense Council called out Jack in the Box and other restaurant companies for failing to reduce the use of antibiotics in their meat.

The Green Century Equity Fund announced Dec. 22 it has withdrawn its September shareholder proposal asking the company to adopt a companywide policy ending the non-therapeutic use of medically important antibiotics in Jack in the Boxs meat supply chain.

The fund said in a news release it views the policy as a commercial opportunity for the restaurant chain, asserting that some consumers will seek out foods raised without antibiotics.

The California Public Interest Research Group issued a statement applauding the restaurant companys decision.

Jack in the Box does California proud by committing to protect antibiotics, CALPIRGs public health program director, Steve Blackledge, said in a news release. The bottom line is that we simply cannot afford to lose antibiotics as an effective tool in medicine.
The Coast Guard says it's suspending its search for a 22-year-old man who went overboard the 12th deck of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship off of the Florida Keys.

The Coast Guard said in a statement that it had suspended the search for Nathaniel Skokan Friday evening.

The Coast Guard spent 38 hours searching for the man who went overboard from the 12th deck of the Independence of the Seas cruise ship early Thursday.

The air and boat crews searched an area of 4,574 square miles.
Authorities in Florida's Panhandle say a man has confessed to killing his 2-year-old son and leaving the boy's body in the woods.

Parker Police Chief Dennes Hutto said the child's disappearance might have gone unsolved if 27-year-old Gene Anthony Quinones-Rivera had not walked into the police department Wednesday and told officers that he killed Gediaelamir Rivera in June 2015.

The News Herald reports that investigators have found the partial remains of a child in a remote part of Bay County described by Quinones-Rivera.

Quinones-Rivera of Guanica, Puerto Rico, was charged with second-degree murder. Court records show he was held on a $150,000 bond.

In an interview at the jail, Quinones-Rivera told the newspaper he had stuffed a sock into his son's mouth to stop him from crying.
Whether its shooting pictures or video, Ferguson High School senior Abraham "AJ" Cardenas has a knack for it.

"Anything that revolves around the camera is my speciality, its my passion," AJ said.

When the Miami-Dade school district needed a video to promote its contest to design a new logo, it turned to AJ to make it. Take it from us television pros, AJs video looks totally professional. Hes such a wiz with editing and shooting, he inspires his film class teacher.

"I dont mind saying 'ok, I dont know how to do this, lets ask AJ, said teacher Juan Moreno. He puts a lot of himself into his work.

Theres no question that AJ is tremendously skilled at shooting and editing video but to get to his level of achievement, he had to overcome something most students dont have to deal with: AJ has autism.

"I feel like everyone goes through obstacles in life, as me with autism," AJ explained. "It used to be a hardship to me because when youre little you are clueless about it."

Through years of working on socialization skills, AJ has learned things most of us take for granted, such as understanding non-verbal cues and making small talk. He says for much of his life, he would just freeze and say nothing at all for fear of saying the wrong thing in conversations.

"I would have social issues, making friends," AJ said.

Those days are behind him. AJ is an admires student at Ferguson.

"Everybody looks up to him," said classmate Gonzalo Fuenmayor, "because he's very courageous."

His film teacher, Juan Moreno, said when he found out AJ was on the autism spectrum, it made him appreciate his work even more.

"Other than just the artistic intelligence that he has, he also has an emotional intelligence thats unlike anybody else, really, his age," said classmate Humberto Mendez.

AJs mother actually went back to college to earn a degree in child psychology so she could provide therapy at home for her son. AJ says battling through the effects of his disorder allows him to see those who have more severe levels of autism through a more understanding lens.

"I feel like I can communicate with them better because when it comes to an autistic person you gotta remember they are a completely normal human in a physical prison," said AJ.

So does this young man want to become a Spielberg or a Scorsese? AJ has his own idea of success, which is using his film-making ability to one day help the Autism community.

"With these skills that I have I can go and use them and not only help those but give hope to the parents of children with autism," AJ said, explaining that hes a role model for other kids on the spectrum.

He hopes using a camera to break out of his shell may be a path others can follow, too.
What to Know Construction on current iteration of the Second Avenue line began in 2007 but planning for it stretches back generations

Under the first phase of the project, trains will run from 63rd Street to 96th Street at 72nd, 86th and 96th streets

Some believe that the MTA rushed to complete the first phase by the end of the year

The Second Avenue subway will open New Years Day after nearly a century in the making. As the debut nears, some people complained that the MTA rushed to get the long-awaited subway line finished by the end of the year.

Workers are on round-the-clock holiday shifts as they work to finish the line, which was first proposed by a Public Service Commission engineer in 1919. Stores above the new subway corridor are finally seeing an uptick in business after dealing with daily street construction.

But after getting a viewer tip, NBC 4 New York found that a newly repaved stretch of sidewalk along Second Avenue is flushed with the street  something one police official said could be dangerous.

At 74th Street and Second Avenue, business owner Gabriel Suliman said that hes concerned the MTA may have rushed and not finished the sidewalk correctly.

The MTA said its looking into what went wrong but said the paving problem will be fixed.

Meanwhile, at 96th Street, happy crowds rushed in for a second day of public tours of a new station. Smart phones captured the first glimpses of a $4.5 billion project.

Lots of open space so a lot of room to walk around, Upper East Side resident Leroy Graham said.

Peter Lerangis sent photos to his son overseas.

"He's in Mongolia and said the one thing he wished he could do for the holidays is come home and see the opening of this, Lerangis said.

The new station has proven to be a magnet for infrastructure fans old and young.

I like trains and airplanes and subways and buses, one touring toddler said.

The 96th Street station has been open to the public for two days. The other stations  72nd and 86th streets  will get the open house treatment the last week of December.
What to Know Police arrested a suspected bank robber just an hour after he allegedly stole $41,000 from a bank on the Upper East Side

The NYPD was tracking the suspect at the Real Time Crime Center and officers allegedly found him at a subway station with the cash and a gun

The suspect, Duane Edward Moore, was being questioned Friday night; police believe he is behind several robberies

Police arrested a masked man suspected of robbing a Manhattan bank of thousands of dollars just an hour after the brazen heist.

It was just past 10:30 a.m. Friday when a man with a stocking over his head entered an M&T Bank on the Upper East Side and told workers that he had a gun and wanted cash.

Police say he took money from two teller stations and then entered a vault where he took more cash -- $41,000 in total.

The man dashed into a subway after the robbery, but what he didnt know was that members of the NYPD were tracking him at the Real Time Crime Center.

Hes wearing a mask on his face, a brown mask. He has a black duffel bag on him, a dispatcher said.

NYPD Inspector Joseph Courtesis said that police were able to determine that the suspect boarded either a 4, 5 or 6 train and was headed northbound.

When the suspect got out of the subway station at East 116th Street, officers who were sent to the area recognized him.

He looked at us, we looked at him and we knew it was him. And after a short foot pursuit we were able to apprehend the suspect, NYPD Sgt. Andrew Lane said.

Police say they found the stolen money and a loaded .45-caliber gun on the suspect, who has been identified as Duane Edward Moore.

Moore was being questioned by the Joint Bank Robbery Task Force on Friday night. Police believe he is behind two robberies on the Upper East Side and another in Queens.
A man dressed in all black gunned down a beloved 81-year-old woman inside the Philadelphia corner store she owned for decades on Christmas Eve.

Police responded to Maries Grocery Store at S 6th and Titan streets in South Philadelphia around 8:50 a.m. Saturday to find Marie Buck suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, said investigators.

Medics rushed Buck -- who lived on the block -- to Jefferson Hospital where she died a short time later, said police.

The gunman -- who wore a black hoodie -- got away after firing about one dozen shots, said police. An 89-year-old woman was also working in the store at the time of the shooting, said police. [[408157545, C]]

Buck's family said she owned the store for the past 44 years.

NBC10 cameras captured people crying outside the taped-off store. Many people in the neighborhood called her "Aunt Marie."



"She took care of everybody," said Angela Sweeney, Buck's great niece.

"When you were short changed, or whatever, she'd help you out that's the type of person she is," said longtime customer Wanda.

Police didnt immediately have a motive for the shooting but robbery didn't appear to be a reason considering the gunman took nothing from the store. Neighbors and family said the store had never been robbed before.

Investigators hoped surveillance video from nearby could help in the search for the killer. Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia Police.
President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he will dissolve his charitable foundation amid efforts to eliminate any conflicts of interest before he takes office next month.

The revelation comes as the New York attorney general's office investigates the foundation following media reports that foundation spending went to benefit Trump's campaign.

Trump said in a statement that he has directed his counsel to take the necessary steps to implement the dissolution of the Donald J. Trump Foundation, saying that it operated "at essentially no cost for decades, with 100 percent of the money going to charity."

"The foundation has done enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children," he said in a statement.

"I will be devoting so much time and energy to the presidency and solving the many problems facing our country and the world. I don't want to allow good work to be associated with a possible conflict of interest," he said.

Trump said he will pursue philanthropic efforts in other ways, but didn't elaborate on how he'd do so.

The Democratic National Committee criticized Trump for what it called "a wilted fig leaf to cover up his remaining conflicts of interest and his pitiful record of charitable giving." The statement from party spokesman Eric Walker also took a jab at the president-elect over his controversial business holdings: "Shuttering a charity is no substitute for divesting from his for-profit business and putting the assets in a blind trust - the only way to guarantee separation between the Trump administration and the Trump business."

A 2015 tax return posted on the nonprofit monitoring website GuideStar shows the Donald J. Trump Foundation acknowledged that it used money or assets in violation of IRS regulations  not only during 2015, but in prior years.

Those regulations prohibit self-dealing by the charity. That's broadly defined as using its money or assets to benefit Trump, his family, his companies or substantial contributors to the foundation.

The tax filing doesn't provide details on the violations. Whether Trump benefited from the foundation's spending has been the subject of an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

In September, Schneiderman disclosed that his office has been investigating Trump's charity to determine whether it has abided by state laws governing nonprofits.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press in September showed Schneiderman's scrutiny of The Donald J. Trump Foundation dated back to at least June, when his office formally questioned the donation made by the charity to a group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Bondi personally solicited the money during a 2013 phone call that came after her office received complaints from former students claiming they were scammed by Trump University, Trump's get-rich-quick real estate seminars.

The Trump Foundation check arrived just days after Bondi's office told a newspaper it was reviewing a lawsuit against Trump University filed by Schneiderman. Bondi's office never sued Trump, though she denies his donation played any role in that decision.

Trump later paid a $2,500 fine over the check from his foundation because it violated federal law barring charities from making political contributions.

Amy Spitalnick, press secretary for Schneiderman's office, said Saturday that the foundation "cannot legally dissolve" until the investigation is complete.

The charitable foundation was ordered to immediately stop fundraising in New York just weeks before the general election, Schneiderman's office saying it wasn't registered to do so. The N.Y. attorney general's office said in October the Trump Foundation had a registration for an organization with assets in New York, but the law requires a different registration for those that solicit more than $25,000 a year from the public. It complied with the order and stopped its fundraising activities.

Trump was highly critical of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's family charity, the Clinton Foundation, saying without evidence that she ran "a vast criminal enterprise run out of the State Department" while she was secretary of state. At the final presidential debate, he challenged Clinton to "give back the money" that came from donors in countries that fail to respect various human rights.

More than half the people outside the government who met with Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money  either personally or through companies or groups  to the Clinton Foundation. The proportion indicated possible ethics challenges had she been elected president.

Trump's announcement to dissolve his own foundation came a day after the president-elect took to Twitter to declare it a "ridiculous shame" that his son Eric will have to stop soliciting funds for his charitable foundation, the Eric Trump Foundation, because of a conflict of interest.

"My wonderful son, Eric, will no longer be allowed to raise money for children with cancer because of a possible conflict of interest with my presidency," Trump tweeted. "He loves these kids, has raised millions of dollars for them, and now must stop. Wrong answer!"

Trump was in his South Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, on Saturday, his retreat for most holidays. He spent the week meeting advisers and interviewing candidates for a handful of Cabinet positions that remain unfilled.

The president-elect also continued his criticism of a decision by the United Nations to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying Saturday that it "will make it much harder to negotiate peace."

Trump took to Twitter a day after the U.N. Security Council vote on the settlements, saying that the decision is "too bad, but we will get it done anyway."

He didn't elaborate, but a move by the Obama administration to abstain from Friday's U.N. vote brushes aside Trump's demands that the U.S. exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel's leadership.

In a change of personnel, one of Trump's senior communications staffers, Jason Miller, said Saturday he would not take the job of White House communications director after all. Miller said in a statement that he and his wife are expecting their second daughter in January and "this is not the right time to start a new job." In his place, Sean Spicer will serve as communications director as well as press secretary.
With Christmas Eve and the first night of Hanukkah falling on the same day, the city is taking full advantage of a Philadelphia landmark to celebrate both holidays at once.

Philadelphia began celebrating the holiday season by illuminating iconic Boathouse Row with a 'Happy Chanukah' message. Red and green lights have been glimmering since the middle of December, but with the beginning of Hanukkah on Saturday, the houses along Kelly Drive underwent a transformation "into one of the largest representations of the Menorah in the nation," said Mayor Jim Kenney's office.

From Christmas Eve (which coincidentally is also the first night of Hanukkah this year) until New Year's Eve, Boathouse Row will be lit in blue and white lights, with one house in the middle representing the shamash candle. Each night, starting from right to left, another house will be illuminated until all nine buildings are lit up, representing the nine candles of the Menorah.

For the first time this year, a "Happy Chanukah" sign adorned with bright white lights to celebrate the holiday was set up on the roof of the Vesper Boat Club. [[408153935, C]]

Boathouse Row expert Dotty Brown told the the Jewish Exponent she sees the idea of lighting up the Row for different holidays as a reflection of its changing history.

"We're a community of lots of different kinds of people," Brown said. "So, the more you can reflect the cultures of the city, the better off we are, the more we understand each other and the more we accept each other."

On Dec. 29, Kenney will host an event at the Fairmount Fish Ladder on Martin Luther King Drive for the sixth night of Hanukkah at 6 p.m. Martin Luter King Drive traffic will be shut down between Eakins Oval and Sweet Briar Drive so that attendees can walk to the gathering spot across from Boathouse Row.

The decision was made "in the spirit of inclusiveness and to highlight the diversity of the City of Philadelphia," said Kenney's office. [[358989431, C]]
Family and friends of a South Jersey Marine veteran missing for the past three weeks were joined by the public to take part in a large Christmas Eve search for him.

Lance James, 29, disappeared on Dec. 2 following an altercation at a Clementon, New Jersey bar. He then vanished without his cellphone and coat. The phone and his debit card haven't been used since that night.

The bar, Hide-A-Way, was less than a mile from James' apartment.

NBC10.com first reported on James' disappearance two weeks ago. Since then, police have searched the woods on foot, deployed drones to survey from the air and used sonar and dredging equipment to check three lakes near Clementon Park.

None of the efforts have proved fruitful.

James' sister, Jessica Hassan, organized a volunteer search party to go over the area again on Saturday. About 50 people came out on a rainy morning to take part and look for clues that could lead to James' whereabouts.

"We know it's Christmas Eve and it is asking a lot from families, we just want the chance to spend it with ours too, home and safe," Hassan said Friday. "We thank everyone for all the support the community has shown us."

The volunteers spent about three hours searching but turned up no new clues, said Hassan. The group did, however, clear a lot more area, she said.

A $5,000 reward is being offered through the Camden County Prosecutor's Office for anyone who finds James, who is a father and completed one-year tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anyone with information about James disappearance is asked to call 609-575-6104 or email CCPOTips@CCProsecutor.org.
Pennsylvania's casino industry will be under the microscope in 2017, as lawmakers look to extract more money from it for public coffers and casinos ask lawmakers for new avenues to expand.

Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, has summoned representatives of the state's 12 casinos to Harrisburg for a closed-door meeting in the Capitol on Jan. 3, the day lawmakers are sworn in for the new two-year legislative session. Changes must be made to Pennsylvania's casino gambling law and work should get started early, Ward said.

"The days of doing nothing are over at this point,'' Ward said.

In just a decade, Pennsylvania's commercial casino industry has emerged as the nation's No. 2 in consumer spending and No. 1 in tax revenue, according to the American Gaming Association.

A top issue is replacing a provision struck down by the state's high court in September that had required casinos to pay tens of millions of dollars to their host communities for the past decade. The court delayed the effect of its decision for four months, until late January, to give lawmakers time to draft a replacement provision.

In a lawsuit filed by Mount Airy Casino in northeastern Pennsylvania, the court agreed the assessment was unconstitutional because it treated the state's casinos unequally, and imposed a heavier burden on lower-performing casinos.

So far, lawmakers have not agreed on how to replace it.

The Senate passed a bill in late October to create a temporary, six-month replacement. But it died in the House and a lawyer for Mount Airy threatened to sue over that, too, saying it was unconstitutional for the same reasons.

Some $141 million in slots revenue was paid in the last fiscal year to counties and municipalities, according to Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board data.

Most casinos have agreed or pledged to continue paying the money. But writing the requirement back into law could prove complicated if Ward and other lawmakers from counties without a casino insist that tax revenue from casino gambling flow to counties like theirs.

A key date is mid-April, when the first quarterly payment is due to local governments.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are looking to squeeze more money from casino gambling to help bandage the state's deficit-ridden finances, and that could also get complicated. Most of Pennsylvania's casinos want lawmakers to allow them to launch online gambling sites. The House approved such a provision in a wider piece of legislation that also would have expanded legalized casino gambling to Pennsylvania's six international airports and as many as 28 off-track betting parlors.

But that bill stalled in the Senate, and one lawmaker who helped write the 2004 casino gambling law, Sen. Robert Tomlinson, R-Bucks, warned House members in a Nov. 18 letter that lawmakers must first restore the provision requiring casinos to pay their host communities.

Some lawmakers also have pressed for the legalization of slot machine-style gambling machines in bars and fraternal clubs, and Rep. Michael Sturla, D-Lancaster, said he is drafting legislation to allow 30,000 or 40,000 such machines to be licensed. That number tracks with the amount that the Pennsylvania State Police say already are operating illegally in Pennsylvania, Sturla said.

Bringing the same number of machines under the law would produce tens of millions of dollars for the state, Sturla said, and should not raise concerns about siphoning business from the Pennsylvania Lottery, which funds programs for the elderly, or draw opposition from casinos.

"Since they already exist, nobody can say that will eat into the lottery, because it won't, and nobody can say that will eat into casinos, because it won't,'' Sturla said.
An infant died in her bassinet of dehydration and starvation three or four days after her parents died, also at home, from suspected drug overdoses, authorities said.

Jason Chambers, 27, Chelsea Cardaro, 19, and 5-month-old Summer Chambers were found dead Thursday in Kernville, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Cambria County coroner Jeffrey Lees said that the parents had been dead for about a week when the discovery was made.

The infant died three or four days after them, he said.

Jason Chambers was found on the first floor, and Cardaro in a second-floor bathroom, authorities said. The infant died in her bassinet in a second-floor bedroom, they said.

Toxicology tests are pending for the adults but officials said heroin overdoses are suspected and there was evidence of drugs at the scene.

Just two days before Christmas, District Attorney Kelly Callihan said that she believed that the man and woman died within minutes of each other.

"We think that because, if not, one or the other would have called for help," she said.

The family was last seen on Dec. 11. Neighbors believed they had taken a planned trip to New York, where they had lived until recently.

"It's an unfortunate incident where they both possibly overdosed at the same time - and being from out of town, not having anybody in town - it was too long for anybody to notice that they were missing," said Johnstown police Capt. Chad Miller.

Miller said emergency responders had been called to the home in November to treat the man after an overdose.

Child welfare workers later went to the home and met with the mother and father, with the baby present, she said.

"They checked out the house, and it was appropriate to a child living there. There was plenty of food and the child seemed well taken care of," she said.
Two men have been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole in the slayings of three people during the robbery of a Philadelphia corner grocery store five years ago.

Jurors who earlier convicted Ibrahim Muhammed and Nalik Scott, both 35, of first-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy, deadlocked on whether they should be executed or spend life in prison, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Common Pleas Judge Glenn Bronson, in accordance with the law, then sentenced the pair Friday to three consecutive life terms, calling the slayings "an unspeakable, incomprehensible crime."

"I've been doing this a long time, and it's hard to imagine a more terrible crime," he said. "These three people's lives were taken in an outrageous manner, a manner I am completely incapable of understanding."

Scott and Muhammed were charged in the September 2011 shootings at Lorena's Grocery that killed 50-year-old bodega owner Porfiro Nunez, his 49-year-old wife, Carmen, and his 42-year-old sister, Lina Sanchez.

Homicide detectives said nothing was taken from the store. Investigators said the break in the case came by linking Muhammed and Scott to two other bodega robberies that generated tips after surveillance video was released.

Defense attorneys argued that investigators under pressure to close the case arrested the wrong men, and they challenged identifications of their clients by the couple's daughters, who were working the cash register at the time. Prosecutors said the defense didn't present enough evidence on other men and characterized the Nunez sisters' identifications as unshakable.

Scott told the family at a sentencing hearing Thursday that he felt no remorse because he didn't commit the crime and he hoped the real killers would be found.

Muhammed's defense attorney, Anthony Voci, said his client had a chaotic, traumatic upbringing and a history of schizophrenia. The defense earlier argued that his confession was false because he was off his medication.

After the hearing, Jessica Nunez, now 24, wiped away tears and said she and other relatives had prayed that the jury would not sentence Muhammed and Scott to death.

"We don't believe in it," she said. "It was never in our minds."

She said the family hadn't made plans for the Christmas holiday, believing that they would still be in court, but "We just plan to stay together, like always."
A SEPTA employee who wanted to make a difference for children in need recently hit a major milestone.

Chris Guinan, a maintenance manager at Overbrook Shop, began refurbishing gently used bicycles five years ago as a way to give back to his community. He presented five children with bikes during the holiday season that year, but since then the number has skyrocketed.

This December, Guinan delivered his 500th bike to Philadelphias Intercultural Family Services, Inc. along with a collection of over 100 other bikes for kids in need, said SEPTA.

"This has taken a life of its own," said Guinan in an interview with SEPTA. "Each year, I find myself collecting more and more bikes."

Guinan gets bikes from other SEPTA workers along with his community and begins preparing each March for the December delivery. Cindy, Chris wife, says by mid-summer, their backyard looks like the North Pole.

An 11-year-old named Christopher was the recipient of the bike and picked from the over 100 that were delivered by Guinan and his family this year to IFS. Christopher was also gifted a helmet from IFS and was ready to roll on his new bike.
A glut of a sulfur-like additive released from an apologetic South Jersey gas plant swept through Philadelphia and the suburbs Friday night alarming residents and sending emergency crews on a hunt for the smell's source.

The strong acrid odor, which resembled rotten eggs, was reported from South Philadelphia through Center City and up into parts of Northeast Philadelphia and lower Bucks County.

Some people said the smell was so strong, it was making them sick to their stomach. There were no reports of anyone being hospitalized.

The first calls to emergency dispatchers and the Philadelphia Gas Works came around 9:30 p.m. as the smell moved north enveloping new neighborhoods in the thick stench.

The city's 911 system was inundated with calls from concerned residents and the fire department and PGW dispatched crews to gas facilities in South Philadelphia.

By 11 p.m., city officials had determined the smell was caused by a chemical additive designed to give gases an odor. It was said to not be dangerous.

After initial reports that the odor came from a South Philadelphia plant, officials said too much of the sulfur-like substance was used at a Paulsboro, New Jersey plant and then wafted toward Philly.

Cherice Corley, spokeswoman for Philadelphia Energy Solutions, said she did not believe the company's oil and gas refineries were to blame.

"There is nothing so far to indicate that the smell emanated or began at their plant, but they are continuing to investigate along with all of the other refinery businesses in the area," she said.

PGW spokesman Barry O'Sullivan said the utility checked all of its facilities and did not find issues.

O'Sullivan added that at no point were natural gas levels ever elevated in the city.

PBF Energy, which runs the Paulsboro facility, apologized "to our neighbors" in a statement Saturday, saying that a brief loss of power at the refinery shortly before 8 p.m. Friday resulted in "flaring and odors." The refinery is located just across the Delaware River.

The nasty plume began to dissipate downtown around 11:30 p.m. as it continued to move north.

This wasn't the first time that a Philly stench likely originated in New Jersey, a 2014 a foul smell in South Philadelphia was blamed on a West Deptford, New Jersey plant.
Jazz is an experience that depends on live performance. Witnessing musicians in the moment, as they communicate with each other and the audience, is something that cannot be duplicated in other media. Fortunately, 2016 proved once again to be a wonderful year for San Diego music lovers. Here are 12 of my favorite concerts from this year.

1. Gary Peacock Trio, Athenaeum Jazz at the Scripps Research Institute (Feb. 13): Ive been waiting more than 30 years for the chance to hear Peacock live, and that quest finally came to fruition when the legendary bassist made his San Diego debut with pianist Marc Copland and drummer Joey Baron. Every bass player in town was at that show, and 10 months later, it remains my favorite moment of the year.

2. Bobby Bradford and Vinny Golia, The Loft at UCSD (Feb. 5): The spirit of Ornette Coleman was alive and well on this night at the Loft, when cornet master Bobby Bradford and multi-instrumental giant Vinny Golia lit up the stage with streams of unrestricted melody.

3. Trio M, Conrad Prebys Music Center at UCSD (June 25): Pianist Myra Melford, bassist Mark Dresser, and the exuberant drummer Matt Wilson, collectively known as Trio M, kept one foot in the tradition and the other dancing gleefully on the outskirts in this ebullient celebration.

4. Roscoe Mitchell, Conrad Prebys Music Center at UCSD (March 2): Free jazz saxophone legend Mitchell blew into town hosting workshops and starring in this concert leading a quartet with Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis and Mike Reed, as well as a larger orchestral group navigating Mitchell originals as he dazzled the house with his distinctive musical voice.

5. Gilbert Castellanos Trio, Westgate Hotel Plaza Bar (June 17): Trumpet master Castellanos turns this small room into a listening cathedral every Friday night with a revolving cast of trio associates. When that group includes legendary bassist Marshall Hawkins and the piano firebrand Joshua White, that cathedral also becomes an interactive laboratory for improvisation.

6. Diane Moser Quintet, Dizzys (July 8): New Jersey powerhouse pianist/composer Moser rocked the house at Dizzys with a monstrous ensemble featuring saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Vijay Anderson through a beautiful evening of concentrated listening.

7. Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey, Fresh Sound at Bread & Salt (Sept. 30): Laubrock and Rainey delivered one of the most stunning exchanges Ive seen in years and in the second set, the addition of Mark Dresser cranked the intensity several notches higher.

8. Dependent Origination, Bread & Salt (Nov. 5): Reed men Peter Kuhn and Dave Sewelson combined with cornet master Dan Clucas, bassist Scott Walton and drum phenomenon Alex Cline for a blistering evening of spontaneously improvised music that raised the roof at the industrial warehouse.

9. Joshua White (((codes))), The Loft at UCSD (Feb. 5): Whites Codes ensemble featured the dramatic baritone of Dwight Trible, the explosive drums of Marvin Smitty Smith and the pensive alto of Josh Johnson, all anchored by the reliable bass of Dean Hulett. When they added gospel vocalist Ann Leonard into the mix, I felt my chair levitating.

10. Joel Harrison Quintet, Dizzys (Oct. 17): Guitarist/composer Harrison brought a crack ensemble starring trumpeter Cuong Vu, bassoonist Paul Hanson, bassist Jeff Denson and drummer Brian Blade into the Pacific Beach performance space to navigate his intricate charts, including a stunning reading of Chant for Jim Pepper that Im still humming in my head.

11. Vinny Golia and Nathan Hubbard, Bread & Salt (Oct. 15): Multi-instrumentalist Golia is one of the planets most arresting soloists, and this duo, with the ever-resourceful Hubbard, was riveting from start to finish. A small audience didnt keep these two from giving everything they had.

12. Aruan Ortiz, Fresh Sound at Bread & Salt (Aug. 14): Ortiz delivered a mesmerizing solo piano concert to a large and appreciative audience gathered to take in an out-of-season, special event curated by the irrepressible Bonnie Wright.

Robert Bush is a freelance jazz writer who has been exploring the San Diego improvised music scene for more than 30 years. Follow him on Twitter @robertbushjazz. Visit The World According to Rob.
A man who crashed into a parked pickup truck in Chula Vista Friday evening and later died of his injuries has been identified, Chula Vista Police (CVPD) confirmed.

Frank Javier Duron, Jr., 36, was involved in a minor crash and fled the scene, according to police.

The crash was reported as a hit-and-run just after 4 p.m. on I Street between 2nd Avenue and Hilltop Driver.

He then ran a stop sign at a high-rate of speed and drove onto the wrong side of the road.

The reporting party followed the suspect and saw him crash into a parked pickup truck near First Avenue and I Street, police said. The truck was unoccupied.

Duron was taken to UCSD Hospital with serious injuries and later died.

Police issued a traffic advisory for I Street, warning drivers to avoid the area while they investigated.

Officers found an open container of alcohol in the driver's vehicle but it is unknown if it played a part in the crash.
Police are searching for a suspect who shot a 20-year-old woman in the face following an argument involving a group of people in an apartment in the Castle neighborhood.

The shooting happened around 11:45 p.m. Friday in the 3800 block of Marlborough Avenue.

The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

There is no suspect description and the weapon is outstanding.

San Diego Police Mid City Division Detectives are investigating.
A shooting victim's condition has been upgraded from life-threatening to non-life-threatening, according to Fairfax County Police.

The victim was shot in the upper body in the 7500 block of Marc Drive in the Falls Church area, police said.

The shooter, described as a white man dressed in all black, ran toward Falls Church High School, police said.

The victim was taken to a hospital. Police have not said whether the victim was a man or a woman.

Fairfax County Police are also investigating the suspicious death of a woman Friday morning and the murder of a man Thursday night. Detectives do not believe Friday evening's shooting.
Santa entered North American airspace half an hour before Christmas Eve, at 04:30 Zulu time, according to the mission team in Canada charged with tracking his trip around the world this weekend.

That's right, Canada helps the U.S. track Santa's present-delivering flight. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, run jointly by the two nations, does it each year live online. Click here to watch Santa's progress.

Part of the team is based in Canada, and it's "one of the coolest jobs in the world," says Maj. Gen. Christian Drouin, commander of the Canadian NORAD Region, in a YouTube video that explains just how the tracking gets done.

Anyone can follow the journey online with the Santa tracker website  it's live now and began tracking Father Christmas early Saturday morning  but only a select few actually escort Mr. Kringle into North American airspace. That'd be a pair of Canadian fighter jets based out of Quebec, Drouin and his team explained.

Santa and the military communicate with a direct land line, and when he visits the Canadian NORAD Region headquarters in Winnipeg, he gets to sit in Drouin's chair in the briefing room. "Nobody else sits there but me!" Drouin exclaims.

NORAD monitors North American airspace for missile attacks and other unauthorized objects in the sky, and Drouin says the same technology keeps tabs on Santa's present-laden sleigh.

"Let me tell you a secret: Rudolph's nose glows on our radar. We can see the red nose from miles away," Drouin said, confidentially.

There are other videos live on the tracker website, along with games, music and more. As usual, "Santa Cams" are streaming videos as Saint Nick begins his route, and starting at 6:01 a.m., trackers can call 1-877-HI-NORAD or email noradtrackssanta@outlook.com and ask an operator for Santa's exact location.

Fifteen hundred people are answering phone calls and emails, while more than 9 million unique visitors visit the website from upwards of 200 countries and territories worldwide, NORAD says.

The tracking service began 61 years ago, when a misprinted phone number in a newspaper ad directed children thinking they had Santa's direct line to dial an Air Force base in Colorado that hosted the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, now NORAD.

The commander on duty played along, checking the radar for signs of Santa for each of the inquisitive kids, and a tradition was born.
An employee at a New Hampshire butcher shop was no match for a would-robber on Monday when the man tried to steal the store's holiday products.

Fox Country Smokehouse employee Bill Annis said Monday was the third time someone has broken into the Canterbury shop. When the masked man broke in with a crow bar and started to steal the fresh cut meat, Annis said he was determined to catch the robber himself.

It was so fast, its unbelievable when you look at video, its crazy, Annis said Friday.

Surveillance cameras captured the suspect square up and throw a punch, but even then, Annis didnt back down.

I just wanted his ski mask off thats all I wanted, Annis said.

Because this has happened two times before, Annis believes its the same guy.

Very frustrating, its a very small business and we are trying to make ends meet and trying to make everyone happy for the holidays, Annis said.

Jacob Foxs family opened the butcher shop nearly a half a century ago. In the surveillance video, he can be seen bursting through the doors seconds after Annis.

I thought itd be best to just get him out, so I was trying to Bill off of him, Fox recalled.

But Annis, so determined to catch the robber himself, refused to let go of his shirt, ripping it right off his back as the man escapes into the woods.

Customer Sue Porter couldnt believe her eyes when she watched the surveillance video.

They cant just walk in here and think they can get away with stuff, somebody is going to put up a fight, theres going to be a stink, Porter said. Im glad they did that.

Porter said she's also glad no one was seriously hurt. But no one is more relieved than Anniss daughter who can be seen in the video giving him a hug as he shuts the door, still clenching the suspects shirt.

When necn asked why he risked his life for this business, he said, Its everything to me, this is it.

The employees are working overtime trying to fill all the holiday orders that backed up because of the ordeal. But they say theyll get it done in time for Christmas.

The shop is offering a $500 reward for any information that leads to an arrest.

Police are still investigating.
Police have captured a shoplifting suspect who tried to evade officers by swimming into the Merrimack River.

Timothy Winslow, 22, was being detained by officers for a possible theft from a Kohls store when he escaped. According to the Manchester Police Department, Winslow ran from the store and crossed the highway when officers lost track of him. Bedford Police along with Manchester State Police were searching the city when a resident called in a tip to officers. The witness saw a man coming from the riverbank and walking towards Hurd Street.

Following this tip, Officer Richard Valenti Jr., along with his K9 dog partner Axel, were able to trace the suspects footsteps along the railroad tracks. Shortly after, officer found Winslow soaking wet behind a store in Manchester and took him into custody.

Winslow was charged with one count of resisting arrest or detention. He was admitted on $1,000 bail, but was turned over to Bedford Police after it was posted. Winslow will be arraigned in Manchesters 9th Circuit Court on January 31, 2017.
Vehicle is completely burnt out on the M4

A car was completely burnt out following a fire on the M4 this morning (Saturday).

Crews from Whitley Wood and Caversham Road fire stations in Reading , as well as Newbury fire station, were called to the incident on the London bound carriageway at around 8.30am between junctions 13 (Newbury) and 12 (Theale) .

All traffic was halted for around half an hour while firefighters dealt with the incident and the vehicle was moved to the hard shoulder.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With the government steadily pushing the economy to go more cashless and adopt a variety of online transactions through a plethora of mobile and internet solutions, the security implications of transacting online have begun to be raised.



On Friday, the government moved to make sure that security is beefed up in the online ecosystem by instructing digital payment service providers and e-commerce majors to enhance their cyber security systems.



According to sources in the Home Ministry, instructions have gone out to companies in the online payments ecosystem to beef up their security to prevent virtual attacks from hackers. The instructions come in the wake of a huge surge in digital payments post the demonetisation drive begun on November 8.



According to reports from digital payments firms, transactions on their platforms have shot up by several times during the weeks after November 8 and experts say that now that going cashless, or toward less cash in the words of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has become an official policy, cyber security takes all the more precedence.



In an earlier interview, agricultural and rural economist Vijay Sardana had pointed out that the security aspect of such transactions pose one of the most difficult hurdles to a cashless economy.

We do not have strong cyber security systems in place and there is no legal framework of liability in case of online fraud. Unless this is addressed, it will be very hard to build trust in such transactional systems, he pointed out.



Sources in the Home Ministry also point out that with the digital payments drive, threats in the cyber world can no longer be ignored. Many companies, said officials, were still vulnerable to threats emanating from the virtual world.



Meanwhile, the governments enhanced attention to cyber security was indicated by Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta, who had recently red-flagged the vulnerability of banking industry which has rapidly gone digital over the years. In the recent past, he had said, several high profile attacks have taken place on the banks, this is a worrying trend.



One of the largest such lapses happened a few months ago when data of nearly 3.2 million credit and debit cards belonging to several banks were leaked.



Cyber security issues are now top of the national security agenda and such issues are given more importance than even the nuclear issues that used to top the international security agenda, Gupta had said.

NEW DELHI: With the government steadily pushing the economy to go more cashless and adopt a variety of online transactions through a plethora of mobile and internet solutions, the security implications of transacting online have begun to be raised. On Friday, the government moved to make sure that security is beefed up in the online ecosystem by instructing digital payment service providers and e-commerce majors to enhance their cyber security systems. According to sources in the Home Ministry, instructions have gone out to companies in the online payments ecosystem to beef up their security to prevent virtual attacks from hackers. The instructions come in the wake of a huge surge in digital payments post the demonetisation drive begun on November 8. According to reports from digital payments firms, transactions on their platforms have shot up by several times during the weeks after November 8 and experts say that now that going cashless, or toward less cash in the words of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has become an official policy, cyber security takes all the more precedence. In an earlier interview, agricultural and rural economist Vijay Sardana had pointed out that the security aspect of such transactions pose one of the most difficult hurdles to a cashless economy. We do not have strong cyber security systems in place and there is no legal framework of liability in case of online fraud. Unless this is addressed, it will be very hard to build trust in such transactional systems, he pointed out. Sources in the Home Ministry also point out that with the digital payments drive, threats in the cyber world can no longer be ignored. Many companies, said officials, were still vulnerable to threats emanating from the virtual world. Meanwhile, the governments enhanced attention to cyber security was indicated by Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta, who had recently red-flagged the vulnerability of banking industry which has rapidly gone digital over the years. In the recent past, he had said, several high profile attacks have taken place on the banks, this is a worrying trend. One of the largest such lapses happened a few months ago when data of nearly 3.2 million credit and debit cards belonging to several banks were leaked. Cyber security issues are now top of the national security agenda and such issues are given more importance than even the nuclear issues that used to top the international security agenda, Gupta had said.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Friday announced that it will acquire an 80 per cent stake in the debt-ridden oil major Gujarat State Petrochemicals Corporations KG basin gas block for nearly $1 billion.



According to the statement released by ONGC, it will also acquire operatorship of the block KG-OSN-2001/3 in Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin offshore.



ONGC Board today considered the proposal and approved acquisition of the entire 80 per cent Participating Interest (PI) of GSPC along with operatorship rights, at a purchase consideration of $995.26 million for Deen Dayal West Field in the Block, the company said.



The Gujarat State Petrochemicals Corporation (GSPC) has built considerable production infrastructure at the site, including well head platforms, process cum living quarter platform, onshore gas terminal, export pipeline for transporting treated well fluid from process platform to onshore terminal etc. The deal will also see ONGC pay part consideration of $200 million towards future consideration for six discoveries other than the Deen Dayal West Field. These will be adjusted upon valuation of the discoveries subsequent to approval.



ONGC also said it has an opportunity to bring development of the Cluster-I gas discoveries of the KG-DWN-98/2 NELP Block and adjacent nomination blocks on a fast track.

NEW DELHI: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Friday announced that it will acquire an 80 per cent stake in the debt-ridden oil major Gujarat State Petrochemicals Corporations KG basin gas block for nearly $1 billion. According to the statement released by ONGC, it will also acquire operatorship of the block KG-OSN-2001/3 in Krishna Godavari (KG) Basin offshore. ONGC Board today considered the proposal and approved acquisition of the entire 80 per cent Participating Interest (PI) of GSPC along with operatorship rights, at a purchase consideration of $995.26 million for Deen Dayal West Field in the Block, the company said. The Gujarat State Petrochemicals Corporation (GSPC) has built considerable production infrastructure at the site, including well head platforms, process cum living quarter platform, onshore gas terminal, export pipeline for transporting treated well fluid from process platform to onshore terminal etc. The deal will also see ONGC pay part consideration of $200 million towards future consideration for six discoveries other than the Deen Dayal West Field. These will be adjusted upon valuation of the discoveries subsequent to approval. ONGC also said it has an opportunity to bring development of the Cluster-I gas discoveries of the KG-DWN-98/2 NELP Block and adjacent nomination blocks on a fast track.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: A 28-year-old Bengaluru woman has quit her job in Canada and come back to India in search of her missing husband, who went missing mysteriously on November 28.

Divyas husband Girish

Divya Munivenkatappa, who was working as a supervisor at Edmonton Airport, quit her job after her husband Girish, who was also working at Edmonton as a baker, went missing mysteriously.

Divya told Express,On November 28, around 7am Girish left for work as usual, but never returned. I filed a complaint with Canada police, who later confirmed that he had left for India.

According to police investigations, Girish took a domestic flight and left for some place. Later, he travelled to Amsterdam and from there he took a flight to Mumbai. He arrived in India on November 30 at 12.20am by a Jet Airways flight. Where he went from Mumbai airport is still unknown.

Divya approached West division DCP Anucheth, who directed Chandra Layout police to register a case.

Divya, whose family lives in Bengaluru, had gone to Canada for higher studies in 2012 and later she got a job there. She also got permanent residency in Canada. On November 30, 2015, she married Girish, who was working in UB City here and they later shifted to Canada. The couple were living together since April 2016 and also working for the same company.

Girish hails from a remote place named Emmedoddi near Kadur in Chikkamagalur district. He was finding it hard to adjust to the conditions in Canada. I repeatedly asked him whether we should go back to India, but he never said anything. He was quite reserved and did not express his feelings, said Divya.

Investigations also revealed that on November 28 morning, Girish first sent an email to his workplace saying he wanted sick leave. On the night of November 29, he put in his papers. Some airport officials saw him at the airport that night, she added.

Girishs parents are also searching for him. Police suspect that Girish may be living in Mangaluru, Shivamogga or Ballari where most of his relatives and friends stay. Other angles are also being looked into, they said.

BENGALURU: A 28-year-old Bengaluru woman has quit her job in Canada and come back to India in search of her missing husband, who went missing mysteriously on November 28. Divyas husband GirishDivya Munivenkatappa, who was working as a supervisor at Edmonton Airport, quit her job after her husband Girish, who was also working at Edmonton as a baker, went missing mysteriously. Divya told Express,On November 28, around 7am Girish left for work as usual, but never returned. I filed a complaint with Canada police, who later confirmed that he had left for India. According to police investigations, Girish took a domestic flight and left for some place. Later, he travelled to Amsterdam and from there he took a flight to Mumbai. He arrived in India on November 30 at 12.20am by a Jet Airways flight. Where he went from Mumbai airport is still unknown. Divya approached West division DCP Anucheth, who directed Chandra Layout police to register a case. Divya, whose family lives in Bengaluru, had gone to Canada for higher studies in 2012 and later she got a job there. She also got permanent residency in Canada. On November 30, 2015, she married Girish, who was working in UB City here and they later shifted to Canada. The couple were living together since April 2016 and also working for the same company. Girish hails from a remote place named Emmedoddi near Kadur in Chikkamagalur district. He was finding it hard to adjust to the conditions in Canada. I repeatedly asked him whether we should go back to India, but he never said anything. He was quite reserved and did not express his feelings, said Divya. Investigations also revealed that on November 28 morning, Girish first sent an email to his workplace saying he wanted sick leave. On the night of November 29, he put in his papers. Some airport officials saw him at the airport that night, she added. Girishs parents are also searching for him. Police suspect that Girish may be living in Mangaluru, Shivamogga or Ballari where most of his relatives and friends stay. Other angles are also being looked into, they said.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Former Minister and veteran Dalit leader Srinivas Prasad on Saturday said he was joining BJP. Prasad had resigned from primary membership of Congress party and also from the assembly after he was dropped from Siddaramaiah ministry earlier this year. He was revenue minister in the Congress government.

Prasad announced his decision to join BJP after meeting state unit president and former CM BS Yeddyurappa at his residence in Bengaluru. He will formally join the party at a rally that the party is organising in Mysore during first week of January.

Prasad will be the BJP candidate in Nanjangud constituency in Mysore district where by-election is necessitated after his resignation from the assembly membership.

Nanjangud by-election is seen as a contest between Prasad and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the assembly election in CM's home district. After being dropped from the ministry, Prasad has been a vocal critic of Siddaramaiah and his government.

BENGALURU: Former Minister and veteran Dalit leader Srinivas Prasad on Saturday said he was joining BJP. Prasad had resigned from primary membership of Congress party and also from the assembly after he was dropped from Siddaramaiah ministry earlier this year. He was revenue minister in the Congress government. Prasad announced his decision to join BJP after meeting state unit president and former CM BS Yeddyurappa at his residence in Bengaluru. He will formally join the party at a rally that the party is organising in Mysore during first week of January. Prasad will be the BJP candidate in Nanjangud constituency in Mysore district where by-election is necessitated after his resignation from the assembly membership. Nanjangud by-election is seen as a contest between Prasad and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the assembly election in CM's home district. After being dropped from the ministry, Prasad has been a vocal critic of Siddaramaiah and his government.
Nirupama Viswanathan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Its an unusual Christmas wish and a yearning for dignity. For, the dead are not remembered for long, bemoaned K Augustin, Joint Secretary of the Christian Cemetery Welfare Association.

Those who remember CD Limpsey almost every day, other than family and friends, are residents of TG Anna Nagar on Ayapakkam road, Ambattur.

The 24-year-old nurse was found raped and murdered in the cemetery in 2004. Even 12 years after that gory incident, its gates are still open to anyone wanting to make it their den of vice after nightfall.

There are always men who come to drink here at nights because there is no lock at the gate, said a mechanic shop owner adjacent to the cemetery.

Here, one of the Christian burial grounds in the city, the dead lay amidst glass bottles, plastic cups, withered garlands and textile boxes on the grounds, also home to wayward bushes.

According to Augustin, for years they have been fighting so that their dead could rest in peace. But nothing has changed. There was once even a slaughterhouse inside the premises, which was removed after a long struggle, he recalled.

The compound wall at the back of the cemetery is broken, and pipes carrying wastewater from houses on the other side drained into the cemetery.

Like most Christian cemeteries in the city, this one too is short on space. It is around 3,600 sqft and shared by Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Marwaris with fences for each.

According to P Stephen Jebamaris, the general secretary of Indian Missionary Movement, an additional five acres at least were required to bury people from almost 50 churches in the locality  at least nine main churches and other smaller ones from areas such as ICF colony, Ambattur and nearby areas.

According to members of the Christian Cemetery Welfare Association, people sometimes wait for six months to a year before burying a new body in a spot where a body already lay buried. At least one body is buried every month in the cemetery with three bodies buried in November alone.

According to Augustin, those with money bury their dead in private cemeteries and mark the spot with a headstone by shelling out Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, although against the rules, reserving some dignity. This leaves unmarked graves of the poor who could not afford it easy targets for reburial. This Christmas, let our dead have their dignity back, said Augustin.

CHENNAI: Its an unusual Christmas wish and a yearning for dignity. For, the dead are not remembered for long, bemoaned K Augustin, Joint Secretary of the Christian Cemetery Welfare Association. Those who remember CD Limpsey almost every day, other than family and friends, are residents of TG Anna Nagar on Ayapakkam road, Ambattur. The 24-year-old nurse was found raped and murdered in the cemetery in 2004. Even 12 years after that gory incident, its gates are still open to anyone wanting to make it their den of vice after nightfall. There are always men who come to drink here at nights because there is no lock at the gate, said a mechanic shop owner adjacent to the cemetery. Here, one of the Christian burial grounds in the city, the dead lay amidst glass bottles, plastic cups, withered garlands and textile boxes on the grounds, also home to wayward bushes. According to Augustin, for years they have been fighting so that their dead could rest in peace. But nothing has changed. There was once even a slaughterhouse inside the premises, which was removed after a long struggle, he recalled. The compound wall at the back of the cemetery is broken, and pipes carrying wastewater from houses on the other side drained into the cemetery. Like most Christian cemeteries in the city, this one too is short on space. It is around 3,600 sqft and shared by Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Marwaris with fences for each. According to P Stephen Jebamaris, the general secretary of Indian Missionary Movement, an additional five acres at least were required to bury people from almost 50 churches in the locality  at least nine main churches and other smaller ones from areas such as ICF colony, Ambattur and nearby areas. According to members of the Christian Cemetery Welfare Association, people sometimes wait for six months to a year before burying a new body in a spot where a body already lay buried. At least one body is buried every month in the cemetery with three bodies buried in November alone. According to Augustin, those with money bury their dead in private cemeteries and mark the spot with a headstone by shelling out Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, although against the rules, reserving some dignity. This leaves unmarked graves of the poor who could not afford it easy targets for reburial. This Christmas, let our dead have their dignity back, said Augustin.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The freezing temperatures and mist in the air in the national capital, in one of the rarest cases, has forced doctors to deviate from usual Procedures involved in organ transplant.

The patient was flown down to Hyderabad for Liver transplantation, instead of the organ flown to the patient. On Saturday afternoon, The 59-year-old man from Delhi reached Hyderabad.

Usually, after organs are taken from a brain-dead patient, they are taken from the hospital where organs are transplanted to a recipient.

The brain dead patient was identified at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad. Since mist had postponed flight timings which is not preferred when an organ is taken for transplantation, a decision was taken to take the patient instead to Hyderbad instead. The liver transplantation will be taken up at Continental hospital, Gachibowli where a green channel would be created to rush the liver from the hospital in Banjara Hills to Continental hospital.

HYDERABAD: The freezing temperatures and mist in the air in the national capital, in one of the rarest cases, has forced doctors to deviate from usual Procedures involved in organ transplant. The patient was flown down to Hyderabad for Liver transplantation, instead of the organ flown to the patient. On Saturday afternoon, The 59-year-old man from Delhi reached Hyderabad. Usually, after organs are taken from a brain-dead patient, they are taken from the hospital where organs are transplanted to a recipient. The brain dead patient was identified at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad. Since mist had postponed flight timings which is not preferred when an organ is taken for transplantation, a decision was taken to take the patient instead to Hyderbad instead. The liver transplantation will be taken up at Continental hospital, Gachibowli where a green channel would be created to rush the liver from the hospital in Banjara Hills to Continental hospital.
Mithun M K By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: What has demonetisation done to the struggling and attention-sought Micro and Small and Medium Enterpises (MSMEs)? These industries which were directed to go cashless before the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST), expected in about four more months, have been forced to go digital in their transactions with the Nov 8 announcement of the PM.

The end result, as of now, is a vast majority of them from the two Telugu-speaking states, who have lost the window of opportunity for going digital, reporting a loss in revenue up to 60 per cent.

Though industry experts say that the initial shock felt by the industry will taper off in the long run with the roll out of Goods and Service Tax (GST).

The state governments, especially in TS wants to go cashless. Dealings with the government will be cashless for MSMEs, Ravindra Modi, president Federation of TS and AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) said.

Presently, 42 percent of commercial tax in TS is in cash even though that is only 20 percent of overall revenue, he added. When GST will be introduced, MSMEs will have have to switch to online cashless transactions. This will leave a money trail that will bring the sector under the tax regime, he said.

A vast majority of MSMEs are still not registered companies. Most of the companies fail to register due to strict rules. If a unit reaches the threshold of Rs1.5 crore in annual turnover, it comes under the Central Sales Tax (CST). Some of these companies to avoid tax compliance are split into two when they reach this tax threshold. The single tax regime of GST would bring the threshold down to about Rs 10 lakh. Taxes will also have to be filed and paid online, increasing tax base, experts say.

Though most of the MSME owners welcome GST, with demonetisation they have to face hurdles associated with the transition to GST regime sooner than anticipated.

Those working in my jute unit do not have bank accounts. They insist on cash payments as they do not have proper access to ATMs and other banking facilities, BV Ramarao, president of Federation of AP Industries (FAPI) said. We will be filing taxes online, its not possible to make all our cash transactions online, he added.

The withdrawal limit set by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for current account is Rs 50,000 per week. Earlier this month, the ministry of MSME made a request with the finance ministry to raise this ceiling to Rs 2 lakh.

Getting cash for daily transactions have become impossible. The problems faced by MSME sector is not so different from any other sector but this sector employs close to 80 million people in the country. Will it be possible for them to switch to cashless transactions in a short notice? BV Ramanarao wonders.

HYDERABAD: What has demonetisation done to the struggling and attention-sought Micro and Small and Medium Enterpises (MSMEs)? These industries which were directed to go cashless before the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST), expected in about four more months, have been forced to go digital in their transactions with the Nov 8 announcement of the PM. The end result, as of now, is a vast majority of them from the two Telugu-speaking states, who have lost the window of opportunity for going digital, reporting a loss in revenue up to 60 per cent. Though industry experts say that the initial shock felt by the industry will taper off in the long run with the roll out of Goods and Service Tax (GST). The state governments, especially in TS wants to go cashless. Dealings with the government will be cashless for MSMEs, Ravindra Modi, president Federation of TS and AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) said. Presently, 42 percent of commercial tax in TS is in cash even though that is only 20 percent of overall revenue, he added. When GST will be introduced, MSMEs will have have to switch to online cashless transactions. This will leave a money trail that will bring the sector under the tax regime, he said. A vast majority of MSMEs are still not registered companies. Most of the companies fail to register due to strict rules. If a unit reaches the threshold of Rs1.5 crore in annual turnover, it comes under the Central Sales Tax (CST). Some of these companies to avoid tax compliance are split into two when they reach this tax threshold. The single tax regime of GST would bring the threshold down to about Rs 10 lakh. Taxes will also have to be filed and paid online, increasing tax base, experts say. Though most of the MSME owners welcome GST, with demonetisation they have to face hurdles associated with the transition to GST regime sooner than anticipated. Those working in my jute unit do not have bank accounts. They insist on cash payments as they do not have proper access to ATMs and other banking facilities, BV Ramarao, president of Federation of AP Industries (FAPI) said. We will be filing taxes online, its not possible to make all our cash transactions online, he added. The withdrawal limit set by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for current account is Rs 50,000 per week. Earlier this month, the ministry of MSME made a request with the finance ministry to raise this ceiling to Rs 2 lakh. Getting cash for daily transactions have become impossible. The problems faced by MSME sector is not so different from any other sector but this sector employs close to 80 million people in the country. Will it be possible for them to switch to cashless transactions in a short notice? BV Ramanarao wonders.
Sangeeta Bora By

Express News Service

The swinging culture of Hawaii is thousands of years old and traces its origins, traditions and lifestyle to the Polynesians, who voyaged from the Asia-Pacific to settle down in Hawaii. Down the ages, people from all over the world have been fascinated by the unique culture, cuisine and lifestyle that has emerged from this amalgamation.

A corner in Three Dots and a Dash

Closer to home in Bengaluru, engineers Vamsi Mareddy, Siddarth Ravindranath and Raghavendra Gowda have tried to replicate the Hawaiian experience with their Polynesian-themed tiki bar in Indiranagar, called Three Dots and a Dash. The name is inspired from a drink made by one of the greatest cocktail creators, Ernest Raymond Gantt aka Don the Beachcomber. Also, three dots and a dash is the Morse code for the letter V, which was used to symbolise victory in World War II. Gantt created the drink as a tribute to the American soldiers who fought in World War II.

When the threeall in their 30sdecided to start Three Dots, they had no experience in the F&B Industry. Their engineering and MBA degrees earned them well-paying corporate jobs, but they wanted to explore an idea that would set them apart from the pack. Their love for travel and food was the inspiration for the restaurant.

During one of his travels abroad, Siddarth was fascinated by the art of preparing and serving cocktails in a tiki bar. He noticed that the bartenders had extraordinary intensity and passion while making a drink and wanted every customer to be happy. This was when Siddharth decided to pitch the idea to Vamsi and Raghavendra.

We always wanted to do something in this space but could not figure out what exactly we wanted to zero in on. Then Siddarth came up with this idea. Luckily, Vamsi had a liquor licence and he came on board, says Raghavendra.

Vamsi adds that it was not just about serving great food and good cocktails, but about making the experience extraordinary. Through this venture we wanted to create a memorable experience for Bengalurus pub-loving people. We wanted to create a place to visit in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life, he says.

Three Dots and a Dash serves exotic cocktails in tiki mugs. The most fascinating part is the smoke oozing out of the drinks.

We had a lot of problems getting these mugs as they are not available in India. A majority of them are imported from China and the US, says Vamsi.

In one year of opening, they have served nearly 70,000 customers and are looking at expanding to other areas in Bengaluru.

The ambience at Three Dots and a Dash is a purely tropical setting, with bamboo at the entrance and natural wood used for interiors. The rooftop bar adds a cozy touch to the tropical Hawaiian feel of the pub.

We wanted to keep it real but at the same time we wanted to picturise the exotic culture of the ancient land, says Raghavendra.

The swinging culture of Hawaii is thousands of years old and traces its origins, traditions and lifestyle to the Polynesians, who voyaged from the Asia-Pacific to settle down in Hawaii. Down the ages, people from all over the world have been fascinated by the unique culture, cuisine and lifestyle that has emerged from this amalgamation. A corner in Three Dots and a DashCloser to home in Bengaluru, engineers Vamsi Mareddy, Siddarth Ravindranath and Raghavendra Gowda have tried to replicate the Hawaiian experience with their Polynesian-themed tiki bar in Indiranagar, called Three Dots and a Dash. The name is inspired from a drink made by one of the greatest cocktail creators, Ernest Raymond Gantt aka Don the Beachcomber. Also, three dots and a dash is the Morse code for the letter V, which was used to symbolise victory in World War II. Gantt created the drink as a tribute to the American soldiers who fought in World War II. When the threeall in their 30sdecided to start Three Dots, they had no experience in the F&B Industry. Their engineering and MBA degrees earned them well-paying corporate jobs, but they wanted to explore an idea that would set them apart from the pack. Their love for travel and food was the inspiration for the restaurant. During one of his travels abroad, Siddarth was fascinated by the art of preparing and serving cocktails in a tiki bar. He noticed that the bartenders had extraordinary intensity and passion while making a drink and wanted every customer to be happy. This was when Siddharth decided to pitch the idea to Vamsi and Raghavendra. We always wanted to do something in this space but could not figure out what exactly we wanted to zero in on. Then Siddarth came up with this idea. Luckily, Vamsi had a liquor licence and he came on board, says Raghavendra. Vamsi adds that it was not just about serving great food and good cocktails, but about making the experience extraordinary. Through this venture we wanted to create a memorable experience for Bengalurus pub-loving people. We wanted to create a place to visit in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life, he says. Three Dots and a Dash serves exotic cocktails in tiki mugs. The most fascinating part is the smoke oozing out of the drinks. We had a lot of problems getting these mugs as they are not available in India. A majority of them are imported from China and the US, says Vamsi. In one year of opening, they have served nearly 70,000 customers and are looking at expanding to other areas in Bengaluru. The ambience at Three Dots and a Dash is a purely tropical setting, with bamboo at the entrance and natural wood used for interiors. The rooftop bar adds a cozy touch to the tropical Hawaiian feel of the pub. We wanted to keep it real but at the same time we wanted to picturise the exotic culture of the ancient land, says Raghavendra.
Pradip R Sagar By

Operation Meghdoot

With control over Siachen Glacier not clearly demarcated in the Simla Agreement, Pakistan deployed troops in the area in April 1984. India countered with Operation Meghdoot, capturing Saltoro Ridge and Bilafond La. Subedar Major Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra for capturing Bana Post, now named after him. Siachen is the highest battlefield in the world and is under Indian control. Since 1984, India has lost 35 Army officers and 887 JCOs and jawans in Siachen.

Operation Vijay

In the summer of 1999, Pakistani soldiers seized strategic locations in Kargil. The Indian Army and Air Force launched Operation Vijay, which involved 35,000 soldiers, of whom heroes such as Anuj Nayyar, Manoj Kumar Pandey and Vikram Batra became household names.

Operation Parakram

India initiated its largest military build-up since 1971 on its border in Kashmir and Punjab in response to an attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001, by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. This was the second major military standoff between India and Pakistan after the detonation of nuclear devices by both countries in 1998.

Operation Black Tornado

During 26/11, NSG commandos rappelled down from helicopters and stormed Nariman House in Mumbai. They rescued nine hostages from the building the first day. At the Taj Mahal Palace and Trident hotels, commandos rescued 300 and 250 hostages respectively. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havaldar Gajendra Singh Bisht were killed in action.

Operation Cactus

An attempted coup by rebels in the Maldives was thwarted by Indian soldiers in 1988 after the countrys President M A Gayoom requested assistance. The IAF flew in soldiers of the Parachute Regiment to Male Airport. Control of the capital was restored within hours.

Operation All Out

On December 26, 2014, India declared that it had launched Operation All Out to eliminate Bodo militants after attacks by them killed over 76 people in Assam. About 5,000 personnel from CRPF and 4,620 soldiers were sent to eliminate 80 militants, and 2,000 Sashastra Seema Bal personnel were deployed to maintain stability.

Operation Pawan

The Indian Peace Keeping Force seized Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka from the LTTE in 1987. Indian troops were supported by armoured vehicles and helicopter gunships. Amphibious operations were conducted against LTTE in Guru Nagar. It took two weeks to take Jaffna. It was the beginning of a three-year campaign to restore peace in Sri Lanka.

Operation Meghdoot With control over Siachen Glacier not clearly demarcated in the Simla Agreement, Pakistan deployed troops in the area in April 1984. India countered with Operation Meghdoot, capturing Saltoro Ridge and Bilafond La. Subedar Major Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra for capturing Bana Post, now named after him. Siachen is the highest battlefield in the world and is under Indian control. Since 1984, India has lost 35 Army officers and 887 JCOs and jawans in Siachen. Operation Vijay In the summer of 1999, Pakistani soldiers seized strategic locations in Kargil. The Indian Army and Air Force launched Operation Vijay, which involved 35,000 soldiers, of whom heroes such as Anuj Nayyar, Manoj Kumar Pandey and Vikram Batra became household names. Operation Parakram India initiated its largest military build-up since 1971 on its border in Kashmir and Punjab in response to an attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001, by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. This was the second major military standoff between India and Pakistan after the detonation of nuclear devices by both countries in 1998. Operation Black Tornado During 26/11, NSG commandos rappelled down from helicopters and stormed Nariman House in Mumbai. They rescued nine hostages from the building the first day. At the Taj Mahal Palace and Trident hotels, commandos rescued 300 and 250 hostages respectively. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havaldar Gajendra Singh Bisht were killed in action. Operation Cactus An attempted coup by rebels in the Maldives was thwarted by Indian soldiers in 1988 after the countrys President M A Gayoom requested assistance. The IAF flew in soldiers of the Parachute Regiment to Male Airport. Control of the capital was restored within hours. Operation All Out On December 26, 2014, India declared that it had launched Operation All Out to eliminate Bodo militants after attacks by them killed over 76 people in Assam. About 5,000 personnel from CRPF and 4,620 soldiers were sent to eliminate 80 militants, and 2,000 Sashastra Seema Bal personnel were deployed to maintain stability. Operation Pawan The Indian Peace Keeping Force seized Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka from the LTTE in 1987. Indian troops were supported by armoured vehicles and helicopter gunships. Amphibious operations were conducted against LTTE in Guru Nagar. It took two weeks to take Jaffna. It was the beginning of a three-year campaign to restore peace in Sri Lanka.
The nation enters its 71st year of Independence in 2017. With this, the upcoming Republic Day parade will mark a significant milestone in the life of the Republic. It would be a time to reflect and see where we are going. It would also be a suitable occasion to set right a grave historical wrong. The basic issue concerns the narrative of state the Nehruvian dispensation had crafted for itself in 1947. It had claimed that India was a unique state that had gained its Independence solely by the use of soft power tools of non-violence, persuasion and non-cooperation. Force and violence, they claimed, had no role, whatsoever, in Indias freedom struggle.

This narrative was deliberately crafted by the spin doctors of Nehru to gain political legitimacy and the right to rule. It was designed to counter the legend of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army (INA). Of the 60,000 INA men, 26,000 perished in the war in Burma. Was that non-violence? The historical fact, however, is that non-violence had dismally failed to get India its Independence. Its last charge was the Quit India Movement of 1942. Unfortunately, the British had employed some 57 battalions of white troops to crush it ruthlessly. All Congress leaders were flung into jails and released at the end of the war. Many of them, while in jail, had struck Faustian bargains with the British. So how and why did the British quit India just two years after the end of war? This is the critical question of our freedom struggle.

The key British decision-maker in this exercise was Lord Clement Attlee who took over as the British Prime Minister at the end of the war. In 1956, he visited Kolkata as guest of Justice P B Chakraborthy, then Governor of West Bengal. The two had a long conversation about the events of the freedom struggle. Chakraborthy asked Attlee point blank, The Quit India Movement had failed dismally in 1942. Why then did you leave in such a tearing hurry just two years after the war ended? Attlees reply was direct, forthright and unequivocal, It was Subhas Bose and his INA. He explained that though the INA had lost the battles of Imphal and Kohima, the post war trials of the INA officers had enraged the people of India. There had been major mutinies in February 1946 in the Royal Indian Navy and the Air Force, and finally the Army.

The British decided to leave. The original date was 1948, but Mountbatten preponed it to August 1947. Thus the prime catalyst and trigger for the British to leave was Bose and his INA. Unfortunately, the British had their final revenge by handing over power to an Anglophile elite. They made Mountbatten the first Governor General of free India. The post-Independence Intelligence Bureau (IB) and sections of the bureaucracy ostensibly remained loyal to the erstwhile British masters. For almost a quarter century after Independence, the IB kept reporting to MI-5 about the whereabouts and activities of Netajis kin. The INA men were treated as traitors and not taken back into the Indian Army.

The Nehruvian dispensation blanked Bose and the INA completely out of the history books. The court historians fabricated a new history of the freedom struggle based entirely on non-violence and Satyagraha. To live up to this exaggerated narrative, Nehru became a great pacifist. He told General Sir Roy Bucher, Indias first Army Chief, that independent India didnt need armed forces. Police forces were sufficient! He marginalised the military and sidelined it. He starved it of resources till we met the disaster of 1962 at the hands of the Chinese. That abject humiliation opened our eyes and made Indias leaders turn to real politic. Armed forces were expanded and modernised. It did well in the 1965 war with Pakistan and won in Bangladesh in 1971.

The wheel had come to a full circle. But Bose and his INA were never rehabilitated. The Nehruvian dispensation went to lengths to prove Bose had died in an air crash in Taiwan. In our 71st year, the time has now come to revisit our history and unravel the truth of our freedom struggle. I strongly urge that we psychologically rehabilitate the INA and nurture its spirit of militant nationalism.

On the 68th Republic Day parade, we must have a contingent of INA veterans move in jeeps behind our PVC winners. There are so few of them left. Within the next few years they will all die out. Let us honour those who are left. It will right a historic wrong of monumental proportions.

We should have tableaux depicting the bust of Netaji and the soldiers of the INA at Moirangthe first place they had liberated in Manipur. It would be a wonderful and soul-stirring gesture that will revive the intense nationalism of the INA. It will help us throw off the psychological shackles of slavery and heal a ravaged colonial mindset of deep-seated cultural inferiority and subjugation. We need that grand gesture to revive the idea of India in the 71st year of its existence.

Maj. Gen. (Retd) G D Bakshi

War veteran and strategic analyst

gagandeep.bakshi@yahoo.com

The nation enters its 71st year of Independence in 2017. With this, the upcoming Republic Day parade will mark a significant milestone in the life of the Republic. It would be a time to reflect and see where we are going. It would also be a suitable occasion to set right a grave historical wrong. The basic issue concerns the narrative of state the Nehruvian dispensation had crafted for itself in 1947. It had claimed that India was a unique state that had gained its Independence solely by the use of soft power tools of non-violence, persuasion and non-cooperation. Force and violence, they claimed, had no role, whatsoever, in Indias freedom struggle. This narrative was deliberately crafted by the spin doctors of Nehru to gain political legitimacy and the right to rule. It was designed to counter the legend of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army (INA). Of the 60,000 INA men, 26,000 perished in the war in Burma. Was that non-violence? The historical fact, however, is that non-violence had dismally failed to get India its Independence. Its last charge was the Quit India Movement of 1942. Unfortunately, the British had employed some 57 battalions of white troops to crush it ruthlessly. All Congress leaders were flung into jails and released at the end of the war. Many of them, while in jail, had struck Faustian bargains with the British. So how and why did the British quit India just two years after the end of war? This is the critical question of our freedom struggle. The key British decision-maker in this exercise was Lord Clement Attlee who took over as the British Prime Minister at the end of the war. In 1956, he visited Kolkata as guest of Justice P B Chakraborthy, then Governor of West Bengal. The two had a long conversation about the events of the freedom struggle. Chakraborthy asked Attlee point blank, The Quit India Movement had failed dismally in 1942. Why then did you leave in such a tearing hurry just two years after the war ended? Attlees reply was direct, forthright and unequivocal, It was Subhas Bose and his INA. He explained that though the INA had lost the battles of Imphal and Kohima, the post war trials of the INA officers had enraged the people of India. There had been major mutinies in February 1946 in the Royal Indian Navy and the Air Force, and finally the Army. The British decided to leave. The original date was 1948, but Mountbatten preponed it to August 1947. Thus the prime catalyst and trigger for the British to leave was Bose and his INA. Unfortunately, the British had their final revenge by handing over power to an Anglophile elite. They made Mountbatten the first Governor General of free India. The post-Independence Intelligence Bureau (IB) and sections of the bureaucracy ostensibly remained loyal to the erstwhile British masters. For almost a quarter century after Independence, the IB kept reporting to MI-5 about the whereabouts and activities of Netajis kin. The INA men were treated as traitors and not taken back into the Indian Army. The Nehruvian dispensation blanked Bose and the INA completely out of the history books. The court historians fabricated a new history of the freedom struggle based entirely on non-violence and Satyagraha. To live up to this exaggerated narrative, Nehru became a great pacifist. He told General Sir Roy Bucher, Indias first Army Chief, that independent India didnt need armed forces. Police forces were sufficient! He marginalised the military and sidelined it. He starved it of resources till we met the disaster of 1962 at the hands of the Chinese. That abject humiliation opened our eyes and made Indias leaders turn to real politic. Armed forces were expanded and modernised. It did well in the 1965 war with Pakistan and won in Bangladesh in 1971. The wheel had come to a full circle. But Bose and his INA were never rehabilitated. The Nehruvian dispensation went to lengths to prove Bose had died in an air crash in Taiwan. In our 71st year, the time has now come to revisit our history and unravel the truth of our freedom struggle. I strongly urge that we psychologically rehabilitate the INA and nurture its spirit of militant nationalism. On the 68th Republic Day parade, we must have a contingent of INA veterans move in jeeps behind our PVC winners. There are so few of them left. Within the next few years they will all die out. Let us honour those who are left. It will right a historic wrong of monumental proportions. We should have tableaux depicting the bust of Netaji and the soldiers of the INA at Moirangthe first place they had liberated in Manipur. It would be a wonderful and soul-stirring gesture that will revive the intense nationalism of the INA. It will help us throw off the psychological shackles of slavery and heal a ravaged colonial mindset of deep-seated cultural inferiority and subjugation. We need that grand gesture to revive the idea of India in the 71st year of its existence. Maj. Gen. (Retd) G D Bakshi War veteran and strategic analyst gagandeep.bakshi@yahoo.com
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

KHARAGPUR: Research scholars of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur partially halted their protests against fee hike -- that started on December 20 -- on Friday after the dean of the institute sent recommendations of reduction of a nominal amount from the total semester fee structure, to the director.

However, the students vow to continue with the movement and have accordingly formed a committee of 20 students to spearhead the movement till complete rollback is announced.

"At least we have brought them to the negotiations table. Though they have tried to

give us some respite by proposing to reduce Rs 4,200 in all -- Rs 2,700 from the total semester fees of Rs 37,000 and Rs 1,500 from mess charges -- but major issues are yet to be discussed. Also, we fear that the Rs 1,500 proposed reduction of mess charges may be imposed on us in other ways. We can't be completely sure until we see the next semester fee structure. Hence, the movement will continue," said Anupam Banerjee, a member of the 20 student core committee that would speak with the authorities from now on. However, the students have not got any official circular stating the reduction of fees.

The students are in constant contact with students of other IITs. "If similar hike is announced in other IITs, we have to forge a united agitation," Anupam added.

Also, not all are satisfied with the documents provided by the authorities to the students and say there are many gaps in the break up of the amount charged.

"Why should we pay for the trips of the Hostel Management Committee (HMC) contractual staffers to Andaman and Nicobar Islands? Anyways, the fee they over charge for hostel facilities they provide. We are against the prevailing graft in the HMC and not against the IIT as a whole. We demand complete transparency in the functioning of the HMC. The accounts they have provided us have major loopholes and 'invisible charges' which we are protesting against," said Ayan Ghosh, a protesting student.

Many of the research scholars have to look after their families and send some money home and the hike in fees has affected them the most. "With the hiked fees, I have very less money to support the education of my younger siblings," said Raj Prasad, a student from Bihar.

"We will get the authorities' decision only when the link to semester fees and mess charges open on Monday. If our demands are not met and rollback not announced, the movement will continue," said student agitator Partho.

KHARAGPUR: Research scholars of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur partially halted their protests against fee hike -- that started on December 20 -- on Friday after the dean of the institute sent recommendations of reduction of a nominal amount from the total semester fee structure, to the director. However, the students vow to continue with the movement and have accordingly formed a committee of 20 students to spearhead the movement till complete rollback is announced. "At least we have brought them to the negotiations table. Though they have tried to give us some respite by proposing to reduce Rs 4,200 in all -- Rs 2,700 from the total semester fees of Rs 37,000 and Rs 1,500 from mess charges -- but major issues are yet to be discussed. Also, we fear that the Rs 1,500 proposed reduction of mess charges may be imposed on us in other ways. We can't be completely sure until we see the next semester fee structure. Hence, the movement will continue," said Anupam Banerjee, a member of the 20 student core committee that would speak with the authorities from now on. However, the students have not got any official circular stating the reduction of fees. The students are in constant contact with students of other IITs. "If similar hike is announced in other IITs, we have to forge a united agitation," Anupam added. Also, not all are satisfied with the documents provided by the authorities to the students and say there are many gaps in the break up of the amount charged. "Why should we pay for the trips of the Hostel Management Committee (HMC) contractual staffers to Andaman and Nicobar Islands? Anyways, the fee they over charge for hostel facilities they provide. We are against the prevailing graft in the HMC and not against the IIT as a whole. We demand complete transparency in the functioning of the HMC. The accounts they have provided us have major loopholes and 'invisible charges' which we are protesting against," said Ayan Ghosh, a protesting student. Many of the research scholars have to look after their families and send some money home and the hike in fees has affected them the most. "With the hiked fees, I have very less money to support the education of my younger siblings," said Raj Prasad, a student from Bihar. "We will get the authorities' decision only when the link to semester fees and mess charges open on Monday. If our demands are not met and rollback not announced, the movement will continue," said student agitator Partho.
By PTI

JAMMU: Former minister and Udhampur MLA Pawan Gupta today accused BJP of surrendering before PDP on the issue of West Pakistan refugees to stay in power.

"BJP's lust of power led it to surrender before PDP to promote the agenda of separatists while denying the citizenship rights to West Pakistan refugees despite their domicile in Jammu and Kashmir for the last seven decades," Gupta claimed.

Gupta, who was a minister in the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed -led coalition was dropped from the Cabinet when Mehbooba Mufti took over the reins of the state, alleged BJP has betrayed the people of Jammu region.

Gupta also accused BJP of aligning with the separatists and PDP to scuttle the establishment of Kashmiri Pandits' and Sainik colonies in Kashmir.

Gupta said the fundamental right of the West Pakistan refugees has been infringed even after they were promised domicile certificates.

"Now BJP has taken a U-turn despite its announcement of issuing domicile certificates to the refugees and ridiculously reducing the same to merely issuance of I-cards, thus depriving them any chance of livelihood," he said.

JAMMU: Former minister and Udhampur MLA Pawan Gupta today accused BJP of surrendering before PDP on the issue of West Pakistan refugees to stay in power. "BJP's lust of power led it to surrender before PDP to promote the agenda of separatists while denying the citizenship rights to West Pakistan refugees despite their domicile in Jammu and Kashmir for the last seven decades," Gupta claimed. Gupta, who was a minister in the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed -led coalition was dropped from the Cabinet when Mehbooba Mufti took over the reins of the state, alleged BJP has betrayed the people of Jammu region. Gupta also accused BJP of aligning with the separatists and PDP to scuttle the establishment of Kashmiri Pandits' and Sainik colonies in Kashmir. Gupta said the fundamental right of the West Pakistan refugees has been infringed even after they were promised domicile certificates. "Now BJP has taken a U-turn despite its announcement of issuing domicile certificates to the refugees and ridiculously reducing the same to merely issuance of I-cards, thus depriving them any chance of livelihood," he said.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: A central team of Bharatiya Janata Party along with West Bengal party leaders were

prevented by the state police from entering riot-affected Dhulagarh in Howrah district on Saturday.

The central team, which had two MPs in it, were asked by BJP President Amit Shah to

enter the town that had recently witnessed Bengal's latest round of communal violence on Milad-un-Nabi (birthday of Prophet Muhammad) on December 13.

"We had come with two MPs to see the situation but we were pushed back. That is very

insulting to BJP and shameful for West Bengal," said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.

A huge contingent of police force barricaded the entrances to Dhulagarh and regulated movement to and from the industrial town.

Apart from Sinha, BJP state President Dileep Ghosh was also present in the team that

tried to enter Dhulagarh on Saturday. BJP is likely to lodge a complaint with Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.

Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Choudhury was also recently denied permission

to enter Dhulagarh.

"We have strict orders not to let any political party enter Dhulagarh that may worsen the law and order situation," a police official of Howrah district said.

KOLKATA: A central team of Bharatiya Janata Party along with West Bengal party leaders were prevented by the state police from entering riot-affected Dhulagarh in Howrah district on Saturday. The central team, which had two MPs in it, were asked by BJP President Amit Shah to enter the town that had recently witnessed Bengal's latest round of communal violence on Milad-un-Nabi (birthday of Prophet Muhammad) on December 13. "We had come with two MPs to see the situation but we were pushed back. That is very insulting to BJP and shameful for West Bengal," said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha. A huge contingent of police force barricaded the entrances to Dhulagarh and regulated movement to and from the industrial town. Apart from Sinha, BJP state President Dileep Ghosh was also present in the team that tried to enter Dhulagarh on Saturday. BJP is likely to lodge a complaint with Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Choudhury was also recently denied permission to enter Dhulagarh. "We have strict orders not to let any political party enter Dhulagarh that may worsen the law and order situation," a police official of Howrah district said.
Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Taking a dig at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said that that PTM stood for Pay to Modi. He termed demonetisation is a firebomb on country's cash economy which has favored only the 50 corporate families in the country and is an anti-poor decision.

Addressing a rally at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh today marking the completion of four years of the Congress government in the hill state led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Rahul said,`` The note ban is a step taken against the poor, farmers and the middle class Indians. There is an honest person on one side while an unscrupulous person on the other. If the note goes into the hands of unscrupulous people, it becomes black as if under a spell of magic.

Donning a Himachali cap with dry followers atop, Rahul Gandhi in his forty minute speech said,``

Demonetisation is a move against the poor. Modi did not touch real estate and gold markets, nor did he touch Swiss bank accounts where 90 per cent of the black money is parked. Merely 6 per cent of the black money is in cash.

`` The Congress was not against a cashless system but it should not be imposed, he added.

Rahul said,`` PM Modi you have divided India into two parts. On one side is one per cent rich and on other there are middle class, poor people.

`` Modi is saying the situation after demonetisation would improve in 50 days but it will not improve for six to seven months, he added.

Rahul Gandhi again reiterated that Modi should answer his questions which he had asked recently in Gujarat. `` Instead of answering my question PM Narendra Modi is making fun of me. Let him make fun of me as much as he wants, but at least he should answer my questions, he said.

He added,`` Want to ask the prime minister why he didnt table the Swiss banks list given to him earlier.

He said the currency ban has hit this hill state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors adversely. Modi ji, you have removed the HAT of Himachal Pradesh  Horticulture, Agriculture and Tourism, said Rahul.

He also accused PM Modi of breaking the backbone of cities like Shimla and Dharamshala with the demonetisation move. This was Rahul Gandhis first visit to the hill state after the Congress reversal in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.



CHANDIGARH: Taking a dig at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said that that PTM stood for Pay to Modi. He termed demonetisation is a firebomb on country's cash economy which has favored only the 50 corporate families in the country and is an anti-poor decision. Addressing a rally at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh today marking the completion of four years of the Congress government in the hill state led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Rahul said,`` The note ban is a step taken against the poor, farmers and the middle class Indians. There is an honest person on one side while an unscrupulous person on the other. If the note goes into the hands of unscrupulous people, it becomes black as if under a spell of magic. Donning a Himachali cap with dry followers atop, Rahul Gandhi in his forty minute speech said,`` Demonetisation is a move against the poor. Modi did not touch real estate and gold markets, nor did he touch Swiss bank accounts where 90 per cent of the black money is parked. Merely 6 per cent of the black money is in cash. `` The Congress was not against a cashless system but it should not be imposed, he added. Rahul said,`` PM Modi you have divided India into two parts. On one side is one per cent rich and on other there are middle class, poor people. `` Modi is saying the situation after demonetisation would improve in 50 days but it will not improve for six to seven months, he added. Rahul Gandhi again reiterated that Modi should answer his questions which he had asked recently in Gujarat. `` Instead of answering my question PM Narendra Modi is making fun of me. Let him make fun of me as much as he wants, but at least he should answer my questions, he said. He added,`` Want to ask the prime minister why he didnt table the Swiss banks list given to him earlier. He said the currency ban has hit this hill state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sectors adversely. Modi ji, you have removed the HAT of Himachal Pradesh  Horticulture, Agriculture and Tourism, said Rahul. He also accused PM Modi of breaking the backbone of cities like Shimla and Dharamshala with the demonetisation move. This was Rahul Gandhis first visit to the hill state after the Congress reversal in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Private schools affiliated to the Central Board of Seconday Education are soon set to lose their autonomy in the appointment of principals.

Over 10,000 private schools across the country, affiliated to the CBSE, can only appoint principals who clear the Principal Eligibility Test (PET). The appointments would also have to be approved by the representatives of the CBSE and State government.



Candidates rejected by these representatives cannot be appointed as principals. Earlier, the selection committee for choosing a school principal comprised the president of the society, the chairperson of the managing committee and a person having experience of administration of schools, nominated by the managing committee.

But, according to the new rules, the managing committee can nominate a person to the panel only after consulting with the CBSE. Also, there would now be two more persons on the panel, one nominated by the CBSE and the other by the State government. Both these members would have veto powers. The CBSE has amended its affiliation by-laws to this effect.



The moves impact is not restricted to new appointments. Even existing principals of private schools would have to take the PET, say the rules. However, principals of government-run CBSE schools have been exempted from this regulation.

NEW DELHI: Private schools affiliated to the Central Board of Seconday Education are soon set to lose their autonomy in the appointment of principals. Over 10,000 private schools across the country, affiliated to the CBSE, can only appoint principals who clear the Principal Eligibility Test (PET). The appointments would also have to be approved by the representatives of the CBSE and State government. Candidates rejected by these representatives cannot be appointed as principals. Earlier, the selection committee for choosing a school principal comprised the president of the society, the chairperson of the managing committee and a person having experience of administration of schools, nominated by the managing committee. But, according to the new rules, the managing committee can nominate a person to the panel only after consulting with the CBSE. Also, there would now be two more persons on the panel, one nominated by the CBSE and the other by the State government. Both these members would have veto powers. The CBSE has amended its affiliation by-laws to this effect. The moves impact is not restricted to new appointments. Even existing principals of private schools would have to take the PET, say the rules. However, principals of government-run CBSE schools have been exempted from this regulation.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Terming it as infructuous, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by a group of lawyers opposing the elevation of Justice J S Khehar as next Chief Justice of India.



Since the notification of appointing Justice J S Khehar as the next Chief Justice of India has already been issued, the petition has virtually become infructuous, a Supreme Court bench said.



There is nothing left in this petition as the President of India has issued the notification appointing Justice Khehar as the next CJI. If you want, we can allow you to withdraw the petition, the bench said.

During the hearing, members of the lawyers body had argument over themselves.

CHENNAI: Terming it as infructuous, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by a group of lawyers opposing the elevation of Justice J S Khehar as next Chief Justice of India. Since the notification of appointing Justice J S Khehar as the next Chief Justice of India has already been issued, the petition has virtually become infructuous, a Supreme Court bench said. There is nothing left in this petition as the President of India has issued the notification appointing Justice Khehar as the next CJI. If you want, we can allow you to withdraw the petition, the bench said. During the hearing, members of the lawyers body had argument over themselves.
By PTI

NAINITAL: Hours after being served summons by the CBI in connection with the sting CD case, Chief Minister Harish Rawat suffered another jolt today with the Uttarakhand High Court putting aside his plea seeking a stay on his appearance before the apex investigating agency on December 26.

Rawat had made an oral plea before the single bench of Justice U C Dhyani saying he should be allowed for the time being not to make an appearance before the CBI in response to the summons on December 26 as a petition challenging the justification of the CBI probe into the alleged sting CD was pending already before the court and scheduled to come up for hearing on January 7.

The CBI argued that in the last hearing of the case, Rawat had said he would cooperate with the CBI inquiry and so he should appear before CBI on due date.

Setting aside the plea of Rawat, Justice Dhyani decided that the next date of hearing would be January 7 as was fixed earlier.

NAINITAL: Hours after being served summons by the CBI in connection with the sting CD case, Chief Minister Harish Rawat suffered another jolt today with the Uttarakhand High Court putting aside his plea seeking a stay on his appearance before the apex investigating agency on December 26. Rawat had made an oral plea before the single bench of Justice U C Dhyani saying he should be allowed for the time being not to make an appearance before the CBI in response to the summons on December 26 as a petition challenging the justification of the CBI probe into the alleged sting CD was pending already before the court and scheduled to come up for hearing on January 7. The CBI argued that in the last hearing of the case, Rawat had said he would cooperate with the CBI inquiry and so he should appear before CBI on due date. Setting aside the plea of Rawat, Justice Dhyani decided that the next date of hearing would be January 7 as was fixed earlier.
Balbir Punj By

Tomorrow, December 25, is a holy day for the entire West and for large sections of people in this country too as it is the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ. Maybe more by coincidence rather than design, for the Marxists in India, it is the day of founding of the Communist Party of India.

Many people who dont belong to the Christian minority also participate in the joyous merrymaking in this country as well as abroad as midnight church bells announce what is hailed as Christmas, originally a Roman winter festival. But there are no bells ringing for the Marxist movement in most countries, even in Communist party offices, and certainly not in India where the movement had taken root as far back as the 1920s

(The actual date is not very clear as several claims of founding have been advanced). The first major country to declare itself Communist was Russia under the nomenclature of the Soviet Union. In the early 20th century, Lenins new society in Moscow was predicted to spread like wildfire and push capitalism to its doom.

The dream of 1909 that emerged in Moscow in the wake of the bloody ending of the Tsarist regime collapsed without a shot being fired in 1991! The most significant aspect of the communist movement in India is the foreign inspiration and overhang on its fashioning.

The 1925 founding of the party in Kanpur, as per documents available, was under Soviet leadership and several founders were not Indian. During the entire Second World War period, the Communists played a role as a supporter of the war effort even as Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress were opposing Britain dragging India into the war without even ascertaining its consent.

While the masses in the country were asking Britain to quit India, the Reds were calling it a peoples war and were with the British. They spied on freedom fighters and abused national leaders such as Gandhiji and Subhash Chandra Bose. The Marxist stand that India was not one nation but a conglomerate of different nationalities also took the CPI to justify the demand for Partition on religious grounds that Jinnah launched during the war and intensified it soon after the war ended.

The CPI also refused to recognise independent India as free saying that independence was only a political claim by the bourgeoisie to retain their hold over the proletariat and peasants. In Marxist dominated areas of Andhra, Punjab, West Bengal, Bihar, Chota Nagpur, Malabar, etc., communist cadres attacked newly independent Indias state machinery on its leader Ranadives call. But the new state had popular support and the violence only isolated the CPI.

The Soviet hold over the Indian communists was unmistakable throughout the postindependence era. The CPI served as a fifth column of the Soviet Union in India; several front organisations sponsored and actively financed by Moscow under the cover of various trade deals tried laying the Soviet foreign policy tune in Indian politics.

The crisis within the communist movement followed the split between Soviet leaders in the post-Stalin era and the all powerful Chinese Marxist leader Mao Tse-Tung. In India, it came to the fore after Chinas attack on Indian territory along the Himalayas.

While Moscow chose to be neutral, Mao sought to cut Indias political influence among Third World countries, especially the Non-Aligned Movement. That the CPI-CPM split along the Soviet versus Maoist line could cause an ideological divide within the Indian communist movement completely proved the accusation against it that it was a foreign-inspired (and funded) movement. The pro-China faction, that had the numbers, soon became the CPM.

The two communist parties failed to read the Indian political scene rightly even though they still claim to be the correct interpreters of Marxist analysis of the socio-economic situation in India. In the 21st century, they have finally been ousted from power at state level in West Bengal, have returned to power in Kerala largely due to the huge loss of credibility of the Congress-led front involvement in massive corruption, and can claim dominance only in Tripura, apart from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and sections of English media. In most other states, they have been reduced to hangerson and have to stick to the tail of regional parties to retain a semblance of political influence. In Maharashtra that once threw up Communist leaders of eminence like S A Dange, P C Joshi and Ranadive, communist leadership is non-existent today; similar is the case in Andhra, Bihar and other states.

The Indian communists are now confined to a few small pockets; similarly, the Marxist movement internationally has shrunk to a few marginal countries like Cuba, North Korea and two countries in the Indo- China region: Vietnam and Laos.

The last two are today more concerned over Chinas shadow over them than with anything else. For communist Vietnam, America is a much needed support against aggressive China and no longer an ideological elder brother. China itself is more a one-party dictatorship with an exterior communist face and an interior capitalist economy.

Even Cuba is opening up and shedding its hard communist past. Across the world, communism is a dying faith and the return of Christmas celebrations in the numerous cathedrals of now capitalist Russia proves that Marx was wrong in consigning both religion and capitalism to the wastebasket of history.

Tomorrow, December 25, is a holy day for the entire West and for large sections of people in this country too as it is the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ. Maybe more by coincidence rather than design, for the Marxists in India, it is the day of founding of the Communist Party of India. Many people who dont belong to the Christian minority also participate in the joyous merrymaking in this country as well as abroad as midnight church bells announce what is hailed as Christmas, originally a Roman winter festival. But there are no bells ringing for the Marxist movement in most countries, even in Communist party offices, and certainly not in India where the movement had taken root as far back as the 1920s (The actual date is not very clear as several claims of founding have been advanced). The first major country to declare itself Communist was Russia under the nomenclature of the Soviet Union. In the early 20th century, Lenins new society in Moscow was predicted to spread like wildfire and push capitalism to its doom. The dream of 1909 that emerged in Moscow in the wake of the bloody ending of the Tsarist regime collapsed without a shot being fired in 1991! The most significant aspect of the communist movement in India is the foreign inspiration and overhang on its fashioning. The 1925 founding of the party in Kanpur, as per documents available, was under Soviet leadership and several founders were not Indian. During the entire Second World War period, the Communists played a role as a supporter of the war effort even as Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress were opposing Britain dragging India into the war without even ascertaining its consent. While the masses in the country were asking Britain to quit India, the Reds were calling it a peoples war and were with the British. They spied on freedom fighters and abused national leaders such as Gandhiji and Subhash Chandra Bose. The Marxist stand that India was not one nation but a conglomerate of different nationalities also took the CPI to justify the demand for Partition on religious grounds that Jinnah launched during the war and intensified it soon after the war ended. The CPI also refused to recognise independent India as free saying that independence was only a political claim by the bourgeoisie to retain their hold over the proletariat and peasants. In Marxist dominated areas of Andhra, Punjab, West Bengal, Bihar, Chota Nagpur, Malabar, etc., communist cadres attacked newly independent Indias state machinery on its leader Ranadives call. But the new state had popular support and the violence only isolated the CPI. The Soviet hold over the Indian communists was unmistakable throughout the postindependence era. The CPI served as a fifth column of the Soviet Union in India; several front organisations sponsored and actively financed by Moscow under the cover of various trade deals tried laying the Soviet foreign policy tune in Indian politics. The crisis within the communist movement followed the split between Soviet leaders in the post-Stalin era and the all powerful Chinese Marxist leader Mao Tse-Tung. In India, it came to the fore after Chinas attack on Indian territory along the Himalayas. While Moscow chose to be neutral, Mao sought to cut Indias political influence among Third World countries, especially the Non-Aligned Movement. That the CPI-CPM split along the Soviet versus Maoist line could cause an ideological divide within the Indian communist movement completely proved the accusation against it that it was a foreign-inspired (and funded) movement. The pro-China faction, that had the numbers, soon became the CPM. The two communist parties failed to read the Indian political scene rightly even though they still claim to be the correct interpreters of Marxist analysis of the socio-economic situation in India. In the 21st century, they have finally been ousted from power at state level in West Bengal, have returned to power in Kerala largely due to the huge loss of credibility of the Congress-led front involvement in massive corruption, and can claim dominance only in Tripura, apart from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and sections of English media. In most other states, they have been reduced to hangerson and have to stick to the tail of regional parties to retain a semblance of political influence. In Maharashtra that once threw up Communist leaders of eminence like S A Dange, P C Joshi and Ranadive, communist leadership is non-existent today; similar is the case in Andhra, Bihar and other states. The Indian communists are now confined to a few small pockets; similarly, the Marxist movement internationally has shrunk to a few marginal countries like Cuba, North Korea and two countries in the Indo- China region: Vietnam and Laos. The last two are today more concerned over Chinas shadow over them than with anything else. For communist Vietnam, America is a much needed support against aggressive China and no longer an ideological elder brother. China itself is more a one-party dictatorship with an exterior communist face and an interior capitalist economy. Even Cuba is opening up and shedding its hard communist past. Across the world, communism is a dying faith and the return of Christmas celebrations in the numerous cathedrals of now capitalist Russia proves that Marx was wrong in consigning both religion and capitalism to the wastebasket of history.
Bhargav Prasad By

Google recently released a report stating that two of their artificial intelligence machines (A.I) have been communicating with each other. But given how the idea would be for these machines to become sentient, these computers, in their crudest semantic, communicating with each other is evidence that we have in fact made progress unimaginable a few centuries ago.

If our literature was anything to go by, crafting technology that thinks and acts for itself are the technologically bound utopia that we have been working towards. But as a civilization itself, we are still Type I. To put things into perspective, a Type III civilization is one that harnesses the entire energy of the star by building a Dyson sphere around the star and the planet. A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures most or all of its power output.

It would be unessential of me to point out how far away we are from even thinking of constructing this structure. After only a few centuries of exploitation, relying on limited natural resources for energy isnt the best-case foundation of a prosperous civilization. And for any kind of further technological advancement to take places, power is necessary. This could be from venturing into the universe to look for other forms of intelligent life to exploring further inside our own selves to discover how the human body really works.

But as I recently discovered, after having watched Denis Villeneuves fantastic Arrival, which subverted all the cliches of Alien movie by being grounded and focusing on the human side of an alien invasion, theres a human side to this platitude as well. What if this is the limit to our technological progress?

When I say limits, I mean end of the track, not hurdles, not obstacles, but the end of any further possibility.

Technology is a virtue of human beings being intelligent and creative. Technology can only progress as much the human mind can progress. This would mean that, evolutionarily, there is no limit to how far the human mind can go. Idealistically, the crooks and crevices of the human brain will always keep conjuring up ideas that further development and civilization. This is the evolution 101.

Theres a limit to how long we can sustain as a civilization. Even though we are always on the lookout for new sources of energy  nuclear fusion, anti-matter, etc, the civilization has been designed in a way that it cannot sustain without energy and power for even a second.

And most of our energy comes with limited natural resources. If were, in fact, looking at sustaining and developing as a civilization for more than a few centuries, then, we would need to reconsider our energy blueprints, thereby replacing natural resources with solar power, because an idea civilization on a planet is one that optimizes the power output of the star in the solar system. Its almost as if the solar system was designed in such a way that intelligent life forms on a planet can make use of the stars energy to venturing further away from the planet itself.

(When he isnt writing, the creative producer with The Rascalas watches a lot of cat videos on YouTube)

Google recently released a report stating that two of their artificial intelligence machines (A.I) have been communicating with each other. But given how the idea would be for these machines to become sentient, these computers, in their crudest semantic, communicating with each other is evidence that we have in fact made progress unimaginable a few centuries ago. If our literature was anything to go by, crafting technology that thinks and acts for itself are the technologically bound utopia that we have been working towards. But as a civilization itself, we are still Type I. To put things into perspective, a Type III civilization is one that harnesses the entire energy of the star by building a Dyson sphere around the star and the planet. A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures most or all of its power output. It would be unessential of me to point out how far away we are from even thinking of constructing this structure. After only a few centuries of exploitation, relying on limited natural resources for energy isnt the best-case foundation of a prosperous civilization. And for any kind of further technological advancement to take places, power is necessary. This could be from venturing into the universe to look for other forms of intelligent life to exploring further inside our own selves to discover how the human body really works. But as I recently discovered, after having watched Denis Villeneuves fantastic Arrival, which subverted all the cliches of Alien movie by being grounded and focusing on the human side of an alien invasion, theres a human side to this platitude as well. What if this is the limit to our technological progress? When I say limits, I mean end of the track, not hurdles, not obstacles, but the end of any further possibility. Technology is a virtue of human beings being intelligent and creative. Technology can only progress as much the human mind can progress. This would mean that, evolutionarily, there is no limit to how far the human mind can go. Idealistically, the crooks and crevices of the human brain will always keep conjuring up ideas that further development and civilization. This is the evolution 101. Theres a limit to how long we can sustain as a civilization. Even though we are always on the lookout for new sources of energy  nuclear fusion, anti-matter, etc, the civilization has been designed in a way that it cannot sustain without energy and power for even a second. And most of our energy comes with limited natural resources. If were, in fact, looking at sustaining and developing as a civilization for more than a few centuries, then, we would need to reconsider our energy blueprints, thereby replacing natural resources with solar power, because an idea civilization on a planet is one that optimizes the power output of the star in the solar system. Its almost as if the solar system was designed in such a way that intelligent life forms on a planet can make use of the stars energy to venturing further away from the planet itself. (When he isnt writing, the creative producer with The Rascalas watches a lot of cat videos on YouTube)
Trump Should Read Indias Playbook for Taunting China, says a recent headline in ForeignPolicy.com, often described as the Holy Grail of global thinkers.

The column argues that New Delhi has been poking at Beijings One-China Policy for years without wrecking the relationship, and suggests that the incoming US president, who angered Beijing by taking a call from Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this month, should learn some tricks on how to deal with China from India.

One of the examples of poking cited by the author is the hosting of the Dalai Lama by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan during a childrens summit with Nobel Peace laureates earlier this month. To this, a foreign ministry official said Beijing was strongly dissatisfied because  in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian Presidential palace.

China had seen red earlier when India allowed the Karmapa Lama and the US ambassador to India to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own, and said the Dalai Lama too could visit early next year. Upset over Chinas repeated veto of Indias entry into the NSG and its appeal to declare Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist, New Delhi has been pushing back in various ways.

Beijing has also warned New Delhi against interfering with its northern neighbour Mongolia, which India promised to help after China imposed sanctions on it for hosting the Dalai Lama in November.

In May last year, Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to ever visit Mongolia, right after his visit to China, and quickly signed a strategic partnership with the landlocked nation known for its antipathy towards China. The not so subtle message going out seems to be: You mess in our backyard, well mess in yours. But whether or not that is a credible threat remains to be seen.

Trump Should Read Indias Playbook for Taunting China, says a recent headline in ForeignPolicy.com, often described as the Holy Grail of global thinkers. The column argues that New Delhi has been poking at Beijings One-China Policy for years without wrecking the relationship, and suggests that the incoming US president, who angered Beijing by taking a call from Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this month, should learn some tricks on how to deal with China from India. One of the examples of poking cited by the author is the hosting of the Dalai Lama by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan during a childrens summit with Nobel Peace laureates earlier this month. To this, a foreign ministry official said Beijing was strongly dissatisfied because  in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian Presidential palace. China had seen red earlier when India allowed the Karmapa Lama and the US ambassador to India to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own, and said the Dalai Lama too could visit early next year. Upset over Chinas repeated veto of Indias entry into the NSG and its appeal to declare Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist, New Delhi has been pushing back in various ways. Beijing has also warned New Delhi against interfering with its northern neighbour Mongolia, which India promised to help after China imposed sanctions on it for hosting the Dalai Lama in November. In May last year, Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to ever visit Mongolia, right after his visit to China, and quickly signed a strategic partnership with the landlocked nation known for its antipathy towards China. The not so subtle message going out seems to be: You mess in our backyard, well mess in yours. But whether or not that is a credible threat remains to be seen.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: The 5th International Kuchipudi Dance convention organised jointly by the AP Governments Department of Language and Culture and Silicon Andhra, got off to a colourful start at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium (IGMS) here on Friday.

Formally inaugurating the convention, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu complemented the Kuchipudi performers and added that the government was committed to protect and preserve the cultural traditions of the Telugus. He said the government has sanctioned `100 crore for the development of Kuchipudi dance form.

Terming traditional art forms as stress busters, he said the government would introduce traditional dances in all the schools in a phased manner. Kuchipudi exponents from across the country, the US, Canada, Russia, UK, Dubai, Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore came together at the convention. The star attractions were renowned Kuchipudi danseuses Sobha Naidu and Yamini Krishna Murthy.

Lauding the governments initiative, Supreme Court Justice N V Ramana said classical Indian dance forms were divine in nature and underscored the need to protect and promote them. He also suggested that music and dance festivals should be organised every year to encourage young and upcoming artistes.

On Sunday, over 7,000 Kuchipudi dancers would perform Maha Brinda Natyam (Mega Group Dance) under the stewardship of Shobha Naidu.

VIJAYAWADA: The 5th International Kuchipudi Dance convention organised jointly by the AP Governments Department of Language and Culture and Silicon Andhra, got off to a colourful start at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium (IGMS) here on Friday. Formally inaugurating the convention, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu complemented the Kuchipudi performers and added that the government was committed to protect and preserve the cultural traditions of the Telugus. He said the government has sanctioned `100 crore for the development of Kuchipudi dance form. Terming traditional art forms as stress busters, he said the government would introduce traditional dances in all the schools in a phased manner. Kuchipudi exponents from across the country, the US, Canada, Russia, UK, Dubai, Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore came together at the convention. The star attractions were renowned Kuchipudi danseuses Sobha Naidu and Yamini Krishna Murthy. Lauding the governments initiative, Supreme Court Justice N V Ramana said classical Indian dance forms were divine in nature and underscored the need to protect and promote them. He also suggested that music and dance festivals should be organised every year to encourage young and upcoming artistes. On Sunday, over 7,000 Kuchipudi dancers would perform Maha Brinda Natyam (Mega Group Dance) under the stewardship of Shobha Naidu.
Rashmi Belur By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The state government, that is now blaming the Centre for not giving students an option to write National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Kannada, had itself remained silent over the issue when its suggestion was sought by the Centre. NEET is for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses.

On Friday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took strong exception to the Centres decision of not allowing students to write NEET in Kannada. He also said they will shoot off a protest letter to the Centre. State Medical Education minister Sharan Prakash Patil had earlier stated that the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) was urged to include Kannada as one of the languages of options in NEET 2017, along with English. However, the authorities at the MHFW denied this, stating the state government itself was to blame for Kannada not being included as a language option in the NEET.

A senior ministry official told Express, We communicated to all the state governments, seeking their opinion about inclusion of regional languages (bilingual paper) in NEET 2017. Some of the states did not reply and Karnataka was one among them.

The same was reminded to all the secretaries of the state medical education/health and family welfare department during the video conference held in first week of December 2016. The official from the state reportedly asked for more time to revert.

They did not get back to us. Their claim that they have communicated twice is false, said the official.

Also before seeking inclusion of Kannada in NEET, they should think of providing Kannada option in state Common Entrance Test(CET), the official added. Till this year, Kannada was not an option in the CET conducted by the state government.

According to the Union health ministry officials, the state government had also submitted a proposal to conduct NEET in English earlier. An official from the Union ministry said that a Member of Parliament from Karnataka, who is also a Union minister, was well aware of this.

When contacted, Ananth Kumar, Union minister for Chemical and Fertilisers said, So far the state government has not submitted any request seeking Kannada option in the NEET. Even in the proposal submitted on November 28, it preferred English. Now, the government has woken up to put pressure. However, we will try to speak to the ministry in this regard.

Even the letter sent to UMHFW, which was drafted on December 14 and signed on December 20, supported the UMHFW version. The letter from state medical education principal secretary Jawaid Akhtar released to media on Friday reads: This is with regard to your video conference with the principal secretaries and secretaries of medical education department in which the ministry of health and family welfare government of India sought to know necessity of conducting NEET-UG in the regional languages along with English. At that time we sought for time to obtain an approval of the state government before sending the request to the government of India.

The state government is requesting that the NEEt may be conducted in Kannada language also along with English. It is felt that the students appearing in NEET-UG should have an option to refer to the question papers of the test in English as well as Kannada for marking their answers in OMR sheets. It is requested that necessary directions may kindly be issued to CBSE to include Kannada also as one of mediums of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG).

The letter was dispatched on December 22, three days after the list of languages in which NEET would be conducted was announced.

BENGALURU: The state government, that is now blaming the Centre for not giving students an option to write National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Kannada, had itself remained silent over the issue when its suggestion was sought by the Centre. NEET is for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses. On Friday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took strong exception to the Centres decision of not allowing students to write NEET in Kannada. He also said they will shoot off a protest letter to the Centre. State Medical Education minister Sharan Prakash Patil had earlier stated that the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) was urged to include Kannada as one of the languages of options in NEET 2017, along with English. However, the authorities at the MHFW denied this, stating the state government itself was to blame for Kannada not being included as a language option in the NEET. A senior ministry official told Express, We communicated to all the state governments, seeking their opinion about inclusion of regional languages (bilingual paper) in NEET 2017. Some of the states did not reply and Karnataka was one among them. The same was reminded to all the secretaries of the state medical education/health and family welfare department during the video conference held in first week of December 2016. The official from the state reportedly asked for more time to revert. They did not get back to us. Their claim that they have communicated twice is false, said the official. Also before seeking inclusion of Kannada in NEET, they should think of providing Kannada option in state Common Entrance Test(CET), the official added. Till this year, Kannada was not an option in the CET conducted by the state government. According to the Union health ministry officials, the state government had also submitted a proposal to conduct NEET in English earlier. An official from the Union ministry said that a Member of Parliament from Karnataka, who is also a Union minister, was well aware of this. When contacted, Ananth Kumar, Union minister for Chemical and Fertilisers said, So far the state government has not submitted any request seeking Kannada option in the NEET. Even in the proposal submitted on November 28, it preferred English. Now, the government has woken up to put pressure. However, we will try to speak to the ministry in this regard. Even the letter sent to UMHFW, which was drafted on December 14 and signed on December 20, supported the UMHFW version. The letter from state medical education principal secretary Jawaid Akhtar released to media on Friday reads: This is with regard to your video conference with the principal secretaries and secretaries of medical education department in which the ministry of health and family welfare government of India sought to know necessity of conducting NEET-UG in the regional languages along with English. At that time we sought for time to obtain an approval of the state government before sending the request to the government of India. The state government is requesting that the NEEt may be conducted in Kannada language also along with English. It is felt that the students appearing in NEET-UG should have an option to refer to the question papers of the test in English as well as Kannada for marking their answers in OMR sheets. It is requested that necessary directions may kindly be issued to CBSE to include Kannada also as one of mediums of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG). The letter was dispatched on December 22, three days after the list of languages in which NEET would be conducted was announced.
By Express News Service

IDUKKI: In a major setback for Electricity Minister M M Mani, Additional District and Sessions Court, Thodupuzha on Saturday dismissed his discharge petition in the sensational Anchery Baby murder case.

Mani, who is also a state secretariat member of CPM, is the second accused in the case. With this, Manis future as Minister in the LDF Cabinet has fallen in trouble.

The court also mentioned the prosecutions request to include CPM Idukki district secretary K K Jayachandran, CITU leader K K Damodaran and two others in the list of accused persons in the case.

It was on November 13, 1982 that Anchery Baby, a Youth Congress leader was shot dead. The case, which had been closed earlier, was reopened with M M Mani making a controversial statement claiming that a list of 13 political opponents were prepared to be killed.

Later, Mani was arrested in November 2012 in a fresh case registered in connection with the murder case.

Pampupara Kuttan, O G Madanan, Varkey Abraham are first, third and fourth accused in the case. As per the prosecution case, M M Mani and K K Jayachandran - who was the Rajakkad area secretary of CPM - had

conspired to kill Baby.

The prosecution also produced the statement of P N Mohan das, former CPM local secretary, as evidence for the case.

Meanwhile, responding to media persons, Mani said that he would file an appeal against the case in higher court. At the same time, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has demanded the resignation of Mani from the LDF cabinet in view of the court order.

IDUKKI: In a major setback for Electricity Minister M M Mani, Additional District and Sessions Court, Thodupuzha on Saturday dismissed his discharge petition in the sensational Anchery Baby murder case. Mani, who is also a state secretariat member of CPM, is the second accused in the case. With this, Manis future as Minister in the LDF Cabinet has fallen in trouble. The court also mentioned the prosecutions request to include CPM Idukki district secretary K K Jayachandran, CITU leader K K Damodaran and two others in the list of accused persons in the case. It was on November 13, 1982 that Anchery Baby, a Youth Congress leader was shot dead. The case, which had been closed earlier, was reopened with M M Mani making a controversial statement claiming that a list of 13 political opponents were prepared to be killed. Later, Mani was arrested in November 2012 in a fresh case registered in connection with the murder case. Pampupara Kuttan, O G Madanan, Varkey Abraham are first, third and fourth accused in the case. As per the prosecution case, M M Mani and K K Jayachandran - who was the Rajakkad area secretary of CPM - had conspired to kill Baby. The prosecution also produced the statement of P N Mohan das, former CPM local secretary, as evidence for the case. Meanwhile, responding to media persons, Mani said that he would file an appeal against the case in higher court. At the same time, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has demanded the resignation of Mani from the LDF cabinet in view of the court order.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Abdul Salam, the key accused in the Nedumbassery Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) case who was deported from Saudi Arabia, was brought to Kochi on Friday.

Abdul Salam alias Podi Salam, 36, a native of Neelanchery in Malappuram, was deported with assistance of the Interpol based on a request submitted by the NIA.

According to National IA officials, Abdul Salam was arrested on Thursday late night at the New Delhi airport, where he arrived from Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Later, he was produced before the NIA Court here around 2 pm on Friday. After hearing the NIA counsel, the court ordered that Salam be sent to NIA custody from 10 am on Monday to 4 pm on Wednesday for interrogation. He was remanded to judicial custody, and was shifted to the Ernakulam Sub Jail.

KOCHI: Abdul Salam, the key accused in the Nedumbassery Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) case who was deported from Saudi Arabia, was brought to Kochi on Friday. Abdul Salam alias Podi Salam, 36, a native of Neelanchery in Malappuram, was deported with assistance of the Interpol based on a request submitted by the NIA. According to National IA officials, Abdul Salam was arrested on Thursday late night at the New Delhi airport, where he arrived from Saudi Arabia on Friday. Later, he was produced before the NIA Court here around 2 pm on Friday. After hearing the NIA counsel, the court ordered that Salam be sent to NIA custody from 10 am on Monday to 4 pm on Wednesday for interrogation. He was remanded to judicial custody, and was shifted to the Ernakulam Sub Jail.
By Express News Service

BHAWANIPATNA: Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dharamgarh Anand Chandra Behera on Saturday sentenced eight persons to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for life on the charges of chopping off palms of two bonded labourers in Odisha's Kalahandi district, three years back.

The convicts Parbesh Duni, Bana Majhi, Baikuntha alias Baidya Rout, Arjun Bhoi, Gangadhar Das, Jaisen Thela, Kamal Rout and Mantu Nial were also asked to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 each.

According to the prosecution, palms of Nilambar Dhangada Majhi of Pipalguda village and Dialu Nial of Nuaguda under Jaipatna police limits of Kalahandi district were chopped off by a labour contractor and his associates on December 15, 2013 as the duo did not agree to their demand of travelling to Andhra Pradesh to work in a factory.

Nilambar and Nial were part of a team of 12 labourers of Nuaguda and Pipalguda villages who were to be taken to work in a brick kiln at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. They, however, managed to escape when they were being forcibly taken to Hyderabad instead of Chhattisgarh.

The labour contractor and his aides intercepted them and kept them confined before chopping off the palms of two labourers. This gory incidence led to a nationwide concern and caught the attention of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Later Kalahandi police arrested all accused persons.

Following the intervention of Supreme Court in January 2014 the State Government sanctioned Rs 4 lakh each to the victims. They were also allotted a homestead land and a house under the Mo Kudia Yojana.

Nilambar, whose right palm was chopped off had died on September 21 after suffering from unknown fever for a prolonged period.

BHAWANIPATNA: Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dharamgarh Anand Chandra Behera on Saturday sentenced eight persons to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for life on the charges of chopping off palms of two bonded labourers in Odisha's Kalahandi district, three years back. The convicts Parbesh Duni, Bana Majhi, Baikuntha alias Baidya Rout, Arjun Bhoi, Gangadhar Das, Jaisen Thela, Kamal Rout and Mantu Nial were also asked to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 each. According to the prosecution, palms of Nilambar Dhangada Majhi of Pipalguda village and Dialu Nial of Nuaguda under Jaipatna police limits of Kalahandi district were chopped off by a labour contractor and his associates on December 15, 2013 as the duo did not agree to their demand of travelling to Andhra Pradesh to work in a factory. Nilambar and Nial were part of a team of 12 labourers of Nuaguda and Pipalguda villages who were to be taken to work in a brick kiln at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. They, however, managed to escape when they were being forcibly taken to Hyderabad instead of Chhattisgarh. The labour contractor and his aides intercepted them and kept them confined before chopping off the palms of two labourers. This gory incidence led to a nationwide concern and caught the attention of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Later Kalahandi police arrested all accused persons. Following the intervention of Supreme Court in January 2014 the State Government sanctioned Rs 4 lakh each to the victims. They were also allotted a homestead land and a house under the Mo Kudia Yojana. Nilambar, whose right palm was chopped off had died on September 21 after suffering from unknown fever for a prolonged period.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR/MALKANGIRI: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today faced black flag demonstration from the BJP workers while addressing a public meeting at Malkangiri in which more than 20,000 people attended despite the bandh call given by Congress and BJP.



People were brought to the meeting place with police protection as Congress had erected road blockades at many places in the district. Congress workers shouted slogans at the meeting place denouncing the chief minister's delay in visiting the district where more than 100 children died due to Japanese Encephalitis.



Around 15 BJP workers were detained for showing black flags to the chief minister at the meeting place.



The chief minister did not visit any village affected by Japanese Encephalitis during the visit to the district. He, however, reviewed the situation at a meeting attended by the district collector, chief district medical officer and senior officials.



Addressing the public meeting, the chief minister sympathised with the families who lost their children due to Japanese Encephalitis and announced compensation of Rs 3 lakh for each of them. He also announced that each of the bereaved family will be provided with a pucca ghar.



The chief minister said that the state government will make alternative arrangements for families who depended on pigs for their livelihood.



Stating that the Odisha government's aim is to make Malkangiri district a model of development, the chief minister said work on four mega lift irrigation schemes is going on. Work on eight more mega lift irrigation projects will be started soon, he said.



He said two irrigation projects are being planned on Saptadhara and Garia rivers.

When completed these projects will create an irrigation potential of 37000 hectares for the district, he said and added that the Gurupriya bridge will be completed by June 2017.



The chief minister said steps have been initiated by the state government to make Malkangiri a developed district in Odisha. Construction of seven model schools have already been completed, he said and added that teaching in four of them has already been started. Steps are being taken to construct bridges on Saptadhara and Saberi rivers, he said.



He also called upon left wing extremists (LWEs) to give up violence and join the mainstream of society. Violence has no place in a democracy, he said.

BHUBANESWAR/MALKANGIRI: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today faced black flag demonstration from the BJP workers while addressing a public meeting at Malkangiri in which more than 20,000 people attended despite the bandh call given by Congress and BJP. People were brought to the meeting place with police protection as Congress had erected road blockades at many places in the district. Congress workers shouted slogans at the meeting place denouncing the chief minister's delay in visiting the district where more than 100 children died due to Japanese Encephalitis. Around 15 BJP workers were detained for showing black flags to the chief minister at the meeting place. The chief minister did not visit any village affected by Japanese Encephalitis during the visit to the district. He, however, reviewed the situation at a meeting attended by the district collector, chief district medical officer and senior officials. Addressing the public meeting, the chief minister sympathised with the families who lost their children due to Japanese Encephalitis and announced compensation of Rs 3 lakh for each of them. He also announced that each of the bereaved family will be provided with a pucca ghar. The chief minister said that the state government will make alternative arrangements for families who depended on pigs for their livelihood. Stating that the Odisha government's aim is to make Malkangiri district a model of development, the chief minister said work on four mega lift irrigation schemes is going on. Work on eight more mega lift irrigation projects will be started soon, he said. He said two irrigation projects are being planned on Saptadhara and Garia rivers. When completed these projects will create an irrigation potential of 37000 hectares for the district, he said and added that the Gurupriya bridge will be completed by June 2017. The chief minister said steps have been initiated by the state government to make Malkangiri a developed district in Odisha. Construction of seven model schools have already been completed, he said and added that teaching in four of them has already been started. Steps are being taken to construct bridges on Saptadhara and Saberi rivers, he said. He also called upon left wing extremists (LWEs) to give up violence and join the mainstream of society. Violence has no place in a democracy, he said.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: After undergoing treatment for eight days following breathing difficulties, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Frdiay returned home amid cheers from party cadre who thronged the Kauvery Hospital and his Gopalapuram residence.

The hospital management said he was discharged after recovering well from breathing difficulty due to throat and lung infection.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi arriving at his

Gopalapuram residence after getting

discharged from the Kauvery

Hospital on Friday | d sampath kumar

Although retuning to home, the nonagenarian leader has to be under medical care for a few more weeks.

As he needs tracheotomy tubes for few more weeks, medical and nursing care will continue to be provided at his home by Kauvery Hospital, said a medical bulletin issued by the hospital.

Karunanidhi was readmitted to the hospital on December 15 midnight due to severe infection in the throat and lungs triggering apprehensions among party leaders and cadre. However, the hospital released a photograph of the leader watching a programme on television to dispel rumours over his health.

When Karunanidhis car inched out of the hospital, delighted party men shouted slogans greeting the leader. A host of senior leaders of DMK, including his son and party treasurer MK Stalin, received him at the Gopalapuram residence. Several top leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, visited the 92-year-old leader at the hospital.

The hospital witnessed unruly scenes when MDMK general secretary Vaiko had gone to visit him. Angry DMK supporters threw footwear and bricks on his car forcing him return without seeing his former mentor.

Earlier in the month, Karunanidhi spent seven days in the same hospital from December 1 to 7 following uneasiness. The hospital management informed that he was admitted for optimisation of nutrients and hydration.

The DMKs general council meeting scheduled for December 20 had to be postponed due to Karunanidhis ill-health. The proposed meeting raised much expectations in the political circles as Stalin was stated to be elevated in the party hierarchy.

CHENNAI: After undergoing treatment for eight days following breathing difficulties, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Frdiay returned home amid cheers from party cadre who thronged the Kauvery Hospital and his Gopalapuram residence. The hospital management said he was discharged after recovering well from breathing difficulty due to throat and lung infection. DMK chief M Karunanidhi arriving at his Gopalapuram residence after getting discharged from the Kauvery Hospital on Friday | d sampathkumarAlthough retuning to home, the nonagenarian leader has to be under medical care for a few more weeks. As he needs tracheotomy tubes for few more weeks, medical and nursing care will continue to be provided at his home by Kauvery Hospital, said a medical bulletin issued by the hospital. Karunanidhi was readmitted to the hospital on December 15 midnight due to severe infection in the throat and lungs triggering apprehensions among party leaders and cadre. However, the hospital released a photograph of the leader watching a programme on television to dispel rumours over his health. When Karunanidhis car inched out of the hospital, delighted party men shouted slogans greeting the leader. A host of senior leaders of DMK, including his son and party treasurer MK Stalin, received him at the Gopalapuram residence. Several top leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, visited the 92-year-old leader at the hospital. The hospital witnessed unruly scenes when MDMK general secretary Vaiko had gone to visit him. Angry DMK supporters threw footwear and bricks on his car forcing him return without seeing his former mentor. Earlier in the month, Karunanidhi spent seven days in the same hospital from December 1 to 7 following uneasiness. The hospital management informed that he was admitted for optimisation of nutrients and hydration. The DMKs general council meeting scheduled for December 20 had to be postponed due to Karunanidhis ill-health. The proposed meeting raised much expectations in the political circles as Stalin was stated to be elevated in the party hierarchy.
B Krishnamoorthy By

Ever since the Union government anchored a Rs 27,000 crore container transshipment project at Enayam  a hamlet on the west coast of Tamil Nadu  it has drawn a mixed response. The objective to build the port is to get a share in the global transshipment pie by attracting mother ships carrying cargo meant for India that now dock at Colombo or Singapore or Port Klang in Malaysia.



In terms of sheer volumes, about 2.8 million TEU (Twenty feet equivalent Unit  it is the standard size of a container and a common measure of capacity in the container business) of Indian containers are currently being transshipped through foreign ports: Colombo Port handles 1.2 million TEU and the rest is through the Port of Singapore and Port Klang. And the transshipment loss for the Indian port industry can be pegged at Rs 1,500 crore.





High potential

That is where Enayam comes into the picture. Its a port that has the potential to offset the loss of Rs 350 crore through the cost of logistics and make a Rs 5,000 crore indirect positive impact on the economy. Further, it can save voyage time by 5-6 days for cargo bound to Africa, the EU or East. Leveraging the proximity to the great East-West shipping route, Enayam has the potential to become a transshipment hub not only to handle Indian containers but also cargo flows in South Asia  West bound containers to Europe, Africa and the US  from the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc.



Yet there is opposition to the project and it is basically two-pronged: one revolves around its viability and the other is on the possible impact on the livelihood of the 10,000-odd fishermen living there. Let us first look at the feasibility angle. Critics harp on the proximity of the Enayam project to Vizhinjam port in Kerala, which is just 40 km away and is being developed with the same objective. Why two ports in the same area doing the same business, they argue. Actually Colombo, Vizhinjam and Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) exist in close proximity, creating excess capacity in the region.

Proximity factor

But should proximity be a problem? Look at the global experience: successful transshipment and container hubs tend to develop in clusters. The Klang and Tanjung Pelepas ports in Malaysia and Singapore are part of the South East Asia cluster and handle as much as 60 million TEUs. Similarly, the Jebel Ali, Salalah and King Abdulla ports are located close by in the West Asia cluster and handle over 40 million TEUs. Even in India, the port cluster of Mundra, Kandla, Hazira, Pipavav in Gujarat in the west and those in Chennai, Ennore, Kattupalli and Krishnapatnam in the south are successful examples of such large port ecosystems. Ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach in California perhaps serve as the best example of a large port cluster ecosystem. If these clusters can work, why cant Enayam and Vizhinjam?



In fact, container trade has been growing at a rate of 7-10% worldwide over the last two decades and Indias position is robust. The country needs to set up more ports to meet its growing cargo traffic, which is expected to touch 2.5 billion tonnes by 2025, from its present capacity of around 1.5 billion tonnes. Moreover, India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world and the Indian economy is expected to continue to grow at more than 7 per cent in 2016-17. Establishing the Enayam Port will help inclusive growth in the region.

Why ICTT failed

Then there is the argument that the Vallarpadam ICTT  created for the same purpose in February 2011  has not been able to compete with Colombo, which has always been way ahead of Vallarpadam in terms of capacity, deep draft (16m), pricing and productivity. The ICTT has 13.5 m draft and is about 30 nautical miles away  twice as much as Colombo  from the International Shipping Route, requires extra sailing time and consequent doubling of deviation cost, which detracts major shipping lines. Besides, its high maintenance cost limits the scope for further expansion.

But more importantly, ICTT follows a rigid tariff structure fixed by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) amid high labour cost, whereas Sri Lanka follows guided tariff that has not changed dramatically for the last two decades, thus assuring constancy of business.

But TAMP, created in April 1997 to provide a level playing field between the private operators and the major ports, became redundant ever since the market matured. Now the ministry is considering doing away with TAMP and moving towards a market based tariff determination system.

One of the strengths of Colombo is that it has a strong feeder system with smaller ships in the range of 800-1,000 TEUs moving transshipment containers to/from Colombo port. Currently, the Colombo port is considered as the best option in the South Asian Zone, which is why apart from India, Colombo receives cargo from Pakistan, West Asia and Myanmar. In fact, the volume of cargo handled at Colombo is rising around 10% every year despite the shipping industry failing to recover from the global slowdown. No wonder, Sri Lanka is strategically creating new port capacities in Colombo (14 mn TEUs) and Hambantota (20 mn TEUs) to get a bigger slice of the South Asian cargo, since a considerable chunk, i.e., 70% of cargo from Bangladesh and Myanmar  at present gets transshipped in Singapore.

Enayam advantage

Compare ICTT with Enayam. At Enayam, there is a natural draft of 16 m, which will enable larger vessels to call in. In fact, even Colombo has only one terminal (CICT) with the draft of 16 m. Enayam would need minimal dredging for maintenance thus offering a cost edge. Its 4 km long container terminals would provide sufficient scale to handle more than 8 million TEUs.

Add to that its strategic location almost next to International Shipping Route (around 10 nautical miles) and the potential for gateway cargo would be a big factor in any liners decision to move to a new location since it brings down the volume risk. Further, Enayam would have a multi-cargo approach that would reduce the commercial risk profile. And IPRCL would be tasked to provide the last mile rail connectivity with the closest railway station at Pallivadi, which is only 10 km away and six-lane road connectivity with NH-47, which is only 11 km from the port.

Must-have factors

Consultants to the project had suggested five must have factors for Enayams success. The first two factors, namely, ease of cabotage rule and waiver of service tax or extending the discount in port charges to offset the additional cost of service tax are within the ambit of the Ministry of Shipping.

The third factor was simplifying customs procedures. In fact, the DG (S) Committee has made 34 recommendations to reduce the waiting time of coastal ships at ports. Customs have implemented some of the recommendations relating to inter-modal transportation of transshipped cargo, simplification of coastal cargo transportation etc.

The Ministry of Shipping and CBEC are actively examining ways to implement the remaining recommendations. The Indian Customs may not have transformed into what we find at the HOROPA Port in Europe, wherein rapid customs clearance happens, in less than five minutes. But the recent measures such as AEO, DPD services, single-window interface for trade (SWIFT), RFID programme and the export and import computerisation module of ICEGATE, have brought in sea changes.

(The author is Director (Finance), Ministry of Shipping. Views expressed are personal)

Ever since the Union government anchored a Rs 27,000 crore container transshipment project at Enayam  a hamlet on the west coast of Tamil Nadu  it has drawn a mixed response. The objective to build the port is to get a share in the global transshipment pie by attracting mother ships carrying cargo meant for India that now dock at Colombo or Singapore or Port Klang in Malaysia. In terms of sheer volumes, about 2.8 million TEU (Twenty feet equivalent Unit  it is the standard size of a container and a common measure of capacity in the container business) of Indian containers are currently being transshipped through foreign ports: Colombo Port handles 1.2 million TEU and the rest is through the Port of Singapore and Port Klang. And the transshipment loss for the Indian port industry can be pegged at Rs 1,500 crore. High potential That is where Enayam comes into the picture. Its a port that has the potential to offset the loss of Rs 350 crore through the cost of logistics and make a Rs 5,000 crore indirect positive impact on the economy. Further, it can save voyage time by 5-6 days for cargo bound to Africa, the EU or East. Leveraging the proximity to the great East-West shipping route, Enayam has the potential to become a transshipment hub not only to handle Indian containers but also cargo flows in South Asia  West bound containers to Europe, Africa and the US  from the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc. Yet there is opposition to the project and it is basically two-pronged: one revolves around its viability and the other is on the possible impact on the livelihood of the 10,000-odd fishermen living there. Let us first look at the feasibility angle. Critics harp on the proximity of the Enayam project to Vizhinjam port in Kerala, which is just 40 km away and is being developed with the same objective. Why two ports in the same area doing the same business, they argue. Actually Colombo, Vizhinjam and Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) exist in close proximity, creating excess capacity in the region. Proximity factor But should proximity be a problem? Look at the global experience: successful transshipment and container hubs tend to develop in clusters. The Klang and Tanjung Pelepas ports in Malaysia and Singapore are part of the South East Asia cluster and handle as much as 60 million TEUs. Similarly, the Jebel Ali, Salalah and King Abdulla ports are located close by in the West Asia cluster and handle over 40 million TEUs. Even in India, the port cluster of Mundra, Kandla, Hazira, Pipavav in Gujarat in the west and those in Chennai, Ennore, Kattupalli and Krishnapatnam in the south are successful examples of such large port ecosystems. Ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach in California perhaps serve as the best example of a large port cluster ecosystem. If these clusters can work, why cant Enayam and Vizhinjam? In fact, container trade has been growing at a rate of 7-10% worldwide over the last two decades and Indias position is robust. The country needs to set up more ports to meet its growing cargo traffic, which is expected to touch 2.5 billion tonnes by 2025, from its present capacity of around 1.5 billion tonnes. Moreover, India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world and the Indian economy is expected to continue to grow at more than 7 per cent in 2016-17. Establishing the Enayam Port will help inclusive growth in the region. Why ICTT failed Then there is the argument that the Vallarpadam ICTT  created for the same purpose in February 2011  has not been able to compete with Colombo, which has always been way ahead of Vallarpadam in terms of capacity, deep draft (16m), pricing and productivity. The ICTT has 13.5 m draft and is about 30 nautical miles away  twice as much as Colombo  from the International Shipping Route, requires extra sailing time and consequent doubling of deviation cost, which detracts major shipping lines. Besides, its high maintenance cost limits the scope for further expansion. But more importantly, ICTT follows a rigid tariff structure fixed by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) amid high labour cost, whereas Sri Lanka follows guided tariff that has not changed dramatically for the last two decades, thus assuring constancy of business. But TAMP, created in April 1997 to provide a level playing field between the private operators and the major ports, became redundant ever since the market matured. Now the ministry is considering doing away with TAMP and moving towards a market based tariff determination system. One of the strengths of Colombo is that it has a strong feeder system with smaller ships in the range of 800-1,000 TEUs moving transshipment containers to/from Colombo port. Currently, the Colombo port is considered as the best option in the South Asian Zone, which is why apart from India, Colombo receives cargo from Pakistan, West Asia and Myanmar. In fact, the volume of cargo handled at Colombo is rising around 10% every year despite the shipping industry failing to recover from the global slowdown. No wonder, Sri Lanka is strategically creating new port capacities in Colombo (14 mn TEUs) and Hambantota (20 mn TEUs) to get a bigger slice of the South Asian cargo, since a considerable chunk, i.e., 70% of cargo from Bangladesh and Myanmar  at present gets transshipped in Singapore. Enayam advantage Compare ICTT with Enayam. At Enayam, there is a natural draft of 16 m, which will enable larger vessels to call in. In fact, even Colombo has only one terminal (CICT) with the draft of 16 m. Enayam would need minimal dredging for maintenance thus offering a cost edge. Its 4 km long container terminals would provide sufficient scale to handle more than 8 million TEUs. Add to that its strategic location almost next to International Shipping Route (around 10 nautical miles) and the potential for gateway cargo would be a big factor in any liners decision to move to a new location since it brings down the volume risk. Further, Enayam would have a multi-cargo approach that would reduce the commercial risk profile. And IPRCL would be tasked to provide the last mile rail connectivity with the closest railway station at Pallivadi, which is only 10 km away and six-lane road connectivity with NH-47, which is only 11 km from the port. Must-have factors Consultants to the project had suggested five must have factors for Enayams success. The first two factors, namely, ease of cabotage rule and waiver of service tax or extending the discount in port charges to offset the additional cost of service tax are within the ambit of the Ministry of Shipping. The third factor was simplifying customs procedures. In fact, the DG (S) Committee has made 34 recommendations to reduce the waiting time of coastal ships at ports. Customs have implemented some of the recommendations relating to inter-modal transportation of transshipped cargo, simplification of coastal cargo transportation etc. The Ministry of Shipping and CBEC are actively examining ways to implement the remaining recommendations. The Indian Customs may not have transformed into what we find at the HOROPA Port in Europe, wherein rapid customs clearance happens, in less than five minutes. But the recent measures such as AEO, DPD services, single-window interface for trade (SWIFT), RFID programme and the export and import computerisation module of ICEGATE, have brought in sea changes. (The author is Director (Finance), Ministry of Shipping. Views expressed are personal)
By Express News Service

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that it was a proud moment for Telangana where vaccine at a reasonable price was exported to other poor nations from the state. Rao was speaking after dispatching the first batch of Shan 5 vaccine to African countries. The first package of this vaccine with label Made in Telangana (India) was released by the CM on Friday. UNICEF will purchase the vaccine and supply it to Morocco, Nigeria and Rwanda.

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that it was a proud moment for Telangana where vaccine at a reasonable price was exported to other poor nations from the state. Rao was speaking after dispatching the first batch of Shan 5 vaccine to African countries. The first package of this vaccine with label Made in Telangana (India) was released by the CM on Friday. UNICEF will purchase the vaccine and supply it to Morocco, Nigeria and Rwanda.
By ANI

DHAKA: A raid is underway as a Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) team in Bangladesh on Saturday encircled a three-story building here in Ashkona where several suspected militants are believed to have taken refuge.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia reached the spot at Ashkona Purba Para in capitals Dakkhinkhan area at 8:45 a.m.

We suspect one of the key New JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) commanders is hiding there but we are not sure about his identity, the Dhaka Tribune quoted Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC, as saying.

We acted on a tip off and cordoned off the building since early Saturday, he added.

CTTC chief Monirul Islam said they believe several female militants are also inside the house and that the suspected militants have grenades with them.

We are trying to cajole them into surrendering but they are refusing to come out and threatening to attack us with bombs, he added.

According to sources, the other residents of the building have been evacuated.

DHAKA: A raid is underway as a Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) team in Bangladesh on Saturday encircled a three-story building here in Ashkona where several suspected militants are believed to have taken refuge. Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia reached the spot at Ashkona Purba Para in capitals Dakkhinkhan area at 8:45 a.m. We suspect one of the key New JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) commanders is hiding there but we are not sure about his identity, the Dhaka Tribune quoted Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC, as saying. We acted on a tip off and cordoned off the building since early Saturday, he added. CTTC chief Monirul Islam said they believe several female militants are also inside the house and that the suspected militants have grenades with them. We are trying to cajole them into surrendering but they are refusing to come out and threatening to attack us with bombs, he added. According to sources, the other residents of the building have been evacuated.
By IANS

DHAKA: A female militant was reportedly killed as she blew herself up when Dhaka police, who were looking for Islamist radicals, raided a building on Saturday.



"Militant Suman's wife came outside and detonated her suicide vest. Militant Iqbal's daughter was with her," a counter-terrorism official said.



The police were yet to confirm whether the woman was dead but mediapersons at the scene spotted her lying on the ground, badly injured and bleeding, BD News reported.



Police have taken the child to a hospital.



Earlier four men had come out of the building and surrendered to police.



This was the second such case when a woman tried to detonate explosives to avoid arrest by police.



When Bangladesh police in 2010 arrested most-wanted Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) explosives expert Boma Mizan here, the militant's wife detonated a bomb in their house in an attempt to kill themselves. Both survived.



DHAKA: A female militant was reportedly killed as she blew herself up when Dhaka police, who were looking for Islamist radicals, raided a building on Saturday. "Militant Suman's wife came outside and detonated her suicide vest. Militant Iqbal's daughter was with her," a counter-terrorism official said. The police were yet to confirm whether the woman was dead but mediapersons at the scene spotted her lying on the ground, badly injured and bleeding, BD News reported. Police have taken the child to a hospital. Earlier four men had come out of the building and surrendered to police. This was the second such case when a woman tried to detonate explosives to avoid arrest by police. When Bangladesh police in 2010 arrested most-wanted Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) explosives expert Boma Mizan here, the militant's wife detonated a bomb in their house in an attempt to kill themselves. Both survived.
By Associated Press

VATICAN CITY: The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic lay order, has told Pope Francis that his decision to launch an investigation into the ouster of a top official over an old condom scandal is "unacceptable."

In an extraordinary rebuke of the pontiff, the group said late Friday that the replacement of its grand chancellor was an "act of internal governmental administration of the Sovereign Order of Malta and consequently falls solely within its competence."

Francis on Thursday appointed a five-member commission to investigate the Dec. 8 ouster of Albrecht von Boeselager amid evidence that Francis' own envoy to the group, conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, helped engineer it without his blessing.

One charge used against von Boeselager concerned a program that the order's Malteser International aid group had participated in several years ago with other aid groups to help sex slaves in Myanmar, including giving them condoms to protect them from HIV infection.

Church teaching bars the use of artificial contraception. Von Boeselager has said as soon as the order's headquarters in Rome learned of the condom distribution, two of the projects were immediately halted. A third continued, he said, because an abrupt end to the project would have deprived a poor region of Myanmar of all basic medical services. The project eventually ended after the Vatican's doctrine office intervened.

Burke is a hardliner on enforcing church teaching on sexual morals. As a result, the dispute roiling the order is emblematic of the broader ideological divisions in the Catholic Church that have intensified during Francis' papacy, which has emphasized the merciful side of the church over its doctrinaire side.

Von Boeselager has said he was asked to resign Dec. 6 during a meeting with Burke and the order's leader during which he was told that the Holy See wanted him to step down. He said he subsequently learned that the Holy See had made no such request.

In its statement, the Knights of Malta said the pope's decision to appoint a commission to investigate von Boeselager's replacement was a result of a misunderstanding with the Vatican's secretariat of state, and said that it had explained the situation in a letter to Francis.

The Order of Malta has many trappings of a sovereign state, issuing its own stamps, passports and license plates and holding diplomatic relations with 106 states, the Holy See included.

The Holy See, however, has a unique relationship with the order in that the pope appoints a cardinal to "promote the spiritual interests" of the order as well as its relationship with the Vatican, itself a sovereign state.

Francis appointed Burke to that position in 2014 after removing him as the Vatican's supreme court justice. Burke has since emerged as one of Francis' top critics, particularly over his flexible approach to whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.

The knights trace their history to the 11th-century Crusades with the establishment of an infirmary in Jerusalem that cared for people of all faiths making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. It now counts 13,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers who provide health care in hospitals and clinics around the world and respond to war zones and natural disasters.

VATICAN CITY: The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic lay order, has told Pope Francis that his decision to launch an investigation into the ouster of a top official over an old condom scandal is "unacceptable." In an extraordinary rebuke of the pontiff, the group said late Friday that the replacement of its grand chancellor was an "act of internal governmental administration of the Sovereign Order of Malta and consequently falls solely within its competence." Francis on Thursday appointed a five-member commission to investigate the Dec. 8 ouster of Albrecht von Boeselager amid evidence that Francis' own envoy to the group, conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, helped engineer it without his blessing. One charge used against von Boeselager concerned a program that the order's Malteser International aid group had participated in several years ago with other aid groups to help sex slaves in Myanmar, including giving them condoms to protect them from HIV infection. Church teaching bars the use of artificial contraception. Von Boeselager has said as soon as the order's headquarters in Rome learned of the condom distribution, two of the projects were immediately halted. A third continued, he said, because an abrupt end to the project would have deprived a poor region of Myanmar of all basic medical services. The project eventually ended after the Vatican's doctrine office intervened. Burke is a hardliner on enforcing church teaching on sexual morals. As a result, the dispute roiling the order is emblematic of the broader ideological divisions in the Catholic Church that have intensified during Francis' papacy, which has emphasized the merciful side of the church over its doctrinaire side. Von Boeselager has said he was asked to resign Dec. 6 during a meeting with Burke and the order's leader during which he was told that the Holy See wanted him to step down. He said he subsequently learned that the Holy See had made no such request. In its statement, the Knights of Malta said the pope's decision to appoint a commission to investigate von Boeselager's replacement was a result of a misunderstanding with the Vatican's secretariat of state, and said that it had explained the situation in a letter to Francis. The Order of Malta has many trappings of a sovereign state, issuing its own stamps, passports and license plates and holding diplomatic relations with 106 states, the Holy See included. The Holy See, however, has a unique relationship with the order in that the pope appoints a cardinal to "promote the spiritual interests" of the order as well as its relationship with the Vatican, itself a sovereign state. Francis appointed Burke to that position in 2014 after removing him as the Vatican's supreme court justice. Burke has since emerged as one of Francis' top critics, particularly over his flexible approach to whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion. The knights trace their history to the 11th-century Crusades with the establishment of an infirmary in Jerusalem that cared for people of all faiths making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. It now counts 13,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers who provide health care in hospitals and clinics around the world and respond to war zones and natural disasters.
By PTI

DHAKA: The sound of an explosion and several gunshots were heard in the Bangladeshi capital today as police's elite counter-terrorism unit today laid siege to a three-storey building where heavily-armed militants, belonging to a Islamist group behind the July 1 terror attack, are holed up.

"The inmates have vowed to fight us with grenades... we are repeatedly asking them to give up," Dhakas police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mian told reportersn at the scene at Ashkona area of the capital. He said two women already came out from the three-storey building with their children. Police said three militants believed to be operatives of neo-Jamaatun Mujahideen Bangladesh (neo-JMB) were inside the building.

"One of the three is a son of a slain neo-JMB leader but we are yet to know the identity of two others," Mia said. The outfit, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed. The commissioner has said police wants to capture the militants alive without using force "as any miscalculation could appear deadly in this densely populated neighbourhood".

Another official at the scene said one of the two women who surrendered was the wife of a slain renegade ex-army major who was killed on September 2 this year in a police encounter during a nearly identical raid at Dhakas Mirpur area. The other woman was the wife of a neo-JMB leader. Witnesses said police was repeatedly asking the inmates to surrender using megaphones but they were threatening to detonate grenades tied to their bodies. Ambulances and fire fighting units were kept stand-by outside the building while elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and plainclothesmen cordoned off the area.

DHAKA: The sound of an explosion and several gunshots were heard in the Bangladeshi capital today as police's elite counter-terrorism unit today laid siege to a three-storey building where heavily-armed militants, belonging to a Islamist group behind the July 1 terror attack, are holed up. "The inmates have vowed to fight us with grenades... we are repeatedly asking them to give up," Dhakas police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mian told reportersn at the scene at Ashkona area of the capital. He said two women already came out from the three-storey building with their children. Police said three militants believed to be operatives of neo-Jamaatun Mujahideen Bangladesh (neo-JMB) were inside the building. "One of the three is a son of a slain neo-JMB leader but we are yet to know the identity of two others," Mia said. The outfit, said to be inclined to the Islamic State, was behind the July 1 terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including 17 foreigners, were killed. The commissioner has said police wants to capture the militants alive without using force "as any miscalculation could appear deadly in this densely populated neighbourhood". Another official at the scene said one of the two women who surrendered was the wife of a slain renegade ex-army major who was killed on September 2 this year in a police encounter during a nearly identical raid at Dhakas Mirpur area. The other woman was the wife of a neo-JMB leader. Witnesses said police was repeatedly asking the inmates to surrender using megaphones but they were threatening to detonate grenades tied to their bodies. Ambulances and fire fighting units were kept stand-by outside the building while elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and plainclothesmen cordoned off the area.
By Associated Press

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court on Saturday acquitted five suspects including three navy personnel who were accused in the shooting death of an outspoken ethnic Tamil lawmaker.

Nadaraja Raviraj was shot dead in his car in 2006 during the country's long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009. He was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority.

The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke at 12:25 a.m. on Saturday, following the unanimous decision reached by the seven-member jury in the monthlong trial.

Raviraj's killing was widely condemned by the international community. At the time of his killing, the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had blamed the assassination on the rebels, but Raviraj's supporters suspected a government hand.

Following Rajapaksa's defeat in last year's election, the new government announced that it would re-investigate several unsolved high-profile assassinations, including that of Raviraj, which occurred during Rajapaksa's nine-year reign. The three navy intelligence officers were arrested in March last year.

The Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated by government troops in 2009, ending a 26-year war to create a separate state for Tamils. Both sides were accused of committing war crimes, and Rajapaksa's administration was accused of operating paramilitary groups to kill and abduct rebel suspects and dissidents.

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court on Saturday acquitted five suspects including three navy personnel who were accused in the shooting death of an outspoken ethnic Tamil lawmaker. Nadaraja Raviraj was shot dead in his car in 2006 during the country's long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009. He was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority. The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke at 12:25 a.m. on Saturday, following the unanimous decision reached by the seven-member jury in the monthlong trial. Raviraj's killing was widely condemned by the international community. At the time of his killing, the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had blamed the assassination on the rebels, but Raviraj's supporters suspected a government hand. Following Rajapaksa's defeat in last year's election, the new government announced that it would re-investigate several unsolved high-profile assassinations, including that of Raviraj, which occurred during Rajapaksa's nine-year reign. The three navy intelligence officers were arrested in March last year. The Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated by government troops in 2009, ending a 26-year war to create a separate state for Tamils. Both sides were accused of committing war crimes, and Rajapaksa's administration was accused of operating paramilitary groups to kill and abduct rebel suspects and dissidents.
Express News Service

COLOMBO: Due to shortage of time, Sri Lankas ambitious project to erect a 325 ft-tall Christmas tree had to be downsized to a 220 ft-tree, but still qualifies as the worlds tallest Christmas tree to date.

Currently, the record for the worlds tallest artificial Christmas tree is held by a Chinese firm that put up a 55-metre-high (180 t) tree-like tower of lights and synthetic foliage, ornaments and lamps in Guangzhou city last year.

We had to wrap it up by going up to 220 feet as we were racing against time. There was no point unveiling the Christmas Tree after Christmas. We are satisfied that we were able to break the world record, Galle face Green Project Coordinator Mangala Gunasekara told newsin.asia.

Workers involved in the project were highly disappointed for not being able to go up to 325 feet. However the present 220 ft-tree is good enough to find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, he added.

On Friday night, almost all the workers were in tears. There were almost 1000 workers involved in constructing the Christmas Tree, and they all were working on a voluntary basis. No one was paid for this. They did it to spread the message of peace and harmony. They did it for the country, Gunasekara added.

A majority of the workers involved were employees of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority who constructed the tree after working hours. There were Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims among the workers.

Sri Lankas Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga initiated the plans to build the tallest Christmas tree but ran into opposition from the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith who said the project was a waste of money and the funds could instead be used to help the poor. It has approximately cost US$ 80,600 to the exchequer.

As a result of the opposition, organisers were forced to suspend the project for 10 days which caused the tree to not be built to 325 feet.

The project resumed only after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe explained to the Archbishop that the money used is not the governments, but from the public as voluntary donation.

Around 600,000 lights have been used to decorate the tree which has been constructed using more than a million natural pine cones, iron, old wood material, chicken wire mesh and vinyl flowers.

A 20-foot Santa and 40-foot sleigh made out of Styrofoam is mounted halfway up the tree, topped by a 6-metre-high shining star.

The tree will be up until January 6. It has already attracted thousands of people.

COLOMBO: Due to shortage of time, Sri Lankas ambitious project to erect a 325 ft-tall Christmas tree had to be downsized to a 220 ft-tree, but still qualifies as the worlds tallest Christmas tree to date. Currently, the record for the worlds tallest artificial Christmas tree is held by a Chinese firm that put up a 55-metre-high (180 t) tree-like tower of lights and synthetic foliage, ornaments and lamps in Guangzhou city last year. We had to wrap it up by going up to 220 feet as we were racing against time. There was no point unveiling the Christmas Tree after Christmas. We are satisfied that we were able to break the world record, Galle face Green Project Coordinator Mangala Gunasekara told newsin.asia. Workers involved in the project were highly disappointed for not being able to go up to 325 feet. However the present 220 ft-tree is good enough to find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, he added. On Friday night, almost all the workers were in tears. There were almost 1000 workers involved in constructing the Christmas Tree, and they all were working on a voluntary basis. No one was paid for this. They did it to spread the message of peace and harmony. They did it for the country, Gunasekara added. A majority of the workers involved were employees of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority who constructed the tree after working hours. There were Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims among the workers. Sri Lankas Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga initiated the plans to build the tallest Christmas tree but ran into opposition from the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith who said the project was a waste of money and the funds could instead be used to help the poor. It has approximately cost US$ 80,600 to the exchequer. As a result of the opposition, organisers were forced to suspend the project for 10 days which caused the tree to not be built to 325 feet. The project resumed only after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe explained to the Archbishop that the money used is not the governments, but from the public as voluntary donation. Around 600,000 lights have been used to decorate the tree which has been constructed using more than a million natural pine cones, iron, old wood material, chicken wire mesh and vinyl flowers. A 20-foot Santa and 40-foot sleigh made out of Styrofoam is mounted halfway up the tree, topped by a 6-metre-high shining star. The tree will be up until January 6. It has already attracted thousands of people.
By Associated Press

KABUL: Taliban insurgents attacked a checkpoint in western Afghanistan early Saturday, killing at least three police and wounding four others, officials said.

Toryalai Abdyani, the police chief of Farah province, said the attackers killed the three police and escaped with weapons and ammunition taken from the checkpoint. Another police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said 11 police were killed.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi claimed the attack.

In the capital, meanwhile, two gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the home of a former Taliban leader late Friday, killing a security guard, said Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department.

The former Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was not home at the time, Obaidi said.

Zaeef served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s but has since reconciled with the current U.S.-backed government and has been involved in efforts to revive peace talks with the insurgents.

No one has claimed the attack, which came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.

KABUL: Taliban insurgents attacked a checkpoint in western Afghanistan early Saturday, killing at least three police and wounding four others, officials said. Toryalai Abdyani, the police chief of Farah province, said the attackers killed the three police and escaped with weapons and ammunition taken from the checkpoint. Another police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said 11 police were killed. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi claimed the attack. In the capital, meanwhile, two gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the home of a former Taliban leader late Friday, killing a security guard, said Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department. The former Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was not home at the time, Obaidi said. Zaeef served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s but has since reconciled with the current U.S.-backed government and has been involved in efforts to revive peace talks with the insurgents. No one has claimed the attack, which came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
By AFP

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing a resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally.

In a rare and momentous step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

Applause broke out in the chamber after the text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

The landmark move by the Security Council came despite an effort led by Israel and backed by US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected the UN resolution and slammed the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama for refusing to veto it.

"Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

"The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes," it said.

"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution."

Trump reacted after the vote by promising change at the world body after he takes office next month.

"As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," he tweeted.

- Saving two-state solution -

Ambassador Samantha Power said the US abstention stemmed from concerns that the expansion of the Jewish outposts was threatening the two-state solution aimed at achieving peace by creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

"We cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our longstanding objective of two states living side by side in peace and security," she said.

"The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the passage of the resolution as "a significant step, demonstrating the Council's much needed leadership and the international community's collective efforts to reconfirm that the vision of two States is still achievable."

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's office said the vote was "a big blow" to Israeli policy and a show of "strong support for the two-state solution."

Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state.

The United Nations maintains that settlements are illegal, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution."

- A 'no' vote for negotiation -

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon bluntly told the council that the resolution would not have the hoped-for impact of spurring peace efforts.

"By voting 'yes' in favor of this resolution, you have in fact voted 'no'. You voted 'no' to negotiation, you voted 'no' to progress and a chance for better lives for Israelis and Palestinians, and you voted 'no' to the possibility of peace," Danon told the council.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour said the resolution "may be too little, too late."

Friday's vote was scheduled at the request of four countries -- New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela -- who stepped in to push for action a day after Egypt put the draft resolution on hold.

After the resolution passed, Israel announced its ambassadors to Senegal and New Zealand had been ordered to return for consultations. It has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela or Malaysia.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi backtracked on the move to condemn Israel's settlement policy after receiving a phone call from President-elect Trump, who spoke out in favor of a US veto.

The United States vetoed a similar resolution in 2011, which was the sole veto cast by the Obama administration at the Security Council.

Washington has used its veto a total of 30 times to block council resolutions concerning Israel and the Palestinians, according to Security Council Report, a research organization.

It last abstained in 2009 on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Middle East peace process has been comatose since a US initiative to re-launch peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

France has announced plans to host an international conference on January 15 to try to restart talks based on the two-state solution.

Trump campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and chose as ambassador to Israel the hardliner David Friedman, who has said Washington will not seek to curtail settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing a resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally. In a rare and momentous step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy. Applause broke out in the chamber after the text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council. The landmark move by the Security Council came despite an effort led by Israel and backed by US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected the UN resolution and slammed the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama for refusing to veto it. "Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. "The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes," it said. "Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution." Trump reacted after the vote by promising change at the world body after he takes office next month. "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," he tweeted. - Saving two-state solution - Ambassador Samantha Power said the US abstention stemmed from concerns that the expansion of the Jewish outposts was threatening the two-state solution aimed at achieving peace by creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel. "We cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our longstanding objective of two states living side by side in peace and security," she said. "The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the passage of the resolution as "a significant step, demonstrating the Council's much needed leadership and the international community's collective efforts to reconfirm that the vision of two States is still achievable." Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's office said the vote was "a big blow" to Israeli policy and a show of "strong support for the two-state solution." Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state. The United Nations maintains that settlements are illegal, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months. Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state. The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem." It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution." - A 'no' vote for negotiation - Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon bluntly told the council that the resolution would not have the hoped-for impact of spurring peace efforts. "By voting 'yes' in favor of this resolution, you have in fact voted 'no'. You voted 'no' to negotiation, you voted 'no' to progress and a chance for better lives for Israelis and Palestinians, and you voted 'no' to the possibility of peace," Danon told the council. Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour said the resolution "may be too little, too late." Friday's vote was scheduled at the request of four countries -- New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela -- who stepped in to push for action a day after Egypt put the draft resolution on hold. After the resolution passed, Israel announced its ambassadors to Senegal and New Zealand had been ordered to return for consultations. It has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela or Malaysia. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi backtracked on the move to condemn Israel's settlement policy after receiving a phone call from President-elect Trump, who spoke out in favor of a US veto. The United States vetoed a similar resolution in 2011, which was the sole veto cast by the Obama administration at the Security Council. Washington has used its veto a total of 30 times to block council resolutions concerning Israel and the Palestinians, according to Security Council Report, a research organization. It last abstained in 2009 on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Middle East peace process has been comatose since a US initiative to re-launch peace talks collapsed in April 2014. France has announced plans to host an international conference on January 15 to try to restart talks based on the two-state solution. Trump campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and chose as ambassador to Israel the hardliner David Friedman, who has said Washington will not seek to curtail settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
#MBN Cable channel loses lawsuit against suspension order MBN, a cable TV channel, on Thursday lost a lawsuit against the government's order to suspend its operation for six months for accounting fraud. The Korea Communications Commis...
Spare Change: Finally! Election TV ads soon will be done

Truth is, I suspect these spots are effective. For instance, Allan Fung is portrayed as a regular Joe from Cranston.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 58F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 58F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
Using technology adapted from NASA's Mars lander as part of a large-scale bedsore reduction program, over half of the 13 participating hospitals were able to eliminate the occurrence of new bedsores completely; an additional 3 hospitals achieved reductions ranging from 11% to 90%.

Nurses dramatically cut bedsore occurrence by detecting damage developing under patients' skin early enough to intervene and reverse the damage. This marks a breakthrough in prevention of the chronic condition costing the UK 2.1bn annually, which claimed the life of Superman actor Christopher Reeve.

Bruin Biometrics ("BBI LLC"), which manufactures the early detection technology known as the SEM Scanner, enlisted 13 hospitals (including 10 NHS England Trusts) to participate in a novel Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program (PURP) incorporating SEM Scanner into existing care pathways for pressure ulcer prevention.

The findings from over 1200 patients scanned are the most comprehensive real-world evidence that this early detection technology enables nurses to prevent bedsores before they break through the skin, a conclusion that upends the prevailing view that bedsores cannot be diagnosed and treated until they have caused visible and irreversible damage to the skin's surface.

"These data challenge existing practice that looks for visual changes to skin to initiate bedsore intervention," BBI CEO Martin Burns said. "Scientific findings show that by the time damage is visible, it is far too late. Early detection changed the prognosis for millions of cancer survivors. A proactive approach to 'Act Before Red' is consistently doing the same for bedsores, on a large scale, across independent sites."

"We reduced pressure ulcers in the ward concerned to zero during our Scanner trial - an achievement that, if we rolled out across our hospital, we estimate could save our hospital nearly 600,000 and release 1,420 hours of nurse productivity annually," said Glenn Smith, a tissue viability and nutrition senior clinical nurse specialist/patient safety lead at St. Mary's Hospital, part of the NHS Trust on the Isle of Wight, which has a large elderly population at risk for bedsores due to immobility.

"In our pilot program, which included over 200 patients, we reduced bedsore incidence by 90%," said Rose Raizman, nurse practitioner, enterostomal therapist and pressure ulcer prevention at Scarborough and Rouge Hospital in Ontario, Canada. "SEM Scanner allows the clinician to 'visualise pathology' below the skin level before it becomes apparent at the surface, and should be used as the standard of care for pressure ulcer prevention."

"The vast majority of nurses participating in our Scanner program said the device provided valuable clinical information," added Parker Moss, chief technology and transformation officer at Virgin Care, which experienced a 95 percent drop in the bedsore rate during an evaluation of the device at Farnham Community Hospital in Surrey, where it provides services to the NHS.

SEM Scanner is a wireless non-invasive handheld device that assesses sub-epidermal moisture, or SEM, an indicator of early-stage damage beneath the skin surface as much as 10 days earlier than visual inspection by nurses.

SEM Scanner was conceived by Barbara Bates-Jensen, a wound care expert and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and adapted from seismology technology used on NASA's Mars landing craft to interrogate beneath the planet's surface. Professor Bates-Jensen, Dr. Majid Sarrafzadeh, and Dr. William J. Kaiser, co-director of the UCLA Wireless Health Institute and a former engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratories, partnered with BBI to adapt the space technology into the SEM Scanner.

Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, are chronic wounds to the skin and tissue that often develop in patients who are immobile.

Bedsores commonly lead to infection and death. In fact, bedsores kill more people annually than any form of cancer except lung cancer. There are nearly 500,000 bedsore cases annually in the UK.

Until now, diagnosis has relied on visual inspection by nurses, which is subjective and which can only identify bedsores once visible damage to the skin has already begun. With early-detection, experts believe that over 80% of early-stage pressure ulcers can be prevented.

"We've borrowed NASA's concept of 'Seeing the Unseen' to develop the first clinically-proven method for detecting unseen bedsores and alerting healthcare practitioners in real time when they begin to form under the skin," said Rachael Lester, BBI VP of Product. "With early detection, clinicians can initiate treatment before chronic damage develops. More and more clinicians are using the SEM Scanner and finding that they can overcome avoidable PUs, proving that ZERO is no longer Mission: Impossible."

Real-world evaluation data presented by St. Mary's Hospital (Improved Patient Safety with Use of the SEM Scanner) and Virgin Care (Chasing Zero. Results from a New Pressure Ulcer Prevention Bundle) at the Wounds UK annual conference November 14-16 in Harrogate and are now being released publicly for the first time.
"Fluoridated water [does] not seem, based on the existing literature, to hold sufficient evidence for the reduction of dental caries," report Italian researchers in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry (December 2016), reports the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF)

Sicca, et al. analyzed thirty systematic reviews on tooth decay prevention, from 2002 - 2015, and report "there is not sufficient evidence to determine whether the use [of] water fluoridation has a significant impact in the reduction of caries."

Other scientists concur. Swedish researchers, in PLOS one, February 2015, reported a "systematic review concerned the caries-preventive effect of water fluoridation [MdDonagh] was graded as low."

In July 2012, Cagetti, et al. reported "Studies of the effectiveness of water fluoridation have been based on observational study designs these studies are regarded as low in quality and the weight of the evidence derived from cross-sectional and observational studies can be questionable"

Fluoridation's foundation is based on human experimental studies which began in 1945. Errors and omissions in those studies were pointed out, but ignored, as early as 1959 by dental researcher Phillip Sutton and others.

In 2011 the West Virginia University Rural Health Research Center reported "...it was found that fluoridation rates were not significantly related to the measures of either caries or overall condition of the teeth for urban or rural areas."

In 2015, the independent and trusted UK-based Cochrane group of researchers could not find any quality evidence that proves fluoridation changes the "existing differences in tooth decay across socioeconomic groups." or that fluoridation cessation increases decay rates.

NYSCOF President, attorney Paul Beeber says, "Fluoridation is one the biggest public health blunders of modern times, a political boondoggle, not supported by science. It must stop."

In 2009, attempting to prove that fluorosed teeth are less decayed, Kumar reveals 1986-1987 National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) data which, upon analysis, shows similar cavity rates in permanent teeth whether the water is fluoridated or not (Table 1). Chart depicts data.

More ineffectiveness evidence here.

A December 2016 Health Affairs article claims fluoridation may save money but it's based on "an assumption of Community Water Fluoridation Programs effectiveness in reducing caries," the researchers write. It's not proof of effectiveness as some have claimed.
If brick-and-mortar stores fear Amazon and e-commerce as a threat to their existence, used car dealers may be terrified by the newest development in their industry: a car vending machine. Yes, it's real. And no, you can't shake it to get a free one.Online used car retailer Carvana opened its newest "vending machine" last week in Houston, where the gleaming, glass-encased structure sits right off a busy freeway.The eight-storey automated garage -- three levels higher than the first version which debuted in Nashville a year ago -- holds 30 cars.It dispenses used vehicles in four delivery bays, but only to customers who have the special coin to make it work -- which they receive after completing an online purchase. This is a marketing gimmick, of course.But the company believes it could prove a valuable part of the strategy to win customers over by completely overhauling the dreaded process of buying a used car, something notoriously difficult and plagued by the fear of sales people taking advantage of prospective buyers."Our view of what we are trying to do is make the experience a high quality one that customers love," Carvana co-founder and CEO Ernie Garcia told AFP. The goal, he said, is "to make car buying fun."He said the founders did not start out planning to be an online site, but aimed to rethink the car buying transaction from start to finish and find ways to "differentiate economically, through the entire pipeline."- No dealerships -The first step was to take a page out of Amazon's book and get rid of dealerships, which Garcia says adds $400 to the price of a car. Another $1,400 goes to pay sales personnel.Carvana, which launched in 2013 and is now in 21 markets after adding 12 this year, stores its cars far outside cities in areas where rent is cheap.The company says this year it saved customers more than $1,400 on average on purchase prices compared to the Kelley Blue Book suggested price, the industry standard.The typical concern for customers buying a used car is whether they can trust that the vehicle is safe and reliable, and whether they are paying too much. And even in the best of cases, the process can take several hours of paperwork to complete a purchase through a traditional dealer.Carvana offers online comparison shopping, refurbished vehicles, financing options and trade-ins all on its web portal, and Garcia says the fastest purchase was completed in seven minutes.The company also provides free delivery as soon as the next day, or pickup at one of the vending machines. Delivery costs $150, so Garcia says the vending machine is another way for Carvana to trim costs.However, as part of the new service they are offering $200 to buyers who prefer to fly to Houston to pick up from the vending machine, and transportation from the airport.- Easy returns, growing revenue -The company also offers a seven-day test drive period, which allows customers the possibility of a full refund."There is a lot of evidence that an easy-to-use return policy is a way to improve the car-buying experience," said Garcia, who compared the policy to online shoe retailer Zappos, which overcame skepticism about buying shoes without trying them on with its painless return policy.He said about half of the customers who return cars switch to another vehicle. "It's very clear from the customer response that what we're doing works," Garcia said.Carvana's revenues more than doubled this year to $350 million from $150 million in 2015, and just $40 million in 2014. The first year of operation saw just $4 million in business. And the firm this summer raised another $160 million in funding, bringing the total to $460 million.- The Blockbuster curse? -Carvana is not the first company to try to rethink the used car buying experience. There are many other online options, and CarMax became a big disrupter with its no-haggle pricing, easy trade-ins and reputation for straight-dealing.But CarMax also uses traditional dealerships, frequently in areas where other car dealers are located.Could the vending machine upend the sales model and make CarMax go the way of Blockbuster? The once-ubiquitous video rental stores collapsed quickly after the arrival of DVD delivery service Netflix and online streaming.Garcia declined to say. Nor would he provide details on sales at the Nashville vending machine, except to comment that "the response we have seen has been overwhelming." As a result, the company is looking to add more."We're trying to expand as quickly as we responsibly can," he said. "We're looking to build out more."News reports say the company was trying to acquire land near Richmond for another machine, but withdrew the application after locals raised concern about the amount of light from the building.
Indian Scout Sixty (Image: Siddharth Safaya/News18.com)

Indian Scout Sixty (Image: Siddharth Safaya/News18.com)

Indian Scout has built up a long and strong legacy over the years since 1920, and with the Scout Sixty, owning a chunk of that legacy just got a little bit more real.The Scout Sixty is the most affordable Indian yet, and is a trimmed version of the Scout. But, what has not been trimmed is the finesse Indian Motorcycles is known for.We had a chance to ride the Scout Sixty for a short while, and we were left impressed.There is no doubt, the Scout Sixty looks absolutely drop dead fantastic. It has an evident classic appeal to it. The headlamp, leather seat upholstery spell out the word classic.You can see it's a powerful motorcycle. The V-Twin engine adds flare to it's exuberance. The long twin-exhausts with shiny chrome on them stand out in the red and black, or white and black or black and black. It comes in three colours.Those nasty vibrations expected from a cruise motorcycle are missing from the Scout Sixty, owing to a very refined liquid cooled engine that also makes lesser noise compared to the Scout.The V-Twin engine produces 78 hp and 88.8 Nm of torque, which is precisely 22 bhp less than the Scout, but it just doesn't feel under powered.Though it has lesser power than the Scout but if you look at it this way, you can use all that power, which makes the bike more accessible.It is the most affordable motorcycle by Indian yet, and there is quite a lot of motorcycle in Rs 11.99 lakh - a beautiful looking bike that has a comfortable ride, and to top it all it has Indian Motorcycles' legacy glorified further by Burt Monroe.It's a cruiser and a comfortable cruiser that it is, so chances are it will be taken for long rides, however a 12.5 litre fuel tank does not compliment that requirement. It could give you a range of about 225km on one full tank, which is a que for frequent fuel stops.For city riding, the clutch lever will eventually be a bit of a hassle as it felt a bit too heavy.Braking is ABS assisted, however a slight more bite from the caliper would have helped.The Scout Sixty can directly be pitted against Harley Davidson Street Bob. With a slightly smaller price tag at Rs 11,37,153 (ex-showroom), the Street Bob has an engine that produces 65 bhp and 118 Nm of torque.Indian Motorcycles and Harley Davidson have had an age old rivalry. The two American brands are the biggest cruise motorcycle manufacturers in the world. However, Indian just feels very refined.The bike makes you want to stare at it. It looks fantastic, keeps you comfy and absolutely gaurantees to put a smile on your face every single time you ride it.It's a powerful cruiser ready to take on long rides. So, if you had about Rs 12 lakh in your pocket, should you go buy one of these, we say yes. This will not be a disappointment.
TN: Lady police constable suffered injuries on her face and hand after being attacked with acid by unidentified persons yesterday in Vellore pic.twitter.com/CNjveNsrdp  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

: A lady constable suffered injuries on Friday after unidentified persons threw acid on her at Tiruppattur in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district.Constable Lavanya has suffered injuries on her face and hand. She has been admitted to a nearby hospital.Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Police have formed five teams to nab the culprits who had fled from the scene.
Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Ram Mohan Rao - who was sacked following I-T raids at his residence in disproportionate asset case - was taken to ICU at Chennai's SRMC Hospital on Saturday.



On December 21, the I-T department raided Raos residence in Chennai. Tax officials said Rs 30 lakh in new Rs 2,000 notes, 5 Kg of gold and documents with details of undisclosed assets worth about Rs 5 crore were recovered during the raid.



The searches at Rao's residence and office were reportedly linked to the earlier IT raids on the residence of businessmen J. Shekhar Reddy.



On Friday, Rao's son Vivek was also summoned by the I-T department but he didn't appear.










Indore: Amid talks of a grand alliance for upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday had a dig at the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal, saying demonetisation by Narendra Modi has left them in no condition to contest on their own strength.



"Demonetisation has caused such a powerful impact that none of these parties could be able to contest the UP Assembly polls independently," Parrikar told reporters in response to a query over the talks about the formation of 'Mahagatbandhan' with SP, Congress and RLD as its constituents.



The minister was in the city to attend the 62nd national convention of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).



Parrikar said demonetisation of high-value currency notes has curbed "several illegal activities" in the country.



"People may be facing some problems due to demonetisation, but the common man is ready to face such problems, given the good impact of this move in the long run," the BJP leader said.



Parrikar evaded direct reply on the controversial AgustaWestland Helicopter deal, saying the matter is being investigated by CBI which doesn't work under his ministry.



"We have provided all information to CBI in this matter. I could not make any comment on this issue," Parrikar said.



On escalation of tension on Indo-Pak border, Parrikar said peace is prevailing at the border to an extent as of now.
New Delhi: The apex body for child rights has made an appeal to all state governments and asked them to disqualify candidates if they do not send their children to school for local body and Panchayati Raj elections.



According to the recommendation by the apex body for Child Rights, a candidate must produce a certificate from his child's school to prove that his/her ward is enrolled there and has regular attendance.



This is only for those candidates who have children between the age of 6-14 years.



"We have appealed to state governments to make amendments in electoral rules for local body elections and panchayati raj institutions and say that anyone who wants to fight elections will need to produce a certificate from his child's school to prove that his/her ward is enrolled there and is attending the school regularly, said Priyank Kanoongo, Member- RTE and Education, NCPCR adding that candidates must not be allowed to contest if they fail to do this.



Kanoongo also said that this suggestion draws from the 86th amendment of the Constitution, which inserted Article 21a and made education a fundamental right, as well as the Right To Education Act, 2009.



The NCPCR official calls it a "new milestone" in creating awareness as an elected representative will be an example in the society. He also said that this move will help in drawing politicians attention towards the state of schools in his state.



This suggestion is also part of recommendations prepared by NCPCR on "re-engagement of out-of-school children and prevention of drop-outs", which were tabled before a sub-committee of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.



In the recent past, there have been laws passed by Haryana and Rajasthan governments imposing minimum educational requirements for candidates contesting Panchayat elections.



Many activists have said that the move was against the principle of universal suffrage.



According to Kanoongo, there is no such debate about NCPCR's move.



"We are not talking about those who were denied education in the past either because of caste or poverty but about today's children who have a right to free and compulsory education. If you oppose to this, right then you are opposed to the Constitution as well," he said.
New Delhi: A total of Rs 2.60 crore cash and 95 kg of gold and silver has been seized and four persons arrested by the DRI in connection with its probe into alleged diversion of duty free gold worth about Rs 140 crore, imported under a special concession scheme, by a firm operating from a Noida-based SEZ.



The sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's Lucknow zonal unit carried out the searches for two days on the premises of M/s Shri Lal Mahal Limited and the residences of company officials as part of its anti-black money operations after demonetisation, the agency said in a statement.



Four people associated with the firm were arrested late evening after questioning, a DRI official said.



"It is found that the unit has illegally diverted and sold 430 kg (valued at about Rs 140 crore) of duty free gold in the market.



"Cash amounting to Rs 2.60 crore (Rs 2.48 crore in old currency notes and Rs 12 lakh in new notes) has been seized.



"Unaccounted 80 kg of silver found in the factory has also been recovered. Further, 15 kg of gold jewellery has been seized from the premises of the firm," the statement added.



The DRI alleged that the firm had also "transferred huge amount of money through RTGS (funds transfer through banking channels) to a firm operating from their premises to purchase gold coins or bars of 24kg after November 8 (the day Rs 1000/Rs 500 were demonetised) from MMTC, India's largest public sector trading body, also to sell in the market for old demonetised currency".



Earlier, the agency had said that directors of the firm were either admitted in hospital or avoiding investigations, as a result two persons had been detained for questioning. PTI SMJ NES
Srinagar: The fragile peace in the Kashmir valley has been disrupted after separatists and Opposition leaders opposed the PDP-BJP government's decision to issue domicile certificates to 1.5 lakh Hindu refugees from Pakistan.



Police on Saturday removed independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rasheed from the pavement outside Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's official residence where the lawmaker was on a 48-hour sit in to protest against government decision to issue identity certificates to West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir.



Rasheed along with his supporters spent the night on the pavement outside Mehbooba's Fairview residence on Gupkar road on Friday.



The MLA had on Friday warned the government against "bulldozing rights of people of state".



Prior to his detention, the MLA told CNN-News18 the state government should first deliver rights to the people of Kashmir and then talk about the refugees.







Protests still continue in the Valley as opponents claim the PDP-BJP government decision is aimed at changing the demography of the state while the the Jammu Kashmir government defends the move. The government claims issuing domicile certificates won't make Pakistani refugees state subjects, unless they are from PoK. However, the government has made it clear the refugees would be allowed to vote in parliamentary elections but will be barred from voting in Assembly polls.



The Mufti government also asserted the state can't recruit these refugees but they can be accommodated in Central paramilitary forces.
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday performed Bhoomi poojan and Jal poojan for the ambitious sea memorial dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj coming up in the Arabian Sea, around 1.5 km from Mumbai shoreline at Marine Drive.

Modi took a hovercraft from Girgaum Chowpatty to the island to lay the foundation stone.

Proposed on around 15-hectare Island, the memorial will be as high as 210 metres and the total cost of the project is Rs 3,600 crore.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police have detained several fishermen who were demonstrating against the project.

Prior to his arrival, the PM tweeted from Delhi: I am honoured to be getting the opportunity to perform the bhoomipujan of Shiv Smarak.

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#Dangal wrestles demonetisation... Sets the BO on fire... Ends the lull phase... Fri  29.78 cr [incl  59 lacs from Tamil and Telugu].  taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 24, 2016

#Dangal Sat and Sun biz will be higher... Word of mouth is terrific... Expected to cross  100 cr mark in first 3 days... India biz.  taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 24, 2016

In a quite shocking turn of events, Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal, which was released on December 23, was leaked online on the release date itself. Leaked by a Pakistani user on social media, the video accumulated over 60 shares and 4 lakh views within 10 hours.A source close to the film's team said they've taken down the link and added, "Piracy is a problem and everybody is fighting it. We've taken the link down." Would the box-office earnings of the film be affected The source added, "The leaked copy was available only for a night on social media, We're hopeful it won't bring down the numbers drastically".Both UTV and team Dangal were unavailable for an official comment on the matter.Being touted as the film of the year, Dangal has managed to fight demonetisation with a good opening on the first day itself. The film's box-office potential could have been hit hard by the after-effects of the Indian government's demonetisation move but it has been a respite for the industry. According to the trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film's earnings over the weekend would increase as the word-of-mouth is working well.Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Dangal is based on a true story and chronicles the empowering journey of a father who trains his daughters in wrestling. The real life tale of Mahavir Singh Phogat, who trained his daughters Geeta and Babita, much to the disapproval of his whole village, has struck the right chords with the viewers.
In case you're wondering, you've got - as of writing - 14 hours to get into bed before Santa Claus arrives in Dublin.

Google's annual tradition of tracking Santa's progress across the globe is in full swing, with the big man racking up close to 25,000,000 presents delivered as of writing. Currently, Santa's making his way through Papua New Guinea - which is in the south-west of the Pacific Ocean - and he's expected to arrive in Ireland around 2AM or so tonight.

The Google Santa Tracker also gives children lots of information about the current location of Santa, such as the capital of the country, its population size, and a little bit of history on the country as well.

If you're having trouble with Google's Santa Tracker, NORAD - yes, the North American Aerospace Defence Command - has a tracker that works just as well.

You can find Google's Santa Tracker just by typing it into Google or following it from here.

Via Google
New Delhi: Actor Randeep Hooda, whose film Sarbjit has made it to an initial list of 336 feature films eligible for Best Picture in 2016 at the upcoming 89th Academy Awards, is hoping that it wins the Oscar.



The film, directed by Omung Kumar, is a biopic on Sarabjit Singh, an Indian farmer who was convicted of terrorism and spying in Pakistan and was sentenced to death. He was attacked by inmates at a prison in Lahore in April 2013 and died a few days later.



Randeep, whose performance as the title character was critically acclaimed, told IANS via email: "It feels great to have one's work appreciated by the Academy Awards, which, I feel, mostly recognises cinematic excellence. A lot of people had, at the time of release, deemed this particular performance Oscar-worthy and then one hears this."



He has high hopes from the movie.



"Not only that, I hope it goes on to win it. But as far as I know, there is a lot lobbying required to get to that point. As you can see, I'm not good at all at that," he added.



The 40-year-old actor says if the film makes it to the final list, he would like to attend the awards gala and would want to take a "few key people" in his life.



Randeep has congratulated the entire cast and crew of the film, which also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Darshan Kumar.




Wishing speedy recovery for @RoopaSpeaks .By the grace of Almighty she is stable and under medical observation at AMRI,Salt Lake.

 Dilip Ghosh (@DilipGhoshBJP) December 23, 2016

: Actor-turned-BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly was admitted to a private city hospital with a "small brain haematoma" on Friday, doctors said.The hospital said she is under observation and "absolutely stable"."Roopa Ganguly is admitted ... with a small brain haematoma. She is absolutely stable and under observation," AMRI Hospitals said in a bulletin.State Bharatiya Janata Party leaders expressed concern over Ganguly's condition and wished her a speedy recovery."It seems she suffered a minor cerebral attack. Doctors said she had a blurry vision and blood clots in her brain. I wish her a speedy recovery," said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.Ganguly gained cult popularity for playing Draupadi in the television series "Mahabharat" in the 1980s. She joined BJP in 2015 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha this year.
Lucknow: Taking a dig at Narendra Modi's demonetisation move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav termed cashless economy as a "bigger dream" than 'achche din' and said the note ban will be an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.



"The dream of cashless economy is a bigger one than achche din... it is however for the government to see how it will be realised," he said at a function to distribute cheques to the families of martyrs and 14 persons who allegedly lost their lives while standing in queues outside ATMs/banks after demonetisation.



Attacking the BJP government on note ban, Yadav, without taking names, alleged that people have been betrayed and economy harmed.



"Earlier (when the note ban was announced) people had faith, or rather confusion, that a big change will be brought... but soon after the very same people started saying that there could not have been a bigger loss to the economy... national and international economists are also writing about it.



"It is for the government to see how it will work out the losses to the GDP but it is a fact the people had to face hardships and I have said earlier too that the government which pose problems are voted out by people," he said, adding that in the coming elections those who had faced problems will stand against them.



Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to announce compensation for the families of those who allegedly died while queuing up outside banks and ATMs for long post demonetisation.



Chief Minister had earlier this month announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of 'demonetisation victims'.



Giving examples of major risk in online transactions, Yadav said one of the accused arrested for fraudulently withdrawing money from someone's account said that he was caught because he was a "novice".



"Anyone who becomes an expert in cyber crime will never be arrested," the Chief Minister said after presenting cheques of Rs two lakh each to the families of 14 people who allegedly died while standing in bank queues.



To a question on what will be the election issue, Yadav said "Development, road, water all will be elections issues... why would note ban not be an election issue".



Taking a dig at the BJP, Yadav said he has come to know that the 'parivartan rath yatra' was attacked by those standing in bank queue in Deoria recently... They need to remain alert while taking out the rath yatra and avoid banks on the route."



When asked about alliance, Yadav said party president Mulayam Singh Yadav will decide on alliance.



"I have already said that SP is going to form a government and if we go into the polls in an alliance we will win more than 300 seats," he said.



Claiming that the next SP government will take forward the works undertaken by the present regime, Yadav said the state needs to be taken on a new direction towards development and prosperity.



Over Centre's schemes, Yadav said UP government was extending full support to central schemes saying that AIIMS was coming up in Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur only because the state provided land for it.



"But if there is any scheme which farmers do not like or feel that they will not benefit from it what can UP government do.. it is for them to explain the benefits of their scheme to farmers and take their schemes to poor... take Jan Dhan Yojna, first it was stated that it is for the poor and when money was deposited it was termed as black money," he said.



Yadav reiterated that UP has had to suffer loss worth Rs 9,000 crore after Niti Ayog came into being.
Lucknow: Shortly after convincing his party on the need for an alliance with Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal in the Uttar Pradesh polls, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is going ahead with the next item on his agenda - stamp his mark on ticket distribution.



The UP CM called a meeting of first-time MLAs at his residence on Friday evening, which according to political watchers was a strong signal to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Yadav that he is not willing to be ignored on ticket distribution.



Emerging out of a 90-minute long meeting, most of the leaders of the youth brigade privately expressed confidence they will be getting party tickets again this time. One of the MLAs speaking on condition of anonymity said, "CM has assured us we'll get tickets and asked us not to get distracted by recent political development".



Further they were also told to go ahead with campaigning on the "good work" done by their government.



Another SP MLA who comes from one of the Vidhan sabha seats in Amethi, the Parliamentary constituency of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said, "Chief Minister looked confident about things to come. Though he didn't mention about alliance talks, he was confident about Samajwadi party coming back to power in next elections"



The meeting came on the day Mulayam returned from Delhi. Sources said Akhilesh's meeting with a section of MLAs had not gone well with both Mulayam and party state president Shivpal Yadav. There was an indication of this when Shivpal went to meet Mulayam later in the evening.



Sources said the two senior leaders discussed ticket distribution and Akhilesh's dissent on including candidates with a tainted reputation. The Akhilesh had earlier made his displeasure public on tickets being announced to the likes of Aman Mani tripathi and Ateek Ahmad.







By working out a seatsharing formula in princle and asserting his say in ticket distribution, Akhilesh has clearly conveyed to his uncle that there will be only one person in the driver's seat.



As a senior leader of the party, who is considered part of the Akhilesh camp put it: "After working out the alliance formula, Akhilesh knows he is in control. The election is being fought on his name. Therefore he will go ahead with full force on the choice of candidates.




Mumbai: Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM), led by Prakash Ambedkar, which has only one legislator in Maharashtra, has decided to contest 40 seats in the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.



The party has no presence outside Akola and Washim district in Vidarbha region of the state.



Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution.



"In Punjab, Dalit community is prevalent in almost each assembly constituency and are 32 per cent of the total population. To rope in these voters, BBM has decided to contest 40 seats out of total 117 seats," Ambedkar said.



"The Republican Party of India (RPI) has no presence in Punjab. Earlier, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party had a hold in a few pockets, but has lost supporters in the last few years. Which is why I think that BBM has strong chances of opening its account in the state," he added.



A team of 40 retired bureaucrats from the Punjab cadre will do the leg work for Ambedkar in Punjab.



"Today, I held a meeting of these retired IAS officers who had expressed their desire to join politics directly or indirectly. They will handle rallies and campaign in the state in our support," Ambedkar, who is on a tour of Punjab from the last Wednesday said and added that the process to select candidates will begin very soon.



BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance is currently in power in Punjab.



A party leader said that Aam Aadami Party has expressed its desire to tie up with the BBM for the assembly polls. However Ambedkar said he has not received any official communication from AAP as yet.



BBM's lone legislator Baliram Siraskar won the 2014 Maharashtra assembly polls from Akola constituency. The party has a complete hold over Akola Zilla Parishad, and 5 Panchayat Samitis from the same district. Party's Nafisa Shaikh won president's post of Buldhana Municipal Council in recently concluded civic polls.



Punjab government's Assembly tenure will end in March 2017.
Notebandi Hindustan ke gareeb, kisaan aur middle class ke khilaaf kadam hai: Rahul Gandhi in Dharamsala pic.twitter.com/7rEJUOLVl4  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

: Addressing a rally in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamsala, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the poor economic condition of the farmers in the state.Rahul Gandhi said farmers bear the brunt of Modi's note ban move. He said, "Modi ji aapne Himachal Pradesh ki 'hat' utaar di, notebandi ne hortliculture, agriculture and tourism ko zabardast chot pahounchayi hai (Demonetisation is a move against the poor and the middle class of this country. The policy has hurt Uttarakhand. It has hurt the state's horticulture, agriculture and tourism sector)".The Congress leader termed Modi's demonetisation drive as anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-middle class policy. "Modi has destroyed MGNREGA, broken spinal cord of the daily wagers," he added.Rahul also criticised Modi for the plight of tribals. He said BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have taken away the land of the poor tribals.While addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Almora on Friday, the Congress vice-president had escalated an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the implementation of demonetisation scheme in the country.This is Rahul Gandhi's first vist to Himachal Pradesh after the Congress reversal in the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls.
Lucknow: Union Minister Manoj Sinha was injured in a road mishap while he was on his way from Barabanki to Gorakhpur, police said.



He has fractured his left arm and sustained some minor injuries.



The Minister of State for Railways was rushed to Apollo hospital in Gorakhpur late on Friday and after receiving first aid has been admitted to the Lalit Narayan Mishra railway hospital.



Senior railway, district and police officials were camping at the hospital where Sinha, MP from Ghazipur is admitted.



Officials say the minister was headed for an event in Kushinagar and was slated for a night halt at the Gorakhpur's Railway VVIP guest house. But on the way, in an attempt to save a biker, the escort car in his cavalcade pressed emergency brakes and the minister's car hit it from behind.



A senior official of North-Eastern Railways (NER) Sanjay Yadav said Sinha had a fracture between his left shoulder and elbow. He will will be flown to Delhi on Saturday for a surgery.
Malta: A film shoot at a Malta airport was disrupted amid the real hijacking of a Libyan Airbus A320, the BBC reported on Friday.



The Entebbe film crew were forced to stop the shooting of the movie as the hijacked Libyan Afriqiyah Airways plane landed at Malta International Airport and created a security nightmare.



The movie is based on a hostage situation that occurred 40 years ago in Uganda. In 1976, Israeli commandos successfully freed 105 hostages in a surprise raid at Uganda's Entebbe airport, killing about 8 hostage-takers and 20 Ugandan troops.



The ill-fated Air France Flight AF139 had 250 passengers - with many of whom were Israeli - and 12 crew. The hijackers demanded that release of 54 militants held by Israel and 4 other countries and a $5m ransom.



Rosamund Pike, Vincent Cassel and Daniel Bruhl-starrer Entebbe is expected to be released in 2017.



Though, the Malta hostage crisis ended peacefully on Friday within a few hours; the hostage situation in Uganda (1976) dragged on for about a week after Palestinian hostage-takers hijacked the flight from Tel Aviv to Paris and diverted it to Entebbe.
Rome: Italy on Friday hailed its police officer heroes who caught Berlin truck attack suspect Anis Amri on the streets of Milan, with high praise for the rookie who shot him dead.



Tributes flooded in for Luca Scata, the 29-year-old Sicilian trainee who fired off two rounds after Amri opened fire on his partner Christian Movio, 36.



Senior officers described Amri as displaying an ice-cold cool as he pulled out a pistol after the officers had asked him to empty his backpack.



But Scata, baby-faced with a trendy beard, was just as quick. After Movio was hit by a bullet in the shoulder he fired twice in quick succession, sending the suspect to the ground.



Witnesses said the two policemen had then crouched over Amri in a bid to keep him alive, but the Tunisian died after 10 minutes.



Scata had only been in the police for nine months and was three months into a probationary period in Milan when he was put to the ultimate test.



The more experienced Movio was recovering in a Milan hospital after a minor surgery.



He was well enough to receive visitors and paid tribute to his younger colleague in comments relayed by one of them.



"My partner's actions were exemplary, he reacted immediately when the pistol came out," he said.



Interior Minister Marco Minniti telephoned the officers to congratulate them and said he would be visiting them to "personally" give them a hug.



"At a very young age, these extraordinary men have done a huge service to the entire community, by doing their duty.



"Italians can be proud of them, they have ensured a much happier Christmas."



Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni echoed the praise as Scata's Facebook page was flooded with well-wishing messages from all over the world, with many demanding the government give him a medal.



At home in Sicily, his father Giuseppe Scata said he was just happy his son was alive. "He is a brave boy and he did his duty," he told reporters.



"When we spoke to him on the telephone early this morning he still did not know that the dead boy was the attacker."



Anis Amri, a 24-year-old failed asylum seeker who arrived first in Italy before heading to Germany, is suspected of killing 12 and wounding dozens more on Monday by driving a truck into a Berlin Christmas market.
Islamabad: The US Department of Defence has awarded a USD 284.6 million contract to Lockheed Martin to produce infrared target sight systems for the US Navy and Pakistan, a media report said on Saturday.



The system will be used for the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters, which have proved very effective in combats against militants, particularly in difficult terrains. In the US, the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter is used by US Marine Corps expeditionary forces, the Dawn reported.



The TSS incorporates a third-generation forward-looking infrared sensor that provides target sighting in day, night, or adverse weather conditions.



A Pentagon press release describes the TSS system as a large-aperture mid-wave forward-looking infrared sensor with a laser designator/rangefinder turret. It provides the capability to identify and laser-designate targets at maximum weapon range, significantly enhancing platform survivability and lethality.



The company's Orlando-based missile and fire control unit will produce the sight system in Orlando and Ocala, Florida, through January 2022 for the US Navy and Pakistan under the foreign military sales portion of the award, the paper said, citing the Pentagon release.



The contract has a base value of USD 150.96 million but its accumulative cost would go up to USD 284.6 million. The government of Pakistan will pay about 12 per cent of the total cost through an arrangement with the US under the Foreign Military Sales programme.



In January, Lockheed Martin received a smaller contract of USD 14 million to provide the same target system for Pakistan.



The contracts include software development and testing, system modification, and installation requirements to integrate the TSS into the Cobra helicopters.



The TSS provides target information and tracking data for the helicopter, in addition to passive targeting for integrated weapons. Work on the first contract, performed in Florida, would be completed by December 2017.



Although the United States and Pakistan were once close allies, relations between the two countries strained in 2011, when the US eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during a covert raid at his compound in Abbottabad.



The bilateral ties slipped further after the US Congress blocked financing of eight F-16 fighter jets earlier this year despite strong lobbying by Islamabad. The US lawmakers accused Islamabad of continuing to support the Afghan Taliban.
People watch the performance at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, Dec 22, 2016. Thursday marked the ninth anniversary of the National Center for the Performing Arts and the start of its annual public art festival. The one-day event featured 16 performances, five lectures and 10 exhibitions, which attracted thousands of visitors. [Photo/Xinhua]
MURDER IN TRAFFIC

As gunshots rang out, frightened shoppers ran into shops in and around Queen Street. Inside the car, Sean Thomas, 33, sat slumped in the drivers seat  his body kept upright only by his seatbelt.

Once police arrived and cordoned off the murder scene, it was shopping as usual as many resumed their task of searching for that ideal Christmas gift for their loved ones. While officers were trying to ascertain a motive for the killing, they believe it may have been gang-related.

Thomas hailed from Francis Street, San Juan.

Police reported that at about ten oclock yesterday morning, Thomas was driving a silver-coloured Toyota Axio in a westerly direction along Queen Street. As he was approaching Duncan Street, two unknown gunmen approached the vehicle, drew their firearms and shot Thomas multiple times. As the gunmen fled, an off-duty policeman who heard the gunshots gave chase but lost the men who disappeared in thick crowds of shoppers.

A party of officers from Besson Street Police Station, the Inter-Agency Task Force, Port-of-Spain CID and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations visited the scene. A policeman had to use a baton to smash the back window of the car in order to open the doors to reach Thomas body. Curious onlookers crowded the corner of Queen and Duncan streets as they tried to get a glimpse of the commotion at the murder scene.

Relatives of the man were also at the scene of the crime, but were too distraught to speak to members of the media.

The relatives could have been seen weeping and holding each other as they stood among the onlookers, watching police officers process the crime scene. Although they were too emotional to speak, close friends of the deceased, who were also at the scene yesterday told reporters that the only Christmas plans he told them of, was that he was hoping to spend the holidays with his children.

Police sources said that when officers searched Thomas vehicle, they found four ammunition magazines but no firearm.

In an earlier incident, a 27-year-old man was shot dead a stones throw away from the Morvant Police Station.

According to reports, Akeem Jordan of Flamingo Street, Morvant, was liming with friends on the corner of Tapana and Kisskidee Street when at about 8.30 pm on Thursday, when a Nissan Almera pulled up in front of Jordan. Without warning four armed men alighted the vehicle, approached Jordan and shot him multiple times about the body.

The gunmen then drove off. Jordan was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The murder toll up to press time, stood at 450 with seven days left in the year.
DOMA: Crime as bad as it could get

The regular police often complain to us that their work is made more difficult by the absence of City Police, and its not a manpower issue. There are a lot of City Police providing service that has nothing to do with Downtown City Ordinance and we would like to see that changed before we get into a question of adding more resources.

Unfortunately, for Port-of-Spain and citizens for the entire country, the year is ending on the same note on which it began. We are in a constant state of lawlessness and we have yet to see any effective mechanism for law and order, Aboud said. He added that the country needs better law enforcement and a mechanism by which officers who are performing their duties are those given priority in terms of promotions.

What we have had are a number of speeches, a number of promises, press conferences and communications specialists making statements.

But tragically for those persons who are losing their lives and the rest who are scared, the country cannot be run with press conferences or by communications specialists.

The Police Service cannot and should not be allowed to become a place where persons decide whether or not they are going to do do their job. It should be a place where everybody is on board and everyone is doing their job, Aboud said. I would like to suggest that the Central Government rethink its plan about adding additional officers to the Municipal Police.

The Municipal Police Services are not at this time performing the duties that they should be performing in our towns and cities and many of them are absentees.

Many of the business people cannot tell you the last time they saw a patrol by Municipal Police, and we dont think that we should attempt to add additional manpower resources in an area where there is such a total collapse of service. We should try to first reinstate the service and then we could think about adding more resources.

It is a terrible story to end the year on the note which we first began, but until we get the facts, until we understand what needs to be done with respect to security service, we are always going to be having these interviews to get our reaction to what is happening in East PoS, Aboud said. Aboud said since the increase of crime in East PoS, the East PoS Development Company has not been able to attract a single investment because of these very conditions.

What we have to guard against is allowing these conditions to spread westward. We need to address the condition of East.

People of East Port-of- Spain are entitled to police service, surveillance and law and order in the same way that everyone else is. The citizens are a valuable attachment to East PoS; they represent not only a customer base but also our staff, Aboud said.
Be careful out there

That was the warning yesterday given to a crime-weary nation by Acting Commissioner of Police at a police briefing. He reiterated an earlier call by the TTPS for citizens to be vigilant at this time of year, when doing their Christmas shopping. He also revealed that the TTPS is in the final stage of a new three year strategic plan, though he didnt reveal the details of that plan.

We are asking the members of the public to be careful out there.

There are persons who are set, just as a police officer goes out to work, there are individuals who are set on going out to work in committing crime. Persons will be seeking to target shoppers out there as it relates to larceny and robberies and we are really asking members of the public to be conscious, conscious as you go out in the various shopping locations to make yourselves what we call hard targets. We are seeing reports over this week where people are not considering some of the key tips that weve had throughout the year, such as simple things.

Commissioner Williams gave an example. You go to the bank, you make a large withdrawal of cash. You go the vehicle, you put it into the glove compartment and you go back into a mall and shop.

Persons are monitoring you. Persons will in fact, break your vehicle and steal the money. We have those incidents continuing to take place as recent as yesterday at one of the malls. We share with the members of the public that if you are business men and women, you have large deposits to make at the bank, please do not go to the bank alone. He said businessmen should share the information with the police and officers will provide support and a level of protection to ensure that the businessman can get to the bank and make their deposits safely. Same thing goes by way of having to pay, by way of payroll, he said. We generally focus at this point in time to do everything possible from a policing perspective to make the place safe. The top cop repeated that there will be an increased presence of police officers in all key shopping areas, including Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, Arima and all shopping malls especially today - the final shopping day before Christmas.

Williams noted that 2016 was a reasonably good year for the TTPS and a year which saw greater support from the media as evidence in more positive stories about the work of the TTPS, and an increased level of cooperation from citizens of the Trinidad and Tobago.

As a result of the increased cooperation with the public, Williams said, the crime detection rate of the TTPS has improved.

With regard to policing strategies for the coming year, Williams said, We are putting things in place from day one January 1, 2017 to focus on the violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

While we see in some instances reduction in crime types, we have a situation of an increase in murders in 2016 compared to 2015.

Overall though, we have seen a small reduction in violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago. But that slight decrease is not enough.

What we need to see is a significant drop in the levels of violence in Trinidad and Tobago so that the public can be conscious of the change that is taking place in the context of safety and security.

That is what will be our focus from day one, January 2017... We are just in the completion stage for a new strategic plan for a three year cycle which will run 2017 to 2019. Calling 2016 a reasonably successful year for the TTPS, Williams said that there has been a two percent decrease overall in shootings, woundings and murders, a one percent reduction in serious crimes generally; three percent reduction in rapes and other sex related offences; a 34 percent reduction in kidnappings; a 19 percent reduction in larceny of motor vehicles and a ten percent reduction in road death.

When questioned about whether or not he felt David West, head of the Police Complaints Authority should resign, he said he didnt think he should comment on his resignation, but that West has made irresponsible utterances.
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(Newser)  What Yahya Abu Hassan has described as the "best day of his life" involved sneaking his emaciated, pregnant wife and three sick young kids through a barbed-wire fence over the Syrian border to Turkey, where he didn't even say goodbye before they were whisked to safety. That day in September 2013 was the day Hassan ditched his family to devote himself to helping ISIS set up a caliphate, his story told in a preview for a longer article by Graeme Wood appearing in the Atlantic's next issue. Wood details Hassan's reputation as one of the most revered "teachers" among jihadist circles, known for his "staggering mastery of Islamic law and classical Arabic language and literature," as well as his fluency in English. When Wood first heard about Hassan in 2014 while researching a previous Atlantic article about ISIS, he was curious about his origin story and started poking around.

First he found links to Hassan and his extreme views, but further detective work involving nomenclature and Google searches led to an astonishing discovery: a DOJ release about the 2006 conviction of data technician John Georgelas, who used to live in Texas not far from Wood, and who Wood determined was Hassan. What Wood found out next about the Greek-American is fascinating. An in-person conversation Wood had with Georgelas' father, Tim, about Johnwho Tim describes as once an easily swayed "follower" who experimented with psychedelic drugsis especially revealing, as is Wood's scrutiny of Georgelas' relationship with his ex-wife, once a fellow jihadist. Most chilling is Georgelas' current ISIS role, in which it's speculated he may now hold the second most-powerful position. "He knows how to speak to Americans, how to scare them, how to recruit themhow to make the Islamic State's war theirs," Wood writes. Read the deep dive at the Atlantic. (Read more Longform stories.)
(Newser)  Researchers in Japan suggest there's a surprising neurological reason why people avert their gaze occasionally during conversation. Reporting in the journal Cognition, they write that eye contact actually "disrupts resources available to cognitive control processes during verb generation." In other words, when you need to come up with certain words under certain circumstances, maintaining eye contact depletes the very brain resources you need to find the word. So you look away. To test this, the researchers asked 26 participants to make eye contact with a computer-generated face while playing a word association game, reports Business Insider. Looking at the face didn't seem to interfere with their ability to come up with verbs easily associated to nounslike the word "scissors" prompting the person to think of "cut."

But when nouns were more difficultfor example, if they had too many associations or were a little obscureit took participants longer to think of a verb while maintaining that eye contact. As a post at Science Alert sums up: "While making eye contact and holding a conversation is certainly possible, this is evidence that they can both draw on the same pool of cognitive resources, and sometimes that pool starts to run a little dry." The researchers didn't parse out possible cultural influences, but Scientific American suggests that if looking away while thinking is cross-cultural, "perhaps cultures with less emphasis on eye contact enable deeper thinking during a given conversation." (Eye contact is forbidden in a certain Minnesota locale.)
(Newser)  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday welcomed the arrival of a fleet of Uber self-driving cars delivered via a self-driving truck that transported them from California. Ducey's office says the governor welcomed the truck carrying the self-driving Volvos at the State Capitol in Phoenix. Uber announced Thursday that it was shipping the cars to Arizona after they were banned from California roads over a lack of required permits, the AP reports. Uber made the announcement after Ducey promoted Arizona as an alternative to California for the ride-hailing company to test its self-driving cars. Uber has not announced when the cars will be tested, nor provided details about how many vehicles arrived in Arizona. Uber previously had 16 self-driving cars registered in California. (Read more Uber stories.)
(Newser)  Tunisia's Interior Ministry says police have arrested the nephew of Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri and two othersand says all three men are suspected of belonging to a terrorist cell and had contacts with Amri. The ministry says the nephew, 18-year-old Fedi, told police he was in contact with Amri encrypted communications to avoid detection. He told police that Amri had recruited him to jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to ISIS, and that Amri sent him money to join him in Germany. The arrests occurred Saturday, the day after Amri was killed in a shootout with police in Milan, Italy. Video later surfaced of the Tunisian pledging allegiance to ISIS.

The two officers who stopped Amri in Milan are being hailed as heroes in Italy, the New York Times reports. The officer who killed Amri, 29-year-old Luca Scata, had only been on the force for nine months. His colleague, 36-year-old Cristian Movio, was shot during the encounter and is recovering from non-life threatening wounds. Spain's Interior Minister, meanwhile, says police are investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist in Spain. Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoid says Spanish police are looking into a tip passed on by German authorities that Anis Amri had developed a contact in Spain. CNN reports that investigators believe Amri was part of the "Abu Walaa" extremist recruitment network, centered on a radical preacher who considers himself ISIS' representative in Germany. (Read more Anis Amri stories.)
(Newser)  Donald Trump's New York state campaign co-chair has caused outrage with remarks that the Trump transition team admits were "reprehensible." When asked by Buffalo's weekly ArtVoice paper what he wanted to see happen in 2017, Carl Paladino said he wanted President Obama to die of mad cow diseaseand Michelle Obama to "return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla." The comments "are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse," Trump's transition team in a statement. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who defeated Paladino in the 2010 gubernatorial election, called the comments "racist, ugly, and reprehensible" and said the Republican had embarrassed the state, the New York Daily News reports.

Paladino denied the comments were racist, called his critics "retarded liberal people," and issued a statement attacking Obama's record. "It's about a little deprecating humor which America lost for a long time," he wrote. "Merry Christmas and tough luck if you dont like my answer." Paladino hasn't ruled out another run for governor, though it's not clear whether he will be able even to keep the Buffalo school board seat he was elected to in 2013, the Buffalo News reports. A petition for his removal has been started and the state's top education policymaker has condemned his remarks. "I personally find it unacceptable for anyone who touches the lives of our children to speak in this manner," Betty Rosa, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, said in a statement. (Paladino came under fire for sending racist and sexist emails during his 2010 campaign.)
(Newser)  Carrie Fisher remains in intensive care following a serious cardiac episode Friday aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles, the Guardian reports. Her condition remains unclear, and her brother tells USA Today that many reports on her health have been nothing but guesswork. "We have to wait and be patient," Todd Fisher says. "We have so little information ourselves." He had earlier said the 60-year-old actress had been stabilized after being in critical condition, but he later walked that back. "I am not saying she is fine or not fine," the Guardian quotes him as saying. Authorities will only say that a passenger on the plane was "unresponsive" and provided with "medical life support." But sources who were on the flight say Fisher was "in a lot of distress" and "wasn't breathing for 10 minutes or so."

Fans and well-wishers gathered outside a Los Angeles-area hospital, where Fisher has her daughter, Billie Lourd, and French bulldog, Gary, at her side. Meanwhile, Fisher's Star Wars costars tweeted their thoughts and prayers:

Mark Hamill: "As if 2016 couldn't get any worse...sending all our love to @carrieffisher."

Peter Mayhew: "Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now."

Gwendoline Christie: "The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universe's most powerful Force."

Warwick Davis: "Sending love and well wishes to 'our Princess' @carrieffisher. The Force is strong with you...#YubNub."

(Read more Carrie Fisher stories.)
(Newser)  The US' surprising decision to allow a resolution condemning Israeli settlements to be passed by the UN Security Council on Friday continues to have immediate ramifications. CNN reports Sen. Lindsey Graham says he'll propose a measure to cut off US funding to the UN unless the resolution is repealed. "I will do everything in my power," Graham says, "to leave no doubt about where America stands when it comes to...the only true democracy in the Middle East." He calls the US' abstention from Friday's vote, allowing the resolution to pass 14-0, "flat-out reckless" and all but accuses the UN of being "anti-Semitic."

But it wasn't just the likes of Graham and Donald Trump opposing the resolution. Some Democrats also denounced it, with Sen. Chuck Schumer calling it "disappointing and confounding," the New York Times reports. And in Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately removed the country's ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, two sponsors of the resolution, the Guardian reports. He went on to cut off all aid to Senegal and cancel its foreign minister's planned visit to Israel in a few weeks. The resolution is far more popular outside the US and Israel. It was met with applause at the UN and supported by China, France, Russia and others. (Read more Israel stories.)
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Jerusalem:

Israel lashed out at US President Barack Obama over a UN Security Council resolution passed on Friday demanding it halt settlements in Palestinian territory, while vowing it would not abide by it.



Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said.



The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes, it said.



Israel looks forward to working with President-elect (Donald) Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution.

Also read | UN passes resolution to end Israeli settlements in Palestine as US abstains



In a rare and momentous step, the United States abstained from yesterdays vote, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.



The text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

Read | White House defends decision to abstain from UNSC vote on Israeli settlement in Palestine



The landmark move by the Security Council came despite intense lobbying efforts by Israel and Trump to block the resolution.



But the Obama administration has grown increasingly frustrated with settlement building in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied for nearly 50 years.

Also read | Israeli official accuses Obama of shameful move against Isreal at UN



There have been growing warnings that settlement building is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



They are constructed on land the Palestinians view as part of their future state and have long been seen as illegal under international law.



The United States has traditionally served as Israels diplomatic shield, protecting it from resolutions it opposes.



But there had been mounting speculation that Obama would allow such a resolution to pass before he leaves office on January 20.



Obama and Netanyahu have had testy relations, but Israels statement after the vote was particularly harsh toward the US administration, as were comments earlier in the day from an anonymous Israeli official.



The United States is Israels most important ally and provides it with more than USD 3 billion per year in defence aid.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

India has said it is ready for talks with Pakistan on any issue provided that country creates an atmosphere for fruitful dialogue.

Reacting to recent comments by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that Islamabad wants peaceful settlement of matters with India, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "We have never refused talks, but Pakistan has to ensure a peaceful atmosphere. Pakistan needs to stop supporting terrorism. Pakistan should create a healthy atmosphere for talks."

Insisting that it was Pakistan which has to ensure that there are suitable conditions for bilateral talks, he said, "What we see is repeated incidents of cross-border firing at the LoC and terror attacks.

Every other day, there are instances of infiltration. They are attacking our soldiers." "It should create an atmosphere where they don't take the help of violence and terrorism. And then we are ready for talks with Pakistan on any issue," he added.

On Pakistan foreign ministry alleging that India was trying to change the demographic composition of Jammu and Kashmir, Swarup said that country has no locus standi to make such comments.

Asked about the comments by a senior Pakistani general that New Delhi should "shun enmity" with Islamabad and jointly reap the benefit of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, he said it was a Chinese initiative which goes through sovereign part of India and Indian concerns over the issue have already been conveyed to parties concerned.

The 6 billion dollar CPEC aims to connect China's western parts with the Arabian Sea through Balochistan's strategic Gwadar port. India has already expressed concern over the project that also passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

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Islamabad:

Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari has finally returned to Pakistan after days of uncertainty over his return to the country. Earlier Zardari had said that he is not in exile and will return home soon.

In an interview to Geo News on November 21, Zardari had denied being in exile and said he would return to Pakistan within the next few weeks.

Notably, the PPP chief abruptly left the country in 2015, after lashing out at the military establishment for overstepping its domain.

PPP Senator Saeed Ghani had also confirmed the possibility of Zardaris return saying the former president would be back in December.

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Dhulagarh:

A three-MP delegation of BJP will visit Dhulagarh in West Bengal today to look into incidents of violence. The party had earlier claimed that its supporters and members of a particular community have been targeted.

The delegation includes Satyapal Singh, a Lok Sabha member and former Mumbai Police Commissioner; Jagdambika Pal, also a Lok Sabha member; Roopa Ganguly, a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal; West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh will also join the delegation.

BJP alleged that the minority wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress has targeted Hindus in the area in Howrah district for their support to the saffron party. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has recently enquired from the state Director General of Police Surajit KarPurakayastha about the law and order situation there.

Also read: 25 people injured in communal clashes in Dhulagarh, Kolkata

According to information received from the Governor's residence, Purakayastha briefed Tripathi on the matter. "The governor asked the DGP to ensure peace and law and order in the area and to take strict action against the culprits," a release issued by the Raj Bhavan said on Thursday. Tension erupted in Dhulagarh when two groups reportedly clashed as a procession was brought out in the area last week. As per a senior officer at the Howrah Commissionerate, police had to use tear gas to bring the situation under control when the groups hurled bombs at each other.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Hyderabad :

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted an illicit Alprazolam manufacturing unit in Medak district of Telangana and seized 132-kgs of the substance worth Rs 3.3 crore, an official release said.

Two persons, who were found allegedly involved in the illicit manufacturing, have been arrested, the DRI said in are released in Hyderabad on late on Friday.

"On specific inputs, officers of the DRI Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam conducted a search operation at two premises located in Medak district and East Godavari district in AndhraPradesh," it said. During the search at the factory premises located atAnantharam village in Medak district, it was found that Alprazolam was being illicitly manufactured.

The person involved in it, had been arrested by theDRI in a similar case of Alprazolam earlier and was currently out on bail, DRI said."Around 132 kg of Alprazolam with Rs 3.3 crore market value was recovered from the premises and was seized under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act.

DRI also seized three reactors, a centrifuge, a dryer and filter, totally valued at Rs 16.5 lakh, which were being used for manufacturing the substance and two persons found involved in the illicit manufacture of Alprazolam, were arrested," the release said.Alprazolam is a psychotropic substance notified under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.Further investigation in the case is in progress, the release added.

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Washington :

The US has defended its decision to refrain from vetoing a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning Israeli settlement building in Palestine, saying the unusual step was taken only after all negotiating options to pursue a two-state solution were exhausted.

President-elect Donald Trump meanwhile slammed the outgoing Obama administration for abstaining from voting.

"As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th," he tweeted.

In a move seen as a diplomatic rebuke to its closest Middle East ally, the United States had decided not to veto the resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, introduced in the UNSC by Egypt.

"The United States acted with one primary objective in mind: to preserve the possibility of the two-state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," said secretary of state, John Kerry.

"One of our grave concerns is that the continued pace of settlement activity -- which has accelerated significantly since 2011, when we vetoed the UNSC resolution that condemns settlements -- puts at risk the two-state solution, as does any continued incitement to violence," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor told reporters during a conference call on Friday afternoon.

"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," Rhodes said in defence of the decision.

Describing this as a rebuke to Israel, The Washington Post said decision not to veto reflected frustration from the Obama administration over the settlements and defied pressure from Trump.

A day earlier, Trump, in a tweet, had asked the US to veto the resolution. Rhodes stressed that the US had exhausted every effort to pursue a two-state solution through negotiations, discussions and confidence-building measures.

"We gave every effort that we could to supporting the parties coming to the table. So within the absence of any meaningful peace process, as well as in the face of accelerated settlement activity that put at risk the viability of a two-state solution, that we took the decision that we did today to abstain on this resolution," he said.

The deputy national security advisor said the US does have concerns about the UN as a venue for addressing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "That is why, for instance, we have consistently resisted efforts to impose a solution to the conflict through the United Nations, through the drawing of borders, or the recognition of a Palestinian state," he said.

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Mumbai:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a days visit to Maharashtra on Saturday, where he will lay foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune.



Modi will land in the metropolis at 11.30 AM and leave for MIDC Patalganga in neighbouring Raigad district where he will inaugurate the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management.



The PM will then reach Raj Bhavan and later move towards Girgaum Chowpatty for the Shivaji Memorial event.



He will proceed to the site in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, where the state government is planning to build a mega memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.



The Prime Ministers visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away.



The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.



Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said the Shiv Smarak will not only be the tallest memorial in the country, but in the entire world. He had thanked Modi for making it possible.



Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground in suburban Bandra, after laying foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).



Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of ruling BJP, is expected to share the dais with Modi at the MMRDA event.



The PM will then leave for Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone of the Pune Metro Rail project at the Agriculture College ground there. NCP leader Sharad Pawar will share the stage with Modi at this event.



The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

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New Delhi:

An ordinance to amend a nearly 50-year-old law to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after wars, has been repromulgated but not before President Pranab Mukherjee expressed his displeasure over signing it for the fifth time this year.



Sources said before giving his assent to the ordinance, the President expressed his displeasure that it was being promulgated for the fifth time and a bill to replace it could not be passed by Parliament.



The ordinance was repromulgated late Friday night. Issued for the first time on January 7, the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Fifth Ordinance, 2016 had earlier been promulgated four times.



The Union Cabinet had on Wednesday approved re-issuing the ordinance. The ordinance was re-issued as a bill to amend the law could not be passed in Parliament due to repeated adjournments over the demonetisation issue.



Mukherjee had in January last advised the government that ordinances should be brought only under extraordinary circumstances.



To meet certain exigencies and under compelling circumstances, the framers of the Constitution deemed it necessary to confer limited legislative power upon the Executive by way of promulgation of ordinances when the Legislature is not in session and circumstances justified immediate legislation.



The framers also deemed it necessary to impose certain restrictions on this extraordinary legislative power by constitutionally mandating replacement of such ordinances within a timeframe by the legislators, the President had said.

Mukherjee had made these remarks with regard to ordinances while addressing students and faculty of central universities.



The move is being made to amend the nearly five-decade-old Enemy Property Act to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after wars.



Enemy property refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm.



The ordinance was for the first time promulgated on January 7 this year. It was passed by Lok Sabha on March 9 but was subsequently referred to Select Committee of Rajya Sabha.



It was re-promulgated for the second time on April 2 and a third time incorporating the amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha Select Committee on May 31.



Since its validity was to expire on August 28, the President promulgated the fourth ordinance on the subject a day before that.



An ordinance is promulgated again when Parliament is not in session and a bill to replace it is not passed.

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Panama City:

Panamas president ordered the release of a Dutch journalist who had been jailed on criminal defamation charges, saying that freedom of expression is fundamental for democracy.



Okke Ornstein was freed shortly after President Juan Carlos Varela signed a decree cutting his sentence and those of 310 other detainees, and granting conditional release to 65 others, his lawyer told AFP.



Ornstein was arrested on arrival in Panama, where he lives, a month ago. He was serving a 20-month sentence for defamation cases lodged in 2011 and 2012 over articles he had written on his blog.



In a statement, the Panamanian government acknowledged that the journalists detention was singled out for concern by rights groups and media watchdogs.



Immigration authorities will decide whether Ornstein can remain in the country.



His lawyer, Manuel Succari, said that for the moment Ornstein would stay, along with his daughter.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day long visit to Maharashtra, where he is scheduled to lay foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune.



During first stop in his trip, PM Modi inaugurated the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management in Raigad.

Also read: PM Modi to visit Maharashtra for Shivaji memorial, Mumbai and Pune metro

Here are the live updates:

PM Narendra Modi at the inauguration ceremony of new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets in Panvel (Mumbai)









#1:18pm: My aim is to make India a developed country in one generation: PM Modi

#1:18pm: Those who profit from financial markets must make a fair contribution to nation-building through taxes: PM

#1:17pm: SEBI should work for closer linkage between spot markets like e-NAM and derivatives markets to benefit farmers: PM

#1:15pm: The true measure of success is the impact in villages, not the impact in Dalal Street or Lutyens Delhi: PM

#1:14pm: Stock markets need to raise capital in innovative ways for projects in agriculture: PM

#1:14pm: We have a long way to go, our stock markets needs to raise capital in innovative ways for agricultural sector: PM Modi

#1:13pm: Our markets should show that they are able to successfully raise capital for projects benefiting the majority: PM

#1:10pm: India has earned a good name for its well regulated securities markets: PM Narendra Modi

#1:09pm:We need to focus on skill development and start-ups and for that we need robust financial markets: PM Modi

#1:08pm: For financial markets to function successfully, participants need to be well informed: PM Narendra Modi in Raigad

#1:08pm: Govt will continue with sound economic policies to ensure India's bright future in long run;no decisions for short term political gains: PM

#1:07pm: We have made progress and improved ease of doing business. FDI has now reached record levels: PM Modi

#1:06pm: 'Demonetisation is short-term pain with long-term gain': PM Modi

#1:05pm: Constitutional amendments on GST that remained pending for years has been passed and the long awaited GST will soon be a reality: PM Modi

#1:02pm: India is been seen as bright spot. To see how far we've travelled we shld look back to 2012-13 when the currency was falling sharply-PM Modi



#1:00pm:



Maharashtra: PM Modi inaugurates the new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) in Raigad pic.twitter.com/eq38bz1440  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016



#12:55pm: A lot of informal savings have become formal now, lot of money have come into the banking system post demonetisation: FM Arun Jaitley (Also present at Inauguration of new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets)

Maharashtra: PM Narendra Modi arrives in Raigad, to inaugurate new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets in Panvel, shortly pic.twitter.com/t0CUkpM1ac  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

#11:45am: PM Narendra Modi arrives in Mumbai

Complete schedule of PM Modi:

1200 hrs: Inauguration of new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets at Patalganga, Panvel



1430 hrs: Kalash Arpan Ceremony at Girgaum Chowpatty



1500 hrs: Bhoomipujan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Smarak



1550 hrs: Laying of Foundation Stone for two metro corridors and other projects, Bandra Kurla Complex



1835 hrs: Laying of Foundation Stone of Pune Metro Project (Phase 1)PM will return to Delhi thereafter.



The Prime Ministers visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away.



The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.

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New Delhi:

India is sitting on a big threat balloon of cyber security that could burst at any moment, noted cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said in an interview with News Nation.



The government's November 8 demonetisation move, and the subsequent cash crunch, has led to a multi-fold surge in digital payments.



According to the government data, the number of daily mobile transactions through e-wallets like Oxigen, Paytm and MobiKwik have shot up from 17 lakh (on Nov 8) to 63 lakh as on December 7 (a growth of 271%). In terms of value, the surge has been 267%, from Rs 52 crore daily to Rs 191 crore now. But as India moves from less-cash economy to cashless economy, there are some serious challenges that need to be tackled more prudently to safeguard against cyber espionage cases and phishing attempts.

Read More: As India braces for surge in mobile payment transaction, risk of frauds to surge by 60-65% in 2017: Report

Cashless economy is Prime Ministers futuristic approach but India is still not prepared to become cashless economy. We have major loopholes that need to filled like the country needs a dedicated legislature on digital payment,'' says Pavan Duggal.



Explaining the loopholes, Duggal says that still there is no dedicated legal framework that embodies digital payment transaction in India. Presently, digital ecosystem is governed by cosmetic changes that was done in RBI Act for the regulation of payment systems in India and regulate and supervise these systems. Digital wallet payment is still a contractual payment between the two clients and it can always be repudiated. (mobile wallet company and its customers) .



For fintech companies in India like Paytm, Mobilwik etc, security compliance falls under Section 43 A of the IT Act. But, our ISPs (internet service providers) and telcos dont comply with Section 43 A. We have a minimal data protection law in our IT Act. But, our ISPs (internet service providers) and telcos still do not comply with Section 43 A. So compliance is still lower in the fintech sector. There has been 350 per cent rise in cases in cyber-crimes under IT Act 2000 between 2011 to 2014.



From a legal prism, it is mandatory to address indemnity and liability, data security and other contractual obligations among the parties. Duggal says that strong tripartite agreements (between e-wallet firm, gateway and customers) and strong agreements have to be frame worked. The second challenge is to bring robust changes in IT Act 2000. India through enacted the information technology act way back in 2000, but due to lack of amendments now the IT Act proves to be ineffective with growing digital payment traction.



Only cosmetic changes amendments were being made in 2008. Even National Cyber Policy -2013 that postulated some important points needs to be implemented. National Cyber Policy talked about beefing up cyber security infrastructure, research and responsibility.



Duggal says, 'As per National cyber policy it has remained to be just a collection of statements. It was aimed that India will boost manpower in cyber security by 10 lakh employee per year for development and research but on contrary we hire have just 20,000 employee. There exists a huge gap in National Cyber Policy implementation.



Stressing on the secure encrypted data services, and SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encrypted websites, Duggal says that cyber security need to talks about data retrieval at a lightening speed in case of phishing attempts. He said that when around 65 lakh cards were cloned in October 2016, banks denied the cyber security breach for four-day. He said that cyber ecosystem needs to be more mature to acknowledge the security breach attempts.



Duggal also stressed on cyber-crime laws should get more teeth. According to ASSOCHAM report, cyber crime in India will rise by 60%-65% in 2017. Currently, cyber-crimes fall under bailable offences and small fines are imposed on cyber-crimes. Duggal quips for hard and rigorous punishments and fines upto 5-7 lakhs.



India also lacks in technological advancement. Duggal pitching for more updates software and operating system said that with commencement of bitcoins and paradigm shift to digital payment, cyber security laws have to become more topical. With 50 billion devices connected to internet by 2025, secure encryption, updated operating system and prudent anti-virus software have to be put in place. In India around



Around 70 per cent of the countrys 200,000-plus ATMs run on outdated software of Microsoft. Since April 2014, Microsoft has not been offering support for machines running on its Windows XP platform, making devices vulnerable to cyber-attacks by hackers.



But, banks are still operating on ATMs running on the defunct software putting to risk the banking ecosystem, besides data and money of crores of customers.



The absence of cyber security framework for ATMs is like a dream come true for hackers. Updating the software of ATMs and beefing up the cyber security framework should be a mandatory provision, not an optional exercise, says Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert.



The country needs a cyber-security law that defines the duties of the stakeholders, starting from the banker to users, he added.



He says that IT Act needs to be amended with changing situation. Talking about India policy on cyber security globally, Duggal says that India is lacking at quantum miles behind its counterparts like China and Germany. China on July 2015 adopted new information act but it amended it in November 2016 with current situation. He Germany also adopted cyber policy in July 2015 and then started amending it with changing scenario. But India amended its IT Act way back in 2008 that hold no ground with current situation.



Talking about steps to link all accounts to Aadhaar, Duggal said that accesses to Aadhaar card are thrown open to public. He further said that India needs to build strong ecosystem on legal complexities and its ramification of biometric card.

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New Delhi:

At least 14 people were killed when an interstate bus in Malaysia careered off a highway early Saturday, officials said.

The bus, heading from southern Johor state to the capital Kuala Lumpur was carrying passengers from Singapore and Myanmar.

The vehicle went off the road in the wet before rolling over and ending up in a deep ditch, said Mohammad Yusof Mohammad Gunnos, deputy director of the fire and rescue department.

The incident happened in the early hours in Johor state. Details of those killed were not immediately known, he said, adding that the injured were being treated in the Muar district public hospital.

"This pre-Christmas tragedy is so far the most horrific accident in Johor state for 2016," he told AFP. Deadly road accidents are common in Malaysia despite efforts to crack down on poor driving, especially during festive seasons when people return to their home towns.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Washington:

A Democratic lawmaker, who is set to become the new face of the party in post-election debacle, has pledged to highlight the persecution of Hindus in South Asia and do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the community in India into his work.

Congressman Keith Ellison, a top candidate for the Democratic National Committee chairman, made the commitment in a letter to the Hindu American Foundation days after he participated in a conference call with Hindu leaders from across the country to listen to their concerns and answer their questions.

He said he will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu and Indian-American communities to foster their greater participation. He said he will give the community"well-deserved" and "much-valued" representation in the Democratic Party. "As we discussed, I will do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the Hindu community in India into legislative work,"

Ellison said in a letter to Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation. "I also pledge to highlight the persecution of Hindu minority communities throughout South Asia. If elected DNC chair, I will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu- andIndian-American communities to foster greater participation and more well-deserved and much-valued representation in theDemocratic Party," Ellison said in the letter dated December16, which was released to the press on Friday.

The conference call on December 12, among others was joined by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and representatives of nearly 30 Hindu and Indian American groups. The call covered a wide range of concerns ranging from Ellison's focus on South Asia that many felt ignored the concerns of Hindus where they are minorities, to whether he would constructively engage the current Government of India to promote bilateral ties.

Leaders on the call also queried Ellison as to how, should he be elected DNC chair, he would work with the incoming four Hindu American Democrats in Congress to increase engagement and involvement of the broader Hindu and IndianAmerican communities. "It goes without saying that Hindu-Americans and Indian-Americans enrich our nation every day. I am proud to work with colleagues such as Senator-elect Kamala Harris, RepresentativeTulsi Gabbard, Representative Ami Bera, and Representatives-elect Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthy, who represent the best values of the Democratic Party," Ellisonwrote.

Responding to a question during the call regarding his focus on the Gujarat riots of 2002 when Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was governing the state, Ellison said he viewed the issue as a "closed matter" since the Indian Supreme Court has issued its ruling. India is a key strategic partner and friend to the US, he said, adding that he looks forward to build a "constructive and congenial relationship with the Indian government andIndian-American community". He also said he will continue to urge Congress and the Administration to work with India on key areas of shared importance.

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Kabul:

Suspected gunmen opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in Kabul killing at least one person, an Afghan official said on Saturday.

Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, said the two gunmen attacked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef's house on Friday, but he was not there.

Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.

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Islamabad:

The US Department of Defence has awarded a 284.6 million dollar contract to Lockheed Martin to produce infrared target sight systems for the US Navy and Pakistan, a media report said on Saturday.

The system will be used for the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters, which have proved very effective in combats against militants, particularly in difficult terrains.

In the US, the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter is used by US Marine Corps expeditionary forces, the Dawn reported.

The TSS incorporates a third-generation forward-looking infrared sensor that provides target sighting in day, night, or adverse weather conditions.

A Pentagon press release describes the TSS system as a large-aperture mid-wave forward-looking infrared sensor with a laser designator/rangefinder turret.

It provides the capability to identify and laser-designate targets at maximum weapon range, significantly enhancing platform survivability and lethality.

The company's Orlando-based missile and fire control unit will produce the sight system in Orlando and Ocala, Florida, through January 2022 for the US Navy and Pakistan under the foreign military sales portion of the award, the paper said, citing the Pentagon release.

The contract has a base value of 150.96 million dollar but its accumulative cost would go up to USD 284.6 million. The government of Pakistan will pay about 12% of the total cost through an arrangement with the US under the foreign military sales programme.

In January, Lockheed Martin received a smaller contract of USD 14 million to provide the same target system for Pakistan. The contracts include software development and testing, system modification, and installation requirements to integrate the TSS into the Cobra helicopters.

The TSS provides target information and tracking data for the helicopter, in addition to passive targeting for integrated weapons. Work on the first contract, performed in Florida, would be completed by December 2017.

Although the United States and Pakistan were once close allies, relations between the two countries strained in 2011, when the US eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden during a covert raid at his compound in Abbottabad.

The bilateral ties slipped further after the US Congress blocked financing of eight F-16 fighter jets earlier this year despite strong lobbying by Islamabad. The US lawmakers accused Islamabad of continuing to support the Afghan Taliban.

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Chennai :

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, whose house and office were searched by Income Tax officials in connection with a tax evasion probe post demonetisation, has been admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on Saturday after he complained of chest pain.

Rao complained of pain in his chest at around 1 AM at his residence and was rushed to Sri Ramachandra Hospital in suburban Porur.

Hospital sources told that he (Rao) complained of chest pain and was immediately attended to by doctors.

Presently, he has been kept under observation and his vitals are being monitored. the sources said.

On December 22, Rao was replaced from the top post by Additional Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan.

Raos removal comes after I-T searches at his Anna Nagar residence, besides the premises of his son and some relatives, prompting the opposition parties in the state to seek his removal.

On December 21, Raos house and office were searched by Income Tax officials, who claimed to have recovered Rs 30 lakh cash in new notes and 5 kg of gold besides getting disclosure about Rs five crore of unaccounted income.

The raids were carried out at 15 places, including the office and the residence of Rao, his son Vivek and some relatives in Chennai and Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, IT sources had said.

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New Delhi:

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Narendra Modi on Saturday over his government's economic policies saying that the Prime Minister is dividing the country into the rich and the rest.

Rahul while speaking at a public rally in Dharamsala termed the recent demonetisation exercise as firebombing on India's cash economy.

"Why did PM Modi not table the list of black money holders in Swiss bank accounts in the Parliament?" Rahul asked adding that the country holds only six per cent black money in the form of cash and the remaining part stashed in real estate sector, gold and foreign banks.

Rahul also attacked the Prime Minister who had mocked the Congress leader during his speech in Varanasi two days ago.

"Modiji mock me as much you want, but answer my questions," Rahul said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Mumbai:

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who was supposed to lead a 'silent' morcha of party workers at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting, on Saturday claimed that he has been placed under "house arrest" by police.

"The area outside my house is under heavy police and I am being prevented from stepping out," Nirupam said alleging that 'in the present democratic set up opposition leaders are being virtually kept under house-arrest."

However, Mumbai Police denied the claims made by Nirupam and said the force deployed outside his residence was only part of the security arrangements made across the city in view of the PM's visit. Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe said, "We have deployed policemen across the city especially on the route of PM's convoy to maintain law and order as well as to avoid any untoward incident during his visit." Nirupam also said that the Congress morcha will take place as per schedule and we have time till this afternoon to decide on our strategy.

"We have a lot of questions for the PM. He should answer to graft allegations made by our Vice President Rahul Gandhi instead of mocking him. Modi should also answer when the people will get back their right to deposit and withdraw their own hard earned money from banks. Its more than a month.Since demonetisation citizens are still suffering due to cash crunch," he said.

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New Delhi:

Western Europes nights beautiful view has been released by US space agency NASA.

The astronauts, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), captured the amazing view.

The picture has England visible in the top right of the frame, Paris shining in the middle of the image while Belgium and Netherlands can be seen in the middle-right of the frame.

Well we must say our planet looks beautiful from far above. All thanks to crew members aboard ISS who captured this breathtaking view.

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Tunisia:

Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are connected to the Tunisian assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry told on Saturday.

A statement said the three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Saturday and were members of a terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri.

It made no direct link between the suspects and Mondays deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

The interior ministry said that Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group.

One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram, it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist takfiri ideology and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS), it said.

The nephew also told investigators that Amri sent him money through the post... so that he could join him in Germany, the statement added.

The unnamed nephew was reported in the statement to have said that his uncle was the prince or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and know as the Abu al-Walaa brigade.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

He was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two Italian policemen who had stopped him for a routine identity check yesterday near Milans Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one of the policemen before being killed by the other.

The Tunisian interior ministry did not specify where the three suspects were arrested but said that the terrorist cell was active between Fouchana, south of Tunis, and Oueslatia, hometown of Amris family in central Tunisia.

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New Delhi:

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan's son Taimur, who has been the talk of the town ever since he was born, will soon be taking the small screens with a storm.

According to the recent buzz, Taimur will be making a debut on Television with his daddy Saif Ali Khan.

Wondering how?

The media reports suggest that TLC is coming up with the second edition of their show Living with A Superstar and this time the celebrity for the show will be Saif.

The show will feature Saif's life in India and the abroad trips and will present a slice of his life to the audience.

And now little Taimur is an important part of Saif's life, it is speculated that the show will also feature the youngest Pataudi as well.

Interestingly, while Kareena was quite vocal about her pregnancy, the new parents didn't hide their son from the shutterbugs too.

In fact, they happily posed together with Taimur post Kareena was discharged from the hospital.

While an official announcement in this regard is still awaited, it would be interesting to watch Taimur on the screen.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the foundation laying ceremony of Pune Metro project (Phase 1) on Saturday.

PM Modi shared the dais with NCP chief Sharad Pawar at foundation stone laying ceremony of Pune Metro project.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a day's visit to Maharashtra on Saturday, laid foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mumbai.

Here are the updates from the PMs speech at Pune:

# In this nation, the voice of 125 crore Indians will be heard. This voice cannot be subverted by a select few

# After 8th November, the power of the 'big' people has reduced and the power of the poor and those perceived as 'small' has increased

# Pune is a city of learning. Cant this city take the lead in embracing online banking & exploring the facilities available

# If the evils of corruption and black money were removed earlier, I would not have had to take the decisions I took

# In this nation everybody is equal before the law and everyone has to follow the law

# After 8th November, urban local bodies have seen a rise in their income. This makes it possible to spend more resources of development

# We are working on gas grids, water grids, digital network, leveraging space technology, using technology to help farmers

# Earlier infrastructure was only about roads, rail and airports. Now times have changed. We need to cater to people's expectations

# It is our endeavour that whatever projects are taken up are completed within the decided time frame. Delayed projects do not help

# Yes, the gains of the present are vital but we need systems that cater to the needs and aspirations of the future too

# The character & spirit of the village has to be preserved. And at the same time we need to invigorate our villages with good facilities

# There is still time to work as per the law, return the poorer sections their due. Now, there's no chance of escaping

# People who didn't take decisions have harmed the country, I have saved the country

# If timely interventions had been done in the country, I would not have been forced to undertake such hard steps

# How have govt functioned in our country? I don't want to criticise any one but its very painful

# People who have contacts are habituated to breaking the law. However, I made them stand in lines

# People want both highways and i-ways. However, we will have to build optical fibre network for i-ways

# Government of India actively working on the Rurban Mission. This caters to those places that are growing & urbanising quickly

# On the other hand, we need to think long term so that we can mitigate the challenges our urban areas are facing

# India is urbanising at a very quick pace & thus, its essential to work in 2 directions. First is to improve quality of life in villages

Modi landed in the metropolis at 11.30 AM and left for MIDC Patalganga in neighbouring Raigad district where he inaugurated the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management.

The PM then reached Raj Bhavan and later moved towards Girgaum Chowpatty for the Shivaji Memorial event.

He proceeded to the site in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, where the state government was planning to build a mega memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

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New Delhi:

In order to raise awareness about online safety, Google India has partnered Ministry of Consumer Affairs for rolling out a nationwide Digitally Safe Consumer campaign.

Google, along with Department of Consumer Affairs, will undertake a year-long campaign focused on building capacities of consumer organisations, personnel of Consumer Affairs department and counsellors of National Consumer Helpline on Internet safety and related issues.

With the rapid increase in digitisation across all spheres, the message of internet safety needs to be integrated into the everyday tasks that the consumer undertakes online, Google India Country head (Public Policy) Chetan Krishnaswamy said in a statement.

This initiative will add to Googles existing campaigns guiding users to navigate the web and manage their digital lives safely and leverage the web to the fullest, he added.

In order to provide training and information on online safety tools, Google with the help of partner agencies will work towards advocating digital security and privacy needs through workshops training about 500 people, including 250 consumer organisations across the country.

These trainers will further engage with the local community to spread awareness around the need for internet safety.

The campaign, which is expected to roll out in January, 2017, will reach out with training materials to over 1,200 consumer organisations as well as consumer affairs department of every state and union territories.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Indore:

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday took a dig at the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal amid talks of the grand alliance for upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls. He claimed that the demonetisation move undertaken by PM Narendra Modi has left them in no condition to contest on their own strength.

Demonetisation has caused such a powerful impact that none of these parties could be able to contest the UP Assembly polls independently, Parrikar told reporters in response to a query over the talks about formation of Mahagatbandhan with SP, Congress and RLD as its constituents. The minister was at Indore to attend the 62nd national convention of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Parrikar said demonetisation of high value currency notes has curbed several illegal activities in the country. People may be facing some problems due to demonetisation, but the common man is ready to face such problems, given the good impact of this move in the long run, the BJP leader said.

Parrikar evaded direct reply on the controversial Agusta Westland Helicopter deal, saying the matter is being investigated by CBI which doesnt work under his ministry.We have provided all information to CBI in this matter. I could not make any comment on this issue, Parrikar said.

On escalation of tension on Indo-Pak border, Parrikar said peace is prevailing at the border to an extent as of now.

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For many in the military, Christmas is a tough time to be away from home.

Franklin Buckley was a 24-year-old Marine when his battalion was sent to fight the North Vietnamese just before Christmas 1967, so he and his buddies had little time to celebrate.

Earlier we talked about home and family and all, but we never really sat down and had a meal together or said Merry Christmas to one another, Buckley said. At the time we werent thinking about it. We were engaged with the enemy.

John Hill, the senior vice commandant of the Marine Corp League Hat City Detachment, was stationed in California for Christmas 1965 and in Vietnam for Christmas 1966.

He remembers missing his family, but he and his unit tried to spread the holiday cheer away from home. They decorated trees in their sleeping areas with handmade ornaments, cards and pictures of their families.

We kind of made up our own Christmas atmosphere as best we could, Hill said.

Gregory Wagner, of New Fairfield, said he and his unit did the same in the Korean War. They found a tree and decorated it with silver gum wrappers  the nearest available equivalent to tinsel.

It wasnt even a Christmas tree, but we made it look like one, Wagner said.

Timothy Winkler, the quartermaster at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 149 in Danbury, fought in the Vietnam War. Around the holidays, his unit saw the Bob Hope Christmas Show when the actor/comedian took his traveling road show to Southeast Asia.

Bob Hope was a solid backer of U.S. servicemen, Winkler said.. He did a lot to improve the morale of the servicemen in those countries because we knew he cared.

Wagner described it as trying to be away from his family, but he was not married at the time and he knew it was worse for friends who had wives and kids.

There was a lot of camaraderie, but it was a big deal to get a little [gift] from home, he said. Even if you didnt get something, if your buddy did, that made you happy.

It took two to three weeks for packages to reach Korea, so any goodies they were sent were often stale or soggy by the time they arrived. But Wagner said the troops didnt mind.

You were just glad to get anything, anything that reminded you of the states, he said.

After the Korean War, Wagner graduated from high school and re-enlisted to serve in the Far East. He was discharged days before Christmas 1960 and surprised his mother, who didnt expect him for another six or seven months, by bringing home a Christmas tree for her.

She was happy to see him, he said, but the tree was covered in icicles that melted all over the floor.

I guess she was a little upset that it flooded the house, Wagner said.

Hill made it home for Christmas 1967 to celebrate the holiday with his immediate and extended family. But he said he still thought about the friends he left behind in Vietnam.

When you were with a unit for so long, you were glad to be home, but you were always worried about the guys you left behind that werent home yet, Hill said. It was kind of a mixed feeling...There were moments you wished you were back there with them and helping them. You have a bond with the guys you serve with in a situation like that.

Winkler said he did not do anything particularly special for his first Christmas back home.

We just tried to get on with our lives, Winkler said. Our reception wasnt that great. Our friends and neighbors werent really our friends and neighbors. Or our neighbors were our neighbors, but they werent our friends. They really couldn't care less. My generation of soldiers werent treated well.

But he said this experience has made him adamant that the men and women serving today do not receive the same disrespect.

Winkler said he has a message for those overseas this holiday.

Youre not forgotten, he said. And Id trade places with you in a heartbeat...because I know what its like not to be home for the holidays.
Contributed Photo / Hearst Connecticut Media

New Milford is one of 14 Connecticut school districts being recognized by the College Board for the recent Advanced Placement scores.

The district joined 432 school districts in the U.S. and Canada on the 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll.
REDDING  Like those in many towns in the region, Redding school officials have struggled in recent years to deal with gradually declining enrollment. But this years kindergarten enrollment was 40 students larger than expected, prompting the creation of another kindergarten class  and a reassessment of population trends over the next several years.

We were surprised at the greater-than-predicted enrollment in the younger grades this summer, said Superintendent of Schools Thomas McMorran. Weve seen a steady decline in enrollment in the last five or six years, but now we see it leveling off.

According to a study by Milone and MacBroom, a consulting firm that prepares enrollment projections for many districts in the region, that bump came despite a birth rate that declined 7.2 percent in Connecticut from 2010 to 2015 and a net out-migration of population.

In the last five years, Connecticut lost a net 16,342 residents to out-migration, about 0.5 percent of the total population. But Fairfield County gained a net 13,815 residents from in-migration in that period, for an increase of about 1.5 percent, according to the study.

The reason: Younger families are moving into towns like Redding, and throughout Fairfield County, as the job market improves, said Mike Zuba, director of planning for Milone and MacBroom. The county is more tied into the buoyant economy of the New York metropolitan area than is the rest of the state.

Fairfield County is kind of bucking the trend, he said.

More Information 5-Year Net Migration Trends total % change Connecticut -16,342 -0.50% Fairfield County 13,815 1.50% Hartford County -5,716 -0.60% Litchfield County -4,588 -2.40% Middlesex County -1,262 -0.80% New Haven County -9,854 -1.10% New London County -4,063 -1.50% Tolland County -1,822 -1.20% Windham County -2,852 -2.40% Net out-migration is occurring across Connecticut, hitting the most rural counties hardest Fairfield County is a clear exception as the only region experiencing net in-migration To measure of the impact of migration on specific districts, the ratio of births five years ago to Kindergarten enrollments today is a key indicator Source: Cooperative Educational Services (CES) See More Collapse

Most of the movement into Fairfield County is coming from out of state or from other countries, Zuba said.

The northeastern and northwestern corners of the state, by contrast, have recovered more slowly from the Great Recession, Zuba said: Their populations are aging rapidly and their housing markets have been slower to recover.

Litchfield County, for example, lost a net 4,600 residents in the past five years, about 2.4 percent.

The downward trend hasnt reversed entirely, even in towns like Redding. The school district, which includes only elementary and middle grades, enrolled 946 students this year, compared to 1,060 in 2013/2014. Enrollment is expected to dip further  perhaps as low as 880 in 2018-2019  before climbing back above 900.

Still, for school officials like McMorran, the news is mostly good.

Before we had this demographic projection, we were concerned we were going to be losing kids to the point that the program wouldnt be viable, he said. But 900 is a good size for an elementary- and middle-school program.

Redding is just one of several towns in the region to see an unexpected jump in school population.

In Bethel, for example, Superintendent Christine Carver said the district had to add a kindergarten section this year to handle an influx of young students. The addition of new housing units has probably fed that increase, she said.

In Ridgefield, the district had to hire additional teachers for second grade at one school and fourth grade at another, and officials are keeping an eye on kindergarten enrollment at a third school.

One sign of Fairfield Countys influx of young families is the birth-to-kindergarten ratio, which compares the number of children born in a town with the number who enroll in kindergarten five years later.

A ratio of 1.0 means that the two numbers are identical. If the ratio is higher than 1.0, it shows that younger children moved into town during that five-year period and are now part of that kindergarten cohort. A number less than 1.0 means that children in that cohort moved away during those five years and werent replaced by new residents.

Milone and MacBroom has calculated the birth-to-kindergarten ratios for 17 Fairfield County towns and cities from 2007-08 to 2015-16. The ratios varied from year to year, but by in 2015-16, 13 of the 17 towns and cities showed a ratio greater than 1.0. In two towns -Weston and New Canaan  the ratio exceeded 2.0.

A ratio lower than 1.0 doesnt necessarily mean school enrollment is falling, however. Cities and towns with more high-density housing options such as apartment buildings generally have a ratio less than 1.0 because the population is highly transient and moves are frequent.

Other factors affect enrollment as well, including the movement of older children into and out of a district, along with home sales, employment opportunities and so on.

The four towns with ratios under 1.0 for 2015-16 in the report were Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford.

Danbury is not one of the town intensively studied by Milone and MacBroom, but it illustrates the urban trend.

The firms report placed Danburys ratio for 2015-16 between 0.63 and 0.8, but Superintendent Sal Pascarella said the district has an annual enrollment increase of 1.5 percent to 2 percent over the past decade.

Were growing, he said.

That growth is so rapid that its been hard to find space for everyone, Pasacarella said. It also poses special challenges for teachers, who often have new students starting after the school year started.

Much of Danburys growth is attributable to immigration. But in other Fairfield County towns, school population is being buoyed by young families settling in suburban or semi-rural areas.

Were seeing (that) the number of people moving into suburban towns is more than it was 10 years ago, Zuba said.

McMorran said its common now for people to move into the area with a child or two, which wasnt the case a decade or so ago.

In a previous generation, people would buy a home and start a family, but whats happening now is people are starting a family elsewhere and moving into Fairfield County, McMorran said.

He said the district surveyed parents of the 40 additional kindergarteners about why they moved to Redding. The top three responses were the availability of well-made homes on larger lots, the warm and welcoming feel of the community and the quality of the schools.

He predicts the migration trend to continue, especially as the states manufacturing employees retire and younger people move in to replace them. A growing elderly population could also create jobs in the health and senior-care fields.

Its not all doom and gloom, McMorran said.

Even in the parts of the state with shrinking population, there are glimmers of hope.

Region 12, which includes the Litchfield County towns of Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington, faces a severe decline in school enrollment. But Superintendent Patricia Cosentino said there is anecdotal evidence that younger families are coming into the area.

Were starting to see growth, she said. Its slow, but its there.
Obama allows anti-Israel UN resolution, Israel dubs it 'shameful'

United States,Politics,Defence/Security,Diplomacy, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

United Nations, Dec 24 (IANS) Israel on Saturday rejected "shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN" after US President Barack Obama on Friday refused to have it vetoed in the Security Council in a signature departure from US policy of blocking measures critical of Israel.

The Security Council condemned the Israel building of settlements on the West bank and East Jerusalem in a show of defiance by both the council members and the Obama administration against President-elect Donald Trump who wanted it vetoed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will not abide by the UNSC's demands for Tel Aviv to halt its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian lands.

"Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," a statement from the Prime Minister's office said.

The Obama administration "failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN", and what is even worse, "colluded with it behind the scenes", it said.

In order to "negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution", Israel is looking forward to working with Trump and "all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike", said the statement.

The resolution, which called the constructions in the Palestinian territories captured from Jordan in the 1967 war a "flagrant violation" of international law, passed on Friday with all the 14 Council members except the US voting for it.

Rather than veto it, US Permanent Representative Samantha Power abstained, thus allowing it to pass.

The US defended its abstention from Israeli criticism by stating that one "cannot champion settlements and the two state solution" at the same time.

Samantha Power said the US did not veto the resolution as it "reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with US policy".

The resolution also called for a halt to settlement building and asked Israelis and Palestinians to de-escalate the tense situation and launch credible negotiations.

The two days of dramatic developments with Trump trying to actively influence US foreign policy foreshadow the nation's posture at the UN when he becomes President and Indian American Nikki Haley takes over as the US ambassador, a cabinet-level position, and resistance it was likely to face.

He tweeted after the resolution passed, "As to the UN, things will be different after January 20," the day he is sworn-in.

The drama began with Trump tweeting a challenge to Obama on Thursday, "The resolution being considered at the UNSC regarding Israel should be vetoed."

Trump called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and pressured him on the resolution originally proposed by Cairo that was to have been taken up on Thursday.

Egypt backed out and the council meeting on the resolution scheduled for Thursday was postponed.

The Egyptian President's Office later acknowledged that this was done because Trump and al-Sisi wanted to allow the new administration to deal comprehensively with the Palestinian situation.

In the next dramatic twist, New Zealand, Senegal, Venezuela and Malaysia brought the resolution abandoned by Egypt before the council.

Washington has used its veto powers dozens of times to squelch resolutions criticising Israel.

Three resolutions on the same topic as Friday's resolution that related to Israeli construction activities were vetoed three times, most recently under Obama in 2011.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington had allowed it to pass because it wanted to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Some right-wing Israeli political groups and ultra-orthodox Jews have been building settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem in hopes of preventing the handover of those areas to a Palestinian nation proposed under various plans for a two-state solution, which is backed by India.

--IANS

abl/py/vm
Egypt postponed Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements over veto fears

Egypt,Politics,Defence/Security,Diplomacy, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Cairo, Dec 24 (IANS) Egypt said on Saturday it decided to postpone a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements to avoid a veto.

Egypt requested on Thursday that its resolution demanding Israel halt settlements be postponed, which led to arguments and questions.

"Egypt was planning to put the draft resolution in blue, meaning it could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later," Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, was quoted by official news agency MENA as saying.

"But Egypt has decided to withdraw the resolution to give more time to make sure that veto right would not be used against the resolution," the spokesman added.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced that he asked the incumbent US administration to veto the resolution, Abu Zeid noted.

On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela, urging Israel to cease all settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian territory.

Egypt was a key partner in sponsoring Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in coordination with the coming US administration in order to reach an all-out, just and final settlement to the Palestinian issue, Abu Zeid said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a call on Thursday had agreed with US President-elect Trump on the importance of giving the new administration a chance to deal comprehensively with all the aspects of the Palestinian cause to achieve a comprehensive and final settlement.

--IANS

ahm/bg
Turkey: IS has taken 3 soliders hostage

Turkey,Terrorism, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Istanbul, Dec 24 (IANS) Turkey's Minister of Defence said that the Islamic State jihadist group had taken three Turkish soldiers hostage.

Defense Minister Fikri Isik confirmed on Friday that the IS had captured three servicemen, but was unable to provide further detail, Efe news agency reported.

"We know that three of our soldiers are in the hands of Daesh (IS), but apart from that, everything else is an interpretation," Isik said.

The minister's statement came after a video emerged on social media on Thursday that appeared to show purported IS members burning two captured Turkish soldiers to death.

--IANS

vgu/
US issues travel warnings for Egypt, Jordan

United States,Defence/Security, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Washington, Dec 24 (IANS) The US has issued travel warnings for Egypt and Jordan over the risk of terror attacks against American interests, tourists and personnel.

The US State Department on Friday warned US citizens to consider the risk of travelling to these countries and to avoid certain areas where the threat is greater, Efe news reported.

In Egypt, the US diplomatic mission has prohibited its staff from travelling to the Western Desert and the Sinai Peninsula, prompting US authorities to advise citizens against travel to these areas.

US diplomatic personnel are only allowed to travel to the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, adjacent to the Sinai Peninsula, and only by air as they are banned from using overland transport in the peninsula.

"The Egyptian Government maintains a heavy security presence at major tourist sites, such as Sharm el-Sheikh... and at many of the temples and archaeological sites located in and around greater Cairo and in the Nile Valley," the travel warning read.

"US Mission personnel are allowed to travel to these areas. However, terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country," the alert added, explaining that several extremist organisations are operating in Egypt, including the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

The US has also warned its citizens and staff against travelling to Jordan, where terror organisations, including the IS, are active.

"Jordan's prominent role in the counter-IS Coalition and its shared borders with Iraq and Syria increase the potential for future terrorist incidents," the State Department said.

US government employees on personal travel are not permitted to visit border areas or refugee camps and the government has advised its citizens to do the same.

--IANS

ksk
Aleppo's brutalities will be more real without Western propaganda (Comment: Special to IANS)

Delhi,National,Media,Opinion/Commentary,Diplomacy, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

Why is Aleppo in such heavy focus just when the Syrians have more or less wrested the eastern part of their biggest city from an assortment of extremist Jabhat Al Nusra and similar groups? The US, France, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel have consistently dignified these as "Syrian rebels". Turkey was a key member of this gang too but has switched sides after an attempted coup against President Tayyip Erdogan which he suspects had American origins. He travelled to Moscow outlining an Ankara-Moscow-Teheran axis. This, by the way, is a game -changing axis: major powers are meeting over Syria without US participation, for the first time.

This brings me back to the above question.

The American establishment, bruised by the defeat of its very own candidate Hillary Clinton, is trying to influence the incoming administration on some issues it has invested heavily in -- Russia and Syria, for instance. The CIA and the media, duly mobilised, would like to cast Russia in a Cold War-like adversarial role. Also, they would not like to give up on regime-change and fragmentation of Syria.

The relentless propaganda war, with Aleppo at centrestage, is part of an effort to salvage something from the wreckage. What is happening in Aleppo is truly grim and very tragic. But tragedy dressed up as propaganda is what we are being exposed to. The propagandist's expectation is that folks around Donald Trump would begin to worry about public opinion thus whipped up. This, in turn, would influence policy.

All of this is delusionary because Trump has come to power fighting precisely this kind of stuff and from these very sources -- CIA and the media. He has set the cat among the pigeons by taking on the CIA even before he has assumed office. Never have CIA daily briefings to the President been so summarily dismissed. What is the point of listening to the same thing every morning, he says.

Rep Peter King, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, says CIA Director John Brennan is orchestrating a "hit job" against the President-elect by leaking allegations that Russia hacked into the US elections. Some heads may roll, but the CIA will eventually fall in line once Trump enters the Oval office.

Media gyrations on the other hand would be interesting to watch as it begins to make adjustments. Stalwarts like Christiane Amanpour and Fareed Zakaria (to name just two) have followed the Establishment script to the last syllable. Now that an avowed anti-establishment is in the White House, will they change their spots?

There is another dimension to the media story which has been reinforced by Trump's victory. He won despite major networks and newspapers arrayed behind Hillary Clinton. This is proof of an abysmal drop in the media's credibility. This is a truth the media (including Indian media) will ignore to its peril. There is a consistent decline in the media's credibility for two primary reasons.

The post-Soviet, unipolar world order was accompanied by accelerated globalisation which, in its wake, gave rise to crony capitalism worldwide.

It is in the nature of crony capitalism to have mainstream media (Think Tanks too) lined up behind the establishment. Recent history shows that this arrangement results in wide disparities of income and lifestyles. A majority begins to lose faith in the media which is seen as being partisan to an establishment they have lost trust in.

There is another durable cliche to remember. When wars break out, the first casualty is truth. In conditions of war, the journalist becomes myth maker and propagandist. Only the finest journalists are able to separate a war from the national interest. Such is the din of jingoism.

There were many journalists who exposed the fallacies of the Vietnam War. They changed the course of history. That kind of professional honesty has been a casualty of journalism in the age of crony capitalism. What objectivity in an era of embedded journalists?

This media has been called upon to cover nearly 50 big or small conflicts the West embroiled itself in after the Soviet collapse. One-sided coverage resulted in a huge loss of credibility.

During the final debate with Trump at Las Vegas, Clinton simulated a lump in her throat talking about the four-year-old Syrian boy with a burnt face. This was evidence of indiscriminate Russian bombing of civilians in Aleppo, she said. Is none of the brutality to be placed at Jabhat al Nusra's door? Is the Nusra a benign force?

On cue, Christiane Amanpour thrust the very same photograph of the Syrian boy under Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's nose. "Crime against humanity" she emoted. In counter-propaganda, Youtube showed graphic details of how the "burnt boy" story was manufactured. Anyone can see it on Youtube.

In the course of another interview, Amanpour thumped the table, "Are we going to allow another Srebrenica in Aleppo?"

In Srebrenica in 1995, 8,000 Bosnian men were separated from their women and children by Serbian soldiers. They were lined up, shot and buried in mass graves even as Dutch Peace Keeping troops turned the other way. True, Aleppo is witness to great brutality perpetrated by all sides. Where is the comparison with Srebrenica?

(Saeed Naqvi is a commentator on political and diplomatic affairs. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com)

--IANS

naqvi/mr/ky/sac
In showdown with Trump, Obama allows anti-Israel resolution in Security Council

United States,Politics,Diplomacy, Sat, 24 Dec 2016 IANS

United Nations, Dec 24 (IANS) The conflicting world views of President Barack Obama and his successor-elect Donald Trump took the global stage on Friday when Obama refused to have an anti-Israel resolution vetoed in the Security Council in a signature departure from US policy of blocking measures critical of Israel.

The Security Council condemned the Israel building of settlements on the West bank and East Jerusalem in a show of defiance by both the Council members and the Obama administration against Trump who wanted it vetoed.

The resolution, which called the constructions in the Palestinian territories captured from Jordan in the 1967 war a "flagrant violation" of international law, passed on Friday with all the 14 Council members except the US voting for it.

Rather than veto it, US Permanent Representative Samantha Power abstained, thus allowing it to pass.

The resolution also called for a halt to settlement building and asked Israelis and Palestinians to de-escalate the tense situation and launch credible negotiations.

The two days of dramatic developments with Trump trying to actively influence US foreign policy foreshadow the nation's posture at the UN when he becomes President and Indian American Nikki Haley takes over as the US ambassador, a cabinet-level position, and resistance it was likely to face.

He tweeted after the resolution passed, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," the day he is sworn-in.

The drama began with Trump tweeting a challenge to Obama on Thursday, "The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed."

Trump called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and pressured him on the resolution originally proposed by Cairo that was to have been taken up Thursday.

Egypt backed out and the Council meeting on the resolution scheduled for Thursday was postponed.

The Egyptian President's Office later acknowledged that this was done because Trump and al-Sisi wanted to allow the new administration to deal comprehensively with the Palestinian situation.

In the next dramatic twist, New Zealand, Senegal, Venezuela and Malaysia brought the resolution abandoned by Egypt before the Council which passed it.

Washington has used its veto powers dozens of times to squelch resolutions criticising Israel.

Three resolutions on the same topic as Friday's resolution that related to Israeli construction activities were vetoed three times, most recently under Obama in 2011.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington had allowed it to pass because it wanted to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Some right-wing Israeli political groups and ultra-orthodox Jews have been building settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem in hopes of preventing the handover of those areas to a Palestinian nation proposed under various plans for a two-state solution, which is backed by India.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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Arab League welcomes UN vote against Israeli settlements

Egypt,Diplomacy, Sun, 25 Dec 2016 IANS

Cairo, Dec 25 (IANS) The Arab League (AL) welcomed in a statement on Saturday a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that demands immediate and complete halt of all Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit congratulated the Palestinian people and government on the "pivotal" resolution that was endorsed by a large majority and after more than 35 years of attempts to issue a similar resolution, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The resolution reflects massive international support for the historical struggle of the Palestinian people to get their legitimate rights, atop of which is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," said the AL chief in the statement.

The resolution was endorsed Friday by 14 out of the council's 15 member states, while the United States abstained but did not veto despite attempts of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Egypt tried to delay the whole vote on the resolution, which was seen as a response to pressure from Trump, yet the Egyptian Foreign Ministry later explained that the requested delay was only meant to avoid the exercise of veto right against the resolution.

Over 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and at least 200,000 others live in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital city of their future state.

--IANS

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Israeli PM slams Obama over UN vote on settlements

Israel,Diplomacy, Sun, 25 Dec 2016 IANS

Jerusalem, Dec 25 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed at the Obama administration on Saturday, after a US abstention in a UN vote that passed a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement construction.

"The Obama administration has carried out an underhanded and an anti-Israel manoeuvre at the UN Security Council," Netanyahu said of the resolution passed by the 15-member body on Friday.

The hardline Prime Minister also slammed the motion as "distorted and shameful", Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel has recalled its envoys in New Zealand and Senegal, which together with Venezuela and Malaysia, submitted the resolution that was passed by a 14-0 majority.

Netanyahu suggested that Israel might sever ties with the UN, saying he had already ordered to cut funds of 30 million shekels ($8 million) to five "exceptionally hostile" UN bodies.

The Israeli cabinet has vowed to respond with a full annexation of settlement blocs.

The UN vote came in the wake of the Regulation Bill, which the Israeli parliament approved in its first out of three readings almost three weeks ago to legalize Jewish settlements built on occupied Palestinian lands.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that it welcomed the UN Security Council resolution that demands an end to the Israeli settlement building in occupied Palestinian territories.--IANS

vgu/
China is proposing a $50+ trillion global energy grid. Global Energy Interconnection (GEI), a vision of a world power grid, was outlined by the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid)

It would be based upon a global network of Ultra High Voltage power lines connecting global power generation including massive wind farm at the North Pole and solar power from equatorial areas to energy users around the world.

If renewable generation grows at an annual growth rate of 12.4 percent over the world, then by 2050 renewable energy shall increase to 80 percent of total consumption, realizing clean energy supplement forever and completely solving the dilemmas caused by fossil fuels.

By 2050, the total CO2 emission will be controlled at about 11.5 billion tons, half of emissions in 1990, holding the temperature rise to within 2 degrees.

The accumulated investment on the global grid will exceed $50 trillion, tremendously boosting the development of new-emerging strategic industries, renewable energy, new materials and electric vehicle.

From now on to 2020, we need to promote clean energy development, domestic grid interconnection and smart grid construction in various countries. By 2030, large energy bases shall be established and grids shall be interconnected among countries within the continent.

China a leader in UHV grids

At higher voltages, eg 500kV and above, transmission losses over hundreds of kilometres are much reduced. At ultra-high voltages (UHV) eg 1000 kV AC or 800 kV DC, losses are further reduced (eg to 5% over 1000 km) but capital requirements are greater. In Germany consideration is being given to converting some existing AC lines to DC to increase their capacity. In the USA it is estimated that transmission losses amount to about 6%, or 250 TWh per year, worth some $20 billion. In India transmission losses in 2011 were 222 TWh (21%).

China is developing a very sophisticated grid system, since its main coal deposits are in the north, its main wind potential in the far west and its nuclear plants are on the coast  close to load centres. The grid system run by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and China Southern Power Grid Co (CSG) is growing rapidly, utilising ultra high voltage (1000 kV AC from 2009, and 800 kV DC from 2010) transmission. By 2015 SGCC invested CNY 500 billion ($75.5 billion) to extend the UHV grid to 40,000 km. By 2020, the capacity of the UHV network is expected to be some 300-400 GW, which will function as the backbone of the whole system, connecting six regional clusters. By 2020 there will be 400 GWe of clean energy sources connected, of which hydropower will account for 78 GWe, and wind power from the north a further significant portion. Wind capacity by 2020 is planned to be over 100 GWe. At the end of 2009, China had budgeted to spend $600 billion upgrading its grid. Over 2014 to 2020 high-voltage transmission lines are expected to increase from 1.15 million circuit km to 1.6 million circuit km, in line with a substantial increase in generation capacity, and operational transmission losses are expected to be 5.7%, down from 6.6% in 2010.

The USA has a patchwork of grids which are often barely interconnected. In 2012 a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers said that ageing equipment and lack of capacity was leading to intermittent failures, and said that an extra $107 billion investment was needed by 2020.

By 2050, we need to accelerate the development of energy bases at the North Pole (wind power) and the Equatorial Regions (solar power), realizing intercontinental interconnections. By then the global energy interconnection will basically come into being.

The GEI initiative will require an unprecedented technology overhaul, including innovations in power, grid, and storage technologies.

State Grid has developed the necessary ultra-high voltage (UHV) grid technology to serve as a platform for extensive development, deployment and utilization of clean energy worldwide. State Grid has already built seven of its advanced power lines in China and has ten more under construction. Last year the company announced it was building an almost 1,300 mile long line in Brazil, connecting a hydroelectric dam on the Amazon River to cities in the southeastern part of the country.

According to estimates from State Grids research institute, it costs USD$0.08 per kilowatt-hour to generate and send wind power to Chinas Xinjiang gird, and USD$0.04 to send it to Germany via UHV lines. The total cost of USD$0.12 is half that of clean powers generation cost in Germany.

SOURCES  Tdworld, World Nuclear Association
Deep learning has continued to drive the computing industrys agenda in 2016. But come 2017, experts say the Artificial Intelligence community will intensify its demand for higher performance and more power efficient inference engines for deep neural networks.

The current deep learning system leverages advances in large computation power to define network, big data sets for training, and access to the large computing system to accomplish its goal.

Unfortunately, the efficient execution of this learning is not so easy on embedded systems (i.e. cars, drones and Internet of Things devices) whose processing power, memory size and bandwidth are usually limited.

This problem leaves wide open the possibility for innovation of technologies that can put deep neural network power into end devices.

Deploying Artificial Intelligence at the edge [of the network] is becoming a massive trend, Movidius CEO, Remi El-Ouazzane, told us a few months ago.

Semiconductor suppliers like Movidus (armed with Myriad 2), Mobileye (EyeQ 4 & 5) and Nvidia (Drive PX) are racing to develop ultra-low power, higher performance hardware-accelerators that can execute learning better on embedded systems.

Their SoC work illustrates that inference engines are already becoming a new target for many semiconductor companies in the post-mobile era, observed Duranton.

Googles Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) unveiled earlier this year marked a turning point for an engineering community eager for innovations in machine learning chips.

At the time of the announcement, the search giant described TPUs as offering an order of magnitude higher performance per Watt than commercial FPGAs and GPUs. Google revealed that the accelerators were used for the AlphaGo system, which beat a human Go champion. However, Google has never discussed the details of TPU architecture, and the company wont be selling TPUs on the commercial market.

Many SoC designers view that Googles move made the case that machine learning needs custom architecture

CEA is offering an ultra-low power programmable accelerator, called P-Neuro.

Compared to the embedded GPU (Tegra K1), P-Neuro based on FPGA running at 100MHz has proven to be faster by a factor of two, and four to five times more energy efficient.

P-Neuro is built on clustered SIMD architecture, featuring optimized memory hierarchy and interconnect

An EU project, called NeuRAM3, says its chip will feature an ultra-low power, scalable and highly configurable neural architecture. The goal is to deliver a gain of a factor 50x in power consumption on selected applications compared to conventional digital solutions.

SOURCE  EETimes
Nextbigfuture article from March 31, 2016 is the basis of a futurism article that is now the number one article on Reddit Futurology.

The Futurism article is here

China is proposing a $50+ trillion global energy grid. Global Energy Interconnection (GEI), a vision of a world power grid, was outlined by the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid)

It would be based upon a global network of Ultra High Voltage power lines connecting global power generation including massive wind farm at the North Pole and solar power from equatorial areas to energy users around the world.

If renewable generation grows at an annual growth rate of 12.4 percent over the world, then by 2050 renewable energy shall increase to 80 percent of total consumption, realizing clean energy supplement forever and completely solving the dilemmas caused by fossil fuels.

Nextbigfuture also covered in November that Chinas coal power generation capacity will grow as much as 19 percent over the next five years even as the worlds biggest energy consumer expands use of non-fossil fuels.

While coal-fired plant capacity will increase, it will still remain below 1,100 gigawatts, National Energy Administration Chief Engineer Han Shui said Monday in a webcast posted on the agencys website. Non-fossil power will increase 48 percent to about 770 gigawatts over the five-year period through 2020 as total capacity expands by 31 percent to 2,000 gigawatts.

President Xi Jinpings government is seeking to replace coal with cleaner fuels to help cut pollution that has plagued some of Chinas biggest cities including Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The country has said it plans to raise natural gas consumption to 10 percent of its total energy mix by 2020 from around 6 percent now.

Chinas Asia wide super grid will be exporting mostly coal generated power until 2030-2045

The entire idea is contingent on ultra high voltage power transmission lines, thousands of miles operating at more than 1,000 kilovolts AC/800 kilovolts DC. High voltages reduce losses over long distances, and both Russia and Japan already have hundreds (in Russias case thousands) of miles of ultra high voltage lines up and running. These pale in comparison to Chinas infrastructure; since 2009 China has built nearly 10,000 miles of UHV power lines, with about the same again to come online in the next two years.

The Asia Super Grid is Masayoshi Sons brainchild. Hes the founder and head of the telecom and Internet giant SoftBank Groups.

China is investing RMB 600 Billion (approx. USD 88 Billion) into UHV development between 2010 and 2020
Physicists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Joint Institute for High Temperatures (JIHT) of the Russian Academy of Sciences have described the mobility of line defects, or dislocations, in uranium dioxide. This, they announced this week, will enable future predictions of nuclear fuel behaviour under operating conditions.

Their research findings have been published in the International Journal of Plasticity and they are looking for international collaboration to speed up the potential application of their work in the commercial and regulatory nuclear spheres.

In their paper, the scientists  Artem Lunev, Alexey Kuksin and Sergey Starikov  provide data of a simulation of dislocation behaviour in uranium dioxide, which is one of the most widespread compounds used as nuclear fuel in power plants. They say it is the first time that dislocation mobility in uranium dioxide at high temperatures and under stress has been studied in detail.

The new model is a major advance toward being able to describe processes as complex as nuclear fuel swelling and embrittlement during operation by means of computer simulations alone.
Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher was in critical condition Friday after suffering a cardiac episode during a flight from London to Los Angeles, according to airline and emergency officials.

Fisher, 60, was rushed to UCLA Medical Center by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics shortly after noon, after her 11-hour flight touched down at LAX.

Fisher, who rose to stardom as Princess Leia, recently published an autobiography titled the Princess Diarist, her eighth book.

She is the daughter of famous Hollywood couple Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.

Carrie Fisher, who has written and spoken openly about her struggles in Hollywood, is considered Hollywood royalty. She took on her prickly relationship with her mother in the book-to-movie Postcards From the Edge. Shes also been outspoken about her mental health issues and the solution she found  radical-sounding electroshock therapy.

News of Fishers condition sparked an outpouring of support and sympathy on social media.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbaca, tweeted thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyones favorite princess right now.

Actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, also took to Twitter: as if 2016 couldnt get any worse sending all our love to @carrieffisher
There are still a number of countries in this world where Christians are forbidden from celebrating the day associated with the birth of Jesus.Check them out below:Oliver Cromwell overthrew the monarchy and oversaw the execution of King Charles I during the English Civil War, but for many the fiery Puritan leader is better known for banning mince pies.Christmas and the celebration of saints' days was discouraged  if not prohibited  in England between 1647 and 1660 as the country was ruled by a puritanical movement that considered the feast day 'giving liberty to carnal and sensual delights'.They mandated that shops had to remain open and cracked down on celebrations, leading to violent clashes on the streets of London and other cities. Life returned to normal after Cromwell's death in 1658 and the Restoration two years later.Brunei banned public celebrations of Christmas and imposed fines and jail terms for those caught celebrating the festival in 2014, an edict that was reiterated in 2015 by religious leaders writing in local newspaper, the Brunei Times.they said.It specifically banned the wearing of Christmas costumes such as Santa hats, the lighting of candles, the signing of religious songs and putting up decorations such as Christmas trees. The Sultan of Brunei, a billionaire who owns hotels across the world, introduced a strict interpretation of Sharia law on the territory last two years.The reclusive former Soviet republic country's education ministry issued a decree in December outlawing Christmas trees, the exchange of presents, fireworks and festive meals.Sky News reported that while the restrictions in 2015 are the strongest yet, anti-Christmas regulations have been getting increasingly restrictive over the last few years in the Muslim-majority country.In 2014, the Tajik government banned Father Christmas and three years earlier a man dressed as Santa was stabbed to death in the capital on New Year's Eve. Tajikistan also bans Halloween and in 2013 and 2014 police rounded up revellers dressed as zombies and vampires.Little surprise that Saudi Arabia, a theocracy governed by the strict Wahhabi doctrine of Islam, is not a big fan of Christmas.In the past, expatriates had quietly celebrated in the comfort of their own homes (and will likely continue to) but rumours of illicit Christmas parties prompted state media in January to reiterate that celebrating the festival was not allowed in the kingdom.It went further by forbidding Muslims from greeting non-Muslims at Christmas, with a Saudi scholar saying:In 2015, it emerged that some expatriates in Saudi Arabia were going further, tweeting pictures of their Christmas trees and children dressed for the occasion.Back in 2013 North and South Korea almost went to war after the latter erected a giant Christmas tree at the border of the two countries.North Korean state media said that the huge Christmas tree  which was lit up in a town close to the border and clearly visible from the North  was an act of psychological warfare.North Korea does not officially ban Christianity but is ranked among the most hostile countries in the world towards Christians.To complicate matters, December 24th  Christmas Eve  is celebrated in North Korea as the birthday of the Sacred Mother of the Revolution, Kim Jong Il's mum.Albania not only banned Christmas but religion as a whole in 1967, making the country the first and only constitutionally atheist state.The ban on any and all religious worship was only lifted after the fall of the Communist regime in 1990, when both Christians and Muslims were able to practice for the first time.During the Communist years many priests and religious leaders were rounded up and jailed, but the pious celebrated Christmas and Easter nonetheless in private. They would have cake or chicken at meal times as a way of marking the days.Puritans, up to their usual tricks, attempted to ban Christmas when they arrived in the New World in 1620. They branded the festival 'Foolstide' and decreed that the only religious day that should be celebrated was the Sabbath.The Puritans managed to keep the ban going until the middle of the 18th century, at one point even arresting the Sir Edmund Andros, the Governor of Massachusetts, when he tried to sponsor a Christmas service.Fidel Castro announced the Cuban government as atheist as soon as it took power in 1959 but it wasn't until 1969 that the Communist leader actually banned Christmas, as he wanted the population to stop partying and start working on the sugar harvest.It was Pope John Paul II who eventually persuaded the now late Cuban leader to lift his ban during a visit in 1998, when Castro agreed to make the day a national holiday.Somalia banned Christmas in 2013 when a directive from the Ministry of Justice and Religious Affairs stated that no Christian festivals could be held in Somalia.Sheikh Ali Dhere, the country's director of religious matters, called a press conference a week before Christmas to make the announcement."We alert fellow Muslims in Somalia that some festivities to mark Christian days will take place around the world in this week. It is prohibited to celebrate those days in this country," he said.It was the first time that the Somali government had banned Christmas since the country's government collapsed in 1991. In 2015, the government in Mogadishu went further, banning New Year's Eve celebrations and ordering the police and army to disperse any celebrations it found.Christmas and Christianity as a whole were banned in China after 1949 but you would not know that if you were to visit during the festive season today.China goes mad for Christmas, and it is not just Chinese Christians that get in on the act  while Christmas is not a national holiday it is a widely celebrated festival day, akin to New Year, with fireworks and fancy dress in abundance.While Santa Claus costumes and hats are a common sight on the streets of Shanghai or Beijing during Christmas, other costumes are less traditional  devil horns, for example, are sold widely to mark the day.Couples also like to treat Christmas as akin to Valentine's Day, exchanging gifts and going out for romantic meals.Local media reported in 2012 that, like in the West, the Chinese use Christmas an opportunity to hit the shops, with Christmas Eve the biggest shopping night of the year for some retailers.
A 102-year-old scientist has vowed to keep working until his last breath.

A 102-year-old scientist has vowed to keep working until his last breath.The Australian scientist, David Goodall, fought his universitys authorities when they insisted that he had overstayed his post-retirement opportunity, considering his exceedingly advanced age.Goodall has spent 20 years as a member of faculty at the Edith Cowan University, and he fought ferociously to be allowed to work on campus despite concerns about his safety.The institution, which is in Western Australia, gave in to his plea, and agreed that he could work from home.The university authorities had considered his presence a safety risk.As Australias oldest working scientist, Dr. Goodall has produced more than 100 research papers in ecology  a career spanning seven decades (70 years).He is currently an unpaid honorary research associate.Last August, members of staff had raised concerns about his safety at work, which made the university authorities to ask him to stop coming to office.Earlier in the year, Goodall had had to also give up driving because of his failing vision.The university authorities said they had found better office space for him on campus, which is also closer to his residence.I am pleased we have found a solution that will ensure David can continue to be based at ECU, vice-chancellor Steve Chapman was quoted as saying.The ecologist expressed gratitude for the universitys efforts.I hope to continue with some useful work in my field in so far as my eyesight permits. But I still think the emphasis on safety was unnecessary, Goodall argued.
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, on Friday said that while he does not know yet who will succeed him come May 29, 2019, he certainl...

Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, on Friday said that while he does not know yet who will succeed him come May 29, 2019, he certainly knows those who wont be governor in the state.Amosun said there are about seven persons aspiring and working to occupy the number one Office in the Gateway State in 2019, but added that none of them would become governor.The Governor, who spoke during an expanded meeting of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) caucus in Abeokuta, the state capital, said the seven aspirants  whom he did not mention by names, are simply wasting their time and resources.According to him, there are no qualities of a would  be  governor in any of them.Amosun, who was reacting to comments written about him on the social media regarding politics of Ogun State in 2019, said he was not bothered by such write  ups, dismissing the authors as traitors and cowards.In the comments on an alleged audio recording of a meeting last week, the governor was accused of abusing former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and claiming he will disgrace him.The Governors response came when Senator Lanre Tejuoso drew the attention of Amosun to social media report and wanted to seek clarification from him about it, but the Governor quickly cut-in and urged Tejuoso not to allow himself to be distracted.Amosuns reaction in full: Thank you Senator Tejuoso, my attention has been drawn to it. You should congratulate yourself. For me, we should be happy People are so afraid of whatever we do. They are just running round and it shows clearly that we are on ground and there is no problem.They said they have audio and I said they are cowards or even traitors if they are inside the hall. If they have audio, dont wait for audio, this is me, I will not only give you the audio, do the video, I am here personally and the way we are brought up, whatever we want to say, we will say it openly.Those cowards or those traitors if they are trying to record something, I believe those people dont have anything to do really and truly, you remember when I told you what we use to do truly.We have responsibilities to govern, please dont be distracted by somebody who said this or that but let me say this. For us in Ogun State, I may not be able tell you quickly and say this is who our Governor will be, but we know those who will not be Governor of this state.This is Ogun State, this is where I was born, my primary school, secondary school, and tertiary institution took place here. So, if I am speaking, I am speaking from the position of strength.And I know with all our elders, even those that are political, I know those who will not be Governor. So, I know that at the appropriate time, we will get our people together and say this is your sons and daughters. We will pick and whoever we pick, is going to be Governor.If you want something, there are several ways of getting it. Imagine people said that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu will finish him in Lagos and I said, dont worry, they dont know what they are saying.I am from Ogun State, what will happen in another place I dont know and I dont talk about what I do not know. By the way, I say it all the time, that Asiwaju that you see, not money, he didnt give me any money, no and I said it often won ki fi oju olore gbole o, (Dont be ungrateful to your helper) when I needed him, he stood by me. I talk to him, despite all of those things people will want to say. I think they are afraid to write something about what we are doing and what we are not doing.So, the ones I feel they are correct is that we are confident. We are more than confident. This Ogun State, whoever is probably backing them, they are just wasting their time. This Ogun State, we are no God, we are human, but who will be Governor, by the time we say this is the person who will be Governor, our people will chose him because we will do our work, Amosu stated.
Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest Berlin Christmas market terror attack by a suspected 24-year old Tunisian migr...

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest Berlin Christmas market terror attack by a suspected 24-year old Tunisian migrant.This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by Malam Garba Shehu, the presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.Buhari stated that the incident was a wake-up call for the rest of the world to show sympathy and solidarity toward Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in the global effort to neutralise and obliterate terrorists agenda against humanity.The Nigerian leader also extolled Merkels strong leadership qualities and her compassion toward immigrants from the Middle East and other countries.Buhari said he appreciated the Chancellors support for Nigeria in dealing with its own domestic challenges, including terrorism.The Islamic State (ISIS) had since claimed responsibility for the terror truck attack that killed at least 12 persons and wounding many.The prime suspect of the attack, Anis Amri, was on Thursday night reportedly killed by the Police in Italy.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said the immediate priority of his administration was to alleviate poverty in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said the immediate priority of his administration was to alleviate poverty in the country.This, he said, he planned to achieve by quickly stimulating the economy.Buhari disclosed this in his Christmas message to Nigerians made available to journalists.He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is doing its best to make life easier for all citizens.While asking Nigerians to keep hope alive, the President also appealed to them to continue to pray for the country for it to overcome its current challenges.He also sought prayers for Internally Displaced Persons and the nations troops fighting insurgency in the North East.The Presidents Christmas message read, I heartily rejoice with all Nigerians, particularly our Christian brothers and sisters, on this years celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.As we celebrate this years Christmas, I believe that it is very appropriate for us to reflect on the love of God aptly espoused in the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ.During his earthly sojourn, Jesus Christ repeatedly reminded his disciples and followers of peace that comes in the midst of trials and tribulations on earth.There is no better time than now in our nations history to pray for divine guidance to get over our current challenges.We can have peace in Nigeria if we all learn to tolerate and appreciate one another, respect constituted authority; and be our brothers keepers in word and deed.During this period, we should remember to offer special prayers to God for all our heroic citizens who paid the supreme price to restore peace and security in the North East and other flash points in the country. Let us also remember in our prayers the security forces in the frontline in the continuing battle to rid our nation of terrorism and violence.We must not forget the Internally Displaced Persons in our midst and those who have suffered untold hardship as a result of activities of insurgents and terrorists.Our immediate priority is to alleviate the poverty of Nigerians by quickly stimulating the economy. I assure Nigerians that our government is doing its best to make life easier for all.Let us therefore, renew our hope in the God-ordained unity, progress and prosperity of our great nation.I wish all travellers safe movements and a memorable holiday as we celebrate with our family and friends. Merry Christmas.
President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia stands the risk of being forcefully removed from power should he carry out his threat to sit tight ...

President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia stands the risk of being forcefully removed from power should he carry out his threat to sit tight after losing the December 1election.ECOWAS leaders warned yesterday that they would not hesitate to send troops to Banjul, if Jammeh, who lost the election to opposition candidate, Adama Barrow, fails to step down next month.Senegal,which surrounds much of The Gambia, has been designated to lead the proposed military intervention, president of the Economic Community of West African States, Marcel de Souza, told reporters in Bamako,Mali.The deadline is January 19 when the mandate of Jammeh ends, de Souza said.If he doesnt go, we have a force that is already on alert, and this force will intervene to restore the will of the people.No one has the right to oppose the will of the people.Jammeh initially accepted defeat only to make a U-turn a week later that the election was marred by irregularities.That was after Gambias Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) claimed that it had erred during vote counting, and Barrows margin of victory had narrowed from 9% to 4%.Despite the changes, the commission said that the new tally leaves the outcome of the election unchanged with Barrow receiving 43.3% of the vote and Jammeh 39.6%.Jammeh is contesting the vote at the Supreme Court due to what he says are unacceptable abnormalities.The countrys apex court adjourned the case to 10 January.Barrow is due to be sworn in on 19 January.President Muhammed Buhari leading his counterparts from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana had met Jammeh and urged him to accept defeat.The leaders left without managing to secure a deal.
Three women, including a member of the National Youth Service Corps, have been kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Kwali Area Counc...

Three women, including a member of the National Youth Service Corps, have been kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.They were said to be travelling on God is Good Motors on Wednesday when they were robbed at gun point and thereafter marched into the bush.When contacted, the Head of Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FCT Police Command), Yemi Ola, confirmed the kidnap, saying his office has received a report of the case.He said, The report was made at Kwali Division from where it was transferred to us yesterday (Thursday) night; we took a statement from the sister of one of the victims who was inside the vehicle. I told them to come back today and I am still expecting them.It was learnt that the kidnappers have demanded N15m ransom from family of the victims.While they demanded N5m from the family of the two sisters, the kidnappers demanded N10m from the father of Grace Oghene Edegware, a graduate of Accountancy from Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, who was deployed by NYSC to Lagos State.It may be recalled that, so far, three youth corps members have died in three orientation camps across the country in the last one month, spurring angry criticisms about the programme.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has sent a special Christmas message to Nigerians.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has sent a special Christmas message to Nigerians.In the message which was released on Saturday, December 24, Jonathan said, ''The essential message of Christmas is that Christ came to earth to live and die for the purpose of reconciling us to God. Being recipients of such good tidings, should we not appreciate this divine sacrifice by being reconciled with each other during this Yuletide season and beyond?''My desire for Nigeria and Nigerians this Christmas is that we treasure our common brotherhood knowing that if God did not will it so, we would not have found ourselves as Nigerians.''To God be the glory, we have survived to this point and I am more than confident that we will go on to thrive in 2017 as we work together to build a Nigeria where anyone can become anything irrespective of his region, religion or tribe.Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from my family and I to you and your family. May God bless Nigeria. GEJ.
Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers says he did not sponsor anyone to protest against the Federal Government,

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers says he did not sponsor anyone to protest against the Federal Government,He added that those who planned to protest in his favour must have taken a cue from those who protested against him in Abuja.Wike stated this when he granted audience to the Rivers State Elders Council of Ministers (RISECOM), in Port Harcourt on Friday.If they like, let them bring all manner of accusations daily, it will not cow me. Three days ago, they sponsored protests against me in Abuja with the police leading the protesters.It is so unfortunate how they can descend so low. The DSS is unhappy because I stopped them from kidnapping a judge. Till today, they are yet to invite that particular judge, he said.Wike asked, assuming people want to protest, are we not in a democracy? If I am the one who is the sponsor of the planned protest in my favour, who sponsored the protests against me?It means they are the people who sponsored the protests, he contended.Wike assured the Christian leaders that he remained committed to the development of the state and the welfare of its people.He said no level of intimidation or blackmail from federal agencies would scare him into selling out the state to external forces.He said this was a turbulent period but that the state would overcome the challenges because he could not be cowed.He urged Rivers people not to panic because nobody can take the state by force despite sustained blackmail by the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS).None of them gave me the mandate. The people of Rivers state gave me this mandate and I will never sell the interest of this state for whatever reason.I will not bring out the money of Rivers to sponsor other people outside the state, he said.NAN
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has admonished state governors in the country to emula...





The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has admonished state governors in the country to emulate their Ekiti State counterpart, Mr Ayodele Fayose, in standing up for and protecting the interest of their people.He stated this in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday at the palace of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe Aladesanmi 111.The renowned cleric, visited the monarch before attending a crusade at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, described Governor Fayose as a great defender of his people and their cause.Adeboye also commended Fayose for taking great risks to defend and protect the interests of his people. Your Excellency, we thank God for your life, courage, boldness and being willing to take the risk so that your people can be protected and I know you know what I am talking about.You can be sure that we are praying for you and you will succeed. I hope other governors will stand for their people like you and defend their people and say enough is enough, Adeboye said.Adeboye, who prayed for the restoration of the lost glory of Ekiti, also commended Oba Adejugbe for leading his people in the way of the Lord.Earlier, Governor Fayose said Nigerians appreciate the efforts of Adeboye at taking the gospel round the world. We know that it is at this time of the year that you go round and we pray that God strengthens you. Your visit is annually and when a man of God passes by, we want to take that advantage for him to bless us.We appreciate your efforts at taking the gospel round the world, he said. Oba Adejugbe also described Adeboyes visit as a blessing to the palace, and the people of the state in general.Pastor Adeboye later held a revival at the stadium and later visited Ilawe and Ogotun-Ekiti.
Chief Kenny Martins, a pro-OBJ politician has stated that former President Goodluck Jonathan lied about conceding defeat to President Muha...

Chief Kenny Martins, a pro-OBJ politician has stated that former President Goodluck Jonathan lied about conceding defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari after the 2015 presidential elections.In an interview published by the Sun, he said Jonathan's claims that he conceded defeat out of his own will weren't true."Why is Jonathan lying that nobody pressured or persuaded him to concede defeat? It is disheartening when our leaders keep lying and deceiving the people about the true position of things. He lied.
Britons are furious with their courts for letting former Delta State governor, James Ibori, go on a free.

Britons are furious with their courts for letting former Delta State governor, James Ibori, go on a free.They cannot understand why he was freed without parting with even a fraction of the 18million public money he stole while in office.The outrage followed the insistence , on the same day Ibori was released from jail, by another court that a Sergeant Alexander Blackman must spend Christmas in jail even after winning right to appeal murder conviction for killing a Taliban fighter.Plan by the federal government to prefer fresh charges against Ibori on his return home is already dividing opinions in Delta State which he governed between 1999 and 2007.The Daily Mail of London, which has been doing extensive stories on the Ibori saga said critics described the contrast between the former governors and Blackmans cases  both heard at Londons Royal Courts of Justice  as a perversion of justice.Home Secretary Amber Rudd had tried to keep Ibori locked up until he had handed back at least 18million of the proceeds of his crimes. But the High Court ruled this was an abuse of her powers and ordered Ibori to be freed.It quoted thriller writer Frederick Forsyth,a confidant of the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who campaigns for justice for Sergeant Blackman, as saying: A brave Marine sergeant who fought for his country is cruelly kept behind bars, away from his family at Christmas, while a Nigerian fraudster who is refusing to give up his stolen money is let free half way through his sentence.
The Senate of the University of Port Harcourt on Friday announced the expulsion of 22 students of the university for various offences incl...

The Senate of the University of Port Harcourt on Friday announced the expulsion of 22 students of the university for various offences including assaulting a female lecturer.A statement signed by the Registrar of the university, Dorcas Otto, in Port Harcourt, said that the offences also included being members of different cult groups and undermining security on the campus.According to the statement, the decision to expel the students was taken at the 426th Senate Meeting of the university held on Wednesday.It further disclosed that eight of the students were expelled for being part of different cult groups, two students expelled for assaulting a female lecturer and disrupting a congress meeting of the department.Twelve other students expelled were former presidents of faculty associations, the statement said.According to it, the senate of the university also announced that the institution has closed for the Christmas/New Year Break and will resume on January 3, 2017.
A former Commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning in Osun State, Mr. Muyiwa Ige, has said the family has handed over the masterminds a...

A former Commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning in Osun State, Mr. Muyiwa Ige, has said the family has handed over the masterminds and killers of Chief Bola Ige over to God for punishmenat.Muyiwa said this in an interview with journalists during a service held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the murder of the late politician, who was the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice at the time he was shot dead on December 23, 2001.Ige, a former governor of the old Oyo State, was assassinated at his Bodija residence in Ibadan and those behind the killing had yet to be brought to justice 15 years after.Muyiwa said, although his father died for democracy to thrive, Nigeria was not worth wasting ones life for.He said, We thank God for his mercies. We thank God for wonderful legacies. It has not been easy but God has kept us on and by the grace of God, all the perpetrators behind his (Ige) death, God will deal with them. It was my fathers death that took away my mother some 20 months later.But whether the country wants to immortalise my father or not, I dont care inasmuch as the State Government of Osun has named a university after my father, which is massive.It is the highest level of immortalisation. The road in this community is about 5km and it is named after my dad. There is a Bola Ige Information Technology Centre in Abuja. There are streets in Oyo State named after him.My father believed in Nigeria. He said Nigeria was worth living and dying for. The truth of the matter is, once your heart is in the right place, Project Nigeria is worth pursuing for all of us. Death is what we all owe and he paid the price for democracy to thrive.I am not so sure that Nigeria is worth dying for; however, we all have a responsibility to ensure that we dont waste our lives for Nigeria.Earlier, the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Ijesha North, Rt. Rev. Isaac Oluyamo, urged the present day politicians to emulate Ige, whom he described as selfless.The bishop said the free education provided by the administration of Ige was unparalleled. He stated that although there was still free education in some states, the quality of such programmes could not be compared with what Ige did.
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Lance James, 29, of Clementon, was last seen on Dec. 3, 2016. (Photo provided)

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CLEMENTON -- On a rainy Christmas Eve morning, family and friends launched a new search for a U.S. Marine Corps veteran missing for three weeks.

Lance James, 29, was last seen Dec. 2 when he was escorted out of the Hide-A-Way Tavern in Clementon following a fight with a bar patron. Clementon Police suggested he head home.

Lance James, 29, in this U.S. Marine Corps photo. James has been missing since Dec. 2, 2016 and family are offering a reward for information on his whereabouts.

James, who doesn't own a vehicle, walked home toward his residence near Clementon Park and hasn't been seen since. He left his jacket and cellphone at the bar.

A reward for information on his whereabouts has grown to $5,000, his family announced Friday.

State Police led a large-scale search of the area earlier this week but found nothing. That effort included a search of three lakes for clues.

Community members were invited to join the Saturday morning search, which began at Clementon Park. Rescue dogs and drones will be used, according to James' sister, Jessica Hassan.

James, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan before leaving the military in 2012, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, his family said.

He is the father of a 5-year-old girl who lives with her mother.

James is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, 180 pounds, with brown hair, a red-brown beard and several tattoos.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at (609) 882-2000 ext. 2554.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
NEWARK -- Mayor Ras Baraka and Hollywood actor Delroy Lindo teamed up with the city's Homeless Coalition Friday to give out meals, clothes and other necessities to the homeless.

Lindo, best known for his roles in "Crooklyn," "Malcolm X" and "A Life Less Ordinary," helped serve food inside Weequahic High School's gym alongside Baraka and other volunteers.

"This is what the holiday season is all about," said Lindo as he manned a hot tray. "I tell my son it's about giving, not receiving."

Lindo, who said he makes an effort to give back and feed the needy, brought along his son, who helped pass out plates to visitors.

Newark native J.D. Williams, known for his role on HBO's "The Wire" joined Lindo in helping to serve food.

"This is my city and I'm always looking forward to giving back," said Williams.

Local eateries like Central Dinner, 27 Mix and Burger Walla provided the food to over 100 families.

"The food is awesome," said Shanique Davis. "This really helps because I didn't know what we were going to eat for dinner tonight."

Davis, 28, said thanks to the event she was able to provide her three children with Christmas gifts.

"We're partnering together to help the less fortunate," said Baraka. "This is beneficial to many people."

Stacie Hillsman, Baraka's special assistant said she helped bring Lindo, a good friend, to the Brick City.

Although turnout was lower than expected, Hillsman said food and other items would be given to local shelters.

Residents were also given free health screenings, winter accessories and haircuts.

"This motivates me and makes me feel better about myself." said Robert Jones, a homeless resident. "It makes me look forward to having a better year in 2017."

Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK-- Santas wearing badges and traveling in fire trucks spent Friday handing out more than 5,000 presents to city children.

The Newark fire and police departments teamed up to hand out the dolls, games and other goodies to city youth. Truckloads of the toys were stored at the NFD's Orange Street facility before the first-responders headed out into the city.

Police officers, stationed at the ShopRite on Springfield Avenue, at Broad and Market streets and other locations, set up "traffic stops," pulling over cars with children inside. But instead of a ticket, the young passengers each received a gift.

Police precincts and firehouses also identified families in need. Firefighters were seen delivering packages to those homes in the city Friday.

A number of fire and police organizations donated to the effort, as did the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MULLICA HILL -- Dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds found their forever homes thanks to the efforts on a team of volunteers, one of whom is a local teacher who brought lessons of love and animal care back to her students.

Debbie Scarborough, a third-grade teacher at Friends School Mullica Hill, made her second trip to Georgia with Animal Aid USA to help puppies in need. Having worked at shelters, kennels and spending time as a veterinary technician, Scarborough was no stranger to the needs of animals and jumped at the chance to make the trip.

"A good friend of mine from high school mentioned she was going on this trip to help care for these dogs and right away I was like 'oh, I want to do that,'" she said.

Scarborough went to Georgia for the first time in June and fell in love with the effort, and of course the four legged friends in need.

Having two rescue dogs of her own back at home, Scarborough's husband warned her not to bring anymore pets home with her.

"It's impossible to not fall in love with them, they're so sweet and cute," she said. "Luckily, I didn't have the overwhelming urge to adopt them all myself."

After the first trip, she was hooked. "If I could go every single month, I would," she said.

Having to skip a trip or two because of work, Scarborough finally got the chance to take the trip back down to Georgia in November.

Eight vehicles loaded down with Animal Aid USA volunteers made their way to Blackshear, Georgia with the sole mission of rescuing dogs. Scarborough and the team distributed medicine, bathed the dogs and got them all ready to find their forever homes.

"It's a different mentality down there," she said. "They get them and take care of them for a little while but then decide 'oh, hey I don't want this anymore,' and abandon it."

She added that most of the abandoned pups aren't spayed or neutered, sending the stray and pound populations completely out of control.

Luckily, the efforts by the team weren't just to show the dogs some love and care, they were to get them ready to come to New Jersey where they'll be adopted into loving homes.

"We don't bring them back here to put them in shelters and pounds to wait and potentially be put down," Scarborough said. "We bring them back to go to homes that are already ready and waiting for them."

In all, more than 300 dogs were saved thanks to the November trip.

After returning back to work from her trip, Scarborough showed her students photos of the animals she helped and told them stories, explaining the importance of caring for animals.

"At the school, we stress the importance of putting others first," she said. "So, coming back and telling them about my trip was a perfect fit. I get to mix my passions of teaching and caring for animals all together."

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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Local resident Alice Hart attended an Inspira event announcing the Deterra program and brought in her old prescriptions. They were disposed of in a bucket of the Deterra product. (Submitted photo)

Police departments hold regular events for residents to drop off unused prescription medications for safe disposal.

The main goal of these efforts is to keep addictive substances from falling into the wrong hands and being misused. Flushing meds down the toilet or tossing them in the trash creates environmental issues.

This is a packet of the Deterra product. (Submitted photo)

A new method will allow residents to dispose of their medications at home without harming the environment in process, and Inspira Health Network is offering it for free.

Deterra is a drug deactivation product that uses "molecular absorption technology," according to its manufacturer, Verde Technologies, to break down the drugs' components, rendering them safe for disposal in your household trash.

Deterra comes in a packet. You open it up, pour in the pills, add water, shake lightly and the drugs are kaput.

Inspira is providing Deterra free of charge to the Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester Health and Wellness Alliance, which will be able to distribute the product to community members.

"We know that nearly half of heroin users start by abusing prescription drugs," said Carolyn Heckman, vice president of Community Relations at Inspira. "We also know that teenagers and young adults are a high risk for experimenting or abusing prescriptions that may not even be prescribed to them.

"By partnering with local agencies to distribute Deterra to community members, we hope to greatly reduce the amount of old or unused prescription drugs in homes and stop addiction before it begins."

To learn more about the program and watch a video about how Deterra works, visit InspiraHealthNetwork.org/deterra. If you are part of a community agency and would like to request the product, visit the website or call 856-641-8389.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
This story was updated to include a statement from PBF Refinery.

PAULSBORO -- A strong sulfur odor reported in South Jersey and Philadelphia Friday night apparently originated from a refinery in New Jersey, according to 6ABC.

Police told the station that the odor was traced to the PBF Refinery in Paulsboro. The refinery released sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, authorities told 6ABC. The release fell below federal reporting guidelines.

Paulsboro Fire Department responded to three calls of an odor Friday night, Chief Alfonso Giampola reported.

"We didn't pick up anything notable or detectable in the air," he said. "It seemed to dissipate pretty quickly."

A PBF Refinery spokesman issued the following statement Saturday afternoon.

"At approximately 7:48 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, the Paulsboro Refinery experienced a brief loss of power that resulted in the need to use standby generators to resume routine operations. The loss of electricity resulted in flaring and odors were reported offsite, for which we apologize to our neighbors."

There were no reports of anyone being hospitalized as a result of the odor.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
BAYONNE -- Special needs kids at one city elementary school got an early taste of Christmas morning this week when Hudson County corrections officers brought them Santa Claus and plenty of toys.

Corrections officer Corrado DeVincenzo, who spearheaded the event at Washington School at 191 Ave. B on Thursday, said people often forget about corrections officers because they work inside jails and prisons, where they are not visible to the public.

"However, we pride ourselves on community service and see this as a great opportunity to give back to the community that we serve," he said.

Derrik James, the president of PBA 109 Inc., the Hudson County corrections officers union, made similar remarks and added that the union's community relations committee has been involved in other charitable activities.

"We're trying to use our muscle and might to bring ourselves to the forefront, to let the community know we do exist and that we do care," he said.

James said the Washington School toy giveaway represented one of several events the union organized this season to lend a helping hand to the community, citing officers' contributions to giveaways in Newark and in the Marion Section and Booker T. Washington Housing Complex in Jersey City.

Corrado credited corrections officers as well as Grace Lutheran Church in Bayonne for donating the toys that made Thursday's giveaway possible.

Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
TRENTON - A woman accused of helping kill her stepfather in Ewing two months ago was arrested after she revealed information about the fatal shooting that only investigators would know, according to Mercer County prosecutors.

At a bail hearing Friday, prosecutors detailed the arrests of Daphne Conklin Norwood, 45, and her husband, Lewis Norwood, 42. Both are suspects in the killing of Conklin Norwood's stepfather, William Blackwell, 58.

Blackwell was found dead with a gunshot wound to the back of his head in front of his Ewing house in October.

His son-in-law, Lewis Norwood, was arrested for the crime after investigators found cell phone records that placed Norwood in the area during the time of the 3:10 a.m. shooting, Assistant Prosecutor Michael Borgos said Friday.

But prosecutors and investigators initially believed Conklin Norwood was innocent in her stepfather's shooting. She and her are residents of Washington, D.C., and authorities knew that Conklin Norwood was in D.C. at the time of the killing.

It wasn't until Conklin Norwood talked to police about the shooting that she started raising suspicions, prosecutors said Friday. At first, Conklin Norwood told officers she was waiting for a settlement on her father's estate, Borgos said.

Then, in another conversation, Conklin Norwood mentioned that she knew what type of gun was used to kill her stepfather - a detail that investigators had not yet released to the public, prosecutors said.

"She said, 'You know what happened to my dad? He was killed with a shotgun,'" Borgos said.

Prosecutors said Friday that cell phone records have shown that Norwood, who was in Ewing, made a call to Conklin Norwood, who was in D.C., just minutes before the 3:10 a.m. shooting. After Blackwell was killed, more phone records showed that Norwood called his wife again as he drove back down to D.C.

The comments and phone records led investigators to charge Conklin Norwood as an accomplice in her stepfather's killing, which they believe was financially motivated, according to Borgos.

Conklin Norwood hid her face in her hands, sobbed and murmured quietly as prosecutors discussed her alleged involvement in the shooting Friday.

Her attorney, Kathleen Redpath-Perez, pinned most of the blame on Lewis Norwood, saying that he had a long, contentious relationship with his father-in-law over a piece of land in Stockton that Blackwell owned.

She said Blackwell was upset at Norwood for leaving "junk" on the property and for refusing to fix a trailer that he broke.

Redpath-Perez also addressed Conklin Norwood's comments about the shotgun and her stepfather's estate, saying that the 45-year-old simply could have learned about the shotgun from witnesses or neighbors who were around at the time of the killing.

She suggested Norwood knew about the money he could receive from his father-in-law's estate.

A judge reduced Conklin Norwood's bail from $750,000 to $250,000 Friday, noting her mental instability. Norwood is still being held in jail on a $1 million bail.

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman
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Police released a photo of Keira Grewal, 8, and Gianno Grewal, 9

((Photo: Perth Amboy police) )

PERTH AMBOY -- The mother of two missing children found Saturday morning plans to file charges against the man they were last seen with, according to a city spokeswoman.

Frank John, 48

Police are still looking for that man, 48-year-old Frank John, police said in an alert.

Keira Grewal, 8, and Gianno Grewal, 9, had been missing since Friday around 4 p.m. and last seen on Armstrong Lane in Perth Amboy with John, according to the alert issued by police.

At around 10 a.m. on Saturday, police issued a statement saying the children had been located but that they were still looking for John and his vehicle.

The children were not harmed, according to the city.

John is described as 6 feet 1 inches tall and 200 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

His vehicle is described as a silver Toyota Highlander with a New Jersey license plate of J80GVE.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear at this time. No further details were provided.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
EDISON -- Aside from the subtle smell of methane, it is hard to tell that the undeveloped mound of dirt, rocks and patchy grass on the Raritan River in Edison is just a giant garbage can.

At its peak of operation, more than 400 garbage trucks would roll through the now Heller Industrial Park each day to dump thousands of tons of local trash next to the river.

Soon, the 21-acre site will power 1,200 homes for the next two decades, turning a chunk of unusable property into a renewable energy site.

Close to 24,000 solar panels currently sit on top of the plateaued landfill, making it the 10th solar farm built in New Jersey as part of Public Service Electric and Gas's $500 million investment into its Solar 4 All program.

"The best part of this is you really get to take unproductive land and put it to good use," said project manager Andrew Powers, who said there is limited use for the land since any construction could not penetrate the landfill's 14-inch clay cap.

The Edison solar farm alone will also reduce the utility company's yearly emissions equal to pulling 800 cars off the road.

It took roughly five months for crews to construct hundreds of concrete stands to support the rolling lines of panels and run thousands wires connecting the farm to the grid.

The finances surrounding the lease or construction of the projects have not yet been disclosed. According to Powers, the utility company funds these type of projects through customer fees after state approval. The 20-year lease on the site has the option for 10 years of extensions, according to Powers.

Once the Edison solar farm turns on, the utility company will power around 8,500 homes annually in New Jersey through the reusable energy source.

"Through this program, everybody receives the subsidies that are provided with solar energy," Powers said.

The privately owned Edison landfill, which stopped taking garbage in the 1980s, was eventually capped and pumped of toxic liquids, also known as leachate, in 1989 following a suit from the owner of the nearby industrial park and others citing environmental violations.

For years, natural gas has been pumped out of the site to power a local sewage-treatment plant, but the landfill has been otherwise undisturbed.

PSE&G generally only looks at potential landfill sites that have been capped for at least 20 years with a good history of environmental compliance, according to Powers. The program also looks to its former gas manufacturing sites, or brownfield spaces, for solar farms.

Since 2010, the company has also built farms in Eastampton, Bordentown, Deptford, Kearny, West Deptford, Trenton, Hamilton, Linden and Hackensack.

The utility company has already identified a number of former landfills and brownfields that if lined with panels could power around 16,000 more homes.

Earlier this month, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities gave PSE&G the green light on a third of those projects, allowing an additional investment of $80 million in the program.

By 2020, the power will be turned on at the new solar farms.

In addition, the company is also working on a pilot program, which will equip solar panels with batteries to extend power at hospitals, warming stations and other local services in case of another Superstorm Sandy-like event.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
PERTH AMBOY -- Authorities are still searching for a Woodbridge man who officials say abducted two children in the city on Friday, but then later returned them home safely.

Though 41-year-old Frank John, of Woodbridge, remains at large, authorities have charged him with kidnapping and theft of a motor vehicle, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office on Saturday.

John had "picked up a 9-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl in Perth Amboy" at around 4 p.m. on Friday "to take them out for food," the statement said.

Authorities were contacted when the two children didn't come home Friday. However, they were returned unharmed between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. the next morning, according to the prosecutor's office.

John is described as 6 feet 1 inches tall and 200 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

Officials say his vehicle is a silver Toyota Highlander with a New Jersey license plate of J80GVE.

The case is being investigated by the county prosecutor's office and the Perth Amboy Police Department. Officials have not yet said what the relationship is between John and the children or their mother.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Missing kids in Perth Amboy

Police released a photo of Keira Grewal, 8, and Gianno Grewal, 9 (Photo: Perth Amboy police)

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UPDATE: Missing children found; mother wants charges against man last seen with them

PERTH AMBOY -- Perth Amboy police early Saturday asked for the public's help to find two children who were reported missing.

Keira Grewal, 8, and Gianno Grewal, 9, were last seen around 4 p.m. Friday on Armstrong Lane in Perth Amboy with 48-year-old Frank John, according to an alert issued by police.

Keira Grewal is described as white, 4-feet-tall, 60 pounds, with red hair, wearing pink sweats, a black shirt, and a red jacket.

Police described Gianno Grewal also as white, 4-foot-1, 61 pounds, with black hair, and wearing blue khakis, an olive shirt and black Nike shoes.

The alert did not provide details about the circumstances surrounding the reported missing children or detail if they were related to John.

According to police, John is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and last seen driving a silver Toyota Highlander with New Jersey license plate of J80GVE.

"If you have information that can assist in helping safely locate Keira Grewal and Gianno Grewal, please call 911 or contact the police," the alert, issued shortly after midnight, said.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
State legislators have introduced a referendum to amend the state constitution to ensure funding for New Jersey's aging 911 system after a report found hundreds of millions of dollars intended for upgrades had been spent elsewhere.

The bill is one of two to emerge in response to an NJ Advance Media analysis that showed only 15 percent of the $1.37 billion in 911 fees paid by every resident with a phone since 2004 went to the life-saving system.

Even less has gone toward an urgent upgrade known as NextGen 911.

The proposed constitutional amendment (ACR212), if approved by voters, would guarantee all money collected from a 90-cent fee on every New Jersey phone line would be used on 911 and emergency services.

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union), a primary sponsor of the bill, said it needs more work and is meant to be a blueprint to "start our conversation." She hopes to amend it to dedicate a certain portion to the NextGen 911 upgrade.

"I want to bring all the professionals to the table and hear how the money has been spent and what are the needs for the 911 system," Quijano said. "No one takes anything serious until you introduce a bill. And it's in my committee, so I can make changes there before hand or after the committee from the information we garner."

Among other things, the NextGen 911 upgrade would allow callers to communicate back and forth with dispatchers by text, photo and video. It would also allow emergency responders to more seamlessly share information.

A second bill, introduced by Patricia Egan Jones (D-Camden), urges Christie and the Legislature to fully fund the 911 system.

"It's frustrating for the public to see their dollars get used in other ways," Jones said. "I know how important it is to maintain these systems and upgrade them, and the cost on the general public can be extraordinary.

Rob Ivanoff, president of the New Jersey Wireless Association, said he expects more bills to be introduced in the coming months.

The story "generated quite a bit of activity," he said.

If the proposed amendment passes, it would need the approval of New Jersey voters, like November's ballot question on increasing the gas tax. An identical version of the Assembly bill has also been introduced in the Senate. Committee hearings on the legislation have not yet been scheduled.

Several leading lawmakers have pledged to expedite an overhaul of the 911 system, but so far no plan has emerged for how to pay for the improvements. Gov. Chris Christie said last month that the state is nearing a resolution, but did not offer any further details.

"We may have something to say in the next month or two about being able to get that resolved finally," Christie said.

A spokesman for the governor declined to elaborate on the plan.

John Donnadio, the executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, said his representatives met with the governor's office to discuss the issue in August, but hasn't heard from them since. He said he's also had a "number of meetings" with legislators.

"I'm hearing positive things from the Legislature in terms of the fact that they want to address the issue," he said.

Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer), also a sponsor of the constitutional amendment, said he doesn't foresee any obstacles standing in the bill's way. And if it heads to a vote in November, people won't think twice about approving it, he said.

"Over the past decade we've taken a billion and a half dollars away from what it was dedicated for," DeAngelo said. "We're robbing Peter to pay Paul. We're trying to stop that."

Stephen Stirling may be reached at sstirling@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @sstirling. Find him on Facebook.
PHILADELPHIA -- The 81-year-old owner of a South Philadelphia grocery store was shot and killed Saturday morning, according to NBC10.

The gunman entered Marie's Grocery store on South 6th Street around 9 a.m. and fired 11 rounds. Other reports indicated that 22 rounds were fired.

The victim was identified as Marie Buck, according to 6ABC.

Police have not revealed a motive in the crime, but noted that nothing was stolen in the incident, NBC10 reported.

A gunman shot & killed an 81-year-old woman inside a Philly corner store on Christmas Eve, say police: https://t.co/wA6o1r9O35 #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/TFfJMKbXho  NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) December 24, 2016

My thoughts &prayers are w/the family, friends & those effected by the horrific shooting & murder of the 81yro woman in SPhilly this morning  Seth Williams (@DASethWilliams) December 24, 2016

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
christmas-crib-figures.jpg

(Pixabay stock photo)

By Abed Awad

Jesus has been a key moral figure in my religious upbringing. I was born in New Jersey but my parents relocated to Palestine when I was in second grade. In Palestine, I attended the Quaker Friends Boys School.

Yes, there are many Palestinian Christians, including Quakers. We learned about Liberation Theology where Jesus was the inspiration for justice and freedom. My devout Muslim mother instilled in us a reverence for Jesus as required in Islam. She always told us stories about spending Christmas with Christian friends in Palestine and them sharing our Muslim Eid with her.

When I returned to New Jersey, I attended Saint Peter's College. Jesus was present all around me in college from beautiful images of Jesus everywhere to my professors many of whom were also priests. I always recall with a smile when my Catholic theology professor/priest told a full classroom that Jesus most likely looked like Abed from Palestine.

I married my Saint Peters' Catholic sweet heart. For the past 25 years, we have the best of both worlds. We have a festive time during the Muslim holidays with my parents and the Christian holidays with her parents.

While Muslims revere Jesus, they do not accept his divinity. This by no mean should minimize the influential role Jesus plays in Muslim belief. Jesus has a fair share of coverage in the Quran. The Quran reveals that Jesus will be born -- God's Word and "his is name is the Christ Jesus, son of Mary."

Nearest to God, Jesus shall speak to mankind from the cradle, the Quran told Mary.

The Quranic virgin birth story is pregnant with poetic wonder. God's Spirit appeared before Mary through an angel. "I am a messenger from God to bestow upon you a son most pure," the angel assured Mary. "How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me," Mary exclaimed. God wills and it shall be, the angel replied. "We shall make him a wonder to mankind and a mercy," God ordained.

The miracles of Jesus are signs from God, the Quran pronounced:

"I will bring you a sign from your Lord. I will fashion for you from clay the likeness of a bird, I shall breathe upon it and it will become a bird, by God's leave. I shall cure the blind and the leper and revive the dead by God's leave."

The Quranic story of the resurrection while different from the Gospel is no less powerful and magical. Jesus will die but will ascend to Heaven and be saved from a physical crucifixion.

In addition to the Quran, there are hundreds of stories about Jesus in Muslim works of ethics, devotional works, Sufi/mystic literature and histories of prophets. Tarif Khalidi collected most of them in "The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature."

According to Khalidi, these stories are the largest body of texts relating to Jesus in any non-Christian literature.

"He who plants evil reaps regret" or "Too much food kills the soul, just as too much water kills a plant," or "The day that Jesus was raised to heaven, he left behind nothing but a woolen garment, a slingshot, and two sandals" are a few out of hundreds of stories related to Jesus that echo the Gospel.

And more significantly, they confirm Jesus represented a prominent ethical role model for Muslims for more than 1400 years.

My reverence for Jesus is not the exception but the actual norm in Muslim households in America. Muslims believe that God revealed to the Prophet Mohamed the same message that "was revealed to Abraham, to Ishmael, to Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes . . . to Moses and Jesus . . . We make no distinction between any of them."

These verses from the Quran and stories about Jesus inspire and guide 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. So happy birthday Jesus and a merry Christmas America from your American Muslim neighbors.

Abed Awad is an attorney, a national Islamic law expert and an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School.
Donald Trump,Reince Priebus,Michael Flynn

President-elect Donald Trump, second from right, accompanied by Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, right, and Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, left, speaks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. on Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By Jeff Tittel

As President-elect Trump's cabinet nominations take shape, the war on the environment has intensified. When you look at Trump's selections, you see a group of anti-environmental zellots who deny climate change and are tied to the oil and gas industry. These nominations are clearly prepared to repeal and roll back 45 years of environmental protections. The nominations of Scott Pruitt, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Rep. Ryan Zinke as the next Secretary of Interior, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson, and Rick Perry, the nominee to lead the Department of Energy are all pro-mining, pro-fracking, and pro-destruction of public lands. These nominations would be the four horseman of the climate apocalypse.

Scott Pruitt, is against some of the most important environmental laws of the last decade including regulations to safeguard clean air and clean water. Given his record, it is clear that he will do Trump's dirty work when it comes to promoting pipelines and rolling back important regulations. As Oklahoma Attorney General, Pruitt has sued against regulations on carbon dioxide, ozone and mercury, the Clean Water Rule as well as the Clean Power Plan. He has commented on wanting to repeal the Waters of the United States Rule, which protects wetlands and prevents flooding. He also wants to eliminate the Clean Power Plan which was designed to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Even though Pruitt's own state has been wracked with earthquakes caused by fracking, he still supports fossil fuels over renewable energy. His political views on climate change are more about political science and pondering to the fossil fuel industry than real science. Together, Trump and Pruitt are going to try and turn the EPA into 'Every Polluter's Agency.'

President-elect Trump's nomination of Rep. Ryan Zinke is a disaster for our climate. Rep. Zinke is a Montana Congressman who has made it loud and clear that he supports increasing of coal mining and oil and gas exploration on public lands. In Montana Glacier National Park is melting away and has lost 125 glaciers between the mid-1800s to today, but Rep. Zinke denies climate change and the urgent need to address it. Rep. Zinke's nomination will mean that federal lands held in the public trust will be at increased risk from the privatization of our national parks. Instead of keeping fossil fuels in the ground, we will see more proposals for offshore drilling and fracking on public lands.

Not only will ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson represent the interests of Big Oil over the people of the United States, he has been a climate-change denier, involved in the cover-up on climate change science. Even though their scientists knew about climate change, they deliberately mislead the public by denying it. They withheld the facts even though their own scientists had the evidence. If Exxon mislead the public and their own stockholders about climate change, how can we trust its CEO to lead on foreign policy?

In New Jersey, Exxon has polluted more than 1,000 sites, threatening communities with toxic contamination, but they are refusing to clean it up. Instead of requiring a full-clean up of their toxic contamination, the Christie Administration sold out the people of New Jersey, while letting Exxon off the hook. Not only has the Administration agreed to settle for less than $225 million for over $8.9 billion from Exxon's contamination at two refineries, but added 16 sites and over 800 gas stations to the settlement. We are continuing our battle against the settlement in Court to make sure Exxon pays all of the damages from their toxic contamination.

Trump is so concerned about ending action on climate change that it was reported his Transition Team plans to audit people working on climate change in the federal government. Other reports from Trump's NASA transition team said that his administration will try to dismantle America's climate science research programs in an effort to undermine the world's ability to even monitor changes to our climate.

The latest pick for the Department of Energy Secretary is Rick Perry who is a Big Oil and fracking supporter who originally wanted to get rid of the Department. His financial interests will create a huge conflict with this role. Many of his campaign donors were big polluters. Perry opposes renewable energy and won't admit that CO2 is a pollutant.

President-elect Donald Trump has clearly put together a cabinet who as a team will work with him to destroy environmental protections, while promoting oil and gas drilling and mining everywhere. Now more than ever, the public needs to stand up for clean air, clean water and action on climate change. We need to come together to defend our environment like we haven't done since the first Earth Day. It will be up to us to come out against these dangerous appointments and protect our planet against Trump.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeff Tittel is director of the NJ Sierra Club.
WASHINGTON -- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will be kept off the chopping block under legislation signed into law Friday by President Barack Obama.

Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which blocked any efforts to close additional bases in order to pare the Pentagon budget of unneeded facilities. The president had proposed a new round of military base closings as part of his budget for the current fiscal year.

The new law sets defense policy through the current federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The bill authorizes $619 billion in defense spending.

The joint base also will be protected by a provision in last year's legislation preventing the Pentagon from moving or retiring any of the KC-10 refueling tanker planes stationed there.

Obama visited the installation in December 2014.

"New Jersey's Joint Base now has the assurances it needs to continue its role as a strategic national security site and a premier employer for thousands of military and civilian personnel across the region,'' said Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1st Dist.).

The final measure also requested a study on setting up a Aegis Ashore missile defene site on the East Coast, similar to those that exist in California and Alaska, but we lack one on the East Coast of the United States. The prospect of an Aegis Ashore site offers an affordable way to protect large population centers from ballistic missile attacks.

"Terrorists have shown in the past that they view cities like New York, Washington, and Boston as targets and will not hesitate to attack," said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3rd Dist.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "Any increase in protection is certainly warranted and this study will present an alternative option and a proactive approach to our national security agenda."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
TRENTON -- On Dec. 12, just one week from the New Jersey Legislature's final voting sessions of the year, two bills backed by Gov. Chris Christie were quietly placed on a very fast track to win approval and become law.

But even though Democratic leadership had aligned with the Republican governor on the bills -- the clear sign of a done deal in Trenton -- both were spectacularly torpedoed within a week.

Political pundits called it a crushing defeat for the combative governor.

State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo called it "New Jersey's version of the Boston Tea Party."

And Christie chalked it up to the work of "haters."

Whatever you call it, it was an uprising unlike anything the Statehouse has seen in Christie's seven years in office.

This is the behind-the-scenes story of a week with more twists and turns than the craziest ride you'll find at Great Adventure -- told through a series of interviews with elected officials, insiders, and others close to the process.

***

Christie is front and center in the fight, but Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto says he's the one who started it all.

In an interview on Tuesday, Prieto (D-Hudson) said it was he, not the governor, who got the ball rolling on two bills that would raise the ire of lawmakers from both parties.

One would permit Christie to benefit from a book deal while still in office and allow thousands of dollars in pay raises for hundreds of high-ranking government employees. The other would end a requirement that New Jersey's businesses and local governments publish legal ads in newspapers.

"We figured it was the 21st century -- this is something we should do," Prieto said of the newspaper ad bill, which was brought up and shot down in 2004 and 2011.

Prieto said he thought it might lead to cost savings for towns that place legal ads and that Christie was supportive. Some lawmakers said Christie wanted this bill to punish newspapers for how they have covered him.

Prieto said he resurrected the salary hike bill, which fell short in 2014, after talking with state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner about the need to recruit judges to help carry out the criminal justice reforms that have been enacted.

The bill would have raised salaries for legislative staffers, cabinet members, judges, and county prosecutors -- hikes that many lawmakers say are long overdue.

But legislative leaders said Christie had a caveat. The governor -- who is entering the last year of his second and final term -- would sign off on it only if they changed a state law to allowed him to profit from a book deal while still in office.

The fast track would work like this: Introduce the bills on Monday, Dec. 12, clear them in committees three days later, pass them in both houses the following Monday, and leave town for the holidays.

It didn't quite work out that way.

Lawmakers from both parties said the bills were fiercely debated behind the scenes as newspaper publishers campaigned to save legal ads and their offices were flooded by phone calls and emails from angry constituents who saw the scenario as a backroom deal designed to benefit the governor.

As the pressure mounted, several attempts at compromise fell flat. Lawmakers said Christie's status as a lame-duck governor with record-low approval ratings emboldened some to defy him. In both the Senate and Assembly, Republicans and Democrats openly wondered what deals had been struck between Christie and their leaders, who insisted there were none.

While Prieto said he was the driving force, the governor dominated the debate.

Christie's office quickly ginned-up a social media campaign attacking newspapers and the Democrats who vowed to oppose the bill, including an op-ed written by the governor himself. Christie called it an "annual tax by billionaire newspaper owners on the people of New Jersey."

Sens. Weinberg & Gordon "revenge" on taxpayers? Force them to pay $80m a yr to newspapers rather than free posts on the web. Need tax relief  Governor Christie (@GovChristie) December 16, 2016

George White, executive director of the New Jersey Press Association, said the bill was revived "out of the blue," setting newspaper advocates and publishers off on a mad dash to muster opposition to the bill in only a few days.

"It was 35 pages of an absurdly ill-conceived public policy," White said.

Advocates say ending required legal ads would decimate the already struggling newspaper industry, leading to hundreds of job losses and maybe some smaller publications folding.

They also vehemently disputed numbers pushed by the governor's office, which said New Jersey taxpayers and private businesses pay more than $80 million a year to publish legal notices. It was a figure the office claimed was based on "an internal tally of a sampling for daily newspapers."

But the press association argued that legal ads are a $20 million revenue source, with about 70 percent of ads coming from private individuals and businesses.

State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, (D-Bergen) a frequent Christie critic, said there was "no logical or rational reason why this newspaper issue came up."

"It's not like towns called and asked us for it," she said. "The $80 million (figure) was made up. Why the Assembly would push this, there's no rational reason except there was some kind of deal worked out with the governor."

A day before the legislative committees were scheduled to meet on the bills Dec. 15, the press association offered a compromise that slashed the fee for government-paid notices by 50 percent. But private-paid legal ad rates would rise by 5 percent in 2017, 4 percent in 2018, 3 percent in 2019; an adjustment for each of the following years based on the Consumer Price Index.

"There was considerable pressure to do more in the way of discounts that we could not accept," White said.

Both bills sailed through committee without a mention of the compromise.

Over the weekend, panicked newspaper executives orchestrated an advertising and editorial blitz. Most of Gannett's New Jersey papers ran full-page editorials on their front pages. The Star-Ledger ran an open letter from its publisher Richard Vezza.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) tried to work out a deal similar to what the press association offered.

"It got to the point where at one point Monday morning, I thought we had a deal that the press association could live with and it was certainly acceptable to me," said Whelan, a co-sponsor of the legislation.

But Prieto rejected the offer, multiple sources told NJ Advance Media. The sources requested anonymity to speak candidly about the scenario.

Prieto denied it. He said he received no formal offer and that talks of a possible compromise were part of the reason he held the bill until they meet in January.

"It's not that I wanted to shove this down the throat of anybody," Prieto said.

As for the other bill, the nonpartisan state Office of Legislative Services estimated the raises included in the measure would cost the state and county governments about $10 million in a $35 billion state budget.

Meanwhile, Sweeney and Prieto said they weren't bothered by allowing Christie to profit from a book while in office.

But lawmakers said their offices were soon inundated with comments from infuriated residents, egged on by 101.5-FM radio show host Bill Spadea.

"Even people we truly trust and admire, they asked: 'How could you do this? It's all for the governor?'" said Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris), a sponsor of both bills.

Prieto denies the measures were connected, saying he told his members they could certainly "vote for one and not the other."

But Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), a Democratic candidate seeking to succeed Christie in next year's governors race, said the public "conflated" the bills into one.

Wisniewski added that for the first time in his 20 years in the Assembly, he was approached by a constituent in a grocery store.

"He walked by me, recognized me, ran into me in the following aisle, and he said, 'You're voting no, right?" Wisniewski recalled.

State Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-Somerset), who was against both bills, said the public is "really focused now on what's going on."

"People are not happy," Bateman said. "And the timing -- a week before Christmas, on the last session of the year. It's totally bad government."

Prieto and Sweeney scheduled final votes for Monday. Sweeney's fingerprints were on both bills as it's his job to decide what legislation moves forward in his house. Much of what becomes law in Trenton is decided in negotiations that can include horse-trading between Christie and the two Democratic leaders.

But after a weekend of bruising editorials, Sweeney decided the Senate would take up both bills only if they passed the Assembly.

"That's not a copout," he said. "It's the truth."

Republican and Democratic Assembly members went behind closed doors around noon to hold separate meetings to discuss the bills.

The conversations were tense. Wisniewski said many members asked: "Why do we need to do this, and if it is such a good idea, why do we need to do it so quickly?"

One lawmaker said supporters of the newspaper bill asked: "Why are we propping up an industry?" A sarcastic answer that came back: "Oh because we don't do that ever. We do it all the time" by giving corporations tax breaks.

The biggest backlash was against the book deal bill.

"I don't think there were 16 votes between the caucuses favorable to (Christie) writing a book," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester), another sponsor.

Christie's lack of popularity seems to have affected the newspaper measure, as well. Burzichelli said some lawmakers appeared to believe the governor was indeed trying to take revenge against newspapers.

"You guys in the media were absolutely brilliant in turning this into a referendum on Chris Christie," Carroll said.

Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen) insisted the measure "hadn't been to punish the press in any sort of fashion."

"It just seems to be a good-government, cost-cutting measure," Shepisi said.

As the debate raged on for hours, newspaper publishers and advocates nervously waited at the Statehouse cafeteria, fielding calls from sources inside the caucus room.

Advocacy groups -- including the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, New Jersey Citizen Action, a consumer organization, and the Communications Workers of America, the largest state employee union -- passed out plastic multicolor back-scratchers to mock the alleged deal-making between the governor and the Legislature.

Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union), another co-sponsor, said he gives the press association "a ton of credit" for its efforts.

"And I get it," Bramnick said. "I'm a big fan of the print media. I get newspapers. I don't want to see them go out of business. And obviously, neither did a lot of the legislators."

After the Assembly returned to the floor around 6 p.m., Prieto sent out a statement saying he was postponing a vote on the newspaper measure and killing the book deal bill. In the end, sources say, Prieto was one or two votes short on the legal notice bill and nowhere near close on the book and salary measure.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth) said she doesn't buy into the idea that Republicans were suddenly standing up to Christie, who has long shown a talent for cutting deals with top Democrats while also enjoying undying loyalty from members of his own party.

"To me, it was a revolt against extremely bad ideas, extremely bad proposals," Handlin said. "There was a rock-solid wall of opposition, including me, that rolled into Trenton that morning."

Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said Christie has often advocated for what he considers the best interest of the taxpayers.

But the book deal bill, he said, "seemed like special legislation that wasn't to benefit the taxpayers, that was to benefit him. And the debate over the public notices legislation got wrapped up in backroom deals and allegations of nefarious activity."

"You very rarely see both sides of the aisle revolt," Caputo (D-Essex) said. "This is unique. When you have controversial issues, you need both sides to push something through. But this time, it didn't happen."

Christie clearly wasn't pleased. The next day, he unleashed a Twitter rant about the need for the legal ads bill, saying the government was subsidizing newspapers by requiring the notices.

Billionaire newspaper owners unmasked themselves as just another special interest feeding at the Gov't trough. $80m subsidy for billionaires  Governor Christie (@GovChristie) December 20, 2016

Billionaire newspaper owners demand Gov't subsidy from taxpayers but refuse to open their books to show how much tax $ they already take.  Governor Christie (@GovChristie) December 20, 2016

Christie continued this criticism of newspapers on his monthly radio show Thursday night, and called opponents of the book deal "haters" who "made it personal about me."

"That's fine," he added. "I'll write a book in a year."

He also dismissed the drama in the Statehouse over the bills as "kabuki theater."

White said newspaper executives "made no effort to hide" the legal ads measure "would have a major impact."

"For something such as this, survival of the press is at stake, and I believe using the reach of newspapers is entirely reasonable to help get the message out," he said. "The main point here is newspapers can't and don't lobby. ... We don't have money to donate -- we can't, and there are good reasons for that. We don't take legislators to dinner and don't entertain."

"If we were out there saying this is bad public policy because it will devastate newspaper companies ... people would have to judge whether it is enough to pass the 'so-what' test," White added. "The public needed to be educated that this is a complex situation."

Both Christie and Prieto say the newspaper bill -- or a new version of it -- will be a "top priority" in the new year. Asked if he agreed, Sweeney, who noted he doesn't believe government should be subsidizing businesses, said: "We have a lot of top priorities."

Prieto, meanwhile, bristled at the idea he was simply scratching Christie's back.

"For people to say that I'd be carrying the governor's water? Are you kidding me?" he said. "It's about good public policy. I'm doing favors for this guy? Really?"

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump moved to eliminate a potential conflict of interest Saturday as he announced he would shut down his charitable foundation.

"To avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president, I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways," Trump said in a statement.

But Trump first must await the outcome of an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman before closing the foundation.

"The Trump Foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete," said Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for Schneiderman's office.

Trump said the foundation contributed millions of dollars to veterans, law enforcement officers, and children among "countless worthy groups."

He skipped a Republican debate shortly before the Iowa caucuses in January and instead held a fundraiser for military veterans that he said brought in $6 million.

Even so, Trump gave more money from his foundation to help maintain the New Jersey's governor's mansion than he did to veterans' causes in the three years before his campaign. From 2012 to 2014, his foundation contributed just $11,000 to veterans' organizations, according to Internal Revenue Service filings reviewed by NJ Advance Media.

He gave almost 10 times that amount, $100,000 to to the educational arm of Citizens United, the advocacy group whose lawsuit led to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning almost a century of legislation and court decisions and allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on U.S. elections.

Trump later named the head of Citizens United, David Bossie, as his deputy campaign manager even as he criticized big donors and vowed to "drain the swamp in Washington."

While Trump's statement said "100 percent of the money" from his foundation went to charity, he contributed $25,000 of its funds to a political group aligned with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi before she decided not to investigate allegations of fraud against his Trump University.

Biondi later spoke at the Republican National Convention and was named to the executive committee handling the presidential transition. Trump last month settled the fraud allegations for $25 million.

In October, Schneiderman ordered Trump to stop raising money in the state because the group had failed to register as a charity.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the IRS in September to investigate the Bondi donation. CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder called Saturday's announcement "a necessary first step" but said the foundation's "past instances of wrongdoing" still should be investigated and Trump should still sell his businesses.

"If Donald Trump truly wants to 'drain the swamp' and usher in a new level of respectability for the government, there are many serious issues that must be resolved and many business and financial interests that must be disclosed -- and not just on Christmas Eve when most of America isn't watching," Bookbinder said.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook
exxon_deal.JPG

N.J. voters will decide whether to prevent lawmakers and the governor from raiding environmental settlements to balance New Jersey's budget.

(File photo)

TRENTON -- New Jersey voters will decide next November whether the governor and state lawmakers can balance the budget by raiding environmental settlements.

Overshadowed during a slapdash voting session by controversies over failed bills that would allow Gov. Chris Christie to profit from a book deal, raise the salaries of political staff, and yank a requirement that legal ads be published in the state's newspapers, lawmakers passed a measure creating a ballot question on the use of money from contamination lawsuits.

The measure (ACR 127) was pushed following outrage over the Christie administration's settlement with Exxon Mobil in a decade-long lawsuit over refinery pollution.

"This money was not meant to plug holes in the budget," said state Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), a key sponsor. "These funds were the result of environmental contamination settlements and should only be used to repair the damage caused by the contamination and for measures that can help protect our environment."

The proposed constitutional amendment is an end-run around the governor, who last year vetoed a similar bill but can't stop an amendment approved by the voters.

It passed by wide margins in both houses, with a 28 to eight vote in the state Senate and a vote of 56 to 18 with three abstentions in the Assembly.

Environmental advocates say governors from both parties have raided the so-called natural resource damages settlements, which seek to reimburse the public for damage done to public lands and resources. But they say Christie's administration has taken the practice to an extreme.

When the state won more than $350 million from the companies on the hook for polluting the Passaic River, less than 20 percent of that money actually went to restoration projects.

The Exxon deal, meanwhile, drew national scrutiny after it was disclosed that New Jersey would drop its long-fought suit with the Texas oil giant for $225 million despite the state's expert testimony valuing the damage at nearly $9 billion.

When the settlement was approved, budget numbers showed the administration planned to dedicate just $50 million -- the minimum required by law -- to restoration projects.

That settlement remains tied up in a legal challenge levied by state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union), who has been seeking to get the courts to throw it out.

The ballot question will ask voters whether New Jersey's constitution should specifically require environmental settlement funds be dedicated "for environmental purposes."

"These purposes could include preserving, repairing, or restoring natural resources," reads the interpretive statement. "They may also include cleaning contaminated sites and underground storage tank sites, funding water quality programs, or preserving open space, farmland, or historic buildings or sites."

Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said the proposed amendment would "establish a lockbox" preventing politicians from covering weaknesses in the state budget using money meant for the environment.

Too often, he said, large sums won from industrial polluters don't end up helping the communities damaged most by the contamination, disproportionately hurting urban neighborhoods and minority communities.

A fiscal estimate done this week by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services found it could not determine the measure's effect on the budget, in part because the amount the state wins in environmental suits varies widely year to year.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Just had a surprise phone call from an old friend who worked for me for a while, Glen Shivers, who now lives in Jacksonville, Florida. His dad was the Rev. Russell Shivers of the First Methodist Church for quite a few years.

Jim Bolton

Someone sent him a copy of one of my outdoors columns. He and I did some deer hunting together when he was here.

He wanted me to know he still does some hunting. He and his brother Gary go up to Georgia wild boar hunting. This year they shot a 350-pound boar and Gary went back to New Jersey and shot an 8-point buck.

His mom and dad live close by in Jacksonville.

I can remember when he and Glen and buddies Jack Berkley and Jim Nugent used to hang out in my store.

Had another call from Howie Raines wanting me to know that his club "The Young Bucks" teamed up with the "Buckshutem Antlers" and had a good year when they killed 17. He said Dan Shelton shot a big 8 pointer and Christian Raines and Jerald Appleby also shot 8 pointers. Two youngsters shot their first deer. Bria Raines had a 4 pointer and Sherman Harris a 6 pointer.

Greg Brown had a nice 2 pointer and Glen Poeple a big 9 pointer.'' Howie said they really enjoyed hunting together.

Had a call from an old friend Ida Garrison to let me know the "Garrison Gang" ended up with two deer and missed two.

The "Double Oaks" club ended up with 22 deer. Emma Mead shot a 7 pointer with a 22-inch spread. Ken Weiss shot a 7 pointer and Samantha Weiss a 4 pointer.

Don't know what's going to happen with this proposed cut on the limit of flounder next season from five to two and raise the size limit by an inch from 18 to 19 inches.

Fishermen are not very happy and neither are the bait and tackle shops, boat rental dealerships and any other businesses that cater to fishermen.

Jim Bolton is the outdoors columnist for the South Jersey Times. He can be reached at 856-313-9347 or 22 Arbutus Ave., Millville, NJ 08332.
Man shot in head and killed in Algiers, another is wounded: NOPD
Tunisian Anis Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market (AFP Photo/)

Sesto San Giovanni (Italy) (AFP) - Nobody comes to Sesto San Giovanni by chance, say the residents of this dreary working-class Milan suburb where police caught up with Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri.

So why, Italy wonders, did Europe's most wanted man end up here?

Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian, was shot dead by police on Friday during a routine check at the local train station, after opening fire first.

Sesto San Giovanni, with its 80,000 inhabitants, is where Amri caught the officers' attention in the small hours. It's a hub for transport, the last stop on a metro line, and has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy.

Many foreigners come through here, and police controls are particularly thorough.

"I get checked by police every day getting off the bus," said Aziz, a young Moroccan worker.

"At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol," he told AFP.

According to Italian daily La Stampa, police believe that Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France.

They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices.

But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead.

- 'Italy's Stalingrad' -

He then travelled to Milan, where he arrived at 1 am Friday, before going on to Sesto San Giovanni.

Was he hoping to hook up with members of a network? Was he looking for new ID to get him out of Europe? Or was he planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he spent four years in prison for torching a school in 2011?

Police are short on answers. But they do point out, according to Italian media, that Sesto San Giovanni, once known as "Italy's Stalingrad" because of the powerful local Communist party, has become a multicultural town with a large Muslim community.

Story continues

Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had "no links with the Sesto mosque", but some locals wonder if he had contacts nearby.

"Some people are worried," said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting.

Italy does its bit investigating jihadist sympathiser networks, but only a few dozen Italians have actually gone off to join Islamic State fighters in Iraq or Syria.

And despite the occasional threatening militant video, Italy has never been the target of any jihadist attack.

- 'They got lucky' -

Still, many Italians are startled that the man tracked by the combined power of the continent's police forces could slip into their country unnoticed.

"He could have committed more attacks," acknowledged De Iesu, calling Amri "a very dangerous fugitive".

Populists have seized the opportunity to further their agenda, including Beppo Grillo, head of the Five Star Movement.

"Italy is becoming a crossroads for terrorists. We can't detect or identify them, and thanks to Schengen they can cross borders without trouble," he said on his blog, referring to the EU's passport-free travel system.

Many other Italians declare themselves to be fatalistic, like Francesco Micali, another resident of Sesto San Giovanni.

"There could easily be an attack in Italy, just like in France, Germany and Spain," said.

As for the two policeman who stopped the suspect, who are being celebrated as heroes in Italy: "They just got lucky," said Micali.
The man accused of killing a Council Bluffs woman in a drunken drag race disappeared after posting bond when it was later discovered he was in the country illegally.

On Jan. 31, Edwin Mejia, 19, caused a crash that killed Sarah Root, 21, authorities said. Mejia was arrested but has not been seen since bailing out of jail.

Mejia was drunk and street racing on L Street when the pickup truck he was driving rammed into the back of Roots SUV, police said.

Prosecutors say Mejia had a blood-alcohol content of .241, three times the legal limit of .08 for drivers 21 and older. Mejia was charged Feb. 3 with felony motor vehicle homicide and drunken driving.

He was freed Feb. 5 after paying $5,000, or 10 percent, of the $50,000 bail amount set by Marcuzzo. The judge set the bail on the condition that Mejia participate in a 24/7 sobriety program that required him to appear twice a day for Breathalyzer testing. But Mejia failed to show up for the tests and has disappeared.

The case has caused a political uproar and prompted lawmakers from Nebraska and Iowa to demand more answers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. They question why the agency didnt move to detain Mejia. Police say he was in the country illegally.

Michelle Root, Sarah Roots mother, urged lawmakers to get tough on immigration enforcement in the name of her daughter.

We are not against immigration, Michelle Root testified on Capitol Hill on April 18. Sarahs grandmother was an immigrant from Vienna, Austria. She did it legally. She did it the right way. Thats all were asking. Its the illegal immigrants that are already breaking the law once they come over here, and they continue to break our laws.

Local police say they contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but the agency declined to issue a detainer for Mejia. ICE has since put Mejia on its Most Wanted list.

Sarah Root became part of the national conversation during the 2016 presidential election. Roots family met with now President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence during one of their campaign stops in Council Bluffs.

I spoke with Sarahs parents, Pence said. Because of the vagaries of our laws, (Mejia) is now a fugitive.
Carrie Fisher Dimitrios Kambouris Getty final

Carrie Fisher is in stable condition following a medical emergency Friday, her brother told the Associated Press.

The actress suffered a heart attack while on a plane traveling from London to Los Angeles, TMZ reported.

The United flight landed after noon local time, and Fisher was rushed by paramedics to a nearby hospital.

The emergency occurred 15 minutes before the plane landed at LAX, according to TMZ.

Her brother Todd Fisher said she's now "out of emergency," but told the AP he couldn't discuss details of the episode.

United staff and passengers attempted to revive Fisher before EMTs arrived, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fisher, 60, is known best for playing Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise.

Fisher's reps did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

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Trump Hard Hat

Hillary Clinton has laid the blame on her upset election loss to Donald Trump on everyone from FBI Director James Comey to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But for many Democrats, Clinton's shortcomings can be pinned on her inability to promote a concise, compelling economic message that resonated with voters.

"The Democratic Party failed to offer a compelling jobs message for everybody," Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, an early Clinton supporter, told Business Insider in a recent interview.

Clinton "did win Rhode Island by a couple digits," she added. "But a lot of the areas that went for Trump in Rhode Island are places where people are feeling like they're left behind in this economy. And I think that as I'm out and about talking to Rhode Islanders, there's still a high degree of anxiety about my economic future."

But while some Democrats read up on struggling white working-class voters and consider a strategy that prioritizes pocketbook issues over identity politics, others point to data suggesting a more complicated understanding of why Clinton failed to win in the former Rust Belt states.

An examination of the exit polls in three key states that helped swing the election Trump's way revealed that the economy was by far the most important issue to votes. But those who reported the economy as their top issue  at least in the abstract  believed that Clinton had a stronger message.

In Michigan, 52% of voters said the economy was "most important issue facing the country," compared to 60% of voters who said the same thing about the economy in 2012. This year, Clinton won by 6 points among people who reported that the economy was the most important issue, while Obama only won on that issue by 3 points.

In Pennsylvania, Clinton won by 4 points among the 56% of voters who reported that the economy was most important issue facing the country. In 2012, Romney won by 5 points among the 61% of voters concerned most about the economy.

Story continues

The results were even more stark in Wisconsin. While about the same percentage of voters said the economy was the "most important issue facing the country" in 2016 and 2012  55% and 56%, respectively  Clinton won those voters by 11 points, while Romney won on the issue by a single point in 2012.

Matt McDermott, a senior analyst at Whitman Insight Strategies, acknowledged that while Democrats "need to do a better job" of connecting with workers concerned about economic and personal finance issues, "it's not the reason Hillary Clinton lost this election."

"There's really no unifying 'big picture' campaign fault that emerges as the reason why she lost them," McDermott said, referring to the three states. "In part, this is because these three states were each handled in markedly different ways by the Clinton campaign, and yet each was lost by an equally small margin."

He added:

"In Michigan, there were few campaign dollars and fewer events, while in Wisconsin, the campaign was in fact infusing resources in the closing weeks of the campaign. And in Pennsylvania, there was a massive, long-term presence on the ground from the Clinton campaign. If their loss of either or all of those three states could be attributed to the campaign  and in particular, their message on the economy  you'd expect their loss to match the level of their campaign presence."

But while voters in these states had more faith in Clinton in the abstract, they were more attracted to individual aspects of Trump's economic message, including his vehement opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, his vague promise to bring back US manufacturing jobs and punish companies that outsource jobs, and his criticism of immigrants living in the US illegally.

Exit polls themselves can be unreliable. Those that survey early voters are often viewed by experts as imperfect. And for those conducted on Election Day, the exit polls tend to skew toward counties and precincts with higher incomes and education levels.

Yet the exit polls also offered other explanations for why voters supported Trump over Clinton.

Trump won overwhelmingly among voters in Michigan and Wisconsin who craved "change," which voters in both states said was, in the abstract, the most important quality they sought in a candidate.

"We don't live in a monocausal world  one answer will not explain a phenomenon," said Michael Traugott, a professor and polling expert at University of Michigan. "Clinton did not deliver a sustained economic message, and doing a better job on that cold have helped here win across the country and in those three close states. But it's also true that if she traveled there instead of elsewhere, or advertised on TV, or if there had been no Comey letter, etc., she could have done better as well."

Many top Democrats and some polling analysts long dismissed Trump's early campaign boasts that he could carve a new electorate through the Rust Belt. And in the end, whatever the cause, it came back to bite them.

In July, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti rejected the idea that Trump's rhetoric and proposals on immigration will help him win Rust Belt states.

During a conference call, he told Business Insider: "Millennials, younger Americans, even those who are Gen X overwhelmingly support immigration reform, even in the most working class, Midwestern, Rust Belt states."

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Nearly 350,000 names on Nebraska Treasurers unclaimed property list

LINCOLN  Do you know Dasher? The Nebraska State Treasurers Office has 40 of them in its unclaimed property database. How about Dancer? Theres 29 of them. And Prancer? Just one, in Omaha. You wont find Vixen or Blitzen in the unclaimed property rolls, but you will find 67 Donners, two Comets and one Cupid who has almost $2,000 coming from Mutual of Omaha and whose last known address is in the British Virgin Islands. As for Rudolph, there are 44.

Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg said the 350,000 names in the treasurers unclaimed property rolls include these famous reindeer and many other familiar names this time of year.

For instance, our unclaimed property records show four listings under Christmas  individuals and businesses in Omaha, Lincoln, Bellevue and Bridgeport. We also have 85 properties listed under the name Holiday, 75 under the name Joy, 43 with Jesus in their names and 22 listings under Merry, not to mention names like Santa, Snow and Holly, Stenberg said.

We encourage all Nebraskans, former Nebraskans and heirs to check our unclaimed property listing throughout the year and particularly this time of year to give themselves a holiday present. You never know what you might find. We currently are holding nine properties of more than $100,000 each. The top nine range from $1.2 million for a family trust in Omaha to more than $110,000 for a couple in Ansley and more than $100,000 for a Bellevue woman. During the holidays, property owners are equally grateful for smaller amounts, too, Stenberg said.

While we have been successful this year reaching out to property owners for whom we are holding significant amounts, because of the sheer volume we are unable to locate and contact all of them, he added.

In many cases, we are not provided sufficient contact information or our calls and letters go answered. Because of that, we rely heavily on individuals contacting us through our website, by telephone or by visiting our office in the State Capitol and at 809 P St. in the Lincoln Haymarket District.

Stenberg also noted that as more Nebraska companies engage in global business, the unclaimed property staff is now searching for owners not only from across the United States but also internationally.

So far this year, the Treasurers Office has returned unclaimed property to owners in Japan, Mexico, Poland, the Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Stenberg said owners can search for unclaimed property anytime at treasurer.nebraska.gov. In instances in which property is $500 or less, owners may file claims online through the treasurers website.

More than $11.8 million was returned to owners in 2015, and a total of 15,368 claims were approved. With three weeks remaining in 2016, the office had exceeded last years totals.

So far in 2016, more than $13 million of unclaimed property has been returned, representing a total of 15,766 claims approved.

Altogether, the treasurers office is holding more than $170 million in unclaimed funds. Common forms of unclaimed property are uncashed paychecks, refunds, rental deposits, utility deposits, stocks, dividends, insurance payments, savings bonds, matured CDs and lost IRAs.

Ways to search for unclaimed property and file claims include the following:

 Check the Nebraska State Treasurers website at treasurer.nebraska.gov. Type a name in the box on the home page or click on the Unclaimed Property tab at the top of the page.

 For an amount less than $500, an owner may file a claim online through the website. The owner must include required information.

 For an amount greater than $500, an owner may complete the claim form found on the website and mail to the Nebraska Treasurers Office, Unclaimed Property Division, 809 P St., Lincoln, NE 68508-1390. The form must be notarized.

 Call the Unclaimed Property Division at 1-877-572-9688 toll free outside of Lincoln or 402-471-8497 in Lincoln. Phone calls are taken between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT on weekdays.

 Visit the unclaimed property office at 809 P St. in Lincoln or in the treasurers office in Suite 2005 of the State Capitol. Hours at both locations are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. An owner should bring a drivers license and Social Security card.

 If filing on behalf of a deceased family member for an amount greater than $500, the owner should provide documentation to establish legal authority to file the claim including a will, death certificate, obituary notice, and personal representative documents.
LAPORTE  LaPorte County is again going after NIPSCO, alleging the utility is not living up to terms of a rate hike settlement.

The LaPorte County Commissioners voted last week to file a dissent with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

However, any violations of the settlement order could work against NIPSCO in deciding any future rate hikes or rate adjustments sought from the IURC, LaPorte County attorney Shaw Friedman said.

"We got to hold their feet to the fire, and that's what the county commissioners have been doing for years," Friedman said.

LaPorte County was part of the electric rate increase settlement negotiations because of documents it submitted to the IURC to intervene in the case.

As part of the settlement, NIPSCO was ordered to develop a report on how it plans to improve performance and meet with stakeholders to discuss how to proceed with the strategy.

Specifically, LaPorte County was asking NIPSCO to contact utility companies at the top of the J. D. Power Customer Service rankings to find out how they're achieving strong results in customer satisfaction.

That's not happening or at least to the degree that it should, Friedman.

"Simply continuing to talk to themselves and comparing notes does nothing to improve those customer service rankings," said Friedman.

NIPSCO for years has been at or near the bottom of the annual J.D. Power rankings in terms of customer satisfaction for utilities of similar size in the Midwest.

The utility is fourth from the bottom in the rankings for 2016.

"The idea is to get NIPSCO to start learning from its peers in the industry who do things well," Friedman said.

NIPSCO spokesman Nick Meyer said the current J.D. Power ranking is the highest ever for the utility because of steps developed in recent years.

He also said strategies for improving customer service and where service has already improved in areas like reliability and billing have been submitted to the IURC as part of its obligation under the settlement.

Meyer said input is sought on a regular basis from other utilities, including those from outside the state, and a recent change to make billing easier for customers directly resulted from feedback sought "from our peers and top performers in the industry," Meyer said.

Another service enhancement in the works involves better access to information on when during an outage to expect power to be restored, he said.

"All of that comes from very active conversations with neighboring utilities as well as best practice utilities," Meyer said.

Meyer said efforts to keep improving service will continue long term.

"We're proud of the work we've done. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. Customer satisfaction for us is a continuous journey," Meyer said.
GARY  The Indiana State Fire Marshal is investigating after three young children who were unable to escape a second-story apartment blaze late Friday night died in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve.

The Lake County Metro Homicide Unit is focusing on the circumstances surrounding the deaths, said Mark Back, spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators are exploring the possibility of arson, but Mark Jones, spokesman for the Gary Fire Department, said it's too early into the investigation to tell.

"There's always the possibility of arson but we can't call it arson at this point. That may change," Jones said.

Back said Saturday he could not release any further details about the ongoing investigation, including any suspects at this point.

Two of the children were found in a second-floor bedroom, and a third child was found at the top of a stairwell, according to Gary fire officials. Firefighters discovered the bodies shortly after arriving at 11:25 p.m. at the Oak Knoll Renaissance Apartments in the 4400 block of West 23rd Court.

The Lake County coroner's office has released names of two of the three young children. Alaya Pickens, 4, and Jayden Mitchell, 5, were pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m. Saturday.

A 2-year-old girl, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. Saturday, according to the coroner's office. Cause and manner of death are pending for all three children.

Jones said the mother and father were reportedly transported to an area hospital with injuries. Jones said it's unclear how the two escaped the flames.

One person suffered burns, according to Gary police Lt. Dawn Westerfield.

Westerfield said the investigation remains in the preliminary stages and no determinations have been made.

Indiana State Fire Marshal James Greeson, with the state's Department of Homeland Securitys Division of Fire and Building Safety, could not be reached for comment Saturday. The division investigates suspicious fires, according to its website.

Its sad

A makeshift memorial of stuffed animals grew Christmas Eve morning adjacent to where investigators sectioned off a large area near the charred apartment unit with bright yellow crime scene tape.

"It's the day before Christmas. It's sad," said Sylvester Walters, of Gary, who moments earlier placed three teddy bears at the base of a tree near the scene.

Earlier, Marla King, of Gary, dropped off a stuffed animal and shook her head, looking up at the apartment building.

"What this family needs right now is prayers," King said.

By 9:15 a.m., the windows of the apartment unit had been boarded up to secure the scene for further investigation.

Gary police and fire departments, the Indiana State Fire Marshal and the Lake Metro Homicide Unit are involved in the investigation, according to the Lake County coroner's news release.

Check back later for updates.
GARY  In an acrimonious meeting where the School Board narrowly voted to retain Gary Community School Corp. Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt for an additional two years, it also agreed to close two schools and eliminate the New Tech program.

The board voted to maintain the old Lincoln Elementary School building as the school administrative offices over the recommendation of the superintendent who said her office was really "too big," and administrators were not using all of the space in that building.

Pruitt's contract will now extend to June 30, 2019. Her salary will remain $136,000 each year for the next two years. There was some objection to retaining Pruitt from residents during a public hearing on Dec. 12, but outgoing School Board President Antuwan Clemons maintained the board had to act before Dec. 31 by law. It voted 4 to 3.

The district continues to wrestle with nearly $100 million in debt, and at times has not been able to make payroll. It is working with the state's Distressed Unit Appeals Board, and the state hired a financial consultant to assist with reducing the deficit and putting the district on the right path. Over the last five years, the district also has closed several schools and reduced the number of staff to reduce the deficit.

There was some talk Friday that the School Board will appeal to DUAB to approve an application for another $10 million to $15 million interest-free loan from the state common school fund to pay down its debt.

Once Pruitt's contract was resolved, the superintendent recommended closing the Williams Annex building, formerly the Dunbar-Pulaski Middle School at 920 E. 19th Ave., immediately. A new boiler, which cost $350,000, recently was installed in the school. However, the boiler caught on fire earlier this week and was destroyed.

"That building will be closed immediately. The other buildings will remain open until the end of school in June," Pruitt said.

She proposed eliminating the New Tech program housed at the Gary Area Career Center and transferring those students to the West Side Leadership Academy; closing Jefferson Elementary School, 601 Jackson St.; closing the Watson Boys Academy, 2065 Mississippi St.; and the school administration center housed in the former Lincoln Elementary School building at 1988 Polk St.

Pruitt said that would save the district nearly $7.4 million. She said the buildings would be put up for sale along with 21 other closed district buildings.

Closing Jefferson and the school service center caused considerable discussion and debate among board members and residents. The board previously had voted to close Watson but still had been using the building. That building will close and the board did not have to take another vote on it.

While Pruitt recommended administrators move into space at Gary Roosevelt College and Career Academy, the School Board rejected that plan, choosing to keep administrators at Lincoln.

Board member Nellie Moore said she sees the need for the recommendations to close schools, but there is no vision or plan. She said it just shows placing students in other buildings, some of which are not designed for that age group. Moore pointed out that the state-hired financial consultant was not present at the meeting.

Concerned resident Norma Carey asked how did it get to this point? "Do we want to keep a school system in Gary, Indiana? I can't imagine you really want to eliminate it. Develop a real vision. Where are you really going here? Educate the public so we can get behind you," she said.

Gary resident Jim Nowicki said the Gary school system is going to collapse because there is no vision.
* Some would say the years following World War II were the best of times in the United States.

GIs came home, got jobs, raised families. The Greatest Generation was settling down into a calm, peaceful life.

But it also was a time filled with fear, dread and hate.

The years were mixed with threats of the atomic bomb, of children learning to hide under their desks, of missile bases being constructed in farm fields and the scare of the "Red Menace."

The Cold War

Even before the end of WWII, the U.S. and its allies grew concerned about the growing power of communist Russia. While fighting together to defeat the Axis powers, Western allies feared Russia would spread its communist philosophy across Eastern Europe and the rest of the world.

The concerns were confirmed early in 1945 when, at the Yalta Conference, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met to divide Europe when the war ended. The Soviet Union would be given control of Eastern Europe.

As the end of the war neared and soon after, other events confirmed the division of the former allies. Churchill coined the phrase "iron curtain" in March 1946. Truman issued what is known as the Truman Doctrine in early 1947, confirming the U.S. would back any anti-communist regime or movement and work to prevent the spread of communism.

Both the Republican and Democratic parties agreed on the dictate, said Greg Johnson, associate professor of political science and international relations at Valparaiso University. Both parties believed in the domino theory and the need for containment, he said. There was a strong anti-communist bent in both parties, and both parties backed a strong military.

While the U.S. and Soviet Union didn't confront each other militarily, they fought over the spread of communism across the world. The Korean and Vietnam wars were basically fought to prevent the spread of communism as well as confrontations in the Middle East and Latin America, Johnson said.

"We had seen what happened during WWII. Enough Americans saw the destruction of the war, of the dropping of the nuclear bombs. People were terrified, particularly in the run-up to the Cuban missile crisis," Johnson said.

It was after the Cuban missile crisis and the ramp up to the Vietnam War that fears at home subsided, Johnson said.

"Over time, the longer the two sides don't fight, the probability of conflict goes down. They knew to attack would be suicide," Johnson said.

Still, the Cold War left its mark on the Region.

Nike bases

Herb Craig said being stationed at a Nike base in the early 1960s was a mix of numbing boredom and hyper-intense situations.

Craig, of Ogden Dunes, was stationed at the Nike base in Munster from 1962 to 1965.

The bases, Craig said, were the last line of defense in case of a nuclear strike.

The Munster base was one of five in Northwest Indiana and one of 23 that encircled the Chicago region built in the 1950s and deactivated in 1972. Two were in Gary, one at about 36th and Grant Street and the other at the Gary airport. One was in Portage Township (now privately owned and operated as Blast Camp), and the fifth was in Porter, with half of the site now serving as headquarters for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

The park headquarters offices were the barracks, said Cliff Goins, a National Park Service ranger who has presented programs on the Nike bases. The ranger's station on Mineral Springs Road housed the command center.

The launch site, which was about a mile away, is on Waverly Road and recently was purchased by a private party, Goins said.

Goins calls the 23 bases the "Chicago Ring of Fire," set to protect not only the city, but also highly industrialized Northwest Indiana during the Cold War.

Craig said the Munster base contained one 30-kiloton bomb, five 20-kiloton bombs and six 3-kiloton bombs. His job was acquisition radar operator  watching blips on a screen and deciphering who was friend and who was foe.

Craig said while on duty, those stationed at the bases trained, prepared and drilled for the "just in case" scenario of Russia launching a nuclear weapon.

"People stationed there wanted to go to Vietnam so they could shoot back," Craig said of the sometimes tedious tasks they performed.

However, without a second's notice, sometime in the night, a drill would be called, and it would be all hands on station.

The defense-readiness condition, or DEFCON, was usually at a 5, the lowest level, he said. It was only during the Cuban missile crisis that it was bumped up to DEFCON 3 (with 1 being the highest level).

Local un-American activities

While the committee was formed in 1938 and dates back to legislation as early as 1919, the House Committee on Un-American Activities was at its height during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Most people are familiar with the committee under the rule of Joseph McCarthy and investigations into Hollywood celebrities and the famed "Hollywood Blacklist," but the committee also operated locally, and one woman was jailed for her radical involvement.

"House on Un-American Activities hearings took place in Gary, targeting labor leaders," said local historian and author James Lane.

The local hearings were held in classrooms in Gary, carried on the radio and highly publicized, he said.

One woman was caught in the middle and landed in jail for nearly a year because of her alleged membership in the Communist Party.

Katherine Hyndman migrated from Yugoslavia with her family at age 5. Growing up in Chicago, she became involved in protests and was arrested during a demonstration against the Korean War, Lane said. Because of that arrest record, she could not become an American citizen.

A judge was quoted in a Jan. 9, 1949, Times article saying Hyndman "holds a position of some importance in the Lake County unit of the Communist party."

Hyndman moved to Gary and was an organizer for the International Workers Order and active in Russian war relief. She also married a steelworker.

The law at the time allowed the deportation of alien radicals. The committee attempted to deport Hyndman back to Yugoslavia. She spent 10 months in jail in Crown Point until committee members gave up. It seemed Yugoslav Prime Minister Josip Tito didn't want radicals in his country either, Lane said.

Hyndman wasn't the only local resident charged with being a Communist.

The 1949 Times article also said a James MacKay, of Gary, was taken into custody 10 months earlier because of his Communist affiliation and had been released pending his deportation hearing. MacKay had migrated from Canada.

Tattooing blood types

Jeanne Kasarda, of Portage, only remembers standing in line with other classmates, and boys teasing the girls about how much it was going to hurt. She was likely a junior at Gary's Lew Wallace High School.

Chuck Koselko was an elementary student at St. James the Baptist School in Whiting. His recollections are about the same as Kasarda's.

Koselko and Kasarda, along with thousands of other schoolchildren and hundreds of adults, were part of a blood type-tattooing program during the Cold War.

"I went in the room; they pricked my finger and then tattooed my blood type on my left side," Koselko said.

"I remember it was a big ordeal, but they didn't tell us anything," Kasarda said.

"Tat-Typed" or "Tat-Typing" was the process of getting a persons blood type, then having it tattooed on their body. The project was undertaken in Lake County by the TB Association and Lake County Medical Association.

The children and adults were blood-typed and tattooed "just in case" the Russians dropped the atomic bomb in the highly industrialized Region or Chicago. Medical personnel wouldn't have to await getting a person's blood type if there were an emergency.

A news story in the Aug. 26, 1951, edition of The Times encouraged tat-typing:

"Every man, woman and child in this highly industrialized area should know their blood types," said Dr. F.A. Mussacchio, a city health commissioner, who pointed out every healthy adult is considered a potential donor following an atomic attack.

"There were 48,833 blood types taken during the May 7, 1951 to May 1, 1954, time frame," said Bill Machacek, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has researched the blood typing and tattooing program for eight years.

"The American Maize-Products company of Hammond had the blood typing and X-ray units at their plant in July of 1951 and thus were the first to take advantage of the blood-typing program. No tattooing was done here (at the company), though. A number of civic organizations requested the blood typing/tattooing team to visit them at one of their meetings to have their members typed and tattooed," Machacek said. Inland Steel Co. was the first company to sign up for inclusion in the typing and tattooing program.

Adults who participated were considered part of the "Walking Blood Bank." The tattoos themselves often were referred to as "atomic tattoos."

The program eventually died because of a lack of interest by the public after three years, he said, adding his research also indicated that medical personnel didn't readily accept the tattoos as being accurate and usually would run their own blood tests.

The end

While the 1950s and 1960s saw a strong growth in communist power  both on land by quelling rebellions and spreading the doctrine, and in outer space as the Soviet Union beat the U.S. in the race into space  by the 1980s it was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union.

"By the 1980s the Soviet system had basically bankrupted itself," Johnson said.

"The state-directed economy couldn't keep up with the technological advances by the U.S. and the West. The Afghanistan war essentially ended the Soviet Union."

Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., remembers those times vividly.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan sent 15 U.S. senators to Geneva, Switzerland, to have arms talks with the Soviets, Lugar recently recalled. Another of the senators was Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat.

"Sam and I went over to the Russian consulate. We struck up some friendships. We gained a pretty good idea the collapse of the Soviet Union was imminent," Lugar said.

In fall 1991, Lugar and Nunn were in Lugar's office with some of those Russian friends.

"The Russian looked at us and said we were going to be in terrible trouble. He said the guards are deserting because they aren't getting paid and there could be accidents. We said, 'What do you want from us?' " Lugar said.

The conversation led to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction legislation. The U.S. gave the Soviet Union $400 million and technical assistance to help disarm the country.

The Nunn-Lugar Act, which was drafted as an amendment to an appropriations bill, was signed by President George H.W. Bush on Dec. 12, 1991.

Thirteen days later, Mikhail Gorbachev signed the paperwork dissolving the Soviet Union.

"It took a great deal of time after the collapse for arms control. The Russians were bankrupt. That didn't change until the oil money built their treasury," Lugar said. The U.S. also struck a deal with Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan to reduce or eliminate nuclear weapons.

Lugar said the legislation was a "remarkable success."

"Some 7,800 nuclear warheads that were aimed at our military and cities were destroyed," he said. The Nunn-Lugar Act expired in 2012.

* This story has been changed.
- By Shuda Xia





GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), Diageo PLC (DEO), Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) and National Grid PLC (NGG) have reached their three-year low prices.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) reached $38.35

The prices of GlaxoSmithKline shares have declined to $38.35, which is only 3% above the three-year low of $37.20.





GlaxoSmithKline is a British pharmaceutical company. It is the world's sixth largest pharmaceutical company as of 2015. The company's drugs and vaccines earned over ?21.3 billion in 2013, and its top-selling products included Advair, Avodart, Flovent and Lamictal.

GlaxoSmithKline has a market cap of $93.43 billion; its shares were traded around $38.35 with a P/E ratio of 253.08 and P/S ratio of 2.78. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of GlaxoSmithKline stocks is 5.44%. The forward dividend yield of GlaxoSmithKline stocks is 4.85%. GlaxoSmithKline had an annual average earnings growth of 1.70% over the past 10 years.

In August, GSK announced that it was working on an experimental HIV drug. Now, the company has announced that the drug could be just as effective as existing drugs for HIV patients, but without the risk of toxic side effects. The drug, dolutegravir, is sold under the brand name Trivicay and may be as potent as more conventional three drug cocktails for treating HIV.

Diageo PLC (DEO) reached $103.39

The prices of Diageo shares have declined to $103.39, which is only 3.8% above the three-year low of $99.46.

Diageo is a British based international alcoholic beverages company. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer. The company's brands include Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Guiness. The company sells its products in over 180 countries and has offices based in over 80 countries.

Diageo has a market cap of $71.19 billion; its shares were traded around $103.39 with a P/E ratio of 22.96 and P/S ratio of 4.96. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Diageo stocks is 3.01%. The forward dividend yield of Diageo stocks is 3.57%. Diageo had an annual average earnings growth of 6.10% over the past 10 years.

Story continues

Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) reached $24.65

The prices of Vodafone Group shares have declined to $24.65, which is only 1.9% above the three-year low of $24.17.

Vodafone Group is a British based international telecommunications company. It was ranked fifth by revenue among mobile operator groups globally, and second in the number of connections. Vodafone operates networks in 26 countries and has partner networks in over 50 other countries.

Vodafone Group has a market cap of $65.47 billion; its shares were traded around $24.65 with and P/S ratio of 1.32. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Vodafone Group stocks is 6.18%. The forward dividend yield of Vodafone Group stocks is 6.18%.

Vodafone Group has revenue of ?40.97 billion, operating income of ?1.37 billion, losses of ?4.02 billion and total assets of ?133.7 billion. The total equity of the company is ?65.88 billion and it has 107,667 employees.

National Grid PLC (NGG) reached $58.20

The prices of National Grid shares have declined to $58.20, which is only 2.9% above the three-year low of $56.50.

National Grid is a British international electricity and gas utility company. Its main activities are in the U.K. and northeastern U.S. The company had a market capitalization of ?40.4 billion in 2016.

National Grid has a market cap of $45.68 billion; its shares were traded around $58.20 with a P/E ratio of 17.16 and P/S ratio of 2.32. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of National Grid stocks is 5.13%. The forward dividend yield of National Grid stocks is 5.16%.

National Grid announced on Dec. 8 that it has entered into an agreement to sell a 61% equity interest in its U.K. gas distribution business to an association of long-term infrastructure investors. The consortium includes Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, Allianz Capital Partners, Hermes Investment Management, CIC Capital Corporation and Qatar Investment Authority.

Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in the article.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






CHICAGO  Chicago's Office of Inspector General recommended firing two chief police detectives along with rank-and-file officers who are accused of providing false accounts of the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer, according to a report published Friday based on newly released documents.

Instead, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson  who was promoted when Garry McCarthy was fired from the top police job after the release of a video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald  terminated only lower-ranking officers, the Chicago Tribune reported (http://trib.in/2hYsGbp ).

Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy was allowed to step down as he neared the mandatory retirement age and the highest-ranking officer at the scene of the McDonald shooting, Deputy Chief David McNaughton, also retired.

The newspaper reported that officials met in the days following the 2014 shooting, viewed the video and approved reports, even though the reports conflicted with footage showing McDonald veering away from officers as he was shot 16 times.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson's office recommended firing 11 police officers, including Roy, who supervised the department's investigation into McDonald's shooting. The inspector general found that Roy was "incompetent in the performance of his duties." The inspector general recommended on Aug. 17 that Johnson fire Roy, but Roy retired Sept. 15, according to department records.

Johnson referred questions to a police department spokesman who wouldn't discuss details of the report.

Officer Jason Van Dyke faces a first-degree murder charge in McDonald's death. Van Dyke's attorney, Daniel Herbert, told the newspaper that the inspector general's documents show Johnson was unwilling to hold command officers responsible.

McDonald's death prompted a probe of Chicago police practices by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which is expected to wrap up in the first months of next year.

Van Dyke is the first Chicago officer in nearly 35 years to be charged with first-degree murder for an on-duty fatality. A grand jury is deciding whether to indict other officers at the scene, who were fired for allegedly lying in their reports.

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com
HAMMOND  City officials have sent out a signal they are serious when it comes to creating a safe path for bicyclists and pedestrians traveling its trail network.

City officials recently installed and activated a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) Beacon Signal for pedestrians and bicyclists using its multipurpose trail system. The signal, near Maywood School, is designed to improve safety for users of the Erie-Lackawanna Trail at 165th Street and Howard Avenue.

In the coming year, the city hopes to begin construction on a bridge for trail users at Wolf Lake. The Wolf Lake Memorial Park pedestrian bridge will cross Calumet Avenue, just north of Sheffield Avenue. City Engineer Dean Button said the cost estimates for the new bridge are not ready yet, but believes it will be in excess of $2 million.

Bidding for the new bridge at the George Lake Trail would probably take place in May, Button said.

"Our plan is to start construction in August and to be completed for people to use in July of 2018," he said.

Funding for the bridge would be provided by the Hammond Port Authority.

Another bridge that could eclipse the $2 million mark is one Button said could open over Calumet Avenue at Conkey Street in 2020.

The bridge would serve people using the Erie-Lackawanna Trail and be similar to other bridges installed along the trail crossing Columbia Avenue and at 167th Street. Funding for the bridge would come primarily from the Indiana Department of Transportation, Button said.

The HAWK signal activated earlier this month will light up when a pedestrian depresses a push button, according to city officials, who said it is the first of its kind in Northwest Indiana.

"We've been looking for a solution to improved trail use at the crossing over the past two years," Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr. said in a release about the new signal. "We found a great working solution to the crosswalk and had our City Engineer Dean Button put this plan into action."

Described as a cross between a railroad crossing signal and traffic signal, the HAWK signal will flash yellow then full red once the push button is depressed.

City funds were used to pay for the $42,000 project. City officials hope to obtain funding through the Highway Safety Improvement Program for the future installation of HAWK signals along the Grand Marquette Trail at 150th Street near Walnut Avenue and along the Erie-Lackawanna Trail at Douglas Street and Lyman Avenue and at 175th Street near Northcote Avenue.
The Michigan City Education Foundation awarded several small grants to teachers for innovative approaches in the classroom for the 2016-17 school year.

The recipients teach in grades kindergarten through eighth in Michigan City area public and parochial schools. A total of 38 grants were awarded for $11,479, benefiting 10 Schools, 49 Teachers and 3,281 Students. The impact will continue in future years as many of the grants funded items that can be used with classes on an ongoing basis.

The Michigan City Education Foundation (MCEF), a component fund of the Unity Foundation of La Porte County, was formed in 1994 to encourage and recognize outstanding teacher projects. Three groups came together - the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. and Mrs. Burton Ruby, and Mary Lou Linnen. Each contributed funds to create a permanent endowment of more than $150,000.

Earnings from this fund are used to make grants to teachers for generations to come. Since its inception more than 20 years ago, the endowment has awarded more than $224,000 to benefit approximately 34,000 students  illustrating the great value over time of creating such permanent funding streams.

Anyone can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Michigan City Education Foundation Fund. For more information call the Unity Foundation at (219) 879-0327, or email unity@uflc.net.

This years recipients include the following:

Barker Middle School

Tim Blekeney & Kathleen Gushrowski, Measuring Up, $342.31

Kathleen Gushrowski, Math is a Cake Walk, $128.66

Valerie Mecklenburg , Cell Growth: Identifying Normal & Abnormal Cell Growth, $286.16

Mariah Pol, Historical Explorers Club, $350

Kelly Tokoly-Rothermel, 21st Century Color, $343.44

Krueger Middle School

Shirley Allen, Men sing Out!, $350

Janine Peo, East Asian Immersion the Krueger Way, $347.57

Kathryn Triemstra, Old School Gaming, $269.11

Edgewood Elementary School

Courtney Barber, Seeing Yourself While Reading, $300

Teresa Pavloff, Dream Big Arts and Drama, $350

Sheri Tuesburg & Michelle Sickles, Third Grade Biography Wax Museum and Ambitious Authors, $350

Joy Elementary School

Lauren Stacks, iPads for 5th, $288.89

Samantha White, Amy Bartels & Andrew Dudeck, Family Fun Night, $350

Lake Hills STEM Magnet School

Candace Archer, Instrument Suppliments, $138.90

Kelley Gertner, Early Engineers, $338.92

Diane Grams, Learning Conflict Resolution Through Art, $349.42

Renee Hall, Reaching the Second Step, $350

Erin Lozano, Sizzling Science, $162.23

Janis Mitchell & DeAnna Munoz, Creating Confident Citizens, $350

DeAnna Munoz & Janis Mitchell, Cookies and Canvas, $350

Sheri Wagner, Lap Pad Learning, $350

Penny Will, Cookies and Canvas, $350

Marsh Elementary School

Alisa Carlson, Growth Minded, $341.66

Susan Shell, All Hands on Deck!, $350

Pine Magnet School for the Performing and Visual Arts

Holy Beadles, Gluing Magic, $282.43

Julie Schmidt, Holly Beadles, Samantha Lakin & Samantha Kubik, Acceptance Through Ugly Dolls, $189

Elizabeth Schreeg, Tuning Up with Tablets, $267.25

Notre Dame Catholic School

Trish Baczkiewicz, Joe Bobillo, Joanna Cate & Sandy Purcell, Brain Pop, $220

Kathlene Bobillo & Natasha Magnuson, Chickens Go To School, $350

Barbara Brandon & Jennifer Scriba, Boom and Ring, Then Let's Sing, $279

Natasha Magnuson, Here Birdie Birdie, $350

Angela Ruiz & Nancy Donoghue, Math for Fast Finishers, $65.08

Queen of All Saints Catholic School

Laura Bennett, Giant Indiana Map, $350

Andi Haas, Saints Among Us, $350

Stephanie Kush, Challenger Learning Center Field Trip, $350

Carla Neary, The "Wonder" Effect, $350

St. Paul Lutheran School

Lexa Allison, Sight Word Scramble, $239.12

Melissa Bushnell, STEAM Science Innovation, $350
MICHIGAN CITY  Franciscan Health is coming to the rescue for a new ambulance base for Michigan City to be erected at the hospital being built along Interstate 94.

A 1-acre parcel at the site along with $500,000 toward construction of the building, has been put on the table by Dean Mazzoni, president and CEO for the medical provider.

"We recognize the great partnership and the work that we've done together and the benefit to the community, and we look forward to continuing that relationship," Mazzoni said during Wednesday night's LaPorte County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The offer comes several months after he first spoke to officials with LaPorte County Emergency Medical Services about the needs of the current facility on Michigan City's north end and interest in relocating to the grounds of the new hospital.

Commissioner Dr. Vidya Kora, who has a family medical practice in Michigan City, said an ambulance base at any hospital has definite advantages, especially in the area of patient care.

Emergencies are handled smoother from improved preparation and planning that comes from medics always being readily available to communicate with emergency room staff, he said.

"Coordination is better, and they work together as one team," Kora said.

Another major benefit would be to get out of a facility in an old fire station that's in decline and more than a mile away from the existing hospital.

"It's deplorable, and how much money do we put into it?" asked Board of Commissioners President Dave Decker.

With completion of the hospital not expected until fall 2018, no action was taken on the offer, but the board anticipates a decision toward the middle of next year.

He said it's possible the donation could cover the whole expense, depending on size and other needs to be gathered from EMS in the coming months, Kora said.

The new 440,000-square-foot hospital containing 108 inpatient beds is projected to cost more than $220 million.

It will be smaller than the present 150-bed facility, but will have more space for outpatient care to reflect a growing trend in the industry from advancements in the medical field and other areas like wellness, hospital officials said.

The existing hospital at 301 W. Homer St. will become an inpatient facility for behavioral health and rehabilitation services with 34 beds.
Charges have been dismissed against a man who turned himself in Friday in connection with the fatal hit-and-run of a local radio DJ.

Law enforcement sources told NY1 that police have dropped charges against Kevin Ozoria, 27, after he was arrested Friday in connection to the death of Jean Guerrero.

The decision was made because there was no evidence that Ozoria was actually behind the wheel during the crash.

Sources said witnesses had described a woman as leaving the driver's side immediately after the incident.

The 39-year-old Guerrero was hit and killed by a car in Brooklyn early Monday morning.

He was known as DJ Jinx Paul and worked at La Mega 97.9 FM.

Friday, mourners gathered at the RG Ortiz Funeral Home in Washington Heights to pay their last respects.

Guerrero's body will be flown to his home country of Ecuador for burial.
Carl Paladino, a top Donald Trump ally and former New York gubernatorial candidate, is facing an uproar over remarks he made about the Obamas that have been widely denounced as racist.

Paladino is an upstate businessman from Buffalo who, in many respects, led Trump's campaign efforts in his home state of New York. And he has remained close to the Queens native, meeting with him at Trump Tower earlier this month.

It is because of that relationship that Paladino's racially charged remarks to a weekly newspaper in Western New York are causing such an uproar.

When asked by Artvoice, an alt-weekly newspaper in Western New York, what he would most like to happen in 2017, Paladino used graphic language.

"Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford. He dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret (sic), who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her," Paladino emailed to Artvoice.

Then, Paladino was asked what he would like to see go away in 2017.

"Michelle Obama," Paladino said. "I'd like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."

Paladino does not deny saying any of this and issued a lengthy statement.

"It has nothing to do with race. That's the typical stance of the press when they can't otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked," Paladino's statement read in part. "It's about 2 progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years."

Paladino then goes on about how much he despises the Obamas and how they are terrible people.

At the end, Paladino seems to refer to his comments as a "little deprecating humor."

He finished his statement by saying "Merry Christmas and tough luck if you don't like my answer."

Paladino also spoke to NY1's sister station, Time Warner Cable News Buffalo, about his remarks. He defended them, and said he is not a racist.

"That's what people say not having any other defense for the issue at hand. I hear it constantly. I'm a racist for pleading for 33,000 kids we have in our municipal school system and trying to do something right for them?" Paladino said. "So don't go accusing me of being a racist because I'm about as far from that as possible and that's why I feel I can say these things that I say."

Paladino is a member of Buffalo school board, which is what he was referring to when talking about advocating for children. He faced immediate calls for his resignation.

At the time of the interview, the Trump transition team had not yet weighed in on Paladino's remarks. Paladino said he expected that they would not make a big deal about it. He said he was sure that Trump is going to say "thats Carl being Carl."

However, in a statement, Trump's team denounced the remarks.

"Carl's comments are absolutely reprehensible and they serve no place in our public discourse," said Jessica Ditto, a spokeswoman for Trump.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo weighed in in a statement, saying Paladino has a "ongoing history of racist and incendiary remarks." Cuomo said New Yorkers know not to take Paladino seriously, but that his words are still quite jarring.
Editors note: Were resurfacing this story from the archives to help you train your mind.

MEDITATION and mindfulness: the words conjure images of yoga retreats and Buddhist monks. But perhaps they should evoke a very different picture: a man in a deerstalker, puffing away at a curved pipe, Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself. The worlds greatest fictional detective is someone who knows the value of concentration, of throwing his brain out of action, as Dr. Watson puts it. He is the quintessential unitasker in a multitasking world.

More often than not, when a new case is presented, Holmes does nothing more than sit back in his leather chair, close his eyes and put together his long-fingered hands in an attitude that begs silence. He may be the most inactive active detective out there. His approach to thought captures the very thing that cognitive psychologists mean when they say mindfulness.

Though the concept originates in ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Chinese traditions, when it comes to experimental psychology, mindfulness is less about spirituality and more about concentration: the ability to quiet your mind, focus your attention on the present, and dismiss any distractions that come your way. The formulation dates from the work of the psychologist Ellen Langer, who demonstrated in the 1970s that mindful thought could lead to improvements on measures of cognitive function and even vital functions in older adults.

Now were learning that the benefits may reach further still, and be more attainable, than Professor Langer could have then imagined. Even in small doses, mindfulness can effect impressive changes in how we feel and think  and it does so at a basic neural level.
SADKI-STROYEVKA, Ukraine  A cold wind whips through the streets. Vehicles that enter must drive through a foot-deep, moatlike bath of disinfectant, lest their tires track in disease. Computers raise and lower the levels of light to match circadian rhythms.

The scene is one of emptiness. One in four buildings is deserted. Fewer delivery trucks arrive than in years past.

As in much of Ukraine, hard times have befallen the Slovyany farm and its million or so inhabitants  all of them chickens.

We could be a player, and not a small one, said a forlorn Oleg Bakhmatyuk, the owner of Avangard, Ukraines biggest egg producer. We could be a major supplier.
More than five months after a mysterious substance exploded in Central Park, blowing off the lower part of a 19-year-old mans left leg, many questions about the episode persist.

Law enforcement officials continue to believe the blast may have been the result of an amateurs experiment with homemade explosives. But they have yet to determine why the explosive was in the park or to identify a suspect or make an arrest.

On Friday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is investigating the explosion along with the New York Police Department, said it would offer a $12,500 reward for information that led to a suspect, bringing the total amount of reward money being offered by law enforcement agencies in connection with the blast to $25,000.

The authorities also asked for anyone to come forward who might have taken photographs or videos near the explosion site, around the entrance to the park at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, in the days before the blast.
waymo car

When it comes to self-driving cars, an old adage still holds true: it's quality, not quantity.

Google has been developing its cars since 2009 and one of its favorite stats to share about the project is that its self-driving cars have driven over 2 million miles. Google, which spun out its self-driving car unit into an independent company called Waymo last week, wrote on the Waymo website that the cars now have "the equivalent of over 300 years of human driving experience, largely on city steets."

That kind of mileage shouldn't be taken lightly  Google's cars are extraordinarily perceptive and can recognize objects that can be difficult for self-driving cars to see, like bicycles.

But at a time where Google is feeling growing pressure from competitors like Uber and Tesla, the tech giant has yet to test its self-driving cars in cold weather or snowy conditions. As anyone hailing from the East Coast or Midwest can attest, driving in snow is a required skill.

Snow and its challenges

snow road

Snow poses a particular set of challenges for self-driving cars because it can confuse the systems they rely on to get around, like cameras and lidar, a sensor that uses lasers to map the car's surroundings so it can "see" the world.

When there's snow on the ground, cameras and lidar have a difficult time seeing lane markers, which cars rely on to prevent lane drift and navigate safely. Snow can also make it more difficult to detect unexpected obstacles.

"Heavy snow and rain tend to confuse lidar sensors and also cameras," John Dolan, principle systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, previously told Business Insider. "So you end up having some problems."

Automakers and startups investing in self-driving cars have generally been forthcoming about the challenges posed by snow fall and how they are planning to address them.

Last January, Ford successfully tested one of its self-driving cars in the snow for the first time.

Story continues

"Its one thing for a car to drive itself in perfect weather, its quite another to do so when the cars sensors cant see the road because its covered in snow," Jim McBride, Ford technical leader for autonomous vehicles, said at the time.

"Weather isnt perfect, and thats why were testing autonomous vehicles in wintry conditions  for the roughly 70% of U.S. residents who live in snowy regions," he continued.

Ford still has a long way to go to prepare for real snow conditions  the test didn't occur on public roads, but on its MCity testing site in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But considering Ford already has a campus in a state that frequently endures snow, it's better positioned than others primarily testing in states like California and Nevada.

General Motors announced last week that it will begin testing its self-driving cars in Michigan as its primary cold weather testing site. Michigan became the first state to pass regulations for the testing, use, and eventual sale of self-driving cars in early December, giving GM the chance to test near its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan, GM CEO Mary Barra said at the time.

Barra has been vocal about the importance of testing in a variety of conditions, rather than focusing on the actual mile count.

"A lot of the conversation has been about, 'Oh, we have this many miles,' but it's not as much about the miles as it is about the experiences that the car learns," she told Business Insider's Cadie Thompson.

Even Uber has said it's preparing its cars for extreme weather conditions in Pittsburgh, the location of its first pilot program that was launched in September.

But Google has yet to make any announcement about testing in cold weather and snow.

Google and the competition

John Krafcik google hyundai

Google currently tests its cars in Mountain View, California; Metro Phoneix, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and Kirkland, Washington.

In Google's defense, those testing sites do allow the cars to get unique driving experiences that others may be lacking. For example, Google wrote in its August monthly report that testing in Arizona allows the cars to get accustomed to dusty conditions and extreme temperatures.

Google has also noted that its Washington test site gives the cars some experience driving in heavy rain.

But Google has yet to pick a location to prepare the cars for snow, ice, and extremely cold temperature. John Krafcik, CEO of Google's Waymo, said in a July Bloomberg interview that "serious snow testing" is still to come.

Google did not return Business Insider's request for comment.

All of this is to say that even though Google got a head start by launching its self-driving car project in 2009, it still has a lot of testing to accomplish before its cars are ready for the majority of the United States.

That's not to say Ford, GM, or Uber don't have their work cut out for them, but GM and Uber started their self-driving car projects much later. (Uber was founded the same year Google launched its self-driving car project!) Ford, which begun its autonomous research program in 2005, is now testing in cold weather in addition to Arizona and San Francisco.

Google made a significant stride by spinning out its self-driving car unit into Waymo, but it still has yet to announce how it plans to get its self-driving tech to consumers. In the meantime, Google best prepare for snow.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

NOW WATCH: We got a ride in a self-driving Uber  here's what it was like





More From Business Insider


City officials have asked the federal government to reimburse the cost of providing security for Mr. Trump, which they said would reach $35 million by the time of his inauguration on Jan. 20. So far, federal officials have set aside $7 million for such expenses.

The constant changing of the guard may prevent policing from suffering in other parts of the city, but it does present complications: Workers collecting garbage from Uncle Jacks Steakhouse, on 56th Street, have been let through by officers on some days, but turned away by different officers on other days, said Robert Smith, the director of operations for the restaurant. Restaurant workers regularly have to fetch customers who have been stopped by officers at Fifth Avenue.

We go out and find the gold shields and beg them to let people in, Mr. Smith said, adding that business has fallen 20 percent in what is usually his busiest season, forcing him to reduce shifts for workers.

Last month, David Chang, the celebrated chef-owner of the Momofuku group of restaurants who has several establishments in the area, vented his frustration on Twitter, saying the situation was killing foot traffic. In a following tweet, he added: Make 56th Street Great Again. A spokeswoman for Mr. Changs restaurants declined to provide details about how severely business had been affected. Mr. Chang, she said, was too busy to speak about the issue.

Staff members from the citys Department of Small Business Services met on Thursday with members of the Police Department to discuss new measures for the area. Among those measures were making sure all officers assigned to Trump Tower are familiar with security protocols, including what kind of vehicles are allowed to pass through security barriers, and replacing some of the larger barricades that might intimidate shoppers.

This is all temporary, Sgt. Arthur Smarsch of the Police Department said after the meeting as he stood on 56th Street on Thursday, near Fifth Avenue where barricades blocked traffic from proceeding east. Just for the next four years.
Captain Rahmani was 10 years old when the United States toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001. As the Bush administration set out to rebuild a country scarred by war, it made promoting womens rights a priority, a bold undertaking in a deeply conservative nation where women had been barred from schools and the work force.

During her teenage years, Captain Rahmani was inspired by Americas goal of emancipating Afghan women. When she was 18, with the support of her parents, she eagerly enlisted in her countrys air force. It has been always my dream to do this job, be a pilot, she said. It made me really proud.

The American government hailed her example as a bright spot in the difficult effort to build the Afghan Air Force, which has cost American taxpayers more than $3.7 billion. The endeavor has been marred by delays, logistical challenges and wasteful spending.

After photos of Captain Rahmani wearing tan combat boots, a khaki flight suit, a black head scarf and aviator glasses were published in the press when she earned her wings in 2013, she and her relatives in Kabul began receiving death threats. At work in Afghanistan, she said, she felt unsafe because most of her male colleagues held her in contempt. Still, she put on a brave face during the early months of her training in the United States, which began in September 2015.

I would just want to encourage all of the females around the world, especially in my country where the females have no rights, to just believe in themselves and to have more self-confidence, Captain Rahmani told an American military journalist in March 2015 during a visit to a Marine Corps air station.
Consider that Jesus was incarnated in a human body. He was a child in need of care and protection. He was a carpenter, a craftsman who worked creatively with his hands. His first miracle was at the wedding in Cana, where he transformed water into wine. There was joy and purpose to be found in the commonplace. The Incarnation also bestowed worth on people considered contemptible, unessential and valueless  the least of these, as Jesus put it.

Indeed, one of the indictments of him by the religious authorities of his day was that he was a friend of sinners. Jesus love was undiscriminating and inclusive, according to the writer Garry Wills, not gradated and exclusive. He spent most of his time with those who were forsaken, poor, powerless and considered unclean. In a patriarchal society, Jesus gave women an honored place. He not only associated with them, but they were among his disciples, the object of his public praise, the first people he spoke to after his resurrection.

The most intense confrontations Jesus had werent with those with loose morals but with religious leaders, the upholders of the holiness code whom he called out for their arrogance, hypocrisy and lack of mercy. In the Temple courts, Jesus told the chief priests, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. In the words of Professor Wills, He walks through social barriers and taboos as if they were cobwebs.

The Incarnation also underscores the importance of relationships, and particularly friendships. The Rev. James Forsyth, the winsome and gifted pastor of McLean Presbyterian Church in Virginia, which my family attends, says friendship is not a luxury; it is at the very essence of who we are. The three persons of the Christian Godhead  Father, Son and Holy Spirit  speak to the centrality of community. When we are in a friendship, according to Mr. Forsyth, we are participating in something divine. That is, fellowship and friendship were present in the Trinity and are therefore of immense worth to us. Ive experienced that in my own life, when friends served as Gods proxies, dispensing grace I could not receive in solitude.

In some rather remarkable verses in the New Testament, Jesus told his disciples: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. Gods emissary on earth had a core group of intimate friends  Peter, James, John and perhaps his most faithful friend, Mary of Magdala. These are people Jesus confided in, relied on, celebrated with and mourned with. He not only praised friendship; he modeled it. Its difficult for us now to appreciate the shock it was considered then  that the image of the invisible God, in the words of St. Paul, not only didnt compromise his divinity by taking on human flesh, he actually found succor in human relationships.
One day after sending shock waves around the globe with an alarming tweet about how the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability, President-elect Donald Trump elaborated, and managed only to deepen the worlds fears.

Let it be an arms race, he said in a phone conversation with Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC on Friday. He then warned nuclear adversaries that the United States will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.

With less than a month to go before he becomes president  and inherits the power to unleash the worlds deadliest weapons  Mr. Trump is playing a risky game. He is casually hinting at a seismic shift in fundamental, complex policies about the role nuclear weapons play in the defense of the United States and its allies. And his comments seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction to President Vladimir Putin, who on Thursday had vowed to strengthen Russias nuclear missiles in a speech to his military commanders.

For decades, American policy has been designed to stabilize relations between Russia and the United States and to deter other countries from acquiring nuclear weapons. Careless taunts risk undoing that progress.
BERLIN  It has been almost a week since a truck plowed through a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens. In the following days, the city, the country  all of Europe  were gripped by the Continentwide manhunt for the suspect, Anis Amri, who was shot and killed by the Italian police on Friday.

As I try to get ready for the holidays  to keep things normal  I find myself anxiously looking for signs of how my fellow Berliners are handling it all. When I wait at the train station, I wonder if the people next to me are scanning the platform. Are they afraid? And with a momentous national election next year, will that fear translate into political panic?

I find no change  which is both a good and a bad thing.

Certainly, sadness prevails in Berlin. At Breitscheidplatz, many have left flowers and candles. Some cry. I just dont get it, said a man who lives nearby. We have helped so many. Why do they attack us?

But there is also calm unity. No matter where youre coming from, we are one, and we are strong, somebody wrote on a cardboard sign at the site of the attack. At least in Berlin, there are few demands for walls, or bans on Muslim immigrants.
George, let me say something to you that I regard as very important.

G.B.: O.K.

M.G.: Of course, it is necessary to move to recognize all of these countries. But I would like you to bear in mind the importance for the future of the commonwealth that the process of disintegration and destruction does not grow worse. So helping the process of cooperation among republics is our common duty. I would really like to emphasize this to you.

Now, about Russia  this is the second-most important emphasis in our conversations. I have here on my desk a decree of the president of the U.S.S.R. on my resignation. I will also resign my duties as commander in chief and will transfer authority to use the nuclear weapons to the president of the Russian Federation. So I am conducting affairs until the completion of the constitutional process. I can assure you that everything is under strict control. As soon as I announce my resignation, I will put these decrees into effect. There will be no disconnection. You can have a very quiet Christmas evening. Again, about Russia, let me say we should all do our best to support it. I will do this to support Russia. But our partners should do this, too, and should play a role to help and support it.

As for me, I do not intend to hide in the taiga, in the woods. I will be active politically, in political life. My main intention is to help all the processes here begun by perestroika and new thinking in world affairs. Your people, the press here, have been asking me about my personal relationship with you. I want you to know at this historic time that I value greatly our cooperation together, our partnership and friendship. Our roles may change, but I want to assure you that what we have developed will not change. Raisa and I send to you and Barbara our very best wishes.

G.B.: Mikhail, let me say first how grateful I am for this call. I listened to your presentation with great interest. We will stay involved, particularly with the Russian republic, whose enormous problems could get worse this winter. I am delighted you wont plan to hide in the woods and that you will be active politically. I have total confidence that will benefit the new commonwealth.

I have written you a letter to be posted today. And in it I express the conviction that what you have done will live in history and be fully appreciated by historians.

I appreciate your comments on nuclear weapons. This is of vital significance internationally, and I commend you and the leaders of the republics for what has been a great process. I note with interest that the constitutional responsibilities on this issue have been passed to Boris Yeltsin. I assure you we will have good cooperation on this.

And now, Mikhail, on the personal side. I have noticed the wonderfully strong statements from you on your relationships with me and Jim Baker. I appreciate them very much since it is exactly the way I feel. You found me at Camp David with Barbara and three of our kids and grandchildren. One of our kids is in Florida and the other with family in Virginia.
If President-elect Donald J. Trump meant what he said, then the world may one day look back to recall that the first superpower nuclear arms race since the Cold War was announced by two pajama-clad talk show hosts.

Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all, Mika Brzezinski, of MSNBCs Morning Joe program, said on Friday. She and her co-host, curled up in holiday-themed nightwear in front of a fake fireplace, said the quote was a statement from Mr. Trump, elaborating on a Twitter message on nuclear weapons.

Mr. Trump has a history of bluster and his declarations may turn out to be bluffs. But should he follow through on instigating a nuclear arms race, the consequences could be severe. Best estimates of likely Russian and Chinese responses offer a concerning guide. So do lessons from the Cold War arms race, which brought the world so close to the brink that once-hostile American and Soviet adversaries worked to reverse the competition they had once seen as essential.

What is the aim of an arms race?

Nuclear arms races are not usually something that states set out to provoke, but are pulled into against their wills.
Were the experience layer in between consumer and service provider, so consumers dont have to spend the time researching and coordinating, said Mr. Pittenger, 27, the chief operating officer of Moved, which is based in New York. When they are busy at work and going about their day, moving tasks are getting done in the background.

Mr. Pittenger is part of a younger generation who are renting and living with roommates rather than purchasing homes; they move more often as a result. Adults ages 18 to 34 have the highest rate of migration, according to the United States Census Bureau. While they made up about 34 percent of the total population of the United States from 2007 to 2012, they accounted for over 43 percent of people who moved.

After a slump during the recession, the industry as a whole has returned to growth, and revenue is expected to continue to grow for the next five years, according to IBISWorld, a research company.

I think people are less stuck in the homeowner mentality, said Cameron Doody, a founder of Bellhops, a company in Chattanooga, Tenn., that provides moving services. People are valuing mobility more than ever before. Were seeing a big shift in people that are holding out longer to buy homes for the flexibility of being able to rent.
MOSCOW  Russian aviation authorities have grounded the countrys fleet of its newest model of civilian airliner, the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Metal fatigue, a problem usually associated with older airplanes, was discovered in the tail section of a new Sukhoi plane, the Russian regulator Rosaviatsia said Friday.

The grounding was the latest setback for the jet, which has already had a rough introduction.

The plane model is important as a test of whether Russias military aerospace prowess can translate into a successful civilian product. The manufacturer, Sukhoi, is best known as the maker of military jets now flying over Syria.

Most other Russian-made civilian jets, once a workhorse fleet of wide- and narrow-body planes, are flown only by regional airlines, and the aging planes are plagued by safety problems.

After the latest announcement, the Russian national airline Aeroflot, a major Sukhoi customer, on Saturday canceled 21 domestic flights.
As part of the familys resettlement, the I.R.C. provided health screenings, vaccinations and Social Security cards. Mr. Serugendo and Ms. Uwamahoro took classes in basic English and how to acclimate to American culture, and counselors helped them sign up for additional government assistance. The organization also found them a two-bedroom apartment.

The I.R.C. also introduced the family to Joe Welsh; his sister, Lindsay McConnon; their spouses; and Mr. Welshs parents, Carol Welsh Gray and Don Gray. Together, they formed a team in a new I.R.C. pilot program, Housing Outreach Mentorship Education, or HOME, to assist immigrant families for six months.

The Grays and their children filled Mr. Serugendo and Ms. Uwamahoros apartment with furniture, kitchen utensils and toys for the children. It was luxury compared with their last home, a mud hut with no electricity or running water.

On Mr. Welshs first visit to the familys apartment, he entered to the piercing sound of a fire alarm as smoke billowed from the oven. Ms. Uwamahoro, who was used to cooking over an open fire in Uganda, had incinerated an already cooked supermarket chicken. The need was infinite when they first arrived, Mr. Welsh said.

The family taught Mr. Serugendo and Ms. Uwamahoro how to use the appliances and about the importance of locking their front door. It showed them how to unlock the metal security gate at their apartment complex, when to stock food in the refrigerator and how to withdraw cash from the bank. The Grays have also paid part of their monthly $1,500 rent, either through fund-raising or by digging into their own pockets.

In late October, Mr. Serugendo and Ms. Uwamahoro began the next phase of the I.R.C. program: working toward financial independence. It weighs heavily on Mr. Serugendo and Ms. Uwamahoro.
1. My wife and I stayed in an apartment near the Gedachtniskirche on our first visit to Berlin in July. We enjoyed a traditional organ grinders festival in the square, and attended Sunday service in the beautiful, evocative modern church building next to the ruined church. We were deeply conscious of the layers of history embedded in this spot. Another layer of history has just been added. Our sympathy is with the German people.

Our world is in the the worst terror/refugee/religious crisis since World War II, as demonstrated by the attacks  in Turkey and Germany as well as the carnage in Aleppo. Our world needs American leadership to help bring some kind of stability to these troubled times.

 Bearded One in Chattanooga, Tenn., reacting to an article about a driver who steered a truck through a crowded Christmas market in Berlin on Monday, killing 12 and injuring dozens. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
Readers discuss an essay about the dangers of Donald Trumps authoritarian tendencies.

To the Editor: Re Is Our Democracy in Danger?, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (Sunday Review, Dec. 18):

Is Donald Trump a threat to democracy? Of course he is. But the deeper underlying threat is the vacuum in our system that Mr. Trump has filled, a vacuum left by the Republican Partys extremism, hyperpartisanship and failure to govern.

Republicans have been trampling democratic norms for a long time  Watergate, Iran-contra, the Bill Clinton impeachment, voter suppression  but the decision taken on the eve of Barack Obamas inauguration to oppose him on everything and anything, regardless of substance, was a blatant violation of the oaths of office taken by those elected officials.

We elect our leaders to make government work, not to make it fail, and Republican dereliction of that duty led directly to the dystopian politics we now face. Democrats are being excoriated for their ineptitude in combating Donald Trump, and are under pressure to behave as badly as he. And Republicans have no incentive to go out of their way to govern well, having just been rewarded at the polls for not governing at all.

So whether Mr. Trumps authoritarianism runs wild or not, the road back to functional government is hard to plot. Its even conceivable that an attempted abuse of authority by the president might be just whats needed to pierce the fog of partisanship in which our lawmakers have been lost and awaken their latent patriotism.
It didnt end there, though. In the Old World there was a culinary tradition that has been all but forgotten among American Jews: a Hanukkah goose. When Hanukkah fell on the Sabbath, Jewish families of means would host a feast with roast goose, latkes fried in its schmaltz and most likely pickled vegetables. The smell of smoking goose fat became the traditional scent of Hanukkah, Michael Wex says in his book Rhapsody in Schmaltz.

In fact, the waterfowl played a major role in Jewish cooking in prewar Europe. It was the preferred meat for those able to afford it. The French food writer Edouard de Pomiane wrote in 1929 that the goose was a beneficent animal for the Jews of Poland as it supplied so much to a household, from feathers for bedding to flesh for roasting to fats for rendering.

Despite the gooses copious gifts, it has fallen out of favor. Today its hard to find goose meat. In New York City, select butcher shops take Christmas orders, but theyre pricey and increasingly uncommon. Finding a kosher goose is nearly impossible and prohibitively expensive. Two years ago I paid $250 for a nine-pound kosher goose that was specially raised, ritually slaughtered, then delivered by the farmer himself.

The difficulty of the goose chase isnt primarily that peoples tastes have changed, but that our food system has. Poultry farms made the transition from family operations to factories in the postwar period. Chickens, with the help of intensive breeding practices and the introduction of antibiotics, are now reared in large farms generally known as confined-animal feeding operations. Geese are temperamental and aggressive, making them harder to confine. And since they prefer to graze and cant entirely subsist on grain, it is even harder to raise them at scale, meaning slimmer profit margins.

For Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the United States, there was much to celebrate about eating in the mid-20th century. Foods were comparatively cheaper than in Europe and convenience took priority. Jewish cooks, mostly women at the time, began spending their days either in the work force or tending to matters of the home rather than rendering schmaltz. The introduction of inexpensive vegetable shortening and seed oils transformed Jewish kitchens and turned the goose into even more of a luxurious proposition once its fat, one of the primary reasons the animal was reared in the first place, was considered unnecessary.
States across the country have rushed to trim prison costs by backing away from the draconian sentencing policies that drove up the national prison population from 200,000 at the start of the 1970s to a peak of about 1.6 million in 2009.

While the total inmate population has declined by 2.9 percent since then, several states that approached reform more aggressively have already reduced their prison populations by far more. California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island have done so by more than 20 percent.

These states have shown that it is possible to shorten sentences  or divert offenders to community supervision  without compromising public safety. But even bolder reforms to the sentencing system will be necessary to bring the prison census down to where it should be and reverse the corrosive effects of mass incarceration.
The Republican party line  that it was an election year, so the American people should have a voice in the selection of the next justice  was a patent lie. The people spoke when they re-elected Mr. Obama in 2012, entrusting him to choose new members for the court. And the Senate has had no problem considering, and usually confirming, election-year nominees in the past.

Of course, Supreme Court appointments have always been political, and the courts ideological center has shifted back and forth over time. But the Senate has given nominees full consideration and a vote even when the party in power has opposed a presidents choice. That is, until this year, when Republicans claimed that though the Constitution calls for the Senates advice and consent, senators arent obligated to do anything. This is a bad-faith reading of that clause, even if there is no clear way to force a vote. It certainly obliterates a well-established political norm that makes a functioning judicial branch possible. As Paul Krugman wrote in his column on Monday, institutions are not magically self-sustaining, and they dont protect against tyranny when powerful people start defying political norms.

This particular norm is of paramount importance because the courts institutional legitimacy depends on its perceived separation from the elected branches  a fragile concept in the best of times. By tying the latest appointment directly to the outcome of the election, Mr. McConnell and his allies took a torch to that idea  an outrageous gambit that, to nearly everyones shock, has paid off. But while Republicans may be celebrating now, the damage they have inflicted on the confirmation process, and on the court as an institution, may be irreversible.

The slope is both slippery and steep. If Republicans could justify an election-year blockade, whats to stop Democrats in the future from doing the same? For that matter, why should the party controlling the Senate ever allow a president of the opposing party to choose a justice? Indeed, in the weeks before the election, Senate Republicans were threatening, with the encouragement of leading conservative thinkers, never to confirm anyone to fill the vacancy if Hillary Clinton won.

Can anything be done to repair the harm? One step  as obvious as it is unlikely  would be for Mr. Trump to renominate Mr. Garland. Conservatives will scoff, but they know he is as qualified for the job as anyone in the country. When Mr. Garland was floated as a possible choice for the Supreme Court in 2010, Orrin Hatch, the senior Republican senator from Utah, called him a consensus nominee and said there was no question that he would be confirmed with bipartisan support. Thats partly why Mr. Obama nominated him this time, and also why Mr. McConnell denied him a hearing  he knew he couldnt prevent a Senate vote once Americans saw an eminently qualified and reasonable jurist testify on live TV.
Coney Island

Even more of a culture shock awaits on the When Harry Met Sally tour, because after lunch youre going to catch the F train at Second Avenue and take the long ride out to Coney Island in Brooklyn. Once there, a short walk down Stillwell Avenue toward the ocean brings you to the spot where the scene just before the Katz conversation was filmed, according to various movie websites. Harry and his pal Jess (Bruno Kirby) are hitting a few in the batting cages that once stood there, holding a ridiculous conversation about women as they do.

Mr. Kirby is batting right-handed; Mr. Crystal is hitting leftie. In a commentary on one of the DVD releases of the film, Mr. Reiner commends Mr. Crystal for being able to do so convincingly, since he normally hits right-handed. Mr. Reiner needed him to bat from the other side to frame the shot the way he wanted it.

In the movie, its a warm-weather scene, and Coney Island is a mandatory stop for anyone who visits New York in the summer. But is there any reason to go there at this time of year? Yes. You go there to find something that is mighty scarce in Manhattan and other parts of New York in the holiday season: solitude.

On a chilly December afternoon, I had the streets and the boardwalk more or less to myself. Theres a certain beauty to watching the dimming of the day at a deserted oceanfront amusement area. The block where the batting cages stood is now home to Luna Park, an updated version of the amusement rides that have always been part of Coney Islands identity. When change came a few years ago there was much gnashing of teeth about whether the down-market character of the place would be lost.

It hasnt been; this is still an old-school amusement area when its operating. (My favorite addition: the Coney Art Walls, colorful murals in an outdoor food court across the street from Luna Park.) In the cold-weather months, of course, most everything is in hibernation. Luna Parks rules of conduct, though, are still prominently posted, including this one: Guests using profanity or abusive language, symbols or gestures will be escorted from the park without refund. Harry and Jess may have been borderline candidates for eviction under those rules. In the scene, Harry brags about making a woman meow in bed.
With its world-famous museums and dozens of galleries displaying works by both established and up-and-coming artists, New York City is home to a vibrant arts scene, and several new tours are a way to delve more deeply into this rich and diverse culture.

Dont get a lecture on art  have a conversation about it with Wendy Lubovich, who leads private 90-minute tours of art galleries in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art through her company Walk of Art. An art educator who has worked in several museums, Ms. Lubovich says that her interactive and customized tours are meant to evoke the feeling that a curator is showing you art youre interested in; in the Met, that could mean focusing on Impressionist paintings or seeing the American Wing. $100 a person.

Museum Hack also offers an exploration of the Met but with a different sensibility: The company prides itself on leading engaging tours of museums for people who dont like museums and recently introduced the Big Gay Met tour, focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender works displayed at the Met, from ancient times to modern day. An example is the painting Naked Man, Back View, by the British artist Lucian Freud, of a man who lived his life as a drag queen. There is a lot of gay art at the Met, but its usually not represented that way, said Ethan Angelica, an art lover who created and leads the tour. Two hours, $59 a person.

For children between the ages of 2 and 4, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has Little Guggs on select Wednesdays and Saturdays through May. These hourlong visits, at which children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, include a short story, a trip to the galleries and various arts and crafts projects. $30, advance registration required. (For more information, email strollertours@guggenheim.org.)
The police said that Acen was on a shopping trip with his grandmother on Dec. 17 when he was shot. The boys grandmother, Kim King-Macon, told the authorities that she had stopped at a stop sign in the pouring rain when a man honked his horn, then got out of his car and fired a gun.

Image Gary Eugene Holmes, accused of fatally shooting a 3-year-old boy in Little Rock, Ark., has been arrested. Credit... Pulaski County Sheriff's Office, via Associated Press

Ms. King-Macon said she did not realize that her grandson had been shot until she arrived at the shopping center, about 10 miles away, and saw him slumped over in his seat. In 911 recordings released by the police, a woman can be heard screaming, Acen has been shot! Oh my God!

An affidavit from Detective Steve Moore of the Little Rock Police Department says that investigators received a tip that the car involved in the shooting belonged to Mr. Holmess girlfriend, who was not named in court filings. The girlfriend told the police she was in the car with Mr. Holmes when the fatal shooting occurred, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Holmess girlfriend told investigators that he had said a Dodge Charger was following him too closely, so he pulled over and let the car pass. The girlfriend told the police that Mr. Holmes got out of the car and fired his gun after the Charger stopped at a stop sign for a few minutes, the affidavit says.

The girlfriend told the police that Mr. Holmes said: Thats what you get for following me around.

Acen, who was riding in the back seat of the Charger, was shot in the back and died later at a hospital. Ms. King-Macon and a 1-year-old child who was also in the car were not injured.
The Tunisian authorities have arrested three men linked to the perpetrator of the terrorist attack at a Berlin Christmas market, including the suspects nephew, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

The three men, whose ages ranged from 18 to 27, were arrested on Friday. They were described as members of a cell that had been in contact with the suspect, Anis Amri, 24, a Tunisian citizen accused of killing 12 people on Monday when he plowed a stolen truck into a crowd of holiday shoppers.

Mr. Amris nephew, who was not identified by name, confessed to communicating with his uncle via the secure messaging app Telegram, swearing allegiance to the Islamic State and sending Mr. Amri money in the mail, according to the Interior Ministry statement.

Mr. Amri is the youngest of nine siblings, including five sisters. Two of his sisters, Hamida, 32, and Najwa, 28, said in an interview on Thursday that they did not believe that their brother was responsible for the attack. Another brother said he believed that Mr. Amri might have become radicalized while detained in an Italian prison.
DHAKA, Bangladesh  A woman and a man suspected of being militants blew themselves up on Saturday on the outskirts of this city, the capital, during a police raid on an apartment believed to be a den for a militant group, the police said.

This is the first incident in the country where a female militant committed suicide by detonating explosives on her body, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The police cordoned off the apartment building at 2 a.m. on Saturday, and two women with two children surrendered, said Yousuf Ali, another police official. The women, the police said, were married to members of the militant group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahedeen Bangladesh, who are suspects in a series of attacks against civilians in recent years.

Hours later, another woman left the building with a 4-year-old girl and set off two grenades. The woman was killed, and the child was wounded by shrapnel from the explosives. She was being treated at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and seemed likely to survive, said Jasmin Nahar, a surgeon at the hospital.
Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Christian leaders from the Vatican to Bethlehem struck a sombre note on Christmas Eve speaking of war, fear and division, as cities in Europe ramped up security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the world's 1.2 billion Catholics to feel compassion for children, notably victims of war, migration and homelessness in his Christmas Eve mass.

Addressing a 10,000-strong crowd late Saturday in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff urged worshippers to think of the children "hiding underground to escape bombardment", in apparent reference to Syria.

In Bethlehem, some 2,500 worshippers packed the Church of the Nativity complex, built over the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born, for midnight mass in the Israeli-occupied West Bank near Jerusalem.

Like Pope Francis, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa also used his homily to plead for compassion for refugees and for a halt to the violence wracking the Middle East.

"We fear the stranger who knocks at the door of our home and at the borders of our countries," he said at the mass, which was attended by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and other dignitaries.

"Closed doors, defended borders, before personal and political choices, are a metaphor for the fear that inevitably breed the violent dynamics of the present time."

Security was tight across Israel where Christmas coincided with the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Prepared remarks by the leader of the world's Anglicans noted 2016 had left the world "more awash with fear and division".

"The end of 2016 finds us all in a different kind of world; one less predictable and certain, which feels more awash with fear and division," Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was to say in his Christmas Day sermon on Sunday.

- Candles, flowers in Berlin -

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from Monday's truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

Story continues

German authorities were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed Friday in a shoot-out with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Tunisia said Saturday it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."

Security was also tight at Milan's cathedral, where Italian police were out in force and concrete barricades were erected around the historic Piazza del Duomo.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers were deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

- Icy swim, meat auction -

Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional revelry.

Among them some 30 hardy Slovaks participated in a winter swim at Bratislava's Zlate Piesky lake, some drinking beer in the nearly freezing water.

In London, meat-lovers converged on Smithfield Market for the traditional Christmas Eve auction at butcher Harts, waving banknotes in the air as they bid on turkeys, pork cuts and rump steaks.

Meanwhile, in debt-ridden Greece, Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos sent Christmas cards featuring the tight-fisted Dickensian protagonist of "A Christmas Carol", Ebenezer Scrooge, in a jibe to the country's creditors.

- First Aleppo mass in years -

Christians in Syria's Aleppo were preparing for celebrations after President Bashar al-Assad's forces retook full control of the city following a rebel withdrawal this week.

Members of Aleppo's Catholic minority have been prepping for the first Christmas mass in five years at the Old City's Saint Elias Cathedral, whose roof collapsed under a salvo of rocket fire.

"All our memories are here -- this is where we celebrated all our feast days, our joys," said Bashir Badawi, rummaging through rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene.

"We want to transform all this destruction into something beautiful."

In Bartalla, near the Iraqi city of Mosul, Christians filled the pews of the fire-scarred Mar Shimoni church for the first service since the town was retaken from IS who seized it in 2014.

"I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned," said Nada Yaqub. "We felt that our cross is still around our necks. No one could take it from us."

The patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael Sako, urged international protection for Christians displaced by war so they could return to their homes.

- Blast in Philippines -

In the mostly Catholic Philippines, a blast ripped through a police car outside a church as worshippers were arriving for a Christmas Eve mass south of Manila, injuring 13 people.

On the east coast, authorities evacuated thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the area on Christmas Day before moving to the main island of Luzon.

In the United States, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama sent their final Christmas salutations from the White House on Saturday, highlighting common values uniting Americans of all faiths.
A fake news article led to gunfire at a Washington pizzeria three weeks ago. Now it seems that another fake news story has prompted the defense minister of Pakistan to threaten to go nuclear.



The defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, wrote a saber-rattling Twitter post directed at Israel on Friday after a false report  which the minister apparently believed  that Israel had threatened Pakistan with nuclear weapons. Both countries have nuclear arsenals.

Israeli def min threatens nuclear retaliation presuming pak role in Syria against Daesh, the minister wrote on his official Twitter account, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. Israel forgets Pakistan is a Nuclear state too.
Grace is the family name handed down on my husbands paternal English side of the family. His grandfather, a decorated officer of the British Empire, was captured by the Germans in 1940  as his grandmother swiftly pointed out to me the first time we met.

Do you know Laufen? she asked. My husband was a prisoner of war there.

Image Raymond and Christine Grace, my husbands paternal grandparents, in 1936, shortly before they married.





It was one of the rare moments in my life when I was acutely aware of being German.

But things have changed. On June 24, I woke up to the news that Britain, my current home, is leaving the European Union. Ever since, my German identity has stopped being an afterthought.

I belong to that lucky generation of Western Europeans who did not experience war and were barely touched by the Cold War. I was a child when the Berlin Wall fell, and I came of age in the 1990s, that brief vacation from history before Sept. 11. My generation studied, dated, lived and worked across borders, taking for granted the peace our grandparents had fought for and our parents had harnessed and amplified.

My mother marched for abortion rights in the 1970s, and my father was a leader in the 1968 student movement in Berlin that forced open the taboos about Germanys Nazi past. War is not an abstract concept to him. To this day, the firecrackers on New Years Eve remind him of the bombs falling on Hamburg when he was 5 years old. When he reads about Aleppo, his eyes well up.

The big debates of my youth centered on fine-tuning the market economy. Nationalism, nativism, fundamentalism and identity  these were concepts that belonged in the 20th century. Or so I thought. Will they now define my childrens future? What will their names and their passports mean to them when they grow up?

When we named our children we opted for my husbands surname, Grace. It had a nice ring to it, we thought. One European name was enough, and so, surely, was one European passport. All three children are British citizens.
Image Rebecca Vogels





Right when we got engaged, my husband offered to take my name. I didnt ask him for it, but I took it as a symbol of his love and commitment. Even now that we are two years married, my heart makes a little jump every time he answers the phone with Benjamin Vogels.

Rebecca Vogels, 32, is German and based in Vienna.

Image Lori Latus

I am deeply attached to my fathers family  my paternal grandmother was widowed during the Great Depression with five children (and one in utero) to raise without family or financial assistance. She persevered and kept the family together. My fathers older brothers (one underage when he enlisted) fought in World War II, while his sisters quit school to work and support the family in their brothers absence. The sacrifice and integrity of my grandmother and my father and his siblings have influenced and inspired me in countless ways. After my husband died, I was on my own with our 2- and 5-year-old sons and without family support. I embraced the lessons of my fathers family and carried on.

Lori Latus, 53, in Lexington, Ky., and Melbourne, Australia. She kept her name.

Image Julie Benton

I had been married previously, and did not want to keep that name. But I also did not want to return to my maiden name. With fear and trepidation, my partner and I sat down with her parents, and I asked them if I could take their family name. Without blinking, both of her parents said, in unison, Wed be honored! Can you imagine my relief?

Julie Benton, 62, lives in the United States and Australia and is in a same-sex marriage. She took her partners surname.

Most importantly, it is out of a deep respect for my mother. When I was 8 years old, my mother made the decision to take her maiden name back. This was in the 1970s. We lived in a small town in northern Maine, and she wrote for the local paper. She received harassing phone calls and harsh objections from family and friends. People even wrote in to the paper about it, stating that she was not a good Christian woman. People made harsh comments to me about it as well. I remember not understanding, and wishing my mom could just be a normal wife and mother. Later, in my 20s, while attending university and taking womens studies courses, I came to feel proud of my mom. I gained a deep respect for how difficult and important her decision was.

Peggy McGillicuddy, 45, in Toronto. She kept her name.

Cross-cultural marriages and lives

Image Kristina Wallengren Steengaard





We both wanted to show the world that we belong together. For us and our children, it symbolizes that we are a unique unit on equal footing and that our children have a dual cultural heritage from both Sweden and Denmark, though they were born in South Africa.

Kristina Wallengren Steengaard, 46, a Swede living in South Africa, is married to a Danish man. Both use a combined surname.

Image Morgan Fraser

Im a white woman who married a Japanese man, and didnt connect to having a Japanese last name.

Morgan Fraser, 27, in Canada. She kept her name.

I wanted future generations to be able to find me easily when they research the first relations to move to the States.

Isolde Raftery, an Irish immigrant living in Seattle, via Facebook. She kept her name.

Image Emily Mathisen





When I asked my husband if our kids could have my name, he said no. I was surprised; in many ways, hes progressive, but in this, he was very: No, my children, my name. At first, this didnt bother me  whats in a name, anyway? But lately, I keep thinking about heritage. My name is my fathers fathers, who emigrated from Norway. At Christmas, I think about the Norwegian traditions and feel a kinship to them, even though the rest of me  most of me!  isnt Norwegian at all. Its just my name. Like me, my husbands family is from all over, but his name is Russian. My kids are going to have a Russian name, even though there hasnt been a Russian in the family for centuries.

Emily Mathisen, 32, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She kept her name.

I wouldnt mind taking his surname, and it would be nice to do the traditional thing like that. But I still cant get around my personal feelings about the potential problems I would face looking the way I do and having a surname like his. Even though a lot of the anti-immigrant sentiments in Europe are aimed at other ethnicities, Im worried about the barbed treatment I might get, or suspicions that Im trying to mask or whitewash my identity.

Natasha Hong, 29, a Han Chinese of Singaporean descent living in Singapore and married to a white British man.

Social and family traditions

Image Yue Zhou

In Chinese culture, women keep their last names after marriage. Both my mother and my husbands mother still use their maiden names, as do our grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and every other Chinese woman we know.

Yue Zhou, 32, Chinese-American living in Singapore.

Image Suzie Houghton





It came as a shock to me just how right being his felt, and taking his name only strengthens that bond.

Suzie Houghton, 32, in Melbourne. She has been married for a month and is in the process of changing her name.

Image Kappy Flanders





Thats the way it was in England in 1957. There was no question of not changing your name. It never occurred to anyone not to!

Kappy Flanders, 78, in Montreal.

Reflections on the decision

The first time I married, I changed my name, then went back to my maiden name after the divorce. I never felt comfortable in my new name; it felt foreign, and it didnt belong to me. I frequently didnt respond when people called me by my married name. It created an identity crisis  I didnt know who this new person was supposed to be.

Jennifer Lahue, 48, an American living in Vienna.

Image Angeli Humilde

I feel great about my decision so far. My mother grew up in a country where it was required by law to change your last name, so she never had a choice. I think its kind of the first time in history where it is more acceptable in our society, or not a social faux pas, to keep your maiden name, which is amazing, and I want to take part in the ability to have the choice to keep my name.

Angeli Humilde, 26, lives in Canada and is recently engaged. Her mother grew up in the Philippines.

Image Joan Card Redemer





No regrets, but I quietly hope that if our daughters marry, they will keep their names.

Joan Card Redemer, 64, who is from California and living in Antwerp, Belgium. She changed her name.
JERUSALEM  In a furious riposte a day after the United Nations Security Councils adoption of a resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday pledged to exact a diplomatic and economic price from countries who acted against Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu also announced that he would halt his countrys contributions to several United Nations institutions, as well as re-evaluate the presence of the bodys representatives in Israel.

In a televised address at a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony honoring wounded soldiers and the victims of terrorism, Mr. Netanyahu excoriated the Obama administration for not vetoing the Security Councils measure. He said he would work with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump to rescind it.

Describing the resolution passed on Friday as distorted, delusional and absurd, Mr. Netanyahu said it was part of the swan song of the old world that is biased against Israel.
JERUSALEM  On the wall of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office is a giant floor-to-ceiling map with Israel at its center. Mr. Netanyahu likes staring at the map. He regales visitors with stories about how Israel has made friends with so many of the countries shown, some nearby, others far away.

His point is that Israel has moved beyond the days when its conflict with the Palestinians defined its relations with the world. But even as he celebrates the ascension of President-elect Donald J. Trump as a steadfast ally, Mr. Netanyahu may find that it complicates management of his own conservative coalition and undercuts the very diplomatic outreach that has been his central priority.

The 14-to-0 vote by the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlements, permitted on Friday by President Obama, who ordered an American abstention, served as a reminder that the Palestinian issue remains a powder keg. Instead of counting new friends, Mr. Netanyahu was left to tally up old enemies, and in a speech on Saturday night he lashed out, vowing to exact a diplomatic and economic price from countries that in his view try to hurt Israel.

He announced that he was cutting off $8 million in contributions to the United Nations and reviewing whether to continue allowing its personnel to enter Israel, in addition to recalling ambassadors and canceling visits from some countries that supported the measure. He accused the departing Obama administration of carrying out a disgraceful anti-Israel maneuver.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's energy minister Joo Hyung-hwan discussed cooperation on British nuclear energy projects in a meeting in London on Thursday with Britain's business minister Greg Clark, South Korea's energy ministry said in a statement. The statement from Seoul didn't disclose details of discussions on nuclear energy, but said the two countries will hold a follow-up meeting in the first half of next year. A British government statement issued said the two countries underlined a commitment at the meeting to keep working together on science, innovation and technology, without mentioning nuclear power. Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy and the world's fifth-biggest user of nuclear power, is keen to export its nuclear reactor technology, developed through state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO). Earlier this year, Britain gave the green light to the $24 billion Hinkley Point C project, its first new nuclear power plant in decades. Along with that project, NuGen, a joint venture between Toshiba and French utility company Engie, plans to build three reactors at the Moorside site on the coast of Cumbria, in northwest England. According to Seoul's statement on Friday, Korea's energy minister also had a meeting with NuGen chief Tom Samson during his British visit. The minister said Korean participation in Nugen projects would contribute to their success. Earlier this year a person familiar with the situation told Reuters KEPCO had engaged in talks with Toshiba and Engie about buying a stake NuGen. A NuGen spokesman declined to comment on whether talks were taking place with KEPCO, which also declined to comment. (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
The Hebrew Academy of Orange County likes to do Hanukkah big  really big.

So, this year, when administrators and alumni were kicking around concepts for making this years celebration particularly special, the idea of making the worlds largest latke, or potato pancake, was floated.

Unfortunately, as one wit put it, It didnt pan out.

By the time the cooks threw in the towel Friday night and turned off the gas, there were hundreds of little latkes in the 7-foot, 7-inch-diameter aluminum skillet they had made for the attempt. But the dream of a world record had collapsed like a weak souffle.

On the day before the start of the eight-day Jewish holiday, the school made its attempt to be recognized by Guinness World Records. Witnesses and videographers were gathered, including several college professors and a surveyor.

Rabbi Yitzchok Newman, the head of the school, assembled what he called his dream team: Ralph Labelson, in charge of fabricating the more than 45-square-foot cooking surface; Sam Newman, who supplied the propane and five fitted cooking pipes; and Bob Rosenberg, in charge of cooking.

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We have the biggest and the best here, the rabbi said the day before the latke attempt. We figure its a good goal. We want to make a latke that will last for eight days.

Fabricating and shaping the cooking surface took longer than expected, and organizers were unable to perform any practice runs or tests. So, they winged it.

The 350 children who attend the K-12 academy were recruited to prepare the recipe, which consisted of 90 pounds of potatoes, 208 large eggs, 42 cups of flour, 84 teaspoons of salt and 30 teaspoons of pepper, plus an unknown number of onions. The blend was then poured into the skillet that held 35 gallons of canola oil.

As the children awaited the midday festivities in the schools outdoor value circle courtyard, they expressed their excitement.

Our school is going to be so famous, said sixth-grader Sivan Schwartz.

I want to be famous, Sara Fine chimed in.

Its not only going to be the biggest, but the most tasty, classmate Manachem Niasoff said.

But cold, damp weather and a pesky wind combined to drive down the temperature of the oil in which the latke was cooked.

At 12:45 p.m., as kids were assembling for the Hanukkah festivities, Sam Newman dipped a thermometer into the pan to find the temperature was only 195 degrees, when the frying temperature should be 375 degrees.

This put organizers into full Rube Goldberg mode, and they wrapped two-by-fours in aluminum foil to create a covering for the pan.

Unfortunately, after about four hours of cooking, while part of the creation was golden brown, lots of little latkes floated on the periphery.

Steve Greenspan, who helped with the attempt, said the cooks were unable to get a uniform temperature, and that caused the potatoes to clump together.

As a result, the mixture was overcooked in the middle of the pan. And that was surrounded by a ring of latke that organizers said was actually quite good, while the outer ring was undercooked.

Over the years, various groups have claimed to make the largest latke. Last year, a group from Belarus cooked one that was more than 61/2 feet in diameter. In Ireland, a boxty, or Irish potato pancake, came in at more than 1,100 pounds. And then theres the guy who said he made a 45-foot latke in his backyard.

Officially, the record stands at a 4-foot, 11-inch-diameter latke made in Dublin in May 2015.

The kids still had a fine celebration, featuring the lighting of the 15-foot menorah and Hanukkah games and song. U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, helped light the middle flame on the menorah. He called the event a celebration of our Judeo-Christian heritage as a country.

Greenspan said organizers at the school were unbowed by the setback and already dreaming up new plans.

Contact the writer: gmellen@scng.com
BEIRUT  Hundreds of people returned to eastern Aleppo neighborhoods on Friday to check on their homes after the last opposition fighters left the city, picking through debris and wreckage for personal belongings blasted by years of fighting.

In a sign of the immense challenges that still lie ahead for President Bashar Assad, rebels outside the city shelled a neighborhood in the city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government forces took full control of Syrias largest city a day earlier, state TV reported.

The rebel surrender in Aleppo ended a brutal chapter in Syrias nearly six-year civil war, and marked Assads most significant victory since an uprising against his familys four-decade rule began in 2011. But large parts of the war-ravaged country remain outside his control, including rural areas in Aleppo province south and west of the city where opposition fighters still operate.

Assad has said that the most important priority after securing Aleppo will be fortifying the countryside around it before moving on to other strongholds outside his control, including the nearby province of Idlib, west of Aleppo, and the city of Raqqa controlled by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria.

Syrian TV said Fridays rockets which hit the southwestern neighborhood of Hamadaniyeh were fired by insurgents based southwest of Aleppo.

Associated Press footage from inside neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo taken over by the army after the last rebels were bused out a day earlier captured the staggering destruction: Row after row of destroyed buildings, many with blown out doors and windows, and toppled floors, along debris-strewn streets lined with charred vehicles. Not a single building appeared intact.

In the Sukkari, Ansari and Amiriyeh neighborhoods, army experts were dismantling explosives and booby-traps left behind by rebels before they left.

Hundreds of people walked through the Bustan al-Qasr crossing, a passageway that separated rebel-controlled eastern Aleppo from the government-controlled al-Masharqa district, which was closed years ago, cutting off links between the two sides of the divided city.

Ahmad Khayata was among those who returned to see what remains of his home in Sukkari, one of the last neighborhoods to be evacuated by opposition fighters Thursday. He was told by soldiers he needed to wait until they finish de-mining the area.

Its been five years since I left my home, he said. Thank God now we are back  They (soldiers) told us maybe in the afternoon or tomorrow it will be possible to go in, he said.

The Syrian governments recapture of Aleppo after a prolonged and punishing air assault leaves Assad in control of almost all major urban areas  and poised to play a role in the world communitys broader war against jihadis clinging to parts of Syria. It is a devastating a blow for the opposition, whose main backer, Turkey, is now heavily engaged with Moscow in searching for a settlement to the six-year war in Syria.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin, one of Assads key backers, said its necessary to establish a cease-fire across the entire territory of Syria, to be followed by peace talks.

In the next stage, an agreement on a cease-fire on the entire territory of Syria should be reached and practical talks on a political settlement should start immediately after, Putin said at his annual news conference.

He said the leaders of Turkey and Iran, which have helped broker the withdrawal of the remaining civilians and militants from Aleppo, have agreed that Syria peace talks should be held in Kazakhstans capital, Astana. He added that Assad has agreed to that proposal.

The Kremlin later said that Putin called Assad to congratulate him on the capture of Aleppo.

This success was possibly only thanks to joint efforts of everyone who rallied together against international terrorism in Syria, Putin was quoted as saying.

The Kremlin also said Putin told Assad that the main goal now is to focus efforts on issues of advancing a peace settlement including hammering out an agreement on a comprehensive settlement for the Syria crisis.

Russias Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a meeting with Putin that a military police battalion had been deployed to eastern Aleppo the previous evening to ensure order. He didnt specify how many troops had been deployed.

Shoigu told Putin that the Russian military is helping restore water and energy supplies to eastern districts of Aleppo and clearing them from mines. Shoigu said that an agreement on a complete cease-fire in Syria is very close, didnt offer details.

Syrian state TV said the Russian force aims to protect explosive experts in the Russian base of Hemeimeem on the coast.

The ancient city had been divided into rebel and government parts since 2012, when rebels from the countryside swept in and took hold of eastern districts. That set the stage for more than four years of brutal fighting and government bombardment that laid waste to those neighborhoods.

The rebel evacuations were set in motion after a months-long siege and Russian-backed military campaign. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians killed by shells as they fled for safety.

Under a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and fighters began evacuating to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process that took a week and ended Thursday night.

Pro-government TV stations reported that rebels killed dozens of prisoners they were holding before they evacuated the city. Syrian rebels denied the reports in an exchange monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, saying the prisoners were released.

A Syrian military official told The Associated Press that the gunmen carried out criminal acts before the left east Aleppo, adding that he will not go into details until a military investigation is over. He spoke by telephone from Syria on condition of anonymity in line with army regulations.
A state court of appeals has reversed a Laguna Beach mans murder conviction and ordered that he receive a new trial for the 2012 stabbing death of a friend.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury convicted Ryan Taylor Bright in 2014 of second-degree murder in the death of Jensen Gray, 27, who was stabbed four times at a Santa Monica apartment in 2012.

Bright was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.

However, the California 2nd Court of Appeals concurred last week with Brights argument that a trial court judge erred in refusing to grant a mistrial due to juror misconduct during deliberations.

The court found the juror had a conversation with a prosecution witness, had researched the difference between manslaughter and murder and then discussed sentencing issues for various offenses with other jurors.

The judge dismissed the juror but denied a motion from Brights attorney for a mistrial.

Bright is accused of killing Gray on July 11, 2012.

The two had known each other since middle school and attended Laguna Beach High School together, Grays mother told the Register shortly after her sons death.

The motive for the attack was unclear, but the two had been drinking and arguments between them had been escalating throughout the night, according to the prosecutor.

Bright  who claimed the stabbing was self-defense  was arrested near the scene of the crime and has remained in jail since then.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@scng.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline
SACRAMENTO  Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday reduced the sentence of a man convicted of a 1999 gang shooting in Los Angeles County and granted pardons to 112 people, continuing his practice of granting clemency before major Christian holidays.

Brown cut 10 years off the prison term for Louis Calderon, who involved in a gang shooting that caused a woman to lose her eye. Calderon, then 19, pulled up next to another car, and one of his friends opened fire.

Calderon received a sentence of 32 years to life. Browns commutation speeds up his eligibility for parole by 10 years.

In his commutation, Brown said Calderon has dropped out of his former gang and become a model inmate. Hes never been disciplined, has received multiple community college degrees and a paralegal certificate and tutors other inmates, the governor wrote.

This is a very serious crime, but it is clear that Mr. Calderon has distinguished himself by his exemplary conduct in prison and his forthright and continuing separation from gang activities of any kind, Brown role.

Calderon was the second person to have a sentence commuted since Brown returned to the governors office in 2011. The Democratic governor commuted one sentence during his first eight years in office from 1975 to 1983, according to his office.

Brown also granted pardons to 112 people whose sentences were completed more than a decade ago. Most were convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, though some committed other crimes including robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, forgery, financial crimes, kidnapping and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

They were granted certificates of rehabilitation by the county circuit court.

A gubernatorial pardon does not erase a conviction, but state and federal law enforcement agencies are informed and the pardon becomes a public record.

The states longest-serving governor has now issued 1,258 pardons, including 404 during his first stint as governor. Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian, has restored a practice that largely lapsed under his three immediate predecessors.

Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger granted 15, Democrat Gray Davis granted none, and Republican Pete Wilson gave out 13.

Before them, Republican Ronald Reagan granted nearly 600, and the GOPs George Deukmejian gave more than 300, according to Browns office.
The mission of the Office of the District Attorney of Orange County is to enhance public safety and welfare and create a sense of security in the community through the vigorous enforcement of criminal and civil laws in a just, honest, efficient and ethical manner. The OCDA accomplishes that goal every day, handling 65,000 new cases a year, with a felony conviction rate of over 90 percent, while remaining fiscally responsible and spending less than our allotted budget.

In order to clear us of unfounded accusations, the OCDA sent a letter asking the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Loretta Lynch back in January to conduct any inquiry of the OCDA she deemed appropriate, and offered unfettered access to the documents and personnel of the OCDA.

The OCDA is grateful that the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division responded on Dec. 15, 2016:

The civil investigation will seek to determine whether either entity engages in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that violated the United States Constitution or federal law. The investigation will assess whether the Sheriffs Department and District Attorneys Office individually or jointly orchestrated informant movements within the Orange County Jail System in order to elicit statements from represented defendants. We will also seek to establish the disclosure practices of the District Attorneys Office in cases where informants were used.

We recognize that District Attorney Rackauckas requested that the Department of Justice conduct any review it deems appropriate in regard to OCDAs informant policies and practices. We appreciate that the request was accompanied by an offer to provide unfettered access to personnel and documents. This kind of cooperation will permit the Department to proceed with its investigation efficiently and expeditiously.

When the inquiry is finished, the OCDA is confident that there will be no findings of systematic or intentional violations of the civil rights of any inmate by the OCDA and that no innocent person has been wrongfully convicted in the name of winning a case for the people.

OCDA prosecutors successfully appear before approximately 70 judges daily and receive positive feedback from judges, jurors, law enforcement, victims and witnesses every day. Here are just a few ways that prove that the OCDA is a leader in the country and the state in many areas of prosecution and administering of justice. The OCDA is the only district attorneys office that has its own database of DNA profiles, solving dozens of serious, violent crimes including rapes, murders and kidnappings. Our DNA rapid response team solves crimes within hours before criminals could go on a spree. Our four-pronged tackling of gang problems (prosecuting hard-core gang cases, targeting gang leaders, civilly enjoining gang members, and preventing kids from joining gangs) has reduced the number of gang members by the thousands. Our fraud units have obtained millions of dollars in restitution and sent away callous thieves to up to 90 years in state prison for targeting elderly citizens. The OCDAs Human Exploitation And Trafficking Unit has saved children and women from modern daily slavery and has sent some 120 traffickers to state prison in the last three years.

I remain proud of the OCDA for continuing to vigorously fight for justice for our victims and the people of Orange County and will continue to do so in an ethical manner. Having spent the last 45 years working in the justice system as a social worker, line prosecutor, judge and the elected district attorney, I am confident that the justice system in Orange County is strong and fair and will continue to grow even stronger.

Tony Rackauckas is Orange County district attorney.
In discussing the causes for Israels disastrous defeat by the Romans, leading to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius points to the role of treacherous factions which tore the community apart, and opened the door to the mass expulsion from the Holy Land.

Today, once again, the Jewish community, facing profound threats to its long-term existence, appears ever more divided. The most recent election clearly has exacerbated Jewish factionalism. Expect many angry exchanges as we celebrate Hanukkah, a holiday that celebrates Jewish solidarity in the face of implacable enemies, over the next week.

The election of Donald Trump horrified the liberally oriented Jewish intelligentsia, as well as many prominent Jewish neoconservatives. Some reacted to the New York moguls election by sitting Shiva, the weeklong mourning process which follows a Jewish burial. His nomination of pro-settlement attorney David Friedman as ambassador to Israel has elicited anger among the communitys entrenched policy and media establishment.

Yet, at the same time, 30 percent voted for Trump, a somewhat better performance than most recent GOP candidates. Right-leaning Jews see Trump as someone far more pro-Israel than his predecessor, and, after all, he also has Jews in his own family. In fact, Trumps grandchildren, the product of an orthodox Jewish father and Trumps daughter, Ivanka, a convert, may be the first of our tribe to celebrate Hanukkah as part of the nations first family.

The Jews historical dilemma

Ever since the end of feudalism, Jews have tended to support liberal ideals. The revolutionary Americans, and then their French counterparts, first emancipated the Jews. In recent history, most of the great threats to Jewish survival  from Tsarist pogroms and the Dreyfus affair to the Nazis  came from the right. This historical mark remains a profoundly defining reality for many, if not most, Jews.

Some progressive Jews have viewed the election of Trump as evidence of nothing short of resurgent fascism. The seeming slowness of the Trump campaign to disassociate itself from openly anti-Semitic, far-right groups showed, at the very least, poor judgment and a lack of sensitivity on the part of the new presidents inner circle. Progressive Jews argue, with some justification, that the kind of ethnic politics embraced by Trumps strategic adviser, Steve Bannon, who excoriates Muslims and the undocumented, could also turn their vituperation ultimately on Jews as well.

Yet, the concerted attempts to label Bannon as an anti-Semite have failed, and are found unsupportable even by the reliably progressive Anti-Defamation League. Bannon, if anything, is philo-Semitic, a strong backer of Israel. His controversial website, Breitbart, is named after an L.A.-area Jewish-American, and is often edited by Jews.

In reality, most contemporary opposition to Israel comes largely from the bastions of the left  the most progressive politicians, academics and intellectuals. Perhaps most disturbing has been the move, approved by some Jewish leaders, to place Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, a longtime apologist for the fiercely anti-Semitic Nation of Islam, as the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Hollywood producer and longtime Democratic Party fundraiser Haim Saban labeled a DNC run by Ellison, who has denounced Israel as an apartheid state, a disaster for Jews in the party.

Will the Jews stay left or splinter?

It should be no surprise that the move to boycott Israeli products, and even academic exchanges, comes not from nascent neo-Nazis, but rather from the left. Some might argue that the boycotts are not intrinsically anti-Semitic. But if they are not openly so, you can see it from there. Why focus on Israel, the most liberal state, by far, in the Middle East, and not seek to boycott infinitely more repressive regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria, not to mention Russia and China?

Gradually, these trends could upend Jewish political life. Already in the United Kingdom, where the Labour Party is now dominated by anti-Israel forces, Jewish voters appear to be shifting to the Conservatives. New Prime Minister Theresa May is described by one commentator as the most Jew-friendly in British history. Similarly, in France, Europes largest Jewish community, but where Muslims outnumber Jews by 10 to one, the community has shifted to the right while a growing number have left the country, mostly for Israel. With the Socialist Party reliant on Arab voters, more Jews are casting their lots with the nationalist Gaullist right  and even the far-right National Front.

This could begin to happen here. Americas Muslim population is growing rapidly and will likely, according to the Pew Research Center, surpass that of Jews by 2050. As Islam gains political power, particularly on college campuses, many progressive Jews will be forced, increasingly, to choose between their communal identity and their ideology. Already, certain groups  recent immigrants, such as Russians and Iranians, as well as the orthodox  are tilting to the right. A sign of the times: In Missouri, a former Navy Seal, Republican Eric Greitens, is now that states first Jewish governor.

If the threat to Israel and religious values mounts in the future, the Jewish vote, and Jewish opinion, could splinter further. During Hanukkah, one of the great examples of tribal unity triumphing, this could prove troubling, indeed.

Joel Kotkin is the R.C. Hobbs Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange and executive director of the Houston-based Center for Opportunity Urbanism (www.opportunityurbanism.org).
Its been a rough holiday season for supporters of Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. Every day, it seems, brings another unwelcome gift of salt in the wound.

The latest to be unwrapped is the FBIs Oct. 30 application for a search warrant so agents could examine the Clinton emails that were found on a laptop computer owned by disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner.

You may remember, if you havent blocked it out with really strong eggnog, that Weiner is married to former Secretary Clintons former chief of staff, Huma Abedin, who left him in August, one month before he was caught sexting with a 15-year-old girl, which led the FBI to seize his computer.

It was the discovery of emails to and from Clinton on that laptop that prompted FBI Director James Comey to send Congress a letter on Oct. 28 to say the bureau was again investigating the Clinton email situation, followed by a Nov. 6 letter to say he was still not recommending criminal charges.

The next thing anybody knew, Saturday Night Live Clinton impersonator Kate McKinnon was playing Kellyanne Conway.

The events of the campaign are like one of those optical illusion pictures that show two profiles facing each other, or a wine glass, depending on how you look at it.

To the blue team, it looks like Comey sabotaged the Clinton campaign with a lot of poison pen letters and no evidence of any wrongdoing.

To the red team, it looks like Comey found plenty of evidence that Clinton broke the law that prohibits gross negligence in the handling of classified information, and then decided to let her get away with it.

The blue team says Clinton had no intent to harm the nation.

The red team says gross negligence doesnt require intent.

The blue team points out that the FBI found no evidence of foreign hacking on Clintons devices.

The red team points out that Clintons aides smashed her devices with a hammer.

The blue team is angry that the FBIs October application for a search warrant, just unsealed, contains no new information to explain why Comey thought he had to send a letter to Congress that cost Clinton the election.

The red team says the blue team should stop blaming everybody else for their candidates decisions.

Maybe when tempers cool, everyone will look back and absorb this: the secretary of States government email communications were on a laptop computer that belonged to a guy who connected it to who-knows-where on the internet so he could send sexual messages to strangers he met online.

If that doesnt rise to the level of gross negligence, it certainly bobs in the waters of insane recklessness.

It doesnt really matter if the FBI found nothing new contained in the Clinton emails on Weiners computer. The fact that they were there at all is, by itself, shocking evidence of the mishandling of government communications, given that the FBI had already documented that Clinton and Abedin sent classified information through those email accounts.

The bombshell story certainly would have leaked in the weeks before the election if Comey had tried to keep it quiet. If he hadnt revealed the investigation in that Oct. 28 letter to Congress, it probably would have been in the Washington Post under Bob Woodwards byline on Oct. 29.

Thats where the two different images become one picture. The facts wrote the story. The ending would have been the same.

Susan Shelley is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. Reach her at Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on Twitter: @Susan_Shelley.
Age: 37

Roles: Founder of Aspiration, a Los Angeles-based financial services firm that allows users to set the fee theyll pay. Hes also on the board of Casa Teresa, an Orange-based nonprofit that provides support to pregnant women. And hes the founder of an international leadership program at Servite High in Anaheim.

Bio: Sanberg grew up in Orange County where he attended Servite High; he now lives in Los Angeles. He says his mission in life is to help the working poor. He was a big proponent of Californias earned income tax credit, which helps lower-income Californians. Sanbergs background is in finance. He previously worked as an analyst at Blackstone Private Equity Group and as managing director at Tiger Global Management.

Why he is an influencer: Sanberg helped educate Californians about the earned income tax credit, or EITC. Around 75 percent of those eligible claimed it on their 2015 taxes, Sanberg said. The credit works to refund taxes paid by working individuals or couples who meet low-income requirements.

Biggest challenge: We had to inform so many hardworking families that they werent eligible because of two eligibility restrictions: gigs (like independent contract work) are not eligible, and the income threshold is so low.

Thoughts on business role in ending poverty: Business has a huge role to play  many of the most valuable businesses are going to be those built to make peoples lives better. The business culture has been consumed by profit maximization in the short term at the expense of creating sustainable businesses that solve peoples problems.

Inspiration: My faith.

Cant live without: My (rescue) dog Bruce.

Whats next: Sanberg is working to raise the minimum income to be eligible for the EITC to $20,000, allowing people working full-time minimum wage jobs to be eligible. He also wants the credit to include self-employment and independent contract workers.

 Hannah Madans

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
Matzo ball soup and potato latkes will share the Christmas dinner table with ham and pie this year at the Silberman residence.

A Christmas tree sparkles in the living room of the familys Santa Ana home while a bright, blue Happy Hanukkah sign hangs on the front door.

Stacey Silberman is Jewish while her wife, Jill, grew up celebrating the secular version of Christmas. And tonight, in a rare occurrence, Christmas Eve coincides with the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

The Silbermans and their 7-year-old twins, Izzy and Jack, are among numerous interfaith families in Southern California who will celebrate both festivals.

We want the best of Hanukkah and Christmas for our children, Stacey Silberman said. Even though theyve been raised Jewish culturally, they enjoy Christmas.

And the children seem proud of their interfaith home, too, she said, considering they talk about it in school and even taught their predominantly Christian kindergarten class how to spin a dreidel.

Hanukkah coincides with Christmas approximately once every 18 or 19 years, said Gersh Zylberman, senior rabbi at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. But it is much more rare for the first night of Hanukkah to coincide with Christmas Eve, he said.

A number of families in his congregation are interfaith and celebrate both holidays, Zylberman said.

The challenges are often that you have two sets of grandparents and competing family priorities, he said.

While some interfaith couples celebrate both holidays, there are many families that have chosen one path or the other, particularly if they have kids, said Rabbi Paul Kipnes of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas.

The people that have come to the congregation have decided they want a significant Jewish life, and if they have kids, theyre raising their kids as Jews, said Kipnes, who estimated that about 35 percent of his congregations families have one parent who is not Jewish. That said, we are nonjudgmental and totally inclusive such that the non-Jew is fully welcomed into the congregation.

Because the holidays can be intense times of the year for those of multiple-faith backgrounds, Kipnes encourages people to talk about it and plan for it well in advance.

The fact that Hanukkah, one of the lesser Jewish holidays, and Christmas, one of Christianitys major holidays, coincide will likely make blending the holidays easier for some but more difficult for others.

For some families, the fact that the two holidays arrive at the same time is going to bring into sharp contrast two different stories and religious backgrounds, and people who in the past have been able to slide by it are going to have to talk about it  and thats always good, Kipnes said.

According to a 2013 Pew Research Center report, 20 percent of U.S. Jews with a non-Jewish spouse say they are raising their children Jewish, while 25 percent say they are raising their children partly Jewish. A little more than one-third (37 percent) of intermarried Jews raising children say they are not raising them Jewish at all.

Kipnes, who co-authored the book Jewish Spiritual Parenting with his wife, Michelle November, urges parents to talk a lot and to be intentional about how they want to raise children and celebrate the holidays.

He recommends that interfaith couples sit down separately and write down five things they love about their own holiday, five things they appreciate about their partners holiday, what makes them uncomfortable about their partners holiday and, in an ideal world, how they would deal with it.

Interfaith families in Southern California seem to handle the holidays differently, depending on their individual situations.

Ian Spatz plans to light colorful Hanukkah candles and chant blessings with his family this evening while also enjoying Christmas Eve dinner at their Venice home.

Spatz, who is Jewish, and his wife, who grew up in a secular Christian home, have a Christmas tree in their family room that has a Star of David ornament hanging from it, reflecting the familys multifaith background.

But for years, Spatz said, he was reluctant to tell his parents his family even had a Christmas tree because he feared it meant that he would be losing something as a Jew.

I came to realize in talking to lots of families who are in the same place that you arent giving up something, you are gaining something in being able to celebrate another faith tradition, he said.

And then there are families like the Sperlings in Newport Beach. Sarah Sperling was raised Christian but says she has felt Jewish since she was 5.

It was strange. I celebrated Jewish holidays by myself, she said.

Sperling eventually converted to Judaism and is raising her 2-year-old twins, Roman and Tatum, Jewish. Her husband, David, is not religious but likes to celebrate Christmas in a secular way, she said. This year, they decorated the tree as a family, and she and her children will light Hanukkah candles.

He had a couple of sock monkey ornaments from his childhood and I still have a few favorite ornaments from my home, Sarah Sperling said.

Theyll have latkes and jelly doughnuts and light Hanukkah candles at home. Then, theyll head over to her mothers for an Italian Christmas dinner.

I want my husband to have a Christmas because he grew up with it and still enjoys it, she said. But Id also like my children to know their Jewish identity and not get confused.

In the end, it is healthy for families to help celebrate each others holidays, said Rabbi Zylberman.

Hanukkah and Christmas lining up together is a reminder of the diversity we have in America, he said. And the need for different religions to respect each others rights and celebrate together.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@scng.com
President Obamas foreign policy is suffering from a case of poetic justice. Having lived by the drone, it is now, in a sense, about to die by the unmanned vehicle. Obamas reliance on drones to compensate for an otherwise hands-off approach around the world has not been a full-blown failure. But in the South China Sea, where China recently and brazenly captured a Navy submarine drone, the severe limits of Obamas attempt to automate crucial parts of Americas military presence came into painfully sharp focus.

With them, too, came a wake-up call of an even bigger kind. For those who believed the presidents so-called strategic pivot to Asia, announced to relative fanfare in the not-too-distant past, was not dead in the water, his great restraint toward the Chinese provocation dispelled that illusion. The task of recovering from Obamas exhausted policy will fall to Donald Trump, who already has his hands full building an agenda and a supportive coalition at home.

At least the outgoing president has set the bar low for success. In a remarkable symbol of how poorly the Obama administrations China policy is being received  despite widespread Trump anxiety across the domestic and foreign international relations establishment  the New York Times reported that Asian friends and Washington analysts alike saw Obamas handling of the incident as a clear diminishment of U.S. power in the Pacific. Allies and observers will find it hard not to conclude this represents another diminishment of American authority in the region, Douglas Paal, a Carnegie Endowment vice president, told the New York Times.

The result? A big opening for president-elect Trump to bolster his more hostile approach to China with key regional support from Japan, Vietnam and other powers who could soon be begging for reassurance and support. Trump, who has indulged in provocations of his own around Taiwan and trade, is not known for his subtlety or finesse.

On the other hand, Trump has already begun to show a canny interest in courting some countries that he had lumped in with China as Americas economic adversaries. In Mexico, for instance  where he turned a corner as a candidate by sitting down with unpopular president Enrique Pena Nieto  Trump is now reaching out to billionaire Carlos Slim, who has recently suggested that the president-elects economic reforms could be good news for Mexico too.

But however much Trump may grow as a diplomatic sophisticate, at this moment, as China flexes its muscle amid growing economic uncertainty, a light touch may be uncalled for. Top Obama administration staff informed Trumps team that North Korea is the greatest global threat to American national security  because of its nuclear policy. The more forcefully China pursues its military interests, the more emboldened Pyongyang will be. And, in fact, Chinas now relentlessly aggressive posture in the South China Sea is about more than just forging ahead to realize its long-held territorial claims over the crowded geopolitical neighborhood. Beijing wants a place to put nuclear submarines, and its only viable option (thanks to what has been a successful American policy of deterrence through alliances and bases) is the deep water of the South China Sea. Achieve this, and China makes an abrupt, powerful gain in so-called second strike capability  the ability to launch nuclear weapons even if it suffers a nuclear attack on its core homeland facilities. Second strike capability elevates a nuclear power into the first tier of militaries on Earth, with the freedom to push its revisionist agenda accordingly. If Donald Trump has any hope of getting tougher on China, and perhaps even pulling Russia closer to Americas orbit in the process, he must stop the South China Sea from becoming a Chinese lake.

Even a firm, decisive hand, however, requires a degree of planning and foresight that Trump and his team have yet to show with regard to their China policy. Of course, it is early days yet; China itself has adopted a stance of strategic composure that analysts expect to hold at least a few months into the Trump administration. But President Obama himself made a point of arguing publicly that, if his policy needs an overhaul, it has to be replaced by another policy, not a grab-bag of improvised measures. After all, we dont know how China will react if pushed as hard as Trump could push it. That doesnt mean that you have to adhere to everything thats been done in the past, Obama said in one of his last press conferences. It does mean that youve got to think it through and have planned for potential reactions that they may engage in.

An example of not doing that would be Trumps tweeted idea that the United States should thumb its nose at China by minimizing the drone subs significance. We should tell China that we dont want the drone they stole back, he suggested  let them keep it! Such a move, of course, would make it impossible to make any determination about what China wanted to learn, or did learn, from the device.

The challenge for Trump is straightforward. Increasingly autocratic and expansionist, China is dedicated to covering more territory, preventing economic stagnation and tightening its control over society, all at the same time. It is hard for this mix to produce outcomes that are in the U.S. national interest. Trump needs to disrupt it without causing a conflict so severe that his own domestic agenda is thrown into doubt. Having lived by the provocation, with China, Trump will have to learn quickly how not to die by it too.

James Poulos is a columnist for the Southern California News Group.
CANBERRA, Australia  Police in Australia have detained five men suspected of planning a series of Christmas Day attacks using explosives, knives and a gun in the heart of the countrys second-largest city, officials said Friday.

The suspects were inspired by the Islamic State group and planned attacks on Melbournes iconic Flinders Street train station, neighboring Federation Square, a fashionable bar and restaurant precinct, and St. Pauls Cathedral, an Anglican church, Victoria state Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said.

He said they had been plotting the attack for three weeks. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was one of the most substantial plots that have been disrupted over the last several years.

The arrests came after a truck smashed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday, killing 12 people. A manhunt is underway for the person behind that attack, which prompted increases in security around the world.

Two of seven people initially arrested in raids Thursday night and Friday morning in Melbourne  a 26-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman  were released without being charged, police said.

Five men between the ages 21 and 26 remained in custody. Three appeared in a Melbourne court charged with preparing or planning a terrorist attack. They each face a life sentence if convicted.

Hamza Abbas, 21, Ahmed Mohamed, 24, and Abdullah Chaarani, 26, did not enter pleas or apply for bail. They will appear in court next on April 28.

Police said the other two detained will also be charged with preparing a terrorist attack.

Four of the suspects were born in Australia and the fifth was Egyptian-born with Egyptian and Australian citizenship.

The suspects were preparing to use explosives, knives and a gun, Ashton said.

Police believed the threat had been neutralized through the raids on five Melbourne premises, he said.

Islamist terrorism is a global challenge that affects us all. But we must not be cowed by the terrorists, Turnbull told reporters.

We will continue to go about our lives as we always have. What these criminals seek to do is to kill. But they also seek to frighten us, to cow us into abandoning our Australian way of life, he added.

Since Australias terrorist threat level was elevated in September 2014, the government says there have been four extremist attacks and 12 plots foiled by police.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the plotters had moved very quickly from a plan to develop a capability to attack.

In terms of events that we have seen over the past few years in Australia, this certainly concerns me more than any other event that Ive seen, Colvin said. We believe that we have removed the bulk of this particular cell, this group.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said there will be extra police on the streets of Melbourne on Christmas Day to make the public feel safe.

About 400 police officers were involved in the raids.
Susan Romero remembers how she welled with pride when her family bought its first washer and dryer in 1968. At Sears, of course.

My whole kitchen, my whole house was furnished by Sears, said Romero, 74, who has shopped at the retailer for 50 years. I go to other stores, but I always come back here. Its always full of what I need.

Once an essential part of life for American consumers like Romero, the 123-year-old icon for a graying generation is sinking.

Its so sad, Romero said, looking across the deserted aisles at a Burbank store.

The years end inspires holiday-shopping nostalgia for its loyal customers, but it brings mostly gloom for once-mighty Sears, including an adjusted loss of $333 million for the third quarter that landed as Black Friday sales were being tallied.

The Illinois-based retailer announced this year that it would shutter 76 stores across the country. Its also considering selling off its most popular and enduring brands: Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard.

Sears isnt alone; most of the chains traditional mall-anchor peers are struggling, too, their customers wooed to discounters, young-skewing specialty merchants and online titan Amazon.

Across the mall, however, 114-year-old competitor J.C. Penney has logged a surprising, against-the-wind comeback.

Casting aside the trendy designs and one-price-fits-all strategy of former CEO Ron Johnson, JCP appears to have reconnected with its midlevel market after years in decline. Once at deaths door, JCP is scrapping head-to-head with Sears for the admittedly shrinking midlevel, brick-and-mortar market with doorbusters and a strong connection between its websites and its mall stores.

It has even gambled by returning major appliances to the sales floor.

The company rushed to open up 500 new appliance showrooms by October, which it said helped raise sales 2 percent that month.

We literally touched and rearranged one half of our stores to accomplish this reset, CEO Marvin Ellison told investors last month. We felt it was important to enter this appliance business in a meaningful way going into key holiday selling periods.

The sales bump came on the heels of a three-year period that saw the chain close more than 80 stores.

Regardless of how they fare, some analysts see the fates of the two consumer stalwarts as tied, two legacy companies choosing divergent paths to an uncertain future.

Sears and J.C. Penney have similar issues, said Ira Kalb, professor at USC Marshall School of Business. The world of retailing has changed, and to date, neither has done a very good job of adjusting.

Sears decline

Sears first custom-built store in Glendale still has hints of brighter days.

A wide-rimmed stairwell leads up to showrooms built in 1935. The tall, old-fashioned, display-friendly windows that once wooed passers-by to peek inside have been covered up, and the aisles at the store were a ghost town during a weekday in late November.

Its empty now, said Michael Morgan, a 65-year-old local historian.

It used to be like Hollywood and Vine or Grand Central Station during Christmas time, said Morgan, who fondly recalls gathering there during Christmas in the 1950s, particularly the toy train that once ran along its roof.

Sears has been on a long free fall, closing hundreds of stores, firing thousands of employees and losing billions of dollars over the past decade.

Most analysts predict the companys demise and pin much of the blame on hedge-fund CEO Eddie Lampert, who as chairman of Kmart Holding Co. struck an $11 billion deal to create the Sears Holding Co. in 2004.

The cultural identity of Sears was destroyed with the merger of Kmart, said Nick Vyas, head of USCs Center for Global Supply Chain Management and a former executive at Sears before Lampert took over. It was an identity that the company had for 90-plus years.

So, when it kicked in, it costs Sears customers, he said. But you werent talking about one time customers, you were talking about generations.

When billionaire investor Lampert took over the company, he thought he could turn around its sagging performance. He put hedge-fund managers in charge of the retail business and took a hands-on approach. He focused on slashing costs and moved away from Sears emphasis on customer service.

But he failed. Sears has lost more than 90 percent of its value since 2007 and is mired in debt. To keep it above water, Lampert sold off its valuable real estate.

Fitch Ratings, one of the big three credit rating agencies, estimates Sears raised $4.7 billion from real estate transactions, but it still expects the company to burn through as much as $1.8 billion this year to keep operating.

Sears used to be a cultural event, said Leon Nicholas, an analyst at Kantar Retail. It was a place for the family to get together.

Brian Hanover, a Sears spokesman, repeated what has become Lamperts mantra, Sears Holdings is committed to returning the company to profitability and has a number of initiatives to increase revenues.

The brightest spot has been its Craftsman tools line, and the chain remains a leader in appliance sales, although J.C. Penney is attempting to chip into that market.

In May, Sears announced it would seek buyers for its Kenmore appliance and Craftsman tool brand, two of its most enduring products.

Its a dire future for Sears on the horizon, Vyas said. I am actually shocked they have survived this long.

JCPS balancing act

J.C. Penney is expecting to turn a profit next year for the first time since 2010, in part because of Ellison, a former Home Depot executive.

Ellison, 56, took the helm in 2015 and focused the Texas-based company on presentation at the store, supply-chain efficiency and appeals to its frugal base.

The move was largely a reversal of the strategy forged by former CEO Johnson, who brought in upscale designers and distanced the company from its deep-discount culture.

Under Johnson, JCP eschewed its heavily marketed sales and loyalty perks for JCP credit-card customers. The change cost the company billions of dollars and nearly sunk it.

On a recent weekday, a new era was clear. Piped-in salsa music filled the young mens section at the Glendale Galleria store, Christmas-themed icicles hung from the ceiling and a group of teenagers rummaged through discounted Levis jeans.

Upstairs, a modest appliance section attracted shoppers.

Ellison said last month, We are well-positioned to drive further growth and profitability, win market share and increase our top line while remaining fiscally disciplined.

He has put a focus on the stores home section, expanded the Sephora makeup department and this year opened a new JCPenney in San Bernardino.

Lugging several J.C. Penney bags filled with shoes and jackets for her teenage son, Rose Flores, a 57-year-old from Downey, said her family has been coming to the store for generations.

They have a whole floor of clothes, she beamed, adding that she got a 25 percent discount through her credit card.

J.C. Penney is going to get back to its roots, Rajiv Lal, a Harvard professor and co-author of Retail Revolution: Will Your Brick and Mortar Store Survive? But I dont know that they are as compelling as they used to be.

Unlike Sears, J.C. Penney is heavily focused on apparel. The company recently dusted off an old marketing model, offering deals for consumers to get their Penneys worth. During the holiday shopping season, the company again has offered deep discounts, including offering early-morning Black Friday coupons worth up to $100 and a program matching lower prices at competitors stores. The move toward thrifty consumers shopping for the family has helped lift its profile.

J.C. Penneys stores within the store  salons, the home section, jewelry and the Sephora makeup brand, most added to stores a decade ago  have all driven sales, not the chains long-standing clothing lines.

Revenue, however, still pales compared with prerecession levels. And, after its early-year sales surge, the company recently reported weaker than expected third-quarter earnings.

We believe CEO Marvin Ellison has JCP on the right path, analysts at New York-based Cowen and Co. concluded in their latest report. However, it is still early in the long-term turnaround. The consumer shift away from department stores and the companys debt had them skeptical about JCPs future, as it does others

What next?

Even if the legacy companies enjoy a short-term holiday boost, Lal is skeptical the strategy will work for either store in the long run.

There is too much similarity in department stores, Lal said. They have lost their luster in the concept of todays retail market.

The old-school department-store model is under assault by specialty retailers such as fashion-forward H&M and Zara. At the same time, it is also being squeezed on the low and high end from such retailers as Nordstrom and Target.

More department stores could close in the coming years. An April report by real-estate research firm Green Street Advisors found that per-square-foot sales dropped 24 percent at mall department stores. To become profitable, the firm estimates that Sears would have to shed 300 stores and J.C. Penney 320.

And in more than 400 mall settings, Sears and JCP are direct competitors for a declining number of shoppers.

In some ways, this is a generational thing, said Leon Nicholas, an analyst at Kantar Retail. (Department stores) failed to respond to all the specialties.

And, as younger shoppers snag deals on their phones and frequent edgier specialty shops, many older shoppers would love to see the spark rekindled for their longtime retail favorites.

Especially this time of year.

There is still a twinkle in my heart when I pass the building, because its Sears, said historian Morgan. And I always wish they would put the train back on top.

Contact the writer: ruranga@scng.com
OAKLAND  From the building owner to the concert promoter, the master tenant to the city and the county, everyone bears some responsibility in the Dec. 2 warehouse fire that killed 36 people, according to the first lawsuits and claims filed Friday over the deadly Ghost Ship blaze by two grieving sets of parents.

The parents of 20-year-old San Francisco State student Michela Gregory and 23-year-old UC Berkeley graduate Griffin Madden sued several people associated with the Fruitvale warehouse turned art collective, accusing them of negligence and other failures. They also filed claims against the city of Oakland and Alameda County.

This was some of the grossest forms of carelessness and negligence, said attorney Mary Alexander on Friday, standing outside Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland during a news conference. They all contributed, they all were a cause, and they all were responsible in bringing this tragedy about.

The lawsuits further illustrated the cluttered, over-stuffed interior of the venue and the grim final moments for the three dozen victims killed at the music party that Friday night.

Patrons and invitees, including Michela, tried to exit the warehouse, but were unable to exit due to the unsafe conditions and configuration of the warehouse, according to the Gregory lawsuit, which was similar to Maddens. Michela was trapped in the inferno inside.

Clutching his crying wife Friday, David Gregory spoke lovingly about his daughter Michela.

Theres not a day that goes by that we dont miss her. She was a good kid. Her and Alex (her boyfriend) loved each other, they wanted to have a good time, Gregory said. She never came home. We will never see her again. Now we just want justice, we just want justice.

The suit named Chor Ng, the building owner, and her daughter Eva Ng; Derick Almena and Micah Allison, the husband and wife who operated the Satya Yuga arts collective inside the Ghost Ship warehouse; Joel Shanahan, who goes by the name Golden Donna and who hosted the concert; John Hrabko, the promoter; and two neighbors of the Ghost Ship. The claims filed Friday with the city of Oakland and Alameda County are the first steps in filing a lawsuit against public agencies.

Representatives for Ng and Almena did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Erica Terry Derryck, the spokeswoman for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, and the City Attorneys Office said the city does not comment on pending litigation. A county counsel official said she had not seen either claim.

Neither Gregory nor Madden died instantaneously, their families say in the lawsuits, instead suffering many minutes before dying. The lawsuits did not list a cause of death, but said their injuries included smoke inhalation.

The lawsuits characterized the well-publicized Ghost Ship interior as a maze of makeshift rooms, alcoves and partitions, calling it a death trap.

The interior also included flammable materials, such as industrial and art supplies and propane tanks. The electrical system, the suits alleged, often sparked and circuit breakers would frequently blow out. On Dec. 1, the day before the deadly blaze, a refrigerator caught fire and tenants extinguished it, the families alleged.

The lawsuits also named the businesses next door to Ghost Ship, leased from Ng by Daniel Lopez and Omar Vega, saying they manufactured, distributed and/or sold materials to the Ghost Ship  and provided utilities and services to the Ghost Ship, including supply of electricity through a hole in the wall.

Gregory, an honor-roll student in her junior year, was studying child development while balancing part-time jobs at Duggans Serra Mortuary in Daly City and Urban Outfitters on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. She was dating Alex Vega, 22, who also died in the blaze.

Gregory was very close, to her parents and lived with them, Alexander said.

They certainly had to wait for days to find out, Alexander said of Gregorys parents. Its been very difficult with Michelas bedroom right there at home, and such a senseless event that to be trying to come to grips with her loss, its just been overwhelming.

The Gregory lawsuit described how Michela was found in the arms of Vega, who was trying to protect her from the fire.

Meanwhile, Alexander described Madden as a brilliant graduate of UC Berkeley, where he studied philosophy, Slavic languages and literature. He had also recently joined Cal Performances as a full-time audience services associate, after working there as a student usher through his four years as an undergraduate.

Griffin had so much promise, said Alexander, who previously represented victims of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline blast.

He was trapped and knew that he was likely going to perish because he could not get out, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney Dan Horowitz, who has been following the Ghost Ship fire aftermath, and Mark Gergen, professor of law at UC Berkeley, said the government agencies may not be liable after all.

Thats because of a California statute that shields public entities from this sort of claim for failure to inspect, Gergen said. Without a doubt the master tenant has liability and thats because theres any number of municipal code violations.

Almena would have civil liability, including negligence, however he may have no assets for victims to be awarded, Horowitz said. The promoter as well.

And Ng, who owns a number of properties including the Ghost Ship warehouse, as well as her insurance company, is liable, even if Ng didnt know anyone was living in the building, Horowitz said.

The landlord is liable for damages caused by unlawful conditions on her premises, he said.

Ultimately, Alexander said the disaster was one that could have been prevented. In addition to monetary compensation for their loss, Alexander said the family is hoping the fire will bring about systemic change with respect to warehouses being converted into housing, and assurances that concerts and other events held at such venues have proper safety precautions.

Its sad that it takes this kind of event to get peoples attention, Alexander said. But hopefully there will be changes, and we hope very much that will be an outcome of these lawsuits.

More lawsuits are likely on the way.

Dan Vega, the older brother of Alex Vega, said his family had no comment, except to say they are interviewing attorneys.

Staff writer Tracy Seipel contributed to this report.
When hes not taking toy requests, Santa Claus exchanges his red suit for a pair of overalls and toils away in his shop.

There are no elves tinkering at workbenches, no reindeer in stables out back. This shop is mostly empty. Santa has been working daily, mostly alone, to clear and clean it.

A year ago, Steve Barchus, 56, closed his steel-tempering business north of L Street on 88th Street. Since then hes been spending most days there readying the space for the landlord. Its been hard, he said, dismantling a business that was in his family for almost 50 years.

But this time of year offers a reprieve. Barchus is a Santa for hire, strapping on his suit, belt and boots to play the jolly old elf at holiday events around the Omaha metro. Its like therapy for him, he said, getting to make kids smile.

And though he could use the extra money this year, Barchus intends to do what he always does: donate all of his Santa earnings to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska.

Four years ago Make-A-Wish helped Barchus son, Isaac, who has a rare disease, meet his hero, former Husker Ndamukong Suh. Since then, every Christmas, Barchus has made it a personal mission to give something back to the organization and, hopefully, make more wishes come true.

If I could fund every wish kid out there, Id do it, Barchus said.

He smiles when he talks about his work. You have to be jolly to be Santa, after all.

At home, wife Kathe, who works for Childrens Hospital & Medical Center Home Health, has the TV permanently fixed on holiday movies. And at the beginning of each season, Barchus takes a spin through a toy store, so hell understand what the kids are asking for. Its just part of the job.

He smiles even though its been a tough year. Last November, Barchus closed the business his father started, Great Plains Metallurgical Co., which used heat to strengthen steel for area manufacturers. The industry changed, he said, and business slowed. Since he closed his doors hes been fixing up the space for his landlord in exchange for unpaid rent.

He spends most days at the shop by himself, he said. Occasionally one of his four sons or a friend lends a hand. Its been tough on him emotionally, he said, watching it all come apart.

But then ...

I go home, get cleaned up, throw on the suit, and its go time, he said.

The holidays begin early, usually in the summer, when Barchus starts growing his beard. He dyes his hair as Christmas draws closer. The beard, he joked, gets whiter on its own every year.

The suit is key, he said. His features a hand-tooled belt with a special buckle  a replica of the one Tim Allen wears in The Santa Clause. He wears a pair of steel-toe biker boots so the kids can stand on my feet and its not an issue, he said.

Barchus accepts Santa gigs at neighborhood gatherings, hospitals and office Christmas parties. Last year, he estimates, he saw more than 2,500 kids.

He collects his earnings in an envelope and takes them to the Make-A-Wish offices himself. Or, he said, he tells the venue that hired him to make a donation directly. Ask him how much he gives every year, and he shrugs it off. More than $1,000 most years, he said. Not really all that much.

Lauren Piller, manager of events and community outreach for Make-A-Wish Nebraska, would disagree.

A lot of people forget this: A little impact goes a long way. It truly does, Piller said.

Barchus and his Santa gifts are well-known around the foundation, she said. Every year he makes an effort to surprise the team in costume as Santa.

He looks legit like Santa. Its kind of scary, Piller said.

His donations feed into a general fund that the charity uses to grant wishes, she said.

But thats just one part of what the Barchuses do for the foundation. Since his own wish was granted in 2012, Isaac, now 12 and a seventh-grader at Westside Middle School, has served as a spokesman of sorts for Make-A-Wish, telling his story at fundraisers and other events.

Isaac has CANDLE syndrome, a rare autoinflammatory disease that can cause arthritis-like joint pain and painful rashes. In December 2012 Make-A-Wish funded a family trip to Detroit, where Isaac, then 8, visited a Detroit Lions practice and met Suh, a former NU defensive tackle.

The trip was important to him, Isaac said. It still is. He and Suh (now with the Miami Dolphins) keep in touch, texting back and forth a few times a week.

So Isaac is proud of his dad for helping give other kids the opportunity he had.

I think its actually really cool that hes giving the money to Make-A-Wish and not keeping it, he said. He just gives it all away. Like all of it.

Steve Barchus sees it as repaying a debt. Over the years, he said, his family has been lucky enough to receive support from the community. So much, he said, that he would need three lifetimes to pay it forward.

So hes never had second thoughts about donating his Santa money.

Not last year, after closing his business. Not this year, even though hes spent months without income.

Hes not sure what hes going to do when he finishes fixing up the shop. Hed be Santa year-round if he could.

For now, hes considering his options with one important factor in mind. His new boss, he hopes, will be OK with him growing out his beard.
Be careful what you wish for, the saying goes  you just might get it.

For decades, Americans on both sides of the aisle have argued that the country needs a new, citizen-driven approach to politics. Rather than having careerists for politicians, we should have outsiders with proven track records in the private sector serve for short periods of time. If they can run a business successfully, they can make government work.

The more successful the entrepreneur, the more successful the nation will be. Belief in that theory fueled the independent bids of H. Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996, and also the efforts to get Michael Bloomberg into the presidential race last year.

Related: Trump's Washington Hotel a Conflict of Interest: Democratic Lawmakers

Starting in 2017, America has the opportunity to test this theory at the highest possible level of both politics and wealth. Donald Trump will take office on January 20th, and leave his long career as a real-estate developer and resort mogul behind. Or more accurately, Trump will leave some of it behind  and thats where the problems begin.

It has become customary for presidents to put their assets into a blind trust or other hands-off financial structure after first liquidating significant assets that might present a conflict of interest. Federal law requires executive branch officials to use blind trusts, but the separation-of-powers doctrine makes the applicability to the president and vice-president questionable at best. Still, those occupying the highest office have found it politically appropriate, at the very least, to put their personal financial interests at arms length from their policy decisions.

Barack Obama moved his assets into index funds and bonds with full disclosure in order to settle the question  but not a blind trust. In April 2010, more than a year after taking office, The Washington Post took notice on how the now-outgoing president has rejected the approach taken by most of his predecessors in the modern era by simply converting assets into Treasuries and widely diversified funds.

Story continues

Related: Conflicts of Interest With Trumps Businesses Are Already Occurring

The Posts Michael Shear pointed out that then-mayor and multi-billionaire Bloomberg had not put his assets in a blind trust either. Bloomberg adviser Kenneth Gross dismissed the need for Obama to use a blind trust, arguing that his investments would have little to do with presidential policy. "He's got his money in exactly the kinds of investments that don't require a blind trust."

That didnt keep Obama free of all allegations of potential conflicts of interest. A 2011 controversy at the FCC over spectrum allocations involving a venture firm called LightSquared reached the White House when a four-star Air Force general accused Obamas aides of pressuring him into altering Congressional testimony in favor of the firm. Three months earlier, the Huffington Post had reported that several well-connected Democratic donors and officeholders had taken stakes in LightSquared, including Obama himself as an early investor who remains close to other early investors.

LightSquared eventually lost the fight long after the media lost the minimal interest it showed about the conflict of interest. It nonetheless demonstrates the political risks involved in refusing blind trusts. Obamas predecessors utilized them as a ready shield against critics of their policies. And as recent coverage of the potential for conflicts between Trumps personal finances and his responsibilities as president, the president-elect cant count on media disinterest to shield him.

Related: Trumps Kids Are on His Transition Team: A Serious Conflict of Interest?

Trumps good business fortune makes it more difficult to resolve those potential conflicts. Where Obamas assets were primarily investments that could easily be liquidated or converted, Trumps holdings are primarily real estate in an empire that remains a personal and family business. Even if Trump was inclined to liquidate, it could take years to unwind his properties in a rational manner  and hes clearly not inclined to liquidate. Like most men and women who build personal business empires, Trump wants to pass the business along to his children.

The conflict-of-interest issue will only get amplified as a result of Trumps Cabinet picks, most of whom are top executives at firms such as Goldman Sachs and Exxon. Wilbur Ross, Trumps nominee as Secretary of Commerce, is a billionaire investor whose position would directly impact his portfolio. Some have already begun to notice a pattern of benefit just from being mentioned as a potential member of the next administration. Federal laws and rules would apply to these officials, which is why the Trump team has begun to look at whether discretionary blind trusts could be used to satisfy the requirements  as well as Trumps political needs.

A discretionary trust would allow Trump to retain ownership of the assets while being run by either a family member or a trusted third party. The principal benefit for Trump would be the elimination of the need to liquidate his assets, which a true blind trust would require in order to shield the president from questions about conflicts of interest. However, a discretionary trust allows the trustee to communicate with the owners about business matters, which would negate the political benefits of the trust for the Trumps  and probably fail to satisfy the legal requirements for Trumps Cabinet to boot.

Related: Trump: Nobody but the Media Cares About Conflicts of Interest

Richard Painter, who served as George W. Bushs ethics lawyer, told Politico that a discretionary trust would be highly inappropriate, and leaving existing assets in place while determining policy would constitute a violation of at least the spirit of the rules. That might still be a problem even if his children buy him out completely. In one potential demonstration of this futility, foreign governments have already begun toadying up to Trump through his resorts. We can expect more of these efforts after the inauguration. In short, we have a mess that wont be quickly or easily resolved.

Will voters care enough about this to damage his political capital? So far it seems to have done little to dampen enthusiasm for Trump among his supporters, and a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll suggests hell have a honeymoon with a broader range of voters as he takes office. After all, over sixty-two million voters voted for the businessman even with the potential for these conflicts already apparent, and they may be inclined to give Trump a pass  at least until they suffer some disillusion over his governing choices.

Related: Trumps Massive Global Business Footprint Can Subvert US National Security

That may come sooner rather than later. Trump says he wants to drain the swamp and make dramatic changes in the way Washington does business. Thats precisely why Trump will need to put his interests into a blind trust  to protect himself from the potential backlash. If Trump alienates enough voters and members of Congress with his policies, those conflicts of interest will offer a very handy excuse to push for impeachment under the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.

Voters gave Trump the presidency  but they dont want Trump to give them the business. Trump has to choose whether he wants to be a mogul or be a president, and he needs to make that choice now.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Two masked assailants parked Friday evening outside a brick ranch home on a dead-end street in Omahas Millard area, then gunned down a 50-year-old man inside, police said.

Michael Brinkman was shot about 5:40 p.m. in his house at 18139 Tammy Trail. Violent crime of the stripe that killed the roofing contractor is extraordinary in the neighborhood where it occurred.

Police had not announced an arrest late Friday.

Homicide detectives interviewed two of Brinkmans relatives at Central Police Headquarters downtown Friday evening. The relatives were at the home at the time and were interviewed as witnesses. Their names and relation to Brinkman were not released.

Police were investigating the slayings underlying motive.

The initial call to emergency dispatchers indicated that two assailants wearing clown masks had attempted a robbery.

Were investigating it as a possible robbery, Omaha Police Lt. Jerry Siedlik said, adding that police are not certain that robbery motivated the killing.

Siedlik declined to say how many times Brinkman was shot.

Brinkman had owned a roofing company, Xcel Roofing, though he had recently sold the business.

Paramedics took Brinkman in grave condition to Lakeside Hospital; police said he died at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Tammy Trail is near the intersection of 185th and Q Streets.

Police said anyone with information on the killing should call the homicide unit at 402-444-5656. Those who wish to remain anonymous should call Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP or offer information at OmahaCrimeStoppers.org. A tip leading to an arrest in a homicide investigation is eligible for a reward up to $25,000.

* * * * *

Correction, Dec. 24: An earlier version of this story included two photos of a house that were incorrectly labeled as 18139 Tammy Trail.
A fast-moving weather system delivered a wintry mix of rain, light freezing rain and snow to the Omaha area today.

Minor icing and light snow accumulations occurred in some locations in the Omaha area, creating slick spots on roadways, the National Weather Service office in Valley said.

Untreated side streets in the Omaha area were slick in some places as wet snow built up early today. Major roadways appeared to have been in good condition.

The wintry conditions prompted a winter weather advisory from the weather service, warning of snow and a wintry mix of precipitation through early this afternoon for a band stretching from south-central Nebraska into northwest Iowa, including the Omaha area.

Also included in the affected area were Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Columbus, Norfolk, Tekamah, Sioux City, Denison and Storm Lake, the weather service said.

Not in the advisory were Lincoln, Beatrice, Falls City and Nebraska City.

The advisory warned of snow and ice accumulations on roads, with 2 to 5 inches of snow possible in some locations outside the Omaha area, according to the weather service.

A meteorologist at KMTV, Ryan McPike, also said the Omaha area will see a wintry mixture of conditions today.

It may go back and forth between heavy snowflakes and rain, he said.

McPike said he wasnt expecting any accumulations in the Omaha area.

A stronger system is to impact the Omaha area Sunday, delivering widespread showers and possibly even a few thunderstorms. Conditions will also become very windy, with some gusts up to 50 mph possible.

Sundays system could also produce locally heavy rainfall, forecasters said. Because the ground is frozen and ice is in local rivers, some isolated flooding could occur.

There is a slight risk for severe weather in the Omaha area on Sunday, McPike said, but the greatest chance will be to the southwest of Omaha. He also called for winds of 50 to 60 mph on Sunday.

McPike said the Omaha area could see a return of wintry weather a week from now.

If you want to have some fun and look ahead, we could be back into some snow and cold next weekend, he said. But thats a long way out.

Sundays system that is to impact the Omaha area will be part of a large and powerful storm moving into the Plains, according to AccuWeather. This storm could lead to blizzard conditions in parts of the Dakotas and possibly severe thunderstorms over eastern Nebraska, central Iowa and northeast Texas. Isolated twisters could also form in some locations.

Sundays weather is also expected to usher in wintry precipitation and strong winds to northwest, northern and north-central Nebraska, the weather service said.

These areas will see light freezing rain and snow, with snowfall totals in the 1- to 4-inch range in Cherry and Sheridan Counties.

Most of the locations will also experience northwest wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph, making travel difficult when combined with the snowfall.

Behind the storm will be much colder air, which is expected to produce frigid conditions Sunday night and Monday morning in the Plains.

The latest Omaha-area forecast, according to the weather service:

Today  Rain and snow likely (70 percent) before 1 p.m., then a chance of rain between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. with a high in the upper 30s. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half-inch possible.

Tonight  Partly cloudy with a low around 20.

Saturday  Mostly sunny with a high in the lower 40s.

Saturday night  A slight chance of drizzle before 7 p.m., a slight chance of drizzle or freezing drizzle between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., then drizzle likely after 11 p.m. Areas of fog after 3 a.m. A low in the lower to mid-30s. East-southeast wind gusts as high as 20-25 mph.

Sunday  Rain and possibly a thunderstorm likely (90 percent). Areas of fog before 9 a.m. A high in the mid-50s. Breezy with south winds of 25 mph and gusts as high as 35 mph. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Sunday night  Mostly clear and breezy with a low in the lower 20s.

Monday  Sunny with a high in the mid-30s.

Monday night  Mostly clear with a low in the upper teens.

Tuesday  Sunny with a high in the upper 30s.

Tuesday night  Mostly clear with a low in the mid-20s.

Wednesday  Mostly sunny with a high in the lower 40s.

Wednesday night  Partly cloudy with a low in the mid-20s.

Thursday  Mostly sunny and breezy with a high in the upper 30s.
Editor's note: At least 763 American soldiers from the Army's 66th Infantry Division drowned in the English Channel on Christmas Eve 1944  75 years ago today  when a German U-boat torpedoed their a troopship, the SS Leopoldville, just off the coast of France. The victims included four men from Nebraska and seven from western Iowa. Military officials shrouded the disaster in official secrecy at the time, and it was largely forgotten by historians.

Omahan Kathy Sorenson's uncle, Pfc. William Quinlan was one of the four Nebraskans who died. She didn't hear much about him when she was growing up.

"He was 20 years old. His family was devastated. They never recovered," she said.

The World-Herald told the story of the Leopoldville on Dec. 24, 2016. We are republishing it on Omaha.com today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the disaster.

Today, the son of a 66th Infantry Division veteran will plant 763 flags in the ground at Camp Blanding, Florida, near a monument honoring the division's fallen. And Lenore Angelo, who leads the Panther Veterans Organization  begun by 66th ID vets  will light a candle and observe a moment of silence at 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the same hour the Leopoldville was sunk.

She hopes others will do the same.

"The men who were lost on the Leopoldville were heroes," Angelo said. "If we don't tell their story, it's going to be gone."

* * *

Herman Lemke woke up with a feeling of dread that cold Christmas morning in 1944.

The farmer from Bruning, Nebraska, had just sent his second-oldest son off to World War II. Otis, 22, was in England with the 66th Infantry Division, ready to join the fight against the Nazis in France and Belgium.

Over Christmas breakfast, Herman told his wife and five younger children about his bad dream. He dreamt he saw Otis at the foot of his bed. He had said Goodbye, Dad,  recalled Florence Hines, Otis sister, who was 17 at the time. He didnt laugh about it. He was very serious.

Weeks later the family learned Otis had gone missing Christmas Eve night, lost at sea in the English Channel. Herman Lemkes nightmare had come true.

Nearly 800 families would get the same news that winter, devastating but vague. A loved one had died  but who knew what really happened?

The War Department said little in its telegrams. It wanted no one to know that a German U-boat, U-486, had stalked and sunk the converted passenger liner SS Leopoldville, killing about one-third of the 2,200 soldiers on board.

The 763 reported victims included Otis Lemke and at least three other Nebraskans, as well as seven soldiers from western Iowa. Only 270 bodies were recovered.

It touched a lot of lives, theres no question about it, said Allan Andrade, a retired New York City police detective who investigated the disaster in the 1990s and wrote a book about it. It seems to be a never-ending story.

They died in part because of miscommunication and incompetence by the ships crew, within sight of its destination, Cherbourg, France. But it took news of the attack more than an hour to reach shore, causing a critical delay in getting rescue boats to the scene. Many members of the crew abandoned ship, leaving the soldiers to fend for themselves. Few had any idea how to launch a lifeboat.

Many of them were 18, 19 years old, said Andrade, author of Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret.

Their deaths would remain a mystery to their families, and forgotten by almost everyone else, because of official secrecy. The survivors werent allowed to discuss what happened.

They kept it very quiet, said Ardene Mammen, 92, of Geneva, Nebraska, who had been married to Otis Lemke just nine months when he died.

Otis had grown up on his fathers farm but left town before World War II with his older brother, Alvin, to work on a dairy farm in Minnesota. He returned in 1943 and took a job at the air base in Bruning.

Ardene met him at a welcome party for a family that had just moved to a nearby farm.

He was very nice, she recalled. I think it was something like love at first sight.

They were married in April 1944. Less than six months later, Otis was drafted into the Army.

Otis made it home to Nebraska for a short furlough before he had to ship out overseas. Ardene said goodbye at a railroad station in Omaha for what turned out to be the last time.

I prayed a lot, Ardene said.

Lemkes division waited in a camp in England as the Battle of the Bulge raged in Belgium and Luxembourg that December. On Christmas Eve, the 66th got called up to join the fight.

Thousands of soldiers milled about the docks at Southampton, where confusion reigned in the hours before dawn. Some units boarded the Leopoldville, a Belgian luxury liner that had been converted into a troopship before the war.

Pvt. John Pordon, 19, of San Francisco boarded about 2:30 a.m. and was directed below decks on a rickety wooden staircase to an area where hammocks were hung four high.

The Leopoldville got underway about 9 a.m. on Dec. 24.

They ate what Pordon recalls was an awful Christmas dinner of greenish stew over rice as the ship tossed about on the choppy Channel waves.

Many soldiers got seasick.

We were all griping about what a lousy way it was to spend Christmas, said Pordon, now 91 and living in Sonoma, California. Little did we know.

After dinner, Pordon had returned to his hammock. Suddenly, just before 6 p.m., a huge shock rocked the ship from the starboard (right) side back near the stern. Many soldiers in that part of the ship died instantly, or were trapped below decks.

It felt like an earthquake, Pordon said in a telephone interview. We knew something happened. We thought we had hit a mine.

Many soldiers had missed a lifeboat drill earlier, so they didnt know where to go or how to don a life vest. Pordons company had been there, so the men reported to their lifeboat station as planned. They waited for a long time, but no one gave instructions.

By now we all assumed the ship was sinking, he said.

Pordon said there was no panic or pushing, and he doesnt remember feeling fear  just a certainty that he must figure a way out of this situation.

He circled around to the other side of the ship, where a British destroyer escort, the HMS Brilliant, had pulled alongside and nudged its prow up against the troopship. Its crew members were urging soldiers on the Leopoldville to jump across.

Trouble was, the destroyers deck was quite a bit lower than the Leopoldvilles. And the rough seas made the Brilliant a bobbing, hard-to-hit target. The penalty for missing was severe: being crushed between the two ships steel hulls as the waves crashed them together.

I saw a few guys jump and not make it to the other boat, Pordon recalled. I said Im not Charles Atlas. I decided I would stay with the (Leopoldville), and whatever happens happens.

Once the Brilliant was filled, it headed to Cherbourg. Only then did authorities at the port learn what had happened to the troopship. A flotilla of small boats steamed out to pick up survivors, more than two hours after the ship had been hit.

Pordon stuck it out on deck until the Leopoldvilles last moments.

About 8:30 p.m. the ship started to roll onto its side. He stepped over the rail, walked down the side of the ship, and stepped into the 48-degree water.

He started to sink and realized his heavy ammo belt would drown him.

I let the belt go and popped up like a cork, Pordon said.

He was floating among dozens of men in life vests.

Some were screaming and flailing about, praying to God or shouting for their mothers.

It was tragic and contagious. It felt easy to do the same, Pordon said. I calmed down and realized I had to do something to get out of this mess.

He swam away from this tragic group and spotted a raft with some men in and around it. He grabbed an attached rope but gave it up when a panicked soldier came up and tried to take it away.

So Pordon decided to try something else. He paddled around, and after awhile he spotted a military tugboat. He swam toward it, and some of the crew members spotted him.

Two guys grabbed me by the arms and pulled me up, Pordon said. I was so weak, I couldnt get up.

He hadnt really felt the cold during the 45 minutes he spent in the water. As soon as he was out, though, he started shivering uncontrollably. He stripped off his wet clothes, wrapped up in a blanket and was hustled down to the engine room to warm himself from the heat of the motors.

That heat felt great, Pordon said.

Once ashore, the survivors were taken to a nearby hospital. Pordon recuperated there for a few days. His 66th Infantry Division, which had lost about one-third of its men in the Leopoldville disaster, was too depleted to join the Battle of the Bulge. Instead it was sent to patrol a rear area and defeat pockets of German resistance.

Back home in Nebraska, Otis Lemkes family knew nothing of the sinking, aside from Herman Lemkes odd Christmas omen.

After the holidays, Ardene went about her work, teaching at a country school near Bruning. But she noticed, with concern, that Otis letters stopped arriving.

I hadnt heard from him for quite some time, she said. Then I got a telegram from the government. They brought it to our door. Ardenes parents were there to support her. More than 70 years later, its still too painful for her to remember that day.

When that happened to Otis, she was pretty much destroyed, said her daughter, Karen Corliss, of Bruning.

A minister and a postal official delivered a telegram to Otis parents.

We couldnt hardly believe it, recalled Berneta Miller, his younger sister, who is 85 and lives in Davenport, Nebraska. The family displayed his photo, and flew a Gold Star flag.

Contemporary news accounts indicate it may have been as late as early February that some families learned of a missing loved one, and April  near the end of the European war  before soldiers were declared dead.

A memorial service was held in June 1945, although Otis body was never recovered. The family placed a stone in the local cemetery.

In keeping with the times, people accepted the news quietly and moved on. There were crops to plant, children to teach, families to feed.

But, Florence said, we always thought about him on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

After the war was over, she said, two soldiers from the Bruning area who had been on the troopship with Otis told the family what they knew of his death. They said Otis had been trying to descend a rope to a lifeboat when he slipped and was crushed between the Leopoldville and the Brilliant. He never had a chance.

After the wreck, military censors sharply restricted what the Leopoldvilles survivors could say about their ordeal.

We were told not to say anything about it, Pordon said. It was a military secret.

Few details about the disaster surfaced until long after the war. The sinking was still largely unknown when Andrade heard about it in 1993 while conducting research for an unrelated book.

The Internet was still in its infancy, but Andrade used his detective skills to track down many Leopoldville survivors and get their stories. He published the first edition of his book in 1997, which prompted more survivors, and relatives of victims, to contact him. An updated edition was published a decade later.

He also worked with survivors of the Leopoldville and veterans of the 66th Infantry to raise funds for a monument in honor of those who died on the troopship. It was dedicated at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1998.

Andrade wants to make sure those who died arent forgotten.

Ive been able to get 150 articles published, Andrade said. A heckuva lot of people know about it now that didnt know about it before.

Ardene never forgot her first love, the soldier who was lost at sea. Soon after the war, she met a Bruning veteran named Leonard Mammen. He had joined the Army in 1940 and served in Europe for the duration of World War II, from the landings in North Africa to the fall of Berlin.

She fell in love again.

He reminded me of Otis. They were both just fine men, Ardene says now.

They were married June 2, 1946, at the same church where she had married Otis barely two years before, and with some of Otis sisters standing beside her. The couple lived on the farm, and reared five children. The marriage lasted 42 years, until Leonards death in 1988.

Otis wasnt discussed, at least not around the children. But Leonard quietly made space for the Army comrade who had come before him.

He protected Ardene at Christmastime, when Ardene always felt blue. She didnt join in the decorating or merrymaking.

We knew that she wasnt into the holidays, but we never knew why, Corliss said.

The Mammen children, in fact, never learned about their mothers first marriage until the couples 40th wedding anniversary, when someone innocently asked about Ardenes bridesmaids.

My dad said Blondie, tell them,  Corliss recalled, using Leonards nickname for Ardene. We were just flabbergasted.

Im probably not as open as people are now, Ardene admitted. You never forget it.

Ardene said it is her Christian faith that got her through those hard times, just as it helps her now. Shes gained the wisdom that comes hard to Gold Star families like hers.

Somehow, Ardene said, were given the strength to go ahead.

Photos: Scenes from the Battle of the Bulge, which started 75 years ago
Its not known how many soldiers from Nebraska and western Iowa survived the Christmas Eve 1944 sinking of the SS Leopoldville. But a couple of men still living in Omaha today saw their lives reshaped by the troopship tragedy.

Army medic Spiro Moustakes, then 24, spent a few hours aboard the doomed transport early that morning but got off before it sailed. The graduate of Omaha South High School and the University of Omaha had been called up from his billet as a medical lab technician at a military hospital in England because so many medics had been killed in the Battle of the Bulge, which had been going on for weeks in Belgium and Luxembourg. German riflemen were said to be targeting medics.

We marched all the way to Southampton, Moustakes said of the English port city from which the Leopoldville sailed for Cherbourg, France. They got us on board ship. For some reason they told us Were not able to do anything for you. 

Moustakes returned to his barracks and traveled on Christmas Day instead. Only later did he learn about the sinking of the Leopoldville, which military authorities kept quiet.

Moustakes worked for months in a hospital at Mourmelon, France, with the 326th Airborne Medical Company, which had lost 30 percent of its members in the Battle of the Bulge. He recalls participating in a relief convoy to Bastogne, Belgium, to aid soldiers who had been encircled there by German forces.

After Germany surrendered he was sent to Austria. There he visited the Eagles Nest, Hitlers mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden, where he claimed a doorknob. After the war, Moustakes worked as a lab technician for years at Omahas old Doctors Hospital. Now 96, he is in hospice care. Earlier this year Gov. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Brad Ashford presented him with copies of his Army medals, in honor of his service during the war.

George Slone was assigned to the 263rd Regiment of the 66th Infantry Division and crossed the channel that Christmas Eve, too. But as the driver of a Jeep, his job was to stay with it.

So instead of boarding the Leopoldville or a second troopship, the HMS Cheshire, he rode across on the tank landing ship that hauled his vehicle and reached Cherbourg safely.

I landed and waited in an orchard in France, said Slone, now 94. I didnt really know the Leopoldville was sunk until later.

The disaster claimed the lives of about one-third of his division, leaving it too depleted to head to the Ardennes front as planned. Instead it was assigned to Saint-Nazaire, France, to guard a German submarine base and battle cut-off German forces in Brittany.

Like Moustakes, he was sent to Austria for occupation duty after the German surrender. Once his military hitch was over he finished college at Nebraska Wesleyan and became a teacher and school superintendent in several Nebraska towns, including his hometown of Erickson.

I felt I was pretty lucky, Slone said of his wartime adventure. During wartime, I guess a person just gets steeled to danger.
An Iowa woman charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 disappearance of an acquaintance declined to fight extradition to Nebraska on Friday and was transferred to the Douglas County Jail.

Shanna Golyar, 41, was arrested Thursday at her home in Persia, Iowa, in connection with the death of Cari Farver, of Macedonia, Iowa. Police believe the slaying took place Nov. 13 or 14, 2012, in west Omaha, according to a police report. Farver was 37 at the time.

Douglas County Jail records indicate Golyar was admitted to the jail at 12:47 p.m.

Authorities have not said whether they have found Farvers body or why they believe a murder was committed.

A few days after Farvers suspected death, her mother, Nancy Raney of Carson, Iowa, reported her missing to the Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office. It wasnt until Jan. 10, 2013, that Farvers vehicle was found in Omaha.
It doesnt look like it will be a white Christmas for the metro area, but rather a warm, wet and windy one.

Though freezing drizzle was expected to hit northeast Nebraska overnight, by sunrise Sunday, temperatures were expected to be back above freezing.

Drivers hitting the roads in the afternoon should expect strong winds, with gusts of 30 to 40 mph.

Scott Dergan, a meteorologist with the National Weather service office in Valley, said those traveling east or west on Interstate 80 should be cautious of the wind speed.

Tom Kines, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, The World-Heralds weather consultant, agreed.

Afternoon thunderstorms will bring nasty wind, he said. If you are traveling, hold on to the steering wheel pretty tight, Kines said. The showers will continue on and off throughout the day and could bring between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain in the Omaha area.

The afternoon high was forecast to reach the mid- to upper 50s, with the potential of matching or breaking the Christmas Day record of 57 degrees, set in 1936 and reached again in 1946.

Northwest Nebraska is under a winter storm warning for snow and high winds that may make for blizzard conditions.

Most of western South Dakota and nearly all of North Dakota are under a blizzard warning until noon Monday, including the encampment at the Dakota Access pipeline protest. Morton County Sheriffs Office spokesman Rob Keller said that though many people left because of a blizzard earlier this month, as many as 500 people may still be at the camp.

A freezing rain advisory for southeast and east-central South Dakota will be in effect for most of the day Sunday, and parts of central Minnesota are under an ice storm warning.

Stephen McCoy, the manager of airline affairs at Eppley Airfield, recommended that travelers check with their airlines as weather in other parts of the country could affect connecting flights.

On Friday, snow in Appleton, Wisconsin, caused the Minnesota Vikings team plane to slide off a runway and become stuck. The plane had been taxiing after landing.

AccuWeathers Kines said snow Sunday isnt forecast to hit the major airports in Denver, Minneapolis or Chicago.

This article contains material from the Associated Press.




Burn A Feed





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Footwear fiasco: Siddaramaiah's office denies allegations

Bengaluru

oi-Anusha

By Anusha Ravi

Bengaluru, Dec 24: After a picture of Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah's personal assistant helping him wear his shoes has gone viral, the Chief Minister's office has come out with a clarification that the person kneeling down was in fact his relative and Siddaramaiah owns no shoes with laces.

On Saturday it was reported that Siddaramaiah's personal assistant Kumar had knelt down to tie CM's shoe laces.

The image was taken in Mysuru on Saturday. Siddaramaiah, a leader who has been vocal about social equality was questioned by many after this incident.

The Chief Minister was in Mysuru to attend the funeral of veteran actor Chetan Ram Rao.

Several politicians have come under the scanner for similar incidents. An image of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister being carried by police personnel while inspecting the floods had gone viral in August. Similarly BJP leader Pankaja Munde faced flak after images of her assistant carrying her slippers had gone viral.

OneIndia News
Hyderabad: Lecturer caught on camera caning students for delayed assignments

Hyderabad

oi-Anusha

Hyderabad, Dec 24: The Hyderabad Police on Friday received an e-mail about corporal punishment in a college in the city along with an attachment of videos of a lecturer assaulting students. The west zone police have registered a case following the mail.

Three different videos attached with the mail shows a male lecturer of a yet to be identified college in Hyderabad thrashing students with a cane. Two videos of the lecturer trashing the students have been sent while another video shows the students' injuries.

Hyderabad: College lecturer thrashes students, allegedly for delaying submission of home work (22.12.2016) pic.twitter.com/ITAdQjQQYf  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

The police are yet to verify when the videos were shot. The persons who recorded the corporal punishment as well as the lecturer and college seen in the video. The lecturer thrashing the student has been filmed secretly by other students of the class. The complaint mail also says that he trashed the students for delays in submission of assignments.

Based on the complaint received via mail the west zone police have registered a case under 324 IPC and 75 of JJ act. Further investigations are under way.

OneIndia News
I saved the country as promised, says Modi on demonetisation

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Pune, Dec 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that if the evils of corruption and black money had been tackled by the previous governments, he would not have been forced to take a tough decision like demonetisation.

"If the ills of the country had been tackled on time in the past 40 years, I would not have resorted to such a harsh decision.

"Those who failed to take the decision have pushed the country to grave peril -- I have saved the country, as I had promised to do," Modi said at a public rally here after inaugurating the Rs 11,420-crore Pune Metro project.

Continuing with his defence of demonetisation, he again warned the corrupt and black money hoarders to come clean or face the consequences.

Reiterating his earlier statements in Mumbai -- to continue the war against corruption, black money hoarders, terror and Maoists until achieving victory -- Modi exhorted those with undeclared money to reveal their untaxed wealth and "sleep peacefully".

"If they don't declare, then at least I will not sleep," he warned, vowing to give justice to the 125 crore people of the country, who have suffered over 70 years because of a handful of corrupt elements.

Also read: On Nov 8, we began a war against corruption: Narendra Modi

He said after the 50 days post-demonetisation, the sufferings of the masses would gradually ease, but the problems of the corrupt and the black money hoarders will increase. "Nobody will be spared and the poor will get justice."

Dwelling on the rural-urban divide, Modi said the Centre has launched a "Rurban Mission" to ensure all-round development of urban centres and the villages without the latter losing their soul.

"In rural areas, we shall improve the quality of life, employment, provide same opportunities and facilities as in urban areas, which can slow the pace of migration from the rural areas to cities," Modi said.

He said under the changed scenario, people are not merely content with railways or highways, but demand I-ways (Information Highways) and digital grids, and besides water pipelines, they want gas pipelines and optical fibre networks.

"Urbanisation is going on at a brisk pace in India and whatever we do is not enough. If we only think of the next elections, we shall never confront the challenges facing urban areas.

"So, irrespective of the immediate political gains, we must adopt a long-term vision to tackle the challenges of development," Modi said.

It was also imperative to complete all projects within the deadline and if possible, think of catering to the needs of the people after 25-30 years, he urged.

Since demonetisation, he said, the value of small currencies like Rs 100-Rs 50 had gone up, the incomes of urban and rural bodies in the country had shot up by 200-300 per cent, compared to the 50-60 per cent earlier.

The additional revenues would be used for public benefit, he added.

IANS
Maharashtra: Y plus security for 41 MLAs and 10 MPs of CM Shinde camp to continue

Maharashtra: Deputy Sarpanch of village arrested for graft

India

oi-PTI

Palghar, Dec 24: A 34-year-old Deputy Sarpanch of a village in Palghar district who accepted a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a villager has been arrested by the Thane unit of the ACB, officials said today.

ACB raids kin of suspended Karnataka officials

Khanaya Thorat, DYSP ACB Thane said the Deputy Sarpanch of Dahanu, Kunal Raut had made a demand of Rs 50,000 from the complainant for issuing a No-objection Certificate for sand excavation.

After due negotitations it was decided that a sum of Rs 10,000 would be paid to Raut. The aggrieved villager lodged a complaint with the Thane unit of ACB which laid a trap yesterday at Dahanu East and trapped him while recieving the money from the villager a release said.

The alleged accused has been charged under sections 7,12,13(1),(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption act of 1988, and offences have been registered with the local police station.

PTI
In Tripura, liquor shops and bars to remain closed during Durga Puja, Diwali

Suspected smuggler killed in Tripura BSF firing

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Agartala, Dec 24: A Muslim man was killed when BSF troopers, while on patrol along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, opened fire suspecting him to be a smuggler police said here on Saturday.

"Araber Rahman, 38, was killed in Border Security Force firing at Balerdepha village (under Sipahijala district) late Friday night," police spokesman Uttam Kumar Bhowmik said.

Bhowmik said that the BSF told the police that during patrolling against cattle smuggling, they opened fire killing the man on the spot.

"Family members of the victim have denied the BSF allegations and lodged a complaint with the police against the para-military troopers. They said he was innocent," the police official said.

IANS


PM in Maha today for Shivaji memorial, Mumbai

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Dec 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a day's visit to Maharashtra today, where he will lay foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune. Modi will land in the metropolis at 11.30 AM and leave for MIDC Patalganga in neighbouring Raigad district where he will inaugurate the newly-built campus of the National Institute of Securities Management.

The PM will then reach Raj Bhavan and later move towards Girgaum Chowpatty for the Shivaji Memorial event. He will proceed to the site in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, where the state government is planning to build a mega memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Prime Minister's visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away. The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.

Mumbai: Preparations underway for PM Narendra Modi's arrival; will lay foundation stone of #ShivajiMemorial and other projects pic.twitter.com/wTelgaySjM  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said the 'Shiv Smarak' will not only be the tallest memorial in the country, but in the entire world. He had thanked Modi for "making it possible." Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground in suburban Bandra, after laying foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of ruling BJP, is expected to share the dais with Modi at the MMRDA event. The PM will then leave for Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone of the Pune Metro Rail project at the Agriculture College ground there. NCP leader Sharad Pawar will share the stage with Modi at this event. The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

PTI
Comedian Atul Khatri's joke on seatbelt becomes one on him as Mumbai Police responds

'Ram Setu' 1st week box office collection: Here's how much Akshay-starrer earned, so far

PM Modi lays foundation stone for Shivaji Memorial

India

oi-Prathmesh

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the grand memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on board a hovercraft in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast on Saturday.

PM Narendra Modi performs Jal Pujan for Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/bmOrtkzC15  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, budget at around Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the Maratha king. The site for the structure is roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore. Along with PM Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena's chief Uddhav Thackeray were also present on board.

The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the middle of Arabian Sea pic.twitter.com/j6mk8s5yMH  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

Earlier on Saturday, the PM had tweeted from Delhi: "I am honoured to be getting the opportunity to perform the bhoomipujan of Shiv Smarak."

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at the MMRDA ground pic.twitter.com/PTnGFOrg28  ANI (@ANI_news) December 24, 2016

The visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are just a few months away. The prime minister is on a day-long visit to Maharashtra and will now head to Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone of the Pune Metro Rail project.
Why Punjab farmers burn stubble at this scale when others do not

Punjab polls: Prakash Ambedkar's BBM to contest 40 seats

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Dec 24: Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM), led by Prakash Ambedkar, which has only one legislator in Maharashtra, has decided to contest 40 seats in the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.

Amarinder, Manpreet in Congress first list for Punjab polls

The party has no presence outside Akola and Washim district in Vidarbha region of the state. Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution.

"In Punjab, Dalit community is prevalent in almost each assembly constituency and are 32 per cent of the total population. To rope in these voters, BBM has decided to contest 40 seats out of total 117 seats," Ambedkar said.

"The Republican Party of India (RPI) has no presence in Punjab. Earlier, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party had a hold in a few pockets, but has lost supporters in the last few years.

Which is why I think that BBM has strong chances of opening its account in the state," he added. A team of 40 retired bureaucrats from the Punjab cadre will do the leg work for Ambedkar in Punjab.

"Today, I held a meeting of these retired IAS officers who had expressed their desire to join politics directly or indirectly. They will handle rallies and campaign in the state in our support," Ambedkar, who is on a tour of Punjab from the last Wednesday said and added that the process to select candidates will begin very soon.

BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance is currently in power in Punjab. A party leader said that Aam Aadami Party has expressed its desire to tie up with the BBM for the assembly polls. However Ambedkar said he has not received any official communication from AAP as yet.

BBM's lone legislator Baliram Siraskar won the 2014 Maharashtra assembly polls from Akola constituency. The party has a complete hold over Akola Zilla Parishad, and 5 Panchayat Samitis from the same district.

Party's Nafisa Shaikh won president's post of Buldhana Municipal Council in recently concluded civic polls. Punjab government's Assembly tenure will end in March 2017.

PTI
The fake Arvind Kejriwal rape story is back in circulation

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

New Delhi, Dec 24: The Arvind Kejriwal fake rape story is doing the rounds once again. Several persons on the social media and chat groups have once again started circulating a newspaper clip in which it is stated that during his IIT Kharagpur days he was accused of rape.

A paper cutting from the Telegraph with the header, IIT student accused of rape has been shared on the social media as well chat applications. The news dated Monday, June 18 1987 says, " a 19 year old IIT Kharagpur student, Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the police on rape charges."

The report further goes on to state," police said the student, 19 years old boy named Arvind Kejriwal had gone out with friends on Friday night for a party but didn't return to the hostel. All his friends had come back by wee hours of Saturday but Arvind returned only on Sunday night. Meanwhile, a case was registered in Gopalnagar police station by a girl who accused a student of raping her. She produced the identity card of the accused, which was of Arvind Kejriwal and that is how police reached IIT campus to arrest the accused."

OneIndia reached out to several persons including those working in the Telegraph who confirmed that this was a fake news. The clipping has been created and is being circulated widely in the social media. A senior journalist says that such news constantly is being circulated on the social media. As journalists we cannot ignore such things and our duty is to confirm the same and report the truth, the journalist also adds.

OneIndia News
Manipur: How Facebook helped Imphal friends to come together to reduce accidents on roads

Union Minister Manoj Sinha injured in road mishap

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, Dec 24: Union Minister Manoj Sinha was injured in a road mishap while he was on his way from Barabanki to Gorakhpur, police said. He has fractured his left arm and sustained some minor injuries.

The Minister of State for Railways was rushed to Apollo hospital in Gorakhpur late on Friday and after receiving first aid has been admitted to the Lalit Narayan Mishra railway hospital. Senior railway, district and police officials were camping at the hospital where Sinha, MP from Ghazipur is admitted.

Officials say the minister was headed for an event in Kushinagar and was slated for a night halt at the Gorakhpur's Railway VVIP guest house. But on the way, in an attempt to save a biker, the escort car in his cavalcade pressed emergency brakes and the minister's car hit it from behind.

A senior official of North-Eastern Railways (NER) Sanjay Yadav said Sinha had a fracture between his left shoulder and elbow. He will will be flown to Delhi on Saturday for a surgery.

IANS

md/vgu/
Man rapes 8-year-old to use her blood for removing obstacles to his marriage

Who is Parasmal Lodha alias Fiddler on the Roof

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Kolkata, Dec 24: The Enforcement Directorate arrested businessman Parasmal Lodha from Mumbai for converting over Rs 25 crore old currency into new notes. A fierce businessman, Lodha was called, " Extra Floor Lodha or Fiddler on the Roof," after he added extra floors illegally to a building. Lodha however managed to legalise this thanks to the clout he had with the authorities and police.

Lodha is a Kolkata based real estate developer who has a stake in mining, consultancy and finance firms. He is alleged to be close to Chennai based sand mining tycoon J Sekhar Reddy who was arrested by the CBI. It is suspected that Reddy during his questioning gave out the name of Lodha.

[Also read: Kolkata businessman arrested by ED for converting old currency into new]

Who is Parasmal Lodha?

Lodha is originally a resident of Rajasthan. He arrived in Kolkata along with a distant relative in 1977. Lodha was arrested at the Mumbai airport when he was trying to leave for Malaysia where he planned on converting demonetised notes worth Rs 25 crore into new currency.

Considered to be close to the several authorities and police personnel, Lodha was referred to as 'extra floor lodha,' or 'fiddler on the roof.' He added extra floors to an under-construction building illegally, but managed his way out thanks to his clout.

Lodha after arriving at Kolkata completed his graduation in commerce. He would sell foreign magazines to classmates at a higher price. Before he became a full time realtor he would sell foreign goods such as watches and perfumed.

Lodha was in the news for his aggressive takeover of Peerless General Finance and Investment Company limited in 1991. This firm was then India's largest non-banking financial institution. It is alleged that he had used gangsters to threaten P C Sen the then Managing Director of the firm to sell his majority stake.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, December 24, 2016, 9:47 [IST]
Why demonetisation will not hit the terror industry in Pakistan

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

New Delhi, Dec 24: The decision on demonetisation was a major one and was expected to clean up black money and also slow down terror related activities. 44 days have passed since the decision on demonetisation was made and questions are being asked about its effectiveness. Have terror attacks stopped? The answer is no. The fake currency industry has taken a beating post this decision. The Rs 500 and 1,000 notes that were being printed by the fake currency racketeers was flushed out, but the fact is that terror attacks especially in Jammu and Kashmir have continued. The Nagrota attack in which took place on November 28 in which seven army personnel were martyred is one example that terrorists from Pakistan have not been deterred.

Why demonetisation won't hit terror?

First and foremost the terror industry in Pakistan does not rely on Indian money to train terrorists, procure arms and launch the attack. The entire operation is funded by Pakistan and hence the reliance on Indian money is very less. Be it a Nagrota attack or the strikes at Mumbai on 26/11, the terrorists had very little money on them when they landed in India.

[Also read: How almonds fund terror activities in J&K]

They come to die not to shop pointed out a senior office with the Intelligence Bureau. The maximum amount that terrorists would have with them is Rs 25,000. Moreover this is the amount that is carried by the entire group. The terrorists launched into India from Pakistan are part of a fidayeen squad and they are meant to strike and die, the officer also points out.

Those terrorists coming in for a long haul are usually given Rs 20,000 to 25,000. There are terrorists who also come in with just Rs 2,000. Once they infiltrate they depend on the locals for food and shelter. They do not use any of the money that is on them. The money in fact is given to them to pay bribes while infiltrating or crossing check posts.

The terrorists have found ways of beating demonetisation as well. Take for instance the three member module that was formed by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba in Jammu and Kashmir. This was a module created to carry out bank robberies. In the past two months, this module has carried out three robberies and decamped with over Rs 10 lakh in new currency.

The Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Maulana Masood Azhar had recently written about how his group beat demonetisation. Writing in the outfit's mouth piece Qalam under the pen name Saadi, Azhar says that they send their operatives with Euros or Dollars. This is then exchanged for a small amount of money which helps the operatives survive for a few days before they launch the attack, Azhar also says.

Officials say that demonetisation has had a brief impact on the terror industry. However, fighting terrorism cannot be done through demonetisation alone. It requires a completely different approach, officials also add.

OneIndia News
Crowds gather in Bethlehem ahead of Christmas mass

International

oi-PTI

Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories), Dec 24: Crowds gathered in Bethlehem on Saturday for Christmas Eve celebrations ahead of midnight mass at the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born, with more visitors expected than in 2015 due to a drop in violence.

Also read: In Pics: Santa Claus makes an appearance across the world

Dozens of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Manger Square, near the Church of the Nativity, built over the spot where tradition says Mary gave birth to Jesus. Some snapped selfies near the square's giant Christmas tree and watched the annual scouts parade in the city, located a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The scouts marched waving flags and playing bagpipe music. Palestinian security forces were deployed in areas leading up to the church and square, conducting searches of some people. Christmas carols in Arabic rang out from speakers.

"It feels pretty awesome. This is my first Christmas away from home... but this is really amazing to be in Bethlehem," said Valeria, a 21-year-old from the US state of Wisconsin. Ramzi Al Durzi, a Christian from Amman, came with his two children to visit relatives in Jifna, a Christian village near Ramallah, and decided to take in the parade.

"This is my first visit to Bethlehem and to Palestine and honestly the atmosphere is really great," he said. Celebrations in Bethlehem culminate with midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity - with the grotto where Jesus is believed to have been born underneath.

Some 2,500 tickets are usually given out for the mass and those wishing to attend must register in advance. Attendees usually include Palestinian officials and foreign dignitaries. Beyond that, tens of thousands of tourists are expected to visit sites including Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth over the holidays, tourism officials say.

Israel's tourism ministry said some 120,000 visitors were expected in December, half of them Christians. Palestinian officials said they were expecting more visitors than last year, with major hotels in Bethlehem booked.

There is more optimism this year in Israel and the West Bank after a wave of violence and protests that erupted in October 2015 sharply reduced visits for Christmas. The violence saw knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeting Israelis.

Many of the Palestinian assailants were killed by Israeli forces while others were shot dead during clashes and protests. The violence has greatly subsided in recent months, though tourists will still have to cross Israel's West Bank separation barrier to reach Bethlehem.

PTI
Fourteen dead in 'horrific' Malaysian bus crash

International

oi-PTI

Kuala Lumpur, Dec 24: An interstate bus in Malaysia carrying passengers from Singapore and Myanmar careered off a highway early Saturday, killing 14 people and injuring 16 others, officials said.

The bus, heading from southern Johor state to the capital Kuala Lumpur, went off the road in the wet before rolling over and ending up in a deep ditch, said Mohammad Yusof Mohammad Gunnos, deputy director of the fire and rescue department.

The incident happened in the early hours in Johor state. Details of those killed were not immediately known, he said, adding that the injured were being treated in the Muar district public hospital.

"This pre-Christmas tragedy is so far the most horrific accident in Johor state for 2016," he told AFP. Deadly road accidents are common in Malaysia despite efforts to crack down on poor driving, especially during festive seasons when people return to their home towns.



PTI
Germany hunts possible accomplices of Berlin attacker

International

oi-PTI

Berlin, Dec 24: Germany was hunting for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker today, a day after he was killed in a shootout with Italian police in Milan. As most of the country was preparing to celebrate Christmas Eve, Germany's under-pressure authorities said hundreds of investigators would be working on the probe throughout the holiday season. Tunisian Anis Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The rejected asylum seeker was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt after the rampage, but his time on the run was cut short by Italian police. Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday thanked Italy and expressed relief that the fugitive no longer posed a threat, but warned that "the danger of terrorism in general endures". She pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how the known jihadist was able to slip through the net in the first place. "The Amri case raises questions," she said. "We will now intensively examine to what extent official procedures need to be changed." "How could Europe's most wanted terrorist leave Germany?" asked the respected Die Welt daily on its website, in a nod to the growing criticism of the country's handling of the probe.

Amri was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two officers who had stopped him for a routine identity check in the early hours of Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station. He lightly wounded one of the officers before being killed by 29-year-old police rookie Luca Scata, who has since been hailed as a hero. Police said Amri had shouted "bastard police" in Italian before opening fire. According to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, Amri had arrived in Italy from Germany via France. He had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone.

The Islamic State group released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. German investigators are now focusing on whether Amri had help from accomplices. "It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank told reporters. Questions have been raised about whether enough was done to keep tabs on Amri, who was on the radar of anti-terrorism agencies in both Germany and Italy.

PTI
Germany hunts possible accomplices of Berlin suspect Amri

International

oi-PTI

Berlin, Dec 24: Germany on Saturday searched for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker who was gunned down by Italian police, as Tunisia announced the arrest of three men linked to the jihadist.

One of those detained was the nephew of the Tunisian-born attack suspect Anis Amri, the country's interior ministry said. The three men, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Friday and were members of a "terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri"," it said in a statement.

It made no direct link between the trio and the attack on Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people. The 24-year-old then went on the run and was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt, before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

The Berlin rampage was claimed by the Islamic State group, which released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Tunisian interior ministry said Amri had sent money to his nephew and shared his jihadist views with him.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said. Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist ideology "and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

Also read: Berlin Christmas market attack suspect killed in Italy

The arrests come as German authorities are racing to find out whether Amri had help from accomplices before or after the attack. "It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank said Friday.

Seven of the victims were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman told AFP. The other five came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine. She declined to provide names or ages. The fact that Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies.

German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal with links to the Islamist scene. But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure.

It "is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock," he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how Amri was able to slip through the net and vowed to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers like him.

PTI
Theresa May calls for post-Brexit unity in Christmas message

International

oi-PTI

London, Dec 24: British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday called for post-Brexit unity in her annual Christmas message and said Britain must seize its historic opportunity and move forward into the furute.

In the year that saw the UK vote by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum in June, May said it marked a "historic opportunity" to forge "a bold new role" for the UK.

"As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future," she said in her message released by Downing Street. "And, with our international partners, we must work together to promote trade, increase prosperity and face the challenges to peace and security around the world," she said.

The Prime Minister said there had been much to celebrate in 2016  with the Queen's 90th birthday and British successes in the Olympics and Paralympics. "These are precious moments when people from many backgrounds, with different beliefs, come together to celebrate with families and communities.

We also think of Christians in other parts of the world who face persecution this Christmas and re-affirm our determination to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practise their beliefs in peace and safety," she said.

Also read: British PM promises Brexit plan in New Year

In a separate message to the armed forces, including the 5,000 deployed on operations over the holiday period, she said: "Just as your commitment to our country is unfaltering, so in return we owe you the same deep commitment and unflinching support."

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used his Christmas message to point to homeless charity Shelter's figures suggesting 120,000 children would spend Christmas without a home to call their own while rough sleeping had increased by 30 per cent in the last year.

He praised charity workers, saying: "It's the goodwill and generosity of ordinary people, public service and charity workers who give tirelessly to help the most vulnerable and the lonely." "They remind us of Christmas values: love for your neighbour, working together and hope, hope that things can be different," he said.

PTI
Turkey: IS has taken 3 soliders hostage

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Istanbul, Dec 24: Turkey's Minister of Defence said that the Islamic State jihadist group had taken three Turkish soldiers hostage. Defense Minister Fikri Isik confirmed on Friday that the IS had captured three servicemen, but was unable to provide further detail, Efe news agency reported. "We know that three of our soldiers are in the hands of Daesh (IS), but apart from that, everything else is an interpretation," Isik said.

Teror orgutlerinin Turkiye'yi cekmek istedigi tuzaklara kars cok dikkatli olmalyz, beraberligimizi bozacak hicbir harekete girismemeliyiz  Fikri Isk (@fikriisik) December 23, 2016

The minister's statement came after a video emerged on social media on Thursday that appeared to show purported IS members burning two captured Turkish soldiers to death.

The video, released on Thursday, shows the two victims and an apparent IS militant speaking in Turkish during the 19-minute recording, whose authenticity could not be confirmed. They confess to having fought against "the soldiers of the caliphate" -- as IS calls the territory it controls -- and say that they were captured in action near Aleppo. The video then proceeds to show the Turks, wearing uniforms that seem to have been doused with gasoline, being burned alive.

IANS
US issues travel warnings for Egypt, Jordan

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Washington, Dec 24: The US has issued travel warnings for Egypt and Jordan over the risk of terror attacks against American interests, tourists and personnel. The US State Department on Friday warned US citizens to consider the risk of travelling to these countries and to avoid certain areas where the threat is greater, Efe news reported.

In Egypt, the US diplomatic mission has prohibited its staff from travelling to the Western Desert and the Sinai Peninsula, prompting US authorities to advise citizens against travel to these areas. US diplomatic personnel are only allowed to travel to the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, adjacent to the Sinai Peninsula, and only by air as they are banned from using overland transport in the peninsula.

"The Egyptian Government maintains a heavy security presence at major tourist sites, such as Sharm el-Sheikh... and at many of the temples and archaeological sites located in and around greater Cairo and in the Nile Valley," the travel warning read.

"US Mission personnel are allowed to travel to these areas. However, terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country," the alert added, explaining that several extremist organisations are operating in Egypt, including the Islamic State (IS) terror group. The US has also warned its citizens and staff against travelling to Jordan, where terror organisations, including the IS, are active.

"Jordan's prominent role in the counter-IS Coalition and its shared borders with Iraq and Syria increase the potential for future terrorist incidents," the State Department said. US government employees on personal travel are not permitted to visit border areas or refugee camps and the government has advised its citizens to do the same.

IANS
Uranium worth Rs 26 crore seized in Maharashtra: The inside story

Mumbai

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Mumbai, Dec 24: The seizure of depleted uranium worth around Rs 26 crore at Thane, Maharashtra on December 22 was a major breakthrough. The details of the investigation being conducted by the Thane police suggest that the uranium may have been sourced from outside India and the accused persons were trying to sell it in the local market.

The Thane police had arrested Kishore Prajapati with 8.86 kilograms of depleted uranium. The uranium was valued at Rs 3 crore per kg. Prajapati a scrap dealer during investigations told the police that he had found the radioactive material in a scrapped Air India aircraft which he had purchased through his contacts.

He also said that ship breaking was an ancestral profession and he would acquire ships, take them apart and sell the parts. He also told the police that around 10 years back he had purchased a scrapped aircraft. While taking apart the aircraft, I found uranium in its wings, he also claimed before the police.

Was the uranium smuggled in from abroad?

The police are however buying the version given to them by Prajapati. We are verifying the claims and also studying the paper work, investigators say. Following the questioning of Prajapati, the police detained Saifullah Khan. The police say that Khan was responsible for finding a buyer. The seized uranium was sent for chemical analysis.

The report suggests that the uranium may have been sourced from outside. The trail leads to the Gulf, officers part of the probe say. The police suspect that the accused persons may have smuggled the uranium into India and proposed to sell it a very high price. Each kg costs Rs 3 crore and the accused were in the process of finding a buyer. Prajapati during his questioning said that he had the uranium tested at a lab in 2014. He further said that he wanted to sell it in the black market.

Depleted uranium in the black market:

A year ago, there was a report stating that criminal networks in Russia were trying to sell depleted uranium to extremists in the Middle East. The report also stated that there was a thriving market for such material. Depleted uranium is also referred to as Q-metal or D-38.

Recently the United States confirmed that it had fired depleted uranium ammunition in Syria. The US said that DU was fired on November 18 and 23 2015. The US states that DU is specifically used only for engaging armoured targets.

DU owing to it high density is also used in counterweights in aicrafts, radition shielding in medical radiation therapy. Its military uses include armour piercing projectiles and armour plating. In India to use DU one would have to obtain permission from the Atomic Energy Commission.

OneIndia News
OK! Magazine 03 Nov 2022

Despite Johnny Depp coming out on top in their trial, the jury ruled in her favor on one count of defamation.
by  Graham Pierrepoint



While US President-elect Donald Trump may have gone a little quiet over a number of issues that made his campaign for the Presidency so divisive in recent weeks, it appears that the Republicans policy machine is set to kick into gear as the days ahead of his ascension to the most powerful statesperson in the West continue to tick away. Trump is still very much alive and kicking on Twitter, and while it is not yet clear whether or not his ability to tweet will be curtailed once he heads to the White House, this hasnt stopped the mogul from getting in some last-minute points across  at a time where those opposed to his election remain fearful of the four years to come, and while many of those who voted Trump in are likely to be disappointed on his softening via a number of issues  the jailing of Hillary Clinton and the draining of the (political) swamp being just two stand-out policies that marked his campaign trail.

Just ahead of the holidays, it appears that trumps focus has switched instead to the US defence program, asserting on Twitter that the country should focus on strengthening its nuclear arsenal. Its a comment that provides stark opposition the US position in helping to slow down the progress of nuclear armament in recent years  and there are also allegations this week that Trump advised TV journalist Mika Brzezinski that there should be an arms race, and that the US will outlast them all. Such comments have, needless to say, not sat comfortably with anti-nuclear campaigns in the US and elsewhere, and they are likely to impact the Trump campaign hard only weeks away from the future Presidents inauguration.

It will remain to be seen exactly what Trump plans to do  and indeed does  with regard to the US nuclear arms program. However, many are concerned that the future President is making moves to create ties with Russias Vladimir Putin, and with several allegations circulating surrounding Russias alleged influence on both international sport and US politics, the President-elect could be wading into fairly murky water. President Obama, meanwhile, continues to solidify a number of issues and laws in place before he leaves office, most recently ensuring that Atheists are now protected under the US Freedom Law. It will be interesting to see what else Obama imprints upon the country in terms of a legacy before his departure in the new year.
The man believed to be the suspect in the Berlin attack is killed in a shoot-out in Italy today.

WBRE 02 Oct 2019
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Nowhere to Go but Up: EiG/BAC Set to Deliver 2017 Global Affiliate Benefits in Berlin

Published December 24, 2016 by Lee R

The affiliate conference series established its value to iGaming in 2016.

EiG/BAC organisers have confirmed the schedule for 2017, after the huge growth of successful events achieved in 2016.

EiG in Berlin

Clarion promoted EiG will return to Arena Berlin to take place from Monday 30th October to Wednesday the 1st of November.

Global Conference Goal

The event is a unique platform hosting senior-level decision-makers from iGaming operators, land-based casinos, betting shops, lottery operators, social operators, gaming start-ups, regulators, and consultants around the world.

BAC Connection

BAC will once again be piggy backed onto EiG, taking place from the 1st to the 4th of November 2017, with the expo and conference days set for Thursday, November 2nd and Friday the 3rd.

Affiliate Power

The iGB affiliate event will showcase the industrys best with a full slate of dedicated conference schedules, hosting affiliate managers from major and rising operators in exhibitions as well as well-attended networking events.

Successful 2016

EiGs smashing 2016 included the hosting of over 2,000 delegates registered, with a total of 3,056 delegates attending BAC, including 1,695 affiliates and introducing brokers.

Executive Response

Business Head of Operations for iGaming Shona ODonnell attributed bringing BAC back to Berlin to the enthusiasm from affiliates and operators alike characterizing last years conferences as highlights of the gaming calendar, with plans for the 2017 event to be bigger and better than ever.

EiG Event Director Rory Credland lauded Berlin as an innovation and tech hub perfect bringing together key decision makers from the iGaming industry from all across Europe, and expressed excitement in joining forces with iGaming Business to ensure that the industry benefits by having both events in the same city.

First on the Agenda..

The next major conference on the iGaming calendar to kick off 2017 is ICE London, set to take place from February 7-9th and followed immediately by the relocated London Affiliate Conference to follow ICE from February 9th to 12th, 2017.

Catch the Affiliate Wave

The EiG/BAC series is rapidly turning into the premiere affiliate marketing circuit, with iGaming operators standing among those most apt to benefit from affiliate support.
From Tikkun

A Return to Hope in Troubling Times: Chanukah and Christmas

Honestly, do you know anyone who hasn't been suffering from a case of acute despair, depression or cynicism about the world in the past few months?

*For some it might have started long, long ago, when three of the more hopeful public figures of the 20th century, President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were assassinated between 1963 and 1968.

*For others, it may have come when President Clinton abolished welfare for the poor and embraced globalization and elimination of protections against Wall Street and the "too big to fail" banks' irresponsiblity that would economically devastate much of middle American while making it in the interest of corporations to abandon the workers who had made their goods and relocate in other countries that could pay their workers much less by avoiding unions and environmental protections.

*Or when President Bush lied us into a war with Iraq.

*Or when President Obama refused to create a single-payer "medicare for all" health program and instead created a plan that allowed insurance companies to raise their rates to make huge profits (thereby discrediting the system enough to allow demagogues to benefit from its unpopularity, or when he failed to bail out people who were losing their homes and instead bailed out Wall Street or when he failed to cancel the pipeline threatening Native Americans but only postponed it, or when he failed to issue a blanket pardon to young immigrants to whom he had originally promised safety in the U.S. or when he prosecuted instead of rewarding whistleblowers but failed to prosecute those who had ordered torture at Guantanamo and many other US military sites around the world thus setting the stage for the return of torture in the next presidential administration, or when he failed to launch a campaign for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the electoral college or a constitutional amendment to get money out of politics).

*Or when Donald Trump labeled Mexicans rapists and murderers without fellow Republicans challenging him and then the entire slate of Republican presidential hopefuls competed with each other in who could be the most racist or xenophobic. Or when people in Europe and the U.S. couldn't understand what must have driven people to be terrorists willing to kill others, apparently these more advanced people unaware that their own countries had been engaged in wars that have killed millions of people of color around the world in the last 60 years.

*Or when polls showed 50 percent of Americans opposed to letting in to the U.S. Syrian refugees who were fleeing from the horrors of ISIS or the horrors of the Syrian government bombing and massacring its own people under the pretense of fighting the terrorists, or when the Israeli Knesset started labeling human rights groups as internal enemies and passed legislation legalizing the seizure by Israeli settlers of West Bank land owned by Palestinians (and with Trump's nominee to be Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a person many Israelis say will make Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu look like a peace-oriented dove in comparison, expect the most extreme elements in the Israeli society to feel empowered to be more violent and repressive toward Palestinians and toward Jews around the world who call for reconciliation and generosity of spirit in dealing with the desire of the Palestinians to have full human rights and national self-determination comparable to the self-determination Jews demanded for ourselves in creating the State of Israel in the first place).

*Or when mass killings in the U.S., and the frequent murders of African Americans (especially by arrogant police or random racists) remind us that violence and hatred have no borders.

*Or when, despite losing the democratic election by some three million votes, Trump became the next President of the U.S. based on an electoral system set up two hundred plus years ago to ensure that the slave states and the underpopulated states of the Middle West would have much more power than those in heavily populated states in the US Congress and in the choosing of a President.

*Or the failure of the Democrats to acknowledge that they might have won with Bernie Sanders and now need a new leadership (e.g. presented by Congressman Keith Ellison), plus a fundamental transformation toward a more class-conscious and inclusive politics that not only struggles against racism and sexism and Islamophobia and antisemitism and homophobia butt also focuses on the suffering of whites and men caused by the materialism, selfishness, looking out for number one -- in short the ethos of the competitive market system -- among people who are already scared about their economic security, but also among many who are not worried about money but are suffering from the breakdown of loving families, friendships and relationships that occur when those competitive and selfishness-oriented values pervade their entire society and weaken loving connections.

As my teacher at the Jewish Theological Seminary Abraham Joshua Heschel predicted, this society increasingly is becoming one whose motto is "suspect your neighbor as yourself."

Of course, no one is permanently stuck in cynicism and despair -- or at least that's the message of both Judaism and Christianity. From the Jewish standpoint, human beings are created in the image of God and hence always have the capacity to transcend all that has happened to them in the past and choose a new path. From the Christian standpoint, that same transcendence is possible, sometimes through the active help of Jesus or God.

No better way to remind ourselves of the return to a more hopeful vision than to build upon the messages that come through Chanukah and Christmas. Chanukah is a celebration of the first national liberation struggle. A small group of Jewish freedom fighters (today they'd be called terrorists) defied the accepted common sense that the powerful armies of Antiochus' Seleucid kingdom, located in Syria, were invincible and that attempting to struggle was immensely unrealistic and utopian. A significant section of the Jewish elites were opposed to this struggle, and felt more comfortable assimilating into the Hellenistic culture that Alexander the Great and his successors were trying to impose on the world. Yet, as Chanukah celebrates, the spirit of the people, connected and energized by their connection to a Judaism that saw God as the Force of Transformation in the universe, was more powerful than "the man's" (imperialist) technology and armies. That story sustained Jews through centuries of persecution.

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From Gush Shalom



Trump taps campaign adviser David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel

(Image by YouTube, Channel: CNN) Details DMCA



DONALD TRUMP has spat in my face.

Not only in my own face, but in the faces of at least half the Israeli population.

He has appointed a bankruptcy lawyer named David Friedman to the job of US ambassador in Israel.

This sounds like a bad joke. But it is brutal reality. It sets a precedent unknown in the annals of international diplomacy.

FIRST OF all, it is bad practice to appoint an ambassador to a country with which he has a deep personal connection. You don't send a Cuban-American Castro-hater to be the US ambassador in Havana. You don't send Kuomintang Chinese from Taiwan to be US ambassador in Beijing.

True, it is not the first time an American Jew has been appointed ambassador to Israel. There have been two or three, who could just as well have served as Israeli ambassadors to Washington. But they were far less opinionated than this specimen.

An ambassador serves as the eyes and ears of the home country in a foreign state. Among his tasks is providing his superiors in the foreign office with reliable, unbiased information, on which to base policy. The ideal ambassador is a cool observer, with no strong feelings towards the country of his mission, neither positive nor negative.

This description of a diplomat is the exact opposite of this particular individual.

It would have been far more reasonable to appoint David Friedman as Israeli ambassador to the United States. Unfortunately this post is already occupied - by another American Jew. Rumor has it that he was appointed by Netanyahu at the request of Sheldon Adelson, a Jewish casino magnate, who puts his money where his mouth is -- in the far-far-far Israeli right.

But even this person is a leftist compared to David Friedman.

The name, of course, is a joke in itself. Friede in German means peace, but this David is the opposite of a Man of Peace. The Biblical David, by the way, was a man of war through and through, and for this reason God decreed that only his son, Solomon, would build the First Temple.

SO WHO is this man of peace? Since the news of his coming appointment became known, the internet has been flooded with quotations from his sayings. All of them incredible, each one more than the last.

One thing stands out even on first reading: when this future US ambassador says "we," he means "we Israelis," "we true Israelis," "we Israeli patriots." The territory of Greater Israel, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan river (at least) is "our country."

Friedman does not identify with all Israelis. He seems to think that most of us are blind, imbeciles, defeatists. or worse -- traitors. This would set a world record: most Israelis, it appears, are traitors.

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From Consortium News



David Friedman, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

(Image by israelnationalnews.com) Details DMCA



The possibility of a meaningful peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has taken another dark turn with President-elect Donald Trump's choice of lawyer David Friedman, who holds hardline views in favor of Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel.

In a statement from the Trump transition team, Friedman also said he "looked forward to moving the U.S. embassy to Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," which once was supposed to be divided between Jewish and Palestinian control.

But a different twist to Trump's ambassadorial choice could be that it will kill off the illusion of a "two-state solution," a mirage that has receded farther into the distance as over a half million Jewish settlers moved onto what was intended to be the territory of a Palestinian state. That, in turn, would confront Israel with the choice of a "one-state solution" that grants both Jews and Arabs equal rights or an "apartheid state," which denies rights to Palestinians or treats them as second-class citizens.

I spoke about Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to Israel and the risks of Trump's emerging Israeli policies with Ali Abunimah, the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli/Palestinian Impasse. He is the co-founder and director of the Electronic Intifada, and the winner of many human rights awards. A resident of Chicago, he contributes regularly to the The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times.

Dennis Bernstein: Ali, it's good to talk to you again, but the news is not so good for you. You want to begin with your understanding of who David Friedman is"?

Ali Abunimah: Well, Friedman is ... a bankruptcy lawyer. He's Donald Trump's personal lawyer, for the past 15 years, and his campaign adviser on Israel. His views are so hardline that he's been described as being even to the right of Benjamin Netanyahu, which tells you something. In fact, Friedman is the president of a non-profit that has raised about $10 million over the last five years to directly fund Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

And, in fact, that organization is named as a defendant in a lawsuit that was filed earlier this year in federal court by 20 Palestinians against American organizations and individuals who are raising money for settlements. And not just for building settlements, but for buying weapons...

The lawsuit alleges that these organizations are basically involved in money laundering, arms trafficking, and aiding and abetting murder, maiming, theft of Palestinian private property, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and other acts, which are illegal under U.S. and international law. So that lawsuit is currently underway. And Friedman is the president of one of the defendants. And we reported... on the Electronic Intifada [on Dec. 16], that that fact had not been picked up anywhere else.

Friedman, you know, to some extent it would be a repudiation, if Trump's policy moves in the direction that Friedman would advocate, which is outright Israeli annexation of the West Bank, of course, even more settlement construction and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, that would be a major rhetorical shift in U.S. policy.

But to tell you the truth, Dennis, that's really where we already are in practice. If you look at the reality of where we are, the Israelis have been building settlements, effectively annexing the West Bank with total impunity. And not just impunity, with the full support of every U.S. administration, and not least the Obama administration, which in September signed off on an unconditional 10 year, $38 billion minimum, guaranteed, military aid package. I mean $38 billion is the minimum. It's not the total package, because they can still come back for more. That greatly increases the current U.S. aid to Israel.

So, part of me is saying, well this is simply a more honest labeling of what the U.S. policy already is. There was not going to be a two-state solution, even if Hillary was elected. There was not going to be any real consequences for Israeli settlements. So, I think this is another horrible sign of where our country is on so many issues.

But I think it's an opportunity, also, for us to say to people, "Well, you can't pretend there's a peace process anymore, so why aren't you signing up to BDS -- boycott, divestment and sanctions -- and other campaigns and tactics that are independent of what the government does?" The real people power to begin to hold Israel accountable and change its situation. I think that's both the challenge and opportunity that's put in front of us.

DB: I guess it does look... that's about right. That this will simply... under Trump, they will just draw the line deeper, harder and darker, in terms of what the policy is. But the policy, it hasn't changed in decades. And it doesn't seem to be changing.

["] Earlier this year David Friedman referred to a progressive Jewish advocacy group... I guess at J Street... he called them "worse than kapos..." those are the Jewish collaborators with the Nazis, for supporting a two-state solution. They were acting like Nazis.

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Gambling on Trump

(Image by ntoper) Details DMCA



Personal success and victory were the only important things for Trump. His campaign speeches were far from elegant and equally far from being theoretically correct. The fact that his campaign speeches were not elegant was of little concern to Trump for he believed that the purpose of a political speech is to persuade voters that what he thought was right. The most brilliant campaign technique is destined to fail unless one fundamental principal is constantly used, it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. This practice allowed Trump to conquer and control broad masses of people and blind them with his gilded facade. Trump's form of campaigning was popular, not intellectual. Both he and his followers had zero interest in discovering intellectual truths.

Very early in Trump's campaign it was determined that there was no point in making any effort to convert intellectuals. It was also an accepted fact that intellectuals will eventually yield to the winner anyway. Trump and his advisors recognized that the rank and file were more primitive than other political experts realized. Therefore his speeches and arguments were essentially crude, simple and repetitious. Trump appealed to emotions, constantly stoking the fires of fear, anger, and hatred within the hearts of his audience. Truth was entirely unimportant and instead tactics and mass psychology proved a far more effective method of generating support and loyalty. The logic of the "Never Trump" movement was gradually lost in the fog of political warfare.

Trump's tactics, like fundamental propaganda methods, works best when those who are being manipulated are foolishly confident they are acting on their own free will. That idea is why the focus of Trump's campaign was the common man, the man in the street, for whoever can conquer the street can one day conquer the state. Historically, every form of power politics or dictator run state has its roots in the street. Trump strategically manipulated the media and used it skillfully to immerse his followers in his ideas without them ever noticing they were being immersed in it.

Finally, this explosive campaign for good or bad is now a part of our history. The dire question is how will America and the world withstand the unpredictable and volatile nature of President Donald Trump. Will Trump bring greatness or disaster, progress or collapse, war or peace. Our national security and the future of our children now hangs in the balance of a Trump late night Twitter barrage.
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Tom Hewitt knows "Peter Pan" like the back of his hook. Currently, Hewitt inhabits the dual roles of Captain Hook and theater producer Charles Frohman for the first touring production of "Finding Neverland," due at the Keller Auditorium on Tuesday, Jan. 3. A couple of years back, Hewitt played the infamous seafaring scalawag opposite Cathy Rigby in her final tour for the classic "Peter Pan" musical.

The Tony-nominated actor anchors a cast that features Broadway vets Kevin Kern, playing "Peter Pan" auteur J.M. Barrie, and Christine Dwyer, portraying Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, whose sons inspired the far away Neverland and its adventurous inhabitants.

In a recent interview by phone, Hewitt offered some insights into the tour version of the smash musical.

This "Finding Neverland" might be better than the original show on Broadway

Under perfectionist producer, Harvey Weinstein, "Finding Neverland," the musical, went through massive changes before finally hitting the Big Apple in 2015. After a 2012 debut in England, the book and score were scrapped and a new version ran on Broadway for 17 months. The fine-tuning continued with the tour.

"I would say the first half hour and the last 10 to 15 minutes of the show are completely different material," says Hewitt. "The same events happen," he says--but they're introduced a bit faster, and new songs have been added.

For the cast, the tweaks provided a golden opportunity during the rehearsal process. "We weren't just re-producing what was on Broadway, we were building something new," says Hewitt. "So that was a really fun experience."

This is a different Captain Hook than you've seen before

"Unlike the Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan,' this Captain Hook is kind of a facet of Barrie's personality that manifests itself to encourage Barrie to find his courage and conviction," says Hewitt. "He sort of gives him a pep talk to pirate-up."

In manner, costumes and vocal chops, expect a jolt of rock 'n' roll in this production's plume-hatted pirate. "This Captain Hook is more Keith Richards, and the Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan' is a little more Jo Anne Worley," adds Hewitt, laughing.

You'll meet an American theater legend who is probably still obscure enough to be an $800 answer on "Jeopardy!"

Of Hewitt's dual roles, Captain Hook is the more universally recognized. But without the backing and guidance of Charles Frohman, the powerhouse theater impresario, "Peter Pan" the play, might never have taken flight.

"At the turn of the century, he had sort of a monopoly on venues and contracts all over America, and several theaters in Europe and England," says Hewitt. Frohman famously imported overseas heavyweights, including Oscar Wilde, to New York City stages. The producer developed J. M. Barrie's previous plays and initially staged "Peter Pan" in England, notes Hewitt. "He was a really, really big deal--a sort of pre-Shuberts producer."

(Actors, don't tell your agents, but playing these two juicy roles in the same show isn't as tough as you'd think)

"Captain Hook is so iconic, as is the story of 'Peter Pan' and all the characters in it," says Hewitt. "Hook's first entrance is the scenery raises and Hook's silhouette is seen in the background, and everybody knows immediately who it is, and everybody knows what's going on. So half of your work is done for you, really, when people know who you are."

The touring production didn't scrimp on Broadway-caliber special effects for "Neverland"

"For me, the really wonderful and magical special effects are always the simplest ones," says Hewitt. Even a breathtaking glitter trick produced during the finale "is very, very simple," he says. "I love the way that flying is handled in the show, and this sort of over-, unapologetic theatricality and physical poetry that some of these effects express. Like the flying. It's really simple and beautiful and touching."

***

"Finding Neverland"

When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, and continues 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, Jan. 4-Jan. 7, at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8

Where: Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.

Tickets: $35- $100, www.BroadwayInPortland.com, 503-241-1802 or at TicketsWest outlets

-- Lee Williams
A Clackamas County judge has denied a former Gladstone police sergeant's

after a jury found him guilty in October for the 2011 death of his wife.

But Judge Kathie Steele did dismiss an attempted murder conviction stemming from an alleged previous attempt on the wife's life. The reversal doesn't affect Lynn Edward Benton's life sentence without parole for aggravated murder.

Steele wrote in her ruling that she didn't agree with most arguments presented Tuesday by Benton's attorneys in a motion for a new trial. But she acknowledged the "landscape" of Benton's trial changed when co-defendant Susan Campbell was scheduled to testify but ended up not taking the witness stand. Her grand jury testimony had helped secure the indictment against the former cop, but prosecutors chose to move forward with trial without re-indicting Benton.

Steele disagreed that the court erred in admitting statements from the victim, Debbie Higbee Benton, before her death in May 2011. The judge also disputed that other witnesses shouldn't have testified about statements allegedly made by Campbell and that the evidence given during trial didn't present any theories that hadn't been addressed during grand jury.

The judge agreed that grand jurors linked the attempted murder charge to allegations Benton tried to cause Higbee Benton to fatally overdose on insulin in February 2011. But a jailhouse informant during trial said fentanyl was used in the attempted overdose and that the drugs were prescribed to Higbee Benton in May 2011.

That prompted Steele to dismiss the attempted murder conviction.

A Clackamas County jury found Benton guilty on Oct. 21 of aggravated murder, criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted murder. They reached unanimous decisions on every charge except attempted murder.

Benton, a police officer in Gladstone for more than two decades, was sentenced on Oct. 25 to life in prison without parole. The transgender man is serving his sentence at the Coffee Creek Correctional Institution, the state prison for women, despite being legally recognized as a man.

Prosecutors said during the trial that he enlisted his longtime friend Susan Campbell and her son Jason Jaynes to help him kill Higbee Benton. She was found shot, beaten and strangled inside the beauty salon she owned for at least 20 years.

Campbell and Jaynes also are accused of aggravated murder. Jaynes' trial is scheduled for March. Campbell's is set for November.

Prosecutors said Benton wanted his wife dead in part to prevent domestic violence allegations from affecting his job. Benton offered Campbell and Jaynes $2,000 to kill Higbee Benton, prosecutors said. He also made an earlier attempt on his wife's life by trying to make her overdose on fentanyl.

The couple met in 2008 and married in October 2010. Benton began transitioning from female to male that same year. Their relationship began to deteriorate, according to witness testimony during trial. He moved out of their Gladstone home a month before his wife's death.

Gladstone police fired Benton in December 2011 after an internal investigation concluded he violated policy by having pornography on his work laptop.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

503-221-8343;
Update: The Associated Press is now reporting that Carrie Fisher is in the intensive care unit, according to her brother.

Actress Carrie Fisher, 60, is reported to be in critical condition Friday after suffering a "cardiac episode" during a flight from London to Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports.



The actress, who first rose to fame for her portrayal of Princess Leia in 1977's "Star Wars," was reportedly traveling from London to Los Angeles on a book tour. She reprised the role in the franchise's subsequent sequels, most recently in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" where Fisher acted alongside her daughter, Billie Lourd.

Three months before the film's release, Fisher visited Portland during Rose City Comic Con.

TMZ and other news outlets have reported that people on board the flight administered CPR.

Actress Anna Akanna was on Fisher's flight Friday morning. She tweeted about the incident.

Fisher was rushed to the hospital shortly after her flight landed around noon in Los Angeles.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
ALEPPO.JPG

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen standing in the Ansari neighborhood of east Aleppo on Friday.

(SANA via AP)

By Noah Feldman

The fall of Aleppo at the close of 2016 signals an especially depressing future for the civil war, the region, and the vast number of refugees within Syria and beyond. For all practical purposes, the end of this battle means that the Syrian dictatorship has, with Russian help, won its war for survival.

However, there is no clear path for the Assad regime to wipe out the last of the rebels.So fighting will continue, and a rump Syrian Sunni statelet will persist. And because displaced Sunnis will remain deeply wary of going home to places now controlled by the hostile regime, the long war's refugee problem may become permanent. That's no small matter. In scope it dwarfs the Palestinian refugee crises of 1948 or 1967.

The human rights failure in Aleppo is on par with other failures in recent decades, from Srebrenica to Rwanda. The international community had no leverage with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or Russian President Vladimir Putin as they remorselessly bombed the city, killing thousands of civilians. Worse, the tactic worked, which sends a lesson to other future rights violators that they should use whatever means necessary to achieve victory.

Yet like every such tragedy, the fall of Aleppo also has a particular meaning for the struggle in which it has taken place. Specifically, Assad's victory shows that with air support from a great power and no compunction for collateral damage, an armed regime can displace rebels from urban space, even when the rebels have substantial civilian support.

The U.S. could have gotten Islamic State fighters out of Syrian cities using the same scorched earth techniques, had it been inclined to ignore international law and not to care about the loyalty of the bombed civilians after the conflict was over.

The difference isn't just that Assad and Putin don't care about being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. It's that Assad himself doesn't care about winning Sunni hearts and minds, now or ever.

Rather, Assad has judged that he is perfectly happy if Aleppans, like other Syrian Sunnis, never return to their homes if and when the conflict ends or is reduced.

This is the most consequential upshot of the whole Aleppo bombing campaign: Its "success" was achievable only on the assumption that Sunni Syrian refugees are never coming home. No one who suffered under this bombing is going to forgive and forget, at least not if Middle Eastern history is any guide.

By killing civilians, the Assad regime is saying it doesn't care. Assad can tolerate a country with a much reduced population. Nearly 5 million Syrians are now abroad. That still leaves perhaps 18 million Syrians in the country, of whom 6 million are displaced internally. (Estimates of deaths and injuries run as high as a half million.) If Sunnis abroad never come back, Assad won't miss them.

To win some international favor, Assad may eventually say that he welcomes all Syrians home. He might even offer a limited amnesty to some who rebelled against him. But who would trust such a promise? And what Sunni would choose to go back to Assad's Syria after the atrocities that have taken place?

As for the internally displaced, those in the Sunni-controlled areas like Idlib province and the Islamic State area around Raqqa can also stay put, so far as Assad cares.

In the long run, Assad might ideally want to bring the entire country under his control. But for now, there is a substantial political advantage to be had from the presence of radical jihadis on the battlefield. It makes Assad into an international champion fighting Islamic State and al-Qaida. It justifies continued Russian support. And it keeps the jihadis out of regime-controlled territory.

That is one reason Assad can be expected to tolerate Sunni statelets like the one in Idlib province for some time into the future.

The other reason is that Assad can't utterly defeat either the al Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), which controls much of Idlib, or Islamic State, or even the more moderate rebels of the Free Syrian Army. In major urban centers, sustained bombing can make life unbearable and troops can occupy the space when opponents are gone. But in towns or rural areas, bombing is of limited value, and holding space that has been conquered requires manpower that Assad simply does not have.

That's a big part of why Palmyra fell back into Islamic State hands after being held by the regime for months. Assad simply didn't have enough fighters to hold the town while pursuing his other initiatives. And Russian air power was ineffectual against light insurgent troops like those of Islamic State.

The status of Kurdish enclaves in Syria is another story. Turkey would like to see them eliminated, but right now it's still opposed to Assad. Over time, the fate of these spaces depends on whether Turkey eventually reverts to its traditional position of colluding with its neighbors, including enemies, to keep Kurds from gaining sovereignty.

The sad but I think inescapable conclusion is that the Syrian refugee crisis has a high probability of becoming permanent -- even if the war eventually ends in a de facto Assad victory. It shocks the conscience to think of almost 5 million people unable to return to their homes. But as 2016 ends, there is little prospect of that changing.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg View

Noah Feldman, a constitutional law professor at Harvard, is a Bloomberg View columnist.
1cte.JPG

Students at Sprague High School locate different car parts during class in this April 2015 photo. Voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure that directs the state to set aside funds for career and technical education for high school students around the state.

(Laura Frazier/Staff)

It's a telling sign that the boldest educational initiatives of the year came not from the chief education office or other state agencies but rather from advocates, parents, labor unions and others who decided that the best chance for helping Oregon students was to go directly to voters themselves.

After all, you didn't see the governor and legislators move any proposals forward to provide stable funding for education or address the looming budget deficit that the state now faces. Or hear education officials lay out a statewide strategy for rolling out career and technical education as part of an overall plan for preparing high school students. And certainly, there weren't assurances from the Legislature that it would back previous legislation for outdoor education for middle schoolers with actual funding.

So in the face of such inaction, people took matters into their own hands, resulting in three ballot measures targeting those problems. Measures 97, 98 and 99 sought to boost funding through a massive corporate tax, dedicate money to career and technical education and earmark Lottery revenue to pay for outdoor school. And in the case of 98 and 99, supporters prevailed. While the merits or mechanics of any of the ballot measures can be debated, the initiatives themselves offer a scorching assessment of Oregon's educational leadership this year: Missing in action.

http://media.oregonlive.com/opinion_impact/photo/agenda-2013jpg-da8a3522a991b9c6.jpg

Editorial Agenda 2016



Get Oregon centered

Better leadership in education

Make Portland a city that works

Build Oregon prosperity

Protect and expand personal freedom

Get pot right

_______________________________

To be fair, there are a few hints that next year could be different. A group created by Gov. Kate Brown recently issued a report recommending ways to improve teacher training and advance their professional development. The state also came out with a long-awaited plan for combating chronic absenteeism, a core factor in the state's dismal graduation rate.

But it's unclear how much money will go to either plan with a $1.7 billion deficit bearing down on the state and threatening to devastate educational funding. Oregon has a long history of plans that seem to go by the wayside due to inadequate money, attention or both.

The absence of vision isn't just a state-level problem. Perhaps no district exemplified the perils of lax leadership more than Portland Public Schools, where the discovery of lead in two schools' drinking water soon led to the resignation under pressure of longtime superintendent Carole Smith. An investigation detailed her administration's ineptitude in monitoring or testing for lead, despite having known of problems for years. The district also fell short in communicating honestly to families about test results.

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But while lead may have been the issue that forced her resignation, Smith's administration was falling short on educational and operational fronts as well for years. Parents, frustrated by Portland Public Schools' inaction, documented the ways in which the district shorted some schools - typically low-income schools - on core classes. Others had to get state education officials to force the district to provide high school students with the mandated minimum of class time. A few board members had challenged her on the carelessness with which the district awarded no-bid contracts and double-digit salary increases to certain staff members.

Even after her departure, the public is learning of the organization's difficulty in handling basic functions such as hiring. Just recently, the interim superintendent acknowledged that the district made a conditional offer of employment to a general-counsel candidate whose background - easily found with a Google search - showed he violated public records law and defended a policy of requiring the public to show ID before admittance to public meetings. The candidate withdrew, and the interim superintendent acknowledged the district should have run a basic internet search on him before making the offer. That admission was compounded by a recent Willamette Week story that revealed the district hired a supervisor with a conviction for soliciting a prostitute. The district bars hiring teachers with such a conviction and administrators are supposed to be held to the same standards, according to the article.

Leadership questions extend to the board overseeing the district as well. Their bickering, indecisiveness and inability to prioritize have not served the community well in a time of extraordinary upheaval.

Parents, advocates and grass-roots efforts can only accomplish so much on their own. The state's budget shortfall, persistently low graduation rate and health-and-safety issues in schools will carry over into 2017 and demand disciplined focus and courageous action. It's time for our educational leaders in name to show educational leadership in practice.

The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
TRUMP FAMILY.JPG

In this Oct. 9 photo, from left, Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. wait for the second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Washington University in St. Louis.

(AP Photo/File)

By the Washington Post Editorial Board

In May 1988, when Vice President George H.W. Bush was running for president, he was appalled to read in the newspapers that a lawyer claiming to have influence with him had been hired by a New York defense contractor. The vice president wrote a letter to his son George, published by the New York Times, admonishing him to beware of newfound friends who will "ask for things" and reminding him to avoid any sign of impropriety.

The family of President-elect Donald Trump would be wise to absorb the letter and spirit of Bush's message. In recent weeks, three of Trump's grown children, who play a prominent role in his business and political affairs, have been toying with dubious fundraising events that could be a channel for influence-peddling. Trump should lay down the law hard and fast: No one can use his family as a shortcut to federal-government business.

Family members have often been ethical burdens for presidents - the problem did not begin yesterday. But Trump seems to be especially vulnerable as he moves from private life to public service. He has done little to draw clear lines: His tax returns are still not public, and he has yet to disclose how he plans to avoid conflicts of interest once in office. His grand art-of-the-deal philosophy may have been wonderful in real estate, but in public life he will be held to a high standard: to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. In order to satisfy that and retain public trust, he cannot leave the back door of the White House ajar for influence peddlers.

Two recent episodes involving the Trump family are worrisome. The first was an auction offering a coffee with Ivanka Trump, the president-elect's daughter, for contributions that would go to the Eric Trump Foundation, run by Ms. Trump's younger brother, to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee. The auction essentially advertised access for money, a real temptation to impropriety, regardless of the merit of the charity. Wisely, after being online for 10 days, the auction was called off Dec. 16. Then it was disclosed that a recently formed conservation charity was luring donors with promises of access to the president at an event in Washington on the day after the inauguration as well as a multiday hunting or fishing trip with his oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, in exchange for half a million dollars or more for the charity. On Tuesday, the family issued a statement saying the event had "not been approved or pursued" by them, but reports suggest it was the brainchild of two Dallas friends of the Trump sons. They have decided not to attend.

If these missteps are a sign of inexperience, the Trumps must learn quickly. Bush warned his son in 1988 that they would face a lot of "microscopic probing." The Trumps are now in that realm and ought to embrace the ironclad rule that in public service, access and influence are not for sale.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post
BEZOS.JPG

Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon, listens during a meeting of technology executives and President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower, in New York City, last week.

(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

By the editors of Bloomberg View

With a month to go before he assumes responsibility for the U.S. military, President-elect Donald Trump is already demonstrating his aggravation over runaway costs. Recent tweets have targeted the high price of not just Air Force One, a relatively minor project, but also the new F-35 fighter, the largest defense contract in history. He's also called for a lifetime ban on top military officials going to work for defense contractors.

Trump's complaints have a superficial appeal: Weapons contracts are chronically late and over budget. And the revolving door between the Pentagon and the primary defense contractors looks unseemly; most recently, retired Gen. Mark Welsh, a former Air Force chief of staff, took a board seat at Northrop Grumman, which is building the next long-range stealth bomber.

But closing off that door would be counterproductive. Defense firms need people who understand the military's requirements and bureaucracy. As for runaway costs, Congress has already moved the Pentagon toward fixed-price contracts that hold builders more responsible for coming in on budget, and has decentralized the buying process, giving the individual services more budgetary freedom -- and thus more responsibility to limit overruns.

These moves should improve efficiency to some extent. Saving truly big money and substantially speeding production will require more radical change: Contracting needs to be less focused on the military-industrial base and more on Silicon Valley. As the Pentagon moves to smaller, higher-tech weapons such as drones, improves battlefield communications and global surveillance, and enhances its cyber-hacking abilities, it makes more and more sense to contract with tech firms for hardware that might not be designed exclusively for the military.

This shift has already begun. Since 2010, the share of contracts for new programs going out to so-called specialist companies, as opposed to Lockheed-Martin, Boeing and other prime contractors, has nearly doubled. But the military has much farther to go to develop the metabolism of a Silicon Valley startup, where progress is measured in days and weeks rather than years and decades.

The tech world itself has been part of the delay. Some companies have been hesitant to work with the military; in the aftermath of Edward Snowden's leaks about government surveillance, some have considered it poor branding or bad customer relations. Others are turned off by the military bureaucracy. Yet the military has many incentives to offer, from its stable multiyear contracts to its willingness to pay research and development costs up front. In any case, the tech giants should accept their responsibility to work with the government, given the benefits they reap from working within the American economic system. The internet itself -- the foundation of their wealth -- was made possible by the U.S. military's Arpanet project.

To help move the cultural shift along, Congress has given the military new powers to streamline the contracting process. Overcoming defense leaders' ingrained habits is not easy, but some creative thinkers at the Pentagon have been pushing for a leaner, futuristic approach to military operations. They envision using man-machine cooperation, artificial intelligence and autonomous hardware to gain battlefield advantage over nonstate actors such Islamic State and to disrupt the abilities of Iran, Russia and other military powers.

As a model for how to better engage with the tech world, the military can look to the intelligence community. The CIA funds a quasi-independent venture capital entity called In-Q-Tel, which has investments in about 200 companies whose products could be useful for intelligence. In 2014, the CIA brokered a $600 million deal with Amazon to use its cloud storage service, and is now looking into using Amazon's marketplace to simplify the spy agencies' software acquisitions. Tech luminaries Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk -- through the deals between NASA and their commercial space companies, Blue Origin and SpaceX -- have also demonstrated how partnering with a government agency can be win-win.

When James Mattis, the former general tapped by Trump to be defense secretary, appears before the Senate for his confirmation hearings, he will inevitably be grilled on the Syrian war, his global counter-terrorism strategy, and civil-military relations. Lawmakers should also measure his enthusiasm for bringing the military further into the information age by partnering with the most dynamic U.S. companies. Protecting America's primacy in a high-tech world depends on it.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg View
Cape Perpetua

A view from the CCC lookout tower at the top of Cape Perpetua.

(Terry Richard/Staff/2006)

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a man swept into the ocean near Cape Perpetua.

Authorities searched for the 27-year-old man for more than 15 hours, the Coast Guard said in a news release. Someone called 911 on Thursday to say the man fell into the water and was no longer visible.

"Suspending a search is one of the hardest decision the Coast Guard has to make," Cmdr. Charles Guerrero, acting commander of Coast Guard Sector North Bend, said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends who have been impacted by this tragedy."

Authorities may start searching again if they receive more information about the case. There were 15-foot seas and winds of 10 mph when the man fell into the water, according to the Coast Guard.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
A Harney County judge on Friday denied former Portland police Chief Larry O'Dea's motion to dismiss his negligent wounding charge on the basis that it was vague and unconstitutional, according to the court's record of the hearing.

Circuit Court Judge William D. Cramer said the misdemeanor charge stands, and his ruling is based on the law, according to a court account of the 25-minute hearing in Burns. Cramer said he reviewed each side's legal briefs and oral arguments made in court Friday.

O'Dea, who resigned in late June while facing a state criminal investigation, is accused of negligently wounding a friend in an off-duty April 21 shooting near Fields in Harney County.

After the judge's ruling Friday, O'Dea's lawyer Derek Ashton told the court he'll be filing a motion to dismiss the criminal charge and seek a civil compromise. He also said he plans to file a motion on evidence discovery issues.

The judge scheduled two hearings for early next year: A hearing on Ashton's civil compromise motion is set for Jan. 13. A judge would have to approve a civil compromise before dismissing the charge. A hearing on evidence discovery matters is set for Feb. 8.

O'Dea is accused of "failing to use ordinary care'' in shooting his friend Robert Dempsey on April 21, the indictment said. The men were part of a group camping and shooting at ground squirrels when O'Dea shot Dempsey in the back with his .22-caliber rifle. Dempsey was airlifted to a trauma hospital in Boise, Idaho, where he was treated and released, according to dispatch and sheriff's reports.

Ashton had asked that the charge be dismissed as "unconstitutionally vague,'' and argued that the negligent wounding statute is "too open-ended.'' He also contended that the indictment against O'Dea -- and the pretrial evidence obtained from the Oregon Department of Justice -- doesn't explain how O'Dea allegedly acted negligently or failed to use "ordinary care under the circumstances,'' as the language of the statute sets out.

Assistant Attorney General Colin Benson countered that the "indictment is explicit."

"Mr. O'Dea wounded Mr. Robert Dempsey with a bullet fired from a gun. This is the act stated as plainly as possible," Benson said in court papers. "The culpability is his failing to act with ordinary care."

In a new motion for a civil compromise, Ashton urged the court to dismiss the charge and provided a statement by O'Dea's friend, Dempsey, who does not wish to pursue a criminal prosecution.

"Dempsey has never wanted to pursue prosecution,'' Ashton told The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday night.

Dempsey, who testified before the grand jury that returned an indictment against O'Dea, wrote in the statement that he does not wish his longtime friend to be prosecuted for the shooting, saying he considered it an "accident'' and O'Dea was not impaired by alcohol. Dempsey also wrote that he's "received full satisfaction for my damages and injuries,'' as a result of the shooting accident.

"Larry O'Dea has long been a friend of mine,'' Dempsey's declaration says. "Larry O'Dea was not intoxicated nor was he impaired by alcohol on April 21, 2016. I have told the prosecuting attorneys this. I have also told the prosecuting attorneys that I do not want to be part of this prosecution.''

Ashton wrote in the motion, "Given the fact that this case arises from an accident and the alleged victim does not (and never did) want Mr. O'Dea to face criminal charges for the accident, the interest of justice supports dismissing the charge against Mr. O'Dea pursuant to a civil compromise.''

The Oregon Department of Justice, which investigated the case and is prosecuting O'Dea, can continue to pursue prosecution, even if the victim in the case doesn't support a criminal prosecution, according to current and former prosecutors. The state can rely on medical records to prove an injury occurred, deputy sheriff reports, and statements from O'Dea, the victim and other witness accounts.

When a Harney County deputy responded to a 911 call after the shooting, O'Dea suggested that the injury had been self-inflicted, according to sheriff's office reports. O'Dea told the deputy that his friend, Dempsey, may have accidentally shot himself while putting his pistol in his shoulder holster while they were shooting squirrels, the reports show. He didn't identify himself as Portland's police chief.

The deputy, according to his report, said he smelled alcohol on O'Dea's breath. O'Dea told the deputy that he didn't have his rifle in his hand at the time but was reaching for a drink out of a cooler and heard his friend scream.

But O'Dea sometime later called Dempsey to apologize for shooting him.

After his release from the hospital, Dempsey was interviewed by the deputy and disclosed for the first time that it was O'Dea who had shot him. He told the sheriff's office that O'Dea had been having trouble with his rifle all day, that it was jamming and misfiring. Dempsey told the deputy that O'Dea said he went back to his chair and when he picked up his rifle, it accidentally went off, according to the deputy's report.

On May 20, in response to reporters' questions, O'Dea first acknowledged publicly through a Portland police spokesman that he had a "negligent discharge" of his rifle and shot his friend. At that time, O'Dea hadn't told the agency investigating the shooting that he was the shooter, according to the Harney County sheriff.

"Mr. O'Dea did not knowingly discharge his weapon, and was unaware until some time after the accident that the shot came from his firearm,'' Ashton wrote in his motion for a civil compromise.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
US abstains from UN vote declaring Israeli settlements illegal

Samantha Power, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, votes to abstain a draft resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank at the UN headquarters on Dec. 23, 2016 in New York. The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank.

(Li Muzi/Xinhua/Sipa USA/TNS)

WASHINGTON -- In a move that drew immediate fire from some GOP lawmakers, the Obama administration on Friday allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a violation of international law.

Traditionally, the United States has used its veto power to quash such resolutions. But this time, with Israel's conservative government railing against the Obama administration and President-elect Donald Trump demanding an American veto, the U.S. abstained, and the resolution was approved 14-0.

Although the resolution is largely in line with official American views on Jewish settlements, the move provoked an immediate firestorm. Some staunch congressional supporters of Israel suggested they would seek a halt to U.S. financial support for the world body or impose punitive measures against countries that backed the resolution.

"I anticipate this vote will create a backlash in Congress against the United Nations," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement denouncing the administration's move as "flat-out reckless."

Until now, successive U.S. administrations have argued that negotiations, rather than Security Council resolutions, are the correct way to address Israeli-Palestinian disputes over issues including the settlements.

The episode marked a final burst of animosity between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. administration in President Barack Obama's waning weeks in office.

Netanyahu's office called the resolution "shameful" and a "gang-up" against Israel.

"Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

Palestinians were elated, though. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, in a tweet by his office, called the resolution "a victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation" and said it was a rejection of "extremist forces" in Israel.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry portrayed the U.S. failure to quash the resolution as an American expression of support for a two-state solution that would "ensure Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors."

"That future is now in jeopardy," Kerry warned.

The resolution, whose passage was greeted by a burst of applause in the council chamber, states that settlements built on Palestinian lands occupied by Israel since the 1967 Mideast war have "no legal validity." It describes a halt to settlement activity as essential for a climate that would allow for the creation of a Palestinian state.

A day of high-stakes diplomatic drama preceded the showdown vote. The council was to have taken up the resolution Thursday, but sponsor Egypt abruptly postponed action on the measure. It was then revived by four co-sponsors.

Before the vote, the Israeli government and the Obama administration had traded unaccustomedly sharp words, and Israel took the highly unusual step of turning to Trump for support, even though he has not yet taken office.

Trump -- via Twitter, as is his practice -- called on Obama to exercise the veto power the U.S. holds as a permanent member of the Security Council.

As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016

The White House rebuffed Israeli accusations of colluding with the Palestinians and staging a "shameful" attack against Israel.

Liberal American Jewish organizations welcomed the American abstention. The group J Street said the measure "reaffirms the need for a two-state solution and calls for a halt to actions by both sides that serve to undermine the prospects for peace."

But other groups that generally offer unconditional support for Israel's actions expressed dismay. The head of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, called the U.S. decision to abstain "disconcerting and unfortunate."

Israel and its backers were not mollified by language in the resolution that urged both sides to refrain from activities that could hurt peace prospects, including "acts of provocation, incitement and destruction." That was meant as a rebuke to Palestinian leaders accused by Israel of condoning or encouraging attacks against Israelis, whether soldiers or civilians.

In protecting Israel in past Security Council votes, the U.S. has defied world opinion, which runs strongly against the settlements. About 600,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a future state.

Trump has already signaled that he intends to scrap core American policy on Israel and the Palestinians. For two decades, both Democratic and Republican administrations have adhered to the goal of a "two-state solution," with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side by side.

The president-elect has pledged to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a step that would set the U.S. at odds with Palestinians, and has picked a strident supporter of settlement activity, lawyer David Friedman, as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The clash over the Security Council resolution caps nearly eight years of estrangement between Obama and Netanyahu, two leaders who came into office within months of each other and clashed repeatedly in public over Iran's nuclear program and Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Israel's building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem has been a constant and particular bone of contention. While Obama has called settlements an obstacle to a two state-solution by making the creation of a Palestinian state more difficult, Netanyahu has vigorously rejected this argument.

From the beginning of his tenure in 2009, Obama pressured Netanyahu to freeze settlement activity, and administration officials have kept up a drumbeat of criticism following news of Israeli construction plans.

After the collapse of U.S.-mediated talks in 2014, Obama largely pulled back from Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Politicians in Israel's right-wing government and settler leaders have welcomed Trump's accession enthusiastically, with some even declaring an end to the era of the two-state state solution.

-- By Laura King and Joshua Mitnick, Tribune Washington Bureau
Terri Moulton Horman, whose stepson Kyron went missing in 2010, has been arrested near San Francisco for allegedly driving a stolen vehicle, KGW reports.

She was stopped in a residential area in Belvedere, according to police. She was charged with taking it without consent and booked into the Marin County Jail.

Earlier this month, Horman was accused of domestic violence by her partner, Joseph Cristobal. He filed a restraining order.

Horman has also recently been charged with firearm theft when her roommate accused her of stealing a handgun in 2015. She was due in court for both the assault and theft charges on Dec. 16, proceedings in which KGW reports Horman was a no-show.

Horman was the last person to see her stepson Kyron before he went missing on June 4, 2010 just before a science fair at Skyline Elementary School. The boy's disappearance has drawn national attention and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said in September that the search is ongoing.

Soon after the announcement, Horman appeared on "Dr. Phil," where she claimed Kyron was abducted by a man in a white pickup.

--Eder Campuzano

503.221.4344

@edercampuzano

ecampuzano@oregonian.com
Film Box Office Rogue One

This image released by Lucasfilm Ltd. shows Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso in a scene from, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

(Lucasfilm via AP)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a plucky group of rebels stole the schematics for an Imperial superweapon and aided in the eventual downfall of a sinister Empire.

More recently in a theater a lot closer to wherever you're reading this, a man awoke from a screening of a historical re-enactment of that effort alone and aching to find a way out.

Washington County Sheriff's deputies early Saturday responded to a call from a man who had fallen asleep watching "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" at the Cornelius Stadium Cinemas.

Man awakes to empty, closed movie theater. Calls 911 and is rescued. by pic.twitter.com/dl95279Tg1  WCSO Cornelius (@WCSOCornelius) December 24, 2016

The man tried to leave the theater through the lobby but set off a motion sensor alarm. He then called 9-1-1 and deputies helped him out through an emergency exit, KATU reports.

It was sort of like the time Luke Skywalker and Han Solo infiltrated the Death Star on a mission to rescue Princess Leia, all the while outwitting complex security systems and the Galactic Empire's Stormtroopers.

Actually, it's nothing like that -- some guy just fell asleep in the middle of a "Star Wars" movie as many of us are surely planning on doing over the next 48 hours.

--Eder Campuzano

503.221.4344

@edercampuzano

ecampuzano@oregonian.com
The 12th Man is a (sales) force all around Seattle

Fans unfurl a "12th Man" banner at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

(Elaine Thompson/AP file)

The ticket exchange site for Ticketmaster, one of the largest ticket distributors in the country, doesn't tell users if a given seat is accessible and thus violates federal law, Seattle Seahawks fan Barry Long's attorneys claim in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The Woodinville, Washington, resident says he's tried to purchase tickets at CenturyLink Field through Ticketmaster's secondhand marketplace but can't tell if the seats would accommodate his wheelchair, the Associated Press reports.

That's a violation of the Americans with Disabilities act and Washington's Law Against Discrimination, his attorneys allege.

Long and his attorneys want Ticketmaster to provide that information through the marketplace and pay for legal fees associated with the case, according to the lawsuit.

--Eder Campuzano

503.221.4344

@edercampuzano

ecampuzano@oregonian.com
UPDATE: A group of Narragansett Indians ended a weeklong occupation of a tribal government building with a promise to resolve their disagreements with supporters of the tribe's longtime leader.



The occupiers left the building and handed over its keys to a mediator at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. The breakthrough came after days of mediation that included telephone calls and face-to-face meetings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.



"We accomplished what we set out to do and it was time to go," said one of the occupiers, Councilwoman Chastity Machado, who spent six nights sleeping inside the administration building.



The occupying group was led by tribal council members who were elected in July and who impeached Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas in October. Among their concerns is that he spends too much time in Florida, where he has a home.



ABC reports on Rhode Island Tribal dispute. IMPEACHED Chief refuses vacate. Sounds like the corrupt Nooksack tribe

Members of the Narragansett Indian tribe on Friday were in their 4th day of occupying their tribal government headquarters, because the chief they are trying to oust won't step down.

Some members of a recently elected Narragansett Tribal Council said they took over the administration building Tuesday because Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas refused to relinquish power after they impeached him in October. By late Friday, the occupation was headed toward another day.

Here's a guide to the latest developments and key background about the dispute:

CHIEF SACHEM

Thomas, who has held office since 1997, said the sachem's annual salary is about $65,000.



A DISPUTED ELECTION

A group of Thomas opponents held an election in July to elect a new Narragansett Tribal Council. In October, the new council members held a meeting to impeach Thomas. It was held outside the tribal administration building because tribal administrators wouldn't let them inside.

Thomas and his supporters don't recognize the July election or the October impeachment.

Both sides say a similar dispute arose in the 1980s involving some of the same families.



THE OCCUPATION

The disputed election has left two competing factions, each calling themselves the Narragansett Tribal Council, claiming to be the leaders of the tribe.

The faction elected in July took over the administration building Tuesday morning and changed its locks. They slept on couches as well-wishers came bearing food.

The scene grew tense Thursday afternoon when Thomas supporters gathered outside the building and police officers arrived to monitor the dispute. Thomas and his supporters said they had tribal authority to retake the building if the occupiers don't leave, but they didn't enter the building and instead spent hours by a campfire outside.

The tension renewed Friday afternoon when someone cut the building's power. Utility provider National Grid said it tried to restore power but encountered a volatile situation and was advised by law enforcement to leave. The occupiers later began using a generator and lamps.

Charlestown Police Chief Jeffrey Allen said Friday afternoon he's "not so sure it's going to end in a peaceful way."

Tribal council members, elders and community members began meeting informally Friday night to discuss their future. Some people stopped by to bring supplies and a drum group had arrived to play music and sing.

"We're trying to figure things out as a community," said Councilwoman Chastity Machado.



FLORIDA RESIDENCY

Much of the dispute has centered on where the sachem lives and if he is properly performing his duties. Thomas has a home in Port Charlotte, Florida, where he spends part of the year, but he says he is able to work remotely.

His opponents say the tribe's rules call for the sachem to live within 50 miles of the tribal headquarters. They point to Rhode Island voter registration records that show he moved out of the state in early 2015.

Thomas says he maintains a residence in Providence. The state capital is about a 50-minute drive from the tribal land.



LAWSUITS AND MEDIATORS

Thomas' opponents sued in federal court last month to enforce his ouster, and Thomas countersued Wednesday after they took over the building.

U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell threw out both requests on Thursday, saying his court lacks jurisdiction because it's a question of tribal sovereignty. Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo says the state also has no jurisdiction but talked to Thomas on Thursday urging a peaceful resolution.

An independent mediator was being sought after U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha met with both factions on Thursday night. An investigator from the U.S. Interior Department also visited the building overnight and left Friday morning. The occupying group said it was pleased by the federal official's visit because it wants an investigation of the tribe's finances.
To the editor:

Friday, Dec. 16, marked the 50th year that the Knights of Columbus Council 2141 participated in a Christmas celebration with the residents and staff of Pineview Homes. Pineview  www.pineviewh.org  is a private, nonprofit, state-licensed institution. It operates a structured residential care program for up to 37 boys ages 8 through 17.

Pineview is located on 130 acres near Evart in central lower Michigan. The Pineview program is designed to touch on the major elements of boys lives through counseling, education, moral training, recreation and work. The population of boys living at Pineview is evenly split between either delinquents or those who are from family environments that involve neglect or abuse.

It is with heartfelt gratitude that Knights of Columbus Council 2141 acknowledges Tami Nowaczyk and the entire staff of the Midland Meijer. The Midland Meijer provided us with gift cards so that each boy could enjoy a Christmas shopping experience.

Thank you, Tami and Merry Christmas to the entire staff of the Midland Meijer.

JOE STANKO

Grand Knight

Fr Henry P. Durussel Council 2141

Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary Parish
To the editor:

This is in response to the front page article in the Midland Daily News on Sunday, Dec. 4, regarding the jail ministry. We applaud the new Midland jail chaplain, Bill LeClair of Forgotten Man Ministries, for his presence and ministry to help inmates grow closer to God.

In 2003, through the efforts of Rob Worsley (jail administrator), Don Cormier (Open Door), and Father Kevin Maksym (Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church), the jail ministry was formally organized. Both men and women from area Catholic churches joined Open Door and other churches to provide a weekly prayer service on Sundays. The organized jail ministry provided spiritual guidance for the next 13 years. Prior to 2003, only Open Door ministered to the inmates.

It was a real joy and special privilege to serve the inmates for the last 13 years sharing the love of Christ and the message of salvation with them. They always enjoyed our Sunday service and, in return, we were also blessed. The Midland Catholic churches look forward to being a part of the Sunday worship service.

We bless Chaplain LeClair and pray that under his leadership many lives will be transformed in Christ. We also want to thank the jail administrator, deputies and volunteers from all Midland churches. Volunteers from Midland Catholic churches:

KAREN HAGER

BERNIE LEBEAU

SANDY LOVELY

INDIRA OSKVAREKR

MARY ANN SCZEPANSKI

KAREN SMITH

DEB WOJCIECHOWSKI

Midland
A three-year-old was sitting was traveling with his grandmother. Little did he know what was going to happen. The whole entire media was shaken by horror as the little boy was gunshot while he was sitting in the car.

The one accused of the crime is in the captivity of the police officers. As reported by the speaker of the police department, the reason for the murder of the kid was actually a very confusing and disturbing one. The grandmother of the kid had gone for shopping, and a guy beeped at the old woman for driving the car at a very slow pace.

So the conclusions were that the boy was killed in a road ''temper'' incident. The police had been offering huge amounts to the people in order to get some more information on what had happened so that they could arrest the crime-committer, according to Fox News.

Last Saturday, it was mentioned that the culprit who was driving behind the woman, was infuriated that she was not driving fast enough and instead was driving at a controlled pace. The short-tempered man started to honk the buzzer of his motor, the old woman got confused and did the same.

At this, the man got off his vehicle and took out his gun, and shot into the woman's car. As The Edition reports, the bullet got straight in and hit the three-year-old boy. However, the woman did not realize that the boy was hit, until she had driven some miles and looked at the boy and found him injured and wounded.

The boy was taken to the hospital, where the doctors told them that they were hopeless and the boy passed away. The police continued to investigate. They believe that the boy and the aged woman did not know the criminal or the gunman personally before he shot the boy. But now, the grandmother recognizes him as the killer of her grandson.
2018 might prove to be a year very lucky for people suffering Ebola. It has been guessed that by the year 2018, a vaccine will be made which is destined to fight against the Ebola virus, as reported by World Health Organization.

Most of the inhabitants of the West African countries suffer from this disease. Guinea is one of them. A series of experimental trials were done on people of this west African country. The target group was the Ebola sufferers, and the results proved that this vaccine could provide complete safety.

The vaccine is now being followed for the purpose of approval. The best thing about this vaccine is that it does not have any side effects. The people which were tested with this had no adverse outcomes except the protection.

However, according to BBC News, one person did see the side effects, and the test conductors thought it might be due to the hypodermic injection. But the vaccine still proved to be helpful for the person. One thing that is still being thought about is how helpful it might prove to be the kids or young ones, as they are not yet tested.

Marie Paule who belongs from the World Health Organisation told how this vaccine is helpful. Dr. Kieny, who conducted the study, and also played a role in experimentation is utterly happy about her discovery of the vaccine. She says that when the next time Ebola becomes common especially in the parts of Africa, there would he some hope through this vaccine.

This vaccine would at least be a defense, and there would be something to cure and help the ones

suffering and dying. The recent spread of Ebola proved how badly a vaccine is needed. And 2018 might be the one to bring it to use, after a lengthy wait. But this does not end here. There are many other firms and companies who are working on this too. Many do realize how much the need for the vaccine and cure is increasing and a lot of work is being done on the purpose of making the treatments and ways to prevent Ebola.
This December, there is an issue that parents should be aware of and it is the so-called, "September baby" phenomenon. It is something to keep an eye on, especially for those who have teenagers because it is during this month that many teens engage in sexual relations with their partners.

In an article published by IOL, statistics show that more babies are born on September for the past three years compared to other months. It does make sense that they were conceived during the time of the holidays when everyone seems to be in a festive mood. In South Africa alone, there are 80,000 babies that are born from teenage moms.

It is not advisable that teens get themselves in a situation where they would get pregnant early because it won't be healthy for them both physically and mentally. Dr. Sibongiseni Dhlomo, health department head for KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, is urging teens all over the country to practice abstinence or at least safe sex this season. This would help them not be a part of the "September baby" statistic.

Dhlomo also pointed out that death could be inevitable for both the potential mother and her child if this is not resolved. Teenagers are not exactly aware of what they are getting themselves into if they get themselves pregnant before they are ready for it.

Some could go into a depression to the point that they would commit suicide. Others have even lost their minds and just gave up on life that they were confined in mental asylums.

Times Live also reported this phenomenon saying that teenagers who are below 18 are at risk if they ever deliver a child whose weight falls 3.8 kg. These facts are enough for teens to listen and be wary of their actions. Parents, on the other hand, are also advised to do their job and educate them about safe sex and just sex in general.
On December 21, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Files a Major Antitrust Case against Acacia Research Corporation Pointing to a Conspiracy with Nokia Corporation." I had written a report in September wondering if the EU Commission would open an antitrust case against Nokia for having their patents being behind a patent troll case that beat Apple. So it was satisfying to see Apple launch their lawsuit this week on that very basis of Nokia being behind the Acacia Research case. Even Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents weighed in and accused Nokia of being a patent troll in a report this week. He stated that "Today's announcement by Nokia shows how much of a troll it has become."

Nokia responded to Apple's lawsuit by hammering them with a series of patent infringement cases covering 40 patents in 11 countries. The FOSS Patents report noted above then noted that Apple had launched an antitrust case against Nokia in Europe as can be seen in the graphic of a docket below.





Thus far Patently Apple has been able to access two of Nokia's lawsuits filed in the Texas Eastern District Court. Both note the Plaintiff as formally being Nokia Technologies Oy and Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. The focus of this first lawsuit is the H.264 standard. Apple is part of the AVC/H.264 patent list and pays fees to the MPEG LA patent pool for use of the technology.

The list published by this group shows the patents that make up the standard. Apple contributed to this standard and is a legal participant in this standard along with many other companies and hundreds of supporting patents. I was unable to find Nokia, Alcatel or Lucent listed as a participant or having patents regarding the standard. If Apple has a license with this patent pool, it's difficult to understand Nokia's argument. Yet with that said, below is Nokia's formal complaint.

The Complaint: Nature of the Action

Nokia states in their formal complaint before the court that "Each of the Nokia Patents-in-Suit (defined below) relates to video coding. For example, each of the Nokia Patents-in-Suit include claims directed to encoding or decoding video compliant with the H.264 Advanced Video Coding standard promulgated by the International Telecommunication Union ("ITU"). Apple's products, which support H.264 video, including the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Mac computer products, and Apple digital media players such as Apple TV, infringe Nokia's patents asserted in this case. Nokia's patents asserted in this suit cover fundamental and innovative contributions made by Nokia to video coding technologies, including the H.264 standard, that reduce the amount of digital data needed to represent video. Nokia's innovations allow video to be transmitted over communications networks, such as cellular networks, with high quality and dramatically lower bandwidth requirements. Nokia's innovations also significantly reduce the size of video files, allowing more efficient storage on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Apple has benefited greatly from Nokia's innovations, which have enabled Apple products to more efficiently and effectively stream video over communications networks.

Despite all the advantages that have been enjoyed by Apple, Apple has steadfastly refused to agree to license Nokia's H.264 patents on reasonable terms. Dozens of companies have licensed Nokia's patents for use in their products that support the H.264 standard at Nokia's established royalty rates. Apple, however, refuses to pay Nokia's established royalty rates. Apple's unwillingness to negotiate a license to Nokia's patented H.264 technology in good faith has forced Nokia to institute this case for patent infringement."

The Eight Counts of Patent Infringement against Apple

For those wanting to delve into this case a little deeper technically could do so by reviewing the patents that Nokia alleges that Apple Inc. has infringed upon as listed below:

Patent 7,532,808 entitled "Method for Coding Motion in a Video Sequence,"

Patent 6,950,469 entitled "Method for Sub-Pixel Value Interpolation,"

Patent 8,036,273 entitled "Method for Sub-Pixel Value Interpolation,"

Patent 8,144,764 entitled "Video Coding,"

Patent 6,968,005 entitled "Video coding,"

Patent 6,711,211 entitled "Method for Encoding and Decoding Video Information, a Motion Compensated Video Encoder and a Corresponding Decoder,"

Patent 6,856,701 entitled "Method and System for Context-Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding," and

Patent 6,680,974 entitled "Methods and apparatus for context selection of block transform coefficients"

In addition to providing you with a full list of linked patents to review is a full copy of Nokia's formal complaint below. In here you'll be able to see Nokia's technical arguments and political posturing as it relates to Apple's alleged infringement of their intellectual property regarding the H.246 standard.

Nokia Technologies & Alcatel-Lucent USA vs Apple Inc Case 01440 by Jack Purcher on Scribd

The patent infringement case presented in today's report was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court. The Presiding Judge in this case is noted as being Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

Also see Part Two: Nokia's Second Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Apple Covers Qualcomm RF Technology, Siri and the iPhone's Design

About Making Comments on this Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Saturday Link Love is a new feature where I collect and post links to various articles Ive come upon over the past week. Feel free to share any interesting articles youve come along as well! The more the merrier.

North Carolina Is No Longer Classified as a Democracy, on News & ObserverIn the just released EIP report, North Carolinas overall electoral integrity score of 58/100 for the 2016 election places us alongside authoritarian states and pseudo-democracies like Cuba, Indonesia and Sierra Leone.

The American Papers that Praised Hitler, on The Daily BeastAn editorial in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin on Jan. 30, 1933, asserted that there have been indications of moderation on Hitlers part.

Donald Trump will follow a failed political transformation, just like Benjamin Harrison, on VoxWe may be at a similar moment in political history today: After a failed shot at the founding of a new regime, we remain in a time of close political competition, with a narrowly elected president (who wins the Electoral College even while losing the popular vote) clinging to tight majorities in Congress while presiding over a divided nation.

Monopolys Radical, Feminist, Anti-Capitalist Origins, on The NIB.

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News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
2017 Uncertainties Require a New Mideast Security Structure

12/24/16

By Adnan Tabatabai (source: LobeLog)



Iranian President (L) with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan

(June 2014 file photo by ISNA)



2016 certainly bore no good news for the Middle East. Wars are being waged with greater intensity, and the humanitarian catastrophes in Syria and Yemen are reaching unprecedented levels. Instability remains the key defining character of the region as it moves into the new year. But that is hardly news for the regional stakeholders who have been living with instability for decades now.

What is new, however, is the heightened level of uncertainty that plagues the region. Multiple developments in 2016 have unleashed unpredicted and unpredictable new dynamics.

For observers to make better sense of why the stakeholders in the region are adopting seemingly irreconcilable policies, it is important to acknowledge the level of uncertainty sensed in those capitals.

Key developments with unknown consequences can be seen on the national, regional, and global level as 2016 comes to an end. All bear implications for the Middle East. A quick look at some of the most pressing questions arising from these developments may explain why anxiety in the region is reaching new heights.

Turmoil All Around

We can start by looking at the national contexts of the major players. In doing so it's clear each one faces extraordinary short- and long-term challenges.

Iran is in the run-up to its presidential election in May, a contest that may lead to a re-adjustment of President Rouhani's Western-leaning foreign policy. Potentially more important, the issue of 'succession' to the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, already is emerging as a key factor in domestic politics. It underlies a multi-dimensional power struggle that is defined not only by the various factions competing for influence, but also along bigger systemic cleavages-i.e., between those who want to stress the republican nature of the Islamic Republic and those who seek to bolster its theocratic basis. While tendencies can be observed, no one can predict how this tug-of-war will play out. Whatever the outcome, however, the repercussions are sure to be felt far and wide.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, finds itself in a state of uncertain transition in virtually every respect-politically, economically, and socially. A young and well-educated youth is challenging the kingdom's fundamental structures. An overly ambitious deputy crown prince is making every effort to position himself as the successor to the 81-year old King Salman. No one knows how far Mohammad Bin Salman can go. No one knows how implementable his Vision 2030 will be and whether it will embrace or alienate the old elites and the population alike. As Iran's principal rival, and the de facto leader of the Arab world since the misnamed "Arab Spring" in 2011, what happens in Riyadh will no doubt have an outsized influence on the rest of the region and beyond.

Turkey has been leaving observers dumb-struck throughout the past year, and particularly since the July 15 aborted coup d'etat. There seems to be no limit to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ambitions to create his Turkey, marginalize and criminalize any political or media opposition, and change the constitution in ways that will super-empower his office. It is impossible to profoundly assess where this is leading and what further consequences the process itself will bear. With outright armed conflict with the Kurds ongoing in Turkey's east and deadly terrorist attacks striking the rest of the country, it is difficult to foresee how much more destabilization the country will face or be able to bear.

At the same time, Egypt is facing severe security threats, with ISIS attacks in Sinai and terrorist assaults elsewhere, including the recent fatal bombing of a Coptic Church in the heart of Cairo. Add to this the worsening socioeconomic plight of its population-with record and rising unemployment and 25% of households living below the poverty line-and the unrelenting crackdown against the country's strongest political party, the Muslim Brotherhood. Some observers believe another uprising is imminent, while others say there is no such appetite among the people. That said, popular discontent with the repressive al-Sisi government must be regarded as a ticking time-bomb that could blow up the Arab world's most populous country.

When looking at the Israel-Palestine conflict, meanwhile, 2016 made clear that the two-state solution has moved further away than ever before. While it is debatable whether this conflict is indeed the mother of all tensions in the region, as many officials in the region like to argue, its ongoing impasse certainly does harm beyond the plight of the Palestinian people-especially in Gaza-and the constant state of insecurity in Israel and the West Bank.

If all the above were not enough, the region is also facing key questions about the future of war-torn countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Yemen, each of whose conflicts-and the vacuums they have created-ripple far beyond their national borders and invite the intervention of both regional and extra-regional actors. In the absence of a clear vision for containing and reducing the violence of these conflicts, key regional players, from Ankara to Riyadh, and from Tel Aviv to Tehran, will make every effort to minimize potential harm to their own security interests.

Moreover, "security interests" are not confined to territorial integrity. The above-mentioned stakeholders share economic, cultural, political and social ties with each other. If there is one thing regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia undoubtedly have in common, for example, it is that both want stability and intact borders-not only for the sake of their own territorial integrity, but also to maintain and expand their regional ties and influence. And yet, finding a formula to reconcile Iranian and Saudi regional interests seems more challenging now than ever.

President Trump and a Chaotic Europe

And this is when yet another major uncertainty comes in: the Donald Trump factor.

It is impossible at this point to tell whether Trump's Middle East policy will be driven by his explicit rejection of interventionism or by the far too explicit belief in interventionism for which people like leading Deputy Secretary of State candidate John Bolton are very well known. It is also difficult to predict at this point whether the nomination of Russia-friendly Rex W. Tillerson as Secretary of State is good or bad news for Tehran and/or Riyadh. And how will both countries be affected by Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, for whom Islam is a political ideology and "a cancer?"

Moreover, with the current state of the European Union, amid Brexit and upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France, and Germany, it is even difficult to envisage how Europe, as a coherent political force in the world, will look one year from now. Events in 2016 have shown that anything is possible.

All of the above leave regional stakeholders in the Middle East no choice but to increasingly "nationalize" their security policies. The need for a new regional security architecture is stressed by many, but a tangible roadmap that can lead to it has yet to be charted.

Mistrust is rife. Accusations are sharpening by the day. All sides demand confidence-building measures from the other side. And yet, due to the prevalence of perceptions, as opposed to actual realities on the ground, things that are demanded as confidence-building measures are often things that the other side might actually be unable to deliver. Is Iran, for example, in a position to disarm the Houthis, as Riyadh demands? Are the Saudi and Qatari governments really capable of cutting financial support for jihadi groups in Syria and Iraq, as Tehran expects? Such demands are on the table, but it appears impossible to assess whether either side has the actual control and leverage to deliver.

Needed: More, and Better, Dialogue

At this point, however, it is of utmost importance for regional actors to take a few steps back and talk with each other about how they talk about each other. This is how misperceptions can be deconstructed. Tehran should know how it is perceived in Riyadh and vice versa.

Allegations and accusations must be replaced with insights and knowledge derived from actual dialogue. Additionally, the national security interests of every regional stakeholder must be taken seriously, by regional and extra-regional actors. But there is a need for many more platforms for such dialogue to permit the parties to better understand those security interests in order to begin developing formulas to reconcile them. Such a process may not start at the official level; indeed, Track 2 efforts involving well-connected yet independent analysts and think tankers may be better at preparing the ground for actual diplomacy. This requires, however, that pundits in this field show more discipline in keeping an eye on the bigger picture, instead of diving into the jungle of micro-level discussions.

The horrors of Aleppo, Sanaa, and Mosul certainly need profound attention. But even more so, debates on these complicated multi-layered conflicts demand sober, in-depth analysis about the logic behind the behavior of the various stakeholders (state and non-state) involved. Only then can constructive avenues toward detente be explored and developed.

In times of uncertainty, it is even more important to fully understand the motivations of actors like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or Russia, and spend time making sense of their respective security calculations. Glorifying or demonizing their actions, as some overly dogmatic, partisan or ideological pundits do, will not help in addressing the uncertainties, let alone changing their behavior. And instead of mainly focusing on the current state of play in the region, analysts from the U.S., Europe, and within the region itself should devote more attention to more long-term scenarios that offer mutually acceptable ways out of the ongoing uncertainties and the fears they generate.

In this way, key decision-makers-both in the region and from outside-can be guided towards what the Middle East desperately needs: a functional regional security architecture that all parties are committed to sustaining. That goal should be the North Star that guides the parties through these perilous and uncertain times.

About the Author:



Adnan Tabatabai is co-founder and CEO of the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO). As a Berlin-based political analyst on Iranian affairs, he is consulted by the German Federal Foreign Office, members of the German Bundestag, political foundations as well as journalists and authors. He writes analyses and commentaries on Iran for German and English media outlets. Tabatabai holds an assigned lectureship at the Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf and is an associated researcher for the INEF project "Peaceful Change and Violent Conflict-the Transformation of the Middle East and Western-Muslim relations." He is a PhD candidate at the University Duisburg-Essen.
Iranian-American "Completely Isolated" in Iran's Gorgan Prison

12/24/16

Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Iranian-American political prisoner Reza (Robin) Shahini is being held in adverse conditions with dangerous criminals in Gorgan Prison, 186 miles northeast of Tehran in Golestan Province, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has learned.





Reza (Robin) Shahini





"Reza is facing a lot of discrimination and hardship and the prison officials justify it because he's accused of national security crimes," an informed source told the Campaign. "He is being kept in a ward with murder suspects and drug traffickers. His cellmates call him names like 'foreigner' and 'spy' and have warned him not to speak to them. So, basically he has been completely isolated and has become very weak."

According to Article 1 of the Separation and Classification of Prisoners Regulations, inmates should be held in separate wards based on gender, type of crime, legal status (suspect or convict), and health to "preserve the rights and dignity of prisoners and maximize security within prisons."

Born in Iran, Shahini, 47, immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 and settled in San Diego, California. He traveled to Iran to visit his family in late May 2016 and was arrested on July 11, nine days before he was scheduled to return home.

On October 15, 2016, the Revolutionary Court in Gorgan sentenced him to 18 years in prison for "acting against national security," "participating in protest gatherings in 2009," "collaborating with Voice of America (VOA) television" and "insulting the sacred on Facebook."

"The appeal against the prison sentence has not yet been submitted to the court, but his new lawyer is going to do that in the next few days," the informed source told the Campaign.

"Reza has asked many times to be moved to Evin Prison because there are no other political prisoners in Gorgan Prison," added the source. "But unfortunately he has been denied every time. He doesn't even have permission to borrow a book from the library and when he goes to the prison clinic for medication for his severe asthma, they don't treat him right."

Political prisoners in Iran are singled out for harsh treatment, which often includes denial of medical care.

In May 2016 Shahini graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor's degree in international security and conflict resolution and had been accepted to the university's homeland security graduate program.

"All the accusations against Reza were based on his writings and photos posted on his Facebook page, as well as his interviews with Voice of America several years ago, and a couple of other articles in the IranGlobal and Khodnevis websites," a source told the Campaign in October.

"For instance, he posted photos on Facebook showing people celebrating and protesting before and after the (contested) 2009 presidential election," added the source. "He also posted photos of people like [former Crown Prince] Reza Pahlavi, [former President] Abolhassan Banisadr and [political commentator in exile] Akbar Ganji... But after 2011 he had no [political] activities and after hearing Rouhani's speeches, he thought he could return to Iran and visit his family without any problems."

A number of other dual nationals who were initially detained by the Revolutionary Guards' Intelligence Organization are currently imprisoned in Iran without access to due process including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old father Bagher Namazi, Kamal Foroughi, and Karan Vafadari.

The growing number of arrests reflects hardliners' efforts to prevent the engagement with the West that President Hassan Rouhani, who will seek a second term in office in May 2017, has sought to encourage.
Survivors and family members of those killed in the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center will get the financial support they need, according to a statement released Friday.

According to the statement released by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, the Department of Justice awarded $4 million to support both the long-term and short-term needs of the survivors and the family members of those who perished in the attack.

Related: San Bernardino terror attack survivors beg officials for medications, treatment

One year later, survivors and victims families are still fighting to heal and move forward, so as they navigate this process it is our responsibility as their leaders and advocates to ensure they have access to the care they deserve, Aguilar said in the release. These federal funds will help, but there is more work to do and I remain committed to working with the survivors, my regional partners and local officials to ensure that every survivor and family member has the resources they need to recover.

Complete 1-year anniversary coverage

The funds came from the Department of Justices Anti-Terrorism and Emergency Assistance Program to the California Victim Compensation Board, which will reimburse San Bernardino County for expenses and projects funded by the grant, the release stated.

At the time, it was the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11.

On Dec. 2, 2015, San Bernardino became synonymous with many other cities facing terrorism around the world when Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, made their way through the Inland Regional Center building, firing numerous rounds from assault rifles.

When the gunfire subsided, 14 people were dead and 22 wounded.

The terrorists were later killed in a gun battle in San Bernardino.

Contact the writer: dsaunders@scng.comTwitter: @crimeshutterbug
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Yet the faithful braved the chilly weather outside the towns Manger Square as traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols. Elated tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

Adding to the holiday spirit for the Palestinians, locals celebrated a key diplomatic victory at the United Nations the day before, where the Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Its very unique, Ive never seen anything like it said Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky.

Its very meaningful, its Christmas time, where everything started.

Christian clergymen welcomed the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus Christ, as Christians worldwide begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.

The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population. He traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession. Later, he was to celebrate Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built at the grotto revered as Jesus birthplace.

I wish this joyous atmosphere of Christmas will continue in the year and not just for a few days and I hope the coming year will bring a little more serenity and peaceful relations in our country. We need it, he said.

I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season. I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there, he told The Associated Press.

The Syrian government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels, including some Islamic militants, agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the countrys largest city.

Christmas festivities brought a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, who make up just a small percentage of the population. The region has which has experienced a wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that erupted over a year ago. The violence has tapered off in recent months, but has not halted completely.

Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked.

Bethlehem is celebrating today, we are receiving tourists from all over the world, Maaya said. All people over the world are looking at Bethlehem so we hope more and more tourists will come during the year and that next year we will celebrate Christmas without occupation.

Maaya spoke a day after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Julie Suhain, 20, from Ramallah said she was delighted with the UNSC resolution.

Its like getting a Christmas gift, she said. Weve been waiting for this for a long time.

Despite the Christmas cheer, Mideast politics loom large in the background  the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem is just one hulking reminder. It was built by Israel last decade during the second Intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.

Israeli says the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers, but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also stunts their economy.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent attacks on Christian targets in Egypt and elsewhere in the region by Islamic extremists.
California has been described as a country unto itself. Could it be?

Yes California, a group advocating secession, filed paperwork with the state attorney general in November for a proposed 2018 ballot measure to strike language in the state constitution binding California to the United States.

This month, the group announced the opening of a cultural center in Moscow  the first of many planned California culture centers which will serve to build a bridge between the nation of California and the nations of the world, according to a statement on Yes Californias website.

If its ballot measure succeeds, Yes California would pursue a 2019 vote to declare the states independence. At least half of the states voters would have to cast ballots and 55 percent would have to choose independence for California to become its own nation, according to documents Yes California filed with the attorney generals office.

Talk of California secession is nothing new. But it gained momentum after Donald Trumps election. Hillary Clinton got 62 percent of Californias vote in defeating Trump, the largest margin of victory for a presidential candidate in the state since 1936.

The November election, which gave Republicans the White House and continued congressional dominance, underscored Californias political divergence from the rest of the country.

While the GOP controls most state legislatures and governorships, Republicans are a shrinking minority in the Golden State, where Democrats control the Legislature, 39 of 53 congressional seats and all statewide elected offices.

Californias Democratic leadership has vowed to fight Trump over his plans to deport undocumented immigrants and repeal Obamacare, and Californias battle against global warming is at odds with the views of climate change skeptics in Trumps cabinet.

In arguing for independence, Yes California contends that the states tax dollars subsidize the rest of America and that red-state politics marginalize Californias more progressive values. California can stand alone as a world economic power, secession advocates say.

We believe in two fundamental truths, reads a statement on Yes Californias website. (1) California exerts a positive influence on the rest of the world, and (2) California could do more good as an independent country than it is able to do as a just a U.S. state.

Even if a ballot measure qualifies  585,407 signatures are needed  and a majority of Californians want to secede, an independent republic of California faces very steep odds. The question of whether states can split was answered in blood by the Civil War and in law by an 1869 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found no right to secession in the U.S. Constitution.

According to Yes California, a path to secession exists through the U.S.-ratified United Nations charter. But its hard to see Washington recognizing U.N. authority on this issue, nor is it clear how many nations would risk Americas wrath by recognizing an independent California, home to 12 percent of the U.S. population and a vital part of the nations economy and food supply.

Independence activists could pursue a constitutional amendment to let California secede. But that requires ratification from three-fourths of the state legislatures.

California can assert itself in ways other than secession, said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.

Federalism allows each state wide latitude in setting its own polices, he said. As (Gov.) Jerry Brown says, we could launch our own climate satellite (to study climate change) if the feds dont want to.

State officials can also push back in federal court, which is why Brown picked Xavier Becerra as attorney general, Pitney added. Becerra, a Democratic congressman from Los Angeles, is widely expected to challenge the Trump administration in court, especially over immigration policy.

SPLIT THE STATE

Throughout California history, theres been talk about splitting up the state and discussions of splitting from America. The state is politically divided between coastal and inland regions and the more liberal urban cores vs. more conservative rural areas.

While Clinton won the statewide vote, Trump won many of Californias less-populated, more inland counties, including Siskiyou and Modoc counties in the north and Kern County north of Los Angeles County.

The concept of the state of Jefferson, which would combine parts of rural Northern California with southern Oregon, dates to at least the 1940s. In recent years, county lawmakers and voters in five Northern California counties have approved ballot measures or passed resolutions in support of Jefferson.

In 2009, then-GOP Assemblyman Bill Maze proposed the state of Coastal California consisting of 13 counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. Maze argued that coastal liberals politically drowned out Californias more conservative regions.

The desire to create a conservative haven led then-Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone in 2011 to propose the state of South California. Thirteen counties, including Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino, would have been part of this 51st state.

In 2013, venture capitalist Tim Draper sought to split California into six states, which he said would be more responsive to local residents and easier to govern. A measure putting the six-state concept before voters failed to gain enough signatures.

So, its doubtful California will be divided into multiple states or split from the rest of the nation  unless the San Andreas fault gets active. Remember those Californias shaking away earthquake fears?

Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@scng.com
Earlier this week, a Kansas State University freshman drew viral attention on the web for his Facebook posting that figuratively and visually flipped off the school.

Bill Wilson decided, after a single semester at the school, that college was a waste of time. He posted a photo of himself giving the finger to the school in front of the KSU sign. He called college a scam, complained about courses that provided little or no practical knowledge and said he planned to go into business for himself, selling T-shirts.

That business is a far cry from the architectural engineering major Wilson was enrolled in. But his feelings about college hit close to home for many. There was no shortage of supporting comments on his Facebook page, raising the long-running question of whether a college degree is worth it.

The answer, statistically, is yes.

College graduates tend to make more than twice as much as those who have only a high school diploma. And for years, the gap between the two groups of workers has been spreading.

But one researcher says that trend has stopped.

Robert Valletta, with the National Bureau of Economic Research, looked at more than 35 years worth of income data for workers with varying degrees of education. From 1980 to 2005, the gap between those with a high school education, versus those with a college degree, gradually widened from about 40 percent more in 1980 to a little over 70 percent in 2010. Those with a graduate degree earned 123 percent more than those with just a high school diploma in 2010.

The growth in the gap between the groups was relatively steady over time, although it began tapering off between 2000 and 2010. Since then it has flattened out, remaining relatively unchanged.

Valletta attributes the flattening of the growth to two factors. The first, he says, is labor market polarization.

This theory emphasizes a shift away from middle-skilled occupations driven largely by technological change, he writes. This relates to jobs that are being displaced by automation technologies and related factors (such as outsourcing and rising trade).

Computers and other technologies have helped reduce low-level white-collar workers, as well as better paying blue-collar jobs eliminated by automation and robotics.

The second factor, Valletta says, is skill downgrading.

This is the result, he writes, of a general weakening since the year 2000 in the demand for cognitive tasks in the workplace. That decline is a result of the revolution in information technology and a slowdown in workplace IT investments.

Weaker demand for cognitive skills and the consequent impact on highly skilled workers, he continues, has had a domino effect, eventually undermining the demand for lesser skilled workers as well.

Many of these jobs are the ones that president-elect Trump has vowed to re-create.

Despite the flattening of the gap  which one suspects would eventually happen at some point  college graduates still stand a much better chance of making significantly higher salaries because of their degrees.

Senior Loan Defaulters

A GAO report released Tuesday shows that older federal student loan defaulters are losing social security money. The report says that people over 50, who are having their social security wages garnished have been in default for some time.

Of those affected, the report says, 43 percent had held their student loans for 20 years or more.

Many are ending up with disbursements that leave them below the poverty level and many are receiving social security as their only source of income.

In fiscal year 2015, more than half of the almost 114,000 older borrowers who had such offsets were receiving Social Security disability benefits rather than Social Security retirement income, the report said.

Contact the writer: mmuckenfuss@scng.com or 951-368-9595
Matzo ball soup and potato latkes will share the Christmas dinner table with ham and pie this year at the Silberman residence.

A Christmas tree sparkles in the living room of the familys Santa Ana home while a bright, blue Happy Hanukkah sign hangs on the front door.

Stacey Silberman is Jewish while her wife, Jill, grew up celebrating the secular version of Christmas. And tonight, in a rare occurrence, Christmas Eve coincides with the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

Related: Christmas Day forecast: Clear skies

The Silbermans and their 7-year-old twins, Izzy and Jack, are among numerous interfaith families in Southern California who will celebrate both festivals.

We want the best of Hanukkah and Christmas for our children, Stacey Silberman said. Even though theyve been raised Jewish culturally, they enjoy Christmas.

And the children seem proud of their interfaith home, too, she said, considering they talk about it in school and even taught their predominantly Christian kindergarten class how to spin a dreidel.

Hanukkah coincides with Christmas approximately once every 18 or 19 years, said Gersh Zylberman, senior rabbi at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. But it is much more rare for the first night of Hanukkah to coincide with Christmas Eve, he said.

A number of families in his congregation are interfaith and celebrate both holidays, Zylberman said.

The challenges are often that you have two sets of grandparents and competing family priorities, he said.

While some interfaith couples celebrate both holidays, there are many families that have chosen one path or the other, particularly if they have kids, said Rabbi Paul Kipnes of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas.

The people that have come to the congregation have decided they want a significant Jewish life, and if they have kids, theyre raising their kids as Jews, said Kipnes, who estimated that about 35 percent of his congregations families have one parent who is not Jewish. That said, we are nonjudgmental and totally inclusive such that the non-Jew is fully welcomed into the congregation.

Because the holidays can be intense times of the year for those of multiple-faith backgrounds, Kipnes encourages people to talk about it and plan for it well in advance.

The fact that Hanukkah, one of the lesser Jewish holidays, and Christmas, one of Christianitys major holidays, coincide will likely make blending the holidays easier for some but more difficult for others.

For some families, the fact that the two holidays arrive at the same time is going to bring into sharp contrast two different stories and religious backgrounds, and people who in the past have been able to slide by it are going to have to talk about it  and thats always good, Kipnes said.

According to a 2013 Pew Research Center report, 20 percent of U.S. Jews with a non-Jewish spouse say they are raising their children Jewish, while 25 percent say they are raising their children partly Jewish. A little more than one-third (37 percent) of intermarried Jews raising children say they are not raising them Jewish at all.

Kipnes, who co-authored the book Jewish Spiritual Parenting with his wife, Michelle November, urges parents to talk a lot and to be intentional about how they want to raise children and celebrate the holidays.

He recommends that interfaith couples sit down separately and write down five things they love about their own holiday, five things they appreciate about their partners holiday, what makes them uncomfortable about their partners holiday and, in an ideal world, how they would deal with it.

Interfaith families in Southern California seem to handle the holidays differently, depending on their individual situations.

Ian Spatz plans to light colorful Hanukkah candles and chant blessings with his family this evening while also enjoying Christmas Eve dinner at their Venice home.

Spatz, who is Jewish, and his wife, who grew up in a secular Christian home, have a Christmas tree in their family room that has a Star of David ornament hanging from it, reflecting the familys multifaith background.

But for years, Spatz said, he was reluctant to tell his parents his family even had a Christmas tree because he feared it meant that he would be losing something as a Jew.

I came to realize in talking to lots of families who are in the same place that you arent giving up something, you are gaining something in being able to celebrate another faith tradition, he said.

And then there are families like the Sperlings in Newport Beach. Sarah Sperling was raised Christian but says she has felt Jewish since she was 5.

It was strange. I celebrated Jewish holidays by myself, she said.

Sperling eventually converted to Judaism and is raising her 2-year-old twins, Roman and Tatum, Jewish. Her husband, David, is not religious but likes to celebrate Christmas in a secular way, she said. This year, they decorated the tree as a family, and she and her children will light Hanukkah candles.

He had a couple of sock monkey ornaments from his childhood and I still have a few favorite ornaments from my home, Sarah Sperling said.

Theyll have latkes and jelly doughnuts and light Hanukkah candles at home. Then, theyll head over to her mothers for an Italian Christmas dinner.

I want my husband to have a Christmas because he grew up with it and still enjoys it, she said. But Id also like my children to know their Jewish identity and not get confused.

In the end, it is healthy for families to help celebrate each others holidays, said Rabbi Zylberman.

Hanukkah and Christmas lining up together is a reminder of the diversity we have in America, he said. And the need for different religions to respect each others rights and celebrate together.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@scng.com
New year, new laws.

Legislation passed by the Assembly and state Senate in 2016 will affect businesses starting in 2017.

Arbitration of disputes, wages for agricultural workers, criminal history questions on applications and the sign on the bathroom door are some of the matters that got the attention of lawmakers for the new year. This isnt everything  check with an attorney or the local Chamber of Commerce for required updates of documents and office postings for 2017.

Law and forum choice in employment contracts

Law: SB1241

What it says: Employees who primarily work and reside in California cannot be required by employers to enter agreements that would put their claims in a non-California forum or generally litigate claims under law of another jurisdiction. Effective Jan. 1.

What it means: In a legal dispute between employee and employer, what happens in California has to stay in California. The bill forbids adjudication outside of California, including arbitration, for a claim arising in California.

For nationwide companies with offices in California this is going to be really big, said Todd Wulffson, a managing partner in the Orange County office of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger. One key area that will be affected is employees taking intelligence, such as a customer list, from their former workplace to a new employer. California permits such activities; most states uphold noncompetition covenants for employees.

With SB1241, Wulffson said by way of example, a Massachusetts-based company can no longer hold a California employee to the noncompetition rule in a work contract that is based on Massachusetts law. The reason companies want to use out-of-state laws is to protect their business, he said. Among the outcomes might be rampant raiding of employees among competing businesses in the Golden State, Wulffson added.

Wage discrimination protections cover race, ethnicity, prior salary

Laws: AB1676 and SB1063

What it says: Both bills are amendments to the states Fair Pay Act.

AB1676 says an opposite-sex employees prior salary alone cannot justify a disparity in compensation for equal work on jobs which require equal skill. It takes prior salary away from other bona fide reasons giving an opposite-sex employee lower pay, such as education, training or experience.

SB1063 expands the Fair Pay Act to race and ethnicity as well as gender.

Both are effective Jan. 1.

What it means: This might put geographical pay differences in the courtroom. Salaries are also affected by widely different costs of living in California, Wulffson said. A companys pay rate can be higher in Newport Beach than in Rancho Cucamonga based on location  not on race, gender, ethnicity or prior salary. But pay differential based on geography is not baked into law, Wulffson said. It appears that the new laws may open the doors to such litigation. Geographical location is a defense, but you are going to have to argue that before a jury and it will cost you $100,000 to do it, he said.

Protections for victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault

Law: AB2337

What it says: Employers are required to inform workers who are victims of domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault of their existing rights to take time off work for a variety of services, medical treatment, counseling and safety planning. Unscheduled absences due to those circumstances cannot be punished if the employee provides certification in a reasonable amount of time. Effective July 1.

What it means: Workplace notices at businesses with 25 or more employees need to be updated soon. .

Immigration documentation unfair practices

Law: SB1001

What it says: Applies to state law existing federal law that, among other items, makes it unlawful for an employer to request more or different immigration documents than required by law, or to refuse documents that on their face reasonably appear to be genuine. Effective Jan. 1.

What it means: It expands the scope of places where this can be litigated, said Richard M. Green, a partner in Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger and chair of the Orange County offices immigration practice group. Before this law, the issue of complying with immigration document requirements was purely a federal matter.  SB1001 allows employees to litigate these issues in state court, he said. Why add state court? It passed unceremoniously, he said of the new law. Is it a solution in search of a problem? I dont know. Green said time would have to pass to see how much state litigation is initiated.

Juvenile criminal history and job applications

Law: AB1843

What it says: Potential employers cannot ask an applicant about information concerning past involvement in juvenile court, including adjudication or court disposition. Takes effect Jan. 1.

What it means: The law adds juvenile court outcomes to existing California law that prohibit employers from asking workers or applicants about an adult arrest that did not result in a conviction, a court referral to a diversion program or a matter that has been expunged or sealed. It does not include applicants or workers who are under the process of juvenile court proceedings. And there are exceptions regarding health worker records for both adult and juvenile court records. Employers who dont amend applications might face legal action, Wulffson warned.

Also:

SB3 It goes up to $10.50 an hour Jan. 1.

Single-user restrooms all-gender designation

AB1732 says all single-user restrooms meant for public access must by March 1 be identified as an all-gender toilet facility.

Agricultural worker overtime

AB1066 Overtime pay starts at eight hours for most employees, but agricultural workers currently must work a 10-hour day before they receive overtime pay. The law introduces a schedule that begins in 2019 and concludes in 2022, dropping back the overtime threshold by a half-hour each year until overtime starts after eight hours. Employers with 25 or fewer workers have three additional years to comply. Effective Jan. 1.

Minimum wage dispute bond

AB2899 Employers appealing an unfavorable Labor Commission ruling for wage and hour violations must post a bond that includes the assessed amount of unpaid wages. The bond amount, which excludes penalties, will be forfeited to the employee if the employer does not prevail and does not pay the owed amount within 10 days of the cases conclusion. Takes effect Jan. 1.

Contact the writer: rdeatley@scng.com, 951-368-9573Twitter @RKDeAtley
Inland synagogues are holding community-wide celebrations over the weekend and this coming week to mark the beginning and end of Hanukkah, spreading a message of overcoming adversity and encouraging kindness.

The message of Hanukkah is not giving in  to continue lighting that fire, said Rabbi Shmuel Fuss of the Chabad Jewish Community Center of Riverside.

Light will always prevail over darkness and love will always overpower tyranny and oppression, he added.

The eight-day Jewish holiday  which celebrates the victory nearly 2,200 years ago of a small group of Jewish farmers over a Syrian-Greek king who was trying to eradicate Judaism  begins at sundown Saturday, Dec. 24.

This year, the message of Hanukkah comes in the wake of a presidential election that has left many people divided, and Jewish faith leaders say the holidays theme is relevant every year.

Its sharing the Hanukkah message, a universal message embracing cultural diversity and promoting understanding, Fuss said.

This year, the 12th annual Chanukah Festival, hosted by the Chabad Jewish Community Center of Riverside, is set for Monday, Dec. 26.

The celebration at the Riverside County Historic Courthouse will highlight the usual traditions, including the lighting of the ceremonial candelabra and foods like potato latkes, but this year the festival will also feature a performance by Israeli-American rock band, Mosha, and the debut of the Dreidle Man mascot.

More food will be available this year, close to 1,000 meals, up from the 700 last year. There will be chicken soup, oil fried potato pancakes and doughnuts.

Were shaking things up a bit, Fuss said. It has become a meaningful event, not only for the Jewish community, but for the community at large.

In Redlands, Congregation Emanu El is hosting a community dinner Wednesday, Dec. 28, featuring a live band and menorah lighting. It is open to the public, but reservations are required.

Rabbi Jay Sherwood said the theme of Hanukkah is always an appropriate one because there are always moments, when we are moving from darkness to light.

Sometimes its personal  Sometimes its universal, Sherwood said.

For Patricia Trujillo, from Temple Beth Am in San Jacinto, Hanukkah is a time of year to remember that there are hard times in this world.

Temple Beth Am on Friday, Dec. 30, is hosting a potluck gathering and menorah lighting for the public.

We as Jewish people need to remember that we are to serve as examples  and to light above hardship and abuse, and give hope to those who are going through struggles, Trujillo said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9462, amolina@scng.com, or on Twitter @alemolina
The Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic will commence on January 7, 2017, with Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye presiding, highly placed sources within the incoming governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has revealed.



The Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition, Kasapafmonline.com understands, settled on the former Ghanas High Commissioner to India because of his vast experience in parliamentary affairs.



Having been nominated for the position, his fate will now be determined by the lawmakers of the Seventh Parliament.



But with the NPP having won 171 seats in the just ended Parliamentary poll to form the Majority Caucus of the House, the Political Scientist is expected to receive overwhelming endorsement from the elephant family.



He is likely to also be endorsed by the the Minority side of the House.



He was penciled for the job alongside the equally experienced Paapa Owusu Ankomah, MP for Sekondi and a fomer Majority Leader and the Acting National Chairman of the elephant family, Frederick Worsemao Armah Blay, a former 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament.



The Political Science Professor entered into Parliament in 2005 and served for a period of two terms. He represented the people of Dome/Kwabenya.



He also rose through the ranks to become 2nd Deputy Speaker in the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic having served on a number of committees.



He had long cherished the position of a Speaker and so when he was elected as the Second Speaker of the House, he gladly welcomed it believing that not sooner than later, the substantive position may come his way when the NPP comes to power.



After deciding not to contest the Dome/Kwabenya seat in 2012, many saw that decision by the Political Scientist who is also a legal luminary as the right opportunity to prepare himself for the Speaker position if the NPP wins power.



Aaron Mike Oquaye was born April 4, 1944, in Osu, Acca to E. G. N Oquaye of Osu and Felicia Awusika Abla Oquaye (nee Azu) of Odumase-Krobo. He was brought up at Asamankese in the Eastern Region, where he attended the Roman Catholic Primary School and Presbyterian Middle School before proceeding to Presbyterian Boys Secondary (PRESEC), at Odumase-Krobo, and Apam Secondary School.



Oquayes father, E.G.N. Oquaye, had been a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) at Asamankese. He was also treasurer and principal financier of the UGCC, Gold Coast Party (GCP), National Liberation Movement (NLM) and United Party (UP) at Asamankese. When Oquaye was a child, his family received political figures and dignitaries such as Dr. J. B. Danquah and Prof. Kofi Abrefa Busia as guests at their home. While the Okyenhene, Nana Ofori Atta II, was in exile in Accra, he was also a regular visitor to the Oquaye family home in Asamankese.



Oquaye is a Baptist Minister, and is married to Alberta Oquaye (nee Asafu-Adjei), a senior professional nurse.



Legal career



Having obtained the GCE O and A Level Certificates, he entered the University of Ghana and later the University of London, at Lincolns Inn, London. He holds B.A. (Hons.) Political Science, L.L.B. (Hons.), B.L. and PhD. He is a qualified solicitor and barrister, as well as the founder and senior partner of his own law firm. He is a barrister of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, a senior member of the Ghana Bar Association, and a solicitor for some leading companies and financial institutions.



Academic career



He was 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. He has been a visiting lecturer at George Mason University in Virginia. From 1997 to 1999, he was Vice-President of the African Association of Political Science (AAPS), based in Zimbabwe.



Writings and advocacy



Oquaye is a writer, who has researched and written extensively on good governance, conflicts, political education, decentralization and development, human rights, military intervention in politics, NGOs, rural development and gender issues. He advocates womens rights, including affirmative action. He is the author of the award-winning book Politics in Ghana  1972-1979, in which he depicts, inter-alia, the military as the bane of Government and Politics in Africa and recounted instances of human right abuses, conflictual politics, economic mismanagement and national decadence. He wrote a second volume, Politics in Ghana  1982-1992, dealing with the politics of revolution, CDRs, Public Tribunals, popular power, positive defiance and human rights issues of the period. His scholarly write-ups have been published in international journals such as Human Rights Quarterly (US), Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics (UK), African Affairs (UK), and Review of Human Factor Studies (Canada).



Political career



As a student at the University of Ghana, Oquaye joined the campaign for the J. B. Danquah/Kofi Abrefa Busia cause. He strongly supported Busias call for quick return to civilian rule to prevent the militarization of the state and, along with his family, helped to establish the Progress Party in Osu in 1969.



The United Party-Progress Party tradition led to the foundation, in 1992, of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with Oquaye as a founder member. He was the first Regional Secretary of NPP for Greater Accra in 1992, and also the first Chairman of the Party for the Ga District Rural Constituency, which later split into Ga West District and Ga East District. He was the secretary of the Research Committee and a member of the first National Campaign Team of the NPP in the third quarter of 1992.



He worked with other central NPP figures, including President John Kufuor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, R. R. Amponsah, Prof. Adu-Boahen, Peter Ala Adjetey, B. J. da Rocha and Odoi Sykes to campaign successfully for the NPP victory in the 2000 general elections. His role in the partys success, which involved journalistic contributions and involvement in other activities of the party between 1993 and 2000, is considered significant.



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.



Oquaye was the NPP Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya for two terms from 2004 to 2012. He decided not to go for another term. He sponsored his some, Mike Oquaye Jnr. to fight to be the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency. His son however lost to Adwoa Safo who went on to win the seat. From 2008 to 2012, Mike Oquaye was the Second Deputy Speaker of Ghanas Parliament. He was succeeded by Joe Ghartey in the 6th parliament of the 4th Republic.



Bibliography



Written works



Politics in Ghana 1982-1992  (Academic Literature, 2005)

Democracy, Politics and Conflict Resolution in Contemporary Ghana  (Academic Literature, Gold-Type Publication, 1995).

Source: kasapafmonline.com









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Former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, has condemned the last-minute appointments, contracts and recruitments being handed-out by the outgoing NDC government.



Mr Amidu in an article, said the NDC administration had reneged on its promise to ensure a smooth transition process with its decisions in the aftermath of their loss in the General Elections.





Below is Martin Amidu's entire opinion;



PRESIDENT JOHN MAHAMAS LAST MIDNIGHT APPOINTMENTS, CONTRACTS AND RECRUITMENTS: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU



Many interesting developments have taken place since the NPP routed the Government of my party, the NDC, in the just ended General and Presidential elections. The looter John Mahama Government promised a smooth transition as though he had an option in the matter. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State are invited to the inauguration of the new Government as though this was a favour being done the President-elect and the new Government.



The Spin is in the blood of the looter Government which loots and spins the plundering of the public purse for the likes of Woyome, Waterville and others and inflates contract prices to the detriment of the public purse.



One would have thought that the massive defeat of the Looter Government never witnessed in the annals of Ghanaian history would make it circumspect of how it handles the last days of its dying pangs as a Looter Government so that the Independent Prosecutor may have mercy upon them. Unfortunately impunity and corrupt behaviour once internalised is difficult to change overnight as subsequent events show.



Agreements reached at the transitional team do not appear to have been kept by the Looter Government which is in a hurry to finish what it could not do in the last eight years. New contracts are being signed left, right and centre by the outgoing looter Government under the claim of legality and constitutionalism. We hear that 17 days to the handing over of power to the peoples choice of a new Government, serious and fundamental decisions affecting the electorate who resoundingly rejected the outgoing looter Government at the polls are being taken by it without consultation with the incoming Government.



Then on Tuesday 20th December 2016 we woke up to the news that: President John Dramani Mahama has confirmed Joseph Whittal as the new Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). In the same news item we are told that: The President has also appointed Ms. Josephine Nkrumah as the substantive head of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).



Ironically the news report adds: The appointments come a few weeks after the President lost the presidential elections to the opposition NPP leader Nana Addo Dankwaa Akufo-Addo. The President-elect will be sworn-in January 7, 2017. The reporter therefore deliberately leads the intelligent reader to ask whether there is nothing wrong with such midnight appointments by a Government that has just been routed by an incoming Government at the polls with corruption being one of the main electoral issues at stake at those polls.



Not unexpectedly, the transition team of the incoming Government issues a statement stating that: These appointments .have been done contrary to an earlier agreement at the Transition Committees meeting of December 19th, at which meeting it was agreed that such appointments would be done subject to consultation with the Presidential Transition Committee. The statement adds that: We will, therefore, like to serve notice that the incoming administration reserves the right to review these and other high profile appointments, recruitments and contracts being embarked upon in these final days contrary to normal conventions associated with Presidential transitions and the consultation mechanism agreed.



In a 19th December 2016 Myjoyonline report, two young Ministers of the looter John Mahama regime are reported to have defended the decision by functionaries of the Mahama-led administration to award contracts and give appointments days after being voted out of government. Haruna Iddrisu is reported to have said that: As a country what we need to pride ourselves is that you are assured of a peaceful, smooth transition of power from one political leadership to another, recognition of the continuous exercise of the legitimate legal authority and mandate by the current administration and know that an Act of Parliament cannot amend the constitution.



The constitution clearly defines a four year mandate for the president and acts that are done on or before the midnight of 6th January are lawful and legitimate, he explained.



In the same Myjoyonline report it is reported that: The most eminent of the contract (sic) is the 18 million waste management contract signed with SCL Waste Management Limited. Incidentally this sole sourced contract was signed by Mahama Ayariga who claimed that: the contract had been on his desk around November. But as an MP seeking re-election he was busy campaigning and could not therefore give it any attention.



With outright impunity he says that:

I have up to the 6th January 2017 to implement what I want to do. I have heard some arguments justifying the midnight appointments, contracts and recruitments on the basis that former President J. A. Kufuor exercised executive powers to the last day of 6th January 2009 as precedent for what the Looter Government is now engaged in doing. The NDC Government when it assumed office on 7th January 2009 decided not to challenge the midnight decisions of President Kufuor thus giving them legitimacy. It cannot pass for a precedent.



Another difference which is being overlooked is that President Kufuor was exhausting his eight year mandate and his interpretation of the Constitution and the laws of Ghana cannot be binding on an incoming Government that has routed the incumbent Government soundly at the polls. I disagreed with what President Kufuor did but the then President-elect and his Vice-President-elect decided to let it pass without testing their constitutionality or legality. Their decision cannot bind the incoming Government so massively voted for by We The People.



The incoming Government has through its transition team given notice of its intention to contest the midnight decisions of the Looter Government and I think the overwhelming votes it received at the polls justifies its stand. I have also read on 20th December, 2016 that, unlike the Mills/Mahama Government, Philip Addison, a lawyer, has commenced an action to challenge some of the present midnight decisions of this looter Government.



My kinsman is being appointed the Commissioner for the CHRAJ when after wasting the public purse up to the Supreme Court to contest whether or not the suspects in the Mabey and Johnson case could be investigated for corruption he chose to go to sleep after promising he was going to investigate using the trove of credible evidence I sent CHRAJ in the case as Attorney General.



This same kinsman of mine white washed the Ford Expedition Saga even though he knew the CHRAJ had no jurisdiction over the President because the Attorney General could not prosecute him even if he were found culpable by CHRAJ. So even though he is my kinsman and culture requires me to keep quiet, I ask myself as an enlightened Ghanaian Putting Ghana First whether this appointment is compensation for past and future protection. This is a problem of conscience and not kinship or ethnicity  wrong is wrong no matter who is the beneficiary!



I had always thought that Governments were to act not only in accordance with the letter of the law or constitution but above all in accordance with its spirit if the rule of law is to prevail. Lets wait and see whether the sterile legal and constitutional arguments of Haruna Iddrisu and Mahama Ayariga and their kind would prevail or the spirit of the Constitution that animates the letter of the law will prevail in the Courts. President Barrack Obama had a constitutional right to nominate a US Supreme Court Judge, and nominated Merrick Garland but the Republican senators in a move with little precedent in US history simply refused to consider Garlands nomination saying the winner of the November 8th presidential elections should make the pick.



One Steven Michel filed a suit in a US federal court and lost and made an application to the Supreme Court of the US to force a senate committee vote on it. The US Chief Justice, John Roberts, denied the emergency application on Monday, 19th December 2016. The spirit prevailed over the letter of the Constitution.



I argued and lost what is now referred to as the 31st December Case in the Supreme Court of Ghana in December 1993 narrowly but I took away the wise words of the late Mr. Justice Fanscios, (who was one of the majority that ruled against my case), whose speech in the case appears to me to remain the locus classicus on the balance that should be struck between the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution. Mr. Justice Franscios said in that case that:



The letter and spirit of the Constitution



A constitutional document must be interpreted sui generic to allow the written word and the spirit that animates it, to exist in perfect harmony. It is interpreted according to the principles suitable to its particular character and not necessarily according to the ordinary rules and presumptions of statutory interpretation: see Minister of Home Affairsv Fisher [1979] 3 All ER 21, PC. This allows for a broad and liberal interpretation to achieve enlightened objectives while it rejects hide-bound restrictions that stifle and subvert its true vision



He continued:



My own contribution to the evaluation of a Constitution is that, a Constitution is the outpouring of the soul of the nation and its precious life-blood is its spirit. Accordingly, in interpreting the Constitution, we fail in our duty if we ignore its spirit. Both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution are essential fulcra which provide the leverage in the task of interpretation. In support of this, we may profitably turn to the Constitution, 1992 itself which directs that we accord due recognition to the spirit that pervades its provisions.



On the peoples choice as pointing to the spirit of the constitution, Mr. Justice Francois said:

The Peoples choice By its sovereign will, the people of this country have chosen a multi-party system of government to regulate their affairs. The fact that they chose a new direction and a new system of governance, is the clearest pointer to change. In charting a different course, the democratic path, the people of this country took a solemn step away from what was immediately prevailing.



Viewed in this light, it is idle and illogical to hold that the old order has yielded place to nothing new. Especially when the new order is diametrically opposed to the old which it supplanted.[80]

What is going on in the transition to the new Government reinforces my conviction for my pre-election call upon the electorate to vote out the incumbent looter Mahama Government to stop the plundering of the public purse and get our looted monies back.



When I look at how the Looter Government is preparing its final exit after its miserable and unprecedented defeat at the polls, I am left in no doubt that Ghana would have been bankrupted with another four years of this looter Government in power. Come to think of it, the last election (2012) was not won at the ballot but by the razor-thin votes of eleven Justice of the Supreme Court, indicating a doubtful peoples mandate. So how come this Looter Government is so arrogant even after the people have spoken decisively on the only occasion one can call a representative ballot since December 2008? Impunity! But this impunity can be curbed by constitutional means to the regret of this outgoing Government after 7th January 2017.



It is important that as many enlightened middle class Ghanaians speak up to defend the majority of our citizens who are uneducated in the Whitemans ways but funded our education through college and university. Ghanaians must be the beneficiary of our public purse and not just a few political elite and establishment figures. Fear is the enemy of change! I am not cowed, have not been cowed, cannot be cowed, and will not be cowed by subtle messages of threats of postponing my disappearance until the new Government comes into office.



Ghana is worth dying for and so fellow citizens speak up and defend your 7th December 2016 votes by not allowing this looter Government to deliberately make it impossible for the Government you popularly vote for to govern smoothly upon assuming office on 7th January 2017. Do not sit on the fence at this last hour and allow looters who came into office by the razor-thin majority vote of Justices of the Supreme Court to intimidate fellow citizens Putting Ghana First.





Martin A. B. K. Amidu

Accra, 21st December 2016





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The President-Elect of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has thanked the Chiefs and people of the Upper West Region for their massive show of support for him and for the NPP in this years elections, which saw the NPP increase its parliamentary seats from 0, in 2012, to 5 in 2016.



Addressing the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs in Wa, on Saturday, December 24, 2016, Nana Akufo-Addo revealed that the saddest day in his life was in December 2012, when he was told by Alhaji Abubakar Abdul Rahmanl, the NPPs Upper West Regional Chairman, that the party had scored zero in the Upper West Region in the 2012 parliamentary election.



I say the saddest day of my life because, as a son of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition, I am fully aware that one of the founders of the tradition, the man who gave an example of selfless service to the people of our country, was no less a person than the late Duri Na, Chief S.D. Dombo. Indeed, our tradition bears his name as one of the initiators, he said.



He continued, Beyond him, there were others, B.K. Adama, Jato Kaleo, Na Abayifa Karbo, Mumuni DImbie. These were the great figures in the development of the United Party and, subsequently, the Progress Party. They were the founding pillars of the party of which I have the honour to be leading. Therefore to be told that the region from which they came had turned its back totally on our tradition gave me anguish and sadness that I can never describe. I was inconsolable.



The President-Elect noted, however, that fortunately, 2016 has now come to wipe away those tears and feeling of sadness. From 0, we have got to 5 out of 11. God willing, the next time, we will get the majority of seats and we will know that we are back again fully. It is a matter of great joy to express to the people of this region my satisfaction about the outcome of the election of 2016.



To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the traditional rulers of the Upper West Region that the commitments he made to the people of the Region, and to the entire Ghanaian populace, for that matter, in the course of the campaign for the presidency are commitments he intends to fulfill in every detail.



He reiterated his commitment to restructuring the Northern Development Authority, rechristened SADA by the current government, back to the original concept that I mooted in 2008, and for it to become a genuine instrument of progress for the people of the three northern regions of the country.



The President-Elect noted that there is absolutely no reason why Ghanas neighbours, some which have less opportunity and resources than Ghana, are able to organize their agriculture successfully.



To your north, next door neighbours to us, you know better than I do, what is happening in Burkina Faso. That, today, in Burkina Faso, they are organising year round agriculture. They are able to be an important exporter of food, vegetables to Europe, which is bringing money to their farmers and nation.



We can do the same here in Ghana, with your support and the support of the people of the region. This is what is animating me, so that in Ghana also we can have all-year round farming that will lift the incomes of our farmers and produce food for our nation, he added.



Specifically to the Chiefs of the region and across the country, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that he intends to work very closely with the traditional authorities in the country, so as to improve the governance of Ghana.



There is still a gap in the formal constitutional structure of our democracy as far as the involvement of traditional rulers are concerned. It is my intention, with your co-operation and help, that immediately after the formal hand over of authority, members of my team will sit with traditional authorities around our country for us to restructure a more engaged and more involved form of governance in which the traditional authorities of our country will play a part. It will be a major boost to the quality of governance in our country, he added.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Oh STRAYA, you magnificent fuck. You magnificent, glorious, completely and utterly batshit county.

A rather large amount of terrible things happened in 2016. But thankfully, living in a country such as Australia  which is so laidback we should have spinal problems  relieves us regularly with its unique brand of comic relief.

Theres nothing like the the Aussie sense of humour, because its extremely straight to the point. Oh, and its ridiculous.

We are so extra, that when people tag friends from other countries in one of our fabulously iconic STRAYA! stories, that person thinks it is satire. Its a miracle that the entire Australian media industry hasnt been shut down as part of the crackdown on fake news.

So, keeping all of this in mind, wed be thoroughly delighted if youd please join us as we regale you with the ever-so-whimsical yarns of farkin 2016, aye?

Cmere, shut up and listen, ya bastards.

1. WHEN A LADY FOUND A FUCKIN SNAKE IN HER CHRISTMAS TREE AND THOUGHT IT WAS TINSEL









We repeat: THIS is the real bloody war on Christmas, right ere mates. You are lookin at it.





2. WHEN A CYCLIST HAD HER FAKE TITTY POPPED BY GETTING KICKED BY A BIG ROO





Christ, getting kicked in the cans by a roo sounds bloody painful. But the fake baps worked as airbags, and lessened the injury a bit. Onya, boobs.





3. WHEN OLD MATE WAS ON THE BOG AND A SPIDER BIT HIM ON THE TODGE





Ahhhh, the quintessential Strayan story  a spider bit me on me wobbly bits!. Never gets old.

4. WHEN A FAKE NT TOURISM CAMPAIGN FT. A RUDE WORD CAME OUT AND WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS REAL BECAUSE THIS IS STRAYA AND WE USE THAT WORD A LOT





Well look mate, you tell me then, what SHOULD a tourism campaign say? See yas next Tuesday.





5. WHEN SOME LEGEND SEND ANTI-HALAL POLLIE PAULINE HANSON A TUB OF VEGEMITE NAMED HALAL COS BIGOTRYS FOR DICKHEADS









Alright, who did it? Which one of yas? Bloody ripper of a yarn.





6. WHEN HAMISH AND ANDY LEGIT FOUND STRAYAS ABSOLUTE #1 TOP BLOKE, WE MEAN IT HES BLOODY ACE









We nearly wept a wee lil tear when Hamish & Andy pranked a random number on national radio, and accidentally ended up finding the worlds nicest bloke, James.





James is an goddamn Australian hero. Be like James.





7. WHEN WE MADE JOHNNY DEPP AND AMBER HEARD MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT HOW GOOD OUR COUNTRY IS BC THEY BROUGHT THEIR DOGS IN W/O PERMISSION, FUCKEN HELL WE ARE SO EXTRA





Well be brutally honest here mate, were still dumbfounded over this whole thing.

Readers from other countries  just dont bring ya dogs here without permission, because otherwise our human tomato of a Deputy Prime Minister will make you film a bloody shithouse webcam video talking about how nice our country is.





8. WHEN A STRAYA HOTLINE WAS CREATED SO IF YOURE EVER OVERSEAS, YOU CAN CALL IT AND BE REMINDED OF THE WORLDS BEST COUNTRY AND HOW FUCK OFF GOOD IT IS

This goddamn perfect hotline has a whole bunch of sound samples of the quintessential Aussie experience, like the roar of the crowd at the MCG, and waves crashing at Bondi Beach, or being on hold with Centrelink indefinitely, and your neighbour filling his wheelie bin with empties.

The number is legitimately 1800 STRAYA.

9. WHEN THIS BLOKE CASUALLY SHOOED AWAY A 5-METRE GREAT WHITE WITH A BROOM, LIKE WTF

The 5.5 metre Great White shark was circling Dan Hoeys charter boat, soooooooo he did what any true Aussie would do. Are we wrong?

10. WHEN A RASCAL OF A SNAKE MANAGED TO KNOCK OUT THE POWER TO LIKE 9 DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE NT IN ONE SWIFT SLITHER





Yup, several Northern Territory towns lost all power because some slithery legless bastard got itself entangled in some power lines while chasing a goose. Awww, bless.





11. WHEN WE TRIED TO REVOKE GEORGE BRANDIS PEN LICENSE BECAUSE LETS BE HONEST ME 8-MONTH-OLD COUSIN COULD WRITE A BETTER SIGNATURE THAN THAT AYE









Were not even gonna start. The blokes signature is shit and he shouldnt be allowed to buy pens. End of fucken story.





12. WHEN SOME BLOKE BROUGHT THE POLICE A FAKE BOOB BC HE THOUGHT IT WAS A MURDER CLUE BUT IT WAS JUST YA RUN-OF-THE-MILL BIG OL JELLYFISH









Some poor old sod panicked and thought hed found some major clue in a murder and was helping some poor family find their family member who was missing or summat, but instead hed just plopped a jelly stinger into police evidence.

Let this be a lesson to all international readers that not all Aussies have Steve Irwin-levels of Aussie fauna knowledge.





p.s. We dunno why theres been so many fake boob stories this year either.





13. WHEN THIS YOUNG GROMMET HAD A SHARK CHOMP ON HIS LEG BUT HE TOLD AMBOS NOT TO TELL HIS MUM SO SHE WOULDNT BLOODY WORRY





Thumbs up! Shark attack victim Cooper Allen shows off his battle scars in hospital @sunriseon7 @7NewsQueensland pic.twitter.com/7H1Veepvey  Amanda Abate (@AmandaAbate) September 26, 2016





BLESS. Cooper Allens mum was travelling when the 17-year-old mucker got into a spot of bother with a shark, so he asked ambos not to tell her so she wouldnt worry. He also asked if a shark attack would get him out of doing his HSC. What a little champion.





14. WHEN THIS FUCKEN LEGEND INTERRUPTED A LIVE NEWS REPORT TANKED OUT OF HER SKULL TO RETURN SOMEONES WALLET, GOOD ONYA SHEILA





The true blue Aussie is right bloody here: so many drunk dickheads would find a wallet and be all, WOO FREE MONEY! But this gal stopped a bloody TV interview to return someones wallet to em.

Such a beautiful heartfelt Aussie story. *wipes away tear*





15. WHEN A BLOKE CBF GETTING OUT HIS OUTDOOR SPA TO GET A SNAG SO HE JUST FLEW A DRONE TO BUNNINGS INSTEAD









Dont wanna leave ya backyard, but ya really want a saussie wrapped in slightly dry white bread? DRONE IT LIKE THIS BASTARD DID.

Note: Does come with a $9000 fine, though.





16. WHEN THIS WOMAN DISCOVERED THERE WAS A PYTHON IN HER HOUSE THAT WAS ACTUALLY AS *BIG* AS HER FUCKEN HOUSE





Tell ya what, thats way too big, in our professional opinion. That snake is too bloody big.





17. WHEN ONE OF OUR POLLIES ASKED US NOT TO PUBLISH A PHOTO HE HATED BUT WE THOUGHT IT WAS A TOPS PHOTO SO WE TURNED IT INTO A VERY GOOD A+ 10/10 MEME





.@ellinghausen turns his camera on Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. pic.twitter.com/d8sr3dA0nn  Stephanie Peatling (@srpeatling) May 3, 2016

i swear to god, if you put this on social media pic.twitter.com/487QEYZUKP  illy ho-ho-hocean (@IllyBocean) May 3, 2016





Peter Dutton took some time out of trying to convince Australia that inhuman imprisonment of human beings is good, and posed for this absolutely fucken terrifying photo. We shared it as much possible after he publicly said not to, because well start being respectful of politicians when they choose to respect all human beings, including all refugees.





18. WHEN WE HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SHOEY OR DEMOCRACY SAUSAGE FOR WORD OF THE YEAR AND WE CHOSE THE LATTER BECAUSE FUCK YEAH SNAGS





For anyone who doesnt know (and if youre an Aussie, god help ya) the democracy sausage is our very good reward that we get for voting. Its a sausage in bread! Its delicious. It tastes like exercising your rights.

Oh, and a shoey is when you chug beer from a shoe. Duh.





19. WHEN THIS ABSOLUTE BLOODY LEGEND CHASED DOWN A HIT & RUN DRIVER IN HIS JOCKS AFTER THEY HIT HIS MATES PARENTS SHOP, THEN GAVE THE BEST INTERVIEW EVER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD

All I had was me jocks on and he was chasing me up the street and Im just like, mate! #9Today https://t.co/L2EtbWyNy3  The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) November 23, 2016

This doesnt need a fuckin description  just watch the video. Well let the legend that is Dan McConnell speak for himself.

Look, there was plenty more, and therell be plenty more in the future. But right now, weve got tinnies to drink, snags to eat, and shark-infested oceans to swim in, orrite?

Have a fucken Merry Christmas, you bloody legends. *swigs beer*
A 27-year-old refugee has been medivacced from the Manus Island offshore detention centre to Brisbane in a critical condition, after sustaining a fall in the facility.

The refugee, identified by Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) as Faysal, suffered head injuries from the fall on Thursday night. He was flown from the facility to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital on Friday afternoon.

Faysal, who has been detained on Manus Island since 2013, has suffered from black-outs in recent months. Its not yet known if his medivac is related to injuries sustained during the fall, or from the apparent health issues that lead to his collapse.

RAC claims the Sudanese-born refugee has previously complained to Border Force and on-site healthcare provider IHMS about the quality of care he has received.

The organisation also says that 60 other detainees recently signed a petition to Border Force and IHMS regarding the quality of care Faysal has received.

Well update this story as it develops.

Source: Refugee Action Coalition.

Photo: Getty Images News.
A refugee has died at the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital due to injuries sustained from a fall and seizure at the Manus Island offshore detention facility.

The Department of Immigration confirmed the death of the 27-year-old Sudanese refugee, who was identified by the Refugee Action Coalition as Faysal.

He had been airlifted from the detention centre to Australia on Friday afternoon.

In a statement, the Department confirmed a report into Faysals death will be prepared for the Queensland Coroner.

Well update this story as it develops.



Source: Department Of Immigration.

Photo: Handout / Getty.
TMZ is reporting that Carrie Fisher, who famously plays Princess Leia in Star Wars, has had a heart attack while on a plane.

The veteran actor was on a plane from London to LAX on Friday, when she went into cardiac arrest.

Sources say a flight attendant asked if there was medical personnel on the flight, and an EMT at the back of the plane came into first class and proceeded to do CPR.

The incident occurred on 15 minutes before the plane landed in Los Angeles.

When the flight landed, paramedics rushed the actor to hospital.

Multiple reports say the actress is in critical condition.

Well update you as soon as more information arises.

Were sending love and best wishes to Fisher in hope for her fast recovery. May the force be with you, Carrie.

Source: TMZ.

Photo: The Force Awakens.
As if getting into the United States wasnt already an ordeal, the American government is now asking you would-be travelers for even more identifying information: namely, the details of your social media accounts.

Thanks to this Tuesdays amendment to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), citizens of Australia and 37 other countries eligible for the Visa Waiver Program are now being asked to list which social media platforms they use, and what usernames they operate under.

Those planning to visit the States for fewer than 90 days without applying for a fully-fledged visa will find the ESTA form now asks for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter handles, among others:

via https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

via https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

Its worth noting that providing answers to the prompt is 100% optional, but that hasnt stopped the questions addition from drawing considerable criticism.

The first point of contention: even if the new section does specify that answering is optional, it seems pretty sneaky to ask for that info on a form where other identifying details are required.

While proponents of the change believe it will provide US authorities more power to identify threats to national security, critics also think some members of the international community  namely, Muslims and those of Arab backgrounds  may face excessive scrutiny after providing their usernames.

Furthermore, its not immediately clear how or where that information will be stored, or what security protections itll be under. The fear is that some schmuck could conceivably wave you through the gates on your way to Miami, before stalking your Insta for the duration of your stay.

Monitoring social media has obviously become a vital part of preventing the worlds evildoers from evildoing, but the addition of this new Q means that focus has never been more apparent.

Source: Politico / Engadget.

Photo: John Moore / Getty.
shutterstock_538439794.jpg

(Sergei25/Shutterstock)

For those unfamiliar with the Festival of Lights, here's a quick rundown on the ancient eight-day Jewish holiday!

When is Hanukkah this year?

Hanukkah begins on the evening of Dec. 24 this year, and while the Jewish festival often falls near the Christian holiday of Christmas, it rarely coincides so precisely. The shifting date for the holiday is because it corresponds to the Hebrew calendar, not the Gregorian calendar that most people use in day-to-day life.

Interestingly enough, the eight-day festival ends on the evening of New Year's Day, Jan. 1.

Wait, is that how "Hanukkah" is spelled?

It is, at least according to the Associated Press Style Book. The holiday is also spelled Hannukah, Hannukkah, Chanukah or Channukah in other sources, and there are probably even more variations.

Translating words from Hebrew to English isn't always simple, as Hebrew has some sounds - particularly the sounds between an "H" and a "CH" at the beginning of the word - that English can't quite replicate. There's also the fact that ancient Hebrew is spoken slightly differently than modern Hebrew. Thus, inconsistencies in spelling are inevitable.

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the re-dedication of the temple in Jerusalem following a successful revolt against the Seleucid Empire around 160 BCE. Judea had been a province of larger empires since the days of Alexander the Great, and the Maccabbean Revolt led to a re-assertion of the Jewish way of life among their own people.

The story goes that when the temple's candles were re-lit, there was only enough oil to last one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, allowing enough time for more oil to be secured and ensuring that the candles remain lit.

How is Hanukkah celebrated?

Over the eight nights of Hanukkah, practicing families will light candles on a menorah, symbolizing the original candles lit at the temple. One candle is lit on each successive night until all are lit. Each of the eight is lit from a separate, extra candle, called shamash in Hebrew. Special blessings are said over the candles, and they are typically left burning at least an hour after sundown. The hymn Ma'oz Tzur is also usually sung.

As oil is an integral part of the Hanukkah story, fried food, particularly potato pancakes called latkes, are frequently part of meals. Prayer services and blessings after meals are also part of the celebration, as is the tradition of giving small gifts (generally toys, candy or money, called Hanukkah Gelt in Yiddish) to children each night of the holiday. One such toy is frequently the dreidel.

What is a dreidel?



Dreidels are small four-sided tops, with each side bearing one Hebrew letter: Nun, Gimel, Hey and Shim. The letters represent the words Nes Gadol Haya Sham, which translates to "A great miracle happened there," referring to the miracle at the temple.

Playing the traditional game with the dreidel includes players taking turns spinning, with each side signifying they either take some of that Hanukkah Gelt from a central pot, or have to give some up.

Is Hanukkah a major holiday in the Jewish faith?

Not in a religious sense. The major holy days of the Jewish calendar happen a bit earlier in the year: Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) starts the High Holy Days, which leads into Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

But Hanukkah's position on the calendar generally places it somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and so it becomes part of a more secular and Christian cycle of celebrations which we all generally refer to as "the holidays."

In modern times, Hanukkah also symbolizes Jewish resilience, with obvious parallels to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. In North America, it is also symbolic of a greater Jewish identity. So while it isn't a major holiday in a religious sense, it's certainly important in a cultural sense.
Lemoynebankrobber.jpg

Police are searching for the suspect shown in these surveillance images after a Fulton Bank along North 12th Street in Lemoyne was robbed at gunpoint Friday night.

(West Shore Regional police )

Police are searching for a male suspect who robbed a Fulton Bank at gunpoint in Lemoyne Friday night.

The suspect entered the bank along North 12th Street, displayed a gun and demand cash from the tellers at about 6 p.m., police said. He fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the West Shore Regional Police Department at at 717-238-9676.

Tips regarding this and any other crime also can be submitted on the Cumberland County Crime Stoppers website.
MECHANICSBURG - Evelyn Warfield was embarrassed for her mostly-white, West Shore communities when she heard this week about acts of vandalism that may, according to police, have targeted two people of color in Mechanicsburg.

So Friday night, the Lower Allen Twp. retiree tried to become part of the solution.

With about 75 others, Warfield arrived at Main and Market streets to light a candle, flashlight or smartphone, sing a few songs, and generally take a stand against anything that looks or sounds like racially- or ethnically-based hate.

"We have to let people know that we won't stand for this," Warfield said, echoing what would become a recurring theme of the night.

On the night of December 20, borough police said, someone vandalized vehicles owned by a Hispanic male and a man of Middle Eastern descent by scratching "KKK" and "Trump" into portions of the body.

This photo from Mechanicsburg police shows the word "Trump" scratched into the door of this vehicle. The crime remains under investigation.

Police said the incidents, both reported from the 200 block of West Simpson Street, were discovered Wednesday morning, and the investigation is ongoing.

The news was jarring to those who turned out at Friday's hastily-organized rally.

Rally organizer Melissa Manning said participants wanted to take a pro-active stand and let the victims - who were not present Friday - understand that hate speech is not the community standard in Mechanicsburg, and that they are welcome in the community.

Manning, a Mechanicsburg resident and member of the Harrisburg YWCA's Community Response Network, said she hopes that message reaches the perpetrator, too.

"I feel very strongly that white people need to speak out when things like this happen," said Manning, speaking to the fact that, according to 2013 data, 88.9 percent of Mechanicsburg's residents are white.

"I think if we're silent, that gives a message that this is OK, and we're not concerned about it. Which isn't the case."

The organizers' message was buttressed by a turnout that filled the plaza next to the borough's community Christmas tree.

Many attendees carried signs to explaining the cause to passers-by, drawing an occasional shout of encouragement or honk from passing motorists.

One stated: "No matter where you are from, we are glad you are our neighbor," in Spanish, English and Arabic.

Several attendees said they believed President-elect Donald J. Trump's campaign rhetoric about building a wall on the border with Mexico and banning Muslims from entering America has emboldened racial extremists.

(The Southern Poverty Law Center did report a dramatic spike in bias-related incidents in the first 10 days after Trump's election, though the numbers have begun to level off more recently.)

Trump has never endorsed violence against any group, but some critics believe his rhetoric has fanned race-based embers that have long been smoldering in America.

"The covers have been removed, and it's given people who really felt that way the freedom to not hold back any more... That's how I feel," said Samia Malik, a Muslim from Hampden Twp. who serves as a spokesman for several midstate mosques.

"All of the marginalized communities are going through it."

Both Warfield and Malik said they hope Trump will continue to personally help to defuse rising tensions in the coming weeks by strongly renouncing all forms of racial hatred and emphasizing tolerance.

In the meantime, they and other attendees took it upon themselves to act locally, by signing an open letter of support for the vandalism victims that Manning hopes to deliver to them via the Mechanicsburg police.

"We feel strongly compelled to reach out to you in friendship and support at this time... We value the richness of the culture which you bring to this community," the letter continues in part.

"We see you, we respect you, and we stand with you."
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Chestnuts roasting on an open fire it wasn't.

Authorities say the acrid odor of rotten eggs that wafted over Philadelphia has sent utility crews searching for a source.

The foul odor first was reported to dispatchers at Philadelphia Gas Works around 9:30 p.m. Friday and complaints about the stench then flowed into the city's 911 system. Some calls even were received from neighboring Bucks County.

About 90 minutes later, city officials determined the smell was caused by a kind of sulfur-based additive. They say isn't dangerous.

WCAU-TV reports that officials say too much of the chemical was used at a plant in south Philadelphia.

PGW and area oil and gas refineries are investigating but tell WCAU-TV that so far they haven't found what caused the smell.
YE 2016 Top 10 Stories

FILE - In this image made from video and posted online by Validated UGC on Thursday, April 28, 2016, a civil defense worker carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. In 2016, repeated cease-fire negotiations failed to halt relentless warfare among multiple factions. With Russia's help, the government forces of President Bashar Assad finally seized rebel-held portions of the city of Aleppo, at a huge cost in terms of deaths and destruction. (Validated UGC via AP video)

(Uncredited)

By Abdulfattah Alkhaled

The United States representative to the United Nations, Samantha Power, gave an impassioned speech last week asking Russian and Syrian representatives whether they felt "any shame at all" for their actions in Aleppo, and whether there is "no execution of a child that gets under (their) skin?"

For Syrians, these statements were infuriating. Americans should be asked the same questions. You, too, have blood on your hands.

Over the last few years, you have deceived us with your empty promises.

From the first day of the 2011 revolution to the most recent breakdown of a life-saving evacuation effort, the killing of Syrians has been met with consistent U.S. inaction, or worse: American acquiescence to Russian aggression. While the Bashar Assad and Russian governments are responsible for the vast majority of Syrian bloodshed, by no means should you feel entitled to lecture the world based on your supposed "moral superiority."

You have let us down again and again. After Rwanda and then after Srebrenica, you said, "Never again."

After Gaza you said nothing at all.

Today, you can no longer rest on your hollow rhetoric celebrating freedom and equality. Today, as Syrians watching you glibly condemn a catastrophe that is partly of your own making, we ask whether you feel any shame at all for your inaction.

President Barack Obama, you declared that if President Assad used chemical weapons against his enemies, he'd be crossing a "red line." You watched him cross it.

Aren't you ashamed? Ashamed that your concern and care for the Syrian people evaporated at the first sign of difficulty and complication?

Are you not embarrassed that "strategic overseas interests" trumped your willingness to take any and all steps necessary to stop the wanton deaths of hundreds of thousands?

Do you and your spokespeople at the U.N. and beyond look in the mirror and think, "We encouraged the Syrian people to rise up, and then watched impassively as they were slaughtered for it"?

Do you not feel cowardly for refusing to engage and confront Russian aggression beyond shallow public condemnations?

And President-elect Donald Trump, have you no shame in your public affirmation of Russia as the United States' strategic partner in Syria?

The same Russia that has joined the Assad government in massacring the Syrian people. Are you not uncomfortable with stating publicly that the Syrian government is fighting Islamic State despite the evidence suggesting that Assad has actually facilitated the expansion and survival of the extremist group?

President Obama and President-elect Trump, your silence is deafening. You have set a dangerous global precedent.

And you should be ashamed. Now it is our turn to lecture you. Next time you trumpet the American commitment to human rights, remember how far you have fallen. In the early days you claimed to support our protests as legitimate expressions of the desire for change.

But you supported us only with words, not actions, and now activists in Aleppo are sending their final goodbyes before they're executed, forcibly displaced, raped, tortured, or killed in an airstrike.

The fall of Aleppo is only the beginning. Russia and the Assad government have a far more ambitious end goal: complete military victory at any cost. The atrocities committed in Aleppo this week will undoubtedly be followed by similar cleansings in other areas.

In the past, I might have closed by making specific demands for U.S. action and leadership.

But now I know better. All I can do is loudly proclaim that Syrians are no longer blind to the emptiness and cruelty of U.S. foreign policy.

This is your legacy, Obama, one that Trump seems happy to continue.

Is there nothing that can shame you? Are there no acts of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin?

Abdulfattah Alkhaled is a manager at Kesh Malek, a Syrian advocacy group, and a board member of Shaml, a coalition of Syrian civil society organizations. This was written for the Los Angeles Times.
FAKE NEWS ART.jpg

By Glen Bayly

We are hearing a lot about fake news these days. Like the news that caused Brian Williams to be suspended - and later reinstated -- by NBC News.

Among perhaps numerous other stories he misrepresent, he reported that the helicopter he was in while in Iraq was hit by RPG fire when it was not true. Then we hear of extremely bad news, like the reports of the treacherous deeds of ISIS.

At Christmas we are reminded of the 'Good News of Great Joy' that the angels reported about the birth of Jesus Christ.

In the account of Luke in the New Testament Luke begins by saying he heard from the eyewitnesses who were there during the life and ministry of Jesus, that he did his own research, and that he was writing to a man named Theophilus so he could be certain of what had been told.

Immediately after stating this Luke begins to tell of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary.

He did not begin by saying 'Once upon a time', but rather he recorded these accounts that we might know the certainty of the events that follow.

Many in churches, even ministers, today doubt that this account of the virgin birth is true. It makes sense to have skepticism about such a supernatural event. But is there reason to believe Luke and the author of the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus was born to a virgin? Over the centuries that has been the teaching of the church.

First of all, to say that the accounts of Jesus' birth are a fairy tale or a legend is to question the integrity of Luke and Matthew who clearly believed what they were writing.

Throughout the centuries Christians have affirmed this amazing truth and millions believe it to be true in the 21st century.

One prominent head and neck surgeon from the University of Virginia Medical School, Dr. Robert Cantrell, began hearing from friends that his minister didn't believe in the virgin birth of Christ.

He responded that they must be wrong. Finally, after several conversations, he went to the minister and asked him directly.

The minister responded that he didn't think it mattered whether Jesus was born of a virgin or not. Cantrell never attended that church again. To him the virgin birth is one of the essentials of who Christ is.

Perhaps a more difficult miracle to believe is the resurrection of Christ three days after his execution by the Romans by crucifixion. He didn't have just a 'near death experience' but was clearly dead for three days after which he appeared alive to more than 500 eyewitnesses. Then he ascended into heaven from where he will return in the future.

This is the central miracle of Christianity. If a person can believe in the resurrection of Jesus, he or she can see that with God all things are possible, including the virgin birth and the other miracles of the bible. But was the resurrection of Jesus true history or just fake news or a legend that developed?

One man, Frank Morrison, set out to disprove the resurrection of Christ once and for all. In the process of researching the evidence for Christ's resurrection, he himself became a believer that Jesus rose again and is the only Savior of the world having died to pay the penalty for our sins on the cross.

Morrison wrote the book, "Who Moved the Stone" where he cites the evidence that changed his mind. The first chapter of the book is titled, "The Book that refused to Be Written." Lee Strobel was another skeptic of Christianity as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He says it was Morrison's book that started him thinking that Jesus is truly the son of God and Savior of the world. Strobel has since produced a series of books and movies with titles including, "The Case for Christ", "The Case for Faith", and "The Case for Christianity".

As Christmas is celebrated this year I hope many more will discover its wonderful message of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Merry Christmas and a blessed 2017.

The Rev. Glen Bayly writes from Mifflinburg, Union County, Pa.
Donald Trump,Reince Priebus,Mike Flynn

President-elect Donald Trump, left, accompanied by Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, right, and Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, a senior adviser to Trump, center, speaks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By Ted Martin

Over the course of the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump took several conflicting positions on LGBT equality, but now that he is selecting his cabinet the picture is becoming clear.

We always knew his vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, was one of the most anti-LGBT governors in the country. And now, Vice President-elect Pence will be joined by other anti-LGBT leaders in Washington.

Ted Martin (PennLive file)

Just to review, as Indiana's governor, Mike Pence proposed diverting HIV/AIDS prevention funds to so-called "conversion therapy," a medically discredited practice.

And, as governor, Mike Pence passed a "license to discriminate" law that allows businesses and medical practices to deny service to people who are gay or transgender based on their religious beliefs.

In the cabinet picks, there is even more evidence of the Trump campaign's anti-LGBT bias.

Department of Education pick, Betsy DeVos' family donated millions to anti-LGBT groups in support of conversion therapy. She herself personally donated $250,000 to fight marriage equality in Michigan and her husband sat on the Board of rabidly anti-LGBT group Focus on the Family.

Attorney General pick, Sen. Jeff Sessions, voted against allowing LGBT people to serve openly in the military, and opposed expanding the definition of hate crimes to extend to LGBT people.

His top strategist, Steve Bannon, was the editor of Breitbart News which often published ant-LGBT articles including one titled, "Gay Rights Have Made Us Dumber, It's Time to Get Back in the Closet."

Based on the decisions that Trump has made so far, the LGBT community has a lot to be concerned about in the four years ahead.

We believe that Pennsylvania and America must always be a refuge of justice and opportunity for all people - regardless of the color of your skin, where you live, what language you speak, who you are, or whom you love.

We also believe that any president's Cabinet should reflect many voices and should seek to bind us together as a people, not tear us apart.

So far, these choices clearly say LGBT voices will not be fully heard or respected at the highest echelons of the US Government and that is frightening.

Ted Martin is the executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, a civil rights group representing the state's LGBTQ residents. Readers may email him at themartin@equalitypa.org.''
A Christian worshipper prays after lighting a candle at the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
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Location: Near Athens, GreeceDate: July 14, 1905Time: Early afternoonT. T. Timayenis was lounging near the Phaleron; a romantic spot by the sea. As he stood upon the rocks gazing out over the sea, he was lost in thought when he happened to glance to his right and noticed two young men who were seated about 40ft from him; upon the rocks. Both were tall; towering more than a head above the average man. The witness stared at the two strangers, noticing that they were gazing upon the stars through a large square piece of what seemed to be unusually bright glass. His eyes could hardly withstand its brilliancy and as he looked upon it with astonishment, he saw the planet Mars and its whole array of life unfolded before his eyes as clearly as one sees a performance upon the stage of a theater. He saw the two strangers lifting their fingers and holding conversation with its inhabitants. He saw the people of Mars answer in a sort of language. He saw women and girls of surpassing beauty, tall and stately, with forms which still haunt his dreams. He also saw birds of a beautiful plumage, flitting about and alighting upon the shoulders of maidens. He saw many amazing sights and heard lovely melodies.After a while the two strangers withdrew their gaze from the planet and in the twinkling of an eye, Mars shone upon the firmament in its accustomed place. The astounded witness walked towards the two strangers; as they saw him they moved about and asked him in excellent Greek if he could spare a light. The witness offered the strangers matches and cigars, which they accepted. In turn they gave him one cigar, which they stated they bought in Cuba the day before. The witness was more astounded as he told them that Cuba was more than 4,000 miles away. At this point the two men told him that they came from the planet Mars.The two strangers then proceeded in detailing an incredible tale of civilizations on the planet Mars and ancient strife between different groups. Their enemies, which they called Pelasgians, were eventually defeated and their survivors fled in their airships and landed in the northwestern part of Greece in the land known today as Albania. They were apparently the first settlers of Greece. They then added that the civilization on Earth was (in 1905) 100,000 years behind the Martian civilization. They also then added that there had not been war on Mars for over 200,000 years and incredibly they had also discovered the secret of immortality. According to the Martians, in electricity lay the secret of perpetual life. Every morning the Martians were supposedly fed electricity as an antidote against death. The two strangers claimed that the philosophers Socrates and Demosthenes were not dead but were currently alive and well in Mars.Soon the sound of a shrill whistle from one of the Martians (Telemachus) the other called himself Phidias, was answered from a boat by two stalwart men, who immediately jumped into the water, which was no less than 60ft deep. They wore about their feet; long protruding skates of bright yellow metal, strapped with stout wire. This equipment enabled the Martians to glide with safety upon the water. The witness and the two Martians were then brought inside a magnificent floating airship; there they dined and he was informed that the main objective of their current mission on Earth was to meet the inventor Edison in relation to a recent invention, which could prove fatal to humanity. He was then brought back to shore and bade farewell to the Martians.
The ER-2 offer NASA Earth science a unique perspective, as they fly neither in space at spacecraft altitude, nor deep in the atmosphere at usual airplane cruising elevations. Usually flying in the lower stratosphere between 6000 and 20,000 meters (20,000 and 70,000 feet), above approximately 99% of the Earths atmosphere, the ER-2 are able to sample the atmosphere and simulate satellite missions. (Don't know your stratosphere from your troposphere? Read this post.) In fact, the ER-2 are invaluable platforms for sensor research and development, and are usually fitted with prototypes of future satellite sensors, or models of existing sensors for testing of future configurations.

In early November 2016, the ER-2 flew test flights with two new instruments: 1) the GCAS (Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Event Airborne Simulator), and 2) the FEGS (Flys Eye Geostationary Lightning Mapper Simulator). Both instruments are designed to support GOES-16s Geostationary Light Mapper (GLM).

GCAS observes nitrogen dioxide, which is a byproduct of lightning strikes. This capability is important to atmospheric science, as nitrogen dioxide (and other nitrogen oxides) are transported vertically upward in the upper troposphere, where they play a role in the formation of tropospheric ozone. Additionally, thunderstorms are capable of transporting these same nitrogen oxides into the stratosphere, where they break apart stratospheric ozone. It is important to note that ozone in the troposphere is harmful, but ozone in the stratosphere is good  there, it protects us from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation.
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In any given week its hard to recognize the biggest racist on the Fox News Channel because its a rotating series of winners. However, before Friday Fox Follies awards this weeks prize, this is our last chance to expose Foxs Phony War on Christmas for 2016 because

WAIT!!! STOP THE PRESSES, or whatever passes for presses on the information superhighway. Fox News just gave an unpresidented apology. At 6:53 this morning, when far fewer people are paying attention, Steve Doocy read a short and terse apology to Austyn Crites  clearly written by a lawyer  while wearing his patented feces-eating grin. You may remember Crites from last month with headlines like this:

Fox News just got busted bigtime for smearing an

anti-Trump protester with fake voter fraud claims

Fox News wrongly links Republican

anti-Trump protester to voter fraud

Fox News accuses Trump protester of using dead

grandmother for voter fraudexcept shes alive

As Mark Sumner noted on November 8th in the above article:

Its Fox News. They dont do corrections. In fact, theyre still using her deadness (lie down, maam) as proof that Democrats are out to steal Election Day.

Yet Fox did apologize. Watch:

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

I bet the threat of a lawsuit made em do it.

THE WAR AGAINST NEW YEARS EVE: As FNC Rolls Out New Years Eve Plans to have Bully Boy Bolling and Kimberly Tinfoyle ring in 2017, its Phony War on Christmas continues unabated. Loofah Lad, who started this phony war 10 years ago  and who has claimed victory more than once  says in Christmas in America:

Now, does the Christmas deal really matter? Since the war has basically been won, this is a clean-up operation. But the information is valid. Many Americans celebrate Christmas because they believe that Jesus is the savior and his birth should be honored. And because its a federal holiday, there is no reason to diminish Christmas or insult those who believe in it. Dont like Christmas? Ignore it.



So, companies and stores that embrace Christmas obviously will attract folks who feel the same way. As for talking points, were just happy that most Americans see Christmas as a positive experience. And were happy we could contribute to that. And thats The Memo.

The Falafel Kings milkshakin buddy, Emperor Trump, took up his phony cudgel and, once he was President-elect, declared he made it safe for people to say Merry Christmas again. But as Joy-Ann Reid of AM Joy makes clear, the Black White House never stopped celebrating Xmas. Watch:

However, the stations hypocrisy on this issue is stunning:

OMG! Foxs Outnumbered Has Holiday Party!

Ruh-Roh! Another Fox News Holiday Party!

This while Fox & Friends Features Fake Petition To Foment Fake Christmas Outrage, and On Fox & Friends: Kevin Sorbo Scolds Those Who Say Happy Holidays, while a Fox Guest Wants A National Merry Christmas Law.

Lets get one thing clear: This is not all fun and games. Peoples lives are being destroyed by this Phox Phony War:

Foxs War On Christmas Prompts Jewish

Family To Fear Pizzagate-Style Response

Both Fox & Friends Sunday and Fox News Radios Todd Starnes covered the story, as did Breitbart, pushing local parents claims that the school canceled the play because of a Jewish students parents complaining about the line God bless us, everyone. Fox News has done hundreds of stories highlighting a so-called War on Christmas going back at least 12 years, covering its invented narrative to such a ludicrous extent that some Fox hosts have actually spent more time on the topic than on, say, veterans or actual wars. Fox has pushed the War on Christmas narrative so much, for so long, that according to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Fox may have changed Americans preferences for the holiday greetings they prefer to hear.



The climate Fox has created with its War on Christmas has turned frightful, rather than delightful. Thanks to the attention it received from right-wing media outlets, the Pennsylvania family feared for its safety. The story had zero national news value, yet Fox pushed the narrative to continue its War on Christmas drivel. Fox and other conservative outlets should use this incident to reflect on the repercussions of their culture war next time they want to complain about Starbucks cups. But it doesnt show signs of stopping.

The War on Christmas is, in reality, a War on Hanukkah, or anything else that doesnt represent the White Christian Establishment.

FOX RACE RELATIONS: Speaking of the White Christian Establishment, this weeks winner for Biggest Fox News Racist is none other than Bill OReilly, who ignited a firestorm when he defended the Electoral College, on behalf of his milkshakin buddy Emperor Trump, by saying:

Summing up, left wants power taken away from the white establishment. They want a profound change in the way America is run. Taking voting power away from the white precincts is the quickest way to do that. That is The Memo.

Even tho he accidentally told the truth, the backlash began immediately:

My favourite is David Corn [who] Calls Out Bill OReilly: He Was Defending Apartheid! Watch:

From the WayBack Machine: Some reminders of previous racism spewed by Loofah Lad.

Megyn Kelly, who had her own problems with race when she proclaimed (against all evidence to the contrary) that Santa Claus and Jesus are White, has a staff comprised of nothing but White Folk. Thats probably why Megyn Kelly Shirks Responsibility For Promoting The Bogus New Black Panther Voter Intimidation Story, back when she was race-baiting. Still, you might want to read the original hagiography from which those data points come:

Megyn Kelly: Fox was not without sin in 2016 campaign coverage

No feces, Sherlock!!!

While on the topic of race:

Fox News Tucker Carlson Compares Affirmative

Action To Slavery, Jim Crow, And Japanese Internment

Fox News Fox & Friends Was The Only Cable News

Morning Show To Ignore The Dylann Roof Verdict:

While cable morning shows on CNN and MSNBC both reported on the verdict and discussed the implications for race relations, Fox & Friends failed to mention it, even in a brief headlines segment. Instead, the show found time to host a Fox News doctor to attack the Affordable Care Act, give a Fox News contributor who is under consideration for a position in the incoming administration an opportunity to pitch himself, and test out As Seen on TV products.



The omission is not the first time Fox News has played down the issues surrounding the Charleston murders. When the shooting was first reported, Fox & Friends Steve Doocy claimed it was extraordinary that it was considered a hate crime, Fox guest Rudy Giuliani claimed that Roof potentially hat[ed] Christian churches  a point that was echoed by Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade on his radio show  and one Fox guest blamed the shooting on the left wing and their education system.

If it really were a race, Fox would be losing.

EDJUMACATION NATION: Or the dumbing down of Merka:



Fox News Channel Crowned 2016s

Most Watched Basic Cable Network

Fox News has kept most of

its audience after the election

Bill OReilly Joins Dangerous Witch Hunt

Against Professor Already In Hiding

Abby Huntsman Defends Persecuted

Public High School Christian Coach

TRUMPETS FOR TRUMP: Sadly how Fox protects Emperor Trump  the flip side of how it attacked President Obama  will probably be a reoccurring feature of this column for the next 4 years, or until Agent Orange is impeached, whichever comes first. However, a former-Twitter correspondent of mine John Dean Calls Political Ignorance the Greatest Threat to Our Democracy and its my contention that Fox News has contributed to that greatly. Heres this weeks contributions:

Headly Westerfield has been fighting the War on Christmas since birth and the War on Emperor Trump since he announced his candidacy.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

It has been a long time coming, but under President Obamas directions, Israel discovered there is a price to pay for aggression against Palestinians and lying to America to garner even more billions of dollars to support its belligerence, greed, and inhumanity.

Israel typically banks on its close relationship with America to wage war against Palestinians with impunity, and no pushback from the United Nations, but after lying to President Obama a couple of months ago, that special relationship was dealt a dose of reality about what happens when a close friend lies to get American taxpayers money.

Yesterday, Friday, despite laughable pressure from private citizen Trump, and furious lobbying by Israel, America did not stop the United Nations Security Council from officially condemning Israel for encroaching on Palestine land. Obviously, there was a little more involved than just the Presidents frustration over Israels continued aggression into Palestine in refusing to shield Israel from a United Nations condemnation. And lets be perfectly clear, the Security Council condemned Benjamin Netanyahu for illegally seizing Palestinian land to build Israeli settlements and nothing else; something the Israelis promised America would cease while they were begging for $38 billion.

Of course, a U.N condemnation doesnt carry any punitive consequences, but America not stopping the Security Council from acting was significant. It was also punitive in that for the first time in history America did not condone Israels aggression by typically blocking the Security Councils statement that Israels aggression into Palestine is illegal. At least for once, Israel did not get the friend treatment, and rubber-stamp, for its illegal annexation of Palestinian land or crimes against Palestinians.

The American abstention was no surprise to anyone paying attention to the tension between the Obama Administration and Israel that occurred a couple of months ago. In early October the White House strongly condemned Israel for lying to America in order to secure an additional $38 billion in military aid. The situation was a typical one where a close friend smiles and shakes your hand warmly while accepting a very generous gift, and then spits in your face; it is the kind of friend Israel really is to America.

The White House condemned its good friend Israel after the Netanyahu administration announced plans to create new settlements on the West Bank. At the time of the announcement in October, the Obama Administration harshly condemned Israels planned expansion for violating the Jewish states pledge not to construct any more new settlements; a pledge that was critical to securing the $38 billion military aid package. There is a reason Republicans revere Netanyahu; his word was only good until it was guaranteed the Americans would cut a big check to support more Israeli aggression.

At the time, Netanyahus announcement was a slap in Americas face because the President had just met with the Israeli during a United Nations meeting. The President expressed his, and the rest of the civilized worlds, concern and regret that Israel continued encroaching into Palestinian territory and undermining any hope or chance of a peaceful resolution to the long-simmering conflict.

It is a conflict that ends if Israel conceded that Palestinians deserve exactly what America provided for the Jews; a homeland. President Obama was particularly infuriated because he had just signed off on a $38 billion gift amid assurances from Netanyahu that Israel wanted peace and supported the fictional two-state solution; a solution they always support when they want tens-of-billions more of Americans money.

At the time of Israels announcement to expand its aggression in Palestine, a spokesman for the State Department, Mark Toner, said,

It is disheartening that while Israel and the world mourned the passing of President Shimon Peres, and leaders from the U.S. and other nations prepared to honor one of the great champions of peace, plans were advanced that seriously undermine the prospects for a two-state solution that he [Peres] so passionately supported.

Experts believed that the Obama Administrations condemnation in October was a sign that the President would lay down guidelines for a proposed peace agreement before his tenure as President was over; either in a speech, or less likely, by backing a resolution at the United Nations Security Council.

The abstention on Friday allowing the United Nations resolution to condemn Israel was tantamount to backing a resolution and it was the least America could do; and likely the last time America will ever, ever again dare disobey the foreigner Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dirty Don Trump had been conspiring with the Republican senator from Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to pressure the Obama Administration into giving its blessing to accelerated Israeli aggression against Palestinians; Trump told Obama to veto the U.N. resolution. After the U.N. vote, dumb Donnie took to his favorite media outlet, Twitter, to issue an important press release warning the United Nations that things will be different after January 20.

Trump wasnt the only American angry that President Obama defied the Israeli who still believes he dictates American foreign policy, and activity on the United Nations Security Council. The incoming Senate Minority Leader representing Israel, Chuck Schumer (D-Netanyahu) said, It is extremely frustrating, disappointing and confounding that the administration has failed to veto this resolution.

Apparently, Schumer, like Trump and Netanyahu, believes that Israel lying to abscond with $38 billion of American taxpayers money should have been sufficient reason to give Americas blessing to continue aggressive annexation of Palestinian lands.

There was support for Americas humanity, though, and it naturally came from the rest of the world and organizations that comprehend Israeli aggression is contrary to Netanyahus lying claim he wants peace or supports a two-state solution.

A Washington-based organization, J Street, that advocates for a two-state solution and agrees with every nation except Israel said the resolution:

Conveys the overwhelming support of the international community, including Israels closest friends and allies, for the two-state solution, and their deep concern over the deteriorating status quo between Israelis and Palestinians and the lack of meaningful progress toward peace.

The United States ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, portrayed the abstention as consistent with the rest of the worlds and Obama Administrations disapproval of settlement-building. She also said that the United States remained committed to its steadfast support for Israel and was wise to remind the Security Council that Israel received an enormous amount of American military aid; she regrettably stopped short of reiterating that Netanyahu lied two months ago to get the increase in military aid to the tune of $38 billion.

Ms. Power said the United States did not veto the resolution as it did under President Obama in 2011 because Israel was accelerating its encroachment into Palestine and put the two-state solution in jeopardy; a solution that Republicans completely abandoned in the RNC platform last summer because it is contrary to Benjamin Netanyahus warmongering.

Today the Security Council reaffirmed its established consensus that settlements have no legal validity. The United States has been sending a message that settlements must stop privately and publicly for nearly five decades.

If America wants to stop Israels aggression into Palestine, it first has to stop giving Israel military aid they are using to wage war on innocent Palestinians. Of course, now that there is an incoming occupant of the White House, and Senate minority leader, willing to do Netanyahus bidding and continue giving him billions more in military aid, the concept of a two-state solution, or peace for Palestinians, is fundamentally over.

At least now the rest of the world will realize that for a little while there was a White House Administration that was unwilling to allow an Israeli foreigner to dictate American foreign policy in the Middle East or support and defend Israels aggression and illegal annexation of Palestinian lands. All that changes after January 20 when Benjamin Netanyahu, like Russian Vladimir Putin, will have an obedient and willing lap dog in the White House and a senate minority leader representing the interests of Israel and have access to American taxpayers money to fund more Israeli aggression toward Palestinians.
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The massive amount is unusual for a local school board race  and thousands more than any of the other 31 candidates have managed to raise. Read moreA CCSD board candidate has raised almost $100K in campaign funds
As parts of South Carolina continue to struggle with the effects of one of the strongest, costliest American storms on record, some automakers appear poised to destabilize one of the most important and effective public safety tools being used in the states recovery efforts. Read moreCommentary: Hurricane Ian a reminder of the importance of AM car radios
BEIJING  General Motors Co.'s main joint venture has been fined $29 million for violating anti-monopoly rules, adding to a string of penalties imposed on foreign auto brands during the past two years.

The Shanghai Price Bureau said today that Shanghai GM, the U.S. automaker's venture with state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp., improperly suppressed competition by enforcing minimum prices dealers were allowed to charge for Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick models.

Setting minimum sale prices is common in many markets but lawyers say Chinese regulators appear to regard it as an improper restraint on competition.

Chrysler and Audi faced similar fines in an industry-wide investigation that began in 2014 after complaints auto buyers were being overcharged. A dozen Japanese auto parts suppliers also were fined on price-fixing charges.
We all know Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The book was written in a few short weeks in the fall of 1843. Dickens' bank account needed a quick cash infusion. But there is more to the story behind "A Christmas Carol" and much more within it as well.

At the deepest levels, "A Christmas Carol" grew out of Charles' own childhood. In Charles' 11th year, his family's financial straits were so dire his mother sent him to work in a shoe polish factory. While he worked there, his father was arrested and placed in debtors' prison. And to save enough money to get out of debt, the entire family moved into the prison with him.

Charles Dickens knew first-hand the horrible inadequacy of his time's "safety net."

Just after Christmas, in early 1842, Charles made his first voyage to the United States. On Feb. 2, in Boston, Charles had breakfast with the Rev. William Ellery Channing, the founding spirit of American Unitarianism. Channing was in failing health. He would die within that year. But Dickens wrote to a friend that he found Channing "just the man he ought to be."

A year later, in London, Charles received a letter from Dr. Southworth Smith, a Unitarian minister and a member of the Children's Employment Commission. The letter included a copy of the commission's latest report. It exposed the harsh and sometimes unbearable conditions in which children as young as 5 or 6 were forced to work.

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Dickens' most recent biographer writes: "Here all Dickens' instinctive sympathies came into play, and even as he was writing 'Martin Chuzzlewit,' he dashed off a letter to Southworth Smith in which he declared he would write a pamphlet on the question. A few weeks later he had changed his mind, however, and wrote Smith that he would forget about the pamphlet in order to exert a 'Sledge hammer' blow at a later date."

That blow came in "A Christmas Carol."

One of the two "portly gentlemen" who visited Scrooge's counting house that Christmas Eve day asked him:

"What shall I put you down for?"

"Nothing!" Scrooge replied.

"You wish to be anonymous?"

"I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "It's enough for a man to understand his business and not to interfere with other people's."

Each of us  in our oh-so-cherished freedom, at our oh-so-comfortable distance  ever is tempted to ask only what Ebenezer asks: to be left alone, to let each of us tend to his or her own business.

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But Charles Dickens foresaw doom in his city's children twisted by physical poverty. Such poverty still twists childhood in our country, in our city. But I suspect our doom often is seeded in our tolerance of other forms of poverty for our young  emotional and spiritual poverty.

One hundred seventy-three years ago Charles Dickens placed a ghost in all our memories. Jacob Marley's ghost says to us all now, inside us:

"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth ... no space of regret can make amends for one's life opportunity misused."

What better prod could we have than Charles Dickens to help us follow our forebear Ralph Waldo Emerson's rule: "You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know when it will be too late."

What better words and deeds could we hear from a prophetic man to challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with compassion and with the transforming power of love?

To me, Charles Dickens' Christmas is the profound core of what we now celebrate. It is the gospel, the good news. In the final words of "A Christmas Carol," what Dickens wrote of Ebenezer also should be said of Dickens himself: "He knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge."

And only if we keep this season in his spirit will we be worthy of Tiny Tim's prayer: "God bless us, every one!"
A growing local ministry that saves children in Cambodia from being sold into the sex trade industry is giving more kids a chance at bright future.

Creating Hope 4 Cambodia , a ministry created by Marti Ogren, a retired teacher and member of Christ Community Church in Rochester, raises money to funds scholarships for children to remain in school rather than being sold into the sex trade.

Ogren established the ministry after traveling to southeast Asia with church mission trips in 2008 and 2009. The group of teenagers and adults from Christ Community Church were part of an English language camp. They spent a week teaching Cambodians conversational English.

Ogren said she was moved to begin the ministry after witnessing the desperate circumstances of families there.

"It brought me face-to-face with girls 5 and 6 years of age being sold by their parents who were so desperate for money," Ogren said. "It just broke my heart. I came home absolutely brokenhearted."

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'An inspiration'

Teresa Smith has worked alongside Ogren since the ministry's earliest days. She traveled with the missions group and saw firsthand the effect it had on Ogren.

"Marti has been an inspiration," Smith said. "Often when people go on a mission trip, it is life-altering, but they're not sure what to do about it. Marti came back and said something has to be done and this is what I'm going to do."

Ogren said that prior to the trip, she was not aware of the realities of the sex trafficking industry.

"I didn't know this was happening," she said. "That children that young were at risk. The rest of their lives would be changed, ruined."

It was during the trip to Cambodia in 2009 when Ogren asked the missionary what she could do to help. He told her what was most needed was money to keep girls in school. Education is not publicly funded in Cambodia as it is in the U.S., so families must pay for their children to attend school, but often do not have the means to do so.

"Costs vary, but in village schools parents pay $500 a year for each student," Ogren explained. "Most finish fifth grade and then go to work to support the family."

She said the draw from the sex trade is strong, as it can earn them a lot of money.

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"These kids need to continue in school to learn skills to obtain a better job to support the family in a better way," Ogren said.

Annual fundraiser

The ministry's annual fundraiser, a sale of handcrafted and other gift items, has grown from a few vendors and $2,400 in proceeds that first year to some 85 vendors and proceeds of $17,000 raised in four hours this past November.

Ogren said the goal for the first sale, in 2009, was to raise enough money to help six young girls who wanted to go to school. When, at the end of three hours, they had reached that goal, raising $2,413, Ogren said she felt the group's effort had been confirmed.

"It was confirmation that we were doing the right thing," she said. "God gave us a thumbs-up."

This past November marked the group's seventh sale. Altogether, nearly $80,000 has been sent directly to the missionary who makes monthly payments to keep the children in school.

"Before a child is given a scholarship, the missionary looks at grade and attendance reports," she said. "There are expectations. I have a lot of confidence in selection and expectations."

Ogren said 90 children have been helped by the ministry.

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"It's changing lives," she said. "Giving these kids a chance to have a different ending. To lift them out of a level of poverty, to give them hope."

She said the ministry now is helping two girls who want to study law, who want to represent their people in Cambodia.

"They have big dreams, just like our kids do."

Ogren said she has returned to Cambodia many times, to see the children and to speak with the missionaries she partners with.

She is hoping to return again this summer, to spend time with the children Creating Hope 4 Cambodia is helping.

"They're precious," she said. "And they are so grateful. It's hard for them to believe someone on the other side of the world is helping them."

-----

More information

The Creating Hope 4 Cambodia Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/CreatingHope4Cambodia ) contains photos from the group's annual sale and a video about its ministry.

Questions can be directed to mogren@cccrochester.org .
Zack Gustine, a 1996 Hayfield High School graduate, lived in Los Angeles for 10 years and just moved back to our area this summer.

"I'd gone out to L.A. for the change of scenery and for the weather," he said. "I had been working in TV and radio in Los Angeles and thought I would live in L.A. for the rest of my life, but I'm very glad to be back."

He came back to be closer to his family.

"My older brother ( Gus Lynch, a very big name in the Minnesota comedy scene) died," Gustine said. "He had an accident down in Mexico after a really bizarre turn of events and he died down there. When I came home for his funeral, I realized that I'd been back to visit three times in three years and they were all for funerals. I just decided enough is enough and I wanted to be with my mom. So I decided to come back.

"I got my affairs in order and first decided to just come back for a little while, but it felt a lot better to be back here than I expected, and it was such a warm welcome," he said. "I was so glad to be back."

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Gustine now works for Kahler Hospitality Group, which is another way he is going back to his roots.

"A big part of how I got into radio was being a bartender in L.A.," he said. "That's how I was discovered. Magic Matt Alanand his spousal equivalent, Lori Downey Jr.(the widow of Morton Downey Jr.), came into my bar, and we started talking. I didn't know who he was, but he found out really quickly that I was a huge radio head and really knowledgeable about radio all around the U.S.

"As we were talking about some of the radio personalities I really respect, I mentioned Joey Reynolds and Casey Kasem and Shadoe Stevens, and these are all guys that Matt is friends with," he said. "These guys are all the Michael Jordans of radio, and this circle of friends had all congregated in L.A. I became a part of that circle when I was a frequent cast/co-host on Matt's show, 'Outlaw Radio.'"

"Those 'heroes' of mine eventually became my coworkers," Gustine said. "Magic Matt Alan as the host, Lori Downey, Jr., as a producer, and Shadoe Stevens, Howard Lapides, and myself were the 'cast of regular characters,' and we always had celebrity guests like Rick Dees. We were on locally and in syndication and on the Internet and had a million and a half listeners."

Gustine is heading back to L.A. next week to be a part of some big radio shows for New Year's weekend.

Joey Reynolds (host of "The Late Joey Reynolds Show" on WABC in New York) is doing a New Year's Day special in L.A. and invited me to be a part of it, so we are going to be doing a show from KABC studios in L.A., and it will be on KABC, WABC, and WLS-TV in Chicago, along with a few other TV channels carrying it," Gustine said. "I'm pretty excited to be a part of that, and Outlaw Radio is on Saturday, which is New Year's Eve, so I'm hoping to go jump back in with them as well."

As far as getting into radio or TV here, Zack said, "I don't have any plans to go anywhere, but I don't have any plans to stay. I'm just living in the moment.

"You know what I really would like to do?" he said. "I'd like to co-anchor the news on Fox 47 with Tori Bokios. I never was interested in doing TV (on camera) out in L.A."

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Regardless, Gustine does have a lot of TV production experience and ran a studio when he was out there.

"I built a studio right on Hollywood and Vine, and was also the director of operations and facility manager for the studio," he said. "I always tried to stay behind the camera, because that is where I felt most effective." (He worked on the program "Hollywood Today Live.")

"I remember the minute Fox 47 came on the air and have been a fan since the beginning," Gustine said. "I've always loved that station and their format. When I came back to this area and started watching again, I thought Tori is great, there is just something about her that I liked with her personality and her attitude. And I thought I could sit next to that girl at a desk and we could be the No. 1 news team in town. So, yeah, my dream job here in Rochester would be working there."
Rochester Community and Technical College is looking to take on some of the students impacted by the Globe University/Minnesota School of Business closure.

RCTC will host information sessions to give students details about how to apply to RCTC, how their credits might transfer and financial aid options.

Globe University/Minnesota School of Business announced earlier this week that it will close by the end of January 2017 , after a judge found the school fraudulently marketed and recruited students for its criminal justice program. In December, the U.S. Department of Education announced for-profit schools, such as Globe University/MSOB, no longer will be able to participate in federal financial aid programs.

"It's never good to see a school close," said Alicia Zeone, RCTC's director of admissions. "It's even more difficult when it happens in between semesters, leaving students no choice but to scramble to figure out their next steps."

The two information sessions will take place at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Coffman Hall, Room 206/208.

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Interested students are asked to contact admissions@rctc.edu or call the RCTC Welcome Center at 507-285-7557. For students who are not able to attend in person, the afternoon session will be streamed on Facebook Live.

"RCTC is committed to seeing all students succeed," Zeone said. "If RCTC is a good fit for these impacted students, we want to help in any way we can."
A Rochester Police Department lieutenant was the subject of a complaint, and the complaint is under an active investigation, according to a city official.

Lt. Elisa Umpierre is the subject of the complaint, confirmed Linda Hillenbrand, city of Rochester Human Resources director. Umpierre has been with the department since 1992. The complaint is being investigated.

The nature of the complaint is unclear  Hillenbrand said that data was not public information at this time. The city also will not release the date the complaint was received, the identity of the person or company investigating the complaint, or whether Umpierre is currently on duty or on leave.

City Attorney Terry Adkins cited Minnesota state statute and a previous Minnesota Supreme Court decision to support the city's position that further information on the complaint and investigation is classified as not public at this time.

Police Chief Roger Peterson could not comment on the investigation, he said in an email to the Post Bulletin on Thursday. Hildebrand also declined to comment.

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The ongoing investigation of Umpierre follows investigations of two other Rochester Police Department employees earlier this year: Officer Ben Schlag and Professional Standards Manager Scott Hildebrand.

Schlag was placed on administrative leave Feb. 18 after a local group complained about offensive posts on Schlag's personal Facebook page. Hildebrand, who would have been responsible for conducting the internal investigation of Schlag, was placed on administrative leave Feb. 26 due to a potential conflict of interest.

The city contracted independent investigator Michelle Soldo , of Soldo Consulting, P.C., to conduct the two investigations.

Soldo's investigation of Schlag began Feb. 27 and continued through March 28. Schlag was suspended 10 days without pay on May 26. He also participated in racial sensitivity training on his own time and at his own expense.

Hildebrand resigned his position on May 25. Soldo's investigation of Hildebrand began Feb. 28 and did not conclude until June 17.

The city paid Soldo $4,181.56 for Schlag's investigation and $8,060.52 for Hildebrand's investigation.

While on administrative leave the city paid Schlag's regular wages of $19,229.56. Hildebrand was paid $24,865.98 while on administrative leave.

The Rochester City Council in November adopted a social media policy for all city employees that defined acceptable use of social media for professional and personal purposes.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  The investigation into a deadly Sioux Falls building collapse earlier this month is raising questions about whether a contractor on the site had followed city requirements.

When most of the building's brick structure collapsed on Dec. 2  killing one person and trapping another and several dogs under the rubble for hours  questions about the construction company involved surfaced immediately.

Builder Hultgren Construction had a permit that limited the scope of renovation work, said Ron Bell, the city of Sioux Falls' chief building official.

"That allowed the contractor to commence cosmetic work," said Bell. "Removing non-bearing partitions, floor coverings, ceiling tiles, and bar area to prep the area for the construction that was anticipated."

The former bar and grill in the city's downtown was being converted into a drug store.

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A photo posted on the construction company's Facebook page a few days before the collapse fueled doubts  it showed Hultgren workers in the process of removing a more than 3-foot-thick interior wall.

The company took down the photo almost immediately after the building fell.

Bell said the company's limited permit did not allow removal of the wall.

"To take out that type of bearing location, and the type of shoring that was necessary to support that would have required a submittal from a structural engineer, which we hadn't received," Bell said.

A federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation of the collapse is expected to reveal what role the wall removal played in the building's failure. It could take up to six months.

Hultgren Construction has said very little about the collapse, and declined an interview request. The company issued a statement saying it would "accept responsibility" if the OSHA investigation finds the company's work caused the building to fall.

Ethan McMahon, a 24-year-old Hultgren employee, was killed in the collapse.

He was a father of two sons and he served four years in the Marines, including a stint in Afghanistan.

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A second person, Emily Fodness, was trapped under the rubble for several hours. She and her parents lived in an upper floor apartment.

Fodness woke that morning to a loud rumble and saw the floor collapsing. Pinned down under debris, she was able to find her cell phone, talk with her mother and direct rescuers to her location.

In an interview with Sioux Falls television station KELO, Fodness recalled the moment when an emergency worker reached into the rubble to grasp her hand.

"[He] told me, 'I got you, I'm not letting go, we're getting you out,'" Fodness said. "I just started crying, it was like 'thank you.' Like I couldn't stop saying 'thank you.' In a moment where you don't think you're going to live, and you're not expecting that; it was a good moment."

Holding her hand was firefighter Dustin Luebke, who had recently escaped a potentially fatal situation himself. He returned to work earlier this year after successful treatment of a second round of Hodgkins lymphoma.

Luebke said his cancer fight helped motivate him while rescuing Fodness.

"After going through what I went through, I value life a little bit more," Luebke said. "My kids are, and my wife, and God  that's probably the most important things in my life. And that's somebody else's kid in there, daughter in there. So that's pretty important to me and it's pretty important to somebody else."

Luebke's cancer is in remission. Fodness is undergoing physical therapy for leg and hip injuries.
ST. ANTHONY, Minn.  The deadline for closing the Lowry Grove mobile home park has been pushed back until the end of the school year.

The news came late Thursday afternoon when The Village LLC announced that it had moved the closure date from March 15 to June 30, 2017.

The Village purchased the park in June with plans to redevelop the 15-acre parcel into a series of apartment buildings and townhouses, which requires approximately 90 households to relocate.

Many residents of the park contested the sale to The Village, claiming it denied them their legal right to buy the park themselves and keep it open. A court case on that subject remains open.

Residents also filed complaints with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Fair Housing Act, contesting the sale.

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While the court case and HUD investigation continue, many Lowry Grove residents have since left the park; as of October, nearly a third of the homeowners had moved or made plans to move.

For families still living in the park who have children in the St. Anthony-New Brighton School District, the extended closure date may bring some relief. Many had expressed anxiety about pulling their children out in the middle of the year.

Traci Tomas, vice president of The Village, said in an emailed statement that keeping children in their schools was the goal of the extension:

"During our ongoing conversations with the school district about options to ensure school age children would be able to complete the school year without changing schools, we learned it would be even more beneficial to allow them to remain in their homes through the end of the school year.

"We offered to delay the park closure three months as a way of easing the impact the closure will have on the residents and their children. I am proud that open lines of communication led to this agreement with the residents."
ST. PETER  Lisa and Ashley Ebbengae have around 400 names on their Christmas shopping list each year.

The mother and daughter have never met most of the people on their list and won't get to see their gifts being unwrapped, the Mankato Free Press reported. Their only reward for their dozens to hundreds of hours of volunteer time is knowing they are brightening the holidays of people who might not otherwise receive a single gift.

Lisa and Ashley are the Santas of the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter.

For approximately 30 years, Lisa, 56, has led the hospital's gift drive. Ashley, 32, has helped her mother since she was in elementary school. They raise funds, collect wish lists, shop and package gifts.

The mother-daughter gift-giving tradition in the unusual location started because Lisa's husband and Ashley's father worked at the hospital that provides treatment programs for Minnesotans determined by the courts to be mentally ill and dangerous. The adjacent Minnesota Sex Offender Program has a separate gift-giving program with which the Ebbengaes are not involved.

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There was talk of hanging up their Santa hats this year after their family member retired. But then during a summer visit to organize Santa's workshop, a passing patient stopped to give Lisa her requests for this Christmas. The visit inspired Lisa and her daughter to carry on to fulfill that wish and nearly 400 more this year. As for next year, they say they are still undecided.

Volunteer Services Coordinator Angi Proehl is trying to convince them to stay another few years.

"I don't know what I would do without them," she said.

The holiday gifts are one of the volunteer-driven programs Proehl oversees.

"It's one of a lot of wonderful things that happen out here that the public doesn't hear about," Proehl said.

The Ebbengaes, however, don't need much overseeing.

"We have a system. We have it down to a science," Ashley said.

By early fall they send out letters requesting monetary donations as well as donations of commonly requested gifts. Most of the benefactors are churches and community organizations that have been providing support for many years, Lisa said. The Ebbengaes collect most of the gifted items since organizations can't easily deliver them to the secured campus.

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In October they send out wish list forms to staff who help each patient fill in their requests.

Many of the wish lists come back with humble requests: socks, underwear, toothbrushes, a blanket and other essentials most of us take for granted, the Ebbengaes said.

Many crave for favorite treats that are not available at the hospital. Ramen noodles and cheese balls were among the snack requests this year.

The Ebbengaes, who live just outside of St. Peter, start sorting the wishes in November. With a budget of $25 to $35 per patient they select a few items off each person's list.

Then they check their well-organized inventory of items that have been gifted or already purchased when a bargain was spotted. Then they make a lengthy shopping list of requested items they don't have in stock.

They check most the items off their list on Thanksgiving night and Black Friday. The search for some harder to find requests continues into December, complicated by the fact that they can only shop at select retailers with which the security hospital has a spending account.

This year's challenges included a Bible in the Thai language, which they found on an approved online retailer and used coupons to acquire it within budget.

The only item they weren't able to check off their list was a Snoop Dog CD. Lisa said she gave up after several hours of searching and will have to find a something else lower on the patient's list.

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The final step is sorting and packing the gifts in gift bags that have been used over and over again. Many of the donated and bought on clearance bags started their lives as birthday bags but have been transformed with some taped-on wrapping paper.

Staff who work with the patients are invited up to Santa's workshop as the Ebbengaes work unit by unit filling the requests. Staff provide extra guidance sometimes not clear from the wish lists, such as which color of available pajamas a patient would prefer.

"They're beyond angels," recreational therapist Annette Schatz said about the Ebbengaes during a visit to their workshop.

Like the real Santa, the Ebbengaes don't get to see their gifts opened. For security reasons only staff get the pleasure of distributing the gifts. Their reward is the second-hand accounts from staff of the joy their gifts bring.

"It's work but it's fun," Lisa said. "It gets you into the Christmas spirit."
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FARIBAULT  Police say a man shot and killed his ex-wife before killing himself at the Faribault Chamber of Commerce office.

The Faribault Police Department says 59-year-old Barbara Larson served a restraining order earlier this week on 61-year-old Richard Larson, who retired from the department in 2008. The two were divorced in 2014.

They were found dead at 12:15 p.m. Friday behind the front desk at the Chamber. A gun was found nearby.

Chief Andy Bohlen says in a statement that his department's collective hearts are broken after responding to such a tragedy.

No other Chamber employees were present or injured.

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The Rice County sheriff's office and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are assisting in the investigation.
ST. PAUL  A proposal that could change the way past drug crimes are factored into new prison sentences is drawing opposition from some law enforcement groups and prosecutors.

A Minnesota law that took effect in August instituted milder penalties for some drug crimes. The current proposal would use those milder new standards when factoring an offender's criminal history into the sentence for a new offense. Supporters of the proposal say it's a necessary tool to reduce racial sentencing disparities in the state.

County prosecutors in the state say they're worried the modification could mean that some violent offenders will receive lesser sentences. Robert Small, executive director of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, said the issue of whether to categorize drug crimes in an offender's criminal history under the new or the older standards was already decided by the Legislature.

"Retroactivity was an issue as the bill was making its way through both the Senate and the House, and it was clear in the passage of the bill that it would not be retroactive," Small said. "From the county attorneys' perspective, this is an attempt to make something retroactive that the Legislature decided would not be retroactive."

Small said he believes the proposal could lead to shorter sentences for repeat violent offenders.

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But failing to make the change would lead to more people in prison for longer sentences, said Lars Negstad, strategic campaigns coordinator for the faith-based group Isaiah.

"The legislative attempt was clearly to recognize that we're locking up too many people who are suffering from drug addiction," Negstad said. "Now, unfortunately, the county attorneys' association is pushing this application of the rule that basically would lock people into the harsher, old guidelines, rather than apply the new guidelines."

Negstad said using the older standards to calculate sentences would reinforce racial disparities in sentencing and undermine the law passed by the Legislature to reduce penalties.

The law "was really a modest step in the right direction. It didn't even go far enough," Negstad said. "Now to move in the opposite direction would be just a gross injustice."

The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission took comments on the proposal at a hearing this week and is expected to vote Dec. 30. If the proposal wins approval, it will be presented to the Legislature next month and could take effect in August.

Meanwhile, two Republican state representatives who object to the proposed change said they will move to limit the sentencing commission's authority to make law.

Tony Cornish of Vernon Center and Brian Johnson of Cambridge announced Thursday that they want to eliminate a provision that enables the commission's recommendations to become law unless the Legislature intervenes.

"The commission is once again attempting to circumvent the legislative process and is exceeding its statutory authority," Johnson said in a statement. "Many in the Legislature are concerned about the direction this commission is going and this bill will address those concerns."

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"The commission seems to think the Legislature is merely a rubber stamp for its objectives rather than a branch of government that's given the constitutional authority to create laws," Cornish said.
It's hard not to be inspired when we read about anonymous donors who help ensure families will have presents under the tree this weekend.

Whether it's an organized effort such as Christmas Anonymous or a private individual such as the donor who helped 10 families pay for their Kmart purchases this week, the actions fuel desires to do likewise.

As Kari Bye said after finding out an unnamed donor helped her family, "Now, we want to find our opportunity to pay it forward."

Christmas Eve often is a time of reflection, as well as anticipation. As children look forward to gifts under the tree, individuals and families reflect on the act of giving.

While many of the traditions practiced this weekend have roots in Christianity, it's important to understand they can be embraced by all. The act of giving and supporting neighbors isn't the sole domain of a single belief system; it's part of human nature. It's what makes us a compassionate society.

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As a result, the spirit of Christmas should know no boundaries.

Last month, during the Autumn Conversation with Muslim Neighbors hosted by the University of Minnesota Rochester, an audience member asked about her family's tradition of delivering plates of Christmas cookies to neighbors. Would her Muslim neighbors take offense?

The answer from the panel: Everyone likes a good cookie.

And, everyone appreciates the simple act of kindness and inclusion.

That is true for those of us who are attending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services this weekend, as well as those who will be doing other things, whether part of a holiday tradition or simply as part of our Southeast Minnesota communities.

In the end, it's about being inspired to embrace good things and inspiring others to do the same.

It's a blessing that is part of the Christmas tradition, but it's also one that has the power to be felt throughout the year.
The Islamic State has urged its followers around the world to carry out terrorist attacks on Christmas. We wont know until Monday whether any such attacks are successfully carried out, but some have already been stopped, including a major plot in Australia:

Police in Australia have detained five men suspected of planning a series of Christmas Day attacks using explosives, knives and a gun in the heart of the countrys second-largest city, officials said Friday. The suspects were inspired by the Islamic State group and planned attacks on Melbournes iconic Flinders Street train station, neighboring Federation Square, a fashionable bar and restaurant precinct, and St. Pauls Cathedral, an Anglican church, Victoria state Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said.

These sites are all familiar to me, having spent two weeks in Melbourne visiting one of my daughters earlier this year.

Four of the suspects were born in Australia and the fifth was Egyptian-born with Egyptian and Australian citizenship.

So its another case of home-grown, IS-inspired terrorism. The West is paying a heavy price for allowing the Islamic State to survive for so long.

In Australia, as elsewhere around the world, incidents of Islamic terrorism are piling up:

Since Australias terrorist threat level was elevated in September 2014, the government says there have been four extremist attacks and 12 plots foiled by police.

This in a country of only 23 million.

Lets pray that any other attacks planned for Christmas Day are likewise frustrated by the authorities.
Steves long-running metaphor of Civil war on the left manifested itself in a literal way at a December 3 meeting of the central committee of the Michigan Democratic Party. The meeting was convened to elect delegates to the DNC. Michael Sainato recently reported on the meeting in the New York Observer. Sainatos reportage is not a model of lucidity. As I understand it, however, supporters of Bernie Sanders in the peanut gallery seem to have had a close encounter of the physical kind with party regulars:

During their meeting, Sam Pernick, president of the Young Democrats of Michigan, and other Sanders supporterswho nearly outnumbered the rest of the attendees at the meetingprotested the lack of transparency and openness exercised by the Michigan Democratic Party, which rigged the DNC delegate nomination process behind closed doors. Michigan Democratic Party officials responded with force. Pernick and several others were nearly dragged out of the meeting. Pernick is pursuing charges, and the Westland Police Department recently issued Mike Stone, a senior Michigan Democratic Party official, a ticket for assault and battery. We need to make it clear that violence, assault and battery have no place in our party, Pernick said in a press release. We came there to protest a lack of transparency and support Keith Ellison for DNC Chairthe reaction from leaders within the party was to violently throw us out of the room.

Recalling that Students for a Democratic Society was founded in Michigan, I wonder if young Mr. Pernick doesnt represent something of a throwback:

Through a movement Pernick has called Michigan For Revolution, he and other activists are organizing meetings across the state to encourage youth and progressives to engage with the state and local Democratic Party, and to push for reforms. He cited eradicating the influence of corporate money in the party, removing the practice of vote buying in which party members are influenced by outside interest groups to attend meetings and vote as a bloc, and to obtain greater representation for the young Democrats in the partys leadership positions.

Now it can be said. Young Democrats are revolting.

The Washington Posts Dave Weigel incorporates a reference to the December 3 incident involving Boy Pernick in his account of Keith Ellisons campaign for election as chairman of the DNC.
The resolution adopted by the Security Council with the abstention of the United States yesterday goes beyond the usual anti-Semitic gibberish proclaimed by other United Nations bodies. It has potential legal and/or practical ramifications. Lee Smith alludes to these ramifications in his Tablet column on the Security Council vote, which I excerpted here. Elliott Abrams emphasizes the point in his Weekly Standard column denouncing what Obama has done:

Does the resolution matter? It does. The text declares that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law. This may turn both settlerseven those in major blocs like Maale Adumim, that everyone knows Israel will keep in any peace dealand Israeli officials into criminals in some countries, subject to prosecution there or in the International Criminal Court. The text demands that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Now add this wording to the previous line and it means that even construction in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City is a flagrant violation under international law. The resolution also calls upon all States, to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967. This is a call to boycott products of the Golan, the West Bank, and parts of Jerusalem, and support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement.
Donald Trumps success in blocking a U.N. resolution condemning Israel was short-lived. Yesterday, as we discussed here, Egypt pulled the resolution in response to Trumps expression of disapproval.

Today, however, four Security Council members revived it for consideration. They were New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal, and Venezuela, a failed socialist state.

President Obama opted not to block resolution. The U.S. abstained. Therefore, it passed. Scott has more about this here.

Obamas abstention was cowardly. Clearly, he wanted the resolution to pass, but Obama lacked the guts to have the U.S. vote for it.

But what can we expect from the guy who voted present as a state legislator when controversial matters came up?

Obamas U.N. ambassador Samantha Power, an Israel basher in her own right, claimed that the U.S. abstained because the administration didnt agree with every word of the resolution. This is rubbish. Its rare to agree with every word of a resolution or a piece of legislation. One votes yes if one agrees with it on balance; otherwise one votes no (or in this case exercises a veto).

I imagine this is how things will be under Donald Trump. Hes not an abstaining, voting present kind of guy. The contrast with Obama probably helped him win the presidency.

The U.S. should have blocked this resolution. As Chuck Schumer said:

It is extremely frustrating, disappointing, and confounding that the Administration has failed to veto this resolution. Whatever ones view are on settlements, the U.N. is the wrong forum to settle these issues. The U.N. has been a fervently anti-Israel body since the days of Zionism is racism and, unfortunately, that fervor has never diminished. Knowing this, past administrations  both Democrat and Republican  have protected Israel from the vagaries of this biased institution. Unfortunately, this administration has not followed in this path and its actions will move us further from peace in the Middle East.

The passage of the anti-Israel resolution was greeted by applause in the Security Council. The Palestinian delegation was giddy.

It should be. The vote will sting in Israel.

But lets look at the big picture. Whats more important to Israel, the passage of the resolution or the replacement of Obama by Donald Trump? I think its Trumps ascension.

The U.N. is a debating society. Its resolutions can give aid and comfort to Israels enemies, but Israel can ignore them.

Israel cannot easily ignore the U.S. With Trump as president, it may well be that Israel wont have to choose, as it has for the past eight years, between upholding its security interests and displeasing the American president. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu seem to be on the same wave length.

Todays U.N. action may very well inform Trumps attitude towards the U.N. The president-elect tweeted: As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20.

This is music to my ears.

If Trump treats the U.N. with an extra dose of contempt as a result of this vote, some good will come out of Obamas disgraceful decision to take this parting shot at Israel.

UPDATE: The U.N. is so contemptible that it can unite Lindsey Graham and Donald Trump. Sen. Graham had this to say about the U.N. resolution:

This provocative action by the United Nations is an outrage and must be dealt with sternly and forcefully. As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I oversee the United States assistance to the United Nations. The United States is currently responsible for approximately 22 percent of the United Nations total budget. If the United Nations moves forward with the ill-conceived resolution, I will work to form a bipartisan coalition to suspend or significantly reduce United States assistance to the United Nations. In addition, any nation which backs this resolution and receives assistance from the United States will put that assistance in jeopardy. There is a reason the United States has long opposed these type efforts directed at Israel  the only way to achieve a lasting peace by the parties negotiating directly and not using the United Nations as a blunt instrument against Israel. This was President Obamas position in 2011 and it should be his position today.

Im skeptical that much will come of this in Congress. But wouldnt it be great if President Obamas parting shot at Israel produces an enormous set back for the U.N.? Theres a fitting legacy for the man who fancies himself a towering internationalist.

Maybe one day, Obama can be Secretary General of a shrunken U.N.
Now I know perfectly well that in a certain region of the country, the salutation right now is more likely to be roll tide! than Yuletide. Whatever. Were an ecumenical, interfaith site anyway, so we can roll with it. And speaking of whatever, I understand the Pew Research people have found that whatever is the most annoying word of the moment, and I guess so since whatever has become so huge that I cant even. Personally, I think Pew is a pretty annoying word. In any case, Merry Christmas and happy Hanukah from Power Line, and may Santa actually leave a lump of coal in your stocking to help revive the mining industry. And yes, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie!

Headline of the week:

And finally. . . a very slight departure from format this week (see story below):

Captain Or Ben-Yehuda of the Israeli Defense Forces has cemented a legacy that will endure well past her lifetime. The young, decorated IDF Captain was in charge of a company of soldiers when they were violently attacked by nearly two dozen terrorists near the Egyptian border.

Captain Ben-Yehuda was in charge of the Caracal Battalion which was stationed near the Israeli / Egyptian border. Three suspicious vehicles quickly approached the battalions position and Captain Ben-Yehuda along with a driver went to check them out.

As they approached the first vehicle, nearly two dozen armed men opened fire on their position in an ambush attack. Both Captain Ben-Yehuda and her driver were immediately shot in the volley of gunfire.

Despite suffering from a gunshot wound, Captain Ben-Yehuda managed to get on the radio and call for backup, administer first aid to her driver and return several magazines worth of gunfire back at her attackers.

At this point it was obvious the IDF was going to be able to push back the armed group, and medical personnel wanted to evacuate Captain Ben-Yehuda to treat her gunshot wounds. However, she was unwilling to leave the battlefield until all of the fighting was done.

For her actions and bravery, Captain Ben-Yehuda was awarded Israels highest honor, the Medal of Valor.
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Norman Vincent Peale once said, Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Its the most wonderful time of the year as they say. Many will gather with family and friends to celebrate another year passed. They will remember good times with family by eating, sharing gifts and hopefully sitting down to watch some holiday movies.

For many, watching certain movies during the holiday season is a tradition that you would not dare skip. Perhaps you are looking for another film to add to your traditional watch, look no further. Here are seven vintage movies to enjoy with your Suya, barbecue fish, drinks and fireworks to close out the year.

Happy holidays!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Since its debut on December 9, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a staple of the holiday season over generations.

Unable to find joy in the upcoming Christmas holiday, Charlie Brown takes on the task of directing the school play but finds resistance at every turn. Eventually, Charlie is able to find the true meaning of Christmas.

When it comes to animated Christmas movies, there is only one to turn to in my opinion: A Charlie Brown Christmas. Its animation is quaint, its jokes are funny, and its moments iconic. It has amazing music as well. Vincent Guaraldis arrangements of classic Christmas carols have become so prolific they are a permanent part of the Christmas music canon.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is an animated television special based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Bill Melendez.

Elf

Elf is a 2003 American Christmas comedy film directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. It stars Will Ferrell, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel. The story is about one of Santas elves (Ferrell) who learns of his true identity as a human and goes to New York City to meet his biological father (Caan), spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics as he goes.

Elf is a favorite among the younger generation of movie-lovers. Will Ferrells character of Buddy is one of the funniest and most uplifting characters in the holiday movie genre. Some might be tired of Elf but that doesnt make it any less of an enjoyable and funny ride that will lift your Christmas spirits.

Not to mention its endless barrage of quotable lines. You sit on a throne of lies!

You are sure to get a kick out of this Christmas comedy classic.

Bad Santa

Bad Santa is a 2003 American Christmas black comedy crime film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox and Bernie Mac.

Career criminals Willie and Marcus disguise themselves as Santa and his elf to rob mall stores at night.

Some people get tired of watching all the family-friendly holiday movies. Look no farther than the excellent Bad Santa. The movie is sure to give adults a fun escape from all the kid-friendly movies theyre usually forced to watch.

White Christmas

White Christmas is a 1954 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz.

A musical classic that is known for its abundance of classic and beloved Christmas Carols. Even still, it boasts some hilarious sequences as well as a heartwarming love story that focuses on romantic love as well as brotherly love. The movie is known for its beautiful colours and amazing music which is competently handled by well-known musical talents. The crooning lounge voices of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney will be sure to put your heart in a warm, fuzzy, Christmas feeling. Its one of the best musicals out there, and certainly the best Christmas musical.

Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street (initially released in the United Kingdom as The Big Heart) is a 1947 Christmas comedy-drama film written and directed by George Seaton.

Christmas seems to have lost its meaning for the citizens of New York until one day a man claiming to be the real Santa Clause applies at Macys.

Kris Kringle is indignant to find that the man assigned to play Santa in the annual Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he complains to event director Doris Walker, she persuades Kringle to take his place. He does such a fine job that he is hired as the Santa for Macys flagship New York City store in Herald Square/34th Street.

Miracle on 34th Street is an unusually fun Christmas film set against the backdrop of a courtroom drama.

Its A Wonderful Life

Its a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra. The film is now among the most popular in American cinema and because of numerous television showings in the 1980s has become traditional viewing during the Christmas season.

When George Bailey decides, his average life isnt worth living, a guardian angel named Clarence shows him what life would be like if he had never been born.

A classic in every sense of the word. Beautifully captured, heartwarmingly kind and wonderfully acted. Its a touching movie about how everyones life has value. Its visuals are weak compared to todays standards, but its story and characters are what keep fans coming back. It moves from incredibly comedic to hauntingly dramatic to create a movie that is the epitome of an emotional roller coaster.

The travels of George Bailey and Clarence Odbody through an alternate universe makes for a fantastic and thrilling ride that culminates in a beautiful and wise ending that transcends across the sentiments of many generations.

A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author, raconteur Jean Shepherd.

Ralphie Parkers quest for a Red Rider BB Gun is shot down at every turn by his parents, mall santas and his teachers. While all this is going on he is trying to fend off the bullies at school who wont stop taunting him.

Jean Shephards semi-biographical account of young Ralphie Parker has some of the most memorable Christmas scenes of any movie. Flicks tongue stuck on the icy flag pole, The Old Man receiving his fishnet stocking leg in the mail, and a department mall Santa telling Ralphie hell shoot his eye out if he gets a BB gun.

Its a story of hilarious and loveable vignettes that have become so engrained in American holiday culture that they are inescapable. A Christmas Story is so culturally relevant that it is more than just a movie.
In 2016, the Nigerian fashion scene witnessed the dominance of a crop of Abuja-based fashion designers. Although these designers are not by any means greenhorns in the fashion and style industry, their craftsmanship experienced some boost thanks to the numerous celebrities whom they clothed as well as their social media fan base.

These days, they even give their counterparts in Lagos and down south a run for their money.

PREMIUM TIMES beams the spotlight on the top six Abuja-based fashion designers who ruled the fashion scene and smiled to the bank in 2016.

Ogugua Okonkwo of Style Temple

The saying that great things sometimes come in small packages holds true for the CEO of Abuja-based fashion design outfit, Style Temple, Ogugua Okonkwo. Her store is a one-stop store for made-to-measure, custom-made clothing.

Quiet and unassuming, Og as she is fondly called, arguably owns one of the most prestigious fashion houses in Abuja. A 2008 Medical Laboratory Science graduate from the University of Nigeria, she also has a certificate in fashion merchandising. Her fortunes turned around after she clothed a former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Arunma Oteh, on her 50th birthday.

From a modest showroom in Wuse 2, Style Temple currently operates from a sprawling studio in Maitama. In September, the label announced its presence in Lagos when it presented its new collection  Ipseity under the umbrella of its diffusion line OG by Style Temple. Some of her celebrity muses include, Toke Makinwa, Zainab Balogun and Stephanie Coker. Most of her clientele are the northern elite and her prices range between N15, 000 to N200, 000.

Oluwatoyin Iwukemjika of Kathy Anthony



The toast of Northern Nigerian opulent brides, Oluwatoyin Iwukemjika runs Kathy Anthony fashion house out of Abuja. A trained economist, she also runs House of Style Academy.

She discovered her love for fashion while she was a staff of Sterling Bank PLC. She then worked at a couple of fashion houses where she began to gain some form of recognition because of her uniqueness.

After meeting her husband, Emeka Iwukemjika, in the USA in 2010, he advised her to set up her fashion outfit. This self-trained designers signature includes ready-to-wear, bespoke tailoring, made-to-measure and couture for women.

Famed as one of the few Nigerian fashion designers who has turned around the fortune of the Ankara fabric into something very spectacular, it is little wonder why many fashionable woman want to have a piece of the Kathy Anthony designs in their wardrobe.

Huda Fadoul-Abacha of Hudaya Couture

In less than five years of plying her trade in the competitive Nigerian fashion scene, Huda Fadoul-Abacha has proven that there is much more to her than just a pretty face.

This stunningly beautiful renowned fashion designer and wife of Sadiq Abacha, one of the sons of the late Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha, is the brain behind Hudayya Bridal Emporium, a leading Bridal Couture company in Abuja. She has a keen eye for designing exquisite wedding dresses and exclusive luxury pieces.

Her fashion edifice, Hudayya Complex, is a one-stop venue for wedding and bridal services in Nigeria. A close pal and clothier of Nollywood star actress, Genevieve Nnaji, she is also the brain behind Mavin Record artiste, Dijas looks.

Not only did Hudadesign her own wedding dress, she is also renowned for designing the wedding dress of Marilyn, a daughter of the Delta state governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

Ify Ogodor of Ogodor Designs



In Abuja fashion industry, Ifeoma Anyanwu or Ify as she better known, reigns supreme. The CEO of Strands Salon and Ogodor republic, this English graduate from the University of Imo State, is the epitome of fashion and style. Her extremely daring personal style, as well as her rich clientele who reside in Abuja and Lagos, are some of the things that make her tick.

Her foray into fashion began during her youth service year. According to her, she was a regular caller at her aunts shop at Sheraton Hotel Abuja. During one of her numerous visits to her aunts store, a diplomat offered her a job to be part of a monitoring team in the election 1998 elections.

At the end of the exercise she was paid $2000.Ify has since quadrupled her earnings over the years and gone on to become one of Abujas top fashion designers.

Yutee Utibe Rone of Yutee Rone Atelier

Yutee Utibe Rone runs her eponymous label out of Abuja. A mother of three boys, she is married to a mysterious wealthy Nigerian,Julius Rone.

Within ten years of the existence of her brand, she has wowed fashion buffs with her beautiful pieces and never failed to win hearts at every fashion show. A microbiology graduate-turned-designer, Yutee travels locally and internationally on her husbands private jet and of course, documents it on Instagram. Aside from boasting of a rich clientele, which includes Nigerian actresses Rita Dominic and Tonto Dikeh-Churchill, she enjoys a steady patronage by Lagos elites.

Ogwa Iweze and Ofure Adive of DZYN -couture



Two sisters, Ogwa Iweze and Ofure Adive, in Abuja, started this fashion house eleven years ago. Opting for a name they consider interesting they settled for the name DZYN and over the years theyve succeeded in carving a niche for themselves.

Operating from a massive edifice in Wuse 2, their creative collections can be described as great print fabrics in bright hues that are exquisitely tailored to fit and accentuate the female body.

From day wear to evening wear, bridal wear and traditional wear, Dzyn Couture stands out from the pack. From casually starting out with five dresses, these sisters now make thousands of garments annually. One of the fashion design houses to watch out for in 2016, they enjoy a large following in Lagos, the FCT and on social media.
For the first time in many years, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. This automatically means that Christians around the world will worship at their various churches on Christmas day. If you are holidaying in Lagos or are undecided about where to worship in Lagos on Christmas day, not to worry, we got you covered.

Here are top five Lagos churches to worship at on Christmas Day.

Household of God Church

Located in a serene neighborhood in Oregun, Household of God Church is one of foremost places of worship in Lagos. Led by Pastor Chris Okotie, the churchs Christmas Light Edition is a must-see while the Christmas day service is a must-attend.

The former entails the beatification of the Church during Christmas in a special way while the latter is an exciting and soul-uplifting service. Pastor Okotie is also known to teach his congregation new songs during Christmas Day service every year. If you choose to worship at HOG on Christmas day, you are in for an exciting time as not only will the service be coordinated by Pastor Chris, you will definitely spot some of your favourite Nigerian celebrities/socialites in the congregation.

Daystar Christian Center



This Pastor Sam Adeyemis led church prides itself as a place where leaders are not only raised but are taught to show excellent leadership traits wherever they find themselves. The Christmas Day service at Daystar Christian Center, Ikosi Road, Oregun, is one that many look forward to. Tagged #TurnUpGratitude, the services will hold at 7.ooa.m., 8.45a.m., 10.30a.m. and 12.15a.m. respectively. Aside from the churchs large number of vibrant youth members, Pastor Sam Adeyemis success, leadership and financial principles teachings are such to get you hooked.

RCCG House of David

City of David is a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). Led by Pastor Idowu Iluyomade (fondly called Pastor ID) and ably supported by his wife, Pastor Siju Iluyomade, City of David is about the most popular RCCG Church in Lagos. Located on Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island Ext., the church boasts over 5,000 faithful members. Quite unlike other regular Sunday services, there will only be one service on Christmas day service. It will hold between 9a.m. to 10.30.

This Present House



One of the top digitally savvy churches in Lagos, This Present House or TPH as it is popularly called, is one of the churches to attend on Christmas day. Located at The Dome, Freedom Way, Lekki, it is led by Pastor Tony Rapu, a medical doctor and social entrepreneur.

On the churchs website, they promise, Another time of intense praise & celebration this Sunday at The Dome as we celebrate Christmas. So, expect more beautiful carols and outstanding praise from #OneMusictomorrow at The Dome by 8am and 10:30am. If you choose to attend, dont forget to take your dance shoes along with you.

House on The Rock

Located at Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, House On The Rock is a vibrant multi-ethnic congregation, with over 7,000 worshippers on Sunday mornings and several daughter churches spread over Africa. Pastor Paul Adefarasin founded the church. Christmas at the House on the Rock Lagos is a different experience than the regular seasons. During this season, the church is transformed with the splendor and joy of the Christmas season. So, you can choose to attend the unusual Christmas day service from10am or keep your spirit lifted by watching the service online.
A medical doctor by training, multiple award-winning Nollywood actress, Kiki Omieli, shot into limelight on account of her antagonistic role in the 2012 feature film Married But Single. A class act, the Anambra State-born actress speaks about her career, background, why she made the switch to acting as well as her future plans in this exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

PT: What have you been up to lately?

KIKI: I have quite a number of projects up on my plate. I dont want to reveal too much but my fans should look forward to it. I am also shooting a movie in Abuja titled Playing god. I have also been doing a lot of promotions for my short film titled unprotected. Its on YouTube.

PT: Is the short film your first attempt at movie production?

KIKI: Yes it is and I have always longed to produce health advocacy through films. Films are a wonderful way to get information across to people. I always like to use my medical knowledge as a doctor to help people live better and healthier lifestyles. So, whether it is going to be a short film or a featured film, all I want to do is health advocacy through films.

PT: Do you sometimes miss practicing as a doctor?

KIKI: I am doing the same thing a doctor does in the hospital through the media/films. I am also involved in a lot of health awareness campaigns and I work with so many foundations. I am involved in Dorcas Cancer Foundation and we have project Pink Blue for Breast Cancer. I am just very passionate about getting my information across to people.

PT: So, does this mean you are still drawn to medicine?

KIKI: Yes I am and what I am simply doing is infusing my medical background into my passion, which is acting.

PT: Was it easy to let go of your background as a doctor?

KIKI: I dont want to say it was tough. During my final year in medical school, I realised that I was passionate about the performing arts. It wasnt a very tough decision to make, it was just a case of me basically knowing what to do. I am not going to let go of medicine; I am going to as much as possible use my voice to continue to practice medicine.

PT: What do you love the most about acting?

KIKI: I love the fact that you can just totally transform and become someone else; you can take a character from scratch and give it life. You eat the character, you breath the character, you live the character, you create mannerisms for the character, and you create reactions on how that character reacts to certain situations. Most importantly, I love acting as it affords liberty to take on a totally different personality.

PT: Have you played your most challenging role yet?

KIKI: I have played challenging roles, I dont know if I have played my most challenging yet, but yes I have played challenging roles. I always like to refer it to a short film, Steam, which won me the 2015 best-supporting actress for the GAMA awards. It was a very physically and emotionally challenging role. I also always love to speak about my character, Blessing, in Gbomogbomo Express; I played a gangster and a kidnapper in the move. It was a far cry from my real life persona. To transform into that character and make it believable was quite challenging.

PT: How did you psyche yourself up for that role?

KIKI: Well basically, whenever I want to play a particular character, I study a lot of people, which is what contributes to my acting skills. I also study their reactions to situations around them. So first things first I do is to change my looks. I recall that I had to dye my hair blonde just to appear very razz and uncouth. This is not to say that people who wear their hair blonde are razz. I just draw from peoples experiences around me, the way I have seen them act and that way I am able to give a character life.

PT: What are the downsides of acting?

KIKI: There is the fact that you become a popular face and you kind of lose your privacy. A lot of people tend to think you are the way you are in the movies, if you play a bad role, or a wicked role, people tend to dislike you before even meeting you. Again, there is a bad notion about actors in Nigeria; people tend to think that actors are acting because they do not have anything to do. Some also think that actors are dropouts and thats really not the case. So many actors are very well trained and very well educated.



PT: There is also this common belief that Nollywood actresses are more favoured than their male counterparts.

KIKI: It is not true. Based on my experience, it was very challenging for me especially coming from a medical background to penetrate the acting world. I had to prove myself to be able to get major roles and after you get noticed, people now look for you to interpret other roles. It is not seamless at all it is actually quite difficult. Acting is not the most lucrative job in Nigeria, so what I think some women have going for them is the fact that they are married to spouses who have more lucrative jobs; spouses who can make it possible for them to produce their own movies. So I think thats where women might have it easier.



PT: How about the single actresses, is it any easier for them?

KIKI: I really wouldnt say so but I find that many female actresses have a side business that brings in income and maybe the guys dont really do that.

PT: Please tell us about your foray into Nollywood?

KIKI: I was very young when I got into medical school; I was about 16. I didnt really know what I wanted.

PT: But you wanted to read medicine?

KIKI: Well, because at the time the rave of the moment was professional courses. My sister had gone to study law so I just went to study medicine.

PT: Where did you study medicine?

KIKI: I studied medicine at the college of medicine, University of Lagos. Midway into studying medicine, I realised that my passion for the arts was still strong.

PT: But you rounded up your studies?

KIKI: Oh yes, I did everything before I transited to Nollywood. I was like you know what just go ahead, you dont have to leave medicine behind, you can pursue your passion and still infuse medicine into it.

PT: Will you ever return to practicing medicine?

KIKI: I never left; when people talk about going back I am like how can I ever return to something that I never left in the first place? I mean for a while, I was even on the radio, talking health and dissecting health topics and people would call in and ask health related questions. So I never left, medicine is still such a huge part of me even as an actress.

PT: So how did your family receive the news?

KIKI: My family was very supportive. My parents are the most supportive people in the world. The truth is, I think my parents already saw the flair for the arts in me. So when I said that I was going to start acting, I dont think they were too surprised. Parents know their children, they know which of their children would come and tell them such news. They have basically been incredibly supportive.

PT: What was growing up like?

KIKI: Growing up was wonderful. I grew up with a father who was a banker and a mother who was a prison controller. I have three siblings; an older sister and two younger brothers. I had a wonderful childhood.

PT: Lekki Wives remains one of your most popular works till date

KIKI: People always ask me about Lekki Wives. Lekki wives was my first breakthrough series. I would like to say it gave me my breakthrough because it earned me a lot of local and international attention and recognition as an actress. A lot of roles I got subsequently was due to my role in the Lekki Wives.

PT: What was it like coming into the movie industry from your background in medicine?

KIKI: Coming into the movie industry, especially from a medical background was not easy, I would attend auditions, and a lot of times when I get auditioned they would ask what course I studied. They are always shocked to know that I am a medical doctor. So, it took quite a lot to be able to convince people that I knew what I was doing and that I actually had what it took to be in the movie industry. So it wasnt very easy in the beginning but thanks to a few breakthrough here and there, I think I have been able to secure a place in Nollywood.

PT: Are you satisfied with the growth of your career thus far?

KIKI: I have to be honest but I think I really have grown. I think I have done quite well and I am very proud of what I have been able to achieve in five years, and in the next five years I can do a lot more. I am proud of what I have been able to achieve, I am proud of the fact that I have gotten to a point where I can use my voice as an actress to actually help people live better. I can apply my medical training into my actress career and produce a lot of health advocacy films.
The passengers of the recent hijacked Libyan plane that was forced to land in Malta, arrived in Tripoli, Libya, on Saturday.

The state news agency reports that the passengers looked healthy as they disembarked an Afriqiyah Airways airliner that had transported them from Malta.

It says several government officials welcomed the passengers on their arrival at Mitiga airport in eastern Tripoli, not specifying their number.

An Afriqiyah Airways jet with 111 passengers and a six-member crew was hijacked on Friday when it was on a domestic flight from Sebha in southern Libya to Tripoli.

Two Libyan hijackers forced the Airbus A320 to divert to Malta.

After four hours on the Mediterranean Island, the hijackers surrendered and all the passengers and crew left the aircraft unharmed.

The Maltese government later revealed that the hijackers had used fake weapons.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat rejected media reports that the hijackers had asked for asylum in his country.

Libya descended into chaos since the 2011 overthrow of former President Muammar Gaddafi in an armed revolt.

The oil-rich country is divided between two rival administrations; one backed by the United Nations in Tripoli and the other in the eastern city of Tobruk.(dpa/NAN)
Hundreds of Shiite IMN members on Saturday held a protest march in Kaduna to demand the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

The protest by the Shiites occurred despite a ban on processions and rallies by the Kaduna State Government and the police. The government, which had earlier outlawed the IMN declaring it an insurgent group, said the ban was necessary to maintain peace and order in the state.

On Saturday, the protesters marched through the popular Ahmadu Bello area, causing heavy traffic for road users. They sang in Hausa and English calling on the federal government to release Mr. El-Zakzaky who has been in detention without trial since December 2015.

The cleric was detained after over 300 members of the IMN were killed by soldiers who accused them of blocking the road and plotting to kill the army chief, Tukur Buratai. The IMN denied the armys claims.

A court in Abuja has since ordered the release of Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife and ordered payment of compensation to them.

As the protesters marched on Saturday, Kaduna residents asked the state government to ensure it does not turn violent especially during this Christmas period.

I wanted to run away when I heard them coming but all that happened to me was I lost some of my money, a Kaduna resident, Habiba Sale, said. I beg (Governor) El-Rufai to please give people maximum security during this Christmas, she said.

Mr. El-Rufai has assured Kaduna residents of adequate security saying all security agencies were working together to ensure peace during the yuletide.
The Nigerian Navy on Saturday said that crime had reduced in the maritime sector of the Niger Delta region due to the sustained efforts of its personnel in policing the maritime domain.

James Oluwole, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Naval Command in Calabar, disclosed this during a chat with journalists in Calabar.

There has been drastic reduction in oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, sea piracy and other forms of illegalities along the water ways.

We have maintained a steady patrol at sea, with a view to securing the maritime domain from vandals.

I must specially thank Mr President, the legislature and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Ibok-Ete Ibas, for supporting the Navy to carry out its constitutional duties, the rear admiral said.

He said the command successfully held the 2016 Nigerian Navy Ceremonial Sunset and End of Year Ball for its serving and retired officers on December 23, 2016.

According to him, the occasion is an opportunity for the Navy to recognize the efforts of its serving and retired personnel, as well as ensuring a safe and secure maritime environment.

Since the establishment of the Nigerian Navy in 1956, the story has been that of success, in spite of the numerous challenges and the evolving security environment.

The Nigerian Navy must improve on its fighting capability and operational effectiveness, the Navy recently took delivery of two offshore patrol vessels, NNS Centenary and NNS Unity, build in China.

These vessels will enhance effective patrol of the maritime domain and will also help in securing the nations economic resources from vandals, he added.

He assured of the continuous training of naval personnel, saying that such efforts in capacity building, was needed to move the Navy forward.

(NAN)
A few days after Nigeria commenced prosecution of persons involved in the OPL 245 scandal, Italian officials are also set to commence prosecution of Italians and firms involved in the shady deal.

As part of their findings, Italian prosecutors said officials of Italian oil giant, Eni, may have received $50 million bribe from the $1.1 billion the company and Shell paid into a Nigerian government account in 2011.

The money was to allow the oil firms have control of OPL 245, Nigerias richest oil block estimated to contain over 9 billion barrels of crude oil.

The Italian prosecutors have now concluded their investigations into the roles of Shell and ENI in the OPL 245 controversy and are set for prosecution.

In their 12-page final report, Italian prosecutors, Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, concluded that 11 individuals and two companies were culpable and could be prosecuted for their roles in the deal. The individuals include the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi; his predecessor, Paolo Scaroni; and businessman Luigi Bisignani, Italian media reported on Friday.

The investigators said 50 million cash was delivered to the Abuja home of Roberto Casula, who was then the head of Enis business operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The money was supposedly meant for administrators and Eni executives, the Italian Newspaper, ilfatto quotidiano, reports.

The investigations also revealed that contrary to claims by Shell and Eni, officials of the Italian firm negotiated with former Nigerian petroleum minister, Dan Etete, and definitely knew the money they were paying to the Nigerian government would end up in Malabu accounts controlled by him.

The revelation that the Italian prosecutors are set to commence prosecution of Italians and multinational firms involved in the shady deals occurs few days after Nigerias anti-graft agency, EFCC, commenced the prosecution of some Nigerians and local firms found culpable in the scandal.

Sources at the EFCC and the office of Nigerias attorney-general, Abubakar Malami, told PREMIUM TIMES the Italian prosecutors have been coordinating and cooperating with their Nigerian counterparts. Fabio de Pasquale and other Italian prosecutors have been guests of their Nigerian counterparts several times in the past year.

Also, to ensure seamless prosecution of the indicted officials both in Nigeria and Italy, the two countries recently signed a mutual legal assistance treaty.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the EFCC on Tuesday, filed a nine-count corruption and money laundering charge against Mr. Etete, former Attorney General Mohammed Adoke, and controversial businessman Abubakar Aliyu for their roles in the scam.

Mr. Adoke it was, who authorised the transfer of $801 million of the money paid by Shell and Eni to Malabu accounts controlled by Mr. Etete despite having prior knowledge of the latters previous criminalities including manipulation of company registration documents of Malabu.

The former attorney general has however denied any wrongdoing and has pledged to return toNigeria to face charges.

Mr. Etete subsequently transferred over $450 million of the money he received into accounts offictitious companies controlled by Mr. Aliyu who investigators believe was a front for interested parties and top officials of the Goodluck Jonathan administration including Mr. Adoke. Those four companies were also charged by the EFCC on Tuesday.

Mr. Etete would later tell a British Court that only $250 million of the money truly belonged to him. The 50 million cash the Italian Mr. Casula received in Abuja is believed to be part of the money transferred to Mr. Aliyu by Mr. Etete.

Apart from the charges filed on Tuesday, sources at the EFCC and the Attorney Generals office told PREMIUM TIMES that more charges would be filed against individuals and firms in relation to OPL 245 after the federal high court resumes in January.

In his reaction to the charges filed by the EFCC, Simon Taylor, Director of UK based Global Witness, said, We applaud the Nigerian authorities for fighting back against corruption without fear or favour, making sure there are real consequences for taking part in shady deals like with OPL 245.

This is a great step forward with the Nigerian authorities showing they are serious about tackling corruption. European and American law enforcement must also step up by fully cooperating and prosecuting anyone else culpable in this corrupt deal, another transparency campaigner, Nicholas Hildyard of Corner House, said,

In reaction to the conclusion of investigations by the Italians, Barnaby Pace, a campaigner at Global Witness, a UK firm dedicated to transparency in the extractive sector, commended the investigations.

Shady deals allow corrupt elites to profit at the expense of ordinary citizens. Shell and Eni now have to answer to the Italian courts, the public and their shareholders for their part in the corrupt deal for OPL 245  oil companies cant get away with this kind of behaviour any longer, he said.

Another transparency campaigner, Antonio Tricarico of Re:Common in Italy, said, The move by Milan prosecutors today vindicates what we have believed since we filed our complaint in 2013, that the OPL 245 deal is a case of grand corruption. Eni, Shell and their managers should be held accountable for any wrongdoing.
Nigerian soldiers have raided Boko Harams last enclave in Sambisa forest, and the insurgents have finally been crushed, President Muhammadu Buhari said Saturday.

The president said in a statement he was most proud to receive the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists.

I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest, the president said.

He said he was told by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, that the camp fell at about 1:35p.m. on Friday.

Read Mr. Buharis full statement below:

GOODWILL MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI TO TROOPS OF OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE ON THE SUCCESSFUL CAPTURE OF BOKO HARAM ENCLAVE IN SAMBISA FOREST

I am delighted at, and most proud of the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army, on receipt of the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest.

I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest.

I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the Camp fell at about 1:35pm on Friday, December 22, and that the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice.

I, therefore, call on all Nigerians to cooperate and support the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies by providing useful information that will expose all the terrorists hiding among the populace.

Further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity. May God be with them.

I also want to congratulate and commend the able leadership of the Nigerian Army in particular and indeed, that of the Armed Forces in general, for making this possible. This, no doubt, will go a long way in improving the security situation not only in the North East, but the country in general. But we must not let our guards down.

Once more, congratulations to our troops and all who, in one way or the other, contributed to this most commendable and momentous effort. May the Almighty continue to be with you.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a most rewarding and peaceful Year 2017 ahead.

MUHAMMADU BUHARI

PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

December 24, 2016.
Contrary to claims by the Presidency, President Muhammadu Buhari failed to attend Thursdays South East economic summit because of security reports indicating the likelihood of violence by Biafra agitators.

Mr. Buhari was expected to be the special guest of honour at the regional summit which held in Enugu state.

The event was put together by some prominent citizens from the region, including former Commonwealth Secretary General, Emeka Anyaoku.

Mr. Buhari neither attended the event nor sent a representative.

There were speculations that the absence of the president was due to a threat issued by the separatist Biafra group.

The Indigenous People of Biafra has been campaigning for the independence of the people of the south-east, majority of whom are of Igbo extraction.

The leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, has been in government custody since he was first arrested by the State Security Service, SSS, in October 2015.

Members of the group have repeatedly clashed with the Nigerias security agencies.

After media reports suggested that Mr. Buhari stayed away from the event for fear of his safety, his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, issued a statement saying the president did not boycott the event.

He claimed the president was advised by some representatives of the south-east not to attend, given the sensitivity of the (Christmas) period to the people.

A presidential visit may have come with overexertion and possibly, be disruptive of Christmas, he said.

In view of this, President Buhari requested that the event be pushed forward to January, 2017. Given his nature, he did not insist. He said if the change of date is not possible, then the event can go on without him. That is what the organizers chose to do.

The President did not, and he absolutely has no reason to snub anyone, Mr. Shehu said.

However, one of the organisers of the event told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Buhari was advised against attending the event due to security concerns.

Almost all the security agencies provided intel that there might be violence if the President attends the summit, our source said.

He said IPOB members were serious about their threat to attack the summit if the president attended.

Of course nothing would have happened to the president but the fear is that several persons may lose their lives in the bid to atop anyone from harming the president.

It was therefore, rightly agreed that it was better to avoid bloodshed, he said.
Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has advised state governors to emulate their Ekiti State counterpart, Ayo Fayose, in protecting the interest of their people.

Mr. Adeboye stated this on Saturday in Ado-Ekiti at the palace of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Adeyemo Adejugbe.

The renowned cleric, who paid a call on the monarch before attending a crusade at the unusually crowded Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado Ekiti, described the governor as a great defender of his people and their cause.

He commended the governor for taking great risks of defending and protecting the interests of his people.



Your Excellency, we thank God for your life, courage, boldness and being willing to take the risk, the pastor said.

You are doing this so that your people can be protected and I know you are aware of what I am talking about.

You can be sure that we are praying for you and you will succeed. I hope other governors will stand for their people like you and defend their people and say enough is enough, he said

Mr. Adeboye who prayed for the restoration of the lost glory of Ekiti, also commended the Ekiti monarch for leading his people in the way of God.

Earlier, the governor said Nigerians appreciate the efforts of Mr. Adeboye at taking the gospel round the world.



We know that it is at this time of the year that you go round and we pray that God strengthens you.

Your visit is annually and when a man of God passes by, we want to take that advantage for him to bless us, we appreciate your efforts at taking the gospel round the world, he said.

NAN reports that Mr. Adejugbe, during the visit, described Mr. Adeboyes visit as a blessing to the palace, and the people of the state in general.

The pastor later held a revival at the stadium and later visited Ikere Ekiti, Ilawe Ekiti and Ogotun-Ekiti.

(NAN)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday shocked passengers at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos, by flying the economy class aboard a commercial airline to a function in Enugu.

Mr. Obasanjo was billed to attend the South-East Economic and Security Summit, but could not secure a business class ticket because all seats had been booked, his aides told PREMIUM TIMES.

The former president confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES, but did not give details.

His aides said with no alternative, the former president bought an economy ticket of Air Peace airline that travelled out of Lagos at 7a.m.

The ticket was the last for the flight, as a result Mr. Obasanjo could not travel with his security detail.

On board the aircraft, some shocked business class passengers offered the former president their seats, and he turned them down.

Mr. Obasanjo took his seat number 18A, not before taking photographs with some passengers.

On arrival at Enugu airport, he was received by Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the Federal Government is committed to enthroning the promised change in the country.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the partys National Publicity Secretary, said this on Saturday in the partys Christmas message to Nigerians.

Mr. Abdullahi said the Federal Government is working hard towards achieving true transformation and development.

There is no doubt that the times are difficult and the Nigerian state is facing enormous challenges, but we assure Nigerians that the APC-led Federal Government is committed to enthroning the promised change.

The Government is working hard towards the goal of true transformation and development.

We urge Nigerians to continue to pray for and support the bold efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to resuscitate the economy, safeguard the citizenry and instil probity in our national life, he said.

Mr. Abdullahi said in this season of love and celebrations, Nigerians should remember that with collective prayers, unity and diligence, the goal of a prosperous, secured and stable nation was possible.

The APC spokesman prayed that 2017 would usher in economic growth, security and peace for all Nigerians.

He also congratulated all Christians on Christmas and prayed that the message of Christmas fill every life with warmth, joy and peace.

He felicitated with Christians across the country on the joyous occasion of Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

According to him, the yuletide season symbolises perseverance, faith, hope and love.

He appealed to Nigerians to continue to exhibit such virtues as the country navigated from the economic recession towards progress and stability.

He, however, called on Nigerians to offer special prayers for the peace, unity and development of the country.

Mr. Abdullahi also urged Nigerians across religious divides to imbibe the virtues of tolerance, honesty, fairness, selflessness and peaceful co-existence which Jesus Christ exemplified during his earthly mission.

The APC spokesman added that the manifestation of the virtues in national life would propel the country into becoming a more united, peaceful and progressive nation. (NAN)
The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, on Saturday restated his promise to re-organise the ongoing Operation Lafiya Dole, in Nigerias north-east in 2017.

The army chief, who restated the promise when he visited troops of 112 Task Force Battalion, Mafa, Borno State, ahead of the Christmas, said he would celebrate the yuletide with troops in the front-line.

He said the re-organisation was aimed at making the operation stronger and to relieve the fighting soldiers.

Mr. Buratai, Principal Staff Officers at Army Headquarters, Abuja; General Officers Commanding the various Divisions across the country; and Corps Commanders are in Borno and other parts of the north-east to celebrate Christmas with the troops.

Operation Rescue Final has been quite successful, Mr. Buratai said.

We still keep our promise of what will happen in 2017.

We will make sure that we get the necessary re-organisation to make the operation much stronger and to have very good relief system for everybody.

The army chief commended the troops for their courage and professionalism and urged them to sustain the counter-insurgency momentum.

I have received a very, very thorough brief from your commanding officer. He has told me the brave exploit you have undertaken across your area of operation.

I want to urge you to keep it up. We are all proud of you, the entire country is proud of you and indeed Mr President and Commander-In-Chief is proud of you.

Keep doing the very good job you have been doing and we will continue to do our best to ensure that your logistics are catered for and your general welfare is also taken care of, Mr. Buratai said.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Gontus Yilda, Section Commander, 3 Platoon Support Company, Mafa, said he was happy with the visit of the army chief.

Mr. Yilda restated his commitment to fight and defend the nation.

He urged violent agitators in some parts of the country to desist from violence and resist the temptation of going to war.

War is not good, as you can see here in the north-east, many places have been damaged, it will take time to rebuild them, he said.

Mr. Yilda, however, expressed happiness that the war against the insurgents was being won and that peace was returning to the North-East.

The corporal said that the troops would celebrate the Christmas in peace.

Also speaking with NAN, Ibrahim Felix expressed happiness that the terrorists had been defeated.

I am proud to be a Nigerian soldier, the private said.
Are you spending your Christmas in Abuja? As the recession still hits hard, Nigerians must be looking for where to get food ingredients at budget rates. Obviously everybody wants to wind down the year in a celebration mode.

Abuja has several pocket-friendly markets. Trouble is, you may be in a little fix if you do not quite know the location of the exact market to suit your particular needs in the city.

Here are PREMIUM TIMESs top 10 recommended markets.

Karmo market

According to Agatha Sesuwe, a vegetable seller at Karmo market, the only item you might not find in this market are human parts. Her assertion was of course hyperbolic, but it underlined the commercial appeal, in terms of variety of goods, at the market.

Commodities here are generally cheap. So, if you are not travelling out of the capital city during this Christmas period, Karmo market is the best bet to get assorted fruits, vegetables, tomatoes, including processed seasonings.

Karmo market is situated at a town of the same name in Abuja municipal Area Council (AMAC) around Kado area Abuja.

Karmo market sells on Tuesdays and Fridays, but comes to live more on Tuesdays.

Kado Fish Market

The most thriving fish markets in Abuja is the Kado Fish Market, located along Gwagwa-Karmo road, Life Camp. It is popular for all kinds of fish products.

You cannot get fish anywhere cheaper because Kado Market is the first choice for many fish farmers to market their products and a meeting point for businessmen and women dealing in fish and products such as feeds, drugs.

The market takes care of the various demands of buyers in terms of variety of the products and type of fish desired. Another name for this market is Life Camp Market. There is a wide range of frozen foods and other food stuffs that you also can buy here.

Utako Market

The Utako Market is where you can get items very cheap. Utako market is the hub of yam, potatoes, plantain, onions and many other farm products. You may as well check out the tokunbo (second hand) furniture and electronics market inside the Utako Motor Park. You will be amazed at the kind of home interiors you will see at a very cheap price.

A problem here may be parking space because of the number of cars polling up at the place. You will find this market Off Obafemi Awolowo Way, behind ABM Plaza in Utako.

Maraba Fruit Market

Varieties of fruits and vegetables sell at cheap prices here.

You can buy your Christmas tomatoes, pepper, onions in baskets, carrots, spring onions etc and there you can do sharing, so you dont need to buy one whole basket.

This market is located at Maraba after Nyanya Junction.

Wuse Market

This is the biggest open market in Abuja. It offers a glimpse of the local life, with numerous stores and outlets selling everything from crafts, to textiles, jewelleries, housewares, electronics, domestic appliances, and fresh food items from all over the country.

Things are not that cheap here compared with the above mentioned markets but there is hardly anything you will not find here.

You can as well learn how to haggle here with the traders. On weekends, the market is very rowdy. Wuse market is located between Sani Abacha Way and Herbert Macaulay Way in Wuse II, and is opened from 8:00 am  6:00 pm daily.

Gosa market

This market is after Kuje but before airport. The market opens only on Fridays. Items such as meat are cheap here.

Garki International Market

The Garki International market is another popular market that is situated in Garki 2. It is a little bigger than Wuse market in land area and prices of commodities are relatively cheaper here.

This is where you can buy confectioneries and clothing items at a very affordable rate for your Xmas outings. Just like Wuse Market, you can visit the market around 8am and leave by 6pm.

Deidei market:

This is located in Dei-dei area of Abuja after Kubwa if you are taking the expressway. This is another fruit market. You can buy tomatoes, pepper, onions in baskets and at fairly good rates.

This market does not have a market day or time. Just that going early makes you buy cheaper since sellers would be hasty to sell off perishable goods.

Kabusa Market

This one is located around the Lokogoma axis of Abuja and it is a Saturday market. You can get your Christmas bags of rice, beans, onions etc at a cheap rate here.

The only problem you may have is the untarred road leading to the market which is always at its worst during the rainy season. There are no rains now, so no qualms.

Garki Model Market

Garki Model Market is a more modernised market and the crowd control is better.

The market has about 2400 shops and stalls of various sizes in addition to other facilities such as clinic, banking facility, cold rooms, restaurants, fire station, police station etc.

Garki II Ultra-Modern Market covers an area of 12.3 hectares of land situated in Garki 2 District, off Ahmadu Bello Way.

The entire market premises are well drained and landscaped, with drainages and pedestrian walkways adorned with beautiful trees, flowers, shrubs and grasses to provide natural atmosphere.

Frozen foods, cow and goat meat are sold here. So if you are looking for where to do get Christmas food stuff without the stress and traffic of the open market, this is the place to be.
Fifty-six ethnic communities in six local government areas of Plateau State on Thursday signed a declaration for peace and harmonious relationship, signalling an end to many years of ethno-religious crises and tensions.

The peace agreement follows series of mediated peace talks among the hitherto warring communities.

The communities are from Langtang North, Langtang South, Mikang, Quaan Pan, Shendam and Wase local government areas, all in the southern part of Plateau.

They resolved to put aside their differences and live in peace irrespective of tribe or religion.

The signing of the agreement was at an elaborate ceremony attended by the United States and German ambassadors to Nigeria, among other dignitaries.

The peace initiative, driven by an international nongovernmental organisation, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, is a sequel to similar accord reached among communities in Jos and its environs three years ago.

In his address, the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, described peace building as a cardinal objective of his administration, describing peace as the only condition for meaningful development in the state.

According to him, investigation has shown that some crises were deliberately instigated by persons in authority to create an avenue to steal public funds in the name of security votes.

He said previous administrations in the state spent billions of naira on security votes; money he said could have been better utilised if peace prevailed in the state,

We noticed that billions have been siphoned. When you ask they will say security vote. Its a way of siphoning money in billions.

When I came into government I told you that if you give me peace I will give you good governance. Now that we live in peace it is the money that I am using to pay all the salary and pension. If you give me more peace I will do more, he said.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Nuhu Ribadu, recalled how difficult it was to start the mediated dialogue among warring communities in the aftermath of the Jos crisis, adding, however, that with resilience of the mediators and other stakeholders, the initial difficulties were overcome.

He said with the signing of the peace accord among the people of southern Plateau, the initiative to bring back peace in the state was now complete following the success recorded in Jos.

He lauded the various community leaders who demonstrated commitment and desire for peace in the dialogue process, leading to all parties reaching a consensus.

The lead mediator of the Centre of Humanitarian Dialogue, Alice Nderuti, said the signing of the peace declaration followed series of meetings among selected stakeholders from each affected community.

She said rather than being taken as the end of the process, the signing of the peace accord only signalled the beginning of the real process towards a lasting peace in the area.

Ms. Nderuti therefore called for support and cooperation of all stakeholders in implementing various components of the peace declaration.
In spite of the 24-hour curfew imposed on Jemaa, Zangon Kataf and Laura local government areas, residents of Kafanchan were busy preparing for the festivity this week.

The Kaduna State government had on Monday imposed a 24-hour curfew following threats to law and order by some residents in the areas.

Checks conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday revealed that residents defied the restriction and were busy making last minute purchases at makeshift markets in their neighborhoods.

At one of the hidden markets visited in Angwaun Galadima area, residents, especially women, were seen busy buying food items while others were buying clothes for their children.

Sarah Musa, a resident of the area, said although security of lives and property was paramount, the people defied the restriction order to shop for the festive season.

At least, the government should have been considerate enough to have relaxed the curfew to allow people to buy food items, she said.

Mathew Bege, a civil servant said he rushed to the market to buy beef and tomatoes to prepare for the festivity.

Even if we will stay at home, at least, we should have something to eat, he said.

Helen David, who resides in Garaje area, said she rushed to the market to purchase hair attachment for her siblings.

Meanwhile, operators of relaxation spots made brisk sales to customers who hid in closed premises to consume liquor.

One of the liquor dealers, who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity, said he was forced to open due to pressure from his customers.

I opened the door strictly for those I recognised otherwise, we are not opened to the public, he said.

Danladi Gambo, a resident of Ungwan Musa area said the curfew did not restrict palm wine tappers from the neighbouring villages to sell their commodity.

It is difficult to restrain activities that are tied to culture and tradition, he said. (NAN)
A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chubudom Nwuche, has decried the backwardness of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, blaming it on the failure of the governors of the region to account for the funding accruing to it.

He also attributed the underdevelopment of the region to non-participation of the region in the ownership of the oil resource.

Mr. Nwuche said this in a statement released on Friday by his media aide, Blessing Oyagiri.

The Niger Delta region comprises Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers States. Other oil producing states which are members of the Niger Delta Development Commission are Abia, Imo and Ondo.

Mr. Nwuche, an indigene of Rivers State, lamented that the problems of the region had remained even though one of its sons, Goodluck Jonathan, was president and while others occupied top political positions in the country.

He noted that the renewed agitation of the youth in the Niger Delta had highlighted many issues of continued marginalisation of the oil producing areas in spite of the 13% derivation fund that has accrued to the states since 1999.

My colleagues and I in the 1999 National Assembly were instrumental in compelling the Federal Government to commence the implementation of the derivation formula, but our people have not seen commensurate development from those resources that should have transformed the Niger Delta region into mini-Dubai, he said.

Also, the lack of participation of the Niger Delta people in the ownership of oil blocs and involvement in oil services and the commanding heights of the oil and gas sector have been a disadvantage.

I commend the acknowledgement that we must also shoulder some of the blame for these problems as we failed to hold our governors accountable for the derivation fund.

We also had our sons and daughters as both president, ministers and minister of petroleum and they could not address these problems or the other infrastructural challenges in the region.

Mr. Nwuche hailed the recent dialogue between President Muhammadu Buhari and the indigenes of the Niger Delta under the leadership of Edwin Clark as a way of addressing the challenges in the region.

Stating that nothing could be gained from destruction and war, the former deputy speaker appealed to the youth of the region to lay down their arms and embrace peace while asking federal government to look into the problems confronting the region.

I urge the current government to look into these problems in the interest of justice, equity and national cohesion. And dialogue is the right way to addressing these issues.

On the recent legislative rerun election in Rivers State, Mr. Nwuche, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission and the security agencies for outstanding performances during the exercise.

He said as opposed to the past, security agencies allowed the people of the state to exercise their franchise unmolested.

He said in the past there were instances where people were killed in some places, including Ahoada East and West LGAs, for voting for APC.

He condemned the murder of some policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, during the election, describing the incident as most unfortunate.
A Magistrate Court in Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital, has dismissed a case of impersonation and assault against a retired magistrate, Elizabeth Ajibola, following the withdrawal of the case by the prosecutor.

The police had earlier in a suit number MA/605c/2013 charged the 51-year-old woman to court on a six count charge including impersonation. She was charged alongside her house help, Stephen Yakubu (27) for allegedly assaulting tenants at Government Reservation Area, Ibara, Abeokuta.

The duo, residents of Arobodun Street, Ikeja, Lagos State, were alleged to have on October 1, 2013, stormed the home of the complainants in Abeokuta to forcefully eject some tenants and in the process destroyed property and threw away the belongings of the victims.

However, the prosecutor, Ogun State Police Command, in the course of the trial made a detour, writing a letter of withdrawal of the case to the court.

The police established that the woman is a retired magistrate, contrary to allegation of impersonation.

The letter addressed to the Chief Magistrate of the Court with reference number AB:5310/OGS/X/VOL 17/144 and signed by Aminu Alhassan, Assistant Commissioner of Police (D Department CID) appealed for the withdrawal of the case.

The letter reads, I am directed by the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Police Command to refer to the above mentioned case, which is pending before your lordship, and to request that the case be withdrawn in view of the fact that the complainant in the case has been advised by the Commissioner of Police to take civil action against the accused person and had since adhered.

It would be appreciated if the request is favourably granted.

The trial judge, A.O Araba, in his ruling dismissed the case.
Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad updated the community Tuesday morning on the departments use-of-force statistics and several major crimes that occurred in the city during the past year.

Haddad began the press conference at the Dearborn Police Department by talking about use of force, and how the number of incidents requiring his officers to use force are significantly down from previous years.

I promised last year to always disclose use of force in our department, Haddad said. Year-to-date, weve had 24 instances where the men and women here had to deploy some type of force when encountering our citizens.

In sharp contrast, Dearborn police used force 209 times in 2008.

Additionally, use-of-force numbers have steadily declined since 2014, according to Haddad.

After praising his officers, Haddad said that 24 use-of-force instances is extremely low when taken into account the amount of calls the police department receives on a yearly basis.

We respond each year to 70,000 police runs, we write 40,000 tickets, we do 2,500 park and walks at our schools, and we take 400 weapons off the street, Haddad said. Yet, a very small number of those incidents required our men and women to use force  and I think thats due to the training and to the professionalism of our department.

Haddad said that the majority of the 24 instances where force was used involved police having to take a criminal to the ground during an arrest.

He also added that officers did not have to use a Taser at all in 2016, compared to two times the previous year and eight times in 2014.

Im very proud of the men and women here for what they do, during one of the toughest times to be a cop in America, he said.

Haddad also gave an update on several high profile crimes that occurred lately in Dearborn.

Eric Smothers, a 24-year-old Detroit resident with an extensive criminal history, was arrested Dec. 4 after he allegedly shot a 26-year-old Inkster resident in the face during a Dec. 3 carjacking at Michigan Avenue and Schafer.

During the carjacking, Smothers abandoned the car he was driving, which had been reported stolen out of Detroit, and stole the victims vehicle after the shooting.

He is charged with multiple felonies including assault with intent to murder, carjacking and armed robbery. Smothers is currently in the Wayne County Jail.

Police arrested 18-year-old Walbert Morales-Castro of Detroit on Dec. 13 after he allegedly shot a Canton man who was in his car near Madison and Bennett on Oct. 13.

The victim, identified as Raymond Mshahwar, 33, was later pronounced dead from gunshot wounds at a local hospital.

According to Haddad, the motive for the shooting was most likely robbery, and a 16-year-old Dearborn girl, whom Castro reportedly met over the Internet, was also arrested in connection to the murder.

He did not go into detail about her involvement, saying that the case is still under investigation.

Morales-Castro is charged with multiple felonies, including homicide and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The teenage accomplice is also charged with felony homicide and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Both are being held without bond and are due in court Jan. 6 for a preliminary examination of the evidence against them.

Haddad concluded by talking about the current state of police affairs in the country, noting that a small percentage of officers nationwide protect millions of citizens on a daily basis.

In our country, we have 800,000 police officers that keep 370 million people safe, day in and day out, and I think its a tough time to be a cop, he said.
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Udaipur. CIMS Hospitals Ahmedabad achieved one of the rare feat by doing the 1st heart transplant surgery in Gujarat. The heart was shifted from Bhavnagar to Ahmedabad in a record time of 82 minutes. The surgery was performed a team lead by Dr. Dhiren Shah along with a team of medical experts at CIMS Hospital Ahmedabad. The recipient was 49 yr-old patient from Jamnagar.The donor was 37 yr-old male from Chorvadala Village of Bhavnagar district. The donor was declared brain dead after he met with a road accident on Saturday night. His family specially his brother came forward to donate his organ. A special green corridor of 6 minutes 22 seconds was made in Bhavnagar. A green corridor of 14 minutes was made in Ahmedabad. The heart was harvested today at 8:16 in the morning. The whole process could be successfully done with the help of police and support of the Home Minister Shree Pradeep Sinh Jadeja.Sharing more on the accomplishment, Cardio Thoracic Surgeon, Dr. Dhiren Shah said The complexity of heart transplantation makes it very critical but our cardio experts at CIMS Hospital Ahmedabad made the dream come true today. With the dedication of our team we could perform Gujarats first Heart transplant in the city today. The heart transplantation surgery was a success as the patient responded well to the treatment and is now recovering in ICU.The recipient from Jamnagar was suffering from Ischameic Dialated Cardio Myopathy and the only treatment option available for him was a heart transplant. The patient was in hospital for last 15 days. He was put on ventilator and heart support system. Now with the transplant he will be able to lead a normal life, said Dr. Milan Chag, MD and Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist, CIMS Hospital Ahmedabad.The team of doctors who were in the heart transplant surgery included Dr. Dhiren Shah, Dr. Dhaval Naik, Dr. Rahul Chandoli, Dr. Hemant Pathare, Dr. Manan Desai, Dr. Shaumak Shah and Dr. Milan Chag.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Alex Hampson, 22, graduated from Stockton University in December 2015 and immediately went to work in the accounting department at Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia.

He wrote a paper on the company as a final project for his finance degree, which he said helped him get the job.

I knew their processes and what they wanted, he said.

But the commute was long, and he wanted a job that had more personal meaning for him.

So after six months he found himself back at Stockton, working in the Alumni Affairs department on records and database management.

I thought Id want to be in a big business, but then I realized its not for me, he said.

The job market is improving for college graduates, with almost 85 percent of graduates in the class of 2015 having jobs or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, according to a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.

Where Stockton students are going after graduation GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Almost nine out of 10 students who graduated from Stockton University in

But there are still challenges. A NACE survey released in November found employers plan to hire about 6 percent more new graduates during 2016-17 than they did the prior year But that rate is fairly flat.

While employers had initially anticipated hiring 11 percent more class of 2016 college graduates, they ended the cycle instead with a 5 percent increase according to NACE data.

Christy Cunningham, associate director of the Stockton Career Center, said students who were proactive while in college have the most success. Those students explore careers and do internships.

Some students still do think that just having the degree will get them a job, she said. But students who have experiences and can share stories of things they have done are more likely to make an impression.

Even students taking a less traditional approach can benefit from preparation while in college.

Cameron Glover, 23, graduated in May of 2015 with a degree in literature with a concentration in creative writing. She is a full-time freelance writer, a job that she says gives her lots of freedom and earns enough to pay the bills.

I like to be freelance rather than working for someone else, she said.

She started freelancing while still in college, which gave her time to research, learn the process, and make connections. She did an internship that involved learning to code, which got her interested in technology. This has helped her find writing jobs.

My goal at first was just to get paid, even if it was just $25 or $50, she said.

Stockton students learn why food and beverage is a business that never sleeps ATLANTIC CITY  Looking for a job that will be exciting and different every day but also req

She pitches stories and also interacts with friends and other writers.

Im a naturally curious person, she said. It is kind of scary to have to do everything on my own, but I have a good support system of other writers.

Cunningham said graduates should not expect to get their dream job right out of college. While some jobs will require a masters degree, she suggests if possible getting a job first.

They should make sure its something they want to do, she said. And maybe they can also get their employer to help pay for the graduate degree.

Kiyle Osgood, 24, of West Amwell, thought he had found a dream job with Vanguard, but realized after less than a year that he did not enjoy the large corporate environment. He was able to find another job with Walkers and Associates as an associate financial adviser.

A finance major, he said his term as a student trustee on the Stockton Board of Trustees was invaluable.

My experience on the board helped a lot, he said. I know how to talk to and interact with other professionals.

Osgood is happy in his new job and glad he made the switch. He has already bought a home, viewing it as a good investment because of high rental rates where he lives.
ATLANTIC CITY  Police have arrested more than 100 people as part of a new street-crimes initiative.

In early October, police met with residents and investors about the blighted beach blocks of Texas, Bellevue and Albion avenues to develop a plan to stabilize the neighborhood, police said in a news release.

Part of that plan was aggressive enforcement against street crime, including drugs, prostitution and robbery, through surveillance and search warrants.

The plan also called for meeting with community members to identify problems, issuing drug-offender restraining orders that prohibit dealers from returning to where they were arrested for a certain period of time, quality-of-life enforcement, code enforcement and more foot patrols.

On Thursday, police said they had arrested 101 people since the plan was implemented, including 74 on drug charges.

Police also recovered three handguns, $5,876 in cash connected with drug distribution, 2 ounces of crack cocaine, 3.5 ounces of heroin and more than 6 ounces of marijuana.

In addition, 79 outstanding warrants were executed, and 66 summonses for violations, 20 motor vehicle summonses and 15 code violations were issued.

The city is working on demolishing at least three abandoned buildings in the area.

Eight people were issued drug-offender restraining orders as a result of the crack- down.

Police said they plan to use the template in other areas of the city but did not specify where.
BRIDGETON  The city and local preservationists are embarking on a project to restore a 200-year-old building that helped drive an industrial movement throughout South Jersey.

And when the restoration is finished, the hope is that it will help drive a renewed interest in the future of the city and region.

The plan is to convert the Nail House at the entrance to the municipalitys sprawling City Park into a welcome center for the park and the citys largest-in-the-state historic district.

The work is expected to take years and cost several hundred thousand dollars.

The work is in its first phase, which is to develop a plan to stabilize the Nail Houses foundation and make it strong enough to handle what is hoped will be many visitors, said Margaret DeMarco, a local resident and project manager. Future work will involve installing a new heating system, repairing old windows, and dealing with what will likely be a number of unexpected issues along the way, she said.

The project is currently being funded with $22,000 from the 1772 Foundation, a historic preservation organization, DeMarco said. The city has agreed to match whatever funds are provided by that organization, she said.

That still leaves a lot of money to raise for the work, but Flavia Alaya, who heads the Center for Historic American Building Arts here, believes the work will eventually be completed.

We like to say this little building is huge, said Alaya. And so is the task. But with everyone pulling in the same direction, were excited and confident about making that vision a reality.

The building dates to around 1815, when it served as the administrative office, or counting house, for the Cumberland Nail & Iron Works. That companys sprawling complex of industrial buildings, of which only the Nail House remains, are considered to be largely responsible for the citys founding, said Jim Bergmann, a local historian and historic craftsman.

The (company) dominated industrial development here through the 19th century and helped make Bridgeton the most prosperous city in the state, he said.

This was the mother of industry in South Jersey, Alaya said.

Wharves on the Cohansey River near what is now the intersection of Commerce Street and Mayor Aiken Drive were once busy with ships unloading raw iron from Sweden for use in the Cumberland Nail & Iron Works factory, Alaya said. Those ships carried finished products back down the river to Delaware Bay, and from there they were shipped to different ports.

About 400 people are believed to have worked at the complex.

The factory sat on land that is now the 1,000-acre City Park. The city took control of the land in the early 1900s.

Alaya said the land was created when the company built dams and raceways to drive the water wheels that powered machinery. One raceway still exists, and runs between Sunset Lake and the Cohansey River, cutting through a part of City Park, she said.

The Nail House, as the building eventually became known, somehow survived the demolition of the other factory buildings over time. It has served various purposes, such as a public meeting space, headquarters for a historic preservation group and a museum. Artifacts that were housed in the museum are now in storage.

The building has been closed for about five years.

When it does eventually reopen, Alaya said she wants the building to maintain its historic look but also contain some of what she calls cutting-edge interpretive strategies. That could include virtual-reality features that would give visitors the chance to experience what life at the factor was like, she said.

The restored building could possibly attract more tourists to the park and the city, something that could benefit the local economy, she said.

More important, people wont just pass by the T-shaped, clapboard building without taking notice.

We want to get them inside, Alaya said.
Kathy Steel had driven her brown 1985 Chevette over the old wooden Longport-Somers Point Boulevard bridge hundreds of times. It was part of her daily route from her job as a cook in Somers Point to her Ventnor home.

But on Christmas Eve 30 years ago, a rainy night had turned the bridge icy. There was lightning and thunder in the distance.

And Steel, then 30, was driving a little too fast when she tapped her brakes.

The Chevette skidded across the westbound lane and burst through a wooden guardrail. The car teetered 20 to 30 feet above the 44-degree water and slid backward. Steel faced the sky, as in a rocket ship, looking straight up as raindrops pelted the windshield. The car plunged in the water.

I dont think I have ever been so calm. ... I can remember taking the car keys out of the car and saying to myself, I want to get into the house when I get home, said Steel, who still lives in Ventnor.

This year could have marked the 30th anniversary of Steels death in the Broad Thoroughfare, but four good Samaritans happened to be driving near the bridge at the time. They stopped to help.

Steel was given a second chance at life, to pursue her interests and realize new dreams.

'He's still out there,' victim's family says as Cumberland manhunt continues As the national manhunt for a Cumberland County man charged with killing his wife entered th

The rescue

The car sank slowly, parallel to the water. Steel looked for anything she could take with her.

I looked, and the water was just starting to come to the bottom of the window, she said. For some reason, I dont know what came over me. I was like, Man, if I open up the door, then the water will pour in and I will get sucked down, but if I open up the window ... and I managed to do that, Steel said.

Steel cranked the window down and pulled herself out. The car filled with water and sank. She struggled to see because her glasses had flown off.

I managed to kick myself away from the car. ... I remember thinking, A quarter of a mile is not that far. I can swim. It didnt dawn on me. My brain was saying one thing, but my body was not reacting, Steel said. Then, I did panic a little.

Meanwhile, Joel S. Fogel, then 42, of Somers Point, and his 15-year-old son, William, stopped on the bridge.

They were joined by Charles Lefty Dever, 38, of Egg Harbor Township, and his brother-in-law, Tim Kunik, 20, of Longport, who also pulled over.

Dever and Kunik were lifeguards on Longports Beach Patrol. Joel Fogel, who had rope in his car, was a Margate lifeguard during the 1960s. He knew Dever, and Kunik was one of his cousins.

The four men coordinated a rescue.

William Fogel held the flashlight. Dever had a rope around his waist, hauling Steel out of the water. Kunik jumped into the water. Joel Fogel pulled on the rope and yelled at Steel.

We were cursing you out. We wanted you to get angry, to fight to survive, said Fogel, who returned to the crash site with Steel last month.

Steel had very short hair. A heavy, water-logged coat was weighing her down.

When rescuers pulled her to safety, they first thought she was a man because of her haircut and attire.

Im kissing the Earth, and my face was in the mud, and Im going, Im a girl. Im a girl. I remember that so well, she said.

Within minutes, Steel was at Shore Memorial Hospital, now Shore Medical Center, in Somers Point.

They (hospital officials) were excited because ... they had some kind of new modern body thing that had hot water in it, and they would wrap you in a hot-water blanket, Steel said.

Four days after the accident, Steel reunited with her rescuers at the former Harbour Lights Restaurant in Somers Point. President Ronald Reagan sent the rescuers letters of commendation in 1987. They came together one more time in 1988.

Promises to stay in touch didnt pan out.

I did afterwards some research, and, apparently, only 20 percent of the people who go off into water survive. Most people panic so much. I dont think I have been that calm since, Steel said.

Steel didnt have an eerie near-death experience. Most people in her situation dont either, said Jennifer Lyke, associate professor of psychology at Stockton University in Galloway Township.

Still, the experience of being close to death can change your life.

There is overwhelming evidence that it changes people in the positive, said Lyke. They have an expanded view of life.

School foundations grant teacher wish lists, bridge budget gaps The new computer lab at E.H. Slaybaugh School did not cost the Egg Harbor Township School Di

Since the crash

The wooden drawbridge was the scene of at least a half dozen deaths between 1976 and 1986.

Late Atlantic County Freeholder and Assemblywoman Dolores G. Cooper and others complained about it for years.

For 20 years, they were putting it (the bridge) together with Scotch tape and rubber bands, said New Jersey Casino Control Commissioner Alisa Cooper, the daughter of Dolores Cooper. It took a lot of work, a lot of perseverance, a lot of trips to Trenton. ... I think it was one of her greatest achievements.

Dolores Coopers efforts helped lead to the opening of the $21 million Somers Point-Longport Bridge in September 1988. The bridge was renamed the Dolores G. Cooper Bridge in the fall of 1994.

Steel may have been the last person who came close to dying while traveling over the bridge.

She was already a cook and was attending culinary school. After the accident, she decided to indulge her artistic aspirations.

Steel left her job at what was then Harrys Inn, now Clancys by the Bay, and landed a job as a chef at the Showboat Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.

She married for the second time. Her mother, Nancy Steel of Steels Fudge, died in February, but she took in her nephew, Michael Steel, 26, in January, whose mother died six years ago.

A childrens book author, Steel wrote a couple of Sally the Sea Star books in 2009 and 2011 and Harry the Hippo: How the Hippos in Harrys Herd Learned a Lesson About Being Different, also in 2011.

She took classes at the Weist-Barron-Ryan Acting Workshops in Atlantic City and performed at Dante Hall Theater in Atlantic City and with the Brigantine Lighthouse Players.

Even though I never made it to Broadway, thanks to Joel, Lefty, Tim and Billy, maybe Ive made my own small mark on this world, Steel said.
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.




LAHOLM, Sweden, Dec 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Arise AB has signed a 4-year operations management agreement with Tellenes Vindpark AS. The Tellenes wind farm is located in Rogaland county in the south-west of Norway and it will have an installed capacity of approx. 160 MW once operational.

Arise will start to deliver services during the latter part of the construction phase in Q1 2017. The operations management services will start when the wind farm becomes operational which is expected to occur in the second half of 2017. The Tellenes wind farm is owned by funds managed by BlackRock.

"We are very happy to have entered into this agreement. It represents our first contract in the Norwegian market and our second deal with BlackRock", says Daniel Johansson, CEO Arise AB.

Including Tellenes, Arise now manages approx. 655 MW of wind power, thereof about 415 MW on behalf of external clients.

Halmstad 23 December, 2016

ARISE AB (publ)

For further information, please contact:

Daniel Johansson,

CEO Arise AB,

Tel: + 46 702 244 133

Per-Erik Eriksson,

Head of Operations,

Tel : +46 702 409 902

This information is information that Arise AB 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 above, at 13.15 CET on 23 December 2016.

CONTACT:

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HYDERABAD,India, December 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

For full report refer to "http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-protein-a-resins-market-379/"

Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies produced by a single clone of cells; these antibodies can be produced in huge quantities in the laboratory. Monoclonal Antibodies can be used to carry drugs, toxins, or radioactive substances straight to cancer cells giving an instant effect. Increasing research into the development monoclonal antibodies is expected to drive the sales of Protein A Resins In the next five years. Demand for Protein A resin is high among chromatography resins.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/406914LOGO )



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Global Protein A Resin Market is driven by factors such as increasing demand for biosimilars and growing number of investments in the development of biosimilar products are the key factors driving the market for monoclonal antibodies. However increasing awareness about alternate monoclonal antibodies purification methods is expected to hamper the Protein A Resins market. High cost of the Protein A resin is also a key restraint hindering the growth of the market.

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Global Protein A Resin Market

By Product

Natural Protein A Resin,

Recombinant Protein A Resin

By Application

Immunoprecipitation,

Antibody Purification

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Glass or Silica,

Agarose and

Organic Polymer

By End User

Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers,

Clinical Research Laboratories and

Academic Institutions

By Geography

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Some of the major players operating in the Protein A Resins Market are GE Healthcare, Repligen Corporation, Novasep, Tosoh Bioscience, GenScript, Thermo Fisher Scientific, EMD Millipore and Expedeon Ltd.

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Checkout other related studies in the Pharmaceuticals Segment:

Antibodies Market: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-antibodies-market-1177/

Autoimmune Monoclonal Antibodies Market: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-autoimmune-monoclonal-antibodies-1170/

Bio Pharmaceuticals Market: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-bio-pharmaceuticals-market-633/

Cancer Monoclonal Antibodies Market: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-cancer-monoclonal-antibodies-market-185/

Immunotherapy Drugs Market: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-immunotherapy-drugs-market-1156/

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SOURCE Market Data Forecast
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.USIMINAS, a company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), and its subsidiary Usiminas Commercial Ltd., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the " Issuer "), announced today that they have further extended the expiration date for the solicitation of consents (the " Consent Solicitation ") from holders of the Issuer's 7.25% Notes due 2018, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Company, and originally issued in the aggregate principal amount of US$400,000,000 (the " Notes ") (CUSIP: 91732BAA7; G93085AA9), which is being conducted pursuant to terms contained in the consent solicitation statement dated December 1, 2016 (the " Consent Solicitation Statement "). The Consent Solicitation was originally set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 15, 2016, but had been extended until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on December 23, 2016 by means of a press release issued by the Company on December 16, 2016. The Company hereby announces that the Consent Solicitation will now be open for the receipt of consents until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on January 12, 2017 (the " Further Amended Consent Date "). All references in the Consent Solicitation Statement to the Consent Date shall now be deemed to be references to the Further Amended Consent Date.

The Company is undertaking the Consent Solicitation to temporarily waive, until June 30, 2017, the Company's past noncompliance with the negative pledge covenant set forth in the indenture governing the Notes resulting from the perfection of security interests over the collateral granted to certain Brazilian bank lenders and debenture holders in the context of the renegotiation of the Company's indebtedness, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. As of 5:00 p.m. on December 23, 2016, the Company had obtained consents from the holders of 48.65% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Notes.

Any holder of Notes who has previously delivered a consent pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement does not need to redeliver such consent or take any other action. Any holder of Notes who has not yet delivered a consent should follow the instructions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement, and may use the previously distributed consent form for purposes of delivering its consent.

Except as described in this press release, all other terms described in the Consent Solicitation Statement remain unchanged. Holders of the Notes are urged to review the Consent Solicitation Statement and the related consent form for the detailed terms of the Consent Solicitation and the procedures for providing consent.

The Consent Solicitation is being made solely on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Company may, in its sole discretion, terminate, further extend or amend the Consent Solicitation at any time, as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

Questions concerning the terms of the Consent Solicitation should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) or (646) 855-8988 (collect). BofA Merrill Lynch is the Solicitation Agent for the Consent Solicitation (the " Solicitation Agent "). Requests for assistance in completing and delivering a consent form or requests for additional copies of the Consent Solicitation Statement, the consent form or other related documents should be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. (the " Information Agent "), at (212) 269-5550 (collect) or (877) 478-5045 (toll-free) or in writing at 48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10005.

Important Notice

This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Consent Solicitation Statement and related consent form. None of the Company, the Issuer, the Trustee, the Solicitation Agent, the Information Agent or the Tabulation Agent make any recommendation as to whether or not holders of the Notes should provide consents to the waiver pursuant to the Consent Solicitation. Holders of the Notes should not construe the contents of this press release, the Consent Solicitation Statement or any related materials as legal, business or tax advice. Each holder of the Notes should consult its own attorney, business advisor and tax advisor as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning the Consent Solicitation.

The Consent Solicitation is not being made to, and consents will not be accepted from or on behalf of, a holder of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Consent Solicitation or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. However, the Company and the Issuer may in their sole discretion take such action as they may deem necessary to lawfully make the Consent Solicitation in any such jurisdiction and to extend the Consent Solicitation to any holder of the Notes in such jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act. Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, risks and assumptions, since these statements include information concerning Usiminas' possible or assumed future plans and intentions, including the launching of an exchange offer, results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and Usiminas undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after it publishes this notice because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this notice might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Usiminas' actual results, plans and performance could differ substantially from those anticipated in its forward-looking statements, including those set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

About Usiminas

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.USIMINAS is one of the largest Brazilian steelmakers, with complementary operations in the mining and logistics, capital goods, steelmaking and steel transformation industries. Usiminas is headquartered at Rua Professor Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011, Bairro Engenho Nogueira  Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. For more information, please visit www.usiminas.com.br.

Investor Relations DepartmentUSIMINAS

R. Prof. Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011  5 andar

Bairro Engenho Nogueira  Belo Horizonte/MG

ZIP Code 31310-260

Contact:

Cristina Morgan Cavalcanti

Head of Investor RelationsUSIMINAS

Phone: +55 (31) 3499-8856

Related Links

http://www.usiminas.com.br



SOURCE Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS
PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Miracle-Gro, Cal Poly Universities, FTD and Real California Milk will demonstrate continued support of California Grown flowers at the Tournament of Roses Parade through an official California Grown certification ceremony on January 1 in Pasadena.

California Secretary of the Department of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross will officiate the special certification ceremonies that are spearheaded by the Buy California Marketing Agreement (BCMA) and the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC). The ceremony will recognize Cal Poly Universities for the sixth year in a row, FTD for the third year and Miracle-Gro and Real California Milk for the second year. Last year, all three certified floats were recognized by the Tournament of Roses Parade as award-winning designs.

"The Tournament of Roses Parade really brings the beauty of agriculture to life. We are thrilled that Miracle-Gro, Cal Poly Universities, FTD and Real California Milk have chosen to adorn their floats with flowers from our state's farmers," Secretary Ross said.

The Rose Parade originated in 1889 to showcase the bounty of what is grown in California during a time of year when much of the country is covered in snow. The California Grown Certification Program recognizes parade floats and entries decorated with more than 85 percent of cut flowers and greens from the Golden State.

"We are happy to continue our support for California's farmers through the California Grown certification program," said John Sass, vice president and general manager of Miracle-Gro. "For our theme, 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' we knew we could rely on the state's flower farmers to supply beautiful, fresh roses that epitomize America's national flower."

FTD is the Official Floral Partner of the Tournament of Roses. FTD and its iconic Mercury Man symbol have a 60-year history of participating in the Rose Parade. The storied floral and gifting company has once again committed to being certified California Grown and will use California Grown flowers to decorate its 11 VIP parade vehicles.

The float from California State Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo and California State Polytechnic University at Pomona that features "A New Leaf" theme will also receive the California Grown Certification on January 1.

The Real California Milk float, "Legacy of Generations," will pay homage to the success that comes from the knowledge passed from generation to generation and the essential partnership relationship between the farmers, the land, the animals and their communities. "We really appreciate the partnership between our state's dairy and flower farmers for the second year in a row," said Kasey Cronquist, CCFC CEO and ambassador.

The Tournament of Roses Parade is a New Year's tradition where nearly one million visitors line Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena to view the beautiful floats first hand, and millions more watch from their homes across the country. The California floral industry has a $12.2 billion annual impact on the state's economy. California's flower farmers represent more than 4,500 jobs and contribute $1.7 million to California's economy every day.

About the California Cut Flower Commission:

The California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) is a state agency created in 1990 by the Legislature to advocate and promote California cut flowers and foliage farmers. For more information about California Grown flowers, visit www.ccfc.org.

About the Buy California Marketing Agreement and the "California Grown" Program:

The Buy California Marketing Agreement (BCMA) is a joint effort of agricultural industry groups representing the products of California's farms and ranches. Working as an advisory board to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, BCMA brings together industry and government resources to increase the awareness, consumption and value of California agricultural products, helping the state's consumers enjoy the best of the California lifestyle. For more information, visit www.californiagrown.org.

CONTACT: ADRIENNE YOUNG

(559) 618-0154

SOURCE California Cut Flower Commission

Related Links

http://www.ccfc.org


BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.USIMINAS, a company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), and its subsidiary Usiminas Commercial Ltd., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the " Issuer "), announced today that they have further extended the expiration date for the solicitation of consents (the " Consent Solicitation ") from holders of the Issuer's 7.25% Notes due 2018, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Company, and originally issued in the aggregate principal amount of US$400,000,000 (the " Notes ") (CUSIP: 91732BAA7; G93085AA9), which is being conducted pursuant to terms contained in the consent solicitation statement dated December 1, 2016 (the " Consent Solicitation Statement "). The Consent Solicitation was originally set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 15, 2016, but had been extended until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on December 23, 2016 by means of a press release issued by the Company on December 16, 2016. The Company hereby announces that the Consent Solicitation will now be open for the receipt of consents until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on January 12, 2017 (the " Further Amended Consent Date "). All references in the Consent Solicitation Statement to the Consent Date shall now be deemed to be references to the Further Amended Consent Date.

The Company is undertaking the Consent Solicitation to temporarily waive, until June 30, 2017, the Company's past noncompliance with the negative pledge covenant set forth in the indenture governing the Notes resulting from the perfection of security interests over the collateral granted to certain Brazilian bank lenders and debenture holders in the context of the renegotiation of the Company's indebtedness, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. As of 5:00 p.m. on December 23, 2016, the Company had obtained consents from the holders of 48.65% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Notes.

Any holder of Notes who has previously delivered a consent pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement does not need to redeliver such consent or take any other action. Any holder of Notes who has not yet delivered a consent should follow the instructions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement, and may use the previously distributed consent form for purposes of delivering its consent.

Except as described in this press release, all other terms described in the Consent Solicitation Statement remain unchanged. Holders of the Notes are urged to review the Consent Solicitation Statement and the related consent form for the detailed terms of the Consent Solicitation and the procedures for providing consent.

The Consent Solicitation is being made solely on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Company may, in its sole discretion, terminate, further extend or amend the Consent Solicitation at any time, as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

Questions concerning the terms of the Consent Solicitation should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) or (646) 855-8988 (collect). BofA Merrill Lynch is the Solicitation Agent for the Consent Solicitation (the " Solicitation Agent "). Requests for assistance in completing and delivering a consent form or requests for additional copies of the Consent Solicitation Statement, the consent form or other related documents should be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. (the " Information Agent "), at (212) 269-5550 (collect) or (877) 478-5045 (toll-free) or in writing at 48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10005.

Important Notice

This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Consent Solicitation Statement and related consent form. None of the Company, the Issuer, the Trustee, the Solicitation Agent, the Information Agent or the Tabulation Agent make any recommendation as to whether or not holders of the Notes should provide consents to the waiver pursuant to the Consent Solicitation. Holders of the Notes should not construe the contents of this press release, the Consent Solicitation Statement or any related materials as legal, business or tax advice. Each holder of the Notes should consult its own attorney, business advisor and tax advisor as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning the Consent Solicitation.

The Consent Solicitation is not being made to, and consents will not be accepted from or on behalf of, a holder of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Consent Solicitation or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. However, the Company and the Issuer may in their sole discretion take such action as they may deem necessary to lawfully make the Consent Solicitation in any such jurisdiction and to extend the Consent Solicitation to any holder of the Notes in such jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act. Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, risks and assumptions, since these statements include information concerning Usiminas' possible or assumed future plans and intentions, including the launching of an exchange offer, results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and Usiminas undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after it publishes this notice because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this notice might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Usiminas' actual results, plans and performance could differ substantially from those anticipated in its forward-looking statements, including those set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement.

About Usiminas

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.USIMINAS is one of the largest Brazilian steelmakers, with complementary operations in the mining and logistics, capital goods, steelmaking and steel transformation industries. Usiminas is headquartered at Rua Professor Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011, Bairro Engenho Nogueira  Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. For more information, please visit www.usiminas.com.br.

Investor Relations DepartmentUSIMINAS

R. Prof. Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011  5 andar

Bairro Engenho Nogueira  Belo Horizonte/MG

ZIP Code 31310-260

Contact:

Cristina Morgan Cavalcanti

Head of Investor RelationsUSIMINAS

Phone: +55 (31) 3499-8856

SOURCE Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS

Related Links

http://www.usiminas.com.br


If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
New Delhi, Dec 19 : The AAP on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go for cashless donations to political parties if he was serious about curbing black money in politics.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashish Khetan said as of now both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got three quarters of all donations in cash from anonymous sources.

"If the Prime Minister and the central government want to end black money in elections, they can do it in 48 hours," Khetan told the media here.

Under existing law, political parties do not need to furnish the details of their donors if they are contributing up to Rs 20,000.

This provision, Khetan explained, was used to break up large donations, including from corporates, into brackets of Rs 20,000 each so that they do not have to make public the details of donors.

"This will also happen if the upper limit is Rs 2,000," he said, in response to a recent suggestion.

"All political parties should go cashless. Since everyone is being encouraged to use ATM, credit card, debit card and Paytm, why should this not be applicable to political parties?" he asked.

The AAP leader also urged the Prime Minister to amend the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, so that a cap was placed on how much each political party can spend as compared to individual candidates.

He said political parties should also come under the purview of the Right to Information Act so that people can get answers from them.
Washington, Dec 20 : US President-elect Donald Trump has surpassed the necessary 270 votes in the Electoral College, the next step in the official process to become President.

Trump received 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 224. Six "faithless" electors voted for other candidates, costing Trump two votes and Clinton four, CNN reported on Monday.

Hawaii's electors are still set to meet later Monday, with the state's four votes expected to go to Clinton.

The results mean Trump -- who lost the popular vote by more than 2 percentage points to Clinton -- easily staved off a long-shot bid by opponents to turn Republican electors against him.

The Electoral College results will be officially certified January 6 during a joint session of Congress.

"This election represents a movement that millions of hard working men and women all across the country stood behind and made possible. With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans. Together, we will make America great again," Trump said in a statement.

He also claimed his win was "a historic electoral landslide victory in our nation's democracy," though Clinton actually won the popular vote by about 3 million ballots nationwide making Trump the worst-performing winner in the popular vote since 1876.

Trump was put over the top by electors in Texas. Thirty-six of the state's 38 went for Trump, while two ignored the state's Election Day results. One voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and one backed former Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

The first response from Trump's camp came from Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who tweeted: "Congratulations to @RealDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!"

Pence also wrote: "I'm honored & humbled to be officially elected today as the next Vice President of the United States of America by the Electoral College."
London, Dec 21 : In a setback for Facebook, the European Commission (EC) has charged the social media giant with providing "incorrect information" during the investigation into its acquisition of the popular mobile messaging app WhatsApp.

Facebook could face fine of up to 1 per cent of its global turnover in 2014 (over $10 billion at that time) when the merger was approved, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

"Our timely and effective review of mergers depends on the accuracy of the information provided by the companies involved. In this specific case, the commission's preliminary view is that Facebook gave us incorrect or misleading information during the investigation into its acquisition of WhatsApp. Facebook now has the opportunity to respond," European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

According to a Fortune report, the EU action comes after a WhatsApp privacy policy change in August this year saying it would share some users' phone numbers with parent company Facebook, triggering investigations by EU data protection authorities.

Facebook, which has 1.71 billion users, has time till January 31 to respond to the charges.

"The Commission takes the preliminary view that, contrary to Facebook's statements and reply during the merger review, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook users' IDs with WhatsApp users' IDs already existed in 2014," the statement added.

The EU move, however, will not have an impact on the approval of the $22 billion merger in 2014.

"Companies are obliged to give the commission accurate information during merger investigations. They must take this obligation seriously," added Vestager who has also demanded that tech giant Apple must pay back $14 billion in taxes to Ireland.

"We respect the commission's process and are confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith," a Facebook spokesperson responded to the EU statement of objections.

Facebook, however, stopped the use of user data shared between WhatsApp and Facebook for advertising purposes in November.
Istanbul, Dec 24 : Turkey's Minister of Defence said that the Islamic State jihadist group had taken three Turkish soldiers hostage.

Defense Minister Fikri Isik confirmed on Friday that the IS had captured three servicemen, but was unable to provide further detail, Efe news agency reported.

"We know that three of our soldiers are in the hands of Daesh (IS), but apart from that, everything else is an interpretation," Isik said.

The minister's statement came after a video emerged on social media on Thursday that appeared to show purported IS members burning two captured Turkish soldiers to death.
Lucknow, Dec 24 : Union Minister Manoj Sinha was injured in a road mishap while he was on his way from Barabanki to Gorakhpur, police said.

He has fractured his left arm and sustained some minor injuries.

The Minister of State for Railways was rushed to Apollo hospital in Gorakhpur late on Friday and after receiving first aid has been admitted to the Lalit Narayan Mishra railway hospital.

Senior railway, district and police officials were camping at the hospital where Sinha, MP from Ghazipur is admitted.

Officials say the minister was headed for an event in Kushinagar and was slated for a night halt at the Gorakhpur's Railway VVIP guest house. But on the way, in an attempt to save a biker, the escort car in his cavalcade pressed emergency brakes and the minister's car hit it from behind.

A senior official of North-Eastern Railways (NER) Sanjay Yadav said Sinha had a fracture between his left shoulder and elbow. He will will be flown to Delhi on Saturday for a surgery.
London, Dec 24 : British-born astronaut Piers Sellers has died of pancreatic cancer, aged 61, Nasa has said.

Sellers, a climate scientist and former astronaut gained fame late in life for his eloquent commentary about the earth's fragility.

The British-born space scientist, who flew on three space shuttle missions between 2002 and 2010, died on Friday in Houston, Texas, the BBC reported.

Sellers shared his astronaut's perspective on climate change in Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary, Before the Flood, released earlier this year.

He told DiCaprio that seeing the earth's atmosphere as a "tiny little onion skin" from space helped him gain a fuller understanding of the planet's delicacy.

He also wrote a New York Times op-ed about grappling with the meaning of his life's work after learning he had terminal cancer, the Guardian said in its report.

In both the film and the op-ed, he was optimistic, arguing that he expected human ingenuity to rescue the planet from a dire future of runaway global warming.

Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden described Sellers as "a tremendous public servant who was dedicated to Nasa, the nation and the world".

Born in Crowborough, East Sussex, Sellers began working for the US space agency as a scientist in 1982 before joining its astronaut corps in 1996.

Nasa said Sellers was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in 2015.

He became a naturalised US citizen in 1991, making him eligible for the space programme.
Washington, Dec 24 : They came, they saw and they stamped their approval of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States.And with that came crashing down a third time Hillary Clinton's pipedream of shattering the highest glass ceiling to enter the White House by means fair or foul.

The vanquished Democrat, who before the election was "horrified" at the billionaire's unwillingness to readily accept the results, first used a third party candidate as a cat's paw to seek a recount in three swing states.

When that came a cropper with Trump in fact gaining 131 votes in Wisconsin, her campaign made a desperate attempt to foment a revolt among Republicans in the Electoral College designed to strike a balance between big and small states.

Though Clinton polled 2.9 million more total votes, Trump decisively won the presidency with 306 to 232 electoral votes - 36 more than the magic figure of 270 -- with victories in 30 of the 50 states.

Yet raising the 'win' in popular votes and the bogey of what Trump dismissed as CIA's "ridiculous" charge of Russian interference to help the mogul, the Clinton campaign egged the Republican electors to go "faithless."

They were flooded with emails and telephone calls cajoling them to go rogue. Some were threatened and anti-Trump protesters demonstrated outside the legislatures of several states as 538 electors gathered in the capitals for Monday's crucial vote.

Yet just two Republican electors, both from Texas, voted against Trump. And it was Clinton who lost five electoral votes, while officials prevented three others from going "faithless". In the end Trump won with a larger 304-227 margin.

But like her, hubby Bill Clinton persisted in blaming the FBI director. "James Comey cost her the election," by reopening the probe into her use of a private email server as America's top diplomat eleven days before the election, Clinton insinuated.

The former president too like his wife ignored the fact that Comey was forced to reopen the can of worms when thousands of Clinton emails were found on the laptop of her desi aide Huma Abedin's husband being investigated in a sexting scandal.

Only Vice President Joe Biden was honest enough to "look in the mirror" as he acknowledged in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: "When I saw a Trump rally in October, I said, 'Son of a gun - we may lose this election.'"

To compound matters, Bill Clinton suggested Trump "doesn't know much." But "One thing he does know is how to get angry white men to vote for him."

The billionaire hit back swiftly with his favourite weapon, a tweet. Bill Clinton "doesn't know much especially how to get people, even with an unlimited budget, out to vote in the vital swing states (and more). They focused on wrong states."

Nor did Trump spare his pet peeve, the "dishonest media," as he calls them. "We did it! Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media)."

And on every stop of his "Thank-You" America tour, Trump relived again and again his stunning victory on November 8.

"You want to hear about election night?" Trump asked the packed auditorium in Wisconsin. As the crowd responded with a resounding "yes," Trump recalled how liberal pundits and polls were cocksure he had no chance.

"And then it happened, out of nowhere, and oh boy, they were getting sick, the map was bing, bing, bing, boy that map was getting (Republican) red as hell, that map was bleeding red," he said savouring every morsel as the crowd went nuts.

Meanwhile, after one of the most divisive elections in history, differences in how Democrats and Republicans shop have sharpened, according to a Washington Post report.

If Republicans are boycotting "liberal" Frosted Flakes after cereal maker Kellogg stopped advertising on right-leaning news site Breitbart, Democrats are shunning Yuengling beer since its owner came out in support of Trump.

Citing a recent survey by the advertising technology company Viant, Post also noted that Democrats are 97 percent more likely to watch scary movies, while Republicans watch 68 percent more romantic comedies.

No wonder, Hillary and her supporters keep revisiting the horror of election night as the Pied Piper of Manhattan leads his followers on a journey "To make America Great Again!"

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
Mumbai, Dec 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday travelled in an Indian Coast Guard hovercraft to perform a symbolic 'jal-pooja' for the proposed Rs 3,600 crore memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The 'Shiv Smarak' is coming up in the Arabian Sea, around 1.5 km from Mumbai shoreline opposite Marine Drive.

He was accompanied by Governor C.Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others.

Descendents of the great Maratha warrior, Udayan Raje Bhosale and Sambhaji Raje Bhosale were also present along with other dignitaries, as the large ICG hovercraft set off from the Girgaum Chowpatty on Saturday afternoon.

At the spot in the Arabian Sea finalised for the project, where a makeshift floating mini-replica of the proposed memorial is, Modi poured water from a bronze vessel and threw some earth at the site to perform the 'jal-pooja'.
New Delhi, Dec 24 : The Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested an indigenous Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from an Indian Air Force aircraft, an official release said on Saturday.

Designed and developed in the country, the 120-kg class smart weapon is used to destroy runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced structures.

Its long standoff range of 100 km will allow the IAF to hit adversary airfields with high precision from a safe distance.

"The captive and release trials were tracked by radar and telemetry ground stations at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha during the entire duration of the flight. The performance of all systems was satisfactory with all mission objectives achieved," said the release.

The lightweight high-precision guided bomb is one of the world class weapons systems, the release said.

The government sanctioned the Rs 56.58 crore SAAW project in September 2013.

DRDO Chairman Dr S. Christopher congratulated the DRDO and the IAF teams for the successful mission.

In May, the DRDO conducted the first test on the weapon system from the IAF Jaguar DARIN-II aircraft in Bengaluru in Karnataka.

The test was carried out by IAF's Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE).

The trial mode mounting of the SAAW on Jaguar DARIN-II aircraft is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
New Delhi, Dec 24 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday accused the central government of "misusing" institutional machinery to harass its donors and challenged both the Congress and the BJP to disclose details of the donations received by them at Jantar Mantar along with the AAP.

Party leader Raghav Chadha told reporters here that many AAP donors, whose names were earlier displayed on the party website, complained of being summoned by the Income Tax Department.

"They told us that the Income Tax Department asked them one question and issued one threat. They were asked why they gave donations to the AAP. Then they were threatened if they do so in future, they won't be spared," Chadha said.

He added that due to this harassment of AAP's donors, the party had now temporarily removed the list of donors from its website.

The AAP leader also challenged the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) presidents to publicly disclose details of their donations at Jantar Mantar.

"Let people decide which political party contests elections with clean money and which party contests with black money," he said.

Chadha added that 70 to 80 per cent of the donations received by the Congress and the BJP come in cash from undisclosed sources while all of AAP's donations come through banking channels.
Panaji, Dec 24 : In a U-turn, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said it was neither possible nor desirable to make Goa a fully cashless state.

Parrikar said the state government aimed to make only up to 50 per cent transactions in Goa cashless.

"Fully cashless is not possible, nor desirable, nor intended; what is intention is to reduce the extent of use of cash. Wherever possible, start doing transactions through a digital mode for which we intend to take it to 50 per cent from about 15 to 20 per cent as early as possible. There are so many difficulties, which are being surmounted now," he told reporters.

The former Goa Chief Minister was speaking on the sidelines of a state government function at the Secretariat here.

On November 27, speaking at a party rally in Goa, Parrikar said the coastal state would be India's first cashless state.

The government was forced to do a re-think after Goa traders protested against the Commercial Taxes Department order this month to registered businesses to go cashless within 10 days.

The BJP state unit subsequently asked the state government to withdraw the controversial circular.

"The sales tax circular is not compulsory. We are promoting less-cash society. Though the English word for the actual transaction is cashless. A lot of transactions can take place through cards, Paytm, e-wallets and other mobile applications," Parrikar said.

The minister said in Goa around 26,000 people have been sensitised at various forums about digital transactions.

"Nearly 600-700 point-of-sales machines have been set up. As many as 2,700 vendors have gone on Unified Payment Interface applications. Between 300 to 400 camps were held. So far, six or seven banks are acting on it. We intend bank numbers to double," he said.
New Delhi, Dec 24 : The Delhi Police has made elaborate security arrangements including deployment of adequate security personnel at all the churches in the national capital for Christmas.

The Delhi police has sought the assistance of paramilitary forces also for providing security cover to over 250 churches across the city.

"All the churches across the national capital have been provided with security cover. The entire force has been tasked for the purpose. The focus will be more on the big churches where the assembly of people will be larger," Joint Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak told IANS.

Pathak said that besides deployment of around 150 police personnel in the churches, patrolling squads, Quick Response Teams (QRTs), emergency response vehicles, metal detector devices and sniffer dog squads will be kept on standby. Plainclothes officers have also been deployed.

"We will also deploy additional police force by 5 p.m. and round the clock monitoring of CCTVs is being done," added Pathak.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajender Meena told IANS that two battalions of paramilitary forces including the Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Central Reserve Police Force have been deployed as part of security measures.

"Besides the paramilitary, two additional companies of police will be provided during the evening hours to keep a tab on security cover," said Meena.

The police have made special arrangements for big churches where large gatherings are expected.

Sacred Heart Cathedral and Free Church (CNI) located in Connaught Place, Centenary Methodist Church at Lodhi Road, St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral at Patparganj, Green Park Free Church, St.Paul's Church at Parade Road, St. Teresa's Church at Pushp Vihar are some of the churches where a large congregation is expected to gather.

Deputy Secretary General of Catholic Bishops Conference of India, Father Joseph Chinnayan expressed satisfaction over the security cover.

"Last year we spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the security cover. He had promised to fulfil it," Chinnayan told IANS.

However, an IANS correspondent, during a visit to the Free Church at Sansad Marg, found the church to be without any security cover.

"We have not been contacted by any police personnel regarding security and we are depending on our own arrangements," caretaker of the church Jaskaran Singh told IANS.
Hyderabad, Dec 24 : Expressing concern over the relatively lower rate of literacy among women in the country, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday called for renewed efforts in this direction.

"Real empowerment of women would be possible only through education, encouragement of economic self-dependence and provision of opportunities enabling the unfolding of one's full potential.

"It is unfortunate that today when average overall literacy in India was 74 per cent, women's literacy is less than 65 per cent," Mukherjee said while inaugurating the Bansilal Malani College of Nursing, established by the Mahila Dakshata Samiti here.

"A society which does not empower its women will end up as a loser. Renewed efforts in this direction are needed," the President added.

Mukherjee also expressed concern over the deficiencies in the health infrastructure of the country.

"There is a phenomenal shortage of about 2.4 million nurses in our country. There was a decrease in the number of nurses from about 1.65 million in 2009 to about 1.56 million in 2015. This indicates a worrisome trend," he said.

The President said: "At the same time, our infrastructure also comprises just 1.53 lakh sub-centres, 85,000 PHCs (Primary Healthcare Centres) and about 5,000 Community Health Centres in a nation of 130 crore people living in more than 5,000 towns and 6.4 lakh villages. It is essential to look for models wherein all stakeholders participate rather than the government alone."

Talking about the solution to the deficiency in the national health infrastructure, he said the only long-lasting solution is to create cooperative structures comprising the government and the private stakeholders as well as the civil society.

"In fact, the developmental goals of health, education and livelihood cannot be achieved by the government alone. Such co-operative structures are relevant for all of them," he added.

He praised the leading role played by the Mahila Dakshata Samiti in women's empowerment and recalled the contributions of the Samiti's founding members including Mridula Sinha, the Governor of Goa.
Valletta, Dec 24 : Maltese Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said on Saturday the police were bound to charge in court the two men who hijacked a plane within 48 hours of their arrest.

The Police Commissioner said investigations were still ongoing and no date and time for the court appearance had been set, Xinhua reported.

Basically the law in Malta states that anyone arrested needs to be either charged within 48 hours or released.

Cutajar said it was too early to say if the two hijackers were linked to any terrorist groups.

The hijacking ended peacefully on Friday after the two men released 111 passengers and six crew following a four-hour standoff.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane was hijacked during an internal flight from Sebha to Tripoli by two men who threatened to blow it up.

It was diverted to Malta after the hijackers refused to land in Tripoli.

The two hijackers, named as Ahmed Ali and Mousa Shaha, were later found to be carrying replica pistols.

The Police Commissioner said that at no point did the two men make any demands.

The passengers of the hijacked flight returned to Libya Saturday.
Istanbul, Dec 24 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday not to allow a new state to be established in northern Syria.

"We will never allow the founding of this kind of state," the President was quoted by Turkish press as saying to Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board in Istanbul.

Erdogan also reiterated a call for the establishment of a "terror-free safe zone" in northern Syria for the safety of Turkey's southeastern border provinces.

Ankara launched a military operation on August 24 in northern Syria mainly to prevent the Syrian Kurds from uniting their cantons for an autonomous region, or worse, an independent state, which Turkey fears might set a precedent for its own Kurds.

Turkish forces and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels have been fighting lately to take the northern Syrian city of al-Bab from the Islamic State, an operation Erdogan said on Friday was "almost" coming to an end.
New Delhi, Dec 24 : Questioning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for removing the list of donors from the AAP website since June this year, social activist Anna Hazare asked him what differentiates the AAP now from other political parties.

In a letter to Kejriwal written on Friday, Hazare said that he received a note from some activists who noted the list of donors to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was missing from the party website.

"You had promised that AAP will show the details of all donations received by it on the party website... In the letter (that I received), the activists have written that the list of donors has been removed from AAP website since June 2016," Hazare wrote.

"This reflects difference between your words and action. To bring change in the nation, there is a need for a leader who unites his words with his action.

"You promised me as well as the society that you will bring change. I feel sad that you didn't fulfil your promise," he added.

Hazare said that the talks Kejriwal had with him about bringing change seem to be getting lost, and power and money seem to be becoming important.

"Else, the names of those who donated to AAP during tough times, their names won't have been removed from the website," he added.

Noting that this was the first time he was writing to Kejriwal since he became the Delhi Chief Minister, the anti-corruption crusader asked if such measures continue, then what will be the difference between AAP and other political parties.
Cairo, Dec 24 : The Arab League welcomed in a statement on Saturday a UN Security Council resolution that demands immediate and complete halt of all Israeli settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories.

League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit congratulated the Palestinian people and government on the "pivotal" resolution that was endorsed by a large majority and after more than 35 years of attempts to issue a similar resolution.

"The resolution reflects massive international support for the historical struggle of the Palestinian people to get their legitimate rights, atop of which is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," said the AL chief in the statement.

The resolution was endorsed on Friday by 14 out of the council's 15 member states, while the US, Israel's biggest ally, abstained but did not veto despite attempts of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Egypt tried to delay the whole vote on the resolution, which was seen as response to pressure from Trump, yet the Egyptian foreign ministry later explained that the requested delay was only meant to avoid the exercise of veto right against the resolution.

Aboul-Gheit expected the resolution to build momentum that would pressure Israel to abide by its content as well as other relevant international resolutions.

Earlier in December, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, initially approved a couple of controversial pro-settlement bills that are meant to retroactively legalise about 4,000 settlement homes as well as unauthorised Israeli outposts and to allow expropriation of more Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

Over 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and at least 200,000 others live in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital city of their future state.

Israel has always been blamed by the international community for the deadlock of the Middle East peace process due to its settlement expansion policy that was rejected even by its closest ally, the US.

France has been preparing for an international peace conference to be held in Paris, which was delayed from December to January, in an attempt to revive the stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, yet the bid has officially been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aboul-Gheit said that the conference could serve as an important step toward reaching a comprehensive and just solution for the Palestinian issue.
It was an optional activity and very heart-warming to see the vast majority of our employees across our organization volunteering their time and/or items for the shoeboxes.

One of VISTA's guiding principles is social responsibility which includes finding ways to make things better where we work, live and play. In that spirit, VISTA employees recently participated in a shoe box drive for So Others May Eat (SOME) by donating hats, gloves, scarfs and personal hygiene items for the shoe box drive. Employees gathered in VISTA offices in McLean, Virginia; Lexington Park, Maryland; and Raleigh, North Carolina to pack and wrap the shoe boxes. SOME will distribute the boxes to the homeless and those less fortunate. Rod Buck, President & CEO, remarked VISTA provided the time and space for employees to participate. It was an optional activity and very heart-warming to see the vast majority of our employees across our organization volunteering their time and/or items for the shoeboxes.

About So Others May Eat (SOME)

SOME is an interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help the poor and homeless of our nations capital. They meet the immediate daily needs of the people by providing food, clothing, and health care. SOME helps break the cycle of homelessness by offering services, such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and counseling, to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness. To learn more about SOME, please visit http://www.some.org.

About VISTA

VISTA Technology Services specializes in Program Management, IT & Data Management, and International Development. We are a Small Business with more than 30 years of experience, and have gained subject matter expertise and a proven track-record in a diverse set of services. Being small is our asset because it allows us to be agile and quickly make adjustments for improvements on-the-spot when needed. VISTA supports clients in achieving their missions - cutting costs, eliminating waste and improving performance. To learn more about VISTA Technology Services Inc., please visit http://www.vistatsi.com.

Results matter. Expect more. Choose VISTA.
Tucson Screamers, local scare experts, announced this week that their interactive zombie shooting experience, Apocalypse, will be reopening for one weekend only on Friday January 21st and Saturday January 22nd. The event will be held at the Slaughterhouse, 1102 West Grant Road and tickets will go on sale December 21st. This very popular event always sells out quickly.

Apocalypse operates around the world. We have had events in London, New York, Orlando and more. Its turned into quite a global phenomenon and it all started here in Tucson, so we are pleased to bring Apocalypse back to its roots. it is important to us that the community knows how much we appreciate their enthusiasm and their continued support, said Bobby Sutton, owner and manager of Tucson Screamers.

The Apocalypse experience is exciting and unique. Once your group arrives at the Slaughterhouse you check in and create a team name. When it is your teams turn to play, the gruesome fun begins; you will be sent through the zombie infested grounds to the armory where your team will be outfitted with military grade irM4 weapons. The irM4 laser training rifle features state-of-the-art infrared optics and electronics, plus a design that mimics an actual AR15/M4 rifle, including weight and size. Your team will then fight the hordes of zombies waiting for you inside. Do your best to survive the Apocalypse.

Tickets for this extreme event are on sale now. The experience is played in teams of 2 to 4 people so keep that in mind when you are purchasing Tickets. For more information check out http://www.slaughterhousetucson.com/apocalypse or follow us of Facebook http://www.facebook.com/slaughterhousetucson.

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Tucson Screamers is a 501C3 designated by the IRS. We have given over $250,000 to local groups, teams and schools in our community. We have also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with local vendors, supply stores, restaurants, etc, in the last 6 years alone. We hope to continue our strong support of the community by funding additional programs and working with local organizations to help them meet their financial needs.
MEDIA ADVISORY

Reaction to the UNSC Vote on Israeli Settlements with Israel's Former Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren

RSVP to press(at)theisraelproject.org

Today, December 23, 2016 the United Nations Security Council voted on a draft resolution demanding that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

Join us today for reaction from MK and former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. This call is on-the-record. If you plan to call in, please RSVP to press(at)theisraelproject.com with your questions. For additional inquiries, please call 202-857-6644, press 1.

What: Conference call

Who: Michael Oren

When: TODAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016 3:30 p.m. EST

Dial-In Details: 1-800-247-5110 (USA); 1809457657 (Israel)

Passcode: 69564

Michael B. Oren is an American-born Israeli historian and author, and was Israels ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013. He has written two New York Times bestsellers  Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East to the Present and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for history and the National Jewish Book Award. Throughout his illustrious career as a Middle East scholar, Dr. Oren has been a distinguished fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, a contributing editor to The New Republic, and a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. The Forward named Oren one of the five most influential American Jews, and The Jerusalem Post listed him as one of the worlds ten most influential Jews. He is a current member of the Knesset and lives with his family in Tel Aviv.

# # #

The Israel Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization that provides factual information about Israel

and the Middle East to the media, policymakers and the public.

For more information visit http://www.theisraelproject.org.
XPAT RADIO DEBUTS WOLFMAN JACK RADIO SHOW 12.25.16 8-10 pm GMT http://xpatradio. mx We're proud to announce that the most famous radio personality of all time, will soon be heard nightly on XPatRadio.mx starting January 2nd, 2017-Wolfman Jack, said XPatRadio.mx CEO Jan Yearwood-Schumacher.

Legendary rock radio DJ Wolfman Jack returns to the airwaves Christmas Day (12/25/16) via XPatRadio.mx (8-10pm GMT) in a 2 hour holiday themed radio show. The Wolfman Jack radio show begins January 2, 2017 (10-11pm GMT) on XPatRadio.mx, airing daily Monday through Friday nights. The program streams live via the TuneIn radio streaming app, as well as via the stations website XPatRadio.mx

A legendary rock & roll DJ in the '60s, Wolfman Jack had the personality to attract millions of listeners to the sound of rock, as well as a deep love for rhythm & blues. Born Bob Smith in Brooklyn, he developed an interest in radio broadcasting as a youngster. In 1962 he got a job at Shreveport's KCIJ-AM with his show Big Smith with the Records. The Wolfman Jack character formed in his mind before he moved to XERF-AM in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. In 1965, he moved to XERB-AM, another Mexico-based radio station. It was there that the legend began to make news around the world.

We are proud to welcome back the legendary Wolfman Jack radio program for our listeners in Mexico as well as those streaming around the world via our website and the TuneIn radio app! The most famous radio personality of all time, will soon be heard nightly on http://xpatradio.mx starting January 2nd, 2017, said XPatRadio.mx CEO Jan Yearwood-Schumacher.

Wolfman Jack was immortalized in the film 'American Graffiti' and was also the host of the long running NBC music series 'The Midnight Special'. When the Wolfman went to Rock & Roll Heaven in 1995, the tapes of all his shows had been locked in a vault and hidden away. Wolfman never told anyone where the tapes were... and fans around the world have been searching for years to find them. Some months ago the discovery was made in the jungles of Mexico, by Dr. D. Wedge, in a cave guarded by 15 white wolves. The solid gold vault was retrieved under the cover of a moonless night. The tapes have now been digitally enhanced and they sound great! There was only one radio legend like Wolfman Jack and we've got him on XPatRadio.mx.

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We are excited about the opportunity this new alliance gives TelePacific and look forward to establishing deep-rooted, rewarding relationships with PlanetOne and its channel partners.

TelePacific Communications announced today a strategic alliance with PlanetOne Communications, the IT and telecom industrys preferred connectivity partner. Under the new engagement, TelePacific becomes a PlanetOne Preferred Provider, delivering a deep and broad set of managed services, continuity and connectivity solutions to small, medium and enterprise businesses through PlanetOnes growing network of channel partners, which includes VARs, MSPs and agents.

As one of the top master agents in the country, PlanetOne is selective about the providers it adds to its portfolio. Being named a PlanetOne Preferred Provider is an opportunity afforded to only a few, said Ken Bisnoff, senior vice president of strategic opportunities for TelePacific. We are excited about the opportunity this new alliance gives TelePacific and look forward to establishing deep-rooted, rewarding relationships with PlanetOne and its channel partners.

We have always had tremendous respect for PlanetOne and the continued growth they have experienced year over year, coast to coast, said Bisnoff. Now that TelePacific is a premier national managed services carrier, it makes perfect sense for our two companies to work together.

Earlier this year, Los Angeles-based TelePacific acquired Massachusetts-based DSCI, evolving from a regional provider to a national provider with offices coast-to-coast. In addition, DSCIs award-winning UCx unified communications solution and ITx managed IT services bolster TelePacifics managed services offerings.

We are pleased to bring TelePacific Communications on board as a 2017 Preferred Provider, said Ted Schuman, founder and CEO, PlanetOne. The market for managed UC is growing, especially among SMEs who are eager to scale and need the flexibility to support a mobile workforce. As a national player, the TelePacific team is engaged and ready to grow their business with PlanetOnes VARs, MSPs and agents. Were looking forward to a great year of mutual growth and prosperity.

About PlanetOne Communications

PlanetOne is the IT channel and telecom industrys preferred business partner for identifying and delivering cloud-based and connectivity solutions to small and midsize businesses and enterprises. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., the industry pioneer is celebrated by Inc. Magazine as one of Americas Fastest Growing Private Companies and regarded as a top-performing partner for hundreds of telecom agents and channel partners nationwide. In 2015, PlanetOne ranked No. 1 in the Phoenix Business Journals annual Best Places to Work survey. The award-winning PlanetOne Partner Program has been featured in CRNs Connectivity Solutions Partner Program Guide since 2014. To reach PlanetOne call (877) 487.8353 or e-mail sales(at)planetone(dot)net.

About TelePacific Communications

TelePacific Communications is a premier integrated managed services provider delivering guaranteed comprehensive business communications solutions to 75,000 locations nationwide for customers ranging from small businesses to enterprises with hundreds of sites. TelePacifics broad portfolio enables companies to focus on growing their bottom lines instead of overseeing their infrastructure. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the 1,600-person, $664 million enterprises award-winning managed services, networks, continuity solutions and focus on customer service have powered 58 consecutive quarters of growth. For more information, go to http://www.telepacific.com.
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This fall, Childrens Book World in Los Angeles hit a major milestone by turning 30. Owner Sharon Hearn began her career as a reading teacher in rural Ohio with plans to open a teacher supply store when she moved back to Los Angeles with her husband. That was until she participated in a book fair and realized she liked books a whole lot more than teacher supplies. So she opened and ran a book fair company out of her parents garage for seven years, and then with the money from that, opened Childrens Book World on October 6, 1986.

For the next seven years she ran both the store and the book fair business together, which she called very grueling until she took the leap to focus her efforts solely on the store. Initially it was one storefront, until she annexed two neighboring storefronts for her current combined 2,700 square feet of space. Of that, 2,100 square feet is retail space, and she has kept a small warehouse in the back.

Part of what has made the store a success for the last three decades, Hearn says, is that from the beginning, the store got a lot of support from the neighborhood and the schools. Yet over the years she has witnessed many changes, mostly the appearance and disappearance of other stores in the area. The first was when Crown Books opened up three blocks away from Hearn, then a Barnes and Noble also opened a few blocks away. While she weathered the competition, Hearn says its ironic that when those stores closed, she was sad. I was sad that they closed because it was a time when bookstores were closing all over the city. It left no general bookstore in this area. Even though we did get a bump in sales I found it very disturbing. The other big change, of course, is the appearance of the Internet, the thing thats not going away Hearn says.

Whats allowed the store to survive is that Hearn has made sure to stay the course on her vision, which included having a very helpful knowledgeable staff and offering a range of diverse titles even back when the store opened in the 80s. Weve always had a strong multicultural section, she says. There werent many books to pick from then. Its been a big focus of ours from the start so we have a very diverse clientele.

Brein Lopez, the stores manager, who has worked in Los Angeles for more than 25 years as an independent bookseller (including Book Soup and Every Picture Tells a Story), says that Childrens Book World is more than just a place to buy books. For 30 years it has been a source for young people and their elders, for educators, and lovers of good literature. Sharon has proudly placed her brand on the store with dedicated showcases all year long to multiple cultural celebrations, focuses on social justice and civil liberties, and a commitment to reaching a diverse clientele throughout Los Angeles.

Hearn calls the business over the decades really steady; the only serious blow was that of the 2008 recession. That was the first recession that we really felt, she says. But it was never at the point where I thought we would need to close. The success of the store is also in part due to the neighborhood support. We are lucky with the demographics where we are, says Hearn of the West Los Angeles neighborhood where the store is based.

While online shopping has become a habit for many consumers, Hearn said her customers are committed to shopping local, at least when it comes to books. My office door is right by the back entrance, so I hear comments from customers coming in and out all the time, said Hearn. On Small Business Saturday she heard so many comments from people telling their kids they wanted to come here to support us. The community on the whole has been very supportive.

In addition, the store has always held many events, and also creates custom baskets of books. Were trying to do things that make people want to think of us first.

The store has two charity arms that provide underserved communities access to quality books. The first is a recycled book garage stocked with slightly damaged books from the store alongside donations from customers; nonprofit groups gather books from the garage to distribute to children. The store also has a project, started with a grant from James Patterson, called Readers and Writers Rock where we bring in kids from low-income schools or we take an author to a low-income school and we give each child a free book, Hearn says. Those are my favorite things to do. Another program starting in 2017, based on a donation and request from author Dav Pilkey, will be bringing classes from lower-income areas into the store to pick whatever book they would like.

Lopez calls the store a remarkable place and Hearn a wonderful boss and owner. He adds, Her commitment to having a staff of full-time employees with a commitment to and love of reading is exemplary in the business world. Today we have grandparents bringing in their grandkids after three decades of visiting with their own kids.

Hearn is optimistic about the future, not only for her stores but other independent bookstores, despite the challenges they face. Were really thankful to have such a supportive community around us, she says. Its a hard environment for a bookstore. The Internet is growing and growing. But I do think especially for childrens books there will always be a market for physical books. I havent seen anything on an iPad that can compete with a physical picture book.
College locations closed until Jan. 3

All Black Hawk College locations and facilities are closed for holiday recess until Jan 3.

Students can register online while the college is closed. Spring 2017 registration information is available at bhc.edu/register.

Walk-in registration -- with payment due at registration -- resumes Jan. 3. Spring classes begin Jan. 17.

Candidates file to run for BHC Board of Trustees

In April 2017, two six-year terms will be up for election on the Black Hawk College District Board of Trustees.

The deadline to file nominating petitions was Dec. 19. Three petitions were filed.

The candidates are:

David Emerick Jr., of Rock Island (incumbent)

Jon Looney, of Kewanee

Steve Spivey, of New Windsor

The Black Hawk College district includes all or part of nine counties in west central Illinois, consisting of more than 280 individual precincts.

Students win BHC scholarship essay contest

Congratulations to BHC students Alexander Wilcox, of Moline, Logan Raschke, of Geneseo, and Allison M. Hand, of Woodhull, the first-, second- and third-place winners in the colleges 2016 Thomas Batell Scholarship Essay Contest.

Student essays had to address the contest theme, How My Community College Has Changed My Life.

The winners received $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. Wilcoxs essay also becomes the colleges entry into the Illinois Community College Trustees Associations 2017 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest. The ICCTA contest provides a $500 scholarship to the student who best describes How My Community College Has Changed My Life.
VATICAN CITY (AP)  Pope Francis urged Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus by thinking about the plight of today's children, bemoaning how some must escape bombs or flee in migrant boats and how others are prevented from being born at all.

Francis celebrated a somber Christmas Eve Mass in a packed St. Peter's Basilica, processing to the altar behind cardinals draped in golden vestments as the Sistine Chapel choir sang "Gloria" and the church bells rang out across Rome.

Francis has spent much of the year denouncing the Islamic extremist violence that has driven Christians from Mideast communities that date to the time of Christ. He has also demanded Europe in particular do more to welcome refugees, saying Jesus himself was a migrant who deserved more than being born in a manger. And he has called out the wasteful ways of the wealthy when children and the poor die of hunger every day.

In his homily, Francis urged his flock to reflect on how children today aren't always allowed to lie peacefully in a cot, loved by their parents as Jesus was, but rather "suffer the squalid mangers that devour dignity."

Among the indignities, he said, are "hiding underground to escape bombardment, on the pavements of a large city, at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants."

"Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons," he added.

The Mass late Saturday was the first major event of the Christmas season, followed by Francis' noon Urbi et Orbi (To the city and the world) blessing on Christmas Day.

In another appeal, Francis called for the faithful to not get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas  "when we are concerned for gifts but cold toward those who are marginalized."

Materialism has "taken us hostage this Christmas," he said. "We have to free ourselves of it!"
Today is Saturday, Dec. 24, the 359th day of 2016. There are 7 days left in the year.

1866 -- 150 years ago: A household necessity exists for the use of Durnes Catarrh Snuff.

1891 -- 125 years ago: Arthur Olsen returned to Rock Island from New Mexico with his health fully restored.

1916 -- 100 years ago: Carl Mueller, Alexander Anderson and J.L. Buckley sold their famous racehorse, Deputy Sheriff, to a Chicago firm for $1,400.

1941 -- 75 years ago: St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church choir held a Christmas party in the Hokinson Tea Room.

1966 -- 50 years ago: The $30 million foundry to be built by Deere & Co. in Silvis heads major industrial developments announced during the year in Illinois, the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce announced today. The foundry also will create the most new jobs of any major building program announced during the year.

1991 -- 25 years ago: The weather forecast is not looking good for a Bing Crosby White Christmas, National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Meyer said this morning.
WASHINGTON  In a tweet a week ago, Donald Trump urged his fans to head to Washington to see him get sworn in on Jan. 20.

Lets set the all time record! tweeted the president-elect.

But planners who are gearing up for the big day predict that Trump will fall way short of his goal: Theyre estimating a crowd of roughly 800,000, fewer than half the 1.8 million people who attended President Barack Obamas first inauguration in 2009.

Its not even close to a record, said Jim Bendat, a California expert on presidential inauguration history, who wrote a book on the subject.

After a bitter election, Trump is headed for the White House with only 48 percent of Americans approving of the way hes handled his presidential transition.

Trump has had a tough time lining up A-list talent to perform, most recently when Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli backed out this week after his fans complained.

Even many high school bands have shown uninterest: An Arizona company that organizes trips for bands says inquiries are down by at least 50 percent compared with 2009.

Excitement and enthusiasm levels are down this year,  said Luke Wiscombe, marketing director for Music Celebrations International in Tempe, Arizona. With President Obamas inauguration, there was a lot of interest.

Wiscombe is hoping to do business with one marching band in Washington state: Sumner High School, where band director Joe Carl is eagerly awaiting word on whether his band will get chosen.

We really got the idea to do this long before the election, Carl said. Were not there for the politics of it  were there really to be part of history. So many of our students have never been to Washington, D.C.  just to be there and to see history unfolding and us being right in the middle of it.

Still, hotels, bars and restaurants in Washington, D.C., and the citys surrounding suburbs are hoping to do well. The new five-star Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue is sold out. A study by George Mason University predicts a $1.4 billion infusion for the regions economy.

The enthusiasm for Trump is far less, just because this was such a nasty political season, but this is a shot in the arm, said Stephen Fuller, the economist who conducted the study. And its particularly important in January, which has the lowest occupancy rates for hotels. People arent going out to eat as much, and the weathers miserable.

Weather is always the wild card for inauguration planners.

Last January, for example, Washington was hit by a blizzard that paralyzed the city with more than 2 feet of snow. And in 1985, below-zero wind chills forced President Ronald Reagans second inauguration to be moved inside.

At the Capitol, construction is underway on the huge 10,000-square-foot platform that Trump will stand on as he takes the oath as the nations 45th president. It will hold more than 1,600 people, including Trumps family, former presidents, the Supreme Court, Cabinet members and nominees, members of Congress, governors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Always the showman, Trump and a couple of his friends have discussed the possibility of having the president-elect arrive by helicopter from New York as millions watch around the world, according to The New York Times.

But details announced so far point to a very traditional inauguration. On Wednesday, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said Trump would be in Washington a day before the inauguration to lay a wreath at Arlington National Ceremony and attend a Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. The day after hes sworn in, the new president plans to go to Washingtons National Cathedral for the National Prayer Service.

Trying to estimate a crowd count, particularly in advance, is a big guessing game. Planners rely on past attendance records and data from various sources, including hotel and restaurant reservations and the number of expected chartered buses.

Obama broke the previous attendance record for an inauguration, set in 1965, when 1.2 million people witnessed the swearing-in of President Lyndon Johnson.

President Bill Clinton drew a crowd of roughly 800,000 in 1993, while President George W. Bush drew smaller crowds, an estimated 300,000 for his first inauguration in 2001 and 400,000 for his second inauguration in 2005.

Members of Congress will have 240,000 tickets to distribute for the inauguration. The four Republican members of the Idaho delegation have pooled their tickets and set up an online system for people to register. Theyre not disclosing how many tickets they have to give away, but ticket demand has been strong, said Robert Sumner, spokesman for GOP Sen. Mike Crapo.

Officials say the total crowd for the weekend of the Trump inauguration could easily exceed 1 million, especially if you include the more than 200,000 who are expected for the Womens March on Washington on Jan. 21. More than a dozen groups, both pro-Trump and anti-Trump, have applied to use public space for protests. That includes thousands of Bikers for Trump.

Trump got low marks in last weeks Gallup Poll, with 48 percent each approving and disapproving of the way hes handled his transition. By comparison, at least 65 percent said they approved of the way that Obama, Bush and Clinton handled their transitions at similar points in time.

So far, the list of performers is short. Jackie Evancho, of Americas Got Talent, is expected to sing the national anthem and the Rockettes will perform. On Thursday, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir said it had accepted an invitation to sing. Other possibilities mentioned often are Trump supporters Ted Nugent and Kid Rock.

Maybe theyll ask me to sing You Cant Always Get What You Want, tweeted Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, after Trump played the song at the end of his acceptance speech in New York on Nov. 9.

In another tweet on Thursday, Trump suggested that he didnt care whether any A-list celebrities showed up at his inauguration, saying theyd done nothing to help Democrat Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee wont say how many high school bands have applied to march in Trumps parade. Earlier this month, many news outlets reported that not a single school district in the Washington, D.C., metro region had bothered to apply.

Winning bands have slowly been notified this week, including the Russellville, Ark., high school band, the Palmetto Ridge High School Band in Collier County, Fla., the West Monroe High School Rebel Band in Louisiana, the Tupelo, Miss., high school band and the Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band of Pennsylvania.

In Washington state, Carl, the Sumner High band director, said he was staying close to his phone and checking his email often to see whether his marching band would join the list of winners. He said he was unsure how winners got notified, since it was the first time his school had applied. With the inauguration only four weeks away, hes worried that time is running short to plan a big trip.

Im sorry to say I havent heard anything yet, Carl said Friday.
ROCK ISLAND -- Three area churches' congregations and leaders will celebrate the end of one year and the start of another with the 2016 Night Watch Service Dec. 31 at Second Baptist Church, 919 6th Ave.

The Rev. Joseph D. Williamson III, pastor of Second Baptist Church, Rock Island; the Rev. Phillip Farrow, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Rock Island; and the Rev. Larry D. Dixon Sr., pastor of Trinity Community Baptist Church, Moline, will lead the service.

People are invited to enjoy activities and refreshments starting at 9:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center at Second Baptist Church. Worship will begin at 10:30 p.m., with the message given by Rev. Dixon. The service's theme is "A New Day, based on Psalm 37:4 -- Delight thyself also in the Lord: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

"With all the turmoil in our country -- from the recent shootings, the ongoing wars and so much other sadness -- we must still believe the eyes of the Lord are upon us and that He will make a way for us through all that is happening in our society," said Rev. Dixon. He brought us through 2016 and we believe He will stand by us through 2017. We need only ask for his guidance.

"The New Years Eve service -- or what some African Americans call the 'Night Watch Service -- is a tradition passed to us by our ancestors," he said. "Old stories state that Southern slaves waited all night on Dec. 31, 1864, to receive word of the Emancipation Proclamation -- words that would have given slaves freedom in the South, not the North.

He said history has it that some slaves received the news on Dec. 31, while slaves in Texas did not receive the information until June 17, 1865.

"Because of that, there are many African Americans who today celebrate June 17 as Juneteenth Day, he said.

Rev. Williamson recalled the years he lived in East St. Louis, before he was called to serve Second Baptist in Rock Island.

My home church in East St. Louis did not have a Watch Service on New Years Eve," he said. "So my family and I drove to Chicago to attend the service at Trinity Church."

He said he felt "called upon by the Lord" to start the Night Watch Service at Second Baptist Church. He invited pastors and congregations from Macedonia Baptist Church and Trinity Community Baptist Church too, in what has become an annual service.

Rev. Dixon said he was born and raised in Chicago, where his family attended a Night Watch Service every year.

"Even when I was in the Air Force, from 1971-1978, wherever I was stationed I would try to find a church that had a Night Watch Service," he said. "If I couldnt find one, I would use that time on New Years Eve to read scripture, pray, meditate and reflect on the old year and in looking forward to the New Year.

"The service is an opportunity for our churches to come together to worship and to pray in the new year, he said. I believe that whatever you are doing when the new year comes in, you will be doing all year long. It is my hope that we will continue to pray and give thanks throughout the new year.
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!
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Rex Tillerson, assuming he is confirmed as secretary of state, will immediately face an unusually broad array of challenges. Some of these derive from the unusually disordered state of the world, others from the unusually wide uncertainty about the new American president's intentions.

Among the challenges which would face any American secretary of state at this juncture of history are the half-dozen large and small wars in which the United States is currently engaged, the competition with other major powers, notably China and Russia, the threats from hostile regional powers like North Korea and Iran and global problems like climate change.

Tillerson will also have to grapple with issues that arise from promises made during Donald Trump's presidential campaign, which include how to get the Mexicans to pay for a wall along their northern border; how to further limit travel to the United States from states experiencing high levels of terrorism; how to abrogate or alter NAFTA; the Paris agreement on climate change and the nuclear deal with Iran; how to revise trade arrangements with China; and how to get our European and Asian allies to pick up more of the tab for their defense.

President-elect Trump made countering the Islamic State group a centerpiece of his foreign policy platform, which otherwise focused largely on trade and immigration. American troops are engaged in conflicts against the Islamic State group and al-Qaida in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Somalia. Over the past year, the Islamic State has lost more than half its territory and population. Mosul, in Iraq, its largest population center, may well be fully liberated before Trump takes office. Raqqa, the Islamic State capital in Syria, is likely to be surrounded and ready to be assaulted by late January. Trump may seek Russia's help in mopping up remaining Islamic State group strongholds in Syria, but he probably won't need it.

The Islamic State group will not disappear. It will go underground and eventually reemerge unless these conflict regions return to effective government control. Efforts at stabilization and reconstruction will need to complement and eventually overshadow counter-terrorism operations if the Trump administration wants an enduring result to its counter-Islamic State group campaign. These are endeavors where Tillerson and his department will need to lead, despite Trump's stated opposition to anything that smacks of nation building.

Trump seems inclined to accommodate Russia while confronting Iran. In Syria, where the two are effectively allied, this does not seem feasible. Neither does Russia seem likely to join in abrogating the five power nuclear accord with Iran, or in re-imposing international sanctions. Neither will it be possible to both push back Iran and reduce American exposure in this volatile region. Choices will need to be made.

Tillerson seems the personification of the Davos man: powerful, worldly and well connected. These qualities suit him well for a new career in diplomacy. He will find in the Department of State a willing but unwieldy instrument, one which Congress and successive administrations have burdened with too many autonomous units with overlapping jurisdictions that spend more time negotiating with each other than interacting with the rest of the world.

Although State is not the lead agency for trade issues, it is consulted. It seems reasonable to assume that Tillerson, who has seen the business that he currently heads profit greatly within a liberal, open world order, will resist too dramatic a turn toward the neo-nationalization of global trade. The Departments of State and Homeland Security share responsibility for deciding who is allowed to enter the United States. State is also the lead negotiator on international climate change related arrangements. Tillerson's private sector experience should lend weight to his views on all these issues, and position him to sustain State's leadership, assuming he wishes to do so. His background should also make him a good match with Trump's choice for secretary of defense, James Mattis, someone with a comparable range of international experience, albeit in a very different realm.

In the course of the recent campaign Trump promised to revise America's relations with its neighbors, Mexico and Canada, its allies in Europe and Asia, its adversaries in Moscow and Beijing and its involvement in the turbulent Middle East. Tillerson's greatest challenge will be to turn these inclinations into operative policy in pursuit of attainable objectives. Like Trump, Tillerson is a skilled negotiator. The challenge for Tillerson may well be to lend a degree of consistency to the administration, while closing at least some of the deals that Trump has promised to deliver.

James Dobbins, a veteran diplomat who most recently served as the State Department's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is a senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

This commentary originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report on December 20, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
US media companies and brand-name advertisers are losing up to $5 million per day through premium video advertising fraud.

According to security firm WhiteOps, Russian cyber-criminals are behind  Methbot , the single most profitable bot operation discovered to date. It produces massive volumes of fraudulent video advertising impressions by commandeering critical parts of internet infrastructure and targeting the premium video advertising space.Using an army of automated web browsers run from fraudulently acquired IP addresses, the unprecedented Methbot operation is watching as many as 300 million video ads per day on falsified websites designed to look like premium publisher inventory.More than 6,000 premium domains were targeted and spoofed, and about 200 million to 300 million video ad impressions are generated per day on fabricated inventory.Advertisers often rely on data stored on a users machine in cookies to target advertising against demographic information, browser histories, past purchases and many other data points, WhiteOps explained. Methbot operators use this industry approach to their advantage and stuff crafted cookies into fake web sessions by leveraging a common open source library, which allows them to maintain persistent identities containing information known to be seen electronically as valuable to advertisers. In this way, they take advantage of the higher CPMs advertisers are willing to spend on more precisely targeted audiences.Methbot is savvy enough to act human as well. Cursor movements and clicks are faked and multiple viewability measures are faked to further mimic observed trends in human behaviour. It also forges fake social network login information to make it appear as if a user is logged in when an impression occurs.Since both human audiences and premium publisher inventory are in high demand, Methbot focuses on manufacturing both of these as its product, WhiteOps explained. By supplying faked audiences and hijacking the brand power of prestigious publishers through faked domains and falsified inventory, Methbot is able to siphon away millions in real advertising dollars.Bot fraud is often categorised along with other forms of brand safety like viewability, which refers to the metric that tracks the level at which impressions can actually be seen by a viewer. However, while there is still dissent in the industry about the specific definition of viewability, and how those standards should be tied to payment, there is no middle ground with bot fraud; an ad is either being seen by a bot or by a human. So, ensuring that a dollar spent on a view is a dollar spent on a human view becomes important.This human CPM, should thus be higher than a standard CPM, given that the study found that campaigns not including bot-blocking technology had a 10.1% level of bots. So, a $10 CPM would have an $11.12 human CPM.To help demonstrate the cost of bots on brand engagement, WhiteOps studied a campaign when bot-blocking was turned on and when it was turned off. The campaign asked for multiple choice responses to determine brand engagement. The study found a 22% higher rate of brand engagement with bot-blocking turned on, while the cost for doing so only increased the campaigns price by 2%.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 12/23/2016



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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.

has crowned Erin Robertson its fifteenth-season champion.Erin, a 29-year-old designer from Provo, UT, who currently resides in Cambridge, MA, was declared 's winner after she delivered a collection on the runway for New York Fashion Week that was viewed as innovative, unique and quirky by judges Heidi Klum Nina Garcia , Zac Posen and guest judge Zendaya Coleman "OMG!!! I FREAKING WON PROJECT RUNWAY SEASON 15!!!! I'm so thankful to so many people who helped me through this experience. It's the hardest and most rewarding thing I've done and I couldn't have been this successful without the help of my community and family! S/O to all these models who look amazing and more importantly have beautiful souls. I'm so grateful!" Erin captioned an Instagram photo of herself standing in the middle of models who rocked her collection on the runway.Erin's designs featured a playful use of colors and sequins that reflected her own signature style. She had a lot of wow pieces in her collection that Zac described as "pop-glam, art school, cut and paste."Erin defeated finalists Laurence Basse and Rik Villa from Los Angeles, CA, and Roberi Parra from Miami, FL, in Thursday night's finale broadcast on Lifetime. Tim Gunn served as the contestants' mentor this season per usual.For winning , Erin receives $100,000 to launch her own business, a year's worth of Sally Beauty products along with an additional $25,000 cash prize, travel and hotel accommodations to inspiring destinations around the world from Best Western Hotels and Resorts, and an entire year's worth of Mary Kay beauty products for her fashion show and professional makeup-artist services for her debut show.Erin also earned herself a brand new Lexus IS sedan, a complete sewing and crafting studio from Brother Sewing and Embroidery, and a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine.
States sent queries for research to NIPFP in Feb-March; Work on research started around July, reveal Nitin Sethi and Ishan Bakshi.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Months before demonetisation, in February-March, the Madhya Pradesh and Haryana state governments had approached the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) to evaluate Pune-based NGO ArthaKranti's proposals, which include the withdrawal of high-denomination notes.

The initial queries for conducting the research from the two Bharatiya Janata Party state governments went to NIPFP around February and March. Work on the research formally commenced around July.

But the complete report on the evaluation of the proposals was not submitted to the state governments by the time the Union government announced the demonetisation on November 8.

NIPFP did put out a working paper in the public domain on November 14 discussing the impacts of demonetisation.

NIPFP is a New Delhi-based think-tank set up as an autonomous society, at the joint initiative of the Union ministry of finance, the erstwhile Planning Commission, several state governments and academics.

The Madhya Pradesh government responded to Business Standard queries saying that it asked NIPFP to carry out an 'Assessment of proposals outlined in the document Exploring ArthaKranti  A path to Fiscal Consolidation.'

When asked what prompted the state government to request NIPFP to carry out the research, the government replied, 'ArthaKranti Pratishtan, Maharastra knowledge Corporation Limited had prepared a report for exploring ArthaKranti-A path to Fiscal Consolidation in 2013. The commercial tax department of the government of Madhya Pradesh felt that this report needs to be examined further since the report focuses on a substitute alignment of the system of laying and levying taxes.'

'Hence, a more in-depth analysis by NIPFP would be in order,' the MP government added. 'In the context above the state government has executed an agreement with NIPFP to conduct an assessment of the proposal outlined in the document.'

Under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, state governments have no role or power in either withdrawal of currency or demonetisation by any route.

The Acts provision 26 (2) reads, 'On recommendation of the Central Board the Central Government may, by notification in the Gazette of India, declare that, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, any series of bank notes of any denomination shall cease to be legal tender.'

The central government has repeatedly mentioned that the entire exercise running up to the announcement of demonetisation on November 8 had been conducted in secrecy.

Business Standard also sent detailed queries to NIPFP as well as the chief minister of Haryana. Neither responded.

ArthaKranti has claimed credit for introducing the idea of demonetisation to the BJP leadership even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins at the Centre.

The NGO's head, Anil Bokil, has spoken of repeatedly meeting several top BJP leaders on the issue.

Speaking to Business Standard, Bokil said, "The report is in the final stages. Madhya Pradesh and Haryana had recommended NIPFP to study our proposals. I have personally not met people from NIPFP directly but other directors are in regular touch."

On being asked if the proposal had been commissioned to NIPFP by state finance ministries or chief ministers, Bokil said, "It went from the chief ministers."

Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu said, "I have not come across such a proposal. but I wouldn't know if such a proposal had gone from the chief ministers office."

ArthaKranti's proposals listed on its Web site include the withdrawal of existing taxation system, introducing a banking transaction tax, withdrawal of high-denomination currency, legal restrictions to restrict cash transactions up to a certain limit.

Bokil has noted that the government has not followed all the steps his NGO had recommended, but undertaken only one part of it -- the withdrawal of high-denomination notes as yet.

A reference in public to the possibility of demonetisation had also come as early as March 2016 from the chief economic advisor of the State Bank of India, Soumya Kanti Ghosh.

Ghosh wrote in Business Standard on March 23, stating, 'If we were to draw a link between such a surge in production and the usage of cash, it is possible that demonetisation might have begun even before the government had withdrawn high-value notes from circulation (according to unconfirmed reports, higher currency denomination notes may be discontinued in the near future so as to tackle the menace of unaccounted money).'

The article was followed up by a formal report from SBI (Ecowrap) that Ghosh authored in April, stating, 'There are suggestions in the public domain and even analysis that are suggesting that higher denomination notes may be replaced. We believe, as a result of that people may be using more of high value currency to purchase safe haven assets.'

While more details of NIPFP's report to states are not known, the working paper it put out after November 8 concludes, 'While it has been argued that the cash that would be extinguished would be "black money" and hence, should be rightfully extinguished to set right the perverse incentive structure in the economy, this argument is based on impressions rather than facts.'

Sources in NIPFP said a working paper does not represent the views of the institution, but that of the authors.
In Goa, says Kishore Singh, you are defined as much by the village that makes up your address as by the neighbours who keep you company.

Last evening I met Charu, Lata, Charulata, Hemen, Ajay, Soni, Apu, Vijay, Digvijay, Ranvijay, all in the space of one party and in just a couple of minutes.

"You're going to Goa," said my wife, "I know you'll be alone, but never mind, you'll get some peace."

"I met Sanju, Raju, Hema, Anita, Gita, Sita, Vinita and their gangs," I told her later at night, because everyone from Delhi meets everyone else from Delhi when in Goa.

And they were doing what every true-blue Dilliwallah does regardless of where they are, soaking up whisky by the gallon loads before downing respectable sizes of food without knowing what it tasted like.

Goa could be Greater Kailash and no one would know any better.

Working in Goa is an oxymoron, but I was in Goa on work, and determined to stay away from Charu, Lata and the whole Delhi jing-bang lot, only it's easier said than done.

You couldn't turn a corner without running into Sanju and Raju living it up in the shacks, or Anita and Sunita shopping for Wendell Rodricks' linen shirts in every colour.

Downing beer, clearing the oceans of their vast produce of prawns, polishing off the rechado masala with the last piece of bread, the Dilliwallahs have taken over Goa and turned it into another suburb, not entirely unlike Gurgaon.

I rang a friend so she could join me for lunch, but she complained she had work to finish. ?What work?" I asked. "I have an email to write," she said. Anything else? "What do you mean what else, writing an email is a lot of work," she griped, indicating that five minutes is what Dilliwallahs are willing to give to their professional lives when they escape to Goa.

And escaping they are, in droves.

More friends of ours have homes in Goa than in Delhi, where they prefer to rent them.

In Goa, you are defined as much by the village that makes up your address as by the neighbours who keep you company -- and it hardly matters whether those neighbours are in Goa or in Delhi, for in this melting pot you can never really escape far enough away.

So, you end up schmoozing with all the people you didn't want to meet anyway and is the reason why you fled to Goa, only to be reunited with the people you were running away from.

This morning, I heard a group of women complaining about the weather. "It was so hot at 10.30 in the morning," said the first.

"It was hot at 9.30," said the next.

"It was hot at 8.30," added the last.

"Its Goa," said my friend, "it's hot, get used to it."

They were all Delhi escapees, who had probably never stepped out of airconditioned rooms in their city homes, but were venturing out for a 'feel' of the real Goa and finding they didn't like it as much as they expected to.

In any case, they found their way back to their resort and spent the rest of their stay in their airconditioned rooms watching TV and gossiping about the wedding they had been invited to, but which was going to be such a bore because it was in the muggy outdoors.

The Dilliwallahs come and go from Goa, measuring out their 'enjoyment' factor in decibels of music and how much Kingfisher they can have.

Which is why I'm glad to be returning to Delhi, where Charulata and her cohort of noisy friends will be absent from the social scene for the while they are away in Goa.

IMAGE: One thing you won't run into in Goa is this anti-aircraft gun, which was a familiar sight on Goa's beaches during the BRICS Summit in September. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
Not all Opposition parties on board, say they are once bitten, twice shy, reports Archis Mohan.

There is a blame game on within the Congress on who advised its vice-president Rahul Gandhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue of farmer distress on December 16, which caused cracks in Opposition unity.

The Congress has now reached out to Opposition parties in a bid to restore this unity and launch nationwide coordinated protests on the 'note ban' issue in January.

According to sources in some of these Opposition parties, leaders close to Congress President Sonia Gandhi have approached them to explore the possibility of a joint press conference next week.

The Congress wants the press conference to be its show of strength and reflect that Opposition unity is restored.

It has been proposed that at the press conference, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders will also demand that the PM come clean on allegations that he had received over Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) in cash payments from individuals associated with the Sahara India and Aditya Birla groups in 2013-2014, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.

The proposal is to hold this press conference on December 27, on the eve of the 132nd Congress Foundation Day. The Congress was founded on December 28, 1885.

Today, some of the Opposition leaders collected at an event where Vice-President Hamid Ansari released a book on the life of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

The event was hosted by Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav. It was attended by Janata Dal-Secular President and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Indian National Lok Dal leader Dushyant Chautala, Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia Gandhi, also attended the event. Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and Charan Singh's son Ajit Singh was also at the event.

The meeting comes amid speculation that a Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls has been sealed.

However, there is no official confirmation of it as yet, and whether the Ajit Singh's RLD will be a part of this alliance.

As for the Congress proposal to have a joint press conference, some of the Opposition parties are amenable to the proposal, but some others are still upset at the manner in which the Congress leadership had kept them in the dark about Rahul's meeting with Modi at the fag-end of the winter session of Parliament, just as they were preparing to unitedly call on President Pranab Mukherjee to lodge their protest over what they termed was government high-handedness in running parliamentary proceedings.

Several of the political parties -- the Left, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and NCP -- had dropped out of the meeting in protest.

The Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and some others had expressed their displeasure but accompanied the Congress leaders to meet the President.

Since then, knives are out within the Congress for the people who advised the Congress vice-president to meet the PM. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, had advised against Rahul meeting the PM.

The initial plan was that Azad and his Lok Sabha counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge will meet the PM to raise the issue of agrarian distress. But some others felt that Rahul meeting him would show the Congress leader's intent at pursuing the issue.

Those among the Opposition parties in favour of a joint press conference want it to be held at a neutral venue, and not at the Congress headquarters.

Already, the Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist and Rashtriya Janata Dal have demanded that the PM reply to the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi at his public rally in Mehsana, Gujarat, earlier this week.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has given a call to her party to launch a 'Modi hatao, desh bachao (remove Modi, save the country)' campaign in the first week of January.

The Left parties will also be holding protests against demonetisation while RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has planned a protest across Bihar on December 28.

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh at a Kisan Samman rally at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, September 20, 2015, where hd declared that 'Farmers are India's destiny makers, but PM has no time for them'.
Authorities on Saturday continued to dig up currency to the tune of lakhs of rupees, including in new notes, across the country.

Kerala

Busting a currency exchange racket, Kerala police have seized Rs 39.98 lakh in Rs 2,000 denomination notes at Tirur area of Malappuram district and arrested a man, already facing a hawala case, in this connection.

While Rs 3 lakh was seized from 63-year-old Shoukath Ali at the bus stand in Tirur, Rs 36.98 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes was recovered from the residence of a businessman, police said.

Ali, hailing from Palakkad district, was produced before a magistrate's court and remanded in judicial custody on Saturday, police said.

A search was on for businessman Shabir Babu, who had allegedly given the Rs three lakh to Ali to exchange scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Babu had also allegedly distributed new currency notes to nine other persons in exchange for scrapped notes, they said. Ali had been arrested six months ago on charges of hawala transactions and is out on bail, police added.

Gujarat

Three persons were detained after Rs 27.62 lakh in new Rs 2,000 denomination notes were allegedly recovered from them at Bhuj in Kutch district, police said.

The cash was seized and the matter referred to the the Income Tax Department, an official said.

Acting on a tip-off that the trio was trying to exchange demonetised currency notes with new bills for a commission, the police detained them when they arrived near a hotel on Madhpar highway in a car.

"We detained three persons who arrived in a car and were waiting for a customer who had contacted them to exchange their demonetised currency notes," said J M Ala, Inspector, Local Crime Branch (LCB) Kutch (West).

Police recovered 1,381 notes in Rs 2,000 denomination from their possession, totalling Rs 27.62 lakh, and 82 bills of Rs 100 (Rs 8,200).

"They did not furnish any documents to support the possession of money. We detained them and seized the money. The Income Tax Department has been informed and it will

further investigate the matter," said Ala.

The trio was identified as Irfan Mistry, Abdul Odiyan and Imran Majotha, he said.

Noida

A total of Rs 2.6 crore cash and 95 kg of gold and silver has been seized and four persons arrested by the DRI in connection with its probe into alleged diversion of duty free gold worth about Rs 140 crore, imported under a special concession scheme, by a firm operating from a Noida-based Special Economic Zone.

The sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's Lucknow zonal unit carried out the searches for two days on the premises of M/s Shri Lal Mahal Limited and the residences of company officials as part of its anti-black money operations after demonetisation, the agency said in a statement.

Four people associated with the firm were arrested late evening after questioning, a DRI official said.

"It is found that the unit has illegally diverted and sold 430 kg (valued at about Rs 140 crore) of duty free gold in the market.

"Cash amounting to Rs 2.60 crore (Rs 2.48 crore in old currency notes and Rs 12 lakh in new notes) has been seized.

"Unaccounted 80 kg of silver found in the factory has also been recovered. Further, 15 kg of gold jewellery has been seized from the premises of the firm," the statement added.

The DRI alleged that the firm had also "transferred huge amount of money through RTGS (funds transfer through banking channels) to a firm operating from their premises to purchase gold coins or bars of 24kg after November 8 (the day Rs 1000/Rs 500 were demonetised) from MMTC, India's largest public sector trading body, also to sell in the market for old demonetised currency".

Tamil Nadu

Income Tax officials conducted raids in Dindigul at the house of sand-mining baron Shekar Reddy's associate Ratnam, a quarry contractor who was arrested a couple of days ago on charge of exchanging unaccounted old currency notes.

A team of I-T officials from Perambalur, about 150 km from Dindigul, were conducting searches at the house of Ratnam from around 6 am, official sources said.

The searches are going on, they said declining to give any further detail.

The CBI had on December 22 arrested Ratnam and another quarry contractor Ramachandran, and Reddy's auditor Premkumar following investigations in connection with recent Income Tax searches at his residence and office in Chennai that resulted in seizure of 127 kg of gold and over Rs 170 crore in cash post-demonetisation.

Reddy, along with his associate Srinivasulu, was arrested by CBI on December 21.

The five have been accused of converting the unaccounted cash held by them in old currency notes to new notes with the help of unknown public servants from different banks within 24 days from the date demonetisation was announced (November 8).

Representation Image: Courtesy PTI Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday warned of ruin for the dishonest after the expiry of December 30 deadline for depositing scrapped currency and said they should not underestimate the mood of the country against corruption.

"Dishonest people, you should not underestimate the mood of 125 crore people. You will have to be afraid of it... Time has come for ruin of dishonest people. This is a cleanliness campaign," Modi said.

"After 50 days (from November 8), the troubles of honest people will start to reduce and the problems of dishonest people will begin to increase," Modi said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a gathering at MMRDA ground in the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai after laying foundation of various big ticket infrastructure projects.

"We took a big decision against black money and corruption on November 8 and 125 crore Indians endured pain but did not stop supporting me. I want to assure people of the country that this battle won't end till we win it," he said.

Hitting out at parties opposing demonetisation, he said, "this is not a simple battle. Those who have consumed malai (cream) did not leave any stone unturned to foil this (demonetisation)."

"The corrupt have made all efforts to defeat the decision (demonetisation). They even thought of managing bank officials to get their black money converted into white. And that's how many of them got caught," he said.

"I said there will be pain for 50 days (after demonetisation announcement)," he said, adding people are ready to bear the pain in the country's interest.

"People have borne the troubles in the country's interest and are willing to do so in future too," the PM said.

Modi alleged that those who benefited from corruption during the earlier regimes "in last 70 years" did all they could to ensure the demonetisation move by him does not work.

"Those who are used to a certain type corrupt practices for last 70 years, will have to pay the price of their acts," he said.

"Time has changed and after a gap of 30 years, a government with full mandate is in power. One should not forget it.

"The country will change, will move forward and will hold its head high before the world," the PM said.

Modi, who earlier laid the foundation of the Shivaji Maharaj memorial off Mumbai coast, said the Maratha king was a multi-faceted personality "which inspires us".

"I am grateful to the Maharashtra government that I got the chance to perform jalpujan of Shivaji Maharaj," the PM said.

When the memorial is complete, people will admire the iconic building, he said, adding Shivaji Maharaj "is an inspiration for all of us" and remains a torch bearer of good governance.

"If India is projected in the right manner, it has the potential to attract global tourism," he said.

"After independence, had we adopted the path of development, the problems we face today wouldn't have been there," Modi said.

Development should be sustainable and should help the poor realise their dreams, Modi said.

The PM also dwelt on the various development initiatives of his government.

"Our efforts is to ensure affordable medicine to the poor. When we came to power, there were 18,000 villages without power. We decided to provided electricity to them in 1000 days," Modi said.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party has had strained ties with senior alliance partner BJP, also addressed the gathering.

However, as Thackeray began to speak, he was greeted with shouts of 'Modi, Modi' from BJP workers in audience.

"I extend my best wishes for memorial construction and hope that it gets completed within stipulated period," he said.

"I have come here to pay obeisance to Shivaji Maharaj," Thackeray said, adding the memorial should be built as strong as the Sindhudurg fort, built by the Maratha king.

The Sena leader also asked the government to "free forts in Maharashtra from the shackles of the Archaeological Survey of India".

Union minister Nitin Gadkari described Modi as the biggest "Shivbhakt" (devotee of Shivaji).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the memorial will be the tallest in the world.

"If the US is known for the Statue of Liberty, Maharashtra will be known as the land of Shivaji Maharaj," the CM said.

Justifying the state government's decision to go ahead with the memorial despite opposition from various quarters, including environmentalists and activists, Fadnavis said, "This memorial is to remind people not to forget our glorious past. This memorial will inspire every person to work for good governance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the Foundation for a Rs 3,600-crore grand memorial for Shivaji Maharaj off the Mumbai coast, an event that comes a few months ahead of the civic polls and amid tussle among parties to claim the legacy of the 17th century warrior king.

Modi, accompanied by select dignitaries, including Governor Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, sailed in a hovercraft from Girgaum Chowpatty beach in south Mumbai to reach near the memorial site, some 1.5km off the coast.

The prime minister performed the 'jalpujan' at the designated spot, symbolically marking the start of construction of the magnificent memorial in the Arabian Sea, which, according to the state government, is going to be the tallest such structure in the world.

Shivaji's descendants Udayanraje Bhosale and Sambhaji Raje (both Parliamentarians) were also on board the hovercraft.

Before the event, Fadnavis handed over to Modi a 'kalash' (vase) containing river waters and soil collected from all districts in Maharashtra.

When the hovercraft reached the memorial site, Modi immersed the 'kalash' in the sea. The PM also inspected a float depicting Shivaji Maharaj's coronation.

During the ceremony, Modi was seen talking to Thackeray, whose party, despite being an ally, has been a bitter critic of many of the BJP-led NDA government's decisions, including demonetisation.

Earlier in the day, Sena alleged the BJP has "hijacked" the occasion to reap political benefit.

In October last year, Thackeray had 'boycotted' a foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Ambedkar memorial, apparently after he was denied a seat along side the PM on the dais.

The proposed memorial's main feature will be an imposing 192-metre-tall statue of a triumphant Maratha king riding a horse. The statue will be surrounded by an art museum, an amphitheatre, auditorium, exhibition gallery and other facilities.

In run up to the ceremony and Modi's visit, the BJP government launched an advertisement blitzkrieg.

Maharashtra's nodal agency for information dissemination, DGIPR, had instructed officials in districts to put hoardings and posters celebrating the event.

The government also released radio jingles, newspaper and television advertisements, and online commercials to promote the grand ceremony.

With elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) round the corner, the BJP in Maharashtra left no stone unturned to ensure Modi's official visit to Mumbai also boosts the party's chances in the crucial elections.

Shiv Sena is ruling the BMC for over two decades in alliance with BJP.

The event marking laying of foundation for the memorial is being seen as the BJP Government's 'vachanpurti' (fulfilment of Assembly poll promise).

The state government had ordered collection of water from all rivers across Maharashtra and soil from historic sites, which were brought to Mumbai in metal pots (kalash) on Friday.

This was then collected in a large pot, which Modi immersed at the 'jal pujan' site.

The 'jal pujan' 'muhurt' at the memorial site was at 2.59 pm. Three hovercraft were roped in to carry the PM and other dignitaries to the 16.5-hectare rock islet off the coast along Girgaum Chowpatty.

Major political parties, including BJP and Shiv Sena, are competing to claim the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji, a highly revered figure in Maharashtra and across the country.

The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.
Even as its chief Uddhav Thackeray accompanied the Prime Minister for 'jal pujan' ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial, Shiv Sena on Saturday appeared unhappy with ally BJP, alleging that it has "hijacked" the occasion to take political benefit.

It also took a swipe at BJP over the Ram Temple issue, saying it should admit its "failure" as it has not been able to build the promised temple in Ayodhya despite the huge majority in Lok Sabha.

"The BJP should not forget this memorial is a dream of every citizen of Maharashtra. The previous government (of Congress-NCP) also tried to start work on the memorial though it was unsuccessful for reasons best known to them," said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande.

"When the memorial is being built with Government money, BJP should remember this (jal pujan or stone laying ceremony) is a government programme and all parties of the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) should be treated with equal respect," she said.

Kayande said "the trend of BJP hijacking events, whenever it is in power, is in bad taste and does not go down well with public".

The BJP tried similar "antics" at the inauguration of Ram Mandir railway station here, where its workers shouted slogans in support of the Prime Minister, she said.

"Before elections, they showed people big dream of building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which they have failed to do despite having absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Now, they should accept their failure (for not building the temple)," the Sena spokesperson said.

Earlier, Modi performed 'jal pujan' in the Arabian Sea for the Rs 3,600-crore memorial dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king, who is a revered figure in Maharashtra. He was accompanied by Uddhav among others.

The party is hoping that the issue will work ints favour in run up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls likely in early 2017.

Sena-BJP relationship has been strained ever since the two parties parted ways ahead of Maharashtra assembly election in 2014. The two reunited post-election but Sena has been sulking since it has been reduced to a junior partner in the state.

Thackeray's party has often been critical of the state and central governments though it is a part of the BJP-led NDA.
Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari has returned to the country, ending his 18-month-long self-imposed exile, amidst speculations about his future role in the Pakistan Peoples Party, which has threatened a major protest against the Nawaz Sharif government.

The party has asked the government to change the interior minister and appoint a full-time foreign minister, among other demands, before December 27 or face street demonstrations.

So far, none of the demands have been fulfilled.

Zardari landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Friday afternoon and later addressed a huge rally criticising Prime Minister Sharif.

But local media was not sure about the role of Zardari who with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the co-chairman of the PPP which is the largest opposition party and also rules southern province of Sindh.

"Will Zardari take back the reins of PPP? Will he change the party's strategy in dealing with the ruling PML-N? Will his son take the back seat? These are the questions making the rounds in political circles as Zardari returned to Karachi," the Express Tribune reported.

The answer to all these questions is 'no'.

This is at least what the Express Tribune has learnt from top PPP officials in background interviews.

They say Bilawal will remain the face of the party, while Zardari will act as a 'patriarch'.

Zardari, known for his wheeling and dealing, will use his political acumen to win over other political groups with his quintessential policy of political reconciliation.

The objective will be to improve the party's numerical strength in the legislatures of smaller provinces in the next general elections.

Bilawal, meanwhile, would continue to take on political rivals aggressively, mainly in Punjab, the province which decides who will rule in the Centre as almost half of the members of the National Assembly are elected from Islamabad.

Public perception of Zardari is not good. And the PPP, which is evolving under Bilawal, knows it full well. This was the reason PPP's inner circles had weighed the pros and cons of Zardari's homecoming, it said.

Some political analysts, however, see Zardari's return in the backdrop of the change in the military's high-command.

Before leaving the country in June last year, Zardari had made a hard-hitting speech at a function in Islamabad.

Apparently, his target was the powerful military establishment, especially the then army chief, General Raheel Sharif.

It was reported that Zardari was angered by the Rangers' actions against PPP leaders as part of the operation in Karachi.

Zardari was quick to call up the new army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, to felicitate him soon after he had received the baton of command from Gen Raheel last month.

Insiders say the PPP is in the process of defining Zardari's new role as the 'patriarch' of the party to benefit from his political acumen while he stays behind the scenes.

"He would be particularly helpful in consolidating PPP's position in the smaller provinces. The party wants to utilise his experience in traditional politics," says a senior PPP leader.

Zardari would leave Punjab to an increasingly aggressive Bilawal. He has already delegated the party's organisational matters to his son, he said.

Bilawal has given the ruling party until December 27 to accept his four demands or else face the wrath of PPP.

The PPP feels Zardari's style of politics will be of much help in the smaller provinces, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, where political scene is still dominated by fuedal lords.

"We plan to add six to seven more seats to our strength in the National Assembly from Sindh and a few from Balochistan in the next general elections. Here, we would need a leader who has expertise in traditional politics of give and take. No one can rival Zardari's skills in such matters," said a close aide of Bilawal.

Bilawal, the scion of the Bhutto dynasty, would copy the aggressive style of politics introduced in the party by his maternal grandfather and PPP founder Zulifikar Ali Bhutto and later successfully adopted by the late Benazir Bhutto.

Thus Bilawal would make a serious attempt to reclaim the ground the PPP has ceded to other parties in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

PPP insiders say some 'surprises' are expected on December 27 in Garhi Khuda Bukhash when the party observes Benazir's death anniversary.

"Subsequently, some prominent political figures from Punjab, mainly from South Punjab, would also jump ship to join the PPP before the party kick-starts its protest campaign in the province," claimed another close aide of Bilawal.

Meanwhile, ruling Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz has welcomed the return of Zardari.

Railway Minister Khawja Saad Rafique said that Zardari's presence will have sobering effect on the politics of his son Bilawal.

Image: Asif Ali Zardari, (Centre in traditional cap), former president of Pakistan and co-chairman of Pakistan People's Party political party, gestures to his supporters after returning from Dubai, at the airport's old Jinnah terminal in Karachi, Pakistan. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Just reading that there are 7,000 millionaires in China; 373 billionaires (admission could be more than double due to privacy wish). A heated, wealth generating Chinese economy has profited an elite that is virtually and greedily ruining their own country's environment for their personal wealth. And here in Vancouver, thousands of empty houses and condos are owned by this elite. They seek a sanctuary from a social and ecological collapse back in China and possibly a government crack down on foreign buying. Recently news articles broke the story about a corrupt immigration business in Vancouver whose owner has been sentenced to 7 yrs in prison.... a Mr. Wang. The consequence for the "clients" of this business is their possible deportation (about 800 people according to article). Also reported is the high incidence of Chinese arrivals to Van airport smuggling in cash and many getting caught doing it. My concern is about China with a population of 1.357 BILLION people and the relentless incremental buy out of BC from this gargantuan borg. Other countries have limits on how much of their real estate can be foreign owned. It used to take gun powder to own another country's real estate. We need not a tax on foreign ownership but an enforced limit to it. Our grads can not even afford practically rent let alone a house in Vancouver or Toronto.
On June 3, 1980, at about two-thirty in the morning, computers at the National Military Command Center, beneath the Pentagon, at the headquarters of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), deep within Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, and at Site R, the Pentagons alternate command post center hidden inside Raven Rock Mountain, Pennsylvania, issued an urgent warning: the Soviet Union had just launched a nuclear attack on the United States. The Soviets had recently invaded Afghanistan, and the animosity between the two superpowers was greater than at any other time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. U.S. Air Force ballistic-missile crews removed their launch keys from the safes, bomber crews ran to their planes, fighter planes took off to search the skies, and the Federal Aviation Administration prepared to order every airborne commercial airliner to land.President Jimmy Carters national-security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was asleep in Washington, D.C., when the phone rang. His military aide, General William Odom, was calling to inform him that two hundred and twenty missiles launched from Soviet submarines were heading toward the United States. Brzezinski told Odom to get confirmation of the attack. A retaliatory strike would have to be ordered quickly; Washington might be destroyed within minutes. Odom called back and offered a correction: twenty-two hundred Soviet missiles had been launched.Brzezinski decided not to wake up his wife, preferring that she die in her sleep. As he prepared to call Carter and recommend an American counterattack, the phone rang for a third time. Odom apologizedit was a false alarm. An investigation later found that a defective computer chip in a communications device at NORAD headquarters had generated the erroneous warning. The chip cost forty-six cents.Forty UK nukes are on subs running Windows for Submarines.more
Center for Performance is finished, more to do at Hall of Fame Village

local
Afghanistans Defense Ministry says that security forces have carried out nine military operations across the country over the past 24 hours, killing at least 30 militants.

Spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said on December 24 that the operations -- including air strikes -- targeted Taliban militants as well as fighters linked to the Islamic State extremist group.

The raids were conducted in eight provinces, including Nangarhar, Uruzgan, and Helmand, the spokesman said.

Security forces seized weapons and ammunition from the militants, he added.

Meanwhile, local officials say several police officers were killed and injured in attacks in Farah and Zabul provinces early on December 24.

Taliban militants killed at least four police officers and injured nine others in an attack on a security checkpoint in Farah, western Afghanistan.

Provincial police chief Toryalai Abdyani said the attackers escaped with weapons taken from the checkpoint.

The raid took place at around 3 a.m. in the Shamalgan area of the volatile Bala Buluk district near the provincial capital, Farah. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Four policemen were killed and another officer injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southeastern Zabul Province.

Zabul police chief Mirwais Noorzai said the explosion occurred in the provincial capital, Qalat.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

With reporting by AP
The Associated Press said on December 23 it will seek to overturn a Belarusian court ruling finding that it damaged the reputation of a dairy company in a story about farmland contaminated by fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

The article said tests by a Belarusian state laboratory on a sample of milk from a dairy farm showed 10 times the accepted level of a radioactive isotope.

Milkavita, the company that the dairy farm supplies, sued AP's Minsk correspondent, Yuras Karmanau, who wrote the article, saying he had damaged its reputation. The company makes cheese, primarily for export to Russia.

Judge Tatyana Sapega ruled in Milkavita's favor on December 22 and ordered Karmanau to pay court costs.

Ian Phillips, AP's vice president for international news, said the AP stands by Karmanau's reporting and "AP looks forward to vindication on appeal."

The independent Belarusian Association of Journalists said the ruling "puts into jeopardy the very possibility of conducting important journalistic investigations in Belarus."

Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant in Ukraine near the Belarusian border, was the site of a nuclear accident in 1986, with the fallout contaminating much of northern Ukraine and southeastern Belarus.

Based on reporting by AP


obomba gave Israel 38 billion in aid which is illegal because Israel has nuclear weaponsand Netanyahoo is complaining because they got called out for being ILLEGALLY RACIST?lolashcan nazi bitches"The Invention of the Jewish People (Hebrew:     ?, Matai veech humtza haam hayehudi?, literally When and How Was the Jewish People Invented?) is a study of the historiography of the Jewish people by Shlomo Sand, Professor of History at Tel Aviv University. It has generated a heated controversy.Sand began his work by looking for research studies about forcible exile of Jews from the area now bordered by modern Israel, and its surrounding regions. He was astonished that he could find no such literature, he says, given that the expulsion of Jews from the region is viewed as a constitutive event in Jewish history.The conclusion he came to from his subsequent investigation is that the expulsion simply did not happen, that no one exiled the Jewish people from the region, and that the Jewish diaspora is essentially a modern invention.He accounts for the appearance of millions of Jews around the Mediterranean and elsewhere as something that came about primarily through the religious conversion of local people, saying that Judaism, contrary to popular opinion, was very much a "converting religion" in former times. He holds that mass conversions were first brought about by the Hasmoneans under the influence of Hellenism, and continued until Christianity rose to dominance in the fourth century CE.
Igor Dodon was sworn in as Moldova's new president on December 23, calling for unity in the divided country and pledging to maintain Moldova's neutrality.

The inaugural ceremony at the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau was attended by dignitaries from Russia, Belarus, Hungary and other European Union and former Soviet states.

Dodon addressed thousands of people who gathered outside the palace before he was sworn in, telling them he would be president of all Moldovans and pledging to unite a country divided after his narrow election.

"A union of both banks of the Dniester River is a primary objective of my tenure," he said. "I would like to address those who had voted for other parties: let's descend from the barricades and rally together for the sake of a better future. All of us -- the Moldovans, the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the Gagauz, are all citizens of one country."

Dodon assured that Moldova would remain a neutral state, saying he has plans to visit Moscow next month and will travel to Brussels shortly afterwards.

"Neutrality is a something sacred, which no one can take away from us," he said. "We will build bridges to the East and to the West."

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, TASS, and Interfax


The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the deportation of Ukrainian citizens from Russian occupied regions in southern and southeastern Ukraine.

"The Russian occupation administration has begun mass forced relocation of residents of the left bank [of the Dnieper River] of the Kherson region...to the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea or the Russian Federation," the ministry said in a statement on November 3.



Similar deportations are also being carried out by Russia in the Zaporizhzhya, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions, as well as in Crimea, the ministry said.



Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-appointed head of Kherson, announced on October 31 an expansion of what Russia has called the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens.

Saldo said he was moving people further into the region or to Russia because of the risks of a "massive missile attack."



Just three days earlier, Russian-installed officials announced that the evacuation process in Kherson region had ended.

Kyiv reiterated on November 3 that it saw the move as a "deportation." It also said reports continue circulating about the alleged mining of the Nova Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant by Russian troops.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy previously said that Ukraine suspected Russia had mined the dam and units of the power plant on the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine, and if it were blown up, more than 80 settlements, including Kherson, would be in danger of flooding.



The Foreign Ministry statement also accused Russian troops of looting industrial, cultural, educational, and medical institutions, as well as private houses and apartments.



The ministry called on the international community to condemn the forced relocation, to introduce new sanctions against Russia, and to increase military aid to Ukraine for the liberation of its occupied territories.

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.

The Ukrainian military's General Staff also said on November 3 that Russian forces continued the so-called evacuation of the local population in the Kherson region and accused them of taking away civilian and communal property, even equipment from hospitals, as they carried out the evacuation.



Russian forces also removed the roadblocks in Kherson. The head of the Kherson regional military administration, Yaroslav Yanushevich, believes that they did this to create an illusion that they have left the city.



It was also reported that the Russian flag was removed from the Kherson regional administration building. The head of the joint coordination press center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Natalya Humenyuk, said that this could be a provocation.



Russian troops captured Kherson in March in the early days of the war. Its loss to Ukrainian troops would signal a significant retreat.



U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, asked to comment on the battlefield situation in southern Ukraine, said Ukrainian forces in the Kherson region "have the capacity" to retake the territory on the west side of the Dnieper River and Kherson city from Russian troops.



Austin, speaking at a news conference at the Pentagon, did not answer a question about whether Russian forces were preparing to leave, but he expressed confidence in the Ukrainian troops' ability to beat back Russian forces.

With reporting by Reuters
Two brothers arrested on December 23 on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack in Germany have been released for lack of evidence.



Police in the city of Essen said on December 24 that the two men, aged 28 and 31 and originally from Kosovo, were released because the allegations could not be substantiated despite careful investigation.



Police originally made the arrests on the basis of a tip from intelligence services saying the brothers were plotting a terrorist attack against a mall in the nearby city of Oberhausen.



The arrests came just four days after 12 people were killed and dozens injured when a truck slammed into a Berlin Christmas market.





Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters


Two unidentified gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least one person, Afghan officials and media said on December 24.



Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was not at his home when the attack took place late on December 23, police said.



According to Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, a security guard was killed in the attack. The gunmen fled the scene and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.



Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current U.S.-backed Afghan government.



The attack on Zaeefs home comes two days after gunmen attacked the Kabul home of a prominent lawmaker from the volatile southern province of Helmand, killing eight people. The lawmaker escaped unharmed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack.



Based on reporting by AP, khaama.com
An "indefinite" cease-fire recently negotiated beween Ukraine's government and Russia-backed separatists in the east is due to start at midnight on December 24.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the agreement reached on December 21 was a sign that his war-weary nation is on a road to lasting peace after nine previously negotiated cease-fires came unraveled.

"I expect that thanks to these measures, which come on the eve of the New Year and Christmas holidays, this cease-fire in eastern Ukraine will be a lasting one," he said.

Orthodox Christmas is observed on January 7.

Self-described leaders of the separatists also said the truce was a sign of hope after a recent upsurge in violence in the Donbas region.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said they welcomed what Steinmeier called a "unanimous recommitment" to peace ahead of the holidays.

The two sides agreed to a similar holiday truce last year. It lasted for several weeks before fighting slowly resumed.

The last truce between the two sides was agreed in September and largely held until this month.

Based on reporting by AFP, Kyiv Post, and Sputnik International


The commander of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hossein Salami, warned protesters that October 29 would be their last day of taking to the streets.

"Do not come to the streets! Today is the last day of the riots," Salami was quoted as saying by state media.



Iran has been gripped by protests triggered by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Tehrans morality police.



Since Aminis death on September 16, thousands have been demonstrating across the country against the clerical establishment.



Protests were reported on October 29 at several universities across the country where students chanted, Death to the dictator, and, Woman, life, freedom.



Iran has blamed its foreign enemies and their agents for the unrest.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) posted videos on Twitter showing protests at several universities. One of the protests showed people holding hands in a large circle and chanting: "If we don't unite, we will be killed one by one."

HRANA said 272 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of October 28, including 39 minors. Some 34 members of the security force have also been killed and nearly 14,000 people have been arrested, it said.

The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights also posted a video of a protest at a university campus and said that in the city of Arak state security forces fired tear gas as mourners gathered for the funeral of Mehrshad Shahidinejad, a young aspiring chef who reportedly was killed after being arrested during a protest.

The IRGC warning on October 29 came as the United Nations expressed "increasing concern" about reports of deaths in the antiestablishment protests in Iran.

"We condemn all incidents that have resulted in death or serious injury to protesters and reiterate that security forces must avoid all unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York on October 28.

Those responsible must be held to account, he said, adding that the UN was urging Tehran to address the legitimate grievances of the population, including with respect to womens rights.

The United Nations urged the Iranian government in Tehran to respect human rights, noting that the crisis can and should be brought under control through dialogue.

In a separate statement, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also expressed concern about "rising fatalities and injuries" to protesters in Iran.

"Its essential that unfettered access to health care is provided to those in need, [including] the appropriate use of medical vehicles, facilities & the ability of health workers to help patients," WHO chief Tedros said on Twitter on October 28.

Protesters clashed again with security forces on October 28 in Zahedan, a city in southeastern Iran were dozens of people were killed in clashes four weeks ago during anti-government protests.

Activists posted videos on social media showing protesters in the city calling for the death of "dictator" Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and against the Basij militia, which has played a major role in a crackdown on the demonstrations.

The United States and Albania will hold an informal UN Security Council gathering on November 3 that will focus on the protests in Iran, according to a note outlining the event seen by Reuters. Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and Iranian-born actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi are set to address the gathering.

"The meeting will highlight the ongoing repression of women and girls and members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Iran," the note said. "It will identify opportunities to promote credible, independent investigations into the Iranian government's human rights violations and abuses."

Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, is also due to address the meeting, which can be attended by other UN member states and rights groups.

"The meeting will underscore ongoing unlawful use of force against protesters and the Iranian regime's pursuit of human rights defenders and dissidents abroad to abduct or assassinate them in contravention of international law," read the note about the planned meeting.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that the United States has completely lost its grip on reality in response to sanctions that Washington has imposed on Syrian officials and a Russian bank for their roles in the conflict in Syria.



Washingtons desire for regime chance in Syria is so strong that it is ready to help any destructive force, the ministrys December 24 statement said.



This widening of American sanctions against Russiaat a time when the bloody attacks in Ankara and Berlin should bring reasonable people together to fight the terrorist threat shows that Washington has completely lost its grip on reality, it continued.



The United States on December 23 added nine board members of a previously blacklisted Moscow bank called Tempbank to the list of Specially Designated Nationals allegedly providing financial services to Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government.



Six Syrian ministers and Syrias Cham Wings airline were also added to the list.



Based on reporting by AFP and AP
U.S. President Barack Obama has approved legislation that would consolidate oversight of U.S. nonmilitary broadcasting in the hands of a single chief executive, an overhaul that supporters laud as a much-needed reform but critics warn could endanger journalistic independence.

The legislation, part of a larger bill on U.S. defense spending in 2017 that Obama signed into law on December 23, restructures the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the agency that oversees civilian government broadcasting and media operations such as RFE/RL and Voice of America.

The new law will replace the BBG's bipartisan board with a presidentially appointed advisory board that will not have decision-making powers. Instead, those powers will be placed in the hands of a CEO appointed by the White House and subject to Senate confirmation.

Proponents of the law, which was spearheaded by Representative Ed Royce (Republican-California) and backed by Obama's administration, say it will improve performance of U.S. international broadcasting by scrapping a board consisting of members who served part-time and met infrequently.

But critics have raised concerns that it could damage the journalistic integrity of the media outlets under the agency's umbrella. Such powers in the hands of a White House-appointed CEO, they argue, could impinge on editorial firewalls between the outlets and the government.

The BBG's current CEO, John Lansing, remains in that position, which was created last year. But opponents of the bill have warned that President-elect Donald Trump -- who has had a contentious relationship with the press -- could seek to install a loyalist who would wield the agency as a tool of Trump's agenda.

In an interview published by Fox News on December 13, Royce dismissed these warnings as "spin" and "hysteria.

"It's 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 was quoted as saying.

Lansing said in a note to staffers earlier this month that the legislation makes "no change to the firewall between the federal government and the journalists of our five networks."

"Maintaining our journalistic independence, and our credibility worldwide, remains of the utmost importance," Lansing wrote.

In a White House statement after the signing of the bill, Obama said: "My Administration strongly supports the bill's structural reform of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which streamlines BBG operations and reduces inefficiencies, while retaining the longstanding statutory firewall, protecting against interference with and maintaining the professional independence of the agency's journalists and broadcasters and thus their credibility as sources of independent news and information."

While VOA and Radio Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba, are federal agencies that are formally part of the U.S. government, RFE/RL and its sister organizations Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks are independent corporations with their own editorial boards, funded by Congress. All, however, are overseen by the BBG.
The presidents of Russia and Syria expressed satisfaction with the government takeover of Aleppo on December 23 and said it has made conditions ripe for a broader peace deal in the war-torn nation.

Even as they spoke, rebel groups who were safely evacuated from Aleppo earlier in the week started shelling the city, while government forces resumed their bombing campaign pounding rebel positions outside Aleppo.

Russian President Vladmir Putin hailed the recapture of Aleppo, calling it "very important part of the normalization in Syria"at his annual news conference on December 23.

Putin credited both Iran, which like Russia backs the Syria regime, and Turkey, which backs the rebels, for the agreement making the Aleppo evacuations possible, and said it proved the competence of the "troika" of nations as they seek a broader cease-fire and political settlement.

"In the next stage, an agreement on a cease-fire on the entire territory of Syria should be reached and practical talks on a political settlement should start immediately after," Putin said

He said the troika had agreed to hold their next round of Syria peace talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has already signed off on the plan.

"President [Nursultan] Nazarbaev has kindly agreed to provide that platform and to create working conditions. I very much hope so we will be able to put all this into practice."

Putin later called Assad to congratulate him on the capture of Aleppo. The Kremlin said Putin told Assad that "the main goal now is to focus efforts on issues of advancing a peace settlement, including hammering out an agreement on a comprehensive settlement for the Syria crisis."

Syria's SANA news agency said Assad responded that the Aleppo takeover "has opened the door for political work in Syria" by "encouraging many, who earlier hampered the political settlement in Syria, to join the process and work on national reconciliation."

Hizballah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also said the army's defeat of rebels in Aleppo put an end to any hopes Assad's regime would collapse and opens the way to a political solution.

"After Aleppo, one can comfortably say that the goal of regime downfall has failed," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

The Kremlin also announced on December 23 that Putin signed an order to expand Russia's naval facility in the Syrian city of Tartus, while Russian military police were dispatched to Aleppo to help demine recaptured areas and "maintain order" in the city.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax


Across the West, a wave of antiestablishment feeling is challenging a political order built on the idea that open borders and open trade are the key to prosperity.

The last 12 months show how much so.

In Britain, voters opted for Brexit despite dire warnings about its political and economic consequences, leaving discomfited U.K. officials to negotiate their country out of the European Union.

In the United States, voters chose billionaire political outsider Donald Trump as president on campaign pledges to build a "great, great wall" on the border with Mexico, ban Muslims from entering the country, and scrap major free-trade deals.

On the European continent, a nationalist government rose to power in Poland, a pro-EU government fell in Italy, and Austria narrowly averted electing the first far-right head of state in the EU's history.

They're all part of a phenomenon that political analysts are still struggling to name. The rise of the right-wing, the rise of populism, the rise of antiestablishment parties -- the labels attempt to characterize a change that not only has taken many mainstream political parties by surprise but could dramatically reshape the West's social and economic policies.

"It is not clear to me yet that a majority of people support a rolling-back on open borders or open trade, but what we have here is a divided public, a part of the public that feels as though these policies of globalism or issues about immigration haven't worked in their favor and therefore they are protesting at the ballot box," says Michael Cullinane, a professor of U.S. history at Northumbria University in Britain.

2017 Elections

A series of elections in Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands in 2017 will provide key battlegrounds where the antiestablishment mood will be tested further, raising the possibility the EU could break up beyond Brexit as many of the populist parties dub Brussels a threat to their countries' interests and identities.

"What we want is to bring back the values, the identity, the culture and the money, and put forward again national interests," Geert Wilders, the leader of the populist Geert Wilders's Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, says. It is a description that fits many of the other populist parties as well, even as they espouse a wide variety of different ideologies.

The antiestablishment parties range from the right-wing National Front of Marine Le Pen in France, to the nationalist Alternative for Deutschland in Germany, to the left-wing Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece. But if their appeals range from anti-immigration to anti-austerity, the concerns of their voters are frequently shared: jobs, incomes, worries that globalization is putting them out of work, and fears of immigration, cultural change, and terrorism.

How these parties will try to reshape their societies is now the main question in many Western capitals.

Many analysts see the European Union as particularly under threat as Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Germany -- all with strong anti-Brussels parties or currents -- hold elections next year in the shadow of the Brexit vote.

In Italy, which has yet to schedule legislative elections following the resignation of pro-EU Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in December, the populist Five Star Movement has 30 percent voter support and is the country's second-largest party. Headed by comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo, it wants a referendum on whether Italy should leave the eurozone. The country's other populist party, the Northern League, with 12 percent voter support, is nationalist and anti-immigrant, and seeks to take Italy out of the EU altogether.

And in the Netherlands, which holds a general election in March, Wilder's Freedom Party is widely expected to win the most votes even as he is viewed by most of the country's other political leaders as too extreme to be partner in any ruling coalition. The Freedom Party is anti-euro, anti-EU, anti-immigration, and anti-Islam.

In France, which holds a presidential election in April, the National Front's Le Pen polls just a few percentage points behind leading contender Francois Fillon of the center-right Republicans. The anti-EU, anti-immigrant Le Pen has vowed to hold a referendum on whether to leave the EU if elected.

In Germany, the anti-eurozone Alternative for Germany is poised to enter the national parliament for the first time during legislative elections due before October 22. The party, which opposes the common currency but not the EU and is anti-immigration and anti-Islam -- has made rapid gains since it was formed in 2013, with seats already in 10 of Germany's 16 state parliaments.

EU Nerves

Recent polls gauge its popular support at around 16 percent, putting it in third place after the mainstream opposition Social Democrats, with 22 percent, and Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, with 32 percent.

"It is a risky couple of years ahead for the European Union as we currently know it," says Marco Incerti, an EU policy analyst with the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels. "The main question will also have to be whether eventually some countries' shift in a certain direction will mean the end of the Union or [only] these countries withdrawing from the European Union, which could then survive in a different form or in a smaller grouping."

In the United States, the direction that Trump's Republican administration will take under his mobilizing slogan of "Make America Great Again" after January 20 is still to be seen.

"It's very difficult to predict how Trump is going to behave and whether he is actually going to push forward all the things he said in the campaign, and, even if he just pushes forward a few, which ones will they be," says Rosa Balfour of the Brussels-based German Marshall Fund of the United States. "It is very much related to him, his own personality, rather than to an ideology."

Among Trump's frequently repeated promises are a curb on illegal immigration and the negotiation of tougher trade deals to protect U.S. industry as he promises to represent economically struggling Americans who say their interests have been ignored by the political elite.

Many analysts view the rapid rise of the populist parties as partly the product of the slow economic recovery in Western countries since the financial crisis of 2008.

"What we've seen since 2008 and the global financial crisis that came that year is an inability of governments all over the world to bring growth in the way many people expected after a major recession or depression," Cullinane says. "That has not happened, and populism is a reaction to those things."

Cullinane notes that in 1992, when there was a major banking crisis in the United States, there was a rebound of 5 to 6 percent in growth following the crisis. But since the 2008 implosion of risky securities markets and collapse of the real-estate bubble in the United States and the resulting global liquidity crisis, the rebound has been much slower, with average growth of under 4 percent a year in the United States and barely over 1 percent in the EU, which is also still struggling to shore up its currency, the euro.

For many observers, the economic difficulties are symptoms of still deeper problems in the West that may be at the root of the current political turmoil.

"The social contract that America has had, and this is also true arguably for Europe, that we've had for seventy-odd years no longer adds up," says Xenia Wickett, who heads the United States and the Americas program at London-based Chatham House.

She notes that the population is aging, there are more older people relying on younger ones for support, productivity is slowing, and there has not been enough investing in infrastructure and education.

A return to the kind of mainstream stability that has traditionally characterized American politics -- and modern Western politics in general -- may only come when the voice of those who feel they are being left behind has been heard and a new social equilibrium is achieved.

RFE/RL Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak contributed to this story.
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Today

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Jaycees Closet Christmas Celebration, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Jaycees Closet, 517 N. Broad St., Fremont. Santa and Cinderella will be joining in the celebration. Photos will be taken of each family and one free 4x6 print will be provided. Gifts will be handed out to the 10 Jaycees Angels sponsored this year. The event is free. There will be a diaper drive for The Bridge in Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Eagles Club open, noon to 4 p.m., Fremont Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 7:30 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley.

Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Sunday

Merry Christmas.

Monday

TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults  male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

FREEmont Community Skate, 12:15-1:30 p.m. (pre K-4th grade and family skate) and 1:45-3 p.m. (5th grade and up), Sidner Ice Arena, Fremont. Youth 7 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. All youth and residents of Fremont will be provided free ice time as well as skate rental during all FREEmont Community Skates.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous basic text study, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Celebrate Recovery, 7-9 p.m., Sanctuary Church, 1640 W. Military Ave., Fremont. Childcare is available.

Celebrate Recovery, 7 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road.

Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Tuesday

U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberrys office open, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 641 N. Broad St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Movie day featuring Sing, 10 a.m., Fremont 7 Theaters at Fremont Mall. Sponsored by the City of Fremont and Fremont Parks & Recreation Department, the movie event is for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and the movie will begin at 10 a.m. Admission is free. Pre-registration is required as space is limited to 170 seats. Register in person on the second floor of 400 E. Military Ave. or online at www.fremontne.gov. The following concession specials will be offered: kiddie combo, $4.50; small popcorn, $2; small drink, $2.

Ready for Kindergarten Storytime, 10-10:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. This is for ages 2-5. The theme is Santas Helpers.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

After School Chess, 4 p.m., Keene Memorial Librarys large meeting room, Fremont. Kids of all ages are invited to the library to learn how to play chess.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

TOPS 58, 6-7 p.m., St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Fremont. Weigh-ins are from 5:30-6 p.m. For more information, contact Nancy Wit at 402-727-6745.

Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 6:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 540 W. Eighth St., Wahoo.

Narcotics Anonymous It Works Group, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.

Al-Anon meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club front room, Fremont. This support group is for families and friends of alcoholics.

Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 8 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley.
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In a letter addressed to parents, students and alumni, the chairs of Saint Gertrude High Schools Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors denied rumors that the school is planning to move or conjoin with Benedictine College Preparatory School.

We want to be perfectly clear with all members of the Saint Gertrude High School community: Saint Gertrude has an unchanged commitment to providing a first-class, single-gender education, grounded in Benedictine values, for the next generations of young women who will become faithful, confident, and wise leaders of our community, church, and country, the school wrote in a letter. Further, our location in the heart of Richmond is integral to our innovative academic programs and is reflective of our commitment to the city that has been our home for nearly one hundred years.

The letter was sent via email Sunday. It was signed by Sister Cecilia Dwyer, chairwoman of Saint Gertrudes Board of Trustees, and Christopher M. Malone, chairman of the schools Board of Visitors.

Head of School Renata Rafferty, who is out of the country, verified the letter in an email Thursday evening.

According the letter, there had been rampant speculation that Saint Gertrude would move from the city after Benedictines leadership began considering an arrangement for an all-female or coeducational school to share its Goochland campus and administrative staff.

Malone said Friday that the email was sent in response to conjecture about the future of the school and its mission.

The Saint Gertrudes letter said that Benedictine, its sister school, has made a concerted effort in the past several weeks to share its plans with students, parents, alumni, faculty and others. Saint Gertrude was mentioned by some as one natural partner for such institutional collaboration.

We would like our Saint Gertrude High School community to know that Benedictine has never invited our school into their deliberations, planning process or presentations, the letter said.

Benedictine informed its students, parents and alumni in its own letter this week that two new coed Catholic high schools hoping to open in time for the 2018-19 school year requires us to look both inward and outward, in a strategic fashion, and to consider all possible ramifications.

Benedictine spokesman Mike Forster said Friday evening that the school is considering many options and among those is the idea to bring another school in to share the campus while keeping Benedictine all male.

Still, he cautioned that were six months from making any directional change and said that any change would entail a significant approval process which would include our monastic community.

The monks at Mary Mother of the Church Abbey own Benedictine.

Benedictine, which was founded in 1911 by monks from North Carolina as a Catholic military school for boys in the West End of Richmond, moved to its 50-acre Goochland campus in 2013. The unpopular move followed months of bitter infighting that included lawsuits, delays, threats and rescinded donations.

The school said at the time that it had outgrown its home of more than a century in Richmonds Museum District. Moving would give the school the opportunity to expand its student body and bring academics and athletics closer together.
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APPOMATTOX  Amy Covington will mark Christmas in her new house.

The three-bedroom ranch was built atop the site of her old house, wiped away in a matter of minutes by the tornado that swept through Appomattox County in February.

Theres a Christmas tree in her living room, twinkling with blue and white lights, and stockings hung by the fireplace. Her son Daniel Poole put up the tree a week before they moved into the new home three weeks ago.

She plans to attend Christmas services at Liberty Baptist Church, and later, her extended family and all three of her children  Jake, Daniel and Sarah  will come by for Christmas dinner.

Home. Church. Family.

What matters most.

For Covington, that is perhaps the legacy of the February twister.

I think that she has found strength in God, said Stacie Swan, a close friend. Shes done a good job [recovering], even though she might not think that.

Widespread damage

The Covington house on Cub Creek Road was one of nearly four dozen homes that suffered major damage Feb. 24 as the tornado, with winds up to 165 mph, left a path of destruction 13 miles long and 400 yards wide.

Covington was at Appomattox Primary School, where she works in the office. Daniel, 17, was home with a fever, and Sarah, 12, was at Appomattox Middle School. Daniel rode out the storm in a basement closet with painter Chris Wright while the tornado raged above him. When they emerged, all that remained of the house was a pile of debris.

Family and friends, including her son Jake, 24, who had moved out of the house a few years earlier, converged on the destroyed house to dig out Covingtons belongings and keepsakes.

All told, 202 homes were damaged in the tornado, according to Appomattox County. The total damage to the county is estimated at $11.2 million.

In the following 10 months, 16 homes have been rebuilt, including the Covingtons, with another dozen or so on the way. The majority of the damage to Evergreen could be fixed with manageable home repairs like nailing shingles, rebuilding a shed or removing stumps of fallen trees.

Weeks after the tornado, the county brought more than 1,830 tons of debris to the regional landfill in Campbell County  more than 25 percent of Appomattoxs deposits in the landfill for the entire fiscal year.

The Region 2000 Services Authority, which oversees the landfill, reimbursed the county $52,640 in disposal fees, one of the few allotments Appomattox County has received despite the millions of dollars in damage.

Along with the homes, two churches suffered damage from the twister.

Central Baptist Church has raised almost $150,000 to rebuild its sanctuary, heavily damaged by the tornado. Insurance also will help with the rebuilding, which is expected to be done by May.

The storm wrecked the roof at Evergreen United Methodist Church; the congregation held services in the basement until a few months ago, when the roof was repaired.

The tornados only fatality in Evergreen, Edward Keith Harris, 78, attended Evergreen UMC and sat in the same pew most Sundays.

A dream rebuilt

When Covingtons new house was merely a skeleton and a dream, back in August, she walked around the site with builder Seth Good and son Daniel as they marked on the plywood floor with pencil where lights and cabinets would go.

At the end of the tour, Good said best-case scenario was the house would be done in October.

If the house was not done, Covington jokingly said, Im going to call and say, Seth, you said October! Its October! 

A few minutes later, she realized all the preparation that still needed to be done to furnish the house.

That estimate was much sooner than the January deadline originally set when the house was just a set of plans, back in May.

Shopping for all the appliances, furniture and lights was a different kind of experience for Covington, who is divorced. She didnt have to ask anyones opinion.

She built the first house with then-husband Bob Poole in 2006.

I dont have to ask anyone, Do you like this? Do you like this? Its all me, she said, smiling, while picking out lights at Farmville Wholesale Electric about two months before move-in day.

While the new house will be completely to her preferences, she said, losing the old house, now in pieces in the landfill, was a struggle.

It was completely destroyed. [My sister said] I cannot believe you have such a positive attitude; youre standing here and laughing about it. I said, What else can you do?  Covington said.

God did me a favor. He got rid of memories I could not get rid of myself.

Covington was insured

Covington was fortunate she had insurance to reimburse her for the value of her house and its contents and to cover rent at her temporary home. About half of the Appomattox properties damaged by the tornado were uninsured or underinsured, officials have said.

With the denial of Virginias application for Federal Emergency Management Agency dollars to help cover some of the costs incurred by the tornado recovery effort, the county is hoping to hear in the coming weeks about an application for nearly $1 million in a Virginia Department of Housing Urgent Need Community Development Block Grant.

The Appomattox County Long-Term Recovery Group, a coalition of volunteers from churches and area nonprofits as well as county government officials, has collaborated with the Region 2000 Local Government Council in seeking the grant.

The application for $973,265 is earmarked for six houses that need to be built and to repair another 10 damaged houses. A portion of that money also will go to community cleanup such as stump removal and other needs.

First priority for the funding would be uninsured and underinsured families, with eligibility determined on a case-by-case basis and evaluated by Region 2000.

In the meantime, the long-term recovery group has contributed to four home rebuilds. They are under construction now. Several more are planned.

The average cost per rebuild is $65,000 using volunteer labor, according to the groups chairman, Adam Tyler.

Its a handful. Part of that is it just took forever for people to hear back from insurance, said Tyler, who also is a pastor at Grace Hills Baptist Church in Appomattox.

The group has amassed about $128,178 in donations to help survivors with tasks or items not covered by anything else. It has spent $62,100 and still has 23 home rebuilds for which it plans assistance.

As of December, it has served 123 households with stump removal, furniture, donations, housing assistance, referrals, repairs, rebuilding or providing volunteer labor.

The people are supporting one another, the community as a whole is very supportive.  I think the community is starting to recover, Tyler said. Christmas is a tough time, it doesnt have to be the loss of a person, and people are going to need to support one another in this season.

Along with the long-term recovery group, the disaster recovery arm of the United Methodist Church also has been instrumental in county recovery efforts.

Forrest White, long-term recovery manager and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission coordinator, said his group has been working on a variety of projects from newly constructed houses to small repairs in Evergreen.

They have trained case managers who evaluate those who apply for help. UMC only works with disaster survivors who are uninsured or underinsured and does not repair or rebuild second or vacation homes.

UMC has 14 cases it still is working on and has helped two families rebuild their homes. It handed over the keys to one of them, for Patty Bryant, two weeks ago. Her father, Edward Keith Harris, died in the tornado.

As a church, we believe thats what we are called to do, to be alongside people who have experienced any kind of loss, White said. Anyone in that community has experienced loss; even if you didnt lose property, theres an anxiety factor  a dark cloud.

Time to move in

On Dec. 10, Covington, her three children and several members of Liberty Baptist Church gathered at the new house.

The lot has fewer trees now, a reminder of the tornado. Covington ordered new trees from the Virginia Department of Forestry that should be in place next year.

They all joined in prayer with Pastor Rusty Small to bless the new home.

Sometimes its a mystery to us, why we deal with heartache, sorrow.  I grow closer to you [God] in tragedy, he said in a prayer. Knowing you took care of Amy and her family [after] they have put their faith in you and never wavered. Thank you.

The land they stood on, he noted, had been through devastation, with numerous concerns for property and life.

Earlier that week, as movers came in and out, Covington stood in her new bedroom, now on the opposite side of the house from where it was in the original house.

She was worried all the furniture would not fit because all three bedrooms were built smaller than before.

I have small bedrooms, but, hey, I have a house, she said.

I like this one better because its me.
Roundup: US-Saudi aggression warplanes continue heinous crimes against Yemeni civilians





SANA'A, Dec. 24 (Saba) - The US-backed Saudi aggression and its mercenaries continued their heinous crimes against citizens in several provinces overnight, a military official told Saba on Saturday.



In Ibb province, a family consists of a husband, wife, and five children were killed when the Saudi aggression war jets waged strikes on their house at al-Matlaway village in al-Udain district.



In Sa'ada province, the aggression warplanes launched two raids on Saher district, three on Al-Salam area of Kutaf district and three others struck al-Takhaih area of Majz district.



Meanwhile, the hostile fighter jets waged more than eight strikes on Mandabah area of Baqam district, dropping cluster bombs, as well as a raid hit citizen's car in Borkan area of Razah district and another strike targeted al-Malahidh area in al-Dhaher district.



The aggression's artillery fire and missiles targeted residential areas in Tallan and Thuaib of Hidan district in Sa'ada.



In Hajja province, the enemy's war jets hit Faj Haradh area twice and waged two raids on al-Mazraq area of Haradh district.



In Sana'a province, the war planes struck Dhabawah camp four times in Sanhan district and waged 12 strikes on al-Katab, al-Kahal Mountains, Akabah al-Sanani, Baran, Maswerah and al-Majawaha areas of Nehm district.



The Saudi-paid mercenaries' artillery targeted al-Aqran area in Nehm district, causing heavy damage to citizens' houses.



Moreover, the US-Saudi aggression war jets waged two raids on al-Jabanah area of a-Salif district in Hodiadah province and two strikes on al-Hajaih area of al-Maslub district in Jawf province.



In Amran province, the enemy's warplanes hit the Ninth Brigade headquarters three times and launched two strikes on Qafalat Uthar district.



In Taiz province, the fighter jets of the Saudi aggression waged three raids on al-Amray area of Thubab district and another one on al-Mizan area of Mocha district.





AA/BA

saba

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[24/December/2016]
SPC's President receives PM, FM





SANA'A, Dec. 24 (Saba) - President of the Supreme Political Council (SPC) Saleh al-Sammad met on Saturday at the presidential palace with Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Habtoor and Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf.



During the meeting, they discussed a number of topics related to the program of the National Salvation Government, as well as the political and diplomatic work mechanisms and the future of peace in light of the regional and international variables.



Al-Sammad hailed what has been achieved by the National Salvation Government, especially in facing the economic, military and security challenges and the implications of the economic, political and media blockade imposed on Yemen.



The president pointed to the importance of focusing on exposing the aggression's crimes and massacres against the Yemeni people, especially the use of prohibited weapons and cluster bombs on residential areas, farms and public and private interests.



He noted to the important role played by the Foreign Ministry and its cadres in order to break the diplomatic blockade on Yemen and the Yemeni people.



During the meeting, al-Sammad was briefed by the prime minister on the executive procedures taken by the government to face the crisis of salaries, address the cash crisis, enhance revenues and to face the economic war waged by the Saudi aggression within its comprehensive war on Yemen.



For his part, the foreign minister reviewed measures that have been taken by his ministry in order to break the diplomatic blockade imposed by the aggression on Yemen and to address the imbalances resulted in this aspect.



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[24/December/2016]
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
Schwan's announces further expansion at Salina facility

The distribution center, in addition to the 400,000-square-foot pizza expansion, will bring the Salina Schwan's site to over 1 million square feet.
Dear Editor,

Re: Development, Christianity and Samoa

The harm that is done to Samoans (which can be found if we analyze and think deeply on what is going on in the land of Samoa) is done by the smart Samoans using a mixture of palagi systems (Church/Government/Samoas own Money) and samoan systems (Matai and village life.)

What is even worse is the stupid Samoans allowing themselves to be fooled by the smart Samoans because they are only using their senses (eyes to see and ears to hear.) and have fear in their heart.

Yes the harm that is done in Samoa is not from foreigners (palagis) but the Samoas own people (leaders) doing it to their own kind (those allowing themselves to be fooled).

The solution to all the problems in Samoa is simple - dont allow yourselves to be fooled - dont belittle yourself - you are the Sons and Daughters of God.

Use the mind that God gave you and dont be afraid to speak your mind - Christ will help you - He has promised you.

Samoans embraced Christianity because of the man Jesus Christ and his teachings which touched something deep within each persons heart.

True Christians believe in the Christ and Jesus who attained the highest spiritual title (He gained this title by his own blood) (The Christ title is higher than all the matai titles and names - these titles are gained by material goods/money.)

True Christians are thankful because Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the Cross for everyone of us. And that is why we still celebrate Christmas in Samoa. It is time to spiritually wake up and mentally wake up. Merry Christmas to all in Samoa!

Keith Alderson
With the biggest celebration of every year just 24 hours away, villagers of Malie have come together to make sure this season will be a very merry one for all.

Luisa Saipani and a few other villagers have come together to clean up the village church in preparation for a great night full of song and dance in honour of the birth of Jesus Chrsit.

She explains that when it comes to working hard to clean up the church for Christmas, everyone works very hard because Christmas comes but once a year.

Even with rain pouring relentlessly yesterday, the work still went on for Luisa and her group.

Right now a few of us are gathering to prepare for Christmas, Luisa told the Village Voice.

So we are just cleaning both outside and inside the church area so that we can all enjoy this weekend together in a nice clean church.

We will be praising the Lord in this church but on the other hand, the work that we are doing here is also a type of service to the king of kings.

She says it always make her happy seeing people gather at the church to do some work.

Its great to see people joining me in doing some honest work here at the church, Luisa said.

I know for a fact that this work is not done in vain. We will get blessings from the Lord for what we are doing here today.

We are celebrating the birth of Jesus this weekend so when we do our work here then we must remember to always do honest work and do things to the best of our ability.

And when it comes to the decorating part, nothing but excellence is expected of the hard working villagers.

Right now we are just finishing up the cleaning of the outside, Luisa said.

We will continue onto the inside of the church tomorrow on Christmas Eve. We are going to really decorate this church so that it is very beautiful.

We are going to use red material and a lot of beautiful flowers so that everything will end up looking beautiful.

It is the least we can do for what Jesus has done for us in giving us everlasting life.

Although theres a lot of work, its bearable knowing that everyone will be enjoying a great Christmas night together in a beautiful church.

Everyone in the village looks forward to this time of year, Luisa said.

There will be groups dancing and singing in celebration of Christmas. It will be truly a festive season for all of us here in the village of Malie.

My message to Samoa is to have Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
The weather might not be exactly tropical at this time of the year but many people from around the world have come to paradise to spend Christmas. Some of them are here to be with families, others for vacations. Whatever purpose they have, they all have one thing in common. They are looking forward to a wonderful Christmas in Samoa. Julia Jamila Werner spoke to some of them and this is what they said:





Lisa Sovec

Australia

I expect the Christmas days to be quiet and relaxed. Now, there is loud Christmas music and colorful lights as far as the eye can reach but I guess that it will calm down when the families get together and spend some nice days of Christmas. Its a wonderful time to be in Samoa. The only thing is the weather needs to be better.

Toese Filipo Paulo

Samoa

I am going to see whats happening! I live a bit here and there and I love to see the joy and the love in the peoples eyes. Id wish that this would be every day and not only while Christmas!

Allen Xiang,

China

I am excited to see how Samoan people celebrate Christmas. In China we celebrate the Chinese New Year instead of Christmas so to be in Samoa at such a special time is excellent. I expect a relaxed time, being less busy than normal.

Ben Johanan

Apia

Usually Christmas is a relaxed time of the year. I am running my own business and this is the chance to have a little break. As every year I am going to spend time with my beloved ones.

Katherine Ellis

United Kingdom

I live in Vaitele Fou in a Samoan family. I am a volunteer and this is my first time being in Samoa but I count myself lucky to experience the Samoan Christmas in the most authentic way. I expect it to be as family orientated as they generally seem to be and of cause full of joy, love and happiness.
Dear Editor,

Thanks to all who have contributed to the discussion about the future of Samoa.

Each culture and each race has a personal history. We are fortunate to have the record of histories of many indigenous peoples and the stories in great detail of their destruction.

No Treaty with the American Indians was ever honoured but instead used to gain an advantage and lull the Native into a false sense of security.

Even our Constitution, which promises impartial justice to all has been ignored with the passing of many laws, which favour a few.

Our Constitution strictly forbids the changing of the land holding system of our people without a 2/3 majority vote favouring change in parliament and a vote of all registered voters wanting change.

Our Constitution says that unless this is done then any strategy whatsoever cannot take away or alienate Aiga land rights. Alienation of the land rights of even one individual is forbidden as is the alienation of the land rights of an Aiga group.

The PM has stated that children do not have rights but must look to their parents, who will decide everything. It follows that he also believes that individual Aiga members do not have rights but must look to their Sao.

This view of his allows no protection for children or Aiga from abuse.

In fact the HRPP strategy is to transfer the ownership of our ancestral land to the government with each registration of any customary land lease.

By operation of law, forbidden by the Constitution, all Aiga land rights are absolutely destroyed and sovereignty or total control is passed on to the State. The person named on the Certificate of Title is totally dominated by the State and must pay taxes on that land forever if asked and do whatever the State wants done with that land.

All of this is criminal and is designed to shatter the fabric of Samoan Society so that all - land and people are owned. The State will own Samoans bodies and minds and charge rent or tax on all that Samoans have or do. The Church will stand by and allow this evil because its faifeau love money not the people. Money is the god of the Samoan Church.

The character of the HRPP is totally questionable. The members of the Cabinet and the PM are evil men. The Head of State believes that all he has to do is nothing but meet and greet foreigners. All of these men are responsible and must be made to pay for the betrayal of our people and our culture.

Clara Gray is holding a forum to discuss land issues in January in Auckland. If we are to save our people from utter devastation then we must act. We must unite.

Understand that we are involved in a class war in which a small group of people wish to take complete control of the land of all others and to permanently destroy the matai culture by ethnically cleansing our link to our ancestors through the land.

The highest form of land ownership is ancestral title and it will cease to exist and ownership of all land registered will pass to the HRPP government.

This is that defining struggle of our culture and our race. Stand up and act. We need mighty men and women, who are true leaders not like the yes men of the Parliament, who are all business men and women, small minded and only self-interested.

The PM and his friends must be made to answer for the fact that now foreigners are deciding by vote to support the removal of the ancestral rights of our people.

The personal property of all State officials from the PM down must be seized and they should be put on trial for acting unlawfully and with utter malice to destroy our nation.

We must recover all monies secreted overseas by these despicable criminals in every tax haven and show the World that our ancestors and our unborn children matter to us.

Maua Faleauto
While many children were enjoying Christmas shopping with their parents in Apia yesterday, spare a thought for young Talele Misipele.

The 16-year-old was spotted at the S.N.P.F Plaza yesterday, pushing through the crowd to sell chips so he could help his parents buy some food for Christmas.

It was muggy and wet day yesterday.

And although it was a busy day, not many people were interested in locally made chips. This made Taleles task even harder.

Im trying to sell this stuff (chips) so that I could go back to my village and family before five oclock today, he told the Sunday Samoan.

Id rather be out there having fun with my friends but if I dont sell this stuff, we will not have food for tomorrow.

Talele was among many vendors like him who used the Christmas rush to try and make some money. They have become part of the furniture of the Apia township where they are seen hassling shoppers for a sale or some money.

For Talele, he was a long way from Satapuala.

But its a feeling he knows very well.

He has been doing this for a few years now.

I know tomorrow is Christmas and children expect gifts and presents, he said.

Personally I dont want a Christmas present. My only wish for this Christmas is to be with my parents and family."

Thats why Ill keep working hard to sell this stuff so we can get some nice food tomorrow. I don't care what people think or say about me. I just want to help my family.

Taleles ideal Christmas lunch includes some mamoe and fasi povi masima.

But he knows its a long stretch given what he earns. It means he might have to settle for chicken and taro.

But for him, it doesnt matter.

What he does know is that Christmas is about families and its about sharing.

Ive always wanted to do this to help my family, he said.

We dont have that much everyday but the little money we get from selling these chips help us a lot.

When school is back on, Talele attends Aana College.

My dream is to get a good paying job so that my family can count on me in the future. I want to do well in school because I believe this is the only way to success  is through education!

When Talele spoke with the Sunday Samoan yesterday, he said hed sold a few chips.

Its not a lot of money that I get from selling these chips but at least there is something there, he said.

This (money) helps my family to survive and buy us food for Christmas. I cant wait to go home.
An ancient proverb says, Weave in faith and God will provide the thread. Our mothers are our most skilful weavers. Throughout history, they have woven the strong bonds of family through their unwavering faith.

Samoan weaving is an art that carefully interlaces each strand to achieve balance, symmetry, harmony and correlation.

A mother who weaves with faith can find symmetry in the example of Mother Mary and her faith in the message of the Angel. Whatever trials Mary and Joseph faced, Mary was always calm and composed. It was her faith that gave her strength despite the doubts, envy and dangers that lurked around her as the mother of Jesus.

There is a saying in Asau: Ua pa le fana a Tulia (meaning, The rumblings of Tulia forewarns). The saying forewarns of something about to happen.

This year our police force uncovered large supplies of hard drugs, drug paraphernalia and military guns. We must resist the presence of these things in our lives. We must weave together in faith the kind of strong family and communal bonds that can withstand the power and fear they may hold over us. With faith, God will provide us with the thread we need.

The master weaver is always concerned to achieve harmony and symmetry in both process and outcome. Skilful interlacing not only takes time and patience, but also lots of love. This is equally applicable when observing the process and art of becoming a mother.

In birthing a mother is separated from the child she carried for months in her womb. After the birth the umbilical cord and placenta are returned to Mother Earth in recognition of the sacred bond between people and the environment, between the generations, and, most importantly, between us and God.

Achieving harmony in our interlacing requires also acknowledging the sacred bond between the wisdoms of the long and deep views; between our hearts, minds and souls; and between parents and their children.

In my meditation, I asked myself: what is Christmas about? What does it mean to me? For me it is about family and about faith.

Mother Mary is the master weaver who weaves love, patience and compassion into the fabric of family. It is her unwavering faith in God that gives family its strength and durability. Christmas is about strengthening the interlacing of these bonds, the bonds of family and faith.

I wish you and your families a safe and blessed Christmas.
With the Christmas weekend kicking off with rain spoiling some peoples plans, it is wise to continue to exercise caution.

Yesterday at midday, the shoppers were spared with the rain letting up a little but according to the Samoa Meteorology Office (S.M.O.), heavy rain and thunderstorms are still a threat for Samoa.

An official from the S.M.O. who spoke on behalf of Mulpola Ausetalia Titimaea, A.C.EO of S.M.O., told the Sunday Samoan, that they are still expecting a lot of rain throughout the weekend.

Right now (yesterday) there are moderate rains with possible thunderstorms all around Samoa, he said.

Theres possible heavy rain from Falefa to Manono and then all over Upolu. The same can be said for all around Savaii.

The official continued on to explain that the public should be cautious because of the heavy rains warnings thats still in effect.

I just want to let the public know that there is still a heavy rain warning in effect for Samoa, he said.

So prepare well for that this Christmas because the warning will most likely continue through to tomorrow. So from tonight right through to tomorrow, have caution."

There will be more updates available soon for the public.

On the subject of cyclones this cyclone season, the official said that Samoa seems to be in the clear for now but S.M.O. will continue to monitor any developments."

In regards to cyclones, there will be constant updates from 1am and 6am, he said.

Looking at the monitor right now, it seems that the cyclones are far from us but we will continue to monitor everything for the sake of the public."

There will be a lot of cloud cover throughout the weekend.
The government has been urged to reconsider its tax incentive schemes for foreign investors to protect small local companies.

The call comes from within the business community following the news that multinational company, Digicel, is planning to enter the tourism market next year.

A businesswoman who only wants to be identified as Sandra for fear of repercussions on her business contacted the Sunday Samoan to highlight her concerns. The woman claims that multi-national companies are using benefits offered through the governments tax credit incentives to start businesses, which then end up competing against smaller operators.

The decision by Digicel to enter the tourism industry is an example, she said.

But her concern is not confined to tourism. She said the same thing could happen to all other industries and the government has to be alert about the consequences.

I have nothing against Digicel setting up a hotel, she said. What Im worried about and this is why I am raising this matter is the unfairness on the smaller businesses, including many small hoteliers who will be disadvantaged by this.

Two weeks ago, Digicels former C.E.O, Rory Condon, revealed the companys plan to enter the tourism industry. Although the company has yet to make a formal announcement, Mr. Condon said Digicel wants to add value to whats already available in the Samoan tourism market.

Its a plan thats rooted in the future success of the Samoan tourism Industry, he said about the hotel plan. I have been working on a plan for a couple of years now. Personally I come from a country that has built a strong, tourism economy while at the same time guarding its traditions and its cultures and playing to its unique strengths that attracts tourists."

So its with this mindset that we put together a plan for a development in Apia. We work really closely with the Samoa Tourism Authority (S.T.A.) and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labor (M.C.I.L.) as well as other government departments who support our vision.

But its a vision that worries Sandra. She claims that Digicel is looking to use the benefits of Samoas tax incentive schemes to build a hotel.

It means the government will not be getting this revenue from a foreign company that has already been given so many other benefits to stay in Samoa, she said. This is tax money that should be paid to the Ministry of Revenue. It is money that should be put back into the development of Samoa through education, health and other critical developments and yet it will instead be used to make more money for these foreign companies who then take their money outside Samoa and we end up with nothing."

This worries me. I think its absolutely essential these government officials have got to wake up and review their foreign investment laws."

Weve got so many small businesses in Samoa struggling to stay afloat. If you look at the hotel industry, many small hotels are barely able to open because they cannot pay their debt."

They are the companies that the government should be looking to help, not open the door to another big player to use its size to disadvantaged smaller players in the market.

Attempts to contact both the Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti and the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt for comments were unsuccessful.

But a Member of Parliament the Sunday Samoan spoke with about the issue said the concern is not lost among Cabinet Ministers and relevant government officials who are likely to change the tax laws in the future to shut the loophole.

I think from a government perspective its all about creating more jobs for our people and in the tourism industry there is a need for more hotels to create more jobs, said the Member of Parliament.

But the loophole from what I see is in relation to big multinational companies who use it to advance their purposes. I agree that this is unfair and there is a need for the government to review their processes and do something about it quickly."

Obviously with any law, there are always holes and maybe the government didnt foresee whats happening now. I mean we are talking about millions of dollars that should be government revenue through taxes which will now be diverted elsewhere.

The Member of Parliament also highlighted another concern about Digicels plan.

As most people will know, if you look at the tourism industry today and the numbers at the hotels, its in a disaster, he said. When Digicel enters the market, they will be competing against some of these smaller hotels who are already struggling to pay their debts. It would be better for the government to increase and improve the number of tourists first before they should get more hotels.

Opposition Member of Parliament, Olo Fiti Vaai, told the Sunday Samoan he would need time to study the implications of the move before he could comment further.
The world is full of possibilities you just have to try it out. In fact, they are infinite.

These wise words were spoken by businessman, entrepreneur and founder of Infinity Samoa, Nonu Lemauga Saleimoa Vaai.

Infinity Samoa, is a Samoan-owned HR & Management Consultancy business specialising in providing a comprehensive range of Human Resources services including other strategic business and management solutions.

Nonu brings to the business a wealth of strategic HR and business experience.

He is a Certified Member of the Australian HR Institute (C.A.H.R.I) with well-established networks of HR and business specialists in the region as well as from the national public and private sectors.

Ive been in the management business for the last twenty years, firstly for the public sector and then into the private sector. I think its time now to start something new, he told the Sunday Samoan.

Infinity Samoa is the realization of that. They call it a leap of faith and try something out. This is the cultivation of dream that is long overdue.

Nonu said that in life, the possibilities are infinite.

My ultimate goal was to establish a business that provides a range of HR & Management services including recruitment services, he said. Infinity Samoa is the realisation of this lifetime dream and is founded on the belief that there are Infinite Possibilities, Infinite Solutions.

Infinity Samoas key business support is sourced from key business associates and network, which include areas of information technology, project management and financial management.

INFINITY SAMOA RECRUITMENT AGENCY (ISRA)  Online Recruitment Portal

One of the key services provided by Infinity Samoa is its Online Recruitment Portal to help facilitate the recruitment process for employers and job seekers. Vaai spoke about the services that Infinity Samoa offers including the online recruitment for customers to visit and trial out.

The portal is an additional service to our portfolio targeting the business sector and the public at large for recruitment purposes. We have been engaging in traditional recruitment since commencing business in March 2016. As a new start-up business, we have been slowly building on the online recruitment side of the business from inception."

This online portal is the result of a 3 months project in partnership with another local business - Samoan-owned IT firm  BROWNSYSTECH - owned by Tupai Toleafoa Christopher Kirk Brown, an Information Technology specialist.

This is another positive development for Infinity Samoa  the development of the Online Portal by local talent.

We had a low-key launch in October 2016 with only immediate families for the first phase of the online portal, said Nonu.

This phase has been promoted and trialled with a few clients and has been gradually gaining attention and business through a number of meetings with employers around town.

The Online Portal gives employers an opportunity to attract a wide pool of qualified candidates to select from to ensure they get the right person for the job and good fit for their organisation. Employers have options to choose from:

Job Advertisement: Infinity Samoa can advertise their roles and let the Employer carry out the recruitment process themselves;

Full Recruitment Process: Infinity Samoa can advertise and carry out the selection process in partnership with employers which includes pre-screening of candidates, shortlisting, interviews, reference checks, etc until the employer gets a few top candidates to select from;

Self-Help Job Packages: The employer can register and upload their own job advertisements by completing the Online Standard Job Advertisement Template. Payment can be made online which allows job advertisements to load automatically. A range of Job Advertisement Packages are available online. Employers still have the option of contacting Infinity Samoa to do this on their behalf.

For job seekers, the Online Portal is a platform to seek exciting job opportunities. Registration is free. They can sign up/ register to apply and to receive Job Alerts when suitable vacancies are available. They can also apply to relevant vacancies by completing the Online Job Application Template and submitting directly online to the relevant employer.

Another key objective feature of the Online Portal is for educational purposes by providing data on labour market supply and demand trends. Infinity Samoa aims to provide regular bulletins for its key stakeholders on local labour market trends.

Infinity Samoa is now one of the pioneers in introducing ground breaking technology to help job seekers and employers alike.

Online Recruitment is a global concept given the advancement of technology, and the changing nature of todays competitive and mobile workforces. There are many worldwide online recruitment firms but not in Samoa, Nonu said.

Given the very few HR professional firms in Samoa, Infinity Samoa Consultancy sees this as a great opportunity to introduce not only its HR & Management consultancy services, but an Online Recruitment Portal that caters for the market recruitment needs, and to provide snapshots of labour market trends. It has been a challenging project trying to see it through  a first of its kind in Samoa  and originated in Samoa with .ws domain. The Online Portal can be accessed and used by anyone from anywhere in the world.

ISRA Mobile Friendly App!

The ISRA Online Portal is also available as a mobile app.

It has always been our goal to provide the best Online Recruitment Portal service to the business sector and the people of Samoa. The ISRA App is available and can be downloaded to all mobile devices for a more user friendly service on the go. Infinity Samoa still offers the alternative option of traditional recruitment where there is face-to-face meetings and discussions.

PRODUCT TRADING

In addition to its HR & Management portfolio, Infinity Samoa also sells online unique brand products including Go The Manu (GTM) merchandise and the International Gold Winning Voice of an Island Book Series.

More information on Infinity Samoas services and its Online Portal can be found on its website www.infinitysamoa.ws; by email [email protected] or phone +685 7720200.
Imagine being away in a foreign country when a tragedy strikes and youre an ocean away from home.

This is the real life experience of Tevaga Paul Chan Tung, who originally from Samoa but was caught in the earthquake that struck the Solomon Islands earlier in the month.

Tevaga was on the Solomon Islands, with other colleagues, attending an internal and external auditing training.

The training was one of the largest in the Pacific, hosting a number of representatives from each island nation. Tevaga was accompanied by three other colleagues who represented Samoa in the training.

He shared with the Samoa Observer his experience.

Its early Friday morning, everyone is fast asleep after a long week of training, workshops and socializing. Suddenly, at exactly 4.38 AM, the earthquake shook the nation. Tevaga pries open his eyes wearily trying to understand why the walls of his hotel room are moving. Not a second passes until he realise its an earthquake.

Tevaga springs into action and heads for the nearest door. Luckily, his room was on the ground floor but worried about his fellow Samoan colleagues whos rooms were higher up in the hotel. The only thing on his mind after evacuating the building was that the earthquake would trigger a tsunami.

After watching the 2009 tsunami devastate his homeland of Samoa, he couldnt possibly bear to be a part of another disaster . He regrouped with his fellow colleagues in the reception of the hotel they were staying at and headed for higher ground in case of a tsunami.

The experience of the tsunami here in 2009, made us want to leave immediately in search for higher ground. We walked all the way to the parliament house and luckily there was a palagi couple that had a gps satellite phone. They guided us to the Parliament House

By 5, everyone in the hotel had evacuated safely to higher ground.

Luckily, a fellow colleagues phone was still received reception and used her device to tweet about the disaster that just struck. Her tweet caught the eye of world newscaster, CNN who then kept in touch with the.

Sita Leota of the audit office had tweeted that an earthquake had hit the Solomon Islands. Someone from CNN reached out to her and then it was from there that she kept in contact with CNN.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, everyone was cleared to return back to their hotel rooms.

What struck Tevaga as odd is the lack of urgency shown by the people of the Solomon Islands. Having never witnessed their homeland engulfed by mother nature, many of the Solomon Islanders were still lulling about in the street or still sleeping, rather than evacuate with haste.

I guess because they never experienced a tsunami before and I saw them roaming around. It was maybe about an hour and half late that they sounded the alarm ages after the earthquake had happened, Tevaga stated.

As if they hadnt endured enough, as the team was ready to depart back to Samoa; their flight got delayed and was left stranded in the airport with no food or money.

Luckily a fellow Samoan who was also on the island reached out and took them in.

Now back at home, Tevaga is a relieved man. Having survived another natural disaster like that has really opened his eyes to the things hes taken for granted.

I was really happy to come home. When I was there, its nothing like home. Sometimes we take for granted the beautiful island of Samoa. I missed the cleanliness and beautiful island of Samoa.
Sophiris Bio chairman and president Dr. Lars Ekman (left) with Randall Woods, chief executive. JOHN GASTALDO  U-T

Sophiris Bio Founded: 2001 in Vancouver, B.C., as Protox; relocated to San Diego in 2011; changed name in April Focus: A once-a-year injection for enlarged prostate, instead of pills or surgery Chairman and president: Dr. Lars Ekman, since 2010; he was formerly with Elan Pharma and Schwartz Pharma; an adviser at Warburg Pincus; partner at Soffinova Ventures Chief executive: Randall Woods, since August 2012; he was formerly with NovaCardia (acquired by Merck), Corvas (acquired by Dendreon), Boehringer Mannheim USA, Eli Lilly Funding: $55 million to date; $22 million cash on hand; major investors include Warburg Pincus, B.C. Advantage Funds Partnership: Kissei Pharma of Japan for drug development

As they age, many men are forced to deal with an enlarged prostate.

It can cause more frequent urination, waking up in the middle of the night to go, a weak flow, pain or difficulty getting started.

More than half of men have an enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by age 60, and about 90 percent are living with it by the time they are 85, according to the American Urological Association.

Prostate enlargement is so common, its normal and in most men, it does not cause symptoms, said Dr. Christopher Kane, chief of urology at the University of California San Diegos school of medicine. About a third of men will ultimately seek treatment, some will seek treatment right away, while others will tolerate symptoms for years.

The market for BPH treatments is growing. Oral drugs taken daily account for about $4 billion in annual sales, while surgery for advanced cases accounts for an additional $1 billion.

Sophiris Bio, a San Diego company, is going after this lucrative market with a different approach, a once-a-year injection that it says will give long-term relief without the potentially serious side effects that surgery and pills can sometimes cause.

The company, which relocated last year from Vancouver, B.C., is backed by big-name investors. It hired biotech industry veteran Randall Woods as its chief executive in mid-August; and is getting ready to begin phase-3 clinical trials by the end of this year.

Dr. Lars Ekman, a surgeon and veteran biotech entrepreneur associated with private equity firm Warburg Pincus and venture capital firm Soffinova Ventures, is its executive chairman and president and was instrumental in relocating the company.

Sophiris began as a collaboration between the University of Victoria in British Columbia and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Researchers discovered the drug, PRX302, in the 1990s, and the company was formed as Protox in 2001.

The company worked on the compound for several years, testing it on various conditions, before determining that BPH had the most potential.

Ekman became chairman in 2010 and helped secure funding of $28.4 million from Warburg Pincus. Sophiris shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange; it has raised about $55.8 million from investors and has about $22 million in cash.

I got personally inspired by the science and simplicity of the treatment paradigm and the unmet need and also saw a clear path to an NDA (new drug application to government regulators), Ekman said.

The company changed its name from Protox to Sophiris in April, to avoid confusion with Botox, which is also used in urology, Ekman said.

He credits the Vancouver teams scientific and technical experience for developing PRX302 but said no one there had drug commercialization experience. He tried to recruit experienced people to Vancouver but found it difficult. Thats why he decided to relocate the company, narrowing the choices to San Francisco and San Diego.

We decided on San Diego because we have a broader network here, and within six months we had recruited a team with more than 20 drug approvals (behind them), Ekman said. Normally people have one or two NDAs, but this team has 20. And that is spectacular.

Sophiris is counting on men wanting to switch from taking pills or going in for surgery to having an annual ultrasound-guided injection, a 15-minute outpatient procedure.

The current standard of treatment for BPH consists of oral drugs, such as Glaxos Avodart for considerably enlarged prostates, and Boehringer Ingelheims Flomax and its generic equivalents for moderate conditions. The pills, taken daily, help relax the prostate muscle tissue, slow down the pace at which it enlarges or even shrink it.

When patients dont see improvement and if they are unable to urinate, have blood in the urine that persists, or have a blockage that causes repeated urinary tract infections or bladder stones, surgery is warranted.

But the pills can cause dizziness, nasal congestion, fatigue and headaches, as well as sexual dysfunction. And surgery can lead to nerve damage, impotence, sexual dysfunction or incontinence.

UCSDs Kane said side effects from the pills are not common, but an injection would have more appeal compared with surgery. Patients love to avoid surgery on their prostate if they can, so its highly attractive for them to consider such an option, Kane said.

PRX302 is formulated to be delivered directly to the prostate via a localized injection. The compound is activated by the prostate-specific antigen or PSA, a glycoprotein present only in the prostate tissue. Once activated, it kills the prostate cells constricting the urethra.

Last week, Sophiris released results from its phase-2 clinical trial, which showed the drug was well tolerated by patients in a three-month study. Side effects included some tenderness and slight fever, which last a couple days.

Kane sounded a note of caution, since the effectiveness of BPH drugs can be magnified in shorter trials.

Over the past 20 years, many things have attempted to supplant the laser or endoscopic BPH surgery, because its such a huge market, Kane said. Nothing has really succeeded, so whether this will succeed depends on the quality of clinical trials.

Im cautious, because Ive seen a lot of miracle BPH treatments fail because they may get better in three months, but over time, its no better than placebo. So thats the risk in this area  the initial sign of efficacy is so exaggerated, so its not until we do a larger, randomized trial that you can actually gain confidence.

Sophiris is working out details of a pivotal phase-3 trial with the Food and Drug Administration and expects to begin the testing this fall.

Douglas Loe, a biotech analyst with Byron Capital Markets in Toronto, also referred to recent clinical failures by other drug companies, which highlight the challenges in BPH drug development.

But Loe said Sophiris is well-supported by a credible investor in Warburg Pincus and its medical prospects are strong, given the results of the phase-2 trial data for BPH and phase-1 data that showed it can also be used for localized prostate cancer.

The prospects for treating prostate cancer have been put on the back burner for now, while the company concentrates on BPH. Ekman said he may pursue it in the future as a spinoff company.

Like Kane, Loe said he expects Sophiris drug to target more advanced cases rather than patients with mild to moderate symptoms. He said it could become an alternative to surgery and for patients who dont like the side effects of pills.

Minimally invasive surgery called TURP is a very effective BPH therapy and two-year recurrence rates are very low, but disease does recur over time, so there is room for alternative therapies in more advanced BPH cases, Loe said.

TURP stands for transurethral resection of the prostate. About 350,000 TURP procedures are performed annually in the U.S., accounting for more than one-third of all outpatient surgeries performed by urologists.

Loe estimated that market to be about $28 million just for the urologists fee, with Medicare reimbursing at the rate of $650 per procedure. Professional fees for administering Sophiris PRX302 probably would be about the same, he said.

While symptoms will vary because BPH incidence is tightly correlated with patient age, overall addressable market is certain to grow in future years, Loe said.

That growth and the potential for a blockbuster drug is one reason Woods joined Sophiris as CEO.

Ive been very fortunate to have a number of jobs in the biotech and large pharma world, Woods said. You dont often find opportunities like what Sophiris represents.

He recalled taking care of patients who had undergone prostate surgery when he was in college and how traumatic it was for them.

I remember thinking I hope I never have to have this type of surgery. It was many years ago, but the procedure really hasnt changed that much.
One evening in December, Orange Glen High School students faced down drug users, gang members and a sword-wielding suspect, through a full-scale simulation of police encounters.

The activity was part of a tour of the Escondido Police Department, at the end of a semester-long class in criminal justice offered through the Orange Glen High School after school enrichment program.

For four years, Orange Glen High School has offered criminal justice classes to students who are curious about a career in law enforcement, or just want to learn about police work. They meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and some Saturdays, and earn five credits per semester for taking the course

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With the same textbooks and curriculum used by officers in law enforcement academies, the students learn radio codes and usage, criminal and civil law, evidence gathering, fingerprinting techniques, investigation, and report writing. Through weekly fitness drills, they hone the physical skills that police use to conduct foot chases or jump fences.

I plan to apply for the cadet program, said senior Giselle Guzman, 17. You learn the basics and the codes that they use. It gave me a preview of what I would be doing.

During the tour, they put that knowledge in context at the police station. Students visited the jail cells and the padded sobering room, where intoxicated people are detained. They viewed a collection of confiscated weapons, including handguns, knives, and even a battleaxe.

The highlight of the trip, however, was the simulator, consisting of three large screens that project a scenario before participants.

Oh my God, the Call of Duty, said Nick Pruett, 18, as he saw the simulator, referring to a popular first-person shooter game.

The setup does look like a life-sized version of a video game, but its designed for work, not play, allowing officers to test their responses to various law enforcement scenarios.

A handgun, taser and pepper spray canister fire lasers at the screen. Students first practiced shooting plates to get the hang of drawing and aiming, and then confronted videotaped actors in various settings.

The mock weapons trigger receptors on the screen, and scenes unfold differently, depending on the players response. For instance, a suspect who emerges from a doorway with a crowbar either advances and attacks, or drops to the ground if the player quickly draws and fires.

A mentally ill man swinging a sword drops it after Guzman asks him to put down the weapon. In another instances, however, the video characters shoot before the players react, revealing the split-second nature of police encounters.

Theres so much in the news about police officers over-reacting, said Doug Paulson, an Orange Glen teacher who coordinates the program. The good thing is that they realize how quickly decisions have to be made.

Its an eye-opener for students, particularly those considering a career in law enforcement.

I was panicking, Cristian Cruz, 15, said of his turn in the simulator. Its pretty hard to focus on a situation when its going by so fast.

It was a reality check about the risks and benefits of police work, he said.

You protect people, but its dangerous, Cruz said.

For Ezekiel Rojas, 17, who wants to be a patrol officer, the perils he previewed on the simulator posed a welcome challenge.

The simulator showed me what it would be like to go out on a mission, he said. I kind of do want to face that.

About 180 to 200 students have gone through the program since it started, Paulson said, and a handful are now working as military police officers or have entered the Escondido Police Department Explorer program or Palomar Colleges Criminal Justice program.

For the working officers who teach the class, its a refreshing change of pace.

Its so much fun, especially after what we do, said officer Beverly Holtz. We deal with people in crisis. Its fun to deal with kids that want to stay in school longer, and get to know them.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
The employees of Donovans Steak & Chop House have decided to forego their annual holiday party and instead use that money to help an Oceanside family struggling with cancer and hospital bills, the company announced Friday.

The Graziano family was profiled in a San Diego Union-Tribune column on Monday. Gioi Joey, 38, was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer in May and his 37-year-old wife, Maggie, was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer six weeks ago. The couples 6-year-old son, Kai, was afflicted with pediatric neroblastoma cancer as an an infant but is in remission. And the pair has a 19-month old, Everett.

The Grazianos hospital bills are estimated at $100,000 and growing, U-T columnist Fred Dickey wrote.

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Maggie and Joey fear theyll be forced to sell their house and move into a rental, which will cost them more than their mortgage, and with much less of a home, Dickey wrote. Its a harsh irony that even if a family is forced to think about the possibility of death, the pressures of living do not relent.

After learning of the familys plight, Donovans General Manager Sean Merzbacher said, the restaurants employees  roughly 100 people  asked if they could cancel the companys holiday party so the money could be donated to the Grazianos. In addition, the workers started a fundraising drive, resulting in a combined total of about $30,000 that will be given to the family.

Its gut-wrenching to think about a company going out to a Christmas party knowing that every dollar could be going to a much better cause. said Merzbacher. It really came down to how could one in good conscience celebrate, knowing that money could have gone to such a wonderful family and such a wonderful cause. It was an easy decision for us.

Dan Shea, president and managing partner at Donovans, said the staffs initiative and compassion is inspiring.

While my heart breaks for what this family has to contend with, at the same time I am so very proud of our employees for their generosity and spirit, Shea said.

The Donovans team is challenging all companies and individuals throughout the San Diego area to help the family.

Contributions can be made at www.gofundme.com/gioigraziano or to Nice Guys of San Diego at www.sdniceguys.com, in the name of the Graziano Family.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
Approaching the first holiday season since his son was killed in a terrorist attack in Nice, Conrad Leslie received what he called a Christmas miracle  a measure of comfort in a sea of nearly unrelenting grief.

Nicolas Leslie, a 20-year-old UC Berkeley student from Del Mar, was one of 84 people killed July 14 when a Tunisian attacker drove a box truck through a promenade in the French city filled with people celebrating Bastille Day.

Conrad Leslie said he and his wife, Paola, had been tormented by thoughts of their sons body abandoned at the scene, until receiving a Facebook message last week saying that two French women had found Nicolas and stayed with his body through the night.

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It was a beautiful Christmas story, Leslie said. It couldnt get any better.

In the message, Leslie learned that a mother and daughter from Nice had encountered Nicolas body as they left the scene of the attack.

They were there on the 14th, and they came across this young mans body all alone, Leslie said. Something compelled them to stay there. They went home and got candles, and stayed and prayed by his side.

The message, Leslie said, helped console him and his wife and represented a milestone in their journey to make sense of their sons death. It was sent by a woman whose mother is a neighbor of the Good Samaritans.

Nick Leslie, a graduate of Torrey Pines High School, entered Berkeley to study environmental science and then switched to a business major, hoping to found a sustainable food company. He was participating in a summer entrepreneurship program in Nice, when he was struck by the truck as it barreled through the plaza.

His parent initially believed he had survived the attack and arrived in France only to get the devastating news that he had been killed. Even days after the attack, the scene at the plaza was horrific, Conrad Leslie said, with blood still pooled on the ground. Months later, Leslie said he and his wife both struggled with nightmares of the night Nicolas died.

The people who died lay there all night until the next day, he said. That thought drove us crazy, that he lay there alone, while we thought he was (still) alive.

To deal with their grief and honor Nicolas memory, they worked with UC Berkeley to create a scholarship that will help other students study abroad. Conrad Leslie also began exploring spiritual writings.

Ive been trying to find faith, to find meaning to his death, he said.

The work of Emanuel Swedenborg, a 17th Century Swedish scientist and mystic, resonated with Leslie. And Swedenborgs illustration of two angels beside a dying person convinced him that Nicolas was not alone the night he died. Then he received the message, which he said confirmed that belief. He shared it with his wife, who was recuperating from hip surgery in the hospital.

Basically it was the proof that I needed, that these two people were the embodiment of the angels that I saw in the illustration, he said. It brought us so much peace, and faith in humanity.

Paola has communicated with the woman who relayed the message, and the couple plan to meet her in Nice next summer, along with the women who found their sons body, Leslie said. The ongoing story, he said, show how terrorist attacks alter lives far beyond the immediate victims.

Thats not just an event, he said. It ripples, and it ripples, and it destroys lives. But there are also ripples of goodness.

Donations to the Victory of the People Fund for foreign study in honor of of Nicolas Leslie can be made at www.give.berkeley.edu/victory.
Amanda Matti went to Baghdad in 2005 as a Navy intelligence analyst and fell in love with an Iraqi translator. Her memoir, A Foreign Affair, is about what happened after government officials learned of the relationship. Hint: They werent happy.

Matti lives in El Cajon, where she is the marketing coordinator for Daytripper Tours. She will be at the county library in El Cajon for a Local Author Expo on Jan. 21 at 2 p.m.

Q: If you had compiled a list of things you thought might happen when you went to Baghdad, how far down the list would falling in love have been?

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A: It wouldnt have even made the list. You know how it is. Fate always surprises you.

Q: How much did you and Fahdi (her Iraqi boyfriend and eventual husband) worry about the repercussions?

A: Not much. As far as I knew, even working at the NSA (National Security Agency), there were tons of people, both military and civilian, who had foreign spouses. I even knew a Navy chief who was married to one of the daughters of the Filipino communist revolutionaries.

We had always been told that if you had a foreign relationship of any kind there were certain procedures and protocols and paperwork to file due to having a security clearance, but other than that, I really didnt think there would be any issue.

Q: You write in your book about a double standard in the military in which its OK for men to have relationships with foreigners, but not women. What role did the double standard play in your case, and do you think it will change any time soon?

A: Well, this was 10 years ago, so it might have changed some. Im not a raging feminist or anything, but I definitely got hit in the face with a blatant double standard. I knew men who had war brides or battlefield romances, and the treatment of them was they were high-fived and slapped on the back and told, Attaboy. If a female does it, were looked down on as a dirty tramp who has betrayed our boys.

Even in my disciplinary review board, I was asked why, with hundreds of millions of Americans to choose from, did I choose an Iraqi? And half the guys in that room had foreign spouses.

Q: What was the hardest part for you during the legal entanglements and the separation from Fahdi?

A: They keep you completely in the dark. You know nothing. Things drag on and on and on. You try to find out whats going on, and you arent told anything. All you know is that at any minute there could be a knock on the door with NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) agents coming to arrest you. Every passing moment for that nine-month period, I didnt know if I was going to get dragged off to the brig.

And then on top of that, Im dealing with Fahdi being stuck in Iraq receiving death threats, dodging bullets, and Im unable to communicate with him or know whether hes OK. I was going through what the average military spouse does when a loved one is deployed. It was a lot of stress.

Q: What did you learn about yourself through all this?

A: I went from a young, immature and even naive person to someone who grew and learned more about the world in that year than most people do in 20 years. I learned a lot about everything  about our justice system, about our military, about the inner workings of our government agencies, about the shadow wars in Iraq. I think its a 20-year coming-of-age story that happens in a matter of 10 months.

Q: When did you decide to write the book?

A: I started writing just a couple of months after I came back from Iraq and was in the midst of the investigation. I wrote to relieve stress. I knew that I was being railroaded and I knew that what was happening to me wasnt right, and I said, Im going to write this down. If I have to, if things dont go well and I end up in a court martial, I will have it down, documented in writing, and I will tell every news outlet from here to Baghdad what is going on.

It took me six, seven years to finish the book. In the beginning it was stress relief, and then I wrote it for myself, for us, and for our kids. I wasnt planning to publish it. When I finally finished it, some family members and friends read it and said I should consider publishing it.

I didnt know the first thing about publishing a book. I sent off random emails to five literary agents across the United States and one called me back. She said, I think you have a strong story here and I want to represent you.

Because of my work history, I was required to submit the manuscript to the NSA for review. Because some of my work was in conjunction with the CIA, I had to send it to them, too. So probably everybody under the sun in D.C. has read my book.

Q: Did they require you to make any changes?

A: Its funny. I got the manuscript back and whole chapters were redacted. I had to write around whole chapters. But what was really hilarious is that there were some sections of the book where I thought, I dont know if this is going to fly, and there were other parts I thought were fine. The stuff I was worried about they left in, and the things I thought were fine they took out.

Q: This is a very personal story, but what lessons or messages are in it for the rest of us?

A: To not believe everything you see, hear or read. To know that the people you thought might be on your side can wind up being against you. And to know that at the flick of a switch, your whole life can go upside down and youll be in a position youd never thought you would be in. And it will happen when you least expect it.

Q: How are you and Fahdi doing now?

A: We celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary next year. Weve experienced the ups and downs that every couple goes through, but considering the hell we went through to be together I dont think theres anything we cant overcome.

A Foreign Affair, by Amanda Matti, W & B Publishers, 354 pages, $17.99
Two unidentified gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least one person, Afghan officials and media said on December 24.



Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef was not at his home when the attack took place late on December 23, police said.



According to Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, a security guard was killed in the attack. The gunmen fled the scene and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.



Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current U.S.-backed Afghan government.



The attack on Zaeefs home comes two days after gunmen attacked the Kabul home of a prominent lawmaker from the volatile southern province of Helmand, killing eight people. The lawmaker escaped unharmed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack.

Based on reporting by AP, khaama.com
Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher was spending Christmas in intensive care at UCLA Medical Center two days after suffering a cardiac episode during a flight from London to Los Angeles.

Fishers mother, entertainer Debbie Reynolds, said on Twitter on Sunday that her daughter was in stable condition.

If there is a change, we will share it. For all her fans & friends, I thank you for your prayers & good wishes, Reynolds tweeted.

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Fisher, 60, was rushed to the hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics shortly after noon Friday, after her 11-hour flight touched down at LAX.

A source who was not authorized to discuss the incident said the actress was in a lot of distress on the flight.

Hospital officials have not provided any details about Fishers condition. But family members have suggested doctors have been able to stabilize her.

Shes obviously a very tough girl whos survived many things, Todd Fisher, Carrie Fishers brother, told KABC-TV Channel 7. I encourage everyone to pray for her.

A statement released by United Airlines said that medical personnel met Flight 935 from London on arrival Friday after the crew reported a passenger was unresponsive.

Our thoughts are with our customer at this time, the statement read.

Just prior to arrival, a pilot told the control tower that passengers who were nurses were attending to an unresponsive passenger.

Theyre working on her right now, the pilot said in a public recording of the conversation on liveatc.net.

According to the Los Angeles Airport Police, officers responded to Terminal 7 around 12:15 p.m. to a call of a female passenger in cardiac arrest. On arrival, they found paramedics performing CPR on the victim, according to Officer Alicia Hernandez.

Fisher, who rose to stardom as Princess Leia on Star Wars, recently published an autobiography titled The Princess Diarist, her eighth book.

She is the daughter of famous Hollywood couple Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.

Fisher, who has written and spoken openly about her struggles in the movie business, is considered Hollywood royalty. She took on her prickly relationship with her mother in the book-to-movie Postcards From the Edge. Shes also been outspoken about her mental health issues and the solution she found: radical-sounding electroshock therapy.

News of Fishers condition sparked an outpouring of support and sympathy on social media.

Many of her Star Wars co-stars wished her well on Twitter, including Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca; Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker; Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO; Dave Prowse, who acted as Darth Vader; and Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian.

Im shocked and saddened to hear the news about my dear friend. Our thoughts are with Carrie, her family and friends, co-star Harrison Ford said in a statement Saturday.

Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.. @carrieffisher  Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) December 23, 2016

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse... sending all our love to @carrieffisher  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016

At last I know what I want for Christmas. The galaxy's beloved Princess, fully functional once more. And soon.  Anthony Daniels (@ADaniels3PO) December 24, 2016

All I want for Christmas...  love, Bill pic.twitter.com/wMI5nK8Zx9  William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 24, 2016

My wishes to U Carrie Fisher, are a complete & speedy recovery.Your Princess Leia is a true and beloved national treasure.  carl reiner (@carlreiner) December 24, 2016

Sending love and well wishes to 'our Princess' @carrieffisher. The Force is strong with you... #YubNub x pic.twitter.com/TP1Z0msUjO  Warwick Davis (@WarwickADavis) December 23, 2016

richard.winton@latimes.com

joe.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @LAcrimes and @JosephSerna

ALSO:

In her unflinching The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher revisits her Princess Leia days and her affair with Harrison Ford

The new documentary Bright Lights peels back the curtain on Carrie Fishers legendary Hollywood family

Carrie Fisher insists: I never said Harrison Ford was bad in bed

From the Archives: Star Wars hails the once and future space western

UPDATES:

Dec. 25, 1 p.m.: This article was updated with more news about Fishers health.

Dec. 25, 12:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Debbie Reynolds.

Dec. 25, 6:45 a.m.: This article was updated with the latest on Fishers health and more reactions.

Dec. 24, 5 p.m.: This article was updated with additional comments from Fishers siblings.

Dec. 24, 10:30 a.m.: This article was updated with new tweets from well-wishers.

Dec. 24, 7:30 a.m.: This article was updated with details that Fisher is in the intensive care unit at the hospital.

Dec. 23, 4 p.m.: This article was updated with more details on Fishers condition.

Dec. 23, 3 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Hamill and Mayhew.

Dec. 23, 2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about the pilots conversation with ground control.

Dec. 23, 2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from LAX police and United Airlines officials.

This article was originally published on Dec. 23 at 1:35 p.m.
A trip to Costa Rica with his wife in the late 1990s led Joe Behm to a new career in coffee. Although hed studied science and business in college, hed spent years working in engineering and construction, helping other people start businesses. After tasting the best coffee hed ever had in Costa Rica and wanting to replicate that at home, he invented and founded Behmor, which creates and sells home coffee roasters and brewers.

When he heard that many coffee farmers had never tasted the coffee they were growing, he started the Behmor Inspired program, which provides roasters to farmers with the goal of helping them understand more about how to improve their crops and increase their own profits on their farms.

This stunned me when I realized these hard-working men and women, as well as their children, couldnt improve their lot in life, their income and more, if they didnt fully understand what they were growing, he says.

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Behm, 62, lives in Del Cerro with his wife Kerry and they have three daughters and a grandson. Between business trips to China, South Korea and Guatemala, he took some time to talk about how he got his business started, how his Behmor Inspired program helps farmers and what this work has helped him realize about himself.

Q: What led you to the coffee brewing and roasting business?

A: Accident and necessity. My world changed when we happened upon a little roaster in Costa Rica. While there, we drank coffee I would later describe as the nectar of the gods. Two years later, in June of 1999, the idea for developing a roaster was born. The only problem was that I didnt have a clue about coffee roasting. With engineering assistance and a lot of time in my garage using skills Id learned in construction and electronics, the first iteration of the Behmor 1600 coffee roaster was born.  In April 2007, after almost eight years of research and hard work, we introduced that roaster to the coffee roasting community, garnering an award for the best new product that year at the Specialty Coffee Association of Americas annual expo. Shortly thereafter, the idea of a brewer was born.

Q: Tell us about Behmor Inspired.

A: Approximately two years ago, I learned that almost all coffee growers, especially small producers, have never tasted their own coffee. With a desire for hardworking men, women, and their children to improve their lot in life, Behmor Inspired provides roasting and brewing equipment to national coffee associations at no charge to assist the local farmers. We began the program by reaching out to the president of Anacafe, Guatemalas national association, and arrangements were made to ship our roasters to Guatemala. Simultaneously, we reached out to other coffee-producing countries. Initially, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica accepted our partnership, along with a womens group in Burundi. In 2017, well add additional countries and have also committed to providing equipment to the International Womens Coffee Alliance for 22 training sessions throughout the world, allowing women farmers to also taste their coffees for the first time.

What I love about Del Cerro ...

We were fortunate to buy in a very quiet residential area of San Diego that affords us views of almost all of San Diego, including Coronado and Mexico. So when Im stressed over designs or solving problems, my eyes can wander while my brain seeks solutions in a quiet setting.

Q: What is the purpose of the program?

A: To provide roasters and brewers to farmers so they can taste and sample their own coffees.

Q: Why was this particular program something you wanted to do?

A: As Americans, we are truly blessed with many opportunities in life, yet the farmers that bring us coffee dont have nearly the same opportunities.

Q: What are your goals for the program?

A: To provide a chance for financial stability to those less fortunate than myself.

Q: In what ways does Behmor Inspired help coffee farmers?

A: By providing equipment, the farmers and their families can become more engaged in the full cycle of coffee: growing, milling and sampling their coffee, ultimately improving the quality of the product and resulting in them earning higher incomes.

Q: What are some of the most pressing issues facing coffee farmers?

A: The pressing issues include poverty, a lack of running water, housing, medical coverage, as well as a lack of education. Farmers worldwide also deal with the inconsistencies of Mother Nature, pests and plant disease. In addition to these general challenges, some countries have a basic lack of opportunity and poor education, which leads to no jobs.

Q: How does your program plan to help the farmers with these issues?

A: By providing equipment at no charge, the farmer can taste their coffee and determine if there are any deficiencies in the bean, allowing them to then make improvements and ultimately provide a greater income. With greater income, there is access to better education and medical help.

Q: What helps improve the quality of soil?

A: Education about the agricultural needs of growing coffee. On my last trip abroad, we discussed the coffee plants needs for nitrogen and how to best work with the environment. For example, shade grown coffee requires less nitrogen and water. These adjustments reduce costs, reduces the use of chemicals, increases production and provides more income.

Q: What improves the quality of coffee beans?

A: Coffee beans have grades and the lower the grade, the lower the price. Higher grades and quality lead to higher income. Another key challenge, is that quality beans produce greater income and major corporate coffee roasting companies are moving toward production of mechanically-picked, mid-grade coffee in some areas of Brazil, Vietnam, Laos and southern China. This mid-grade coffee produced in flat lands can be mechanically harvested at enormous cost savings when compared to hand-picked (lovingly, I might add) coffee from Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia, and other regions where coffee is grown in shade and/or mountain slopes. If farmers in the latter regions do not increase quality, they will be competing against machine-picked coffee prices and the families suffer. Quality can mean a world of difference.

Q: Why havent some farmers ever tasted coffee from their own beans?

A: Professional-grade sample roasters are so expensive (between $4,000 and $8,000), small farmers and cooperatives cant afford them.

Q: Whats been challenging about your work with Behmor Inspired?

A: As we seek to expand the program, we are constrained by my companys growth within the market. We understand that despite being in our ninth year we are new to many people. As we grow, so will our donations.

Q: Whats been rewarding about that work?

A: Meeting the men and women who arent looking for fame and fortune, but looking to feed and clothe their families and further their education.

Q: What have you learned about yourself as a result of this work?

A: How truly blessed I am to be where I am, to be able to impact the lives of others with equipment I invented from passion that can be used to improve the lives of others.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: Stay humble, remember the human side of who you are and treat everyone equally.

Q: Describe your ideal San Diego weekend

A: Enjoying the sights and activities, such as sailing on a cool, sunny day on the San Diego harbor. Or, as we did not long ago, renting a room at the Hyatt and going to a great dinner downtown with friends, before attending the Billy Joel concert at Petco Park.

Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @lisadeaderick
From the make-shift camps by the San Luis Rey River to the tent cities in downtown San Diego, the homeless continue to shock the senses and the conscience.

North County, it seems in this holiday season, is on the verge of getting serious about a growing social disaster. The outreach, particularly to veterans, is intense. Union-Tribune columnist Dan McSwain has written movingly about the problem. Hes our poet laureate on the hard-scrabble subject.

In early October, I sat down with Greg Anglea, Interfaith Community Services charismatic young director, to get some idea of what it would take to end homelessness once and for all.

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Could a billion dollars perform the miracle? I asked.

Anglea smiled at the wild premise of the question.

I dont think you could eradicate homelessness to the point where no one is sleeping on the street or in a car, he said. Well never get to true zero. We can, however, get to the point where everyone whos interested in housing can get housing. Thats the vast majority. Very few people want to be in the streets.

And yet, despite the fact that very few want to live in the urban wild, the numbers keep growing.

As organizations like Escondido-based Interfaith, Solutions for Change in Vista, Alpha Project, Father Joes Villages and others can attest, more refugees keep showing up looking for a place to flop at an inn that often has no place for them.

At Interfaiths year-round shelter, for example, 50 men and women sleep safely with walls around them, but 200 are on the waiting list.

Whatevers being tried is clearly helping, but its not fixing. Drugs, illness, crime, poverty  its a witchs brew.

I asked Anglea about the countywide affordable housing shortage, one of the oft-cited causes of the recent spike in homelessness.

In his view, the lack of housing makes homelessness worse, but its not the cause.

More telling, he suggests, is the mental fragility of those on the streets. Some 60 percent of those interviewed while receiving services report some manifestation of mental illness, from hearing voices to previous psychiatric holds or prescribed medication.

Reintegrating these people requires more than a home or a hot meal or canned goods, as essential as those are.

Helping, really helping, the poorest among us requires a village of support.

In a recent commentary for the Voice of San Diego, Anglea encourages people like you and me to volunteer and donate money, clothes, bedding and household furnishings to help people, even those with drug or alcohol problems, move into an apartment. (Hard to get sober if youre on the street, he says.)

We havent made it easy for people to help, Anglea told me in October.

Dropping off canned goods and serving soup are valuable, he said.

But whats priceless is the landlord who has his choice of tenants and yet goes with the person with the bad credit report, history of evictions, and reliance on Interfaith to keep him from back-sliding into homelessness.

Or the employer who goes with the applicant who hasnt worked for a while and has just found an address thanks to Interfaith, an organization representing some 350 faith communities, from Anglicans to Buddhists.

At this point, I have a confession.

In the holiday season, my familys giving has been confined to the Heifer Foundation, a cuddly charity that provides farm animals to needy families in the Third World.

Well, I have to ask myself: What about the people living in Third World conditions in my world?

Yes, the homeless are often dirty, they can stink, they might act strangely.

All the more reason to help, I can hear a certain Someone saying in the New Testament.

In his op-ed piece, Anglea recommends a simple gesture toward the homeless that seems especially right on Christmas Day.

Talk to them, he urges. Ask them how they are doing. Ask them about their lives. Everyone is different, we all know that, but when was the last time you sat down and heard the story of that person you usually just pass by on the streets? The time you take to visit with a person in crisis can make a real difference. Let them know just by listening that you care.

My original question, I realize, was stupidly misguided.

The real issue is not what a billion dollars could do.

Money and manpower would help. Regional coordination, sure. More housing, you bet. Better health care, obviously.

But nothing short of a societal shift takes you to statistical zero.

You only get there if every San Diegan cared enough to stop, look the homeless in the eye and ask if they need some help.

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logan.jenkins@sduniontribune.com
A recent study shows that people under 40, men and blacks are more likely to be the victim of violent crime in San Diego County.

The report by the San Diego Association of Governments found that blacks were around three times as likely to be a victim across all types of violent crimes compared to other racial demographics in 2015. The overall findings are similar to conclusions reached in past years.

They are disproportionately victims, you cant deny this, they are disproportionately represented, Cynthia Burke, SANDAGs director of criminal justice research.

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The report, released last week, shows that while black people make up 4 percent of the countys population, they represented 14 percent of the victims of violent crime. While blacks were overrepresented as victims in all types of violent crime evaluated, 20 percent of homicide victims were black.

The report is written every other year and focuses on demographics of victims of reported homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies, but did not include property crimes like burglaries. It also does not seek to explain why certain populations might be more likely to be victims of certain crimes.

The study also found that children 17 years old and under are less likely to be victims of all types of crime except for rape, a disparity that SANDAG says shows their vulnerability. This was the first time that SANDAGs report included males as victims of rape, and found that they make up 10 percent of cases.

Men represent 98 percent of rape suspects arrested in 2015. A change in the definition of rape caused the total number of reported cases to grow significantly, from 463 in 2014 to 1,100 in 2015, a separate report says.

Adults 18 to 39 years old were overrepresented as homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault victims.

Women were just under a third of homicide victims, and 18 percent of suspects. In cases where the suspected killer was later identified by law enforcement, women knew their assailant 96 percent of the time, while men knew their assailant in 59 percent.

Firearms were used in 55 percent of homicides, knifes or sharp implements in 25 percent, and other weapons in 20 percent.

A total of 69 percent of homicide victims are men.

The report used a new definition of rape that for the first time includes male victims. It found that 90 percent of victims are women and the remainder are men.

The study used the FBIs definition of rape, a crime that includes male and female victims involving sodomy, penetration by any body part or objects, and no longer requires force.

SANDAGs report only looked at what percentage of crimes were committed against various demographic groups, but did not provide year-to-year comparisons, or figures that show how many people are the victims of crimes.

Other reports show that violent crime in San Diego County has declined since the early 1990s when nearly 10 out of every 1,000 people were victims, down to just over 3 of every 1,000 people in 2015, a slight increase from the year prior. Compared to national statistics, the San Diego region had a lower violent crime rate.

Additionally, SANDAGs study used data on crimes that were reported to police, so the dataset does not represent the true rate of crime. Burke said that around half of all violent crimes are reported to police, and some categories, particularly rape, are reported even less frequently.

Its important to report crimes to police, Burke said.The more information law enforcement has the more likely they are to stop serial crime suspects.

The study gives a snapshot of crime victims of 2015, but its also designed to be a tool and resource for advocates. Victims resource organizations might find it useful to demonstrate a need for services for certain crime victims when applying for grants, Burke said.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
A light fixture in a condominiums garage sparked a fire that was quickly put out in Hillcrest Friday evening, a fire official said.

The light fixture ignited contents in the garage at the four-story building on Sixth Avenue near Pennsylvania about 5:25 p.m.

Firefighters quickly found the blaze and extinguished it within 10 minutes, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Capt. Joe Amador. The fire was contained to the garage.

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No one was injured, and the residents were not displaced, Amador said.

Investigators determined that a malfunction caused the light fixture to catch fire. The blaze caused $2,000 in damage, Amador said.

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Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
A drivers license is a rite of passage. Unfortunately for many drivers, so too is ones first traffic ticket. Indeed, some surveys suggest one-fourth of all adult drivers have gotten traffic tickets in the last five years.

The introduction of autonomous vehicles (AVs) onto U.S. roads is expected to disrupt everything from the way freight is shipped to how safe we are on our commutes. But less attention has been given to how their arrival could reduce the number of traffic stops dramatically.

Its safe to say the first wave of autonomous vehicles are not far off, but projecting the precise timeline along which AVs will develop is challenging. Early models will be similar in concept and capability to the vehicles Uber already operates in Pittsburgh. These systems will continue to have steering wheels and pedals and will still require occasional operator involvement. While fully autonomous vehicles may eliminate traffic stops altogether, these amalgam piloted cars with blended operational control will most certainly change the status quo and reduce the need for police to pull people over.

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The prospect of even a marginal reduction in the number of traffic stops could prove an inflection point for criminal justice public policy, given that traffic stops are among the most common interactions between the American people and their government. In 2011, the last year for which Bureau of Justice Statistics are available, half of all police interactions were related to traffic stops. In other words, 31.5 million Americans had an interaction with the police related to a traffic stop in that one year alone.

If autonomous vehicles realize only a fraction of their projected safety benefits, a decline in the number of traffic stops would be virtually inevitable. Among the consequences of this change would be fewer traffic tickets issued, the average cost of which is $150. Traffic-related violations are so common that local governments across the nation currently count on the revenues generated by these encounters to fund basic operations.

Its also possible that fewer stops could help break the cycle for members of poor communities who get caught in the criminal justice system. Optimistically, this could have the effect of improved relationships between these communities and the police sworn to protect them.

A basic principle in criminal procedure, laid out in the seminal case Terry v. Ohio, is that police can seize citizens for a limited time if they have reasonable suspicion that crime is afoot. This tenet has been expanded to traffic stops. When an officer sees a speeding car, he has reasonable suspicion that at least one crime has occurred  speeding.

Combined with pretextual stops  in which officers have ulterior motives for the stop, typically when they want to investigate a crime but lack sufficient cause for seizure  we have the recipe for a powder keg of tension between police and the populace. Minorities, who systematically have been subject to a disproportionate percentage of traffic stops, see the practice as good old-fashioned racism. For their part, law enforcement sees aggressive stops as good policing, pointing to Timothy McVeigh and other high-profile cases that were solved due to basic traffic enforcement.

Beyond the sheer decline in the number of stops  pretextual or otherwise  autonomous vehicles also will record their passengers movements. As a result, the evidence of traffic violations, or lack thereof, will be beyond contest. Complaints of racial profiling could be settled quickly with a review of a vehicles computer to see if a moving violation occurred. The same would hold true in traffic court, where judges likely would throw out citations where a driver can offer definitive proof that no violation occurred.

Autonomous vehicles are coming and their emergence will change the landscape of policing. Its impossible to project all the ways these changes will affect society and the legal system, but the future certainly looks different.

Adams is a senior fellow at the R Street Institute and is an insurance and public policy attorney with the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Sacramento. Rizer is justice policy director for the R Street Institute, a Washington-based think tank. He was previously a civilian police officer, worked as a federal prosecutor and retired from the U.S. Army. They wrote this for InsideSources.com.
How to submit your event

Send details (who, what, where, when, cost and contact information) in an email to editor@ramonasentinel.com.

The deadline is noon Friday.

Items run on a space available basis.

Questions? Call 760-789-1350.

THURSDAY, Dec. 22

TOPSRamona Chapter of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Grace Community Church, 1234 Barger Place, 9 a.m. Weigh-in at 8:30 a.m.

Ramona Library, 1275 Main St., 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tai Chi at 9 a.m., Toddler Storytime at 10:30 a.m., 3D Printer Demonstrations at 3 p.m., Music Shop at 3 p.m., Family Movie Night at 4 p.m., Citizenship Class at 6 p.m. 760-788-5270.

Ramona ACBL Bridge Club, open game, 6 p.m., 1721 Main St., Suite 101. 760-789-1132.

Ramona Design Review Board, 7:30 p.m., Ramona Community Center, 434 Aqua Lane.

FRIDAY, Dec. 23

Ramona Library, 1275 Main St., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Zumba at 9:30 a.m., Bouncing Baby Storytime at 10:30 a.m., Family Craft at 3:15 p.m. 760-788-5270.

Ramona ACBL Bridge Club, open game, 9:30 a.m., 1721 Main St., Suite 101. 760-789-1132.

SATURDAY, Dec. 24

Weight Watchers, Ramona Womans Club, 524 Main St., 8 a.m.

Ramona Library, 1275 Main St., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Exercise Dance Class at 9:30 a.m., Bilingual Storytime at 1:30 p.m. 760-788-5270.

SUNDAY, Dec. 25

Christmas Day

MONDAY, Dec. 26

Most public offices closed.

TUESDAY, Dec. 27

Backcountry Quilters, 9 a.m., Ramona Community Center, 434 Aqua Lane. pinecastle946@sbcglobal.net.

Ramona Library, 1275 Main St., 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Country Line Dancing at 10 a.m., Preschool Play at 10:30 a.m., Computer Basics at 2 p.m., Teen Chess Club at 3 p.m., Childrens Folklorico Dance at 4:30 p.m., Adult Folklorico Dance at 6 p.m. 760-788-5270.

San Diego County Mobile Library, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Country Village Store, 23658 San Vicente Road. www.sdcl.org.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28

Ramona Library, 1275 Main St., 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Yoga at 9:30 a.m., Womens Empowerment Art Therapy at 9:30 a.m., ABC Preschool Storytime at 10:30 a.m., Storytime Craft at 11 a.m., Teen Time: PS4 at 3 p.m., Anime Club at 3 p.m., Paws to Read at 3:30 p.m. 760-788-5270.

Veterans Services Representative, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ramona Library, 1275 Main St. Walk-ins welcome or email Lourna.Marquez@sdcounty.ca.gov to make appointment.
Storm leaves 1.95 inches of rain

The storm that drenched the region with strong and steady showers on Friday left 1.95 inches of rain in Ramona and set a record of 5.2 inches on Palomar Mountain, exceeding a previous record of 1.5 inches in 1938.

Among other rainfall tallies from the National Weather Service were: 5.69 inches at Palomar Observatory, 3.88 at Lake Cuyamaca, 3.57 in Mesa Grande, 3.05 in Julian, 2.9 on Volcan Mountain, 2.63 in Santa Ysabel, 2.54 on Mt. Woodson, 2.42 on Mt. Laguna, 1.78 in Goose Valley, .03 in Borrego Springs and .01 in Ocotillo Wells.

Hanukkah celebration

Congregation Etz Chaim will celebrate Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights, in the Rotunda of San Diego Country Estates, 16911 Gunn Stage Road, on Friday, Dec. 30, at 7:30 p.m.

All are welcome.

Special refreshments will be served and songs celebrating the holiday will be added to the Sabbath prayers. For additional information, call 760-789-2781.

Academic honors

Three Ramona residents  Gerald Gantzer, Jenna Kubiak and Emily Teefarden  are on Biola Universitys Fall 2016 Deans List. Students on the deans list are honored for earning a grade point average of 3.6 or higher while enrolled in 12 or more units and whose cumulative average is at least 3.2.

Inclusion on the Biola deans list is an indication that these students are performing exceptionally well in a rigorous academic program, said Patricia Pike, vice provost for undergraduate education. Our deans list students are bright, motivated, engaged, competent, and personable. They are already demonstrating the characteristics of success that results from applied intelligence and that will support future endeavors in society, community, career, and family life.

Winter break

Ramona Unified schools are closed for the the holidays through Jan. 2. Classes will resume on Jan. 3.

Holiday schedule

The Ramona Sentinel office will be closed the next two Mondays, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. As a result, advertising deadlines will be at noon on Thursdays, Dec. 22 and 29, and news deadlines will be at 5 p.m. Dec. 22 and 29.

Holiday trash

Ramona Disposal Service will be closed Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. Residential collections will be delayed one day through each week. Commercial and residential dumpster service will be on a normal schedule, stated a news release.

Library art

Ramona Library is partnering with 2Create Gallery and Ramona Art Guild to provide juried art shows and has extended its deadline for art submissions in its first juried art show. Submissions for the theme Ramona, a Wonderful Place to Live will be accepted until Jan. 10. The first show will be wall art only, displayed in the library from January through March. Each quarter new work will be placed in the library and a show event will be held to introduce the artists to the community.

For an application or more information, email LibraryRamona@gmail.com.

Got news?

Email maureen@ramonasentinel.com with details.
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The Kingborough City Council is all set to open the first ever Climate Change Innovation Lab in Australia, which will be open for scientists working on climate change in Australia and the Pacific islands. Additionally, it will also be open to local residents, who can walk in voluntarily and embrace the challenges of climate change.

A Brilliant Effort to Tackle Climate Change

The city council of Kingborough, Tasmania, Australia, decided to take an initiative to study the reasons and consequences of climate change and devise suitable remedial and combat strategies. The council announced the opening of first ever established Climate Change Innovation Lab, which will be set up at the Kingston Beach Hall. The lab will be open for climate change experts and locals alike.

The lab will start functioning within the next six months, from the Kingston Beach Hall and partly from the Kingston Beach Arts Hub. The ingenious venture of the city attracted support of private enterprises, especially insurance companies. This lab may help these insurance firms to identify and decide as to when and where the company should start or stop developments in the high flood high risk areas, reported Daily Telegraph.

Climate Change and Rise in Sea Level

The idea was first conceived after Kingborough closely missed a flood, two years ago. The event raised inquisitiveness and awareness among the locals regarding the severity of the outcomes of climate change.

Steve Wass, mayor of Kingborough city, said, "Even with the sea at existing levels the right combination of high tides and flooding from nearby Browns River could cause some of Kingston Beach's roads and properties to go under water."

He happily announced that, "Kingborough had stepped up following a near-miss flooding event two years ago, initiating scientific studies and formulating strategies for both defence, and retreat, as water levels rose." Wass also stressed that, "There is a wealth of information out there if we can bring everyone together.''

The Kingborough Climate Change Innovation Lab caught the attention of climate change peers across Australia, after it was discussed in the National Climate Change Adaption Research Facility meeting in Melbourne. Hopefully, it will help in creating awareness and solution toward climate change and its outcomes.
An advanced ultrasound technique developed by a group of scientists from Nottingham University, England, will revolutionize biomedical cell imaging. The technique is based on sound waves rather than the earlier developed ultraviolet light-based imaging technique. The newly developed method will help in analyzing each individual live cell without distorting its structure and function.

Nottingham University's Invention: A Biomedical Revelation

The newly developed technique applies sound waves with short wavelength to screen through the abnormally growing cells, which will be highly useful in the diagnosis of cancer. This technique possesses many advantages over the optical super-resolution techniques, which was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, reorted The Engineer.

Professor Matt Clark at Nottingham University said that, "People are most familiar with ultrasound as a way of looking inside the body - in the simplest terms we have engineered it to the point where it can look inside an individual cell."

Experts also say that the biomedical application of this technique will help in developing stem cell-based therapeutic approaches for the treatment of acute and chronic illnesses.

New Ultrasound Technique will Undermine Optical Microscopy

Application of optical microscopy in the study of biological specimen is limited by the wavelength of light used in it. It is because the use of ultraviolet light and the fluorescent dye for imaging is extremely harmful to living specimens. It can destroy the covalent bonds essential in maintaining the structure and function of biological molecules, reported India Today.

On the contrary, ultrasound technique employs sound waves, which are not associated with high-energy payload and the resultant damage to live biological specimens.

Professor Clark further said that, "A great thing is that, like ultrasound on the body, ultrasound in the cells causes no damage and requires no toxic chemicals to work." He also said that, because of its harmless nature, it can be used to see inside live cells, which may be grafted back into the body, especially in stem cell therapeutic transplants.
JOHNSTON | President-elect Donald Trumps America first economic nationalism scored well with voters, but may not play well with international trading partners, much to the detriment of Iowa, according to economists who monitor the states economy.

The zero sum trade game  that is, the idea that when American wins there has to be a loser  that Trump seems to be advocating could hurt Iowas exports to China as well as to its North American and European trading partners, economists David Swenson of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa and Ernie Goss of Creighton University said Friday during taping of an upcoming Iowa Press program.

Goss compared Trumps approach to trade to Brexit  Britains decision to leave the European Union  and similar populism in Europe, saying such uber nationalism is not good for the economy.

The impact could be huge, huge, Goss said, because the U.S. depends heavily on agriculture, agricultural exports and agriculture depends heavily on trade. Iowa is among the five states most dependent on agricultural trade.

Iowa exports much of its agricultural commodities and manufactured goods to China, so if Trump carries through on his threats to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, Swenson said it will either increase the cost of buying stuff from Iowa or decrease our access to goods and services from other places.

China has played fast and loose on trade in some cases, Goss said, but the Chinese are no longer manipulating their currency to gain an advantage in trade.

And while many Iowans have praised Trumps selection of Gov. Terry Branstad as his ambassador to China because of his many trade missions and personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the economists warned that Branstad cant approach the post as the states trade representative.

The governor is going to have to learn to be an ambassador and all that entails broadly with regard to traditional State Department activities, he said. An ambassador isnt a trade representative and so the role is significantly different than being the chief trade representative of the state of Iowa or the Midwest.

There's no ribbons to cut in China, which is what Terry Branstad loves to do. Hes a promoter and hes a hand-shaker and he likes to work out arrangements with people, Swenson added.

Iowa Public Broadcastings edition of Iowa Press with the economists will air at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 30 and noon Jan. 1 on IPTV, 8:30 a.m. Dec. 31 on IPTV World and online at www.IPTV.org.
CLEAR LAKE | A man is accused of assaulting another man in rural Clear Lake with a golf club Sunday and stealing a pickup truck.

Ronald A. Decker, 59, Clear Lake, has been charged with felony second-degree theft. He also faces misdemeanor charges of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

The assault victim was sitting on a couch at a residence on Hickory Avenue on Sunday morning when Decker approached him from behind with a golf club and stuck him in the head and face, causing bleeding and swelling, according to the criminal complaint.

Decker then allegedly used the same club to smash a window of the assault victim's car. He also reportedly took the keys to a pickup owned by another person which was parked at the residence and left in it without the owner's permission.

Decker was taken into custody later that day, according to Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals.

He remains in the county jail on $8,000 cash/surety bond.

Decker's next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 28.

-- Mary Pieper
As the calendar works toward Christmas Day, an annual question returns: "Will there be a White Christmas?"

In some parts of the U.S., a white Christmas is expected, while in others, it is unheard of. The white areas on the map below indicate the historical chances of a white Christmas, based on the National Centers for Environmental Information climate data from 1981-2010. In this case, a white Christmas is defined as having one inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day.

In the West, the odds of a white Christmas follow topography. Narrow strips of white along the West Coast indicate the high historical probability of snow on the ground in the Cascades and the Sierras, as does the wider swath of white covering the Rockies and other mountain ranges. Northern locations such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine and upstate New York also usually have snow on the ground on Dec. 25. In contrast, the Southeast usually sees nary a flake.

RELATED: What Does Climate Change Mean for Winter Storms?

A look at the current snow cover map in the U.S. is actually pretty similar to the historical probability map, with snow (or no snow) in most locations you would expect for this time of year. There are some subtle differences, however, with snow currently covering most of the Dakotas, Michigan, and New York, areas that are usually far from guaranteed to have a white Christmas.

This weekend, a large storm system will move from the Rockies to the Northern Plains, likely bringing fresh snow on Christmas Day to an area from Colorado to Minnesota before racing into southern Canada. However, a surge of warm air will precede it, likely melting any remaining snow in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

And it will be far too warm for snow in the Southeast on Christmas Day this year.

Climate change could wash out white Christmas in areas where they're already unlikely. Rising temperatures are ensuring that more winter precipitation is falling as rain in many locations across the U.S.

A Climate Central analysis of 65 years of winter precipitation data from more than 2,000 weather stations in 42 states, found a decrease in the percent of precipitation falling as snow in winter months for every region of the country.

For much of the country, winter is the fastest warming of the four seasons, with the coldest states warming the most. Since 1912, states with average winter temperatures below 32F have warmed three times faster than states with average temperatures above 32F. And during that time, winter nights in the coldest states warmed up to five times faster than those in warm states.

That means that while white Christmases will not disappear in the near future, it is likely they will become less common in places that have become accustomed to them in years past.

More From Climate Central:

This article originally appeared on wxShift, all rights reserved.

WATCH: Why You Should NEVER Eat Snow Again
This month, a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people at a Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt. This was one of the deadliest attacks to ever target Coptic Christians, a religious minority that make up about ten percent of Egypt's population.

Copts and other Christian sects have long faced violence and discrimination in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East, where Islam is the dominant religion. So, what is life really like for Christians in the Middle East? Watch today's Seeker Daily video to find out.

Learn More:

BBC: Coptic Orthodox Church

Newsweek: The New Exodus: Christian Flee Isis in the Middle East

Pew Research: Concern for Christians in the Middle East helps drive historic meeting between Catholic, Orthodox leaders
Press Release

December 24, 2016 Christmas 2016 Message of Senate President Koko Pimentel I wish everyone a Merry Christmas! And I pray that the coming new year will usher in a period of peace, justice, and prosperity for you, your family, our country and the rest of the world. Christmas is a time for peace. Remember that our Lord always said "Peace be with you." Hence, let us be at peace this Christmas: at peace with our God, with our religion and conscience, with our family and community, with our countrymen, our ASEAN region, and with the entire community of nations. In the spirit of Christmas, let us therefore support President Rodrigo Duterte's unilateral declaration of a ceasefire with rebel forces. At no time in four decades has our nation been closer to long-lasting peace than now. Let us pray that we achieve this in 2017. Christmas is also a time for sharing, as a way of celebrating our blessings and thanking the Almighty for the blessings he has showered upon us. Let us be thankful that during this Christmastime the 2017 National Budget was signed into law by the President. We have tried our very best to make this budget a Budget for Change. In this budget we are sharing the nation's blessings to all our countrymen in the form of free tuition in State Universities and Colleges, free irrigation for farmers, and free health insurance coverage for all, and well distributed strategic infrastructure works, among others. On a personal note, I would like to thank all those who supported me as Senate President and as President of the PDP LABAN, and all those who continue to support PDP and our beloved President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Thank you for giving us the chance to lead our nation. We have a lot planned for next year. We need to prepare our bodies, hearts, and minds for the hard and challenging work ahead. So let us all take this time to recharge our batteries with courage, fortitude, and steadfastness. Once again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
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For nearly three years, the 139-unit condo development at 555 Fulton St. in San Franciscos Hayes Valley has been coming soon.

Yet, despite spurts of work at the site, soon never seems to come.

In the 33 months since the developer, Fulton Street Ventures, pulled a building permit for the condos, much taller projects around the city have sprouted and attracted occupants: 300-unit complexes in Mission Bay, office buildings in SoMa, 40-story towers on Rincon Hill.

But the five-story building project on Fulton Street has languished even though such a development typically would take about 18 months to put up.

City officials say that some of the delays have been caused by the developer, Fulton Street Ventures, a subsidiary of the giant Chinese builder R&F Properties, redesigning aspects of the project midstream, without city permission, after it had been approved.

Approximately 30 of the 80 condo buyers who signed up for units have walked away from their contracts because the project is so far behind schedule, according to market sources.

Ordinarily, such delays would just be a mild inconvenience to neighboring residents, who have to live with the noise and lost parking spots during construction. But in the case of 555 Fulton, the holdup means postponement of something the neighborhood has long coveted: a full-service grocery store.

Supervisor London Breed, who represents the neighborhood, spent years working to bring a grocery store to the site. She successfully introduced and got passed legislation allowing retail chains on the site  something that is banned in Hayes Valley. She worked with the neighbors to select and then recruit a tenant for the space: New Seasons Market, an Oregon grocery store that recently opened its first California outpost in San Jose.

We were pleased and more than thrilled when we found out about New Seasons, said Jacque Henderson, secretary of the board of the Ammel Park Cooperative Homes, an affordable rental development across the street from 555 Fulton St. We need fresh food  not packaged.

But more than a year after news leaked out that New Seasons had tentatively agreed to occupy the space, the store is no closer to opening.

Everybody has been at a loss to understand whats happening, and everybody is frustrated, Breed said. We have been dealing with communication challenges and a difficult developer.

According to the city, the developers midstream changes to the project led to the builder ordering a glass curtain-wall system that was different  an import from China of lower quality  than the Planning Commission had signed off on.

The discrepancies came to light in August 2015 when city planner Claudine Asbagh took over the project. She was reviewing an addendum to the plan  typically a technical clarification or slight modification  when she noticed that the developer had radically changed the original glass exterior and had eliminated the landscaping and streetscape improvements.

That was highly unusual  and a big problem.

We contacted them to let them know that the department would not be supportive of the changes, she said. If they wanted to go through with them they would need to go back to the Planning Commission.

After lengthy negotiations in February, Fulton Street Ventures agreed to go back to the originally approved exterior and streetscape. But that meant that the developer had to order a new curtain wall system  this one fabricated in Mexico  which took several more months to arrive. Altogether the construction problems stopped progress for more than a year.

Its a hugely important site, and we want to make sure the community gets what was approved, Asbagh said.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Meanwhile, residents are awaiting news on what impact the delays will have on the grocery store. Alan Mark of the Mark Co., which is handling sales for the developer, declined to say when the project would be completed or if the grocery store is still committed to the property. He said the ownership  which is also acting as general contractor  would not comment on how many units have been sold.

New Seasons also would not comment on whether it is close to signing a lease or when the store could open. We are still very interested in the location, as we always have been, said Jerry Chevassus, chief development officer for the grocer. Were working it.

Gail Baugh, president of Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, said the site is geographically important as it straddles the border of Hayes Valley, which has experienced gentrification, and the Western Addition, which is home to a number of low-income housing developments and recent immigrants, in particular from Ethiopia and Eritrea.

While most of the new high-end condos that have popped up in Hayes Valley over the past few years have offered little for longtime residents, 555 Fulton could knit together neighborhoods divided by a wide income gap, Baugh said.

We see the grocery store as a gateway, a portal, Baugh said. Food brings people together. We know that. We all agreed that an affordable grocery store in a food desert was the most important thing we could do on that site. 

The good news, Baugh said, is that the project seems to be back on track. The glass exterior has started going up over the last few weeks. Baugh is hopeful that New Seasons will sign a lease as soon as the skinning is complete.

A lot of people have worked really hard to make sure the developer doesnt screw this up, she said.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
ANNANDALE, Minn. (AP)  A small white house that belonged to the Minnesota man who abducted and killed 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling in 1989 came crashing down Friday.

Real estate developer Tim Thone bought Danny Heinrich's former home specifically to destroy it. While Heinrich is now in prison, his empty house was a distressing reminder to the central Minnesota community of Annandale that the man who kidnapped and killed Jacob had lived among them.

Jacob's mother, Patty Wetterling, was in the crowd to watch a crew use heavy machinery to tear the house down.

Patty's husband, Jerry, is a 1967 graduate of Mason City High School. His parents, Erwin Erv and Lillian Wetterling, were longtime Mason City residents until their deaths in 1997 and 2008.

The St. Joseph boy's kidnapping haunted Minnesota as it went unsolved for decades. Authorities searched Heinrich's home and arrested him on child pornography charges last year as they took a fresh look at the case. As part of a plea bargain, Heinrich publicly confessed in September after leading authorities to where he buried Jacob.

The 53-year-old was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a single child pornography count, and prosecutor's agreed not to charge him in Jacob's murder.

Thone has said the idea of tearing down the house came to him Dec. 10, while he watched a news story about the case. The story included a brief shot of Heinrich's home, which was up for sale in Annandale, about 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Neighbors had petitioned the city to buy the house and raze it, but the city couldn't come up with enough money.

Thone said the house reminded him of the emotional scars caused by the case, and he agreed it had to go.
This is a holiday story. Like the tale of the first Christmas, this one happened long ago and far away.

It was in the cold, bleak hills of Korea, just south of the demilitarized zone, on Christmas Day, 60 years ago Sunday.

Dave Bartruff was a soldier then, a second lieutenant in the Signal Corps, the only officer in a unit whose job it was to listen and perhaps track the communications of the North Korean troops, just across the DMZ. He was a bit apprehensive, both about where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

He was no grizzled veteran. The Korean War had ended three years before, and American troops were still in Korea, on the front lines of the Cold War, a time of neither war nor peace. A long, twilight struggle, John F. Kennedy called it.

I was just a kid, 23 years old, just out of college. I had never been out of the United States before. Id never been anywhere, Bartruff said. And here I was, in Korea, in the dead of winter.

courtesy of David Bartruff/Handout photo

The war was over, and the Koreans had gotten their country back, but it was a mess. It was in ruins. The sad thing was that the people were destitute. It was Christmas, and you know, the kids were not going to get any presents. The people had nothing to give them.

Considering how South Korea is now  the home of Samsung, Hyundai and Kia automobiles, K-pop music, cell phones, high-rises  it was hard to imagine how poor the country was back then.

I remember women washing their clothes in the creek, with snow all around, Bartruff said. Women carrying water in pails balanced on their heads. There was no running water.

There was a place nearby, called Karaebi. It was hardly a town, it was so small. There were no lights at night. No electricity. But there was a school, with lots of children.

Bartruff talked about that long-ago time over lunch at the Ferry Building last week. He lives in Sleepy Hollow now, in Marin, but the memory of that Christmas is still with him. It was a bright California winters day outside, but he shivered just a bit at the thought of the cold of Korea.

You know, we went to bed with all our clothes on in a sleeping bag, every night in the winter. Thats how cold it was.

But the American soldiers had plenty to eat and oil-fired heaters, and Bartruff had his own tent. And, like other GIs of that time, he was able to hire Korean help.

One such man was Kim Hyung Tae, who was a house servant. He was 44, nearly twice Bartruffs age, so when he had an idea, Bartruff listened.

He said our soldiers could help the kids in the school, Bartruff recalled. We could give them small presents on Christmas Day. Kim was a Christian, and so am I, and he said it would be in the Christmas spirit.

It sounded like a great idea, he said. So the soldiers in the small Army detachment spent a couple of weeks saving bits from their rations, making some toys, and other small gifts. Not much: sometimes some cocoa, or packaged American cereal that was unusual enough to be a treat.

They were small things, each of them wrapped in paper by the GIs, but it was the thought that counted. On Christmas morning, the soldiers loaded their gifts into trucks and went to the school.

The kids all lined up in formation, in rows, like soldiers, even though they were just little kids, Bartruff said. We were surprised to see how many there were. There must have been 400 of them.

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He never knew who they were: Some were orphans, I suppose, Bartruff said, There were a lot of war orphans around then.

The girls dressed up in the bright Korean national costume; the boys in their winter best. They lined up to receive their presents from the soldiers, smiled and laughed. The day was a success.

When his military assignment was up, Bartruff went back to the United States, but later got a job as a photojournalist in Japan, and a couple of years later he went back to the town near the DMZ. They were glad to see him, he said, but then, of course, life had moved on. He never returned.

He kept in touch with Kim Hyung Tae. They exchanged Christmas cards. Then, a couple of years ago, word came from Korea: Kim had died.

Bartruff never saw any of those children again. By now, he thinks they must be old men and women.

He hopes they might remember that cold Christmas Day years ago. He has not forgotten and gives talks about it at churches during December. It is a bright memory of Christmas past.

Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column appears every Sunday. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf
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San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon has not made a charging decision in a fatal police shooting in almost two years, leaving the officers and the families of those who were killed in limbo despite intense pressure to resolve a backlog of contentious cases.

The last time the district attorneys office closed a fatal case was in February 2015, when it cleared the officers who shot and killed Alejandro Alex Nieto, a 28-year-old City College student who died in a Bernal Heights park in March 2014 after officers said he pointed a stun gun that they mistook for a pistol.

Since then, San Francisco officers have killed 11 more people, but the cases have dragged on. The citys civil grand jury issued a report in June finding that the average district attorneys investigation into a fatal police shooting took 20 months  a time frame the volunteer panel called unacceptable.

Officials with the district attorneys office  which hasnt pressed homicide charges against a police officer for at least the past few decades  said Gascon has been taking steps to clear the backlog and reduce the time it takes to reach a charging decision.

But representatives for the officers and members of the Police Commission said the backlog is unfair to officers, who are not only awaiting charging decisions but the outcome of internal disciplinary probes  probes that cant be completed until the criminal investigations wrap up.

Meanwhile, community activists protest outside Gascons office on a weekly basis, saying the delay prolongs the pain of the families of those killed.

These kind of a cases, its like taking a scab off of an old wound that goes back decades, said the Rev. Richard Smith, rector of St. John the Evangelist Church and a member of a group pushing for punishment for two plainclothes officers who killed 21-year-old Amilcar Perez-Lopez in the Mission District in February 2015.

People are reliving previous traumas that families have had in the past because of law enforcement, where they didnt get justice, Smith said. It makes it all the more painful to sit through this all again, and the longer we wait, its like tearing the bandage off ever so slowly instead of all at once.

The district attorneys office isnt happy with the long wait either, said Max Szabo, a spokesman for Gascon.

Santiago Mejia / Special to the Chronicle 2015

But since taking office in 2011, Gascon has made it a priority to provide more information to the public on the reasoning behind each charging decision, Szabo said. What once was a two-paragraph letter is now a detailed summary of events that seeks to sort through evidence and cites legal precedents.

Until recently, Szabo said, the office did not have the resources necessary to handle these complicated cases  which are held to a unique legal standard  in the thorough manner that Gascon felt the public deserved.

Prosecutors with expertise in other fields were forced to shoulder the burden on top of their existing caseloads. Another complicating factor was that Police Department homicide inspectors took the lead in each shooting case, with the district attorneys investigators somewhat at their mercy in processing evidence and talking to witnesses.

That approach is changing. In September, Mayor Ed Lee approved funding to create a new unit in the district attorneys office that will take the lead in investigating officer-involved shootings. Szabo said the shift will drastically speed up investigations  especially once the backlog is cleared.

These are incredibly important investigations, Szabo said. Its important that we get them done correctly, not just expediently.

The district attorney also must make charging decisions in nonfatal police shootings as well as deaths in jail or other in-custody situations. In 2016, Gascon declined to file charges in two nonfatal shootings, one from 2013 and the other from 2014, as well as in the 2012 death of a man police were trying to arrest.

According to a Chronicle analysis, prosecutors have filed no criminal charges of any kind against officers involved in 95 shootings  40 of them fatal  in San Francisco since 2000.

Police officials said this record shows that officers only shoot subjects when they pose an imminent threat. Critics, though, see a lack of accountability that could lead officers to resort to lethal force too carelessly.

Gascon has given no indication of whether he might file charges in the current batch of cases. He has, in the past, said the legal bar for what justifies an officers use of lethal force is set too low.

While Smith acknowledged that Gascon is in an unenviable position, he said, Sometimes you have to fall on your sword.

Nothing is going to change unless people like him step up to the plate and make these charges, Smith said. Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to say in South Africa, before you can have reconciliation, you have to have truth.

We dont have the truth, he said, and we need to have our day in court, where the truth has a chance of surfacing in the light of day. Thats all were asking. Just give us our day in court.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo

Cases in waiting

San Francisco prosecutors must still make charging decisions in the fatal shootings of the following 11 people:

Nicholas McWherter, 26, an armed man suffering from an apparent mental crisis who shot and seriously wounded Officer Kevin Downs in the Sunset District on Oct. 14.

Jessica Williams, 29, an unarmed homeless woman who was shot in an allegedly stolen car by Sgt. Justin Erb in the Bayview neighborhood on May 19. Her death raised questions about the departments policy allowing officers to fire at moving vehicles and prompted the resignation of then-Chief Greg Suhr.

Luis Gongora, 45, a homeless man allegedly armed with a knife who was shot by Sgt. Nate Steger and Officer Michael Mellone near a tent encampment where he lived in the Mission District on April 7. Amid a push for officers to use more de-escalation tactics, video of the shooting showed that it unfolded in 30 seconds, with officers firing beanbags at Gongora before shooting him when he allegedly charged.

Mario Woods, 26, a stabbing suspect allegedly armed with a knife who was shot by Officers Winson Seto, Antonio Santos, Charles August, Nicholas Cuevas and Scott Phillips in the Bayview on Dec. 2, 2015. Officers first fired beanbags at Woods, who refused to obey commands. Video showed he was shuffling slowly along a wall and not appearing to directly threaten officers when he was shot.

Javier Lopez Garcia, 25, an apparently suicidal man killed on Nov. 11, 2015, after he ascended to the sixth floor of a construction site near St. Lukes Hospital in the Mission District and fired a gun. He allegedly said, Today will be the day that I die at the scene.

Herbert Benitez, 27, who had been behaving erratically and allegedly tried to take a police sergeants gun out of his holster, prompting another sergeant to shoot him in the Civic Center area on Oct. 15, 2015.

Alice Brown, 24, a woman who struggled with drug addiction. She was shot by Sgt. Thomas Maguire and Officer Michael Tursi after she allegedly sped away from a gas station at Van Ness Avenue and Pine Street, crashing into vehicles and a building and driving down a one-way street in the wrong direction.

Amilcar Perez-Lopez, 21, a Guatemalan immigrant allegedly armed with a knife who was shot by O fficers Craig Tiffe and Eric Reboli near his home in the Mission District on Feb. 26, 2015. Police said he lunged at them with the knife, but an attorney for his family said an independent autopsy showed he had been shot in the back and was possibly running in fear from the plainclothes officers, who did not properly identify themselves.

Matthew Hoffman, 32, who allegedly pulled a replica gun from his waistband, prompting two sergeants to shoot him outside Mission Station on Jan. 4, 2015. Investigators searching his phone reported finding notes about plans to force officers to kill him in a suicide by cop situation.

OShaine Evans, 26, who was shot by Officer David Goff on Oct. 7, 2014. Police said he was the driver for two passengers who had stolen a laptop out of another car near AT&T Park and had a gun in his lap when Goff approached him. Goff said Evans pointed the gun at him, forcing him to shoot, but Evans family has disputed the account.

Giovany Contreras Sandoval, 34, a carjacking suspect who was shot after leading officers on a three-county chase, flipping a sport utility vehicle in the Financial District and allegedly pointing a pistol at officers on Sept. 25, 2014.
They touched down to cheers heard around the world.

The Chronicles front page from Dec. 24, 1986, covers the safe landing of the Voyager aircraft after a record-shattering flight.

The pilots of the round-the-world Voyager made aviation history yesterday  and became instant American heroes, the story read. Nine days, three minutes and 44 seconds after they took off to circle the globe nonstop without refueling, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landed their long-wing experimental craft (at Edwards Air Force base north of Los Angeles) shortly after 8 a.m. in front of a nationwide television audience.

The pilots and Rutans brother, Burt, conceived of the idea of the Voyager on a napkin five years earlier. The aircraft was built in the Mojave Desert and few believed it would complete a mission so bold.

As it neared its return to Edwards Air Force base, cameras for television stations across the world broadcast the footage live. Dick Rutan made three passes before landing on the dusty runway after flying more than 25,000 miles continuously.

Today, the plane is grounded at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Taxi! (hiccup) Taxi!: Two Bay Area hospitals have dropped out of the nationwide program that gives free cab rides to tipplers too drunk to drive during the Christmas and New Year holidays, a story on the front page read. Boozed-up riders would have to pay to puke in a cab that holiday season.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspapers history.

Chronicle Covers highlighting one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Alexandra Irving and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim ORourke is the executive producer and editor of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke

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California is trapped  between two authoritarian regimes that want to fight each other.

One is headquartered in Beijing; the other is taking power in Washington, D.C. But its striking how much they have in common.

Both are so nationalist and bellicose they are spooking neighbors. Both express open contempt for human rights, elections and a free press. Both promote hatred of minorities (anti-Tibetan and anti-Uighur in China; anti-Mexican and anti-immigrant in the U.S.). And both regimes are captained by swaggering men (President Xi Jinping in China; President-elect Donald Trump in the U.S.) who tend to their own cults of personality.

Frighteningly, both regimes see advantage in escalating conflict with the other. The incoming American administration is threatening to raise tariffs and label China a currency manipulator, actions that would probably start a trade war. The Chinese administration is provoking confrontations in the South China Sea while the new American strongman embraces Taiwan  actions that could start a real war.

A sustained conflict between China and the U.S. could produce new restrictions on the flow of money and people, with devastating results for California. Our public universities rely on federal funds from D.C. and top-dollar, out-of-state tuition fees from Chinese students to subsidize the education of Californians. So any Trump restrictions on foreign visitors  or retaliatory Chinese limits on overseas study and travel  could blow up the University of Californias business model.

Hollywood depends on moviegoers who live under both regimes, and Silicon Valley ventures in virtual reality and artificial intelligence rely on our ability to bring together manufacturers, investors and technologists from China and the U.S. Our tourism depends on Chinese visitors, and our housing market relies on Chinese buyers, who spend an estimated $9 billion a year on homes in the state. All these industries would be threatened in trade war.

So how should California fight in such a conflict? First, by protecting our people (especially Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans) and our exchanges with China. This will be a delicate business, given the hyper-sensitivity of the autocrats in Beijing and D.C. to slights; just as Trump lashes out at Saturday Night Live parodies, Xi sees the Kung Fu Panda films as American warfare.

And, second, by reminding both regimes that we are opposed to conflict because the U.S. and China need each other more than they appear willing to acknowledge.

Californians who doubt this should consult journalist John Pomfrets new book, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom, which details the U.S. relationship back to our founding (that tea in Boston Harbor was from Xiamen). The two nations have feuded fiercely and frequently, yet, irresistibly and inevitably, they are drawn back to one another, he writes.

Californias role in this difficult period should be to tell the story of its own deep ties to China and to seek out new areas of productive cooperation, argues Matt Sheehan, author of the forthcoming book Chinafornia: Working with Chinese Investors, Immigrants and Ideas on U.S. Soil. I think of California as a living laboratory for a more practical, productive version of U.S.-China relations, says Sheehan.

But not all collaborations with China would be helpful. Our technologies companies shouldnt be aiding the surveillance and security states in either country. And California labor interests should stop playing to anti-Chinese prejudice in opposing trade agreements and advancing union organizing. (The hotel workers union, as part of an organizing campaign, recently claimed a possible sale of the Westin Long Beach to Chinese interests would threaten national security.)

One model for Californias strategy might be Anson Burlingame, the U.S. representative to Beijing during the Civil War. Burlingame commiserated with the Chinese about the mutual craziness of both countries (we have our rebellion with the South, you with the Taipings) as a basis for collaboration. His work produced the Burlingame Treaty, which opened the way for Chinese immigrants to become American citizens.

Today, Burlingames name belongs to a suburb in the Bay Area, a region boasting one of Americas most prosperous populations of Chinese Americans.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
President Obama is writing a final chapter in his praiseworthy effort to curb climate change and protect the environment. Hes barring oil and gas drilling in federal waters off the Atlantic seaboard and along the coast of Alaska.

With less than a month remaining in his final term, hes making sure that these contested areas are safeguarded, not exploited. Wildlife preservation, the potential for leaks and spills and a shift away from fossil fuels all go into the presidential mix.

In barring development, Obama is tapping his official powers of office just as past White House occupants have done in setting aside chunks of the nations backcountry. In this case, though, his action is drawing a response from pro-drilling forces and Republicans who complain that the presidents move is an abusive overreach. But the president is going his own way with the full knowledge that a ban could never get through a Republican-controlled Congress.

The two targeted areas take in millions of acres of ocean floor running from Virginia to Canada along the Atlantic plus nearly all the federally owned Arctic waters off Alaska. Oil and gas firms have eyed both spots for years, though low energy prices have chilled that outlook for now. Last year, Shell canceled a drilling project after spending billions on preparations in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska.

Left out is the California coast. A web of protected zones for fish and wildlife exist for now, and this states environmental outlook make serious talk of drilling unthinkable. Still, it would be better if the White House would cancel all doubts with a similar ban here.

By sealing off the Atlantic and Alaska parcels, Obama is adding to his extensive record. His initiatives include a push away from coal-burning power plants and endorsement of the Paris climate change accord to lower emission of heat-trapping gases.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to go in a different direction. In the case of the drilling ban, the Obama legal team believes the presidents move will stick and cant be reversed. The decision is based on an obscure federal law giving the White House the right to withdraw offshore territory from development. Generally, ensuing presidents are content to let their predecessors have their way.

That may be the history and legal logic. But few political figures behave like Trump, who will be pressured to dump the Obama ban and put the coastal areas back in play. Obama is banking that his choice will be the final one, a belief that the next president should honor and not undercut.
Regarding CIA needs to provide proof that Russia hacked election (Dec. 18): Political strategist Rachel Marsden makes some good points. She says Political whining or the repetition of a narrative wont render an argument credible in the minds of individuals capable of critical thought. Only hard evidence can do that. She is obviously trying to protect the legitimacy of Donald Trumps election, but may be undermining him as well.

His modus operandi is to make all kinds of unsubstantiated wild claims, like there were millions of illegal immigrants voting against him or that President Obama was born outside the country and repeat them incessantly. Those that demand hard evidence, like Marsden does, are belittled and threatened. He provides no evidence for his dismissal of climate change or his claim to have a time machine that will rewind the manufacturing sectors painful evolution.

I wonder if Marsden and her ilk will call out Trump for any of this, proving they are the level-headed, evidence-driven critical thinkers they present themselves as, or simply ignore anything that does not advance their agendas, thus providing hard evidence they are simply political opportunists.

Bill Hildebrand, Sunnyvale

Stay aware of the traffic

Regarding Safer stops please (Letters, Dec. 20): A reader recently wrote about unsafe Uber and Lyft stops on El Camino Real. I observe, on a daily basis, these cars double-parked on my Mission neighborhood streets. Passengers are forced to dart in and out of traffic, other drivers annoyed by the double-parking, create additional dangers by accelerating into oncoming traffic to get around these double-parkers (who also never signal their intentions).

The customers walk into the street staring at their phones to see where their car is and ignore the oncoming traffic. At night, all these risks get magnified. Please, drivers and riders, some common traffic awareness and courtesy.

Karen Cliffe, San Francisco

Impeachment process

It wouldnt surprise me to find that Republican leaders are sitting back and waiting until Donald Trump is sworn in and then begins to build a case for impeachment.

Unless the president-elect makes significant changes in how he and his family handle their businesses, he will give them more than enough ammunition, not to mention numerous other concerns.

With Trump gone and Mike Pence moving up, the GOP would then have one of their own in the White House. Maybe Trump needs to understand that being president of the U.S. is not like being the patriarch of a privately held company.

John Moore, Petaluma

A tank of piranhas

Regarding A gang of foxes at the D.C. henhouse (Insight, Dec. 18): John Diaz is too understated in calling the nominees for President-elect Donald Trumps Cabinet. This mostly white-male, uber-rich group of corporate titans and career politicians is more like a tank of piranha fish. And when they get released into the mainstream of our multicultural and equality-minded society, they will immediately begin attacking a womans right to choose abortion, gays and lesbians right to marriage, efforts to control climate change, adequately funding public education, permitting Dreamer immigrants to remain in this country, the existence of labor unions and raising the minimum wage.

During the upcoming confirmation process, one can only hope that the true intentions of these attack fish nominees are exposed for all Americans to see.

Carolyn Crawford, San Francisco

Wont allow deportation

I have a hard time visualizing deportation forces, decked out in their finest brown shirts, using military might to storm sanctuary cities, knocking down doors, rounding up people and putting them into cattle cars if they cannot produce a valid drivers license, with no resistance whatsoever from their documented friends, neighbors and local law enforcement officials.

I dont know about the Dixie States, Idaho, Wyoming, Texas, Utah, or the other ultra-red states, but I can say with confidence that this and any other form of alternative-right philosophy will never take hold in California.

Dennis Kostecki, Sausalito

Ignore Trumps tweets

The press keeps expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of news conferences provided by Donald Trump. Perhaps, if the press refused to consider Trumps tweets as news, he might be forced to speak directly to the press.

Susan Blomberg, San Francisco
California utility regulators on Friday slapped Pacific Gas and Electric Co. with a $5.45 million citation for using unqualified workers to perform roughly 500,000 inspections of gas distribution meters and the lines leading into them in the wake of the deadly 2010 San Bruno explosion.

The contract workers were checking for signs of corrosion around distribution meters in seven areas of PG&Es sprawling service territory, with all of the inspections taking place in 2014. The affected areas included the Peninsula and San Jose area as well as part of the East Bay and part of the North Bay.

PG&E has already reinspected most of the segments and plans to examine the rest by the second quarter of 2017, according to the California Public Utilities Commission, which issued the citation.

According to the commission, 101 inspectors working on contract for PG&E lacked the proper training and qualifications for the work, which involves checking for signs of corrosion along pipes that are exposed to open air. Using unqualified inspectors for the work violates both state and federal law, according to the commission.

PG&E helped uncover the extent of the problem after safety officials with the commission spotted a single inspector without the required qualifications earlier this year. PG&E spokesman Donald Cutler said the company has already taken steps to ensure that its contractors have all of the necessary qualifications.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers, employees and the public, he said.

According to the commission, its own safety and enforcement division in February found that a contractor who had performed atmospheric corrosion inspections for PG&E lacked the necessary qualifications.

PG&E investigated and, on Sept. 14, sent the commission a report finding that just over 100 unqualified inspectors had performed approximately half a million atmospheric corrosion inspections. The inspections occurred from February through May of 2014, as well as in November of the same year, the commission said Friday.

The 2010 explosion of a PG&E pipeline beneath San Bruno killed eight people and forced the utility to verify the strength of natural gas pipelines and distribution lines across its vast territory, which extends from Central California almost to the Oregon border.

The incident also exposed years of shoddy record-keeping at PG&E, led to the resignation of top executives and unveiled a culture of backroom deals between the utility and its regulators at the commission. In August, nearly six years after the explosion, a federal court jury found PG&E guilty of obstructing the federal probe of the blast and violating pipeline safety laws.

PG&E could face a $3 million penalty in the federal case. The Public Utilities Commission has already fined PG&E a record $1.6 billion for the explosion.

PG&E now has 30 days to pay the new penalty from the commission or challenge it.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
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Police identified the woman who drowned in Baker Beach Thursday as a 40-year-old resident of Rhode Island.

Nicole Reinert was declared dead when officers arrived at the beach about 1:22 p.m. and pulled her from the water with the help of firefighters, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department.

Reinert appears to have died after jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in an apparent suicide, said Capt. Jerry Marshall with the U.S. Park Police.

He said results of an autopsy by the San Francisco medical examiner is pending.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani




From the outside, there was nothing unusual about 330 Ninth Avenue. But the home was once a piece of public transit history. Three pieces, really.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article dated September 15, 1965, for years it was a little known fact that the humble, asbestos-shingled structure was in reality three pre-quake horse-drawn street cars "cleverly joined and roofed over to make a cozy abode." The finished product can be seen in the photos above.

But, just as the building was about to be razed in 1965 to make way for a parking lot, an amateur historian stepped in and asked the Maritime Museum to fix the problem.

"The Museum had no means to do anything about the destruction of the ancient horse cars, and thrashed about for help and came up with Edward Zelinsky, a building contractor by day, and an inveterate antiquarian the rest of the time," read the report found in the Chronicle archives.

Zelinsky negotiated with the contractors removing the building and found for about $3,500 of his own money, he could have the three old vehicles. They would be dismantled with some semblance of tender care and moved to a safe spot. He decided to do it, with the plan to restore all three at considerably more expense. He planned to donate one to the Maritime Museum and stated, "I don't know what I'll do with the other two. They're too beautiful to just let go."

"The three horse cars - number 60, 68 and 69 - belonged to the United Railroads Company, which began operations as a horse-power line in 1866. Drawn by sturdy teams, they plied the Sutter Street line from the Ferry Building to Sutter via Market Street and the Polk and Larkin line on Polk from Pacific to Union, until April 18, 1906.

Operations, along with a lot of other things, were suspended by the cataclysmic earthquake and fire. The Sutter Street line was revived in June 1908 and remained in operation until June 1913. That year and imaginative handy craftsman, Charles Hulse, bought the retired horse cars at the Geary Street barns of the United Railroads."

Hulse would eventually have the buildings hauled and turned into a home for himself and his wife. He died in the late 1930's and his wife followed him in 1941. Mrs. Hulse's sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Suggs, moved in then. Mrs. Suggs, at 73 and widowed, continued to live there until the spring of 1965, when the Parking Authority informed her it had initiated condemnation proceedings to acquire the property, along with two others immediately to the south.

"Giving up the little house, it upset me really bad," Mrs. Suggs told the Chronicle. "But, since I had to go, I'm very happy that somebody's going to save the old cars. I just hope to see one of them when it's restored like it used to be."

Edward Zelinsky eventually created the Musee Mecanique, now located in San Francisco's Pier 45. The late Mr. Zelinsky's son, Dan, did not know the whereabouts of the three streetcars. At time of publication, there was no response from the Maritime Museum, regarding the streetcar that Zelinsky said he was going to donate to them in 1965.

Bob Bragman is a producer for SFGATE. His writing reflects his love of the Bay Area, in addition to his passion for vintage pop culture, ephemera and vernacular photographs. To see more of his content, please click here.
The South San Francisco police officer whose skull was fractured on Thanksgiving when a suspect he was chasing knocked him unconscious with a skateboard has been released from the hospital just in time for Christmas, officials said.

For several days after the attack, Officer Robby Chon was in critical condition and put in a medically induced coma, but doctors upgraded his status to stable Dec. 1, according to the Police Department. He was discharged from the hospital Wednesday.
If you missed it ...

In a week when California decided Uber was too drunk on power to drive itself, we also saw:

Delta Air Lines lifted its requirement that medical professionals show identification when they offer medical help after a female black doctor alleged that an attendant rebuffed her offer to assist an ill passenger. Dr. Tamika Cross account of the event went viral after she posted it on Facebook in October.

Speaking of something going viral, Time magazine reported that through the magic of video editing and the Internet, we can now see Chewbacca sing Silent Night.

The New York Times estimated that buying all the gifts mentioned in The 12 Days of Christmas song would cost $34,363.49, not even 1 percent more than last year. The costliest, by far: seven swans a-swimming, at $13,125. Thats right, they cost far more than even 12 drummers drumming. Thats why we use the phrase starving artist and not starving swan.

For a far worthier way to spend your money, eBay started auctioning two pairs of specially designed shoes, worn and signed by Stephen Curry to benefit the Oakland Fire Relief fund. The auction lasts several more days, but expect the winning bids to be well over $10,000.

The Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techbriefing
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, the former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until January 9, 2017 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Agria Corporation (NYSE:GRO), if they purchased the Companys American Depositary Shares (ADRs) between December 16, 2011 through November 4, 2016, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.



What You May Do

If you purchased shares of Agria and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com). If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by January 9, 2017.

About the Lawsuit

Agria and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On November 4, 2016, Agria revealed that it received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stating that the NYSE decided to commence proceedings to delist Agria ADRs from the NYSE. The NYSEs letter further claimed that Agria: (i) through a top executive and other intermediaries engaged in trading intended to artificially inflate Agrias stock price, including to improperly avoid having the company delisted for failing to comply with the NYSEs continued listing standards; and (ii) provided incomplete, misleading, or false information in connection with investigations related to these issues.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
Apples quest to adopt advanced displays for its next-generation iPhone hinges on a single supplier in the Japanese countryside.

Canon Tokki Corp., surrounded by rice fields in the city of Mitsuke in Niigata prefecture, has a near monopoly on the machines capable of making screens with organic light-emitting diodes, which enable sharp, vibrant displays that use less energy. The Canon Inc. unit with 343 employees has spent more than two decades perfecting the manufacturing equipment used by OLED screen makers.

But theres a problem: Canon Tokki has a growing backlog even after doubling output in 2016. The potential production bottleneck is raising questions over Apples ability to feature OLED displays in next years iPhones, and whether the Cupertino company will be able to line up additional suppliers. The current wait for a machine, which can cost more than $85 million, is about two years.

We are doing all we can to increase output and make that wait shorter, said CEO Teruhisa Tsugami, adding that demand from display makers, including Samsung Display Co., LG Display Co. and Sharp Corp., will remain strong for the next three years.

Apple has been making preparations to outfit its next iPhone with OLED displays, the latest chapter in its now-familiar strategy of tempting people to upgrade by offering new features. Over the years, the improvements have included sharper screens, fingerprint identification, pressure-sensitive displays and custom-designed chips.

That push has also put a spotlight on suppliers of previously obscure technologies, testing their capacity to satisfy the demand for more than 200 million iPhones each year.

A couple of years ago, Apple sought to use strong sapphire glass for iPhones, only to abandon the effort when a manufacturer couldnt deliver enough of acceptable quality and went bankrupt. The scratch-resistant material is now featured on the Apple Watch.

Now OLED is the big goal. The technology has been included on top-end smartphones for years, including almost all of Samsung Electronics Co.s high-end phones. While LCDs rely on a backlight panel, OLED pixels can glow on their own, resulting in thinner displays, better battery life and improved contrast. OLED screens can also be made on flexible plastic, allowing for a wider variety of shapes and applications.

OLEDs arent just for flat areas, but can be used on edges, so smartphone makers will challenge themselves by building displays with new shapes, Tsugami said. These qualities in OLED will give it an advantage.

The machines that build OLED screens are almost all made by Canon Tokki, founded by the current CEOs father in 1967 (tokki means special equipment in Japanese). The company doesnt disclose production details and earnings figures. Its current annual output capacity is less than 10 units, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.

To call Canon Tokkis product a machine is something of an understatement. Each one is a vacuum production line 328 feet long. Glass panels, roughly the size of a large TV screen, are propelled by robotic arms through several chambers. Red, green and blue pixels are deposited on the surface by evaporating organic materials.

You dont make it on an assembly line, but rather custom craft it for your clients like a high-performance supercar, Alberto Moel, a technology analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said of Canon Tokkis machines. Suddenly everyone wants your car.

One of the challenges is in aligning the glass pane with a fine metal mesh that serves as a stencil for the pixels. Canon Tokki, which has been making OLED machines since 1993, has a patented mechanism that uses camera tracking to achieve a margin of error thats less than the size of a human red-blood cell.

Such precision is critical for display makers because it improves yield. Even for LCDs, which dominate in flat-panel TVs and are used in iPhones, a fraction of output ends up being defective, and discarded. Achieving acceptable yields is even harder with OLEDs.

Canon Tokkis years of experience working with display makers give it a head start against rivals like Ulvac Inc. and Tokyo Electron Ltd., according to Tsugami. The market for small- and medium-size OLED panels will be worth $18.6 billion in 2018, exceeding that for the liquid-crystal counterparts for the first time, according to IHS Markit.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Tokki and they will have the market to themselves for the next two to three years, Moel said.

Apple plans to ship at least one iPhone model with an OLED screen next year, the 10th anniversary of the smartphones introduction, people with knowledge of the matter have said. While Samsung is on track to be the sole supplier, the South Korean company may not be able to make enough due to low yield rates combined with increasing iPhone demand.

Sharp and Japan Display Inc. are still working on test procedures for OLED screens and have said that they are on track to begin production in 2018. This week, Japan Display got about a $640 million lifeline from a government-backed fund that will let it invest in OLED production. Sharp is investing nearly $490 million for the development of OLED production facilities, thanks to a rescue package from Foxconn this year.

Canon Tokki is central to those plans. When Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou addressed employees at Sharps display unit after gaining control of the Japanese company this year, he sought to reassure them by saying that he had just traveled to Canon Tokkis headquarters in Niigata to secure an order, according to a former employee present at the meeting.

Other Japanese companies are also expected to play a key role in the OLED supply chain. Dai Nippon Printing Co. and Toppan Printing Co. produce evaporation masks, Nippon Electric Glass Co. and Asahi Glass Co. make the glass substrate, and Idemitsu Kosan Co. produces organic compounds.

This web of manufacturers working on critical elements of a supply chain is a perfect example of Japans submerged manufacturing ecosystem, Bernsteins Moel said. It comes up every time there is a quake in Japan and the supply chain is suddenly disrupted. Take vacuum organic deposition. Guess what, its some company in Niigata.

Pavel Alpeyev and Takashi Amano are Bloomberg writers. Email: palpeyev@bloomberg.net, tamano6@bloomberg.net
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A former political consultant to Mayor Ed Lee and other high profile San Francisco politicians pleaded guilty to child pornography charges, prosecutors said.

Enrique Pearce, a former top-tier San Francisco political consultant, pleaded guilty Friday in San Francisco Superior Court to two counts of distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

He also pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence, and receiving and buying a stolen parking meter.

Pearce, 41, was arrested in May for having photos and videos of infants and young children being raped and sexually violated.

Prosecutors are asking Judge Rene Navarro to sentence Pearce to state prison time, said Max Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorneys office.

But Navarro is weighing the option of sentencing Pearce to six months in county jail to be served from home, five years of probation and lifetime status as a registered sex offender.

Pearces lawyer, Eileen Burke, did not respond to calls for comment from The Chronicle.

Police raided Pearces apartment in the Tenderloin in May, seizing computers that held gut-wrenching photos and videos of children being sexually abused by adults.

A man police identified as Pearce had a sexually oriented online chat where he told a Walnut Creek man that sharing a boy with another man is really hot to me, according to court records.

His phone included 115 images of random children in his preferred age range of 8 to 12 taken throughout San Francisco, Deputy District Attorney Alexis Fasteau said in May.

Pearce remains free on $400,000 bail. His sentencing date is set for Jan. 25.

He was a supporter of Lees Run Ed Run effort and worked as a $5,000-a-month consultant for the mayors re-election campaign. He also worked for San Francisco Supervisors Jane Kim and Norman Yee.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
San Jose Police Department photos

Separate homicide cases in Hayward and San Jose were solved last week when police in the two Bay Area cities arrested four suspects, officials said.

In the Hayward slaying, 42-year-old Jason Villegas was stabbed to death Aug. 14. In San Jose, the victim was Gustavo Pinal, 33, shot Nov. 13. Police made two arrests in each city.
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Michele Morgan, an elegant actress who escaped occupied France for Hollywood and went home to win the best actress award at the first Cannes Film Festival, in 1946, died Tuesday in Meudon, France, just outside Paris. She was 96.

President Francois Hollande of France announced the death, calling Ms. Morgan a legend who made her mark on numerous generations.

The Nobel laureate Andre Gide once praised her natural and strange grace.

Ms. Morgan was just 26, but she had already appeared in almost 20 European, British and U.S. films when she starred as a young blind woman lusted after by a minister in Gides drama Pastoral Symphony (1946), directed by Jean Delannoy.

At the inaugural Cannes festival, a project dreamed up before World War II to compete with the Venice Film Festival, both she and the film won top prizes. Decades later, she presided over the awards jury at Cannes, which had become the worlds most prestigious film festival.

U.S. moviegoers knew her best from the wartime adventure Passage to Marseille (1944), in which she played Humphrey Bogarts wife, and Higher and Higher (1943), a musical comedy in which she starred opposite Frank Sinatra. She also acted with Ralph Richardson in Graham Greenes The Fallen Idol (1948), set in London, and played an American tough guys wife in The Chase (1946), with Robert Cummings.

French cinephiles connected her name with that of the debonair actor Jean Gabin. Their films together included The Moment of Truth (1952), in which she played a doctors wife confessing to an affair with an artist, and Port of Shadows (1938), an early film noir about an army deserter and a teenage runaway.

It was Gabins character in Port of Shadows who told her, You have beautiful eyes, you know, to which she replied, Kiss me. She was often referred to as the woman with the most beautiful eyes in the world.

Ms. Morgans final screen appearance was in La Rivale, a French television film about love and age, in 1999.

Simone Renee Roussel was born on Feb. 29, 1920, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the affluent Parisian neighborhood-cum-suburb. Her father, a fragrance-company executive, was hit hard by the financial crisis of 1929, and the family soon moved north, to Dieppe in Normandy.

As a teenager, she studied acting with Rene Simon and made her film debut as an extra in Meet Miss Mozart, a 1936 comedy starring Danielle Darrieux. A year later she made her mark in Gribouille (English title: Heart of Paris), as a young woman on trial for her lovers murder.

Her years in the United States served their purpose as a form of political asylum, but she considered them disastrous professionally.

Hollywood crushed my personality, she told the New York Times in 1948. They tried to make me look like everybody else, and then they photographed me badly.

The 15-hour workdays werent particularly welcome either.

She met and married William Marshall, an American actor, in 1942. They had one child before divorcing in 1948. In 1944, Ms. Morgan, seeking a touch of home, had a house built in the style of a 19th century French farmhouse at 10050 Cielo Drive, in the Benedict Canyon section of Los Angeles. Sharon Tate and four others were murdered there by Charles Mansons followers in 1969.

Ms. Morgan returned to France after the war. She and Henri Vidal, an actor, were married from 1950 until his death in 1959. She married the actor, director and screenwriter Gerard Oury the next year; he died in 2006.

Her survivors include several grandchildren. Her son, Mike Marshall, died in 2005.

Early in her career, Ms. Morgan took no credit for her blossoming fame.

If I have had or if I do have some success, it is not I at all but fate, she told an American reporter in 1942. I am just a poor little balloon transported along by circumstances and people.
Marion Pritchard, a gentile whose shock at watching Nazi soldiers storm a home for Jewish children in Amsterdam and load them into a truck for deportation inspired her to enter a clandestine world of rescuing Jews, died Dec. 11 at her home in Washington. She was 96.

The cause was cerebral arteriosclerosis, her family said.

By 1945, I had lied, stolen, cheated, deceived and even killed, Ms. Pritchard said in a 1996 lecture at the University of Michigan, where she received the Wallenberg Medal, a humanitarian award given by the university in memory of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who rescued tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War II.

In the spring of 1942, Ms. Pritchard was a social work student who had been imbued by her father, a judge, with a strong sense of outrage about the injustices perpetrated against the Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. One day, she recalled, as she was riding her bicycle to class, she saw Nazis at the childrens home picking up the kids by an arm or a leg or by the hair and throwing them into a truck.

Well, I stopped my bike and looked, she said in an oral history recorded in 1984 by the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Two other women coming down on the street got so furious, they attacked the German soldiers, and they just picked the women up and threw them in the truck after the kids.

I just stood there, she added. Im one of those people who sat there and watched it happen.

To save and shelter Jews, Ms. Pritchard registered Jewish infants as her own children and found safe, non-Jewish homes for them. She helped feed Jews and get them ration cards. She secured false identification papers to help them avoid capture by the Nazis, and found medical care for children through a friendly pediatrician.

Sometimes her role was simply to be one in a line of rescuers who handed Jewish children to someone else, who would then lead them out of danger. By her estimate, she helped rescue 150 Jews.

She never discussed her activities with her parents, or with her younger brother, Jan, fearing that saying anything would endanger them.

You just did not talk, she said.

Ms. Pritchard was recognized in 1981 by Yad Vashem, the world center for Holocaust research and commemoration in Jerusalem, as Righteous Among the Nations, an honor given to gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Ms. Pritchard, who was Anglican, is one of about 26,000 people to receive the award. About one-fifth of them were from the Netherlands.

She was born Marion Philippina van Binsbergen on Nov. 7, 1920, in Amsterdam, one of two children of Jacob and Grace van Binsbergen. Her mother, a homemaker, was born in Britain.

Ms. Pritchard was educated in Amsterdam and England, where she attended boarding school and was active in the Girl Guides, a scouting organization. She graduated from the Amsterdam School of Social Work.

One night in 1941, she was studying with a friend in a house in Amsterdam when she was arrested by Nazis in a roundup of others there who had been covertly distributing mimeographed broadsheets culled from BBC news reports. She was not part of the group, she said, but was imprisoned for about six months and tortured.

Her best-known rescue started in late 1942. She was asked by a friend to hide Fred Polak and his young children, Erica, an infant, and her brothers, Lex, 4, and Tom, 2. When she could not find a safe place, her friend persuaded his mother-in-law to let Ms. Pritchard and the Polaks move into the servants quarters of her villa in Huizen, 15 miles outside Amsterdam.

Jews in hiding, like the Polaks, feared the Nazis nighttime raids demanding their papers. So they developed a routine: If they felt in danger  most often by hearing the approach of the vehicle the Germans would arrive in  they would push aside the coffee table and rug in the living room, pull up the floorboards and hide below in a pit.

They practiced the drill often and could complete it in less than a minute.

One night in late 1944, three Nazis and a Dutch collaborator, who had been a police officer before the war, came to the door. The Polaks were in the pit.

They didnt find the hiding place, Pritchard recalled. But the Nazis had learned that if they didnt find the hiding place, if they came back an hour later, the Jew or Jews might have come out of the hiding place and they could pick them up.

The Dutch collaborator returned in about a half-hour, entering through an unlocked door. The children were out of hiding because Erica had started crying  she had not been given sleeping powder  and her brothers had wanted to be out as well. The hiding place had not yet been concealed again, and knowing that the children were in mortal danger, Ms. Pritchard took out a revolver hidden on a bookshelf in the room and shot the intruder.

I couldnt think of anything else to do but kill him, she told filmmaker Aviva Slesin in an interview for her 2002 documentary Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers. There was a moment of great exhilaration. Thank God the kids were safe.

A local undertaker buried the collaborators body in the same coffin as another body, she said.

She feared that people would look for the missing Dutch Nazi  whom she described as widely loathed  but as far as she knows, no one did. I think a lot of people were delighted that he was dead, she recalled.

Ms. Pritchard stayed with the Polak family until the end of the war.

Erica Polak was reunited with Ms. Pritchard about 30 years after the war. I wanted to thank her for keeping us alive through these difficult war years, Polak wrote in an email this week. And somehow, I felt very connected to this woman whom I didnt see for such a long time.

After the war, Ms. Pritchard worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in displaced-persons camps in Germany. That work enabled her to meet Anton Pritchard, a U.S. Army officer who was the head of a camp in Bavaria. They were married in the camp.

They moved to the United States in 1947, and Ms. Pritchard continued her social work.

She later became a psychoanalyst.

She is survived by her sons, Arnold, Brian and Ivor; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandson. Her husband, a health care consultant, died in 1991.

In 1997, Ms. Pritchard began teaching an annual seminar at Clark University, in Worcester, Mass., with Deborah Dwork, the Rose professor of Holocaust history there.

Some of our students chose their professions referencing Marion, Dwork said Thursday. One of them just finished her dissertation on women rescuers and perpetrators in Rwanda. She wrote to me and said, This is all about Marion.

Not only did she save lives during the 1940s, Dwork said, but she continues to save lives today through her influence.
When news broke Friday afternoon that Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher suffered a massive heart attack, many showed an outpouring of support and concern for the Hollywood actress on Twitter.

Mark Hamill, who most famously played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series, wrote a message: "As if 2016 couldn't get any worse...sending all our love to @carrieffisher."
Quote:

I am still confuse between suggested that and suggesting that

Suggested

subject

Verb

Suggesting

Quote:

Also not meaning the meaning of the term verbless when we use -ing

For more information

To be very sure of these usages

 past participle. It is used as a verb here.The rising number and Tet offensive () Suggested () X.X = that Vietnam was an ultimately unwinnable situation for the United States.So you have a complete sentence (subject + verb + object) when you use suggested. Hence correct usage.Suggesting is present participle. It is the ing form of verb suggest. Suggesting can be used as a verb in progressive tenses. But you would need helping verb with suggesting. Example  she was suggesting me to write a book.So when you write The rising number and Tet offensive (subject) Suggesting (Verb) X.  then you see, you do not have a verb. Hence it is not a sentence. You can call it verbless.--- suggesting is verbal not a verb. You use it as a gerund (noun) or use it as a ing form with helping verb in progressive tenses. read verb-ed and verb-ing modifier. Have a look at following post by and your concept will be clear: http://gmatclub.com/forum/verb-ed-modifiers-vs-verb-ing-modifiers-125611.html _________________
Re: Mendoza vs Kelley vs McDonough [ #permalink

1 Kudos

I got accepted to the same three schools with similar scholarship offers. I think Georgetown is out for me because the lack of scholarship $ combined with DC cost of living would make it a very expensive two years, and I don't think Georgetown is significantly stronger than ND or IU to make up that difference.



Thinking about ND compared to IU, it seems like Kelley is slightly more well regarded as a MBA, but ND is a much more prestigious university as a whole. I'm struggling to figure out how to weigh the relative strengths of the individual programs vs the institutions as a whole in my decision making.



Poets and quants lets you export rankings data to excel for the past five years, so I looked at how all three of these programs have tracked in that time. I took an average of the six publications that they include for each year. Kelley is strongest, and at times creeps up to the mid to high teens some years for some publications, while Mendoza and McDonough have years where some publications drop them into the 30s. I lined graphed it but can't embed a screenshot because i just joined this site. you can remove the spaces in this if you want to look: i m g u r.c o m/a/mA6xW



I've gone back and forth on Mendoza or Kelley several times since getting decisions, and I am still up in the air, but wanted to share my thought process so far since it sounds like we are in similar positions. Both have small, close-knit cultures with strong midwest presences, but I think you have the ability to move anywhere with either of these degrees if you really want to. I really love the Kelley programs (Me Inc, Academies), but having a degree from Notre Dame would be incredible. I don't think there is necessarily a bad choice, but I am torn.



I am going to try to get in touch with some more students before the ND deposit is due.
SANTA ROSA

An elementary school child made it to school to sing in his Christmas play thanks to a California Highway Patrol Officer who had stopped to investigate a collision in Santa Rosa Tuesday evening.

Officer Kim Lemons stopped to investigate a collision on northbound U.S. Highway 101 near College Avenue when she learned that a family involved in the collision was on their way to their son's play.

The boy was eager to sing in the play, but the family did not think that even if they had their vehicle towed and they got a cab that they would make it to the play before it was over.

Lemons made arrangements for someone to take the boy to the play in a patrol vehicle. He arrived in time to sing in the performance with his class.
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A San Francisco political consultant and attorney who was arrested last year and charged with possessing child pornography pleaded guilty this morning in San Francisco Superior Court, prosecutors said.

Enrique Pearce pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography, one count of buying or receiving stolen property, and one count of possession or control of child pornography with allegations of possessing more than 600 images of someone under 18 and possessing matter that portrayed sexual sadism or sexual masochism involving someone under 18, according to court documents.

As a result of the guilty plea, a judge is expected to sentence Pearce to six months in county jail, which may be served on home detention. Additionally, Pearce may also be sentenced to 5 months probation and may have to register as a sex offender for life, prosecutors said.

Pearce remained out of custody this morning. He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 25, which is when a judge is expected to sentence him, according to prosecutors.

Pearce had originally been charged with six felonies related to child pornography and prosecutors had originally asked that Pearce served his sentence in state prison.

Pearce initially pleaded not guilty to the original charges back in May 2015, following his arrest.

He was arrested on May 7, 2015 after police served a search warrant at his Tenderloin apartment, located near McAllister and Leavenworth streets, police said.

Police first began investigating Pearce in February 2015, after a man who had chatted with Pearce online said that Pearce had sent him images of child pornography.

The man then forwarded messages from Pearce to police. Investigators were able to link a Yahoo messenger account that sent the images to Pearce's IP address, which was linked to his Tenderloin address, prosecutors said in May.

During the investigation, detectives found 4,902 images and videos of child pornography on two of Pearce's silver Apple laptops, including graphic images showing sexual abuse of infants as young as six months old, according to prosecutors.

Additionally, 115 images were also recovered from Pearce's cellphone, which showed 11 clothed boys between 8 and 12 years old, who appeared to not know they were being photographed.

During the search warrant operation, officers also recovered a stolen parking meter at Pearce's home.

The recovered parking meter, which was valued to be worth about $950, resulted in the buying or receiving stolen property charge, according to court documents.

Pearce worked as a consultant at Left Coast Communications. He is credited with having worked on political campaigns for U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, as well as San Francisco supervisors Jane Kim and Norman Yee, among others.

Pearce also established Pearce Law Offices.

A defense attorney for Pearce was not immediately available for comment.
A man conned at least 15 women by posing as a billionaire on various dating sites, only to then scam and threaten them out of thousands of dollars, and steal their identities, federal investigators claim.

John Edward Taylor, 46, allegedly presented himself as an oil tycoon with refineries in North Dakota. Using the name "Jay Taylor," he allegedly met women from around the country, including from New York City, on sites such as Match, eHarmony, and Seeking Arrangement. From there, his alleged MO was to build sexual or business relationships with his marks, and eventually extort money from them.

Taylor preyed on women between 2011 and 2016, according to the feds.

A woman identified in court papers as Victim 2 began dating Taylor after meeting him on Match in April 2013. During their relationship, Taylor allegedly offered to buy the woman furniture and asked for her credit card information, Social Security number, and other personal details to open a store credit accountinstead, he used the information to get an American Express card, which he allegedly charged $60,000 to over the course of a year. When the woman found out and confronted Taylor, he initially offered to pay her back, but later began to threaten to send sexually explicit pictures of her to her employer, prosecutors charge.

"Have fun at [work]," he allegedly wrote to her. "I'm sending them all."

Another alleged victim moved in with Taylor in June 2015. He purportedly told her that he had been robbed at gunpoint and asked if he could use her credit cards to make a few purchases. When the woman says she noticed Taylor had instead racked up $17,000 in charges and taken out an additional card in her name, she contacted police. At that point, the victim told authorities, Taylor threatened to send explicit pictures of her to her employer as well.

"I'm also sending the pictures to every man that works at your job you know the one that said they want to see you naked there [sic] going to," Taylor allegedly texted her. "By the time I finish with this you will not have a job your boss won't want you nothing know."

Both victims sent screenshots of their conversations with Taylor to the FBI.

Two other women say they met Taylor on Seeking Arrangementa dating site usually used to facilitate sugar daddy-style relationshipswhere he allegedly told them he was looking to start a business for professional women who wanted to meet and befriend each other. According to court papers, Taylor convinced one of the women to give him her credit card information and Social Security number while talking on FaceTime. Taylor allegedly also opened a credit card in the other woman's name and charged it with more than $12,000.

Between his 15-plus victims, federal investigators say Taylor stole more than $360,000 before being caught in March 2016 on similar charges in Virginia. Taylor was arrested on Wednesday and is being charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and threatening interstate communications.
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MILAN  Investigators worked Saturday to determine whether the Berlin Christmas market attacker received any logistical support to cross at least two European borders and evade capture for days before being killed in a shootout with police in a Milan suburb.

Tunisian fugitive Anis Amris fingerprints and wallet were found in a truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Despite an intense, Europe-wide manhunt, Amri fled across Germany, into France and then into Italy, traveling at least part of the way by train, before being shot early Friday in a routine police stop outside a deserted train station.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Berlin attack, but so far little is known about any support network backing up the 24-year-old.

Italian investigators were working to see if the Tunisian had any connections in the Milan area. Italy was his port of entry into Europe in 2011 and he spent more than three years in Italian jails on Sicily. But an antiterrorism official said there was no evidence that he had ever been in or around Milan before Fridays shootout.

In Tunisia, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of Amris nephew and two others suspected of belonging to the same extremist network.

The ministry said in a statement that Amri, through an alias, had sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi some money through the post office to join him in Europe and join the Abou Walaa network. Amir claimed to be the networks emir.

The ministry said the nephew told them he was in contact with Amri via encrypted communications to avoid detection. He said Amri had recruited him to jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State.

The Tunisian prosecutors office ordered all three held in pre-trial detention.

In Spain, police were investigating whether Amri was in contact with a possible extremist there.

Amri had arrived in the southern island of Lampedusa illegally in 2011, claiming to be a minor, and quickly landed in jail after setting fire to a migrant center. After he was freed, efforts to deport him failed for bureaucratic reasons.

He reached Germany, where authorities were concerned enough to put him under covert surveillance for six months earlier this year, ending the operation in September. His request for asylum was refused by Germany in the summer, but the paperwork from Tunisia needed to deport him was delayed.
BEIRUT  An explosion rocked eastern Aleppo on Saturday as some residents were returning to their homes after the government assumed full control of the city, state TV reported, while fresh air strikes on a rebel-held town near Aleppo killed at least five people.

The air strikes on areas near Aleppo show that the government has resumed military activities after days of calm that coincided with the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians and rebels from east Aleppo.

On Thursday, President Bashar Assads forces took control of eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo for the first time since July 2012, marking the governments biggest victory since the crisis began more than five years ago.

Government forces will probably now try to secure the outskirts of the city as rebels are based in the western and southwestern suburbs of Aleppo, Syrias largest city and once commercial center.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike on the town of Atareb, west of Aleppo, killed five people including a man, his daughter and daughter-in-law. The Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, said the air strikes killed seven people including a woman and two children.

Earlier Saturday, state TV said the explosion in east Aleppo was caused by a device left inside a school by Syrian rebels, who withdrew from their last remaining enclave under a cease-fire deal after more than four years of fighting. It said three people were wounded in the blast.

A correspondent for Lebanons Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV was reporting live from the area when the blast sounded in the background, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air. The correspondent later said that at least three people were killed.

In the capital Damascus, state news agency SANA said militants also blew up a water pipeline in the suburb of Kafr al-Zayt.

SANA quoted the director of Damascus and Damascus Countryside Water Establishment Hussam Hreidin as saying that the pipeline went out of service due to the attack.

Pro-government media said the government was forced to cut water supplies coming to the Syrian capital for a few days.
LAGOS, Nigeria  The Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed  driven from its last forest enclave with fighters on the run and no place to hide, Nigerias president declared Saturday.

President Muhammadu Buharis statement came as the Islamic State group, with which one faction of Boko Haram is allied, claimed a successful attack on an army barracks in northeast Nigerias Yobe state killed and wounded many. The communique on social media said the attack took place Thursday, the same day Buhari said troops defeated Boko Haram in its Sambisa Forest stronghold in neighboring Borno state.

It was an indicator that despite Buharis claim, Nigeria is unlikely to see an end soon to the deadly suicide bombings, village attacks and assaults on remote military outposts in northeastern Nigeria carried out by the countrys homegrown Islamic extremist group. Already, there are reports that the insurgents have been regrouping in Taraba and Bauchi states, south of their northeastern stronghold in Borno state, and taking advantage of a decades-old conflict in central Nigeria between mainly Muslim nomadic cattle herders and Christian farmers.

In a statement, Buhari commended Nigerian troops for finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest.

He announced the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave and declared the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide.

The Sambisa Forest was where Boko Haram was believed to be holding some of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 from a school in the town of Chibok  an abduction that brought the Islamic extremists world attention and sparked an international social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

Further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity, Buhari said.

Nigerian troops have freed thousands of Boko Haram captives this year.

Dozens of girls escaped within hours of their abduction. In October, 21 Chibok girls were freed through negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, brokered by the Swiss government and the International Red Cross. In May, one Chibok girl escaped on her own; 197 remain missing.

Boko Harams seven-year Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across Nigerias borders, driven some 2.3 million people from their homes and created a huge humanitarian crisis. The U.N. has warned that 5.1 million people are in danger of starving in northeast Nigeria, including in areas too dangerous to reach because of Boko Haram ambushes.
VIENNA  In an unusual move, Iran and six world powers have released previously restricted documents about their nuclear deal to enforce their view that Tehran is complying with limits on its enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons.

Some of the documents are dated Jan.6, 2016, shortly before the pact was implemented. But they were not made public until Friday, when they were posted on the public website of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA is monitoring the nuclear deal, which Iran reached with Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members  the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
SEOUL  A South Korean special prosecutor summoned the jailed friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye, who allegedly exploited her connections with Park to extort money and favors from the countrys largest companies and manipulate government affairs.

In handcuffs, Choi Soon-sil was escorted Saturday into a Seoul office where investigators have been widening their inquiry into the scandal. Millions of protesters have taken to the streets before the countrys opposition-controlled parliament voted Dec. 9 to impeach Park.

Lee Kyu Chul, an official from the investigation team led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo, said without elaborating that Choi would be broadly questioned on charges that were included in indictments and also on newer allegations. Choi may be summoned several more times in the coming weeks, he said.

Lee also said the team was planning to question Park but did not say when that would happen.

We can investigate (the president) depending on how things develop, and we are preparing for it in our own way, Lee said.

Chois summoning came before a huge crowd gathered near the presidential palace to call for Parks permanent removal, extending the countrys largest protest movement to Christmas Eve. Carrying signs and candles and wearing Santa hats, the protesters marched toward the presidential residence and offices, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahns office and the Constitutional Court.

Thousands of Parks conservative supporters rallied in nearby streets, waving the national flag and shouting for Parks powers to be restored.

The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether Park should permanently step down or be reinstated. Her presidential powers are suspended until then, with the prime minister serving as the government caretaker.

State prosecutors have accused Park of colluding with Choi as she allegedly amassed an illicit fortune and held extraordinary sway over government decisions, such as choosing Cabinet ministers. They have now handed over their investigation to the special prosecutor.
UNITED NATIONS  In a striking rupture with past practice, the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council on Friday to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a flagrant violation of international law. In doing so, the outgoing Obama administration brushed aside Donald Trumps demands that the U.S. exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israels leadership.

The decision to abstain from the councils 14-0 vote is one of the biggest American rebukes of its long-standing ally in recent memory. And it could have significant ramifications for the Jewish state, potentially hindering Israels negotiating position in future peace talks. Given the worlds widespread opposition to settlements, the action will be almost impossible for anyone, including Trump, to reverse.
NYSI-20161223-113851-nws_curtis_fight_.jpg

Police oversee student dismissal from the grounds of Curtis High School after reports of a large fight. Friday December 23,2016. (Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimo)

(Anthony DePrimo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Six Curtis High School students were busted Friday morning following a fight in the school's hallway, police said.

At around 11:38 a.m., NYPD school safety agents and police officers tried to break up the brawl, but arrested the six teens after they refused to disperse and flailed their arms while resisting arrest, according to an NYPD spokesman.

Shirline Ramirez, 17; Shakera Campbell, 16; Brandon Ramirez, 16; Thalia Fragosa, 18, and another two 15-year-old females, whose names are being withheld due to their age, were charged in the incident, police said.

Ramirez, of Gordon Street, was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. Campbell, of Pine Street, and Ramirez, of Gordon Street, were charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. Fragosa was charged with aggravated harassment, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, the NYPD spokesman said.

One 15-year-old female was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, and the other was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, according to police.

The cause of the fight is unknown.
Firefighters are responding to a blaze that broke out on the first floor of a two-story Todt Hill home Saturday morning. (Google Map)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Firefighters extinguished a blaze that ignited on the first floor of a two-story Todt Hill home Saturday morning, according to an FDNY spokesman.

Firefighters battled the blaze that broke out at 8:45 a.m. in a 20 x 40 dwelling at 34 Beebe St., according to the FDNY spokesman.

Firefighters had completed primary searches by 9 a.m., according to radio transmissions. No injuries were reported, said the FDNY spokesman.

The fire was put under control by 9:19 a.m. The cause of the fire is not yet known, according to the FDNY.

This is a breaking news story. Check back to silive.com for updates.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- PIX11 says it will broadcast the original 1966 version of the Yule Log that was filmed at Gracie Mansion, which has not been seen on television since 1969.

In 1970 a new log was filmed in California, and it replaced the old footage, said PIX11.

The footage of the 1966 Yule Log was assumed to be permanently lost. But Rolando Pujol, PIX11's digital director and archivist, recently found the footage in WPIX archives, according to PIX11.

The Yule Log will air as a one-hour presentation only on PIX11 on Christmas Eve from 11 p.m. to midnight, exactly 50 years after its debuted on Christmas morning, said PIX11.

PIX11 will also air the Yule Log from 7 to 8 a.m. on Christmas morning. It will be followed by the traditional 1970 version of the Yule Log from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., said PIX11.

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Page Content

Residents of our beautiful island

It is that special time of the year again when we gather together as family to celebrate the birth of the Redeemer.

Christmas is, indeed, a time for family. And nothing brings family and friends together like the birth of a child.

All the positive attitudes of our humanity are expressed and exemplified in the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of giving without expecting anything in return; the joy and happiness as well as the togetherness we find in merry-making and above all the love we share with our neighbors and fellow men, regardless of their station in life.

No one is supposed to feel lonely at Christmas. No one is supposed to go hungry. Every child looks forward to receiving gifts during this season, whether they behaved well throughout the year or not.

There is Jollification in Christmas. Traditionally, we cook up a storm, not just to feed ourselves, but all those who pass by our homes.

We even send food to friends and relatives, and share with our neighbors, not because they have nothing to eat, but because this is the way we express our sense of belonging.

We open our homes and our hearts to others without feeling vulnerable because of the mystery and marvel in the manger where Christ was born.

That story about the child Jesus teaches us that the circumstances of our birth do not define us, that our destiny is not tied to where we were born but who we were born to be. It tells us that we should never look down on a person because of their humble beginnings but look to lift up everyone to where they truly belong.

The spirit of Christmas is, therefore, not a one-day feeling; it is not a seasonal event but a permanent injunction for us to be our brothers keeper. Charles Dickens said, I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. This should be the mantra for all of us.

Christmas is a gift, and as Pope Francis put it, God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it.

I pray that you will receive this gift with humility, and understand the message that comes with it. May the love, joy and peace that Christmas brings be with you and your loved ones throughout the year.

On behalf of my wife, Gabrielle, my children, Ohndhae, Ihndhira, Ighmelene and Hakeem and my entire family, and also on behalf of my Cabinet and the new government of St. Maarten, I wish you and your family and friends a very Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays!

God bless you. And God bless St. Maarten.

Fellow St. Maarteners,
Page Content

It is Christmas time again and nothing fills us with more hope, with a sense of family than this season of light, this season of joy and celebration, this season of praise.





The civil service corps is part of that larger St. Maarten family that seldom gets praised nor recognized for the work they do.





No government can function effectively without an efficient and dedicated civil service corps. Yet for all your hard work and commitment you, our civil servants do not always get the respect you deserve.





I, therefore, take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our civil servants and government workers for your contribution throughout the years.





We often speak of stability in government, yet the only guarantee of that stability is a well-prepared, committed and professional civil service corps.





Whatever achievements any government can boast of can be attributed in large part to the consistent productivity of the civil servants who have to advise on, prepare and execute most of the policies government wants to pursue.





As the backbone of the St. Maarten government administration, you must be proud of your invaluable contribution to the progress of our island, in spite of the well-known financial and other constraints you have had to deal with and still have to face in these lean times.





I am proud of each and every one of you and wish we could do more to reward you for your labor of love.





Let me borrow the words of US novelist, journalist and humorist, Oren Arnold, who famously gave the following Christmas gift suggestions:





To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.





On behalf of the entire Council of Ministers and myself, I wish you a very Merry and Joyous Christmas. Happy Holidays! Enjoy the treats; enjoy the gifts; go easy on the guavaberry and the sorrel but above all enjoy your family.




Two stores in Helena are merging to create a one stop shop for marketing, printing and promotional product branding.

Allegra Marketing Print Mail of Helena acquired Montana Marketing Inc. and will start operating under the Allegra name starting Jan 2.

All of Montana Marketings operations will be moved to Allegra Helena at 40 W. Lawrence. The 23,000 square foot building has plenty of space for Montana Marketings operating system and its 10 employees.

Both businesses have a stronghold in the community, and merged to create a better experience for their overlapping customer base.

Although Allegra Helena is part of a 600 store franchise, it started as a family business and is now independently owned and operated by Kyle and Jonette Spencer. In 1982, the Broadbent family opened Helena Insty-Prints. It acquired two local printers in 1997, and became part of the Allegra franchise is 2004.

Spencer, a Montana native, purchased Allegra Helena in 2013 from the Broadbent family. Allegra ranks in the top 100 print shops in the country.

Allegra Helena does marketing, printing, mailing, embroidery and graphic design for both commercial businesses and individuals. With the acquisition of Montana Marketings services, they will provide promotional products to businesses in all 50 states.

The concept for us is more, Wayne OBrien, owner of Montana Marketing, said. More opportunities to get what people want.

Montana Marketing Inc., started in 1988 by OBrien and his wife Tami, ranks in the top 6 percent of all promotional product companies in the country. OBrien said his company has a reputation and name recognition that will ease the transition.

Im selling the business because Im an old guy and hes a young guy, OBrien said.

He will stay on for three years to support Spencer and make sure his part of the business maintains its revenue stream. Although Spencer will technically be calling the shots as the owner, theyve been working together for a year to plan the merge and havent butted heads yet.

Our personalities totally complement each other, Spencer said. Both of us will be trying to build revenue.

OBrien and Spencer said maintaining customer service is their biggest priority. They sent letters to notify their customers of the transition, and started cross training their employees to be experts in all aspects of the business.

We dont want to confuse customers, Spencer said. This brings value to the marketplace and is a benefit for customers.

Montana Marketing was particularly popular in Helena for selling Montana branded items at the farmers market. Allegra Helena will expand access to Montana apparel by having inventory in their storefront.

Customers of Montana Marketing will contact Allegra Helena at 449-2847 for all future needs.
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"I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season. I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there," he told The Associated Press.
For those who have an elf-like obsession with Christmas, it can be heartbreaking to find out you have to work through the festive season.

It's meant to be a decadent day of celebration, so when talk of the Christmas weekend begins, it's hard not to react like this:

The only thing that takes the edge off is the knowledge you are not alone.

Canberra Emergency Department nurses are doing their bit to inject a bit of seasonal cheer into their otherwise sterile workplace by distributing Christmas-themed scrubs.
A Canberra man will spend Christmas behind bars after allegedly being discovered in the act of stealing copper piping and cabling from an Australian Federal Police complex.

Paul Pearson, 41, of Chifley, was charged with intent to commit theft after he was arrested at the abandoned AFP complex in Weston on Friday morning.

Copper cables and piping, which can be stripped and their metal sold, are a common target of thieves. Credit:Bloomberg

In the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday, the court heard the drug ice may have been a factor in the crime, with the accused attempting to support his habit.

Pearson, described as a stay-at-home dad, was remanded in custody.
Piers Sellers, a British-born climate scientist for NASA who remained optimistic about the fate of the Earth, despite the grim climate change models he oversaw, and who gained US citizenship to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, has died in Houston aged 61.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and went public with his diagnosis in a New York Times column. He wrote that, while he had hoped he would see solutions to the problem of climate change in his lifetime, he was devoted to continuing his climate research until he died.

Piers Sellers awaits the start of the mission's third space walk, 2006. Credit:Getty

"There is no convincing, demonstrated reason to believe that our evolving future will be worse than our present, assuming careful management of the challenges and risks," he wrote, sounding a note of optimism, despite increasingly drastic changes in the global temperature and precipitation patterns that he studied. "History is replete with examples of us humans getting out of tight spots."

Sellers had worked on global climate problems from 1982 to 1996 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre. He wrote more than 70 papers, using computer models to delve into the relationship between the biosphere  the region of the Earth inhabited by humans and other organisms  and the atmosphere.
It had been four years since Shyla Guldborg last had a place she could call home. At age 21, she was staying with various friends and family in Wolf Point, on the Fort Peck Reservation.

There were few job opportunities, and a far-reaching substance abuse crisis on the reservation left her feeling trapped.

In July, Guldborg was staying in a house where people regularly abused drugs and alcohol when she found out she was pregnant. In April 2016, Business Insider reported that six newborn babies tested positive for meth in a two-week period on the Fort Peck Reservation.

Where Im from, pretty much everyone is addicted to drugs so I didnt want to be in those types of environments, Guldborg said.

She called her adoptive parents in hopes of finding a place to stay, but she hadnt lived with them since she was 17. Her parents were raising four other children, but they wanted her pregnancy to be healthy so they invited Guldborg to live with them.

She started seeing a doctor for prenatal care and got a job at McDonalds. But in October, Guldborg lost her job and her parents said she needed to find somewhere else to live.

It was hard on them with me being there and supporting four other kids, so I understood where they were coming from, she said.

Guldborg started considering her options. She looked at various programs in the state, but she didnt meet the qualifications. Her mom thought to call Florence Crittenton in Helena, where she had gone years ago when she was pregnant.

Florence Crittenton started in 1896 as a home for unwed mothers. Until several years ago, it could only provide residential services for mothers ages 12 to 21. But young mothers who didnt meet the criteria were struggling to parent without permanent housing.

In September, Florence Crittenton started the Realizing Effective and Continuous Housing (REACH) program. Any parent between 18 and 24 is eligible to apply for the program, which provides young parents with a housing subsidy for 24 months. Parents are set up with a case manager, who guides them through the first 24 months of independent living with an option of six months of follow-up meetings.

To be eligible, parents have to be homeless or at risk of homelessness. Florence Crittenton was approved for four rental properties, which will be funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

On Nov. 11, Guldborg and her mom drove over 400 miles to Helena with a list of questions about the new program at Florence Crittenton. She submitted her application that day and was approved a week later.

We were full with a waiting list immediately, which I think really speaks to the need of this service, Carrie Krepps, development director at Florence Crittenton, said.

Krepps said she assumed most applications would be from Lewis and Clark County, but they received calls from across the state.

Florence Crittenton received calls from mothers living in cars with children and in a camper filled with mold. But once they reached capacity, they had to point people to shelters and other temporary resources in the state.

My heart breaks for the families weve had to turn away, Krepps said.

While the goal is to quickly secure housing, case manager Ashley Champagne Post is a licensed clinical social worker with a background in mental health care. She previously worked at Child Protective Services. With a familiarity in the different support systems available to Montanans, Post does everything in her power to help clients navigate complicated systems.

Guldborg came to Helena for good on Nov. 28. Champagne Post was able to find her a temporary place to stay at Family Promise so the two could look for apartments in person. During the search, Champagne Post teaches her clients the process of finding a rental property, going through the application process and making sure their budget accounts for utilities.

When it was time to look at apartments, Guldborg knew she would be washing lots of onesies so she only looked at places with a washer and dryer. She decided on the second apartment she looked at -- a place with a deck and a clear view of snow-capped mountains.

Its beautiful here, she said. I fell in love.

Guldborg will sign her lease on Jan. 3. The program is designed to pay a tenants rent, but Florence Crittenton isnt on the lease. When the program ends in two years, Guldborg will hopefully renew her lease and have a stable income to pay her rent.

When the REACH program became a reality, Florence Crittenton started accepting donations for furniture and baby items and kept them at a storage unit with the first six months paid for by AAA. Guldborg will furnish her apartment with a bed set from the storage unit, and has some baby items shes bringing from Wolf Point.

With housing taken care of, Guldborg is spending the rest of her pregnancy preparing to be the best mom she can be. In her first week in Helena, she got a part-time job at a restaurant to establish an income.

Shes also getting improved prenatal care at St. Peters. Her OBGYN gave her a calendar to track her pregnancy, with stickers to count down the days until her due date.

Im 28 weeks pregnant, so most of its already gone by, she said. I would have loved to mark it all down.

REACH only requires one case management meeting a week, but education services are recommended and offered for free at Florence Crittenton.

Guldborg is attending Strive to Reach Independence, Values and Education and a childbirth class to develop a birth plan. She also attends a class outside of REACH at Options Womens Clinic, where she earns points that can be used to purchase clothes and diapers.

Once the baby is born, Guldborg will have access to Florence Crittentons lactation counselor if she chooses to breastfeed and two in-home programs that teach her to baby-proof her home and to promote healthy development.

REACH is designed to be accessible to almost any family. A criminal history or substance abuse doesnt disqualify an applicant. Florence Crittenton offers substance abuse programs and mental health services to help parents if necessary.

Its really about setting them up and empowering them to be independent and strong, Krepps said. We are a snapshot in their life. So what we have to do is help set them up for the future.

With a sense of security and a few months before her due date in March, Guldborg feels like she can start setting goals for her future. She plans to attend Helena College to become a certified medical assistant.

Without REACH, she would likely still be in Wolf Point without a permanent place for her and her son to live.

It was scary. Thats another thing that really pushed me to try and do better, she said. Im the only one thats going to be there for him.
Most of New South Wales will swelter through Christmas Day with a heatwave affecting much of the State, including parts of Sydney.

A low intensity heatwave is expected to move across the Sydney suburbs and much of central NSW on Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

The bureau forecasts the city centre will be spared but western Sydney will see temperatures in the low 30s on Christmas Day. The maximum temperature in the city will be 27 degrees.

The chances of an afternoon thunderstorm are increasingly slim, Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Rob Taggart says.
It's the one thing Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten can wholeheartedly agree on.

A safe and merry Christmas.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sorting Christmas presents under the tree in his office at Parliament House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

This year, the traditional Christmas messages from the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader were delivered against the recent backdrops of a hijacked passenger plane, a call to renew the nuclear arms race, a deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market and the very real reminder that terrorism is never far from home shores.

Recorded and released before the news of the foiled Melbourne attack broke, the leaders were united in their wish for a "safe" holiday period, with both giving thanks to emergency service workers and Defence Force personnel, while taking a moment to remember those not as fortunate.
The Manus Island detainees began to fear the worst when Australian Border Force officials made inquiries about whether anyone had contact details for the family of a young Sudanese refugee named Faysal Ishak Ahmed.

Their first thought was that similar requests for family contacts had been issued before the deaths of two other detainees, Reza Barati and Hamid Khazaei, were confirmed back in 2014.

Mr Barati was murdered and scores of detainees were injured when chaos descended on the detention centre in February that year. Mr Khazaei died several months later, 13 days after presenting at the centre's medical clinic with an infected foot.

"It meant he is in a dangerous situation," was how one detainee, Behrouz Boochani, interpreted the call for contact details for the family of Mr Ahmed, who had been held at the centre for more than three years.
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in the original Star Wars. Credit:Twentieth Century Fox United Airlines issued a statement saying the flight was met on the ground by medical personnel after the crew reported that a passenger was "unresponsive," but the airline did not name the stricken passenger. "Our thoughts are with our customer at this time," the statement read. Just prior to arrival, a pilot told the control tower that passengers who were nurses were attending to another "unresponsive" passenger." "So they're working on her right now," the pilot said in a public recording of the conversation on liveatc.net.

Twitter messages posted by other passengers aboard the plane reported that Fisher had fallen ill, with one saying she had stopped breathing. "Don't know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she's gonna be OK," wrote filmmaker and YouTuber Anna Akana. Comedian Brad Gage wrote, "I'm in complete shock. Anna Akana and I sat in front of Carrie Fisher on our flight from London and she was just taken off the plane by EMTs". The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that they responded to a call from the airport, but would not release any additional information, including the name, age or gender of the patient. "At 12:11 pm the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call from LAX for a patient that was in cardiac arrest," Erik Scott, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, told USA Today.

"Firefighter paramedics provided advanced life support and aggressively treated the patient whom was transported to a local hospital." Celebrities immediately took to social media to express their well-wishes for Fisher, including her Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill. Fisher has been making waves recently promoting her latest memoir, The Princess Diarist, based on the diaries she kept while starring in the original Star Wars film as a 19-year-old. In the book she reveals, among other things, that she and her co-star Harrison Ford had an affair on the set that they kept secret for decades. She reprised her world-famous role in the seventh film of the sci-fi series, The Force Awakens, which hit theatres in December 2015. She also appears in the upcoming Episode VIII, which is in post-production and set for release in December 2017.

Star Wars co-star Mark Hammill was among those to post their wishes.

Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie, who played Captain Phasma in The Force Awakens, wrote: "The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universe's most powerful Force." Warwick Davis, the Ewok Wicket from Return of the Jedi, tweeted a picture of himself with Fisher. Fisher is the daughter of famous Hollywood couple Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.

Fisher is considered Hollywood royalty who has written and spoken openly about her struggles in Hollywood. She took on her prickly relationship with her mother in the book-to-movie Postcards From the Edge. She's also been outspoken about her mental-health issues and the solution she's found  radical-sounding electroshock therapy. She made her big-screen debut as a teenager in the 1975 comedy Shampoo. Her big break came in 1977 as the intrepid Princess Leia, her hair twisted into braided side buns, in the first of the Star Wars movies. Fisher made headlines in November with the disclosure that she had a three-month love affair with her Star Wars co-star, actor Harrison Ford, who played the swashbuckling pilot Han Solo, during the making of the original film in 1976. Loading She reprised her Princess Leia role in two sequels and returned last year in Disney's reboot of the franchise, The Force Awakens, appearing as the more matronly General Leia Organa, leader of the Resistance movement fighting the evil First Order.
A 27-year-old asylum seeker has died from injuries suffered after a fall and seizure at the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea.

The Immigration Department said the man, a 27-year-old Sudanese refugee who advocates named as Faysal Ishak Ahmed, was taken to the International Health and Medical Services clinic (IHMS) on Manus Island for urgent treatment before being air-lifted to Australia for further care.

The Manus Island detention camp. Credit:Getty Images

He died at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital on Saturday.



"The department is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and expresses its sympathies to his family and friends," a statement said.

The Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) said Mr Ahmed was treated at the IHMS clinic on Thursday night after collapsing inside Oscar compound, before being flown to Brisbane on Friday afternoon.
Police have returned to one of the homes targeted by Friday's terror raids, while a fourth man accused of planning to bomb Melbourne landmarks on Christmas Day has appeared in court with a black eye.

Broadmeadow man Ibrahim Abbas, 22, faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act.

His lawyer requested her client see a doctor to treat injuries sustained during his arrest.

His brother Hamza Abbas, 21, also faced court and is in custody until April.
An elderly woman has died after she was caught in a house fire on the NSW Central Coast.

Emergency services were called to the home in Saratoga about 2am on Christmas Day where a 93-year-old woman lived.

Exhausted firefighters were being called back to work due to understaffing caused by poor leave management Credit:Karleen Minney

Residents told police a neighbour tried to get to the woman after he noticed she had not been evacuated, but he was overcome by smoke and unable to reach her.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and the woman was taken to Gosford Hospital, where she later died.
A three-year-old child has died after being locked in a car at a property in Sydney's north-west on Christmas eve.

The young girl's family found her unconscious on the back seat of their white sedan in Cameo Circuit, Glenwood, about 4.45pm.

When police arrived, family were performing CPR inside the home, with police taking over until the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics.

A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said that, when paramedics arrived, the girl was in cardiac arrest.
A motorbike rider who police say was trying to avoid the rain by speeding home was allegedly caught travelling more than 40 kilometres over the speed limit in Brisbane on Friday.

The woman was pulled over by police officers about 4.30pm travelling 42 kilometres over the 100km/hour speed limit along the Pacific Motorway at Tanah Merah.

The woman was fined $1664 and issued nine demerit points.

The 37-year-old Rochedale South woman was issued with a $1137 speeding fine, $406 fine for unlicensed riding and a $121 defective vehicle fine, along with nine demerit points.

On Thursday, Commissioner Ian Stewart said excessive speed continued to be a significant issue in Queensland, with about one in four road fatalities involving a speeding motorist.
An hours-old baby girl who was snatched from a Gold Coast University Hospital has been found safe and well in New South Wales.

The newborn, born just after 12pm on Friday, was taken from the hospital about 3.30pm by her mother, 30, and father, 45.

Police were concerned for the welfare of the child. Credit:iStock

The couple and newborn, along with a young teenage girl, left the Gold Coast hospital by bus and were last seen at a Palm Beach address.

Police were alerted to the situation and issued an amber alert at 6pm. The baby's mother is a client of the Department of Child Safety and they held concerns for the baby's welfare.
MISSOULA  Richie Farrar's path to become a teacher started when he was a student at Big Sky High School.

Today, he's one of the agriculture teachers at Big Sky and, in front of the entire school on Thursday morning, he got a surprise. The Missoula Education Foundation student board named him Outstanding Educator of the Year.

Farrar appeared in the bleachers and climbed down, clad in his muck boots. He walked across the gym to claim his award, spotted his family in the crowd and smiled.

"How did you guys all sneak in there?" he said to his family as they stepped into the second gym to snap some photos as the high school choir began singing holiday songs.

He gave his 4-month-old daughter, Ruth, a smooch on the cheek and grinned for the camera while she latched on to his collar.

Farrar, 26, graduated from Big Sky in 2009.

When he was a freshman, he said kids would make fun of Future Farmers of America. Many, if not all, FFA members are also involved at the Agriculture Education Center, formerly known as Vocational Agriculture, or Vo-Ag.

"One friend pulled me into it," he said, and he was hooked.

One of his ag teachers was Gene McClure, who retired from Missoula County Public Schools in 2008 after 27 years teaching in the ag department.

"He used to take his keys and jingle them right in front of our faces," Farrar said, laughing. "He was pretty old and was in his 27th year of teaching. He would say, 'I'm not going to be here forever, so who's going to take these keys?'"

That planted the idea in Farrar's mind. After graduating Big Sky, he headed to Montana State University, where he got a degree in agricultural education.

Then he came home to Missoula. This is his fourth year teaching at Big Sky.

Farrar is soft-spoken, and was genuinely surprised that he won, and that there were so many nominations.

MEF student board secretary Annika Charlson, a senior at Hellgate High, said 300 nominations were sent in for the high school educator of the year. The students went through each one and narrowed the list to those with the highest number of nominations, as well as the quality of the nomination.

From there they narrowed it to 15, and then to five.

Farrar had nominations from students, fellow teachers, staff and parents.

"All of those nominations were quality, outstanding and well-written," Charlson said. "It was a unanimous vote (for Farrar)."

This is the third year in a row that a Big Sky teacher has earned this recognition. Last year, it was Tom Andres, Farrar's colleague in the ag department. The year before, it went to social studies teacher Cameron Johnson.

"I thought you would figure it out when I ironed your shirt this morning," Farrar's wife, Erin, said of the surprise. "I never do that."

She convinced him it was for a Christmas party after school.

The MEF student board launched about six years ago, with the idea to give students an opportunity to learn about leadership. They developed criteria for teacher of the year awards  with the middle school and elementary school awards still to come this school year.

Farrar couldn't say for sure why he had won.

"I work hard with the students," he said. "Most of my classes are more informal than a lot of others and I think the kids learn more in that setting."

It shows. The Missoula FFA brought home a pile of top trophies from the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis two months ago, adding to an ever-growing list of awards. The same goes for their three ag teachers: Farrar, Andres and Kristy Rothe.

The trio each have earned awards for their work in ag education, and all three devote countless hours to FFA, the ag students and managing the center's 80-acre farm.

"You can't learn if you're not having fun," Farrar said.
Manila: Sixteen people have been wounded in a grenade explosion outside a Catholic church during a Christmas Eve mass on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, according to local police and a priest.

Bernardo Tayong, Midsayap town police chief, said most of the injured had been standing outside the Sto Nino parish church in Midsayap town, North Cotabato.

Father Jay Virador said the blast sent the congregation fleeing.

"There was no more concluding prayers as there was a commotion," he said. "People hurriedly left the church."
Kuala Lumpur: Fourteen people are dead and 17 others injured after a bus crashed into a ravine on Malaysia's North-South Expressway.

The accident occurred early on Saturday near the west coast of town of Muar, after the driver lost control of the bus and it fell six metres into a ravine, local broadcaster Astro Awani said.

The rescue scene in Muar, Malaysia. Credit:Screengrab/StarTV

Muar police department's Azman Ayob said seven women, a young girl and six men were killed, including the driver.
Washington: The FBI is investigating how hackers, believed sponsored by China's military, infiltrated computers at a US federal agency that regulates commercial banks for several years beginning in 2010.

The agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), is one of three that oversees confidential plans for how big banks would handle bankruptcy. It has access to records on millions of individual American deposits.

President Barack Whatever the obvious criticisms of Trump as a ham-fisted statesman, under Obama's watch President Xi run amok in the South China Sea. Credit:AP

The security breach, in which hackers gained access to dozens of computers including the workstation for former FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair, has also been the target of a probe by a congressional committee, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Last month, the banking regulator allowed congressional staff to view internal communications between senior FDIC officials related to the hacking, two people who took part in the review said. In the exchanges, the officials referred to the attacks as having been carried out by Chinese military-sponsored hackers. The staff was not allowed to keep copies of the exchanges, which did not explain why the FDIC officials believe the Chinese military was behind the breach.
Bangladesh: A woman and a man suspected of being militants blew themselves up on Saturday on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, during a police raid on an apartment believed to be a den for a militant group, the police said.

"This is the first incident in the country where a female militant committed suicide" by detonating explosives on her body, said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The police cordoned off the apartment building at 2am on Saturday, and two women with two children surrendered, said Yousuf Ali, another police official. The women, the police said, were married to members of the militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahedeen Bangladesh who are suspects in a series of attacks against civilians in recent years.

Hours later, another woman left the building with a four-year-old girl and set off two grenades. The woman was killed, and the child was wounded by shrapnel from the explosives. She was being treated at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and seemed likely to survive, said Jasmin Nahar, a surgeon at the hospital.
London is a magical place to be over the Christmas holidays. Lights sparkle above the streets, outdoor parks are transformed by Christmas markets with wooden chalets, and ice rinks pop up outside iconic buildings. Dubbed "Britain's most festive pub," the Churchill Arms in Notting Hill, a neighbourhood in West London, is decorated with 90 trees and 20,000 lights. The Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. Credit:IR_Stone - Karla Adam, in London Belgium Christmas markets are common across Europe, but Brussels puts a fantastical twist on the tradition with a pair of carousels filled with Jules Verne-like deep-sea creatures and a rocket ship that blasts through the roof. Parents can sip champagne and slurp oysters at the Sainte-Catherine Market while their children twirl on the carousels, which were built in the 1990s by a French artist.

People visit the Christmas market in Brussels on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Credit:GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT - Michael Birnbaum, in Brussels Lebanon Christmas is taken seriously in Lebanon - very seriously. Unlike its neighbours, the tiny Arab country has a large, vibrant and confident Christian community that holds especially festive Christmas activities during the holidays. In the Geitawi neighbourhood of Beirut, a predominantly Christian area of the Lebanese capital, religious iconography can be seen on just about every street. Lebanese performers dressed in candy costumes dance in front of Muhammad al-Amin Mosque during Christmas celebrations at Martyr's Square in Downtown Beirut, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) Credit:BILAL HUSSEIN

- Hugh Naylor, in Beirut Egypt In Egypt, Santa is called Baba Noel, meaning Father Christmas. Around Cairo, stores and hotels put up Christmas trees and decorations, which are also sold in supermarkets. Many middle and upper-class Muslims view Christmas as a time for festivities and gift giving, especially for their kids. About 10 per cent of Egypt's 94 million people are Christians. Most belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose Christmas traditions are different than much of the world, including celebrating the holiday in January. The Coptic month leading to Christmas is called Kiahk. Special praise songs are sung by followers before the traditional Sunday service. From November 25 to January 6, many Christians partake in a special "holy nativity fast" when they don't eat any animal products, including chicken, beef and eggs.

Coptic Christmas Eve is on January 6, when followers attend a special night service. Afterward, they go home and break their fast. The next morning, Orthodox Christmas Day, Christians celebrate in their homes, and people often hand out sweet biscuits known as "kahk" as gifts. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, visits Coptic Pope Tawadros II, during Christmas Eve Mass on January 6 this year. Credit:AP - Sudarsan Raghavan, in Cairo India Christmas celebrations take place primarily along that coast, in the states of Kerala and Goa, as well as in Catholic neighbourhoods of Mumbai such as Bandra. India's northeastern states are also heavily Christian, and generally Protestant, having been converted by English, Welsh, and US missionaries in the 19th century. In cosmopolitan urban centres like Mumbai, the commercialisation of Christmas familiar to those in the West has lately begun in earnest. In December, beggars hawk Santa hats and felt reindeer antlers. Despite a resurgence of Hindu nationalism, it has become more common every year to see these Christmas trinkets for sale at India's streetlights and in its bazaars.

An Indian Muslim woman rides a motorcycle carrying a child wearing a Santa hat in Ahmadabad, India. Credit:AP - Max Bearak, in Mumbai Brazil In December, most of Brazil is melting in intense tropical heat - or sheltering from huge rainstorms - but that does not stop people in this largely Catholic nation from reaching for the same Yuletide icons as many other countries. Father Christmas, sleighs and even reindeer are all part of the decorations, though they are often given a tropical twist. This is a family time, with many people coming together for late-evening meals and prayers on December 24. Others host big family lunches for dozens on December 25, when samba, speeches and piles of turkey, rice, Portuguse-style cod and desserts are all on the menu. Dressed as a Christmas angel, a prisoner poses for a photo during a prison events that includes a cell decorating contest and a skit dramatising biblical stories, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit:AP

- Dom Phillips, in Rio de Janeiro Israel Known as the Festival of Lights, Hannukah celebrates the rededication of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago, when a one-day supply oil for the temple's lamp miraculously burned for eight days. In Israel, over the eight-day festival, Jews celebrate by lighting candles, exchanging gifts and eating foods cooked in oil. In anticipation of the not-so-healthy holiday, sweet and sugary "sufganiyot," (doughnuts minus a hole) hit the stores weeks before the festival. These delicacies are filled with all types of delights. The classic doughnuts are jelly, chocolate or creme caramel flavoured. In recent years, gourmet doughnuts have also appeared. Christian actors play the parts of Joseph and Mary during a re-enactment of a Nativity scene of the birth of Jesus Christ as part of Christmas festivities in Nazareth, Israel. Credit:AP - Ruth Eglash, in Jerusalem
Tunis: Tunisian security forces have arrested three suspected militants after uncovering links to Anis Amri, the Tunisian national believed responsible for the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people.

Tunisia's Interior Ministry said on Saturday said Amri's nephew was among the three men. The cousin had allegedly used social media to contact Amri, who was killed on Friday by Italian police after he pulled a gun on them during a routine search.

In Spain, intelligence services are aso investigating a possible connection via internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on December 19, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told radio station COPE.

He said police and security forces were studying the information and deciding whether to make any arrests.
New York: The UN Security Council has approved a resolution demanding Israel cease Jewish settlement activity on Palestinian territory in a unanimous vote that passed when the United States abstained in the wake of meddling by President-elect Donald Trump and Egypt.

The resolution declared Israeli settlements illegal under international law and demanded that the country cease construction in the West Bank and other territories captured in the 1967 Middle East war. It said the settlements, including those in East Jerusalem, have "no legal validity". It said they threaten the viability of the two-state solution, and it urged Israelis and Palestinians to return to negotiations that lead to two independent nations.

The United States' abstained from the vote instead of using its veto as it has reliably done in the past. It was a rare rebuke to Israel, and reflected mounting frustration in President Barack Obama's administration over settlement growth that the US considers an obstacle to peace. With President Obama's time in office due to end in barely a month, his decision not to veto was a symbolic statement of that displeasure.

The decision highlighted the increasingly tenuous ties between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. A senior Israeli official, who asked not to be identified, accused the US of secretly drafting the resolution in conjunction with the Palestinian Authority. The Obama administration rejected that accusation.
Fellow St. Maarteners, Residents of our beautiful island

It is that special time of the year again when we gather together as family to celebrate the birth of the Redeemer.

Christmas is, indeed, a time for family. And nothing brings family and friends together like the birth of a child.

All the positive attitudes of our humanity are expressed and exemplified in the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of giving without expecting anything in return; the joy and happiness as well as the togetherness we find in merry-making and above all the love we share with our neighbors and fellow men, regardless of their station in life.

No one is supposed to feel lonely at Christmas. No one is supposed to go hungry. Every child looks forward to receiving gifts during this season, whether they behaved well throughout the year or not.

There is Jollification in Christmas. Traditionally, we cook up a storm, not just to feed ourselves, but all those who pass by our homes.

We even send food to friends and relatives, and share with our neighbors, not because they have nothing to eat, but because this is the way we express our sense of belonging.

We open our homes and our hearts to others without feeling vulnerable because of the mystery and marvel in the manger where Christ was born.

That story about the child Jesus teaches us that the circumstances of our birth do not define us, that our destiny is not tied to where we were born but who we were born to be. It tells us that we should never look down on a person because of their humble beginnings but look to lift up everyone to where they truly belong.

The spirit of Christmas is, therefore, not a one-day feeling; it is not a seasonal event but a permanent injunction for us to be our brothers keeper. Charles Dickens said, I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. This should be the mantra for all of us.

Christmas is a gift, and as Pope Francis put it, God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it.

I pray that you will receive this gift with humility, and understand the message that comes with it. May the love, joy and peace that Christmas brings be with you and your loved ones throughout the year.

On behalf of my wife, Gabrielle, my children, Ohndhae, Ihndhira, Ighmelene and Hakeem and my entire family, and also on behalf of my Cabinet and the new government of St. Maarten, I wish you and your family and friends a very Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays!

God bless you. And God bless St. Maarten.
PHILIPSBURG:--- UTS and the TELEM Group of companies responded and participated in an urgent meeting called by the President of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce, earlier today.

The representatives of both entities explained the recent events which caused a drastic drop in telecommunications provisioning in the country and elucidated on the efforts being undertaken to reduce future risks. Both entities have been able to restore the larger percentage of their services, even though some technical issues are still being worked on.

The commitment of both entities to their customers was duly supported, as the actions were undertaken were immediate and appropriate. The commitment of both entities is further to have in place alternatives, so the impact from future fiber optic cable breaks and/or damages, can be mitigated.

Parties all are fully aware of the impact a lack of/poor telecommunication services has on the entire community of St. Maart and vowed to work with an undeterred focus on maximizing the potential of their services. Brandon stated:" That the open dialogue permitted a good understanding of the situation and the issues the entities faced in restoring services. Even though the cable break was beyond the control of anyone, parties are obligated to seek and have in place redundancy routes to combat such cable breaks. The Chamber of Commerce would continue its actions until received confirmation that such redundancy is put in place."

The Sint Maarten Chamber of Commerce will continue to work with and closely follow the progress made by both entities in this regard, in the interest of the community, with follow-up communications to the entities and the Government of Sint Maarten.
BILLINGS  Gov. Steve Bullock says Montana residents need to reject hate and intimidation after white supremacists targeted several Jewish families in Whitefish with anti-Semitic calls and emails.

The Democratic governor on Friday issued an open letter urging Montanans to "act like our kids are watching and learning from the actions we take and the language we use."

He wrote that hate based on religion, skin color or gender won't be tolerated.

A white supremacist website last week called for a "troll war" against members of the Whitefish Jewish community and their supporters.

Bullock did not explicitly mention the events in the town just west of Glacier National Park.

But spokeswoman Ronja Abel told The Associated Press the governor was concerned about the events in Whitefish and believed it important to confront the issue.
AtmanCo Announces a Change on the Board of Directors

MONTREAL, QUEBEC  (Marketwired)  12/23/16  AtmanCo inc. (AtmanCo or the Company) (TSX VENTURE: ATW) announces today that M. W. Brian Edwards has resigned from the Board of Directors of AtmanCo and from his role of president of the Board. His resignation is effective immediately. Michel Guay, president and CEO of AtmanCo will serve as president of the Board going forward. On a personal note and on behalf of AtmanCo, Michel Guay wants to thank Brian for all his devotion and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Additional information regarding the Company are available on SEDAR

The TSX Venture Exchange and its Regulatory Services provider (as per meaning assigned to this term in TSX Venture Exchanges policies) bear no liability as to the relevance or accuracy of this press release.

ABOUT ATMANCO

AtmanCo is the publisher of a scientifically validated psychometric test. Through the or the application program interface (API), the results allow the companies to optimize the talents of their human capital by improving the recruiting and organizational development success rate. AtmanCos solutions also enable impacting the major consumer market by easily integrating them with our partners technological solutions. AtmanCo is also the owner of RNIS Telecommunications inc (VoxTel) which owns the online dating site Quebec Rencontres as well as offering various interactive and billing wireless and landline telephone solutions.

Contacts:

AtmanCo Inc.

Michel Guay

Founder, president and CEO

514.935.5959 ext. 301

Simon Bedard, CA, CPA, CFA, MBA

CFO

514.935.5959 ext. 304
A guide to voter rights in Indiana. What you need to know before you cast a ballot

elections
The Flathead Beacon reports that the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes declared the emergency on December 20. The resolution calls for the formation of an incident management team in response to larvae found in Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs, the Milk River near Malta and the Missouri River south of Townsend. The tribal team would work with the state and other groups fighting the invasive species.
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Astronaut Piers Sellers is pictured floating aboard the International Space Station, in front of a window overlooking Earth in May 2010. Sellers, a climate scientist, died on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016.

Piers Sellers, a British-American climate scientist and former NASA astronaut who launched on three space shuttle missions to the International Space Station, died on Friday (Dec. 23). He was 61.

Sellers' death came just over 11 months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in an editorial for The New York Times. In the column, Sellers wrote about how his prognosis added a sense of urgency to his work on climate change.

"I was forced to decide how to spend my remaining time," Sellers explained in the editorial. "I concluded that all I really wanted to do was spend more time with the people I know and love, and get back to my office as quickly as possible." [In His Words: Piers Sellers Thoughts on Seeing Earth from Space & More]

Sellers' death was mourned by his fellow scientists, NASA colleagues and astronauts as news spread on Friday.

"An admired astronaut, a ground-breaking Earth scientist, a community leader, a friend. The impact of his work lives on!" wrote Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, on Twitter.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (right) speaks with Piers Sellers in front of a wall display showing biosphere data at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland in April 2016. (Image credit: NASA)

"Saddened by the loss of [a] friend and champion for our planet," tweeted former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott.

"The entire NASA family mourns the passing of scientist and astronaut Piers Sellers," said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, in a statement. "He was a strident defender and eloquent spokesperson for our home planet, Earth."

Sellers began his career in spaceflight as a meteorologist working at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, conducting research into how Earth's biosphere and atmosphere interact. Sellers was the project scientist for NASA's flagship Earth observing system, Terra, when he was selected to be an astronaut in 1996. [Piers Sellers Took Part of Newton's Apple Tree Into Space]

Sellers' first launch to the International Space Station was as a member of shuttle Atlantis' STS-112 crew in October 2002. During the flight, Sellers made three spacewalks to help install a segment of the station's backbone truss.

Sellers returned to orbit in July 2006, aboard STS-121, the second return to flight mission after the loss of the orbiter Columbia three years earlier. As a space shuttle Discovery crew member, Sellers ventured outside the station again to conduct maintenance and demonstrate repair techniques for the shuttle's thermal protection tiles.

Sellers' third and last mission to the orbiting laboratory saw him fly again on Atlantis as an STS-132 mission specialist. The May 2010 flight delivered the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module to the space station on what had been slated to be Atlantis' final mission (the orbiter flew again to end the space shuttle program in July 2011).

Piers Sellers at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland in April 2016. (Image credit: NASA)

In total, Sellers logged 35 days, 9 hours and 2 minutes in space, including more than 41 hours on six spacewalks.

A year after he landed back on Earth, Sellers left NASA's astronaut corps in Houston and returned to Maryland to be deputy director of Goddard Space Flight Center's Sciences and Exploration Directorate, a position he still held at the time of his death.

Piers John Sellers was born in Crowborough, England, on April 11, 1955.

Sellers earned his bachelor of science degree in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland (UK) in 1976, and his doctorate in biometeorology from Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 1981, prior to moving to the United States in 1982 to conduct climate research for NASA.

As a resident associate for the National Research Council, faculty associate scientist at the University of Maryland in College Park and staff scientist at Goddard, Sellers helped to construct computer models of the global climate system, conducted satellite remote sensing studies and performed large-scale field experiments utilizing aircraft, satellites and ground teams in the U.S., Canada, Africa and Brazil.

In addition to his role as Deputy Director for Sciences and Exploration, Sellers was also the Acting Director for Earth Sciences at Goddard.

In the year since Sellers' diagnosis with pancreatic cancer, he became a more prominent advocate for climate change research. In October, he appeared with Leonardo DiCaprio in National Geographic's documentary "Before the Flood."

"Here are the facts: The climate is warming," Sellers told the National Geographic Society in an interview supporting the documentary (opens in new tab). "We've measured it, from the beginning of the industrial revolution to now. It correlates so well with emissions and theory, we know within almost an absolute certainty that it's us who are causing the warming and the CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions."

The author of 70 research papers, Sellers was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011 for services to science. In June, he was bestowed the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

On Dec. 17, the Space Foundation announced that Sellers would be conferred its highest honor, the Gen. James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award, at its 2017 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Sellers is survived by his wife of 36 years, Amanda, their son Thomas and daughter Imogen and a grandson, Jack.

"I've no complaints," Sellers wrote in The New York Times in January. "I am very grateful for the experiences I've had on this planet."

"As an astronaut I spacewalked 220 miles [355 km] above Earth. Floating alongside the International Space Station, I watched hurricanes cartwheel across oceans, the Amazon snake its way to the sea through a brilliant green carpet of forest, and gigantic nighttime thunderstorms flash and flare for hundreds of miles along the Equator," he said.

"From this God's-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is. I'm hopeful for its future."

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
Madrid, Dec 24, 2016 (SPS) Several Spanish cities have decided to organise demonstrations to express their support and solidarity with the Saharawi political prisoners of Gdeim Izik whose trial is scheduled to start Monday.

In Madrid, the Spanish Coordination of Solidarity Associations with Sahara (CEAS-Sahara) called for a rally in front of the Moroccan embassy to demand the release of the Saharawi political prisoners on 27 December.

The Association of Friends of the Saharawi People of the Balearic Islands called for a demonstration Sunday to demand the release of political prisoners and to shed light on the fate of the disappeared Saharawi.

The trial of court of cassation in Rabat (Morocco) will take place on Dec 26-28, against the 22 Saharawi political prisoners, Gdeim Izik Group. Many international organizations and political parties have deplored the lack of transparency and declared "null and void" any trial that does not comply with international law. (SPS)

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Madrid, Dec 24, 2016 (SPS) - Western Sahara conflict is among the regional issues of the strategic dialogue with Spain, said Friday in Madrid Algerian Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel.

The Minister made this statement to APS a day following the first session of Algeria-Spain Strategic Dialogue in Madrid, which he co-chaired with Spain's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ignacio Ybanez.

As regards the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), confirming that the free trade agreement between the EU does not apply to Western Sahara, Messahel underlined that the decision "shows the soundness of Algeria's unchanged position: Western Sahara issue is a question of decolonization and it is a non-self-governing territory, and thus the right to self-determination applies to its people."

In this regard, the minister said that the CJEU's decision is also in line with the United Nations' principle on decolonization.

Messahel said that Algeria hopes that the UN and its new secretary general would "take note" of the CJEU's decision.

He added that Algeria hopes that this decision would help to relaunch Western Sahara decolonization the process. (SPS)

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Sahrawi Times, Issue 3 - 23 Dec. 2016





As the year 2016 ends, it is rather very unfortunate that the global mechanism which is supposed to maintain international world order is still facing a lot of dysfunctionality. The very ones who are supposed to be protected by the international communities are hitherto the victims of a conspiracy of international negligence and silence.

If not of great organizations like the Danish Refugee Council which is doing it possible best with a strong and purpose driven compassionate leadership team in both Tunisia and Algeria to uplift those who have been neglected and sideline by geopolitical cartels who have forgotten the essence of justice. If justice has been their continual onus, we will for over 25 years today had at least the Referendum in Western Sahara that was supposed to take place after the Cease-Fire-Agreement signed between the Polisario Front and the Oppressive regime of King Mohammad IV over the illegal occupation of Western Sahara.

While many are getting ready for the festive holidays, some others of our kind are still trapped for over 40 years today in very inhospitable and inhumane conditions in the Sahara Desert part of Tindouf. The people of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR- popularly known as the Western Sahara). Separated from families with a wall of shame and the landmines thereto, more deadly than the Berlin Walls. The Sahrawi people live in both Refugee Camps of Tindouf, and in the occupied territory of Western Sahara under the brutal aggression, oppression, repression and arrogance of the government of the Kingdom of Morocco. We still remember the unfortunate October 9, over November 8, 2010 incidence of mass injustice perpetrated against the Sahrawi protest group of Gdeim Izik by the Moroccan authorities.

Gdeim Izik - a protest camp in Western Sahara which was established on October 9, 2010 with primary objective to protest against the ongoing discrimination, poverty and human rights abuses experienced by Sahrawi local citizens in the occupied territory. When the protesters demanded the independence of Western Sahara as acknowledge by the United Nations Security Council Resolution that established the MINURSO office to organize a Referendum for self-determination over Western Sahara in a very peaceful way, the protesters were confronted by violence and brutality of the Moroccan security forces which led to the dead of a 14-year-old Nayem Elgarhi whom no one had spoken about. Great casualties, injuries were sustained by Sahrawi people.

The aftermaths of the protest were therefore, marked by unlawful imprisonments of Sahrawi peaceful protesters, and the dismantlement of the camps by November 8, 2010. Political activists such as Noam Chomsky narrated the incidence of Gdeim Izik to constitute the start of the Arab Spring. It is very sad to understand that, much is spoken of the Arab Spring and the consequent Arab Winter, but nothing is spoken of the Gdeim Izik detainees who are being tortured in Moroccan prisons just because they decided to exercise some basic human rights such as the rights to self-determination and autonomy. For how long shall we suffer such conspiracy of negligence and injustice? The Sahrawi political prisoners will appear before Moroccan judges next 26th December 2016, after they have been fed with poisonous substances as they await their unlawful trials in prisons for 6 years today. Till when will these mess come to an end?

The referendum just like in many other geographical spaces is a powerful solution to ending all forms of injustice against minority groups and those under the spelt of colonialism. Africa, will never be free until the last colony is decolonize. It is time we stand and seek justice for the protesters of Gdeim Izik. We demand that they be free and free Western Sahara. (SPS)

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Washington, DC, Dec 24, 2016 (SPS) - The US-Western Sahara Foundation heartily welcomes the European Court of Justice's recent ruling on the European Union's trade deal with Morocco and calls for the United Nations to follow through on the long promised referendum.







"This ruling express in the most clear terms that Morocco has no sovereignty over the territory of the Western Sahara," said US-Western Sahara Foundation president Suzanne Scholte. "The decision is also identical to the United States as expressed during the signing of the US-Moroccan free trade agreement which excluded the Western Sahara on the grounds that the United States does not recognize the Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara."







"Furthermore, it is to be strongly noted that the European Court reaffirmed the October 16, 1975 ruling by the International Court of Justice that supported the right of self-determination for the Sahrawi people and denied Morocco any sovereignty over the territory," Scholte said. "The ruling sends a clear message to Morocco, that despite 41 years of occupation of the territory and despite all its propaganda and the millions of dollars it has spent to lobby the international community, the fact remains: this is an illegal occupation of Western Sahara by the Kingdom of Morocco."







"The ECJ ruling also sends a message to all those involved with Morocco in exploiting the natural resources of Western Sahara you are thieves guilty of stealing from the indigenous people of Western Sahara."







"This ruling rallies all of us internationally who have supported and admired the Sahrawi people. We admire their peaceful resistance relying on the rule of law to achieve justice. Now, we call upon the United Nations to fulfill their promise for a free, fair and transparent referendum on self determination," Scholte stated.







The US Western Sahara Foundation was formed in 1999 by Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-PA), Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), the Defense Forum Foundation and hundreds of American citizens from many walks of life and diverse political views to raise awareness of the Western Sahara issue and promote self determination for the people of Western Sahara. (SPS)

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London, Dec 24, 2016 (SPS) - Two lawyers, Jose Revert Calabuig and Nieves Cubas Armas, representatives of the General Council of the Spanish Legal Profession who had planned to visit, as international observers, the trial on 21 December of Saharawi activist Ali Saadouni and his fellow activists in El Aaiun. They were expelled from the capital of Occupied Western Sahara at midday on 20 December, sent by plane back to Gran Canaria.

They expelled us without any explanation and they didnt even let us ask any questions. They told me to go with them and they took me back to the departure lounge and put me on the plane, Nieves Cubas told us. Its a gross violation of the entitlement to legal representation. We were there to give a voice to the Saharawis. We know that the territory of Western Sahara still needs to be decolonised, she added.

Hundreds of international activists, journalists and observers have tried to enter the Occupied Territories, arriving on flights to occupied El Aaiun. They have come in response to the calls by Saharawi groups and NGOs who want to bring about an end to the block placed on the region by Morocco which is preventing peoples participation in activities of non-violent resistance against the Moroccan occupation.

Morocco has repeatedly claimed that the visitors are pro-Saharawi radicals, accusing them of wanting to disturb public order. Members of Adala UK in the Occupied Territories confirm that 89 people have been denied entry to the region so far this year. Other European activists who attempted to enter the Occupied Territories were turned away and taken to other Moroccan cities.

Jose Revert Calabuig told us: the reason behind our expulsion is that the Moroccan authorities do not want us to record what happens in the trials that take place against the Saharawis  thats all we are here to do.

The world, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, have seen the grave human rights violations which take place in the Occupied Territories against the Saharawis, above all in response to peaceful protests which seek the self-determination of the Saharawi people and the resulting daily arbitrary detention of civilians. The inaction of the international community in the face of this cruelty is shameful. As there is no recrimination for these acts, the Moroccan government continues to commit these human rights violations on a mass scale. Whilst they deny these violations take place, they also prevent international observers from coming into the Occupied Territories to observe what is happening on a daily basis.

If the Moroccan government has nothing to hide it must allow international observers, including human rights monitors, to enter the Occupied Territories. This is part of their obligations under the international covenants and treaties which they have signed.

Adala UK condemns the block the Moroccan government has put on the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara in terms of international observation. We urge the UN to live up to its promises and ensure that this block is lifted immediately. (SPS)

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Madrid, Dec 24, 2016 (SPS)  Algerian Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel said Friday, in Madrid, that the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), confirming that EU-Morocco free trade deal cannot apply to Western Sahara territory, "shows the rightness of Algeria's position."

Messahel, in an interview with APS, said "Western Sahara conflict is a decolonization issue and the territory is non-autonomous, hence the need for its people to enjoy the right to self-determination;"

In this respect, the ECJ ruling "is in line with the United Nations doctrine in relation to decolonization".

"The ruling itself comes to back up the strength of the right against the right of the strength," Messahel stressed.

With the ECJ ruling, Algeria hopes that both the United Nations and its Secretary General "takes note" of the fact, the Algerian official added.

"Algeria hopes (the ruling) has given a fresh impetus (to the issue) and will contribute to relaunch the decolonization process in Western Sahara."

Messahel made the comment following the first session of Algerian-Spanish strategic dialogue held in Madrid, and which he co-chaired with Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ignacio Ibanez. (SPS)

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Dementia has been slowly stealing Ruth Perezs memory and thinking ability for 20 years. Her daughter, Angela Bobo, recalled when it was clear that her mother was never going to be the same.

She would put food together that didnt belong together  hamburger and fish in a pot. Mom never cooked like that, she said.

The mother and daughter live together in Yeadon, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia.

Perez is literally in the center of the family. She spends much of her day tucked under a fleece blanket on a recliner in the middle of the living room. The 87-year-old doesnt seem to notice as her daughter and grown grandchildren come and go, but they keep up a steady one-sided conversation with her anyway.

If I kiss her, she might lean towards me, and sometimes shell nod, said Bobo. What she can do, at times, is smile at you and say a word like, uh huh.

Perez cant lift her arms or move her legs.

A rotating crew of family members takes turns caring for her. They are experienced and they have routines and schedules, but a few months ago, the pressure of lying in one place created a small blister on Perezs hip. The blister burst and that became a bedsore and wouldnt heal.

I couldnt get it to go away, Bobo said. When I say we were at our wits end to fix this, we were beyond there.

About 44 million Americans are unpaid family caregivers like Bobo  sometimes for a child with special needs, more often for a frail older adult, according to a 2015 estimate from the National Alliance for Caregiving. They are often women with a full-time job and children, though now 40 percent of caregivers are men, and millennials are becoming more involved in caring for someone at home, says John Schall, CEO of the Caregiver Action Network.

In too many cases, people just learn this stuff by themselves and thats really kind of dangerous, Schall said.

Thats because many people dont have the necessary skills. Thirty-three states have adopted legislation requiring medical centers to give caregivers basic training or instructions when a patient heads home from the hospital, though how this is carried out is largely up to the hospital.

Ken Everhart, a retired tech guy from North Carolina, became a caregiver for his wife, Genie, for just a few months 10 years ago, when the two were in their mid-50s.

What we needed was for someone to sit me down in a class and say, Heres how you change the sheets while shes still in the bed. Heres how you take her blood pressure. Heres how you monitor her breathing, Everhart said.

He worried hed drop her as they struggled to get to the bathroom. He wasnt sure when to call 911. That uncertainty weighed on Ken  especially when Genie was rushed back to the hospital three times.

I had given her a straw to drink out of, and a sippy cup, and I went to make a phone call. I wasnt gone five minutes and I came back in and she was choking, he said. I should have sat her up, and I should not have allowed her to have anything to drink while I wasnt in there to watch. But I didnt know that.

When patients leave the hospital, they generally leave quick and sick, said Susan McAllister, medical director of quality in the Division of Hospital Medicine at Cooper University Health Care in Camden, N.J. Her team includes the social workers, home health nurses and others who help plan a patients discharge from the hospital.

McAllister said these days its common to come in with a heart attack, get medicine to open a blocked artery, and leave just 48 hours later. The short hospital stay isnt a problem, she said, but the transition home has to be done right.

In October, Minnesota became the latest state to pass laws to prepare potential caregivers to know what the sick person may need. California, New Jersey, Oklahoma and New York also have versions of a Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act. Across the country, AARP has lobbied strongly for the proposals.

These laws generally require hospitals and rehabilitation facilities to record the name of the caregiver in the patients medical chart. Medical centers and rehab centers must offer caregivers basic training or instructions, and the caregiver is supposed to be notified if a patient is discharged to another family member or back home.

McAllister said years ago, Cooper realized it needed to do a lot more to make sure people were healing safely at home. From day one, caregivers are part of discharge planning, she said. On day two, a social worker might help the family shop for help at home.

On day three, we may start teaching inside the hospital, McAllister said.

Hospitals dont get paid more for those extra steps. But now Medicare hits medical centers with a financial penalty if too many patients bounce back to the hospital and have to be re-admitted. The federal governments Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program was created under the Affordable Care Act.

Many at-home caregivers say the responsibility weighs heavily.

It scares you, said Angela Bobo. When Im in pain, I can tell you. She cant tell me thats shes in pain. So when her mothers bedsore wouldnt heal after so many days, Bobo said, Thats when I said: Im going to take her to the doctors, because I dont know whats going on with this. 

Bobo took her mother to the doctor, and he basically wrote a prescription saying her mom needed more help. That way, Medicare paid for skilled nursing care at home, and Angela Bobo got lessons in cleaning and dressing her mothers wound. Now she knows what to expect.

I told her its going to get worse before it gets better, said David Wilson, a registered nurse from Crozer-Keystone Home Health Services who went to Bobos house. Hes a wound-care specialist whose job is house calls.

To get a wound better, you have to remove the dead tissue and start from the ground up, Wilson said.

Some nurses come to the house, do their job and leave, but Wilson said teaching is part of his work. Lots of times hes the one nudging reluctant family caregivers who worry theyre going to do the wrong thing.

I will tell you in home care, the biggest thing is fear, Wilson said.

Wilson made several visits. He recommended a new wound-care regimen for Ruth Perez bedsore, and Perez got an airflow mattress that relieved the pressure on her skin. Medicare paid for that, too. The nurse returned several times to check on the family, and Bobo said that gave her more confidence that she was doing the right things to care for her mother.
A missing man is at the centre of a police appeal in London after travelling to the city and disappearing.

Yoav Stern, 27, arrived in London on a visit in early December but failed to make any contact with his family.

His family are concerned for his welfare as he is believed to be without medication he requires for his health.

Police believe he may be sleeping rough or in a hostel in the city.

CCTV footage has been released of Mr Stern entering a store on December 23 as police issue an appeal for information.

CCTV footage: He is believed to be in the Camden area / Metropolitan Police

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: Yoav was seen on Warren Street in Camden on Friday December 2 and officers have discovered that he was seen in the Golders Green area on Thursday December 8.

Officers have since recovered CCTV footage from a supermarket in Warren Street which shows Yoav entering the store at 9:30om on December 23.

There are concerns for Yoav's health as he is believed to be without necessary medication.

He is described as white, of slim build, with cropped black hair and a beard.

Anyone with information is asked to contact officers at Westminster via 101.


A leader with the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, who had a $3 million bounty on his head, has surrendered in Somalia.

Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi surrendered to Somali police in the Gedo region.

Hersi may have surrendered because he fell out with those loyal to Ahmed Abdi Godane, al-Shabab's top leader who was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this year, a Somali ntelligence officer said.

Hersi was one of eight top al-Shabab officials whom the Obama administration offered a total $33 million in rewards for information leading to their capture in 2012. Despite suffering major losses such as losing major cities, al-Shabab remains a threat in Somalia and the East African region. The group has carried out many terror attacks in Somalia and some in neighboring countries including Kenya, whose armies are part of the African Union troops bolstering Somalia's weak U.N.- backed government.

On Christmas day al-Shabab launched an attack at the African Union base in Mogadishu. Nine people died, including three African Union soldiers, in the attack on the complex, which also houses U.N. offices and western embassies. Al-Shabab said the attack was aimed at a Christmas party and was in retaliation for the killing of the group's leader Godane.

Al-Shabab also claimed that 14 soldiers were killed but the group often exaggerates the number of people it kills.

Al-Shabab is waging an Islamic insurgency against Somalia's government that is attempting to rebuild the country after decades of conflict that was sparked off by the 1991 ouster of dictator Siad Barre.
O fficials in Tunisia have arrested the nephew of Berlin market attacker Anis Amri, as well as two others.

The Tunisian interior ministry said the three, aged between 18 and 27, were members of a "terrorist cell", and that they were detained on Friday.

The arrests come five days after Amri allegedly drove a truck into the crowded Christmas market in the centre of Berlin.

The attack left 12 dead and 48 more injured.

Shooting: Italian forensic experts in Milan where the terror suspect was shot dead / EPA

The fugitive, from Tunisia, was killed in a police shootout in Milan on Friday.

Spain's Interior Minister says police are now investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist in Spain.

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The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack.

This page is being updated.
S antas journey around the globe delivering billions of presents has officially begun  and he can be tracked all the way.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) is mapping his every movement with a stunning 3D visualisation.

Norad, which is usually responsible for defending US airspace, has been tracking his global journey every Christmas Eve for 61 years.

The organisation originally provided updates on Santas position over the phone but now he is tracked through a live online stream and social media accounts as well.

Santa making his way to New Zealand just before midday GMT / Norad

The bearded present-giver is expected to travel an estimated 510,000,000 km over the course of one night, travelling at roughly 1,800 miles per second in order to deliver all his gifts.

Christmas fanatics can use the Norad tracker to view pictures and find out information about every place that Santa visits.

At 11am GMT, Norad announced its scientists had picked up Santa travelling across the North Pole before heading over the east coast of Russia.

He then headed into the southern hemisphere en route to New Zealand and Australia.

Norad

The Norad call centre has 1,500 volunteers working today answering calls and emails from children (big and small) about Santas location.

The telephone is expected to ring 140,000 times over the next 24 hours.

Click here to visit the tracker.
T he search for a British woman thought to have fallen overboard during a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner has been called off.

The 74-year-old was on a tour of the Caribbean which left New York on Thursday.

The alarm was raised when the ship was around 100 nautical miles south east of Atlantic City in New Jersey, and the US Coast Guard scrambled a plane and helicopter to help search for her.

The Cunard-run liner also turned back to assist in the hunt, but it was called off as darkness fell on Friday evening.

A company spokesman said: "It is with sadness we can confirm that after a comprehensive search, working with all relevant authorities, Queen Mary 2 has halted the search for a missing guest, presumed overboard.

"The ship left New York on December 22, on a 12-night Caribbean itinerary. Cunard's care team is offering every support to the family.

"The ship is now back on course to reach St Maarten on December 26 as scheduled."

The Coast Guard had launched a fixed wing plane and a helicopter to scour the sea, searching an area of almost 400sq nautical miles, but they have now returned to land.

Petty Officer David Micallef told the Press Association the woman was reported missing between 1am and 3am US time on Friday.

He said: "The search has been suspended pending any new information."

Additional reporting from the Press Association.
DECATUR -- Decatur's monthly jobless report from the state of Illinois has become somewhat like interchangeable parts on an assembly line: the numbers are different, but the end product is the same.

That latest report shows the unemployment rate -- and the number of jobs -- have dropped in the Decatur area. This past year has shown the same general trend each month.

The unemployment rate in the Decatur area was 5.9 percent in November, down from 7.3 percent at this time last year, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security statistics released Thursday. That number is also down from the previous months 6.2 percent unemployment rate.

However, the report also shows Decatur experienced a 1.9 percent loss in nonfarm jobs, with the 51,600 jobs in November a loss of 1,000 from last year.

All but one of Illinois 14 metropolitan areas saw a decline in their unemployment rate. Decatur was one of five areas that did not see an increase in nonfarm jobs.

Job growth in Illinois metro areas still lag the rest of the nation, department director Jeff Mays said.

Macon County saw a payroll increase of 100 jobs in leisure and hospitality, wholesale trade, and education and health services. The major declines in payroll came from a decrease of 400 jobs in construction and transportation, warehousing, and utilities.

Other payrolls changes include a decrease of 200 in professional and business services and manufacturing. Retail trade saw a payroll decrease of 100.

All other major industry sectors were stable compared to last year.

The report estimated there were 2,900 unemployed workers in the labor force in the Decatur area.

Declines were reported in areas surrounding Decatur, as the November unemployment rate in Coles County was 5.3 percent and 6.6 percent a year ago, in DeWitt, 5.1 percent and 6 percent, in Douglas, 4.3 percent and 5.5 percent,, in Moultrie, 4.1 percent and 5 percent, and in Shelby, 5.5 percent and 6.6 percent.

The statewide unemployment rate 5.3 percent, down from 5.8 percent a year ago but still above the national average.

The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in November. Total nonfarm payroll jobs increased 178,000.

South Dakota and New Hampshire enjoyed the lowest state unemployment rates in the nation at 2.7 percent. The highest rate was in Alaska, 6.8 percent. Illinois was ranked 43rd.
Q ueen guitarist Brian May led the tributes to rocker Rick Parfitt as musicians lined up to pay their respects to the Status Quo star following his death in Spain.

The veteran musician died lunchtime on Saturday at a hospital in Marbella after he was admitted on Thursday evening. He was 68.

Music stars past and present paid tribute to the guitarist including Mr May who said Mr Parfitt "joyfully rocked our world".

He was also hailed one of the greats of British rock music.

Rocked our world: Guitarist Brian May paid tribute to Rick Parfitt / Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty

Mr May said: Shocked and so sad to hear of the passing of Rick Parfitt. Hard to find words. You truly joyfully rocked our world. RIP dear buddy."

Midge Ure, who co-organised Live Aid in 1985 which is remembered as one of Mr Parfitts most celebrated performances, tweeted: "Status Quo's Rick Parfitt dies. Dreadfully sad. Lovely man. Thoughts go out to his family and friends."

Rick Parfitt performing with Status Quo at Glastonbury 2009 / PA

Rock star Peter Frampton, who also found success during that era, tweeted: "So sad to hear this. Rick Parfitt Rest In Peace".

Spandau Ballet and actor Martin Kemp wrote: RIP you lovely man Rick Parfitt! You rocked all around the world and back again!! One of rocks great characters you will be missed!

Legendary rock group The Who posted: Our condolences to the family and friends of Rick Parfitt of @Status_Quo R.I.P. Rick.

Cockney duo Chas and Dave added: Very shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Rick Parfitt. RIP Rick.

While Mr Parfitt's son, Rick Jr, also paid his own emotional tribute online, writing that, although he was a rock star to many, to him "he was simply 'Dad', and I loved him hugely".

The Royal Albert Hall thanked him for unforgettable performances at the London venue.

It tweeted: RIP Rick Parfitt, one of the greats of British rock music. Thanks for the many unforgettable nights at the Hall with Status Quo.
S tar Wars actress Carrie Fisher has been taken to an intensive care unit in hospital after suffering a medical emergency  reportedly a heart attack - on a flight from London.

Her brother Todd Fisher said his sister is receiving excellent care but that he could not classify her condition.

He said she had been stabilised and was out of the emergency room but details about her condition or what caused the medical emergency are unknown.

Celebrity website TMZ, which first reported the incident, said anonymous sources told them the actress suffered a heart attack.

Intensive care: The actress is being treated in hospital / Chris Jackson/Getty

But Todd Fisher said much of what had been reported about the incident was speculation.

"We have to wait and be patient," he said. "We have so little information ourselves."

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said paramedics administered advanced life-saving care to a patient at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Friday and transported the person to a nearby hospital. He did not identify the patient.

Carrie Fisher: She recently starred in the new Star Wars movie / Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

United Airlines said a passenger on flight 935 was "unresponsive".

A spokeswoman for police at LAX airport said: "Los Angeles police responded at 12.15pm to Terminal 7 regarding a female victim who went into cardiac arrest.

"Upon arrival the LAFD (Los Angeles Fire Department) was already performing CPR on the victim and the victim was transported to a local hospital for further medical treatment."

It was reported that Fisher was given CPR by passengers on board before the plane landed at LAX, where paramedics tried to resuscitate her for 15 minutes before finding a pulse.

Hospitalised: The exact details of her medical emergency are not yet known

A large gathering of media personnel was camped outside Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles hospital, where TMZ and the Los Angeles Times reported she had been taken.

US YouTube star and actress Anna Akana tweeted about seeing the 60-year-old, who starred as Princess Leia in the sci-fi franchise, fall ill.

She said: "Don't know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she's gonna be OK.

"So many thanks to the United flight crew who jumped into action, and the awesome doctor and nurse passengers who helped."

The actress on The Graham Norton Show / PA Images on behalf of So TV

Fisher's co-stars and celebrity friends sent messages of support upon hearing the news.

Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker alongside Fisher, said: "As if 2016 couldn't get any worse ... sending all our love to carrieffisher."

Talk show host Graham Norton said: "carrieffisher Don't even think about it!! This planet needs you on it! Sending so much love xxx"

Star Wars actor Peter Mayhew, who starred as Wookiee Chewbacca, tweeted to say: "Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.. carrieffisher"

Game Of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie, who starred in The Force Awakens as Captain Phasma, tweeted: "The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universes most powerful Force XXXXX"
DECATUR  A cold, rainy Friday evening doesn't even slow down Ameren Illinois' very own Santa Claus.

Mike Fair is an electric troubleman who drives a one-man truck for Ameren Illinois. He has been with the company 11 years and grew up in Decatur.

Some years ago, he enjoyed taking tags from his church's angel tree and going out to buy the presents on what he calls less-privileged children's wish list, but the church stopped having an angel tree. Because Fair is out in every neighborhood fixing and diagnosing electrical issues, he sees up close when a child doesn't have the things other kids have.

I talk to the parents, Fair said. I ask if I can bring a bicycle, and they usually say yes.

He notes the child's age and ability and size, and come Christmas, he comes back, with his Ameren truck, to deliver a bicycle. He even has a supply of training wheels for the little ones who don't yet know how to ride a two-wheeler. If he gets a work call while he's on his delivery route, he takes care of that, too, before continuing his appointed rounds.

And the money to buy those bikes comes out of his own pocket.

I save my change, Fair said. Whatever money's in my left pocket at the end of the day, I throw it in a coffee can, and at the end of the year, on Nov. 30, I take it to the bank and then I buy bikes.

The bikes are stored at the Ameren facility, and Fair has taken bikes as far as Hammond if he found a child there who needed one.

He used to drive a bigger Ameren truck, with a winch, and got a kick out of dangling the bike from the winch and slowly lowering it to its young owner, while the child watched. Now he just carries them on a trailer and hands them over. The first year, he gave away 25 bikes. This year, it's 59 bikes.

Mike says a co-worker, Ron Gillen Jr., a natural gas worker, will also help him distribute a few of the bikes, said Brian Bretsch, communications executive for Ameren. Mike has been doing this on his own for eight years now. He estimates that he has given away more than 300 bikes.

This year, he sent four bikes to Indianapolis, and he has consulted social workers at Dennis and Harris schools, and the Decatur-Macon County Opportunities Corp. to find children who need bikes.

He does it, he said, to make sure the kids who might not otherwise have a merry Christmas will have one. He can't wear a Santa suit or even a hat because he can't make them fire-retardant, but he did indeed make a list and he checked it twice.

Maybe they don't have much to smile about, Fair said. I hope this will make them smile, at least for that one day.
Editor's note: Statesville native Barry Bradford wrote a letter to the Record & Landmark that included a few Christmas memories for publishing. "Im a little late in saying 'thank you' to a number of people who made my Christmases great, and I hope that you can use these events to get my belated gratefulness across," she wrote.
Throughout 2016, most of the news from the classical music scene was positive, including standout concerts, operas and recitals. There was even a Grammy nomination. Heres a look back at highlights from the year.

Story of the year  The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra reported more good news, from the financial (in president and CEO Marie-Helene Bernards first year, the SLSO was deficit-free, with a positive cash flow for the first time in decades) to the artistic (a new Grammy-nominated recording, a lot of fine performances) to outreach and audience-building. More than a quarter-million people heard the orchestra play at Powell Hall or elsewhere, a welcome trend.

Orchestral concert of the year  On March 2, SLSO music director David Robertson demonstrated his gift for programming with concerts that linked three works dealing with life from a childs perspective: Maurice Ravels 1911 Ma mere lOye (Mother Goose) Suite, Claude Viviers 1980 Lonely Child and Gustav Mahlers Symphony No. 4 in G major. The soloist in both the Vivier and Mahler was the superb soprano Susanna Phillips, tying the theme together even more securely.

Operatic jewel of the year  At Opera Theatre of St. Louis, director-choreographer Sean Curran and conductor Rory Macdonald had a fine cast for Richard Strauss comic masterpiece Ariadne on Naxos, including dramatic soprano Marjorie Owens, coloratura soprano So Young Park, tenor AJ Glueckert and others. It all made for an evening of great singing and, when called for, hilarity.

Choral concert of the year  St. Louis Chamber Chorus artistic director Philip Barnes builds some of his most inspired programming around Memorial Day, and the 2016 edition was no exception. On May 29 at St. Francis de Sales Oratory Roman Catholic Church in south St. Louis, the centerpiece was the Messa di Requiem by Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968), an Italian composer, musicologist and music critic. It was supplemented by beautiful  and beautifully sung  works by John Tavener, Gustav Mahler and others, with a complex, enchanting world premiere by British composer Sasha Johnson Manning.

Recital of the year  Soprano Julia Bullock came home to St. Louis in late March to give a recital at the Sheldon. Bullock is the complete package, with a lovely, rich voice thats well-trained and intelligently used; commanding stage presence and consistent connection with the audience; rock-solid languages and musicality; a thoughtfully chosen program that consistently entertained and, at times, challenged the listener; and a clear passion for what she does. She needs to get back more often.

Debut of the year  Its a tie between two superb conductors, both women with existing musical careers who are naturals with a baton. Nathalie Stutzmann was a substitute with the SLSO in April. A renowned contralto whos building a second career on the podium, she was spirited and engaged, seemed easy to follow, demonstrated a good feel for finding the right tempo and was generous to her colleagues in the orchestra. Han-na Chang, a cellist, made her debut in November with a Russian program. She proved graceful, strong, charismatic and deeply musical, and seemed to have total rapport with the musicians of the orchestra.

Coming up in the world  Union Avenue Opera has grown steadily over the years  and steadily more adventurous. Augusts production of Doubt, by composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley, was an example of that. It boasted the great Christine Brewer as Sister Aloysius (the role she created in Minnesota Operas original production), the amazing young mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson as Mrs. Miller, mezzo Elise Quagliata as Sister James and baritone Wes Mason as Father Flynn. Company director Scott Schoonover conducted; Tim Ocel was the director.

End of a too-short era  The Tavern of Fine Arts, which provided a place to enjoy food, cocktails and wine along with professional and amateur performances of music, jazz and poetry, closed in June after almost five years. No one was getting rich on it (performers got a share of the proceeds, along with the contents of the tip jar), but it enriched the local arts scene. Unfortunately, its owners, cousins Aaron Johnson and Mathew Daniels, couldnt make it pay.

Recording of the year  Leila Josefowicz received a Grammy nomination for best classical instrumental solo for Scheherazade.2, the Nonesuch recording of composer John Adams modern answer to the Arabian Nights. Recorded last February at Powell Hall, the 50-minute dramatic symphony for solo violin and orchestra shows off Josefowiczs amazing virtuosity, as well as the skill and commitment of Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Interview of the year  Legendary mezzo-soprano and St. Louis native Grace Bumbry, 79, returned in early May to give a master class for members of Opera Theatre of St. Louis Gerdine Young Artist program  and to be honored by Mayor Francis Slay with Grace Bumbry Day in St. Louis. Gracious and opinionated, thoughtful but outspoken, shes one of a kind and a living link to a golden age of voices.

Venue of the year  The St. Louis Chamber Chorus performs at all kinds of venues. Usually, theyre churches; occasionally artistic director Philip Barnes comes up with something different, like a wrestling club or a pub. In November, he put this seasons second concert into the mausoleum (and just outside it) at historic New Mount Sinai Cemetery in south St. Louis.

Road trip of the year  For the opera lover, theres no place like Bayreuth, where Richard Wagner built the opera house of his dreams. Ive dreamed of attending an opera there all my adult life, and in August I finally made it, for The Flying Dutchman. The production itself was laughable (a consistent problem in many European houses), but the music was wonderful, and the experience was priceless. It was extraordinary to be a part of the best, most-focused audience Ive ever encountered, all making a pilgrimage to an operatic shrine.

More recordings of note  Saint Louis Firsts, a beautifully sung collection from the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, filled with music commissioned and premiered by the SLCC. Remembrance, one of the fine Choir of Clare College, Cambridges series built around the Church year, is filled with gorgeous music about loss. Sephardic Journey: Wanderings of the Spanish Jews, by Jeannette Sorrell Apollos Fire, takes listeners on a musical journey that includes love songs, dances and religious music in a variety of styles.

More than we can mention  Great moments were also forthcoming from the Bach Society of St. Louis; Cathedral Concerts; Chamber Music St. Louis; Missouri Chamber Music Festival; the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society; Winter Opera St. Louis; and many others who make good music in St. Louis.
The Christmas tree is in the corner of our living room. Many of the ornaments that hang from it have back stories. For instance, there is a small red ornament that is shaped like the state of Missouri. On it are these words: Christmas in Missouri.

We bought it during the holiday season of 1980. It was our first Christmas as a married couple. We were walking Euclid Avenue when I saw the ornament in the window of a small shop.

We have to get this, I said. Well always want to remember Christmas in Missouri.

We did not expect to have many of them. Mary grew up in Tucson. I grew up in Chicago. We met in Phoenix. She decided to become a dentist, and as there were no dental schools in Arizona, she came to St. Louis for dental school at Washington University.

A year and a half later, we got married, and I quit my job on the paper in Phoenix and followed her to St. Louis. We had a vague understanding that when dental school was over, wed head west. I had a friend who was an assistant city editor at the Rocky Mountain News.

But we ended up liking St. Louis, and without ever talking about it, we put our plans on hold. By 1983, I was writing a column. Mary was establishing a practice. In 1984, we had the first of our two kids. Soon we had deep roots. Life turned out to be a country-western song: Came into town, a one-night stand, looks like my plans fell through.

It was a blessing that the plans fell through. We built a great life here.

Not far from the ornament shaped like the state of Missouri is a thin copper figure of Kokopelli, a hump-backed flute player prominent in the mythology of some Native American tribes in the southwest.

I bought the ornament in February in the Arizona mining town of Bisbee, which occupies a place in our family mythology. It is where Mary was bitten by a wolf.

That happened about 20 years ago. We were visiting a friend of mine who was a probation and parole officer in Cochise County. Don lived just outside of town with two wolves. Actually, they were wolf hybrids. Or so Don said. They were fearsome-looking creatures, whatever they were. They floated through the house like ghosts. Our kids were young and Mary was concerned. Theyre fine with people, Don said. Just dont make any sudden moves.

That was too much for Mary. She asked Don to put the wolves in the yard. He did. When we left his house later, one of the wolves glided by and nipped Mary, as if to let her know who was boss.

When we visited Bisbee in February, Mary looked Don up on Facebook. Bad news. He died a couple of years ago. No mention of his wolves.

Oh well. The visit to Bisbee was a side trip. We were in Arizona to see our son, who was living in Tucson. The previous September, I had been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a relatively rare cancer of the bile ducts. I had an inoperable tumor in my liver. In an effort to deliver chemotherapy directly into the liver, doctors had implanted a pump in my gut.

The day after we were in Bisbee, I collapsed in Tucson  internal bleeding from the artery to which the pump was attached. I had emergency surgery to remove the pump.

A doctor talked to me before I was released from the hospital. You have three to six months to live, he said.

That was 10 months ago.

Just a couple of years ago, that prognosis might have been on target. But medical science has been zooming along. When I returned to St. Louis, doctors at the Siteman Cancer Center had a Plan B  high-dose radiation for three weeks. That was followed by Plan C  immune therapy that would encourage my own T-cells to attack the tumor.

One or both of those plans seem to have worked. The tumor has shrunk. Because there is not much of a track record with these treatments for cholangiocarcinoma, its impossible to look ahead with any certainty. Only this is certain  I feel good.

So I will be sitting in my usual spot on Christmas morning, which is on the steps overlooking the living room. My 6-year-old granddaughter will be pulling packages out from under the tree. My 20-month-old grandson will be cheering her on. My daughter and her husband and my son and his girlfriend will be watching and laughing. My wife will quietly be in charge of the whole thing.

A couple of the packages will be for me. I expect to get some Cubs gear and a couple of new shirts.

But, of course, my real gift wont come in a package. It will come from the knowledge that nothing is ever guaranteed and every day is precious, and this particular day most of all  Christmas in Missouri.
Each August, I look forward to reading the Mindset List, put out by professors at Beloit College.

This report notes the vast cultural gap between the incoming freshmen and their parents.

They've researched situations the 18-year-olds have always known or never known. You can find the list at www.beloit.edu/mindset/2020/

Reading the list can shake your sensibilities and make you feel older, if you don't watch out.

This year, two facts hit me right between the eyes: these 18-year-olds have never had to watch or listen to programs at a scheduled time, and America has always been at war in their lifetimes.

The first fact represents a quantum change from the way we baby boomers grew up: just three network channels (and the pre-PBS "educational TV," if the signal was strong enough that day), sending us programming on their schedule. Maybe you'd get to see a rerun of an episode you missed, before the "summer replacement shows" came on, maybe not.

Younger people take this programming flexibility for granted, but for a lot of us older folk, it helps form an almost bewildering TV landscape.

As for the perception of the U.S. always being at war, it's almost impossible to believe. We thought the Vietnam conflict was never-ending, but there were 15 years between its end and the start of the first Gulf War. We're still in the Mideast, hunting down terrorists.

Another item on the Mindset List that rings true: If you want to reach an 18-year-old, youd better send a text -- emails are often ignored. My son's 33, and I can catch him much easier via text than email or even phone call.

The Mindset List is a fascinating "signpost of time" that the professors of the 1,300-student liberal arts college release each August. By the way, one of them, Tom McBride, is a University of Illinois graduate.

My old boss, Roger Hughes, had alerted me to watch out for the Beloit list. "Feeling a tad older?" he queried. A tad, perhaps, but you have to stay philosophical about such matters. I prefer to remain in wonder of how much has changed, rather than regret what's past.

I've had a few generational gap instances, especially raising two generations of children.

Sometime back, I found myself explaining rotary telephones while camping out in a tent with my daughter and her friend. The friend was familiar with the need for patience for the dial to come back around, once you'd dialed a 9 or 0. It was just a part of making a phone call when I was growing up. Somehow, my daughter's friend also had some knowledge for party lines. THAT was a little before my time.

My 37-year-old daughter was laughing recently when looking at the huge cellphones in a movie.

"Technology passes by so fast," she said.

She just as easily could have talked about the reality of growing up with ONE phone in the house, anchored to the hallway wall and only as "portable" as you could stretch the wire safely.

Using the Beloit list as inspiration, I pondered about several phrases we may still be using for which there is no frame of reference for young people.

Many of these relate to technology, naturally enough, because what has changed more than technology in our lifetimes?

My younger daughter has never known a time you couldn't "nuke" some food in the microwave.

Something going on and on like a broken record? Forget about it.

"Nails on a chalkboard?" Have to explain what a chalkboard is, first.

Get ready for another description after saying "telegraphing your punch."

Every now and then, I refer to the "icebox." One blank stare later, my wife or I have to explain that there was a time before Whirlpool made refrigerators family-friendly.

If you talk about making something "from scratch," it's increasingly thought of as opening up a Betty Crocker box  not taking out the sugar, flour, milk and butter, measuring ingredients and going from a recipe.

There are plenty more where those came from. And they'll continue to come, revealed to us faithfully by our friends at Beloit College.
The appropriate gifts for the Christmas stockings of many top state officials in Illinois this year would be a lump of coal each. Illinois coal, of course, while there still is some.

Once a leader in coal production, my home state has dropped to 3,728 miners employed last year, from 5,663 in 1995.

Whether the Trump administration manages to de-regulate fossil fuels into renewed prosperity remains to be seen. But the loss of breadwinner-level wages falls hard on Southern Illinois, where some counties eclipse even West Virginias poverty problems.

It is one of several dismal measures by which my home state is rated as it stumbles through a 199th year of statehood.

Perhaps you saw another indicator in recent days. Illinois had a greater net loss of residents in the year ending in July 2016 than any other state. What you may not have seen is that this was for a third consecutive year. In all, 113,470 more people left (or died) than arrived (or were born) from 2014-2016.

In Metro East terms, it would be as if all the residents of Monroe County left  three times over. The 37,568 loss in just 2016 would be more than the population of any Metro East city except Belleville. Think of de-populating Collinsville and Glen Carbon both.

So?

So, tax dollars are departing faster than the population. The state not only spends more than it brings in but it now has fewer people to pay the bills.

Consider just one piece of Illinois financial agony: pension under-funding now estimated in the realm of $130 billion (not a typo).

Given a population estimate that Illinois now has 12,801,539 residents, my personal share of that debt is about $10,155. Thats $90 more than if the population had remained steady over the past three years.

My numbers do not include backlogged state bills expected to hit $14 billion near year, an estimated $7.8 billion annual budget deficit, or the fact that the pension shortfall was growing at $17 million a day (also not a typo) the last I knew.

On Friday, Gov. Bruce Rauners office quoted the Wall Street Journal citing IRS figures that the average person leaving Illinois earns $76,824 a year while the average person moving in earns about $20,000 less.

An accelerating number of folks might reasonably see a choice between watching their share of the burden grow or escaping the mess by moving.

Border areas like Metro East are particularly susceptible; commuting to most St. Louis-area jobs is feasible from either side of the river.

One map I saw showed a stronger net loss of people over time in Madison and St. Clair counties than in most of Southern Illinois.

A 2015 Chicago Tribune survey of people who left Illinois cited their most common reasons as taxes, a state budget stalemate, crime, unemployment and weather. Crime and weather problems are worse upstate, but the other issues are universal.

And, of course, there is a dilemma in trying to fix both taxes and the budget, when the solution of one would obviously exacerbate the pain brought by the other.

Republican Rauner and the Democrats in control of the Legislature  especially House Speaker Michael Madigan  are stalemated in respectively demanding and refusing pro-business reform laws.

Theyre so unyielding, in fact, that Illinois is in its second year without a comprehensive operating budget, not that it had adhered to one all that much anyhow.

Given the depth of the problem and an inability of state leaders to un-spend cash they never had in the first place, no rational person can think Illinois will escape without a tax increase. Even if there is some general resurgence of the U.S. economy, I cannot imagine it being large enough and fast enough.

Yet leaders in Springfield continue doing the same things, violating an adage known as the first rule of holes. It warns: When youre in one, stop digging.

Their behavior is not surprising. Putting partisanship ahead of the common good appears to be the choice of so many Americans these days that Illinois coal could see a resurgence just from supplying the requisite number of stocking lumps.

Given that this essay was prepared for publication on Christmas Day, with the imaginary clean slate of a new year looming a week away, I desperately hoped to find some positive final spin. The best I can do is challenge the states leaders to prove my pessimism wrong.

Im not giving up yet. But if this situation persists next year, the appropriate 2017 Christmas present for an Illinoisan might be a gift certificate for a rental truck.
ST. CHARLES COUNTY  Police are searching for a homicide suspect accused of breaking into a home here Sunday and fatally shooting a man.

Police released a photo Friday of Irian Ochoa-Valdez, 29, of the 800 block of Lightwood Drive in Hazelwood.

Ochoa-Valdez was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Alberto Zayola, 29, on Jamaica Drive. Court documents said the killing was due to a romantic relationship and infidelity, but did not give more detail about the potential motive.

Police said Ochoa-Valdez and an accomplice, Eulices Cervantes-Salmeron, shot Zayola, took his body to Overland and dumped it in the back yard of a vacant home. Cervantes-Salmeron, 20, was charged with first-degree murder and was being held in the St. Charles County Jail Friday night with bail set at $1 million.

A court document filed by St. Charles County police Tuesday said Valdez was deported from the United States in 2014 for a violent crime and "again has unlawfully re-entered the country." His home country wasn't cited.

Police said Ochoa-Valdez should be considered armed and dangerous.

Officials ask anyone with information to call 911 or the St. Charles County Police Department at 636-949-3000.
SHREWSBURY  A 10-foot evergreen trimmed with Christmas ornaments stands right inside the sliding glass doors at Canterbury Enterprises. Just beyond the tree, dozens of workers at long white folding tables select candy from crowded bins, packaging them into treats for children.

Its December at the sheltered workshop, and right on schedule, marshmallow chews and licorice whips are getting tucked into shiny plastic eggs.

Thats right, eggs. Come spring, they will be snatched up by little hands at egg hunts and dug out of grass-filled Easter baskets.

We make eggs in 30 styles, said Charlie Fischer, Canterburys manager.

He consults a color-coded run sheet to keep track of the different egg iterations: speckled, glow-in-the-dark, dog-treat filled, eggs with stickers, eggs with one toy and one candy, eggs with two candies.

His workers finished stuffing 30,000 Christmas stockings last month, a minor job compared to their biggest project of the year. They started filling plastic eggs during the summer and will have packaged several million by Easter.

Its a lot of eggs.

But Fischer is grateful for the business. The contract from American Carnival Mart started six years ago, just as he was losing jobs such as mass mailings to automation or overseas labor.

One of the biggest challenges in overseeing the nonprofit workshop, Fischer said, is finding the right work for his 77 employees, especially as the economy has changed. Their tasks are as varied as assembling Halloween goody bags, packaging lids for wine glasses and separating parts for Boy Scout derby cars.

About 7,500 people are employed at 92 sheltered workshops in Missouri; Canterbury, on Weil Avenue in Shrewsbury, is one of a dozen in the St. Louis region. Its a little smaller than the others and its employees, in general, have more severe disabilities.

Workers earn a compensatory wage, usually between $2 and $4 an hour, based on their ability to perform in relation to a person without a disability. The discrepancy between that pay and the state minimum wage of $7.65 an hour has been a sticking point with disability rights advocates, who argue that people with disabilities should not make less than other workers.

Its a sentiment that Fischer agrees with in theory. I would be all for paying the minimum wage if the funding was there, he said. The workshops $1 million annual budget comes from state and local funds, grants and contract work. Without an increase in subsidies, said Fischer, most workshops would be forced to shut down. And employees can lose their government benefits if they earn too much money.

Pride in the work

The money is important, of course, but its not the driving motivation for his workers, Fischer said. These guys, they come in here for a reason. They take so much pride in their work. I always tell people, Outsource your work to people who love their job.

Inside the warehouse, amid the faint hum of Christmas music, an employee is eager to show a visitor her process: Pull a pink egg from the package, pop a Tootsie Roll and some Smarties inside, snap the ends together, toss the egg into a box. Then its on to a row of yellow, then orange, teal and green. There are 500 eggs in a package; some workers can get through two or three packages a day. Others work more deliberately.

You have to find work that fits your people. You want them to be happy, Fischer said. Everybody can do an egg.

Jerry Maurer, 58, is one of Canterburys newest employees. He came on board in September  at the height of Christmas stocking preparations  as a veteran of two other workshops. He likes the homey feel. His two sisters work here, also.

But there is one drawback. Is he ever tempted to eat the candy? He lets out a belly laugh. Sometimes, he admits.

Next to Maurer, a man in a wheelchair plops an egg into a hollowed-out block of wood thats duct-taped to the table. Its a jury-rigged adaptive device thought up by Fischers father-in-law. The egg fits inside, allowing it to be opened, filled and closed using just one hand.

Ronnie Wren, 34, sits on the other side of Maurer. He has worked at Canterbury for five years. Cerebral palsy keeps him in a wheelchair and limits his manual dexterity.

I love it here, he said with a grin, while unbagging metal holders for soap-and-lotion sets, another workshop project. But I am wanting to get competitive employment. Its difficult due to my hand movement.

Wren lives in Woodson Terrace and takes Call-A-Ride to get to work. Canterbury draws from a broader area than many workshops because it can accommodate workers who have a wide range of needs and abilities.

Some of Canterburys employees do go on to other kinds of jobs. We can be a steppingstone, Fischer said. Most of his workers are referred to him from Vocational Rehabilitation Services. A few come straight out of Special School District.

Fischer said he could accommodate a few dozen more employees but doesnt have enough supervisors. Right now, there are 13. Barb Mayer-Douglas is the longest-tenured. She came on as a training coordinator 30 years ago, just three years after Canterbury was founded by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.

When it opened, it was for people with more physical challenges, Mayer-Douglas said. The biggest change since Ive been here is the people we serve. There are more people on the autism spectrum.

But the rewards are the same  seeing success, seeing someone accomplish their goals.

The big goal, for the next couple months, is the Easter eggs. Once theyre finished? Its on to Easter baskets.
ST. LOUIS  A fighter and a family man, Municipal Judge James Dailey Wahl held on to life Friday night long enough for the last of his four children to make her way home from out of state.

All were with him when Judge Wahl, 67, died early Saturday morning (Dec. 24, 2016) at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

He was a city judge for almost 20 years, a longtime Democrat, a proud Irishman and a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. But more importantly, to him anyway, he was a friend to all, according to a daughter, Kelly Wahl-Chew.

Every day of his life he always put others before himself, she said. He was always working to make other peoples life better, seven days a week.

Judge Wahl recently had a relapse in his battle with leukemia.

Wahl-Chew half-heartedly jokes that her father never liked to be alone, but theres some truth to that. She recalls him rushing from a fundraiser to a wake to a lunch with someone new. He never packed a lunch and always had plans, according to his daughter.

Judge Wahl was first appointed to the judgeship by then-Mayor Clarence Harmon in 1997. He lived in St. Louis Hills and also operated his own law practice in the Downtown West neighborhood.

The judge graduated from Christian Brothers College High School before earning a bachelors degree and law degree from St. Louis University.

He also performed marriages, often dropping by church services and others weddings to get ideas for his own ceremonies. It was all about working with people, according to his daughter.

He was so proud to have you as a friend. He cherished every second of it, Wahl-Chew said. He was a source of inspiration for so many people, and not just those battling cancer  although he made it a point of talking to those people and encouraging them. He had a way of making you feel comforted.

As recently as October, Judge Wahl was acknowledged at a Siteman Cancer Center gala alongside Brandon Madden. In 2013, Judge Wahl received life-saving bone marrow from Madden six months after receiving his blood cancer diagnosis.

Among survivors in addition to his daughter are his wife, Kathleen Wahl; two other daughters, Kerry Wahl and Kristin Wahl; a son, Thomas Wahl; two brothers, Jack Wahl and Ed Wahl, all of St. Louis; and a sister, Angela Keiser of Texas.

Visitation will be 4 to 9 p.m. Monday at CBC High School, 1850 De La Salle Drive. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at CBC. After the burial at Calvary Cemetery, 5239 West Florissant Avenue, there will be a celebration of his life at the high school.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Team Wahl research fund-raising effort through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societys Gateway Chapter, 1972 Innerbelt Business Center, St. Louis, MO 63114.
A man wanted in the road rage case that left a 3-year-old Arkansas boy dead surrendered to police.

Gary Holmes was arrested late Thursday for the fatal shooting of the 3-year-old boy last weekend described as a case of road rage over a delay at a stop sign.

Police would not release information but a federal prosecutor said Holmes had been charged with murder in state court.

Acen King was shot and killed as his grandmother was driving on a shopping trip on Saturday afternoon, leading the city and FBI to offer $40,000 in reward money for information about the shooter.

The shooting apparently occurred after a gunman was angry that the boy's grandmother "wasn't moving fast enough at a stop sign," police said at the time.

In a 911 call released by police Monday, the boy's grandmother tells a dispatcher, "I was at the stop sign and the guy blew a horn at me and I blew it back, and he shot, but I thought it was in the air. He shot at the car!"

Police were called to a shopping center at around 6:20 p.m. Saturday after the grandmother realized her grandson had been shot. He was rushed to a hospital where he died, authorities said.
SURPRISE, Ariz.  Jim Stauffer thought he was doing the right thing.

He had cared for his elderly mother, Doris, throughout her harrowing descent into dementia. In 2013, when she passed away at age 74, he decided to donate her brain to science. He hoped the gift might aid the search for a cure to Alzheimers disease.

At a nurses suggestion, the family contacted Biological Resource Center, a local company that brokered the donation of human bodies for research. Within the hour, BRC dispatched a driver to collect Doris. Jim Stauffer signed a form authorizing medical research on his mothers body. He also checked a box prohibiting military, traffic-safety and other non-medical experiments.

Ten days later, Jim received his mothers cremated remains. He wasn't told how her body had been used.

Records reviewed by Reuters show that BRC workers detached one of Doris Stauffers hands for cremation. After sending those ashes back to her son, the company sold and shipped the rest of Stauffers body to a taxpayer-funded research project for the U.S. Army.

Her brain never was used for Alzheimers research. Instead, Stauffers body became part of an Army experiment to measure damage caused by roadside bombs.

Internal BRC and military records show that at least 20 other bodies were also used in the blast experiments without permission of the donors or their relatives, a violation of U.S. Army policy. BRC sold donated bodies like Stauffers for $5,893 each.

Army officials involved in the project said they never received the consent forms that donors or their families had signed. Rather, the officials said they relied on assurances from BRC that families had agreed to let the bodies be used in such experiments.

BRC, which sold more than 20,000 parts from some 5,000 human bodies over a decade, is no longer in business. Its former owner, Stephen Gore, pleaded guilty to fraud last year. In a statement to Reuters, Gore said that he always tried to honor the wishes of donors and sent consent forms when researchers requested them.

Jim Stauffer learned of his mothers fate not from BRC or the Army but from a Reuters reporter. When told, Stauffer curled his lip in anger and clutched his wife Lisas arm.

We did right, Lisa reassured him. They just did not honor our wishes.

Scant oversight

The story of how an Arizona grandmothers remains came to be used in a Pentagon experiment shines a spotlight on a growing but little-known industry: the trade in human cadavers and body parts.

The body-brokering business is distinct from organ transplantation, in which hearts, livers, eyes and lungs are carefully removed from the dead to extend or enrich the lives of the living. It also is separate from the business of using skin, tendon or bone from cadavers to repair joints or other parts of the body. Those practices are strictly regulated by U.S. law. In contrast, the buying and selling of human bodies not used for transplant receives scant oversight.

No federal law regulates body brokers like BRC, and no U.S. government agency monitors what happens to cadavers pledged for use in medical education and research.

It is not illegal to sell a whole body or the parts of a body for research or education, said University of Iowa law professor Sheldon F. Kurtz, who helped modify the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, which has been adopted by 46 states. Although the act was updated in 2006, Kurtz said, the issue of whole bodies or body parts for research or education never came up during our discussions.

Since then, the body trade has become big business. Only one state, New York, keeps detailed records on the industry. According to the most recent data available, companies that did business in New York shipped at least 100,000 body parts across the country from 2011 to 2014. Reuters obtained the data, which have never been made public, from the states health department.

The New York figures represent a fraction of the industry: Any company that handles bodies but doesnt do business in New York state is not included. A handful of other states either require companies to register with state health departments or seek approval to ship individual body parts across state lines. Most states compile no such records.

We are in a complete vacuum, said Michel Anteby, a Boston University business professor who has researched the trade in bodies. Thats a real problem because we are treating bodies as a potential commodity like any other.

Brokers procure virtually all their cadavers for free from donors who believe the remains will be used for science. As a result, brokers can turn a profit of thousands of dollars on each body donated. Its about $2,500 to $3,000, said John Cover, chief operating officer of Research for Life, a body broker based in Phoenix.

When bodies are subsequently dismembered and sold part by part, the profit margin can be even higher. BRC charged $5,893 for a whole body in 2013; a few years earlier, the company priced spines at $1,900, legs at $1,300 each, and torsos at $3,500, BRC documents show.

Cadavers and donated body parts provide vital tools to teach anatomy and medical students. They also serve as a cornerstone of the medical-device business. Artificial hips, dental crowns and surgical devices are best tested on real human tissue. Surgeons and dentists who implant the devices and use new tools have to be trained.

Theres no way any medical institution could function without the donation of cadavers, said David Morton, a University of Utah School of Medicine professor and a board member of the American Association of Anatomists.

Most medical schools have strict rules for handling bodies, Morton said. Those quality controls and ethical guidelines, however, arent always followed. This year, The New York Times reported that New York University buried an unknown number of donated bodies in mass graves. The school apologized and said it had changed its policy in 2013 to better protect donor wishes.

The BRC case is not the first time bodies donated to medical schools have been misused in military experiments. In 2004, Tulane University disclosed that bodies donated to the school were shipped to a broker who then provided them to the Army, which used them for landmine experiments. As happened with BRC, these donors had not consented to military use.

Federal authorities began investigating BRC in 2011. That year, a Detroit body broker from a company called International Biological Inc was stopped by U.S. customs agents as he crossed the border from Ontario. He had 10 human heads with him. According to an FBI affidavit, agents traced one of the heads to BRC.

Within a year, investigators had identified at least 250 suspect body parts sold by BRC to the Detroit broker. Records from the Detroit and Phoenix cases show that thousands of bodies donated for research and education were dismembered and then sold or leased, often for commercial purposes.

In January 2016, the Detroit broker and his wife were arrested by the FBI on fraud charges related to their practices at International Biological. The broker, Arthur Rathburn, has pleaded not guilty and is jailed awaiting trial. His wife, Elizabeth Rathburn, pleaded guilty to a single fraud charge but has not been sentenced.

Arthur Rathburn leased human heads, torsos and other body parts for medical and dental training in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Greece and Israel, authorities said. In 2012, two coolers that contained eight bloody heads and were addressed to Rathburn were seized at the Detroit airport.

Government documents unsealed this year also allege that Arthur Rathburns inventory included more than 100 body parts infected with hepatitis, HIV, sepsis, meningitis, the life-threatening bacteria MRSA, and the flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis.

Rathburns lawyer, Byron Pitts, said his client committed no crime. I think the government has overstepped and I dont think they are going to be able to prove their charges, Pitts said. In a court filing this year, Pitts noted that the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act does not prohibit the sale of body parts and said Rathburn should not be held accountable criminally for paperwork errors or the actions of others, including BRC.

BRC also shipped infected body parts, according to Arizona state investigation summaries reviewed by Reuters.

These included portions of eye and ear tissue infected with Hepatitis B sent to researchers in Tucson; eyes from a body that tested positive for Hepatitis C to Utah for use by a biomedical firm; and a left foot infected with Hepatitis B to a podiatry training center near Atlanta.

In at least one case, BRC notified next of kin about the infections but failed to warn researchers who received the tissue or body parts, the records show.

When a 76-year-old woman died the morning of April 29, 2012, BRC staffers rushed to remove her brain by mid-afternoon and shipped the 13-pound package the same day to the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center near Boston. In a standard industry practice, BRC also sent a blood sample from the womans body to a lab. Three days later, the sample came back positive for Hepatitis C.

BRC promptly notified the womans son.

Unfortunately, we received an unfavorable report for infectious disease blood testing, BRC staff wrote in a letter. These blood tests could not confirm that an infectious disease was present, but did prohibit us from using the body for safety reasons.

BRC, however, did not warn Harvard researchers handling the diseased brain, records show. In fact, the researchers did not learn that the specimen was infected until nearly two years later, when Arizona authorities contacted them.

We would never knowingly use [a brain sample] with a history of disease, said Harvard brain donation coordinator Joseph Manzo. He said privacy rules restricted him from commenting further on a specific specimen.

In an email exchange with Reuters, Gore apologized for not notifying researchers. I simply have no excuse, he said.

The risks of infection are real: Records of the Arizona state investigation show that one worker at the Georgia podiatry facility was accidentally stuck by a needle used with the hepatitis-infected foot. The worker had been vaccinated.

'A labor of love'

In emails to Reuters, Gore said that the troubles at BRC represented only a fraction of the work by the company, which served scores of research and training entities it supplied.

BRC had an incredibly kind, professional and caring staff on all levels, Gore said.

Because BRC sold bodies and parts to various Army subcontractors  and not directly to the military  Gore said he sometimes received different instructions about what BRC needed to provide. But he said he sent consent forms whenever researchers requested them.

It is my belief that we did what we could to honor the donors consent as we understood it, Gore said.

When he was sentenced in 2015 for the charge related to misleading donors and families, Gore presented a letter to the judge explaining what went wrong. He said he created BRC because he had grown bored as an insurance salesman. Though he held no more than a high school degree, Gore had previously spent nine years at a local eye and organ bank, he said, working with donor families and assisting surgeons.

This was never about financial gain but rather a labor of love, Gore wrote. Instead of hiring a qualified medical director to supervise how bodies and parts should be used, Gore said he relied on books and the Internet.

This was an industry that had no formal regulations to look to for guidance, Gore wrote in his letter to the judge, and I believe that many times I was simply overwhelmed and I tried to do the right thing but often did not.

Arizona prosecutors said in their filing that Gores fraud misled those who had hoped to provide the most precious gift a person could bestow on society, their own body, to benefit scientific and medical research.

'It was free'

In interviews, family members who signed BRC consent forms said they were focused on saving money and serving society. They said they didnt realize the bodies of their loved ones would be sold or used for commercial purposes.

I had no money, said Tina Johnson, who gave her husband Kerrys body to BRC when he died of liver failure in 2012. It was a free cremation.

Mary Hughes, whose 52-year-old son, Grady Hughes Jr, died of cancer in late 2012, recalled that somebody from hospice gave us a pamphlet.

It was a good idea, Hughes said. The cremation was free, and it was donating the body for medical purposes.

Months after the donations, Johnson, Hughes and dozens of others received a vague form letter from BRC listing nine potential medical education and research uses. None cited military experiments.

Some BRC donors willed bodies with the expectation that they would be used for a specific disease. Jim Stauffer, for example, said he hoped his mothers brain would be used to study Alzheimers.

It shocks me that the military was involved, he said.

The BRC consent form permitted the broker to sell cadavers and parts to almost any entity, including commercial ventures. Under current law, relatives have no right to learn what happened to their loved ones.

Army project

The Armys human-body experiments were part of a program to protect U.S soldiers from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

During wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army scrambled  with limited success  to fortify vehicles. Early this decade, the Army launched a long-term study of the biological impact of an IED blast that thrusts a vehicle into the air. The most vulnerable body parts are those already in contact with the inside surfaces of a vehicle.

Its your feet, your butt in the seat, and to some extent your back, said Randy Coates, the civilian engineer who directed the Army project, which is based at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

To study a blasts effect, the Army considered experimenting with crash-test dummies, the biometric mannequins used by engineers to improve automotive safety. But crash-test dummies have limitations: They enable researchers to collect data only on front, rear and side collisions common in traffic accidents, not from explosions beneath a vehicle.

When cadaver experiments confirmed that a crash-test dummy couldnt replicate battlefield wounds, the Army set out to create a mannequin that could show the effects of explosions. The project required experiments involving more than a hundred cadavers and included researchers from nine universities.

In addition to building the blast mannequin, the Army is using cadavers to obtain data to develop a virtual dummy for computer simulations.

Donated bodies are not obliterated in explosions, Coates said. But the blasts do break bones and snap spines. In an experiment witnessed by a Reuters reporter this year, two bodies wired to 100 biosensors flailed violently during an explosion and came to rest slumped, but intact.

Army policy requires that body donors or next of kin consent to the blast experiments. But records reviewed by Reuters show that the bodies or body parts of 34 people were shipped to the military without donor permission.

'Mind-boggling'

In 18 of the 34 cases, the donor consent forms neither mentioned nor offered any warning language about potential military experiments.

In the remaining 16 instances, the consent form presented an option to allow military and other violent experiments. Twelve of the 16 families explicitly rejected violent experiments. Four made no choice. All 16 were shipped to the Army anyway.

Among those shipped to the military were Nancy Culvers son and Marla Yales grandfather.

Oh, no. Oh, no, Culver said when a Reuters reporter told her that the right arm of her son, Timothy Smith, was detached and used for a military experiment against her wishes. She donated his body two days after he took his own life in late 2012. I wanted something good to come of this, she said.

Marla Yale recalled watching grandfather Kurt Hollstein sign a donor form two months before he died of cancer in 2013. Hollstein, an Army veteran, was so angry about the health care he was provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she said, that on the consent form he checked No to military experimentation.

Yale learned what really happened to her grandfather from Reuters.

This is almost beyond belief that his entire body went somewhere else without his permission, and especially to a place that he absolutely did not want to be, she said. To go to the Department of Defense is absolutely mind-boggling.

Who's responsible?

According to Army policy, If it is clear that a donor prohibited the contemplated use, then the donors cadaver will not be used. The policy requires that authorization forms must explicitly state that donors or next-of-kin agree that their bodies may be used in explosions.

But the consent forms the Army examines are not necessarily the same ones signed by donors. In the BRC case, the Army said, the military reviewed heavily redacted forms or forms signed by an agent of BRC that indicated consent.

Army officials said their first indication that something was amiss came in January 2014, after law enforcement authorities searched BRC. Coates, who oversaw the military project, said experiments were halted immediately. An Army safety officer then traveled to Arizona to compare the documents the military reviewed with those kept by BRC. In at least 34 cases, the forms did not match, records show.

Coates said that the Army acted in good faith because it believed the consent forms it received were valid. The Army was a victim of BRC business practices, he said.

Even so, the Army said in a statement that it still relies on brokers to accurately represent the wishes of donors and does not review the original consent forms before experiments begin.

Amending consent

BRC records also show that in at least two cases, consent forms were amended after the donor died.

In each case, records show, an elderly widow agreed to countermand a husbands written instructions that his body not be subjected to explosive military experiments. Both widows made the change after being contacted by BRC, donor case files show.

In an interview with Reuters, one of the widows, Dona Patrick, said she didnt fully grasp what she had agreed to: that husband Conrads head and spine would be severed and shipped to one of the universities conducting the military experiments, his case file shows. The call from BRC came less than 48 hours after her husband died, at a time when you are susceptible to anything just to get it out of your mind, she said.

Patrick said yes to the BRC caller because Conrads soul was already gone, and the body was nothing, she said. Probably now if they would have called me, I would have said no. But then, I didnt know what to do.

BRC recorded the conversation for legal reasons and quality assurance.

On the call, the BRC employee asked: As next of kin, do you agree to amend the consent form to allow special non-medical projects that could involve exposures to destructive forces  for example, impacts, crashes, ballistic injuries and blasts involving agencies such as the military?

Patrick, her voice quavering, said, Yes, I do.

Excellent, the body broker replied. That takes care of everything.

Additional reporting by Adam DeRose in Phoenix.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
I took my children into the voting booth with me and later my grandchildren so they could learn the procedure and why it is so important.
Angela Legens of Seymour, Mo., showed us that you dont have to travel to exotic lands to snap a great travel photo. In fact, Legens traveled only to Pomme de Terre Lake in Hermitage, Mo., about two hours from her home, to snap the winning shot in the Post-Dispatchs annual travel photo contest.

We took a long weekend trip to Pomme de Terre, she says. Me, my husband and 7-year-old daughter. My husband fished, and I spent time sitting in a chair next to the lake. It was great. The Legenses try to camp a few times a year, always in a tent. We are hard-core, she says with a laugh.

On the last day of this trip, they were tearing down camp. It was kind of a classic lake morning. There was fog all over the lake; it was just beautiful, Legens says. Then she looked up and saw a boat coming down the water with fishermen. I ran to my car and got my camera. Then the fisherman got his line snagged, so I was waiting and waiting and waiting. It was just kind of a happy accident. But it made for a beautiful photo.

Lynden Steele, assistant managing editor for photography at the Post-Dispatch, says Legens image proved that with a good eye, anyone can find a great shot close to home  if theyre lucky. In his judging comments he said: A light fog breathes life into this shimmering scene of fishermen framed by silhouetted trees. The photograph captures a favorite Missouri tradition: finding a quiet fishing spot with a friend or two.

She used a Nikon D3200.

Second place

David Philip of Belleville is no stranger to our photo contest. His picture last year of a man with a pipe in Amsterdam won honorable mention.

This year, he took this photo on a Grand Circle river cruise from Berlin to Prague in August and September.

We were on a city tour of Berlin and had just finished visiting the Topography of Terror Museum, just west of Checkpoint Charlie, he says. The Berlin Wall is in front of the museum. I started by taking long shots of the wall and then discovered the hole. I took several shots of people passing the portal, but alas, they were too quick. ... Luckily I was able to anticipate this bike rider.

He took the photo with a Nikon D7100 with an 18 mm to 300 mm lens.

Philip likes that the rider epitomizes the new look of Berlin with her fashionable red slacks, leopard-print jacket and black boots. I like this photo because it makes me reflect on how life was for the East German people during the oppression era of the wall. The photo symbolizes a look into West Germany through a hole in the wall, a window to the world for those that were caught behind the wall.

Norma Klingsick, a Post-Dispatch designer and contest judge, agrees: The framing and the splashes of color make this a captivating photo. The photographer captured and composed a perfect moment to create a photograph that has impact.

Third place

Steve Zonca of Ballwin was on a trip with his wife and several friends to Machu Picchu and then to the Galapagos Islands.

He took this photo on Isabella Island as he was walking over lava flows.

Once you got a short distance from the shore, you were surrounded by a large expanse of hardened black lava, where seemingly nothing would grow except for an occasional cactus or a small weed, Zonca says. However, occasionally you would come across these saltwater tidal pools fed through some hidden underground channels where life was trying to establish a beachhead. The contrast between the black lava and the green marsh grass was startling. ... Then from a distance we saw a pair of flamingos flying toward us, and they glided to a landing in the tidal pool where they spent some time wading and feeding. After a while they decided it was time to move on, and I took this picture as the first one was taking flight. The picture summarized the days experience for me  life taking hold and taking flight among even the most difficult conditions.

He took the picture using a Nikon D7100 camera with a Nikkor 55-300 mm zoom lens.

This one of the flamingo in the Galapagos Islands caught my eye immediately, says features photo editor Hillary Levin. The photographer had the benefit of good light coming from the right direction, highlighting the bright-pink color of the bird against the lush earthy tones of the ground and water.

Im glad he waited and was prepared for the bird to do something; spreading its wings against the dark pool allowed it to become the focus of the image. Patience and preparation for the unexpected are two top skills a photographer must possess when shooting wildlife.

This years travel photo contest drew nearly 300 entries from readers.

The top three vote-getters were so close  any one of them could have been first; the fact that we were looking at such a strong group of entries made for a lively judging table, Levin says.
Hetq reporter Naira Hayrapetyan won two media awards in a competition organized by the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF).

The awards ceremony took place on December 23 in Yerevan.

Hayrapetyan won in the categories of Most Emotive Article and Author of the Most Diverse Articles.

To pick winners in these and three other categories  The News Site with the Most Coverage of COAF, The Photo Embodying COAF the Best, and The News Site Covering Rural Problems the Most Objectively  the organization reviewed material published in news sites (TV, radio, print, online) from July 15 to December 15, 2016.
23 December 2016

Saudi-led coalition use of Brazilian-made cluster munitions linked to civilian deaths in Yemen

At least 8 civilians killed or injured in recent attack in Saada

Impact crater created by a submunition used in the cluster munition attack on Saada City, December 6, 2016.  2016 Private

On 6 December, the Saudi-led coalition used Brazilian-made rockets containing cluster munitions in an attack on Saadas al-Dhubat neighborhood, in Yemen. The Astro II rockets struck close to two schools, killing at least two civilians and injuring six others, including a 14-year old boy, according to Human Rights Watch in a press release put out today.

All cluster munitions have been banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Any and all use of these weapons violates international humanitarian law due to the indiscriminate nature of the weapon and the legacy of harm it leaves behind for civilians, even after the war has ended.

Cluster munitions are no longer considered a legitimate weapon of war, stated Megan Burke, Director of the Cluster Munition Coalition. We are saddened to hear of the further loss of innocent lives in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition must cease to use any and all cluster munitions. We also call on Brazil to investigate the use of these cluster munitions in this unlawful attack.

On December 19, the Saudi-led coalition announced it would stop using a UK-made cluster munition, the BL-755, but left open the possibility it would continue using other types of cluster munitions in Yemen. Earlier this year, the United States government suspended the sale of sensor fuzed weapons, a type of cluster munition, to Saudi Arabia, following the evidence of civilian harm they had caused.

Amnesty International reported finding evidence of Brazilian-made unexploded cluster munitions in Yemen in November of 2015. Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are known to have purchased ASTROS cluster munition rockets from Brazil, where they are manufactured by Avibras Industria Aeroespacial SA.

The international community should condemn this recent use of cluster munitions in Yemen and call on the Saudi-led coalition to desist in using cluster munitions.
Sprouts affected by turnip mosaic virus

Love them or loathe them, Brussel sprouts are synonymous with Christmas and thanks to Wellesbourne-based researchers at the University of Warwick, they will continue to be so.

Professor John Walshs team at Warwicks School of Life Sciences have discovered natural plant genes that will make sprouts resistant to two of the biggest threats they face, turnip mosaic virus and turnip yellow virus.

Both viruses are common, transmitted by greenfly, and can reduce the yields of Brussels sprout crops and in severe cases making them completely unmarketable.

Unlike many plant disease resistance genes, which can be rapidly overcome by new strains of pathogens, the enhanced resistance being developed at Warwick is durable, and an effective defence against a broad-spectrum of virus strains.

Professor Walsh said: The growing of virus-resistant plants will improve food security and reduce pesticide inputs and residues in vegetables. Developing crops with durable disease resistance is a long-winded process but is the most sustainable approach to disease control.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Thursday welcomed progress in relations between the EU and Switzerland after Bern avoided a clash with Brussels by passing an immigration law that does not impose outright quotas.

The law aims to curb immigration by giving local people first crack at job opportunities, but does not introduce quotas, as Swiss voters had demanded in a 2014 referendum.

That appeased Brussels, which is unwilling to compromise on the free movement of people - a principle underpinning Swiss access to the EU's single market of 500 million.

Following a meeting of the EU-Switzerland Joint Committee on Thursday, the EU executive said in a statement that the balance achieved in the Swiss law "should make it possible to preserve the integrity of the contractual commitments between the European Union and Switzerland".

But the Commission said it wanted more clarity and guarantees on access to information about job vacancies and the rights of cross-border commuters.

"The Commission will closely monitor the implementation of this solution. 2017 could be a milestone in the development of closer relations between the European Union and Switzerland, with a view to enhancing still further the vitality of our area of freedom - of all forms of freedom - to the benefit of all our citizens," Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.

The Swiss law says that at times of economic upheaval, employers in sectors or regions with above-average unemployment rates must inform local job centers of vacancies and obtain the names of job seekers.

The presumption is that local residents will be more likely to register with the centers - although cross-border commuters and any citizens from EU or EFTA countries will be allowed to do so, enabling the Swiss government to argue that it meets the EU's non-discrimination test.

(Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Andrew Roche)
A Chinese company has shown keen interest in investment in auto sector in Punjab.

President of Chinese Company, Wang Tao showed the interest during a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore.

President of the Chinese Company said his company wanted to set up vehicles manufacturing plant in Punjab.

During the meeting, Punjab Chief Minister welcomed the interest of investment by Chinese company and said the Provincial government will provide all facilities required in this regard.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has convened a meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif on Friday to brief him over raid of paramilitary force in Karachi today.

During the briefing, Interior Minister said that Rangers conducted raids on offices of an insurance company on basis of solid evidence.

The federal minister denied any political angle to the raids as Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) returned to the country today.

Chaudhry Nisar deemed the clarification fit to be conveyed as the insurance company belongs to a close friend of Zardari.

The meeting also discussed overall security situation of the country.
The UN Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing a resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally.

In a rare and momentous step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

Applause broke out in the chamber after the text was passed with support from all remaining members of the 15-member council.

The landmark move by the Security Council came despite an effort led by Israel and backed by US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

Trump reacted after the vote in a tweet, vowing: "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th."

Ambassador Samantha Power said the US abstention stemmed from concerns that the expansion of the Jewish outposts was threatening the two-state solution aimed at achieving peace by creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

"We do not believe that outside parties can impose a solution that has not been negotiated by the two parties, nor can we unilaterally recognize a future Palestinian state," said Power.

"But it is precisely our commitment to Israel s security that makes the United States believe that we cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our longstanding objective of two states living side by side in peace and security," she said.

"The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution," said Power.

Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas s office said the vote was "a big blow" to Israeli policy and a show of "strong support for the two-state solution."

The United Nations maintains that settlements are illegal, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution."

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon criticized the administration of President Barack Obama for not vetoing "this disgraceful resolution."

"I have no doubt that the new US administration and the incoming UN secretary general will usher in a new era in terms of the UN s relationship with Israel," said Danon.

An Israeli official earlier bitterly complained that the US abstention was "an abandonment of Israel which breaks decades of US policy of protecting Israel at the UN and undermines the prospects of working with the next administration of advancing peace."

Read more: Trump urges veto of UN resolution on halting Israeli settlements

The vote was scheduled at the request of four countries -- New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela -- who stepped in to push for action after Egypt on Thursday put the draft resolution on hold.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had backtracked on the move to condemn Israel s settlement policy after receiving a phone call from President-elect Trump, who spoke out in favour of a US veto.

The United States vetoed a similar resolution in 2011, which was the sole veto cast by the Obama administration at the Security Council.

Washington has used its veto 30 times to block council resolutions concerning Israel and the Palestinians, according to Security Council Report, a research organization.

It last abstained in 2009 on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged Washington to block the draft, pointing to years of US willingness "to stand up in the UN and veto anti-Israel resolutions."

He received vocal support from Trump, who campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital.

"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations," Trump said in a statement Thursday.

Trump has chosen as ambassador to Israel the hardliner David Friedman, who has said Washington will not seek to curtail settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

The Middle East peace process has been comatose since a US initiative to re-launch peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

France has announced plans to host an international conference on January 15 to try to restart talks based on the two-state solution.
Bingeworthy: 'Stranger Things' was the best show on streaming services in 2016
US Secretary of State John Kerry "would be the first one" to speak about his frustration over the outcomes of US policies in Syria, State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

Kerry would acknowledge that his diplomatic efforts to achieve a political solution to the crisis in Syria did not bring the intended results, Kirby said in a daily briefing.

Kirby asserted that Kerry would still try to make a progress on the situation in Syria during his last month in office.



Additionally, the spokesman praised Kerry's efforts in building a coalition to counter the Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Kerry will be replaced by ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20.
India should accept olive branch extended by Pakistan and join multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said a China's state-run daily in an article on Friday.

"Surprise aside, New Delhi should consider accepting the olive branch Pakistan has extended in a bid to participate in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor," the article published in Global Times read.

It referred to Commander Southern Command Lt Gen Amir Riaz's statement in which he had said if India shuns enmity with Pakistan, then it may also join the CPEC like Iran, Afghanistan and other states, and reap its fruits.

"The best way to reduce hostilities is by establishing economic cooperation based on mutual benefits to put aside what cannot be reached by a consensus," it said.

The article further said there was a possibility that the open attitude toward India joining the CPEC might quickly be overwhelmed by opposition voices from Pakistan if New Delhi did not respond in a timely manner to the general's overture.

India could boost its exports and slash its trade deficit with China via new trade routes that would be opened up by the CPEC, it added.
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Govt. committee to probe BOC-Seylan transaction By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

The state-owned Bank of Ceylons (BOC) controversial sale of a 7.5 per cent stake in the private Seylan Bank and its subsequent reversal according to many in the capital market reeks of unpleasantness and suspicion.

A government committee is being appointed to examine the circumstances by which this happened, but not without a heap of questions by the industry on what actually went down with fingers being pointed at various parties.

The December 16 transaction at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) was reversed on Tuesday by the bourse amidst concerns by the industry on state intervention in the capital market and the BOC board holding an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the matter. It is learnt that some directors have expressed displeasure on undue intervention on this matter by state authorities.

Minister of Public Enterprises, Kabir Hashim was upset that he had been made aware of this transaction only through the newspapers. I am the line minister in charge of the state banks. The BOC should have contacted my Ministrys Secretary before this transaction happened, he told the Business Times.

Who calls the shots?

According to the new and confusing structure of the present bureaucracy and protocol, the Treasury under the Ministry of Finance has ownership of the banks. Its the appointing authority and the appointment/removal of the director boards in these banks is done by the Treasury Secretary, according to the Minister. My ministry oversees the state banks, makes decisions pertaining to staff, their leave approvals, day to day operations, their funding, etc, Mr. Hashim said unraveling the confusion.

So, who should the BOC contact pertaining to the Seylan transaction if the Treasury is in charge and his Ministry oversees the state banks? They should have contacted my Ministry Secretary, he stressed.

Explaining the background as to why pre-authorisation was needed to carry out this transaction, he said one year ago a circular was sent to all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) under the Ministry of Public Enterprises specifically stating that any transaction of any significant proportion requires ministry approval. This circular is crystal clear. All SOEs including the BOC was sent this circular. The reason behind not selling holdings in banks happened like this.

The Treasury has been requesting SOEs under the Ministry of Public Enterprises for higher dividends, Mr. Hashim explained. The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) told me that they have paid maximum dividends to the Treasury, but if the Treasury wants more that SLIC can divest their shares in other entities. They also suggested divesting their holdings in banks. As a member of the Cabinet Committee on Economics Management (CCEM), Mr. Hashim had presented SLICs proposal at CCEMs weekly meeting with the Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremesinghe some three months ago and at the time the PM had advised the CCEM that as a policy decision the government wont sell any stakes in banks.

Mr. Hashim reiterated that the BOC was aware that SLIC was keen to sell similar holdings as that of their Seylan stake. Also I specifically told them (BOC) of the PMs decision and that he had informed of the policy decision by the government to not dispose stakes in banks. The same principle as that of SLIC applies to BOC. Why couldnt they adhere to the direction?

He reiterated that the Ministry wont tell BOC or any other under their purview what to do and not to or try to micro manage these institutions. But they need to inform us, because the policy decision was clearly communicated to BOC.

BOCs Mireka asset

In a new turn of events, Mr. Hashim noted that three days prior to the Seylan transaction, the BOC wrote to his Ministry seeking approval to sell its land in Mireka Capital Holding owning Havelock City. This was a less significant transaction when compared to Seylan. In this case the BOC writing to us on a less significant transaction shows that they clearly understood that a circular was in existence under the Ministry of Public Enterprises which stated that any transaction of any significant proportion needs the Ministrys nod.

The Ministry of Public Enterprises Development will appoint a 4- member committee to find out what went wrong and take necessary action, Mr. Hashim added. The PM has asked me to carry out a comprehensive investigation. The Ministry has asked the BOC board to submit all reports regarding the decision taken by them on Seylan.

The government has also initiated an investigation through the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Mr. Hashim said as this transaction was illegal. It has flouted the Ministry of Public Enterprises direction. Therefore its illegal. Thats why we informed the police. We did a lot of damage control. He said that theres been a consensus to neutralise this transaction. Had we opted for litigation, it would have impacted the capital market badly. The government acted within its right.

How it happened

According to informed sources, the BOC board along with some senior management had met at a beach hotel in Wadduwa (it isnt clear whether it was for a training programme or an outing) where this sale was discussed. Minister Hashim said that when he checked, there was no board resolution of this sale. It was mentioned at a board meeting a few months ago. The due process in terms of the BOCs Head of Investment Department informing the Ministry wasnt done.

According to BOCs Annual Report, the mandate of the Investment Committee, headed by Deputy General Manager Treasury comprise General Manager, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer among others, is to assist the BOC directors in discharging its statutory duties and its oversight responsibilities in relation to investment activities of the bank, excluding investments in equity of subsidiaries and government securities.

The Seylan Bank stake acquired in 2009 is shown in the BOC Annual Report as financial investments available for sale. When interjected that such consent wasnt required and the BOC board was aware that the banks Investment Committee would decide to divest if the price was attractive, Mr. Hashim stressed that the said circular precedes all such statements.

The PM met with the CSE top brass last Monday and told them of the governments intention to revoke this sale to a Japanese buyer based in Singapore (who some believe could be a front for a local business). Authorities have made it clear that in order to facilitate industry consolidation, the government wont dilute state holdings in banks.

He told them that theres a circular which prohibits any state asset or part of it being sold and that the government wants to reverse the transaction because it is illegal. The sale of 13 million shares of Seylan was done at Rs. 100 above the market rate of Rs. 85 and a 7.5 per cent was traded.

CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike confirmed that after receiving a request from the broker, JB Securities who handled the deal for both parties, to reverse the transaction, the CSE did this on Tuesday.

The stock market has reversed one transaction before this in 2012 due to an alleged corrupt deal when NSB bought into The Finance PLC after harsh criticism by the UNP which was in the opposition then.

Asked if the decision to reverse the share transaction would have a negative impact on the already lackluster stock exchange, Mr. Hashim agreed that this is the precise reason why what BOC has done is so serious. Had this transaction not been retracted it wouldve have been better but the Seylan stake owned by the BOC is a strategic stake for the government and to sell it wasnt legal. Thats why we informed police. We have done a lot of damage control.

Making connections

Its interesting that there appears to be a connection between this transaction and the recent budget proposal which seeks to alter the minimum shareholdings in banks. It was speculated by the industry that the buyer could be a front for a local party and this may have raised antennas in state shareholders owning stakes in banks. They added that the move to reverse the deal may have been to thwart any attempt at gaining control in Seylan.

Its reliably learnt that through this new budget proposal, the commercial banks single shareholder limit will be relaxed up to 20 per cent with special Monetary Board approval. A Treasury official told the Business Times that this limit is likely to be changed so that a maximum of two shareholders can hold 20 per cent each in a commercial bank. Now with special approval, a single shareholder can own 15 per cent and any number can hold this amount.

This proposal to revisit single shareholder limit in commercial banks has raised alarm as to whether powerful groups will return to raid commercial banks as was seen less than a decade ago. To increase single shareholder limits in commercial banks isnt good corporate governance. The present limits on commercial bank holdings have improved corporate governance when compared with the past, an analyst said. The biggest non-state shareholders are Browns group and LOLC group who collectively control 23.4 per cent stake with BOC as the sixth largest shareholder of Seylan Bank. SLIC holds a 15 per cent stake, while other state entities among the shareholders are EPF (9.86 per cent) and ETF (1.8 per cent). NDB also holds 8.72 per cent.

He added that the BOC  Seylan deal should have been transparent. It shouldve been open like the time Hotels Corporation was bid. If it was done in an open market, the Seylan stake wouldve fetched a better price.

If the government has decided not to dilute state shareholding in banks, they can lock these shares in the Central Depository System (CDS), according to CSE rules.

Then when theres a call for such a transaction, the CSE will always refer to the lock in direction, a senior stockbroker told the Business Times. Mr. Hashim dismissed this saying that they dont need to go to that extent. I wish we can place confidence and trust in those who run our institutions.
Heading for turbulent times View(s):

Heard this week in the corridors of a Colombo brokerage: Machan, I hope the FCID will not come knocking at my door!

It was said in jest over Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes order to the CID to probe the sale of a 7.5 per cent stake in Seylan Bank by the Bank of Ceylon (BOC), a state bank.

Jokes aside, the PMs intervention in the share market has shocked many in view of the governments laissez-faire policies. While the direction to the BOC board to cancel the transaction was bad enough, the call to the CID to investigate the transaction triggered alarm bells in the market.

Simply said, brute force than tactful and less-damaging intervention measures was used to forestall a legal transaction. It was without finesse and tact.

For a market that has seen lukewarm trading over the past 18 months owing to lack of consistent policies exacerbated by political uncertainty and constant squabbles in the Cabinet between the ministers of the two parties  UNP and SLFP  the cancellation of a share market transaction is not only bad for sentiment but good governance and transparency that the authorities have vowed over and over again.

Though market concerns were not reflected in the BOCs issue of 8-billion-rupees worth of debentures which were oversubscribed on the opening day Wednesday itself  the Colombo bourse has been blackened by these incidents. For a market that has been trying to recover from a lacklustre 2015-16, the year 2017 is likely to continue on the same, uncertain path notwithstanding the paid engagement of the Oxford Business Group (OBG) to profile the country as a great place to invest.

Rather, consultancy firms like Oxford would be more useful in damage-control efforts when the government makes a hash of things like the BOC-Seylan Bank deal for instance. The house must be kept in order, neat and tidy, before welcoming guests (investors), so to speak!

As our story on the BOC- Seylan Bank issue below reveals, many questions remain unanswered in the hurry to cancel the transaction.

Minister of Public Enterprises Kabir Hashim says that the BOC board was privy to a circular sent a year ago to all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) coming under his mandate for ministry authorisation being a requirement in any transaction of significant proportions and thus should have obtained its consent. If so, why on earth do the BOC annual reports for the last four years list the Seylan Bank stake as among those available for sale?

In the BOC annual reports for the years ending 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 (the last three during the term of the previous regime) under the title Statement of Financial Position, there is an entry called Financial investments  Available for sale with additional information contained in a reference to item 27 in the Notes to the Financial Statement. Item 27 lists several items for sale including shares in NDB, Peoples Leasing & Finance PLC and Seylan Bank PLC.

This same information, without any change, is listed in all these four annual reports. If the government had issued an order last year that the sale of strategic investments should get ministry approval, shouldnt these stocks have had (at least) another footnote with a rider saying subject to approval in the BOCs 2015 annual report which was issued in March 2016? If such investments (are BOCs stakes in NDB and Peoples Leasing also constrained by the government ruling?) explicitly state that they are available for sale, isnt it misleading to investors, particularly foreign investors whom the government is so desperately trying to attract, when they are, in reality, not freely tradable?

Some arguments emanating from the BOC imply that the transaction was not significant enough to inform the ministry as per guidelines. But if one is to believe this theory, was the board blind to the fact that the Maithripala-Ranil administration has signalled  after a lot of drama last year  that strategic state investments in private banks will not be disposed of. The UNP when in opposition (and vociferously espoused in Parliament by then opposition legislator Harsha de Silva), opposed government control of private banks  Commercial Bank, HNB, NDB and Seylan  accusing the former regime of using public funds (EPF/ETF/Sri Lanka Insurance) for this purpose. However, the party when in power chooses to continue such control, appointing government nominees to chair these banks.

Thus, while government policy is clear that government control of some private banks will continue, it is not only puzzling but also raises suspicions as to why the BOC board would choose to sell its stake in a private bank, a contradiction of a clear policy, even if the annual report said this and other entities were listed for sale.

Another argument trotted out in defence of the BOC board of directors is that government authorities have repeatedly stated their intention to sell off non-strategic investments by state entities and that such a sale was in line with such policy. On the flip side however, can the Seylan Bank stake be considered non-strategic or insignificant given the clear policy of the government in terms of state control of the banks?

Also why did the PM intervene so fast, within hours of the transaction, when in the case of a bigger issue  the tainted Treasury bond scam where the BOC made a huge investment on behalf of another party  there was nary a word? Even today, the PM and the UNP section of the government are firm in their belief that nothing was wrong as opposed to the views of the President who went on record saying the (then) Governor should resign, and the findings of the long-drawn and tug-of-war plagued COPE report!

The last time a transaction was reversed was by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  at that time too Thilak Karunaratne was its chairman  in 2012 in a tainted investment by the NSB in The Finance. Even though that was a bad precedent, it could be viewed as a regulators right to undo something bad in the market, unlike today when the transaction itself was legitimate though one may argue the decision to sell was questionable.

So what does this reversed transaction mean to the market at large? Again the unnecessary overlapping of functions  the PMs office and the ministries involved in public enterprises and finance having a different role in the operations of state banks  comes to the fore. This uncertain delegation of functions and its negativity are seen in a Central Bank ruling for the removal of the Lankaputhra Bank chairman being held up due to the intervention of other authorities. Furthermore, the reversed transaction has again exposed the inconsistency in the way the government works; public officials, as claimed by the government not listening to their orders.

Not the best signals for a market that is desperately hoping to recover in 2017 amidst turbulence  local government elections, a continuation of clashes and disputes in the Cabinet and uncertainty with a peoples vote sought for key constitutional and political reforms.

And to add some spice, learned economist, Prof. Razeen Sallys three scenarios enunciated at a public event this week on which way the economic winds are blowing (See story On Page 4) are more sour pills for the powers that be. More than anything else, the priority for the government is to get its act in order and also put a stop to deal-making which is fast becoming a hallmark of this regime.
Japanese buyer in BOC-Seylan deal shell-shocked By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

The Japanese buyer in the deal that went sour involving Seylan Banks 7.5 per cent stake in Bank of Ceylon (BOC) this week is shell-shocked.

Murtaza Jafferjee, CEO JB Securities which did the transaction, told the Business Times that his client, the Japanese investor is in Colombo now and is not a happy man. The Japanese investor is totally shell shocked as to what has transpired. One is not sure in future when transacting with state controlled institutions as to where lies the ultimate authority, he said. Largely dealing with foreign and local institutions and high net worth investors, Mr. Jafferjee said that what occurred is a blow to the capital market.

Meanwhile, the BOC directors except its chairman, whos still in London, have made statements to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on this deal.

The BOCs chairman left for London on Friday, Dec. 16. The board comprises Ronald C. Perera (chairman), S.R. Attygalle, Ranel T. Wijesinha, Charitha Nissanka Wijewardane, Asela Sanjaya Padmaperuma and Ajith Gunawardana.

None of the board members was available for comment but a source close to the BOC board told the Business Times that the directors had told the CID that this sale was to augment the capital augmentation plans of BOC. These plans are discussed at board meetings. The Seylan holding is a potential divestment as was stated in BOCs annual report. It was a unanimous decision by BOCs Investment Committee which was given the autonomy to dispose stakes in their portfolio, the source explained at length.

He added that the capital augmentation strategies of the BOC at each board meeting are duly communicated to the Ministry of Public Enterprises on a separate document by the BOC. So the Ministry was aware of it  more or less, he said. However when queried about the Ministry of Public Enterprises circular thats in question prohibiting acquisition or disposal of business assets or significant transactions in state entities without ministry permission, he said this 7.5 per cent in Seylan isnt significant.

He refuted all claims that this was an under-the-table transaction saying that the miscommunication is on the governments part for not being clear about disposing state assets.

Analysts say that this transaction shrouded in controversy is raising issues about state policy, unclear direction and bad signals to the capital market.
No Santa for public servants By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Sri Lankas anti-graft body has come down firmly on gifts through hampers and other expensive items to public officials during this festive season from the private sector, saying these gifts fall within the purview of a bribe.

While in reality the distribution of hampers is a practice carried out by private sector companies to their contacts and associates as a gesture of goodwill and hospitality, more expensive gifts are seen as a gratification.

Earlier this week Director General of Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Sarath Jayamanna sent a circular to organizations including chambers which were associated with this months National Anti-Corruption Summit urging private firms to desist from this practice commencing from this year.

This Commission has taken cognizance of the instances where public servants are soliciting and accepting gratifications from private companies by way of seasonal hampers during the festival season. This is an offence under section 19 (c) of the Bribery Act. Any person who aids and abets any public servant in committing the offence is liable to be tried under section 25 of the Act, the circular said.

This is the first time that the Commission has sent out a circular to the private sector drawing attention to festive gifts being construed as a gratification.

CIABOC Commissioner Neville Guruge told the Business Times that distributing seasonal gifts, recognition gifts, gift vouchers, airline tickets, pre-paid holiday packages or any other forms of gratifications among public officials cannot be considered as token of appreciation as these officials are bound to serve the public in accordance with the Establishment Code.

Once receiving a hamper from a private company, public officials may tend to demand it every year, he said adding that CIABOC was fully aware about the soliciting and accepting of Xmas and year end hampers during the festive season.

He revealed that some companies gifted valuable items like refrigerators TV sets, etc as hampers to public servants and those items were undue inducement for getting favours from the officials.

Mr. Guruge said there was a distinction between people exchanging gifts during the holiday season in a spirit of giving and the undue inducements to public and private sector officials.

A gift is something of value given without the expectation of return; a bribe is the same thing given in the hope of influence or benefit.

All public officials, both elected and appointed, are bound by rules and regulations of the Bribery Act. No one is above the countrys law, he added.
A vast criminal enterprise waiting to rule again View(s):

The assertion that Sri Lankas criminal justice system is so weak in capacity that justice is well nigh impossible is one of the most dangerously misleading misconceptions that we constantly hear.

No simplistic reasons for failures in justice

When acquittals are handed down as illustrated most recently in the jury trial relating to the killing of parliamentarian N. Raviraj or when investigations drag on tortuously for several years as we see in the rape and murder of schoolgirl Vidya Sivaloganthan, the reasons behind these failures of justice are complex and multilayered.

Certainly the fact remains that the capacity of Sri Lankas law investigation machinery is not the sole factor in issue. Instead, we see other examples where, driven by strong political will, the investigations are completed in record time and trial processes in court are expedited with equal promptness.

A most recent example bears out this premise very well. Late last month, the Avissawella High Court handed down the death sentence to eighteen accused including former Chairman of the Deraniyagala Pradeshiya Sabha in regard to the gruesome murder of planter Nihal Perera, superintendent of Noori Tea Estate in Basnagala, three years ago.

The uncleared areas in the South

This was no ordinary murder. The murder exposed a dark and brutal nexus between the impunity with which local level politicians with direct connections to the Rajapaksa administration at the time held sway over the people in their area. In this case, Noori Estate was controlled by members of a lawless political gang (many of them related to each other) operating under the leadership of the former Pradeshiya Sabha chairman. The gang members engaged in systematic terror involving slavery, rape, gang rape, and extortion of villagers, including the operation of rape centres where women were kept imprisoned to be used at will.

Indeed, the Chief Priest of Noori, Deraniyagala described the terrorizing of his villagers from as far back as 2008 at the hands of local politicians benefitting from high political patronage, as living in an area that was un-cleared. In other words, the analogy drawn was in regard to living in a land that was ruled by terrorism. The murdered estate superintendant had incurred the wrath of the unlawful gangs as he refused to give in to their demands.

The Noori estate terrors were symptomatic of the times. During that period, Sri Lanka became a vast criminal enterprise, run by thuggish politicians where courts of law had little voice and law enforcers became worse than the law breakers. The Deraniyagala atrocities took place over several years with terrible impunity and in the face of silence on the part of all parliamentarians representing the Kegalle District. Then Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister rejected allegations that he had provided protection for sponsoring and protecting former Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Anil Champika Wijesinghe who was convicted in the High Court last month.

Classic example of a good trial

Political and police complicity in the reign of terror which prevailed in Noori estate at the time was well established. The area police had been complicit in aiding the local thugs to carry on their reign of terror at the time. Disciplinary inquiries were initiated against seven policemen, including the OIC (Crimes) of the Deraniyagala Police. The policemen were later transferred. But no further punishment followed.

In contrast, the prosecution and trial of the accused in the murder of the estate superintendant is a classic example of how a trial should proceed. The investigations took place efficaciously and with deadly intent. Special law enforcement teams of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) including senior officers with demonstrated competency were sent to the estate to commence the investigations. Villagers were gently persuaded to shake off the fear which had rendered them mute all these years. They were assured that no harm would come to them if they testify. Protection was assured.

Efforts to intimidate the CID were not successful. The efforts bore spectacular fruit within a short time with a formidable case being built as to the direct culpability of the accused. The murder had been carefully planned as he conducted his regular estate inspection in the wake of his having clashed with the criminal gang earlier. In court, the trial process continued with speed despite a record number of witnesses and concluded within a period of almost two years. It was an excellent example that Sri Lankas criminal justice systems works when it is allowed to operate without political pressure.

Same logic needs to be followed

Were the villagers of Deraniyagala able to draw public attention to their plight because they are members of the majority Sinhalese community? Should not such stern political will in brigning about justice be demonstrated when villagers of Tamil communities have been terrorized? The same logic indeed applies to the criminal investigations of the murdered ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen and journalists Lasantha Wickremetunge and Pradeep Ekneligoda.

Then again, what of the other longstanding instances of extrajudicial executions such as the killings of the students in Trincomalee and the aid workers in Mutur almost ten years ago? The easy explanation of government authorities that they cannot proceed as the eye witnesses have all fled abroad and that their testimony is essential is quite unacceptable. Similar to the manner in which the CID officers proceeded in the Noori estate case, confidence must be inculcated in the witnesses for them to be able to testify with some guarantee that reprisals will not ensue against their family members in Sri Lanka. In the absence of such proactive measures, a mere call to testify will not do.

Criminals waiting in the shadows

In sum, the conviction in the murder of the Noori estate superintendant Nihal Perera, one rare Sri Lankan of principle who refused to bend to political terror despite his failing years and paid for that obstinacy with his life, too will be of little use if it stands by itself.

A few officers or local level politicians may be punished by court. But this will have little impact on the overall structure of the vast criminal enterprises which came into its own during the Rajapaksa Presidency and which still lies in abeyance, waiting for a chance to emerge from the shadows into the sunlight again.

This is a warning that is evident to all but the most sublimely complacent.
Modest economic growth in 2016 after avoiding serious economic crisis View(s):

Christmas day is a day of glad tidings and of peace and joy. The good news this year is that the country averted a serious economic crisis and is moving towards macroeconomic stability and growth. May this Christmas usher in peace and social harmony that are vital for the countrys economic development.

Economy in 2016

Being the last Sunday of the year, it is appropriate to sum up the years economic performance. Economic growth was modest. There wasnt a robust economic growth or a spurt in economic activity. It was a year when an external financial crisis was averted and corrective measures taken to stabilise the economy.

Economic growth

The economy is estimated to have grown by about 4.5 percent in 2016. This is less than the expected GDP growth of more than 5 percent. Unfavourable global conditions were a constraint to higher growth. Policy uncertainty, unfavourable weather conditions and inefficient implementation also contributed to slow economic growth. In contrast, India that is admittedly much less dependent on global market conditions, is expected to grow at over 7 percent which is the highest growth in developing countries.

Growth sectors

Growth was mainly in construction, banking and finance, tourism and other services in the economy. Agriculture failed to grow owing to both bad weather conditions and low export prices for tea and rubber. The growth in tourism by over 16 percent contributed to growth directly and in activities that have backward linkages with tourism such as travel, food, arts and crafts and gems

Averting crisis

The averting of a serious balance of payments crisis was a substantial achievement during the year. The IMFs Extended Fund Facility and policy changes resulted in an improvement in the external finances and the country will have a surplus in the current account of the balance of payments of around US$ 2 billion and a smaller overall balance of payments surplus.

Fiscal consolidation

The steps taken toward fiscal consolidation was an important step this year. If the fiscal deficit is brought down to the targeted 4.7 percent of GDP in 2017 and progressively reduced to 3.5 percent in 2020, it would stabilise the economy, give a boost to economic growth and provide the fiscal space for much needed social infrastructure development.

Budget 2017

Fiscal consolidation is vital for macroeconomic stability. The 2017 budget took some meaningful steps towards fiscal consolidation. The most noteworthy feature of the budget was its objective of containing the fiscal deficit to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2017 and bringing it down to 3.5 percent in 2020. This is imperative for macroeconomic stability, investment and sustained economic growth. It would reduce the countrys debt that is estimated at around 76 percent of GDP.

Income tax

The revision of the income tax system to pave the way for a simpler income tax regime with minimum tax exemptions and to increase the direct tax component towards 40 percent from around 20 per cent at present and to gradually decrease indirect taxes are steps in the right direction. However the implementation of these proposals could prove difficult.

External finances

At the beginning of the year external reserves were dangerously low and inadequate to meet debt obligations and finance the countrys import needs. Corrective measures taken in April enabled a recovery in the external financial position. The country ends the year at a somewhat comfortable level of external reserves with both a current account and overall balance of payments surpluses likely at the end of the year.

The crisis in external finances brought about by heavy debt servicing obligations and a poor trade performance was averted by an IMF facility of about US$ 2.5 billion, the depreciation of the rupee and corrective fiscal and monetary measures.

Trade balance

The likely large trade deficit of about US$ 8.5 billion in 2016 is of serious concern. Export earnings are only about 55 percent of import expenditure. Expanding exports remain a serious challenge. Fortunately remittances from abroad and earnings from services, especially tourism, more than offset this deficit to generate a current account surplus in the balance of payments.

While global recessionary conditions that affected exports adversely were an important factor limiting export growth, the need for economic policies that are conducive for export growth are essential.

Foreign direct investment

The expectation of higher foreign direct investment (FDI) remains unrealised. FDI has been less than US$ 1 billion. Global recessionary conditions and unattractive local conditions account for it. International confidence to invest in the economy gets jolted from time to time. This year was no exception. For instance, the Prime Ministers intervention to cancel a large transaction of shares in the Colombo Stock Market could have adverse repercussions on foreign investment, not only in the stock market, but on foreign direct investment as well.

Promises

The President and Prime Minister flew hither and thither and brought glad economic tidings of foreign assistance that appeared to be a panacea for the countrys economic difficulties. The extravagant promises of help however remain to be realised.

Socio-political constraints

The socio-political milieu is a severe setback to economic progress. One of the severe restraints on economic development that was evident during the year was the wide scale protests against nearly every step of the government. There were protests against taxation, traffic fines and other government decisions. These and strikes by university non-academic staff, bus operators, estate workers and even by doctors, crippled the normal functioning of the economy.

Sporadic outbursts of communal violence in several parts of the country were the severest potential threat to economic development. Fortunately discussions among religious leaders and civil rights workers have subdued this fear. May the spirit of Christmas usher in peace and harmony that is imperative for economic progress.

Summing up

The year that is ending is not one of robust growth. Nevertheless a serious economic and financial crisis was averted and a foundation laid for economic stability and growth. The policy measures taken this year, if effectively implemented, could provide the foundation for a better economic performance in 2017.

Global economic conditions, efficacy of implementing reforms, certainty in economic policies and ensuring social harmony would determine the pace of the countrys economic development. The economy is on a recovery path with a potential for higher growth.
Melomanic celebrates 5th anniversary Text and pix by SoundGimmicks View(s): View(s):

The Melomanic sessions have been a community experience of different genres of unplugged music at its core. At the same time the sessions have provided a platform for budding artists and established musicians to mingle with their audiences as one community.

To a random person looking in from the outside, Melo might appear to be like a usual gigs in and around Colombo. Except for that over the span of 5 years, it has become the unassuming home to many friendships, memories, musical magic and a strongly knit community of grounded, big hearted people who have an honest love for music in its rawest form. In 2011, Chrisantha De Silva, Natasha Senanayake, Asela Perera and Kavya Galle Kankanamge founded the Melomanic Sessions and this year last month it celebrated a milestone of being its 5th anniversary .

When forming melo we were looking at something like an acoustic set, with the essence of genuine music and a place for amateurs to perform. Right now Melo is about giving back to the musicians, said Kavya recalling his first ideas behind the sessions.

The trio had the idea of how they wanted the sessions to sound like and even what the feel and look should be for those who attended the sessions.

The all-round rustice genuine raw take of the sessions was captured in its initial days at the warehouse project in Maradana.  We ran it for a little more years, Chrisantha explains.

Through each of the sessions the melo team discovered what the popular choice of sound was with originals taking a preference. People like the originals more than the covers; 90% of the set list consist of originals, Asela says.

Aside from the musical opportunities, the sessions present theyve also built up a following of those whove been brough together by their love of music with many friendships being made along the ways says Natasha.

The Meloversary venue was the Auditorium at St. Anthonys Church, Kolpetty. The line-up for the sessions consisted of the following artists:  Nikhil DAlmeida, Dilan Jayakody, Dan Aloysius, Circus Cult, Sankha Bee, Natasha Senanayake, Nabith Maeesh, Thusitha Neranjan, Asela Perera, And Team Melo
Alleged corruption leaves 1,300 multi-day boats without vital equipment View(s):

Funds meant to buy equipment to be fixed on fishing vessels have been returned to the Treasury as officials responsible for the purchase allegedly demanded commissions from sellers, an official meeting was told this week.

Accordingly Rs. 2.3 billion had been returned by the Fisheries Ministry to the Treasury as the officials failed to award the contracts to suppliers of three different items needed by fishermen to conform to European Union regulations.

The equipment, which includes vessel monitoring systems and fish finders, was due to be fitted on 1,300 multi-day fishing boats.

Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera at a meeting he presided over, raised questions as to why the funds had to be returned to the Treasury because of the failure to work out the contract.

During the meeting officials blamed each other for demanding commissions from companies to award the contract.

Fisheries Ministry Secretary Mangalika Adhikari confirmed that the funds had been returned as they had not been put to use.

She said she was preparing a report to be submitted to the Minister.

Mr. Amaraweera said action would be taken against those responsible for the failure to work out the tenders and implement the project.

One of the key requirements of the EU to lift the ban on fish exports to European countries was that the vessel monitoring system should be fitted in boats. The ban was lifted this year enabling Sri Lanka to resume exports to EU countries.
Alleged Indian embezzler wanted to open bank in Lanka View(s):

Alleged Indian embezzler Abishek Joshi who cheated a cooperative bank of INR 160 million (LKR 353 million), had been planning to start a financial institution in Sri Lanka and had even met President Maithripala Sirisena, Indian media said.

This came to light in an investigation by the special operation group (SOG) of Rajasthan police, reports published this week said. The 37-year-old business administration graduate was the mastermind in the case. He had not only allegedly met the president of Sri Lanka in Goa, he was also in touch with top administrative officers of the island nation to start financial institutions, the Times of India (TOI) said.

On Wednesday, the SOG unearthed the embezzlement of nearly INR 160 million and illegal money exchange of INR 13.8 million by Alwar Urban Cooperative Bank officials. They arrested five people, including the Chief Executive Officer, the former chairman, the present chairman and Mr. Joshi.

Abhishek is seen as the kingpin in planning and executing the whole embezzlement, TOI said. While investigating the case, the sleuths of SOG were stunned when they recovered a photograph of Abhishek with Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president, the report stated.

It quotes a senior SOG official as saying: We found that the accused Abhishek had visited Sri Lanka and had explored possibilities to start a bank in any of the states in the island nation. We have also recovered a photograph of the accused with the Sri Lankan president. He was in touch with some top-ranked administrative officers of a few states in the neighbouring country.

When the TOI asked about Mr. Joshis interest in Sri Lanka, Inspector General of Police Dinesh M N replied: All I can say is that we are investigating and looking into every angle in this case. Various things that we have recovered need to be verified.

A senior officer close to investigations is cited as saying Mr. Joshi had been expected to meet Surendra Gunaratney whom he called an adviser to the Government of Sri Lanka on international affairs and also a chief secretary rank officer on Wednesday to discuss investment possibilities.

It was not immediately clear who Mr. Gunaratney is. It is suspected that Mr. Joshi had been planning to invest his black money in Sri Lanka.

TOI has also come to know that Surendra, who is in Delhi, had even called up a senior officer of SOG on Wednesday to enquire about the whole racket, the report said. Sources further said that SOG officials had also told the Sri Lankan bureaucrat that the accused has been nabbed before he could execute his plan in their country.
Drug stocks replenished to combat dengue By Chrishanthi Christopher View(s): View(s):

The Ministry of Health has ordered more supplies of the intravenous solution Dextran from a Thai supplier to treat a growing number of patients suffering from dengue haemorrhagic fever, which is known to cause a state of shock, bleeding from the skin and nose, and can be fatal.

The ministrys epidemiology unit said overall dengue cases had reached 50,000 as of last Friday. The units head Dr. Paba Palliyawardena, said Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara districts in the Western Province and Galle, Ambalangoda and Balapitiya in the Southern Province were the worst affected.

Medical Services Division Director, Dr. Lal Panapitiya, said the intravenous solution was ordered following a request made by the State Pharmaceutical Corporation.

He said that supplies meant for 2017 had been ordered although existing stocks were adequate. Deliveries were expected in the first week of the new year.

In the Eastern Province, Kalmunai has also reported a higher number of dengue cases. Health officials attribute this to wells abandoned by households switching to pipe-borne water. The Sunday Times learns that there are 2,000 such wells that have become breeding grounds for the dengue virus vector, the Aedes aegyptimosquito.

Doctors say a particular strain of the dengue virus causes haemorrhagic fever. They advise patients living in high risk areas to test their blood count within a day if they show symptoms of fever.

Meanwhile, the Infectious Disease Hospital advises patients to be wary of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by general practitioners.

The hospitals director, Dr. Ananda Wijewickrema, said drugs such as Brufen, Diclofenac Sodium, Aspirin and Dispirin given as pain relievers could cause liver complications. Patients have a right to know and doctors have a duty to explain. Ask questions about the side-effects before taking the medications, he said.
Festival hampers or other gifts are bribes, state employees warned View(s):

Giving seasonal gifts to state employees could amount to an act of corruption.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has given this warning to the Ministry of Public Administration and Management and seven business chambers.

In its directives, the CIABOC has said it is aware of instances where public servants are soliciting and accepting gratifications from private companies by way of seasonal hampers during the festive season. This is an offence under section 19(c) of the Bribery Act. Any person who aids and abet any public servant in committing the offence is also liable to be tried under section 25 of the Bribery Act.

According to the law, government officers cannot accept any gifts or offers from anybody. Once they do, they are under obligation of fulfilling the certain needs of a corporate entity. The Commission will take stern action against these officers and prosecute them under Bribery laws, CIABOC Director General Sarath Jayamanne told the Sunday Times.

The CIABOC has written to at least seven corporate business bodies on granting offers of Christmas hampers, seasonal gifts, gift vouchers, airline tickets and prepaid holiday packages to state employees.

Meanwhile, the Ministry will tomorrow issue a circular to all government department employees directing them not to accept any gifts or any form of gratifications from the private sector as it is considered a bribe under the law.

I have already signed the circular to be issued all government departments, Ministry Secretary J.J. Rathanasiri said.

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the largest business chamber in the country, said that it had circulated the CIABOC directive to all its members.

As a professional body, we have communicated the states anti-corruption agencys request to all our members, but it is up to them to follow the regulations or not, one of the chamber directors, Dhara Wijayatilake, said.
Huge fuel bill mars Presidents Iran visit By Damith Wickremasekara Foreign Ministry tells CPC to act fast in making payment of Rs. 37 billion View(s): View(s):

Ahead of a proposed visit to Iran by President Maithripala Sirisena, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been told to pay a fuel import bill of more than Rs. 37 billion it owes to that country.

CPC officials were called to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday and were told to pay the long overdue bill as Iranian officials were due in Sri Lanka soon to discuss plans for the Presidents visit. They are also expected to discuss modalities of payments.

The fuel bills had been pending for more than five years as payments could not be made due to US sanctions against transactions with the Iranian government.

During President Sirisenas visit, scheduled for late next month, the two sides are expected to discuss, among several other matters the issue of fuel purchases.

The Iranian government earlier reminded Petroluem Resources Minister Chandima Weerakkody, during his visit to Iran about the arrears, but the payment was not made.

A CPC official said the call to pay the arrears would force the corporation to obtain a loan.

The moves came after the Treasury obtained Rs. 13 billion from the CPC early this month, despite appeals by the CPC that the money was required for urgent repairs of the Sapugaskanda oil refinery.

The Sunday Times learns that the CPC had pointed out to the Treasury that the failure to carry out the repairs could have a bearing on the refinery and thereby affect fuel supplies.

Sri Lankas thermal power production is expected to rise in March next year in view of the impending drought conditions. Already officials have been advised to prepare for an impending drought.
Motion to probe Central Bank purchase of overseas offices View(s):

A group of MPs have handed over a Motion to Speaker Karu Jayasuirya to set up a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate and report on the expenses incurred by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), for the purchase of Offices for the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brazil and for Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York. The Motion signed by MPs of the UNP, TNA and the JVP, was handed over by JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti who also heads the COPE.

The Motion also seeks to ascertain whether these purchases were duly authorised, the amount incurred on each of these premises separately; officers by name, responsible for and/or instructed the purchasing of these premises and other related matters.

The Motion has been included in the Addendum to the Order Book of Parliament. The Auditor General, in his annual report for 2014, concluded that, the CBSLs purchase of property in Brazil for Rs 122.81 million in 2014, had not been done with prior Cabinet approval, and raised questions about its transaction.
Norway extends support for SLPI activities View(s):

The Royal Norwegian Government signed an agreement with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) recently to grant a further NOK 600,000 (Rs 10.5 million) for the Institutes activities over the next two years.

The agreement was signed by the Norwegian Ambassador in Sri Lanka Thorbjorn Gaustadsaether and SLPI Chairman Kumar Nadesan recently in Colombo, in recognition of the SLPIs work in the field of media freedom and social development, a news release from the SLPI states.

The Norwegian government, along with the Swedish and Danish governments, the US and UK governments and UNESCO has been one of the long time financial supporters of the activities of the SLPI, the industry-based organisation managed by the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, affiliated with the Federation of Media Workers Trade Unions, the Sri Lanka Chapter of the South Asian Free Media Association, Tamil Media Forum and Muslim Media Forum.

According to the news release, the latest grant is broadly for SLPI to provide for the creation of a conducive environment for Freedom of Expression, especially through the Right to Information Act; to promote the Code of Professional Practice (The Editors Code) of The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka in the newsrooms and among provincial correspondents; and for the promotion of professionalism among journalists in Sri Lanka.

The SLPI is the umbrella organization of the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka, the self-regulatory industry based mechanism responsible for promoting The Editors Code, and the Sri Lanka College of Journalism which conducts Diploma and mid-career courses in Journalism.

SLPI holds RTI sessions in Kandy
President joins Polonnaruwa farmers in praying for rain View(s):

With the drought situation likely to worsen in the New Year, the Government is seeking divine intervention for rain.

President Maithripala Sirisena himself took part in several religious observances in his native Polonnaruwa yesterday to ask the rain gods to be merciful to Sri Lanka.

A Deva Pooja was held last morning under the patronage of the President at the Dimbulagala Sri Muththu Mariamman Kovil to pray for rain. A group of Veddas also held a cultural ceremony invoking the blessings of the deities for rain.

Last evening, the President also attended a Vesi Piritha near the Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa. The pirith chanting was conducted by 50 Buddhist monks.

The events were organised by the Polonnaruwa District Secretariat and farmer organisations. Polonnaruwa has been hit hard by the drought, which is likely to get worse as the New Year dawns.

Meanwhile, the drought is also wreaking havoc in the Vavuniya District. According to District Secretary M.B.R. Pushpakumara, about 9,000 acres of paddy land cultivated during the Maha season are in danger of being destroyed due to the drought.

++++++++++
SriLankan Airlines: No decision yet on who gets the deal View(s):

The five-member committee appointed to evaluate bids for SriLankan Airlines has held a series of meetings with the shortlisted parties but has not reached a decision on who should be recommended for the deal, an authoritative source said.

The parties are Super Group Partners, Peace Air and Texas Pacific Group or TPG. Super Group is a consortium comprising predominantly of Asian investors. The third, TPG, is an American company and one of the largest private equity investment firms in the world.

Peace Air is owned by businessman Gamini Wethasinghe. Its representatives have been canvassing openly for its bid, even offering a bonus of Rs. 100,000 for every SriLankan Airlines employee if it secured the deal. The company has pledged an investment of five billion euros.

Meetings are ongoing with the bidders, the source said, requesting anonymity. Documentation is currently being corroborated or verified. The committee was so intent on maintaining the transparency and integrity of the process that its members met the relevant parties only in a group.

Depending on the outcome of the meetings, a recommendation will be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM). An initial valuation had allocated scores to the bidders based on various criteria but it is learnt that these will have no real bearing on who secures the contract. The lead manager for the project is National Savings Bank, assisted by audit firm KPMG.
Finally the arrival: That deflating and exhilarating feeling Lizzie Jones continues her travels on her TVS from Dondra to Point Pedro View(s): View(s):

It is the morning of Day 2 and the family noises become more prominent. The children are taken to school by the gentle-voiced father who reinvents himself as a three wheeler driver with the air of a daily ritual and when he returns he holds my hand in his. Are you a volunteer? I dont really understand but want to say yes because it would make sense to him.

Im going to Point Pedro, I say. There is no surprise in his voice Whats your target? 200 kilometres a day I reply.

Petrol Rs. 400 + Rs. 300  Accommodation: Rs.1,500 - Bed Tea Rs. 50. Water Rs.50.

Wellawaya early morning  I remember that 02984 is on the mileage and scribble it on the side of my map in the blue part on the North East.

Goodbye, heading to? Well the map shows a triangle of equal sides, presenting me with a dilemma. I can go either way but the Badulla road will be high and perhaps rainy so I opt for Monaragala which seems flatter and drier; its a gut feeling.

Its not like the city but the hilly road is busy, traffic speeds along in this unfamiliar clime. I temporarily lose my nerve and feel vulnerable on my little vehicle. There are those crazy overtakers, and buses that push me aside, perilously close to the ditch.

Although these new roads are smooth and comfortable, some cut through farmlands and I cringe at the entry of Monaragala as a massive bulldozer stops and starts on a road bend where ladies covered from head to toe against the heat and dust join in the digging and weeding; nowadays, a typical fixture of road development. Down below in a field stands the first Hindu temple so far with its red and white stripes surrounded by the mud of progress and a priest in a white verti walks slowly hands behind his back, bare chested but for a thread.

The entry to Monaragala though is otherwise green and wooded and has a slightly chilly hill feel. An army camp forces traffic to circumvent until I arrive at a junction, then a turning heads to Bibile, a B road, B57 perhaps, yellow on my map but also carpeted. I am happy with the word Bibile  phonetic, easy to remember with its Latin sound and connotation of books, a place to hang onto, a word to hang onto, my next destination. Geography changes as the road spirals up and down and is virtually deserted, shady evergreens turn it pure black in places.

Its an eventful road but Bibile doesnt live up to its name, though I dont see much of it. Its centre is only a little plateau where there is a petrol station; I fill up for another 400 Rupees and then go into an ATM where I get some money. It feels so safe there inside; no longer exposed to heat and sun, animals, humans, insects, curiosity, dustthe unrelenting road itself, its only Day 2 but the sun is merciless. My eyes stay half closed for a while and I stay inside longer than I should, in need of shelter. As I am leaving, a three wheeler driver comes and asks where Im going in near perfect English. Jaffna- Point Pedro, Ive come from Dondra. He relays the information eagerly to his little group who lounge benignly by the side of the road.

A pale yellow line, another little road on my map is the road to Mahiyangana, also a B road, beautifully smooth that cuts through and eventually leads towards a canal with man-made sloping walls. Still experiencing the shyness of all this exposure I long to stop but as the day, kilometres and the voyage go on, it becomes more difficult. Keep going, keep going, says some inner voice, almost as if theres no place to stop in the travellers world where only moving feels right.

But here finally and with a small crowd at a bus stand looking on, the cool water of the canal attracts me and magnetically pulls me to go and see; a few open front shops are nearby.

My courage comes back and I ask a shop keeper boldly if he can look after my bag. Its a strange little repair shop with televisions in pieces, wires, boxes and speakers, all broken or redundant. Then I go down hot little steps to dip my feet in the canal and feel startled at how white they look under the water. Further along someone is washing clothes against the stone then a man appears right behind me staring at me unabashed, curious but quite benevolent.

I go into one of the open front shops as Ive become thirsty with the look and feel of the canal which stretches for miles. A strikingly handsome young man whose name, I find out is Dinesh sits staring at a television that is off. They dont have ginger beer but there is thambili, better for you anyway, and a woman, the mother proceeds to cut a hole in it.

It must be after one thirty and children are arriving home from school when a little boy of perhaps five, new to school, rushes in and in jubilation impatiently pulls off his uniform. Back on home territory and away from constraints, this little king proceeds to grab the thambili knife and reach a jar of toffees on the table, while elder brother half-heartedly slaps him, secretly thinking hes funny or clever, he is the youngest of many sons I imagine. Unperturbed he climbs up with all the strength in his little legs to reach the jar, finally succeeding. Absorbed for a moment into this homeliness, I am ensconced into the life of others and glad I had stopped and broke the shell of my surroundings. The mother is thin and seems frail with all those sons and work. I wait quietly and the little boy, in spite of his bravado is quite shy saying goodbye, unfamiliar with handshakes.

The little vignette of life has made me feel refreshed taking the lunch time empty road to Mahiyangana with the whole day ahead, I should get to Polonnaruwa before nightfall.

The vision of the stunning temple, at the end of a path, orders me to stop instantly at the entrance to Mahiyangana to take it in, to stare, at its magic, spellbound. A lone beggar with nowhere to go and as yet no lunch sits outside. Further along into the town a giant statue of the Buddha is surrounded by hoardings and billboards with tattered posters, political, theatrical, publicity. Its definitely home time as now on the Polonnaruwa road, children are being squeezed into buses like sardines into a can. I follow them, stopping and starting next to groups of white clad boys at bus stops who jeer at me innocently, taking courage from each other. Sometimes I pretend to stop and they scarper.

Its another long ride; big carpet roads, intermingled with small ones with potholes and broken termite eaten trees that finally culminate onto a restful shady road but my destination on signposts is still far away and when I finally get to the final stage of my journey, the entrance to Polonnaruwa in the late afternoon, the road seems dingy. A graffiti bridge, lorry parks, wasteland, this is how the sun comes down on this perilous road and night falls.So as I arrive disillusioned into the town, I am attracted by polar opposite to a fancy, clean and white hotel with orderly palm trees and even a barrier at the entrance; not for the hoi polloi it seems to say. I cross the busy road to the entrance and a man looks at me with an overly familiar smile. I learn in the pretty reception that rooms are 5000 Rupees.

Its new and clean but a strange place I soon realise as the few staff seem to be running around aimlessly like actors in the Theatre of the Absurd. This coupled with the lack of clients, makes me wonder if its really a hotel. Perhaps its just a dream, a tired travellers dream but they eventually find me a bed sheet and the food is good. Of course I sleep soundly under the more expensive ceiling fan.

The mileage says 03201 and as in an imperative ritual I duly write it at the top right of my map in the blue that is, I realise, the Indian Ocean. The end of Day 2 and I have travelled 217 kilometres; a good distance.

Day three and I awake in this slightly dubious place. The same staff from Theatre of the Absurd hover around me at the breakfast table. All I want is toast and tea. I realise as I go only a few kilometres down the still quiet morning road that if I had persisted a little the night before I would have found a much better place, near the lake and the archaeological site. Such is the travellers lot and luck.

But perhaps this will be my last day of travel. I head past the beautiful lake and giant Buddha and towards Minneriya, where there are little lakes and elephants, grazing, thankfully, in the distance. A little crowd watches near a sign saying dont feed the wild animals and there are friendly students from Beijing, wax white under umbrellas, and travelling in a three wheeler heading back to Polonnaruwa with guides. I lend them my binoculars and we see the elephants close up. Europeans in a car with blond children stay near their open car doors and dont join in the noisy hellos. There is a lonely motor biker heading north too. We chat and I feel a kind of affinity to this fellow traveller on a similarly long journey. He too seems protective so we discreetly look out for each other as we make our way. The North seems closer and we both stop at the next Hindu temple where he worships and I buy mango slices in chilli. All is gentle, though as I take to the road again, I pierce my eyes for the sight of elephants in the surrounding woods

At Habarana we silently go our separate ways and though I know the place well, I take the wrong road, almost out of habit; the one heading to Trincomalee instead of Anuradhapura, the road looks so wild and inviting and signage is unclear so it is some way along that I realise my mistake and too far to turn back. I figure I can back track onto the Vavuniya road later..and anyway, that inner voice is urging me, go on, go on while I become one with the confusion that comes with travel, that is a symptom of travel.

The stretch of road is beautiful, deserted of animals and people though there are stacks of firewood for sale here and there and later I meet some thambili sellers on a rock. I finally reach Kanthale, where I go into the first hotel I see, sun beaten and tired and where two southern navy boys from Kurunegala stand giggling, nudging each other until they finally bring a menu. We look out onto the windy lake and see in the distance, what seems like hundreds of birds, perhaps cormorants riding the waves of the royal tank in crowds, bouncing and swaying ingeniously like acrobats. My surroundings are luxurious and on prime land; well off looking people sit at adjoining tables. My mistake means I have to head virtually into Trinco, along the tank road and then pass the big green and white mosque before finding my way to the Vavuniya road.

When I finally get to the junction, a strong wind has whipped up and forces me to slow down to keep my balance. The road is thoroughly uncovered without trees or shade and the bike shakes worryingly. Its a long and arduous route, one side green, the other scorched brown; as if one side is cultivated, the other not. Unfamiliar towns names take on the double k that feels Tamil, Kambakkoda, then we pass Horowupalama. Between each town the deserted road seems interminable and I stop to see what villages we have passed thinking the maps red line must be wrong and making a blue mark with a pen all the way along the A29 to the A9 to Jaffna, somehow to try and measure the distance. Im blown about by the wind on this pale green part of the map and dont reach Vavuniya until late afternoon, my body aching and the day nearly over. I pass the hospital etched with its memories, lives and deaths and a nearby mosque.

It would seem wiser to stop there, but resolve pushing me, I cross the town and the infamous A9 carries me along until we reach the space between Vavuniya and Elephant Pass where for decades there has been a military check point, an obligatory stop. First the scene of terrors, then of queues and baggage inspection, ID cards and anguish. In fact, until recently a tangible symbol of division but there in this early evening sun it is surrounded by big pots of orange and pink flowers, completely deserted and shrouded in a peaceful silence. Taking in the stillness, a momentous moment I move on through Elephant Pass  the road between the lagoon and towards Kilinochchi.

I stop as night descends where there is a little oasis, of bus stands, temples and a hotel which is dirty and overpriced; the owner realizes my neediness. Anyway though night is falling, the road now calls me more fiercely. In the night, crowded buses and trucks thunder ahead, unconscious of everything, desperate to get their goods and people somewhere. I soon realise that there are hardly any sleeping places on this road and as insects start to bash into my bare face and eyes, a moustached policeman, one of two by the road, kindly smiling, stops me.

Kilinochchi, thats a long way, at least two hours on this bike, he teases.

I head on but it is becoming intolerable, so when I finally see a dark shadow of a guest house with its little flags I stop and shout through the gate. Tambi, hey Tambi..hello when suddenly bright as happiness, lights come on and someone opens the big gates as a motor biker also arrives, adding to the commotion.

But the noise has woken up a dog who barks viciously and the night suddenly becomes aggressive as someone, perhaps the guest house owner holds tightly onto the writhing creature. Satisfied I am no threat perhaps, he gives me a room. A young man stands near the door smelling of alcohol and vaguely wanting to talk then leaves unsteadily and amid what should be danger I sleep peacefully, uninterrupted; acknowledging deep down that no-one will harm me.

Three whole days and I still havent arrived. The mileage is at 03488, but I see it only the next morning. Could I have travelled 287 kilometres, that third day, that lost windy day?

There is a palpable dichotomy between night and day and just as the night felt full of danger, the day is utterly inoffensive. Everything is forgotten now and as the dog from last night wanders around wagging its tail, someone brings me a cup of tea. I pay my bill of Rs 1,000 and leave along the road still empty where little groups of early morning children in white, the same north and south, wave at bus stops. After the big symbols of war and peace in Kilinochchi, the remnants of war and the elements of war tourism, flora changes to a backdrop of stubbly Palmyra trees, some with their leaves cut down waiting to become fences and dryness pervades the landscape.

The new railway line runs parallel to the road creating little groups of life where stations pop up and as we arrive in Jaffna corrugated iron becomes widespread. The green sign saying Jaffna appears unexpectedly on a bend in the road next to a house in ruins, splattered with the marks of bullets. Warnings of the past dominate. Still on the A9 I go past the big destroyed church with a sign which says, Never Againthen past the YMCA with good cheap lodgings and the sign Peace with Dignity. Then down Kachcheri Nallur Road, until I finally get to the gold statue of warrior King Sankilian sitting on a horse. There are still 31 kilometres to Point Pedro but the rest of the trip is full of the excitement of pending arrival, near lagoons, low bushes and along the flat salty smelling road to the coast, to the very end of this island where land almost disappears off the map.

It is lunch time on Day Four when I see the sign Point Pedro, though it seems to appear well before the town and in an unlikely and undignified place next to a petrol shed on a little hill of gravel.

Its deflating and exhilarating at the same time but now finally I know I can stop, perhaps rest, though this doesnt seem appropriate. This is it! Where are the cameras, where is the crowd? A few people think Im waiting for petrol and try to shoo me in towards the pumps. I want to yell and tell them, tell them everything Ive seen but I dont have the language. Someone takes a photo for me and I text my friends but it still doesnt seem authentically like Point Pedro; the trip cant end like this. So, looking for some closure, an ending, I head for the beach, past the market and the gold coloured statue of Gandhi, towards the very tip of the coastline where fishing boats are huddled together.

Two young men in a little eating place are reluctant to take a photograph and then well, then I sit, alone satisfied, left in peace, a bottle of ginger beer finished. I play with the straw and scan the sea out into the Palk Straits.
How Donald Trumps foreign policy power will be far from unchecked By Richard Fontaine View(s): View(s):

In the wake of Donald Trumps surprise election, Australians have engaged in public soul-searching about their alliance with the United States. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has offered reassurance that strong bilateral ties will endure, while his predecessor Paul Keating urged his country to cut the tag with America and pursue an independent foreign policy. And prominent security scholar Hugh White observed that, the issue for Australia today isnt whether we should step back from our alliance with America, but whether America is stepping back from us.

Hang on a minute. Given the President-elects campaign opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, demand for more burden-sharing by allies and questions about Americas traditional global role, its natural for Australians to wonder whats in store. Yet writing off the US alliance would represent the wrong reaction at the wrong time.

A large question mark does hover over the Trump administrations foreign policy. Thats partially because of the shift in positions as campaigning turns to governance  already, the tough rhetoric toward allies like Japan and South Korea has softened. And Trump is only now beginning to name key members of his national security team  some, like defence secretary nominee Jim Mattis, with long ties to Australia and others, like prospective secretary of state Rex Tillerson, with a history of support for free trade.

But perhaps more important is the system of checks and balances in which American foreign policy is made. Congress plays the most important role here, and since election day, senators and representatives have found new voice on national security matters.

Senator John McCain, for instance, responding to Trumps notion of waterboarding suspected terrorists, said, I dont give a damn what the President of the United States wants to do, we will not waterboard. Senator Lindsey Graham has described congressional efforts to push back against any new reset of relations with Russia, and both Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for an inquiry into Russian attempts to influence the presidential election. Senator Marco Rubio drew attention to Trumps secretary of state selection, saying that he has serious concerns about his nomination. And those are all Republicans.

The reality is that while the president is very powerful in matters of foreign policy, he is not all-powerful. The commander-in-chief can order troops into battle, negotiate or withdraw from trade agreements and treaties, conduct diplomacy and propose increases in defence spending. But hell need Congress to confirm his nominees for senior positions, approve any new trade agreements or treaties, spend money on the military or anything else, and refrain from passing legislation that will constrain his choices.

A supporting cast

Then there are the other actors involved in the making of national security policy  interest groups, popular opinion, think tanks and intellectuals and, on some key issues, the courts. They play important roles not only in providing ideas and shaping outcomes, but also in providing support for some presidential initiatives and raising the political price for pursuing others. Many of these actors, including those who opposed Trump as a candidate, will rightly wish him to succeed as President. But they will implement that charge by supporting some administration ideas, pushing back against others and offering alternatives throughout.

Consider a few past examples. President Jimmy Carter pledged to withdraw US troops from South Korea. After pushback from the military, American diplomats and Congress, he changed position. Congress overrode Ronald Reagans veto of sanctions on apartheid South Africa and restricted Bill Clintons deployment to Somalia. During the George W. Bush years, the Supreme Court overruled the administration by finding that the Geneva conventions apply to all those captured in the war on terror. During the Obama administration, Congress passed Iran sanctions over the Presidents objections.

The President and his team have the greatest influence over Americas foreign policy. As weve seen, a phone call or even a 140 character tweet from the President-elect can change the tenor of our international relationships. And as hard as it is to stop a president from embarking on a course to which he is committed, it is harder still to compel him to act in an area he opposes, like reviving the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

But there are multiple centres of power and influence and it is the interaction among them that produces the spectrum of foreign policy.

This has implications for Australians. The US system is remarkably open, with multiple points of input. There is a reason why there are more think tanks in Washington than any other place on earth. Debate is a group affair and allies like Australia will continue to play a key role.

There may be more continuity in US policy than looks likely at the moment. The military, career diplomats, intelligence officials and leading senators and representatives arent going anywhere. They will provide ballast as the Trump administration gets under way and Australians should continue to work with them all.

(The writer is the president of the Centre for a New American Security in Washington, DC, and was the inaugural Alliance 21 Fellow at the University of Sydneys US Studies Centre.)
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Lieutenant General Hayk S. Kotanjian - D.Sc. (Political Science, Russia), Professor (Armenia), Distinguished Visiting Member of Faculty at the National Defense University (USA), Visiting Scholar at the Harvard National Security Program, Full Elected Member of Russian Academy of Military Sciences, Member of CSTO Academic-Expert Board, Head of the National Defense Research University, delivered a speech at the joint session of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Compatriots Affairs in Yerevan on December 22.

Armenpress presents his full speech:

Armenias Balanced Foreign Policy as a Strategic Opportunity to create a Platform for Establishing a Dialogue between Russia and The US

Dear Co-Chairs,

Dear Colleagues,

Since the date of its independence in 1991, the cornerstone of Armenias security policy has been its balance, as well as the desire to establish partnerships both with neighboring states and with extra-regional power centers. This choice reflects the geostrategic realities and the geopolitical imperatives for the independent Armenian state to effectively carry out its activities and be the guarantor of sustainable development and security of 11 million Armenians of the Republic of Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and the Diaspora. At the same time, the immutability of this balance under all hardships that have arisen in relations between its allies and partners, primarily  between Russia and the US, merits a mention. I have the honor to highlight that Armenia is Russias strategic ally, the bilateral security relations with which Armenia complements through strategic cooperation with it and other states in a multilateral format within the framework of the CSTO.

The current stage of the Armenian-Russian military and military-technical cooperation is characterized by high dynamics due to the attention of the Heads of our fraternal states in this sphere of interstate relations. In this sense, the Armenian-Russian Business Forum of 2013 held in Gyumri with the participation of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan became a momentous event. The Forum was preceded by the visit of the Presidents to the 102nd Russian Military Base with the discussion of its military-technical modernization tasks and improvement of service efficiency.

In my opinion, the solution of these problems, under the creation of the Joint Group of Troops (Forces) of the Armenian and Russian Armed Forces, lends considerable urgency to the concerned discussion of the project of establishing an Armenian-Russian defense industry complex in Gyumri between the Armenian and Russian sides. In so doing, it is advisable to calculate the diversified scale of this complex in such a way that it, along with the 102nd Bases modernization tasks, becomes a platform for forging military-technical business cooperation between Russia and the states bordering with Armenia  with an access to the traditional for Russia arms markets located there. At the same time, the creation of jobs in Gyumri would become a factor in improving the demographic situation in the city of the 102nd Bases deployment and strengthen the social ties of the local Armenian population with the military personnel of the Russian Military Base.

In his yesterdays interview to the Russian media, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan emphasized the importance of the systemic deployment of a joint military-industrial enterprise in relation to the modernization of the 102nd Base in Gyumri.

As a start-up phase of this defense industry project, it is expedient to consider the establishment of the Armenian-Russian enterprise for the repair and maintenance of arms and military equipment of the 102nd Russian Military Base in Shirak Region. As for staffing solutions to these problems, it would be logical for this Armenian-Russian defense industry enterprise to provide for the establishment of its own multisectoral technical college. The agreements on the trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation between Armenias Shirak Region and the regions of Ulyanovsk and Rostov of Russia can serve as an international legal basis for this[1]. A special role in solving this strategically important task  in pursuance of the Agreement On Cooperation in the Trade-Economic, Scientific-Technical, and Cultural Spheres between the Administrations of Shirak Region and Ulyanovsk Region: 15.09.2009[2]  can play the developed defense industry complex of Ulyanovsk Region, where the share of defense industry enterprises in the total production of the region is about 80%. The importance of engaging Rostov Region in the phased deployment of this military-industrial enterprise of regional significance is due to the fact that the Command of the North Caucasus Military District, responsible for directing the activities of the military base in Gyumri, is situated in Rostov.

In our view, adding a special section dedicated to the prospects of military-technical and defense industry cooperation to the agendas of regional forums may become an important impetus for the sustainable economic, military-technical and social development of the regions of both states. Judging by the innovative orientation of the new Government of the Republic of Armenia, this will make the Armenian-Russian cooperation in creating a multisectoral military-industrial enterprise in Gyumri one of its strategic priorities.

As was mentioned above, pursuing its strategic security interests in the balance of orientation in relation to Moscow, Washington, and Brussels, Armenia, along with its cooperation with the Russian Federation and the CSTO, efficiently collaborates with such Euro-Atlantic power centers as the US, NATO and the European Union. From 2005 on, Armenia has been effectively implementing the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plans, targeted at the advancement of defense security reforms. Our state also increases its involvement in the system of international security through participating in peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Kosovo, and now also in Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Mali.

In this context, the 25-year-old strategic partnership with the United States is of particular significance for Armenia. Being one of the main donors for the Republic of Armenia, the US plays a key role in the process of implementing structural reforms targeted at the modernization of the public administration system, taking effective measures in human rights protection and fight against corruption, thus making a significant contribution to the development of the independent statehood of Armenia. The participation of both the US and Russia together with France in maintaining consensus regarding the principles of the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh Conflict is of special importance.

In view of the above said and the confrontation in US-Russian relations, typical of the past few years, it should be noted that it significantly limits Armenias resources for implementing a balanced foreign policy. In this sense, the rapprochement between Russia and the United States stems from strategic interests of Armenias national security. We believe that the long-term balance of strategic alliance between Armenia and Russia and that of the strategic partnership between Armenia and the United States provides an opportunity to consider Armenia as a mutually acceptable platform for establishing dialogue between Russia and the United States.

Establishing a platform for dialogue between Russia and the United States gains particular importance in the period of specification of the strategic priorities of Moscow and Washington before the newly-elected US President takes the office. In this sense, the Armenian academic platform for consultation and exchange of messages for the US-Russian dialogue can be used not only in the discussion of current bilateral relations, but also the issues of strategic caliber relating to the global and regional security dynamics. The experience of successful academic and expert forums held by our Institute for National Strategic Studies of the Ministry of Defense with the participation of leading representatives of such security schools as MGIMO University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Harvard University, the US National Defense University, the British Chatham House, University of Jerusalem, Istanbul University Kadir Has among others, speaks in support of this assessment of Armenias role in establishing the US-Russian dialog.

An evidence of the liability of the Institute for National Strategic Studies in supporting the Republic of Armenias role in building academic-expert platforms on strategic issues of international security is its recent participation in the process of strategic review of the UN Peacekeeping Strategy with the discussion of the results of that review at the Strategic Forum we organized in Yerevan. And the Strategic Forum in 2015 was a starting platform for promoting this peacekeeping cooperation on academic-expert level, when, after the reunification of the Crimea with Russia  in an acute phase of Russias relations with the West  we were able to unite security experts both from Russia and other CSTO member states, as well as from the US and other NATO member states around the same table in Yerevan, for dialogue and exchange of messages.

Let me express confidence in the importance of continuing the Republic of Armenias mission in general, as well as represented by its leading state analytical center for national and international security problems  the National Defense Research University  as an academic-expert platform in establishing consultations and dialogue between Armenias ally  Russia, and its partner  the United States.
Police are appealing for any information that will help locate a large amount of jewellery stolen from an Awapuni home near Palmerston North in November.

Constable Rickie Chubb says the items that were stolen, some of which are very distinctive, have huge sentimental value to the victim and have been in their family for generations.

The investigation into this theft is ongoing and police are making a number of enquiries.

Police would like to speak with anyone who may have come across any of these pieces of jewellery or has information about them.

Anyone who notices any suspicious activity, including people offering items of jewellery for sale at low prices either in person or online, is being asked to report this to police.

People with information can contact Constable Rickie Chubb at Palmerston North Police on 06 213 9486.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
UPDATED 4.30PM: A person has died after getting into trouble in the Wainui River in Whakamarama near Tauranga.

A police spokesperson says emergency services were notified after the person had slipped into a water hole while walking down to the river with two friends at about 1.35pm.

An intensive search effort has been under way this afternoon but unfortunately the person was found deceased in the water at 4pm.

No further information will be available regarding the victim until the appropriate next of kin notifications have taken place, says the spokesperson.

EARLIER 4PM:

A rescue helicopter has been dispatched to Whakamarama where a person gone missing in the Wainui River.

Emergency services including police, ambulance and fire, were dispatched to the scene near the end of Tim Road after a person was reported missing in the river before 2pm.

A police spokesperson says emergency services staff were still searching for the missing person and that a rescue helicopter was dispatched in the past 30 minutes.

At this stage police were unable to provide details of the person who went missing in the river.

EARLIER:

Emergency services are currently responding to reports of a person in trouble in the Wainui River in Whakamarama.

A caller to the 0800 SUNLIVE news hotline says they witnessed several emergency services vehicles racing down Tim Road just off Wainui South Road shortly before 2pm.

A spokesperson confirms police, ambulance and fire have all been dispatched to the scene after receiving a report of a person getting into trouble in the Wainui River.

SunLive will update this story once more information is available.

Do you know more?

Call 0800 SUNLIVE (786 5483) or email newsroom@thesun.co.nz
Dearest Mother, I am writing this in the trenches of my dug out  with a wood fire going and plenty of straw; it is rather cosy although it is freezing now and real Christmas weather, wrote Alfred Dougan Chater in 1914.

My Dear Mother, well, here we are again after a very cold Christmas in the trenches, wrote Wilbert Spencer on December 28, 1914.

Christmas for soldiers overseas can be difficult  for both the servicemen and the families waiting back home.

But Tauranga resident Patricia Steer worked through the year to help bring some Christmas cheer to servicemen and their families.

Patricia and her cardmaking army from around New Zealand created about 500 Christmas cards to send over to current servicemen who could then choose a card, write in it and send it back to their families.

Ive had a family member whos been in the army and has been overseas and I noticed while he was away that when he sent his cards back some of them were handmade ones, says Patricia.

I knew he wouldnt have made it, so I made some enquiries and found theyre made by people around the country that are cardmakers and scrapbookers and that sort of thing. And they donate them to the army and theyre sent over to where the men are deployed.

Its hard not having your family around during the Christmas season, but knowing theyre overseas makes it even tougher. But Patricia says the handmade cards helped her and her family.

I noticed not only were I and my brothers and sisters and sons impressed by the fact that we had a handmade card, I noticed that my sister  whos son it was who was overseas  got quite emotional when she got the first card from him that were handmade.

She said it made her feel like somebody else cared about her son, about the men that were overseas as well.

Patricia packed up the cards and took them to Taurangas army hall back in early-November to ensure there was enough time for the cards to reach the men, for them to write in them and send them home to their family.

And of the 400-plus cards, Patricia made a good number of them herself.

I was aiming for about 100 and when I did 60, and a few people gave me some more, I thought: Oh I might get to 200.

Four-hundred-odd cards later, Patricia has gone above and beyond her initial goal of 100.

And because of her hard work, 400-plus families will feel a little bit closer to their camouflaged man or woman this Christmas.
Changes Coming to DC Comics Themed Areas at Six Flags Over Georgia

Six Flags Over Georgia is set to open a new ride and park area featuring comic book characters such as Superman and Batman for its 50th birthday in Cobb County next year.

Park President Dale Kaetzel announced the parks plans to expand its Metropolis Park during a media tour of the parks newest ride  Justice League: Battle for Metropolis  on Tuesday.

The Justice League is a group of DC Comic superheroes including Superman and Batman, and Metropolis is the fictional home of Superman.

The park announced the 22,000-square-foot indoor and interactive thrill ride, Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, in September and invited members of the media to tour the construction site  the former home of the Dodge City Bumper Car attraction. The ride is located next to the Superman: Ultimate Flight rollercoaster in the Metropolis area of the park.

The new Metropolis Park will take over the patriotic Cotton States area of the park. The Great American Scream Machine, Sky Coaster and Blue Hawk will now be part of the Lickskillet section of the park, said Gene Petriello, Six Flags communications manager.

Envision no more Cotton States. Cotton States will become Metropolis, Kaetzel said.

The area will be transformed with a new layout, updated signage and color scheme. Kaetzel said the new sections construction has already started, and more aggressive demolition will begin in January.

The new Metropolis area is set to include a refurbished food court, new ground foundation and an updated midway game area. About 40 feet of the existing gaming area will be torn down to accommodate the queue line for the parks newest ride, Kaetzel said, which will include shady areas and water misting machines to keep visitors cool during the summer months.

Were going to make this a place where people want to stay and eat and play, and of course, ride Justice League: Battle for Metropolis over and over and over again, he said.

Superman: Ultimate Flight  one of the parks main attractions  will be repainted for the 2017 season for the first time since it opened in 2002, according to Kaetzel. The roller coaster is set to have three cars running throughout the year to increase its rider capacity.

Superman will look brand new. This whole area will get a tremendous makeover, he said. Were going to do justice to the Justice League in the new Metropolis at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Petriello said the new Metropolis Parks anticipated opening is scheduled for next years Holiday in Park in December, which will also be expanded.

Kaetzel said the new additions will make Six Flags Over Georgia the only theme park in North America with three areas featuring DC Comics characters  DC Super Friends family area, Gotham City and the new Metropolis Park.

Source: MDJ Online




A ruling by the Florida State Supreme Court on Thursday could potentially mean a former Chippewa Falls man, convicted double murderer Bill P. Marquardt, avoids execution.

A majority of justices decided that all death sentences imposed before a key 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling can remain in place. This could clear executions for nearly half of the 386 inmates currently on Florida's death row.

The court declared in a separate ruling that anyone who received a death sentence after that 2002 decision, which would include Marquardt, could be eligible for a new sentencing hearing. This could lead to some inmates being released from death row if they are not resentenced to death.

"We again emphasize that this decision will only impact the sentence of death, not the conviction," the unsigned opinion says. "The difference is not guilt or innocence but, instead, life or death."

Marquardt, 41, was found not guilty by a Polk County jury of the March 2000 murder of his mother, Mary Jane Marquardt, in her town of Eagle Point residence.

But evidence in that case was used in and led to the 2011 conviction of Marquardt in the 2000 murders of Margarita Ruiz, 72, and her daughter Esperanza Wells, 42 in Tarrytown, Florida. He was sentenced to death row in 2012.

The Florida Supreme Court in 2015 upheld Marquardts convictions in the murders of Ruiz and Wells.

Although the record contains no evidence with respect to motive, the record reflects that DNA from Marquardt was found inside the victims house, mixed with the victims blood. Additionally, the victims blood was found on clothes, shoes and a knife seized from Marquardt upon his arrest in Wisconsin, as well as in Marquardts car, the court ruled then.

A sharply divided court Thursday agreed to stop blocking the execution of Mark Asay, a Jacksonville man sentenced to death in 1987 for murdering two men.

The court halted Asay's execution in March after the U.S. Supreme Court found Florida's death sentencing procedure was flawed.

Critics said they had warned prosecutors for years that Florida's death sentencing law was unconstitutional.

Florida not only allowed judges to overrule juries, but allowed the death penalty to be imposed by a majority of jurors. State legislators this year changed the law to require a yes vote from 10 out of 12 jurors, but the state Supreme Court later ruled that a unanimous decision is required.

"For over a decade, Florida prosecutors have known that non-unanimous jury verdicts were likely to be found unconstitutional and yet they failed to urge corrective action from the legislature knowing all the while that victims' families and the taxpayers would pay the price for their careless decision," said Kenneth Nunn, a law professor at the University of Florida.

Florida's death penalty law was upended as a result of a case involving Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted using a box-cutter to kill a co-worker at a Pensacola Popeye's restaurant in 1998. A jury had divided 7-5 over whether Hurst deserved to die, but a judge imposed the death sentence. The state Supreme Court initially upheld his sentence, but the U.S. Supreme Court this past January declared the state's death penalty sentencing law unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges to make the ultimate decision.

Following that ruling the state Supreme Court halted two scheduled executions, including Asay's.

While the court ultimately ruled 6-1 that Asay's execution can go ahead, the ruling showed the court's remaining deep divisions regarding the death penalty. Some justices argued that all death row inmates sentenced prior to this year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling deserved a new sentencing hearing.

Outgoing Justice James Perry, one of two blacks on the high court, issued a lengthy dissent in which he said Florida had applied the death penalty in a "biased and discriminatory fashion" and that there was no way it could be carried out in a constitutional manner. Perry, who is retiring at the end of the month, contends that all death row inmates should have their sentences commuted to life in prison.
SENECA FALLS, N.Y. -- A woman rescued from a burning Seneca Falls apartment is in critical condition.

Emergency responders rushed to 25 Peterman Road just after 3 a.m. on Christmas Eve for an apartment fire, said the Seneca Falls Police Department. When responders arrived, they found flames and smoke coming from Apt. E6, police said.

Seneca Falls Firefighter A. J. Daily and Seneca Falls Police Officer Bethany Kidd entered the apartment and found an unconscious woman, police said.

The firefighter and officer carried the woman out of the burning apartment, police said. She was rushed to Geneva General Hospital and later transferred to the burn unit at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

The woman is currently in critical condition, police said.

Although the fire was contained to one apartment, families living in other apartments were displaced. The American Red Cross is aiding the displaced families.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.
prison.JPG

Auburn Correctional Facility, pictured in 2005.

(C.W. McKeen | 2005)

AUBURN, N.Y. -- An Auburn Correctional Facility corrections officer who is under suspension admitted to authorities he planted a weapon on an inmate, according to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann.

This led the DA's office and local judges to agree that any pending cases involving the officer's recovery of the weapon would be dismissed, Budelmann said in a news release today. Also, any cases where the defendants had already plead guilty would be vacated, he said.

The corrections officer admitted during trial preparation that he "put a weapon on an inmate" in order to break up a prison gang, Budelmann said.

The inmate was moved to another facility and was never charged criminally. The type of weapon was not identified.

The state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision launched an investigation into the matter, which Budelmann said is still pending.

One corrections officer has been suspended and four are on administrative leave as part of an ongoing internal investigation at the Auburn prison, according to James Miller, spokesman for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, the union representing the corrections officers. He declined to discuss the case in more detail.

Thomas Mailey, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, in an email said "currently there is an on-going investigation into an incident at the Auburn Correctional Facility and the department cannot comment further at this time."

Budelmann in his news release said there is nothing implicating any other corrections officers, than the one who admitted putting the weapon on the inmate.

"It would be unfair to discredit the reputation of the hundreds of other CO's who were not involved, due to the conduct of one," Budelmann wrote in the statement, adding that "the safety of both CO's and other inmates is paramount but must be consistent with all legal obligations."
A La Crosse man on probation for drug offenses is in custody after striking an officer with his vehicle during a drug bust Thursday night.

According to the Holmen Police Department, officers from multiple agencies attempted to arrest the man, since identified as 24-year-old Brandon Ritter, in the parking lot of Festival Foods as part of an ongoing drug investigation.

Ritter attempted to flee in his vehicle, striking a La Crosse Police investigator who in turn fired several shots at the vehicle. Ritter, who was not hit, was arrested after his vehicle ran into a snowbank.

Authorities did not identify the officer, who sustained minor injuries when he was struck. He was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released.

Ritter is being held in the La Crosse County Jail pending charges of first-degree reckless endangerment, battery to police, delivery of methamphetamine and a probation violation.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Ritter has been on community supervision since his release from prison in February. He has felony convictions for burglary, bail jumping and possession of methamphetamine.
A motion which proposed changes to University procedure in cases of harassment and sexual misconduct has been withdrawn.

The motion, or Grace, which was submitted by the University Council, was due to pass automatically at 4pm on 23 December.

It could have resulted in alleged perpetrators of harassment or sexual misconduct being barred from University buildings and suspended from their studies whilst the matter was being processed.

If an allegation was deemed well-founded, it would have been dealt with by the Head Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA), or a reviewing panel including one student. The complainant and respondent would have been given the opportunity to reach a resolution, or one would be imposed on the respondent if they had failed to do so.

Currently the University will not usually begin an internal investigation until it is made clear that the complainant will not report the incident to the police, or until criminal or police proceedings have concluded without a charge being made.

A University spokesperson told Varsity that the Grace was withdrawn due to some late amendments to the detail of the procedure which has led to a short delay.

We now hope to implement it later in the academic year.

They continued: The collegiate university is committed to dealing with any sexual harassment or misconduct. To ensure we can offer timely, informed and appropriate support to our students, we are establishing a new procedure and code of conduct to deal with student complaints of student harassment and sexual misconduct.

We are continuing to consult widely to ensure the new procedure can deal effectively with these complex cases.

The Grace was supported by several high-profile members of the University, including the President of Murray Edwards College and the Master of Churchill College.

It had the support of the Senior Tutors Committee and the Committee on Student Health and Wellbeing, and was developed in collaboration with the Colleges Committee.
DECATUR, Ga. - Theodore Robert Cole passed away on Nov. 28, 2016, at his home surrounded by family. Born March 11, 1938, in Madison, Wis., "Ted" was the son of the late Robert Theron Burr and Kathleen Hyland. When he was 14, his mother, Kathleen, remarried and he and his brother, Michael, were formally adopted by Lt. Col. USA (Ret) Lorell Cole.

He was a Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Wisconsin in 1960, receiving a Regular Army Commission in the Military Police Corps, and later earned a Masters in Criminology from California State University, San Jose, in 1972. He was also a graduate of the Naval War College, Newport, R.I., in 1976.

Ted married his high school sweetheart, Valarie Thomas, and along with his new family, spent the first four years of his military career in Germany serving as the Executive Officer for Co B 2d Armored Rifle Bn 52 Infantry and later as Bn Adjutant S1 HQ 508th MP Bn.

Ted was a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in Saigon in 1967 and Qui Nhon and Da Nang in 1971. In the early 80s, he chose a hardship tour to Camp Casey, Korea, where he served as the Provost Marshal. During his career, Ted was decorated many times for his service to the country, including the Legion of Merit, three Bronze Stars, four Meritorious Service Medals, Vietnam Campaign Medals, Airborne Wings and numerous others. He retired from the Army in 1985 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Ted will be remembered by his beloved wife of 56 years, Valarie; sons, Todd (Nancy) Cole, Michael (Mozelle) Cole and daughter, Corinne (Michael) Caldwell. He will also be missed tremendously by his eight grandchildren, Aaron, Ian, Kathleen, Mickey, Teddy, Jack, Samantha and Alexandra; by his brother, Michael (Shelli) Cole and sisters, Deborah Cole and Colleen Koester; as well as many other family members and friends.

Family was Ted's number one priority. Ted was also a proud Green Bay Packers patron and shareholder and University of Wisconsin Badgers fan. Those close to him knew better than to call during a game.

A private graveside service with full military honors will be held at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Ga., on a date to be determined. Military life can be hard at times; however the rewards far outweighed the hardships our family endured. Ted traveled around the world many times over. He saw the good and the bad, and through it all, chose to see the beauty life had to offer. Ted was truly "An Officer and a Gentleman."

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to one of the following organizations: Disabled American Veterans - www.dav.org; JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation - www.jdrf.com; or Mercy Church - www.mercy@mercyonline.net.
In what continues to be a tumultuous time for the auto brand, two of Faraday Future's top executives have just resigned. Their departure is especially notable given the company's scheduled commercial debut at CES in just a couple of weeks. We had previously reported on Faraday Future's rumored financial instability and possible lawsuits. FF needs to secure serious financial backers at CES or they will likely run out of money by February.

Marco Mattiacci and Joerg Sommer, the two former executives, are well known in the industry and have had top leadership positions before. Both were key acquisitions for the Faraday Future team and brought industry knowledge as well as credibility to the brand. Their tenure was short lived however, with the two being employed for just seven and three months respectively.

Mattiacci was president and CEO of Ferrari for their North American and Asia Pacific markets before taking the position as chief brand and commercial officer at FF. He was also a director for Ferrari's Formula 1 racing team. Sommer was vice president for product marketing and growth at FF. He was previously a Volkswagen executive and had top roles at several other European auto makers.

The two were hired to help straighten out the crumbling finances and inefficiencies that Faraday Future had experienced. It isn't clear if the departure was mutually agreed upon or if there were other motives. Sources have speculated to The Verge that FF may have cut the two to increase funds for the vehicle launch. If this is true, it's a last ditch effort to save a sinking ship right before a possible rescue.

We will know in a few weeks. Stay tuned for more CES coverage surrounding Faraday Future and other car tech innovations at the show.
Gaming giant Valve has been hit with a AUD$3 million (USD$2.2 million) fine after a federal court in Australia found its game distribution platform, Steam, breached the country's consumer laws by not offering refunds between 2011 and 2014. Justice James Edelman said he imposed the maximum fine requested by Australia's competition regulator because of Valve's disregard for Australian law.

The court found that Steam had received 21,124 tickets containing the word "refund" from Australian IP addresses, many of which went ignored or unfulfilled.

"Valve had a culture by which it formed a view without Australian legal advice that it was not subject to Australian law, and it was content to proceed to trade with Australian consumers without that advice and with the view that even if advice had been obtained that Valve was required to comply with Australian law the advice might have been ignored," Judge Edelman's ruling reads, according to the Morning Herald.

The fine is to be paid within 30 days and a notice must be displayed to users logging onto the Steam website with an Australian IP address, regarding consumer rights in Australia.

During the case, Valve admitted it had not sought legal advice or checked its obligations relating to consumer laws when it launched in Australia. It did fulfill 15,000 refund requests, however, specifically for users who couldn't install or play a game or purchased the wrong title. Since the case began Valve has also introduced an international refunds policy.

Valve had suggested it pay a penalty of $250,000 but Justice Edelman noted this was "not even a real cost of doing business." The company has until 20 February next year to appeal the fine and the ruling.
Kortney Miller gave birth to naturally conceived quadruplets at Piedmont Newnan Hospital on Dec. 16.

Justin and Kortney Miller, Proud Parents Of Quadruplets

Justin and Kortney Miller, the proud parents of five children, are excited about their lovely gifts ahead of Christmas. The three baby boys and a baby girl that created history at birth are born of cesarean section delivery.

Kortney, who was excited about her four healthy children, said that she is looking forward to seeing and enjoying them as they grow in the journey of life. The mother of four got pregnant without the help of any drugs or medical assistance. The happy couple noted that while multiple births are usual in their family, this is the first time they ever had quadruplets.

Quad Squad Of Piedmont Newnan

An expert team named Quad Squad, which includes obstetricians, physicians, neonatologists, nurse practitioners and nurses, respiratory specialists, a radiology and engineering team, a blood bank, and the pharmacy were gathered when Kortney's pregnancy was announced at 16 weeks, a week into Kortney's second trimester.

The Quad Squad was given weekly updates on the mother-to-be's progress to prepare for the upcoming delivery. In addition to meeting every week for discussion on delivery preparations, the team also took two practice sessions for the historic procedure.

Kortney, who was not restrained in bed for rest, was not expected get into labor until 27 weeks. The team had planned for delivery between 27 and 34 weeks. As believed by the team, the mother-to-be reached 29 weeks when she visited her obstetrician on Friday, Dec. 16, after sensing a change.

Kortney was admitted to Piedmont Newnan, and the members of Quad Squad were notified of the Coweta mother's labor.

Dr. Heather Turner, an obstetrician at Piedmont Newnan who delivered the couple's first son, Brentlee, in 2013, delivered the set of quadruplets as well.

Birth Of Quadruplets

Baby Brandon, the largest one of four, was delivered first at 1:41 p.m. followed by Baby Braydon and Baby Bryant at 1:42 p.m. and 1:43 p.m., respectively. A couple of minutes later arrived the baby girl, Kenlee. All the children weighed close to 3 pounds.

"I am so proud to have been a part of the team effort involved," said Turner, as reported The Newnan Times-Herald. "The Level 3 NICU and medical expertise at Piedmont Newnan allowed us to welcome our four new Coweta County residents in their hometown."

The babies are retained in the NICU and will reportedly be held there until they reach a series of developmental milestone.

Meanwhile, the mother of five noted that the hospital crew was amazing and also thanked her family for their support.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis explored the structure of a molecule that is thought to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease.

Role Of TREM2 In Neurodegenerative Diseases

Scientists believe that a molecule named TREM2 is responsible for causing cognitive decline, a prime symptom of neurodegenerative diseases. It was explained in previous studies that mutation in TREM2 could elevate the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, frontal temporal dementia and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In addition, mutation in TREM2 is also associated with Nasu-Hakola disease, a genetic disease that causes dementia in adulthood and results in death at as early as 50 years.

Thomas J. Brett, an assistant professor at WUSM, said that while it is unclear how the defective TREM2 causes degeneration in brain, it is quite certain that inflammation could be the reason behind all such ailments.

Analysis Of Structure Of TREM2

The current study is focused on the mutations caused in TREM2; the changes in the protein structure as a result of mutation; and how it affects the function of the molecule, noted Brett. The researcher also added that a clear understanding on these issues would help in developing effective treatment options.

As far as Alzheimer's disease is concerned, the mutation is found to alter the protein surface, whereas in Nasu-Hakola, the mutation alters the "gut" of the protein, noted Daniel L. Kober, the study's first author, who analyzed the structure of TREM2. It is understandable from the site of mutation why Nasu-Hakola is far severe than Alzheimer's disease.

TREM2 And Alzheimer's Disease

The mutation caused in the gut of the protein disrupts the molecule completely and results in fewer TREM2, which could be attributed to onset of dementia in early adulthood in Nasu-Hakola. Meanwhile, in case of Alzheimer's, while the structure of TREM2 remains intact, its functions are impaired. The mutation makes it difficult for the TREM2 to connect to proteins and pass signals as in healthy molecules.

TREM2 is present on the surface of the microglia, the immune cells responsible for cleaning up the cellular waste including beta amyloid that pile up in Alzheimer's through a process called phagocytosis. The "housekeeping" process of microglia is disturbed when the TREM2 are scarce or dysfunctional.

"Exactly what TREM2 does is still an open question," said Brett. "We know mice without TREM2 have defects in microglia, which are important in maintaining healthy brain biology."

TREM2 is also associated with many inflammatory conditions such as stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, therefore understanding TREM2's structure would help in the intervention of various degenerative and chronic diseases.

The study is published in the journal eLife.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new Ebola vaccine that was tested on humans during the last days of the West African epidemic was found to be 100 percent effective in providing protection to those who received it right after exposure to the deadly virus.

Vaccine Highly Effective In Providing Protection Against Ebola Virus

The experimental vaccine, known as rVSV-EBOV, was given to about 5,800 people last year in Guinea as the outbreak wanes. All of the participants had some contact with a new Ebola patient and received the vaccine right away or three weeks after exposure.

After 10 days, no Ebola case was reported in those who were immediately vaccinated and only 23 of those whose vaccination was delayed developed the disease.

"The results add weight to the interim assessment that rVSV-ZEBOV offers substantial protection against Ebola virus disease, with no cases among vaccinated individuals from day 10 after vaccination in both randomised and non-randomised clusters," investigators reported in The Lancet on Thursday.

The vaccine was developed by the Canadian government and is now licensed to pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., which is expected to seek regulatory approval in both United States and Europe by next year. The clinical study of the vaccine was led by the World Health Organization (WHO).

An emergency stockpile of 300,000 has already been produced so the vaccine can be used in case an outbreak breaks out again.

"While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa's Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next outbreak hits, we will not be defenseless," said Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO's assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, who was also part of the clinical study. "The world can't afford the confusion and human disaster that came with the last epidemic."

More Work Needed For Better Ebola Vaccines

The vaccine, however, is far from perfect. It appears to be effective only against one of the two most common strains of the hemorrhagic virus. It may not also provide long-lasting protection. Some of those who received the vaccine also reported of unwanted side effects such as headaches and joint pain.

There is clearly a need for more work on Ebola vaccines but health experts welcome the findings of the clinical study. They hailed the vaccine as a step to the right direction in preventing the occurrence of fatal Ebola outbreaks such as the one that killed thousands in West Africa.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Australian federal court has fined Valve AUD $3 million, about USD $2.2 million, after ruling that the company breached consumer law when it failed to offer refunds on Steam between 2011 and 2014.

The said fine is the maximum fine ruled by Australia's competition regulator, and about 12 times larger than how much Valve has suggested that it should pay.

Valve Under Fire

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the ruling was imposed because Valve deliberately turned a blind eye against Australian law when it first established Steam in the country, and its flippant disposition since certainly didn't dwindled the court's unease.

The ruling follows Valve's legal battle defeat against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in March. But Valve's legal woes stretch as far as 2014, when it was first sued by the ACCC for not providing consumer guarantees as prescribed by Australian law.

Steam Refunds

Under Australia's consumer law, consumers can request a refund or a replacement should the product contain major faults. Valve, according to the complaint, had disregarded the mandate, indicating that it wasn't obligated to offer refunds for any reason.

Vale's refunds policy has since saw huge improvements: it now offers refunds on virtually every product, even stating that refunds will be considered "for any reason." This apparently still wasn't enough to appease the Australian court, however.

The report stated that Valve had received 21,124 tickets containing the word "refund" from 2.2 million Australian Steam accounts. Of those, more than 15,000 were responded to by Valve, but the problem was that Australian Steam users had already accepted Valve's terms and conditions nearly 25 million times between the said period, and those terms and conditions contained violations under Australian law. That means, according to the judge, it was impossible to pinpoint the exact number of Steam users "affected by the misrepresentations."

Valve had suggested that it should be fined only AUD $250,000, but the judge balked at the figure, stating that it didn't come close to the real cost of doing business, and that "it would barely be noticed."

Aside from the steep fine, Valve will also be required to tack a notice on its Australian website, informing the rights of consumers.

Steam is a digital distribution platform for Windows, Mac, and Linux, offering multiplayer gaming, and social networking services, among other services. By November 2015, the service had amassed over 125 million registered accounts, making it the largest distribution platform for PC games.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Customers looking to purchase Withings products from Apple's stores will not be able to find the health-related devices, as it looks like Apple has pulled them out.

Searches for Withings devices such as the Body Cardio Scale, the Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor, and the Smart Body Analyzer on Apple's online store reveals that the items are no longer listed for sale. Presumably, the products have also been taken down from Apple's physical retail stores all over the world.

Why Are Withings Products Being Pulled Out Of Apple Stores?

Health-related devices such as those being produced by Withings are great holiday gifts, so why would Apple take them down from its physical and online stores?

According to a Mac Rumors report, the reason behind the disappearance of Withings products in Apple stores is that the health device company is owned by Nokia, which purchased the accessory maker earlier this year for about $191 million. Withings has been integrated into the Digital Health unit of Nokia, which is led by former Withings CEO Cedric Hutchings.

As reported earlier this week, Apple and Nokia are once again engaged in a patent battle, and it does not make sense that Apple will continue helping sell Withings products when it would benefit a company with which it is currently trading lawsuits.

Apple And Nokia Patent Battle

Apple and Nokia settled a patent lawsuit back in 2011, wherein Nokia accused Apple of infringing on certain patents that it held. The patents come with fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms, known as FRAND, which allow other companies to use them without needing to pay excessive licensing fees due to the patents being widely used in the tech industry.

Despite the patents coming with FRAND terms, Apple eventually relented and agreed to pay a one-time fee to Nokia, along with future royalties. However, it seems that the history between Apple and Nokia will not end there.

In the new patent battle between the two companies, Apple filed lawsuits against nine Nokia-aligned patent assertion entities, which are at times called patent trolls. Apple claims that the nine PAEs are working to have Apple pay out as much money as possible through exorbitant licensing requirements for patents that should have FRAND terms.

In response, Nokia has filed five lawsuits against Apple for 32 counts of patent infringement.

It could not yet be determined how this latest legal battle will play out, but Nokia is already said to be suffering from it. Shares for the company fell by almost 5 percent after the lawsuits were reported, as analysts are concerned that the legal battle with Apple will only delay the royalty payments that the company needs to maintain its profits.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The FBI has launched an investigation into the security breach that had affected computers of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for several years starting from 2010, according to people familiar with the matter.

Senior officials of the FDIC believe that the infiltration was sponsored by the military of China, as revealed in a congressional report that was published in July.

Hackers Invade The FDIC

According to the congressional report, the Chinese government was the primary suspect for the hacks that were launched in 2010, 2011 and 2013 to infiltrate FDIC computers, including that of former FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair.

However, employees at the federal agency covered up the data breaches so that the outcome of the confirmation of FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg in 2011 would not be affected.

FDIC technology head Russ Pittman ordered employees to maintain their silence on the hacking attacks, as news about the data breaches might have impeded the congressional approval of Gruenberg, who was nominated to the post by outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama. Incumbent officials also helped in the cover-up of the incidents.

FBI Launches Probe On FDIC Hacks

The FDIC is one of three federal agencies that regulate the commercial banks of the United States. Part of its function is to oversee the confidential plans of big banks on how they would handle cases of bankruptcy, with the FDIC also having access to the records of millions of individual deposits in the country.

A Reuters report claimed that the FDIC allowed congressional staff last month to take a look at the communications that were sent between senior official of the banking regulator that were related to the security breach. The exchanges claimed that the cyberattacks were launched by hackers who were sponsored by the Chinese military, but there was no explanation on why the officials believe that it was China behind the security breaches.

Reuters said that while it was not able to take a look at the records, it was able to confirm that the FBI probe is still active, though it is unclear when the investigation started.

A spokeswoman for the FDIC, Barbara Hagenbaugh, did not comment on the previously unknown investigation launched by the FBI, nor on the belief that it was China that was behind the hacking attacks.

Cybersecurity Problems For The US Government

The alleged breach by China into the FDIC is just one of several cybersecurity problems that the agency has suffered from. In fact, there have been seven major incidents reported by the FDIC since 2015.

The U.S. government has also been experiencing cybersecurity problems in much wider forms though, with one of the most recent ones being the accused interference of Russia-sponsored hackers in the recently concluded presidential elections.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal Urban affairs, investigations, consumer help ("SOS") Follow Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Notes on Madison and other states of mind:

If we took a holiday: In advance of an actual holiday, Gov. Scott Walker is proposing a holiday for shoppers from the states 5 percent state sales tax, specifically in the days before students head back to school in the fall.

Wisconsin would not be the first state and Walker is not the first Wisconsin Republican to jump aboard the sales tax holiday train.

Seventeen other states have them, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators, and two Republican state lawmakers proposed one back in 2013 that never made it out of committee.

All of which stands as more proof that bad ideas have a long life in politics  especially gimmicky ones politicians think will please voters.

Sales tax holidays do not promote economic growth or significantly increase consumer purchases, says the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. The evidence shows that they simply shift the timing of purchases. Some retailers raise prices during the holiday, reducing consumer savings.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance points to federal research that found its only the wealthiest households that take statistically significant advantage of sales-tax holidays, and there was no statistically significant change in consumption for the lowest-income households.

Sprung: Readers might remember the news earlier this month about 35-year-old Antonio Rollins, who was allegedly so intent on not being arrested that he barricaded himself inside a North Side Madison apartment for seven hours.

This followed his alleged assault of two women in September and November and his escape from police during a high-speed chase in November, according to a criminal complaint, which also alleges Rollins was known to police due to his career criminality and dangerousness to the community.

Rollins surrendered on Dec. 2 without a fight, but not before police deployed their armored rescue vehicle and dozens of officers, including a SWAT team, to the apartment on Kipling Drive.

Police and neighbors to that apartment might be surprised to learn that despite his penchant for avoiding arrest and the courtroom  he has failed to show up for court dates in Columbia County  Rollins was released after posting what appears to be a total of $2,000 in bond in Dane and Columbia counties.

Some leaks more legal than others: Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel is set to investigate who leaked documents in a now-closed secret investigation to the Guardian US newspaper.

Among other things, the documents show Walkers campaign working with an outside group during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections.

It was the third time secret information was released in the John Doe case.

Previously, a target of the investigation and Walker supporter talked to the Wall Street Journal in defiance of a gag order, and sealed documents were inadvertently released by a federal court in 2014.

Asked why Schimel isnt investigating these, a Department of Justice spokesman said only that the attorney general will investigate all violations of the law.

So apparently Schimel doesnt always need an investigation to know whats a violation.
Lisa is moving west near 10 mph and that track is expected to continue as the center of the storm passes southeastern Mexico. | Read More
Two people had to be rescued after they fell through the ice of Lake Kegonsa Saturday morning, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said.

At around 7:15 a.m., a 76-year-old man and 15-year-old boy, both of Stoughton, fell through the ice after taking an ATV onto the lake to ice fish, Lt. Charles Immel said.

When they were half a mile out from the shoreline, the ice gave way under the ATV, Immel said, and the two fell in.

Dane County deputies as well as McFarland, Madison and Stoughton fire departments and McFarland and Monona emergency medical services responded, Immel said.

The Madison Fire Department said McFarland firefighters, who were first on the scene, pulled the victims out of the water by using an ice rescue sled.

After the two were out of the water, Madison Fire Department and Sheriff's Office airboats were used to bring the victims to awaiting ambulances, the Fire Department said.

Both victims were taken to UW Hospital for exposure symptoms that were not life-threatening, the Fire Department said.

Immel and the Fire Department both warn that ice on lakes in the region is affected by the "unusually warm winter weather" and has a greater chance to give way.
Robert Morrison, homeless in Madison for four years, has no safe place to store his belongings and lugs clothing and personal items with him for fear they will be stolen.

The lack of safe storage, he said, is a constant burden, inhibiting his mobility and ability to make appointments and secure work.

Im so burned out from carrying all this stuff on my back, he said at a homeless day shelter in the basement of Bethel Lutheran Church Downtown, his coats, backpacks and plastic bags with other gear nearby. Ive had so many things stolen from me. Theres nothing safe.

But in coming months, Morrison and other homeless may benefit from a grass-roots initiative called Keys to Dignity that could help them keep their belongings safe in outdoor lockers and establish relationships with advocates and service agencies as they wait for housing.

The initiative is led by the volunteer advocate and support group Friends of State Street Family, which is informally joining with the city, Dane County, social service providers and others. Earlier this month, the city approved an ordinance to allow the storage lockers in several zoning districts, and the county has approved funds to buy lockers.

The Friends of State Street Family hopes to provide:

100 backpacks designed for people living outside that are numbered and registered to the users and filled with survival gear.

100 numbered and registered outdoor lockers about the size of high school locker.

Additional storage. When people register for a backpack or locker, extra items can be taken for six months to Sanctuary Storage at the Social Justice Center, 1202 Williamson St. Each person would get up to two 35-gallon bins with the same number as the backpack and locker.

Disposal. Items too large for the backpack, locker or Sanctuary Storage could be donated to a thrift shop, taken to a friends home, or put in a dumpster. The homeless would get gift certificates at a thrift shop to replace disposed items once housing is secured.

100 bicycles or six-month bus passes to allow for more mobility.

The key is that all of these things work together to help someone re-integrate into society, said Tami Fleming, founder of Friends of State Street Family.

They wont have to carry things around with them, she said. They will be able to get around to appointments, interviews or to other places away from the Downtown, where they are often stuck. They will have a case manager or outreach person who will go to bat for them.

As part of registration, the homeless individuals and families would be required to fill out a special form that places them on prioritized lists for housing based on how long theyve been homeless and their vulnerability.

Its really a burden

Morrison, 50, who lives from a tent, gets occasional work and volunteers at Bethel, welcomes the initiative.

I cant be carrying this stuff on the bus, he said. I cant go look for work. Its really a burden on me. We need a place where our stuff is safe.

A key is the lockers, which would be customized and camouflaged by Jesse Ransom, an engineering technician at Orbitech Technology Corp. and member of Sector67, a community workspace on the East Side.

The lockers would contain a listing of social services and be customized with mail slots, solar powered exterior lights and interior lighting, Ransom said. They would also be painted to blend in with their background, he said, explaining that if the site was, for example, a brick building, the locker would be painted to look like brickwork.

Ransom expects to place an order for 100 lockers in coming weeks. A few lockers may be put out soon, but the majority will be located by mid-2017.

These guys need a place to store their stuff, Ransom said. I just like giving back. I just like helping.

Fleming and others have been working on Keys to Dignity since the summer of 2015, when the city dismantled a primitive, fenced storage area behind the Madison Municipal Building.

The fenced area was open for just three months and taken down due to alleged illicit and unhealthy activity. Since then, people who are homeless have had no place Downtown to store belongings, with the closest location the supervised storage the city pays for at the Social Justice Center.

Storage, but also more

The lockers would be placed in groups of three, six or nine at locations around the city, Fleming said. They would be managed, monitored and kept clean by the friends and the lockers hosts.

The citys new ordinance allows lockers in the central Downtown, all mixed-use, commercial and employment districts, and two other zoning districts. They must be operated by a religious or nonprofit organizations with a management plan, lighting and trash containers nearby. No more than 10 lockers, each no larger than 11.25 cubic feet, are allowed on any zoning lot. Friends of State Street Family and Madison police could enter lockers for suspicious activity or material.

Dane Countys $25,000 would buy lockers that could be placed inside or outside of the countys parking ramp near the Dane County Courthouse or other county-owned properties Downtown.

The county understands long-term storage is a need and is committed to partnering with others to expand that option in this area, said Casey Becker, homeless services manager for the county Department of Human Services. The proposal from Friends of State Street Family is appealing because it proposes to provide secure, long-term storage that can be accessed by the individual when they need it.

The site host would ensure someone to check on the person, care for the property, help users get the things they need to survive and assess vulnerabilities, Fleming said.

Im confident its really going to help a lot of people, she said. Its not just a place to put their stuff. Its a way to connect with services.
A man and a woman have been arrested and allegedly stolen property, including six cars, seized in Strathmore in the city's north-west on Saturday.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Leonie Johnson said Moonee Valley Crime Investigation Unit detectives were investigating the theft of an iPad and cash from a car on Flower Street in Essendon on Thursday night.

"Investigators attended a Lloyd Street address where they executed a search warrant about 4pm," Ms Johnson said.

"At the address they allegedly located six stolen cars, a stolen motorcycle and an amount of jewellery which is suspected as being stolen."

A 41-year-old man and 30-year-old woman, both from Strathmore, are currently in custody assisting detectives with their enquiries.
A grass fire that was heading towards houses in Melbourne's outer north-west has been brought under control.

CFA spokeswoman said the Plumpton fire was brought under control at 7.20pm, with only 10 of the 20 trucks remaining on the scene.

A grass fire near Plumpton.

"Firefighters are going to be there for a while, they will be making sure the area is safe," she said.

Earlier authorities had told residents it was not safe for them to leave their homes.
Worshippers have gathered in large numbers at St Paul's Cathedral for its annual Christmas Eve carol service, despite a foiled terror attack on the Melbourne icon.

After a joint operation involving 400 officers, Victoria Police moved on Friday to arrest six men and one woman. Three were later released without charge.

But on Saturday, Victorians showed no signs of being cowed. The cathedral was quickly packed to its full capacity of 1500 people, leaving many to throng outside the main entrance to watch proceedings.

Also keeping a watch was a very visible police contingent on both the Swanston Street and Flinders Street side of the building.
Ford Offers Santa An ECOBOOST Powered Concept Sleigh To Lower Reindeer Derived CO2 Emissions

LAPLAND, FINLAND  Dec 27, 2011: Leading car company Ford is offering to make it a greener Christmas with a concept sleigh that would dramatically downsize Santas carbon footprint.

Santas new ride, packed with cutting-edge Ford technology, would allow Rudolph and friends to enjoy a well-deserved retirement while Santa makes his annual deliveries with style in an environmentally friendly new sleigh.

They may look cute, but Santas team of nine reindeer1 create a staggering 214,670 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions each year, so something had to be done to help him re-discover his greener roots2, said Ford car designer Paul Wraith.

The benefits of switching to the concept sleigh go beyond the environmental. Travelling such huge distances  some 200,237,360 km  means Santa currently spends in excess of 122 million on carrots to fuel his reindeer each year. The impressive fuel efficiency of the 1 litre EcoBoost would reduce Santas fuel costs by 90% to just 12 million.

Whilst Santa himself was unavailable for comment, Mrs Claus explained: I am not looking forward to telling Donner and Blitzen the news, but the polar bears in the North Pole will certainly welcome the Ford EcoBoost-powered sleigh.

Mrs Claus continues: l would of course back anything that means my husband can get home that bit quicker. Getting presents in a shorter amount of time to all the good children each year may even give him time to reconsider a few names on the naughty list. But I cant promise.

Innovative engineering means the new EcoBoost engine delivers performance to rival a traditional 1.6-litre engine but with significantly improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions of just 114g/km CO2.

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost cylinder block also fits onto a single sheet of A4 paper, but still delivers up to 125PS and 170Nm peak torque (with 200Nm overboost), giving it the highest power density of any Ford production engine to date.

Our tongue may be firmly in cheek as we launch this sleigh design, but our heart is in the right place, Wraith said. At Ford, were dreaming of a Green Christmas. Were already thinking of the concept sleigh mark II. With electric vehicle battery technology developing all the time, we are keen to get to work on a zero-carbon version of our sleigh.

The redesigned sleigh also incorporates other cutting edge Ford technologies. Highlights include:



Active park assist: Clever technology that first checks if a parking space is big enough, then automatically steers your car/sleigh in. Useful for Santa in making those tight reverse rooftop landings.

Door edge protector: A simple, but ingenious addition to Ford doors, helping thwart dents, dings and scratches even in the tightest parking spot. Vital to help Santa stop scratching the door of his sleigh on all those annoying chimneys.

SYNC: A sophisticated in-car, voice-activated technology system, that can be easily personalised. This will help Santa keep in touch with the elves back at base, stay en route with GPS navigation and enable him to listen to and change, his favourite Christmas music.

EcoMode: In-car software that provides useful advice for drivers on achieving better fuel economy tailored to their individual driving styles. A specially modified version of the software will include an electronic Christmas tree image. The better Santas green driving performance, the more of the trees branch symbols will light-up.

Active City Stop & Blind Spot Information System: Two driver assistance technologies, the first assists drivers in slow moving traffic by detecting if the car in front unexpectedly stops and braking automatically in response, whilst the second helps detect vehicles in blind spots during normal driving. Both will be useful to Santa, as he tries to avoid planes in our increasingly crowded skies.

MyKey: Enabling car owners to encourage their teenagers (or elves) to drive safer and more fuel efficiently, with increased safety-belt usage, through a range of driver specific configurable features.

1 litre EcoBoost engine: As outlined, helping ensure the engine powering Santas sleigh is green, lean, mean and compact.
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
Aunt Gerrys house on 10th Street was always decked out with a glorious tree that nearly touched the ceiling and my Uncle Ross used to spend hours stringing outdoor lights, clearing mounds of snow from the sidewalk and adorning the lamp post in the front yard with a red velvet bow and ribbon.

There was only one way to describe our family Christmas celebrations: We did it big.

Inside, the freshly polished mahogany balustrade along the red carpeted stairway was wrapped in garland. A mistletoe hung in the archway leading to a formal dining room appointed with my great Aunt Josephines antique furnishings, including a lace-topped table filled with every homemade delight your heart could imagine and a China cabinet stocked with plates and silverware that we only used three times a year: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. An outsized wreath on the front door welcomed every soul in the neighborhoodperfect strangers, old friends and claimed cousins alikeas the Temptations streamed from the floor-model, mid-century Zenith console that housed a television, record player and an 8-track tape deck.

Family is what you make it.

We didnt have a lot, but somehow Barbie dolls and their Dream houses, glow-inthe-dark Tyco race-car tracks, Easy-Bake ovens, and piles of new clothes and shoes found their way underneath the tree. One year, my Auntie Doris Jean gave me a golden watch that shed resized by wrapping it around two broomsticks to fit my bony wrist. No matter how thin our pockets, there was always enough to go around.

Make no mistake: Things did not always unfold smoothly. In a family replete with both in-laws and outlaws, there were liquor-infused fist fights that no one wants to talk about, tears for reasons no one can explain now, and emotional fractures that eventually set on their own for better or worse.

There was that year in the late 70s when Auntie Gerry got upset and crashed a pan of macaroni and cheese on the dining room table after a brouhaha broke out over a card game. My second cousin Caroldonia, a beautiful brown girl who was especially good at Spades and could trash talk with the best of them, got into it with a cheating relative who was discovered slow-cooking the books like a well-seasoned rack of pot roast. My mothers Bible-toting sister never drank and almost never uttered an expletive, but that night she unleashed a flurry of goddamns and sons a bitches.

Grandma Alice sat over in the corner and wept.

And Ill never forget that Labor Day melee in 2005, during which an older cousin wielded a claw hammer at a former brother-in-law. She missed, thank goodness. The police showed up, but nobody went to jailat least not that night. We parted ways, ruefully and tearfully, promising one another wed try again next year.

But, for some of us, there had been too many holidays fraught with petty annoyances and heartbreak, too many bruised feelings and black eyes. And now that those fresh-faced children are adults, we are out meeting the world on our own terms, paying mortgages, working second and third jobs, marrying and divorcing, and raising children of our own. Were still trying to salvage what was good, but we now celebrate the holiday season apart. If not for Facebook, Im not sure wed be speaking at all.

Excluding our mothers emergency surgery some months ago, I havent spoken to my sister Lori Ann since last spring. There had been another family fightbetween her child and mineand we said things to one another Id like to think we both regret. I guess its been easy to avoid one another. Shes lives with her husband in Tampa and, these days, I am making my home in New York. We quietly check-in on social media, mutually liking photographs of our children and grandchildren, but saying little.

As our extended family splintered over the distance between usmeasured in miles as well as old physical wounds and emotional scarsIve spent years trying to recreate those glorious moments for my own family. Thanks to Martha Stewart, I learned to roast a turkey, whip up my Auntie Gerrys always-perfect lemon meringue pie, and stew a better than decent pot of collard greens.

Still, I miss those Christmas mornings with my siblings and cousinsthe laughing, the dancing, the love that flowed through and among us. We were a singing family and I still long for those Sundays in the choir stand, as we stood shoulder-to-shoulder, belting out one tune after another.

But nearly four decades, three grown children, a stepson, two grandchildren and 32 Christmas trees later, Ive decided to katy-bar the door, slip on some warm flannel pajamas, pour myself a snifter of mediocre cognac, and let the holiday season pass me by. This year, I am craving solace and there are several unwritten novel chapters calling my name. Call me a coward, but I enjoy my sanity and I dont miss hovering over a thankless skillet of popping bacon grease to bake the cornbread I always seem to burn.

All I really want for Christmas is some time alone and I am taking it.

Sequestered in a Brooklyn loft high above a busy avenue with Buddy, my best friend Lizzs adorable 12-year-old pooch, I cancelled a trip to Costa Rica. Plane tickets and hotels are too expensive this time of year, I told myself. There are no decorations in the house, no ornaments, no garland and no lights in the window and thats fine by me.

Besides, last year it took Lizz and me until Easter to take down the last tree and haul the accouterments back to the storage bin in Red Hook. Lizz is off to Minnesota again but, months later we recycled the tree-fire-in-waiting, we still break out into spontaneous laughter when we tell other people that story.

Family is what you make it.

I did not have the heart to wrap and ship gifts this year and I am too much of a procrastinator to address a load of Christmas cards and get them to the post office on time. Instead, I sent some holiday cheer to my grandchildren. (And by cheer I mean that I e-mailed some department gift cards that Santa can put to good use.) Four-month-old Brandon and 3-year-old Taylor-Marie are the light of my world.

I also emptied my annual holiday savings account and sent the proceeds to a family in need. Theres a young mother in Atlanta who is raising three kids on her own, and I knowlike I did when I was 25 and strugglingthat she could use some joy. I figured the beach chair and a few nights under the moon in Guanacaste could wait a few more months.

Caroldonia suffered a stroke this year and Auntie Gerry just celebrated her 84th birthday, so I imagine there isnt a lot of time left. So there is some risk to stealing these precious moments for myself, engaging in the kind of self-care that I typically foregoa home-cooked meal made just for one and a little Luther Vandross to remind me that there is a budding, new love on the horizon with a man I never expected.

Despite the oceans of deep love I have for my familyand them for meselfishly I have carved out this space for myself. I hope it isnt too much.
Goodbye, 2016, and good riddance. Still, the year wasnt a total wastelandas evidenced by the excellent work our writers managed to do amidst all the pussy-grabbing and Russian hacking, the Turkish coups and the seaside terror attacks, the Stanford sex assault scandals, Hillary health scams, and Justin Biebers defection from Instagram.

None of that is featured here. Instead, we have wild tales of unsolved crimes, glamourous spy rings in Nazi-occupied France, the secret past of a shadowy ISIS leader, and a life-saving kitty cat. We have Southern outlaws and skeezy pickup artists and Glenn Beck schadenfreude. We have time travel. We have socialite sex. And we have the penis that broke the internet.

Tune in tomorrow for Part II of the Best of the Beast, featuring jewel thieves, a party girl who kneecapped Trump back when the Teamsters ran New York, and a celebration of the Year of Our Royal Beyonce.

Cold Cases and Crime

The Search for My Fathers Killer by Goldie Taylor

The writer searches for the man who gunned down her father in cold blood.

Pickup Artists And A Secret Rape Ring by Brandy Zadrozny

A woman discovers details of her rape on a pickup artist forumand decides to fight back.

The Lost Girls of Panama by Jeremy Kryt

Two Dutch girls set off on a hike in Panamas idyllic cloud forestand never return. Months later, detectives find their bones.

Is Kristin Smart Buried In This Backyard? By M.L. Nestel

The last man to see college student Kristin Smart swears he didnt kill herbut cadaver dogs keep finding a scent on his familys property.

The Tech Mogul Who Beat His Lover by Michael Daly

A Silicon Valley princeling harbors a nasty secret behind closed doors.

An Eat, Pray, Love Story Ends in Murder by Barbie Nadeau

A bon vivant American likes to party in Florenceand turns up dead after a night of wild sex.

Doctor Feelgood Got Women Hooked on Pills for Sex by Kelly Weill

A high-flying doctor gets young women addicted to his potent prescriptionsthen moves in for the kill.

Inside the Nate Parker Rape Case by Kate Briquelet and M.L. Nestel

An old, incendiary sexual assault case comes back to derail a Hollywood juggernaut.

Serial Killer Took My Sisters Picture by M.L. Nestel

Her sister is missing for four yearsuntil cops find her picture in a serial killers photo stash.

Doctors Said They Shook Their Baby to Death. They Didn't. by Rachel Blustain

Two young parents lose their infant to a tragic illnessand are charged with his death.

The Head With No BodyAnd No Answers by Justin Glawe

A boy makes a horrific discovery in a Pennsylvania field.

Espionage

The Socialite Spy Who Outsmarted the Nazis by Christopher Dickey

An American aristocrat charms everyone she meetsincluding her Nazi captors.

The Spy Messages No Computer Could Decode by Shane Harris

How to listen in on secret spy missives.

The Slave Who Stole Confederate CodesAnd A Warship by Christopher Dickey

Confederate officers go ashore for a night in Charleston and leave their gunboat with an enslaved pilotwho attempts a daring escape.

Terrorists

The Secret, Hypocritical Gay World of ISIS by Tim Teeman

Jihadis throw a teenager to death for being gay but spare the life of his rapist.

Jailed with the Women of al Qaeda by Lindsay Snell

A journalist accused of being a CIA agent is thrown in a Turkish jailwhere she meets a dangerous cast of characters.

From French Soldier to ISIS Spymaster by Michael Weiss

A small-time Euro drug runner morphs into the mastermind behind the Paris attacks.

Why Islamists Are Sex-Obsessed by Maajid Nawaz

The author tackles Islamisms hardline sexual taboos.

Sex

How Not to Have A High-Class Hamptons Sex Orgy by Lizzie Crocker

A group sexcapade descends into Lord of the Flies-like savagery.

You Must Be This Old to Ride the DiCaprio by Amy Zimmerman

He gets older, they stay the same age.

Lap Dancing for the Cartels by Andrea Noel

Defiant prostitutes and desperate mothers try to survive Mexicos deadly sex trade.

The Met's Secret High-Class Escorts by Lizzie Crocker

A tour of historys most wicked and delightful women.

A Mad King's All-Male Pleasure Palace by Will OConnor

A sexually repressed monarch builds a spectacular island getawayand it costs him his crown.

Thank You, Orlando Bloom, For Showing Us That a Dick is Just a Dick by Tim Teeman

Those pictures. That shadow. Thanks, Legolas.

The Media

Why Glenn Beck's Empire Is Burning Down by Lloyd Grove

The Blaze deteriorates into a swamp of backbiting and paranoia.

Roger Ailes Sexually Harassed Me. I Thought I Was the First and Last by Shelley Ross

A powerful TV newsman hires the author for a network jobthen proposes a sexual alliance.

The 'Brothel' That Educated Murdoch by Clive Irving

A lecherous, vindictive newspaper owner rewrites the rules of the tabloid biz.

Heroes

Angels of the Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris by Christopher Dickey

A brave group of women band together during World War II to smuggle Allied pilots to safetybut the Nazis are on their trail.

My Great-Great-Grandmother Was An OutlawAnd A Slave by Goldie Taylor

A Civil War-era slave helps her half-brother avenge their fathers bloody murder.

Farewell to the Cat Who Saved My Life by Andrew Kirell

A little ginger tabby named Ernest rescues his owner from crippling depression.

Captain Humayun Khan, Lieutenant Robert Kelly, and the Other One Percent by Michael Daly

Two military sons make the ultimate sacrifice.
By Joe Perry, associate professor of history, Georgia State University

In 1921, in a Munich beer hall, newly appointed Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler gave a Christmas speech to an excited crowd.

According to undercover police observers, 4,000 supporters cheered when Hitler condemned the cowardly Jews for breaking the world-liberator on the cross and swore not to rest until the Jews lay shattered on the ground. Later, the crowd sang holiday carols and nationalist hymns around a Christmas tree. Working-class attendees received charitable gifts.

For Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, this combination of familiar holiday observance, nationalist propaganda and anti-Semitism was hardly unusual. As the Nazi party grew in size and scope  and eventually took power in 1933  committed propagandists worked to further Nazify Christmas. Redefining familiar traditions and designing new symbols and rituals, they hoped to channel the main tenets of National Socialism through the popular holiday.

Given state control of public life, its not surprising that Nazi officials were successful in promoting and propagating their version of Christmas through repeated radio broadcasts and news articles.

But under any totalitarian regime, there can be a wide disparity between public and private life, between the rituals of the city square and those of the home. In my research, I was interested in how Nazi symbols and rituals penetrated private, family festivities  away from the gaze of party leaders.

While some Germans did resist the heavy-handed, politicized appropriation of Germanys favorite holiday, many actually embraced a Nazified holiday that evoked the familys place in the racial state, free of Jews and other outsiders.

One of the most striking features of private celebration in the Nazi period was the redefinition of Christmas as a neo-pagan, Nordic celebration. Rather on focus on the holidays religious origins, the Nazi version celebrated the supposed heritage of the Aryan race, the label Nazis gave to racially acceptable members of the German racial state.

According to Nazi intellectuals, cherished holiday traditions drew on winter solstice rituals practiced by Germanic tribes before the arrival of Christianity. Lighting candles on the Christmas tree, for example, recalled pagan desires for the return of light after the shortest day of the year.

Scholars have called attention to the manipulative function of these and other invented traditions. But thats no reason to assume they were unpopular. Since the 1860s, German historians, theologians and popular writers had argued that German holiday observances were holdovers from pre-Christian pagan rituals and popular folk superstitions.

So because these ideas and traditions had a lengthy history, Nazi propagandists were able to easily cast Christmas as a celebration of pagan German nationalism. A vast state apparatus (centered in the Nazi Ministry for Propaganda and Enlightenment) ensured that a Nazified holiday dominated public space and celebration in the Third Reich.

But two aspects of the Nazi version of Christmas were relatively new.

First, because Nazi ideologues saw organized religion as an enemy of the totalitarian state, propagandists sought to deemphasize  or eliminate altogether  the Christian aspects of the holiday. Official celebrations might mention a supreme being, but they more prominently featured solstice and light rituals that supposedly captured the holidays pagan origins.

Second, as Hitlers 1921 speech suggests, Nazi celebration evoked racial purity and anti-Semitism. Before the Nazis took power in 1933, ugly and open attacks on German Jews typified holiday propaganda.

Blatant anti-Semitism more or less disappeared after 1933, as the regime sought to stabilize its control over a population tired of political strife, though Nazi celebrations still excluded those deemed unfit by the regime. Countless media images of invariably blond-haired, blue-eyed German families gathered around the Christmas tree helped normalize ideologies of racial purity.

Open anti-Semitism nonetheless cropped up at Christmastime. Many would boycott Jewish-owned department stores. And the front cover of a 1935 mail order Christmas catalog, which pictured a fair-haired mother wrapping Christmas presents, included a sticker assuring customers that the department store has been taken over by an Aryan!

Its a small, almost banal example. But it speaks volumes. In Nazi Germany, even shopping for a gift could naturalize anti-Semitism and reinforce the social death of Jews in the Third Reich.

The message was clear: only Aryans could participate in the celebration.

According to National Socialist theorists, women  particularly mothers  were crucial for strengthening the bonds between private life and the new spirit of the German racial state.

Everyday acts of celebration  wrapping presents, decorating the home, cooking German holiday foods and organizing family celebrations  were linked to a cult of sentimental Nordic nationalism.

Propagandists proclaimed that as priestess and protector of house and hearth, the German mother could use Christmas to bring the spirit of the German home back to life. The holiday issues of womens magazines, Nazified Christmas books and Nazi carols tinged conventional family customs with the ideology of the regime.

This sort of ideological manipulation took everyday forms. Mothers and children were encouraged to make homemade decorations shaped like Odins Sun Wheel and bake holiday cookies shaped like a loop (a fertility symbol). The ritual of lighting candles on the Christmas tree was said to create an atmosphere of pagan demon magic that would subsume the Star of Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus in feelings of Germanness.

Family singing epitomized the porous boundaries between private and official forms of celebration.

Propagandists tirelessly promoted numerous Nazified Christmas songs, which replaced Christian themes with the regimes racial ideologies. Exalted Night of the Clear Stars, the most famous Nazi carol, was reprinted in Nazi songbooks, broadcast in radio programs, performed at countless public celebrations  and sung at home.

Indeed, Exalted Night became so familiar that it could still be sung in the 1950s as part of an ordinary family holiday (and, apparently, as part of some public performances today!).

While the songs melody mimics a traditional carol, the lyrics deny the Christian origins of the holiday. Verses of stars, light and an eternal mother suggest a world redeemed through faith in National Socialism  not Jesus.

Well never know exactly how many German families sang Exalted Night or baked Christmas cookies shaped like a Germanic sun wheel. But we do have some records of the popular response to the Nazi holiday, mostly from official sources.

For example, the activity reports of the National Socialist Womens League (NSF) show that the redefinition of Christmas created some disagreement among members. NSF files note that tensions flared when propagandists pressed too hard to sideline religious observance, leading to much doubt and discontent.

Religious traditions often clashed with ideological goals: was it acceptable for convinced National Socialists to celebrate Christmas with Christian carols and nativity plays? How could Nazi believers observe a Nazi holiday when stores mostly sold conventional holiday goods and rarely stocked Nazi Christmas books?

Meanwhile, German clergymen openly resisted Nazi attempts to take Christ out of Christmas. In Dusseldorf, clergymen used Christmas to encourage women to join their respective womens clubs. Catholic clergy threatened to excommunicate women who joined the NSF. Elsewhere, women of faith boycotted NSF Christmas parties and charity drives.

Still, such dissent never really challenged the main tenets of the Nazi holiday.

Reports on public opinion compiled by the Nazi secret police often commented on the popularity of Nazi Christmas festivities. Well into the Second World War, when looming defeat increasingly discredited the Nazi holiday, the secret police reported that complaints about official policies dissolved in an overall Christmas mood.

Despite conflicts over Christianity, many Germans accepted the Nazification of Christmas. The return to colorful and enjoyable pagan Germanic traditions promised to revitalize family celebration. Not least, observing a Nazified holiday symbolized racial purity and national belonging. Aryans could celebrate German Christmas. Jews could not.

The Nazification of family celebration thus revealed the paradoxical and contested terrain of private life in the Third Reich. The apparently banal, everyday decision to sing a particular Christmas carol, or bake a holiday cookie, became either an act of political dissent or an expression of support for national socialism.

Joe Perry is an associate professor of history at Georgia State University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here.
MADRIDThe center of the city is swarming with police and there have already been several moments when the streets were emptied by false alarms. The most serious came on Dec. 8, a holiday here, when the cops cleared the Gran Via, the epicenter of tourism and Christmas in the capital of Spain, in the face of a bomb threat that originated with an abandoned suitcase.

Police hustled people out of crowded shops and bars. They said the threat was very serious. And even though the alarm ended in 15 minutes, the collective bout of nerves continued. Coffee shops and other businesses lowered their steel shutters fearing a slaughter similar to the one at the Bataclan in Paris a year ago last November.

The alert was serious, but meanwhile served to test the deployment of police and emergency services. Experts agree that in those terms the performance was a success: Police forces and ambulances invaded the area in just a few minutes. And that shouldnt be surprising. Lets not forget that Spain has fought for decades against the terrorism of Basque separatist group ETA, which today fortunately is on the verge of extinction.

But is there really a specific threat this Christmas?

Yes.

French police warned Spain in recent weeks that an attack similar to that in Nice last July was expected in some European capital, but it wasnt clear which one. The so-called Islamic State had been pushing this terror tactic to its recruits and sympathizers for months.

Only four days after the slaughter in Nice, a young Afghan immigrant hacked and slashed at passengers on a train in Germany. His ISIS contacts reportedly had told him to use a car to kill people, but he had no license, no car, and may not have known how to drive.

Then in November, French police uncovered a plot to use vehicles against a number of targets around Paris, including the Christmas market on the Champs Elysees.

Madrid, which suffered a massive al Qaeda-linked terror attack at the Atocha train station in 2004, is increasingly prominent as an ISIS target. The jihadists have a long memory, and they believe their claim on what once was called Al Andalus dates back to the days before Columbus sailed for the New World.

In fact, in early December, a devastating attack in Spain almost took place. The intelligence services and the Spanish police managed to avert it when, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, they detained Allal El Mourabit in Irun, in the Basque Country, in the north of Spain.

Investigators alleged that he planned an attack in Madrid following the model of Nice, using a heavy truck to overwhelm the largest possible number of people in any of the multiple clusters that occur in the city around Christmas.

The clandestine services had been keeping track of El Mourabit for months because he was visiting a teahouse in Pamplona (Navarre, near the Basque Country) which was attended by people connected to the Islamic State. Mourabit also spent hours watching videos of ISIS on the internet, and aspired to become a member of this terrorist group. The detainee twice traveled to Turkey in recent times. On the last trip last June, Turkish police expelled him. Afteward, European police were able to keep track of him thanks to the trail hed left handing out large amounts of money in the days leading up to his trip to Turkey.

Police sources are convinced that their intervention "thwarted an almost imminent attack," as they told The Daily Beast, but "the threat remains."

The Rajoy government gathered last week with top police officials to review the level of terrorist alert. They maintained it at 4 (on a scale where 5 is the maximum level) but "security will be strengthened," they reported, in particular during the holidays.

A police document that has been making the rounds in public in recent days proposes the installation of bollards or large flowerpots in the squares of big cities and in places large agglomeration of people gather during the Christmas season, in particular on Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Years Eve.

Spaniards celebrate the arrival of the New Year in the main squares, gathering thousands of people to listen to the 12 bells and eat the traditional 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31 in places like Madrids Puerta del Sol. In addition, the whole country also celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men on the evening of Jan. 5, when thousands of families with their children take part in the procession of the Magi through the streets of Spanish cities and towns.

The Ministry of Interior has cautioned local councils and police to take into account the current threat to define the route of these cavalcades and to install or have ready various security devices.

Meanwhile, as I write, the shops are full and there is an atmosphere of tension, yes, but also of calm resolution.

Unfortunately, Spaniards already know what it is to live under the terrorist threat at Christmas: ETA terrorists carried out several of their massacres and kidnappings during the holiday season.

Maybe that's why none of these people who are queuing up again in the shops and bars of the Gran Via are ready to stay at home for fear of jihadists. Until now Spain has managed to win the battle against Islamic terrorism, preventing dozens of attacks in recent years. Now society is about to win as well as the end of the day: the battle of fear. And whenever fear of terrorists is overcome, freedom is victorious.
In this season of celebration and contemplation, we are publishing a series of articles about Christians who are prosecuted, imprisoned and in some cases threatened with death because of their beliefs. Such religious persecution is not limited to Christians. Indeed the most intense fury of zealots like those of the so-called Islamic State is directed against fellow Muslims deemed heretical. But Christians find themselves targeted not only for their faith, they are treated as symbols of the West, even if their history in a country like Egypt goes back millennia. Thus ISIS hopes attacks like the suicide bombing of a Coptic cathedral in Cairo earlier this month will help draw clear battle lines between Islam and what it calls crusadersthe soldiers who bear the cross. A few cases like that of Asia Bibi, a mother of five now serving her seventh consecutive Christmas in jail in Pakistan on blasphemy charges, have drawn international attention. But many others have not. As advocacy groups have made clear, Christians are under pressure from non-Muslim Mexico to non-Muslim China, but they face the most ferocious persecution in the Muslim Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa.

At the start of his blasphemy trial earlier this month, Jakartas Christian, ethnic Chinese governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama fought back tears as he told a court why he couldnt possibly have intentionally insulted Islam, pointing out that he was reared by an adoptive Muslim family.

My [biological] father and my adoptive father vowed to be brothers until the end, testified the governor, universally known as Ahok. The love of my adoptive parents for me has inspired me to this day.

Maybe so. But the jeers and Jail Ahok! taunts from people protesting outside Jakartas Central District Court suggested the embattled governor has plenty to cry about.

Authorities charged Ahok with blasphemy weeks after he made a speech in late September while campaigning for the 2017 gubernatorial election. He cited a verse from the Quran and accused political opponents of using the passage to bolster their claim that non-Muslims like him should not be permitted to lead Muslims.

The governor apologized. But it did not placate hard-line Muslims, who demanded his imprisonment. Extremist groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front have whipped up hordes of Indonesians into a rage over the blasphemy allegation. They have harnessed religion and latent distrust of the Chinese to manipulate throngs of protesters into the streets, including as many as 500,000 at a mammoth Dec. 2 rally. At least one person has died and dozens have been injured in demonstrations in which people set fires, torched vehicles, looted, and threw rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.

Blasphemy, a charge that sounds medieval in the West, remains a crime in many Muslim-majority countries. But even those who accept the legal principle are skeptical of the charge against the governor.

Critics say political enemies are using the blasphemy case to weaken the popular politician. President Joko Widodo, who preceded Ahok as Jakarta governor and whose election to the nations top political job led to Ahoks appointment, is among the skeptics. Last month Jokowi, as he is popularly known, called out unnamed politicians for inciting protests. We see this was steered by political actors who were exploiting the situation, he said at a news conference.

Why would these activists use such a subterfuge against Ahok? After all, as one of his 80 lawyers, Sirra Prayuna, said in court, it would be suicidal for the man to purposefully insult Islam while running for governor of the heavily Muslim megalopolis of 10 million.

There is considerable evidence that the governors comment on Islam was deliberately edited and manipulated by enemies looking to remove Ahok from the political playing field and weaken President Jokowi in the process, says Karen B. Brooks, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Unfortunately, some political actors in Indonesia have proven willing to use the always sensitive religion card to mobilize the masses and stoke unrest.

The governor is in the cross-hairs of five groups, says Andreas Harsono, Human Rights Watch researcher in Indonesia: people who lost out in a land eviction scheme Ahok implemented, those genuinely concerned about blasphemy, anti-Chinese elements, Muslim fundamentalists hostile to Christians and other religious minorities, and people opposing Ahok in the gubernatorial electionespecially relatives of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono is running.

Harsono, who specializes in religious research, says bias against religious minorities may be the most important element in the growing Islamicization of Indonesia and is hardening just as the demand to have non-Muslim leaders is rising.

In recent years, the spike in Islamist intolerance has led to the targeting of churches, women, gays and lesbians, alcohol drinking, and even porn. Even as the call for better treatment of transgenders grows louder in many countries, Indonesian Islamists are demanding harsher treatment of trans and other LGBT people. Extremists recently shut down a festival on womens issues, and earlier this year forced the closure of a Yogyakarta boarding school for transgender students.

Human Rights Watch says the government has itself fueled a hate campaign against LGBT citizens. Theres evidence of that: Earlier this year Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said publicly that LGBT activism is more dangerous than a nuclear bomb. Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir has called for a ban on publicly affectionate LGBT students on University of Indonesia campuses. The nations constitutional court is considering banning homosexual sex.

Hardline extremist groups have always existed as a small minority in Indonesia, but they grew increasingly bold and vocal during the 10 years in office of former President Yudhoyono, who had neither the courage nor the wherewithal to arrest that trend, says Brooks.

One analyst who prefers to remain unidentified describes the blasphemy case as primarily an effort by vested interests to remove a governor who has cut patronage from the system and playing on peoples religious sensibilities to undermine the actual successes of the governor.

It is not unusual for political issues to be covered up by religious rulings, and evidence suggests that globally some people are hijacking Islam to retain power, says activist and author Manal Omar. Religion is a very powerful motivational tool, and some political elites have tapped into that and are using it, says Omar, associate vice president of the Center for Middle East and Africa with the United States Institute of Peace. Power trumps any religious ideology.

And self-preservation apparently trumps doing the right thing. Despite his clear-eyed assessment of the political railroading afoot, Jokowi clambered on stage at the Dec. 2 rally in Jakartas Central Park, Medan Merdeka, which was organized by an Islamist coalition calling itself the National Movement to Guard the MUI Fatwaa reference to a fatwa issued by the Indonesian Council of Ulama declaring Ahok a blasphemer.

Some say Jokowi backs Ahok mostly because, by occupying the governors palace, Ahok guards the presidents flank against potential rivals in the next general election.

But that support may depend on how the wind blows.

There has been a [bigger] groundswell of opposition to Ahok than we anticipated, says Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. The question is, has Jokowi made the calculation that in light of the Dec. 2 protest Ahok is not salvageable.

More to the point, will the judiciary that is overseeing the trial reach a similar conclusion?

On the whole, the judiciary is not an impartial third branch of government, Connelly tells The Daily Beast. It is not out of the question that the court will be influenced by politics.

In fact, the gloomy forecast making the rounds is that, in an echo of current American politics, facts wont matterand Ahok will be found guilty.

The political pressure is immense, says Harsono, such that hes most likely to be convicted and lose the governorship.

Asok faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Harsono says he is likely to be jailed for 18 months.

In his defense the governor has pointed out that he donates a percentage of his income in a manner consonant with Islamic tradition, built mosques, and even adjusted work times so Muslims can pray with their families during Ramadan. And his legal team has stressed in court that Indonesia is a country based on law.

But as in Malaysia, Southeast Asias other big majority-Muslim democracy, the law-as-bedrock assertion is increasingly debatable. When religion is involved, such niceties can be consigned to the back seat.

Furthermore, the emboldened protest movement appears to have other goals, including greater implementation of Sharia, nomination of political candidates who support Islamist objectives, and changing the Constitution to require that Muslims follow Islamic law.

The countrys two largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, are passively complicit in the problem of worsening religious tolerance, writes Phelim Kine, Human Rights Watchs deputy director for Asia.

Those groups, the court, business elements, and some in the government may well view Ahoks conviction as the most expedient solution, in the circumstances.

The overriding influence will be a concern that acquittal would lead to sectarian violence, says Connelly. Theyre very concerned about violence against the Chinese community.

In other words, convict one Chinese to protect many Chinese.

The trial is set to resume Dec. 27. How it turns out may determine whether Indonesias official motto, Unity in Diversity, is anything more than a catchy phrase.
Its Christmas, a celebration of the birth of Jesus to Mary (his mother) and Joseph (in modern parlance, his stepfather) in Bethlehem. For Christians this event is a celebration not only of the birth of the Son of God, but also of Gods merciful salvation of the human race. Nativity scenes, creches, and childrens plays around the globe will tell the traditional story of how Mary and Joseph undertook the arduous journey to Bethlehem to participate in a census, how they were turned away from an inn, and how the king of kings was born in a stable, laid in a manger, and visited by a cluster of shepherds and three foreign kings.

That story, in its entirety, is not contained in a single book of the New Testament. It is a composite image crafted out of the nativity stories of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and augmented by later Christian tradition, artwork, music, and interpretation. A number of the details that make it onto the canvasses of Renaissance artists, for example the three kings, arent in the Bible at all. We assume that there are three visitors because they bring three kinds of gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh). But the Bible doesnt actually specify their number.

We think that the magi (as they are called in the New Testament) are kings because of later guesswork. Dr. Brent Landau, author of The Revelation of the Magi, told The Daily Beast that the idea that there were three kings comes to us from the imagination of early Christians. Matthews story about the Magi does not imply that these mysterious visitors are kings; Matthew either regards them as magicians/astrologers or Zoroastrian priests. But early Christians noticed passages like Psalm 72:10-11, about kings from far-off lands rendering tribute to the King of Israel, and wondered whether this might have been a prophecy about the Magi. Tertullian in the third century describes the Magi as almost kings, and almost two hundred years later, Augustine flatly calls them kings. From there, the belief became commonplace. All of which means that the magi were wise men, likely schooled in astrology or even Zoroastrianism. Sorry to ruin the carol.
In November 1930, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera traveled to the United States with his wife, artist Frida Kahlo, on a commission to paint one of his famous large frescos for the San Francisco Stock Exchange. The Great Depression was just getting underway, so it was an apt time for the avowed Marxist to bring his politically charged art to the country in the north.

Over the next two years, he would go on to paint an additional fresco in San Francisco, complete a 27-panel project at the Detroit Institute of Arts for Henry Ford, and enjoy the career milestone of a solo retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

As happens with all important and progressive work, Rivera received his fair share of critics. But on the whole, the 44-year-old artist was increasingly celebrated and sought out for his cutting-edge ideas and style.

So, when the reigning industrialist family, the Rockefellers, began speaking with him in New York in 1932on what was quickly becoming something of a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S.about a new project, Rivera had no reason to believe that it would be anything other than his latest success.

The project was seemingly simple: In 1933, Rivera was to paint a giant fresco in the lobby of the brand new Rockefeller Center that addressed the rather long-winded theme Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future.

A notice of Rivera and Kahlos arrival in New York appeared in The New York Times on March 21, 1933. Regarding the purpose of their trip, it stated, The Rockefeller mural will be 63 feet long and 17 feet high the Rivera work will depict human intelligence in control of the forces of nature. Less than two months later, the same paper would be printing defenses of the final product.

Rivera wasnt John D. Rockefellers first choice. The billionaire first approached Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. But when neither was available for the job, he settled on the Mexican muralist.

As for Rivera, although I do not personally care for much of his work, he seems to have become very popular just now and will probably be a good drawing card, Rockefeller is reported as saying.

The man in the mural might have been at a crossroads, but so, too, was American society and the rest of the world. It may seem a bit odd that the billionaire businessmen of the day with names like Ford and Rockefeller were supporting the work of artists like Rivera who were actively campaigning for the rights and dignity of the worker. But there was an air of change that encouraged the exploration of new ideas and conversations about the way forward.

Rockefeller, for his part, may not have personally care[d] for the Mexican muralists work, but he was certainly familiar with it. Rivera had become a famous, if a bit controversial, artist and it was well known that he used his art to explore leftist themes. Plus, Rockefellers wife, Abby, was a big fan.

In a statement released on June 3, 1933 after the project would become embroiled in conflict, Rivera stated, Those who gave me the work at Radio City knew perfectly well my artistic tendencies and my social and political opinions. They did much urging to persuade me to accept the work, which I finally did only on condition that they would give me full liberty.

Whatever the original agreement, Rivera set to work on his latest masterpiece. What he created was an allegory exploring the different political and social systems, and how they were interacting in the world. Specifically, he positioned capitalism on one side of his leading man and communism on the other as rival political forces.

Reports contend that Abby and her son Nelson had seen and approved sketches for the mural before Rivera began painting itthe mother and son duo were his biggest supporters from the start. But where reports differ is whether he had clued them in on his full planspecifically his decision to add a portrait of Vladimir Lenin on the communist sideor if that was an addition he snuck in without their approval.

Rivera had been kicked out of the Mexican Communist party in 1929, and some say that his socialist friends were pressuring him to amp up the messaging in this high-profile mural. Wanting to impress them, he added Lenin to the composition.

Either way, when Nelson Rockefeller got wind of the addition, he promptly took action to shut it down. He sent Rivera a letter requesting that he paint Lenin out of the piece. The artist refused to change his artistic vision, but he did offer a compromise: he would paint a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the capitalist side of the wall-cum-canvas.

But that wasnt good enough for Rockefeller and the management team of the new building. The mural was unceremoniously covered up with a tarp, Rivera was paid the remainder of the promised commission, and he was sent on his way.

My interpretation, naturally, portrayed the crossroads with the road to the left as the socialist world, that to the right, the world of capitalism, Rivera wrote in his statement in June following the uproar. I could not conceive or represent the figure of the worker-leader as any other than that of Lenin.

After the Rockefellers had repeatedly expressed their enthusiasm for the work as it developed on the wall, the pretext was advanced by Nelson Rockefeller that the head of Lenin was inacceptable.

And then the real backlash started. Rivera may have had his critics; there may have been loud voices expressing their displeasure at his socialist agenda. But the one thing you do not do in America is curtail freedom of speech and freedom of artistic expression. The backlash was loud and strong.

One night, after getting rid of spectators, an incongruously large force of guards and attendants covered the picture, Rivera continued in his statement. We are confident that the workers will yet unveil our buried mural, and if it be destroyed or incomplete, they will create out of their own midst the artists of tomorrow who will fulfill our intentions and carry revolutionary art to far greater heights.

Rivera was wrong in the former assessment. The following year, the mural was quietly chiseled off the wall to make way for a new work to take its place.

But the artistic world of New York soon found out, and they were, indeed, galvanized. After this act of destruction, large protest marches were staged, an art show scheduled to take place in the almost year-old Rockefeller Center was boycotted, and letters to the editor were vehemently written.

While none could save the lost work of art, Rivera had caught a glimpse of the writing on the wall when the controversy started. Before the mural was covered up, never to be seen again, he had one of his assistants snap a few photos of the mural-in-progress.

After he was fired from the Rock Center project, Rivera and Kahlo returned to Mexico City where he promptly set about painting a replica of the piece at the Palacio de Bellas Artesalbeit one on a much smaller square than the space allotted in New York Citys now iconic building.

In the end, Diego Rivera beat the Rockefellers to the last word.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The role of Vladimir Stupishin  first Ambassador of Russia to Armenia  in developing and strengthening the Armenia-Russia interstate relations was big, taking into consideration the difficult geopolitical situation of that period, MP and former Prime Minister (1992-1993) Khosrov Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS, speaking about Stupishins tenure in Armenia as Ambassador in 1992-1994. Vladimir Stupishin passed away on December 23, aged 84.

In an interview with ARMENPRESS, Harutyunyan extended his condolences to the late Ambassadors family and the Russian leadership, saying : Those years were difficult and contradictory, former Soviet states were attempting to find their place in the difficult geopolitical situation following the collapse of the USSR, they were trying to act, taking into consideration their long-term interests. No state system existed as such, the CIS formation had begun, which had the role of a structure guaranteeing the divorce process, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was present and in those difficult conditions Vladimir Stupishin was appointed Ambassador of Russia to Armenia. Russia was facing multiple domestic challenges, on the other hand the process of establishing new ties with former USSR republics had begun, and in the NK issue it was facing a dilemma: between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the role of Ambassadors in those conditions had an exclusive responsibility. With his activities, Stupishin paved a new way in the Armenian-Russian relations, displaying constructivism in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh conflict as well.

According to Khosrov Harutyunyan, Stupishin had great experience and successfully displayed his skills during his tenure.

Former PM Harutyunyan emphasized that Stupishin was closely connected with the Armenian people, Armenian culture, was concerned about the further development of relations between the two countries.

He was a good friend of the Armenian people, Harutyunyan said.
Conservation board tables property lease program, examines deficit

The Des Moines County Conservation Board on Wednesday tabled a proposed program that would have generated revenue for the conservation department.
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NORWALK  A fantastic partnership.

Thats how Elsie Lopez, executive administrator of the Norwalk-based Carver Foundation, described the agencys relationship with the Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund, which on Friday, distributed $250,000 in funding to 18 local nonprofits.

Im absolutely thrilled to be able to receive this on behalf of the Carver, Lopez said upon accepting the check from Gloria Nussbaum, a committee member with the Bedford Family Fund, at the Westport Weston Family YMCA.

Lopez was one of 18 representatives from nonprofit organizations throughout Fairfield County who received grant funding to continue their work in serving the educational needs of children and young adults.

The Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund  whose mission is to create, enhance and support educational opportunities for children and/or young adults  granted a total of $250,000 to 18 organizations in Norwalk, Westport, Weston, Wilton, Bridgeport and Fairfield.

This is a fantastic occasion for the YMCA to help close the school gap across our region, said Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe.

The fund was established in 2015 by the YMCA Board of Trustees to give back to the community and to carry forward the legacy of philanthropist Ruth T. Bedford.

Bedford, a YMCA trustee emeritus and a strong advocate for the YMCA, continues her family legacy. Her grandfather, Edward T. Bedford, established the first Westport YMCA in 1923. In 1944, Edwards son, Frederick T. Bedford, provided the funding that made it possible to buy Camp Mahackeno.

The purpose of the fund is to provide grants to organizations that focus on closing the achievement gap in education. Grants are intended to enhance educational opportunities in a transformational way and, as a result, may include a wide range of programs.

The initial endowment of the fund was $5 million, and earnings from the endowment will support one-year grants to local programs-which will be selected through an annual grant process.

Forty-four nonprofit organizations applied for the grant funding, and the following 18 were selected:

From Bridgeport: Adam J. Lewis Preschool; Council of Churches-Janus Center; Hall Neighborhood House; Horizons at Greens Farms Academy; Horizons at Sacred Heart: Klein Memorial Auditorium; LifeBridge; Mercy Learning Center; Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County; Project Morry; St. Johns Family Center; Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, and Urban Impact.

From Norwalk: Carver Foundation of Norwalk: Connecticut Yankee Council, Boy Scouts of America, serving children in Norwalk and Bridgeport; and Riverbrook Regional YMCA, serving Wilton and Norwalk.

From Westport: Homes with Hope; and Staples Tuition Grants.

llake@hearstmediact.com
LINCOLN  You could call it an early Christmas present for the state.

On Friday, the giant online retailer Amazon announced that it will start collecting sales tax on purchases by Nebraskans, a move that could put tens of millions of new tax dollars into state coffers.

State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton labeled the announcement a big deal because Amazon, like several other online retailers outside the state, has not been collecting sales tax on orders from the Cornhusker State, even though buyers are supposed to report and remit the tax.

But buyers almost never do. Only about 1 percent of Nebraskans report out-of-state Internet purchases on their state income tax forms.

Fulton called Amazons move a good example of responsible corporate citizenship.

The tax is owed. So their announcement will just help Nebraskans to comply with the existing law, he said.

The announcement comes about three weeks after Amazon announced that it would begin collecting sales taxes on purchases from Iowans, and comes amid a renewed push by states to collect taxes on Internet purchases.

Under current law, Internet retailers are not required to collect sales tax on purchases from a state unless they have a physical presence in that state, such as a retail store or warehouse.

The policy annoys bricks-and-mortar retailers across the country, who say it creates unfair competition because they must collect sales taxes at the cash register while online and mail-order retailers do not.

Lets be fair. A sale is a sale. Its a fairness issue, said Tom Wright of Lincoln, a jewelry store owner who has traveled to Washington, D.C., several times to lobby for a change in tax policy.

The Nebraska Retail Federation announced recently that it would be seeking passage of a bill in the State Legislature to require online retailers such as Amazon to collect local sales taxes.

Jim Otto, president of the retail federation, said the proposal would combine aspects of laws recently passed in the states of South Dakota and Colorado to force retailers to collect or at least report sales in those states.

He emphasized that while Amazon is an online retailing giant, its sales represent only a portion of the online sales made by Nebraskans, perhaps 20 percent or so.

Its good news, but its not the total solution, Otto said.

State Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse said Friday that he has agreed to introduce the bill on behalf of the retailers. The senator said hes amazed at the number of people who tell him they dont owe taxes on Internet purchases.

Watermeier added that requiring people, and companies, to remit taxes on Internet purchases is not a tax increase as some conservative groups have argued.

They already owe the tax, he said.

Currently Amazons website lists 29 states and the District of Columbia to which it remits sales taxes. Collections in both Iowa and Nebraska are scheduled to begin on Jan. 1.

Past estimates of the lost tax revenue for Nebraska from the nonreporting of all Internet sales have ranged from $45 million a year to $118 million a year.

Amazon officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A 2015 report called Amazon and Empty Storefronts, done for the American Booksellers Association, estimated that requiring Amazon to collect sales tax on its Nebraska sales would generate an additional $18 million a year.

Fulton, the state tax commissioner, said he would be seeking a new estimate from his department on the extent of the new revenue expected.

The news from Amazon comes as Nebraska lawmakers are poised to grapple, in the 2017 session, with a $900 million gap between projected spending and tax revenue by either cutting spending or raising taxes and fees.

Watermeier said his bill would channel any new tax revenue into the general fund, where it could be spent by state agencies or used for tax decreases.
KEARNEY  Robert E. Kerby, 87, of Kearney was called home to heaven Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, after a brief illness.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 2407 W. 56th St. in Kearney, with the Rev. Paul Colling officiating. Interment will follow in the Kearney Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 pm Tuesday, followed by a vigil service and rosary at 7, at OBrien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home at 4115 Ave. N, Kearney.

Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com.

Robert was born June 22, 1929, in Denver, Colo., to Earl and Mary (Kranz) Kerby. Bob grew up living in various Colorado towns before settling in Colorado Springs as his parents constructed highway bridges throughout the state. At the young age of 17, Bob left home and went to work as a cowboy on well-known cattle ranches in northeastern New Mexico, including the Bell Ranch. His passion for horses, the West and creating western artwork was just beginning. Bob met Genon Micek (his wife of 63 years) at the Bear Trap Ranch in Colorado and they were united in marriage on Dec 31, 1951, in Columbus. They moved in 1958 to an acreage in Kearney, where Bob started colts, trained horses, calf roped and began oil painting.

Bob graduated from Kearney State College in 1963. He taught art at Walnut Junior High School in Grand Island for four years from 1964 to 1968. His interest and talent to create western oil paintings continued to blossom and he turned to being a full-time Western artist. As the Artist of the American West he created more than 300 oil paintings.

Bob and his son, Clint, started Bob Kerbys Longhorn Studio in 1988. Utilizing Bobs paintings, they produced a full line of Christmas cards, prints, two Western cookbooks and his popular Range Riders appointment calendar, which has been enjoyed and viewed by thousands of people nationwide. The 2018 calendar edition will mark the 30th year of production. Bob also stayed close to his love of rodeo and competed in team roping up until he was 74. He put on many jackpot ropings and practices at his arena in Kearney. He loved all children and adored his grandchildren and great-granddaughters, as they brought such tremendous joy to his life. He will be dearly missed by his family and many friends who enjoyed his sense of humor, knew of his compassion and shared his passion for art, horses, roping and the Western life style.

Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Lori and Chris Watters of Bettendorf, Iowa; a son, Clint of Kearney; his grandchildren and their spouses, Valerie and Marcus Wolfe of Papillion, Nicholas and Lucia Watters of Vicenza, Italy, and Richard and Amber Watters of Rolla, Mo.; great-granddaughters, Aurora and Audra Wolfe, Adriana Watters and Trinity Vroman; a sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Babe Schum of Albuquerque, N.M.; a brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Helen Kerby of Halstenbek, Germany; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife in 2015, his parents and one niece.

Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation on Bobs behalf.
Familiarity doesnt always breed contempt. Not if its a familiarity with Christmas.

While America and much of the world are focusing attention on the coming of the new president, little attention is paid to a gift not even the worlds richest person could pay for and which is even today not received by many to whom it is offered.

The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. A look back at one of the greatest sermons ever preached about Christmas by the man credited with splitting Christianity from the dominant Roman Catholic Church seems appropriate.

Martin Luthers understanding of what we euphemistically call the real meaning of Christmas was absolute. After underscoring the humble backgrounds of Mary and Joseph and noting how rich travelers stayed in far better surroundings than the stable the two who would become the worlds most famous couple were forced to occupy, Luther commented: See, this is the first picture with which Christ puts the world to shame and exposes all it does and knows. It shows that the worlds greatest wisdom is foolishness, her best actions are wrong and her greatest treasures are misfortunes.

Such a notion should humble a politician, even a president, if that were possible. And yet too many among us put more faith in princes and kings in the false hope he (or she) can deliver us, instead of the One who really can.

Luther strips away any notion of dignity or honor, which we commercially idealize in manufactured Nativity scenes, when he says of Mary and Joseph: They had neither money nor influence to secure a room in the inn, hence they were obliged to lodge in a stable. O world, how stupid! O man, how blind thou art! But the birth itself is still more pitiful. There was no one to take pity on this young wife, who was for the first time to give birth to a child; no one to take to heart her condition that she, a stranger, did not have the least thing a mother needs in a birth-night. There she is without any preparation, without either light or fire, alone in the darkness, without any one offering her service as is customary for women to do at such times.

In the polar opposite of what humankind longs for in fame, riches and honor, Luther speaks of the lowly shepherds to whom the initial announcement of this unique birth was communicated: Behold how very richly God honors those who are despised of men, and that very gladly. Here you see that his eyes look into the depths of humility, as is written, He sitteth above the cherubim and looketh into the depths. Nor could the angels find princes or valiant men to whom to communicate the good news; but only unlearned laymen, the most humble people upon earth. Could they not have addressed the high priests, who it was supposed knew so much concerning God and the angels? No, God chose poor shepherds, who, though they were of low esteem in the sight of men, were in heaven regarded as worthy of such great grace and honor.

Next month, we will inaugurate another U.S. president. Pomp, ceremony and considerable ego will be on display. Two thousand years ago there was another inauguration of sorts, one whose goal is out of reach of the smartest political leader. That One had  and has  the power to transform lives and fit them for another world. It is a world, according to the baby born in Bethlehem of Judea who became a man and Savior to billions worldwide, that will  unlike this world and the little it offers  never pass away.
Several Edwardsville citizens attended Tuesdays City Council meeting in an effort to speak out against the resolution authorizing the proposed Planned Unit Development on New Poag Road for Richland Residential student housing complex. The development is 15.22 acres and will be housed at the edge of the Bohm Woods Nature Preserve; it consists of 162 dwelling units and 468 beds.

After receiving approval from the Plan Commission and the Public Services Committee, the Council granted its approval with a 4-3 vote.

Aldermen Craig Louer, Tom Butts, Art Risavy and Barb Stamer were for the motion. Aldermen Janet Stack, Jeanette Mallon and Will Krause were opposed.

Stack said she opposed the motion given her concerns of decreasing student enrollment numbers at SIUE.

I agree that the new developers have been very helpful in working with the IDNR and our staff, I sympathize with Ms. Taber. Besides the Bohm Woods issue, we also have SIUE Director of Housing stating that they no longer have a need for more student housing, that the enrollment numbers are actually decreasingI would hate to see us have a lot of empty rentals available in the city of Edwardsville, not to mention the new development, that cant be filled. Empty rentals is not a good thing for quality of life in the city. That is another major concern I think the Council really needs to consider, Stack said.

Risavy, who was in favor of the approval, said if approved, owner Nancy Tabor would have the final say.

I think she has the right to sell her property. We have a buyer; we have a seller. I wonder how someone else here would feel if they were in her spot. Shes saying she needs to sell her property. Shes not making it up, look at her. We have a buyer, so I feel like we need to pull ourself out of the way, he said.

The motion was approved and the project is anticipated to be completed by July 1, 2018.

In other business, a class B liquor license for the 2017 renewal for Shangri-La Restaurant was approved unanimously.

None were opposed as the motion carried.

Next was an ordinance making an assessment, levy and collection of taxes within the corporate limits of the city of Edwardsville for fiscal year 2017.

After being filed for first reading and being approved by the Finance Committee, the motion was approved unanimously.

Lastly, an ordinance establishing the Montclaire Business District for the purpose of providing a funding source for improvements to the site was filed for first reading. The decision of its approval will be decided at the next City Council meeting.

The next City Council meeting will take place at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 3 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. All meetings are free and open to the public.
Renovations to a restroom at Edwardsville Township Park are nearly finished, clearing the way for its opening to the public next spring, according to Township Supervisor Frank Miles.

The Township announced Wednesday that it had received a $13,796 grant form the Metro East Park and Recreation District. Its the third grant the township has received from MEPRD since last year when the township used grant money to convert another bathroom at the park to an all-season facility.

With the addition of this years MEPRD grant, the township has been able to renovate the second bathroom and we are being pushed close to reaching the goal of updating the park to be a safe and efficient place for our community to enjoy, Miles said in a news release.

The project for the second restroom includes removing all existing plumbing features, modifying the layout to accommodate the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements, installing high-efficiency, low-flow plumbing fixtures and high efficiency hand dryers. The inside of the restroom will also get a new coat of paint, according to a news release from the township.

The township adopted an ADA Compliance Plan in May of 2015.

In addition to the MEPRD grant, the township has received a $15,000 grant from Madison Countys Park Enhancement Program.

In October, the township accepted a bid of nearly $48,000 from WWCS of Cottage Hills to renovate the second bathroom. The MEPRD grant and the Park Enhancement grant make up 60 percent of the renovation costs. The balance - $19,190 comes from the townships Capital Development Fund.

The renovations to Restroom 2 are already 90 complete, Miles said in a news release Wednesday. With the increase of pavilion reservations and school trips to the park in the past few years we are proud to be able to make the park more accessible for all members of our community, Miles said.
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Sat, December 24, 2016

Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil attended a Christmas celebration at Sasana Budaya Ganesa on Friday night, asking for forgiveness for the past service that was disrupted by conservative Muslims.

Whatever has happened in Bandung, as a leader, I ask for forgiveness for the disruption of the past KKR, he said to about 3,000 members of the congregation led by Rev. Stephen Tong.

Ridwan referred to the Spiritual Awakening Service (KKR) on Dec. 6 that was dispersed by supporters of two groups, namely Pembela Ahlu Sunnah (PAS) and Dewan Dawah Islamiyah Indonesia (DDII).

(Read also: Religious services do not require permits: Bandung mayor)

He admitted that his approval of a permit for the Christmas service would create tensions, but he said he had to be fair.

I always remember my mothers message, asking me to be a fair leader, he said.

He said his administration along with religious organizations had come to an agreement on religious freedom.

I have circulated the letter across Bandung. So please [report to us], if [you] find any disturbances, he told the congregation.

He added that his administration had established a task force on tolerance.

Besides Ridwan, West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan and West Java Military Commander Maj. Gen. Muhammad Herindra also attended the Christmas celebrations and delivered speeches. (jun).
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Linkedin Colleen Barry and Frank Jordans (Associated Press) Milan  Sat, December 24, 2016

A routine request for ID papers outside a deserted train station in a Milan suburb at 3 a.m. Friday led to a police shootout that killed the Tunisian fugitive wanted in the deadly Christmas market attack in Berlin.

While authorities expressed relief that the search for Anis Amri was over, his four-day run raised fresh questions about whether he had any accomplices and how Europe can stop extremists from moving freely across its open borders, even amid an intense manhunt.

Italian police said Amri traveled from Germany through France and into Italy after Monday night's truck rampage in Berlin, and at least some of his journey was by rail. French officials refused to comment on his passage through France, which has increased surveillance on trains after recent attacks in France and Germany.

Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni called for greater cross-border police cooperation, suggesting some dismay that Europe's open frontier policy had enabled Amri to move around easily despite being its No. 1 fugitive.

(Read also: Suspect in deadly Berlin attack is latest Tunisian jihadi)

Amri, whose fingerprints and wallet were found in the truck that plowed into Christmas market outside Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others, was caught seemingly by chance after eluding police for more than three days.

"He was a ghost," Milan police chief Antoio de Iesu said, adding that Amri was stopped because of basic police work, intensified surveillance "and a little luck."

Like other cities, Milan has been on heightened alert, with increased surveillance and police patrols. Italian officials stressed that the two young officers who stopped Amri didn't suspect he was the Berlin attacker, but rather grew suspicious because he was a North African man, alone outside a deserted train station in the dead of night.

Amri, who had spent time in prison in Italy, was confronted by the officers in Sesto San Giovanni, a suburb of Milan. He pulled a gun from his backpack after being asked to show his ID and was killed in an ensuing shootout.

One of the officers, Christian Movio, 35, was shot in the right shoulder and had surgery for what doctors said was a superficial wound. His 29-year-old partner, Luca Scata, fatally shot Amri in the chest.

The suspect had no ID or cellphone and carried only a pocket knife and the loaded .22-caliber pistol he used to shoot Movio, police said. He was identified with the help of fingerprints supplied by Germany.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack. On Friday, it noted his death in Milan and released a separate video showing Amri swearing allegiance to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, while vowing to fight non-Muslims.

The video, which appeared to have been taken by Amri himself, showed him on a footbridge in northern Berlin, not far from where the truck used in the attack was hijacked. It was not known when the video was taken.

German authorities were suspicious of Amri and had put him under covert surveillance for six months following a warning from intelligence agencies that he might be planning an attack. But the surveillance ended in September after police found no proof of his alleged plans.

Separately, German authorities tried to deport Amri after his asylum application was rejected in July but were unable to do so because he lacked valid identity papers, and Tunisia initially denied that he was a citizen. Authorities said he has used at least six different names and three nationalities.

Even as she voiced relief at the news from Milan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered a comprehensive investigation to determine whether mistakes had been made and legal hurdles had hampered the authorities' handling of the case.

"We can be relieved at the end of this week that one acute danger has been ended," she said in Berlin. "But the danger of terrorism as a whole remains, as it has for many years  we all know that."

Amri passed through France before arriving by train at Milan's central station where video surveillance showed him at about 1 a.m. Friday, de Iesu said.

A Milan anti-terrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about the investigation, said Amri made his way to the piazza outside the Sesto San Giovanni train station that is 7.5 kilometers (nearly 5 miles) from the main station.

Authorities are still trying to determine how Amri arrived at the piazza because only a few buses operate at that hour.

"It is now of great significance for us to establish whether the suspect had a network of supporters or helpers in preparing and carrying out the crime, and in fleeing, whether there were accessories or helpers," said Germany's chief federal prosecutor, Peter Frank, who heads the investigation.

Holger Muench, the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office said Amri's name "has come up in the past" in connection with the network centering allegedly run by Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A., also known as Abu Walaa.

The Germany-based preacher was arrested Nov. 8 with four other men and accused of leading a group whose aim was to steer people to the Islamic State group in Syria. Prosecutors say the network smuggled at least one young man and his family to Syria.

Family members in Amri's central Tunisian hometown of Oueslatia said he wasn't particularly religious before leaving for Europe in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.

In Italy, where Amri first lived, he served 3 years in jail for setting a fire at a refugee center and making threats, among other things  but authorities apparently detected no signs of radicalization. He was transferred repeatedly among Sicilian prisons for bad conduct, with records saying he bullied inmates and tried to spark insurrections.

After learning of his death, Amri's mother said she feared the world would never know why he allegedly rammed a truck through a holiday crowd.

"Within him is a great secret. They killed him, and buried the secret with him," Nour El Houda Hassani told The Associated Press. She begged for his remains to be brought home, and said, "I want the truth about my son  who was behind him, those who indoctrinated him."

Under pressure to show that her government is taking seriously the threat posed by young extremists who, like Amri, slipped into Germany along with an influx of migrants in the past two years, Merkel said her country would step up the deportation of Tunisians who aren't entitled to residency in Germany.

Last year, Germany deported just 17 to Tunisia. That figure increased to 117 so far this year.
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Linkedin Arya Dipa and Markus Makur (The Jakarta Post) Bandung/East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara  Sat, December 24, 2016

Thousands of churchgoers took part in a Christmas service held at a popular auditorium in the Sasana Budaya Ganesha convention center in Bandung, West Java, on Friday evening under police security and a disruption-free guarantee by the local administration.

The organizer of the Spiritual Awakening Service (KKR) that featured renowned Pastor Stephen Tong provided as many as 3,000 seats for the congregation in the service held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday.

The same community faced hurdles in the same place when an act of intolerance by a mob of hard-liners consisting of members of the Ahlus Sunnah Defenders (PAS) and the Indonesia Islamic Preaching Council (DDII) forced the community to cancel a Christmas service on Dec. 6.

The protesters claimed the service was illegal as it was being held at a public facility.

(Read also: Keep calm and merry on: Police)

Get ready: A police personnel salutes National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian on Friday during the lunching of the annual Operasi Lilin (Operation Candle) to beef up security ahead of Christmas and New Year festivities.(Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)

However, the churchgoers could join the Christmas service on Friday with at least 500 police personnel guarding the location, Bandung police chief Sr. Comr. Hendro Pandowo said, adding they were divided into four rings spreading from inside the building to the streets nearby.

West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan, Siliwangi military commander Maj. Gen. Muhammad Herindra and Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil all came as guests to the event.

Ridwan said his office had received a statement letter from PAS that its members would not disrupt the Christmas service. The group had also made a statement apologizing for interrupting and forcibly canceling religious activities.

All parties have committed to the support of religious freedom in accordance with existing regulations. Hopefully this country is always at peace with [citizens] who have a high tolerance and understanding toward one another, Ridwan said prior to the event where he delivered an opening speech.

(Read also: Terrorists targeting police in foiled Banten terror plot)

Christians across the archipelago are gearing up for Christmas celebrations, which is to fall on Sunday, while the security apparatus is busy preparing for security measures amid recent terrorist crackdowns and rising intolerance, which has put Indonesias pluralism to the test.

However, the coexistence of different faiths was apparent in East Manggarai regency of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), where security for Christmas celebrations at Santo Arnoldus and Yoseph Waelengga Catholic Church involved Muslims.

Chairman of the Santo Arnoldus and Yoseph Waelengga Parishs Catholic youth organization, Alfianus Irno, said that mosque youths and Muslims were involved in the security for the access road to the church as well as the outer rings of the Catholic churches in Ruteng diocese.

This is a form of interfaith tolerance in Flores Island, Alfianus told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Meanwhile, Riau Police Chief Insp. Gen. Zulkarnain Adinegara guaranteed that the province would be safe regardless of the recent arrests of terror suspects in three neighboring provinces.

There is no obstacle. Of course we all hope this situation remains until after the Christmas and New Year celebrations, he said adding that the Riau Police had deployed 3,068 personnel to provide added security from two days prior to Christmas until after the New Year celebrations.

A traveler observes Christmas decorations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)

The same security guarantee was also expressed by East Kalimantan Police chief Insp. Gen. Syafaruddin. He gave an assurance that East and North Kalimantan remained conducive and had returned to normal following the terrorist attack at Oikumene church, where a bomb exploded, killing a toddler and injuring others.

In Medan, North Sumatra, the Bukit Barisan Military Command (Kodam) bomb squad combed Dame Batak Church in Jl. Pembangunan after recently receiving a bomb threat.

No bombs were found by the team, said Maj. Rielman Yudha of Combat Engineer Battalion/Dira Dharma at Kodam, adding that the sterilization of the church was part of an instruction to secure the area during Christmas celebrations.

As many as 12 churches in Salatiga, Central Java, have also been the focus of security measures, Salatiga Police chief Sr. Comr. Happy Perdana Yudianto said, adding that the churches, which are located in the main streets of the city, frequently congregated in large numbers.

Rizal Harahap, N. Adri, Apriadi Gunawan and Suherdjoko contributed to the article from Pekanbaru, Balikpapan, Medan and Semarang.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Sat, December 24 2016

The ghost of the Christmas Eve bombings in 2000 has begun to haunt the country yet again after the National Polices Densus 88 counterterrorism squad arrested a number of terrorism suspects  shooting three of them dead in the process  in a series of raids aimed at preempting a suicide bombing that could have turned what should be a festive holiday for Christians into a bloodbath.

It comes as no surprise that President Joko Jokowi Widodo has ordered the police to take necessary measures to keep security and order intact during Christmas and New Year celebrations. The states responsibility to protect is therefore a justifiable reason for the counterterrorism operations over the last few weeks.

The police say all the terrorism plots were orchestrated from overseas by an Indonesian militant linked to the Islamic State (IS) group, 33-year-old Bahrun Naim, who reportedly has managed to breed new cells across the country via the internet.

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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24 2016

Determined to ensure the smooth movement of travelers and avoid incidents during the Idul Fitri exodus, the government has guaranteed that all means of transportation will be under control ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday season.

This year Idul Fitris mass exodus in Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim country, was marked in particular by severe congestion at Central Javas East Brebes exit, dubbed Brexit by netizens.

A result of poor traffic management, the incident in the newly-operated toll road led to the deaths of 17 travelers from fatigue and smoke inhalation.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24 2016

South Jakarta Police has released a smartphone application called Lapor Berantas Narkoba (Report and Eradicate Drugs), which residents can use to report drug abuse in South Jakarta from their smartphones.

Launched on Thursday, the app had been integrated with Jakarta public reporting app Qlue. The app can only be accessed by those who use Telkomsel as their service provider.

South Jakarta Police narcotics unit head Comr. Vivict Tjangkung said the app was created in response to a number of drug abuse cases.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

The Indonesian Navy is facing a tough challenge from the weather in its efforts to search for the crewmen of the Navy vessel Layang, who have been out of contact since Dec. 14 while carrying out their duties in Talaud Islands regency in North Sulawesi.

"Due to the weather and geographical conditions in the location, we haven't managed to find the four missing crewmen," Navy spokesman Colonel Gig Jonias Mozes Sipasulta said in a press statement on Saturday.

The four crewmembers were lost while escorting a Philippines fishing boat that was netted by the Navy Layng 635 ship a day earlier.

The crewmembers were reportedly fully armed while escorting the boat to the nearest naval base.

The crewmembers also reported in hourly the Layang 635 vessel before losing contact.

(Read also: Global collaboration needed to combat illegal fishing: Jokowi)

Sipasulta said the search operation would also be carried out on land, involving Navy bases around the area such as the Melonguane, Morotai and Posal Tobelo Naval bases. Assistance from regional governments and the people around the area will also be needed, he added.

The Navy is coordinating with the Naval Fleet East Mindanao (NFEM) Command. The Philippines Navy also plans to offer assistance by deploying its BRP Mayat Salamat (PS-20) warship.

The Indonesian Navy has deployed six warships: the KRI Diponegoro, the KRI Layang, the KRI Sidat, the KRI Ahmad Yani, the Kari Lambung Mangkurat and the KRI Arun. It has also deployed two planes to assist in the operation. (fac/jun)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24 2016

Waste management in Jakarta this year underwent a major shake up that culminated in the city administration unilaterally terminating its contract with two private operators of the waste treatment facility in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, West Java.

Jakarta, home to 10 million people, produces approximately 7,000 tons of solid waste per day.

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Linkedin Ina Parlina, Margareth S. Aritonang and Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

Despite the intensified activities of terrorist cells and threats from hard-line groups to disrupt Christmas and New Years Eve celebrations, the National Police have insisted that the year-end holidays will proceed peacefully.

On Friday, the police, backed by the Indonesian Military (TNI), launched the annual Operasi Lilin (Operation Candle) to beef up security ahead of the year-end festivities.

For the security operation, which will run through to Jan. 1, 2017, the police will deploy a total of 150,000 officers across the country, who will be tasked with securing churches, shopping malls, tourist destinations and venues where crowds are expected to gather in large numbers.

(Read also: Terrorists targeting police in foiled Banten terror plot)

Final touch: A worker puts Christmas ornaments on Friday on a huge tent erected at the Jakarta Cathedral to welcome the Christmas celebration on Sunday. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)

The police gave an assurance that the security situation was under control and that it was safe for the country to celebrate the two festivities, especially following the crackdown on at least 13 terrorist cells in six provinces across the country, a campaign that National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian claimed would have a deterrent [effect] on other terrorist groups.

Under the auspices of the massive security operation, each individual church in the country will receive security protection during Christmas services.

To personally guarantee the safety of Christians celebrating Christmas, Tito is scheduled to visit a number of churches in and around Jakarta starting Saturday.

In providing the security protection, police personnel have coordinated with church leaders to draw up detailed security plans to secure Christmas services.

Police have also provided training to church managements on preparing for bomb attacks, said National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul.

We have told church leaders to brief parishioners on safety measures. We have this covered, Martinus said. Martinus said no serious threats had been detected and that the security situation was under control.

A number of foreign governments have issued travel warnings for their citizens about visiting Indonesia during Christmas and New Years Eve, a move which Martinus said was understandable.

Tito meanwhile urged people to remain calm and carry on with their daily routines and enjoy the holidays as security authorities were hard at work maintaining security.

Despite the police assurance, in the past weeks, the country has seen a rising number of intolerance cases, which have included hardline groups launching raids against shopping malls perceived to be forcing Muslim staff to wear Christmas paraphernalia such as Santa hats. The raids have taken places in cities ranging from Bandung, West Java, to Sragen in Central Java and in Surabaya, East Java.

Last year, the Christmas celebration passed off peacefully, but only two weeks into the new year, a bomb and gun attack in Jakartas business district, near the Sarinah shopping center, left eight people dead, including four terrorists, and injured dozens of others.

(Read also: Jakarta remains vulnerable to terror attacks with leading IS terrorist on the loose)

On alert: Police officers stand guard at a residential neighborhood where police conducted a raid on a house used by suspected militants, in South Tangerang, Banten, on Dec. 21. Indonesian police said three suspected militants who were planning a holiday season suicide bombing were killed in the raid Wednesday on the outskirts of Jakarta in the second imminent attack to be foiled in less than two weeks. (AP/Tatan Syuflana)

Earlier on Friday, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto led a joint meeting to discuss the threat of terrorism in the lead-up to the year-end holidays.

The meeting concluded with relevant agencies agreeing to draft thorough counterterrorism measures, especially in dealing with Indonesian militant groups with ties to the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

We have a plan to involve all [relevant] ministries and institutions to carry out counterterrorism measures because this is no longer a national issue, but an international one, Wiranto told reporters.

National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius, who took part in the meeting, said the government was now looking for ways to isolate terrorist inmates from other prisoners to prevent them from spreading their radical ideas behind bars.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo himself has instructed the police and the military to pay extra attention to a possible terrorist threat during the year-end celebrations.

There should be stern measures against those who want to disrupt people wanting to celebrate Christmas and New Years Eve, Jokowi said in a tweet he sent using his handle @jokowi on Thursday.
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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

A human rights watchdog has called on lawmakers to carefully exercise their role in the selection of new commissioners for the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), as they will play a pivotal role in setting the future course of human rights promotion and protection in the country.

The selection of Komnas HAM commissioners is not free from political interests through their representatives at the House, Jakarta-based Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said on Friday.

Therefore, the [selection] team must search for the best individuals for the House of Representatives to pick.

Lambasting the poor performance of the 11 commissioners that currently serve Komnas HAM, Hendardi said the problem was a result of poor recruitment and selection from the previous term.

(Read also: Lawmakers want 'nationalist' figures for Komnas HAM)

Like members of other government-sanctioned commissions, candidates for Komnas HAM commissioners must undergo a fit-and-proper test organized by the Houses legal affairs commission, which also has the final say in the recruitment process.

The current commissioners have been preoccupied with internal power struggles instead of focusing their time and energy on their main assignment; to solve past rights abuses, which involves high level politics, Hendardi said.

There is absolutely nothing to be proud of with the current commissioners.

Komnas HAM currently has 13 commissioners who were inaugurated in 2013. Infighting over leadership and facilities has drawn nationwide attention to the commission. Komnas HAM was again under the public spotlight earlier this year because of budget irregularities allegedly involving one of its commissioners, Dianto Bachriadi.

The selection team welcomes candidates to become new Komnas HAM commissioners until February next year. Selected individuals will sit for a fit-and-proper test later in October next year before they officially take over the posts from current commissioners whose terms will end also in that month. (hwa)
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, December 24, 2016

The police have shot dead a drug dealer and arrested an accomplice in Medan, confiscating 10.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 1000 ecstasy pills from them.

Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Sandi Nugroho said on Saturday that his officers first nabbed a man, identified only as RL, on Jl. Sidomulyo, Percut Sei Tuan district, on Friday and seized 100 grams of methamphetamine.

Sandi said RL claimed that the drugs belonged to his friend, identified as FR, 25.

He said his officers then nabbed FR at his house in Medan Marelan district, and confiscated 10 kilograms of methamphetamine and 1,000 ecstasy pills.

(Read also:Alleged drug trafficker shot dead, two arrested during raid in Medan)

After being interrogated, FR admitted that the drugs were to be sold during the Christmas Eve celebration, he said.

FR told the officers that there was another accomplice who would distribute the drugs.

The officers then escorted FR to a place near the Cemara toll gate in the city, but FR tried to escape and attacked the officers.

FR was shot as he tried to stab the officers with a knife, Sandi said.

Sandi said that FR died after being treated at the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Medan. (jun)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

The local motorcycle industry has seen a healthy improvement in exports this year despite sluggish sales in the domestic market, a business association reported.

Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI) chairman Gunadi Sindhuwinata said exports from January to November increased by 24.8 percent to 257,234 units compared to the same period last year. Counting back to 2013, the figure has increased by almost 900 percent compared to the 27,135 units exported at that time.

"For 2017, I believe we can increase the exports by at least 10 percent," Gunadi said Thursday in a public discussion on the industry outlook for next year.

(Read also: Ojek drivers cushion motorcycle sales plunge)

Data from AISI shows that, as of November, domestic sales had decreased by 7.82 percent year-on-year to 5.49 million motorcycles. The slump in commodity prices, for example, has contributed to a decline in customers purchasing power, especially outside Java, the association claims.

"People outside Java celebrated a good harvest by buying motorcycles but they cannot do that nowadays because low commodity prices have hit their incomes," Gunadi said.

He added that since the industrys peak performance in 2011, which saw over 8 million motorcycles sold, sales figures have continued to decline until today. Over the past two years, no principals put more investment into Indonesia, as their factories have also been far below their maximum production capacity. (hwa)
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Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong and Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

Fahmi Darmawansyah, the treasurer of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), has been detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for his alleged role in a graft case centered on a procurement project involving the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla).

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said that Fahmi, the executive director of PT Melati Technofo Indonesia, would be detained at the Guntur detention center in South Jakarta for the next 20 days.

The antigraft body decided to detain Fahmi after questioning him for eight hours at the KPKs headquarters in Kuningan.

FDs arrest was decided through a case screening. FD is one of the suspects who had been identified after a sting operation was done and when the suspects were named the KPK was quite sure that these four people committed crimes, KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said, referring to Fahmi by his initials.

Fahmi, along with two executives of PT Melati Technofo Indonesia (MTI), allegedly bribed Bakamla deputy chief Eko Susilo Hadi with Rp 2 billion (US$148,887) to win the bidding for the procurement of sea surveillance satellite systems worth Rp 400 billion.

All four have been named suspects in the case.

(Read also: KPK looks into large-scale maritime graft)

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian (left) wipes his forehead as Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Maruf Amin (center) and Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Rizieq Shihab look on during a press conference at the MUI in Jakarta last month. Ma'ruf confirmed on Friday that graft suspect Fahmi is the council's treasurer. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)

According to the KPKs investigation, the Rp 2 billion was part of a commitment fee amounting to 7.5 percent of the total value of the project. KPK investigators also subsequently went to the MTI office in Jakarta and arrested another MTI executive, identified only by the initials DSR.

Speaking after the interrogation, Fahmi said that he went to the KPK on his own initiative as he had been outside of Indonesia in the Netherlands when the sting operation that led to Ekos arrest was carried out. I was supposed to return to Indonesia on Dec. 29, but because there was this news, I came home [early], he said. So its clear that Im not a fugitive. I have the good intention to clarify [the allegations], but, God willing, God will make this his best test for me. Well see what Gods scenario is like.

Fahmi also denied the allegation that he knew Eko. I dont know that officer, he said.

Fahmis lawyer, Maqdir Ismail, said that his client knew nothing about the alleged bribery attempt and that there were someone else who had initiated the bribery.

What I know is that this company was owned by another person which he [Fahmi] wanted to take over. As for the tender process, it was done by the old owner of the company, he said.

(Read also: AGO did not interfere with arrested Bakamla official)

Besides the four named suspects, the KPK alleged that Eko had rigged the projects with the help of Bakamla director for data and information Commodore Bambang Udoyono, a one-star admiral in the Navy seconded to Bakamla, in exchange for kickbacks from the businesspeople.

Following the accusation, the Military Police have moved quickly to investigate Bambang. TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Wuryanto said the Military Police had started questioning witnesses in the case to investigate allegations that Bambang had received money in connection with the procurement project, adding that investigators would also soon question Bambang.

Yes, there are indications [of Bambang receiving bribes]. We will dig further to get details about it in the investigation, Wuryanto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Busted: Fahmi Darmawansyah (second right), the treasurer of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and president director of PT Melati Technofo Indonesia, is escorted to leave the Corruption Eradication Commission building in Jakarta on Friday. Fahmi has been detained by the KPK for his alleged role in a graft case centered on a procurement project involving the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla).(Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)

The KPK does not have any authority to investigate Bambang because of his status as a TNI member, but the antigraft body has asked the TNI about the possibility of allowing KPK investigators to help military investigators in the case.

Maqdir has denied the allegations that Fahmi, the husband of actress Inneke Koesherawati, was backed by Bambang. Dont make such [allegations]. Slander is more evil than murder, he said.

MUI chairman Maruf Amin confirmed that Fahmi is the councils treasurer. Yes its true, but for the MUIs statement on the case, I have delegated that to the councils secretary-general, Anwar Abbas, to explain, Maruf told the Post.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24 2016

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has denied rumors that 10 million Chinese people are currently working in Indonesia, saying the actual number is only about 21,000.

Many people say that the number of Chinese [workers] who entered Indonesia is 10 million, or 20 million. When did they make the calculation? Based on our data, the number is 21,000. Thats really small, the President said in Kerawang, West Java, as quoted by Antara on Friday.

The President, who is accused of being pro-Beijing, said he hoped people would not be easily provoked by baseless rumors circulating on social media, which have often created commotion.

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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

The National Polices Traffic Corps (Korlantas) will measure the noise threshold produced from the horns of buses made to entertain fans of the phenomenon Om Telolet Om.

National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul told a press conference on Friday that the decision was made to make sure that the sound of the horns complied with the legal noise threshold of between 93 and 118 decibels.

We can impose the law on traffic on drivers with horns producing more than the highest level of noise allowed in public spaces, Martinus said.

Law No. 22/1999 on traffic and public transportation stipulates that violations of the noise threshold are subject of two-month imprisonment or an Rp 500,000 (US$37) fine, he added.

(Read also: Om Telolet Om unsafe to do on public roads: Transportation Ministry)

Martinus cited the polices decision to enforce the law in response to the Om Telolet Om phenomenon, as part of efforts to educate drivers and residents shouting for the horns on roads.

We understand the phenomenon is enjoyable for them but we must be responsible for their safety and others who use the roads. Reckless actions on roads will put them as well as others in danger.

The phrase Om Telolet Om, a popular Indonesian phrase used by the younger generation has become popular recently. In Indonesian, Om means uncle or older man, which refers to the bus drivers, while telolet means to honk the horn of a vehicle. If combined, it literally means Driver, honk, driver.

It became a global phenomenon after a video showing children and youngsters standing on the streets of Ngabul, a subdistrict in Jepara regency, Central Java, waving and shouting Om Telolet Om at passing busses went viral. (hwa)
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Sat, December 24 2016

A Sumatran elephant suffering from digestive problems died of malnutrition only a week after it was relocated to Barumun Nagari Wildlife Sanctuary in North Padang Lawas regency, North Sumatra in an attempt to save its life.

The 40-year-old bull elephant, named Dion, died a week after arriving at the sanctuary on Dec. 9 from the Aras Napal elephant-training center in Langkat regency. The animals death was only made public on Thursday by the North Sumatra Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA).

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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

A Muslim participant stole the crowds attention on Friday evening during an event held to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the death of Indonesia's fourth president, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, as he was wearing a red Santa hat paired with an Islamic male shirt, locally known as baju koko.

Wearing Christmas accessories such as a Santa hat while also wearing Muslim attire is not common among Muslims, especially after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued an edict recently stating that it is haram (forbidden) for Muslims to wear Christmas attire.

Alim, the participant, said he wore the hat in respect of Christian-Indonesians who would celebrate Christmas on Sunday.

"It is just a gesture of tolerance," he said.

(Read also: MUI edict on Christmas imbues spirit of tolerance: Minister)

The death of Gus Dur has been commemorated annually to honor his legacy and revive his ideas in relation with pluralism and protecting minority groups.

Gus Dur's eldest daughter, Alissa, said the visions and ideas of her late father were still relevant, especially amid growing sectarianism.

"In response to the increasing hate culture among Muslims and the adherents of other faiths recently, we feel it has become more relevant to propagate the Islamic values practiced by Gus Dur," Alissa said in a statement.

Gus Dur, who served as Indonesias fourth president from 1999 to 2001, was known for his work in promoting tolerance and pluralism in the country, which earned him the title of "The Father of Pluralism".

(Read also: Gus Dur would have loudly condemned recent acts of intolerance: Activist)

A year after taking office, Gus Dur issued a regulation that officially recognized Confucianism, the religion adhered to by many Chinese-Indonesians, who had been forbidden to display their culture during presidents Soehartos authoritarian reign.

He passed away on Dec. 30, 2009, at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta because of complications from several diseases, including diabetes, stroke and heart disease. He was 69. (hwa)
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands  Sat, December 24, 2016

The Karimun Police in Riau Islands are investigating the discovery of the dead body of a Singaporean man.

Karimun Police water police unit head First Insp. Sahata Sitorus said the body, which was found by local fishermen on Friday, has been admitted to the Muhammad Sani General Hospital to undergo a post-mortem examination.

We have yet to identify the cause of the death and why the body was floating in the Karimun Anak water, Sahata told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The dead body was found in black trousers, a white shirt with PSA Marine written on it and boots. An ID card was found with the name Ilzam bin Odit, born on Sept. 8, 1963. The ID card said the man lived in Sengkang, Singapore.

Sahara estimated that the body had floated in the sea for around two days.

Karimun regency is located 50 kilometers southwest of Singapore and can be reached in 105-minutes by ferry from the city-state. (fac/hwa)
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Linkedin Safrin La batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, December 24, 2016

Thousands of people attended the seventh anniversary of the death of Indonesia's fourth president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid at the former president's residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, on Friday afternoon.

People flocked to Gus Dur's residence since in the afternoon to participate in the nights events, which included prayer, poetry readings, speeches and the reading of a commitment to peace and tolerance for the country.

Roads near the venue visibly became congested from the influx of people coming to the venue, which included people from outside Jakarta.

(Read also: Gus Dur would have loudly condemned recent acts of intolerance: Activist)

Security of the venue was also tightened with several police officers seen on patrol nearby.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was scheduled to give a speech at the event.

Several high-ranking officials in the government also were in attendance, including Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saefuddin, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan and National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian.

Alissa Wahid, Gus Dur's eldest sister, said the vision and ideas of the late Gus Dur were still relevant today, especially amid recent growing sectarianism in the country.

"In response to the increasing culture of hatred among Muslims and the adherents of other faiths recently, we feel it has become even more relevant to propagate the Islamic values practiced by Gus Dur," Alissa said in a statement. (jun)
The leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America issued the following statement Friday afternoon in the wake of the passage of a resolution by the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlement activity.

Today, the United Nations maintained its longstanding tradition of anti-Israel animus. The Security Council passed a resolution that cannot be properly characterized as anything other than biased against Israel. But what was an unprecedented and deeply disturbing break from the past was todays decision by the Obama Administration not to veto this resolution, but to merely abstain and to permit the resolution to pass 14-0. The Orthodox Union is gravely disappointed with this decision by President Obama. Over the course of his presidency, Mr. Obama repeatedly reassured American Jews, and others who care for the security and welfare of Israel, that his commitment to American support for Israels security was unshakable. By allowing this resolution to pass in the waning weeks of his Administration, President Obama has undermined his legacy in that regard.

The Orthodox Union appreciates the statements by Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress calling upon the Administration to veto this latest calumny, and their commitment to respond forcefully to such United Nations action. The OU Advocacy Center will work to support these efforts.

[TLS]
(lead article)

Calif. vigil denounces cop killing of Francisco Serna

Socialist Workers Party candidate joins protest

Bakersfield Californian/Felix Adamo

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.  More than 200 people attended a candlelight vigil Dec. 13 for Francisco Serna, 73, shot and killed by the police here the day before. Participants included family; neighbors; relatives of other victims of cop killings in Bakersfield; Dolores Huerta, a founding member of the United Farm Workers union; and Dennis Richter, Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of Los Angeles.

It is difficult to accept that our dads life ended so brutally, abruptly and with such excessive violence, said Cyndy Imperial, reading a statement from Sernas family. We felt our dad was stolen from us at a time our family should be celebrating the holidays, birthdays and making happy family memories. Instead, our dad was murdered by BPD.

Serna was shot after midnight when police arrived after receiving a report that someone in the area was acting strangely and might have a gun. Serna, who family members said suffered from early stages of dementia, often took late-night walks around the neighborhood.

While the cops were interviewing the couple who called them, Police Chief Lyle Martin told the media that Serna came out of his house and walked toward them with one hand in his jacket. The cops started yelling at him and when he kept walking, officer Reagan Selman fired seven times.

Serna was unarmed. He was carrying a wooden crucifix in his pocket.

He had absolutely nothing. No gun, no knife, no stick, nothing, said neighbor Donald Clark, a witness to the killing.

BPD murdered my father for no reason, said daughter Laura Serna.

The cops let their dog on him after he was shot, Clark said. He was begging for help.

Rubia Serna, Franciscos wife, and daughter Laura, asked to go to his side as he lay dying, but police refused.

Among those who joined the vigil were family members of others who were shot and killed by the Bakersfield police, including Jorge Ramirez. His son, also named Jorge Ramirez, was shot and killed by the cops in 2013. Police offered him a deal on outstanding drug charges if he would lead them to another suspect. When he did so a gunfight ensued, and Ramirez, who was unarmed, was shot 10 times. Even though he was assisting the cops, they handcuffed and left him face down on the pavement, and he died.

Ramirezs banner read, Stand Up and Unite Against Killer Cops.

We demand charges against the cop who killed Serna, SWP candidate Richter said when he met Jorge Ramirez. The vigils and protests are important to not let the pressure off the police and the city. And as we participate in these fights, we learn and draw strength from each other.

The cops dont act in our interests, they dont serve and protect us. They serve and protect the interests of the propertied rulers and act as an occupation force against the working class, disproportionately against those who are African-American, Latino or Native American, Richter said. Thats why this brutality will continue as long as this system remains in place, a system run by and for the capitalist class.

Judy Edens, mother of Jason Alderman, and his aunt, Traci Alderman, also joined the protest. Jason Alderman was shot and killed by officer Chad Garrett in August 2015 when cops said they thought the crowbar he had was a gun.

Garrett is the same cop who killed Jorge Ramirez.

The Sernas are requesting an investigation by the Department of Justice and are asking the California attorney general to appoint an independent investigator in the matter.





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Milwaukee cop charged in killing of Sylville Smith







Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home




(front page)

Workers in Syria face catastrophe as Moscow, Assad seize Aleppo

Aleppo Media Center

Tens of thousands of civilians and fighters opposing the Syrian dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad are being evacuated from the city of Aleppo. Thousands of Syrian rebels faced a brutal defeat at the hands of Russian airstrikes and ground troops from Assads army, Iran and Tehran-backed Shiite militias from Lebanon and Iraq, as Washington and the European imperialist powers stood aside, seeking to pursue their interests without being drawn into a ground war in Syria.

Those leaving the city are the latest wave in a catastrophe for working people that has left over 400,000 dead and more than half the countrys population driven from their homes.

These events register shifts in relations among some of the main capitalist ruling classes intervening in Syria to advance their competing interests  particularly the growing alliance of the governments of Russia, Turkey and Iran. And they highlight how Washington, for decades the dominant imperialist power in the Middle East, has been increasingly pushed aside.

Since crushing popular protests for democratic rights in 2011, the Assad regime has a well-earned reputation for carrying out bloody reprisals against opponents of his rule.

Assads repression led to over five years of civil war. The regime suffered reverses, losing territory  including large parts of Aleppo  and found it increasingly difficult to recruit troops. But Iranian troops, Lebanese-based Hezbollah forces and Moscow air power tipped the balance against the rebellion. Because of Washingtons reluctance to offer any substantial military aid, opposition forces faced massive bombings, artillery attacks and increased ground forces with hand weapons and little else.

Ankara seeks deal with Moscow against Kurds

For years the Turkish government funded and armed many of the groups fighting Assads rule. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shifted Ankaras strategy, dropping efforts to depose Assad in favor of collaboration with Moscow. Ankaras goal? To win Moscows backing for its attacks on Kurdish forces in Syria, Iraq and Turkey.

Turkish-backed groups pulled back from the fight in Aleppo, and instead are fighting alongside Turkish troops in northern Syria against the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).

The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Moscow Dec. 20, leaving the United States on the sidelines as the countries sought to drive the conflict in ways that serve their interests, the New York Times said. They agreed to broker talks in Kazakhstan to try to reach a broader cease-fire between the Syrian government and the opposition and to become its guarantor, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Both Moscow and Ankara took pains not to let the meeting be derailed by the assassination in Ankara of Andrei Karlov, Russias ambassador to Turkey, the day before by an off-duty cop who shouted, Allahu akbar and Dont forget Aleppo. Turkish authorities are seeking to link the gunman to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who Ankara accuses of orchestrating an attempted coup in July. Tens of thousands accused by Erdogan of being agents of Gulen have been fired, jailed and disappeared in a brutal crackdown since.

As of Dec. 20, at least 25,000 people had been bused out of eastern Aleppo since the Russian and Turkish governments brokered a cease-fire, with many more waiting to evacuate. Most are being taken to Idlib province, which is controlled by government opponents. The dominant forces there are Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which was formerly the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, and other Islamist groups. Idlib is not a popular destination for fighters and civilians from east Aleppo, where nationalist rebel groups predominated, Reuters said Dec. 15.

Opposition in Idlib: easy prey for regime

Assad and his allies will have corralled much of Syrias insurgency and its supporters into a small mountainous patch where they will be easy prey, Faysal Itani of the Atlantic Council wrote in the Times Dec. 14.

Some Ankara-backed opposition combatants are being rerouted to join Turkish forces in their Euphrates Shield offensive against the YPGs drive to unify Kurdish-controlled areas north of Aleppo.

The military operation was launched in August, ostensibly against Islamic State but with the open aim of preventing the YPG from extending and connecting regions under its control. Its current objective is to drive Islamic State out of al-Bab, a city 25 miles northeast of Aleppo, before the Kurds can do so.

In 2012, the Barack Obama administration threatened that any evidence Assad was using chemical weapons would cross a red line and Washington would intervene. But when the Syrian regime used those weapons against opposition forces in Damascus, killing nearly 1,500 people, including 400 children, the U.S. government didnt respond. Since then, Washingtons priority in Syria has been the defeat of Islamic State.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he is not interested in increasing Washingtons military intervention, preferring efforts for a deal with Moscow.

Washington is supporting Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with airstrikes and special operations troops in the current push to retake Raqqa from Islamic State, over the Turkish governments objections.

At the same time, U.S. officials have made clear they dont intend to recognize any form of Kurdish sovereignty in Syria. Kurds should not seek to create autonomous, semi-autonomous zones, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.





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(front page)

1959 Freedom Caravan shows character of Cuban Revolution

Telling the truth is the first duty of every revolutionary.  How did the Rebel Army win the war? Telling the truth. How did the tyranny lose the war? Deceiving its soldiers.

 Fidel Castro

Havana, Jan. 8, 1959

Capitalist politicians and their big-business media in the U.S. greeted the death of Fidel Castro Nov. 25 with a pre-scripted message: Cubans would pour into the streets demanding an end to the dictatorship there and a return to the dog-eat-dog system of free market capitalism.

To the contrary, workers worldwide saw millions of Cuban workers, farmers and youth lining the streets to pay tribute to Fidel as his ashes were carried from Havana to Santiago de Cuba in the east. It was a Freedom Caravan that retraced the route taken by Castro and the July 26 Movements Rebel Army after the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on Jan. 1, 1959, but in reverse.

On Dec. 28, 1958, as rebel troops were advancing across the island, Fidel met with Gen. Eulogio Cantillo, head of Batistas joint chief of staffs. Cantillo pledged he would not allow Batista to flee, that he would not organize a military coup to block the insurrection nor ask the U.S. Embassy to mediate.

But Cantillo lied, allowing Batista and other regime henchmen to escape to the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. Cantillo appointed a new capitalist government on Jan. 1, 1959.

His attempt collapsed, as workers across the country heeded Fidels call for a general strike and the former regimes troops across the island began laying down their arms. Castro and the Rebel Army began their Freedom Caravan, starting in Santiago de Cuba and stopping in almost every town along the way to Havana to explain the revolutions goals and to increase the consciousness, discipline and involvement of working people.

The Militant is reprinting below excerpts from the book Caravana de la libertad by Luis Baez and Pedro de la Hoz, which describes the caravan and includes speeches by Castro and interviews with participants. Translation is by the Militant.





In this first excerpt Fidels driver, Alberto Vazquez, describes what happened after Cantillos betrayal:

Around 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, I began hearing on the radio of the Land Rover the news that the tyrant had fled. We were happy, but the Commander in Chief was very upset and he explained to us the significance of what happened.  I still remember his steadfastness when he called for a general strike, outlining the final strategy for entering Santiago and proclaimed the slogan: Revolution, yes! Military coup, no!



Cantillo called to Radio Rebelde and asked to speak to Fidel.

All of us present agreed that Fidel should answer, speak with Cantillo, discuss the situation that had been created. Fidel looks at us and says  Im not going to speak with things that dont exist, because Im not crazy. All the power is for the revolution.

 Luis Buch, rebel leader



The aim of the trip was to send a column to support the companeros heading to the capital. I thought Id get there quickly. And thats when the dictatorship fell. Or rather, when it was overthrown  because it didnt fall, it was overthrown. The dictator and those who wanted to replace him, both of them fell the same day  Batista and Cantillo.

That was the purpose of the trip. I hadnt planned on doing a triumphal march, far from it. It seemed to me a little out of place at the time.

I stopped in the towns because the people stopped me there. I had no choice but to talk with them, even though I thought we needed to be in Havana as soon as possible  but once we started we had to listen to the wishes of the people. They wanted to talk with us and greet the Moncada combatants.

 Fidel Castro

Santa Clara, Jan. 6, 1959



On Jan. 2 Fidel and the caravan got to Bayamo, where the strongest military garrison that still supported Batista was located, with more than 3,000 soldiers.

It really impressed me because when Fidel stopped speaking to these people, the soldiers began to drop their rifles and pile them up like they were wood for a charcoal pit. I said to myself: Damn! These were the same ones that were fighting us just a few hours ago. Its because Fidel spoke to them with the strength of his logic and the truth.

 Alberto Vazquez



This was not the time for arms, but for ideas. In war, revolutionaries risk our lives for an ideal. In peace it is crucial to define the arguments, to have clear projections and to explain to the masses the principles and foundations of the society we have to create together.

 Vazquez, describing the message Fidel gave at each stop



Vazquez also commented on the power of the revolutionary tasks Fidel laid out to the Cuban people. He was in charge of protecting Castro during the caravan, but found himself getting distracted when Fidel spoke:

When I least expected, I would catch myself absorbed with enthusiasm as I listened to Fidel speaking about future projects, commitments, the things that lay ahead of us.



This cant be a speech to praise the people.  We have to tell the people what are their obligations. We have to tell them the revolution has to be everyones work, thats the only way to have a real victory.

 Fidel before his talk in Santa Clara, Jan. 6, 1959

If the people knew how to win this war, which was difficult, why wont they know how to govern now?  The whole town is here today, because everyone is interested in the problems of Cuba.  They know that they have to have the final word on all questions.  We dont need elections all the time, what we need are meetings every day. 

These men [the rebel combatants] have to be educated. What I mean is we have to bring out their extraordinary human qualities, their shining intelligence, the pure feelings each one has in their hearts. Not to swell their heads, not to think that everything is over, but to begin to be better. I tell the rebels that none of us knows anything yet and that we have a lot to learn. And if they did what they did without knowing anything, think how much the homeland can expect when they know more than they do today!

 Fidel at mass rally in Santa Clara



Speaking of past regime changes in Cuba, Fidel continued:

There were revolutionaries who wanted to live off the revolution, they wanted to live off the title of having been revolutionaries  they went to the ministries seeking posts, to live like parasites, to charge a price for what they had been at that moment, for a revolution that unfortunately was never brought to fruition. 

Did we make this revolution thinking that as soon as the tyranny was overthrown we were going to enjoy the perks of power, that every one of us was going to jump on the gravy train, that we were going to live like kings?  We have to ask these questions because the future destiny of Cuba, of us, of the people depends on examining our conscience.



Referring to the mobilizations that greeted the Rebel Army as it crossed the island, Fidel told the massive crowd that greeted them in Havana Jan. 8 as the Freedom Caravan reached its conclusion:

Never in our lives will we be present for such an outpouring, except on another occasion  I am sure that there will again be multitudes  and that is the day that we die.  As many people will gather as today because we will never let our people down.

And, to the horror of the rulers in Washington, he was right.





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(feature article, In review)

Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible?

The new edition of Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? A Necessary Debate Among Working People is timely, published as the 2016 U.S. election was coming to a close. Donald Trump won the presidency, startling liberal pundits and the left and deepening the propertied rulers fear of the working class. Hillary Clinton spoke for them when she denounced the workers who backed Trump as deplorable and irredeemable.

Clinton tried to tell workers the capitalist economy had come back from the abyss, and if workers didnt see it, that was their problem. But working people know in our bones that for us its a lie, a lie borne out by the facts we live with, Norton Sandler, a member of the National Committee of the Socialist Workers Party, writes in the preface.

Behind the election results are the millions Clinton wrote off, who face the daily consequences of the ongoing, slow-burning economic contraction and financial crisis of capitalism and the drive of the bosses and their government to place the burden of that social calamity on our backs. The rulers sense that down the road they face a deepening class struggle.

The book is alive with questions critical for working people facing politics today, even though it is based on a debate that took place almost a decade ago. Only the first tremors of the coming housing-fueled debt crisis and subsequent near-collapse of the credit and banking system had been felt at that time, Sandler says.

Organizers of a five-day forum that was at the center of the 2007 Venezuela International Book Fair  The United States: A Possible Revolution  invited Mary-Alice Waters, a leader of the Socialist Workers Party and president of Pathfinder Press, to open the panel discussion with international participation.

Her answer was an unequivocal Yes! Socialist revolution in the U.S. is possible. Most of the other panelists disagreed.

Waters addressed those who believe, or fear, that US imperialism is too powerful, and that revolution has become at best a utopian dream.

To reach that conclusion you would have to believe that there wont again be economic, financial, and social crises, or devastating world wars, on the order of those that marked the first half of the twentieth century, Waters said. That the ruling families of the imperialist world and their economic wizards have found a way to manage capitalism so as to preclude shattering financial crises and breakdowns of production and trade that could lead to something akin to the Great Depression.

The evidence is overwhelming, she said, that the future we face is the opposite.

The book also records the debate over the place of the Cuban Revolution as an example for those seeking to overthrow capitalisms dog-eat-dog brutality today.

The Cuban Revolution will again be increasingly sought after as new generations of vanguard fighters seek historical experiences from which they can learn not only how to fight but how to fight to win, Waters said. The lessons of the Russian Revolution and the Communist International under Lenin too will once again be studied.

Many questions came up in the wide-ranging debate:

Is socialist revolution necessary, or is there a way to make capitalism serve the interests of the working class?

Has the Cuban Revolution been superseded by a third road between socialist revolution and capitalist rule as a model for today?

Have there been victorious revolutions in the past history of the U.S. class struggle that show the power and capacity of working people? Was the American war for independence a revolution or a land grab? What about the bloody war to end slavery and the subsequent Radical Reconstruction governments?

What is the significance of the recent historic wave of immigration to the U.S.? Has white privilege doomed every movement for social change?

Waters answers those who say revolution can never start in the U.S. because workers here are corrupted by the wealth and consumerism of capitalist society, idiotized by the bourgeois media.

Also relevant is how Waters and Sandler, who also participated in the five-day rolling debate, confronted destructive anti-working-class agent-baiting and Jew-hatred that a few times marred the otherwise civil discussion.

The five-day dialogue was unique in its depth and clarity, Sandler notes. Certainly no similar exchange among the different political currents they [the panelists] represented has taken place in living memory.

This is a book for every worker looking for a way to confront the economic and social nightmare the propertied rulers are imposing on us as their system spawns catastrophe for our class.

As members of the Socialist Workers Party take its books and the Militant to working people, building the party, they find Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? an invaluable weapon. They use it alongside Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? Class, Privilege, and Learning Under Capitalism and The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record: Why Washington Fears Working People, both by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes.

While the class battles ahead of us are inevitable, their outcome is not, Waters says. That depends on us.





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At Christmas it's easy to get caught up in the materialism of wanting and giving presents. But these Christmas films will remind what Christmas is really about.

Home Alone (1990)

Merry Christmas ya filthy animal.

A young Macaulay Culkin stars in this absolute Christmas classic, which sees young Kevin get left behind from his familys Christmas holiday. Every 90s kid watched this film and dreamt of doing the things that Kevin did; from ordering pizza, to jumping on his parents' bed and just making a mess, being home alone looked like the most fun ever.

However, it turns out that its not all fun and games, as Kevin soon discovers that two burglars are planning to rob his house on Christmas Eve. His solution is to set a number of creative (and painful) booby traps.

Everyone can relate to the absolute madness of Kevins house as the huge family try to eat dinner together as well as pack for vacation. Although robbers dont quite capture the Christmas spirit, Home Alone reminds us that no ones family has a perfect stress-free Christmas. Its far more accurate for a family to be portrayed in this way, with arguments, mess, and even forgetting to bring a child on holiday. However, despite the fights and the annual drama of Christmas plans, family really is what matters most at Christmas.

A Christmas Carol

Bah humbug!.

One of the oldest Christmas stories, based on the book by Charles Dickens that was published in 1843, A Christmas Carol has been remade more times than you would believe. Weve seen it in black and white, colour, animation, weve seen puppets, and theres even been a Disney Scrooge McDuck. Nevertheless, its the story that is most important in capturing the Christmas spirit.

A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy old man who hates Christmas. However, he is transformed into a different person after the visit of four ghosts: Jacob Marley (his deceased business partner who warns him to change his ways), the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Its a truly touching story which reminds us that Christmas is a time to give and to spend time with loved ones.

One of the best adaptations is undeniably The Muppet Christmas Carol, but with adaptations going all the way back to 1901, there are certainly enough versions to choose from. I think we all know a Scrooge in our lives who could do with a visit from the Christmas Ghosts

The Polar Express (2004)

Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we cant see.

Although it may not be quite to everyones taste, The Polar Express is one of the most magical Christmas films ever made. Often in Christmas films, a child is teased with the prospect of meeting Santa - whether it be the distant ringing of sleigh bells, the footprints of Santas boots in the snow, or the crumbs left from the cookies, this may be the closest some ever get.

However, in The Polar Express, the young unnamed protagonist actually goes to Santa Claus home of The North Pole on the incredible Polar Express train. As he struggles to keep the faith and believe in Father Christmas, the trip to the North Pole is a journey to re-discover his belief in magic.

As a number of other children are taken on the journey, each child is gradually reminded of a quality they have or need through the conductors (Tom Hanks) ticket puncher which eventually spells out words. Its such a touching reminder of the struggles of childhood and the need for essential things like friendship, belief and hope. With snow, trains, elves, reindeer, presents and the North Pole, it doesnt get more Christmassy than The Polar Express.

Krampus (2015)

"It's Christmas. Nothing bad is going to happen on Christmas!"



A bit of a weird one, true, but 2015's festive monster comedy Krampus can teach us an awful lot about the true meaning of Christmas. It might be about the sudden arrival of the anti-Santa, the titular evil with big ol' horns and hoofed feet snatched straight out of a German folktale, but Krampus is also just as much about banding together, and believing in the joyousness of the festive season. After all, the only reason the central nastiness actually happens in the first place is because a little boy denounces the holiday when he gets a little angry at his cousins.

And so, with an ancient evil on the loose, two warring families are forced to team up and take on everything from carniverous teddy bears to trigger-happy gingerbread men,, ultimately rediscovering the whole point of Christmas to begin with; hope and togetherness. It might not quite be as sappy, or even as romantic as some of these other entries, but it still makes its point, and then some.

Words by Ben Robins

Its A Wonderful Life (1946)

Remember George, no man is a failure who has friends.

There arent many people who can sit through Its a Wonderful Life and not shed a tear. George Bailey (James Stewart) has spent his life dedicating himself to the good of Bedford Falls, so has not been able to pursue his own dreams. As he contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve, he is visited by an angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) who shows George what the people of Bedford Falls lives would be like if he had never been born. He sees that he has touched the lives of many people and realises that it really is a wonderful life.

With a script that just tugs at your heart strings, Its a Wonderful Life is a truly touching reminder of the importance of family, friendship, and giving. Although it took George Bailey a little longer to see it, you can never underestimate the power of selflessness.
From a Chewbacca video that went viral to a gorilla escaping from London Zoo, there have been plenty of unusual news stories this year.

Here is a look at some of the quirky, weird and wonderful stories that 2016 had to offer.

January

NEVER forget that 2016 was the year of "davey cameron is a pie"  Lee Johnson (@ohhleejohnson) December 9, 2016

Jeremy Corbyns twitter account was hijacked by a hacker who sent a series of bizarre messages. In one post, the hacker mocked the then Prime Minister David Cameron, by writing: davey cameron is a pie. The account was quickly recovered by Corbyns team.

February

Thank you David Beckham for buying a tea and coffee for Cycle Paramedic Catherine and her patient #buyitlikebeckham pic.twitter.com/IFvnwuGSJI  London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) February 1, 2016

David Beckham surprised a paramedic and her elderly patient with hot drinks when he spotted them waiting for an ambulance in the cold. Senior paramedic Catherine Maynard had been called out to help the pensioner who had fallen ill in London. Beckham even stopped to pose for a picture with Maynard.

March

RT if you think Boaty McBoatface was the best thing to happen in 2016  Boaty McBoatface (@BoatyMcBoatface) December 3, 2016

When the Natural Environment Research Council asked people to choose a name for their new polar research vessel, more than 124,000 people voted for poll winner Boaty McBoatface. However, the boat was eventually named RRS Sir David Attenborough, which the organisation deemed more suitable. One of the remotely controlled submersibles aboard the ship was given the publics chosen name instead.

April

Vote leave condoms, for that happy ending. pic.twitter.com/iyZeMR5BdJ  Phil C Baker (@PhilCBaker) June 15, 2016

student groups campaigning As the EU referendum debate heated up in April, campaigners used condoms to compete for young votes. Branded condoms were produced byon both sides of the debate and distributed at universities in a bid to sway undecided voters.

May

(Jonathan Brady/PA)

When Leicester City surprised most by winning the Premier League, one lucky fan reaped the rewards of a loyal bet. Leigh Herbert placed a 5 stake on his team winning at odds of 5000/1 in August last year. When the Foxes secured the title, the 39-year-old bagged 20,600.

June

(STEVE NESIUS/AP)

Candace Paynes wildly popular video of her hysterically laughing while wearing Hasbros toy Chewbacca mask gained more than eight million views on YouTube. The toymaker gave her an action figure with her head on Chewbaccas body and a Florida university offered her a scholarship.

July

(David Mirzoeff/PA)

At the height of the global Pokemon Go craze, a Scottish taxi firm offered a helping hand to players. Edinburgh-based Central Taxis devised a route through the city for gaming enthusiasts to boost their chances of capturing a large number of digital characters within a short space of time.

August

(Philip Toscano/PA)

People scrambled to find their old mobile phones when scientists at the University of Edinburgh discovered a simple method to extract gold from the devices. The research team said the new technique will help to salvage hundreds of tonnes of the precious metal from electronic scrap.

September

(Owen Humphreys/PA)

A paralysed, pregnant mother crossed the Great North Run finish line wearing a bionic suit. Claire Lomas, 36, from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, was paralysed in a horse-riding accident nine years earlier and has no feeling below her chest. She used a ReWalk robotic exoskeleton to complete the Newcastle-to-South-Shields course.

October

(Victoria Jones/PA)

Silverback gorilla Kumbuka sent ZSL London Zoo into lockdown when he made an opportunistic exit through two unlocked doors into a corridor where a keeper was working. Kumbuka glugged down five litres of undiluted blackcurrant squash, but was kept calm by a member of staff with whom he had a close bond, the zoo said.

November

Forget ice buckets, jumping or planking, the latest viral phenomenon sweeping the internet consisted of people standing still as part of the mannequin challenge. Celebrities holding poses included Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul McCartney and Hillary Clinton. The videos are set to the song Black Beatles by rap duo Rae Sremmurd.

December

(Stefan Wermuth/PA)
This is a Student Travel Writer 2018 competition entry

Lighters with peeing children. T-shirts with peeing children. Mugs, ash-trays, plates, bags, badges, pencils, stencils step into the city of Brussels and this peeing kid is ridiculously everywhere.

Manneken pis, meaning "Little man Pee" in Dutch , is in fact Brussels symbol, as a result of a landmark bronze statue of a 61cm child urinating in a basin.

Situated in the back alleys of the main square, Grand Place, the figure was designed by Hieronymus Duquesnoy the Elder in 1618 and ever since, although stolen and replicated several times, it has been a mascot for the town.

Every week the statue is dressed in costume on differing days, whether its an organ builder costume, a gangster costume, a sailor costume or a musketeer, according to a schedule published on the structure of the fountain.

The tales told regarding such symbolic being are multiple and all credible in differing ways.

One legend narrates that the statue is a representation of the two-year-old Duke Godfrey III of Leuven who, in 1142, when his troops were battling, was placed in a basket and hung on a tree to encourage his fighters. From there, the boy urinated on the opposing troops leading them to lose the battle shamefully.

Similarly a variation of this story is that, in the 1300s when Brussels was under siege by a foreign power and in the process of being blown up by attackers with explosives, a young boy urinated on the burning fuse and saved the city from fire.

Other stories, passed on from generation to generation, entail a rich merchant foreigner or a sweet lady losing their children while doing business or shopping in the square and, after mobilitating the whole city to find their child, had a statue built in gratitude to those that helped find him.

The statue is such a symbol for the city that several tourists come photograph it each day. On special occasions, it is even hooked up to a beer keg and passersbies fill their cups from what looks like the cherubs pee.

What tourists are seldom told is that since 1987, the Manneken pis has had a female counterpart, Jeanneke Pis. Furthermore, there are variants of this figure all over the world ranging from numerous cities within Belgium, expanding to China, Indonesia, Brazil, Florida and more.

In order to provide no entrant with an unfair advantage, Student Travel Writer 2018 competition entries are edited for grammar only - stylistic choices and headlines are solely the work of the writer in question and not of The National Student's editorial staff.
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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of agriculture will improve its subsidizing tools for the upcoming year for the benefit of villagers, Ignati Arakelyan, agriculture minister of Armenia, told a year-end press conference. According to the minister, talks are underway with companies regarding imports of fertilizers.

We will announce a tender and we will do everything for villagers to have fertilizers, he said. Speaking about the program on establishing cattle breeding facilities, the minister said criteria will be designed for the best breeding facilities operating in Armenia.

We will cooperate with the private sector, and the state will either lend or subsidize, the minister said, adding the direction of the ministry will be establishing state-private sector cooperation.

Arakelyan also highlighted the census of agriculture, which will enable to analyze the indicators of the agriculture strategy.

These indicators will enable us to understand how we will develop agriculture in the future, he said.
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 ...
With the election schedule likely to be announced anytime soon, the BJP's four yatras, which started in early November from four different parts of Uttar Pradesh, culminated on Saturday. Home Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh led a road show, along with a host of state party leaders to mark the end of first intensive phase of election campaign in the electorally significant state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to address a rally to mark the completion of these Parivartan Yatras, but his rally has been rescheduled for January 2, after the demonetisation deadline is over. The saffron party which was riding high after the euphoria of surgical strikes appears to be facing the brunt following the currency change exercise.

Elections in Uttar Pradesh are likely to be held in seven phases in February-March and finish before the school board exams start. Elections in four statesPunjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goawill also be held during the same time period next year.

All eyes will now be on Modis rally as he is expected to make some announcements to provide succor to people affected by the note ban scheme.

BJP is viewing the developments in the state closely as its arch rivals Samajwadi Party and Congress are close to entering into an alliance along with the RLD. This alliance would give them an advantage in terms of giving a signal to different castes and communities who vote along their collective decisions. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav could prove to be a formidable opponent in absence of a CM face in the BJP.

Speaking in Lucknow, Rajnath Singh said, "Jis vikas aur susashan ko SP, BSP ne vanwas de diya tha hum BJP ki sarkaar bana kar uski UP mein gharwapasi karenge (BJP will bring back good governance, which was sent into exile by the successive SP and BSP governments). Interestingly, the terms ghar wapasi was used earlier by the RSS bodies during their reconversion drives.
The Union Home Ministry has locked horns with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the dispatch of central forces to Tamil Nadu to provide security cover to IT officials who had raided Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has hit out at Banerjee saying some political leaders are trying to create unnecessary "political issues" only for public consumption even as he defended the Home Ministry's move.

Banerjee had accused the Centre of showing the might of central forces by providing security cover to the IT officials and had even written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, protesting the raids and the deployment of central forces without the knowledge of the state administration.

"It has been observed that some political leaders are trying to create issues which is for public consumption. In this case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has raised certain issues. Central paramilitary forces are used whenever it is felt necessary. After all, the central forces are there to ensure that the internal security of the nation is maintained. And whenever there is any concern about public order being disturbed, central forces are used. It is not to intimidate anybody or achieve any political gain. We ensure that the law and order is maintained at all costs. So it is totally unnecessary to create a political issue out of it," he told THE WEEK.

Banerjee dubbed the move "vindictive, unethical and technically improper action" while the BJP has hit back, calling her the "queen of corruption".

An unrelenting Banerjee had, however, tweeted; "Earlier, the principal secretary of Arvind Kejriwal was raided and harassed. Now I read the chief secretary of Tamil Nadu has also been raided. Why this vindictive, unethical, technically improper action? Is it only to disturb the federal structure."

"Why don't they raid Amit Shah and others who are collecting money? While corruption needs to be condemned strongly, the raid on chief secretary by central agencies devalues the institution of head of the civil service."
Pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem on Saturday for Christmas Eve as Europeans worked up some holiday spirit despite tight security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack.

Dozens of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem's Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, where celebrations will culminate with a midnight mass at the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Some snapped selfies near the square's giant Christmas tree and watched the annual Scouts parade in the city, a short drive from Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"This is Christ's land, the land of peace," said Ramzi Abu Khalil, who was wearing a red Santa hat.

"We take pride in him. All Christians should come today to Bethlehem. This is a holy day for us and a day of pilgrimage."

Violence put a damper on celebrations in Bethlehem last year, as a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeted Israelis and reduced sharply the number of Christmas visitors.

The unrest has subsided in recent months and, with major Bethlehem hotels booked up, many in the city were optimistic this year's holiday season would bring more visitors.

In Europe, many preparing to celebrate were still reeling from this week's truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market.

Hundreds of investigators were working through the holiday season hunting possible accomplices to Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed yesterday in a shootout with Italian police near Milan.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at the market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Tunisia said today it had arrested three men suspected of links with Amri, including his nephew.

Locals and tourists in Berlin visited the Christmas market targeted in the attack, and many took a moment to quietly light a candle or lay flowers for the victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"So even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."

Security was tight elsewhere in Europe for the holidays, including at Milan's cathedral, where police were out in force and concrete barricades had been erected around the Piazza del Duomo, where a Christmas market is held.

In France, 91,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers had been deployed to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

In the northern city of Lille, concrete blocks had been laid in areas around the city to prevent vehicle attacks, prompting 62-year-old Michelle to ask: "How far are we going to go?"

Despite the security fears, many were braving winter temperatures to take part in traditional markets and other festivities.
UN Resolution 2334 approved by the Security Council on Friday, 23 Kislev condemns Israeli settlements and continued construction in Palestinian territory as a flagrant violation of international law. As US President Barak Obama prepares to step down from office following years of strained relations with the Netanyahu administration, he sent a clear message to Jerusalem, one that will have an impact long after he leaves office on January 20, 2017.

The resolution passed 14-0 as the United States abstained rather than use its veto power to block the bill as Jerusalem expected would be the case. There are fears that the resolution will leave persons involved in Jewish communities (Settlements) throughout Yehuda and Shomron open to legal action via the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Paragraph 5 calls for making a differentiation between the State of Israel and areas that were occupied in the Yehuda and Shomron in the 1967 Six Day War. This same paragraph calls on the international community not to assist these communities. The vote without a doubt strengthens the BDS movement against Israel as well, all those demanding that items manufactured in occupied areas are marked accordingly before being brought to the marketplace.

Israeli banks may fear being blacklisted for assisting settlements and doing business with communities in Yehuda and Shomron. Hence, some predict banks will be closing branches operating in those areas today. It might also be worse and the international community may simple ban the communities and all goods originating in them.

The Prime Ministers Office released a statement that it hopes to work with the incoming Trump administration to minimize the damage of the bill. One possibility discussed is that with the US being the major funder of the UN, it can threaten against implementing sanctions against Israel.

Another ramification is that if Israel decides to build in areas included in the resolution is can be held liable for violating the Fourth Geneva Convention which addresses an occupying force trying to inhabit an area and such an act may be viewed as a war crime.

This may have opened the door for the PA (Palestinian Authority) to once again turn to the UN and apply for membership. At the very least, it makes it nearly impossible to negotiate with the PA for it will now demand nothing less than a Palestinian state on its terms.

Deputy Foreign Minister (Likud) Tzipi Hotevely, who is out of the country on a state visit, commented, The Obama administration will not be able to cover-up its failures in Aleppo with this shameful decision against Israel. After being unsuccessful in combating a darker regime, he now turns against the only democratic nation in the Middle East.

Bayit Yehudi party leader Naftali Bennet is confident the resolution Will be thrown into historys garbage can, calling on Israel to declare Israeli Law throughout Yehuda and Shomron. In insists that continued retreats have not enhance Israels honor or position and we must remain firm in the face of international pressure and not surrender again, but to act in Israels best interests.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat added Americas decision not to veto the vote in the UN reveals the true face of the Obama administration which is harming Israel and strengthening the evil which weakening the good.

While thousands in our region in the Mideast are being slaughtered, the UN deals with Israel, the lone democracy in the Middle East is insanity, hypocrisy and wicked but it will not sway us from our goal. I call on President-elect Trump, who is soon entering his post, to repair the damage by moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as a first step in clarifying Americas position that it is emphatic in its support for standing at Israels side.

At the same time, I encourage the President-elect to initiate a process of regional security cooperation against Iran, ISIS, Hamas and all terrorist organizations and their supporters around the world. The message of the new administration to the UN to all the nations of the world; those who are with uys will benefit and those who fight us will lose!

Agriculture Minister (Bayit Yehudi) Uri Ariel explained The decision is made and it is not up to us to react and I call on annexing Yehuda and Shomron.

MK (Machane Tzioni) Tzipi Livni and many members of the left-wing feel that the recent event to find a way to legalize 42 homes in Amona contributed in a large way to turning the US against us and this resulted in President Obamas decision to abstain. She adds it is clearly time for PM Netanyahu to be replaced, blaming him for deteriorating relations between Israel and the US.

The left-wing is blaming Amona and PM Netanyahu for straining relations with Obama during his term in office, particularly with the Iran deal with the US and most recently, with Amona. The Channel 2 TV News Meet the Press program announced on motzei Shabbos that they polled Israelis to determine how they view PM Netanyahus handling of Amona: 56% responded not good, 33% good and 11% dont know.

The right-wing explains that the vote simply shows the True face of the outgoing president, who has shown utter disrespect for PM Netanyahu during visits to Washington and has not followed tradition by being a true ally of Israel; Americas most trusted ally in the Mideast and the only true regional democracy .

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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By Bill Parry

Elected officials in western Queen are helping the 28th annual New York Cares coat drive reach a record-number 125,000 requests from its clients this year.

So far 50,000 coats are in house since the drive began Nov. 15 a New York Cares spokesman explained, and ends on Dec. 31, but they wont know how successful they have been until the first week in January.

Thats when all of the elected officials and community groups drop off what they collected, spokesman Steve Streicher said. We certainly need more, that is clear,

This year Constantinides, state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), state Assemblywoman Avavella Simotas (D-Astoria) and Assemblyman-elect Brian Barnwell (D-Woodside) gathered nearly 100 lightly used winter coats donated by community members for families in need.

While we all know what its like to be cold, its important to keep in mind that many New Yorkers endure freezing temperatures throughout the day with no relief, City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) said. All New Yorkers deserve a warm, healthy, and generous-spirited holiday season. Thats why we coordinated this coat drive with New York Cares.

Gianaris called the holiday season a great time to give back while Barnwell thanked all who donated.

Our coat drive was a huge success thanks to western Queens residents with big hearts and generous souls, Simotas said. I am never surprised by the goodness in people, but I am always happy to see it. All these coats are the undeniable proof that love thy neighbor as thyself still has meaning in todays troubled world.

Constantinides worked further to help families in need enjoy holiday gifts. Residents donated toys at his office, which were wrapped and distributed to children by Urban Upbound and Toys for Tots.

As we enjoy the holidays with family, many children grow up without the opportunity to open Christmas or holiday gifts, he said. I thank all who participated in helping brighten the holidays for children in our poorest neighborhoods.
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By Gina Martinez

A 22-year-old Jamaica man pleaded guilty to sex trafficking after forcing a 15-year-old girl into having sex for money earlier this year, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Schwartz indicated he would sentence Hakim Jones to a term between three and four months years to ten years in prison at his sentencing Jan. 11, 2017.

The defendant has pleaded guilty to having threatened and forced a teenage girl into having sex dates with men for money, Brown said. I want to stress that prostitution is not a victimless crime. Sex trafficking is an incessant act of brutality and degradation. This teenage girl was able to get away, but she will have to live with the horror of this experience for the rest of her life.

According to the charges, the 15-year-old victim left a group home in Manhattan with a friend in January and was picked up by a man and taken to Queens. In Queens she was introduced to Jones who told her, Youre gonna be my bitch, and refused to let her go, Jones took photos of the victim and posted advertisements for sex on backp age.com , Brown said.

According to the charges, for several weeks the 15-year-old was forced to have sex in exchange for money at several hotels in Queens and other boroughs, as well as Long Island. The victim had to turn over all her money to Jones.

According to the DA, the entire time the girl was prostituting herself Jones threatened her with physical violence, telling her he had a gun. In March, the victim resisted after finding out she had 17 dates lined up, Jones punched her in the mouth, causing bleeding and swelling, Brown said.
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Bethlehem

Bethlehem Police believe an organized crime ring known as the Felony Lane Gang is targeting the town and Capital Region with a sophisticated check cashing scheme.

One part of the gang, typically men, steals purses and wallets from cars parked at gyms and then another part of the gang, usually women disguised in wigs and makeup, try to cash checks at banks. They use the third lane of the bank's drive-through, dubbed the "felony lane" because the distance from the teller makes it easier to pass bad checks.

"It is an elaborate criminal enterprise," said Bethlehem Police Commander Adam Hornick.

There have been numerous break-ins at gyms and sports' facilities in the Capital Region, including in Bethlehem, Guilderland, Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Glens Falls, Glenville and Wilton.

"They seem to be hitting us a ton and not leaving," Hornick said.

Thieves broke into five cars at the Bethlehem YMCA on Nov. 6. They smashed the windows, grabbed the valuables and were gone before police arrived. One of the trademarks of the Felony Lane scheme is they target cars with purses and wallets in plain view. Often the cars are parked at gyms, parks and day cares where drivers tend to leave wallets in their cars.

The group used driver's licenses and checks lifted from the cars the Bethlehem Y to pass checks at banks in Guilderland and Western New York. On Nov. 17, a woman tried to cash checks stolen from another area at the Citizens Bank in Slingerlands. The checks and IDs she presented were stolen from fitness centers in Schuylerville in Saratoga County, Cayuga County and Tompkins County.

The clever scheme leaves police investigators with little to trace. The gang uses stolen checks of one victim, we'll call him John, and makes the checks out to another victim, who we will call Jane. A lone woman drives up to the third lane of the bank in a rental car with a stolen license plate. She is disguised as Jane and puts Jane's driver's license in the drive-through chute. Even if John has reported his checks as stolen, it is unlikely the teller will know, Hornick said.

If the teller asks for more identification, the woman provides Jane's credit cards. If the teller is still skeptical, the teller may ask her to come inside to complete the transaction. The woman just drives off. Whether the teller hands over the money or the woman drives off, police are left with a check, driver's license and perhaps a license plate number that all lead back to different victims from all over the country. At best, they have a grainy photo of the disguised woman at the wheel.

"It's hard for us to track them," Hornick said.

The Felony Lane Gang is based in Florida. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have convicted many people involved with the gang, but the scheme still continues either under the guidance of the gang or others who have adopted its techniques. People involved in the scheme are typically from out of town and stay at local motels.

Police ask citizens and banks to be more aware and take these steps:

Do not leave valuables in your car in plain view.

If you see someone removing or attaching license plates, especially in a motel parking lot, call police.

If you see someone dressed in a wig driving a rental car, call police.

As the saying goes, if you see something, say something.

ccrowley@timesunion.com  518-454-5348  @townstu  http://facebook.com/cathleenFcrowley
Albany

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Friday disavowed comments made by Trump's New York campaign co-chair Carl Paladino wishing that first lady Michelle Obama would "return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."

That statement, along with Paladino's hope that President Barack Obama dies of mad cow disease after "being caught having relations with" a cow, sparked outrage on Friday from community members in Paladino's home city of Buffalo and across the state, who charged that the comments are racist, among other things.

Paladino, the 2010 Republican candidate for governor, refused to back down, saying he is not racist. He seemed to blame the controversy that enveloped him on "retarded liberal people."

The comments in question were published in the Buffalo alternative weekly ArtVoice as part of a section on what prominent locals hope for in 2017. Among the questions that ArtVoice asked were, "What would you most like to happen in 2017?" and "What would you like to see go away in 2017?"

Paladino responded to the first question with the slur about the president and to the second about the president's wife.

In a lengthy statement released Friday afternoon Paladino said his remarks have "nothing to do with race" and "tough luck if you don't like my answer." His statement slammed "2 progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years."

"Michelle hated America before her husband won," Paladino charged. "She then enjoyed all the attention, the multi-million dollar vacations, the huge staff and other benefits. Then when Hillary lost, she and Barack realized that without Hillary, there was no one to protect the little, if any, legacy he had. That's when Michelle came out and said there is no hope for America. Good, let her leave and go someplace she will be happy."

Paladino said President Obama is "a yellow-bellied coward who left thousands to die in Syria and especially Aleppo and he gets on TV and says he feels bad he couldn't do anything about it."

Paladino's response to the Buffalo News was even sharper. He said the newspapers' editors could "all go f--- themselves" and that "I made that comment just for" Rod Watson, one of the newspaper's black editors.

He later appeared on WBEN radio in Buffalo, where he said outright, "I'm not a racist," adding that he has "many, many friends in the black community and in the elected world."

Asked if he realized his answers to the ArtVoice survey would spark backlash, Paladino said it didn't matter to him what was going to happen.

"I wanted somebody to wake up so I did a little funny type article to get their attention," he said. "And I certainly did, I guess."

"It's only these retarded liberal people that'll find it necessary to come out and call me names and not really listen to the issues," he said.

The response on social media and in the press was swift. In the afternoon, the Trump transition team disavowed the comments made by a man who has said he is friends with Trump and who met with Trump's transition team earlier in the month.

"Carl's comments are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse," Trump's Deputy Communications Director Jessica Ditto said.

As calls for top state Republicans to disavow Paladino intensified, a spokeswoman for state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox did not respond to a request for comment.

Top state Democrats didn't hesitate to slam the brash Buffalo businessman.

"Paladino has a long history of racist and incendiary comments," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who beat Paladino in the 2010 race. "While most New Yorkers know Mr. Paladino is not to be taken seriously, as his erratic behavior defies any rational analysis and he has no credibility, his words are still jarring. His remarks do not reflect the sentiments or opinions of any real New Yorker and he has embarrassed the good people of the state with his latest hate-filled rage."

There also came calls for Paladino to be removed as a member of the Buffalo school board.

State Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa said that "this kind of language does not belong within the context of our communities and our schools."

"Being an American demands we respect the office of the president," she said in a statement. "That's what we teach our children in New York state as part of our civic learning, and it's a lesson that Mr. Paladino apparently needs to review."

The state Department of Education declined to comment on the matter "because the (state education) commissioner may be called upon to render a decision under New York state Education Law."

Why ArtVoice published Paladino's comments in the way it did was not clear Friday evening. A call to the publication's offices was met with a message that stated "the person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time." An email requesting comment from ArtVoice editors was not returned.

Paladino is no stranger to controversy. During his 2010 run for governor, which he lost to current Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he was thrust into the national spotlight when emails he forwarded to associates that, among other things, depicted a horse having sex with a woman and the Obamas as a pimp and prostitute were leaked.

Earlier this year, Paladino said on NPR that Trump supporters are people frustrated with government "who want the raccoons out of the basement." He also defended that comment amidst an onslaught of criticisms that the remark was racist.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
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Colonie

With Ed Sim's grandson in Boston Children's Hospital for the holidays, his colleagues at Village Hall and the seniors in its seniors center decided to support families there by collecting hundreds of teddy bears.

The effort caught on so much that 300 stuffed animals will be brought to the sick children.

"My grandson was born in July with congenital heart disease," Sim said.

The baby, Will Rogan, has had three surgeries so far, so his daughter Megan Rogan and her husband Justin, who also have a 19-month-old child, have been traveling to Boston regularly from their home in the village. They have taken turns, with one parent staying with their older child while the other is with baby Will in Boston.

Sim, a retired Colonie police officer, had worked as assistant superintendent for the village Department of Public Works. He stopped working full-time but maintains a part-time job as an administrative assistant in Village Hall.

Learning about the Rogans' situation, Sims' colleagues wanted to help.

Courtney Sim, Ed's daughter-in-law, had started collecting teddy bears to send to the hospital. So far, she's collected 150 from family and friends.

"Courtney said she was collecting teddy bears for her nephew," said Chrissy Lanza, recreation leader of the village senior center. "The seniors love doing things like this for little kids."

Lanza started going to Kohl's department store every day, buying $50 worth of teddy bears every time. She paid $5 and sold them to seniors for $4, and they in turn donated them. The bears that Kohl's sells benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee, so two hospitals are being helped at the same time, Lanza said.

The bears will be brought to Boston this weekend.

"There are a lot of kids who aren't going to be able to come home for Christmas," Courtney Sim said. "I wanted children to have something to snuggle with, no matter the age."

tobrien@timesunion.com  518-454-5092  @timobrientu
Berkeley and Alameda area couple Jeff Becerra and Michelle Mahoney just ended their marriage of more than 20 years with what's possibly the most amicable outro: a "divorce party," attended by their family and friends last Saturday.

The two planned the party in an effort to alleviate "a little bit of the awkwardness" from the situation, and to make it clear to everyone they know that they're planning on remaining friends.

"We've had a lot of really good parties over the years and I thought let's have another one and let this be our last hurrah," Mahoney told "Good Morning America." "It would make people a little uncomfortable, but it will be fun."

One person not made uncomfortable by the decision to celebrate was one of the pair's 18-year-old daughters, Emma, who told GMA that she "didn't feel sad at all" and that "people that know [her parents] understand that this is something they would totally do." Mahoney and Becerra also have another daughter, 20-year-old Rylie, who was unable to be at the party due to an overseas college program.

And although Mahoney said the pair exchanged gifts  she received a toaster oven from her ex  she made it clear that that they aren't arguing about the division of the assets.

"It's just things," Mahoney said. "This girl [Emma] and her sister, who's not here, are the most important things to us."

Since news of the divorce party broke this week, Mahoney and Becerra have been weathering the media attention. When asked if the whole thing has been surreal, she told SFGATE, "Yes, I think post-election and possibly in general that people are ready for 'good/positive' stories."

But despite the accord between the two and the sudden publicity, they say there's no chance of a reconciliation.

More for you The year of the split: The biggest celebrity breakups in 2016

Mahoney told SFGATE that she has moved from the couple's home in Alameda to the Berkeley Hills  coincidentally to a street she lived on when she was younger  and Becerra stayed in Alameda, but moved into a cottage. They plan on selling their house in 2018, but that won't mean the end of a friendship; Mahoney says they still "want to do lots of stuff together as a family."

This article has been updated to include a quote and additional information from Mahoney.
United Nations

In a striking rupture with past practice, the United States allowed the U.N. Security Council on Friday to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a "flagrant violation" of international law. In doing so, the outgoing Obama administration brushed aside Donald Trump's demands that the U.S. exercise its veto and provided a climax to years of icy relations with Israel's leadership.

The decision to abstain from the council's 14-0 vote is one of the biggest American rebukes of its longstanding ally in recent memory. And it could have significant ramifications for the Jewish state, potentially hindering Israel's negotiating position in future peace talks. Given the world's widespread opposition to settlements, the action will be almost impossible for anyone, including Trump, to reverse.

Nevertheless, Trump vowed via Twitter: "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th."

The resolution said Israel's settlements in lands the Palestinians want to include in their future state have "no legal validity." It demanded a halt to such activities for the sake of "salvaging the two-state solution." Loud applause erupted in the council chamber after U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power permitted the resolution to pass.

Friday's condemnation, a day after Egypt suddenly postponed a scheduled showdown, capped days of frantic diplomacy in capitals around the world.

American officials indicated they would have been prepared to let the resolution pass, despite blocking such proposals for years. Israeli officials said they were aware of such plans and turned to Trump for support. The U.S. president-elect sent a tweet urging President Barack Obama to block the U.N. effort. Egypt then pulled its resolution, with U.S. officials citing fierce Israeli pressure as the reason. Israeli officials then accused Obama of colluding with the Palestinians in a "shameful move" against the Jewish state. Washington denied the charge.

Most of the world is opposed to Israel's construction of Jewish settlements in lands it seized in the 1967 Mideast War. The primary holdout at the U.N. has been the United States, which sees settlements as illegitimate but has traditionally used its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council to block such resolutions on the grounds that Israeli-Palestinian disputes should be addressed through negotiation.

Underscoring that unity, Friday's resolution was proposed by nations in four different parts of the world: Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela. It is the first resolution on settlements to pass in 36 years, Malaysia's U.N. Ambassador Ramlan Bin Ibrahim said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered several diplomatic steps in retaliation, recalling his nation's ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal for consultations and canceling a planned January visit to Israel by Senegal's foreign minister.
Tipperary's best young entrepreneur has been named by Local Enterprise Office Tipperary as Jennifer Nickerson from Tipperary Boutique Distillery Ltd in Cahir.

Jennifer also won the category for Best Start up and an investment fund from LEO Tipperary worth 15,000.

The County's best young entrepreneurs were announced at the County Final of Irelands Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition, which took place in the Peppermill, Nenagh on Thursday last December 15.

IBYE, which has a 2 million investment fund, is run by all 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Enterprise Ireland.

Jennifer Nickerson is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a MA Hons in Business and Accounting. After graduation she worked for several years with KPMG in Ireland where she advised companies on domestic and international tax matters. With two others she has started Tipperary Boutique Distillery a new but growing entrant into the Irish whiskey market. This business has recently received planning permission to establish a distillery on Ballindoney farm in Cahir. The long-term aim of this business is to produce an Irish whiskey exclusively from Tipperary barley and Tipperary water, distilled and matured in Tipperary.

The other main category winners on the evening were Andy Spillane, T/a Savvy Kitchens, Thurles in the Best Established Business and Paddy Moynihan, Unibooks from Loughmore in the Best New Idea category.

Andy Spillane established his business T/a Savvy Kitchens in 2007. His Company based in Thurles designs, manufactures and installs bespoke fitted furniture for both the private and commercial sectors. In-house manufacturing of in-frame doors gives Savvy a unique advantage over competitors as it allows more flexibility with sizes and reduced lead times. Savvy Kitchens has in place a specialised in house team which includes Designers, CNC operators, Cabinet makers and Fitters who work to exacting standards to produce unique furniture solutions for the high end consumer market. The Promoter has appeared on the RTE Series Room to Improve on a several occasions and has completed a number of high profile contracts in Cardiff, Belfast, London and other export markets.

Paddy Moynihan is a graduate of mechanical engineering in NUIG and his business is Unibooks. Unibooks is an online portal created to facilitate 3rd level students to buy, rent and sell academic literature to and from one another. There are currently over 250,000 students enrolled in third level education in Ireland, and Unibooks, is the only service in the country which is specifically designed to allow students to trade their academic literature with each other. Unibooks is a membership based, online store style service where members can search for, request, sell, buy and organise trades of academic literature. The top prize in the Best Established Business category was  15,000, with a top prize of 7,000 for the Best New Idea category. All three category winners will now be representing Tipperary at Mid West IBYE Regional Finals, taking place in Ennis in early 2017.

Meanwhile, the three category runners-up between them shared an investment of 13,000 for their respective businesses. The runners up were: Enda Maher, Capital Transport and Shipping Ltd, Roscrea in the Best Established Business category; Evie Ward, Nutshed Ltd, Nenagh in the Best Start up category and finally, Marian Kennedy, PPR Brand, Clonmel in the Best New Idea category.

In her address at the awards ceremony, Rita Guinan, Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Tipperary said: We started the search to find Irelands best young entrepreneur in August and the competition received a record-breaking number of entries this year, with 1,800 young entrepreneurs applying nationally and 47 locally. After a very successful IBYE bootcamp and County Final, the future is looking bright for both youth entrepreneurship and job creation in the County.

Special guests at the IBYE County Final included: Cllr Mattie Ryan, Tipperary County Council who represented Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council Cllr Siobhan Ambrose, Tipperary County Council, Chief Executive, Joe MacGrath, Sinead Carr, Director of Community and Economic Development, Tipperary County Council and Sinead ODwyer, Pressure Welding Manufacturing Ltd, Thurles who was the 2015 Tipperary Best Young Entrepreneur.

The vital role of the judging panel was also acknowledged at the awards ceremony and this years judges included: Vincent Reynolds retired Head of Enterprise, Cavan County Council, Mary Fogarty, Retail & Business Manager AIB Tipperary and Michael Hanley, retired Head of Enterprise, Cork North and West. The Regional Finals for IBYE are taking place in January and February 2017, to select 24 national finalists across the three competition categories.

Further details on the competition and supports available to young entrepreneurs are available through www.localenterprise.ie and from the IBYE website at www.ibye.ie.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenia Wine will sign a contract on the procurement of 700 tons of grapes in Vayots Dzor province, Armenia, agriculture minister Ignati Arakelyan told a year-end press conference. The minister urged supply/purveyance organizations to announce their needs beforehand to avoid any issues.

In that case the villagers will understand what to plant. If that forecast is absent, everything remains unspecified, he said.

The minister said a priority direction of the ministry in the upcoming year will be working with supply/purvey organizations.
Following a spate of negative publicity and job losses in and around Tipperary town this year, members of Cashel Tipperary Municipal District heard that there is a major push now on to attract investment into the town.

Members are actively supporting a range of programmes to promote economic development and job creation in Tipp town, said Director of Services, Ms Claire Curley. Some examples are as follows: a) a new marketing plan for the County and the Municipal District is near completion, and will be launched in the New Year

b) The 'Munster Vales' Board covers most of the District - a marketing plan has been developed; traders have been met; a number of tourism experience bundles are currently being worked upon; the Galtees Community Groups have a representative on the Board who is contributing very significantly to the work of the Board and it is expected that the Tourism marketing plan for this area and the developed experience bundles will be launched in early 2017

c) Connect Ireland job creation initative for Tipperary Town commenced in 2015 with meetings involving Connect Ireland, the Municipal District, Tipperary Chamber of Commerce (TIRD) and Tipperary Co-op. Tipperary Co-op agreed to resource the initiative through the employment of a business consultant who co-ordinated and has driven the Project from mid 2015 to date. Tipperary Co. Council and the Diaspora Engagement Fund (via Connect Ireland) are the co-funders of the Project. A website, brochure, social media platform, pop up stands, road signage (for launch) and business cards were developed and produced with the Diaspora and Tipperary Co. Council funding. The official launch was held on 26th November, 2015 with a large attendance from the local community, business and agency presence at the event.

A number of leads were generated at the event and a target of one company landing within the first twelve months of operation was achieved in June with the arrival of Tamaki Automation Control in Dundrum which now employs seven people. A second tangible lead is being pursued at present.

d) Town Centre Forum is up and running and is striving to make a difference. This Forum is representative of Chamber of Commerce (TIRD); Tidy Towns; Festivals Committee; Heritage & Tourism Group; Farmers Market Committee and Municipal District.The Retail Action Plan is a first starting point and there are some funds available to support appropriate initiatives.

More on this next week!
[December 23, 2016] Invacare Corporation Announces Put Option Notification for 4.125% Convertible Senior Subordinated Debentures Due 2027

Invacare Corporation (NYSE: IVC) (the "Company") today confirmed that holders of its 4.125% Convertible Senior Subordinated Debentures due 2027 (CUSIP No. 461203 AD3) issued February 12, 2007 (the "Debentures") have the right to surrender their notes for repurchase by the Company. This right is pursuant to the put option under the indenture governing the Debentures dated February 12, 2007. This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the Debentures. The put option entitles each holder of the Debentures to require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part (in principal amounts equal to $1,000 or multiples thereof) of their Debentures on February 1, 2017 (the "Repurchase Date") for a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Debentures, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the indenture and the Debentures. The Repurchase Date is an interest payment date under the terms of the Debentures. Accordingly, the purchase price for Debentures surrendered for repurchase pursuant to the put option will not include accrued and unpaid interest. Pursuant to the indenture, the Company will pay, on the interest payment date, accrued and unpaid interest on all of the Debentures through anuary 31, 2017, to all holders who were holders of record on January 15, 2017, regardless of whether the Debentures are surrendered pursuant to the put option. As of December 23, 2016, there was $13,350,000 aggregate principal amount of the Debentures outstanding.



The opportunity to surrender Debentures for repurchase by the Company pursuant to the put option commences today and expires at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on January 30, 2017, which is the second business day immediately preceding the Repurchase Date. Holders may withdraw any Debentures previously surrendered for repurchase at any time prior to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on January 30, 2017. To exercise the put option, or withdraw Debentures previously surrendered, a holder must follow the procedures set forth in the put right notice that is being delivered to all registered holders of the Debentures. None of the Company, its board of directors or employees has made, or is making, any representation or recommendation to any holder of the Debentures as to whether to exercise the put option.

Additional Information At the Company's request, Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Bank, N.A., the trustee and paying agent for the Debentures, is delivering a put right notice to all registered holders of the Debentures. In addition, the Company will file the notice with a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Copies of the notice and additional information relating to the procedure for the surrender of the Debentures may be obtained from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. at the following address: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Corporate Trust Operations

MAC N9300-070

600 South Fourth Street

Minneapolis, MN 55402

Facsimile: (612) 667-6282

Telephone: (800) 344-5128 About Invacare Corporation Invacare Corporation (NYSE:IVC), headquartered in Elyria, Ohio, is a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of innovative home and long-term care medical products that promote recovery and active lifestyles. The Company has 4,600 associates and markets its products in approximately 100 countries around the world. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161223005272/en/

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[December 23, 2016] Conveyco Giving Back

BRISTOL, Conn., Dec. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Conveyco (www.conveyco.com), an integrator of Automated Material Handling Systems and Design Build Solutions, who was awarded a contract to fully automate the new fulfillment center for Boxed.com earlier this year, has announced that it will be partnering with Boxed to help those who need it most this holiday season. "Conveyco's team is honored to be entrusted by Boxed to automate their new Fulfillment Center in Union, NJ. We wanted to do something that will honor both of our amazing teams that would make an impact in our local community here in Connecticut. We value the partnership we have formed with Boxed and hope to continue to provide much needed necessities to families in need not only now, but throughout the year," says Raymond Cocozza, President of Conveyco. "I can think of no better opportunity to support the Southington Community Services Organization and the work they do to assist those less fortunate." Conveyco has made a $5,000 donation to help those in immediate need this holiday season and delivered a generous donation of food and paper goods from Boxed.com. Additionally, Conveyco will be making a commitment to donate additional goods throughout the year. Where will Conveyco be getting all these goods? You guessed itBoxed.com. Ray Cocozza stated, "Conveyco i more than a brand. It is our mission to live true to the principles our brand is built upon: Good People. Great Solutions. We are grateful for the opportunity to give back, to serve our community and to serve our valued clients".



Rick Zumpano, Vice President of Distribution of Boxed said, "We could not be happier, through our collaboration with Ray and the entire team at Conveyco, to help those in need this holiday season, and beyond." Founded in 2013, Boxed has taken the best elements of the wholesale shopping experience and folded it into one innovative, cutting edge mobile app that allows consumers direct-to-their-door access to all of their favorite warehouse club products without membership fees. Boxed brings convenience and savings to on-the-go consumers who don't have the time, means, or patience to shop at a brick and mortar big box club. The elegantly designed iPhone and Android app offers bulk-sized goods at pint-sized prices and is completely free to download and use.

Boxed does all the heavy lifting, delivering a rich array of wholesale items directly to doorsteps across the continental United States in two days or less. The brand's innovative discovery-based design recreates the fun of the treasure hunt experience with a curated selection of everyday essentials that consumers love including household staples, health and beauty supplies, office and pantry items, groceries, and a wide variety of organic and green products. According to the Southington Community Services (SCS) website (http://southingtoncommunityservices.org) the organization "provides support services to Southington residents and serves as a link between private providers, human services and governmental agencies." Conveyco (www.conveyco.com), a material handling systems integrator, with a team of best-in-class engineering talent, works closely with its supply chain clients to design original, reliable, street-smart solutions that help them overcome their toughest challenges in the movement, storage, control and protection of materials and goods throughout their manufacturing and distribution operations. From problem definition to implementation, Conveyco's collaborative work ethic enables its clients to achieve their goals for enhanced profitability and to compete more successfully within their industries. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/conveyco-giving-back-300383514.html SOURCE Conveyco

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Super Dave: Not all will be home for Christmas

For many, Christmas means spending time at home with love ones opening presents along with stuffing our faces while drinking many different kinds of liquid refreshment. Many more will travel over hill and dale to Grandmothers house, to partake in her homemade noodles, rolls, along with other zillions of calories from fudges and cookies of every kind. Later after recovering from sugar comas and waking from naps from eating way to much of Grandmas great cooking, families will gather together to open gifts before later eating again and for many it will be a warm wonderful day with those you love.But not all Americans will have a wonderful Christmas time with the family this year. Many will be off in foreign lands serving in one branch or the other of our armed forces. As I sit here in my warm home enjoying a nice glass of good scotch my mind starts to wonder what it must be like waking up or watching the sun come up on Sunday morning, Christmas Day and youre on duty in a location far, far from home, far, far from those who love you. Deep down inside I would have to think it has to hurt in a small way no matter how tough a person is in full combat gear. Yes I know they enlisted on their own and have given up the right to be home every year at Christmas time, but you know it has to be rough. Rather we always agree or not about where members of our armed forces are located, they are still Americans, our brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, fathers and mothers. Members of our armed forces gave up a lot of freedom, to protect your freedom or to be ready to respond, to protect your freedom as you know it today. I am deeply thankful that we have theses brave individuals who are willing to sacrifice their life and lives for ours.To all our armed forces personnel, I not only salute you, but thank you for all you do and want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, no matter where you are today, while hoping you get to come home soon.###############
CHECK ANOTHER $800 MILLION GO BOND PITCH FROM MAYOR SLY OFFERING EVEN MORE TALKING POINTS IN FAVOR OF SINKING TAXPAYERS FURTHER INTO DEBT WITH VERY FEW WRITTEN COMMITMENTS!!!

5 Priorities for the GO Bond Package

Only the most dedicated and civic minded denizens of the Kansas City discourse are checking our blog today . . . So here's something to think about . . .Check the verbiage that's million per word if this kind of fanciful talk actually convinces voters to sign away the city's future via a blank check . . .The basic infrastructure of our city is something we inherit, and must improve, to hand down to our kids and grandkids. We make our living because of it. We explore and enjoy our city because of it. And we make our city a better place to live when we value and invest in it.This week, debate continued at City Hall about the General Obligation (GO) Bond package citizens will be asked to approve in April 2017. We are seeking approval for $800 million dollars to be issued over 20 years, in order to make significant and critical upgrades to our citys basic infrastructure. City Council has until January 19th to finalize the language for the ballot.Earlier this month, as debate got underway, I outlined the four principles I thought should guide the conversation:Three joint committee meetings have been held to debate the nature of the package, and public input has been and continues to be gathered at KCMomentum.com (offer your feedback as well!). After much debate and the opportunity for questions, concerns and feedback to be collected from the public as well as the council members,: I understand  and agree with  completely the need for accountability. Thats why I have proposed an annual report card to be produced by the City Managers office.Each year, citizens will get to see a transparent accounting of the projects completed and associated costs, as well as a forecast for the next years projects and projected costs.We will never ask our citizens for blind trust or a blank check.: At the same time, attempting to detail every project over the course of twenty years, or make promises that are politically easy right now could leave future city leaders in a terrible situation should something happen to one of our essential city infrastructure assets, for example, the Buck ONeill bridge. If the state or federal government cant meet their obligation and repair the bridge (an unfortunate reality we need to account for) these dollars need to be available to a future council or mayor to tackle such an unexpected emergency.: The proposed scope of the package, authorizing $800 million overall, an estimated average of $40 million per year issuance of the bonds over twenty years, is a smart strategy based on factual analysis of city finances that protects our citys credit rating while managing our debt responsibly.The fact is  approving a total of $800 million over twenty years is the lowest, slowest property tax increase schedule. Authorizing less than $800 million, or any amount over fewer than twenty years means raising property taxes higher and faster. Like shopping for your familys basic needs, buying bonds in bulk means we can responsibly pay for them over time. We are asking citizens to invest in our citys basic needs, and a total of $800 million means the typical Kansas City resident would see an average increase of eight dollars to their property tax each year over the twenty year life of the bonds. Shortening the timeline could perhaps even double that annual increase for residents. It would also mean wed be paying more money to complete fewer projects and wed fail to meet the expectation I set when I said we need a GO Bond package that addresses each of the basic infrastructure needs our city faces. The proposed plan, based on facts and ata, is the most efficient as well as the fairest.: With a city that covers 318 square miles and over 6300 lane miles of roadways, theres no getting around the fact that roads are critical to our economy and neighborhoods. Our residents tell us every year through our citizen satisfaction surveys that street maintenance is important to them. This is a chance to strategically improve our roads, and to do it with a clear plan and structure in place that takes into account our need for complete streets, which allow for bicycles and pedestrians to travel our roads safely. Many of our roadways need to be rebuilt or resurfaced. These are not insignificant expenditures and we cannot continue to nickel and dime our way to 21st century roads.Sidewalks are pedestrian roadways that are the lifeblood of our vibrant communities, consistently ranked alongside roads as top concerns in annual citizen satisfaction surveys. They tie homes and neighborhoods to retail districts, public transit, schools, and jobs.Right now, homeowners are responsible for paying to repair or replace their own sidewalks.Passage of the GO Bond package will eliminate homeowner costs for repairing or replacing existing sidewalks. This is not just good city planning, it means real savings for residents throughout the city by removing homeowner assessment costs currently required to fix existing residential sidewalks. Because we are serious about great neighborhoods as the foundation for our great city  we need to value connectivity and invest in both roads and sidewalks.: Repairing and replacing aging infrastructure will be a prominent component of the work the GO Bonds accomplish. In addition to roads, bridges, and sidewalks  there are three other types of critical upgrades our city needs to make in the coming years. These upgrades are focused on the type of infrastructure that make Kansas City a great place to live and work.ADA compliance in our public buildings and sidewalks is something we should value as a city. As well, these are legally required changes spelled out in an agreement with the Department of Justice. Kansas City is home to a broad and diverse community, and we cannot continue to make accessing city services, transportation, or everyday travel unnecessarily difficult for our residents who require ADA compliance to access the city. The reality is that cities are modernizing to meet these needs and Kansas City cannot afford to fall behind. An inclusive, world-class city accommodates the needs of all its citizens.Flood control may not affect every corner of the city in the same way, but the realities of flooding affect our overall quality of life and economic activity. Flooding in areas like Turkey Creek produces severe economic repercussions for businesses and property owners. Just this month, our Congressional delegation in Washington, Congressmen Cleaver and Graves, completed the tremendous work of securing more than $500 million dollars in federal flood control funding. They worked hard and our city council has advocated for this for years. It is a huge victory for our citys needed levee and flood control maintenance. But this spending requires a match from the city, and we need to match the hard work of our Congressmen and commit our city to critical flood control projects. The GO Bond package can address this problem, and these matching funds, in order to tackle costly, repeated, and destructive flood damage our city faces every year. This isnt just a matter of inconvenience. Its a threat to peoples safety, its bad for business, and flood control is essential to our citys basic infrastructure..Finally, a city of our size and scope should have an animal shelter that is up to the task. Our current animal shelter is simply inadequate for our needs. Taxpayers should be pleased to know that the city has secured a public-private partnership that will allow a new animal shelter to be built, with GO Bond dollars paying for less than half of the total cost. Using GO Bond dollars to make this critical upgrade means the city will have a facility that meets the current and future needs of our citizens and pets.Its easy to say, that new years bring new beginnings. But I want to encourage Kansas Citians to think beyond just the turn of the calendar this next week. 2017 is a year that Kansas City can make a commitment to addressing our infrastructure for years to come. The basic infrastructure of our city is something we inherit, and must improve, to hand down to our kids and grandkids. We make our living because of it. We explore and enjoy our city because of it. And we make our city a better place to live when we value and invest in it.The priorities laid out here for the GO Bond package are pragmatic, based on facts and data, not politics, and essential to ongoing success in our city.##########
Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Saturday that talks on short-term debt relief measures for Greece would be resumed after being frozen mid-December over Athens' decision to pay a Christmas bonus to pensioners. Dijsselbloem stated that Greece's creditors agreed to resume the negotiations after he received a letter from Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos in which he reaffirmed his commitment to Greece's reform program. "I'm happy to conclude that we have cleared the way ... to go ahead with the decision-making procedures for the short term debt measures, which will be conducted in January," Dijsselbloem said.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The official briefing given to the political parties about developments in the Cyprus issue was positive, main opposition New Democracys shadow foreign policy minister George Koumoutsakos said

The official briefing given to the political parties about developments in the Cyprus issue was positive, main opposition New Democracys shadow foreign policy minister George Koumoutsakos said on Friday, though noting that the briefing did not amount to a share in deciding Greeces positions. In statements after taking part in the National Council on Foreign Policy, Koumoutsakis noted that the overall responsibility rested firmly with Greeces government.

The briefing and exchange of views in the framework of the NCFP does not in any way constitute participation in a joint formulation of the Greek governments positions, nor in any way replace its responsibility for the negotiations and Greeces overall stance, since the overall responsibility belongs to the Greek government, he said.

Koumoutsakos said he had repeated NDs known positions on the Cyprus issue during the meeting, adding that the current state on Cyprus was not tolerable and must change.

The only solution was the islands reunification through a viable, just and functional solution, he said. Forty-two years after the illegal invasion and occupation of the territory of an independent country by Turkey and the Turkish armed forces, a solution was needed that would allow Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots to finally live in a reunited Cyprus that is a part of the EU, enjoying the rights and benefits of this participation in a state of stability, democracy and certainty and without the outdated logic of guarantees and rights of intervention, he added.

Koumoutsakos expressed NDs full support for the efforts of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades to achieve a solution such that this has the approval and full agreement of the Greek Cypriots, in the planned referendum agreed under the process.

NDs shadow minister also repeated the two fundamental positions of his party: namely that, in this process, the Cyprus Republic decides and Greece supports and, secondly, that Athens and Nicosia must constantly strive for unity and unanimity as the only way to support the interests of the Greek side.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The Greek government and political parties had agreed to support a rational, effective and functional solution to the Cyprus issue, which means a Cyprus without foreign occupation troops, a Cyprus without guarantees, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said

The Greek government and political parties had agreed to support a rational, effective and functional solution to the Cyprus issue, which means a Cyprus without foreign occupation troops, a Cyprus without guarantees, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on Friday, after a meeting of the National Council on Foreign Policy focusing on the Cyprus issue.

The minister noted that this was the third briefing he had given to the parties in Parliament during the last month, and the second session of the NCFP on Cyprus.

The party representatives had also agreed to a more frequent exchange of views between the parties and the experts within each party, as well as to ensure the best possible cooperation between us, Kotzias said. The minister emphasised that there must be whole-hearted support for the necessity to solve the Cyprus problem in Greece, which stands at the side of the Cypriot people and the Cyprus government.

The Council session focused on the preparations ahead of the international meeting in Geneva on January 9-12, while Kotzias gave an in-depth and thorough analysis of the practical problems that lie ahead and how the Greek government intends to solve them.

Asked what message he would like to send to Turkey, Kotzias repeated that Greece wants a neighbour that is as democratic and European as possible, a neighbour that is not irascible and understands that its own long-term interests are best served by also supporting and not overturning international law.

Regarding Greek-Turkish meetings ahead of the Geneva conference, Kotzias said that current plans were confined to a meeting of the Greek and Turkish foreign ministry general secretaries, in order to sound out intentions. He noted that there had been two meetings at this stage during the Annan Plan negotiations in 2004, one in Istanbul and one in Athens, by teams working on the Cyprus issue, as well as two meetings between then Greek prime minister Costas Karamanlis and Turkeys current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the Burgenstock talks, two meetings between Karamanlis and then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and one meeting with all three, none of which produced a result.

Studying the older negotiations, there was then a view that the guarantee treaties and alliance treaties could in some way be preserved and the Turks rights of intervention not be fully abolished. We are monitoring all three at present, with patriotic consistency but in a different direction, Kotzias added.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The Cyprus issue dominated a meeting of the Greek National Council on Foreign Policy held on Friday afternoon

The Cyprus issue dominated a meeting of the Greek National Council on Foreign Policy held on Friday afternoon. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias gave representatives of the political parties a detailed, in-depth briefing on the latest developments ahead of the January 12 meeting on Cyprus in Geneva.

Apart from Kotzias in the chair, the meeting was also attended by the entire political leadership of the ministry and there followed an exchange of views about various aspects of solving the Cyprus issue.

The foreign minister and party representatives were making statements to the press as they emerged from the meeting.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The three main conditions that Greece must fulfill to attract healthy business investments are transparency in tenders' procedure, strong state operation framework and financing from the banks, said Economy and Development Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou in his article in Kathimerini newspaper adding that the reduction of tax rates in enterprises in EU countries did not bring investments. In his article "Tax reduction and growth" underlined that in countries as Finland, Slovenia and Spain where there was reduction of the tax rates was observed reduction and in the investments.

Reduction in investments was also recorded in countries with low tax rates (Croatia, Poland, and Romania)". On the contrary, in the most advanced economically countries (Germany, France, Belgium, and Austria) despite the high tax rates throughout the period of the crisis, there was not decline but small rise of their investments to GDP. Particularly in Greece in 2006 the businesses tax rate was 29 percent and gradually fell to 20 percent in the period 2011-2012, this however did not prevent the percentage of investments to GDP to drop from 23,7 percent in 2006 to 12,6 percent in 2012 which is indicative that no reduction in businesses' taxation guarantees investments, he stressed.

The minister also referred to a recent OECD report in which, among others, points out that "the tax burdening of a country is one of many, but not the most important, factor that is examined by the potential investors that weigh up their investing decisions. Very important for the potential investors are matters related with the cost and the danger linked with macroeconomic or business conditions, the cost of compliance with the laws, the regulations and the administrative practices, the size of the market, the labour conditions and above all the profit opportunities linked with specific locations". Concluding, Papadimitriou noted that firstly the reduction of enterprises tax rates has a minor effect on the attraction of investments because it also contributes in a competitive race downwards of the European economy that only benefits the major multinational businesses.

Secondly, for Greece which offers a plethora of opportunities for profit from specific locations (due to the infrastructures, tourism, energy and transport) and is under huge fiscal pressure, the economy does not need this kind of policy. What the country needs is transparent tender procedures, strong state framework operation and financing from banks with economic criteria because on these are based the healthy business investments.

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
Education and military expenditures take the top two spots in Saudi Arabia's 2017 budget, which estimates a spending of SR890 billion ($237.3 billion), an 8 percent increase from 2016.

Revenue is projected to reach SR692 billion ($184.5 billion) in 2017, a 31 percent increase from initial projections. The budget deficit is expected to reach SR198 billion in 2017, reflecting 7.7 percent of the GDP. The budget projects a record 33 percent decrease in the kingdom's national deficit.

Oil revenues are estimated at SR480 billion, 46 percent higher than the 2016 projections. Non-oil revenues are estimated at SR212 billion, a SR13 billion increase over the 2016 projections.

Combined, these efforts will move the Kingdom closer to its Vision 2030 goal of balancing the budget by 2020.

The sector-wise allocations are as follows:

Education: SR200 billion ($53.3 billion) - this covers public education, higher education and training.

Military: SR191 billion ($51 billion) - this will support and expand the kingdom's military capabilities.

Economic Resources and General Programs: SR155 billion ($41.3 billion). Among the key projects included is the expansion of the Grand Mosque.

Health and Social Development: SR120 billion ($32 billion). This will enable the construction and subsequent equipping of healthcare centres. 38 new hospitals are already in the process of being built.

Security and Regional Administration: SR97 billion ($25.8 billion). The establishment of naval bases for border guards will be among the new projects this budget will facilitate.

Municipality Services: SR55 billion ($14.6 billion). This includes the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and municipalities.

Infrastructure and Transport: SR52 billion ($13.8 billion). This will go toward building roads, ports, railway, airports, postal services and developing industrial cities.

National Transformation Plan: SR42 billion ($11.1 billion). This will cover the costs of the NTP initiatives in 2017.

Public Administration: SR27 billion ($7.2 billion). This includes projects, programs and 46 new initiatives.

Saudi Arabia's Cabinet, which met yesterday (December 22) under the chairmanship of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, approved the budget for the next year.
Boursa Kuwait, a private entity which is managing the Kuwait Stock Exchange's (KSE) operations, has announced the launch of Special Trades transactions, after receiving final approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).



This is in line with the companys diligence to address market needs, it stated.



Vice chairman and CEO Khaled Abdulrazzaq Al Khaled said: "Boursa Kuwait seeks to introduce new tools and products that will first and foremost, facilitate the trading process for investors, and enhance the overall status of the exchange by providing long due solutions that will allow them to manage their investments more efficiently."



This is one of many tools the company aims to launch in the stock market, and we will continue to work towards improving the infrastructure and business environment of the exchange to create a robust, transparent and fair capital market platform, he noted.



Boursa Kuwait had recently announced the launch of a market wide consultation for the Market Makers Rulebook draft, which has also been made available on the Boursa Kuwait website.



The initiative comes in line with Boursa Kuwaits mission to reinforce the element of transparency in all its operations; and to engage stakeholders to ensure an impactful and successful end result, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
QIC Insured, the retail arm of the country's flagship insurer Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), said it has opened a new branch at Abu Hamour area of Doha and kiosks at Landmark & Villaggio shopping malls.

The new full service outlets are designed to manage all personal insurance products (car, home, boat, personal accident benefit, travel insurances) and claims services with enhanced technology and a welcoming customer service staff.



The branch and kiosks were inaugurated by Salem Al Mannai, the deputy group president and chief executive of QIC (Mena) region.



Speaking at the launch, Al Mannai said: "QICs association with Abu Hamour dates back to many years of serving the local community. The new branch is part of our ongoing efforts to bring our personal insurance products and services to all the customers in Abu Hamour and move closer to their requirements."



In keeping with QIC Insureds vision of offering its customers an immersive experience, the new kiosks at Landmark and Villaggio have been designed especially to enhance customers convenience, he stated.



With an open-plan layout, the new kiosks provide more space to welcome customers. The kiosks are equipped with self-service counters for customers to file and track their motor claims easily and seamlessly without having to wait in a line, he noted.



On the kiosks, Al Mannai said: "We are delighted to be the first in the region to launch fully equipped state- of- the- art functionality areas - the self-service kiosks for managing claims. With this novel service, customers can now file and track motor claims with convenience and ease without having to wait in queues at the counters."



"Besides, it also highlights our passion for putting innovation and modernity to practice," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Ooredoo, one of the leading telecom services operator in Kuwait, said it has signed a MoU with the Kuwait International Law School to support the country's youth and take part in their academic future.



Empowering youth is among Ooredoos top priorities through its CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategy. The company has recently signed a deal with the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, to support youth projects and initiatives.



Ooredoo is continuously working with the Ministry to enrich youth experience in a variety of fields, with a focus on volunteerism.



As per the agreement, Kuwait International Law School students will get the opportunity to do internship at Ooredoo Kuwait and get exposed to the various functions fulfilled by different departments across the organization, remarked Ooredoo CEO and general manager Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani, after signing the deal with the Dean of Kuwait International Law School Dr Mohammed Al Moqatei.



High-scoring students will also get an opportunity to intern in some of Ooredoo Groups operating companies outside Kuwait, he stated.



Al Thani said: "We believe in investing in youth, because the future of this country is built with their hands and are proud to take part in their academic future."

"Through this program, we hope to expose students to the challenges of working in the dynamic private sector, especially in the telecom industry which is one of the most fast-paced sectors," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain's leading telecom services operator Batelco has launched the Eyalna Student Visit Programme as part of its passion towards empowering youths and commitment to support the educational sector.



The programme has been developed to welcome students to Batelco to give them the opportunity to experience the operations of Bahrains largest telecom operator, said a statement from the company.



During the visits, the students are introduced to the various departments and functions of Batelco to learn about how the organisation operates. Each visit includes a tour of key facilities at Batelcos Hamala campus such as the training centre, customer experience centre, innovation centre and call centre and additionally a visit to the HR Department.



Batelcos Training Centre provides Batelcos staff and visiting students with innovative learning solutions, bridging the gaps in knowledge, skills and attitude, enabling them to achieve success in their chosen careers.



During the visit to the Training Centre the students learn about Batelcos fibre capabilities from the centres training specialists.



The Customer Experience Centre is a cutting edge facility showcasing Batelcos products and services for the Business sector while the Batelco Innovation Centre showcases the latest and emerging communication technologies.



Batelco is well known for its support of community initiatives, with particular emphasis on programmes that provide opportunities for the development of young people.



Programmes such as Eyalna form part of Batelcos commitment to the community with the aim of reaching out to all sectors to support a variety of initiatives to benefit and enhance lives, said a statement from Batelco.



At Batelco Call Centre, the visiting students get to observe the inner workings of Bahrains largest call centre.

As career guidance is crucial for students, each tour includes a visit to the HR Department where the students can discuss career options within the telecom industry in general and opportunities at Batelco in particular, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has said that 80 percent of the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is complete, as of mid-December.



The world's largest single-site solar park based on the Independent Power Producer model (IPP), the Al Maktoum Solar Park will be developed at a total investment of Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion).



The Phase Two, which is the largest-of-its-kind in the UAE, will eventually generate 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity by April 2017. To date, 75 per cent of the 2.2 million photovoltaic panels have been installed.



During the installation, no injuries were recorded, with over 1 million safe man hours logged, said its top

official.



"The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has a planned capacity of 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030, and will eventually save approximately 6.5 million tonnes per annum in emissions," stated Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa.

Acwa Power chairman Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan and Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib, the managing director of Shuaa Energy 1, briefed Al Tayer in detail about the implementation process.



Shuaa Energy 1 is a company established by Dewa to complete the project as per UAE legislation. Dewa is the majority shareholder with 51 per cent stakes along with Saudi Arabias Acwa Power, and the Spanish industrial group TSK taking the remaining stake.



Dewa, he stated, was working closely with Shuaa Energy 1 to ensure that the second phase of the park is operational by April 2017.



Abunayyan and Al Muhaidib explained in detail about the progress in construction and project operations to ensure that it is delivered on time.



According to Al Tayer, the World Expo will be connected to the giant solar park, which will provide it with 200MW of power.



"Dewa is inspired by the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in all its projects and initiatives. All projects included in the solar park adhere to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to transform the emirate into a global centre for clean energy and green economy," remarked Al Tayer.



"The strategy sets the target to generate 5,000MW of solar power by 2030. Clean energy will generate seven per cent of Dubais total power output by 2020, 25 per cent by 2030, and 75 by 2050," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
UAE's national airline Etihad Airways has announced the 1,000 Chinese Visitors to Morocco campaign with Beijing Yougo World International Travel Service (Uniway), the largest Chinese tour operator specialising in outbound tourism to the Middle East and Africa (MEA).



Etihad will also partner with the Moroccan National Tourist Office to support plans to attract 100,000 Chinese visitors each year by 2018.



This is helped by the visa exemption policy for Chinese tourists from 1 June 2016. Uniway expects to carry 1,000 Chinese travellers with Etihad Airways to Morocco between February and June 2017.



We are delighted to see the obvious increase in demand and the great interest from Chinese tourists to visit Morocco. This is attributable to the visa relaxation policy granted by the Morocco government. said Daniel Barranger, the senior vice president of global sales, Etihad Airways.



The UAE government started giving visa on arrival to Chinese visitors from November this year, thus positioning Abu Dhabi as a perfect stopover for the visitors before transiting to Morocco.



Etihad Airways operates daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Casablanca, and a twice-weekly service between Abu Dhabi and Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. Taking Etihad Airways non-stop services between China and Abu Dhabi, Chinese tourists from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hong Kong can conveniently connect at the airlines hub in Abu Dhabi to their final destination in Morocco.



"They can spend a couple days enjoying Abu Dhabi, a modern and vibrant Arabian city offering a rich variety of remarkable leisure activities to tourists," stated Barranger.



Uniway chief executive He Zhenbin pointed out that the number of Chinese leisure travellers to the MEA has increased tremendously in recent years.



"Etihad is the airline of choice for the Chinese customer offering convenient connections, dedicated inflight service, personalised products, as well as competitive prices," he noted.



Rabia Talhimet, the spokesperson of the Moroccan National Tourist Office, said: "We are confident that we will be able to achieve the goal of attracting 100,000 Chinese visitors each year by 2018."



"The Moroccan National Tourist Office will strengthen its cooperation with Etihad to serve the Chinese tourism market still further. In the meantime, we will speed up the readiness of the infrastructure, including our digital presence in China as well as ensuring the readiness of the local hospitality industry to meet Chinese tourists needs," added Talhimet.-TradeArabia News Service
Alaska announced major changes to their Mileage Plan Program. Instead of redeeming premium cabin awards, one can now avail of lucrative domestic redemptions with their recent changes.

One of the changes that they did is that they lessened short haul award ticket costs. For example, it will only cost you only 5,000 miles to avail of tickets covering a distance of under 700 miles. For tickets covering a distance of 701-1,400 miles, it will cost you only 7,500 miles. For tickets covering a distance of 1,401-2,100 miles, it will only cost you 10,000 miles.

One can now book one-way-non-refundable travel within the continent of Canada and the US, beginning at just 5,000 miles - that is 30% fewer miles than were previously required.

The following are the reasons why these changes in the Mileage Plan Program are awesome. First, the above award costs are based on the cumulative distance of a one-way ticket; meaning, you can fly multiple segments and still qualify for one of the above discounted awards (other airlines that have discounted distance based awards typically limit you to one segment)



Also, Alaska Mileage Plan allows a stopover on one-way awards, including entirely domestic awards. Lastly, award tickets on Alaska are now eligible for complimentary upgrades, so if you're an elite member you can potentially score an upgrade on these tickets. See Boarding Area report Redeem 5,000 Miles For A One-Way Ticket With A Stopover!

However, there are a couple of things that one should be aware of. First, that there are capacity restrictions. Not all of the saver level award seats will be available at the mentioned discounted prices. Meaning, not all flights covering a distance of under 700 miles will cost just 5,000 miles. Second, this doesn't include flights to Mexico, etc.. It is only valid for travel within the continental Canada and U.S.

This is why one should be excited; it is because it opens up opportunities to visit two destinations for just 5,000-10,000 miles. For example, For 5,000 miles one can fly from San Francisco to Portland, have a stopover for several days, and then continue from Portland to Seattle.

Or for 7,500 miles, one can fly from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa, have a stopover, and then continue from Santa Rosa to Seattle. Again for 7,500 miles, one can fly from San Diego to Seattle, have a stopover, and then proceed to Vancouver from Seattle. For 10,000 miles, one can fly from Spokane to Seattle, have a stopover and then proceed to Anchorage from Seattle.

The point is, there are a lot of opportunities with these discounted awards, especially for those on the West Coast. Paying 5,000-10,000 miles for a one-way ticket is a great deal. It is made even better by the ability to have a free stopover or upgrade if you are an elite member. See also Traveler's Today report Alaska Airlines to Offer Free Beer Tastings on Select Q400 Flights around Alaska.

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In the present time, anyone can make their "Top 5 Affordable Bucket List Travel ideas" easily; traveling is never as low-cost as now. Therefore, we amass the best locations to include in every traveler's dream visit around the world. The list covers the best things to see and experience in each location, and of course, they are within the budget.

The first three of "Top 5 Affordable Bucket List Travel ideas" are Montreal, Canada, Prague, Czech Republic, and Queenstown, New Zealand. Definitely, these are must-visit locations for low-budgeted travels. They are actually good stand-ins for pricier countries, nonetheless, they offer the same beauty, culture, and activity the others have.

For Montreal, it is said to be the next Europe with its architecture and culture. Mostly, French people live on this side of the world and they offer the views of Parc du Mont-Royal and Notre Dame Basilica.

Next, Prague can be compared to Paris and London, it's well-known for its beers, nightlife, and museums. Its tourist attractions are Charles Bridge and Karlovy Lazne. One more, Queenstown, in here is the eighth wonder of the world. It's the city renowned for Glenorchy town where the "Lord of The Rings" filmed.

Here are the last two of the "Top 5 Affordable Bucket List Travel ideas" are Kyoto in Japan, and Huairou in China. The two are both in Asia so it's easy to navigate and marvel with all the countries can offer. Remarkably, Kyoto provides travelers experiences on ancient temples, traditional food, and royal customs. Also, the place is with a picturesque shower of Sakura trees.

In regards with Huairou, the best thing in this location is the Great Wall of China. Aside from it, tourists can also stay in holiday resorts and experience their special tours around the city.

To conclude, the "Top 5 Affordable Bucket List Travel ideas" are round-the-trip international vacations, experience the culture and attractions they can only offer. For more travel tips, stay tuned in Travelers Today.

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It was a wonderful 14-hour flight from Canada to New Zealand, when a cat-loving woman was found smuggling a cat in her carry-on luggage. The woman was trying to bring with her the four-year-old cat named Bella to the New Zealand for a holiday vacation.

However, the Ministry for Primary Industries said that the woman will never be allowed to enter the country due to the smuggled cat that she forced to bring across the pacific. The woman declared that what she brought was a pair of "dirty boots" then later confessed when found out that it was her cat.

The woman was very reluctant to have her bag undergo the X-ray scanner while telling the airport officials that the luggage as already been checked. Craig Hughes, the spokesperson of the Ministry for Primary Industries said that the woman shall be sent back to Canada and will not be allowed to join the flight, the News reported.

She was then forced to return to the first available flight back to Canada. However, it was not the first time that Canadian pets were smuggled in the airport. It was also early this year that a small gecko was also found hiding inside a carry-on luggage of one of its passengers.

Due to such incident, the New Zealand customs has already become strict about their regulations for passengers who would try to import pets in their flight. Mashable also reported that the cat was very quiet and behave during the inspection and must have been given a drug to make it drowsy the entire time. This adds another red flag to what the woman did.

Hughes emphasized that bringing of domestic animals are strictly prohibited as it may bring ticks and diseases that are not present in New Zealand. He also said that the woman was upset after being sent back home by the New Zealand Customs.

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The Philippines is one of the most famous archipelagos in the world. It has been blessed with more than 7,000 islands and each of those islands has a paradise waiting to be discovered. When you are in the Philippines, there are definitely several locations that you can go for vacations. Most of those locations are already known to tourists both local and international.

However, according to the recent surveys of the Telegraph, there are hidden destinations that Philippines can offer too. Check out these paradise that are really picture-worthy destinations.

1. The Banaue Rice Terraces - This is one of the least visited iconic places of the Philippines. This is somewhere found at the Cordillera region where you can get the chance to see the most spectacular rice terraces ever created in the Philippines. The place has a field with different plantations of papaya, sweet potato, and sugar cane will definitely give you a good view of the archipelago.

2. Bohol - Palawan and Boracay are among the most common destinations when people are trying to escape into a paradise. However, Bohol is definitely among those hidden destinations which were not known yet by many. In Bohol, you will also find white sand beaches that are never been heard before. It is a few minutes flight from Cebu which is also one of the big cities in the Philippines.

3. Surigao del Sur - One of the least visited places which offer great adventures for travelers. In Surigao, you will find the most spectacular blue lagoon, according to the Rappler. This is situated somewhere in the municipality of Cantilan. In this municipality lie the pristine beaches which were also surrounded by islands and islets.

4. Quirino - It is usually a good location for northbound travelers. This is somewhere in Baguio and definitely among the least visited locations in the Philippines. The place offers lots of outdoor activities, like river and cave adventures. In this place, you will also see the views of the Cagayan river flowing through its verdant landscape.

5. Leyte - This is one of the places which was destructed by the famous typhoon Yolanda; however it has slowly got back into its beauty. Leyte can offer you with several hidden destinations too like Kalanggaman Island which is found in Palompon. It greatly offers you its white sand bars and clear waters for swimming, too.

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One's Singapore trip will never be complete without hanging around the famous Universal Studios. It is definitely a haven for both young and adult who are trying to experience fun and great adventure. Universal Studios is not only an amusement park but it is also the best place to go for extreme and nerve-cracking rides.

The Never Ending Voyage has spotted five of the most fun adventures that you must dare to try in the Universal Studio.

1. A ride at the Battlescar Galactica - One of the extreme rides that you really have to try in the park. It is a new kind of roller coaster which is somewhat inverted that represents like a cyclon. It has multiple inversions that will definitely make you scream and shout the entire ride. With just a little of your Singaporean dollars, this ride will really give you a one-of-a-kind fun!

2. Transformers: The Ride - One of the all-time favourite rides in the Universal Studios is when you get to ride with its famous Transformer robots. It is a 3D ride where you wear glasses and sit on the transformer robot. This is one of the most sought after rides in the park.

3. The Revenge of the Mummy - It is almost similar with the Transformers only that you are not going to wear a 3D glass. Tourists are going to ride a jeep where you will be searching for an Egyptian tomb. This is like a combination of roller coaster and a haunted house. This is one of the most exciting things to try and scream out in 15 minutes.

4. Jurassic Park Adventure - This is one of the best river rafting adventure according to Travel Yourself Today. If you are looking for the best water soaking adventure, then this ride is a must-try. If you find yourself uncomfortable of being wet, you can also find drying pads for just $5.

5. The Waterworld - This is one of the most amazing constructed theatres inside the studio. There are several performers who are really good and committed to their roles. There are multiple shows that you can choose to watch in a day.

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Anis Amril, The Tunisian suspect for the Berlin Christmas Market Attack, was shot dead yesterday early morning after failing to present his identity documents in a routine police check conducted as a normal procedure in the Sesto San Giovanni in Milan. The routine check turned into a shoot-out encounter when the Tunisian national pulled out a .22-caliber gun and fired at the police.

It will be recalled that a nationwide search was done to capture Anis Amril. What happened in the Sesto Giovanni was a concurrence as the police were just doing their usual strict operations on the territory. An individual was walking around the area and was stopped by the police for ID check.

The said man was ordered by the two officers on patrol, Cristian Movio and Luca Scata, to remove the contents of his pockets and bag. The man took out a pistol and shot Movio on the shoulder. Scata backfired and shot the criminal. They were not aware that this man was actually the Tunisian suspect at large.

According to a reported news of Aljazeera, Senator Marco Minniti of the Italian Interior has confirmed that it the individual who was shot was indeed Anis Amril. In addition, forensics specialists assembled at the shoot-out area to verify evidences.

After a week of and outpour of distress, questions now have emerges as to the supremacy of the immigration laws and border security. Citizens are residents wonder who the fugitive seemed to have crossed from one country to another. Authorities are now moving in quest of possible criminal networks of Anis Amril.

No one will forget December 19, 2016, the ill-fated day when a terrorist violence struck at a Christmas market near to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It has been a gruelling week of seeking for truth and with the recent turn of events, it gives the public a slight assurance of order.

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Early Friday, two Libyan passengers hijacked Afriqiyah Airways Flight 8U209 en route to the nation's capital Tripoli, and demanded to divert the plane to Europe, but landed in Malta. However, the intense ordeal was successfully negotiated and all 111 passengers and crew members onboard were safe.

Apparently, the two hijackers, named Subah Mussa and Ahmed Ali, were acting on their loyalty to late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, an autocratic leader in Libya who supported several acts of terrorism and plane hijackings during his rule. In 2011, he was killed during an uprising along with his three sons.

The flight originally took off from the airport in Sabha, but before the plane was able to land in Tripoli, the two hijackers seized control of the plane, sending all people onboard to rise in panic. The pilot then decided to divert the plane to Libya, but the hijackers refused. The pilot was able to relay as much to the Tripoli airport control before all communications were lost.

The hijackers then demanded to be taken to Rome, but they were forced to land in Malta because of shortage in fuel. They even demanded to bomb the plane if their demands were not met.

As the plane landed in the airport, they were surrounded by the Maltese Military, with the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat, relaying updates about the crisis through Twitter.

For 4 hours both the Maltese and Libyan military negotiated with the hijackers for their demands and the safety of all the passengers. Eventually, an agreement was ensured and all the passesngers were able to leave the plane safely.

In a tweet, Muscat said: "The hijackers were told that in order for any discussions to be entertained, they should release all passengers first. This request was negotiated and eventually accepted and passengers were released in groups."

After the investigation, it was revealed that the weapons brought by the hijackers were only replicas. They are now both in custody and awaiting several charges.

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The six-grader with the help of his father approached the Islamabad High Court and filed a petition against the presidency for "stealing" the text of his speech and giving it to someone else without his consent.

By India Today Web Desk: An 11-year-old boy has sued the office of President Mamnoon Hussain for stealing his speech which he had prepared to deliver on an event to celebrate the birth anniversary of Pakistan's founder M A Jinnah.

The six-grader, Muhammad Sabeel Haider, with the help of his father Naseem Abbas Nasir, approached the Islamabad High Court and filed a petition against the presidency for "stealing" the text of his speech and giving it to someone else without his consent.

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Justice Aamer Farooq on Friday reserved the verdict on the maintainability of the young orator's petition, The Express Tribune reported.

Haider has made the secretary to the President, additional secretary at the President's Secretariat, director colleges of the Directorate of Education, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the managing director of the Pakistan Television, and one Ayesha Ishtiaq through the principal of Islamabad College for Girls as respondents in the case.

Haider, who studies in the Islamabad Model College for Boys, said in the petition that he participated in a programme arranged by the presidency and delivered a speech on March 23 of this year and later, the president had given him a letter of appreciation.

He said that a ceremony related to Jinnah's 141th birth anniversary was scheduled under the title "Quaid-e-Azam aur Bachay" and that the respondents had requested him on December 14 to deliver a speech in the ceremony on the topic "Pakistan ka Mustaqbil" which had to be recorded on December 22.

He said he participated in daily rehearsals from December 14 onwards and sacrificed two papers (English and General Science) on December 15 and December 19, respectively, which were part of annual December Test examination.

The counsel said Haider's speech was forwarded for approval from the presidency, adding that the respondents had approved it.

When the petitioner on December 22 reached Aiwan-e-Sadr (Presidency Palace), officials of the presidency sent him for make-up and the young orator sat on his reserved seat and waited for his turn.

"Shockingly," Haider was informed that the speech was going to be delivered by a girl from another school, and "more astonishingly", the speech which she delivered "was the original script of the speech of the petitioner", the counsel said.

"The petitioner was highly discouraged... and insulted by the respondents" because his original script was delivered by someone else, and that too without permission, consent or will of the petitioner, the counsel said.

Calling it "stealing", the counsel termed the act of the respondents a violation of intellectual property, intellect, and copyrights and sought that they be restrained from airing the speech on electronic or social media.

--- ENDS ---
For travelers who are thinking of visiting Madrid, Spain, should consider going there during the winter season. Winter is the best season to visit Madrid, as the city not only has lower prices and fewer crowds, it also has a lot of activities for tourists to enjoy.

According to Spain Attractions, tourists who visit Madrid will be able to enjoy dealing with only a few crowds, low prices, and the city's culture. The city's day is covered in bright blue skies and takes on a festive look, as several decorations and activities can be seen throughout Madrid.

One even that the tourists wouldn't want to miss when they visit Spain's capital is the 200th anniversary of Teatro Real. The Telegraph said that one of the highlights of the event will be the new production of Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd.

It will be staged by Deborah Warner and will be conducted from January 31, February 28. Other events that tourists can enjoy are the vibrant Puerta del Sol's New Year's Eve party or the Three Kings Day parade.

Tourists will just have to be wary of the temperature of the city, as it can drop to a few degrees Celsius above freezing. But that won't be a problem, as they can warm up in several cultural locations of the city, such as the CentroCentro that always has several exhibitions.

Tourists can also enjoy the culture of Madrid by visiting several of the cafes across the city to enjoy a warm drink during a cold day. One such location is the Chocolateria Valor, where the tourists can enjoy a cup of the traditional gloopy chocolate together with churro fritters.

To cap off the day, visitors can complete their tour around the city with a walk through the Retiro Park, where they can also watch performers by the lake. So for those thinking of visiting Madrid, Winter would be the best season to go there.

In other news, Colombian president President Juan Manuel Santos asked Madrid to take down a billboard of Netflix's hit original series "Narcos." Santos said that, though the show is good, Columbia had "lived through the Pablo Escobar tragedy and suffer from the memories."

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Miami is one of the most famous international cities in Florida, and it has been influenced by Cuba. The famous city has a lot to offer for tourists in search for a relaxing destination to visit. The city is, however, going to make you spend a handful of cash.

According to World Travel Guide, if you will be visiting Miami expect that you are going to be out very late in your first night. On the following day, you can start the day with a long but slow brunch at the Icebox Cafe on Lincoln Road or you can also head to the Front Porch on Ocean Drive. After having a good meal you can start in getting your blood flowing by walking slowly along the esplanade that embraces the bear near the Ocean Drive.

You will be seeing different sorts of people along your slow walk such as fitness fanatics, lightheaded couples, exhausted party goers and plenty of deluxe cars. It is best if you end up near the north end of Collins Avenue, and turn left toward the overcrowded shopping zone, Lincoln Road and enjoy watching over the people and shopping. During Sundays, you can head to the farmer's market around 9:00 am and 6:30 pm, which sells local produce and lovely orchids.

According to Travel and Leisure, the best time to visit Miami is from January through April, which is Miami's high season. During this summer period, the city becomes budget-friendly for travelers in search for a joyous trip in the city's more quiet summer months which starts from June through September.

The summer period is also a part of the hurricane belt, which makes it vulnerable to inclement weather from June through November. The city of Miami is open for business for as long as the sun shines.

These are some of the things you will be expecting upon your first visit in Miami, and it's probably going to be worth your while. Watch the video below for some insight for a one day stay in Miami, and subscribe for more travel news.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
By PTI: Mumbai, Dec 23 (PTI) The insurance regulator Irdai has approved the R3 application and granted certificate of registration to five global reinsurers to opens shops here, a senior Irdai official said today.

The R3 is the final approval from the regulator to begin branch operations.

The five global reinsurers that were granted final approval by the regulator are the US-based reinsurer Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), Munich Re and Hannover from Germany, Swiss Re from Switzerland and French reinsurance major Scor, the official told PTI.

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Another Swiss reinsurer XL Catlin and London-based specialised reinsurer Lloyds are expected to get R2 soon, whereas Gen Re (part of Berkshire Hathaway of Warren Buffet) is set to receive R1 approval shortly, he said.

ITI Reinsurance, promoted by a domestic firm controlled by Sudhir Valia, has already received R2 licence and is waiting the final approval to kick off its operations.

Currently, state-owned GIC Re is the sole reinsurer in the country. The reinsurance market is estimated to be at around USD 2.5 billion.

Confirming the development, RGA said the insurance regulator has approved the R3 application and granted certificate of registration to it to setup a branch here.

Talking to PTI, RGA India branch Chief Executive and Managing Director Thomas Mathew said his parent organisation has already brought in the initial capital of Rs 100 crore and the India branch already has 45 people on its roll.

RGA is a US-based Fortune 500 company specialising in life and health reinsurance and has clients in over 60 countries. It is the global market leader in life reinsurance with total revenue of USD 10.4 billion and assets of USD 50.4 billion in 2015. It is strong in actuarial, underwriting and product development talents.

Since 2001, RGA has been operating in the country as a foreign reinsurer through its Irish subsidiary. RGA is working actively with its clients in developing innovative products in online protection and critical Illness space providing tailor made reinsurance solutions.

RGA has 23 life insurance companies, including the insurance behemoth LIC, as its clients in the country and 5 life insurance companies as clients in Sri Lanka.

"RGA has long term commitment to Indian insurance market and is keen to provide continued service to its clients," Mathew said in a statement.

"With the branch licence, RGA will become a regulated legal entity and will be able to give better, faster and efficient services to its clients," he said.

The RGA branch being set up will be under its Canadian arm, and will be based in Mumbai. PTI KD BEN RSY BAS

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By PTI: Mumbai, Dec 23 (PTI) Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray today inaugurated two just renovated schools of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

These schools are Haji Ismail Haji Alana School at Antop Hill and Mahagarpalika Shala in Prateeksha Nagar

"Both schools are modernised, affordable and equipped with computer labs, science labs, vocational training and virtual classes," the Thackeray scion tweeted.

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"I was indeed very happy to meet the school kids, happily sitting and learning in their renovated schools," he said.

He said almost 13.5 lakh children study in 1,221 schools, and they are taught in eight languages in primary, middle and high schools of BMC, controlled by the Shiv Sena.

"The affordable schooling at BMC schools also come with digital education since the last 5 years and 25 essentials given free for education," Aditya said. PTI MM RSY

--- ENDS ---
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 24

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said he would campaign for the Congress in Punjab only if Capt Amarinder Singh gave him a public assurance that he would give Haryana its due share in the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal waters after coming to power.

Capt Amarinder Singh was the Chief Minister when the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, denying our state its due share, was passed by the Punjab Assembly. Hence, unless he assures me publicly that he will give Haryana its share, I cannot support him to the detriment of the states interests, he said.

Hooda accused Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Singh Chautala of misleading the public on the SYL issue. He said Om Prakash Chautala was the Chief Minister when Punjab passed the legislation.

Hooda said he had offered to be a volunteer for digging the canal, but the INLD supremo did not want to annoy his friend Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal patron.

Hooda said he had postponed his campaign on the SYL issue as he hoped that the Union Home Secretary, who was told to place a status report by the Supreme Court, would submit an affidavit in Haryanas favour on December 15.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 24

Infighting within the state Congress came to the fore during the rally of AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Dharamsala today.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Transport and Technical Education GS Bali was not allowed on the stage during the rally.

Sources said Balis name was not mentioned in the list of leaders who were allowed on the main stage.

Surprisingly, Bali was absent during the rally while all other ministers and even parliamentary secretaries were present on the stage.

When asked about his absence from the main rally to mark the four years of the Congress government in power, Bali said he was accompanied by Viplove Thakur and Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur.

However, the security in charge of Rahul informed him that his name was not mentioned in the list of people allowed on the main stage. He said it was the duty of Chief Secretary and other officials to give his name as the function was organised to mark four years of the Congress government in power, he said.

Sources said the omission of Balis name was due to his differences with local MLA and Minister for Urban Development Sudhir Sharma. Both leaders are trying to edge out each other in the race for prominence in Kangra.

Meanwhile, Bali organised a separate show of strength for Rahul in his Nagrota Bagwan constituency. Rahul visited the Nagrota Bagwan Assembly constituency to inaugurate the Rajiv Gandhi Government Engineering College and unveil the bronze statue of the late Prime Minister brought up in the college.

Rahul travelled from Dharamsala to the college by road waiving to Bali supporters who were raising slogans in his favour.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 24

Terming the BJP chargesheet a bundle of lies, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said if any defamatory issues were found against anyone, the BJP would face legal consequences.

He said it was an old habit of the BJP to level false charges as twice during its tenure, he was implicated in false cases and twice faced the session trial and was acquitted.

Virbhadra said as of now, the BJP was getting his single case of income tax returns probed by three different central agencies, which had never happened in country before. The Congress government had ensured the overall development of the state in the last four years. The chargesheet was prepared to take out frustration on the Congress and its few ministers, he added.

Meanwhile, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Vidya Stokes, Health and Family Welfare Minister Kaul Singh Thakur and Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania said it was a futile exercise as the charges were contrary to the fact which had no proof. The BJP has levelled these allegations on the Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs, chairmen and vice-chairmen of various boards, corporations to divert the attention of the people.

The minister said it was due to the strenuous efforts of the state government that today Himachal had emerged as a role model in terms of development. It has not only fulfilled all promises made to the people in the election manifesto, but has gone beyond it, she said.

Reacting to the corruption allegation, they said the government has been adopting the policy of zero-tolerance towards corruption and if BJP leaders had any evidence against the government, they should go to the Lokayukta or seek apology from the people of the state for making false charges.

They reminded the BJP leaders that it was during the BJP regime that corruption was at its peak and various serious irregularities were committed to favour a few people. It was due to the corruption and misrule of the BJP government that the people did not vote it to power in the last elections, the ministers said.

They also ridiculed the charges of the mafia rule, adding that the government was providing responsive and transparent governance and immediate action was taken whenever any irregularity was reported to the government.
Talking about police probe in her case, she said, "I am not happy with how the police is handling this case."

By Ram Kinkar Singh: A 30-year-old American woman who was allegedly gangraped in a Delhi hotel earlier this year, told India Today that she was not happy the way Delhi Police was handling the case.

In an exclusive interview to India Today, she said, "I feel there should be a stronger law for protecting tourists from rape in India."

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She said that cases of rape were high in India and this needs urgent redressal.

Talking about police probe in her case, she said, "I am not happy with how the police is handling this case."

The woman tourist further added that women's safety is a global issue and hence her case should not be seen in an independent light.

Speaking about the incident, she named her tour guide and two hotel staffers among the five who gangraped her in a Connaught Place hotel she was staying at.

"Police needs to do more to make arrests," the American tourist added saying that she will never travel in India alone again.

In her complaint, she claimed that the five gained entry to her room on pretext of talking to her about travel details.

She said she felt drowsy after drinking water they offered her, adding that the tour guide, attendant, guide's cousin and two others sexually assaulted her for two days.

Read : Delhi: American woman allegedly gang raped by 5, including tourist guide, in a hotel

Read: Gangraped US woman slams Delhi Police probe, asks why accused is yet to be arrested

Read: Exactly 4 years after Nirbhaya incident, Delhi girl raped in car bearing Home Ministry sticker

--- ENDS ---
Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 24

Even a fortnight after taking over the investigation of the Nagrota attack in which seven Indian Army personnel, including two officers were killed, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is still shooting in the dark to find the missing links.

The investigating agency is trying to trace the vehicle used in ferrying the militants to the attack site on November 29. So far it has not been able to locate it despite having its details.

Sources said the NIA had come to know that a passenger vehicle was used by the militants to reach the spot but its registration papers were not in order. The vehicle has been sold by the original owner to a person belonging to Poonch district six years ago but he didnt transfer the papers, said the sources.

Questioning of the original owner did not yield much result. The NIA is trying to trace the current owner and the vehicle, the sources added.

On November 29, three heavily armed militants had stormed an Army unit in Kour Jagir near Baloni nallah in the Nagrota area of Jammu district, three kilometres from 16 Corps headquarters, and killed seven Army personnel. All three militants were eliminated in the day-long operation.

After the attack, the NIA took over the investigation of the case from the J&K Police on December 7.

During the course of the investigation, the NIA had picked up family members of a businessman of the Vijaypur area of Samba district. However, it set them free after questioning them for a few days.

The NIA hasnt so far made any formal arrest regarding the case and the investigation is still inthe infancy stage, the sources added.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 24

Protests were witnessed in the Batamaloo area of Srinagar for the second day today against the governments decision to issue domicile certificate to the West Pakistan refugees.

The police lobbed teargas and pepper gas shells to disperse the demonstrators indulging in stone-throwing, leading to clashes.

Independent MLA Engineer Rashid and his more than two dozen supporters, who were staging a sit-in outside Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis residence at the Gupkar road here against the governments proposal to issue domicile certificates to the West Pakistan refugees, were evicted by the police this morning.

Braving freezing temperatures, Rashid had started the 48-hour-long protest on Friday morning. He questioned the governments claim that it had not directed issuance of domicile certificates to the West Pakistan refugees.

Meanwhile, normal life across Kashmir was paralysed for the second consecutive day of the shutdown today. Shops and businesses remained closed and traffic was less on roads. However, shops in some areas outside Srinagar were open as the continued shutdowns have lost steam over the past several weeks.
Jitendra K Shrivastava

Patna, December 23

The Bihar Government has set up three tent cities in Patna to accommodate Sikh devotees coming to participate in week-long Parkash Utsav celebrations being held to mark the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

Devotees have already made bookings for the tent cities set up in Gandhi Maidan, Bypass Road and Kangan Ghat areas. Queries for accommodation, however, continue to pour in on helpline number 18001238150/51.

Gandhi Maidan tent city (62 acres) can accommodate around 18,000 devotees, Bypass Road tent city (60 acres) 32,000 devotees, while Kangan Ghat tent city can accommodate around 5,000 devotees. Bookings for these tent cities closed today. Some berths have been reserved for VVIPs. Those wishing to make bookings now are being advised to book rooms in 133 designated hotels, said an official.

Patna District Magistrate Sanjay Aggrawal said, Around 3 to 5 lakh devotees are expected to visit Patna to attend the celebrations from January 1 to 7. We are committed to make available accommodation to all of them. Though the tent cities have been completely booked, our endeavour is to accommodate each and every devotee wanting to visit Patna.

To accommodate all devotees, we are now making arrangement in schools also, said celebrations committee chairman Gurinderpal Singh.
KV Prasad



Tribune News Service



New Delhi, December 22

The Indian Armys Poona Horse and the latest Indian Navy frigate, the INS Sahyadri, held an affiliation at an event that continued a three-decade practice promoting cross-service cooperation at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

Lt Gen RV Kanitkar, colonel of the Poona Horse Regiment  one of the oldest regiments of the Indian Army and Vice-Admiral HCS Bisht, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command, spoke about the importance of achieving the aims listed in the charter of affiliation.

Affiliation between naval ships and army regiments was instituted in 1990 to foster a spirit of cooperation and understanding between the two wings of the armed forces.

The Poona Horse is an Armoured Corps regiment that was raised on July 15, 1817, through the Treaty of Poona between British and Bajirao II, the Peshwa. The regiment has fought several legendary battles such as the Battle of Koregaum, Afghan Wars, Battle of Kooshab and Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971.

INS Sahyadri, one of the latest indigenous weapon platforms of the Eastern Naval Command, was constructed at Mazagaon Dock Ltd, Mumbai. This stealth ship is armed with an array of weaponry such as Surface-to-Surface missiles, Surface-to-Air missiles, medium range and short-range guns and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.




Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 24

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi firebombed the poor through its decision to invalidate old banknotes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 while leaving the rich black money hoarders untouched.

Demonetisation is a move against the poor. Modi did not touch real estate and gold markets, nor did he touch Swiss bank accounts where 96 per cent of the black money is parked, the Congress leader, who was in Dharamsala for a function held to mark the Congress state governments fourth year in power, said a day after he called the central governments decision an economic robbery.

Merely 6 per cent of the black money is in cash, Gandhi said.

Horticulturists, agriculturists and tourism sector in the state were hit hard by the measure, he said.

Gandhi claimed that Modi's demonetisation measure hit the poor and the middle class the hardest in the country on the one hand, even while, on the other, his push for a cashless economy and encouragement of using e-wallets helped the countrys big corporate houses bring in profits.

 PayTM stands for Pay to Modi, Gandhi said. For Modi, its Ram naam japna, paraya mal aapna (loosely put, using Rams name, hes cheating people), he said, quoting a line from a Bollywood song.

He also accused the central government of doing nothing to help farmers. Congress brought land acquisition bill to protect the land of the farmers but the present NDA tried to kill the Bill, he said.

He claimed the central government already had a list of Indians having black money parked in Swiss banks  names he said Switzerlands government had given to the central government  but Modi dithered in making them public.

He also repeated his allegations of payouts made by Sahara and Birla groups to the Prime Minister while he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
Washington, December 24

US President Barack Obama has signed into law the USD 618 billion defence budget for 2017, which enhances security cooperation with India and conditions nearly half of the funding to Pakistan on a certification that it is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.

Currently vacationing in Hawaii, Obama on Friday signed the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2017, which asks Defence Secretary and Secretary of State to take steps necessary to recognise India as Americas major defence partner.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

A summary of the bill released by Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator John McCain said NDAA-2017 enhances security cooperation between the US and India.

It also asks the administration to designate an individual within the executive branch who has experience in defence acquisition and technology to reinforce and ensure, through inter-agency policy coordination, the success of the Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship; and to help resolve remaining issues impeding US-India defence trade, security cooperation, and co-production and co-development opportunities.

The NDAA, which among other things, creates a USD 1.2 billion Counter-ISIL Fund, imposes four conditions on Pakistan to be eligible for USD 400 million of the USD 900 million of the coalition support fund (CSF).

The US Defence Secretary needs to certify to the Congress that Pakistan continues to conduct military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network in Pakistan and that Islamabad has taken steps to demonstrate its commitment to prevent the Haqqani Network from using any of its territory as a safe haven.

Early this year, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter refused to give a similar certification to Pakistan due to which it was not given USD 300 million under coalition support fund.

In his signing statement, Obama did not mention to any of these provisions of the bill, but he did express disappointment over certain other provisions in NDAA-2017.

He said: I remain deeply concerned about the Congresss use of the National Defence Authorisation Act to impose extensive organisational changes on the Department of Defence, disregarding the advice of the Departments senior civilian and uniformed leaders.

The extensive changes in the bill are rushed, the consequences poorly understood, and they come at a particularly inappropriate time as we undertake a transition between administrations. These changes not only impose additional administrative burdens on the Department of Defence and make it less agile, but they also create additional bureaucracies and operational restrictions that generate inefficiencies at a time when we need to be more efficient. PTI
Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, December 23

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju today assured people of violence-hit and blockade-choked Manipur that the Centre would take up immediate steps from tomorrow to bring essential commodities, fuel and other goods along the two arterial highways to the state.

Denouncing the Naga groups, which have called for indefinite blockade of Dimapur-Imphal and Imphal-Jiribum highways since November 1 in protest against the Manipur Governments decision to create new districts carving out of Naga-dominated hill districts, Rijiju said blockades must not happen on highways and the Centre would do everything possible, including deployment of additional central forces along these routes, to restore flow of essentials to the blockade-hit state.

He told the media that the additional forces that were being dispatched by the Centre would work in coordination with the state government for efficient deployment.

On his arrival in Imphal, Rijiju held a high-level review meeting with the Chief Minister and senior officials of the government, Army and paramilitary forces.
Ludhiana: High drama took place at Ladhowal Toll Plaza on Friday after Independent MLA Simarjit Bains and his men forcibly lifted the toll barrier and let commuters pass through without paying toll. Simarjit was seen arguing with the plaza employees, complaining that he had been stranded for nearly 30 minutes whereas six minutes is the stipulated time. TNS
Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Sunam (Sangrur), December 23

Then 40, PSPCL junior engineer Jai Kumar had everything going for him  a loving wife, a child they doted on, the financial security that his government job provided and a house of his own.

Six years hence and a suicide attempt later, he owes Rs 32 lakh to banks, his family has survived a murderous attack recently and his relatives  duped, like him  have chosen to boycott him.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

In his zeal to earn more through legal means, Jai Kumar invested Rs 1 lakh in a registered chit fund scheme, Crown Credit Cooperative Society, in 2010. It promised to double the money he invested in two years with a return of up to 4 per cent per month. Till 2012, he got monthly returns and whats more, Rs 2 lakh  double his investment  after two years. In total, he got Rs 2.48 lakh out of an investment of Rs 1 lakh.

Completely taken in, Jai took a loan and invested Rs 8 lakh, and since the returns kept coming, his investment shot up to Rs 32 lakh  much of it sourced from bank loans, even his provident fund savings. In the process, he mortgaged his house and the jewellery of his reluctant wife. Taking a cue, his relatives, too, invested Rs 1.92 crore.

And then, it all came crashing down. In 2015, the company downed shutters overnight and the managers could not be traced.

Now, after repaying loan instalments, Jai is left with Rs 8,000 a month to run the house. A few months ago, he consumed pesticide. When saved, his wife Vipin Kumari asked him: What is the fault of your family? How do you think we would have managed without you?

Today, Jai is one of the prominent faces of the 2.5 lakh duped investors who have formed the Crown Chit Fund Company Sangharsh Committee. Now, I dont think of ending my life but seeking justice for us all, he says. For the past two years, they have been fighting against the company owners and claim having resisted threats, attacks and allurements to withdraw complaints.

Harpreet Singh Khalsa, who committed suicide this week at Chhaajli village of the district, is the latest victim of perhaps the biggest-ever chit fund scam of Punjab. He had invested Rs 9.18 lakh after selling 4 acres of land.

Another victim, Bikramjit Singh  a farmer from Longowal village, lost 4 acres of land, all his savings and jewellery after investing Rs 50 lakh. My land is scheduled for auction on December 29 and I am helpless.

Will the government take action after I commit suicide? Manjinder Singh, an unemployed MBA from Patiala, is under debt too. A retired professor from Patiala, Prof Pritpal Singh, and a doctor lost all savings of Provident Fund. The list is endless and includes every section of society. Each story is more poignant than the other. We checked the registration of the company. They returned money to many.

The government did not alert anyone. It was all legal, till they ran away. But why dont the police catch them? asks Prof Pritpal Singh.

Members of the Sangharsh Committee are struggling to get all managers, directors and agents of the company arrested and the Rs 10,000 crore returned to the investors. But despite scores of complaints, only 35 FIRs have been lodged across the state. The latest was registered last month by the state crime branch after a Special Investigation Team was formed on the Punjab and Haryana High Courts directions. As per the FIR, the statements of 470 complainants were recorded and directors of seven companies booked.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 23

Rapped by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for diverting funds for advertisements instead of making payments to retired employees in the run-up to the Assembly polls, the Punjab Government today undertook to pay more than Rs 319.03 crore in instalments by the end of next month.

The government also undertook to release the first instalment of Rs 50 crore today itself. Justice Rajesh Bindal made it clear that IAS officer Krishan Kumar would be held guilty of contempt of court and heard only on the quantum of sentence in case the schedule presented before the Bench was not adhered to.

This court is constrained to pass this order seeing the past experience where Punjab had not been able to comply with the directions for the payment of various dues to the employees or others even after the filing of contempt petitions or giving an undertaking in the contempt petitions, Justice Bindal added.

State Advocate General Ashok Aggarwal submitted that it might be difficult to pay the amount in one go. Secretary, Expenditure, Finance Department, Krishan Kumar, said another Rs 50 crore would be released by December 30, an additional Rs 100 crore by January 11, 2017, and dues up to December 31 on account of the retirement of government employees in all departments would be cleared by January 31 next year.

Justice Bindal said the state would be at liberty to operate the accounts already attached, subject to the compliance of the undertaking. Taking cognisance of the non-payment of Rs 319.03 crore to the retired employees, he had asserted on the previous date of hearing: The newspapers and other media are full of advertisements, making tall claims and launching new schemes, for which funds are being provided. The state may be in the election mode, but the dues of the employees, serving or retired, or any amount due to other persons, cannot be diverted.

Justice Bindal had also directed the attachment of Excise and Taxation Department accounts to the tune of Rs 319.03 crore.
Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag visits Manipur and Assam to review security situation in the states, the Indian Army said.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh is on a visit to Manipur and Assam to review security situation, an official said.

"General Dalbir Singh visits Manipur and Assam to review security situation (in the states)," the Indian Army said in a tweet today.

Gen Dalbir Singh #COAS visits Manipur and Assam to review security situation. ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) December 24, 2016

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The United Naga Council has imposed an economic blockade in the state since November 1 to denounce the creation of seven new districts from areas inhabited by Nagas in Manipur.

Singh is set to retire on December 31 and will be succeeded by Lt. General Bipin Rawat.

Also read: Will PM Modi bite the bullet and appoint first CDS before Army chief General Suhag retires?

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Fazilka, December 23

To welcome the New Year, the security forces of India and Pakistan have decided to conduct the Retreat with a ceremonial parade daily till January 1. Official sources said that this was decided in a flag meeting between the officials of the two countries.

The Indian side was led by Border Security Force Commandant Murari Prasad Singh and the Pakistani side by Wing Commander Afzal Mehmood Chaudhary. The meeting was held in Pakistan territory. Border Security Force officials exhorted the residents, particularly schoolchildren, to come to Joint Check Post, Sadiqi, to witness the flag-lowering ceremony. The two sides reportedly discussed various means to maintain peace at the international border.  OC
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 24

The Uttarakhand BJP's expectations are high from the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dehradun on Tuesday.

The party intends to cash in on his popularity well before the elections. BJP Uttarakhand chief Ajay Bhatt, along with senior party leaders, have been busy fine-tuning the visit to the last details along with security officials from New Delhi.

"Along with launching of the prestigious all-weather road project, the Prime Minister's rally will boost our pre-election preparations," said BJP chief Ajay Bhatt.

From December 25, the Uttarkhand BJP will also launch programmes dedicated to former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The former Prime Minister is credited with carving the separate state of Uttarakhand and during elections, the BJP has always tried to cash in on this aspect.

All-weather roads: War of words between CM, Bhatt

A war of words has erupted between the BJP and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis proposed visit here to lay the foundation stone of a network of all-weather roads to Char Dham after Harish Rawat claimed the state already had such roads.

The project will ensure uninterrupted all-weather safe journey for pilgrims to the four Himalayan shrines- Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath, which bore the brunt of the 2013 natural calamity.

The state BJP today reacted sharply to Rawats remarks saying that if it was so, why did the roads to Char Dham remain blocked for weeks together during monsoon.

The Chief Minister should gather information about all-weather roads before issuing statements about them. If all roads in the state are all-weather roads, why do they remain blocked for weeks together during monsoon, state BJP president Ajay Bhatt said in a statement issued today.

Yesterday, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his proposed visit to lay the foundation stone of the ambitious project on December 27, Rawat had said all roads in the state were all-weather already.

Terming Rahul Gandhis Almora rally a flop, BJP said the state government had locked government offices in the afternoon in the district and adjoining areas to have a better turnout at the rally. Still, the crowds were sparse and 80 per cent of those who had showed up had left the venue even before the Congress vice-president could finish his speech.PTI
United Nations, December 24

Defying heavy pressure, the US today allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution demanding Israel to halt settlements in Palestinian territory as it abstained from wielding its veto in the powerful world body.

The 15-nation council adopted yesterday the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour and with one abstention from the US.

In a rare step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

The resolution had been put forward by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela.

In the resolution, the council reiterated its demand that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard".

As the resolution, which had more symbolic value and is unlikely to change the situation on ground between Israel and Palestine, was adopted, the Council broke into a huge round of applause as envoys of the permanent and non-permanent members lauded the decision.

The adoption of the resolution and Washington's abstention was seen as a huge rebuke to Israel, which has traditionally been a staunch US ally.

US President-elect Donald Trump had put pressure on the Obama administration to veto the UN resolution critical of Israel.

A day before the vote, Trump said in a post on Facebook that the resolution being considered at the UN Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed.

"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations. This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis," he had said. PTI

WONT abide by it: Israeli PM

New York: Expressing anguish at the recently passed UN resolution demanding the halt of settlement activity by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (in pic) has called the resolution shameful and anti-Israel. He also said that Israel would not abide by the resolution. The UN resolution was adopted on Friday with 14 votes after the United States abstained from voting. After the vote, a senior Israeli official had accused the United States of abandoning the Jewish state with its refusal to block the resolution with a veto, reports the CNN. Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, reacted angrily to the vote and issued a sharp parting shot at the Obama administration's role. ANI

Hamas welcomes landmark vote

Gaza City: Hamas on Saturday welcomed a landmark UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlements in occupied territory, with the Palestinian Islamist movement saying it marked an "important evolution." "Hamas appreciates the position of the countries that voted in the Security Council for the right of the Palestinian people (to live) on their land," said Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum. AFP
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. As of 14:30, December 24, snowfalls are observed along the highways of Meghri region, the ministry of transportation, communication and information technologies told ARMENPRESS.

Clear ice has formed on the highways of Vayk, Sisian, Goris, Tumanyan, Dilijan and the Vardenyats Pass.

Highway supervision agencies are carrying out clearing operations in the abovementioned areas/

All highways of interstate and national significance are open for traffic.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got a big relief from court in a case of submitting false affidavit to the Election Commission in order to contest assembly polls in 2013.

By Press Trust of India: A Delhi court today granted bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a case of allegedly giving false information in an affidavit filed in the run up to 2013 Assembly polls.

Metropolitan Magistrate Ashish Gupta granted the relief to Kejriwal, who appeared in court in pursuance to its direction, on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and posted the matter for next hearing on April 7, 2017.

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The court had on August 31 exempted the CM from appearance for one day while directing him to personally appear before it today, considering that bail proceedings were pending.

READ| 7 instances when Jung had bitter tiff with Kejriwal

Kejriwal was allowed exemption by the court on the ground that he could not appear due to "exigencies of work and some important meetings and discharge of his duties".

The court had summoned Kejriwal in February this year on a criminal complaint filed by Neeraj Saxena and Anuj Agarwal on behalf of the NGO, noting that the politician had prima facie "willfully concealed" and "suppressed" his details in 2013 elections.

WATCH:

It had noted that there was "sufficient ground" to proceed against him on allegations that he had concealed his correct address and suppressed the market value of his property in his affidavit to the Election Commission.

Earlier, the NGO had approached Delhi High Court with a plea seeking quashing of Kejriwal's nomination papers on the ground of "illegalities" in his affidavit.

READ| Why Kejriwal chose to ignore VYAPAM scam in his Madhya Pradesh 'parivartan' rally?

High Court had refused to entertain the plea and directed the petitioners to approach a magisterial court for remedy.

The NGO in its petition before the high court had alleged that Kejriwal had violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act by submitting an affidavit which had incorrect details of his assets and income at the time of filing of the nomination.

The offence under section 125-A of the Act entails a punishment of six months jail term and/or fine or both.

READ| Kejriwal accuses Modi of benefitting BJP with note ban

The complaint was filed under several sections of RP Act and IPC for the alleged offences committed by him before holding the office of the Chief Minister of Delhi.

The complaint alleged that Kejriwal falsely gave his Delhi address so as to qualify for contesting polls in the capital though he was living at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

This prima facie amounted to willful concealment, suppression and furnishing of false information, it was claimed.

--- ENDS ---

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Heavy and tiring to wear for long periods of time, the high-tech prosthetic arm does not always go to school with Lily Rhodes. And she never takes it horseback riding, where a slight delay in the mechanical arms reaction time would throw her off balance.

But that doesnt mean the new arm hasnt been the blessing that Rhodes expected last February, when the teenager tried on the sophisticated Bebionic limb for the first time. She wanted a sense of independence back, and she got it.

I can do things I couldnt do before, Rhodes said recently. And when I dont need the arm, I dont have to wear it, so it works out great.

The Tulsa World chose Rhodes new arm as the Feel-good story of the year, remembering when Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak and the Hanger Clinic worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma to pay for the top-of-the-line prosthetic.

Rhodes lost her arm after a crash involving an all-terrain vehicle near Keystone Lake in May 2015. The new arm has 14 programmable grip patterns and hand positions, allowing Rhodes to control it by flexing her own arm muscles. And it lets her perform delicate tasks like zipping jackets, buttoning shirts and holding a piece of paper in one hand while writing on it with the other.

She uses the arm mainly for cooking, doing homework and painting, which is another one of her hobbies. Now in her second year at Bishop Kelley High School, Rhodes has attracted nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram, where she mainly posts about riding horses.

Its working fantastically, said Steve Rhodes, Lilys father. A lot of people worked hard to make this possible, and we appreciate it.

Other feel-good stories of 2016 include:

Drive your truck

A veterans widow planned a trip to Tulsa to pick up a 1992 Chevy Silverado truck, which her husband had traded in before deploying to Iraq in 2006.

Lee Brices song I Drive Your Truck is a powerful song that stirs emotions. He located a truck that once belonged to the late husband of Ginger Gilbert Ravella. Courtesy

Several years after her husbands death, Ginger Gilbert Ravella spoke at a Folds of Honor Foundation event with Lee Brice, whose song I Drive Your Truck reached No. 1 on the country music charts in 2013. The lyrics describe someone driving an old pickup as a way to remember a loved one who had died, and for obvious reasons it had become an emotionally powerful song for Ravella.

So Brice helped track down the trucks new owner and arranged to have it returned to Ravella. While she lives in San Antonio, the truck came to Tulsa for some restoration work before going to its new home.

BerThaddaeus Bailey, a 21-year-old OU student, has established a scholarship fund for Central High School teens. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World file

College student starts scholarship fund

A senior at the University of Oklahoma, 21-year-old BerThaddaeus Bailey established a scholarship fund for low-income students at his alma mater, Tulsas Central High School.

Many graduates have created scholarship funds for Central students, Bailey pointed out.

I guess the only difference, he told the Tulsa World last January, would be that I did it a little bit earlier in my life.

Parade crash survivor returns to work

Losing a leg in the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade crash in October 2015, Leo Schmitz triumphantly returned to work at American Airlines last summer.

American Airlines maintenance base worker Leo Schmitz walks past one of the planes he helps maintain at the Tulsa base Friday. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World file

A computerized prosthetic leg and months of physical therapy gave the 55-year-old maintenance worker the dexterity to climb stairs, step over obstacles and kneel inside of aircraft. But his positive attitude and sense of humor made his a symbol of resilience and survival after the tragedy.

I was the worst injured person there who pulled through, and Im thankful for that. Because the other families didnt get that chance, Schmitz told the Tulsa World in August.

Class ring returns 60 years after it was lost

A class ring from the Chilocco Indian School in north-central Oklahoma cost $18 in 1953.

Vera Freeman of Tahlequah, a 1953 graduate of Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, displays the class ring she lost in Tulsa more than 60 years ago. The ring, found by a woman in Texas in 2014, was recently returned to Freeman. MIKE BROWN/Tulsa World file

Kimberly Griffin found one while using a metal detector on the dry bed of Lake Lewisville, near her home in Flower Mound, Texas, during a drought in 2014.

It took some detective work, but Griffins efforts eventually led her to Vera Freeman, a retired schoolteacher in Tahlequah.

For some reason, I just felt like I had to try to find this person or find a relative, Griffin told the Tulsa World in November. I felt driven to do whatever I could to find this person.

The package arrived with a note that said, I hope this makes you smile.

It did, Freeman said. It really did.

Car washes help son learn to read

Doctors said Brian Campbell, diagnosed as a baby with a rare genetic disorder that leads to developmental delays and heart problems, wouldnt live past the age of 10.

Valerie Campbell, during an interview at her south Tulsa home, said she cant imagine life without Brian. She almost lost him when he was a baby.

Brian Campbell was diagnosed with Williams syndrome when he was a child. A love of car washes aided in his development and made him a celebrity in the car wash industry. Hes shown drying his mothers vehicle at at Mr. Klean Car Wash location at Pine Street and North Lewis Avenue. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World file

When he was 3 months old, he had a respiratory arrest and died in my arms, she told the Tulsa World in August. He had pneumonia and we didnt know it, and we were actually on the way to the doctor and my mother-in-law was driving the car when it happened, and I gave him CPR all the way as I was giving her directions to get to the hospital.

Brian was revived. But learning disabilities left him struggling with simple math, and he never expressed a desire to learn to read. Until, that is, he developed an obsession with car washes. While Brian wanted no part of conventional childrens books, a stack of car wash magazines was like Candyland.

Read them to me! Read them to me! he urged his mother.

And the little bulb went on, she told the World.

Valerie cut pictures out of car wash magazines, placed them in photo albums and created books to share with her son.

What do you think this picture should say? she would ask.

And he would tell me what it should say, so I would write down his words. Pretty soon he was able to read it because I would point to the words as he would say them, and thats kind of how I taught him how to read.

Because of the familys experiences, Valerie was invited to participate on a panel after an Aug. 19 showing of the movie Life, Animated at the Circle Cinema. The film documents the story of Owen Suskind, an autistic man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films.

Now 34, Brian is outgoing and seems to wear a permanent smile.
The party is terming it as a huge success after almost two months of back-to-back engagements.

During the Yatra, BJP has successfully reached out to around two crore people, perhaps negating the demonetisation effect on the public gatherings.

"More than 2 crore people have been reached out to through the Parivartan Yatra across 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. Over 17,000 kilometres has been covered and travelled across the length and breadth of the state in just 49 days," Mahendra Singh, convenor of the Parivartan Yatra, confirmed.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed six mega rallies while Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and many other Union Ministers and leaders addressed several other rallies. This has served as a morale booster for the party supporters and unified them to work towards the party's victor in the impending Assembly elections," Singh added.

BJP and Apna Dal, its ally, have a total of 73 parliamentarians representing the party in Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, however, only 51 in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

The minimum requirement for majority in the State Assembly is 265 seats but, the party has been campaigning with a slogan of target 300 in the mass gatherings.

Parivartan Yatra was aimed at raising issues of the poor law and order situation, lack of development and failed promises of the Akhilesh Yadav government but there was a partial eclipse of demonetisation on it too.

The social media team of the party too promoted the rallies extensively in its attempt to expand the reach of voters and spread the message of the party to 14 crore voters in the entire state.

This is the first time in the past few decades that BJP has conducted an issue-based yatra instead of one by a party leader like that of LK Advani or Rajnath Singh.

There was no mention of any party leader but just the party that was engaging the leaders for campaigning on a common platform.

The Yatra, which began on November 5, will conclude in Lucknow on Saturday.
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
Education and Science Minister of Ukraine Liliya Hrynevych has discussed with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch the introduction of the New Ukrainian School and the development of academic mobility and collaboration with USAID.

This is reported by the Ministrys press service.

"The support we receive from the American side is essential for carrying out the education reform. You have already found out much about Ukraine, but I hope that our todays meeting will give you a broader understanding of the changes in the education system," Hrynevych said.

She stressed that the introduction of the New Ukrainian School would bring changes to the Ukrainian secondary education.

Minister Hrynevych also thanked the U.S. Embassy and the USAID for launch and support for joint educational projects in 2016.

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December 25, on the Catholic Christmas day, the first tranche of humanitarian aid in the amount of EUR 6 million will be allocated to Ukraine on behalf of Pope Francis.

This is reported by DW with reference to the Vaticans press service.

The funds, which have been collected in churches across Europe to the call of the Pope to help the victims of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, will be directed for the needs of over two million Ukrainians, primarily in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

A total of EUR 12 million in donations has been collected since April 2016. It is not specified when the remaining funds will be transferred.

ol
By PTI: in Dhulagarh

Howrah, Dec 24 (PTI) A BJP central team was stopped by West Bengal police from entering the violence-hit area in Dhulagarh in Howrah district today after which it staged a road blockade, accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of pursuing "appeasement politics".

The BJP delegation comprising party MPs Jagdambika Pal, Satpal Singh, state president Dilip Ghosh and its national secretary Rahul Sinha along with supporters was stopped at Ekabbarapur Road, about one kilometre away from the spot where the clashes had taken place a few days ago.

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The police, which cordononed off the area and deployed a large number of personnel, told the delegation that they would not be allowed to proceed since prohibitory orders have been imposed under Section 144 of CrPC.

Angered by it, the BJP delegation along with one thousand odd supporters blocked the road in protest.

Alleging that there is no law and order in the state, Pal said the government was following "appeasement politics towards a particular community".

He also alleged that the government had transferred the Howrah (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sabyasachi Raman Mishra for arresting 65 people in connection with the violence at Dhulagarh, where houses belonging to a community and their property were attacked by another.

Ghosh alleged right wing Muslim outfits and SIMI activists have entered the area and were creating trouble. He also said BJP was not given prior information about prohibitory orders being imposed in Dhulagarh.

"We are surprised that police did not allow us to approach the people in the area to know about their plight of sufferings," Ghosh said.

Sinha said that police was working at the instruction of the government and the action was an insult for the party central team.

"The BJP team comprised two MPs and a number of state leaders. We were told that Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the area. If it is so, two of us could be allowed to enter the area," Sinha said.

"We will enter the area by any means. If the situation deteriorates, the government will be responsible," Sinha threatened.

Some BJP workers also blockaded the busy Kolkata-Mumbai NH6.

Both blockades were later lifted and Ghosh said the BJP delegation would proceed to Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to Governor K N Tripathi.

BJP has alleged that the minority wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress has targeted Hindus in the area in Howrah district for their support to the saffron party.

The Governor had alaso enguired from the state Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purakayastha about the law and order situation there.

"The governor asked the DGP to ensure peace and law and order in the area and to take strict action against the culprits," a release issued by the Raj Bhavan had said.

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Tension erupted in Dhulagarh when two groups reportedly clashed as a procession was brought out in the area last week.

As per a senior officer at the Howrah Commissionerate, police had to use tear gas to bring the situation under control when the groups hurled bombs at each other. PTI COR AKB SBN KK RT

--- ENDS ---
While PWD Minister Chandrkanat Patil was speaking, a spontaneous war of words broke out between BJP and Sena supporters. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis interrupted Patil midway through his speech and took control of mic and appealed to the crowd to control their emotions.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: In the campaign for upcoming Crucial BMC Election, the BJP upped the ante today in the presence of PM Narendra Modi. Giving a boost to the tourism industry, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Shivaji Memorial in Arabian sea. He also inaugurated few metro projects and Trans Harbor projects in the city. BJP tried to exhibit that are pro-infrastructure and pro-development and that these projects will help the lives pf Mumbaikars.

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BJP-SHIV SENA ALLIANCE?

Talks of another alliance between Shiv Sena and BJP has not been finalised yet for the BMC election but the differences between the cadres of both parites was visible in Mumbai today. When Modi arrived at stage, the crowed started chanting slogans in his favour. After a few minutes, another section of the crowd started chanting slogans in praise of Balasaheb Thackeray.

But the most embarrassing situation of the evening occurred when PWD Minister Chandrkanat Patil was halfway through his speech. As he was speaking, a spontaneous war of words broke out between BJP and Sena supporters. To put an end to the commotion, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis interrupted Patil midway through his speech and took control of mic and appealed to the crowd to control their emotions.

REPEAT INCIDENT

It was almost a repeat of a similar episode which happened few days back during inauguration of the new railway station called Ram Mandir. There too both party workers indulge in sloganeering as they fought to take credit for the name Which led to huge public embarrassment for both parties. But it seems neither BJP nor Sena workers have learnt from their mistakes. In fact today's inauguration ceremony was supposed to be an attempt made by Devendra Fadnavis and Uddhav Thackery to show to Mumbaikars that everything is well between them and that they had burried their hatches.

It clearly showed that a section both party workers and supporters are not in favour of an alliance in upcoming election. But, for the moment we will have to wait and watch as all eyes will be on CM Fadnavis and Sena Chief Uddhav Thackery as they plot their strategies as the election gets closer.

ALSO READ:

PM Modi in Mumbai: Demonetisation is a war on black money; Wrongdoers must note, govt has changed

Rahul Gandhi at Dharamshala: Money has no colour; note ban has hurt poor the most

--- ENDS ---
The LGBTQ community has been advocating changes in systems and processes. Most of them coming from the treatment and equality in the workplace and environment they are in.

The LGBTQ made it to the news several times in 2016. Gay and transgender rights seem to be the topic of each issue in the news and social media. But there are still issues that needed to be addressed.

Today, LGBTQ still face discrimination especially in employment and education, as reported by NBC News. Regardless, there are groups fighting to change the laws and policies in order to protect the LGBTQ.

In the face of violence and discrimination, the LGBTQ community was able to shed light over North Carolina's law restricting bathroom access for transgender people in government buildings and various public schools. In March 2016, North Carolina was the only state to require transgender individuals to use public restrooms that correspond with their gender based on their actual birth identity, instead of their gender identity.

Gender neutral bathrooms are considered to be a benefit to many people but most especially to transgenders, as reported by the University of North Carolina.

In 2016, the use of bathrooms by the LGBTQ has been a recurring issue. Now, after the November elections, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has conceded and many are looking at a change in the bill on public bathrooms.

Many hope that this will promote a better working and studying environment for many transgender individuals in colleges, universities and workplaces. Although various concerns dictate the case of privacy and security, the other side of the coin breathes the insensitivity and discrimination towards the LGBTQ.

The film industry made it a point to shed light on LGBTQ, too. From "The Danish Girl," "Orange is the New Black" to "The Imitation Game." These popular shows and movies detail the challenges gays and transgenders go through and the roles they play. And many hope that these films and shows can influence the acceptance of LGBTQ.

2016 was a good year, but the question remains, what will 2017 hold for the LGBTQ?

Watch the video below as a Transgender woman explains why gender neutral bathrooms are vital to the trans rights movement:
Buckingham Palace released an official statement regarding Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's last-minute decision to cancel their Christmas travel plans. The queen is set to arrive on Wednesday morning, December 21, 2016 at London's King Cross train station to make the yearly journey to King's Lynn in Norfolk. This signals the onset of the royalty's Christmas break at Sandringham. However, the Queen, 90, and Prince Philip, 95, confirmed 30 minutes before they were expected to board the train, that the travel arrangements were cancelled because of "heavy colds."

It was reported by HELLO! Online that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have ill health and decided not to travel to Sandringham.

It has been common practice for the Queen to take the same 10.44 am train from London to Norfolk for many years. Annually, her trip to Sandringham happens after her pre-Christmas party. She rides a first class carriage of the train and purchases a return class fare. People are concerned about the unexpected cancellation.

Queen Passes Patronages To Members of the Royal Family

It has been announced by a spokesperson of Buckingham palace that the Queen would be stepping down as patron from 25 national organizations at the end of her 90th birthday year. These will be passed on to other members of the Royal Family.

This act is perceived to acknowledge the advancing years of the Queen but Buckingham Palace reiterated that the monarch is still patron of an estimated 600 organizations, according to The Guardian.

The Queen and Prince Philip seem to be in good health when they hosted the annual Christmas lunch for relatives at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen was hospitalized for symptoms of gastroenteritis in 2013 and stayed overnight in a private medical facility. She then canceled and official trip to Rome.

The monarch's private visit to the hospital for a routine medical check-up was confirmed by Buckingham Palace in June last year midst the concern of the state of her health.
Feelings of nostalgia are common on cold days, most especially during the holidays and according to the article of John Tierney in New York Times, nostalgia makes people more generous to strangers and it makes couples feel happier when sharing nostalgic memories.

Krystine Batcho, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Le Moyne College in New York, explained that the reason why people become more nostalgic during the holidays is because they feel an increased sense of belongingness which is crucial to human beings.

Batcho added that certain traditions are the ones that connect us to our childhood and when we become parents, the continue these traditions that we pass on to our children so they can have their future nostalgia while we relive our own.

Researchers from the Loyola University found out that while nostalgia naturally happens to a person a least once a week, you don't necessarily have to wait to remember a good memory to pop in your mind. They said that when you spend just 20 minutes of good memories in a day can make you cheerful than you felt before.

Another research by Constantine Sedikides and Tim Wildschut at the Centre for Research on Self and Identity at the University of Southampton in England, nostalgia is not an escape from your current situation but is actually a source of strength that can help you when facing the future.

Batcho then agrees to these findings because she has also found the benefits of nostalgia when it comes to making a person feel calm and reducing stress and levels of anxiety. She also said that in the middle of feeling lonely and sad, it is the nostalgic memories that can help in establishing your sense of connectedness to people you have missed. It is also nostalgia, according to Batcho that encourages healthy behaviors because of how you recall the healthy habits and activities you used to do in your childhood.
Michelle Obama is spending her last few weeks as the First Lady of the United States. Recalling what 2016 was for her, Michelle sat down with Oprah Winfrey which became her final interview in the White House.

The FOTUS is considerably a celebrity right now. During her interview with Oprah, she recalls making appearances with several popular people. But even though she mingled with the high profile, often rich and famous celebrities, she still remained true and focused on her core messages and platforms, as reported by Vanity Fair.

Before Michelle Obama leaves the White House and before 2017 sets in, she remembers racking up a ton of celebrity friends, as reported by CBS. Like that one time she spent driving around town with James Corden in his Carpool Karaoke segment. While she confesses that she rarely listens to music in the car, she also made it a point to talk about her "Let Girls Learn" program. "Let Girls Learn" is an initiative that focuses on worldwide education for young girls everywhere.

And if that was not enough, she also enlisted the help of Missy Elliott, Kelly Clarkson, Queen Latifah, Janelle Monae, Chloe x Halle, Zendaya, Lea Michele and Jadagrace. These women sang "This is for My Girls" which ultimately became the official song for "Let Girls Learn." In the summer of 2016, Meryl Streep and Michelle Obama, along with Freida Pinto, went to Morocco to talk to the girls in her LGL program. Streep is an advocate of women, equality and education herself.

Although many may remember her modest by stylish outfits in various national conventions, victory rallies, political balls and her popular push up challenge against Ellen DeGeneres, she still remains true to her platform. She was glad to work with anybody who can help create awareness and pursue global action in order for young girls everywhere to get access to education.

Want to know more about "Let Girls Learn"? Check out the video below:
Its Christmas and winter has come not only in Westeros but in most part of the world. During this cold season, there's nothing much better to do after the busy-ness of the holiday season than to curl up in your dog with good fantasy novel and a cup of hot coco.

Aside from Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, there are more fantasy novels that have interesting plots and twists. Here are three of them to warm your heart thsi holiday season.

The Golem and The Jinni

Written by Helene Wecker, The Golem and The Jinni is an immigrant story that combines both Arab and Jewish mythology. This is a tale of two supernatural creatures who arrive separately in New York. Chava, the golem, was created to be her master's wife. However, he died halfway in their journey leaving her disoriented and confused as she arrived in New York alone. On the other hand, Ahmad, the jinni, was released by a tinsmith in Manhattan after being trapped inside a lamp for hundreds of years. Imagine what will happen if two beings which are totally opposite in many ways meet in one of the most interesting and colorful cities in the world.

The Winter Sea

Those who read the Winter Sea written by Susanna Kearsley called it the synopsis of The Outlander because its background story is similar. Like Diana Gabaldon's book, the Winter Sea also uses the Jacobite Rebellion as its backdrop. However, no time travel was involved. Compared to The Outlander, the Winter Sea is slow and easy while the former was passionate. Nevertheless, it would be an injustice to judge the Winter Sea based on the Outlander.

The story of the Winter Sea centers around the Carrie who went back to Scotland, the land of her ancestors. There in the shadows of Slains Castle, she wrote a story and named her heroin after one of her ancestors. However, as her story progresses, she began to feel whether the stories she was creating were just her imagination or her own memories.

The Night Circus

If you love Penny Dreadful, then this Erin Morgenstern book is for you. It follows the story of a mysterious circus called Le Cirque des Reves and the fierce competition between Marco and Celia, two young magicians who were raised and trained to compete with each other. Before their great showdown began, however, they fell in love. But instead of bliss, they found themselves in the midst of a dangerous game that puts the lives of everybody in line.
Earlier, Xiaomi released its Android Nougat firmware for the Mi 5 smartphone; however, the company also confirmed other handsets that will receive the said OS update through a Weibo post by a company representative.

The upgrade list of smartphones was confirmed by Xiaomi's MiUI Operations Manager on Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging website. In the post, the other Xiaomi handsets which will be updated into the latest Android Nougat update are Xiaomi Mi 4c, Xiaomi 4s, Xiaomi Note, Xiaomi Mi 5s, Xiaomi M Note 2, Xiaomi Mi Mix and Xiaomi Max, NDTV reported.

The upcoming Android Nougat update is what Xiaomi needed for its smartphones since the company has been lagging behind its competitors, namely Samsung, LG, and HTC, who have already announced the updates on their selected models.

The Mi models in the list are 2016 releases with the exception of Mi 4c, which was released on September 2015. The Mi Note handset included on the list could possibly pertain to the newer Mi Note 2 since the enlisted device is already outdated from Xiaomi's update compatibility standards.

According to Xiaomi, the MIUI Android 7.0 Nougat beta testing is already underway. Although the company's representative did not indicate more information on when the company will roll out the update, it could likely be released sometime in the first quarter of 2017.

The update of Android 7.0 Nougat will feature multi-window to run two applications spontaneously, and an inline notification feature to reply to text messages from the notification panel. The said feature is compatible with other apps such as Telegram Messenger, Hike Messenger, and Whats-app, among others.

Along with the Android Nougat update release, consumers could also expect the arrival of Xiaomi's new custom interface MiUI 9. The interface module will reportedly come with better notifications management, redesigned icons, new themes and more shortcuts for ease of usage, Digit has learned.

Also, Xiaomi's MiUI 8-based Android Marshmallow had brought an array of new features including in-call IVR and the ability to group messages and copy OTPs promptly.
Now that we are ready to face a brand new year with a new set of goals to be healthier, more successful and happier, have you also made some resolutions on your emotional wellbeing?

Here's one resolution everybody should try to keep this year: Stop stalking your ex on Facebook.

According to a study, Facebook stalking without engaging with social friends can make people miserable especially during this holiday season. Also, spending a lot of time on the social media where you see happy photos and posts of families can give you feelings and tendencies to compare, which will just result in making you feel bad.

Another reason why you should stop stalking on social media is because it can be emotionally damaging, according to a report by psychologist Tara Marshall.

A study conducted by the University of Copenhagen, tracked online activities of more than 1,300 participants and the researchers found out that regular use of Facebook, as well as other social media platforms can affect a person's wellbeing as well as his satisfaction with life. So in order to resolve this problem, the scientists discourage the use of social media during the Christmas season.

They also added that giving up their obsession on social media and spend more time interacting with people and having fun with friends and family can boost their mood.

The researchers explained that the connectedness brought about by social media is not the kind of connectedness needed by a person for his wellbeing.

Even previous studies on social media suggest that the growing use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter cause a rise in depression because this can make people question and compare their own lives and making those who are already feeling low to feel worse.
One of three fighter squadrons assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing, providing combat-ready airpower and Airmen in three major conflicts, the Fighting Fifty-Fifth is approaching 100 years of dedicated service to the defense of freedom.



Tracing back to Aug. 9, 1917, the 55th Fighter Squadron, also known as the Shooters, first began as the 55th Aero Squadron assigned to Kelly Field, Texas. During World War I, the unit was redesignated as the 467th Aero Construction Squadron, building and maintaining facilities to support flight operations along the Western Front.



In November of 1930, the squadron gained its wings as the 55th Pursuit Squadron, first flying Boeing P-12s before changing aircraft several times, aiming high in vessels including the Boeing P-26 Peashooter and the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.



On May 15, 1942 the 55th PS officially became the 55th Fighter Squadron.



The unit continued to soar through the World War II era when it supported the D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge, flying from Wittering then King's Cliffe, England, in Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and North American P-51D Mustangs.

During World War II more than 10,000 P-38s were manufactured, providing airpower to more than 130,000 missions around the world. This fighter is a 55 FS, P-38J, 43-28301, code letters KI-O that was flown by Lt Edwin E. Wasil. Lt Wasil joined the 55th in April 1944. During his tour, he destroyed two German Do 18 flying boats while strafing. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo) During the Gulf War as part of Joint Taskforce Proven Force, members of the 55th deployed to Turkey, flying more than 144 sorties and accumulating 415 combat hours without a loss.



The 55th is unique in the history that we have, said Capt. Zach Nordahl, 55th FS pilot. A lot of fighter squadrons have been shut down, deactivated and moved around. The Shooters certainly have that in their history, however only a handful can trace their roots all the way back to World War I and have been a combat Air Force squadron the entire time. The Shooters have been flying combat sorties for the majority of their history.



Through all those conflicts, the 55th rolled down the flightline of various bases, finally finding its way to its current home at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, Jan. 1, 1994.



A few years later in 1997, the Shooters made history, standing up as a combat-ready F-16CJ Fighting Falcon squadron in only 60 days.



The squadron went from the primary mission of close-air support to being a multi-role fighter unit which changed the dynamic of the squadron, said Christopher Koonce, 20th FW historian. A multi-role fighter can perform air defense, close-air support and tactical bombing missions, so it is both air-to-air and air-to-ground unlike the A-10.



Throughout nearly 100 years of integrity, service before self and excellence in all they do, the hard work of many men and women earned the unit the Distinguished Unit Citation, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and multiple service and campaign streamers. Within its long, enduring history, the squadron has experienced various missions, aircraft and station changes and continues to Roll em' with the punches.



The 55th vision statement reads, "Shooters will be lethal, disciplined, and innovative. We will be combat mission-ready and provide premier counter-air capabilities to the 20th Operations Group. We will develop Airmen for the long haul." By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Destinee Sweeney

Provided through DVIDS

Copyright 2016 Comment on this article
Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher suffered a heart attack while she was in a flight to Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. The Los Angeles Times reported that she is in a critical condition.

Carrie Fisher has been hospitalised after she suffered a heart attack while in a flight

By AP: Carrie Fisher has reportedly been transported to a hospital after suffering a severe medical emergency on a flight on Friday.

Citing unnamed sources, celebrity website TMZ reported she suffered a heart attack while the Los Angeles Times, also citing unnamed sources, said the "Star Wars" star suffered a heart episode on a flight that arrived at Los Angeles International Airport around noon Friday. Several other outlets also cited unnamed sources in their reports.

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The Los Angeles Times also said that her condition was "critical".

Messages left by The Associated Press for Fisher's publicists and representatives for her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and her daughter, Billie Lourd, were not returned on Friday.

Fire and United Airlines officials confirmed to the AP that a patient suffered a serious medical emergency on a London-to-Los Angeles flight on Friday, but would not confirm it was Fisher.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said paramedics administered advanced life-saving care and transported the person to a nearby hospital.

United Airlines said in a statement that the unnamed passenger was unresponsive.

People are praying 2016 won't show its brutal side again and have been tweeting wishing well for Fisher.

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse... sending all our love to @carrieffisher Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016

Please not Carrie as well. https://t.co/aTEtoXF3Ci Still Grumpy (@captspeedy) December 23, 2016

Don't you dare 2016!!! https://t.co/TUAAhj7viY Lex de Vroomen (@LexdeVroomen) December 23, 2016

I hate you, 2016! Carrie Fisher is in critical condition after a 'cardiac episode' on flight from London to L.A. https://t.co/tu9N0UPnIT Paul Lambert (@sdterp) December 23, 2016

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With regional parliaments holding the right to vote in matters of foreign affairs, the intervention from five regional parliaments in Belgian's federal system could either delay or even entirely block the Brexit trade deal.

With Belgium's bid to end crippling squabbles between Dutch-speaking Flemings and French-speaking Walloons, the nations has progressively decentralized its political structure.

Under this complex system, some deals may face several struggles in order to be approved as some regional administrators may refuse to signal the federal government with a go.

Such challenges happened on a landmark EU-Canada free trade deal. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement also did not have it easy. Although provisionally signed off by all 28 EU countries, the deal was put on hold after Wallonia decided against it. The deal was finally signed at the end of October after Wallonia was given last-minute concessions to drop its opposition to the agreement.

The same scenario could happen in securing a post-Brexit free trade deal with the European Union if the region moves to intervene.

Wallonia, with its 3.5 million population, has sustained its opposition to the trade deal until the very last minute of the crisis talks.

The region once had a booming economy, but it was badly hit by the closure of steel plants and coal mines at the end of the last century and after the 2008 economic crisis.

Another region that could block the Brexit deal is the French Community which previously opposed the Canada-EU trade agreement during the initial stage of the deal talks. The region raised its concern that the deal could give too much power to multinational companies as well as put pressure on governments.

Brussels, the country's capital city, also opposed to the deal during the final month of the negotiations. Belgium's Prime Minister Claude Michael announced that the federal government, the German community and Flanders had agreed on the deal, while Wallonia, the Brussels city government and the French Community voted against it. This caused Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland to walk out of the talks which had been on negotiations for seven years.

Another region that could intervene is Flanders. Its Prime Minister, Geert Bourgeois, has proposed a radical North Sea Union. Since the proposal aims to link Britain to a cluster of regional states to cushion the Brexit shock, it is unlikely for the region to seek to block the trade deal.

The federal government may also use its power to intervene. It holds the executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium in the similar system to the British one.
A ex-portfolio manager of New York state's pension fund allegedly steered more than $2 billion in business to two brokerage firms in exchange for bribes including prostitutes, cocaine, concert tickets and a $17,400 Panerai watch. The details of the indictment were published in an article by The Wall Street Journal.

Navnoor Kang, a former portfolio manager at the New York State Common Retirement Fund was among the three people charged of a bribery scheme. He was arrested Wednesday in Portland. He was dismissed from the company in February.

Deborrah Kelley, a broker and former managing director at Sterne Agee surrendered to the San Francisco authorities, while Gregg Schonhorn, a broker and former vice president at FTN Financial pleaded guilty.

"This was an age-old and classic tale of quid-pro-quo corruption," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara at a news conference in Manhattan where the indictment was announced.

There has long been concerns about improper influence peddling in the pension world where outside investment firms compete to manage hundreds of billions of money in exchange for lucrative fees.

While those who oversee assets of public employees are supposed to ensure that the selection of firm is based on performance instead of political connections, recent accusations in New York represent the third high-profile case in the past decade where access to pension money was allegedly sold to favored firms that provided kickbacks.

"The New York State Common Retirement Fund has absolutely no tolerance for self-dealing, and we are outraged by Mr. Kang's shocking betrayal of his responsibilities," said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Mr. Kang was director of fixed income and head of portfolio strategy for the New York fund from January 2014 through February 2016. According to the indictment, he was in charge of investing more than $53 billion in bonds.

With the New York fund being the third largest in the U.S. with $184.5 billion in assets, Ms. Kelley and Mr. Schonhorn sought the fund's business although their firms were not yet on the pension fund's approved list.

The prosecutors said that the bribes began in early 2014 when Mr. Schonhorn took Mr. Kang on weekend trips to Montreal. Mr. Schonhorn was said to pay for the flights, hotels and cocaine.

Mr Kang was taken by Ms. Kelley to New Orleans in October 2014. According to the charges, she paid for VIP tickets to a Paul McCartney concert.

Such perks provided to Mr. Kang was followed by other transactions that continued until the following year.

The defendants allegedly tried to cover their tracks, with Mr. Kang and Ms. Kelley agreeing to testify falsely and making a matching story after receiving Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenas.

Mr. Kang and Ms. Kelley face charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of justice, among other charges. Mr. Schonhorn pleaded guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and other crimes.
By PTI: Lucknow, Dec 24 (PTI) Taking a dig at Narendra Modis demonetisation move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav termed cashless economy as a "bigger dream" than achche din and said the note ban will be an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

"The dream of cashless economy is a bigger one than achche din... it is however for the government to see how it will be realised," he said at a function to distribute cheques to the families of martyrs and 14 persons who allegedly lost their lives while standing in queues outside ATMs/banks after demonetisation.

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Attacking the BJP government on note ban, Yadav, without taking names, alleged that people have been betrayed and economy harmed.

"Earlier (when the note ban was announced) people had faith, or rather confusion, that a big change will be brought... but soon after the very same people started saying that there could not have been a bigger loss to the economy... national and international economists are also writing about it.

"It is for the government to see how it will work out the losses to the GDP but it is a fact the people had to face hardships and I have said earlier too that the government which pose problems are voted out by people," he said, adding that in the coming elections those who had faced problems will stand against them.

Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to announce compensation for the families of those who allegedly died while queuing up outside banks and ATMs for long post demonetisation.

Chief Minister had earlier this month announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of demonetisation victims.

Giving examples of major risk in online transactions, Yadav said one of the accused arrested for fraudulently withdrawing money from someones account said that he was caught because he was a "novice".

"Anyone who becomes an expert in cyber crime will never be arrested," the Chief Minister said after presenting cheques of Rs two lakh each to the families of 14 people who allegedly died while standing in bank queues.

To a question on what will be the election issue, Yadav said "Development, road, water all will be elections issues... why would note ban not be an election issue". MORE PTI SAB DIP

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One of the firms CSR programmes is aimed at bringing benefits to the Vietnamese business community through expertise and experience sharing with subcontractors.

Central Area Electrical Mechanical Joint Stock Company (CEMC) representatives visiting Doosan to learn about quality management.

Human resources cooperation

One of Doosan Vinas ultimate goals is to help the industrialisation of the nation and the modernisation of the domestic mechanical sector. This is why Doosan Vina always applies state-of-the-art human resources training and management systems. This also boosts the quality of products as well as competitiveness of local mechanical and engineering enterprises, meeting diverse demands of clients. Thus, enterprises can grow over time by working with Doosan Vina.

To pursue this goal, Doosan Vina devised a strategy that begins with the training of mechanical engineering students at schools and universities across Vietnam. The company has been working with universities, colleges, and technical schools across the country for years to see that the curricula are up-to-date and teaching realistic practices for the best results. Furthermore, the company has launched field training for other enterprises to help them improve product quality, production efficiency, and safety.

Our business strategy begins with the cultivation of people, initially focusing on our employees before spreading out to the community. We are now reaching out to engineering and mechanical companies across Vietnam to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in developing skills and systems which we know will produce positive results, said Jung Yeon In, general director of Doosan Vina.

The initial group of companies to partake of Doosan Vinas expertise sharing in operating systems for quality management includes Mechanical and Construction Company Chien Thang, Dacotech Company, and Central Area Electrical Mechanical Joint Stock Company (CEMC). They are also currently working as subcontractors to Doosan Vina.

Sharing experience and benefits

A representative of CEMC told VIR that thanks to Doosan Vinas help and support, activities related to ISO, quality assurance, and equipment testing, among others, have been carried out with higher efficiency recently.

Doosan Vina highly commended the manufacturing system as well as CEMC Management Boards vision in considering product quality the top priority in their operations. In its recommendation, Doosan Vina stressed that CEMC should boost the supervision of quality so that products can meet the increasingly high standards of importing countries.

On CEMCs part, the company agreed to strictly manage the quality of end-products to offer the best to its clients, boosting the credit of the Vietnamese mechanical industry as well as its own.

The most recent programme was carried out in October 2016 when CEMC employees visited Doosan and learned about the system of quality management, including product quality, shot blasting, galvanising, painting, welding, and more. Doosan Vina is also in discussions with other companies like Lilama 7 to find opportunities for sharing expertise and cooperation on future projects.

For Chien Thang, a Doosan Vina subcontractor which fabricates platforms for crane projects, Doosan Vina assigned a Quality Assurance Department representative to work with the company to establish and apply Doosan Vinas fabrication procedures, quality assurance, and the quality control processes with the objective of Zero Errors. This year-long programme will last until the end of 2017, helping to control the product quality at the site and train Chien Thang employees.

Doosan Vina expects to scale up these programmes and hopes that they will have a positive impact on human resources training, contributing to the localization of the domestic mechanical sector and improving the quality of Made in Vietnam products.

To achieve this goal, Doosan Vina inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Danang Supporting Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (DATADC). At the MoU signing ceremony, the two parties showed interests in cooperation and strenthening the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea in the future, especially in the areas of trade and manufacturing.

DATADC has organised several programmes and applied incentives for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Central Vietnam (including 12 cities and provinces from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa and four other provices of the Central Highlands), conduted training programmes and capacity building for SMEs, given advice and information about technical and engineering development, fabrication management and other business services to SMEs, as well as introducing high-quality local suppliers to Doosan Vina.
Mitsubishi and South Korean DT&C Co., Ltd. are seeking a license to develop their project in the park, said Nguyen Trung Quynh, vice chairman of the HHTP Management Board at the Hoa Lac Investment Conference held on December 20.

"Mitsubishi plans to build a factory to produce optoelectronic products, while the South Korean firm will build a research centre," he added.

According to Charlie Park, chairman of DT&C Co., Ltd., his firm selected Hoa Lac as it has favourable transport system which will help meet high-quality human resources demand.

"Our project will cost an estimated $20 million. We expect to get a licence in January 2017 and kick off the project after the Lunar New Year if everything goes smoothly," Charlie Park told VIR.

HHTP's investment attraction has showed signs of improvement in recent times thanks to a number of supporting policies related to corporate income tax, land leasing fees, and other measures. In 2016, the park attracted nine projects with a total registered capital of VND4.33 trillion ($200 million), thus increasing the park's total number of projects to 78 and the total registered capital to $3 billion.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Dai Duong, who is also head of the HHTP management board, said at the conference that thanks to Japanese official development assistance, infrastructure development inside the park is progressing and will be complete by 2018.

In addition, a draft decree on special incentives for the park has been submitted to the government for approval. The decree is expected to help investors solve many of their existing problems, including work permits for foreign labourers. Moreover, a decree with detailed guidelines for high-tech identification criteria is being revised.

High-tech has become one of the three most attractive sectors to foreign investors in Vietnam due to growing market demand and the country's supporting policies.

According to GfK, Germany's largest market research institute, in 2011-2015 the local demand for sci-tech products rose by 15.7 per cent a year on average. In 2015, the local sci-tech market was valued at VND154.7 trillion ($7.03 billion), up 22.6 per cent from 2014. In the first six months of 2016, sci-tech product sales hit VND94.47 trillion ($4.29 billion), up 17.4 per cent on-year.

Together with political stabilisation, cheap labour costs, and steady economic growth, the country's policies giving priority to high-tech and environmentally-friendly projects have also encouraged foreign investment in the field.

In June 2015, the prime minister signed Decision No.792/QD-TTg, approving the national master plan on developing high-tech parks by 2020, with a vision towards 2030. Accordingly, investment will continue to be channeled into the three national high-tech parks, namely HHTP, Saigon High-tech Park, and Danang High-tech Park.
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The National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) has asked the legislatures committees for Finance and Budget, Legislation, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to compile a draft resolution on adjusting the usage of Vietnams foreign-sourced capital, known as official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans (CL), for 2016.

Under the draft, expected to be adopted next week at the latest, NASC agreed with the governments proposal that a sum of nearly VND5.855 trillion ($266 million) of ODA and CLs will be removed from 11 ministries and 28 provinces and cities in 2016.

They are stripping these ODA and CL users because they have failed to boost disbursement as scheduled. Currently, they are below 50 per cent in disbursement for their projects.

This sum, together with another VND1.3 trillion ($59 million) worth of unallocated ODA and CLs, will be used for 17 state-funded projects in need of over VND2.5 trillion ($113.64 million). ODA and CL agreements between the government and donors terminate at the end of the year, which is the major impetus behind the shifts in funding.

Of this VND2.5 trillion ($113.64 million), VND811 billion ($37 million) will be allocated to the Ministry of Transport, while VND1.69 trillion ($76.82 million) will be used for projects in Hanoi and six other provinces: Tuyen Quang, Bac Kan, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Ninh Binh.

VND66 billion ($3 million) and VND106 billion ($48.2 million) will be given to the provinces of Lai Chau and Nam Dinh to help them carry out various state-financed projects.

Social Policy Bank and Vietnam Development Bank will also receive VND2.7 trillion ($122.7 million) and VND1.783 trillion ($81 million), respectively, so they can raise their chartered capital for further development.

NASC reported that in 2016, the total ODA and CLs for all state-funded projects in Vietnam are planned to come to VND50 trillion ($2.27 billion) by the legislature. Of this number, the National Assembly will allocate VND48.7 trillion ($2.2 billion) for ministries and localities.

The remaining VND1.3 trillion ($59 million) has yet to be scheduled.

According to the Ministry of Finance, so far this year, a sum of more than VND36 trillion ($1.64 billion) was disbursed by ministries and localities, hitting nearly 75 per cent of the governments initial target.

The MPI reported that the total sum of ODA and CLs signed this year is forecast to hit nearly $6 billion, much higher than the $3.33 billion signed last year.

In the first three quarters of 2016, the figure was over $4.91 billion (including $4.89 billion in ODA loans and CLs, and $26.5 million in grants), which is 1.8 times higher than in last years corresponding period. Total ODA and CLs for the first three quarters of 2015 touched $2.73 billion (including $1.573 billion in ODA and CLs, and $17 million in grants).

The $4.91 billion includes $2.33 billion from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, $2 billion from the World Bank, $171.13 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), $137.56 million from the French Development Agency (AFD), $87 million from KfW, and $52 million from KEXIM.
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Do Thu Hang, associate director of Advisory Services in Hanoi at Savills Vietnam Co., Ltd., said that affordable housing will likely receive the most attention in the Vietnamese property market next year. Next on the development list are the Grade B and A property segments, otherwise known as mid- and high-end housing, followed by condotels, shophouses, and officetels.

Affordable housing, which costs approximately VND 1 billion ($45,450) per unit on average, will attract rising local demand, mostly from industrial park workers, Hang told VIR at last weeks conference on the Vietnamese property market co-organised by VIR, Vietnam National Real Estate Association (VNREA), and Investor Magazine.

Vietnam currently has approximately 2.6 million IP workers, a number which is growing by an average of 200,000 workers per year. Around 75 per cent relocate for employment, and the vast majority (three-quarters) are below 35 years old, with an annual average income of $2,500.

These factors are the fundamental support for the development potential of the affordable housing market in the time to come, Hang said. However, it will be local developers driving the segment, as foreign developers tend to focus on high-end projects.

VNREA vice chairman Nguyen Manh Ha also forecasts that the segment will develop the most in 2017.

Though the sales of these houses was already substantial last year, demand remains strong and there has been a big shortage of supply, he said. While investors are over-focused on developing high-end products, 70 per cent of the market demand is centred on affordable houses.

According to VNREA, affordable houses in the price range of VND15 million ($682) per square metre are becoming scarce.

Meanwhile, segments, such as high-end and hospitality, are also forecast to continue developing next year, but not as strongly. Their supply has already exceeded demand, according to Ha.

It is estimated that high-end apartments currently occupy 39 per cent of the overall supply, up from 24 per cent in 2013.

Nguyen Quoc Hiep, chairman of GP Invest Group, said that next year his firm will develop three major high-end projects. The market will develop more strongly next year thanks to the economic recovery, leading to bigger demand for high-end property products, he said.

Nguyen Thi Hong Lan, PR and brand representative for GFS Group, told VIR that they will develop a high-end project next year in Hanois Cau Giay district.

In 2016, GFS completed two high-end projects in Hanois Kim Giang and My Dinh areas, with the total apartment and villa units numbering over 1,000. We have sold off all of them, Lan said.

However, VNREA warns that if investors continue building massive high-end developments, there may be a surplus which will make it difficult for them to sell.

But the countrys rising wages have proven too great a temptation for many investors. In addition to high-end apartments, the hospitality property segment is also predicted to further develop next year, due to rising incomes, Ha said.

For example, in the south-central city of Danang, luxury resorts and hotels have been developed in great numbers by big investors, such as Vingroup, SunGroup, HB Group, and Novaland.

Such projects have also been built in the south-central city of Nha Trang, including Vinpearl Beachfront Condotel, Vinpearl Resort & Villas-Nha Trang, and Movenpick Cam Ranh Resort.

On the southern island of Phu Quoc, luxury projects, such as Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort and Condotel Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, have risen.
The information was revealed at the conference titled Vietnam-US Trade Interaction after 2016 held in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Mary Tarnowka, the US Consul General in Vietnam, the US is encouraged by Vietnams recent resolution on international economic integration, reaffirming its intentions to continue economic reforms and further open its economy, with or without the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). This resolution is an important signal to trading partners that Vietnam is moving to establish a level playing field for US companies looking to invest and compete in the country.

She noted that potential sectors for US companies in Vietnam include infrastructure projects like energy, smart cities, healthcare, and aviation. Also, Vietnam is already the 11th largest export market for US agricultural products. The US can take steps to meet Vietnams demand for agricultural technology and equipment, as Vietnam strives to improve food safety and develop its food processing industry, she added.

Echoing the view, governor of AmCham Vietnams Board of Governors Walter Blocker said that Vietnams competitiveness has resulted in a great increase in US investment and indirectly contributed to intensifying US capital flows into Vietnam through third-party countries. US businesses will continue to promote Vietnams continued integration into regional and global supply chains.

US companies not only produce quality products, but also find more efficient ways to get those products growing in Vietnam and export to other countries. This has created greater productivity gains and competitiveness for the country on a global level, compared to a few years ago, he said.

Le Hoai Quoc, chairman of the Saigon Hi-tech Park Management Authority, is upbeat about US investment in Vietnam. Many US tech companies like Intel would continue to increase their business, irrespective of the TPP. Intel Vietnam is increasing the range and volume of its production, reaching $4 billion in exports this year.

The US currently ranks 11th among the countries and territories investing in Ho Chi Minh City. More US multinational corporations are looking for investment opportunities in the municipal city.

Le Thanh Liem, Deputy Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Citys People Committee, expects the US to soon become the citys largest foreign investor.

When it comes to the future of the TPP, Blocker said that agreement is not dead but it may become something else. Indeed, it is very similar to the commitment to strengthen bilateral trade relationships. Driven by American interests, the US will take the most efficient ways to bring quality products with best prices to US consumers, like Vietnamese textile and apparel goods.

Bilateral trade between the two countries has nearly tripled in the last eight years, and now tops at $45 billion. US exports to Vietnam were up to an astounding 44 per cent in the first half of 2016, making Vietnam its fastest growing export market. Meanwhile, the US remains Vietnams largest export market, growing 24 per cent year-on-year.
The programme which is aimed at developing a disease-free Andhra Pradesh will involve the help of all medical and nursing students from the State.

Under Swasthya Vidya Vahini scheme, students of all the medical, nursing, home science and psychology will be divided in to 446 teams.

"Under the ten month programme, ten themes were developed and the students have to visit the villages and spread awareness among people on each health theme" said Chandrababu Naidu while addressing medical students in Vijayawada.

Students have to prepare a health profile of the village and inform the officials over the reasons for the spread of diseases and remedial measures.

Naidu said the students would be awarded marks in the field work which would be treated as practicals.


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Jharkhand's Jamtara has turned into the biggest centre of organised cyber crime in India, say cyber experts. These cyber criminals are making the most of the desperation of people after demonetisation drive was announced.

By Shashank Shekhar: As you stand in a long queue to deposit money in the bank, cyber criminals in a small district of Jharkhand are busy siphoning your money by making phone calls posing as bankers.

According to cyber experts, cases of phishing attacks have gone up since the government's demonetisation drive. The tribal-dominated Jamtara in Jharkhand has turned out to be notorious for cyber crime cases and a large number of youths in the district are found to be involved in such crimes.

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Cyber detectives said 90 per cent of transaction related fraud calls made across the country are traced back to Jamtara. It has now evolved as the biggest centre of organised cyber crime in India, said a cyber security official.

FRAUDSTERS POSE AS BANK OFFICIALS

Ballabh Singh of Adarsh Nagar in Delhi became a recent victim of such fraud when he lost Rs 16,000 after receiving a call from a man who claimed to be calling from the headquarter of his bank. Singh believed the caller as he had most of his banking details.

"The caller said he was calling from the headquarters of the bank in Mumbai and as the user is a 'loyal customer', therefore, the bank is extending his deposit and withdrawal limit from the bank even after demonetisation," said an officer investigating the case.

"The caller only asked for the OTP pin while being on call claiming that this was to verify his account. But as soon as the call was disconnected, he found `16,000 withdrawn from his account," the officer said, adding that the call was later traced to Jamtara.

Cyber fraud training has emerged as a cottage industry in Jamtara, and after demonetisation, fraudsters have started changing their modus operandi.

"Jamtara has turned out to be a hotbed of low-tech cyber criminals who target bank customers by making random calls. But with more people shifting to digital platforms for transactions post demonetisation, these criminals are now targeting gullible customers by saying that their deposit and withdrawal limits have been increased," said cyber crime expert Kislay Choudhary.

He said recent probes have revealed how criminals are buying specific data from portals to make targetbased attacks. Police said thousands of calls are recorded daily at cellphone towers in villages here every day.

The average literacy rate of Jamtara is around 65 per cent, much lower than the national average of 74 per cent. Yet, people here, surprisingly, are quite tech-savvy. The Karmatar police station here alone accounts for more than 50 per cent of cyber fraud.

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Experts say it takes less than four days to master cyber fraud in Jamtara's 'training centres'. Police say they have tightened the noose around telecom operators for issuing SIM cards on forged identity, but now these villagers are going to neighbouring West Bengal to buy SIM cards.

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A news producer for Al Jazeera was arrested while on vacation in Egypt, police reported Saturday.

Egyptian Mahmoud Hussein was arrested at his house Friday, having been accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement and producing fake news.

Hussein had been stopped for questioning days earlier in the Cairo airport as he returned home for vacation, but authorities let him go.

"Al Jazeera holds Egyptian authorities responsible for the safety of Hussein and is calling for his immediate release," the Qatar-based network said in a statement.

Al Jazeera news network reported that Hussein's brothers also had been arrested. Where they were being held was not released.

Hussein has worked in the capital, Doha, since 2013, when Al Jazeera closed its office in his hometown of Cairo.

Egyptian media have experienced an acute decline in freedom under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who has personally met with journalists and writers at least three times since coming to power in a clear effort to set government red lines.

Last year, Egypt imprisoned a record 23 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Egypt is second only to China as the worst global jailer of journalists.
Turkey said Saturday that its warplanes had killed 68 Islamic State militants 20 kilometers northeast of Aleppo, Syria, as pitched battles raged in al-Bab between extremist fighters and rebels supported by Turkish forces.

A Turkish military spokesman said the overnight airstrikes, part of the Turkey-led Operation Euphrates Shield, had destroyed 141 IS targets, including a military headquarters, since Friday night.

The Turkish military supports the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group seeking to topple the Damascus government that also has laid siege to IS-held al-Bab for weeks. Turkey launched the operation nearly four months ago to push IS and Kurdish fighters away from its border with Syria.

Fighting around al-Bab intensified this week, with the Turkish army claiming it had killed nearly 140 jihadists on Wednesday alone. Analysts said it was the single deadliest day of fighting since Turkey launched its Syrian incursion in late August, following an IS-linked suicide bombing that killed more than 50 people August 20 in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik on Thursday told parliament that a nearly 2,000-square-kilometer area near al-Bab had been cleared of IS fighters and more than 1,000 extremists had been killed in northern Syria since the incursion began.

Isik later said authorities also had information that IS fighters recently captured three Turkish soldiers near al-Bab, but he offered no further information.

A short while later, Islamic State released a grisly video, accompanied by chanting, that purported to show two captured Turkish soldiers being burned to death.

Separately on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia, Iran, Turkey and the embattled Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to hold talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to resolve the nearly six-year Syrian conflict. No details were released.

Putin's comments came a day after Assad's government announced it had seized full control of Aleppo, including the city's eastern sector, which had been under rebel control since 2012.

VOA's Kurdish service and Dorian Jones contributed to this report.
European security authorities, shaken by the latest terror attack at a Christmas market in Berlin, are on high alert as Christians gather at Europes churches and cathedrals to celebrate the Christmas holiday with prayer and song.

In France, 91,000 gendarmes and police were deployed in churches and Christmas markets. The scene was similar in Italy, where Berlin attacker Anis Amri was shot to death early Friday in Milan.

Christmas is one of the biggest Christian holidays, and it brings people together in public spaces where terrorists can easily strike.

Europe has seen a sharp rise in terrorist attacks in the past 13 months, starting with the Paris attacks last November that left 130 people dead.

Major attacks followed in the cities of Brussels, Nice and, most recently, Berlin. A number of smaller attacks took place in France, Germany and Italy, and European authorities say they have foiled a number of plots over the past year.

In the latest developments in the Berlin attack, authorities in Tunisia on Saturday arrested the nephew of suspected attacker Anis Amri, along with two other Islamist militant suspects said to be connected to Amri, the interior ministry said.

The three suspects are said to be members of a terrorist cell ... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri who carried out the terrorist attack in Berlin, read the statement. The three were arrested Friday.

Meanwhile in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, hundreds of people took to the streets Saturday to hold an anti-extremism rally. Hundreds of people gathered to criticize the Tunisian government for allowing jihadists who fought overseas to return to Tunisia.

No to freedom for terrorist groups! the protesters chanted.

The rally gathered outside the Bardo Museum, where an extremist attack took place last year that was claimed by the Islamic State group. Gunmen killed 22 people in the March 2015 attack, including 21 foreign tourists and a Tunisian policeman.

Germany search continues

The arrests in Tunisia come as Germany continues to search for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker, a day after he was killed in a shoot-out Friday with Italian police in Milan.

As most of the country was preparing Saturday to celebrate Christmas Eve, German authorities said hundreds of investigators will be working on the probe throughout the holiday season.

Speaking to reporters Friday in Berlin, Chief Federal Prosecutor Peter Frank said Investigators are trying to determine if 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri received help from a network of supporters.

Frank said fingerprints confirmed Amri carried out the attack that killed 12 people and wounded 56 others last Monday. He said, though, the investigation is far from over.

"It's very important for us now to find out whether there was a network of supporters and accomplices, whether there were confidants who helped the sought person to prepare and conduct the attack and to escape," said Frank.

Seeking conspirators

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated the investigation would focus on possible conspirators.

Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revelers at a Berlin Christmas market in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

An IS-linked video released Friday purportedly showed Amri calling for more attacks in Europe.

The video released by Amaq, the news agency linked to IS, has not been independently authenticated, but material previously released by Amaq has been credible.

Earlier Friday, German police arrested two brothers from Kosovo suspected of planning an attack on a shopping mall in Oberhausen, in the West German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

It was not clear if the men were connected with the Berlin attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has published on its website a number of documents, previously restricted, about the international nuclear deal with Iran reached in 2015.

The documents released Friday are accompanied by a letter from the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, who authorized the publication, but gave no details about why the documents were being made public now.

Some of them dated to January 6, 2016, 10 days before the deal with Iran went into effect.

The letter from Mogherini's office said the documents are merely providing clarifications  for the implementation of Iran's nuclear-related measures as set out in the JCPOA  the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name of the agreement.

The documents indicate Tehran has not overreached its limit on manufacture of low-enriched uranium  300 kilograms, under terms of the international agreement. Low-enriched uranium cannot be used for making nuclear weapons, but it could be further enriched to achieve weapons grade.

The deal seeks to ensure that Iran uses its nuclear capacity only for generation of power and not for weapons manufacture.

The documents' publication Friday came less than a month before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has been strongly critical of the Iran nuclear agreement, is inaugurated and takes power.
Western security officials are increasingly worried that the Islamic State terror group may be a step ahead of their renewed efforts to stop terrorist infiltration of their countries.

Fears once centered on IS using migrant and refugee flows to sneak in highly trained operatives bent on carrying out attacks. Now they have expanded to include an equally dangerous possibility.

A growing number of officials now warn that the terror group may be looking to essentially weaponize refugees and other vulnerable immigrant populations after they have successfully crossed Western borders and passed through what look to be ever-tougher vetting processes.

We have to be ready, said Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, speaking prior to the deadly attack in Berlin.

Some people might get radicalized or manipulated or used or utilized by terrorist groups after they enter the EU, he said. This is something where I don't have clear indications.

A Europol report published in November, "Changes in Modus Operandi of Islamic State (IS) revisited"  is even more explicit.

A real and imminent danger is the possibility of elements of the [Sunni Muslim] Syrian refugee diaspora becoming vulnerable to radicalization once in Europe and being specifically targeted by Islamic extremist recruiters, the report stated. It is believed that a number of jihadists are traveling through Europe for this purpose.

Christmas market attack

Just how many terrorist operatives have been sent to Europe to recruit among the growing number of migrants and refugees is unclear. Europol cited German reports that, as of April 2016, there were approximately 300 cases in which jihadists tried recruiting refugees trying to enter Europe.

But there is also a sense that IS, also known as ISIS, is likely not as focused on the numbers as it is on exploiting what it sees as a potent opportunity.

ISIS just wants to give itself options, said Robin Simcox, a terrorism and national security analyst with the Heritage Foundation.

It chimes perfectly with what ISIS would want to do, he added. It enables them to extend their foreign operations.

Adding to the level of concern is the case this past week of Tunisian Anis Amri, who carried out a deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

By most accounts, there were few signs Amri had radical leanings when as a 19-year-old, he arrived in Europe, on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Even when he left Italy for Germany years later, to seek political asylum, authorities say his behavior was more akin to that of a criminal than of a terrorist.

Yet on Monday, the now 24-year-old Amri used a truck to plow through the crowded market, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Before the attack he made a video in which he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State terror group and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Ohio State University attack

U.S. officials are also concerned, pointing to an attack on American soil barely a month earlier  the November 28 car attack at Ohio State University carried out by Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a Somali-born refugee with legal, permanent resident status.

I do think he did radicalize in the United States, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Mike McCaul, said at the time, voicing concern it was a vulnerability that could be exploited again.

They can come in and be what they call 'clean' and radicalize after they're in the United States, he said. That's where the [U.S.] counter-radicalization program needs to be more robust.

Yet improving security measures to prevent refugees from being targeted for radicalization is likely to be challenging, especially since terrorist recruiters often work without the need for face-to-face interaction.

As long as the Islamic State, as long as [al-Qaida] have an external operations capability, have access to the internet, we have to be concerned, said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson during a forum in Washington late last month. I think there is little doubt we need to build these bridges to communities in which [IS] is trying to recruit.

Not just refugees

Despite concerns and political rhetoric about the vulnerability of refugees in Europe and the U.S. to radicalization, there is also skepticism about the degree to which IS or other terror groups are specifically targeting those communities.

When it comes to refugees being radicalized after they come to a host country, this is quite low in number, actually," according to Mubin Shaikh, a terrorism expert who has previously worked with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

According to the George Washington University's Program on Extremism, 112 people have been charged with IS-related crimes in the U.S. since March 2014. The vast majority of them were U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Much of ISIS's argument is, of course, that Muslims  immigrants, converts, everyone  will never be included and accepted in the West because of the very fact that they are Muslim," said Program on Extremism fellow Amarnath Amarasingam.

This message, it could perhaps be argued, but gently, may indeed resonate more in some countries and with some communities, he added. But is ISIS specifically targeting immigrants? Not really.
The Nigerian army has captured a Boko Haram camp in the Sambisa forest, one of the jihadist group's last strongholds in the country, president Muhammadu Buhari said Saturday.

Buhari said the capture of Camp Zero marked the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa forest" in a statement, following a months-long campaign in the 1300-square-kilometer forest located in the northeastern state of Borno.

The statement made no mention of the whereabouts of Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau.

Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks recently, after a months-long pause in their seven-year uprising that has killed more than 20,000 people. The conflict has triggered a humanitarian crisis.
Undeterred by international rebukes and increased sanctions in 2016, North Korea set forth to advance and legitimize its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but then paused suddenly, most likely to assess unexpected political changes underway in the United States and South Korea.

North Korea began the year with a powerful nuclear bomb blast in January that caused a magnitude 5.1 earthquake. The state-controlled news organization KCNA claimed the military had successfully tested a miniaturized thermonuclear hydrogen bomb 100 times more powerful than past weapons tested.

But some analysts were skeptical. An examination of air samples and seismic data indicated the explosion was not powerful enough to be an H-bomb, and was more likely a conventional nuclear bomb made with enhanced fuels.

The nuclear test ended a brief period of inter-Korean cooperation during which the North and South arranged a rare reunion for families separated by decades of division and considered other types of nonpolitical exchanges.

With the January test, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was setting a new, uncompromising and defiant tone, openly declaring his intention to force the world to accept his country as a nuclear state, and rejecting U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North's nuclear and missile programs.

Regional security analyst Daniel Pinkston said that beyond the existential threat to the world posed by permitting the unpredictable and repressive North Korean state to possess these weapons of mass destruction, acquiescing to Pyongyang's demand to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty it signed in the 1980s could also spark a new global arms race.

"If other states were to look at this and say, 'Well, we can do that as well. There are no costs to nuclear breakout. We would like to acquire our nuclear deterrence as well, because it's basically costless,' I think that makes the world a much more dangerous place," said Pinkston, a lecturer in international relations at Troy University in Seoul.

Sanctions

In early February, North Korea launched a rocket into space that it called a peaceful "earth observation satellite." The United States and its allies denounced the launch as a disguised intercontinental ballistic missile test.

In response, South Korea cut all remaining ties with the North, including closing the jointly operated Kaesong Industrial Complex that employed 54,000 North Koreans.

A month later, the United States and China co-sponsored the passage of tough new U.N. sanctions that imposed a total arms embargo and increased financial and trade restrictions on North Korea.

The new sanctions did have some impact. Traffic at the busy Sino-Korean border, where most trade with North Korea occurs, was significantly reduced. There were reports in China that currency transfers to North Korean banks had been suspended and North Korean vessels had been prohibited from entering Chinese ports.

Some analysts say sanctions, and decades of political isolation and rigid state control, have worked to stifle economic growth in North Korea, especially when compared with the dynamic development achieved in such neighboring countries as South Korea, Japan and China.

"I would say that North Korea is the sick man in East Asia when it comes to economic development. So they can pay a very, very high price for this program," said Pinkston.

But Beijing has also seemed reluctant to strictly enforce restrictions that could spark instability. In particular, China continued to permit the billion-dollar coal export trade as well as trade in other lucrative minerals by exercising a humanitarian exemption in the sanctions.

Despite the increased sanctions, Andrei Lankov, a professor of Korean studies at Kookmin University in Seoul, noted that North Korea's economy continues to grow because of a thriving illegal but tolerated private sector and agriculture reforms that give farmers a greater share of their crops.

In a Korea Times editorial, Lankov wrote that Kim "might be ridiculed and dismissed overseas, but continues to enjoy support at home for good reason: Under his watch the vast majority of North Koreans live better, if still poor, lives."

Increasing tensions

Pyongyang responded to the sanctions by defiantly accelerating its weapons development programs through the summer, testing numerous land-based and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

The U.S. responded to the ongoing provocations by moving more military assets onto the Korean Peninsula and conducting the largest joint military exercises ever with South Korea. The drills reportedly included preemptive military strike scenarios against North Korean nuclear sites.

Seoul also agreed to deploy the controversial THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, a move that China denounced as a threatening escalation of American military power in the region.

On September 9, North Korea conducted an unprecedented second nuclear test in one year. The U.N. followed with further sanctions that limit coal and mineral exports.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration and regret that diplomacy had seemingly failed to find a peaceful resolution to the political and military standoff.

"I'm deeply concerned [about] the mounting tension on the Korean Peninsula imposed by North Korea's ballistic missile tests as well as nuclear tests. The Security Council has met 10 times this year only; this is unprecedented that the Security Council is meeting 10 times for one single agenda," Ban said.

Political changes

But in late September, North Korea paused all provocations, seemingly unsure how to respond to a South Korea corruption scandal that led to the December impeachment of adversary President Park Geun-hye.

Park's downfall is likely to lead to a reassessment of her hard-line North Korea polices. Some opposition leaders in Seoul have already called for the THAAD deployment to be delayed to appease China. One of the opposition leaders expected to run in the early presidential election next year, if the Constitution Court upholds the impeachment, supports renewing dialogue and some level of cooperation with Pyongyang.

The Kim Jong Un leadership also seems uncertain about how to react to the U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump. Trump's views on North Korea are unclear, and some hawkish members of his Republican Party are urging him to take a tougher stand against Pyongyang.

During the campaign, Trump had also been critical of South Korea, saying Seoul had not fairly reimbursed the United States for the cost of stationing 28,000 American troops in the country. However after the election, the president-elect did offer some reassurance he would continue to uphold U.S. regional security commitments.

Analysts expect North Korea to soon test the new leadership in Seoul and Washington. And how they respond could either create new opportunities for dialogue or increase the risk of conflict.

Youmi Kim in Seoul and Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic lay order, has told Pope Francis that his decision to launch an investigation into the ouster of a top official over an old condom scandal is unacceptable.

In an extraordinary rebuke of the pontiff, the group said late Friday that the replacement of its grand chancellor was an act of internal governmental administration of the Sovereign Order of Malta and consequently falls solely within its competence.

Francis on Thursday appointed a five-member commission to investigate the December 8 ouster of Albrecht von Boeselager amid evidence that Francis own envoy to the group, conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, helped engineer it without his blessing.

Old scandal

One charge used against von Boeselager concerned a program that the orders Malteser International aid group had participated in several years ago with other aid groups to help sex slaves in Myanmar, including giving them condoms to protect them from HIV infection.

Church teaching bars the use of artificial contraception. Von Boeselager has said as soon as the orders headquarters in Rome learned of the condom distribution, two of the projects were immediately halted. A third continued, he said, because an abrupt end to the project would have deprived a poor region of Myanmar of all basic medical services. The project eventually ended after the Vaticans doctrine office intervened.

Burke is a hardliner on enforcing church teaching on sexual morals. As a result, the dispute roiling the order is emblematic of the broader ideological divisions in the Catholic Church that have intensified during Francis papacy, which has emphasized the merciful side of the church over its doctrinaire side.

Von Boeselager has said he was asked to resign December 6 during a meeting with Burke and the orders leader during which he was told that the Holy See wanted him to step down. He said he subsequently learned that the Holy See had made no such request.

In its statement, the Knights of Malta said the popes decision to appoint a commission to investigate von Boeselagers replacement was a result of a misunderstanding with the Vaticans secretariat of state, and said that it had explained the situation in a letter to Francis.

What is the Order of Malta?

The Order of Malta has many trappings of a sovereign state, issuing its own stamps, passports and license plates and holding diplomatic relations with 106 states, the Holy See included.

The Holy See, however, has a unique relationship with the order in that the pope appoints a cardinal to promote the spiritual interests of the order as well as its relationship with the Vatican, itself a sovereign state.

Francis appointed Burke to that position in 2014 after removing him as the Vaticans supreme court justice. Burke has since emerged as one of Francis top critics, particularly over his flexible approach to whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.

The knights trace their history to the 11th-century Crusades with the establishment of an infirmary in Jerusalem that cared for people of all faiths making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. It now counts 13,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers who provide health care in hospitals and clinics around the world and respond to war zones and natural disasters.
The 111 passengers who were on a hijacked plane diverted to Malta have been returned to the Libyan capital, the original destination for their flight.

The passengers, whose flight originated in Sabha, Libya, arrived in Tripoli on Saturday aboard a plane flown by Afriqiyah Airways, Libya's state-owned airline.

The two hijackers surrendered to police Friday after releasing all hostages onboard, Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

Initially, the hijackers ordered the pilot to fly to Rome, but they settled on Malta after they were informed the plane didn't have enough fuel to reach the central Italian city.

The hijackers eventually surrendered after releasing all of their hostages in three separate groups. Muscat said the hijackers were in custody and undergoing interrogation.

Libyan Foreign Minister Taher Siala said the hijackers were loyalists to the country's slain dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, and had asked for political asylum in Malta, although Muscat later contradicted the asylum comment.

Siala also said the hijackers wanted to set up a pro-Gadhafi political party.

Police said they found a grenade and two handguns on the plane, though Muscat tweeted later to say after investigation that the weapons appeared to be fakes.

Siala also said that before the crew and passengers were flown back to Libya early Saturday, they were questioned about what had happened during the hijacking.

The hijackers released 109 of the 118 people aboard shortly after the plane landed and emergency teams had been dispatched to the airport tarmac. Within a few hours, the remaining hostages were released and police arrested the hijackers.

All flights into Malta International Airport were initially canceled during the incident, but airport officials said Friday evening that operations were returning to normal.

Forty-four flights were affected by the tarmac standoff.
More than 400 North Korean laborers in Poland are vulnerable to suffering work injuries as they perform hazardous tasks without necessary security measures and protective gear, Polands labor-protection watchdog said.

Fifteen inspections, which uncovered multiple violations of Polish labor laws, were conducted this year at companies known to hire North Korean laborers, the Chief Labor Inspectorates Legality of Employment Department said.

Among the violations were the lack of protection in workplaces against potential dangers, such as falling objects and mechanical damage, use of artificial lighting in workplaces, little access to protective equipment and garments, and a dearth of warning signs at construction sites.

Individuals responsible for committing a contravention were given penalty notices or motions for penalty were lodged with the court, Jaroslaw Lesniewski, of the labor inspectorate, said in an emailto VOA Thursday.

New revelations

Also listed in the letter were irregularities committed by employment agencies or companies, which included failure to provide clear information on work hours and employment conditions, nonpayment of overtime wages and delayed registration of social insurance.

Lesniewski said improvement notices were issued after the inspections, and entities liable for having such irregularities were ordered to eliminate them.

The inspections, which were conducted by the National Labor Inspectorate, an authority tasked with overseeing and inspecting employment conditions of foreign workers, however, did not identify any case of illegal employment as well as forced labor or human trafficking involving North Korean citizens.

Lesniewski said the working conditions of North Korean workers continue to be an important aspect of the inspections. The Polish official added that the authorities are planning to launch new inspections targeting possible violations by foreign employers, including North Korean entities, by the end of the year.

For many years, Poland has been facing criticisms from human rights advocacy groups, which claim that North Korean workers in Poland are toiling in forced labor conditions at construction sites, shipyards and farms without proper remuneration.

Human rights concern

The Polish Foreign Ministry told VOA earlier this month that it did not issue any work visas for North Korean citizens this year. In 2015, 156 such visas and 482 work permits were issued.

As of September, the number of North Koreans employed in Poland is estimated to be 550, according to a report released by Human Rights Without Frontiers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to curbing the exploitation of foreign workers.

With North Korea accelerating its development of nuclear and missile programs, the international community has been stepping up its pressure on the reclusive regime with various sets of sanctions.

In March, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order, which allowed the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze assets of any party that may have been involved in exportation of North Korean laborers  one of Pyongyangs cash generators, which is known to bring as much as $2.3 billion a year.

Lee Jee-eun contributed to this report, which was produced in collaboration with VOA Korean Service.
By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Delhi Government has decided to invite applications afresh for hiring "on merit" guest teachers from the next academic session, days after a group of such teachers staged a protest against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a function.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also heads education department, criticised the guest teachers for protest against the CM and him at the event organised by the department, "despite getting benefits" from the government.

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After the incident, the AAP government has changed its stand on appointment of guest teachers as it had earlier allowed the already existing academic professionals to continue for the past two years.

"Government will invite fresh applications for guest teachers from March and hire them on merit," an official said.

A senior government official said that despite the fact that the AAP dispensation is doing "so much" for them, teachers are doing "politics" which will not be tolerated.

Earlier this month, the Chief Minister had announced a hike in salaries of Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET)- qualified teachers by up to 90 per cent.

Also, it was allowing non-CTET teachers to teach students, but from next session, it will not happen.

The official also said that government will only allow CTET-qualified teachers to teach students in its schools.

At present, there are about 15,000 teachers and 2,000 non-CTET guest teachers.

After the protest on Wednesday, Kejriwal had held the BJP and Congress responsible for the fracas at Chhatrasal Stadium where the event was held in the afternoon.

Addressing the gathering, comprising of guest teachers and heads of schools, the CM had said the final approval pertaining to the hike was pending with Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and he is ready to "snatch it" from him. PTI BUN RT

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Polish lawmaker Michal Stasinski arrived at parliament pulling a suitcase and carrying a bag filled with his mothers homemade cabbage-and-mushroom stuffed dumplings.

While most lawmakers were home for Christmas, Stasinski on Friday was joining a group of opposition lawmakers hunkering down in the dimly lit and chilly building to protest what they consider backsliding on democracy by a populist government whose anti-establishment and nationalistic views echo those of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The protesting lawmakers have vowed to stay in the main assembly where laws are voted on, taking turns in shifts, until parliament returns January 11.

Party has rural support

In its 13 months in power, the ruling Law and Justice party has moved to weaken the Constitutional Tribunal  the countrys highest legislative court  tried to limit certain press freedoms, supported criminalizing abortion and approved some restrictions on public gatherings. Opponents fear that the constitution and free elections might be next.

What they are doing is building a kind of velvet dictatorship, step by step, Stasinski, a member of Modern, a pro-business party involved in the protest, told The Associated Press. I cannot agree to what they are doing and this is why I have decided to spend Christmas here.

The way the ruling party is cementing power has unleashed off-and-on street protests in Warsaw and other cities. However, the partys support remains strong in small towns, boosted by cash bonuses paid monthly to families with at least two children and poorer families that have only one child. The party also lowered the retirement age to 60 for women and 65 for men, a popular change but one economists say the aging society cant afford.

Stasinskis family in Bydgoszcz was sorry he wouldnt be home for Christmas, but even his ailing 86-year-old father supports his decision to protest.

The 48-year-old lawmaker planned to get through the holiday on his mothers pierogi, along with food from his fellow lawmakers and supporters, and some warm clothing. Anti-government activists were planning to organize a meal outside the parliament for the protesting lawmakers Christmas Eve, the most important time in three days of Christmas celebrations in Poland.

Law and Justice sweep

Poland has been in a state of tension since Law and Justice swept to power, winning first the presidency and then a majority in parliament, the most power any party has had in the democratic era.

Party leaders argue they have a mandate to rebuild Poland in line with their traditional, Catholic and patriotic worldview. They say they have had to exert greater control over some institutions to remove the continued influence of political opponents who would stifle their agenda, including former communists and members of Civic Platform, the party led by the former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, now the president of the European Council.

The European Union, while accusing the government of eroding the rule of law, has proven powerless to reverse the course of a nation long seen as one of the most successful democracies to emerge from the ashes of Eastern European communism.



The reason for the sit-in goes back to events December 16, after news broke that the ruling party planned to impose some restrictions on media access in parliament.

Opposition lawmakers, seeing an attack on democratic freedom, occupied the area around the speakers podium in parliament, blocking work on legislation. Ruling party lawmakers then moved the session to another room and voted on the 2017 budget.

Authorities, amid the uproar, have since backed away from the plans for media restrictions in parliament. But the opposition parties are demanding a repeat of the budget vote, arguing that the procedure was highly irregular and that there is no evidence there was a quorum.


The United States abstained from voting Friday at the U.N. Security Council on a resolution calling for Israel to stop its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory. The abstention opened the way for the other 14 members of the council to unanimously pass the resolution to a round of applause in the chamber.

Reaction to the measure was swift and mixed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms. He added, The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the U.N., it colluded with it behind the scenes.

Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump, the Israeli leader said, and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution.

Trump promised changes at the U.N. once he takes office and tweeted things will be different after Jan. 20th, the date he is sworn in as president.

Kerry, Feinstein defend US

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement the resolution rightly condemns violence and incitement and settlement activity and calls on both sides to take constructive steps to reverse current trends and advance the prospects for a two-state solution, that would recognize both a Jewish state and a Palestinian state.

U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is Jewish, said in a statement that stopping the growing settlements on the West Bank and in Jerusalem is an absolute necessity for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. She said, I believe the expansion of settlements has but one goal: to undermine the viability of a two-state solution.

The U.N. vote sent a clear and unanimous message to Netanyahu, said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat that your policies will not achieve peace and security for Israel or the region.

Israeli allies disappointed

Danny Danon, Israels ambassador to the U.N., could barely believe the U.S. vote at the Security Council.

It was to be expected that Israels greatest ally would act in accordance with the values that we share and that they would have vetoed this disgraceful resolution, he said. Neither the Security Council nor UNESCO can sever the ties between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of The Anti-Defamation League condemned the resolution: This resolution will do little to renew peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. It will only encourage further Palestinian intransigence vis-a-vis direct negotiations with Israel in favor of unilateral, one-sided initiatives.

He said the ADL was incredibly disappointed the U.S. chose not to exercise its veto power and stop this resolution at the Security Council.

Greenblatt also said it is deeply troubling that this biased resolution appears to be the final word of the Obama administration on this issue.

American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris said the Obama administrations decision for the first time in eight years, not to block an anti-Israel measure at the U.N. Security Council is profoundly disturbing.

The chief obstacle to achieving peace is, and long has been, the steadfast refusal of the Palestinian leadership to recognize Israels legitimacy and negotiate in earnest a comprehensive agreement, Harris added.

Rights groups welcome resolution

However, Sherine Tadros, head of Amnesty Internationals U.N. Office in New York said the Security Council should go further and demand that the state of Israel not only fulfill its legal obligation to halt settlement-building, but also dismantle its settlements and relocate its settlers outside Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is the only way to a just and durable peace.

Louis Charbonnearu, the U.N. director at Human Rights Watch said, The U.S. abstention is a welcome shift away from past practice of using its Security Council veto to shield Israel from criticism despite longstanding U.S. policy opposing settlements. Indications that President-elect Trump may change U.S. policy on settlements re-inforces the need for a steadfast Security Council position.

Four countries  New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela  requested Fridays vote at the U.N. After the vote, Israel recalled its ambassadors to Senegal and New Zealand. It does not have diplomatic relations with Venezuela or Malaysia.

Israels decision to recall its ambassadors should not come as a surprise to anyone, said New Zealands Foreign Minister Murray McCully. We have been very open about our view that the Security Council should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process, and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question.


Malware used to hack Democratic National Committee servers during the 2016 elections was also used to hack an artillery-targeting app in Ukraine, and might have caused Ukrainian military losses to pro-Russian forces, according to a report released this week by CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company.

Ukraines artillery men were targeted by the same hackers, that we call Fancy Bear, that targeted DNC, but this time they were targeting cellphones (belonging to the Ukrainian artillery men) to try to understand their location so that the Russian artillery forces can actually target them in the open battle, Dmitri Alperovitch, CrowdStrikes co-founder and chief technology officer, told the PBS NewsHour.

CrowdStrike said an application that allowed the Ukrainian military to better pinpoint targets was distributed to units operating Soviet-era D-30 howitzers. The app was infected by Russian hackers affiliated with the GRU, the Russian militarys intelligence agency, CrowdStrike added.

CrowdStrike says that Ukrainian forces suffered larger-than-average losses after the malware infected the artillery officers cellphones.

It was the same variant of the same malicious code that we had seen at the DNC, Alperovitch said.

He told NBC News that this proved it wasnt a 400-pound guy in his bed who hacked the DNC  a reference to earlier speculation by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump  but Russian intelligence agencies.

US intelligence

The firms conclusions match those of the U.S. intelligence community, which also has blamed Russia for the DNC attack.

However, there are fresh doubts concerning the evidence Crowdstrike used in determining that the Ukrainian military was hacked.

Yaroslav Sherstyuk, the creator of the app that CrowdStrike says was hacked by the GRU, called the CrowdStrike report delusional in a Facebook post.

And Pavlo Narozhnyy, a technical adviser to Ukraines military, told VOA the app could theoretically have been reverse engineered and hacked, but he stressed that if such hacking had taken place, it would have been spotted.

Narozhnyy stated on Facebook that he outfitted Ukraines armed forces with nearly 300 tablets that carried the allegedly hacked software, and some of those tablets were sent to units with D-30 howitzers.

He told VOA that contacts in the Ukrainian military units that used the app reported no losses of D-30 howitzers, which contradicts large battlefield losses referenced in the CrowdStrike report.

I personally know hundreds of gunmen in the war zone. None of them told me of D-30 losses caused by hacking or any other reason, Narozhnyy stressed to the VOA.

CrowdStrike told VOA its information on those losses came from what it described as an analysis from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank.

We cited the public, third-party reference source that was quoted, VOA was told.

But the source referenced in the CrowdStrike report on its website is not the site of the actual IISS, but an article on The Saker, a site that presents a largely pro-Russian version of events in Syria and Ukraine.

Russian blogger

The article is an English translation from a post first published by Boris Rozhin, a popular Russian blogger, who covers Russian military operations under the moniker Colonel Cassad from Russian-annexed Crimea.

Rozhin calls his popular blog the Bullhorn of totalitarian propaganda and supports pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, Global Voices reported.

Global Voices is a volunteer online site of citizen media reporters who advocate for free speech.

It is Rozhins blog that suggests, based on his interpretation of what he said were two separate IISS reports, that Ukrainian forces suffered losses of about 50 percent of their military hardware between 2013 and 2016.

His posting provides a table, based on what he said was data from the IISS reports, that shows Ukraine had 369 D-30 howitzers in 2013 and 75 in 2016. It included links to Rozhin said were the original IISS studies uploaded to a Russian torrent site dedicated to pushing pirated software and movies.

Although the source of the information listed by CrowdStrike is not the actual website of IISS, CrowdStrike defended its findings.

It is indisputable that the app has been hacked with FANCY BEAR malware  we have published the indicators related to it and they have been confirmed by others in the cybersecurity community, CrowdStrike told VOA in an email.

Narozhnyy, technical adviser to Ukraines military, told VOA hed like to see more proof for this statement.

In Forbes, Patrick Wardle, ex-NSA staffer and head of research at security firm Synack, said that the malware beaconed back to the U.S.  more an indicator of irony than anything else. The Android spyware was not particularly sophisticated, much like the hack of the DNC, he added. Both were effective, however.

There are a lot strings in the clear, makes it super easy to analyze, Wardle told Forbes. If its on your phone, you are done, it grabs pretty much everything. Kind of perfect for Russian hackers to infect the opposing forces with.
A Sri Lankan court has acquitted five suspects, including three navy personnel, who were accused in the shooting death of an outspoken ethnic Tamil lawmaker.

Nadaraja Raviraj was shot to death in his car in 2006 during the countrys long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009. He was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority.



The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke on midnight Friday following the unanimous decision reached by the jury in the monthlong trial.

Ravirajs killing was widely condemned by the international community.
Hundreds of Syrians returned to Aleppo on Friday to check on their homes after the last rebels left the city Thursday.

Residents wrapped in heavy coats crossed into neighborhoods that had recently been dangerous front lines during the battle for Aleppo, sorting through the wreckage for personal belongings. Some of them had not been able to reach their homes for five years.

While much of the city was free from fighting, sporadic violence continued in some parts. State television reported that rebels outside Aleppo shelled a neighborhood inside the city Friday, killing three people.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence, said airstrikes resumed in rebel-held areas of the countryside outside Aleppo on Friday for the first time since the end of a weeklong operation to evacuate residents.

Also Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria have agreed to hold peace discussions in the Kazakh capital of Astana to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Speaking at his annual, end-of-the-year news conference, Putin said the recent evacuation of Aleppo was "the largest international humanitarian operation in the modern world" and would not have been possible without the "active involvement" of Russia, Turkey, Iran and "the goodwill of and the work carried out by Syrian President [Bashar al-]Assad."

Putin said the next step for Syria should be a nationwide cease-fire. The peace talks in Astana are expected to be held in January.

On Thursday, Assad's government announced it had full control of the massive city of Aleppo for the first time since 2012.

The rebel forces agreed to withdraw from the city after a monthlong army offensive drove them from 90 percent of their original territory.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said by Thursday about 34,000 people had left eastern Aleppo, which rebels held for four years in their effort to push Assad from office.
Taliban insurgents attacked a checkpoint in western Afghanistan early Saturday, killing at least three police and wounding four others, officials said.

Toryalai Abdyani, the police chief of Farah province, said the attackers killed the three police and escaped with weapons and ammunition taken from the checkpoint. Another police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said 11 police were killed.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi claimed the attack.

In the capital, meanwhile, two gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the home of a former Taliban leader late Friday, killing a security guard, said Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department.

The former Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was not home at the time, Obaidi said.



Zaeef served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s but has since reconciled with the current U.S.-backed government and has been involved in efforts to revive peace talks with the insurgents.

No one has claimed the attack, which came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
A teenage blogger from Singapore has applied for political asylum in the United States after being detained last week at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, released a statement Saturday saying Amos Yee, 18, was in federal custody while awaiting federal immigration court proceedings.

Yee, detained December 16, was at the McHenry Adult Correctional Facility, an hour away from Chicago. His U.S. attorney, Sandra Grossman, said Yee was arrested because he entered the country on a tourist visa despite his intention to apply for asylum.

Rights group Human Rights Watch called on Washington to recognize Yee's asylum claim, saying Yee had been consistently harassed by the Singapore government for publicly expressing his views on politics and religion and criticizing Singapore's leaders.

The video blogger aired a piece full of expletives last March as the city-state was mourning the death of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore's government said his posting mocked Christians and Muslims, and it argued that his jailing was meant to preserve racial and religious harmony.

Yee was jailed twice this year on charges of offending Christians and Muslims with his online activities. He is also due to be called up for mandatory military service.

Grossman, Yee's attorney, said the teen would have to undergo an interview by an asylum official to determine whether he had "credible fear" of persecution or torture in Singapore. He would then be scheduled to appear before an immigration court, a process that could take years because of a backlog of applications.
The two hijackers aboard a Libyan plane surrendered to police Friday after rerouting the jet to the island of Malta and releasing all hostages on board, said Maltas prime minister, Joseph Muscat.

In a series of tweets, Muscat said the hijackers released the last remaining crew members before being taken into custody.

The hijackers had previously released two waves of hostages, beginning with the women and children on board the plane.

Police said they found a grenade and two handguns on the plane, though Muscat tweeted later saying the weapons were replicas, based on an initial forensic investigation.

Muscat addressed reporters after the incident ended, saying the hijackers were in custody and interrogations were ongoing.

The rest of the crew and passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events, he said. Once this interrogation process is completed over the next few hours, arrangements will be made to send the passengers and the crew members back to Libya with another Afriqiyah aircraft. Afriqiyah Airways is the state-owned airline in Libya.

He also said that Maltese authorities were very clear in telling the hijackers that authorities were not willing to negotiate unless the two surrendered.

Until now they have made no demands, obviously they are not now in a position to make any demands, but we were very clear that we were not negotiating.

The hijackers released 109 of the 118 people on board shortly after the plane landed and emergency teams had been dispatched to the airport tarmac. Within a few hours, the remaining hostages were released and police arrested the hijackers.

Initially, the hijackers ordered the pilot to fly to Rome, but they settled on Malta after they were informed the plane didn't have enough fuel to reach the central Italian city.

Libyas foreign minister, Taher Siala, said the hijackers are loyalists to the countrys slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi and have asked for political asylum in Malta, although Muscat later contradicted the asylum comment.

The foreign minister also said the hijackers wanted to set up a pro-Gadhafi political party.

All flights into the Malta International Airport had initially been canceled, but airport officials said Friday evening that operations were returning to normal. Officials said they expected the flight schedule to be fully back to normal by the end of the day.

A total of 44 flights were affected by the tarmac standoff.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane was slated to fly from southwestern Sabha to Tripoli before being diverted to Malta.
An Islamic State-linked video released Friday purportedly shows the suspect in Monday's deadly truck attack on a German Christmas market calling for more attacks in Europe.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Anis Amri, 24, who was fatally shot earlier Friday by police at a Milan, Italy, train station during a routine patrol stop, received help from a network of supporters, Germany's top federal prosecutor said.

Chief Federal Prosecutor Peter Frank told reporters in Berlin that fingerprints confirmed Amri was the suspect in the attack that killed 12 people and injured 56 others. But he said the investigation was far from over.

"It's very important for us now to find out whether there was a network of supporters and accomplices, whether there were confidants who helped the sought person to prepare and conduct the attack and to escape," Frank said.

Focus on conspirators

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated the investigation would focus on possible conspirators.

"If there are others who are guilty or or accomplices, we will hold them accountable," Merkel said at the Berlin news conference.

Amri does not refer to Monday's attack in the video, which was released just hours after he was killed, but it does show him pledging allegience to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of IS.

The video was released by Amaq, the news agency linked to IS, which has claimed responsibility for the attack. Speaking on a Berlin bridge just over two kilometers from the German chancellery, Amri issues an appeal to Muslims in Europe to crush "crusaders."

"God willing, we will slaughter you like pigs," Amri says in the video. He calls on fellow Muslims to "fight for the sake of Allah. Protect our religion. Everyone can do this in their own way. People who can fight should fight, even in Europe."

The video has not been independently authenticated, but material previously released by Amaq has been credible.

Stopped at rail station

Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti said at a news conference that Amri, a Tunisian national, was stopped early Friday by a regular patrol near the railway station of Sesto San Giovanni, a suburb of Milan.

Italian investigators said Amri pulled a gun when asked for his identification papers, then shot and wounded a police officer before he himself was killed.

Amri was a rejected asylum-seeker who had been under police surveillance following a tip he might try to buy weapons for a possible attack. But that investigation was dropped in September.

His asylum application was denied six months ago, but he could not be deported because he had no passport and Tunisia declined to accept him.

Those revelations have renewed questions in Germany about how the country vets the thousands of people who have entered the country looking for asylum. The attack has prompted talk of approving more stringent legislation on the deportation of migrants, especially those with criminal backgrounds.

Family shocked

Amri's family members said they were stunned to learn he was the main suspect in the attack. A brother, Abdelkader Amri, had urged Anis to turn himself in.

Abdelkader Amri said Anis left Tunisia in 2011 to go to Europe and might have been radicalized in an Italian prison, where he served three years for setting a refugee shelter on fire.

After leaving jail, Anis Amri arrived in Germany in July 2015. Because he couldn't be deported, he was issued a stay-of-deportation paper, which is the document police found in the truck he used in the attack.

A U.S. State Department official said two U.S. citizens were among the people injured during the attack, but no further details about those people were provided.

Before Amri emerged as the main suspect, police had detained a Pakistani man on suspicion of involvement in the Berlin market attack, but he was later cleared and released.

Earlier Friday, German police arrested two brothers who were suspected of planning an attack on a shopping mall in Oberhausen, in the West German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Police said the two men, aged 28 and 31, from Kosovo, were arrested on a tip from intelligence sources.

It was not immediately clear whether the men were connected with the Berlin attack.
Photo: GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images

After taking heat online for its upcoming docu-series Generation KKK, A&E is hoping to settle peoples concerns by changing the title of the program to Escaping the KKK: A Documentary Series Exposing Hate in America, according to Variety. As a non-scripted show, the first iteration of the title was leading some to wonder if A&E was pandering to racist viewers by just airing a reality show about the Ku Klux Klan. Actress Ellen Pompeo took to Twitter a few days ago and asked people to boycott the network with her, saying So I guess A&E stands for we will try to put Anything and Everything on tv because we are a bunch of desperate pathetic tv execs in the middle of a minor tweetstorm. At the time, A&E pointed out that they had worked closely with the Anti-Defamation League to produce the series, and as part of the title change they have also announced a partnership with Color of Change, a civil rights group that will produce segments featuring civil-rights leaders to help provide context to the documentary. Officially, Escaping the KKK is an eight-part docu-series that follows several families involved with the infamous organization, and efforts to help some members of those families extricate themselves from the hate group. It also explores how children are indoctrinated into the system. In addition to the series, A&E will also air a post-show town hall special about ending hate in America.
All the churches across the national capital have been provided with security cover.

The entire police force has been tasked for the purpose.

The focus will be more on the bigger churches where the assembly of people will be larger said, Joint Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak.

Pathak said, that besides deployment of around 150 police personnel in the churches, patrolling squads, Quick Response Teams (QRTs) and sniffer dog squads will be kept on the standby.

Plain-clothed officers have also been deployed.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

According to TMZ, 60-year-old Carrie Fisher experienced a heart attack on plane bound for Los Angeles this afternoon, and airport police confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that units were responding to someone with a medical emergency on a plane. Officer Alicia Hernandez could not confirm the identity of the person at the time, but the Los Angeles Times is now reporting that Fisher was rushed to the hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics after experiencing a cardiac episode on a flight from London to L.A. The Times initially listed the actress in critical condition. THR and the Associated Press later reported that she was in stable condition around 4 pm P.T., per reports from the actresss brother Todd Fisher. However, Fisher subsequently told Variety in a phone interview that those earlier reports were due to media writing between the lines. Shes in the ICU and everybodys praying for her, he told Variety. TMZ also reports that Fishers beloved service dog, Gary Fisher, as well as her daughter, Billie Lourd, have been by her side at UCLA Medical Center. Eyewitnesses say Gary was aboard the flight when Fisher suffered her heart attack.

Passengers who were apparently on the same flight as Fisher tweeted information about the incident.

Don't know how else to process this but Carrie Fisher stopped breathing on the flight home. Hope she's gonna be OK   Anna Akana (@AnnaAkana) December 23, 2016

@RickMalambri @bradgage no :( she wasn't breathing for 10 minutes or so. They were administering CPR up until we landed  Anna Akana (@AnnaAkana) December 23, 2016

I'm in complete shock. @AnnaAkana and I sat in front of Carrie Fisher on our flight from London and she was just taken off the plane by EMTs  Brad Gage (@bradgage) December 23, 2016

I don't know what happened. Not really sure what to do right now but I hope she is ok. I hope she is ok.  Brad Gage (@bradgage) December 23, 2016

Demonstrations of support for the actress have already begun pouring in online, like these tweets from William Shatner and a pair of her Star Wars castmates.

I ask everyone to stop for a moment and send special thoughts to @carrieffisher.  William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 23, 2016

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse... sending all our love to @carrieffisher  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016

Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.. @carrieffisher  Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) December 23, 2016

This is a breaking news post. We will update it as more information becomes available.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is leading in both Europe and EEU member states with indicators in the Information Technologies sector, Vahan Hovsepyan, director of the ARMIX foundation and Armenian Union of Operators told reporters.

We have big opportunities for development of digital economy in Armenia. We are ready for the digital revolution, he said.

Speaking about the Young Programmers NGO, he mentioned that it greatly helps the youth in developing their skills and acquiring knowledge.

We have several organizations in the field, which work with businesses, however we didnt have a company protecting the interests of young employees directly. In this regard the organization is very important, since it helps the youth to become the value which we will have for the digital economy, he stressed.

Currently the foundation has 13 member companies in the field of telecommunications: UCOM, ORANGE ARMENIA, VIVACELL-MTS, ARMINCO, ISOC AM, KARABAKH TELECOM and others.

In respond to the reporters question as to regardless the great demand in the sector, why the specialists are few, Hovsepyan said:

On one hand thats an issue of training professionals, in the direction of which we have several initiatives in the field: creation of a technology university, reinforcement of existing universities, empowerment of content. We also have to solve the issue which will allow good professionals to stay in Armenia, because we are creating an opportunity to develop, however there comes a stage when reaching a certain level, programmers no longer want to stay here and leave the country. If we have such conditions in Armenia, they will stay. Both the ministry and associations of the field are engaged in these directions, and in the upcoming month we will present a comprehensive program directed at solving these issues.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Dec 24 (PTI) A Democratic lawmaker, who is set to become the new face of the party in post-election debacle, has pledged to highlight the persecution of Hindus in South Asia and do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the community in India into his work.

Congressman Keith Ellison, a top candidate for the Democratic National Committee chairman, made the commitment in a letter to the Hindu American Foundation days after he participated in a conference call with Hindu leaders from across the country to listen to their concerns and answer their questions.

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He said he will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu and Indian-American communities to foster their greater participation. He said he will give the community "well-deserved" and "much-valued" representation in the Democratic Party.

"As we discussed, I will do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the Hindu community in India into my legislative work," Ellison said in a letter to Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation.

"I also pledge to highlight the persecution of Hindu minority communities throughout South Asia. If elected DNC chair, I will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu- and Indian-American communities to foster greater participation and more well-deserved and much-valued representation in the Democratic Party," Ellison said in the letter dated December 16, which was released to the press yesterday.

The conference call on December 12, among others was joined by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and representatives of nearly 30 Hindu and Indian American groups. The call covered a wide range of concerns ranging from Ellisons focus on South Asia that many felt ignored the concerns of Hindus where they are minorities, to whether he would constructively engage the current Government of India to promote bilateral ties.

Leaders on the call also queried Ellison as to how, should he be elected DNC chair, he would work with the incoming four Hindu American Democrats in Congress to increase engagement and involvement of the broader Hindu and Indian American communities.

"It goes without saying that Hindu-Americans and Indian- Americans enrich our nation every day. I am proud to work with colleagues such as Senator-elect Kamala Harris, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Representative Ami Bera, and Representatives- elect Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthy, who represent the best values of the Democratic Party," Ellison wrote.

Responding to a question during the call regarding his focus on the Gujarat riots of 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was governing the state, Ellison said he viewed the issue as a "closed matter" since the Indian Supreme Court has issued its ruling.

India is a key strategic partner and friend to the US, he said, adding that he looks forward to build a "constructive and congenial relationship with the Indian government and Indian-American community".

He also said he will continue to urge Congress and the Administration to work with India on key areas of shared importance. PTI LKJ UZM SAI UZM

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WAHOO  A felony manslaughter charge against Randall S. McDuffee was dismissed by Judge Patrick McDermott in Saunders County Court on Dec. 22.

The rural Yutan man was arrested Sept. 9 and charged with manslaughter in connection to the death of his sister, Michelle McDuffee.

Michelle McDuffee died March 3 from blunt force injuries of the head that occurred at Randall McDuffees Yutan home in December 2013.

Ted Green, investigator and deputy sheriff with SaundersCounty testified that emergency responders found Michelle McDuffee unresponsive and lying on the kitchen floor on the morning of Dec. 8, 2013.

She did not live with her brother, but was visiting from Colorado, said Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz.

Michelle McDuffee was transported by the Yutan squad to LakesideHospital in Omaha with severe brain injuries and then to University of Nebraska Medical Trauma Center for surgery.

She never regained consciousness and died almost three years later, on March 3.

Randall McDuffee reported to investigators in 2013 that he did not know how his sisters injuries occurred and that he had gone to bed at approximately 10 p.m. the night before.

Results of Michelle McDuffees autopsy listed the cause of death as medical complications of blunt force injury of the head.

At the time of the incident, Randall McDuffee was arrested and jailed, but the case was dismissed without prejudice by the county attorneys office, Stukenholtz said.

This allowed the county attorneys office to file charges at a later date  a felony manslaughter charge instead of an assault charge.

But McDermott said the state did not present evidence that an unlawful act occurred.

Green testified that there was no evidence any other individual had been inside the house.

He said that medical records showed that Michelle McDuffees injuries included bruised forearms, bruised legs, bruised arms and a bruised eye upon admittance to LakesideHospital in Omaha. Based on his professional experience as an investigator, he said that some of the injuries could have been the result of a physical altercation.

Green also said that Michelle McDuffees autopsy showed multiple injuries to the brain.

But, the autopsy could not reflect the date the brain injuries occurred. Green stated that Michelle McDuffee showed no improvement since the incident in question.

Randall McDuffee reported to investigators in 2013 that he did not know how his sisters injuries occurred and that he had gone to bed at approximately 10 p.m. the night before.

McDuffees attorney, Christopher Lathrop, built his defense around the fact that no DNA collected connected his client to an assault, that his client and Michelle McDuffee had consumed alcohol, but that emergency responders only noticed that Michelle McDuffee still smelled of alcohol that morning, and if intoxicated, Michelle McDuffee could have hit her head on any hundred things.

McDermott agreed and dismissed the charges, stating that with no direct connection between Randall McDuffee and Michelle McDuffees injuries, it equated a scenario of every time someone dies at home, the family there could be charged with manslaughter.

Though charges are dismissed, the state can re-file, McDermott said.

We will review the evidence again and collaborate on whether we will ref-file, said Deputy County Attorney Demi Herman.
A united Opposition is all set to launch anti-demonetisation drive from December 27 in New Delhi, where leaders from 16 political parties are expected to be present.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: As the countdown begins for D-day for demonetisation on December 30, a united Opposition has decided to launch a major strike against the NDA government next week.

The opposition parties will launch an anti-demonetisation drive on December 27 to mark protest against the note ban decision of the Modi government.

The anti-demonetisation drive will be headed by the Congress and supported by 16 opposition parties. The launch of the drive will be followed by a joint press conference.

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ALSO READ: Opposition united against demonetisation, but not on the same page on future strategy

Here is what you need to know about anti-demonetisation drive: The entire exercise will be led by Congress as 16 opposition parties come together to corner the Narendra Modi government over demonetisation of high value currency notes. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banarjee will also be in the national capital for the launch of anti-demonetisation drive. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi are likely to address the joint press conference of the protesting parties. The Congress has forwarded a request to hold Press Conference at the constitutional club in New Delhi. Mamata Banerjee is also expected to be present at the joint press conference. The Congress has called a meeting of anti-demonetisation observers at party's war room in New Delhi on December 26. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to address the two-day National Executive of Youth Congress on December 28 in New Delhi highlighting the inconsistencies in demonetisation. The launch of anti-demonetisation drive in New Delhi on December 30, is likely to be attended by more than 100 leaders from the opposition parties. The workers of opposition parties will be asked to take the agitation against note ban to the every corner of the country explaining to people the negative aspects of demonetisation. With their anti-demonetisation drive, the opposition parties expect to dent BJP's prospects in the assembly elections in four states including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab early next year.

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Designed and developed in the country, the 120-kg class smart weapon is used to destroy runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced structures.

Its long standoff range of 100 km will allow the IAF to hit adversary airfields with high precision from a safe distance.

"The captive and release trials were tracked by radar and telemetry ground stations at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha during the entire duration of the flight. The performance of all systems was satisfactory with all mission objectives achieved," said the release.

The lightweight high-precision guided bomb is one of the world class weapons systems.

The government sanctioned the Rs 56.58 crore SAAW project in September 2013.

DRDO Chairman Dr S. Christopher congratulated the DRDO and the IAF teams for the successful mission.

In May, the DRDO conducted the first test on the weapon system from the IAF Jaguar DARIN-II aircraft in Bengaluru in Karnataka.

The test was carried out by IAF's Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE).
... but you will need to show proof of jab get into bars STUDENTS heading to college in September will not have to be vaccinated...
Its that time of year again! Summer in Waterford, with plenty of sunshine, and if you look carefully you may spot the odd artist atop...
Waterford native, Elaine Doheny, has launched an app that allows you to be literally pampered in your own home. Elaine, from Portlaw, has been based...
AS we count down the days, hours and minutes to Christmas, we at Waterford Today would like to make one appeal before the festivities...
DESPITE the pressing need to do so, over half of all Irish people say they could not afford an average cost of 56,000 to...
Canberrans may be left dreaming of a white Christmas on Sunday with the mercury set to hit 31 degrees.

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted a 30 per cent chance of a shower in the afternoon.

It's expected to reach 31 degrees in Canberra on Christmas Day. Credit:Priyanka Gupta

On Saturday, the territory was hit by storms, hail and minor flooding, with the bureau issuing a severe thunderstorm warning late in the afternoon.

The ACT State Emergency Services responded to 18 calls for help. The majority came from the north for fallen trees, branches and minor flooding.
Lucy Hale has chosen to speak out after nude photos of the actress were reportedly stolen and published online.

The Pretty Little Liars star, 27, posted a note to her Twitter account Thursday, which seems to reference the photos.

Lucy Hale arrives at the 23rd Annual ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on October 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Credit:Getty

"Well, I wasn't going to comment on something so ridiculous, but since 2017 is gonna be all about speaking my truth... I'm going to say something," she wrote. "Once again, a woman in the public eye was violated, stolen from and her private life and body were exposed for anyone to see. I will not apologise for living my life and having a personal life that is all mine. It's truly unfortunate that being exposed in this way is allowed."

Hale went on to say that she was thankful for the support and well-wishes she'd received from fans since the news broke.
"Real empowerment of women will be possible only through education, encouragement of economic self-dependence and provision of opportunities enabling the unfolding of one's full potential," he said.

By PTI: President Pranab Mukherjee today said real empowerment of women would be possible only through education, encouragement of economic self-dependence and provision of opportunities.

"Real empowerment of women will be possible only through education, encouragement of economic self-dependence and provision of opportunities enabling the unfolding of one's full potential," he said.

Speaking after inaugurating the Bansilal Malani College of Nursing at Hyderabad established by the Mahila Dakshata Samiti, Mukherjee said it is unfortunate that today, when the average literacy rate in India is 74 percent, the literacy rate in women is less than 65 percent.

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Also Read: For God's sake, do your job: President Pranab Mukherjee on Parliament disruption

ALL UPTO SOCIETY

He said a society which does not empower its women will end up as a loser, and called for renewed efforts in this direction.

Mukherjee expressed concern over the deficiencies in the health infrastructure of the country. He said the only long lasting solution is to create cooperative structures comprising the government and private stakeholders as well as civil society.

"In fact, the developmental goals of health, education, livelihood cannot be achieved by the government alone. Such cooperative structures are relevant for all of them," he said.

SHORTAGE OF NURSES

The President further said there is a phenomenal shortage of about 2.4 million nurses in our country and there is a decrease in the number of nurses from about 1.65 million in 2009 to about 1.56 million last year.

"This indicates a worry-some trend. At the same time, our infrastructure also comprises of just 1.53 lakh health sub-centres, 85,000 PHCs and about 5000 Community Health Centres in a nation of 130 crore people living in more than 5000 towns and 6.4 lakh villages," Mukherjee said and stressed that it is essential to look for models where in all stake-holders participate rather than the government alone.

The President praised the leading role played by the Mahila Dakshata Samiti in women empowerment and recalled the contributions of the outfits founding members such as uman Krishankant, Pramila Dandavate and Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.

--- ENDS ---
Seoul: A large crowd of South Koreans took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday for the ninth weekend in a row to demand the resignation of President Park Geun-hye, who has been impeached by parliament over a corruption scandal.

About 200 young people dressed as Santa Claus gave out gifts to some of around 200,000 people taking part in the rally, many of whom brought their children.

Like previous rallies, the event was held in a festive mood, with music and speeches from a stage set up in a large square a few blocks from the presidential Blue House.

"It'll be a Merry Christmas if Park Geun-hye steps down!" the crowd chanted.
When hero cop Luca Scata shot Europe's most wanted man, Anis Amri, it brought to an end the Berlin attacker's four-day flight which saw him travel three different cities in three different countries.

Alberto Nobili, coordinator of the Anti-Terrorism department at the District Attorney's Office in Milan says Amri ended up in the Italian city after travelling from Berlin to the French city of Chambery and via a stop in Turin.

The drive between Chambery and Berlin takes about 11 hours. The train ride between Chambery to Turin takes just under three hours. Whatever method the 24-year old took, he would not have needed to show a passport because he was travelling within the Shengen area which allows passport-free travel.

The Italians were unaware that the Tunisian was amongst them.
When two policemen in a northern suburb of Milan stopped a dishevelled-looking man to ask for his identity papers at 3 o'clock on Friday morning, they had no inkling they were confronting the most wanted man in Europe.

Cristian Movio, a 36-year-old patrol officer, and his 29-year-old rookie partner, Luca Scata, a former Italian army volunteer with less than a year's experience on the force, believed they were conducting a routine stop.

It was not unusual to see a man of North African descent loitering outside the metro station at Sesto San Giovanni, a once-thriving industrial hub that is now a grimy, working-class suburb with a large immigrant population and a prominent mosque.

"I don't have documents, I am Calabrian," Anis Amri mumbled in heavily accented Italian, according to reports. He said he had left them somewhere.
Government has given the assurance that West Pakistan refugees have been given the identity cards and not domicile certificates, yet some politicians and separatists have been opposing the move.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Independent MLA Engineer Rashid and his supporters who were protesting the state government's alleged decision to provide domicile to West Pakistan refugees, on Saturday were removed from the pavement outside Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's residence.

Rashid was on a 48-hour-long sit-in against Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to give domicile certificates to the West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu since 1947.

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The MLA and a few of his supporters had spent the night under the open sky in sub-zero temperatures despite the government's persuasion to end his protest.

Police on Saturday morning removed Rashid and his supporters from the pavement opposite the Fair View residence of the Chief Minister.

The state government has made it clear that the West Pakistan refugees have been given identity cards and not domicile certificates.

Despite the government's assurance, some mainstream politicians and the separatists have been opposing the move.

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Facebook restricted access to 2,034 pieces of content "in response to legal requests from law enforcement agencies and the India Computer Emergency Response Team within the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology," the company said in its report.

The majority of content restricted was alleged to violate local laws against anti-religious speech and hate speech.

Facebook produced "some data" in 53.59 per cent of the cases in the January-June 2016 period compared to a little over 50 per cent in the July-December 2015 period.

In the case of 42 Facebook accounts flagged in the "Emergency" category from 69 user account requests, the company produced,"some data" in 69.05 percent of the cases.

In the first half of 2016, the social networking giant Facebook received 6,324 requests for 8,290 users accounts from the Indian agencies, second highest after the US that made 23,854 requests for 38,951 users accounts.

"In 2016, informed by the decision of the Supreme Court of India last year amending the proper interpretation of the Information Technology Act of 2000, we ceased acting upon legal requests to remove access to content unless received by way of a binding court order or a notification by an authorised agency which conforms to the constitutional safeguards as directed by the Supreme Court," the report added.

The Indian government made 609 preservation requests for 850 users accounts. "We will take steps to preserve account records in connection with official criminal investigations for 90 days pending our receipt of formal legal process," it noted.

Globally, the government requests for account data increased by 27 per cent - increasing from 46,710 to 59,229 requests in the first half of 2016.

"As we have previously emphasised, we apply a rigorous approach to every government request we receive to protect the information of the people who use our services. We scrutinise each request for legal sufficiency, no matter which country is making the request, and challenge those that are deficient or overly broad," explained Chris Sonderby, Facebook's Deputy General Counsel, in the report.

"We publish this information about requests related to our various products and services (including Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram) because we want people to understand the nature and extent of these requests and the strict policies and processes we have in place to handle them," the report added.
ICL Group Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty minerals and chemicals company worldwide. It operates in four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions, and Innovative Ag Solutions (IAS). The Industrial Products segment produces bromine out of a solution that is a by-product of the potash production process, as well as bromine-based compounds; produces various grades of potash, salt, magnesium chloride, and magnesia products; and produces and markets phosphorous-based flame retardants and other phosphorus-based products. The Potash segment extracts potash from the Dead Sea; mines and produces potash and salt; produces Polysulphate; produces, markets, and sells magnesium and magnesium alloys, as well as related by-products, including chlorine and sylvinite; and sells salt. The Phosphate Solutions segment uses phosphate commodity products to produce specialty products; produces and markets phosphate-based fertilizers, as well as sulphuric acid, green phosphoric acid, and phosphate fertilizers; and manufactures thermal phosphoric acid for various industrial end markets, such as oral care, cleaning products, paints and coatings, water treatment, asphalt modification, construction, and metal treatment. It also develops and produces functional food ingredients and phosphate additives for use in the processed meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, beverage, and baked goods markets; and produces milk and whey proteins for the food ingredients industry. The IAS segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells fertilizers based primarily on nitrogen, potash, and phosphate, including water soluble specialty, liquid, soluble, and controlled-release fertilizers. It sells its products through marketing companies, agents, and distributors. The company was formerly known as Israel Chemicals Ltd. and changed its name to ICL Group Ltd in May 2020. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Delek US Holdings, Inc. engages in the integrated downstream energy business in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Refining, Logistics, and Retail. The Refining segment processes crude oil and other feedstock for the manufacture of various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products that are distributed through owned and third-party product terminal. It owns and operates four independent refineries located in Tyler, Texas; El Dorado, Arkansas; Big Spring, Texas; and Krotz Springs, Louisiana, as well as three biodiesel facilities in Crossett, Arkansas, Cleburne, Texas, and New Albany. The Logistics segment gathers, transports, and stores crude oil, intermediate, and refined products; and markets, distributes, transports, and stores refined products for third parties. It owns or leases capacity on approximately 400 miles of crude oil transportation pipelines, approximately 450 miles of refined product pipelines, an approximately 900-mile crude oil gathering system, and associated crude oil storage tanks with an aggregate of approximately 10.2 million barrels of active shell capacity; and owns and operates ten light product distribution terminals, as well as markets light products using third-party terminals. The Retail segment owns and leases 248 convenience store sites located primarily in West Texas and New Mexico. Its convenience stores offer various grades of gasoline and diesel under the DK or Alon brand; and food products and service, tobacco products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and general merchandise, as well as money orders to the public primarily under the 7-Eleven and DK or Alon brand names. It serves oil companies, independent refiners and marketers, jobbers, distributors, utility and transportation companies, the U.S. government, and independent retail fuel operators. Delek US Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
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.
By PTI: Mumbai, Dec 24 (PTI) In a bid to attract the youth and connect them to the ideology of the BJP, partys city youth wing has organised a musical program here on the occasion of 92nd birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tomorrow.

The organisers are anticipating a gathering of over 25,000 crowd from all over the state for the program, christened as "Yuva Urza", to be held in Lower Parel.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also address the gathering.

President of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Mumbai, Mohit Kamboj, told PTI, "Atal Bihari Vajpayees birth date has always been special to us. This is why we are celebrating his birthday with fanfare in which large numbers of youth have already given their consent to turn up and assimilate the Atals mantra in their social life."

Beside Fadnavis, national president of youth wing of the party, Poonam Mahajan among other senior BJP leaders would be present at the event, he said.

"Our party at the state as well as at the Centre has earned so many achievements and done exemplary work for the sustainable development of the country and for people, no occasion other than Vajpayeejis birthday could be better for us to celebrate these achievements," he added. PTI APM ARS

--- ENDS ---
State Street Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company offers investment servicing products and services, including custody; product accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; depotbank services; record-keeping; cash management; foreign exchange, brokerage and other trading services; securities finance and enhanced custody products; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loans and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; performance, risk, and compliance analytics; and financial data management to support institutional investors. It also engages in the provision of portfolio management and risk analytics, as well as trading and post-trade settlement services with integrated compliance and managed data. In addition, the company offers investment management strategies and products, such as core and enhanced indexing, multi-asset strategies, active quantitative and fundamental active capabilities, and alternative investment strategies. Further, it provides services and solutions, including environmental, social, and governance investing; defined benefit and defined contribution; and global fiduciary solutions, as well as exchange-traded fund under the SPDR ETF brand. The company provides its products and services to mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Reverend Mr. Opitz (1914-2006) was a long-time member of the staff of the Foundation for Economic Education. This article is based on one of his sermons.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

Charles Dickens wrote his most famous story to demonstrate what happens to a wretched, miserly old man when once the Christmas spirit gets to work on him and takes over. Something happens at this time of year to make people easier to get along with. There is something about this season that releases the friendliness and good will between one man and another which most people keep under rigid control during the rest of the year. Those feelings, carefully preserved in sort of a cold storage most of the time, come forth naturally and spontaneously on certain occasions.

Christmas is chief among those occasions; but there are others. Let two men take refuge under an awning from a sudden downpour of rain and their predicament leads to a camaraderie that is no less real for being brief. Accounts of severe snowstorms contain stories which illustrate the same point; for instance, people in a stranded railroad car suddenly decide that they like each other and a real spirit of friendliness is kindled simply because they are marooned in a blizzard.

There is no law which says that people must feel friendly at Christmas; nobody is forced to display comradeship because he is trapped by a storm. It is simply that under these circumstances an ordinary quality in human beings is transformed into something higher and finer; a good man out of the treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things. The Christmas spirit works upon the heart and mind of man, and by some strange alchemy it transmutes the base metal it finds there into a rare and precious thing. If that spirit endured for even a year, the consequences would be immense.

We speak of our own times as an age of revolution because things outside of us are changing so rapidly that we can hardly keep pace with them; but the only lasting revolution is that transformation which takes place in the hearts and minds of men.

Institutions and Men

Society might be said to have its flesh and bones. The bones are its mechanical arrangementsits institutions, its laws, charters, constitutions, manifestoes, and the like; the flesh is comparable to the kind of people who run these institutions and use these laws. It is common today to write and speak as if the kind of people we are does not matter very much, if only we can be very clever about altering our institutions, writing more elaborate laws, and filling our charters with high sounding phrases.

And so we emphasize the mechanical arrangements by which we live and put our trust in men who claim that all we need do is to make these more perfect until society, like a machine, will run by rote and be exempt from the human frailties from which it now suffers. There is just one thing that these planners leave out of accountthe human factor. The best laid plans of men will go astray unless they are made to work by the right kind of human material.

It is told that a composer wrote a brilliant composition for the cornet. The music was technically perfect and it was good music. The trouble was that no one could play it because the composer had neglected to put in any rests where the cornetist could take breath. It seems to be in the order of nature that no man can push wind into a cornet continuously for more than a few seconds. As a brass man myself, I can attest that this is one of the shortcomings of the instrumentor of the performerand nothing can be done about it. The composer cannot ignore these facts.

It strikes me that many of the schemes for social betterment exhibit just such a blind spot; allegedly they are written for the benefit of human beings, but in the writing the principal thing is omittedthe human factor.

Responsible Individuals

That is not the Christian way. The Christian way is to fix responsibility on individuals, to insist that individuals be transformed. It is through transformed individuals that society will be made over. By transformed individuals one does not necessarily mean ordinary men made over into saints; there are saints just as there are geniuses; but there are never very many of them, and any scheme which looks toward making over society into a community of saints is pure moonshine. But ordinary men are not helpless pawns in a game where someone else makes the moves. We are ordinary human material, but it is quite within our power to prefer justice to injustice, to incline toward sanity rather than toward neurosis, to abjure the get-something-for-nothing philosophy, to be possessed by ideas which are both great and true. These things are within our grasp; dealing with them may be unspectacular, slow, and difficult-but these are the things that work.

As an example of how they work, take the single instance of human slavery. Until recent years when the institution again became part of a widespread social system, human slavery was considered to be a great moral wrong. No ethical principle could be found to justify it.

This was not so in the Graeco-Roman world. There, slavery was the foundation of society. Slaves outnumbered free men by at least two to one. The great philosopher, Aristotle, whose work on ethics we still read, thought slavery a necessary thing. An historian, writing of the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era, says: The harder work of the world was done . . . under direct compulsion of physical pain and death for the slave who did not accomplish his task.

The first great Christian missionary, Paul, saw no great wrong in slavery and urged slaves to obey their masters. The Church of the first centuries never denied the right to own slaves, although under the first Christian Emperors the laws regulating the relations between slave and master grew continually more humane.

But there was something in the spirit of Christianity which was incompatible with the idea of slavery; this was the idea of human brotherhood which was a corollary of the idea of the fatherhood of God. Straightforward people cannot for long hold two such contradictory ideas as are contained in the situation where the man you are holding as a slave is just as much a man as you are because you are both sons of the Most High.

Ideas Set Men Free

What happened is history. The slaves who formed the overwhelming bulk of the ancient world, as the centuries went by, either became freed men or they became serfs. Those who remained serfs were bound to their lands and they owed certain obligations to their masters, but in turn their masters owed a measure of responsibility to their serfs. More centuries passed. The serfs attached to the soil gradually found that the land was attached to them, that they were its owners. By the thirteenth or fourteenth century the erstwhile serfs had become free yeomen over most of western Europe.

A change of tremendous consequence had taken place with the inevitability of gradualness. The minds of men seized upon a great idea; and in the atmosphere furnished by that idea, the ideas which had justified human slavery withered and vanished. There was no slave revolt, no agitation to pass laws against slavery, just the slow, steady erosion of the ideas which had made slavery tolerable. When these ideas were eroded away, the institution of slavery disappeared.

Slaves of the State

But now, in our time, we are suffering an eclipse of the idea that man is a person in his own right. It is being replaced by the notion that the individual is a creature of the State, deriving his rights from the State and holding such rights as he may have at the pleasure of the State. This doctrine provides a climate tolerable to slavery, and with the majestic inevitability of cause following effect we see the return of the institution that we had thought forever dead.

When there is a deep transformation in the hearts and minds of menmeaning a new outlook, a new set of ideals, and new ideas -these things inevitably bring about some change in our social arrangements, either for good or for evil. If the outlook is sound, if the ideas are tempered by reality, then our laws and institutions will pretty well take care of themselves. On the other hand, if our outlook is half-baked, if our ideas correspond to no known reality, if we have our eyes on privilegethen we can have the best constitution and laws in the world and we will still get into trouble. One would give a great deal to know Madisons opinion of our Constitution after we have tortured it almost beyond recognition. And what is one to make of the citizens of one of the West Coast states who recently voted into law a bill to provide old age pensions, only to find that its cost exceeds all the other items in the states budget combined?

Laws arent foolproof; any law can be twisted out of its original intent. Laws are creatures of men, and men will use them according to their lights. If strong inclinations run counter to a law, the inclinations will find satisfaction in extralegal ways; the Prohibition Amendment bred the speakeasy and the bootlegger; the OPA laws brought in the black market.

The thing that has us excited now is the atomic bomb, and elaborate laws have been drawn up for its control. The bomb is not dangerous; what is dangerous is man. If the bomb is left alone, it wont do anything; it will just stay put. And if someone really wants to drop it, he wont be thwarted by the existence of a rule forbidding its use. What is needed is not a control of the bomb but a self-control of man. If men with a mind to build and use atomic bombs are among us, there is no protection in laws.

Peaceful Change

The way of religion is the transformation of men, not solely into saints, but mostly into real human beings. This mode of dealing with the human situation is not calculated to lend itself to parades, mass meetings, newspaper headlines, or afternoon teas. It has only one thing to recommend itit is the right way; and being right, it is the way to which men will eventually turn, although perhaps not in the immediate future.

Men still call for special revolutions, wrote Ibsen, for revolutions in politics, in externals. But all that sort of thing is trumpery. It is the soul of man that must revolt. This revolution in the soul takes place without shouting or fanfare, without the breaking of heads or the destruction of property; when it occurs, it takes place quietly but with persistent resolution.

Augustine is supposed to have prayed, Lord, make me good, but not yet. That is precisely the attitude of the average person; he puts off the determination to do something with himself until after some external event has occurred. He waits for the crowd to line up, or for the Cooperative Commonwealth to dawn, or for the Revolution, or for some other event which will give him the signal to start living the way he should. You remember the old story; it was planned at a certain moment on a given day that every person was to utter a great shout. But the moment passed and there was a great silence. Everybody had kept quiet, waiting to see how it would sound when all others shouted.

This Christmas season does something to us inside. It sets us on our feet and gives us a cue as to the way we should go. Our part is to carry on from there, to carry this spirit which comes to us at this season into the rest of the year. Then it may be said of us, as Dickens remarked of one of his characters, It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas very well.

Find a Portuguese translation of this article here.

The Rev. Edmund A. Opitz (1914-2006) was a Congregationalist minister, a FEE staff member, who for decades championed the cause of a free society and the need to anchor that society in a transcendent morality. A man of wide reading and high culture, Opitz was for many years on the staff of the Foundation for Economic Education in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York. He was one of the few voices in the 1950s through the 1990s calling for an integrated understanding between economic liberty and religious sensibility. He was the founder and coordinator of the Remnant, a fellowship of conservative and libertarian ministers.
By WestKyStar & WKCTC Staff Dec. 23, 2016 | 08:02 AM | PADUCAH, KY





The Board of Trustees for Paducah Junior College Inc., the foundation for West Kentucky Community and Technical College, has established an endowed scholarship for WKCTC automotive technology students in honor of veteran educator and civic leader B.A. HamiltonDr. Anton Reece, WKCTC president, and John D. Williams, PJC board chair, presented a resolution of appreciation to Hamilton for his years of service to the college and foundation in his home with his wife, Frances, Monday, December 19.This proclamation and endowment established by the PJC board is a powerful reminder and recognition of a 21st Century educator and servant leader, said Dr. Reece. There is a unique group of individuals who go beyond the call of duty - and B.A. and Frances Hamilton represent and showcase an example for all of us to serve others.An Air Force veteran, Hamilton started the automotive program in 1962 at West Kentucky Vocational-Technical School, the predecessor to West Kentucky Technical College and WKCTC. In 1969, he opened B.A.s Automotive Services Inc., and helped employee many of his programs graduates over the years.I am proud to have known B.A. personally for many years, said Williams. He has been committed to the betterment of young people in our area, encouraging them to seek the best education possible. He is a founding father of technical education in the Paducah area. We thank him for his tireless efforts to improve lives for our young people.The father of four has served the college and the community for more than four decades, and has also served a member of the McCracken County Community Career Endowment board, the local Red Cross board, the Rotary Club, the Government Reorganization Task Force and the Paducah Chamber of Commerce board.B.A.s commitment to access and diverse opportunities for students to learn and master technical trades is legendary, Dr. Reece said.The first scholarship from the newly established B.A. Hamilton Endowment will be awarded in fall 2017. Students interested in applying for scholarships may do so online: westkentucky.kctcs/edu/costs_and_financial_aid/scholarships.West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has been recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 10 Community College each of the four times the Prize has been awarded by the Aspen Institute and has twice been named a Finalist With Distinction for providing students with strong job training and continuing higher education opportunity, for achieving high completion and transfer rates, and for providing strong employment results for its graduates.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 23, 2016 | 05:52 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A western Kentucky man facing federal charges has had his bond revoked, and has a change of plea hearing set for early next year.Corey Thorson of Marshall County was indicted in September on bank fraud and identity theft charges, for allegedly using personal information of five people to get loans from State Farm Bank totaling about $150,000 in 2014. Thorson was released on bond, but almost had it revoked a few days later because he allegedly texted one of the victims. Instead, additional restrictions were put in place.Last month, Thorson's bond was revoked after evidence was presented to Judge Lanny King that he had indirect contact with witnesses in the case. U.S. Attorney Nute Bonner showed that Thorson sent Facebook messages to relatives of the witnesses, using his account and under a pseudonym account, and Thorson had no prior relationships with those who received the messages.Thorson remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service. According to court documents, he has a change of plea hearing set for January 12 at the Federal Courthouse in Paducah.

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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Dec. 23, 2016 | MURRAY, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 23, 2016 | 01:00 PM | MURRAY, KY

Kentucky State Police are asking for the public's help in a theft investigation.



Troopers were notified by Henry Farmers Co-op on Highway 641 in Murray that a UTV had been stolen between 4 pm Wednesday and 7 am Thursday.



The red 2016 Polaris Ranger 900 has very distinct markings, including the co-op's logo on the fenders and on its rear window. It's valued at over $16,000.



It is possible that the UTV may have been taken to Tennessee or Missouri.



State police ask anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning to call them at 270-856-3721.



Henry Farmers Co-op is offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest related to the theft, and Calloway County Crime Stoppers has matched the reward, making the total reward $1,000.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 23, 2016 | 09:39 PM | BENTON, KY

Garry Wayne Smith graduated from South Marshall High School a member of the Class of 1973. He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Communications from Murray State University in 1977.



Smiths education in banking includes graduating from The Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his wife Kathy have two married children, Marcus Smith and wife Devan of Benton, and Mallory (Smith) and husband Ryan Fagan of Louisville.



Smith started his career with CFSB in August 1986 as the Assistant Vice President of the Secondary Market and Trust Department. In January 1987, Smith took the responsibility of the Real Estate Department. April 1989 brought a promotion to Vice President. In June 1991, Smith was named Senior Loan Review Officer. In August 1994, he was then promoted to Senior Vice President. Smiths responsibilities include Loan Review, Real Estate, Loan Operations, Commercial Lending, Secondary Market and Indirect Lending Departments. In February of 2006, Smith moved into his current role as Chief Lending Officer.



The Smiths attend New Harmony Missionary Baptist Church where Garry is the song leader.



After 30 years, CFSBs Chief Lending Officer/Executive Vice President Garry Smith has announced his retirement effective December 31.
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By PTI: Bengaluru, Dec 24 (PTI) Former Karnataka Congress leader V Srinivas Prasad, who had quit both as an MLA and from the primary membership of the party after he was dropped from the ministry, today said he would be joining the BJP.

A Dalit face, Prasad will be BJPs candidate for the bypolls to Nanjangud assembly constituency, which fell vacant following his resignation.

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"Im today announcing that I will be joining BJP. I have taken this decision after talks with the party leadership. Im feeling happy today. Im sure that party will utilise me without causing any hurt to my self esteem towards the end of my political life," he told reporters after meeting state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa.

He said a large number of his followers and well wisherswould also join BJP along with him.

Prasad will officially join the party at thestate BJP headquarters on January 2. Welcoming him to the party, Yeddyurappa said that the BJP would work towards ensuring Prasads victory by a hugemargin.

He said, "Congress is absolutely clear that Srinivas Prasad will one hundred per cent win from BJP, thats the reason why the Chief Minister is making personal attacks."

"His joining BJP will not only strengthen the party in Chamarajanagara and Mysuru districts, but across the state as several other political leaders have expressed their willingness to follow him," he added.

Prasad was Revenue Minister until he was dropped from the ministry along with 13 other ministers, when Siddaramaiah did a major "surgery" to his cabinet in June.

Miffed over this move, he resigned as MLA and from Congress in October, accusing Siddaramaiah of betraying him.

The by-poll will be a prestigious test personally for Siddaramaiah as Nanjangud is in his home district of Mysuru. JD(S) which had invited Prasad to join it hadeven expressed support if he contests the pollsindependently. The party has now decided to field a candidate. PTI KSU RA APR RT

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Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world
By PTI: London, Dec 24 (PTI) Giving puberty lessons and free sanitary products may help improve girls attendance levels at schools, especially in developing countries, a new study has found.

The trial carried out by Oxford University in the UK involved 1,000 girls at eight schools in Uganda.

Researchers found that in the two schools where sanitary pads or puberty education were not provided, over 18 months levels of absenteeism among girls were 17 per cent higher, on average, compared with schools where girls received pads, education, or a combination of both.

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This amounts to the equivalent of nearly three and a half days of school a month, researchers said.

The paper led by Professor Paul Montgomery, from the University of Oxford, focuses on how puberty can have negative effects on a girls education they are given help on how to manage periods and the bodily changes.

Researchers used a randomised trial to see whether absenteeism levels improved if girls were given reusable pads, puberty classes, or combinations of both and compared this approach with one where they had no intervention at all.

All the schools were in the Kamuli district, one of the poorest, rural areas of Uganda, which is reported to have high dropout rates, and some of the highest illiteracy and fertility rates in the world.

It is a district where, according to official government data, only 54 per cent of girls at the local secondary schools are able to read, compared with 69 per cent of boys.

The findings of this study which show the positive effects of such interventions echo an earlier pilot study in Ghana, also carried out by Oxford University researchers.

Previous studies have already found that menstruation is viewed widely in developing countries as embarrassing", shameful and dirty; being unable to stay clean is one of the main reasons why girls stay away from their lessons.

Most of the women and girls in Uganda rely on absorbent cloth during their periods, but it is sometimes difficult for them to source enough clean material for this use, researchers said.

The girls also often find the cloth is not sufficiently absorbent and difficult to secure in underwear, or to change and clean, he said.

"Many girls dont know about periods before they encounter their first one," said Paul Montgomery, from the Universitys Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention.

"Just by giving girls lessons in puberty or a sanitary pad means they were more likely to stay at school during their periods, minimising the risk of disruption to their schooling," said Montgomery.

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"Simple interventions like these can have major long-term economic implications for women in low and middle income countries, which socially empowers them," he said.

There have been considerable improvements across the globe in driving up school enrolment levels, particularly at primary level, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE. PTI MHN MHN

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/12/2016 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

All Tanya Falinski wanted was a McHappy time for her son, but instead shes left with a bitter taste after a snafu over a gift card.

It began with a surprise Christmas gift  two packages of McDonalds gift certificates were anonymously slid under her apartment door  before turning into a hunt for the mysterious donor and a showdown with retail giant Walmart.

Falinski knew the gift was for her four-year-old son, so she sent him with his grandmother to enjoy a McDonalds meal. However, they were unable to pay because the cards hadnt been activated.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ray McKee poses with his receipt from WalMart and Hunter Falinski on his lap. Ray bought a pair of McDonalds gift cards for Hunter and his mom Tanya Falinski from WalMart who forgot to activate them.

All of the people that were working there kind of looked at my mom like she had stolen the card, which was very embarrassing for her, Falinski said.

They were directed by McDonalds head office to track down the purchaser of the cards and have that person return to the store where they were purchased and get reimbursed.

Keep in mind, I had no idea who it was, at first, Falinski said. Theres 236 apartments in this building  hunting them down isnt going to be easy.

She correctly suspected it was her next-door neighbour, Ray McKee, who headed to Walmart with his receipt to complain.

A store representative initially said they dont return money on gift card certificates. Staff tried to reimburse him with new gift cards, but, upon scanning them, none activated. They removed the remaining McDonalds gift cards and gave McKee his money back.

McKee said he wont buy gift certificates again.

It was a royal pain. Ive always been nervous about gift cards. Luckily, I kept the receipt, he said.

It should have been good, but when I buy a gift card I dont expect I need to go to McDonalds and verify if each one is good.

Falinski called McDonalds to let them know what happened.

I said, I finally hunted this person down, we have all of our receipts, and in the meantime this little boy has nothing. And hes embarrassed and you kind of shamed us, and you havent honoured your end of the bargain, Falinski said.

So how many other consumers have purchased these gift cards to gift to other children, or people, and theyre not being honoured?

She also tried to clear up things at Walmart, but said staff shrugged her off.

Listen, Im not looking for any handouts here, but (Walmart) could have honoured it by giving this child a $5 gift certificate to put a smile on his face because, if anything, hes the one that loses out, Falinski said.

McDonalds Canada said in a statement it is looking into the situation in the hopes of resolving it. The Free Press reached out multiple times for a comment from Walmart Canadas corporate office, media relations and customer service line. No one was authorized to discuss the situation.

courtney.bannatyne@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/12/2016 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Environment Canada is correct, a lot of us will be trapped indoors by a big snowstorm Christmas Day.

But thats nothing compared with what thousands of our fellow citizens are trapped in: poverty.

Whether its because of mental illness, losing a job, living with disabilities, a marriage breakup or a myriad of other reasons, many people this year will need the help of the Christmas Cheer Board to ensure they have a holiday meal and at least one present Sunday for their child or children.

SUPPLIED David Chartrand of the Manitoba Metis Federation presents Kai Madsen of the Cheer Board with a $10,000 cheque.

But, faced with lower donations and a high demand for hampers, the Cheer Board itself needs help this year.

After all, they can plan ahead and buy the groceries or toys that arent donated to make up the hampers, but they cant plan ahead for how many donations come in.

The Cheer Boards chief elf, Kai Madsen, said he figures theyre about $45,000 behind where they were last year at this time.

Madsen said last year the Cheer Board was sitting at about $423,000 at this time, compared with this years $379,000. He said about $900,000 is needed in the end to pay for the 18,000 hampers going out, so a lot of the donations come from people after Christmas.

We are a little behind, but not a huge amount, he said.

Madsen pointed to the donation in recent days from Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand to show how people and organizations step up at times like this.

The MMF has been supporting the Cheer Board for over 20 years, he said.

Generally their donation is $5,000, but this year they recognized that we were a little behind, so they increased their donation to $10,000.

So now its up to you. Some time during the next few days, in between the food and celebration could you take a minute to write and post a cheque to the Free Presss Miracle on Mountain fundraiser or go online and make a donation?

While well be able to extricate ourselves from the snow, it will take more than that to get these people out of poverty, even if its for just one day.

Instead of a shovel, they need your donation.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/12/2016 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A wreath was placed Friday at the site of the citys worst firefighting tragedy, where four firefighters lost their lives 90 years ago.

This is a very serious but special day for us, Alex Forrest, a fire captain and president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, told the crowd that had gathered at the corner of Adelaide Street and Notre Dame Avenue.

COURTESY OF THE FIRE FIGHTERS MUSEUM OF WINNIPEG The cause of the deadly fire was never determined.

At that location, just before 10 a.m. on Dec. 23, 1926, four firefighters were killed after entering the burning Winnipeg Theatre to look for anyone trapped inside. The fire department was told there may have been an after-hours Christmas party in the theatre the night before. When they were inside, the walls of the timber-frame theatre that had a brick veneer began to buckle, and the firefighters were ordered to get out. Before they could escape, part of the building collapsed, and the four men  all veterans of the First World War and fathers with young families  were killed. Many other firefighters were injured, including nine so badly hurt they never returned to work, Forrest said.

At that time, there was no workers compensation. Winnipeggers, he said, rallied to help the families and raised $20,000  almost $280,000 in todays dollars. A joint funeral was held for Donald Melville, 41, of Langside Street; Robert Stewart, 37, of Seymour Street; Robert S. Shearer, 33, of Ashland Avenue and Arthur Smith, 38, of Strathcona Street.

MANITOBA ARCHIVES The aftermath of the fire at the Winnipeg Theatre that killed four firefighters 90 years ago.

Every day, our firefighters and paramedics show up, and every day, they face that risk  that hasnt changed, Mayor Brian Bowman said at the sombre gathering.

Their memories will be honoured with a plaque at the site of the destroyed theatre this spring. Thats when Manitoba Hydro expects to complete a $62-million substation that is under construction at that corner.

It was necessary to find an appropriate way to honour these firefighters, Manitoba Hydro president and chief executive officer Kelvin Shepherd said at the wreath-laying ceremony.

Shepherd said they learned of the Winnipeg Theatre tragedy when they were researching the history of the property. The plaque at the substation will give passersby an opportunity to stop and read about that tragic day in Winnipegs history and the firefighters who died in the line of duty.

MANITOBA ARCHIVES The building before the blaze.

The site of the old theatre that burned down in 1926 is next to todays Towne Cinema. The Winnipeg Theatre was built in 1883 as the Victoria Theatre and was the citys first large meeting place that could seat up to 1,400, a 2015 Free Press article states. For a time, the theatre was leased to fill in as Winnipegs city hall when the building housing civic offices had to be torn down and until the gingerbread city hall opened in 1886.

The Victoria Theatre was sold in 1897 to owners who updated it with a full-sized stage, sloping floors and seating for 800. They renamed it the Winnipeg Theatre, and it became a hub for vaudeville acts passing through town.

In 1903, a fire at a Chicago theatre killed more than 600 people. Theatres built around the same era  including the Winnipeg Theatre  were being identified as fire traps. In 1926, the City of Winnipeg upgraded its building bylaw so theatre owners would have to include new fire protection measures, such as sprinkler systems and fire alarms.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Mayor Brian Bowman, Alex Forrest of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, Manitoba Hydro CEO Kelvin Shepherd and members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service pay tribute at a ceremony Friday for the men killed in the 1926 blaze.

On Dec. 8, 1926, a representative for the owner of the Winnipeg Theatre went before the civic safety committee to argue the seldom-used facility should be exempt from the new bylaw because it hosted only occasional events. Two weeks later, on Dec. 23, the fatal fire occurred.

Three separate investigations into the cause of the fire were held, including one by the fire commissioner, a coroners inquest and a city operational review. The cause of the theatre fire was never determined.

Building codes, bylaws and fire prevention equipment have changed over the last 90 years, but the bravery of emergency responders  who run towards danger when others are running away from it  has not, Bowman said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
By PTI: Washington, Dec 23 (PTI) Over 50 per cent of potential mothers in Brazil are avoiding pregnancy due to the Zika epidemic, according to a new study published today which suggests that the country must urgently re-evaluate its reproductive health policies.

Since the outbreak of Zika in Brazil, there have been 1,845 confirmed cases of congenital Zika syndrome in babies, researchers said.

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There is an urgent need to reconsider abortion criminalisation, and also to improve reproductive health policies to ensure women have access to safe and effective contraceptives, they said.

Researchers from University of Brasilia in Brazil wanted to understand how the epidemic has impacted reproductive health practices.

A national survey conducted in June this year used face-to-face questionnaires to collect data about reproductive health and pregnancy and a secret ballot box to obtain information related to abortion experiences.

Data were collected from 2,002 urban and literate Brazilian women aged 18-39 years, corresponding to 83 per cent of the total female population.

Over half (56 per cent) the women reported that they had avoided, or tried to avoid pregnancy because of the Zika epidemic.

Conversely, 27 per cent of women reported that they had not tried to avoid pregnancy because of the epidemic and 16 per cent had not been planning to get pregnant, regardless of the epidemic.

A higher proportion of northeastern women (66 per cent) than southern women (46 per cent) reported avoiding pregnancy, and the researchers said this is most likely due to the epidemic being more concentrated in northeastern Brazil.

Black (64 per cent) and brown (56 per cent) women were more likely to report avoiding pregnancy than white women (51 per cent), most probably reflecting the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on vulnerable racial groups, researchers said.

There were no significant differences among the main religious groups: 58 per cent of Catholic women and 55 per cent of Evangelic women reported having avoided pregnancy because of the Zika epidemic, they said.

"The results provide an important first glimpse into how the Zika epidemic has shaped pregnancy intentions among women in Brazil," researchers said.

"Brazil must urgently re-evaluate its reproductive health policies to ensure better access to contraception information and methods," they added.

This includes making available a wider range of contraceptive methods, including long-acting reversible contraception, which are either scarce, such as the copper intrauterine device, or not available, such as hormonal implants, through public health services.

The study was published in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care. PTI NKS SAR SAR

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/12/2016 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province has pulled the plug on funding for a prevention program that helped the large influx of Muslim newcomer families avoid run-ins with child-welfare authorities.

The 14-month Preventative Family Support Services pilot project run by the Islamic Social Services Association was hailed as crucial by resettlement agencies in Manitoba. This past year, the number of refugee arrivals nearly doubled in Manitoba, thanks in large part to an influx of mainly Muslim Syrian refugees. The program was set up to prevent families from becoming involved in the child-welfare system. It received $110,000 from the Child and Family Services General Authority for a social worker and a family support worker to run classes on parenting and provide counselling and social supports to families. The program recruited Muslim foster families who were culturally in tune with children when they needed to be placed in care and conducted cultural competency and diversity training for CFS social workers, staff and others in the broader community.

Preventive services are always of value in supporting individuals, families and children, Debbie Besant, chief executive officer of the CFS General Authority said in a prepared statement. But, after reviewing the prevention program, the authority determined it did not result in a significant diversion of Child and Family Services work from the All Nations Co-ordinated Response Network or Winnipeg CFS, and few actual clients of CFS were served.

Islamic Social Services Association president Shahina Siddiqui asked to meet with the province to keep the program going. The provincial government refused to meet.

Newcomer-resettlement groups such as the Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network and the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organization wrote letters outlining the need for the program. Mosaic said it was essential for building strength in our current families and future generations and the Manitoba association called it crucial to assisting newcomers succeed in their settlement journey. The letters were delivered to Jay Rodgers, the Department of Families deputy minister.

Before the pilot projects funding ended Oct. 31, Islamic Social Services Association president Shahina Siddiqui asked to meet with the province to keep the program going. The provincial government refused to meet.

In the meantime, the community is covering the pay of the social worker who has established a relationship of trust with the Muslim community, Siddiqui said. If we have to close this program, many families will suffer, and Muslim Manitobans will have no advocate and services that help them through crisis and navigate CFS and justice systems with linguistic, cultural and spiritual supports, Siddiqui said.

We want to do preventive services and support programming to minimize CFS involvement in our community, she said. Prevention saves taxpayers money, she said. Theyre able to reunite families and resolve conflicts through counselling, mediation, advocacy and by providing culturally and spiritually compatible foster homes and parenting classes, she said.

A spokesman for the province said in a prepared statement Thursday that the Department of Families is committed to strengthening the front-line services that Manitoba children and families depend on, while ensuring that measurable results are being achieved. It was standing by the general authoritys assessment of the program, he said. The general authority and its existing network of agencies continue to deliver child and family services to Manitobas diverse communities, including newcomers to our province.

Siddiqui said the decision to let the Preventative Family Support Program die was made before the province or the general authority looked at the pilot projects final report and financial summary.

The final report on the program said 73 case files were opened, 70 parents completed parenting courses and many families were diverted from a path that may have led to child-welfare involvement or had their child-welfare case files closed more quickly, saving the system many thousands of dollars.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 23/12/2016 (2141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Manitobas health minister is seething after three other provinces inked private health-care accords with the federal government just four days after negotiations on a national agreement fell apart.

Ottawa signed side deals to fund mental health and home care programs over the next decade with Newfoundland and Labrador ($160.7 million), New Brunswick ($230 million) and Nova Scotia ($287.8 million).

Base health transfers will increase by three per cent per year, or the rate of growth of nominal GDP, whichever is higher.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Minister of Health Kelvin Goertzen says if the federal government's approach to health-care negotiations is 'take it or leave it,' the province might leave it.

The federal government is taking a unilateral approach to health funding and attempting to divide provinces while using Canadians as bargaining chips, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said in a written statement after the news broke late in the day.

That is shameful.

Talks between the federal government and the provinces broke down in the nations capital Monday. Manitoba was among a group pushing for unity, which has now evaporated.

All of the provinces were annoyed about the federal governments plans to reduce the annual increase in the Canada Health Transfer from six per cent to three per cent starting next year. The six per cent escalator has been in place since 2004, but Stephen Harpers Conservative government announced five years ago it would be cut to three per cent starting in 2017-18. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberals are sticking with that plan.

The difference translates into about $38 million less for Manitoba next year.

During the failed negotiations Monday, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott and Finance Minister Bill Morneau added $3.5 billion over 10 years for home care and mental health to their original $8-billion offer, as well as $544 million over five years for prescription drug and innovation initiatives. They also increased the annual health transfer escalator to 3.5 per cent.

The provinces turned thumbs down, accusing Morneau of offering a take-it-or-leave it approach without room for debate. They called for a first ministers meeting with Trudeau in the new year to further the discussion.

Mondays final offer would provide $1.5 billion less for health care in Manitoba over the next 10 years. The targeted funds for mental health and home care would also give Ottawa influence over how health dollars would be spent in the province.

Although the amount of federal money to health care is still going up, the federal governments share of health care funding is expected to decline because costs will rise faster than 3.5 per cent per year.

These deals represent massive cuts to federal health funding that will hurt mental health, home care and hospitals and will impact every Canadian, Goertzen said. No matter how it is packaged, we are witnessing the erosion of the federal share of health funding. This will put additional strain on the provinces and territories and threatens national universal health care.

A statement from the federal government asserted that the deals struck with the Atlantic provinces reflected their share of the offer made Monday.

The money will be made available as of April 1, the statement said. As well, all four governments have committed to work out details of accountability and reporting on the funding, which comes on top of previous legislated commitments under the Canada Health Transfer.

It was important for us to know the money being invested in mental health and home care was going to be there in the future as we look to improve the way we deliver care in our province, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said in a statement.

Dwight Ball, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, said his province needs the money to deal with the fastest aging population in Canada.

During the course of our conversations with the federal government we have focused on our specific needs surrounding senior care and mental health, he said in a statement.

These investments demonstrate that the federal government recognizes the specific cost pressures that the aging population and mental health issues place on our province.

 with files from Canadian Press

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
In the movies and in real life, smoking cigarettes used to be much more common. When entering a restaurant, the hostess would ask do you prefer the smoking or non-smoking section? Airplanes had little lights that went on when the plane reached a sufficient altitude and it was OK to smoke again. Ashtrays were a fixture in most living rooms.

Things began to change in the mid-1960s when warning labels from the Surgeon General started appearing on cigarette packages. The hazards of second-hand smoke became more widely known. In July 2010, a Wisconsin law requiring all workplaces be smoke free went into effect. Smoking no longer was a relatively harmless habit. It became a public health problem.

Years ago climate change was portrayed as something only those crazy, kale-eating green types cared about. But thats changing. Here in Sauk County, people are recognizing this as an issue of public health. On Feb. 4, at the Plain Kraemer Library and Community Center, more than 40 people from law enforcement, emergency management, fire departments, county governments, local municipalities, schools, hospitals and the faith community gathered to talk about building local capacity to address climate effects.

The health department received a mini-grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health called Building Resistance Against Climate Effects. Sauk County was one of three Wisconsin counties that received funds in 2016 to study climate effects and their potential impact on our community. A speaker from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services gave an overview of global climate data as it pertains to Wisconsin discussing that Wisconsin has been getting warmer; weve been getting more precipitation; less snow cover, more freezing rain and ice storms in the future and the growing season in Wisconsin is getting longer.

Attendees worked in small groups to identify the likely public health concerns arising from a changing climate. The impact on mental health was the no. 1 concern due to stress, depression and anxiety resulting from extreme weather events. Nos. 2, 3 and 4 were impact on those with chronic diseases, injuries and waterborne illness. Sauk County Preparedness Coordinator Cassidy Walsh led a follow-up meeting Dec. 8, summarizing the final report of the BRACE grant. One of many actions steps is making sure every county resident knows about the 211 help line they can call for emergency help with housing, food and shelter. Also, anyone with text capability can text their zip code to 888777 and that will connect them to the Nixle emergency system. Residents then receive emergency alerts and updates via text message.

In a practical, quiet and unobtrusive way, were in the middle of an evolution in our thinking about climate change. Here in Sauk County, from what I see, we are doing it quietly, avoiding the sometimes contentious political debate over the issue. The amount of carbon we put in the air through burning of fossil fuels no longer is a harmless habit we can enjoy without thinking about it. There are real impacts to the health and well being of our neighbors.
When Gerda Philipp, 91, moved from Germany to Randolph in 1952, she said the residents of Dodge County celebrate the holidays much differently from back home.

After we lived here and got to know people here, they did the same thing, she said.

Given the deep German roots of many Dodge County residents, that may not be surprising.

Philip is originally from Bielefeld, Germany. She left Germany in 1952, four days before she turned 27. Her family moved to Randolph where she lived for 47 years, and has been in Beaver Dam for 16.

In Randolph she attended German church services once a week and on Christmas.

Her husband at the time could speak English, but she had to learn the language. She said there was a lot of immigration from overseas. As a result people had to adapt their old traditions into American culture.

Philipp remembers noticing that people in Dodge County sang similar Christmas songs and built gingerbread houses.

In Germany she said her family would hang box candles and cookies from the Christmas tree. On Christmas Day she and the family would open Christmas gifts and sing songs.

Even during World War II  Philipp was a teenager by then  she said that her family kept the same traditions and habits during Christmas. One noticeable difference was that much of the economy was focused on the war effort, thus community-driven Christmas events were sparse.

Today, she hasnt kept up with her traditions. Philipp lives in an apartment in Beaver Dam, and although she has many friends, she spends the holidays watching Christmas shows on TV.

I just have a small tree now, she said. Its just for me.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Yilmaz Bultun, vice-president of Ankaras Cankaya districts office of the ruling Justice and Development party has been killed, Hurriyet reports.

According to reports, Bultun was on his way home when 4 armed men opened fire from a vehicle. Bultun was hospitalized and later succumbed to his wounds.

The perpetrators of the shooting are still at large.

An investigation is underway.
The hijacking ended peacefully on Friday after the two men released 111 passengers and six crew following a four-hour standoff.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Maltese Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said on Saturday the police were bound to charge in court the two men who hijacked a plane within 48 hours of their arrest. The commissioner added that it was too early to say if the two were linked to any terrorist group.

The details so far:

1. The police commissioner said investigations were still ongoing and no date and time for the court appearance had been set, Xinhua reported.

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2. Basically, the law in Malta states that anyone arrested needs to be either charged within 48 hours or released.

3. Cutajar said it was too early to say if the two hijackers were linked to any terrorist groups.

4. The hijacking ended peacefully on Friday after the two men released 111 passengers and six crew following a four-hour standoff.

5. The Afriqiyah Airways plane was hijacked during an internal flight from Sebha to Tripoli by two men who threatened to blow it up.

6. It was diverted to Malta after the hijackers refused to land in Tripoli.

7. The two hijackers, named as Ahmed Ali and Mousa Shaha, were later found to be carrying replica pistols.

8. The commissioner said that at no point did the two men make any demands.

9. The passengers of the hijacked flight returned to Libya Saturday.

Also read: Libyan plane hijackers surrender, all passengers freed

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Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; prepaid programs and management services; commercial credit and debit payment products and solutions; and payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts. It also provides value-added products and services comprising cyber and intelligence solutions for parties to transact, as well as proprietary insights, drawing on principled use of consumer, and merchant data services. In addition, the company offers analytics, test and learn, consulting, managed services, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants. Further, it provides open banking and digital identity platforms services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.
The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited.

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A Physics teacher identified as Dora Babu thrashed four students using a cane at Sri Chaitanya Junior College, SR Nagar.

Some students filmed the entire episode and shared with their parents.

The teacher was cruel to the students earlier as well, which is why the students filmed the entire episode of corporal punishment on their mobile phones.

There are three videos and in one of them Dora Babu is seen beating a student mercilessly.

The second video that has surfaced reveals the teacher caning another student while in third video, he is seen abusing and beating a student. The student was profusely bleeding.

Soon after the video became viral, angry parents approached the college management strongly protesting against Dora Babu and his behaviour.

The college management has suspended the teacher and assured the parents that they will ensure no teacher practices corporal punishment in the institute from now onward.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. It also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices, as well as a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. It serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. The company distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, as well as contract sales agents and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.
Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, renewable generation, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. It also engages in the wholesale of electricity to municipalities, electric cooperative utilities, and load-serving entities. This segment serves approximately 8.2 million customers in 6 states in the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States covering a service territory of approximately 91,000 square miles; and owns approximately 50,259 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure segment distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation natural gas customers; and owns, operates, and invests in pipeline transmission and natural gas storage facilities. It has approximately 1.6 million customers, including 1.1 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as 550,000 customers in southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The Commercial Renewables segment acquires, owns, develops, builds, and operates wind and solar renewable generation projects, including nonregulated renewable energy and energy storage services to utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and corporate customers. It has 23 wind, 178 solar, and 2 battery storage facilities, as well as 71 fuel cell locations with a capacity of 3,554 MW across 22 states. The company was formerly known as Duke Energy Holding Corp. and changed its name to Duke Energy Corporation in April 2005. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Limited, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Limited, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AFD.TECH, AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, AIG Shared Services Business Processing Inc, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co. Ltd., Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) Pty Ltd, Accenture (UK) Limited, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Agencia Interativa Ltda, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture B.V., Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BPS Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A., Accenture Canada Holdings Inc, Accenture Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Limited, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co. Ltd, Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Pty Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SASU, Accenture Customer Services Ltd, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Delivery Poland S.p. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance II Limited, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services S.r.l., Accenture Financial Advanced Solution & Technology S.r.l., Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Global Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Global Engagements Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Limited, Accenture Global Services Limited, Accenture Global Solutions Limited, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc, Accenture Holding Brasil Ltda, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SASU, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services B.V., Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture International B.V., Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea B.V., Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Lithuania UAB, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Marketing Services LLC, Accenture Marketing Services Limited, Accenture Middle East B.V., Accenture Minority I B.V., Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi Pty Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations GmbH, Accenture Operations S.p. z o.o., Accenture Operations Services Private Limited, Accenture Operations Services Sdn Bhd, Accenture Outsourcing S.r.l., Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations B.V., Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru SRL, Accenture Post Trade Processing SASU, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture Qiyun Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture S.p. z o.o., Accenture S.p.A., Accenture SASU, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sdn Bhd, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services and Technology S.r.l., Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Single Member S.A. Organization Information Technology & Business Development, Accenture Solutions Co. Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions S.p. z o.o, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc, Accenture Sub III Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions S.r.l., Accenture Technology Solutions SASU, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures B.V., Accenture Technology Ventures SPRL, Accenture Tecnologia Consultoria y Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co. Limited, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Ltda, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Advoco, Agilex Technologies Inc., Alfa Consulting, Allen International, AlphaBeta Advisors, Altevie Technologies S.r.l., Altima, Altima (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Altima Asia Ltd, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Altius Consulting Limited, Altius Data Solutions Private Limited, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Apis Group Pty Ltd, Appaloosa Technology SASU, AppsPro, AppsPro, Arca, Arca Ingenieros y Consultoria S.L., Arca Telecom S.L., Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Artio People (Payroll) Pty Ltd, Artio People Pty Ltd, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Automation Partners Pty Ltd, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc, Avanade Consulting Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Limited, Avanade Europe Services Limited, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SASU, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade Inc, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy S.r.l., Avanade Japan KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Middle East Limited, Avanade Netherlands B.V., Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain S.L., Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Limited, Avanade do Brasil Ltda , Avanade Osterreich GmbH, Avenai, Avieco, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCS Consulting, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BENEXT, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, BRIDGEi2i, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Zhidao Future Consulting Co. Ltd, Benext, Berico Technologies LLC, Bionic, Bionic Solution LLC, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Bow & Arrow, Bow & Arrow Limited, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, Byte Prophecy Private Limited, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CS Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, CS Technology (UK) Limited, CS Technology Group LLC, CS Technology LLC, CadenceQuest Inc., Callisto Integration Europe B.V., Callisto Integration Europe Limited, Callisto Integration LLC, Callisto Integration Ltd, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc, Certus Solutions Consulting Services Limited, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cirrus Connect Australia Pty Ltd, Cirrus Connect Limited, Cirruseo, Clarity Insights, ClearEdge Partners, Clearhead, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas Japan G.K., Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Limited, Cloudeasier SAS, Cloudpoint Limited, Cloudsherpas Inc, Cloudworks, Cloudworks Consulting Services Inc, Cloudworks Technology LLC, Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda, Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda, Context Information Security, Context Information Security LLC, Context Information Security Limited, CoreCompete LLC, CoreCompete Limited, CoreCompete Private Limited, Corliant Inc., Creative Drive LLC, Creative Drive US LLC, CreativeDrive, CreativeDrive Digital Content Services (Shenzhen) Co Ltd., CreativeDrive EMEA Limited, CreativeDrive Singapore Pte Ltd, CreativeDrive UK Group Limited, Cutting Edge Solutions Limited, Cygni AB, Cygni Norrsken AB, Cygni Stockholm AB, Cygni Syd AB, Cygni Vast AB, Cygni Ost AB, Cygni Ostersund AB, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Limited, DI Futures Corporation, Data Essential SARL, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings LLC, Decora Marketplace LLC, Decorado Marketplace Ltda-EPP, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digital Results Group LLC, Double Digit Limitada, Double Digit Pty SA, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Limited, Duck Creek Technologies, ESR Labs, ESR Labs AG, EdenOne Solutions Limited, Edenhouse ERP Holdings Limited, Edenhouse Solutions Limited, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting LP, End to End Analytics LLC, End-to-End Analytics, Endorphin Medici (M) Sdn Bhd, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Limited, EnergyQuote JHA, Enimbos, Enimbos Global Services S.L., Enkitec, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V., Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enthusian Pty Ltd, Entropia, Entropia (M) Sdn Bhd, Entropia Holdings Pte Ltd, Entropia Intercraft Sdn Bhd, Epylon, Ergo, Espedia S.r.l., Ethica Consulting Group, Ethica Consulting S.p.A., Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Experity, Exton Consulting, Exton Consulting Spain Strategy&Management S.L., Exton Germany GmbH, Exton International SAS, Exton Italia S.r.l., Exton SAS, FGM LLC, Fairway Technologies Inc, Farah BidCo Limited, Farah MidCo Limited, Farah Topco Limited, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Formicary, Founders Intelligence, Fruendo S.r.l., FusionX, Future State Consulting LLC, FutureMove (Beijing) Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., FutureMove Automotive, FutureMove Automotive Co. Ltd., GRA Supply Chain Pty Ltd, Gagel Group S de R.L. de C.V., Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gevity, Gren utvikling AS, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hahntel Ltda, Halo Partners LLC, Hamilton Holding Company S.A, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Happen GP Limited, Happen Limited, Headspring, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl A/S, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IBB Consulting, ICM.S S.r.l., IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INSITUM, IQSP Consulting LLC, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Icon Integration (NZ) Limited, Icon Integration Pty Ltd, Imagine Broadband (USA) Limited, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Imaginea Technologies LLC, Industrie IT (Hong Kong) Ltd, Industrie IT (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Industrie IT Group Pty Ltd, Industrie IT Pty Ltd, Industrie&Co, Infinity Works Consulting Limited, Infinity Works Holdings Limited, Infinity Works Management Limited, Infinity Works Midco Limited, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Innotec International EAD, Innotec International S.p. z.o.o., Innotec Marketing GmbH, Innotec Marketing International Ireland Limited, Innotec- Marketing Spain S.L, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., International Biometric Group LLC, International Biometric Group UK Limited, Intrepid, Intrepid Futureworks Sdn Bhd, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, King James Group, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision LLC, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations  Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Olympus Systems Corporation, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, T.A. Cook, TXF LLC, Tambourine, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis AG, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines Inc, Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc, Zestgroup, Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut.

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Validus Holdings, Ltd. provides reinsurance coverage, insurance coverage, and insurance linked securities management services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Reinsurance, Insurance, and Asset Management. The Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance products on a catastrophe excess of loss, per risk excess of loss and proportional basis; and aerospace and aviation, agriculture, composite, marine, technical lines, terrorism, trade credit, workers' compensation, and other specialty lines, as well as casualty and financial lines. The Insurance segment underwrites property, accident and health, agriculture, aviation, contingency, marine, and political lines insurance products; bankers blanket bond, commercial crime, computer crime, cyber- crime, professional indemnity, and directors' and officers' insurance products for various financial institutions and other companies; and commercial and institutional risks comprising general, professional, and product liability, as well as miscellaneous malpractice insurance products. This segment also underwrites marine and energy liability, and political risk insurance products, as well as insurance products for repair, maintenance, and upkeep of aircrafts and premises for small companies. The Asset Management segment manages capital for third parties through insurance-linked securities, and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments. Validus Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 2005 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.
NextEra Energy, Inc. is the largest electric utility holding company in the US. It operates a network of power generation and distribution facilities that include fossil-fuel-generated and green energy. As of mid-2022, the company was capable of generating 58 GW of electricity with nearly 60% of the load produced by green sources including wind and solar. In their view, going green isnt an option, its the solution. NextEra Energy has been recognized multiple times as a leader in clean energy and ESG practices and was ranked the #1 electric and gas utility on the Forbes list of Most Admired Companies.

The company is the result of several mergers that begin with FPL Group. FPL Group is now a subsidiary of NextEra Energy and the third-largest provider of electricity in the US servicing nearly half of Florida. FPL and its affiliates are the single largest provider of renewable energy generated from wind and sun. The group changed its name in 2010 following a decision to shift focus onto renewable energy sources.

Today, NextEra Energy, Inc through its subsidiary FPL serves about 12 million people in eastern and southwestern Florida. The company employs nearly 14,900 people who service 5.8 million accounts. The company is in business to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity to retail and wholesale clients. Electricity is generated through wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and coal-fired facilities.

The company is also engaged in the construction and operation of new facilities, specifically renewable power generation, storage, and delivery facilities, and can offer custom solutions tailored to any need. Offerings include tailored services to assist businesses with their transition to clean energy.

NextEra Energy also owns and operates 7 nuclear power stations in Florida, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin generating power for the wholesale market.

Unlike other companies that are targeting net-zero emissions, NextEra Energy has a plan to reach real zero and is investing heavily to reach that goal by 2045. The company had invested nearly $50 billion in green energy infrastructure and initiatives by mid-2022. The plan is to first work on reducing its own emissions and then take its knowledge and expertise to the world.
Do yourself a favour and keep from watching Kaththi Sandai, one of the worst films of the decade. Here's our Kaththi Sandai movie review.

By Srivatsan: Director Suraaj is one of the most consistent filmmakers in Tamil cinema. He has consistently made awful films. Even the surprise hits like Thalainagaram, Marudhamalai and Padikathavan are definitely not 'good' films. With that, how disappointing will his Kaththi Sandai be? Here's our Kaththi Sandai review.

Kaththi Sandai Cast: Vishal, Tamannaah, Jagapathi Babu, Soori and Vadivelu

Kaththi Sandai Director: Suraaj

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Kaththi Sandai Rating: (0.5/5)

Kaththi Sandai has been marketed as comedian Vadivelu's comeback, which doesn't help elevate the film.

Firstly, we suggest you carry lemons or watch the film on an empty stomach as some of the jokes in Kaththi Sandai may make you want to puke.

ALSO READ: DANGAL REVIEW

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Soundarya Rajinikanth files for divorce

After 10 minutes of a noisy background score, we're introduced to Arjun (Vishal), who comes in search of a rowdy named Deva (Soori) in Chennai. Arjun falls for Divya (Tamannaah), who, we assume, is pursuing a Bachaelor's in Psychology. Deva becomes Arjun's sidekick and assists him in sweeping her off her feet. When that tanks, Arjun cooks up a story and brings in a past life connection. He essentially narrates Kamal Haasan's Ek Duje Ke Liye and she buys it. What's fascinating is that Divya's professor (played by Chinni Jayanth) says she could be awarded a PhD in psychology, only if she can prove him (Arjun) wrong.

Predictably, Divya discovers the truth and Arjun's mask is off. However, she gives him a peck and says, "Anybody is bound to lie when one's in love. But I found love in your lies." He smiles, she blushes, and our hearts bleed. Along with our ears and eyes.

A few scenes later, Divya's brother (played by Jagapathi Babu), who's a deputy commissioner of police, finds out about Arjun. After a mundane first half, Kaththi Sandai takes a bizarre, but expected Suraj-film twist.Suddenly, the director readies the unprepared audience for something that leaves us mentally exhausted. It becomes a different story when Arjun rubs shoulders with Divya's brother. The rest of the plot unravels if you manage to sit for the second half. The revelation before the climax isn't helping either.

But the positive aspect of Kaththi Sandai is that the film is highly recommendable for ones who often find themselves lost in depression. The bar is so low here that it gives you motivational goals.

Comedian Vadivelu makes a comeback with Kathithi Sandai. He plays an eccentric psychologist, Dr Boothri. The audience can be seen cheering when his entry scene plays out along with Rajinikanth's Neruppu Da score.

However, his jokes are repetitive and not funny. It's high time he realises that the consuming pattern has changed.

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The makers must have shot Tamannaah's portions while she was busy shooting for SS Rajamouli's upcoming film Baahubali: The Conclusion.

Composer Adhi shot to fame after the stupendous success of Thani Oruvan last year. His score in Kaththi Sandai is too loud to handle. There's nothing much to say about the songs as well.

In all, Suraaj once again manages to make a fu**all Tamil film. The film competes with other disastrous releases of this year like Thodari and Rekka, and yet manages to top the list.

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Juniper Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers. It also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation, and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine, and top-of-rack data center switches; and juniper access points, which provide Wi-Fi access and performance. In addition, the company offers security products comprising SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP. Further, it offers Junos OS, a network operating system; Contrail networking, which provides an open-source and standards-based platform for SDN; Mist AI-driven Wired, Wireless, and WAN assurance solutions to set and measure key metrics; Mist AI-driven Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, which identifies the root cause of issues; Juniper Paragon Automation, a modular portfolio of cloud-native software applications; and Juniper Apstra to automate the network lifecycle in a single system. Additionally, the company provides software-as-a-service, technical support, maintenance, and professional services, as well as education and training programs. It sells its products through direct sales, distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers to end-users in the cloud, service provider, and enterprise markets. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Toyota Motor Corporation designs, manufactures, assembles, and sells passenger vehicles, minivans and commercial vehicles, and related parts and accessories. It operates in Automotive, Financial Services, and All Other segments. The company offers hybrid cars under the Prius name, fuel cell vehicles under the MIRAI name; and conventional engine vehicles, including subcompact and compact cars under the Corolla and Raize names. It also provides mini-vehicles, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and auto parts under the Toyota name; mid-size cars; luxury cars; sports cars under the GR Yaris, Corolla Sport, Corolla Cross, and Supra names; and recreational and sport-utility vehicles under the Highlander name. In addition, the company offers pickup trucks under the Tacoma name; minivans; and trucks and buses. Further, it provides financial services, such as retail financing and leasing, wholesale financing, insurance, and credit cards; and designs, manufactures, and sells prefabricated housing. Additionally, the company operates GAZOO.com, a web portal for automobile information. It operates in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, Central and South America, Oceania, Africa, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Toyota, Japan.
The following companies are subsidiares of Pearson: AEL (S) PTE Limited, ATI Professional Development LLC, Addison Wesley Longman Inc., Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., Aldwych Finance Limited, Americas Choice Inc., Atkey Finance Limited, Author Solutions, Axis Finance Inc., CAMSAWUSA Inc., CTI Education Group (Pty) Limited, Camsaw Inc., Casapsi Livraria e Editora Ltda, Centro Cultural Americano Franquias e Comercio Ltda., Century Consultants Ltd., Certiport, Certiport China Co Ltd, Certiport China Holding LLC, Certiport Inc., Cogmed Systems AB, Connections Academy of Arkansas LLC, Connections Academy of Florida LLC, Connections Academy of Iowa LLC, Connections Academy of Maine LLC, Connections Academy of Maryland LLC, Connections Academy of Minnesota LLC, Connections Academy of Missouri LLC, Connections Academy of Nevada LLC, Connections Academy of New Jersey LLC, Connections Academy of New Mexico LLC, Connections Academy of New York LLC, Connections Academy of Oregon LLC, Connections Academy of Pennsylvania LLC, Connections Academy of Tennessee LLC, Connections Academy of Texas LLC, Connections Education Inc., Connections Education LLC, Connections Education of Florida LLC, Dominie Press Inc., Dorian Finance Limited, Dorling Kindersley Australasia Pty Limited, EBNT Canada Holdings ULC, EBNT Holdings Limited, EBNT USA Holdings Inc., Edexcel Limited, Edexcel South Africa Pty Ltd, Education Development International plc, Education Resources (Cyprus) Limited, Educational Management Group Inc., Educational Publishers LLP, Embanet ULC, Embanet-Compass Knowledge Group Inc., EmbanetCompass, Embankment Finance Limited, English Language Learning and Instruction System Inc., Escape Studios Limited, FBH Inc., Falstaff Holdco Inc., Falstaff Inc., GED Domains LLC, GED Testing Service LLC, George (Shanghai) Commercial Information Consulting Co. Ltd, Global Education, Global George I Limited, Global George II Limited, GlobalEnglish, Globe Fearon Inc., Guangzhou Crescent Software Co. Ltd, Heinemann Education Botswana (Publishers) (Proprietary) Limited, Heinemann Publishers (Pty) Ltd, INTELLIPRO INC., Icodeon Limited, IndiaCan Education Private Limited, Integral 7 Inc., Integrated Analytics LLC, J M Solucoes Exportacao e Importacao Ltda, K12 Learning Services LLC, Kagiso Education Pty Ltd, Knowledge Analysis Technologies LLC, LCCI International Qualifications (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., LCCIEB Training Consultancy. Ltd, Learning Catalytics, LessonLab Inc., Lignum Oil Company, Linx Brasil Distribuidora Ltda., Longman (Malawi) Limited, Longman Australasia Pty Ltd, Longman Group(Overseas Holdings)Limited, Longman Indochina Acquisition L.L.C., Longman Kenya Limited, Longman Mocambique Ltda, Longman Romania S.R.L., Longman Swaziland (Pty) Limited, Longman Tanzania Limited, Longman Zambia Educational Publishers Pty Ltd, Longman Zambia Limited, Longman Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Longmaned Ecuador S.A., Major123 Limited, Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Limited, MeasureUp LLC, Modern Curriculum Inc., Multi Holding, Multi Treinamento e Editora Ltda, NCS Information Technology Services (Beijing) Co Ltd, NCS Pearson Inc., NCS Pearson Pty Ltd, NCS Pearson Puerto Rico Inc., National Computer Systems Japan Co. Ltd, Ordinate Corporation, PN Holdings Inc., PT Efficient English Services, Pearson (Beijing) Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Pearson (Guizhou) Education Technology Co. Ltd., Pearson Affordable Learning Fund Limited, Pearson America LLC, Pearson Amsterdam B.V., Pearson Australia Finance Unlimited, Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd, Pearson Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Pearson Australia Pty Ltd, Pearson Benelux B.V., Pearson Books Limited, Pearson Brazil Finance Limited, Pearson Business Services Inc., Pearson Canada Assessment Inc., Pearson Canada Finance Unlimited, Pearson Canada Holdings Inc, Pearson Canada Inc., Pearson Central Europe Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Pearson College Limited, Pearson DBC Holdings Inc., Pearson Desarrollo y Capacitacion Profesional Chile Limitada, Pearson Deutschland GmbH, Pearson Digital Learning Puerto Rico Inc., Pearson Dollar Finance Two Limited, Pearson Dollar Finance plc, Pearson Educacion SA, Pearson Educacion de Chile Limitada, Pearson Educacion de Colombia S A S, Pearson Educacion de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pearson Educacion de Panama SA, Pearson Educacion de Peru S.A., Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Pearson Education Achievement Solutions (RF) (Pty) Limited, Pearson Education Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Education Asia Limited, Pearson Education Botswana (Proprietary) Limited, Pearson Education Hellas SA, Pearson Education Holdings Limited, Pearson Education Inc., Pearson Education Indochina Limited, Pearson Education Investments Limited, Pearson Education Korea Limited, Pearson Education Limited, Pearson Education Namibia (Pty) Limited, Pearson Education Publishing Limited, Pearson Education S.A., Pearson Education SA, Pearson Education South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Education South Asia Pte. Ltd., Pearson Education Taiwan Ltd, Pearson Education do Brasil S.A, Pearson Educational Measurement Canada Inc., Pearson Educational Publishers LLC, Pearson Egitim Cozumleri Tikaret Limited Sirketi, Pearson Falstaff (Holdings) Inc., Pearson Falstaff Holdco LLC, Pearson France, Pearson Funding Five plc, Pearson Funding Four plc, Pearson Funding Two Limited, Pearson Holdings Inc., Pearson Holdings Southern Africa (Pty) Limited, Pearson IOKI Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Pearson India Education Services Private Limited, Pearson India Support Services Private Limited, Pearson Institute of Higher Education, Pearson International Finance Limited, Pearson Investment Holdings Inc., Pearson Italia S.p.A, Pearson Japan KK, Pearson Lanka (Private) Limited, Pearson Learning China (HK) Limited, Pearson Lesotho (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Loan Finance No. 3 Limited, Pearson Loan Finance No. 4 Limited, Pearson Loan Finance No.2 Unlimited, Pearson Loan Finance Unlimited, Pearson Longman Uganda Limited, Pearson Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Pearson Management Services Limited, Pearson Management Services Philippines Inc., Pearson Maryland Inc., Pearson Netherlands B.V., Pearson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Pearson Nominees Limited, Pearson Online Tutoring LLC, Pearson Overseas Holdings Limited, Pearson PEM P.R. Inc., Pearson PRH Holdings Limited, Pearson Pension Nominees Limited, Pearson Pension Property Fund Limited, Pearson Pension Trustee Limited, Pearson Pension Trustee Services Limited, Pearson Professional Assessments Limited, Pearson Real Estate Holdings Inc., Pearson Real Estate Holdings Limited, Pearson Schweiz AG, Pearson Services Limited, Pearson Shared Services Limited, Pearson South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Strand Finance Limited, Pearson Sweden AB, Pearson VUE Philippines Inc., Pearson in Practice Holdings Limited, Pearson in Practice Skills Based Learning Limited, Pearson in Practice Technology Limited, Penguin Capital LLC, Phumelela Publishers (Pty) Ltd, ProctorCam Inc., Reading Property Holdings LLC, Rebus Planning Associates Inc., Reston Publishing Company Inc., Rycade Capital Corporation, Shanghai AWL Education Software Ltd, Silver Burdett Ginn Inc., Skylight Training and Publishing Inc., Smarthinking Inc., Sound Holdings Inc., Spear Insurance Company Limited, Stark Verlag GmbH, Sunnykey International Holdings Limited (BVI), TQ Catalis Limited, TQ Clapham Limited, TQ Education and Training Limited, TQ Global Limited, TQ Group Limited, TQ Holdings Limited, The Financial Times (I) Pvt Ltd, The Learning Edge International pty Ltd, The Waite Group Inc, Trio Parent Holdings LLC, US Learning Services LLC, USLS Holdings LLC, Virtual Nerd, Vue Testing Services Israel Ltd, Vue Testing Services Korea Limited, Wall Street Institute Kft., Williams Education GmbH, eCollege.com, and Editions Du Renouveau Pedagogique Inc..

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By PTI: Jaipur, Dec 22 (PTI) As part of his campaign against demonetisation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would address a public meeting at Ramlila maidan here tomorrow.

"Trade and industry and the common man have suffered badly due to the decision of demonetisation.

"This is a scam and Kejriwal will address the public to expose this," co-incharge of Aam Admi Party in Rajasthan Nitin Tyagi said.

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Kejriwal, who has been vociferously opposing demonetisation, has raised the issue in rallies in many states like Uttar Pradesh and BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Jharkhand.

Tyagi said that Delhis Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra and MLA Alka Lamba will also address the public meeting. PTI SDA RT

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By PTI: Itanagar, Dec 24 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has asked the Arunachal Pradesh government to constitute an independent inquiry into the death of 22-year-old engineering student Haa Tama who died last week after falling from his hostel building in Rajasthan.

Rijiju gave this direction to state Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Food and Civil Supplies Parliamentary Secretary Markio Tado and sought a report in the matter during a meeting at New Delhi yesterday.

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The Union minister urged the state government to constitute an independent inquiry by a superintendent of police, an official communiquA said here today.

Tado also appealed to the Union minister to direct the Rajasthan government to disclose the post-mortem and FSL report.

Khandu assured to take up the matter immediately with Union and Rajasthan governments.

Tama, who was pursuing engineering degree at Dr K N Modi University in Tonk district of Rajasthan, died after he fall mysteriously from his hostel room on December 16 last. PTI UPL MM KIS

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By PTI: Vadodara, Dec 23 (PTI) A high profile pre-marriage liquor party at a farmhouse on the city outskirts was raided and 260 people including former IPL Chairman Chirayu Amin were booked in this connection, police said today.

Police recovered 103 liquor bottles and 116 bottles of beer, priced at Rs 1,28,950 during the raid conducted at the Akhand farmhouse in Ampad village near here. Also, 125 men and 134 women were booked in this regard.

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This is the first such raid on a liquor party in the state after Gujarat tightened its liquor laws by bringing in an ordinance in this regard last week.

"We raided the farmhouse last night where a liquor party was underway," Vadodara (Rural) SP Saurabh Tolumbia told reporters here.

"We have registered two different cases related to the liquor party. One against organisers of the party Jitendra Shah and his son Abhay, who are also owners of the farmhouse. They have been arrested," he said.

"While milder sections of the prohibition laws were invoked in other offences against those present in the liquor party," he said.

The strict offence invoked against organisers of the party is amended article 65 of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, which is a very serious offence and punishable with 10 years RI and a fine of Rs 5 lakhs, he said.

"This is for the first time that these sections have been invoked after the state government recently amended prohibition laws and made it stringent," he further said.

Former president of FICCI and ex-IPL Chairman Chirayu Amin and another noted industrialist Rakesh Agrawal were among those booked, he said.

"We have taken blood samples of all those who were present in the party, and let them off as the punishment under these sections are not more than seven years," he said.

"We have seized large quantity of 103 liquor bottles and 116 beer bottles the value of which is Rs 1,28,950 from the farm house. We have also seized 80 cars from the venue," he said.

The pre-marriage party was held to celebrate the wedding of grand daughter of Jitendra Shah, police said. PTI CORR PD DK DK SDM

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Between 40 and 50 maintenance workers at Melbournes Carlton United Brewery returned to work on December 6, six months after 55 of them were sacked for refusing to accept a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) that would have slashed their wages by up to 65 percent.

The return to work came after an agreement negotiated by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Carlton United Brewery (CUB) executives, and Iain Ross, president of the Fair Work Commission, the federal workplace relations tribunal.

While the unions hailed the end of the dispute as a victory for the CUB workers, they have maintained a blanket silence over the terms of the secret agreement they brokered. Both the ETU and the AMWU refused to release any details to the World Socialist Web Site, while a Fair Work Commission media spokesperson told the WSWS that matters heard in conference are subject to strict privacy laws and FWC privacy guidelines. A Freedom of Information application would have to be made to potentially access any of the details.

The secrecy only underscores that the CUB return to work is yet another trade union sell out, one of scores of deals negotiated and imposed by the unions across Australia that have cut jobs, wages and hard-won working conditions.

A joint AMWU-ETU press release on December 6 stated: All parties agreed to productivity and efficiency improvements that will be implemented at the brewery.

Some additional detail was reported the following day by the Australian Financial Review, which stated that the agreement included moderated wage outcomes and greater worker flexibility on rosters, overtime requests and rostered days off. This is likely the tip of the iceberg for the maintenance workers, who will be confronted with stepped up company demands for speedups and cuts to working conditions.

From the beginning of the dispute in June, the trade unions concern was not to defend wages and working conditions but to protect their own standing within the plant. CUBs real crime, in the eyes of the unions, was to attempt to dispense with their services as they moved to boost corporate profits at the expense of their workforce.

In June, the 55 CUB maintenance workers, including skilled fitters and electricians, who were employed by the Quant contracting company, were told that they had to accept their re-employment, on vastly worse wages and conditions, through a new labour hire company, Catalyst Recruitment, a subsidiary of Programmed Skilled.

The move formed part of a wider restructuring of the brewing industry in Australia and internationally. CUB was recently taken over by the multi-billion dollar transnational company Anheuser-Busch InBev, the worlds largest beverage manufacturer.

The unions have repeatedly boasted of their role in boosting productivity and profitability at the CUB plant in Melbourne. In September, ETU Victorian state secretary Troy Gray said that the union had helped the company slash production costs from $4 to $2.50 for a slab of 24 beers.

The situation confronting the sacked maintenance workers at CUB was a direct result of the unions role in 2009, when the giant brewing company decided to end direct employment of its maintenance workers and outsourced the work. The new contracting arrangement triggered a strike by 115 workers, which was shut down by the ETU and the AMWU. The unions reached an agreement that accepted the outsourcing, reduced the number of maintenance workers by almost half and slashed conditions.

The unions responded to the sackings in June by setting up a sham picket outside the plant. The so-called community protest had little effect on CUB during the six months that the dispute dragged on.

The unions, including United Voice and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, refused to call out their members still working in the plant, allowing production to continue as normal throughout. The unions attempted to cover their isolation of the sacked workers by calling for a boycott of CUB beersa token action that had no impact on the companys profits.

Union officials throughout Australia have hailed the return to work. Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said the CUB deal was a historic win for the union movement. We are glad to finally be able to end the boycott on CUB products, which are once again proudly union made at Abbotsford, he declared.

On December 12, a rally of mainly union officials was held outside the CUB plant to mark the return to work by the maintenance staff. Maritime Union of Australia official Chris Cain was among those who spoke. It doesnt get any better than this, he declared. You need to go away from here and talk it [the victory] up.

Also addressing the rally was pseudo-left local councillor Stephen Jolly. His appearance underscored the role of the pseudo-left organisations as political apologists for the union bureaucracy as it works with big business and finance capital to smash up the gains previously won by the working class.

If the unions are keen to talk up a CUB victory, it is only to cover their tracks in enforcing more mass layoffs, wage cuts, and productivity concessions in all key sectors of Australia industrymining, manufacturing, construction, transport, maritime and retail.

The unions are currently in the final stages of delivering an orderly closure of the entire car industry in Australia, at the expense of tens of thousands of jobs.

Likewise in the steel industry, the Australian Workers Union (AWU) and AMWU have pushed through a 10 percent pay cut at the Arrium steelworks in Whyalla, South Australia in preparation for a future sale of the company. At BlueScope Steel in Port Kembla, New South Wales, the AWU has collaborated with the company to boost profits by cutting wages and conditions and destroying a total of 1,500 jobs over the past five years.

A real battle to defend jobs and conditions can only take place in opposition to the unions and their defence of the profit system. The first step for the CUB workers is the formation of a rank-and-file committee and a turn to other sections of workers other industries facing similar attacks.

Such a struggle requires a fundamentally opposed political perspective to the class collaboration of the unions. Capitalism has nothing to offer workers but a future of mass unemployment, poverty and war. The defence of jobs is therefore completely bound up with the fight for a workers government and the abolition of the profit system on the basis of a socialist and internationalist perspective.

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A recent study by the Pew Research Center documents a steep fall in support for the death penalty, one of Americas most barbaric and anti-democratic institutions.

The survey conducted between late August and early September found that only 49 percent of Americans favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, the lowest such figure in four decades, and a full seven-point decline since 2015 (from 56 percent). The decline is even more drastic when considering that 22 years ago the figure stood at a robust 80 percent.

At that time, 1994, only 16 percent of Americans opposed the death penalty, in contrast with the 2016 figure of 42 percent.

The decline spans all three categories of political identification in the survey: Democrat, Republican and Independent. Even among self-described Republicans, who tend to favor the death penalty, the decline in support is significant, starting with a high of 87 percent in 1996, down to 77 percent in 2015 and 72 percent in 2016.

The decline is even more precipitous for Independents (79 percent to 44 percent) and Democrats (71 percent to 24 percent).

The Pew Research Center study on the same topic from 2015 found that 71 percent of those polled felt that the death penalty would result in killing innocent people, while only 26 percent believed there were adequate safeguards in place to prevent the execution of innocent persons. Thirty-one percent thought that the death penalty was unjustified under any circumstances.

This general change in attitudes towards capital punishment finds expression in the judicial system as well, with fewer juries sentencing people to death. As the end of 2016 approaches, there have been only 30 people sentenced to death in the United States, the lowest number since the early 1970s. Twenty people were executed in the US this year, the fewest since 1991, when the figure was 14. At its highest in 1999 the figure was 98 executions.

One cannot attribute the sea change in public sentiment regarding capital punishment to any single factor. However, the 2014 botched executions of Dennis McGuire, Clayton D. Lockett and Joseph R. Wood certainly horrified broad sections of the populace. These and similar cases exposed the cruel and unusual character of the lethal injection combinations of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride, which tend to result in seizure-like writhing and other obvious symptoms of the most intense human suffering.

It is likewise hard to imagine that recent artistic productions showing the plight of the accused and/or imprisoned have no impact on this change. The popular NPR podcast Serial, for example, detailed the wrongful murder conviction of a Maryland high school student, in part due to racist, anti-Muslim overtones from the prosecution as well as bogus testimony from a cell phone expert who placed the defendant at the murder scene based on cell tower pings.

An even more gruesome tale of prosecutorial and police misconduct was the subject of the recent Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, where Wisconsin law enforcement officials planted and modified evidence to frame a man, Steven Avery, who had a previous malicious prosecution claim against them. While a full discussion of this documentary is beyond the scope of this article, the series reveals the horrifying lengths through which the criminal justice system goes to destroy an innocent person.

Finally, the near daily occurrence of police killings of innocent people has taken its toll, undermining confidence in the entire justice system, particularly as prosecutors bend and break the law to shield law enforcement officials from the legal consequences of their brutality.

An interesting aspect of the change in popular sentiment toward capital punishment is that it has happened against the political current, rather than drawing inspiration from it. In other words, no politician of any stature, from any bourgeois party has made a political issue of state-sponsored killing. Rather, Democrats and Republicans spar over who is the more reliable supporter of bourgeois law and order, including capital punishment.

Also worth noting is that the decline in support for the death penalty moved in inverse proportion to the successive US military assaults over the past 25 years in Panama, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Libya, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen.

One should not underestimate the meaning of this shift in sentiment against capital punishment, long a staple of American politics. It accompanies other leftward changes in popular consciousness, including growing signs of opposition to social inequality and the capitalist status quo as well as an increasingly positive view of socialism.
On Friday night, Anis Amri was shot and killed by police in Milan. There is growing evidence that the 24-year-old Tunisian drove the truck that killed twelve people on Monday and injured 50 at a Christmas market in Berlin.

Investigators report that they found Amris ID papers, mobile phone and fingerprints inside the truck that was used in the horrific attack. The Islamic State press agency has published a video, probably recorded a few weeks ago, in which Amri swears allegiance to the organization and calls for attacks on unbelievers.

Amri may well have been responsible for the attack. However, the event itself remains obscure, and the extraordinary circumstances behind the attack raise many questions. It is now clear that security services were well aware that Amri was planning terrorist attacks. He had been in prison in Italy, was arrested in Germany and put under surveillance for months. Although the legal basis existed, the security and judicial authorities refused to detain him.

Morevoer, given the manner in which the event is being used to weaken the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel and shift German politics even further to the right, it would be a mistake not to consider the possibility that sections of the state were involved in some mannerif not in directing the attack, then in creating the conditions in which Amri was allowed to proceed.

There is a long tradition in Germany of organizing state provocations for political purposes. In 1933, the Nazis organized the Reichstag fire and declared a semi-blind Dutch communist to be the sole perpetrator in order to crush the Communist Party and pass the Enabling Act, which sanctioned Hitlers dictatorship.

The secret services also had a hand in the resignation of Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1974. Although they already knew that his personal assistant Gunter Guillaume was a spy for the secret service of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), they let the unsuspecting Brandt travel on holiday with Guillaume to completely discredit him.

The attack takes place amidst sharp conflicts within the German ruling class. Since Merkel opened Germanys borders for a short time at the height of the refugee crisis in the summer of 2015, she has been bitterly denounced, including in the ranks of her own party.

These same forces are moving rapidly to exploit the terrorist attack to demand a sharp change in policy. The victims blood was barely dry when the leader of Bavarias Christian Social Union, Horst Seehofer, proclaimed that immigration and security policy must now be reconsidered and readjusted.

Some on the extreme right have reacted even more aggressively. The leading representative of Alternative for Germany (AfD), Marcus Pretzell, tweeted, These are Merkels dead! And just a few hours after the attack, the right-wing Humboldt University Professor Jorg Baberowski demanded the resignation of the interior minister and Merkel confidant Thomas de Maiziere.

In October last year, the Welt am Sonntag published an article under the headline, Security officials eagerly await Merkels Go. It reported massive resistance to Merkels refugee policy in the intelligence community and security agencies. The article cited a paper circulating in intelligence circles that called for stopping refugees at the border, even if the government had ordered the opposite.

The facts of the attack as known so far also point to some level of state involvement.

On Friday, in the Suddeutsche Zeitung, Heribert Prantl drew attention to the fact that the immigration authorities, prosecutors and judiciary could have easily arrested Amri, who had sought to procure weapons and had broken laws under the eyes of the secret service and police.

Prantl wrote that Amri could have been placed on the strictest registration and residency requirements, citing a danger to security, and then arrested if he breached the regulations. This was not done, however. Prantl asks: Had the authorities accepted the risks Amri presented because they hoped to gain intelligence from keeping him under surveillance? And had the authorities conducting the surveillance said nothing to other authorities because they wanted to keep the findings to themselves?

Before Amri came to Germany, he spent four years in prison in Sicily for arson, where he evidently was won to Islamic extremism. The prison police sent an extensive report regarding Amris radicalisation and readiness to conduct Islamist terror.

Despite this, Amri avoided deportation and travelled to Germany in mid-2015. According to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, this was only because the Italian authorities had not fed his data into the European Information System in time. The Italian authorities, however, deny this.

In Germany, Amri immediately joined an Islamist group led by the preacher Abu Walaa. According to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, German intelligence had an asset in this group and was well informed about its activities. The intelligence agencies knew that some of its members were preparing to fight for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or carry out terrorist acts in Germany.

Members of the security services reported that Amri was part of this group and had participated in exercises. He is said to have repeatedly talked about carrying out attacks.

Shortly after security service employees reported this, Amri was stopped for an ID check by two police officers in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. This ocurred on July 30 of this year. The police arrested him because he had been obliged to leave after his asylum application was rejected and he was not permitted to stay outside North Rhine Westphalia. He was detained in Ravensburg, but then released the next day, supposedly because a lack of papers meant he could not be deported.

At this time, the security services also knew from monitoring telephone calls and internet chats that Amri was planning something dangerous. According to broadcaster Bayrische Rundfunk, in March this year the risk register for terrorists contained an entry saying that Amri was seeking to recruit people from throughout Germany to commit Islamist motivated attacks with him.

Nevertheless, the federal prosecutor, who had taken over the investigation into the group around Abu Walaa in March 2016, sent the case against Amri to the state authorities in Berlin. The Berlin authorities kept Amri under surveillance around the clock, but in September this year the surveillance was halted under unclear circumstances.

Although his contact with the Abu Walaa group was documented by the secret service, and the Moroccan security authorities had warned their German colleagues in September and October of Amri's plans for an attack, no action was taken.

Further questions arise from the aftermath of the attack itself. The police immediately arrested an innocent refugee from Pakistan on the basis of dubious eyewitness statements. He was presented as a strong suspect even though there was neither blood nor gunshot residue evidence to link him to the scene.

Only after media reports leaked out that Amris ID papers had been found in the truck did investigators admit that the refugee was innocent and that they were looking for Amri. On Friday, following a renewed inspection of the truck, it became known that Amri's mobile phone had also been found.

The official explanation for the late finding of the ID papers is bizarre. Supposedly, other investigations had to be carried out first before anyone could inspect the trucks cab.

This official story is further undermined by a tweet from one of the most well known right-wing extremists in Germany, the founder of Pegida, Lutz Bachmann. Just two hours after the attack, he wrote, Internal information from the Berlin police leadership: culprit a Tunisian Muslim.

If not just a pure coincidence, this tweet proves that the investigators already knew earlier who was responsible for the attack, and that a right-wing extremist, of all people, had been informed.

The close links of the intelligence agencies and the extreme right in Germany are well documented. For example, there are numerous indications that both far-right groups and state authorities were involved in the 1980 attack on the Oktoberfest. In the 1990s and 2000s, the extreme right-wing terrorist group NSU carried out at least ten murders under the eyes of the authorities. In both cases, considerable resources and energy were expended in order to cover up the connections.

The support, at least indirectly, of Islamist militias in Libya and Syria by the German government also strengthened the links between the German government and these forces, who were often able to travel back and forth between Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
On Friday, the United Nations Security Council passed a toothless resolution censuring Israels expansion of settlements. The vote followed a decision by the Obama administration to abstain, rather than exercising its veto power.

A vote on the resolution was postponed on Thursday by its initial sponsor, Egypt, following the intervention of US president-elect Donald Trump. It was reintroduced on Friday with new sponsors New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal.

According to an Israeli official, after becoming aware that the Obama administration would not veto the resolution, Israeli officials reached out to Trumps transition team to ask for the president-elects help. Trump reportedly called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to urge him to withdraw it.

Following the vote, Trump tweeted, As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20, that is, the day that he is inaugurated.

The resolution states that the establishment of settlements by Israel has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law. It expresses grave concern that continuing settlement activities are dangerously imperilling the viability of a two-state solution, adding that the council would reiterate its demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard.

However, the resolution has no enforcement mechanism and does not impose sanctions if it is ignored by Israel. A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the vote declared that Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms.

Netanyahu added that the Obama administration had failed to protect Israel from the gang-up at the UN, and that Israel would work with Trump and all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, following Trumps inauguration.

The resolution followed a report published last July by the Quartet made up of the UN, the US, the European Union and Russia, which has postured as a supporter of the Israel/Palestine peace process. It called for an end to Israels settlement construction and stated that at least 570,000 Israelis were now living in the settlements in violation of Article 49 of the Geneva Convention, which forbids the transfer of civilians onto land captured in war.

The Obama administrations decision to abstain was a last-ditch attempt to present Washington as some kind of honest broker in the Israel/Palestine conflict and a break from Washingtons long tradition of supporting Israel unconditionally at the UN.

According to a Security Council Report, the US has vetoed 30 resolutions relating to Israel and the Palestinians, and another dozen relating to Israel and Lebanon or Syria. Combined, these make up more than half of its 77 vetoes since the UN was established in 1946.

For the past eight years, the Obama administration has used its veto to block any and all resolutions criticizing Israel, which is massively funded with US military aid.

The decision to abstain in this vote is an expression of conflicts within the US ruling class over policy in the Middle East. Earlier this month, Kerry accused right-wing Israelis of deliberately obstructing efforts to broker a peace deal with the Palestinians. He said, I'm not here to tell you that the settlements are the reason for the conflict, no, they're not But I also cannot accept the notion that they don't affect the peace process, that they aren't a barrier to the capacity to have peace.

There are concerns that the open embrace of Israels settler project will further stoke hostility to US imperialism throughout the resource-rich Middle East and precipitate the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, whose role has been to police the Palestinian working class.

Top Congressional Republicans and Democrats joined Trump in condemning the resolution before and after it was passed.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who oversees the Senate subcommittee that controls US financing of the UN, threatened to suspend or significantly reduce this financing if the resolution passed. Among the top Democrats condemning the resolution were incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Representative Eliot Engel, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The coming to power of Trump has encouraged the most right-wing factions of the Israeli ruling class. The right is convinced that anything is possible now, Shlomi Eldar, a columnist for Al Monitor Israeli Pulse, told the Christian Science Monitor. The two-state solution can be erased, there will be no problem building in the settlements  the Messiah has come.

Just days before, Trump had tapped Daniel Friedman, a right-wing supporter of Israels settlers, for the post of US ambassador to Israel, signalling his intention to ditch the pretence of opposition to Israels expansion of the settlements and its outright annexation of the occupied West Bank. Furthermore, he made clear that the US would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby ending its support for a mini-Palestinian state.

Trumps appointment of Friedman has already given succour to the settler movement and Netanyahus right-wing coalition partners, particularly his rival and Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the Jewish Home Party, on whom his fractious Likud-led coalition depends for its survival. They view this as a chance to sideline Netanyahu and his Likud Party.

Bennett has seized the political opportunity provided by the incoming Trump administration to push for the introduction of a normalisation or regulation bill, obtaining Netanyahus endorsement. It will allow the government to expropriate private Palestinian land on which thousands of housing units were built in many settlements, thereby retrospectively legalising settler outposts on Palestinian land.

The bill, if passed, will transfer the right to use private land to the government and force the Palestinian landowners to accept compensation. In so doing, the law would end the ambiguous status whereby the West Bank has, since the 1967 war, been subject to Israels military commander and decrees, not Israels Knesset and its laws. This served to provide a cover for the occupation that allowed the Palestinians to appeal to Israels Supreme Court, while simultaneously settling 800,000 Israelis in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Syrias Golan Heights.

It will also pave the way for Israels full annexation of that part of the West Bank designated as Area C under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Peace on Earth, and goodwill to menso goes the line of an oft-sung Christmas carol. The end-of-the-year holidays are a season in which such sentiments are generally expressed, genuinely by broad sections of the population, with utmost cynicism and hypocrisy by various figures in the political establishment.

The actual trajectory of world politics, however, was perhaps best reflected in a tweet from the soon-to-be president of the United States. The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability, Trump declared on Thursday. This was followed by a statement from MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski on Friday: Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.

The statements from Trump, part of an exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which both men boasted of the nuclear arsenals of their respective countries, seems like a fitting close to a year of bloodshed.

In 2016, large portions of the globe were engulfed in military conflict. And those states that were nominally at peace spent their time preparing for war and mistreating refugees from armed conflict.

Although definitive figures have not yet been released, at least 150,000 people have been killed in armed conflicts throughout the world in 2016. There were three major wars, with a 2016 death toll of over 100,000:

 The Syrian civil war, in which 46,442 people were reportedly killed this year. Since the US began backing the Islamist insurgency in 2011, up to 470,000 people have died. The war has forced 4.9 million people to flee abroad and displaced 6.6 million people within Syria itself.

 The Iraq war, in which 23,584 people were killed this year. Since the United States invaded the country in 2003, more than a million people have died. As of November, 3.1 million people were internally displaced in the country, and millions more had fled abroad.

 The war in Afghanistan, in which 21,932 people were killed this year. Since the United States began providing arms to the Mujahedeen, the predecessor of Al Qaeda, in 1978, more than two million people have been killed in that country, which was torn apart by the 2001 invasion and occupation.

These three conflicts accounted for two-thirds of global deaths in military conflicts. They have also led to a refugee crisis unparalleled in scale since World War II. According to the United Nations, there were 65.3 million displaced people at the end of 2015, up by 5 million since 2014, and by nearly 25 million since 2011.

The surge in refugees, together with their increasingly cruel treatment by destination countries, has led to the highest number of refugee deaths ever recorded by the International Organization for Migration.

Some 7,100 refugees died last year, up from 5,740 in 2015. Half of the fatalities took place as refugees sought to enter Europe across the Mediterranean Sea from war and devastation in the Middle East and North Africa.

This year, Europe shut its doors to refugees. The EU agreed to pay Turkey to serve as the gatekeeper of Europe and block refugees from entering, as it militarized its border patrol and deployed the navies of its member countries to stop people smuggling.

This change is best exemplified by Germany, the regions most powerful state, which is rapidly militarizing as it asserts itself as the dominant European power. While Chancellor Angela Merkel hypocritically proclaimed a welcoming culture toward refugees in 2015, this month she adopted large sections of the program of the fascistic Alternative for Germany, calling for a ban on the full-face veil and demanding a further crackdown on refugees.

Beyond the hot wars of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the drive of the US to militarily encircle China has poured fuel on the worlds regional flashpoints. This year, nearly 300 people died in raids and shelling over the border between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed powers. Meanwhile military tensions between North and South Korea, which also threaten escalation into nuclear war, have dramatically intensified.

A quarter century of unending and expanding war is reaching a new and even more explosive stage. Beginning with the first Gulf War of 1991, which directly preceded the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States has sought, through a succession of adventures abroad, to reverse its long-term economic decline.

Obama will leave office as the first US president to serve two full terms under continuous war. He will go down in history as the man who proclaimed the right of the president to assassinate US citizens without due process, and who personally authorized drone hits that led to the deaths of thousands of people.

These unending wars, however, have failed to achieve their desired end. Over the past fifteen years, China has tripled its share of the world export market, while Americas share of exports has declined. US military operations, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya, have turned into quagmires and debacles. The defeat of the CIAs Islamist proxies in Syria this month has hammered home the failure of the United States to impose its will upon the Middle East and the world.

But only a fool would believe that these failures will turn Americas warmongering ruling elite into pacifists. Rather, they have led the American ruling class to focus ever more directly on its larger competitors.

The inauguration of Donald Trump will mark a new phase in global conflict. Trumps provocations against China and his declaration that he welcomes a new arms race with Russia are only the initial indications of the lengths to which his administration is prepared to go to preserve the interests of the American oligarchy.

The year 2017, the centenary of the Russian revolution of 1917, will once again place the struggle against war as the highest and most urgent political task facing mankind.
Earlier this month, federal agents arrested six former employees of small pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics, including the companys former CEO, for allegedly bribing doctors to inappropriately prescribe the companys highly addictive fentanyl product, Subsys.

The charges included conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Subsys is Insys Therapeutics only product.

As alleged, top executives of Insys Therapeutics, Inc. paid kickbacks and committed fraud to sell a highly potent and addictive opioid that can lead to abuse and life threatening respiratory depression, said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division.

The indictment takes place in the midst of a heroin epidemic in the United States, with opioid deaths surpassing 30,000 for the first time in recent history.

The chilling details of the case are a further indictment of the for profit medical system in the United States, where the health and safety of the public is held hostage to for profit drug companies, insurers and hospital chains seeking only to pad their bottom lines.

However, the filing of charges against pharmaceutical companies is exceedingly rare, with the big pharmaceuticals, like the big banks, seemingly immune from federal scrutiny.

Founded in 2002 and based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Insys Therapeutics launched Subsys in 2012. Due to the companys aggressive marketing practices, and alleged bribing of doctors, Subsys soon captured half of the market for rapid-acting fentanyl products. Since 2013, the companys revenue has tripled and its profits have grown 45 percent to $58.5 million.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is fast acting and 50-100 times as powerful as morphine. The companys Subsys product is a sublingual fentanyl spray that is applied under the tongue. In January 2012 the FDA approved the drug for the management of breakthrough pain (severe pain that is no longer responsive to other pain medications) in cancer patients.

The company officials arrested were Michael Babich, the former CEO of Insys, Michael Gurry, former VP of Managed Markets, Richard Simon, former director of sales, and former regional sales directors Sunrise Lee and Joseph Rowan. Their co-conspirators were physicians licensed in states in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southern regions.

According to the 60-page indictment filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, from around June 2012 to December 2015, the indicted and their co-conspirators operated a kickback scheme that encouraged doctors to write Fentanyl Spray prescriptions.

As part of the scheme between March and August 2012, Insys set up a speaker program intended to increase brand awareness. Participating physicians would be compensated through the payment of a speaker fee or honoraria.

Communication skills were not a prerequisite for a physician to be a speaker. For the company, enthusiasm, real or feigned, by doctors for their fentanyl spray was the chief consideration for enrolling them in the speaker program.

The company defendants then identified physicians who wrote prescriptions for TIRF products, ranked them into deciles according to the number of prescriptions they wrote, and had the companys sales force target the doctors in the highest deciles.

The company collected data on the prescribing habits of the speakers, and for a time, explicitly calculated the ratio of return on investment for each speaker. The company would reduce or increase the number of paid speaking engagements depending upon the number of prescriptions written by the doctor.

When Babich received a list of medical practitioners in November 2013 who had written prescriptions for competitor drugs, including those receiving speaking fees, he e-mailed Burlakoff: I thought we owned the high decile folks? Lots of big names on there.

Since physicians treating cancer were not high-prescribers of Subsys, the company began targeting practitioners that were prescribing TIRF products for all types of pain.

At the start of 2013, the company set up a reimbursement unit, which was dedicated to getting prior authorization from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and insurance providers. Company officials set up financial bonuses to reward employees for obtaining prior authorizations and set a weekly minimum threshold for the unit known as a gate.

Babich and Gurry trained employees of the reimbursement unit in the best practices for obtaining prior authorization. They instructed members of the reimbursement unit to lie to insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, telling them that they were calling from the doctors office, and later on behalf of a specific doctor or with a specific doctors office. They masked their incoming phone number to ensure that it did not conflict with the doctors area code. If employees of the reimbursement unit were pressed on their identity, they were instructed to hang up and call back later in hopes of connecting to a different (and hopefully less inquisitive) PBM or insurance agent.

Since the label for Subsys stated it was for the management of breakthrough cancer painand few of the patients had cancer, and none of the co-conspirator practitioners were oncologiststhe company put together different versions of the spiel that members of the reimbursement unit were to give insurers:

If the spiel wasnt enough, members of the reimbursement unit were told to provide insurers and PBMs with false diagnoses that would have the best shot at being covered, or falsely claim that the patient had tried and failed the list of medications required for prior authorization.

By the end of 2013, the reimbursement unit had succeeded in getting 85 percent of all prior authorizations approved.

In addition to speaker fees, Insys also allegedly used other forms of bribes and kickbacks, including finding employment for the practitioners friends and family, or purchasing food from and scheduling program events at establishments owned by their friends or family.

Expensive meals and drinks were furnished at speaker programs. Sometimes speaker events were only attended by the physicians support staff. Many events had no attendees at all, requiring sales representatives to falsify names on the attendee list for the sham events.

The fees from speaker programs and other alleged kickbacks and bribes were effective tools for encouraging doctors to write more prescriptions. One physician, listed as Practitioner #1 in the indictment, began prescribing Subsys shortly after its launch, writing an average of 2.2 prescriptions per week in June 2012. By September, after the physician had participated in his first two speaker program events, he was writing an average of 11 fentanyl spray prescriptions per week.

On December 20, Burlakoff wrote the salesperson working with the doctor, Joseph A. Rowan: JoeCongrats, you are officially #1 in the company (with only one doctor). I am pretty sure your formula worked, you may want to pass it along to your team. By this time the company had paid Practitioner #1 $24,000 in alleged bribes and kickbacks. By May 2015, approximately 2,148 Subsys prescriptions written by Practioner #1 had been approved, and he had received $229,640 in speaker fees.

Other physicians named as co-conspirators in the indictment had similar stories.

Insys Therapeutics would also wine and dine the doctors when necessary. In January 2013, Practitioner #4 was invited to corporate headquarters in Arizona where Burlakoff and Rowan took him out to a club, where he had a fantastic night. In exchange for 2,030 authorized prescriptions for Subsys between August 2012 and November 2015, Practitioner #4 received $260,050 in speaker fees.

The company focused on not only increasing the number of prescriptions written by doctors, but also their dosage, which brought in more money.

Insys officials had no qualms dealing with physicians who were clearly running pill mills. A sales representative in the Chicago e-mailed Babich on September 17, 2012 to update him on her efforts to work with a doctor, Practitioner #6, who runs a very shady pill mill and only accepts cash.
Bernard Rambo Gauthier, a prominent official with the Quebec Federation of Labours construction wing (FTQ-Construction), has taken the leadership of a new right-wing populist party. Citoyens au pouvoir (Citizens to Power) combines anti-immigrant broadsides with demagogic denunciations of the establishment.

At the Dec. 6 press conference at which Gauthier announced that he will stand as Citizens to Powers 2018 Quebec election candidate in the North Shore riding of Duplessis, the FTQ-Construction Local 791 official denounced immigrants, going so far as to call them invaders. At one point, said Gauthier, immigration was okay, but now its getting out of hand.

We need to take care of the people from here, before looking after outsiders, continued Gauthier. He also attacked Quebecs policy of reasonable accommodations for religious minorities, saying we do not want any of that and claiming that for the people of Quebecs regions what is happening in the cities is scary.

Gauthier rebuffed press suggestions he is a Quebecois Donald Trump, noting he is an ordinary taxpayer, not a billionaire. But he added he has learned from Trumps election victory.

Gauthier peppered his remarks with vulgar language, denounced Quebecs traditional parties, and promised to restore power to the people. Referring to social inequality and growing poverty, he said: Everything to the richest and nothing to the poorest, it must f---ing stop.

Gauthier raised the specter of violence, saying he has entered politics to try to avert a civil war.

The Local 791 official describes himself as a proponent of Quebec independence and a disappointed Parti Quebecois (PQ) supporter.

It is impossible to say whether Citizens to Power will gain any popular traction. The Journal de Montreal, the provinces leading right-wing tabloid, gave lavish coverage to Gauthiers entry into official politics and claimed he has significant support in the small industrial city of Sept-Isles and its environs.

Whatever the case, the emergence of Citizens to Power is a warning is to the working class.

Under conditions of mounting economic and social crisis, ultra-right wing demagogues like Trump and far-right parties like Frances National Front are coming to the fore. These virulent anti-working class forces are exploiting popular anger against the traditional ruling class politicians due to their imposition of brutal austerity measures and pursuit of imperialist aggression and war.

If the populist far-right has been able to gain support from sections of working people, it is above all because of the role that the pro-capitalist trade unions, traditional ostensible left parties such as the British Labour Party and the French Socialist Party, and pseudo-left forces like Syriza in Greece have played in implementing austerity and the ruling elites turn to militarism.

In Quebec, the unions have suppressed the class struggle for decades, while politically subordinating the working class to the big-business and increasingly openly chauvinist and anti-immigrant PQ.

Since the 1980s, the Parti Quebecois and the Quebec Liberal Party, which have alternated as Quebecs government, have carried out a devastating assault on the working class.

In the name of achieving a zero (budget) deficit or under the pretext that there is no money, successive Quebec governments have ravaged public services, including health and education, cut gaping holes in the so-called social safety net, and pillaged workers pensions. As part of their systematic redistribution of wealth to the most privileged, Quebec governments have also implemented round after round of tax cuts for big business and the rich.

This class war program has been carried forward with the support of the union bureaucracy in which Gauthier has made his career. For decades, whenever workers and youth have come forward to challenge the ruling class offensive, the unions have isolated and smothered their struggles.

In May 2012, when workers poured onto the streets to defend Quebecs striking students from state attack raising the prospect of a general strike, the unions recoiled in horror. Determined to preserve social peace, they advanced the watchword from the streets, to the ballot box and threw their political weight into snuffing out the strike and harnessing the opposition to the Charest Liberal governments austerity program to the election of the Parti Quebecois. In 2015, a widespread mobilization of Quebec public sector workers was again sabotaged by the union bureaucracy, which used the threat of a strikebreaking-law and government decreed-contracts to pressure workers into accepting concessions.

While the unions have been suppressing working-class opposition, the ruling elite has for the past decade sought to poison public opinion with anti-immigrant, particularly anti-Muslim, venom in order to confuse and divide working people and rally support for Canadian imperialisms military interventions in the Middle East.

These are the political conditions that have paved the way for someone like Gauthier to launch a right-wing populist movement. Such movements use radical-sounding anti-establishment rhetoric including phony denunciations of some of the deprivations caused by big business, to channel popular anger into reactionary and xenophobic channels.

Gauthier's anti-immigrant chauvinism arises quite naturally out of the nationalist politics and the corporatist, economic nationalist agenda long promoted by the union bureaucracy. For decades the unions have promoted the lie that Quebec workers have more in common with their Quebec bosses than workers elsewhere in Canada and internationally, imposed concessionary contracts in the name of saving Quebec jobs, and advocated for protectionist policies that pit workers against each other. Through its multi-billion dollar investment fund, the Fonds de Solidarite, the Quebec Federation of Labour works hand-in-glove with the banks and other investors to build profitable Quebec business, including through the imposition of anti-worker corporate restructuring agreements.

The union officialdom has also supported, often openly and at least tacitly, the Quebec ruling elites turn to ever more virulent forms of chauvinism. This includes the outcry over reasonable accommodations for immigrants that was trumped up by the media beginning in 2007; the Parti Quebecois Charter of Quebec Values, which would have barred half a million provincial public sector workers from wearing ostentatious religious symbols, such as hijabs; and the current Liberal governments Bill 62 on religious neutrality which would prohibit women wearing a burka or niqab from receiving public services.

Some of the most fervent supporters of anti-democratic measures targeting immigrants and Muslims are to be found in the union bureaucracy. The SPQ-Libre (Trade Unionists and Progressives for a Free Quebec), a pro-PQ grouping led by former top union officials, vigorously supported the PQs Charter of Values.

Quebec Solidaire, a pseudo-left party in the orbit of the PQ, has also participated in the anti-immigrant campaign, describing the debate over reasonable accommodation and the PQs Charter of Values as legitimate, even if they sometimes went too far. Quebec Solidaires parliamentary leader Francoise David has said that even under torture she would never accuse the PQ of being Islamophobic.

Amir Khadir, another QS legislator, has declared himself ready to welcome Gauthier into the ranks of QS, declaring the union bureaucrat a victim of the discourse of the elites who convey prejudice [about immigration].

Gauthier, for his part, has dismissed Quebec Solidaire as just another establishment party. Indeed, QS is now offering to form an alliance with the PQ to defeat the Liberals in the next provincial election, which is slated for October 2018. This alliance would not be a progressive alternative to Philippe Couillard's Liberals, but rather a new ruling-class mechanism for attacking the working class.

Alongside Gauthier at his Dec. 6 press conference was Frank Malenfant, former leader of the Party of Those Without a Party, the forerunner of Citizens to Power. In YouTube videos, Malenfant speaks of a leaderless party based on direct democracy, a political concept to which Gauthier also referred and that is often promoted by anarchists. Behind the individualistic and subjective conceptions of the anarchists lies petty bourgeois hostility to the working class constituting itself as any independent political force, through the building of its own party, and imposing its own solution to the crisis of capitalism.

It is precisely this hostility to the political independence of the working class, combined with virulent Quebec nationalism and toxic anti-immigrant rhetoric, that characterizes the new political vehicle of union bureaucrat Bernard Rambo Gauthier.
More than 400 heavily-armed police and intelligence agents carried out coordinated raids on five family homes across Melbourne late on Thursday night, allegedly in response to a Christmas Day terror plot. Although the circumstances of the raids remain entirely unclear, the political establishment and media are using the events to create an atmosphere of crisis.

A wall-to-wall media barrage has featured lurid accounts of a foiled Christmas Day massacre (the Australian) in Melbournes central business district. Todays front page of the Fairfax-owned Age newspaper declares: Threat to the citys heart. Murdochs Daily Telegraph tabloid features a front-page image of one of the suspects with the caption: Xmas evil.

Prejudicing any chance of a fair trial, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declared that the alleged plot was an act of evil. He declared that police numbers would be further boosted throughout the Christmas-New Year period.

Likewise, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull quickly called a press conference yesterday morning, declaring: This is one of the most substantial terrorist plots that has been disrupted in recent years. Without any evidence, he connected the arrests to the December 19 Berlin truck attack and terrorist events in North Africa and the Middle East. Islamist terrorism is a global challenge that affects us all, he said.

Turnbull, whose fragile government is under intense pressure from the corporate elite to demonstrate its capacity to impose deep budget cuts on the population, repeated his previous claims that Australias way of life was under threat.

Queensland Senator Pauline Hansen, the leader of the anti-immigrant One Nation party, repeated her call for a ban on Muslims in Australia. Youre not welcome here, she declared.

Despite police statements that none of the suspects had any connection to terrorist organisations, Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten used the arrests to justify Australias involvement in the US-led Iraq war. We are well-served by our defence forces, by our police and our security agencies, he said.

Nothing said by the police, media and political establishment can be taken at face value. What little is known is the result of police reports and vague anonymous leaks by agents to the media. No evidence has been presented of any specific plot. Broadcasting vague and unsubstantiated police accusations has become the modus operandi of the war on terrorism over the past 15 years.

Three young men24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, 26-year-old Abdullah Charaani and his cousin, 21-year-old Hamza Abbaswere charged yesterday with the vague offence of acts done in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.

Abbas was visibly bruised on his face, and sustained back, hip, and shoulder injuries from the raid. Ibrahim Abbas, 22, Hamzas brother, was charged with the same offence today.

According to the Australian, the men had been under surveillance for more than a year. Ibrahim was under the radar of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) for about two years, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The men have been remanded in custody until April 28, after police claimed it would take weeks to examine evidence from the raids.

Three other people were arrested in the raids by the Victorian and federal police and ASIO, which targeted houses in Melbournes northwestern suburbs of Meadow Heights, Campbellfield, Dallas, Gladstone Park and Flemington. With no public explanation, however, they were released without charge.

Zac Daboussi, 21, was arrested and later released, after his Gladstone Park family home was raided at 9.30 p.m. by dozens of tactical police, armed with high-powered rifles. His two brothers, Mohamad and Ahmed, reported that police assaulted the family. Mohamad Daboussi, 20, told Nine News: I was kicked with steel-capped boots. I was playing PlayStation and all I heard was police rage in and say get on the ground, so I laid down, hands behind my back, and thats when they started assaulting me.

When police discovered that Zac Daboussi was not at home, the entire family was forced to lie on the floor in silence while police waited to trap Daboussi. According to the Australian: An officer stood in a room with five childrenone three years oldwhile others kept watch over the results in the living room, all lying prone with no way of communicating.

Lacking any evidence of links to terrorist organisations, the police and media claimed the men were self-radicalised. According to an inside story published in the Australian today, based on anonymous sources, about 10 days before the raids, ASIO intercepted a phone call whose contents remain closely guarded. But ASIOs message to the Victorian police was plain enough: the men were planning to attack on Christmas Day.

After the phone call intercept, the police observed several members of the group loitering around St. Pauls cathedral in Melbourne. The more they watched, the more they suspected that a group of Islamic terrorists was casing potential targets.

It is unclear if any evidence exists of a specific plot with a chosen target, except that they were loitering in the city. Nonetheless, the Australians front-page article was headlined: Alleged terrorists planned to hit cathedrals midnight service. The article acknowledged that this was based on the fears of unnamed sources.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said police had seized the makings of an improvised explosive device, though it is uncertain what that means. Ashton said the police believe there was an intention to conduct what we call a multi-mode attack.

Over the past 15 years, numerous supposedly-foiled terror plots have been used to whip up an atmosphere of hysteria. Police raids in Melbourne and Sydney in September 2014 were followed by claims of an ISIS-inspired plot to behead a random person. A month later, media accounts revealed that a sword seized by police was actually made of plastic.

More recently, in August last year, government prosecutors quietly dropped the sole terrorism charge against a Melbourne teenager accused of plotting an attack for Anzac Day 2015, due to insufficient evidence. The 18-year-old was held in solitary confinement for four months.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan yesterday declared that since the middle of 2014, weve had four terror attacks on our soil. Keenan was referring to the siege of the Lindt Sydney cafe in December 2014 by a deranged individual, Man Haron Monis; to Naiman Haider, 18, who was killed by police after stabbing two officers in September 2014; to the shooting of a police officer by 15-year-old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar; and to the stabbing in September last year of a 59-year-old man by Ibsas Khan, a schizophrenic.

In each case, the attack was carried out by an unstable person who had been under police or ASIO surveillance. There has been a similar pattern internationally, including the Paris terror attacks of January last year and the recent Berlin truck attack, involving individuals known to the intelligence agencies.

This weeks arrests point to an escalation of the Turnbull governments efforts, assisted by Labor and the corporate media, to ramp up the war on terrorism under conditions of a deepening offensive against jobs, working conditions, welfare entitlements and essential social programs.

This campaign, accompanied by the witch-hunting of Muslims, seeks to divide the working class along communal and ethnic lines, and to justify Australian involvement in US-led wars in the Middle East and the expansion of police-state measures.

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[28 May 2016]
BJP delegation reached Dhulagarh today afternoon, but were resisted from entering the trouble-torn area by the district administration citing prohibitory orders.

Agitating BJP workers broke the first barricade but were stopped at the second by a huge police contingent deployed in the area.

BJP supporters sat on a dharna at the spot chanting slogans against chief minister Mamata Banerjee and blocked National Highway-6 for an hour.

"Why are we not being allowed to go inside and enquire about the facts on the ground?" asked, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.

"Is this democracy? People who are responsible for the violence have not been taken into custody and now Mamata's government is playing appeasement politics. This is a state sponsored violence. No security has been given to the people whose houses and shops were looted in front of the police," Pal added.

About 18 kilometres from Kolkata, Dhulagarh in Howrah district witnessed violence after several houses and shops were vandalised and set on fire by a rampaging mob on December 12.

Since then the area has been simmering with a large contingent of police and Rapid Action Force being deployed.

No casualties were reported in the violence but prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CRPC have been in place since then to bring situation under control.

Blaming the state government for the flare-up, BJP MP Satyapal Singh said,"The procession should not have been allowed to pass through the market area. It had never been allowed earlier. It is a complete breakdown of law and order machinery in Bengal. We want to find out why the violence started and why the government could not prevent this on time".

"First, when they knew that on December 12 there was going to be a procession, why was it allowed to pass through the marketplace.It appears the state government is promoting communal riots. This is not the first time now, ever since Mamata Banerjee came to power, she has taken all decisions to compliment her policy of appeasement", the former Mumbai police commissioner alleged.

On Wednesday, the state government had removed superintendent of police (Howrah Rural) Sabyasachi Raman Mishra for failing to normalise the situation on the ground at Dhulagarh.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) this week ruled that Britains existing surveillance law is illegal. Portrayed as a setback by the media, the reality is that on December 30, this legislation will be replaced by new, even more authoritarian laws contained in the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA).

The ECJ ruled on a case, brought in 2014, challenging the UKs rules on data retention imposed under the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 (DRIPA). In July 2014, the then Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition rushed DRIPA through as emergency legislation after the ECJ ruled that the existing European Union directive on data retention was invalid due to its being so sweeping that it interfered with individual privacy rights.

The ECJs decision was taken in the wake of the growing public anger at the 2013 revelations by US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden that the US, UK and other imperialist powers were carrying out unrestrained surveillance of the worlds population.

Far from reining in their spying operations, the British ruling elite not only carried on as before but brought in new legislation to legalise their hitherto illegal activities. Under DRIPA, the Home Secretary was allowed to order communications companies to retain data for 12 months. This created a dragnet to capture the records of communications of everyone in the UK, including all emails, calls, texts and web activity and other correspondence. The data obtained under DRIPA was accessed by the police and by hundreds of other public authorities at will.

Around half a million requests were granted to access the data each year.

The government was challenged over DRIPA by two MPs, the Conservative David Davis and Tom Watson, now deputy leader of the Labour Party. They were backed by other groups including Liberty, the Law Society, the Open Rights Group and Privacy International. In 2015, the High Court backed Davis and Watson, ruling that DRIPA was inconsistent with European Union law as it does not lay down clear and precise rules providing for access to and use of communications data.

That ruling was appealed to the ECJ by the Conservative-led government.

The ECJ ruling has now declared DRIPA illegal as it allows general and indiscriminate retention of electronic communications. However, the judgment does not oppose the retention of date in principle, stating that under EU law member states can perform targeted retention of that data solely for the purpose of fighting serious crime.

The court noted that the retained data under DRIPA is liable to allow very precise conclusions to be drawn concerning the private lives of the persons whose data has been retained Consequently, only the objective of fighting serious crime is capable of justifying such interference.

Referring to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the ruling states, Such national legislation therefore exceeds the limits of what is strictly necessary and cannot be considered to be justified within a democratic society, as required by the directive, read in the light of the Charter.

All of this is true about DRIPA and applies even more so to the IPA, which received Royal Assent on November 29 and was described by the Open Democracy group as the most sweeping surveillance powers ever seen, not just in the UK, but in any western European nation or in the United States.

IPA was the flagship policy of Prime Minister Theresa May when she was Home Secretary under the previous prime minister, David Cameron. With the expiry, due to a sunset clause, of DRIPA in December this year, IPA was advanced as its necessary replacement.

The IPA is an unprecedented attack on the rights and privacy of every UK citizen. It gives the security services the power to gather information on millions, and to process, profile and store the results. Internet Service Providers will be compelled to keep Internet connection records for 12 months for access by the police and state security services. Every arm of the state is free to raid the data of all citizens, including the domestic Security Service (MI5), the international Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Ministry of Defence, the Police, Ministry of Defence Police, Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police, Royal Air Force Police, the National Crime Agency and the Home Office.

The ECJ ruling has been sent back to the UK court of appeal, supposedly to be resolved in terms of amending UK legislation.

According to Richard Cumbley, partner at law firm Linklaters, The provisions in the two laws are extremely similar so it is perfectly logical that the rationale will apply equally to the new [act], and it will have to be amended.

Liberty made similar claims, while the Guardian headlined its article on the ECJ ruling, EUs highest court delivers blow to UK snoopers charter.

Given the UK governments record on stepping upnot relaxingits mass surveillance dragnet in response to its illegal activities being uncovered, there is zero chance of any such retreat.

The Financial Times, long-time advocate of such powers being made law, noted that while, Lawyers believe the ECJs ruling will force the hand of the UK government to amend the law and limit its remit Large swaths of the Investigatory Powers Act will remain unaffected by the ECJ ruling including the ability to bulk hack citizens communications and force technology companies to create a backdoor into their products so that communications can be accessed.

There is no constituency within the ruling elitein the UK, Europe or anywhere elsefor a defence of democratic rights.

While the ECJ makes a token ruling against DRIPA, the constituent governments of the EU are up to their necks in the surveillance of their populations.

This month, WikiLeaks revealed 2,420 sensitive documents (90 gigabytes) relating to the burgeoning cooperation between the German foreign intelligence agencythe Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND)and the spying agencies of the US.

Davis, the right-wing Thatcherite who has long posed as a defender of civil liberties, ditched the case against DRIPA as soon as he became a cabinet minister in Mays government in July. As Minister for Exiting the European Union, he will preside over the UKs repudiation of the authority of the ECJthe body which has just ruled in favour of his original challenge!

An even more hypocritical stance was taken following the ruling by Labours Watson. He stated, Most of us can accept that our privacy may occasionally be compromised in the interests of keeping us safe, but no one would consent to giving the police or the government the power to arbitrarily seize our phone records or emails to use as they see fit. Its for judges, not ministers, to oversee these powers.

The line about judges, not ministers is a cynical diversion to conceal the fact that this is exactly what Labour has just signed up to in supporting the IPA and ensuring its passage through both Houses of Parliament. As May sought support for the legislation, Labours then-Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham solidarised with the Conservatives, saying parliament must give them [the police and security services] the tools to do their job.

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British parliament passes Snoopers Charter, expanding spying powers [22 November 2016]
Wednesdays announcement that President-elect Donald Trump will establish a new National Trade Council signals that his administration will proceed rapidly with its promised trade war measures.

The new office will be headed by Peter Navarro, a University of California professor and prominent member of the Trump campaign and transition teams, who is notorious for his advocacy of aggressive trade policies and war-mongering, directed against China in particular.

Trumps transition team declared that the council would advise the president on innovative strategies in trade negotiations and coordinate with other agencies to assess US manufacturing capabilities and defence industrial base.

During his election campaign, Trump threatened to leave the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and tear up trade deals, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he considered detrimental to the American economy. He announced that from day one in office he would initiate the US withdrawal from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The TPP was not a free trade agreement but a US-led economic bloc, excluding China, to pressure Beijing to accept Washingtons demands on trade and investment. The TPP was the economic spearhead of the Obama administrations pivot to Asia, which also involved an aggressive diplomatic campaign and military buildup throughout the Asia Pacific aimed at ensuring American supremacy in Asia.

Trumps decision to pull out of the TPP is not a retreat from Obamas confrontational policy toward China but a marked intensification on all fronts. Trump repeatedly denounced China during the election campaign for unfair trade practices, threatening to brand China as a currency manipulator and impose tariffs of up to 45 percent on Chinese exports to the United States.

The Obama administration has already taken punitive trade action, including tariff increases on certain types of Chinese steel of up to 522 percent, and on some Chinese steel corporations of 266 percent. Whereas Obama, nominally at least, attempted to operate within existing international trade rules, Trump plans a dramatic expansion of blatantly protectionist measures that would result in WTO cases against the US and likely reprisal actions.

Navarros appointment to head the National Trade Council makes clear that it is in reality a national council for trade war. Navarro is not so much an academic economist as an anti-China ideologue.

Along with Wilbur Ross, a billionaire corporate raider and the incoming commerce secretary, Navarro functioned as a propagandist for Trumps America First demagogy on trade. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece in October titled, A vote for Trump is a vote for growth, the pair disparaged the trade war straw man, arguing that smart, tough negotiations would eliminate the US trade deficit.

Navarro and Ross targeted China, Germany, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, noting [they] need our markets far more than we need theirs. In reality, strong-arm tactics by the Trump administration and threats of punitive trade action would almost certainly trigger retaliation and undermine world trade and economic growth, including in the United States.

CNN reported on Thursday that the Trump transition team was already discussing proposals for tariffs of up to 10 percent on imports. Sections of American business have reacted with alarm. One organisation told CNN that Trumps trade policy sledgehammer would impose heavy costs on the US economy, particularly for the manufacturing sector and American workers. Like their counterparts around the world, American manufacturers rely on global supply chains that would be hit by the tariffs.

Navarro's statements demonstrate the inexorable connection between economic nationalism and war: his strident advocacy of punitive trade measures against China goes hand in hand with calls to prepare for conflict. His books include: The Coming China Wars: Where They Will be Fought and How They Can Be Won; Death by China: Confronting the DragonA Global Call to Action; and Crouching Tiger: What Chinese Militarism Means for the World. The last two have been made into films.

Trumps transition team said the new trade council would work with the National Security Council and other White House bodies to implement the president-elects slogan of peace and prosperity through military and economic strength.

Navarro and another Trump adviser, Alexander Gray, spelled out what this catch-cry means in a lengthy article in Foreign Policy on November 7 titled, Donald Trumps Peace through Strength Vision for the Asia Pacific. The two were critical of Obamas pivot or rebalance to Asia for failing to confront China aggressively enough and for reducing the size of the American military.

Navarro and Gray declared that the pivot had turned out to be an imprudent case of talking loudly but carrying a small stick, one that has led to more, not less, aggression and instability in the region. Their remedy ties protectionist measures with a vast expansion of the US military, particularly the Navy, and withdrawal from trade pacts such as the TPP that only weaken our manufacturing base and ability to defend ourselves and our allies.

Peace through strength is not a recipe for peace, but for war. Significantly, Navarro is an open advocate of ditching the One China policy, which has been the cornerstone of US-China relations since 1979, and forging closer relations with Taiwan. Under the One China policy, Washington recognised that Beijing was the sole legitimate government of all of China and ended diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Trump has already placed a question mark over the One China policy, declaring earlier this month that he did not see why he should be bound by it unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade. Trump also became the first American leader in more than three decades to speak directly to a Taiwanese president, when he took a phone call from President Tsai Ing-wen.

In an article in the National Interest in July titled America Cant Dump Taiwan, Navarro makes clear that closer US ties with Taiwan are bound up with preparations for conflict with China. Maintaining Taiwan as an independent, pro-US ally is absolutely critical for strategically balancing against the rise of an increasingly militaristic China, he declared.

Navarro, who had just visited Taiwan, warned of the military dangers of allowing the island to come under Chinas swayChinese bases would allow Chinese submarines immediate access to the Pacific Ocean and extend the range of its air force. He called for the US to take steps to boost Taiwans military capacities.

However, stronger US military ties with Taiwan pose a direct threat to China and would quickly raise tensions between Washington and Beijing. The Pentagon has long recognised the military value of the island, which is just 130 kilometres from the Chinese mainland at the narrowest point of the Taiwan Strait. US General Douglas MacArthur described it as an immovable aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

The willingness of Trump to threaten to dump the One China policy and embrace Taiwan has only one meaning: it is the preparation to aggressively confront China all down the linediplomatically, economically and, if necessary, through war.
MIAMI (AP) - A group of Florida scientists has written a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, asking for a meeting to discuss climate change while he is at his Florida home for the Christmas holiday.

The Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/2hzzStq ) reported Friday that the 10 scientists from Florida's largest universities sent the letter this week asking for a meeting.

Florida is one of the states most affected by rising sea levels.

Trump has put forth Cabinet nominees who deny climate change, while at the same he has met with former Vice President Al Gore and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, two of the most famous advocates of addressing climate change concerns.

The scientists made a similar request to Gov. Rick Scott two years ago, and the governor met with them.

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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man is in jail on charges that he threatened President-elect Donald Trump on Facebook.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/2iaCChN ) that a federal judge on Friday ordered Kevin Krohn held without bond until another hearing next week.

The Secret Service arrested the 59-year-old Krohn on Thursday at his suburban Fort Lauderdale home after agents say he posted at least two threats against Trump. In one, he allegedly wrote that he was glad President Barack Obama hadn't seized his guns "because I see a good use for one now" over a picture of Trump.

In another comment about Trump, he allegedly wrote "he will never last long" above a picture of a man holding a sniper rifle.

The Federal Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent Krohn.

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Information from: Sun Sentinel , http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - While school is out for colleges in the area, some students are having to stay in the city instead of heading home to see their family.

Some students can't afford the trip home, while others just can't get time off from their job.

That's the case with one Florida A&M student this holiday.

This is the second year that Sharard Saddlers has had to miss the holidays with his family. Saddlers says he can't afford to take off work and has to use the time he has here to make money for the future.

"I don't wanna call it overwhelming, it's time consuming. It's the holiday time,' said Saddlers. "People want there gifts we wanna get our hours but at the same time I've been in Tallahassee since August when school started. Really since the entire summer. I wanna say like June. So I mean, it's a contradicting feeling like I need the money and at the same time I wanna go home and see my people."

Classes for students at Florida State University will get started again on January 9th.

For students at Florida A&M, the spring term will begin four days earlier, on January 5th.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar sanctions purchase of critical equipment worth Rs 300 crore of Indian Army Special Forces, but sources say the elite units will still fall behind their American and Israeli counterparts.

By Ajit Kumar Dubey: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday cleared a Rs 300-crore proposal to buy critical equipment for the Indian Army's Special Forces, but sources say the elite units will continue to lag by a distance from their American and Israeli counterparts.

The plan includes purchase of over 1,100 automatic assault rifles, 1,000 freefall parachutes, sniper rifles, machine guns and lightweight rocket launchers for the army's nine battalions of Special Forces troops.

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BUYING SPREE

"The army proposal for buying weapon systems under the fast-track procedure was given a go-ahead by the minister at the Defence Acquisition Council meeting and would help the force buy critical equipment such as new automatic rifles, sniper rifles and silencers," sources said.

Also Read: How Ghatak platoons from units attacked in Uri helped commandos in surgical strike

The procurement would help the Special Forces get equipment to carry out their task more effectively. But if we compare our troops with the US Navy SEALs or Israeli special operatives, India is behind them by decades in equipment and technology.

"In terms of toughness, we are far better than them. However, it is technology, equipment and thought process where we lag far behind them," said a Special Forces officer who trained with American soldiers in the US. "When they go for operations, they are backed heavily by drones and satellites to enhance their domain awareness."

Special operations are treated like a national mission for US and if the troops on ground want, they can call in for a missile or combat aircraft strike on the targets. To meet weapons requirements, the Special Forces have been sanctioned to buy around 20 machine guns from US or Israeli sources.

The newly raised 11 and 12 Para (SF) units were also deployed with normal infantry weapons such as the AK-47 and INSAS rifles to carry out operations in the Northeast and did not even have enough weapons.

SF operatives say during corps and command-level exercises on China border, a senior commander recently asked how deep could they go inside China and the reply was, "as deep as our feet can take us". The Special Forces have been demanding special platforms like the V-22 Osprey helicopter of the US, which can quietly take small teams in and out of terrain such as Tibet where enemy units are 100-150 kms from Indian boundaries.

Also Read: How Indian para commandos crawled through enemy territory to kill 50 terrorists in PoK

"A proposal was moved for buying such a dedicated aircraft but it was shot down at the level of army headquarters itself," a source from Para Special Forces told Mail Today.

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India bought the C-130J special operations aircraft from the US in 2007-08 but they can be used for airdropping para commandos and are not suitable for surgical strikes. "If we compare the SEALs operation where they took out Laden, they silently flew inside the heart of Pakistan and took him out in Special Operations Black Hawk helicopters. We can only boast of Mi-17V5 transport choppers which too are not dedicated for us," another officer said.

Watch: How India carried out military operation in PoK

Officers from the Para (SF) say the Americans and the Israelis have their central command for carrying out special operations while the status of the Special Forces units is getting degraded in recent times."The SF units which were earlier controlled at the Command headquarters level were allotted to lower corps formations where they are used like infantry battalion. This is under-utilisation of such units," an officer said. The Americans have their Joint Special Operations Command which has all special operatives under it and it deals directly with the US Defence Secretary and President while carrying out any action.

A proposal from the three services to create a SF command is awaiting clearance from the defence ministry.

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Also Read:

Drones filmed operation, 2 soldiers hurt by mines: All you need to know about the surgical strike

Nawaz Sharif breaks silence on surgical strike, says don't want war with India

Indian Army strikes as they unfolded across Line of ControlWho strategised the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the LoC?

Social media being monitored for hate content, rumours day after Indian Army's surgical strikes

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YAKIMA, Wash.  Yakima County sheriffs deputies say theyve identified a suspect in the theft of boxes stolen from at least two homes in the 
Mufti reached Leh on Friday to take stock of the developmental scenario of the region. This is her first visit to Ladakh after taking over as the Chief Minister of the state.

The Central Asian Museum has a rich collection artefacts, manuscripts and pieces of heritage collected from Central Asia, Tibet and Kashmir from 18th and 19th centuries and some are at least 400 years old.

While interacting with the people, Mehbooba Mufti appreciated local historian Abdul Ghani Sheikh for having conceptualised the idea of the museum. She also complimented the efforts of German scholar Andre for having worked closely with the authorities for materialising the concept.

"We need to preserve our cultural roots for the future generations so that they remain connected to the roots and learn about the past," Mufti said as she announced a grant of Rs 20 lakh for adding more artefacts to the museum.

Currently, the Central Asian Museum houses pieces of rock art, ancient Ladakhi day-to-day instruments like the weighing balance and old abacus, coins from several Central Asian states, old caravan water heater, utensils from Yarkand, manuscripts like Bodhi and Turkish tafseers of the Holy Quran, ancient hand written chronology of the Holy Prophet (SAW), copies of handwritten Qurans, copies of Sahih Bukhari and Fatwai Aalamgiri apart from the prototype of an ancient Ladakhi kitchen.

Minister for Education, Jammu and Kashmir, Naeem Akhtar was also present during the inaugural ceremony.

Mehbooba Mufti also extended her best wishes to the people for the beginning of the new Ladakhi year and a local festival Galdan Namchot.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a bridge at Khaltsi. Built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the bridge would not only connect Khaltsi with the national highway but also give the tourism potential in the area a big boost. The work on the 75-metre long bridge was started in 2006 but it was paced up only last year.

On her arrival at Leh on Friday morning, Mehbooba Mufti was received by Chairman, Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali; Minister for Cooperatives & Ladakh Affairs, Tsering Dorjey; Chairman, LAHDC (Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council), Leh, Dr Sonam Dawa; executive members of LAHDC, Leh; Director General, BRO, Lt General Suresh Sharma; chief engineer, BRO, AK Dikshit; Deputy Commissioner, Leh, Prasanna Ramaswamy; SP, Leh, Uday Bhaskar and other senior officers.
Cosecha Court in Granger, which serves as seasonal farm worker housing from April through November, will be repurposed to house homeless families for the first three months of 2017.
YAKIMA, Wash. - A 27-year-old man accused of robbing a Moxee cafe and a Zillah gas station last week has been linked to a third robbery.
By Revathi Rajeevan: In a major setback for the CPM-led LDF government in Kerala, the state's Minister for Electricity MM Mani will face trial for murder charges. Additional sessions court in Thodupuzha of Idukki district in Kerala today dismissed a discharge petition by the Minister and two other accused in the case.

THE CASE

The Minister is an accused in the murder case of a youth Congress leader Anchery Baby who was shot dead in Udumbanchola in the district in 1982. The case was reopened during the previous Congress-led UDF government's tenure after Mani made a public speech in 2012 in which he said that the CPM had often eliminated those who opposed the party.

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Mani is also a CPM state secretariat member.

OPPOSITION DEMAND RESIGNATION

While the opposition demanded the resignation of the Minister following the court's dismissal of his petition, Mani told reporters that the case was politically motivated and that he will not resign. Mani took office as the Electricity Minister following the resignation of Industries Minister EP Jayarajan over nepotism charges last month.

The court also allowed the prosecution's petition to implead three others as accused in the case. The hearing in the case is scheduled for January 24.

ALSO READ:

Mercedes murder: I am in trouble, victim had told her mother

--- ENDS ---
In a night meeting with the residents of the Amona outpost at the prime ministers bureau, Benjamin Netanyahu revealed a personal heart-rending story that would have granted him the cover page of the weekend supplements. Its not for ideological reasons that Netanyahu support the baseless demands made by the Amona people and treats the land robbers as a beggar at the door trying to convince the master to give him a donation.

In other words, the prime minister actually believes that when Jews rob Arabs lands, even if its done in complete disregard for the law, they are doing an ethical, moral and Jewish actdisenfranchising Arabs is always for a purely spiritual purpose and for the glory of the State of Israelbut thats not the whole story.

In Bibis eyes, the home on Balfour Street is not the prime ministers official residence, its the Netanyahu familys home (Photo: EPA)

He might think that a handful of land robbers beyond the Green Line should be showered with money at the expense of the rest of the country, and mainly at the expense of those living below the poverty line. But that's not the whole story.

Because it isn't even that he is competing against Bayit Yehudi Leader Naftali Bennett over who believes less in equality and who incites more against the values of equality before the law (otherwise known as leftism). He does all this and more, but beyond all these ideological-political moves, there is a warm human sentiment, identification based on personal experience with people who have suffered injustice.

Whoever claims that the man from Caesarea and Balfour Street is unemotional, save for feelings of self-love and political survival, is wrong. Heres the emotionally moving story the prime minister told the Amona residents. Its a difficult one, so you may want to have a box of tissues on hand. Ready? Here we go. I understand what it means to lose a home, Netanyahu told them. After the 1999 elections, with zero warning, my family and I were simply kicked out of the house on Balfour Street. Just like that, with all of our belongings, we were just thrown into the street. We had to go to the Sheraton Plaza Hotel. Its a terrible feeling."

Who wouldnt be filled with pity for a man, who has a well-kept luxurious home in Caesarea (aid for by the state), but who finds himself homeless, and not just homelessbut homeless at the Sheraton Plaza? Who wouldnt be shocked by the zero warning (the idea that he may lose the elections never crossed his mind), by the fact that an Israeli prime minister was thrown into the street? Only leftists.

Because in Bibis eyes, the home on Balfour Street is not the prime ministers official residence, its the Netanyahu familys home. And suddenly, ne'er-do-wells (i.e. the voters) arrive and throw him out on the street. That really is a terrible feeling.

Like the Amona residents, Netanyahu sees the prime ministers residence as a patrimony. Its actually his. This harmony is destroyed by the annoying democratic process (in which even Arabs, Heaven forbid, are allowed to vote) and the law in the State of Israel (a leftist law, of course), which permits the evacuation of people from a home that does not belong to them.

And just as Amonas residents should be left with their plunder in their hands, or be generously and compensated for the injustice they suffer at the expense of the rest of the states citizens, it is all the more appropriate to leave the prime minister at the home on Balfour Street and let him and his family eternally live their quiet life there as masters of the state. And if the High Court or the voters indeed intervene and God forbid force an evacuation, the victims should be compensated. By how much? Ill let you throw out a number. Have you thought of one? Raise it.

And what about the legal owners (the Palestinian land owners or a different prime minister elected by the voterssome of whom are Arabs)? Thats their problem. In other words, I suppose we should try to find them some kind of a solution. There is no reason, for example, why the elected non-Netanyahu prime minister shouldnt receive pecuniary compensation from the state. He may even be given a different home in a nearby Palestinian village.

The truth is that we dont really care about the legal owners. Theyll manage. We all hope that Netanyahu and Bennett will manage to prevent such incidents from repeating themselves in the futurethrough the Regulation Bill, for example. So from now on, we must say: If a prime minister who is not Netanyahu (or Bennett) is elected, he should be offered to run the Palestinian Authority. For Jews (the Left, as you may recall, has forgotten the meaning of the word) will never again be evacuated from their homes.
An Afghan official says gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the house of a former Taliban leader in the capital, killing at least one person. Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department, says the two gunmen attacked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef's house late Friday, but he was not there.

Zaeef, who served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, has reconciled with the current US-backed government.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
World and local leaders and officials have begun to respond to the UN Security Council's adopting a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building on Friday. Even more specifically, though, have been reactions to United States abstaining from the vote and defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and US President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto.

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A US abstention paved the way for the 15-member council to approve the resolution, with 14 votes in favor, prompting applause in the council chamber. The action by US President Barack Obama's administration follows growing US frustration over the unrelenting construction of Jewish settlements on land Palestinians want for a future independent state.

UN resolution vote

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Netanyahu (L) and Obama (Photo: Reuters)

Following the passing of the resolution, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement, saying that "Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms. At a time when the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria, it disgracefully gangs up on the one true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and calls the Western Wall 'occupied territory'."

Netanyahu added that he looks forward to working with President-elect Trump as well as with pro-Israeli members of Congress to reverse the damages of the "absurd" decision.

After the vote, Netanyahu instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return to Israel for consultations. He also ordered the cancellation of a planned visit to Israel by Senegal's foreign minister and the cancellation of all aid programs to Senegal.

White House: Netanyahu could have stopped resolution but chose not to

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes was quoted as saying that Netanyahu had ample opportunity to promote a policy that would have prevented the US abstention and refusal to veto, but that while he talks about a two-state solution, he actions make such a step unattainable.

Netanyahu criticized both Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry as being behind the resolution, together with the Palestinians. Kerry responded to the decision by stating that the Security Council is right to admonish Israel for its incitement and activity in the settlements. He called upon both sides to work toward a two-state solution.

14 out of the 15 members, excluding the US, voting in favor of the resolution (Photo: EPA)

The resolution demands that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem" and said the establishment of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

US Ambassador to the UN Susan Power abstaining from thevote (Photo: EPA)

An additional clause that has raises concern reflects the rhetoric of the BDS movement, by calling other countries to differentiate between business deals made with the State of Israel and those made with parties beyond the 1967 border, while referring to "the Israeli occupation."

The resolution's rejection of the settlement project and its expansion could contextualize Israel as an "apartheid state," similar to how South Africa was seen. This in turn could lead to Israel and Israeli officials involved in the settlement project beign sued in the International Court of Justice in Hague, the Netherlands, in addition to having sanctions placed on Israel.

The US action just weeks before Obama ends eight years as president broke with the long-standing American tradition of vetoing similar resolutions against Israel, which receives more than $3 billion in annual US military aid, from such action. The United States, Russia, France, Britain and China have veto power on the council.

The resolution, put forward by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and Trump, was the first adopted by the council on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.

The US abstention is seen as a parting shot by Obama, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Netanyahu and whose efforts to forge a peace agreement based on a "two-state" solution of creating a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel have proven futile.

Speaking during a discussion that followed the vote US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power gave a statement.

"Let me begin with a quote: 'The United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transitional period. Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks. Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated.'"

The quote, originally said by Ronald Reagan, illustrated in Power's opinion "the United States' deep and long-standing commitment to achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. That has been the policy of every administration, Republican and Democrat, since before President Reagan and all the way through to the present day."

Power continued to say that Reagans words also "highlight the United States' long-standing position that Israeli settlement activity in territories occupied in 1967 undermines Israel's security, harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome, and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region. Today, the Security Council reaffirmed its established consensus that settlements have no legal validity. The United States has been sending the message that the settlements must stopprivately and publiclyfor nearly five decades."

Power stressed that refraining from exercising its veto was far from simple for the US, largely because of the discrimination that Israel has faced at the UN. "The simple truth is that for as long as Israel has been a member of this institution, Israel has been treated differently from other nations at the United Nations. And not only in decades pastsuch as in the infamous resolution that the General Assembly adopted in 1975, with the support of the majority of Member States, officially determining that, 'Zionism is a form of racism'but also in 2016, this year. One need only look at the 18 resolutions against Israel adopted during the UN General Assembly in September; or the 12 Israel-specific resolutions adopted this year in the Human Rights Councilmore than those focused on Syria, North Korea, Iran, and South Sudan put togetherto see that in 2016 Israel continues to be treated differently from other Member States."

"Like US administrations before it, the Obama Administration has worked tirelessly to fight for Israels right simply to be treated just like any other countryfrom advocating for Israel to finally be granted membership to a UN regional body, something no other UN Member State had been denied; to fighting to ensure that Israeli NGOs are not denied UN accreditation, simply because they are Israeli, to getting Yom Kippur finally recognized as a UN holiday; to pressing this Council to break its indefensible silence in response to terrorist attacks on Israelis. As the United States has said repeatedly, such unequal treatment not only hurts Israel, it undermines the legitimacy of the United Nations itself."

She emphasized the necessity of the UN acknowledging crimes committed against Israel and its citizens as the bedrock for universal justice, especially in light of the current resolution. "Member States that say they are for the two-state solution must ask themselves some difficult questions. For those states that are quick to promote resolutions condemning Israel, but refuse to recognize when innocent Israelis are the victims of terrorismwhat steps will you take to stop treating Israel differently?"

"For those states that passionately denounce the closures of crossings in Gaza as exacerbating the humanitarian situation, but saying nothing of the resources diverted from helping Gazas residents to dig tunnels into Israeli territory so that terrorists can attack Israelis in their homeswhat will you do to end the double-standard that undermines the legitimacy of this institution?"

"Member States should also ask themselves about the double standards when it comes to this Council taking action." said Power. "Just this morning we came together, as a Council, and we were unable to muster the will to act to stop the flow of weapons going to killers in South Sudan, who are perpetrating mass atrocities that the UN has said could lead to genocide. We couldnt come together just to stem the flow of arms. Earlier this month, this Council could not muster the will to adopt the simplest of resolutions calling for a seven-day pause in the savage bombardment of innocent civilians, hospitals, and schools in Aleppo. Yet when a resolution on Israel comes before this Council, members suddenly summon the will to act."

Regarding Israel's continued expansion of the settlements Power stated, "One cannot simultaneously champion expanding Israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. One has to make a choice between settlements and separation."

Quoting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bayit Yehudi Leader Naftali Bennett, Power stressed the centrality of the settlement issue to the peace process.

"The Israeli Prime Minister recently described his government as 'more committed to settlements than any in Israel's history,' and one of his leading coalition partners (Naftali Bennetted) recently declared that 'the era of the two-state solution is over.' At the same time, the prime minister has said that he is still committed to pursuing a two-state solution. But these statements are irreconcilable. One cannot simultaneously champion expanding Israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. One has to make a choice between settlements and separation."

"In 2011, the United States vetoed a resolution that focused exclusively on settlements, as if settlements were they only factor harming the prospects of a two-state solution. The circumstances have changed dramatically. Since 2011, settlement growth has only accelerated. Since 2011, multiple efforts to pursue peace through negotiations have failed. And since 2011, President Obama and Secretary Kerry have repeatedly warnedpublically and privatelythat the absence of progress toward peace and continued settlement expansion was going to put the two-state solution at risk, and threaten Israels stated objective to remain both a Jewish State and a democracy."

"Let us be clear," added Power. "Even if every single settlement were to be dismantled tomorrow, peace still would not be attainable without both sides acknowledging uncomfortable truths and making difficult choices. That is an indisputable fact. Yet it is one that is too often overlooked by members of the United Nations and by members of this Council."

"For Palestinian leaders, that means recognizing the obvious: that in addition to taking innocent livesthe incitement to violence, the glorification of terrorists, and the growth of violent extremism erodes prospects for peace, as this resolution makes crystal clear. The most recent wave of Palestinian violence has seen terrorists commit hundreds of attacksincluding driving cars into crowds of innocent civilians and stabbing mothers in front of their children. Yet rather than condemn these attacks, Hamas, other radical factions, and even certain members of Fatah have held up the terrorists as heroes, and used social media to incite others to follow in their murderous footsteps. And while President Abbas and his party's leaders have made clear their opposition to violence, terrorism, and extremism, they have too often failed to condemn specific attacks or condemn the praised heaped upon the perpetrators."

Nearing the end of her speech, Power said that "Israelis are rightfully concerned about making sure there is not a new terrorist haven next door. President Obama and this administration have shown an unprecedented commitment to Israels security because that is what we believe in."

Obama also faced pressure from US lawmakers, fellow Democrats as well as Republicans, to veto the measure, and was hit with bipartisan criticism after the vote.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, took the extraordinary step by a US president-elect of personally intervening in a sensitive foreign policy matter before taking office, speaking by telephone with Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before Egypt, another major US aid recipient, dropped the resolution.

Trump wrote on Twitter after the vote, "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th."

Rhodes dismissed Trump's thinly-veiled criticism of the move. Responding to questions regarding the seemingly conflicting positions that the outgoing and incoming presidents have regarding US-Israel relation, Rhodes said, "There is one president at a time," stating that until Jan. 20 the US president is Barack Obama.

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the resolution. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called on Israel to "respect international law."

The White House said that in the absence of any meaningful peace process, Obama made the decision to abstain. The last round of US-led peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

"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," Rhodes said.

American UN ambassador Samantha Power said the United States did not veto it because the resolution "reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with US policy across Republican and Democratic administrations."

Successive US administrations of both parties have criticized settlement activity, while the Obama administration has called settlement expansion an "illegitimate" policy that has undermined chances of a peace deal.

The Security Council last adopted a resolution critical of settlements in 1979, with the United States also abstaining.

The passage of Friday's resolution changes nothing on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians and may very well be ignored by the incoming Trump administration. It could, however, go beyond mere symbolism, by further spurring Palestinian moves against Israel in international forums.

Palestinians say UN move 'big blow' to Israel policy

The UN action was "a big blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements and a strong support for the two-state solution," a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation, and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel," said Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said he had no doubt the incoming Trump administration and Ban's successor as UN chief, former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres, "will usher in a new era in terms of the UN's relationship with Israel."

Jordan Government Spokesperson Mohammad Al Momani also responded to the UN resolution, calling "a historic decision." Al Momani said that it reflected the international community's agreed view that the Israeli settlements are illegal, as well as highlighting the Palestinian people's right to its land in Jerusalem and historic land, while supporting a two-state solution.
Speaking during a discussion that immediately followed the vote at the United Nations Security Council on Friday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power gave a statement that attempted to explain the US's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its hope for peace in the region, both in regard to President Barack Obama's administration and along the course of history.

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"Let me begin with a quote," opened Power. "'The United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements during the transitional period. Indeed, the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks. Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome can be freely and fairly negotiated.'"

US Ambassador to the UN responds to the US resolution

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The quote, originally said by Ronald Reagan, illustrated in Power's opinion "the United States deep and long-standing commitment to achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. That has been the policy of every administration, Republican and Democrat, since before President Reagan and all the way through to the present day."

Power voting for abstention (Photo: EPA)

Power continued to say that Reagans words also "highlight the United States' long-standing position that Israeli settlement activity in territories occupied in 1967 undermines Israel's security, harms the viability of a negotiated two-state outcome, and erodes prospects for peace and stability in the region. Today, the Security Council reaffirmed its established consensus that settlements have no legal validity. The United States has been sending the message that the settlements must stopprivately and publiclyfor nearly five decades, through the administrations of Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and now Barack Obama. Indeed, since 1967, the only president who had not had at least one Israeli-Palestinian-related Security Council resolution pass during his tenure is Barack Obama. So our vote today is fully in line with the bipartisan history of how American presidents have approached both the issueand the role of this body."

The UN Security Council voting on the resolution, as Power, representing the US, abstains (Photo: EPA)

"Given the consistency of this position across US administrations, one would think that it would be a routine vote for the US to allow the passage of a resolution with the elements in this one, reaffirming the long-standing US position on settlements, condemning violence and incitement, and calling for the parties to start taking constructive steps to reverse current trends on the ground. These are familiar, well-articulated components of US policy."

Power stressed that refraining from exercising its veto was far from simple for the US, largely because of the discrimination that Israel has faced at the UN. "The simple truth is that for as long as Israel has been a member of this institution, Israel has been treated differently from other nations at the United Nations. And not only in decades pastsuch as in the infamous resolution that the General Assembly adopted in 1975, with the support of the majority of Member States, officially determining that, 'Zionism is a form of racism'but also in 2016, this year. One need only look at the 18 resolutions against Israel adopted during the UN General Assembly in September; or the 12 Israel-specific resolutions adopted this year in the Human Rights Councilmore than those focused on Syria, North Korea, Iran, and South Sudan put togetherto see that in 2016 Israel continues to be treated differently from other Member States."

"Like US administrations before it, the Obama Administration has worked tirelessly to fight for Israels right simply to be treated just like any other countryfrom advocating for Israel to finally be granted membership to a UN regional body, something no other UN Member State had been denied; to fighting to ensure that Israeli NGOs are not denied UN accreditation, simply because they are Israeli, to getting Yom Kippur finally recognized as a UN holiday; to pressing this Council to break its indefensible silence in response to terrorist attacks on Israelis. As the United States has said repeatedly, such unequal treatment not only hurts Israel, it undermines the legitimacy of the United Nations itself."

She emphasized the necessity of the UN acknowledging crimes committed against Israel and its citizens as the bedrock for universal justice, especially in light of the current resolution. "Member States that say they are for the two-state solution must ask themselves some difficult questions. For those states that are quick to promote resolutions condemning Israel, but refuse to recognize when innocent Israelis are the victims of terrorismwhat steps will you take to stop treating Israel differently? For those states that passionately denounce the closures of crossings in Gaza as exacerbating the humanitarian situation, but saying nothing of the resources diverted from helping Gazas residents to dig tunnels into Israeli territory so that terrorists can attack Israelis in their homeswhat will you do to end the double-standard that undermines the legitimacy of this institution?"

"Member States should also ask themselves about the double standards when it comes to this Council taking action. Just this morning we came together, as a Council, and we were unable to muster the will to act to stop the flow of weapons going to killers in South Sudan, who are perpetrating mass atrocities that the UN has said could lead to genocide. We couldnt come together just to stem the flow of arms. Earlier this month, this Council could not muster the will to adopt the simplest of resolutions calling for a seven-day pause in the savage bombardment of innocent civilians, hospitals, and schools in Aleppo. Yet when a resolution on Israel comes before this Council, members suddenly summon the will to act."

Power explained the US's abstention as due to the continuous UN discrimination against Israel and the resolution's focus on the settlements as the presumed single obstacle to peace. "It is because this forum too often continues to be biased against Israel; because there are important issues that are not sufficiently addressed in this resolution; and because the United States does not agree with every word in this text, that the United States did not vote in favor of the resolution. But it is because this resolution reflects the facts on the groundand is consistent with US policy across Republican and Democratic administration throughout the history of the State of Israelthat the United States did not veto it."

"The United States has consistently said we would block any resolution that we thought would undermine Israels security or seek to impose a resolution to the conflict. We would not have let this resolution pass had it not also addressed counterproductive actions by the Palestinians such as terrorism and incitement to violence, which weve repeatedly condemned and repeatedly raised with the Palestinian leadership, and which, of course, must be stopped."

She also clarified that the current US administration does not seek to promote issuing orders to Israel and the Palestinians as a road to peace. "Unlike some on the UN Security Council, we do not believe that outside parties can impose a solution that has not been negotiated by the two parties. Nor can we unilaterally recognize a future Palestinian state. But it is precisely our commitment to Israel's security that makes the United States believe that we cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our long-standing objective: two states living side-by-side in peace and security."

Power went on to elaborate on the threats that the current US administration sees in the settlements' expansion. "The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution. The number of settlers in the roughly 150 authorized Israeli settlements east of the 1967 lines has increased dramatically. Since the 1993 signing of the Oslo Accordswhich launched efforts that made a comprehensive and lasting peace possiblethe number of settlers has increased by 355,000. The total settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem now exceeds 590,000. Nearly 90,000 settlers are living east of the separation barrier that was created by Israel itself."

"One cannot simultaneously champion expanding Israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. One has to make a choice between settlements and separation," added Power.

The Israeli Prime Minister recently described his government as 'more committed to settlements than any in Israel's history,' and one of his leading coalition partners (Bayit Yehudi Leader Naftali Bennettted) recently declared that 'the era of the two-state solution is over.' At the same time, the prime minister has said that he is still committed to pursuing a two-state solution. But these statements are irreconcilable. One cannot simultaneously champion expanding Israeli settlements and champion a viable two-state solution that would end the conflict. One has to make a choice between settlements and separation."

"In 2011, the United States vetoed a resolution that focused exclusively on settlements, as if settlements were they only factor harming the prospects of a two-state solution. The circumstances have changed dramatically. Since 2011, settlement growth has only accelerated. Since 2011, multiple efforts to pursue peace through negotiations have failed. And since 2011, President Obama and Secretary Kerry have repeatedly warnedpublically and privatelythat the absence of progress toward peace and continued settlement expansion was going to put the two-state solution at risk, and threaten Israels stated objective to remain both a Jewish State and a democracy. Moreover, unlike in 2011, this resolution condemns violence, terrorism and incitement, which also poses an extremely grave risk to the two-state solution. This resolution reflects trends that will permanently destroy the hope of a two-state solution if they continue on their current course."

"The United States has not taken the step of voting in support of this resolution because the resolution is too narrowly focused on settlements, when we all knowor we all should knowthat many other factors contribute significantly to the tensions that perpetuate this conflict. Let us be clear: even if every single settlement were to be dismantled tomorrow, peace still would not be attainable without both sides acknowledging uncomfortable truths and making difficult choices. That is an indisputable fact. Yet it is one that is too often overlooked by members of the United Nations and by members of this Council."

"For Palestinian leaders, that means recognizing the obvious: that in addition to taking innocent livesthe incitement to violence, the glorification of terrorists, and the growth of violent extremism erodes prospects for peace, as this resolution makes crystal clear. The most recent wave of Palestinian violence has seen terrorists commit hundreds of attacksincluding driving cars into crowds of innocent civilians and stabbing mothers in front of their children. Yet rather than condemn these attacks, Hamas, other radical factions, and even certain members of Fatah have held up the terrorists as heroes, and used social media to incite others to follow in their murderous footsteps. And while President Abbas and his party's leaders have made clear their opposition to violence, terrorism, and extremism, they have too often failed to condemn specific attacks or condemn the praised heaped upon the perpetrators."

"Our vote today does not in any way diminish the United States' steadfast and unparalleled commitment to the security of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East," said Power. "We would not have let this resolution pass had it not also addressed counterproductive actions by Palestinians. We have to recognize that Israel faces very serious threats in a very tough neighborhood. Israelis are rightfully concerned about making sure there is not a new terrorist haven next door. President Obama and this administration have shown an unprecedented commitment to Israels security because that is what we believe in."

"Our commitment to that security has never wavered, and it never will. Even with a financial crisis and budget deficits, weve repeatedly increased funding to support Israels military. And in September, the Obama administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide $38 billion in security assistance to Israel over the next 10 yearsthe largest single pledge of military assistance in US history to any country. And as the Israeli prime minister himself has noted, our military and intelligence cooperation is unprecedented. We believe, though, that continued settlement building seriously undermines Israel's security."

"Some may cast the US vote as a sign that we have finally given up on a two-state solution. Nothing could be further from the truth. None of us can give up on a two-state solution. We continue to believe that that solution is the only viable path to provide peace and security for the State of Israel, and freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people. And we continue to believe that the parties can still pursue this path, if both sides are honest about the choices, and have the courage to take steps that will be politically difficult. While we can encourage them, it is ultimately up to the parties to choose this path, as it always has been. We sincerely hope that they will begin making these choices before it is too late."
Syrian rebels backed by Turkish warplanes killed 68 ISIS militants in northern Syria overnight, the Turkish military said on Saturday, as intense fighting around the town of al-Bab continued.

Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the ISIS-held town for weeks under the "Euphrates Shield" operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the Sunni hardliners and Kurdish fighters from its Syrian border.

Fighting around al-Bab has escalated this week with Turkish soldiers and 138 jihadists killed in clashes on Wednesday in the deadliest day since the start of Turkey's Syrian incursion. Sixty-eight ISIS militants have been "neutralized" in fighting and air strikes near al-Bab since Friday night, the military said in a statement.
Friday's UN resolution, which emphatically admonishes the Israeli settlement expansion, has caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wholly reject its position and accuse US President Barack Obama of working behind the scenes to bring it about.

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The UN Security Council during the resolution vote (Photo: EPA)

The White House has responded to such accusations that call the move as a personal attack of issued by Obama on Netanyahu, due to the animosity between the two. When asked by CNN reporter Jim Acosta whether this was "President Obama getting back at Prime Minister Netanyahu," White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said, "absolutely not." He then added, "The fact of the matter is that Bipartisan policy of the US government for decades has been to oppose settlements."

Rhodes was also asked what the White House would reply to those who would say that the US has abandoned Israel, to which he responded that "Its just not backed up by the record," and that the US has consistently looked out for Israel's interests at the UN. This remained true under President Obama, who earlier this year had passed a $38 billion aid package to Israel , the largest package the US has ever given an ally.

The US's abstention nevertheless marked a drastic change from US policy, which has traditionally struck down any anti-Israeli resolutions. This time, not only did the US not exercise its veto right, but US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power abstained from the vote . Had the US voted in favor, the resolution would have been unanimously accepted.

The Arab World was also quick to respond to the resolution's passing. Among them was Egypt, whose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had previously urged both Israel and the Palestinians to work together through his own peace initiative

Egypt found itself in water both before and after the Security Council vote: prior to the vote, an Egyptian resolution that would have similarly admonished the settlement project had been pulled, after al-Sisi reportedly had a conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump, who expressed his objection to the proposal. The resolution that was eventually passed was submitted by New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela, prompting Netanyahu to call back Israeli ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, and to cancel Israel's aid package to Senegal.

Following the vote, Egypt received criticism from other Arab countries for withdrawing its own resolution. Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid responded to allegations from the Arab world by saying that due to the chances that the Egyptian resolution would be vetoed, and considering the Palestinians' insistence to bring the matter before the Security Council immediately, Egypt decided to retract its own resolution proposal. "This, in turn, encouraged other countries to submit a resolution of the same wording of (Egypt's) resolution draft to a vote."

Abu Zeid also referred to Trump's displeasure with Egyptian resolution draft, and his demand to have the current administration veto it. "Since Egypt plays a central role in sponsoring any future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, while coordinating with the new US administration, it was important for us to retain the necessary balance to bring about a general and just solution that would allow the return of all Palestinian rights, based on the international community's decisions."

Qatari Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman congratulated the Security Council for taking a stand against the settlements and expressed hope for "establishing a just and general peace for the Palestinian people." He added that the settlement building "contradicts decisions made by the international community and specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention treaty."

The Saudi delegation to the UN said that "Implementing the decision would be a step toward actualizing the Arab peace initiative."

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit issued a statement, saying that the resolution expresses the international community's support of the Palestinian people's historic struggle to attain their legitimate rights. He added that he hopes the decision will push Israel to become more committed to this and other decisions made by the international community.

The Palestinian Authority also responded, saying that it considers the UN's acceptance of the resolution "a big blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements and a strong support for the two-state solution," a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation, and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel," said Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Jordan Government Spokesperson Mohammad Al Momani also responded to the UN resolution, calling it "a historic decision." Al Momani said that it reflected the international community's general consensus view, which considers the Israeli settlements illegal, while also highlighting the Palestinian people's right to its land, while supporting a two-state solution.
LONDON - Two people have appeared in a London court charged with a variety of terrorism-related offenses.

Munir Hassan Mohammed is charged with preparing an act of terrorism, being a member of the Islamic State extremist group, and possessing instructions about how to build an explosive device inside a mobile phone. The 35-year-old did not enter a plea at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Rowaida El Hassan, 32, faces similar charges but is not accused of Islamic State membership. She also did not enter a plea. Both are being held pending their next court hearing.

They were arrested with four other people earlier in December. The other four were released without charge.
The UN Security Council's Resolution 2334 , which was adopted on Friday , may not have immediate practical ramifications, but it could open the door to lawsuits against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and for sanctions to be imposed on Israelboth by the UN and by individual countries.

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Of the 15 members of the UN Security Council, 14 voted in favor of the resolution against Israel's settlement construction, which was raised by Malaysia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Senegal after Egypt rescinded it as a result of Israeli pressure

The United States chose to abstain from the vote, and in an unusual movethe first in Barack Obama's presidencyWashington did not veto a resolution against Israel.

UN Security Council votes to adopt Resolution 2334

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The adoption of the resolution was met with applause by the convened diplomats at the UN Security Council. The resolution makes Israeli citizens that are involved in the settlement enterprise in the West Bank vulnerable to lawsuits in courts all over the world. Jerusalem is also worried that the resolution opens the door for lawsuits against Israeli officials at the ICC: government ministers and senior IDF officers who make decisions about construction in the settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, or the expropriation of lands could be accused of war crimes under the Geneva Convention.

The resolution's wording can also be seen as a victory to the BDS Movement, as it opens the door for boycotts of goods produced in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.





UN Security Council voting to adopt resolution (Photo: AP)

The resolution includes an article requiring the UN secretary-general to report to the Security Council every three months regarding its implementation. This will lead to continued pressure on Israel, putting it in a constant defensive position, similar to South Africa during the apartheid regime.

Article 5 of the resolution calls to create a distinction between the State of Israel and the settlements built on lands captured in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.

This article calls on the international community not to aid those settlements and allows for countries and organizations to boycott the settlement enterpriseeither directly or indirectly.

Officials in Jerusalem are worried such a call would encourage the European Union to make its policy of labeling settlement products into law and call for a boycott these products.

Such a move would lead banks, gas stations, HMOs, retailers, high-tech companies and others to close their branches beyond Green Line to avoid being included in the "blacklist" of companies doing business in the settlements and consequently being boycotted as a result.

UK and Uruguay voting to adopt the resolution as the US abstains (Photo: EPA)

Officials in Jerusalem are also worried that other nations in the world will follow in the footsteps of the European Unioneven if not by boycotting the settlements, then at least by labeling settlement products.

Nevertheless, the resolution cannot be applied retroactively and has no immediate practical consequences. Since it was adopted under Chapter 6 of the United Nations Charter, it cannot be forced on Israel. Only resolutions passed under Chapter 7 can be imposed.

Theoretically, this will allow Israel to mitigate the damages caused by resolution, mostly with the help of US President-elect Donald Trump, who will also be able to veto future resolutions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has already announced it would work in cooperation with Trump on the matter, while Trump himself tweeted: "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th."

One of the existing possibilities is for Trump to threaten to cut the UN's funding if it tries to impose sanctions on Israel.

But while the damage from the resolution might be mitigated, it still limits the Israeli government in several ways.

If, for example, the Israeli government approves construction in the settlements and in east Jerusalem, it risks being accused of violating the resolution, which is based on the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibits an occupier to transfer parts of its own civilian population into occupied territory and views such an act as a war crime.

In addition, if the Israeli government decides to annex the West Bank or even just Area C, such a move can prompt some in the international community to demand that a new resolution is passed at the UN Security Councilthis time under Chapter 7, which empowers the UN to impose a resolution. Even so, it is likely that Trump will veto such an attempt.

The Palestinians, meanwhile, can now choose to seek membership at the UN Security Council. Last year, the Palestinians raised their flag at the UN, but failed when they tried to join.
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with locals began Christmas Eve celebrations in Jesus' traditional birthplace of Bethlehem on Saturday, lifting spirits after a tense year between Palestinians and Israelis.

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The faithful braved the chilly weather outside Manger Square in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem as traditional Christmas songs like "Jingle Bells" played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols.

Elated tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

Photo: AFP

"It's very unique, I've never seen anything like it," said Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky. "It's very meaningful, it's Christmas time, where everything started."

Christian clergymen welcomed the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus Christ, as Christians worldwide begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.

The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population. He traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession.

Christmas celebrations will culminate with midnight mass at the Church of the Nativitywith the grotto where Jesus is believed to have been born underneath.

Photo: AP

Some 2,500 tickets are usually given out for the mass and those wishing to attend must register in advance.

Christmas tourism

Beyond that, tens of thousands of tourists are expected to visit sites including Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth over the holidays, tourism officials say.

Israel's Tourism Ministry said some 120,000 visitors were expected in December, half of them Christians.

Christians make up less than two percent of the populations of both Israel and the Palestinian territories, though they account for some 28 percent of Bethlehem's 32,000 people.

Palestinian officials said they were expecting more visitors than last year, with all the hotels in Bethlehem fully booked.

Photo: AP

"There is more stability this year and the numbers coming out of the tourism ministry are showing that there will be growth between 2015 and 2016," said Sami Khoury, who runs the Visit Palestine online tourism portal.

There is more optimism this year in Israel and the West Bank after a wave of violence and protests that erupted in October 2015 sharply reduced visits for Christmas.

For Wahid al-Laham, a Bethlehem shop owner selling Christmas memorabilia and decorations, shopping has been better than last year but still falls short in comparison to previous years.

Christmas shopping "was half the rate of previous years, but 80 percent higher than compared to 2015," he said.

Holiday spirit at the birthplace of Jesus

Every year the city of Bethlehem hosts a series of Christmas celebrations. From parades to lighting a Christmas tree almost as big as the one at Rockefeller Center in New York City, to restoring mosaics at the famous Church of Nativity, the city is looking to promote itself on and to strengthen the Christian community. The city also offers a Christmas market and a number of plays and exhibitions showcasing the holiday spirit.

Photo: AFP

Palestinian officials say Christmas celebrations are a chance to show the world that the Palestinians can govern themselves and to encourage them to support a two-state solution for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Of course it is in our interest to have a two-state solution, Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian Ambassador to the Holy See, told The Media Line. Here in Palestine, we are working to consolidate and to strengthen the roots of Christianity in Palestine.

According to Kassissieh, promoting and strengthening the religion, however, is one of the top priorities of the Palestinian Authority, he said.

Photo: EPA

Given the current political instability in the Middle East with the ongoing civil war in Syria and the armed conflict between ISIS and Iraqi forces to retake Mosul, the region is losing many of its churches and connections to Christianity. Bethlehem, therefore, is promoting itself as a defender of peace and stability.

Politics here are so multilayered, Ian Knowles, a Christian icon painter and the director of the Icon school in Bethlehem, told The Media Line. And, Palestine, especially Bethlehem, is right on the fault line between many of these different forces.

Bethlehem is the place where, for Christians, matter suddenly matters, Knowles said. God becomes a little baby, he becomes part of the material world, and so what you can see becomes graced and full of something deeply spiritual.

Photo: AP

Aside from promoting Christianity through religiously motivated artistic endeavors, the city has also generated both financial and political support from the international community in restoring and renovating the Church of Nativity in the Old City of Bethlehem.

Built in the fourth century, in the year 332, the church, which Christians believe is the actual birthplace of Jesus Christ, was falling apart, especially with bad leaks in the roof.

In 2009, after lengthy negotiations with the Greek Orthodox Church, the Franciscan Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree calling for renovations to the Church of Nativity.

The Palestinian government raised money to cover some of the expenses of the renovations; however, the work could not have been accomplished without financial support from many European and other Middle Eastern churches and countries. Spain, France, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Greece and even Morocco and Kuwait all contributed to the restoration. The total cost of restoring the church is just under $20 million and is expected to be completed in 2019.

Photo: EPA

We are supporting the Christian presence here in Palestine and in the holy land not only by preserving the Palestinian Christians but also by preserving and renovating their churches, Minister Ziad Al-Bandak, the adviser to Abbas, told The Media Line.
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The territory of Armenia will be influenced by an active Mediterranean cyclone on December 25.

The ministry of emergency situations told ARMENPRESS snowfalls are expected throughout the entire territory of Armenia. In separate parts, specifically in the Ararat plain, Vayots Dzor and Yerevan heavy snowfalls are expected. Blizzards, clear ice and low visibility are forecasted in mountainous terrains and mountain passes.

Overnight December 25-26, temperature will rise by 13-15 degrees, and by 6-8 degrees during daytime.
After laying foundation stone for Pune Metro Project's Phase-1, PM Modi was addressing a public rally in Pune.

By India Today Web Desk: Putting up a strong defence for demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his third public address of the day, said that the previous governments did not fight the evil of corruption and black money. PM Modi said that as no serious measures were taken against wrongdoers, he had to take tough decisions.

PM Modi was addressing a public rally in Pune. Earlier, he addressed at Maharashtra's Raigad and Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

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Modi was on a day's visit to Maharashtra today, where he earlier laid the foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai.

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PM shares the dais with NCP chief Sharad Pawar at foundation stone laying ceremony of Pune Metro project (Phase 1).

PM Modi speaks at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Pune Metro project.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone for Pune Metro Project's Phase-1.

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PM Narendra Modi lays foundation stone for two metro corridors and other projects at the MMRDA Grounds.

PM Modi reaches Bandra Kurla Complex to lay foundation stone of metro corridor.

Modi inaugurates Shivaji memorial.

PM Narendra Modi performs Jal Pujan for Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial in Mumbai.

PM Narendra Modi reaches Girgaum Chowpatty where Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis are also present

#WATCH PM Narendra Modi onboard a hovercraft performs Jal Pujan for Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/debHkcLRgE ANI (@ANI_news) 24 December 2016

The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of ruling BJP, will share the dais with Modi at the event.

The main feature of the Shivaji memorial, slated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, will be a 192-metre-tall statue of the iconic Maratha king. The site is a rocky outcrop, roughly 1.5 km from the Raj Bhavan shore.

Photo: ANI

In a tweet, Modi said: "I am honoured to be getting the opportunity to perform the Bhoomipujan of Shiv Smarak."

"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a torchbearer of courage, bravery and good governance. Shiv Smarak is a fitting tribute to him and his greatness," Modi said.

Modi arrived in Mumbai at 12.30 p.m. and was received by Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao.

He was expected to perform the 'bhoomipujan' at 3 p.m.

The memorial and statue were expected to come up on a rocky islet one km off the shores of South Mumbai on the Arabian Sea overlooking Marine Drive, with the Malabar Hill on one end and Nariman Point at the other.

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The state government has secured 12 major permissions from the Centre including those from the Environment Ministry, Defence Ministry, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and others, he added.

Slated to be 309 feet tall, the statue along with a pedestal and foundation would be taller than New York's Statue of Liberty and was expected to be a major tourist attraction.

Besides, laying foundation stone of two metro corridors, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Phase 3 of Urban Transport Project and road projects, he would also inaugurate a new campus of the National Institute of Securities Markets.

Modi also mentioned the Pune Metro Project's Phase-1 that he would inaugurate and said it "will bring lot of benefits to people of Pune".

The Prime Minister's visit assumes political significance as the high-stake elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are just a few months away.

Mumbai: Preparations underway for PM Narendra Modi's arrival; will lay foundation stone of #ShivajiMemorial and other projects pic.twitter.com/wTelgaySjM ANI (@ANI_news) 24 December 2016

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently said the 'Shiv Smarak' will not only be the tallest memorial in the country, but in the entire world. He had thanked Modi for "making it possible."

Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam was detained along with other party leaders as they had planned to protest against PM Narendra Modi over demonetisation.

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--- ENDS ---
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday night to "overcome" the UN Security Council's resolution against the settlements, saying Israel was "reevaluating its ties with the UN."

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"The resolution passed in the UN yesterday is distorted and disgraceful, but we will overcome it," Netanyahu said during a lighting ceremony for the first candle of Hanukkah in front of wounded IDF soldiers, disabled veterans and terror victims.

"The resolution determines that the Jewish Quarter (in Jerusalem) is occupied territory. It determines that the Western Wall, the Kotel, is occupied territory. There is no greater absurd than that," he said.

Photo: Motti Kimchi

The prime minister recalled the Israeli ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal and ordered to stop all Israeli government aid to Senegal, saying "Those who work with us will gain, because Israel has a lot to offer the nations of the world. But those who stand against us will lose, because there will be a diplomatic and economic price to their actions against Israel."

He also said he asked the Foreign Ministry to "reevaluate all of our ties to the UN within a month," adding he had already cut NIS 30 million in funding to five UN institutions. "Five institutions that are particularly hostile towards Israel," he explained.

He also canceled an official visit by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to the country, scheduled for next week, in protest of the fact Ukrainenormally a very friendly state towards Israelvoted in favor of the UN Security Council's anti-settlement resolution.

He criticized the attempt to force conditions on Israel vis-a-vis a final-status agreement with the Palestinians. "You might remember that the last one to try to do that was (Jimmy) Carter, a particularly hostile president to Israel, who just recently said Hamas wasn't a terror organization," the prime minister said. "Carter passed similar sweeping resolutions against us at the UN and that didn't succeed either. We objected to it, and nothing happened."

From Carter, Netanyahu turned his censure towards outgoing US President Barack Obama.

"All of the US presidents after Carter met the American commitment not to try and dictate to Israel at the Security Council conditions for a final-status agreement. And yesterday, in complete contradiction of this commitmentincluding specific commitment made by President Obama himself in 2011the Obama administration carried out a disgraceful anti-Israeli underhanded move at the UN."

He argued that "not only does the resolution does not promote peace, it further pushes it away."





Photo: Motti Kimchi

He lamented the "absurdity" in the fact the Obama administration and UN Security Council choose to "harass the only democracy in the Middle East, the State of Israel," while "half a million people are being massacred in Syria, tens of thousands are slaughtered in Sudan and the entire Middle East is going up in flames."

He vowed to "cancel" this resolution "just as we rejected the UN resolution that equated Zionism with racism, noting that "it took a while, but that decision was canceled. It'll take time, but this decision will be canceled as well."

The prime minister said this will be achieved "not by concessions from us, but by us and our allies standing firm."

Netanyahu added that Israel learned its lesson from the Gaza Disengagement in 2005. "We uprooted towns, exhumed people. Did it help us in the UN? Did it improve the UN's treatment of us? We got thousands of rockets and we got the Goldstone Report from the UN," he said.

While Israel had no ally in Obama, the prime minister was confident it was nevertheless not alone. "I've spoken to many American leaders yesterday. I was happy to hear from the American CongressmenDemocrats and Republicans alikethat they will fight this resolution with all means at their disposal."

Netanyahu lighting the first candle of Hanukkah (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

He said he received a similar message from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. "They said they'll go on an all-out-war against this resolution," Netanyahu reported.

One such move could be passing legislation in the US that would "punish countries or organizations who try to hurt Israel. They say it includes the UN itself as well."

The resolution, he said, was expected. "The resolution passed at the UN yesterday was just part of the swan song of the old world, which is biased against Israel," Netanyahu said.

"But, my friends, we are entering a new era that, as President-elect Trump said yesterday, is coming much sooner than most think. In this new era, there will be a steep price to pay, a much steeper price to pay, for those who try to harm Israel. And this price will be exacted not just by the United States, but also by Israel."

He claimed the resolution might actually help improve Israel's relations with countries around the world as "it is the last straw."

"It recruits our many friends in the United States and elsewhere in the world who tire of the UN's hostile treatment of Israel, and they plan to bring to a change at the UN," Netanyahu added.

"Here on the eve of Hanukkah, I stand next to the modern-day MaccabeesIDF soldiers and wounded soldiers. I salute you and say this clearly: Light will banish the darkness. The spirit of the Maccabees will come out on top," he concluded.

'Obama's final ploy'

Earlier, Israeli government officials said Washington's decision to abstain from the vote and not veto the resolution "was President Obama's final ploy. This is an act that exposed the administration's true face."

"Now it is easier to understand what we've been dealing with over the past eight years," one of the officials said. "This move was expected. Prime Minister Netanyahu warned it might come. There were also discussions in the cabinet about it."

The government officials also claimed the US had a hand in the writing and promoting of the resolution. "We know this from Arab and international sources," one official said.

"President-elect Trump, the US Congress and the Jewish organizations have all worked to try and prevent this move by the Obama administration," a government official added.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Ynet on Saturday night that "the Obama administration has decided to abandon Israel to the anti-Israeli trend in the UN. This wasn't an anti-settlement resolution, it was an anti-Israel resolution."

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) also slammed the Obama administration. "I think this is a very pathetic move. The Obama administration had a lot of time and many years to influence Israel, and hurting Israel like that on its last month is a cowardly act in my opinion," she said.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) also pointed an accusatory finger at the American administration, saying "The UN, whose leader only recently admitted that it is an organization that is biased against Israel, made an absurd decision because of the lack of leadership the US has demonstrated over the last few years."

Edelstein added that "if the Western Wall and Ramot are occupied territory, then the UN must determine that New York should be immediately returned to the Indians."

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, whose Bayit Yehudi party is pro-settlements, called the resolution "the direct result of the Oslo policy of concessions and withdrawals, and is destined to be thrown into history's trash like resolutions that came before it. This is the time to make a U-turn, it's time to move from withdrawals to sovereignty. We must apply Israeli law in Ma'aleh Adumim, the Jordan Valley, Ofra and all of Area C as soon as possible."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel's foreign minister, decided on Saturday to cancel an official visit by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to the country, scheduled for next week.

The decision to cancel the visit was done in protest of the fact Ukrainenormally a very friendly state towards Israelvoted in favor of the UN Security Council's anti-settlement resolution.
An impressive makeup of countries voted on Friday night to adopt the dramatic UN Security Council resolution condemning the settlements : China, France, Russia, Britain, Japan, Egypt, and others. Fourteen countries whose representatives raised their hands in favor of the resolution and received applause from the audience in the hall. The United States could have vetoed the decisionit didn't. With this, it not only broke with tradition that had the American administration standing as a protective shield against any decision unfavorable for Israel, but also drawing a new line in the sand: Washington today, a moment before a new administration takes office, does not believe the Israeli government.

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The era of winks and turning a blind eye has ended. The American abstention from the vote made the message loud and clear: this is the end of doublespeak, of Israel saying one thing and doing another, of empty words meant to cover this sad truth: Israel may be talking about the need for a two-state solution, but it does not have even an ounce of intention to take the necessary steps to make that happen. Not even for the sake of appearance.

Trump and Obama meet at the White House after the elections (Photo: AFP)

For several months now that the White House has been thinking of ways for Obama to end this sad chapter of his presidency about Israel and the Palestinians. As first reported by Yedioth Ahronoth, one of these options was to have Obama make a speech before leaving office, presenting the main points of the American plan as a kind of framework for his successor. Another alternative considered was to not veto a resolution at the UN Security Counciland this is what happened.

Enough is enough

Obama, who will be leaving the White House in less than a month, told Prime Minister Netanyahu: Enough is enough. We listened to you, we gave you days of grace, we gave you a ladder to climb down the tree, showered you with the best of the best of our security, military and intelligence aid, and hoped that you were really going to do what you promised and take the path of peace.

Game over. Obama may be the one going home, but when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he's not doing so quietly. On the contrary, he pulled out all the stops when he authorized the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, to abstain from the vote and not veto it, as the US normally does.

From his point of view, Obama is convinced he has done this for Israel's sake, as if saving it from itself. For months now that he's been trying to reason with Netanyahuboth in public and in private conversationsand warn him that time was running out, and that if he didn't make a move towards a two-state solution, Israel will lose its ability to continue existing as both a Jewish and a democratic state.

Netanyahu and Obama (Photo: Reuters)

During his years in the White House, President Obama had a hard time understanding Israel's hostile treatment of him. He saw this as ungratefulness. Never has an American president embraced Israel like he had done with aid money, the Iron Dome and other forms of security cooperation that are best kept secret. He used to ask his close advisors why he was so unpopular in Israel. This question bothered him, but it didn't change his policy, his belief that the alliance between the two nations must be fiercely protected, while the US's commitment to Israel's security was sacred and unbreakable.

The president was willing to facilitate and strengthen the dialogue between the two sides and was among the most vocal in condemning Palestinian terrorism. He did not give them an easy time.

Those who know him well believe that had Obama not lent his hand to pass resolution at the Security Council, he would've been acting against his own beliefs. Not only does he believe the settlements were undermining Israel's security, as well as the possibility to have a dialogue for peace, but he also believes the settlements are illegal.

He didn't come up with this. It has been American policy to not recognize the settlements for decades. Even Republican presidentslike Reagan and both Bush senior and juniorcondemned the settlements, called to halt construction there and urged the sides to start a dialogue that would bring to the end of the conflict.

Obama had no need to reinvent the wheel. This is American policy, and the Security Council resolution reflected exactly that. It also reflected American policy to condemn Palestinian terrorism.

Obama's final word

With regards to American policy, there is nothing new under the sun. But there is a resolution adopted by the Security Council and the big question that follows: What's going to happen next? After all, the United States has a new president who is going to enter office on January 20.

Donald Trump is actually not all up in arms over the settlements. He said the United States should have vetoed the decision and even called on Obama to do so.

Trump has yet to formulate his foreign policy, nor his policy concerning the Middle East. But he promised that as soon as he is sworn in as president, things with the UN will be different. How is it going to be different? Much like the thousands of surprises we saw from him during the race to the White House, he can surprise us again. Trump has already said he intends to be neutral when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which didn't stop him from doing a 180 a few days later and saying he was 100 percent behind Israel.

US President-elect Donald Trump (Photo: AFP)

He plans to appoint David Friedman, who supports the settlements and doesn't believe in the two-state solution, as the American ambassador to Israel. He named Jason Greenblatt, a religious Jew, as his representative for international negotiations. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, supports the settlementsfinancially as welland is going to be one of the strongest men in Trump's administration.

At this point, however, Trump cannot do anything about the Security Council's decision. And that is why Obama chose this option, rather than making another fiery speech that would present the American framework and then be thrown aside to gather dusk in some drawer.

Trump can have whatever policy he wishes concerning Israel and the Palestinians, but the decision made by the world through the UN Security Council will always be there, and the way the world treats Israel will be in accordance with the resolution.

Trump can announce that the United States was leaving the UN or that he is cutting the organization's funding. But there is no guarantee that this would be his course of action. It's doubtful he knows at this point what it is that he wants from Israel and the Palestinians and how he wants to get it done.

Meanwhile, the resolution stands and Obama has had his final word on the conflict. Still, some among his liberal Democrats voters wondered on Friday what would've happened if he made his move on timerather than at the very last momentand forced the sides to sit and talk, achieving peace with heavy pressure and persuasion, with promises only a world power can make. If he had done this at the end of his first term, and not his second, he might have been able to justify the Nobel Peace Prize he received as an advance payment when he entered office. Alas, he didn't.
Cooper Simon Stewart was born on July 21, 2016 at Avera St. Anthonys Hospital in ONeill to Lucas and Melissa (Heine) Stewart of Long Pine.

He was baptized into Gods loving family on Oct. 23, 2016 at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Bassett. Cooper was called to his heavenly Father on Dec.17, 2016, just shy of 5 months of age at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

From the beginning, Cooper made it easy on his parents sleeping in his crib all night and never making a fuss. He was a jabber box for such a young age and would tell you stories for hours. His bright blue eyes and smile that stretched from ear to ear would light up every room and his laugh would put a smile on anyones face. He loved playing peek-a-boo and the more you scared him the louder and bigger his laugh got. Cooper was just learning to roll over but would get stuck with his hands underneath him. With a little help he would be happy again as he explored his new achievement. Cooper enjoyed the family ranch and farm. He oversaw the cattle work and cooed at the cattle to keep them in line. Cooper also enjoyed seeing the dogs, cattle, chickens, and kittens at the farm.

Cooper is deeply loved by his dad and mom, Lucas and Melissa Stewart; his grandparents, Dale and Janet Stewart and Virgil and Kathleen Heine; his great-grandparents, Lucille Heine and Duane Green; his aunts and uncles, cousins, and other family members, and all the friends he has made. Even though you are gone from us now, you will be forever in our hearts.

Funeral Services were held at the St. Peter Lutheran Church in Bassett. Pastor John Brink officiated at the service. Music was provided by Evelyn Armstrong. Honorary Bearers were Ryan Stewart, Justin and Christina Dose, Brandon and Tiffany Suhr and Andrew Heine. Burial followed at the Willowdale Cemetery near Newport. Hoch Funeral Home of Bassett assisted with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials were suggested to the family in Coopers name. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.hochfuneralhome.com.
The Air Force Reserve Command concluded its final Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program training weekend of 2016 Sunday doing what it did in 16 prior events this year: promoting the well-being of reservists and their loved ones by connecting them with resources before and after deployments.

"I wasn't aware of the tremendous amount of support there is for military families," said Lateka Benson, wife of Tech. Sgt. Fabian Benson of the 94th Airlift Wing at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. "I'm more prepared for (his upcoming) deployment, and I have a sense of ease and comfort.

Yellow Ribbon began in 2008 following a congressional mandate for the Department of Defense to assist reservists and National Guard members in maintaining resiliency as they transition between their military and civilian roles.

The Bensons, married for six years, attended the training with their four children to prepare for the sergeants deployment, his second during the couples 10 years together and third overall. The 17-year Air Force veteran is a knowledge operations management Airman.

"It's going to be difficult to be the only one making our ship sail smoothly," "Teka" Benson said. "Making sure our kids get to their appointments and after-school activities will be a challenge while their father  is deployed."

In addition to attending group sessions and hearing a keynote speaker together, Yellow Ribbon attendees choose from a variety of break-out sessions such as Writing Effective Resumes, Work/Life Balance Workshop and 4 Lenses: Whats Your Color?

Teka Benson, who works as a nosologist for a health-care software company, said she found 4 Lenses the most beneficial session as she discovered a more in-depth understanding of personality traits she and her husband have. With a better understanding of how each faces challenges and what motivates them the most, she said shell be able to recognize why certain decisions are made and how the thought process is generated.

Her husband agreed about the effectiveness of that breakout, describing it as pretty cool, and said the Yellow Ribbon training overall was a great family experience.

"I'm very glad we took the opportunity to come to this one because of the holiday being so close, he said.

Yellow Ribbon has 12 training weekends already firm for 2017 with others to be added. In 2016, the Air Force Reserve program trained about 7,200 GIs and those closest to them in education benefits, health care, retirement information and more.

Were already busy preparing for events through next September, said Mary Hill, a retired Reserve colonel who is the Yellow Ribbon program manager at Reserve headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. Everyone involved in the program is really honored that we get to support deployers and their families. Its really a privilege for us to be of service to them.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a day-long visit to Maharashtra, inaugurated the new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets in Raigad today.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a day-long visit to Maharashtra, inaugurated the new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets in Raigad today.

He will also lay foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune.

HIGHLIGHTS

I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year: PM Modi

My aim is to make India a developed country in one generation: PM Modi

We will not shy away from taking difficult decisions that are in the interest of the country: PM Modi

Those who profit from financial markets must make a fair contribution to nation-building through taxes: PM Modi in Raigad

SEBI should work for closer linkage between spot markets like e-NAM and derivatives markets to benefit farmers: PM Narendra Modi

The true measure of success is the impact in villages, not the impact in Dalal Street or Lutyens' Delhi: PM Modi

Stock markets need to raise capital in innovative ways for projects in agriculture: PM Modi in Raigad

We have a long way to go, our stock markets needs to raise capital in innovative ways for agricultural sector: PM Modi

Our markets should show that they are able to successfully raise capital for projects benefiting the majority: PM Modi in Raigad

My Government is very keen to encourage start-ups. Stock markets are essential for the start-up ecosystem: PM Modi

India has earned a good name for its well regulated securities markets: PM Narendra Modi

For financial markets to function successfully, participants need to be well informed: PM Modi

Government will continue with sound economic policies to ensure India's bright future in long run;no decisions for short term political gains: PM Modi

Demonitisation is only short term pain for a long term gain: PM Modi in Raigad

We have made progress and improved ease of doing business. FDI has now reached record levels: PM Modi

Constitutional amendments on GST that remained pending for years has been passed and the long awaited GST will soon be a reality: PM Modi

India is been seen as bright spot. To see how far we have travelled, we should look back to 2012-13 when the currency was falling sharply: PM Modi

PM Modi speaking at inauguration of new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets in Raigad.

--- ENDS ---

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Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - On Friday, January 6th and 20th, the Foothills Library will host Cafe en espanol at 10:00 a.m. Practice speaking Spanish with other learners in a supportive, low-stress environment. Bilingual staff will guide the group and keep the conversation going.

There is no charge to attend; however, space is limited and registration is required. For more information, and to register, call (928) 342-1640.



The Foothills Library is located at 13226 E. South Frontage Road.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - This morning, at 09:14 AM, the Yuma Police Department responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian collision at 4TH Avenue and 4TH Street.

The initial investigation revealed a 2011 Ford Escape was traveling north bound in the 400 block of 4th Avenue and collided with a 74 year old male, who was crossing 4TH Avenue, heading west bound at 4TH Street. The pedestrian sustained life threatening injuries. He was transported to the Yuma Regional Medical Center by the Yuma Fire Department and was pronounced deceased at Yuma Regional Medical Center.

A portion of 4TH Avenue remains shut down while the case is being investigated. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor.

This case is still under investigation.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous.


A trio of endangered eight-month-old Snow Leopard cubs at the Tulsa Zoo got early Christmas presents from their keepers  including a life-sized cardboard Christmas tree. In a matter of minutes, the curious cubs felled the tree, then went on to explore giant candy canes, garlands, and more.









Photo Credit: Ruth Holland/Tulsa Zoo



All of these items are enrichment for the cats. Enrichment provides novel smells, textures, tastes, or play items to stimulate animals physically and mentally.

Born May 3, the cubs birth was recommended by the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which manages rare species to maintain high genetic diversity. Sherab, their mother, takes excellent care of her cubs.

Named Kavi, Amir, and Zahra, the cubs have experienced some health challenges since birth. All three were born with congenital abnormalities in their eyelids, which resulted in incomplete eyelid formation. These abnormalities left their eyes more vulnerable to trauma or other damage. Eyelid abnormalities affect domestic and exotic felines, including Snow Leopards. To correct these abnormalities, the zoo enlisted the help of a veterinary ophthalmologist who performed corrective surgeries to give the cubs more functional eyelids. The surgeries were a success, so each cub now has properly functioning eyelids. To ensure their safety and wellbeing, Kavi, Amir and Zahra remained behind-the-scenes with mom, Sherab, for their first few months as they received constant care and monitoring.

Native to Central Asias mountainous areas from Afghanistan to Kazakstan and Russia to northern India and China, Snow Leopards are listed as endangered due to poaching and habitat loss.




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If there is one place Ive ever been that truly feels like a winter wonderland, its Finnish Lapland.

I am not kidding, no exaggeration, it *actually* feels like you are at the North Pole. You can even visit Santa in his village in Rovaniemi, which I totally did because I love all things Christmas, but to be honest, felt a bit weird since I visited in March on my own with no friends. Kinda like doing karaoke alone. Not right.

Anyways, Santa aside, being in the Arctic Circle in winter is beyond amazing and so beautiful, and this trip firmly planted Finland (of all places) at the top of my list of favorite countries.

I love animals and I love being out in the forest in winter in the Arctic has always been the stuff of fairytales and childrens storybooks for me, so I was beyond stoked that let this fantasy come true. And the real life version was just as special!

Stretching across northern Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia is the cultural region of Lapland, an area inhabited by the native Sami people. While in Finland itself, there is its own region of Lapland, taking up more than 30 percent of the country with only three percent of the population.

It is a vast, open and empty place, the stuff of legends and stories, obviously I was drawn there.

Lapland for me is like a peaceful wilderness, open skies, and a place of solitude and quiet, something I always value on my travels.

It was a still white day, not too cold and snowing on and off when I made my way out to the Jaakkola Reindeer Farm near Luosto in Finland.

An ancient Sami way of travel, going for a reindeer sled ride is something you must do if you visit Lapland in winter. Reindeer are basically an icon in Lapland, and its a great way to interact with them thats not trying them on the menu (I kid, I kid  NOT  reindeer is delicious).

Nowadays reindeer in Finland are free range, wandering in the wild until they are herded up twice a year. There are more than 1000 types of notches to mark their ears because each one belongs to someone.

But dont ask a Sami reindeer farmer how many reindeer they own  as it turns out thats quite a personal question akin to asking a stranger how much money they earn. You live and learn.

A traditional part of the Sami life in the far north of the world, many things have remained unchanged over the years, except now they can nerd and work with snowmobiles.

It was early afternoon when I arrived at the Jaakkola farm and met the family. Jani and Anu have lived here and run it for their whole lives, helping share their traditional Sami culture with visitors and keep reindeer farming alive and strong.

After meeting some of the reindeer, I piled into the back of one of the sleds and snuggled into the hides and blankets as soft fat snowflakes began to fall. The local farm dog promptly climbed into my lap making the fairytale complete.

Totally peaceful and serene, we glided along the new snow through the forest in utter silence, with only the sound of reindeer bells twinkling. Magical.

As the snow softly landed on my blankets, with my camera tucked away after the first 10 minutes, I felt like I finally had the time to literally sit back and enjoy Lapland.

Passing through the forests in the snow felt like something from a book, not something in real life. I love the feeling of this and I hope I can recreate more often on my travels. The feeling of your imaginings and dreams coming true. It is possible.

After our ride I was lucky enough to visit some of the baby reindeer nearby in their pens. Holy crap can you say cute?

Normal humans like us can visit the farm for all sorts of tours and activities, sit around the warm fire in the traditional Lappish Kota (hut) and learn some stories. And if youre super lucky, Anu, who might be my favorite person I met in Finland, might joik for you.

A form of Sami cultural expression, joiking is a powerful, transformative, emotional type of song thats not really a song, often without words, an expression of the spirit. You joik literally to express something or someone or a feeling, not about someone. Does that make sense? Heres a powerful example.

As I cupped my warm tea and listened to Anu joik for me by the fire after our sleigh ride, I felt overcome with emotions for this part of the world, and wanting to do everything I could to help keep this place special. No doubt about it, Lapland touched my soul.

Have you ever seen reindeer in real life? Has a place ever affected you this way? Would you like to go on a sleigh ride in Lapland or heard of joiking?

Many thanks to Visit Finland for hosting me in Lapland, like always Im keeping it real  all opinions are my own, like you could expect less from me.
<b>Muharram in Karbala</b> <br><br> The origin of Muharram lies in the prosperous city of Karbala. The roots of it can be traced to the aftermath of the battle of Karbala in 680 BC. One of the most important cities of Iraq, it saw the killing of Prophet Muhhamad`s grandson Husayn Ibn Ali. He was killed by the military forces of Yazid I, the man who was the then Umayyad caliph. <br><br> Muharram is also symbolic of the divide between Shiah and the Sunnis as the former observe the occasion while the latter dont. It is due to the fact that the Shiah sects belief was in the instatement of someone from Muhammads lineage as the next Caliph while the Sunnis wanted to choose a leader from the community itself. <br><br> The Karbala Mazaar (tomb) is significant as Muharram started from here, after the death of Imam Husayan was observed on this spot. Millions of pilgrims from all over the world visit the 1300 year old Mazaar, situated a hundred kilometres away from the capital city of Baghdad. It is believed that the heavens gates are opened for those who breathe their last here. <br><br> Its significance to the Shiah Muslims is next to the holiest centres of Mecca and Madina. <br><br> However, it was never recognised by Saddam Hussain, who was a Sunni supporter. It was under his reign that the Karbala mosque was attacked and damaged. It is from this place that the Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is trying to bridge the divide between the two sects of Islam. <br><br> It is believed that a mere touch of the tomb of Imam Husayan can make a persons wishes come true. Muslims the world over observe a fast on the day of Muharram and many Shiah followers also self-flagellate as a mark of their sorrow towards the battle of Karbala and the death of Imam Husayan. <br><br> A huge inflow of Shiah pilgrims starts from ten days before the festival. <br><br> The mosque, made up of gold, silver and precious stones, is a true symbol of sacrifice and martyrdom even today.
By India Today Web Desk: Why Indian Army Special Forces are way behind US Navy SEALs or Israel's IDF despite upgrade

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday cleared a Rs 300-crore proposal to buy critical equipment for the Indian Army's Special Forces, but sources say the elite units will continue to lag by a distance from their American and Israeli counterparts.

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Libyan plane hijack: Hijackers surrender, passengers, crew released

Two hijackers diverted a domestic flight from Libya to the Mediterranean island of Malta on Friday and threatened to blow it up with hand grenades. After hours of negotiations, the standoff ended peacefully with the hijackers freeing all 117 passengers and crew and walking off the plane to surrender.

Star Wars legend Carrie Fisher suffers heart attack mid-air, condition critical

Carrie Fisher has reportedly been transported to a hospital after suffering a severe medical emergency on a flight. Her condition is said to be critical.

Aamir's knowledge on wrestling impressed me: Sushil Kr to India Today

India Today caught up with Sushil Kumar as he was training aspiring wrestlers at the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi and had a candid chat on his comeback and the offer from WWE.

--- ENDS ---
Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump today claimed that attacks like the one in Berlin is a "purely religious threat which turned into reality" as he referred to the suspected attacker's video in which he talked about slaughtering crusaders who had come to kill Muslims.

"The terrorist who killed so many people in Germany said just before crime, "by God's will we will slaughter you..." This is a purely religious threat, which turned into reality," Trump tweeted in two tweets.

"Such hatred! When will the US, and all countries, fight back?" Trump asked.

The alleged Berlin attacker Anis Amri, 24, from Tunisia posted a video prior to the attack on social media.

During the two-minute, 42-second video, Amri, who was killed by police in Milan yesterday, is shown speaking directly to a camera and pledging allegiance to the ISIS group. He also declared his desire to avenge Muslims killed in air strikes and called for attacks against "Crusaders".

Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that they "know my plans" when he was asked about his campaign statements about banning Muslims from entering the country.
Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday said Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks that the Democrats are looking elsewhere for their defeat in the elections were "so true".

"Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true!" Trump tweeted.

At his annual news conference in Moscow yesterday, Putin said the Democrats "are losing on all fronts and looking elsewhere for things to blame", The Washington Post reported.

"In my view, this, how shall I say it, degrades their own dignity. You have to know how to lose with dignity," he said.

The Democratic party and the Clinton Campaign have been blaming Russian hacking into their emails and servers for their loss.

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has ordered an investigation into the alleged Russian interference in US presidential elections.

Putin criticised the Democrats for blaming him for their defeat.

"Outstanding figures in American history from the ranks of the Democratic Party would likely be turning in their graves. Roosevelt certainly would be," Putin said.

"Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him... Except for you and me," he added.

Earlier yesterday, the Trump Transition Team released a letter from Putin to Trump in which he called for strong bilateral relationship.

"Serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have to face in recent years, show that the relations between Russia and the US remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security of the modern world," Putin wrote.

"I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner - to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level," said the Russian President.

"Please accept my sincere wishes to you and your family of sound health, happiness, wellbeing, success and all the best," Putin wrote as per the unofficial translation of the letter released by the Presidential Transition Team.

Trump praised the letter, saying a "very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct. I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path".
Kolkata: India requires a strategy for enhancing quality in all educational institutes and create competition so that at least 10-20 of them appear in the global top 100 ranking, AICTE Chairman Anil D Sahasrabudhe said on Saturday.

"India needs to devise a strategy to enhance quality in all institutes and create competition," he said here at the annual convocation of Jadavpur University.

"We need to put constant efforts to the challenge and create models of excellence in education so that at least 10-20 institutes appear in top 100 institutes," he said.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework is a baby step in that direction, he said.

We need to build strong and world class graduate schools leading to research, he added.

There are 50,000-plus private and government colleges, and 780-plus universities. Last year India produced 21,830 PhDs.

Sahasrabudhe also said this number helped in creating access to higher education and equity to a great extent.. But, the quality of education is much below our expectations in most universities except a few.
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the country to come together in 2017 after a year of bitter divisions exposed by the Brexit referendum, in her first Christmas message released Saturday.

She said Britain needed to unite and seize the opportunity to forge a new role in the world as it leaves the European Union.

In the June referendum, 52 percent voted for Britain to leave the EU and wrangling over the issue dominated the rest of the year.

May says she wants to begin the formal process of withdrawing from the EU, which can take up to two years, by the end of March.

As families gathered for Christmas, May said "coming together is also important for us as a country".

"As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future."

May said on Tuesday that she was planning to negotiate both Brexit and Britain`s future relationship with the EU by 2019 but a transition period may be required after that.

Britain`s Supreme Court is set to rule in January on whether parliament`s approval is required for May to trigger the exit process.
A study conducted by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital concluded that minor girls are the victims of most sexual assault cases that are being reported.

According to a report, most cases of sexual assaults are reported by children below 18 years of age.

By Priyanka Sharma: Cases of minor girls -- below 18 years of age -- being victims of sexual offences are on the rise, said a report study conducted by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital, where most cases of sexual assault are reported.

At Safdarjung Hospital, at total of 310 cases were reported this year, of which 62 cases were of victims falling under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, (POCSO), said a senior doctor at Gynaecology Safdarjung Hospital. In 2015, about 95 cases of sexual assaults on victims below 18 years of age were reported.

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"We have seen patients ranging from 5 months to 18 years of age. On an average, we witness about 20-25 cases of sexual assault every month, of which 3-4 cases are children. And definitely, the incidents are increasing," Dr Monica Gupta, Assistant Professor of Gynaecology told Mail Today. Dr Gupta, who is also a nodal officer for sexual survivor said, "Because the masses have become more aware of the issue, therefore cases are reported more. Earlier, many cases were suppressed due to fear and other social reasons in the society."

Also Read| Government ropes in Interpol to help crackdown on child pornography

For doctors, it is mandatory to inform police once the victims' family approaches them as young victims and their families are often afraid of going to the police. Such patients are given proper counselling and immediate treatment at One-Stop-Center which is dedicated to provide medical aid to rape survivors, Dr Gupta added.

In an auditing of the registered crime incidents against women in 2015 at the Gynaecology Department of RML hospital, it was found, out of nearly 100 cases of sexual offences, 40 per cent were on children between 4-10 years, said Dr AK Gadpayle, Medical Superintendent of RML Hospital.

He said that a lot of awareness towards sexual assault on children is still required as most victims to sexual offences in India are young children.

"Parents have to be alert while leaving there young ones alone or with neighbours or relatives," he said.

Also Read| Pune: 4 minor boys detained for allegedly raping 6-year-old girl

Another doctor said, "Since these young patients narrate different stories to police and doctors during counselling, doctors are advised to counsel them again as there is disparity between the counselling done by the Delhi Police and the RML doctors."

Doctors conduct counselling of patients in privacy and in most cases, it is found that children are mostly targeted by neighbours or relatives. "Many a time, children get scared after the incident and start telling lies. So, it becomes very important for us to get the truth about the incident. And, children also get influenced by their parents and family members too. The victims are mostly from the slum areas," the doctor added.

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Also Read:

Hyderabad: 47 minors caught watching porn, police in soup for parading them before reporters

RJD MLA Rajballabh Yadav to remain in jail for raping minor girl

Karnataka: School teacher rapes minor girl thrice

India among lowest 4 countries in number of rapes: Maneka

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Visakhapatnam: The INS Sahyadri stealth frigate and the Indian Army`s Poona Horse cavalry regiment were affiliated at a ceremony here on Saturday, an official said.

Lt Gen RV Kanitkar, Colonel of the Poona Horse Regiment, and Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command, attended the ceremony at the naval dockyard.

The ceremony commenced with the inspection of the combined Army-Navy ceremonial guard.

After a welcome address by Captain Anil Jaggi, Commanding Officer of INS Sahyadri, the ship was formally affiliated to the armoured regiment with the reading, signing and exchange of the Affiliation Charter by Vice Admiral Bisht and Lt Gen Kanitkar.

Both officers emphasised the importance of achieving the aims listed in the charter of affiliation.

The ceremony was followed by an exchange of mementos and introduction of officers and men of the two units to the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command and the Colonel of the Regiment," an official release said.

The affiliation between naval ships and Army regiments was instituted in 1990 to foster a spirit of cooperation and understanding between various units of the two armed forces.

It is a symbol of inter-services camaraderie and co-operation for joint operations and interdependence in modern warfare.

INS Sahyadri is one of the latest platforms of the Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Naval Command. Poona Horse is a regiment of the Armoured Corps.
Washington: US President Barack Obama has signed a $618 billion defence policy bill which when in place, will enhance security cooperation with India.

The National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed by both the House and the Senate with veto-proof majorities earlier this month, was signed by Obama on Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he is currently vacationing.

The highlights of the bill released by Arizona Senator and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain said it enhances security cooperation between the United States and India, under the Supporting Allies and Partners section.

According to the highlights, the NDAA will also refocus security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support US national security interests and conditions a significant portion of funding on a certification from the Secretary of Defence that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network in Pakistani territory.

The NDAA lays restrictions on transferring detainees out of the Guantanamo Bay facility, ensuring that Obama will not be able to fulfil his goal of closing it before he leaves office next month, Xinhua news agency reported.

It authorises a total of $618.7 billion in spending, including a troop pay raise of 2.1 per cent, though Obama has only requested for a 1.6 per cent pay raise.

It also calls for $3.2 billion more in base defence funding than Obama has requested, plus an additional $5.8 billion in White House-requested war dollars.

As for the size of the Army and Marine Corps, the new bill authorises 476,000 active duty soldiers (16,000 more than requested) and 185,000 Marines (3,000 more than requested).

After signing the bill on Friday, Obama said that it authorises fiscal year 2017 appropriations principally for the Department of Defense and for Department of Energy national security programmes, provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families, and includes authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe.

However, Congress again failed to enact meaningful reforms to divest unneeded force structure, reduce wasteful overhead and modernize military healthcare.

Instead, the Congress redirects funding needed to support the warfighter to fund additional end-strength that our military leaders have not requested at a time when our troops are engaged overseas supporting the fight against the Islamic State and against Al Qaeda, he added.

On the campaign trail, US President-elect Donald Trump promised a massive military build-up, including boosting the Army to 540,000 active duty soldiers, increasing the Navy to 350 warships and adding 1,200 new Air Force fighter jets.
New Delhi: Days after his family sought government's help citing financial constraints, mortal remains of a man from Delhi, who died of cardiac arrest in Tokyo two weeks ago, will be brought back home on Saturday.

The mortal remains will reach New Delhi by ANA flight from Tokyo on 24 December at 2400 hrs. https://t.co/htQanXuvB5  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) December 23, 2016

Last week, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had sought External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj 's intervention after Radha Debi, wife of deceased Gopal Ram, approached it seeking help, saying his poor family was unable to bring the body back.

Wife of man who died in Japan came to DCW for help to get his body to India. Wrote to @SushmaSwaraj ji, her office has assured full support.  Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) December 17, 2016

Responding to the request, Swaraj had said government would bring back the body without delay and bear the expense.

The External Affairs Minister is known for her prompt response in addressing problems of distressed Indians abroad.

48-year-old Gopal Ram, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, had gone to Tokyo in September last year looking for greener pastures.

He died of a cardiac arrest in the Japanese capital on December 10.

"The family is severely distressed and needs your kind support. As we all aware you have been extremely pro-active in resolving such matters. Therefore, I am forwarding the representation along with this letter for your kind perusal. Hoping for your support in this matter," DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal had said in a letter to Swaraj last week.

Gopal was working in Tokyo as a cook in a hotel and according to a family member he was fired within three months after which he started working in some local shop, as per PTI.

On December 10, the family received a call from a person who worked with Gopal, saying that he has passed away following a heart attack.

(With Agency inputs)
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday called for post-Brexit unity in her annual Christmas message and said Britain must seize its historic opportunity and move forward into the future.

In the year that saw the UK vote by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum in June, May said it marked a "historic opportunity" to forge "a bold new role" for the UK.

"As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future," she said in her message released by Downing Street.

"And, with our international partners, we must work together to promote trade, increase prosperity and face the challenges to peace and security around the world," she said.

The Prime Minister said there had been much to celebrate in 2016 ? with the Queen's 90th birthday and British successes in the Olympics and Paralympics.

"These are precious moments when people from many backgrounds, with different beliefs, come together to celebrate with families and communities.

We also think of Christians in other parts of the world who face persecution this Christmas and re-affirm our determination to stand up for the freedom of people of all religions to practise their beliefs in peace and safety," she said.

In a separate message to the armed forces, including the 5,000 deployed on operations over the holiday period, she said: "Just as your commitment to our country is unfaltering, so in return we owe you the same deep commitment and unflinching support."

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used his Christmas message to point to homeless charity Shelter's figures suggesting 120,000 children would spend Christmas without a home to call their own while rough sleeping had increased by 30 per cent in the last year.

He praised charity workers, saying: "It's the goodwill and generosity of ordinary people, public service and charity workers who give tirelessly to help the most vulnerable and the lonely."

"They remind us of Christmas values: love for your neighbour, working together and hope, hope that things can be different," he said.
Washington: A Democratic lawmaker, who is set to become the new face of the party in post-election debacle, has pledged to highlight the persecution of Hindus in South Asia and do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the community in India into his work.

Congressman Keith Ellison, a top candidate for the Democratic National Committee chairman, made the commitment in a letter to the Hindu American Foundation days after he participated in a conference call with Hindu leaders from across the country to listen to their concerns and answer their questions.

He said he will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu and Indian-American communities to foster their greater participation. He said he will give the community "well-deserved" and "much-valued" representation in the Democratic Party.

"As we discussed, I will do more to integrate the concerns and aspirations of the Hindu community in India into my legislative work," Ellison said in a letter to Suhag Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation.

"I also pledge to highlight the persecution of Hindu minority communities throughout South Asia. If elected DNC chair, I will ensure renewed outreach to the Hindu- and Indian-American communities to foster greater participation and more well-deserved and much-valued representation in the Democratic Party," Ellison said in the letter dated December 16, which was released to the press yesterday.

The conference call on December 12, among others was joined by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and representatives of nearly 30 Hindu and Indian American groups. The call covered a wide range of concerns ranging from Ellison's focus on South Asia that many felt ignored the concerns of Hindus where they are minorities, to whether he would constructively engage the current Government of India to promote bilateral ties.

Leaders on the call also queried Ellison as to how, should he be elected DNC chair, he would work with the incoming four Hindu American Democrats in Congress to increase engagement and involvement of the broader Hindu and Indian American communities.

"It goes without saying that Hindu-Americans and Indian- Americans enrich our nation every day. I am proud to work with colleagues such as Senator-elect Kamala Harris, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Representative Ami Bera, and Representatives- elect Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthy, who represent the best values of the Democratic Party," Ellison wrote.

Responding to a question during the call regarding his focus on the Gujarat riots of 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was governing the state, Ellison said he viewed the issue as a "closed matter" since the Indian Supreme Court has issued its ruling.

India is a key strategic partner and friend to the US, he said, adding that he looks forward to build a "constructive and congenial relationship with the Indian government and Indian-American community". He also said he will continue to urge Congress and the Administration to work with India on key areas of shared importance.
Berlin: Germany on Saturday searched for possible accomplices of the suspected Berlin truck attacker who was gunned down by Italian police, as Tunisia announced the arrest of three men linked to the jihadist.

One of those detained was the nephew of the Tunisian-born attack suspect Anis Amri, the country's interior ministry said.

The three men, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested yesterday and were members of a "terrorist cell... Connected to the terrorist Anis Amri"," it said in a statement.

It made no direct link between the trio and the attack on Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people.

The 24-year-old then went on the run and was the focus of a frantic four-day manhunt, before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

The Berlin rampage was claimed by the Islamic State group, which released a video Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Tunisian interior ministry said Amri had sent money to his nephew and shared his jihadist views with him.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist ideology "and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

The arrests come as German authorities are racing to find out whether Amri had help from accomplices before or after the attack.

"It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... In the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank said Friday.

Seven of the victims were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman told AFP. The other five came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine.

She declined to provide names or ages.

The fact that Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies.

German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal with links to the Islamist scene.

But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure.

It "is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock," he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how Amri was able to slip through the net and vowed to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers like him.
Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said his government is raising a special force of 4,000 policemen to protect Chinese nationals working on various projects in the province, including those under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

"Security of the Chinese working in Sindh is a top priority of my government. Our Chinese friends are involved in projects which are linked to CPEC and other important schemes.

We are raising a special force of 2,000 ex-army men for their security," the Dawn quoted Shah, as saying during a meeting with a Chinese delegation led by Foreign Ministry Director General for External Security Liu Guangyuan.

The meeting was told that within the next few months around 100 Chinese firms would begin functioning in Sindh under CPEC.

Both sides discussed the issues relating to workers` security and agreed that appropriate steps would be taken in this regard by the provincial authorities.

Shah said the newly recruited 4,000 policemen were being imparted special training by the army and they would also be assigned the security of the Chinese workers of CPEC projects.

The delegation discussed issues pertaining to the security of the Chinese already working in Sindh and those who would arrive in the coming months as Shah ensured security of every Chinese national working in Sindh, including those involved in non-CPEC and non-governmental projects.

"I have already issued instructions to the police to provide special security to the Chinese working here," he said, adding that more than 800 Chinese were working on energy projects of Thar and 150 policemen had been deployed for their security.

Chief Minister Shah also sought the visiting Chinese delegation's support for including Keti Bandar and Karachi Circular Railway projects in CPEC.
Tabaco (Philippines): Philippine authorities began evacuating thousands of people and shut down dozens of ports on Saturday as a strong typhoon threatened to wallop the country's east coast on Christmas Day.

Nock-Ten is expected to be packing winds of between 203- 250 kilometres per hour when it crosses over Catanduanes, a remote island of 250,000 people in the Bicol region, late tomorrow, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

It is then expected to hit the country's main island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, on Monday.

"The preemptive evacuation is ongoing" in Catanduanes and two nearby provinces, Rachel Miranda, spokeswoman for the civil defence office in the Bicol region, told AFP.

She said she did not have the total number of people who have been transferred to higher ground or to safer structures.

The evacuations came as another civil defence official in the area said that hundreds of thousands of residents were under threat from the approaching typhoon.

The Philippine weather service warned of potentially deadly two-metre waves along the coast, as well as landslides and flash floods from heavy rains.

Seafaring vessels in the area were ordered to stay at port, while one airline cancelled 18 Christmas-Day flights to and from Bicol airports.

"It's sad that I could not join my parents for Christmas," technician Reagan Sumukit told AFP as the coastguard shut down the port of Tabaco.

The 27-year-old was among some 500 ferry passengers stranded at the tiny terminal that was crammed with bags and other luggage.

Local broadcaster ABS-CBN showed footage today of long lines of trucks, cars and vehicles stranded at other Bicol ports.

The poor, mainly agricultural region of 5.5 million people is often the first area to be hit by the 20 or so storms and typhoons that pound the archipelago each year.

Cedric Daep, civil defence chief for the province of Albay, told AFP at least 400,000 people in that area alone needed to be evacuated.

"Our evacuation centres will not be able to accommodate all of them," he said. Others were being asked to stay with relatives or friends.

"We are requesting vehicle support" from other government agencies to move people to safety, Daep added.

In Manila, the civil defence office ordered huge roadside advertising billboards to be pulled down in case they were toppled by strong winds and hurt people on the ground, spokeswoman Romina Marasigan told a news conference.
Moscow: Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday lashed out at the US for slapping sanctions on Syrian ministers and a Russian bank, saying Washington had "completely lost its grip on reality".

The United States on Friday added several senior Syrian officials including the ministers of oil and of finance and the leadership of a Russian bank to its sanctions blacklist.

"This widening of American sanctions against Russia ... at a time when the bloody attacks in Ankara and Berlin should bring reasonable people together to fight the terrorist threat shows that Washington has completely lost its grip on reality," the ministry said in a statement.

The US was trying to "`punish` us for our support to the Syrian government in the fight against terrorism which is a threat not only to that country but to the whole world", it said.

Washington`s "desire for regime change in Syria is so strong that it is ready to help any destructive force", the ministry said.

"We will not give in to sanctions," it said, adding that targeted Russian companies were "functioning normally".

Syria has been locked in war for more than five years, leaving more than 310,000 people dead and millions more displaced.

The conflict began as a pro-democracy revolt but later morphed into an all-out civil war after President Bashar al-Assad`s troops unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent.

It has since become a complex, multi-front conflict, drawing in global powers as well as militias and jihadists.

While Western powers and some regional states have backed the rebellion, Russia and Iran have thrown their full weight behind Assad`s regime.

In announcing the blacklist additions, Washington also imposed sanctions on Syrian airline Cham Wings, accused of transporting foreign militiamen to fight in the country`s brutal civil war.

US officials also targeted two companies allegedly owned or operated by a Assad`s cousin Rami Makhluf, which they said had handled oil drilled in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

The east of Syria has fallen to IS and, while the regime and its allies have fought the extremists, officials have been accused of trading oil from jihadist-held territory.

The fresh sanctions came as the government recaptured the rebel-held east of Aleppo, the country`s second city, after a fierce month-long offensive that saw thousands of civilians and rebels evacuated in recent days.

"The daily attacks on civilian centers by the government of Syria led by Bashar al-Assad are reprehensible, and both the Government and its enablers must be isolated and held accountable for their barbarism," said Adam Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury had already announced new sanctions against Russia for its role in the Ukraine conflict, targeting Russian businessmen, bankers and transport companies.
Tunis: Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are "connected" to the assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

A statement said that the three suspects were members of a "terrorist cell... Connected to the terrorist Anis Amri who carried out the terrorist attack in Berlin". They were arrested yesterday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi countered Opposition's charge of hurting the poor with demonetisation decision saying the nation is with the government in fight against black money and corruption.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Countering Opposition's charge that the government has hit the poor the hardest with demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Mumbai that his government was after the wrongdoers, who encroach upon the rights of the poor.

PM Modi also said that the decision to demonetise 86 per cent of existing notes was a war against black money and fake currency.

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"Those, who have been indulging in malpractices, must understand that the government has changed at the Centre. The nation has brought in a government with full majority. The dishonest must mend their ways," Modi said in his characteristic style at the Bandra Kurla complex in Mumbai.

READ| Rahul Gandhi at Dharamshala: Note has no colour; demonetisation has hurt poor the most

HIGHLIGHTS OF MODI'S SPEECH: "Demonetisation fight is not ordinary. Some people are trying to fail the initiative, but this country will not fail," PM Modi said at Bandra Kurla complex. The nation bore the pain after demonetisation but never stopped supporting me for the benefit of nation, said the prime minister. A handful of people tried hard to fail the demonetisation drive but they failed in front of 125 crore Indians. "Who says that the nation cannot change, I assure you that it can change. The strength of 125 crore Indians will bring about change in this nation. The people of India will not accept corruption and black money," PM said. Our battle to fight corruption has been going on since the day we assumed office. A historic decision was taken on 8th November. There were efforts to mislead and even intimidate people but they supported us in the battle against corruption and black money. No one wants to hang you, but if you infringe upon the rights of the poor, you will be punished, PM Modi warned black money hoarders. PM Modi appealed the corrupt to mend their ways and join the fight against corruption for the benefit of the poor and the country. For the support you have lent me, I promise you that this fight against the corrupt will not stop till we win it, PM Modi said. Demonetisation is part of clean up mission and it is the time of devastation for dishonest people, Modi said in Mumbai. Local body polls in Maharashtra showed that people have given their approval for demonetisation, PM Modi said.

ALSO READ|

RTI on demonetisation: RBI says it proposed note ban hours before Modi's speech

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Tunis: Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are "connected" to the Tunisian assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry said today.

A statement said the three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested yesterday and were members of a "terrorist cell... Connected to the terrorist Anis Amri".

It made no direct link between the suspects and Monday's deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

The interior ministry said that Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist "takfiri" ideology "and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

The nephew also told investigators that Amri "sent him money through the post... So that he could join him in Germany," the statement added.

The unnamed nephew was reported in the statement to have said that his uncle was the "prince" or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and know as the "Abu al-Walaa" brigade.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

He was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two Italian policemen who had stopped him for a routine identity check yesterday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one of the policemen before being killed by the other.

The Tunisian interior ministry did not specify where the three suspects were arrested but said that the "terrorist cell" was "active" between Fouchana, south of Tunis, and Oueslatia, hometown of Amri's family in central Tunisia.
Tunis: Hundreds of people gathered outside Tunisia`s parliament on Saturday to protest against letting jihadists who fought overseas to return to the country.

"No to freedom for terrorist groups!" protestors chanted. Some held placards calling for "political will against terrorist groups". Organisers said 1,500 people attended the rally.

It was held on the same day authorities said they had arrested three alleged jihadists connected to the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker, Tunisian Anis Amri.

Protestors slammed Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist Ennahda party, who has in the past supported the idea of allowing Tunisian jihadists who "repent" and renounce violence to return home.

President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier this month that Tunisia would refuse to pardon Tunisians who fight for jihadist organisations. "Many of them want to return, and we can`t prevent a Tunisian from returning to his country," he told AFP, "but we will be vigilant."

Following a storm of criticism in the press and on social media, on December 15 he told Tunisian local television that "we will not be indulgent with the terrorists".

More than 5,000 Tunisians are fighting for jihadist groups abroad, mainly in Iraq, Syria or neighbouring Libya, according to a UN working group on mercenaries.

On Friday evening, the country`s Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub told parliament 800 Tunisian nationals who had fought for extremist groups abroad had since returned to the country.

Since its 2011 revolution Tunisia has faced repeated jihadist attacks, killing more than 100 soldiers and policemen, as well as about 20 civilians and 59 foreign tourists, according to official figures.
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday rejected a UN resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"The decision that was taken was biased and shameful, but we will withstand it," he said in his first official reaction since Friday`s Security Council vote.



"It will take time, but this decision will be annulled," he said at a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony broadcast by Israeli television.

The council passed the measure after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

Netanyahu hit out at the administration of US President Barack Obama, accusing it of striking a "shameful blow against Israel at the United Nations".

He said Obama had broken a long-standing US commitment not to "dictate the terms of peace to Israel" at the UN body.

Netanyahu added he had given Israel`s foreign minister a month to review "all Israel`s engagements at the UN, including Israeli funding for UN agencies and the presence in Israel of UN representatives".
United Nations: The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory with 15-nation council reaffirming the Israeli settlement activities have "no legal validity" and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel.

The landmark move by the Security Council came despite an effort led by Israel and backed by US President-elect Donald Trump to block the text.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected the UN resolution and slammed the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama for refusing to veto it.

This is significant for following reasons -

US abstention:

In a rare and momentous step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

Samantha Power said the US abstention stemmed from concerns that the expansion of the Jewish outposts was threatening the two-state solution aimed at achieving peace by creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

"We cannot stand in the way of this resolution as we seek to preserve a chance of attaining our longstanding objective of two states living side by side in peace and security," she said, as per AFP.

"The settlement problem has gotten so much worse that it is now putting at risk the very viability of that two-state solution." she added.

Leadership of UNSC:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the passage of the resolution as "a significant step, demonstrating the Council`s much-needed leadership and the international community`s collective efforts to reconfirm that the vision of two States is still achievable."

Support for two-state solution:

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas`s office said the vote was "a big blow" to Israeli policy and a show of "strong support for the two-state solution."

Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state.

The United Nations maintains that settlements are illegal, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-state solution." Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon bluntly told the council that the resolution would not have the hoped-for impact of spurring peace efforts.

(With AFP inputs)
Without making his speech at Raigad overtly political, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his government aims at benefiting the poor and not the rich as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has alleged in his public rallies.

By India Today Web Desk: Facing criticism from Opposition for demonetisation, that has seen people queuing up in front of banks and ATMs for necessary cash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that note ban will benefit the country in the long run.

PM Modi said, "Demonetisation is only short term pain for a long term gain. Government will continue with sound economic policies to ensure India's bright future in long run. No decisions will be taken for short term political gains."

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A united Opposition has accused the government of halting the economic progress of the country by announcing demonetisation. The Congress has been in the forefront in opposing note ban decision of the government.

READ| My government is very keen to encourage start-ups, says PM Modi

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring the poor and the farmers to provide benefits to industrialists and 'one per cent super rich' of the country.

Highlights of PM Modi's speech at Raigad: Inaugurating the new campus of National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) in Raigad, PM Modi said that his government took the decisions with an aim at benefiting the villages and not the already prosperous Indians. "The true measure of success is the impact in villages, not the impact in Dalal Street or Lutyens' Delhi," Modi said. Speaking at the NISM event, Modi said that the government was very keen to encourage start-ups while asking the markets to cater to the emerging needs of new players. "Stock markets are essential for the start-up ecosystem," Modi said adding, Financial markets can play an important role in modern economy, however, they can also do damage if not properly regulated." Our markets should show that they are able to successfully raise capital for projects benefiting the vast majority of our population, the prime minister said. Praising the role played by the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), PM Modi said, "India has earned a good name for its well-regulated securities markets. SEBI as an institution can take pride in this." Modi further said that in less than three years, the government had transformed economy, cut fiscal deficit and current account deficit while forex reserves had grown and inflation had been kept lower during the same period.

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Everybody knows that North Korea is a failed state basket-case full of starving people and multigenerational concentration camps, but South Korea is hardly the model of good governance: from the long-serving leader who stole $200M and gave it to his kids (who now live happily in America off his nest-egg) to those long-ago days of 1988 when the government kidnapped homeless people and developmentally delayed people and put them into forced labor camps  some of which still operate today.

More recently, South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been revealed to be a stooge of a Rasputin-like cult leader, leading to her impeachment (of course, they didn't impeach her when she passed an incredibly invasive surveillance bill despite a brave filibuster.

But South Korea's terrible governance is matched by its excellent resistance, including holographic protesters to their excellent filibuster material: and now, thousands of Santa Clauses gathering in the streets of Seoul for a candlelight vigil demanding a swift resolution to Park's impeachment (Park is continuing to sit as president while the court figures out whether to remove her from office).

They're singing carols.

Protesters dressed as Santa Claus took to the streets Saturday to march against South Korea's impeached president https://t.co/ndYRh12tND pic.twitter.com/yjbQHEkwNB  CNN (@CNN) December 24, 2016

'Santas' march against South Korea's impeached president

[James Masters/CNN]
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before - a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful". "I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks. "I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said. The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details. Defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto, the United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favour. Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a biblical connection to the land. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
By PTI: Kathmandu, Dec 23 (PTI) India has agreed to export to Nepal an additional 240 MW of electricity in a bid to lessen the power shortage of the Himalayan nation.

An agreement was signed to this effect in New Delhi on Thursday between Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and state-owned NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN).

The import of power -- 80 MW immediately from January and 160 MW from February -- will be made through Dhalkebar- Mujjafpur Cross Border Transmission line which was inaugurated in February, said a press release issued by he NEA, Nepals state-owned organisation.

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The new agreement on power purchase from India would to some extent address the problem of blackouts across the country, the NEA said in the statement.

Nepal is facing under an acute shortage of power these days. The country last year suffered power cuts up to 16 hours daily -- mainly in winter season.

To deal with this situation, Nepal in September signed an agreement with India to import additional 250 MW electricity. PTI SBP KUN

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By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) The DRI has seized Rs 2.60 crore cash, including Rs 12 lakh in new notes, and 95kg of gold and silver in connection with its probe into alleged diversion of duty free gold worth about Rs 140 crore, imported under a special concession scheme, by a firm operating from a Noida-based SEZ.

Sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligences zonal unit in Lucknow carried out the searches for two days on the premises of M/s Shri Lal Mahal Limited and the residences of company officials as part of its anti-black money operations after demonetisation, the agency said in a statement.

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"It is found that the unit has illegally diverted and sold 430kg (valued at about Rs 140 crore) of duty free gold in the market.

"Cash amounting to Rs 2.60 crore (Rs 2.48 crore in old currency notes and Rs 12 lakh in new notes) has been seized. Unaccounted 80kg of silver found in the factory has also been recovered. Further, 15kg of gold jewellery has been seized from the premises of the firm," the statement added.

The DRI alleged that the firm had also "transferred huge amount of money through RTGS (funds transfer through banking channels) to one firm operating from their premises to purchase gold coins or bars of 24kg after November 8 (the day Rs 1000/Rs 500 were demonetised) from MMTC, Indias largest public sector trading body, also to sell their as well as this gold in the market in lieu of old demonetised currency".

The agency said, "While directors of the firm are either admitted in hospital or avoiding investigations, two persons have been detained for questioning." PTI SMJ NES SMN

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By PTI: From M Zulqernain

Lahore, Dec 23 (PTI) Pakistans electronic media regulator today ordered that the Channel-24 be shut down for seven days for airing a "false and unverified" audio clip of the crashed PIA plane in which 47 people were killed on December 7.

The decision was taken "for airing false, unverified audio clip" by the news channel claiming that the clip was of the ill-fated Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane which was crashed near Islamabad, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) spokesman Muhammad Tahir said.

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The regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the channel, directing its management to file a reply by December 15.

"The channel in reply to show-cause notice and personal hearing could not prove its claim. The authority thus took the decision keeping in view the gravity of the violation, its adverse mental and psychological impact on the family members of those boarded the plane and the general public that was already going through an emotional trauma," Tahir said

The seven-day ban will come into effect from December 27.

Soon after the crash, an audio clip went viral on social media claiming to be the last audio before the plane crashed and was broadcast by Channel 24.

In the audio, people could be heard crying for help. However, it came to light that the clip was an audio of another plane.

The audio was released by Channel 24 during its 9:47 PM transmission on December 7 following which, PEMRA sent a notice to the channel for broadcasting the unverified audio clip.

PIA flight PK-661 smashed into a hillside in the countrys north while travelling from the city of Chitral to Islamabad on December 7. The airline said one of the planes two turboprop engines had failed. PTI MZ CPS

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Union Minister for Information and Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad was in Patna to promote cashless transaction.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraging a digital push for a cashless economy post demonetisation, Union Minister for Information and Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday was seen purchasing a cup of tea and a bag for himself, making payment digitally.

Prasad, who was in Patna to promote cashless transaction, paid for the tea and the bag through Aadhar enabled payment system. "I made digital payment for the cup of tea and the tea shopowner also very enthusiastically accepted the payment via the digital mode. This system will bring a revolution in the country," said the minister. Prasad, who addressed a group of merchants and traders, urged them to shun the traditional ways of transacting in cash and instead shift to the newer digital mode of transaction. The minister also distributed swipe machines to merchants both in Patna and in Bakhtiyarpur, where he went as part of Centre's 'DigiDhan Abhiyaan'. "Digital payment is a way of making the country honest. We have started this campaign across the country and distributing swipe machines and Aadhar enabled payment devices to the merchants," said the Union Minister.

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Also read: Why does Lalu believe demonetisation is a bad idea for India

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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The technical requirements for production of brandy and wine in Armenia will gradually be toughened, agriculture minister Ignati Arakelyan told a year-end press conference. He mentioned measures are taken to develop brandy production. Armenian brandy is a brand and has no need for competition in the market. Its another issue that we have to ensure the continuation of that reputation by maintaining the quality of grapes, the minister said.

The minister said brandy and wine production in Armenia must be in line with the current international standards. There are factories willing to make high quality products, and there are other factories who are simply engaged in bottling alcohol, Arakelyan said, adding there is also an issue of correct representation in the market.
The Delhi Metro is planning to allow payments through Paytm for recharging Smart Cards and sale of tokens. Cash will be accepted initially but no payments can be made using debit or credit cards presently.

By India Today Web Desk: The capital of the Republic of India has decided for its 10 Metro stations to go entirely cashless, using only Paytm.

Uttar Pradesh-based e-commerce portal Paytm -- which according to a Your Story report, in 2016, received a $680 million investment from Alibaba Group of China taking its total shareholding to over 40 per cent -- has been adopted as the only cashless payment method by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, for its 10 Metro stations.

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The Delhi Metro is planning to allow payments through Paytm for recharging Smart Cards and sale of tokens at 10 of its stations. They are also planning to gradually introduce provision of payment through debit/credit cards.

The cashless transactions for token/Smart Card purchase/top up, at these stations can be done through Paytm by using Paytm QR-code, which will be displayed at token counters/customer care centre of these stations, according to a DMRC press release.

Following steps to be followed by passengers for making cashless transactions at Token Counter/Customer Care:

Original Photo: Reuters

The 10 Metro stations adopting cashless payment:

Original Photo: Reuters Original Photo: Reuters

According to the Delhi Metro press release, the stations have been selected keeping in mind certain factors to ensure that commuters don't face issues while going for cashless transactions, like:

Original Photo: Reuters

Delhi Metro has also introduced a refund procedure:

Original Photo: Reuters

The move is to make these 10 Metro stations entirely cashless but initially, if the demand is high, the stations will accept cash as well.

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It's the worst "holiday." And it's not that close.

Forget all the drunken idiots. Even if you want to go out to a nice dinner, restaurants jack the prices and are so overcrowded that the food isn't even all that good.

I wish we could just skip the night entirely.
Portugal is considering abandoning golden visa scheme

Biden and Erdogan to meet at G-20 summit

NATO supports normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and welcomes EU efforts

Bank of England raises interest rates by largest amount since 1989

Scholz says Berlin must change its attitude toward China

Cavusoglu and Stoltenberg disagree over Sweden's and Finland's fulfillment of commitments

Turkish Vice President to visit Azerbaijan and occupied Shushi

Britain buys 250 million pounds worth of oil from Azerbaijan from July 2021 to June 2022

Yair Lapid congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu on winning election

Armenian MOD: Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense spreads another disinformation

ENISA: War in Ukraine, geopolitics fuel cyberattacks

Armenian MFA: Yerevan and Baku agree to speed up work on agreeing procedure of Commissions' activities

Zelenskyy will not participate in G20 summit if Putin participates in it

WP: Man who attacked Pelosi's husband was in the U.S. illegally

At Upper Lars, 30 cars are allowed through per day instead of previous 300: What are authorities doing?

Bloomberg: Turkey unlikely to sign Sweden's bid for NATO membership before the end of the year

Military servicemen in Armenia to be attested: Discussion at parliamentary standing committee

IEA calls for urgent action on gas shortages in Europe

French Senate to consider resolution demanding immediate withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenian territory

Papikyan: The final number of dead will be published after the identification is complete

Armen Grigoryan presents to Patrushev consequences of Azerbaijani aggression

Indonesia reveals its own kamikaze drones

UN: Russia resumes participation in inspection of ships in Black Sea

Grigoryan: Armenia interested in using communication routes through Azerbaijan

Investigative Committee: 10 officers charged in Armenia

FT: Azerbaijan demands EU funding and long-term contracts for gas supplies

Security Council Secretary: Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenian territory

US becomes 2nd largest gas supplier to EU

Russian Defense Ministry reports release of 107 Russian servicemen from Ukrainian captivity

How U.S supports Azerbaijan in 20 years by suspending 907th Amendment?

Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will receive less funds in 2023 than in previous two years

German government urges its citizens to leave Iran

Armenian MFA: Unblocking infrastructures is one of the main directions of talks

Armenia MFA: We expect positive results in relations with Turkey in near future

Armenia to open diplomatic representations in several countries in 2023: Uruguay among them

Former Pakistani Prime Minister injured in shooting of election motorcade

Russian MFA: Great Britain transferred underwater drones to Ukraine

Armenia FM: International community has sent very clear signal to Azerbaijan

Prime Minister receives Arin Karapet, Swedish MP

Dollar, euro drop in Armenia

Armenia FM: In few days there will be meeting between me, Bayramov, Blinken in Washington

IRNA: Iran's IRGC eliminated a group that was planning attacks on government agencies

Lawcoster 'Pobeda' to resume flights to Armenia at end of this year

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

CSTO deputy chief: Armenia-Azerbaijan escalation, confrontation risk remains

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
YEREVAN.  The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia received information, on Friday at 3:55pm.

Accordingly, a bus was on fire nearby Yeraskhavan village of Ararat Province.

A fire and rescue squad was dispatched to the scene.

It was found out that the fire in the bus had broken out on the Yerevan-Yeraskh motorway.

The fire was extinguished at 4:50pm.

But the buswith H. S. (born in 1971) behind the steering wheel, which was carrying soldiers to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), was completely destroyed by the fire.

Paruyr Sevag village mayor Eduard Stepanyan, however, told Armenian NEWS.am that no soldier was hurt in the fire.

The fire had started on the way, he said, in particular, adding that another bus came to transport these soldiers.
By PTI: Mumbai, Dec 24 (PTI) Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM), led by Prakash Ambedkar, which has only one legislator in Maharashtra, has decided to contest 40 seats in the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.

The party has no presence outside Akola and Washim district in Vidarbha region of the state.

Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution.

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"In Punjab, Dalit community is prevalent in almost each assembly constituency and are 32 per cent of the total population. To rope in these voters, BBM has decided to contest 40 seats out of total 117 seats," Ambedkar said.

"The Republican Party of India (RPI) has no presence in Punjab. Earlier, Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party had a hold in a few pockets, but has lost supporters in the last few years. Which is why I think that BBM has strong chances of opening its account in the state," he added.

A team of 40 retired bureaucrats from the Punjab cadre will do the leg work for Ambedkar in Punjab.

"Today, I held a meeting of these retired IAS officers who had expressed their desire to join politics directly or indirectly. They will handle rallies and campaign in the state in our support," Ambedkar, who is on a tour of Punjab from the last Wednesday said and added that the process to select candidates will begin very soon.

BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance is currently in power in Punjab.

A party leader said that Aam Aadami Party has expressed its desire to tie up with the BBM for the assembly polls. However Ambedkar said he has not received any official communication from AAP as yet.

BBMs lone legislator Baliram Siraskar won the 2014 Maharashtra assembly polls from Akola constituency. The party has a complete hold over Akola Zilla Parishad, and 5 Panchayat Samitis from the same district. Partys Nafisa Shaikh won presidents post of Buldhana Municipal Council in recently concluded civic polls.

Punjab governments Assembly tenure will end in March 2017. PTI MM DK DK

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YEREVAN.  Although 14 percent of the residents of Armenias capital city of Yerevan would like to receive a smartphone as a New Year gift, solely 7 percent plan to give such a gift.

The results of a survey, which Gallup Armenia Office conducted in Yerevan, also show that 21 percent of the respondents intend to present various accessories to their friends and relatives as a New Year present, whereas only 9 percent want to receive such a gift.

Director of the Gallup Armenia Office, Aram Navasardyan, presented the results of this survey at a press conference on Saturday.

Accordingly, 15 percent of the respondents would like to receive clothes or shoes as a New Year gift, but those planning on giving such presents is more that 36 percent.

In addition, 6 percent of the respondents would like to receive a book as a gift, whereas 9 percent intends to give such a present.

Also, 41 percent noted that they also are going to present toys as a gift, but solely one percent wants toys.

A total of 28 percent of the respondents plan on presenting souvenirs to their acquaintances, but only 9 percent want such gifts.

Another 5 percent of Yerevan residents want to get an automobile as a New Year present; and as many people hope to receive either household appliances or money.

One percent admitted that they would like to receive an apartment as present.

No respondent, however, said they are going to present anyone an apartment, an automobile, a household, or money.

The survey was conducted from December 7 to 19, and with 800 respondents.
Iran and six international mediators have made 8 previously reached nuclear agreements public to confirm, that Tehran does not violate the agreement about restrictions of uraniums enrichment, reports RIA Novosti.

Some of the documents published on the organizations website were signed on 6 January 2016. As AP reports, the agreement stipulates, that the Iranian reserves of uranium are limited to 300 kg. The published documents illustrate, that Iran cannot use the low-enriched uranium for the purposes, the highly-enriched uranium is used. Therefore, it is not included into the limited 300 kg.

There is also a document of the head of the European diplomacy Federica Mogerini attached to the letter. It explains, why the documents are being made public a year after signing them. The Agency notes, that this could be because of the position of the US president-elect Donald Trump.

Earlier, Trump sharply criticized the nuclear deal with Iran, arguing that it would allow the Islamic Republic to obtain nuclear weapons.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Dec 24 (PTI) US President-elect Donald Trump today said Russian President Vladimir Putins remarks that the Democrats are looking elsewhere for their defeat in the elections were "so true".

"Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true!" Trump tweeted.

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At his annual news conference in Moscow yesterday, Putin said the Democrats "are losing on all fronts and looking elsewhere for things to blame", The Washington Post reported.

"In my view, this, how shall I say it, degrades their own dignity. You have to know how to lose with dignity," he said.

The Democratic party and the Clinton Campaign have been blaming Russian hacking into their emails and servers for their loss.

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has ordered an investigation into the alleged Russian interference in US presidential elections.

Putin criticised the Democrats for blaming him for their defeat.

"Outstanding figures in American history from the ranks of the Democratic Party would likely be turning in their graves. Roosevelt certainly would be," Putin said.

"Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him... except for you and me," he added.

Earlier yesterday, the Trump Transition Team released a letter from Putin to Trump in which he called for strong bilateral relationship.

"Serious global and regional challenges, which our countries have to face in recent years, show that the relations between Russia and the US remain an important factor in ensuring stability and security of the modern world," Putin wrote.

"I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able ? by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner - to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level," said the Russian President.

"Please accept my sincere wishes to you and your family of sound health, happiness, wellbeing, success and all the best," Putin wrote as per the unofficial translation of the letter released by the Presidential Transition Team.

Trump praised the letter, saying a "very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct. I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path". PTI LKJ SAI

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In 2017, Iranian Mellat Bank will complete the business plan on the work in the free trade zone of Meghri bordering with Iran.

Executive Director of Mellat Bank in Armenia, Seyed Gholamreza Mousavi, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am.

In his words, the proposal to consider the possibility to work in the free trade zone was recently made to them by the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA).

Considering that Araratbank is already going to work there, they offered us to work there as well. Now we are making a business plan, which, I think, we will finalize during 2017, Mousavi said.

The possibility of creating a free trade zone on the border with Iran was proposed in the draft Customs Code of the Eurasian Union.

The Code is planned to take effect after the completion of the ratification process in five EAEU member states.
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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SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Costa Rica said on Friday it was investigating whether a former Mexican state governor wanted on corruption charges had entered the country illegally. Following a report from a Mexican newspaper that the politician was in Costa Rica, Security Minister Gustavo Mata said that Javier Duarte, who governed the Gulf state of Veracruz until taking a leave of absence in October, had not been registered entering the country legally. "If he is detected here in Costa Rica, he will be detained and immediately deported," Mata told a news conference. Citing intelligence sources, newspaper El Financiero reported that Duarte had travelled to the capitals of Costa Rica and Guatemala. In Costa Rica he was traced last week to a hotel in San Jose, the paper said. Duarte, who was expelled from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after the probe into his alleged involvement in organised crime and money laundering, stood down shortly before the end of his six-year term. Duarte denied any wrongdoing before going underground. His disappearance embarrassed Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office vowing to get tough on corruption but has instead been accused by critics of allowing it to go unpunished. (Reporting by George Rodriguez; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Felix Onuah and Alexis Akwagyiram ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's army has captured a key Boko Haram camp, the Islamist militant group's last enclave in the vast Sambisa forest that was its stronghold, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday. Boko Haram has killed 15,000 people and displaced more than two million during a seven-year insurgency to create an Islamic state governed by a strict interpretation of sharia law in the northeast of Africa's most populous nation. The group controlled an area about the size of Belgium in early 2015 but has been pushed out of most of that territory over the last year by Nigeria's army and troops from neighbouring countries, shifting to a base in the Sambisa, a former colonial game reserve. "I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the camp fell at about 1:35 pm on Friday, December 23, and that the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide," Buhari said in a statement. Reuters was unable to independently verify whether the base in Nigeria's Borno state, known as Camp Zero, had been taken by the army. Buhari said the capture of Camp Zero marked the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa forest". Army spokesman Sani Usman said the military was "happy and proud of the accomplished task" without giving further details. Nigeria's military has been conducting an offensive in the forest during the last few weeks. Officials said in recent days that insurgents were fleeing into surrounding areas, warning residents to be vigilant. Despite having been pushed back to the Sambisa forest, Boko Haram still stages suicide bombings in northeasteran areas and in neighbouring Niger and Cameroon. Ryan Cummings, director of Africa-focused risk management company Signal Risk, said it was unlikely that the entire insurgency was being coordinated from the Sambisa. "Boko Haram may have both logistical and operational bases both within and outside of Nigeria's borders," he said. Boko Haram pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) last year but signs of a rift emerged in August after IS announced a new leader, Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Boko Haram's hitherto leader Abubakar Shekau later appeared to contradict the appointment in a video message. Analysts say Shekau's faction is based in the Sambisa while al-Barnawi's group operates in the Lake Chad area. (Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Catherine Evans and Helen Popper)
The UN Security Council on Friday rejected a US-drafted resolution on imposing an arms embargo and sanctions on South Sudan amid divisions over how to pressure leaders to end the three-year war. The measure presented by the United States garnered only seven votes in favor in the 15-member council, while eight countries including Russia, China and Japan abstained. Nine votes and no veto are required for resolutions to be adopted in the council. The United States, backed by Britain and France, had argued that cutting off the arms flow was urgently needed following UN warnings of a risk of mass atrocities. But Russia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Venezuela and more importantly, the three African council members -- Angola, Egypt and Senegal -- were not swayed and they all abstained. "This should not have been a contentious resolution," US Ambassador Samantha Power told the council after the vote. "History is going to be a very harsh judge of their decision," said Power, arguing that those who declined to support the measure offered no alternative course to try to end the bloodshed. The outcome was a setback for the United States, which helped South Sudan gain independence in 2011 but has been unable to steer the country away from a war that erupted two years later. The United States had also sought to put rebel leader Reik Machar, army chief Paul Malong and Information Minister Michael Makuei on a sanctions blacklist, subjecting them to an assets freeze and a global travel ban. - Japan says sanctions 'counter-productive'- Japan, which has some 350 troops serving in the UN mission in South Sudan, had warned that the measure would have antagonized President Salva Kiir's government and put peacekeepers' lives at risk. Opponents of the sanctions pointed to Kiir's call for a national dialogue to restore peace, saying that initiative must be given a chance. "Japan believes that it would be counter-productive to introduce additional sanction measures at a time when the transitional government is making some positive moves," said Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho. In veiled criticism of the United States, French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the draft resolution should have been put to a vote earlier, when more council members were on board. The world's youngest nation, South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than 3.1 million people displaced. Six non-governmental organizations expressed disappointment and warned it could embolden the warring sides on the ground. "The Security Council had an opportunity to show that it stands with the civilian victims of this conflict," said Akshaya Kumar, from Human Rights Watch. "Instead, this failure gives the warring parties in South Sudan a green light to buy more weapons and materiel that will end up being used against civilians." There is growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in the country as the conflict enters its fourth year. More than six million people -- half of South Sudan's population -- are in need of urgent aid and humanitarian organizations expect this number to rise by 20 to 30 percent next year. Some 1.3 million South Sudanese have fled across borders as refugees, including 383,000 who have fled to Uganda since July, according to UN figures.
Speaking exclusively to India Today Prasad said, "Rahul Gandhi's remarks explain that he thinks it is only he or his family who has the right to run the country."

The attack comes just days after he had hit back at the Congress V-P for levelling corruption charges against PM Narendra Modi.

The Union Minister also took potshots at Rahul's understanding of India. "Does Rahul Gandhi even understand India? How much does he understand the country? He only thinks that only he or his family has the right to run the country," Prasad said.

While reacting to the corruption charges levelled by Rahul Gandhi on BJP leaders including PM Modi, Prasad further took a jibe at the Congress leader questioning him as a politician. He questioned if Rahul even did his homework before speaking his mind.

"Rahul Gandhi is yet to mature as a politician," Prasad said.

"He does not read or write, nor does he do his homework. To level false and baseless allegations is his style. I feel Rahul Gandhi still has to mature as a person," the Union Minister said.

Prasad said that the country did not take Rahul seriously as the Congress had become a symbol of corruption during their ten years in power under PM Manmohan Singh.
New Zealand said Saturday the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements should have come as no surprise to the Jewish State, after Israel retaliated by recalling its ambassador to Wellington. New Zealand co-sponsored the resolution which described the settlements in the occupied territories as a major stumbling block to Middle East peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state. There was applause in the UN chamber when the first resolution by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in more than 38 years to condemn Israel over its settlement policy was passed 14-0, with the country's key ally the United States abstaining. Israel refused to recognise the resolution with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman tweeting that their ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, who co-sponsored the resolution, were to return to Israel immediately. "These steps are taken against countries that have tabled the draft resolution to the UNSC and have diplomatic relations with Israel," he said. New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the decision should have been no surprise to Israel which knew Wellington's position long before the UN vote. "Israel has informed us of their decision to recall their ambassador to New Zealand for consultations," McCully told AFP in a statement. "We have been very open about our view that the (Security Council) should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question. "The vote today should not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue." The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem." It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution". Netanyahu's office described the UN move as a "shameful anti-Israel resolution". Malaysia and Venezuela also sponsored the UN resolution but do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. New Zealand is one of 10 non-permanent members of the UNSC, whose two-year term ends this month.
Getting Smart with Ace-King, a Troublemaker of a Hand

December 24 2016 Martin Harris

While at the European Poker Tour Prague festival this week, I witnessed an interesting hand play out in one of the side events, the Eureka Prague Main Event, that highlighted just how much of a troublemaker one particular hand can be in no-limit hold'em  ace-king. This despite the fact that in the hand neither player even had ace-king. But ace-king still caused trouble.

I'll just summarize the hand in a general way, as it illustrated a situation and thought process we've all seen before many times, and probably have been guilty of ourselves.

It was the very end of the night on the second day of the event. The tournament had reached the money earlier in the day and was down to eight tables or so, meaning the really big money was still a good ways away. The stacks were also still relatively deep, and this particular hand played out between a couple of the bigger stacks left in the event  one player was among five vying for the chip lead, and the other was well above average.

There had been enough preflop betting to start building a pot, then after a flop the player with fewer chips led with a bet and the other responded with an all-in push. That sent the first player into the tank, knowing that if he were to call and lose he'd be out, but to call and win would mean having the chip lead to start the next day.

He thought for a long time, speaking aloud as he considered the situation and his opponent's hand. Eventually he said the phrase that helped spur this reminder about Big Slick and the trouble it causes.

"I think you're playing ace-king," he said.

Not being privy to recent hands played between the pair, I won't try to guess whether this suspicion of bluffing was well founded or not. In any event, the player ended up calling and showing for bottom pair. His opponent wasn't playing ace-king, but  it had been a bold bet, for sure, but not an out-and-out bluff. The latter player won the hand after the turn and river brought blanks, and the caller was eliminated.

That's a frequent occurrence, related to an even larger issue having to do with narrowing ranges artificially by ruling out hands that beat you, and keeping in hands that you beat. We all do it now and then, trying to find ways to think positively  or, to be more accurate, hopefully  about our hands and give ourselves reasons not to let them go.

Ace-king in particular looms as a kind of "go-to" choice for those wanting to imagine an opponent having a strong starting hand before the flop but not having a "made hand" once the community cards have begun to arrive.

When someone opens with a raise or re-raises before the flop, is rightly included in the range of that player's possible holdings. When that player then makes a show of strength after the flop, can continue to seem a possibility, even if the board comes nine-high. But we have to be careful not to allow the relative value of our own hand unreasonably influence us to "put him on ace-king" in order to imagine a scenario that will end more preferably for us should the hand continue.

Interestingly, when we think about how much trouble ace-king causes we probably tend first to think about how hard the hand can be to play after the flop when we have it and fail to improve.

Andrew Brokos wrote a great article here a while back focusing on this very problem of "When Ace-King Misses," arguing in particular how it is often good to play the hand aggressively preflop. He outlines possible outcomes that can follow your raising with , including the one in which you miss the flop and have to negotiate continuing with just ace-high.

From earlier this year, Mo Nuwwarah discussed an interesting hand from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in which a player took the route of playing ace-king aggressively postflop after having missed. See his "Missing with Ace-King: Analyzing a Big Bluff in the PCA Main Event" for a breakdown of the hand and related discussion about playing an unimproved ace-king.

Also check out another smart discussion of the hand in an article by Nate Meyvis titled "A Planning Exercise: What If I Get Ace-King?" Meyvis invites us to think about how we might play ace-king at a given table against a given set of opponents, using that as a means to improve our focus and readiness to respond to what others are doing.

To circle back to that Eureka Prague Main Event hand, it occurred at a stage in the tournament when it often happens that players will overplay , getting in very deep stacks either before or after the flop without a pair. That was likely part of the caller's thinking, actually. It is that very tendency to overplay ace-king ourselves that can sometimes heighten the suspicion that an opponent is doing the same thing  that is, has "gone crazy" with ace-king and thus can be called down with anything that beats ace-high.

The best players make relatively few egregious mistakes with ace-king, at least compared to others. Getting a better understanding of how to play the hand well can position you better not to make the related mistake of assuming others are playing ace-king recklessly or in exploitable ways. That is to say, getting smart with ace-king yourself can help you be smarter in your reads of how others might be playing ace-king.

Sharelines Ace-king is a troublemaker. We overplay it. And sometimes we wrongly assume others overplay it, too.

Beware of putting an opponent on ace-king as an excuse to go further in a hand than you should.
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The holidays are a time for celebration and gifts, but not all presents hit the mark and returning them doesnt feel very festive. If you find yourself unhappy with a gift, you wouldnt be the only one.

Nearly a quarter of the people responding to a 2015 holiday survey by shopping app Retale said they were likely to return or exchange at least one of the presents they received.

A recent holiday shopping report by personal finance website NerdWallet found that clothing was the most commonly returned gift last year, at 14 percent.

Many retailers allow people to exchange or return goods that didnt satisfy, but the policies often must be followed to a T. So heres what you should know about returning those holiday gifts you gave or received.

Read the fine print, says Narayanan Janakiraman, an assistant professor in marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington who writes about return policies. Most of us know that the fine print has got all kinds of restrictions on what is qualified for a return.

First, comb through the policy to see if your product is eligible for returns. Many retailers exclude certain categories, including clearance products, opened software and video games (usually eligible only for exchange), worn clothing and gift cards. For example, Best Buy wont accept returns on digital content and prepaid cards.

Next, ensure you have all thats required for returns  usually your receipt or gift receipt and all of the item parts and packaging in good condition. You may also have to pay a restocking fee.

Then, decide the timing. Dec. 26 is predicted to be the second-busiest shopping day of 2016, according to research firm ShopperTrak, so taking something back that day may not be comfortable if you dont like crowds. For returns by mail, ensure that the package will reach the retailer before its deadline.

And putting off a return can bring its own drawbacks. Many retailers have extended their holiday return policies to the middle or end of January, but not all items qualify for the longer time frame. One example is Amazon, which has widened its usual 30-day return period to Jan. 31 for holiday purchases, but some third-party sellers on the site may have different deadlines, so check policies carefully.

Janakiraman says lenient return periods can be risky for consumers. The more time you have to make the return, the more likely you may be to buy something, but the less likely you may be to return an unsatisfactory present.

The more you procrastinate, and the more time you have it, the more you feel ownership of it, Janakiraman says. That means you may fail to return the gift.

Mailing back returns is one convenient way to unload unwanted gifts, but it could come at a cost. Some retailers charge a return shipping fee for using their prepaid label and deduct the cost from your refund. That could make in-store returns more affordable.

Another option is Happy Returns , a network of kiosk locations (called Return Bars) within select malls. Shoppers can take an online purchase to a Return Bar for an instant refund, rather than waiting to ship it back to the retailer to get one. But this service is currently available only for items purchased from a handful of lesser-known online retailers, including Tradesy and Eloquii.

Some major outlets like Wal-Mart and Bloomingdales allow consumers to return gifts that were bought online at a physical store location. If you decide to go to a store, take the receipt, a form of identification and the payment method used (such as a credit card) if you bought the gift.

Ryan Koral of Michigan thought his local sporting goods store would be able to pull up his order via his credit card when he recently went to make a return within the policy period. But he was surprised that a receipt was required. The best he would get without a receipt was a store credit for the lowest discounted price of the item  much less than the $50 purchase amount.

Having a gift receipt doesnt ensure a monetary refund, especially at retailers such as Burlington Coat Factory and Bed Bath & Beyond , which offer merchandise credit to gift recipients on store returns.

The key is to read the return policy before you do anything and then decide on your course of action early, Janakiraman says. Return policies generally are detailed online, but you may need to search the retailers website for the fine print.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Email staff writer Courtney Jespersen: courtney @courtneynerd.

RELATED LINKS

Retale: Holiday returns survey http://www.retale.com/corporate/white-papers/survey-for-holiday-returns-exchanges-in-store-64-continues-to-beat-online-24/

NerdWallet: 2016 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report https://nerd.me/3-nerdwallet-shopping

ShopperTrak: Black Friday predicted to be the busiest shopping day of 2016

http://www.shoppertrak.com/media/press-release/black-friday-predicted-busiest-shopping-day-2016/
The Reserve Bank of India has said that it was consulted before demonetisation was announced in a television address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

By Himanshu Mishra: Responding to a Right To Information plea, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that it recommended demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1,000 notes hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it.

Questions were being raised by the Opposition and economic experts about the RBI not being consulted before the announcement of demonetisation was made.

In a surprise move, PM Modi announced demonetisation of high value currency notes in televised address to the nation in the evening of November 8.

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Even 45 days after the announcement was made, the government and the RBI have kept the consultation process prior to demonetisation as a closely-guarded secret.

READ| RBI changing demonetisation rules like PM changing his clothes: Rahul Gandhi

Both, the government and the RBI have said that the demonetisation plan was under discussion for long. With the announcement of demonetisation of 86 per cent of the currency notes in circulation was rendered illegal and required being exchanged with legal tenders.

Briefing reporters on the day of demonetisation, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das had said on November 8 that there was "no need to go into the process which led to this decision."

Now, the RBI has cleared some part of the mist that enveloped the decision making process leading to demonetisation.

In response to a petition seeking information about the consultation and recommendation process before demonetisation was announced, the RBI said, "The recommendation was made in the meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India held in New Delhi on November 8, 2016."

RBI's reply to RTI request.

READ| RBI Governor Urjit Patel breaks silence on demonetisation

This means, the recommendation from the central bank came just hours before PM Modi addressed the nation announcing that the notes of Rs 500 and 1,000 would not remain legal tender from November 9.

The RBI also said that only eight of the 10 board members attended the crucial meet.

WATCH:

The meeting was attended by RBI Governor Urjit Patel and economic affairs secretary Shashi Kanta Das.

Apart from them, RBI deputy governors R Gandhi and SS Mundra, Nachiket M Mor- the country director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bharat Narotam Doshi- former chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Limited, former Gujarat chief secretary Sudhir Mankad, and financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal also attended the meeting of the central board of RBI, which recommended demonetisation.

As per the law, the RBI should have 21 members on its central board including 14 independent members. But, the RBI has been operating with less than half its sanctioned strength.

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ALSO READ|

Are banks failing the demonetisation drive?

--- ENDS ---
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.  A man suspected of killing his wife and infant son in Texas calmly told officers during a traffic stop in Colorado that he was having a long week because his wife and children had been murdered and he was being blamed, according to police reports filed in connection with the case.

Craig Vandewege, 35, was being held Friday in Glenwood Springs, a Colorado resort town, pending his extradition to Texas to face charges and did not plan to fight the effort to send him back, said his lawyer, Leslie Barrows.

Police have said he had called 911 Dec. 15 in Fort Worth, Texas, to report he came home from work and found his wife, Shanna Riddle Vandewege, and their 3-month-old son Diederik dead. Their throats had been slashed.

The Colorado police reports stated Vandewege raised suspicions after police say he borrowed a phone from a 7-Eleven clerk and was overheard talking about a murder. The clerk called 911 and when police later pulled him over for speeding, he calmly and unemotionally told them that his wife and son had been murdered, the reports said.

Vandewege had two holstered handguns with him plus a rifle in the backseat of his car, the reports said.

He also told officers that has family had moved from the Denver area earlier this year and that he had returned to Colorado to bury them, the reports said. But Vandewege also said he was on his way to Las Vegas because he had hear that three suspects had been arrested in the deaths of his fie and son, the reports added.

The Glenwood Springs officers decided to arrest Vandewege for not having insurance and speeding, believing he could pose a threat to public safety in his state with numerous loaded firearms.

He was later poised to be released from custody when the Glenwood Springs police department received a warrant from Fort Worth to arrest him for suspicion of murder.

Vandewege told a co-worker before the killers that he was taking a new medication that was making him hear voices telling him to kill people and that one voice said it wished he could kill his then-pregnant wife by pushing her down stairs, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (http://bit.ly/2hazalf) reported, citing a police affidavit.

Barrows did not directly address the allegations against Vandewege but said she and other lawyers have started our own independent investigation into the deaths of Shanna and Diederik.

Authorities also found a fourth gun and ammunition in Vandeweges car.
Weekend storm could mean a white Christmas

Hannah Grover

The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M.

FARMINGTON  San Juan County residents who are dreaming of a white Christmas may get their wish this year.

Forecasters are warning that drivers on roads near ski resorts or over high mountain passes today and Friday may experience difficult driving conditions, according to The Associated Press.

While much of the state received rain today, a winter storm warning was issued through noon Friday for northern New Mexicos mountains higher than 9,000 feet, according to The Associated Press. The mountains will likely receive 10 to 20 inches of precipitation.

While the storm is expected to move out of the state Friday, a second storm will roll in over the weekend and possibly bring snow for Christmas.

Randall Hergerst, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said there is a good chance Farmington may see between a light dusting of snow and about one-tenth of an inch of snow overnight Saturday leading into Christmas.

He said there is a 60 percent chance of snow Saturday night and 30 percent chance on Sunday.

(The storm) should be clearing out of there as the day goes on, Hergerst said.

He said there may be snow flurries on Christmas morning as people open presents and enjoy hot chocolate.

As the day goes on, they can go out and play as the sun comes out, he said.

Hergerst said Christmas afternoon will likely be sunny.

He said the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado are also expected to get snow.

Snowpacks across most of the state are below normal, according to the National Weather Service.

However, the White Christmas Probabilities report for northern and central New Mexico released by the National Weather Service states the San Juan and Jemez mountains have about 100 to 130 percent of their normal snowpack.

Hannah Grover covers government for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4652.



2016 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

While the chief of the VA Medical Center in New Mexico contends veterans are receiving high-quality care, newly released records show the Albuquerque-based hospital slipped from two stars to one  the lowest possible rating in an internal Veterans Administration quality check  between Dec. 31, 2015, and June of this year.

The new data, first published by USA Today, shows the VA hospitals in Albuquerque, Detroit and Los Angeles all received one star as of June 30, down from two stars last Dec. 31. The VA rates its medical centers on a scale of one to five stars, with five being the best and one being the worst, and bases the ratings on dozens of factors, including death and infection rates and wait times.

Yet the medical center, which provides care to about 58,000 veterans, consistently scores high on patient satisfaction.

Asked about the scores, spokeswoman Sonja Brown told the Journal this week, When compared to other VA medical centers, Albuquerque has opportunities to improve in the areas of avoidable adverse events, mental health, employee satisfaction and access to care.

In-hospital complications, for example, have been on the rise over the past year, according to the data released by the VA. Other adverse events include health care-associated infections involving the use of catheters and bloodstream infections involving central lines.

For example, in the third quarter of the 2016 federal fiscal year, Albuquerques VA medical center received a score of 1.293 for in-hospital complications, while the benchmark was .446.

The 30-day readmission rate for cardiovascular patients was nearly twice the benchmark set by the VA for that same time period. The rate for neurology patients was nearly twice the VA benchmark, as was the rate for patients who had surgery.

Tracking the number of patients who have unplanned readmissions to a hospital after a previous hospital stay is a factor used by hospitals around the country to evaluate the quality of hospital care.

The VA scorecards, which now appear on a VA website, were released after USA Today earlier this month published secret internal rankings of the 146 VA Medical Centers. In that ranking, Albuquerque placed in the bottom 10.

At that time, Andrew Welch, who has been director of the New Mexico VA Health Care System since December 2014, said the VA rating system doesnt tell the complete story. He said if one VA hospital improved in performance, then another would drop in the ranking.

Brown said the VA Medical Center in Albuquerque is focused on improving telephone answering speeds, wait time for mental health appointments and other access issues.
Connecting Our Community was chosen as the theme of the 2016 United Way of Central New Mexico (UWCNM) fundraising campaign because it so aptly describes the role and purpose of this organization.

As United Way looks to its future, we invite the community to share ideas of how we can fulfill our mission to bring people and resources together to measurably improve lives and strengthen our community.

Continuing challenges, such as educating our young people, providing for family stability, and caring for those who are vulnerable, require us to provide thoughtful responses that truly address how to fundamentally change conditions. In 2017 and beyond, United Way of Central New Mexico will be examining how it can deepen its ability to address some of our communitys most persistent problems. We thank those who have taken the time to talk with us about the opportunities to affect real and lasting change. Were calling this effort our Community Impact Agenda and look forward to continued conversations about the kind of changes most needed in our four-county region.

The UWCNM Community Fund is central to UWCNMs efforts; more than $3.6 million will be distributed to local programs in annual and multi-year funding in 2016-17. Those programs in turn reach hundreds of thousands of people in a multitude of ways. United Way also brings communities together by providing resources. Our 2-1-1 Information and Referral Service, Tax Help New Mexico, Center for Nonprofit Excellence and the Family Advocacy Center are excellent resources that provide for particular needs. UWCNMs total programmatic support including the Community Fund is almost $6.8 million  a considerable force for helping others in our region.

United Way of Central New Mexico connects the community through initiatives and programs that require the community to investigate, propose and enact solutions as a community. Collective impact measures, such as Mission: Graduate, are by definition shared processes. UWCNM is proud to provide the backbone support for this important initiative. Mission: Graduate brings together hundreds of volunteers and organizations to drive systemic change to reach the ambitious goal of gaining 60,000 more graduates (with post-secondary degrees and certifications) in our communities by 2020.

I had the honor of leading the annual campaign this year. I was fortunate to work with companies and individuals who value their partnership with United Way to improve the community. Like any city, the greater Albuquerque area doesnt lack for challenges, but more than 30,000 donors, partners and volunteers demonstrate the caring power of our neighbors each year with their gifts. That spirit of giving is something we can all be proud of.

We are grateful that so many donors agreed to include giving of at least 10 percent of their total gift to United Way in their contributions. We also appreciate the continued support of Corporate Cornerstone donors and will continue to champion their interest in making the greater Albuquerque area a better place to work and live.

We invite you to participate as a donor, volunteer or advocate of community improvement. If you have given as part of your workplace, thank you. If youd like to organize a giving effort for your company, we can offer support at the level needed.

Be a part of Connecting our Community the United Way!

United Way of Central New Mexico was founded in 1934. To learn how you can give, advocate or volunteer, visit www.uwcnm.org.
Christmas should be a time of renewed hope  not hope in a particular political concept, but Christmas hope; Christian hope; hope in Jesus Christ; hope that, despite our tangled bungling, God will bring order out of chaos.

 The Rev. Billy Graham, 1969

What was going on in 1969 to evoke such a message from one of the nations premier religious leaders of the time  and one who was celebrated for his positive thinking?

Try a lengthy, unpopular war; street protests and riots; the targeting of law enforcement for violence as well as the need for police reforms in some areas; and the first year in the term of an unlikely president who relied on the support of a silent majority.

Sounds familiar, but with new places and faces.

In 1969, a lot of folks worried that the United States might not be able to climb out of the pit of troubles it had seemingly dug for itself. But it did, just as it had been successful in overcoming even bigger threats many times before, including environmental disasters, depressions and recessions and civil and world wars.

In 2016, the United States seems to be facing quite a few of the same issues it did in 1969, and again many people are out in the streets, predicting the end of civil society as we have known it.

But we as a nation can once again pull together and remain the symbol of prosperity and freedom most of the world aspires to.

This Christmas, America might do well to remember a name cited by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah in what Christians believe is a hopeful passage about a Christmas yet to come: Immanuel  God is with us.

For Christians, that is the meaning of Christmas: God is with us came to be in a baby born in Bethlehem centuries ago, whose birth is celebrated today in the only national holiday of a religious nature.

Billy Grahams 1969 message continues hopefully:

In spite of all the pessimism and cynicism, in spite of all the headlines about murders, assassinations, riots, demonstrations and war, Jesus Christ is alive.

For those who believe, the simple idea that God is with us is the message of hope.

And hope is one optimistic state that could help restore much needed peace and unity to the nation, no matter ones belief system.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
SANTA FE  The money troubles at the Public Defender Department are echoing in the cases of the two men who have been fighting for years to get off New Mexicos death row.

The state Supreme Court last week refused a request from the contract lawyers representing Robert Fry and Timothy Allen that it order them paid on an hourly basis, as they have been in the past.

The dispute over pay already has stalled the cases, and its unclear what the impact of the high courts recent ruling will be.

Fry and Allen are the only people facing execution after the state abolished the death penalty in 2009 for future murders, replacing it with a sentence of life with no possibility of parole.

Allen was convicted of the 1994 murder of Sandra Phillips of Flora Vista, in northwestern New Mexico. Fry was convicted of the murder of Betty Lee in 2000 in San Juan County.

After capital punishment was abolished, they went to state district court alleging that the repeal made their sentences unconstitutional. They lost.

Now their cases are pending in the state Supreme Court, which in February ordered the mens lawyers to submit more extensive briefing, including a comprehensive survey of how similar murder cases have been handled in the past.

But the lawyers contracts with the public defender expired on June 30, and the public defender told them it could no longer continue to pay them at an hourly rate unless ordered to do so by the Supreme Court.

Thats because of language the Legislature put in the state budget for the current and previous fiscal years, which says appropriations to the Public Defender Department shall not be used to pay hourly rates to contract attorneys.

Senate Finance Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said its an effort to keep track of costs.

Given the type of budget constraints we have, we want to know how much were going to be spending, he told the Journal. That can be done if theres a flat fee per case, but not if its per-hour billing, he said.

The Public Defender Department says hourly rates are warranted in some cases.

The idea is, this is a particularly complex case better suited to hourly rates, said Ben Baur, the states chief public defender.

Baur said he wasnt sure what the next step would be in the Fry and Allen cases.

We have to talk to the attorneys on these cases, and go back and see if theres any way we can structure a payment arrangement that both meets the requirements of the Legislature and actually makes sense in terms of reflecting the work that they do, he said.

The prohibition against hourly rates was challenged in an earlier case, and the Supreme Court ruled the Legislature had the authority to do that. But it also acknowledged that severe limitations could raise the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel in some circumstances.

In the recent ruling, the high court said it hadnt been specifically shown that hourly rates are necessary for effective assistance of counsel in the Fry and Allen cases. But it left the door open for that argument to be made in the future.

The public defender has had chronic funding shortages, and Baur has told legislators the office would have to start declining some cases despite its constitutional mandate to represent eligible defendants. The department will ask for a 10 percent increase in funding for next year.
Before I started writing this, I cracked open the requisite fortune cookie that came with my Chinese takeout.

The message inside read, Lend a hand to one less fortunate than yourself.

I took that as a sign.

Some folks dont need a fortune cookie to tell them that lending a hand is a good and godly thing. They are the folks I asked you readers to nominate for our eighth annual Angels Among Us, which recognizes the top two among those unsung do-gooders. Thank you for such wonderful nominees.

Thanks also to my own altruistic angel, who once again donated Nambe angel statues to the two winners.

He also donated something extra this year  the gift of a song. During his stay at a hotel late one night, he heard an angelic voice coming from the hotel office. That voice was night auditor Sophia White.

I already had fallen in love with Alabamas song, Angels Among Us, so I asked her if she could record and upload her version of the song, he said.

Youll find a link to the song below. Take it as a sign.

The right place

Kathy Trujillo finds herself in some frightful places and situations.

A motorcycle crashes. A sledding child slams into a tree. A man hangs himself. A homeless person emerges from an alley. Someone stops breathing. Someone is in need.

Trujillo is there. And she is grateful.

Its weird how God puts me in these places, she says, her big, bright smile never fading. The Lord puts me there where I am needed. I dont know, but he must think I can take it and I can do some good.

She is, for so many, an angel who makes those moments of trial and terror more bearable, less lonesome, even when those moments are the last ones.

She remembers the little boy who crashed his sled into a tree, his neck broken, his life ebbing away. Trujillo, 60, held his hand as they waited for him to be airlifted off the mountain.

Im scared, she recalls him crying. Dont let go.

She didnt until other hands carried him away. Then he let go, she learned later.

She remembers the woman on the motorcycle, the crash so violent it tore off her helmet and took half her face with it. Trujillo saw it happen, jumped out of her car and ran to the woman.

My face, the woman moaned. Is my face OK?

I told her she was beautiful, Trujillo said. Beautiful.

Those incidents dont happen every day, thankfully, but that doesnt mean she isnt helping somebody somewhere.

Its what she does every day that makes her special, said her older sister, Lydia Paiz, who nominated Trujillo as an Angel Among Us. My sister is always ready to help anyone in need. She will drop what she is doing to take a meal to someone who is sick, stop at an accident and hold someones hand as they lay injured, donate blood  just help in any way.

Trujillo is especially drawn to special-needs folks who come each day to Connections, a day habilitation center for adults with disabilities, where she is the program director.

Theyre just like us but special, she said. They have better outlooks on life than many of us. I hope to better their lives just a little bit, try to make their day, just as they make mine.

Because the center runs on a shoestring budget, Trujillo often dips into her own wallet to buy necessities for the clients such as coats and clothes. She takes them to movies or gets them haircuts, all on her dime.

They are her children, her sister said. Some of them are very poor or no one cares enough about them. These are adults who can sometimes hurt her physically because they dont know what they are doing. But she loves them anyway.

As she walks into a room at Connections where several are gathered, its obvious they love her back.

Its Tuesday when we visit, the day she and her children help another disadvantaged group: homeless folks. Being disabled, she said, doesnt mean unable to help others.

In a casual and sometimes chaotic assembly line, each client pitches in as they can, decorating paper lunch bags, sacking raisins and cookies, slapping lunch meat on bread, spreading mustard, folding napkins.

Some of the clients will come out with Trujillo to pass out the sack lunches to the homeless who show up.

They always know how to find us, Trujillo said.

Trujillo also knows where to find them. When shes not with her Connections crew or rushing to scenes of tragedy, shes out on the streets, alleys and in the parks with kettles of homemade posole, sandwiches, burritos, coats, blankets, bottles of water.

Were here to help each other any way we can, she said. And then lets teach others to do the same. Wouldnt it be nice if each of us helped somebody else?

Tonight, she will be out in a big truck with a bow attached to the grill handing out Christmas gifts to those who live on the fringes. Its the right place for her to be, she said.

Shell be the one with the elf hat, the big heart and that big, bright smile.

A good ride

A freezing rain, the kind that glazes roads and chills the bones, falls on a group of bikers milling about outside a West Side church where shortly a passel of needy children and their families will arrive to be feted with food and toys, all donated to make their Christmas a little jollier.

The bikers dont mind the cold.

We all wear half a cow, jokes Marty Gagne, whose leather jacket bears the patches of the Onagers, a veterans support motorcycle club, and his biker name, Moose. We dont get cold.

The Christmas party is just one of many gatherings Gagne and his club have been a part of in the last weeks before the holidays. Its been a busy time playing Santa Claus, and that is in large part due to Gagne, who his fellow bikers say has brought the local biker community together for good.

If you speak to almost any member of any motorcycle club in Albuquerque and mention his name, that person will tell you how amazing and hard-working he is, said Linda Ferguson, who nominated Gagne as an Angel Among Us.

So good is he at what he does that he and his fellow bikers have had to hustle to distribute all the donated largess by Christmas.

For example, the annual Duke City Toy Run, which Gagne originated and organizes through the Onagers, attracted thousands of bikers Nov. 20, each who donated either a toy or two cans of food as the entry fee.

We literally brought in a ton of food and a ton of toys to distribute, Gagne said. Its hard to get an official number of all that stuff, but I can say we had two enclosed trailers, one full of food and one full of toys.

Other drives collect coats and blankets for the homeless. Biker clubs this year also raised funds for the families of Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Matthew Q. McClintock, of Albuquerque, who was killed last January in Afghanistan, and Army veteran Tyler Lackey of Albuquerque, who was killed February in a robbery at a Southeast Heights ATM.

Funds were also raised for the families of fallen bikers or those fighting serious illnesses; families of those killed by distracted drivers; Blue Star Mothers; the New Mexico Veterans Integration Center; and the Henderson House, a transitional housing program for homeless women veterans and their children.

Bikers also came together this year for vigils honoring children lost to violence and to install U.S. flags and poles for residents through its Operation Let It Wave.

Chances are Gagne organized each project.

At any given time Im at my desk in my garage after work and have five or six different tablets going, one for each project Im working on, Gagne, 42, said. For instance, Ill hear about a 9-year-old boy with terminal cancer or a member who is an amputee because of a crash, so Ill sit at my desk and figure out what we can do to help. Ill start scratching out the skeleton structure of something and then Ill call other clubs to come in for meetings.

Beneath all that bad-boy leather are some big hearts.

In the past, people see someone on a motorcycle with a vest, they think gangs, they think Sons of Anarchy,' he said. But now I hope the community is seeing what we do in the community.

Gagne, father of three and husband to Amy Gagne, who also rides with the Onagers, said he loves that he gets to combine his passion for motorcycles with his desire to do some good. But hes quick to give credit to others.

Theres a lot of people in the motorcycle community who do just as much or more as I do, he said. We feed off each other. We keep each other going. We call ourselves a family because we are a family.

He admits his charitable work takes a lot of his time after a full day remodeling kitchens and bathrooms. But, he said, he wouldnt change a thing.

What I always say is theres always something to do, he said. Being one small entity, your reach is only so far. But when you take everybody elses assets and resources and put them together, the skys the limit.
PARIS  Open borders symbolize liberty and forward thinking for many Europeans  but they increasingly look like the continents Achilles heel.

Europes No. 1 terrorism suspect crossed at least two borders this week despite an international manhunt, and he was felled only by chance, in a random ID check in a Milan suburb. The bungled chase for Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri is just one example of recent cross-border security failures that are emboldening nationalists fed up with European unity. Extremist violence, they argue, is too high a price to pay for the freedom to travel easily.

Defenders of the EUs border-free zone say the security failures show the need for more cooperation among European governments, even shared militaries  not new barriers. Hidebound habits of hoarding intelligence within centuries-old borders are part of the problem, they contend.

But their arguments are criticized by the likes of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is hoping to win Frances presidency in May.

The myth of total free movement in Europe, which my rivals are clinging to in this presidential election, should be definitively buried. Our security depends on it, she said in a statement Friday, calling Europes free-travel zone a total security catastrophe.

That poses a dilemma for European Union devotees like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing a re-election battle next year.

Merkels defense of the EU, and the welcoming hand she extended to Syrian war refugees, were once seen as assets, signs of her moral authority. Today, with anti-immigrant, anti-establishment sentiment rising across Europe, they are threatening to become liabilities.

Countless numbers of people cross borders in the 26-country Schengen travel zone every day, thanks to a 31-year-old system encompassing nearly 400 million people that has dramatically boosted trade and job prospects across the worlds largest collective economy.

Its a pillar of a system designed to prevent new world wars, yet it is a system under growing strain. While EU countries debated over how to manage an influx of migrants last year, eastern nations rebuilt border fences and exposed EU weaknesses.

The German far right is insisting on closing the countrys borders. Merkels conservatives are suggesting transit zones to hold migrants at the borders while their identities are confirmed, and making it easier to hold people in pre-deportation detention.

Berlin truck attacker Amri is a painful reminder of how Islamic extremists have used Europes open borders to attack the principles of tolerance they are meant to epitomize.

After migrating illegally from Tunisia in 2011, he was imprisoned for burning down a migrant detention center in Italy. When freed, attempts to deport him to Tunisia failed for bureaucratic reasons. He subsequently traveled to Switzerland and then Germany, where he apparently fell under the influence of a radical network accused of recruiting for the Islamic State group.

Although Germany rejected his asylum application last summer and flagged him as a potential terror threat, authorities patiently waited for Tunisia to produce the required paperwork before deporting him.

Just as the deportation was being finalized Monday, Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and rammed it into holiday crowds at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 and injuring dozens.

He evaded an international manhunt for more than three days, apparently slipping into France  possibly with a pistol in his pocket  and then Italy before stumbling into a standard ID check in suburban Milan, where he died in a shootout with police.

Germany, France and Italy have failed to explain how he escaped the dragnet.

Movement from one country to another in Europe is easy, especially for someone like Anis Amri, who had lived in Europe for several years and knew which borders were easier to cross, said Tunisian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bouraoui Limam.

France is especially embarrassed.

It has been under high security as part of a state of emergency since last year, and the French are acutely concerned about train security after American passengers thwarted an attack on an Amsterdam-Paris train in 2015.

Yet French President Francois Hollande visited the Alpine town of Chambery on the same day that Amri is believed to have passed through its train station en route to Italy, unnoticed by border guards or the presidents security detail.

The next morning, as Italian police were identifying Amris body, Frances interior minister visited a Paris train station to talk about the vigorous transport security in place for the holidays.

Frances far right and the conservative opposition have assailed the Socialist government as lax.

How could this person enter in Europe without being monitored? How could we let him settle in Europe? said Eric Ciotti, lawmaker for the conservative Republicans.

Whats worse, it was not the first time.

Last year, hours after Islamic State extremists killed 130 people at multiple targets in Paris, key suspect Salah Abdeslam fled to Belgium despite increased checks on both the French and Belgian borders. It took authorities four months to find him. Further, Abdeslam, a French national, had traveled through the Italian port of Bari on a roundtrip journey to Greece in August, months before the attack.

And in 2014, Mehdi Nemmouche allegedly killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, then crossed into France and traveled to the Mediterranean city of Marseille before being picked up in a police check.

Security and migration will be central issues in elections in the coming year in Germany, France and the Netherlands, all founding nations of the EU. And related fears could be key to fueling opposition calls for an early election in Italy after its recent political crisis.

The leader of Italys anti-migrant Northern League, Matteo Salvini, called Saturday for closing and reinforcing Europes borders after the Berlin attack.

I dont want another two or three massacres before Europe wakes up, Salvini said.

A candidate for Frances left-wing primary next month, Vincent Peillon, pleaded for joint European rules on borders, defense and intelligence.

Its all of Europe that is being attacked, he said.

Le Pens far-right National Front party wants to retrench rather than reach out, to give France back full control over its sovereignty.

As Europeans head home for the holidays, many crossing multiple borders on the way without showing a single passport or changing any currency, people are asking themselves: Is it all worth it?

___

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this report.
Chant of 'Modi-Modi' has been a norm wherever Prime Ministers goes to address the public since the Lok Sabha elections.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, some people started chanting slogan in his favour. Chant of 'Modi-Modi' has been a norm wherever the prime minister goes to address the public since the Lok Sabha elections.

But, in Mumbai, it led an ugly scene while PM Modi was heading towards the stage to share it with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Here's what happened In response to the chant of 'Modi-Modi', Shiv Sena supporters started shouting slogans in favour of Balasaheb Thackeray- the founder of the party. This was repeated again during the speech of PWD Minister Chandrkanat Patil, a Shiv Sena leader, who also did the same himself. Finally, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to interrupt. Fadnavis almost snatched the mike from Patil and asked all to settle down. The CM had to warn the slogan shouters saying if they were the true followers of Shivaji Maharaj, they would "not do such a thing". Fadnavis asked the supporters of two parties to raise slogans in favour of Shivaji Maharaj together. But, the BJP supporters were determined to give a reply to their alliance partner. As it happened, when Uddhav Thackery came on the dais to deliver his speech, the BJP workers started chanting slogans in favour Modi.

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By PTI: Colombo, Dec 24 (PTI) A Sri Lankan court has acquitted five naval intelligence officers accused of killing an outspoken Tamil lawmaker, who advocated greater self-rule for the minority community, 10 years ago during the civil war.

The case had been heard before a special jury for the first time in history and it is the first-ever occasion that a verdict was given after midnight.

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Nadaraja Raviraj, who represented the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) from the northern Jaffna district, was shot dead outside his home in his car in Colombo in November, 2006.

The polices Crime Investigations Department had found the vehicle and the weapons allegedly used for the murder.

Raviraj was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority. He was shot dead during the countrys three-decade-long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009.

The suspects held were all Naval intelligence personnel who were acquitted and released after they were found not guilty by a special jury. The decision was reached after midnight following a trial which lasted over a month.

One of the suspects had died during the trial, according to reports.

The jury has decided that the accused cannot be convicted based only on the fact that they were identified by several witnesses in the case.

The accused were charged on five counts under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Penal Code.

The High Court tried three of the suspects in absentia as they were absconding since the beginning of the nvestigations.

Another suspect former Police Constable Manamperige Sanjaya Preethi Viraj, had turned state witness in the case.

He was released Thursday after in the remand custody for almost 20 months. PTI CORR UZM SAI UZM

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Enda Kenny has warned a Berlin-style terror attack could not be ruled out in Ireland.

The Taoiseach has written to Chancellor Angela Merkel to express sympathy over the killing of 12 people and injuring of 48 when a truck ploughed into crowds at a Christmas market in the German capital on Monday.

Asked whether Ireland could be similarly targeted, Mr Kenny said bigger security and police forces in other countries had failed to prevent the likes of the Berlin atrocity or the almost identical attack on Bastille Day in Nice.

"You can never rule anything out," he said.

"But we like to think that in this country people are vigilant, that we are careful and we will do everything we can to protect our citizens."

The Taoiseach added: "I would hope that nothing like that will happen here."

Both the Berlin and Nice outrages were claimed by the so-called 'Islamic State' group.

Mr Kenny said the Gardai and Defence Forces are making every effort possible "to see that we are protected and that lives are protected in that regard".

Separately, he rejected calls from an imam to regulate Irish mosques in an attempt to thwart Muslims here being radicalised.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, chairman of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, was reported as saying the Government should set up a Muslim council to regulate how mosques are being run and the education they are providing.

However, Mr Kenny said Ireland enjoys freedom of religion and religious practices and he did not agree with the suggestion.

"Obviously, we respect the right of every religion to preach to its own followers and we expected that preaching to be in accordance with peaceful means and the religious beliefs that people have," he added.
Two Libyan men who hijacked a plane from Libya to Malta and threatened to blow it up have surrendered peacefully, allowing 118 passengers and crew to leave the aircraft before walking out alongside the last of the crew.

The hijacked Airbus A320 flight, operated by Afriqiyah Airways, was travelling from the Libyan oasis city of Sabha to Tripoli when it was diverted to Malta on Friday morning.

Malta state television said the two hijackers possessed hand grenades and had threatened to detonate them.

All flights to Malta International Airport were immediately diverted and emergency teams including negotiators were sent to the airport tarmac.

Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, announced that the hijacking of the Libyan plane was over in a tweet at 3.44pm local time (2.44pm GMT).

They have surrendered, been searched and taken into custody, he said.

The hijackers, after negotiations, allowed the plane's doors to open at 1.44pm (12.44pm GMT) and a staircase was moved over to let freed passengers begin disembarking in groups.

In a series of tweets, Mr Muscat said 65 people were allowed to leave, then another 44, including some crew, followed by the hijackers and the final crew members. All were seen leaving the aircraft without hand luggage.

The company said on its Facebook page that 118 people, including seven crew members, were on board the hijacked plane.

Ali Milad, the pilot, told Libya Channel TV network that initially the hijackers had asked him to head to Rome.

He identified the two hijackers as Moussa Shaha and Ahmed Ali, Libyans who other officials said were in their twenties.

The pilot said the men were seeking political asylum in Europe and wanted to set up a political party called "the New Fateh".

Fateh is a reference to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who led the Fateh revolution after his coup in 1969.

After many of the hostages left the plane on Friday afternoon, someone, apparently a hijacker, waved the old green Libyan flag from the plane's doorway.

Libya, a sprawling oil-rich North African country, has been split between rival parliaments and governments, each backed by a loose array of militias and tribes. Gaddafi was ousted and killed by a mob in 2011.

Western nations view the newly-formed UN-brokered government as the best hope for uniting the country, but Libya's parliament, which meets in the country's far east, has refused to accept it.

Amid the chaos, Islamic State (IS) and al Qaida affiliates have gained a foothold over the past years.

Earlier this month, militias answering to the UN-brokered government seized IS's last stronghold in the Libyan city of Sirte.
A businessman who co-chaired Donald Trump's New York campaign has said he wants to see US president Barack Obama die from mad cow disease and the first lady "return to being a male".

The failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino made the comments in response to a survey by Artvoice, a Buffalo newspaper.
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Security forces across Southeast Asia are on alert ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, as police in Australia and Indonesia said they had foiled bomb plots and Malaysian security forces arrested suspected militants.

By Reuters: Sixteen people were wounded in a grenade explosion outside a Catholic church during a Christmas eve mass in the Philippines' restive southern island of Mindanao, a priest and police said on Saturday.

SECURITY FORCES ON HIGH ALERT

Security forces across Southeast Asia are on alert ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, as police in Australia and Indonesia said they had foiled bomb plots and Malaysian security forces arrested suspected militants.

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No group has claimed responsibility for the Mindanao attack, but Muslim rebels and Islamist extremists are known to be active in the province, where there have been blasts in the past.

Bernardo Tayong, Midsayap town police chief, said most of the injured had been standing outside the Sto. Nino parish church in Midsayap town, North Cotabato.

Father Jay Virador said the blast sent the congregation fleeing.

"There was no more concluding prayers as there was a commotion," Virador said. "People hurriedly left the Church."

DETAILS STILL "SKETCHY"

One police officer was wounded because he was standing near a patrol car where the grenade exploded, about 30 meters from the church entrance, Tayong said.

Tayong said bomb experts were still at the site. There were reports that another grenade or improvised bomb was also left in the area. "Our details are sketchy yet," he said.

The US embassy in Manila said citizens had been warned against traveling to volatile southern islands due to kidnapping and bombing threats.

In September, 14 people died and 70 were wounded when an improvised bomb exploded in a crowded market in Davao City, hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte. Nine people, who were linked to an Islamic State militant-affiliated group have been arrested for the attack.

ALSO READ:

Berlin Christmas market attack suspect killed in shootout in Italy's Milan

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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.




Haiti - FLASH : Revocation of the U.S. VISA of Moise Jean-Charles





Moise Jean-Charles, presidential candidate under the banner "Pitit Dessalin" one of the 3 protesters of the win of Jovenel Moise in the first round, confirmed that his U.S. Visa had been revoked by the U.S. Embassy, and he could no longer travel to the United States, while minimizing the impact of this revocation "As long as a man has not discovered something for which he would be ready to die, he is not able to live. Haitian people as I have always told you, a Visa is a courtesy, it does not make me hot or cold [...] revoking the Visa of Moise Jean-Charles will not prevent the movement to continue until the end [...]" without, however, explain the reasons for such revocation.



What is known is that Moise Jean-Charles was convened Wednesday to the U.S. consulate where he was told that his 5-year visa that had expired last November and that was the subject of a renewal had been revoked



Let's recall that Moise recently announced a series of demonstrations, in front of the American Embassy on Saturday 24 and Thursday, December 29, 2016, in protest against the publication of the preliminary results of the elections, while the American ambassador said that these Elections were credible. However, there is no indication that this announcement is related to this revocation of Visa.



For his part, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince did not give any information on the case, explaining that the Embassy never commented on a person's Visa affairs.



SL/ HaitiLibre


















AP | Mirpur Khas (Pakistan) : The girl called Jeevti was just 14 when she taken from her family in the night to be married off to a man who says her family owed him $1,000.

Her mother, Ameri Kashi Kohli, is sure that her daughter paid the price for a never-ending debt.

Ameri says she and her husband borrowed roughly $500 when they first began to work on the land, but she throws up her hands and says the debt was repaid.

Its a familiar story here in southern Pakistan: Small loans balloon into impossible debts, bills multiply, payments are never deducted.

In this world, women like Ameri and her young daughter are treated as property: taken as payment for a debt, to settle disputes, or as revenge if a landowner wants to punish his worker. Sometimes parents, burdened by an unforgiving debt, even offer their daughters as payment.

The women are like trophies to the men. They choose the prettiest, the young and pliable. Sometimes they take them as second wives to look after their homes. Sometimes they use them as prostitutes to earn money. Sometimes they take them simply because they can.

I went to the police and to the court. But no one is listening to us, says Ameri, who is Hindu. She says the land manager made her daughter convert to Islam and took the girl as his second wife. They told us, Your daughter has committed to Islam and you cant get her back.

More than 2 million Pakistanis live as modern slaves, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index+, which ranks Pakistan in the top three offending countries that still enslave people, some as farm workers, others at brick kilns or as household staff. Sometimes the workers are beaten or chained to keep them from fleeing.

They have no rights, and their women and girls are the most vulnerable, says Ghulam Hayder, whose Green Rural Development Organization works to free Pakistans bonded laborers.

An estimated 1,000 young Christian and Hindu girls, most of them underage and impoverished, are taken from their homes each year, converted to Islam and married, said a report by the South Asia Partnership organization.

Hayder says, They always take the pretty ones.

The night Jeevti disappeared, the family had slept outside, the only way to endure the brutal summer heat here in southern Sindh province. In the morning, she was gone. No one heard anything, her mother says.

The family turned to activist Veero Kohli to help free the girl.

Kohli, who isnt related to the family, was born a slave. Since fleeing bondage in 1999, she has devoted herself to challenging Pakistans powerful landowners, liberating thousands of families from bonded labor.

Kohlis defiance incenses many men in a country dominated by a centuries-old patriarchal culture.

I know that they would like to kill me, but I will never stop fighting to free these people, she says.

Five months ago, she went with Ameri to the Piyaro Lundh police station to find her daughter. They said the girl went willingly, Kohli says. I told them: Let me talk to her. Let her mother talk to her if she went freely. They refused.

Instead, they called in the man who Ameri said had taken her daughter. Hamid Brohi, came alone, without the girl. He said, Anyway, she is payment for 100,000 rupees ($1,000) they owe me, Kohli recalls.

Now Kohli is returning to the same police station, where police officer Aqueel Ahmed thumbs through a dozen files, barely containing his anger at the activist.

Finally, he pulls out an affidavit. In it, the girl, who now goes by the name Fatima, said she had converted freely and married Brohi of her own free will. She also said she couldnt meet her mother because now she was Muslim and her family was Hindu.

Hindu activists say the girls are kept isolated until they have been forced to convert and are married  and then its almost too late to do anything.

Under pressure, police in a machine-gun-mounted jeep finally take Kohli and a foreign reporter to visit the girl. Her mother doesnt come, too afraid, she says, to confront the police in person again.

Brohi, a sullen-looking man with a thin mustache, greets the police with an embrace. He angrily denies he took Jeevti as payment for the familys debt, despite his earlier boast to the activist that he had done just that.

Inside, Jeevti sits on a double mattress on the floor, her head wrapped in a black shawl. She wears heavy eyeshadow and exaggerated bright red lipstick, like a child who has put on her mothers makeup  or one who is attempting to look older.

Although she doesnt seem afraid, her eyes dart to the door where her husband hovers. When she speaks, her words seem rehearsed.

I married him because I wanted to, she says. I myself asked him that as we are lovers, we should get married. So he said, Lets get married, and I said yes.

She denies that she hasnt seen her mother since leaving. But she cant say when she saw her mother last  or even where she lives, now that the family has fled its old home. She is quiet when asked why her court affidavit says she refused to talk to her mother because she had converted to Islam.

She says she doesnt know what is in the court documents, although each one the police showed said Jeevti had spoken the words herself.

The next day, the visitors return  without a police escort.

Inside the compound, there are only women, and no one knows Fatima. The door to the room where she sat the day before is padlocked. It is as if the compound was but a stage set for a young girls performance.

Source : Hindu Existence
New Delhi : India on Friday expressed concern over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project being built in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and said that it violates the countrys sovereignty.

Briefing the media on the issue, MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup said New Delhi has raised its concerns to both Pakistan and China, as the CPEC passes through sovereign Indian territory.

Beijing has invested more than $60 billion in CPEC aimed at connecting the western China with the Pakistani port of Gwadar near Karachi.

This ambitious multi-billion dollar joint venture is a combination of road and rail links that connect with Gwadar.

The venture has evoked a lot of reactions in India with some security analysts accusing China of encircling India to flex its geopolitical muscle in the region.

The project also passes through the restive Baluchistan province in Pakistan.

The Baloch people have been fighting for a sovereign homeland and have been accusing Islamabad of occupying their territory.

Popular public rebellions against the Pakistani occupation in the recent past were brutally crushed by the government, forcing many of their leaders to live in exile, including India and other countries.

Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan.

Source : Zee News
Union minister Manoj Sinha was injured in a car accident on Friday. The accident occurred while he was returning from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

By Press Trust of India: Union minister Manoj Sinha sustained a fracture in the upper bone of the left hand after the car he was travelling in rammed into a vehicle ahead of it.

The 57-year-old Union Minister of State for Railways and Communications, who represents Ghazipur in the Lok Sabha, was initially admitted to Apollo Hospital and later shifted to the Railway Hospital.

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According to sources, the accident took place when the vehicle ahead of the minister's car in the convoy suddenly applied brakes to avoid hitting a man. The car carrying Sinha hit the vehicle from behind and in the impact, the minister sustained injury. Sources said that the minister's car has been damaged significantly.

The CPRO said the minister would be flown to Delhi tomorrow morning.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted: "Shocked to learn about accident to my colleague and friend @manojsinhabjp Wishing him speedy recovery."

Shocked to learn about accident to my colleague and friend @manojsinhabjp Wishing him speedy recovery Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) December 23, 2016

Union Minister of Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs, Ram Vilas Paswan also tweeted, "Very sad to hear about accident of my colleague Minister and friend Sh Manoj Sinha Ji. I Wish him speedy recovery."

Very sad to hear about accident of my colleague Minister and friend Sh Manoj Sinha Ji. I Wish him speedy recovery. @manojsinhabjp Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) December 23, 2016

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The Boko Haram extremist group has been driven from its last forest stronghold with fighters on the run and nowhere to hide, Nigeria's president said.

Muhammadu Buhari said "gallant troops" yesterday drove the insurgents out of their "Camp Zero" deep in the north-eastern Sambisa Forest.
The 11th killing of the feud, which began in September 2014, has sparked outrage and waves of condemnation, but officers fear it will not be the last.

The Irish Examiner understands that gardai believe Mr Kirwan was targeted by the Kinahan cartel.

Noel Kirwan was murdered in his car as he sat next to his partner at about 5.10pm in the St Ronans Drive estate in Ronanstown.

It has transpired that Mr Kirwans family home in Kilbarrack was targeted by members of the Kinahan cartel in August.

It is understood Mr Kirwan moved to Kilbarrack some years ago and more recently had been living with his partner in Ronanstown. His father worked in the docks and it is believed Mr Kirwan inherited his fathers unusual nickname  duck egg  from him.

His partner was with him at the time of the shooting I understand. She is uninjured but obviously very distressed, said Superintendent Dermot Mann of Lucan Garda Station.

Mr Kirwan, originally from Sean OCasey Ave in Dublins north inner city, had been known to gardai when he was a younger man, but was not believed to be an active player in gangland crime in recent years.

A lone gunman approached Mr Kirwan as he sat in his Ford Mondeo outside his home.

His partner, with whom he was living at the property, was with him at the time and saw the shooting, according to gardai. The scene of the 16th gang-related murder this year remained sealed off for a forensic examination yesterday.

Mr Kirwan had just driven his Ford Mondeo into the driveway of his partners home when a lone gunman walked up and shot him several times through the drivers window. The gunman was driven away in a white Peugeot Partner van, which was found burned out at Neilstown Shopping Centre.

Reacting to the murder, Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin said criminal gangs are flooding the streets with drugs as part of a multi-million euro industry: Gardai are doing great work, but they do need intelligence. It is people with courage who bring about change.

Sinn Feins deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald condemned the shooting. She describing the spate of shootings in recent months as a scourge on Dublin and its people.
A Garda investigation is under way to establish the cause of the huge blaze that destroyed Fortwilliam House in Tivoli, but the first gardai on the scene found no signs of a break-in and early indications suggest it started accidentally.

However, garda forensic experts were yesterday combing through the remains of the property to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

Fortwilliam House, on the grounds of the Clayton Hotel Silversprings complex, was on the citys list of protected structures.

It is the second protected Georgian property to be gutted by fire in Cork this year. Vernon Mount House was destroyed in a suspected arson attack last July.

The alarm was raised at 4.15am yesterday and four units of Cork City Fire Brigade rushed to the scene. Third officer Gerry Myers said the building was well alight when the first fire crews arrived at 4.25am. Four more units from the city and Ballyvolane sub-station arrived soon afterwards, as up to 27 fire fighters, using three pump appliances, two aerial platforms, two control vehicles, and a water tanker, fought the blaze. At its height, every on-duty firefighter in the city was involved in the operation, with members of Ballincollig fire brigade put on standby to provide cover for the city.

Firefighters at Fortwilliam House on the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs complex. Pictures: Denis Minihane

Mr Myers said firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to a single-storey part of the building to the rear, where paint was stored.

The fire was under control within an hour, but firefighters remained on scene throughout the day as dampening down continued.

The detached five-bay two-storey over basement house, built around 1820, was completely gutted.

The building was once used by members of Irish hotelier family the Fitzpatricks, as a base when they were visiting the former Silversprings Hotel. It was also used for discos, small conferences, and other events linked to the hotel. More recently, it was used for the storage of furniture and bedding by the management of what is now a Clayton hotel. The building had been used by hotel maintenance staff throughout Thursday.

Firefighters at Fortwilliam House on the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs complex. Pictures: Denis Minihane

Unlike the Vernon Mount fire, Fortwilliam House was not derelict and abandoned, but in regular use, and there had been no reports of antisocial activity in the area.

Hotel manager Joe Kennedy thanked the emergency services for their swift response. Thankfully, no one was injured, and the incident didnt affect the hotel operations, he said.

The hotel closed last night, as planned, and is due to reopen on December 27.
Top Class Action Lawsuits

What are They up to Under Those Golden Arches? A Chicago McDonalds franchisee is facing a consumer fraud class action lawsuit filed by a customer who alleges the restaurant is charging 41 cents more for the two cheeseburger Extra Value Meal than what it would cost if customers ordered all the items in the meal separately.

McDonalds Extra Value Meal consists of two burgers, fries and a drink, and cost the plaintiff, James Gertie, $5.90 per meal, in Des Plaines and Niles, Illinois. These two McDonalds restaurants are part of a chain of more than 10 such restaurants owned and operated by the Karis Group, according to the complaint.

According to Gertie, he purchased a Two Cheeseburger Meal from at least five of Karis McDonalds restaurants in Des Plaines and Niles from Oct. 14 to Nov. 13. Each time Gertie was charged $5.90 for the meal, the complaint states.

Gertie alleges in his McDonalds lawsuit that posted menu prices indicated the restaurants would have sold Gertie and other customers two cheeseburgers for $2.50, a medium order of French fries for $1.99 and a medium soft drink for $1, for a total of $5.49. Thats a difference of 41 cents less than the posted price for the Extra Value Meal, according to the lawsuit. That 41 cents could really add up

Defendant, the operator of several McDonalds restaurants, advertised for sale a food combination designated as an Extra Value Meal but the combination actually costs more than if each item were bought separately, thus making it no value at all, let alone an extra value, the lawsuit states

They say its the pennies that count.

Top Settlements

Some Good News from Some Bad News. A jury in Ohio has awarded $2 million in compensation against DuPont in the first of some 40 environmental toxin cases pending against the chemical company over allegations it dumped toxins into the air and drinking water of the Ohio River, causing illness to people in the surrounding area.

This settlement resolves allegations brought by plaintiff Kenneth Vigneron that DuPont de Nemours & Co, through its actions, caused his testicular cancer. Vignerons lawsuit is part of multidistrict litigation involving some 3,500 people who allege that over a period of decades, DuPont released perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA or C8, into the environment of the Ohio River at the Washington Works site.

According to the plaintiffs, internal studies done by DuPont, which date back for years, strongly indicate that C8 was dangerous. For decades, C8 was used as an essential component in the manufacture of well-known nonstick cookware and coatings. Today, it has been phased out in most US manufacturing.

Six bell weather cases were completed earlier this year, two of which resulted in jury verdicts of $1.6 million and $5.6 million, the latter including punitive damages. DuPont is appealing both verdicts.

While DuPont has been fighting allegations of toxic dumping causing illness, residents of both Ohio and West Virginia claim they have suffered a variety of health problems as a result of their exposure to the chemicals. Further, a Dutch investigation makes similar claims alleging the drinking water near DuPonts Dordrecht plant in the Netherlands was contaminated with C8, and that DuPont had been exposing people living near the plant to the toxin for as much as 25 years.

Earlier this year, the judge hearing the cases ordered DuPont to turn over documents related to the Dutch investigation to the American plaintiffs, saying the information about the companys conduct in a similar situation could be helpful for arguing punitive damages or refuting arguments that the chemical giant has taken a proactive stance on safety concerning C8.

The punitive phase of Vignerons trial will be heard in 2017. The case is In re: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. C-8 Personal Injury Litigation, case number 2:13-md-02433, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

IKEA Dresser Settlement. Heres a positive, yet disturbing settlement. Ikea agreed this week, to pay $50 million to the three families of toddlers who were killed when defective Ikea dressers toppled onto the children. This is the positive bit.

The childrens deaths prompted an unprecedented recall of 29 million dressers, at which time Ikea acknowledged the dressers were at serious risk of tipping onto and killing children. And this is the disturbing bit.

The first death from an unstable Ikea dresser occurred in 1989, with a further six deaths to follow. According to the lawsuits, the Ikea dressers were defective and dangerous and that the Sweden-based retailing giant continued to sell them despite the risk, while not properly warning consumers.

Reportedly, the IKEA dresser settlement came shortly after Ikea gave the parents attorneys internal documents it had long fought to keep confidential. Under the settlement, the contents of those documents will remain private and will be returned to Ikea, with the stipulation that the company not destroy them.

The plaintiffs include Janet McGee, whose 22-month-old son Theodore died last February when a Malm dresser fell on him, and the parents of 2-year olds Curren Collas and Camden Ellis, both of whom died in 2014.

Each of the three families who filed wrongful death lawsuits will receive an equal share of the $50 million with an undisclosed share going to the attorneys.

As well, Ikea has agreed to make $50,000 donations to three childrens hospitals in the name of the boys, one of which will go to the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in memory of Curren Collas.

Thats a wrap folks! Happy Holidays to you and yours. See you at the bar.
The Decemba 2 Rememba concert is one concert that has now become a household event has even been dubbed the 'Official Christmas party.'

The artistes who have been billed to perform at this year's concert have promised to give the patrons the best that they could ever experience.

The artistes are Shatta Wale, Okyeame Kwame, Guru, Joey B, Article Wan and Nii Funny. There will be some other surprise acts. Comedian Hogan will be there to provide some rib-cracking comedy.

Here is a taste of what you will get when you come to the Accra International Conference Centre.

Okyeame Kwame

His performance at #D2R2015 was one that was worthy of great applause. He did some of his old songs and added some of his hits from 2015.

Shatta Wale

Shatta Wale has emerged as one of the best performers in the country. The charisma that he has pulls the crowd to him, such that wherever he goes to perform, no matter the kind of people he's performing in front of, he gets people singing along to his songs.

Guru

Some describe Guru as a party artiste. Most of his songs are club bangers that always get people dancing; from Samba to Pooley. He, however, seems to be trying something new with the track Gold. He has also promised to give us a taste of what his next album will be like, maybe he will even release the album on that stage.

Joey B

If you are looking for the kind of performance that Joey B will bring you, just look at the video. Not much will be said, apart from the fact that his crazy stunts normally get the crowd to him.

Article Wan

Article Wan is one of the new guys but he looks promising.His body language suggests that whenever he gets the opportunity he will not disappoint.

Nii Funny

He's been on a few platforms and he looks good on those.

#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 are available at the Total Service Stations at 37 next to Maxmart, Atomic Junction, Baatsona, East Legon AnC, La Beach, Tema Hospital Road and Tesano, and at the front desk of Citi FM, Adabraka.

The official dress code for #D2R2016 is white top and jeans.

By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana
It was a colourful moment at the JIGWE Awards when Afia Schwarzenegger stormed the the hall in an...

It was a colourful moment at the JIGWE Awards when Afia Schwarzenegger stormed the the hall in an elegant dressing.

The controversial presenter, carefully chose her outfit perhaps to draw some attention to herself.

In a video, Afia Schwarzenegger showed her modelling skills as she walked majestically and gorgeously whiles getting to the avenue.

Watch the video below


Akhilesh Yadav said that only the farmers, the poor, and the middle-class were seen standing in lines, whereas the rich got their currency changed in bulk through back channels.

By Siraj Qureshi: As the UP elections are closing in, the political parties are resorting to new tactics to attract voters. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding rally after rally in prominent UP districts asking the people to get rid of the Samajwadi Party, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is trying to ensure his return to power in 2017, by loudly publicising the developmental work his administration has accomplished in the state over the last 5 years.

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DIFFERENT STRATEGIES

Every day, Akhilesh is announcing new schemes and laying keystones to projects that have no hopes of being completing unless the Samajwadi Party returns to power. The youth have been given an open offer of a smartphone in return of re-electing Akhilesh Yadav as UP CM.

BSP Supremo Mayawati is sticking to her age-old agenda of Dalit-Muslim upliftment when the Congress is now content with a limited role in UP politics, having struck a deal of seat-sharing with the Samajwadi Party.

Keeping the 2017 elections in mind, Akhilesh Yadav laid the keystone for a mega thermal power project in the Etah district of Agra zone and several others with an aggregate cost of Rs 52,600 crores.

Here's what Akhilesh Yadav said to India Today after the ceremony: Akhilesh said that Modi government claims that demonetisation put a brake on terrorism in Kashmir, but it was a fact that every week Army was losing brave officers and jawans to these cowardly attacks by terrorists. He said that in the guise of 'Achhe Din' Modi has entangled the country in a web that it is finding difficult to extricate itself from. He said that only the farmers, the poor, and the middle-class were seen standing in lines, whereas the rich got their currency changed in bulk through back channels. He added that the Modi government could not give proof of the surgical strikes on Pakistan occupied Kashmir and so it chose to announce demonetisation to throw off the people. Criticizing the low level of debate between Rahul Gandhi and PM Modi, he said that today one leader warns that if he talks, there will be an earthquake and the other leader ridicules the first by joking about earthquakes. He said that the PM is so hell-bent on implementing a cashless economy in India, but the farmers and labourers do not know what cashless economy is. Laughing away the BSP's stake at power in UP, he said that the BSP's elephant has not moved an inch in the past five years whereas the Samajwadi Party's developmental works can be seen all over the state in the form of expressways, metro trains, samajwadi ambulances and more. He said that if his government forms again in 2017, he will induct one lakh youth into the police. Not specifically commenting on anyone, he said that he learned politics from the deception of his near and dear ones who had joined hands with other parties to weaken him. The Jawaharpur thermal power project had been announced by the then UP Chief Minister and Akhilesh's father Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1993 and since then nothing had been done about it. However, with a closely contested election round the corner, the project is being completed with the assistance of a Korean company at the cost of about Rs. 10000 crores, which will generate about 1320 megawatts of power.

ALSO READ:

BJP's Parivartan Yatra to culminate in Lucknow today

State of States: Thumbs UP for Akhilesh Yadav's growth plans

--- ENDS ---
24.12.2016 LISTEN

The management of the music maestro, Kojo Antwi, in collaboration with MTN, will make available the music maestros new hit single Nyoo, available for free download on MTNs Music Plus platform on the 24th of December 2016.

This move is to reward the loyal fans of the music maestro on the day of his 24th year of his annual 24th December concert.

This years event will take place at the KEMPINSKI HOTEL in Accra on the 24th of December. The hit single of the music maestro is also available for fans on MTN CallerTunez and on MTN Music Plus for live streaming.

The in-demand hit single, which has enjoyed massive air play nationwide is also be available for fans to stream live on MTN Music Plus and MTN CallerTunez. The rare move is to reward the loyal Ghanaian music fans of the maestro after over 20 years of support for Kojos music and his annual 24th December shows. Music fans can SMS 91 to 1335 or dial *1355*91# to set Nyoo as their CallerTunez or text music to 5025 to stream the hit single on MTN Music Plus.

SUNCITY RADIO 97.1
Abuja (AFP) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday claimed the military had routed Boko Haram in a key northeastern stronghold, a year after saying the Islamist militants had been "technically" defeated.

A campaign lasting for months in the 1,300 square-kilometre (500 square-mile) forest in northeastern Borno state led to the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest" on Thursday, Buhari said in a statement.

The government in Abuja and the military have frequently claimed victories against the Islamic State group affiliate but access to the epicentre of the conflict in Borno state is strictly controlled.

The Sambisa forest, covering an area of about 1,300 square kilometres (500 square miles), was a stronghold of the Boko Haram islamists

That has made independent verification of official statements about victories virtually impossible. Attacks have meanwhile continued, making claims of defeating Boko Haram questionable despite undoubted progress in pushing back the group.

"The terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice," Buhari said.

The announcement came after Nigeria launched a barrage of land and air assaults in Borno state at the heart of the insurgency that has spread to three neighbouring countries -- Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

While the counter-insurgency has clawed back some territory, Boko Haram has responded by stepping up guerrilla tactics, ambushing troops when it can and terrorising civilians when it cannot.

Buhari's statement made no mention of the whereabouts of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram faction based in the forest.

Boko Haram, which last year pledged allegiance to IS, has been in the grips of a power struggle since late last year.

Shekau led Boko Haram for several years, until the IS command said in August that he had been replaced as leader by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the 22-year-old son of the group's founder Mohammed Yusuf.

Shekau says he is still in charge, however, as rival factions vie for control.

Chibok girls still missing

On Wednesday, a military commander said Nigerian troops had rescued 1,880 civilians from a Boko Haram redoubt in the restive northeast over the past week and arrested hundreds of insurgents.

Buhari also said Saturday that "further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity", referring to more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014. To date only a few of them have been freed.

Boko Haram seeks to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

The army's claim of recapturing Sambisa Forest brought a rare glimmer of hope for millions of people caught up in the devastating conflict.

But Buhari has been keen to announce any positive news, with his government increasingly under fire for its handling of the economy, which is officially in recession.

The humanitarian fallout from the conflict is also huge and aid agencies say it is too big for the country to handle on its own, heaping pressure on already overstretched resources.

Buhari has previously claimed that Boko Haram had already been "technically defeated".

His government has however struggled to stop attacks on soft targets such as markets, including the use of women and child suicide bombers.

At least 20,000 people have been killed since the insurgency erupted in 2009. The fighting has also displaced some 2.6 million people, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the region.

'Africa's largest crisis'

The United Nations said earlier this month a billion dollars are needed to help victims of Boko Haram and called the conflict "the largest crisis in Africa."

It estimates that 14 million people will need outside help in 2017, particularly in Borno state, where villagers under siege have typically been forced to abandon their crops.

"A projected 5.1 million people will face serious food shortages as the conflict and risk of unexploded improvised devices prevented farmers planting for a third year in a row, causing a major food crisis," the UN said on December 2.

People freed from Boko Haram's grip by the army have generally been taken to camps where basic supplies are also scarce.

The Nigerian presidency has since accused aid groups of exaggerating the food crisis.

Originating at www.huhuonline.com
Berlin (AFP) - Tunisia on Saturday said it had arrested the nephew of Anis Amri, the suspected Berlin truck attacker gunned down by Italian police, as Germany searched for the jihadist's possible accomplices.

Tunisia's interior ministry said the nephew and two other suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were detained on Friday and were members of a "terrorist cell" connected to Tunisian-born Amri.

It made no direct link between the trio and the Berlin assault on Monday, when Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down people at a Christmas market, killing 12.

The 24-year-old went on the run and was the focus of a four-day manhunt before being shot dead by police in Milan after opening fire first.

Berlin attack suspect killed

The Berlin rampage was claimed by the Islamic State group, which released a video on Friday in which Amri is shown pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Tunisian interior ministry said in a statement that Amri had sent money to his nephew so he could join him in Germany, and had allegedly urged him "to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)".

The unnamed nephew also claimed his uncle was the leader of a jihadist group based in Germany, known as the Abu al-Walaa brigade, it added.

Italian police and forensics experts gather around the body of suspected Berlin truck attacker Anis Amri after he was shot dead in Milan on December 23, 2016

The arrests come as German authorities probe whether Amri had help before or after the attack. Hundreds of investigators are set to work on the case throughout the holiday season.

"It is very important for us to determine whether there was a network of accomplices... in the preparation or the execution of the attack, or the flight of the suspect," federal prosecutor Peter Frank said Friday.

Criticism

Seven of those killed were German nationals, a federal police spokeswoman told AFP. The other five victims came from the Czech Republic, Italy, Israel, Poland and Ukraine.

The fact Amri was able to travel to Italy unhindered despite a Europe-wide arrest warrant has raised uncomfortable questions for intelligence agencies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked Italy and expressed relief the Berlin attack fugitive no longer posed a threat, but warned "the danger of terrorism in general endures"

German security services have also faced criticism for not keeping better tabs on Amri before the Berlin carnage, even though he was a known criminal.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere denied there had been a blanket security failure.

It "is impossible to monitor every person suspected of posing a threat around the clock," he told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged a "comprehensive" analysis of how Amri was able to slip the net, vowing to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers such as him.

The truck that crashed into a Christmas market near Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, pictured on December 20, 2016

Amri was killed after firing at two officers who stopped him for a routine identity check on Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

Amri had a few hundred euros on him but no telephone, Milan police said, adding that he had arrived in Italy from France.

A French source close to the investigation said train tickets found on Amri suggested he had travelled from the southern French city of Lyon to Chambery in the southeast.

From Chambery he boarded a train to Milan via Turin, the source said, adding that Amri paid for at least one ticket in cash.

Christmas 'not ruined'

Amri left Tunisia for Italy in 2011. He spent four years in prison there for starting a fire in a refugee centre, during which time he was apparently radicalised.

After his release he headed to Germany in 2015, taking advantage of Europe's Schengen system of open borders -- as he did on his return to Italy this week.

German security agencies began monitoring Amri in March, suspecting he was planning break-ins to raise cash for automatic weapons to carry out an attack.

But surveillance was stopped in September because Amri was seen primarily as a small-time drug dealer.

Meanwhile, as Germany celebrated Christmas Eve, locals and tourists in Berlin visited the scene of the truck assault, and many lit a candle or left flowers in memory of victims.

"It's really nice there are so many people here and it's still open," said Marianne Weile, 56, from Copenhagen.

"Even though you are really sad about what happened you can still keep Christmas. It's not like this crazy guy ruined it for everybody."
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The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has announced it will from next year refine between 16 to 18 million barrels of crude oil.

The crude will be from the Jubilee oil fields and subsequently other oil fields in Ghana.

The Managing Director of TOR, Kwame Awuah Darko disclosed this when he addressed staff of the company at an end of year thanksgiving ceremony in Tema.

According to him, the expansion projects carried out by TOR should translate into refining the increased quantities of crude.

The plan the company has in place is to make sure that in 2017 February, we go through our turnaround maintenance and because of the expanded capacity we now have we are planning to refine between 16 and 18 million barrels of crude oil in 2017. We are going to be in a place which I believe will be a much stronger place by the virtue of the foundation that we have laid, he said.

Workers of TOR have been asking the government to allow Ghana's crude oil to be refined by them.

They workers have among other things argued that refining the nation's crude abroad is not cost effective.

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has cautioned that TOR should only be allowed to refine crude oil if it will be cheaper.

But Mr. Awuah Darko was optimistic management will continue with laid down processes to achieve its set target.

The concrete which we have cast is not yet hardened so there is still a lot of fragility and a lot of work to be done, he asserted.

Kwame Awuah Darko who assumed office about a year now is however expected to leave office with the coming in of a new government.

In a brief statement to the staff of TOR, he expressed his appreciation to all and urged collaboration with the new management to take over.

I am very sure that this is the very last time I will address you as a Managing Director hence change has come and when that change comes, we must all support that change and work accordingly, he observed.



By: Pius Amihere Eduku/Elvis Washington/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Kinshasa (AFP) - Hopes of a deal to end DR Congo's dangerous political crisis before Christmas were faltering Saturday after fruitless all-night talks over President Joseph Kabila's refusal to quit power.

Kabila's second and final five-year term ended on December 20, but he has shown no intention of leaving office soon, sparking violent protests that have left at least 40 people dead this week, according to the United Nations.

The influential Catholic Church has been brokering talks between the government and opposition and hopes rose this week of an imminent deal, with a draft seen by AFP outlining plans for fresh elections at the end of next year, when Kabila would step down.

But that optimism has been slipping, and negotiators from the two camps left church offices in Kinshasa just before 5:30 am (0430 GMT) without a deal to prevent a fresh descent into conflict in a country that has suffered two horrific wars since 1996.

A man is arrested by a member of the military police after people attempted to block a road with rocks in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

"The work is practically finished -- the final touches are all that is left to do before the deal is signed," insisted Marcel Utembi, president of the Congo National Episcopal Conference (CENCO), who had pushed for a deal before Christmas.

But others indicated there was still a long way to go.

"Everything is still blocked on how (public affairs) will be managed during the transition period," said opposition delegate Francois Muamba.

Two opposition delegates said the squabbling sides could return to the table Saturday morning, but there was no confirmation from CENCO. Negotiators from Kabila's political alliance were remaining tight-lipped.

'Serious mediocrity'

A frustrated CENCO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, blasted DR Congo's political class for "serious mediocrity" in their inability to reach a deal.

"They have called into question everything we arranged the day before," the official said as talks stretched into the night.

Time is pressing as the bishops overseeing the talks are due to quit the capital Saturday afternoon to return to their congregations in time for Christmas Eve mass.

Tensions are still running high, with security forces spraying live ammunition at a string of anti-Kabila protests in Kinshasa and other towns this week, killing at least 40 civilians, according to the UN.

Congolese police put the toll at 20 dead, saying they had largely been killed in "looting" or by "stray bullets".

People gather to protest President Joseph Kabila's refusal to quit power in the neighbourhood of Yolo in Kinshasa

Other sources say somewhere between 56 and 125 people have been killed in a week of clashes, not counting the unknown toll from fighting between security forces and an anti-government militia in the central town of Kananga.

Kabila, 45, has been in power since the 2001 assassination of his father Laurent at the height of the Second Congo War.

He was confirmed as leader of the mineral-rich nation in 2006 during the first free elections since independence from Belgium in 1960, and re-elected for a second term in 2011 in a vote marred by allegations of massive fraud.

Constitutionally banned from seeking a third term, he obtained a controversial court ruling in May stating that he could remain in power until a successor was chosen.

DR Congo has never seen a democratic transfer of power following polls since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Two decades ago, the country collapsed into the deadliest conflict in modern African history. Its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s pulled in at least six African armies and left more than three million dead.
President elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has reassured the chiefs and people of Dagbon that Dagombas reconciliation and unity remained his primary objective.

He said Dagombas could count on him as a unifier under whose watch the Dagbon State will redeem its past glory as one of the nation's enviable traditional kingdoms.

President elect, Nana Akufo Addo was addressing the chiefs and people of Dagbon at the Dagbon Regent's palace in Yendi as part of his three days Thank you tour of the three regions of the north.

He sounded emphatic, I told you when I was here the last time that I am not a Dagomba, so I am not Andani and I am not Abudu. I have no interest in the chieftaincy matters of Dagbon.

My only interest is the peace and welfare of Dagbon and the peace and welfare of Ghana and if there is anything I can do to normalize the situation here, it is my duty to do it.

He recalled that the late overlords of Dagbon, Yaa-Naa Mahamadu Abdulai and Yaa-Naa Yakubu Andani were his trusted friends for which reason he will galvanize the two Regents and the people of Dagbon for constructive purpose.

I want you to understand that I do not have any agenda one way or the other. The peace, stability and reconciliation of the people of Dagbon is my agenda. This is the legacy I will like to leave with the people of Dagbon

He showed appreciation for the high powered traditional delegation from Dagbon to congratulate him on his election as the President elect.

He thanked the Kampakuya-Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani and the electorate in Dagbon for their unflinching support which produced him as the winner of the December 7 polls.

He said the NPP was grateful to the electorate in Dagbon for delivering five out of the eight seats in the area to the party at the last polls.

President elect, Nana Akufo Addo acknowledged the Dagbon Regent's continues wise guidance and counseling.

He further reiterated his administration's commitment to deliver all its campaign promises to improve the living conditions of the citizens.

The Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa-Abdulai Yakubu Andani asked Nana Akufo Addo to beware of the machinations of chieftaincy contractors in Dagbon.

He emphasized the need for Dagbon chieftaincy matters to be left in the competent hands of the custodians.

The Kampakuya Naa promised to always serve as a guide to the successive governments.

President elect, Nana Akufo Addo by extension paid a courtesy call on the Abudus Regent, Boling-Lana Mahamadu Abdulai.

He called for peaceful co-existence in Dagbon and promised to be a father for all.

The Boling-Lana Mahamadu Abdulai proposed the creation of another region within the eastern corridor enclave.

In view of the large size of the Northern Region and for the purposes of administrative expediency and accelerated development, we will crave your indulgence to consider high on your agenda the carving out of a new region for the eastern corridor.

He further admonished the President elect, Nana Akufo Addo to reduce youth employment and place premium on agribusiness.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Nairobi (AFP) - Burundi's parliament has passed a law imposing strict controls on international non-governmental organisations after President Pierre Nkurunziza accused such groups of backing an insurrection against him.

Nkurunziza had announced the bill just after his disputed re-election in July 2015, when his crisis-hit government accused various international groups of using their funding to support the opposition.

The new law, which places tight controls on NGOs' finances, passed Friday with an overwhelming majority of 105 votes with only one vote against the measure, parliamentary speaker Pascal Nyabenda said.

The law will force international charities and rights groups to keep their accounts in foreign currency at the central bank, with a third of their annual budget to be placed there before the government agrees to cooperate with them.

It also imposes new administration fees on such groups, which must file reports every six months on their activities or face sanctions.

Burundi's government has been seeking to control cash still coming into its ruined economy as it struggles under the weight of sanctions from major financial backers such as the European Union, its biggest donor, for failing to halt violence in one of the world's poorest countries.

Controlled by former Hutu rebels, the government has long accused international aid groups of a heavy bias towards members of the Tutsi minority in their recruitment, and the new law states they must "respect the ethnic balance under the constitution".

Burundi has been mired in crisis since April 2015 when Nkurunziza announced he was seeking a third term, sparking outrage among the opposition and human rights groups who said the move violated a two-term limit on the presidency and flouted a peace deal that ended a brutal civil war.

Nkurunziza's third term run sparked a failed coup attempt and months of protests that led to a government crackdown, armed attacks and assassinations.

More than 500 people have been killed in the current turmoil, and more than 300,000 others have fled the country.

Burundi has also moved to quit the International Criminal Court which was investigating the country, and cut ties with the UN's main human rights body after a damning September report detailed atrocities and warned of "genocide".
24.12.2016 LISTEN

Government is set to release GH166 million to banks as it takes steps to quickly clear all the energy sector debts owed banks.

This will represent the third tranche payment to banks, bringing the total amount advanced to about GH582 million.

President of the Association of Bankers, Alhassan Andani tells JOYBUSINESS the development could help improve their financial position and possibly reduce the cost of credit.

Government has agreed with the banks to make some payments every quarter over the next five years.

According to some analysts, the over GH2 billion debts nearly led to the collapse of some banks, if the necessary commitment had not been secured earlier this year.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Joy Business
STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 23, ARTSAKHPRESS: The ministry issued a statement, saying: Overnight December 22-23 Azerbaijani forces made over 65 ceasefire violations along the entire Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, firing various caliber small arms and mortars. Azerbaijani forces more than 1200 shots at NKR positions.

Most intense violations occurred in the eastern (Akna) and south-eastern (Martuni) parts. In the Martuni direction alone, Azerbaijani forces shelled NKR positions 14 times: 9 times using 60mm mortars, and 5 times using 82mm mortars.

The NKR forces took countermeasures mainly in the Martuni direction in order to suppress the Azerbaijani aggression, thus forcing them to refrain from further provocative actions. The Armed Forces of Nagorno Karabakh confidently continued their service along the entire line of contact.

As of this moment the situation along the line of contact is relatively calm."
By PTI: New York, Dec 23 (PTI) In a move designed to spot potential terror threats, the US government quietly began requesting select foreign visitors to provide their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts upon arriving in the country, according to a media report.

Since Tuesday, foreign travelers arriving in the United States on the visa waiver programme have been presented with an "optional" request to "enter information associated with your online presence", a government official confirmed yesterday.

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The prompt includes a drop-down menu that lists platforms including Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, as well as a space for users to input their account names on those sites, Politico reported.

The new policy comes as Washington tries to improve its ability to spot and deny entry to individuals who have ties to terrorist groups like the Islamic State. But the government has faced a barrage of criticism since it first floated the idea last summer.

The Internet Association, which represents companies including Facebook, Google and Twitter, at the time joined with consumer advocates to argue the draft policy threatened free expression and posed new privacy and security risks to foreigners.

Now that it is final, those opponents are furious the Obama administration ignored their concerns.

"There are very few rules about how that information is being collected, maintained [and] disseminated to other agencies, and there are no guidelines about limiting the governments use of that information," said Michael W Macleod-Ball, chief of staff for the American Civil Liberties Unions Washington office.

A spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection, who said the government approved the change on December 19, said the new policy is meant to "identify potential threats".

Previously, the agency had said it wouldnt prohibit entry to foreigners who didnt provide their social media account information.

The question itself is included in whats known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, a process that certain foreign travelers must complete to come to the US.

ESTA and a related paper form specifically apply to those arriving here through the visa-waiver program, which allows citizens of 38 countries to travel and stay in the United States for up to 90 days without a visa.

After the policy changed, Nathan White, the senior legislative manager of Access Now, again blasted it as a threat to human rights.

"The choice to hand over this information is technically voluntary," he said. "But the process to enter the U.S. is confusing, and its likely that most visitors will fill out the card completely rather than risk additional questions from intimidating, uniformed officers ? the same officers who will decide which of your jokes are funny and which ones make you a security risk". PTI UZM

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The Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel that will be used on Ghana's third oil and gas field Sankofa Gye-Nayame project is to be named after former President John Agyekum Kuffour.

Sources say the name was settled on earlier this year between the partners and government.

A formal program to name the vessel after the ex-president should have happened last week but has been moved to next year.

Mr Kuffour will become the third president after Jubilee FPSO was named after Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) FPSO names after John Evans Atta Mills.

Photo: FPSO Atta Mills

The J. A. Kuffour FPSO is expected to leave for anchorage first week in January 2017 and set sail from Singapore possibly on January 23.

It is expected to arrive in Ghana in March to aid commercial production on Sankofa Gye- Nyame Oil and gas field from July 2017.

It will have the capacity to produce 180 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, sufficient to generate approximately 1,100 megawatts of electricity.

First gas is expected in February 2018, in addition to 30,000 barrels of oil daily, to be produced from August 2017. The almost 8 billion dollar project is jointly owned by ENI, VITOL AND GNPC.

According to analyst the coming on board of this oil field will help improve revenue from the countrys oil field and daily production of crude and gas.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Joy Business
I have written quite a number of articles about the way galamsey is destroying Ghanas major water bodies, as well as our farmlands.

The farms being destroyed do not only consist of food farms upon which our people depend for subsistence, but also, the all-important cocoa farms that provide us with about 60 percent of its foreign exchange earnings and a huge chunk of our national revenue  in the form of cocoa export duty.

This devastation of our water bodies and farms by galamsey operators is not a secret to anyone. Actual fighting  including the use of firearms  has occurred between the galamsey operators and law enforcement agencies, including the now-moribund National Task Force. In some villages, such as Asamama in the Eastern Region, minor 'civil wars' are being fought between villagers anxious to preserve their natural resources and the selfish galamsey operators who are only interested in obtaining alluvial gold and dont care a hoot about what they destroy in order to get at the gold.

Thanks to modern media, anyone who wants to know what is taking place can have access to a number of films that vividly capture every aspect of galamsey. I shall only list three here, but a Google search will lead anyone who cares to know about galamsey to several other websites. The best of the films, made by such courageous and patriotic film-makers as Edem Srem, are to be found at:

https://vimeo.com/90373386 ;

Anas Aremeyaw Anas:



and even the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources:

.

The three films listed above were all made by Ghanaians, and their objectivity may, thus, be questioned by anyone who wishes to deny reality for reasons best known to himself or herself. However, a new film has now appeared on the internet that makes it impossible for any sane person to entertain any doubt whatsoever that galamsey is a genocidal enterprise that will deny water and farmlands to generations of Ghanaians as yet unborn.

The film is called 'CHINAS AFRICAN GOLD RUSH' and was made by that inimitable TV station called Al-Jazeera.

I can recall the years during which the galamsey genocidal enterprise would have been blown sky-high by the BBC in such programmes as Panorama or even Newsnight. Or maybe ITV would have shamed the BBC with a searching episode of World In Action. And good old Channel4 would have devoted two or three programmes to the subject looking at the Chinese angle, the Ghanaian angle and the environmental angle  each of which could provide material for a 50-minute programme.

Not to be outdone, CBS would have put its unrelenting 60 Minutes investigators on the trail of the galamsey operators and kept asking them: But do you know that you are destroying the water that the people of Ghana will need in order to continue to live on the land on which they were born? Do you know of any people who can live without water?

The Al-Jazeera programme may fall short of what 60 Minutes could have done with the topic, but it is a very good programme, nevertheless. Its to be found at:

https://environmentaljusticetv.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/101-east-chinas-african-gold-rush/

The most important aspect of this Al-Jazeera programme is that it was fronted by a Chinese speaker, Steve Chow, with the result that it was able, uniquely, to obtain the Chinese side of the issue. Mr Chow drove with the Chinese miners for seven hours to their 'gold mine', chatting to them all the while. There, he saw how the 'mine' operated and was also able to interview some of the Ghanaians who work with the Chinese.

He found appalling, 'backbreaking' work being done by both the Chinese and their Ghanaian employees, to win gold from the river bodies and farms that constitute the area of operation of the mine. Needless to say, both the Ghanaians and their Chinese colleagues are only interested in the gold they are able to win. On the day Mr Chow visited the miners, they got 600 grams of gold  worth about 6,000 US dollars, 'for half-a days work'.

A cocoa farmer told Mr Chow: I am nearly 80 years old. Ive, therefore, been cultivating my cocoa for about 40 years. But the farm has been destroyed. When I am gone what will my children do to make a living?

Mr Chow was taken to a place where there used to be a river 'which is now only a memory' but to which libation is poured! The water in the village now is 'undrinkable'; the farms 'devastated'. Mr Chow was moved to wonder what price Ghana was going to pay for this gold rush, in the near future?

The evidence produced by Al-Jazeera should, in my opinion, be taken to the Chinese Government by our new Government, and shown directly to Chinese Government leaders, with a request for assistance to resuscitate the killed rivers and try as much as possible to reclaim some of the farms.

As an initial step, the Chinese Government should be politely asked  in the name of solidarity  to send a team of surveyors and environmental scientists to Ghana to assess the damage done and develop a technically-feasible scheme for making as much reparation to the land and water-bodies as possible.

The Chinese Government, be it understood, is not under any obligation to accede to any such request from Ghana. r It always was, is and, will be, Ghanas own responsibility to close its doors to those who would wreck its farmlands and devastate its water-bodies. But it is in the interest of the two sister-countries that this issue be tackled as early as possible. The Chinese Government is too experienced to in the international arena to allow the weakness of our past corrupt Government to close its eyes to the massive problem that the galamsey operations have caused.

In this connection, I would like to quote the words of Mr Stephen Chow: 'Only strong Government action' can stop the devastation of the land that is taking place. But will that change come in time for Ghana? he asks.

WILL THE CHANGE COME IN TIME?

It depends, of course, on the urgency with which our new government approaches the matter. I am sure whoever the new Cabinet members are, they will be too intelligent to follow the footsteps of the people they are replacing, whose leader famously stated that the people killing the rivers and the farms were only trying to earn a living.

I wish to God that the members of the new Cabinet will allow their intelligence to show itself in deeds, not in their paper qualifications.

We wait to see.

www.cameronduodu.com

By Cameron Duodu
Nana Kwame Nyarko Sarkodie, a known financier of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Kumasi, has urged the citizenry to support the incoming NPP administration led by Nana Akufo-Addo to effectively develop the country.

According to him, the President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has the requisite experience, knowledge and vision to transform the country within a short period of time.

In this regard, he entreated the citizenry to exercise restraint and have faith in the incoming administration.

Nana Nyarko Sarkodee is the CEO of 3VS City Company Ltd, which imports engine oil lubricants and spare parts at Suame Magazine.

He is also a staunch supporter and financier of the NPP in Kumasi.

During the December 7 polls, the accomplished businessman single-handedly gave money to over 100 NPP supporters to travel outside the Ashanti Region to vote for the party.

Nana Nyarko Sarkodee has provided financial assistance to the NPP and its members over the years.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, the business mogul stated that Nana Akufo-Addo and his team of competent ministers can revive the country's economy which was mismanaged by the NDC.

Businesses always thrive and life becomes easy and comfortable for citizens whenever the NPP is in government, and so people must support the NPP government to effectively develop the country, he added.

From I.F. Joe Awuah, Kumasi




The death toll in the gas explosion at the Louis Gas Station, near the Trade Fair Centre last Thursday evening has risen by four.

The four victims, who died yesterday at various hospitals in Accra, bring to nine the deaths recorded from the incident that happened at about 5pm.

Six charred bodies were taken to the Police Hospital after they had been recovered from the inferno.

Another victim passed on at the 37 Military Hospital and two others at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital yesterday morning.

The explosion also injured tens of people who are currently receiving medical attention at various hospitals in the city.

The 37 Military Hospital received 28 victims, out of which four were treated and discharged.

The other 24 are currently on admission with four at the Intensive Care Unit.

While most of the victims have been identified by their families and friends, two of them  William Bansah, 8, and Michael Addo, 6  are yet to be identified.

The children, who had burns on their faces and hands, could not recall the names of their parents or where they live except William, who said he lives at Block Factory.

The La General Hospital also received 11 victims, out of which four were referred to a tertiary medical facility because of the degree of burns they suffered.

The others are responding to treatment.

The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital handled six, three of whom were said to have had over 80 percent burns.

The other three suffered from fractures when they were fleeing the scene of the explosion.

Although the total number of victims could not be ascertained from the various hospitals, it was estimated to be 45.

Ministers Visit Victims

The Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia and his deputy, Dr. Victor Bampoe , Thursday night visited the 37 Military, La General and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospitals to assess the conditions of the victims and determine what level of intervention was needed.

The sector minster also followed up with another visit to the other hospitals yesterday morning.

Speaking to the media at Korle-Bu after the visit, Mr. Segbefia said the last batch of the burnt people admitted at the premier hospital was in a critical condition.

Government Support

Mr. Segbefia said government, with direction from President John Dramani Mahama, will bear the total cost of treatment for the victims.

I implore the management of the hospitals to quickly send the bills as soon as possible for payment to be done, he instructed.

He said the Korle-Bu Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre had agreed with the hospital's management to send staff to other health facilities to assist with the treatment.

Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, Director of the unit, confirming the statement of the health minister, said his outfit was willing to send its experts to other hospitals that might need their services.

Giving detailed condition of the victims, Dr Ampomah said one of them had a very bad pelvic fracture because he jumped out of a moving vehicle when the explosion happened.

Two of the three severely burnt victims had almost 100 percent burns, making their chance of survival very, very low. The other one was about 80 percent, he said.

Gratitude

Mr. Segbefia seized the opportunity to thank the Almighty God for the lives of those who survived the explosion.

He also expressed his gratitude to the staff of the various hospitals for working hard to resuscitate and stabilize the patients.

Some even brought in extra nurses and doctors to help with the situation.

Appeal

Mr. Sgbefia also appealed to the public to help locate the families of the victims who are yet to be identified, especially the two boys at the 37 Military Hospital.

I ask the Ghanaian community to continue to pray for our victims that they may have a speedy recovery, he implored.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri


The Vice President-elect, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will fully restore the allowances of nurse and teacher trainees.

According to him, the payment of the allowances would be captured in the 2017 budget of the NPP government.

The NPPs pledge to provide $1 million every year to each constituency is still feasible and the party would fulfill it in 2017, he added.

Dr. Bawumia also reiterated that the one-village one-dam policy of the NPP would be implemented in the first year of the Nana Addo administration.

He said the NPP administration would create jobs for the teeming youth in the country.

Dr Bawumia disclosed this when he and the President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Nayiri Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga at his palace in Nalerigu.

Dr. Bawumia was optimistic supporters of other political parties would vote for the NPP in 2020 because the NPP has the best policies to develop the country.

The renowned economist also assured the people of the Mamprugu area that the road from Nalerigu to Bunkpurugu would be completed by the NPP administration.

He thanked the former District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area Peter Wuni and the council of elders for contributing immensely to the success of the party in the December polls.

Dr. Bawumia applauded the youth and the good people of Mamprugu for voting massively for the NPP.

He promised Ghanaians that the NPP would work hard to deliver on their promises and improve the lives of the citizens.

President-Elect Nana Addo was accompanied by former Northern Regional Minister Prince Imoro Andani, MP-elect for Nalerigu Hajia Alima Mahama, MP for Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo Solomon Boar and other party executives from the region.

Nayiri Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga prayed for the President-elect Nana Addo and Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to succeed in office.

He said the President-elect won the elections through hard work and determination, urging him to remain focused.

The chief advised the President-elect to monitor his appointees to effectively steer the affairs of the country and pledged to offer support to him.

From Eric Kombat, Nalerigu


The President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured the Overlord of the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Abugragu Asigri Azoka II and the people that his administration will not abandon the Bolgatanga-Bawku Road and other projects started by the outgoing National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

According to him, during the campaign, he promised to complete all projects started by the Mahama administration.

Nana Addo disclosed this at the Bawku Naba's Palace on the first day of his 'Thank you' tour of the Upper East Region.

The President-Elect used the occasion to assure the Bawku Naba and the people of Bawku Traditional Area that his government has no intention of interfering in the traditional matters of the area.

Prior to the elections, Nana Addo criticized people, who were inciting the Kusasis in the Bawku Traditional Area against the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In the run-up to the elections, some persons told the people of Bawku, especially the Kusasis that since Vice President-elect, Dr. Bawumia is a Mamprusi, the Nana Addo administration would transfer power from the current Bawku-Naba to the Mamprusis, who wielded that power in the past.

As for me, I know only one Bawku Naba and that is you; whatever people have said or are saying I don't know anything about that. I am not from here and so don't have the power to make or unmake a chief. What I am interested in is a peaceful environment to enable businesses here grow and for the people, especially children to develop to their full potentials.

Bawku Naba Asigri Abugragu Azoka II assured Nana Addo that he would maintain peace in the area to boost development.

The chief thanked the President-elect for debunking the false reports making rounds in the area.

According to Bawku-Naba, the completion of the Tamne multi-purpose dam started by the NDC would benefit people in all the five districts under the Bawku Traditional Area.

Nana Addo and his entourage also visited the elders of the Mamprusis in Bawku and thanked them for their support during the elections.

He called on them to support efforts at maintaining peace in the area for businesses to thrive.

From: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bawku


Tripoli (AFP) - Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the Libyan government to protect civilians who were detained after fleeing former Islamic State group stronghold Sirte.

"Libyan authorities should ensure the safety of and urgently provide medical care for more than 120 women and children being held in a Misrata prison" on suspicion of jihadist links, it said.

Forces allied with Libya's unity government said on December 5 that they had ousted IS from the coastal city, 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli, after seven months of fighting.

The jihadists had seized Sirte, the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, in June 2015 amid the chaos following Kadhafi's downfall in 2011.

After evacuating the city, Libyan authorities detained a number of civilians suspected of IS links, fears heightened by cases where women blew themselves up after leaving the city.

HRW said authorities have "an obligation to ensure the well-being and security of the women and children" and should not detain them on the basis of suspected relationships to IS fighters.

It cited a prison official who said none of the women had identification documents and another who said some of the women appeared to have been abducted by IS.

HRW urged the government to work with the United Nations and aid agencies to "find safe destinations for those detained and treat them for injuries, illness, and malnourishment".
The Director of Communications of Melcom Group, Godwin Avenorgbo has hinted plans of restoring the Achimota sales branch in early 2017.

The good news is that residents of Achimota and surrounding areas will benefit from a high tech shopping experience from an ultra modern Melcom which will open for service in early 2017, he stated.

The Achimota Branch has been in operation for many years until 7th November, 2012 where the building collapsed killing 14 people made up of shoppers and workers leaving over 78 people with serious injuries.

Mr. Avenorgbo noted that well experience engineers have been hired to come out with a magnificent structure that is completely safe and sound for visitors.

He added that new branches have been opened in Weija and Lapaz last month with one expected to open in Wa on February 2017, the capital of the Upper East Region.

Mr. Godwin Avenorgbo said this at the end of year donation to institutions such as the 37 Military Hospital, the Police Hospital and the Public Relations Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

He indicated that Melcom seeks to offer its support to the 37 Military Hospital Childrens Christmas party that cover up to 400 children of which one will receive a pair of trousers, a teddy bear, soft drinks and cookies.

Mr. Avenorgbo added that the Military Hospital will also receive a Medical Refrigerator for the storage of blood and other medicals for emergency response to aid victims of accidents.

The Police Hospital as a health delivery centre will receive a Medical Refrigerator. Both Military and Police Hospital and other hospitals have already received medical refrigerators in our last year Melcom end of year donation hence todays donations are additional, he intimated.

He posited that his outfit has responded positively to a request for assistance to provide an office refrigerator to the Social Media Unit of the Police Public Affairs Directorate.

Mr. Avenorgbo noted that they hope to increase the numbers for the good of patients who patronizes these facilities.
24.12.2016 LISTEN

Coming Soon to these Same Pages:

<Best of Prof Lungu (BoPL)>

However you slice and dice it, on numerous occasions and through various media, you can bet your bottom cedi we did our best to forewarn Fallen Mr. Mahama and his vice President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah Arthur. We warned them that breaking rules of nepotism and cutting corrupt deals with their kith and kin and foreign corporations is no appropriate or defensible way to govern Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana.

Nor, is lack of attention to a whole set of policy matters, 18, by our latest reckon!

To the point, among areas of policy Fallen Mahama and his NDC party screwed up and for which Serious Akufo-Addo and his new administration must focus like a laser beam and repair, these 18 agenda items have actual, immediate, and symbolic significance, if the NPP government under Nana Akufo-Addo Dankwa wants the People to take them at their own word(s) and $1 million per constituency per year promises:

(1) Ensure that from Day One, the Adansi-Asokwa MP Kobina Tahir "Hybrid" Hammond speaks only for himself and the people in that constituency who returned him to parliament

(2) Tear down the warts-infested Rawlingsian Constitution and rebuild the Constitution utilizing work product(s) already funded and paid for by Ghanaians as tax payers, in the name of the People of Ghana themselves who are the Sovereign.

(3) Pass the "Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, with an Independent Commissioner; promote transparency in government, understanding that "Right to Information" (RTI) is for very weak people and tyrants like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe).

(4) Immediately publish a list of all transportation projects and their state of completion, including those for airport and railway infrastructure development; prioritize them transparently according to their importance to Ghana's national development, and complete them accordingly. (But by all means, swiftly complete the Accra-Kumasi highway project and investigate use of funds, reasons for all the untoward delay, and consequences)

(5) Immediately sack newly-appointed NDC Commissioner for CHRAJ, and/or swiftly contest appointment in Supreme Court with the best legal brains Ghana has, if necessary

(6) Immediately abrogate Act 619, that fraudulent and predatory 419 oil exploration and production contract scheme on Ghana; review all contracts on petroleum and gas exploration/production; ensure Ghana receives no less than 50% of all oil revenues consistent with global standard Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the US GAO recommended contract system for sovereign oil

(7) Implement a super-effective alternative and sustainable power generation program for residential and institutional uses to allow adequate reserve power for industry and export, potentially

(8) Promote science education and culture, Singapore-style, where teachers, instructors, and administrators are evaluated based on their understanding of science and nature and their importance in the actual lives of Ghanaians in all cities, towns, and villages.

(9) Identify tourism development and infrastructure, including sanitation, as high priority and integrate "Brand Ghana" under that auspices; ensure Diaspora become crucial voices for Ghana all over the world under the program(s).

(10) Mandate Ghana Police Service, the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), and the Transportation minister to provide within 3 months a credible plan on traffic safety administration that measurably reduces the carnage, maiming, and destruction of life and property on roads in Ghana, year-by-year, data-point by data-point

(11) Improve public management and civil service professionalism, including presidential staff, and ensure all have adequate training with respect to law and ethical requirements, including non-partisanship while on duty.

(12) Ensure improved health administration and control/management of diseases, including cholera, knowing that these have huge impact on Brand-Ghana and tourism; ensure recent loose talk by irresponsible officials that AIDS is now adequately under control is nipped in the bud, until Ghana is able to cheaply produce in Ghana, a vaccine for AIDS

(13) Review drug policy and sentencing, especially with respect to cannabis, consistent with immoral history of drug policy and administration in the West (in the United States in particular), current scientific knowledge, the dignity of individuals and families, cost to government and tax payers, and current practices by responsible governments all over the world

(14) Employing lessons already learned at tax payer expense, implement an executive-directed national development planning effort that produces coherent, coordinated, comprehensive, time-limited planning products that leverage non-proprietary, common, off-the-shelf products to support development at the district-regional levels.

(15) Resource and force-multiply the capabilities of emergency management in Ghana, paying acute attention to coastal zones, areas where oil/gas is being explored/produced, impact of desertification in the northern zones

(16) Ensure technical and science education systems produce teachers and facilitators with requisite skills and interest in teaching technical skills, trades, and life-skills development for youths, with no less than 55% of resources on girls and women

(17) Implement a coordinated, secure, effective Diaspora outreach by assigning shared responsibility to Tourism and the Foreign Affairs ministries

(18) Provide a national forest resources and habitat preservation plan for job creation, economic empowerment, and as a climate adaptation strategy, from each Constituency to each Region, to the National level; tie execution of the major promises made to Ghanaians to those efforts and enable severe auditing and transparency at every level and stage; avoid waste of national resources.

Bottom-line: Absolutely, surely, it is time to stop all that Fallen-Mahama Monkey-Dey-Work, AMissah Attas-Dey-Chop business!

Again, coming soon to these same pages: Best of Prof Lungu (BoPL)!

Mark that one down!

So it goes, Ghana!

SOURCES/NOTES

Yakoema.net. Ghana loses six persons daily through road crashes

https://yakoema.net/2016/11/21/ghana-loses-six-persons-daily-road-crashes/

Visit www.GhanaHero.Com/Visions, for more information.

SUBJ: 18 Ghana-Centered Marching Orders for Serious Akufo-Addo!, essay by Prof. Lungu.

Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana (FTOS-Gh) Campaign/Petition:

https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/

Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com23 Dec 16.

(Powered by: www.GhanaHero.Com).
24.12.2016 LISTEN

CONGRATULATIONS! PRESIDENT ELECT AKUFO ADDO

In 2008 whilst I was still in secondary school and my interest in politics had just began to show, one person who I looked up to greatly was then Hon. Nana Akufo Addo who had been nominated as flagbearer for the NPP for the first time to contest against professor Atta Mills (Late). My interest in politics encouraged me to contest for the senior school prefect position in my school which later resulted in me being first assistant senior prefect. I didnt take part in student politics at the university because I detested the kind of student politics which was going on there. It pains me to say this, but most student politicians in the universities these days do so for self-aggrandizement and not because they have identified some ill in the school which must be confronted and solved.

I was in my early formative years then and anything I saw about politics I took interest in, which led me to read Nana Addos speech at the second series of the Ferdinand Ayim memorial lectures, on the topic Why We Must Believe in Ghana. The speech had been printed in the form of a booklet and was shared at an NPP campaign rally, so someone who attended (I guess it was my elder sister) got a copy and left it in our hall.

I took keen interest in the speech for no apparent reason, probably because I like the NPP party, but I am glad I read that speech because afterwards, I became awe struck by the thought process of the gentlemen who was seeking to be president of Ghana at the time. I held a notion at the time like most Ghanaians that, the majority of people who seek political office in Ghana do so for personal benefit and party benefit. However, this was a man who unlike his compatriots was talking patriotism and the need to modernise Ghana for everyones benefit. I read that speech over 15 times before I finally lost that booklet and the part that struck me most was subtitled Why Some Toil and Die for Ghana.

In that section, Nana Akufo Addo recounts the many challenges that we as a people have encountered such as colonialism and military rule and talks about the sacrifices that many such as Kwame Nkrumah and J. B. Danquah made to ensure that we are where we are as a nation today and argues that the quest of Ghanaians to see modernisation and development is what motivates people to put in selfless efforts for Ghana.

I will urge all readers to google Why we must believe in Ghana to understand the kind of person the next president of Ghana actually is. His selflessly is in built and I was not surprised by his composure even after the election petition hearing. He encourages us to be willing to work for Ghana for free without expecting anything back.

I write this piece to congratulate my hero and distant mentor President Elect Nana Akufo Addo.

If there is one man in Ghana who inspires me to be a politician, then it is President elect Nana AKufo Addo. I know he is going to be one of the best presidents Ghana will ever have and I have already been encouraged by his utterances post-election 2016 especially at Nalerigu where he said he wants it to be said when history is written that it was under an Akufo Addo presidency that prosperity was created for all Ghanaians. Also at the NPPs national thanksgiving he called for reconciliation and forgiveness which signifies he will be a unifying president.

I wish you all the best President Elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

The Author Albert Opare is a political science graduate from the University of Ghana and a social commentator as well as a social & political activist.

You can contact the author by mail on [email protected] .

Comments and Criticisms are welcome
The National Defence Authorization Act, which was passed by both the House and the Senate with veto-proof majorities earlier this month, was signed by Obama on Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he is currently vacationing.

By Indo-Asian News Service: US President Barack Obama has signed a $618 billion defence policy bill which when in place, will enhance security cooperation with India.

The National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed by both the House and the Senate with veto-proof majorities earlier this month, was signed by Obama on Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he is currently vacationing.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NDAA: The highlights of the bill released by Arizona Senator and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain said it enhances security cooperation between the United States and India, under the 'Supporting Allies and Partners' section. NDAA will also "refocus security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support US national security interests and conditions a significant portion of funding on a certification from the Secretary of Defence that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network in Pakistani territory." NDAA lays restrictions on transferring detainees out of the Guantanamo Bay facility, ensuring that Obama will not be able to fulfil his goal of closing it before he leaves office next month, Xinhua news agency reported. It authorises a total of $618.7 billion in spending, including a troop pay raise of 2.1 per cent, though Obama has only requested for a 1.6 per cent pay raise. It also calls for $3.2 billion more in base defence funding than Obama has requested, plus an additional $5.8 billion in White House-requested war dollars. As for the size of the Army and Marine Corps, the new bill authorises 4,76,000 active duty soldiers (16,000 more than requested) and 185,000 Marines (3,000 more than requested). After signing the bill yesterday, Obama said that it authorises fiscal year 2017 appropriations principally for the Department of Defense and for Department of Energy national security programmes, provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families, and includes authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe. Congress again failed to enact meaningful reforms to divest unneeded force structure, reduce wasteful overhead and modernize military healthcare. Congress redirects funding needed to support the warfighter to fund additional end-strength that our military leaders have not requested at a time when our troops are engaged overseas supporting the fight against the Islamic State and against Al Qaeda, he added. On the campaign trail, US President-elect Donald Trump promised a massive military build-up, including boosting the Army to 540,000 active duty soldiers, increasing the Navy to 350 warships and adding 1,200 new Air Force fighter jets.

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Also read: Barack Obama orders review of presidential election-related hacking by Russia

--- ENDS ---
A successful society is defined by the opportunities that are available to its people to live life to their fullest potential. Consequently, the governments role is to ensure a secure and stable environment for its citizens to live in freedom and to eradicate conditions such as corruption, poverty, violence, intimidation, racketeering and oppression, which undermine freedoms.

The 2016 general election was momentous because it allowed the people to choose a political party that would enable them to have fair opportunities and choices in life. Thus, the election gave Ghanaians the opportunity to choose between alternative visions of growth and development of the two major parties, the NPP and the NDC. The NDC proposed to promote economic growth by investing in infrastructural development such as roads, highways, seaports and hospitals. The NPP, on the other hand, promised to invest in people by revamping the faltering National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), investing in education, rebuilding the Zongo communities, and investing in agriculture. Thus, the elections were a contest between infrastructural development and human development.

The verdict was clear. Ghanaians voted overwhelmingly for Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP. So, what exactly did Ghanaians vote for when they elected Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP? And what exactly did Ghanaians reject when they voted against the NDC government? First, I will briefly address why Ghanaians voted out the NDC. I will then offer ideas about how the NPP government can meet the high expectations of the people by balancing economic growth with sustainable human development strategies to improve both the short and the long-term conditions of the people.

Infrastructure is the foundation upon which every economy is built. In other words, it is a precursor and part of economic growth. Therefore, the NDC government was right in directing a portion of the nations wealth to building roads, highways and hospitals. Nonetheless, an infrastructure driven development model is notorious for breeding corruption, stifling creativity and creating huge public debts. Corruption occurs in construction projects because contractors pay to obtain contracts at inflated prices. In fact, it is estimated that the average cost of infrastructure projects is inflated by anywhere between 20%-35% just to pay corrupt officials.

The NDCs infrastructure driven development model failed because: 1) corruption became endemic as public officials redesigned and proposed new projects with few public benefits and many opportunities for kickbacks and racketeering; 2) a handful of political elites and highly connected people captured key state institutions to influence public policy to their advantage; and 3) bribery and corruption induced apathy and stifled creativity in public management as technocrats looked on helplessly while the few elites looted the state. In short, NDCs infrastructure development agenda was elite-driven, benefited a few, and left the masses behind!

The NDC also lost power because senior members of the government developed an inflated sense of power and control, seemingly to a delusional level. They believed they could control outcomes beyond their capacities. Why not? Ultimately, as we often say in the local parlance, money talks! They had accumulated so much wealth that they believed they could win the election by buying off the very people they have abandoned in their quest to build infrastructure. Thus, in their delusion, the government underestimated the level of public anger, resentment and mistrust towards it.

The intensity of the election campaign was a clear sign of the struggle to either maintain the status quo or to change the direction of the country. The publics vigilance at the polls showed that the Ghanaian people were determined to prevent corruption in the electoral process in order to reclaim the state from a few elites who had captured it for their selfish gains. In sum, the NDC lost the election because its leadership had become too corrupt, insensitive, arrogant and delusional about the extent of their power. When leaders become, selfish and begin to make decisions in the interests of their cronies and families, their power can disappear very quickly. The outcome of the elections was a demonstration of the peoples discontent for the NDCs self-congratulatory infrastructure development and their acceptance of a new paradigm that focusses on human development

The incoming NPP government now has an obligation to govern wisely in order to meet the high expectations of the people and maintain their trust. This means the NPP has the serious and unenviable responsibility of transforming the economy that is stagnating under high public debt on infrastructure, renewing public trust in our democratic institutions, and improving the peoples living conditions. As daunting as these responsibilities are, it is still the peoples aspirations that provide the clearest lens for understanding the development process that must be undertaken to alleviate their suffering. In essence, the peoples struggle for a future free of political corruption, arrogance, and oppression should form the basis for the new vision and strategies of the President-Elect and his team. The future of Ghana must be built on the strengths of all Ghanaians and not the expertise of a selected few.

Indeed, the NPPs Manifesto articulates this vision and serves to carry forward people-centred programs to transform the country. It must, however, be emphasized that the bulk of the work that will develop the country from the perspective of the poor, the marginalized and the middle class still needs to be done, and must be done with experienced hands, in close consultation with the people, and in an atmosphere of respect. What follows are a few suggestions about how to meet the peoples expectations.

The NPPs Manifesto focuses on how to provide better opportunities for the people to expand the richness of their lives, rather than the richness of the country -- often quantified by GDP. So how does the NPP approach differ from the NDC agenda if both parties seek to improve the living conditions of the people? Whereas the NDC sought to increase economic growth through building projects, the NPPs approach is that the peoples wellbeing should be the ultimate criteria for evaluating the countrys development, not economic and infrastructural development alone. In other words, infrastructural development should emanate from the peoples ingenuity and not be imposed. The peoples ownership of the development process would be the surest bet to NPPs success.

The NPP Manifesto thus remains a useful platform for articulating the objectives of human development. That said, the government must adopt specific strategies and initiatives to reduce poverty and improve the peoples living conditions in tangible ways. The governments policies must be guided by the principles that:

Economic growth is an essential but not sufficient condition for poverty reduction. Poverty reduction requires strategic initiatives. It involves transformation of institutions, laws, regulations and practices that accentuate and perpetuate poverty; The law must be applied fairly and consistently to guarantee human rights and to prevent discrimination based on ethnicity, political affiliation, and social status; Community partnerships must be forged to build collective responsibility and leadership, and to ensure citizen engagement and participation in governance; Public awareness of, and sensitivity to issues related to poverty must be enhanced; There must be a shift away from the current antagonistic nature of our public discourse, which has been characterized by a pattern of insults of late. When policymakers resist, stereotyping based on political and ethnic affiliation, a space for listening with respect and tolerance will open up and thereby elevate public policy discussions to encompass a more complex and nuanced understanding of the choices we have to make to address our challenges.

The incoming NPP government must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the NDC, but rather focus on reconciling the diverse interests and values in the country to promote integration and national unity. Two complementary questions must drive the NPPs human development agenda. First, how can the economy work for everybody by reducing taxes, creating growth and employment? Second, how can the nation maximize its human capital to improve everyones living conditions? Ultimately, the government must work to the most vulnerable members of society and ensure the health and wellbeing of families and children. This should be an important objective regardless of the rate of growth of the economy. Not only is it the right of the vulnerable to survive but it is a moral and ethical obligation of the government to ensure same for these groups.

It is essential for the NPP government to pursue policies that promote robust economic growth while adopting specific strategies to reduce poverty, protect the vulnerable and support families. The people have embraced the NPPs message of hope and it is time for the Akufo-Addo government to make a positive difference in the lives of the people. The new government, I believe, have what it takes to do just that.

By Kwame Attakora Abrefah

Legal practitioner based in Edmonton, Canada.
Who the hell am I to tell you where to live, eh? After all, I reported myself to the Immigration hoping they would deport me back home. The nice immigration lady kindly told me that they had not received my medical report back yet and I should wait until they get it. Unknown to her was that I thought once I showed up, they would deport me back to Lagos, Nigeria. Home, sweet home. Well, that was many years ago.

You see, I was so disappointed with everything. When I showed up at manpower for job, I met this lady that directed me to the line where some folks were waiting to go and clear the heavy snow that day. I was not even properly dressed for the snow and my shoes from home were just too light. The snow soaked both feet into water freezing my toes. When I got home, I swore not to go back the following day. But when I got hungry, nobody showed me the way back.

It was not the only reason I wanted to go back home. By the time I finally accepted that I was not going to get any court clerk job as I had at home, my dressing for job-hunting changed. We always checked the papers for jobs where I saw opening the following morning for car-washers. First come, first hired. Some of us got there early at 5 a.m. We met others there waiting on line as we lined up behind them.

The owner of the car-wash got there at 7 a.m. and started picking us from the line. As he was picking his workers from the line, he finally got to me. Somehow, he jumped to the next guy. Thinking it was a mistake; I stood with those he had already picked. There was no reason to jump the line when he got to me. He looked back and said: you out!

I went home crying. After a series of events too many to write here, I realized I was a mamas boy who forgot that there were different jobs where I was coming from. It finally donned on me that there were factory workers at Apapa for morning, afternoon and night shifts. How could I have forgotten. Indeed, I. K Dairo had a song about people with high school certificate working as laborers at Ikeja and many other places.

When I enrolled at the university and told other African friends my experience, they burst out laughing, telling me I have not seen anything yet. My Nigerian friends made it worse. They asked me what the hell a Lagos boy was doing in the university. Most Lagosians they know do not study. They worked, lived in nice places and drove mustangs. They told me I was too well mannered because I did not brag, showed off or shakara with bottles. You, a Lagosian?

There is this saying that if everyone writes their problems on their forehead, you would thank God for yours. Some of my friends were working under the table for less than minimum wage if they could not find jobs. One advantage was that most of us were young men that were still strong with durable body for hard work. The Italians and Portuguese did many of the strenuous jobs. Ironwork, heavy lifting and construction paid good money but could also break your back.

A friend of ours said those were the jobs he wanted because he wanted better paychecks. So he went into construction, which was hard to get into in the first place. He came back home one day and could not get up the following morning because he had pains all over his body. He told us he wanted the money because he had a brother at home he had to send to school. He also bought an expensive camera he sent to another brother that qualified as a photographer.

He came home tired one evening complaining his body could not stop vibrating from the machine he used at work. While still in pains, he managed to get up to collect a letter from sweet home. The photographer thanked him for the camera expressing how happy and grateful he was. There was only one more thing he wanted from his brother. He wanted him to send some money as soon as could for the graduation party! My friend burst out crying.

Another friend joined a cleaning crew. In order to get the job, he was asked for his experience. He told them he had done the same job in Germany and was very familiar with all machines used for cleaning. They gave him one of the swinging machines one day. As he started the machine, it threw him flat crashing into the wall. He came home with bruises all over. He was later fired for lying that he knew how to use the machine.

While we were lamenting on different odd jobs, we saw a black man on television that went with fishermen on the high sea. When he saw high waves, he started hallucinating. He begged the captain to send him back to the shore. It was too late, they were far deep into the high sea. When they realize he might commit suicide by jumping into the sea, they had to restrain him in the cabin until they saw emergency crew that could take him back.

Well, these are relatively decent jobs. Africans have come back home telling us about nefarious promises made to them about better prospects in Libya, Malta, Italy and different islands between Europe and Africa. Even worse are the humiliating activities of our young girls lured out by promising them good money only to find out that they were sex slaves in many of these countries. These were untold stories years back. Italy and Greece refused to sell refugee islands

The attraction for greener pasture is obvious. Some Africans that left came back with exotic cars, enough foreign money to buy properties in high-class areas. While others that went to the same countries complain that by the time they pay rent or mortgage, pay for car and other bills, they only have so much left to send home after taking care of their immediate families. People then wondered what type of abroad they were when their colleagues were making big money!

Of course there are many Africans in high profile professions making good money without getting involved in crimes. Many also combine their day jobs with other jobs. You never hear of a friend that worked to death stocking up his store after day job. He had his wife in charge but their children only helped sparingly since they have their priorities. The burnout rate for highly successful folks is very high because of pressure from colleagues and demand from their jobs.

It is one thing to be successful at home in a nourishing environment where you could get the community support in order to alleviate the pressure. It is different in hostile communities.
24.12.2016 LISTEN

The National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Germany, Mr Kwaku Anane-Gyinde has described President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC as bad losers and saboteurs bent on undermining the incoming Akuffo-Addo government.

According to him the last-minute appointments, recruitments into the Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service, Customs, Cocoa Marketing Board (COCOA BOARD) and the signing of contracts by the Ministry of Environment, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA) Pay increases for public sector workers and the quantum leap in the National Service Allowance are deliberate actions intended to create difficulties for the next administration.

Speaking on Sunshine Fm on Thursday, Mr Anane-Gyinde noted that the President Mahamas action is not just unfortunate, it is also irresponsible and has the potential of eroding the very little public sympathy and support accorded him after the humiliating defeat at the December 7 polls.

The out-spoken national organiser pointed out that nation building is the collective responsibility of every Ghanaian, whether in government or in opposition adding that unfortunately the recent actions of the defeated President does not give any indication that indeed, he (the President) means well for Ghana

He reminded Ghanaians that the on-going recruitment exercises in the various security services, ministries and cocoabod have costs elements which can adversely affect the countrys ability to prudently manage its finances and keep the budget deficit within acceptable limits.

Mr Anane-Gyinde questioned the rationale behind what he termed injury time appointments, contracts and pay increases arguing that these last minute actions by the humiliated NDC would not have occurred if the party had won the December 7 elections and said Ghanaians would not forgive the NDC for putting their parochial party interest above the national interest.

The National Organiser said the in-coming government would not hesitate to take an in depth and comprehensive review of these last-minute contracts and recruitments to ensure that proper procedures and laid down rules governing actions have been followed adding an Akuffo-Addo led government would do what is right for this country for the benefit of all

He assured all Ghanaians that the in-coming government under President Akuffo-Addo would justify the huge mandate and the overwhelming support of Ghanaians to deliver on its campaign manifesto of job creation, reduction in taxes and stabilising the economy

The Communication Team

NPP-Germany
24.12.2016 LISTEN

Dont concentrate on the Rahab in Rashida Black Beauty only, there are other insights her story brings to the students of life and success. I condemn her choice of words in her viral video and subsequent ones in no uncertain terms. As believers, the only thing we can do for such a talented girl and the many Rashidas out there whose stardom have some accompanying faults or limitations as a results of broken homes, poor background, and bad company. Oh God, we pray, bring genuine helpers in the form of good parenting and mentorship, financial support, righteous men and women who will lead many of those to greatness and above all touch the hearts of the Kushmen during this 31st Watch Nights across the Country. Let the stories of the Rashidas end up like the Rahab in the Bible.

Now, beyond her choice of words, what else? Whats my takeaways from Rashidas story against o Afia Pokuaas article that got me thinking. To summarize the Vim Ladys article, what the Hell should society award Rashida Black Beauty and not the highly accomplished KNUST Medical student Dr. Fathia Karim?

I wish I could ask God this question, what the Hell did you make Rahab, the prostitute, an ancestor of the HOLY JESUS? But who am I, mere mortal to question the all-knowing God? I can only learn and draw inspiration from that decision of God. Here are my lessons:

Sometimes, God can overlook the Rahab (our prostitutions, sins, unpolished words, lies, drinking etc) in us and bring into His marvelous light. In the Bible, God chose the prostitute. Here in Ghana, voters awarded Rashida, whose words are unwelcomed to many. Thats life, deal with it. Sometimes, society makes us Rahabs which overshadows our true gifting, talents, skills, confidence, virtue and the potential of becoming an ancestor to the Holy Jesus Christ, our savior. It takes the good men in the same society to help us find our light. I lived 20years of my life in Berekum, and I understand, firsthand, how lack of good parenting, poor background, lack of good mentorship and lack of access to quality education can make us Rahabs. Sometimes, the Rashidas do not have any option than to struggle the hard way, the try and error method to survive. Some live on the mercies of the Kushmen. It takes the Grace of God and good mentors to help shape such talents on a misguided path. Against this background that, for the past 6years, my team and I remain committed to organizing Youth Empowerment Summit to mentor the youth from the place of my birth. Anyone can condemn, very few get involved to save the situation. Be part of the few. I admire excellence and I celebrate the highly accomplished KNUST Medical Student, Dr. Faith Karim. Let one of us create an Excellent Students Award program for the likes of Dr. Fathia Karim. Anyone to take it up? Create a Facebook page and write the seasonal Journalist, Afia Pokuaa to use her platform to celebrate and grant your honourees interview. It is our talents and skills not necessarily our profession or certificates that usher us into extreme fame and success. For Rahab in the Bible, it was her gift of kindness, discernment; ability to identify Gods people, that risk taking spirit which brought her into the glorious lineage of Christ. For Rashida, in my opinion, it is her unique way of naturally expressing her inner feelings, anger, frustration that made her video viral. So lets get this straight, Rashida was not awarded for the most profane video, she was awarded for the viral video of the year. What makes her video viral, I think it was her raw talent and how she expressed her frustrated emotions.

Ben Carson is not celebrated in the world just because he is a medical doctor, he is celebrated because he is a medical doctor who discovered his Gifted Hands.Obama became US president not necessarily he was a lawyer, there were many law professors from Harvard, it was his gift of eloquence that shot him to fame.

That Little Thing Can Make all the difference, Buffalos kill 7 people every year, lions kill 500 people every year, Hippos kill 800 people every year, Spiders kill 5000 in people every year, Scorpions kill 7000 people every year and Snakes kill 10000 people every year. Guess what? Mosquitoes kill 2.7 million people every year.

The little things can make a huge difference. Rahab did a small art of kindness and was rewarded while Ananias sold a whole acreage of land but for the smallest lie met his death. Rashida, 3 minutes viral video earned her an award. If she develops good manners, she will succeed. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might and passion.. (Ecc. 9:10). The Rahab in the Bible was passionate about showing kindness to strangers. Could you imagine, she broke the top of her roof to hide the spies from evil men. That passion protected her family from destruction. There is a level of passion expressed by Rashida that made her video viral. Rejection is not final. Your breakthrough can come after your biggest rejection. Jack Ma, Billionaire CEO of Alibaba was rejected 30 times for just a job. He finally decided to start something and that is Alibaba. I am sure, Rahab was rejected by her society and just maybe she needed company and perhaps that made her offered the spies accommodation. Rashida Black Beauty won an award from a viral video she made out of rejection. There is power in pain, only if you recognize it. Positive confession in the moments of pain is the wheel to gain.

Rahab in the troubling moments of hiding the men of God negotiated for the safety of her parents. Jesus said to his disciples, I will rise on the 3rd day, he rose. Samson said, God renew my strength so I may die with my enemies. God renewed his strength and by his confession died with his enemies. You are your confessions. Rashida promised, she shall be at the top. And that came to past.

You can be talented and gifted in life and still have some Rahab (sinful acts) or Malafaka things in you. To achieve enduring success and fame, deal with those bad traits as soon as possible. Lastly, your gifts promote you but your character sustains you. Now is the time for Rashida Black Beauty to concentrate on proper character development, seek more knowledge and mentorship. Only through this, her enduring success is assured. If she doubts me, she should ask Mike Tyson. Mr. Awesome, you have a charge to keep for this innocent girl.

Schandorf Adu Bright is a leader, Business Development Consultant, change agent and columnist. Currently, he is the Director of Farmer Services at Farmerline Ltd, a technology and content provider company based in Ghana. Schandorf is also the CEO of Golden Minds, a consortium that organizes Youth Entrepreneurship Summits, such as YES, aimed at building strong networks of young leaders, innovators, change makers, doers and entrepreneurs. Prior to Farmerline Ltd and Golden Minds, Schandorf worked at the Bank of Africa- Ghana.
We bring you greetings from the National Union of Ghana Students' President, LUQMAN ABUBAKARI who is currently in Sudan participating in the 12th Elective AASU conference.

The leadership of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) wish to bring to the fore of all students and the entire Ghanaian populace of a false publication on citifmonline.com news portal dated, Thursday 22 Dec, 2016 with the headline NUGS SUSPENDS AASU REPRESENTATIVE.

Aside its false content, it is also misleading and we would like to call on the operators and managers of the citifmonline.com news portal to remove the said publication and apologize to the union with immediate effect else the leadership of NUGS will not relent on suing the media outlet at the law court for defaming and bringing the name of the union into disrepute.

No serious organization or union shall suspend an elected executive on radio without recourse to any constitutional provision. The NUGS Constitution is explicit on the procedures for removal of an officer from office (Ref: Article 83 of the NUGS Constitution). Mr Fred Awaah therefore remains the AASU rep to Ghana and AASU Secretary General in as much as he's preparing to hand over.

For the records, the LUQMAN led NUGS have made all attempts to settle the NUGS impasse in court which is the right procedure but the so called pepper running okro mouthed legitimate executives keep running, dodging and avoiding court summons but hide behind some rented press just to ruin our hard fought efforts in fighting for the interest and welfare of Ghanaian students.

Attached is a writ of summons issued by the Accra HIGH/CIRCUIT COURT OF JUSTICE with suit number GJ1544/2016 on Friday 10/11/16

We chased the so called legitimate executives around the nation's capital to GIMPA just for them to prove themselves in court but till now, they keep running away from it.

We plead with them to walk their talk and be men of their words and accept the writ and meet us in court or better shut up.

We shall not watch NUGS die under our reign hence we are going to do everything legally possible within our capacity to protect and preserve the hard earned name and image of the union. We hereby entreat the media to disregard any publication, release, statement or memo coming from NUGS not endorsed or counter signed by LUQMAN ABUBAKARI as NUGS president.

We also entreat any person or group of persons who think or have issues with the LUQMAN led NUGS to go to court and stop hiding behind media to create disaffection and apathy for the union in the face of Ghanaians and the international community at large.

ALUTA CONTINUA !!! VICTORIA ASCERTA !!

Long live AASU

Long live NUGS

Long live Ghana

..signed

Kwasi Frimpong

(Press & Information Sec)

0201833775

Shadrach Mireku

(General Secretary)

0272366082

Yiadom Boakye Emmanuel

(Coordinating Secretary)

0246970434 / 0501358060

Luqman Abubakari

(President)
2023 Primaries: Adamu speaks on 'cold war' in APC, sends strong message to aggrieved presidential aspirants

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress has maintained that the party is at peace and there is no cold ward as speculated in the polity, ahead of 2023.
Places in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Beed were raided and cases filed against 7 people in this case of currency fraud.

By Pankaj P. Khelkar: The CBI on Friday raided 11 places in Maharashtra in connection with the black money case of Vaidyanath Cooperative Urban Bank worth Rs 25 crore.

The total amount being illegally transported from Beed's Vaidyanath Cooperative Urban Bank to Mumbai is said to be Rs 25 crore. Places in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Beed were raided and cases filed against 7 people in this case of currency fraud.

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On Friday, Rs 10 crore in new 2000 rupee notes was seized from a car on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The CBI has registered a case against a resident of ChinchwadGaon in Pune, the bank manager and two others working in Vaidyanath Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd in Pimpri-Chinchwad area. Another manager of Vaidyanath Cooperative Urban Bank Ltd. in Ghatkopar, a Mumbai-based doctor at a private hospital of Aurangabad; and 1 unknown person.

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President Muhammadu Buhari has saluted the Nigerian Army after troops captured Boko Haram stronghold in the Sambisa forest.

President Buhari is delighted that the Nigerian Army has captured Boko Haram stronghold in Sambisa

President Buhari in a goodwill message to the troops on Saturday, December 24, expressed his excitement and gratitude over the news which he said was delivered to him by the Chief of Army staff Tukur Buratai.

READ ALSO: Chibok school girls visit White House

The Boko Harams Camp Zero as the military called it fell at about 1.35pm on Friday, December 23.

President Buhari wrote:

I am delighted at, and most proud of the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army, on receipt of the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest.

I want to use this opportunity to commend the determination, courage and resilience of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole at finally entering and crushing the remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents at Camp Zero, which is located deep within the heart of Sambisa Forest.

I was told by the Chief of Army Staff that the Camp fell at about 1:35pm on Friday, December 22, and that the terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice.

I, therefore, call on all Nigerians to cooperate and support the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies by providing useful information that will expose all the terrorists hiding among the populace.

READ ALSO: Obasanjo exalts Islam; calls for end to terrorism

Further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity. May God be with them.

I also want to congratulate and commend the able leadership of the Nigerian Army in particular and indeed, that of the Armed Forces in general, for making this possible. This, no doubt, will go a long way in improving the security situation not only in the North East, but the country in general. But we must not let our guards down.

Once more, congratulations to our troops and all who, in one way or the other, contributed to this most commendable and momentous effort. May the Almighty continue to be with you.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a most rewarding and peaceful Year 2017 ahead.

Meanwhile, the federal government has donated N1million and medical supplies to offset the medical bills of victims of the recent bomb blast in Adamawa state.

The donations were made through the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI)

Source: Legit.ng
For a country that still doesn't allow its women to vote, this seems like a long overdue progress.

By India Today Web Desk: In a move being hailed as historic by many, Pope Francis has given the Vatican Museums their first-ever female director.

Dr Barbara Jatta, presently the Deputy Director of the museums, will reportedly assume office on January 1, 2017. In doing so, Dr Jatta will become the "highest-ranking female administrator in the Vatican," a report in New York Times reads.

Pope Francis. Photo: Reuters

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The top administrative positions at the ancient Vatican Museums, are generally dominated by bishops and cardinals, but Jatta's recent appointment as the director seems like a ray of hope for women everywhere.

Also Read: List of 'First' Indian women in Indian history

Jatta, 54, who has been serving the museum as the Deputy Director since June 2016, is an Italian art historian and graphic arts expert, whose first tryst with Vatican dates back to 1996 when she headed the Vatican Library's departments of prints, reports catholicnews.com.

The Vatican Museums include the Sistine Chapel. Photo: Reuters The Vatican Museums include the Sistine Chapel. Photo: Reuters

Dr Barbara Jatta has been associated with Vatican since 1996. Picture courtesy:Twitter/ @MKWilliamsRome

The Vatican Museums that include the Sistine Chapel, continue to host millions of visitors annually, and to have a woman at the helm of such ancient establishments is a long-overdue, hopeful move.

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310Rosemont.Com is an online boutique for men and women. 310 Rosemont is a US-based apparel brand with physical stores located throughout Tennessee and Virginia.

By: 310 Rosemont

End

-- 310 Rosemont has recently opened its online shop, bringing their boutique shopping experience online to serve customers nationwide who are unable to reach its stores located in Tennessee and Virginia.The company describes itself as a "contemporary boutique" focused on the latest trends. At 310rosemont.com can shop for gifts, men and women's clothing, accessories, shoes and handbags. They have all of the latest styles and stock the latest trendy items such as the True Grit Pullovers. The customer service team is ready to offer fashion advice to customers and answer their questions.At 310rosemont(collections/dresses) visitors can browse more than 100 different dresses suitable for everyday wear or a special occasion. The current collection includes casual dresses as well as more formal ones. The shopper can view all of the details including sizes, material, and colors. There are several shipping options available, including overnight and free shipping for orders over $75.310Rosemont.Com also sells a highly diverse range of men's sport shirts at 310rosemont(collections/mens-sportshirts). The items can be viewed from various angles thanks to the multiple photographs, helping each client make effective comparisons and find a good fit.In addition, the 310 Rosemont online store aims to make shopping more affordable through its numerous discounts and special offers. All the current discounts are visible in the Sales menu section, while all items under $100 can be viewed in a separate collection. Customers will get a 10% discount on every first order when signing up as an email subscriber. They also offer online gift cards which make as great gifts this time of year.Customers may also visit the company's stores in Virginia and Tennessee in the following locations: Jackson TN, Trenton TN, Blacksburg VA, Roanoke VA and Richmond VA. For more information about the stores including address, phone number, and hours of operations please visit the website.310Rosemont.Com is an online boutique for men and women. 310 Rosemont is a US-based apparel brand with physical stores located throughout Tennessee and Virginia.To contact the company, send an email to shop@310rosemont.com, call (540)982-1987 or visit 310rosemont.com ( http://www.310rosemont.com/ Contact Us :-Kim Ward310 Rosemontkim@310rosemont.comRoanokeVAU.S540-345-5326
In a first-in-children randomized clinical study, medical researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) and the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have begun testing to see whether adult stem cells derived from bone marrow benefit children with the congenital heart defect hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

UM SOM surgeons are injecting the cells into the babies' hearts during open-heart operations at the University of Maryland Medical Center. ISCI is supplying the stem cells for the procedures.

Even with extensive surgical treatments, HLHS babies still do not have optimal outcomes. The researchers hope the cells will increase the babies' chances of survival as HLHS limits the heart's ability to pump blood from the heart to the body.

"The premise of this clinical trial is to boost or regenerate the right ventricle, the only ventricle in these babies, to make it pump as strongly as a normal left ventricle," says lead researcher Sunjay Kaushal, MD, PhD, associate professor of surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine and director, pediatric cardiac surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center. "We are hoping this therapy will be a game-changer for these patients."

Kaushal says the first two patients, who were both four-months-old when the stem cells were injected, are doing well after their surgery.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells

This is the first HLHS research in the United States to use stem cells known as allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Allogeneic cells can be used in other human beings without creating an immune response, which could cause the body to reject the cells. Additionally, these cells are a type of adult stem cell (found in both children and adults), unspecialized cells that can develop into tissue- or organ-specific cells. MSCs can be harvested in advance, expanded in culture, and stored for use later.

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The allogeneic nature of the MSCs makes it possible for stem cells from one bone marrow donor to provide all the stem cells for this study. Researchers elsewhere are taking a different approach to strengthen the HLHS heart, with autologous cells, stem cells taken from the HLHS patient's own umbilical cord, for use in that specific patient.

In adult patients, MSCs in the heart have been shown to reduce scar tissue, reduce inflammation, cause new small vessels to grow, and stimulate the heart to regenerate itself, causing heart muscle cells and cardiac stem cells to grow.

"We've had incredible results in using mesenchymal stem cells to regenerate damaged heart muscle in adults," says Joshua M. Hare, MD, ISCI founding director and sponsor of the study. "This is the first time these types of cells are being used in infants, so this is very exciting."

The Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute has grown from a local research center to a national cell manufacturing facility. ISCI provides cells for the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network, has been named a Production Assistance for Cellular Therapies Center by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and has been conducting research in stem cell use for cardiovascular repair since 2008.

Study Details

HLHS is one of the most challenging and complex congenital heart diseases to treat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 960 babies in the United States are born each year with HLHS. For unknown reasons, the heart's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, does not develop completely during a critical growth period just prior to birth. The right ventricle normally pumps blood to the lungs at low pressure to be oxygenated, while the left ventricle pushes blood at high pressure through the aorta to the entire body. In children with HLHS, the right heart assumes the extra workload, temporarily supporting the circulation to both the lungs and body. That stress can cause the right heart to fail and the baby to die.

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Current HLHS treatment options are either a heart transplant or a series of three open-heart reconstructive surgical procedures to connect the left and right sides of the heart. However, even with a transplant or the reconstructive surgical series, children with HLHS have an average five-year survival of only 50-60 percent.

In this Phase 1 safety and efficacy study, allogeneic MSCs are injected into the heart muscle during the second of the three reconstructive surgeries, typically performed at approximately four months of age.

A total of 30 patients with HLHS will be enrolled in the study. Fifteen patients will receive six-to-eight stem cell injections each, based on the size of the heart, while 15 control patients will not receive the cells. This is an open-label trial, in which researchers and participant families will know whether or not the cells are administered.

Basic Science

Kaushal laid the groundwork for this trial eight years ago as he began exploring the possibilities of stem cells to strengthen children's hearts. Kaushal says he and his team developed many models trying to understand how these cells work in the laboratory before moving to a clinical application. "There's a lot of basic science behind what we're doing. I want to make sure that what we pursue is rigorous in the laboratory, to make sure that we're providing the best therapy for these little kids."

Several researchers at the School of Medicine's University of Maryland Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine have added their expertise to the effort, collaborating with Dr. Kaushal to understand and develop stem cell therapy for children with heart failure.

"Dr. Kaushal and colleagues have discovered that the failing neonatal heart is actually a rich source of cardiac stem cells, but the existing stem cells in the hearts of these babies are not sufficient to overcome HLHS," says Curt I. Civin, MD, professor of pediatrics and physiology, director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We are close to understanding one mechanism underlying this insufficiency. This line of research is a key part of our quest to use stem cells to repair, cure and prevent severe diseases in children and adults."

In previously published research, Kaushal demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells can restore function in a pre-clinical model replicating many of the features of HLHS. The stem cells remodeled the heart muscle (myocardium) similar to normal myocardium. Stem cells in the heart may also secrete growth factors conducive to forming heart muscle and keeping the muscle from dying. "These key findings suggested these cells would work for HLHS patients," says Kaushal.

While stem cells have been used to regenerate adult hearts, Kaushal says improvements have been marginal. His research suggests results may be better in pediatric hearts: "The heart is able to remodel better in a younger patient than an older patient, because the body is still growing, good things are going on, and things are not deteriorating."

Civin, a pediatric oncologist, says his very first patient as a pediatric intern-in-training years ago was an infant with HLHS. "I've seen how devastating HLHS can be for babies and their families. I'm thrilled with the launch of this first-in-children stem cell therapeutic trial, and look forward to the patient outcomes."

The Department of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is providing funding for the clinical costs associated with this trial. "Dr. Kaushal's research will give families with a devastating diagnosis hope for a better outcome for their child," says Stephen T. Bartlett, MD, the Peter Angelos Distinguished Professor; Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Surgeon-in-Chief and Executive Vice President of the University of Maryland Medical System. "The Department of Surgery's funding of this project demonstrates the critical need and the promise this research holds for a very at-risk population who only have a 50/50 shot at survival with current treatment protocols."

"This novel therapeutic approach exemplifies how our faculty are unrelenting in their search for new ways to improve the health of some of our tiniest and most vulnerable patients," says E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs, University of Maryland; the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor; and dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine." This stem cell therapy may provide a new treatment option not just for patients with HLHS, but also for patients with other congenital heart problems."
Today, scientists from the Bishop Museum, NOAA, and the Association for Marine Exploration published the description of a new species of coral-reef fish that they named in honor of President Barack Obama. The fish, which now bears the formal scientific name Tosanoides obama, was discovered during a June 2016 NOAA expedition to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The study is published in the open-access scientific journal ZooKeys.

"We decided to name this fish after President Obama to recognize his efforts to protect and preserve the natural environment, including the expansion of Papahanaumokuakea," said Richard Pyle, Bishop Museum scientist and lead author of the study. "This expansion adds a layer of protection to one of the last great wilderness areas on Earth." The Museum is currently showcasing the exhibit Journeys: Heritage of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, featuring the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the Monument.

On August 26 of this year, at the urging of Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), conservationists, and many marine scientists, President Obama expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. At 582,578 square miles, it is the largest permanent marine protected area on Earth. On September 1, during his trip to Midway Atoll within the Monument, legendary scientist, conservationist and deep ocean explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle gave the President a photograph of the fish that now bears his name. The exchange will be featured in the National Geographic global broadcast special, "Sea Of Hope" scheduled to be released on January 15, 2017.

The small pink and yellow fish is a kind of basslet, a group that includes many colorful reef fishes popular in the marine aquarium fish trade. There are two other species in the genus Tosanoides, both from the tropical northwestern Pacific Ocean. Males of the new species have a distinctive spot on the dorsal fin near the tail, which is blue around the edge and red with yellow stripes in the center. "The spot on the males is reminiscent of President Obama's campaign logo," said Pyle. "It seemed especially appropriate for a fish named in honor of the president."

"The new fish is special because it is the only known species of coral-reef fish endemic to the Monument (meaning that the species is found nowhere else on Earth). Our research has documented the highest rate of fish endemism in the world -- 100% -- living on the deep reefs where we found this new species," said NOAA scientist Randall Kosaki, chief scientist of the research cruise, and co-author on the paper. However, unlike all the other Hawaiian endemic species, which also occur in the main Hawaiian Islands, this new species is special because it is the only one that is limited to within the Monument itself. "Endemic species are unique contributions to global biodiversity," Kosaki added. "With the onslaught of climate change, we are at risk of losing some of these undiscovered species before we even know they exist."

The new fish was first discovered and collected on a dive to 300 feet at Kure Atoll, 1200 miles northwest of Honolulu. Kure is the northernmost of the Hawaiian Islands, and is the highest latitude coral atoll in the world. Deep coral reefs at depths of 150 to 500 feet, in the so-called "Twilight Zone" (also known as mesophotic coral ecosystems), are among the most poorly explored of all marine ecosystems. Located deeper than divers using conventional scuba gear can safely venture, these reefs represent a new frontier for coral-reef research. Pyle and co-authors Brian Greene and Randall Kosaki pioneered the use of advanced mixed-gas diving systems known as closed-circuit rebreathers for Twilight Zone research, and have been documenting the previously unexplored deep reefs throughout Hawai'i and the broader Pacific for the past three decades.

"These deep coral reefs are home to an incredible diversity of fishes, corals, and other marine invertebrates," said Brian Greene, an experienced deep diver and researcher with the Association for Marine Exploration, and co-author of the paper. "There are many new species still waiting to be discovered down there."

This is the second new species of fish from Papahanaumokuakea named this year. In August, Pyle and Kosaki published the description of a new species of butterflyfish (Prognathodes basabei) based on specimens collected on deep reefs at Pearl and Hermes Atoll earlier this year. President Obama also has several species from other locales named after him: a trapdoor spider, a speckled freshwater darter (fish), a parasitic hairworm, and an extinct lizard.
Archaeologists from the University of Birmingham have found "compelling evidence" of new pharaonic tombs at Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has revealed.

A two-metre high ancient encroachment wall has been discovered below a visitors' pathway in the northern part of the West Aswan cemetery at Qubbet el-Hawa.

It follows and archaeological mission by the University of Birmingham and the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) Qubbet el-Hawa Research Project Group (QHRP), directed by Dr Martin Bommas of the University of Birmingham.

The newly discovered wall is thought to indicate the architectural support for the known tombs of the first upper terrace, including those of Harkhuf and Heqaib, who were governors of Elephantine Island during the Old Kingdom.

Owing to the landscape of Qubbet el-Hawa, the support wall helped to secure the hillside, and thus lower lying tombs, which were accessible by a causeway leading to a second terrace.

Carl Graves, a PhD student who worked alongside Dr Bommas on the project, said: "The findings are dramatically altering our understanding of the funerary landscape in this area during the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period in 2278-2184BC. I don't think anyone yet knows who the tombs might have belonged to."

Nasr Salama, General Director of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities, describes the discovery as "stunning" telling the Egypt Independent that it is now only a matter of time until new tombs are uncovered within the important cemetery.

Eman Khalifa, director of the pottery project within the QHRP, told the paper that the stone wall was dated by the pottery shreds embedded within the mortar used to build it. She said that the crushed pieces include parts of carinated bowls, executed in a style typical of the reign of King Pepi II from the Sixth Dynasty (circa 2278-2184 BCE).

The find was part of the project's successful first field season, which included the recent discovery of the long sought causeway of Sarenput I, thought to have been the first governor of the area at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.
A USC-led study confirms what seems increasingly true in American politics: People become more hard-headed in their political beliefs when provided with contradictory evidence.

Neuroscientists at the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC said the findings from the functional MRI study seem especially relevant to how people responded to political news stories, fake or credible, throughout the election.

"Political beliefs are like religious beliefs in the respect that both are part of who you are and important for the social circle to which you belong," said lead author Jonas Kaplan, an assistant research professor of psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "To consider an alternative view, you would have to consider an alternative version of yourself."

To determine which brain networks respond when someone holds firmly to a belief, the neuroscientists with the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC compared whether and how much people change their minds on nonpolitical and political issues when provided counter-evidence.

They discovered that people were more flexible when asked to consider the strength of their belief in nonpolitical statements -- for example, "Albert Einstein was the greatest physicist of the 20th century."

But when it came to reconsidering their political beliefs, such as whether the United States should reduce funding for the military, they would not budge.

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"I was surprised that people would doubt that Einstein was a great physicist, but this study showed that there are certain realms where we retain flexibility in our beliefs," Kaplan said.

The study was published on Dec. 23 in the Nature journal, Scientific Reports. Study co-authors were Sarah Gimbel of the Brain and Creativity Institute and Sam Harris, a neuroscientist for the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Project Reason.

Brain response to belief challenges

For the study, the neuroscientists recruited 40 people who were self-declared liberals. The scientists then examined through functional MRI how their brains responded when their beliefs were challenged.

During their brain imaging sessions, participants were presented with eight political statements that they had said they believe just as strongly as a set of eight nonpolitical statements. They were then shown five counter-claims that challenged each statement.

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Participants rated the strength of their belief in the original statement on a scale of 1-7 after reading each counter-claim. The scientists then studied their brain scans to determine which areas became most engaged during these challenges.

Participants did not change their beliefs much, if at all, when provided with evidence that countered political statements such as, "The laws regulating gun ownership in the United States should be made more restrictive."

But the scientists noticed the strength of their beliefs weakened by one or two points when challenged on nonpolitical topics, such as whether "Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb." The participants were shown counter statements that prompted some feelings of doubt, such as "Nearly 70 years before Edison, Humphrey Davy demonstrated an electric lamp to the Royal Society."

The study found that people who were most resistant to changing their beliefs had more activity in the amygdalae (a pair of almond-shaped areas near the center of the brain) and the insular cortex, compared with people who were more willing to change their minds.

"The activity in these areas, which are important for emotion and decision-making, may relate to how we feel when we encounter evidence against our beliefs," said Kaplan, a co-director of the Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center at USC.

"The amygdala in particular is known to be especially involved in perceiving threat and anxiety," Kaplan added. "The insular cortex processes feelings from the body, and it is important for detecting the emotional salience of stimuli. That is consistent with the idea that when we feel threatened, anxious or emotional, then we are less likely to change our minds."

Thoughts that count

He also noted that a system in the brain, the Default Mode Network, surged in activity when participants' political beliefs were challenged.

"These areas of the brain have been linked to thinking about who we are, and with the kind of rumination or deep thinking that takes us away from the here and now," Kaplan said.

The researchers said that this latest study, along with one conducted earlier this year, indicate the Default Mode Network is important for high-level thinking about important personal beliefs or values.

"Understanding when and why people are likely to change their minds is an urgent objective," said Gimbel, a research scientist at the Brain and Creativity Institute. "Knowing how and which statements may persuade people to change their political beliefs could be key for society's progress," she said.

The findings can apply to circumstances outside of politics, including how people respond to fake news stories.

"We should acknowledge that emotion plays a role in cognition and in how we decide what is true and what is not true," Kaplan said. "We should not expect to be dispassionate computers. We are biological organisms."
Morgan Stanley is the 6th largest financial institution in the US. The company is ranked 61st on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and is the 39th largest bank in the world. A financial holding company, Morgan Stanley provides a full range of financial services to clients around the world.

Morgan Stanley was formed in 1935 as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act. Glass-Steagall separated commercial and investment banking in a way that forced the then-largest bank J.P. Morgan & Co to split into two groups. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to retain the commercial side of the business while partners Henry S. Morga, grandson of J.P., and Harold Stanley took the investment end. In its first year, Morgan Stanley did 24% of the IPO business and maintains a lions share of the market to this day.

The original company existed and grew through acquisitions until 1987 when it merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co. The new Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover & Co existed for 14 years until 2001 when the name was shortened back to Morgan Stanley.

The bank is credited in part with both beginning and ending the financial crisis of 2007/2008. The Process Driven Trading unit lost $300 million in one day due to a short-squeeze that popped the bubble in the housing market. After teetering on the brink of failure Morgan Stanley agreed to become a bank holding company regulated by the Federal Reserve, a key factor in the original decision to split from parent J.P. Morgan & Co. Ironically when given the chance, present-day J.P. Morgan refused to buy Morgan Stanley but that was for the better.

Today, Morgan Stanley operates through three segments via offices in 41 countries and employs more than 75,000 people. Revenue in 2021 topped $49 billion and total assets topped $1.15 trillion.

The operating segments are Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Institutional Securities segment is by far the largest and most profitable. It offers a range of services and products for businesses, institutions, and entities that include capital raising, strategic advisory, underwriting, advice on M&A, restructuring, and real estate. The Wealth Management segment provides brokerage and investment advisory services for individuals and employers. The services include brokerage, financial planning, company stock-plan administration, insurance, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and retirement planning. The Investment Management segment provides investment products to a range of institutions, organizations, corporations, and governments.
Telecom Argentina S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Argentina and internationally. The company offers telephone services, including local, domestic, and international long-distance telephone services, as well as public telephone services; and other related supplementary services, such as call waiting, call forwarding, conference calls, caller ID, voice mail, itemized billing, and maintenance services. It also provides interconnection services, such as traffic and interconnection resource, dedicated Internet access, video signals transportation in standard and high definitions, audio and video streaming, dedicated links, backhaul links for mobile operators, data center hosting/housing services, dedicated links, layer 2 and layer 3 transport networks, video links, value-added services, and other services. In addition, the company offers mobile telecommunications services, including voice communications, high-speed mobile Internet content and applications download, online streaming, and other services; and sells mobile communication devices, such as handsets, Modems MiFi and wingles, and smart watches under the Personal brand. Further, it provides internet connectivity products, including virtual private network services, traditional Internet protocol links, and other products; data services; and programming and other cable television services. The company was formerly known as Cablevision S.A. and changed its name to Telecom Argentina S.A. in January 2018. Telecom Argentina S.A. was founded in 1979 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReversedRescue/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Reversed Rescue</a><span></span></p>

Dogs who have nowhere else to go often end up in a shelter. But at the end of March, many of those dogs may be out of luck in Montreal. Faced with the possibility of euthanizing hundreds of dogs based only on the way they look, the Montreal SPCA has decided to end its shelter services with the city.

One Last Chance Animal Rescue Team

The decision comes in the wake of the Canadian city's move to ban pit bull-type dogs and impose harsh conditions on current owners - a decision that, while officially passed by the city council in October, is currently being challenged in court. "This was not an easy decision," Anita Kapuscinska, communications manager for the Montreal SPCA, tells The Dodo. "This is something we've been talking about internally with our operations staff and with our directors to try to see what is the best thing that we can do for the dogs and for the animals that we serve."

Dodo Shows Cat Crazy Fluffy Cat Wants To Sit On His Dad At All Times

The organization says it was faced with two options - with one seeming only a little less impossible than the other. "We either could have went through with legislation and started applying it ... and started euthanizing dogs or we could have refused to do so," Kapuscinska says. The organization says the ban, which comes into full effect on March 31, makes it impossible to determine what exactly makes up a pit bull. "Veterinarians all agree there's no clear way of identifying which dog would fall under this legislation," Kapuscinska says. "We're even trying to figure out which of our dogs would fall under it. And we have no idea. "It's definitely hundreds. Big hundreds of those dogs."

The bylaw makes it illegal to own any dog the city deems a pit bull - loosely defined as American Staffordshire terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers or any mix of these breeds. Montreal mayor Denis Coderre has often cited public safety as the reason behind the legislation. Over the summer, a woman was attacked and killed by a dog, mistakenly identified as a pit bull. "A city has the right to decide on its territory how to best protect it citizens," Coderre told reporters in October. Additionally, the law gives current owners of so-called pit bulls until the end of March to provide the city with a criminal background check and pay $150 for a special permit. Their dog will have to be sterilized, vaccinated and microchipped - as well as muzzled and on a 4-foot leash at all times in public. It all adds up to a war on dogs in Montreal - and one that the SPCA has decided not to wage.

One Last Chance Animal Rescue Team

As of March 31, the organization will no longer be dealing with stray dogs or or accepting owner surrenders. But it's still offering its other services for cats and dogs - low-cost sterilization, as well as help for injured squirrels, birds, feral cats and other animals. Its animal cruelty investigations department will also remain unaffected. Some pit bull-type dogs have found their way out of Montreal shelters ahead of the law with the SPCA, along with rescue groups, racing to find spaces for them in regions that don't enforce a breed-specific ban.

One Last Chance Animal Rescue Team

"The response that we're getting is great," Kapuscinska says, but adds, "This is not a long-term solution. "We're going to run out of places to put these dogs."
As holiday shoppers on the hunt for the perfect gift understand all too well, our choices are meaningful. The things we give and get are expressions of what we care about and aspire to, which is why they offer us a window into ourselves.

This is the underlying subject of the exhibit True Nordic: How Scandinavian Design Influenced Canada at the Gardiner Museum until Jan. 8, when it heads to museums across the country. In True Nordic, curators Rachel Gotlieb and Michael Prokopow use examples of Canadian-designed objects and furnishings to offer the Scandinavian back story of our national identity.

True Nordic features more than 100 works of furniture, textiles, lighting, porcelain, silver and glass objects, and the surprise for the visitor is that all are designed and/or crafted by Canadians, as they share what has come to be widely understood as a Scandinavian design esthetic. As Gotlieb describes it, modern and functional, made in natural materials, with gentle curves, rough or smooth surfaces, and often, although not always, evoking imagery from nature.

The spine that runs through the show is a curving wall that recalls Alvar Aaltos influential Finnish pavilion at the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York  except in this 2003 version by Vancouver-based molo, chosen by the curators and shows designer Andrew Jones, a softwall system of pleated brown kraft paper offers a serpentine-like backdrop. As a reference, its on point: while Canada struggles with its own national design identity, the warm, yet restrained modernism that came to define the postwar style of our Northern neighbours proved iconic and resonated so strongly with Canadians that it continues to influence Canadian designers working today.

Struggling back in 1964 to come up with a design image that reflected Canadian style, our national representation at the XIII Milan Triennale was an open-concept Canadian cottage of blond wood and glass with clean-lined furnishings that could have come out of a Scandinavian pavilion (and would still embody the fantasy of urban hipsters today).

As the show takes pains to illustrate, the first wave of Scandinavian design influence arrived here in Canada in the 1920s and 30s via Scandinavian-born emigres such as Karen Bulow, Thor Hansen, Carl Poul Petersen, and Erica and Kjeld Deichmann, many of whom who had learned techniques of pottery-making, weaving and silversmithing in the Sloyd traditions of their native countries.

What is fascinating is how much we romanticized the wholesome Northernness of these makers, who were portrayed as early hipsters  in the case of Deichmann, pictured barefoot at the potters wheel alongside his fine-boned wife in one of several National Film Board films about the family, as if they were a decorative arts version of the von Trapps. Or the charismatic, beret-clad Hansen, promoting the benefits of craft to both the culture and the soul on a cross-country lecture circuit.

And yet there is something soul-cleansing in the presence of such gems as Mariette Rousseau-Vermettes magnificent, colossal 1961 weaving, Hiver Canadien, which runs along the back wall of the gallery like an enormous Group of Seven mural.

There was this sense that from a design perspective, we should be more like the Scandinavian countries, says Gotlieb, adding that along with sharing a northern climate, we also share a certain sensibility if not a set of values. There is a sense of lightness and openness about it, something appealing in its materiality that isnt grand, but speaks to an emerging middle class with its attitude of progressive modernity.

Indeed, the idea that Scandinavian forms represented good design was actively promoted by Canadian cultural elites, so much so that by the 50s and 60s, contemporary housewares and furnishings designed and manufactured here in Kitchener or Montreal were often marketed under deliberately Nordic-sounding brands like Danesco and Scanmor, as demonstrated by a display of mass-market packaging.

Also represented are these influences at the high end of the market, with a set of Poul Petersens silver for Birks from the Bronfmans collection. A fine example of the G2 stereo cabinet for Clairtone, founded by Peter Munk, still looks visionary. And the prototype of Janis Kravis hoop-shaped leather-and-wood chairs for the tony Three Small Rooms at Torontos Windsor Arms hotel offers a nostalgic reminder of the old, European inflected Yorkville. Kravis of course was the design mind behind the much-venerated Karelia, a modern home furnishings shop that stocked Marimekko fabrics just blocks away from the Windsor Arms on St. Thomas St.  a corner that was also once home to George Jensen and the Danish food centre.

Those institutions may be long gone, but their influence is still strong, as the show illustrates in its section devoted to contemporary Canadian practice. Standouts include the Brothers Dresslers antler-like 2009 Branches chandelier and Torbjorn Anderssens long-necked 2014 copper watering can from Mjolk. Special mention is due to Jones delightful Fleurt chair, which is now in production after beating almost 700 entries from 15 countries in a widely publicized competition for New Yorks Battery Park conservancy. Whimsically recalling Marimekkos classic flower-power Unika print, yet eminently practical, it embodies a design ethos that is perhaps the closest we can get to anything that could be described as Canadian.

Perhaps the most important take-away from the show as we head into the 150th anniversary of confederation is how little we have valued Canadian designs and design here in Canada. None of our major museums collect Canadian design; many of the objects in the show were acquired through the few existing private collections. One Bostlund lamp on display was found by the curators at Value Village for the princely sum of $5. Given how little we prize and promote our own  in sharp contrast to our Nordic neighbours, who have made design their calling card throughout the world  it is little wonder that 150 years in, the struggle to articulate our identity continues.

Correction  Jan. 5, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the closing date of the exhibition. True Nordic ends Sunday, Jan. 8.

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Oh, holy night. You slave all day over the meal, set the table with tender loving care, round up the compulsory friends and family. . . you definitely deserve a decent drop when you sit down to Christmas dinner. None of that Baby Duck business, fruitcake. Here are four table wines to keep things merry and bright, and a decadent dessert wine for a spirited finish.

2015 Domaine Laroche Chablis Saint Martin, Burgundy, France (LCBO 289124 $23.20 in store and online)

This unoaked Chardonnay with a glasslike texture and clean, crisp flavour, is the perfect Christmas pour. Not only does it go well with turkey, but its named after the Christian Saint Martin to symbolize sharing and conviviality. Legend has it Saint Martin, a Roman soldier in 316AD, met a beggar during night patrol in France and gave him his cape after splitting it with his sword. Since half his garment was paid by himself and half by the army, the gesture showed total generosity. Monks took Saint Martins relics to Chablis in 877, where the crypt still remains.

Score: 90+

2013 Aquinas Pinot Noir, Napa Valley and Sonoma County, California (LCBO 277657 $18.95 in store and online)

Finding a gorgeous Pinot Noir for less than $20 isnt easy, but here you have it. Pure raspberry and sweet cranberry flavours edged with violet and vanilla cream offer a lush rush of pleasure thats rich and mouth coating, while retaining the quenching zip for which Pinot Noir is known. Great holiday pour that would not only go well with roast beef, ham or turkey, but is appropriately named for the occasion. Aquinas was, of course, the important Christian theologian and philosopher who spent his life trying to prove the existence of God.

Score: 90

2015 Arterra Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, ON ($29.95 at select Wine Rack stores and at  free shipping on this wine with promo code ARTERRA until Dec. 31.)

If you like gently wooded Chardonnay, youll want to grab a bottle of this terrific new wine, just released in November. Inviting aromas of cantaloupe, beeswax, white flowers and vanilla lead to a creamy-fresh attack that tastes refined and sophisticated. Polished flavours of preserved lemon, cool slate and Brazil nut unfurl seamlessly before tapering to a long, grapefruit-zesty finish. With roast turkey? Magic.

Score: 91

2014 Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Aconcagua Valley, Chile (LCBO 335174 $19.15 in store and online)

If youre serving a roast of beef or goose, pour this saturated Cabernet Sauvignon that seriously over-delivers. Wafting aromas of dark, spicy fruit and chocolate covered espresso beans draw you in and then the entry is intense and complex with dried herbs, grilled meat and black earth flavours underpinning a sweet berry core. Then, on the finish, notes of tobacco, black pepper, smoke and roasted nuts resonate. Solid crowd-pleaser at a reasonable price.

Score: 90

Osborne Santa Maria Cream Sherry, Spain (LCBO 31120 $13.10 in store and online)

Heres a wine filled with sugar and spice and everything nice. Shining a gorgeous shade of mahogany, each sip is rich with flavours of warm toffee, spiced praline, homemade orange marmalade, cherry pound cake, almond paste, dried figs and dates. This stunningly good bottle would go beautifully with apple pie, plum pudding, or  my favourite  a nibble of blue cheese. Pour this and end the evening with just the right kind of holiday drama.

Score: 93

Carolyn Evans Hammond is a Toronto-based wine writer. She is also a London-trained sommelier and two-time bestselling wine book author. Reach her at carolyn@carolynevanshammond.com .

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As temperatures plunge and distress mounts for those without a warm place to go, an innovative art program at a downtown Toronto drop-in helps to ease the anxiety.

The opportunity to draw and paint two mornings a week has been part of the regular program at Margarets Toronto East Drop-In since the fall of 2013.

But two years ago, when the agency at the corner of Dundas St. E. and Sherbourne St. received city funding to operate an extreme-cold-weather overnight service during the winter months, staff decided to offer the program every night.

We extended it to our extreme-cold-weather program primarily because art seems to facilitate community and connections, says executive director Diane Walter. And, to be frank, it is a de-escalating medium; it helps to keep the peace.

Arts facilitator Terri Roberton recalls a recent Friday night when people were rowdy, cold, wet and grumpy. They were barking for a fight.

Everything changed when she suggested: How about going on a camping trip through art?

Roberton steered the shivering and dishevelled men to a table with paper, coloured pencils and water colours, and, before long, a story emerged.

One man who had been drinking came in here to have a fight with someone. I diverted him to the art  and he drew a moose, she says, pointing to the mans creation hanging from a clothes peg as part of the camping trip journey.

It is one of several themed works created at Margarets that also includes a road trip and memories of housing.

The housing project, dubbed Paper House, was turned into an animated movie by the Toronto Animated Image Society.

Some of the artists sleep outside in ravines or doorways, Roberton says. Others are sofa-surfers, the under-housed or those who have moved off the streets and into affordable housing and return to the drop-in for a hot meal and a friendly face.

Many have secure housing, but find it comforting to come into a kind space, she says. If the atmosphere gets edgy, we say, We are here to honour the arts, and we keep it kind and comfortable. People seem to respect that. Its the power of art.

The drop-in, usually open from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. daily, serves an average of 450 meals a day.

During the winter months, from Dec. 8 to the end of February, Margarets is open 24-7 and serves up to 1,000 meals a day.

Art work created by participants during the regular Thursday and Sunday morning drop-in as well as during Margarets extreme cold weather overnight program is being sold this winter as a fundraiser.

Frames, wood and some of the paint is donated by art shops and private donors. But Margarets still has to purchase supplies.

We thought an art show and sale would be a good way to raise a little money for the program, Walter says. And showcase what we do here.

For more information about purchasing art created by drop-in members contact: info@margarets.ca

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Piers Sellers, a British-born climate scientist for NASA who remained optimistic about the fate of the Earth despite the grim climate change models he oversaw and who gained American citizenship to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, died Dec. 23 in Houston. He was 61.

The death was confirmed in a statement by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Sellers, who had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in October 2015, went public with his diagnosis in a New York Times column in January 2016. He wrote that while he had hoped he would see solutions to the problem of climate change in his lifetime, he was devoted to continuing his climate research until he died.

There is no convincing, demonstrated reason to believe that our evolving future will be worse than our present, assuming careful management of the challenges and risks, he wrote, sounding a note of optimism in spite of increasingly drastic changes in the global temperature and precipitation patterns that he studied. History is replete with examples of us humans getting out of tight spots.

Sellers had worked on global climate problems from 1982 to 1996 at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and at the University of Maryland at College Park. He wrote more than 70 papers, using computer models to delve into the relationship between the biosphere - the region of the Earth inhabited by humans and other organisms - and the atmosphere. He was also a lead scientist for Terra, a NASA satellite launched in 1998 that monitors the state of the Earths climate and environment.

All the while, he applied to become a NASA astronaut.

The corps is open only to U.S. citizens, but Sellers said he wanted, at the very least, to keep his name before the astronaut selection board. He acquired dual citizenship in 1991, and five years later became part of NASAs largest astronaut training group. The class of 44 so cramped NASAs training facilities it was humorously nicknamed the Sardines.

In three space flights from 2002 to 2010, Sellers logged 35 days in space, including 41 hours in six space walks. Some lasted as long as seven hours, including a walk in 2006 during which Sellers tested new emergency repair techniques and materials using caulk guns, putty knives and his favorite spatula from home, according to the Times.

The best practice for this is to have an old house in Houston, he joked during the mission. Later in the walk, he lost his spatula, which mission control spotted drifting away from the shuttle and tracked, unconcerned by any possible kitchen-utensil collisions, by radar.

Sellers returned to the Goddard center in 2011, overseeing scientists researching climate and weather - including the causes and effects of climate change  as deputy director of the centers sciences and exploration directorate and as acting director of its Earth sciences division.

He made a point of using his experiences as an astronaut to further peoples awareness of climate issues.

Asked what it was like going into space, he told a United Nations interviewer in 2011 that even as a climate scientist, he was surprised to see how thin the atmosphere was. That really brought home to me how easily mankind can affect its own environment. The stuff we breathe, theres not much of it. Its a very thin atmosphere. We better pay attention.

Piers John Sellers was born in Crowborough, a town in the south of England, on April 11, 1955. The son of a British army officer, he was raised on military posts around the world.

England has no manned space travel program. (The first official British astronaut, Tim Peake, flew as part of the European Space Agency in December 2015.)

Sellers said he dreamed of going into space ever since he saw images of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbiting the Earth in 1961 and U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969.

Through a British air force cadet program, Sellers learned to fly gliders before he could drive. He received a bachelors in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh in 1976 and a doctorate in biometeorology from the University of Leeds in 1981. He moved to the United States one year later, starting work at Goddard as a research meteorologist.

His marriage to the former Amanda Lomas ended in divorce. Survivors include two children from his marriage, Imogen Shelton of Austin and Thomas Sellers of Houston; his mother, Lindsay Sellers of Guildford, England; four brothers; and a grandson.

Sellers became just the third Briton to go into space when he flew on the shuttle Atlantis in 2002, carrying out three space walks as part of the assembly of the International Space Station. Three months later, the shuttle Columbia disintegrated on reentry, killing all seven astronauts on board, including three with whom Sellers had trained.

His 2006 mission on Discovery was partly designed to test safety measures that would prevent similar accidents. His final flight, on Atlantis in 2010, delivered a new module to the International Space Station.

Months later, Sellers was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to science. He proclaimed himself gobsmacked.

Ive no regrets, he wrote in the Times in January. As an astronaut I spacewalked 220 miles above the Earth. Floating alongside the International Space Station, I watched hurricanes cartwheel across oceans, the Amazon snake its way to the sea through a brilliant green carpet of forest, and gigantic nighttime thunderstorms flash and flare for hundreds of miles along the Equator. From this Gods-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is. Im hopeful for its future.

Ever loyal to his profession as a scientist, he concluded: And so, Im going to work tomorrow.

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MILANInvestigators on Saturday sought to hunt down where the Berlin Christmas market attacker got possible logistical support to cross at least two European borders and evade capture for days before being killed in a police shootout during a routine stop in a Milan suburb.

Tunisian fugitive Anis Amris fingerprints and wallet were found in a truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Despite an intense, Europe-wide manhunt, Amri fled across Germany, into France and then into Italy, travelling at least part of the way by train, before being shot early Friday on foot outside a deserted train station.

Daesh, also known as the Islamic State, has claimed responsibility for the Berlin attack, but so far little is known about any possible logistical network backing the 24-year-old fugitive.

Italian investigators were working to see if the Tunisian had any connections in the Milan area. Italy was his port of entry into Europe in 2011 and he spent more than three years in Italian jails on Sicily. But an anti-terrorism official said there was no evidence that he had ever been in or around Milan before Fridays shootout.

In Tunisia, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest Friday of Amris nephew and two others suspected of belonging to the same extremist network.

The ministry said in a statement that Amri, through an alias, had sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi some money through the post office to join him in Europe and join the Abou Walaa network. Amir claimed to be the networks emir.

It is unclear whether those suspects were in any position to help Amri flee Berlin.

The ministry said during questioning, the nephew said he was in contact with Amri via Telegrams encrypted communications to avoid detection. He told police that Amri had recruited him to jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to IS. The nephew recorded such a pledge and sent it to Amri via Telegram.

The Tunisian prosecutors office ordered all three held in pretrial detention pending further investigation.

In Spain, police were investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist in Spain, on a tip from German authorities.

We are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio.

Italy has found itself at the centre of the Berlin attack investigation after the dramatic shootout that ended the manhunt. The deserted train station and the late hour prompted Italian officers to check the North African mans identity, officials said. Instead of pulling out an identity card, Amri produced a loaded .22-calibre gun, shooting a senior officer in the shoulder before a rookie officer killed him with a single shot to the chest.

Amri had arrived in the southern island of Lampedusa illegally in 2011, claiming to be a minor, and quickly landed in jail after setting fire to a migrant centre. After he was freed, efforts to deport him failed for bureaucratic reasons.

He reached Germany, where authorities were concerned enough about him to put him under covert surveillance for six months earlier this year, ending the operation in September. His request for asylum was refused by Germany in the summer, but the paperwork from Tunisia that was needed to deport him was delayed for months. Tunisian officials say thats because Amri used at least six different names and three different nationalities in travels around Europe, and they had to check each one.

Investigators are looking into why Amri returned to Italy as he sought to elude police and whether he had any jihadi contacts in the country.

Authorities were also investigating the apparent coincidence that the truck from a Polish shipping company used in the Berlin attack had been loaded with machinery in the neighbouring Milan suburb of Cinisello Balsamo three days before the attack.

Milan Police Chief Antonio de Iesu acknowledged the connection was suggestive.

But he told reporters there was no evidence yet of a link, emphasizing that the Polish truck driver who was the terrorists first victim had spoken to his wife by phone from Berlin hours before the Monday night attack and did not appear to be under duress.

On Saturday, Italy welcomed home one of the 12 victims, 31-year-old Fabrizia Di Lorenzo. She had lived and worked in Berlin and was out shopping for Christmas presents to bring to relatives in central Italy when the truck careened into the market.

A casket containing her body arrived at Romes Ciampino airport, met by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Her parents and brother received hugs and condolences before the casket was placed in a vehicle for the ride home.

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BETHLEHEM, PALESTINIAN TERRITORYThousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighbouring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Yet the faithful braved the chilly weather outside the towns Manger Square as traditional Christmas songs like Jingle Bells played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols. Elated tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

Adding to the holiday spirit for the Palestinians, locals celebrated a key diplomatic victory at the United Nations the day before, where the Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Sharolyn Knight, a 28-year-old teacher from Georgia, said she was in Bethlehem for the first time and experiencing mixed emotions. Its been sobering and humbling because its a place with a lot of heavy stuff, religious and historical. At the same time, disillusioning because there is so much strife in the place where Jesus was born.

She said she would come back again, maybe next time with her kids.

Its very unique, Ive never seen anything like it, said Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Ky. Its very meaningful. Its Christmas time, where everything started.

Christian clergymen welcomed the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus Christ, as Christians worldwide begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.

The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population. He travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession. Later, he was to celebrate Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built at the grotto revered as Jesus birthplace.

I wish this joyous atmosphere of Christmas will continue in the year and not just for a few days and I hope the coming year will bring a little more serenity and peaceful relations in our country. We need it, he said.

I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season. I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there, he told The Associated Press.

The Syrian government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels, including some Islamic militants, agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the countrys largest city.

Christmas festivities brought a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, who make up just a small percentage of the population. The region has which has experienced a wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that erupted over a year ago. The violence has tapered off in recent months, but has not halted completely.

Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked.

Bethlehem is celebrating today, we are receiving tourists from all over the world, Maaya said. All people over the world are looking at Bethlehem so we hope more and more tourists will come during the year and that next year we will celebrate Christmas without occupation.

Maaya spoke a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Julie Suhain, 20, from Ramallah said she was delighted with the UNSC resolution.

Its like getting a Christmas gift, she said. Weve been waiting for this for a long time.

Despite the Christmas cheer, Mideast politics loom large in the background  the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem is just one hulking reminder. It was built by Israel last decade during the second intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.

Israeli says the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers, but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also stunts their economy.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent attacks on Christian targets in Egypt and elsewhere in the region by Islamic extremists.

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Last month, Conagra Brands (CAG) , formerly ConAgra Foods, completed the separation of its Lamb Weston Holdingscommercial foods business, but its fiscal second-quarter earnings report Thursday didn't show a meaner and smarter company.

Conagra Brands, with a strong portfolio of food brands that include Healthy Choice, Hunt's, Marie Callender's and Slim Jim, had a disappointing quarterly report overall, despite earnings growth and margin expansion.

Regardless, Conagra Brands, with more than $8 billion in annual revenue, could be an appealing long-term growth stock.

Analysts had expected the company to report quarterly earnings of 45 cents a share, and Conagra Brands beat that by 4 cents a share. But revenue was $2.09 billion, falling short of the $2.11 billion that analysts expected.

The company reported a 6% drop in groceries/snacks and an 11% slump in frozen-goods sales.

But having recently gotten rid of several under-performing brands such as JM Swank and Spicetec Flavors & Seasoning, the company's true growth capacity will only be evident after a couple of quarters.

Chief Executive Sean Connolly expects sales growth trends to improve in the second half of this fiscal year.

The company has said that full-year earnings should come in between $1.65 and $1.70 a share, versus the $1.68 a share expected by analysts.

Branded foods remains a segment of enormous opportunity for the company. Brand power, pricing strength and a wide portfolio of products are on track to generate dependable cash flows and growth.

In terms of growth, Conagra Brands has already looked at Pinnacle Foods, which has a market value of more than $6.2 billion, as a possible acquisition target.

As Conagra Brands consolidates its business and lays out a platform for earnings, it must work on further boosting gross margins, which were 31.1% in the fiscal second quarter.

Going forward, investors should be interested in a few key negatives.

First, there is the possibility of more problems from an old salmonella outbreak. Any negative headline on that front would obviously be bad for the stock.

Second, with more than 40 brands, Conagra Brands could find that getting rid of more under-performing ones would be a positive.

Finally, it is important to understand the larger capital allocation strategy in terms of debt reduction, dividends, share repurchases and strategic growth opportunities.

In the fiscal second quarter, Conagra Brands paid a quarterly dividend of 25 cents a share. A quarterly dividend payment of 20 cents a share will be paid on March 1.

The company's dividend yield of about 2% is reliable, but processed and packaged-goods companies such as General Mills, Kellogg,PepsiCo and J.M. Smucker are better picks for income-oriented investors.

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Conagra Brands also repurchased shares worth $85 million during the quarter.

Shares of Conagra Brands trade at about 21 times one-year forward earnings, in-line with peers Campbell Soup, General Mills, Kellogg and Mondelez, all of which trade below that.

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New home sales ticked up in November to the second-highest level since the financial crisis, while consumer confidence hit a 12-year high in a University of Michigan survey, suggesting that President-elect Donald Trump is inheriting a basically sound economy.

Builders like (PHM) sold single-family homes at an annual rate of 592,000 during the month, the Census Bureau reported. That's up from 563,000 in October and narrowly beat forecasts of about 580,000 in a survey by Econoday.

New home sales, which create about four new jobs per residence, peaked at nearly 1.4 million in 2005 and plummeted to 270,000 after the financial crisis as unemployment hit 10% and mortgage credit dried up. The average price of a new home sold last month was $359,400, the Bureau said.

Researchers at Michigan credited Trump's election for a jump in consumer confidence, but said that surge appears to have crested in the past few weeks. The university's consumer sentiment measure jumped 4.7% since November to a reading of 98.2, with solid gains in measures of how consumers see the current state of the economy and how they expect it to be doing in six months. Economists had expected the sentiment number to be 98.0.

"While the surge in confidence following Trump's surprise election ended by mid-December, it nonetheless led to the highest level of the Sentiment Index since January 2004," Richard Curtin, chief economist of the Michigan survey, said in a statement. "Compared with the rapid gains made in late November and early December, the Sentiment Index was barely higher than at mid-month and barely higher than the January 2015 peak."

He said an all-time record number of consumers, 18%, "spontaneously mentioned the expected favorable impact of Trump's policies on the economy."

The strong measures are a departure from recent data, which have shown prospects for fourth-quarter growth weakening. Stocks of retailers like Target (TGT) and Best Buy (BBY) have been hard hit, even as giant Wal-Mart (WMT) has held steady and discounter Costco (COST) has actually seen shares rise.

Estimates of fourth-quarter growth have been falling, with a number of forecasters, including those at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, suggesting it will dip below a 2% annual rate after the economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter.

The move in consumer sentiment probably reflects the stock market's gains since the election, since the Michigan survey is sensitive to stock prices, Moody's Analytics economist Ryan Sweet said.

"The improvement in the collective psyche since the presidential election is welcome, but it lends only some modest upside to our near-term forecast for the U.S. economy," Sweet said in an e-mail. "The reasoning is that sentiment can be fickle and that there have been instances when confidence measures have sent false signals about changes in the economy."

Higher confidence will do battle with higher mortgage rates in the housing market, Sweet said. Moody's expects higher rates to keep fourth-quarter 2017 home sales about 1.8% lower than they would have been otherwise, he said.

A more bullish view came from economists at Wells Fargo, who pointed to the number of consumers who expect their personal income to rise over the next year.

"The number of survey respondents who reported that they expect higher income over the next year rose to 50.4%, the highest reading since December of 2015," Wells economist Michael Brown said in a note to clients.

"Greater income growth prospects for consumers serves as a good leading indicator of real spending activity. We expect real spending activity will continue to serve as a solid support to GDP growth in 2017, expanding around 2.6%."

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This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, and markets biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, neuroscience, and covid-19 diseases. The company's products include Revlimid, an oral immunomodulatory drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma; Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; and Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis. It also provides Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia; Yervoy for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma; Abraxane, a protein-bound chemotherapy product; Reblozyl for the treatment of anemia in adult patients with beta thalassemia; and Empliciti for the treatment of multiple myeloma. In addition, the company offers Zeposia to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; Breyanzi, a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma; Inrebic, an oral kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of adult patients with myelofibrosis; and Onureg for the treatment of adult patients with AML. It sells products to wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies, retailers, hospitals, clinics, and government agencies. The company was formerly known as Bristol-Myers Company. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. The Consumer Banking and Lending segment offers diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses. Its financial products and services include checking and savings accounts, and credit and debit cards, as well as home, auto, personal, and small business lending services. The Commercial Banking segment provides financial solutions to private, family owned, and certain public companies. Its products and services include banking and credit products across various industry sectors and municipalities, secured lending and lease products, and treasury management services. The Corporate and Investment Banking segment offers a suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients. Its products and services comprise corporate banking, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate lending and servicing, equity, and fixed income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research capabilities services. The Wealth and Investment Management segment provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, and trust and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net worth, and ultra-high-net worth clients. It also operates through financial advisors. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Workday, Inc. provides enterprise cloud applications in the United States and internationally. The company's applications help its customers to plan, execute, analyze, and extend to other applications and environments, and to manage their business and operations. It offers a suite of financial management applications, which enable chief financial officers to maintain accounting information in the general ledger; manage financial processes; identify real-time financial, operational, and management insights; enhance financial consolidation; reduce time-to-close; promote internal control and auditability; and achieve consistency across finance operations. The company also provides cloud spend management solutions that helps organizations to streamline supplier selection and contracts, manage indirect spend, and build and execute sourcing events, such as requests for proposals; Human Capital Management (HCM) solution, a suite of human capital management applications that allows organizations to manage the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment to retirement, and enables HR teams to hire, onboard, pay, develop, reskill, and provide employee experiences; Workday applications for planning; and applications for analytics and reporting, including augmented analytics to surface insights to the line of business in simple-to-understand stories, machine learning to drive efficiency and automation, and benchmarks to compare performance against other companies. It serves professional and business services, financial services, healthcare, education, government, technology, media, retail, and hospitality industries. The company was formerly known as North Tahoe Power Tools, Inc. and changed its name to Workday, Inc. in July 2005. Workday, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name. The company also produces and sells potash for use in the manufacturing of mixed crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients, and for industrial use; and for use in the de-icing and as a water softener regenerant. In addition, it provides nitrogen-based crop nutrients, animal feed ingredients, and other ancillary services; and purchases and sells phosphates, potash, and nitrogen products. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, retail chains, farmers, cooperatives, independent retailers, and national accounts. The Mosaic Company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
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The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls on the international community to monitor the escalation of Russias violence in eastern Ukraine on the eve of the Christmas holidays.

This was stated by UWC President Eugene Czolij, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Ukrainian World Congress condemns the escalation of fighting and urges the international community to remain vigilant over this Christmas season and maintain pressure on the Russian Federation to reduce its blatant violations of the Minsk agreements, Czolij said.

As noted, the UWC is "gravely concerned over the escalation since 18 December 2016 of attacks on positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by terrorist forces backed by the Russian Federation in Eastern Ukraine, particularly near Svitlodarsk which has been the target of intensified shelling."

ol
The Netherlands can complete the process of ratification of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement in early 2017.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine on European Integration Olena Zerkal said this at a press briefing on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"Yesterday, hearings were held at the Dutch parliament, where Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte delivered a speech and all political parties expressed their positions on further completion of the ratification of the Association Agreement. Now I am very optimistic about the completion of this procedure in January," Zerkal said.

She added that the completion of the ratification process of the Association Agreement had been supported not only by the coalition political forces, but also by the Green Party.

ish


Snow swirls around President-elect Donald Trump as he disembarks his plane for a Thank You Tour event in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 9. The state was key in his surprise victory. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Politics turned on its head

There are rules in American politics, or so everyone insisted from before the Iowa caucuses in February until Election Day in November. Republicans wouldnt nominate Donald Trump, until they did. Hillary Clinton couldnt lose to him, until she did. All along, Trumps rivals had the experience, the money, the ground organization, the facts and the discipline not to say things that would have doomed any normal politicians campaign. In 2016, though, none of that mattered.



In a testament to his appeal, as many as 14,000 visitors per month trooped to the Trump House in Youngstown, Pa., to marvel at a 14-foot steel cutout of the candidate and the patriotic paint job. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)



Bernie Sanders prepares for a speech on June 16 after Clinton became the presumptive Democratic nominee. The major political task that we face . . . is to make certain that Donald Trump is defeated, he said. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Trump supporters and protesters clash at a Chicago rally at the University of Illinois on March 11. Trump canceled his appearance there amid security concerns. His Republican rivals accused him of encouraging violence. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)



Clinton leaves her Washington home on Sept. 17. Her campaign was faltering after her basket of deplorables comment and because a case of pneumonia fed concerns about her health. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)



Clinton talks to devastated campaign staffers and supporters in New York on the morning after the vote. Please never stop believing that fighting for whats right is worth it, she said in her concession speech. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds, President Obama told President-elect Trump at the White House on Nov. 10. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

What is America?

Many of the big debates this year were about who we are as a country, and who we want to be. Immigration and the plight of the white working class dominated the presidential race. Black Lives Matter continued to push for police accountability  and against the aspects of Donald Trumps campaign that resonated with white nationalists. Standing Rock protesters got the government to reverse course on permitting an oil pipeline near a Sioux reservation. And ranchers clashed with federal agents over public lands.



The Anderson sisters  Dakeria, 9, Dliyah, 6, and Danyriah, 8  protest at the site in Baton Rouge where Alton Sterling was shot and killed by two white police officers on July 5. The Justice Department is investigating the shooting, which, like others, fueled debate over the deadly use of force against black men by police. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)



At the Oregon capitol on March 5, a woman protests government regulation of grazing lands in the West. Objections over land use prompted a standoff at a federal wildlife reserve in Oregon in January. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Marianna Richardson, 7, in her Brookland Manor apartment in the District. Residents are suing over a plan to eliminate family-size units. The book Evicted drew attention this year to the impact of losing a home. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)



Laredo, Tex., ranch hand Juan Ramirez, left, looks on as Webb County officials carry away the body of a migrant who probably died from dehydration while trying to enter the United States illegally. The county  which has a large Latino population  voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in an election that pitched her vision of an America that is more welcoming to immigrants against his call to build a wall. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)



Police use a water cannon on protesters near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota on Nov. 20. Two weeks later, protesters celebrated when the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it had denied a permit for the section of the Dakota Access Pipeline that was to pass close to the reservation. The tribe said the project threatened its drinking water and a sacred burial ground. (Stephanie Keith/Reuters)

Man vs. nature

Nature tested human resilience, and hubris, in 2016. As climate scientists had predicted, it was a year of extreme weather: drought, oods, res, earthquakes, hurricanes. A record snowstorm in the Northeast preceded the globes hottest summer on record. Meanwhile, scientists and public health officials raced to understand Zika: how its transmitted, how it might be treated and controlled, and how its linked to brain damage in fetuses and Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults.



A month after Hurricane Matthew blasted through southwestern Haiti on Oct. 4, people who hadnt eaten in days clamor for sacks of rice, beans and dried herring from a truck that stopped in their village. The island nation will need months of emergency aid to stave off famine, according to relief groups and government officials. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)



As it worked its way up the East Coast, Hurricane Matthew pounded Lumberton, N.C., with 10 inches of rain on Oct. 8. Subsequent flooding disproportionately affected the towns black residents. Scientists expect climate change to increase the intensity and frequency of such storms. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)



A 70-mile-long, 300-foot-wide crack cuts through the Antarctic Peninsulas Larsen C ice shelf in this Nov. 10 aerial photo from NASA. Scientists say Arctic and Antarctic sea ice hit record lows this year. (Photo by John Sonntag/NASA/Photo by John Sonntag/NASA)

The singed remains of the Calhoun familys apartment in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Fast-moving wildfires in the drought-stricken area destroyed much of the town Nov. 28. The Calhouns barely escaped; 14 people died. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)



In Recife, Brazil, the heart of the Zika outbreak, Eloise Severina de Silva was diagnosed with microcephaly and epilepsy shortly after her birth. Officials in Brazil and other Latin American countries courted controversy with their advice that women avoid getting pregnant this year. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

A year of political upheaval

History may remember 2016 as a time of unusual political turmoil. A populist surge swept the West. Britain voted to leave the European Union; other countries threatened to follow suit. Turkey convulsed with an attempted coup and the governments subsequent clampdown on dissent. The presidents of Brazil and South Korea were forced from office. The Cuban dictator whod outlasted all his enemies nally died. And failed and failing states propelled the worst migrant crisis since World War II.



Migrants, mostly from Eritrea, jump from an overcrowded wooden boat during a rescue operation off the coast of Libya on Aug. 29. With almost 5,000 people dead or missing, according to the U.N. refugee agency, this was the deadliest year on record for refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean in their attempt to flee war, poverty and persecution. (Emilio Morenatti/AP)



A casualty of the Brexit referendum and a populist revolt, British Prime Minister David Cameron huddles with his family outside 10 Downing Street on July 13 before submitting his resignation to the queen. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg)

Turkish soliders involved in the attempted coup surrender on an Istanbul bridge on July 16. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since purged the military and judiciary, taken over schools and shuttered media outlets. (Gokhan Tan/Getty Images)



Damari Bravo, right, talks to her uncle Armando Ricardo Batista, as her grandmother Mercedes Batista watches news about Fidel Castros funeral in their living room in Havana on Dec. 1. The death of the longtime leader, at age 90, prompted fresh questions about Cubas future. (Enric Marti/AP)



The body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, shot by two gunmen on motorcycles, lies in an alley in Manila on Oct. 11. Nearly 6,000 people have been killed by police or vigilantes since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office June 30 and launched a brutal anti-drug campaign. The president has defended the killings, asking, Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter? ( Damir Sagolj / Reuters/REUTERS)

Terrorism and its victims

Over and over, 2016 presented us with horric acts of violence  and urgent questions. How can we prevent mass murder in public spaces? How do we identify people who might become radicalized? Can we end the wars in Syria and elsewhere, so that children can be children again? But while people were unied in their outrage, there was little agreement on what to do. And each time, the urgency quickly dissipated into predictable partisan debates and feelings of futility.



Thousands attend a vigil in Orlando the day after the June 12 massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 others, making it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. (Melissa Lyttle/For The Washington Post)

A woman visits a memorial to victims of the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France. Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel killed 86 people and injured 434 when he drove a truck into crowds on the promenade on July 14. (VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)



Children last month use pieces of debris to slide down the roof of a building destroyed by an airstrike in Qayyarah, Iraq. Iraqi security forces, supported by U.S. troops, earlier retook the town from Islamic State extremists. (Felipe Dana/AP)



Bombings on March 22 at the Brussels airport, above, and a metro station in the city prompted a counterterrorism crackdown and refocused attention on radicalization in Europe. (KETEVAN KARDAVA/AFP/Getty Images)

Photographs and video of 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh, rescued after an Aug. 17 airstrike on his Aleppo neighborhood, shocked the world and became a symbol of Syrian suffering  but produced little change. (Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Exceptional Excellent Very Good



(Goran Kosanovic/For The Washington Post)

Here are some last-minute, inexpensive suggestions for your holiday celebrations. But dont worry if you dont get to these wines before the new year: There will always be reasons to celebrate throughout 2017.

 Dave McIntyre

GREAT VALUE

Celine et Laurent Tripoz Cremant de Bourgogne Brut

Burgundy, France, $25

Frances cremants are sparkling wines made in the same way as champagne, but not in the Champagne region. So they dont command the same premium price, yet they offer terrific value. Thats especially so with Cremant de Bourgogne, because Burgundy uses the same main grapes (pinot noir and chardonnay) as Champagne. Tripoz is one of my favorite producers; I love its sparkling and still wines. The wines are certified biodynamic, and an earth-friendly viticulture is reflected in the edgy energy the wine conveys on the palate. Alcohol by volume: 13 percent.

Distributed by Elite: Available in the District at Bell Wine & Spirits, DVines, Gallagher & Graham Fine Spirits, MOMs Organic Market, Morris Miller Wine & Liquor, Wagshals Deli, Whole Foods Market (Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, P Street), Yes! Organic Market (14th Street). Available in Maryland at Diamond Square Beer & Wine in Gaithersburg; Red: Wine, Beer & Spirits in Clarksville. Available in Virginia at Crystal City Wine Shop in Arlington, Fern Street Gourmet and Planet Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria, Lokl Gourmet in McLean, MOMs Organic Market (Alexandria, Arlington, Merrifield), Whole Foods Market (Richmond, Vienna).

GREAT VALUE

Maria Casanovas Brut de Brut Cava Reserva

Penedes, Spain, $17

Cava is Spains answer to champagne: same production method, different grapes, moderate prices and a populist answer to champagnes luxury and exclusivity. Cava is for everyday celebrations. This lovely example from Maria Casanovas offers red-berry fruit flavors and a refreshing note of acidity. ABV: 11.5 percent.

Distributed by Elite: Available in the District at Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquor, Cork & Fork; on the list at Central Michel Richard, the Riggsby, Whaleys. Available in Maryland at Finewine.com in Gaithersburg, Wine Cellars of Annapolis, Wine Merchant in Lutherville; on the list at Guardados and Jaleo in Bethesda. Available in Virginia at Balduccis (Alexandria), La Tienda in Williamsburg, Lokl Gourmet in McLean, Town Duck in Warrenton; on the list at Greenhouse Bistro in Vienna, Market Table Bistro and Stone Manor in Lovettsville, Orzo in Charlottesville, SER in Arlington, Social Oyster Bar in McLean.

Domaine Badoz Cremant du Jura

Jura, France, $22

This wine is all chardonnay, like the best of champagnes. It has a beam of red-fruit flavors and a sense of fun. Beware: It has a tendency to disappear from your glass without your noticing. ABV: 12 percent.

Distributed by Country Vintner: Available in the District at Cork & Fork, P&C Market; on the list at Central Michel Richard, Restaurant Nora. Available in Virginia at Red, White and Bleu in Falls Church, the Vineyard in McLean; on the list at La Cote dOr in Arlington.

Karas Dyutich

Armenia, $16

Sometimes we just want a sweeter sparkling wine. (Breakfast, maybe? Or dessert?) Several weeks ago, I raved about the red blend from Karas, the leading winery in Armenia. This sweet muscat sparkler is a crowd pleaser. Try it with a creamy pastry dessert or with blueberry pancakes on New Years morning. ABV: 12 percent.

Distributed by G&B: Available in the District at Bell Wine & Spirits, Bin 1301 Wine Bar, the Bottle Shop, Calvert Woodley, Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Jefferson Liquor, MacArthur Beverages, Metro Supermarket, Morris Miller Wine & Spirits, Potomac Wine & Spirits, Rodmans, Rosebud Liquor, S&R Liquors; on the list at Ambar, Bistro Bohem, Bonfire. Available in Maryland at Capital Beer & Wine, Cork & Fork and Georgetown Square Wine and Beer in Bethesda; Dawsons Market, European Delight Deli & Bakery, Kielbasa Factory and Twinbrook Deli in Rockville; Downtown Crown Wine and Beer and Grape Expectations in Gaithersburg; Fine Wine of Wheaton; Rodmans (White Flint); Sugarloaf Wine Cellar in Germantown; Wine Harvest (Gaithersburg, Potomac). On the list at 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring.

Palacio de Bornos Frizzante Verdejo

Spain, $13

This citrusy, low-alcohol charmer will satisfy your sweet tooth. Id prefer it for New Years Day brunch over a New Years Eve celebratory toast. ABV: 5.5 percent.

Distributed by Kysela: Available in Maryland at Cafe Liquor, Liquor Locker and Wooden Keg Liquors in Hagerstown; Franklin Liquors in Ijamsville; Lakefront Fine Wine & Spirits, Orion Wine & Spirits and Ye Old Spirit Shop in Frederick; New Market Beer & Wine in New Market; One Stop Liquor in Cumberland; Petite Cellars in Ellicott City; Sunnys Fine Wine & Liquors in Eldersburg; Village Spirits in Smithsburg; the Winery in Chester. On the list at Isabellas in Frederick. Available in Virginia at Apple House in Linden, Beer Run in Charlottesville, De Fles Winkel in Glen Allen, Fredericksburg Brew Exchange in Fredericksburg, Getty Mart in Richmond, Kroger (various locations), M&M Wine Store in Chesterfield.

Availability information is based on distributor records. Wines might not be in stock at every listed store and might be sold at additional stores. Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.


Fred Loimers brick-lined cellars in Austria served as an airplane factory during World War II. (Leah McIntyre)

Years end prompts us to reflect on the past 12 months while anticipating the future. I tend to look not through a crystal ball but through a filled tulip glass. For me, 2016 was all about history and wines ability to capture the past. Yet this year in wine also pointed to a delicious future.

We celebrated the 40th anniversary of the famous Paris Tasting of 1976, when California wines impressed professional French judges just ever so slightly more than classic French wines. Thanks to a short article in Time magazine, the tasting had tremendous impact and propelled California and the United States onto the world wine stage.

The Smithsonians National Museum of American History celebrated the anniversary; before that, I had the chance to visit in California with Mike Grgich, now 93, the Croatian immigrant who crafted the winning chardonnay for Napa Valleys Chateau Montelena. At Grgich Hills Estate, founded in 1978, Grgich and his team are still crafting some of Napas most elegant wines.

I also caught up with Bo Barrett, son of Montelenas founder, Jim Barrett, who continues to argue that Californias cabernets, zinfandels and chardonnays are better in the elegant style of the 1970s and 80s rather than the more powerful, higher-alcohol trends of the past 20 years. Can history pull us back to the future?

This year was also the 50th anniversary of the Robert Mondavi winery, which ignited Napa Valleys revolution in 1966. Robert Mondavi was the consummate salesman and ambassador for California wine, but his winery was also a crucible for winemakers who have since gone on to become famous; they include Warren Winiarski, who later founded Stag Leap Wine Cellars and crafted the 1973 cabernet sauvignon that won the Paris Tasting, and Grgich.

At the Mondavi anniversary dinner, we each received a thimbleful of the 1966 cabernet sauvignon, the winerys first, crafted on the fly while the winery was being built around the hubbub of crush and winemaking. My thimbleful was entrancing: It tasted of black fruit, a little earth, maybe the sweat, hopes and fears of the crew who fashioned it.

When Winiarski stood and said of the 1966 Mondavi, I made this wine, the room erupted in applause.

World history was also reflected in my wine glass this year. In May, I visited Langenlois in lower Austria, northwest of Vienna. At Weingut Loimer, Fred Loimer escorted my wife and me through his brick-lined cellars, carved into a hillside. The cellars had been used as an airplane factory during World War II, he explained. It took a few seconds for that to sink in  that the factory was hidden from Allied bombers. Wait here, Loimer said at one point, then disappeared into the darkness. He flipped a switch and lights illuminated not just the tunnel where he stood, but another off to the side, more history to be explored.

And I tasted World War I this year. On a visit to Champagne, where some of that wars fiercest battles raged, I visited the cellars of Champagne Bollinger. This venerable champagne house was celebrating the discovery of several hundred old bottles forgotten in its cellars. My tasting that day with Bollingers winemakers included wines from the 1990s back several decades and could easily fill a Top 10 list of the year. The highlight was from 1914, a wine I will never forget. Harvested at the brink of world war by women and children whose husbands and fathers had been mobilized to fight, the wine seemed to reflect the dread of impending war but also an optimism for the future.

But what of the present? Four wines stand out as exemplars of local (or at least regional) wines. The Galen Glen Gruner Veltliner shows that Pennsylvania can produce delicious, racy whites when climate, terroir and winemaking coalesce.

[You know Virginia wineries. These Maryland ones are worth visiting, too.]

Old Westminsters malbec and Boordy Vineyards petit verdot, both from the 2014 vintage, showed that Maryland can offer savory reds of world-class quality. These wines will only get better in future vintages.

My wine of the year would have to be Barboursvilles Fiano Reserve 2015. Its Virginias first wine made from fiano, an Italian grape, and the first Virginia white wine I would describe as delicate.

For full disclosure, I must admit a personal connection to this wine. I spent about 30 minutes harvesting fiano grapes as part of my four-part series on the 2015 vintage at Barboursville. The professional pickers were several acres away before Barboursvilles chief winemaker, Luca Paschina, pulled me out of the vineyards lest I damage his vines.

But no matter  this is my wine. And its delicious.
THE DISTRICT

Double-stacked trains can run through tunnel

CSX says double-stacked trains can now run through the Districts Virginia Avenue Tunnel.

The event marks the halfway point in a $168 million project to improve freight transportation between Mid-Atlantic seaports and the Midwest.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said in a statement that the first train passed through the new southern tunnel Friday morning.

CSX says it expects to complete the northern tunnel in mid-2018. The project is replacing a 112-year-old, single-track tunnel with a pair of tunnels big enough for trains hauling double-stacked shipping containers.

 Associated Press

MARYLAND

Officer involved in shooting is identified

Prince Georges County police identified an officer who fatally shot a 19-year-old sitting in a parked car after the teenager pointed a gun at a fellow officer.

Steven Tucker, 22, was among the officers who responded to the 4100 block of Byers Street in Capitol Heights after a 911 call about a suspicious car Thursday morning, police said.

The officers found two men  Terrence Thomas Jr., 19, of Capitol Heights and Alvin Young Jr., 39, of Southeast Washington  sleeping inside and attempted to wake them, police said.

Young, who was in the passenger side, opened the door in an attempt to flee, according to police, while Thomas pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Young and the officer on the passenger side of the car.

Tucker, fearing for the lives of Young and the other officer, opened fire, striking Thomas twice in the chest, police said.

Young was charged with firearm-related offenses.

 Justin Wm. Moyer

VIRGINIA

Man is charged with DWI in fatal crash

A man was charged with driving while intoxicated Friday after a car he was driving in Centreville ran off the road, killing his 22-year-old passenger, police said.

About 1 a.m., officers responded to the 7200 block of Ordway Road for a report that a car had overturned, Fairfax County police said.

Police said 31-year-old Carlos Lopez Umanzor of Manassas was driving a Toyota Scion south on Ordway Road at a high speed with a female passenger, Darling Ramirez of Manassas, when the car crossed the double yellow lines to pass another vehicle.

Umanzor lost control of the car, police said, and the Scion ran off the road, rolling as Ramirez was ejected from the vehicle. Ramirez was pronounced dead, police said.

 Justin Wm. Moyer
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, left, and D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine all say the District must reevaluate the Youth Rehabilitation Act in light of a Washington Post series on repeat violent offenders. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The Districts mayor, attorney general and leaders of the D.C. Council are pledging to work together to reform the citys second-chance law for youthful offenders, likely putting curbs on the leniency measure that allows repeat and violent offenders to quickly return to the streets.

Their vow to fix the Districts Youth Rehabilitation Act ends the year on a rare note of political unity. Leaders of the three branches of city government have sparred in recent months over matters as diverse as family leave benefits and campaign-finance reform. But the trio cited a series published by The Washington Post in pushing together for change.

In public statements, letters and interviews last week, the officials said they had been unaware of the effects of the sentencing law before The Posts reporting and were concerned that the newspaper had uncovered evidence that its application has endangered public safety.

The Post found a pattern of violent offenders sentenced under the Youth Act going on to rob, rape or kill residents of the nations capital. Since 2010, 121 defendants previously sentenced under the Youth Act have been charged with murder  1 in 5 of all suspects charged with murder in the city in that period. A quarter of the killings occurred when the suspects were on probation, often in lieu of any prison sentence.

[Investigation: Second-chance law puts violent offenders back on D.C. streets]

D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine says the District must find a way to reinstitute rehabilitation programs for those given Youth Act sentences. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

In a letter sent Friday to local and federal criminal justice leaders, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) called for a deep but swift examination of the Youth Act over the next six months. Bowser said she wants reforms ready for consideration by the time the D.C. Council convenes for its fall legislative session.

The mayor suggested that the Youth Act, which provides a package of leniency options unique in the United States, should no longer be available to anyone convicted of a violent crime.

As Mayor, my highest duty is to make the District of Columbia safer and stronger by ensuring that our laws protect our residents from repeat violent offenders, Bowser wrote. Proper application of the Youth Act can ensure that it has the intended effect of offering non-violent young adults an opportunity for a second chance.

But Bowser wrote that she wants the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to study the law and its impact and use data to structure reforms.

The council includes heads of nine local and federal law enforcement and supervision agencies, the chief judge of the D.C. Superior Court as well as political leaders. It holds monthly meetings to discuss problems that arise out of the unique local-federal split under which the citys justice system is administered.

As an example of that split, D.C. lawmakers write criminal code in the city, and D.C. police make arrests, but Congress funds the citys courts, and those convicted of violating local laws serve time in federal prison and remain under federal supervision during their release in the community.

The original intent of the 1985 Youth Act was to rehabilitate inexperienced criminals under the age of 22. It allows for shorter sentences for some crimes and an opportunity for offenders eventually to emerge with no criminal record, even for crimes of violence or many of those involving guns.

D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) is the incoming chairman of the councils Judiciary Committee. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine, who has been working to expand juvenile diversion programs in the city, called the information revealed in The Posts series disturbing. He said the coordinating council must examine recidivism rates and other impacts to justify whether the law should remain a sentencing tool.

Racine also said the city must figure out how to reestablish the laws rehabilitation programs. The Post found that despite its name, those who receive sentences under the Youth Rehabilitation Act have for decades received no particular rehabilitative treatment before release. Often, though, they serve fewer years than do offenders with similar criminal histories who commit similar crimes.

Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), the incoming chairman of the councils Judiciary Committee, said that reforming the Youth Act would be a top priority and that he plans to hold a hearing shortly after taking over the committee in January.

Reading the series has really concerned me, as it has many people, Allen said. There isnt any question in my mind that we have to address what has been uncovered. And responding to my constituents, Ive said, we have to never be afraid to dig into a law and find out whats working and whats not.

Allen said he was particularly concerned about the lengths to which The Post had to go to track the effects of the law.

The Post wrote software to extract data on every criminal case available in electronic dockets on the Superior Courts website. It compared the information to a database of dates and outcomes of cases maintained by the D.C. Sentencing Commission. Post reporters then manually combed through hundreds of court files to reconcile the cases and track the offenders as they cycled through the criminal justice system.

Essentially, [The Post] had to re-create the data from whole cloth, Allen said. There seems to be a real lack of oversight and evaluation.

In her letter, Bowser wrote that the coordinating council must develop a plan for how information on the Youth Acts application will be provided regularly to the public so that our criminal justice system is held accountable to our residents.

At a closed-door meeting of the council last week, the group discussed the Youth Act series for more than two hours, according to several members present. The gist of it was, Why are we finding out about the Youth Act effects in The Washington Post?  said one attendee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the confidential meeting.

The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Channing D. Phillips, is a member of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. In a statement, he said he looked forward to a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the Youth Rehabilitation Act to determine what can and should be done to improve its effectiveness.

Some residents are pressing the council for reform. Denise Krepp has worked with fellow Ward 6 advisory neighborhood commissioners to draft a proposal to limit Youth Act sentences to those convicted of nonviolent crimes. She also has sought additional oversight by leaders in Congress and the Justice Department.

[Part I: How an accused rapist kept getting second chances in D.C. ]

[Part II: He threatened rape, but ended up on a bus back to D.C.]

[Part III: Second-chance law puts violent criminals back on D.C. streets ]

[Part IV: The crimes were terrifying, the D.C. justice system made it worse ]

[Part V: He robbed 100 times, could he have been stopped before he killed?]


Clockwise from top left: Nema Semnani, Meg Stankiewicz, Maureen Erne, Nathan and Rachel Beachy, and Patricia Wudel. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

In the darkest season, when the days are short and cold, a special kindness blossoms. At this time of year, charitable donations spike, and the plight of those who struggle edges closer to center stage.

But ask people about the best thing theyve ever given to someone else, and their memory search stretches beyond the cheery rituals of Christmas. Ask about the gift that meant the most to both the recipient and the giver, and people talk about the most unexpected of moments, gifts that were neither neatly wrapped nor intricately planned.

What rises to the top of the list are impulsive, instinctive gestures, often small and quiet, that carried a grace that couldnt have been predicted. An old man falls and a stranger offers a gift of presence and time. A sad story on Facebook about an accident and a loss leads a man 1,600 miles away to offer a song of solace and friendship.

When words fail a woman whose sense of self depended on them, her husband hands her an envelope full of just the right ones.

We start with a gift that soothed the most wrenching of human trials, a solitary battle against a fearsome illness. A co-worker steps in, unasked, because no one should be alone.

And we end with the plainest and most powerful of gifts. When all seems lost, a woman gives a present that costs nothing and delivers all: She decides simply to be near.

[The courage to persevere: Answering lifes blows with quiet grit]



Meg Stankiewicz, left, and Maureen Erne at the Bob Evans where they work in Cleveland. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

One Bob Evans waitress was looking another in the eye.

Youre not going to die, she said.

They had spent years working together at this tired breakfast chain, and had always bonded over how much they had in common. Regulars would mix up their names, Meg and Maureen, because they both had brown hair. But their bond was deeper than looks. Meg Stankiewicz had stayed in Ohio after high school, married a wholesome Midwestern boy, had three kids and worked two jobs to make ends meet. Maureen Erne, 10 years younger, had followed the exact same path.

But now, Maureens life was starting to mirror the worst part of Megs.

The lump.

The doctors visit.

The diagnosis.

Seventeen years earlier, Megs breast cancer had appeared. She was 35 years old. Her mother had died of the disease at 45. Meg tried to tell herself she wouldnt go the same way. She had a double mastectomy. When she singed her wig in the oven while trying to bake her son a first birthday cake, she went out and bought another wig. She marched on as if everything was fine, until, one afternoon before Christmas, she broke down in the baby clothes section of Macys, where she realized that if she bought her children clothes big enough for them to grow into, she might not be around to see them fit.

But her children grew, and Meg lived to see it. Her path was to survive. Now, Maureen needed to follow that road.

You are not going to die, Meg repeated to Maureen again and again. But she understood what it feels like when dying is just one of many fears that consume you.

Maureen couldnt afford to lose her job at Bob Evans, but in the days following radiation and chemotherapy, she could hardly lift herself up from the couch, let alone put on her polo and apron and spend hours on her feet carrying hot plates. So Meg picked up Maureens shifts, on top of her own and on top of her second job as a substitute teacher.

Meg kept it up as Maureen struggled through treatment.

Through all those months, Maureen learned to put on a happy face until her kids were on the school bus. She watched the envelopes marked BILL stack up. She grew teary when all the waitresses chipped in and bought her sons the Xbox they wanted from Santa. She tried to imagine what it might be like if she wasnt around for Christmas next year. Finally, she summoned the energy to put her apron on and head back to Bobs.

There, Meg pulled Maureen aside in the break room.

Here, she said, forcing a thick yellow envelope into Maureens hand.

With the same stern voice she had used to tell her friend not to die, she said, Do not give this back to me.

Inside was every dollar Meg had earned working Maureens shifts.

Maureen didnt give it back. Shes made it to all four Christmases since.

 Jessica Contrera



Nathan Beachy surprised his wife, Rachel Beachy, with letters from her favorite authors to encourage her to continue writing. The couple is photographed in their home in Indianapolis. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

At the end of one year of marriage, Rachel Beachy had a new name, a new job and a heavy new role: supporting her husband while he finished medical school. But she had lost something, too: a lifelong devotion to writing. That had been a daily love for the small-town Indiana girl who penned her first short story in kindergarten and wrote a novella in college. Now, life had pushed her into marketing and something essential began to fade.

Writing has always been part of who I am, she says.

That was a mystery to her husband Nathan, a pure left-brainer. He posted a perfect SAT math score, but drafting a thank-you note paralyzes him. He doesnt get writing. But he gets Rachel.

I didnt want her to lose it, but I had no idea how to encourage her, he says.

So Nathan went to the experts. In the middle of preparing for the biggest exam of his career, he launched a methodical bombardment on the world of authors.

Scouring Google, he filled a spreadsheet with the addresses of Rachels favorite writers. The research was easy. Writing his appeal was agony. But he mailed his first letter and included a stamped return envelope, addressed to his parents house. He wrote one or two a day during study breaks, more than 30 in all.

On their first anniversary, the day after Nathans exam, the couple arrived late at a rental cabin in the Smoky Mountains, dining on leftover turkey sandwiches from their cooler. For the paper anniversary, Rachel gave Nathan a first-year scrapbook. Nathan handed her a fat manila envelope. Honestly, as I gave it to her I wondered, Does this even count as a gift? 

The first one made her smile. It was a sweet letter from Nathan, but not to her. Mr. Berry, My wife is a gifted and aspiring writer . . . I want to encourage her . . . if you could find the time . . .

The next one  the next six  made her cry.

Writing is skill, wrote Rufi Thorpe, the author of The Girls from Corona del Mar, in a long reply. Its not magic. . . . You have to put in your 10,000 hours. . . . Lucky to have a husband who supports your writing. . . .

You must expect discouragements, and the voice that tells you what to do then will be yours, said Kentucky sage Wendell Berry in two pages of wisdom written in a fine patrician hand.

Meg Wolitzer, Chris Bohjalian, Gerald Toner, David Nicholls  page after page. A Greek chorus sprang from her own bookshelf, and what they sang was: Write for yourself.

It was the most surreal experience of my entire life, she says.

The next morning at 6, with dawn rising over the hills and Nathan still asleep, she sat down and began to type. She hasnt stopped since. Finding an hour each morning over the past year and half, that first story has turned into a trilogy of three complete novels. She would like to publish them someday, sure. But thats not the point.

The point is the writing. And that was the gift.

 Steve Hendrix



Singer-songwriter Jonah Smith at his home and studio in Los Angeles. (Ian Maddox /For The Washington Post)

Mike Wedekings sister, hit by a car as she crossed a busy street in Ocala, Fla., was dying. Mike had always prided himself on being a private person, but sitting by her bedside, he felt compelled to air his sorrow.

Across the country, his friend, Jonah Smith, was scrolling Facebook when he saw Wedekings post. He read it and reread it, his eyes brimming with tears, until the words read like a melody.

Wedeking wrote not about his sister, but about the driver who had hit her. The driver had draped her body over his sisters to protect her from traffic until paramedics arrived.

Mike felt compelled to share a story he had told almost no one: More than two decades ago, he had witnessed a car accident, the young female driver thrown from her car. Mike had held her in his arms. She begged him not to let her die. He wasnt allowed in the ambulance with her, and she died on the way to the hospital.

Mike had buried the pain and the regret until he sat by his sisters bedside and watched her die.

Smith, a singer-songwriter in Los Angeles, had known Wedeking for nearly a decade. He had played many gigs at Wedekings barbecue joint in Des Moines.

Now, as Smith read his friends post, he heard the story as lyrics. He heard a voice in his head, the voice of the driver who hit Wedekings sister. Smith wrote:

I started crying when he thought to take a closer look

His eyes were teary as he read me like an open book

Just when I thought he would get angry his voice got low

And he was telling me a tale from twenty years ago

That sort of beautiful empathy and humanity screamed at me and forced me to write that song, Smith said. As I was writing it, it felt like a gift to me.

Smiths gift to his friend Mike, or a gift to himself? Was there even a difference?

Smith worked on the song for a year and a half, never mentioning to his friend that he had seen the original Facebook post. Then, this spring, he sent Mike a demo of a song he called Ocala. Smith told his friend it was inspired by his story. Wedeking wept the first time he listened to it, and when he listened to it again, and again, and again.

In October, Smith returned to Iowa, to Wedekings Flying Mango restaurant, a small, colorful eatery that stands alone on a busy thoroughfare, the rich smell of cherry wood-smoked meat wafting into the parking lot.

Smith sang the words that gave voice to Wedekings pain. For Wedeking, it was the single greatest gift hes ever received.

But Smith is the one who feels blessed.

Social media is filled with a lot of trite stream of consciousness, but his post moved me, he said. That sort of feeling is that feeling I want people to have when they listen to my songs. As I was writing it, it felt like a gift to me.

 Colby Itkowitz



Nema Semnani witnessed an elderly man lose his balance and fall. The man suffered a concussion and broken ribs. Semnani helped the man, contacted the man's family and stayed with him until they arrived. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

If Nema Semnani hadnt been in Maryland for a work trip, and if a friend hadnt canceled their dinner plan, he never would have found himself getting a haircut at a shopping center in Owings Mills outside of Baltimore on a rainy Friday evening in September.

And when he left the barber shop, Semnani would never have spotted the elderly man gingerly making his way up a grassy incline in the parking lot. In one hand, the man held out a pizza box, as if to help balance himself.

Semnani picked up his pace. His plan, he said, was just to get there and help him make those final steps.

Too late. Before Semnani could reach him, the man fell, face first. Semnani ran to him, already dialing 911. As they waited for an ambulance, Semnani tried to make sure the man didnt lose consciousness.

After paramedics arrived, Semnani looked for a way to contact the mans family. He found an old-school flip phone and looked up its most recently placed calls. After a few tries, Semnani finally reached the mans son, listed on the phone under Rob.

About 60 miles away, Robert Udoff was having dinner with his wife at a restaurant on Kent Island when his phone flashed: Dad.

The voice on the other end was not his dads.

I have found your father laying in a parking lot, Semnani told the son. Hes in pretty rough shape.

Udoff and his wife, Lisa, rushed to pay the bill, then sped toward Owings Mills. Robert didnt think to ask the callers name.

Semnani jumped into his own car. Why did he follow the ambulance to the hospital? He hadnt discussed it with anyone. He just did.

He thought about the man becoming more coherent and theres no one there for him, Semnani said. I didnt want him to be lonely. Thats scary.

Semnani arrived at the hospital, knowing the mans family wouldnt be there for some time. Semnani waited.

About two hours later, Robert and Lisa arrived. Robert remembers seeing this man walking up towards me. I didnt know why.

Semnani introduced himself as the man who had found their father.

They thanked him profusely. As Semnani left the waiting room, Lisa took her husbands hand. We just met Dads guardian angel, she told him.

Everybody says Yeah, I would help, but a lot of people dont, Robert said.

In the months since, his father has recovered from a concussion and broken ribs.

The Udoffs friended Semnani on Facebook. They consider him a member of the family now. I dont consider myself religious, Robert said, but I certainly believe theres something. . . . I certainly dont know what. But theres a reason why that man was there.

Semnani still thinks about the serendipity that put me in that place. He suddenly had time to get a haircut. He chose that barber shop at random.

The incident brought back a strand of memory of Semnanis mother, who died of cancer several years ago. The old man walking shakily in the parking lot summoned an image of Semnani supporting his own mothers wobbly gait during her last months.

What I did is something anyone would do, he said. If it was me, I wouldnt want that person to be alone.

 Amy B Wang



Patricia Wudel started as a volunteer at Josephs House in Washington and is now its executive director. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

She felt lost back then, unsure of what someone like her had to offer.

What if the men didnt accept her? What if she made a mistake? What if she couldnt make a difference?

Patricia Wudel was straight and white. They were gay and almost all black. She had grown up in rural Canada. They had, in most cases, grown up in gritty Washington. She was healthy and in her 30s. They were stricken with AIDS, destined to die.

She wasnt a nurse or a therapist, and yet, desperate to give something, she had agreed in 1991 to move in, as an unpaid volunteer, to Josephs House, a home in the Adams Morgan section of the District that had opened one year earlier as a refuge for homeless men suffering from one of Americas most stigmatized illnesses.

Every night, she and another woman each worked half of an eight-hour shift, staying awake to fetch glasses of water, aid with trips to the bathroom, whatever the men needed.

Not long after she started, a man in his early 30s named Hugh moved into the home, which at the time housed up to 13 residents. He was tall and handsome, with intense dark eyes and a voluminous Afro. Tormented by a skin condition that no medication could ease, he was quiet, even reclusive. Hugh seldom joined his housemates when they gathered for coffee or cards at the communal dining-room table.

For months, he stayed up each night staring at the small, boxy TV on his bedside table. Hugh couldnt sleep, Wudel learned, because he feared he would never wake up.

And so, one night, she walked into his second-floor room and began a routine that would continue for weeks.

What are you watching? shed say. He might answer or he might just motion to the Western glowing on his screen.

Then Wudel, sometimes with two bowls of ice cream in hand, would ask if she could sit on a stool next to his bed and watch with him, and he would say okay.

Wudel had longed to help the world, or at least a piece of it, since shed run away from home at 17, disenchanted with a community that claimed to love God but didnt always love people. Wudel had hitchhiked across Canada, worked in a bar, earned a college degree, gotten married, found a good job, lived in affluence, moved to Washington, gotten divorced and begun staying in a house of near-strangers before she discovered, during one night with Hugh, what it took to make a difference.

Why dont you lie down? he asked her at a time when many people believed AIDS could be transmitted through a touch or a breath. Wudel didnt refuse. She crawled into bed between the wall and the dying man, his emaciated hips and sharp shoulder blades pressing against her through flannel pajamas.

Neither of them spoke until, at last, she closed her eyes. And when Wudel awoke, it was to the sound of him snoring.

Hugh, she realized, had fallen asleep.

A decade later, Patricia Wudel became executive director of Josephs House, a position she still holds.
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When Randall and Joshua and Anthoney and Isah and Johnathan Montague spilled out of their friends car on Christmas Eve, they didnt recognize the place he had brought them. The five brothers, ages 4 to 11, have seen a lot of places in the past year. An apartment complex that kicked them out. Crowded rooms where relatives let all five of them sleep on the floor, for a while. A rehab facility where their whole family crammed into their fathers hospital room.

But when they pulled up to the brick house in College Park with the blue shutters on Saturday afternoon, theyd never seen anything like it.

We have a surprise for you: this is yalls new home, a friend said. All five boys looked around, dumbfounded. A home of their own  the biggest Christmas surprise these boys could receive, delivered thanks to a community that made it happen.

Through the grace of God, my babies are getting a house, and theyre going to have a Christmas, Reese said. The boys rushed through each room: one for their parents, one for the twins, and one for the three other boys, where Joshua, 9, did a flip on his new bed. They saw the basement playroom, the kitchen stove stacked with gleaming red pots and pans, the back yard large enough for five energetic boys. And a Christmas tree, surrounded by dozens of presents from their Prince Georges community.

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Finding a home for the Montagues has been a community project months in the making.

It started last spring, at University Park Elementary School, where the four oldest Montague kids attend school. Devilan Cowherd, the school registrar at the Prince Georges County public school, saw the boys mother, Porsha Reese, leaving a parent-teacher conference with their father, Randall Montague.

Montague, 31, has multiple sclerosis and sickle cell disease. Reese, 27, was walking a mile home, pushing Montague in his wheelchair and toting her youngest son, Johnathan, alongside her. In the rain.

Cowherd took in the scene, stopped to talk with the couple, and turned to Krista Atteberry, an involved parent in the school community.

It really spoke to them, to their character, and what they wanted to do for their kids despite their circumstances, Atteberry said. They would be at that parent-teacher conference even if it meant walking over a mile in the rain pushing a wheelchair.

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Soon Atteberry got to know the couple and their five sunny, rambunctious kids. She learned that Montague had been hospitalized repeatedly since he was diagnosed with M.S. about five years ago, and had to give up his job as a shoe-store manager because of his health. She learned that Reese  who left high school at age 15 when she and Montague had their first child together  had spent the past 11 years raising her boys and was only now starting to think about getting her G.E.D. and finding a job.

And she learned what had become the most pressing fact in their life: They couldnt renew their apartment lease.

Atteberry and Justin Ross, another parent at the school, went to the property management company to lobby for the Montagues. But the company wouldnt budge; the family and Atteberry say that the manager discovered seven people living in two bedrooms, and refused to allow so many.

In the final days of the school year, the Montagues found themselves on the street.

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The father was in a rehab facility at the time, his latest medical setback. Reese took her five sons there, and they stayed in his sick room until the facility told them they couldnt live there.

The boys and Reese went to a relative in Northeast Washingtons Trinidad neighborhood, where they slept crowded on the floor in one room. Montague couldnt stay there, because it wasnt wheelchair-accessible. He went to a different relatives home.

They dont get to see their father as much  they miss him, Reese said. And then theres the constraint of living in close quarters, where they have to take a special bus to get to their elementary school half an hour away, and where theyve always felt they might hit a day when theyve overstayed their welcome. Its, Mommy, when are we moving?, Reese said.  We want our own place. We want our own rooms. We want to be able to run around. We want to be able to jump around. We want to play. 

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After the family had to vacate the old apartment, Atteberry and Ross were determined to find a new home for them in the College Park area. Ross combed websites and inquired with landlords on the familys behalf. An apartment that can accommodate a wheelchair and seven people was hard to find.

His own children, ages 5 to 12, were in school with the Montagues, making it difficult to walk away from their dilemma. Your kids will see them every day. Its harder to let it go, he said. From the first moment, my wife and I realized that were just going to have to do something, and we might have to do something unusual to us.

Finally, he found a house that normally rents to University of Maryland students, where the landlord was willing to offer a six-month lease to the large family, with the possibility of extending it.

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Ross, a former Maryland state legislator, agreed to co-sign the lease for the family, and to pay the security deposit and the first months rent.

The Montagues will be responsible for the future monthly rent of $1,500, a bargain that the landlord offered. They hope to manage it through a combination of Randall Montagues disability check, donations from the elementary school community and, hopefully, Reeses earnings from the job she has yet to find.

Ten days ago, Ross signed the paperwork. Then he called Atteberry: Now we just need to get them in before Christmas.

The race was on.

Atteberry asked the school community for donations and the response was dazzling: a microwave, toaster and dishes; 3 bookshelves, 11 chairs and 4 tables; 6 beds and 8 blankets; and 17 towels. One mom said she would donate everything in her pantry.

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The volunteers found even more items on Craigslist, and moms in minivans spent the week before Christmas driving all over the D.C. area to pick up furniture.

It just seems like this is what were supposed to do, said Ross, a United Methodist who talked to his own children about the meaning of supporting the Montagues at Christmas. For the folks that celebrate Christmas, for the people who share that faith tradition, the central premise is that youre supposed to love your neighbor.

On Christmas Eve, everything was ready. Atteberrys husband took the five kids to a movie, then dropped them off somewhere they didnt expect.

As the children entered the house with shock on their faces, Montague spoke through tears.

This is where we live now, you hear me? he said to his children. Yall go look around.

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They wanted to explore  and soon they would, marveling at everything from the old-fashioned alarm clock for the twins, to the giant container of cheese balls, to their very own beds covered in snowman blankets and with new pajamas waiting.

But before the boys scrambled off, first they encircled their parents. Seven pairs of arms wrapped all around each other beside the Christmas tree.

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PORTSMOUTH, VA -- A man works on a joint between two tunnel sections inside the Midtown Tunnel project in Portsmouth, Virginia on June 9, 2015. (JAY WESTCOTT/Jay Westcott)

Virginias top transportation oversight body voted earlier this month to move ahead with a major tunnel expansion. If everything goes as planned, the multibillion-dollar project could be good news for the traffic-snarled Hampton Roads region when it opens in 2024.

But the commonwealth may also be setting itself up for a major financial body blow  and demonstrating the long-term consequences of mismanaging public-private partnerships.

At issue are the highly generous terms of a tunnel deal that state officials agreed to in 2011  and locked in for 58 years  with a Swedish construction company and a finance group. That agreement to build a new tube and rehabilitate tunnels between Norfolk and Portsmouth, and collect billions of dollars in tolls over coming decades, includes a non-compete clause.

The state agreed that if it built bridges or tunnels near the Downtown and Midtown tunnels within the next half-century, it would be on the hook to pay lost tolls that could be attributed to the projects.

Such arrangements, known as alternative facilities clauses, are sometimes included in public-

private partnerships. In theory, they could prevent private investors from getting unfairly blindsided by hard-to-predict or arbitrary government decisions. But under political pressure to reach a deal after the last recession, Virginia officials agreed to the clause without calculating potential future costs.

NORFOLK, VA - Trucks drive along a section of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel on Sept. 3, 2015. State transportation officials voted earlier this month to move ahead with building a parallel tunnel. (JAY WESTCOTT/for The Washington Post)

Although the bridges and tunnels had long been contemplated by transportation planners, one official involved said the chances of building them were deemed too remote to calculate with precision.

But now the consequences of the non-compete clause are becoming all too real.

[Agreement for new submerged tunnel in Norfolk leaves Virginia underwater]

The Commonwealth Transportation Boards vote Dec. 7 to select a preferred alternative for making major improvements is a critical step, and it followed years of study. The body chose the I-64 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel for a $3.3 billion expansion, which would include a new, parallel tunnel.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne called it a monumental development, adding that the state now has the funding and the will to fix one of the biggest bottlenecks in the commonwealth.

But an expanded Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is listed as one of the projects covered by the 2011 non-compete clause.

And how much might the state have to pay if the expansion is built, as promised?

Neither side will say.

Elizabeth River Crossings OpCo LLC, or ERC  a partnership between Swedish construction giant Skanska and Sydney-based finance group Macquarie  heads the Downtown/Midtown tunnel project.

Leila Rice, an ERC spokeswoman, said it would be highly speculative to say how much their toll revenue might fall  or even if they would seek compensation from the state.

But a 2012 analysis commissioned by ERC did provide some initial estimates. And project documents made clear that the non-compete was seen as a guarantee that the company would be made whole.

Expanding the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel from four to eight lanes would cut ERCs toll revenue by about 5 percent in a single year, the analysis found. If comparable losses continued through 2069, company revenue could, at least in theory, shrink by roughly $300 million. But that probably overstates the impact.

Since the actual Hampton Roads tunnel project contemplates going from four to six lanes  not four to eight  the losses would be smaller. How much smaller is unclear. The partnership has to prove actual losses based on conditions on the ground once the expanded Hampton Roads tunnel opens, the company emphasized.

Of course, the Hampton Roads tunnel is only one of several projects covered by the clause. And if the rest of those potential improvements were made, the states tab could reach $774 million, according to a second analysis provided to ERCs outside investors.

Compensation for competing facilities is a common risk allocation feature in such deals, the company said in a Dec. 20 statement, and allows for handling developments which cannot be predicted.

Sean Connaughton, who was transportation secretary under Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) when the deal was signed, declined to comment.

But Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with close ties to the Democratic Party, said the projects were set in motion much earlier and could easily have been anticipated.

This is the private sector demanding that the state essentially lower their risk to near zero, DeGood said. I cant think of another industry where private parties get to demand of the government that certain market conditions will hold over exceedingly long periods of time. . . . That just isnt how business works.

Virginia was an early pioneer in using public-private partnerships for transportation. Boosters say public-private partnerships, which are meant to bring market benefits to government projects, are the way to rebuild the countrys neglected infrastructure.

But the Downtown/Midtown tunnel deal has led to bipartisan condemnation.

The problems go far beyond the non-compete clause, critics said. Although the project was originally touted as a way to build a critical piece of infrastructure with no state money, the commonwealth ended up agreeing to spend $580 million on the project  while ceding toll revenue for decades.

Layne, a Republican appointed to Virginias top transportation job by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), joined with Del. S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk), chairman of the Virginia House of Delegates Appropriations Committee, to help spearhead changes meant to bring more transparency to such deals.

All three officials are backing a major new, 50-year public-private partnership to expand Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia, which is supposed to come with a $500 million upfront payment from the private group for related improvements.

But some outside scholars, including Harvard infrastructure-finance expert Akash Deep, point to the Downtown/Midtown tunnel deal and question the wisdom of locking in agreements that span generations.

Layne, an accountant who had worked as a real estate broker before joining the government, said what ultimately matters is the deal officials make.

And the far-reaching non-compete clause fell short, he said.

How they could give that provision  I dont understand it. But they did, Layne said. I guess they would say that was the only way to get the deal done. I dont know if that was true or not. But that was a heavy price to pay.

He said hes unwilling to put a dollar figure on what the state could potentially owe for going ahead with the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. ERC has the right to try to prove how much it has been harmed. And the state can try to knock that down, he said. That will involve intricate, and possibly dueling, traffic studies.

ERC is not going to play their hand until they have to, Layne said. The state should follow suit. I wouldnt say anything until I actually saw the numbers.
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) awards certificate for most coverage to "Artsakhpress" news agency.

December 23, 2016, 17:55 COAF awards certificate for most coverage to "Artsakhpress" news agency

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 23, ARTSAKHPRESS:The award ceremony of the Children of Armenia Foundation (COAF) contest for journalists and media was held on December 23 in capital city Yerevan.

"Artsakhpress" news agency received a certificate as an agency covering the Children of Armenia Fund the most in the period of July 15- December 15.

The awarding ceremony for reporters and news agencies was held in the following nominations  agency covering COAF the most, author of the most diverse range of topics in publications, agency covering rural issues objectively, author of the most touching article and the most COAF photo.

During the competition, there was no restrictions on media type. Television, radio, online media, print media and news agencies were observed.

The jury experts were from various areas: Head of the Mediagragitutyun program Lusine Grigoryan, FAR Children's Center's Executive Director Mira Antonyan, Director of the master's program of YSU mass media Anush Martirosyan, photojournalist Hakob Berberyan. Media expert Mesrop Harutyunyan led the competition with his advices.

Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) works to secure a future for children in Armenias impoverished rural villages through improved education, healthcare, community life and economic conditions.

With the introduction of a unique clustering approach to development, COAFs program was launched in 2004 in Karakert, a village in the Baghramian Region of Armavir Marz. By mid-2016, COAF has been active in forty-four rural communities in Armavir, Aragatsotn, Lori, Gegharkunik, Shirak and Tavush regions, bringing the number of beneficiaries to over 67,000.

In 2015, COAF developed and started implementing a new vision  the SMARTInitiative. SMART is a model for improving self, society, and the environment. Through tailored new offerings as well as proven highly effective programs implemented by COAF over the last decade, SMART is designed to advance a generation across the rural world through education and innovation.
THE DISTRICT

Two SE men charged

in 2014 fatal stabbing

Two men were arrested Thursday in a 2014 fatal stabbing , police said.

Officers found 38-year-old Edward Eugene Hall Jr. of Southwest with stab wounds at First and Brandywine streets SE, on Sept. 9, 2014, police said.

On Thursday, police arrested Deandre Lewis, 20, and Ricardo Harris, 27, both of Southeast, on charges of first-degree felony murder while armed, police said in a statement .

 Justin Wm. Moyer

Man fatally shot; another wounded

One man was fatally shot and another man was injured Friday in the Anacostia area of Southeast, police said.

Police say they responded to a report of gunshots in the 2200 block of Mount View Place at about 9:32 p.m. Friday. When they arrived, they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds.

Damien Keith Thomas, 29, of Northeast died at a hospital. The other man is in critical condition, authorities said.

 Perry Stein

Police make arrest in Adams Morgan slaying

A man was killed in the Adams Morgan area Friday and a suspect was arrested, D.C. police said.

They said the victim was found in an apartment house in the 2500 block of 17th Street NW about 5:30 a.m., and died of blunt-force trauma to the head and body.

Police said Manuel Pupo-Leyvas, 62, of Northwest was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Pupo-Leyvas was also charged with simple assault on the second victim.

Police have not yet released the name of the victims or a potential motive for the slaying.

 Perry Stein

4 arrested over guns

being used for video

Police received a call about someone with a gun Friday afternoon, which is not too unusual, but said they found people with guns making a video, which appears to be less common.

They said they checked an empty building in the 2100 block of Georgia Avenue NW where they said the video was being made. Two guns were seized and four people were arrested, police said.

 Martin Weil

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ARKANSAS

Driver held in fatal shooting: Car was too close

A Little Rock man who fired his gun into a car, striking and killing a 3-year-old boy, did so because he thought the driver of that vehicle was following him too closely, police said in an affidavit released Friday after the suspects arrest.

Gary Eugene Holmes, 33, turned himself in at police headquarters Thursday night, Little Rock police said Friday. He was being held in the Pulaski County jail on preliminary charges of capital murder and committing a terroristic act in the shooting death of Acen King last week. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered jailed without bond after a brief video arraignment Friday morning.

Police said that Acen was on a shopping trip with his grandmother Dec. 17 when he was hit by gunfire.

The boys grandmother, Kim King-Macon, told authorities that she had stopped at a stop sign in the rain when a man honked his horn, got out of his car and fired a gun.

King-Macon said she did not realize that Acen had been shot until she arrived at the shopping center, about 10 miles away.

ravelers wait in the TSA security line at O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 23, one of the busiest travel hubs in the nation during the weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years. (Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

An affidavit from Little Rock Police Detective Steve Moore says investigators received a tip that the car involved in the shooting belonged to Holmess girlfriend, who is not named in court filings. According to the affidavit, the girlfriend told police that she was in the car with Holmes when the shooting occurred.

Acen was shot in the back and later died at a hospital. King-Macon and a 1-year-old child who was also in the car were not injured.

 Associated Press

MASSACHUSETTS

Deal reached for Muslim cemetery

A proposed Muslim cemetery in rural central Massachusetts will go forward after the town that fought the idea for most of the year and the Islamic society that proposed the plan reached a deal, the two sides said Friday.

The agreement will allow the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester to buy a 55-acre site where it plans to build a six-acre cemetery in the town of Dudley, about 50 miles southwest of Boston along the Connecticut border.

Some in the community expressed discomfort with the idea of a Muslim institution, an objection town officials said played no role in the delay.

Muslim communities across the United States have faced similar resistance to new mosques and other properties, and the U.S. Justice Department this month filed suits against local governments in New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan accusing them of using zoning laws to block construction of proposed mosques.

 Reuters

MISSOURI

Armed truck drivers standoff stalls traffic

An armed truck driver was arrested Friday after his hours-long standoff at a Missouri rest stop forced the freeways closure and snarled traffic for miles ahead of the holiday weekend.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a Twitter post that the man, who was not identified, was taken into custody about 1 p.m. at the Interstate 29 rest stop north of Kansas City. It didnt elaborate on the circumstances of his arrest.

The patrol said the standoff began shortly before 9 a.m. following reports of a man seen pointing a rifle at passing traffic while he was parked at the rest stop. Authorities evacuated that site, leaving only the unidentified trucker and officers, and shut down the freeway in both directions. No shots were fired, state patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe said.

 Associated Press
Sidney Drell, a Stanford theoretical physicist who counseled government leaders for more than 50 years and who was an internationally prominent advocate of limits on nuclear weapons, died Dec. 21 at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 90.

He had complications from pneumonia, said a daughter, Joanna Drell.

Dr. Drell, who received a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship, or genius grant, made key advances in particle physics while occasionally stepping on the public stage as a writer and an adviser to military and intelligence leaders at the highest levels.

His career, he wrote, was divided between pursuing the dream of discovery and working to avoid the nightmare of a nuclear holocaust.

For many years, Dr. Drell was a key figure at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, a laboratory operated by the Energy Department. Now called the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, it is a leading research center and contains a particle accelerator in a building almost two miles long  the longest in the world.

Dr. Drell made several major advances in particle physics and quantum theory at SLAC. His specialties included quantum electrodynamics, which describes the interactions of matter and light, and quantum chromodynamics, a study of the behavior of subatomic particles.

He and a colleague, Tung-Mow Yan, developed the Drell-Yan Process, which describes the effects of a quark in one particle colliding with an antiquark in a second particle. It has become part of the framework of particle physics.

Drells theoretical work was very critical in setting SLAC on the course that it took, Stanford physicist and Nobel laureate Burton Richter said in a statement. As head of the SLAC theory group, Drell brought to us a whole host of a younger generation of theoretical physicists who began creating the present picture we have of the structure of matter.

In addition to his scientific work at SLAC, Dr. Drell was co-director of the Stanford Center for International Security and Arms Control (now the Center for International Security and Cooperation). It followed an interdisciplinary approach in proposing solutions to worldwide problems, through science, diplomacy, economics and other fields.

When Stanford refused to grant tenure to scholars in the program, Dr. Drell abruptly resigned in 1988, leading to the departure of several notable figures at the center, including astronaut and physicist Sally Ride.

Since 1960, Dr. Drell was a fixture in an elite group of scientists known as Jason (after Jason and the Argonauts of Greek myth), who act as advisers to military and intelligence experts on sensitive issues of national security. He had been a consultant to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency since 1961.

One gets a feeling, with a few people sitting around a table, that one is being heard, Dr. Drell told the San Jose Mercury News in 1996, describing his interactions with high-echelon officials. They come at you with all the questions and concerns and then have to go think about it.

Long known as a proponent of arms control, Dr. Drell led a study that determined that the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons could be maintained without underground tests. He was a persuasive behind-the-scenes voice in high-level discussions that led to the 1996 signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits global testing of nuclear devices.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Drell was a leading public supporter of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 for his work on nuclear disarmament and human rights.

For years, Sakharov was forced to live in internal exile in the Soviet Union and was not allowed to leave the country. Dr. Drells efforts on Sakharovs behalf were credited with helping win the activists freedom not long before his death in 1989.

Sidney David Drell was born Sept. 13, 1926, in Atlantic City. His father was a pharmacist, his mother a schoolteacher. Both were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.

As a student at Princeton University during World War II, Dr. Drell was hospitalized for several months with a ruptured appendix and peritonitis that disqualified him from military service. He graduated from Princeton in 1946, then went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for graduate work in physics, receiving a masters degree in 1947 and a doctorate in 1949.

He had faculty assignments at Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before settling permanently at Stanford in 1956.

He published several textbooks on physics and was the co-author of other books about Sakharov and nuclear deterrence. He received a MacArthur fellowship in 1984 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a past president of the American Physical Society. In 2013, he received the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony.

Dr. Drell was prominently featured in The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb, a 2012 book by journalist Philip Taubman.

In 2006, Dr. Drell teamed with former secretary of state George P. Shultz to launch a program at Stanfords Hoover Institution dedicated to freeing the world of nuclear weapons. They published several books together.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Harriet Stainback Drell of Palo Alto; a son, Daniel Drell of Falls Church, Va.; two daughters, Persis Drell, a former SLAC director and the recently named provost of Stanford University, of Stanford, Calif., and Joanna Drell of Richmond; and three grandchildren.

Dr. Drells office at Stanford was filled with books and a blackboard on which he scrawled scientific equations. He was also a devoted reader of poetry and a skilled violinist who often played in informal chamber groups  sometimes with Condoleezza Rice, a pianist and former secretary of state who is a Stanford professor.

In the 1970s, Dr. Drells links to the defense industry led to occasional protests and disruptions of his scientific talks by antiwar activists, even though his stance was firmly in favor of limiting nuclear arms. A decade later, he faced criticism from the right because of his opposition to the Reagan administrations Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly called star wars.

You dont play games, he said in 1996, explaining his ability to steer his way through divisive policy debates. You shouldnt try to be a politician in Washington. You have to meet them on the grounds where you are comfortable: These are the things I know. These are the things I dont. 
I was appalled by the Dec. 21 editorial On the outs in the Middle East, which said, A president concerned with preserving U.S. leadership in the Middle East would seek to counter [Russian President Vladimir] Putins maneuvering and reverse [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogans tilt toward the Kremlin. The editorial lamented, with apparent clairvoyance, that President-elect Donald Trump will welcome it. The editorial failed to mention that the exclusion of the United States by Russia and Turkey in the endgame to the Syrian crisis is the direct result of President Obamas feckless and inept handling of the Syrian crisis.

Carlos A. Munoz, Kensington
A secondary headline with the Dec. 13 Politics & the Nation article Getting it from all sides referred to United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones as Union boss. This is typically how The Post and other media refer to the heads of unions, not union leader or union officer. No. Union boss!

Interestingly, Greg Hayes, head of United Technologies (parent of Carrier), was referred to as chief executive. True, thats what he is. But he got identified without negative connotations.

Interestingly, union boss Joness 2015 salary (according to the Labor Department) was $70,635. Company boss Hayes had a base salary of $1.3 million, with compensation of $10.8 million when stock options are included.

Exactly whos the boss?

Bill Montross, Bethesda
In his Dec. 18. op-ed, Our excellent electoral vote system, George F. Will sang the praises of the perfect marriage between the two-party system and the electoral college. He put the straw man of the popular vote in place and then demonstrated the many ways in which the electoral college is superior to simpleminded majoritarianism. In the process, he swept the real issue off the table.

The fact is that the electoral college has not evolved. Should the ability of the two-party system to suppress legitimate third-party participation ever falter, we will have a series of elections in which no candidate gets a majority of the electoral college votes. At that point, the election process spelled out in the Constitution will kick in and the House will pick the next president. If and when that day comes, the upside will be that even the most simple-minded of us will understand why the popular vote is irrelevant. This country is, after all, a republic, not a democracy, and the electoral college is the strongest action the Founding Fathers took to put a living reminder of this fact in place.

Harry B. Dietrich, Warrenton, Va.

While making much to-do that the electoral college leads to majorities, which depict more than the popular vote does, national decisiveness, George F. Will provided data that suggested just the opposite. Citing five elections of 58 in which the winner lost the popular vote, and subtracting three of those as not counting for various reasons, he concluded that in only two of 55 elections (about 4 percent) did the popular-vote winner lose the election. In other words, in 53 of 55 (96 percent) of our elections, the popular vote and the electoral college were in agreement about who should be president. (Four percent certainly would be within the margin of error.)

To whatever degree the electoral college reflects national decisiveness in determining who will be president, it is clear that the popular vote is equally effective in reflecting the nations will. In his attempt to misdirect us and promote the value of the electoral college, Mr. Will unwittingly provided the strongest argument in favor of the popular vote: In 96 percent of our elections, this straightforward, unencumbered method of deciding a national election reaches exactly the same conclusion as the fraught and controversial electoral college. Given the choice, I vote for the popular vote.

Reginald Schoonover, Clarksville, Md.

George F. Will defended the indefensible: the electoral college. The electoral college is not only antiquated but also discredited. It is hard to believe we have a system to select the most important office in the nation that is not based on the basic principle of one person, one vote. Every other elected office in our country is based on that principle.

Mr. Will noted that the electoral college gave the country President Abraham Lincoln. Look who it has delivered in the past 20 years: George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Something is awfully perverse with a system in which a candidate who loses the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes gets to become president. The electoral college was created when land was more important than people and the states considered themselves to be semi-sovereign. It was devised by men who were hardly fully dedicated to full democracy. These men, in their wisdom, thought slaves could be counted as three-fifths of a person, did not allow direct election of senators and denied women the right to vote. It is about time we got rid of this peculiar institution to elect a president and try one person, one vote.

Edwin Stromberg, Takoma Park

For a columnist whose brand has been erudite and principled arguments, George F. Will made a shocking number of rhetorical blunders in defending the excellent electoral college.

Mr. Will noted that in the 1800s, factors other than the electoral college denied the presidency to popular-vote winners, which may be relevant to democracy but not the electoral college. Also irrelevant is the example of Abraham Lincoln, who did not win a majority of votes. Lincoln was great, and he won the popular vote and the electoral college. Reform need not require a vote majority.

Mr. Will used the example of John F. Kennedys popular-vote margin of 118,574 in 1960 to argue that, without the electoral college, we may have had challenges across the country. With the electoral college, some are still complaining that dead voters in Texas and Illinois helped Kennedy win. At worst, were trading problems.

Mr. Wills assertion that the electoral college requires winners to be geographically and ideologically diverse seems quizzical to those of us struggling to find any diversity from the president-elect.

Mentioning the size of President Grover Clevelands popular-vote win  89,293 out of 11,359,083 votes, or 0.8 percent  to show us large-vote winners have lost before doesnt help; the maths too easy. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons 2.87 million vote margin, or 2.1 percent of 137 million votes , is a failure of democracy and a cry for change. We do have other problems, but that doesnt mean we cant address this one, unless Mr. Wills uncharacteristically poor logic is a cover for the real argument  that Republicans might lose.

John L. Schuster, Arlington
In the Dec. 15 editorial The (fake) news about Ms. Trump, The Post got it right when it denounced outrageous and fabricated smear campaigns against Melania Trump, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. And it was right to concur with Trumps lawyers that the Daily Mail and a blogger broadcast their lies to millions . . . without any justification.

But The Post got it wrong when it swallowed the bait and made the mistake of reprinting the lies  in a prestigious publication, no less. Falsehoods and character assassinations should never be reprinted. They need only be condemned.

The proper response is to condemn the lies without repeating them. Lies should never again see the light of day.

Clifford Hinkes, Derwood, Md.

The Dec. 10 front-page article CIA: Russia favored Trump contained the following sentence from a statement by the Trump transition team: The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. This is yet another example of the egregious untruth (i.e., lie) being perpetrated by President-elect Donald Trump and his minions that he won election by a landslide. His electoral college margin was 77 votes, nowhere close to one of the biggest victories in history. In fact, not counting George W. Bushs margins of five votes in 2000 and 35 in 2004, Trumps is smaller than John F. Kennedys in 1960  an 84-vote margin in a much closer election (in which Kennedy also narrowly won the popular vote, unlike Trump).

The only other president in recent history to win by a smaller electoral vote total than Trumps was Jimmy Carter in 1976, by 57 votes over Gerald Ford (297 to 240). Otherwise, no one since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 (23 votes) has won by a smaller margin than Trumps. His victory doesnt come close to the margins run up by every other winner since 1900, especially those of Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 (523 to 8) and Ronald Reagan in 1984 (525 to 13). Barack Obama won by 192 votes in 2008 and 126 in 2012; and Bill Clinton won by more than 200 electoral votes in 1992 and 1996.

The transition teams statement is just part of the falsehood being circulated by Trump and the Republicans that he won any sort of mandate, let alone a landslide.

Statements such as that should not be allowed to go unchallenged, even in news articles. In failing to point out and correct such untruths, The Post does a disservice to its readers and abets the spreading of mis- and disinformation by Trump and his enablers.

Don Pohlman, Silver Spring
PRESIDENT OBAMAS decision to abstain on a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements reverses decades of practice by both Democratic and Republican presidents. The United States vetoed past resolutions on the grounds that they unreasonably singled out Jewish communities in occupied territories as an obstacle to Middle East peace, and that U.N. action was more likely to impede than advance negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

The measure, approved 14 to 0 by the Security Council Friday, is subject to the same criticism: It will encourage Palestinians to pursue more international sanctions against Israel rather than seriously consider the concessions necessary for statehood, and it will give a boost to the international boycott and divestment movement against the Jewish state, which has become a rallying cause for anti-Zionists. At the same time, it will almost certainly not stop Israeli construction in the West Bank, much less in East Jerusalem, where Jewish housing was also deemed by the resolution to be a flagrant violation under international law.

By abstaining, the administration did not explicitly support that position, which has not been U.S. policy since the Carter administration. In explaining the vote, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power pointed out that the council was sanctioning Israel even while failing to take action to stop a potential genocide in South Sudan or the slaughter in Aleppo, Syria. Yet in failing to veto the measure, the Obama administration set itself apart both from previous administrations and from the incoming presidency of Donald Trump, who spoke out strongly against the resolution.

A lame-duck White House may feel a radical change in policy is justified by Israels shift to the right under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Israels governing coalition is supporting legislation that would legalize dozens of settlements that Israel itself defines as illegal, because they were constructed on private Palestinian property. Mr. Netanyahu supported a partial settlement freeze for 10 months in 2009 and 2010 at Mr. Obamas behest, but has since allowed construction, including in some areas deep in the West Bank.

Nevertheless, settlements do not explain the administrations repeated failures to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas proved unwilling to negotiate seriously even during the settlement freeze, and it refused to accept a framework for negotiations painstakingly drawn up by Secretary of State John F. Kerry in 2014. In past negotiations, both sides have acknowledged that any deal will involve the annexation by Israel of settlements near its borders, where most of the current construction takes place  something the U.N. resolution, which was pressed by the Palestinians, did not acknowledge or take into account.

Israeli officials charged that the abstention represented a vindictive parting shot by Mr. Obama at Mr. Netanyahu, with whom he has feuded more bitterly than he did with most U.S. adversaries. The vote could also be seen as an attempt to preempt Mr. Trump, who appears ready to shift U.S. policy to the opposite extreme after naming a militant advocate of the settlements as his ambassador to Israel. Whatever the motivation, Mr. Obamas gesture is likely to do more harm than good.
Danielle Allen is a political theorist at Harvard University and a contributing columnist for The Post.

Rare indeed, and bracing, are the moments that strip us of certainties and force us back to consideration of our most fundamental values.

Such was 2016.

Donald Trump campaigned to an America now largely dependent on televisual and social media-provisioned sources of information and misinformation.

Institutions  such as newspapers, political parties and universities  that have traditionally helped test and vet evidence and argument hit, and now must face, the limits of their influence.

As a society, we find that our disagreements are deep and that many of us, perhaps even most of us, too easily personalize them. We are dangerously near treating one another as aliens.

Where to from here? The single most helpful resource I have hit upon this fall is an old book by the Roman politician and intellectual Cicero. Its called On Duties. In it, Cicero offers guidance on navigating turbulent political times.

Remember, he says, your distinct roles and their specific responsibilities. It is fine, he says, to take on first one role, and then another, the persona of the father and then of the politician, for instance, or the persona of the philosopher and then the citizen. None of us needs to be just one thing.

But as we move from role to role, we must have clearly in view the responsibilities that pertain to each. Ones duty is to perform the responsibilities of the roles one has entered into.

The mission of universities is to educate. The responsibility of professors derives from that mission. The grounding commitment is to truth.

The mission of a news organization is to record accurately the course of events, including patterns of deception and duplicity. Again, the grounding commitment is to truth.

The mission of a citizen, an American citizen, is to defend America, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The grounding commitment is to human moral equality, as in the Declaration of Independence. This, too, entails a dedication to truth. We hold these truths to be self-evident, reads the Declaration, as it introduces the fact of human moral equality.

America the Indivisible spreads opportunity wide and embraces all colors, all creeds within the sunshine of equal regard.

America the Indivisible looks at the divisions between rural and urban communities and seeks out bridge-building solutions.

America the Indivisible looks at patterns of racial and socioeconomic residential segregation and inequalities in access to housing and transportation and seeks reinvestment in public infrastructure such as transportation and housing that will connect communities now separated.

America the Indivisible defends its borders but welcomes strangers and recognizes that those who have put down roots here and put their backs into the work of building strong communities have earned our regard. And America the Indivisible rejects invidious distinctions among potential immigrants  quota systems must go. Entrance should be by pure lottery from among those eligible on the grounds of security assessments.

America the Indivisible acknowledges the ravages of illegal drugs and seeks out solutions aimed at achieving the health and well-being of as many as possible touched by the world of drugs and at limiting the harm caused by drugs to the rest. America the Indivisible looks to places such as Portugal, where marijuana has been legalized and other drugs decriminalized, and adolescent drug use is down and the percentage of users seeking treatment is up. We do not look to the Philippines where a deepened investment in a war on drugs has metastasized into extrajudicial murder.

And America the Indivisible seeks to reduce the footprint of the criminal-justice system so that we have funds to invest in public education, including our state universities. Once upon a time, we led the world in spreading the benefit of education. America the Indivisible will rediscover the truth that education is a public good. It strengthens economies, communities and individuals by spurring human flourishing.

Each and every one of us can defend America the Indivisible  by running for office, at all levels; by seeking inclusiveness in every decision-making process of which we are a part; by supporting organizations and leaders who defend basic political and civil rights, equal protection of the law and due process, and basic human rights, especially for the most vulnerable among us.

We can defend America the Indivisible by reminding the anchor institutions of civil society to return to their core missions and to apply themselves assiduously to their responsibilities.

We can defend America the Indivisible by holding up the values we believe in, often and everywhere, with firm voices, clarity of commitment and charity toward those with whom we disagree.

We can defend America the Indivisible by telling the truth.
Ken Hechler shows off his Ken Do Jeep in Charleston, W.Va., in 2010. The West Virginia statesman and author died Dec. 10 at age 102. (Tom Hindman/Associated Press)

Regarding the Dec. 12 obituary for Ken Hechler, W.Va. politician pushed for coal miners safety:

Hechler was probably the finest statesman West Virginia has ever known. I grew up in Huntington, W.Va., the daughter of a Marshall University professor and a graduate of that school. I knew Hechler from the time he arrived to teach at Marshall. My senior paper in high school was Ken Hechler: The Man Who Came to Stay.

Hechler sponsored a Week in Washington essay-writing contest, which I won my junior year in high school. Hechler saw to it that the winners from every county in his district had an opportunity to enjoy the sights of our nations capital. It was an adventure I will never forget.

Hechlers legacy will live on in West Virginia and throughout the United States. A well-known author, activist and politician, he was the epitome of what our leaders should be.

Mary Margaret King, Bowie

When I worked for then-Rep. Frank Horton (R) from upstate New York, my wife would bring my three girls to the office in the evening. The Longworth House Office Building corridors intrigued the girls. Then-Rep. Ken Hechler (D-W.Va.) had an office down the hall. He always stopped to talk to them about their day. He always asked about their report cards.

Hechler was a noble man.

Will Monahan, Alexandria
Members of Fellowship Bible Church in Winchester, Va., portray Roman soldiers at the time of Christs birth during their live nativity presentation in Winchester on Dec. 3. (Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star via Associated Press)

Candida Mosss Dec. 18 Outlook essay, Five Myths: The Nativity, said, The real reason for the selection of Dec. 25 seems to have been that it is exactly nine months after March 25, the traditional date of Jesus crucifixion (which can be inferred from other dates given in the New Testament). As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.

In ancient civilizations, the winter solstice was traditionally a time of celebration. In early Roman times, solstice celebrations honored pagan gods Saturnas (harvest) and Mahranas (light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria with the cult of Sol Invictus. The winter solstice of 274 A.D. fell on Dec. 25. Roman Emperor Aurelian (since known as Father of Christmas) proclaimed a new holiday, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, after a series of military victories restoring the Roman Empire. At the time, it was dangerous to be a Christian in the Roman Empire. Worshiping Jesus and celebrating his birth were discouraged. To avoid detection, early Christians celebrated his birth on Dec. 25, coinciding with the pagan festivities.

The celebration of the rebirth of the sun became the celebration of the birth of the son. It was not until 325 A.D. that the Christian Emperor Constantine I officially approved the holiday of Christmas, celebrated openly on Dec. 25 of each year.

Robert D. Hampton, Chevy Chase
Adam Schiff, a Democrat, represents California in the House and serves as the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Jane Harman is president of the Wilson Center and a former ranking member of the committee.

Russias theft and strategic leaking of emails and documents from the Democratic Party and other officials present a challenge to the U.S. political system unlike anything weve experienced. In October, when Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. declared that the intelligence community was confident that Russia was responsible for hacking and dumping material and that such activities could only have been authorized by Russias senior-most officials, he was describing a modern-day Watergate break-in, but one that was carried out by a foreign adversary through cyber means.

The unprecedented interference in our election is disturbing enough, but the damage to our democratic system was compounded by campaign rhetoric calling on Russia to hack Hillary Clintons email. Continued dismissals of the intelligence communitys consensus view that the most senior levels of the Russian government directed the attacks undermine those in the best position to prevent and disrupt further problems.

President Obama has ordered a full review of Russias meddling, which will be completed before he leaves office. But that is not sufficient. Russias campaign was nothing short of an attack on our democracy, and without a full and bipartisan accounting of what occurred and a robust response, trust in our institutions will be diminished.

One of us currently serves as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, while the other served in that capacity from 2003 to 2007. We share a deep appreciation for the importance of the oversight responsibilities the House and Senate intelligence committees carry out each day. Their work is done behind closed doors and away from partisanship for good reason.

Yet some issues are so significant to our national security that they require a coordinated investigation and response. A hostile foreign power meddling in our political system is one of those issues.

We believe a joint inquiry by the House and Senate intelligence committees is the best structure for a congressional investigation into Russian actions, intentions and potential responses. By virtue of their jurisdiction, the committee members have unique exposure to the murky world of intelligence and a full appreciation for Russias long history of interfering in the political affairs of its neighbors through covert means. A joint inquiry would be the most effective way to investigate what took place and avoid not only an unnecessary duplication of effort but also any discrepancies in the testimony to more than one investigative body.

There is a clear precedent for such a structure. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress recognized that the traditional oversight process was insufficient for an investigation of such importance and complexity, and established a joint committee on which one of us served. That committees recommendations were the basis for the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which fostered unprecedented cooperation within the intelligence community. While standing committees have substantial investigatory powers, their resources and staff are limited, and they cannot focus on a particular investigation. A joint committee has the added benefit of allowing Congress to speak with one voice.

A joint inquiry into Russian actions would demonstrate that this is not simply another oversight issue but an issue that goes to the core of our democracy. Will we tolerate the hacking of our elections by foreign powers if it is to the winners short-term benefit? If Russia is not held accountable, Moscow will continue its assault on our democratic institutions and public officials, undermining us at home and benefiting our adversaries abroad.

This congressional inquiry must provide the maximum public disclosure possible. While a thorough investigation would inevitably involve highly sensitive sources and methods, such as human intelligence or signal intercepts, to be credible, an inquiry must lean toward openness even in a field comfortable with secrecy. As with the joint inquiry on intelligence and 9/11, it would entail public hearings and the issuance of a publicly available report so that the evidence collected and presented can be independently assessed. The American people need and deserve a full account of how our elections were attacked, by whom, and for what purpose.

Other members of Congress, including Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), have proposed an independent commission charged with investigating Russias interference, and such an idea also has merit. In the case of 9/11, the report of the joint congressional inquiry was supplemented by the independent 9/11 Commission  a 10-member, bipartisan panel that investigated the attacks and recommended major organizational changes to the intelligence community, many of which were implemented. An independent commission could complement a joint congressional inquiry by bringing to bear independent expertise and experience.

The damage Russias meddling caused in this election has been done, and it is immense. We can only look forward to how we respond, and that must start with a full, bipartisan and authoritative accounting. A fragmented process among many committees cannot achieve that end, but a joint congressional inquiry can. That work must start now.
Anti-immigration group NumbersUSA claimed that the late Barbara Jordan was its spiritual godmother [Anti-immigration forces see hope under Trump, front page, Dec. 21]. I was a member of the bipartisan, congressionally mandated Commission on Immigration Reform that she chaired. The group seeks to claim she advocated for cuts in legal immigration that neither she nor the commission supported.

The commission proposed a small increase in family immigration. Jordans actual testimony to Congress urged 150,000 [more] visas annually for the admission of the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents who have been awaiting entry until such time as this backlog is eliminated. Instead of prioritizing nuclear-family unity and deregulating green cards for skilled employees as Jordan recommended, Congress, egged on by restrictionists, enacted the punitive 1996 law to make legal immigration harder, which did not reduce illegal immigration.

The Jordan commission invented E-Verify; we did not take a back seat to anybody in advocating effective prevention of unauthorized presence. But we never confused illegal immigration with the legal immigration we do want, which restrictionists routinely do. As the author of the last permanent increase in annual green cards in 1990, I urge Congress to recall the Jordan commissions actual legacy: The credibility of immigration policy can be measured by a simple yardstick: people who should get in, do get in; people who should not get in are kept out; and people who are judged deportable are required to leave.

Bruce A. Morrison, Bethesda

The writer was a member of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform from 1992 to 1997 and chair of the House subcommittee on immigration from 1989 to 1991.
Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and was a deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration; Michael Singh is the Lane-Swig senior fellow and managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and was senior director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council from 2007 to 2008.

Sizing up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict upon assuming office, President Obama decided Israeli settlements were the problem, and he insisted on a total freeze on construction. What followed were eight years of deadlock, the deterioration of U.S. relations with Israelis and Palestinians alike, and widespread disillusionment with the two-state solution.

Despite this track record, Obama is leaving off where he began: I n a departure from Washingtons typical role as Israels defender at the United Nations, the United States refused to use its veto and allowed the adoption of a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

For his part, President-elect Donald Trump had urged that the United States veto the resolution. Trumps argument wasnt merely that Obama should defer to his successors views or that the resolution was anti-Israel. It was that the measure would impede rather than advance Israeli-Palestinian peace  and he was right.

First, the resolution fails to distinguish between construction in the so-called blocs  that is, settlements west of Israels security barrier in which about 80 percent of settlers live  and construction east of the barrier. Building in the major blocs is relatively uncontroversial in Israel and rarely the subject of Palestinian protests.

President George W. Bush sought to move peace talks forward in 2004 by asserting what all sides had already tacitly acknowledged  that there could be no return to the 1967 lines in light of the blocs existence, and that any negotiated border would have to reflect this reality. By refusing to confirm Bushs position, Obama dragged the process backward and harmfully reopened old debates.

This regression is enshrined in the resolution, which underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the armistice lines, and demands the cessation of all settlement activities everywhere. This is unnecessary and unrealistic  Israelis will not bring life to a halt in towns that no one disputes they will keep  and is more likely to obstruct than facilitate the revival of peace talks.

Second, the resolution rewards those who argue for internationalization of the conflict  that is, for using international forums such as the U.N., European Union or International Criminal Court to impose terms on Israel, rather than resorting to negotiations.

For the resolution does indeed dictate terms to Israel, not merely condemn settlement activity. It adopts, as noted above, the position that the 1967 lines, rather than todays realities, should form the basis of talks  despite the fact that many Israeli communities east of those lines are decades old and that Jews have had a near-continuous presence in the West Bank for thousands of years.

It implicitly prejudges the disposition of East Jerusalem  one of most contentious issues dividing the parties  by characterizing Israeli construction as settlement activity, a stance Israelis reject. The resolution would demand an absolute halt to construction in East Jerusalem, even in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, something no Israeli government ever would agree to do.

Yet the resolution is conspicuously silent on Israeli concerns. There is no call for other states to recognize Israels existence  much less its status as a Jewish state  and end the conflict against it. On incitement and terrorism, it strikes a false balance by calling on both parties to refrain from them, despite the fact that Israel prosecutes its citizens who resort to terrorism while the Palestinian Authority lionizes them.

Ironically, though from an Israeli perspective this language may favor the Palestinians, reasonable Palestinians may suffer from it. Because the resolution, untethered as it is to any prospective diplomatic initiative or opening, will fail to yield improvements on the ground, it will further discredit the very notion of diplomacy and compromise as paths to peace and weaken those who champion them.

Finally, U.S support for the resolution lends legitimacy and encouragement to the U.N.s disproportionate and one-sided focus on Israel. The United States has historically criticized this bias, which borders on the absurd: For example, Israel was the only country criticized by a special U.N. commission on the status of women, despite being the only state in its region where women enjoy equal rights.

Decades of such discrimination have not made Israel more accommodating to its critics, and this resolution wont either. Instead it will reinforce Israelis mistrust of the U.N., thus eroding the Security Councils capacity to contribute to the peace it professes to advance.

A U.S. veto of the resolution would not have been an endorsement of settlements. Rather, it would have been an affirmation that this is an issue that can only effectively be addressed through negotiations. The best way to encourage those negotiations is not to prejudge their outcome or set timetables, but to create the right regional conditions for them by countering spoilers such as Iran and the Islamic State who oppose peaceful coexistence, as well as the right local conditions for them by reinvigorating programs aimed at building confidence through economic and security cooperation.

Peace in the Middle East will not be accomplished through a U.N. vote. Rather, it will require renewed U.S. leadership in the region and the rebuilding of relationships of trust with all of our partners there. This is where the next administration should start.
It is one of the common questions of eighth-grade theology (which is generally more insightful and useful than post-doctoral theology): If God really exists, why doesnt he show himself in some dramatic, undeniable way?

In response, author and minister Frederick Buechner proposes a thought experiment. What if God were to rearrange the stars in such a fashion that they spell out GOD IS in the sky, maybe to the accompaniment of soaring celestial music? For some time, Buechner speculates, the houses of worship would overflow, wars would stop and there would be a good many tears of regret.

And then one night, as Buechner tells it, a child with a wad of bubble gum in his cheek (speaking French in Buechners version) turns to his father and says: So what if God exists? What difference does that make? Then the message and music would fade, or maybe they would continue for centuries to come, says Buechner, but it would no longer make any difference.

Many of us, having seen the shining words at one point or another in our lives  knowing in our bones that we once knew, beyond all the doubts of philosophy, that GOD IS  have eventually turned away with a shrug. We continue with the normal, instinctual tendencies and occupations of homo sapiens, summarized by the Four Fs  fighting, fleeing, feeding and . . . mating. We worry about finances, politics and our health, living as though our tiny lives on a small planet near an average sun in a galaxy of a hundred billion stars among 100 billion galaxies really matter to anyone. And we see only futility and cruelty in the countless lives shortened by disease or disaster, or afflicted by poverty or conflict.

We have every reason and right to question where God can be found in a world that offers no certainty written in the sky.

Where is God in the oppression of whole peoples by cruel and corrupt dictators who care nothing for the lives of the innocent? Or among more than 60 million refugees torn from their homes and forced to live as resented strangers?

Where is God in the cruel stigmas we apply to one another when it comes to AIDS, or out-of-wedlock births or other matters of sexuality?

Where is God in the normal, often boring, occasionally squalid, preoccupations of everyday life? In the temptations and ambitions that can lead us away from our true purpose? In the anxiety and depression that stalk our days?

Where is God in the death of a friend? In being doubted by a friend? In being betrayed by a friend?

Where is God in our march toward death, either slow or fast, but always onward? When optimism becomes delusion, and hope finally fails, and we are left feeling forsaken by a silent God?

Where is God in the lowly places, in the denial of lodging to a pregnant woman, in the smell of hay and manure, in the pain of childbirth, in the smack on the bottom of an infant who begins to breathe and cry?

Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

By any standard, this is an odd scenario for the entrance of divinity  to an occupied country, of disputed parentage, forced to flee as a refugee, living and working 30 years in silence, eventually betrayed by a friend, judicially tortured and dying in utter abandonment. On a small planet, near an average star.

But this form of arrival does something important. It dusts off and reclaims every aspect of human experience and reorients our sense of low and high, weak and powerful. It is poverty given preference. It is the possibility of transcendence breaking in on any common day. It is the unexpected humility of God.

We cannot assume, of course, that this is real or true. But for countless millions who have accepted it, this story has divided B.C. and A.D. in their own lives. It has provided courage and comfort in the midst of the ordinary, the unjust and the unthinkable. It has given assurance that pain, while real, is not permanent. And it has kindled and sustained an unlikely hope  that love is somehow at the heart of all things.

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Regarding the Dec. 14 World article Moving embassy to Jerusalem is a very big priority for Trump:

Consistently overlooked is the reason the United States did not move our embassy to West Jerusalem after the government of Israel had established itself there. The United States recognized the 1949 Israeli-Jordanian armistice lines as the new borders of Israel outside Jerusalem, but as for Jerusalem the U.S. position was to support the provision of the 1947 U.N. Partition Resolution, which called for Jerusalem to be a corpus separatum under a special international regime . . . administered by the United Nations. Thus, the U.S. position was not to recognize West Jerusalem as part of Israel nor East Jerusalem as part of Jordan because of the plans for a U.N. administration of all of Jerusalem. That is why the U.S. Embassy was not moved to West Jerusalem, the location of the government of Israel, including its foreign ministry.

By 1953, the United Nations had shelved plans for a corpus separatum, and West Jerusalem was de facto understood to be part of Israel. Keeping the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv had no relationship to the status of East Jerusalem. Not moving the U.S. Embassy to West Jerusalem in 1953 or thereafter was essentially a bureaucratic decision, devoid of any legal justification.

Richard Schifter, Bethesda

The writer is chairman of the board of directors of the American Jewish International Relations Institute.
People from the Oromo group block a road in Ethiopia after protesters were shot dead by security forces in Wolenkomi, about 35 miles west of Addis Ababa in December 2015. (AFP/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, hundreds of high school students in the small Ethiopian town of Meti gathered for a demonstration.

They were supposed to be celebrating the countrys Nations and Nationalities day, which commemorates the much-vaunted equality of Ethiopias 80 ethnic groups. Instead, they defied a two-month-old state of emergency to voice their anger over stalled political reforms and endemic corruption.

The protest was quickly dispersed and arrests were made, locals said, and calm returned to the village. But the incident is a sign of the simmering resentment that threatens to shatter Ethiopias enforced quiet.

The United States, one of Ethiopias biggest backers, is urging the government to address the widespread dissatisfaction and open up the countrys politics before it is too late.

We feel it has reached an inflection point where some hard decisions are going to have to be made, said Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, in an interview during a recent visit to the capital, Addis Ababa. Otherwise, a lot of the achievements could be jeopardized, and we know from the countrys history what a true crisis could look like.

[A year after Obamas visit, Ethiopia is in turmoil]

It is difficult to overstate the importance of Ethiopia to Africas stability. It has the continents second-largest population  nearly 100 million people  one of its fastest growing economies and a powerful military that helps stabilize a string of troubled countries around it.

The United States  and many other countries  have invested extensively in aid programs to help the Ethiopian government wrest the country out of poverty and bring it to middle-income status. If it succeeds  and becomes a democracy as well  it could be a model for developing nations everywhere.

Ethiopia has witnessed double-digit growth in the past decade. But this rapid economic expansion has resulted in strains, especially when new factories and commercial farms are being built on land taken from farmers. The central Oromo region, which has historically felt marginalized  despite having the largest segment of the population and some of the richest farmland  has been particularly hard hit.

Protests erupted there in November 2015 over the land grabs, corruption in the local government and lack of services such as running water, electricity and roads. The demonstrations later spread to the northern Amhara region, which has grievances of its own with a government that residents maintain is dominated by the Tigrayan minority group.

It has been the worst unrest in Ethiopia since Tigrayan-led rebels overthrew the Marxist government in 1991. Amnesty International estimates at least 800 people have died in the suppression of protests over the past year.

People have also increasingly singled out Tigrayans for their woes, accusing them of getting the best jobs and dominating the economy. There have been cases of attacks on Tigrayans in the north of the country, and there are fears the unrest could take on a more ethnic dimension.

After dozens were killed during a botched attempt to disperse a crowd at an Oromo religious festival in October, mobs attacked factories and commercial farms across the country and the government declared a state of emergency. Violence has since dropped off, and the government has said it is addressing grievances and has already made significant progress, especially in the Oromo region.

The reform in Oromia has been far ahead when compared to other regions, insisted government spokesman Negeri Lencho in a recent news conference. Ethiopia is in a state of reform  the reform began at the cabinet level . . . and is now continuing at other government levels to the lowest levels.

But a dozen people interviewed by The Washington Post in the Oromo region said there have been no changes.

The previous officials are still in office, complained an old man walking with a cane from a weekend market in the town of Ejere. Like everyone else interviewed, he spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety.

He paused under an acacia tree overlooking his village to complain how nothing had improved. There had been no effort to address calls for paved roads and the installation of electricity, he said.

The people are resentful of the local officials and dont want to discuss things with them, he said. The local administrator also had not shown much interest in talking to the people, he said, although he admitted a potential reason: Villagers burned down his house last year.

A middle-aged woman dressed in a floral print dress and white shawl interrupted. We need the government to respond to the demands of the people, she said, her voice rising. What we need is for the killings and imprisonments to stop.

Villagers described a climate of fear, with late-night raids targeting young people who had been accused of protesting. Few doubted that demonstrations will resume once the state of emergency is lifted. The government has promised a new electoral system with proportional representation so that opposition politicians have a chance to be elected. Currently, the opposition has no seats in the parliament or on local councils.

What the government says is simply astonishing, what they are saying is totally different from what we see on the ground, a young Oromo said in a village not far from the capital.

On one hand, they talk about a dialogue with the opposition. But on the other hand, they are arresting the head of the main opposition party, he added, referring to the Dec. 1 arrest of the countrys most prominent Oromo opposition leader, Merera Gudina.

Most of his partys top and midlevel leaders have also been imprisoned over the past year despite the governments talk of the need for dialogue with all political parties.

The effect of the state of emergency counteracts the aspirations they have articulated, Malinowski noted. He acknowledged that while the Ethiopian government is suggesting reforms, little has materialized. The problem is they havent done any of it yet, and even with unqualified commitment and speed, these things are going to take quite some time to achieve.

As the countryside seethes, time is not on the governments side. The United States has urged a number of confidence-building measures such as releasing opposition figures.

The government may be starting to respond. Following Malinowskis visit in mid-December, it released 9,800 of the nearly 25,000 people detained during the state of emergency.

But years of overwhelming election victories by the ruling party and its allies have left people deeply cynical about the possibility of change.

During the past elections, those that came to power were not the ones chosen by the people, said a 32-year-old farmer standing by the side of the highway near the town of Ambo. We dont know where the ballots of the people go.

With opposition groups in the Ethiopian diaspora often preaching violence, Malinowski said the people must be shown that peaceful change within the political system is still possible.

If they lose faith in that, they are not going to stop asking for change; they will just be more likely to listen to people who seek more extreme goals by more extreme means, he warned.

Read more:

Investors wary of Ethiopia amid violent protests

In Ethiopias war on social media, the truth is the main casualty

They fled Ethiopia amid war, an economic boom is bringing them home

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
For the 300 Christians who braved rain and wind to attend the Christmas Eve Mass in this northern Iraqi town, the ceremony evoked both holiday cheer and grim reminders of the war raging around them.

Displaced when Islamic State fighters seized the town in August 2014, the former residents of Bartella were bused in from Irbil, capital of the self-ruled Kurdish region where they have lived for more than two years, to attend the lunchtime service in the Assyrian Orthodox church of Mart Shmoni.

The church had been torched by ISIS militants, but church-supervised volunteers recently cleaned it up after government forces retook Bartella as part of an ongoing campaign to liberate nearby Mosul. But the church is missing its icons, electrical wiring hangs perilously from its ceiling, and most light fixtures are gone. The headless statue of a late patriarch stands in the front yard, its pedestal surrounded by shards of glass.

For many of the churchgoers, the sight of their home town in ruins was shocking. Only a few homes in the once vibrant town of some 25,000 people stand unscathed.

On one street wall, the Islamic State black banner remains visible under white paint. Next to it, someone wrote: Christ is the light of the world. Bartella is Christian.

People attend Christmas mass in the Assyrian Orthodox church of Mart Shmoni, in Bartella, Iraq, Saturday. (Cengiz Yar/AP)

Our joy is bigger than our sadness, said Nevine Ibrahim, 20, who was in Bartella for the first time since her family left in 2014. They found their house badly damaged. Everything they owned was gone.

I dont think we can return. The house can be fixed, but the pain inside us cannot, she said, seated with three of her siblings. Who will protect us?

Halfway through the service, conducted in Assyrian and Arabic, it became something of a wartime Mass. Roughly a dozen U.S. military servicemen and a 100-man contingent from the Iraqi military led by several top generals descended on the church in a show of solidarity.

The distant thud of explosions could be heard after the service. But none of that seemed to dampen the worshipers joyous spirit.

This is the Mass of defiance, Assyrian priest Yacoub Saady told the congregation at the end of the service. We are staying put, and no power can force us to leave.

His words, however, seemed more hopeful than realistic.

 Associated Press

1 of 20 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  20 of the prettiest holiday light displays in the world View Photos Photos of holiday decorations from Syria to South Korea Caption Photos of holiday decorations from Syria to South Korea Dec. 23, 2016 People are silhouetted as they walk through a light installation titled "Universal Journey" composed of 824,961 light bulbs at the Universal Studios in Singapore. Wong Maye-E/AP Wait 1 second to continue.

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With weeks to go in his tenure, President Obama on Friday moved to end the controversial dual-hat arrangement under which the National Security Agency and the nations cyberwarfare command are headed by the same military officer.

It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will support such a move. A transition official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the next administrations plans, said only that cybersecurity has been and will be a central focus of the transition effort.

Pressure had grown on Obama to make such a move on the grounds that the two jobs are too large for one person to handle, that the two organizations have fundamentally different missions and that U.S. Cyber Command, or Cybercom, needed its own leader to become a full-fledged fighting force.

[Obama to be urged to split cyberwar command from NSA

While the dual-hat arrangement was once appropriate in order to enable a fledgling Cybercom to leverage NSAs advanced capabilities and expertise, Cybercom has since matured to the point where it needs its own leader, Obama said in a statement accompanying his signing of the 2017 defense authorization bill.

Cybercoms mission is, when ordered, to disrupt and destroy adversaries networks. It is also to defend the nation against incoming threats to critical systems and to protect the militarys computers from cyberattack.

The NSA also has a defensive mission  to protect the governments classified networks  but is better known for its role in conducting electronic spying on overseas targets to gather intelligence on adversaries and foreign governments.

Cybercom, established in 2009 inside the NSA headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., has long depended on the spy agencys capabilities. NSA and Cybercom personnel sit side by side and use the same networks that were built by the NSA.

The two organizations should have separate leaders who are able to devote themselves to each organizations respective mission and responsibilities, but should continue to leverage the shared capabilities and synergies developed under the dual-hat arrangement, Obama wrote.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. earlier recommended to Obama that the two organizations have separate heads.

Obama had been on the verge of ending the dual-hat leadership in late 2013 but was persuaded to hold off when senior officials, including the NSAs director at the time, Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, argued that the two agencies needed one leader to ensure that the NSA did not withhold resources from Cybercom.

Others, including a presidential review commission, recommended that each of the two groups have its own leader and that the NSA director be a civilian. Since its inception in 1952, the NSA has been led by military officers.

The bill that Obama signed bars the splitting of the leadership role until the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff jointly certify that to do so would not diminish Cybercoms effectiveness.

Obama took a swipe at Congress for imposing that requirement on him.

The Congress . . . should not place unnecessary and bureaucratic administrative burdens and conditions on ending the dual-hat arrangement at a time when the speed and nature of cyber threats requires agility in making decisions about how best to organize and manage the nations cyber capabilities, he wrote.

Obama said that the Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have planned a phased transition during which the NSA can continue to provide vital operational support to Cybercom.
The editorial reaction of the major US media to Mondays assassination of Russias ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, by a member of an elite Turkish police unit has been highly revealing.

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post, the American political establishments two newspapers of record, published editorials that essentially lamented that the murder had not furthered a rupture in the recently warming relations between the Turkish and Russian governments.

On the contrary, just a day after the killing the Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers met in Moscow and drafted a joint declaration laying out a proposal to achieve a cease-fire and political settlement in Syria.

The meeting, from which Washington was excluded, was made possible by the stunning defeat suffered by US imperialisms proxy forces in Syriathe Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militiawith the Syrian governments retaking of eastern Aleppo. The loss by the Islamists of their last major urban stronghold signals the failure of the nearly six-year-old CIA-orchestrated war for regime change that has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and turned millions more into refugees.

The New York Times, noting worriedly that the assassination had not ruptured relations between Moscow and Ankara, warned that losing Turkey as an ally would be another unacceptable casualty of the Syrian war.

The Washington Post, while asserting that the killing was a sign that Russia may pay a price in blowback for its intervention in Syria, concluded that it had done nothing to deter a Russian-Turkish alliance that could have the effect of excluding the United States from the endgame of Syrias civil war and critically weakening U.S. influence across the Middle East.

The implications of these editorials are clear. While formally opposing the assassination of Karlov, the Times and the Post are concerned that the killing appears to have had the opposite of the desired effect.

Given the rabidly anti-Russian campaign, including hysterical denunciations of the siege of east Aleppo as a massacre and even genocide, as well as suggestions by leading US officials such as ex-CIA chief Michael Morell that Washington must make Moscow pay a price, including by killing Russians, these reactions raise the inevitable question of to what extent Washington was involved in the assassination, either directly or indirectly. Officials and media sources in both Russia and Turkey have voiced strong suspicion that there were direct links.

From one quarter of the media, however, there is not even a pretense of opposition to the assassination.

The New York Daily News published a column Tuesday by Gersh Kuntzman whose headline argued that the assassination of the ambassador was not terrorism, but retribution for Vladimir Putins war crimes.

The gunning down of Karlov in an Ankara art gallery was a matter, the column argued, of justice being served. Such vile declarations make Kuntzman and the Daily News accomplices to Karlovs murder after the fact.

Kuntzman describes himself as a liberal and wrote before the election as a declared supporter of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. He enthusiastically joined in the neo-McCarthyite propaganda campaign mounted over the unsubstantiated allegations of Russian hacking and interference in the US election. In another column Kuntzman described Russias President Putin as a murderous, expansionistic autocrat who follows decades of murderous, expansionistic autocrats from the czars through the Bolsheviks through the Cold War to today...

Kuntzman provides the typical US propaganda narrative of the Russian-backed siege of eastern Aleppo, portraying it as an entirely one-sided slaughter of civilians in which the US-backed Islamist militias who terrorized the local population are entirely excluded from consideration.

Karlov, whose career goes back to the Soviet diplomatic corps in the mid-1970s, wasnt a diplomat, but a soldier, Kuntzman writes, and his death is the same whether it came on a battlefield outside Aleppo or in an art gallery in Ankara.

One somehow doubts that Kuntzman would employ the same logic in the event of the killing of a US ambassador by any one of the millions of Iraqis, Afghans, Libyans, Yemenis, Somalis, Pakistanis and Syrians who have seen their families and loved-ones killed by US military interventions.

What makes Kuntzmans dishonest and debased column even more noxious is his attempt to draw a historical analogy between the murder of Karlov in Ankara and the November 7, 1938 killing of a Nazi official in Paris by 17-year-old Herschel Grynszpan, the son of Polish-Jewish parents who grew up in Germany.

The young Grynszpan killed Ernst vom Rath, a Nazi representative in Paris and member of the SA, Hitlers Stormtroopers. In an apparent attempt to further his equation of Rath with Karlov, Kuntzman idiotically writes that Stormtrooper Raths crime was that he could have stood up to the Nazi leadership when it would have mattered most, but he did not.

Grynszpan carried out the killing immediately after the Nazi regime ordered the mass deportation of some 12,000 Polish Jews, his parents included, who were brutally rounded up and dumped on the Polish border. The assassination was invoked as the pretext for the Kristallnacht pogroms against the Jewish population of Germany. Grynszpan was jailed first by the French government and then by the Nazis, and was most likely murdered in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1942.

At the time of the killing, Leon Trotsky, the leader of the Russian Revolution and founder of the Fourth International, defended Grynszpan against the slanders of both the Nazis and the Moscow Stalinists. While making clear the opposition of Marxists to the tactic of individual terror, Trotsky recognized that Grynszpan was not a political militant but an inexperienced youth, almost a boy, whose only counselor was a feeling of indignation.

The unprecedented crimes of fascism create a yearning for vengeance that is wholly justifiable, Trotsky wrote. But so monstrous is the scope of their crimes, that this yearning cannot be satisfied by the assassination of isolated fascist bureaucrats. For that it is necessary to set in motion millions, tens and hundreds of millions of the oppressed throughout the whole world and lead them in the assault upon the strongholds of the old society.

Kuntzman has no such concerns. Terrorism against Russia, US imperialisms designated enemy, is just fine with him. To justify it, he equates the acts of Putin with those of Hitler, thereby simultaneously making the case for war with Russia and diminishing and relativizing the historic crimes of Nazism.

By making these comparisons, Kuntzman not only attempts to bestow legitimacy on the assassination of Karlov, but also manages to smear the memory of Grynszpan by associating his action with that carried out by the most reactionary, fascistic and sectarian forces.

Mevlut Mert Altntas, who pumped nine bullets into Ambassador Karlovs back, was no innocent youth, but a trained killer, a member of the Ankara riot squad and someone who reportedly served on the security detail of Turkeys president.

Moreover, there is persuasive evidence that he carried out the killing in support of the Al Qaeda-linked militias in Syria. After gunning down the ambassador, Altntas began ranting first in Arabic and then in Turkish, shouting out that he was one of those who give Mohammed our allegiance for jihad, a slogan used by Al Qaeda. Moreover, Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest), the joint command center of Islamist militias dominated by the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate, issued a statement Wednesday claiming responsibility for the assassination.

None of this, of course, finds its way into Kunzmans despicable column. That a major American newspaper can publish such a piece, lionizing an Al Qaeda killer and justifying an act of terrorism, is a telling indication of the crisis and disorientation gripping the US ruling establishment. It is a warning that such forces will be employed again in far deadlier actions, and a measure of the advanced state of the preparations for war against Russia.
Add to the tons of fertilizer dumped into the west end of Lake Erie, which has caused a dead zone for fish and other aquatic life, and the unmeasurable loads of garbage and chemicals dumped into the Great Lakes, approximately 10,000 metric tons of plastic each year.

According to Science Daily, a study done at the University of Rochester Institute of Technology shows:

Researchers estimate 10,000 metric tons of plastic enter Great Lakes every year

Study inventories movement of plastic and microplastic debris throughout lake system

In more detail:

A new study that inventories and tracks high concentrations of plastic in the Great Lakes could help inform cleanup efforts and target pollution prevention. Researchers found that nearly 10,000 metric tons -- or 22 million pounds -- of plastic debris enter the Great Lakes every year from the United States and Canada.

ALSO READ: The Most Expensive City in Each State

The news represents a setback to efforts to clean the lakes, which have received support from recent legislation. The News-Herald reports:

A wide-ranging Great Lakes cleanup program will continue an additional five years under newly enacted legislation that funds water projects around the nation.

Congress gave the bill final approval over the weekend. It authorizes spending $300 million on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through 2021, although separate yearly votes will be needed to secure the money.

The program already has pumped $2.2 billion into more than 3,000 projects. They have cleaned up toxic pollution in harbors and river mouths, battled Asian carp and other invasive species, restored wildlife habitat and supported efforts to prevent harmful algal blooms.

ALSO READ: The Safest Cities in America

The bill also creates a position for a coordinator to work with federal, state and local agencies on the algal bloom problem and provides funding to improve navigation in the Great Lakes.

But are the funds enough to clear up all that plastic?

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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
LONDON (AP)  Two people have appeared in a London court charged with a variety of terrorism-related offenses.

Munir Hassan Mohammed is charged with preparing an act of terrorism, being a member of the Islamic State extremist group, and possessing instructions about how to build an explosive device inside a mobile phone. The 35-year-old did not enter a plea at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Rowaida El Hassan, 32, faces similar charges but is not accused of Islamic State membership. She also did not enter a plea. Both are being held pending their next court hearing.

They were arrested with four other people earlier in December. The other four were released without charge.

Britain's terror threat is set as "severe," indicating that officials believe an attack is highly likely.
BRYAN, Texas (AP)  A second man has been arrested for a convenience store robbery in which a Southeast Texas police officer was shot.

Police in Bryan say 31-year-old Jonathon Deshawn Bradley was arrested in nearby Grimes County and is being charged with aggravated robbery for the holdup early Thursday. Another 31-year-old, Rafeal Antione Ginn, was arrested earlier.

The officer, who was wearing a protective vest when shot, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.

Police say the robbery occurred when a group of people entered the store and one of them pulled out a firearm. They took some money and fled.

Police have not said if either man arrested is the suspected shooter.

Bryan is about 90 miles northwest of Houston and adjacent to College Station, home to Texas A&M University.
As an electoral ritual for choosing the American president, the electoral college is again under attack for being undemocratic. Forgotten or not noted by the college's critics is the fact that its delegates are chosen by popular majorities on a state-by-state basis. At least one thought behind this is to assure geographic representation and unity in the nation, not just voter unity easily dominated by a few large cities and their political machines, making rural areas colonial serfdoms of such cities. This geographic unity would be needed for our nation which spans 3,000 miles from ocean to ocean and 1,000 miles from Louisiana to Canada. Also, the electoral college as a firewall against voter fraud should be appreciated. Voting fraud is not to be disregarded as early voting, mail-in voting, and driver's license registration become more widespread. Recent court rulings have not helped. The electoral college should be kept with a small but important improvement. States with large urban populations should be required to make proportional distributions of the delegates. The east and west coasts should not be abandoned as one-party states. Winner-take-all should be banned. The firewall is being scorched. Take that, California and Cook County!
A 5-month-old baby girl in Pennsylvania died of starvation days after her parents died in the house of heroin overdoses.

The infants parents, Jason Chambers, 27, and Chelsea Cardaro, 19, were all found dead in the home on Thursday, according to police.

Read: 3-Month-Old Dies Just Before Before Christmas After Babysitter Drops Him

Baby Summer reportedly died after being without food or water for days and police said the parents had been dead for a week when they were found.

According to reports, there had been prior drug abuse at the home. Chambers had to be revived with Narcan last month to treat another overdose, according to police.

During a press conference, District Attorney Kelly Callihan, said at the time of that incident, Children and Youth Services did meet with the family.

They checked out the house, and it was appropriate to a child living there. There was plenty of food and the child seemed well taken care of, Callihan said.

Read: Baby Brothers Die 2 Years Apart Under Same Circumstances, Cops Recommend Felony Charges

Neighbors believed that the family was out of town because no one had seen them, according to reports.

'It's an unfortunate incident where they both possibly overdosed at the same time  and being from out of town, not having anybody in town  it was too long for anybody to notice that they were missing,' Johnstown police Captain Chad Miller told the Tribune-Democrat.

Watch: 1-Month-Old Baby Girl Dies After Falling Down Malfunctioning Elevator Shaft

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On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent officially ended the War of 1812, but the delayed news couldnt stop nearly 1,000 British troops from being killed at the Battle of New Orleans.

In fact, many Americans learned of the peace treaty and the battle at the same time, as details of the treaty arrived in the United States later in January 1815, after the epic battle that made Andrew Jackson a national hero.

The conflicted started on June 18, 1812, when American President James Madison signed a resolution, approved in Congress, declaring war against Great Britain. Over the next two and half years, both sides engaged in bitter contests, and the war ended with much unchanged between the two nations.

Today, most Americans recall the war because of two events: the British occupation of the United States capital of Washington, and Andrew Jacksons victory in the Battle of New Orleans. To many others, the war remains forgotten.

Madison was known as the Father of the Constitution, and he succeeded Thomas Jefferson as president in 1809. The British issue had plagued Madison since he took over from Jefferson. Britain and France, the United States two biggest trading partners, had been at the center of a war that dominated the European continent for decades.

As part of the conflict, the British Royal Navy had forced as many as 6,000 Americans into its service through the practice of impressing American merchant sailors. The British also openly supported Native Americans on the western frontier, which was seen as a threat by the Americans. The British also knew factions in the United States had eyed Canada as a possible addition to the Union.

Canadians also had strong feelings about remaining in the empire. More than a few had left the United States for Canada as loyalists to the crown.

Another factor was the influence of the War Hawks, a group of young Democratic-Republican congressmen led by 33-year-old Henry Clay, who pushed for war with Britain.

Story continues

The War Hawks were also concerned with the activities of two Native American leaders, Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet, who put together an alliance to oppose expansion into Indian-held lands.

The war vote passed in Congress, but not by a huge majority. The Federalists in the Northeast were opposed to the war, and mockingly called it Mr. Madisons War. It was the closest war vote in congressional history and it was along party lines.

The United States struggled to make any headway into Canada. Madison had assumed that the British, who were occupied fighting Napoleon in Europe, couldnt effectively defend Canada. Instead, American troops failed in its attempted invasions as they were met by British troops, Canadian militia and Native American fighters.

The United States fared better at the Battle of Lake Erie, where it defeated British naval forces. Tecumseh died in a subsequent battle, weakening the ability of the Native American coalition to help the British.

However, the British were able to mount a naval blockade of the East Coast. They invaded and burned Washington in August 1814. Dolley Madison helped to rescue the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington in the White House dining room before the British arrived.

The Americans countered with a significant victory at the Battle of Plattsburgh, which set up a potential stalemate. But at that point, the war was winding down. Napoleon had abdicated months earlier and the French threat had diminished for the British.

Peace talks had started shortly before the attack on Washington. The sides came to an agreement with the Treat of Ghent in Belgium, with a tentative deal reached on December 24, 1814. British troops attacking New Orleans were unaware of the peace deal, which still had to be ratified by both governments.

On January 8, the American troops, led by Jackson, routed the British troops in New Orleans. The treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 15, 1815.

In the end, the war was considered a draw and the Americans didnt secure a promise from the British to stop the practice of impressment. But two immediate consequences became apparent: The United States had seen the last attempt by the British to impose its military will on its former colonies, and Canada had seen the end of the annexation threat from the United States.

The Native American coalition that sided with the British lost much. Aside from Tecumsehs death, it lost the British as an ally to slow or stop expansion in the west.
MILAN (AP)  Shadows are not just something fleeting for the dancers of the American company Catapult as they perform in Italy this Christmas.

They create shadow sculptures with their bodies, giving a contemporary twist to the ancient Chinese art of shadow theater. Shifting live silhouettes are the performance. Dancers create animals, flowers, trains and even a Western-style saloon.

The Catapult dance company was created in 2008 by Adam Battelstein, who spent 19 years as a dancer, choreographer and creative director of the Pilobolus Dance Theater. Catapult gained popularity followings its appearance on "America's Got Talent" in 2013.

The company is touring Italy for the second time, with performances running through mid-January.
Apple Music still has a ways to go before it catches up to Spotify, but with 20 million paying subscribers already on the books, Apples relatively new streaming service is doing quite well just 17 months after its release. With an Apple Music subscription costing $9.99 at a minimum, it stands to reason that the company has already recouped the $3 billion it spent to acquire Beats in May of 2014.

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In a new profile of Apples streaming service, The New York Times recently interviewed Apple Music executives Larry Jackson and Jimmy Iovine where the two discussed a wide range of topics, including the companys never-ending quest to secure exclusives and even Jackson and Iovines relationship with Kanye West.

Of particular interest is that Apple Music is being positioned as a marketing platform as much as it is a music platform. To this point, Apples music executives are eager to point out that many albums that premiere exclusively on Apple Music, coupled with a promotional push from Apple, end up performing exceedingly well on the charts.

Drake wasnt the only one to benefit. Albums this year from Travis Scott, Future and DJ Khaled all debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart as Apple Music exclusives, as did Blonde by Frank Ocean, who rattled the industry when he ditched his label to work directly with the streaming service. Chance the Rappers Grammy-nominated mixtape, Coloring Book, was not sold at all and was available to stream only via Apple for two weeks.

As far as Apples ongoing effort to secure exclusives is concerned, one of the ways the company is able to convince artists to sign on the dotted line is that the company, via its marketing muscle and iTunes footprint, can provide promotional assistance in a manner that Spotify simply cant match. With Drake in particular, Apple went so far as to sponsor the rappers 60-city Summer Sixteen tour this past summer.

Story continues

Of course, Apple cant always secure every exclusive it sets its eyes on. Iovine, for example, told the Times that he would have loved to get Adeles most recent album as an Apple Music exclusive but that it just wasnt feasible.

For anyone interested in a behind the scenes look at the individuals largely tasked with driving Apple Music forward, make sure to check out the entire interview via the source link below.

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President-elect Donald Trumps comments and actions since winning the U.S. presidential election in November offer new insights into the kind of Asia policy his administration may pursue after taking office in January. After the Barack Obama years, some course corrections on China policy in particular would be welcome. But uncertainty in other areas could compound allies anxieties and undercut U.S. economic interests.

On one hand, Trump threatens a break from longstanding U.S. commitments to alliances, free trade, and diplomacy with China. This risks producing strategic instabilities in an Asia riven by great-power rivalries and the insecurities of lesser states. On the other hand, some of the president-elects proposed policies may actually put him in sync with Asian powers that take a more nationalistic line on the uses of military power and economic statecraft.

Perhaps the most significant potential shift in U.S. policy concerns China. Trump takes a more hawkish line than Obama does on Chinas militarization of the South China Sea, military buildup, and unfair trade practices. Indeed, Trump may be compensating for Obamas unduly passive response to Chinas aggressive behavior in maritime Asia  reflected in Chinas brazen seizure on Dec. 15 of a U.S. underwater surveillance drone  by adopting a tougher stance that pushes back against Beijings efforts to enforce an Asian Monroe Doctrine.

Trump has also promised to ramp up U.S. defense spending after its relative decline during the Obama years. His advisers have criticized the Obama administrations pivot to Asia as more talk than action and have pledged to rectify this by substantially increasing the U.S. military presence through an accelerated naval buildup. The combination of standing up to Chinas neo-imperialistic behavior and expanding Americas ability to project power could reassure Asian allies who lately have questioned U.S. staying power in their region.

Americas president-elect has also put Chinas leaders off-balance by pledging to strengthen U.S. support for Taiwan. His phone call with President Tsai Ing-wen was the first between U.S. and Taiwanese leaders in over three decades. Trump has been unconcerned with upholding codified understandings of how the U.S. government may and may not engage with Taiwan so as to respect Chinese sensitivities. But as the president-elect quite reasonably argued, why should Washington tiptoe around Beijings concerns over Taiwan when China fails to respect those of the U.S. on freedom of navigation and unfair trade practices?

Trumps appreciation of the value of the U.S.-Japan alliance has also increased since he questioned its utility on the campaign trail and suggested Tokyo might be better off acquiring nuclear weapons to defend itself. Central to this reappraisal was his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Nov. 17, Trumps first with a world leader. Abe left the meeting reassured that the president-elect would continue to support the alliance after explaining Japans role as a model host for U.S. forces stationed on its territory and its efforts at self-strengthening through military and economic reform.

That is the positive side of the ledger. Of greater concern is Trumps early repudiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, a centerpiece of U.S. economic leadership in the emerging hub of the global economy. Making America great again, as he has promised, will require enhanced trade and investment access to the markets of the Pacific Rim. His administration could rebrand the TPP, pivot directly to negotiating a bilateral U.S.-Japan trade agreement, or split the deal up into country-specific and sectoral agreements and negotiate these individually.

Either way, Trumps wish to deny China dominion in Asia and to increase well-paid jobs in America will require him to deploy U.S. economic influence to fill the vacuum left by the TPPs collapse. America cannot win again on trade by ceding the field to competitors that discriminate against U.S. goods and services.

Several of Trumps proposed changes to U.S. Asia strategy dovetail with Asian concerns, potentially creating new oppertunities for cooperation. First is his plan to engage Russia, overlooking its revanchism in Europe and its risky meddling in American elections.

Trump will not be the first American president who tries to reset relations with Moscow by giving it a pass on its predatory misbehavior against American allies. However, any dividends to closer ties may come not in Europe or the Middle East, where Russias air force continues its onslaught against Syrian civilians, but in Asia.

The leaders of China, India, and Japan all either enjoy or are seeking closer ties to Moscow. For both Japan and India, their interest in Russian engagement stems from a desire to shape a favorable balance of power in Asia that is not controlled by China. For its part, Beijing has found it useful to align with Russia in an anti-American axis that safeguards the rule of authoritarian strongmen against internal dissent.

A new U.S.-Russia entente could align America with Japan and India in attempting to pry Putin away from his quasi-alliance with Beijing. None of these countries have an interest in Chinese or Russian domination of the Eurasian heartland. However, it may require new leadership in Moscow to understand that the price of closer ties to Washington and its Asian partners will be a retreat from efforts to build a new Russian empire in eastern Europe.

Trump is also more in sync with Asian counterparts in his determination to use state power to pursue geo-economic gain. His threats to impose punitive tariffs on China, and to create leverage for trade negotiations with Beijing by playing the Taiwan card, more closely resembles Chinas own approach of promoting national champions, discriminating against foreign companies and investors, employing state-owned corporations as tools of influence to secure Chinese national interests abroad, and explicitly tying economic to diplomatic cooperation on issues like the Dalai Lama and human rights.

A U.S. trade policy approach tinged by mercantilism would in some ways resemble Japan in the 1980s, when the all-powerful Ministry of International Trade and Industry worked intimately with Japanese corporations to make them agents of Japanese statecraft abroad. It would also mirror in some respects Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis attempts to use state power to drive growth less through free-market reforms than through economic diplomacy and official exhortation, including the Make in India campaign.

Finally, Trumps nationalism is more in tune with the nationalistic surge evident in Abes Japan, Xi Jinpings China, Modis India, Putins Russia, and the Philippines under Rodrigo Duterte. This could lead to greater cooperation, as the leaders of these countries do deals directly with each other over the heads of more cautious bureaucracies.

But it could also lead to conflict, as nations define their interests in more zero-sum terms, and as the prestige of strong leaders is conflated with diplomatic outcomes in ways that lead to angry standoffs over pride and principle. This is a particular risk not only with Asias major powers but with North Korea, whose reckless young leader is likely to test Trump early in his tenure with another ballistic missile or nuclear weapons test.

To the extent that Asias nationalistic turn preceded Americas, it may be that Trump can wield the force of American exceptionalism more effectively than could someone like Obama who did not believe in it, was too willing to compromise and concede to foreign rivals, and relied on policies of strategic patience that eroded rather than reinforced peace in Northeast Asia.

In a more rivalrous Asia, Trumps nationalism and determination to restore American strength through economic and military growth could make the U.S. more competitive. However, this is likely to be true only if his administration pursues effective policies to sustain American diplomatic, economic, and military leadership in Asia  including by investing in the alliance relationships that magnify American power and sustain the stability that underwrites pan-Pacific prosperity.

A version of this essay appeared in the Nikkei Asian Review.

Photo credit: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images
After launching in Australia in November, the new ginger-flavored Coke is set to roll out in Japan from January 2017, and could head to Europe this summer.

The American multinational has launched a new flavor of its famous soda down under, just in time for the antipodean summer.

The ginger flavor should prove particularly appealing to the Australian palette, as the spice is widely used in Asian cuisine, which is very popular in the country.

Coca-Cola recommends pairing ginger Coke with salads, seafood or Asian sweet-and-sour dishes.

The flavor, which is intentionally summery, took six months to develop and perfect, and launched as a limited-edition release. Coke fans in Japan will soon be able to sample this new version of the drink too.

It remains to be seen whether the American firm will adapt its new product for launch in Europe and North America. Over the last few decades, the firm has been constantly innovating to refresh its product range. One key innovation is Coca-Cola Life, a lower-calorie version of the drink with stevia, an artificial sweetener. Other Coca-Cola flavors include cherry and vanilla.
(Reuters) - California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Friday filed new criminal charges of pimping and money laundering against the chief executive and controlling shareholders of the website Backpage.com, reviving a case that was dismissed by a judge earlier this month. The new charges against Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer and controlling shareholders Michael Lacey and James Larkin include 26 counts of money laundering and 13 counts of pimping and conspiracy to commit pimping. While the pimping charges appear similar to those filed by Harris against the trio in October and later dismissed, the money laundering allegations are new. Backpage, the second-largest U.S. online classified ad service after Craigslist, has faced scrutiny from the U.S. Senate as well as civil lawsuits over allegations that the site facilitates sex trafficking, especially of children. But efforts to prosecute the company have been blocked by a federal law that shields website operators from responsibility for content posted by third-parties. The complaint filed Friday alleges that the defendants created multiple corporate entities to launder money and circumvent the refusal of financial institutions to process Backpage transactions because of overtly sexual material, the Attorney General's office said in a press release. It also alleges that the defendants created other sites to increase the company's prostitution-related revenue and developed content for those sites by using victims' photographs or information without their knowledge. Representatives for Backpage could not immediately be reached for comment. The latest action, like other lawsuits involving Backpage.com, will be closely watched by the technology industry. The federal shield for content liability is considered critical for web companies ranging from Google and Facebook to eBay and Airbnb, but it has come under fire from some lawmakers and judges. One civil lawsuit against Backpage was filed in 2012 in Washington State by three young teenagers who alleged they were raped multiple times after being advertised on the site. The girls, the oldest of whom was 15, sued Backpage for claims including sexual exploitation of children, alleging its posting rules were intended to instruct pimps how to post trafficking ads that evade law enforcement. Backpage argued it has rules to prevent unlawful posts, and some free speech advocates filed briefs in support of its position. The Washington state Supreme Court disagreed, ruling last year that the lawsuit could go forward. Earlier this year, however, a similar trafficking case involving children against Backpage in Massachusetts was dismissed by a federal appeals court, which said the free speech principles embodied in the Communications Decency Act were paramount. Harris, a Democrat, was recently elected to the U.S. Senate and will take office in January. (Reporting by Jonathan Weber; Editing by Mary Milliken)
- DeMarcus Cousins paced the attack with 32 points as the Sacramento Kings won for the fourth time in the past five games by coming from behind to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-105 on Friday. Anthony Tolliver added 17 for Sacramento, which trailed by six with 10 minutes to play, but kept hitting from long range to overtake the Wolves. It was the sixth time this season the Kings have shot 50 percent or better from the field. "We're all dialing in," said Cousins, who had 30 or more for the third time in the last four games. Zach LaVine finished with a career-best 40 points, including seven three pointers, for the Timberwolves.

AFP
PARIS (AP)  Open borders symbolize liberty and forward thinking for many Europeans  but they increasingly look like the continent's Achilles' heel.

Europe's No. 1 terrorism suspect crossed at least two borders this week despite an international manhunt, and he was felled only by chance, in a random ID check in a Milan suburb. The bungled chase for Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri is just one example of recent cross-border security failures that are emboldening nationalists fed up with European unity. Extremist violence, they argue, is too high a price to pay for the freedom to travel easily.

Defenders of the EU's border-free zone say the security failures show the need for more cooperation among European governments, even shared militaries  not new barriers. Hidebound habits of hoarding intelligence within centuries-old borders are part of the problem, they contend.

But their arguments are criticized by the likes of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is hoping to win France's presidency in May.

"The myth of total free movement in Europe, which my rivals are clinging to in this presidential election, should be definitively buried. Our security depends on it," she said in a statement Friday, calling Europe's free-travel zone a "total security catastrophe."

That poses a dilemma for European Union devotees like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing a re-election battle next year.

Merkel's defense of the EU, and the welcoming hand she extended to Syrian war refugees, were once seen as assets, signs of her moral authority. Today, with anti-immigrant, anti-establishment sentiment rising across Europe, they are threatening to become liabilities.

Countless numbers of people cross borders in the 26-country Schengen travel zone every day, thanks to a 31-year-old system encompassing nearly 400 million people that has dramatically boosted trade and job prospects across the world's largest collective economy.

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It's a pillar of a system designed to prevent new world wars, yet it is a system under growing strain. While EU countries debated over how to manage an influx of migrants last year, eastern nations rebuilt border fences and exposed EU weaknesses.

The German far right is insisting on closing the country's borders. Merkel's conservatives are suggesting "transit zones" to hold migrants at the borders while their identities are confirmed, and making it easier to hold people in pre-deportation detention.

Berlin truck attacker Amri is a painful reminder of how Islamic extremists have used Europe's open borders to attack the principles of tolerance they are meant to epitomize.

After migrating illegally from Tunisia in 2011, he was imprisoned for burning down a migrant detention center in Italy. When freed, attempts to deport him to Tunisia failed for bureaucratic reasons. He subsequently traveled to Switzerland and then Germany, where he apparently fell under the influence of a radical network accused of recruiting for the Islamic State group.

Although Germany rejected his asylum application last summer and flagged him as a potential terror threat, authorities patiently waited for Tunisia to produce the required paperwork before deporting him.

Just as the deportation was being finalized Monday, Amri is believed to have hijacked a truck and rammed it into holiday crowds at a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 and injuring dozens.

He evaded an international manhunt for more than three days, apparently slipping into France  possibly with a pistol in his pocket  and then Italy before stumbling into a standard ID check in suburban Milan, where he died in a shootout with police.

Germany, France and Italy have failed to explain how he escaped the dragnet.

"Movement from one country to another in Europe is easy, especially for someone like Anis Amri, who had lived in Europe for several years" and knew which borders were easier to cross, said Tunisian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bouraoui Limam.

France is especially embarrassed.

It has been under high security as part of a state of emergency since last year, and the French are acutely concerned about train security after American passengers thwarted an attack on an Amsterdam-Paris train in 2015.

Yet French President Francois Hollande visited the Alpine town of Chambery on the same day that Amri is believed to have passed through its train station en route to Italy, unnoticed by border guards or the president's security detail.

The next morning, as Italian police were identifying Amri's body, France's interior minister visited a Paris train station to talk about the vigorous transport security in place for the holidays.

France's far right and the conservative opposition have assailed the Socialist government as lax.

"How could this person enter in Europe without being monitored? How could we let him settle in Europe?" said Eric Ciotti, lawmaker for the conservative Republicans.

What's worse, it was not the first time.

Last year, hours after Islamic State extremists killed 130 people at multiple targets in Paris, key suspect Salah Abdeslam fled to Belgium despite increased checks on both the French and Belgian borders. It took authorities four months to find him. Further, Abdeslam, a French national, had traveled through the Italian port of Bari on a roundtrip journey to Greece in August, months before the attack.

And in 2014, Mehdi Nemmouche allegedly killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, then crossed into France and traveled to the Mediterranean city of Marseille before being picked up in a police check.

Security and migration will be central issues in elections in the coming year in Germany, France and the Netherlands, all founding nations of the EU. And related fears could be key to fueling opposition calls for an early election in Italy after its recent political crisis.

The leader of Italy's anti-migrant Northern League, Matteo Salvini, called Saturday for closing and reinforcing Europe's borders after the Berlin attack.

"I don't want another two or three massacres before Europe wakes up," Salvini said.

A candidate for France's left-wing primary next month, Vincent Peillon, pleaded for joint European rules on borders, defense and intelligence.

"It's all of Europe that is being attacked," he said.

Le Pen's far-right National Front party wants to retrench rather than reach out, to "give France back full control over its sovereignty."

As Europeans head home for the holidays, many crossing multiple borders on the way without showing a single passport or changing any currency, people are asking themselves: Is it all worth it?

___

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this report.
Sesto San Giovanni (Italy) (AFP) - Nobody comes to Sesto San Giovanni by chance, say the residents of this dreary working-class Milan suburb where police caught up with Berlin market attack suspect Anis Amri.

So why, Italy wonders, did Europe's most wanted man end up here?

Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian, was shot dead by police on Friday during a routine check at the local train station, after opening fire first.

Sesto San Giovanni, with its 80,000 inhabitants, is where Amri caught the officers' attention in the small hours. It's a hub for transport, the last stop on a metro line, and has a busy bus terminal where buses leave for Spain, Morocco, Albania and southern Italy.

Many foreigners come through here, and police controls are particularly thorough.

"I get checked by police every day getting off the bus," said Aziz, a young Moroccan worker.

"At night this place is deserted, which would explain why somebody alone here would be immediately spotted by a police patrol," he told AFP.

According to Italian daily La Stampa, police believe that Amri arrived in Italy by train from Chambery, southeastern France.

They think he stopped for three hours in Turin, where police are now checking video surveillance footage for clues as to any contact with accomplices.

But none of the images they have seen so far show him using a phone, and according to Milan police chief Antonio De Iesu, he did not have one with him when he was shot dead.

- 'Italy's Stalingrad' -

He then travelled to Milan, where he arrived at 1 am Friday, before going on to Sesto San Giovanni.

Was he hoping to hook up with members of a network? Was he looking for new ID to get him out of Europe? Or was he planning some kind of revenge against Italy, where he spent four years in prison for torching a school in 2011?

Police are short on answers. But they do point out, according to Italian media, that Sesto San Giovanni, once known as "Italy's Stalingrad" because of the powerful local Communist party, has become a multicultural town with a large Muslim community.

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Police chief De Iesu told journalists that Amri had "no links with the Sesto mosque", but some locals wonder if he had contacts nearby.

"Some people are worried," said Tommaso Trivolo, who lives in a high-rise building opposite the train station from where he saw the ambulances arriving with screaming sirens just after the shooting.

Italy does its bit investigating jihadist sympathiser networks, but only a few dozen Italians have actually gone off to join Islamic State fighters in Iraq or Syria.

And despite the occasional threatening militant video, Italy has never been the target of any jihadist attack.

- 'They got lucky' -

Still, many Italians are startled that the man tracked by the combined power of the continent's police forces could slip into their country unnoticed.

"He could have committed more attacks," acknowledged De Iesu, calling Amri "a very dangerous fugitive".

Populists have seized the opportunity to further their agenda, including Beppo Grillo, head of the Five Star Movement.

"Italy is becoming a crossroads for terrorists. We can't detect or identify them, and thanks to Schengen they can cross borders without trouble," he said on his blog, referring to the EU's passport-free travel system.

Many other Italians declare themselves to be fatalistic, like Francesco Micali, another resident of Sesto San Giovanni.

"There could easily be an attack in Italy, just like in France, Germany and Spain," said.

As for the two policeman who stopped the suspect, who are being celebrated as heroes in Italy: "They just got lucky," said Micali.
CINCINNATI (AP)  After writing and talking repeatedly about the problems facing the kind of people he grew up with, best-selling author J.D. Vance is coming back to his home state to try to do something to make things better.

Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy," with colorful tales and observations from his life in the Ohio Rust Belt city of Middletown and his familial home in rural eastern Kentucky, was among 2016's most prominent nonfiction books. It drew extra attention because of Vance's insights into the support maverick New York businessman Donald Trump's presidential candidacy drew from the struggling white working class of his upbringing.

A popular TV discussion show guest during the campaign, the Yale-educated Silicon Valley investor now wants to do more than talk about the issues.

"I just think those of us who think we have something to offer have a responsibility to try to help," Vance said.

Vance, who has been working with public relations strategist Jai Chabria, who was a longtime adviser to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, is forming a nonprofit called Our Ohio Renewal and will relocate with his wife from San Francisco to either Cincinnati or Columbus, where he earned his undergraduate degree at Ohio State University. He has spoken at Ohio State and Miami University, near Middletown, in recent weeks and has other speaking engagements lined up that he said will help him learn more as he plans an effort that's' "very, very early" in development.

Among the issues he wants to target are the needs for more upward mobility opportunities for families in the lower end of the economy, what he calls rebuilding "the broken pipeline to the middle class," and the opioid epidemic that has hit his home state particularly hard.

Butler County, which includes his Middletown hometown, could be a good place to start.

Martin Schneider, administrator for Butler County coroner Dr. Lisa Mannix, said when all toxicology results are in, the coroner expects that 2016 will top last year's totals of 189 drug overdose deaths  141 of those related to heroin and/or fentanyl.

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"Sadly, this will make the third consecutive year in which drug overdose deaths are the single largest cause of death among cases taken on by the coroner's office," Schneider said this week.

"It's obviously a tough problem and there have been a lot of efforts to deal with it," Vance, whose book recounts his mother's long struggle with addiction, said, adding that it's too early for him to "pontificate" on what should be done. He hasn't ruled out getting into politics someday, but says that's not in his short-term plans.

He's eager to resettle in Ohio, where he hasn't had a "You Can't Go Home Again" experience like the protagonist of Thomas Wolfe's novel about an author who finds hometown people hostile about his book's portrayal. Vance, 32, had worried about the response, but he said it's been mostly positive, with people he grew up with telling him they appreciate that he "tried to be honest about the complications and also passionate about them."

___

Follow Dan Sewell at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

For some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-sewell
CHICAGO (AP)  Imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is seeking a presidential commutation of his 14-year sentence on a corruption conviction.

U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman Dena Iverson said Friday the department has received a petition for commutation from Blagojevich. She declined to comment further.

The Chicago Democrat was sentenced in 2011 following his conviction for trying to exchange an appointment to President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash.

An appeals court last year struck down five of his 18 convictions and ordered a new sentencing, but a judge this year upheld the 14-year term.

This week Blagojevich's lawyers asked a U.S. appeals court to nullify the prison term and order another sentencing hearing, arguing he's been a model prisoner.

Blagojevich is being held at a low-security federal prison in Colorado.
La Paz (AFP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales pardoned around 1,800 prisoners on Saturday, including pregnant women, handicapped people, inmates with minor sentences and those in custody awaiting trial.

"The present decree's aim is to give amnesty and total or partial pardons to people who have been deprived of their liberty," he told a news conference.

It is the fourth time Morales has approved pardons.

Official figures show there are more than 15,000 prisoners in Bolivia, of whom less than a third have been sentenced. Most are kept in overcrowded jails and penitentiaries.

Morales said that those pardoned included inmates with sentences of less than five years, one-time offenders, prisoners under the age of 28, single mothers with incarcerated children, prisoners with terminal illnesses as well as people with handicaps.
London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the country to come together in 2017 after a year of bitter divisions exposed by the Brexit referendum, in her first Christmas message released Saturday.

She said Britain needed to unite and seize the opportunity to forge a new role in the world as it leaves the European Union.

In the June referendum, 52 percent voted for Britain to leave the EU and wrangling over the issue dominated the rest of the year.

May says she wants to begin the formal process of withdrawing from the EU, which can take up to two years, by the end of March.

As families gathered for Christmas, May said "coming together is also important for us as a country".

"As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future."

May said on Tuesday that she was planning to negotiate both Brexit and Britain's future relationship with the EU by 2019 but a transition period may be required after that.

Britain's Supreme Court is set to rule in January on whether parliament's approval is required for May to trigger the exit process.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's November 22nd, 2009 concert in Buffalo, New York  the final stop on the Working on a Dream tour and their last full gig with saxophonist Clarence "Big Man" Clemons before his June 2011 death  was officially released as a live LP (and a last-minute Christmas gift to fans) Saturday through Springsteen's site.

The performance also featured Springsteen and the E Street Band playing his 1973 debut LP Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. in its entirety, from "Blinded by the Light" to "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City."

The three-and-a-half-hour, 35-song November 22nd, 2009 concert is available to download now through the Live Bruce Springsteen site, with a physical release scheduled for January 23rd.

While the Live Bruce Springsteen site was frequently updated in 2016 with every gig from the band's recent River Tour, the November 2009 Buffalo concert marks the first archival release since Springsteen unearthed his famed 1990 solo "Christic Shows" this past June.

As Ultimate Classic Rock notes, the November 22nd show also fell on guitarist Stevie Van Zandt's birthday, resulting in a few surprises: a rendition of "Happy Birthday" and the live debut of The River era outtake "Restless Nights," one of Van Zandt's favorite tracks.

Following the Buffalo concert, Springsteen and the E Street Band would perform with Clemons one final time during a small Asbury Park gig for a Vevo webcast.

In Springsteen's memoir Born the Run, the rocker wrote at length about Clemons' final gig as well as auditioning saxophonist Jake Clemons, the Big Man's nephew who showed up late and unprepared for the E Street audition.

"Let me get this straight," Springsteen wrote of his audition interaction with Jake Clemons. "You are coming to audition for Clarence 'Big Man' Clemons' seat in the E Street Band, which is not a job, by the way, but a sacred fucking position, and you are going to play Clarence's most famous solos for Bruce Springsteen [referencing myself in the third person], the man who stood beside him for 40 years, who created those solos with him, and you're gonna 'sort of' know them? Where  do  you  think  you  are? If you don't know, let me tell you. You are in a CITADEL OF ROCK 'N' ROLL. You don't DARE come in here and play this music for Bruce Springsteen without having your SHIT DOWN COLD! You embarrass yourself and waste my precious time."

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Jake Clemons returned to his hotel, learned the material and ultimately won the role previously held by his uncle.

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NAIROBI (Reuters) - Burundi has halted legal action against 11 non-governmental organizations that were banned due to accusations they conspired with opponents of President Pierre Nkurunziza, the prosecutor general's office said on Saturday. Nkurunziza's government has often accused civil society groups of working against it during a crisis that erupted last year over his disputed election for a third term. About 450 people have been killed in political violence. "The Prosecutor General of the Republic informs the national and international community that he has terminated judicial proceedings against some civil society organizations," Prosecutor General Sylvestre Nyandwi said in a statement. It said the NGOs and non-profit groups had been suspended from operating in order to investigate "their share of responsibility in the insurgency movement launched in April 2015". The 11 organizations authorized to reopen include the Observatory for Government Action (OAG), which opposed Nkurunziza's plan to seek another term in office on the grounds that the move was unconstitutional. Opponents of the president said his re-election also violated a deal that ended a civil war in 2005. The government, however, cites a ruling by the constitutional court saying the president could seek another term. It also dismisses allegations of human rights abuses. Most of the groups' leaders have fled the country fearing for their safety, and a representative of one of the entities told Reuters conditions remained difficult. "It is hard to reopen and work as long as there are no acceptable conditions for us to fulfill our mission," the representative said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The violence in Burundi has alarmed a region where memories of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda remain raw. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Helen Popper)
Carrie Fishers most trusted sidekick, her beloved service dog Gary, is reportedly watching over her as she recovers from a massive heart attack.

The Star Wars star, 60, was aboard an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday when she went into cardiac arrest. After the plane landed just after noon in California, Fisher was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital.

Gary, a French bulldog, was spotted outside the hospital earlier today by TMZ, and the website reports that witnesses saw the pooch with Fisher on the flight at the time of her heart attack. Her daughter, Billie Lourd, was also spotted at the hospital. Lourd is Fishers only child, from her relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd.

Carrie Fisher and Gary attend Tribeca Tune In: Catastrophe at SVA Theatre 2 on April 19, 2016 (Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

Gary attends the European Premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 16, 2015 (Dave Benett/WireImage)

While Gary and Fisher have been buds for about four years, the French bulldog became something of a celebrity himself during the actresss press tour for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The brindle-colored canine was a frequent red carpet guest of Fishers, and became a hit on social media. He even has his own Twitter page with over 10,000 followers and was the first to review Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Tom Hiddleston (L) meets Gary at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on April 30, 2016Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Carrie Fisher and Gary sign copies of her new book The Princess Diarist in Los Angeles on November 28, 2016 (Araya Diaz/WireImage)

Carrie and Gary on Good Morning America December 3, 2015 (Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty Images)

But besides red carpet escort, Garys most important role is the way he helps Fisher every day. The Star Wars icon adopted Gary as a service pet to help her handle her bipolar disorder. Fisher, who has been open about her diagnosis and mental health, said the bulldog provides vital emotional support and stability in her life.

Gary is mental also. My mother says Gary is a hooligan. Gary is like my heart, Fisher told The Herald Tribune in 2015. Gary is very devoted to me and that calms me down. Hes anxious when hes away from me.
Hollywood took to Twitter to send will wishes to Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, who reportedly suffered a heart attack on a plane flying from London to Los Angeles on Friday.

The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universes most powerful Force XXXXX, Captain Phasma actress Gwendoline Christie tweeted.

Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyones favorite princess right now, Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew wrote.

Also Read: Carrie Fisher Suffers Heart Attack During Flight (Report)

According to TMZ, the Star Wars actress went into cardiac arrest and passengers on board administered CPR. When the plane landed, paramedics rushed the 60-year-old to a nearby hospital. The Los Angeles Times reported that Fisher was in critical condition.

Also Read: Carrie Fisher Regrets Revealing Harrison Ford Affair: 'It Was a Mistake' (Video)

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott told TheWrap that at 12:11 p.m., the LAFD responded to LAX International Airport gate 74 for a patient on an inbound flight on cardiac arrest. Paramedics were standing by for the planes arrival and provided advanced life support and aggressively treated and transported patient to a nearby hospital.

See the tweets below.

@carrieffisher The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universes most powerful Force XXXXX  Gwendoline Christie (@lovegwendoline) December 23, 2016

send love prayers and the kitchen sink to my sister @carrieffisher Fuck no . Fuck no.  Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) December 23, 2016

We are NOT losing @carrieffisher. Do you hear me? We are NOT losing @carrieffisher. Love you @carrieffisher.  billy eichner (@billyeichner) December 23, 2016

I ask everyone to stop for a moment and send special thoughts to @carrieffisher.  William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 23, 2016

Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.. @carrieffisher  Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) December 23, 2016

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse sending all our love to @carrieffisher  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016

My thoughts and prayers R with @carrieffisher RIGHT NOW! I pray God brings her back safely! She's a sweet woman, back doin what she loves!????????  Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) December 23, 2016

The world waits. Sending love and light to @carrieffisher and her family.  E L James (@E_L_James) December 23, 2016

If anyone can say 'Fuck off' to 2016, it's Carrie Fisher. The force is with you, ya badass princess. Stay strong. @carrieffisher  alisonhaislip (@alisonhaislip) December 23, 2016

Best wishes and get well soon to one of my favorite writers @carrieffisher pic.twitter.com/2rYrMOaTDN  philip lord (@philiplord) December 24, 2016

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Did Carrie Fisher Accidentally Blurt Out a 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Spoiler?

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Celebrities and public figures are rushing to Twitter to wish Carrie Fisher a speedy recovery after she went into full cardiac arrest while aboard a plane on Friday.

The Star Wars actress is now in stable condition after suffering a massive heart attack while in transit from London to Los Angeles. L.A. County Fire Department paramedics performed CPR on Fisher upon landing and rushed her to a local hospital.

Harrison Ford released a statement to express his concern for Fisher and wish her well. Im shocked and saddened to hear the news about my dear friend. Our thoughts are with Carrie, her family and friends, he wrote.

William Shatner tweeted a photo with Fisher and wrote, All I want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas love, Bill pic.twitter.com/wMI5nK8Zx9  William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 24, 2016

Many of her Star Wars costars took to social media to send well wishes.Sending all our love to Fisher, Mark Hamill tweeted.

as if 2016 couldn't get any worse sending all our love to @carrieffisher  Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) December 23, 2016

Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise, wrote on Twitter, Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyones favorite princess right now.

Story continues

Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favorite princess right now.. @carrieffisher  Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) December 23, 2016

Many sent Fisher words of comfort and encouragement, including Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo, who wrote May the force be with you @carrieffisher.

May the force be with you @carrieffisher  Gaten Matarazzo (@GatenM123) December 23, 2016

Others expressed dismay at the turn of events, even blaming 2016 for the incident. Patton Oswalt tweeted: GODDAMIT 2016 ENOUGH ALREADY.

GODDAMIT 2016 ENOUGH ALREADY. https://t.co/0JiXxSSGtc  Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) December 23, 2016

Comedian Billy Eichner wrote: We are NOT losing @carrieffisher. Do you hear me? We are NOT losing @carrieffisher. Love you @carrieffisher.

We are NOT losing @carrieffisher. Do you hear me? We are NOT losing @carrieffisher. Love you @carrieffisher.  billy eichner (@billyeichner) December 23, 2016

Read more reactions below:

send love prayers and the kitchen sink to my sister @carrieffisher Fuck no . Fuck no.  Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) December 23, 2016

Send love prayers and the kitchen sink to my sister @carrieffisher F no. F no.  Courtney Love Cobain

I hope Princess Carrie Fisher Leia is ok  roxane gay (@rgay) December 23, 2016

I hope Princess Carrie Fisher Leia is ok.  Roxane Gay

So much love being sent to you @carrieffisher  christina applegate (@1capplegate) December 23, 2016

So much love being sent to you @carrieffisher.  Christina Applegate

I ask everyone to stop for a moment and send special thoughts to @carrieffisher.  William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) December 23, 2016

I ask everyone to stop for a moment and send special thoughts to @carrieffisher.  William Shatner

Sending all of my best thoughts out to @carrieffisher and those around her. We want you around for a very long long time. pic.twitter.com/Lv0oK5HfKG  Michael Giacchino (@m_giacchino) December 23, 2016

Sending all of my best thoughts out to @carrieffisher and those around her. We want you around for a very long long time.  Michael Giacchino

All prayers and well wishes to @carrieffisher for a full and speedy recovery!  robertliefeld (@robertliefeld) December 23, 2016

All prayers and well wishes to @carrieffisher for a full and speedy recovery!  Robert Liefeld

Much much much much much much love going out to Carrie Fisher right now. Please please please be well.  Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) December 23, 2016

Much much much much much much love going out to Carrie Fisher right now. Please please please be well.  Jon Cryer

No. No. No. Praying for # CarrieFisher.  Josh Gad

My thoughts and prayers R with @carrieffisher RIGHT NOW! I pray God brings her back safely! She's a sweet woman, back doin what she loves!  Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) December 23, 2016

My thoughts and prayers R with @carrieffisher RIGHT NOW! I pray God brings her back safely! Shes a sweet woman, back doin what she loves!  Corey Feldman

No more, 2016! You got Prince, now don't be thinking you get Carrie Fisher, too. #ThoughtsAndPrayers #HangInThereCarrie  Orlando Jones (@TheOrlandoJones) December 23, 2016

No more, 2016! You got Prince, now dont be thinking you get Carrie Fisher, too. # ThoughtsAndPrayers # HangInThereCarrie.  Orlando Jones

Dont you leave us Carrie xoxoxo # prayers # CarrieFisher.  Hoda Kotb

@carrieffisher The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universes most powerful Force XXXXX  Gwendoline Christie (@lovegwendoline) December 23, 2016

@carrieffisher The whole world is sending you so much love! Sending you the universes most powerful Force.  Gwendoline Christie

We could just fight 2016 in the street. This Carrie Fisher newsnope. No.  Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) December 23, 2016

We could just fight 2016 in the street. This Carrie Fisher newsnope. No.  Mikki Kendal

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For more celebrity videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher was in critical condition after she had a heart attack on a plane from United Airlines flight from London to Los Angeles, TMZ reported. She was unresponsive when the plane landed, according to United Airlines.

Paramedics worked on 60-year-old Fisher for 15 minutes before they were able to get a pulse, TMZ wrote. She was rushed to UCLA Medical Center by the Los Angeles Fire Department and is currently on a ventilator. She had an oxygen mask on her face and her eyes were closed when she was taken to the hospital.

The emergency happened 15 minutes before the plane was slated to land after an 11-hour flight. A flight attendant asked if there was anyone aboard the plane with a medical background that could help. Turned out there was an EMT sitting in the back of the plane. He performed life-saving measures on Fisher until the plane landed, TMZ wrote.

The actress, who is best known for playing Princess Leia, was in a lot of distress, a source told the Los Angeles Times Friday.

Our thoughts are with our customer at this time, United said in a statement to the LA Times.

A slew of celebrities took to Twitter to share their support for Fisher after she went into cardiac arrest. The world waits. Sending love and light to @carrieffisher and her family, E.L. James wrote. I don't pray much anymore but I am praying for you right now, @carrieffisher. Please pull through, actor Kevin Smith added.

Josh Gad wrote, No. No. No. Praying for @carriefisher. Jon Cryer added: Much much much much much much love going out to Carrie Fisher right now. Please please please be well.

Before her heart attack, Fisher was on a book tour.

This is a developing story.

Carrie Fisher

Photo: Reuters

Story continues

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Its been 25 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, and in that time the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has generated tens of thousands of internal papers, roundtables, and even documentaries on the issue. Like most intellectual products in the mainland, 95 percent of these have been worthless regurgitations of the political line of the day by mediocre careerists. But the official angle on the collapse, which once seemed to be pushing the country toward reforms that were more sensitive to public needs and opening the economy, has shifted sharply in the last few years. Today, the lessons Beijing is drawing seem likely to keep sending it backward.

Its no surprise that the party is obsessed with the collapse of its former rival and ideological partner. The most bizarre thing about the brief spate of articles in 2012 and 2013 describing the newly appointed CCP general secretary, Xi Jinping, as a potential Mikhail Gorbachev for China was that some of the writers seemed to think they were paying him a compliment. In China, though, Gorbachev is seen not as a far-sighted reformer but as a disastrous failure, a man who led his country, and his party, to national calamity. Thats not an unfair view: China has no desire to lose a quarter of its territory, watch GDP drop by 40 percent, and see male life expectancy cut short by seven years, as Russia did in the 1990s.

Before the Soviet leaders failed gambit, though, many Chinese looked favorably on Gorbachev. The Soviet Union and China had tentatively made up after their vicious  and nearly world-ending  split in the 1960s, and both were looking to learn from the others experiences. Moscow was increasingly convinced that Chinas reform and opening up was a way forward for its moribund economy, and Chinese intellectuals, inside and outside the party, were intrigued by the possibilities offered by glasnost and perestroika  the pillars of Gorbachevs heralded reform platform.

The Soviet collapse prompted hard self-reflection, albeit couched within the even harder limits of Chinese political correctness. (Even in relatively liberal moments  such as the fervent intellectual debates of the late 1980s  raising fundamental questions about national identity, the leadership of the party, and the correctness of socialism was a risky move for anyone inside the system.) What were the causes? Was China inevitably heading down the same path if it didnt change its ways?

Virtually every aspect of the early Peoples Republic, from the organization of its railways to its party structure to its ethnic minority policy, was copied from the Soviet Union. As Marxist theorists saw it, like the Soviets, China had leapfrogged from peasant feudalism over industrial capitalism straight into socialism. But in reality, both slapped a veneer of socialism over a fusion of new nationalism and old-fashioned empire. And both followed mass famine with cultural revolution (originally a Soviet term) and bloody party purges.

At first, part of the Chinese response was to use the Soviet example to spur further reform inside the party itself. As political scientist David Shambaugh has argued, critical analysis of Soviet failings pointed to a top-heavy, incompetent, and stagnant Soviet Communist Party and prompted efforts in Beijing to transform the CCP into a more modern, flexible, and resilient organization. That didnt mean sweeping democratic reform, but it meant a party more sensitive to public opinion  and more interested in steering it, through both subtle and unsubtle means, in the right direction.

There were also more immediate shifts. Fear of the popular changes unleashed across Eastern Europe had already played a powerful role in prompting the brutal crackdown on protesters in Beijing and elsewhere in 1989. In the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, deeply conscious of the role that rising nationalism, from Ukraine to Azerbaijan, had played in bringing down the Soviet Union, policy around Chinas autonomous regions and ethnic minorities tightened, and the language shifted. Minzu, the Chinese term for non-ethnic-Han groups, shifted from being nationalities in official translations to ethnic minorities. Meanwhile, worries over Soviet economic stagnation boosted Chinese leader Deng Xiaopings final big push for economic reform during his 1992 Southern Tour of the countrys newly booming commercial cities.

Running parallel to this, however, was always a counternarrative that suggested the disaster hadnt come from inside but outside. It was the reformers who had caused the fall of a superpower, this argument went, by shaking faith in the system through acknowledging the Soviet Unions past crimes, letting in dangerous foreign influences, and abandoning hard-line Marxism. This idea has now received official stamp from the very top of Beijings leadership, and one can see it reverberating through the new wave of paranoia about foreign influence, reassertion of party power, and hostility to civil society.

Read more from this series:

Could Mikhail Gorbachev Have Saved the Soviet Union? If only he wasnt betrayed by the Communist Party.

The Russian Question: How should Donald Trump deal with Vladimir Putin?

The Soviet Union Is Still Collapsing: 6 unlearned lessons from the fall of the USSR.

As Xi himself put it in a 2013 speech: Their ideals and beliefs had been shaken. In the end, the rulers flag over the city tower changed overnight. Its a profound lesson for us! To dismiss the history of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Communist Party, to dismiss Lenin and Stalin, and to dismiss everything else is to engage in historic nihilism, and it confuses our thoughts and undermines the partys organizations on all levels.

Historical nihilism has become a favorite shibboleth for those looking to demonstrate loyalty under Xi, as has the hysterical defense of every bit of past propaganda. Manufactured Maoist hero Lei Feng, once idealized by Chinese youth in the 1960s, has been dragged, yet again, from the grave to serve as inspiration for utterly indifferent Chinese youth despite the Western conspiracy against him.

The new line is simple: blame the West and blame the Soviet leaders  like Gorbachev  who let the West in. Its one reason why China has pushed through harsh new laws designed to force out foreign nongovernmental organizations, why the national press is getting shriller and shriller in its hostility to the United States, and why censorship is worsening. At the same time, theres no sign of the political reforms that some Western observers once confidently predicted.

Whats behind this shift? Part of it seems to be Xis personal conviction in the essential truth of the party  and in his own right to rule as a revolutionary scion. That would be enough to shift the entire course of discussion by itself, in a country where following the leaders signals is second nature for anyone who wants to climb the ladder. (Its a habit that carries over into other contexts: Before President-elect Donald Trumps Taiwan call, visiting Chinese groups in Washington were ending speeches with, Together, we can make America and China great again.)

But Xis own convictions have been empowered by the events of the last decade. The deepest Chinese fear is of regime change similar to the kinds that swept across the former Soviet space and let loose the Arab Spring. Color revolution is a useful phrase, because it detaches these events from true, rightful revolution  of the kind that made the Peoples Republic of China and all its revolutionary martyrs  and puts it firmly in the realm of an organized, U.S.-led conspiracy designed to destabilize potential opponents.

The belief that all of these revolutions were U.S.-orchestrated plots isnt just propaganda, but sincerely held; I argued with a Peoples Daily editor after a visit to Iran just after the Green Revolution in which hed claimed that the Iranians loved their regime. All the so-called protesters were CIA spies! he told me.

In Beijing, American promotion of democracy and human rights is seen as just a tool to ensure U.S. dominance and one that therefore has to be constantly resisted. Peaceful evolution, the nationalist tabloid Global Times proclaimed, was just another name for color revolution. Even seemingly harmless cultural products have been caught up in this. Zootopia, a recent Disney animated childrens film, explained a Peoples Liberation Army newspaper, was an American plot to weaken Chinas morale.

The hostility toward the color revolutions and the chaos theyve unleashed has thus been projected backward. The Soviet fall, once seen at least in part as a result of the Communist Partys own failings, has become reinterpreted as a deliberate U.S. plot and a moral failure to hold the line against Western influence. That has ended what was once a powerful spur to reform  meaning that, barring a major change in leadership, the likely course of Chinese politics over the next few years will be further xenophobia, even more power to the party, and an unwillingness to talk about the harder lessons of history.

Photo credit: Feng Li/Getty Images
Beijing (AFP) - Beijing has fined the Chinese unit of General Motors nearly $29 million for "infringing on the rights of consumers and its competitors" via price-fixing, Shanghai authorities said.

SAIC-GM -- a joint venture between the American company and the state-owned SAIC Motor Corporation, China's biggest automaker by production volume -- has been ordered to cough up 201 million yuan ($28.9 million), approximately four percent of its mainland sales last year, Shanghai's top development and economic reform body said on their website in a Friday statement.

"The fine is fair. We just aim to improve market order," the state-owned China Daily newspaper cited Xu Xinyu, the official in charge of the GM investigation, as saying.

"SAIC-GM will respect the views of the National Development and Reform Commission," a spokesperson from the company said Friday, according to Chinese website Today's Economic News.

It is the second time in weeks China has slapped a multi-million dollar fine on a US company for alleged monopolistic pricing behaviour, the paper added.

Earlier this month, the country's top economic regulator issued a 119 million yuan ($17.1 million) fine to Medtronic, an American supplier of high-end medical devices.

As of Friday, China has issued 2.25 billion yuan in fines to automakers since 2014, according to the China Daily.

The penalty comes in the midst of a war of words between US President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese media, after the billionaire Republican businessman suggested he may reject the One China policy unless Beijing makes concessions on trade and other matters.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, has also repeatedly threatened to slap 45 percent tariffs on Chinese exports to the US.

He has picked outspoken China critic Peter Navarro to head the White House National Trade Council, a new office that will oversee trade and industrial policy -- leading Chinese media reports on Friday to state that Beijing ought to prepare for a potential trade war.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The heavily polluted northern Chinese province of Hebei will invest as much as 700 billion yuan ($100.82 billion/82.03 billion pounds) on new projects next year as part of its efforts to "upgrade" its heavy industrial economy, the local government said on Saturday.

The new projects will focus on "innovation" and promote less industrially intensive sectors like renewable energy, financial services, information technology and logistics.

Hebei, which surrounds the capital Beijing, has been on the front line of China's "war on pollution", and has already promised to shut 60 million tonnes of steel capacity and slash coal consumption by 40 million tonnes over the 2014-2017 period.

But local officials have frequently complained that they need more support from the central government to help fund its restructuring efforts, cope with worker layoffs and promote cleaner sectors.

Hebei, home of seven of China's 10 smoggiest cities last year, has declared 2017 to be the "year of transformation and upgrading", the province said on its official website on Saturday (http://www.hebei.gov.cn).

It said it aims to make better use of private investment, encourage the use of public-private partnerships and simplify approval procedures as part of its efforts to rejuvenate its steel-dominated economy.

The statement did not provide details on proposed projects but said the province would speed up its plans to integrate Hebei with neighbouring Beijing and Tianjin, work on projects related to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, and accelerate the construction of regional economic zones and a renewable energy base.

Hebei has frequently struggled to implement directives from Beijing to close polluting industries, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection this week identified several local steel firms that had failed to comply with emergency restrictions during a recent smog outbreak in the region.

The Saturday statement did not refer to the smog, which sent air quality index readings in several cities, including the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, close to record highs last week.

Story continues

But the province vowed to continue improving its inspection mechanisms and show "no mercy" when it comes to eliminating and punishing illegal construction in the steel sector.

It also promised to strictly control coal consumption and encourage the switch to cleaner natural gas, as well as complete the establishment of pilot "coal-free zones" in the smog-prone cities of Langfang and Baoding.

(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Sam Holmes)
CLEVELAND (AP)  Police on Saturday identified the veteran Cleveland officer whose 2-year-old son died after apparently shooting himself with his father's service weapon.

A Cleveland police statement said the investigation was in its early stages and that there had been no arrests made. The officer was identified as Jose Pedro, 54, hired in 1993.

Officers responded to a home in the northeast Ohio city around 10:30 a.m. Friday. Police said the child was taken to a hospital where he died from his injury.

Neighbors told reporters that the child's older brother came running out of the house yelling for someone to call 911 because his brother had just shot himself.

"He was just screaming and hollering," neighbor Sonya Hobbs said, saying she called 911.

"He was only 2 years old," she told cleveland.com.

Police didn't release any other details immediately.

Police department rules state that "officers shall use or handle their firearms only in a safe, proper and authorized manner."
The US Coast Guard rescued a male diver who had been stranded on the backside of Catalina Island in California for more than 40 hours on Friday, December 23. The diver was suffering signs of hypothermia and dehydration at the time of the rescue.

The 50-year-old diver was first reported as possibly missing on Thursday morning after the individual had departed Dana Point on a 38-foot sailing vessel on Wednesday morning. No specific time for his return was scheduled, the guard said, but he was expected to return by sunset on Thursday or by noon on Friday.

Early Friday, the guard launched a first light search of the area, which included a helicopter crew and a boat crew, for the possible missing diver.

The diver was located on the backside of Catalina Island waving an orange life jacket. He was airlifted and taken to Hogue Hospital in Irvine.

The diver told the coast guard he anchored his vessel on Wednesday afternoon. When he came up from his second dive, his vessel had drifted out to sea. He attempted to swim after the vessel before realizing it was best to swim to shore.

The diver made it to shore around 2 pm on Wednesday and had zero contact with anyone until his rescue. He told the guard he had spelled out SOS with debris and shot off two flares with no visibility. Credit: US Coast Guard via Storyful
By Aaron Ross and Tim Cocks KINSHASA (Reuters) - President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo would leave power in 2017 and elections would be held the same year under a political deal close to completion, opposition leaders said on Friday. The deal would be a breakthrough for a country that has not seen a peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960 and would represent a turnaround after dozens of people were killed this week in protests over Kabila's tenure. Kabila took power after his father, Laurent, was assassinated in 2001, and critics saw the violence as an attempt to crush dissent and enable the extension of his constitutional mandate, which ended on Tuesday after two terms in office. As a result, any deal resulting from the weeks of talks between the ruling coalition and the opposition mediated by the Catholic church would come as a shock. It could also reinforce democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, given Congo's centrality, size and economic importance as a mineral exporter and the continent's top copper producer. "It is difficult for me to tell you whether (the deal) will be in two hours or three hours. We are in the process of working. We can only leave here when everything is finished," opposition leader Joseph Olenghankoy told reporters. Kabila says he supports the talks but has yet to comment on their substance. A deal would also be an achievement for the Catholic church, which says the talks are an attempt to stop Congo sliding back into anarchy and war. Pope Francis has heaped pressure on all sides to find a peaceful solution. "At first glance, a miracle is possible and the bishops have won their bet," said Albert Moleka, former chief of staff to the leader of the main opposition bloc, Etienne Tshisekedi. A government spokesman said the proposal was to have been presented to the full delegation on Friday afternoon. ONE MORE YEAR Under the deal's terms, Kabila would stay in power for a year, but the constitution cannot be changed to let him run again. A prime minister would be named from the main opposition bloc and Tshisekedi would oversee the deal's implementation, opposition leaders Martin Fayulu and Jose Endundo told Reuters. "Kabila stays for one year," Fayulu said. "He will not try to stand for a new term." The head of the U.N. human rights agency said on Friday that Congolese security forces killed at least 40 people and arrested 460 in protests this week. The violence raised fears Congo is heading toward armed conflict, a risk that has prompted several donor nations to condemn Kabila for failing to stand down. Millions were killed in wars between 1996 and 2003. "Most of ... (Kabila's coalition) would welcome this (deal) because they're under so much pressure," said Pascal Kambale, a Congolese human rights lawyer at the Open Society Foundations. A presidential election set for last month has been postponed until at least April 2018 because of delays registering voters. This deal would mean the election must happen by the end of next year. Kabila's allies say he will respect the constitution, but that promising to step down would make him a lame duck and spark a power struggle that could put his life in danger. (Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Leslie Adler)
By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - Political rivals in Democratic Republic of Congo neared a deal on Saturday for President Joseph Kabila to leave power in 2017 after dozens of people were killed during protests this week at the end of his mandate. Under the agreement, elections would be held next year and Kabila, who took power in Africa's fourth most populous country after his father was assassinated in 2001, would agree not to change the constitution to run for a third term. Roman Catholic bishops who have mediated during weeks of talks were upbeat about reaching a deal in time for a planned signing ceremony on Friday, but Congo's main opposition bloc warned that several "significant" differences remained. "We have finished practically 95 percent of the work," Catholic Bishops Conference president Marcel Utembi told reporters. "There remains a short way to go." Divisions persisted over whether the prime minister will come from the main opposition bloc and on the composition of the electoral commission, which the opposition accuses of pro-government bias. "If the divergences are not bridged, it will be difficult to sign this accord," opposition leader Jean Marc Kabund told reporters. Kabila, whose representatives participated in the talks, did not comment. At least 40 people were killed this week in a crackdown by security forces against demonstrators who blew whistles and banged pots and pans in protests demanding Kabila leave office, according to the United Nations. Kabila's critics accuse him of deliberately postponing the presidential election that was due last month in order to cling to power beyond the end of his constitutional mandate. The government say the delay was due to difficulties registering millions of voters and the constitutional court ruled in May that Kabila could stay in office until his successor is elected. Mineral-rich Congo has not had a peaceful power transition since independence in 1960, and Church negotiators have billed the talks as an attempt to stop the country sliding back into war. Millions of people died in regional conflicts between 1996 and 2003 and Pope Francis has called for a peaceful solution to the current standoff. The last day of the talks between the ruling coalition and opposition parties began at 11 a.m. local time (5.00 a.m. ET) after negotiations went through the night. Remaining issues are to be resolved in small groups with the support of the church's secretariate while the bishops return to their dioceses for Christmas, Utembi said. (Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Sam Holmes and Helen Popper)
MILFORD, Pa. (AP)  A defense attorney says an insanity defense is unlikely in the trial of a man charged with fatally ambushing a Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding a second trooper near a rural barracks in eastern Pennsylvania.

Attorney William Ruzzo said during a hearing Friday that an insanity or diminished capacity defense isn't planned for 33-year-old Eric Frein (freen).

The (Scranton) Times-Tribune (http://bit.ly/2hnaqes) says Ruzzo declined to comment after the hearing.

Jury selection is slated in March in Chester County, outside Philadelphia, for a panel to be bused to Pike County.

Frein is charged with killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and wounding another trooper outside the Blooming Grove barracks in September 2014.

He led police on a tense 48-day manhunt before U.S. marshals caught him about 30 miles from the shooting scene.

___

Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before - a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful". "I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks. "I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said. The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details. Defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto, the United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favor. Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbors including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a biblical connection to the land. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
The Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed to a tentative three-year successor deal on the master contract for directors.

The two sides announced the agreement on Friday night, but provided no details. More information about the tentative agreement will be released once its been submitted to the national board for approval at a special board meeting.

Negotiations had lasted nearly three weeks after starting Dec. 5. Both sides have adhered to a news blackout since Nov. 17, when they jointly announced the start date for negotiations.

The DGA tapped secretary-treasurer Michael Apted and third VP Thomas Schlamme in February as co-chairs of its negotiating committee for the successor deal to the master contract. The guilds current three-year deal with AMPTP expires on June 30, 2017. The DGA has more than 16,000 members.

Jay D. Roth, longtime national executive director of the DGA, served as the lead negotiator for the guild.

SAG-AFTRAs current master contract with the AMPTP also expires on June 30, 2017, while the Writers Guild of Americas deal will expire on May 1, 2017. The WGA usually goes into negotiations after the DGA and SAG-AFTRA have completed their deals.

The AMPTP serves as the negotiating arm for the major production companies. AMPTP President Carol Lombardini is the lead negotiator.

In the 2013-14 round of negotiations, the DGA announced that its members had ratified its deal in early January of 2014  six months before the contract expired. That contract provided for wage increases of 2.5% the first year, and 3% for the second and third years; a 0.5% increase in the pension plan, with the DGA able to divert that increase to wages in the first year if it chose; residuals also increased 2.5% the first year, and went up 3% in the second and third years except for network primetime, which increased by 2% each year.

The pact also included for the first time specific wages, terms, and conditions for high-budget original and derivative dramatic new media productions made for SVOD.

Story continues

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A friend of President-elect Donald Trump is standing by statements he made to an alternative weekly newspaper in Buffalo about President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, who he said he hopes die and get let loose in Africa.

Carl Paladino was among many people who told Artvoice their wishes for 2017, but the response of the New York developer and onetime candidate for New York Governor has stirred the most controversy by far. For 2017, Paladino said he wishes for President Obama to die of mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Herford, referring to the Hereford cow breed.

The co-chair of Trumps New York campaign also named the First Lady in his widely condemned comments. Id like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla, Paladino said.

Paladino stood by his words in a statement to the Washington Post, denying that they were racist and rejecting the notion that they were bad for Trump. It has nothing to do with race, Paladino said. Its about 2 progressive elitist ingrates who have hated their country so badly and destroyed its fabric in so many respects in 8 years.

Paladino also told the Post that he is active with the president-elect. I dont think Mr. Trump particularly cares what I have to say, he said. He knows me. I was active with him, and I still am active with him.

A spokesperson for Trump denounced Paladinos words in a statement reported by the New York Times. Carls comments are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse, said Trump spokesperson Jessica Ditto.

Others have denounced Paladinos remarks, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who called the words racist, ugly, and reprehensible in a statement. While most New Yorkers know Mr. Paladino is not to be taken seriously, as his erratic behavior defies any rational analysis and he has no credibility, his words are still jarring, Cuomo said.

In several interviews after the release by Artvoice, Paladino has said he meant to cast light on the presidents transgressions and called them old style humor.

I did it to wake people up; I did it to get peoples attention, Paladino told the Times.
Donald Trumps transition team has blasted as absolutely reprehensible remarks made by a man who served as a co-chairman in Trumps New York State election campaign. Carl Paladino said his wish for 2017 is for President Obama to die and for Michelle Obama to go back to Africa to live with a gorilla.

Carls comments are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse, the transition team said in a statement about the Buffalo, NY developer and school board member. Too late  the remarks were making the media rounds today because they were so reprehensible and this is 2016.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also called the remarks made by Paladino  who once ran against him  reprehensible, racist and ugly.

It all started when with alternative weekly newspaper ArtVoice asked 42 locals, including Paladino, for their 2017 wish lists. Paladino said he hoped President Obama contracted mad cow disease and died and First Lady Michelle Obama was let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe to live in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.

Buffalo News reported Paladino said he made the statements because of what he considered Obamas ineffective response to the crisis in Aleppo. He called Obama the worst president in the history of the United States and criticized him for putting criminals back on the streets.

Yeah, Im not politically correct, he said. They asked what I want and I told them.

In a statement made after his 2017 wish list caused quite the backlash, Paladino said it has nothing to do with race and insisted that the typical stance of the press when they cant otherwise defend the acts of the person being attacked.

He added: And yes, its about a little deprecating humor which America lost for a long time. Merry Christmas and tough luck if you dont like my answer.

Story continues

Carl Paladino made racist, ugly, reprehensible remarks about the President & First Lady. My wish this season is for unity.

Full statement pic.twitter.com/ZHgsrHmHbp  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 23, 2016

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Carrie Fisher is currently in the Intensive Care Unit of a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a heart attack aboard an airplane on Friday, her brother, Todd Fisher, tells ET exclusively.

"She is in the intensive care unit, she is being well looked after," Todd says. "If everyone could just pray for her that would be good. The doctors are doing their thing and we don't want to bug them. We are waiting by patiently."

Todd says Fisher's condition is still unknown.

"We don't know. We hope for the best," Todd says. "We certainly do not know her condition, that's why she is in ICU. I'm sure everyone wants to speculate, but now is not the time for that."

WATCH: Carrie Fisher Suffers Major Heart Attack on a Plane

Fisher was on a flight from London to Los Angeles International Airport when she went into cardiac arrest. Fellow passengers, including a nurse, then assisted her, according to air traffic control. A source close to Fisher tells ET that as the plane was descending into LAX, Carrie was awakened and "she started throwing up and saying she couldn't breathe."

"They rushed her to the hospital and they are monitoring her heart right now," the source adds.

WATCH: Carrie Fisher Feels 'Really Bad' About Dishing on Her Alleged Romance With Harrison Ford -- 'He's Incredibly Private'

In a statement to ET, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said they responded to LAX for a patient on an inbound flight in cardiac arrest at 12:11 p.m. LAFD firefighter paramedics were standing by for the plane's arrival, provided advanced life support and aggressively treated and transported the patient to a local hospital.

Fisher's sister Joely tweeted about the news on Friday, writing, "Use the force babe."

Use the force babe pic.twitter.com/WVy6vG8ewc  Joely Fisher (@MsJoelyFisher) December 24, 2016

-- Additional reporting by Tracie De La Rosa

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By Warren Strobel and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has asked two Cabinet departments for the names of government officials working on programs to counter violent extremism, according to a document seen by Reuters and U.S. officials. The requests to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security involve a set of programs that seek to prevent violence by extremists of any stripe, including recruitment by militant Islamist groups within the United States and abroad. Reuters could not determine why the Trump team asked for these names. The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump has frequently criticized President Barack Obama for not doing enough to battle Islamic militants and for his refusal to use the term "radical Islam" to describe Islamic State and other militant groups. Some career officials said they feared the incoming administration may be looking to undo the work that the Obama administration has done on countering violent extremism. "They're picking a few issues to ask for people's names," said one government official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reflecting wider fears that those who worked on such issues could be marginalized by the new administration. Earlier this month, Trump representatives had asked the U.S. Energy Department for the names of staffers who worked on climate change policy. The White House expressed concern that it may have been an attempt to target civil servants, including scientists and lawyers. The Energy Department balked at providing names and a Trump spokesman disavowed the request. The State Department declined to comment on specific requests from the Trump transition team. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. In a Dec. 9 email seen by Reuters, Trump representatives at the State Department sought a list of positions in the counterterrorism bureau's office of countering violent extremism. "Please indicate names of people serving in those roles and status (political or career)," the email said, referring to political appointees and career civil servants. Three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a similar request had been made to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In that case, the Trump transition team asked for the names of members of an interagency task force on countering violent extremism that the Obama administration established in January, the officials said. According to a Jan. 8 DHS statement, the task force falls under the leadership of DHS and the Department of Justice, and includes officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center and other government agencies. Several of Trump's top national security advisers have cast the fight against Islamic militants as an existential conflict between civilizations, according to a review of their writings and public remarks. Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, Trump's pick for White House national security adviser, said in a post on Twitter earlier this year, "Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL." Some counterterrorism experts say that such rhetoric can be used by militant groups to recruit, and will alienate Muslim communities whose help is needed to prevent violence. A U.S. official said their guess was that the Trump team will likely rebrand Obama's generic fight against violent extremism into a specific battle against Islamic radicalization State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that the department would be cautious about providing names of employees associated with specific issues, but left open the possibility of providing names on an organizational basis. It was unclear whether the State Department shared the names of the officials in the office on countering violent extremism or whether Homeland Security officials provided names. "Without getting into the specifics of information either requested by the transition team or provided by the Department, I can tell you that ... I know of no requests that have been denied," a senior State Department official said. (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and)
BEIRUT (AP)  An explosion rocked eastern Aleppo on Saturday as some residents were returning to their homes after the government assumed full control of the city earlier this week, state TV reported while fresh airstrikes on a rebel-held town near Aleppo killed at least five people.

The airstrikes on areas near the northern city of Aleppo show the government has resumed military activities after days of calm that coincided with the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians and rebels from east Aleppo.

On Thursday, President Bashar Assad's forces took control of eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo for the first time since July 2012, marking the government's biggest victory since the crisis began more than five years ago.

Government forces will likely now try to secure the outskirts of the city as rebels are based in the western and southwestern suburbs of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once commercial center.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike on the town of Atareb, west of Aleppo, killed five people including a man, his daughter and daughter-in-law.

The Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, said the airstrikes killed seven people including a woman and two children.

The Saturday noon airstrike on Atareb came after airstrikes on nearby villages the night before killed three rebels, according to the Observatory.

Earlier Saturday, state TV said the explosion in east Aleppo was caused by a device left inside a school by Syrian rebels, who withdrew from their last remaining enclave under a cease-fire deal after more than four years of fighting. It said three people were wounded in the blast.

A correspondent for Lebanon's Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV was reporting live from the area when the blast sounded in the background, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air. The correspondent later said that at least three people were killed.

In the capital Damascus, state news agency SANA said militants blew up the Barada water pipeline in the suburb of Kafr al-Zayt.

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SANA quoted the director of Damascus and Damascus Countryside Water Establishment Hussam Hreidin as saying that the pipeline went out of service due to the attack. He added that the pipeline had been fixed and its service restored on Friday less than a month after a similar attack.

Pro-government media said the government was forced to cut water supplies coming to the Syrian capital for a few days and use reserves instead after rebels polluted the water with diesel. The al-Fija spring which supplies Damascus with water is in the rebel-held Barada valley northwest of the capital in a mountainous area near the Lebanese border.

The cut in water supplies comes at a time when government forces and their allies are on the offensive in the Barada Valley area.
NEW YORK (AP)  Members of a New York City family say police raided their apartment by mistake and posted a photo on social media with the caption "Merry Christmas Its NYPD."

WABC-TV reports (http://7ny.tv/2hA5QWj ) that the police warrant squad showed up at a Brooklyn apartment Thursday morning and put handcuffs on everyone there.

Apartment resident Kimberly Santiago says the officers were looking for someone who doesn't live there and whom she doesn't know. She says the officers left after three hours.

But she says the officers posted two photos of the botched raid on Snapchat. The second photo was captioned "warrant sweeps."

A police spokeswoman says the department's internal affairs bureau is investigating the incident.

___

Information from: WABC-TV, http://www.7online.com
The following is a rundown of family activities for the week of Dec. 23-29.

Saturday



Bilingual English-Spanish story time -- 10-11 a.m., Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P St.

Christmas Eve closings -- Hyde Memorial Observatory, Lincoln Public Libraries, Lincoln Children's Museum closed. Homestead National Monument of America closes at 2 p.m.; Pioneers Park Nature Center closed at 3 p.m.

Sunday

Christmas closings -- Nebraska State Capitol, Homestead National Monument of America (trails open), Pioneers Park Nature Center, Lincoln Public Libraries, StarTran (no bus service), University of Nebraska State Museum, Morrill Hall and Mueller Planetarium and Nebraska History Museum.

Monday



Holiday closings -- Nebraska History Museum, Lincoln Public Libraries, Lincoln Children's Museum, StarTran (no bus service). Nebraska State Capitol is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with guided tours on the hour.

Tuesday

Library storytimes -- no storytimes during December.

Story hour at the Museum -- "Prairie Christmas," 10-11 a.m., Nebraska History Museum, 131 Centennial Mall North. Free.

Morning children's story time -- 10-11 a.m., Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P St.

Wednesday

Library storytimes -- no storytimes during December.

Library dance party -- 10:30-11 a.m., Walt Branch. Open to parents and children of all ages.

Library movie day -- 1:30-3 p.m., Eiseley Branch. Find out what your furry friends are up to while you aren't home. Popcorn served. For entire family. Free.

Thursday

Library storytimes -- no storytimes during December.

Christmas Bird Count 4 Kids -- 10 a.m.-noon, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, 11700 SW 100th St., Denton. For kids and their families. Help count birds and enjoy hot chocolate picnic at end. Free, donations welcome.

New Year's Eve family event -- 1:30-3 p.m., Eiseley Branch Library. Crafts and New Year's countdown. For all ages. Free.

Railyard Holiday Movie series -- "It's a Wonderful Life," 6 p.m., The Railyard, Canopy St. Free.

Shows and exhibits



Planetarium astronomy shows -- "A Starry Tale," 11 a.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. "Super Volcanoes," noon Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Shows through Feb. 26. Children must be age 4 or older. University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History, Mueller Planetarium, Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine streets. 402-472-2641.

Hyde Observatory shows -- 7-10 p.m. Saturdays, Hyde Observatory, Holmes Lake. Free. Reservations available for Monday-Thursday nights. 402-441-7094.

Coming up

New Year's Party -- 1:30-4 p.m. Dec. 30, South Branch Library. Crafts, treats, special movie begins at 2 p.m., count down and bubble wrap stomp.

Children's storytime -- "Hap-Pea All Year," 11 a.m. Dec. 31, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5150 O St. and SouthPointe Pavilions locations. Free.

Hour at the Museum story hour -- 10-11 a.m. Jan. 3, Nebraska History Museum, 131 Centennial Mall North. "A Boy Called Slow: The True Story of Sitting Bull." Free.

Register

Holiday Trolley Tour of Lights -- 6 p.m. Dec. 30, Lied Lodge lobby, Nebraska City. One hour tour of historic Nebraska City and Christmas lights and listen to reading of "The Polar Express." Reservations at 402-873-8733.

Winter Break Elementary Camp -- 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 26-30, Lincoln Children's Museum. Dec. 26: All Hands on Deck (ocean-themed); Dec. 27: Topsy Turvy (summer fun); Dec. 28: The Warm Cookie (visit from local bakery); Dec. 29: Leadership Academy (earn leadership badge); Dec. 30: Celebrate! (welcome the New Year). For ages 6-10. One to three days is $45/member, $60/non-member; four or more days is $170/member, $195/non-members. lincolnchildrensmuseum.org.

Light the Night -- 6-8 p.m. Dec. 30, Omaha Children's Museum, 500 S. 20th St., Omaha. Glow-in-the-dark cotton candy, glowing crafts, special science show and night ends with fireworks. $25/non-members, $15/members. ocm.org.

Make Believe Midnight -- 6-8:30 p.m. Dec. 31, Lincoln Children's Museum. Fun includes bubble wrap stomping, favors, dancing and singing performances, balloon drop and more. For the whole family, appropriate for ages to 9 years. $10/members, $13/non-members. Tickets online at LincolnChildrensMuseum.org or at museum's front desk.
Berlin (AFP) - Berlin's Christmas market truck rampage was the deadly jihadist attack Germany had long feared, as security services have warned of the growth of a shadowy Islamist scene.

Rarely a week has gone by in past years without the arrest of a radical preacher, an extremist backing the Islamic State or other extremist groups with money, arms or propaganda, or of a fighter returning from Syria or Iraq.

Germany's domestic security chief, Hans-Georg Maassen, has likened the rise in IS followers to a dangerous "youth subculture".

He said that while it has drawn some home-grown converts and many female recruits, the main target group has shared the "four Ms" profile -- male, Muslim, with a migrant background and a history of personal misadventure.

It is a profile that fits 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, the Berlin attack suspect shot dead Friday by an Italian police officer in Milan.

An illegal migrant, drug dealer and ex-convict, he is seen in a video message pledging allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before he mowed a stolen truck through a Christmas market in an attack that left 12 dead.

It was the deadliest IS assault on German soil, but the country has already produced its share of extremist killers.

Perhaps Germany's most notorious IS fighter is Denis Cuspert, a German-Ghanaian former Berlin rapper known as Deso Dogg, who has appeared in an IS video with a man's severed head.

- Hate preachers -

In Germany, a leading alleged IS recruiter is Iraqi Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A., also known as Abu Walaa or "the faceless preacher" for propaganda videos that showed him from behind.

Police in November arrested him and four others in Hildesheim -- a northern town with a reputation as an Islamist bastion, along with the capital and the industrial region of North Rhine-Westphalia.

After Monday's Berlin attack, it emerged that Amri had also been in contact with the "hate preacher", one of the leading voices of a movement that has grown sharply in recent years.

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The domestic security service estimates that the number of radical Islamists in Germany rose above 9,000 this year, from some 3,800 in 2011.

About 550 are considered capable of a violent attack -- a list that included Amri.

This year, Germany has been shocked by a spate of attacks committed by young followers -- including some who were among the more than one million migrants and refugees who have arrived in the past two years.

In February, 15-year-old German-Moroccan girl Safia S., previously known for singing religious songs on YouTube, stabbed a police officer in the neck with a kitchen knife, wounding him badly.

In April, three 16-year-olds set off a bomb in Essen that left three people injured at a Sikh community wedding.

In July, a 17-year-old Afghan refugee wounded five people in an axe rampage on a train before police shot him dead.

Days later a 27-year-old rejected Syrian asylum seeker blew himself up outside a music festival, wounding 15 people. Both July attacks were claimed by IS.

The youngest plotter known so far is a 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy who tried to set off a home-made nailbomb in Ludwigshafen this month.

- 'Powerless' parents -

Peter Neumann, head of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College, London, said that for some very marginalised and troubled youths, IS represents "a kind of protest ideology, a counterculture".

Many small-time criminals are drawn to -- and share their skills with -- the IS "super gang", he told Berlin public radio, in the belief that it promises "might, weapons, adrenaline, adventure... and on top of that, salvation."

The parent of one of the youths in the Sikh temple attack, Turkish-born Neriman Yama, wrote about her son's radicalisation in the book "My Son, the Salafist", referring to a fundamentalist branch of Islam.

In it she describes how she watched her son Yusuf start watching Arabic preachers online at age 14, speak in verses, marry a teenage girl wearing a burqa, and eventually turn to violent jihadism.

She said that she sought help from mosques, police and security services, even getting Yusuf enrolled in an official deradicalisation programme, but could not prevent the attack.

"As parents, we were powerless," Yama told journalists. "The other side was stronger than us."
Samsung may be the first to release a foldable phone next year, according to some reports, but it wont be the only top company looking to launch such devices. A new report says that foldable smartphones are in the works from several tech giants, Apple included, and they may become more and more popular by 2019. But could Apple release its first foldable iPhone as soon as 2018?

Don't Miss: Scientists just discovered a huge cluster of galaxies hidden in Earths backyard

To make a foldable phone, you need a flexible display, and a flexible type of glass. OLED is flexible, whereas LCD isnt, and Apple is already expected to launch its first OLED iPhone with a curved display next year.

According to The Korea Herald, theres just one company in the world that can mass produce colorless polyimide, the glass that would protect the foldable OLED screen, and thats Kolon Industries.

Around three to five tech companies are expected to mass produce foldable phones in 2018 globally. The devices will then grab around 20 percent of the total smartphone market here, Kolon Industries colorless polyimide division head Kang Chung-seok told The Herald.

The company is apparently supplying materials to Samsung, LG, and BOE. Apple may also be one of the companies looking at such components.

The Kolon exec said the first foldable devices could have a bend radius of 5 millimeters rather than the 1-millimeter radius that would allow a wallet-like smartphone fold, where the glass on the face of the handset would actually touch itself.

The bend radius of 1 millimeter is the most ideal, but that may cause a safety issue. So, tech companies are likely to unveil the bend radius of 5 millimeters first and then gradually unveil devices with less bend radius, Kang added.

Kolon finished the development of its flexible colorless polyimide glass in August and expects to mass produce films for around 100 million units of foldable devices in 2018.

Apple has traditionally been very cautious about adopting certain technologies, choosing to only bring some of them to market in the iPhone when they have met its performance and quality standards. Itll be interesting to see how fast the company will release a foldable iPhone  or iPad, for that matter  especially considering that the iPhone will receive its first major redesign in four iPhone generations next year.

Story continues

That said, Apple already has various patents describing foldable devices, including the kind fold just like a wallet.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Abubacarr Jah is an unlikely militant. A well-spoken Gambian surgeon with no history of political activism, he nonetheless refused to stay silent when his longtime president rejected election defeat.

"It had become something necessary for us to say," Jah said of the moment the medical association of which he is vice-president called on President Yahya Jammeh to step down.

For years, The Gambia's professional groups -- including Jah's The Gambia Medical and Dental Association (GMDA) -- have avoided overtly political statements, in the hope of avoiding the wrath of Jammeh's regime.

But the spectacle of Jammeh refusing to make way for opposition candidate Adama Barrow has propelled white-collar professionals including medical workers, lawyers and accountants into the political arena -- often for the first time.

After years of hardline rule following a coup in 1994, Jammeh reversed his televised acceptance of defeat and his Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party turned to the Supreme Court to have the result annulled.

For Jah, the breaking point was a growing sense that Jammeh's actions increased the risk of widespread violence -- despite having kept quite for a decade during which the regime was accused of using torture.

It was unethical for doctors to stay silent, he said.

"We know that the health system in The Gambia is not really equipped in a normal situation... so if there is unrest that would be a big disaster," the urologist said.

Until the GMDA's recent statement, Jah said that the most vocal letter he had ever written was to his hospital's management.

- 'Obstruct the smooth transfer' -

Muhammad Jagana is a chartered accountant and president of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and, like many of his fellow professionals, had not previously taken a stand against Jammeh.

But as the main representative body for business owners in the country, the Chamber has watched the economy decline in recent years due to chronic mismanagement, he said.

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"As a business community we can only prosper when there is stability and peace," said Jagana. "(The) Gambian people have decided to vote for a change and a new president."

Recently, government debt has soared and, according to one Banjul-based diplomat, The Gambia has just three months of foreign currency reserves left.

"The government's policies in terms of national debt... have been a challenge, particularly making it difficult for small and medium sized businesses to raise capital," Jagana added.

The Chamber of Commerce was backed by a coalition of hotel associations, which rely on The Gambia's image overseas as a safe and stable destination to keep visitors coming. Tourism accounts for 20 percent of gross domestic product.

Against the backdrop of a growing outcry, Barrow last Sunday addressed the very professionals he will need to help his "new Gambia" prosper.

He claimed that civil society associations had called on Jammeh not to "obstruct the smooth transfer" of power," adding that there was a "long list" of groups supporting him.

- 'Times of uncertainty' -

The country's legal profession has been among the groups most critical of Jammeh, calling his attempt to overturn the December 1 election result at the Supreme Court "tantamount to treason".

"It felt like it was the right thing to do," said Aziz Bensouda, Secretary General of the Gambia Bar Association (GBA).

Amid international and domestic uproar, the court is due to convene on January 10.

The influential Bar Association said Jammeh's challenge was like "one being a judge in his own cause".

Bensouda said that the association had failed to criticise Jammeh's regime in the past on issues including human rights and the erosion of the courts.

But he believes that Jammeh's actions this year, including the round-up of dozens of opposition activists as well as members of his own party, have shown Gambians that "no one is an innocent bystander anymore".

"There has been an entrenched belief in The Gambia that Jammeh was invincible. So when he lost at the polls there was a dynamic shift in the country's perception," he said.

"Nothing can make the country crawl back to times of uncertainty and complete disregard of the law."
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Taliban insurgents attacked a checkpoint in western Afghanistan early Saturday, killing at least three police and wounding four others, officials said.

Toryalai Abdyani, the police chief of Farah province, said the attackers killed the three police and escaped with weapons and ammunition taken from the checkpoint. Another police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said 11 police were killed.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi claimed the attack.

In the capital, meanwhile, two gunmen on a motorbike opened fire at the home of a former Taliban leader late Friday, killing a security guard, said Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of the Kabul police's criminal investigation department.

The former Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was not home at the time, Obaidi said.

Zaeef served as the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan when the group ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s but has since reconciled with the current U.S.-backed government and has been involved in efforts to revive peace talks with the insurgents.

No one has claimed the attack, which came two days after Taliban fighters attacked the Kabul home of a parliamentarian from the restive southern Helmand province, killing eight people. The lawmaker survived the assault.
Washington (AFP) - Petroleum service giant Halliburton said it has reached a $54 million settlement in a class action lawsuit related to asbestos liability disclosures.

The Houston-based company said in a statement that without admitting guilt, it reached an agreement to settle the Erica P. John Fund class action lawsuit that has been pending in Texas courts for over 14 years.

The class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2002 asserting claims in connection with accounting for long-term construction projects, and was amended in 2003 to include claims related to asbestos liability disclosures.

The case was brought by a group of investors who claimed they lost money when Halliburton's shares plunged, accusing the company of erroneous earnings reports.

"Halliburton will fund approximately $54 million of the $100 million settlement fund, and its insurer will fund the balance," the company said in a statement late Friday.

One of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, Halliburton was led from 1995 to 2000 by Dick Cheney, who became US vice president in 2001 in the George W. Bush administration.
The adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces around 30 times, from late Friday night to early Saturday morning.

December 24, 2016, 09:40 Azerbaijan used sniper rifles at night

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 24, ARTSAKHPRESS: During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired about 350 shots toward the Armenian military positions, and by way of different-caliber shooting weapons, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Army informed.

More intense ceasefire violations were recorded with 94 shots that were fired from sniper rifles.

But the NKR Defense Army vanguard units refrained from taking actions in response, and continued confidently defending the military positions under their protection.
A 47-year-old man has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in federal prison for conspiring to sell meth in Lincoln between 2013 and July 2015.

Mykael Pierce, also known as Michael Thomas Pope, of Lincoln, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

U.S. District Judge John Gerrard sentenced him Wednesday to the prison time, plus five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg said Lincoln police contacted Pierce four times between January and July 2015 after getting information he was selling meth, and each time found him in possession of small amounts of the drug.

Seven people were prepared to testify Pierce was buying and selling meth in the Lincoln area, according to court records.

This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force.
(Adds further details on settlement, quote from plaintiffs' lawyer, background on case)

By Nate Raymond

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Halliburton Co on Friday said it had reached a $100 million settlement to resolve a long-running securities fraud class action lawsuit against the oilfield services provider that twice reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

The deal resolves a lawsuit in federal court in Dallas accusing Halliburton of misrepresenting its potential liability in asbestos litigation, its expected revenue from certain construction contracts and the benefits of a merger in 1998.

Halliburton said the company itself would pay $54 million of the $100 million settlement, while its insurer would fund the rest. The deal, which would be subject to court approval, has no admission of liability, Halliburton said.

David Boies, a lawyer for the lead plaintiff Erica P. John Fund Inc, in a statement welcomed the deal, which he said was a "significant monetary recovery for the class members in this hard fought, securities fraud class action."

The litigation has been pending for the Houston-based company since 2002, and came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe of Halliburton's accounting for revenue on long-term construction projects.

Halliburton, whose chief executive during the period in question was former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, settled that SEC case in 2004 for $7.5 million, but the class action litigation lived on for years to follow.

The class action lawsuit accused Halliburton of misleading investors by understating asbestos liabilities, overstating construction and engineering revenue and inflating the benefits of a merger with Dresser Industries.

The case twice reached the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently resulting in a ruling in 2014 that made it harder for investors to band together to pursue securities fraud lawsuits against publicly traded companies.

In July 2015, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn certified the class of investors, but allowed them to pursue claims related to just one of six dates they said Halliburton made disclosures that corrected misleading statements.

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Halliburton subsequently appealed that ruling, and had been awaiting a decision prior to announcing Friday's agreement in principle to settle the case.

The case is Erica P John Fund Inc et al v. Halliburton Company et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, No. 02-cv-01152.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Andrew Hay)
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Hamas on Saturday welcomed a landmark UN Security Council vote demanding a halt to Israeli settlements in occupied territory, with the Palestinian Islamist movement saying it marked an "important evolution."

The UN Security Council on Friday demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing the resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally.

Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, remains deeply divided from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, which dominates the occupied West Bank.

"Hamas appreciates the position of the countries that voted in the Security Council for the right of the Palestinian people (to live) on their land," said Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum.

"We salute this important evolution in international positions," he said, while calling for more such actions to bring about "the end of the occupation."

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but has occupied the West Bank for nearly 50 years.

There have been growing warnings that settlement building in the West Bank is fast eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While the Palestine Liberation Organisation has recognised Israel's right to exist, Hamas, which is not part of the PLO, calls for its destruction.

It is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, the European Union and the United States.

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars with Israel since 2008, while the enclave has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade. Its border with Egypt has also remained largely closed.

UN officials have called for the blockade to be lifted, saying conditions are deteriorating in the impoverished territory of two million people.

Israel says it is needed to keep Hamas from importing weapons or materials used to make them.

Islamic Jihad, the second-largest force in Gaza, also welcomed the UN vote, with spokesman Daoud Shehab saying it would lead to Israel's "isolation" and "boycott" while opening it up to prosecution under international law.
(MILAN)  Investigators on Saturday sought to hunt down where the Berlin Christmas market attacker got possible logistical support to cross at least two European borders and evade capture for days before being killed in a police shootout during a routine stop in a Milan suburb.

Tunisian fugitive Anis Amris fingerprints and wallet were found in a truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Despite an intense, Europe-wide manhunt, Amri fled across Germany, into France and then into Italy, traveling at least part of the way by train, before being shot early Friday on foot outside a deserted train station.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Berlin attack, but so far little is known about any possible logistical network backing the 24-year-old fugitive.

Italian investigators were working to see if the Tunisian had any connections in the Milan area. Italy was his port of entry into Europe in 2011 and he spent more than three years in Italian jails on Sicily. But an anti-terrorism official said there was no evidence that he had ever been in or around Milan before Fridays shootout.

In Tunisia, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest Friday of Amris nephew and two others suspected of belonging to the same extremist network.

The ministry said in a statement that Amri, through an alias, had sent his 18-year-old nephew Fedi some money through the post office to join him in Europe and join the Abou Walaa network. Amir claimed to be the networks emir.

It is unclear whether those suspects were in any position to help Amri flee Berlin.

The ministry said during questioning, the nephew said he was in contact with Amri via Telegrams encrypted communications to avoid detection. He told police that Amri had recruited him to jihad and asked him to pledge allegiance to IS. The nephew recorded such a pledge and sent it to Amri via Telegram.

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The Tunisian prosecutors office ordered all three held in pre-trial detention pending further investigation.

In Spain, police were investigating whether Amri was in contact with another possible extremist in Spain, on a tip from German authorities.

We are studying all possible connections (between Amri) and our country, above all with one specific person, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Spanish radio.

Italy has found itself at the center of the Berlin attack investigation after the dramatic shootout that ended the manhunt. The deserted train station and the late hour prompted Italian officers to check the North African mans identity, officials said. Instead of pulling out an identity card, Amri produced a loaded .22 caliber gun, shooting a senior officer in the shoulder before a rookie officer killed him with a single shot to the chest.

Amri had arrived in the southern island of Lampedusa illegally in 2011, claiming to be a minor, and quickly landed in jail after setting fire to a migrant center. After he was freed, efforts to deport him failed for bureaucratic reasons.

He reached Germany, where authorities were concerned enough about him to put him under covert surveillance for six months earlier this year, ending the operation in September. His request for asylum was refused by Germany in the summer, but the paperwork from Tunisia that was needed to deport him was delayed for months. Tunisian officials say thats because Amri used at least six different names and three different nationalities in travels around Europe, and they had to check each one.

Investigators are looking into why Amri returned to Italy as he sought to elude police and whether he had any jihadi contacts in the country.

Authorities were also investigating the apparent coincidence that the truck from a Polish shipping company used in the Berlin attack had been loaded with machinery in the neighboring Milan suburb of Cinisello Balsamo three days before the attack.

Milan Police Chief Antonio de Iesu acknowledged the connection was suggestive.

But he told reporters there was no evidence yet of a link, emphasizing that the Polish truck driver who was the terrorists first victim had spoken to his wife by phone from Berlin hours before the Monday night attack and did not appear to be under duress.

On Saturday, Italy welcomed home one of the 12 victims, 31-year-old Fabrizia Di Lorenzo. She had lived and worked in Berlin and was out shopping for Christmas presents to bring to relatives in central Italy when the truck careened into the market.

A casket containing her body arrived at Romes Ciampino airport, met by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Her parents and brother received hugs and condolences before the casket was placed in a vehicle for the ride home.
Brussels (AFP) - A high-level commission that oversees Iran's nuclear deal with world powers will meet in Vienna on January 10 to address a complaint by Tehran about the renewing of sanctions by the United States.

The meeting was called on Saturday by the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who coordinates follow-up of the nuclear deal for its signatories -- Iran, the US, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

"The meeting will review the implementation of the agreement and discuss the issues raised in the letter (Iranian) Foreign Minister Zarif addressed on 16 December to (Mogherini)," a short statement from the EU said.

The officials will meet 10 days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, who has promised to tear up the nuclear deal once in the White House.

Zarif formally requested the meeting after Washington on December 2 extended the Iran Sanctions Act -- which mostly seeks to limit Iran's oil and gas trade -- for another decade.

Although it received overwhelming support from the US Congress, President Barack Obama argues the act is largely symbolic since its measures are suspended as long as the nuclear deal remains in place.

Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, disagree, calling it a "clear violation".

Another concern for Iran is a wider frustration that the nuclear deal has not produced many of the expected benefits due to the reluctance of international banks to do business in the country.

Zariff could use the meeting to complain that although hundreds of European companies are desperate to resume trading with Iran, major lenders are still refusing to facilitate big transactions.

This is because Washington still has a number of non-nuclear sanctions in place that prevent anyone doing business with a long list of Iranians it says are linked to terrorism, human rights abuses and its ballistic missile programme.

Despite the nuclear deal, a wrong move could result in gigantic penalties like the $9 billion fine slapped on French bank BNP Paribas in 2014.
Baghdad (AFP) - The patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church has appealed for international protection to help Iraqi Christians displaced by war return to their homes.

Tens of thousands of Christians fled northern Iraqi towns in 2014 as the Islamic State group seized second city Mosul and swathes of the surrounding Nineveh province.

Iraqi forces launched a massive offensive on October 17 to oust the jihadists from their last Iraqi stronghold.

"There was great joy among Christians at the start of the liberation of Nineveh," Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako told AFP on Saturday.

"But as the battle continues, they are waiting with fear as well as hope," he said.

Iraqi fighters backed by an international coalition have retaken parts of Mosul but are facing fierce resistance from jihadists defending their last Iraqi stronghold.

While the group has been ousted from several Christian-majority towns, others such as Tal Kayf, 15 kilometres (nine miles) north of Mosul, are still in jihadist hands.

"In the liberated villages, the damage is immense. I have visited these villages, they are 30 to 40 percent destroyed," Sako said. "The churches have been damaged, the streets and the infrastructure too."

But he warned that IS must be ousted from Mosul itself before Christians can safely return.

"If Mosul is not liberated, Daesh will be able to infiltrate villages and sow panic," he said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

He urged Christians not to join militias such as the Babylon Brigade, a Christian unit within the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) a loose grouping of mainly Shiite paramilitary groups including several backed by Iran.

"If Christians want to protect their towns, they should join the army or the (Kurdish) peshmerga," Sako said. "The militias, it's anarchy."

- Christian exodus -

Iraq had well over a million Christians before the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, but the population has dwindled to just 350,000 as sectarian violence wracked the country.

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The majority of those who remain are Chaldeans, an eastern Christian community affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church with roots in northern Iraq.

The jihadist occupation of Nineveh and much of western Iraq in 2014 accelerated the exodus.

IS presented Christians with a grim choice: conversion, a heavy tax, exile or death. Around 120,000 fled. Sako said they needed protection if they were to return to areas formerly occupied by the jihadists.

"We have demanded guarantees from the international community," he said. "There should be some kind of UN or European Union office to monitor things, rather than throwing people unprotected into their villages where they risk being threatened by their neighbours."

He suggested that European countries each take charge of reconstructing a village or town.

"That would encourage inhabitants who have sought refuge in Europe to go home," he said.

He called for a national dialogue to reconcile Iraq's mosaic of sects and ethnicities, saying Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Shiite-dominated government and Muslim religious authorities had changed their discourse.

"(Muslim) religious authorities have said that it is good to celebrate Christmas with the Christians," he said.
Bartalla (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi Christians filled the pews of the fire-scarred Mar Shimoni church in a town east of Mosul on Christmas Eve for the first service since its recapture from jihadists.

The Islamic State group destroyed crosses at the church in the town of Bartalla and set it alight, but volunteers worked for days to ready it for the service, the first held here in two and a half years.

The damage done by IS is still visible: pieces of crosses can be found in and around the church, parts of it are still charred from the flames, and the face of a statue near its entrance has been smashed, the hands broken off.

But a new cross has been erected on top of the church, and the Christmas Eve service held here is a step on what will be a long road to recovery for the town.

For some of the displaced Christians of Bartalla, it was a deeply emotional experience.

"I can never describe... our happiness and everything. We feel like life returned," said Nada Yaqub.

"We felt that our cross is still around our necks. No one could take it from us."

Matti Hanna called the jihadists who displaced the town's people "criminals".

"My feelings are the feelings of all the people of Bartalla, the same feelings: we missed this day... we missed it a lot," said Hanna.

IS seized Bartalla and swathes of other territory north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014, leaving Christians with the grim choices of conversion, paying a tax, fleeing or death.

The town was recaptured as part of the massive military operation to retake Mosul, the last IS-held Iraqi city, which was launched on October 17.

- 'We are staying' -

Worshippers travelled in buses from Iraqi Kurdish regional capital Arbil to Bartalla for the service.

It was held with security forces deployed around the church, in a town marred by smashed buildings and IS graffiti.

But there were some festive aspects as well: a Christmas tree decorated in ornaments, coloured lights and topped by a star stood at the entrance to the church compound, and the bell at Mar Shimoni was rung at the beginning and end of the service.

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Worshippers held candles during the service, which was conducted in Aramaic and Arabic, the air smelling of incense, gas heaters only slightly warming the chilly air.

"We want to deliver the message that we are staying in this country and that these are our roots and our origins," Father Yaqub Saadi, the church's priest, told AFP.

Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a senior commander in the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, attended the service, as did Nawfal Hammadi, the governor of Nineveh province, where Bartalla is located.

A group of American soldiers also came, but faced some difficulties when one of their heavy armoured vehicles became stuck in a muddy section of a street near the church.

The soldiers entered the church without their usual weapons or body armour, with most of them sitting in a group in the back.

While Bartalla and other Christian areas around Mosul have been recaptured from IS, the large-scale return of residents is still a long way off, with bombs planted by the jihadists still a threat and basic services needing to be restored.

Yaqub said that even though her house in Bartalla was destroyed, she still hopes to come back.

"God willing, I will return," she said.
The Nebraska Supreme Court this week approved a rule change to allow for news cameras and tweeting in Nebraska trial courts.

The new rule goes into effect March 1 and says expanded media coverage shall be permitted in county and district courtrooms in Nebraska, with limited exceptions such as juvenile court, grand juries and jury selection.

Expanded media coverage includes broadcasting, recording, photographing and live tweeting of judicial proceedings by the news media.

It replaces a 1992 rule that prohibited broadcasting, televising, recording or photographing in courtrooms and the immediate area unless approved.

While the Supreme Court livestreams video of oral arguments, the courtroom in the Capitol was one of few in the state to allow cameras, either still or video.

But that has been changing more recently. At this point, judges in seven of 12 judicial districts -- including all Lancaster County Court judges and District Judge Robert Otte -- have given the OK for expanded media coverage in their courtrooms.

Judges and attorneys have been working on the issue since May 2015.

Other states, including neighboring Iowa, have had cameras in courtrooms for years.
The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, published a list of U.S. churches and called on its supporters to target them during the holiday season, according to a report Thursday in Vocativ. This comes as European authorities have launched a manhunt for a Tunisian man who is suspected of driving a truck into a Christmas market Monday in Berlin killing 12 people  an attack claimed by ISIS.

The list of the churches across all the American states was published on ISIS channels on the Telegram messaging app by a user named Abu Marya al-Iraqi, according to the Vocativ report. ISIS reaches out to its supporters through Telegram, where the group also provides instructions on making and igniting explosives.

The Telegram post was in Arabic and called on for bloody celebrations in the Christian New Year, along with plans to use the militant groups network of lone-wolf attackers to turn the Christian New Year into a bloody horror movie, Vocativ reported.

Another post reportedly instigated ISIS supporters to attack churches, popular hotels, crowded coffee shops, streets, markets and public places, and published a list of addresses for these places in the U.S., Canada, France and the Netherlands.

The SITE Intelligence Group has also cited similar ISIS posts lately. American authorities have stepped up security across the country during the holiday season on the heels of the Berlin attack.

Security officials in New York and Chicago said police presence has been beefed up for holiday events even though they did not get intelligence on such attacks. In Boston, police force has been deployed and barriers were put around the Boston Holiday Market.

Following the truck attack in Berlin, ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency called the suspect  identified as Anis Amri  a soldier of the Islamic State. A Europe-wide manhunt is underway for Amri, who German authorities warned could be violent and armed.

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JERUSALEM, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before - a decision that Netanyahu called "shameful".

"I instructed the Foreign Ministry to complete within a month a re-evaluation of all our contacts with the United Nations, including the Israeli funding of U.N. institutions and the presence of U.N. representatives in Israel," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks.

"I have already instructed to stop about 30 million shekels ($7.8 million) in funding to five U.N. institutions, five bodies, that are especially hostile to Israel ... and there is more to come," he said.

The Israeli leader did not name the institutions or offer any further details.

Defying heavy pressure from long-time ally Israel and President-elect Donald Trump for Washington to use its veto, the United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favor.

Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees, citing a biblical connection to the land.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Joey Boots, a radio personality and member of The Howard Stern Show, was found dead in his New York City apartment Friday night. He was 49.

Boots, whose legal name is Joseph Bassolino, was pronounced dead when EMTs arrived at his Bronx apartment at 9:45 p.m., the NYPD confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. No cause was given.

Boots, who coined the radio show's popular "Baba Booey" catchphrase, was found dead by a fellow member of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack," according to audio obtained by TMZ. In the audio, "High Pitch" Erik Bleaman can be heard discovering Boots' body at his home after Boots didn't show up for a scheduled podcast.

Stern took to Twitter on Saturday to say, "Tribute to the one and only Joey B in the new year. He will be missed. #BabaooeyHowardSternpenis."

Tribute to the one and only Joey B in the new year. He will be missed. #BabaooeyHowardSternpenis

- Howard Stern (@HowardStern) December 24, 2016

Shortly after, Bleaman shared Stern's tweet, along with one posted by Howard Stern Show star Ronnie Mund.

Rest In Peace!! @JoeyBoots

- ronnie mund (@rmlimodriver69) December 24, 2016

Read more: Emmys: Jimmy Kimmel Closes Show With "Hit 'Em With the Hein" Howard Stern Inside Joke
Premium engineering, procurement and construction company, KBR, Inc. KBR, is on a roll, securing a bunch of contracts across the globe.

In particular, the company won multiple contracts for infrastructure projects in Australia, a contract from a state-owned power generation company in Indonesia and another from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at HMAS Cerberus. These contract wins came close on the heels of the two global agreements from BP International Limited, secured earlier this week.

KBRs diverse mix of business portfolio and lucrative contract wins in multiple segments aid it in combating cyclicality associated with any single market. Over the past six months, the companys shares have returned around 31.3%, better than the Zacks categorized Engineering/R&D Services industry's 24.0%.

The Contract in Details

The infrastructure projects in Australia include aiding the expansion of the AU$600-million Mernda Rail Project and the Doric Contractors award to upgrade water infrastructure at the HMAS Stirling Navy base. The other infrastructure project includes providing marine and maritime structural engineering services to the Laing O'Rourke Managing Contractor team. The revenues associated with these contracts will be booked into the backlog of unfilled orders of the third quarter, for the companys Engineering & Construction (E&C) business segment.

KBR has a long standing partnership with John Holland, aiding the latter to boost the safety and efficiency of the Melbournes rail network. The scope of the Mernda Rail Project work includes construction of three new stations, three rail bridges, two road underpasses and additional parking facilities. KBRs scope of work for the Doric Contractors award, includes providing design, constructing and commissioning support services, for base-wide enhancements as part of the Australian Department of Defense Stage 3A redevelopment project for the site.

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The scope of the Laing O'Rourke Managing Contractor project includes providing design, documentation, construction and commissioning support work. On the other hand, KBRs contract from PT PLN  an Indonesian state-owned power generation company  requires it to provide engineering and design services, in order to expand/fortify gas supply infrastructure across Indonesia.

The company will be responsible for conducting a feasibility study on the project and then performing FEED work, roughly over nine months. The work will be executed through an integrated team led by KBR's London office, with support from the companys Jakarta office and its Granherne subsidiary. Revenue from this project has been kept under wraps; however, the same will be booked into the backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's E&C segment during fourth-quarter 2016.

Finally, Scientific Management Associates (Operations) Pty Ltd is providing technical training support services to the RAN, while KBR has been hired to execute this project. Per this project, KBR will help in designing and delivering live, virtual and constructive training environments, and training management systems, over a span of five years. Revenue from this project will be booked into the backlog of unfilled orders for the companys Government Services business segment, per the task orders awarded.

To Conclude

KBRs diverse portfolio and backlog level highlight the companys underlying strength. Presently, the company is banking on the strength of its Government Services and Technology & Consulting businesses to optimize its growth potential. Of late, the companys Engineering and Construction segment has been bearing the brunt of lower customer spending. However, the recent contract wins are likely to provide some respite. In addition, investments undertaken in refining petrochemical and infrastructure projects around the world, signal bright days for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company.

Despite the solid long-term prospects, prolonged softness in the energy related markets is anticipated to hurt the companys financials in the near term. Volatile oil and gas markets, with oversupply putting pressure on the prices and spending levels, have marred KBRs projects and orders.

Based on these concerns, the companys earnings estimates have moved south in the past couple of months. Analysts have become increasingly bearish on the stock, as they have revised the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2016 earnings downward in the past 60 days, from $1.33 to $1.17.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks in the industry include Willdan Group, Inc. WLDN, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT and Middleby Corp. MIDD. While Willdan Group sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Applied Industrial and Willdan Group stocks currently hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Willdan Group, Inc. has an average positive earnings surprise of 18.72% for the last four quarters.

Applied Industrial Technologies managed to beat estimates thrice over the trailing four quarters and has a positive earnings surprise of 4.9%.

Middleby Corporation beat earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, resulting in an average surprise of 15.9%.

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Leave it to Chrissy Teigen to gift her friends with fried chicken.

The Cravings author and her husband, John Legend, sent the Kardashian sisters a very unique gift: a caked made of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. (The model is a longtime friend of the reality stars -- Kim Kardashian even threw Chrissy a baby shower earlier this year.)

EXCLUSIVE: Chrissy Teigen Opens Up About Kim Kardashian Post-Robbery

Kourtney Kardashian's daughter, Penelope, may have been the most excited recipient, gleefully running through the items in the dessert-like object as her mom took videos on Friday.

"And we like the cake and we like the chicken... [and] yams," the 4-year-old rattled off, as her mom also reminded her that there was also mac and cheese in the concoction.

Khloe Kardashian also received a cake, though she jokingly scolded her friends for the gift, saying they know she's trying to lose weight.

Snapchat

Both Khloe and Kourtney shared the card Chrissy and Teigen sent with the edible presents on Snapchat, which read, "Thank God Christmas falls on Soul Food Sunday. Enjoy mashed potato iced, corn bread and yam filled, fried chicken topped cake of perfection!! Love you guys!"

Snapchat

RELATED: Kourtney Kardashian Has Christmas Trees for All Her Kids, Says She Has a 'Responsibility to Make It Special'

Khloe wasn't done showing off her gifts, though. She also proudly Snapchatted two original photographs of Marilyn Monroe, given to her by momager Kris Jenner. The 32-year-old reality star was so excited she squealed and told her mother that she was "absolutely ecstatic."

"If anyone knows me they know I have a true obsession with Marilyn Monroe..." she said. "I mean, can you not die? They're both signed by the photographers."

Snapchat

As if that wasn't enough, the one-time talk show host got a killer pair of gold heels from none other than Jennifer Lopez.



"You guys, I am dying. J. Lo thinks I look amazing. I don't need a gift, I just needed this card," she said over the course of three videos, showing the note and the amazing shoes. "OK, I lied, as much as I loved the card, holy s**t these are f**king epic -- and they're from Jennifer Lopez! These are to die for. I feel like a badass Cinderella."

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Snapchat

Snapchat

WATCH: Khloe Kardashian and Boyfriend Tristan Thompson Are Camo Coordinated in Sweet PDA Pic

The Christmas joy kept on coming for the Kardashian clan. Kourtney kicked off Saturday morning by watching A Charlie Brown Christmas with her kids -- while Elf on the Shelf peered over the TV -- while Khloe got an intense workout in. The sisters and Penelope then went over to a neighbor's house in Calabasas, California, where snow had been shipped in to make this year a white Christmas, and they gleefully went sledding down the front lawn.

Snapchat

Snapchat

Not a bad way to celebrate the holidays!

As for if Kim got one of those fried chicken cakes or what her other celeb gifts were, well, she's still on a social media hiatus. Nonetheless, we wish the whole Kardashian crew and everyone a very happy holiday season.

WATCH: Kris Jenner Shares Rare Throwback Kardashian Family Christmas Photo

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A&Es planned documentary series focused on the Klu Klux Klan isnt happening, after all.

The cable network has cancelled the reality series before it even debuted, citing violations of A&Es documentary policy made by third-party producers, per The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATEDDuck Dynasty Cancelled at A&E

The axed project was to follow four prominent Klan families who each have a family member trying to escape the organization. On Friday, following criticism  including some from Greys Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo  A&E changed the series name from Generation KKK to Escaping the KKK: A Documentary Series Exposing Hate in America.

Our goal with this series has always been to expose and combat racism and hatred in all its forms. However, A&E learned last night from the third-party producers who made the documentary that cash payments  which we currently understand to be nominal  were made in the field to some participants in order to facilitate access, the network said in a statement.

It continued: While we stand behind the intent of the series and the seriousness of the content, these payments are a direct violation of A&Es policies and practices for a documentary. We had previously provided assurances to the public and to our core partners  including the Anti-Defamation League and Color of Change  that no payment was made to hate group members, and we believed that to be the case at the time. We have now decided not to move forward with airing this project.

RELATEDCable/Streaming Renewal Scorecard 2016: Whats Coming Back? Whats Cancelled? Whats On the Bubble?

The network also said it will still seek to fight hate in America through on-air programming and that it will continue to work with the civil rights community to end hate.

What do you think about the series cancellation? Sound off in the comments!

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VATICAN CITY (AP)  The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic lay order, has told Pope Francis that his decision to launch an investigation into the ouster of a top official over an old condom scandal is "unacceptable."

In an extraordinary rebuke of the pontiff, the group said late Friday that the replacement of its grand chancellor was an "act of internal governmental administration of the Sovereign Order of Malta and consequently falls solely within its competence."

Francis on Thursday appointed a five-member commission to investigate the Dec. 8 ouster of Albrecht von Boeselager amid suggestions that Francis' own envoy to the group, conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, helped engineer it without his blessing. Burke has emerged as one of Francis' top critics.

One charge used against von Boeselager concerned a program that the order's Malteser International aid group had participated in several years ago with other aid groups to help sex slaves in Myanmar, including giving them condoms to protect them from HIV infection.

Church teaching bars the use of artificial contraception. Von Boeselager has said as soon as the order's headquarters in Rome learned of the condom distribution, two of the projects were immediately halted. A third continued, he said, so as not to deprive a poor region of Myanmar of all basic medical services. The project eventually ended after the Vatican's doctrine office intervened.

Burke is a hardliner on enforcing church teaching on sexual morals. As a result, the dispute roiling the order reflects the broader ideological divisions in the Catholic Church that have intensified during Francis' papacy, which has emphasized the merciful side of the church over its doctrinaire side.

Von Boeselager has said he was asked, and then ordered to resign Dec. 6 during a meeting with Burke and the order's leader, who suggested that the resignation was "in accordance with the wishes of the Holy See." He said he subsequently learned that the Holy See had made no such request.

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In its statement, the Knights of Malta said the pope's decision to appoint a commission to investigate von Boeselager's replacement was a result of a misunderstanding with the Vatican's secretariat of state.

The Order of Malta has many trappings of a sovereign state, issuing its own stamps, passports and license plates and holding diplomatic relations with 106 states, the Holy See included.

The Holy See, however, has a unique relationship with the order since the pope appoints a cardinal to "promote the spiritual interests" of the order and its relationship with the Vatican. Francis appointed Burke to that position in 2014 after removing him as the Vatican's supreme court justice.

Kurt Martens, professor of canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, says the pope's investigation was complicated, given the sovereign nature of both the order and the Holy See under international law.

"The way it has been perceived, it's as if they're looking into the order, and that's why there is the backlash from the order," he said in a phone interview.

Martens also suggested that nominating Knights of Malta members as part of the pope's commission could be problematic.

"It makes sense that you ask members" because they are familiar with the order, he said. "But then you have a huge conflict of interest because they are investigating their 'head of state.'"

The knights trace their history to the 11th-century Crusades with the establishment of an infirmary in Jerusalem that cared for people of all faiths. It now counts 13,500 members and 100,000 staff and volunteers who provide health care in hospitals and clinics around the world.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
Seoul (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people, many in Santa Claus outfits, marched through the streets of Seoul Saturday calling for the immediate ouster of impeached President Park Geun-Hye.

Parliament voted to impeach Park earlier this month over a corruption scandal in which she allegedly colluded with her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, to strong-arm donations from large conglomerates to two dubious foundations.

Park is also accused of ordering aides to leak confidential state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance, and allowing her to meddle in state affairs, including the appointment of top officials.

Police figures were unavailable but organisers estimated the crowd at more than 550,000. Protesters walked in three columns towards the presidential Blue House, the prime minister's office and the Constitutional Court.

"Arrest Park immediately", they chanted, while also urging the Constitutional Court to approve the impeachment.

Despite sub-zero temperatures, protesters waved banners and balloons, and sang along to Christmas songs with new lyrics heaping ridicule on Park and calling for her immediate removal.

"This is a special Chrismas eve as it gives me a chance to show my children what democracy is all about", Yoon Ki-Seung told AFP as his son and daughter held banners.

Some 300 young people wearing Santa Claus outfits were seen handing out books and Christmas cards to children who accompanied their parents to the demonstration.

"Gifts to children and handcuffs to Park", they chanted.

Artists drew a large baby Jesus holding a candle with the slogan "Oust Park in the name of the people" on the pavement.

Massive demonstrations have been taking place in Seoul and other cities every Saturday for the past two months, with protesters calling for Park's immediate departure from office.

But Park, who has been suspended from her duties since the impeachment vote on December 9, has remained defiant, declaring she will "calmly" wait until the Constitutional Court, which is due to rule on the case within 180 days, arrives at a decision.

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- Bribery allegations -

The demonstration came as investigators were expanding a probe into the scandal to determine whether Park and Choi took bribes from conglomerates such as Samsung in addition to soliciting "donations" to the two foundations.

Samsung has been a main target of the investigation. It allegedly bribed Choi to win state approval for a controversial merger of two of its units in order to bolster its founding family's control over the management.

Prosecutors are also investigating new allegations that Choi sent dubious assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars overseas.

Choi, who has been in custody since October, was brought to a special prosecutors' office Saturday in a prison bus.

Television footage showed the 60-year-old handcuffed and wearing an ivory prison outfit with a serial number on the chest as she was taken off the bus and led into the court building.

Choi, dubbed South Korea's "female Rasputin" for the influence she wielded over Park, faces trial on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power.

"We will question her to confirm her earlier statements and investigate other allegations," a spokesman for the special prosecutor told reporters.

Choi's appearance came on the heels of the first hearing into Park's impeachment earlier this week.

If the justices confirm impeachment, Park will be permanently removed and elections must be held within 60 days.
Lincoln Fire and Rescue worked to retrieve a vehicle off a frozen pond near CHI St. Elizabeth Saturday afternoon after a 74-year-old man drove onto the ice following a medical episode.

According to Lincoln Police, the man was pulling into the hospital when he lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway and dropped onto the pond between the hospital and 70th Street, Capt. Bob Farber said.

Fortunately, last week's cold snap created a 6-inch thick layer of ice on the pond, which is between 4- and 8-feet deep -- an ice sheet thick enough to support the Buick Lucerne.

Several passersby who saw the man driving on the pond were able to rescue him from his vehicle while calling 911.

"We basically carried him from the car up to the shore, set him on a bench and put a blanket around him," said Gary Boltz, one of the first people on the scene.

Farber said the man was taken into the hospital for treatment. His injuries were described as non-life-threatening.

But the vehicle remained parked on the pond, as water slowly seeped through a crack in the ice that ran the width of the small body of water.

As onlookers watched, firefighters working with Capital Towing rigged a series of steps using blocks of wood to walk the vehicle over the retaining wall surrounding the pond and onto dry ground.
Melt our hearts and the snow, why don't you?

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are enjoying their holiday downtime, leaving sunny Los Angeles (well, if you ignore the recent downpours) for a snowy getaway in Mammoth Lakes, California.

EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Bell Gets Real About Balancing Acting and Parenting

The crazy-in-love couple didn't miss an opportunity for romance while on the slopes. Shepard, 41, shared a sweet pic of the pair lip locked in a seriously intense kiss on Thursday, writing, "It's hot as hell outside."

Bell shared the same photo to her Instagram account, captioning hers, "I met the hottest guy on the slopes today, and promptly made out with him."

It's hot as hell outside. @kristenanniebell A photo posted by Dax Shepard (@daxshepard) on Dec 22, 2016 at 4:40pm PST

As if that wasn't enough to take your breath away, the 36-year-old actress also shared a gorgeous sunset shot from the mountain on Wednesday.

This violet sunset instigated the deepest breath I have taken in a while :) #mammothmountain #mammoth A photo posted by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on Dec 21, 2016 at 6:29pm PST

The couple has been on vacation with Bell's Veronica Mars co-star Ryan Hansen and his wife, Amy. Never one to miss an opportunity to have a little fun, the friends shared even more smooching shots earlier in the week, though these kisses were between Shepard and Hansen, while Bell puckered up to her gal pal's cheek.

Happy holidays w/ a little California snow- and thanks to the super spouses for having the most joyful holiday party ever! @hiryanhansen @amyhansen31 @daxshepard A photo posted by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on Dec 19, 2016 at 3:51pm PST

WATCH: Kristen Bell Explains Why Husband Dax Shepard Tries to Get Them to Swing With Other Couples



When in NorCal, right?

Bell recently confessed to ET's Denny Directo that she's had Christmas prep on her mind since October! Find out what she had to say about decorating, as well as date nights with her hubby, in the video below.

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London (AFP) - Frank Lampard admitted on Saturday he would relish a return to Chelsea as a player and is keen to rejoin the Premier League leaders in some capacity even if he is not offered a deal.

The former England midfielder is Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer and is keeping his options open after leaving New York City FC following a two-year spell with the MLS side.

Appearing alongside Blues captain John Terry on Sky Sports, Lampard said: "Myself and John are Chelsea through and through so whatever happens, in some capacity I will be at Chelsea.

"Whether it's with my season ticket, watching them, I don't know yet, I'll have very close contact. Whether I'll have the role (as a player), it's not all in my hands so I can't go any further on that.

"I'm very relaxed about it, which is a nice place to be. If the right thing comes, I'll take it. Obviously Chelsea, I'd love that, but it doesn't work that way always."

The 38-year-old left Stamford Bridge in 2014 after scoring 211 goals in a 13-year spell at Chelsea, briefly playing for Manchester City before heading to the United States.

He scored 15 times in 31 appearances for New York City and has yet to decide whether he will retire or not.

"I feel fit, I'm fresh in the mind," Lampard added. "I understand when you get even past 30, you start to understand things are different.

"What I would say is, if I was to carry on playing, it would have to be perfect. I'm not being snobby and hand-picking what I want to do but perfect for my family, for me and all those things."
Google

A new lawsuit has accused Google of encouraging its employees to spy on one another, as reported by Quartz. The lawsuit, which was filed by an unnamed Google employee, also accuses the company of violating the California Labor Code and prevent employees right to speak, right to work, and right to whistle-blow.

Google has repeatedly been named a prime place to work, but this new lawsuit reportedly reveals some of its more complex inner workings. The plaintiff of the case, who was identified as a product manager for Google, argues the company is misusing its confidentiality agreement to put a kibosh on employee whistleblowing, as Quartz noted they cant speak out about a number of things:

The lawsuit says that the confidentiality agreements discourage workers from raising problems or wrongdoing in the company because of bans on discussing their wages, working conditions, or any nefarious conduct they encountereven internally.

Quartz revealed Google has a training program called You Said What? where it reportedly tells employees they are barred from writing about the company participating in any illegal, negligent or unlawful activities. And in an interesting tidbit, Quartz reported employees cant even gripe to their spouses about their bosses performance.

The plaintiff argues because they cant talk about their salary or skills they have learned at Google, it could hinder their chances for employment at a future company. For its part, Google called the lawsuit baseless:

Transparency is a huge part of our culture. Our employee confidentiality requirements are designed to protect proprietary business information, while not preventing employees from disclosing information about terms and conditions of employment, or workplace concerns.

The plaintiff is looking for a trial jury to see the case, and interestingly, this is the second instance of Google being criticized for reportedly censoring its employees.

(Via Quartz, The Washington Post & Universum)
Donald Trumps disapproval over costs of Lockheed Martins F-35 fighter jets prompted the chief executive of the defense contractor to assure him that the company is committed to driving down the cost of the aircraft. Marillyn Hewson met the president-elect Friday after the latter tweeted that he had asked its rival Boeing to price an upgrade of its F-18 Super Hornet jet that could possibly replace the F-35 jets.

I had a very good conversation with President-elect Trump this afternoon and assured him that I've heard his message loud and clear about reducing the cost of the F-35, Hewson said, in a statement posted on Lockheeds Twitter account. I gave him my personal commitment to drive the cost down aggressively. I know that President-elect Trump wants the very best capability for our military at the lowest cost for taxpayers, and were ready to deliver!

On Wednesday, Trump met the CEOs of both Boeing and Lockheed Martin in separate meetings in Florida to discuss about Lockheeds F-35 and Boeings 747 Air Force One  both programs he had expressed displeasure over.

Last Monday, Trump blasted the F-35 program over its out of control cost in a tweet. He also said that billions of dollars can and will be saved on military purchases once he takes office.

According to Lockheed, three variations of over 2,400 F-35s will replace older aircraft used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The cost of these combat planes is reportedly estimated to be nearly $400 billion, while operating costs are likely to bring the total costs to above $1 trillion. However, if Trump plans to make any changes or cancel the F-35 program, tens of thousands of jobs the company generates in 45 states will reportedly be affected.

Prior to the F-35s, Boeings Air Force One program came under Trumps scrutiny.

Well, the plane is totally out of control. Its going to be over $4 billion for [the] Air Force One program," the 70-year-old said earlier this month. 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.

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However, the White House clarified that the Air Force One cost cited by the president-elect did not correlate with the arrangements made between Boeing and the Department of Defense.

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On the same day the Lincoln City Council members debated two proposed charter amendments, it also rebuilt the commission that has traditionally vetted proposals to change the city charter.

On Monday, the council approved six members to the 15-seat Charter Revision Commission, and Democrats on the council recommended using that reborn commission to review a proposed budget process amendment offered by Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm.

Although the commission is ready for business, Lamm said she won't be taking her idea to it for input, in part because of the short timeline.

She plans to work over the holidays with the city attorney and planning staff to get the amendment ready for the ballot.

"(I'm) doing a lot of due diligence, working with staff, to make sure the legislation will do what I want it to do," Lamm said.

The City Council is expected to decide whether to put the question on the May citywide ballot at its Jan. 9 meeting, which starts at 3 p.m.

Having the council vote in early January gives people who want to change the budget process time to put together an initiative petition drive to put the issue on the ballot should the mayor veto the proposal, Lamm said.

If approved by city voters, her proposal would require the mayor to provide his proposed budget earlier and would make the fallback position, should the mayor and council majority fail to agree on a budget, the previous year's budget.

The idea stems from frustration Republican council members felt last summer when a budget stalemate meant the mayor's proposed plan became the two-year budget.

Having the budget process amendment on the May ballot would give the council and mayor time to put together any ordinances needed to implement the changes before 2018, when the next two-year budget process begins, she said.

While Lamm doesn't plan to use the Charter Revision Commission to vet her proposal, 20 years ago, elected officials and regular citizens who had ideas for changing the citys charter routinely took those proposals to the commission.

That was the tradition, but the commission hasnt had a meeting in almost seven years.

So two recent proposed charter amendments went straight to the City Council, where one died before getting to a public hearing because of a language error.

The other, by Lamm, is embroiled in what appears to be a partisan battle.

At Monday's meeting, Democrats on the council echoed concerns about the amendment raised by the administration of Mayor Chris Beutler and recommended sending Lamm's proposal to the commission.

But council members didn't know how ideas even got to that group.

The answer: The commission can take ideas from anyone -- the mayor, council, public -- according to City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick.

There is no legal requirement that proposed charter amendments be vetted by it.

Barbara Chesnut, who served on the commission in the late 1980s, said it reviewed ideas from private citizens and public officials.

There werent as many special interest groups back then, so some ideas came from individuals, she said. If someone went to the trouble to contact the commission, the group met and considered it.

"The commission provided an impartial group to receive information and consider it. That, I think, is important," she said this week.

The commission last met in 2010, when it recommended a charter amendment allowing the city to have a two-year budget.

The council put that issue on the November ballot that year, and it was approved by voters.

In 2008, the council recommended a charter amendment banning city officials from having contracts with the city.

Initially, a Republican-dominated council refused to put the idea on the ballot. But in 2013, a Democratic-dominated council did, and it was approved by voters.

The commission's 15 current members are a mix of six Democrats, six Republicans and three people registered as independents.

Commission member Mike Donlan said he would be interested in getting the committee together, even on short notice, to review Lamm's idea and language.

"Something this important, you don't want to ramrod through and risk some unintended consequences," he said.

But the administration won't be asking the commission to review Lamm's proposal very soon.

"We think the Lamm proposal has a lot more work to be done before it is ready for review," said Rick Hoppe, chief of staff to Beutler.

It is clear from the public hearing that Lamm intends to make some important revisions, he said.

But the commission should play a role in this proposal before it is considered for the ballot, Hoppe said.

Commission members are Nicholas Cusick, Mike Donlan, Brett Ebert, Steve Guittar, Elaine Hammer, Laurie Lage, Kathleen Neary, Patte Newman-Nieveen, Rick Poore, Marian Price, Jose Soto, John Spatz, Donald Stading, Diane Walkowiak and Clancy Woolman.
WASHINGTON - A recent article reporting that some of Hillary Clinton's supporters are searching for a glimpse of her as she wanders the woods near her Westchester County, New York, home seems a good signal to declare that the Democrats' wilderness years have officially begun.

The placing of Donald Trump's hand on the Bible is now just days away and with it the official start of the Trump administration. Democrats, like mother Addie in "As I Lay Dying" who listened as her coffin was hammered together outside her bedroom window, can listen to the sounds of the presidential inaugural platform and viewing stands under construction as they are prepared to receive the new president, the one who could never be.

The political reverberations of Trump are just beginning. So far, he hasn't said or done anything to reassure the majority of Americans who voted for someone else that he cares a whit for their concerns or support. Through appointments -- his ambassador to Israel and his national security adviser -- and his conversation with Taiwan, he has shown a relish for pouring fuel on some of the most dangerous global hot spots in the world. In areas of the budget and environmental policy, Trump has outsourced the former to magical ideas of Paul Ryan and the latter to three individuals who are: 1. A climate denier suing to abolish the agency he is appointed to run; 2. A climate denier who wants to abolish the department he is going to run if he can remember its name; and 3. A man who says he believes in climate change but allowed his company, the largest fossil-fuel company in the world, to fund groups that deny it.

On these shortest days of the year, it feels especially cold and dark for Democrats. Some seem to be looking for new leaders to guide them from the wilderness. (Joe Biden might note that Moses was 80 when he began leading the Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land.) Others are looking inward and examining their core beliefs. Does the party have the right ideas and platform to appeal not just to the coasts, but to the middle of the country and swing counties who feel left behind and subsequently turned against it? And some are simply in despair. As Dante wrote, "Midway in the journey of our life / I came to myself in a dark wood / for the straight way was lost."
GAO, Mali (AP)  Authorities in northern Mali say a Swiss aid worker has been abducted in the town of Gao.

The kidnapping took place Saturday when three men stormed her house and took her and an orphan at the home.

Hamadou Guindo, head of security for the governor of Gao, says a rescue operation has been launched.

The town of Gao was occupied by Islamic extremists in 2012 until a French-led military operation forced them from power though remnants continue to stage attacks in the region. They frequently target U.N. peacekeeping patrols and Malian soldiers.

Another Swiss woman has been abducted twice by jihadists in the northern town of Timbuktu. She has been in captivity since her second kidnapping last January and is believed to be in the hands of al-Qaida-linked militants.
Margot Robbie tied the knot to longtime boyfriend Tom Ackerley wearing something old and borrowed: her mothers wedding dress.

The Suicide Squad actress, who confirmed her marriage on Instagram Monday night, opted to wear the cream lace, off-the-shoulder dress that her mother, Sarie Kessler, wore to her own wedding about 30 years ago, according to Australias Courier-Mail.

Robbie, 26, accessorized the bohemian look with a simple gold pendant necklace. She skipped a veil and wore her hair in loose curls pinned away from her face.

Robbies gown did undergo some alterations by Australian designer Casey Tanswell. A source told the Courier-Mail the designer was approached by a friend to do the alterations. Alterations took a matter of days, including changes to the lining.

She didnt know it was Margot until she turned up at her home for the fitting, the source said.

The outlet reports Tanswell told her friends the moment was a life highlight.

Robbie is very close to her mom. In 2014, the actress paid off her mothers mortgage to her Southport, Australia home.

The newlyweds met in 2013 when the actress and the assistant director were working on the set of the World War II drama Suite Francaise, and sparked suspicions of an engagement early this summer.

In the May issue of Vogue, Robbie described Ackerley as the best-looking guy in London, and gushed about how she fell for her beau.

I was the ultimate single gal. The idea of relationships made me want to vomit. And then this crept up on me, she told the publication.

We were friends for so long. I was always in love with him, but I thought, Oh, he would never love me back. Dont make it weird, Margot. Dont be stupid and tell him that you like him, she continued, adding, And then it happened, and I was like, Of course were together. This makes so much sense, the way nothing has ever made sense before.
Abuja (AFP) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday claimed the military had routed Boko Haram in a key northeastern stronghold, a year after saying the Islamist militants had been "technically" defeated.

A campaign lasting for months in the 1,300 square-kilometre (500 square-mile) forest in northeastern Borno state led to the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest" on Thursday, Buhari said in a statement.

The government in Abuja and the military have frequently claimed victories against the Islamic State group affiliate but access to the epicentre of the conflict in Borno state is strictly controlled.

That has made independent verification of official statements about victories virtually impossible. Attacks have meanwhile continued, making claims of defeating Boko Haram questionable despite undoubted progress in pushing back the group.

"The terrorists are on the run, and no longer have a place to hide. I urge you to maintain the tempo by pursuing them and bringing them to justice," Buhari said.

The announcement came after Nigeria launched a barrage of land and air assaults in Borno state at the heart of the insurgency that has spread to three neighbouring countries -- Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

While the counter-insurgency has clawed back some territory, Boko Haram has responded by stepping up guerrilla tactics, ambushing troops when it can and terrorising civilians when it cannot.

Buhari's statement made no mention of the whereabouts of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram faction based in the forest.

Boko Haram, which last year pledged allegiance to IS, has been in the grips of a power struggle since late last year.

Shekau led Boko Haram for several years, until the IS command said in August that he had been replaced as leader by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the 22-year-old son of the group's founder Mohammed Yusuf.

Shekau says he is still in charge, however, as rival factions vie for control.

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- Chibok girls still missing -

On Wednesday, a military commander said Nigerian troops had rescued 1,880 civilians from a Boko Haram redoubt in the restive northeast over the past week and arrested hundreds of insurgents.

Buhari also said Saturday that "further efforts should be intensified to locate and free our remaining Chibok girls still in captivity", referring to more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014. To date only a few of them have been freed.

Boko Haram seeks to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

The army's claim of recapturing Sambisa Forest brought a rare glimmer of hope for millions of people caught up in the devastating conflict.

But Buhari has been keen to announce any positive news, with his government increasingly under fire for its handling of the economy, which is officially in recession.

The humanitarian fallout from the conflict is also huge and aid agencies say it is too big for the country to handle on its own, heaping pressure on already overstretched resources.

Buhari has previously claimed that Boko Haram had already been "technically defeated".

His government has however struggled to stop attacks on soft targets such as markets, including the use of women and child suicide bombers.

At least 20,000 people have been killed since the insurgency erupted in 2009. The fighting has also displaced some 2.6 million people, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the region.

- 'Africa's largest crisis' -

The United Nations said earlier this month a billion dollars are needed to help victims of Boko Haram and called the conflict "the largest crisis in Africa."

It estimates that 14 million people will need outside help in 2017, particularly in Borno state, where villagers under siege have typically been forced to abandon their crops.

"A projected 5.1 million people will face serious food shortages as the conflict and risk of unexploded improvised devices prevented farmers planting for a third year in a row, causing a major food crisis," the UN said on December 2.

People freed from Boko Haram's grip by the army have generally been taken to camps where basic supplies are also scarce.

The Nigerian presidency has since accused aid groups of exaggerating the food crisis.
Kinshasa (AFP) - Talks to end DR Congo's dangerous political crisis were suspended on Saturday until after Christmas after a fruitless 48 hours of negotiations over President Joseph Kabila's refusal to quit power.

Kabila's second and final five-year term ended on December 20, but he has shown no intention of leaving office soon, sparking violent protests that have left at least 40 people dead, according to the United Nations.

The informal talks, mediated by the influential Catholic Church since December 8, are now expected to resume after a Christmas break with hopes of a deal by December 30.

"We think that Friday will be the day... during which an agreement will be adopted and signed," said Marcel Utembi, president of the Congo National Episcopal Conference (CENCO), who had pushed for a deal before Christmas.

The talks between the government and opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo had raised hopes this week of an imminent deal, with a draft seen by AFP outlining plans for fresh elections at the end of next year, when Kabila would step down.

But that optimism has been slipping, and negotiators from the two camps left church offices in Kinshasa just before 5:30 am (0430 GMT) without a deal to prevent a fresh descent into conflict in a country that has suffered two horrific wars since 1996.

After an all-night discussion "we reached the end of the tunnel," said Utembi, the archbishop of Kinshasa, who also stressed that "95 percent of the differences over the management of the transitional period have been ironed out."

But others indicated there was still a long way to go.

"Everything is still blocked on how (public affairs) will be managed during the transition period," said opposition delegate Francois Muamba.

- 'Serious mediocrity' -

A frustrated CENCO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had blasted DR Congo's political class for "serious mediocrity" in their inability to reach a deal during the marathon talks.

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"They have called into question everything we arranged the day before," the official said.

Tensions are running high, with security forces spraying live ammunition at a string of anti-Kabila protests in Kinshasa and other towns this week, killing at least 40 civilians, according to the UN.

Congolese police put the toll at 20 dead, saying they had largely been killed in "looting" or by "stray bullets".

Other sources say somewhere between 56 and 125 people have been killed in a week of clashes, not counting the unknown toll from fighting between security forces and an anti-government militia in the central town of Kananga.

Kabila, 45, has been in power since the 2001 assassination of his father Laurent at the height of the Second Congo War.

He was confirmed as leader of the mineral-rich nation in 2006 during the first free elections since independence from Belgium in 1960, and re-elected for a second term in 2011 in a vote marred by allegations of massive fraud.

Constitutionally banned from seeking a third term, he obtained a controversial court ruling in May stating that he could remain in power until a successor was chosen.

DR Congo has never seen a democratic transfer of power following polls since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Two decades ago, the country collapsed into the deadliest conflict in modern African history. Its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s pulled in at least six African armies and left more than three million dead.
A group of volunteers are working tirelessly this holiday season to ensure that needy kids in their community will get to experience the thrill of unwrapping a bike on Christmas morning.

Dunkirk, New Yorks nonprofit community bicycle project Spoke Folk is refurbishing more than 50 bikes that will be distributed to children in needjust in time for Christmas.

Im always mindful of what it was like to get that first bicycle, but for a lot of kids, that just doesnt happen, Spoke Folks founder, Rich Goodman, told The Observer. Our job is to make that happen.

Rich Goodman

Goodman founded the project because the bicycle he received as the child of immigrant parents just scraping by in Detroit, Michigan changed his life, The Observer reports.

After a 40-year career as a professor at the University of New York at Fredonia, he started Spoke Folks in 2007 as a bicycle repair shop and skills development facility, according to the nonprofits website.

Rich Goodman

Program volunteers who have been trained in bike maintenance refurbish donated or discarded bikes that are then distributed to adults and children in need. To date, the program has returned over 900 bikes to the Dunkirk community.

During the holiday season, volunteers focus on refurbishing bikes for children and young adults that are then donated through faith-based and community organizations like the Salvation Army.

The organizations give us a list of children or young adults  folks that need bicycles  and we get them ready and then we deliver them to the organizations and then they distribute, Goodman explained to the newspaper.

Its making sure that every kid experiences the thrill of having that first bicycle, if their family or circumstances cant really handle it, he continued.




Before James Curiazzas brother lost his battle with Leukemia in 1967, the family held one last Christmas for 4-year-old Dean.

Dean loved the Christmas lights as well as the joy that the Christmas season brought with it, Curiazza tells PEOPLE. We had a special Christmas just for him prior to his death. I dont remember the exact date of our early Christmas, but my parents knew he wouldnt make it through the holiday that year.

In the decades following Deans Dec. 5 death, Curiazza has worked to keep his brothers memory alive through the holiday celebrations he so loved. Since 2011, Curiazza has turned his Gibsonville, North Carolina, home into a over-the-top musical, Christmas lights display in honor of Dean, all while raising thousands to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Larger-than-life versions of Santa Claus, Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman adorn Curiazzas house, and perform to classic Christmas tunes seven days a week, throughout the holiday season.

The current display is down to a science. We havent changed it too much since weve started mainly due to lack of time and funding. Were only talking a couple of days to set up, calibrate the programming, and do any repair work, Curiazza, who works in engineering and operations for the Duke University Medical Center, tells PEOPLE.

The initial build of the display caricatures took around 40 hours, each, he says. My wife Tracy was my chief designer. My three children  Francesca, Gianna and Santino (Sonny)  were our lighting elves. They had the tedious job of securing thousands of feet of rope lighting to these metal frames. The programming of the animation took approximately two hours per each minute of music.

James Curiazza

Visitors stream by non-stop some days, Curiazza says, while others can seem quiet.

This year was exceptionally hard for us to pull it together, he admits. We werent sure as to the extent that we were going to go to make it happen, but we did  largely because of the amount of people stopping us and asking, When will it be ready, because they visit so frequently.

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The hard work has paid off: In the past five years, weve submitted upwards of $10,000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We do not and have not kept any contributions. All operating and maintenance costs come out of pocket. I guess thats our contribution as well.

When we first decided to make this a charity based event  mainly because so many people asked how much to watch it and for what cause  the LLS was my first resource, Curiazza explains. We knew we were going to honor Dean with this show and the LLS was the first organization that came to mind. After my first phone call to the local chapter, we were taken in by how attentive and sincerely appreciative the organization was. We felt like family.

He adds, The beauty of the LLS is the way they are not only there for the research and development side of it, but a major portion of their cause is for helping the families and patients cope with what they are going through. Something that wasnt readily available back in Deans day.

Meredith Johnson, operations manager for LLS North Carolina chapter, tells PEOPLE in a statement, We are so thankful for the passion Jimmy puts in to his annual holiday lights display supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in North Carolina. His lights are much more meaningful than spreading holiday cheer. 

LLS is currently investing more than $3.3 million in research projects locally in North Carolina and distributed $1.1 million in co-pay financial assistance to patients in the state, last year, Johnson said.

Curiazza knows that the lights would mean so much to Dean. He would absolutely love them, Curiazza says. I know it and I feel it.

RELATED VIDEO: Utah Mom Continues Family Christmas Caroling Tradition in Alsace After Losing Husband

To donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Curiazzas fundraising page, click here. Those in the Gibsonville area can visit Bent Tree Court through Jan. 8 between 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET on weeknights, and until 10:00 p.m. ET on weekends. On Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve the lights will give extended concerts.




Quito (AFP) - Ecuadorian authorities have raided the Guayaquil offices of scandal-plagued Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, the Ecuadorian attorney general's office said in a statement.

Friday's search came days after the US Department of Justice revealed that Odebrecht had paid $33.5 million to Ecuadorian officials between 2007 and 2016 as part of an international bribery scheme.

During the raid authorities seized materials including folders, laptops and external hard drives as part of an open investigation requested by the Ecuadorian government.

President Rafael Correa -- in power since 2007 -- expelled the Brazilian petrochemical and construction giant in 2008 for irregularities in the development of a hydroelectric plant.

Odebrecht returned to Ecuador in 2010, where its contracts include building a section of the Quito metro system.

On Wednesday Odebrecht and its petrochemical affiliate Braskem agreed to pay $3.5 billion to the United States, Switzerland and Brazil to settle a vast international bribery case.

Ecuador has asked those three countries for information to "investigate further," according to the statement.

Odebrecht pleaded guilty to bribing government officials and political parties to the tune of $788 million to secure business on three continents -- mostly in Brazil, but also 11 other countries in Latin America and Africa.
All across America holiday decorations light up homes and main streets.

Unfortunately, this warm atmosphere is aided in no small part by forced prison labor from China. As unpleasant as it sounds, the truth is that many of the trappings of the holiday -- strings of lights, tchotchkes, gift bags, to name a few -- are often made by inmates at prisons or other detention centers in China, who face severe punishment for not achieving daily work quotas.

Indeed, many prisons and detention facilities are really factories unto themselves, with a variety of products being manufactured throughout vast compounds. These are islands of lawlessness, outside the reach of human rights attorneys, journalists, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations, not to mention the family members of those who are incarcerated within.

Having spent more than four years in prisons and detention centers, and having spoken with many friends, colleagues, and fellow human rights activists who have suffered similar fates, I am unfortunately all too familiar with what happens in these so-called correctional facilities in China.

In the case of holiday lights, prisoners are required to put together 200 to 300 strings of lights per day. In some places, the requirement is not for strings of lights but for the number of light bulbs attached. Inmates are forced to work from 10 to 15 hours a day, sometimes staying up throughout the night. By design, the workload is far greater than can be reasonably accomplished; the pressure to keep up with quotas is so great that people often forgo a chance to go to the bathroom.

Those who are brave enough to refuse orders to do illegal labor will be subjected to "hugging chains" (arms and legs chained and locked together, the body curving forward in a crawling position), or "hanging cuffs" (both hands are raised up high and put through the iron bars of a window or a fence and locked with handcuffs from the outside), or "squatting on the john" (both hands are locked to an iron ring on the floor), or "food stoppage," "sitting beating" and other punishments. The range and variety are vast. Punishments such as these might last a day or so, or extend to weeks on end. Once torture begins, it does not end easily.

What's more, prison guards can order a few trusted "work numbers," as prisoners are called, to take a disobedient inmate out to the prison yard, pull down the person's pants, and pin the head and limbs down on the ground. Then, in front of everyone gathered, a work number will beat the person's naked backside with a leather belt, a rubber club or other implement. With each blow, the victim squirms and writhes on the ground.

Some people have said to me, "Well, that's China, right?" as though to suggest we should simply accept this, that what goes on in China has no bearing on our more comfortable, free lives here in America. To me, the America I know is better than that.

When our cost-saving holiday purchases are the end product of a network of corrupt prison guards, prison officials and party officials who are selling to foreign corporations who don't ask the tough questions for fear of losing a good deal, we must take action. We must demand more from our representatives in government and from the businesses whose products we buy. Thankfully, in the United States, where we can speak out openly, we have the power to make the world a better place for everyone.

None of us wants our joy of the holiday season tainted with the sweat and pain from those enslaved in prisons a world away. I implore all readers with a conscience to refuse to purchase goods such as these manufactured in countries ruled by dictatorships.
Vatican City (AFP) - The Order of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic institution, has criticised as "unacceptable" Pope Francis' announcement of an investigation into its affairs.

The probe was disclosed Thursday, following the dismissal earlier this month of Albrecht Boeselager, the order's grand chancellor, amid reports of a policy row over the use of condoms.

It has been suggested that Boeselager was deemed too liberal by Cardinal Raymond Burke, a prominent American conservative figure who acts as the order's liaison with the Vatican.

Burke has been outspoken in his disapproval of Francis' efforts to reform Church teaching on questions related to the family, marriage and divorce.

Conservatives say condom use -- a hotly debated issue given efforts to prevent AIDS in Africa and elsewhere -- violates Church teaching, though it has been deemed acceptable in some cases by Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI.

In a thinly-veiled rebuke of the pontiff late Friday, the Order said the replacement of Boeselager "is an act of internal governmental administration" that "falls solely within its competence".

Alluding to the five member panel of inquiry announced by Francis, it said: "The Grand Master respectfully clarified the situation yesterday evening in a letter to the Supreme Pontiff, laying out the reasons why the suggestions made by the Secretariat of State were unacceptable."

The statement added: "He assured the Holy Father of his filial devotion and asked the pontiff for the Apostolic Blessing, both for him and for the Sovereign Order of Malta."

The Order of Malta dates back to the Crusades and was founded in Jerusalem in 1048 as a community of hospitals caring for the sick.

It was recognised by the pope in 1113, and now operates in 120 countries, managing hospitals and clinics, with 13,500 members and 100,000 employees and volunteers.
The Yule Log is a holiday tradition, but the original video recording of the festive fireplace hasnt been seen on television since 1969. Thats changing nearly 50 years later as New Yorks PIX11 announced it will air the original version for the holiday weekend.

First shown in 1966, the Yule Log was filmed at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. The footage itself consists of two minutes of color with the fireplace looping every seven seconds. It appeared on television every Christmas Eve until the film itself degraded. A new version was then shot for Christmas Eve in 1970 and has aired ever since  until now.

PIX11 will air the 1966 Yule Log from 11 p.m. to midnight on Christmas Eve and 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Christmas Day. It will also simultaneously stream on PIX11.com and Facebook Live.

According to a news segment, Rolando Pujol, archivist and digital director of PIX11, discovered the original film in the WPIX archives among a collection donated by former PIX11 executive Bill Cooper and his wife, Kay Arnold.

Watch PIX11s announcement below and check out its holiday weekend schedule.

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Many fish migrate or die when the water gets too hot, but millions could be saved if the world meets the global warming targets in the 2015 Paris accord, a study said Thursday.

Fish are an important part of the food chain and a global industry worth $148 billion in exports each year worldwide.

Findings in the US journal Science compare the scenarios of 1.5 Celsius of warming (2.7 F) above the pre-industrial days, as set forth in the Paris deal, to 3.5 C by century's end, or the path the planet is currently on.

If global warming continues unchecked, and the 3.5 C scenario comes to pass, the depletion of fish populations would deprive the industry of six million tons of catch each year, the study found.

Since fisheries near the equator would be most negatively affected if the Paris targets are not met, the people who rely on fish for their livelihoods there are also more likely to suffer than their counterparts further north.

The maximum catch potential could drop 47 percent in the Indo-Pacific region, which includes the Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, and Sulu-Celebes Sea, the study said.

"The benefits for vulnerable tropical areas is a strong reason why 1.5 C is an important target to meet," said lead author William Cheung, associate professor at the University of British Columbia's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.

"The seafood supply chain is now highly globalized. Everyone would benefit from meeting the Paris Agreement."

The study analyzed data from 19 Earth system models, comparing outcomes for nearly 900 marine fish under a scenario of continued high greenhouse gas emissions to stronger fossil fuel cutbacks.

Under either scenario, the amount of fish will decline.

A warming increase of 3.5 C "will decrease the maximum catch potential on a global level by eight percent," the study said.

Temperature increases of 1.5 C "will decrease maximum catch potential by 2.5 percent."

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Researchers said the findings should convince countries -- including the United States under President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to abandon the deal -- of the importance of increasing their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"If one of the largest carbon dioxide emitting countries gets out of the Paris Agreement, the efforts of the others will be clearly reduced," said co-author Gabriel Reygondeau, Nippon Foundation-Nereus Program senior fellow at UBC.

"It's not a question of how much we can benefit from the Paris Agreement, but how much we don't want to lose."
By David DeKok

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania couple tried to starve their three children to death because the father no longer wanted them, state police said in charges filed this week.

Police said officers and Dauphin County social workers rescued the emaciated children, girls aged 4 and 5 and a boy aged 6, from their parents on Dec. 16 and took them to a hospital. Details on their current health were not available.

Police identified the parents as Joshua Weyant, 33, and Brandi Weyant, 38, of Halifax, a small town about 21 miles north of the state capital of Harrisburg. According to a police statement, both were charged on Friday afternoon with the same 18 felonies: multiple counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and endangering the welfare of children.

The couple was being held in Dauphin County Prison. It was not immediately clear whether they had a lawyer.

The couple began periodically withholding food and adequate care in September after Joshua Weyant decided he no longer wanted the children, police said.

The children told investigators that they were locked in an unheated bedroom during cold weather, were starved for long periods of time and beaten by their parents. They had severe bruises and abrasions when rescued, according to the police.

PennLive.com, citing additional details found in court papers, said the children weighed between 23 and 28 pounds and were thickly covered in body lice. The website reported that two of the children were a week or less from death, according to doctors.

Police said the children required "advanced medical treatment" as a result of their injuries.

The parents are due in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 2.

(Editing by Jonathan Allen and Dan Grebler)
Piers Sellers, a British-American climate scientist and former NASA astronaut who launched on three space shuttle missions to the International Space Station, died on Friday (Dec. 23). He was 61.

Sellers' death came just over 11 months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in an editorial for The New York Times. In the column, Sellers wrote about how his prognosis added a sense of urgency to his work on climate change.

"I was forced to decide how to spend my remaining time," Sellers explained in the editorial. "I concluded that all I really wanted to do was spend more time with the people I know and love, and get back to my office as quickly as possible." [In His Words: Piers Sellers Thoughts on Seeing Earth from Space & More]

Sellers' death was mourned by his fellow scientists, NASA colleagues and astronauts as news spread on Friday.

"An admired astronaut, a ground-breaking Earth scientist, a community leader, a friend. The impact of his work lives on!" wrote Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, on Twitter.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (right) speaks with Piers Sellers in front of a wall display showing biosphere data at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland in April 2016. NASA

"Saddened by the loss of [a] friend and champion for our planet," tweeted former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott.

"The entire NASA family mourns the passing of scientist and astronaut Piers Sellers," said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, in a statement. "He was a strident defender and eloquent spokesperson for our home planet, Earth."

Sellers began his career in spaceflight as a meteorologist working at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, conducting research into how Earth's biosphere and atmosphere interact. Sellers was the project scientist for NASA's flagship Earth observing system, Terra, when he was selected to be an astronaut in 1996. [Piers Sellers Took Part of Newton's Apple Tree Into Space]

Sellers' first launch to the International Space Station was as a member of shuttle Atlantis' STS-112 crew in October 2002. During the flight, Sellers made three spacewalks to help install a segment of the station's backbone truss.

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Sellers returned to orbit in July 2006, aboard STS-121, the second return to flight mission after the loss of the orbiter Columbia three years earlier. As a space shuttle Discovery crew member, Sellers ventured outside the station again to conduct maintenance and demonstrate repair techniques for the shuttle's thermal protection tiles.

Sellers' third and last mission to the orbiting laboratory saw him fly again on Atlantis as an STS-132 mission specialist. The May 2010 flight delivered the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module to the space station on what had been slated to be Atlantis' final mission (the orbiter flew again to end the space shuttle program in July 2011).

Piers Sellers at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland in April 2016. NASA

In total, Sellers logged 35 days, 9 hours and 2 minutes in space, including more than 41 hours on six spacewalks.

A year after he landed back on Earth, Sellers left NASA's astronaut corps in Houston and returned to Maryland to be deputy director of Goddard Space Flight Center's Sciences and Exploration Directorate, a position he still held at the time of his death.

Piers John Sellers was born in Crowborough, England, on April 11, 1955.

Sellers earned his bachelor of science degree in ecological science from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland (UK) in 1976, and his doctorate in biometeorology from Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 1981, prior to moving to the United States in 1982 to conduct climate research for NASA.

As a resident associate for the National Research Council, faculty associate scientist at the University of Maryland in College Park and staff scientist at Goddard, Sellers helped to construct computer models of the global climate system, conducted satellite remote sensing studies and performed large-scale field experiments utilizing aircraft, satellites and ground teams in the U.S., Canada, Africa and Brazil.

In addition to his role as Deputy Director for Sciences and Exploration, Sellers was also the Acting Director for Earth Sciences at Goddard.

In the year since Sellers' diagnosis with pancreatic cancer, he became a more prominent advocate for climate change research. In October, he appeared with Leonardo DiCaprio in National Geographic's documentary "Before the Flood."

"Here are the facts: The climate is warming," Sellers told the National Geographic Society in an interview supporting the documentary. "We've measured it, from the beginning of the industrial revolution to now. It correlates so well with emissions and theory, we know within almost an absolute certainty that it's us who are causing the warming and the CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions."

The author of 70 research papers, Sellers was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011 for services to science. In June, he was bestowed the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

On Dec. 17, the Space Foundation announced that Sellers would be conferred its highest honor, the Gen. James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award, at its 2017 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Sellers is survived by his wife of 36 years, Amanda, their son Thomas and daughter Imogen and a grandson, Jack.

"I've no complaints," Sellers wrote in The New York Times in January. "I am very grateful for the experiences I've had on this planet."

"As an astronaut I spacewalked 220 miles [355 km] above Earth. Floating alongside the International Space Station, I watched hurricanes cartwheel across oceans, the Amazon snake its way to the sea through a brilliant green carpet of forest, and gigantic nighttime thunderstorms flash and flare for hundreds of miles along the Equator," he said.

"From this God's-eye-view, I saw how fragile and infinitely precious the Earth is. I'm hopeful for its future."

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

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London (AFP) - Prime Minister Theresa May urged the country to come together in 2017 after a year of bitter divisions exposed by the Brexit referendum, in her first Christmas message released Saturday.

She said Britain needed to unite and seize the opportunity to forge a new role in the world as it leaves the European Union.

In the June referendum, 52 percent voted for Britain to leave the EU and wrangling over the issue dominated the rest of the year.

May says she wants to begin the formal process of withdrawing from the EU, which can take up to two years, by the end of March.

As families gathered for Christmas, May said "coming together is also important for us as a country".

"As we leave the European Union we must seize an historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future."

May said on Tuesday that she was planning to negotiate both Brexit and Britain's future relationship with the EU by 2019 but a transition period may be required after that.

Britain's Supreme Court is set to rule in January on whether parliament's approval is required for May to trigger the exit process.
Winter was coming on with a vengeance on the northern plains. The Standing Rock Sioux and other Indigenous people from around the nation and the globe had been gathering since the spring to protect their water and to protest the desecration of burial sites by Energy Transfer Partners and their Dakota Access Pipeline. Now they were preparing for the mercury to drop below zero and for the impending standoff with North Dakota state authorities, who had told them they must leave their Oceti Sakowin camp by December 5.

It seemed that an old story was going to play itself out again. Government forces were prepared to raid peaceable camps of Indians in the deepest winter. But this time was different. This time the federal government lived up to its treaty agreements to protect Indian lands and peoples. The Army Corps of Engineers refused to grant Energy Transfer Partners the right to drill under Missouri River at Lake Oahe, blocking further construction of the pipeline, at least for now.

The Standing Rock Sioux and their allies did not have numbers, money, influence, or media access on their side. Indian people are just about 2% of the American population, and only about 6400 tribal members live on the Standing Rock reservation. The median income of reservation families is about $24,000.

President Obama visited Standing Rock in 2014, but this tribe, like most tribes, did not have the ear of U.S. government authorities. Although the protest began last April, most major media outlets in the United States failed to cover it until very recently. By every conventional measure of power, the Standing Rock Sioux should have lost this battle. But they won, at least for now.

Their story should give hope to those who are mortified by the election results. The Standing Rock protesters have much to teach us:

Its not only the economy, stupid. The pipeline company and their supporters claim that if we dont build this pipeline, thousands of Americans will miss out on lucrative jobs, and the gas we pump into our cars will become more expensive. Never mind that these would be temporary jobs that are built on an unsustainable fossil fuel industry. The DAPL protesters insisted that its not the economy, stupid, its the long-term viability of the Earth. We must not be easily suckered by promises of short-term gain that will do long-lasting harm and damage. We must think of generations  seven generations, according to many Indian peoples  ahead.

Non-violent civil disobedience works. The Standing Rock Sioux did not have the money or the political influence to successfully challenge the pipeline company or its political supporters. But they had people willing to put their bodies in the way of bulldozers and face down water cannons. Like African American civil rights activist challenging segregation, Indians protesting British colonialism, and womens rights activists demanding the right to vote, they have succeeded not through taking up arms but by linking arms.

An independent press is essential. The Standing Rock Sioux have been successful in part because they captured the imagination of millions of people worldwide. Independent journalists working for reputable but non-mainstream media companies such as Democracy Now! and Indian Country Today as well as international media outlets such as The Guardian were essential to getting the word out about this protest. Eventually the mainstream media began to notice. We should be suspicious of those authorities who seek to attack, censor, or control the media.

Know how to face adversity, over and over again. The Standing Rock Sioux and other Indian peoples faced near decimation through violence, disease, and forcible removal in the 19th century. The government then assaulted their families, cultures, and languages. Authorities even sought to remove their children from their care. Indian people were supposed to disappear. Against all odds, they have survived. They have much to teach us about resilience and resistance in the face of naked power and aggression.

Dont become complacent. The hard work that the Standing Rock Sioux have done could be undone in a matter of weeks. They know that soon we will face the power of an unleashed petroleum industry set to run roughshod over American Indian land rights and with no concern for the dire consequences of climate change. Many of the Standing Rock protesters plan to stay at their camp, even through the coming blizzards. They have been living through harsh winters and facing insurmountable odds for generations. They teach us that the rest of us can, and must, too.
Pope Francis led the annual Christmas Eve Mass, known as the Midnight Mass, in a packed St. Peters Basilica on Saturday.

To ring in Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Sistine Chapel choir sang Gloria and the basilicas bells rang out across Rome.

In his homily, Francis urged his flock to reflect on how children today arent always allowed to lie peacefully in a cot, loved by their parents as Jesus was, but rather suffer the squalid mangers that devour dignity, according to the Associated Press.

Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons, he said.

Alessandra Tarantino/AP

In another appeal, Francis called for the faithful to not get caught up in the commercialization of Christmas  when we are concerned for gifts but cold toward those who are marginalized. Materialism has taken us hostage this Christmas, he said. We have to free ourselves of it!

The Pope, who celebrated his 80th birthday last week, delivered Christmas greetings to Vatican employees and their families on Thursday, according to Vatican Radio.

Saturdays late night Mass, which was live streamed at 3:15 p.m. ET, was the first major event of the Christmas season, followed by the Popes noon Urbi et Orbi (To the city and the world) blessing on Christmas Day.




Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis urged the world's 1.2 billion Catholics to feel compassion for children, notably victims of war, migration and homelessness in his Christmas Eve mass but also those "not allowed to be born".

Addressing a 10,000-strong crowd late Saturday, the pontiff urged worshippers to celebrate "authentically", by acknowledging "the fragile simplicity of a small newborn" and "the tender affection of the swaddling clothes".

"Let us allow the child in the manger to challenge us, but let us also allow ourselves to be challenged by the children of today's world," he said, speaking in St. Peter's Square.

Many children have died this year while attempting the perilous Mediterranean migrant crossing to Europe which has claimed more than 5,000 lives in 2016 alone.

Thousands of traumatised Syrians including children meanwhile left the former rebel enclave of Aleppo this week after four months of suffocating siege.

Children are "hiding underground to escape bombardment" or "on the pavements of a large city, at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants", the pontiff said, before reiterating his opposition to abortion.

"Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons," he said.

And in an echo of his well-established criticisms of materialism, Francis also urged the faithful to avoid indifference, "when Christmas becomes a feast where the protagonists are ourselves, rather than Jesus".

The pope, who celebrated his 80th birthday a week ago, has made simplicity and modest living the hallmarks of his papacy.

On Sunday, Francis will deliver his fourth Christmas message to the faithful massed in St. Peter's Square.
The Italian policeman who shot and killed the Berlin terror suspect in Milan on Friday, had been known to frequently post inspirational messages on his Facebook page. But Luca Scata probably didn't expect those comments to be joined by thousands of others on his wall from users around the world praising him for capturing the most wanted man in Europe and ending a ferocious five-day-long manhunt that had spanned the entire continent.

He is an amazing man and he was very, very brave. Since he was little, his dream was to be a cop," Paolo Amenta, the mayor of Scatas hometown, told the Guardian.

Just before Scata, 29, was transferred from his hometown of Canicatti on the southern island of Sicily to be a policeman in Milan at the end of October, Scata posted on his Facebook page From today Milan will be more secure!

But Scata was a rookie police officer fresh off of completing a nine-month stint of police training when he found himself in the midst of a fire fight with 24-year-old Anis Amri, who was suspected of killing 12 people after driving a truck into a crowd of Christmas market shoppers in Berlin on Monday night.

Scata's heroic act occurred around 3 a.m. local time Friday while he and his partner were responding to a tip that Amri had been spotted at the Sesto San Giovanni train station in northern Milan.

After stopping a man who fit Amris description and imploring him to present his identification documents, the terror suspect took out a pistol from his backpack and began shooting at the two officers, hitting Scata's partner in the shoulder.

As his partner lay wounded on the ground, Scata returned fire and killed Amri after hitting him with two shots.

The partner was recovering in a hospital in stable condition.

Italys prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, and Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, joined the thousands of others in applauding Scata for his courage and skills Friday.

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Several groups have been created on Facebook declaring 'Give Luca Scata a medal' and calling him a global hero, according to local reports Friday.

Marco Minniti, Italys Interior Minister, confirmed Friday morning that without a shadow of a doubt the man who was killed was the suspect in Mondays attack in Berlin after finding that his fingerprints matched those found in the truck used to barrel into the crowded Christmas Market, the Telegraph reported Friday.

Italy is grateful to these two police officers for service rendered to our community, Minniti said.

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Moscow (AFP) - Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday lashed out at the US for slapping sanctions on Syrian ministers and a Russian bank, saying Washington had "completely lost its grip on reality".

The United States on Friday added several senior Syrian officials including the ministers of oil and of finance and the leadership of a Russian bank to its sanctions blacklist.

"This widening of American sanctions against Russia ... at a time when the bloody attacks in Ankara and Berlin should bring reasonable people together to fight the terrorist threat shows that Washington has completely lost its grip on reality," the ministry said in a statement.

The US was trying to "'punish' us for our support to the Syrian government in the fight against terrorism which is a threat not only to that country but to the whole world", it said.

Washington's "desire for regime change in Syria is so strong that it is ready to help any destructive force", the ministry said.

"We will not give in to sanctions," it said, adding that targeted Russian companies were "functioning normally".

Syria has been locked in war for more than five years, leaving more than 310,000 people dead and millions more displaced.

The conflict began as a pro-democracy revolt but later morphed into an all-out civil war after President Bashar al-Assad's troops unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent.

It has since become a complex, multi-front conflict, drawing in global powers as well as militias and jihadists.

While Western powers and some regional states have backed the rebellion, Russia and Iran have thrown their full weight behind Assad's regime.

In announcing the blacklist additions, Washington also imposed sanctions on Syrian airline Cham Wings, accused of transporting foreign militiamen to fight in the country's brutal civil war.

US officials also targeted two companies allegedly owned or operated by a Assad's cousin Rami Makhluf, which they said had handled oil drilled in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

Story continues

The east of Syria has fallen to IS and, while the regime and its allies have fought the extremists, officials have been accused of trading oil from jihadist-held territory.

The fresh sanctions came as the government recaptured the rebel-held east of Aleppo, the country's second city, after a fierce month-long offensive that saw thousands of civilians and rebels evacuated in recent days.

"The daily attacks on civilian centers by the government of Syria led by Bashar al-Assad are reprehensible, and both the Government and its enablers must be isolated and held accountable for their barbarism," said Adam Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

On Tuesday, the US Treasury had already announced new sanctions against Russia for its role in the Ukraine conflict, targeting Russian businessmen, bankers and transport companies.
AMMAN (Reuters) - Russian jets stepped up strikes on several towns in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province and rural Aleppo two days after the evacuation of rebels from their last pocket in the northern city of Aleppo, rebels and residents said on Saturday. They said at least eight strikes targeted Binish, Saraqeb and Jisr al Shaqour - main towns in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib. There were reports of several casualties, mainly among civilians. Idlib province for months has been a target of Russia's heavy bombing campaign against rebel-held areas. It came even while the former eastern part of Aleppo under insurgent control faced an escalation in aerial raids and shelling until its defenses collapsed and the rebels were forced to agree to an evacuation deal. The Syrian army has hinted the next major campaign after its victory in Aleppo was to rout insurgents in their stronghold of Idlib province, where mainly Islamist brigades operating under a coalition known as Jaish al Fateh are in control. Residents and rebels said Russian and Syrian jets also staged heavy strikes on rebel-held parts of western and southern parts of rural Aleppo for the second day since the last rebels left their remaining pocket of territory in Aleppo city. They raided the town of Khan al Asal, about 14 km (9 miles) west of Aleppo, with cluster bombs while several strikes hit Hreitan and Andan, according to a rebel fighter from Jaish al Mujahdeen. The nearby town of Atareb was also hit. Although the Syrian army, with the help of Iranian-backed militias, was able to take full control of Aleppo city after Russia conducted hundreds of raids that pulverized rebel-held parts, large swathes of western and southern Aleppo countryside remain in rebel hands. Rebels said they repelled an Iranian-backed militia assault on Saturday to gain ground in the Rashideen area, west of Aleppo city. The Syrian army continued to comb areas in eastern Aleppo that fell under its control on Thursday. The Lebanese Hizbollah- run military news service said weapons caches left by insurgents exploded, causing two deaths and wounding scores. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Dan Grebler)
By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A powerful Christmas Eve snowstorm descending on much of North America will not slow Santa Claus as he delivers presents to good girls and boys, U.S. military officials who track his annual flight said on Saturday.

"Santa is an excellent pilot and since he lives on the North Pole he knows how to navigate through adverse weather conditions," said John Cornelio, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm and blizzard warnings and watches for the western United States all the way up to northern-tier states. It warned of treacherous travel conditions for those not aboard airborne sleighs.

For 61 years, the defense command has tracked Santa, also known as Kris Kringle, St. Nicholas or Father Christmas, as he and his reindeer-powered sleigh laden with presents traverses the globe.

The tradition began in 1955 when a Colorado Springs newspaper misprinted the phone number of a local department store for kids to call and speak to Santa.

The call instead went to what was then called the Continental Air Defense Command, and the on-duty commander assured the kids who called that Santa was aware of their Christmas wish lists and that all systems were go.

Three years later, the command began the tradition of offering the public updates on Santa's yuletide trek. Children and their parents can follow his global journey by logging on to www.noradsanta.org for real-time satellite tracking of Santa, and through various social media apps.

In addition, the website features so-called "Santa Cams" that stream videos of Santa as he hits various geographic points.

Children can also call a phone number listed on the NORAD website for updates on his whereabouts, or email questions to teams of Santa's helpers who are in constant contact with him and air traffic controllers.

NORAD's Cornelio, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, said that as St. Nick enters North American airspace, he slows down to greet U.S. and Canadian fighter jet pilots who are scrambled to escort his sleigh.

Cornelio cautioned, however, that while Santa is committed to bring gifts to children, there are certain conditions that must be met.

"Not only do kids have to be good boys and girls, but they also have to be in bed before he can bring presents," he said. (Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Dan Grebler)

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GaneshaSpeaks

Ganesha feels that the time is opportune for the Mannargudi heavyweight to rise high and achieve an important position in the party.



Sasikala Natarajan  the much famous companion and soul-sister of Jayalalithaa has seen a fair share of fame and media glare over the years. Things have taken a drastic turn in the southern-most state of India and now, power and fame seem ready to be knocking at Sasikalas door. The AIADMK party leaders have been urging her to take over as the CM, while on the other hand, theres a lot of anger amongst some sections against her. In this article, Ganesha feels though her planets indicate strong potential to rise high, the transiting planets will not let her path be an easy one. Some tricky situations and ugly controversies are likely to make things messy for her. Lets explore what the cosmos has in store for her.



The planets indicate that Sasikala can be a very good strategist, and can experiment with unusual systems of administration.



The Sun-Mercury-Saturn Connect:

Ganesha notes that Sasikala is born with the Sun in Capricorn and it is in conjunction with Mercury. This placement indicates good potential for success to some extent in politics. Mercury, which in her Chart is in retrograde motion, is being aspected by Natal Saturn from the Sign of Scorpio, which indicates that she is highly intelligent and will have some interesting ideas up her sleeve. Moreover, this also presents a picture of a person who is a deep thinker and the one who can be quite practical in her decisions.



Benefic planets in good association: Bright fortune

The Moon and Jupiter are conjunct in the Sign of Leo and this blesses her with fame, high position and social status. Apart from this, Jupiter is aspecting natal Venus. All the the three planets happen to be top-level benefics and the favourable disposition of these planets explains her proximity to such an influential leader as Jayalalithaa and the attention, popularity and support of the masses that she enjoys.



The Strong Scorpio Influence: The Enigmatic and Shrewd Strategist?

In the Chart of Sasikala, Mars, Saturn and Rahu are in conjunction in the Sign of Scorpio. The union of all the top-rank malefics, that too in the mysterious Scorpio presents a hazy picture about the soul-sister of Jaya Amma. Saturn-Rahu together indicates vulnerability to legal issues and the very same combination may create a lot of hurdles and challenges. The combination will create a lot of fluctuations and extreme situations in her life. Because of the same pairing, she may sometimes be accused of being a little superficial or her actions may be considered suspicious. Also, the presence of Mars therein denotes disputes and differences with highly placed figures.



But, on the positive side, as the trio happen to be placed in Scorpio, she would be a person who can devise wise strategies to deal with complex situations and she would be quite a bold individual, who doesnt mind exploring unchartered territories and trying unconventional ideas. She will also be good at gathering support of people and turning the backing of others into her political strength. But, her strategies may backfire on certain occasions, thus she will have to be extremely careful.



The Ambitious Sasi:

It can be said that she is a highly ambitious person, who doesnt mind aiming big, as the Signs which are considered highly ambitious  Capricorn, Scorpio and Leo are all occupied by key planets. This configuration makes the person crave for attention, fame and power.



The current scenario:



The favourable aspects:

The transiting Jupiter is currently aspecting the Sun and Mercury which will give a boost to her political career. The transiting Saturn is moving over the natal Saturn which indicates a very crucial and decisive time period for her personal life and political career as well. The period between mid January 2017 and April 2017 will be very important for her and she is likely to gain more control over the Party and political affairs. The said period seems opportune for her to get the most powerful position in the Party. She may emerge as one of the strongest leaders in Tamil Nadu politics.



The restrictive influences:

However, the transiting Rahu is moving over the natal Moon and Jupiter. So, some of her decisions and initiatives may prove to be fatal. The transiting Ketu is moving over the natal Venus. So, there will be conflicts within the Party and someone may try to tarnish her image. It also indicates some legal issues which may impede her progress.



The conclusion:

Ganesha feels that the favourable influences being rendered by the benefics will not be enough to save Sasikala from controveries and troubles. She will have to make her moves carefully, to avoid stepping on landmines.



With Ganeshas Grace,

Tanmay K. Thakar

(Special Inputs: Aaditya Sain)

The GaneshaSpeaks.com Team
The distressing suicide rate among military veterans is finally getting the attention it deserves, but much work remains.

Stories in the Journal Star on Sunday and Monday described the scope of the problem in Nebraska. In 2014, the most recent year with complete data, the suicide rate among veterans was 37.1 per 100,000 people, more than double the 16.6 rate for Nebraskans older than 20 that year.

The rate would have been higher if it were not for the work of volunteers, military veterans themselves, who devote themselves to helping their fellow veterans. Every week Im on the phone. Facebook or email with a veteran who is struggling, said David Ossian, who volunteers at the Midwest Division of the Marine Corps League. The stories they share would destroy their mothers if they heard them.

The situation is better than it was a decade ago, when Congress finally passed the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act, named after a veteran who shot himself after he came home to Iowa after serving in Iraq. The legislation required the Veterans Administration to begin suicide prevention programs at all its facilities.

Theres strong evidence that VA programs help. The suicide rate among veterans who did not use VA services jumped by 38.6 percent since 2001, compared to an increase of 8.8 percent among veterans who used the services.

But VA efforts to help also have been marred by too many problems. In February the agencys inspector general reported that one in six calls to the Veteran Crisis line went to voice mail or to back up centers where the calls were fielded by staffers without proper training.

Improvement should be occurring right now. A second national call center opened earlier this month in Atlanta, doubling the capacity to field crisis calls from veterans. The new center has 200 call center representatives and 25 social service assistants and support staff.

A report this August turned up a surprising finding; half of veteran suicides were among those who never deployed.

Too many veterans are still falling through cracks in the system. The transition from active military status to veteran status is a crack, said Michael Schoenbaum at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Volunteer David Ossian believes one way to make suicide prevention programs more effective is to expand the peer-to-peer effort, which is growing within the VA system and outside it.

A report in August from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs did have one positive statistic. It reported the suicide rate among veterans had dropped from 22 per day to 20. Thats still much too high, but its an improvement. VA officials and others need to keep the trend moving in the right direction.
* Police seek to determine if attacker had support in Italy

* Arrests made in Tunisia

* Body of Italian woman killed in Berlin attack returned to Italy

* Security stepped up around churches in France

By Philip Pullella

ROME, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Security for the long Christmas weekend was heightened throughout Italy and at the Vatican on Saturday following the killing by police of the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack.

As investigators sought to determine if Anis Amri had accomplices in Italy, and associates of the 24-year-old were arrested in his home country of Tunisia, national security officials were taking no chances.

Rome authorities banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather.

At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres (yards) along streets leading to the Vatican.

Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where faithful were attending Christmas services.

After reconstructing Amri's movements since he drove a truck through a festive market in Berlin on Monday, killing 12 people, police are investigating whether he was seeking shelter from comrades in Italy or was en route to another country.

The town where Amri was killed, Sesto San Giovanni, is home to a sizeable Muslim community and is a departure point for buses to southern Italy, eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Amri had travelled undetected to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europe's open-border Schengen pact. He was shot dead in the town on the outskirts of Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check.

In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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ARRESTS

On Saturday, Tunisian security forces arrested three suspected militants, including Amri's nephew, who had been in touch with Amri by social media messaging.

Spain's interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said its intelligence services were investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19.

Amri originally came to Europe in 2011, landing with other migrants on the island of Lampedusa, and spent four years in an Italian jail for trying to set a school on fire in Sicily.

German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amri's criminal past.

"Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Italians have been moved by the story of 31-year-old Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who survived two heart operations only to be killed in the truck attack in Berlin, where she was living.

President Sergio Mattarella went to Rome's Ciampino military airport on Saturday morning to grieve with her family as her body was returned from Germany. The arrival was broadcast live on Italian television.

Concerns about potential extremist violence also clouded the Christmas weekend in France, where the authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security at churches.

Fears of attacks by Islamist militants are running high in France, where more than 230 people have been killed in assaults in the past two years.

Emergency rule has been in place since Islamist militants killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015, giving police wider search and arrest powers to target suspects considered a threat to security.

(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin, Sonya Dowsett in Madrid and Maya Nikolaeva in Paris; Editing by Catherine Evans)
By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Security was heightened for the Christmas weekend in Italy and at the Vatican on Saturday after Italian police killed the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack while other European cities kept forces on high alert. In France, Britain and Germany, which have all been targets of Islamist militant attacks, police increased their presence at tourist spots in major cities and other densely populated areas. Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian suspected of carrying out the truck attack which killed 12 people, was shot dead in a town near Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check. He had travelled undetected to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europe's open-border Schengen pact. As investigators sought to determine if Amri had accomplices in Italy, and associates were being arrested in his home country of Tunisia, national security officials in Italy beefed up security at sensitive spots. Rome authorities banned vans or trucks from entering the city centre and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather. At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 metres (yards) along streets leading to the Vatican. Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services. In France, where Islamist militants killed 130 people in shooting and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security measures being enforced at churches. Emergency rule has been in place since the Paris attacks, and French soldiers patrol the capital's streets. Police have been given wider search and arrest powers to target suspects considered a threat to security. In Germany, federal police reinforced armed patrols at airports and rail stations, officials said. They have also reintroduced spot checks on people coming into Germany along a 30-km (19 miles) corridor inside the international frontiers. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has said the danger of an attack in Germany remains high despite the death of the suspected attacker. More than 100 investigators would be working through the holidays searching for any accomplices or support network for Amri. "The level of threat remains high," he told reporters late on Friday. Britain is on its second-highest threat level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely. Police there have increased security at a number of popular tourist attractions, including around Queen Elizabeth's London residence, Buckingham Palace. Armed officers patrol major shopping centres, Christmas markets and places of worship. RECONSTRUCTING MOVEMENTS After reconstructing Amri's movements since he drove a truck through a festive market in Berlin on Monday, police are investigating whether he was seeking shelter from comrades in Italy or was en route to another country. The town near Milan where Amri was killed, Sesto San Giovanni, is home to a sizeable Muslim community and is a departure point for buses to southern Italy, eastern Europe and the Balkans. In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Tunisian security forces on Saturday arrested three suspected militants, including Amri's nephew, who had been in touch with Amri by social media messaging. Spain's interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said its intelligence services were investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19. Amri originally came to Europe in 2011, landing with other migrants on the island of Lampedusa, and spent four years in an Italian jail for trying to set a school on fire in Sicily. German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amri's criminal past. "Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum," Germany's de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Italians have been moved by the story of 31-year-old Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who survived two heart operations only to be killed in the truck attack in Berlin, where she was living. (Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin, Sonya Dowsett in Madrid, Maya Nikolaeva in Paris, Guy Faulconbridge in London; Writing by Richard Balmforth)
By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Security was heightened for the Christmas weekend in Italy and at the Vatican on Saturday after Italian police killed the man believed to be responsible for the Berlin market truck attack while other European cities kept forces on high alert. In France, Britain and Germany, which have all been targets of Islamist militant attacks, police increased their presence at tourist spots in major cities and other densely populated areas. Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian suspected of carrying out the truck attack which killed 12 people, was shot dead in a town near Milan early on Friday after he pulled a gun on police during a routine check. He had traveled undetected to Italy from Germany via France, taking advantage of Europe's open-border Schengen pact. As investigators sought to determine if Amri had accomplices in Italy, and associates were being arrested in his home country of Tunisia, national security officials in Italy beefed up security at sensitive spots. Rome authorities banned vans or trucks from entering the city center and anti-terror police wearing masks and wielding machine guns set up roadblocks on routes leading to famous tourist sites or areas where crowds traditionally gather. At the Vatican, where Pope Francis was due to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's basilica on Saturday evening, police cars and military jeeps stood about every 100 meters (yards) along streets leading to the Vatican. Security was also stepped up in central Milan and other Italian cities, particularly near major churches where the faithful were attending Christmas services. In France, where Islamist militants killed 130 people in shooting and bomb attacks in Paris in November 2015, authorities said more than 91,000 policemen and soldiers would be deployed, with additional security measures being enforced at churches. Emergency rule has been in place since the Paris attacks, and French soldiers patrol the capital's streets. Police have been given wider search and arrest powers to target suspects considered a threat to security. In Germany, federal police reinforced armed patrols at airports and rail stations, officials said. They have also reintroduced spot checks on people coming into Germany along a 30-km (19 miles) corridor inside the international frontiers. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has said the danger of an attack in Germany remains high despite the death of the suspected attacker. More than 100 investigators would be working through the holidays searching for any accomplices or support network for Amri. "The level of threat remains high," he told reporters late on Friday. Britain is on its second-highest threat level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely. Police there have increased security at a number of popular tourist attractions, including around Queen Elizabeth's London residence, Buckingham Palace. Armed officers patrol major shopping centers, Christmas markets and places of worship. RECONSTRUCTING MOVEMENTS After reconstructing Amri's movements since he drove a truck through a festive market in Berlin on Monday, police are investigating whether he was seeking shelter from comrades in Italy or was en route to another country. The town near Milan where Amri was killed, Sesto San Giovanni, is home to a sizeable Muslim community and is a departure point for buses to southern Italy, eastern Europe and the Balkans. In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Tunisian security forces on Saturday arrested three suspected militants, including Amri's nephew, who had been in touch with Amri by social media messaging. Spain's interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said its intelligence services were investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19. Amri originally came to Europe in 2011, landing with other migrants on the island of Lampedusa, and spent four years in an Italian jail for trying to set a school on fire in Sicily. German authorities have complained they were unaware of Amri's criminal past. "Convicted criminals from all countries need to be listed in a European database so that we know when and where they are when they cross our borders or ask for asylum," Germany's de Maiziere told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Italians have been moved by the story of 31-year-old Fabrizia di Lorenzo, who survived two heart operations only to be killed in the truck attack in Berlin, where she was living. (Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin, Sonya Dowsett in Madrid, Maya Nikolaeva in Paris, Guy Faulconbridge in London; Writing by Richard Balmforth)
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 24, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces that it is investigating claims against New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. ("New Oriental" or the "Company") (EDU) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you purchased shares of New Oriental and want more information, 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.

On December 2, 2016, Reuters published an article showing that New Oriental has been accused of acting in college application fraud. The article mentions, "[e]ight former and current New Oriental employeestold Reuters the firms have engaged in college application fraud, including writing application essays and teacher recommendations, and falsifying high school transcripts." Later that day, Reuters released another statement claiming that due to its earlier report detailing academic fraud allegations at New Oriental, the American International Recruitment Council ("AIRC") "will investigate the company in response to the report", and the AIRC's president-elect regards the allegations as "highly concerning." When this information was disclosed to the public, the value of New Oriental fell on December 2, 2016, causing investors harm.

If you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.

Contact:

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello Trade Snowflakes for Sun Tans on Holiday Vacation

Its a holiday in the sun for Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello.

The 44-year-old Modern Family star headed out for a Christmas vacation in paradise, joined by her 39-year-old husband. In an Instagram photo taken on Friday night that Manganiello reposted on his own account, Vergara donned a white off-the-shoulder dress while she poses with Manganiello in front of a body of water.

Vergara also shared a beachside photo from the undisclosed location, where the actress makes it clear shes choosing bathing suits over Santa suits this Christmas.

Paraiso, she captioned the shot of her sporting a black one-piece and a hat as she kneels on a beach chair nestled in the sand, adding emojis such as waves and a blue fish.

The Hollywood couple werent the only ones on the getaway. Vergara also shared a photo in which she and her sister Veronica smile on a patterned couch, with the actress holding a tropical drink.

Last week, Vergara and Manganiello spent time in Mexico celebrating a wedding in which the True Blood star served as a groomsman.

This wedding celebration came less than one month after the couple commemorated their first anniversary on Nov. 22.

Vergara penned an adorable message to her husband on Instagram, saying, Happy First Anniversary to the love of my life. Nothing compares to you. Te Amo. #the breakerspalmbeach I will never forget that face.




By Yun Hwan Chae SEOUL (Reuters) - A large crowd of South Koreans took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday for the ninth weekend in a row to demand the immediate resignation of President Park Geun-hye, who has been impeached by parliament over a corruption scandal. About 200 young people dressed as Santa Claus gave out gifts to some of around 200,000 people taking part in the rally, many of whom brought their children. Like previous rallies, the event was held in a festive mood, with music and speeches from a stage set up in a large square a few blocks from the presidential Blue House. "It'll be a Merry Christmas if Park Geun-hye steps down!" the crowd chanted. Park Chans, a 25-year-old office worker in a Santa costume, said the aim was to see the end of Park's presidency and bring in a new year for the country with those accused of corruption being held responsible. "I hope that in the new year, this country will be a better to place to live for the youth," he said. Park's impeachment, for violating her constitutional duty as leader, is being reviewed by the Constitutional Court which has up to 180 days from the Dec. 9 impeachment to decide whether to uphold it or reinstate Park. Earlier on Saturday, a special prosecutor probing the scandal summoned a friend of Park at the center of the crisis, Choi Soon-sil, for questioning on charges including bribery and embezzlement, according to an official. Choi and former presidential aides were charged in November with abuse of power and fraud, but Park has immunity from prosecution as long as she is in office even though her powers are suspended. The special prosecutor, with a large team of investigators, has taken over the investigation from government prosecutors and is likely to probe the role of Park and others who have yet to be indicted in the case. "The charges in the indictment (against Choi) are but a very small part of the 14 points under investigation by the special prosecutor," said Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the team. Choi will be questioned on charges of bribery and transferring embezzled assets abroad, Lee told a briefing. Choi, wearing a grey prison uniform and a surgical mask, was brought in to the special prosecutor's office from a jail where she is in detention, pushed by a throng of correctional officers through a media scrum. She did not answer journalists' questions about the charges. At a court hearing on Monday, Choi denied all charges against her, including fraud and abuse of power. The special prosecutor has up to 100 days to investigate allegations that Park colluded with Choi and her aides to pressure big conglomerates to contribute 77 billion won ($64 million) to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. Park has denied wrongdoing but apologized for carelessness in her ties with Choi. ($1 = 1,200) (Additional reporting by Ju-min Park; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie and Adrian Croft)
London (AFP) - Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt died in hospital on Saturday after suffering a severe infection, his family said. The veteran rocker, who had survived numerous health scares, was 68.

He was taken into hospital in Marbella on the south coast of Spain on Thursday due to complications with a pre-existing shoulder injury.

In nearly five decades in the business, marked by hard rock, hard drugs, hard drinking and an unwavering style, Status Quo were synonymous with rock and roll.

With his flowing blond hair, denim outfits and white Fender Telecaster guitar belting out the riffs, Parfitt was an instantly-recognisable figure on stage.

The Quo are known for their stripped-down, three-chord hits such as their signature song "Rockin' All Over the World", with which they opened the mammoth 1985 Live Aid concert, which raised money for famine-hit Ethiopia.

"We are truly devastated to have to announce that Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt has passed away," his family and manager said in a joint statement.

"He died in hospital in Marbella, Spain as a result of a severe infection, having been admitted to hospital on Thursday evening following complications to a shoulder injury incurred by a previous fall.

"This tragic news comes at a time when Rick was hugely looking forward to launching a solo career with an album and autobiography planned for 2017 following his departure from Status Quo's touring activities on medical advice.

"He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow band members, management, crew and his dedicated legion of fans from throughout the world, gained through 50 years of monumental success with Status Quo."

Parfitt is survived by his wife Lyndsay, their young twins Tommy and Lily and his adult children Rick Junior and Harry.

- Rock and roll lifestyle -

Parfitt had battled a series of heart problems.

Doctors first told Parfitt his lifestyle of rock and roll debauchery could cost him his life after a quadruple heart bypass in 1997.

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In 2005 he had a throat cancer scare and had another heart attack in 2011.

Earlier this year, Parfitt suffered yet another heart attack which later saw him announce he would not return to perform live with Status Quo.

One of Britain's most successful bands of all time, they have sold more than 118 million records.

Parfitt and frontman Francis Rossi were the heart of the band, and were never afraid to poke fun at themselves or their reputation for refusing to change with the times, with a succession of career-prolonging publicity stunts.

Last year they became one of only 50 acts to have spent 500 weeks or more on the British album charts.

Their albums "Hello!" (1973), "On The Level" (1975), "Blue For You" (1976) and "1+9+8+2" (1982) all topped the charts.

"Down Down" topped the UK singles charts in 1974, as did "Come On You Reds" in 1994, recorded with the Manchester United football squad.

Other big hits included their debut single "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (1968), "Caroline" (1973), "Rockin' All Over the World" (1977), "Whatever You Want" (1979) "What You're Proposing" (1980), "Something 'Bout You Baby I Like" (1981), "The Wanderer" (1984), "In The Army Now" (1986), and "The Anniversary Waltz -- Part One" (1990).

It is estimated that Status Quo have played more than 6,000 live shows to more than 25 million people.
Glasgow (AFP) - Ten-man Celtic gave their fans some Christmas cheer as they maintained their 14-point lead atop the Scottish Premiership with a 3-0 win over Hamilton on Saturday.

Leigh Griffiths scored on the stroke of half-time before Callum McGregor saw red a minute after the interval for his second bookable offence.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Stuart Armstrong added to Celtic's tally before substitute Moussa Dembele sealed their 13th win in a row.

"We were presented with a challenge going down to 10 men for the first time this season, which I thought was an awful decision by the referee," said Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.

"The kid is hugely disappointed, but there's no fault of his on that one."

Fierce rivals Rangers carved out a narrow 1-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Ibrox to strengthen their grip on second place.

Mark Warburton's side moved seven points clear of Aberdeen, who won 3-1 away to Motherwell on Friday.

Brad McKay's first-half own goal was enough for Rangers to win a fourth successive game for the first time this season.

"The players have had a bad day in terms of quality of performance, but they've emerged with the three points," said Rangers manager Warburton.

"All credit to them. If you can have an off day and still emerge with the spoils, it speaks volumes for the team."

After grabbing a double in last week's win at Hamilton, Martyn Waghorn retained his place in the Rangers starting line-up and missed an early chance to give his side the lead.

The striker latched onto Joe Garner's headed flick-on and burst into the box from the right, but blazed his effort high and wide.

- Garner goes close -

Lee Wallace's deflected cross then fell to Jason Holt, who tested Owain Fon Williams with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

Despite their early pressure, Rangers almost went behind in the 12th minute when Losana Doumbouya got in front of the Gers centre-back to prod a lofted ball into the box towards goal.

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But Wes Foderingham produced a fine save to stop it on the line.

Inverness were to rue that missed opportunity a minute later as Rangers took the lead.

Waghorn beat his man to cut into the box and his fiercely struck cross-cum-shot smacked off McKay and into his own net.

Inverness were unperturbed by going behind and Foderingham came to the rescue for Rangers again as he thwarted Larnell Cole after the Inverness forward intercepted Andy Halliday's slack pass.

Halliday nearly made amends when his vicious 25-yard strike looked to be sailing into the top corner, only for Fon Williams to get a fingertip to it to turn it over.

Foderingham was at full-stretch to turn away a Greg Tansey angled drive before he spilled Lee Hodson's headed back-pass into the path of Liam Polworth, who put his effort off-target.

Rangers' fans have failed in their bid to get The Dave Clark Five song 'Glad All Over' to Christmas number one in tribute to cult hero Garner, whose praises they sing to that tune.

The striker almost gave them something else to sing about in the second half when substitute Kenny Miller's deflected shot was flicked up into his path, but he sent his effort narrowly wide.

Aaron Doran replaced the injured Iain Vigurs for Inverness and the midfielder had a chance immediately, but pulled his shot on the turn over the bar.
As Nebraskas statehood sesquicentennial approaches, it is interesting to look back and see how some in the territory wanted statehood and others lobbied against it.

Nebraska was made a territory in 1854 by a Democrat administration in Washington, D.C., meaning the governor and other federal appointees were quite naturally Democrats. Even the names of the original counties were derived from Democrats names, save that of Washington.

In 1858, the Omaha Times polled readers and found that both Democrats and Republicans were already in favor of statehood by large majorities. In 1860, an election was called to ask for a constitutional convention. Although the Republicans were elected by a good percentage, anti-statehood sentiment scotched the constitution resulting in no convention.

On April 19, 1864, the U.S. Congress, a predominately Republican body at that point, passed an act directing Republican Territorial Gov. Alvin Saunders to form a constitution. Delegates met in July, but Democrats, who wanted to wait for a Democratic administration that would bring Democratic appointments, argued successfully that statehood would mean that federal underwriting of territorial expenses would end with all local demands forced to be paid by local taxation. About the only thing done was a 35-to-7 vote to close the convention.

Virtually no discussion or action occurred in 1865.

In a Jan. 9, 1866, address, Saunders strongly promoted, statehood pointing out how Nevada, with about half of Nebraskas population, had successfully become a state. A small committee of Republicans, possibly but not definitely appointed by the governor, quietly met in Omaha and drafted a state constitution. On Feb. 5, the document was carried to the Legislatures council by a friendly, though Democratic, councilman. The document, which allowed no amendments, was not printed or read on the floor but hastily passed 7-to-6 in the council and four days later in the house.

Saunders wasted no time signing the act, sending it to the people for a vote on June 2, 1866.

Party line arguments for and against statehood again formed, but the Republican-drawn Constitution was approved, and at the same time established a provisional set of state officers drawing two highly questioned results. Firstly, about 100 U.S. soldiers at Fort Kearny, who were primarily Republicans, were allowed to vote although they were most obviously not citizens of the state. The Constitution was approved 3,938 to 3,838, and the state officers approved 4,093 to 3,984.

The officers thus elected were also Republicans with the lone exception of Oliver Perry Mason, who was bested by Democrat William A. Little. In a bizarre twist of fate Little died before he could be seated as chief justice and Mason was appointed in his place.

The Republican constitution vote was also marred by the contested vote of Rock Bluffs Precinct in Cass County. When the poll closed at noon for lunch, election judge Jeremiah Hutchinson ordered the poll books and ballot box locked. Hutchinson then, with another man from the staff, took the box with them to lunch to protect it from possible mischief. The polls were reopened during the afternoon and again locked at 6 p.m. for dinner. County Clerk Burwell Spurlock then received the ballots.

A challenge was made on the very close race, with Republican Spurlock appointing two fellow Republicans to hold a hearing. The entire Rock Bluff ballot was summarily discounted on the basis that the ballot box should not have been removed from the polling place. Without the predominant Democratic vote of Rock Bluff, Cass County therefore joined the Republican victory. Although there were other irregularities in Nebraska, none were challenged and Nebraska moved toward statehood and left Nebraska with the unusual situation of having elected a state governor with a sitting territorial governor still in office.

The question then moved to Washington, D.C., and late in the session in July, both houses passed Nebraskas statehood act. President Andrew Johnson, however, realized this would increase Republican strength in Congress and pocket-vetoed the bill.

When it was reintroduced in December 1866, a Massachusetts senator asked that Nebraska drop its constitutional provision barring blacks from voting. Sen. George Edmunds of Vermont proposed an amendment granting the black vote but this moved the next chapter of Nebraska statehood out of 1866 and into 1867.
Terror threat in France remains high following Mondays truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, French national police chief said Friday. Jean-Marc Falcone stressed that security measures in public areas need to be stepped up.

"Our intelligence services daily analyze the state of terrorist threat. For many months it remains very high both in France and the European countries that take part in the [US-led] coalition [in Syria]," Falcone told Journal du Dimanche newspaper, according to Sputnik News.

Falcone also said it was important to beef up security in the country and put up video surveillance, barriers and searches at the entrance to pedestrian zones following the Berlin attack, which killed 12 people. French security forces and special units are prepared to respond immediately to such attacks during Christmas celebrations, he added.

The Berlin truck attack, which is suspected to have been carried out by Tunisian Anis Amri, has again raised security concerns in Europe. The Mondays attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, which called Amri a soldier of the Islamic State. Amri was killed in a shootout in Milan, Italy, on Friday.

Officials in the U.S. have also stepped up security across the country after ISIS sympathizers called on attacks on churches.

"The FBI is aware of the recent link published online that urges attacks against U.S. churches, FBI spokesman Andrew Ames reportedly said Friday. "As with similar threats, the FBI is tracking this matter while we investigate its credibility."

Posts on ISIS channels on Telegram app urged the militant groups supporters to carry out bloody celebrations in the Christian New Year. It also said it planned to use ISIS network of lone-wolf attackers to turn the Christian New Year into a bloody horror movie.

Related Articles
Tunisian authorities have arrested three men in connection with the December 19 attack in Berlin, including the nephew of prime suspect Anis Amri, whom police shot and killed Friday in Milan.

Actress Carrie Fisher remains in intensive care after an apparent heart attack aboard a plane on Friday.

Lockheed Martins CEO says she told President-elect Donald Trump she would keep the cost of the F-35 fighter down.

Its Christmas somewhere. NORAD, the U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command, is tracking Santa Claus progress across the globe here.

Were live-blogging the news stories of the day below. All updates are in Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5).

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  A powerful typhoon was heading for a Christmas Day collision with the central Philippines. Nock-Ten has intensified into a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers (108 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 215 kph (133 mph) and it heads for landfall over Cataduanes Island in the central Bicol region. It's then forecast to drag across the southern portion of the main Luzon island as it passes close to the capital, Manila, and begins to weaken. Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and battering waves are threatening heavily populated areas, where the Philippine weather bureau raised storm signals and warned that sea travel is risky along the eastern seaboard.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)  Sri Lanka unveiled a towering Christmas tree, claiming to have surpassed the world record despite constructions delays and a shorter-than-planned finished product. The 73-meter (238-foot) artificial tree in capital Colombo is 18 meters (59 feet) taller than the current record holder, organizers said. The tree's steel-and-wire frame is covered with a plastic net decorated with more than 1 million natural pine cones painted red, gold, green and silver, 600,000 LED bulbs and topped by a 6-meter (20-foot)-tall shining star. The tree costs $80,000 and was criticized by the Catholic Church as a "waste of money." The church suggested that the funds better be spent on helping the poor.

NEW DELHI (AP)  A woman and a teenager believed to be linked to a banned Islamist militant group blew themselves up during a police raid on a two-story house in Bangladesh's capital on Saturday, a government minister said. The woman died after detonating explosives attached to her body during the raid, while the teenage boy's bloodied body was found inside an apartment on the ground floor of the building in Dhaka's Ashkona area, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said. Both were tied to the Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh group, or JMB, he said. A 7-year-old girl sustained splinter injuries when the woman blew herself up and was being treated at a hospital in Dhaka, Khan said.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A South Korean special prosecutor on Saturday summoned the jailed friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye who allegedly exploited her connections with Park to extort money and favors from the country's largest companies and manipulate government affairs. In handcuffs, white prison clothes and a surgical mask, Choi Soon-sil was escorted into a southern Seoul office where investigators have been widening their inquiry into the scandal. Millions of protesters have taken to the streets before the country's opposition-controlled parliament on Dec. 9 voted to impeach Park. Lee Kyu Chul, an official from the investigation team led by special prosecutor Park Young-soo, said without elaborating that Choi would be "broadly" questioned on charges that were included in indictments and also on newer allegations.

CHICAGO (AP)  A teenage blogger from Singapore whose supporters say is seeking asylum is in custody after being detained last week at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, U.S. immigration officials said Saturday. Amos Yee, 18, was detained Dec. 16 and remains in custody "pending federal immigration court proceedings," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said in a written statement. Separately, Marilu Cabrera with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles some asylum requests, said the agency "cannot confirm or deny" details of any asylum case. The Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, called on the U.S.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)  Kem Ley, a poor rice farmer's son turned champion of Cambodia's have-nots, was sipping his usual iced latte in the same chair he had occupied most mornings for years. Eyewitnesses say a former soldier walked into the Caltex gas station cafe, fired a semi-automatic Glock pistol into his chest and head and casually walked away. Two weeks later, tens of thousands of mourners thronged Phnom Penh's streets to trail the glass casket bearing Kem Ley's body in the largest public rally Cambodia has witnessed in recent times. The funeral march reflected not only grief for the popular government critic, but also anger at a government that this year has decimated opponents through imprisonment, intimidation and, many believe, the still-unresolved killing of Kem Ley.

BEIJING (AP)  China's military says its first aircraft carrier group has carried out a series of fighter launch, recovery and air combat exercises in the Yellow Sea ahead of a scheduled voyage farther afield. The Defense Ministry announced late Friday that the Liaoning carrier group conducted the drills in the Yellow Sea in recent days, adding that the group "as a next step will conduct scheduled cross-sea training and tests." The ministry did not specify its destination, but its "cross-sea" wording has prompted speculation in the Chinese media that the warships could soon sail to the contested South China Sea.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)  A Sri Lankan court on Saturday acquitted five suspects including three navy personnel who were accused in the shooting death of an outspoken ethnic Tamil lawmaker. Nadaraja Raviraj was shot dead in his car in 2006 during the country's long civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in 2009. He was an advocate for greater self-rule for minority Tamils and had explained the Tamil perspective of the conflict in Sinhala, the language of the majority. The verdict was delivered by High Court Judge Manilal Waidyatilleke at 12:25 a.m. on Saturday, following the unanimous decision reached by the seven-member jury in the monthlong trial.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A South Korean airport official said Saturday that airport staff shot and killed a dog belonging to a Thai Airways passenger after it got loose before being boarded onto a plane and ran onto a busy runway. An official from Incheon Airport said that the response on Monday was standard procedure and inevitable because the dog could have threatened the safety of aircraft and passengers. The official said the dog belonged to a passenger who was boarding a flight from Seoul to Bangkok. He couldn't confirm whether the dog's owner filed a complaint with airport management.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP)  A spokesman for a Pakistani militant group says their chief has survived a gun attack while travelling in Afghanistan. Ali Bin Sufyan said the chief of the Lashker-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi group, Yousuf Mansoor Khurasani, came under attack by one of the group's members in Afghanistan's Zabul province Saturday. He said the attacker was killed by the retaliatory fire of Khurasani's bodyguard. The attack exposes cracks in the unity of the militant group, which in recent months has been involved in major attacks in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, such as those on the Quetta police training center and the Shah Noorani shrine which killed dozens.
Some States Offer Pre-Trial Intervention or Diversion Programs for Certain Offenders, Usually First-Time Offenders with No Criminal History

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 22, 2016 / The June 2014 truck accident that seriously injured comedian Tracy Morgan and killed another passenger in Morgan's limo bus has struck a deal with the state of New Jersey that allows him to avoid serving any jail time in connection with the vehicular homicide, aggravated manslaughter, and other charges he faced stemming from that accident. According to one report, the driver faced up to 30 years in prison - time he won't have to serve now.

The news may come as a shock to many, considering the facts of the case. As reported by CNN, investigators determined that the semi-truck driver had already driven 12 hours from his home before getting in his truck to begin a 14-hour shift. When he began his shift, he had gone 25 hours without sleep. At the time of the accident, he was driving over 20 miles per hour faster than the speed limit in a construction zone. He fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the back of Morgan's limo bus.

Morgan settled a civil lawsuit for an undisclosed amount against both the truck driver and Walmart, the company the truck driver was working for. Now, the semi-truck driver's lawyer has stated that prosecutors in his criminal case have agreed to a deal that allows him to avoid any time in prison.

What Are Pre-Trial Intervention Programs?

Texas truck accident lawyer Amy Witherite explains, "Some states offer pre-trial intervention or diversion programs for certain offenders, usually first-time offenders with no criminal history."

The truck driver in the Morgan case has agreed to enter such a program, which will last for three years. During those three years, he must perform 300 hours of community service and avoid any criminal charges. If he successfully completes the pre-trial intervention program, he can ask the state to expunge his criminal record.

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To qualify for the program, the driver was required to plead guilty to all of the charges against him. However, those charges are put on "hold" while he completes the pre-trial intervention program. The charges are dropped at the conclusion of the program, as long as he complies with all of its requirements.

The crash has prompted many to call for stricter regulations regarding semi-truck drivers who commute for work. Current federal hours-of-service regulations prohibit semi-truck drivers from exceeding 14 consecutive hours of driving time following 10 hours of continuous duty.

Attorney Witherite adds, "Anyone who has been injured in a semi-truck accident should speak to a Texas truck accident lawyer about their rights."

Media Contact:

Lucy Tiseo

Eberstein & Witherite, LLP

Phone: 800-878-2597

Email: lucy.tiseo@ewlawyers.com

www.1800truckwreck.com

Connect with Eberstein & Witherite on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Watch Videos by Amy Witherite http://www.1800truckwreck.com/video.

Source: http://www.1800truckwreck.com/truck-driver-tracy-morgan-crash-wont-go-jail-texas-truck-accident-lawyer-explains.html

SOURCE: Eberstein & Witherite, LLP via Submit Press Release 123
Carl Icahn , who was named a special advisor on regulation to Donald Trump , is pushing to repeal part of a rule that has a negative impact on one of his energy investments.

Former White House ethics lawyers say the billionaire's appointment to the informal role, given his stake in refiner CVR Energy (CVI), represents a conflict of interest and could put him at risk of violating conflicts laws.

The rule in question requires refiners to blend ethanol, a renewable fuel, into gasoline. In an interview on CNBC's "Fast Money: Hafltime Report," Icahn said the Environmental Protection Agency should immediately revoke part of the rule that requires refiners that cannot blend ethanol into gasoline to buy credits instead.

If Icahn's advice in his capacity as special adviser on regulation contributed to such a repeal, he would have inherently aided in removing a disadvantage for CVR Energy. Repeal of the regulation would potentially boost CVR's stock price and enrich Icahn.

Shares of CVR Energy rose 11.5 percent on Thursday after Trump named Icahn to the role. Icahn Associates holds 82 percent of CVR Energy's outstanding shares, according to FactSet data.





The Trump transition team did not immediately return CNBC's phone call or emails requesting comment.

Earlier, the Trump transition team said Icahn "will be advising the President in his individual capacity and will not be serving as a federal employee or a Special Government Employee and will not have any specific duties."

Still, Norman Eisen, the former chief ethics lawyer to President Barack Obama , said Icahn should beware, because the situation may pose a violation of conflict of interest and other laws, some of which could carry a criminal penalty. He said Icahn's duties may go beyond informal advising, given that he has a formal title as special advisor, sweeping responsibilities and potentially influence over personnel choices.

"It appears that he may end up as a de facto special government employee. As such, he would be subject to the conflicts rules, including under 18 USC 208," Eisen told CNBC, referring to a law that restricts people with a financial interest from advising the president.

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"If so, that would make him potentially criminally liable if he worked on a repeal of the ethanol mandate that would boost CVR's stock price and enrich him. Of course, that's a lot of ifs, and we have to see what his actual conduct is," said Eisen, now a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In a statement to CNBC, Jesse Lynn, general counsel at Icahn Enterprises, said, "Mr. Icahn is well aware of his obligations under the law generally and with respect to 18 U.S.C. 208 specifically. He will follow the law as he always has."

He reiterated the Trump Team's message that "unlike a government employee, [Icahn] will have no official role or duties." He added that Icahn will not be in a position to set policy, but will instead offer suggestions.

Eisen said the press release announcing Icahn's appointment does not provide sufficient details about what Icahn "will and will not do, and how he will avoid tripping into" the role of special government employee.

To be sure, it is not yet certain whether Icahn will actively lobby to repeal the regulation, but in Thursday's CNBC interview, he gave some indication that it's on his agenda.

Asked what specific regulations he would target, Icahn said, "If you look at the EPA, which I've talked about quite a bit, there is nothing more absurd  and I've talked about this before  than this regulation concerning the obligated party, being refineries."

He said it was "insane" to require refiners to blend ethanol into gasoline. He also said it was "insane" that the credits for those who don't blend ethanol are traded openly. Trading in the credits can drive up the price.

In an answer to a follow-up question on when he expected regulations to be rolled back, Icahn said, "I believe that in the EPA, concerning regulations relative to refineries, you really need to roll back almost yesterday."

Richard Painter, a former chief ethics lawyer to George W. Bush and longtime critic of Trump, said it would be a "huge conflict" if Icahn advised Trump on the ethanol mandate. In an email to CNBC, Painter noted that the Trump transition team says Icahn "is not a government employee (they may be wrong on this if he acts like one) so it looks like they are saying the rules won't apply to him."

"As far as I'm concerned, I don't have any specific duties," Icahn said on CNBC. "What I'm going to be doing is basically talk to Donald as I've talked before."

Icahn has long been a critic of the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires refiners to blend ethanol and other biofuels with gasoline.

Under the standard passed under George W. Bush's adminstration, refiners are required to either blend some ethanol into gasoline or buy credits called Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs.

Large refiners that operate gas stations have an advantage in this system because they can blend the gasoline and send it to their pumps to be sold to consumers. That means they have to buy fewer RINs.

But smaller merchant refiners like CVR Energy do not have blending operations and instead sell gasoline in bulk to traders. As a result, they have to buy RINs to comply with the ethanol mandate.

Icahn said he opposes the regulation because it stresses refiners' finances and prevents them from investing in their facilities. He has warned that the cost burdens associated with RINs could push some refiners into bankruptcy, which would lead to higher gasoline prices.

That could have ripple effects that "would absolutely wreck America's economy," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial.





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Washington (AFP) - A Donald Trump ally has ignited widespread outrage after wishing for US President Barack Obama's death and making racially charged comments about the first lady.

Carl Paladino -- a businessman who served as a co-chairman of the president-elect's New York State election campaign -- made the incendiary jabs in a year-end feature published on Friday in Artvoice, a weekly newspaper in upstate New York.

Asked what he would "most like to see happen" in 2017, the former Republican candidate for governor of New York state said he hoped Obama "catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations" with a type of beef cattle and "dies before his trial."

When questioned what he would "most like to see go" next year, Paladino replied "Michelle Obama."

"I'd like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."

Paladino's remarks quickly spurred angry reaction on social media and drew the ire of elected officials.

Andrew Cuomo -- current New York governor who beat Paladino in 2010 -- slammed his ex-rival's comments as "racist, ugly and reprehensible."

"Paladino has a long history of racist and incendiary comments," Cuomo said in a statement. "His remarks do not reflect the sentiments or opinions of any real New Yorker.

"He has embarrassed the good people of the state with his latest hate-filled rage."

Trump did not personally defend or call out his political ally, though a spokeswoman for the president-elect said the comments "are absolutely reprehensible, and they serve no place in our public discourse," according to the New York Times.

Facing broad condemnation, Paladino published an open letter that his remarks had "nothing to do with race." In the statement he went on to call Obama "a yellow-bellied coward" and said the first lady should "leave and go someplace she will be happy."

Paladino -- a developer in the city of Buffalo, New York -- visited Trump Tower earlier this month, a meeting he described to The Buffalo News as "very warm."
By Melissa Fares and Andrew Osborn WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump upped the stakes on Friday in a back-and-forth exchange with President Vladimir Putin over nuclear weapons that tested the Republican's promises to improve relations with Russia. Offering a glimpse of how he might conduct diplomacy after taking office on Jan. 20, Trump reportedly welcomed a nuclear arms race with Russia and China and boasted that the United States would win it. MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski said Trump told her in an off-air phone call: "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all." The television station did not play his comments on air. It was the second brusque comment about atomic weapons in two days from the New York businessman that alarmed nuclear non-proliferation experts worried about fueling global tension. The broadsides from Trump's resort in Florida appeared to be aimed mostly at Putin even though the two men have vowed to patch up relations between their countries once the Republican enters the White House. Trump tweeted unexpectedly on Thursday that, "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," but gave no further details. That comment appeared to be a response to Putin who said earlier on Thursday that Russia needed to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces." Russia and the United States are at odds over Syria's civil war and Ukraine but Cold War-style nuclear tensions have greatly eased in recent years. Moscow and Washington signed the New START nuclear treaty in 2010 which reduced strategic weapons and delivery systems. PUTIN CAUTIOUS Putin, accused by the Obama administration of overseeing a wave of cyber attacks against U.S. political organizations during the presidential campaign, said on Friday he had no interest in competing with the U.S. nuclear weapon program. "If anyone is unleashing an arms race it's not us ... We will never spend resources on an arms race that we can't afford," he said at a news conference. The Russian president said he was surprised by State Department comments that the U.S. military is the most powerful in the world. "Nobody is arguing with that," Putin said. He said he did not regard the United States as a potential aggressor and said he saw nothing new or remarkable about Trump's own statement about wanting to expand U.S. nuclear capabilities. The United States is in the midst of a $1 trillion, 30-year modernization of its aging nuclear arsenal and replacement of its ballistic missile submarines, bombers and land-based missiles. It is a price tag that most experts say the United States can ill afford. Russia, also bound by New START limits, is carrying out its own costly modernization program but is not expanding its warhead stockpile. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the president-elect's nuclear comments were meant to send a general message of strength to countries like Russia and China rather than indicate the United States planned to build up its nuclear capabilities. "He is going to do what it takes to protect this country and if another country or countries want to threaten our safety and sovereignty, he is going to do what it takes," Spicer said onCNN. PUTIN'S 'VERY NICE LETTER' Trump was elected president unexpectedly last month partly on a platform of building up the U.S. military but he also pledged to cut taxes and control federal spending. His nuclear comments suggest that improving relations with Moscow might not be easy. Trump on Friday released what he said was "a very nice letter" from Putin dated Dec. 15 in which the Russian leader sought bilateral cooperation and a "new level" of relations. In an accompanying statement, Trump said he hoped both countries could "live up to these thoughts" rather than "have to travel an alternative path." The Obama administration has accused Russia of trying to interfere with the U.S. election by hacking Democratic Party accounts. Information from those hacks was leaked online, causing political problems for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Putin dismissed suggestions Moscow had helped Trump to victory. "The current administration and the leadership of the Democratic Party are trying to blame all their failures on external factors," he said at his Friday news conference. "(We are talking about) a party which has clearly forgotten the original meaning of its own name. They (the Democrats) are losing on all fronts and looking elsewhere for things to blame. In my view this, how shall I say it, degrades their own dignity. You have to know how to lose with dignity." Trump expressed his agreement with Putin's view of the Democrats. "So true!" Trump tweeted Friday evening. Putin, who spoke positively of Trump before his election win, said that only Moscow had believed in his victory. "Trump understood the mood of the people and kept going until the end, when nobody believed in him," Putin said, adding with a smile. "Except for you and me." (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Jonathan Landay and Roberta Rampton in Washington and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Mary Milliken)
Fox News host and Daily Caller editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson interviewed Teen Vogue writer Lauren Duca on Friday night, and the final result was kind of ugly. Duca and Carlson faced off over the recent incident where Ivanka Trump had been shouted at on a JetBlue flight, but it soon devolved into the Fox News host taking on a mocking tone while Duca stood her ground on her writing and her political statements online.

Ivanka Trump is poised to become the most powerful woman in the world. Don't let her off the hook because she looks like she smells good.  Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) December 23, 2016

Carlson was quick to bring up the tweet above from Duca in relation to the Trump incident before pivoting to her article in Teen Vogue titled Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America. This would all be fair game under normal circumstances, but Carlson seems to want to call out Duca as opposed to debating what was said in her tweets and in the article. To the Teen Vogue writers credit, she stood her ground and defended herself against Carlson and her position against the Trump administration:

Youre actually being a partisan hack thats just attacking me ad nauseum and not allowing me to speak.

The interview does not get much better from this point, with Carlson using Ducas other articles for Teen Vogue  including an article involving Ariana Grande and thigh-high boots  as a sort of criticism against her work about Donald Trump and other political topics. It quickly turns into a mess all the way until the end when Carlson tells Duca the following:

You should stick to the thigh-high boots. Youre better at that.

Its definitely an infuriating interview, no matter what side youre on in the debate. Each side is apparently willing to declare themselves the victor, especially Carlsons Daily Caller ran the interview with the headline, Tucker Carlson Embarrasses Feminist Who Defended Harassing Ivanka. And despite being cut off at the end of the interview, Duca did respond to Carlson online:

.@TuckerCarlson is an enemy of rational discourse. In this fraught moment, his bully tactics are profoundly damaging, and achieve nothing.  Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) December 24, 2016

Youre certainly free to judge for yourself. If anything, I dont expect to see Duca sitting down to chat with Carlson at any point in the near future.
Tunis (AFP) - Tunisia arrested the nephew of the suspected Berlin truck attacker and two other jihadist suspects who are "connected" to the Tunisian assailant Anis Amri, the interior ministry said Saturday.

A statement said the three suspects, aged between 18 and 27, were arrested on Friday and were members of a "terrorist cell... connected to the terrorist Anis Amri".

It made no direct link between the suspects and Monday's deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

The interior ministry said that Amri had sent money to his nephew and encouraged him to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group.

"One of the members of the cell is the son of the sister of the terrorist (Amri) and during the investigation he admitted that he was in contact with his uncle through (the messaging service) Telegram," it said.

Amri allegedly urged his nephew to adopt jihadist "takfiri" ideology "and asked him to pledge allegiance to Daesh (IS)," it said.

The nephew also told investigators that Amri "sent him money through the post... so that he could join him in Germany," the statement added.

The unnamed nephew was reported in the statement to have said that his uncle was the "prince" or leader of a jihadist group based in Germany and know as the "Abu al-Walaa" brigade.

Amri, 24, is believed to have hijacked a truck and used it to mow down holiday revellers at a Berlin Christmas market on Monday, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

He was shot dead after pulling out a pistol and firing at two Italian policemen who had stopped him for a routine identity check Friday near Milan's Sesto San Giovanni railway station.

He lightly wounded one of the policemen before being killed by the other.

The Tunisian interior ministry did not specify where the three suspects were arrested but said that the "terrorist cell" was "active" between Fouchana, south of Tunis, and Oueslatia, hometown of Amri's family in central Tunisia.
(Adds details of the three in paragraph 3)

TUNIS, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Tunisian security forces have arrested three suspected militants after uncovering their links to Anis Amri, the Tunisian national believed responsible for the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

Amri's nephew was among the three men and had been in touch by social media messaging with Amri, the ministry said. Amri was killed on Friday by Italian police after he pulled a gun on them during a routine search.

The three were between the ages of 18 and 27 and had been active around Amri's hometown of Oueslatia, central Tunisia. The nephew had been communicating with Amri about declaring allegiance to Islamic State and had also sent him money using a false name, it said.

In Spain, intelligence services are investigating a possible connection via Internet between Amri and a Spanish resident on Dec. 19, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told radio station COPE on Saturday.

He said police and security forces were studying the information and deciding whether to make any arrests.

Amri, 24, is suspected of ploughing a truck through the Berlin market on Monday. In a video released on Friday after his death, he is seen pledging his allegiance to militant group Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

(Reporting by Mohamed Agourby; Additional reporting by Sonya Dowsett in Madrid; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP)  About 200 people have protested in the Tunisian capital against the return of Tunisian jihadis who have fought abroad.

The gathering Saturday was prompted by the deadly truck attack in a Berlin Christmas market by Tunisian Anis Amri, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and was killed Friday in a police shootout. Amri, 24, was slated to be deported home from Germany.

Banners at the protest in front of Parliament in Tunis read "Close the doors to terrorism" and "No tolerance, no return." Protesters waved Tunisian flags and sang the national anthem.

Protester Faten Mejri said "for us, they are not Tunisians. They are awful people."

Tunisia says at least 800 Tunisian jihadis are under surveillance since returning home after fighting in Syria, Iraq and Libya.
Tunis (AFP) - Hundreds of people gathered outside Tunisia's parliament on Saturday to protest against letting jihadists who fought overseas to return to the country.

"No to freedom for terrorist groups!" protestors chanted.

Some held placards calling for "political will against terrorist groups".

Organisers said 1,500 people attended the rally.

It was held on the same day authorities said they had arrested three alleged jihadists connected to the suspected Berlin Christmas market attacker, Tunisian Anis Amri.

Protestors slammed Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist Ennahda party, who has in the past supported the idea of allowing Tunisian jihadists who "repent" and renounce violence to return home.

President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier this month that Tunisia would refuse to pardon Tunisians who fight for jihadist organisations.

"Many of them want to return, and we can't prevent a Tunisian from returning to his country," he told AFP, "but we will be vigilant."

Following a storm of criticism in the press and on social media, on December 15 he told Tunisian local television that "we will not be indulgent with the terrorists".

More than 5,000 Tunisians are fighting for jihadist groups abroad, mainly in Iraq, Syria or neighbouring Libya, according to a UN working group on mercenaries.

On Friday evening, the country's Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub told parliament 800 Tunisian nationals who had fought for extremist groups abroad had since returned to the country.

Since its 2011 revolution Tunisia has faced repeated jihadist attacks, killing more than 100 soldiers and policemen, as well as about 20 civilians and 59 foreign tourists, according to official figures.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian rebels backed by Turkish warplanes killed 68 Islamic State militants in northern Syria overnight, the Turkish military said on Saturday, as intense fighting around the town of al-Bab continued. Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to the Islamic State-held town for weeks under the "Euphrates Shield" operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the Sunni hardliners and Kurdish fighters from its Syrian border. Fighting around al-Bab has escalated this week with Turkish soldiers and 138 jihadists killed in clashes on Wednesday in the deadliest day since the start of Turkey's Syrian incursion. Sixty-eight Islamic State militants have been "neutralized" in fighting and air strikes near al-Bab since Friday night, the military said in a statement. A total of 141 Islamic State targets were hit in the attacks and one of its military headquarters was destroyed, the military said, adding that two of the Turkish-backed rebel fighters had been killed and one wounded. Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Friday that the area around a hospital used as a command center and ammunition depot by Islamic State had been cleared of militants, marking a breakthrough for the rebels. Speaking in Kocaeli province, near Istanbul, Isik also said authorities had information three Turkish soldiers had been captured by Islamic State but nothing else had been confirmed. Islamic State in Syria released a video on Thursday purporting to show two captured Turkish soldiers being burned to death, according to the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group which monitors militant groups online. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Gulsen Solaker; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey is investigating 10,000 people suspected of terror-related activity on the internet or posting comments on social media insulting government officials, the interior ministry said on Saturday.

The inquiries are part of the "fight against terrorism, which continues with determination everywhere, including on social networks", the ministry said in a statement.

After a coup attempt in July, Turkey declared a state of emergency and launched deep purges of perceived opponents, sparking concern among human rights groups which accuse Ankara of repression.

More than 1,600 people accused of "propaganda or apologising for terrorism" or "insulting state officials" have been arrested in the past six months, according to the ministry.

Turkish authorities are often accused of restricting access to social networks after serious incidents, such as attacks, to stop the circulation of information that could "undermine state security".

Access was severely disrupted after the assassination on Monday of Andrei Karlov, Russia's ambassador to Turkey.

And Twitter and YouTube have slowed since the publication on Thursday of a video in which the Islamic State group purportedly burned alive two captured Turkish soldiers.

An internet monitoring body, Turkey Blocks, also reported difficulties accessing virtual private networks which are routinely used to circumvent restrictions on access to social networks or websites.
Damascus (AFP) - Two people were killed Saturday in a blast at an ammunitions warehouse formerly used by rebels in the battered Syrian city of Aleppo, state media said.

SANA news agency said the explosion took place at a school that had been transformed into "an ammunitions and explosive devices warehouse left behind by terrorist groups in the Sukkari neighbourhood".

Citing a police source, it said another 33 people were wounded in the blast, four of them critically, but did not specify whether they were civilians or government forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported five killed in the blast, but said it took place as army troops were clearing mines.

The Britain-based monitor said one other person was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated at a home in the Ansari district.

Since declaring Aleppo fully under its control on Thursday, Syria's army has been scouring former rebel neighbourhoods for explosives and mines.

President Bashar al-Assad's victory in Aleppo is the most devastating blow to rebel forces since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

For more than four years, the northern city was divided between opposition fighters in the east and regime forces in the west.

On Saturday, six civilians were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held town of Atareb, west of Aleppo city, the Observatory said.

At least two children were among the dead, according to the monitor.

It could not immediately specify who had carried out the air raids, but Russian and regime warplanes typically carry out raids in Aleppo province.

An AFP correspondent in Atareb said military aircraft could be seen circling above the town and a nearby village throughout the day.

Moscow launched its air war in support of Assad's forces in September 2015, marking a major turning point in the regime's fight against rebel groups.
Tyler Oakley talked about what its like to be an LGBT activist, and were cheering

In a new interview with PAPER, Tyler Oakley explained what its really like to be such a visible member of the LGBT community. Considering the state of LGBT rights under Trump, Oakleys message feels especially important to listen to members of the LGBT community, and really hear them out. When asked about his concerns about Trumps presidency, Tyler Oakley didnt hold back, and we seriously respect him for it.

In the interview, Oakley explains why hes worried. He says,

Im absolutely concerned, and every single person in this country should be. If you know an LGBTQ+ person, if you know a person of color, if you know a woman, if you know anyone who isnt a straight, white, cisgender, Christian male, you should be concerned. Trumps actions speak louder than words, and his appointments send a clear message to minorities: We are not here to protect you.

A photo posted by Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) on Dec 10, 2016 at 3:47pm PST

But the icon doesnt think 2016 was all bad. Why? Because it showed more than ever that some people really do care about LGBT people, and are willing to fight back against injustice. He continued,

The one bright spot that I see is the maps of voting results in America for the youngest voters theyre our future, and they voted overwhelmingly for inclusion, love, hope, and equality. Thats our future.

A photo posted by Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) on Nov 8, 2016 at 4:11pm PST

Were so glad this important figure shared his thoughts, and reminded us that its our job to work together to protect LGBTQ+ folks and the most marginalized members of our society.

The post Tyler Oakley talked about what its like to be an LGBT activist, and were cheering appeared first on HelloGiggles.
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council failed on Friday to adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution to impose an arms embargo and further sanctions on South Sudan despite warnings by U.N. officials of a possible genocide in the world's newest state. There were seven votes in favor and eight abstentions. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Russia, Britain or China to be adopted. Washington called for a vote on Friday knowing it would fail. The United States could not even win over its ally Japan, which last month deployed troops to a U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. Japan, Russia, China, Angola, Malaysia, Venezuela, Egypt and Senegal all abstained. "The council members who didn't support this resolution are taking a big gamble that South Sudan's leaders will not instigate a catastrophe," said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power. "It is the people of South Sudan who will pay an unbearable price." She said the United States was prepared to push for another vote on an arms embargo in the future. "We're not in favor of using sanctions to exert pressure on developing countries," China's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Wu Haitao said. "There needs to be prudent actions with respect to embargoes and designations to avoid complicating the situation even further in South Sudan." The resolution had also proposed blacklisting South Sudan opposition figure Riek Machar, army chief Paul Malong and Information Minister Michael Makuei. Political rivalry between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and Marchar, his former deputy, led in 2013 to civil war that often has followed ethnic lines. The pair signed a peace deal last year, but fighting has continued. Machar, a Nuer, fled in July and is now in South Africa. "This resolution would not have been a panacea, we are not naive," said Power, though she added that the measure would have cut arms sales to a state that "instead of feeding its people is amping up and arming up for an increasing ethnic conflict." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday told the Security Council that he feared genocide was about to start in South Sudan unless immediate action is taken, renewing his months-long plea for an arms embargo. South Sudan's U.N. ambassador, Akuei Bona Malwal, said such descriptions were exaggerated and did not "reflect the reality on the ground." U.N. peacekeepers have been in South Sudan since the nation gained independence from Sudan in 2011, and there currently are some 13,700 U.N. troops and police in the country. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday warned Americans traveling to Egypt of threats from terrorist groups and noted that several bombing incidents had occurred this month, including a Coptic cathedral attack that killed at least 25 people. The department said that while Egypt has a heavy security presence at major tourist sites, including Luxor and Aswan, "terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country." It said Americans should avoid travel to the Western Desert and the Sinai Peninsula outside the beach resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by David Alexander)
A former 40 year Atheist analyzes Atheism, without resorting to theism, deism, or fantasy.

***

If You Don't Value Truth, Then What DO You Value?

***

If we say that the sane can be coaxed and persuaded to rationality, and we say that rationality presupposes logic, then what can we say of those who actively reject logic?

***

Atheists have an obligation to give reasons in the form of logic and evidence for rejecting Theist theories.
Washington (AFP) - US President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the UN vote demanding Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory would make a peace deal "much harder," but said it could happen anyway.

"The big loss yesterday for Israel in the United Nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace.Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!" Trump said in a message on Twitter.

The UN vote Friday marked a stark turnabout in longstanding US custom at the world body.

The Security Council passed the measure after the United States abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy.

By deciding not to veto the move, the US took a rare step that deeply angered Israel, which accused President Barack Obama of abandoning its closest Middle East ally in the waning days of his administration.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the resolution as a "shameful blow against Israel at the United Nations."

Trump, who campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, had bluntly said Thursday that Washington should use its veto to block the resolution.

"As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations," he said in a statement.

Trump has chosen as ambassador to Israel the hardliner David Friedman, who has said Washington will not pressure Israel to curtail settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
Weve got an update on Carrie Fisher, and it is GOOD news

If youre a Carrie Fisher fan, or a Star Wars fan, or just in general a fan of 2016 NOT sucking anymore, weve got some truly amazing news for you: Recent reports tell us that Carrie Fisher is finally in stable condition after suffering a heart attack earlier today.

As weve previously reported, while flying from London to Los Angeles, Carrie had a cardiac arrest shortly before the plane landed at LAX. Thanks to a few other passengers on the flight, we know that while she was unresponsive for a short time, the flight crew (and a few other passengers) tried their best to perform CPR on the actress/author/General, and paramedics met the plane on the ground. She was rushed off to UCLA in critical condition.

This is when we began to worry. According to TMZ, she was in critical condition and on a ventilator.

Hopefully, the worst is now over. Carries brother, Todd Fisher, just spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and told them that his sister is, out of emergency and finally in stable condition.

THANK THE MAKER.

Unfortunately, no other details are available at this time, but even just hearing that shes no longer in critical condition is good enough for us right now. We werent going to let 2016 take Carrie, and clearly Carrie wasnt going to let that happen, either. Per TMZ, Carries daughter (and Scream Queens star) Billie and her dog, Gary, are both at the hospital with her, and were so happy shes surrounded by family right now.

Update 10:30 p.m. EST: There are a whole lot of conflicting reports regarding Carries current condition. While she IS out of the emergency room, she is in an intensive care unit at the hospital, and it is to be believed that she is still in critical condition. Her brother, Todd, told Variety over the phone, Theres nothing new from the doctors. Theres nothing new at allTheres no good news or bad news.

Well continue to keep you updated as this story develops

The post Weve got an update on Carrie Fisher, and it is GOOD news appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Vin Diesel may be both fast and furious, but he seems to lack tact.

In an interview with Brazilian YouTuber Carol Moreira posted on Wednesday, the Fast and Furious actor made things exceedingly uncomfortable as he made unwanted sexual advances to the host, calling her beautiful multiple times.

The awkwardness began while Diesel talked about his 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, when he abruptly segued to comment on Moreiras physical appearance. Moreira grew more tense as his comments persisted.

God, youre so beautiful, the actor said. God, shes so beautiful. Am I right or wrong? I mean look at her. How am I supposed to do this interview?

Things were made even more cringeworthy when the actor asked Moreira out to lunch.

Tell me your story. Lets get out of here, he continued. Lets go. Lets go have lunch.

Diesel then added: My God, I love her!

Moreira attempted to get things back on track, only for Diesel to derail the interview once again over their shared love of the game Dungeons and Dragons.

Guys, really? Look how beautiful she is, said Diesel. You guys think this is a joke. How am I supposed to sit here when Im looking at such beauty? Shes so beautiful. Im in love. Im in love with the interviewer!

When Moreira uploaded the video to her page, she began by noting how awkward and unbearable Diesel behaved and wasnt sure exactly how to react to his advances. Her statement is translated from Portuguese.

He began to hit on me in the middle of the interview, say that I was pretty, and he interrupted the interview three times to talk about it. I was laughing, completely uncomfortable. I was not sure what to do, said Moreira. I just laughed because it was a very delicate situation. I did not like it. At the time I did not know how to react, but you will see that I was uncomfortable, it was not nice that he interrupted my work.

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(UNITED NATIONS)  The U.S. green light that allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem could spur moves toward new terms to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it also poses dangers for the United Nations with the incoming Trump administration and may harden Israels attitude toward concessions.

The Obama administrations decision to abstain and allow the U.N.s most powerful body to approve a long-sought resolution calling Israeli settlements a flagrant violation under international law was a sharp rebuke to a longstanding ally and a striking rupture with past U.S. vetoes.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said it is because this resolution reflects the facts on the ground  and is consistent with U.S. policy across Republican and Democratic administrations throughout the history of the state of Israel  that the United States did not veto it.

She cited a 1982 statement by then-President Ronald Reagan that the United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements and that settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel.

The Security Council vote Friday, however, was anything but routine for Washington, which traditionally vetoes all resolutions related to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict on grounds that differences must be solved through negotiations. It was the first resolution on the conflict approved during President Barack Obamas nearly eight years in office and shone a spotlight on his icy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The U.S. decision to abstain on the 14-0 vote followed months of intensely secret deliberations in Washington, a spate of fresh Israeli settlement announcements that sparked exasperation and anger from American officials, and recent attempts by Israels government to have parliament legalize thousands of homes built on privately owned Palestinian land.

Story continues

After Egypt suddenly postponed a scheduled vote on the resolution Thursday, reportedly under pressure from Israel and supporters of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, four new sponsors stepped up and pushed it through  Malaysia, New Zealand, Venezuela and Senegal, each representing a different region and reflecting the wide support for the measure.

Trump demanded that Obama veto the resolution and tweeted after the vote, As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th  when Trump takes office.

It would be virtually impossible, however, for Trump to overturn the resolution. It would require a new resolution with support from at least nine members in the 15-member Security Council and no veto by one of the other permanent members  Russia, China, Britain or France, all of whom supported Fridays resolution.

Republicans, who control Congress, immediately threatened consequences. Sen. Lindsay Graham, who heads the Senate panel in charge of U.S. payments to the U.N., said he would form a bipartisan coalition to suspend or significantly reduce funding. He added that countries receiving U.S. aid could also be penalized for supporting the resolution.

Under U.N. rules, failure to pay dues leads to the loss of voting privileges in the General Assembly.

The vote on settlements sparked behind-the-scenes discussion in the usually divided Security Council on what else might be achieved on the Israeli-Palestinian issue while Obama is still in the White House.

New Zealand has been pressing for the council to consider a resolution that would set out the parameters for a settlement of the conflict, and its draft ideas remain on the table.

But Israels U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon warned the council after the vote that the resolution would not spur peace efforts.

By voting yes in favor of this resolution, you have in fact voted no,' Danon said. You voted no to negotiations. You voted no to progress, and a chance for better lives for Israelis and Palestinians. And you voted no to the possibility of peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately retaliated against some of the nations that proposed Fridays resolution. He recalled his nations ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal for consultations, canceled a planned January visit to Israel by Senegals foreign minister and ended Israeli aid programs to the West African nation.

Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms, Netanyahus office said in a statement.

The Israeli leader blamed Obama for failing to protect Israel against this gang-up at the U.N. and even colluding with its detractors. He said, Israel looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution.

By contrast, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat hailed the result as a victory for the justice of the Palestinian cause. He said Trumps choice was now between international legitimacy or siding with settlers and extremists.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, urged the Security Council to stand firm by this decision and not be cowed by negative threats or spin.
David Penners wife of 42 years died three months ago, but a miracle Christmas surprise is bringing him much-needed comfort this holiday season.

More than 15 years ago, the 68-year-old Great Meadows, New Jersey, native lost his wedding ring at Wyckoffs Tree Farm in White Township. A return visit to locate the band soon after proved fruitless  and Penner figured hed lost it forever.

That is until December 2, when the grieving husband was reunited with the long-lost ring, inscribed with the date of his marriage  July 20, 1974  and the words, To David. Love, Nancy.

This was a piece come back to me, in her absence, he told NJ.com of his late wife Nancy, who died on September 30 at the age of 67.

Third-generation tree farmer John Wyckoff was riding his tractor in April when he noticed something glittering in the soil. After sifting through the dirt, he came upon a gold wedding ring with the detailed inscription. Wyckoff approached a local New Jersey newspaper to get the word out and a video posted to NJ.com in December went viral.

I got probably about half a dozen emails of people trying to give me leads. One was right on, Wyckoff told NJ.com.

Penner was ecstatic when he heard about the found item. He immediately dug up his wedding certificate and drove to Wyckoffs Tree Farm.

I thought it was a miracle, he said.

Penner is now wearing his wedding ring for the first time since he lost it 15 years ago. He never got a new one, because he felt nothing could replace the original.

We had each other, that was the main thing, he told NJ.com.




New Zealand said Saturday the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements should have come as no surprise to the Jewish State, after Israel retaliated by recalling its ambassador to Wellington.

New Zealand co-sponsored the resolution which described the settlements in the occupied territories as a major stumbling block to Middle East peace efforts, as they are built on land the Palestinians consider part of their future state.

There was applause in the UN chamber when the first resolution by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in more than 38 years to condemn Israel over its settlement policy was passed 14-0, with the country's key ally the United States abstaining.

Israel refused to recognise the resolution with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman tweeting that their ambassadors to New Zealand and Senegal, who co-sponsored the resolution, were to return to Israel immediately.

"These steps are taken against countries that have tabled the draft resolution to the UNSC and have diplomatic relations with Israel," he said.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the decision should have been no surprise to Israel which knew Wellington's position long before the UN vote.

"Israel has informed us of their decision to recall their ambassador to New Zealand for consultations," McCully told AFP in a statement.

"We have been very open about our view that the (Security Council) should be doing more to support the Middle East peace process and the position we adopted today is totally in line with our long established policy on the Palestinian question.

"The vote today should not come as a surprise to anyone and we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with all parties on this issue."

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

Story continues

It states that Israeli settlements have "no legal validity" and are "dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-state solution".

Netanyahu's office described the UN move as a "shameful anti-Israel resolution".

Malaysia and Venezuela also sponsored the UN resolution but do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

New Zealand is one of 10 non-permanent members of the UNSC, whose two-year term ends this month.
About two months ago, we witnessed outdoor adventurer Coyote Peterson let a wasp known as a tarantula hawk sting him on his arm. Boasting the second most painful sting in the insect world, the tarantula hawk quickly had Petereson writhing on the ground in pain. And of course, it was all captured in a harrowing and altogether fascinating video.

Don't Miss: Netflixs worst-rated original TV show cost the company $200 million

Earlier this week, Coyote Peterson was at it again during an episode of Breaking Trail, this time taking things a bit further and letting himself get stung by a bullet ant, the insect widely believed to have the most painful sting in the world. The bullet ant typically inhabits rainforests in Central America, so odds are you dont have to worry about coming into contact with one them. But if youre sporting a name like Coyote Peterson, well, you pretty much have no choice but to seek out the bullet ant yourself.

According to the Schmidt Pain Index, the bullet ant, if I may repurpose some old Wu-Tang Clan lyrics, aint nothing to mess with. The resulting pain from a bullet ant sting is said to be extremely intense and feels like youre walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch nail in your heel. Interestingly enough, the reason why this fearsome insect is called a bullet ant is because its sting is said to be as painful as a gunshot.

And for reasons that defy explanation, our fearless hero Coyote Peterson thought it might be a fun idea to get stung by one of these creatures on purpose. Naturally, it was all recorded on video for our collective enjoyment/horror.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Two relatively new non-profits have joined forces to help protect needy Nebraskans from winters harsh elements.

As temperatures outside hovered around 20 degrees Dec. 7, members of a community-minded womens business group made a five-figure donation to a new nonprofit that helps provide winter clothing for Nebraskans in need.

Lincolns first 100s of Women Who Care group presented a made-for-photo-opportunity check for $9,800 to A Warmer Day, which provides coats and other winter apparel for Nebraskans in need to do not have the means to protect themselves from Nebraskas harsh winters.

With several checks yet to come in, we expect to give over $10,000 to A Warmer Day, said AshLea Allberry, one of the founders of 100s of Women Who Care. The group was founded 14 months ago by 21 of Lincolns women business leaders.

The group of women has a simple model. Local non-profits are suggested by attendees, three are picked at random, and those three women pitch their ideas. The entire group then votes on the non-profit who should receive funds.

Simple model, big goals

We are a group with a simple model and big goals, said Allberry, vice president at Nanonation, Inc. The women who lead the group have a passion for our community and giving back, she noted. This group fills the gap between pure networking and philanthropic organizations. As such, we will be a group of women who give and network in a substantial way, in one single evening.

Funds for the donation to A Warmer Day were raised Nov. 15 at the 100s of Women Who Care quarterly event at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, sponsored by the Woods-Aitken Law Firm. A Warmer Day board member Jill Fiddler was one of the three women to have their cards selected at the event and spoke on behalf of A Warmer Day.

A Warmer Day becomes the fifth beneficiary of proceeds donated by 100s of Women Who Care, joining CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), The Bay, Fresh Start Home, and the Autism Network. The next quarterly event is March 9, 2017 at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum, 33rd and Holdrege streets, and will be sponsored by Pinnacle Bank.

About A Warmer Day

Dave Conde, founder and president of A Warmer Day, said the new non-profit is focused on making sure that no mother has to send her children out in the cold without a coat, no veteran goes cold and no senior citizen has to face the brutal Nebraska winter unprepared.

All donations to A Warmer Day go towards helping Nebraskans in need. Conde said winter clothing purchased from the contribution from 100s of Women Who Care was distributed earlier this month at Peoples City Mission and the Barnabas Community Store. A third distribution will be made in January at the Open Door Mission in Omaha.

To learn more

To learn how you can help A Warmer Day, visit www.awarmerday.org or call (402) 480-7463 or email info@awarmerday.org

To learn how you can get involved in the 100s of Women Who Care, contact AshLee Allberry at (308) 627-3390.

100s of Women Who Care is patterned after a mens group in Lincoln that started in in early 2015. Combined, the two chapters have raised approximately $200,000 for causes in the community.
Christmas memories from the past tend to stand out. Often, its when we were children. My special memories were when all my grandparents were alive and Christmas was simpler.

Christmas meant tasty food and presents. Every year Santa left a gift and a paper sack of goodies for me at Grandpa and Grandma Beringers home. I could always count on a popcorn ball, a delicious apple, and hard candy. At Grandpa and Grandma Zohners home, Santa also left a toy and clothes that for some reason were my exact size. Santa knew everything!

A special Christmas memory was the country school play at our District 43 Rising Sun School southeast of Rising City, Neb. The Christmas play meant stopping classes a few days early so we could set up the stage and practice our roles. The eighth-grade boys would set up the stage each year. They would get the stage planks and concrete blocks from the scary, old mouse-infested shed behind the school.

The night of the Christmas play, our little one-room school house was always packed full of loyal parents and neighbors that politely cheered us on. Santas arrival was at the end of the play and he handed out goodie bags that had a popcorn ball, a delicious apple, and some candy. It was one big family Christmas party with 25 students or so. Those were simpler times.

Mom had simpler times than that when she was a child in the 30s. She shared a personal story a few years ago that puts my simple times in another light.

Moms family struggled through the Great Depression, as did many families. Grandpa and Grandma Beringer worked hard to survive. They owned a boarding house in David City, Neb. After school, mom was expected to do a vast array of chores that included ironing, washing dishes, cleaning, and mopping. Sunday was a day of rest for many, but not when your parents own a boarding house.

Christmas meant celebrating their religion more than it meant giving presents. During first grade, mom hoped for a present, but she was told there was no money for presents.

It seemed all the other kids at school were excited about getting presents and a nun somehow understood moms disappointment. Maybe the nun had a similar experience? The nun gave mom a dime, which meant a lot in the 30s to a kid that otherwise would have no present. Mom explained that dime was the best and most meaningful Christmas present ever.

Imagine how a dime could give hope at that moment to a young child that saw the world differently than most of us ever will have the opportunity to see.

Since religion was important to the Beringer family, mom went to Notre Dame Academy in Omaha for her senior year of high school (today its Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart). She became the valedictorian of her class.

Another interesting fact is the nuns taught mom how to exercise at Notre Dame Academy and she has exercised every day since then except, of course, when she was having two kids (thanks mom!). At 86, mom is a picture of health today, which reflects years of exercise.

An impressive thing about mom has been her positive attitude in spite of her early life challenges. She is always a motivator that speaks from the heart because she knows first-hand that all things are possible. Mom is a joy to be around. She gives me the best Christmas present ever each year, and that is sharing her motivational attitude with me..its a present that keeps on giving.

Moms story is something she probably will not want told because she is very private with her life, but it needs to be shared because women like her are a special example that rising to the top is possible regardless of the cards we are dealt.

That nun made a huge difference by caring. There are plenty that need help. This year Froggy 98 asked our community to nominate families in need. Froggy 98 indicated there were many to choose from, but one stood out. John Henrys stepped up and helped.

As we prepare to make this another meaningful Christmas, its a great time to put smiles on the faces of others by random acts of kindness to show their lives matter. Often their needs are fairly simple and the results are incredible.

Merry Christmas!
RACINE COUNTY  In the immortal 1984 rock mockumentary This is Spinal Tap, the heavy-metal bands lead guitar player, Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) famously boasted about the knobs on his amplifier, These go to 11.

Well, move over, Nigel, because this top-10 list also goes to 11!

As I do each year at this time, I review the years local business stories and pick what I think are the biggest  based on a mixture of monetary magnitude, perceived impact on consumers and the community, expectation levels and so on. Lets get to the lower half of my list, with Nos. 1-5 coming to this space next Sunday.

No. 11. The Chick-fil-A effect

In March, about the time it was closing its Regency Mall store, the wildly popular restaurant chain Chick-fil-A opened its first Racine-area free-standing store in an out-lot at Racine Centre, 5201 Washington Ave.

Even with a two-lane drive-thru, nearly any evening  except Sundays, when the family-oriented chain is closed  one can see an unbroken river of vehicles flowing through at Chick-fil-A.

Now, the added traffic count of vehicles entering and leaving Racine Centre has Village of Mount Pleasant and state officials planning for how to improve the perilous entry/exit point at Washington and Sycamore avenues. A left (westward) turn out of the shopping center from that point, across three lanes of traffic, with a merge into the westbound lanes, is enough to cause indigestion, or much worse.

No. 9 (tie): The Mercantile

This downtown Burlington redevelopment of the former Schuette-Daniels Furniture, by local businessman Shad Branen, is drawing together a rich mixture of uses into the formerly burned-out building.

Things that are planned and/or committed at 425 N. Pine St. include: a new banquet hall and meeting space to be called Mercantile Hall; a relocation of Bon Bon Belle Bridal; a new co-working and business incubator space for most of the basement, to be called C/O, for Central Office; and a relocation of Branens own business, WIN (formerly Wisconsin Information Network) Media.

Branen said the project cost will approach $1 million.

No. 9 (tie): The Covenant at Murray Mansion

Like the previous item on this list, this is also a redevelopment of a historic building that had been sitting empty and forlorn. In this case its two joined buildings: the Murray Mansion that George Murray built in 1874, which is on the National Register of Historic Places; and the former Our Savior Lutheran Church, which has its own architectural beauty.

The developers are the Meyer family, owner-operators of Culinary Infusion, a Kenosha event-management company. They are hard at work to turn the attached church and mansion at 2219 Washington Ave. into a first-class banquet/event hall and catering operation, a project they estimated will total about $1.75 million.

No. 8: SC Johnsons re-entry

This one I pick not because its sexy, but for its potential impact on SCJ, and therefore the Racine area.

In October the consumer products giant officially announced it is returning to the industrial and institutional (or I and I) cleaning business. With the announcement it also introduced its new SC Johnson Professional cleaning product line.

SCJ operated in I and I starting in the 1930s and eventually spun off its professional business in the late 1990s. The professional market encompasses schools, malls, hotels and anywhere there is a cleaning or janitorial service.

That market was estimated at $39 billion in 2014. With its I and I re-entry, SCJ can potentially start carving into that fat pie.

No. 7: The $8 million corner

For years, Michael and Jim Willkomm of the Willkomm Cos. had considered developing the southeast corner of Highway 31 and Spring Street. In 2016, they finished assembling the properties and approvals they needed and started construction of their multi-business development.

On those 5.5 acres the Willkomms are building a Mobil gas station/convenience store, a Dunkin Donuts, a restaurant called The Dish, a car wash they say will be unlike, and faster, than any other in the area; and a retail space for three or four commercial tenants. Jim calls The Dish a cross between a Panera Bread and Noodles & Co.

The first project component to open will be Rocket Wash car wash, either Jan. 12 or 19, Michael said last week.

No. 6: The DeBack field of dreams

This year Caledonia officials celebrated the opening of DeBack Farms Business Park and its first committed tenant, Norco Manufacturing Corp. DeBacks unassailable asset is its location, location, location: along Interstate 94 between Adams and 4 Mile roads. That area was previously devoid of sewer and water, but after years of planning, those extensions were made this year.

DeBack park consists of 187 acres, 142 of them buildable. Norco, now on the other side of I-94 in Raymond, acted as a catalyst for the business park by committing to building a new, $8 million manufacturing plant. Caledonia Village President Bob Bradley said numerous other companies have also been showing interest in a spot there.
WIND POINT  For those growing up in Wisconsin, a snowy winter is almost taken for granted.

For those growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, snow is only something seen in movies and cartoons.

On Friday, children on winter break all across the county enjoyed a snowy day outside and this year, for the first time ever, siblings Koen and Tessa Randleman, who grew up in Dubai and are in town visiting their grandparents, joined in the fun.

They were in town visiting their grandparents, Carol and Bob Randleman of Wind Point.

Koen, who is 7, said he used to read "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoons and see them sledding down hills and make snowmen. Koen said he would think: He (Calvin) is really lucky.

But growing up surrounded with sand, snow was a distant dream for Koen.

On Friday, that snowy dream came true.

The family, which in August relocated to New Jersey, arrived in Racine with their parents Friday afternoon. After stopping for Wells Brothers pizza, they hit the hills of Shoop Park, 4510 Lighthouse Drive, for outdoor fun, including sledding, snow-angel making, snowball throwing and snowman making.

Their father, Joel Randleman grew up in the Racine area and graduated from St. Catherines High School in 1992. But life took him to other side of the world, to Singapore where he met his wife, Charmaine. After Singapore, through Joel's career in finance, they ended up in Dubai.

There, instead of snowstorms, they have sandstorms, 9-year-old Tessa said.

And instead of having to stay inside for wind-chill advisories, they have to stay inside because the temperature gets as high as 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

You need a lot of air conditioning and ice water and you cannot play outside, said Tessa, at least not until later in the evening when it cools down.

They've had some experience touching snow, but that was inside a shopping mall with an indoor ski hill made of manufactured snow.

Its a lot different than real snow, the two explained, while taking a break from playing outside.

Real snow is tastier, Koen explained. And it keeps coming down, Tessa added.

But there are some hardships. It can hurt, said Koen, who learned the hard way when he went sledding and ended up face-first in the snow after he went over a jump.

For Joel and his father Bob, the experience was about more than one day of snow  it was about spending the day together and sharing the Wisconsin winter.

Today was really special, said Bob Randleman, who is retired from SC Johnson. "It's enjoyable to witness them experiencing the first snow."
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Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, although the First Petulant may have dimmed that a bit.

The WaPo editors criticize Obama and implicitly endorse Trump, who tweeted in support of Israel. The NY Times editors take a pass on this topic, presumably because they are still puzzling out what truth to speak to which power.

The Times coverage by Somini Sengupta and Rick Gkladstone (B-teamers?) is amusingly schizophrenic. The lead is all "Go, Barry!":

UNITED NATIONS  Defying extraordinary pressure from President-elect Donald J. Trump and furious lobbying by Israel, the Obama administration on Friday allowed the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.

The administrations decision not to veto the measure reflected its accumulated frustration over Israeli settlements. The American abstention on the vote also broke a longstanding policy of shielding Israel from action at the United Nations that described the settlements as illegal.

Oh, how can we not admire a guy who defies "extraordinary pressure" from Evil Donald? And who among us supports "furious lobbying"? Stand up to that as well!

Much later, down in paragraph fifteen, we learn there is a bipartisan consensus here:

A range of senators and congressmen from both parties also denounced the resolution, a reflection of the deep loyalty to Israel shared by Democrats and Republicans. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said, It is extremely frustrating, disappointing and confounding that the administration has failed to veto this resolution.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who oversees a subcommittee that oversees United Nations funding by the United States, threatened to take steps that could suspend or significantly reduce that financing.

Reaction to the resolution also illustrated fissures among American Jews regarding Israeli policy. Some, like the World Jewish Congress and American Jewish Committee, called the resolution a one-sided measure that would not help the peace process. Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, said in a statement: It is also disconcerting and unfortunate that the United States, Israels greatest ally, chose to abstain rather than veto this counterproductive text.

Other groups that have grown increasingly critical of the Israeli governments approach to the peace process applauded the resolution and the Obama administrations decision not to block it.

J Street, a Washington-based organization that advocates a two-state solution, said the resolution conveys the overwhelming support of the international community, including Israels closest friends and allies, for the two-state solution, and their deep concern over the deteriorating status quo between Israelis and Palestinians and the lack of meaningful progress toward peace.

The Times editors will no doubt pick a side in due course.
I am not worried about tomorrow, I have survived yesterday and I love today!

I have a few leftovers from past articles. Trina Maurizio was one of the folks who helped us pack Christmas boxes for our soldiers; her name was left out of the list in my last article. I would also celebrate the USPS, as the boxes all arrived in record time. Our soldiers were wearing their Christmas Santa hats by the day after Thanksgiving and enjoying their treats. Thank you again and again for supporting the soldier-packing project. It is just our little bit to honor and show our fighting forces how much we appreciate their sacrifices.

Memories of 2016: Our epic trip to northern Canada and the wonderful family we found there. Walking in the footsteps of my dad, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great grandfather was life-changing. Their industry and community involvement made us all very proud to be Halcrows and Pilgrims. Spending 10 days with my sisters  priceless!

Shortly after our return from Canada we were part of the opening of the very newest museum in Cayuga County and central New York, the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park visitor center, the VanDetto home and saloon, mule barn and blacksmith area. Two-thousand folks participated in this inaugural. We can hardly wait for it to open up again in the spring!

We have continued to present our Zimbabwe mission adventure. We have relived this journey over 25 times. We will be returning to the Mutambara mission for more sewing, painting and building next summer, so yes, we will be fundraising for supplies and expenses. These proud, resilient people continue to struggle with unemployment, drought and lack of resources. We can help.

Six Countryside United Methodist Church roast beef suppers are in the books  the last in particular a tremendous success, financially and in the fellowship and camaraderie around the tables and in the kitchen. Many, many folks in our community furnish and work at these suppers to help provide a place of worship, study and sanctuary.

As you are reading this, we will be having our Christmas morning worship service (10 a.m. on Duck Lake Road in Springlake), a glorious celebration with our sister congregations of the Amazing Grace parish. This year, I have been part of a sacred dance team, worshiping and celebrating with music and motion. Good friends Linda Underwood and Marcia Waterman have mentored me in this new undertaking  a modern, yet Old Testament form of worship. I have experienced the candle lighting song on Christmas Eves for over a decade, but this year it has even more meaning as we told the story and we "raised our candles" to "go light the world"  a world that seems even more in need of light and hope.

In 2017, we have accepted the challenge of presenting Clintons Ditch, an epic telling of the story of the building of the Erie Canal. The 200th anniversary of this marvelous infrastructure will be celebrated for the next few years. We hope that this drama will be an ongoing part of the scores of festivities. A steering committee will be meeting soon to discuss the details. Stay tuned for exciting announcements! I particularly wish to thank and acknowledge our Cayuga County NAMI unit for its willingness to be a part of this outreach. Sharing this history and erasing the stigma of mental illness are important goals.

Celebrate all the festivities of this holiday time! Enjoy family, neighbors and community. The challenges and foibles of this life are many, but so are the joys and successes!

The enclosed postcard hints of relief from the cold, dark, snowy landscape. It was sold in Carters store in Spring Lake many, many years ago; postage: domestic one cent, foreign two cents (thanks Al Rilk for preserving it). Every time I look at it, I smile  and yes, we are doing fine, just north of the river!
Amendment will get through: PM

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reiterated that the parties would reach an agreement soon on amending the constitution and holding the elections.
Artists and their cities

The day after returning from Egypt, I listened to a curator speak about cities. The masterclass was part of Kathmandu Triennale, an international arts festival, scheduled to open in the spring.
China issues travel restriction to Nepal

China has issued a temporary travel restriction to Nepal for some political issues in India, according to multiple sources, in a surprise move that may be a major setback for Nepals tourism that was of late encouraged by the flow of Chinese tourists.
For the People!

Our former king, Gyanu Uncle, tells us that our national unity is under attack and he is worried about all of us.
FOREVER DISCONTENT

Lately, a striking number of the conversations I have had with my friendshere and abroadhave inevitably had the same underlying tone of confusion and discontent.
India to supply additional 80MW of electricity

Nepal Electricity Authoritys (NEA) drive to make the Kathmandu Valley a loadshedding-free zone has got a major shot in the arm, as India has agreed to supply an additional 80MW electricity through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line.
Kathmandu and Chengdu become sister cities

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and the Chengdu city of Chinas Sichuan province have formally became sister cities.
Local level restructuring: LLRC at a loose end as PMs got a tight schedule

For a commission that was tasked with determining the number of units and boundaries of local units in the federal set-up, it has been hurry up and wait!
Magars press parties to keep their cluster intact

Magar community members on Friday demonstrated in Tansen, the district headquarters of Palpa, demanding an undivided Magarat cluster in the federal set-up.
The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is investigating an incident at Auburn Correctional Facility after a corrections officer admitting to planting a weapon on an inmate, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said Friday.

In a press release, Budelmann confirmed that a corrections officer from the Auburn prison admitted he "put a weapon on an inmate" in order to break up a prison gang.

"(DOCCS) promptly launched an investigation into the matter. That investigation is still pending," Budelmann said Friday. "At present there is nothing implicating any other (corrections officers)."

Still, earlier Friday, state corrections officials stated that one corrections officer has been suspended without pay and two others have been placed on administrative leave after a recent incident at the facility.

"DOCCS' number one priority is the safety and security of all staff and inmates within a correctional facility," department spokesman Thomas Mailey wrote in an email to The Citizen Friday afternoon. "Currently there is an on-going investigation into an incident at the Auburn Correctional Facility and the Department cannot comment further at this time."

James Miller, director of public relations for the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, said he was aware of the situation but that he could not give any more details about the investigation because it is ongoing.

The district attorney added that his office has worked with judges on the matter and that any pending cases involving the corrections officer who admitted putting a weapon on an inmate would be dismissed. In addition, any cases in which the defendants have already pleaded guilty would be vacated.

"The District Attorney's Office has every intention to continue to prosecute inmates found with weapons," Budelmann said. "It would be unfair to discredit the reputation of the hundreds of other COs who were not involved, due to the conduct of one."
NC: UML should help end impasse

Venting their ire at the main opposition CPN-UML for blocking the constitution amendment proposal registered by the government, senior Nepali Congress leaders have urged the party to help resolve the political crisis.
Nepal, India agree third-country codeshare deal

Nepal and India have agreed on a third-country codeshare deal which allows carriers of the two countries to share marketing services with airlines from third countries.
Study reveals widespread sales of inferior products

Around half of the packaged food items being sold in Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts are of poor quality and pose a threat to public health, a recent market inspection carried out by the Ministry of Supplies has revealed.
To be or not to be secular

Nepal has come a long way since the days of the Ranas, when the Hindu Varna system was an integral part of the countrys governing principle, and the Shahs, who, regarded as the corporeal avatars of Lord Vishnu, ruled over what was then a Hindu Kingdom and carried forward the legacy of exploitation, injustice and monopoly in the name of religion and birthright.
Week in pictures: Dec 17-23

Here is our selection of some of the best photographs taken by Post photographers in the past week.
Across the world, we enter the most festive time of year. This weekend, New Yorkers will take time to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah alongside families and loved ones. Meanwhile in Albany, rumors that the Legislature may reconvene before the end of the year add some dysfunctional intrigue into holiday conversations.

Lawmakers are scheduled to begin the 2017 legislative session on January 4. Holding a Special Session prior to that simply undermines the legislative process and eliminates public review or discussion of any bills being voted on. Without time-sensitive or emergency legislation to consider, our work should be done thoughtfully, deliberately and openly.

CHECK THIS LEGISLATIVE WISH LIST TWICE

Whether or not a Special Session materializes, we have critical work ahead of us. Like most people this time of year, I have a wish list of my own, and certain items I hope will become a reality in the near future. Among the important polices on my personal wish list for 2017:

Fair Pay for Direct Care Workers: The men and women who care for individuals with disabilities are among the most dedicated people in any profession. However, last year, Governor Cuomo and his Wage Board unilaterally decided that teenagers working drive-thrus deserve more money than professionals who provide life-saving care to our most vulnerable population. Patients coping with autism, brain injury, or Down syndrome can live without a Big Mac. They cannot live without Direct Care workers. We need to right this wrong as soon as possible.

Ride-Sharing in Upstate New York: Thirty-seven states and New York City are allowed to enjoy the convenience of Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing services. But not Upstate New York. Legislation was introduced last session, but in typical fashion, Assembly Democrats changed the original ride-sharing bill to make it so costly and onerous that even Uber and Lyft opposed it. We dont have to re-invent the wheel. Its time to get a common-sense, overdue bill passed.

Brittanys Law: Domestic violence is a scourge on our society. As lawmakers, we have a core responsibility to do everything in our power to combat it. A registry of violent felony offenders as proposed in Brittanys Law provides another tool to fight domestic violence and prevent crimes and abuse. New York City has a registry of people who have abused animals. Yet, New York City Assembly members continue to obstruct a registry of people who have abused women and children.

An Upstate Legislative Caucus: Former Lt. Governor Bob Duffy suggested this months ago, and hes right on the money. Downstate interests dominate Albany. Budget proposals and high-priority bills are negotiated exclusively by representatives from New York City and Long Island. As the only conference leader from Upstate New York, I know that we need more voices from both sides of the political aisle to come together and push the Upstate agenda.

Constitutional Convention: New Yorkers will vote on a Constitutional Convention this fall. This gives the public an opportunity to change a broken system and directly participate in government. Through multiple arrests, convictions and corruption scandals, Albany is still searching for meaningful ethics reform. If Albany wont police itself, the public needs to do it. A Constitutional Convention is a mechanism by which meaningful change can take place.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY

I know that members of the Assembly Minority Conference will do everything in their power to advocate for these and other policies that make our state a better place. As we celebrate a season of giving, I hope we can give all our constituents something to enjoy and appreciate in 2017. I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

What do you think? I want to hear from you. Send me your feedback, suggestions and ideas regarding this or any other issue facing New York State. You can always contact my district office at (315) 781-2030, email me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us, find me by searching for Assemblyman Brian Kolb on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.
The Ministry of Health through the Uganda National Ambulance service has deployed ambulances along major routes leading in and out of Kampala to offer safe transportation to health facilities at no cost in case of any eventualities that may occur during the festive season.

According to the Ministrys spokesperson Vivian Sserwanja, the festive season is characterized by accidents; emergency incidents inform of domestic violence, alcohol intoxication and many other forms of injuries.

The ambulances are strategically stationed at Buloba police post along Mityana road, Mukono police station along Jinja road, Bombo along Gulu highway, Kajjansi police station along Entebbe road and in the city center.

To access the services, the public will call the police toll free lines 999 or 122 who will then notify the ambulance staff to dispatch from the different stations to the emergency location.
By Damali Mukhaye.

The lord mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwango has called upon Ugandans to use this Christmas seasons to pray for peace to prevail in the country.

Speaking to KFM, Lukwango says the country has witnessed a lot of political unrest right from the beginning of the year, throughout the elections periods and currently the Kasese Killings.

He notes that most issues have not yet been resolved up to date and it is time for Ugandans to rise up and use this season of togetherness, cry to God to intervene.

He also urged Ugandans to enjoy responsibly putting in mind that there is life ahead of them and asked them to promote peace whenever they will be.
By Damali Mukhaye.

The Management of Makerere University has urged Ugandans especially students and parents to stay calm and peaceful during this Christmas season and hope for the best come next year.

The university Vice Chancellor Prof.Dumba Ssentamu says now that the institution is set to be reopened on January 2nd after a months closure, all stakeholders including the ministry of education officials are committed to ensuring that everything returns to normal.

He thus says all students and staff should enjoy Christmas without any worries.
CHURUBUSCO  When Jarod Thompson was in eighth grade, his field trip to Washington, D.C., was life changing.

It was on that field trip with his Churubusco Middle School classmates that he decided he wanted to become a teacher.

Ten years later, after the middle and high schools combined to form the Jr./Sr. high school, the field trip was dissolved.

With changes in the school, it made it more difficult to schedule a trip that would take many students and shared teachers/chaperones away from the building, Thompson said.

Thompson graduated from Churubusco in 2002, went on to become a social studies teacher, and has now brought back the field trip for 45 eighth-grade Churubusco students.

After the last few years of getting my teaching experience underway, and many hours of research, I decided it was time to give it a try, Thompson said. I believe that this is a trip that would benefit any citizen, but more importantly, it is an opportunity for many of these students to actually experience the places where much of our nations history was written.

The trip is scheduled at the conclusion of the school year in early June, but students are running into one road block  the cost of the trip is pricey for some families.

The base cost is $998 per student, which includes all housing, meals and admissions.

The extent of what the students will learn on the trip is only limited by our time  we have a nonstop schedule of events and locations to visit  from the Arlington National Cemetery to the Smithsonian, the White House, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, Holocaust Museum and so much more, Thompson said. We will be spending three full days in the D.C. area trying to experience as much as possible.

Thompson is seeking financial support from the community to help make the trip a possibility for all students.

Those wishing to help can send donations via check to WorldStrides  PO Box 9033, Charlottesville, VA, 22906-9033. The letter should include the Trip ID number: 140876.

World Strides is a student travel company that offers accredited travel programs. For more information, contact Thompson at 693-2131 or thompson.jarod@sgcs.k12.in.us.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Dec. 13 that Globe University, a for-profit institution with a location in Onalaska, will lose access to federal student aid dollars.

The department said the decision was a result of a court ruling in Minnesota earlier this summer that sister institutions Globe and the Minnesota School of Business used deceptive practices to enroll students in criminal justice programs. Based on that ruling, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education decided in September to prohibit letting the schools register in the state or take on new students.

In a statement, Globe Chief Communications Officer Jeff Myhre said Tuesdays decision continued what he considered destructive actions taken by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and the Obama administration against career-focused institutions. He said Globe was working with other higher education institutions to transfer students credits and continue their education.

Its unfortunate that the Attorney General and the Department of Education decided to sanction the schools in their entirety, the statement said. Instead of helping students in one program, their actions will eliminate options and tarnish the degrees of thousands of graduates.

Globes Onalaska campus had offered a criminal justice program in the past. As a result of the education departments decision, students enrolled at Globe and MSB campuses will no longer be eligible for federal aid, such as student loans and Pell Grants for low-income students.

In the lawsuit, the Minnesota Attorney Generals office argued that the associate and bachelor degree criminal justice programs  with price tags of $35,000 and $70,000  targeted prospective students who wanted to become police officers. This was despite the fact that neither schools programs fulfill the requirements for graduates to become licensed police officers in Minnesota, because the university was not recognized by the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.

Globe and MSB preyed upon potential public servants  targeting those with a sincere desire to help their communities, U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell said in the announcement of the sanctions. These institutions misrepresented their programs, potentially misleading students, and abused taxpayer funds, and so violated federal law, which is why we removed them from the federal student aid program. This is a sober reminder that not all institutions deliver on their advertised promises.

According to federal data, the Onalaska campus enrolls more than 170 students and has an average annual tuition cost of $18,756. Nearly 75 percent of students receive an average of $4,200 in Pell Grants, and more than 80 percent receive an average of $7,100 in federal student loans.

Globe enrolls roughly 1,000 students at 10 locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota, and it received $28.4 million in federal student aid during the 2014-15 award year. MSB enrolls about 700 students at nine locations throughout Minnesota and received $25.5 million in federal student aid during the 2014-15 award year. Both schools have until Dec. 20 to submit evidence to dispute the departments findings.

During the past three fiscal years, the department has denied re-certification applications for more than 30 institutions.

Globe and MSB preyed upon potential public servants  targeting those with a sincere desire to help their communities. These institutions misrepresented their programs, potentially misleading students, and abused taxpayer funds, and so violated federal law, which is why we removed them from the federal student aid program. Ted Mitchell, U.S. Under Secretary of Education
WASHINGTON (TNS)  The U.S. bucked its own recent history and abstained from voting on a U.N. Security Council resolution critical of Israels settlements in the West Bank that had drawn bipartisan criticism and accusations from Tel Aviv that Washington was abandoning its decades-long support of the country.

The resolution, which could have been vetoed by the U.S., declared Israeli settlements illegal under international law and demanded that the country cease construction in the West Bank and other territories captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, defended the move to abstain, saying one cannot champion settlements and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the same time.

The settlement problem has gotten so much worse, Power said after the vote, which had been delayed from Thursday. She added that our vote today does not diminish the countrys steadfast commitment to Israel.

The decision to abstain highlighted the increasingly tenuous ties between the Obama administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government. A senior Israeli official, who asked not to be identified because he wasnt authorized to discuss the issue publicly, accused the U.S. of secretly drafting the resolution in conjunction with the Palestinian Authority. The Obama administration rejected that accusation.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the abstention shameful in a statement issued after the vote. Ryan, President-elect Donald Trump and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer had all called on the Obama administration to veto the resolution before the vote.

Todays vote is a blow to peace that sets a dangerous precedent for further diplomatic efforts to isolate and demonize Israel, Ryan said. Our unified Republican government will work to reverse the damage done by this administration, and rebuild our alliance with Israel.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Channel 2 TV afterward that the U.N. vote was not anti-settlement, its anti-Israel.

Todays passage of an ill-conceived resolution on Israeli settlements marks another shameful chapter in the bizarre anti-Israel history of the United Nations, Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said in a statement.

Trump issued a statement Thursday saying the resolution puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.

The incoming U.S. president has taken a very public stance on U.S.-Israel ties, vowing to move the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move Palestinians say would effectively end the peace process.

Hes also nominated David Friedman, a staunch supporter of settlements who opposes a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, as his ambassador to Israel.

President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement Thursday saying the resolution puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis. The incoming U.S. president has taken a very public stance on U.S.-Israel ties.
The children kept asking a logical question in Sunday school, one linked to those Whose birthday is it? appeals voiced by Put Christ back in Christmas activists.

Leaders of Ecclesia Church in Houston, Texas, were trying to find ways to encourage members to observe the four solemn weeks of Advent. Advent, Latin for toward the coming, precedes the Christmas season itself, which begins on Dec. 25 and lasts for 12 days.

The children pushed this thing to another level, said the Rev. Chris Seay, pastor of this nondenominational flock in the trendy Montrose neighborhood. The church, which draws about 3,000 each weekend, was created by a coalition of Baptists, Presbyterians and others.

The question the children asked, he said, was this: If Christmas is Jesus birthday, then he should get the best gifts, right? ... Once you ask that, it has to affect what we do as a church and what we do as families. If you start thinking that way, it changes just about everything we do at Christmas.

That shift led to efforts  part of a national Advent Conspiracy campaign  to raise money to provide safe water for suffering people around the world. The basic equation: If Americans spend $450 billion a year on Christmas, then why cant believers funnel some of that gift-giving into efforts to save others?

Ecclesia, an urban flock that includes rich and poor alike, is trying to raise about $1 million. That would be 30 percent of its annual budget, said Seay, a total that will require major changes for many church members. The bottom line: Advent Conspiracy pastors are asking people to find ways to use the four weeks of Advent to prepare for Christmas as a holy day, rather than queuing up for Americas blitz of holiday shopping, partying and decorating.

This also means paying attention to ancient traditions that have shaped the church calendar, if not the shopping mall calendar. Most modern Christians are not used to thinking that way, Seay said.

The key is that the liturgical calendar calls us into the story of Jesus, he said. If you dont take that seriously, youll skip parts of the story. Youll skip Good Friday and rush to Easter. Youll skip Pentecost altogether. Youll rush to Christmas and then collapse. ... We need this discipline. We need ways to control our modern biases.

For some people, that may mean skipping some early- and mid-December office and school parties, Seay said. It may mean using online sites (hello, Pinterest) to create hands-on, less expensive decorations and gifts. For clergy, it may mean daring to schedule Christmas parties and concerts during the actual 12 days of Christmas.

Some people may want to start with digital mixes of traditional Advent music for their cars, stereos and smartphones, said Alexi Sargeant, an editor at the interfaith journal First Things in New York. He keeps adding chants and hymns  from Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox sources  to an online Advent Playlist for those seeking ways to save Christmas music for the Christmas season.

These songs are lovely, but most include images both hopeful and sobering  such as the biblical events that led to Christmas. Consider one favorite, Creator of the Stars of Night, he said. The lyrics include: Jesu, Redeemer, save us all, and hear Thy servants when they call. ... O Thou Whose coming is with dread, to judge and doom the quick and dead, preserve us, while we dwell below, from every insult of the foe.

The bottom line, said Sargeant, is that Americans dont want to have to wait for anything. This means that even the most dedicated of modern Christians may struggle when it comes to preparing for the explosion of joy that is Christmas with what, for many centuries, was Advents season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Its hard to blame anyone for wanting to rush on to get to Christmas, because its a truly great and glorious feast, he said. But the church keeps reminding us that Christmas is not something that we are automatically ready for. We need to go on a journey with Mary and Joseph to get ready for Christmas. Thats a serious message and, quite frankly, we may not want to hear it.
Former Milwaukee officer pleads not guilty in shooting: MILWAUKEE  A former Milwaukee police officer accused of fatally shooting a black man during a traffic stop waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday, erasing a chance for the public to see body camera footage of the incident. Dominique Heaggan-Brown was charged last week in connection with 23-year-old Sylville Smiths death in August. The criminal complaint, which alleges Heaggan-Brown fired the fatal shot even though Smith was unarmed, is based largely on footage from body cameras that Heaggan-Brown and his partner were wearing during the incident.

2 suspects charged in fatal beating captured on Snapchat: MILWAUKEE  Two people have been charged in the beating death of a Milwaukee man, and authorities say a video of the attack was posted to the victims own Snapchat social media account. The criminal complaint filed this week says that video was used to identify one of Delvin Mendoza-Chaparros attackers as 20-year-old Devin Katzfey, of Milwaukee. Katzfey and an alleged accomplice each face one count of first-degree reckless homicide. Two other suspects may be charged. The complaint says they believed Mendoza-Chaparro tried to steal drug paraphernalia, though he denied it as he was beaten Monday.

Lawyers want confession in Slender Man case thrown out: WAUKESHA, Wis.  The lawyers for a Wisconsin girl accused of trying to kill a classmate to please a fictional horror character called Slender Man are challenging her confession. Fifteen-year-old Anissa Weier and 14-year-old Morgan Geyser have pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease to attempted homicide charges in adult court. Both girls were 12 when prosecutors say they stabbed classmate Payton Leutner 19 times in a Waukesha park in 2014. Weiers lawyers say she was too young to understand her Miranda rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present.

Wisconsin officials file charges in lottery fixing scheme: DES MOINES, Iowa  A former lottery computer administrator from Iowa and a friend from Texas were charged Thursday in Wisconsin with racketeering and theft by fraud for allegedly rigging a 2007 Megabucks game which paid them more than $780,000. Eddie Tipton was charged by the state attorney generals office along with Robert Rhodes of Sugar Land, Texas. Tipton also faces four counts of computer crime. All are felonies.

Coast Guard urges caution on ice as warmer weather returns: MILWAUKEE  The U.S. Coast Guard says warming temperatures this weekend could pose safety issues on Lake Michigan and frozen inland rivers, streams and ponds. The Coast Guard is urging people to use extreme caution on the water and melting ice. Ice thickness can vary, even in small areas. Water currents around narrow spots, bridges, inlets and outlets can cause thinner ice. The Coast Guard says stay away from cracks, seams, pressure ridges, slushy areas and darker areas. Ice near the shore of a frozen lake may be unsafe and weaker because of shifting, expansion and sunlight reflecting off the bottom.

Cops attorneys request new judge in Castile case: ST. PAUL, Minn. Attorneys for the Minnesota police officer who faces a manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile are removing the judge who was assigned to the case. Lawyers for St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez filed a notice Thursday to remove Ramsey County District Court Judge Edward Wilson. Under rules of criminal procedure in Minnesota, defense attorneys and prosecutors can each strike one assigned judge from a case without giving a reason. The requests are automatically granted. Wilson, who is black, was initially assigned to the case because of his experience  hes been on the bench since 1987 and is the second most senior judge in the district. Defense attorney Earl Gray said they filed the notice to remove Wilson based on research. He did not elaborate further.
The Womens Clothes Closet of Our Saviors Lutheran Church thanks the participants who helped make our annual Fashion Cornucopia Style Show a success.

We thank Dales, Duluth Trading Company, E&C, Grand Bluff Running, Lark Boutique, Mainstream Boutique, The Wedding Tree and Touch of Class for being a part of our show by providing clothing and accessories.

We also thank Our Saviors Come for Supper Team, which provided another gourmet meal with the help of their faithful volunteers. A big thank you to all the dedicated church volunteers the day of the show who put in many hours of work setting up, serving and cleaning up, and also to our amazing musician who made the show even more special.

With the support of all the participants, guests and their generous donations of time and money, we're able to continue our mission to provide gently used clothing to women in need.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has tapped Rep. Ed Brooks, R-Reedsburg, to lead the Local Government Committee, formerly known as the Committee on Urban and Local Affairs.

Im excited to be chairing the Local Government Committee, and I look forward to working with leaders at the town, municipal, and county level to make Wisconsin an even better place to live, said Brooks.

Local officials applauded Brooks appointment.

Im very pleased that Rep. Brooks will once again be leading the Local Government Committee, said Reedsburg Mayor Dave Estes. Ed has always worked well with stakeholders at all levels of government and has earned our trust and respect.

In addition to leading the Local Government Committee, Brooks will be the vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy.

Brooks has served in the Assembly since 2009 and won re-election last fall over Democrat Art Shrader with 58 percent of the vote. His 50th Assembly District includes all of Juneau County and towns of Glendale and Clifton and village of Kendall in Monroe County.
Over 100 years ago, the world was in the midst of World War I. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914, around 100,000 soldiers who were fighting in the trenches, silenced their weapons to participate in a truce that spread across the European Western front. Enemies and allies shared Christmas greetings and interacted to share the peace of the holiday. What an inspiration for all of us to spread the joy and peace of this wonderful season; not only now but throughout 2017.

I encourage our friends and neighbors across the 70th district to participate in the numerous holiday activities in your communities. Interactions with friends known and previously unknown can help to build and strengthen our communities as we all seek to work together in the year ahead. In the past few weeks, I have seen the influence of the enthusiasm of community members in our area as they work to bring holiday messages to others through their exceptional volunteer efforts.

Throughout this years campaign, I had the opportunity to visit with thousands of individuals I represent across our district and heard various concerns and visions for our great state. It is very heartening for me to see some of those very people assuming a larger role in community participation this time of year.

Serving as your representative is an experience like none other than Ive known. Its an honor and a privilege. I look forward to building new friendships and strengthening old ones as we continue to come together and improve the lives of all our fellow Wisconsinites.

I eagerly look forward to the coming legislative year. I will take on a new role as chairperson of the Assembly Rural Development and Mining Committee and will also continue to serve as vice chairperson of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. In addition, many of the legislative areas that I was able to work with in the last legislative session, including: addressing physician shortages and increasing access to rural healthcare, protecting the elderly who are some of our most vulnerable citizens, increasing access to mental health care, combating prescription drug abuse and addiction, easing access to employment for our veterans and finding ways to help our public school system will all continue to be of paramount importance in the upcoming session.

I extend my appreciation to you and yours at this special time of year and look forward with great enthusiasm to 2017. Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Republican Nancy VanderMeer, Tomah, represents the 70th Assembly District.
The Vernon County Censor

Dec. 20, 1916

100 years ago

Christmas next Monday.

Candies for Christmas at Towners.

Skates and hand sleds at Towners.

Dont put off shopping till the last minute.

Go to Allens blacksmith shop in Newton and get your horses shod with never-slip shoes or the common shoes.

Reuben Bromley braved the severe weather of yesterday to come over from Victory and make delivery of his tobacco crop.

Mrs. Aiken, who has long conducted a hotel at Chaseburg, has retired on account of poor health.

Olaf J. Flemming a farmer near Newry, died recently, aged 40 years, a wife and two children survive.

Oscar Willenberg of Victory neighborhood marketed a load of sorghum syrup in Viroqua. And thus many families are indulging in real sugar cane sweetness on their pancakes.

On December 5th a baby boy came to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Burkhardt, the twelfth in their family, 7 boys, 5 girls, all living and well. A few old-fashioned families like that would mean something for Viroquas population.

At her home in Jefferson, last Saturday, Grandma Doerrs children and part of her grand children and great grandchildren went in with well filled baskets and gave her a happy surprise, it being her 87th birthday. Her children presented her with a couch.

Mining operations for Avalanche section is again being agitated, high prices of materials producing that effect. It has been long known and demonstrated that copper in large quantities exists on the farm of J.P. Allen east from Avalanche.

The Vernon County Censor

Dec. 18, 1941

75 years ago

Vernon girds self for war effort.

The Viroqua Fire Department donates $25 to the Red Cross.

The Vernon County Council of Defense appoints a six-man body to take care of certain civil defense matters.

Vernon County veterans will be called for action. A mass meeting has been called for every ex-service man of all wars to be present at Westby high school gym.

As serious national emergency develops, farmers rally to do their part. A meeting is set to discuss Agricultural Defense.

Mrs. Blanche Erickson receives word that her son, Virgil, is safe. He is a boatswains mate, stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Obituaries: Emil Oscar Thorsgaard 66, Mary Lee Fortun 74, Ida Peterson Davig 60, infant John Tyler, George Guist 72, Caroline Gillette Hall 77, Hans Lewison 86, Josiah Elliott 93. Tollef Reseland, 35, died in an auto crash.

Mrs. Sarah Davis celebrated her 93rd birthday; Mrs. Wm. Webb turned 82.

Wed: Marilyn Helgeson to Wayne Tewalt at West Prairie parsonage. Thea Worman wed Elvin Sveen in Milwaukee. A charivari was held at the Redmound hall. Among the guests were a large number of mutes who were former schoolmates of the happy couple.

Ole Braaten, agent for Pioneer Hi-Bred seed corn, sold enough seed in Vernon and Crawford counties last year to plant more than 2000 acres of corn. He is the highest sales agent in Wisconsin.

Mrs. Morgan received a letter from her son, Ed Morgan, who worked in San Diego and described the atmosphere there since the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Vernon County Broadcaster-Censor

Dec. 22, 1966

50 years ago

January 1, 1967 is the official name-changing date, from the Viroqua Lutheran Church to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. There are two festive services that day at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Friends and former pastors are to share in the celebration. In the evening the Brass Choir and the Womens Chorale from Luther College will present a concert.

A delightful Christmas program was given at the Historical Society Museum on Monday night, December 12, by the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade pupils of the Clockmaker School near Westby. Mrs. Donald White is the teacher. The children sang several Christmas songs, which they did very well, without any musical accompaniment. After the program the members of the Historical Society served a tasty lunch.

Dairyland Power Cooperative is ready to start building its new steam plant at Genoa. John Olson, president, announced a $21 million construction program for 1967.

Deaths: Theodore Norris Borgen, 65; John Arthur Larson, 65.

The Viroqua Chamber of Commerce regrets lack of funds will not allow the annual lighting contest to be held this year. The organization, however, extends its congratulations to the many homes and businesses that have decorated to help make the community active in the Christmas and holiday spirit.

A last-hour surge at the Red Cross Bloodmobile Tuesday put Viroqua within eight pints of one-stop quota, but it left the County far short of its goal for the year.

Viroqua Post Office mail business appears nearly the same as last year. Outgoing mail peaked Monday at about 18,700 cancellations where it had been running rather steady at 12 to 14,000 cancellations daily. Otis Rude, Postmaster, said mail was steady this week but declining on the outgoing side. Added to the personnel this season were Cliff Gald, Lawrence Mills, Jr. and Don Nelson.

The Vernon County Broadcaster

Dec. 19, 1991

25 years ago

The Vernon County farm auction netted $234,000, Monday.

The money paid for city government by Westbys taxpayers will decrease by $8,527 in 1992.

Viroqua City Clerk Pat Griffin has been named City Employee of the Year for 1991. Alderman Wayne Gates, who presented the honor at the citys Christmas party last weekend, called this years winner most deserving.

Former publisher of the Censor, Mary Lu and George Hough, visited the Vernon County Broadcaster on a recent trip to Viroqua. The couple is now dedicating their retirement to writing about a lifetime in journalism.

The Vernon County Broadcaster

Dec. 21, 2006

10 years ago

After 101 years, Felixs Mens and Womens Clothing closed its doors officially Saturday.

By the end of March 2007, the Viroqua School District may be able to announce who its district administrator will be for the 2007-2008 school year.

Karla Hagen of the Viroqua/Cashton/De Soto co-op gymnastics team raised the gymnastics bar, when she broke two school records at the Reedsburg Invitational last Thursday. Karlas score of 9.275 broke the old school record previously held by her sister Jana Hagen who had 9.025 with her floor routine, as well as the all-around with a score of 36.025. the old all-around record was also held by Jana Hagen and was 35.65.

Members of the Vernon County Agricultural Society who gathered for the societys annual meeting Dec. 9 learned receipts and attendance were up at the 150th fair.
As Flagstaff looks toward its own Arts Oscars at the 9th annual Viola Awards March 4, we break down the breakout individuals and organizations, both emerging and established, whove staked a claim in elevated creativity.

To get a handle of the spectrum of local arts, we dug through the minds and opinions of local veterans and appreciators in the artistic community to compile this small rundown of a few locally based entities that shined in 2016.

Dance: Dark Sky Aerial

Whether twirling on pole or soaring in Lyra hoops, aerial artists have taken local creativity to new heights. And these performers now make up a significant portion of the community.

However, the newly formed new aerial troupe, Dark Sky Aerial, presented a limited run of a locally innovative experience with their first show, OPIA.

I dont think Ive seen anything like it in Flagstaff, said Arts Council Executive Director John Tannous.

OPIA took flight with harness dance, pole, Lyra and aerial fabrics  with a twist. The production took place at Weisman Aviation at the Pulliam Airport, and instead of passively watching the show, audiences were able to take part in it through the process of ambulatory theatre as spectators moved across five vignettes.

The massive space allowed dancers to fully utilize their talents throughout the multimedia presentation that left crowds wanting more.

As DSA looks toward receiving non-profit status, audiences can expect community reach-out and classes in the future.

We have so much gratitude for the reviews and comments we received from Flagstaff. We are overjoyed, motivated and excited for our new creations, [and] have things in works starting strong in 2017, said director Isabelle Dove-Robinson, adding dates are set aside for a late-summer show.

Learn more about upcoming DSA shows and experiences at DarkSkyAerial.com.

Honorable mentions: Canyon Movement Company; Circus Bacchus.

Literature: FlagSlam/Individual World Poetry Slam

Again, creatives are pulling forward in the local literary arts. On any night of the week, enthusiasts can get a taste of prose, spoken word, unpublished work and off-the-cuff stories through variously themed readings across downtown.

And while a number of local authors  with national reach  released brand new novels, collections and short stories in 2016, too, lit enthusiasts agree the poetry scene was again ablaze this year with the arrival of the Individual World Poetry Slam.

The solo spoken word competition, and an arm of the non-profit Poetry Slam Inc., IWPS reinforced the idea of Flagstaff as a poetic epicenter. Locally based organizer and PSI board member John Quinonez agreed.

Bringing a large body of International, often acclaimed, poets to Flagstaff not only gifted us with that energy and their work, but also allowed us the opportunity to be showcased as a destination for the literary arts  not just within academia but as a city that values community engagement, he said, noting online resources like Slamfind have increased the Citys presence through thousands of video views.

Next year promises to build on the communitys literary foundation. Visit the Facebook pages of Juniper House Readings, Narrow Chimney, FlagSlam and Pinestories to learn more and see performance schedules.

Honorable mentions: Nicole Walker; Justin Bigos.

Visual: McKenzie Dankert

A brand new recipient of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Northern Arizona University, McKenzie Dankert is a young artist who has presented herself as willing to break free of any box or mold.

Whether in paint or print, Dankerts creativity challenges viewers, such as those who experienced her work at CCAs Local Color exhibition, to dig deeper. Explore every-day experiences that examine nature and humanity in both subject and, for the artist, materials.

The last year has been full of experimentation with a new medium entirely, one stemming from a School of Art event where students used a steamroller to print on muslin. The artist described her recent work of combining lithography and fabric as problem-solving ways to print on different surfaces.

I tend to marry images of portraiture with elements of nature, and I feel like in that, that is what creates my style  how I marry those images and juxtapose elements of the masculine and feminine in my portraits, she said ahead of the BFA Fall 2016 Show, noting textile prints lend images new elements of life.

And whether joining new groups to show her work, or diving headfirst into a brand new medium of self-expression, there is much to uncover in the burgeoning corpus of this young artist.

See more of her work at Indigo Art Market at the Green Room during First Friday ArtWalk.

Honorable mentions: Rhonda Thomas-Urdang; Robert Zappanti.

Music: The Mother Road Trio

The ebb and flow of the local music scene has again launched audiophiles into a veritable sea of Flagstaff-based acts that have released new music this year, and chart the gamut of genres and various levels of party vibes.

High up on that list is the ever-present Mother Road Trio, which celebrated the October release of its debut collection, On Route 66, that amasses up-tempo covers and originals to boot.

Performing since 2014, Mike Shiner (upright bass/vocals), Larry Czarnecki (guitar/vocals) and Sammy Mac (harmonica/vocals) combine their learned and equally funky instrumentation offering listeners a spot at the intersection of jazz, Americana, blues and place-based nostalgia with a modern twist.

This isnt a country western ... This isnt a rock n roll ... This isnt a bluegrass ... This isnt a blues CD, Shiner said in a September interview with Flag Live. I mean, theres not one thing you can nail down. So it stretched out quite a ways.

In 2017, fans of Mother Road Trio can expect a full series of gigs across northern Arizona. First, they will kick off the New Year with a show at Little Americas Silver Pine Restaurant.

To learn more about the versatile group, visit MotherRoadTrio.com.

Honorable mentions: Le Trebuchet; Muskellunge.

Theatre: Theatrikos

This year saw stellar seasons from a number of acting troupes in town. Alpine Community Theatre filled the vacancy of Flagstaff Youth Theatre, and Sedona saw the creation of a brand new company in Take Flight Repertory Theatre.

But one local company compiled a thoughtful season that celebrated the idea of home in all its incarnations, whether a physical place or a representative idea.

Theatrikos Theatre Company produces more than a dozen productions over the course of a year, including mainstage shows and smaller dramas under the Studio Series banner. And in 2016, audiences got a peek at familiar discord on a number of fronts.

Notably, the summer production of August: Osage County garnered sell-out performances throughout its two-week run. Starring Linda Sutera as Violet Weston, this 2007 tragicomedy by Tracy Letts focuses on the microcosm of dysfunction surrounding the Weston family suffering from a case of The Plains.

With Tony Suteras Bev missing and the rest of the Westons reconvening at the family homestead to wait for the patriarchs return, caustic, witty dialogue and scathing truths emerged giving plenty of critical responses from the audience.

Visit an up-to-date schedule of the 2017 season at Theatrikos.com.

Honorable mention: NAU Theatres Summer and Smoke.
Japan says it will increase coast guard resources in the East China Sea to help defend islands it controls that are also claimed by China.

The government plans to raise overall coast guard spending to a record $1.8 billion starting in fiscal year 2017. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined the plans during a recent meeting with government ministers.

Abe said Japan had an urgent need to "substantially strengthen the structure and capabilities" of the coast guard.

Eight new ships will be added: five to conduct patrols and surveillance and three for research. In addition, more than 200 new law enforcement officials will be added to the coast guard.

Japan and China both claim a group of islands in the East China Sea. Japan controls the disputed islands, which are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The area is a popular spot for Chinese fishing boats and is believed to hold natural gas.

Coast guard ships from both countries regularly patrol the area. This has raised concerns that an accidental crash could lead to a clash between Japanese and Chinese forces.

Since the fall of 2012, Chinese government vessels have sailed near the Senkaku islands almost daily, and have entered Japan's territorial waters around the islands a few times a month, Abe told the ministers.

Aircraft have also been sent to the area to observe activity in the territory.

In September, China sent about 40 military airplanes over the Miyako Strait, just east of the disputed islands.

Japanese officials said the aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace. But it was the first time Chinese fighter jets had flown over the strait.

Japan has warned China not to send its fighter jets to the disputed territory.

Abe's cabinet is expected to approve a new defense budget reaching $44 billion. This would be Japans highest level of military spending since Abe took office in 2012, according to Japanese media.

Reports say improved missile defense systems, new submarines and other upgrades are the reasons for the increase.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, with additional material from VOA News, the Associated Press and Reuters. 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

substantially  adv. by a very large amount

capability  n. ability or power to do something

patrol n. a group of people, vehicles, etc., that go through an area to make sure that it is safe

vessel  n. a ship or large boat

upgrade  n. when a thing is replaced by something newer, better, etc.
Last month, a student at Ohio State University ran into people with a car and stabbed them with a knife. The victims survived, but police shot and killed the attacker, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, at the place the incident happened.

Since then, members of the Muslim community have been trying to understand what made Artan carry out such violence. Artan was a Somali refugee who came to the U.S. with his family in 2014.

He had been a successful student. He earned honors at a local community college before going to Ohio State, one of America's largest universities.

Officials at the mosque near the family's home say Artan was not well-known to them. They add that they are concerned that others may judge the entire community by the actions of one young man.

Concerns increase in the local Muslim community

Robert Fitrakis is a lawyer representing Artan's family. He describes how the family fears the political climate in the United States. "I'm not sure they want their face on camera," he says.

Mohamud Mohamed Ahmed is a member of the Muslim community at Abubakar Assiddiq mosque in Columbus.

"I've been in this country 25 years, so we are Americans, but we are Muslim, too. We should not be viewed as people who came from another planet. We are not aliens. We are citizens of this country."

The issue of refugees and migration has become an important political issue in the United States.

Supporters of strict immigration policy say the attack shows the danger that immigrants, or refugees, could present.

Earlier this month, for example, President-elect Trump said the attack at Ohio State University was "yet one more tragic reminder that immigration security is now national security."

However, refugee resettlement supporters point to the need to help people from conflict areas around the world.

Becca Heller is the director of the International Refugee Assistance Project. She criticized the words used by Trump in an interview with NPR news.

"That rhetoric has had an impact. Trump has been successful in politicizing refugee admissions in a way that they have not been politicized before."

The number of refugees admitted to the United States has increased since 2002. However, the number of refugees admitted to the U.S reached "historically low levels" in the year following the September 11 attacks in 2001.

A report by Congressional Research Services, or CRS, says that 27,131 refugees were allowed into the country in that year.

The number of refugees admitted in 2017 could reach 110,000, the CRS report says.

Any possible changes to immigration and refugee policy remain unclear as the Trump administration begins on January 20.

I'm John Russell.

Arash Arabasadi wrote this story for VOA News. John Russell adapted it and used additional sources for this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

honors  n. plural special credit or recognition given to students who have successfully done work at a high level

strict  adj. used to describe a command, rule, etc., that must be obeyed

rhetoric  n. formal often disapproving : language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable

politicize  v. disapproving : to relate (an idea, issue, etc.) to politics in a way that makes people less likely to agree
LEXINGTONChristmas came early for a Gothenburg family when dad showed up at home on Wednesday and they were all smiles when they shared him with their Lexington church family Wednesday night.

Chase Kirby recently enlisted in the Army Reserves and was sworn in on Oct. 27. He left for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. on Nov. 15 and didnt have contact with the family for Thanksgiving.

When Kirby learned he would be allowed to come home for Christmas, details were vague, so he let his wife Crystal know, but she didnt tell the children.

On Wednesday afternoon Crystal Kirby, who works for dentist James Graff in Gothenburg, left work early to pick up Chase in Lexington. He had been on a bus since 9 p.m. the night before.

The parents arrived at home in Gothenburg after the children came home from school and Chase knocked on the door while Crystal recorded the encounter.

I freaked out and cried, said daughter Kira, of her reaction.

Her younger brothers, who answered the knock on the door, froze in place momentarily before leaping into dads arms while shouting and enthusiastic, Dad.

I got attacked, said Kirby.

Crystal said she cried tears of joy when the couple was reunited at the bus stop. Because Chase was in uniform, people asked how long the separation had been and she felt silly when she replied, five weeks.

I know its not very long, but it seems like forever, she said.

Kirby said he enlisted because he wanted to do something to improve himself, to better support his family and to increase his skill set.

It fulfills a childhood dream, he said.

After his short leave, Kirby will have another five weeks of basic training. He anticipates he will see his family on graduation day and then he will go to Mississippi for advanced individual training in carpentry and masonry.

Kirby said he is grateful to know his family has been well cared for in his absence. If it wasnt for all the support of people at church and in our community, I wouldnt be able to do this, said Kirby. I wouldnt have the opportunity.
The Gothenburg YMCA has received a $500,000 donation.

During a Dec. 8 holiday open house at Gothenburg State Bank, bank chairman Matt Williams announced that his family and Gothenburg State bank, along with the Gill family and 96 Ranches, were donating $500,000 to the Gothenburg Health Foundation to build the Gothenburg YMCA.

Williams and his sister Jan Gill presented a large, commemorative check to Gothenburg Foundation President Karl Randecker at the event.

This level of giving is a testament of the progressive and philanthropic commitment of the Williams and Gill families, along with their organizations, said Becky Jobman, director of Gothenburg Health Foundation. We are thrilled and humbled by this generous contribution, one that invests so purposely back into our special community.

We are excited to have the opportunity to support the YMCA project, said Williams, noting the familys long ties to the community.

Our family arrived in Gothenburg in the 1890s, said Williams, noting that he said he and his sister are fourth generation business owners of Gothenburg State Bank and 96 Ranches.

Our bank has supported the growth of our community for nearly 115 years, said Williams. Gothenburg is a special community that has always had a vision for the future. The YMCA project is part of this vision.

Williams said although Larry Gill, his brother-in-law who passed away in June, would not see the vision he helped shape be complete, the joint gift would make it possible for the community to see the vision become reality.

Williams said the donation is part of a commitment for Gothenburgs growth now and in the future. He also hoped it would encourage others in the community to contribute to the YMCA project.

It will take large and small donations for the project to become fully funded, said Williams.

Groundbreaking for the $4.95 million project is scheduled for March. The YMCA will be connected to Gothenburg Health as part of a joint project featuring a hospital renovation.

The YMCA will begin operating out of the existing hospital wellness center with programming planned to kick off in the spring.

The YMCA of Gothenburg will have year-round recreation opportunities for all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. When complete, the facility will include a high school regulation size gymnasium with two cross-courts; a four-lane swimming pool with space for kid play and physical therapy; an indoor walking track; a wellness center with weights and cardio machines; a spacious group exercise room; mens, womens and family locker rooms; a fun and educational child watch room; and a comfortable social lobby with free Wi-Fi access.

In addition to these planned components, there will be abundant educational space, with potential for mentorship programs, early childhood development, after-school programs and career development opportunities for students, depending on community wants and needs.

YMCA is a non-profit organization focusing on strengthening the community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility
The National Weather Service has narrowed the window for the most intense snowfall in Flagstaff to between 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday.

The winter storm warning includes nearly a foot of snow for Flagstaff starting around 11 a.m. through 11 p.m., and winds blowing 20 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 36 mph. To the east of Flagstaff along Interstate 40 to the New Mexico border, winds will blow 45 to 55 mph.

Travel will be extremely hazardous in the afternoon and evening throughout the region and should be avoided if possible.

Snow could fall down to 4,500 feet as temperatures plummet by evening before tapering off Christmas morning. Doney Park can expect 5 to 9 inches of snow, Williams 7 to 11.

The high temperature Sunday will be just 28 degrees in Flagstaff and the overnight low 8 degrees.

Areas above 8,000 feet could see up to 20 inches of snow, prompting the Coconino National Forest to close most forest roads for the winter. Check its website for full details.

Following are predicted snowfall totals in the region:

DONEY PARK 3 TO 5 INCHES

FLAGSTAFF 7 TO 11 INCHES

FOREST LAKES 8 TO 12 INCHES

FREDONIA 1 TO 2 INCHES

GRAND CANYON 2 TO 4 INCHES

HEBER-OVERGAARD 2 TO 4 INCHES

JACOB LAKE 2 TO 4 INCHES

NORTH RIM 5 TO 9 INCHES

PRESCOTT VALLEY 1 TO 3 INCHES

PRESCOTT 3 TO 5 INCHES

SELIGMAN 1 TO 3 INCHES

VALLE 1 TO 3 INCHES

WILLIAMS 7 TO 11 INCHES

ALPINE 5 TO 9 INCHES

PINETOP-LKSIDE 4 TO 8 INCHES

SHOW LOW 3 TO 5 INCHES

WHITERIVER 1 TO 3 INCHES

PAYSON 3 TO 5 INCHES

PINE-STRAWBERRY 4 TO 8 INCHES

1 a.m. Saturday update: Heaviest snowfall due in Flagstaff from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday

The National Weather Service says Flagstaff can expect the heaviest snowfall between 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

The winter storm warning includes nearly a foot of snow for Flagstaff starting around 11 a.m. and winds blowing 20 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 36 mph. To the east of Flagstaff along Interstate 40 to the New Mexico border, winds will blow 45 to 55 mph. Travel will be extremely hazardous in the afternoon and evening and should be avoided if possible.

Snow could fall down to 3,000 feet as temperatures plummet by evening before tapering off Christmas morning. Doney Park can expect 5 to 9 inches of snow, Williams 7 to 11.

The high temperature Sunday will be just 28 degrees in Flagstaff and the overnight low 8 degrees.

Areas above 8,000 feet could see up to 20 inches of snow, prompting the Coconino National Forest to close most forest roads for the winter. Check its website for full details.

Friday 5 p.m. update: Hazardous travel warning issued for Saturday in Flagstaff region

The National Weather Service is warning of hazardous travel conditions amid blowing, heavy snow across much of northern Arizona Saturday afternoon and evening.

The winter storm warning includes nearly a foot of snow for Flagstaff starting around 11 a.m. and winds blowing 20 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 36 mph.

Snow could fall down to 3,000 feet as temperatures plummet by evening before tapering off Christmas morning.

The high temperature Sunday will be just 28 degrees in Flagstaff and the overnight low 8 degrees.

Areas above 8,000 feet could see up to 20 inches of snow, prompting the Coconino National Forest to close most forest roads for the winter. Check its website for full details.

Friday 8:45 a.m. update: High winds, foot of snow due in Flagstaff Saturday

High winds along with up to a foot of snow are now in the forecast for Flagstaff on Saturday as the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for much of northern Arizona.

Winds blowing 20 to 25 mph and gusting to 38 mph are predicted for Flagstaff Saturday as rain turns to all snow after 8 a.m. and continues through the evening.

The forecast calls for 8 to 12 inches of snow between 6,000 and 8,000 feet and 10 to 20 inches above 8,000 feet.

Christmas Day will start off with snow showers before skies start to clear. The high will reach only 27 degrees.

Thursdays rain produced high water levels in Oak Creek that approached but did not exceed a minor flood stage. Water levels continue to be high Friday morning.

9:30 a.m. Thursday update: Flagstaff snow totals upped to 12 inches by Christmas morning

Flagstaff can now expect up to a foot of snow on the ground by Christmas morning.

The National Weather Service has upped its forecast from 6-8 inches to 8-12 inches. Williams is now likely to see accumulation of up to 18 inches.

Rain today is likely to exceed 1 inch or more, with a break in the precipitation Friday afternoon before a much colder and wetter Pacific storm rolls in Saturday. Snow is expected much of the day in Flagstaff, and levels could fall to 3,000 feet by late Saturday night.

Skies are expected to clear late on Christmas Day, but with a high barely reaching the freezing mark.

Wednesday, 5 p.m.: Flagstaff due up to 8 inches of snow by Christmas morning

Flagstaff could see up to 8 inches of snow on the ground by Christmas morning.

Thats the latest forecast from the National Weather Service for Saturday.

Williams and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon could get 8 to 12 inches, and the North Rim 12 to 18 inches.

The snow will be part of a strong Pacific storm that arrives in the Flagstaff region Saturday after two days of rain below 9,000 feet. Rainfall amounts could range between 1 and 2 inches on Thursday and Friday.

The snow will start at 6,000 to 7,000 feet Saturday morning before falling to as low as 3,000 feet by Saturday night. The low in Flagstaff Saturday night will be 21 degrees, with a high Christmas Day of just 30 degrees under clearing skies.
PHOENIX  Forty workers let go by the now-fired head of the Department of Economic Security got an early Christmas gift Friday: They're going to get their jobs back.

Or at least something close to that.

But they're not going to get the pay they missed.

Megan Rose, spokeswoman for the Department of Administration which runs the state's personnel system, said her agency had received 267 requests from former DES workers to review their firings. That came after Gov. Doug Ducey set up the procedure on the heels of reports that Tim Jeffries had let go about 500 workers out of more than 7,000 at the agency since the governor appointed him last year.

Rose said after each of the 267 were "carefully evaluated'' it was determined there were 40 who "were separated in a manner that did not follow the best practices of (the agency's) Human Resources Division.

"These individuals will be contacted over the next week, before the end of the year, with an offer to re-hire at DES into their previous positions, if available,'' she said.

"If that position is filled or no longer exists, we will work to place them in a comparable position for which they are qualified,'' Rose said. "At a minimum, they will receive their previous salary.''

The workers also will come back with the sick time they had accumulated before they were let go. But Rose said they will not get the money they would have earned had they not been fired.

Friday's action could finally be the end of what has been a controversial end to Jeffries reign at the agency.

Ducey hired Jeffries shortly after taking office, saying he would help streamline the huge agency which oversees a host of programs from food stamps and welfare benefits to unemployment insurance. It also is responsible for investigating cases of adult abuse; the child abuse functions had previously been taken from the agency, then under a different director, because of mismanagement.

Jeffries began weeding people out almost immediately.

"We have already exited scores of legacy bullies in our great agency, and we will not relent until we have finished this task to honor, protect and care for you,'' he wrote last year in a memo to employees.

He generated headlines with emails to DES staffers to take their messages in his trip to the Catholic holy shrine of Lourdes and other emails promoting only the opposition to Proposition 205 which would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana.

But the scrutiny intensified after it was revealed that Jeffries had fired close to 500 workers, including many who had previously received high evaluations and even raises. That raised allegations that the director was targeting women, minorities, older workers and gays.

It got to the point that Ducey removed Jeffries' power to fire workers. And he set up a process allowing those who already were let go to petition to get their jobs back.

The apparent last straw for the governor came last month on reports Jeffries had flown to Nogales on a state plane to take several staffers out drinking at a Nogales restaurant during business hours. Jeffries was celebrating the fact these workers had agreed to become "at will'' employees who could be fired for no reason at all.

But gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato said there was no single reason for the ouster, saying it came following a review of his tenure and actions at the agency.
A holiday dream came true for a Tampa mother and her four children. They received the keys to their new Habitat for Humanity home just in time for Christmas.

Myriam Baker built her house along with Habitat for Humanity

Baker's four children range in age from eight to 23

For more information, visit habitathillsborough.org

A housewarming ceremony was held for Myriam Baker and her children, who range in age from eight to 23 years old.



"It's very special. It's the biggest present I can offer to my kids," said Baker. "It's the second best thing that's ever happened to me. The first was my kids, the second is this house."



Prior to today, Baker spent months working sweat equity hours building her house and others.



"It wasn't easy. It was actually harder than I thought," said Baker. "I first day I was like, 'I don't know how I'm going to do this,' but after awhile you start making friends. You meet the most amazing people and then you start having fun."



As part of the Habitat for Humanity program, Baker now will be able to live in the house with a 0 percent interest mortgage.



"We bring together communities to make the housing crisis go away and that's what it's all about, because everyone deserves a decent place to live," said Tina Swain, CEO for Hillsborough County Habitat for Humanity.



Today at the housewarming, the group lit candles and prayed over the house. Then, Baker and her children went inside for the very first time.



"At the end of the day, I believe that God kind of brought this to me," she said.
A Hernando County family woke up to their mobile home in flames Christmas Eve morning.

Mobile home consumed by flames in Brooksville

Three residents are being assisted by the Red Cross

Cause of fire still under investigation



Hernando County Fire Rescue said units responded to a residential fire, located at 6346 Sun Hill Lane, near Brooksville just after 5 a.m.

Inside was Candice Bickett, her husband, Sam, and their son Corey.

She said her husband smelled the smoke and was able to get everyone out of the home. According to Hernando County Fire Rescue, the home didnt have smoke detectors.

"Last night I just finished wrapping the last presents for my grandkids, Bickett said. Everything is destroyed. I have nothing left. Me, my husband and son, we have to go stay with our kids until we can find somewhere to move.

When help arrived, authorities found the mobile home completely engulfed. The fire was quickly brought under control within 20 minutes, fire rescue says.

If I could just say my blessings that were all alive, Bickett said.

Bickett said their four dogs and cat didnt make it out in time.

I was screaming for my dogs, Bickett recalled. My husband and my son went around the other side to the back window, put a ladder, trying to get them to come to the window but they were too scared and didnt come out.

According to Hernando County Fire Rescue, the fire started near a back porch -- and that the fire marshal determined the cause of the fire to be electrical.

We didnt really know how wrong the wiring was, you know," Bickett said. "You've got to live somewhere."

The family lost everything in the fire. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help them get back up on their feet.



NOTE: This Gofundme.com site is not managed by Bay News 9/News 13. For more information on how the site works and the rules, visit http://www.gofundme.com/safety.


Even before the election season started there were a lot of things going on in Flagstaff this year.

Flagstaff residents got a 4.4 percent annual increase in their water bills, a 7 percent annual increase in their sewer rates and a 6 percent annual increase in their stormwater rates for the next five years. Council approved the higher rates by a 4 to 3 vote in April, after much discussion over whether the city should create a tiered price system for commercial water users, too.

Vice Mayor Celia Barotz and Councilmembers Eva Putzova and Coral Evans voted against the rate increases because they didnt feel the city was doing enough to encourage customers to conserve water. Putzova and Barotz were also disappointed that the citys reclaimed wastewater system was not included in the rate increase negotiations.

The Arizona Department of Transportation also announced that it is putting together a plan to add additional turn lanes to Humphreys Street at Route 66 to help with future winter snowplay traffic. The department will use the right-of-way that the city purchased from the new Marriott Hotel that is being built at the intersection of Aspen Avenue and Humphreys Street.

The Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization also started work on a new regional transportation plan for the Flagstaff area. The plan is updated every five years and is used to identify what streets, bike paths and bus routes need future improvements or expansion.

The $269.1 million plan, much of which is unfunded, includes the widening of Lone Tree Road, an overpass of the railroad tracks to Route 66 and the design of a Lone Tree/ Interstate 40 interchange. J.W. Powell would be extended east to connect to Fourth Street at Butler.

Flagstaff residents also pushed back against plans to sell the old city public works yard on Mogollon Street. Funds from the sale were supposed to go toward the construction of a new yard on Route 66 on the citys McAllister Ranch property. A number of residents protested the sale of the old property and told Council and city staff that they wanted it to revert back to being part of Thorpe Park.

The city also saw a victory in the long-running lawsuit about snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl when a Coconino County Superior Court judge dismissed the Hopi Tribes final public nuisance claim. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2011. In 2012, all three of the claims in the original lawsuit were dismissed, but the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed that decision on the nuisance claim.

This year, the city and Hopi Tribe worked for months and came up with a settlement agreement in March. The agreement would have required the city to build a $1.6 million earthen filtration system to further filter the reclaimed wastewater. The deal was shelved when Council voted to indefinitely postpone a decision on the matter, followed by the court ruling favorable to the city.

Council also managed to secure state funding and approval for a new veterans home to be located on McMillian Mesa. The city is now waiting for the federal government to approve funding for the project.
Los Angeles: Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher suffered a massive heart attack while on a plane on Friday and was put on a ventilator, reports said on Saturday.

Fisher, 60, who famously plays 'Princess Leia' in the sci-fi saga, was flying from London to Los Angeles to promote her new book, the BBC reported.

Reports said she suddenly went into a cardiac arrest just 15 minutes before the flight was scheduled to land.

A frantic flight attendant asked if there were any medical personnel on board, and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who was sitting in the back of the plane rushed up to the first class to administer Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

When the plane landed, paramedics were waiting on the tarmac to rush Fisher to UCLA Medica Center.

The actress was unresponsive at the time, and an EMS crew had to work on her for 15 minutes before they got a pulse.

Her brother Todd said she was in intensive care in Los Angeles.

"If everyone could just pray for her that would be good," he said. The doctors are doing their thing and we don't want to bug them. We are waiting by patiently."

Meanwhile, celebrities tweeted their wishes for Fisher's recovery.

"Sending all our love" to Fisher," Mark Hamill tweeted.

Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise, wrote on Twitter: "Thoughts and prayers for our friend and everyone's favourite princess right now."

Many sent Fisher words of comfort and encouragement, including Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo, who wrote "May the force be with you Carrie Fisher".

Others expressed dismay at the turn of events, even blaming 2016 for the incident.

Patton Oswalt tweeted: "Goddamit 2016 enough already."

Comedian Billy Eichner wrote: "We are not losing Carrie Fisher. Do you hear me? We are not losing Carrie Fisher. Love you."

"Send love prayers and the kitchen sink to my sister Carrie Fisher F**k no. F**k no", Courtney Love Cobain posted.

"No. No. No. Praying for Carrie Fisher," Josh Gad posted.
By Aaron Ross

| KINSHASA

KINSHASA Political rivals in Democratic Republic of Congo neared a deal on Saturday for President Joseph Kabila to leave power in 2017 after dozens of people were killed during protests this week at the end of his mandate.Under the agreement, elections would be held next year and Kabila, who took power in Africa's fourth most populous country after his father was assassinated in 2001, would agree not to change the constitution to run for a third term. Roman Catholic bishops who have mediated during weeks of talks were upbeat about reaching a deal in time for a planned signing ceremony on Friday, but Congo's main opposition bloc warned that several "significant" differences remained."We have finished practically 95 percent of the work," Catholic Bishops Conference president Marcel Utembi told reporters. "There remains a short way to go."Divisions persisted over whether the prime minister will come from the main opposition bloc and on the composition of the electoral commission, which the opposition accuses of pro-government bias.

"If the divergences are not bridged, it will be difficult to sign this accord," opposition leader Jean Marc Kabund told reporters. Kabila, whose representatives participated in the talks, did not comment.At least 40 people were killed this week in a crackdown by security forces against demonstrators who blew whistles and banged pots and pans in protests demanding Kabila leave office, according to the United Nations.

Kabila's critics accuse him of deliberately postponing the presidential election that was due last month in order to cling to power beyond the end of his constitutional mandate.The government say the delay was due to difficulties registering millions of voters and the constitutional court ruled in May that Kabila could stay in office until his successor is elected.Mineral-rich Congo has not had a peaceful power transition since independence in 1960, and Church negotiators have billed the talks as an attempt to stop the country sliding back into war.

Millions of people died in regional conflicts between 1996 and 2003 and Pope Francis has called for a peaceful solution to the current standoff.The last day of the talks between the ruling coalition and opposition parties began at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) after negotiations went through the night. Remaining issues are to be resolved in small groups with the support of the church's secretariate while the bishops return to their dioceses for Christmas, Utembi said. (Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Sam Holmes and Helen Popper)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Michelle Nichols

| UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS The United States on Friday allowed the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements, defying pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, Israel and some U.S. lawmakers who urged Washington to wield its veto.An abstention by the United States paved the way for the 15-member international body to approve the resolution, with 14 votes in favour, prompting applause in the council chamber."Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. and will not abide by its terms," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has encouraged the expansion of Jewish settlements in land captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours, said in a statement.The Obama administration's action broke with the long-standing American approach of shielding Israel, Washington's long-time ally that receives more than $3 billion in annual U.S. military aid, from such action. The United States, along with Russia, France, Britain and China, has veto power on the council.The resolution, put forward by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal a day after Egypt withdrew it under pressure from Israel and Trump, was the first adopted by the council on Israel and the Palestinians in nearly eight years.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the resolution and Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called on Israel to "respect international law."The U.S. abstention was seen as a parting shot by outgoing President Barack Obama, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Netanyahu and whose efforts to forge a peace agreement based on a "two-state" solution of creating a Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel have proven futile. His administration has argued that continued Israeli settlement building has undermined chances of a peace deal.Israel and Trump had called on the Obama administration to veto the measure. Trump wrote on Twitter after the vote, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," referring to the day he succeeds Obama.Israel for decades has pursued a policy of constructing Jewish settlements on territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbours including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Most countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel disagrees.The Obama administration has deemed settlement expansion "illegitimate." Successive administrations of both parties have criticized settlement activity but have done little to slow their growth.

INDEPENDENT STATE

The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The resolution demanded that Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem" and said the establishment of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."After the vote, the White House defended the U.S. abstention, saying that in the absence of any meaningful peace process, Obama took the decision to abstain. Criticizing Israels settlement policy, it said it had repeatedly warned Israel privately and publicly that settlement activity was increasing Israel's international isolation.Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser, dismissed Trump's criticism, noting that Obama remains president until Jan. 20.

"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," Rhodes told a conference call.Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, said the United States did not raise a veto because the resolution "reflects the facts on the ground and is consistent with U.S. policy across Republican and Democratic administrations."MORE THAN SYMBOLIC

The passage of the resolution changes nothing on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians and likely will be all but ignored by the incoming Trump administration.

But it was more than merely symbolic. It formally enshrined the international communitys disapproval of Israeli settlement building and could spur further Palestinian moves against Israel in international forums.The U.N. action was "a big blow to Israeli policy, a unanimous international condemnation of settlements and a strong support for the two-state solution," a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, called the resolution disgraceful, adding he had no doubt the incoming Trump administration and Ban's successor as U.N. chief, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, "will usher in a new era in terms of the U.N.'s relationship with Israel"Israel has said the final status of the Jewish settlements should be determined in talks on Palestinian statehood. The last round of U.S.-led peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014.Trump, who called for a veto along with Netanyahu, is likely to be a more staunch supporter of Netanyahu's right-wing policies. He named a hardline pro-Israel ambassador and vowed to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.Some U.S. lawmakers of both parties condemned the Obama administration's abstention. Republican Senator John McCain said the abstention "marks a troubling departure from our nation's long, bipartisan history of defending our ally Israel in the United Nations."U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who heads the Senate subcommittee that oversees American U.N. funding, threatened to pull financial support for the international body.The council last adopted a resolution on settlements in 1979, with the United States abstaining. Then it approved a resolution saying Israeli settlements had "no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East." (Writing by Will Dunham and Yara Bayoumy; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Lesley Wroughton and Susan Heavey in Washington, Matt Spetalnick in New York and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The sudden resignation of Khumukcham Joykishan from BJP, amidst crisis and his joining the Congress thereafter, has endangered saffron partys prospects in poll-bound Manipur, besides raising doubts on its political strategy in the state.

Joykishans resignation has attracted headlines in the national media not only because he joined the Congress at a time when the party is hardly seen as an alternative to BJP, but also because it underlines the flaws in the saffron partys handling of the Naga Peace Talks.

According to the Imphal Times, the MLAs decision to resign was reportedly prompted by an ultimatum issued by a civil society organization to boycott BJP if it failed to unfold the content of framework of the agreement between the Centre and NSCN(IM) within 24 December.

The mystery

Since very little about the ongoing peace talks is known even by the party men, it was unlikely that the party would be able to meet the public demand and Joykishan chose to resign before it was too late.

He was one of the two BJP MLAs who opened the saffron partys account in the Legislative Assembly, but his resignation marks the shift in public perception of the saffron party among the Meiteis.

The swing in public mood reaffirms the view that, since the centre is going hush-hush on the framework of the agreement, it was a political necessity for the saffron party to allay fears. For the talks also include the issue of territorial integrity of Manipur, given the NSCN(IM)s longstanding demand to create a Greater Nagaland claiming a vast stretch of Naga inhabited land in the state.

Questions about the content of the Naga peace talks framework of agreement emerged after the United Naga Council (UNC) imposed economic blockade. In a bid to protest the Manipur governments move to create new districts bifurcating Naga inhabited land, the UNC stopped the movement of goods through two National Highways to the plains of the state where the Hindu Meiteis who are also BJPs primary voter base dwell.

In a recent memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs the UNC sought, "Political intervention from the Government of Indiato settle the Indo-Naga political issue once and for all for it is impossible for the Nagas to live under the oppressive and hegemonic communal Government of Manipur."

Unanswered questions

The questions those have been lurking behind for a long time and have re-emerged during this crisis are:

Whether the silence on the peace talks on part of both the government of India and NSCN(IM) is prompted by the genuine demand of the situation? Or is it a mere tactic to keep the people of Manipur in the dark about any compromise made on the territorial integrity of the state, before assembly elections?

What is the true nature of BJPs relationship in Manipur with Naga Peoples Front, a regional party which is in power in Nagaland with support from the saffron party and is seen as a political force competing with Meitei and Kuki identity politics?

Is the BJPs decision to not go for a pre-poll alliance with NPF in Manipur only for optics before the elections in the state? Or is it an outcome of genuine commitment to the issues of the Meiteis and Kukis?

Whether BJP will go for a post-poll alliance with the NPF to form a government in Manipur if so required? In that case, how will be the interests of the rest of the ethnic groups in the state be safeguarded, when NPF itself supports the cause of Greater Nagaland?

The state unit of BJP overseen by the partys national secretary Ram Madhav, reportedly handpicked by none other than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself as an expert in Jammu and Kashmir and North East India, was expected to answer them to convince the people of the partys honest intention to solve the long-standing political problem in the region and not of playing hide and seek.

But if Ram Madhavs statements aggravated tension in Jammu and Kashmir, his lack of it did the same in poll-bound Manipur.

Echoing the public emotion, on the present crisis and BJP's mishandling of it, across hills and valleys of Manipur, George Guwatye, a Kuki leader in Manipur told Firstpost, "People have been led to believe that the Congress has a clearer policy on Naga Peace Talks than BJP."

New narrative

Even as the BJP grapples to find convincing answers to the questions raised in public, the Congress surfaces a new narrative indicating that the saffron party has sided with the Nagas in the present crisis.

Okram Ibobi Singh, the chief minister of Manipur said to The Indian Express in an interview, "Since the central government is in peace talks with the NSCN(IM), they can easily put pressure on the United Naga Council to call off the economic blockade, which has caused much suffering here."

Adding to the new theory propounded by him the chief minister said that as soon as tension started building up he went to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh but did not find a favorable response.

What has made the Congress narrative look more convincing is Ram Madhavs perceived closeness with Naga Peoples Front, a party with a political stand competing with that of Meiteis and Kukis.

Many in the Meitei and Kuki intelligentsia suspect that BJP is playing second fiddle to the NPF in Manipur, in a bid to capture power.

Paojel Chaoba, a political commentator wrote in The Imphal Free Press, "In Manipur, the NPF seemed sanguine with the understanding that it would look for votes amongst the Nagas in the hills while the BJP would bank on Meitei votes in the valley."

The suspicion was vindicated when BJP sacked three of its functionaries after raising voice against alleged corruption in the NPF government in Nagaland led by the Chief Minister TR Zeliang.

BJP being seen as the second fiddle to NPF before the Manipur election, not only raises doubt among the Meiteis living in the plains about the partys honesty in its commitment to them showed in the last six months but also is viewed as a political mischief played to win over the state.

Added to these woes was the centres inability to deal with the crisis in due time has caused much bitterness in the valley. By the time Joykishan joined the Congress, Manipur might have received 4,000 paramilitary troops to deal with the situation. But that could hardly help to recover the erosion in trust the BJP faced in the last one month.

Being a party hopper, Joykishan who was earlier a Trinamool Congress MLA but crossed the floor to join BJP last year was perhaps early to read the shift in public mood. His resignation along with the new narrative conjured by the Congress only fortifies the popular suspicion.
SAN JOSE Costa Rica said on Friday it was investigating whether a former Mexican state governor wanted on corruption charges had entered the country illegally. Following a report from a Mexican newspaper that the politician was in Costa Rica, Security Minister Gustavo Mata said that Javier Duarte, who governed the Gulf state of Veracruz until taking a leave of absence in October, had not been registered entering the country legally. "If he is detected here in Costa Rica, he will be detained and immediately deported," Mata told a news conference.Citing intelligence sources, newspaper El Financiero reported that Duarte had travelled to the capitals of Costa Rica and Guatemala. In Costa Rica he was traced last week to a hotel in San Jose, the paper said.

Duarte, who was expelled from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after the probe into his alleged involvement in organised crime and money laundering, stood down shortly before the end of his six-year term.

Duarte denied any wrongdoing before going underground.His disappearance embarrassed Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office vowing to get tough on corruption but has instead been accused by critics of allowing it to go unpunished.

(Reporting by George Rodriguez; Editing by Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Timothy Mclaughlin and Renita D. Young

| CHICAGO

CHICAGO A Singaporean blogger who has stirred controversy in his home country is being detained by U.S. immigration officials, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday.Amos Yee, 18, who was jailed earlier this year in the Southeast Asian city-state, was stopped by customs agents at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 16 as he sought political asylum in the United States, his mother said. "Amos is being detained in the US right now. He is seeking political asylum in the US. The matter is now with his lawyers. I will not be speaking to the press or anyone on this matter," Mary Toh, Yee's mother, said in a statement posted to Facebook on Friday evening Singapore time. Yee has been jailed twice in Singapore for online comments. His trials, which have been closely watched by rights groups and the United Nations, have fuelled the debate in Singapore over censorship and the limits of free speech.

Yee is in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending federal immigration court proceedings, Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in an email. Montenegro declined to provide further details of why Yee was detained, where he was being held or if he had any legal representation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ralph Piccirilli also said the agency had "encountered" Yee, but declined further comment.The Singapore embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In September, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet - in videos, blog posts and a picture - that were critical of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail. Last year, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee's death. His sentence at the time amounted to four weeks in jail. (Additional reporting by Fathin Ungku in Singapore; Editing by Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Flagstaff voters overwhelmingly chose to clear the City Council and mayor seats of incumbents in November.

Councilmembers Karla Brewster and Jeff Oravits and Mayor Jerry Nabours lost by significant margins.

In the mayoral race, Nabours, seeking a third term, collected 11,266 votes, or about 43 percent of the 26,342 votes cast. Councilmember Coral Evans, the winner, collected 14,989 votes, or about 57 percent. Evans focused her campaign on her responsiveness to neighborhood concerns in the face of growth and development. Nabours emphasized his state and regional connections that helped secure grants and easements.

The race for three Council seats mirrored the issues in the mayoral race, with three of the challengers looking for more sustainable growth rates than Brewster and Oravits supported. In the end, Jamie Whelan and Jim McCarthy were the clear winners, but the race for the third seat wavered for days between Charlie Odegaard and Adam Shimoni, with each candidate alternatively gaining and losing the thin lead as first absentee and mail-in ballots and then provisional ballots were counted. The last seat ended up going to Odegaard, who backed Nabours, by 59 votes.

Flagstaff voters also approved setting aside 253 acres of city-owned land near Buffalo Park as open space, with any changes requiring voter  not just Council  approval. The measure passed with nearly 87 percent of the vote. According to the results from the Coconino County Elections Department, 24,186 people voted for the extra layer of open space protection and 3,622 voted against it.

They also approved the sale of bonds to cover half of the cost to build a new municipal court building. Coconino County will cover the other half of the cost for the new courthouse in the old county jail in downtown Flagstaff. Around 51 percent of voters voted for the new courthouse, or a margin of about 600 votes.

The Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority will continue to get funding from a 0.295 percent sales tax, after more than 70 percent of voters approved extending the tax for another five years. Only 7,809 voters were against the bus tax extension.
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A Kenya Wildlife Services officer counts some of the elephants tusks confiscated on December 20 2016. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

According to the Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner of Investigations David Yego two Cambodia bound containers ferrying ivory were recalled to Mombasa Port from the high seas when intelligence information indicated they were carrying the illegal cargo.Advertisement

By DANIEL TSUMA NYASSY

Authorities have have seized illegal ivory and shoes declared as ceramics.

According to the Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner of Investigations David Yego two Cambodia bound containers ferrying ivory were recalled to Mombasa Port from the high seas when intelligence information indicated they were carrying the illegal cargo.

The containers had 40 ivory pieces, which means 20 elephants were killed for the tusks.

Mr Yego said the animals could have been massacred from a neighbouring country and Mombasa was being used as transit port.

However, when the pieces were scooped out of the wooden planks, they revealed marks which looked like police signs written in red ink, suggesting that the same pieces could have been fished from the store as exhibit from an earlier seizure.

Yego declined to explain the strange writings saying it was too early to say anything. He said investigations would be conducted to reveal the mysterious marks.

In http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Authorities-seize-illegal-ivory-headed-for-Cambodia/1056-3493618-format-xhtml-7bk8ho/index.html
2 services planned Christmas Eve

TWIN FALLS  Two services will be held Christmas Eve at Twin Falls First United Methodist Church, 360 Shoshone Street East. At 3 p.m., a Christmas communion service will be held in the Wesley Chapel. At 8:30 p.m., a traditional service will be in the church sanctuary, and will feature special music, as well as the Lighting of the Candles while singing Silent Night.

Worship will be at 9:30 a.m. Christmas Day. Cinnamon rolls will be served in the Friendship Room following worship. The Rev. Michael Hollomon will preside over all three services. The church building is handicapped accessible, with an elevator on the Fourth Avenue East entrance.

Community invited to Christmas Day worship

TWIN FALLS  Ascension Episcopal Church welcomes the community for the celebration of Christs birth at 7 p.m. Saturday with singing of Christmas carols and Holy Communion.

On Christmas Day, Holy Communion will be celebrated at a single service at 9 a.m, led by the Rev. Neal Collins. Ascension Cafe, the adult discussion group, will not meet, and no coffee hour is scheduled.

Djembe Drumming will be offered from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the church. All ages are welcome. Information: 208-961-1349.

Knit-Us-Together, the handwork group, meets from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Choir practice is at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. All are welcome for worship, study and fellowship at Ascension.

Ascension Episcopal Church is at 371 Eastland Drive N. in Twin Falls. For more information, go to episcopaltwinfalls.org or call 208-733-1248.

Traditional candle light service scheduled

JEROME  Celebrate the birth of the Christ Child at Jerome Presbyterian Church. Christmas Eve services will be held at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The traditional candle light service is at 7 p.m. and the more informal service is at 5 p.m. with the Rev. Will Ritter preaching. On Christmas Day, worship will be at 10:45 a.m. with the Rev. Dale Metzger. On Jan. 1, worship will also be at 10:45 a.m.

Celebrate Christmas Eve in Buhl

BUHL  Buhl Calvary Assembly of God invites the community to its 2016 Christmas Eve candle light service at 6 p.m. Saturday. There will be music by the worship team during the candle light service. The Rev. Matt Woodroof will share the Christmas message for the entire family. Bring your family and friends and come as you are. Calvary Assembly is at 110 Fruitland Ave. Information: 208-543-5559.

Christmas Eve service features guest speaker

HOLLISTER  The Christmas Eve service will be at 7 p.m. Saturday with guest speaker the Rev. Jim Sommer. A dessert and coffee social will follow the service. Visitors are welcome and invited to attend. The church is at 2461 Central Ave. in Hollister. Information: 208-733-9183.

XrossWay plans Christmas worship

TWIN FALLS  XrossWay Christmas Eve worship will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday, but visitors are invited to arrive 15 minutes early to hear Gabby and Avery perform a Christmas Prelude. Christmas Eve service will feature be an evening of lessons and carols, ending with a candlelight vigil of prayers and singing Silent Night. Christmas Day Worship will begin at 11 a.m. and will look at the birth of Jesus Christ in the context of our journey through The Story. Christmas Day will be a special setup as we will worship in the round, that is, around the manger and birth of Christ. Christmas Day will feature all the traditional Christmas hymns.
TWIN FALLS  A woman charged in a string of Magic Valley burglaries alongside her husband, brother and brothers girlfriend has agreed to plead guilty and could spend 10 to 20 years in prison.

Brezzy Ray Lemon, 38, of Twin Falls signed a plea deal last week agreeing to plead guilty to two felony counts of aiding and abetting burglary, one felony count of aiding and abetting grand theft and one felony count of possession of a controlled substance.

As part of the plea deal, Twin Falls County prosecutors have agreed to dismiss four other felony counts but will seek a 20-year prison sentence with a mandatory minimum term of 10 years.

Lemon is the first of four suspects in the family burglary ring to officially plead guilty, though her brother, 22-year-old Spencer Willson Wells, appears set to enter a guilty plea next month, and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Alishia Elaine Bullock, told a judge earlier this week shed reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

The only case in which theres been no indication that a resolution has been reached is that of Lemons husband, James Howard Arthurs Jr., 34. But all four are due in court in January when Lemon, Wells and Bullock are expected to enter their guilty pleas.

All but Lemon were in court Monday and were expected to enter pleas, but each asked for a delay. When Wells case was called, his court-appointed public defender and the prosecutor approached the bench and discussed the case quietly with 5th District Judge Richard Bevan. Upon returning to the defendants table, Deputy Public Defender Timothy Williams seemed to be discussing a nearly finished plea agreement with his client.

Were going to do  a short delay, make sure we get everything done that we need to, Williams whispered to Wells. Get the proper deal in front of us in writing.

Steven McRae, the attorney for Bullock, told a judge Dec. 2 that he had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, the terms of which would be put on the record at her district court arraignment.

All four suspects are facing a slew of felony burglary, theft and drug charges in Twin Falls County, while Arthurs, Wells and Bullock are also charged with felony burglary counts in Blaine County.

In Twin Falls County, the group is accused of stealing two ATMs in August and burglarizing at least nine businesses in Hansen, Filer, Hollister, Castleford and Twin Falls.

All are scheduled to appear Jan. 9 for hearings in Twin Falls County District Court.
TWIN FALLS  As she stitched red yarn along the edges of a green construction paper stocking, kindergartner Terra Golding waited anxiously for Canyon Ridge High School students to arrive.

In her classroom, Dec. 6, at Rock Creek Elementary School, she commented: I hope the Canyon Ridge people get here soon.

The teenagers were running behind schedule on the snowy, bitterly cold morning.

Students from Canyon Ridges Business Professionals of America chapter visited nearby elementary schools  I.B. Perrine Elementary and Rock Creek Elementary  earlier this month to help kindergartners write letters to Santa Claus.

The activity fulfilled a BPA community service requirement.

The letters to Santa project started at least five years ago at I.B. Perrine Elementary. This was the first year Rock Creek Elementary  which opened in August  adopted the project.

With half-day classes, Rock Creek Elementary kindergarten teacher Holly Dickinson said it doesnt allow as much time for writing with her students as shed like.

But when they do, students focus on spelling high-frequency words correctly  those theyll encounter often.

For words students dont know how to spell, they work on sounding them out. At this time of year, it is sound-by-sound spelling, Dickinson said.

She tried leading a letters to Santa project by herself with her entire class in past years, but its challenging.

And this year at Rock Creek Elementary, she has a large group  25 children  in her morning kindergarten class. Having high schoolers help out makes it so much easier, Dickinson said.

Before high schoolers arrived in her classroom Dec. 6, kindergartners worked on stitching red yarn through holes to tie together a stocking they made out of construction paper.

This takes patience and perseverance, Dickinson told students.

At tables nearby, white T-shirts were drying  each with hand prints and foot prints in brown paint to create the shape of a reindeer head. Eyes and a red button nose were glued on.

As children worked on their project, Dickinson asked: See any school buses yet?

No, the children responded. You can stand up and peek, Dickinson told them. Five girls went over to the window and stood on their toes to peer outside. A yellow school bus was nowhere to be found.

Dickinson told the children: When they do get here, youre going to need a good pencil.

Meanwhile, a yellow school bus pulled up and teenagers got off, making their way toward Dickinsons classroom.

Dickinson told kindergartners: Boys and girls, they made it.

The teenagers smiled as they looked around the classroom. One Canyon Ridge student said hello to his younger brother, whos in Dickinsons class. Another teenage girl commented to her friend, Theyre so cute.

Terra spun around in her chair, eagerly awaiting someone to come help her write a letter to Santa. Canyon Ridge sophomore Naomi Loya knelt down on the floor between her and fellow kindergartner Abby Gates.

The teens helped kindergartners fill in a form letter to Santa, including their name, how old they are, if theyve been good this year, nice things theyve done and three items theyd like for Christmas.

My name is Terra, the little girl said. T-e-r-r-a, she spelled out loud as she wrote.

Naomi read: I have been very. She paused, waiting for the kindergartners to answer. Good, Abby said.

Nearby, Canyon Ridge student Maia Thomas helped two students with their letters.

Kindergartner Ryker Schmidt pointed to a g on an alphabet chart on a classroom wall, as Maia helped him sound out the word good.

What do students want for Christmas? Some of the requests are very commercial, Dickinson said.

But sometimes, students have non-material wishes. This year, one girl in Dickinsons morning kindergarten class said she wants her mother to be happy for Christmas.

The kindergartners were expecting a response back to their letters before Christmas, Dickinson said. The elves answer the letters.
Lighting a candle in the darkness, that is something that stands on its own, Rabbi Jack Moline told me, just as that early winter night was closing in and the Christmas lights around us began twinkling.

Its a powerful image, a strong metaphor for both Christians and Jews.

The start of Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day this weekend, a rarity that comes only every few decades. It means millions of people of both faiths will be lighting candles together, across the land.

Hello? Haters? Are you seeing this celestial bat signal?

Its a sign. Interfaith wonderpowers, time to activate. Because the darkness has been deep this year.

Anti-Semitism, for ages, felt dead or maybe just dormant in the ugliest, dark corners of America, where moon landing and illuminati conspiracy theories writhed.

But since the start of this presidential campaign, there has been a resurgence of swastikas and hate speech. Trolls are trying to ignite the internet with pictures of ovens or subversive signals sent to folks with Jewish sounding names.

Its no surprise to me that there are people who hate Jews for being Jews, said Moline, who is president of the national Interfaith Alliance.

History will never allow American Jews to completely exhale, not even in the country where George Washington, Founding Father Numero Uno, sent that lovely letter to the Hebrew Congregations in Rhode Island back in 1790:

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants-while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid, Washington wrote.

Rabbi Gerry Serrota, the executive director of the Interfaith Conference on Washington, said that America has been wonderfully hospitable to Jews. More than 40 percent of the worlds Jews live here.

Both Serrota and Moline grew up when Jewish kids were bullied in school, the slurs and jokes were common, and there were quotas on the number of Jews admitted to American universities.

But their kids? Theyve experienced none of that.

And the stuff theyre seeing today is scary.

Not just scary because there are swastikas on a school bathroom wall in tolerant and enlightened Bethesda, Maryland. Not only frightening because a guy who hosted a showcase of bigotry and hateSteve Bannonwill work in the high reaches of the Trump White House.

But todays atmosphere is terrifying because of what other minorities are facing.

What Jews are experiencing now aint nothing, Moline said.

A people who saw their communities destroyed and their families slaughtered by the millions during the Holocast are understandably appalled by the way Muslims are now being targeted in this country.

While Merry Christmassing around the country this week, Trump underscored his commitment to a nationwide Muslim registry and a ban on Muslim immigrants.

You know my plans all along, Trump declared.

Thisfar more than a swastika scrawled on a buildingis terrifying.

If theyre asking Muslims to register, of course well get every Jew in America to register, Rabbi Daniel Zemel vowed at a Friday night Shabbat service at Temple Micah in Washington last month. If theyre going to start deporting people, well make Temple Micah into a sanctuary.

Moline agreed, joining Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Muslims outside Masjid Muhammad, which calls itself The Nations Mosque, in Washington last month and saying I will be the first in line to say, Ana Muslim! I am a Muslim!

Its because Jews remember not just the Nazis but the people like Marion Pritchard.

Pritchard, a Dutch social work student, was 96 when she died in Washington last week.

She was credited with feeding, clothing and hiding more than 150 Jews during the Holocaust, many of them children. She even killed a Nazi collaborator who discovered one of the hideouts she used under floorboards. She shot him and slipped his corpse into a coffin with another cadaver, to escape detection.

Pritchard always insisted that none of it wouldve been possible without the assistance of others.

Serotta pays tribute to Christians like her every Christmas. His family goes out to Chinese food, as many Jewish families do, and then they volunteer at a local church soup kitchen, so Christians can have the night off to celebrate with their families.

Hell do it again this year, and light his Hanukkah candle when he gets home.

The rabbis America is the one we must embrace  a place of love, religious freedom and tolerance.

George Washington was very clear in his letter to the Jews he visited in Rhode Island, explaining that the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.

And now is a good time to live up to that promise, to light a candle in the darkness.
Fraudulent schemes

The Flagstaff Police Department is investigating a fraudulent scheme after a man told officers he was scammed out of about $45,000 Monday.

According to the police report, a man told police he received an unidentified call telling him he had won a sweepstakes of $96 million.

According to the report, the caller told the victim he had won from a company called "Winners International" and was told he would need to pay fees to have the money split into four checks and be deposited.

The caller then requested the man wire money to various accounts, including through two different banks and through Western Union. The man said the caller continued to call him, and the officer noted in the report that the victim's phone rang an excess of 20 times during their conversation, records show.

Domestic violence

Flagstaff Police officers arrested a man Tuesday after police said he assaulted a woman and then was seen carrying a gun down the street.

According to a police report, callers told police a man had broken a window during a domestic disturbance. The woman told police the man had been upset with her for not listening to him, records show. She told officers the man grabbed her by the hair and attempted to drag her outside, according to the report.

The woman told police she was able to get out of his grip, but he then approached her and grabbed her by the neck, records show. According to the report, he choked the woman for 10 to 15 seconds before she said she could not breathe. The man then grabbed her by the hair again, but she broke free and hid herself in a bedroom, records show.

A witness told police the man broke the window to get into a bedroom to retrieve the gun, records show.

According to the report, police made contact with the man down the street. Records show he had dropped the gun but was resisting arrest. According to the report, two officers held the man at gunpoint and it took four officers to handcuff him after he repeatedly pulled away from handcuffs.

Officials said the man dropped the gun in an alleyway and it was later found. The gun was not loaded.

John Lee Gordon, 20, was transported to Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment. Gordon was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault, assault, criminal damage, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

City and county residents who want to report a crime but wish to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word Flagtip along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES). Rewards of up to $2,000 are given for information that leads to an arrest.
Egypt delayed the tabling of a draft resolution, demanding an end to illegal constructions of Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, for voting by the UN Security Council on Thursday after President al-Sisi spoke with US president-elect Donald Trump and agreed on giving the incoming administration an opportunity to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

A Western diplomat stated that every member of the Security Council was ready to vote at 3pm but Cairo succumbed to the intense Israeli lobbying campaign against them. New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia, and Senegal are vowing to push ahead with the resolution as non-permanent Security Council members and the US is expected to abstain from voting thereby facilitating its adoption.

It is still unclear if Egypt will drop the draft resolution but one of the countrys diplomats under the condition of anonymity stated that we [Arab states] are all looking for a way to ensure constructive relations with this new administration. Its not clear if this [resolution] helps that, or if it might even hinder it.

Hours before the vote was delayed, president-elect Trump said that peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations because resolutions from the Security Council put Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.

The Obama administration has not confirmed if it was going to abstain from voting as stated by sources close to the dossier and it continues to coy on the matter. Israeli officials confirmed that they called on Trump after failing to convince the White House to veto the draft resolution.

Prime Minister Netanyahu was grateful for Trumps intervention as he highlighted that one of the great pillars of the US-Israel alliance: the willingness over many years of the United States to stand up in the UN and veto anti-Israel resolutions. He expressed hope that the US wont abandon this policy.

The draft text demands Israel to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The settlements have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and the continuation of such activities is dangerously imperiling the viability of a two-state solution, the resolution reads.

Israel considers Jerusalem as its capital but its authority over the city is not internationally recognized
Tunisian Premier Youssef Chahed Thursday fired the governor of Sfax along with two top security officials of the governorate following the assassination of Mohamed Zawahri, an expert of drones and militant of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement. Habib Chaouat has been replaced by Slim Tissaoui; governor of Siliana governorate.

The sackings come one week following the assassination of Zawahri, 49, at the wheel of his car, in front of his house in Sfax, the second city of the country, on December 15.

He was hit by two bullets fired close range by assassins. He was an engineer, experts of drone. His death was condemned by the Hamas movement which accused Israel for masterminding the assassination. The movement also indicated that the 49-year old engineer had been its militant for 10 years.

Tunisias interior minister Hedi Majdoub also indicated that the act bears the marks of foreign espionage but did not go into details. The minister also indicated that three people, all Tunisians and among whom a female journalist have been arrested in connection to the assassination.

Majdoub pointed out that the assassination had been in the pipeline since June this year and was planned from two European capitals namely Vienna and Budapest.

The assassination sparked protest in capital Tunis last Tuesday. Hundreds of protestors waving the Palestinian flag charged Israel and vowed support for their Palestinian brethern.

Israel did not openly claim responsibility for the death of the engineer whom it accuses of being behind Hamas drone program. However, Israeli defense minister vigdor Liberman was coy to admit Israels involvement.

If someone was killed in Tunisia, hes not likely to be a peace activist or a Nobel Prize candidate, he said.

We will continue to do in the best possible way what we know how to do  that is to protect our interests, he added.
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Posted on: Dec 24, 2016







A Sai Christmas

The Christmas season is here again  with its celebrations and festivities - Christmas parties, Christmas goodies, beautiful decorations, Christmas presents and Christmas cards.

But dear friends, Christmas is much more than these; in fact none of these can be called the true celebration of Christmas. What then is the true meaning of Christmas? This has been explained by Swami, who has given us many revelations and insights into the story of the birth of Christ and his teachings.

Just before Jesus was born, a decree went out from the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus that each one must report to the city of his ancestors to be taxed. So Joseph and Mary journeyed from the city of Nazareth to Bethlehem.

Mary rode on a little donkey, while Joseph walked beside her. It was late at night on the second day of their long trip, when they arrived in Bethlehem. Every inn in the city was full and they could find no place to stay. Finally one of the inn-keepers looking at Marys pale and tired face, took pity on them, and offered them shelter in a stable behind the inn. Gratefully, Mary and Joseph shared the humble, little resting place with the animals. That night Jesus was born. Mary tenderly wrapped the little infant in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger on the soft sweet-smelling hay. Jesus was an embodiment of humility. And his birth in a stable was perhaps a sign of the great humility that marked his life.







Carol: Away in a Manger

On one of the hills outside Bethlehem, some shepherds huddled over a small fire were keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel suddenly appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone all around. At first the shepherds clutched each other in fear. But the angel said, Dont be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy for all people. For this night a saviour has been born for all mankind; he is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign by which you will find him. He will be wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Now suddenly, there appeared a host of angels singing, Glory to God in the Highest! And on earth peace and goodwill toward all men.

Carol: Silent Night Carol: The First Noel

Carol: Hark the herald angels sing





The shepherds were filled with wonder, and urged one another, Let us hurry to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. They searched until they found Mary and Joseph behind one of the inns in the stable. And exactly as foretold, there was the baby lying in a manger wrapped in soft woollen cloth. The shepherds were very simple rustic folk. But as they gazed at the tiny infant, they knew instinctively that there was something wondrous about him.

Swami tells us that on seeing the child, one shepherd remarked, This child loves God. Another said, No brother, God loves him. The third reflected, The child is God Himself.

These utterances of the shepherds correspond to the three statements Jesus made at three different stages of his life. First, he called himself a messenger of God. Then he said, I am the son of God. And finally he declared, I and my Father are One. Swami explains that loving God makes you a messenger of God. God loving you makes you the son of God, and the harmony of both results in the realization of I and my Father are One. All human beings are messengers of God. What gives one the right to be called the son of God? We have to have the same qualities of God to be called His children, is it not? There cannot be an iota of selfishness in us. We should be pure and full of selfless love.

The three statements of Jesus also correspond to the three stages of spiritual sadhana mentioned in Sanathana Dharma. That is dwaita, visishtadwaita and adwaita. Hanuman that great devotee of Lord Rama portrayed these three stages when he said, Oh Lord, when I think of myself as the body, I am Your servant. When I think of myself as the mind, I am Your devotee, but when I think of myself as the atma, You and I are one. Islam too has explained these three stages in the statements, I am in the Light, The Light is in me and I am the Light.



Carol: Oh come all ye faithful

Now came the three kings, or rather wise men from the East. They were actually astrologers. Some historians say they might have been Zoroastrians from Persia. These astrologers saw a shining ball of light in the sky where there had been none before. What is this bright new star? they wondered. They mounted their camels and followed the new star until they reached the land of Judea. Here they enquired, Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We have followed his star from the East so that we may worship him. Then they travelled onwards till they reached the city of Bethlehem.

Carol: We Three Kings

The wise men referred to Jesus as the king of Israel. However Jesus was not a king in the ordinary sense. His was the kingdom of the Father  the kingdom of the atma.



The light of this huge star appeared to be centred over the stable where Jesus was born. Swami said it was not actually a star, but a huge aura of light illuminating the sky. This meant that he who was to overcome the darkness of evil and ignorance had taken birth and would spread the light of love and wisdom in the hearts of humanity. Signs such as these are natural when prophets or avatars incarnate for they come in answer to mans prayers, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya.



The wise men worshipped the child offering him the gifts they had brought - a little casket of gold coins, a carved box containing fragrant powdered incense and a tiny jar of oil of myrrh, for anointing the skin.

Gold symbolises that which is pure and precious. Swami often used to call His students and devotees Bangaru which means gold. On one occasion, He told the students, You are 14 carat gold, you must become 24 carat gold! Incense symbolises spreading the fragrance of goodness and love. Oil of myrrh is known to be bitter but it is also fragrant. Jesus rose above both pain and pleasure. He followed the words of the Father, All are one my dear son, be alike to everyone.





Carol: Joy to the World

Jesus not only brought joy to the world, he showed man the path to joy. J stands for Jesus (or God) who should be ones first priority. O stands for others, who should come next, and Y for yourself, who should come after that. This is the path to Joy!



Mary the mother of Jesus represents the heart. And Jesus represents the joy and bliss that arises in the heart. That is why Mary is pictured with the child Jesus in her lap.

So the real celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ in our heart. That is to say, the birth of selfless love, peace and joy. Jesus sacrificed everything for the sake of compassion, righteousness and peace. So his birthday has to be marked by the practice of at least one of the ideals that he held so dear. Like all prophets and avatars, he incarnated to remind man that the kingdom of God is within him.





Song: Remind me my Lord

Before Jesus merged in the Supreme Principle of Divinity, he told his followers, He who sent me will come again. And he pointed to a lamb.





A lamb is merely a symbol of love and it stands for the sound BA_BA. While narrating this incident, Swami smiled and said, That BA_BA is this BABA. Jesus further revealed, His name will be Truth. He will wear a blood-red robe. He will be short and will have crown upon crown (of hair).

Christmas as celebrated in Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of the Father is unique, for it is only here that one witnesses people of all faiths and from all countries converging at His Lotus Feet, in a spirit of Divine unity.

Carol: Im dreaming of a Sai Christmas

Im dreaming of a Sai Christmas,

Just like the ones we used to know,

Where the silver doors opened

And the Lords Divine darshan

Shone on all the world below.



Im dreaming of a Sai Christmas,

Where love is born in every heart,

May our days be blissful and bright

And may Sai within fill our hearts with light.



(adapted from a presentation, A Sai Christmas by Bal Vikas Children, Fort, Mumbai)

(Images reproduced with permission for non-commercial reuse from Ideals Publications, USA, Christmas Issues 1970 -1980)





Radio Sai Team


Two thin tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus have assumed an outsize role in the battle against ovarian cancer.

Research increasingly points to the likelihood that some of the most aggressive ovarian cancers originate in the fallopian tubes. Most doctors now believe there is little to lose by removing the tubes of women who are done bearing children - and potentially much to gain in terms of cancer prevention.

The stakes in this research are high. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of gynecologic cancers, killing 14,000 women a year in the United States. It is often diagnosed in the late stages, when it is more difficult to treat.

Routine screening tests to identify it early largely have been discredited. Earlier this fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a statement recommending against their use. For that reason, prevention is particularly important.

"It's a really interesting topic and it's practice-changing," said Dr. Noelle Cloven, a gynecologic oncologist with Texas Oncology in Fort Worth, Texas. "Any opportunity to decrease the risk of ovarian cancer or improve our understanding of ovarian cancer, I'm in support of that. It's a terrible disease."

The risks associated with the removal of the fallopian tubes - known as salpingectomy - appear to be minimal, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente Northern California, which was published this summer in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. (Kaiser Health News is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.)

Between June 2013 and May 2014, nearly 73 percent of the women in the study had their fallopian tubes removed while undergoing a routine hysterectomy. Just two years earlier, fewer than 15 percent of a comparable group had. The large increase yielded no difference in surgical outcomes. And operating times and blood loss were slightly improved for patients whose fallopian tubes were removed.

Dr. Bethan Powell, senior author of the study and a gynecologic oncology surgeon with Kaiser Permanente, said the fallopian tubes until recently have been "a neglected region." As a result, when women were undergoing hysterectomy - the removal of the uterus and cervix - the tubes were often left behind.

"Nobody thought it made any difference which side you put your clamp on," Powell said. "If there are health benefits to leaving the ovary, we should leave the ovary. But there's no reason we should leave the tube."

In recent years, two medical societies have issued statements about the importance of removing the fallopian tubes. In 2013, the Society of Gynecologic Oncology developed a clinical practice statement recommending the removal of both fallopian tubes as "a viable approach to prevent ovarian cancer."

In 2015, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that surgeons discuss the potential cancer prevention benefits of the procedure with their patients.

While it's now recommended that patients have their tubes removed during a routine hysterectomy, doctors are still wrestling with more complicated scenarios.

Jennifer Klute, 35, a speech-language pathologist in Napa, Calif., was diagnosed breast cancer in 2015. She'd first noticed a lump while breastfeeding her daughter, Genevieve, and doctors initially reassured her that the lump was probably related to that.

Then the lumps multiplied. Biopsies were ordered. Klute received the dreaded phone call, and cut short a family vacation to Nebraska.

Klute had a family history of breast cancer and a genetic test revealed a BRCA1 mutation. Women who are positive for the BRCA1 mutation have a 39 percent likelihood of developing ovarian cancer, in addition to a 55 to 65 percent likelihood of developing breast cancer.

Klute faced a difficult decision.

It's recommended that women with the mutation have their fallopian tubes and ovaries removed between the ages of 35 and 40, as Angelina Jolie did in 2015. Jolie earlier had a preventive double mastectomy.

Removal of the ovaries has significant cancer prevention benefits - both for ovarian and breast cancer. But it also carries real consequences, particularly for younger women like Klute. The ovaries regulate hormones and their removal plunges women into early menopause and increases their risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and dementia.

Klute had chemotherapy, radiation and a double mastectomy. Once she recovered, her doctor recommended she have her fallopian tubes and ovaries removed. Klute requested a second opinion and ended up meeting with Powell. Klute told Powell that while she had a family history of breast cancer, she didn't have one of ovarian cancer.

Klute wondered whether she might delay the removal of her ovaries for a few more years. She didn't plan to have more children, but she knew keeping her ovaries a little longer could reduce her risk of other health problems.

Powell knew that leaving the ovaries in high-risk women is "not recommended and not standard" at this point. But she was willing to discuss the idea with Klute, who eventually opted to keep her ovaries for a little longer. She knows they'll eventually need to go.

Not all doctors feel comfortable offering such a choice to their high-risk patients. Dr. Jill Whyte, a gynecologic oncologist at Northwell Health on Long Island, N.Y., is waiting for more data before she's willing to recommend it.

Cloven, the gynecologic oncologist in Texas, also said she would be nervous taking that approach unless the patient was "really motivated" and understood the risks of delays. Even then, Cloven said she would prefer the patient choose that option only if participating in a clinical trial.

Nevertheless, Lisa Schlager, vice president of community affairs and public policy for Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, a nonprofit advocacy group devoted to hereditary ovarian and breast cancers, said she thinks more doctors are recommending the approach as an interim step for high-risk women in their 30s.

"If you want to have children and don't want to be plunged into surgical menopause, the options are: do nothing, do imperfect screening, or in-between," she said. "That in-between is salpingectomy."

In Klute's case, she said the salpingectomy itself was easy: Powell made a small laparoscopic incision to remove the tubes. Klute had a little nausea after she woke and couldn't lift Genevieve for a few weeks. But the pain was manageable.

She's now enrolled in two clinical studies and has submitted her information to the National Salpingectomy Registry.

"I think that's super important," Klute said. "The more knowledge we have, the more informed decisions we can make - and the greater the outcomes for individuals with cancer."

2016 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
@NewsbySmiley

In response to allegations of heavy-handed punishment and allusions to racism, Miami's top administrator on Friday issued a memo detailing the sex, race and transgressions of every full-time employee fired under his watch -- a dirty laundry list that includes men and women accused of fraud, drug trafficking and brawling on the job.

Daniel Alfonso's package to city commissioners included more than 600 pages of backup documents, and came in response to insinuations this month by Miami's police union that he has disproportionately punished African American employees. Union president Javier Ortiz also told commissioners that Alfonso has lost every firing challenged by the Fraternal Order of Police, a statement Alfonso sought to clarify and contextualize.

"As I have stated in the past, these decisions are not taken lightly and you will find that at the very least, the documentation provided supports strong disciplinary action," Alfonso wrote to commissioners Friday. "Among the causes presented are workplace violence, fraud and child pornography to name a few. More than a third of the dismissals for cause are from employees who have been sworn to protect and serve our taxpayers."

Most the list of 105 full-time employees that Alfonso says he has fired since he officially became city manager in 2014 included little or no explanation for their terminations due to their status as probationary or executive employees. But for more than two dozen, Alfonso explicitly laid out his reasons.

Among the firings and their ultimate outcome, as explained by Alfonso:

Firefighter Alexander Rousseau, who was fired for viewing and disseminating child pornography on a computer while at a fire station. Rousseau was convicted and is serving time in federal prison.

Police Officer Giraldo Linares, fired for allegedly falsifying tax documents and perjuring himself in federal bankruptcy court. Linares challenged his firing, won his job back, and then agreed to retire after the city moved to fire him over a different incident.

Officer Christopher Vital, fired after a Miami Beach police officer caught him driving 100 miles per hour on the MacArthur Causeway and driving under the influence with narcotics in his car and a suspended license. Vital agreed not to contest his firing in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges.

Officers Luis Valdes and Alfredo Matias, members of the department's Crime Supression Unit who allegedly lied about the details of a drug-buy at the Rainbow projects in Overtown in order to tie a gun to a suspect and protect a confidential informant. An arbitrator reinstated Matias to his job, but upheld Valdes' firing.

Officer Jose Maldonado-Dick, arrested for attempted cocaine trafficking and sentenced to 42 months in prison.

Park Ranger Christopher Smith, who allegedly kicked a table into a co-worker's chest and punched a wall. Smith was reinstated to his job by an arbitrator and given a 30-day suspension.

Officer Johnny Brutus, accused of falsifying work sheets and leaving his patrol area without permission. Brutus settled with the city and was reinstated on a conditional one-year probationary period.

Officer Jean Marie Jean-Phillipe, caught sleeping in his patrol car while on duty. Alfonso said Jean-Phillipe contested his firing before Miami's civil service board.

Waste Hauler Bruce Lewis, involved in a non-injury hit-and-run with his dump truck, which he tried to cover up.

Code Officer Brenda Meregildo, fired for brawling with another code officer. Her firing was overturned on appeal.

Public Works employee Pedro Torres, fired after arrests for five drug and gun-related felonies.

Dispatchers Erica Cook and Sheana Cooley-McNichols, fired for their handling of an inaudible 911 call by a man who was later found shot dead in an alley. They appealed their terminations and were reinstated.

Police Sergeant Adam Gurlacz, fired after Alfonso says he was caught speeding on I-595, lost his take-home car privileges, continued to take his car anyway and then lied about it during a civil service hearing. Gurlacz appealed his firing and was reinstated.

Firefighter Mijail Orozco, because "after the early ending of a training course, while on duty, Mr. Orozco consumed alcohol and socialized for an extended period of time at Booby Trap Gentleman's Club, then drove a car, got into an accident and knowingly fled the scene of the accident." Orozco reached a settlement with the city to win his job back on the grounds that he accept his time off as a suspension and remain on a "last-chance" provision for two years.

Little Haiti Cultural Center Director Sandy Dorsainvil, a popular employee fired amid an investigation into spending at the community cultural center. Alfonso, who nearly lost his job in April over tension caused by Dorsainvil's termination, did not detail the reasons for her firing in his memo. She was quickly hired by Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon.

Officer Adrian Rodriguez, fired after he was found to have lied and falsified time records amid a homicide investigation into a death at a Metro PCS store where Rodriguez used to work. Rodriguez is a suspect in the homicide, Alfonso said.

Officer Sabine Raymonvil, fired for improperly using the department's information system and falsifying an information report after paying a driver she hit with her police car $700 in order to leave the scene.

Parks Supervisor Tejuan Allison, who got into a scuffle at work and let his employees know he had a gun and 16 bullets. Allison has appealed his firing. Ortiz says video of the incident should vindicate Allison.

Waste Hauler Larry Ellis, who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the back of a taxi cab, killing a woman.

Alfonso's lengthy memo also comes after three of the city's five commissioners tried to fire him this month, and amid a push by the police union to hold a vote of "no confidence" in the coming weeks. Late Friday night, Lt. Ortiz, Miami's union president, issued a retort calling Alfonso "reckless" and criticizing the manager's memo, sent two days before Christmas.

Ortiz also noted that Alfonso this week fired three probationary police officers over what sources have described as racially sensitive text messages. Ortiz said the texts were inappropriate, but not worthy of termination and "weren't in any way racial." He criticized the timing of the firings, just days before Christmas and the end of the officers' probationary periods.

"As the most powerful administrator in the City of Miami, by airing out the Citys dirty laundry (with poor one sided summaries) just further damages the image of our community," Ortiz wrote. "What a slap in the face to every police officer and to our elected officials when he ends his letter stating: More than a third of the dismissals for cause are from employees who have been sworn to protect and serve our taxpayers. What he doesnt mention is that besides only one termination for cause that the FOP has represented, all the other police officers were given their jobs back."

Read the memos:

Download CM16029 Response to December 13th FOP Letter

Download Response To Letter From Danny Alfonso On Unjust Terminations 12-23-16
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TULSA, Okla. (AP)  While on the way to church last March, pastor J. Malcolm Phipps Jr. saw no clues that a storm was brewing.

The sun was out. Birds were singing.

You wouldnt have known anything was wrong, he said.

But the sky got dark, the wind picked up and rain began pouring during the praise and worship portion of a prayer meeting.

Right as we finished up the prayer time, the sirens went off and dust started coming down from the ceiling, Phipps said.

A tornado was bearing down on north Tulsa. Bethel Seventh-Day Adventist Church was in the path.

Phipps said the roof literally started to come off the church, so he and others raced out of the sanctuary and into the foyer.

And no sooner had we ran out than the upstairs fell down into the sanctuary, he said.

A lady who was a little late to prayer service came in the front door, and no sooner did she come in the front door than the facade of the church fell down on where she would have been. That was all cinder block. As it was, we sheltered in an alcove in the lobby. None of us was hurt, but the building was pretty messed up and all the cars in the parking lot had various stages of damage, from broken-out windows to just paint damage from debris and whatever. But we all escaped unharmed.

Ask Phipps what he is thankful about in regard to the tornado encounter and the answer is the obvious one. The Lord was looking out for folks. Nobody lost their life. Nobody was injured.

Thats the biggest thing, he said.

And then theres this: His church is on the comeback trail.

***

Phipps said the people of Bethel Seventh-Day Adventist Church will end up with a practically new church. He said the basic shell structure will be the same, but the inside is going to be totally new.

Most other churches in the area have already been repaired, according to Phipps, who said it is taking longer to get his church rebuilt because of an insurance dispute. The settlement is significantly less than what the church hoped to receive, so creativity will factor into a makeover.

What we had to do was redesign the building so that the repairs would fit the money we were getting, and thats what is taking so long is the architect and the engineers are working on that, Phipps said.

An optimistic target range for re-opening is April or May. Realistically, it could be June or July. Even if the rebuild is completed at the earliest of those possibilities, the congregation will have been displaced from the church for more than a year.

But heres another thing to be thankful about: New Heights Christian Center rode to the rescue and offered to let Bethel Seventh-Day Adventist Church conduct services there. Phipps said he certainly wants to acknowledge New Heights Christian Center pastors Terry and Barbara Shannon for allowing use of their facility.

They reciprocated because, while they were building their church, they used ours, Phipps said. Its good to have those kinds of relationships.

Phipps said his church had other options, too. He said he is part of the North Tulsa Baptist Ministers Conference and many of the brothers in that conference were willing to open their doors to us as well. We would not have been homeless.

***

Unfortunately, Bethel had to suspend some of its ministry services until its facilities can be restored for use.

One of the biggest things we had was a food pantry, Phipps said. Every other Wednesday, we served the community. In cooperation with the food pantry, we had a soup kitchen. We were the only soup kitchen in north Tulsa, so we had quite a ministry going there. We were helping the community and, as a result, there were those who found the Lord through our ministry. Its very disappointing (to put programs on hold) because we were doing pretty good when this happened. We just have to rebuild and restart.

Phipps said 15 to 20 people usually visited the soup kitchen for hot meals. Those in need often ate at the soup kitchen while food boxes were being prepared for them to take home. Phipps said there is no doubt the church was doing good work, not only in feeding the hungry, but also with a Pathfinders youth ministry.

We had a drill team, a drum corps, along with that, Phipps said. They were pretty good. We are looking forward to trying to reinstitute that as well.

Phipps said there was never any doubt the church was going to rebuild. Ella Suttle, a clerk at the church and a womens ministry district leader for northeastern Oklahoma, is thankful to have a replacement facility for worship, but this is like going on vacation and coming back home. You cant wait to sleep in your own bed.

So Suttle is looking forward to the day when repairs are completed. She wasnt at the church when the tornado arrived, but her husband was there and she was frightened for him and others.

Oh my God, take care of everybody, she thought at the time. He answered our prayers because it could have been worse.

Said Phipps, The biggest thing we learned  and I cant really say we learned it, its just something we knew and it was reiterated or it strengthened our conviction in it  is that there is a God who sees all and oversees all. And he keeps his word that all things work together for good for those who love God.

The whole tornado scare lasted only three to five minutes, according to Phipps, who said his priority was making sure everyone got to a safe place.

After it was over, it was like nothing happened, he said. The sun came back out. Birds were singing again.

And the birds will sing again from atop a rebuilt church.
Recently, the bullet and the ballot have been used to express feelings of racial hatred and threatened white privilege.

In 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof expressed his racial hatred by using the bullet to fatally shoot nine black parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina church.

In 2016, white voters expressed their feelings of threatened white privilege by using the ballot to elect Donald Trump as president of the United States.

For whites in America, it was the worst of times; it was the best of times.

Kevin Palmer,

Martinez, Georgia
HELENA  A white Christmas appears to be in the forecast for much of Montana, bringing with it some potentially hazardous travel conditions.

The National Weather Service in Great Falls was tracking a winter storm that brought snow showers to Missoula Friday afternoon. The storm has a southern and northern portion, and meteorologist Paul Nutter said that sometime Friday night, those systems were expected to combine.

The heaviest snow both west and east of the Continental Divide was forecast for Saturday afternoon and continuing into Christmas Day, with a winter weather advisory posted for the Missoula area from 5 a.m. Saturday through 11 a.m. Sunday.

Starting Saturday, a winter weather system should move through central Idaho and west-central Montana, bringing widespread valley snow. National Weather Service forecasters expect between 3 and 5 inches of low-elevation snow in the region through Saturday night. Mountain passes could get as much as 5 to 8 inches.

"Falling snow will cause reduced visibilities and slick roads for Christmas Eve travel. Snow intensity will begin to decrease Saturday night and will linger through Christmas morning," the weather service warned.

A weak arctic cold front could also push across the Continental Divide into western Montana on Saturday, which might stir up wind gusts up to 25 mph. This is especially possible in tight canyons such as Hellgate on Interstate 90 and Badrock on U.S. Highway 2. Motorists should also expect poor visibility throughout the Bitterroot Valley, Lolo Pass, Homestake and McDonald passes, Highway 200 between Bonner and Greenough, Highway 83 between Seeley Lake and Condon and Interstate 90 from Missoula to Bearmouth.

Temperatures over the holiday weekend were expected to stay below freezing but above zero.

Fridays high of 27 will drop to 16 overnight. In Missoula, Saturday will reach 22, dipping to 15 degrees Saturday night. Christmas Day is expected to reach a high of 21, with a low of 10 degrees that night.

Missoulian reporter Rob Chaney contributed to this story.
SEATTLE  The federal government is expanding a program that allows American Indian tribes to access national criminal databases and fix a system that allowed a man to buy a gun that was later used by his son to kill four classmates and himself at a Washington high school.

The Tribal Access Program, launched last year, lets tribes enter and search for records in the National Crime Information Database, used when someone tries to buy a firearm. The Justice Department chose 10 tribes to participate in the initial phase of the program in 2015 and announced this week that it has added 11 tribes to that list, including one from Montana.

In 2014, the Tulalip Tribe in Washington state didn't have access to the database, so a domestic violence protection order against Raymond Fryberg was never entered. Fryberg, a tribal member, was able pass a background check and purchase a gun that was later used by his son, Jaylen, to kill four classmates and himself at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School in October 2014.

Washington state's U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes said gaps in data-sharing had tragic consequences.

The FBI oversees a justice information services system in all 50 states. The system includes the National Crime Information Center, used by law enforcement to get data on stolen property, wanted people and sex offenders, and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, used by Federal Firearms Licensees during gun purchases.

Before the new program, the systems were available to federal, state and local law enforcement, but not to all tribes.

Tulalip Chairman Melvin Sheldon Jr. said TAP will empower tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide by giving them the tools they have sought for years to protect their communities. In addition to using the database during firearms purchases, it's used for background checks when placing children with a foster parent.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said the "landmark effort" strengthens both the sovereignty and safety of American and Alaska Native people.

"Since its launch in 2015, this project has not only helped law enforcement locate suspects, rescue victims and extradite captured fugitives, but it's also made it easier for civil courts to enter and enforce orders of protection for domestic violence victims," Yates said in a statement.

During 2016, the tribes received a kiosk workstation that gave them access to national systems.

The tribes used the program for variety of criminal agencies, including law enforcement, criminal courts and jails. It lets tribes enter arrests and convictions into national databases.

Tribal civil agencies also used the program. Agencies that took advantage of the new access included those whose staff and volunteers have contact with or control over Indian children; public housing agencies; child support enforcement agencies; Head Start programs; civil agencies that investigate allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation of children; civil courts that issue orders of protection, restraining orders or other keep away orders; and sex offender registration programs.

The program helps tribes register sex offenders and have protection orders enforced off the reservations.

Phase Two of TAP will grant access to national crime information databases and technical support to the following tribes:

 Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana.

 Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation, Washington state.

 Metlakatla Indian Community, Annette Island Reserve, Alaska.

 Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

 Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico.

 Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation, California.

 Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota.

 Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona.

 Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota.

 Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada.

 Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Wisconsin.
HELENA  It had been four years since Shyla Guldborg last had a place she could call home. At age 21, she was staying with various friends and family in Wolf Point, on the Fort Peck Reservation.

There were few job opportunities, and a far-reaching substance abuse crisis on the reservation left her feeling trapped.

In July, Guldborg was staying in a house where people regularly abused drugs and alcohol when she found out she was pregnant. In April 2016, Business Insider reported that six newborn babies tested positive for meth in a two-week period on the Fort Peck Reservation.

Where Im from, pretty much everyone is addicted to drugs so I didnt want to be in those types of environments, Guldborg said.

She called her adoptive parents in hopes of finding a place to stay, but she hadnt lived with them since she was 17. Her parents were raising four other children, but they wanted her pregnancy to be healthy so they invited Guldborg to live with them.

She started seeing a doctor for prenatal care and got a job at McDonalds. But in October, Guldborg lost her job and her parents said she needed to find somewhere else to live.

It was hard on them with me being there and supporting four other kids, so I understood where they were coming from, she said.

Guldborg started considering her options. She looked at various programs in the state, but she didnt meet the qualifications. Her mom thought to call Florence Crittenton in Helena, where she had gone years ago when she was pregnant.

Florence Crittenton started in 1896 as a home for unwed mothers. Until several years ago, it could only provide residential services for mothers ages 12 to 21. But young mothers who didnt meet the criteria were struggling to parent without permanent housing.

In September, Florence Crittenton started the Realizing Effective and Continuous Housing (REACH) program. Any parent between 18 and 24 is eligible to apply for the program, which provides young parents with a housing subsidy for 24 months. Parents are set up with a case manager, who guides them through the first 24 months of independent living with an option of six months of follow-up meetings.

To be eligible, parents have to be homeless or at risk of homelessness. Florence Crittenton was approved for four rental properties, which will be funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

On Nov. 11, Guldborg and her mom drove over 400 miles to Helena with a list of questions about the new program at Florence Crittenton. She submitted her application that day and was approved a week later.

We were full with a waiting list immediately, which I think really speaks to the need of this service, Carrie Krepps, development director at Florence Crittenton, said.

Krepps said she assumed most applications would be from Lewis and Clark County, but they received calls from across the state.

Florence Crittenton received calls from mothers living in cars with children and in a camper filled with mold. But once they reached capacity, they had to point people to shelters and other temporary resources in the state.

My heart breaks for the families weve had to turn away, Krepps said.

While the goal is to quickly secure housing, case manager Ashley Champagne Post is a licensed clinical social worker with a background in mental health care. She previously worked at Child Protective Services. With a familiarity in the different support systems available to Montanans, Post does everything in her power to help clients navigate complicated systems.

Guldborg came to Helena for good on Nov. 28. Champagne Post was able to find her a temporary place to stay at Family Promise so the two could look for apartments in person. During the search, Champagne Post teaches her clients the process of finding a rental property, going through the application process and making sure their budget accounts for utilities.

When it was time to look at apartments, Guldborg knew she would be washing lots of onesies so she only looked at places with a washer and dryer. She decided on the second apartment she looked at -- a place with a deck and a clear view of snow-capped mountains.

Its beautiful here, she said. I fell in love.

Guldborg will sign her lease on Jan. 3. The program is designed to pay a tenants rent, but Florence Crittenton isnt on the lease. When the program ends in two years, Guldborg will hopefully renew her lease and have a stable income to pay her rent.

When the REACH program became a reality, Florence Crittenton started accepting donations for furniture and baby items and kept them at a storage unit with the first six months paid for by AAA. Guldborg will furnish her apartment with a bed set from the storage unit, and has some baby items shes bringing from Wolf Point.

With housing taken care of, Guldborg is spending the rest of her pregnancy preparing to be the best mom she can be. In her first week in Helena, she got a part-time job at a restaurant to establish an income.

Shes also getting improved prenatal care at St. Peters. Her OBGYN gave her a calendar to track her pregnancy, with stickers to count down the days until her due date.

Im 28 weeks pregnant, so most of its already gone by, she said. I would have loved to mark it all down.

REACH only requires one case management meeting a week, but education services are recommended and offered for free at Florence Crittenton.

Guldborg is attending Strive to Reach Independence, Values and Education and a childbirth class to develop a birth plan. She also attends a class outside of REACH at Options Womens Clinic, where she earns points that can be used to purchase clothes and diapers.

Once the baby is born, Guldborg will have access to Florence Crittentons lactation counselor if she chooses to breastfeed and two in-home programs that teach her to baby-proof her home and to promote healthy development.

REACH is designed to be accessible to almost any family. A criminal history or substance abuse doesnt disqualify an applicant. Florence Crittenton offers substance abuse programs and mental health services to help parents if necessary.

Its really about setting them up and empowering them to be independent and strong, Krepps said. We are a snapshot in their life. So what we have to do is help set them up for the future.

With a sense of security and a few months before her due date in March, Guldborg feels like she can start setting goals for her future. She plans to attend Helena College to become a certified medical assistant.

Without REACH, she would likely still be in Wolf Point without a permanent place for her and her son to live.

It was scary. Thats another thing that really pushed me to try and do better, she said. Im the only one thats going to be there for him.
BILLINGS  A wind farm north of Reed Point will sell power to NorthWestern Energy under a new 25-year contract announced last week.

WKN Montana, a Billings-based company, will break ground in late spring on a 25-to-35-turbine Vivaldi Springtime Wind Project in the hills north of Reed Point. The project is expected to finish in early 2018.

The wind farm will produce about 80 megawatts of wind energy, enough to power 19,000 to 30,000 homes. WKN will receive $37.65 a megawatt hour for its energy.

Wind farm developers have been active in the Reed Point area for several years. The area between Big Timber and Columbus has been targeted by several wind developers over the years, but coming to sales terms with NorthWestern hasnt been easy.

The Vivaldi project is classified as a qualifying facility," meaning that under 40-year-old federal laws to promote renewable energy, NorthWestern cannot say no to the power and must offer a long-term contract. However, the projects are subject to negotiated price and thats where other qualified facilities have struggled.

In July, the wind developer Greycliff Wind Prime balked at a price set for its 25 megawatt project north of Greycliff. The company said the price of $45.49 per megawatt hour was 16 percent lower than what it needed to be profitable. And that price was set as a compromise between what Greycliff wanted and the rate offered by NorthWestern.

But WKN settled on the $37.65 rate. NorthWestern has repeatedly argued that renewable energy rates at $50 megawatt hour and above are too high and will needlessly raise the bills for the utilitys customers.

We are pleased to have negotiated an agreement that will result in a very low-cost QF renewable project for our portfolio and that also incorporates important contract terms, including reasonable curtailment rights, which help protect our customers bills, said John Hines, NorthWestern vice president of energy supply. Qualifying facilities can be problematic since were mandated by federal law to purchase the power, regardless of our customers needs. However, were pleased in this instance to work with a developer that takes into consideration our customers best interest while still having a viable project.
Two years after her unsuccessful run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, Butte resident and state legislator Amanda Curtis says she may make another bid for national office  this time in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On Tuesday, Curtis told The Billings Gazette shes interested in running for Rep. Ryan Zinkes seat. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Zinke as his interior secretary, which means Montana will have to hold a special election in 2017 should the congressman earn the confirmation.

Curtis cautioned that shes not officially running and still needs to win a nomination from the county-level central committee.

Im considering it, said Curtis. I do think that I bring a lot to the table. I do think that I have statewide support ... I know that I have as good of a shot as most other Democrats.

Curtis said that if she wins the nomination, shell come armed in 2017 with something she didnt have before: experience.

In 2014, Curtis was a relatively unknown state legislator from Butte who had declined to run for re-election in order to avoid competing with another Democrat for the same position.

While Curtis did not run for re-election for state legislator, what she did do was run for the U.S. Senate seat of John Walsh, who had to bow out due to a scandal involving plagiarism.

After she received the nomination and got her name on the ballot, Curtis said, she only had two months to learn how to run a race, which gave her a crash course in campaigning at the national level.

All of the pieces kind of fell in place that let me do this big experiment, really. I didnt know how to hire staff. I didnt know what staff to hire. I didnt know who to trust and who not to trust, said Curtis.

Despite these obstacles and some mailers and fake news that accused Curtis of being a communist, the Butte legislator garnered 40 percent of the popular vote in losing to GOP Sen. Steve Daines.

Curtis says that 2014 race has made her a stronger potential candidate.

She said shes been through the grind of a special election before and already has infrastructure in place to make a successful bid. Plus, she said, she now has name recognition, which is something she didnt have before.

I feel so much differently today than I did when I was taking that huge leap of faith for the Senate candidacy, Curtis said.

Since 2014, Curtiss political and community life has taken on new dimensions.

In the past two years, Curtis said, shes participated in a number of projects that shes proud of.

KBMF is one of those projects.

Its by Butte, for Butte, and about Butte, said Curtis of the low-power independent radio station in the Mining City.

In 2014, Curtis helped station manager Clark Grant get KBMF off the ground and co-founded the Butte America Foundation, the nonprofit that sponsors the station. Today Curtis is the foundations president.

Grant said Curtis was instrumental in getting the non-profit started, adding that she was especially good at cutting through all the red tape.

She can negotiate bureaucracy with great deftness, Grant said, who also called Curtis a strong leader with a direct communication style.

Similarly, Curtis is a co-founder of MT Progressive Democrats, an organization whose mission is to recruit, support and endorse progressive candidates and effect policy change through grassroots activism, the groups Facebook page says.

Sue Tarpey, organization co-founder and also secretary of the Montana Democratic Party, said she and other Democrats founded the group after becoming inspired by the support Sen. Bernie Sanders received during the 2016 primary.

Tarpey said the group wants to breathe new life into the Democratic Party by harnessing the energy from the Sanders campaign and continuing to engage young people, many of whom felt disillusioned by the primary election results.

Tarpey describes Curtis as a smart candidate with the potential to connect with young people.

Shes got a lot of energy and enthusiasm, Tarpey said.

Curtis is also a member of Carols List, a group dedicated to recruiting, training, and electing Democratic women to seats in the Legislature.

Carols List is named after Carol Williams, a longtime member of the organization, formally known as the Montana Majority PAC.

Since we started the Montana Majority PAC (in 2008), we have radically increased the number of women in the Montana Legislature, Williams said, noting that Democratic women in both the Montana House and Senate outnumber their male counterparts.

During her time at Carols List, Williams said, Curtis has been active in encouraging women to get into politics. And although Williams said shes not currently endorsing Curtis or anyone else, she described the Butte resident as very articulate and smart.

I think she will make us all proud, Williams said about Curtiss potential run.

Curtis is an educator and currently serves as a teacher at Butte High School.

For the past two years Curtis has sat on MEA-MFTs executive council and has traveled to Washington D.C. to work on educational issues. In this capacity, she said, she worked with Sens. Daines and Jon Tester and Rep. Zinke to overhaul No Child Left Behind in Montana.

On the legislative front, Curtis now occupies State House District 74, a seat she ran for unopposed in November.

As for the upcoming special election, Curtis said Democrats have a viable chance of winning despite the current political climate, which seems to be favoring the right.

Curtis said Montanans will vote for whomever they think has their best interests at heart, regardless of whether the candidate is a Republican or Democrat.

(Montanans) really are sick of the government not working for us, said Curtis. The issues that are important to Montanans are not Democrat or Republican issues.

Furthermore, a progressive candidate may be especially well positioned to garner support. Curtis said a lot of disenfranchised Sanders supporters are looking for a place to redirect their energy and that she and other progressive Democrats want to engage them in the Democratic Party.

We formed to welcome in folks who are willing to work in politics but arent quite sure where they fit, she said.
Petroleum engineering alumni Gary and Janet Kolstad have donated $500,000 to Montana Tech, according to a news release issued Friday.

The money will name the Enrollment and Recruitment Center in the future Tech's Student Success Center (SSC), a 25,000-square-foot building with space for living and learning. The $24-million SSC will be a central gathering place for students, where leadership and teamwork skills are developed and where they can study and relax. The SSC is planned to be up and running by the fall semester of 2018.

Gary and Janet, who graduated in 1985, have been donors to Tech since 1991, and in 2014 they reached $1 million in aggregate giving to the university. In 2008, they established the Gary and Janet Kolstad Endowment which is over $1,070,588 today. The endowment produces over $40,000 of annual giving for petroleum engineering scholarships and petroleum department funding.

It is with great pride that Janet and I are able to continue to give back to Montana Tech and help the students and university, said Gary. We are inspired by the success of students and graduates of Montana Tech and the resulting impact they have in this world. Montana Tech is well known in industry as the premier STEM institution in Montana. I really appreciate the passion the graduates of Montana Tech have when they get out in the workplace, and I am humbled when they ask me for advice or mentoring, on their career development, and business ideas.

The Kolstads are engaged Tech alumni. They actively support alumni events in Houston; have given unrestricted gifts; and supported capital projects such as the Natural Resources Building, Digger Turf, and the Frank and Ann Gilmore University Relations Center. They also give of their time, talent, and treasure to Tech.

We are very thankful for the Kolstads and their dedication and commitment to Montana Tech, noted Joe McClafferty, president of the Montana Tech Foundation.

Janet (Tuss), a Great Falls native, started her career with ARCO Oil and Gas Company. During her eight years with ARCO, she served in several production operations positions in California, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Gary, a native of Glasgow, started his career as a field engineer with Schlumberger. Serving in numerous domestic and international leadership positions, he had the opportunity of living and working in North America, Russia, Indonesia, and the Middle East. In 2006, Gary was recruited to be the CEO of CARBO Ceramics Inc. (NYSE: CRR), a global technology company that provides products and services to the oil and gas and industrial markets.

Garys passion for driving CARBO to develop innovative technology has roots from his engineering degree earned at Tech, he said.

For his contribution to his career and his community, Gary was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Montana Tech in 2002. He has remained engaged with Tech over the years, including the Tech Foundation Board of Directors, Petroleum Advisory Board, and the current comprehensive campaign.
Skating opens Dec. 26 at Butte oval

The High Altitude Skating Oval concession and skate rental will be open daily noon to 5 p.m. through the school break starting Monday, Dec. 26.

The public is welcome to skate any time. The oval is off Continental Drive just north of the Three Bears grocery store. Details, visit Facebook @ Butte High Altitude Speedskating.

Also, the public is invited to the New Year's Eve skate party (in place of Friday Family night for this week) from 6 p.m. to midnight. The dinner special costs $6. A free glass of champagne will be given to adults making it to midnight. Fireworks start at 9 p.m.

First Day Hike at area parks

Montana State Parks is celebrating the New Year with a First Day Hike Sunday, Jan. 1. Area hikes follow:

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, 10 a.m. Volunteer guide Laurie Koepplin will lead this moderate 3-mile nature hike to the historic DanMor Gypsum Mine. Meet at the campground parking lot. No dogs, please. Register by Dec. 30. Details: 406-287-3541.

Bannack State Park, near Dillon, 10 a.m. Join park staff for a 1-mile hike through the historic Bannack town site and along Grasshopper Creek. Details: 406-834-3413.

Missouri Headwaters State Park, Three Forks, 11 a.m. Park employees lead a 2- to 4-mile easy hike to Fort Rock. Meet at the parks main picnic area. Details: 406-285-3610.

Watershed assessments ready for review

DILLON  The Bureau of Land Managements Dillon Field Office sent teams into two watersheds last summer to analyze the condition of resources on public lands in the area. Their assessments are online and ready for public comment.

The South Tobacco Root Watershed in Madison County between Twin Bridges and Ennis covers about 31,500 acres on 33 grazing allotments and 428 acres of unallotted or unleased public land.

The Blacktail Watershed in Beaverhead County southeast of Dillon covers about 61,400 acres in 22 grazing allotments, which includes 5,454 acres of unallotted public land.

Comments due by Jan. 31 to help formulate alternatives and define issues for the environmental assessments. To receive a copy of either watershed assessment report, call the Dillon Field Office at 406-683-8000 or email MT_Dillon_FO@blm.gov.

The assessment reports are also available online at the bureaus ePlanning webpages. The South Tobacco Root report, bit.ly/2hZz1G5, and the Blacktail report, bit.ly/2hZo07B.
Star gazing is a pastime that our family readily engages in. From the time our children were young, their dad sat with them gazing into the heavens to see what they could see! Beautiful times, teachable moments, as they learned the names of planets, constellations, and galaxies.

What is it about the stars that lures us upward, even coaxing us to imagine life free from earthly fetters? From our perspective, tiny twinkling lights hardly reveal the enormity of their size or the true brilliance of their light. As hard as it is to understand the nature of a tiny star, our perception doesnt change its substance  any more than our understanding of the enormity of God diminishes His abiding presence in our lives. Emmanuel, God with us  not true because of our ability to prove or sense it but real just the same.

I wonder what the Star of Bethlehem communicated to its observers. A bright light appeared in the sky whose brilliance caught the attention of the Magi and the shepherds of the time! Rumors flew that it was announcing the birth of a King! Imagine that, the first Christmas decoration hung in the sky by the Creator directing those who saw it to a simple, unassuming stable where a family privately celebrated the birth of a Son. His size unable to reveal the enormity or power of His mission! The Bethlehem star was extraordinary. How much more the infant Child inside!

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of this day, the true Light beckons us to the stables of our lives to receive His embrace. When what we find under the tree fails to satisfy, He is the all-sufficient One drawing hearts to Himself no matter their frame.

Jesus assures us that life in Him will free us from the earthly fetters that bind or rob our peace. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in deep darkness a Light dawns. Isaiah 9:2. This Light, a magnanimous gift, the Savior, who is Christ the LORD!
MUSCATINE, Iowa - The ladies of Muscatine High School Class of 1963 will be meeting at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 3, for lunch at Mad Marv's in Fruitland, Iowa. All ladies of our class are invited to attend.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  A local family is continuing to work together this holiday season to raise funds for children and families living at the Muscatine Center for Social Action (MCSA) family shelter.

Emma and Abbie Yerington, seventh-graders at Central Middle School, have been collecting coins to purchase presents for the children and families living at MCSA since the twins were in second grade. During the past five fundraisers, they have collected more than $14,000.

Emma was in her class at Grant Elementary School when her teacher, Joellen Kill, read "Fly Away Home," a children's picture book by Eve Bunting, to her students. The book tells the story of a homeless boy and his father who live in an airport, and after reading the book students were shown a video, which included information about children who raised money for a daycare.

"It got me thinking and then I went home and talked to my parents about how I could raise money for something," Emma said. "And then I learned about the MCSA."

She and her family began by collecting change from their relatives at the family Thanksgiving and from Emma and Abbie's classmates. Emma said she expected to raise around $500, and the family thought it would be a one-time fundraiser.

"We earned like $2,000 the first year, and from there I knew I wanted to keep doing it, and then my sister started helping me," she said.

Her father, Brian Yerington, said he can remember her playing a computer game that included collecting coins, and Emma had the idea to start collecting coins. They named the fundraiser Coins for Christmas.

"I remember it just like it was yesterday, but she just talked about, you know, 'What about those kids, how are they going to have Christmas?'" he said.

Local businesses have begun helping with the project as well. Hy-Vee donated a portion of sales from some sale items to the project and raised more than $100 this year, in addition to supplying cookies and juice for the twins to take to Grant when they collect the coins.

Yackey Shack designates one evening for the family to work at the business and raise funds. A bake sale at HON also raises funds from the employees, and the business matches the amount and donates it to the cause.

Coins for Christmas is now a non-profit organization through the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, Brian said.

Thursday afternoon Emma and Abbie poured jars, boxes and bags filled with coins into a coin counting machine at Members Community Credit Union.

The MCSA tells the family how many children are at the shelter, and gives the family gift ideas. Once all the money has been counted they purchase gifts, and each year they find one large gift to give the family shelter, like mattresses for the beds or television sets.

In addition to the presents for the children, the family also buys necessities.

"If there's families we'll do like shampoo, or if there's babies we'll do diapers, just pretty much just like what they need," Abbie said.

Maggie Curry, the housing director at MCSA, said the shelter still has diapers left from previous Coins for Christmas years. Although many of the donations fulfill a need, she works with the Yerington family to help individualize the gifts. The reaction from children when they get their gifts is often moving, Curry said.

"I had a girl one time look at her doll and said, Ive never had a doll like that before, she said.

Curry said she remembers the day their mother, Dana Yerington, brought Emma and Abbie to the shelter for a tour.

"You could just tell by the twinkle in their eyes that they really really wanted to help," she said.

Dana said the first year they did the project they counted the change by hand, which took about two days. That year, Dana said, she had just lost her job and was worrying about Christmas when her daughter asked to start the fundraiser.

"This changed our whole family's outlook on Christmas and each year it continues to do that," she said.

Her daughters give her a wish list around Thanksgiving, with gift ideas for Christmas, but Dana said the list of things they want keeps getting smaller.

"They'll say 'Mom, we don't need this,'" Dana said.

For more information or to donate to Coins for Christmas, visit the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine or visit https://www.facebook.com/Coins-For-Christmas-202087779870177/.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Four of the five Muscatine men who were charged with felony criminal mischief in May were sentenced Friday.

Vaughn Robert Cookson, 25, Ramon Abel Mendoza, 23, Leonard Omar Robles, 22, Joe Anthony Mendoza, 24, and Luis Steven Coulter, 25, allegedly threw bricks and chairs at the windows of a building in the 4400 block of Abby Street, according to the court documents.

Joe Mendoza, Coulter and Robles were charged with second-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony. They pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal mischief, a simple misdemeanor, for which they were sentenced Friday. They were each ordered to pay a fine of $65, according to online court records.

Ramon Mendoza was charged with one count of second-degree criminal mischief, and two counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. He also pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal mischief, and was sentenced to pay a $65 fine. The assault charges were dismissed by the court.

Cookson's sentencing has been set for Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Muscatine County District Court.

Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal
MUSCATINE, Iowa  While statewide deaths due to alcohol-related traffic accidents in Iowa have not decreased over the past decade, Muscatine authorities, bars and restaurants hope to keep the citys numbers down through enforcement and prevention.

Last Year, the Iowa Department of Public Safety reported 89 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the state, 26 percent of total traffic fatalities.

Because alcohol-related deaths have not decreased in recent years and other traffic deaths have, the Governors Traffic Safety Bureau provides funds for impaired driving enforcement. Those funds, in addition to traffic enforcement and prevention efforts are used in Muscatine to help keep drunk drivers off the streets.

Enforcement

From October of 2015 to September of 2016, the Muscatine Police Department reported 62 operating while intoxicated (OWI) arrests. Although no alcohol-related traffic deaths were recorded, Lt. Jeff Jirak of the Muscatine Police Department said the city has seen accidents related to alcohol.

The department recorded 91 public intoxication citations, which Jirak said could play a role in keeping those who have been drinking out from behind the wheel, or help identify those who have a tendency to drink more heavily.

In addition to the alcohol-related arrests and citations given throughout the year, traffic enforcement is a large focus for the department, Jirak said.

Were pretty active for traffic enforcement, he said.

Over the same period, 1,195 speeding citations and 115 stop sign and traffic light citations given by officers out patrolling were recorded.

By having an active presence on the streets in Muscatine, Jirak said he and other officers hope people will be discouraged from drinking and driving. Additional officers will patrol during the holiday season as well, anticipating the possibility of greater numbers of people consuming alcohol.

Prevention

While the police department does not have records that state whether those who have been arrested for an OWI came from a bar or their home, several local bars and restaurants say they work to ensure their employees know their responsibility to refuse service and keep track of the number of drinks a patron has had.

Chance Kleist, a manager at Boonies on the Avenue, said bartenders know not to over-serve patrons, and some also have experience working as bartenders.

Weve got some level-headed guys behind the bar and theyve got big hearts and they like to look out for people, he said.

Kleist said he and other employees know almost all of the patrons at the establishment, so making sure they get home safe is not just important because Boonies could be liable if a person was pulled over for being an intoxicated driver and told the officer they had just left their bar.

We really care about the people that come in here, and thats our main focus all the time is making sure everybodys taken care of, he said. And we dont like to see anybody drinking and driving and thats why most of the time my dad is here and so we close the bar giving people rides if they need rides and things like that.

Cara Peterson, a manager at Petes Hilltop Tap, said their bartenders are ServSafe Alcohol certified. ServSafe Alcohol is a training and certification program organized by the National Restaurant Association that provides training about the amount of alcohol a person can drink before becoming intoxicated, and what to do in those situations.

Mikes Hilltop Tap Manager Shelly Brus said they have had incidents where they needed to cut people off from receiving more alcohol. If that needs to be done, they will often encourage them to call a friend for a ride.

Or a lot of times, you know, if we know the customer really well and we have time well even give them a ride home, she said.

Jirak said while people may drink at their homes before driving, establishments can help ensure patrons do not get behind the wheel after they have had too many drinks.

It takes a brave and courageous person to step up and say This is not the right decision to make, he said.

The Muscatine Police Department also works to educate the public, through "park and walks," where an officer spends time walking in the community and talking to residents, and through the officer working in the schools.
LETTS, Iowa  The Letts Chapter T-TTT club met on Dec. 13, 2016 at the home of Jill Hoben, with Peggy Colton co-hosting.

The following committees reported, Altruistic, budget and camp.

The chapter is currently participating in a Hy-Vee fund raiser.

The chapter held a silent auction for a holiday party and fundraiser, with homemade items to bid on with everyone having a good time.

A plan was made for camp girls for Christmas.

After the closing creed, refreshments were served by the hostess committee, followed by a gift exchange between members who participated.

The next meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 19th, 2017 at the Letts United Methodist Church.
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 []
Napa County supervisors said lingering goodbyes to Supervisors Mark Luce and Keith Caldwell and District Attorney Gary Lieberstein.

Luce lost his bid for a sixth term in November to challenger Ryan Gregory. On Tuesday, for the last time in his 20-year Board of Supervisors career, he voted on county decisions.

But first, the Board thanked the former Chevron environmental engineer for his public service.

Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht, who on election night had sat talking with Luce after a hoped-for victory party turned into a wake, delivered a heartfelt tribute. The 18-year supervisor struggled at times to get his words out.

Legacy, Wagenknecht said repeatedly as he talked about not only Luce the supervisor, but Luce his friend. He touched on how Luce is shaped by faith and family.

Jesus usually isnt mentioned in the secular world, Wagenknecht said. But the inclusive love of Jesus Christ is the center of Marks being.

He described Luce as epitomizing the Napa Way. He illustrated the point with what he called chapters in Luces storymeeting with all comers, avoiding squabbling, focusing on his vision during campaigns, taking the long view, budgeting conservatively, doing his share of the job, disagreeing agreeably, achieving non-gloating victories.

And one more chapter just written  be gracious in defeat, Wagenknecht said.

Supervisors Alfredo Pedroza, Diane Dillon and Caldwell and state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, endorsed Gregory in his successful election challenge of Luce. But each had kind words for Luce on Tuesday.

Dodd recalled a period around 2000 when some supervisors would scream across the dais at each other. Luce was on the short end of four-to-one votes and took a verbal pummeling that made Dodd wonder if hed share the same fate if he ran for supervisor.

In the face of that, (Luce) was able to stay true to his constituents, he was able to stay true to his values and did the best job he could possibly do, said Dodd, who served on the Board from 2000 through 2014.

Comments also included references to a program Luce championed and never tires of promoting, to the point that supervisors often smile when he slyly injects the topic into a Board discussion. Thats the countys workforce proximity housing program that has helped 100 families buy local houses.

Caldwell, the former American Canyon fire chief, chose not to run for reelection after two four-year terms. His colleagues praised him for helping to bring recycled water to the Coombsville area and resolving wastewater system challenges in rural Lake Berryessa communities.

In his response to the tribute, Caldwell described a Board today that is far different than the one Dodd observed with trepidation more than 15 years ago. The strength of Napa County is having a Board and staff that work together so well, he said.

This is not the norm in the state of California, Caldwell said. The norm is you end up with a Board of Supervisors that cant get along with one another and cant get along with some of the other elected officials.

Caldwell later gave a power point presentation on his Board career as his family watched. He talked about pet projects ranging from the push for a successful Measure T road repair half-cent sales tax to the ongoing Devlin Road extension.

One of the things a lot of people ask me is, Arent you going to be bored? and Why are you not running?  Caldwell said.

He showed a slide saying Caldwell County, population six plus one dog, a place with 1.5 miles of roads. Caldwell County is actually a ranch in neighboring Solano County where Caldwell will live with his family.

Caldwell talked about sad times over the past eight years, such as the deaths of his mother, brother and only uncle. He talked about happy times, such as the birth of two grandchildren. He talked of revealing some of his personal life in his public life.

Were human also, he told the audience. We have a life outside of here.

Lieberstein in October announced his resignation after an 18-year run effective at the end of the year. The Board later that month appointed Chief Deputy District Attorney Allison Haley, his hand-picked successor, to fill the remaining two years of his term.

Lieberstein described the next stage of his life as an intermission. Act I has ended and hes uncertain what will come in Act II.

My definition of retirement is to put on a new set of tires and see where they take you, Lieberstein said.

Luce, Caldwell and Lieberstein received Napa County plaques and certificates presented by Dodd on behalf of himself and former Sen. Lois Wolk and from Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
It's scandalous that a vicious thug, President Putin of Russia, had his minions hack into our politicians' emails, then surreptitiously release his ill-gotten information to the American people. But, how else would we know that the Democratic Party and the American news media connived to advance Hillary Clinton's agenda. According to Wikileaks, the news outlet for the Russian hackers, our media put out fake news stories and kept vital information from us if they thought it would hurt Donald Trump and help Secretary Clinton.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  A half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich found at the scene led Wyoming police to arrest a burglary suspect.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/2hZsgUt) that Zachery Munoz has pleaded not guilty to three counts of burglary.

Cheyenne police say someone on three separate occasions in September stole power tools and equipment from a business. In the first case, police say they found a half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the scene. They dubbed the suspect the "PB&J burglar."

Police say subsequent DNA testing done at the Wyoming State Crime Lab linked 26-year-old Munoz to the sandwich.

He entered a plea earlier this month, and his trial is scheduled for February.
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Rashid was on a 48-hour long sit-in against Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to give domicile certificates to the West Pakistan refugees living in Jammu since 1947.

The MLA and a few of his supporters had spent the night under the open sky in sub-zero temperature despite the government's persuasion to end his protest.

Police on Saturday morning removed Rashid and his supporters from the pavement opposite the Fair View residence of the Chief Minister.

The state government has made it clear that the West Pakistan refugees have been given identity cards and not domicile certificates.

Despite the government's assurance, some mainstream politicians and the separatists have been opposing the move.

--IANS sq/py/vm

( 162 Words)

2016-12-24-14:48:16 (IANS)
In order to mitigate the problems of farmers and those engaged in allied activities like poultry farming and horticulture, arising out of the demonetization, the ASSOCHAM has suggested issuance of Transferrable Receipts (TRs) by agencies like the Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and other Central and state entities against procurement of the farm produce. "In the first place, the government should instruct FCI and other central agencies like NAFED to procure a whole lot of farm produce and issue the farmers/growers TRs which should be then honored at all the farm related stores. These TRs can become some kind of Paytm tools and be then aggregated by one nodal agency; preferably FCI," the ASSOCHAM said. It said with the help of the state governments, the TRs should be allowed to trade without much hassles, maybe up to a limit of Rs 50,000. Since these instruments are to be originated at the FCI level, it would be easy for the Central Government to guard against its misuse for exchange of scrapped money. In any case, most of the scrapped notes have returned into the banking system and now the problem largely relates to shortage of new currency. "Likewise, the TRs can also be issued by some agencies like Tea Board, Fisheries boards, Jute Boards and Rubber Boards and then some of the retail chains can be roped in for honoring the same. It would also work on the model of Sodexo lunch coupons," said ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat. He said with most of the products being decanlised , even state owned companies like the State Trading Corporation should join the FCI in this operation, while the MMTC which had remained engaged in fertilizer imports can be useful in reaching out to farmers directly or through cooperative stores for supply of urea or other nutrients in exchange of the TRs. "We urge the Prime Minister's Office, the Agriculture Ministry, the Finance Ministry, Commerce Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India to work on this model in a matter of few days, along with the state agencies," the chamber said. It said some of the marginal farmers and growers of horticulture produce are facing the problem of selling their produce with the unscrupulous elements taking advantage of the situation. "Extra ordinary situation demands extra-ordinary solutions; so this model of TRs should be tried so that the farm distress is mitigated and wide support is forthcoming for the bigger war against black money and corruption," added Rawat. (ANI)
During the soft rollout phase, over 35,000 active consumers from across India have already joined the platform and over 100,000 issues on various consumer issues like shelf-life, expired products, price manipulation of fruits and vegetables, grievances in the telecom sector and the like, a statement said.

Based on the response, zone based local online consumer communities will be rolled out to enable on-ground guidance and assistance for consumers.

--IANS bdc/vm/vm

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2016-12-24-18:28:14 (IANS)
Ace filmmaker Karan Johar has given innumerable hits to Bollywood industry, making him worthy of several awards. When attacked by the media if he has ever lobbied for one, the 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' director denied the remark. At the recently held press conference of 62nd Jio Filmfare Awards 2016, KJo said, "I have never in my entire life called anyone for awards. There's no point. I have won very few awards in my career and that too glamour related awards." "As a director I have just got two awards. Those who are confident about their films don't need to call anyone as they get what they deserve," said Karan. The awards ceremony will be held on January 14, 2017 at the NSCI Dome in Worli which was announced at a press conference attended by Filmfare editor Jitesh Pillai, Karan and actress Alia Bhatt. (ANI)
While deposing before the Solar Commission, retired High Court Judge Justice Sivarajan rejected all the charge and reiterated that he had not committed any crime in this regard.

Mr Chandy also said that he had not interfered in the police probe into the case when he was the CM, in any of the investigations.

Asked about whether Mr Chandy had received any calls from Saritha S Nair's counsel, he informed that he had not attended any such calls.

Rejecting the disclosure of his former gunman Salim Raj that Saritha and Mr Chandy used to talk each other using his mobile phone, the former Chief Minister rejected the allegation outrightly.UNI CGV PY RSA 2239

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"There is some role of the institutions in a democracy, but it is wrong to misuse it. They (Centre) are just perturbed by the allegation put forth by Rahul ji," Congress leader Husain Dalwai told ANI.

"It is unfortunate the way CBI has been treated," he added.

CBI has asked Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat to appear before it on December 26 in connection with a probe into the purported sting operation involving him.

The CBI had registered the preliminary enquiry on April 29 to probe a sting operation that purportedly showed Rawat offering bribes to rebel Congress MLAs to support him during the floor test. The agency had summoned Rawat for examination on May 9, but he had sought more time.

The case was handed over to the CBI when President's Rule was imposed in the state. The notification was withdrawn immediately after Rawat proved his majority in the assembly and his government was restored. (ANI)
This is the first visit of Gandhi after the Congress reversal in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

While addressing a rally in Almora yesterday, Gandhi escalated his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that demonetisation is economic robbery.

"The Congress Party wants to obliterate corruption from India. The Congress will support any step against corruption. But notes ban wasn't against black money or corruption, it was economic robbery," Gandhi said.

The Congress vice-president also used the occasion to reach out to the farmers and labourers.

"Prime Minister Modi hasn't listened to the farmers, but he has forgiven 1.40 lakh crore in loans to 15 rich people but not farmers," said Gandhi.

Gandhi alleged that the 'suit boot ki Sarkar' was in its bid to help its "rich friends" snatching the rights of the poor.

"Under NDA, one percent of Indians have 60 percent of the wealth. 99 percent Indians don't have black money. 94 percent of the black money is in Swiss Bank accounts, gold and land. Just six percent of black money is in cash. I don't know why Prime Minister Modi has made this six percent black money his target, not the 94 percent," said Gandhi. (ANI)
The year 2016 has witnessed the West Bengal government taking a slew of initiatives to rejuvenate not only the industrial scenario of the state but also the overall socio-economic development of the economy. A report by domestic rating agency Smera Ratings says the critical location of Bengal makes it the potential business hub of a three trillion dollar regional economy by 2035, when the size of national GDP is likely to touch 11.34 trillion dollars. The agency believes that the fortunes of the Eastern region, comprising West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and the seven North-Eastern states, are directly connected with the development of West Bengal since the state is the conduit to the entire Eastern region. Bengal currently contributes 40 per cent of the region's GDP, and is also home to the most developed metropolitan area in East India, Kolkata, the report said. The Eastern region has direct influence over 30 per cent of IIP and 57 per cent of core industries. Depending on the level of growth in the next two decades, the GDP contribution from the region can be USD 2.8-3 trillion, it said. The 'Act East' policy can give a big leg up to the country's bilateral trade with the ASEAN countries, particularly Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, which in turn will add further impetus to the Eastern region. The Indo-ASEAN trade is already valued at over 80 billion dollars, the report said. West Bengal is India's sixth largest economy and largest producer of rice in India. Rice production for the state totalled 16.1 million tonnes in FY 2015-16. The state is also the largest fish producing state in India. The two-day Bengal Global Business Summit, 2016, held on January 7 and 8, has secured investment commitments to the tune of at least Rs 2,50,104 crore, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. Speaking at the concluding day of the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit, Ms Banerjee said discussions were on for further investments in the state. ''A rough estimate suggests that investment proposals received this year were to the tune of at least Rs 250,104 crore. However, this figure may go up in the coming days as some discussions are underway,'' she told mediapersons.MORE UNI BM SJC RJ SB 1019 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-1078115.Xml
During his one-day-visit to the state, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ont an island in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai.

The memorial will be as high as 210 metres of which 60 percent would be the height of the statue alone. The total cost of the project is Rs. 3,600 crores of which first phase would cost Rs. 2,500 crore.

The memorial project has been facing stiff opposition from fisher folk and environmentalists, who have alleged that it would affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea.

Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the metro rail project in Pune.

Later, Modi will address a public function at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) ground in suburban Bandra, after laying the foundation stone for two Metro rail projects, Elevated Rail Corridors Project and Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). (ANI)
New Delhi, [India] Dec. 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asked former finance minister P. Chidambaram why so many scams had taken place under his watch and demanded an explanation for the same. "If Chidambaram is criticising the demonetisation move and saying that Prime Minister Modi should accept his mistake, then does he believe that whatever happened between 2004 and 2014 under the Congress-led UPA government, were all in the national interest," asked BJP leader Nalin Kohli. "First, he should give an explanation as to how black money got generated in the UPA government. And what was their role in the generation. After giving an explanation to this he can demand explanation from others," Kohli added. Earlier today, Chidambaram said that Prime Minister Modi should admit that demonetisation had a flawed decision which has badly hit the people. "Demonetisation is a measure which made 45 crore people like beggars and hassled middle class people for 45 days," he said. (ANI)
RJD chief Lalu Prasad today sought to take credit for providing inputs to Forbes' incisive report demonetisation saying the magazine seems to have picked up his insights on "demonetisation disaster". In his continuing tirade against the Narendra Modi government, Mr Prasad said in a tweet, "Forbes Magazine seems 2 pick my insights on #DeMonetisationDisaster.Thx Forbes 4 putting it's side effects globally". Mr Prasad also posted a report by the Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine, Steve Forbes, carried by a leading business daily on his official handle. Mr Forbes in his blistering attack on demonetisation said in his report, "What they have done to the money is sickening and immoral," calling it a ''massive theft of people's property". Making a contemptuous comment on the bureacracy, Mr Forbes said in his report, "Indian bureaucracy to be notorious for corruption, red tape and lethargy". He also compared the demonetisation move with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's sterilisation programme in the 1970's calling it Nazi-like eugenics. The report further read, "Not since India's short-lived forced-sterilization programme in the 1970sthis bout of Nazi-like eugenics was instituted to deal with the country's "overpopulation"has the government engaged in something so immoral" pointing out how businesses are closing as companies are not able to pay their employers. Mr Prasad also posted another article on his twitter account to question the efficacy of the Narendra Modi government's attack on black money by saying, "14.5 lac crore already back in system so where the Black money, Fake currency, Money lying with terrorist has gone?" In his another tweet in Hindi, Mr Prasad said, "Notebandi ki aad mein garibo ke ghar daka dal, unhe bandhak bana amiro ki tijori bhari ja rahi hain. Garib line mein hain, amir unke jamadhan se party kar rahan hain" (Houses of the poor are looted in the garb of demonetisation. They have been made captives and cash boxes of the rich are being filled. Poor people are waiting for their turn in serpentine queues to withdraw their money and rich people are enjoying parties by squandering away deposits of the poor people). UNI DH IS AD1334 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0108-1079111.Xml
The Prime Minister will first inaugurate the newly built campus of SEBI's National Institute of Securities Market (NISM) at Patalganga in Raigad district.

Thereafter, he will perform 'Jal and Mud' which was brought from 36 districts of Maharashtra at Gateway of India and move for Bhoomipujan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial into Arabian sea.

Later, Mr Modi will inaugurate metro projects at Bandra-Kurla Complex, will proceed to Pune for the inauguration of Pune Metro projects. UNI ST NV SHS 1247

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The Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao today greeted the people of Maharashtra on the eve of Christmas. In his goodwill message, the Governor has said, "Christmas has become the festival of humanity. The festival reminds us of the love, compassion, forgiveness and kindness epitomized by Jesus Christ. May this Christmas bring happiness, health and prosperity to all. I wish the people a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 2017."UNI ST NV NP SDR 1338 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1079048.Xml
The growers along with Tumakuru Lok Sabha member MudduhanumeGowda and farmers' leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar met the JD(S)supremo in his residence here.

Mr Muddahanume Gowda said the Centre should announce MSP forcoconut. Despite several appeals to the Modi government and MPs fromthe State also appealing the Centre is yet to take decision.

Mr Chandrashekhar said while the input costs was on the rise thereturns for coconut farmers had fallen drastically and this had ledto farmer suicides in Karnataka. ''We have urged Mr Devegowda totake a delegation to meet Mr Modi to impress upon him the problemsfaced by coconut growers,'' he added.

Mr Devegowda said following demonetisation process, prices forfarm products had fallen and farmer was at the receiving end.Coconut growers were one among the community which was deeplyaffected.UNI RS MSP HVB CS 1253

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Navraj Singh (24) and Simranpreet Singh (23) of Amritsar were killed while their friend Rajinderpal Singh sustained injuries when their car suddenly overturned and fell in a roadside field near Behram on Phagwara-Banga road in wee hours today.

All the three were rushed to Dhahan-Kalera Hospital, two among them were declared brought dead. The poor visibility due to dense fog was said to be the cause of the accident, the police said.

In another road accident Dharam Paul was killed on the spot when his two-wheeler was hit by a speeding mini-truck near village Darvesh on Phagwara Nakodar road last night.

In third mishap, Jaspal Singh was killed on the spot while Sadhu Ram and Daljit Singh sustained injuries in a head on collision of two two-wheeler near village Narur in Phagwara sub-division last night.UNI XC KS PS SNU 1429

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According to a Defence release issued here today the operation was conducted based on specific intelligence information about presence of two cadres trying to terrorize and carrying out extortion in Khamkhai village under Nampong circle in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Battalion swiftly launched an operation and apprehended the two cadres, one Self Styled (SS) Corporal and one SS Private along with arms and ammunition.

On spot interrogation both cadres admitted that they belonged to NSCN (K) and said they had undergone training in a NSCN (K) camp in Myanmar.The cadres were actively involved in extortion.

The operation has tightened the noose around the group and has brought relief to the local population. Assam Rifles once again truly stood by their motto "Friends of the North East," the release said.

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Rampant smuggling of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) into 'dry' Bihar continues as huge consignments of liquor, being smuggled from Haryana, were seized in Muzaffarpur and Nawada districts on the eve of Christmas today. While excise sleuths seized 400 cartons of foreign liquor in Muzaffarpur district, 35 cartons were seized in Nawada district. A Muzaffarpur report said excise personnel seized more than 400 cartons of foreign liquor were being smuggled from Haryana on a potato laden truck near Chandni Chowk under Brahampura police station area in the district. Muzaffarpur Excise Superintendent Amit Kumar said here that nearly 5000 bottles of foreign liquor, neatly stacked in 400 cartons, were concealed between bags of potatoes in the abandoned truck, bearing registration number of Haryana following a tip-off . He said the foreign liquor bottles bore labels of "Made in Haryana". A Nawada report said 420 bottles of foreign liquor, neatly stacked in 35 cartons, were seized from a vehicle near Budhaul village under Town police station area in the district. Police arrested the driver of the vehicle from the spot. The driver during interrogation told police personnel that he was carrying the consignment from Koderma in Jharkhand. The liquor bottle bore labels of 'Made in Haryana", police added. Police and excise authorities have stepped up their drive against smuggling of liquor in view of Christmas and new year celebrations.Police had seized 5069 bottles of foreign liquor, stacked in 196 cartons, being smuggled from Jharkhand on a truck near Rampur village under Hasanpur police station area in Samastipur district yesterday. Seven liquor peddlers were also nabbed from the vehicle. Similarly, nearly 5000 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were seized from a truck at village Pakaria under G B town police station area in Siwan district on December 21. As it is, bootleggers in their bid to make fast buck from tipplers in dry state have started smuggling liquor in huge quantities to meet the growing demand in view of the festive season. UNI XC- DH KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-1079269.Xml
Puducherry Lt.Governor Kiran Bedi today participated in a seminar on "Cashless transaction" during her visit to the police complex in Gorimedu here for a review. An official statement said, the Lt.Governor had emphasized about the usage of cashless transactions and said it will curb corruption and black money. Dr. Bedi also constituted the 'Gorimedu Police Complex Residence Welfare Association" during the visit. Director General of Police S K Goutham, Rajiv Ranjan ,Senior Superintendent of Police, Senior Police officials and officials from the State Bank of India took part in the seminar. UNI PAB CS 1457 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1079184.Xml
Puducherry Lt.Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today greeted people, particularly the Christians, on the occasion of Christmas. In her message, Dr.Bedi said Christmas is one of the biggest festivals celebrated around the globe by over a billion people. Christmas celebrates the life, sacrifices and teachings of Jesus Christ, who was the great teacher of humanity. Qualities like unconditional love, forgiveness, willingness to sacrifice are hall marks of his teachings which remain eternal for better today and tomorrow. Puducherry with its French lineage celebrates Christmas with equal zest and fervour as in other parts of the world along with its unique traditional rituals and merry making. She wished that the festive spirit may engulf each and every home ushering joy and happiness. Cabinet Ministers, Speaker V Vaithilingam, Lok Sabha member R Radhakrishnan and leaders of different political parties greeted the people on the occasion.UNI PAB CS 1501 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1079189.Xml
A small coconut size tumor was successfullyremoved from the brain of a 35 year-old woman from Iraq at FortisHospital here using a technique called computer-assistedNeuronavigation, Since last two years Ms Wizdan was suffering from frequentheadaches, pain in ears and right side of her body. When sheconsulted doctors in Iraq, the reports revealed nothing and hercondition was dismissed as a symptom of age-related weakness inwomen. As the pain continued she underwent an MRI scan and it wasrevealed that there is a tumor grown on the left side of her brain,according to a statement from Fortis Hospital here today. Doctors, in Iraq, recommended a brain surgery and was referred toFortis Hospital under Dr Rajakumar Deshpande. "The tumour approximately measured 8 x 7 x 6 cm," said Dr Rajakumar Deshpande, Director, Neurosurgery Fortis Hospital,Bannerghatta Road. The doctors opted for a brain surgery with the help of advanced technique called computer-assisted Neuronavigation, Neuro operating3 D microscope. Sodium fluorescent dye was used to pinpoint thelocation of the tumor. Computer-assisted Neuronavigation allows surgeons to navigateinside the skull with the help of specialized computers that processthe scans of the affected area in the brain and convert them tothree-dimensional images. It also consists of an infrared dualcamera system that tracks the surgeon's instruments during surgeryand displays their position. Dr Deshpande said that "there were risks of loss of vision in theleft eye, given the size of tumor. It took us more than 10 hours tooperate the brain and remove it". "The doctors had warned us about the risk of losing vision in theleft eye, but I am happy that she can see now. Her right hand hasgained mobility and legs are improving," said her brother.UNI MSP RS CS 1612 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-1079307.Xml
Condemning the reported vandalism of a gurdwara in Canada's Calagry city, Punjab Congress President Captain Amarinder Singh today urged the Modi Government to come out with a comprehensive policy for the protection of Sikhs living abroad, along with their religious and other properties. Expressing concern over the increasing incidence of intolerance against Sikhs globally, Captain Singh said it reflected the gross failure of the Indian government to protect the Sikhs living in other countries. The government, he said, had not only failed to raise the issue at the proper global forums but also did not have a strong internal policy to ensure the protection of Sikhs despite the spike in such incidents since the 9/11 New York attacks. It was imperative to take immediate steps at an official level to restore the faith of the Sikhs abroad in the Indian government, said Captain Singh, referring to the serious erosion of confidence in the community as a result of such incidents of hatred and sacrilege. He urged the Central government to take up the latest incident with the Canadian government on priority basis and ensure that the culprits are brought to book and awarded exemplary punishment to act as a deterrent to similar acts of destruction of religious properties in the future. The message needs to go out that the Sikh community living abroad is not alone and has the full backing of the Indian government, and in fact the entire nation, Captain Singh said.UNI KS SW 1604 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079185.Xml
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today extended his warm greetings to all people, especially the Christian brethren, on the eve of 'Merry Christmas'. In a message, the Chief Minister said, "Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, is an extremely joyous occasion not only for Christians, but for the people of all faiths." He said the gospels of peace, love, amity and compassion preached by Lord Jesus Christ were still relevant today in the present context. Such festivals strengthen the bonds of universal brotherhood and communal harmony besides inspiring the people to dedicate themselves in the services of the mankind to carve out a happy and prosperous society. The Chief Minister called upon the people of Punjab to celebrate this festival collectively with traditional fervour and gaiety to depict their deep sense of commitment towards secularism in line with the ethos of "unity in diversity".UNI JS SW SNU 1546 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079240.Xml
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the opposition was having a problem with the present regime, as it has tried to redeem an anomaly of the past by granting domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan. "As far as the problem of political activists are concerned, there are of two classes. One were those who were in power both at the Centre and in the state for last 70 years, but they could not address this issue. That is why they are having problem as to how the BJP has managed to address the problem. The government led by the BJP who is there for the last two years has tried to redeem an anomaly of the past," Singh told ANI. Singh said there are activists who tried to sustain their politics by catering to Kashmir centric sentiments, adding that they are not only causing harm to the cause of India, but also to the valley. "On the other hand, some of them chose Jammu and Kashmir as their home cannot be held to ransom therefore a proof of identity is a basic right that they would be seeking to gain a reasonable employment. This is something the earlier government should have done," he added. As protests and strike were observed by large sections of the people in the Kashmir Valley against the decision to grant domicile certificates to refugees from West Pakistan, both separatists and mainstream opposition parties took on the BJP-PDP government. Clashes were reported from Sopore town in north Kashmir after the Friday prayers and the police used tear smoke shells and cane-charge to disperse the protesters. (ANI)
Karnataka Prantha Raith Sangha (KPRS)President Maruthi Manpade today alleged that due to import of Pulsesthe prices have crashed in the domestic market. Addressing a press conference here, he held the Union governmentresponsible for the fall in prices of farm produces in the domesticmarket and the resultant agrarian crisis. Mr Manpade said that the Union Government Pulses Import policywas not based on domestic requirement and production, but onpressure from international and domestic capitalists. Mr Manpade said that the excessive import of 54 lakh tones ofPulses in the past two years has hit the country's farming community.The Centre recently signed an MoU with Mozambique to import another45 lakh quintals of Pulses and it will adversely affect farmers thisyear too. He said that of the 24 lakh tonnes of pulses India needs for ayear, 20 lakh tonnes are domestically produced. We should importonly four lakh tonnes of pulses from outside. "But the import was 20 lakh tonneslast year and 10 lakh tonnes this year. This will surely cause priceof pulses to crash in the domestic market as there is an overstockof pulses that could satisfy our demand for another two years," he added. Mr Manpade alleged that "heavy imports of farm produces withoutany duties are aimed at helping the Adani group owned by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's friend Gautam Adani." He urged the union government to fix the Minimum Support Pricefor red gram at Rs 7,500 a quintal to protect farmers against thefall in price of agriculture product . He also urged the stategovernment to exert pressure on the Centre in this regard. He said that the Red Gram Growers Association, districtin-charge minister Sharanprakesh Patil and Congress leader in theLok Sabha M Mallikarjun Kharge will take a delegation to Delhishortly and seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in this regard. Mr Manpade urged the government to take measures to strengthen the Redgram Development Board on the line of Karnataka Milk Federationby forming red gram growers cooperative society. He said that the state level Red gram growers convention willbe held in Kalaburagi on December 27 and all grievances and demands ofred gram growers will be discussed.UNI SD MSP CS 1652 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-1079380.Xml
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Karnataka todaycondemned the move by Central Government over not including Kannada inNEET while it had agreed to accommodate six other regional languagesbesides English and Hindi. AAP State convenor Shivkumar Chengalaraya said Karnataka had thehighest number of 50 Medical Colleges with over 7000 seatsavailable. Nearly 53 per cent of state students write their Class Xexams in Kannada and thus the students would be at disadvantageif Kannada is excluded. The aspirations of medical education of thousands of Kannadastudents will be lost because of their lack of mastery over otherlanguages. AAP holds the Central Government directly responsible forthis discrimination. People of Karnataka have elected 17 BJP MP's including threeMinisters who were least bothered about this whole scenario and werebusy playing blame games over state. BJP should teach itsrepresentatives to first show their allegiance to the people whoelected them, rather than appeasing their Central Leaders. All other states had sent their proposals to the Centre to allowtheir state language in conducting NEET but Karnataka had shockinglyfailed to send their letter, which is still lying in the office ofMedical Education due to the irresponsibility of the Minister ofMedical education, Dr Sharanaprakash Patil, who is now avoiding themedia. AAP urges him to resign from his post if he has any shame left bytaking the moral responsibility for ruining the lives andaspirations of thousands of students, he said. While languages like Assamese have been included, the deliberateneglect of Kannada reflects the anti Karnataka stance of BJPGovernment. AAP further demands that Karnataka should unanimouslyboycott NEET exams this year and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shouldensure that the NEET examinations, without Kannada, are not allowedto be held, as it causes injustice to state students, Mr Changalraya said. The Central Government is organising a common entrance test,NEET, for all medical colleges in India. The NDA Government hasamended the rules to allow students from all over India to writethis Exam in English and 7 other languages including Hindi,Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. The non inclusion of Kannada is deliberate and an insult to thepeople of Karnataka, he alleged.UNI RS MSP TS CS 1728 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-1079454.Xml
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the resistance shown by Congress Chief Captain Amarinder Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against the pro-people policies of the Punjab Government has exposed the anti-Punjab face of both the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Addressing the Sangat Darshan programme in Malerkotla assembly segment, the Chief Minister said by announcing that they would review the pro-people decisions taken by the State Government like regularisation of employees and others, Captain Amarinder Singh and AAP leaders have proved that if voted to power they would withdraw the subsidies and concessions like free power, Atta-Dal, Shagun and others being given to the people. He said Capt Singh has an anti-people track record. During his stint as Chief Minister the state Congress Chief had not given job to a single person. Mr Badal said the PPCC Chief had even withdrew the facility of free power being given to the farmers. On the contrary, the Chief Minister said in last ten years the SAD-BJP alliance has given free power to farmers at a cost of Rs 5000-crore annually. He said now in a historic initiative the State Government has decided to regularise the services of thirty thousand employees by passing the Bill in the State Assembly. Mr Badal said the SAD-BJP alliance has ensured the welfare of every strata of society by taking several path breaking initiatives for providing jobs, quality health and education facilities and by starting several pro-poor welfare schemes. Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of Sangat Darshan, the Chief Minister said that he would contest the election from the seat which would be allocated to him by the party. He said that in a democratic set up party was the supreme and he had always obeyed by the decision of his party. Flaying the shameful act of vandalisation of Gurdwara Sahib in Calgary (Canada), the Chief Minister said this incident has bruised the psyche of every human being in general and Sikhs in particular. This incident needs to be condemned in strongest words as it was a crime against the humanity as the Sikh Gurus have shown the way of peace, communal harmony and welfare of all to the entire humanity. He said that the Government of India (GoI) must ensure the safety and security of the law abiding members of the Punjabi Diaspora abroad, which have been living in across the globe for decades as "most civilized and productive members of the local society. Taking the Congress party to cudgels, the Chief Minister said that the Punjabis could never forgive the Congress party for its sins against Punjab. He said that Congress has irrelevantly meddled in the social, political, economic and even religious affairs of the state adding that the Congress governments at the centre had deliberately denied the state of Punjabi speaking areas, its capital Chandigarh and even its legitimate share in river waters. Mr. Badal said that no true Punjabi could ever forgive Congress for sins like Operation Blue Star and the killing of innocents in 1984 anti-Sikh carnage. The Chief Minister said that Sangat Darshan was a flagship programme of his Government from the first day ever since he assumed the office. He said that this pro-people program finds no parallel across the country as no other Chief Minister bothers to spare so much time for the people by solving their problems at their doorsteps. Mr Badal said the Delhi Chief Minister had announced to hold 'Janta Darbars' for redressing the grievances of people, but this never turned into a reality. He said that this interactive program for redressing the public complaints could be successfully held by only those public representatives, who were well versed with the problems of the masses and not by those who were not aware of these woes. Listing the major pro-people initiatives taken by the State Government, the Chief Minister said that the SAD-BJP alliance government has supplied free power to the farmers of the state. Punjab was the only state in the country to provide Atta-Dal scheme to the weaker sections adding that it was also the only state to ensure free treatment for fatal diseases like Cancer and Hepatitis C. Mr Badal added that in another historic decision it has been decided that all the farmers would be provided a health insurance cover of Rs 50,000 and an insurance of Rs.5 lac in case of accidental death or incapacitation of head of family. UNI JS SW SNU 1700 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079362.Xml
Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi today lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his demonetisation decision and demanded that the Government make public the list of Swiss Bank account holders, submitted in the court. Addressing a public meeting at Dharamshala Police ground here, Mr Gandhi, in the speech on the completion of four years of Virbhadra Singh's rule in Himachal Pradesh, said that demonetisation was well planed move to rob out the common man and middle class like World War-II fire bombing. The Government's decision to demonetise high value currency notes was akin to 'firebombing the Indian cash economy, he stressed. Mr Gandhi asked who are the people in the list of Swiss Bank, supplied to the Indian Government and whom Mr Modi want to protect should be made public. "Modiji, you have divided India into two parts. On one side is the one percent rich and on the other stand the middle class and the poor," said Mr Gandhi. "In India, black money in the form of cash is only about six percent while rest 94 percent is in form of gold, real estate and deposits in foreign banks." He argued why the Government took action against six percent black money holders "rather than 50 households who are holding 60 percent of black money". These 50 households are allowed to go with the Prime Minister during his most of foreign tours. The Congress scion also accused the Prime Minister of breaking the backbone of cities like Shimla and Dharamshala with the demonetisation move. "Modiji, you have removed the 'HAT' of Himachal Pradesh Horticulture, Agriculture and Tourism have been heavily hit," Mr Gandhi said and added, "When I ask questions, he mocks me. Mock me all you want but answer my questions." Mr Gandhi gave an instance of demise of a child named Kush in Mainpuri of Uttar Pradesh during demonetisation move as his parents could not mange money for his treatments as they were cashless. Mr Gandhi said banning of high currency notes is to help the big corporate to waive off 1.80-lakh-crore banks loans after forcing the common man and middle class to keep surrendered their hard earned money in banks forcibly. More UNI ML SW SNU 1739 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079384.Xml
Swatting off charges of Rahul Gandhi that the government has grabbed the lands of the tribes, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said the allegation of the Congress vice-president is ridiculous. "Rahul Gandhi talking of the fact that our government has taken away land from adivasi is quite ridiculous and as far as seizing land is concerned," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told ANI. Patra said Gandhi's allegation remind the nation about his brother-in-law Robert Vadra of his illegal land deals across the country. "We are all reminded of his brother-in-law Robert Vadra and he is the only person in India who is infamous because he looted the land of this country and in fact cases are going against him and recently the Rajasthan Court has ordered the Enforcement Directorate to investigate one such case," he added. Gandhi while addressing a public rally at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh alleged that the BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have taken away lands of the adivasis (tribes). (ANI)
Radha passed away at the age of 76 at her residence in Palghat in Kerala early this morning.

In a condolence message to Mr Sankaranarayanan, the Governor said: ''Sankaranarayanan took keen interest in the beautification of Raj Bhavan. It was largely due to her initiative that the work of identifying the trees in the Raj Bhavan complex with common names and botanical names was implemented successfully. She also took interest in the welfare of employees of Raj Bhavan, all of whom were saddened to hear the news of her demise.

''I pay my respects to the memory of Sankaranarayanan and convey my heartfelt condolences to you and to other members of the bereaved family,'' he added.UNI ST SS SW SNU 1808

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Mr Jayachandra, though got a bail, was taken into custody by CBIon body warrant for two days and when he was produced before thecourt, Judge Gopal remanded him to Judicial Custody till January Six.

His bail application will come up for hearing on December 30.

State Highway Development Project, Chief Project OfficerJayachandra was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a caseunder the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after the Income Taxofficials during a raid seized a staggering Rs five crore in new Rs 2000 currency on November 30.

The ED took up a case against Jayachandra after unearthingcompanies floated by him and lands purchased in the names of hisfamily members. The CBI subsequently registered an FIR againstJayachandra, the contractors and two senior bank officials. Later,ACB booked a case of disproportionate assets against Jayachandra andsearched several premises belonging to him. UNI MSP RS TS CS 1810

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today said the multi-crore Chit Fund Scam involving Rs 10,000-crore in Punjab has once again proved that several criminals were thriving in Punjab under the patronage of the incumbent SAD-BJP Government and are looting the public with impunity. AAP Punjab Legal Head and Candidate from Majitha Constituency Himmat Singh Shergill while addressing the press conference here said that it was ironical that the accused involved in such a huge fraud where 3-lakh people have invested their hard earned money, are absconding and the SIT formed for the purpose was lying in a defunct state. Quoting the statement of SSP Patiala Gurmeet Singh Chouhan on the involvement of gangster Sulakhan of village Mattewal falling under Majitha constituency in Nabha jail break, Mr Shergill said the development has confirmed that criminals are being provided shelter by none other than but cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. Demanding a judicial inquiry in the case, Mr Shergill expressed his concern over the use of criminals and gangsters by the Akali Dal for intimidating the people and booth rigging during the forthcoming Assembly elections in Punjab. He said as per officials records, 57 gangs are operating in Punjab which is a serious failure on part of Home Ministry headed by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Lashing out at the Congress, Mr Shergill said the Congress was a disintegrated house and a sinking ship. Mr Shergill said PPCC head Captain Singh has deliberately denied ticket to Dalit Congress MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh from Banga as the latter had hurled a shoe at Bikram Majithia in Punjab Vidhan Sabha. "Instead of backing up his own party colleague Capt Singh has decided to support his nephew Majithia on the shoe hurling episode. Moreover, several senior Congress leaders including SS Dullo and Mohinder Singh Kaypee have already dubbed Capt Amarinder Singh as anti dalit", said Shergill while adding that Capt Singh had also saved Majithia from the CBI probe who was named by the former DSP and drug lord Jagdish Bhola in the 6,000-crore synthetic drug racket in Punjab. Mr Shergill said the Congress under Capt Singh's command has completely been disintegrated after the announcement of tickets. Surjit Singh Dhiman had already refused to contest from Amargarh constituency and is now being persuaded to change his decision. Another Congress leader Gurbinder Singh Atwal has already refused to contest from Bholath Assembly seat. Similarly Rajinder Deepa who was demanding ticket from Sunam has alleged the relations of the husband of Congress candidate Daman Kaur Bajwa with drug lord Raja Kandola. Mr Shergill said a secret meeting between Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu, for nearly one hour has taken place in New Delhi a few days ago which has completely rattled Capt Singh as his chances of being declared as the CM candidate for the Congress in Punjab has further diminished.UNI JS RSA SNU 1859 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079543.Xml
Exposing Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal through campaign 'Sukhbir Da Gapp, AAP Da Sach', Aam Aadmi Party today launched 'Captain Da Dhokha' drive to expose the lies of Captain Amarinder Singh while being in the office of Chief Minister from 2002 to 2007. Addressing the media at Chandigarh, AAP senior leader and candidate from Dakha HS Phoolka said after backstabbing lakhs of unemployed youth in the state during his tenure from 2002 to 2007, now Maharaja is again repeating his fake promise of providing jobs to the youth. Quoting the notification issued by the Captain regime in 2002 after formation of the Government, Phoolka said just after taking charge in March, Captain held a meeting of cabinet in April Month to ban the recruitment in the state. "The same Captain who is promising a Government to each family now was in so much hurry to ban the appointment that he could not wait for even a month to issue the 'Tuglaqi Furman' to ban the Government appointments in Punjab," said Phoolka. He said that PPSC and SSB were especially direct to seize the process of recruitment of any kind of government job. "The irony is that there were many jobs for which the written test and interview process was completed but stayed at the last moment backstabbing lakhs of job aspirants," Phoolka said. "The orders issued by Maharaja Saab clearly say that no further recruitment was initiated without the consent of Cabinet. So if any department had to recruit even a clerk, it could not be done without Maharaja's orders." Phoolka Said. Many job aspirant youngsters kept on waiting for their joining letters but Captain preferred to implement his anti-Youth policy. "The orders to stay even the promotions were also issued by none other than Captain Saab," Phoolka said. "On what basis was now Captain again making fake promises of providing jobs to youth of Punjab when he is already exposed of telling lies," Phoolka said. AAP will continue to expose lies of Captain. The party will reach to every citizen of state to inform them about the lies of Captain and points of AAP manifestos. Taking about AAP's 'Sukhib Da Gapp, AAP Da Sach' campaign, Phoolka said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has a habit of making tall claims without assessing feasibility of any project. He said bewildered by the huge response of the public to the policies of AAP, Punjab Government, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is trying to divert the attention of the people through its false propaganda of development. To prove his invalid points right, he is on a spree of laying foundation stones of mega projects at various places in Punjab, however, there is no sign of these projects at ground level, he alleged.MORE UNI JS RSA SNU 1910 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079558.Xml
Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh today charged the Badals with indulging in politics of distraction to divert public attention from the widespread rebellion in their own party by unleashing a disinformation campaign against the Congress. Captain Singh dismissed Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's `Congress tug of war' remark, saying the Akali leadership should look at putting their own house in order before raking up non-existent differences within the Congress. He also renounced Badal's allegation that the Congress would withdraw all subsidies and concessions in the state on coming to power as baseless rhetoric aimed at covering up his party's own failures. Having announced only 85 seats in more than a month, and faced with large-scale revolt within the party from disgruntled aspirants who had been denied tickets, the Shiromani AKali Dal was struggling to hold itself together, said Captain Singh, adding that the Badals' party was coming down like a pack of cards which they were unable to put back together even by resorting to all kinds of gimmicks and violation of norms. Pointing out that the first SAD list of 69 candidates was announced way back on November 16, Captain Singh noted that not a single list declared thereafter by the party had more than nine names, with the last list, released on Friday, containing only three names. This, said Captain Amarinder, clearly reflected the extent of discontent prevailing in the Badal camp, which was striving desperately to remain in the fight for the Assembly elections. Reports of revolt in the party continued to come in from different parts of the state every day, said Captain Amarinder, adding that allegations of allocation of tickets to tainted and undeserving aspirants were rife in the SAD, which was contesting 94 of the 117 assembly segments in the state under the seat-sharing pact with its ally, the BJP. The disillusionment and resentment in the party was evident from the fact that as many as 18 key SAD leaders had quit the party to join the Congress in the last couple of months, Captain Amarinder noted. Several sitting MLAs and party office-bearers, apart from a large number of workers and supporters, had left SAD, accusing the party of functioning in a completely undemocratic and totalitarian manner, alleged the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief. It is out sheer frustration at their crumbling edifice that the Badals have started resorting to delusional behaviour and personal attacks, making senseless and baseless allegations against the Congress, Captain Singh said, alleging that they were exposing their desperation with every statement.UNI JS RSA RJ 2019 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079670.Xml
A spokesman for the the Chief Minister's Office today said Mr Badal cleared the file this evening.

Likewise, the Chief Minister also gave nod for appointing Harpal Singh as the Member of PUNSEED.

The formal orders regarding both these appointments would be issued shortly, he added. UNI JS SW 2012

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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal today said with a view to address the problem of stubble burning, the State Government has invited various companies to set up their industries in the field of power generation and paper production in the affected areas in the State. He announced that a paper mill based on stubble would be set up in Rania in Public Private Partnership Mode (PPP). Mr Manohar Lal ,who was addressing a Vikas Rally in Rania, also announced various development works of Rs 150 crore for area. The Chief Minister said power companies who would opt to set up their units, would be provided every assistance by the State Government such as land, exemption in tax and license fees etc. Apart from this, the government would also bear the loss of these companies in case the electricity generated by them is not fully consumed. The setting up these industries would not only help in generating electricity but also get rid off the affected areas from the problem of stubble burning and provide employment to youth, he added. He said that he had a long association with the people of this area as he has been visiting Rania for the last 26 years. He said that 26 months earlier, when he took over the reign of the administration of the State, he had decided to visit all 90 assembly constituencies in the year 2015 and 2016 to meet the demand of the people by announcing various development projects and it is matter of pleasure that on December 25, 2016 he is going to complete his tour of all assembly constituencies in the State. He said that before him, none of the nine Chief Ministers visited all assembly segments in their first two years. ''We came into power with a sole aim to serve the entire 2.50 crore population of the State and also announced various development projects in those assembly constituencies also which are not being represented by BJP MLAs,'' he added. He said that political will of the government and budget is required to serve the people, adding that there was no dearth of funds with the State government for development works. He assured that the announcements made by him upto December 25, 2016 would be completed in the next year. Lashing out at the Opposition without naming anyone, the Chief Minister said, ''we have given jobs to youth on merit basis and not through the back-door entry. Moreover, we never accepted slip (Parchi) or nor let this system flourishing in the State unlike the previous governments where a Chief Minister was behind the bars for giving jobs on basis of slips. ''We will not commit any wrong act,'' he added.UNI JS RSA 1936 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079741.Xml
Arunachal Pradesh Governor V. Shanmuganathan on Saturday expressed his hope that the festivity of Christmas will spread love and care and instill the blessed spirit in every individual and community. Extending his warm greetings to the people of the state on the occasion of Christmas, the Governor said that the day is also being observed as Good Governance Day commemorating the birth anniversary of one of India's finest leaders and former prime minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He expressed confidence that the day will motivate all, particularly the public representatives and government officials to rise to the expectation of the people through efficient and effective governance. (ANI)
In the wake of recent clashes between two groups in which at least 25 people were injured at Dhulagarh in Howrah district of West Bengal, the two-member Parliamentary delegation team of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today went to visit communal turmoil affected area was prevented by the administration from entering the village. BJP Lok Sabha MP Jagdambika Pal, another party MP of Lok Sabha and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh, party's National Secretary Rahul Sinha, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, party MLA Manoj Tigga and several leader-activists of the party tried to enter violence-hit areas in the afternoon The delegation was stopped by state police from entering the violence-hit area after which it staged a road blockade, accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of pursuing "appeasement politics". Setting up barricades, a huge police force stopped the team, few kilometres away from the affected village. To protest against the police action, BJP activists blocked NH-6 (Kolkata-Mumbai Highway) at Dhulagarh area and BJP leaders held sit-in-demonstration there. Amid the encounter with the cops, the BJP delegation left the place without visiting the village. Alleging that there is no law and order in the state, Jagdambika Pal said the government was following "appeasement politics towards a particular community". Mr Pal alleged that the government had transferred the Howrah (rural) SP Sabyasachi Raman Mishra for arresting 65 people in connection with the violence at Dhulagarh, where houses belonging to a community and their property were attacked by another. BJP MP Satyapal Singh said, "If we are allowed in, people won't indulge in any violence and we can ensure peace there." BJP state president Dilip Ghosh alleged right wing Muslim outfits and SIMI activists have entered the area and were creating trouble. He said BJP was not given prior information about prohibitory orders being imposed in Dhulagarh. BJP MLA Manoj Tigga, who was with the delegation, said, "Since last year, several communal clashes were reported from entire Bengal and the recent clashes in Dhulagarh and Birbhum district's Mallarpur were very shameful for the state, which is well known for its communal harmony." "Mamata Banerjee's appeasement politics, aiming minority vote bank, was responsible for such violence and after both incidents in Dhulagarh and Mallarpur, TMC supremo did not say a single word on this," Tigga further said, demanding Chief Minister's reaction and a strict action against such riots. Earlier on Thursday, state Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi today called state Director General ofPolice Surajit Kar Purakayastha and enquired about the law and order situation there. The governor asked the DGP to ensure peace, law and order in the area and to take strict action against the culprits," a Raj Bhavan released here said. Meanwhile, the state government has transferred SP of Howrah rural division Sabyasachi Raman Mishra. Mr Mishra has been replaced by young IPS officer Sumit Kumar, a week after a villageat Dhulagarh was hit by a communal clash over a religious procession. Mr Mishra, avoided to comment on his sudden transfer, while government officials refused to speak anything about the reason behind the IPS official's replacement. On December 12, people of two communities were engaged in a clash with each other at Dhulagarh, 28 km away from the state capital, over a religious procession to mark the birth anniversary of Holy Prophet. Tension erupted after an attack on the procession held to mark Eid-ul-Nabi. Houses and shops were burnt down in a retaliatory attack. Rioters carried bombs, due to which police had to use tear gas to bring the situation under control. During the clash, few crude bombs were allegedly hurled by one community. Several houses, shops and a temple were reportedly vandalized, locals were looted and motorcycles, cycles and few homes were set on fire. According to locals, several people were injured after being beaten up by the attackers. The violence lasted for two more days at the area, which triggered tension at the village, locals alleged. A heavy police force along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed in the area, Cr PC section 144 imposed and few police pickets were set up at the village to control the situation. Police have booked at least 50 people so far from the area for allegedly creating violence, while all types of movements have been restricted there to maintain law and order, a senior police official said. Locals say many people were injured during the clashes and even after a week, tension continued in the area. Vehicles were damaged and many people have been rendered homeless. "We have nothing left. Our home has been destroyed and there is nothing left to feed our children even. We are starving. There were cylinder blasts, houses were burning. Now, we have no option but to stay at relatives' houses. Police did nothing," said a victim. Despite police claiming that the situation is in control, the people are saying it is far from it. People are still scared and worried about the situation. Leaders of BJP and Congress went to Dhulagarh to witness violence hit area's situation but both teams were prevented by the police from entering the village. Setting up barricades, police stopped the BJP leaders, few km away from the actual location, and engaged in a scuffle with them. The BJP delegation left the place without visiting the village. West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president and former Union Minister of state for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury tried to visit the area along with other Congress leaders but was stopped midway when police cited imposition of prohibitory orders in the area. Mr Chowdhury said, "It is sad that this incident took place. Tension that has developed in this area is making difficult for the people to live peacefully. They are not able to go home. The situation has become worse. In West Bengal, only politics is happening. Everyone knows who police listen to." "My request to the government is to look into this matter carefully. Police have stopped me, what I can do," he added. Meanwhile, the BJP blamed the Mamata Banerjee government for failing to control communal clashes in the state and compared Dhulagarh to the Kaliachak incident in Malda, earlier this year. West Bengal is a bomb making factory, said local BJP leaders, and Ms Banerjee is doing minority appeasement according to them. "She must break her silence on the communal violence. The Bengal Police is walking along with you to protect criminals - is this your state policy?" asked BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh. However, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Rajya Sabha Member and party's national spokespersons Derek O'Brien hit back soon after by tweeting "Communal friend (from Panama), your party again tried divisive stunts in Bengal. People here will always reject these communal politics." UNI BM AKM 2124 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-1079950.Xml
AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his demonetisation policy, which he said, was aimed at benefiting 50 big companies or families, so as to assist them in getting their loan waived off, which they had borrowed from the public sector banks and didn't repay. He said the sudden surgical strike to curb black money in the name of demonetisation and cashless economy was aimed to snatch the white money out of the pocket of 99 per cent honest people of the country and get the same deposited in the banks for the longer period of time, so that the loan amount of 50 families, which comprise one per cent of the total population, could be compensated. The reason Mr Gandhi gave behind the motive of imposing ceiling on withdrawal of money from the banks and of the incompatible ATMs with the new currency was, that the longer the money of the common man was in banks, the better time management could be done to benefit one per cent, which means those 50 families and big industrial houses, who knew about the move much before. The target was to keep money of honest and common people in the banks for next seven to eight months by imposing numerous conditions of withdrawal every day, thereby causing inconvenience to the people. Referring to the pre-poll promises of NDA, Mr Gandhi said people of the country were cheated in the name of bringing money back from Swiss bank accounts and thereafter, deposit a sum of Rs 15 lakh in the account of every Indian. He said the Swiss Government had provided list of those having accounts and the same was admitted in Parliament by one of the Union Ministers. ''I fail to understand why Mr Modi is not revealing the list of all those who are having Swiss Bank accounts,'' said Mr Gandhi. He sought reply from the Prime Minster in this regard and said being accountable to the people, he should reveal the move behind demonetisation. He said the Prime Minister can make as much mockery as he can, he does not care, but he should reply to the people of the country the reason behind hiding the names of those who were having Swiss bank accounts. One per cent of the people were having Black money and that too, not all in cash, Mr Rahul pointed out, adding that six per cent black money was in cash, 94 per cent invested in real estate, Gold and foreign bank accounts. Mr Modi didn't target the 94 per cent population, who had black money invested in Gold, real estate, but targeted just six per cent, who had black money, said Mr Gandhi. Terming the present Union Government as 'Suit Boot Ki Sarkar,' he said that 60 per cent of money was given in hands of one per cent rich people, who were close to the Prime Minster, whereas the agriculturalists, small traders, housewives and ladies, who had small savings, were left helpless. ''It was like a 'fire bombing,' worst than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the farmers and horticulturalists of the country, particularly for a state like Himachal Pradesh, whose economy rests on Horticulture and Agriculture,'' he said. Terming Himachal Pradesh as Dev Bhumi, he congratulated the state government for completing four successful years in office.UNI ML RJ 2038 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-1079686.Xml
The meeting was held at the District Police Office and was chaired by SSP Anantnag Zubair Ahmad Khan.

Large number of respectable and traders of the region participated in the meeting and highlighted various issues like traffic jamming, drug addiction and other issues.

Speaking on the occasion, SSP Anantnag said that such meetings are conducted to solicit the suggestion and support for better policing and would be conducted in the future as well.

He also thanked the people for participating in the meeting and providing valuable suggestions.

Referring to the grievance highlighted by the participates, Khan said that these grievances and suggestions will be taken up with the concerned authorities for immediate redressal and added that police will provide its legal support as and when required for the betterment of the society accordingly.

Many senior police officers were also present on the occasion. (ANI)
Amid mood of celebrations on the occasion of Christmas, the Churches across the city are illuminated by flickering lights and echo to familiar carols have already started to reverberate inside the majestic cathedrals to usher in the yuletide. The chapels in the city are already decked up with fairy lights and models of Santa Claus and Christmas trees. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today greeted people on the eve of Christmas. Christmas in Kolkata, which was once the capital of the East India Company, is celebrated on its streets. But visiting the churches, some of which date back to more than two and a half centuries, is top on the list. The city police have elaborated city's security to avoid any untoward situation during Christmas, officials said. Over 2500 cops will be deployed tomorrow in city's congested places, while as many as 11 watch towers will be used for surveillance in city's important points, a senior police official today said. "Several Quick Response Teams (QRT), Radio Flying Squads, Heavy Radio Flying Squads and 23 divisional patrol vans will provide security on Sunday overnight and the entire security management will be overseen by 10 Deputy Commissioners," the official said. "At least 200 police pickets will be set up tomorrow, while drone will be used at Park Street and Esplanade areas for aerial surveillance," he added. Christmas will be celebrated across the world tomorrow. In the city, the epicentre of of celebration lies in Park Street area of the city. Park Street had been getting decorated in similar fashion for the past few years. The initiative was taken by the Chief Minister and soon, the road will remain decorated with lights round the year. The Chief Minister inaugurated the 5th edition of the Kolkata Christmas Festival at Allen Park in the Park Street in the presence of Archbishop Thomas D'Souza and Bishop Ashoke Biswas on December 16. Eminent members of the Christian community along with State tourism minister Bratya Basu were present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister laid stress on growing intolerance in India. "We ask Lord Jesus to give us tolerance. We may not like someone or something but we cannot disrespect them," she said. "We are one. India is a country of unity in diversity. Swami Vivekananda said unity is strength, divided we fall," Ms Banerjee said "May Jesus Christ be our guiding star in this era of intolerance," she added.UNI BM RSA 2257 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0104-1080010.Xml
The Jawaharlal Nehru University came under withering fire today as Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad President Nagesh Thakur minced no words in stating that anti-India slogans still rent the air within the JNU campus therefore there is no requirement of such an education system. "The leftists attempted to sully the nation's dignity in the context of the Rohit Vemulla case," he averred while addressing the ABVP's 62nd National Conference here. The surgical strikes in September proved the prowess of the Indian Army, Dr Thakur said, adding that the gallantry of the officers and men would be ever remembered.UNI RL-AC RJ 2235 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1079925.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for Phase-1 of the proposed Pune Metro project. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of Pune Metro project in city this evening, he said the project, being executed by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), will be set up at a cost of Rs 11,420 crore under the aegis of Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MAHA-METRO). ''We have to change our thinking and think big about infrastructure to bring overall development,'' Mr Modi added. In the first phase, two corridors of the Pune Metro Rail Project would be taken up for development, covering a length of 31.254 km. The two corridors are from Pimpri-Chinchwad to Swargate, covering a length of 16.589 km (11.57 km elevated and 5.019 km underground) and Vanaz to Ramwadi covering 14.665 km (fully elevated). This is the third metro rail project in Maharashtra. Also present on the occasion were Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, senior state Ministers, members of Parliament and other senior leaders of the state. The Prime Minister was on a day-long visit to Maharashtra today, where he laid the foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the metro rail projects in Mumbai and Pune. Meanwhile, the city Congress unit had staged a protest on occasion of Mr Modi's visit since their leaders were not invited for the programme. Former Congress city president Abhay Chajed said, ''We protested at the airport and police detained 150 Congress workers.'' Mr Chajed claimed that police resorted to mild lathi charge on party workers, while they were protesting. UNI SP SS RJ 2248 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-1080000.Xml
A day after his nuclear weapons tweet sent jitters across the world, US President-elect Donald Trump further suggested that he was open to an arms race. "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all," Trump reportedly told MSNBC in an off-air conversation on Friday. Less than one month before taking office, Trump caused alarm on Thursday by tweeting that the United States must boost its nuclear capability, Xinhua news agency reported. "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Trump wrote. Though it remained unclear what caused Trump to weigh in on the issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin' statement about the need to "strengthen" its nuclear forces, just hours before Trumps tweet, could be a factor. But Trump's incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined that Trump's tweet on nuclear weapons on Thursday was reaction to Putin's speech. "There's been several countries, Russia among them, that have talked about expanding their nuclear capability. The point that he was making was very clear," said Spicer. In the same interview, Spicer also claimed that there would not be an arms race. "There's not going to be (arms race) because he's going to ensure that other countries get the message that he's not going to sit back and allow that," he said. --IANS vgu/ ( 246 Words) 2016-12-24-04:16:12 (IANS)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel's ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal to return to Israel for consultations, his spokesman said, in response to a UN resolution on settlements.Yesterday the Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement activity on land the Palestinians want for a state was put forward by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal.Netanyahu's spokesman David Keys said the prime minister had also ordered the cancellation of the planned visit to Israel of the Senegalese foreign minister in three weeks and instructed the Foreign Ministry to cancel all aid programs to Senegal. REUTERS AKC 0411 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1078817.Xml
Costa Rica said today it was investigating whether a former Mexican state governor wanted on corruption charges had entered the country illegally.Yesterday following a report from a Mexican newspaper that the politician was in Costa Rica, Security Minister Gustavo Mata said that Javier Duarte, who governed the Gulf state of Veracruz until taking a leave of absence in October, had not been registered entering the country legally."If he is detected here in Costa Rica, he will be detained and immediately deported," Mata told a news conference.Citing intelligence sources, newspaper El Financiero reported that Duarte had traveled to the capitals of Costa Rica and Guatemala. In Costa Rica he was traced last week to a hotel in San Jose, the paper said.Duarte, who was expelled from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after the probe into his alleged involvement in organized crime and money laundering, stood down shortly before the end of his six-year term.Duarte denied any wrongdoing before going underground.His disappearance embarrassed Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office vowing to get tough on corruption but has instead been accused by critics of allowing it to go unpunished. REUTERS AKC 0504 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1078820.Xml
According to Kabul police, two motorbike riders attacked Zaeef's house in Kamare area of Bagrami district Friday evening , reports Tolo News.

The unknown gunmen fled the area.

Zaeef was Taliban envoy in Islamabad and in recent years had taken up residence in Kabul.

He was detained in Pakistan in the fall of 2001 and held until 2005 in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp.

The United Nations removed Zaeef from its list of terrorists in July 2010. (ANI)
A military Police battalion, which will undertake tasks in Syria, has arrived in Aleppo, Russian Defence Ministry said. "Currently, the battalion has made a march from the Hmeimim airbase to the city of Aleppo to perform tasks as part of the Russian centre for reconciliation of opposing sides in the Syrian Arab Republic," the Ministry said in a press statement. According to the statement, military policemen will ensure security of the center's troops, experts of the International Mine Action Centre, as well as personnel of mobile hospitals and humanitarian convoys arriving in Aleppo as part of territorial divisions of the Russian Centre for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides. "Servicemen of the battalion will also provide assistance in law enforcement to the Aleppo City Government," Interfax news agency reported. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin yesterday that "a military police battalion was deployed there since Thursday evening to maintain order in the liberated territories of Aleppo." On December 22, Russian Defence Ministry's Military Police Battalion was deployed in the Hmeimim airbase by aircraft of the Military Transport Aviation "following additional training at one of training ranges," the press statement said.UNI XC PS SNU 1617 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1079320.Xml
HANGZHOU, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's first public-private partnership (PPP) funded high-speed railway project started construction in eastern province of Zhejiang Friday.

The 269-km-long Hangzhou-Taizhou Intercity Passenger Line has a total investment of 44.9 billion yuan (6.46 billion U.S. dollars), with private capital contributing 51 percent of the investment.

Private investors including Fosun Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and Wanfeng Auto Holding Group will have a 30 year franchise period, with four years for construction and 26 years for operation.

Local governments will offer subsidies to ensure the project's smooth operation, and take ownership of the project after the franchise expires.

Giving holding status to private investors helps improve the project's management and operation and encourages more private enterprises to invest in infrastructure development, said Xu Kunlin, head of the investment department of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Over 1,000 PPPs, with a total investment of about 1.8 trillion yuan, have been inked so far this year, with private firms playing the leading role.
ANKARA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish warplanes and artilleries killed 24 Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Syria on Friday, according to an official statement.

Turkish warplanes struck 51 IS targets, killing 22 IS militants and destroying 37 buildings used as shelters, weapon pits and defensive positions, three arsenals and a logistics center in northern Syria's al-Bab, the Turkish General Staff said Friday.

Meanwhile, Turkish artilleries hit 143 IS targets and killed two militants in the same operation, adding that a drone of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was seized.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that about 200 IS militants were killed in the latest clashes.

"Our struggle is not an ordinary struggle. We have 16 martyrs; around 200 DAESH fighters have been killed," said Erdogan in Ankara, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"We could not stay silent against those that threaten our country, and we are doing what is necessary," he added.

On Aug. 24, the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Euphrates Shield Operation against IS and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Turkish President Erdogan said that the operation was also meant to end the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Turkey lists the YPG and the PYD as terrorist organizations due to their links to the PKK.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec. 23Xinhua) -- U.S. companies in Brunei are looking forward to having more cooperation with Chinese financial institutions like Bank of China Brunei Branch, the U.S. ambassador here told Xinhua on Friday.

According to the ambassador Craig Allen, the opening of the Bank of China Brunei Branch is a very important milestone in a number of different ways.

"Firstly for the Brunei economy, it's good to have new foreign direct investment here. To have more banks, more competition and more capital coming into the market is of course a good thing", Craig Allen said after visiting Bank of China Brunei Branch.

"So this is a very positive development and I want to congratulate the Bank of China for making this investment."

Bank of China (Hong Kong) opened its first branch in Brunei on Tuesday, marking it the first Chinese financial institution here in the sultanate.

The ambassador said that he approached Bank of China Brunei Branch to discuss potential business opportunities and cooperations with the Chinese bank.

"We do have lots of American companies and lots of investment here. And so we need banking services and it's excellent that we have another supplier of banking services, another world-class financial company in Brunei."

"I think it's very possible that American companies can work with the Bank of China to do their business here in Brunei or maybe regionally", the ambassador stated, "Bank of China can certainly offer American companies trade finance business, for example."

So I was very happy to learn about Bank of China's services and the opportunities for American companies to use its services in Brunei", he added.
KHARTOUM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and eight others injured in an attack by gunmen at Fur Baranga area, some 180 km south of El Geneina, capital of Sudan's West Darfur State, Sudan Tribune reported Friday.

"The attack was launched by two gunmen from Fur Baranga area on a gathering of men and women at a courtyard on Thursday, which resulted in the killing of six people and injuring of eight others. The injured persons were transferred to Fur Baranga hospital," an anonymous security source was quoted in the report as saying.

"The attack is expected to be of a tribal nature, particularly that the attackers and those attacked are members of the area and its different tribes," he added.

Violence has recently increased in West Darfur State. Sudan's Darfur region has been witnessing an armed conflict since 2003.
PARIS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Majority of French voters said ex-economy minister Emmanuel Macron would be a better candidate than the conservative Francois Fillon for the Elysee Palace in 2017, a poll released on Friday showed.

In an Odoxa survey for France Info Radio, 55 percent of 1,015 respondents preferred the reformist candidate against 39 percent who said Fillon would make a better president.

Among National Front voters, 56 percent preferred Macron while 37 percent chose Fillon.

However, several other polls indicate Macron is unlikely to qualify for the French presidential runoff vote in May. Here, Fillon is slated to win the contest against the National Front's Marine Le Pen.

Macron has portrayed himself as a candidate for jobs, proposing a progressive platform which "will pull France into the 21st century."

The ex-investment banker promised to further reduce France's high employment and increase workers' minimum wages by 500 euros (521.75 U.S. dollars) per year by cutting taxes on wages.

He claims he wants to raise taxes on consumption and wealthy pensioners.

Macron joined the Socialist government in August 2014 to replace ousted economy minister Arnaud Montebourg.

He has never had an elected post. He disclosed his political ambition after creating his own political movement En Marche (On the Move) in April.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chapecoense air disaster survivor Alan Ruschel said on Friday that he hopes to return to the pitch in time for next year's Copa Libertadores.

Ruschel was one of only six survivors of the November 28 crash near the Colombian city of Medellin, which claimed the lives of 71 people, including most of Chapecoense's players and staff.

"I want to play again in six months," the 27-year-old told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. "I am taking things a day at a time. I want to come back in time to play in the Copa Libertadores."

The tragedy occurred less than two days before the small Brazilian club were due to play Colombia's Atletico Nacional in the first leg of the two-match Copa Sudamericana final.

Chapecoense were subsequently named winners of the tournament at the request of Atletico Nacional, giving them automatic qualification for the Copa Libertadores.

The group stage of South America's top club competition begins on March 7 and ends on May 25. The knockout phase starts in July.

Ruschel, who underwent spinal surgery after the crash, was released from hospital last week.
File photo taken on Feb. 1, 2016 shows Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- One day after his nuclear weapons tweet sent jitters across the world, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday further suggested that he was open to arms race.

"Let it be an arms race... we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all," Trump reportedly told MSNBC in an off-air conversation.

Less than one month before taking office, Trump caused alarm on Thursday by writing on Twitter in ambiguous language and just 118 letters that the United States must boost its nuclear capability.

"The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Trump wrote.

It remained unclear what caused Trump to weigh in on the issue. However, hours before what appeared to be the New York billionaire developer's impromptu statement on unclear weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech that Russia needed to "strengthen" its nuclear forces.

Speaking in an interview with NBC on Friday, Trump's incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined that Trump's tweet on nuclear weapons on Thursday was "a shoot from the hip reaction" to Putin's speech.

"There's been several countries, Russia among them, that have talked about expanding their nuclear capability. The point that he was making was very clear," said Spicer.

In the same interview, Spicer also claimed that there would not be an arms race.

"There's not going to be (arms race) because he's going to ensure that other countries get the message that he's not going to sit back and allow that," he said.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham threatened on Friday that he would seek to halt U.S. financial support to UN if the world body passes a resolution over Israeli settlements.

"If the United Nations moves forward with the ill-conceived resolution, I will work to form a bipartisan coalition to suspend or significantly reduce United States assistance to the United Nations," said Graham, who oversees U.S. funding to the UN.

The 15-member UN Security Council would vote Friday afternoon on the resolution which calls for Israel to immediately halt the settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The resolution was proposed by Egypt and requires the U.N. secretary-general to report to Security Council every three months on the implementation and the council will "examine practical ways and means to secure the full implementation."

Due to pressure from Israel and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Egypt has agreed to delay the vote initially scheduled on Thursday.

However, four other co-sponsors of the resolution, including New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal, stepped in and pushed for a vote on Friday.
DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's newly appointed chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Justice Semistocles Kaijage, on Friday pledged to be impartial when dealing with political parties.

Justice Kaijage made the pledge shortly after he was sworn in by President John Magufuli at State House in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

He made the pledge against the backdrop of complaints by opposition parties during presidential and parliamentary elections that polls in the east African nation were rigged in favour of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

"I will serve my new position as per oath and legal conduct providing fair treatment for all," said Justice Kaijage.

Justice Kaijage replaced Justice Damian Lubuva whose tenure in office ended on December 19.

A section of interviewed leaders of political parties spoke well about Justice Kaijage and expressed approval of his appointment.

Freeman Mbowe, Chairman of opposition Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), described Kaijage as an honest and impartial judge.

On Thursday, President Magufuli appointed Justice Kaijage as new NEC chairman who will chair the electoral body for five years beginning December 20, this year. President Magufuli also re-appointed retired Judge Hamid Mahmoud Hamid as Vice-Chairman of the NEC for the next five years.

Hamid has served as NEC Vice-Chairman for the past five years. Enditem
Photo taken on Dec. 23, 2016 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a draft resolution on South Sudan sanctions at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday failed to adopt a draft resolution on imposing an arms embargo on South Sudan as the text did not garner enough votes in favor from the 15-nation council.

The document was drafted by the United States, calling for the arms embargo on South Sudan as well as targeted sanction measures against key government and opposition figures.

Seven council members voted in favor while eight abstained. The draft resolution failed to get a minimum support of nine council members to be adopted.

South Sudan's government soldiers take position at a battle field in Alelo near South Sudan's northern town of Malakal, on Oct. 16, 2016. (Xinhua/Gale Julius)

The UN has decried continued fighting in South Sudan which has left tens of thousands of people dead and three million displaced since late 2013.

After the vote, China's Deputy Ambassador to the UN Wu Haitao noted that South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has announced unconditional acceptance of the deployment of a regional protection force as part of UN mission in the country to provide a secure environment in capital Juba.

He said the transitional government of South Sudan has demonstrated political will to implement relevant Security Council resolutions and joint communique by Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD).

"The international community should seize this opportunity to push for various parties in South Sudan to continue with implementation of the peace agreement to return to the track of political solution," he said.

Wu said "there should be prudent action with respect to sanctions" to avoid further complicating the situation in South Sudan.

"The council actions should be conducive to the political solution of South Sudanese issue and should be helpful for the work of the mediation and good offices by IGAD and the African Union," he added.

"China consistently supports the peace process in South Sudan and provides support to nation-building and stability in South Sudan," said Wu.

"China is willing to work with the international community to continue with its constructive role in making further efforts to enduring peace and stability in South Sudan," he added.
The released people from the hijacked Libyan plane step off the plane at Malta International Airport, Valletta, Malta, on Dec. 23, 2016. The two hijackers of a Libyan internal flight have surrendered, searched and taken into custody at the Malta International Airport, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter. (Xinhua/Mark Zammit Codina)

VALLETTA ,Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Afriqiyah Airways said that the passengers on board the hijacked Libyan flight will return to Libya on Friday evening, local media reported.

In a press conference on Friday evening, Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat discussed the details about the positive end to the hijacking of the Libyan plane that was diverted to Malta International Airport.

He said that two pistols and a hand grenade had been found.

Later in the evening, the Maltese government said that initial forensic investigations showed that the weapons used were identical "replica" ones.

The operation to ensure that the aircraft is safe from explosives or other arms is still ongoing.
KIGALI, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda and The Republic of the Congo on Friday inked a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate social security benefits transfer for citizens who worked and those who might work in the other's country in the future.

Rwanda's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and the Congo's Minister of Labour and Social Security Emile Ouosso signed the agreement on behalf of their respective government.

The agreement will enable employees of both countries in the future to easily access their pension and occupational hazards benefits through the social security institutions of their respective countries.

Under the deal, retired workers will be able to seek pension benefits and receive them in home country. Pensioners will benefit from their pension in accordance with the respective laws governing pension scheme.

Speaking at the event, Minister Gatete said the deal was good for both countries to ensure that workers easily get their due pension benefits.

"We have people who worked in Congo Brazzaville and retired. There are those who are still working there. We also have people from Brazzaville who could work in Rwanda owing to cordial relationship," he said.

The minister described the deal as a milestone in the cooperation between Rwanda and Congo Brazzaville.

Minister Emile Ouosso observed that retirees from either country need everything possible to ensure social protection.

He stressed the importance of bilateral relations in all sectors for the welfare of the peoples of both countries.
JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Friday slammed the United States for not vetoing a resolution by the United Nations Security Council that urges an end to the Jewish settlements.

The rare motion, which demands an end to "all settlement activities," was passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention.

The U.S., Israel's closest ally, traditionally protects Israel from such motions.

Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz condemned the move. "The U.S. abandoned its only friend in the Middle East," Steinitz told Channel 2 TV.

He said that he was disappointed that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry allowed such an "unfair resolution" to be approved.

Before the vote, Israeli officials accused Obama and Kerry of advancing the resolution, an allegation the White House rejected promptly.

"The U.S. administration secretly cooked up with the Palestinians an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israel's back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts," an Israeli official told Xinhua on conditions of anonymity.

"This is an abandonment of Israel which breaks decades of U.S. policy of protecting Israel at the UN and undermines the prospects of working with the next administration of advancing peace," the official said.

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands that Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and has been controlling ever since, despite international condemnations.

The Palestinians wish to build their future state in these lands.

The U.S. officially opposes the settlements and considers them as an obstacle to peace. The settlements are illegal under international law.
RAMALLAH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a resolution that condemns Israeli settlements and calls on Israel to halt them, which is historic, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said Friday.
RAMALLAH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a resolution that condemns Israeli settlements and calls on Israel to halt them, which is historic, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said Friday.

Erekat told Xinhua on telephone "this is a historic day and it is the day when the international community won consensus on the international law."

He went on saying that the international community voting in favor of the bid "is a victory to the independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on 1967 borders," said Erekat.

He also said that the international community sent a clear message to Israel and its government that the road for peace and security would never be made by occupation and settlements, but by ending the occupation and establishing the Palestinian state.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution with 14 votes in favor and one abstention. The United States abstained from voting, which helped to pass the resolution.
Photo taken on Dec. 23, 2016, shows the UN Security Council voting on a draft resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank, at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The 15-nation council reaffirms the Israeli settlement activities have "no legal validity" and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel.

Fourteen council members voted in favor and the United States abstained.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard."

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast War. About a decade later, right-wing Israelis started to establish settlements on these lands.

The U.S. sees the settlements, which are illegal by the international laws, as an obstacle to peace.

The Palestinians have vowed not to return to the negotiating table unless Israel freezes its settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the adoption of the resolution in a statement released by his spokesperson.

"The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work with the international community to create a conducive environment for a return to meaningful negotiations," it said.
LONDON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Britain could be heading for a "disorderly" exit from the European Union (EU), a leading academic warned on Friday.

"If there is no organised deal by the end of the two-year period, then there will be disorderly Brexit," said Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union Law and Jean Monnet Chair of EU Law at the University of Cambridge.

"I don't think it is in anybody's interest to have a disorderly Brexit but the government is planning for it in case it happens," Barnard told Xinhua at a press briefing for the launch of the "Brexit: Six Months On" report from the London think-tank UK in a Changing Europe.

The British Prime Minister Theresa May has committed to triggering divorce proceedings from the EU by the end of March, following a mandate given by the exit result in the June 23 referendum. This would begin a two-year countdown to a formal exit.

Barnard, a specialist in EU law, cautioned that the upcoming Brexit negotiations would be multiple and complex.

"The problem is capacity, on the UK side and also on the EU side. There are real concerns because of the sheer breadth of the issues that are to be negotiated that it may well take a whole lot longer than two years," said the professor.

According to Barnard, government ministers, including May and Brexit Secretary David Davis, had begun to talk about transitional arrangements to cover a time gap between the end of the divorce talks, likely to be April 1, 2019, and the implementation of an agreement over trade access and other issues.
GAZA/RAMALLAH, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Both Gaza ruling Islamic Hamas movement and the less influential Islamic Jihad (Holy War) welcomed on Friday the vote in the United Nations Security Council, which condemned the Israeli settlements and called on Israel to halt them in the Palestinian territories.

Mushir al-Masri, a senior Gaza Hamas leader told Xinhua that Hamas movement welcomed the vote of the Security Council member states in favor of the resolution, adding that Hamas believes that the resolution that condemns settlements clearly reiterates the world's rejection to the policy of Israel.

Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza said in an emailed press statement that Hamas highly evaluate the position of the states that voted in favor of the resolution.

"Hamas welcomes the vote in favor of the resolution and welcomes the positive changes in the international positions that support the Palestinian rights at the international agencies," said Barhoum, adding that Hamas calls on the world to do more for the just Palestinian cause and for ending the Israeli occupation.

Meanwhile, Dawood Shihab, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman in Gaza said in an emailed press statement that the overwhelming vote in favor of the resolution "is a clear condemnation of the (Israeli) occupation policies and its aggression against the Palestinian people. It is a Palestinian victory."

"The consensus decision of the countries shows that there is an international public opinion against Israel and its policies," said Shihab.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution with 14 votes in favor and one abstention. The United States abstained from voting, which helped to pass the resolution.

The Palestinians considered the overwhelming vote in the UNSC on Friday against the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories "an international consensus on rejecting the Israeli policies against the Palestinians."

Nabil Abu Rdineh, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Xinhua that the decision "is an international consensus and a complete condemnation to the Israeli policy," adding "the voting showed that the world rejects the Israeli policy hostility against peace."

He called on Israel to immediately respond to the resolution and change its policy, and also called on the new United States Administration to be committed to the international consensus.

"The vote in favor of the resolution is a victory to the Palestinian diplomatic policy and to the policy of President Mahmoud Abbas," said Abu Rdineh.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian minister for foreign affairs, Reyad al-Malki, told Xinhua on telephone that "the vote in favor of the resolution in the UNSC is a historic Palestinian achievement," adding "it finally came after 36 years of settlement building in the Palestinian territories."
JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Friday night it "rejects" a resolution by the UN Security Council that demands an end to the Jewish settlements, and will not obey the resolution.

A fierce statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "despicable" resolution, which demands an immediate halt to the construction of settlements.

The resolution -- advanced by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela -- was passed with 14 votes in favor and one abstention (the United States).

The Prime Minister's Office declared that Israel "will not subordinate itself" to "this absurd" resolution.

The office also accused President Barack Obama of "acting behind the scene" to advance the motion, a notion previously rejected by the White House.

"Israel is looking forward to working with president-elect Trump and our friends in the Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to undo the damages of this decision," the statement read.

In abstaining during the vote, the U.S. ignored calls from Trump to veto the motion.

In a tweet after the vote, Trump wrote: "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th."

Israel was furious at the approval of the resolution. Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz condemned the move. "The U.S. abandoned Israel, its only friend in the Middle East," Steinitz told Channel 2 TV news.

The resolution demands Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem." It states that the building of settlements by Israel has "no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

The U.S., Israel's closest ally, traditionally protects Israel from such motions.

B'Tselem, one of Israel's largest human rights organizations, welcomed the resolution.

"Today's United Nations Security Council resolution reaffirms international consensus that Israel's settlements are illegal and harm Palestinian human rights," the group said in a statement.

"It is not an 'anti-Israeli' resolution, but a balanced one, which rejects the occupation," the statement read, adding that the group expects further international measures "for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians."

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands that Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War and has been controlling ever since, despite international condemnations.

The Palestinians wish to build their future state in these lands.

The U.S. officially opposes the settlements and considers them as an obstacle to peace. The settlements are illegal under international law.
BERLIN, Dec.23 (Xinhua) -- Germany to add 15,000 police posts by 2020 at federal and state level in line with a plan launched this year, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in an interview published Friday on the ministry's website.

The minister described the personnel growth of security departments as historically unique.

He said security, cyber security, refugee and immigration are the ministry's main tasks in 2016, and may continue to be so in the next year.

According to an earlier report by German media "Passauer Neue Presse," the security departments affiliated to the ministry will increase 3,350 positions in 2017, including the Federal Police (BPOL) with 1,970, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) with 820 and the Federal Office for Constitution Protection (BfV) with 560.
Photo taken on Dec. 23, 2016, shows the UN Security Council voting on a draft resolution urging an end to Israeli settlement activities in West Bank, at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution urging Israel to cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The 15-nation council reaffirms the Israeli settlement activities have "no legal validity" and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel.

Fourteen council members voted in favor and the United States abstained.

The resolution demands that "Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard."

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast War. About a decade later, right-wing Israelis started to establish settlements on these lands.

The U.S. sees the settlements, which are illegal by the international laws, as an obstacle to peace.

The Palestinians have vowed not to return to the negotiating table unless Israel freezes its settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the adoption of the resolution in a statement released by his spokesperson.

"The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work with the international community to create a conducive environment for a return to meaningful negotiations," it said.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has signed an annual defense policy bill into law though he said he was disappointed in many aspects, the White House announced Friday.

The wide-ranging National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed by both the House and the Senate with veto-proof majorities earlier this month, lays restrictions on transferring detainees out of the Guantanomo Bay facility, ensuring that Obama will not be able to fulfill his goal of closing it before he leaves office.

It authorizes a total of 618.7 billion u.s. dollars in spending, including a troop pay raise of 2.1 percent, though Obama has only requested for a 1.6 percent pay raise.

It also calls for 3.2 billion dollars more in base defense funding than Obama has requested, plus an additional 5.8 billion dollars in White House-requested war dollars.

As for the size of the Army and Marine Corps, the new bill authorizes 476,000 active-duty soldiers (16,000 more than requested) and 185,000 Marines (3,000 more than requested).

Obama said despite his disappointments, he signed the bill because it "authorizes fiscal year 2017 appropriations principally for the Department of Defense and for Department of Energy national security programs, provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families, and includes authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe."

However, "Congress again failed to enact meaningful reforms to divest unneeded force structure, reduce wasteful overhead and modernize military healthcare," Obama said.

"Instead, the Congress redirects funding needed to support the warfighter to fund additional end-strength that our military leaders have not requested at a time when our troops are engaged overseas supporting the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and against al-Qaida." he said.

On the campaign trail, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump promised a massive military building-up, including boosting the Army to 540,000 active-duty soldiers, increasing the Navy to 350 warships and adding 1,200 new Air Force fighter jets.
Police officers stand guard outside the Culumbus Circle Holiday Market in New York, the United States, on Dec. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Changxiang)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. federal anti-terrorism agencies on Friday warned that followers of the Islamic State (IS) may target churches during the holiday season after pro-IS websites had published a publicly-available list of churches in the country.

The extreme group continues "aspirational calls for attacks on holiday gatherings, including targeting churches," said a bulletin issued by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

However, there are no known specific, credible threats, according to the bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies and private security companies around the United States.

The warning, which also describes the different signs of suspicious activity law enforcement should be aware of, has expanded from those in the past that warned against military and law enforcement targets during holidays, said local media reports.
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen people including the driver were killed and 17 others injured when a bus plunged off a cliff on Saturday in southern Malaysia, the state news agency Bernama reported.

The accident took place at around 4 a.m. local time (2000 GMT Friday) when the bus was traveling from Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway in Johor state, said Johor Fire and Rescue Department Deputy Director Mohd Yusof Mohd Gunnos.

He said the injured had been sent to a nearby hospital. It was not known yet what caused the bus to skid the road, but the deputy director said initial investigation showed the road was in good condition.

Millions of Malaysians headed home or went traveling during the three-day Christmas holiday, most of them by car, making the main North-South Expressway crowded.
VIENTIANE, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Laos plans to step up rice exports to China next year after the quality of rice sold to the country so far was found to be satisfactory by Chinese buyers, the state-run press Vientiane Times reported.

Laos began selling rice to China in 2015. It is expected that export figure of about 4,200 tons of sticky rice and purple rice in 2016 will rise to over 8,000 tons in 2017, as demand from Chinese markets increases, according to the Lao Department of Agriculture.

In March 2015, Xuanye (Lao) Co., Ltd was approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission to become sole exporter of Lao rice to China with quota of 8,000 tons.

The main rice products come from the central Savannakhet province under the 2+3 Investment Promotion Scheme. Under this scheme, farmers contribute their land and labor, while the company provides funding, technical assistance and a market.

Major challenges for Lao farmers are the comparatively high cost of rice products and transportation compared to those of neighboring countries, Lao agriculture officials was quoted as saying.

The opening of this market for Lao rice has elevated the role of the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in promoting Lao rice as a model product that meets international standards.

The ministry is also implementing a pilot project to grow rice as a qualified product for export to China under the four cooperation principles of water, seeds, fertilizer and season.

The launch of the Lao organic rice market in China is considered as a significant opportunity for Lao rice to access one of the world's biggest markets, which will guarantee a market for Lao farmers and help to eradicate poverty in Laos, said the Vientiane Times on Friday.

Since 2000, Laos has exported over 300,000 tons of rice annually to Vietnam, Thailand, China and other countries.

Laos plans to produce about 5 million tons of rice by 2020 to ensure food security in the country. This fiscal year, the rice production reached 4.12 million tons and is predicted to increase to 4.35 million tons next year.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- A small plane was found Friday that had crashed in Brazil's Amazon rainforest region, with three of the four people on board killed, according to the Brazilian Air Force.

The Air Force said they had found the wreckage of the small plane that disappeared from radars in the afternoon in that area after a five-hour search.

The only survivor has been hospitalized.

The BE-58 plane was heading from Tefe to Tabatinga, both in the Amazonas state. Its wreckage was found not far from Tabatinga, which is located on the border with Colombia and Peru.

The plane operated under the air taxi company Parintins Taxi Aereo, it is reported.

The Air Force's regional investigators have been sent to the spot for a probe into the cause of the crash.
by Rene Quenallata Paredes

LA PAZ, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The year 2016 was Bolivia's toughest year in a decade economically due to a drop in global prices for raw materials and lower regional demand for goods and services.

The government's economic forecast for 2017, however, seems brighter.

Government projections show gross domestic product (GDP) grew less than expected, while exports and revenue from gas sales dropped.

In an interview with local media on Thursday, Bolivian Economy Minister Luis Arce blamed the global economic downturn, especially in South America, for impacting Bolivia's performance.

"This has been the toughest year, not just for Bolivia, but for the rest of the world. We have seen a severe drop in the export price of raw materials, in addition to the crisis affecting neighboring economies," said Arce.

President of the Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services and Tourism (CAINCO) Jorge Arias warned Thursday that Bolivia will register a trade deficit in 2016 for the second year in a row.

Construction was one of the sectors that continued to do well, he said, calling for measures to boost productivity in other areas to counter the economic slowdown.

According to the National Statistics Institute, GDP grew 4.43 percent in the second half of the year, which prevented the government from authorizing a double year-end bonus for public-sector workers.

In September, Arce downgraded this year's economic growth forecast from 5 to 4.8 percent because the worst drought in 25 years has hit Bolivia.

GDP in 2017 is also expected to see 4.8 percent growth.

Bolivia's exports, up to October, dropped 20.7 percent compared to the same period the year before because of the price drop of gas exports to Brazil and Argentina.

Up to October, the trade deficit amounted to 782.3 million U.S. dollars, but the figure for the whole year is expected to surpass the figure for 2015, which was 1.034 billion dollars.

Recent measures by oil-producing countries to shore up oil prices and stabilize raw material prices should improve the economic outlook in 2017, said Arce.

"Oil is stabilizing, which is why we believe 2017 will see a much better Bolivian economy than this year," said Arce, adding "the outlook for the country is positive."

Bolivia, whose GDP expanded in 2016 amid a bleak global economy, will continue to serve as a model of growth for the region, he said.
JAKARTA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Flooding in West Nusa Tenggara province of central Indonesia has forced evacuation of more than 100,000 people and closure of a main airport, disaster agency officials said on Saturday.

Nearly 20,000 houses, over 60 health facilities and two bridges were damaged by the flood, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster management agency, told Xinhua.

The flood also cut communication and electricity supply which hampered emergency relief efforts, the spokesman said.

"Authorities have to apply 'shut and open' at our main airport," Agung Pramuja, a senior official of provincial disaster agency, said.

An emergency period has been declared for 14 days until Jan. 4, said Sutopo.

The spokesman said the number of affected could rise as assessment of the flooding was underway.

Soldiers, police and rescuers from disaster agency office were taking part in the emergency relief operation, he said.
by Juan Limachi

LIMA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Peru's new President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has propelled the economy forward in 2016 with restructuring measures such as conducting tax reforms and formalizing informal businesses.

Economic forecasts say Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by more than 4 percent in 2016, higher than 3.26 percent in 2015 and 2.35 percent in 2014.

Julio Velarde, president of Peru's Central Reserve Bank, recently confirmed the projection, saying the national economy is on track to outperform other regional countries this year.

Restructuring measures promoted by Kuczynski since he took office on July 28 have had a positive impact on economic sectors, Velarde said.

Kuczynski's solid experience in business and finance, including working as chief economist for the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has won confidence from the industrial and financial sectors in the country.

At an annual meeting of corporate executives in early December, some 89 percent of the attendees approved of Kuczynski's performance so far, and of such measures as making it easier to open a company, implementing tax reforms and providing incentives to formalize informal businesses.

"We want a buoyant market economy with social justice. Period. That's what we want," Kuczynski said when summing up his government's objectives.

In other words, the government's goal is to revitalize the economy while reducing poverty.

Nearly 26 percent of the Peruvian population live in poverty, according to the economy and finance ministry.

Formalizing the informal or underground economy is set to boost tax collection and help pay for governmental social welfare programs.

Kuczynski's clear vision has been the key to his success, said Martin Perez, president of the National Confederation of Financial Institutions.

Peru expects to end the year with a trade surplus of 667 million U.S. dollars, following two years of trade deficits.

One of Kuczynski's first major decisions as president was to visit China to promote trade exchanges between the two countries and boost Chinese investment in mining, energy and other sectors in Peru.

As the president's economic measures take hold and productivity increases, Peru hopes to see exports worth about 40.2 billion dollars in 2017 and 41.9 billion dollars in 2018.
LHASA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tibetans lit butter lamps and prayed through the night in an annual festival commemorating Tsong Khapa, a master of Tibetan Buddhism.

At 4 p.m. on Friday, monks gathered for prayers at the Jokhang Temple in the heart of Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Thousands of pilgrims and believers gathered around the temple to join the prayers.

More than 8,000 butter lamps were lit on top of the temple building, in prayer halls and in monks' residences.

"Ganden Atsok" is celebrated on the 25th day of the tenth month according to the Tibetan calendar, when Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelupga, the "yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, passed away in 1419.

Monks chanted sutras in his praise. Believers prayed for happiness and good health.

Yangdron, a Lhasa resident, lit 108 lamps at her home. "I started to melt the butter two days before the festival. It is an important day," she said.

On Friday, similar ceremonies were held in monasteries at Sera and Zhaibung, also in Lhasa.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of North Carolina can no longer be considered a democratic state as both its legal framework and voter registration rated poorly, a voting rights group said Friday.

The Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) said in a report that it evaluated 50 elements in past elections and found out that the state scored 58 out of 100, ranking as the worst state for unfair districting and the worst ever analyzed by the rights group.

The state scored seven out of 100 for the integrity of voting district boundaries. Other criteria include legal framework, access to polling and how ballots are counted.

The state also had problems including a large number of unopposed incumbent state legislators in the general election, poor districting that the EIP said displaces power, and the GOP's veto-proof control as a majority in the state.

The EIP is an academic project created in 2012 based at Harvard University and the University of Sydney.
DHAKA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua)-- Four people including wife of a slain militant commander surrendered to police as Bangladesh law enforcers on Saturday morning conducted a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in capital Dhaka.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia told journalists that the four surrendered to the police along with a pistol and several bullets.

He said the suspected militants include Jebunnahar Shila who was earlier identified as the wife of slain Major (retd) Jahidul Islam, militant commander of Neo-JMB (an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh) blamed for July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter.

Shila had earlier managed to escape another drive in Dhaka couple months earlier.

Mia said the raid is still underway as three more militants wearing suicide vests are inside the three-story building.

He said the militants have been asked to surrender but they they are threatening to detonate grenades tied to their bodies.

A team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police cordoned off the building near Bangladesh's premier airport in capital Dhaka Saturday suspecting presence of militants there.

Shila's husband Bangladesh Army's sacked Major Jahid was killed in a raid in Rupganj on the outskirts of Dhaka on Sept. 2 months of after the deadly cafe attack.

Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian and Sarwar Jahan, identified as Neo JMB chief who was also killed during a raid on Oct. 8, have been blamed as the mastermind of the brutal attack on the Spanish cafe.

Chowdhury was also killed in a police raid on Aug. 27 morning.

JMB carried out a series of bombings in 63 out of the country's 64 districts, including capital Dhaka on Aug. 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 others injured.

Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up while six top leaders of the group, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- A three-day fair featuring agricultural specialties of Taiwan began in the Beijing Exhibition Center on Saturday.

The fair has attracted nearly 130 exhibitors and also promotes tourism.

Mainland businesses are expected to sign cooperation agreements with county authorities from Taiwan.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, and Chen Chen-hsiang, vice chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, attended the opening ceremony.
KABUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan security forces have captured a would-be suicide bomber in eastern province of Paktika, foiling a terror attack there, the National Directorate for Security (NDS) said Saturday.

"Abdul Barri has been detained following a recent joint operation launched by personnel of NDS and Afghan special operation police force in Paktika province," the intelligence agency confirmed in a statement.

The captive was instructed by a Taliban suicide attack coordinator named Malangyar to conduct a suicide bomb attack on provincial police department in Sharan city, capital of the province, the statement said, adding one suicide bomb jacket was also recovered after the raid.

The statement added that the timely arrest of the man has foiled a major terror attack and saved the city, some 155 km south of the Afghan capital of Kabul, from an expected tragedy.

The Taliban has yet to make comments.
by Naim-Ul-Karim

DHAKA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit this year came as a boon for Bangladesh's economy, which has been mired by a spate of terror attacks and dented market faith and sentiment amid diminishing security confidence.

Incidents of killings and terrorist attacks, particularly an attack in a Spanish cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic Gulshan enclave, cast a huge shadow over the prospects for the country's economy.

Observers close to the matter have said, however, that business confidence rebounded to its highest level in the two months following President Xi's visit, which signaled to the global community that situation in Bangladesh was returning to normal and its doors fully open for business.

Before the wounds of the July 1 deadly terror attack at the Spanish restaurant, that left 22 people dead, including 18 foreigners and two police officers, had even begun to heal, Bangladesh suffered a fresh blow on July 7 when terrorists attacked Muslims' Eid prayers.

Terrorism in the country added to Bangladesh's economic woes, as the country had already suffered a loss of more than 1.4 billion U.S. dollars due mainly to the 2014 election-related political unrest, with theses losses reduce the growth rate from the 6.2 percent to 5.4 percent, according to official statistics.

Against such adverse situations, experts say Xi making the first trip by a Chinese president to Bangladesh in 30 years, helped galvanize Bangladesh and its people to ride out the economic upheaval with dozens of investment and cooperation deals offered by China.

Local economists said the Chinese president's visit brought billions of dollars of investment deals to Bangladesh's transport, infrastructure and energy production, leather, ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals and automobile sectors, to name a few.

Abdul Matlub Ahmad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the country's top trade body, said the deals signed during Xi's visit sent a positive signal to the rest of the world that normalcy had returned to Bangladesh after the Dhaka cafe attack and subsequent acts of terror.

He said the deals reflected Dhaka's improving security situation and helped Bangladesh's efforts to improve its entire business climate.

Khandaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of Bangladesh's leading think tank, the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told Xinhua recently that the visit of President Xi provided a signal to the global community that Bangladesh is not "unsafe" for foreigners as was being claimed after the Holy Artisan attack by terrorist groups in June, 2016.

"The measures taken by the government with the support of the international community have revamped the business environment in Bangladesh within the shortest possible time," he said.

He added that Xi's visit has highlighted the fact that the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and China had reached a new height of "strategic partnership," which would facilitate the contributions of the Chinese government and the private sector not only in extending commercial credit or investment, but also in extending technological and technical support for the development of Bangladesh's industrial sector.

"When the numerous deals which have been signed are realized, Bangladesh's business environment will be able to attract more domestic and foreign investment including more Chinese investment," he said.

Moazzem went on to explain that, "The level of cooperation that has been agreed to in the Joint Communique issued by the two heads of states, would help Bangladesh to further strengthen its economic position at a regional level and would better facilitate and strengthen relationship with other neighboring countries."

Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, chairman of Unnayan Onneshan, a leading local think tank here, told Xinhua that the major achievement in 2016 for Bangladesh in the international arena is the enhancing of of China-Bangladesh ties to become a strategic partnership of cooperation, which is a watershed moment for Bangladesh's quest for equal partnerships with balanced diplomacy.

"The Belt and Road initiative, for example, will provide the prospect for deepening political relations and cultural ties with the relevant regions including China and provides a unique opportunity to challenge the traditional notion of connectivity," said Titumir.

Titumir, also a professor of Economics at Bangladesh's top Dhaka University, said the Belt and Road initiative could lead to a new kind of internationalization and create a dialogue among partner countries and regions which would lead to a greater sense of solidarity, that could transcend beyond the present form of economic, financial and technological aspects of globalization.

China's infrastructural investments in South Asia, also come with the prospect of further bolstering economic ties and laying long-term strategic and stable relations through the provisions of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which will further service the growing needs of the region, Titumir highlighted.

"The estimated requirement of infrastructure financing until 2020 for Asia is 800 billion U.S. dollars a year. Such investment will not only steer growth, but also will realize social and sustainable development goals in the post-2015 era."

"China could play a pivotal role in turning the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) forum into a growth quadrangle or Regional Economic Development Area, yielding a faster economic growth process by increasing use of the region's untapped resources," said Titumir.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier told Xinhua the Chinese president's visit came at a time in history when Bangladesh is about to break free from the clutches of low-level economy equilibrium trap and move into a brand-new frontier of investment, industrialization, ecological restoration and prosperity for all.

"China has become our largest trading partner and we consider China as a trusted partner in realizing our dreams too. China is the leading generator of many of our mega-projects in terms of finance, capitalization and technology," she said.

Hailing the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, Hasina said Bangladesh is now working to connect growth centers of the country with the rest of the region in South Asia and create a single economic contiguity between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

And this "would be host to greater integration with East Asia and connect the three ecosystems to the rest of the world through our seaports in the south," she added.

"We are on the verge of launching the exclusive Economic and Industrial Zone for Chinese in Chittagong that will be a landmark event in our economic, investment and trade cooperation. We would like to encourage Chinese investors to invest in these economic zones as developers or as individual investors," she said.

Retired Lieutenant General Mahbubur Rahman, also the former chief of army staff of the Bangladesh Army, said Xi's visit was truly outstanding and unique in many respects.

"There has not been too many significant events in the history of Bangladesh equal to President Xi Jinping' visit. The Chinese president's visit has opened Bangladesh's golden door to immense prospects and potential developments," said Rahman.

"He has presented the golden keys of prosperity to the people of this country and let us dream very large dreams. He expressed his deep trust, friendship and love for the people of Bangladesh," Rahman, who is also a member of the highest policy making body of ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's largest opposition party BNP, said.

MS Siddiqui, a professor at Dhaka's Daffodil International University, said the image of Bangladesh was blurred due to the recent terrorist attack at a Dhaka hotel but in contrast, Xi's visit served as a diplomatic "milestone" of "historic significance," as the two countries signed 21 agreements amounting to nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars of investment in Bangladesh.

This is the largest ever investment from a single country, he said and added this has given a positive signal to other countries and investors.

Bangladeshi Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said Bangladesh, which grew at a faster-than-expected 7.05 percent in the last fiscal year, is moving forward with all economic indicators suggesting a positive trend.

The upward economic trend shows that the country is likely to achieve 7.5 percent economic growth in the current 2016-17 fiscal year and the Bangladeshi parliament on June 30 this year passed a 3.41 trillion taka (42.58 billion U.S. dollars) national budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, targeting an economic growth of 7.2 percent.

Bangladeshi Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu has said, "One of the most important components of the economy is the garment and textile industry. China is a great performer in this industry. We're deeply pleased that China has recently announced a zero tariff policy for 4,762 Bangladeshi products that will surely boost Bangladesh's exports to the Chinese market."

To keep the development on track, Bangladesh looks forward to Chinese cooperation in sectors such as finance and investment, technology, management, defense, agriculture, industry and media," said Inu.

China has also been making immense contributions to Bangladesh's efforts in building a "digital Bangladesh," namely the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak said.

"This process saw an inter-network among all government offices and all government officers. We have connected 18,000 government offices up to sub-district level, with the support of the Chinese government," he said.
SANAA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- At least seven children and two women were killed when a Saudi-led airstrike hit their home in Yemen's southwestern province of Ibb overnight, rescuers and residents said on Saturday early morning.

The airstrike took place around midnight, killing an entire family and destroying their home. Rescuers and residents said that it took them about one hour to pull out the bodies.

Dozens of adjacent houses were also damaged.

Separately, the Saudi-led coalition launched seven air strikes overnight on the provinces of Saada, Hodaydah and Taiz, targeting Houthi fighters, according to residents and local officials. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

On Nov. 23, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike killed twelve Yemeni civilians and wounded six others when they were traveling in a pickup car toward a local public market in Hayran in the northwestern province of Hajja.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a mostly Arab military coalition to intervene in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015 via an air campaign.

The campaign is attempting to restore power to expelled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Some 10,000 Yemenis have been killed, with three millions displaced.
A still image taken from a video footage and released by Russia's Defence Ministry on November 15, 2016, shows a jet taking off from Russian Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier near the coast of Syria. (Reuters Photo)

MOSCOW, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- If outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama would bother to assess what Washington has gained in his administration's anti-Russia attempts since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in early 2014, he might be sad to find that Washington has lost in almost every front -- from Ukraine to Syria, and then to the looming new arms race.

By contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is experienced in jangling nerves in the West with unexpected tactical moves, was widely regarded to have broken out of the diplomatic, military and economic encirclement led by the United States.

Throughout the year 2016, Russia has been trying hard by diplomatic maneuvers to gain a bigger say in the protracted Syrian crisis, which has helped consolidate its role in the Middle East, and in the meantime, Moscow has stepped up its own version of a "Pivot to Asia" with a focus on the economic sphere.



MILITARY FEELERS IN SYRIA

Starting with a dramatic bombing campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia's first military intervention outside the former Soviet Union since the end of the Cold War, the country has not only showed its ability in the global use of force that the United States has long bragged about, but gained increasing political leverage in the war-ravaged country and even the wider region, reminding the United States not to treat Russia as an outsider when it comes to one of the most complicated regions in the world.

The mission let the already deep rift between the two powers further fester as Washington slammed Moscow for not intending to hit terrorist targets, but to empower Syrian government troops, and the White House was considering striking Bashar al-Assad's forces in an attempt to bring Damascus back to the negotiating table.

Russia, in response, deployed the advanced S-400 and S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in Syria, warning to shoot down U.S.-led coalition missiles if they were used against the Syrian army. Moreover, in September, Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, was put in combat duty off Syria's coast to support its air mission.

Admittedly, this show of Russia's military prowess did come with a cost. The most recent cost was the assassination of its ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, who was shot dead by an off-duty Turkish policeman in Ankara, an act believed to be linked with Moscow's anti-terror operation in Syria.

In November 2015, a Russian bomber was downed by a Turkish fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkish border, an incident described by Putin as "a stab in the back" that dealt a crushing blow to Moscow-Ankara ties, which have only begun to recover after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Putin in June.

Washington's decision in October to suspend its dialogue with Moscow on Syria is a golden opportunity for Russia to boost its presence in the Syrian settlement. Backed by Russia's air force, the Syrian army encroached on the contested city of Aleppo and cleared the northern Syrian city of militants with the evacuation of civilians, which would jump-start the liberation of other Syrian cities.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the Boston Globe in a recent interview that he regretted Washington failed to "set up a joint cooperative effort" because of differences in the U.S. government. By quitting the talks, the United States ended up as a non-cooperator.



TIT-FOR-TAT WITH WEST

The standoff between Russia and the United States reached its climax in October when Moscow halted an agreement with Washington on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium because of "hostile actions" by the United States. Before that in April, Putin was absent from a nuclear security summit held in Washington. This means that the two powers have broken in their last possible area of cooperation -- non-proliferation, in addition to anti-terrorism, which, too, has failed, as evidenced by their differences on Syria.

Accusations of Russia's involvement in the U.S. presidential elections have been frequently heard during the whole campaign, and they have been heating up recently as Obama, at his wits' end, accused Putin of personally sponsoring the hacking of Democratic Party emails, which was believed to have helped Donald Trump secure the presidency. According to Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow has demanded facts from Washington on the investigation, but "there is silence on the opposite side."

Meanwhile, Russia and NATO, perceiving each other as mutual threats, have been increasingly flexing their muscles in Eastern Europe, which indicates the risk of a new arms race. NATO's eastward expansion, military buildup close to the Russian borders and frequent drills have been met with Russia's warning to exit the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which has set a limit to the number of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles Russia and the United States can keep.

The Western alliance criticized Moscow for declining all its proposals for cooperation on a regime to ensure missile defense transparency, while Moscow feels it isn't trusted by the military bloc and fears being encircled. The ever-deepening distrust only risks a new Cold War that will compromise everyone's security.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk before an economic leaders meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the Lima Convention Centre on November 20, 2016 in Lima. (AFP Photo)

The European Union (EU), a traditionally important partner of cooperation with Russia and highly dependent on its energy and natural gas, now seems unsure of how to work with Moscow, while increasingly following Washington's lead in absence of independent judgment.

The EU has decided to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months, until July 31, 2017. European Council President Donald Tusk even admitted that the EU was awaiting a clarification of the new U.S. administration's policy in relation to Russia, a move that Moscow said only demonstrated the weakness of the alliance.

Brussels decided to expand the sanctions based on such an assertion that Russia failed to honor its commitments in the Minsk agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine, while Moscow insists it is Kiev that should be blamed for the failure of the deal that they agreed upon together with France and Germany.

Russia has responded with countermeasures of its own, and so far, there is no sign of any ease of the diplomatic stalemate except for the resulting reciprocal sanctions. But Moscow has at least gained an upper hand in thwarting Kiev's pursuit of EU membership, in addition to the takeover of the militarily significant Crimea peninsula.



TURNING EAST

There is no denying that Russia's constrained economy in the past two years has been in part caused by the confluence of sluggish oil prices and Western sanctions. This does not get down to the very essence of the issue, however.

In his annual state of the union address to Russia's Federal Assembly earlier this month, Putin explicitly said that "internal problems" have been the main reasons for the country's economic slowdown. With its advantages of a large domestic market, rich natural resources and vast underdeveloped territory in its Far East, Moscow sees great potential in improving ties with its Asia Pacific neighbors in a bid to get itself out of the plight.

Russia launched the first Eastern Economic Forum in the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok in September 2015, and the second one was held as scheduled this autumn in the same city with participants from across Eurasia. A number of agreements were inked at both forums on boosting cooperation with China, Japan and South Korea, among others, with a view to attracting investment from eastern Asia for Russia's development projects and expanding exports to the Asia-Pacific market.

In Russia's Black Sea city of Sochi in May, Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a five-year action plan to boost cooperation and deepen their partnership. Trade volume between Russia and ASEAN members was 13.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, rather modest compared with ASEAN's trade performance with some other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Russia has given special emphasis to link its development programs with those of China, particularly the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. In the energy sector, the construction of the Eastern Route pipeline proceeded smoothly this year, and it is expected to start supplies to China in 2018. China is developing Russia's first high-speed rail line connecting Moscow and Kazan with an investment of about 300 billion rubles (5.2 billion dollars).

What's more, the two sides are working on a joint program of developing and building wide-body aircraft, a model of which was displayed at this year's Zhuhai Air Show in south China's Guangdong Province. Financial institutions of both countries have clinched agreements to support those projects.
KABUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Seven police personnel were killed and five others wounded in two separate attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, authorities said.

In one attack, four police were killed and one wounded after a police vehicle was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in outskirts of Qalat city, capital of southern Zabul province.

"The IED attack occurred roughly at 09:00 a.m. local time during a cleanup operation. The vehicle was also destroyed by the explosion in Wicha Kholai locality," a provincial security source told Xinhua.

In western Farah province, three police died and four wounded after Taliban militants attacked security checkpoints in northern edge of provincial capital Farah city early hours of Saturday, a police source said anonymously.

The attackers also took weapons from the targeted posts. Unofficial sources put the number of killed at 11, saying one policeman was injured during the exchange of fire.

The attacks came as Afghan security forces had beefed up security operations recently as Taliban and other militant groups were attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions ahead of winter in the mountainous country.

In a separate development, a key local Taliban commander named Lal Zada was killed and three militants captured when Afghan Crisis Response Unit (CRU) launched a special operation in Jalriz district of eastern Wardak province Friday night, the Interior Ministry said earlier.

"Lal Zada was leading a group of 30 armed militants and involved in many terrorist and destructive activities in this district and other areas of Warak province," it said in a statement.
Senior police officials brief journalists after a raid on a suspected militant hideout in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Dec. 24, 2016. Two suspected militants, a female and a boy, were killed in separate suicide blasts during a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh(JMB) in capital Dhaka on Saturday. (Xinhua/Mohammad Manowar Kamal)

DHAKA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected militants, a female and boy, were killed in separate suicide blasts during a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh(JMB) in capital Dhaka on Saturday.

After the raid on the militant hideout had ended on Saturday evening, Bangladeshi Home Minister Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists at the scene that "the woman and the teenage boy have blown themselves up on Saturday afternoon despite repeated requests to surrender."

He said a minor girl has also suffered splinter injuries when the woman killed herself.

Sounds of several explosions and gunshots were heard from the militant hideout since Saturday afternoon. Law enforcers reportedly lobbed several rounds of tear gas canisters targeting the building after the blasts.

Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia told journalists that four people surrendered to the police along with a pistol and several bullets.

Law enforcers said there were total seven people inside the flat when the raid started early Saturday.

Mia said those who surrendered include Jebunnahar Shila who was earlier identified as the wife of slain Major (retd) Jahidul Islam, militant commander of Neo-JMB (an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh) blamed for July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter.

Shila had earlier managed to escape another drive in Dhaka couple months earlier.

He said the militants have been asked to surrender but they they are threatening to detonate grenades tied to their bodies.

A team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police cordoned off the building near Bangladesh's premier airport in capital Dhaka.

Shila's husband Bangladesh Army's sacked Major Jahid was killed in a raid in Rupganj on the outskirts of Dhaka on Sept. 2 months of after the deadly cafe attack.

JMB carried out a series of bombings in 63 out of the country's 64 districts, including capital Dhaka on Aug. 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 others injured.

Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up while six top leaders of the group, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.
YANGON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Muslim man in Ngakhuya village in northern Rakhine state, who was interviewed by journalists, was found beheaded beside a stream on Friday, according to the State Counselor Office's Information Committee of Myanmar.

Dus Mammad, volunteered as an in-charge of the village library, answered the questions raised by a group of journalists, on Wednesday, refuting accusations against security forces for arson attacks, rapes and extrajudicial arrests.

Following the interview, he came back home at around 6 p.m. local time and changed his clothes and went out the village.

His elder brother informed the village's head and Ngakhuya police station as he did not arrive home till 10:45 p.m. local time.

On Friday, Dus Mammad's body was found without head and with two stabs on both thighs.

Investigation by security forces on this case is underway.

A 13-member group of journalists from local and international media started a three-day tour on Monday to Maungdaw township in northern Rakhine state to cover conflicts.
HEIHE, Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- After 28 years of talks between China and Russia, construction has finally started on a highway bridge connecting China and Russia across the Heilongjiang River, the first between the two countries.

The main span of the bridge is 1,283 meters and links Heihe to the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk.

"The bridge is an important link, and part of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. It will strengthen cooperation between the two regions," said Qin Enting, Communist Party chief of Heihe City.

The bridge will boost trade between China and Russia and China's investment in infrastructure, energy, and natural resources in Russia, said Li Jianmin, a Eastern Europe and Central Asia researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The bridge will benefit both Russia's far east development and China's revitalization of the old industrial base in northeastern provinces, according to Song Kui, president of the Contemporary China-Russia Regional Economy Research Institute in Heilongjiang..

Costing 2.5 billion yuan (about 360 million U.S. dollars), the bridge will open in October 2019.

Passenger flow between the two cities is expected to reach 1.5 million a year by 2020, double the current figure. Cargo volume will reach three million tonnes by then, ten times today's figure.
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Saturday strongly condemned the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, requiring a thorough investigation.

"We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 19, which resulted in the assassination of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation," foreign ministers of CICA member states said in a statement.

They called for bringing the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of the terrorist attack to justice.

"We reaffirm that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed," they said in the statement.

The ministers reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

They stressed that the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic agents and consular officers and the obligations, including under the related Vienna conventions, to take proper steps to prevent any attack on diplomats.

The CICA was established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultation on security issues in Asia. It has 26 member countries, including China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and Thailand. It also includes other countries and international organizations as observers.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a ceremony for veterans and relatives of victims in Ankara on October 27, 2016. (AFP PHOTO)

ISTANBUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday not to allow a new state to be established in northern Syria.

"We will never allow the founding of this kind of state," the president was quoted by Turkish press as saying to Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board in Istanbul.

Erdogan also reiterated a call for the establishment of a "terror-free safe zone" in northern Syria for the safety of Turkey's southeastern border provinces.

Ankara launched a military operation on Aug. 24 in northern Syria mainly to prevent the Syrian Kurds from uniting their cantons for an autonomous region, or worse, an independent state, which Turkey fears might set a precedent for its own Kurds.

Turkish forces and Ankara-backed Syrian rebels have been fighting lately to take the northern Syrian city of al-Bab from the Islamic State, an operation Erdogan said on Friday was "almost" coming to an end.

Related:

Turkish army kills 24 IS militants in northern Syria

ANKARA, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish warplanes and artilleries killed 24 Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Syria on Friday, according to an official statement.
LONDON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May and defense secretary Michael Fallon sent messages Saturday to members of Britain's armed services deployed abroad on Christmas Day.

Currently around 1,000 military people are working to fight Islamic State and train Iraqi security forces in Iraq and the wider Middle East, as well as from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.

Around 1,200 personnel are stationed in the Falkland Islands while in Afghanistan, troops from the army and other services are training Afghan National Security Forces.

Currently 18 ships and submarines are at sea, with 4,500 people serving on operations across the globe in locations ranging from Somalia and Nigeria to Kuwait and Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Fallon said: "For our armed forces duty never stops....At Christmas, it's particularly important to take a moment to think of those deployed on our behalf across the globe and to let them know how grateful we are for everything that they do to keep Britain safe."

In her message Prime Minister May said: "Over this holiday period, there will be around 5,000 members of our armed forces deployed on operations, in the desert, at sea, even under the sea operating our continuous nuclear deterrent. While even those who are able to be here in the UK will, in many cases, be on standby to deal with domestic incidents like the flood relief that so many of helped with during the Christmas last year."

In a separate festive message to the British population, May called on Britain to "unite and move forward" after the Brexit vote.

In her first Christmas message as prime minister, May said: "As we leave the European Union we must seize a historic opportunity to forge a bold new role for ourselves in the world and to unite our country as we move forward into the future."
TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the current situation in the region necessitates closer relations among regional countries, particularly those of Iran with Central Asian and Caucasian states, Press TV reported on Saturday.

Rouhani noted the importance of Countries in Central Asia and Caucasus as they are "in the same region as Iran, are our neighbors," highlighting one of Iran's principles of foreign policy is "close ties with friends and neighbors."

Amicable relations will make regional states better prepared against crises, Rouhani said as he was home from his tour to Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

"Under the current circumstances in the region, the closer ties and the more consultations with friends...the better we can tackle problems," the Iranian president was quoted as saying.

During his trip, Iran signed a total of 15 cooperation agreements with the three countries in different areas, including visa regimes, banking, technical and engineering services, agriculture, transportation and security issues.

Iran and Armenia agreed to revoke their visa regimes, and plans were made toward the same end with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Rouhani said.

Iran and Armenia signed Wednesday five memorandums of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in tourism, museum, sports, emergencies and border security, official IRNA news agency reported.

Also, Iran and Kazakhstan signed five agreements for cooperation on Thursday aimed at expanding economic relations.

The agreements cover such areas as livestock quarantine, tourism, social welfare and cooperation between the central banks of the two countries to facilitate mutual business, Press TV reported.

And the two sides signed an agreement to establish a joint dual-modal transportation company that could lead to the creation of a new transport corridor connecting Iran's southern ports to the upper parts of Central Asia.

The agreement is meant to facilitate sea transportation in the Caspian Sea, cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan in ports and terminals issues, and connect Iran's southern ports to Kazakhstan as well as other Central Asian countries.

The last stop of the tour took Rouhani to Kyrgyzstan where the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Rouhani said in a joint statement that the two countries strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and will not allow any attempt to equate terrorism with any nation, culture or religion.

Meanwhile, they expressed concern about the spread of terrorist and extremist groups like the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and others in the Middle East region, and condemned their inhuman crimes in Syria and Iraq.

The statement would intensified contacts of the two countries in fighting terrorism, extremism, organized crime, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

Other agreements include cooperation between Iran's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Kyrgyzstan's State Committee of Information Technologies and Communications, Tasnim news agency reported.
Migrants are seen during a police operation aiming at a future evacuation of a refugee camp in Paris, France, on Oct. 31, 2016. French Police on Monday checked identities of thousands of migrants camping outside Stalingrad Metro Station, north Paris to prepare the camp's evacuation, local media reported. (Xinhua/John Fiddler)

PARIS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- In Paris, most people have switched on holiday mode to celebrate Christmas and New Year, but not the refugees living on the streets.

Refugees lined up before dawn in front of a humanitarian center in north Paris, hoping to get a place to sleep. This is an everyday scene here in this chilly winter.

The humanitarian center, built by local authorities, has the capacity to accommodate 400 refugees for a period of five to 10 days, after which they are transferred to different reception centers across France.

Since its official opening in early November, the center has always been full. Each day only a dozen to 30 places become vacant compared to the 70 to 80 refugees waiting outside.

Refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and other countries gather each day around the center in the evening, spending their night in the cold, hoping to be accepted in the morning.

Since the beginning of 2015, an unprecedented wave of refugees has come to Paris. As a result, train and subway stations in the city have become temporary refugee camps.

In early November, the French police dismantled a camp near the Stalingrad metro station, clearing out more than 3,800 refugees. Similar operations continue in places where refugees attempt to build new makeshift camps.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced the setting up of the humanitarian center in May this year. But limited reception capacity and temporary shelter for up to 10 days make the center weak and insufficient in addressing the issue of the resettling refugees in Paris.

In addition, the center carries out administrative examinations of refugees, with an average of about 30 interviews per day. The number marks less than half of the refugees assembling outside the center every day.

One of the volunteers working on site told Xinhua there is an urgent need to set up more humanitarian centers.

"The biggest challenge now is to have an enormous reception capacity, to build more humanitarian centers in order to receive all the refugees. It's ridiculous that compared to those we are helping here, more refugees are still living in the street," said Flora, one of the volunteers with a humanitarian association.

"Today, I still won't get a chance," said Aboubakar, a Somali refugee, "There is no good solution here. Everyday only 10-15 people get a chance to enter."

Data show in 2015 nearly 80,000 refugees asked for asylum in France, while only 26,700 got refugee status.

French Minister of Housing Emmanuelle Cosse said the government needs to invest at least 15 million euros (15.68 million U.S. dollars) a year in refugee accommodation, adding there is no "magic wand" to solve the problem but responsible, structured and sustained policy.

Not only France, but the whole of Europe has grappled with the large influx of refugees since early 2014, the biggest wave of refugees the continent has received since World War II.

However, facing harsh reality, many refugees still expect Europe to bring them good luck and new life.

Aboubakar told Xinhua he hopes to get a good life in the new year in France: "I have to forget what I had experienced coming from my country and the problems I had in the country; that's why I came in here."
LAGOS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The police in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, have beefed up security across the country to ensure crime-free Christmas and New Year celebrations.

National police spokesperson Don Awunah said in a statement reaching Xinhua on Saturday that the police has put in place a robust and elaborate security arrangement and crime prevention strategies to ensure crime free Christmas celebration nationwide.

He said the Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris has deployed various striking units of the Force to provide effective security and protection of life and property nationwide during the Christmas.

According to him, visible police presence is already in place on major roads across the country, deployment of the patrol teams and surveillance squads will cover places of worship, venues of recreation and celebrations throughout the period of the festivities.

The police spokesperson advised operators of public facilities to be vigilant and ensure they properly screen all visitors or users of their facilities during the festive period.

He urged members of the public to report any suspicious movement in their areas to the police.

Meanwhile, Awunah said the ban on use of firework and knockout are still in force.

Parents and guardians are advised to prevail on their children and wards to desist from these acts that are capable of causing tension, fear and apprehension in their neighborhood, he added.

He said violators will promptly be arrested and prosecuted.

Nigeria has in the recent past suffered a string of terror attacks mostly orchestrated by Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which has proved to be a major security threat in Nigeria since 2009, has killed hundreds of people in the last three months in many village attacks across three states in the northeast region.

Hundreds of lives have been massacred by Boko Haram fighters in various attacks carried out this year.
VALLETTA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Maltese Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said on Saturday the police were bound to charge in court the two men who hijacked a plane within 48 hours of their arrest.

The Police Commissioner said investigations were still ongoing and no date and time for the court appearance had been set.

Basically the law in Malta states that anyone arrested needs to be either charged within 48 hours or released.

Mr Cutajar said it was too early to say if the two hijackers were linked to any terrorist groups.

The hijacking came to a peaceful conclusion Friday after the two men released 111 passengers and six crew after a four-hour standoff.

The Afriqiyah Airways was hijacked during an internal flight from Sebha to Tripoli by two men who threatened to blow it up.

It was diverted to Malta after the hijackers refused to land in Tripoli.

The two hijackers, named as Ahmed Ali and Mousa Shaha, were later found to be carrying replica pistols.

The Police Commissioner said that at no point did the two men make any demands.

The passengers of the hijacked flight return to Libya Saturday morning.
Senior police officials brief journalists after a raid on a suspected militant hideout in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Dec. 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Mohammad Manowar Kamal)

DHAKA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected militants, a female and boy, were killed in separate suicide blasts during a raid on a hideout of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh(JMB) in capital Dhaka on Saturday.

After the raid on the militant hideout had ended on Saturday evening, Bangladeshi Home Minister Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told journalists at the scene that "the woman and the teenage boy have blown themselves up on Saturday afternoon despite repeated requests to surrender."

He said a minor girl has also suffered splinter injuries when the woman killed herself.

Sounds of several explosions and gunshots were heard from the militant hideout since Saturday afternoon. Law enforcers reportedly lobbed several rounds of tear gas canisters targeting the building after the blasts.

Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia told journalists that four people surrendered to the police along with a pistol and several bullets.

Law enforcers said there were total seven people inside the flat when the raid started early Saturday.

Bangladesh law enforcers gather during a raid on a suspected militant hideout in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Dec. 24, 2016. (Xinhua/Mohammad Manowar Kamal)

Mia said those who surrendered include Jebunnahar Shila who was earlier identified as the wife of slain Major (retd) Jahidul Islam, militant commander of Neo-JMB (an offshoot of the banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh) blamed for July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter.

Shila had earlier managed to escape another drive in Dhaka couple months earlier.

He said the militants have been asked to surrender but they they are threatening to detonate grenades tied to their bodies.

A team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police cordoned off the building nearBangladesh's premier airport in capital Dhaka.

Shila's husband Bangladesh Army's sacked Major Jahid was killed in a raid in Rupganj on the outskirts of Dhaka on Sept. 2 months of after the deadly cafe attack.

JMB carried out a series of bombings in 63 out of the country's 64 districts, including capital Dhaka on Aug. 17, 2005, leaving two people dead and 150 others injured.

Hundreds of JMB leaders and activists were rounded up while six top leaders of the group, including Shaikh Abdur Rahman, were hanged in 2007.